At the entrance to Disneyland, the park that changed the vacation habits of millions of Americans, there now stands a new passage, a white-framed, covered walkway emblazoned with the words, ”Disneyland–30 years.”
On each side are tents sheltering a half dozen new cars, some of the 400 to be given away this year to commemorate the park`s 30th anniversary.
Next to the turnstiles is the Gift Giver Extraordinaire, a digital clock that counts each person who passes into the park: Every 30,000th gets a free car, which means that on some days, Disney is giving away two cars a day. This will go on all year.
”They never would have done that in the old days,” said Jim Hardiman, who once worked for Disney and now directs publicity for one of Disneyland`s rival theme parks, Knott`s Berry Farm. ”Things have changed.”
Indeed they have. The Disneyland that quickly endeared itself to America after it opened July 17, 1955, has never really stopped growing. But with new hands at the helm of the Disney organization after last year`s bitter
”greenmail” stock battle, Disney and its theme parks are entering a new era.
The $12 million giveaway promotion here is one of the changes in the works for Disney`s theme parks. Others:
— George Lucas, the creator of ”Star Wars,” has been engaged to create a new attraction, one of several he will produce for the Disney theme parks.
— A new teen ”nightclub” called Videopolis will offer live rock music, dining, dancing and videos at Disneyland this summer.
— A simulator attraction that gives the illusion of flight will go into the California park, probably by next summer.
— An entire new ”land” called Discovery Bay, with multiple attractions and shops built around a Jules Verne theme, may be added.
— A flume ride very likely will be built, one of several ”thrill”
rides under consideration here and in the Florida park, which may add a copy of the California`s popular Matterhorn ride in Epcot Center.
— In Florida, Disney is about to start developing the huge tract of land it owns surrounding Disney World. First stage: a huge new hotel project in Walt Disney World Village. Coming: new complexes of hotels, residences, restaurants and leisure facilities.
— To promote the Florida park, Disney has laid out 10 times more money for advertising in the last six months than before.
— Disney officials are close to contracting for a fourth theme park in Spain or France.
For the original Disneyland, the new developments are indeed welcome. For years, it took a back seat as the Disney organization pumped billions of dollars into building Florida`s Walt Disney World and Epcot Center, then ventured abroad to open a Disneyland in Tokyo.
But in 1982, the California park finally got the okay to rebuild completely its aging Fantasyland, adding a new attraction–Pinocchio`s Daring Journey–in the process.
Now, with its successful anniversary promotion and the promise of several new attractions to go on line in the next year or two, Disneyland is riding high.
Particularly exciting is the ”Star Wars” project, the type of modern, teen-oriented attraction many observers have long felt was needed at the Disney parks.
Disneyland certainly could use an economic shot in the arm. Last year, the Summer Olympic Games ruined the normally busy summer season and employee strikes took their toll in the fall.
Thanks in part to the giveaway promotion, attendance is up substantially now, and officials are predicting an increase of 1/2 to 2 million visitors for the year, more than enough to pay for the 400 free cars and other anniversary gifts.
For those in the eastern part of the country who have visited Florida`s expansive Disney World, the California original seems like a tight little island. The latter occupies only about 55 acres (parking excepted), compared with 100 acres for Florida`s Magic Kingdom (plus 27,000 acres of surrounding land, some with additional facilities) and 124 acres for Tokyo.
Most of the Disney theme park attractions, restaurants and shops are similar to one another, but some differences are noticeable. California`s castle and Space Mountain are smaller than Florida`s and Tokyo`s, and its Main Street is shorter. Tokyo`s Main Street is called World Bazaar, has a cross street and is covered.
California`s Haunted Mansion is a New Orleans-style house, Florida`s is Gothic; California has an animated Lincoln giving a speech, Florida has animated figures of all 50 presidents. Pirates of the Caribbean, the California park`s most popular attraction, is more extensive than Florida`s;
its cars drop down two falls rather than one, and there`s a bayou section overlooked by an indoor restaurant.
There are other relatively minor differences, and one major attraction that Disneyland alone has: the Matterhorn thrill ride. The California park also claims another advantage over Florida`s Disney World: Its admission charge is considerably less, $15 for adults and $10 for children, compared with $18 and $15 in Florida.
Because it is the original park, Disneyland has been a testing ground for Disney ideas. If new attractions proved successful here, they were copied for Disney World (and later for Tokyo), which also explains why some of the Florida attractions are more polished than their California counterparts.
Of course, Disneyland also tested some projects that failed to make the grade: The ambitious Mickey Mouse Club Circus, with 12 major acts and Mickey Mouse Club host Jimmie Dodd as ringmaster, lasted just two months. Mouseketeer Annette Funicello played Snow White in the show.
Keller`s Jungle Killers, a wild animal act, died after seven months. The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train went through several mutations over a decade, finally giving way to the Big Thunder roller coaster ride. The Viewliner train was derailed after a year, the Flying Saucers ride grounded after five.
Changes have always been a part of Disney World in Florida, too, and more are about to take place. Chief among them is the forthcoming development of more of the huge acreage it owns around the theme park. This may include a complex of much-needed medium-priced hotel rooms on Disney land, according to Dick Nunis, president of Outdoor Recreation, the Disney subsidiary that runs the theme parks.
Nunis, who exudes enthusiasm, sees a number of changes ahead for Disney World, though perhaps not right away. ”Europe is our top priority now,” he said in an interview at the opening of Epcot`s new Morocco pavilion last fall. But Nunis outlined some of the ideas for future development that have been kicked around for the Florida park: A water channel from the Epcot lagoon to another lake ringed with hotels; connecting the Magic Kingdom lagoon and monorail to a another new resort section; more rides in Epcot`s World Showcase section, which is heavy on shops and restaurants; and making use of the surrounding green belt, by offering canoe rides in the swamp areas, for instance.
Back in California, Disneyland is not only looking ahead during its anniversary, but reaching back to the past: This fall, it will bring back the Mouseketeers, the famous, mouse-eared performers who mesmerized millions of American youths in the 1950s and 1960s.
For five weekends in October and November, members of the original Mouseketeers show, which also marks its 30th anniversary this year, will once again do their thing live on a Disneyland stage.
”M-I-C . . . see you real soon . . . K-E-Y . . . Why? Because we like you. M-O-U-S-E.”
Remember?
