Well isn’t that too bad. Wild West World has closed. That’s the theme park in Wichita. Took them all of two months to go bankrupt. Not the world’s greatest business, amusement parks. Being a roller coaster tycoon does apparently have its down side (and why Disney doesn’t sell its own god-game like RCT is beyond me).
Anyhow, the Disneysphere is filled with cheers these days for the demise of the wand over Spaceship Earth. (In times of debate drought I spend my time planning my next WDW trip, which according to my counter is in a mere 1766 days.) Given that this is the 25th Anniversary of EPCOT, there’s been a lot of discussion about what that park was, is, and should be, and I find much of it interesting. The first time we went was about ’84 or so, which means that it was in all its original splendor, with all the classic attractions open in their classic form. Horizons, World of Motion, Journey into the Imagination with Figment and Dreamfinder. The whole operation was very much the permanent world’s fair concept. In the Future World area the attractions were monumental. They lasted for a long time, with (usually) plenty of post-show doings to keep you occupied. Horizons, my favorite, was the equivalent of the Futurama type shows of NY in '39 where someone laid out the entire future for you to marvel at, at great length. The best vestige of this approach in the park is Spaceship Earth, which may or may not remain that sort of drivethrough wonder when its latest rehab is finished. Horizons itself was replaced by Mission: Space, which is a perfectly good ride but not much of a sense-of-wonder space exploration. Five minutes of jumps and jolts and you’re on your way; you get more awe visiting the local planetarium. The Land is about the same as it always was, with Soarin’ (fun) in place of talking food (silly). The World Showcase is really unchanged, in some cases still showing the same movies as 25 years ago. I think the only thing added after our first trip was Norway (but I may be imagining that). This is not to disparage the international side of things, which I like quite a bit. I’m just saying it’s what it’s always been, and as far as I can tell, it’s going to remain that way.
I have nothing much to say about all of this that isn’t being say quite eloquently by others. If you’re interested in the geeky side of Disney, look into the following: 2719hyperion.blogspot.com, which is one of my real favorites, www.thedisneyblog.com, a good general site, disneyandmore.blogspot.com, for more exotic Disneyana, passport2dreams.blogspot.com and imagineerebirth.blogspot.com. If you enjoy the subject on that geeky, non-pomo level, these will be very entertaining for you.
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