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Best Disneyland Era
Aug. 7th, 2014 12:27 pmThere's an article over at Disney Dose asking what years of Disneyland were the "best" (best being subjective of course). Each era of Disneyland has it's own charm that should be appreciated individually, but as far as a "best" is concerned? Let's look at that.
THE FIFTIES - Go back and enjoy the original park as Walt did! Groundbreaking and revolutionary for it's time, sure, but looking back at the videos for the time and it's a bit underwhelming by today's standards. Would be fun and thrilling for the historical significance, but not much else.
THE SIXTIES - Now we're talkin'! Expansion, more theming, more attractions... but still a bit unpolished. Some confusing choices such as two different Autopia attractions, a Tomorrowland that's still finding it's theme, and most of Walt's creative energies are being focused on his new Florida park. Also, you don't get Pirates or Haunted Mansion till right near the end after Walt is dead, and I find that kind of depressing :(
THE SEVENTIES - Now THIS is where I think I land as being my personal "Best Disneyland". All the attractions are here and running, including the redefined "Bear Country" with The Country Bear Jamboree AND you can still catch Wally Boag strutting his stuff at the Golden Horseshoe Revue. But best of all, you've got dozens of folks within the Disney Company trying to prove that *they* are the ones who can live up to Walt's legacy. Also, the 1970's are where the corporation started viewing Disneyland as a revenue stream instead of a liability - board members are much more willing to spend time and money on something that they think will make them money :)
THE EIGHTIES - Such a mixed-bad decade for Disneyland! The complete refurbishment of Fantasyland, the corporate cross-overs with various national fast food companies, and the last additions that Tomorrowland would see till the late 1990's, there's a lot of cool stuff to see and do. Unfortunately, thanks to good old-fashioned 1980's Greed, this was also when Disneyland started getting *really expensive*. Oh, not by TODAY'S standards, but more expensive than it HAD been in the past.
THE NINETIES - Dark days indeed for Disneyland, as they struggled to do something for nothing that would generate tons of money. They added Splash Mountain and Toon Town and that's cool, but for the most part the 90's were all about seeing how little they could give you for your money and still get you to pay for it. YMMV, but this is the one era of Disneyland I wouldn't revisit by choice, despite the Disney Resurgence brought on by Little Mermaid and The Disney Afternoon. I love Toon Town dearly, but it's all so inorganic and plastic that it always reminds me of the stuff about the 90's that just really turn me off :(
THE TWO-THOUSANDS - My second-favorite Disney era, which I call "The Reclamation Of Disneyland". The two-thousands are full of good old-fashioned Disney Chance-Taking. "Let's put another park in the parking lot and call it California Adventure!" "Let's replace the Country Bear Jamboree with Winnie The Pooh!" "How about we make The Submarine Ride in to a Finding Nemo ride?" "Let's steam-punk Tomorrowland" (technically 1998, I know). Hit or miss, the two-thousands were full of changes in the parks and that's kind of exciting!
THE TWENTY-TENS (CURRENT DAY) - The reclamation continues, for better or worse. The "One Disney" mentality of merchandise ticks me off, sure, as I'd rather have a DISNEYLAND mug with a picture of DISNEYLAND on it than a "DISNEY PARKS" mug with the Disney World castle on it. Everything so far seems to be about PLANNING, not sure if anything new will actually *happen* during this era though. They promise lots of expansion for non-Disney stuff in the parks like Star Wars and Marvel Comics, but nothing *new*. I just don't know about the twenty-tens yet...
THE FIFTIES - Go back and enjoy the original park as Walt did! Groundbreaking and revolutionary for it's time, sure, but looking back at the videos for the time and it's a bit underwhelming by today's standards. Would be fun and thrilling for the historical significance, but not much else.
THE SIXTIES - Now we're talkin'! Expansion, more theming, more attractions... but still a bit unpolished. Some confusing choices such as two different Autopia attractions, a Tomorrowland that's still finding it's theme, and most of Walt's creative energies are being focused on his new Florida park. Also, you don't get Pirates or Haunted Mansion till right near the end after Walt is dead, and I find that kind of depressing :(
THE SEVENTIES - Now THIS is where I think I land as being my personal "Best Disneyland". All the attractions are here and running, including the redefined "Bear Country" with The Country Bear Jamboree AND you can still catch Wally Boag strutting his stuff at the Golden Horseshoe Revue. But best of all, you've got dozens of folks within the Disney Company trying to prove that *they* are the ones who can live up to Walt's legacy. Also, the 1970's are where the corporation started viewing Disneyland as a revenue stream instead of a liability - board members are much more willing to spend time and money on something that they think will make them money :)
THE EIGHTIES - Such a mixed-bad decade for Disneyland! The complete refurbishment of Fantasyland, the corporate cross-overs with various national fast food companies, and the last additions that Tomorrowland would see till the late 1990's, there's a lot of cool stuff to see and do. Unfortunately, thanks to good old-fashioned 1980's Greed, this was also when Disneyland started getting *really expensive*. Oh, not by TODAY'S standards, but more expensive than it HAD been in the past.
THE NINETIES - Dark days indeed for Disneyland, as they struggled to do something for nothing that would generate tons of money. They added Splash Mountain and Toon Town and that's cool, but for the most part the 90's were all about seeing how little they could give you for your money and still get you to pay for it. YMMV, but this is the one era of Disneyland I wouldn't revisit by choice, despite the Disney Resurgence brought on by Little Mermaid and The Disney Afternoon. I love Toon Town dearly, but it's all so inorganic and plastic that it always reminds me of the stuff about the 90's that just really turn me off :(
THE TWO-THOUSANDS - My second-favorite Disney era, which I call "The Reclamation Of Disneyland". The two-thousands are full of good old-fashioned Disney Chance-Taking. "Let's put another park in the parking lot and call it California Adventure!" "Let's replace the Country Bear Jamboree with Winnie The Pooh!" "How about we make The Submarine Ride in to a Finding Nemo ride?" "Let's steam-punk Tomorrowland" (technically 1998, I know). Hit or miss, the two-thousands were full of changes in the parks and that's kind of exciting!
THE TWENTY-TENS (CURRENT DAY) - The reclamation continues, for better or worse. The "One Disney" mentality of merchandise ticks me off, sure, as I'd rather have a DISNEYLAND mug with a picture of DISNEYLAND on it than a "DISNEY PARKS" mug with the Disney World castle on it. Everything so far seems to be about PLANNING, not sure if anything new will actually *happen* during this era though. They promise lots of expansion for non-Disney stuff in the parks like Star Wars and Marvel Comics, but nothing *new*. I just don't know about the twenty-tens yet...
