The best of times...

[captain_slinky]

First the background story about this question:

Been reading a lot about DisneyLand recently, and (depending on what you read out there) it seems that TODAY'S DisneyLand is a pale shadow of what it once was. But when you read the accounts of Opening Day and all the over-crowding and soft streets and unfinished atractions... I don't think back THEN was a very optimal time to visit the park either! Therefore, the absolute BEST time to visit DisneyLand was some time during the past 51 years... but which year?

And that brings us to my question. What year do you think DisneyLand was THE ULTIMATE DISNEYLAND? When was it the absolute best that Disney had ever been?

My personal belief as of right now is 1970, shortly after The Haunted Mansion had opened. As far as I can tell it was the first "Big Thing" they did after Walt's death, and it seems like they almost had something to prove by doing it. They were trying EXTRA hard then.

But of course my opinion may be swayed at any given moment :)

Comments

[supernovame.livejournal.com]

speaking as someone who went to disneyland every year between roughly 1976-1984, i think that my personal favorite years were sometime between 1976-1980. Before the indiana jones ride, just before the log ride. while tom sawyers island was still cool, all the rides worked, and the mission to mars was still futuristic. Also after I was old enough to go on all the rollercoasters. Also before the lines had hour wait times. When I first started going, you could run through most of the lines and only the river boat ride was long enough to be boring, but usually there were enough cool waiting line distractions to not make it too bad.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good time, just before the Eisener Years when the park became just another commercial :)

[collisions.livejournal.com]

Off the cuff, I think the ultimate year to go to Disneyland is when you're eight years old. Whatever calendar year it happens to be at that point. IMO, a person's experience at the park is more about the person than the park itself, and eight is just that right time.

On a side note, the park has changed and has certainly become more commercial, but I think Disney's Parks & Resorts guys (an org that I have NO insight into, so this is just opinion) are doing it in response to the same overall trend in society. Kids respond to more commercial themes these days. You can hardly buy a damn thing for kids anymore that isn't branded with something. Riley's diapers have random cartoon characters on them (Huggies are into Pooh & Eeyore at the moment). There are NO kids toothbrushes that don't feature some cartoon/merchandising tie-in--the infant ones are Baby Einstein, the ones for older kids sport Batman/Hulk/Faeries/etc. People complain about how the park features more and more current character/movie/show/blah tie-ins, but when your kids' shoes, underwear, hats, drink cups, cereal, backpacks, bedsheets, pencils, notebooks, and freaking DIAPERS are all festooned with some character or other, how else do you engage the average kid?

[bghsmith.livejournal.com]

It would have to be pre Paul Pressler. He's the one that let all of the classic rides go all to hell by cutting the maintenance budget on them. Where is that link about all the pre-show films that were all faded, but couldn't be replaced because the technology was so outdated? I know I had it somewhere...

[zannah.livejournal.com]

I've been to Disneyland in 1985, 1988, and then every year from 1997-2005 except 2002.

My personal favourite was 2005. Fast Passes, Indiana Jones, refurb'd Space Mountain, Downtown Disney, Tower of Terror, etc.

I was never a huge fan of the People Mover, the Rocket Rods (fun ride, but only if you didn't have to wait in line!), or the sub ride.

On the other hand, I do miss Captain EO. :(