News

Fireworks returning July 1

• Every show should begin with a round of self-congratulations.  On last Monday’s show we said fireworks would return in July, but without special stuff for July 4.  And then on Tuesday Disney announced that fireworks would return July 1 to both EPCOT and Magic Kingdom.

• No special July 4 fireworks
• JetSki substitutions at Epcot Forever
• This means Harmonious should start on October 1
  

Tons of park availability dropped in July

Magic Kingdom park hours extended for July

Other operational changes:

• Plexiglass has started to come down on ride vehicles (e.g., Monorail, Jungle Cruise, Soarin’)
• Rides are being filled (so no empty rows) and on popular rides you may be seated with others
• Runaway Railway pre-show has returned (this is likely to take pressure off the queue)
• Haunted Mansion stretching room was not back as of Wednesday

Eight Boo Bash dates already sold out, and Disney has added more:

• Sold out: August 10, October 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 29 and 31.
• Dates added: September 5, 12, 19 and October 10, 17 2021

Re-Openings

• Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House opens August 26

• Disney hasn’t officially said whether dining is back, but dining will be back.

• Maya Grill this Thursday, June 24
  

And that makes the Disney Comeback Index, from our friend Matt, at 55.57% as of today.  Matt says that we’ll get a big bump in that index once these things officially re-open in July, too.

Surveys

Listener Questions

• From Lauren:

I’m taking my one and a half year old daughter to Disney World for the first time in July. She’s an early riser so we plan to arrive at the parks 30 minutes before the official opening. Are there certain rides that run prior to opening? Or are the rides operating before the official opening time unpredictable?

Thank you for the incredible content each week!

Len says: It’s somewhat unpredictable, but some rides are more likely than others.

For Magic Kingdom:

• 7DMT is the most likely ride. If you head there and it’s not running, something else that’s high-priority in FL will be, like Pan.
• Maybe Buzz in Tomorrowland.
• Maybe Jungle Cruise or Pirates, but nothing in Liberty Square, Frontierland, or Adventureland is guaranteed.

For EPCOT:

• Soarin’ and Spaceship Earth. Check with a CM to see if Test Track and Frozen are running - they’re unreliable.

For Studios:

• Slinky is unreliable. Try Runaway Railway, maybe Tower or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

At Animal Kingdom

• Flight of Passage but *not* Na’Vi.

• From Mark:

With the discussion of ride efficiency and capacity it got me thinking about how efficient the rides actually are.

For example, if we say a Pirates is 100% efficient when each seat in every boat is taken, and the boat leaves bang on the dispatch time, what do the rides usually run at... 90%? 80%? 70%? Always been curious how this is related to capacity too. If Space has a capacity of 1800 guests per hour, realistically how many does it actually churn through.

And as a follow up question, why do Single Rider queues exist. I love them, and use them alot. But except for making that one rider happy each time, surely its an added expense and complication for Disney to make those extra...30/40 guests happy each hour.

Len says:

There are two capacity numbers: The “Theoretical Hourly Capacity” - in Mark’s example, that’s the scenario where every seat is filled and the ride leaves bang on the dispatch time.  Then there’s the “Operational Hourly Capacity” - what happens in the real world, when guests take a little longer to get into a ride vehicle, or your game of ride vehicle Tetris results in some seats not being filled.

We know a ride like Space Mountain can hit at least 1,827 riders per hour, because we’ve counted that many people exiting the ride in an hour.  So Space Mountain’s operational capacity is at least that.  What’s its theoretical capacity?  Probably somewhere between 1,900 and 2,000 guests per hour.

Most rides tend to operate at 90% or more of their theoretical capacity, when they’re running well.  The rides that don’t hit this on a day-in, day-out basis are the rides that break down a lot: Frozen Ever After, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Rise of the Resistance.

Single-rider lines probably add a couple percent on to ride capacity - again, it’s that passenger Tetris thing. On big rides like Expedition Everest, if it’s one guest per minute (and it’s probably closer to 2), that’s a 4% boost in capacity. And for a theme park operator like Disney, who’s trying to squeeze every minute out of wait times, that’s huge.

• From Chad:

I've heard on your Disney Dish podcast & other places about people showing up & getting offered upgrades to other resorts. Does using "Direct-to-Room" prevent this from happening?  In the hopes of this being an option, should I check in at the front desk?

I think it does.

Talk about “walking”

• From Ted:

I love the Disney Dish — especially when you talk Disneyland logistics because it’s my home park. The family and I visited Disneyland and California Adventure last week and loved Avengers Campus but it’s definitely missing that big E-Ticket ride. Do you or Jim have any updates on the big Avengers Quinjet ride?

• From Jeremy:
  

For no other reason than I was thinking about with our fam, I'm interested to know your thoughts about the possibility of AP's going away here at WDW.

• From Alex:

Jim and Len, What percent of royalties would you like if I start selling t shirts that say “ That’s it exactly Len!!!” ?

Disney patents

Toy Story Midway Mania series

Part Two of Three

WHERE WE LAST LEFT OFF:

The Imagineers response was “Well, the ride-thru shooting gallery we have in the works for DCA’s Paradise Pier area will be different.

    • It won’t be a clone of a pre-existing Disney World attraction (“Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin” opened at WDW’s Magic Kingdom some 7 years earlier. November of 1998, to be exact).

    • Our ride-thru shooting gallery won’t have ray guns with triggers. Ours will be completely different. We’ll have cannons with pull strings. CANNONS.

    • More importantly, our ride will be built around the Company’s biggest star: Mickey Mouse.

Toy Story Midway Mania Feature Piece

Part Two of (now) four installment

Okay. When we left off last week, we were talking about how the Imagineers -- as they were getting ready to enhance Paradise Pier (now Pixar Pier) back in October of 2007, they were looking to add a ride-thru shooting gallery to that portion of Disney California Adventure that would have been built around Mickey Mouse.

You have to remember that -- since Disneyland first opened back in July of 1955 -- the general public have been clamoring for some sort of ride, show & attraction built around Mickey Mouse.

Mind you, we finally got one (some 65 years later) with the opening of “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Which threw open its doors on March 4, 2020. Just eleven days before the whole Walt Disney World Resort closed down due to COVID-19.

Did you see where -- just two days ago -- they reinstated the pre-show portion of “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway”? Where Goofy first blows a hole in the screen and Guests -- as they head for the load area of this attraction -- actually get to enter the cartoon world by walking through that screen?

Back to July of 1955 now … Well, if we’re being completely honest here, it wasn’t until the Fall of that same year that Disneyland began to have a Mickey Mouse problem. Starting on October 3, 1955, “The Mickey Mouse Club” began airing on ABC five days a week, Monday through Friday. This was initially a hour-long program (“The Mickey Mouse Club” wasn’t cut back ‘til the half hour-long length we know today ‘til the start of its third season on ABC. Which began on September 30, 1957).

Anyway … By the Fall of 1955, Guests were arriving at Disneyland Park and asking the Cast Members who worked there “Where’s Mickey?” And you have to understand that -- back then -- Disneyland didn’t have a Mickey Mouse costume to put a Cast Member in. In that “Dateline Disneyland’ special that aired on ABC back in July of that same year (You know? That 90 minute-long TV special which showed Mickey, Minnie & the gang parading down Main Street, U.S.A. as part of that live broadcast?), the costumes that had appeared on camera had been borrowed from Ice Capades. Which was this touring ice skating show produced by John H. Harris.

Back in 1949, the Ice Capades had entered into a multi-year agreement with Walt Disney Productions. The idea here was -- with each new production of the Ice Capades (Harris sent a new version of this touring ice show out on the road annually) -- there’d be a lengthy segment in each new show that was Disney themed.

This started out in the 1950 edition of Ice Capades. Which included a “Walt Disney Toy Shop” sequence. Where performers dressed as Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pinocchio, Dumbo & Pluto (Those last two characters were turned into two person costumes. With one skater up front manipulating the front legs of this suit and another skater to the back moving the back legs of this character costume) would perform as part of that year’s show.

This idea began to evolve with each new edition of the Ice Capades. By the Ice Capades of 1952, this 20 minute-long Disney-themed segment now celebrated a single film. In this case, it was “Cinderella,” which had been released to theaters in March of 1950.

Anyway … Getting back to Disneyland’s Mickey Mouse problem now. Walt had been able to call John H. Harris back in the Summer of 1955 and borrow all of Ice Capades Disney character costumes for that live TV special which would air on ABC. But by the Fall of that same year, this just wasn’t an option anymore. That year’s edition of the Ice Capades was back on the road at that point. And that touring ice show needed all of these Disney character costumes for its nightly performances.

Money was still tight at this time (Remember that -- during the late Summer of 1955 -- Southern California had experienced record high temperatures. And as a direct result, attendance levels at Disneyland Park in late August / early September had temporarily fallen through the floor). So Walt didn’t have a lot of available capital to work with when it came to appeasing all of those “Mickey Mouse Club” fans who were showing up in Anaheim and then demanding an audience with Mickey.

One idea that was floated at that time was to take the then-still-under-construction Tom Sawyer Island (which wouldn’t open to the public ‘til June 16, 1956) into Mickey & Minnie Mouse Island.

This idea actually dated back to the April 1954 description of Disneyland Park that Nat Winecoff (who was the original General Manager & Vice President of Disneyland, Inc) … Anyway, at Walt’s insistence, Nate wrote this 12-page document which went land by land through this yet-to-be-built family fun park.

The following description can be found on Page 11 of “The Disneyland Story.” And what I’m reading here is a direct quote from what Mr. Winecoff wrote back on April 20, 1954.

I want to apologize in advance here. Because -- in the upcoming section of today’s show -- there’ll be some language that will understandably upset quite a few folks. To be specific, a racially offensive word. But this word is part of the description that Nat Winecoff wrote back in 1954. You can check out a scan of this document by going over to craphound.com. Which -- as Len pointed out as we were pre-gaming today’s show -- is Cory Doctorow’s website.

Okay. So let’s get started with this section of the Disneyland Story. Which begins with Nat’s description of the …

… Old Paddle Wheel River Boat. This boat will be 90 feet long and will carry approximately 125 passengers. Here you can take a trip on the Rivers of America. And as you start up the river, you will see a point of interest on the embankment of each bend. One setting could be Mount Vernon, another New Orleans or Natches or a cotton plantation with Uncle Remus and some darkies singing.

This will be a river boat ride to be remembered as not only will you have an enjoyable trip but it will also be historically correct.

You will notice an island in the river. This will be the Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Island, the headquarters for all members of the Mickey and Minnie Mouse Club, an international organization.

When a member arrives at Disneyland, they must find their way to the tree house that will be established on the island. The only way to get there is through an old Tom Sawyer tunnel under the river which will bring them into the trunk of the tree. After they have registered, they can then look through the limbs of the tree. These limbs are telescopes & periscopes and can see all over Disneyland.

Just want to stress here that it was Nat Winecoff who wrote this description. Not Walt. And Nat died ‘way back in January of 1983. So -- at this point -- it’s hard to get any additional info about that “ … a cotton plantation with Uncle Remus and some darkies singing” section of this description.

Also want to stress here that the plans of Disneyland were very dynamic back in 1954. How do I know this? Well, let me now share a similar section from the official Disneyland Prospectus. Which Len dug up earlier this morning. Which also features a description of the Old Paddle Wheel River Boat ride.

Mind you, this version of a description of that Frontierland attraction was written on September 3, 1954. Some four and a half months after the version that Nate Winecoff wrote. Listen carefully for the key differences.

At the end of Frontier Land, you will find Paul Bunyan’s longest little bar with the tallest glass of root beer. At this point, you can walk over to the Pier and get on the 105 foot Paddle Wheel River Boat, which can carry approximately 300 passengers. This will be a trip that will be well remembered, as you will be taking a ride on the Rivers of America. You will be able to identify the river you are on by the historical point of interest which will be on the embankment, in scale. As you leave FrontierLand, you may see Mount Vernon on the first bend of the river. The next one could be New Orleans, Natchez, Mobile, or any other place of interest that is well known as a historical river landmark.

Okay. So just to review here. In four & a half months’ time, the length of the Mark Twain riverboat was changed from 90 feet to 105 feet. This Frontierland attraction’s ride capacity jumped from 125 passengers per trip to 300 passengers per trip. And all mention of seeing an cotton plantation along the banks of the Rivers of America from which Uncle Remus and some darkies (Again, I apologize for using that racially offensive language) could be heard singing.

You’ll also note that any mention of Mickey & Minnie Mouse Island was also removed. I’m told that this idea stayed on the books ‘til the Fall of 1955. At that point, after a few months of operating Disneyland Park, Walt realized …

Well, in order to build that secret Tom Sawyer tunnel under the Rivers of America which would then allow Mickey Mouse Club members to secretly enter that tree house … Construction of that admittedly cool sounding feature would have then involved first draining the Rivers of America, then digging the actual tunnel under the riverbed, and finally doing weeks of tests to guarantee that this new underground passageway over to Mickey & Minnie Mouse Island had a water-tight seal.

And at a time where Disneyland Park was struggling with its hourly ride capacity, taking the Mark Twain Riverboat offline for months at a time (And we were just talking on a recent “Disney Dish” about how the Mark Twain -- back in 1955 -- had the second highest ride capacity at Disneyland Park, 1500 Guests per hour) wasn’t an option.

Me personally, I wish that they’d gone ahead with the construction of Paul Bunyan’s longest little bar. But in a way, they did. How many of you remember the Mile Long Bar? There was one at Walt Disney World at the exit of “The Country Bear Jamboree” which operated from October of 1971 through January of 1998. And there was one at Disneyland Park, which operated in the Bear Country section of that theme park from March of 1972 through 2002 (That one got renamed the B’rer Bar in 1989).

The mirror illusion that made the Mile Long Bar work had originally been developed for Paul Bunyan’s biggest little bar back in 1954. Took two decades. But no good idea ever dies at WDI.

Little side note here: Back in 1973, right after Bear Country first opened at Disneyland Park, the Imagineers wanted to continue to expand that theme park out along the banks of the Rivers of America. What they proposed was building a new “land” that would fit perfectly in the thick forest that could be seen just beyond the Country Bear Playhouse.

This area was to be known as the “Land of Legend.” Which was supposed to celebrate American folklore. Now I bring this up because … Well, one of the featured attractions of this new land at Disneyland Park was supposed to be the Paul Bunyan Buffeteria. With the idea here being that every meal that this restaurant served would have over-sized portions.

So the Paul Bunyan Buffeteria would serve up enormous orders of pancakes & omelettes that families could then spilt between them because the chefs there were used to cooking for Paul and didn’t know how to make anything small.

I bring up the oversized food thing because … Well, Pym’s Test Kitchen just opened at the Avengers Campus in Anaheim. And the whole creative concept that drives this now hugely popular new Disney California Adventure eatery dates back to Paul Bunyan’s Buffeteria. Which -- again -- was supposed to be part of the “Land of Legends,” an expansion of Disneyland Park that was proposed back in 1973 that was supposed to celebrate American folklore.

No good idea ever really dies at WDI. It just sometimes takes decades for the right IP to appear.

But back in the Fall of 1955, Walt didn’t have decades to placate those rabid Mickey Mouse Club fans. They wanted face time with their favorite mouse right then & there.

So what did Walt do? And how does that eventually get us to Toy Story Midway Mania? Come back next week for the next installment of this new Disney Dish series.