After watching some of those Defunctland videos, man Disney Quest would’ve blown my mind as a kid. This is really fascinating stuff. Theme parks are disgusting exploitative wastes of space that are somehow more sickening than golf parks, and also utterly bizzare and interesting.
EDIT: GOD this Disney’s America stuff! How awful that would have been!
I have been a fan of Jenny’s for a while and this video is like precisely everything she’s great at, her mind for little specific details and her delivery of those little details (like her segment on how the people working at the park have to stay in a sense of character that differs from anyone else at the park) are so illustrative. Weird decision by Disney to spend so much time and effort and money into making a theme park around a film that seems to have mostly died in public consciousness.
The fact that they followed through on the Avatar park and didn’t end up getting around to making a real-life MYST island frustrates me. Why couldn’t they have made that mistake and lost money while letting me and my little niche group of fans have fun in a pretend version of a work I liked instead of making a mistake and probably losing money while letting a different group of fans have fun in a pretend version of a work they liked? Life is unfair sometimes.
So I watched this video expecting another kind of abandoned video where these people break into Horizons while It’s closed to go exploring. What I didn’t expect was the adventure of two very close friends as they literally turn the ride into their own secret club house.
(NSFW at the 7:45 mark for nudity)
Defunctland’s seaons finale just went live and it’s about Hong Kong Disneyland and the end of Michael Eisner’s run as CEO of the Walt Disney Corporation.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens this week in Disneyland!
For anyone interested, the dedication ceremony is going to be streamed live tomorrow May 28, 2019 at 8:20pm PST here.
As expected the merch is incredibly expensive but I hear the $200 custom lightsabers are actually very nice quality, hefty collectibles. Are any of y’all planning a visit soon?
oh gosh, I forgot about Galaxy’s Edge. Honestly I’ve been super focused on the Phantom Manor reopening.
I’m not a Star Wars fan, but I’m curious of how that place looks. I’m sure my YouTube feed is going to be nothing but GE this week.
Also I feel like $200 for a custom high quality light saber sounds about right.
Dying to go to Galaxy’s Edge, excited to see how it all pans out with all the interactive stuff they have planned. But do they actually have y’know… rides?
any of y’all been to Lagoon in salt lake city? that was my absolute fav as a kid and I have such fond memories of that place. tried to go once as an adult and got rained out, but I’m dying to go back.
I’m pretty psyched for a big Disney World trip I’ve got planned with friends for next year, I haven’t been in something like 15 years (and only once, since my family preferred the coziness of Disney Land). I am going to buy the overpriced lightsaber.
I mainly blame Jenny for reminding me of how cool theme parks are.
The two rides at Galaxy’s Edge are Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Rise of the Resistance. Some more info here.
I’m primarily looking forward to Rise of the Resistance because I love me a dark ride and I’m incredibly interested in seeing the latest tech and animatronics. Unfortunately, Rise of the Resistance isn’t finished yet and won’t be opening along with the land this week but the initial reviews for Smmugler’s Run have been very positive.
Currently guests are limited to only 4 hours in the park and a reservation is required. Even with these measures the crowds will probably still be miserable. I’ve heard 3 hours just to create a light saber and 2 hours Smuggler’s Run.
Never heard of it but I’m gonna look it up! Always cool to hear about lesser known places!
Looked up a video on it and it looks like fun!
More concept art of the Ghibli theme park in Japan came out recently:
As I’m planning a trip to Japan in fall 2022, I’m really hoping I get to check it out.
In other Japanese theme park news, Tokyo Disneysea is getting an expansion, also opening in 2022.
As Star Wars is very hot on the forum right now I would be remiss not to mention that the big E ticket attraction for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Rise of the Resistance opens today in Disney World for media previews.
If you don’t mind spoilers, check out new promo images from the ride here.
Dark rides are my favorite so I’m really looking forward to this one. Give 
me animatronics ! They’re really hyping it up as the most advanced ride they’ve ever made so hopefully it lives up to it!
The robot designs here are so good.
Also, if anyone hasn’t take a look at what Disney is doing for Tokyo Disney with their upcoming Beauty and the Beast ride. It feels like someone at Disney cracked an animatronic code about two years ago and we are starting to see the fallout. That Belle robot can walk.
I just looked it up and wow, that’s incredible.
All this talk about realistic theme park animatronics has me thinking about that Simpsons episode set in Itchy & Scratchy land.
"Amusement park of the future where nothing can possiblay go wrong.
Possibly go wrong.
That’s the first thing that’s ever gone wrong."
The Kylo Ren animatronic in Rise of the Resistance is already broken lol
Was going through some videos and gosh, the Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary event at Disneyland back in August looked so cool. I’m a big fan of Disney putting actors into their rides during these special events.
Oh.
Oh no…
Given this is Star Wars I doubt management would let this be a Yeti-type situation, but oof.
EDIT: I thought that post read “19h,” not “19d.” I would guess that robot’s fixed by now LOL.
