News

• The first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party event has sold out. Not surprisingly, it’s for Halloween.  The next one to sell out is usually the first event, which is August 11, or, you know, 32 days from today.  

• Not really news, but more of a rumor.  Jim, I’ve mentioned a couple of times on the show that we’re doing some old-fashioned queuing theory work in the parks - counting how many people are in the big “rope drop” groups, how many people arrive per minute after opening, and things like that.  
  
  We noticed something interesting in Lightning Lane use - that the number of guests using the Lightning Lane at certain attractions was much, much higher than the highest “Genie+ usage” number ever reported by Disney.  And that’s true even if we don’t count all of the guests using VIP tours, which is actually a really small number, relatively speaking.
  
  In asking around, I’m hearing that Disney has seen a dramatic rise in the number of guests using the DAS service to access Lightning Lane at rides.  I’m told that for some attractions, the number of guests using DAS is at an all-time high.  And as an example, I’ve been told by CMs who worked at Toy Story Mania around 2010 that as many as 4 out of 5 guests using the Fastpass+ line there, were using DAS.
  
  Now, there are perfectly legitimate explanations for why this is happening. Disney does a great job these days of advertising the fact that DAS exists.  So it could be that more people who need to know about it, are learning about it.  Also, because you can schedule your interview in advance, people who need the service might find it easier to sign up.  All valid reasons to use Genie+.
  
  Also, the CDC says that around 1 in 4 Americans has some sort of disability.  If I had to make an assumption one way or the other, my assumption would be that the tens of thousands of people in a Disney park each day probably reflect that same 1-in-4 ratio.  Because two large samples from the same population should, in theory, show the same characteristics.
  
  And the thing that I forgot when I first started looking at this, is that few people visit Walt Disney World alone. So if you’re one of those 1-in-4 people and you’ve got two family members who want to ride with you, that could explain the high DAS use at popular attractions.
  
  Still, what I’m hearing is that Disney’s taking a close look at how DAS is being used in the parks.  

Surveys

Many listeners, including Amy and John, sent in a Disney survey posted to Facebook that asked how you feel about potential upcoming changes to Genie+ that would … and here’s a radical idea, Jim … make it a paid version of FastPass+.  Who’da thought, right?

Here’s the first part of the survey that was captured.  And for clarity, I’m probably going to read most of it, because it explains the rules around which FastPasses you can get and how.

And

Listener Questions

A quick correction, Jim. On last week’s show I mentioned that the Mickey-shaped pond near the old WDW Speedway was still there, using Google Maps as a reference.  And when I got up early Monday morning after the show was released, I already had texts of aerial images from our friend Bioreconstruct showing that the pond was no longer there.  You know, Jim, I didn’t know I needed a friend with a helicopter until I met Bio.  And now I don’t know how we’d live without him.

From Phyllis DeMaio:

I was listening to the 6/12 podcast recently and I was surprised to hear you mention the 4th of July parade in Travis on Staten Island. I was born and raised on SI and attended that parade multiple times. My Dad was asked to drive his antique cars in the parade. As a child, I can remember dressing up in antique clothes and riding in the car with my family. Here is some trivia: there is a house in Travis that was used in Splendor in the Grass, with Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty.

From Annie:

I've been thoroughly enjoying the last two episodes about the Walt Disney World Speedway. In 2006, I watched rookie Marco Andretti lose by .06 seconds to Sam Hornish Jr. in the Indianapolis 500, and from them on I was completely hooked on Indycar racing. So much so that for my 18th birthday in 2009, my parents surprised me with the two-seater experience at the Disney Speedway.

My Indy Driving Experience was the one where you sat in a modified Indycar with the passenger sitting directly behind the driver. On my day, it was Davey Hamilton. [3 top-10 finishes at Indy - Len]

While we waited for the solo drivers to complete their laps, I was over on the wall talking to the crew and Davey about current drivers and how the season was going. When it was time to decide who got to go first in the two-seater, I don't think any of the others thought there was even a chance they could go in front of me. This meant I got to do 2 warmup laps (during which I learned that the swerving to warm up the tires is actually a lot more abrupt in the car), and then 3 laps at that top speed of 180mph.

As we accelerated out of turn 4 and started towards that speed, it took everything in me not to hold my arms up and scream for joy. It was (and still is) the best feeling I've ever had. My mother, on the other hand, said she was fine until we sped up and she suddenly realized that it was her only child in that small metal shell now hurtling around the racetrack.

Upon completion, I immediately leapt out of the car and started hugging anyone who was nearby and exclaiming how amazing it was. I'm not saying my voice may have gone up a couple of octaves, but one of the crew members quipped "I didn't know we gave Mickey Mouse a ride."

I've attached some pictures from my experience. Thanks for letting me relive the 3rd best day of my life - 1st being the birth of my daughter, and the 2nd being my wedding day.

While I never got to go to an actual race there, I was still sad to see it go. I have been lucky enough to attend the Indy 500 twice now though, so it's a pretty fair trade.

Research/Patents (use query "disney enterprises".as AND "theme park".ab)

Toy Story Midway Mania Feature Story
Part One

If we’re tracking the history of “Toy Story Midway Mania” (how that attraction wound up in California Adventure, Disney’s Hollywood Studios & Tokyo DisneySea), we actually have to start our story with an earlier “Toy Story” -themed interactive attraction. Which is Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster.

The one we’re talking about (there are several Astro Blasters around the globe: One in Anaheim. One in Tokyo. There used to be one in Hong Kong. But that Astro Blaster closed in August of 2017 to make way for that theme park’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle!” attraction) … The version of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster that concerns us today is the one that opened at Disneyland Park on March 27, 2005. Just ahead of that theme park’s 50th anniversary.

This ride-thru shooter basically got shoe-horned into Disneyland’s old “CircleVision 360” theater. Visitors to that park didn’t care, though. They loved “Buzz Light Astro Blaster” right from the start. Which did not go unnoticed by Matt Ouimet, who was President of the Disneyland Resort at that time.

Okay. On a parallel track, we have Kevin Rafferty & Rob’t Coltrin. Who are the Imagineers who are riding herd on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage project. That resurrection of Disneyland’s Subs (which had been closed back in September of 1998) was slowly chugging along at this point (Just a reminder: It’s still the Summer of 2005 at this point in our story. And that Finding Nemo-themed revival of Disneyland’s Subs wouldn’t re-open ‘til two years later. On June 11, 2007, to be exact).

Anyway … Because of all the work that Rafferty & Coltrin have being doing onsite at Disneyland out ahead of the start of construction on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Ouimet is aware of who these two guys are. As Kevin recounts in his excellent memoir, “Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career,” he & Rob’t are walking through the halls of 1401 Flower Street one day in the Summer of 2005 when they bump into Matt. And Ouimet says:

“You two … are just the two I’m looking for,” Matt then goes on to say that he likes the interactive game aspect of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and was hoping we could come up with another family-friendly attraction. But this one would need to be built over at Disney California Adventure.

It’s at this point in this book that Rafferty says that …

There’s one thing that I’ve learned over the years and it’s that ideas have a better chance of being approved, designed, and built when it satisfies a need or a want from a park operator. And here was the President of Disneyland personally asking Kevin & Rob’t for a new game attraction. So game on!

Now what’s not common knowledge at this point in Disney Company history is that – behind-the-scenes in 2005 – the Imagineers are already taking a hard look at California Adventure. The Disneyland Resort’s second gate had been open for 4-plus years at this point (It initially opened on February 8, 2001) and had just not connected yet with the theme park-going public. Which is why WDI was now in the process of developing an extreme makeover of California Adventure. One that would eventually make this troubled theme park much more like the one on the other side of the Esplanade. Which is / was – of course – Disneyland Park.

Mind you, one of the key components of DCA’s extreme makeover was that the Imagineers were looking to cram as many Disney & Pixar characters into the place as possible. And given that Matt Ouimet had just asked Kevin Rafferty & Rob’t Coltrin to develop a new family-friendly game attraction … Well, this was one of those you-got-peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate-moments. And as Kevin & Rob’t began developing this idea, they decided to build this family-friendly game attraction around the company’s most famous character.

Here's a direct quote from Kevin’s book:

The first place we went story-wise was the notion of having Mickey Mouse and his pals working the game booths at Paradise Pier. We even came up with a name for this family-friendly game attraction: Mickey’s Midway Mania!

And given that Paradise Pier was about to get a big Mickey-related face lift (Remember how DCA’s Sun Wheel became Mickey’s Fun Wheel?), this seemed like a smart way to go. But then – on January 25, 2006 – The Walt Disney Company announced that it would be acquiring Pixar Animation Studios for $7.4 billion.

And at that exact moment, Disney’s corporate agenda changed. Given that the Company had just committed $7.4 billion to bringing Pixar in-house, word came down from on high in Burbank that the Imagineers should now look for as many ways as possible to bring the characters & the stories told in the Pixar films into the Disney Parks.

And given that Kevin & Rob’t were very skilled when it came to reading the corporate tea leaves, they were like “ … Did we say ‘Mickey’s Midway Mania’ ? Our mistake. What we actually meant to say was ‘Toy Story Midway Mania.’ “

This decision has always rubbed some Disney theme park fans the wrong way. They insist that following “Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters” with “Toy Story Midway Mania” is like following a cheeseburger with a cheeseburger. And wasn’t it Walt who once said that “You can’t top pigs with pigs” ?

Well, there’s the Disney Studios that Walt himself ran back in the 1930s and then there’s the multi-national vertically integrated corporation that exists today. And given that – on average – McDonald’s sells 2.5 billion cheeseburgers every year … Well, is it any wonder that Pixar is currently in the process of developing “Toy Story 5” (That project was officially announced back in February of this year. No info was shared at that time about a possible release date).

Back to “Toy Story Midway Mania” now … So – again – Matt Ouimet had told Kevin Rafferty & Rob’t Coltrin that he wanted another “Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster” -like family-friendly game-based attraction. And that clone of WDW’s “Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin” had been crammed into Disneyland’s old “CircleVision 360” show building with nary an inch to spare.

And given that they knew that the show building which would have to be built to house “Toy Story Midway Mania” was going to have to be as big – if not bigger – than the one that housed “Astro Blasters” over at Disneyland … Well, this is why Rafferty & Coltrin (I’m again quoting from “Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career”) …

… took a trip to Paradise Pier to scout out an exact location for this new attraction.

“I don’t see how a ride can possibly fit here,” I sadly said to Rob’t. As we stood in front of the long, straight span of coaster track for California Screamin’ that towers above and directly behind DCA’s game booths and we then visually measured the distance between the edge of that coaster track and the edge of the water in Paradise Bay.

Quick pause here: Want to acknowledge that the original plan (at least when it comes to the West Coast version of “Toy Story Midway Mania”) was to pull down all of those “Games of the Boardwalk” booths and then – starting at the very edge of the California Screamin’ coaster track – build the show building which was supposed to house this family-friendly game-based attraction so that it would then jut out into Paradise Pier. Maybe even come right up to the edge of Paradise Bay.

Rob’t had another idea when it came to where the “Toy Story Midway Mania” could be placed at California Adventure. Continuing with the quotes now:

“Here’s what we’ll do, Kev,” he reassured me. “We blow right through the coaster.”

Rafferty’s response was “… We blow right through the coaster as in … blow right through … the coaster?”

Coltrin continued. “It’ll be okay. We’ll cut a hole through the coaster structure and enter the ride from this side and we’ll put the ride building on the other side.”

“I’m not gonna suggest that to upper management,” Rafferty replied.

To which Rob’t replied, “Yes, you are. And management’s gonna go for this idea because we’ll leave Screamin’ open while we build under it and through it.”

Now never mind that there were also sorts of key coaster structural support beams – plus a big electrical sub-station that was crucial to powering this side of the Park – all in the way of the route that Rob’t Coltrin was proposing for “Toy Story Midway Mania” ‘s ride path. If Matt Ouimet wanted a new interactive game-based ride for DCA (and they could actually keep California Screamin’ open while the West Coast version of “Toy Story Midway Mania” was being built … management should go for this idea.

On the East Coast, it was a very different situation. Where once the walking tour portion of Disney-MGM Studios’ backstage tour stood, now there were two empty soundstages and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It!” Which had opened in Florida on April 1, 2001 and – by the time the Pixar acquisition deal was announced in January of 2006 – was basically running on fumes.

And when they heard the order come down from on high about how the Disney Parks were now supposed to find ways to cram in all sorts of Pixar-related stuff, Disney’s Hollywood Studios took that ball and ran with it. What they proposed is taking all of Mickey Avenue and turning it into Pixar Place. This would involve first shutting down Florida’s version of “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire – Play It!” They’d then blow out the wall that separated the soundstage that housed “Millionaire” from the soundstage next door to then create a massive show building to house the East Coast version of “Toy Story Midway Mania.”

And as for Mickey Avenue … It would receive a makeover as well. Taking its inspiration directly from the Pixar campus up in Emeryville (And I mean directly. The hue of the bricks that were used to cover the exteriors of those three soundstages that face onto Mickey Avenue now perfect match the color of the bricks that were used to build the Steve Jobs building at Pixar Studios). And this part of Disney’s Hollywood Studios would then be renamed Pixar Place.

Want to stress here the challenges that WDI was facing:

• Building a brand new show building for the West Coast version of “Toy Story Midway Mania” underneath a roller coaster that had to stay in operation the full time this family-friendly game-based attraction was being built.
  
• Whereas on the East Coast … Yes, “Toy Story Midway Mania” was going into a pre-existing building. But the area right outside was also going to be transformed into an area that paid tribute to Pixar’s campus up in Emeryville. And did I mention that Mickey Avenue was right in the middle of Disney’s Hollywood Studios?

The plans for “Toy Story Midway Mania” were shown to upper management on both coasts. The folks in Florida were so excited by this idea they closed “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It!” on August 19, 2006. Six weeks before the start of Disney’s new fiscal year / four months before this project was first officially announced to the public.

Speaking of which … On December 15, 2006, the Company revealed that “Toy Story Midway Mania” was on its way. Last time the Company had done something like this was back in 1975, with the bicoastal launch of “America on Parade” at both Disneyland Park and at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

Each version of “Toy Story Midway Mania” would cost upwards of $80 million to build. And – if everything went according to plan – both versions of this family-friendly game-based attraction would open at Disney California Adventure AND Disney’s Hollywood Studios within two weeks of one another in the late Spring / early Summer of 2008).

Did everything actually go according to plan? That – we’ll reveal – next week, in the second and final installment of this series.