BIG Changes at Disneyland, Inspired by Pirates' Success Options

[Anar]

What I am really excited about is the possibility that the movie premiere will NOT be in Disneyland, thereby making it more accessible to the masses like us, who don't want to pay admission to Disneyland in order to go to the premiere.

aliza I had never thought of it that way! I had wished our premiere would have involved as many Ka-Bloomies as the London one did. I would be thrilled to meet more people, and that would be great to not have to pay to go to the premiere. Then I could meet more of you.

However, with the hundreds of people we saw at Disneyland, who paid to be there, I can not imagine the group we would have somewhere else. It will be a giant movie, with just as many Johnny Depp fans, and Kiera's too. The thought of that crowd scares me to death. On the other hand, our London Ka-Bloomies handled it beautifully. I can only hope that no matter where it is, it is a great experience for all.

Anar

[aliza]

I can only hope that no matter where it is, it is a great experience for all.

Anar

We are sharing a brain, my dear.

Aliza

[Sherwood]

Well I've never been to California and thus Disneyland, but I have been to Disney World many times and I wonder what this means to our Tom Sawyer Island. It definitely has seemed a little outdated and lonely out there for some time, I'm glad they are trying to revive that area, but in Disney World Pirates is a part of Adventureland and is no where near the island.

I also wonder what this means for Magic Kingdom's Tom Sawyer Island. It has long needed a revamp as well. You should have seen it after the hurricanes came through a couple of years ago. What a mess! I would hate to see it go, though, because it is the one place you can go for a respite from the crowds and Aunt Polly makes one outrageous brownie sundae.

There is also the problem of logistics since MK's island is a "land" away from the POTC ride, not to mention space constraints. I am even wondering if they will bother to put Will and Elizabeth into the ride itself.

I am holding out that the rumor about MGM's Backlot Tour might take effect sooner or later. The water FX segment based upon Pearl Harbor is way outdated and based upon a bomb that hardly anyone realizes was a Disney film.

Maybe Disney feels we have enough of our own pirate history out here and that they don't want Captain Jack to compete with the real thing. In any case, I feel like I have to get myself out to Disneyland once it's all said and done.

[Lovely Pride]

There's a lot to be said for both sides of the Sawyer vs. Pirates debate. I can understand how people who have grown up thinking of Tom Sawyer as a part of Disneyland it's hard to let go of something connected with such strong childhood memories.

I didn't post this right away yesterday because I didn't want to offend anyone but I really feel the need to say this. For people who love literature and have never been to Disneyland, it's just one more bastardization of a classic novel that will be lost and mercifully forgotten. The Disney version of Tom Sawyer was sadly watered down and too busy trying to be popular to capture the feeling and message of that book. Personally, I feel like this is just proof that all great literature endures while the bad knock-offs based on those works are eventually forgotten.

[sagebutterspanky]

And when I was on vacation in New England a few years back, I visited his home in Hartford, Connecticut; a beautiful old Victorian, lovingly restored.

Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were required reading when I was in school. Things have changed.

Totally off subject but yes, MT's Hartford residence is wonderful. I especially love his "step outside" balcony. The balcony was his amusing way of not lying when MT told his staff "he was not in to receive visitors."

The casual attitude toward classic books bothers me. The ride, hey, it's merely a ride, no big deal. Yet the corporate mentality regarding the books, well, is crass. Ha, and I should be surprised?

Spanky

[Anar]

I found the following at Miceage.com. It is an article written by AL Lutz on January 9, 2007. You can read all that he has to say here.

Booty Delay

Speaking of timing, the other big project coming to Disneyland next summer has timing headaches of its own. The now officially titled Pirates Lair at Tom Sawyer Island (remember to thank the L.A. times editorial staff for this name) was originally set to close down Tom Sawyer Island and begin construction on January 16th. But now the start date for this project has been pushed back until at least early February, as late last week the project managers still couldn't quite land on an accurate start date.

Since we were first with this story last fall, we've told you how this is the ultimate rush job and an attempt by Jay Rasulo to prove to John Lasseter that he can get a movie project into a park by the time it debuts in theaters. The unfortunate thing here is that Rasulo has bitten off a bit more than he can chew with this one, as there are simply logistical hurdles that the modern WDI bureaucracy can't handle on an accelerated timetable like this. The newly delayed start date for the island stems from the fact that WDI simply doesn't have contractors lined up and ready to begin work yet, and it will still be another 30 days before they can move forward with construction. While Rasulo has approved throwing more money at the project to get all of the eye candy and new toys he wants included, there is no amount of money that can turn back the clock six months to buy enough time to do this project sanely.

At the same time Disney World management was taking a pass on another Pirates update, WDI has been putting the finishing touches on the plans for the massive new Pirates of the Caribbean ride planned for Hong Kong Disneyland, and some nifty new effects and additions have recently been worked up. Since the fourth movie in the series is already in pre-production, there are tentatively more plot references and sight gags that could also end up in the rides. With all of those pieces falling into place, it was decided Disneyland would instead focus its energy and resources on getting the new Pirates Lair at Tom Sawyer Island open in time for the third movie premiere, and they'll be pouring over 14 Million dollars into that island project in 2007.

And so Disneyland will also forego adding that Keira Knightley animatronic that Studios chief Dick Cook mentioned on the red carpet at last summer's movie premiere. That movie premiere hasn't formally been penciled in for Disneyland, but the plan to launch the West Coast version of Disney Cruise Line has been bumped up to later this month and the cancellation of Fantasmic! only makes it easier to host the premiere for the third time at Disneyland. Assuming the third movie isn't a flop, and does at least 500 Million in global box office sales, the fourth movie will go into production and may be timed for an opening around 2010 when the Hong Kong version of the ride opens.

I do not know much about Al Lutz, if anyone does please feel free to fill us in.
Anar

[Deirdre]

( Yea, a fifteen year old who likes history, I know )

[thread jack]That's not so wierd, I love history, I'm 16 but I've been a history freak since I was about 5.[/thread jack]

Thanks for the info Jan. I've only been to Disney Land once before but now it looks ike I have a perfect excuse to go back sometime soon.

Deirdrex

[Krissy]

Pre-production on the 4th Pirates movie?

Krissy