The Sorcerer's Guide

America Sings was a Musical Revue at Disneyland. Musical Revue shows were popular among the Imagineers in the 60s and 70s. Shows like The Tiki Room and the Mickey Mouse Revue don’t take up a lot of space, but can get reasonably high capacity, making them great attractions from an operational perspective. Due to differences in the type visitors, shows don’t stay as popular at Disneyland as they do at Walt Disney World. The waning popularity, mixed with some awkward theming, eventually led to the show’s closure. America Sings Exterior – Taken from the People Mover Loading Platform Concept America Sings opened on June 29, 1974. It was created to replace the Carousel of Progress, which had moved to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World the year before. The show involved six animatronic sets – an introduction, a postlude, and four acts – that showcased music from different eras of American history. Because the show was in the Carousel Theater, each scene was in a different location in the ...

Did you know that FastPass was developed to enhance guest satisfaction, not to decrease lines? Neither did I till I did some research and heard how FastPasses came about. In the mid 1990’s, Disney realized that guest satisfaction was declining because lines were getting too long. No one is very happy when you spend your entire day waiting in line and only get to go on a few rides. After discussing different ideas they started testing in the late 1990’s. It started in Animal Kingdom with 2 different groups. Each group was given a diary to write down everything they did that day (what time they got in line, what time they got on the ride, what shops they went into, etc.) One lucky group was given a special card to show the cast member at any attraction they wanted to ride. The cast member would look at the current wait time, let’s take 45 minutes for example, and then tell the group to return to the ride in 45 minutes. When the group returned they would be directed through the exit and b...

The Fantasyland Theatre of today is home to Mickey and the Magical Map. This stage should not be confused with the other Fantasyland Theater, which closed in 1981. The difference between the use of the British and American spellings of “theater” may be coincidence, or it may have been to help distinguish these very different attractions. The Theatre is used for live performances. But the Fantasyland Theater was used for showing recorded videos. The Theater opened as the Mickey Mouse Club Theater shortly after the rest of Disneyland on August 27, 1955. Along with The Canal Boats of the World and a lot of Tomorrowland, the Theater wasn’t quite ready for opening day of Disneyland. Regardless, the Mouseketeers performed in Fantasyland as part of the Disneyland Grand Opening. Since this was several months before the Mickey Mouse Club first aired, this was the Mouseketeers’ debut to the world. The theater was also special for the Mickey Mouse Club because, at one point, it was home to 3D Jam...

Disney vacations cost a lot of money and they’re just gonna get more expensive. People are always looking for ways to make it cheaper, so here’s what we do. Get Buttons as a Cheap Momento from your Trip All the Disney parks give out free buttons, whether you’re celebrating something or not. You can get a button that says “Happy Birthday”, “I’m Celebrating”, “Happily Ever After”, “Just Graduated”, or “First Visit”. Cast members at guest services have them, but sometimes they run out. If you’re looking for a particular button ask around, sometimes cashiers have them. Buy Disney Merchandise Outside the Parks We all know how expensive t-shirts, or mugs, or mickey ears are when you’re shopping at a Disney Resort. There are lots of other places that have Disney merchandise for much cheaper. You can visit stores like Walmart or Target, or shop online through Amazon or Etsy. Disney outlets are a great option too if you have one nearby. Even DisneyStore.com has some great sales to get official...

Have you ever thought one of Disney’s darkrides looked darker than normal? Maybe things were hard to see, or they didn’t glow the right way. I’ve heard this blamed on an old paint job or lights that need replacing. The blame always seems to go to the maintenance team. But normally, the too-dark-darkride has nothing to do with maintenance. It has a lot more to do with queue design and time of day. Theme parks are not built for the slow days. The walk ways, ride capacities, queue sizes, restaurants and show offerings are designed around keeping crowds entertained and busy. So are the visuals in the rides. Imagineers expect that guests will be waiting in line for each ride. Particularly for dark rides, they build indoor queues. This keeps the crowd entertained while they wait, but it also give you a gradual transition while your eyes adjust to the lower level of light. Take the Disneyland Haunted Mansion as an example. When the queue is full, you start off in the bright sun, and make your...

The Boulder at Indiana Jones Adventures is one of the most iconic and thrilling elements of the ride. Guests on the ride are sent hurtling through a temple, chased by a giant rolling boulder that appears to be just inches behind them. But how does this impressive effect actually work? The boulder is actually a large, lightweight ball made out of fiberglass and other materials. It’s attached to a track system that is hidden from view, so guests can’t see how the boulder is propelled forward. The track is a series of curved rails that guide the boulder along its path. The boulder is mounted on a metal frame that is attached to a motorized system. The motor moves the frame forward along the track, which causes the boulder to roll forward at a speed that matches the ride vehicle. This creates the illusion that the boulder is chasing the guests. To make the effect even more convincing, the boulder is covered in a special material that creates a realistic-looking texture and helps it blend i...

Picking a hotel is hard. You want a hotel that’s close to the park, clean, and inexpensive. But around Disneyland, you have to compromise a bit. If you’ve been to Walt Disney World, you may expect that the majority of the visitors stay in Disney owned hotels. That’s not the case at Disneyland. Lots of visitors stay at nearby hotels or the rely on the parking system. Disney Hotels Disney has three “on property” hotels. These hotels are owned and run by Disney and are part of Disneyland. These are high quality hotels with the Disney name, which means they can be a pricey. The Disneyland Hotel was built in 1955 for Disneyland’s opening. The hotel has gone through several expansions and upgrades over the years. It’s located at the west side of Downtown Disney. It’s very close to one of the two monorail stops (the other stop is inside Disneyland), so you can get into the park without walking through the shopping district. The Grand Californian opened with California Adventure. It has an ent...