[Question] Innovation or a new ride/show?

[SoCalbma]

Hey guys,

I am wondering would you like Disneyland to remove innoventions and use that building for new ride or some cool show?

For me, I think they should remove it because its not that cool anymore. Some of the games on the second level is old school. But, I like the bottom part.

I want a new dark ride that has been discussed on a recent tread of micechat.

I want ride with a lot of animatronics. I don't want rides like toy story mania and finding nemo submarine that utilize a lot of TV/Projector screens.

[dfan07]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

"You're headed to a place where innovation and invention are smushed together to form one big hard-to-say word...

INNOVENTIONS!

But I know that's what you meant!

[SoCalbma]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

"You're headed to a place where innovation and invention are smushed together to form one big hard-to-say word...

INNOVENTIONS!

But I know that's what you meant!

Sorry about the spelling. Thanx. I just fixed it. Can't edit the tread title though.

[Freddie Freelance]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

I'd like to see something that's a hybrid ride/show, something along the lines of the original Carousel of Progress or Spaceship Earth, updated to some of the possibilities of Convergence, where technology can cross over into the realm of magic:

SONY has a new 3D system that you can actually walk around, and you can see the object displayed in 3D without glasses.

Transparent OLEDs, the LEDs that're used in many HD TVs, are expected to come on the market soon; how would you like to see a display with multi-planar images, like Ub Iweks' Multi-planar camera turned on its side and blown up to the size of your living room wall?

Computers the size of Dust Mites that live on our skin and communicate with us via chips set in our visual cortex to overlay reality with all the information you can now get on your iPhone; You want to go on a tour of Disneyland with Walt Disney & Werner Weiss, while all the crowds around you turn into scenes from Fantasia? There's an app for that!

Scenes from Yesterday's tomorrows to compare against the possibilities of Today; from Victorians dreaming of personal dirigibles up to the original House of Tomorrow.

The future is a great big beautiful world, why not celebrate it!

[Garfieldo]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

I think they should turn the Carousel Theater into what it was built to be: a theater. Disneyland's old AA shows are constantly made fun of nowadays, but they were legitimately enjoyable. Many people have fond memories of America Sings and Country Bear Jamboree, even those that saw them as adults. I think that if an AA-driven show were to be created with today's technology, it would be phenomenal.

[Bob Weaver]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

The building was first used as Carousel of Progress, which I loved. The show scenes were downstairs and the 6 audience sections rotated from one to the next. Each show had the same family in different eras, showing how the technology of their lives had changed. The last scene was just an escalator and the cast member asked the audience to go up the escalator. Upstairs was a huge model city of the future, really quite a sight. Then you left the building. The PeopleMover also ran through the upstairs part so you got a glimpse of the city. That was closed and America Sings became the next use, which had musical shows using animatronic figures. The upstairs part wasn't used so they re-did the PeopleMover section as a "superspeed tunnel" with graphics from TRON projected on both sides. That was awesome too. Then that closed and Innoventions took over the building. When the Rocket Rods ran, they did go through the upstairs part and you got a brief glimpse of part of Innoventions. Too bad they didn't keep the superspeed tunnel as that would have added a lot of appeal to Rocket Rods. Although the Carousel of Progress moved to WDW (except the model city didn't remain with the attraction, and only a portion of it is seen in the Stitch's Great Escape building) but the CoP in Florida is now closed. There were some references to CoP scenes in the Horizon attraction at EPCOT. I think an appropriate use for the Innoventions building would be a new Carousel of Progress, with a new show scene featuring today's technologies, as a lot has changed since the CoP at Disneyland closed in 1973.

[CASurfer65]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

I think they should turn the Carousel Theater into what it was built to be: a theater. Disneyland's old AA shows are constantly made fun of nowadays, but they were legitimately enjoyable. Many people have fond memories of America Sings and Country Bear Jamboree, even those that saw them as adults. I think that if an AA-driven show were to be created with today's technology, it would be phenomenal.

Fully agree. Listening to the track from Carousel of Progress, it surely brings back memories. Obviously we listen to it nowadays and it is outdated, and a bit humorous. Course, it had a comic edge even back then the way they scripted it. Great attraction.

Bring something like that back, updated, and use it as a carousel. I agree.

[Madame_Leota]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

The upstairs part wasn't used so they re-did the PeopleMover section as a "superspeed tunnel" with graphics from TRON projected on both sides. That was awesome too.

THAT'S where the Superspeed Tunnel was!! I thought it was somewhere around there. I seem to remember it being after Star Tours. Then the Rocket Rods came around and confused my memory because they had that tunnel that went through the Rocket Rods queue where they blasted air and had lights or whatever, so my memory faultered and I started to think that was the Superspeed Tunnel. America Sings closed a few months after I was born, and I don't remember the Peoplemover going through an empty building, so it makes sense that it was in that building.

Totally off topic there, but thanks for clearing up my memory!


And on topic, I totally agree that something needs to be done to Innoventions, even if they just keep Innoventions but put more interesting stuff in there.

[dland_lover]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

but the CoP in Florida is now closed

I'm sorry, but no it isn't. Unless you mean for refurbishment (which I understand it needs), of course. In that case- carry on as if nothing ever happened.

[Bob Weaver]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

Oops, sorry, I had read that it was closed and I didn't know it was still in operation.

The PeopleMover started at the central station, then went above the queue area for Adventure thru Inner Space (now the queue for Star Tours), then you got a view of Starcade, then a brief glimpse of the inside of Space Mountain, the actual ride, although it was so dark you couldn't really see anything, then it went through the Carousel of Progress building, and you got a brief glimpse of the Progress City in the upstairs portion of Carousel of Progress, then it went outside and did an outdoor tour of the Autopia/Monorail area, then went back inside the other main building and gave you a glimpse of the waiting area for the America the Beautiful film in the Circarama 360 theater (now Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters) and then back to the station.

When Carousel of Progress moved out and America Sings moved in, they didn't use the upstairs of the building so they made the superspeed tunnel to enhance the PeopleMover and originally racing cars were projected on both sides. After TRON came out, the projections were changed to the abstract graphics from TRON. The in-car narration announced it as Game Grid of TRON. You can go to Youtube and watch a fairly good quality old video of the superspeed tunnel, in fact the entire PeopleMover trip. PeopleMover closed in 1995. An interesting bit of trivia is that the PeopleMover vehicles did not have motors or propulsion systems. They were pushed along the track by rotating rubber Goodyear tires every 9 feet in the track.

With the new design of Tomorrowland in 1998, The Carousel/America Sings building was converted to Innoventions, both upstairs and down. So they removed the superspeed tunnel although that would have been a great enhancement to Rocket Rods. The Rocket Rods did give a brief glimpse of the upstairs part of Innoventions. The blast of cold air and the strobe lights on the Rocket Rods were near the end of the ride, as you were going through the America the Beautiful building which now houses Buzz Lightyear. That seems to be all they did for theming or show for Rocket Rods, they must have spent all the money on the vehicles and about $20 on the show aspect.

Whatever they put into the Innoventions building will be the 6th attraction to make use of part or all of that building.

[Madame_Leota]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

My first time seeing Innoventions was while on the Rocket Rods, and that also happens to be the most fun I've ever had in Innoventions.

I remember as a child I thought it was hilarious that the Peoplemover was powered by Goodyear tires all along the track, and had a bunch of signs saying "SPONSORED BY GOODYEAR." I remember also being scared of rides that didn't stop for you to load, like Peoplemover and Haunted Mansion. I probably shouldn't have admitted that.

I remember that the Superspeed tunnel was after Star Tours because when I was really little I hadn't seen TRON or Star Wars yet and after passing Darth Vader and everything and the voice said "you are now entering the game grid of TRON" or whatever, I thought Vader was TRON. Rocket Rods just confused my memory because of that part where you get blasted with air at the end of the ride, so I thought that my memories of the Peoplemover were jumbled up, but I guess not. I mean, I was like 7 when they closed the Peoplemover. lol

[skimouse]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

CoP worked well because it wasn't about the technology itself, it was about the way people live with technology and the way it changes their lives. The show was about people, a real family - and that made it relatively resistant to obsolescence as real-world technology moved on.

In contrast, Innoventions has a continuous (and losing) battle on its hands. The technology can't ever be "wow" for long enough, because all of us in the audience are jaded, and because the consumer electronics industry has become so adept at rushing R&D to market.

It's a key part of Tomorrowland to have attractions with educational missions. But their entertainment value is unlikely to be very high unless Disney creates a storyline that leads to an emotional connection. Characters are an obvious way to do that, immersive adventure rides are another way. I'd like to see something in the CoP building that once again creates that connection for guests.

[WDITrent]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

I actually had an idea to turn the bottom of the building into a very slowly rotating restaurant that would visit dioramas of the future and upstairs would be some completely amazing seamless circlevision show with a planetarium ceiling. The remainder of the space around the theater could be a post-show, with the peoplemover passing by and the exterior wall be of glass, and the rooftops of Tomorrowland would be themed with forced perspective cityscapes and would look amazing at night.

[HiddenMickeyBook]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

I would like to see the Carousel of Progress brought back temporarily for a 'reunion' of sorts. Now that VMK is closed, we don't go in Innoventions much. The house inside was interesting the first time we saw it. I've sent a couple of emails from upstairs,but that is about it. I did like the restaurant suggestion above. Kind of like The Land in Epcot?

[MarkTwain]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

I'm sorry, but no it isn't. Unless you mean for refurbishment (which I understand it needs), of course. In that case- carry on as if nothing ever happened.

Is it running all the time though? Last I heard (quite a while though, admittedly), the show was only running "seasonally," or when the park was running at max capacity.

My idea: return the Carousel of Progress to its alma mater, in an updated format. The scenes show life in the the turn of the century (1900s), mid-century (1940s/50s) and late century (late nineties, going into new millennium), with a new future scene that's much more far out, set 50 or so years from now. The show receives all new, Jack Sparrow-style AAs, and a new soundtrack (but same song). The final room would feature an escalator, as a recording invites you to explore the "Home of the Future" for yourself, and you ascend the speedramp to a retooled, updated version of the Dream Home.

You like?

[Timekeeper]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

Is it running all the time though? Last I heard (quite a while though, admittedly), the show was only running "seasonally," or when the park was running at max capacity.

My idea: return the Carousel of Progress to its alma mater, in an updated format. The scenes show life in the the turn of the century (1900s), mid-century (1940s/50s) and late century (late nineties, going into new millennium), with a new future scene that's much more far out, set 50 or so years from now. The show receives all new, Jack Sparrow-style AAs, and a new soundtrack (but same song). The final room would feature an escalator, as a recording invites you to explore the "Home of the Future" for yourself, and you ascend the speedramp to a retooled, updated version of the Dream Home.

You like?

YES!(this would work!)

Timekeeper

[Tomorrowland_1967]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

..............then it went through the Carousel of Progress building, and you got a brief glimpse of the Progress City in the upstairs portion of Carousel of Progress, ...........................
When Carousel of Progress moved out and America Sings moved in, they didn't use the upstairs of the building so they made the superspeed tunnel to enhance the PeopleMover and originally racing cars were projected on both sides. After TRON came out, the projections were changed to the abstract graphics from TRON. The in-car narration announced it as Game Grid of TRON.

Actually .. .for a period of 2 years (1974-1975) ... the Peoplemover track in the carousel building followed the same track from it's CoP days. But instead of windows looking into Progress City ... a false wall was created ... and full size posters adorned the wall of scenes from America Sings. A narration briefly explained what was in the theater below.

Then when the Peoplemover closed in 1976 for Space Mountain construction .. that was when the Super Speed tunnel came along .. and reopened when Space Mountain opened. Then 5 years later (following the debut of the film - "Tron") .. then "The Game Grid of Tron" replaced the original tunnel footage.

Meanwhile ... in those years when the theater was America Sings .. whatever space was not taken up by Peoplemover infrastructure on the top floor, became office space - pre "TDA building" era.

So they removed the superspeed tunnel although that would have been a great enhancement to Rocket Rods. The Rocket Rods did give a brief glimpse of the upstairs part of Innoventions.

The track through Innoventions was the exact same as CoP. IF they had kept the "super speed" tunnel ... there were have only been 40% of the upper level for Innoventions .. because the path for "super speed" cut across the center of the building ... and took up 60% of the back side of the top floor.

When the Peoplemover lost it's maintainance bay (in the area that is now part of the Starcade) .... roughly 30% of the top floor (on the back side) became the maintainance bay for the Peoplemover between the years of 1977 & 1995.

In fact .. if you look at photos that reveal the backside of the carousel theater .. you'd see a frame that looks like it could be one very large window. Well .. that was a massive door that opened up ... where Peoplemover trains could be lifted on and off.

[Bob Weaver]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

OK thanks!

[Tomorrowland_1967]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

As for my choice of what to do -

I just wonder if this is the time to scrap the format once and for all ... and give imagineers a clean slate to work from.

I think by trying to hold on to the building's fascinating "circling" format limits the imagination .. on what could go into it's place.

With a clean slate .. the sky is the limit.

I love the rotating building. But what can they do? Other than a "sit down" THEATRE type venue?

It was brilliantly conceived properly for the "Carousel of Progress" show. And America Sings magically fit the format to a "t".

But in this day and age .... Is it really possible to get modern day audiences to sit through a 20-25 minute "revolving theatre" type show?

I don't know.

But if they can come up with concepts of new rides that would blow our minds away .... then level the building.

If they can come up with a unique way to incorporate the unique rotating feature .... then I'd like to see it kept.

My heart says keep it.

But I realize my feelings of nostalgia are ill placed .. when Tomorrowland is a place for new things.

I've read others that use words regarding Tomorrowland as "Classic", and "nostalgic". But those words do not belong in a land that is suppose to be anything but "classic" and "nostalgic."

[Uncle Bob]

Re: Innovation or a new ride/show?

I think it's time for it to go. It's the prime location right in the center of TL, it takes up enough room for an E-ticket, the round building isn't the most efficient use of space and is limiting on what can go in it. It would be a huge opportunity to give a huge part of TL a new look and even embrace more of the multi-level feel many of us would like to see returned to the land. It also should be a real signature attraction that helps define and support the theme of the land. Hopefully an elaborate modern dark ride with moderate thrills and a theme that is iconic of whatever new overall direction is chosen for the land.