Dream World

[Mr D]

Thanks Alain!

Its amazing that a park like this can even exist and even more amazing how similar if not boldishling outright a direct copy of Walt Disney Imagineering, now thats all the more reason why Disney MUST be on the cutting edge of theme park developement, we hope to hear more from you Alain that was a very good article.

[DisneyDoll]

I agree whole heartedly...I'm also amazed that Disney hasn't copywrighted the names of Fantasy Land, Adventure Land & Space Mountain. If they have, then " Dream World" is in BIG trouble.

[Dustysage]

What about seeing a Disney store in Dream World? I wonder if it was all knock-off stuff or the real thing. The park actually looked quite beautiful for a Third World country. So interesting.

-The Dusty One

[MrLiver]

Even if they were able to copyright the words Adventureland and Fantasyland would those copyrights hold up in Thailand and/or would it be worth it to send lawyers over there to fight it?

The Small World entrance is uncanny! I like it!

I know there are lots of attractions around the world that share the name SPACE MOUNTAIN - since it seems to be a pretty popular theme for an indoor coaster. And certainly dreamland deserves some points for having a KFC right next to Space Mountain - because if there's one thing I miss after riding Space Mountain, it's Honey Barbecue Wings from KFC!

Thanks Alain!

[gurgi]

Well, it's not the worst

Although some of the ideas seem like they were ripped from a Disney park, Dream World still isn't the worst offender I've seen or heard of. Anybody seen pictures from Nara Dreamland in Nara, Japan? That is basically a carbon copy of Disneyland. Although today it's fallen on hard times and is looking pretty shabby, it's layout and attractions are blatant Disneyland knock-offs. They have the exact same train station entrance, a railroad that circles the park, a main street, and Sleeping Beauty's Castle in the center. They have attractions like the Jungle Cruise, Matterhorn, and monorail. In fact, when the place opened in 1961 Walt was furious, and for that reason Tokyo Disneyland was not opened until 1983. The owners of Oriental Land Company had attempted to meet with Walt in the 60's about a Disneyland in Japan, but he refused to see them mostly because of Nara Dreamland.

[Doodle Duck]

If I could go toThailand, I would love a stop at Dreamworld. Very beautiful park and surprising as Dusty said for a 3rd world attempt. I thought it looked charming and a good effort to bring a little magic to folks who could never get to the real one...just like I can't get to the fake one.

I really like the GIANT furniture and props! Wow. That would be amazing to be that guy in the photo...would bring to life all the cool '50's movies for me.


Doug

[refurbmike]

Loved the article. Reminded me of "Adventureland U.S.A." in Iowa. There's actually a number of them out there... that is, parks like Disneyland.

[birnam]

http://www.senate.gov/visiting/commo...-Awakening.htm

[Sam the iPod]

The one time I was in Thailand was when I was 6, so I missed out on this park. I don't know if anybody visits there often, but it seems as though there are mini-amusement parks in most malls there. We stayed at a relatives' house in Bangkok, near what was one of the biggest malls in the area at the time, which had this really cool (at least to a 6 year old) amusement park inside. They had bumper cars, a carousel, and my ABSOLUTE favorite: a horse ride (mechanical horse on a dark ride-type track) that went both in and out of the mall. I LOVED that ride.

My parents go back to my dad's homeland almost every year, so I'll ask him to check it out for me on their next trip. That is, if he decides to spend more time in the city (interestingly, he loves going to the beaches there, though never shows any interest to even see a beach Stateside).

[Comrade Dick]

There's a similar phenomenon in China with theme parks that bear an uncanny resemblance to the Mouse's properties. They're building one right now in Beijing that is (according to a tour guide, at least) designed to serve a new market of locals whose interest has been piqued by the new Hong Kong Disney park. I couldn't see much of it from the roadway, but the castle they were building did look amazingly Disneyesque.

[disneyfanatic89]

that was a great article. too bad there werent any pics from inside their haunted mansion. just to see what it looks like. i thot the flamingos seemed out of place...iono

[MickeyMania]

I think the real question is how maintenance and upkeep of this park compares to the more authentic one. If the owners manage to keep everything looking shiny and keep adding paint to things that are looking too old, Mikey is going to have trouble if he decides to start expanding the parks into Asia like he wants to. He needs to realize that more and more people in the Asia region (excluding Japan, where TDL+DisneySea is clearly better than the other options) are seeing parks like this, and he needs to provide one unique, new attraction that really showcases what WDI can do for each park over there.

I've never really paid attention to the theme park landscape in Asia, but the company is going to have to make sure that their parks in Hong Kong and wherever else they decide to put them don't get out-shined by the wannabes.

And if you think these guys are the only ones making a profit off imitation, think again:

http://www.nine.com.tw/english/e-rides.htm

the spacious Aladdin Pavilion houses many major rides, including Space Mountain, a double-decker Italian merry-go-round, Waikiki Wave, Jurassic Cruise, Pirate Boat, Monorail, and the Royal Train. Guaranteed to take years off, as you enjoy those rides you loved most as a child.

Oh yes, all those memories of Pirate Boat and Jung, er, pardon, Jurassic Cruise. And another "Space Mountain" and (if you look on that link) a section of the park called Future World, too.

And you thought the software and movie piracy in this part of the world was bad.

[Aensland]

I absolutely love stuff like this and would like to see more articles like this on the site. I love the retro look of their Space Mountain (they play Star Wars music, ha! Take that, Lucas!). I'd also love to see the inside of that "Haunted Mansion", like if they have any cool licensed characters inside (jason, freddy, leatherface etc.) or what sort of music they play.

[zarpman]

For those of you interested, here is a link to the official site of Nara Dreamland, a more blatant Disneyland rip-off:

http://www.nara-dreamland.co.jp/

... and just check out that park layout:

http://www.nara-dreamland.co.jp/atmap.html

[mistryl]

Speaking of Nara Dreamland, Robb and Elissa (from ThemeParkReview) went to Japan a few months ago, and their pictures are not only the most amusing, but it's the most thoroughly I've ever seen the park before: http://www.themeparkreview.com/japan2004/nara1.htm

The similarities between it and Disneyland are almost creepy.

[LilMissTinkerBell]

Speaking of Nara Dreamland, Robb and Elissa (from ThemeParkReview) went to Japan a few months ago, and their pictures are not only the most amusing, but it's the most thoroughly I've ever seen the park before: http://www.themeparkreview.com/japan2004/nara1.htm

The similarities between it and Disneyland are almost creepy.

I hope DL never gets as run down as that place though. Although the I thought the "screw Coaster" was hiliarious.

[Jack's Return]

They have all the good rides with a real bad theme. Matterhorn, Autopia, Skyway, Haunted Manion, Jungle Cruise, and Space Mountain.

[Doodle Duck]

You might enjoy this...the official site with photos

http://www.dreamworld-th.com/

Click on the Hollywood Action World link...they are doing World War 2 with Tanks and Planes...gee wizz!

Also they have Light Magic!!!

And one of the Thai travel sites says:

"Small theme park far north of town. Has some thrill rides and other activities for older kids but most of the attractions are aimed at the under-10 set. The park aims for a Disneyland atmosphere with costumed staff and cartoon architecture. Due to its location nearly an hour from the city center, it doesn't get many tourists."

Looking at the Park Map...doesn't look so small to me...

and the admission is 120 baht or about 3 bucks USD.


Doug

[MickeyMania]

Here's a thread on LP.com's forum with somebody's, uh, trip report.

http://www./default.asp?WCI=MsgBoard...esh=0115052816

Here's some more pages with pictures I found, thanks to that thread. A lot of this stuff is old souveneir guides, and the park actually looked moderately decent when it was young and people actually went there, the castle was lit up, the waterfall on that ridiculous Matterhorn copy worked, etc.

http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/dream41833/dream13.htm (I think this is a sister park. Regardless, SUBS!)

http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/dream41833/dream29.htm (park souveneir from way back when. Everything but that pathetic boat on the river on the right side looks pretty decent, IMO)

http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/dream41833/dream30.htm (another souveneir, who knows when this is dated. But again, they have subs, and their Cruise knockoff even has The Backside Of Water.)


Here's the DreamLand page:

http://www.nara-dreamland.co.jp/

[BKK-Resident]

I have been to Dream World Bangkok.

The major attraction of this park to the Thai attendees (who are 90% of the customers) is a section called Snow Town. It is huge, it has a sledding hill, ice sculptures, winter exhibits. It is the size of a football field, and is kept at about 10 degrees below freezing (you get winter coats and boots to wear as you go in).

It is a blast for Thai's to go here.

That article was accurate in what it describes, but he (conveniently) left out all the attractions that have nothing directly to do with Disney. This is understandable as I got the feeling her wanted the tone of the article to be condecending. If he wrote about the other things in the park (which are much more interesting), he wouldn't press the intended buttons for his intended audience.

I realize he was writing this for a Disney-loving audience, but to write about Dream World and not talk about Snow Town makes his "report" incredibly incomplete, in my opinion.