Anniversary Schmanniversary

[Bill]

OK, now that all the hoopla is over, anyone else feel majorly let down by the lack of anything truly special for Disneyland's 50th? A new parade. Yawn. A minor exhibit. Eh.

Yes, the fireworks were really well done. Some interesting merchandise showed up. But overall, was this the celebration YOU were expecting?!

That said, I want to thank Randy Thornton for being one of the few individuals that gave us something worthy of this anniversary. I know there are discussions about quality and choices and reverb, but overriding it all is the fact that he gave us something which we will keep and play for years to come. (Except for the Diamond Horseshoe. Ha ha)

Think of all the anticipation and excitement leading up to its release. Think about all the discussion it generated as boxes arrived at people's homes. Not one to engage in rampant Randylingus, I have to concede:

Randy...Disney MAN OF THE YEAR.

 

[makeminemusic]

Yes, I would have liked to see something more also, esp in the park. Maybe a retro ride from the past, even if it was only temporary. Circle Vision perhaps...with original soundtrack.

I also agree about the set, although I think we are a little biased . Randy sure made it a good year for us indeed. I wonder if something also might be done for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland Records (now WDR) in Jan 2006.


Now Bill, as to your comment:

(Except for the Diamond Horseshoe. Ha ha)

Would you be dissin the Golden Horseshoe Revue? Recorded live at the park in the late 50s? Wally Boag?
Come on Bill, You got to love that!

Ken

 

[Howard Hawks]

(sigh) The Diamond Horseshoe.

How many times can you TRULY (tell the truth here) TRULY listen to it in its entirety? Come on, everybody...

The Golden Horseshoe show is wonderful, but it absolutely does not belong on the box set. It occupies much too much valuable space, and the material is otherwise available.


HWH

 

[SharonKurland]

Personally, I was figuring Bill woulda been a little MORE cynical about what they did for the 50th. He must be gettin' soft in his old age...I hear he even occasionally laughs out loud at stuff.

-Sharon-
Orlando FL

 

[X-S Tech]

What would have been perfect would have been to use some other Horseshoe stuff like the Park announcements, the Preshow and then just the opening number or something. Just to represent it.

 

[makeminemusic]

So Bill and Howard, what would you have replaced it with? Echoes of Disneyland? ( Recorded at DL by Dee Fisher on the Wurltzer Organ ) That's one I could only listen to once, althought the LP cover of Main Street at night is awsome.

Ken

 

[X-S Tech]

And to answer the original question, no I don't feel letdown. Of course I (and those west coast regulars like me) have lived with Pressler and Harriss' way of doing things at DL for so long, that even though the 50th may not be as huge as someother celebrations, it really is well done and things around the park just couldn't be better. If the way things are being done is any indication (and I really think they are) well, not to be corny, but I think, there's a great big beautiful tomorrow. Pressler and Harriss did some big major events in there time, all the while the park deteriorated and attractions were shuttered. Here the park is regaining it's former glory- I'm too happy with that to care that we only got one new attraction this year.

 

[makeminemusic]

Hurrah X-S,
I can hardly wait to see and hear it next month!

Ken

 

[Ghost Host]

With the world of possibilities out there, I think they really went light with this anniversary. I don't think the current direction of the park comes into play here. Yes, it's nice to see things improve overall, but this should have been a world-class celebration. I don't know about any of you, but I'm tired of etched photos displays and engraved bricks. I'm tired of parades that recycle floats. I'm with Bill and MakeMineMusic that there should have been something more. Too few people thinking outside the box at Disneyland.

 

[X-S Tech]

What would you want? What would make it a great celebration?

 

[atomobile]

My 2 cents:
I'm GLAD there isn't more good merchandise. I'm going broke as it is!
Besides Randy (with his DL box set, DL 2 CD set, WDW CDs, Karaoke CD, Walt Takes You to DL CD, and the upcoming Wonderland titles), I was also amazed at the quality and craftsmanship of the Kevin Kidney/Jody Daily Disneyland merchandise through Disney Direct! Have you guys seen these in person? Holy....! Those Enchanted Tiki Room Gods recreations alone made my 50th. And the SHAG merchandise looks even better in person. They went through big expenses on his merchandise and it shows. My checking account is empty after this weekend. Disneyland was a blast with no lines, special events, and even got to ride more attractions than usual. (Space Mountain....amazing)
So you see, people's experiences with the 50th are going to vary from person to person. I'm sure pin collectors are currently wetting their pants with new 50th pins. They will probably also have a great 50th experience.
I'm hoping there are more things to come soon. Next year we'll get the new Monster's Inc ride along with Rockit Mountain and the new Tower of Terror sequence. The year after is the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and I'm sure other things we don't know about. It would have been nice to have a new "E" ticket for the 50th, or maybe it would have been distracting. I know that the current managment is aware of the problems that the previous guys created. They seem to be more focused on bringing attractions to the parks than bringing new shops.
I say the glass is half full...
Your friend,
Louis Gonzalez

 

[Gurgitoy2]

I have to agree with Bill on everything, from the appreciation for the boxed set, and the wish for a grander 50th, to the Golden Horseshoe.

I do like the Golden Horseshoe, but it's been released as a Wonderland title, so it's not entirely new. As to what to replace it with, there is tons of stuff that could have replaced it. It also broke with the trend of the set by being the only show included (Fantasmic notwithstanding, since that is a bit different). I would have maybe put more CircleVision tracks like American Journeys or Wonders of China on there. Maybe put some more area music on it. Done more for Mickey's Toontown. There is just so much potential. I do really love the CD set though, and despite my complaints it's still a wonderful thing.

 

[Gurgitoy2]

Funny, Bill, I didn't read this post until after I made my suggestions in the Ghost Host thread he started, but you and I have some very similar ideas.

 

[Andre]

You think the events at Disneyland were a let down? You should have been in Disneyland Paris on Sunday, as I was!

I spent much of the day trying to even find a cast member who knew that it WAS Disneyland's actual anniversary, let alone anything happening. Apparently a limited edition pin was released on 2nd July (huh?) but nothing seemed to be happening on the 17th at all. Oh, except for DLP's second night perfmorming Wishes-lite (the 8-minute version, with no fireworks bigger than a small squib - allthough to be fair there were a few nice laser & projection effects used on the castle, but as I'd seen the WDW Wishes show a few weeks earlier, I was *very* disappointed with Paris's lacklustre effort, their previous fireworks show was much better)

Andre

 

[xfkirsten]

Personally, I didn't really find the events at Disneyland to be a letdown at all!

The ceremony itself was a bit underwhelming, I admit. However, it was the rest of the day at the parks that really made it special. Starting with the line, believe it or not. I actually had fun waiting overnight in line. I was with a great group from Visions Fantastic, and we spent the night in Hollywood Pictures Backlot playing Disney Scene-It without a DVD player. On the way into the park, the whole esplanade and all the way down Main Street, CMs lined the path, cheering for us and greeting us with "Welcome home!" It truly felt like a red carpet experience. As I mentioned before, the ceremony was a bit underwhelming, but I really enjoyed seeing Diane Disney Miller get a chance to speak, and everyone singing Happy Birthday to Disneyland was a bit surreal. With only around 45,000 people in the parks (whether or not they actually closed the gates seems to be in question) lines weren't bad at all. And it was my experience that people were wonderful! People who were there were just ahppy to be there, and I heard very, very few flared tempers. In fact, one family even offered to scoot around to help us find space to watch Remember in front of the castle. How often does that happen? And replaying Walt's speech at 4:45, followed by a Remember When music montage actually left my eyes pretty moist. The free mouse ears, the cupcakes, it all came together, and I had a VERY enjoyable, memorable day in the park.

Just my two cents...

 

[Michael Zielski]

Thanks for bringing up again that nasty little issue of reverb, Bill--to which I say......reverb, schm-reverb--and, thank you, again, Randy.......

Mike

P. S. I do enjoy the Golden Horseshoe recording, but--true, it's already been represented through Wonderland Music.....as has America Sings, for that matter. But maybe they just simply needed to be included for the sake of historical cohesiveness, if an explanation is needed; they were very significant contributions to the Disneyland legacy, essential in a retrospective.

 

[makeminemusic]

As many of the other posts on the forum point out, this set is a salad bar of Disneyland music past and present.

Could someone pass the blue cheese dressing please.

 

[X-S Tech]

I like my salad with crumbled golden corn Fritos on top. Klondike!

 

[Michael Zielski]

Oh, salad bar, schmalad bar(to stay close to the theme of the thread.....)--I think we're chowing down at the same table, Bill; your salad bar and my cohesive, historical retrospective are basically the same thing.

When your goal is to carefully sample significant music/attractions(or assorted vegetables and imitation bacon bits....) over a fifty year period as Randy did, there is a definite cohesive theme. The Golden Horseshoe Revue was up and running on opening day, and continued to be a time-honored Disneyland show(Is it a ride or a show--one of my favorite, over-heard theme park questions); it seems to me it that given that background, it deserved to be selected for the set.

Mike

 

[makeminemusic]

Would you trade the 30 minute Diamond Horseshoe for 7 four minute tracks of previously unreleased historically significant material? Show of hands?

No way Bill,
The Golden Horseshoe has definate historical value in my book and belongs in this set. The show ran for 30 years!! A couple generations have experienced the show. There is a lot of material on the set that has been previously released, but I do not feel any of it needs to be replaced. Most of the sets have probably gone to people who do not collect the music and have not heard it as many times as you or I. In this case I do agree to disagree with you I'll enjoy the salad and may the Pepsi flow like buttermilk!!

Ken