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Goodbye Towers
(continued)
What it is coming down to now is whether or not each of the three
towers are to remain standing at all. Now that it has been discovered that after
spending tens of millions of dollars on renovations that the three original
towers of the Disneyland Hotel would still not be able to support the
infrastructure needed to provide a 4 star experience to demanding 21st century
guests, TDA is having to step back and take a hard look at what really is to now
become of the Disneyland Hotel.
This is a decision that was originally put on
the table in the 1990's when Resort expansion plans were going through lots of
changes. Not surprisingly, around 1996 Paul Pressler officially shelved the big
ticket option to raze the whole thing and replace it with an entirely new
property similar to the Disneyland Hotel eventually built in Hong Kong
Disneyland. Instead the decision was made to add some whimsical touches to the
rather tired buildings, and try and keep guests paying an arm and a leg happy with a
new Captain Hook waterslide and polyester bedspreads with pictures of the Jungle
Cruise on them.
This is a subject that is still developing, as TDA is now staring
at a huge logistical and financial commitment it hadn't planned on in its
current five year plan. Do they try and keep some rooms open while one tower at
a time is torn down and rebuilt entirely, until you finally have three rebuilt
towers five years later?
And what do the new towers look like if you have to
work with the existing property layout? Or do you throw in the towel on the
property entirely and implode all three towers in grand Las Vegas style and
start from scratch? But how does the Resort give up on 1,000 hotel rooms for
several years, especially since they dragged their feet on the new GardenWalk
hotels that won't be open until late 2010 at the earliest?
Also factoring into
the decision are the big crowds that could be heading to Anaheim for the 55th
Anniversary party in 2010, and then the big ride debuts and massive expansion of DCA coming in 2011 and 2012. Or does TDA stick with the original plan and spend
tens of millions to try and do as much as they can with the three
aging cement towers only to resign themselves to another 20 years of apologizing
for no coffee makers in the rooms and not enough hot water?
The decision on the future of the Disneyland Hotel had to be made
sooner or later, and previous generations of TDA executives have been able to
pass the buck to the next guy. This time though it looks like a permanent
decision will have to be made. Again, we'll keep you updated as more develops on
this one.
Hello Indy
While those weighty decisions being made impact Disneyland several
years into the future, there are a few new things headed for Anaheim sooner than
that. While this summer will be all about Midway Mania in DCA, Disneyland won't
go entirely neglected with the rather impressive House of the Future exhibit and
relaunch of Innoventions in Tomorrowland this June. The other addition is the
"Summer of Adventure" campaign coming to Adventureland. Playing off
the new Indiana Jones movie being released this summer, a new Indy stunt show
will replace the modest Storytime show in Aladdin's Oasis.
This new Indy
show will be of the same scale and scope as the Jack Sparrow Swashbuckling
Adventure stunt show that took up residence last year on Pirate's Lair. It won't
be anything to wait around for hours for like Fantasmic!, but likely something
you'll find reasonably entertaining you while you enjoy sitting down for a spell
on a hot summers day.
While Adventureland is always one of the busiest and most
crowded spots in Disneyland, the Indy overlay should give Adventureland a nice
shot of adrenalin, if only for the summer. Depending on the strength of the
movie and how the additions resonate with Disneyland visitors, the Adventureland
Indy overlay could last through Christmas '08.
(Before I forget, Aladdin's Oasis is a part of the Plaza
Pavilion complex, which is undergoing a major renovation to its
kitchen facilities. Later this year the entire kitchen complex
in the basement of New Orleans Square will be closed to be
gutted and entirely rebuilt. In the meantime the rebuilt Plaza
Pavilion will serve as a satellite kitchen for the Blue Bayou,
Cafe Orleans and French Market, with hot food continually
trucked around to the small prep facilities in each restaurant.
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