How was everyone’s week? Hope it was fantastic! Mine was long. I got a little cold and being a teacher, you can’t just call out, so I went to work and was exhausted by Friday. We didn’t go to Disney this weekend sadly, but it’s still always on my mind. Speaking of thinking of Disney… this one came to the forefront. Lately, it seems that there are so many changes in the parks. New rides are getting ready to open soon and it is all so exciting. Sometimes I miss the old things, but the new rides and shows are always awesome. Sometimes even though you have this cool new ride, you still want what was there. Do you know what I mean? Let’s Discuss!
My first example is Mr. Toads Wild Ride. It was replaced with Winnie the Pooh when they started the refurbishment of Fantasyland. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride closed forever in September of 1998. When you ride Winnie the Pooh, in one scene in Owls’ house you can see Mr. Toad give Owl the deed! Look on the wall to the left. Oh, and if you go to the Haunted Mansion, you can see a statue of Mr. Toad in the graveyard as you exit the attraction. He is way up on the hill, so you need to make sure you look next time. Now I was lucky enough to ride Mr. Toad and you still can in Disneyland. I do like Mr. Toad’s ride better than Pooh. Now don’t get me wrong here, I LOVE Pooh!! It’s just that the other ride was more exciting to me and felt more authentic Disney. I think because it’s nostalgic and original. I mean think about it, Peter Pan always has a long wait time. It’s not because the ride is overly exciting like Rise of the Resistance. It’s because of the history and originality of the attraction.
The other ride I miss, World of Motion at Epcot. I went on that ride at least 4 times on my first trip to Disney in 1993. I went back to Disney in 1994 and went on a bunch of times then too. Then it was gone! The ride was kind of like Spaceship Earth in that it was a slow-moving car that took you through scenes with audio-animatronic figures and talked about transportation. It was interesting and fun but in 1996 it closed forever and now we have Test Track. Again, don’t get me wrong, I love Test Track but the World of Motion, in my opinion, was just a great attraction. Hey, people like a thrill I get it. I like thrill rides too (well to some degree) but I also like variety. Epcot is getting a complete overhaul so even if World of Motion made it to today, I don’t think it would have survived the overhaul. It’s too bad because I think if it were just updated a bit people would love it! I know I would. That’s not the only pavilion that changed at Epcot.
What about the Wonders of Life? Do you guys remember that? Well that pavilion will be revamped and redone as something new for the reimagined Epcot, but it was used for the Festival Center previously. I loved that area. I know some of the attractions would be way outdated by now, but I’m a science teacher, so I can’t help but wonder what it could have been. I miss Body Wars and Cranium Command, but I totally get that we need to update. What made me sad was that the area was never really used again. I mean yeah, a festival center, which was nice, but it was not used for attractions or shows. I am glad that they will repurpose that area finally though so it is hard to say if what will come will be better. I guess time will tell.
The bottom line, Disney fans are not good with change. We fight it, we get sad about what will be no more, but we are excited to see what is to come. Change can be good but it’s ok if you still love what was. It’s ok to miss the old, but we can still embrace the new. I miss the old attractions and I may even feel some were better as I said, but I still love the new ones. We can’t have it all, but I have memories of what I miss and those will always be with me for years to come. I hope you all have a great week! See you next time!
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