Monthly Archives: November 2010
Ariel’s Adventure
Ride a Scallop Shell to the Bottom of the Sea
The Story Line on Paper
Ready by May 2011?
A new sort of dark ride is under construction at California Adventure, based on the 1989 animated hit, The Little Mermaid.
It’s a big-budget attraction — more on the scale of Haunted Mansion than Alice in Wonderland — and it looks like Team Disney expects this attraction to be a big hit.
Guests will hop on to a conveyance that will work in a similar fashion to the “Doom Buggies” in the Haunted Mansion — a conveyor belt next to moving seats. The seat is a scallop shell that holds two guests.
First guests meet the characters that live in both worlds, Scuttle and Sebastian, who will escort them down into the sea.
Along the way riders will meet and be entertained by the different characters from the story, as the blueprint shows. Even though it looks be be a major capital budget outlay, the attraction is not a thrill ride, so its appeal will have to come from oohs and aahs, not woo-hoos and yee-haws.
The magic will have to be in the details. There’s some bragging about how guests will feel as if they really did just drop into the ocean.
To see more about the ride, check out the displays at the Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar.
It’s supposed to be ready in 2011, and there’s a large structure in place, but it’s hard to believe it will be all finished up in less than a year. Getting this hot new attraction done on time must keep a team of project managers up at nights.
Here’s to what looks to be a great new attraction.
6 Great Mobile Apps for Disney Resorts
Make Planning Fun!
As of today, there’s a great new app available for the iPad: Parktabulous Disney World for iPad. We now cover the bases for these two popular resorts on iPhone and Android phones.
On Apple devices, we now have
- Parktastiq. Our original app provides a great guide to Disneyland and California Adventure for iPhone and iPod Touch devices
- Parktabulous covers Disneyland on iPad. The big screen is great for kicking back and planning your trip
- Parktastiq Disney World helps you at Disney World Magic Kingdom
- Parktabulous Disney World helps you plan your trip using your iPad.
We also have Parktastiq for both Disneyland and Disney World Magic Kingdom on Android. Just search for “Parktastiq” in Android Market.
Disney World for Android
Disney World Magic Kingdom for Android Users
Tens of millions of people visit Disney World every year. In fact, by most rankings, the Magic Kingdom is the most visited park in the world.
In addition, every day, about a quarter million people fire up a new Android smart phone. Naturally, it makes sense to help those Android users put their phones to work and help them plan their trips to Disney World. Of course, Smart Phone users love to go to Disney resorts!
Where are all those Fun Attractions?
If you have an Android smart phone, look for “Parktastiq” in Android Market. This handy, attractive app brings the park to the palm of your hand. There are two apps there — one for Disneyland and one for Disney World Magic Kingdom.
The functionality is similar to the iPhone apps, but adapted to work ideally on the Android environment.
For left-brain types, Parktastiq has a list view so they know what attractions and eateries are in the park.
For right-brain types, there’s a map to see where everything is.
There’s a simple and fast wishlist feature that lets you pick the rides you want to do, and also a tracker to see which ones you’ve done.
A simple red/green/yellow marker system tells you how busy the rides are.
And there are details of each ride, so you know what it’s about: a summary, if it has FASTPASS(r), height limitations and park policies.
We also show park hours and activities for the day.
What's Going on in the Park Today?
The Android apps are free, so there’s no excuse! Just grab these apps and check out the parks!
What is this Ride about?