Cartoon Destinations: DisneylandForward

 

Most of these Cartoon Destinations that I've taken you on come from the past.  Usually they are all closed up for business.  But today, we're changing it up.  We are going possibly to the future.  Disneyland is still around and so is Disney's California Adventure, but what is this DisneylandForward we've been hearing about?  That's what this post is all about, and hopefully, the future would be clear for you and me.

You're looking at this map and thinking to yourself "Disneyland's 3rd gate?!"  Let me shoot down that thought right now as some have figured out; NO Disney is not building a new theme park on Disneyland property.  Ok....so what is it then?  Here is the answer........expansion to the two parks.

What?  How?  Disneyland is over here.  California Adventure is over there.  How is this possible?  Let me explain.  After Disneyland opened in 1955, the area began to build up.  Businesses began popping up such as hotels and restaurants.  However, Disneyland in California, unlike Disney World in Florida, is landlocked.  Room for expansion is limited.  They opened Disneyland Hotel many years ago and they built two more hotels, but were limited to where they built them.  They built California Adventure, but in order to do that, they had to build over top the original parking lot and built a parking garage and tramway connecting the parks to the garage.  Both parks were lucky enough to add on with Mickey's Toontown Fair and Cars Land.  Disneyland was even luckier to find a way to put in Star Wars Galaxy's Edge (but the Disneyland Railroad had to slightly be rerouted as it often did with expansion), but for California Adventure's Marvel expansion came with a cost: saying good-bye to A Bugs' Land.  DisneylandForward may be the answer to their problem.

Let's take a look at the map again and let's take a look at this color coded map too.  Smack dab in the middle is the Disneyland Hotel with fixed up areas.  Up north of that is the original Disneyland Park.  Here we see that a new overpass would be built connecting this new land to the existing Critter Country.  Down south is California Adventure with some of it hanging behind Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. A new overpass would connect to that new area and an in between area of Paradise Park and Pixar Pier  Down far on the lower right hand corner is an area possibly similar to Disney Springs in Orlando.  It would have restaurants, hotels, ticketed shows, and shops.  

For Disneyland, these new attractions include a new land based on Frozen, where Anna and Elsa meet and greet guests daily.  You could eat at their castle or go on a thrilling boat adventure.  Another land would be based off of Tangled where Rapunzel's Tower overlooks the land and one could ride the gondolas.  Finally, a new Neverland attraction would feature a boat ride looking for the Lost Boys and Pixie Hollow where you can meet Tinkerbell and her friends.

Meanwhile in California Adventure, plans would include their own versions of Toy Story Land with attractions similar to Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida with a Slinky Dog Roller Coaster.  Speaking of roller coasters, Tron would be built there similar to the one going up in the Magic Kingdom in Florida.  Finally a new land based on Zootopia would open.  Details on that one is limited and another land similar is opening up in Shanghai Disneyland.

Are these plans set in stone?  No.  In order to do this, they would need to seek approval from Orange County and/or the city of Anaheim.  And plans have fallen through before.  There were plans for Westcot that never happened.  There were plans for a better Downtown Disney District, but also never happened.  New overpasses have to built.  Parking lots would have to be dug up and built over just like California Adventure did.  Projects like this could take years.

Then there is another problem....Disney is broke.  They had to shut down the parks due to coronavirus and the parks are their biggest cash cow.  The next big cash cow, the movies, also had difficulties due to movie theaters closing during the pandemic.  Folks began having Star Wars fatigue.  The new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge lands in Florida and California were not that successful with Disney spending lots of time and money on both of them rerouting rides, roads, adding hotels, and even in Florida a Skyway ride connecting parks to the resorts.  Would they have the money to invest in these projects?  Time will tell.

Hopefully after reading this article, you have a better understanding of what this project entails.  Believe me, I needed this better explained myself.  If all roads lead directly to success for DisneylandForward, perhaps this would be another Cartoon Destination to take.

Cartoon Destinations: Mall of America

 

Our next cartoon destination takes us way up north in the great state of Minnesota.  This is the home of a big attraction known as the Mall of America.  It is a huge larger than life shopping center with big stores, big names, and smack dab in the middle, an amusement park.  This section of the mall is our main focus for this destination as it has housed many different characters over the years.  From Snoopy to Spongebob, here is the story of the park at Mall of America.

Original concept art for Camp Snoopy

When planning for the Mall of America began,
it was decided to have an amusement park there.  This was probably because the climate in Minnesota comes with very few hot days for an amusement park to operate, and when it gets cold, I do mean cold.  Having an indoor amusement park meant that locals and tourists can enjoy the attraction year round just like Disney World in Florida without having to worry about any rain, snow, or other elements of the Minnesota climate.  But it needed a theme as opposed to just a carnival like amusement park in the middle of the mall.  Fortunately, one Minnesota native had made the most popular comic strip in the world, and it's success in Knotts Berry Farm made for a perfect fit.  After negotiations between Schulz and Knotts, it would become clear what this park would be......Camp Snoopy!!

The Mall of America officially opened in Bloomington, MN on August 11, 1992.  Camp Snoopy was the centerpiece attraction.  Charles Schulz attended opening day which welcomed guests with many different rides and attractions.  There were many ways to enter the park, but the main entrance was at the Snoopy Bounce, where a giant Snoopy waves hello greeting guests entering the park.  While being an indoor park, the roof was a glass ceiling giving the illusion of an outdoor park and providing light during the day and darkness at night.  Like Knotts, this Camp Snoopy had the rustic theming throughout the park.  However, not every ride had a Peanuts theme, and not every ride was for kids either.  Circling around the park was the Pepsi Ripsaw.  It may not have been the tallest nor the fastest roller coaster in the world, but it gave dramatic views of the park as it leaps and dips on the track.  The Log Flume tells the story of Paul Bunyan, the famed Lumberjack.  Other attractions include a carousel, a ferris wheel, the Kite Eating Tree, and the Red Baron.  

Over the years, new attractions were added to the park including a much smaller kiddie coaster, the Mighty Axe, Ghost Blasters, and Mystery Mine.  Still, old favorites such as the Camp Bus and Balloon Race were still popular as were constant character appearances by the Peanuts characters.  In 1997, Cedar Fair bought the rights to Knotts Berry Farm and its assets, and that included the Camp Snoopy park in the Mall of America.  Nearby was already a Cedar Fair park in Shakopee, MN called Valleyfair.  However, contracts made clear that Camp Snoopy and the Peanuts characters must remain separate from Valleyfair, so they continued to use their own mascot, Colonel Oom Pah Pah, and The Berenstain Bears until the contract of Bears ran out.

When it came to Cedar Fair, their main focus was expanding the brand.  This included bigger larger than life roller coasters like Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster.  They were able to add a new roller coaster however to Camp Snoopy.  The Timberland Twister opened in 2004.  It's a Gerstlauer Spinning model which Cedar Fair bought 2 of, the other went to World of Fun as Spinning Dragons opening that same year.  However, Cedar Fair was actually losing money on this deal with the Mall of America.  Unlike the other parks where it's pay one price you get to enjoy the park, Camp Snoopy had a ticketing system where it's pay per ride or you buy a wristband.  A cheaper model, but for Cedar Fair's eyes it meant a lot of browsers, but not as much buyers.  Meanwhile, the Mall of America was seeing the Peanuts gang in a different light.  In 2000, the strip came to an end bringing a (at that time) full stop of Peanuts.  Because of this, the Mall saw no room for expansion since they saw it as a potential aging property.  Cedar Fair ended the agreement of the park at the Mall of America, and after 15 years, Camp Snoopy was no more.  

By 2006, the park had stripped all references to Peanuts and became simply just The Park at MOA.  The Snoopy on the bounce house was replaced with an inflatable tree house.  The dog dish no longer bares Snoopy's name.  Charlie Brown is nowhere to be found on the Kite Eating Tree.  The colorful fountain in the center of the park was a colorful mountain with Peanuts characters all round....replaced with generic Disney like woodland creatures.  Locals were upset and sad to see a ghost of its former self.  You can tell it was a Camp Snoopy, and yet he's not there.  It's just all erased.  The future didn't look bright.  But thankfully after two years, change was on its way.

During it's time as The Park at MOA, a licensing agreement was made between them and Viacom, the owner of Nickelodeon.  By 2008, a major rebranding took place and the park would become Nickelodeon Universe.  Gone was the rustic feeling and was replaced by a more colorful looking park with rides and attractions in every corner.  Many of the rides were rebranded with Nickelodeon characters.  The only exceptions were rides like the carousel, the log flume which still had Paul Bunyan, Ghost Blasters, and the Pepsi Ripsaw, though now known as the Pepsi Orange Streak.  The Timberland Twister roller coaster was now the Fairly Odd coaster.  The Kite Eating Tree lost its tree theming with different colors for the Backyardagans Swing Along.  The Red Baron got new ride models to become Blue's Skidoo.  Dora and Boots can be seen on the ferris wheel, and more adventurous Nicktoons like Danny Phantom and Jimmy Neutron were the themes of the thrill rides there.

But that wasn't all; brand new rides and attractions were put in place to make guests wanting more.  Replacing the fountain were two rides: the Splat o Sphere drop tower and Avatar Airbender, an Intamin Surfrider model roller coaster that balances back and forth with seats spinning around this skateboard like platform.  A new bounce house was added, this time in the shape of Spongebob's pineapple home.  Rugrats Reptarmobiles, Wonderpets Flyboats, and Brainsurge were also added to the park.  Duchman's Deck is this huge Adventure Course structure that guests try to climb up boards and obstacles and is a combined sliding board, Adventure Course, and zipliner.  Perhaps the biggest new attraction was Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge.  This new roller coaster is a Gerstlauer Ruro Fighter model with a 97 degree angle for the first drop and two inversions making this one a thrilling coaster.

As shows came and went, so did the rides and theming.  When Nickelodeon got the rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was clear that new thrill rides had to be built replacing some of the older thrill rides at the park.  A new "balloon ride" replaced the aging Balloon Race when the Bubble Guppies came on.  With Paw Patrol becoming a monster popular show, a new play area based on the show was added replacing Jimmy Neutron's Atom Smashers.

Lincoln Loud would make special appearances only
 on the right of the above middle pic is Jessica DiCicco (Lucy Loud)

Characters at the park also came and went.  The big mainstays were Spongebob and friends, Dora, and the Turtles.  Paw Patrol characters also quickly became regular characters appearances.  On occasion you would get Blue from Blues Clues, Ang from Avatar, Cosmo and Wanda from the Fairly Oddparents, Bubble Guppies, and on the rarest occasions....Lincoln Loud from the Loud House (usually during an event based on said show such as artists showing up or watch parties).

Today, Nickelodeon Universe still houses the center of the Mall of America with its 5 roller coasters and colorful theming.  Many may still wish it remained as Camp Snoopy, but other than the theming, not much as changed.  The Orange Streak still circles around the park and it is one of still many original attractions left at the park.  No matter which side you are on, Snoopy's or Nickelodeon's, one thing was for sure, they were both fun and exciting.  For more information on the Mall of America, I would check out their website for this and other attractions inside the mall, and if you love Nickelodeon, I sincerely suggest you check this place out.  It may not be the biggest nor the best amusement park, but it certainly would be appealing for such a cartoon destination.