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PLEASE NOTE:
This is a very very old page I originally had on my old GeoCities
home page. It was put together in 1996 or maybe 1997. As you can see,
it was long before the Disneyland Resort expansion. I thought I'd
dust off this page and make it an official part of this site... Enjoy! |
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Disneyland VS Adventureland
When Disneyland opened in 1955, a new entertainment experience was created:
the theme park. In the years that followed, amusement park operators
would borrow many of the concepts that Walt Disney pioneered. The original
Six Flags in Texas, for instance, had its own Main Street, themed lands,
and a train running around the park.
When I moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 1995 (forty years after Disneyland
opened) I visited the local theme park Adventureland. Let's just
say that you can tell where they got their inspiration from. Here are
some comparison photos I took many years ago...
| Disneyland, CA
| A Photo Comparison: |
Adventureland, IA |
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Both have light signs with "flags" above them.
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The entrance/exit gates are very similar. |
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Both train stations have flower designs in front,
and tunnel entrances to the left and right. |
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Both have similar theaters to the right on "Main
Street". Both have an animatronic person. |
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Both Main Streets use forced perspective. |
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And a musical western show in each park. |
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And archways into various "themed areas". |
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There are many other things at Adventureland which really make you think
the owner was inspired by Disney. But do they go too far? At Adventureland,
there is a rocking boat ride called the Galleon. When it first starts to
rock, their sound system plays a bit of "Yo Ho" from Disney's Pirates of
the Caribbean. (Note: I didn't notice any soundtrack on my visit this summer
so perhaps they removed this.)
Adventureland's first area is called Main Street, and Disneyland has
Main Street U.S.A. There is an area at Disneyland called Adventureland.
Disneyland has a ride called the Mad Hatter's Tea Party involving spinning
tea cups, while Adventureland has a less-themed ride they just call the
Tea Cups. (Okay, so I'm pushing it here...)
At Adventureland's Outlaw Gulch area there is a Boot Hill style graveyard
with three tombstones all of which are practically word for word the same
epitaphs from stones in front of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.
![[Tombstone#1]](adv-08.jpg)
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![[Tombstone#2]](adv-09.jpg)
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![[Tombstone#3]](adv-10.jpg)
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| "Good ol' Fred / A great big rock fell on his head." |
"Good friend Gordon / Now you've crossed the river Jordan." |
"Rest in peace cousin Huet / We all know you didn't do it." |
For 1996, the park opened a new ride called The Underground with
the storyline of how they unearthed it deep inside Adventureland, and
details about how the guests can go explore looking for the treasure...
Which reminds me, at least in vague concept, to a 1995 addition
to Disneyland...
Coincidence? Well, these things do happen... I'll let you decide.
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