World of Innoventions

Picking a hotel is hard. You want a hotel that’s close to the park, clean, and inexpensive. But around Disneyland, you have to compromise a bit. If you’ve been to Walt Disney World, you may expect that the majority of the visitors stay in Disney owned hotels. That’s not the case at Disneyland. Lots of visitors stay at nearby hotels or the rely on the parking system. Disney Hotels Disney has three “on property” hotels. These hotels are owned and run by Disney and are part of Disneyland. These are high quality hotels with the Disney name, which means they can be a pricey. The Disneyland Hotel was built in 1955 for Disneyland’s opening. The hotel has gone through several expansions and upgrades over the years. It’s located at the west side of Downtown Disney. It’s very close to one of the two monorail stops (the other stop is inside Disneyland), so you can get into the park without walking through the shopping district. The Grand Californian opened with California Adventure. It has an ent...

  I'm something of a late comer to Disney World attendance. My home park was Disneyland. I did go when I was little, but my memories are pretty vague. So going back as an adult has been fun, because a lot of the attractions seem new. But, I've been going back through some of the old attractions, trying to get a feeling for what I missed and how the parks have changed. Gran Fiesta Tour is an interesting one for me. I rode it, not knowing that the Three Caballeros were a relatively new addition. I thought it was a cute way to use some old characters. But I was surprised that those characters were there, because the Three Caballeros had always seemed so obscure to me. Don't get me wrong I thought the characters were great, I just didn't think anyone know who they were. Then I found out that the ride had originally been called Rio del Tiempo, I was just about cruise through Mexico. That made sense to me. It's a right showing off the country, which is something that belo...

The Boulder at Indiana Jones Adventures is one of the most iconic and thrilling elements of the ride. Guests on the ride are sent hurtling through a temple, chased by a giant rolling boulder that appears to be just inches behind them. But how does this impressive effect actually work? The boulder is actually a large, lightweight ball made out of fiberglass and other materials. It’s attached to a track system that is hidden from view, so guests can’t see how the boulder is propelled forward. The track is a series of curved rails that guide the boulder along its path. The boulder is mounted on a metal frame that is attached to a motorized system. The motor moves the frame forward along the track, which causes the boulder to roll forward at a speed that matches the ride vehicle. This creates the illusion that the boulder is chasing the guests. To make the effect even more convincing, the boulder is covered in a special material that creates a realistic-looking texture and helps it blend i...

Now that Genie+ and Lightning Lane have been up and running for the better part of a year, Disney has started to tweak the experience at Walt Disney World. Starting June 8th, guests will not be able to purchase Genie+ until the day of their visit. Disney has also stated that the number of Genie+ purchases available may be limited on a given day. Recently, they also updated the product description, which now states that guests should expect to get 2 or 3 Lightning Lanes in a day. This tells us that Disney is starting to recognize a need for change in the way Genie+ runs. This raised the question of whether you need Genie+ to be able to see the park in a day. To test it out, I set out to see all of Epcot without Genie+ in a single day. (Spoiler alert: I saw most of the park without it!) Summary To see how well I did, we’ll be comparing what I did to the list of 65 things to do at Epcot from Disney World’s Attractions page. Let’s look at some numbers to summarize my day, and then I’ll wa...

  Maintenance is a critical part of ensuring the safety and longevity of Disney rides. Disney parks operate some of the most sophisticated and complex ride systems in the world, and keeping them running smoothly requires constant attention and care. Disney uses teams of engineers and technicians from early design through long-term maintenance to make sure that the rides run as well as possible. They are complex machines that need to be "always available." Maintenance on Disney rides is a multi-step process that involves daily inspections, routine maintenance, and major overhauls. Each ride is inspected every day before it opens to the public, and any issues are addressed immediately. Routine maintenance is also performed regularly to ensure that all components are working as intended and to prevent any potential problems. In addition to daily inspections and routine maintenance, Disney also conducts regular safety checks and major overhauls on its rides. Safety checks are typ...

   Edison Square was a planned land at Disneyland that was never built. The area was intended to be a turn-of-the-century city block inspired by the inventions and innovations of Thomas Edison, the famed inventor and businessman. Some of it's planning was designed to mesh well with the then-planned Liberty Street, which turned into Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom. Although the land was never completed, it remains an interesting part of Disneyland history and a fascinating look at what could have been. The concept for Edison Square was first introduced in the 1950s, shortly after Disneyland opened. The land was designed to showcase the technological advancements of the early 20th century, with attractions and experiences centered around the inventions of Thomas Edison. The area was meant to be located between Main Street USA and Fantasyland, and would have featured a variety of shops, restaurants, and attractions. Some of the proposed attractions for Edison Square included ...