Now that the World of Color has officially opened, the Blue Sky Cellar has been updated to show new detailed information about a number of the projects in the works.
Here are photos showing drawing plans, artist renderings and 3D models of what’s coming over the next 1-3 years!
Red Car Trolley
The Red Car Trolley will run from the entrance to Disney California Adventure to the Carthay Circle Theater, and then into the Hollywood Backlot area to the Tower of Terror.
There will be what appear to be overhead power lines running over the trolley line, but actually the trolleys will be battery-powered.
Goofy’s Sky School
The current Mulholland Madness roller coaster will be re-themed into Goofy’s Sky School, scheduled to open in 2011.
It hearkens back to the days of “barnstorming”, so there will be lots of cut-outs featuring flying chickens.
Cars Land – Opening 2012
Cars Land will bring the town of Radiator Springs to life, with all of its eccentric inhabitants. Attractions will include Luigi’s Flying Tires, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and the e-ticket attraction, Radiator Springs Racers, which is based on the Test Track technology.
Much of the theming is reminiscent of roadside restaurants and attractions along the classic Route 66, including the neon glow in the evening.
The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure – 2011
The large exhibit space which used to feature all of the information on World of Color has been updated with concept art and models for Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.
The 3D models for Ariel are based on the original animation drawings by Glen Keane.
The ride uses the Omni-mover technology, which is also used in the Haunted Mansion. Guests enter the clam-mobiles from the side and then the front closes down to form a “lap bar”, unlike the clam-mobiles in Nemo and Friends, which are entered from the front with a door that slides closed.
There will be wheelchair-accessible vehicles, known as “King Triton’s Chariot”.
A large scale model shows the entire attraction.
Laura,
I am planning a trip to DL in March. Though my schedule is flexible allowing me to go anytime between September and December of 2011, I was wondering, after seeing all these great additions happening at the Parks, (Okay, so I mean construction), would you recommend I book for the latter part of the year? I don’t think I can wait till 2012 when most of the construction is done.
Laura replies: If you wait until after June, I think you will be able to experience the new Little Mermaid attraction and the re-themed Goofy’s Sky School. October is one of my favorite times because of Disney’s Halloween Time. Early December is also really nice because the holiday festivities are in full swing and the crowds are low.
I have to admit I am more than a little disappointed that the Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is a ride-through – and a totally dry ride. I was hoping for something that was totally outside of all previous Disney experiences. I was hoping for dashing new technology that was both kid-friendly and adult-exciting. While I’m sure that there will be very new and exciting details incorporated into the new attraction – I was hoping… well – really hoping for some…. I don’t know….. WATER! We are really thinking about planning a 2012 trip to Disneyland – by that time the improvements to California Adventure will be completed, Cars Land will be completed, and we will be ready to change things up from our many trips to Walt Disney World. It seems that there is no hope to get the Cars attraction at WDW – but I’m still holding out hope for an Incredibles attraction using some of the same type of technology as Spiderman at Universal. BUT- I’ll keep hoping!
No, Laura, the preview attraction on the Little Mermaid DVD is for a ride that will not be built. It was for Disneyland Paris and more of a “C” ticket (like Peter Pan) than a fully immersive D+ or E ticket like Haunted Mansion.
Hope that answers your question!
Laura replies: Thank you, Mark!
is the little mermaid ride the same one as the “ride-through” bonus feature on the Little Mermaid DVD?
Laura replies: Sorry, but I haven’t seen the DVD, so I can’t tell you. If you visit Disney’s Blue Sky Cellar page there is this video on the Little Mermaid attraction:
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/disneyscaliforniaadventure/index?name=DCAPreview#p=VideosLittleMermaid
Dear Laura,
Thanks for the great update.
As a Southern Californian who grew up spending many, many happy hours at Disneyland, and even worked as a castmember while in graduate school, for the sake of my hometown park’s honor I do have to take issue with your description of the layout of the park when you say, “…Thunder Mountain is where the Haunted Mansion SHOULD (my emphasis) be…”.
I know that your description is only for reference purposes, and that you know better than to imply somehow that Orlando’s Magic Kingdom layout – at least as it applies to the Haunted Mansion – chronologically pre-dates the hallowed, and revered, Disneyland space we know as New Orleans square.
And while my basic loyalties lie in Anahiem – childhood stomping grounds and all – and my favorite vacation destination in the whole world is actually Disney World in Florida (oh the emotional conflict there!), Disneyland still emanates an… oh, let’s just say it…an enchantment that the Magic Kingdom in all its enormity and even grandeur cannot recreate. Maybe it’s Walt’s earliest touch. Some say it’s the smaller scope – which lends an intimacy that the Magic Kingdom has traded for better guest control. Who knows for sure?
Either way, yes, it’s different. Magical in a different way. Disney World is a tour de force that a weeklong vacation cannot begin to exhaust. Disneyland, on a less-crowded day can be experienced in one, albeit, long day.
But, and here’s the thing, if you can stand or sit for a few minutes in Disneyland and let it talk to you, oh, what stories it can tell. Take a good long look at the attractions, and the scenery, and the landscaping. Smell the air. Hear the various sounds around you. Yes, it will remind you of the Magic Kingdom, maybe as a far away dream, but the experience you will be having will be so different in so many ways from that dream as to make you question – maybe as we all should once in a while – which dream is actually reality, and whether the other is just a really, really, well executed imitation.
And having said all of that in defense of the Happiest Place on Earth, I’d still give my right arm for a trip next fall to Disney World.
Thanks again, and best wishes,
Alison Crutchfield
Laura replies: I was putting my description in the context that a frequent visitor to WDW would understand – I agree with you that Disneyland was first. 🙂
do you know when these new attractions will be open? Im planning my first trip in february 2011 and really hope they will be then. Any good tips on what to do first? Im an experienced WDW goer, but first timer for DL.
Laura replies: The Little Mermaid attraction opens in 2011, but no date announced – generally new attractions open in late spring, though – May or June. Cars Land doesn’t open until 2012. As to what to do first…I recommend that people do the things that either don’t exist at WDW or are quite different, like Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Pirates of the Caribbean (longer than Florida), etc. You’ll find that the park layout is familiar but maddeningly different – Thunder Mountain is where Haunted Mansion should be, and the Winnie the Pooh ride is way over next to Splash Mountain! And there’s a whole new land to explore with New Orleans Square. Not to mention an entirely different theme park: Disney California Adventure.
Little Mermaid is a totally dry attraction. It will be taking you “Under the Sea” but in a Disney Magical way.
Laura, I love the pictures of the Ariel ride! I was hoping that there’d be an underwater element like the old 10,000 Leagues, but this looks like a totally “dry” ride. Is that so? Thanks for the terrific report!
Jan