I thought the class Homer had to take to become a monorail driver was a tongue-in-cheek look at what it takes to operate the trains of tomorrow. But glancing through this Disneyland Operator Guide from 1966, it doesn’t look that difficult. More »
There was a great disturbance in the amusement park force this weekend, as Disney revealed that the closing dates for its 20-year-old Star Tours ride would be July 27 (Disneyland) and September 8 (Walt Disney World). More »
On many Disneyland coasters, there’s a camera set up to automatically take your picture as you go down the biggest drop. They then try to sell you said picture at the end of the ride. Of course, this is a great opportunity to flash your boobs and have a bunch of kids see it, so Disney has always kept employees on hand dedicated to weeding out such salacious images before they hit the screens that visitors can see. No more!
Among all the election hoopla this past Tuesday, California voters passed a proposition giving the state $US10 billion to begin building a high-speed rail between Northern and Southern California. The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act, or Proposition 1A, opens up a possibility that Californians may see a bullet train traversing between the two regions as early as 2020 among an 1250km stretch. Hold on, does this train mean I can flee to Disneyland (only the happiest place on earth) from the bums that accost me in San Francisco more often?! Hit the jump for more information.
Recently, Disney announced the grand opening of their new Innoventions Dream Home located in Tomorrowland in Anaheim, Calif. The construction was a collaborative effort between Disneyland, Microsoft, HP, Life|ware and home-builder Taylor Morrison–so naturally the home functions more as a big advertising campaign for current products than an actual “home of the future.” Still I wouldn’t mind booting out the fictional Elias family from their 5000 sq ft home to get my hands on some of this tech.
What’s even better than a Wall-E robot toy made by WowWee? A Wall-E robot toy made by the animatronic people at Disney. This Wall-E robot is supposed to roam around Disneyland/Disney World entertaining patrons, but got spotted on the streets of LA panhandling and glad-handing for cash. You know who else can say their name? Timmy from South Park. Wall-E! [Slashfilm]
Needless to say, if you have the cash to drop on a Pirates of the Caribbean themed home theatre, getting booty probably isn’t your problem—financially or sexually. For owners Paul and Emily Konold, the motivation wasn’t to impress or even to pay homage to the movie franchise, it was all about recreating the fun they experienced on the original ride at Disneyland.
Here’s two visions of our future home. One has wall-sized TVs, lots of plastic wares and all-electric grooming tools. The other, touchscreens everywhere, smart kitchen counters and auto-thermostats.
