When Walt Disney built Disneyland, he intended for the park to continuously evolve and grow
over the years.
It was meant to be a project that was never finished, so that he and the company could
come up with new ideas to keep guests entertained and happy.
As a result it means we often have to see some older and beloved rides closed.
Today I want to talk about an idea that I think would be the ultimate way to pay tribute to
those rides, give us fans something to hold onto, and make Disney some money on top of it all.
Today when a ride at the Disney parks closes, Disney likes to make a little event out of it.
Most recently with the closure of the Great Movie Ride and Ellen’s Energy Adventure
we saw some commemorative merch such as t-shirts and hats to honor the day it closed.
In the case of the Great Movie Ride there were even a few events allowing guests to
walk through the attraction which was pretty cool!
However I think there’s a product that Disney could make that could also be cool while being
more accessible to fans who can’t make it to the parks before it closes.
I’m talking about a commemorative box set!
OK so the name could use some work, but hear me out on the specifics:
For this example, let’s assume The Haunted Mansion is closing.
I know, that sounds blasphemous, but I had to pick a beloved attraction.
The Haunted Mansion Commemorative Box Set would come with a number of things, starting
off with the blu-ray.
On this blu-ray fans would find a full HD or 4k recording of a ride through of the Haunted Mansion.
Now lots of these already exist for free on YouTube, but imagine a ride-through that was
professionally produced by Disney themselves.
They’d be able to specially light the attraction before its closing and setup a professional
rig on the ride track so that the video would be beautiful, rather than the low-light recordings
by hand we usually have to settle for today.
It can even include a full and detailed recording of a walk-through of the queue.
The audio could include multiple tracks, including a clean sync with the master audio, a raw
recording from the ride itself that includes the other ambiance and sound quality from
being on the ride, and maybe even a commentary track with imagineers that points out little
details and facts about the ride itself.
On top of all of that, the Blu-Ray can include a behind-the-scenes documentary, covering
anything and everything ranging from how the ride was designed and built, to how it was
maintained over the years.
And since we are using The Haunted Mansion as an example, I suppose you could also throw
in a copy of the Eddie Murphy movie, if you want... I guess.
Next up in the box set we would have the Haunted Mansion soundtrack.
To the ride by the way, not the movie.
I guess today it would mainly be a paper slip with a download code for the soundtrack, but
you could also do a physical copy.
I mean, if you want to get really into it for the older rides maybe even a vinyl copy.
Paired with the blu-ray and soundtrack, the Haunted Mansion box set would also contain
a book!
It can be an art book with early designs for the attraction, or perhaps a history book
on the ride.
Or I suppose to make things easy it can be like the Disney book that’s already available
on the subject!
Now, it wouldn’t be a proper box set without some kind of memorabilia to go with the media,
so my hypothetical Haunted Mansion commemorative box set would come with two kinds!
First, each box would come with a exclusive limited edition Disney pin designed for the attraction.
Last but not least, each box would come with a scale replica model of the attraction’s
ride vehicle, in this case the Doom Buggy!
Now if Disney really wants to go the extra mile I suggest a more out-there idea: VR recreations.
Imagine along with all of this great stuff, getting a download code for a virtual recreation
of the ride (or a 360 degree video) that can be used with a VR headset to really put you
back into the experience.
Lastly for the super-fans out there, Disney could offer a premium version of this box
set that comes with everything mentioned, along with an actual small prop from the ride itself.
It’d obviously be very limited in quantity and probably very expensive.
I’m not talking about one of the main props like a ghost animatronic or anything.
Something really minor like a fork or spoon from the ballroom scene.
Now like many ideas, this is far from perfect.
Obviously the costs involved would play a major factor into whether or not something
like this would be worth it for Disney.
In fact, considering this isn’t some revolutionary idea and Disney isn’t dumb, I’d almost
assume that the lack of these box sets means it probably isn’t.
On top of that there may be tons of rights issues.
For a Disney original like the Haunted Mansion it might not be a problem, but securing the
rights to record and make a documentary on an attraction like The Great Movie Ride might
be a nightmare
Still though, I think it’s a cool idea.
Disney is unique in that it draws a fandom that I think no other theme park sees as fervently.
It’s because these rides are more than just rides.
When they’re created there’s not just a story within them, but there’s usually
a story behind them too.
So when we as fans lament the closing of those rides it’s not just because we won’t get
to go on them again, it’s because it feels like we’re losing a part of a history we
grew up with.
That doesn’t mean Disney should stop.
No.
That goes against Walt’s whole philosophy.
Instead, it just means that Disney should keep seeking out new ways to preserve and
honor that history, and I think a box set would be a nice way to do that.