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Dead and Dying Attractions
- Thread starter Sanjuro
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Shotgun Kiss
Member
pbones85 said:
Never visited it, but when I last went on holiday there about 5 years ago, I stayed in a villa about a two minute drive away from it. Every time we drove anywhere, we passed it. I only saw a bunch of buildings over the top of the wall, but I wanted to go there, and was disappointed when I found out it was shut down. From what I remember though, it did look pretty run-down.
I'm kind of annoyed I didn't take a few pictures.
Xun said:
Seriously. I don't even have to go on any of the rides/attractions in order to have a great time; simply being there and wandering around whilst taking it all in still makes me feel like a kid again. I've been on a backstage tour of the Magic Kingdom, and it's incredible just how much thought goes into instilling that feeling. For example, you can't see Cinderella's Castle from immediately outside the park; it only becomes visible after walking under the bridge and into Main Street. That's to mimic the opening curtain on a movie. Similarly, all of the main people responsible for the creation of the Magic Kingdom are listed along the windows on Main Street to mimic opening credits.
Anyway, as for the new Disney Princess area, it's a shame that anywhere has to go in order to make room for it, but of all the areas in the Magic Kingdom that could have been sacrificed, ToonTown isn't a huge loss. Most of it was nothing more than a giant playground for kids, and it's not as if there's a shortage of stuff for kids to do in the Magic Kingdom. I'm glad that Mickey's house is being moved.
Speaking of the D23 Expo, wasn't it there that it was also announced that the Star Tours ride would be changed to reflect the prequels as well? Apparently it's going to include a podracing sequence, and I think it might be 3D too. Shame, as I love the original ride, and it's a monument to Star Wars in it's glory days.
jecclr2003
Banned
Purkake4 said:
Am I doing this right?
Mother Goose Land in Canton?!? Fuck yes.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Xun said:
Anybody can go on one; they do them daily (maybe several a day), and they do it in groups of about 15 people. Kids can't do it though, as it would obviously spoil the magic for them (I saw characters in-costume walking around without their heads, and Mary Poppins smoking a cigarette). I'm not sure how you book it; there might be a wesbite, but I wouldn't be surprised if you can arrange it by asking at admissions at the park itself.
I also went on a segway tour of Epcot (again, as a group), but it wasn't behind the scenes or anything; it was basically just a lap of the park, with an emphasis on the Around the World Pavillion.
I strongly recommend both to anybody who has been to Disney World a bunch of times and is looking for something new and fun to do on their next trip. If you only do one though, make it the Magic Kingdom tour. You learn some pretty interesting stuff, you get lunch for free, you see some really interesting stuff backstage (like all the parade floats, and the backs of rides/attractions, which obviously aren't decorated), and it lasts about four hours or so if I remember correctly (the Epcot segway tour is only two hours, and the first hour is spent learning how to use a segway, even if you already know).
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Tell me about it. I've always wanted an update to Star Tours but would have wished it was done before the prequels were made.Xun said:
Disneyland's Star Tours actually closes later this month. I'm not sure I'll be able to ride it one last time before they potentially screw it up.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
It's amazing how the construction in some of these places has held up.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
joeyjoejoeshabadoo said:
That sucks. Luckily, I've been on it so many times, I can remember pretty much every second. I'll still miss it though. Especially the queue area, where you were walking through a space travel agency, with ads for different planets/moons like Tatooine and Endor, and R2-D2 and C-3PO chatting away while working on repairs. Oh, and the safety intsructional video for the ride itself, which had Wookies, Jawas, and other species all buckling up and taking pictures next to normal Disney tourists. :lol
I really hope Disney retain that tongue-in-cheek aspect of the queue area in the redesign.
Anyway, I got to ride on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride on it's last day before they shut it down and turned it into a Winnie the Pooh Ride.
On a somewhat related note, in the Winnie the Pooh ride, there's a part where you pass through Owl's house. It's a mess, and there are a bunch of framed pictures scattered all over the place. If you look carefully, you can see pictures of Mr. Toad handing over a deed to Owl, and another picture of Winnie the Pooh with Moley.
Looking at the coney island pictures and it makes sense why my parents loved to go there when they were young. When they took me when I was young I said it looked like a shithole
I remember me and a couple of friends went into a five year old abandon rollerskating ring, that was creepy has hell.
I remember me and a couple of friends went into a five year old abandon rollerskating ring, that was creepy has hell.
No shit? I give 'em credit for keeping the place open. It actually looked like a nice place. Definitely out of place in that abandoned mall.RbBrdMan said:
Do you have any other insight about the general area from your friend? I've read that it used to be a very popular shopping destination (Reading Rd. in general was full of successful shops, theaters, and restaurants 30 years ago, it seems).
345triangle
Member
TelemachusD said:
man i live by the most ironically run-down place in the whole of japan - its name translates as NEW WORLD (新世界
but is now nothing but a closed down failure of an amusement park and a bunch of homeless dudes from across the country. i'll take some pictures for this thread when i can, but there's actually a really awesome photo essay on the NYT lens blog with pictures of places (and even people, like the dude with the sign at shin-imamiya station) i walk past every day.http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/showcase-101/
it's about "kamagasaki", which isn't the official name for anywhere anymore but it's what some people use to refer to the entire run-down area of south osaka.
Xun said:
I really need to get down to Walt Disney World next year.. It's been far too long. Like, over 20 years long. There is something about Disney that brings out the kid in me, I love seeing any specials about it on TV, reading any books, or seeing movies about it. Seeing rides like 20,000 Leagues being removed makes me sad though. Loved the movie and the ride seemed pretty amazing.
MarkMclovin
Member
Anticitizen One said:
Jaws needs to go.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
MarkMclovin said:
Jaws is in Universal Studios, not any of the Disney parks.
Also, I can't comment on Disneyland in California, but Disney World is still an absolutely incredible place, and I don't see that ever changing no matter how much it changes over time.
Here's how River Country (WDW) looked last year, just abandoned.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2344523
http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2009/12/19/abandoned-disney-river-country-part-1.html
Apparently something is going on this year though, which may or may not be a new park.
As for the Disney parks decaying, are you kidding me? Disney World is very well kept, as are the other parks.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2344523
http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2009/12/19/abandoned-disney-river-country-part-1.html
Apparently something is going on this year though, which may or may not be a new park.
As for the Disney parks decaying, are you kidding me? Disney World is very well kept, as are the other parks.
Escape Goat
Member
its crazy to go see those planned communities in russia that have been abandoned for 30-40 years. they just up and left and let nature take over. pretty creepy. modern day ghost towns.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Xun said:
If they're making a new park, I'd expect that it would be pretty well known. Unless it's just in the planning stages.
I have only vague memories of River Country, but I don't miss it. Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach outclass it in every way imaginable. Looking at those photos, even though there's a lot of vegetation obscuring things, it doesn't look all that different now to how it did when it was open (unlike Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, there weren't many decorations, models, or other aesthetic features around). It was really outdated and not a pretty place at all. Also, the main bodies of water were river water (obviously, hence the name). I remember it being really murky and salty. You certainly couldn't swim underwater.
Funnily enough, looking at those photos actually makes you appreciate just how much Disney did with the land they bought. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, the hotels, and everything else all used to look like that.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo said:
I visited WDW for the first time in my life a couple of weeks ago and was wondering what that big blue wall was all about. I'm surprised it's taken them this long to do something with the land. It's a real shame about that ride closing, I bet my little guy would have loved it. Did you guys catch the *un*official reason why it was shut down? The workers were sick of maintaining it and when budgetary cuts were requsted from above they tricked an executive into shutting it down by giving him a terrible ride and partially sabotaged the ride.
BattleMonkey
Member
For anyone going to Star Wars Celebration in August, they are doing a special promotion for guest to get access to the Last Tour of Star Tours. There will be Star Wars themed parties and such going on at night and will be the final rides available to those attending before the ride is shut down followed by a SW themed fireworks show.
MarkMclovin
Member
Ben2749 said:
It still needs to go.
345triangle
Member
i've only ridden the osaka version, but i thought it was a work of post-modern genius. what's up with it?
PjotrStroganov
Member
TelemachusD said:
Didn't read all of it, but the erotic museum caught my eye. I wonder how many people actually still visist it per day. Does the guy just sit there waiting for visitors? It's also very interesting that the rise and fall was because of the rise and fall of group tourism. It kind of makes me nostalgic (by proxy) for that era, even though I never visited Japan.
Xun said:
The image of that attraction has always been part of my image of Disney World. I think I´ve even seen pictures of it in my uncles old Mickey Mouse comics. It´s sad to see it decline, only to come to the the conclusion that it has been replaced entirely already.
AFreak said:
I swear, the kid with black hair sitting by the lady with red hair could, quite possibly, be me. weird.
Wow!
PjotrStroganov said:
Yeah, and i hope that isn't sarcasm, lol.
I've actually never really changed my hair style, so it still looks kinda like that, and so does my face.
I cant say definitively that it's me, but i look kinda like the kid, and my mother used to have her hair dyed that color...also, i did go on that ride when i was younger. it would be hilarious if it was me.
like i said, facial structure and hair seem pretty spot on after you remove the glasses.
I loved Sports Plus up until the day it died. Before they knocked it down, my friends and I wrote all over the walls because we'd become friendly enough with the owner... so FUCKING sad. I miss that place all the time, but it was so huge, it never really did GREAT business.djtiesto said:
woodchuck said:
Highland mall used to be pretty cool. It had a Suncoast Videos, and a Gamefellas, some bookstores, and other stuff. It looked cool, too. They had painted the entire thing to look somewhat like the city of Austin in miniature, but the ceiling was curved, so it looked like the buildings were all leaning inwards. Quite trippy. There are (were?) model airplanes hanging from the ceiling in the food court, and the elevator was in the middle of the mall and inside a model of the state capitol building with a bunch of stuffed armadillos on it. It's been a while since I've been, but it's not the same: most of the interesting stores are gone, and the place doesn't even look as cool as it used to.
Oh well. Barton Creek Mall was always better, anyway.
How about a dead island http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/06/battleship-island-other-ruined-urban.html
Yeah I was never too keen on River Country either, but I guess I didn't go in its heyday.Ben2749 said:
It was a Winnie the Pooh area for a little bit, so in the past 6 years its gone through 2 under construction phases.Javaman said:
I wish I went on the ride before it was destroyed.
Count Dookkake
Member
Any GAFfers from IL remember Kiddie Kingdom?
Metalic Sand
who is Emo-Beas?
AniHawk said:
I got to go there sometime in the late 90's. Sad that it went away.
Edit: Universal studios will always be my favorite park, Use to go every year.
I remember going to Smuggler's Cove on family vacations years ago. It's too bad they closed. I'm sure I still have a miniature Smuggler's Cove pirate flag somewhere.J2 Cool said:I should have taken pictures of it just a few weeks ago, in Orland Park, Illinois. Me and a friend broke onto this abandoned mini-golf course we played a lot a couple years ago, called Smuggler's Cove. It looked basically like this in it's heyday, a little less glamorous.
It stopped being open ever day about a year ago, only on weekends. But since then, it's closed completely. Animals infested it, water was drained. Grass grew very tall and wild and debris fell all over the courses.
Of course, we were able to find a couple balls there and get our hands on a few clubs laying around. We went and played it a final time. Somebody actually stopped by as we were playing, and asked what our hours were. :lol It was kind of like Jordan playing his final game at old Chicago stadium, except I didn't kiss this floor.
Going mini-golfing a lot as a hobby, it's not the first time a course has closed down on us and I don't expect it to be the last. Our favorite mini-golf spot was a fun center which did good but not great business up until closing. Unfortunately, they took apart that course piece by piece when it closed 2 years ago.
AceBandage
Banned
Kozak said:
Likely shut down all access to the island because it doesn't look like it would be very safe.
Hypereides
Gold Member
Buffalo Terminal train station somewhere in the outskirts of New york I think. HUUUUUGE building. Closed down since 1975, and is proven to be haunted:
I go to the 28 Days Later UrbEx Forums every now and then, it's mainly UK stuff but theres loads from around the world in the International section, good stuff.
highluxury said:Buffalo Terminal train station somewhere in the outskirts of New york I think. HUUUUUGE building. Closed down since 1975, and is proven to be haunted:
Passed by that on the Lake Shore Limited once and both me and my girlfriend dropped our mouths at the abandoned station. Reality is though that building is terribly located.
This is the saddest one, I was so upset when they took this and the skyway out of service.
At least they brought the LA one back into service, even if it is finding nemo rather than Captain Nemo. Next Disney Trip will probably be out there for this reason.
Also Captain Nemo>>>>>>>>>>Finding Nemo.
Has anyone posted about Six Flags New Orleans?
http://weburbanist.com/2010/03/17/uber-creepy-tour-abandoned-six-flags-new-orleans-69-pics/
Also there's this abandoned Arcade/Fun center type place in Houston, TX called Malibu Grand Prix (used to go here as a kid):
http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/abandoned_malibu_grand_prix_in_houston.htm
(lol Tekken)
Supposedly it closed due to the owner getting murdered or such?
http://weburbanist.com/2010/03/17/uber-creepy-tour-abandoned-six-flags-new-orleans-69-pics/
Also there's this abandoned Arcade/Fun center type place in Houston, TX called Malibu Grand Prix (used to go here as a kid):
http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/abandoned_malibu_grand_prix_in_houston.htm
Supposedly it closed due to the owner getting murdered or such?
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