Speaking as a former Disney musician, cast member and Dopey Book contributor... well... the above, allegedly refurbished ride looks the same as it did in the '80s and '90s. Sure, there might be a few extra lights and LED fake-dynamite fuses, but otherwise the ride seems identical. Same twists and turns. Pretty disappointing, actually, considering the ride's been out of commission for over a year.
 |
| Cave scene from the old pre-Thunder Mine Train ride. |
Da-da liked the old Rainbow Ridge Mine Train better. It was soothing and quirky and rather interesting, a cooling change of pace in a hot part of the park.
Probably for sheer moolah/body-count/ride-throughput reasons, Disney has purged their Anaheim park of slow rides like the original, as they did The People Remover and the SkyWay cars through the Matterhorn, which was also a nice shortcut across Fantasyland.
 | |
| Two defunct rides, no waiting. |
Oh, well. Tom Wolfe's been vindicated yet again, Disney-style. Kinda makes you wonder how much money Disney spent on the refurb and what it was spent on... unless the new mine train is to be a fat corporate tax deduction -- or perhaps an NSA surveillance showcase. (Few people realize that the former head of Disneyland Security was the first person chosen for the newly minted and oxymoronic, "Dept. of Homeland Security.") And D-land's new procrustean and highly invasive guest security system should come as a surprise to no one... provided people actually suspend their civil rights and submit themselves -- and their kids -- to it, pictures and thumb prints and all, no doubt shared with the DHS. Da-da, for one, will opt out.
 |
| People riding in the dark in the old days. The smell of water was nice. |
Oh, well. At least Da-da was HOT back then.
No comments:
Post a Comment