Disneyland closed May 4th, 2005

[JIMINOCCHIO]

I have it on good authority and not many know this but the castle we see today in Disneyland is actually just a facade. In 1983 when Fantasyland was rebuilt they actually removed Walt's original castle to make room for a cheaper easier to maintain castle facade. It was all part of a master plan (never seen to fruition) to cheap out the park with facades in place or real buildings. Fortunately they saved the original Castle in storage and will bring it back in all it's splendor and glory to rejoice and celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the Happiest Place on Earth. They need to close Disneyland on May 4th in order to airlift the castle into the park in the early morning hours and then properly dress it for the 18 month celebration which starts the next day.

 

[Sarangel]

Thanks for the chuckle, jiminocchio.

You know, of course, that except for the part about being closed on 5/4/05, this is pure hooey.

Sarangel

 

[iceskatejen]

And that also explains why the blue tarps are covering it up now while they are painting it--the castle will be finished at least by Nov, though I've heard it maybe done in Oct.

 

[JIMINOCCHIO]

Actually the tarps are there to hide the fact that they've already removed the facade. Their story is that they're painting it, but in reality they are painting the original one in an undisclosed warehouse location in the valley. Disneyland will be without a castle until the 50th celebration starts. Why do you think they are calling it the Happiest Homecoming on Earth? It's because Walt's original Sleeping Beauty Castle is finally coming back home.

 

[Magix]

Originally posted by JIMINOCCHIO
Why do you think they are calling it the Happiest Homecoming on Earth? It's because Walt's original Sleeping Beauty Castle is finally coming back home.

You know, that slogan never made much sense to me... until now. Cheaping out the park in the 80's makes sense, since so many companies began their real push for profits at any cost during that era. It's a shame to find out it hit Disney so hard, so early. Fortunately, it was done well enough that no one ever really noticed, so no harm done, I guess, though it does seem a bit disingenuine. Still, how terrific is it to know that they're bringing back such an important piece of history and such an important reminder of all that Walt Disney stood for. The 50th Celebration will surely be a return to all that is great about Disneyland!

 

[WDWHound]

Actually, the reason the castle is under tarps is that they are secretly tearing it down. The plan is to move it to Texas for the secret new Disney park, Disneys Texas Adventure! (I know, what does a castle have to do with Texas? But then then again, California Adventure has already taught us that theme doesn't matter). In place of the Castle at Disneylad, they plan to build a great new attraction, "Adventure Thru Empty Space"!!!!. Thats right, they aren't going to replace it with anything! The theme will be that there is nothing there (hey, it works so well in Tomorrowland). There was some debate about making this a journey through Eisner's brain (the empty space concept would work particularly well here), but they thought that would be too scary an attraction (and yet still boring somehow) for a family park.

Seriously folks, this rumor, like the castle, belongs in Fantasyland. The castle has never been dismantled, moved or otherwise diddled with and therefore can not be brought back. You cant bring back something that never left in the first place. The tarps are there because it is getting a silly paint job for the 50th. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[GQQFY]

This rumor ranks right up there with the common Guest question, "What time does the Castle lower into the ground?" Seriously folks....Disneyland is about to celebrate it's golden anniversary and ALL eyes around the world will be on the one & only original Disneyland! They are making sure their best image comes across and that includes refurbishing the Castle facade.

Oh, that was a funny one!

 

[Magix]

Originally posted by GQQFY
This rumor ranks right up there with the common Guest question, "What time does the Castle lower into the ground?"

About 5:00 am, May 4, 2005.

They are making sure their best image comes across and that includes refurbishing the Castle facade.

No, they're removing the facade. It's the real castle that's being refurbished!

 

[DC7800]

Originally posted by JIMINOCCHIO
I have it on good authority and not many know this but the castle we see today in Disneyland is actually just a facade

I thought it was the Disney company itself that was now a facade, not just the castle.

 

[iceskatejen]

You can see the castle through the tarps when the light is just right, btw.

 

[JIMINOCCHIO]

Actually, what you see through the tarps is ImaginEARing handy work at it's best. They designed the scaffold and tarps specifically to create the illusion of the castle being underneath it all. It's Disney magic like we've never seen it.

 

[Sarangel]

Here's the quote about the closure from Mouseplanet.com:

Start spreading the news: Disneyland is closing to the public on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 to make final preparations for the park's 50th Anniversary celebration, scheduled to start the next day. The resort has begun notifying Annual Passholders in their renewal notices, and vacationers who book through Disney Travel.

Disney's California Adventure (DCA) park will be open on May 4 to accommodate those who still intend to visit the resort that day, or who perhaps miss the announcement.

 

[JIMINOCCHIO]

Of course DL is going to be closed that day for "final preparations" for the 50th celebration. I too read that on Mouseplanet.com, notice though that they leave out any details of what these "final Preparations" are. Obviously, they need the whole day to reinstall Walt's original Sleeping Beauty Castle. It's not one of those projects they can do overnight.

 

[manning]

Actually it is true. Disney contracted with the government at a reasonable price to fly it in. The government was eager to do it as they will be able to try out their new stealth helicopter. In the contract is a provision to refund all the money if anyone hears the helicopter or sees the castle fly over. For safety reasons the operation will take place during the day.

 

[iceskatejen]

Stealth means the aircraft is invisible to radar, not to the human eye (or ear)--people would still see/hear the helicopter. Think of all the parades/sporting events where stealth aircraft have flown overhead--you see and hear them, right? The things don't have cloaking devices that make them invisible to the eye--this isn't Star Trek, people. C'mon, honestly, it would have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove the "real" castle and put a facade up--painting and general maitenance on the original structure would be cheaper. But it's so nice you can all tell stories to entertain yourselves.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by iceskatejen
Stealth means the aircraft is invisible to radar, not to the human eye (or ear)--people would still see/hear the helicopter. Think of all the parades/sporting events where stealth aircraft have flown overhead--you see and hear them, right? The things don't have cloaking devices that make them invisible to the eye--this isn't Star Trek, people. C'mon, honestly, it would have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove the "real" castle and put a facade up--painting and general maitenance on the original structure would be cheaper. But it's so nice you can all tell stories to entertain yourselves.

Jen, Me thinks you should look up the word sarcasm in the dictionary. No one here is buying into this silly rumor and manning's post reflects that. Sometimes its more effective to respond to fantasy with fantasy.

 

[JIMINOCCHIO]

You might want to do a fact check manning, Disney is keeping this job internal rather than contracting it out. With the assistance of Tinker Bell and the Jolly Roger, the castle will be towed in flight to DL in the middle of the night leading up to May 4th. It's the only way to do it with minimal visual and sound impact. iceckatejen is absolutely right, the stealth would attract way too much attention.

 

[lillasmom]

 

[TheGottis]

Quote: Actually it is true. Disney contracted with the government at a reasonable price to fly it in. The government was eager to do it as they will be able to try out their new stealth helicopter.

Quote: Stealth means the aircraft is invisible to radar, not to the human eye (or ear)--people would still see/hear the helicopter.


Sorry to disappoint guys... the Army ditched the Stealth helicopter (Commanche) earlier this year.

Maybe they could borrow the cloak from Harry Potter?

 

[adriannabannana]

I'm on the floor here. What a hoot