Here's something I thought I might not see in my lifetime...

I was reading Al Lutz’s column at MiceAge yesterday and found some intriguing stuff in it.

Apparently the opening of DCA is going even better than they thought it would.  I guess that makes up for some of the karma of it’s original opening being worse than anyone ever thought it could be.  In the part they do those little quick interviews to find out how you like the park.  One of their important stats is “Intent To Return”.  In a world where nothing is perfect, they like to see high numbers, but never expected to hit the 100% yes answers they’ve been receiving.  Cars Land has been receiving 100%’s for quite a few days in a row apparently which either means everyone really likes it that much or they’re only asking people wearing tires on their head.

I’m still going to wait until they stop breaking attendance records to make my trip there.

Now that Disney once again has confidence that they can throw a few billion dollars at something and make it successful, they’re already thinking about their next projects, though nothing’s gotten the green light yet.

In Tomorrow Land they’re considering pulling out three things: Innoventions (thank god…), the Autopia, and the Nemo Submarines.  I have no idea what they’ll put in there, but apparently they’re tossing around D- and E-Ticket ideas.  the Innoventions building is so cool that I wish they could figure out something to do with it.  But it’s been a drag since America Sings left.  And while the Autopia is always worth at least one ride per visit, I get the feeling that kids want something more tech than a lawn mower engine these days.  You wouldn’t think the magic of driving a car without a license would fade, but who knows…

The Submarines was a surprise to the list.  They spent so much getting it back in gear with the Nemo theme.  But it’s the most expensive ride in the park to run and has a terribly slow guest turnover.  I guess now that John Lasseter has Cars Land he can let go of the subs without feeling as bad.

That will open a huge swath of land for new attractions. For Imagineers that’s a big empty canvas waiting for exciting new attractions…

Or a new parking lot.  They’re having a ton of trouble with finding parking room at the resort.  And even with that, they’re thinking about (just maybe) tearing down the Toy Story garage to create a third gate… A Marvel themed park.  This excites my girlfriend a lot more than me.  She’s the super hero fan in our house.  So sue me.  I read Archie and Jughead comics when I was a kid.  That’s not to say I wouldn’t go, I would.  But it probably wouldn’t be my main reason for heading south.

But I do have a Disney trip coming up soon.  Since I’m headed to Hollywood to perform at the Comedy Store on 7/21 and see my brother’s critically acclaimed play “Stone Face” at the Sacred Fools Theater on 7/22, I’m going to drive out to Simi Valley on the 21st to see the Disney Archives exhibit at the Reagan Presidential Library.  I’m hoping it’s not all the same stuff I’ve seen at the D23 Expo, but I do know they have the original dragon from Fantasmic on display. Pictures to come on that.

So what would you like to see them do with all that possible empty space in Tomorrow Land?