By Imagination – “the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses”
Walt Disney’s imagination was so great that he created this world of laughter, imagination and dreams. That is why I saw it fitting to do a ‘part 2’ to my Disneyland blog from last week (go check it out if you love all things magical), but I decided this week to focus on Walt Disney Studios.
At Walt Disney Studios, wherever you turn you are surrounded by imagination. You are dropped into an amalgamation of worlds, with all your favourite movies colliding with every turn.
The Studios was my favourite park in terms of rides. There were so many that I loved. Let’s start with the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Honestly, I don’t know if I love or hate being scared. I have such mixed emotions towards the feeling of being scared. What I do know is that I love this ride. The experience that has been created with this ride makes it extra special. From the moment you enter the building, you feel like you’ve travelled to a hotel that time forgot. The ride itself revolves around being in an elevator that rushes up and down at such a speed. At regular intervals the doors to the elevator open and reveal Walt Disney park from such a height. There were moments when everything was dark, and that darkness really heightened the imagination, due to the loss of one of the senses. Some say that darkness and imaginary thinking are linked; that one leads to the other. I believe this is the idea that the creators of such rides harnessed in order to produce rides that so many people love.
Now let’s talk about Armageddon: les Effects Spéciaux – this is one of the only memories I have of my visit to Walt Disney Studios as a child. I remember feeling like it really was Armageddon: I was so scared and hugged my dad’s leg as tight as I could and cried and cried. I think this was my main reason for wanting to revisit the Armageddon experience. I was curious as to whether the special effects would be so real that I would feel that same terror or whether it was because I was about 6 years old and the noises and fire everywhere simply scared me. I was almost disappointed when it turned out to be the latter. I was wishing for the experience to be as terrifying as my memory was telling me, and unfortunately my imagination couldn’t take me into that world. The reasoning behind this I think, was as a 6 year old I wasn’t paying attention to the story being told in the background or the surroundings in general. However this time around, I was so focused on working out what was going on (I’ve never watched Armageddon and the whole thing baffled me slightly) I think I forgot to let myself become immersed in the experience.
Crush’s Coaster was one ride I was really looking forward to as I love Finding Nemo. I feel like I have said this about every ride, but once again the ride exceeded my expectations. It was so much faster than I imagined, and combined with the constant spinning and twists, you really feel as if you’re swimming through the East Australian Current. First, you’re like “woah”, then you’re like “WOAHHHH”! (Finding Nemo reference for you, thank me later).
Ratatouille: The Adventure – this was where we got stuck. We got to the queue and were surprised to find there was only a 15 minute wait. However, the ride temporarily broke whilst we were queuing and so a 15 minute queue turned into a 60+ minute queue. We ended up sat on the streets of Paris outside Gusteau’s Restaurant. Or this is how it felt. Throughout Disney, you really have to credit them for their design skills when it comes to the queuing space. Every queue built the excitement for the ride as you really felt like you were part of the story. Therefore, this temporary breakdown didn’t dampen our spirits, especially when we were queuing next to some lovely people who you start chatting away to as if you’ve known them years. Plus the ride itself was awesome, which always makes you forget about the time you spent queuing.
Following the ride, we stuck to the Ratatouille theme and went to eat in Bistrot Chez Rémy, where you’re made to feel like the size of a mouse as you’re surrounded by 10 foot tall plates and cutlery the size of small trees. Of course it felt even more authentic being in Paris.
Other rides I would highly recommend in the Walt Disney Park are Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop and the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic.
Walt Disney Studios was simply amazing. I think it’s been created so cleverly in that a lot of the things you experience are determined by your imagination. With imagination, you can feel yourself being immersed in the various film sets. You feel as if you are experiencing a part of something so different and unique, that the whole experience feels really special.
“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world” – Walt Disney
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