{"id":18026,"date":"2025-10-22T16:23:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/18026\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:23:08","slug":"timesoc-california-adventure-plans-to-update-soarin-exhibit-in-time-for-americas-250th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/18026\/","title":{"rendered":"TimesOC: California Adventure plans to update Soarin’ exhibit in time for America’s 250th birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Semiquincentennial is one heck of a tongue twister. Mouthing it out will make those around you think you\u2019ve swallowed a lime.<\/p>\n

So it follows that the republic\u2019s getting-up-there birthday celebration next year is dubbed \u201cAmerica250<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it also follows that Disney\u2019s California Adventure Park would update its Soarin\u2019 Around the World attraction to Soarin\u2019 Around America to mark the quarter millennium since Thomas Paine circulated pamphlets (!) demanding independence and the 13 colonies declared it.<\/p>\n

Disneyland plans to rework the attraction in Anaheim, and another in Florida, in time for the country\u2019s 250th anniversary in July, Times columnist Todd Martens writes in a piece exploring the tensions around the marketing of that idea (\u201cDisney leans into patriotism, turning Soarin\u2019 Around the World into Soarin\u2019 Across America<\/a>\u201d). <\/p>\n

Not much has been revealed about the revamp but images of \u201camber waves of grain\u201d and \u201cpurple mountains majesty\u201d are promised.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A flag-raising ceremony in July honored American veterans at the Disneyland Resort.<\/p>\n

(Richard Harbaugh \/ Disneyland Resort )<\/p>\n

It\u2019s part of a series called \u201cDisney Celebrating America\u201d that begins Nov. 11, Veterans Day. And, as Martens writes, the branding comes at a sensitive moment for both the divided country and the entertainment company, which faced fierce criticism \u2014 and received some praise \u2014 when it temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel from its ABC network after he made remarks following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe celebration arrives at a divisive time in American history,\u201d Martens writes. \u201cA poster for the attraction showcases the Statue of Liberty juxtaposed with the American flag and bald eagle. It\u2019s art that conveys a sense of nationalistic pride, and it\u2019s perhaps representative of shifting an outward-facing, global ride with one that may suddenly be more inward-looking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disneyland is receiving online criticism about its imagery tied to the revamped attraction, according to the column, which also makes clear that the theme park has a long tradition of patriotism that, of course, spans many diverse political eras. <\/p>\n

Examples that come to mind: The animatronic tribute to Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, opened in 1965 when Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, was president, and the large-scale America on Parade celebration during the nation\u2019s bicentennial (call it America200) took place when Gerald R. Ford, a Republican, was in the White House.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, try to enjoy next year\u2019s semiquincentennial, as well as these newsworthy headlines out of Orange County.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The front entrance of the Newport Police Department building in Newport Beach.<\/p>\n

(File Photo)<\/p>\n

MORE NEWSPUBLIC SAFETY & CRIMESPORTSLIFE & LEISUREENTERTAINMENT<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading my take on the headlines this week. Your regular editor, Carol Cormaci, should be back at the helm of TimesOC next week. <\/p>\n

\u2014 John <\/p>\n

KEEP IN TOUCH<\/p>\n

We appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome!) or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Semiquincentennial is one heck of a tongue twister. Mouthing it out will make those around you think you\u2019ve…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[6650,163,165,164,6653,588,2624,6651,6649,63,3906,6652,1594,6654,6283,2058,6648,430],"class_list":{"0":"post-18026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-action","9":"tag-anaheim","10":"tag-anaheim-headlines","11":"tag-anaheim-news","12":"tag-andrea-mcelroy","13":"tag-huntington-beach","14":"tag-june","15":"tag-kirstin-walsh","16":"tag-like-minded-people","17":"tag-los-angeles-times","18":"tag-month","19":"tag-orange-county-resident","20":"tag-other","21":"tag-pearson-park","22":"tag-president","23":"tag-protest","24":"tag-turbulent-time","25":"tag-week"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}