You’re reading Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride newsletter <\/p>\n
Todd Martens’ newsletter delivers news and commentary on the past, present and future of theme parks, right from the theme park capital of the world \u2014 Southern California. <\/p>\n
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a>, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy<\/a> such as personalizing your experience and ads. <\/p>\n The criticism irks me, in part, because of what it implies. By dismissing a Disneyland or a Universal Studios park as \u201cfake,\u201d there\u2019s an implication that something is \u201cmore real.\u201d A national park, perhaps, or a dedicated art institution. I adore those types of spaces as well, of course, but there\u2019s an ignorant snobbery to this sort of remark, a thumbing of the nose that seems to argue I should spend some of my free time elsewhere. <\/p>\n This has been on my mind of late for a pair of reasons. One, I recently visited the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and have been consumed with the discourse surrounding the value of story-driven art. And two, I recently read \u201cFloating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible\u201d by famed Disney designer Joe Rohde<\/a>. The book is many things \u2014 an impassioned dissection of creative collaboration, a look at Rohde\u2019s 40 years with Walt Disney Imagineering \u2014 but it is also a subtle argument that theme parks are vital, artistic spaces. <\/p>\n A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in front of a very real fantasy castle.<\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n I agree, and so I decided to bring up my pet peeve while talking to Rohde at the recent all-things-Disney fan convention D23. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very odd criticism,\u201d Rohde says of the knock on theme parks as being fake. <\/p>\n \u201cOf course they are not real,\u201d he tells me. \u201cMovies are not real. Theater is not real. It\u2019s like Ren\u00e9 Magritte, \u2018Ceci n\u2019est pas une pipe.\u2019 Of course, a picture of a pipe is not a pipe. I don\u2019t understand why that is an issue. It is a creation. In some cases it is a photo-realistic creation. In some cases it is a stylistic creation. But it is a creation. That\u2019s what makes it a work of art.\u201d <\/p>\n In \u201cFloating Mountains,\u201d Rohde, the primary creative behind the stunning Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom (second only to the original Disneyland in my mind), documents the myriad of disciplines that must come together to create such spaces. Animal Kingdom is full of real-world details. I can spend days exploring just the Africa section of the park, reading anti-poaching signs and piecing together a story that helps inform the area\u2019s magnificent safari ride. <\/p>\n This is a work of art, albeit a less understood one, for narrative place-making and environmental storytelling are borderline experimental, less common than, say, a book or a film. Place-making requires that we not just take in our surroundings but constantly analyze them for story insights.<\/p>\n Joe Rohde, in 2017, discussing Pandora \u2014 the World of Avatar at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom in Florida\u2019s Walt Disney World. <\/p>\n (Jay L. Clendenin \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Rohde also notes the degree to which Imagineers are taking influence from real-world spaces in an effort to bring narrative details into the parks, ensuring they appear at once familiar and fantastical. In the case of Animal Kingdom, it was Africa\u2019s Lake Manyara National Park, among many other locales, that gave that park its realistic grit. And when it came to the fully imagined floating mountains of Pandora \u2014 The World of Avatar, it was finding inspiration in the Italian Baroque art <\/a>of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, as seen in the entangled vines descending from the apparently hovering mountains.<\/p>\n Now, I am not someone who argues that a trip to Animal Kingdom is a stand-in for a vacation to Africa. Or that visiting the World Showcase of Epcot is akin to a jaunt around Europe. Or that hanging out in Cars Land is a substitute for a drive down Route 66<\/a>. And an afternoon slugging pints at Hog\u2019s Head at Wizarding World of Harry Potter is certainly not the equivalent of a day at an authentic British pub. No, what a theme park offers is an artistic interpretation, one that filters the natural world through the stories that define our lives. <\/p>\n Theme parks are not so much an escape from the world but a way to make sense of it. View them with an open mind, and they are an entree into storytelling exploration. This is different to me than, say, a re-creation of the Eiffel Tower being plopped into Las Vegas, which is preying on replication as generic spectacle. Theme parks, of course, can fall victim to this, too, when they utilize signposts or characters from a film as a substitute for innovation (see much of the design of Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure). <\/p>\n Cars Land in Disney California Adventure was inspired by the scenery and history of Route 66.<\/p>\n (Mark Boster \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n France at Epcot\u2019s World Showcase, in contrast, aims to weave a brochure-like tale of the country, to introduce us to culinary and architectural standouts that can inspire us to dig deeper. For some, sure, that\u2019s deeper into their wallets, but World Showcase inspired a young me to be curious about the world beyond the suburban Chicago neighborhood I grew up in. <\/p>\n And purely fantastical creations \u2014 at least the ones that are done well \u2014 are not just references to things we saw on a movie or television screen. I think of Guardians of the Galaxy \u2014 Mission: Breakout! at Disney California Adventure, which is specifically designed as a cartoon-like intrusion<\/a>, a building meant to clash and call attention to its surroundings. It\u2019s all an effort to heighten the concept that the modern American myth \u2014 the superhero film \u2014 is work that encroaches, with uplifting exaggeration, on real-world settings.<\/p>\n And even a Disneyland classic such as Pirates of the Caribbean requires deep analytical reframing to properly understand it. Sure, it\u2019s a boat ride with singing robot pirates, but that\u2019s not the reason it has endured for more than half a century. I\u2019ve described the attraction as the template<\/a> for the perfect theme park ride, one that invites the guest to discover a host of mini stories based upon where riders are directing their focus. It\u2019s a huge influence, for instance, on the world of open-world video games, which allow players to pick a direction and discover a narrative path. It\u2019s anything but fake. <\/p>\n Pirates of the Caribbean is a study in environmental storytelling. <\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The criticism that theme parks are fake is a surface one, one that fails to properly meet the medium where it\u2019s at. It\u2019s easy, of course, to look at the nostalgia of a Main Street, U.S.A, and the castle up ahead and to write off Disneyland as a rosy, idealized take on America. This is the undiscerning view, for Disneyland is a presentation of an America that never existed, one disrupted by a castle that also doubles as an extended hand. <\/p>\n Think of it as an ask to use one\u2019s imagination and to be open to play: Theme parks are a wholly unique medium that requires a different set of criticism, one that is looking at architecture and design as a storytelling device. And when one gets on a ride, a theme park expects us to be open to a somewhat abstract form of storytelling. Theme parks are also, at their core, a form of participatory art, inviting us to take on a starring role. <\/p>\n The mechanization of what makes a theme park a theme park is simply too complex, too vast and involving too many people to be dismissed as fake. And let me say that there\u2019s no shame in wanting to be immersed in a world crafted by the hands of many a skilled artist, whether that\u2019s the new David Geffen Galleries at LACMA or the Disneyland Resort. <\/p>\n This week in SoCal theme parks Concept art for Magic Mountain\u2019s upcoming 2027 coaster Thrill Glider. <\/p>\n (Six Flags Magic Mountain)<\/p>\n A new coaster coming to Magic Mountain. Six Flags announced that coming in 2027 <\/a>to its Valencia park will be Thrill Glider, a first of its kind thrill ride designed by coaster manufacturer Vekoma exclusively for Magic Mountain. Riders will board what the park is referring to as \u201choverbikes,\u201d essentially bike vehicles designed to simulate a flying sensation by being suspended from the track. Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com<\/a>. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter. <\/p>\n Ride on, <\/p>\n Todd Martens<\/p>\n P.S.<\/p>\n Attention readers who are in or near Fillmore: This Saturday is the first-ever edition of the \u201cTime Travel Convention<\/a>,\u201d a new interactive theatrical experience from Live Action Attractions<\/a>. Many veterans of the theme park industry worked to bring this event to life, including some who collaborated on the now-shuttered Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser<\/a>, colloquially known as the \u201cStar Wars\u201d hotel.<\/p>\n The story: Once a year, time travelers from the distant future head back in time to witness a historic day in small-town America. Players are cast in the role of time travelers, and throughout the day Saturday expect a series of games and costumed characters to interact with. There will be three theatrical moments staged throughout downtown Fillmore beginning at 10:01 a.m.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789497995_528_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789497996_766_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Visitors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789497996_199_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Pirates](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789497996_401_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Concept](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789497997_926_.jpeg\")
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Scary Farm is upon us. Halloween season is officially in full swing as Knott\u2019s Scary Farm opens Thursday. New this year<\/a> are two mazes, including one that intermixes a host of vintage animation, as well as a magic show collaboration with the Magic Castle.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift officially opens. Though it\u2019s been in a soft open phase since late July, Universal Studios Hollywood\u2019s Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will be properly open as of Wednesday. This means the coaster has passed its final testing and is ready for daily operation. Here\u2019s everything you need to know<\/a> about Universal\u2019s fancy new coaster.
Legoland expands its Halloween event. Brick or Treat at Carlsbad\u2019s Legoland begins on Saturday and it\u2019s bigger than ever in 2026. The family friendly event, for which costumes are encouraged, this year has added Brick or Treat Street<\/a>, with six life-size monster homes to interact with. Also, be sure to head to the park\u2019s new coaster,<\/a> the Galacticoaster, which has received a Halloween overlay.
A Walt Disney exhibition at Forest Lawn. Head to Glendale\u2019s Forest Lawn Museum on Saturday evening for the opening reception<\/a> of \u201cCalifornia Visionaries: The Lives and Legacies of Walt Disney and Hubert Eaton,\u201d which explores the connection between Disney and Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks founder Eaton. The exhibition, which promises concept art, rare Disney sheet music as well as items from early Disneyland attractions, is on display until Feb. 7. Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.<\/p>\n