What's New at the Parks in 2000
Disneyland Resort (Anaheim, CA)
- At Disneyland Park, the proposed "Horizon Spaceport" name change for Tomorrowland was scrapped in favor of repurposing Tomorrowland as more of a "Retro-Future" theme. The new Tomorrowland is based on Tony Baxter's
Tomorrowland 2055 concept, which Disney hopes can give the land a new sense of timelessness.
- A new land will be built to the northwest of the Rivers of America, the long-awaited Discovery Bay.
- The southwest corner (Below, behind the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean show buildings) will also see a new land, albeit shortened at the bottom right to account for the Indiana Jones attraction built between Pirates and the Jungle Cruise in 1995.
- The Submarine Voyage and former Motorboat Cruise area will be taken out to make way for new attractions, possibly a Fantasyland expansion, while Autopia will be reconfigured.
- Between Tomorrowland and Main Street will be Tesla Terrace, carried over from the original American Magic thread, which will tell the Disney version of man's relationship to machine.
- The VH1 Videopolis stage is starting to show its age and a possible expansion to either Toontown or Fantasyland could replace the venue. A new, more modern VH1 themed amphitheater is being planned elsewhere at the resort.
- Under construction on the site of the former Disneyland parking lot, Disney's Epic Kingdom will open in the Spring of 2001 on the site of the OTL California Adventure park.
- Disney's acquisition of the
Carmen Sandiego franchise has raised some questions as to how soon we could see a rumored ACME Crime Land at the parks.
Riverfront Square (St. Louis, MO)
- Riverfront Square will continue to operate in its current form for now. Meanwhile, as the MLB Cardinals sought a new ballpark to replace the aging Busch Memorial Stadium, the Cards have launched a joint project with Disney. Busch Stadium will be demolished and the footprint will be split in half; the southern side making partial way for a new Cardinal ballpark and the northern half will be used for both a horizontal and vertical expansion to Riverfront Square. OTL Clark Avenue will be the street that divides the new Cardinal ballpark with the Riverfront Square expansion, butterflying the OTL Ballpark Village. While construction of their new park takes place, the Cards will temporarily play home games at the Trans World Dome.
- The North Riverfront, where the Lumiere Casino sits IOTL, was offered to Disney by the City of St. Louis, only for the proposal to be met with resistance by affordable housing advocates.
Disney World (Orlando, FL)
- The New York-themed section of the Disney-Fox Studios has been partially revitalized to feature new Marvel based rides, such as the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (similar to the OTL Islands of Adventure ride) and a new Incredible Hulk coaster.
- Also at the Disney-Fox Studios, look for Springfield to take over where Toy Story Land now sits IOTL.
- The future of the Backlot Tour at DFS is now in question with fewer productions using the sound stages.
- A fourth gate is in the works for a 2002 opening.
Universal Studios Florida
- The Jim Henson, Hanna-Barbera and Nickelodeon properties have all vacated the premises. This opens up the Production Central section of the park for redevelopment, possibly with Archie, Gemini, DreamWorks, RKO, Hasbro or Nintendo properties at Universal's disposal. Look for Harry Potter/Wizarding World projects at this and other Universal parks in the coming years.
Universal Studios Hollywood
- The future of Fievel's Playland is in question as
An American Tail reaches its 15th anniversary in 2001.
- The My Little Pony carousel, open since the late 1980's, will receive a makeover to coincide with a new generation for the property.
Paramount Pinnacle (Carson, CA)
- New Line Cinema, now a subsidiary of Saban International, will remain in an ironclad licensing agreement which they signed under Metromedia's ownership almost a decade ago.
- Ditto to Carolco, part of AOL TimeWarner.
- Now that Microsoft has added Paramount Pictures to its portfolio, time to add Cedar Fair and Nashville's Opryland to the mix.
Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, CA)
-
Good Grief! With Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang commandeering this park, Charlie Brown simply can't catch a break. Camp Snoopy, a staple since the early 80's, will be dismantled and rebuilt at either the Paramount Pinnacle, Bally's Magic Mountain or Six Flags Hollywood Park.
BALLY'S THEME PARKS
Bally's Magic Mountain (Valencia, CA)
Bally's Kentucky Kingdom (Louisville, KY)
Bally's Chicagoland (Gurnee, IL)
Bally's Circus World (Near Orlando, FL)
Bally's Worlds of Fun (Kansas City, MO)
Bally's Cowboy Corral (Irving, TX)
Bally's Worlds of Wonder (Las Vegas, NV and Glasgow, Scotland)
- Now that AOL Time Warner has exiled Namco from its corporate empire, could Pac-Man be coming to Bally's parks?
TURNER LEISURE
Turner's acquisition of Funtime-Tierco adds the following parks to the Turner portfolio, which already includes the MGM Grand Adventure park in Las Vegas,
- Geauga Lake (Aurora, OH)
- Darien Lake (Darien, NY)
- Frontier City, (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Riverside Park (Agawam, MA)
- Enchanted Village (Federal Way, WA)
- Great America (Santa Clara, CA)
- Great Adventure (Jackson, NJ)
