The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (111 page)

Granite Ball

[
FastView:
 
A diverting curiosity at
Tomorrowland
’s center.
]

In the open plaza at the heart of
Tomorrowland
, surrounded by the
Observatron
,
Innoventions
,
Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port
,
Space Mountain
, and
Star Trader
, a six-ton ball of red-veined black granite seems to levitate on a pool of water.

Groups of Guests, drawn to it, spin it this way and that on its pediment, marveling that this massive orb can be spun in place, rather than rolling off and flattening everything–and everyone–
in its path.

What the heck is it and why is it there?  It used to be the centerpiece of the
Cosmic Waves
, launched in 1998 as part of the new
Tomorrowland
.  It’s a Kugel Ball–an interactive round sphere secured in a way that looks–but only looks–
magical
, set in a perfectly measured setting and a shallow pool of water.  Because the water supports it, it can be spun in its setting.

Cosmic Waves
’ concept?  Guests followed a spiral path, dodging warm fountain jets that shot up to six feet in the air without warning.  Guests eventually made their way to the center of the
Cosmic Waves
plaza, to the floating granite ball, where Guests worked cooperatively to spin the ball.

Cosmic Waves
’ reality?  A fun and interesting idea gone terribly wrong.  The plaza and all the Guests that were drenched in the fountain jets reeked of chlorine for the rest of the day and night.  Day trippers with no change of clothing had the choice of remaining soaked for the rest of their visit or splurging on complete new outfits in the stores.  Children, predictably, danced intentionally through the powerful fountain jets, becoming soaked.  Drenched, diapered kids raised hygiene concerns.

Having become more
Roman bath than water maze, it surprised few when the fountain jets were sealed off in 2002.The granite ball remains, to astonish Guests of all ages.  At almost any time of the day or night, you will indeed find groups of Guests working together, or sometimes at cross purposes, trying to spin the great granite ball. 
Did You Know?
  You can see Kugel Balls in other places around the world, including parks, museums, and institutions of higher learning.  Some people are Kugel Ball fans and visit locations specifically to see and photograph the Kugel Balls there. 
FastPass:
  No.  This is a self-guided activity, and the
FastPass
system doesn’t apply to it. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  It’s cool, but don’t try to push it the opposite way; water runs down your arms and gets your sleeves all wet.

“Honey, I Shrunk The Audience”
/“Captain EO”

[
FastView:
 
“Honey” seems to have been permanently retired.  The return of “Captain Eo” is lively, campy, high-energy ‘80’s fun and might stay around for awhile.
]

Let’s be honest; Guests weren’t rushing into
Tomorrowland
, racing like their lives depend upon it to queue up for
“Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”
. 
“Honey”
subsisted by siphoning the disappointed Guests who didn’t have time to wait in longer
Tomorrowland
queues and arrived too late for
FastPasses
.

Honey
was no
E-ticket
thriller, to be sure.  On the other hand, while
“Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”
was without a doubt the minor attraction you suspected it of being, it wasn’t as lame as you’d guess, and was much more entertaining that you’d dared to hope.

Based on the pleasant, well-received
1989
Disney
film
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
and its sequel
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
(1992),
“Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”
was a 3D film of about 20 minutes that debuted at
Epcot
in 1994 and
Disneyland
in 1998.  It replaced
“Captain EO”
, which had been playing at
Disneyland
since 1986.

“
Captain EO”
was imaginative and had plenty of talent attached to it (
Francis Ford Coppola
as director,
James Horner
as composer,
George Lucas
as exec producer,
Angelica Huston
and the one-and-only
Michael Jackson
on screen,) but after more than a decade it was starting to feel dated.  And, particularly at
Disneyland
, where so many Guests are locals and frequent visitors, it’s important to keep attractions fresh and regularly introduce new shows.  So in 1998, when
Tomorrowland
was being radically made over,
Captain EO
was out and
Honey
was in.

“Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”
was a solid addition to
Disneyland
in 1998, less than a decade after the movie upon which it was based had been released.  The show was presented in the
Magic Eye Theater
adjacent to the entrance ramp for
Space Mountain
.  Special effects built into the seats, the seat backs, the floor, the sound system, and the lighting ensured that Guests were swept up in the entertainment in many ways, not just visually.

Guests queue
d by accepting a pair of comically dorky 3D glasses (
protective goggles
) from Cast Members, and then following a corridor that parallels the
Space Mountain
entrance ramp.  (It wasn’t unusual for Guests treading the
“Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”
corridor to glance longingly over at the
Space Mountain
ramp, visibly wishing that they’d arrived earlier or picked up
Space Mountain
FastPasses
in advance.)  Guests bore right at the end of the corridor lined with
Imagination Institute
posters, and found themselves in a confusing
cul-de-
sac where bored Guests milled about.

The
doors to the
Imagination Institute
’s auditorium were decorated by the
Institute
’s distinctive winged light bulb and sunburst design.  A video pre-show narrative by
Dr. Channing
(
Eric Idle
) prepped before the doors opened.  When you entered the theater, which has a capacity of 575, you moved as far down the row as you could; usually CMs instructed Guests to move about three quarters of the way down each row and to fill in all available seats.  (In this specially designed theater, every seat is a good one.)

The Cast Member instruct
ed everyone to don their 3D protective glasses, the orchestra swelled, and the curtains parted.  Thus began an entertaining
trompe l’oeil
show that involves the characters from the
Honey
films.  The actors from the
Disney
films added to the authenticity by bringing their roles to life again for this attraction;
Rick Moranis
played
Professor Wayne
Szalinski
,
Marcia Strassman
his wife
Diane
, and
Robert Oliveri
their capable son
Nick
.  The hilarious
Eric Idle
kept things moving (and light) as stuffy, at times nearly apoplectic character
Dr. Nigel Channing
, head of the
Imagination Institute
.

The plot wa
s simple:  Brilliant but endearingly bumbling
Professor Szalinski
won the
Imagination Institute
’s “Inventor of the Year” award, and
Dr. Channing
was to present it. 
Szalinski
’s family was on stage to cheer him on.  Guests comprised the audience.  Sounds like a few moments of harmless fun, doesn’t it?  But where
Szalinsky
was concerned, nothing went true to plan.

Szalinsky
almost crashed into the audience with his
hover pod
.  The professor’s toddler son
Adam
put his pet mouse
Photon
into a duplicator, with predictable results:  Hordes of little white mice scampered out of the machine, and, it appeared, into the audience.  The lights went down for a moment, and blasts of air from hidden air hoses simulated the sensation of mice rushing past Guests’ ankles in the dark.

Szalinsky
then zapped the audience with the ray of his
shrinking and enlarging
machine.  The entire theater shook and lurched, built-in effects that simulated the wrenching convulsions of the entire audience contracting to doll size.  All of the actors and props on stage seemed to grow to colossal size.  Honey–he shrank the audience, as well as son
Nick
!

The effects were wonderful as Guests dealt with giants, blinding flashlights, being lifted high in the air, and a brush with giant python
Gigabyte
—a reptilian encounter that truly scared many Guests.  It all ended well when the audience was returned to normal size.  The final gag?  Family dog
Quark
was zapped by the enlarging ray, and became a two-story tall canine who sneezed on the audience (thanks to hidden spray devices).

“Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”
was no
E-ticket
attraction, but it was funny and diverting, moved along at a good clip, and was an excellent example of how well-orchestrated effects could impact all of the senses.  Unfortunately, the film prints had aged and were more and more obviously films as time passed.  And
Disneyland
’s local audiences, after more than a decade, were pining for a new show. 
Imagineers
listened.

On February 23, 2010,
“Captain EO”
returned to the
Magic Eye Theater
, displacing
“Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”
. 
“Captain EO”
’s return engagement was a response to vociferous requests from Guests, especially locals, requests that gained momentum and volume in the wake of
Michael Jackson
’s June 2009 demise.

The anticipation was electric
on the morning of February 23, 2010 as thousands of Guests gathered on north
Main Street
, waiting for the 10 am rope drop. 
Magic Morning
Guests and those with Special Event tickets were already in the park, many watching
“Captain EO”
already.  Guests waiting on
Main Street
chatted animatedly, shared
“Captain EO”
and
Michael Jackson
anecdotes, and played
Jackson
tunes on iPods and iPhones.  When the rope dropped, thousands cheered and immediately surged to the east, toward
Tomorrowland
.

It was strange to see the line for the
Magic Eye Theater
so long, thousands-strong and snaking out onto the
Tomorrowland
plaza near the
Granite Ball
.  There were cameras and press there, and
Imagineering
glitterati like the incomparable
Tony Baxter
(now the
Creative Director
of
Disneyland Park
) were on hand for interviews.

Outside the theater, the
“Honey”
posters and signs had been replaced with silver-and-purple
“Captain EO”
logos and posters.  The pre-show monitors displayed behind-the-scenes footage of the filming of
“Captain EO”
that was fascinating not only creatively, but for the glimpses of monstrous mid-1980’s fashions and hairdos!

Eager
Guests waited up to 40 minutes for their turn to crowd into the
Magic Eye Theater
, which they packed to capacity, something that hasn’t happened in years.  Many Guests were
Jackson
fans; many were locals with fond memories of
“Captain EO”
and absolutely jubilant about its return, even for a limited engagement.  Shouts and cheers rang out and then a hush fell over the audience as everyone donned their 3D glasses and the show began.