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View Full Version : Is there a "Disneyland Signature Attraction"? What's yours?



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fjhuerta
07-11-2005, 11:39 AM
An attraction that will forever be linked to Disneyland? It can't be Space Mountain (there are many of them). Or, can it be? I mean, "It's a Small World" is in Florida, too... but it's a lot better looking at DL.

Is the Signature Attraction the Castle? The Pirates of the Caribbean?

What's yours?

Mine is, definitely, The Matterhorn. There's nothing like watching it while driving towards Disneyland. It's the ultimate "I'm here" attraction...

nursemelis374
07-11-2005, 11:41 AM
Matterhorn or Pirates

phoenixfire2k5
07-11-2005, 11:48 AM
Wouldn't a signature attraction at Disneyland, be one that is strictly at Disneyland, and not at any other park? Such as the Matterhorn?

hlbtimes2
07-11-2005, 11:49 AM
Matterhorn. Or Peter Pan. Or........

blueckles
07-11-2005, 11:55 AM
I would probably say the Matterhorn. For me, when I was little and on the way to Disneyland, it was seeing the Matterhorn from the freeway that got me really excited and meant that we were just about at Disneyland.

CrazyMouse
07-11-2005, 12:00 PM
matterhorn

Skunker
07-11-2005, 12:47 PM
I would say Main Street or the Haunted Mansion

potzbie
07-11-2005, 01:12 PM
I agree, the best symbol is the Matterhorn.

When I was pondering the question, I asked myself this question:
Q. What poster (like the ones adorning the entrance arches of DL) is the best symbol for DL, for me, for all-time?

I think it would be the Matterhorn one.

Autopia is good, and It's A Small World is okay, but the scale is too small to say, "This is THE signature attraction."
Likewise for Main Street USA or Jungle Cruise. They are too laid back, when contrasted with the BOBSLED image.

"Pirates of the Carribean" is too new, for me, to be a signature attraction. -- I remember when it was new. -- So, POTC cannot be "the" signature attraction, psychologically.
So Indiana Jones is out, for that reason, too.
Likewise, Star Tours. -- If you can remember it being new, then it somehow misses out being designated the Ultimate Icon.

The Flying Saucers or Rocket To The Moon were "it" for me, way back when I was knee high to a cricket. Where are they now? Pushing up daisies?

So, bottom line, overall, the attraction that screams out, "This is it," is, well, The One That Screams.

Also, the cute hook in the top, which used to be visible from the Harbor Blvd. offramp of the Golden State Freeway, just cannot be beat.

DizneeGirl
07-11-2005, 01:20 PM
I agree. I think the Matterhorn is the same for me. And I especially love when you see the Monorail go around Matterhorn for the same reason. You can see them both...and they are the first things that you see that give you the feeling that you are there. You know exactly where you are and it is exactly where you want to be!!

phoenixfire2k5
07-11-2005, 01:20 PM
One has to ask, what attraction is the oldest in the park, and has not been repeated at any other Disney theme park?

WendyDarling Player
07-11-2005, 01:29 PM
i LOVED the submerine ride, until it was taken out :crying: .....i think the first ride was the matterhorn, but im nor sure.

crazi4dlr
07-11-2005, 01:34 PM
Definitely the Matterhorn because it is the most visable from the surrounding area. Also because it is ours and ours alone. The key image for me though is the Main Street Train Station and Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Disneymademoiselle
07-11-2005, 02:22 PM
I think that the fondest memories we have of Disneyland are from our childhood. I can still vividly remember heading down I-5 searching for the Matterhorn because seeing that mountain meant we were "there." On the way home :crying:, I would watch the Matterhorn until it fell from view. The Matterhorn is classic!!!

mkcbunny
07-11-2005, 03:00 PM
One has to ask, what attraction is the oldest in the park, and has not been repeated at any other Disney theme park?
Well, Casey Jr. and Canal Boats are original attractions they don't have in WDW. But I have no idea what's in Fantasyland in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong ... And there's no Mr. Toad in WDW anymore. I thought Alice was original, but I guess it's not. It's still my favorite dark ride in Fantasyland.

As for the original question, I also vote for the Matterhorn. We crane our necks on every flight, airport shuttle, or cab looking for it!

coronado_g
07-11-2005, 06:14 PM
An attraction that will forever be linked to Disneyland? It can't be Space Mountain (there are many of them). Or, can it be? I mean, "It's a Small World" is in Florida, too... but it's a lot better looking at DL.

Is the Signature Attraction the Castle? The Pirates of the Caribbean?

What's yours?

Mine is, definitely, The Matterhorn. There's nothing like watching it while driving towards Disneyland. It's the ultimate "I'm here" attraction...



The Matterhorn is the epitome of Disneyland. Truly classic. When you see the Matterhorn in the distance, you know you're almost there!

Doug
07-11-2005, 06:28 PM
Ok, makes sence to me, Matterhorn, I do remember seeing it on the way to Dland, but, now I can not seem to find it on the way in on the 5, coming from the valley, when can you guys still see it? Or, I guess I should say "when should I start looking for it?". I do noticed the new part of the freeway, with the 100 ft tall lights above the freeway...

pisces
07-11-2005, 06:29 PM
When I was little, the Matterhorn always frightened me.

I liked the Maingate Railroad Station. You truly know you're in Disneyland when you see the Railroad.

Disneynerd
07-11-2005, 06:48 PM
I'm surprised to see so many Matterhorn responses. It's fun, but I'm confused as to why you would call it your signiture attraction. I just don't feel that it speaks to the magic and fantasy of Disney. It's kinda weird and scary to have a big old frosty mountain peering over the shoulder of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Perhaps this is because I had been to WDW several times as a child and the sight of the Matterhorn perplexed me at Disneyland. So, I pick HM.

phoenixfire2k5
07-11-2005, 08:39 PM
I'm surprised to see so many Matterhorn responses. It's fun, but I'm confused as to why you would call it your signiture attraction. I just don't feel that it speaks to the magic and fantasy of Disney. It's kinda weird and scary to have a big old frosty mountain peering over the shoulder of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Perhaps this is because I had been to WDW several times as a child and the sight of the Matterhorn perplexed me at Disneyland. So, I pick HM.

Thats because we're trying to talk about an attraction that no other park has. That Dland can call its own.

PragmaticIdealist
07-12-2005, 03:20 AM
The Disneyland Railroad is literally the signature attraction of Disneyland. The trains depart everyone's hometown, Main Street, U.S.A., bound for the imaginary realms of Adventureland; Frontierland; Fantasyland; and, Tomorrowland. I wish that Disneyland improved the Grand Circle Tour, though. The new narration is embarassingly bad. Too many backstage areas are visible. There is a dearth of show elements for guests to enjoy. Nighttime illumination is almost an afterthought. And, the dioramas at the conclusion are outdated and inappropriate.

I also find the fact that the Matterhorn is considered the signature attraction of Disneyland a little sad because each of The Magic Kingdoms should have one-of-a-kind attractions and not retreads. Walt Disney insisted that The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World would be different from Disneyland. He just did not live long enough to oversee the creation of the place. And, when Expedition: Everest opens with its Yeti at Disney's Animal Kingdom, I wonder whether or not people will still consider the Matterhorn the signature attraction of Disneyland. W.D.I. might be wise to remove Disneyland's abominable snowman and re-imagine the Matterhorn with a more Alpine, less Himalayan storyline.

CrazyTrain
07-12-2005, 06:17 AM
Ok, makes sence to me, Matterhorn, I do remember seeing it on the way to Dland, but, now I can not seem to find it on the way in on the 5, coming from the valley, when can you guys still see it? Or, I guess I should say "when should I start looking for it?". I do noticed the new part of the freeway, with the 100 ft tall lights above the freeway...

When you come from the North (the valley?) you can't see it from the freeway.

fjhuerta
07-12-2005, 07:44 AM
Definitely the Matterhorn because it is the most visable from the surrounding area. Also because it is ours and ours alone.

I hear Switzerland has a bigger one... and it's actually the original Matterhorn. :p

fjhuerta
07-12-2005, 07:45 AM
I'm surprised to see so many Matterhorn responses. It's fun, but I'm confused as to why you would call it your signiture attraction. I just don't feel that it speaks to the magic and fantasy of Disney. It's kinda weird and scary to have a big old frosty mountain peering over the shoulder of Sleeping Beauty's castle.


I don't think so. In Europe you are likely to see castles with mountains on the background... so it fits the theme perfectly, IMHO.

BTW - I don't understand why, but sometimes the Matterhorn gives me the creeps. It may be the forced perspective, or something, but whenever I'm near it I feel a bit imposed by it.

potzbie
07-12-2005, 10:05 AM
It's kinda weird and scary to have a big old frosty mountain peering over the shoulder of Sleeping Beauty's castle. [...] So, I pick [Haunted Mansion].

Huh???

The matterhorn is "weird and scary"?

So you pick the attraction with "doom buggies," and ghosts, and coffins, and tombstsones, and walls that stretch, and marble busts that eye you as you walk by ... ?

But HM is not weird and scary???

Pat-n-Eil
07-12-2005, 12:08 PM
Interesting thought processes here.

Disneyland "Signature" attraction could be defined as one originated in Disneyland, one in which Disneyland is the only place that has one.. or more loosely as someone's favorite thing to do at Disneyland regardless of where it started. I suppose it might depend on how much of a "purist" you might be.

I think, for me, Disneyland's Signature attraction is ... Pirates of the Carribbean. It's not the fastest nor most technilogically advanced, but it is one brilliant immersive experience that defines to me what Disneyland is - that all of the other parks aren't. Music, story, spectacle, multiple levels, interaction.. it is all there.

As much as I LOVE the mountain rides and Haunted Mansion and others.. POTC is consistently the one I think of returning to.