It's Saturday morning, 9 a.m., and we're doing that waiting thing, one of the rituals that reminds you where you are - at Disneyland. And my 11-year-old son Danny looks up at me and says, "Gee, are all the lines as much fun as this one?"
Well, actually, no - but Danny can be forgiven. This was, after all, his first trip to Disneyland. And the first ride we headed for was the newest Disneyland attraction, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, located in Mickey's Toontown.And Danny was right. The Car Toon Spin does have the most entertaining waiting line in the park. The walls are filled with puns and gags, along with inside jokes for fans of the movie that inspired the ride - and Toontown itself for that matter - "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." And it really is as much fun to laugh at the writing on the walls as it is to take the ride. Danny and his teenage siblings - David, Melanie and Angela - kept finding new jokes to share with each other as the line inched forward.
There are ads for Firestoon and Toonyear Tires - not to mention Toonzoil. Jessica Rabbit's shadow can be seen through the window of her dressing room door, as Kathleen Turner's voice for the character is heard cracking wise from inside. Personalized license plates adorn the walls, including one that apparently belongs to "Alice in Wonderland's" White Rabbit, IML8, and such others as L MERM8 and 3 LIL PGS.
As for the ride itself, it was a bit like stepping into the "Roger Rabbit" movie, as passengers climbed into cars patterned after one of the film's characters, Benny the Cab, to encounter various characters from the film, most prominently the villainous weasels.
Technically, the Car Toon Spin is a cross between other Disneyland "black light" rides - though it lasts longer - and the famous Mad Tea Party, with its spinning cups and saucers. The cars pass through various doors that lead to glow-in-the-dark adventures, while passengers can turn the steering wheel to spin their cars around slowly or rapidly, all in an effort to help Roger rescue Jessica from the weasels in Toontown's cavernous back alleys.
Like Toontown itself, this is a children's attraction, so the level of sophistication is deliberately scaled down - aiming for younger children as opposed to such teen rides as Space Mountain and Splash Mountain (which proved to be the favorites of my foursome). Toontown is entirely built around cartoon themes, with interactive gags for the little ones, as well as a variety of inside jokes about various Disney animated characters, which are obviously designed to get chuckles from adults.
To a large extent, Disneyland itself is based on the movies, of course. The money to build the park came from the fortune Walt Disney made with celluloid entertainment. And even when the park first opened in 1955, many of Disneyland's rides were based on popular Disney films - the Mad Tea Party ("Alice in Wonderland"), Mr. Toad's Wild Ride ("The Wind in the Willows"), Mike Fink KeelBoats ("Davy Crockett and the River Pirates"), etc.
Newer rides have expanded the horizons, occasionally being based on non-Disney movies, such as the "Star Tours" ride, developed by George Lucas from his "Star Wars" films. Lucas is also instrumental in the upcoming "Indiana Jones" ride, an indoor roller coaster with cars patterned after well-worn World War II troop transport vehicles, which begins as a mundane archaeological tour and gradually becomes one cliffhanging thrill after another. (The "Indiana Jones" ride is scheduled to open in 1995.)
More recent Disney big-screen hits are not overlooked, either, with the "Aladdin" parade, the "Beauty and the Beast" stage show - and even the amazing state-of-the-art, multimedia special-effects night show "Fantasmic!" which pits Mickey Mouse against an array of Disney cartoon villains through the use of pyrotechnics, fog, lasers, fiber optics, giant props, original music, three 70mm films projected on three giant water-mist screens and no less than 51 live performers.
What about the upcoming "Lion King," you ask? A parade with newly developed special effects is already in the works to debut after the film hits the big screen this summer.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Hours, prices
Operating hours for Disneyland vary. You can find out what they are for any particular day by calling 1-714 999-4565.
Admission prices: $31 ages 11 and over; $25 ages 3 to 11.
Disneyland is off I-5 south. Take the Harbor Blvd., exit.