Picking up where we left off yesterday …
Photo by Jeff Lange
Before each of these special gold-painted ride vehicles were officially unveiled to the public, they were kept under wraps.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Under beautiful blue clothes with Disneyland’s 50th anniversary logo emblazoned on them.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Mind you, if cast members had their way, these gold-painted ride vehicle would have remained under their blue clothes forever and never ever been unveiled.
Photo by Jeff Lange
“What’s the problem?,” you ask. Well, it seems that people who are coming to Disneyland these days are really getting into the 50th anniversary spirit. Which means that they really want to ride in and/or get their picture taken in one of those gold-painted ride vehicles.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Thankfully, the folks who actually run the Anaheim theme park anticipated that something like this might happen. Which is why they deliberately placed gold-painted ride vehicles outside of many of Disneyland’s attractions.Which (admittedly) has relieved some of the pressure.
Photo by Jeff Lange
The only problem is … Not everyone is happy with having their picture taken as they pose inside one of these “fake” gold-painted ride vehicles. In order to get the quintessential 50th anniversary experience, some Disneyland guests are insisting that they have to ride the really-for-real golden ride vehicles. Which can be found operating at each of the attractions that were up & running at the theme park back on July 17, 1955.
Photo by Jeff Lange
This has led to a few shouting matches over at the Jungle Cruise (Where some guests have insisted that they be allowed to wait to ride in the “Congo Queen.” Which is the only boat in the Adventureland fleet with the gold paint job. Only to be told by cast members that — due to safety regulations — they can’t actually wait there in the attraction’s dock area. That these guests must, in fact, depart on the next available boat) as well as some pushing & shoving over at the “Dumbo the Flying Elephant” ride & the King Arthur Carousel.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Cast members anticipate that — as we get closer to Disneyland’s actual 50th anniversary (More importantly, as another broiling hot Southern Californian summer gets underway) — that the number of these sorts of incidents will escalate. With guests being determined to get their child on the one-and-only golden horse on the carousel and/or to get their kids in one of the four gold-painted Autopia cars operating in the Tomorrowland fleet.
“We’ve already had reports of multiple people running for these vehicles, attempting to beat out other guests for these seats,” said one unnamed cast member. “So it’s really only a matter of time ’til someone — while they’re running for one of these gold-painted ride vehicles — falls down and really hurts themselves. Or worse, ’til a fistfight breaks out over who really got there first.”
Which is why Disneyland cast members are already reportedly quietly counting down the days ’til the park’s 18 long 50th anniversary celebration is over. Til the tea cups, flying pirate galleons and rumbling roadsters all lose their golden hue.
And Jingles goes back to being just a plain white carousel horse again.