TimesOC: California Adventure plans to update Soarin’ exhibit in time for America’s 250th birthday
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Semiquincentennial is one heck of a tongue twister. Mouthing it out will make those around you think you’ve swallowed a lime.
So it follows that the republic’s getting-up-there birthday celebration next year is dubbed “America250.”
And it also follows that Disney’s California Adventure Park would update its Soarin’ Around the World attraction to Soarin’ Around America to mark the quarter millennium since Thomas Paine circulated pamphlets (!) demanding independence and the 13 colonies declared it.
Disneyland plans to rework the attraction in Anaheim, and another in Florida, in time for the country’s 250th anniversary in July, Times columnist Todd Martens writes in a piece exploring the tensions around the marketing of that idea (“Disney leans into patriotism, turning Soarin’ Around the World into Soarin’ Across America”).
Not much has been revealed about the revamp but images of “amber waves of grain” and “purple mountains majesty” are promised.
It’s part of a series called “Disney Celebrating America” that begins Nov. 11, Veterans Day. And, as Martens writes, the branding comes at a sensitive moment for both the divided country and the entertainment company, which faced fierce criticism — and received some praise — when it temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel from its ABC network after he made remarks following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.
“The celebration arrives at a divisive time in American history,” Martens writes. “A poster for the attraction showcases the Statue of Liberty juxtaposed with the American flag and bald eagle. It’s art that conveys a sense of nationalistic pride, and it’s perhaps representative of shifting an outward-facing, global ride with one that may suddenly be more inward-looking.”
Disneyland is receiving online criticism about its imagery tied to the revamped attraction, according to the column, which also makes clear that the theme park has a long tradition of patriotism that, of course, spans many diverse political eras.
Examples that come to mind: The animatronic tribute to Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, opened in 1965 when Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, was president, and the large-scale America on Parade celebration during the nation’s bicentennial (call it America200) took place when Gerald R. Ford, a Republican, was in the White House.
Nevertheless, try to enjoy next year’s semiquincentennial, as well as these newsworthy headlines out of Orange County.
MORE NEWS
- Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach teems with protesters for ‘No Kings Day’
- Citizens provide animal services ‘off the record’ as Costa Mesa delays TNR law
- Huntington Beach natives’ energy gum gives customers something to chew on
PUBLIC SAFETY & CRIME
- Newport Beach committee seeks new police station site, but declines public input
- Cyclist killed in DUI hit-and-run in Huntington Beach ID’d, driver facing felonies
- Angels star Mike Trout: Eric Kay had a drug problem and Tyler Skaggs was a valued friend
SPORTS
- Kurt Suzuki hired as Angels manager. Former catcher finished 16-year career in Anaheim
- Newport Harbor, Edison to clash in first round of CIF girls’ flag football playoffs
- Another day, another Southern Section athlete declared ineligible
- Los Alamitos quarterback Colin Creason believes ‘there’s no place like home’
LIFE & LEISURE
- Mod ’60s gastropub from Gordon Ramsay is expected to swing into Anaheim’s Downtown Disney District
- Documentary of Irvine’s story to launch in November, with talk planned at Sherman Library Oct. 21
- Fullerton’s Rosary Academy marks 60 years of educating female leaders
ENTERTAINMENT
- Cruising through culture: Muzeo celebrates U.S. lowrider life and legacy
Thanks for reading my take on the headlines this week. Your regular editor, Carol Cormaci, should be back at the helm of TimesOC next week.
— John
KEEP IN TOUCH
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