Let’s See a Movie About Being Trapped in Disneyland

Rides have broken down in Disneyland before with people on them, and folks have been stuck in various spots within a ride before, but perhaps it’s time to make a movie of this in a horror-like fashion that could be created as a family-friendly movie but with a bit of an edge to it. It wouldn’t need to be as graphic as Willy’s Wonderland, but it could take a very Child’ Play approach that might show the animatronic characters breaking free of their controls and causing mayhem in the park. Just imagine an animated version of this with a president faced with the decision to nuke Disneyland or at least fire off an EMP inside the park. That would be an idea to start with at least, but it’s hard to think that Disney would push the idea forward without putting some cute, moral spin on the tale at the same time. It’s almost worth heading to Word right now and firing up a new screenplay, changing the name of the park and company of course. But the fact is that Disney could make this work in a very easy way since there’s more than enough material to work with. 

Possession of any sort, or AI becoming aware of itself, could also be a fun angle to work since the number of automated rides and figures in this theme park could be enough to pose a problem to tourists if such a story was to ever happen. Think about the many different animatronic characters that exist in Disneyland and then think of how much of the park is automated. It’s a stretch no doubt, but it does sound like a story that could be featured on Disney+, and probably would since it’s very likely that the Mouse House wouldn’t take this all that seriously since, despite the story materials that have been brought to bear in recent years, the level of violence that might be inspired by this story is something that Disney would no doubt shy away from. 

Still, thinking about each section of the park and everything that’s offered is enough to make it possible to think up a story that might be best as a survival tale or a horror tale that might push the boundaries of what Disney feels is good taste. But looking at it in another light, Disney owns several Fox properties now, and it’s fair to think that they have more than their own reputation to maintain. Creating a horror story within the park could be a lot of fun since there are a lot of different ways to make it work, not the least of which is to capitalize on the famous line from Jurassic Park about the Pirates of the Caribbean eating the guests. No, I’m not suggesting that the animatronic characters might suddenly develop a taste for human flesh, but it’s interesting to think about this idea and what it could do for Disney’s reputation, meaning that loosening the restraints and keeping the family-friendly material as it is while paying the respects to the adult-oriented material might be a smart idea. Adults want to enjoy Disney as well, but there’s only so much cute that any one person can take. 

Creating a movie that would take place in the park might be a little difficult, especially since it could mean keeping people out of one location or another while the movie was being filmed. Of course, there might be the possibility of offering a spot to many people as extras, or the story could take place during the offseason when the park isn’t nearly as packed. In any case, it feels like something possible, and something that could be a lot of fun if someone had the idea to go ahead with it. Amusement parks can be fun places for a story to be revealed, especially if it’s working off the basis that they are typically quite big and do offer a lot of different opportunities for one bit of mischief or another. The thought of traveling from one land to another in Disneyland while trying to survive a marauding horde of animatronics and also having to deal with a rogue AI that’s controlling the automated functions of the park is kind of terrifying, and it would be a fun story without a doubt. 

Seeing how Disney handles horror though it might not be the best idea simply because it would be turned into something that an entire family could handle, possibly with a musical number, which would cheapen it a bit further. There’s always a hope that those at Disney might lighten up and see the need for hard-hitting stories from time to time, but until that happens it’s fair to think that this might be seen as an interesting idea and not much else. But it would be fun to write, that’s for sure.