Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/402160
34 w e s t w o r l d A l b e r t A | w i n t e r 2 0 1 4 The Disneyland Hotel At the end of each evening during our five-night stay, we retire to the renovated Disneyland Hotel. Opened in 1956 with 204 sleekly styled rooms and an Olympic- sized pool, it was the epitome of resort living at the time. After an extensive two-year makeover, the prop- erty today houses 969 rooms in three energy-efficient sky-blue reflective towers around three palm-tree-lined pools. It's by one of those pools that I now lounge, sip- ping an Ultimate Long Island Ice Tea during a short but welcome late-afternoon break. To the right of me, kids shoot down the two waterslides, each entrance in the shape of the monorail cars that zip guests around the park. From across the pool, speakers pump out what I think is Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca" until I hear the chorus: "Livin' la vida Mickey . . . " Yes, the mouse is in the details around here, right down to the white-glove light sconces and ear-shaped faucets in our room. Buena Vista Street Set in 1920s Los Angeles, Buena Vista Street is home to the elegant Car thay Circle Theatre, a fanciful recreation of the L.A. movie palace where Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in 1937. (Inside, a restaurant and lounge take the place of a theatre.) We stroll past the boutiques and eateries lining the street, including the art- deco-styled Elias & Company department store and Spanish-tiled Trolley Treats candy shop. e Red Car Trolley rolls by, transporting guests and alternatively serving as a prop for the Red Car News Boys dance troupe. Roaming characters in period costumes greet us along the way, including a jolly English lady and her lap dog. We cap the evening off with a visit to the Mad T Party, an all-ages nightclub inspired by Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and located in adjacent Hollywood Land. When we walk in, White Rabbit is DJing from a perch inside a teacup and revellers are grooving in multicoloured lights pulsating across the floor. After a Croque-tini from the House of Cards bar, we call it a night. Before our trip comes to a close, we pay Buena Vista Street one more visit. omas and a couple of newfound buddies each get a ticket from a fast-talking policeman in a sky-blue uniform, for "racing." He cheerily asks how they're going to pay the fine. eir creative replies: draw- ing happy faces and promising to return next year with $5 million. Hmmm, returning sounds good to me. Especially when I read the list of other "offences" cited on the ticket. It's hard not to like a place where "infectious dis- play of municipal optimism," "arresting expression of emancipated exuberance" and "smiling because it's eas- ier than frowning" are the worst that one can do. W (top) Goofy and Pluto bust some moves to a live band outside the Carthay Circle Theatre on Buena Vista Street; (left) the Red Car Trolley does double duty as people mover and prop for the Red Car News Boys dance troupe. AMA SAyS: "Buy a dining plan! these have to be purchased in advance and allow you to eat at the parks and the onsite hotels at a discount. if you're staying and playing at the park, you're going to be eating there anyway – and the dining plans can save you around 15 to 20 per cent on your meals." –AMA Disney specialist Ashley Reid