This is part 3 of a 7-part series on Idlewild Park's former Mister Rogers' Neighborhood attraction. Read the other parts of my series on the ride here: Part 1; Part 2; Part 4;
Part 5;
Part 6 and
Part 7
n this article of the saga of Idlewild's Mister Rogers' Neighborhood attraction, we're seeing what fate befell the amazing ride. In early 2014, Idlewild announced that the previous season, 2013, was the last for the Mister Rogers' theme of the trolley ride. However, they announced that a new, updated theme was to come in 2015 - leaving the ride closed for a full summer season. This new ride would be themed to
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, which is the updated, cartoon-based version of the original
Neighborhood show.
Personally, I was hoping for a ride better than what we got. Gone were the fairly sophisticated animationics, replaced with simple-looking, 2-D cutouts. The ride had several technological advances over the old attraction, but I feel that the animations could have been done better. It seems as if the park took a step back from 25-year-old technology.
The new ride also lacks the "extra" effects of the old ride. (i.e. a rotating building, an operating curtain on the castle) While this doesn't make any difference to most children, added details will always keep the public coming back in the themed entertainment world. It truly is a shame such a groundbreaking ride was lost to a significantly dumbed-down replacement.
Tomorrow we'll continue our journey through the history of this storied ride...
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