After yesterday’s article discussing what it means to have bands temporarily back at Tomorrowland Terrace as well as the impact of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout on Disney California Adventure entertainment, I may seem a bit doom and gloom.
So today I’ll take an optimistic viewpoint in at least one area potentially being affected by entertainment changes in the Resort. I will hold out hope that at some point – preferably sooner rather than later – live music dance parties like The Mad T Party could return to the Disneyland Resort.
Now, I understand not everyone is a fan of these dance parties – but especially when they’re held in an otherwise underutilized portion of the park, it really isn’t a problem for those who wish to avoid them and it’s an added bonus for those of us who enjoy nighttime live entertainment at the parks.
Personally, I prefer having such nighttime themed musical entertainment at Disney California Adventure and leaving the regular cover bands at Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland Park. This way there are different options for different tastes – and one place for folks to party with adult beverage options and one for them to party without it!
However, with the idea that the cover bands are only back for a limited time, I’d still like to see live pop and rock music somewhere in the Resort, so Tomorrowland Terrace is also an option as a location for a nighttime dance party if the Hollywood Backlot winds up being used for other developments.
For me, as a fan of Wonderland, The Mad T Party was the ultimate dance party – and everything that worked there was just tops – from the band to the DJ to the dance crew. So I’d like to see all three of those elements return in any dance party hosted at the Resort. (Not JUST a DJ or an occasional dance routine. That never works – at least not at the Disneyland Resort. Walt Disney World Resort may function better for family themed DJ parties given their different guest profile – mostly tourists rather than locals.)
So with those elements in mind – band, DJ, dance crew – here are five themes I would suggest for the next Disneyland Resort Dance Party:
5) Ink ‘n Paint Club – based on the joint made famous in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
- Dapper Days at Disney Resorts has made dressing up to go the park a hot prospect. So why not provide an alternative to the swing dancing at Disneyland Park with this 1940’s-style nightclub – perfect for the Disney California Adventure theme? Although, much as I’d love to see some dueling pianos here – and I’m sure an appearance by a singing Jessica Rabbit would be welcome by many, too! – I think I’d still prefer to have pop and rock music played at a Disney dance party so maybe this wouldn’t be the best fit for that! Unless it was an updated version of the club?
4) Disney Villains – make it Halloween all year round!
- Who doesn’t love a good scare? The Halloween Mad T Party was the most loved iteration of that show and many folks wished this version played at all times! So why not have a bash hosted by some of our favorite Disney villains like Maleficent and Dr. Facilier or Ursula and Hades? (And when I say this with any of these ideas, I don’t mean the actual characters, but more stylized characterizations as with the Mad T Party band.)
3) Star Wars – this would easily fit into either the new Star Wars Land or Tomorrowland Terrace!
- Not just your average Cantina band, this scruffy bunch of nerf herders could feature Han & Leia or Rey & Finn or Poe as hosts/band leads. Maybe Darth Vader or Kylo Ren could even show up to disrupt the festivities now and then. You just know Chewbacca was secretly practicing drums in the back of the Millennium Falcon!
2) Marvel – the obvious choice for a new dance party for the new Marvel Land
- I’d guess Cap and Thor and Spidey are too busy to play host to this party, but maybe Hawkeye and Black Widow are available to rock out with the crowd? I think this would be a ‘super’ idea!
1) Nightmare Before Christmas – a perfect sequel to the Mad T Party!
- You know Jack and Sally would just love to throw a party for their guests! This theme would be my top pick to appeal best to the crowd that already loved the Tim Burton twisted quality of the Mad T Party.
In my opinion, no matter which theme may eventually be chosen, a nighttime Disneyland Resort dance party needs to be geared toward the young adults-and-up crowd. It simply doesn’t make sense to throw a party to try to appeal to little ones that begins when they’re ready to leave and runs way past their bedtimes. (Much less one that’s pushing alcohol sales to the crowd simultaneously!) This is why the more stylized characters of the Mad T Party band are such a great template – they allow an older crowd to celebrate their love for Disney – AND rock ‘n roll!
Would you like to see one of these themes turned into a Disneyland Resort Dance Party? Or do you have another theme idea of your own?
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