Goofy's Sky School

Goofy's Sky School
The entrance of Goofy's Sky School.
Previously known as Mulholland Madness
Location	Disney California Adventure
Park section	Paradise Pier
Coordinates	33°48′23″N 117°55′23″W / 33.80632°N 117.92304°W / 33.80632; -117.92304Coordinates: 33°48′23″N 117°55′23″W / 33.80632°N 117.92304°W / 33.80632; -117.92304
Status	Operating
Opened	February 8, 2001 (2001-02-08) (as Mulholland Madness) July 1, 2011 (2011-07-01) (as Goofy's Sky School)
Type	Steel - Wild Mouse
Manufacturer	Mack Rides
Designer	Walt Disney Imagineering
Model	Custom
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	55 ft (17 m)
Length	1,200 ft (370 m)
Max speed	27 mph (43 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	1:45
Height restriction	3 ft 6 in (107 cm)
Trains	Several trains with a single car. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 4 riders per train.
Host	Goofy (voice of Bill Farmer, safety spiels)
Fastpass available
Single rider line available
Must transfer from wheelchair
Goofy's Sky School at RCDB
Pictures of Goofy's Sky School at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Goofy's Sky School is a steel wild mouse roller coaster at the Paradise Pier section of Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California. The ride is based on Disney's animated cartoon "Goofy's Glider". The attraction is a retheme of Mulholland Madness which closed in October 2010. The rethemed attraction opened on July 1, 2011.^[1]

History

Goofy's Sky School originally opened on February 8, 2001, as Mulholland Madness.^[2] The attraction's original name came from the famed Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, California, named after the famed engineer William Mulholland.^[2] Within the first month of its operation, three accidents occurred on the ride causing it to be shut for a short period of time for repairs.^[3] The ride vehicles were themed to the many cars one can find on the Southern California freeway systems, (such as Highway Patrol cars or Classic Surfer "Woodies"). At the end of the ride, a sign on the wall above read "Rental Car Return".^[4][5]

On October 12, 2010, Mulholland Madness closed for refurbishment and re-theming as part of Disney California Adventure Park's major refurbishment.^[6] On July 1, 2011, the attraction reopened as Goofy's Sky School.^[1] The attraction's re-opening is the latest in a series of moves to attempt to introduce classic Disney characters into Paradise Pier.^[7]

It has been reported that Goofy's Sky School will be the location of a future E ticket ride.^[7][8]

Ride

Goofy's Sky School is a wild mouse roller coaster manufactured by Mack Rides.^[2] Walt Disney Imagineering have designed the theme for the ride based upon Disney's animated cartoon "Goofy's Glider". Riders board a plane and navigate a crash course of flying which features sharp turns, steep drops, and sudden stops. Goofy is pictured on billboards throughout the ride teaching guests the step-by-step process of flying a plane.^[1][6]

Reception

The original Mulholland Madness ride was often criticized for being an "off-the-shelf", carnival-style ride with a weak theme.^[7][9] Brady MacDonald of the Los Angeles Times describes the re-themed Goofy's Sky School ride as "little more than a Band-Aid meant to hide an unseemly scar that earned the Anaheim theme park its on-the-cheap reputation". He goes on to say that an "ordinary Wild Mouse coaster doesn't belong in a Disney park and is an embarrassment" when compared with other Disney coasters such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. He concluded by stating that "the ride should have been removed rather than remade".^[8] In response to the Los Angeles Times' critical review, Screamscape's Lance Hart points out that several other rides (such as Gadget's Go Coaster, Silly Symphony Swings, Jumpin' Jellyfish and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster) are also off-the-shelf and are seen at many other parks around the world. He states that "off-the-shelf rides systems are fairly hard to avoid these days. [...] Sometimes you can dress up a ride system to look different and unique… sometimes you can’t". Lance Hart concludes by saying that "a good wild mouse coaster would be in my top 3 must-have attractions" for a boardwalk style park such as Paradise Pier.^[10] Like Screamscape, others have been less critical of the updated ride. Several have stated that the ride is better than its predecessor and that it better suits the theme of a Disney theme park.^[11]

Gallery

• Mulholland Madness
• 

  The entrance to Mulholland Madness.

• 

  A car travelling along the zig-zags at the start of the ride.

• 

  The latter half of the ride features several sudden drops.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Glover, Erin (May 5, 2011). "Paradise Pier Transformation to be Complete July 1". Disney Parks Blog. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/05/paradise-pier-transformation-to-be-complete-july-1/. Retrieved May 5, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Marden, Duane. "Goofy's Sky School  (Disney California Adventure Park)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/732.htm. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
3. ^ "Accident-plagued coaster shut down". Lodi News Sentinel. 7 March 2001. http://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=va1AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9iAGAAAAIBAJ&dq=mulholland-madness&pg=3770%2C725460. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
4. ^ Carter, Chelsea J. (14 January 2001). "Disney set to open new park". The Albany Herald. http://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=ny9EAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UbEMAAAAIBAJ&dq=mulholland-madness&pg=1070%2C2191383. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
5. ^ "Goofy's Sky School soft opening period begins at Disney California Adventure". Theme Park Tourist. 27 June 2011. http://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20110627/4280/goofys-sky-school-soft-opening-period-begins-disney-california-adventure. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Rivera, Heather Hust (6 August 2010). "Disney California Adventure Park Expansion Continues with Goofy’s Sky School and Cars Land". Disney Parks Blog. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/08/disney-california-adventure-park-expansion-continues-with-goofy%E2%80%99s-sky-school-and-cars-land/. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} MacDonald, Brady (25 April 2011). "Goofy's Sky School: Disney California Adventure set to reopen reworked coaster". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-goofy-sky-school-disney-04201120,0,167845.story. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} MacDonald, Brady (28 June 2011). "Review: Disappointing Goofy's Sky School coaster marks end of Paradise Pier makeover at Disney California Adventure". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-disney-goofy-sky-school-06201127,0,2129333.story. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
9. ^ "Paradise Pier section". Orange County Register. October 14, 1998. http://www.mouseplanet.com/dca/pier.htm. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
10. ^ Hart, Lance (29 June 2011). "Disney's California Adventure". Screamscape. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5znUwOxjz. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
11. ^ Fields, Eugene W. (27 June 2011). "Sneak preview of new ride at Disney park". Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/news/-306112--.html. Retrieved 29 June 2011.