The quirks of the BoardWalk

Image: DisneyTo create a plausible representation of other famous boardwalks, Imagineers infused this region with special touches. Some of them are even authentic for the era. The Miniature Carousel that you’ve seen in the hotel lobby dates back to the 1920s, the glory days of the Northeastern boardwalks.

A craftsman named Marcus Charles Illions built a series of three carousels over a short period of time. Others coined his work as the Masters Series of Carousels. Illions didn’t build the one that you see at Disney’s BoardWalk. Instead, it was a sales tactic. He wanted to market his carousels at a precursor of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the main convention for the amusement industry.

Illions showed his creation to the observers there in hopes of finding new clients. The carousel that you know and love wasn’t even used again until the 1990s. Disney bought it and then lovingly retouched it to display at the resort starting in 1996.

Image: DisneyThe companion piece is the Hippocampus Electrolier, which rests about the Miniature Carousel. In simpler terms, it’s a bunch of golden horses hanging above the carousel. This piece is a chandelier with a specific purpose. Its sole purpose is to garner attention, as was the case with many showy sights from the boardwalk tourist areas. The catch with this “electrolier” is that it uses electric lamps rather than candles or gas lighting. Electricity was still new back when Atlantic City built its boardwalk, a nice touch of symbolic tribute.

Two other items in the hotel lobby hearken back to the glory days of boardwalk vacations. The Flip Flap Railway is a curious item from the history of the roller coaster, and Disney honors the Luna Park ride with a model at the BoardWalk Resort. You can examine one of the earliest thrill rides in the industry. Similarly, you can look at the last remaining Clamshell Mutascope. In the early days of BoardWalk, the hotel had several of them, but Disney gradually removed the others. If you’re wondering, the Clamshell Mutascope is a kind of a Viewfinder, although its actual intent was as an early form of motion picture display. It was a staple of the boardwalk era, as it was the height of tourist activities at the time, particularly in penny arcades.

Image: DisneyDisney also extended the boardwalk theme to the pool and grounds. You’re probably familiar with the dreaded clown pool at Disney’s BoardWalk. It’s a roller coaster track waterslide that sends swimmers out through the mouth of a clown. While many Disney fanatics, myself included, joke about the creep factor with this pool, it’s authentic in detail. The combination of the older wooden coaster path and over-the-top clown facing are perfectly thematic for the old-school style of Luna Park and other early amusement parks at boardwalks.

In constructing, their BoardWalk, Disney wanted to honor the history of theme park tourism while also hurting the competition. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, as park attendance has spiked since the debut of this part of Walt Disney World. Meanwhile, Atlantic City has withered during the 21st century. Its form of entertainment seems woefully outdated. Somehow, Disney does Atlantic City better than Atlantic City does.