Defunctland: The American Idol Theme Park Experience
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Published 2024-02-14
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00:00 - The Birth of American Idol
08:24 - The Birth of Disney-MGM
13:19 - American Idol's Golden Age
20:36 - Disney-MGM's Dark Age
25:14 - The American Idol Experience
42:54 - Problems and Decline
57:03 - The Curtain Closes
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All Comments (21)
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Just wanted to drop in and let you know that this is no longer the "high point of my life." 46:18
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the dry humour was on point in this one. "Whether it was a genuine interest in vocal talent, or some biological yearning for the age of public executions" killed me
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This whole attraction is insane from a technical perspective. Running this show/process up to 7 times a day for nearly 6 years? Say what you want about the attraction itself, but that is impressive.
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30:09 Hey! That’s me singing at the grand opening event. 😊 Met all the Idol winners and cast members. One of the coolest nights of my life! I got second place and, since the winner was above the age limit for the real show, he gave me the dream ticket and I used it to get ahead of the line at the auditions for the next season
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I learned 3 important lessons from this video, and they are: 1. One's relevancy is directly tied to Wikipedia. 2. "The Desk" is the make or break for an authentic singing audition experience. 3. Have fun.
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I got so invested in the American Idol lore in the first 10 minutes that I forgot I was watching Defunctland and this video was about a theme park.
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The running gag of "do you have any advice? Just have fun" gets me every time.
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I think the main reason for American Idol’s decline is the shift in corporate strategy from focusing on celebrities and star power to focusing on intellectual property. The fact that the theater used for the experience is now being used for Frozen shows is almost perfectly symbolic of that.
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I can’t stop laughing how you cut to every winner’s piece of advice which is to “have fun”
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The main indicator that American Idol was a cultural phenomenon was it was featured in Shrek 2.
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My wife was one of the contestants for this ride/show. It was super cool and a very unique experience. When you got through the auditions they gave you a lanyard to wear around with the Idol logo on it. As we were walking around a little girl’s mom stopped us and said that her daughter (8 or 9) wanted my wife’s autograph. The little girl was so starstruck and couldn’t speak. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.
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The brief shot of the "voting mechanism" and the two people clicking each others buttons is EXACTLY how that would be if you were sitting next to someone you knew lmao
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"Have fun" is this year's "Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car."
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I won’t lie, when the “Simon” said “at the bridge part I’d consider jumping off” I laughed it was so out of left field
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"The bridge part... I'd consider jumping off of." This character is the best part of the experience, holy shit dude. I want to go perform/watch this just for that actor's roasts
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The "HAVE FUN" advice sprinkled in from American Idol winners was so beautifully executed and made me audibly laugh. Defunctland doesn't miss.
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The "have fun" somehow gets funnier every time, this video's "his mother is very proud"
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My wife tried out for AI on TV but was rejected before she had a chance to sing because too many people showed up to the audition. One day at HS we happened to walk passed a sign saying auditions were happening now and we decided she should try. She made it to 2nd place at the final. She has since passed away and its one of our son and mine's favorite memories. Seeing her feel so close to her dream and enjoying every min of it while showing off her voice. It was special.
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I had no idea they made a theme park attraction that was ACTUALLY connected to the show, that's honestly really damn cool
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I was one of the contestants the day Scotty McCreary visited the park! I had auditioned the day before, and they mentioned a "special guest" would be attending the next day. They took care of EVERYTHING for me in order to stay another day. One of the coolest experiences EVER!
