Videopowhat?

Feeling a bit nostolgic. Today I ran across some old pictures of Disneyland on the internet. Disneyland was a very important part of my childhood. When I turned 11 and my brother was 9 she allowed the neighborhood kids whom were in their late teens early 20's baby sit us. One summer, the summer of my 11th year they decided that it would be a good idea to get all of us Annual passess to Disneyland to make our lives less boring. This was around 1987 - 1998. We would spend almost every Friday and Saturday night at Disneyland with the older neighborhood kids as they were being PAYED to take us to Disneyland. Don't get me wrong though they found it quite amusing as they used my brother and I to "pick up" on dates or "hook ups." My brother and I were not naive to this and found it amusing as well. Usually we would go in a group so if someone did find a "hook up" for the night they could split off leaving my brother and I with whomever was NOT hooking up. We would go to watch the firworks, go on a few rides but the best was DANCING at Videopolis! Strangely people found it adorable that my brother and I would be dancing with a bunch of teenagers.

As time went on my parents allowed my brother to "spike" his hair and they would "crimp", "rat" or "tease" my hair. Yes neon was the fashion and we were no strangers to it! I actually had my mom buy me OUTFITS FOR VIDEOPOLIS by the time I was 13! These outfits consisted of layered ruffled skirts, hats and off the shoulder tops with black flats! LMAO! I really need to find pictures! Oh and for the record we were not goth or emo, we were "punkers!" And yes the boys wore eyeliner.

I couldn't dredge up any old pictures of Videopolis that I have but here are someone elses that suprisingly resemble the pictures I have from when I was 11 - 13 at Disneyland. I think I just dated myself as far as age goes. Oh well.

Here is a definition of what Videopolis WAS: (BTW YUMZ was AWESOME!)

Videopolis opened in 1985, a short distance to the west of "It's a Small World". During the day, the theater was used for theme park shows, but in the evening, it transformed into a vibrant 1980s dance club where music videos played instead of the more traditional LPs. Videopolis featured 70 video monitors which displayed music videos and/or live feeds that allowed guests to watch themselves. A snack bar called "Yumz" made food and beverages available to the guests. In addition, the venue's proximity to the backstage mortars from which the nightly fireworks were launched made it a popular viewing location for the aerial shows. (This area is now off-limits for fireworks viewing.)

Videopolis was prominently featured in an a popular television program[1] of the same name on the Disney Channel. Filmed live at Videopolis, the show broadcast concert performances from an array of Top 40 bands and singers including Debbie Gibson, New Kids on the Block, Tiffany, Glenn Medeiros, New Edition, Pebbles, Janet Jackson, and The Jets. Guests could watch major pop stars' performances and get a chance to be on television, all for the price of an admission ticket to Disneyland.

In 1995, Videopolis was dismantled. Currently occupying that area is the Fantasyland Theater, which is used for themed shows only. It typically closes after the last show of the day, usually early in the evening.




All these chairs came out and this became a HUGE dance floor at NIGHT! It was AMAZING!



Dancers @ Videopolis...this was a pretty accurate depiction of the "kids" that babysat my brother and I. See Yumz in the background??? They had the BEST fries and Frozen Yogurt!



VIDEOPOLIS



I know I had a STRANGE childhood!