Silent Saturday - Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island (December 2015)

Loads of Fossils

There are a lot of artifacts scattered around Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures that are vying for guests’ attention. Not the least of which is the copious amounts of souvenirs that the shop is selling. However, scattered amongst the dinosaur bones, plastic dinosaurs, and Coca-Cola memorabilia are a ton of comics mounted adorning the walls. Some, like Batman or The Amazing Spider-Man, are well known to all who pass by, but there are many others that are straight out of quarter bin. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a worthwhile story to tell. Let’s examine three titles that do our dinosaurs proud.

First up is Tyrant. This is the shortest lived comic on our list, but the four issue series’ real teeth lie in the story it tells about the life and times of a Tyrannosaurus rex. The biography of a dinosaur comic ran for four issues between 1994 and 1996 and was an obvious passion project for its creator, Stephen R. Bissette. While he didn’t get to tell the entire tale from hatching up through the Tyrannosaurus rex’s death, his artwork on the book is incredibly detailed, which one would expect from the artist behind the Saga of Swamp Thing. Bissette would leave comic creation behind shortly after Tyrant’s run concluded and now teaches Comic Art History, Drawing, and Film at the Center for Cartoon Studies.

The next of our off the wall picks is Star Spangled War Stories, and it is about as off the wall as it gets. This series was a long running comic from DC Comics that ran from 1952 until 1977 with more than 200 issues under its belt. While a majority of the stories focused on a fictional World War II resistance fighter, there was a period where the stories took a distinctive prehistoric slant, specifically when Dinosaur Island entered the fray with issue 90. These stories by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru became a part of the comic book’s rotational stories and were eventually assembled in the collected edition known as The War the Time Forgot.

Lastly, but certainly not least, let’s meet Gorgo. If Gorgo sounds like some 1960’s b-movie that you have some foggy recollection of viewing as a child on a Saturday afternoon, then well done to you, because your memory is spot on and that’s precisely where this story starts. The film was a 1961 British-American science fiction film feature a young sea creature, named Gorgo by an entrepreneurial circus owner, whose mother, Orga, ravages London to find her son. This sounds like a tried and true monster trope if I’ve ever heard one.

The comic series began in 1961, with the first issue recapping the movie before moving on to a 23 issue run that would end in 1965. The Charlton Comics book introduced a wealth of other sea monsters, dinosaurs, and other mythical creatures in its short lifespan as Gorgo found other adventures, usually with his mother not far behind. Created by Joe Gill, Gorgo featured a number of artists including the legendary Steve Ditko.

If Chester & Hester’s teaches us anything, it’s never to judge a book by cover, and this is especially true of the dinosaur clad comic books that cover the walls. Sure, they cover images depict gigantic beasts storming through cities, destroying military equipment with ease, or even terrifying one another, but there is much more to be found in these, and other stories, throughout Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures, where the dinosaur knick knacks are the true treasure waiting to be discovered.

To a Thirties Theme

The Jungle Cruise, regardless of which coast your jungle perch calls home, has a long and storied history, and this is even before we get into the backstory! However, one of the most dramatic changes to the voyage down mysterious rivers came in the 1990s when Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise needed to make some substantial changes in order to accommodate the arrival of a certain doctor of archaeology. My first thought was to regale you with the tale myself, but once you read how Disneyland themselves described the reworking of the classic attraction, simply nothing else will do! So, without my muddying the waters too much, here is the tale of the Jungle Cruise’s refurbishment from the July 22, 1994 Disneyland Line (Vol. 26, No. 28).

To a Thirties Theme

“For almost 40 years the murky waters of the Jungle Cruise have borne adventurous travelers down the most exotic rivers of the world. Now, after a six-month refurb during which the course of the river was changed and an entirely new boathouse was built – among other modifications – the venerable Cruise has emerged with a new theme and an enhanced story to lure ever more travelers into its mysterious realm.

“The changes in the Jungle Cruise are the result of the convergence of several factors, beginning with the need to widen Adventureland in order to provide more Guest capacity when the Indiana Jones Adventure opens next year, as well as to accommodate Guests departing Fantasmic! performances.

“In order to widen the Adventureland corridor and be able, in the future, to accommodate both Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise queues, the Jungle Cruise dock was pushed into the jungle 15 feet and a two-story Boathouse was constructed. The new Boathouse adds much-needed queue space and provides a pre-show story to entertain our Guests and prime them for their journey – back to 1935.

“Yes, the Jungle Cruise has segued into an adventure from the era of Indiana Jones, when the enterprising crew of a down-on-its luck transport and trading company has found a lucrative new line of business – tourism – just in time to head off a bleak and final decline.

“The Jungle Cruise Trading Co., purveyors of the tours, have set up their business in a Victorian house built in 1911, one of the last outposts of civilization. Originally a colonial outpost which offered rest and supplies to missionaries, scientists, and European travelers, the old house had fallen into decay after the foreign office pulled out in 1928. Now, the new owners and their rag-tag band of hardy guides offer one-of-a-kind tours to the rich, the famous… or those drawn only to the danger lurking in the jungle depths.

“The Boathouse itself, with its seven ‘rooms’ recreating in precise details the furniture, supplies, and accouterments of a jungle outpost – well, a very entertaining jungle outpost – of the ‘30s. This is a setting devoid of plastic; the warm, rich tones of wood, brass, and leather are everywhere. There’s a skippers’ lounge with its African war masks and other anthropological finds casually strewn about, the infirmary with its mosquito-netted cot, and the radio dispatch room, where an endless stream of messages pours in from stranded tour parties, crews of disabled boats, or skippers who’ve blundered slight off-course.

“Meanwhile, as Guests wind their way through the faded Victorian elegance of the house, the throaty tones of a sultry chanteuse caressing a romantic ‘30s ballad flow out of an old radio in the tour ‘ticket booth,’ enhancing the atmosphere of the bygone era.Out on the river itself, less dramatic but no less significant changes were also made. The jungle’s channel was rerouted to pass by the Indiana Jones Adventure queue, providing more Show for the eventual Indy Guests and unifying the area thematically. The created a slight predicament with some of the jungle animation, which looked convincingly lifelike when viewed from constantly passing boats, but which would look oddly repetitive when watched from the Indy queue.

“The Bengal tiger in the Cambodian Ruins, for instance, was relocated to face the Elephant Pool, a later scene not visible from Indiana Jones, and he now menaces the bathing elephants. The crocodiles, whose whole area was eliminated, have been moved to the Sunken City, where they lurk in the ruins under massive, gnarly branches – actually salvaged orange trees which have been turned upside down in the river so that the roots appear to be dead, twisted branches rising ominously from the ruins.

“Landscaping made several modifications as well during the rehab, principally extensive trimming which opened up the canopy of the jungle, letting broad shafts of sunlight filter through in areas which had become too dense and dark. New species of plants were introduced, especially varieties which added much more color. While keeping the naturalism of the native jungle, with fallen leaves and some plant debris, much clearing and replanting was done to keep the various geographical regions represented – Africa, Asia, and South America – distinct.

“Operational and maintenance improvements were also made, with restructuring of the flume to prevent boat derailments, the addition of pneumatic switches (replacing the old mechanical switches), and the development of a new electronic monitoring system which tracks boats throughout the jungle.

“While the rehab was underway, three teams of Cast Members from Adventureland Attractions were at work brainstorming new spiel elements, creating a retraining program, and helping design the configuration of the new Boathouse queue area. As Attractions Department Manager Larry Lenihan explains, ‘The teaming was a Performance Excellence initiative that really paid off. We put ideas together collectively, with input from everybody up front – and everybody walked away happy. We have a better spiel, a better operation, better incorporation of the training requirements.’

“With its enhance theming and new Show elements, the ‘new’ Jungle Cruise – still one of the Park’s most popular attractions almost 40 years after Opening Day – fulfills even more vibrantly Walt’s long-ago prescription for one of his favorite areas: ‘Here is adventure. Here is romance. Here is mystery. Tropical rivers – silently flowing into the unknown. The unbelievable splendor of exotic flowers… the eerie sound of the jungle… with eyes that are always watching. This is Adventureland.”

Shaman of Songs

A little more than a week ago Walt Disney World released an album, Pandora: The World of Avatar, onto iTunes. It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes after I woke up that I ran across the album, downloaded it without even viewing the track listing, and pushed knowledge of the album out to various friends and Facebook groups that I knew were as insatiable for the album as I was. If I am being honest, the entire album could have simply included a single track of the Shaman of Songs and I would have been completely thrilled. The album has been almost two years in the begging from fans and the results are spectacular.

The album opens with a trio of songs dedicated to ride and walk through experiences starting with Flight of Passage, moving on to the Na’vi River Journey (and the aforementioned Shaman of Songs), and then the surprising walk through Pandora. This last entry is the most surprising in that it harnesses some, though not all by a fair stretch, of the ambient audio in the Valley of Mo’ara. The area, which has done away with typical background musical loops in favor of a soundscape that harnesses the natural world, utilizes the creatures that inhabit Pandora and their calls to one another to create an environment of sound.

The soundtrack is attributed to Avatar’s original composer, James Horner, along with Simon Franglen. Even though Horner passed away in 2015, his mastery for world building through music does not go unnoticed or underappreciated on this album. Of particular note are the pieces Magic of the Land and Spirits of Mo’ara, which capture a sense of wonder, whimsy, and their relationship with the natural world that depict a singularly individual story for each guest experiencing them, but still find a way to harness the epic personality that the land of Pandora offers. Franglen does a nice job of interspersing his touches into the remainder of the album overall. However, the retooling of Surf’s Up in track 11 is an example of 1990’s misguided musical mash-ups while the album’s closing piece, Wave, and the equally out of place Bossa, feel as if guests were trapped in an extended elevator scene in a 1970’s made for television movie.

The album is a must have for fans of Pandora, even if, like myself, you find yourself drawn far more often to the land and adventures you can meander through on your own than the film that they are inspired by. From the drum beats on the back of a banshee, to quiet moments with the woodsprites, and further still to your own personal connection to the lumbering sounds of the sturmbeest, there is something here that will stir up your emotions if you have any connection to Mo’ara.

The album itself brought up an interesting idea for me, especially considering the last several releases from Walt Disney World. Prior to Pandora: The World of Avatar, the last album to be released was The Music from Rivers of Light & Tree of Life Awakenings Shows at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, a name that just rolls off of the tongue. We are in a period where Disney, Walt Disney World in particular, is no longer rolling out just an all-inclusive double resort album with fair amount of soundtracks and songs available on a number of albums and a handful of highly sought after, but scarcely seen, tracks. Instead, the releases are targeted to a specific show or shows or towards the experience a single land offers.

I suspect that Black Spire Outpost and the entirety of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be next. We’ve already been let in on the secret that John Williams is returning to score the land, and the scraps we’ve been able to hear have been incredible. I have no doubt that ride through soundtracks for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance could easily be paired alongside tracks spun by DJ Rex on a new album. Throw in ambient score selections from the marketplaces and alleyways and a grand overture and you have the next release from Walt Disney World. But why stop there?

I feel there is an opportunity to explore the richness and legacy of Disney theme park music across the entire resort. Sure, an album with musical offerings from Fort Wilderness, Contemporary, and Port Orleans may sounds great in theory, but how many of us would honestly pony up the cash once these were released? I mean, I would, but I know that I am a scarcity. However, an album dedicated to Frontierland, complete with the well-beloved attraction soundtracks to Splash Mountain and Country Bear Jamboree along with songs cut from the land’s background loop, queue music , and, obviously, The Ballad of Big Thunder Mountain. Heck, you could even through in a couple of minutes with the weird ambient noise from Old Scratch’s Mystery Mine just to have that one incredibly odd track choice.

The same could be said for quadrants of Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as well as the lands of both Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the remainder of the Magic Kingdom. Most park areas have an extensive back catalogue from which selections could also be made, bridging the then and now across the musical spectrum. Now that is something I could see masses purchasing, particularly if they were spread out enough not to saturate the market. Do I have high hopes of ever seeing my fantasy Fantasyland album come to light? Not likely, but a boy can dream.

Regardless of what dreams we have of being able to sift through the incredible amount of music that lives within the theme parks and resorts of Walt Disney World, they have shown that that area, show, and/or attraction specific albums are the way in which they are going to release their albums for the foreseeable future. While we await to see if Toy Story Land gets a release before Galaxy’s Edge, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Pandora: The World of Avatar, it will reminded you of your own adventures in the Valley of Mo’ara and help pass the time between visits to Pandora.

Silent Saturday - Disney Springs Water Tower (April 2017)

Silent Saturday - Canadian Trading Post (May 2018)

The Wandering Reindeer

Frozen’s land of Arendelle is not specifically within any of the borders of Norway, now or in ages past, but it does owe much of its aesthetic to inspirations from Norway. Culture, food, patterns, architecture, textiles, landscapes, and even mythology are all present in the sisters’ story. When it came to finding a home for Anna, Elsa, and all of their friends, Norway in Epcot’s World Showcase seemed like as good a place as any to bring the fictional land to life. With the inclusion of Frozen came an attraction, as well as a new home for a character meet and greet and a new shop, The Wandering Reindeer.

While the season of celebrating reindeer may have just ended, they’re celebrated year round in the Norway pavilion. If you’ve ever made your way into the shop filled to the brim with Frozen merchandise, you’ve probably wondered what the scrolling text above the shelf displays means. Well, you’ve wondered that if you’re like me. If you’re like most people you’re trying to get out of the store spending as little as possible on Frozen merchandise for your child. Since I’m not fluent in Norwegian, or in the language of Arendelle, which I assume is Norwegian, I used the best, if fallible, tool available to me, Google Translate.

Even before that, however, there are some context clues that we can observe. For one, the shop’s name, The Wandering Reindeer, and the fact that there is a reindeer present in the artwork on the shelf just before the text gives us some indication that the brief passage has something to do with reindeer. This line of logic is absolutely true and leads us straight into the message, “Overgangsriten for alle unge reinsdyr var ‘Vårflyttingen,’ en lang vandring til utkanten av kongeriket for å skue nordlysef og vise respekt for de nordlige skytsånde.”

Here’s where translating through Google Translate, and a handful of other translation tools for verification, comes in handy. The passage we are given is, “The rite of passage for all young reindeer was ‘Vårflyttingen,’ a long walk to the outskirts of the kingdom to view the northern lights and show respect for the northern sky.” “Vårflyttingen” feels like a proper name, and as such, doesn’t want to translate very well. The best term I could come up with for it was “Spring Movement,” which is fine, but Vårflyttingen just sounds better if you ask me.

As for the rest of the message, it all makes perfect sense given the reverence the people of Arendelle have for the sky and nature as a whole. Since reindeer are known to roam freely in herds, and the store appears to be the story of one reindeer, it would be logical to assume that the story of The Wandering Reindeer is, in fact, the tale of a young reindeer who ventures off on his own rite of passage to view and pay respects to the lights and sky. In fact, even the imagery present in the center of the shop’s sign outside seems to illustrate this precise action.

Regardless of your interest in Frozen or reindeer or northern lights, it’s nice to see a blending of folktales and real world phenomenon meshing with the world of Arendelle. Even if it takes a translator to get the whole picture.

Silent Saturday - Grand Californian Fireplace (February 2015)

From the Archives - Rain Forests, Bat Caves, and Grottos

It is cold and damp in much of the country today, so why not daydream a little about a tropical hideaway. No, not the one that just opened in Disneyland, Walt Disney World's island getaway stuffed into a water park, Typhoon Lagoon. I may have a soft spot in my heart for River Country, but Typhoon Lagoon was definitely something I had never seen before when it opened in 1989. Today's visit to the archives, we're looking at some of the wonderful concept art for the park, as well as a few words from Imagineering on what the park had planned for guests when it opened.

Rain Forests, Bat Caves, and Grottos - Originally Published 21 June 2017

River Country may have been the first water park in Walt Disney World’s repertoire, but Typhoon Lagoon added a whole lot of land and a new level of thrills to the water playground experience. With the park slated to open in early 1989, the Disneyland Line was one of the first publications to get the scoop as to what was coming downstream to the Disney portfolio when it ran Typhoon Lagoon to Open at Walt Disney World in February of that year. While the article didn’t feature any construction photos, it did include some fantastic concept artwork for Typhoon Lagoon. Below we present the article in its entirety, without any interruptions from your beloved narrator.

“In just a few months, Walt Disney World guests will snorkel among thousands of tropical fish, plummet down the flumes of a volcanic mountain, and ride waves in the world’s largest inland surfing lagoon.

“The place: Typhoon Lagoon, a massive, one-of-a-kind water theme park, which joins Disney-MGM Studios as a major new attraction for 1989. The swimmer’s paradise is four times the size of River Country, which opening at Walt Disney World in 1976.

“Sunny beaches and lazy streams are among the unique facilities surrounding the water par’s 95-foot mountain. The new water-entertainment area takes its theme from a legend of romance and danger evident by a wrecked fishing boat stranded on a mountain peak, and storm-tossed automobiles resting in the branches of giant trees.

"Located halfway between Walt Disney World Village and the new Disney-MGM Studios, the project includes nine water slides and roaring streams up to 400 feet long coming down the mountainside, and a two-and-one-half-acre wave-making lagoon. There will be a unique salt-water snorkeling pool where guests will come face-to-face with colorful fishy creatures of the Caribbean.

“Typhoon Lagoon uses state-of-the-art technology to create six-foot waves, streams that look just like those in Hawaii and Fiji, and a chance to have a close-up look at the tropical marine inhabitants. Demand for the snorkeling experience has grown ever since the opening of Epcot Center’s Living Seas, where swimming is limited to staff divers.

“The lagoon includes separate activity pools for young children and families, and features geysers, fountains, bubble jets and slides. In the family pool, an overhead cable drop will transport adventurers Tarzan-style across a course of random water obstacles to a water fall inside a scenic grotto.

“Another unusually themed experience circling the Lagoon is a meandering, 2,100-foot river. Guests hop onto rafts and inner tubes for a relaxing tour that takes them through a rain forest and a hidden grotto with a spectacular view.

“If you’re planning to travel to Walt Disney World, check out the fun at Typhoon lagoon. But, beware of sharks!”

From the Archives - Leads the entrance way

With all of the construction taking place around the entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios, I thought a glimpse back to the roots of where the entrance design came from was in order. The simple teal and cream towers with bright red flags are so iconic that Disney California Adventure actually reproduced them for their entrance during the park's 2011-2012 refurbishment. As clean and elegant as the entrances are, however, there is a place where the Imagineers drew their inspiration from. For the rest of the story we dip back into our archives.

Leads the entrance way - Originally Published 3 December 2010

Guests of the Magic Kingdom can view a castle across a lagoon and a turn-of-the-century train station at the turnstiles, while at Epcot the giant geodesic sphere known as Spaceship Earth beckons. When it came time to select a suitable draw for the entrance of Disney-MGM Studios (now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios), the design was simple and sleek, not extravagant like its predecessors and it felt right at home in Hollywood.

Perhaps the reason the structure feels so at home, is because it was inspired by a real life building in California. The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was opened in 1935. The arena, visualized by the architectural firm of Walter Wurdeman and Welton Becket, was home to innumerable boat, home, and automobile shows. The facilities also housed hockey bouts, basketball games, tennis matches, ice skating performances, radio broadcasts, wrestling matches, concerts, orchestra performances (including one conducted by Fantasia partner Leopold Stokowski), and a speech by soon to be President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Shown below in Los Angeles Time photograph, from its heyday of 1956, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium was eventually replaced by a larger facility in Los Angeles in the 1970s and soon began to crumble into a state of disrepair. A mere three weeks after the first guests past through Disney’s salute to the Pan-Pacific Auditorium, the inspirational site caught fire and was burned to the ground. The site has since been refurbished into a park with a scaled down replica of one of the recognizable towers. Luckily for guests of Walt Disney World, the green and white, streamlined towers still preside over the land and dreams of tinseltown in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Silent Saturday - Parkside Antiques (May 2018)

Seasonal Specialties

With only two quick service locations to their name, you wouldn’t expect specialty menu items to come along to Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort very often. Yet, each time we are there for Christmas, Halloween, or another special time of year, we often find that Tide Me Over’s regular menu has been accessorized with at least one seasonal offering. Such is the case this holiday season when they added multiple items to the menu. In order to give you a taste of the low country holidays, we did a little taste test of the Holiday Turkey Sandwich and the Snowman Pretzels.

Let’s start with the sweets first. The Snowman Pretzels come two to an order, dusted with cinnamon sugar, and a side of cream cheese spread. I often find that oddly shaped pretzels have a dense and crumbly consistency, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well this stayed together. This is a sweet pretzel, so the sour flavor that pretzels are known for is downplayed with these snowmen. The cinnamon and sugar provides a nice holiday flavor, and the cream cheese is definitely the way to go with this treat. Plus, if you spread the cream cheese over the pretzels, they tend to look more like snowmen. This is definitely a snack I would pick up again.

Moving on to the main course, the Holiday Turkey Sandwich includes over-roasted turkey, cranberry mayonnaise, white cheddar cheese, bacon, arugula, and tomato. It is served warm on multi-grain bread and comes with a side, which we of course picked French fries.  I’m going to start by telling you that I didn’t expect anything more than your typical holiday sandwich, but we were so thrilled with the sandwich that we ended up taking one to go when we hit the road to come home.

Everything in this sandwich works! The turkey is thick and juicy, the bacon is there enough to add flavor but not enough to overpower everything else, likewise with the cheddar cheese, and the arugula adds a bit of spice. The bread is toasted, but not buttered to death and grilled on a flattop the way you usually see hot multi-grain sandwiches handled around the Disney culinary scene.

What I really want to talk about, however, is the cranberry mayonnaise. Typically anything with the word mayonnaise means that it’s heavy on the mayo and light on the other ingredient, but not in this situation. The cranberry mayonnaise is all bright and tangy cranberries with maybe a tiny hint of mayo deep in the background. It was almost more like cranberry relish than it was a mayonnaise spread, and it was right on the mark. Also, because we were able to talk about how it was made with a wonderful Cast Member, we can definitely say that it is handmade on site.

Tide Me Over at Disney’s Hilton Head Island doesn’t have a ton of room to work with, but that hasn’t stopped them from finding great flavors to highlight with the seasonal offerings. It is also worth noting that they’re preparation is second to none in how they choose to utilize components and technique. I can whole-heartedly recommend the Holiday Turkey Sandwich and the Snowman Pretzels, but you’d better hurry before they catch a sleigh out of town!

Chocolate on Demand

If the intoxicating smells that waft out of The Ganachery at Disney Springs haven’t been enough to entice you in to sample their rich and delicious assortment of chocolate goodies, then you definitely need to give the chocolatiers there a chance. Better yet, you should pick up a treat that you and your friends can all share together, such as today’s featured sweet, the piñata.

Each month the masters of chocolate at The Ganachery create a whimsical treasure box of chocolate. Some months the theme is clear, such as Jack Skellington for Halloween, and other months they get to play with their imaginations to create the treat. Each month the outer decorations are different and inside the orb’s shell, the surprises are also different. For December, Santa Mickey came to play, complete with chocolate ears, gum paste buttons, white chocolate and rice crisp pearls adorning the outside and ground covering of the piñata. Inside, however, are a handful of homemade marshmallows coated in chocolate.

How do you get into the hidden snacks, you ask? Like any good piñata, you have to smash your way in. I don’t recommend using your hands or that you take this task on blindfolded, but a spoon or a knife will do the trick. To add even more ceremony to the event, The Ganachery offers a branded mallet for purchase that will definitely get you into the chocolate piñatas without much resistance. I know it looks beautiful and you may not want to break into it, but trust me you’re going to want to.

This shareable treat was absolutely a hit with a group of friends that I shared it with a couple of weeks ago. The Ganachery makes very rich, very smooth chocolate and there is a ton of it here. The rice crispy pearls were particularly sought after, with pieces of the chocolate shell being utilized as spoons to scoop up as many pearls as possible. The marshmallows were soft and sticky, perfect marshmallows if you ask me, and they melted in your mouth.

The only concern I had with the piñata at all was the plastic case that it comes it. It is stuck together at several points with a substance so sticky that it took a huge amount of effort to get into and also damaged the piñata. I understand wanting to make sure the chocolate work of art is secure, but this seemed to take it a little too far.

I’ve have never had a bad bite at The Ganachery and the monthly chocolate piñata continues the trend! I recommend a piñata for 2 to 6 people, depending on how hungry everyone is for chocolate, but they’re also incredibly affordable. Whether you are living up to the season’s spirit of sharing or keeping the orb of chocolate and marshmallow to yourself, this is one treat that I can definitely say will put a smile on your face.

Silent Saturday - Disney's Animal Kingdom Christmas Tree (January 2009)

Silent Saturday - Main Street Wreath Garland (December 2008)

The Holly and the Ivy

Generally when we think of Ichabod Crane, our thoughts jump to a horseman with a flaming pumpkin head and the frantic chase the two had through Sleepy Hollow. That shiver inducing tale is wonderful when Halloween comes to Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom, but what about Christmas? As it turns out there is a reason to consider Ichabod as Christmas rolls around.

Starting with the obvious, a musically inclined sign informs guests that Ichabod offers music and voice lessons in Liberty Square, by appointment only of course. This sign sets up the story that Ichabod’s studio is actually one of three distinct environments that makes up the various rooms of Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, with the other two being for a colonial residence and a woodworker’s shop. Each room has a distinct feel and design to it, whether that feels like a well-worn and loved house that is clearly lived in or a woodcarver’s shop filled with hunks of wood, iron tools, and completed toys that are absolutely charming. When it comes to Ichabod’s music and voice lessons, however, you can definitely tell that music is serious business.

Ichabod’s corner of the shop is filled with instruments and musical notes everywhere you look. From the music stand with a copy of The Fly (no, not that The Fly) and a flute to the framed parchment paper filled with lyrics and notes hanging on the walls, music is all around. It is the framed sheet music that interests us at this joyous time of year. Considering that these pieces of music are framed and hung prominently, it is clear that they are some of Ichabod’s favorite carols to train his students with during Christmas time. The three songs in question are I Saw Three Ships, The Holly and the Ivy, and Joy to the World.

While Joy to the World would have become standard between the time it was first published in the late 1700s and when Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman burst onto the literary scene in 1820, The Holly and the Ivy would have been a more contemporary song having only been distributed since the mid-1810s. I Saw Three Ships is a bit stickier to get a date pinned down, while it wasn’t commonly published until 1833, there have been copies of the music dating back to the 1600s. It appears that Ichabod had a thing for contemporary classics, as well as deeper cuts.

The next time you think that the tales of Sleepy Hollow are best served up at Halloween, remember, that you’re absolutely right. That doesn’t mean, however, that we should complete cast off the memory of Ichabod when the calendar rolls around to the holiday season, he still has a song in his heart, and on his walls, that is worth taking note of.

Full of Yuletide Cheer

December is here, which means you may be shopping for gifts for the Disney-phile in your life. Sure you have the limited release MagicBand for their stocking, or maybe even a phone call scheduled from Mickey Mouse if they’ve been very good this year and you’re surprising them with a trip. What about for that individual who just can’t get enough history of all things Disney? Lucky for you, there are a couple of volumes that are sure to be a hit this year!

Jeff Kurtti is arguably the name when it comes to Disney history, and he has proven it again and again with each book he publishes. This year he had three volumes that were released: Travels With Walt Disney, From All of Us to All of You: The Disney Christmas Card, and Practically Poppins in Every Way. While I haven’t had the chance to pick up Practically Poppins yet, though it is on my list to read immediately after I catch a screening of Mary Poppins Returns, the other two have already become new classics on my bookshelf.

Travels With Walt Disney was released this spring and chronicles more than just Walt’s vacations. Each section tackles a different period of Walt Disney’s life, a different style of transportation, or a different focus in his life. The book is almost a scrapbook of Disney’s life, filled to the brim with photographs of places and people. Starting with his early life, to his time aboard a train, cruises, and even when he brought the world in his dream, Disneyland, each section includes an itinerary and is expertly navigated by Kurtti’s narrative and vignettes. From Disney’s time in Europe with the Red Cross Ambulance Corp during World War I to the saving grace of recreation with Lily, the impact of travel is not lost on a single page in the entire volume.

It is worth noting that Travels With Walt Disney, while mostly moving through Walt’s life in a linear fashion, does not run precisely in chronological order. For instance, the segment on railroads include comes in just after his formative years before jumping ahead to the 1956 feature film, The Great Locomotive Chase, and then transitioning back to his life in California in the 1930s. The jumps through Walt’s lifespan never seem out of place due to the sections having been deftly tied together. Honestly, it would be more jarring to constantly transition from a train trip, to a cruise, then to an airplane voyage, before back to another boat outing.

From All of Us to All of You: The Disney Christmas Card is the more timely volume and, like many holiday spectacles, it opens with the curtains being pulled back from the middle. In this case, the centerline of the front cover. While an intriguing way to start a book, it sets the stage that this is no ordinary history text. For those who like their Christmas cards more tangible and less printed on the page, you are covered. Scattered throughout the book are 12 envelopes affixed to the pages, each holding a reproduction of a memorable greeting card.

Moving ahead to the text itself, the forward addresses the origins of Christmas Cards before plunging the reader headlong into the history of Disney’s versions of the holiday greeting. Starting with the 1930s and moving to the present day, Kurtti spin through the history of the Disney animation and storytelling come to life in annual cards like a hand-turned zoetrope. If you’re looking for a glimpse of artwork from a specific Disney legend, chances are you can find it in here as everyone from Mary Blair and John Hench to Kevin Kidney can be found in this massive archive of Christmases past.

I have been a fan of Jeff Kurtti’s work from the moments I flipped through the pages of Since the World Began many moons ago, and he continues to impress with each new book he releases. There are always details I’ve never heard before and layers I’ve not considered, even in something as simple as an archival look at Christmas cards. If you’re looking for a book to add to your Christmas list, or trying to find the perfect gift for the bookworm in your life, I cannot recommend Travels With Walt Disney and From All of Us to All of You: The Disney Christmas Card enough.

Silent Saturday - Gingerbread Horse Marina (December 2015)

Market Development

There are many vignettes, or small stories scattered throughout Harambe in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Often times, the messaging of the land in shared through the art, postings, and signage of the found on the walls everywhere in Harambe. Today, let’s look quickly at one such message found on a wall in the Harambe Market. Like much of the graffiti found around Harambe, it is helpful if you know Swahili. Since I am not, I lean heavily on translation sites to get me close to the message and then begin the work of searching Swahili speeches and proverbs for keywords to get me to where I am going.

“Kila mango na ufunguwo wake,” is painted in bold black strokes of a sure hand with nothing fancy about it. The message is in, as stated above, Swahili and comes from Kenya. The proverb translates to, “Every door has its own key.” The breadth and width to which this proverb has been utilized is amazing, but in recent times it most often comes up in educational training. The proverb illustrates how every child, like a door, is unique and their potential will be unlocked in similarly unique ways. They may each learn differently or have different interests, much in the way keys have different notches for the lock pins, but they all have value and can be taught if a teacher is willing.

While the proverb most often ties in with education, I think it is easy to see its application across a broad spectrum of fields. As with most proverbs, you get out of it what you put into it. Is there a scenario you are facing right now, your own personal locked door, that you just haven’t found the right key for? If we are to heed the words in Harambe, your persistence will pay off in finding the key that opens your door.

Disney Chefs are Sweet on Christmas

Gingerbread is as much a part of the holiday experience at Walt Disney World as Christmas trees, peppermint, wreaths, bows, or and bubbly snow. In fact, the spiced molasses treat has been around the parks and resorts for a long, long time. 25 years ago in 1993, the world of gingerbread was expanding and Eyes & Ears’ December 23, 1993 issue provided a complete rundown of what gingerbread (and other sugary) displays you could find throughout the Vacation Kingdom. Surprisingly, there was even more gingerbread to see and smell back than there is to be found in Walt Disney World these days. Let’s take a look at the list.

Magic Kingdom Park, Liberty Tree Tavern – a “traditional” gingerbread village, which began five years ago, has been enhanced and added to each season. This year, a country/western flavor brings new excitement, according to Area Chef Marianne Hunnel.

EPCOT Center, The Land – a competition between all of the World Showcase pavilions has produced an international village, with chefs through the Park participating.

Disney’s Polynesian Resort – an old-fashioned Christmas village, made of gingerbread and candy, is on display on the second floor lobby of this resort. 

Disney’s Grand Floridian Beach Resort – chefs have constructed an almost life-sized gingerbread playhouse. Again, candy and gingerbread (a lot of it) make up this house near 1900 Park Fare.

Disney Contemporary Resort – an “Early American” village made from rock sugar and gingerbread takes a place of prominence at the rear of the first floor lobby.

The Disney Inn – a piano and a storyteller add to the “Christmas-y” feel here. 

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – an “old fashioned” Christmas village is on display at the Trail’s End Buffeteria.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort – Caribbean houses made from gingerbread and candy highlight this display. The chefs’ work can be seen in front of each Old Port Royale food shop location.

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort – Belle and the Beast are part of this display “in person” and in food product at this main lobby display. Scenes from the movie have been recreated using almond paste, powdered sugar, candy and egg whites. Characters from Beauty and the Beast are on hand during the evening hours it is displayed.

Disney’s Beach Club Resort – Ariel stops by the main lobby at night (in person) to meet and greet Guests. The rest of the day, she can be seen here, along with the rest of the cast of Voyage of the Little Mermaid, in an exquisitely crafted diorama of sugar, candy, egg whites and almond paste.

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – scenes from Aladdin highlight this gingerbread, candy sugar and icing creation. “Marketplace” and “Castle” motifs from this smash hit have been recreated in the resort’s lobby.

Disney’s Dixie Landing Resort – a “Southern Bayou Christmas” comes to life in the form of gingerbread, icing, candy and sugar at Colonel’s Cotton Mill.

Disney Village Marketplace – a gingerbread contest too center stage at Chef Mickey’s Restaurant December 14. Winning entries are on display here and at the Empress Lilly Riverboat.

Disney Vacation Club Resort – a Key West Christmas village dominates the front lobby of Olivia’s restaurant. On display until December 29.

Silent Saturday - Innoventions Plaza (September 2011)

Friendship Day Celebrashun

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what the year has given to us to be thankful for, a time to gather around the table with friends and families, and make new memories that we’ll cherish. This is not altogether unlike a meal at Walt Disney World, particularly one where friends come to visit your table, marvel at the good things piled high on your plate, and when they just so happen to be having a Friendship Day Celebration (or rather, Celebrashun). If you’re still lost, we’ve ventured over to the Crystal Palace to visit with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore, while enjoying a smorgasbord filled with all the best offerings from the Hundred-Acre Wood.

Since not all buffets are alike, let’s start with the setting at the Crystal Palace. Based upon the original Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park, you can see how the structure would have been a marvel during the Great Exhibition of 1851. Even the Magic Kingdom version is filled with ornate iron and glass which transports guests back in time and gives the whole restaurant a sense of elegance. Juxtaposed against this opulence are the childish qualities associated with Christopher Robin’s animated friends, a charmingly misspelled banner, and even topiaries of Pooh and company. It is altogether a wonderful mishmash of fun and sophistication.

This trend continues onto the menu, where just about any and everything you would want from a buffet is provided. In fact, playing into this week’s festivities, I was able to put together one plate that was all Thanksgiving and included turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, green beans, collard greens, carrots, and mashed potatoes. It may not be specifically what we’ll have at my house tomorrow, but it was a fine stand in. Other options include a wealth of salads, pastas, seafood, sausages, a ton of vegetable offerings, and several meat options from the carving station.

Beyond how vast the selection was, I was shocked by how many healthy options there were. Not only the quantity, but that the vegetable and salad options were things that I wanted to eat, and not just healthy options that had been thrown together for the sake of having healthier options. The cucumber salad and whole carrots were favorites of mine, while my wife gravitated more towards the couscous and other salads.

Of course, being with a bear with a rumbly in his tumbly, means that there are also going to be something sweet to eat as well. Ice cream with all the fixin’s is available, but don’t overlook the dessert spread. Small s’mores tarts, honey tarts (complete with candy bees), panna cotta, dirt mousse, and fruit filled domes are just a few of the offerings here that you’re going to want to save room for.

The last meal I had at the Crystal Palace was a little more than a decade ago, and at that time I swore off the place for good. However, giving it another chance recently was one of my better decisions. I went into this meal expecting to eat very little and come out hungry and looking for something else to eat, and I was entirely shocked by the wonderful meal I was able to have. Yes, it is a buffet, but there is a quality to the menu items that is a step above what the term buffet usually means to all of us that surprised me.

If you’re like me, I highly suggest you give the Crystal Palace another chance, or a first chance, if you’ve never tried it. The atmosphere is great, the food is delicious, and the friends are wonderfully warm. I guarantee you if the food doesn’t have you leaving the restaurant with a smile on your face, your interaction with the silly old bear will!

Artifacts No Longer Taken as Payment

Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar is a trove of artifacts and curiosities from his piloting days and his adventures with archaeological adventurers, namely Indiana Jones. To get more specific, there are many nods scattered throughout the hangar that are direct pulls from the original trilogy of Indiana Jones films. Over time it appears that Jock grew weary of accepting things that belong in museums as payment for his services, or drinks, and erected a sign that artifacts would no longer be considered a form of payment. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some wonderful pieces to ogle while you’re there. Today, however, let’s stick close to where it all began, and unearth some artifacts from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

We first come upon Indy in the jungles of Peru, where he using field notes from another archaeologist, Forrestal, he is seeking to locate the Chachapoyan fertility idol. The figure depicts Pacamama and is found by Jones in the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors. However, just as soon as he acquires to idol, Belloq steals it away from Jones. With the help of his trusty pilot, and our barkeep, Jock, Indy is able to fly away to adventure another day. The idol, meanwhile, has a story that continues on.

Belloq, on his way to uncover the Ark of the Covenant, sells the idol in Marrakesh to an antiquities dealer named Saad Hassim, the one place Jones knows Belloq can unburden himself of the idol. It is here that Dr. Jones is later able to acquire the fertility idol and present it to the National Museum. At a gala in the idol’s honor, a band of Hovitos, and possible decedents of the Chachapoyan, steal back the idol and head for Brazil. Jones gives chase and confronts the Hovitos, and their Nazi counterparts, and is able to once again obtain the idol.

It is clear that at some point after this adventure that Indiana turns the idol over the Jock. Whether it’s for safe keeping, because a hangar in central Florida is the last place you’d expect to find a Peruvian fertility idol, or to pay for safe passage to and from another adventure, the idol ends up in Jock’s hands. You can find it atop a trunk turned makeshift bookshelf in the very back, right corner of the Hangar Bar.

Before Indy was able to collect the idol, however, he had another adventure that was the main thrust of Raiders of the Ark. His quest to get to Tanis and locate the Ark of the Covenant takes him to Nepal in search of Abner Ravenwood. Instead, Jones finds Abner has passed away leaving the artifact he is looking for, the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra, has been passed to Abner’s daughter, and Indy’s estranged love interest, Marion.

Briefly in the hand of, and burned into the palm of, Arnold Toht, the headpiece contains instructions on the precise height for the staff of Ra. However, with only the information on one side, the Nazis end up with a staff that is too tall for the map in the Well of Souls and with a dig site in the wrong location. With the original headpiece in the possession of Indiana, he is able to locate the Ark first, only to have it, once again, swiped out from under him by Belloq and the Nazis. He and Marion are eventually able to attain the Ark again, only to have it spirited away by the American intelligence services.

Meanwhile, either Marion or Indy accidentally left the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra at Jock’s place after a night of frivolity, and maybe one or two too many Jocktails... If you’re looking to claim this artifact, or just admire its craftsmanship, then you should definitely look very closely at the Lost and Found case in the hangar. The case is along the walkway to the restrooms and, aside from the headpiece, it contains a wealth of wonderful items that are sure to interest you.

Jock Lindsey is in the conversation for one of Indiana Jones’ most stalwart companions, right up there with Sallah and Marcus Brody, and their years together show through the sheer amount of artifacts found throughout the Hangar Bar and notes from the flight log, aka menu. The fertility idol and Headpiece to the Staff of Ra from Raiders of the Lost Ark are only the beginning of the relics left behind from their adventures. This only means we’ll just have to keep visiting Jock’s in order to excavate new stories from the barkeep and pilot’s home.

Silent Saturday - N.W.R.R. (October 2007)

South of the Border Specialties

We’ve talked before about Choza de Margarita and how we enjoyed some of the upscale on the go offerings we’ve tasted there. It is a credit to the entire Mexico pavilion that just about every spot to grab a bite to eat or something to drink within, and outside of, the pyramid is a place that I regret not visiting if I can’t get there on a particular trip. As Choza de Margarita is still relatively young in its lifespan, let’s head back today to sample a bit more of the menu. This time we’ll focus in on a dish and a margarita that are a bit more traditional, but with that typical Choza twist.

Guacamole may not sound like a must try dish to you, but in our house it’s a common staple to have on hand. Sometimes we make it ourselves, and sometimes we leave it up to the capable hands of our local grocer, but it is something that we keep around. The guacamole at Choza de Margarita takes what you know and love about guacamole, the avocado, a bit of heat, and seasoning, and ramps it up with mango and pumpkin seeds. Then, instead of tortilla chips, it comes with fried flour chicharróns that are drizzled with salsa valentina. A lime also accompanies this dish to add as you see fit.

The mango is a refreshing addition to the guacamole and adds the brightness of lime without as much acidity, while the pumpkin seeds add some texture to the otherwise silky smooth guacamole. The fried flour chicharróns are wonderful scoops and can hold an extra-large dollop of guacamole that you typical chip would crack beneath. They are like air puffed pillows of salt and heat and they’re perfect alongside the fattiness and fresh flavors of the guacamole. There is definitely more than enough to share in a single portion, and it will really hit the spot if you’re looking for something to tide you over between meals.

To wash the guacamole down, we opted to go a hair up from the traditional margarita, and instead picked up Choza de Margarita’s Lime Cucumber Margarita. This beverage includes Libélula Joven Tequila, fresh cucumber juice, Combier Orange Liqueur, and agave nectar with Tajín Chile-lime powder on the rim. The difference between this and the traditional margarita offered at Choza is the type of tequila used, the addition of cucumber juice, and the rim, which in the traditional version is a black ant salt rim.

As much as any margarita can be, the Lime Cucumber Margarita is as refreshing as it gets. The cucumber is mellow and spends most of its time in the background, allowing the lime and orange liqueur to do the heavy lifting. The cucumber juice comes through enough to cool off the harsh edges of both and leave you with a pleasing aftertaste. The Tajín Chile-lime powder will give you a kick each time you place your lips to the glass, but if you stay in one spot, that effect will obviously dissipate as you continue sipping on your margarita. Overall, the Cucumber Lime Margarita is extremely flavorful, but not overbearing, and is definitely something I will add to my regular rotation.

With a couple of dishes and a handful of margaritas under my belt, I can safely state the Choza de Margarita is representing well the recent trend of great food and drink in the Mexico pavilion. If you’re on the go between stops, or just simply don’t want to wait to get a table at La Cava del Tequila, Choza de Margarita is definitely a place to check out. If you’ve been before, give something else on the menu a try, because from my sampling they will not disappoint you!

Silent Saturday - Pluto's Toy Palace (July 2015)