Color photography

I am a child of the 80s and I used to be pretty good with a Rubik’s (Rubix) Cube, both of these are reasons why I love the 1980s area of Pop Century. Now, while the Main Street Gazette is not known for creating stellar backgrounds, this image that was inspired by my wife's keen eye screams out to be a desktop. So, for your background pleasure, here are three sizes to suit your desktop needs. Enjoy!

640x480



800x600



1024x768

Begin moving again

One of my favorite series on any Disney blog has to be The Disney Obsession’s Where in the World. The last round seems to have left a lot of reliable theme park detectives scratching their heads. Doc has decided to give everyone a last chance before revealing the location and has asked for the Main Street Gazette’s assistance.

Why, you might ask? Simple, I happened to be there when the picture was taken and snapped a shot of the Doc in action. A coincidence to be sure, but a fortuitous one for all of you out there. Take a good at the photograph below (it's not a dead giveaway, but it should help) and then head on over to The Disney Obsession to register your answer.

In this timeless land

The Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland needs some help. Not so much help, as a direction. Inside the facades of Fantasyland are the stories and magic that dreams are made of. They are told in fantastic manners with one eye on the story and the other on the effects. Yet, the exteriors of these adventures are jumbled, and I am not just speaking about the congestion of guests and strollers that crowd the undersized walkways.

Within the borders of Fantasyland guests are met with snippets of an alpine village, tournament tents, a circus, a rocky grotto, and the Hundred Acre Woods. While some of these could be blended together seamlessly, others seem to rub up against each other in a rough manner. This isn’t what Fantasyland was ever meant to look like, but the addition of an element here or the removal of an element there brought Fantasyland to where it is today.An alpine village with a magical forest along one of its borders seems logical. A castle built near a grotto seems to make sense. Tournament tents in an alpine village, while creating a visual conundrum (browns and tans butted up next to bright purples, pinks and blues), can make sense while occupying the same general space. However, tournament tents in an alpine village while the circus is in town can make even the greatest of multitaskers’ heads spin.Let’s be clear, I am not talking about Dumbo the Flying Elephant when I bring up the circus, but more along the lines of the new circus train, with all of its wild creatures, that forms the new Disney Vacation Club stand. Although Dumbo is seemingly out of place in a castle courtyard, alpine village, or tournament arena, he actually allows us one possible solution to the Fantasyland quagmire, let it all go.

As Walt Disney said of Disneyland’s Fantasyland, “Here is the world of imagination, hopes, and dreams.” I don’t know about you, but my imagination and dreams tend to exist where spacemen walk around dueling dragons. That is to say different pieces of fantasy can exist in a similar area and it not seem out of place. As for what that means for Fantasyland, take away all the facades and let each attraction’s façade speak for itself. Collapse the tournament tents and allow Peter Pan a pirate ship or Never Never Land jungle exterior, put Snow White in a cottage, PhilharMagic should look like a grand concert hall, and Winnie-the-Pooh can exist in a giant Hunny Pot or Treehouse. Sure, that wouldn’t be cohesive, but it would all for the outside of these timeless attraction to mirror the magic inside.Perhaps though, the better answer is to find some way to uniformly envelop the entirety of Fantasyland. Let’s start with Cinderella Castle. Cinderella Castle isn’t going anywhere, period, end of sentence, so Fantasyland would do well to find a motif that blends in well with the castle setting. Castles have towns or villages that wander away from the central courtyard. Villages are known for stopping at the edge of the woods, though in stories the woods tend to be dark and scary places, not a place you would find a Hunny addicted bear. Also, castle-dwellers tend to like views, so a grotto isn’t entirely out of place here either.

This cohesive village theme is not a new concept to Disney Imagineering, in 1983 Disneyland reopened its Fantasyland complete with village setting. I have heard it said that it felt like it had always been this way. Consider for a moment what a bold step it was for the Imagineers to remove the tent facades. Fantasyland was reportedly Walt’s favorite land of Disneyland, and they were redesigning it. They had their fears to be sure, but in the end it seemed the right thing to do.It was the right thing to do then for Disneyland, and it is the right thing to do for the Magic Kingdom now. Let the tournament come to a close, move the circus out of town, and find a way to fit all the dreams a child has ever, or could ever, imagine into a design that is as cohesive as Liberty Square, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, and the rest of the Magic Kingdom.

The Archives - Disney's Living History

I’m sure that just about anyone listed in that column on the left can attest to this, but sometimes, as a Disney blogger/podcaster/web site designer you start to feel like an amateur archivist. Between cataloguing all the papers and postcards you’ve collected, reading over books and magazine articles, photographing, and finding new pieces that you have to add to your collection, it can be a bit overwhelming. Of course, that isn’t to say that we don’t love every minute of it. In fact, I would say some of us find our greatest problem is just finding the time to do what we love.

That said, I can only imagine what wealth of information Disney Archivist Dave Smith has stored in his brain to coincide with the extraordinary collection he has been charged with overseeing since 1970 (although I do know several friends, myself included, who would consider working with Dave Smith a dream job). In the Spring of 1987 the Disneyana Collector gave us a glimpse into the inner-workings of the Disney Archives.

There’s hardly anything that been made into a Disney product somewhere in the world. Pinocchio bread, babes in Toyland linoleum, Mickey Mouse gas mask, Donald Duck cola. These are just some of the thousands of items that can be found in the Archives at the Disney Studio in Burbank.

Located in the Roy O. Disney Building near the intersection of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive, the Archives collects, preserves and catalogues historical materials relating the Walt Disney and to the company he founded.

After Walt’s death (on December 15, 1966) questions arose about what to do with Walt’s personal and business papers and his memorabilia. The UCLA Library offered itself as a repository but it was determined that, because of the mass of material, the company itself would need to establish a centralized records-keeping system in an archives.

The task of establishing the Disney Archives fell to David R. Smith in 1970 when he was hired as the archivist. Dave came to the company’s attention when, as a reference librarian in the UCLA Library several years earlier, he compiled a Walt Disney bibliography listing Disney motion pictures, television shows, sheet music, books, periodicals and comic books – more than 3,000 entries.

Setting up the Archives required searching the studio for old files. Some were located in old storage facilities and in remote areas of the studio under leaking water pipes. Others were discovered that had been visited by termites (the termites evidently liked the graphite lines on early drawings for they had eaten only the lines, leaving delicately etched pieces of paper.)

The Archives contains all of Walt Disney’s office correspondence files from 1930 until his death, along with some earlier files that date back to the days of Walt’s Laugh-o-Gram studio In Kansas City in 1922. The collection includes some 8,000 different photos of Walt and a compilation of the history of the Disney family.

There have been over a thousand titles of Disney books published in the United States and the Archives has a complete collection, properly catalogued. Of the many thousand foreign Disney books, published in over 35 languages, the Archives has a good representative collection. Much of the material printed in pre-war Europe was destroyed in World War II during the book-burnings and the bombings.

The Archives has a practically complete collection of over 1,300 phonograph records by the Walt Disney Music Company, plus several hundred singles and albums of Disney songs by other recording companies, such as the first Disney records issued in 1934 by RCA Victor.

Tape recordings, sheet music, comic books, and magazines by the hundreds are all part of the Archives’ Disney history. Since the 1920s thousands of merchandise items have featured the likenesses of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. The Archives contains an extensive sample collection of these merchandise. Catalogs, correspondence files, photographs, and contracts help identify merchandise not in the Archives’ collection.

Dave told The Disneyana Collector, “We still have practically all of the original animation drawings since Plane Crazy, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon animated in 1928. We also have other materials related to the making of our films – story meeting notes, scripts, makeup and costume records.”

Movie props and costumes in the Archives include such diverse items as the ornate books used in the opening sequences of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, Annette Funicello’s Mouseketeer outfit, Mary Poppins’ carousel horse, a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea diving helmet and the magic bedknob from Bedknobs And Broomsticks.

Because of its vast pool of historical information, the Archives is called upon to act as consultant on many Disney projects. Dave recalls when he was asked to lend a hand at Disneyland in setting up the Walt Disney Story attraction. “Almost without exception,” he said, “everything on display in Walt’s recreated office at Disneyland is exactly as it was in his office at the studio.”

When it was necessary to establish the actual founding date of the company for its fiftieth anniversary in 1973, Dave searched through old files and discovered Walt’s first legal contract which determined the founding date as October 16, 1923.

A more prestigious birthday – Mickey’s fiftieth in 1978 – raised the question of the actual birthdate. The files indicated that many different dates had been used in the past. Mickey’s fifth birthday had been celebrated on September 30, 1933; his seventh on September 28, 1935. By the 1960s, October dates were being used.

“We decided that once and for all we should determine the correct birthdate,” said Dave. “We knew Mickey’s birth was tied to the opening of Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theater in New York so it was necessary to establish that opening date. Our search through Walt’s correspondence proved Steamboat Willie wasn’t even completed on the September or October dates that were used in the past. Finally, two pieces of evidence helped us complete the puzzle. We discovered a printed program for the Colony Theater dated November 18, 1928m which announced Steamboat Willie as the featured attraction, and we found reviews dated November 19 that referred to the film’s opening the previous night at the Colony.”

While the Archives is primarily a center for information for use within the company, the facility is open to accredited and serous research scholars and writers of books, articles and theses. Its wealth of accurate information on just about any Disney subject brings inquiries from company personnel, the press, merchandise licensees and scholars.

So, whether it’s the number of Silly Symphonies films produced, the name of Zorro’s horse, the license plate on Donald Duck’s car or the height of the Matterhorn at Disneyland, the Archives has the last word.

On a personal note, Mr. Smith, if you’re reading this, is there any way you could arrange a tour of the Disney Archives for myself and several other amateur Disney archivists out here? It’s worth a shot asking, right?

The engine of the future

Energy, in all of its various forms and function, has been a hot topic recently right alongside the future of automobiles and transportation. To anyone who visited EPCOT Center in the 1980s and early 1990s, this is nothing new. We were able to see the roads of tomorrow, or at least take a peek at what might be in store for all of us.

One of my favorite post show experiences in Future World was, and still is even though it has long since been retired, was World of Motion’s Water Engine. Widen Your World has a video of the show on You Tube, and it is definitely worth a look at, considering the current energy atmosphere. Perhaps we should send the video back to GM and see what they can come up with for today’s highways and byways.

Behold the majesty

The Zulu people of South Africa have long been known for their skill at basket weaving; weavings that are so intricate, not to mention the exquisitely designed, that they become watertight, a very useful feature. With an abundance of colorful telephone wire (referred to as scoobie wire) that was left in the country, the Zulu people sought to make something out of this refuse, and thus were born the imbenge baskets, or recycled telephone wire baskets.

Sturdy, and with the ability to be washed, these baskets started life as useful tools. Yet, in the late 1990s the wire baskets spread rapidly into the global marketplace as art, and their creation, which began in South Africa, extended throughout Africa. This is never more apparent than when looking at the patterns of the baskets, which are as varied as the people and groups who weave them.

In Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, near Victoria Falls and between Jiko and Boma, is a wall decorated with these fantastic baskets from South Africa. Though their sizes and patterns vary, the craftsmanship and charm shine through adding a sense of place and history to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Mysteries and magic

Along the winding avenues of the Streets of America, full of Disney’s Hollywood’s Studios facades, are a number of windows that reference film history. Some of them are grand, like The Big Sleep (as investigated by Jeff Pepper of 2719 Hyperion), and some of them not so grand, while others are simply obscure. Today’s window rests firmly in the latter two categories.

In January of 2005, the Disney Channel Original Movie, Now You See It…, premiered. It starred Alyson Michalka (Phil of the Future, Aly &AJ) and Johnny Pacar (Flight 29 Down). Michalka plays a young and upcoming, albeit teenage, producer, named Allyson, who is making a television program to uncover the world’s greatest child magician. The contestant, and ultimately the winner of the contest, is Pacar’s Danny.

Danny and the show’s magician host Max (Frank Langella), it is revealed, have the gift of magic. Not your typical slight-of-hand, but they are honest to goodness sorcerers. The remainder of the story is a jumble magical artifacts, the magic of film, and treachery. Max attempts to murder the novice Danny, who is able to thwart him only with Allyson’s help. In the end, Danny has gone into hiding to work on his powers, feeling that another confrontation with Max is inevitable, though Allyson is able to visit Danny.

Here is where the second half of the window comes into play. Now You See It… was originally supposed to have a sequel, entitled …Now You Don’t. Unfortunately, due to obligations or other tricks of the Hollywood trade, the movie was never made. Which, in a way, is slightly sad. After all, we all could use a little more magic in our lives.

Festive elements

While EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, several pavilions were opened or dedicated beyond that specific date. One such pavilion was Japan, which was dedicated on October 20, 1982. Below is an invitation to the Dedication Ceremony, and a Dis-tionary entry detailing some of the finer elements of the ceremony.
October 5, 1982

Dear Guest,

Wednesday, October 20th will be a memorable day at the Japan Pavilion in the World Showcase, in the EPCOT Center. We will be starting the day with a Dedication Ceremony from 10:00 a.m. Afterwards, beginning from 11:00 a.m., we will be having a Naorai (Shinto Ceremony) to bless our new home, here in Orlando.

The Dedication Ceremony and Naorai will underscore the objective of our pavilion: To further educate visiting guests on the Japanese Culture and what Japan is today.

From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., we will be hosting a Buffet Lunch Reception on the 2nd floor of the Mitsukoshi Restaurant.

Please plan to come early and enjoy the day. We hope to be seeing you on October20th.

Sincerely,
Shigeru Kawase
Executive Vice President

Naorai - A meal consisting of a festival’s offerings, after said festival has concluded. A naorai starts with the host/leader/person in charge presenting the food and drink, followed by the pouring of a sacred drink. Subsequently, naorai music is performed before the host removes the dishes. The naorai has been performed since ancient times.

Shinto – The native religion of Japan, it was at one time the state religion. Shinto is commonly translated to mean “The Way of the Gods,” and is a collection of ceremonies and processes that facilitate the relations between humans and kami (spirits, often mistranslated as gods/deities). Shinto has, and shows, a great love and reverence for nature.

Each inhabitant in their own way

The trail from the Wildlife Express to Conservation Station, in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is filled with intriguing facts and figures, activities, and subtle details of the world around us. Along the way are several signs and displays explain the benefits of backyard habitats and what creates fantastic environments for creatures native to your corner of the world. Below are just a few of the terrific recommendations made along the trail Conservation Station trail along with some resources for the environmentalist in your family.Create habitats – Create backyard habitats that provide food, shelter, water and places to rear young.
Plant native trees and shrubs – They provide homes and food sources for local wildlife.
eNature has a fantastic guide to local plants, unfortunately it only has resources for the United States and requires an email address, but it is worth the time to check out if you are planning your own backyard habitat.
Invite animals to your backyard with water – Create a small pond, add a birdbath.
Adding water is not a construction project, and it doesn’t require expensive birdbaths either. Check out these ideas for homemade birdbaths that can be created for as little as eight dollars. This would be a great project to get children thinking of the warm spring when they are stuck inside on a snowy day this winter.
Habitats can be anywhere – Even an apartment or condo patio can provide a habitat for wildlife.Habitats can be anywhere, huh? Well, I guess that excuse I have been using about not having a yard doesn’t cut it any longer and I need to get started. When I am done, I am going to be heading over to visit the National Wildlife Federation to get my backyard habitat certified, and you should too! You can also get more ideas for shelters, food sources, and tips on gardening for wildlife when you visit the National Wildlife Federation.

Look for updates on my personal habitat in the future. Also, if you have a backyard habitat of your own that you would like to share with other readers, I would love to showcase it on the Main Street Gazette. Simply drop me a line at mainstreetgazette@gmail.com along with the story and details of what is in your habitat and what has visited your backyard. Oh, and if you have some pictures, that would be wonderful as well.

Vote for Hook or else!

Today is Election Day. If you are able, I strongly suggest that you exercise your civic duty and vote today. Who you vote for and what offices you vote for are your choices, and these are not a topics up for discussion here, but even Walt Disney himself would “get red, white, and blue at times,” and I think it is a sentiment we should all share.In honor of Election Day, we’ll take a look at the Main Street Mascot Ballot. During 1995 you could pick up a ballot at either Exposition Hall or the Emporium and vote for Pooh or Captain Hook. Rallies for the candidates were held each morning with the results being announced at a ceremony later in the day. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, the good Captain seemed to win more often than not (though I am unable to confirm whether or not he won every contest). As you returned your ballots, you were presented with a sticker that showed that you voted. Unlike our everyday “I Voted” stickers, these stickers also proclaimed which candidate you had voted for.

Walk this way

There are footprints all over Walt Disney World, and when you consider how much the average guest walks in just one day at the theme parks (the range falls from 5 miles a day to 10+ miles a day), it’s no wonder. I often talked about the sidewalks of Walt Disney World, and how impeccably they merge with the theme of their surroundings, but today I want to talk about the details that have been added to these pathways by “previous” guests.

Stepping back a little ways, foot power was the first mode of transportation highlighted as you wound your way up and into EPCOT Center’s World of Motion. Footprints ran along the wall and ceiling, leading guests to cavemen who are attempted to cool their hot hooves, much as I imagine these guests will be at the end of the day. Across Future World, and a couple of years, we are now met by Figment’s feet, both while on Journey Into Imagination with Figment and as we make our way towards the Kodak “What If” Labs. Again these prints make their way along the wall, though this is much more believable from a Figment of Imagination rather than prehistoric man.

Over in Disney’s Animal Kingdom tracks can be found in almost every corner of the park. This does not come as much of a surprise given that animals are the focus of the guests’ attention, and every intention is made to show these animals as free roaming. Yet, some of the most intriguing prints in the park come not from live animals in the park, but from the extinct and mythical creatures that inhabit the corner of Asia and Dinoland U.S.A. Before even entering Expedition Everest, younger guests are met with their first challenge, meeting the height requirement set by one yeti footprint. Once inside, however, molds of yeti tracks that have been found in the Himalayas greet guests and set the stage for what is sure to be the expedition of a lifetime. While over in front of Dinosaur, Sue has been making tracks as she makes her way towards the Dino Institute.Dinosaur prints are not found only in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, however, Disney’s Hollywood Studios also gets in on the act, as along the shores of Echo Lake Gertie has also been making tracks and cracks. Like with the other parks, Gertie does not walk alone. Just down the path stands Star Tours enormous AT-AT Walker (All Terrain Armored Transport) who not only stands tall as an iconic image of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but also has made quite an impression. Thankfully, I have been able to verify that no Rebels were harmed in the making of this footprint.The Magic Kingdom is home to my favorite track. The Main Street Gazette featured this print once before, but the mysterious hoof prints found outside Liberty Square’s Haunted Mansion are not only a fantastic detail they also form one of the greatest Hidden Mickeys found in the parks, that they are definitely worth scaring up to talk about again. As well, inside the walls of the Haunted Mansion, 2007 sprucing up of the manor included a look at some other ghostly footfalls never before seen by living eyes, and added a true ‘wow’ moment to an already exceptional attraction.

Footsteps, left by a variety of creatures, both real and imaginary, fill the walkways and byways of Walt Disney World, but they are not only limited to the confines of Orlando. Up the eastern coastline a ways, at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort, that playful pup Shadow has left his paw prints not only in the walkways, but also on the tile floors of the guest rooms.This has been quite a walk! So, the next time you are on a 5, 8, 10, or 13 mile hike around Walt Disney World, be sure to take a moment to notice all of those who have walked in these places before you. And if you have a second moment to spare, use it to think about what kind of footprint you are leaving on Walt Disney World.

What are you going to do next? Coining a Catchphrase

The World Series ended this week in spectacular fashion with Game 5 being suspended on Monday in the middle of the 5th inning and play not being resumed until Wednesday night. And though the Philadelphia Phillies beat my Tampa Bay (formerly Devil) Rays 4 games to 1, it is still an accomplishment the Phillies, and their loyal fans, should be proud of.

We love our champions and their championships, whether it is a National Title, a Super Bowl, a World Series, or Gold Medals. And for a number of years the MVPs of these games were ask one question, “What are you going to do next?” The athletes’ famous answers are now common knowledge, but how the phenomenon started is the topic of today’s Back Issues, from the Fall 1989 issue of Disney News, written by Libby Slate.

One evening in early January, 1987, during the opening festivities for Star Tours at Disneyland, The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner and his wife Jane were dining with Jeanna Yeager and Dick Rutan, the history-making crew of “Voyager,” the first aircraft to circumnavigate the globe on a single fuel load.

“You’ve fulfilled your dream,” said Jane Eisner, “what are you going to do next?”

“Well,” Yeager replied, “we’re here at Disneyland.”

What a great idea for a commercial, Jane Eisner later told her husband – and thus was born one of the most popular, talked-about marketing campaigns the Disney Theme Parks have ever devised.

Known in Disney parlance as the “Champions” or “What’s Next?” commercials, each spot features a montage of the key moments experienced by a person who has just accomplished something extraordinary – such as winning an Olympic Gold Medal, the World Series or Miss America – underscored by the Disney signature song, “When You Wish Upon a Star.” An offscreen announcer recounts this achievement, then asks, “What are you going to do next?” The person, still heady with the first flush of victory, exults “I’m going to Disneyland!” or “I’m going to Walt Disney World!”

The first commercial, filmed less than three weeks after that fateful Disneyland dinner conversation, spotlighted New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, the Most Valuable Player of the 1987 Super Bowl. Other stars that first year included American Cup winner Dennis Conner, NBA World Championship MVP Magic Johnson, and World Series MVP Frank Viola of the Minnesota Twins.

On the 1988 roster were Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins, Olympic Figure Skating Champion Brian Boitano, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, fresh from the Lakers’ back-to-back World Championship win, and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser, MVP of the World Series. The first commercial of 1989 featured Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers, the winning Super Bowl quarterback.

The commercials were initially produced only by Walt Disney World, with Disneyland becoming involved for the first time in the summer of 1987 with the only fictional character yet spotlighted – Snow White. That was followed with the athletes from the Winter Olympics of 1988.

The Theme Parks’ advertising staff members who write and produce the spots say that with each one they try to tell a story, focusing on whatever aspect makes that particular accomplishment unique. Boitano’s commercial showed his emotional roller coaster of anxiety and anticipation, performance highlights and the payoff of winning. Abdul-Jabbar’s spot expressed the feeling of “This guy’s been around a long time and he’s still amazing to watch.”

Why have most commercial stars been athletes? Because, staffers say, there is probably nothing, other than politics and religion, that so arouses people’s passions. The Super Bowl, for instance, is one of the most highly viewed programs in the world.

The simplicity of the commercials’ premise belies the amount of offscreen preparation and teamwork involved from conception to airing. First, the subject must be selected. Certain subjects are obvious, such as the MVPs of major sporting championships. For the Olympics, where there are literally hundreds of athletes from which to choose, the creative staff considered the sports which get the most attention; from those, they then chose the sports in which Americans were favored; finally, they narrowed it down to specific athletes within the most likely sports.

After obtaining the contender’s agreement to do the spot, the logistics of actually filming the commercial are worked out.

As close as possible to the event, Disney personnel meet with the athlete (when available), trainer, coach, and representatives to outline filming specifics. However, when it comes time to actually make the commercial, the nature of live sporting events may dictate hasty improvisation rather than those carefully detailed plans. At the 1987 World Series, for example, What Disney World producers did not know who would be named MVP until the eighth inning of the final game.

After filming, the commercial is edited and on the air within 24 hours; the record is a mere seven hours that elapsed between the Lakers’ 1988 win and the Abdul-Jabbar commercial’s first airing on “The Today Show.” Each spot runs only five to seven days, so as to retain its immediacy.

And what do the “Champions” think of their experience?

“The point of filming was at a wonderful moment for me professionally, and it was a pleasure to share it with Disney,” says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “It was funny, because it was such an emotional moment… and then it was all over so fast!”

When he is in public, the basketball star adds, people often call out, “How was Disneyland?”

The same holds true for Brain Boitano, who visited Walt Disney World last summer with his father, sister, and two young nieces. “Everyone on the street asks me, ‘Have you gone to Walt Disney World? Have you gone to Disneyland?’” he says. “I had a blast when we went. We went everywhere you could possibly go. I was Grand Marshall of the daily parade, then went to watch the rest of it. At the end, Tigger, who was on a surfboard, saw me and struck the same pose I’d closed with in my Olympic program.

“I’d never done a commercial before,” he continues, “… being affiliated with Disney is the best thing I could have done, when you see what they do for children and adults.”

Clearly the commercials have accomplished their goal: to bring recognition and exposure to the Disney Theme Parks. They have even been imitated – by David Letterman, in commercials, on the soap opera “Santa Barbara.” And one souvenir of this year’s Presidential inauguration was a T-shirt with a photo of a smiling, newly elected George Bush and the words, “I’m going to Disney World!”

(Ironically, an incident during an earlier Presidential campaign was an inadvertent precursor to the “What’s Next” commercials. Back in 1960, when Lyndon Baines Johnson learned, while watching television, that he had lost the Democratic nomination to John F. Kennedy, he switched off the set and said to his family, “Well, that’s that. Tomorrow we can do something we really want to do – go to Disneyland, maybe.”)

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but perhaps Brain Boitano’s equally sincere admiration says it best. “This was the best endorsement I could make,” he declares. “It’s not even an endorsement; it’s a belief. A Belief in Disney.”

Love goes beyond the grave

November 1st begins the two day celebration Dia de los Muertos. For the 2007 celebration, Disneyland placed some extraordinary pieces in Frontierland, along with Disneyland’s edutainment plaque on Dia de los Muertos.

“Dia de los Muertos” (the Spanish phrase for “Day of the Dead) is observed each year upon All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2). Stemming back to the days of the Aztecs, the holiday is a festive occasion that honors those who have passed away while also celebrating the continuation of life. Those who celebrate this holiday embrace the belief that death is not the end of our connection with others. Love goes beyond the grave. In Latin American cultures, and among many cultures around the world, the annual celebration brings communities together to honor both the living and the dead.

With an emphasis on joy rather than sadness, “Dia de los Muertos” comes alive with vibrant colors that are iconic to the celebration. Traditions include displaying “calacas” (skeleton figurines) dressed in festive attire, decorating cemeteries and gravesites with orange marigolds, yellow chrysanthemums, and fuchsia cockscombs, and adorning altars with candles, flowers, fruit, bread, photographs, and treasured belongings. Delicate “papel picado” (paper cutouts) are often draped through the streets, and special food is prepared to welcome back the souls of ancestors and loved ones for a day of remembrance.

Though this holiday comes near the traditional time of Halloween, “Dia de los Muertos” is an entirely different celebration. For those who honor it, the celebration is an important social and spiritual time which recognizes the cycle of life and death that connects every human being.

Hollywood, 1939

In 1939 the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right. Today, it has recaptured some of its stardom, only in a wholly new light. As details go, the story presented in the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror’s queue and exit is only comparable to two or three other attractions (MuppetVision, Expedition Everest, and Toy Story Midway Mania all come to mind immediately).

The showbiz elite that had come flocking to the Hollywood Tower Hotel for Halloween in 1939 could have taken in the talents of Anthony Fremont at the Tip Top Club. For the less social socialites, the Sunset Room offered a dining affair that would make even the most hardcore foodie salivate. The menu is presented below.

The most spirited season

Cameras will be clicking this weekend, forever capturing the moments when their children turn into ninjas, princess, superheroes, fairies, monsters, witches, and a multitude of other personalities. Growing up, my sister and I did not have many store bought costumes. Usually our outfits had been meticulously crafted by our mom and Nanie, and they lasted a lot longer than the store-bought plastic capes.

Halloween, if anything, only proved that Disney’s reach was not limited only to our afternoon cartoon selection, weekend excursions, and stuffed animals. In the fall of 1989 my sister donned her princess persona. She couldn’t pin down one princess in particular, so she simply took on the overall air of royalty, which was not entirely a stretch for her. Standing alongside her, I gleefully pulled on my buckskin buccaneer outfit. The only items that had been purchased for the costumes were my sister’s scepter and crown together with my coonskin cap (a Walt Disney World acquisition, coincidentally).Davy Crockett and a princess, could you find a more Disney set of siblings on Halloween? I think not.

The Davy Crokett outfit not only served its purpose on Halloween, but I can recall it being so comfortable that I wore it as pajamas until I hit my next growth spurt.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! BE SAFE EVERYONE!

D-I-Y: Walt Disney World Monorail Systen

Sometimes, to me, the best souvenirs from Walt Disney World are those that you happen upon or that are free. When at Walt Disney World, no self-respecting geek should be caught without their Monorail System Co-Pilot License. In the event that you have no co-piloted your own monorail, today’s Disney-It-Yourself will assist you in making one of your very own.


For today’s project you will needs to print out the image above (through trial and error, I suggest printing the image as a 3.5x5 picture), scissors, and a glue stick.

Instructions:
Using the scissors, cut out the co-pilot license.
Fold the license in half, horizontally.
Open the license up and apply adhesive using a glue stick (regular glue will pucker the paper) to one side of the back.
Refold the paper and allow the glue time to dry.
Sign your Walt Disney World Monorail System Co-Pilot License.

Halloween's Coming Plan A Head

Today we have a special edition of Back Issues. This spirited article from the October 28, 1982 Disneyland Line offers up some terrific ideas for thrilling and chilling viewing during this spooky season, though I wouldn’t use it as a viewing guide as this special aired 26 years ago. Still, all of the features listed are top-notch Halloween spook-taculars. Some of these may be hard to obtain, so, as the article says, plan a head!

The horse’s hooves crunch the dead leaves as they swirl madly around the terrified horse and his rider. The stark branches are flung wildly, directly in their path by the relentless autumnal gusts. Suddenly Ichabod sees what he fears most: a black figure in a crimson cape, mounted on a menacing black stallion. The threatening intruder laughs satanically as he holds a jack-o’-lantern in his hand. Ichabod races toward the wooden bridge, but before he makes it across, the Headless Horseman hurls the jack-o’-lantern directly at Ichabod’s head…

This is perhaps the most chilling scene of the Disney classic, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Scenes from the spooky 1949 release will air Saturday night on “Disney’s Halloween Treat” on CBS. In addition, segments of “Night on Bald Mountain,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “101 Dalmatians,” and other films bring trolls, witches, goblins, Cruella de Ville, and mischievous Siamese cats to the television screen for a special Halloween program.

Although we don’t often associate Disney with suspenseful and spooky stories, there are scary elements in many of our films, and even some entire movies designed to shivers down your spine. “Watcher in the Woods,” an eerie tale of the unknown, screens this week in honor of Halloween, as part of the Family Film Festival.

Any of these chilling stories is sure to help you celebrate Halloween by giving you (as the Haunted Mansion ghost narrator intones), “hot and cold running chills!”

What makes life divine

Today is my first wedding anniversary! That’s first as in one year, not first as in I plan to have another wedding. So today, like I am prone to doing on occasion, I’m going to talk about a loved one and how they related to my Disney world.

Almost immediately after I met Aileen I began suggesting a summer vacation to Walt Disney World. Part of me needed to know if she could be swept away by the magic, another part of me needed to know how we traveled together, and a big part of me just wanted to go on vacation. She had been to Walt Disney World with band in high school, but she had never really been to Walt Disney World. She wasn’t a huge fan, but she was willing to give it a try. I’d love to tell you that we didn’t fight at all on that first trip and that Aileen discovered that she loved visiting Walt Disney World, I’d love to tell you those things because that’s exactly what happened. As Bogart said, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

However, to say that we never argue would be a bold-faced lie. We have had, and will continue to have, some terrific brawls. On occasion they even revolve around Disney. Most recently my penchant for Disneyana on eBay, but that is beside the point. We fight just as much as the next couple, but when we travel together, that seems to be one of those rare times when we both have the same agenda or work together to find common ground.

Aileen may not totally understand my passion for Disney, but she understands enough and internalizes all the facts, figures, and rollercoaster emotions I emit better than a lot of Disney spouses I’ve seen, heard, or read about. I think that part of her wants to fall head over slippers for the magic, but she also wants us to each have our own passions and hobbies, and the ears have long been claimed in our household.

The Main Street Gazette and all of the side projects I’ve started take up a lot of time. Putting in several hours after a 10, 12, or longer hour workday wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t mean I was losing time with Aileen. There are times that I can get so wrapped up in what I am researching and writing about that I do not leave my office until it is well past time to go to bed. Aileen suffers these evenings with grace, but makes sure that I am aware that we are still newlyweds and that I should be spending just as much time basking in the light of her love as I do creating my own light of love for Disney.

Whenever I get to a breaking point, too much work, too much writing, too much of too much, Aileen is the one to pull me up, slap me around a little, and tell me that I can’t not do it just because I’m rundown. She knows that people count on me, and she makes sure that I know it too. So, all of you out there who enjoy your daily paper delivery have Aileen to thank. She keeps me grounded while still pushing me to reach for the stars.

I could not even consider doing what I do without her. Those of you who have had the chance to meet her know she is one of a kind, and know that she takes every opportunity she is given to bust my chops. She has shared just as much of the blood, sweat, and tears that I have put into all things Disney, and for that I am eternally grateful. She makes me laugh, can make me cry, she reminds me to be proud of myself, and carries me when my steps falter. Aileen is, without a doubt, the single most remarkable woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I am thankful every single day that she chooses to spend her days with me.

So, if you feel like wishing us a Happy Anniversary today, you should send your wishes to Aileen, because I already have enough joy in my life!

"Singing" For the Deaf

The ability to enjoy all that Walt Disney World has to offer should not be limited only to those of us who have the gifts of sight, mobility, and hearing. In fact, I would take that one step further and say that the ability to enjoy the world itself should not be limited either. In 1976 the Kids of the Kingdom had thoughts along the same lines and premiered the “Lady America” show with something extra special, as explained in the Summer 1980 issue of the Disney News.

No matter where you go in the Magic Kingdom, you’ll be entertained by any of a number of talented musical performers adding to the multitude of sights and sounds in each land. Whether it’s capturing the feeling of another place or time or telling a story through lyrics, dance and music, each group communicates a message in its own special way.

The Kids of the Kingdom, a collection of energetic youths performing daily on the Cinderella Castle stage, add an extra dimension to their “Lady America” medley; the Kids’ choreography includes sign language for the deaf.

The show, created for the Walt Disney World bicentennial celebration in 1976 and has continued to be popular with Magic Kingdom guests ever since. “Lady America” follows a patriotic theme and the sign language was added to enhance the idea of neighborly American’s reaching out to each other.

During the 20-minute show, the Kids perform songs such as “Lady America,” “Things Are Looking Up,” “I Like You,” “All Kinds of People,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” and “Everything is Beautiful” and “Still Be Some Love Left Over” to which they add signing.

The signing fits easily into the choreography since the movements are fluid and are often symbolic of the words they express. Many of the signs can be quickly identified by even those not familiar with sign language. For example, the word “love” is expressed by pressing the hands over the heart.

Audience reaction to the show has been overwhelming. Many groups of deaf visitors have conversed back to the Kids, signing “We like you too!”

The Kids of the Kingdom “Lady America” show unites three basic forms of communication that surpass the spoken word in beauty of expression and universality – music, dance and sign language. What better accompaniment to song which states:
If you add all the love in the world,
Take away all the hate and the pain,
There would still be some love left over.