You can’t get this view anymore

An April 1989 press photo of Hollywood Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios.

“And this is my favorite view of the Chinese Theater. You can’t get this view anymore, you may be aware of that. But I hope that we will get this view again sometime soon.”

Bob Weis, Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering
1 May 2009

Hold near and dear

Everyone has dreams about activities they want to share with their families at Walt Disney World. I’m no exception. There are plenty of places I want to stay with my wife, tours I can’t wait to take her on and meals we need to share, but some of the greatest moments of anticipation are withheld for the times I get to spend with my father at Walt Disney World.The stories of my dad at Walt Disney World, or stories of how he convinced us to spend more time at the Vacation Kingdom, would give you the perfect image of a child at heart. While he may appear as gruff, the more he speaks about Walt Disney World or the more time he spends around the parks and resorts, the more the man I remember from my childhood appears. In just a little under two weeks, my dad and I are taking our first father-son trip since I’ve been married.

One tap are a bunch of great meals and activities, including a couple of rounds of golf. My father introduced me to golf in my late teens, and while I only play once or twice a year, the times when I get to play with my dad are some of my favorites. It will be the first time either of us will have a chance to play at Walt Disney World, and we’ll be playing on the original 1971 courses. I fully expect to have some of the worst rounds of my life, but I’m going to enjoy every minute.

Sure, I have a lot of data collecting and research to do for the Gazette while I am there, but it will be the moments I share with my dad that I’ll cherish most. When I was a child he passed along information about why things were in the parks, show me the best place for a nap (as a child it was the arcade behind the France pavilion) and showed me the best ways to navigate through the parks. My aunt used to say I was the best tour guide who didn’t work for Disney and my father was the reason I could do all of those things. This trip, I’ll get to show him details and the best way through parks he’s not as familiar with.

We all have are guiding forces into why we love Walt Disney World and why we know what we do, and we all have moments we hold dear and moments we can’t wait to create. While the moments I spend with my wife are the ones I know will flourish as we grow a family together, it is creating new memories with my father, the man who showed me the Disney way, that I am most looking forward to in the coming weeks (Oh, and I hope to spend some time with some of you along the way, and you’ll get to meet the man who set my path in motion, who you have to thank for the Main Street Gazette.).

What are some of the can’t wait to create memories you have?

Disney This Week - 10 April 2010

A joint venture from the minds behind Touring Plans and Studios Central launched this week. If you want to keep up with the galactic happenings of Star Tours refurbishment, then check out Star Tours 2 Live!

Amanda Tinney takes Disney Every Day readers along to Top of the World to sample the fare, grab some dessert and indulge in an adult beverage or two.

Last spring I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Ridley Pearson, well, Pearson is back in Walt Disney World. Thomas Smith catches up with the author on the Disney Parks Blog and gets the scoop on Power Play and Kingdom Keepers Quest.

In this week’s edition of Retro 71, Richard brings an iconic ticket image to the world of fashion at DesignerLand.

Sam Gennawey presents some amazing panoramic postcards from 1950s Disneyland for readers of SamLand’s Disney Adventures.

Over at DF’82, Fiona Doyle breaks down the Euro Disneyland Railroad carriage by carriage.

Andy Jackson brings one of my favorite International Food and Wine Festival recipes home when he prepares South Korea’s Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw for Eating (and Drinking) around the World.

The Disney Food Blog samples an English Bulldog, AJ Wolfe has promised me that isn’t as inhumane as it sounds.

The connection between Fantasia and the Contemporary Resort is explored by Shawn Slater at DisneyShawn.

In the long forgotten department, George Taylor discusses Mickey Mouse Globe Trotters and Tar Heel Bread on Imaginerding.

Silent Saturday - Test Track, Odyssey and Mexico (January 2010)

Pegasus

If you want to find a piece of EPCOT Center history, don’t go looking around Epcot. Instead, head over to Backlot Express in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where the outline of a familiar vehicle rests high upon a shelf.

Known as a hoverlift, the vehicle was central to the Mesa Verde scene of Horizons. While I don’t believe this is the same vehicle as the hoverlift named Pegasus that rested on the launch pad in the orange scented harvesting scene, it is likely that it was part of the modeling or molding process for the vehicle.

While displays featuring the forty year history of Walt Disney World are few and far between, save for what can be found in One Man’s Dream, it is nice to find these remnants still fill spaces around the parks.

Touchdown

It’s one of the few times during the year when sports happen to be just about everywhere you look. From NCAA March Madness to The Masters for the PGA, from the first pitches of the MLB to the NBA Playoffs tipping off, sporting events are dominating television screens everywhere. With that thought in mind, I thought we’d take a quick trip through All-Star Sports today to see what type of athletic antics the resort is up to…

M-I-C-K-E-Y

When you think of snack foods at Walt Disney World, the mind is inexplicably drawn to popcorn, Dole Whips and ice cream carts. Tucked within those carts are the marquee Mickey bars.

Once upon a time, the Mickey’s head on a stick ice cream bars were similar to the Mickey’s Parade Mickey Mouse Bars from Good Humor. These bars featured two shades of ice cream, one for the face and the other for the eyes, nose and mouth. But these snacks that smile have since been replaced with Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bars from Nestle.In the current incarnation, the Mickey bars are shaped like a typical hidden or décor Mickey. That is one large circle with two smaller circles placed atop the main circle for ears. The construction of the bar includes vanilla ice cream that has been coated with a thick layer of chocolate. The image of the Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar is eye-candy for the stomach and has been featured on everything from Mr. Potato Head accessories, scrapbooking material, and even a child’s food playset. But how do the bars taste?The first bite has to be one of the ears, not only because it is the logical place to start, but because the idea of chomping off an ear appeals to our darker sides. Just ask the chocolate Easter bunnies! The first bite has a satisfying crunch as the chocolate shell shatters for the first time. The further into the bar you go, the more the chocolate melts, presenting the sensation of a bite of ice cream with chocolate syrup in your mouth. While the chocolate does sweat and begin to melt as you make your way through the ice cream bar, it does contain the ice cream, which can melt rapidly in the Florida heat, which is a definite plus.Overall, the Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bars are a treat, a rite of passage for first time guests and a fond staple for the park going veterans. A hot day in the parks and a Mickey shaped ice cream, it doesn’t get much better than that!

Great national experiment

Once upon a time, the roll call of presidents within the Hall of Presidents did not conclude with an address from the current Commander in Chief. When the attraction was revamped and refreshed in 1993, a new narration was recorded by Maya Angelou. More importantly, the sitting chief executive, President Bill Clinton, became the first president to record a short speech that would be included within the Hall of Presidents presentation.After overcoming the impediments of approaching and gaining the interest of President Clinton’s staff, piquing the president’s interest, and recognizing that the recording would be happening on the schedule of world events and not the Imagineers’ timetable, a tentative date was set to record the session in September of 1993. Walt Disney Imagineering sent a team of five to Washington, D.C., where other obstacles reared their heads, from schedule shifting, to room acoustics and assignments and even last minute changes to language in the scripted speech.

The team, which included Rich Rothschild, H.F. Crane, Brian Jolley, Greg Krueger and Justin Segal, toured through several rooms of The White House on 2 September 1993, where the meaning of a living museum took hold. Starting with The Roosevelt Room (featuring artifacts from the lives of both Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt), the team moved from the original slotted space to the Diplomatic Reception Room (home to Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside chats), then to the Red Room, before settling in, and hoping for the availability of, the Library. Filled with presidential gifts, including those brought from WDI, and volumes bound with the words of Twain, Thoreau, and Cooper, the Library would be where President Clinton would record his address.Glitches would continue to ensue on recording day, 3 September 1993, but all would be overcome by the time the president arrived to record his speech. The final, Clintonized oration would be recorded with a time a hair under one minute and fifteen seconds, perfectly aligning itself with the previously laid down audio track. The recording would require two takes, based upon President Bill Clinton’s request, with body movements and language being recorded during the first take.

The nerve-wracking plotting and planning culminated in a whirlwind recording session that no one on the Walt Disney Imagineering band would forget. The Hall of Presidents would reopen on 18 November 1993, with the latest Audio-Animatronics presidential figure and the first recording of the sitting chief executive. When President Bill Clinton took to the attraction’s stage he did so not only with the title of Commander in Chief, but also Honorary Imagineer.

Guardian of the mountain

There is a wide array of attractions throughout Walt Disney World. Everything from film, both with and without enhancements, to reproductional walk-throughs, rollercoasters and omnimovers are all used in the storytelling presented throughout the parks. Yet, if I am being totally honest with myself it has always been the Audio-Animatronics that have drawn me inspired awe within my inner child. Since its unveiling, my favorite Audio-Animatronics figure has been Expedition Everest’s yeti.

Sure, the redhead from Pirates of the Caribbean turns heads and John in Carousel of Progress tells tales just like my own father could, but there is something about the yeti that has always intrigued me. I must admit I had a fascination with the creature before the attraction was created, but seeing the twenty-two foot tall yeti lash out at my passing tea train for the first time reignited my curiosity for the beast.When Expedition Everest officially opened on April 7, 2006, the entire attraction was a marvel of the amusement industry with three separate structures and the most advanced Audio-Animatronics figure ever developed. The hydraulic yeti was able to move five feet horizontally and two feet up and down with the 259,000 pounds of force, or the power of a 747-400 plane. It was, for the first several months of Expedition Everest’s existence, quite the sight to behold.

Damage to the structural foundation of the yeti’s assembly, due to force we discussed above, an alternative yeti was activated in the attraction. Dubbed “B” Mode, the majority of the yeti’s life has been spent in suspended animation, a condition where he resides in a static state with strobe effects creating the false sense of motion for guest traveling aboard Expedition Everest’s trains. While still able to startle passengers, the strobe effects lack the swinging and swiping motions that caused guest to take pause when passing by the creature’s cave. Given the nickname of Disco Yeti, this incarnation of the attraction has been in place since the attraction’s foundation problems began.Even with only the strobes illuminating the creature, the form of the yeti still cut a stunning silhouette offering brief glimpses of the beast, not unlike the fleeting photographs and evidence found in the Yeti Museum, part of the Expedition Everest queue. Currently, however, even the motionless yeti figure has been covered by a dark tarp. Rumors of the yeti’s fate, from a swiping paw to full-blown recovery of motion, permeate message boards everywhere, but without hard evidence it is unclear what is to become of the snow-covered beast.

From the footprint castings provided by Joshua Gates and Destination Truth, to the claw marks present in the snow and down to the nitty-gritty details hashed out by Joe Rohde and his team when crafting the creature, the yeti is as indelible to the Forbidden Mountain as the tea trains that carry guests along the mountainous route. Since the attraction rose from Asia in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the yeti has had a storied tale that can only be matched by its real world narrative. I, for one, wait impatiently and with great anticipation for the return of this remarkable Audio-Animatronics figure.

Disney This Week - 3 April 2011

Fiona Doyle explores the connection between France, the Statue of Liberty, and Disneyland Paris’ Liberty Arcade for DF’82.

Progress City, U.S.A. and Michael Crawford have a great concept piece from Universe of Energy.

Also in the great buildings of Future World department, Chris Fore pours through a vintage World of Motion – General Motors brochure that is sure to bring back memories for Yet Another Disney Blog readers.

Matt Hochberg discusses how the Tower of Terror is becoming environmentally friendly on Studios Central.

Over at The Disney Food Blog, AJ Wolfe has announced her five favorite treats to take back home when she leaves Walt Disney World.

Jeff Heimbuch sits down with Steve Alcorn to chat about The American Adventure for Disney Dispatch.

At Only WDWorld, Jamie Collins showcases his top six favorite attraction vehicles.

Melissa Loflin and Makin’ Memories talk about a fantastic display that can be found in the Main Street Fire Station.

Silent Saturday - O. I. Cyhu (January 2011)

The score stood four to two

We’ve talked before about the Casey’s Corner and the Mudville references based upon the Ernest Thayer poem. Today, we’re going back to Casey’s to check the box score of the game Mudville home game.The score of 4 – 2 comes directly from the first stanza of Thayer’s most notable piece. The poem originally ran in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888. It would take Thayer some time to garner credit for the writing, however, as he was a modest man and had signed the work under his nickname of Phin.

The other interesting tidbit to take away from the scoreboard is the name of the field. Notice that there is no name given to the visitors, as the original work did not name them, but nor did the poem feature a name for the Mudville field. So, where does the name come from? Simple, while the world knows of Thayer’s piece as Casey at the Bat, it also has a longer title, Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888.

While there are many questions surrounding Casey at the Bat, such as who was Casey based upon and were there two teams that were home to the Mudville nine and the visiting team, two things are for certain. The score in the bottom of the ninth stuck and Casey struck out that day.

Fuel for thought

Test Track offers a nice glimpse into the kinetic world of vehicle testing. There is, however, so much more to the history and romance of traveling down the open road. This too is touch upon at Test Track, if only briefly and, even then, only for the curious.

Scattered about the Test Track courtyard area, where most guest attempt to decide between Stand By or Single Rider queues and gather their Fastpasses for their proving grounds tour later in the day, there are a collection of panels. Each of the eight displays is double-sided, featuring a promotional reminder about Inside Track, the showroom/gift shop, on one side and an informational panel on the other. These educational, and sometimes entertaining, sheets cover topics ranging from the history and future of automobiles, to the design processes and even songs about heading on down the road.

While these displays are not the flashiest element of Test Track (Did you miss the car zooming around the banked turn overhead? I didn’t think so.), they are some of the most enlightening peeks the pavilion has to offer into the world of transportation.

Cool through and through

As an educator who seeks to develop the whole child, from social emotional skills to physical and mental growth, one aspect I have been keenly aware of is the health and dietary habits of the children in my care. Balanced meals and proper nutrition are crucial, not only for children, but for teenagers and adults as well. That said, I am flying in the face of all my nutritional beliefs today when I offer up to you a single suggestion… When in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, be sure to spend part of your morning at Starring Rolls Café!

Starring Rolls Café is situated at the corner of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, tucked just beside and behind the Brown Derby. Inside there is a fine selection of pastries and even a couple of sandwiches or sushi rolls if happen by later in the day, but the real joy here is indulging early in the day. The small bakery is able to provide a wide array of coffee beverages to help peel those eyelids open, should Rock ‘N’ RollerCoaster not be a strong enough stimulant for you. The coffee is nice, and the pastries or sandwiches are fine, but the real reason to halt your touring midmorning is the massive sweets tucked inside of the cooler case.

















Cupcakes, brownies, and other sinfully sweet creations filled the chilled bakery case of Starring Rolls. Many of these items, including the Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcake, have been reviewed previously on the Main Street Gazette, but I don’t feel as if I am going out on a limb when I say I could easily, and happily recommend any single treat from Starring Rolls Café. Almost all of the items available from the display case are large enough to share with another guest or two, and are rich enough that sharing is perhaps the preferred manner of consumption.

Starches and sugars for breakfast certainly do not constitute the breakfast of champions, but I am going to let you in on a little secret. Chances are, if you happen to find yourself at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you are on vacation! Go ahead and let go for one morning. A typical break for me comes after I have played a round at Toy Story Midway Mania, when I pull in for a pit stop before continuing on the The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock ‘N’ RollerCoaster. However, I leave the timing of your breakfast break in your hands. My only word of caution is that morning lines at Starring Rolls Café can get long quickly with other sweet craving guests, so the early you arrive the better.

















Sure, there are plenty of breakfast sandwich, Mickey waffle, bacon, potato and egg eateries and table service restaurants serving hearty dishes throughout Walt Disney World and most mornings these would be my recommendation. Every once in a while, just as a treat, I highly recommend talking to the kid hiding inside and having a cupcake for breakfast!

The latest in electronic robots

A family visiting Walt Disney World has always been able to get sidetracked from their attraction mission by one thing, characters. The ability to generate an interaction between a child and Mickey, Cinderella, Dreamfinder, Captain Hook and other beloved characters come to life are often times the photographs and memories most cherished from a trip. I myself clung to my autograph book as a child, back when a wider variety of characters roamed the park with more freedom than they are allowed today.

A challenge to these interactions has always been the ability for the characters to interact with the guests. Aside from the face characters, a category populated by a selection of villains and princesses, other characters have almost always had to rely upon gestures to get their points across. In recent years we have seen leaps in the interactive arena stemming from projects like Turtle Talk with Crush, Muppet Mobile Labs and Lucky the Dinosaur, to name a few. In just the past year, we have seen Mickey begin to blink his eyes, move is mouth, and generate conversational speech in a few rare settings and even C-3PO has been getting in on the verbal act.

Yet, time and again, the interactive character that seems to get the most discussion is PUSH, or perhaps his Disney’s Animal Kingdom counterpart PIPA, the rolling, rumbling, talking and wise-cracking trashcan, or recycling can in the case of PIPA.

Be warned, from here on out we are going to discuss what makes the interactive element work for these characters. If you wish to keep in the dark about how these characters operate, it would be best to turn away now…

While PUSH and PIPA have grabbed some of the limelight, they were not the first in the line of characters with the ability to interface with guests. In the early days of EPCOT Center a little robot GYRO trundled his way around Future World. GYRO would begin talking with a single guest, usually a child, and a crowd of onlookers would usually follow. The conversations would include jokes, trivia questions, suggestions, songs, the pushing up of his hat with his antenna and even carry on a regular dialogue about the child’s experience in EPCOT Center. The 4’10” blue automaton was a favorite of guests, but how did GYRO, and for that matter PUSH and PIPA, operate.

The secret is in the character itself. Like all good puppets, GYRO, PUSH and PIPA can distract their audience away from the puppet master who is pulling the strings. In the case of case of our rolling friends, the strings happen to be a microphone and a remote control. While simple in design, the control the guides have over their robotic counterparts is remarkable. Add in a sense of humor and the experience is definitely one for the memory books and home videos.

As with the vast majority of early EPCOT Center experiences, GYRO has been retired for many years, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look back on the little ‘bot with a lot of lingering fondness.

Nahtazu

Looking around the four parks of Walt Disney World, there is a single park which no one could argue needs some plussing. Adding new life and fresh attractions to Disney’s Animal Kingdom is paramount to the continued success of the park. Regardless of fantastical ideas that have been left on the drawing boards, there are spaces both undeveloped and underutilized that could be used to expand the borders and believers of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Which brings us to the roundtable topic of the day…

Roundtable Topic: What continent or ecosystem would you add to Disney's Animal Kingdom? What would this area bring to the park?
Roundtable Contributors: Fiona Doyle (DF’82), Melissa Loflin (Makin’ Memories), AJ Wolfe (The Disney Food Blog), Chris Fore (Yet Another Disney Blog), and myself.

Fiona – I had to think about this one for a long time, as it would be quite easy to reminisce about what would have been of the proposed Beastly Kingdom. But, to go out on a limb here, I would love to see the continent of Antarctica represented. I understand why it hasn't before (with the close proximity of Walt Disney World to other, aquatic based theme parks), but I think it would be a truly interesting area.

To learn about the ecosystem and the flora and fauna of the Antartic area would be fasincating. Plus, I do have a soft spot for penguins! So to see these beautiful creatures in Animal Kingdom would be a big bonus for me (I can be selfish - this is my fantasy!).

Additionally, there has been so many past explorations of Antartica, as well as present day research on the continent, that Disney's Animal Kingdom could really educate its guest with some of the history of the region. As well as providing insights to the type of research that is currently being undertaken in the region. A great way to provide edu-tainment to the guests of Walt Disney World.

Melissa – One piece of the planet the Animal Kingdom is missing is sea life. So much of Earth is made up of what exists under the water and should also be represented in the park. I think the addition of Australia would introduce this ecosystem to the park. Just as Asia and Africa boast treks and trails with the native animals, so could Australia. The “Outback” could take you past the various native marsupials that inhabit the continent, allow you to see the monotreme animals (mammals that lay eggs) such as the platypus and echidna up close, and let you walk through an amphibian and reptile enclosure before making your way to the main attraction of the area: "The Great Barrier Reef Exploration". This attraction could be like the Kilimanjaro Safari in Africa except it would take you under the water to see the creatures that call the Great Barrier Reef their home. At “Queenslanding” guests could board submarine vehicles called “Reef Marine Voyagers” (or RMVs) created to skim the surface of the water while still allowing guests the ability to see out all sides and see the animals around them. Of course, just as on the Safari, the animals would be kept away from the vehicles by unseen barriers. The creatures could include the various whales, dolphins, and sea turtles specific to the Reef, the coral that call the Reef home, and the numerous tropical fish that make up the Reef. To continue the park's theme of animal and ecosystem education, this would be a great time to incorporate more about conservation of the reef as well. I'm not sure if it could even be possible, but I would love to experience it!

AJ – I have two answers I can't decide between. My first response was that it would be nice to see an element of fantasy in the park. I like the original Dragon concepts for the park, and it might be an interesting foil to the Wizarding World in Universal. My other choice, however, which I think would be better received, would be the Australia concept that's been floating around. There's so much rich history in that area of the world, and the theming could be done very well.

Chris – What if a day at the Animal Kingdom could include an excursion to the lost city of Atlantis? This would give us a chance to experience both the fantastic and authentic denizens of Liquid Space. It might also give WDW a new home for a submarine and/or hydrolator experience.

Ryan – If I were going to add a continent or ecosystem to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, I would have to cheat by making the area an amalgamation of both the Galapágos Islands and Madagascar. Call it, Exotic Isles. The land would fit well with the lush vegetation present throughout the park, while taking advantage of the water elements inherent to the islands for attractions.

Oh, and I did I mention the vast array of animals, both from the land and seas, that could call the Exotic Isles home? With ‘Animal’ in the park’s name, there are an overwhelming number of creatures rarely seen outside of their native islands and archipelagos that could inspire awe in guests young and old.

The Gazette Roundtable has presented ideas for Disney’s Animal Kingdom from the cold chill of Antarctica to the sweltering heat of South America. The question is, what would you add to the park? Do you think one of the concepts above is a winner or do you have an even better idea of your own? Let us hear it!

Disney This Week - 27 March 2011

Matt Hochberg lets Studios Central readers in on the disheartening news that there are changes coming to the Citizens of Hollywood. Be sure to read the original story and the follow-up.

Makin’ Memories authographer (that’s an author and photographer), Melissa Loflin, reminds her viewers to take in the cultural exhibitions held in Anandapur.

Kevin Kidney showcases some very fashionable ladies in 1961 Disneyland.

The Disney Food Blog turns Disneyland into Candy-Land when AJ Wolfe breaks down the new Disney Parks candies.

Greg Grimsley share a favorite Disney After Dark carving, as well as digging up a Flower & Garden history mystery on The Disney Obsession.

While off Disney property, the upcoming opening of LEGOLAND Florida has had me in a tizzy since I heard about it. Suzannah DiMarzio takes Zannaland readers along as she flies over the construction of the park.

Todd Perlmutter has a tough job, but someone’s got to do it! This week he weighed in on the best of Walt Disney World burgers for Touring Plans.

Simplicity counts, and that is precisely how Richard highlights the evolution of the Jungle Cruise attraction poster at DesignerLand.

In the more from yours truly department, as well as articles from a fine selection of other Disney authors, be sure to check out the latest issue of Celebrations! In the current issue, Issue Sixteen, I discuss the what-might-have-beens of World Showcase.

Silent Saturday - Shrine and Tiger Temple (April 2010)

To serve man

I’ve avoided discussing this little detail of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, known to some of you as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, for a number of years now. Not because it is tasteless, but mostly because it seems so easy to draw a conclusion from. However, we will push forward and hopefully give you some new insight or tidbit you may not have gleamed from beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination.This small volume appears in the library area of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Not many among us could interpret the language of the Kanamit people. Thankfully, we have been spared the frustration of making sense from the book’s glyphs, as an index card translating the book’s title has been laid atop the cover. TO SERVE MAN

Beyond the text’s title, To Serve Man is also the title of The Twilight Zone episode in which it appeared during the third season of The Twilight Zone in 1962. The episode relates the tale of an alien race known as Kananits that have come to earth with the appearance of wanting to help humankind advance in all aspects of life, from power sources to horticulture. A group of cryptographers, previously tied up with Cold War deciphering, are tasked with translating the book left behind by one of the Kananits during an interview session. The benevolent intent of the Kananits is assumed when this title is decoded by the cryptographers, including the episode’s narrator Michael Chambers, portrayed by Lloyd Bochner.

As the people of Earth flourish, the Kananits begin offering trips aboard their spacecraft to their homeworld. The congenial atmosphere of The Twilight Zone episode comes to a crashing halt when the other shoe drops with only moments to spare. Another decoder named Patty, depicted by Susan Cummings, who works with Chambers pleads with him not to board one of the Kananit ships, while he is being herded aboard by the Kananits.

Her words to Michael are the words I will leave you with here, least you become too comfortable in the plush accommodations of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, “It’s a cookbook!”

I've got to see that

Window shopping is easy at Walt Disney World, not only because there is a gift shop on every corner, but also for due to the sheer quantity of merchandise available. Today’s safari however, has nothing to actually do with shopping and everything to do with retail displays, more specifically window displays.

The shops of the Downtown Disney Marketplace are spacious, but don’t have opportunities for guests to really see what is happening inside without actually stepping into the store. That doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re walking into. Thanks to cleverly designed and applied window boxes, signage and shop names, guests have a good idea whether or not the souvenirs they are looking for can be found within.

Today, we’re peeking in the windows of Tren-D and Mickey’s Pantry. Prepare for some stylish, stylized villainesses promoting fashion, while Mickey and friends endorse specific food lines and designs.