Boing Boing » Disney

Rare, amazing original prospectus for Disneyland

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:36:00 +0000

Dan from the Journal of Ride Theory passed me a copy of the original prospectus for Disneyland -- a rare and wonderful document I've never seen or even heard of before. I'm delighted to bring it to you today. Dan explains:

I like it because I get the sense it's an edited transcript of Walt just making up fun stuff on the fly. I have no evidence for that, but I know he was good at telling stories without a script, and there's something about the phrases used that sounds a bit like Walt talking off the cuff. But what do I know?
I found it ten or so years ago, in the files of Eyerly Rides in Salem. They had a contract to build the Dumbo ride and a windmill Ferris wheel for Disney, but the deal fell through when Lee Eyerly got cancer. Also, Walt insisted the ride must load everybody all at once, while the Eyerlys knew from experience that was an inefficient way to work the queue.
At one point, somebody at Eyerly went to a bookstore and bought a Little Golden Book (or something) of Dumbo so they could have reference pictures in order to design the fiberglass elephants.
Take Walt being intractable, add the Eyerlys insisting they knew their business, then throw in cancer, and the deal fell through -- amicably, as I read the documents. Arrow Development got the contract for Dumbo. It barely worked on opening day and queues have been long for that ride ever since. The Ferris wheel idea wasn't built until Disneyland Paris.
I've got a LOT of transcripts of phone calls on that deal, and a few drawings/diagrams. Scanning all those documents is a one-of-these-days project.

Read it all the way through for an example of horrible, casual racism.

Disneyland Prospectus (Thanks, Dan)

Skepticism about the rent-a-disabled-guide/skip-the-lines Disney World story

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:13:36 +0000

I was skeptical of the NY Post story alleging that rich New York private-school parents use a service that lets them hire disabled people to act as line-jumping Disney World guides. Now Lesley, a Disney-obsessed local, has published a rebuttal pointing out that such a service wouldn't work well because there are lots of rides that can accommodate wheelchairs through the regular entrance. She also points out that the article claims that the wheelchair guide helped skip a 2.5h line for Small World, which sounds like BS, because Small World doesn't really get 2.5h lines. The whole thing is worth a read.

I've visited Disneyland and Walt Disney World with friends who had disabilities. I went to Disney World with my mom and a friend who were both in wheelchairs (my Mom had just had a hip replacement; my friend had a broken foot), and found that there were hardly any long-queue rides that offered any priority queuing to people in wheelchairs. On the other hand, I once visited Disneyland with a blind friend and her service dog in the late 1990s and found that people with dogs and their parties did go straight to the front of the line in most cases (I don't know if this is still the case, though).

YEAH NO: Rich Manhattan Moms Allegedly "Renting" Disabled People To Skip Lines At Disney World (Thanks, Irk!)

Haunted Mansion wallpaper and fabric

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:19:50 +0000

Kristen sez, "The DoomBuggies website has released a version of the Haunted Mansion Corridor of Doors wallpaper in fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap, and according to the DoomBuggies facebook page, it's the same graphic that has been used by Disney. 'This is created from the same artwork that we created for Disney's official Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary CD box set and CD insert,' according to Jeff Baham, the owner of DoomBuggies.com."

DoomBuggies Eye Fabric

Rich New Yorkers hire disabled "guides" to Disney World in order to skip lines (according to NY Post, anyway)

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:15:02 +0000

The (awful and not usually very trustworthy) New York Post reports that rich New Yorkers pay thousands of dollars to an Orlando area service that rents out disabled people to accompany them to Walt Disney World in order to jump the lines. The article says that there's a word-of-mouth underground in New York's priciest private schools, in which parents pass on the details of the service, which is allegedly called Dream Tours Florida:

Passing around the rogue guide service’s phone number recently became a shameless ritual among Manhattan’s private-school set during spring break. The service asks who referred you before they even take your call.
“It’s insider knowledge that very few have and share carefully,” said social anthropologist Dr. Wednesday Martin, who caught wind of the underground network while doing research for her upcoming book “Primates of Park Avenue.”
“Who wants a speed pass when you can use your black-market handicapped guide to circumvent the lines all together?” she said.
“So when you’re doing it, you’re affirming that you are one of the privileged insiders who has and shares this information.”

Rich Manhattan moms hire handicapped tour guides so kids can cut lines at Disney World [Tara Palmeri/New York Post]

Brave director slams Disney's sexy Merida makeover

Rob Beschizza — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:16:12 +0000

Paul Liberatore in The Marin Independent Journal:

Marin filmmaker Brenda Chapman, who won an Oscar for writing and co-directing the animated feature "Brave," blasted Disney's sexy makeover of her movie's feisty heroine, Merida, as "a blatantly sexist marketing move based on money." ... "I think it's atrocious what they have done to Merida ... When little girls say they like it because it's more sparkly, that's all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy 'come-hither' look and the skinny aspect of the new version. It's horrible!"

It's really blistering, bridge-burning stuff, and I salute her for it: "I forget that Disney's goal is to make money without concern for integrity."

Previously: Disney gives Brave princess a body makeover

Get yourself 3D scanned and printed out as a Stormtrooper figurine or trapped in carbonite at Disney World

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:00:25 +0000

Starting May 17, Disney World is running a "D-Tech" event at Disney Hollywood Studios wherein you can get your head scanned and 3D printed on a Stormtrooper figurine, or trapped in carbonite:

The 10-minute experience uses the world’s highest-resolution, single-shot 3D face scanner created by our Imagineering scientists with Disney Research labs. That captured image is later sent to a high resolution 3D printer to create the figurine. The completed figurine will arrive within 7-8 weeks after the experience if shipping domestically (it takes a little longer if shipping internationally). Guests will also receive either a Carbon-Freeze Me light-up band or a collector button depending upon which option they choose. The Star Wars – D-Tech Me experience is $99.95, plus shipping and applicable sales tax.

Star Wars – D-Tech Me Experience Returns to Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Starting May 17, 2013 (via CNet)

Disney gives Brave princess a body makeover

Rob Beschizza — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:42:26 +0000

Gone are the wild tight curls, relaxed now into auburn waves. Her waist is cinched, her bust inflated: skinnier and sexier is the new Merida, star of Brave. And gone, in some of the new art, is that troublesome weapon: no fit thing for a Disney princess, after all. Fans and websites lamenting the changes, chief among them A Mighty Girl, have spearheaded a change.org petition seeking to convince Disney to change its mind.

The redesign of Merida in advance of her official induction to the Disney Princess collection does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model ... In an interview with Pixar Portal, "Brave" writer and co-director Brenda Chapman stated, "Because of marketing, little girls gravitate toward princess products, so my goal was to offer up a different kind of princess — a stronger princess that both mothers and daughters could relate to, so mothers wouldn't be pulling their hair out when their little girls were trying to dress or act like this princess. Instead they'd be like, ‘Yeah, you go girl!’”

There seems a deliciously vile bait-and-switch element to it all: design a character that will attract parents resistant to the traditional messaging, then recast it in same old mold once they've sold it to their daughters for you.

But you can see the problem in that Chapman quote, which is never really about the character. When "marketing" is the first principle of your art, even something opposing its dictates is doomed to gravitate around it in fast-decaying orbit.

Selection of Etsy Haunted Mansion tchotchkes

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:58:58 +0000

I've just had a deep trawl through Etsy's selection of weird, handmade Haunted Mansion (and hauntedmansionesque) gewgaws and gimcracks, and I herewith present my picks of the lot:

Master Gracey Haunted Mansion Miniature Halloween Dollhouse Decoration

HAUNTED MANSION Full Collection- Cutie Putti Paperie

Miniature Haunted Mansion Library

Red Velvet Open Coffin 1-inch scale dollhouse miniature

Miniature Books --- Mansion Library Collection

The Gorgon - A Certain Famous Changing Portrait - In Homage - Tribute

Miniature Victorian Library

Disney files trademark application for "Dia de Los Muertos"

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:23:06 +0000

Disney has filed for trademarks on "Dia de Los Muertos" in a wide variety of goods and services -- candy, snacks, cosmetics, toiletries, perfumes, gadgets, jewelry and jewelry boxes, and more. This would be a good time for people to tell the USPTO that there are innumerable products in those categories that already use the term, and that no exclusive association exists (or should exist) between the Disney company and the traditional Mexican holiday. Not even if the next Pixar movie is called "Dia de Los Muertos." (Thanks, Chryss!)

Camille Rose Garcia "Alice in Wonderland" exhibit in San Francisco

David Pescovitz — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:57:56 +0000

Opening at San Francisco's Walt Disney Family Museum on Thursday is "Down the Rabbit Hole," a show of Camille Rose Garcia's magnificent, dark, and dreamy paintings created for her illustrated edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Forty of Garcia's paintings will hang alongside ten Alice in Wonderland concept paintings from 1951 by legendary Disney artist Mary Blair. Garcia will be at the museum this Saturday giving a painting workshop and also an artist's talk. This major exhibit will run until November 3.

Camille Rose Garcia: Down the Rabbit Hole

Wreck it Ralph cosplayers

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 07 May 2013 03:06:46 +0000

DeviantArt's TwinFools snapped these photos of a pair of amazing "Wreck it Ralph" cosplayers at Sakura Con 8D. They are absolutely perfect!

The Ballad of Calhoun and Felix (via The Mary Sue)

Disney floats the idea of Haunted Mansion-themed hotel rooms

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:23:37 +0000

After a Walt Disney World family holiday, Dr. James Martin was sent an online poll by Disney asking if he'd be interested in returning and staying in a hotel room themed after one of the park's iconic rides, including the Haunted Mansion or Pirate of the Caribbean, or a princess room. The Haunted Mansion room mockups are pretty exciting, and remind me of my lifelong ambition to open a 12-room boutique haunted hotel someday.

Come spend the night with a few of the happy haunts who play in an enchanted bedroom inspired by the Haunted Mansion. Rest atop the floating Doom Buggy beds with a couple of friendly spooks and watch glow-in-the-dark, cartoon-like footsteps mysteriously appear as the evening sets in. A sliding bookcase creates a hidden passage to the bathroom and is the perfect hiding place for a hitch-hiking ghost. Oversized furnishings with curvy lines and bright colors add to the whimsy in the room. Guests will delight in finding the hidden special effects that play up the merry, rather than scary, room ambiance.

Would you stay in a Haunted Mansion themed hotel room? [Matt Roseboom/Attractions Magazine]

(via Mouse in Mansion)

How the Pirates of the Caribbean ride came to be

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:45:30 +0000

Here's a sweet mini-doc on the creation of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, the last ride that Walt Disney supervised to completion. Pirates, like the Haunted Mansion, was originally intended as a walk-through museum of old-timey stuff, but the advent of robotic props ("audio-animatronics," whose R&D was funded commissions for the NY World's Fair in 1964) was a breakthrough that changed the way Disney's designers thought about ride possibilities.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN THE RIDE PART1 (via Vintage Parks Disney)

Haunted Mansion/Batman mashup

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:08:26 +0000

Oh hell YES. DeviantArtist ArtistAbe has crossed Batman with the stretching portraits at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion. His substitutions are extremely well-thought-through and well-wrought. The fact that these are DC comics mixed into the Disney/Marvelverse gives it all a rogerrabbitesque mind-bend, too:

Harley Quinn and Killer Croc-
This was the last one I did because I was still unsure what I wanted to do with Harley Quinn's outfit. Sure I could have made it easier on myself just to put her in her standard costume, but I'd miss the opportunity to put her in a dress. I'm not that great at fashion, but this was one of the ideas I had for her outfit that I finally settled on. Pretty happy with how it turned out. :) I thought about giving her the umbrella for a split second, but then it's Harley! So I gave her a croquet mallet. Croc was the obvious choice to replace the crocodile.
Joker and Scarface-
The original portrait had his pants down, so who better to pull that off than the Joker! He's doing the drinking water while still having the puppet talk trick, just fyi. I didn't intend to have at least two Batman characters in each portrait, but it kind of happened that way. I've always liked the Scarface character so I jumped at the chance to draw him in this piece...

Haunted Arkham Asylum (via IO9)

Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor - an RFID/WiFi/electroluminscent driven spook-house for the XXI C.

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:56:32 +0000

Hong Kong Disneyland is finally going to get its own Haunted Mansion. Called "Mystic Manor," it opens in mid-May, and is a radical departure from the existing Mansions and Manor -- they've gone bananas with the old electroluminscent paint, in a very good way indeed. Here's a video of one of the preview ride-throughs.

The first area is Acquisitions and Cataloging Room, where Lord Mystic's collections are temporary placed and awaited to placed on shelves. The music box Lord Mystic mentioned is now in front of guests. Albert suddenly pops out and unlocks the box. The escaping magic dust floats in the air and brings life to all artifacts.
The first show case is the Music Room, in which weird and exotic music instruments are stored. A piano is placed in the centre of the room. The magic dust gives life to instrument and music plays. The music will follow the carriage and play the background music for the journey. Albert is excited and amazed. He follows the carriage, curious to visit all rooms.
The next stop is Mediterranean Antiquities. Paintings, ceramics, and Audio-Animatronic® statues start to move under the influence of the dust. An amphora with Hercules fighting with Nemean Lion to conquer Zeus’s quest spins and rocks when the carriage passes. The above description is taken from the Greek myths, the story of Hercules. As what the story told, Hercules only battled once with a lion, which is known as the Nemean Lion.
The carriages move into to a Solarium Room. Albert tries to toy around with the Venus fly traps as he is holding a piece of banana to them, then all of a sudden a large Venus fly trap open it's jaw as it tries to bite the guests, the room then becomes pitch black.
Soon afterward, the carriage enters the Slavic-Nordic Chamber. There is a painting of a Nordic God. He comes to life and blows freezing wind towards guests. Guests are able to feel cooling effect and see the special-effect smoke in this scene.

Mystic Manor

Perler bead Haunted Mansion wallpaper/pixel-art necklace

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:06:18 +0000

Etsy seller MigotoChou created a lovely perler bead necklace-charm that depicts an 8-bit pixel-art version of the iconic Disney Haunted Mansion wallpaper motif. $25.

Disney World Haunted Mansion Wallpaper Inspired Beaded Necklace Walt Disney World Disneyland (via A Swinging Wake)

Then-and-now photos of Disney Parks from early days and today

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:43:37 +0000

A monster photo-post from Imagineering Disney compares vintage shots of the Disney parks with contemporary shots. The only thing more remarkable than the dramatic shifts in some of these shots is the total lack of change in others. I'm particularly relieved by the restraint showed in modding the Tiki Room, which was born in a state of near-total grace and has remained thus ever since.

THEN AND NOW Photo Collection (via The Disney Collector)

Major Disneyland attractions shut over OSHA violations

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 04:18:12 +0000

California Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) has served notice on Disneyland over three attractions, which led to their shut-down yesterday. In 2006, Disney agreed to make changes to the staff areas at the park, and the OSHA notice apparently related to lack of progress on these promises.

The citations were related a 2006 agreement to make improvements and to inspections following recent accidents such as the man who was seriously injured while cleaning the outside of Space Mountain. The findings include simple failures like not having a charged fire extinguisher and more serious ones like failure to protect employees from unsafe ladders or lack of railings preventing a fall hazard. Serious fines of up to $70,000 for each infraction could be levied if Disneyland does not comply immediately with the requests (although appeal is also an option). Total penalties for just the Space Mountain citations could reach over $230,000.
These are the same sort of hazards that forced Disneyland to close Alice in Wonderland until temporary scaffolding could be erected with guardrails. The park still hasn’t made permanent fixes there.
There were a lot of violations listed in the citation, here are a few of those listed as Willful Serious:
“Disneyland Resort failed to correct the unsafe work practice of employees of both Disneyland Resort and HSG Inc. accessing upper exterior platform of a building (Space Mountain) to change lights, and perform other maintenance tasks without the protection of guardrails or personal fall protection...”

Disneyland forced to close attractions by OSHA [The Disney Blog/John Frost]

Glow-in-the-dark Haunted Mansion tee

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:46:35 +0000

I'm at LAX as I type this, heading home from a great family spring break in LA that culminated with a trip to Disneyland. While I was at the Mouse, I happened upon this killer Haunted Mansion t-shirt, which wasn't available in my size at first, but later got re-stocked. I'm wearing it now. it is awesome Alas, it appears to be a park-only item (neener-neener), though you can always try Disneyland Deliv-EARS (and yes, it glows in the dark).

PS: I also met a Haunted Mansion cast-member whose no-foolin' hometown was Purgatory.

Tiki Room mugs

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:59:28 +0000

Designer Kevin Kidney's posted more of the awesome Tiki Room stuff he and Jody Daily designed for the Disneyland Tiki Room 50th Anniversary event this summer (he posted his Luau Bowl earlier). This time around, it's a pair of lidded mugs paying homage to two of the idols of the tiki garden outside the Tiki Room in Disneyland: Pele and Tangaroa-Ru.

New Tiki Room Collectibles Coming to Disneyland This Summer (Part 1)

Skrillex cuddles Minnie Mouse

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:05:55 +0000

Dubstep legend Skrillex is apparently visiting a Disney themepark somewhere in the world and getting cuddles from a Minnie Mouse head-character. The world is a big and odd place.

my new chick, sorry Mickey

Rare footage of Walt Disney playing with backyard trains in 1948

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 02:59:48 +0000

Amid sez,

I recently finished a biography of Disney animator and director Ward Kimball, which the Disney Company's lawyers have gone to great lengths to keep from being published, but that's another story. In the process, I uncovered lots of interesting materials in Ward's personal collection, including this unseen home movie footage of his boss, Walt Disney.
Tomorrow, it will be exactly 65 years since this film was recorded (April 4, 1948). In it, Ward and Walt Disney visit the home of Dick Jackson, a wealthy businessman who operated a scale-railroad in the backyard of his Beverly Hills home. I believe this to be the first time that Walt Disney personally operated a scale-railroad. It's amazing that the footage still exists.

Exclusive: Unseen Home Movie Footage of Walt Disney

Podcast to mark centennial of Marc Davis, co-creator of Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:06:09 +0000

Jeff Baham from HauntedMansion.com sez, "March 30 marked the centennial of the birth of Marc Davis, one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men" who was responsible for both the creation of some of Disney's iconic characters (Tinker Bell, Maleficent) and iconic theme park attractions (Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion). The Mousetalgia podcast is noting the life and work of Davis with a special episode dedicated to his career, including a never-published interview with Davis himself and a recent conversation with his widow and fellow Disney Imagineer, Alice Davis. Of special note are Marc and Alice's recollections about Marc joining the Disney Studio in the '20s, where he worked on Snow White."

Mousetalgia Episode 230: Remembering Marc Davis with Alice Davis

MP3 link

(Thanks, Jeff!)

Disney World Luau bowl

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:49:29 +0000

Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily designed this beautiful Polynesian Luau Bowl for an upcoming Walt Disney World special event. It'll sell for $35, but the on-sale date isn't announced yet.

Summer's coming...

Little Mermaid tights

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:53:00 +0000

Hot Topic seems to have borrowed a trick from Australian pop-culture leggings favorite Black Milk with a line of Disney-licensed Little Mermaid full-print tights. Hot Topic's version costs about 75 percent less than the Black Milk stuff (and no shipping or duty for US buyers) -- though I have no idea whether they're comparable in terms of wear, fit, or the labor conditions in their manufacture (Black Milk makes its wares in Australia; Hot Topic doesn't say where its stuff is made on the site, which almost certainly means Pacific Rim/subcontinental sweatshop).

Ariel leggings

Ursula leggings

(via The Mary Sue)

Disneyland Dapper Day: when Disney fans dress up

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:28:30 +0000

Disneyland fans have created many of their own theme days, some of which I've been lucky enough to happen upon or attend -- Bats Day (goths); Gay Days, and more. But I didn't know about Dapper Day, where 10,000+ people descend on Disneyland and Walt Disney World in natty outfits and style their way through the fun park. Just looking at the official gallery makes me want to mark this in my calendar for next year.

"People are looking for an excuse to dress up," said Justin Jorgensen, who started Dapper Day in 2011 and has organized five of the events, all at Disneyland. The latest Dapper Day — the same Sunday as the Oscars, Hollywood’s own dress-up day — drew an estimated crowd of 10,000 to the Anaheim park and about 1,000 more at Florida's Disney World.
"Everything, including the workplace, pushes this idea of being casual," said Jorgensen, 38, of Burbank. "When do I get to wear my great stuff?"
Most of those in attendance that day were in their 20s and 30s. They had come of age in a time of shoulder-padded power suits, windbreakers in neon colors and frizzy hair — not exactly a time that will be remembered for its classic elegance.
"I think people like history, people love nostalgia," said Heather A. Vaughan, a historian studying 20th century fashions. "People love imagining a time they didn’t live in."

Dapper Day at Disneyland, the nattiest place on Earth [LA Times/Rick Rojas]

(Photo: Christina House)

Songwriting podcast with Richard Sherman of Disney's Sherman Brothers

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:18:58 +0000

Sodajerker, a British podcast devoted to songwriting, produced a great one-hour episode with Disney songwriting legend Richard M Sherman, half of the Sherman Brothers team that gave us everything from "It's a Small World" to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (and lots more). Hearing Sherman talk about his work is fascinating.

As one half of The Sherman Brothers, along with his late brother Robert, Richard M. Sherman is responsible for co-writing the most memorable Disney songs of all time. From the Academy Award winning compositions for Mary Poppins such as ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’, ‘Feed the Birds’, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘I Love to Laugh’ and ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’, to other landmark Disney works such as The Parent Trap, ‘It’s a Small World (After All)’, ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ (The Jungle Book), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Winnie the Pooh, the Sherman Brothers have enchanted people of all ages for half a century. In this hour of conversation, Richard M. Sherman joins Simon and Brian to talk through the writing of many of these classics in his own inimitable style.

Episode 38 – Richard M. Sherman

MP3 link

(Image: "it's a small world" holiday, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from harshlight's photostream)

Dinner in the Haunted Mansion

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:52:40 +0000

Holy. Blistering. Crap.

There was a dinner inside the Disneyland Haunted Mansion. And I didn't get to go.

I literally squealed with delight. It was the most amazing table setting I’ve ever seen. Fresh flowers, gorgeous vases, elegant table ware, goblets to drink from — it was very overwhelming.
From what I could tell, the table was basically a replica of the table in the Haunted Mansion ballroom. Even the plates, goblets & tablecloth looked the same!
To distract us while the cast members were dressing the table up for dessert, we were all told that we were going to take a ride on the Haunted Mansion. Because we were not done with our dining experience, we were going to ride the Doom Buggies round trip and exit the attraction where we entered. Already cool, right???
Well, at this time, we were also informed that our special dinner guests had to leave for a photo opp and they’d be back in a bit to join us for dessert. BUT, tricky Disney… They actually planted our guests IN the ride and the photo opp was for us! Seriously hysterical. So, as we rode around in our Doom Buggies, each person had a special spot to wave to us. AND yep, we were allowed to take photos, with flash!

Dining in Disneyland: Marc Davis Centennial Dinner INSIDE the Haunted Mansion (Thanks, Thomas Valley!)

TWA Moonliner atop an office building in Kansas City

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:28:16 +0000

A replica of the TWA Moonliner II -- centerpiece of the TWA Moonliner at Disneyland's Tomorrowland from 1955-1962 -- sits atop the old TWA headquarters in Kansas City, MO, at 1795 West Baltimore Ave. This is an important fact that no one brought to my attention in a timely fashion when I was in KC on the Pirate Cinema tour, for which I blame all of you.

Google Maps (Thanks, Dan!)

Richard Sherman and lucky disnephile sing "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow"

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 03:11:47 +0000

It's the 50th anniversary of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," the theme from they Disney Carousel of Progress (which debuted at the 1964 World's Fair in NYC). Keith met Richard Sherman, part of the Sherman brothers songwriting team responsible for the song.

He sez, "Last month I had the great pleasure of singing 'There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow' with Richard Sherman at his home. After we were done singing, he said to me, 'That's the first time I did that since Walt and my brother.' And yep, I filmed it! Coolest moment of my life. Wanted to share it with the whole world, basically."

There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow 50th Anniversary (Thanks, Keith!)