New Orleans vs. New Orleans Square, Pt. 4

What to do in New Orleans, Louisiana? So many choices, but how about something sedate like City Park? Hop on a Streetcar named Desire, oops, I mean St. Charles, and venture out to the Museum of Art:




Or perhaps you’d prefer something a little more kitschy like Storyland:



The New Orleans version of the Three Little Pigs:



For those that enjoy cemeteries (yes, there are a few of us), Saint Louis Cemetery is one of the most famous:



The future eternal home of Nicolas Cage is located here:



Back in the Garden District you can find the less famous Lafayette Cemetery:



If you love Mardi Gras, you’ll want to see where most of the parade floats are created and stored:



To get yourself prepared for that annual celebration, how about a beverage at the famous rotating Carousel Bar inside the Hotel Monteleone? HIGHLY recommended (but get there early!).



With all the rich food and booziness of New Orleans, seeking out the Athletic Club might be a nice change of pace. For me, it’s probably the best/coolest gym I've ever gone to.



Got a thing for Vampires? Visit Oak Alley, used for the exteriors of “Interview with the Vampire”:



For a home tour closer to the French Quarter, the 1850 house is located on Jackson Square:



Need to pray away those French Quarter sins? Also on Jackson Square is St. Louis Cathedral:



This is not the piano that killed the Wicked Witch (or was that a house?), but rather the grand piano of Fats Domino on display at the Presbytere Museum (also on Jackson Square). This is what Hurricane Katrina did to it:



Well readers, now you have four posts worth of information on both New Orleans in Louisiana and New Orleans Square at Disneyland. Which one would you rather visit?

See more New Orleans, Louisiana photos at my main website.

More Mardi Gras World and Disney

Thanks to faithful Daveland reader Bryan, I realized that there is yet another statue at the Disneyland Resort whose origins are most likely Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World in New Orleans. Check out the statue I photographed there a few weeks ago and the one below from Downtown Disney:



Throughout the warehouse I noticed a number of other more obvious Disney characters.



Zooming in you can see the Three Caballeros (next to Salvador Dali, no less!):



Look closely at this random group of sculpts…



and you'll see Mowgli from "The Jungle Book," front and center:



The Rescuers, from the 1977 animated film:



This one I almost missed:



A painting of the Partners Statue:



Rock your world with a little more Mardi Gras Parade Float Madness at my main website.

The French (Quarter) Connection

Mardi Gras World was the brainchild of Blaine Kern, a sign painter who fortuitously created a mural that caught the eye of the captain of a Mardi Gras krewe. One float led to another and over time, he became the city's leading parade creator, working with Rex, Zulu, and all the other legendary krewes. For those not "in the know," a "krewe" is an organization that puts on a parade or ball for the Mardi Gras Carnival season. Mardi Gras World had moved to a different location since my last visit to New Orleans before Katrina, but it was just as impressive.



Although I was busy snapping photos while our gracious tour guide lead us through the gigantic warehouse, that didn't keep me from noticing a familiar looking head.



To most, this probably looks like a huge Pez dispenser head; to Disneyland geeks, it is much more.



This is the same sculpt as one of the props you see as the Disneyland trains whiz you into the Frontierland/New Orleans Square station.



After I got back from New Orleans and was processing my photos, I was shocked to find something I had actually missed.



A painted queen…



AND king's head. Both of the props from New Orleans Square in Anaheim!



It really shouldn't be TOO shocking that I visually missed these two figures while at Mardi Gras World. I was still in a sugar-coma from the traditional King's Cake that our tour guide had dished up for us!



This is why it pays to snap the photo and ask questions later!

Float over to my main website for more Mardi Gras World photos.