Traveling Thursdays: Mom Goes To Europe, Pt. 4

It’s September 11, 1955 for today's first photos from my mom’s European excursion which was a gift after her graduation from college.

The first two captions are "Avon River behind church" and "Church where Shakespeare is buried" which would make this 2nd photo a shot of The Holy Trinity Church in his birthplace, the English village of Stratford.



Next up is Sulgrave Manor, which is famous for having been the home of the ancestors of George Washington.



Two of Blenheim Palace, a country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The palace is notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.





Progressing to September 12, my mom took this overhead shot of a London Street. Vintage signage - yeah!



Finishing up the post are some varying quality shots of The Changing of the Guard ceremony:













I watched “Tron: Legacy” last night. My verdict? I definitely prefer the original. Sure, the graphics are simple:









...but I love ’em! They are clean, stylized, and go perfectly with the story. Oh yeah...story...loved that, too. Sure, there’s a slight hokey 80’s feel to it, but not enough to keep me from enjoying it.

On the plus side, “Legacy” runs circles around the original as far as the CGI effects go.



And Olivia Wilde is a definite plus in her role of Quorra. Her innocent joy at seeing a sunrise is played perfectly.



But Jeff Bridges’ character, Kevin Flynn, just seemed off the mark in this one; either the writing or his acting prevented me from seeing a real bond between him and his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) after their reunion approximately 20 years after Kevin's disappearance. There was chemistry between Sam & Quorra, and if Disney actually greenlights a third installment (which it appears was their original intention), focusing on those two would be a good idea.



And what the heck happened to Yori/Lora? She was missed this time around. Overall, it was a fun movie to watch (especially if you have a boffo home theater system!), but just barely missed the mark for me.

See more vintage and contemporary photos at my main website.

Fantasyland, January 1964

Just a trifle of a series from January 1964; our guest of the day apparently liked Fantasyland, as the only shots I acquired were taken there, beginning with The Motor Boat Cruise. Cruise was the operative word; I see youngsters and I see oldsters...not a teen in sight!

Here we have the wacky giganormous leaves that adorn the exterior of Alice; our photographer du jour seemed to have a case of the shakes. Or else he just couldn’t choose between photographing the people he knew or the attraction decor. Either way, I wouldn’t hire him.





Over at Storybook Land, our guide looks very James Bond-ish with her microphone.



Shaken...not stirred.



Our photographer apparently waited this one out at the dock:



Here’s an odd one; included in this batch is this little home display of leftover tickets and a Magic Kingdom Club card:



OK all you sleuths; we have a name—find that photographer!



Toy Story fans will rejoice today as “Toy Story 3” is released to home video. I was happy to discover that the 3rd installment was every bit as good (if not better) than its predecessors. I’d love to know how many of you rushed up to your attic to get your childhood toys after you watched this film!

Here are some of the hand-drawn (yes, hand-drawn—not everything starts with “a mouse”!) storyboard concept pieces used in development:











In Tron news, here’s a shot of a Sunset Boulevard billboard promoting the upcoming 12/17 release:



View more Disneyland Fantasyland photos at website.