Disneyland Trip Report, Pt. 2

The poppies, California’s state flower, were in full bloom in Town Square [note: a reader pointed out that these were Iceland poppies]. With only a little bit of time until the daily Flag lowering ceremony, I decided to reserve my front row spot and enjoy a little more patriotism (I was still fired up from Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln!).











One of the best parts of the daily ceremony is that all veterans/active duty military in the audience are acknowledged for their service to the country and allowed to participate. Whether agreeing with war or not, we can certainly take a moment to thank those who have given of their time and lives to make sure the rest of us can enjoy the freedom that our nation affords us.



What attraction did I "squeeeeeeze" in when I only had time for one? Why, The Haunted Mansion of course! Aren't these gargoyles in the elevator just precious?



And I'll just bet you that there's a Disney geek out there who can identify all of the china in this scene from the attic:



My niece made it down from LA and before dinner, we had time to visit Abe again, which she had never experienced. It made me feel good to know that she enjoyed it, too! Dinner was the high point for her though, as she had never been to Club 33 before. The staff was extremely accommodating to her when she made a few requests to keep her meal vegetarian.



While she watched Fantasmic! from the balcony, I went around the side to get a few photos of New Orleans Square without any people or strollers. Not an easy task on a Saturday night during Spring Break!



Full from dinner, we still managed to go on a few attractions, and believe it or not, I put the camera away. It was so refreshing to enjoy the attractions without having my eye stuck to the back of my camera. While most guests were watching Fireworks and a 2nd round of Fantasmic!, we breezed through The Mansion, Pirates, Snow White, The Castle Diorama, and Buzz Lightyear. Both of us look baffled, and even though our scores kinda' sucked, we had fun.



Before boarding the Monorail to head home, I let my niece experience all of the 1980’s goodness of “Captain EO.” She is probably still trying to figure out what people were thinking when they made it (although I think she secretly enjoyed it).

This is the 3rd time I've visited the park with my niece, and it proved that there is still a place where those of different generations can hang out and have fun TOGETHER. Thanks for the brilliance, Walt!

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.

Disneyland Trip Report

Normally I wouldn't visit the park on a Saturday smack-dab in the middle of Spring Break, but the occasion of my niece being in town warranted an unscheduled visit. Walking in, I cut through The Grand Californian Hotel and noticed that the 1932 Cadillac that has always been out front has been repurposed as an advertisement for the Disney Vacation Club. This car has previously been seen in the TV shows "Charmed" and "The X-Files" as well as the movies "O Brother, Where art Thou?" and "The Two Jakes."





While I awaited my niece’s arrival, I spent some time at DCA taking photos of all the construction. The entrance is coming along at a good pace; it will be so exciting to see the entry area.





The final product will look like the Disney's Hollywood Studios entrance, which is modeled after the now-defunct The Pan-Pacific Auditorium, formerly located in Los Angeles.



The recreation of the Carthay Circle has also begun to emerge at the entrance:



Again, Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando also has a Carthay Circle Theater, which (sadly) serves as a gift shop:



Cars Land has added an impressive photo opp area, which will continue to generate excitement for this highly anticipated new addition to California Adventure.









From outside the park, here’s the view that curious passers-by get:







It's not surprising that there have already been people who have written rants about the "bad show" of this. Really, people? I'd love to see THEIR backyards!

Ariel’s new home looks like it’s about to be unveiled:



In typical Disney-style, it has been lavished with details:









Even before the attraction is unwrapped, some in the chat community have been brutal about the color "mismatch" between the new attraction building and the re-purposed Palace of the Arts entrance. It seems so ironic that people in this "community" are so quick to toss the grapes.



A little further down are the Silly Symphony Swings:



Although I would be among the first to say that off-the-shelf style rides shouldn’t be at DCA or California Adventure, this is another great example of making lemonade, by repurposing/retheming the Orange Stinger as an homage to a vintage Mickey Mouse Cartoon.



Across the way there is plenty of construction going on for Goofy’s Flight School (more thoughtful retheming) and the Paradise Pier Garden Restaurant:







It was now time to head back to the original. I took a leisurely jaunt through Disneyland, knowing full-well that I wouldn’t be able to go on many attractions. Instead, I started out with a visit to Mr. Lincoln. I love the show...and I love that guests keep coming back and actually applaud at the end. It really is a stirring patriotic tribute.









Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!

See more Disney California Adventure photos at my main website.

Roy Williams on Main Street

George “Moe” Collins began his career at Disneyland as a guidebook salesman back in the park’s early years, riding his bike to the park down Katella Avenue, which was only a 2 lane street back then. He would return to Disney some 20 years later, working as a staff writer at WED Imagineering, hired by and working for Marty Sklar. “Moe” was kind enough to share this great photo of Disney Legend Roy Williams. As he tells it:

“This photo was taken on Main Street in 1957, while I was on a break from selling guide books out at the front gate. The original Mickey Mouse Club format and staff had changed, and evidently Roy was not involved in TV at that time. I would venture a guess that Walt Disney, himself, hired Roy to sign autographs and make sketches for the guests. He was exactly like this photo suggests.....a big, affable, lovable 300 pound kid with mouse ears.”

Roy was initially hired by Walt Disney as an artist in 1930. He worked on animated shorts and then moved into the story department, specializing in gags. He also designed over 100 insignias for the U.S. armed forces during World War II, and is credited with designing the mouse ears worn on the Mickey Mouse Club. Roy traveled across the country to promote the re-release of such Disney films as “Cinderella,” while in 1959, he served as goodwill ambassador for The Walt Disney Studios. Later, he worked as a Disney comic strip artist, cartoonist at Disneyland (as seen in the photo posted here), and consultant on the traveling arena show, "Disney on Parade." Williams died in Burbank, California, in 1976. He was posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend in 1992.

Many thanks to “Moe” for sharing this previously unseen photo!

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. photos at my main website.

More Trouble

40 Pounds worth, that is. Here are a few more images from the 1962 movie, “40 Pounds of Trouble” which was actually filmed inside of Disneyland. The chances of something like this being filmed today would be slim to none.

Tony Curtis gets up close and personal with these Indian figures; something a regular guest could never do.



I attempted to find shots of the same figures, but ran into difficulty. These two are located at the far end of the Indian Settlement; most guests shot their photos as soon as the Settlement came into view. You can see this same area if you look towards the right side of the photo and even see these Indians behind the trees, circa December 1961.



In the film, the editing job makes it appear as if Tony Curtis & Suzanne Pleshette ride the Monorail and get off at the Main Street Train Station. Often pointed out as a huge goof, this actually makes more sense to me. One of the reasons I rarely ride the Monorail IN to Disneyland is because you miss that sense of entrance...no attraction posters, no Mickey Floral, no sense of wonder as you cross under the arches on either side of the Train Station. I've often wondered why the Monorail didn't just let guests off in front of the gate instead of plunking them down in the middle of Tomorrowland.



Last one for today shows Curtis stripping in front of Rainbow Ridge:



For all you fashionistas out there, here are some FABULOUS fashion tips and fun from "High School Musical's” Sharpay, who is getting ready to make her starring debut on 4/19 in “Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure.” Click the photos for downloadable PDFs.









See more “40 Pounds of Trouble” photos at my main website.