Progress City Follow-Up

The other day, fellow blogger and artist extraordinaire Will Bezek mentioned that he had (at one time) about 50 of the miniature vehicles from the Progress City model. Somebody with sticky fingers left him with only one: “I took that box full of cars from The Progress City Model to work when I was doing TV production for use on some long shots and some swine absconded the whole lot while I was away at lunch.” He was generous enough to provide this photo of his one remaining vehicle, a cherished VW Convertible.



Will is also a "legacy”: “My Grandad went to work at the park during initial construction and retired in the early 90's; he was in the sound department. I also had a great grandfather, two uncles, and a cousin who worked there...I grew up at the park basically.” The envy of many a Disneyland blog reader, that’s for sure!

Here’s a 1966 photo of his grandfather with Mickey:



See more Disneyland Carousel of Progress photos at my website.

Trip report: WDW & The Half Marathon, Pt. 8

They say you can "never go back," but I just don't listen. In this first picture from my last day at WDW, I attempted to recreate a shot of me from back in 1978. I think I need more sleep! And I am sure George is wishing I had the hat. Fortunately, that bit of 70’s "fashion" is long gone.



It was sad to know that I would be leaving soon, and of course my mind was racing trying to figure out how I was going to squeeze in everything that I wanted to do during these last hours. My original plan was to spend only enough time in Animal Kingdom to get a few shots and experience Everest, and then I’d head back to The Magic Kingdom to get a few shots that I missed over the previous few days.

This plan changed when I found that Animal Kingdom was much cooler than I thought, and Dough liked it, too.



Each park has an icon, and for this one, it’s the Tree of Life, which really is somewhat awe inspiring. The sculpts of the animals into the "bark" of the tree is breathtaking:





The theming and landscaping in this park are stupendous. Extremely lush, it is an inviting atmosphere that beckons the guest to take a more leisurely pace and to enjoy the nature and wildlife at a slower gait.





All I could think about was Everest; I really wanted to experience it and didn’t want to have that be one that was on my unchecked list! My heart sank when I saw that it was not working on my initial attempt. No time for tears though, as I wanted to do the Dinosaur attraction as well. On the way, I passed through (as quickly as possible) the Dino-Rama area. This seemed as bad as the original Paradise Pier at DCA; obviously trying to have something to passify the kiddies and thrill-riders, this section is very out place here. It seems somewhat tacky and not in keeping with the beautiful theming elsewhere in the park.



The Dinosaur Dark Ride was fun, even if the track was obviously the same as Disneyland's Indiana Jones attraction.





The queue has a very nice mix of edu-tainment, which I felt was a nice addition to many of the areas in the Animal Kingdom.









Since I would only have time for one ride-through, I put my camera away and decided to enjoy the attraction. The animatronic dinosaurs were fantastic, and I do regret not having any shots of them, but sometimes, the camera just needs to be put away!



Flights of Wonder Bird Show was next. I really enjoyed this one; it was great to sit down, but it was also great to see a show that didn’t exploit the animals, but instead, focused on behaviors that were natural to them. It seems Disney is afraid to present anything too educational as it might bore or offend, so they added in a very stupid storyline to the show about a tour guide who is afraid of birds to attempt to heighten the excitement. Note to Disney: these beautiful and talented birds are just fine on their own. I like "corn" as much as the next guy, but the "corn" detracted from this show.



These amazing creatures do just fine on their own; no silly supporting cast necessary!







Time was running out as I was already over my guestimated allotted time for Animal Kingdom. Still, I wanted to make one more attempt to ride Expedition Everest. SUCCESS! The line seemed a little long, but not as long as waiting another 8 years or so to come back!



The queue was extremely well done; interesting artifacts (the majority of them general), art pieces, and educational information were presented in a way that kept the long line (about 30 minutes) much more bearable.















Once again, I made the decision to enjoy the attraction and put the camera away. Yes, I have regrets, but am glad I got to experience it without having to worry about getting the perfect shot. Was it worth the wait? Yes. It is the Matterhorn on steroids! Probably one of the best rollercoaster-type attractions that Disney has put together for a long time. Fantastic theming, thrills to take away your breath, and it actually seemed to last for a fair amount of time, too. Unfortunately, the infamous Yeti was not working. THAT was a bit of a letdown. Hopefully Imagineers will be able to find a way to get that thing working consistently (at a pricetag that the pencil pushers will allow!). By the time we exited the ride, the line for this attraction was crazy, and probably would have made for at least a 90 minute wait. Talk about timing!

Time for the Magic Kingdom! First up, no ifs, ands, or buts, was the train. Hard to believe I hadn't an opportunity to ride it yet. I was determined to get on that contraption before I left (the night before it had been closed early).



The station is beautiful, but as I've said many times before, just doesn’t quite have the smaller scale & authentic old fashioned charm of Disneyland's.











One other thing that Anaheim has in spades over Orlando is 100% theming. Even a train trip at Disneyland has things to see along the way; very rarely do you get a backstage glimpse that breaks the wall of Fantasy. Not so in Orlando; there are constant reminders that this is a theme park and operations are nearby. The Frontierland train depot seems to lack an authentic flavor as well.



The riverbanks are beautiful, and it's nice to see them uncluttered by all the equipment of Fantasmic or the Pirate overlay that Anaheim has. For once, Orlando has the leg-up on "charming."





I’d still take the Twain over the Liberty Belle though!





A quick lunch back at Main Street afforded the opportunity of hearing the Dapper Dans—yeah!



One more trip on the Jungle Cruise (Dough hadn't been on the WDW version yet) and then it was time to leave.



Another good JC Skipper (2 for 2!) and this time, in the daylight, I was able to get a few more shots that I’d missed on my previous ride at dusk.





A dark one from the tunnel:



And the east-coast version of Trader Sam:



Dough actually preferred the WDW Jungle Cruise; I like many of the elements (especially the tunnel!), but don’t know if I prefer it or not.

And that folks is the end of my trip report. It was a rush back to the Polynesian to check out and head back to the airport. It really was an excellent trip, and I only wish I'd had 2 more days to spend more leisurely time in Animal Kingdom as well as a day to lounge at the Polynesian—it truly is a wonderful resort. Hope you enjoyed my trip as much as I did!

See more WDW Animal Kingdom photos at my website.

Trip report: WDW & The Half Marathon, Pt. 7

As soon as Stacy and I got to the Magic Kingdom, it was time for the fireworks to start—talk about perfect timing! Because of the wider street, it was easier to get a better vantage point even though we showed up about 10 minutes before the pyrotechnic display began (don’t think for a minute that means that I’d trade my Disneyland Main Street for WDW though!). It should come as no surprise that I took a ton-o-photos, but will only bore you here with a handful:







I was even able to capture Tinkerbell:





The park and especially the castle sure looks even more magical at night:





It was time to walk through the castle and check out Fantasyland.





Philharmagic has the dubious distinction of being the one attraction I wanted to experience but was unable to, due to technical difficulties. Got as far as the theater doors when we had to exit because of this. Naturally, Stacy had to tell me just how good it was when she saw it the day before!





Dark rides are hard to photograph, especially if you’ve never been on them. Because of the long lines, Peter Pan only got one ride through for us (translation: you only get a handful of photos and they are kinda' sucky!). The WDW version is similar, but I believe I liked the flying over London section at Disneyland better; there is less hustle and bustle; I found all the movement below to be a little distracting and took away from the fantasy feel that you get at Disneyland's version.





Snow White was a different story; I was able to do this one twice. And surprise, surprise...I believe I actually prefer the WDW version!













Somehow, Stacy got me on small world...I think I'm still waiting for a compensation prize. I definitely prefer the outdoor queue for Anaheim’s version; having an indoor queue (somehow) seems to make the attraction a little less special.











After a few texts back and forth, Stacy & I were able to meet up with Walt & his amazing mom (she is one cool mom who you WANT to hang out with!), our friends that we met at Candlelight (and you also might remember him as the crazy person who ran the WDW Half Marathon and full Marathon back-to-back in an Aladdin costume!). We met at the Haunted Mansion, and just as I thought back in 1978, the attraction is even better at night!









I still needed to ride Space Mountain, so we all headed for Tomorrowland. Since the ride had made Stacy a little queasy the day before, she and Dottie hung out while Walt & I braved it. Actually, not much to brave...I found it lackluster compared to Disneyland’s version; both the queue and the attraction (devoid of music) seemed a little ho-hum. It was also less fun to not be able to sit next to who you are riding with the different vehicle configuration.





As you can see here, I think I fell asleep!



We picked up the energy level with Buzz Lightyear, but again, it paled in comparison to Disneyland’s version, not seeming to be on par technically with its west coast counterpart.







On the way out of the park, we posed for a few photos in front of the castle; and yes, it was DAMN COLD!







The saddest part of the day is always when I leave; which is why I try to dull the pain with more photos and a trip through the candy shop!





On the way back "home" to the Polynesian, I stopped at the Contemporary Hotel to get some shots of the Mary Blair tile murals:







To my surprise, this model of the Tower of the Four Winds by Rolly Crump was also there:



One more trip entry to go! See more WDW photos at my website.