Walt Disney World's Liberty Belle riverboat, which cruises around Tom Sawyer Island, runs on a track!
The Magic Kingdom's original boat was an authentic sternwheeler steamboat called the Admiral Joe Fowler. It was retired in 1980.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Kara DioGuardi
American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi has written songs for such Disney recording acts as Hilary Duff, Raven-Symoné, Ashley Tisdale, Miley Cyrus, and Demi Lovato. Two of her songs also appear on the Camp Rock Soundtrack.
"What I’ve learned about writing pop music is that, despite all the changes in technology, the art of crafting a great song hasn’t really changed."
-DioGuardi
DioGuardi also wrote and sang the backup vocals for Demi Lovato's song "The Middle" for her first album, Don't Forget.
Friday, August 12, 2011
True-Life Adventures: White Wilderness
Nine photographers spent almost 3 years gathering material in Alberta, Canada, for Disney's 1958 White Wilderness nature documentary.
It later won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Louis Prima - King Louie in The Jungle Book
Louis Prima (the voice of King Louie in The Jungle Book) was a singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. He actually studied violin for several years as a child growing up in New Orleans.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Cast Member Seeing-Eye Dog Fund
In 1987, Disneyland veteran Chuck Abbott conceived and initiated the Cast Member seeing-eye dog fund, which became a highly successful volunteer group.
August 10, 1955:
Chuck Abbott begins work at Disneyland as a ride operator on the Autopia. Abbott has to really pay attention - as there is no track on the attraction (at this time) and drivers frequently crash into anything and everything - including Cast Members! (He will go on to become a foreman at Disneyland for 36 years and be named a Disney Legend in 2005 - a first for an hourly theme park Cast Member.)
Click Here to see what else happened today in Disney History!
August 10, 1955:
Chuck Abbott begins work at Disneyland as a ride operator on the Autopia. Abbott has to really pay attention - as there is no track on the attraction (at this time) and drivers frequently crash into anything and everything - including Cast Members! (He will go on to become a foreman at Disneyland for 36 years and be named a Disney Legend in 2005 - a first for an hourly theme park Cast Member.)
Click Here to see what else happened today in Disney History!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
1931 Frankenstein's "Castle Thunder" in the Haunted Mansion
"Castle Thunder" - a thunderclap originally recorded for the 1931 film Frankenstein, has been featured in countless movies and TV shows. The famous sound effect can also be heard every day at Disneyland and Walt Disney World ... in the Haunted Mansion!
Push Play to hear the Thunder's sound
2009:
Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary Merchandise Event takes place at Disneyland. The sold-out event includes admission into Disney’s California Adventure after 6:30 PM and Disneyland after 9 PM, a Haunted Mansion seminar, a wedding "Feast or Famine" dinner, and of course a ride through the Haunted Mansion!
A family from Santa Clarita, California spend the night in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion on the attraction's 40th anniversary!
2010:
'Castle Thunder' Effect
Castle thunder is a sound effect that consists of the sound of a loud thunderclap during a rainstorm. It was originally recorded for the 1931 version of the horror film Frankenstein. It has been used in many movies from the 1940s to the 1980s, in Disney and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and on TV series such as Gilligan's Island. It was retired from regular film use around 1985, although it is occasionally used in 1990s and 2000s animation shows as an "in-joke" to amuse film history buffs.
History of 'Castle Thunder'
After its 1931 use in Frankenstein, the effect was used in many films from the 1930s until the 1980s and occasionally in the 1990s and 2000s, including Citizen Kane, Cleopatra, The Hindenburg, The Rescuers, An American Tail, The Fox and the Hound, The Brave Little Toaster, Ghostbusters, Dinosaurus!, Airplane!, The Muppet Movie, Murder by Death, Kronos, Twilight Zone: The Movie, History of the World Part 1, Clue, Back to the Future, Big Trouble in Little China, Trading Places, Short Circuit, The Land Before Time, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, The Reluctant Dragon, Snoopy Come Home, The Monster Squad, Beethoven, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Death Becomes Her, Prophecy, Escape from Alcatraz, 'Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty, Chicken Little, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, The Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Make Mine Music, The Aristocats, Pete's Dragon, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Ben and Me, The Little House, Noah's Ark, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Swiss Family Robinson, Savage Sam, Robin Hood, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, The Great Mouse Detective, Conan the Destroyer, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico, The Secret of NIMH, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Space Jam, Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire, Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers, ,First Blood, The Sound of Music and Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman.Monday, August 8, 2011
What kind of relationship Walt had with his Parents
[Marcio Disney]
1918: A young Walt Disney forges his parents' signatures to enlist in the American Ambulance Corps (part of the Red Cross). He changes his birth from 1901 to 1900. See the details above!
Walt Disney in the American Ambulance Corps
The summer of 1918 was the best that Walt had known. His hours for the post office were long, but there was no drudgery to the work, and he was outdoors most of the time. At night he took girls from McKinley High School to movies and vaudeville shows.
For the first time in his life, Walt had enough money to indulge himself, and he contemplated buying a movie camera or a canoe. A girl friend urged him to buy a canoe, but he decided on the camera. He mounted it on a tripod in an alley and photographed himself in imitations of Charlie Chaplin. To please his friend, he joined another boy in buying an inexpensive canoe; it was so small and unwieldy that he and the girl were swept out into the lake on a windy Sunday.
By late summer, the Allies had stopped the Germans in the second battle of the Marne, and Marshal Foch bad ordered a counterattack. Walt grew more impatient to get in uniform, telling his parents, "I don't want my grandchildren asking me, 'Why weren't you in the war? Were you a slacker?' " The Navy had transferred Roy to Charleston, South Carolina, then assigned him to voyages between New York and France. Ray Disney had joined the Army. Walt wanted to take part in the same adventure; he couldn't conceive of returning to high school for another year. A friend at the post office, Russell Maas, shared his feelings. They decided to cross the border and enlist in the Canadian Army, which accepted younger recruits. Their plot was thwarted when Russell's mother discovered his packed suitcase; her son admitted the plan and she warned Flora Disney. One day Russell arrived at the post office and told Walt excitedly. "There' s something forming here that you and I can get into. It's a volunteer group called the American Ambulance Corps, part of the Red Cross. They need drivers, and they're not fussy about how old you are."
At noon, the two young men hurried to the headquarters of the American Red Cross. They learned the age limit for ambulance unit volunteers was seventeen. Both were sixteen, but they falsified their ages and applied as the St. John brothers, Russell and Walter. The ruse succeeded until the applications for passports which required their parents' signatures. Walt was forced to disclose his plan to his parents. "I will not sign any permission" Elias Disney declared. "It's signing a death warrant for my son."
Flora Disney argued that three of their sons had left the family home by stealth and she didn't want Walter to go the same way. "The boy is determined," she said "I would rather sign this and know where he is than have him run off."
"Well, you can sign it for me---I won't!" Elias replied, and he stalked from the room. Flora forged his name on the passport application, and Walt altered his birth date to read "1900." He and Russell Maas returned to the Red Cross, and their applications were accepted. The two boys received uniforms and reported to a tent encampment at a burned-down amusement park near the University of Chicago. Mechanics from the Yellow Cab Company taught them how to repair motors and drive cars over rough terrain.
Click here to read the complete story or visit: http://tinyurl.com/2vouzaj
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Sunday, August 7, 2011
Haunted Mansion's Stretch Room
In Disneyland's Haunted Mansion you descend in the stretch room. But in Walt Disney World's Mansion, you remain still while the ceiling rises above you!
Just 2 days to celebrate Haunted Mansion's Anniversary :)
Saturday, August 6, 2011
750 "Hippies" infiltrate Disneyland
August 06, 1970
A bizarre occurence takes place at Disneyland when 750 "Hippies" and "Radical Yippies" infiltrate the park, and take over the Wilderness Fort. They raise the Vietcong flag and pass reefers out to passersbys.
Later, they march in a Main Street parade, and sing their own lyrics to "Zipadee Doo Dah" ("Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Mihn is going to win..."). More conservative park guests try to drown them out by singing "America the Beautiful." Before the confrontation can heat up, a platoon of Anaheim Police officers in full riot gear pour into the park from backstage areas! A riot is adverted and Disneyland vice president of Operations Dick Nunis orders the park closed at 7:10 PM. For many years afterward Disneyland will selectively enforced a "dress code" at the park, occasionally refusing admission to "long-haired hippies". (This unusual incident is the only time an outside security force has ever made a full-blown public appearance at the park.)
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Friday, August 5, 2011
The Magic Worlds of Walt Disney [August 1963 issue of National Geographic]
The August 1963 issue of National Geographic featured "The Magic Worlds of Walt Disney," a 49-page article by Robert De Roos.
It also featured a rare photo (taken by Thomas Nebbia) of Walt, his wife and their grandchildren in the Disneyland Fire Station apartment ... a photography first!
Next, you will see a PDF file with the complete article. Please, be patience and wait to load!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
First Disneyland Fireworks
Disneyland premiered its first fireworks presentation in 1956.
The show was actually created by hand - with employees touching off the
fuses with a flare! (A few years later, technology enabled fireworks to
be launched electronically and synchronized with a soundtrack.)
“MAGICAL” – FIREWORKS BY THE NUMBERS
- The pyrotechnic devices are fully choreographed to “Magical’s” musical soundtrack, using 750 discreet digital control channels.
- Guests see the burst of fireworks before hearing it because light travels roughly a million times faster than sound.
- The Disney Air Launch system installed in 2004 creates less ground level smoke than the former system that used black powder.
- Disney is recognized as the world’s largest producer of fixed-base fireworks shows, at its parks in the United States, France, Japan and China.
A SPARKLING HISTORY OF FIREWORKS AT DISNEYLAND
- Disneyland opened to the public in July 1955. There was no fireworks show that year.
- In 1956, after seeing fireworks tests in the Disneyland parking lot when the park was closed, Walt Disney said, “Let’s give it a try.”
- Mickey Aronson, who worked in Disneyland Resort Entertainment for more than 50 years (originally as an outside fireworks consultant), began “shooting” Disneyland fireworks the summer of 1956. In those days, Aronson fired the show by hand, touching off the fuses with a flare.
- Beginning in the late 1960s, Disneyland Entertainment developed a system for firing the shells electronically, synchronized to a musical soundtrack.
- During this period, the fireworks “choreography” was storyboarded like an animated cartoon. At one time, the storyboard artist was Roy Williams, the “Big Mooseketeer” from “The Mickey Mouse Club.”
- The current system, with its multiple fireworks launch sites, special lighting and lasers, and high-tech marriage of music and choreographed pyrotechnics, was first installed for the 2000 Bicentennial/Disneyland 45th Anniversary show, “Believe…There’s Magic in the Stars.”
Elaborate
fireworks shows synchronized with Disney songs and often have
appearances from Tinker Bell or Dumbo, flying in the sky above Sleeping
Beauty Castle. Since 2000, presentations have become more elaborate,
featuring new pyrotechnics, launch techniques and story lines. In 2004,
Disneyland introduced a new air launch pyrotechnics system, reducing
ground level smoke and noise and decreasing negative environmental
impacts. At the time the technology debuted, Disney announced it would
donate the patents to a non-profit organization for use throughout the
industry.
* Regular Fireworks Show:
o 1958–1999 Fantasy in the Sky
o 2000–2004 Believe... There's Magic in the Stars
o 2004–2005 Imagine... A Fantasy in the Sky
o 2005–2010 Remember... Dreams Come True
* Special Fireworks Show:
o June 12, 2009 – September 20, 2009 Magical: An Exploding Celebration In The Sky
o September 25, 2009 – November 1, 2009 Halloween Screams
o November 13, 2009 – January 3, 2010 Believe... In Holiday Magic
Since 2009, Disneyland has moved to a rotating repertoire of firework spectaculars.
* Yearly Fireworks Repertoire
o Winter – Spring Remember... Dreams Come True
o Summer Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations
o Independence Day Week Disney's Celebrate America: A 4th of July Concert in the Sky
o Halloweentime Halloween Screams
o Holiday Believe... In Holiday Magic
During
the Holiday Season, there is a special fireworks presentation called
Believe... In Holiday Magic which has been running since 2000, except
for a short hiatus in 2005 during the park's 50th Celebration.
Scheduling
of fireworks shows depend on the time of year, during the slower
off-season periods, the fireworks are only offered on weekends. During
the busier times, Disney does offer additional nights, such as an extra
night for a 3 day holiday. Also, Disney does offer Fireworks nightly
during its busy periods, which includes Easter/Spring Break, Summer and
Christmas time.
The show is normally offered at 9:25 PM if the park is scheduled to close at 10 PM or later, but shows have started as early as 5:45 PM. Also, a major consideration is weather/winds, especially at higher elevations, which can force the cancellation of the show. Disney usually waits an additional time (15 minutes) to see if the winds die down. Shows, with a few minor exceptions, such as July 4 and New Year's Eve, must finish by 10 PM due to the conditions of the permit issued by the City of Anaheim.
The show is normally offered at 9:25 PM if the park is scheduled to close at 10 PM or later, but shows have started as early as 5:45 PM. Also, a major consideration is weather/winds, especially at higher elevations, which can force the cancellation of the show. Disney usually waits an additional time (15 minutes) to see if the winds die down. Shows, with a few minor exceptions, such as July 4 and New Year's Eve, must finish by 10 PM due to the conditions of the permit issued by the City of Anaheim.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Princess Diaries & Mary Poppins
The Princess Diaries was Julie Andrews first movie with Disney since Mary Poppins.
Anne Hathaway was hired for the role of Mia Thermopolis, a teenager who discovers that she is the heir to the throne of Genovia, because director Gary Marshall's granddaughters saw her audition tape and said she had the best "princess hair."
This Day in Disney History
2001:
Disney's romantic comedy The Princess Diaries, starring Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway, opens in theaters. Directed by Garry Marshall, it is a screen adaptation of Meg Cabot's 2000 novel of the same name.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Disneyland Fun Facts - The Enchanted Tiki Room, Sleeping Beauty Castle & Haunted Mansion
The Enchanted Tiki Room: Walt's inspiration for the Tiki Room
-- the first show featuring fully synchronized Audio-Animatronics
figures -- came from a small mechanical birdcage that he found at a New
Orleans antique shop. He was so fascinated by the birds in the cage that
he bought two of them -- one to display and one to take apart. One of
the original birdcages can usually be seen in the reproduction of Walt's
office located in The Walt Disney Story attraction on Main Street;
however, it's been temporarily relocated to the "One Man's Dream"
exhibit at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida as part of their 100 Years of
Magic celebration.
Haunted Mansion: The singing busts in the Graveyard scene represent the singing group the Mello Men, who also play the parts of the singing cards in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," and can be heard on Alice's attraction singing "Painting the Roses Red."
Sleeping Beauty Castle: A special spot just beneath Sleeping Beauty Castle marks the original center of the park, before Critter Country or Mickey's Toontown were added. As you emerge on the other side of the tunnel into Fantasyland, there's a golden spike driven into the ground -- look for it on your next visit!
Monday, July 25, 2011
1966 - Disneyland Topiaries
The tradition of Disney Topiaries began in 1966 when Disneyland horticulturalists sculpted larger-than-lifesize characters in Fantasyland, in particular surrounding the It's a Small World attraction. At Disney World, the process began 3 years before the resort’s 1971 opening and is still evolving today at the WDW Nursery!
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Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Disney Influence and the 1964-1965 World's Fair
The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City.
The fair ran for two six-month seasons, April 22–October 18, 1964 and April 21–October 17, 1965.
The theme was symbolized by a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth called Unisphere.
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Disney's Dream Makers
The fair ran for two six-month seasons, April 22–October 18, 1964 and April 21–October 17, 1965.
The theme was symbolized by a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth called Unisphere.
The longest lines at the 1964-1965 World's Fair (in New York City) were for the 4 attractions created by Disney. Walt took some of the attractions and elements of others to his Anaheim park when the Fair closed.
The fair also is remembered as the vehicle Walt Disney utilized to design and perfect the system of "audio-animatronics", in which a combination of sound, mechanical electronics and computers controls the movement of lifelike robots to act out scenes.
The Walt Disney Company designed and created four shows at the fair:
The Walt Disney Company designed and created four shows at the fair:
ºoº In the "it's a small world" attraction at the Pepsi pavilion, animated dolls and animals frolicked in a spirit of international unity on a boat ride around the world. The song was provided by the Sherman Brothers. Each of the animated dolls had an identical face, originally designed by New York (Valley Stream) artist Gregory S. Marinello in partnership with Walt Disney himself.
ºoº General Electric sponsored "Progressland" where an audience seated in a revolving auditorium viewed an audio-animatronic presentation of the progress of electricity in the home. The Sherman Brothers song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was composed for this attraction.
ºoº General Electric sponsored "Progressland" where an audience seated in a revolving auditorium viewed an audio-animatronic presentation of the progress of electricity in the home. The Sherman Brothers song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was composed for this attraction.
ºoº Ford Motor Company presented Disney's "The Magic Skyway," the second most popular exhibit at the fair, using Ford cars in an early prototype of the Omnimover system to move the audience through scenes featuring life-sized audio-animatronic dinosaurs and cavemen. The Walt Disney Company had earlier been asked by General Motors to produce their exhibit, but they declined.
ºoº At the Illinois pavilion, a lifelike President Abraham Lincoln recited his famous speeches in "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln".
ºoº At the Illinois pavilion, a lifelike President Abraham Lincoln recited his famous speeches in "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln".
After the fair, there was some discussion of the Disney company retaining these exhibits on-site and converting Flushing Meadows Park into an east coast version of Disneyland, but this idea was abandoned. Instead, Disney relocated several of these exhibits to Disneyland and subsequently replicated them at other Disney theme parks; Walt Disney World is essentially the realization of the original concept of an "east coast Disneyland" with Epcot Center designed a "permanent" world's fair in 1982 and was expressly built as a tribute to the World's Fair.
Two attractions from the fair exist at Walt Disney World, including a variation of the original "it's a small world" and the updated Carousel of Progress. The two remaining attractions currently exist as evolutions of the originals: The Magic Skyway inspired the PeopleMover, and later the Tomorrowland Transit Authority; and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was expanded into The Hall of Presidents.
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Saturday, July 23, 2011
Mickey Mouse and Madame Tussauds
Mickey Mouse (playing the piano) was first added to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London in 1930.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Tallest Attraction on Walt Disney World
At 199 feet, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of the two tallest attractions on Walt Disney World property!
Do you know which is the other one?
Do you know which is the other one?
Click Here to see the Official WDW Tower of Terror site!
Click Here to see the amazing Disneyland Paris Tower of Terror site!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Disneyland's New Ride Tickets
Disneyland replaced individual ride tickets (in use since 1955) with its new passports (single admission price to the park) in 1982.
"I remember the first day we had paying guests in the park and Walt was over at the Fire Station looking out the window. And I heard him say, 'Paying guests I love you' ... and threw them a big kiss."
-Hank Dains (original Disneyland Cast Member)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
John Stamos & Disneyland Sign
Actor & Disney fan John Stamos was the winning Ebay bidder for the galvanized steel Disneyland sign that stood in front of the park from 1989 to 1999. He paid $30,700 for the marquee.
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Invisible from within Disneyland
Back in 1955, Walt Disney had an agreement with the city of Anaheim that no outside buildings could be tall enough to be visible from within Disneyland.
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