Friday, April 29, 2011

Why Do I Have This? (Part 2): Hosting a Character Tour

While it's possible I hosted a Disney character tour before I was born, I think it's unlikely. Since I bought a domain for my new blog, I can now more easily share PDFs and other larger files. The first thing I'm sharing via this arrangement is a 1976 guidebook produced by Disneyland's Entertainment Division for venues (such as hospitals and shopping malls) that were set to host a character tour. It's basically a comic book informing the venue of the potential pitfalls, and you can easily imagine each of the problems (poorly constructed stages, too-small dressing rooms, lack of crowd control) happening many times before. I'm sure whatever materials Disney provides now does not feel this Disney.

Download: Here We Come: Secrets of Success... Hosting a Disney Character Tour

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

It All Began Here

June 21, 1997 was the first time I saw construction work for Disney's California Adventure, in the former Alice Cast Member parking area. It was probably the first time for a lot of people, as the above photo was taken within a few days of the work beginning. The Disneyland Line clippings below explain what's going on, although once the closure date changed they (frustratingly) do not mention the exact beginning of the construction. I wonder how long it had been since bulldozers were last in that area...

May 9, 1997:

May 16, 1997:

June 6, 1997:

June 13, 1997:

June 20, 1997:

New Signage Blog: Drop In Again Sometime

This blog will continue with its erratic (but hopefully more frequent) postings, but I wanted to mention that I have just launched a new Disneyland Resort signage blog called Drop In Again Sometime (after the obscure sign at the base of the Splash Mountain drop). I'll post a daily photo from my collection (which, at this moment, is enough to keep me going for several years). I hope you'll drop by!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Why Do I Have This? (Part 1)

Introducing a new irregular (well, no more irregular than my posting "schedule") feature of the blog: As I am going through my boxes of many, many individual paper items I saved from my visits in the late 1990s, I sometimes come across items that are either (a) plain bizarre or (b) come as a complete surprise to me (hence, "Why do I have this?"). If you have a reasonable suspicion of how I have the item (perhaps you have it too?), you are welcome to help out with the facts. If you have no idea, you are welcome to provide your wildest speculation. I will provide as much information as I have.

The first entry is this Hercules postcard; I assume I got it in the summer of 1997:

Without the information on the back of the card, I would assume...well, I would assume I picked it up somewhere, and that would be the end of the matter. But there's also writing on the back:

While I was a frequent visitor to City Hall and the Opera House (and even then not until late in the summer of 1997), I never hung around the Bank. If I renewed my pass in person, it wouldn't have been until February 1998. I assume it's possible that a random Cast Member friend gave this to me, but why would "The Bank :)" be giving these out, anyway?

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

April 19, 1998 Entertainment

Newly unearthed (literally--I went out to the garden and threw some dirt on it just so I could clean it and say this) archival material sure to change the accepted historical narrative:

Or, it could be worthless ephemera that I should have left at the Gate rather than saving four copies of...

Monday, April 18, 2011

Happy 60th Birthday, Bruce!


Today would have been Bruce Gordon's 60th birthday. As evidenced by the many books to which Bruce contributed or designed, he was as much a fan of Disneyland as anybody. (He did once tell me, though, that in his off time he preferred to talk with people about things other than Disneyland. Shocking!) Although I was just a teenage Disneyland obsessive, he understood and facilitated my obsession, by taking me onto construction sites, helping me and Kevin Yee with our book projects, and even snagging the Swiss Family Treehouse branch which is presently on my kitchen table. Below is what I wrote for Miceage following Bruce's untimely passage on November 6, 2007:

I only knew Bruce Gordon as a fan. Well, okay, I was the co-founder of his fan club, with Kevin Livingston. That story, along with Kevin’s introduction, is detailed below, but I wanted to first recount how I came to know him—first through his work, and then personally, as I bummed around Tomorrowland in the spring and summer of 1998.

I became interested in Disneyland history in 1995, after visiting Disneyland several times a year growing up and getting an Annual Passport in 1994. From the online world I was quickly pointed to Bruce and David Mumford’s The Nickel Tour. The beautiful book captivated me with the plethora of photographs and the bad puns. My original copy of the book is a tattered mess from frequent use, supplemented by a leather-case version (sold when Bruce and David Mumford were down to their final 250 copies) and the second edition.

I found myself a frequent visitor to the construction site of Tomorrowland in 1997 and 1998. Since I had become an online Disneyland fan (and more aware of changes taking place at the Park), the New New Tomorrowland was the first big project I witnessed at Disneyland. Between September 1997 and June 1998, I visited Disneyland around 120 times—more than enough visits to run into Imagineers working on the project!

I first met Bruce on March 12, 1998. Like so many other days, I scouted around Tomorrowland with a still and video camera, looking for the minutest of details which may have changed since my last visit. I ventured to the second level of the Starcade (which always offered a good vantage to see behind the construction walls), and then returned to its entrance to photograph the Observatron. On the Rocket Rods loading platform, I spied somebody I knew, with Bruce Gordon sitting in a Rocket Rod. The next few minutes are a bit of a blur—they spotted me, waved, and then Bruce came down and offered to take me up to the platform to look at the construction. In addition to taking my picture in a Rocket Rod (“It’s from Cast Blast, if anyone asks,” he told me to say), he took me up to the Observatron platform, where I had a great view of the construction!

I was so amazed that he did this the first time I met him, but I saw him often in the next year and a half and he always did this sort of thing. The day after the Moonliner had arrived on site, I was at the Park; I found Bruce in Tomorrowland and I was one of the few people behind the construction wall to see it placed upright for the first time. He signed me into the Moonliner press ceremony the following Monday. On New Tomorrowland media day, I headed down to the Park immediately after school. After thirty minutes of hanging around the entrance, I ran into Bruce—who promptly got me press credentials. Bruce gave me a preview of Innoventions a month before it opened. During early phases of construction for Tarzan’s Treehouse, Bruce even scrambled over debris to present me with a branch from the old tree. (I was, however, on my own for getting that out of the Park!) The morning of the treehouse’s opening, he gave me a sneak preview.

At the time I was only 16/17 and always at the Park, but I never got the sense that he’d rather not have run into me. Moreover, I never had anything he wanted! He took the time to get me into these construction areas and press events because he recognized the same kind of interest in Disneyland that he had when he was younger. After 1999, I didn’t see him at the Park as much, but he continued his generosity. As detailed in Kevin Yee’s article, Bruce provided great assistance with our Disneyland trivia books. The fan club seemed a natural way to show appreciation for one of the most public characters at Imagineering…

One of the things I fondly remember from the spring and summer of 1999 were the online chats Bruce and David did through Disney.com. I have the transcripts for a few of them saved. Bruce once told me that he and David were the only chat guests who were allowed to type their own answers. You can see their personality come through in this transcript from May 4, 1999. I got a special mention near the beginning because I had run into Bruce that day at Disneyland...

Welcome to Disneyana: Behind the Magic. Our chat with Disney Imagineers Bruce Gordon and David Mumford will begin at 9 p.m. ET/6 PT. Start sending in your questions for them!

Moderator: Our chat with Disney Imagineers Bruce Gordon and David Mumford will be starting in 10 more minutes.

Moderator: Start sending in your questions for them!

Moderator: Are you ready for the event of the year?

Moderator: Hey there hi there ho there all.

Moderator: TRhanks for joining us!

Moderator: Welcome to Disneyana: Behind the Magic.

Moderator: Well, here it is the first Tuesday of the month...

Moderator: and y'all know what that means....

Moderator: Not only is rent due...

Moderator: but also Imagineers/authors Bruce Gordon and David Mumford

Moderator: are our guests.

Moderator: We're broadcasting to you today...

Moderator: LIVE from atop the Matterhorn.

Moderator: at Disneyland.

Moderator: Disneyland Park ®

Moderator: They should be along any moment now to answer those burning questions that you might have

Moderator: ...about what goes into the creation of a Disney Theme Park attraction.

Moderator: I have no idea where they are now.

Moderator: Guys?

Moderator: Oh guuu-uuys....

Bruce_Gordon [Yodels!]

Moderator: There's one.

David_Mumford: Boy it is a long climb to the top of this mountain!

Moderator: And there's another.

Moderator: Thanks for joining us gents.

Bruce_Gordon: Hello!

Bruce_Gordon [sits down before he faints from the height]

David_Mumford: If you are in Disneyland with your laptop, come over to the Matterhorn and wave.

Moderator: You guys look GREAT in lederhosen.

Bruce_Gordon: Hey, look, there's Jason now! Hi Jason!

David_Mumford: I like your knee socks

Bruce_Gordon [(flattered)]

Moderator: Are you ready to interface with our online audience?

Bruce_Gordon: Ja

David_Mumford: Ready and waiting.

Moderator: Then here comes our first question....

dsny-cader says: What do you exactly mean by "imagineers?"

Bruce_Gordon: Imagineers are the folks who design and build all the permanent attractions

Bruce_Gordon: at all the Disney parks around the world

Bruce_Gordon: TOkyo -- FLorida -- Anaheim -- Paris

David_Mumford: They were assembled personally by Walt Disney way back in 1952 to help design Disneyland

Bruce_Gordon: Imagineering is made up of architects and artists and writers and engineers and so on --more than 200 different discipilines....

Bruce_Gordon: It's the coolest job in the world!

dsny-YenSid says: How did each of you get involved in Imagineering?

David_Mumford: I used to watch the Wonderful World of Color show on tv every Sunday

Bruce_Gordon: When Imagineering started working on Tokyo Disneyland and Epcot Center in 1980, they needed a whole bunch of people to help build it. I was one of the lucky ones they hired!

David_Mumford: I especially liked the shows where Walt took you on tours of Imagineering

David_Mumford: I trained as an architect, and have been with Walt Disney Imagineering for about 20 years

Bruce_Gordon: I grew up hanging around at Disneyland, building models in the garage, trying to figure out how they did everything in the attractions...

Bruce_Gordon: Being one of the people who helps create the future of the parks is a real honor!

dsny-juliewolf says: Do you have to go very far to gather supplies for creating things?

Bruce_Gordon: Sometimes we go too far!

dsny-David says: What are the projects both of you are working on now. (Would love to see some slides of your work)

Bruce_Gordon: Tarzan's Treehouse is the next big thing at Disneyland....the Swiss Family has moved on, and Tarzan has moved in!

Bruce_Gordon: The Treehouse opens late June, around the time the Tarzan animated feature opens in theaters!

David_Mumford: For those of you who were not here last month, I am working on Mermaid Lagoon, a whole land for a new theme park in Japan called Tokyo DisneySea

David_Mumford: It is scheduled to open in 2001

Bruce_Gordon: This fall, you'll see some activity around the Autopias in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland....

dsny-krazee1 says: You mentioned permanent attractions. Are there temporary attractions?

Bruce_Gordon: The temporary attractions are things like parades, and live shows on the stages. Those aren't done by Imagineering....they're done by a live enteratinment group at the Parks...

thanks dsny-ReddRockett, your question has been received

David_Mumford: By the way, nothing is permanent. Walt said Disneyland would never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world.

Bruce_Gordon [shivers from the wind....]

Bruce_Gordon: Boy it sure is cold up here!

Moderator: How high up are we anyways?

David_Mumford: About 150 feet

David_Mumford: It is a great view of Southern California today.

Bruce_Gordon: The Matterhorn at Disneyland is one one-hundreth the height of the real matterhorn in Switzerland. That's the kind of silly things Imagineers do!

Moderator: Yes, it is cold...

Moderator: so...cold...

Bruce_Gordon: OOoops, David just slipped and fell off the side of the mountain!

David_Mumford: Ouch

Moderator: but suffereing is all part and parcel of doing the first ever Netcast from atop the Matterhorn at Disneyland Park®

dsny-the says: Who came up with the idea for Space Mountain?

David_Mumford: Disney legend John Hench

David_Mumford: He came up with the next generation of roller coaster attractions for Disneyland after the Matterhorn

David_Mumford: He wanted guest to experience a high speed flight thru space inside an obsevatory

Bruce_Gordon: A designer named George McGinnis worked with John to create the mountains we know and love in the parks today. George also designed the towers that hold up the Observatron in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.

Bruce_Gordon: The matterhorn was the first roller coaster with multiple cars running at the same time on the same track, and one of the first to run on steel pipe rails (which almost all coasters do now).

Bruce_Gordon: Truly groundbreaking!

David_Mumford: Space Mountain in Florida was the first coaster to be designed on a computer way back in the early 70s

Bruce_Gordon: The sides of the mountain used to be open, so you could see out as you circled around the top of the mountain. In 1978 they closed in the openings and now you can't see Anaheim!

dsny-Wis says: Speaking of the Matterhorn, what about the rumors of another Matterhorn ride at EPCOT?

Bruce_Gordon: Yes there are rumors, but no mountain.

dsny-nmorgan says: Will Bob Gurr be involved in the new Autopia, and what will be changing on the attraction (combining the two tracks?)?

Bruce_Gordon: Yes, Bob Gurr has worked with us extensively on the new Autopia. Bob designed the very first cars in 1955, and each of the versions since.

David_Mumford: Bob Gurr was one of the first Imagineers. He also designed the Monorail and the Main Street Vehicles.

Bruce_Gordon: Whats new on the Autopia? New cars (three additional designs besides the ones that are there now) and a whole new load area and a whole new track layout.

Bruce_Gordon: All the Autopia tracks will load in Tomorrowland, rather than half in Tomorrowland and half in Fantasyland as it is now.

dsny-mr_liver says: I loved you Bruce in Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain. Are you planning to do anymore TV work?

Bruce_Gordon: Thank you, it was one of my proudest moments.

Bruce_Gordon: For those of you lucky enough to have never seen it, I don't get to say a single word in the whole bit, I keep getting cut off by an announcer who talks fast.

Bruce_Gordon: The reason they did that was because in all the interviews I had done before, I talked so fast they couldn't find anyplace to edit me out...so it was kind of "payback."

Bruce_Gordon: THey still run that show on the Disney channel, much to might, um, delight.

David_Mumford: I was on CNN on Labor Day talking about the closing of the Submarine Voyage at Disneyland. Did anyone see me?

Bruce_Gordon: I saw you!

Bruce_Gordon: Of course, you brought in the tape.

David_Mumford: My 15 seconds of fame

dsny-ReddRockett says: Will Bob Gurr ever get a window on Main Street?

Bruce_Gordon: Window on Main Street was a TV show in the sixties starring Robert Young. Honest

David_Mumford: Way back in 1955, Walt decided to honor people who had greatly contributed to Disneyland by placing thier names on the Main Street windows as "store merchants"

Bruce_Gordon: There's a whole committee who figures out the honors...and we're not part of it....so who knows!

dsny-Xiannie says: Is it true that my favorite ride, "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" is gone? If so, is there any plan to revive it. I have such fond memories...

Bruce_Gordon: The Toad ride in Walt Disney World is closed, and will be replaced with a brand new Winnie the Pooh attraction.

David_Mumford: The attraction at Disneyland is still going strong.

dsny-californiadventure says: what are the plans for the sub lagoon?

dsny-Nap98 says: speaking of the Submraine Voyage..are we getting anything new there?

dsny-imagineering_org says: What's going to replace the submarines at Disneyland?

Bruce_Gordon: We did a big mockup last year (in that famous blue tent) to demonstrate what we might be able to do with the subs to make them exciting and new. The demonstration was well received by all....\

Bruce_Gordon: Keep your eyes on the lagoon in the coming months.

David_Mumford: Hey, when do we get to go for a thrilling Bobsled ride?

Bruce_Gordon: Just hop in next time one goes by!

Moderator: After the chat, David...AFTER the chat.

Bruce_Gordon: What chat?

Moderator [growls]

David_Mumford: Sounds like the Abominible Snowman

dsny-californiadventure says: when will the new Autopia open?

Bruce_Gordon: The new Autopia is scheduled for Summer of 2000.

dsny-Herc says: How often do you get to ride th rides?

Bruce_Gordon: Any time we want. We cut right to the front of the line, knocking people down as we go.

Bruce_Gordon: But seriously folks.....

Bruce_Gordon: We ride them as

Bruce_Gordon: show checks

Bruce_Gordon: to make sure everything is working correctly.

Bruce_Gordon: And we do wait in line, unless we can sneak in before the park opens.

David_Mumford: We also have a lot of relatives who like us to take them their when they are in town.

Bruce_Gordon: Walt used to make the Imagineers go down to the park every few weeks, and wait in line for the attractions to experience things just like the guests experienced them.

Evangeline24 says: Are there any plans for more underground rides, such as Indiana Jones?

Bruce_Gordon: Uhhh, what exactly is an underground ride????? Everything we do is above board and perfectly proper!

David_Mumford: Look, someone lost another Mickey Mouse Balloon!

Moderator: Grab it! Quick!

Bruce_Gordon [grabs for the balloon and falls off the mountain]

dsny-WallyBoag says: Is everything working correcytly on the Matterhorn today?

Bruce_Gordon: We aren't!

Bruce_Gordon: No

dsny-nmorgan says: Are either of you two working on the California Adventure?

Bruce_Gordon: Like I said, no

David_Mumford: I'm not, I'm busy with the Tokyo project

dsny-MattyHere says: Is there any plans for any of the other Lands to get a remake like Tommorrow land

dsny-krazee1 says: Are any of the other lands planned for a major renovation like the new tomorrowland?

Bruce_Gordon: The treehouse finishes the Adventureland redo, which started a few years ago with new paving, the new Jungle Cruise load area....

Bruce_Gordon: That's at Disneyland...

David_Mumford: The lands are always getting fresh looks. Main Street at Disneyland is getting new brick pavers on the sidewalk. There are also new color schemes on the buildings

Bruce_Gordon: The Walt Disney World Tomorrowland was redone a few years ago, as well.

Pearl__1 says: is it true that there is a basketball court ontop of the matterhorn?

David_Mumford: In the employee break room on the upper floor, there is an area big enough for a half court. The cast members have put up a hoop and practice shots during breaks.

Bruce_Gordon: Mountains have floors?

Moderator: The very best ones do, Bruce.

David_Mumford: Yes, and elevators.

dsny-imagineering_org says: Will submarines ever run again at Walt Disney World?

Bruce_Gordon: Hey, we've been to your website!

David_Mumford: Hey, did I mention I was on CNN talking about the closing of the Subs?

Bruce_Gordon: Submarines are unsinkable.

[Here my transcript got screwed up. If anyone has this section, please post it!]

David_Mumford: But heck, we are in California, so what do we know?

Bruce_Gordon: It was cool--I actually built the frames around the undersea windows where the kid was swimming with the sea lion.

dsny-Shackelton says: What's the status on the Atlantis attraction at Disneyland?

Bruce_Gordon: What Atlantis attraction? YOu mean the blue tent?

David_Mumford [laughs]

riffkitten8 says: dsny-SpokkerJones says: Do you ever want to say, "Ah forget theming!" and build a monster roller coaster?

Bruce_Gordon: No, we leave that to the other parks.

Bruce_Gordon: But we're building a monster rollercoaster at the Studio Tour at Walt Disney World right now....it truly kicks you know what!

David_Mumford: Everything we do is about creating a story. Even if we build a monster roller coaster, it needs a story.

dsny-ish says: I would like to ask both of the imagineers....if they have a favorite design or ride or building, one that maybe means more to them than the whole job?

Bruce_Gordon: Splash Mountain will always be my favorite, because I was so involved in getting it approved....it's my little baby!

David_Mumford: I worked on the Alice in Wonderland attraction for the New Fantasyland at Disneyland in 1984.

Bruce_Gordon: From long ago, it would be the Viewliner Train of Tomorrow and the House of the Future...

David_Mumford: Alice was always one of my favorite Disney films, and it was a fun attraction to work on.

riffkitten8 says:

David_Mumford: Cool, but it is a beautiful sunset tonight

Bruce_Gordon: Bruce has gone inside.

David_Mumford: Shooting hoops

dsny-bluejay2b says: Can you hear the screams from where you are

Bruce_Gordon: Yes, mostly from the lawyers.

David_Mumford: Only when we tell bad jokes

dsny-californiadventure says: I thought the climbers were retired from Disneyland?

Bruce_Gordon: They're part of the live entertainment group we mentioned earlier....they rotate things around the park, so sometimes they're there, and sometimes they're not!

dsny-bluejay2b says: i went to disneyland 2 years ago it WAS A BLAST!!!!!!!!!YOUR IDAES WERE GREAT

Bruce_Gordon: Well, actually, Disneyland was Walt's idea....

Bruce_Gordon: But, on behalf of all the Imagineers, around the world, past and presnt, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dsny-dsny1mom1 says: How difficult is it to stay within budgets given to you?

Bruce_Gordon: A project is not a complete success unless it opens on time and on budget....and is a great show to boot!

David_Mumford: Bruce and I are also historians of Disneyland Park. We would love taking questions about the history of Disneyland attractions.

dsny-Nap98 says: hey you keep dodging our Atlantis questions, do you have any info you can give us about it?

Bruce_Gordon [dodges the question again and falls of the mountain into the sub lagoon....]

David_Mumford: Poor Bruce

Pearl__1 says: Have you ever been in Club 33...and are there really microphones that tape peoples conversations?

Bruce_Gordon: Yes, we've been to Club 33...it's terrific!

David_Mumford: Yes, I had dinner there last week

Bruce_Gordon: The microphones were an idea of Walt's, so that they could listen to conversations at the table...

David_Mumford: There were Audio-Animatronics birds that would talk back to the guests.

Bruce_Gordon: And they would say things that responded to the converstaions overheard at the table...

David_Mumford: But this was never activated.

Bruce_Gordon: Or so they tell us....

dsny-ReddRockett says: What got you interested in Disneyland history (other than the postcards)?

Bruce_Gordon: Having grown up there...and talking with the legendary Imagineers at work!

David_Mumford: I liked hearing about how everthing built for Disneyland was an innovation.

David_Mumford: Walt and his staff often had to invent new technologies to create the attractions

dsny-WallyBoag says: How about talking a little bit about the history of the Golden Horseshoe?

David_Mumford: Wally, you were one of the stars

David_Mumford: you should know everything

Bruce_Gordon: There's a great TV special that runs ont he Disney Channel every so often..

Bruce_Gordon: It starred Annette Funicello and the whole Horseshoe cast....watch for it, it contains the whole show!

David_Mumford: Walt wanted a live entertainment show in the park based on an old western review

Bruce_Gordon: Also, watch the movie "Calamity Jane" starring Doris Day.....the interior sets of their saloon were built from the same blueprints used for Disneyland! It's an exact duplicate!

Bruce_Gordon: The movie came first, though....

David_Mumford: He hired Donald Novis and Wally Boag to come up with the show back in 1955

Bruce_Gordon: Walt asked Harper Goff to design the Horseshoe, and he had worked on the film...so he pulled the blueprints out of the file!

David_Mumford: It was the longest running stage show in history according to the record books

David_Mumford: Betty Taylor joined the cast in 1956, and was a great addition to the cast

dsny-YenSid says: What was the shortest-lived attraction, and what caused it to be discontinued?

Bruce_Gordon: The two shortest lived attractions were probably the Phantom Boats and the Viewliner. THey both lasted two seasons.

David_Mumford: The Phantom Boats were a two passenger boat that circled a lagoon near what is now the Submarine Lagoon

Bruce_Gordon: THe Viewliner was the predecessor for the Monorail....it looked like the monorail, traveled around Tomorrowland on pretty much the same path, but rode on regular railraod tracks on the ground!

Bruce_Gordon: It opened in 1957 and closed in 1958.

David_Mumford: The Phantom Boats closed due to outboard motors (mounted inside the boat) that overheated

David_Mumford: This was part of the learning process in the early days of Disneyland

Bruce_Gordon: A lot of people think the flying saucers were a short lived attraction, but they lasted from 1961 to 1966 -- five years!

David_Mumford: Also the low capacity of two guests per boat did not help either

dsny-TPA says: Hi Dave - it's Rick West; great to see you and Bruce here!

David_Mumford: You can see us all the way from the Bay Area?

dsny-californiadventure says: This is the Haunted Mansions 30th anniversary, is anything special planned?

David_Mumford: There is a big event on June 25 at the Disney Gallery in New Orleans Square

David_Mumford: Several of the original designers will be on hand and specialty merchandise will be available

David_Mumford: Contact the Disney Gallery for more information

Moderator: Guys, it looks like we're running out of time here today...

dsny-MattyHere says: whats the next Attaction that you will ne Webcasting on?

Bruce_Gordon: We'll be riding on the monorail, if we can get the wireless connections worked out!

David_Mumford: Please create Monorail questions for next month.

David_Mumford: We will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere

Moderator: So join us then!

Moderator: Bruce, david thanks for joining us today...

David_Mumford: bye Hans, bye Fritz

Bruce_Gordon: Luckily the climb down off the mountain is easier than the climb up!

Moderator: You need any help getting down?

David_Mumford: Can we go for a ride now?

Moderator: Absolutely...the churros are on me.

Bruce_Gordon: You should eat more carefully!

David_Mumford: I'll tear out my E-Ticket

Moderator: Thanks all.

David_Mumford: Bye everyone

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Oh Yeah? BITE ME

I realized that my blog doesn't have enough attitude. To really make a name for myself, I need to take a stance and tell it like it is, no matter who it might upset. For some moral support, I turned to the Parking Lot Cast Members of the mid-1990s. I should explain: When I worked in Guest Relations, the City Hall attic was a dark, scary place. (Did you even know it had an attic?) It was at the top of a rickety staircase and had low light levels and an even lower ceiling. There were boxes and boxes of character photos and some past administrative materials (like reports from Duty Managers). But what I remember most are the piles and piles (and piles!) of slides of Parking Lot Cast Members having fun on the job. They must have been in a box or other container at some point, but I just remember them strewn about on the floor.

When they were renovating the City Hall attic, I grabbed a handful of these slides because they seemed rather humorous (and because, frankly, I'm sure the rest were going to be put in the trash). The slides were all dated November 18, 1996 and will reveal a side of Parking Lot Cast Members you likely have not seen. Because there were so many of them in the attic, I believe they were taken for some team building or group bonding experience, but feel free to speculate in the comments.

They start out innocuous enough; here's a nice view of the Parking Lot entrance:

Walt would have been apoplectic that these cones were not in a straight line (whatever happened to attention to detail?):

The Cone-Temporary Hotel shot is nicely framed to include the Disneyland Hotel:

For these photos, the Cast Members created a cardboard "Oh Yeah? BITE ME" sign that they then affixed to several signs around the Parking Lot. I can only imagine how many of these photos I don't have:

The Cast Members themselves got into the act, too, of course. I believe the following photos document training for those busy times when human speedbumps were required:

It wasn't all fun and games, though:

And I don't even know what to say about this photo (other than to say that the sign's message was undoubtedly true for some Cast Members):

I'll leave you with a nice Disneyland approach photo:

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

How to Turn DCA Into a Parking Lot

Simple: reverse the arrow of time! But if you want something a bit easier...

I was scanning more of my film-based photos this weekend (from 1996-1998) and noticed that I had taken a few of the pick-up area, just beyond the Monorail Beam from the Disneyland Main Entrance. As I didn't get my driver license until 1998 (at which time I also got a cell phone), I spent quite a bit of time at this area. I realized that it couldn't be too far off from the present location of the Information Station in Disney California Adventure--a location I later worked while in Guest Relations. This got me thinking about how the Resort expansion was laid out over the old Parking Lot. I don't recall ever seeing a graphic showing what ended up where, so I created one myself.

I used the Parking Lot map from a Vintage Disneyland Tickets post as my guide for the names.

I then turned to aerial photographs taken by the United States Geological Survey and the United States Department of Agriculture for my base images. This is a 1995 aerial of the Disneyland Parking Lot:

Sure is a lot of space, isn't it? I then tried to map out the various sections of the Parking Lot:

Some of the boundaries were clear, with the interior roads dividing the sections. Others, particularly the Alice/Bambi divide and the north/south divide of the interior sections, I had to guess at based on pavement shadings. The map from Vintage Disneyland Tickets also includes a Chip section right at the Main Entrance, but from the aerial photo I couldn't figure out where that was located. Any help is welcome.

I then placed a 2009 image from the National Agricultural Imagery Program underneath my graphic, to yield the following composite:

So, now you can amaze your friends with your knowledge of which entities were in which Parking Lot sections. Tower of Terror? Mickey. Cars Land? Sleepy and Tinker Bell. Disney Animation? Happy and Goofy. Silly Symphony Swings? Exit road.

My real reason for wanting to do this is that I have dozens of Parking Lot photos I'd like to match up with current views (when possible, realizing that often there would be no point of reference), but I don't know that I have the enthusiasm to complete this for too many. Still, it was an interesting exercise to trace the evolution of the former Parking Lot sections to the current Second Gate.

Monday, April 11, 2011

On Temporal Reality at Disneyland

If you don't get to Disneyland too often, your sense of the passage of time may be fairly conventional. Sure, Daylight Saving Time will mess with your head twice a year, and leap seconds and leap days crop up as a curiosity (no offense intended to those born on February 29). But at Disneyland, time is elastic in a way that is frankly not possible elsewhere in the universe. Perhaps this is why so many Disneyland obsessives also love the Back to the Future trilogy--anything is possible at Disneyland.

This was brought home to me today while visiting the Resort. The first such instance was at Innoventions (which currently has some reversed traffic pattern I don't fully understand). On the second level is one of three "Fun Phones" installed in late 1999 and early 2000. The phones (the others were outside the Indiana Jones Adventure and in Mickey's Toontown) would play a brief, humorous audio clip when a Guest picked up the phone. The Innoventions one had a hilarious take-off on the Adventure Thru Inner Space spiel ("For centuries, man had but his own two ears. Then he invented the telephone, a mighty ear") voiced by Paul Frees sound-alike Corey Burton. I believe the other phones were taken out before too long; the Innoventions one has been broken for years and years and years. That is, if you live in the real world.

Here's what the Fun Phone looked like on April 11, 2011, probably untouched (including the dusting--is that really so hard?) since they removed the AT&T logo from the cone:

Getting in a little closer:

That's right, we see that this is only a temporary inconvenience. Much like the Carousel Theater was closed for ten years to Imagineer a brand new attraction, or like Light Magic went on a two-year hiatus, or the return of the Rocket Rods is just around the bend, the Fun Phones aren't really gone (although I am sure that sign has been there multiples of time longer than the Fun Phone was originally operational). But the sign doesn't promise a definitive return date.

The Disneyland Hotel, on the other hand, in the midst of a major renovation, has some confusing signs up. Adorning the construction walls are reproductions of a few attraction posters and some signs advertising the changes to come:

Coming Spring 2011! Coming Spring 2012! Coming Soon! It is correct that everything in the top photo (that is, the Monorail slide) should be opening in Spring 2011. But most of what's in the bottom image (the Spring 2012 sign) should be opening in Spring 2011. I guess they are underpromising, but I would certainly be confused if I were a casual visitor. (In fact, I began to question what year it is.)

So, the next time you visit, and Security is trying to usher you out because the Park has "closed," just remind them that at Disneyland the temporal is flexible--and please let me know how that goes for you.