Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Thesaurus Term of the Day: Enos, Debbie

Enos, Debbie
Added: February 20, 2009

Imagineer; in Financial Systems in the early 1990s and later at the Disneyland Design Studio (the Imagineering office on site at Disneyland, Backstage on the west side of the Park).

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Thesaurus Term of the Day: Travis, Jill

(Apologies for the absence of the daily terms over the weekend. I was (time) traveling.)

Travis, Jill
Added: March 2, 2009

Recipient of a November 1995 Disneyland Resort Excellence Award (alas, I do not know the details) and in Information Services as of February 2001.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

How to Turn a Disneyland Attraction Into a Cocktail Spear

Like many of you, I'm sure, I have a certain reverence for parts of Disneyland that were around in Walt's time, and especially things from the 1950s when the Park was still so new and trying to figure out what what work and what wouldn't. The Monorail is a classic example of the innovation and risk-taking the WED designers pursued at Walt's direction.

Last July I hosted a party for Bob Gurr, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his first gin martini (which has become something of a daily tradition for him). (Go back to this post to see Bob mixing my first Gurrtini, on May 26, 2010.)

When Bob was telling me the recipe for his Gurrtini, he mentioned that the cocktail spears he uses at home were stolen from the opening of Tokyo Disneyland. A while later, he said they could also be crafted from a Mark I Monorail panel. I found this a bit humorous, and then put it out of mind.

A few days before this gathering, Bob sent me four photos, equally horrifying and fascinating, showing how a 1950s Disneyland attraction vehicle could be fashioned into a cocktail spear. The first is a panel from Mark I Monorail Blue, which debuted July 3, 1959, with cutting shears prominently displayed:

I showed these photos to Mike Cozart on the day I got them, without first explaining the situation. His first reaction was, "Wait, why are there cutting shears on the Monorail panel?"

The second image showed the cutting in action:

The third image captures, against a very distinctive backdrop, the three cocktails spears this endeavor produced:

And the fourth showed the functional spears, as they were delivered to me on July 9, 2011:

It should be noted that these 2024-T4 aluminum cocktail spears pose no threat to public health, as I have yet to be killed by a Gurrtini prepared with them. Mike and Bob--the only two others to have had Monorail Gurrtinis--are, as of this writing, also still in good health. I also want to mention that at the party, Bob was telling people that I had suggested cutting up a piece of 1950s Disneyland to make these, and that was certainly not the case. But a Disney Legend is free to cut up his own designs and mementos of the Park.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Thesaurus Term of the Day: Delgado, Rick

Delgado, Rick
Added: April 4, 2009

From the June 1993 telephone directory, Rick worked in General Services at Imagineering. At Disneyland in the olden days, General Services handled things like the Warehouse, Costuming, Communications, Security, and other administrative functions. I don't know what Imagineering General Services did, or if that term is in use at modern Imagineering.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Thesaurus Term of the Day: Allen, L. B.

Allen, L. B.
Added: October 28, 2008

Several Disneyland Lines from the early 1970s identify L. B. Allen (alias Leonard Allen) as a carpenter in the Mill department. Leonard probably worked with a lot of oldtimers.