Today marks Innoventions' 12th birthday. Here's the video proof:
I'm a big fan of the Tom Morrow in Innoventions. In 1999 I had too much time on my hands and made a Tom Morrow music video set to "Mr. Roboto":
I even interested the Innoventions Cast Members in it enough that they played it in the "Roots of Knowledge" area. That's right, my video production has been seen at Disneyland!:
(Apologies for the video quality; these are from MPEG files I've had on my computer for the past 10-12 years.)
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A Marquee Experience
Rather than update my blog on a regular basis, I decided to build a time machine and drop you back in that magical time...December 1997. Pieces of the old parking lot were in popular demand for the holidays. "it's a small world," holiday was all the rage. Light Magic was still a fresh memory. Something called the Swiss Family Treehouse was over in Adventureland--anybody know what that became? For some reason, everything just seemed to go by really quickly:
Oh, I forgot to mention that my time machine can get you to 1997, but in the testing phases I'm unable to bring you back. Don't worry, though, the New Tomorrowland's gonna be great!
Oh, I forgot to mention that my time machine can get you to 1997, but in the testing phases I'm unable to bring you back. Don't worry, though, the New Tomorrowland's gonna be great!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Handy Ticket Price Guide
If you thought ticket ranges are confusing now with the two parks and multiple days, be glad you're not visiting 1964 Disneyland. Backstage Disneyland thoughtfully included a handy guide in the April 1965 issue. This should help Tim in his ticket-collecting endeavors:
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A Prophecy Fulfilled
Every joke has a kernel of truth to it; sometimes it just takes thirty years for the truth to become so. From Backstage Disneyland's Winter 1969 issue:
The full spread of "Classic Questions":
The full spread of "Classic Questions":
Sunday, March 21, 2010
A Visit to New England Circle-Vision Scenes
Back in October, I made my first visit to the New England states. I had planned my weeklong excursion to travel widely through the region, but it was only after I had mapped a tentative route that I realized I could squeeze in some Disneyland connections along the way. I'm fond of the Circle-Vision film "America the Beautiful," and two scenes had always stuck in my mind: Rockport, Massachusetts and the Vermont covered bridge. Below is 1/9th of the bridge segment of the 1967 version of "America the Beautiful," as broadcast some years back on the Disney Channel:
Now, Rockport, MA was easy enough to find (see?)--and it only has one harbor. I had some trepidation in finding the bridge. The total information available to me was the narration from the 1976 version ("rustic America in Vermont, where an old covered bridge is still to be found") (which I had to assume to be correct) and visual cues from the video above. I initially hoped that the sign above the bridge's entrance contained the name of the bridge, but the sign was illegible (and, I later learned, didn't name the bridge). No information on the internet or my thesaurus identified this bridge. But knowing that there are other people like me in the world, I figured somebody would have troubled themselves to make lists of covered bridges.
Indeed, I quickly found Dale Travis's Vermont Covered Bridges List, with photos of many of the bridges. Now I had to hope that the Circle-Vision bridge was on the list and had at least one photo with enough contextual information. I opened up every photo link on the page, but in my first pass couldn't identify it. On my second pass, however, I recognized some details on the Mill Bridge page that caused me to perk up. First was the sign; no other bridge had such a sign. The second was more subtle. The background of the Circle-Vision video shows a short waterfall in the distance, with a road in the further distance. The third photo on the Mill Bridge page shows a waterfall. Studying the Google Maps aerial view made me comfortable that all the details matched. You can also drive through the bridge via Google Street View and spin around 360 degrees, which I find very fitting.
I knew where the bridge was, had it programmed in my GPS, and still missed the turnoff--it's that inconspicuous from Vermont State Route 110. The bridge is down below to the left, not visible in this shot from the road:
After circling back, I got down to the bridge and drove through it in "reverse":
I parked down the road so I could investigate on foot:
After walking across it several times, I decided to capture a series of photos that would mimic the main camera from the Circle-Vision film. The approach shows a little more "civilization": the other road (Spring Road) is now paved; there is a guard rail in place; and a sign warns about the bridge's interior height:
The next photo includes the sign I hoped would include the name of the bridge:
Instead, the sign warns
Traveling through the covered bridge:
And the view once through the bridge:
Now, I had loaded the video on my phone, so I could do a comparison (and perhaps be the first person to watch Circle-Vision while at the bridge site itself?). I tried to also document this comparison. The result wasn't great, but the landscapes match unmistakably:
I do have some sad news to report: While the Mill Bridge I visited and documented looks just like that in "America the Beautiful," it is not the original. As you can read about on the Vermont Agency of Transportation's page, an ice jam destroyed that bridge in the spring of 1999. It was replaced in July 2000 by a lookalike bridge.
My second New England Circle-Vision destination was Rockport, which I saw on a glorious fall day. Unfortunately, that scene was filmed from a boat, and I didn't have the time or desire to try to recreate those shots exactly. (Also, there is no Google Boat View from which I could use photos.) The Rockport scene starts with a boat navigating into the harbor past Motif No. 1 (the iconic red building on the right)...
...to glimpse the picturesque harbor:
(And then the film cuts to Mill Bridge, so jump back up to the top of the post!)
Now, Rockport, MA was easy enough to find (see?)--and it only has one harbor. I had some trepidation in finding the bridge. The total information available to me was the narration from the 1976 version ("rustic America in Vermont, where an old covered bridge is still to be found") (which I had to assume to be correct) and visual cues from the video above. I initially hoped that the sign above the bridge's entrance contained the name of the bridge, but the sign was illegible (and, I later learned, didn't name the bridge). No information on the internet or my thesaurus identified this bridge. But knowing that there are other people like me in the world, I figured somebody would have troubled themselves to make lists of covered bridges.
Indeed, I quickly found Dale Travis's Vermont Covered Bridges List, with photos of many of the bridges. Now I had to hope that the Circle-Vision bridge was on the list and had at least one photo with enough contextual information. I opened up every photo link on the page, but in my first pass couldn't identify it. On my second pass, however, I recognized some details on the Mill Bridge page that caused me to perk up. First was the sign; no other bridge had such a sign. The second was more subtle. The background of the Circle-Vision video shows a short waterfall in the distance, with a road in the further distance. The third photo on the Mill Bridge page shows a waterfall. Studying the Google Maps aerial view made me comfortable that all the details matched. You can also drive through the bridge via Google Street View and spin around 360 degrees, which I find very fitting.
I knew where the bridge was, had it programmed in my GPS, and still missed the turnoff--it's that inconspicuous from Vermont State Route 110. The bridge is down below to the left, not visible in this shot from the road:
After circling back, I got down to the bridge and drove through it in "reverse":
I parked down the road so I could investigate on foot:
After walking across it several times, I decided to capture a series of photos that would mimic the main camera from the Circle-Vision film. The approach shows a little more "civilization": the other road (Spring Road) is now paved; there is a guard rail in place; and a sign warns about the bridge's interior height:
The next photo includes the sign I hoped would include the name of the bridge:
Instead, the sign warnsONE DOLLAR FINEI didn't have a horse or other beast, so the local authorities didn't get a chance to shake me down. I also shot the details that helped me to identify the bridge. The waterfall is easy to see, but the road in the distance is now obscured by foliage:
FOR A PERSON TO DRIVE A HORSE
OR OTHER BEAST FASTER THAN
A WALK OR DRIVE MORE THAN ONE
LOADED TEAM AT THE SAME TIME
ON THIS BRIDGE
Traveling through the covered bridge:
And the view once through the bridge:
Now, I had loaded the video on my phone, so I could do a comparison (and perhaps be the first person to watch Circle-Vision while at the bridge site itself?). I tried to also document this comparison. The result wasn't great, but the landscapes match unmistakably:
I do have some sad news to report: While the Mill Bridge I visited and documented looks just like that in "America the Beautiful," it is not the original. As you can read about on the Vermont Agency of Transportation's page, an ice jam destroyed that bridge in the spring of 1999. It was replaced in July 2000 by a lookalike bridge.My second New England Circle-Vision destination was Rockport, which I saw on a glorious fall day. Unfortunately, that scene was filmed from a boat, and I didn't have the time or desire to try to recreate those shots exactly. (Also, there is no Google Boat View from which I could use photos.) The Rockport scene starts with a boat navigating into the harbor past Motif No. 1 (the iconic red building on the right)...
...to glimpse the picturesque harbor:
(And then the film cuts to Mill Bridge, so jump back up to the top of the post!)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Disneyland and the Weather
Yeah, yeah, everybody always talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it. I'm here to change that: I'm putting it in the thesaurus. For some time I had contemplated enhancing my day-by-day history of the Resort with daily weather data, but it seemed a daunting task. Since I just had an eleven-day, weather-induced weekend, I looked into it further and came up with a plan.
In a perfect world, the data I draw on would be an unbroken climate record from 1955 to the present at a station in Disneyland (perhaps in the Central Plaza). The only thermometer I can think of at the Park is at the entrance to Coke Corner, but its unrecorded temperatures mean it's pretty much worthless for my purposes. It would be interesting to know if Disneyland did record climate information; I haven't found anything to suggest that they share it, if they do.
So, the next best solution is to find a nearby climate station whose weather is similar to Disneyland. Luckily, there is indeed such a reporting station: the Santa Ana Fire Station, part of the National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer Program. The Fire Station at 120 West Walnut St., Santa Ana (NWS ID: STAC1) is close to Disneyland (5.5 miles away), about thirty feet lower in elevation (not much), is only about a mile closer to the ocean, and has records dating to the early 20th century.
However, no climate station of any reporting length has perfect records, so I had to search for backup stations for when the Fire Station didn't report data (about 500 days over the course of nearly 55 years). In ranked order in terms of similarity to Disneyland's weather, I chose:
I make no representation that this pastiche is a true climate record for Disneyland, but it's close enough for my purposes. I think the weather information together with Park hours gives color to the daily history. Torrential rains and mid 50s is a lot different than high 70s and no precipitation, right? To show what I've done, let's take a look at a few dates in the summer of 1955. In The "E" Ticket #43 (Fall 2005), Ron Dominguez said, "In August of 1955 we had a terrible heat spell and attendance took a nose-dive. That kind of worried a lot of people." (I think this is also in Randy Bright's Disneyland: Inside Story, among other places.) For eight days, from August 31 to September 7, the high temperature was 97 degrees or higher, with a peak of 108 degrees on September 1. (The reading is among the highest in my Disneyland climate record.) This is what the record looks like for September 1, 1955:
1955-09-01
In a perfect world, the data I draw on would be an unbroken climate record from 1955 to the present at a station in Disneyland (perhaps in the Central Plaza). The only thermometer I can think of at the Park is at the entrance to Coke Corner, but its unrecorded temperatures mean it's pretty much worthless for my purposes. It would be interesting to know if Disneyland did record climate information; I haven't found anything to suggest that they share it, if they do.
So, the next best solution is to find a nearby climate station whose weather is similar to Disneyland. Luckily, there is indeed such a reporting station: the Santa Ana Fire Station, part of the National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer Program. The Fire Station at 120 West Walnut St., Santa Ana (NWS ID: STAC1) is close to Disneyland (5.5 miles away), about thirty feet lower in elevation (not much), is only about a mile closer to the ocean, and has records dating to the early 20th century.
However, no climate station of any reporting length has perfect records, so I had to search for backup stations for when the Fire Station didn't report data (about 500 days over the course of nearly 55 years). In ranked order in terms of similarity to Disneyland's weather, I chose:
- Tustin Irvine Ranch: records until 7/31/2003, when it was replaced by the station named Irvine Ranch. It tended to run a few degrees warmer than the Santa Ana Fire Station during the day and usually more than a few degrees cooler at night. Casual analysis showed it may have received more precipitation, as well. At 235 feet in elevation, it's not too much higher than Disneyland.
- Anaheim: This might seem like a more natural choice for Disneyland, but it only began operation on August 1, 1989. While the station name is Anaheim, it is actually in Atwood, north of CA-91 and east of CA-57; its further inland location means it will generally run warmer than the Santa Ana Fire Station (and Disneyland).
- Irvine Ranch: This station succeeded the Tustin Irvine Ranch station as of 8/1/2003, but is much higher in elevation (540 feet). My assumption is that the old Irvine Ranch station was done in by suburbanization.
I make no representation that this pastiche is a true climate record for Disneyland, but it's close enough for my purposes. I think the weather information together with Park hours gives color to the daily history. Torrential rains and mid 50s is a lot different than high 70s and no precipitation, right? To show what I've done, let's take a look at a few dates in the summer of 1955. In The "E" Ticket #43 (Fall 2005), Ron Dominguez said, "In August of 1955 we had a terrible heat spell and attendance took a nose-dive. That kind of worried a lot of people." (I think this is also in Randy Bright's Disneyland: Inside Story, among other places.) For eight days, from August 31 to September 7, the high temperature was 97 degrees or higher, with a peak of 108 degrees on September 1. (The reading is among the highest in my Disneyland climate record.) This is what the record looks like for September 1, 1955:
1955-09-01
- DATE: 0901d September 1
- DAY: THU Thursday
- DLHR: 1022 10 AM - 10 PM
- DLHRNOTE: 10 AM - 10 PM
- ETY: DATE Date
- PRECIP: PRECIP-NO Day without Precipitation
- TEMPMAX: 108°F(h) 108°F
- TEMPMEAN: 89.5°F(m) 89.5°F
- TEMPMIN: 71°F(l) 71°F
- WX: Santa Ana Fire Station (STAC1): Obs Hour Temp: 6PM / High Temp: 108°F / Low Temp: 71°F / Mean Temp: 89.5°F
Obs Hour Precip: 6PM / Precip: 0 in.
CDD: 24.5 / HDD: 0 / GDD: 39.5
Tustin Irvine Ranch (TVEC1): Obs Hour Temp: 6PM / High Temp: 110°F / Low Temp: 66°F / Mean Temp: 88°F
Obs Hour Precip: 6PM / Precip: 0 in.
CDD: 23 / HDD: 0 / GDD: 38 - BT: 1955-09
Monday, January 11, 2010
President Nixon's 1971 Gold Pass
I've blogged about the Richard Nixon-Disneyland connections before. Today, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum (a part of the National Archives and Records Administration) is releasing additional Presidential materials (read a description). While the Library is releasing many documents of tremendous historical importance, I was also given permission to process the Disney Alphabetical Name File. The Alphabetical Name Files was a group of materials maintained by the White House Central Files, which was mainly a cross-filing of materials by the names of people and organizations. The Name Files do have some original materials as well. Walt had, of course, passed away before Nixon became President, but the Disney file contains correspondence from other Americans named Disney, as well as correspondence with members of Walt Disney Productions, such as Roy Disney and Bob Jani.
Also in the file is the President's 1971 Disneyland Gold Pass, as seen below. It was sent to the White House attached to cardstock...
...and came with brief instructions on the benefits it conferred:
For Vintage Disneyland Tickets, a close-up of the front of the pass:
Without a pressing preservation or exhibition concern, I wasn't going to remove the tape which secured the pass in place, so I do not have a scan of the back.
Elsewhere in the files I have seen evidence of the Nixon having received a 1969 pass, and in another as yet unprocessed file we have his 1970 pass. I have not found any later passes, which leads me to wonder if Nixon received these more because of his relationship with Walt and Roy than because of his position as President. (After all, the President would undoubtedly be able to visit Disneyland for free!)
Also in the file is the President's 1971 Disneyland Gold Pass, as seen below. It was sent to the White House attached to cardstock...
...and came with brief instructions on the benefits it conferred:
For Vintage Disneyland Tickets, a close-up of the front of the pass:
Without a pressing preservation or exhibition concern, I wasn't going to remove the tape which secured the pass in place, so I do not have a scan of the back.Elsewhere in the files I have seen evidence of the Nixon having received a 1969 pass, and in another as yet unprocessed file we have his 1970 pass. I have not found any later passes, which leads me to wonder if Nixon received these more because of his relationship with Walt and Roy than because of his position as President. (After all, the President would undoubtedly be able to visit Disneyland for free!)
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