Monthly Archives: October 2012
Once Upon A Time-“The Doctor”
Oct 31
Happy Halloween everyone. Josh is taking the night off from writing for some much needed rest but Keith has a brand new video for you instead. A very scary and gothic version of Once Upon A Time made the whole Lapinig crew scream with fright. Enjoy the latest video and we will be back on Sunday with another radio show!
Sneak-Peek-Sunday: Limited Time Magic
Oct 28
It seems to have become a tradition around the latter months of the year. The Disney Company announces a new type of celebration for the Disney Parks. Sometimes the celebrations are for monumental achievements like Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, sometimes it’s just for fun, like this year’s One More Disney Day event. Regardless of what the celebration is for, we all should understand that Disney usually gives us plenty of time to prep and plan our vacations for the year…well, except this coming year.
Disney announced a 12 month celebration starting in January titled Limited Time Magic. For anyone unclear with the concept, Limited Time Magic refers to doing smaller celebrations or events one week at a time. Different themes each and every week will take over the parks, allowing repeat guests or annual passholders the chance to participate in something new which I really like. On the flip side of this, guests who don’t frequent the parks as much but would like to take part in the special event won’t really know what event is happening until the week they are there. At least, thats what came across through the announcement made earlier this month.
On Oct. 17th a three story ice castle was erected in Times Square in New York City for the announcement of Limited Time Magic. The castle, obviously melting, will only be available to see in Times Square for a limited time so it fit into the announcment perfectly. As far as what we can look forward to in the coming year is still up in the air. There are obvious weekly celebrations around Valentine’s Day like “True Love” week or around July 4th with “Independence” week, but other ideas thrown out were not so clear. “Pirate” week and “Long Lost Friends” week were announced but weren’t given clear dates. That spells trouble for guests looking to get a phot taken with Clarabelle Cow during “Long Lost Friends” week. How will we know when to book these vacations or should we just go along for the ride?
Truly I am playing devil’s advocate here. The celebrations, although interesting concepts, may not even effect those who are at the parks for the first time or not knowing about the celebration. These events seem large enough to please the annual passholders and locals, but don’t seem to intrude on those who just want to enjoy the parks as they are any other time. Will park guests pick up on whats happening? Most likely so, but will they wish they picked a different time to come to Disneyland or Walt Disney World? Probably not.
I do hope that Disney does deliver a schedule well in advance for these weekend celebrations, giving us a clear view and choice of what we can choose to see from this coming year’s celebration!
Josh Taylor
Follow Me on Twitter:
Email Me:
Once Upon A Time-“The Crocodile”
Oct 27
An episode lacking in main characters like Mary Margaret and Emma, but an episode focused on the relationship between Belle and Mr. Gold as well as the introduction of Captain Hook. What will Keith and family have to say this week. Check out the latest Once Upon A Time video and find out.
Follow Keith on Twitter:
www.keithlaping.com
The Train of the Future…(for a little while)
Oct 24
Ever heard of the Disneyland Viewliner?….No? Many people haven’t. It is priveleged to be the attraction at Disneyland that lasted the least amount of time at the park. The Fantasyland and Tomorrowland areas of Disneyland had lots of new attractions under construction in the late 1950’s and the Viewliner was one of those many attractions. So what is the Viewliner exactly and why did it leave the park so quickly?
The Disneyland Viewliner opened on June 26th, 1957 as an attraction that spanned both Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. The Viewliner was created by Imagineering legend Bob Gurr and was nicknamed “the fastest miniature train in the world” and “the train of the future”. The attraction was going to be so popular that two trains were built for two seperate tracks. The trains themselves were designed to look similar to General Motor’s Aerotrain. The tracks were set alongside the Disneyland railroad, intended to show the future and past of the locomotive industry.
The two different trains were distinct and seperated according to their home. The “Fantasyland” train was painted blue and each car was named after a different Disney animated character. The “Tomorrowland” train was red and each car was named after a different planet. There are several videos of the red train riding on it’s track, including a video of Walt Disney himself at the helm.
Unlike many of the attractions at Disneyland, past or present, the Disneyland Viewliner did not have a sponsor hosting the attraction. Instead, imagineers built the attraction with money made by the company in the machine shop at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Despite the lack of sponsorship, that is not the reasoning for the attractions ultimate demise.
Walt Disney was always a man to be looking toward the future and for the next great invention. Unfortunately for the Viewliner, Walt came up with the Monorail. The track area used for the Viewliner was seen as the perfect fit for Walt’s new futuristic form of transportation and the Viewliner gave it’s last ride on September 15th, 1958. that puts it’s time of operation just short of 14 months at the park. Construction quickly began and the Disneyland ALWEG Monorail System opened in June of 1959.
For many years the old Viewliner trains sat in a storage shed in the backstage area of Disneyland, but by the 1970s, imagineers came to understand that there was no longer a use for the trains at the park and the Monorail was there to stay. The trains were then cut up, used as scraps, and sent to junkyards. Will we ever see another attraction like this? Most likely not. With the Monorail still being the standard for Disneyland’s futuristic transportation, and the possibilities of the Wedway People Mover either coming back to Disneyland, or finally being long forgotten in a future refurbishment of Tomorrowland, the need for another mode of transportation in or out of Tomorrowland doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s list of priorities. The Viewliner will still live on in pictures and videos, but that seems to be the only way we will ever see the Viewliner again.
Josh Taylor
Follow Me on Twitter:
Email Me:
Modern Mouse Radio #4: A Disney Halloween
Oct 22
Back with another episode of Modern Mouse Radio. It’s a special Halloween episode.
To listen to the podcast, click the player below:
Topics we discuss include:
-Halloween at the parks
-Classic Halloween films, television, and cartoon shorts
-New Fantasyland soft openings
-Once Upon A Time
-Plus Much More
Email Us:
Follow Josh on Twitter:
Follow Keith on Twitther:
Once Upon A Time-“Lady of the Lake”
Oct 20
Well crew, Keith is back and he has a new video for you to check out. It’s just in time to remind you of the next episode of Once Upon a Time which is on tomorrow (Sunday) night on ABC. Enjoy the latest:
Follow Keith on Twitter:
www.keithlapinig.com
The World That Never Was: Dragon Tower
Oct 17
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. Its a chance to be terrified by haunted houses, scary movies, or seeing your grandmother without her makeup on. So when I get a chance like this to talk about Disney during Halloween, my mind immediately heads towards something a bit scary and height restrictions are usually required. (Sorry Lou Mongello!) This year for Halloween, I’ve decided to focus in on one of the familiar lost areas of Animal Kingdom, but the not so familiar details of one particular attraction. I’m talking about Dragon Tower.
Dragon Tower was to be part of Animal Kingdom’s lost land, Beastly Kingdom. Due to budget cuts, Beastly Kingdom was put on the shelf and planned for phase two of Walt Disney World’s fourth gate. Unfortunately, phase two eventually got nixed as well and efforts were put into other parts of the park. Despite all of that, the plans for Dragon Tower were exciting and a bit scary so it’s legacy will be carried on like a myth through articles like this.
So, if Dragon Tower was to be built, what would it look like? Picture a black or grey looming building towering just beyond lush green land. As guests travel towards the building, they’ll notice it seems to be crumbling and barely standing on its own. This dark castle would have a courtyard before it where guests would enter into the queue. All around the outside of the castle would be leftover armor and weaponry from brave warriors who had lost to the dragon. Upon entering the castle walls, through a hole not a door might I add, you would find a dark cavernous area filled with cobwebs and left over items. (Think of this being similar to the entrance of the Hollywood Hotel at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.) As guests walk the queue, they start to hear whispers from above them. Getting closer to the end of the queue, guests would discover a group of bats. The bats would lend a cartoonish-lighter note to the foreboding environment.
The bats lend a hand at telling the story of the Dragon Tower. They will also update guests on what this attraction will be, telling them that they will be boarding cauldrons that are carried by their bat friends as they search for treasure through the castle. Passing by the bats, boarding begins as guests climb into their cauldrons, which are a suspended roller coaster, what would have been a first for a U.S. Disney theme park. After leaving the boarding area, guests make their way through the grand banquet hall and the throne room before beginning the race out onto the track.
As guests begin to race faster aboard the coaster, they are greeted by bats cheering them on through the halls and caverns of the castle. After racing past several bat friends, guests enter the treasure room with a thirty foot sleeping audio-animatronic dragon. The dragon awakens and bursts out a real flame of fire warning the guests off. The coaster picks up speed and bursts out of the castle walls and dives down towards the forest area outside. Guests would loop through forest and head back into the castle where they make their final stop with the bats thanking them for their help.
This sounds like an adventurous scary attraction. From beginning to end, the theme was well thought out, giving a dark tone to an attraction, while still keeping it upbeat thanks to the humorous bat characters and the opportunity to “find treasure” with them. A possible bonus with this attraction was the request by the general public to have more thrilling rides for older children and adults. This attraction would have delivered that in spades. Despite not getting Dragon Tower or Beastly Kingdom as a whole, the park did luckily receive it’s E-ticket roller coaster in Expedition Everest in 2006. Is Expedition Everest as dark and looming as Dragon Tower? Not really, but I personally think that is a good thing. Taking something so dark to a family friendly resort could have been a turn off and in the end, Expedition Everest is more than likely the better and more popular choice.
Josh Taylor
Follow Me on Twitter:
Email Me:
Sneak-Peek-Sunday: Journey of the Little Mermaid
Oct 14
Since losing Snow White’s Scary Adventure, the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland has been down one dark ride. With the soft opening of the New Fantasyland, we get back a dark ride in the form of another princess fairy tale, Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid. Disney’s California Adventure saw the opening of a similar dark ride last summer in it’s Paradise Pier section. Now it’s time for Florida to gain their version of the Little Mermaid attraction and in a much bigger way.
New Fantasyland was announced in 2009 and the only dark ride announced at the time was an attraction based on The Little Mermaid film. Artwork showed an outdoor area similar to a Mediterranean feel and that is exactly what we have. As you cross from the castle walls into the Fantasyland Forest, you’ll be invited into several regions, one being this Mediterranean type area where Prince Eric’s castle lies. Mixed with waterfalls, flowing rivers, and ship wreckage (adorned with Ariel herself), the area seems overpowered with theming, which is what we all really wanted after all. Just beyond the ship wreckage is the queue where you weave through tropical areas and waterfalls before entering into a cave. The cave represents where Ariel keeps all of the human things she has collected and looks exactly like the background from the “Part of Your World” sequence.
While inside the queue, Disney Imagineers have worked in a game for guests to play while waiting. It’s called Scuttle’s Scavenger Hunt. Guests making their way to the main attraction will be able to point at certain objects within the cave, and animated blue crabs on mirrors will retrieve those items for you. Along with signs written by Ariel and an audio-animatronic figure of Scuttle, clues are given to find the items needed. This looks like a good way to waste time, especially in the opening months when this attraction is sure to have a long wait. I prefer this type of orderly game playing over the Dumbo pager system anyday. It seems less hectic for both guests and cast members and can easily help time fly by faster.
The attraction itself is a major upgrade to the dark rides of the past in Fantasyland. The basics of the attraction are still the same as you enter your “Clam-mobile” and take a slow ride through the story of The Little Mermaid. However, many special effects and additions have made this ride exceptional. If you have been on Califonia Adventure’s version, you know what to expect. As you enter your ride vehicle, you are “tossed under water” using projections onto the backs of the vehicles in front of you. Looking up, you can see Ariel and Flounder on a larger screen swimming.
From here on, the attraction takes you through most of the major scenes of the film, including all of the musical numbers. The audio-animatronics are impressive in their movement, especially when you consider the idea that these characters are under water and the movement of hair, particularly Ariel’s has to be accurate to keep the effect flowing throughout the entire ride through. The addition of several screen projections, allowing “magic” to happen to the characters is what is a very large upgrade to the dark ride experience.
After the attraction, another new area will allow you to head into Ariel’s Grotto to meet the Disney Princess. Unlike the previous grotto in Fantasyland, this seems quite a bit bigger and adds more elements of atmosphere that the previous outing. It is a can’t miss if you have a little girl in your party or are just a big fan of the film.
All in all, the attraction looks great, and the experience from the outside of the queue all the way through the exit is astonishing. The details do bring you into the story and the Imagineering involved in the process has really paid off with a wonderful attraction, interactive queue, and sub-land that not only brings this tale to life, but allows guests to become a part of it. Like the new additions over at Disney’s California Adventure, New Fantasyland is really becoming a highlight of what could be Disney Parks’ future. The new technologies, the attention to details in these lands, and the belief that it is still all about the story are all items present in the new areas of Disney Parks. Keep it up Disney Imagineers!!!
Were you there for the sneak preview of New Fantasyland or have you seen pictures and video? What are your thoughts on New Fantasyland and Journey of the Little Mermaid? Leave your thoughts and comments below!
Josh Taylor
Follow Me on Twitter:
Email Me:
Once Upon A Time-“We Are Both”
Oct 12
Keith is back with the second of his series in Once Upon A Time videos. We hope you love these videos. Be aware that there was no post this week from Josh since he had some catering events. There will be a Sneak-Peek-Sunday this coming weekend and will be back next week with more videos, podcasts, and posts as usual:
Follow Keith on TWitter:
http://www.keithlapinig.com
Modern Mouse Radio #3: History of Live Action Films
Oct 8
Keith and I have returned with episode number three of Modern Mouse Radio. We delve a bit deeper this week and did some research, looking into the history of the company. Here is the better than ever, always improving, third installment of our show.
To Listen to the episode, click the player below.
Topics discussed include:
-The Importance and History of Live Action Films
-Keith and Josh’s Lack of Seeing Such Films
-Epcot’s 30th Anniversary
-The “Lone Ranger” Trailer
-The Art of Animation Resort
-Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
To see other episodes, subscribe, etc…
www.disneyparkhistory.podomatic.com
Email Us:
Follow Josh on Twitter:
Follow Keith on Twitther:
http://www.keithlapinig.com
http://www.disneyparkhistory.wordpress.com