Notable Walt Quotes

"I've never believed in doing sequels. I didn't want to waste time I have doing a sequel; I'd rather be using that time doing something new and different. It goes back to when they wanted me to do more pigs."

The 2007 International Pow Wow

Sometimes there is nothing more fun then digging into the boxes of stuff that I have collected over the years. Such inspiration. For example, somebody asked me once what was the most unusual event I ever attended at Disneyland. For me it had to be the 2007 International Pow Wow.

The International Pow Wow is a huge event put on the U.S. Travel Association. This event is described as the “premier international marketplace and the largest generator of Visit USA travel.” Representatives from more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations meet with more than 1,500 buyers from more than 70 countries. The Pow Wows have been taking place since 1969 but this was the first time it was held in Anaheim. That is because it was Disney executive Jay Rasulo was the President of the organization that year and he wanted to show off the resort.

The conference took place at the Anaheim Convention Center and the opening night event took over the entire west side of Disneyland. It was a cold and drizzly night on April 22, 2007. According to Jason’s Disneyland Almanac, Disneyland closed at 4:00 pm in order for them to prepare for the event. The attendance was limited to less then 4,000 people. I can’t imagine what the food and beverage bill was but it must have been huge.

Disneyland put on quite a show for the opening night party. We had access to an exclusive party in three lands: Frontierland, Adventureland, and New Orleans Square. All of the attractions were opened and plussed just for the event. For example, when I went to the Haunted Mansion I was the only guest in the stretching room and throughout the attraction, ghostly butlers silently moved along the edges. It was very surreal and still haunts me to this day.

Guests walked down a deserted Main Street toward the Frontierland arcade. Once through the gates we were greeted by dozens of servers handing us glowing drinks, those obnoxious lighted necklaces, and a small treat. Billy Hill and the Hillbillies were kicked out of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon to a stage out front. Not a big crowd. It was drizzling. There was myself plus a couple of travel agents from Japan in the audience. The band kept commenting about the real alcohol that was being served in the Saloon. It was sort of the adult version of a Billy’s show and that is something quite special.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was open and the banks of the Rivers of America were lined with tents that featured an unlimited quantity of food and drink. The menu for each of the lands was chosen to reflect the culture being projected upon the environment. Frontierland featured Grilled Beef Short Ribs with Smoked Chipotle BBQ Glaze, Thunder Ranch Prime Rib Chili and Miniature Corn Muffins, and Mini-Blue Corn Chicken Tamales with Mole Sauce. Dessert consisted of a selection of Fruit Empanadas, Tia Maria Shooters and Miniature S’Mores Pies.

Over in Adventureland they turned Aladdin’s Oasis into a very comfortable club and café. A wandering band provided the area entertainment. The Jungle Cruise and Indiana Jones Adventure were open. Only the best skippers were allowed so it was like a floating comedy club. As you would imagine, the food was a bit more exotic with Pankot Palace Lamb & Beef Souvlaki Served Rotisserie Style with Fresh Naan Bread and Tzatziki Sauce, Shankara Ostrich Spear Grilled on a Sugar Cane Skewer with Chili Anise Glaze, and Mola Rama Grilled Lobster Tail Served with Thai Tamarind Sauce. One had to try the Chocolate Fountain with Exotic Fruits, Macaroons and Hand-Dipped Berries.

One of my favorite moments was the visit to the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square. Pirates of the Caribbean was open as well as The Disney Gallery. What a view from the Gallery balcony. Am I the only one who really misses this space? Raise your hand if you do as well. The Dixieland band sounded sweet, which help to balance the bitter that came with the “Blue Bayou Karaoke.” Think drunk international guests entertaining each other with the Disney hits. The food was a whole other thing. They served Crayfish Fritters with Cajun Remoulade, Louisiana Blue Crab Cakes with Fire Roasted Garlic Aioli, and Po’ Boil Shrimp with Spiced Bourbon Barbeque Sauce. You finished this off with Bananas Foster Flambe with Pound Cake, Southern Peach Crisp, and miniature Key Lime, Pecan & Sweet Potato Pies.

At 9:30 pm, guests were invited to stand in the hub for a private fireworks show. Of course, we were loaded down with drinks and food. There have been many special private events at Disneyland over the years. What was one of your favorites?

[Sam has] captured much of the attitude and events of the times and hits on much of Walt's drive and inspiration. [His] research into materials and people who were important in one way or another is exemplary. The notes from Buzz Price, John Hench, and Marvin Davis for example...the apparent influence of Victor Gruen's theories...a relationship that developed with James Rouse - all insightful. It is clear, well researched, useful, and thoughtful to anyone studying urban planning.

Disney Legend Marty Sklar

A Walk Through the Walt Disney Family Museum

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM

Fans of Walt Disney had two destinations where they could get closer to the magic– Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Now there is a third - The Walt Disney Family Museum (WDFM) in San Francisco.

The WDFM opened to critical acclaim on October 1, 2009. The museum is located in the historic Presidio near the Golden Gate Bridge. The former military base has been around for over 220 years and guards one of the most beautiful spots on earth. The architects for this imaginative award-winning project, Page & Turnbull, reimagined one of five identical Army barracks built in the 1890s that flanked the parade grounds. The refurbishment of the building was done with great care, elegant but not pretentious, much like the man. In addition to the museum are a gift store, small café, and a movie theater. Additional display and conference space and the administrative offices are located in separate buildings. You can take public transportation or park out front on the former parade grounds.

You enter the museum through a large lobby with plenty of seating to gather your party. Along the walls are some of the 900 awards given to Walt Disney including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964). On display are some of the thirty-two Academy Awards® given to Walt including the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs statue with one large Oscar and the seven miniatures. The furniture from the family apartment above the fire station at Disneyland is also on display.

The museum is organized around ten galleries that take you chronologically through Walt Disney’s professional and personal life. In each gallery we hear Walt’s own voice telling us his story. Researchers have clipped from hours of interviews to find relevant material that support the graphic displays.

We start with Walt’s “Beginnings” in Gallery 1. There is the Disney family tree; his memories of his boyhood home in Marceline, Missouri, and his earliest artworks. A reproduction of the ambulance Walt drove in Europe during the end of World War I is on display and a reminder that this experience fueled his ambitions and when he returned to Kansas City he partnered with Ub Iwerks to form Laugh-O-Gram. After learning about the early history of animation, including books by Eadweard Muybridge and animated cartoons by E.G. Lutz, you move to the next chapter in Walt’s young life.

It is this elevator ride to the second floor galleries that provides an early, emotionally powerful moment. The elevator is dressed as the interior of a railroad passenger coach on the way to Los Angeles from Kansas City. Walt’s company went bankrupt and we hear him talk about the need for a good hard failure when you are young. But he would not be stopped and was motivated to move to Hollywood with $40, a “coat and a pair of trousers that didn’t match,” and his 1923 film Alice’s Wonderland.

The elevator doors open to Gallery 2 and you enter “Hollywood” from 1923 to 1928. Walt moved Los Angeles, founded the Disney Brothers Studio, got married, and tasted his first drink of success with the Alice shorts and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The Oswald series was successful but it was the loss of the character to his distributor that taught Walt and Roy many lessons. The fateful telegram from Walt to Roy telling him DON'T WORRY EVERYTHING OK WILL GIVE DETAILS WHEN ARRIVE is on display. Talk about the ultimate optimist. Most men would have been crushed. Walt became inspired.

These events led to the creation of Mickey Mouse. From this point forward, Walt would always be in control of his intellectual properties, which has been at the core of the Disney organization success. The gallery features the earliest documented drawing of the future superstar and corporate symbol. Along one wall is a cell-by-cell reproduction of a scene in Steamboat Willie. Also included is Walt and Lillian’s wedding certificate and the beginning of the great love shared between them.

Walt was exploring “new horizons in the 1930s” with the success of Mickey Mouse. Mickey was quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s brightest stars (just look at the display with all of his merchandise) and the Disney roster kept growing with the addition of characters that display true personality such as Minnie, Pluto, Goofy (aka Dippity Dog), and Donald.

The gallery explores the world of the Silly Symphony series. Walt would use these new cartoons to expand the vocabulary of the art, experiment with the nature of color, and depth. Many of the artists who made this magic possible are featured. One powerful exhibit is the side-by-side comparison of two versions of The Ugly Duckling, one from 1931 and the other from 1939. This is also the time when Walt was blessed with two new daughters, Sharon and Diane.

The focus of Gallery 4 is the “Move to Features” with the box-office smash Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a defining moment in Walt’s life and career. Walt suggested that when you are going to take a risk, go big and do it right. If the film was going to be a failure it needed to be a spectacular one. Everything about the concept and production of the film is detailed.

The success of Snow White allowed Walt to design and build the ultimate animation studio in Burbank and he said now, “We were in a new business.” Gallery 5 takes a close look at the studio facilities as well as the production of Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi. There is an original animation desk as well as one of the original multi-plane cameras, which allowed for added depth and reality.

But not everything would be golden. After such incredible success, Gallery 6 tells the story of “the toughest period of my whole life.” Walt was dealt the double blow of his animators going on strike and World War II. He did adapt and the studio turned to help the war effort by producing the most incredible training films. There were also bright spots including Dumbo and the “El Grupo” expedition to South America that gave birth to The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos.

Gallery 7 is focused on the “Postwar Production” period. This was one of the most productive times at the studio. The gallery is filled with innovative interactive technology and multimedia displays. The upper perimeter is wrapped in a wavy video screen. There are video stations with “bubbles” projected on a desk-like panel that you touch to manipulate. Tap a bubble and it expands and an image is projected on a screen in front of you. Fans of Mary Blair and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea will find much to enjoy.

One of the most dramatic architectural moments comes when you enter Gallery 8 “Walt and the Natural World.” As I stated earlier, the museum is contained within the old Army barracks building. However, Gallery 8 and 9 are part of a new 20,000 square foot addition. As you enter the gallery the familiar globe from the True-Life Adventure series greets you. Along one wall are televisions playing clips from the series. On the other wall is a floor-to-ceiling glass window with one of the most spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge you will find anywhere.

For me, the highlight of the museum is Gallery 9; “The 1950s and 1960s: the big screen and beyond.” The gallery contains a long ramp that leads from the second floor to the ground floor. Along the way you see the building blocks that led to the creation of Disneyland. It begins with Walt’s backyard railroad with the original Lilly Belle model steam locomotive on display. His fascination with miniatures is highlighted. His early involvement with television is also on display including Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club, the Man In Space series, and Davy Crockett.

However, the real highlight is at the bottom of the ramp. Here you will find the model of the Disneyland that never was and always will be. It contains virtually every idea Walt had for the park including existing attractions, extinct attractions, and the ones that never got off the drawing board. The model is rich in details and many of the elements are animated. It is packed with eye candy including John Hench’s original concept for Space Mountain, the 1967 version of Tomorrowland, and the Conestoga wagons riding over the berm in an expanded Frontierland.

The gallery goes beyond Disney with displays for Sleeping Beauty, The Shaggy Dog, Toby Tyler, Old Yeller, Darby O’Gill, Mary Poppins, the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, and the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair featuring models, sketches, and artifacts. The EPCOT display was very special to me. During this period, Walt’s family also grew with two sons-in-law and seven grandchildren.

For many, making it through Gallery 10 entitled “December 15, 1966” is going to be tough. We begin with Walt talking about his final project – the Mineral King Ski resort high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. He looks old and tired in the press conference video. Nearby are personal objects that were collected by his children and grandchildren.

In the next room is a television playing the announcement of his death while the adjoining walls are plastered with editorial cartoons covering the event. Just about the time you bring out the tissues you enter the final room; a brilliant white chamber with video screens displaying all of the things Walt accomplished with quotes from those who knew him best.

The entire museum is a fitting tribute to the most influential entertainer of the 20^th Century and a must do for any Disney fan.

Merry Christmas

Eyvind Earle #4

Eyvind Earle #3

Eyvind Earle #2

Eyvind Earle #1

The Table Phones at the Brown Derby

Whenever I am at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I always like to take a peek inside of the Brown Derby. If nothing else, the restaurant has great bathrooms. But I like the dining room and like dining there even more.

Like any Hollywood diva (well Pasadena but it is close), I have my traditions and want just what I want the way I want it. This is Hollywood, right? I insist on sitting in a booth, preferably one of those in a corner. Sing my chaueffer is driving (the bus) I feel comfortable cruising through the wine list. And I must finish off the meal with that healthy California treat – a slice of Grapefruit Cake. It can’t be fattening because it is made with Grapefruit, right? Must remember the camera adds 10 pounds.

When most people think of the Brown Derby in Hollywood they think of a building that was shaped like a, well, big brown derby hat. That restaurant opened in 1926 and was located on Wilshire Boulevard. The one inside of the park is modeled after a second restaurant that opened in 1929 and was near the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

Covering virtually all of the walls of the dining room are portraits of famous Hollywood celebrities. The portraits were part of a grand bargain between an artist named Vitch and owner Bob Cobb. When Cobb wanted to add somebody to his “Wall of Fame” he would commission Vitch to draw a caricature and trade him for a meal. The tradition continued with other noted artists such as Zel, Pancho, and Jack Lane.

Along with everything else, there is one cool little fantasy I like to play when I dine at the Derby. Just like today, there are times when somebody that is as important as I am is desperately wanted on the telephone. Since cellphones did not exist back in the day, it would be inconsistent to pull the phone out of my pocket. The Brown Derby has a solution. If you are sitting at a booth notice the little telephone jacks. Your server can bring you a rotary telephone. This meant it had a dial where you stuck one finger inside of the dial and turned it all the way to the stopper. If the number had a lot of zeros you just grinned and bared it. Like today, time is money and if you can combine a bit of business with your meal all the better. More importantly, in those days talking on the phone while eating was very rare and meant you must be doing something very, very important for the server to walk all that way and plug in the phone. Just ask your server and you may get to talk with a celebrity. Of course, I was talking with my agent at the time…

Panorama: Main Street USA

Samlandica III

Every now and again I find a bunch of stories that are fun to retell yet don’t really add up to a full column on their own. The brilliant minds that run this site came up with a clever solution they call the Encyclopedia Samlandica. Today I present the third installment of this endless series of random thoughts. As always, I enjoy hearing what you think.

READ MORE AT MICECHAT

Notable Walt Quotes

"When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, 'But why do you want to build an amusement park? They're so dirty.' I told her that was just the point - mine wouldn't be."

Book Review: The Dark Side of Disney

THE DARK SIDE OF DISNEY

Leonard Kinsey

172 Pages

2011

$2.99 Kindle

$14.95 paperback

Winner of the most provocative Disney book cover ever – a topless tattooed young woman wearing only unzipped short shorts and Mickey ears with an anarchy symbol smoking something while holding a large liquor bottle. Kinsey promises an “Utterly Unauthorized Tips, Tricks & Scams for your WDW vacation” by being “The anarchist cookbook of Disney travel guides.” The book promises to show you “the best places in the parks to have sex, do drugs, and see a gritty rock show, complete with women throwing their underwear on the stage.” Right up front the author wants to remind us that he really does love Disney. The author visited WDW more then a hundred times as a boy and he still goes back every year. However, if you are into the light and happy family escape that is Disney you may want to steer clear of this book.

Some of the tricks are a bit odd and something you probably never thought about. You learn how to scam a day pass for the VIP lounges at the airport, how to buy DVC points really cheap, how to sneak into the parks through non-public entrances, the perils of timeshare presentations, how to cut in lines, and where to buy drugs or to have public sex (including photos of his choice locations).

Some of the advice is just stuff you would find anywhere else. He is not thrilled with the Dining Plan, tells you how to eat cheap by splitting food or making a salad from the Pecos Bills toppings bar, recommends Giordano’s off property for pizza, laments on how the stuff in the stores is all the same, and how to do a proper monorail pub crawl. He even slams Winnie the Pooh for having a fetish for honey.

He also details other hazards such as bed bugs, bacteria or alligators.

The book is a breezy romp through the resort that promise much debauchery but delivers very little. His advice is public sex will get you in trouble. Buying drugs will get you in trouble. Using improper tickets will get you in trouble. And sneaking down into the Utilidors used to be fun but will now get you in trouble. As an e-book it is really cheap and a fun read but don’t get your hopes up too high.

I purchased this e-book on Amazon.

Panorama: Fantasyland

Disney's Hollywood Studios Arrival Experience

I have always been fascinated by Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS). The idea for this park was hatched in 1985, and for the first time, a Disney theme park of limited scale was intentionally opened to the public. The park was intended to be a model of controlled growth in reaction to anticipated demand.

READ MORE AT MICECHAT

Firehouse 5 + 2 play Jingle Bells

Notable Walt Quotes

"A lot of people don't realize that we have some very serious problems here keeping this thing going and getting it started. I remember when we opened [Disneyland], if anybody recalls, we didn't have enough money to finish the landscaping and I had Bill Evans go out and put Latin tags on all the weeds."

Book Review: DISNEYLAND HOTEL 1954-1959:

DISNEYLAND HOTEL 1954-1959: The Little Motel in the Middle of the Orange Grove

Donald W. Ballard

136 pages

2011

$35.00

www.Magicalhotel.com

Many of you probably have a copy of Don Ballard’s Disneyland Hotel: The Early Years, 1954-1988 in your collection. This is a great book and a demonstration of when you do something right you can be rewarded. You see, Don did such a wonderful job that he was flooded with new information. So much information that he penned a new book that focuses on the really early years and called it Disneyland Hotel 1954-1959: The Little Motel in the Middle of the Orange Grove. The author has provided us with the definitive history of this hotel during this time period. The book has been written. We historians need to find something else to work on.

We learn early on that the Disneyland Hotel was as revolutionary to the hospitality industry as Disneyland was on the amusement park industry. It started with hotel owner Jack Wrather who had a clear vision for his facility. In an Annual Report he said, “While some hotels didn’t take children at all, some frowned on them and others accepted them with a grain of salt.” He added, “For the first time in hotel history, the Disneyland Hotel would offer the whole family things to do and places to stay.”

The original project description called for a 650-room “distinctive resort Hotel and Motor Hotel” with restaurants, shops, and recreational amenities. The budget was $10,000,000. The facility would be as unique as its eclectic neighbor across the street. Pereira & Luckman designed a hotel complex that fits within a distinctive, logical, rigid geometry. From on high, the hotel elements to fit nicely into an imaginary grid that is expressed by the space age girders.

Throughout the book there is an aerial of the entire property taken after major milestones have been completed. It is easy to witness the transformation of the orange grove into a first class resort hotel. Speaking of orange groves, they would be incorporated throughout the landscape design. Each garden patio room had an orange tree. Much of the adjacent groves were left intact.

The hotel was on the leading edge. The author notes, “Each guest room had a television set which was unique for hotels at that time.” The rooms were designed to sleep four people so that kids could stay in the same room as their parents. The bathrooms were child friendly and “ideal for the small fry” with fixtures built lower then traditional hotels and electrical outlets located away from prying hands. Another example is was the infrared heat lamps in the ceiling, which eliminated the possibility of burns. Each room door featured a special high-tech “Yale” lock that prevented people from entering the room and acting like a do not disturb sign for the staff.

Not only was the Disneyland Hotel the first major hotel to be built in Orange County, it was the first major resort hotel to be built in Southern California since the early 1940s. Plus, the Disneyland Hotel was going to be a “year around resort” at a time when there were very few hotels claiming that title. In addition to Disneyland across the street, Wrather built convention and banquet facilities to attract local business.

The book does an excellent job of telling the life story of Jack Wrather. Not only did he own hotels but also he was a television producer, media mogul, and oil wildcatter. The man lead an interesting life worthy of a book and was cut from the same cloth as Walt Disney; a risk taker, visionary, family oriented, and one with the right stuff to overcome any obstacles.

One myth that is shattered by the book is the story of how Wrather got the contract to build the hotel. The popular story was that Walt had run out of money and begged Wrather to participate. Apparently Walt had many suitors but he chose his friend because he knew Wrather understood Disney’s quality standards.

The book is loaded with photos and artfully laid out. At times, multiple pages of graphics will interrupt the narrative. Historic documents are present with key text elements extracted for the book content. I hope Don keeps his implied pledge at the end of the book that this will become a series because I want the complete history at this level of detail. This is an excellent book.

I received this book from the publisher at no charge for the purpose of this review.