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Marshal Knight

Marshal Knight is a Disney lover, entertainment junkie, (impromptu) Country music singer and Root Beer connoisseur who really misses "Bunheads". He is very active on multiple social media sites, including twitter as @Marshal_Knight (twitter.com/Marshal_Knight) and Instagram as @MarshalKnight (instagram.com/MarshalKnight)

DCA History Lesson: Parades

I don’t know about you, but if I lived in California, I would be jumping for those D23 tickets to go do a Carsland and Buena Vista Street walk-through before the official opening on, everyone together now, JUNE 15th! But, alas, I am in Florida, recapping the past ten years of DCA for you to enjoy before that lovely June day. Today, we will talk about the 2 now deceased (maybe not the best word choice…) parades that ran up and down the Performance Corridor for years. No, I’m not kidding, it was called the Performance Corridor instead of a Parade Route…oh DCA.

First up, we have the infamous “Eureka”. Named after the state motto, it was also the name of the deity that was represented on each of the floats, dressed as to reflect certain regions of California. She was in the sun logo, Hispanic California, an angel from “The City of Angels,” Beach-Loving Beauty, Chinese woman of Chinatown, and the Golden Goddess representing the Golden State. With each float came its respectable share of interesting costumes (A man dressed as the Hollywood Bowl, two men on stilts as the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.). In addition to the odd costume choices, the float performers were really cool, with the beach/surfing float containing a skateboarding half-pipe being used and the City of Angels section having drummers hanging off the side of float.

Though it did gain a small cult following among some Disney fans, it ultimately was not successful (Shocking!) at DCA. The problem? It had no Disney Characters. Not even Mickey. Though “Tapestry of Nations” at Epcot had no characters and was very popular, this parade had a very hectic and discombobulated feel to it that off put some, unlike “Tapestry”. It opened with the park in Feb. 2001, closed for the off-season, returned for the Summer of 2002, and never ran again.

After the park became such a folly for Disney and the crowd numbers weren’t what they were expecting, they needed something to pull the people in and fast. The solution? “Disney’s Electrical Parade”.

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DCA History Tour – Dining

Can you believe it! We are just a little over 5 weeks away from the moment every Disney fan has been waiting for since 2008…the redo of Disney California Adventure will finally be completed! So, the OBVIOUS thing to do is move on to Part 4 of my DCA History Lesson! We have covered, so far, Sunshine Plaza, Golden Dreams, and Superstar Limo. This entry will be a lengthy one, since we are covering ALL of the past restaurants that have graced the face of the park. From quick service to sit-down, expensive to cheap, we are covering them all! Let’s get started then! Grab a tray, place an order, and let’s travel back in time!

Let’s start off with the Quick Service locations around the park. They all tried to be unique and themed, though they were just QS places, but sometimes…the theme just didn’t work. “Pizza Oom Mow Mow” and “Burger Invasion” were 2 of those locations. The former was a a mish mash of two connected beach cottages (with a variety of pizza choices). You ate in, what seemed to be, outside of a garage door adorned with airbrush art that they put on shirts when you go to the beach. One of the problems facing this was that there was NO BACKSTORY! With such an awkwardly designed place and no story of how it got there, it was just known as “That ugly restaurant by the Orange Stinger”. It opened in Feb. of 2001 and closed in Sept. of 2010.

Right beside the glory that is “Pizza Oom Mow Mow” (btw, what a terrible pun!) was “Burger Invasion”. This spaceship/hamburger crossover was one of the many McDonald’s locations across the domestic Disney theme parks. This one, though, had no inside seating and no coverings…which is a deal breaker for most people. The McDonald’s contract expired in 2007, but the Mickey D’s fast food joint stayed around until Sept. of 2008. After it closed, it stayed closed…for 2 years. Eventually this, “Pizza Oom Mow Mow” and the S.S. Rustworthy (look for that in an upcoming blog!) were demolished and were replaced by the beautiful and delicious “Paradise Garden Grill” and “Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta”

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DCA History Tour – Golden Dreams

It is part three of my DCA History Lesson! Every week I will be bringing you a look back at something from DCA’s past, leading up to the June 15th grand re-opening of the park. So come along as we take a stroll through the past and remembering how great it was!
Today, we are heading over to the “San Francisco” area of the park (if you could call that an area) and reliving “Golden Dreams.” The exterior of the theater was a replica of Bernard Maybeck’s Palace of Fine Arts located in the real San Francisco. This 25 minute film took you through the history of California and the dreams the land created. Led by Califia, the Queen of California, played by Unofficial DCA Mascot Whoopi Goldberg, we traveled through the years and realized all the dreams that could stem from one state.

This opening day attraction was highly regarded…for what it was, a movie. It never got Soarin’ style ratings, but it was still very good. Disney tried to add their trademark emotion into the film, which they did with great success. Whoopi playing Califia was a great choice as a narrator and shed some nice humor into the film. Favorite line? When the MGM namesake is looking at ‘The Wizard of Oz” costume designers choice of silver slippers, Califia walks quickly behind Mr.MGM and says “Silver is nice, Ruby is better.” While it showed a huge span of time, it never came off as dull history lesson. They brought life into a film that had the chance to be extremely bland.

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DCA History Tour: Superstar Limo

Editor, this is the second post in a series on DCA History as it prepares to re-make itself effective June 15th.

This article is going to be BIG! Bigger than Madonna! Bigger than Leonardo…well maybe not that big. Yes, you guessed it, we are heading back to LAX to relive what is regarded by some as the worst Disney theme park attraction of all time…I know, harsh. So let us look back, grab a map to Drew Carey’s house, and climb aboard as we head to our own premiere as we remember…”Superstar Limo.”

The premise was relatively simple. You were the “Latest and Greatest” thing to come to California and your premiere of your new movie was showing at the Chinese Theater that day. To get there, you had to travel in your “Superstar Limo” through all of California’s celeb hotspots and see some of “Hollywood’s Best” on your journey. Your Hollywood Agent would repeatedly check up on you via a small screen in the limo with you. When he wasn’t there, an invisible announcer became your tour guide through Rodeo Drive, Bel-Air, Malibu and beyond. After encountering Regis Philbin, an awkwardly placed Madame Leota reference and multiple “directors and screenwriters” you finally make it to your premiere and meet the Unofficial Star of DCA, “Hollywood Favorite,” Whoopi Goldberg.

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DCA History Lesson – Part 1 – Sunshine Plaza

June 15th is the end of an era… the DCA era that is. Disney’s California Adventure will have its official grand opening on this day, ending the DCA that (very few) fans grew to know and love. I have decided to take on the role… Read More »DCA History Lesson – Part 1 – Sunshine Plaza

Checking in with ABC’s 2011-12 Lineup

8 months and 13 shows later, we have seen every new show ABC has to offer for this 2011-2012 season. Now we have had a few flops (I’m looking at you “Work It”), but we have had a really solid season…especially compared to last year. When your biggest show is “No Ordinary Family,” you have a problem. Anyways, I felt like now would be a wonderful time to reflect on the past season. Find out the hits, the misses and what to look forward to this summer.

THE MISSES: It’s always better to start off with the bad…right? Out of the 13, 3 have already been cancelled. Those three include the I-Take-Myself-Too-Seriously “Charlie’s Angels,” the Did-I-Actually-Have-Any-Fans “Man Up,” and finally, the piece de resistance, the Why-ABC-Just-Why “Work It”. Many people could see from a mile away that these would be cancelled within weeks of their premiere, and they were right.

There are also a few shows as of now that are on the brink of cancellation including the Started-Off-Great-But-Nosedived-Like-The-Subject-Matter “Pan-Am” and the Trying-To-Get-The-Same-Viewership-Numbers-As-Paranormal-Activity “The River”. Both ended with about 3 million viewers watching the final episode…which does not bode well with ABC execs. Don’t be too surprised to see press releases stating that they have been cancelled in the coming months. So 5 out of 13 are duds, which is not a bad percentage. Luckily, ABC could make up for those with the other, actually good, shows.

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Wishcasting the 2013 Disney Legends

The 2013 D23 Expo dates have been set (August 9th through the 11th) and that means a new crop of Disney Legends. If you don’t know, the Disney Legend award is one of the highest honors you can receive from the Disney Company for your… Read More »Wishcasting the 2013 Disney Legends

Disney World Water Parks – Cool Off In Style

Do you feel that? It feels…sticky and humid, or as us Floridians call it, the indication of the return to summer weather. Do you know what else that means? Water Parks! One of the best things about Florida is the abundance of water parks in Orlando and across the state. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some great water parks not on Disney property, (Try Adventure Island, Wet N’ Wild or Aquatica!), but Disney Water Parks are piece de resistance. Two highly themed worlds that transport you into a world of liquid goodness. Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are wonderful additions to the Walt Disney World Resort that should NOT be ignored while you are on a vacation to the area. Here is a brief synopsis of the two parks “back stories” (Those imagineers…always wanted to tell a story!).

Typhoon Lagoon is how it is now after a (shockingly) typhoon ripped though a tropical paradise… well… used to be a tropical paradise. Boats, Cargo, everything was thrown all over the area, creating the rides and landmarks seen throughout the park. For example, Miss Tilly is the name of the shrimp boat atop Mount Mayday. (P.S. Remember, every half an hour, Miss Tilly shoots a 50 foot water geyser!) It opened in 1989.

Blizzard Beach has a more detailed story behind its creation. On this tiny sliver of the Disney property, a freak snowstorm hit. This, of course, launched the creation of Florida’s first ski resort. Amazingly, (That was sarcasm) the snow melted. The entrepreneurs had no idea what to do with themselves, until they saw an alligator (The park’s mascot, Ice Gator) sliding down one of the old slopes. They decided to turn the area into a water park…the smarter choice. The park opened in 1995.

Typhoon Lagoon has the world’s largest wave pool, while Blizzard Beach has the world’s tallest and fastest water slide. Typhoon Lagoon has a free to swim in Shark Reef, while Blizzard Beach has a really cool ski lift. They both have their own unique style.

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