The Press-Enteprise has a lovely story about Don Edgren, a key figure in the history of Disneyland’s major construction from the Matterhorn through to Tokyo Disneyland. Construction on the Matterhorn, which opened in 1959, required extensive research, including lots of photos of the Swiss peak and scale models. Disney people visited the real peak to… Read More »Disney Engineer Don Edgren, now a Disney Legend
Disneyland Hotel’s Granville Steakhouse looks to be getting a name change to Steakhouse 55. The restaurant was named after original hotel owner Jack Wrather’s wife. Bonita Granville (one of the hotel towers has her first name) was a child-actor who was once nominated for a best supporting actress oscar. She also played Nancy Drew in… Read More »Granville’s Steakhouse to change name
Now that some time has past and damage estimates coming in reveal no deaths, I think it’s safe to report on some of the less important aspects of the quake. Was the set for ABC’s hit TV show LOST affected? Apparently not. ABC’s spokesman says all the cast, crew, and set pieces have survived the… Read More »LOST Actors, Crew, and Set OK after Hawaii Quake
In a move that will eventually spread across every Disney property and promotion the company will shift its focus to foods and snacks that meet healthier guidelines. For example, total fat under the new policy will not exceed 30 percent of calories for main and side dishes and 35 percent for snacks. Disney will also… Read More »Disney to shift to healthy foods and snacks
One of my son’s favorite attractions at Epcot is the long audio-animatronic heavy ride inside the giant geodesic dome of Spaceship Earth. Epcot Central Blog has found a 1982 video that looks at the genesis of Epcot and the construction of Spaceship Earth. There’s a great speech in there from Ray Bradbury on Walt’s idea… Read More »Spaceship Earth and the Genesis of EPCOT
The Cast Member Previews and Annual Passholder previews are now over and regular soft openings will begin next week on Disney World’s next attraction, The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Epcot. I’ve been on it four times now and rate it a solid C ticket, possibly a D ticket. They’ve included a huge queue for this thing, so obviously they’re expecting crowds.
From here on out thar’ be spoilers. So warned ye’ be.
You enter the attraction by passing three seagull’s from the movie, through the old pavilion entrance. If you want to enter the pavilion to see Turtle Talk with Crush or the aquarium, you’ll continue to enter through the old exit. The new entrance is only for the attraction. Also, there is no fastpass for this attraction. This is a good thing as the capacity for this attraction appears large. So as long as the attraction keeps movie, the queue will keep moving. No need for fastpass to artificially slow the queue down.
The initial queue hasn’t changed much in layout or lighting, but the scenery is a nice overlay of beach themeing with some foreshadowing and humor spread throughout. When you leave that queue you quickly (and somewhat abruptly) transition to the ‘under-water’ portion of the queue.
If you’re planning to be in attendance at Disney’s Funai Classic, you’ll miss seeing 9 time participant and two time winner of the event, Tiger Woods. He’s sitting this one out. Not a good sign for Disney who is looking to sign a new sponsor for the 10 year old tournament. Disney has sponsored the… Read More »Disney’s Funai Classic PGA Tournament Loses Woods, Sponsor
Calling all artists, designers, creative geniuses, film lovers and fans of Nightmare Before Christmas! This is your chance to create an original character for Walt Disney Pictures’ holiday classic, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, making its return to the big screen this month in Disney Digital 3-D. You are free to create the scariest,… Read More »Win a personal video greeting from Tim Burton for your MySpace Profile!