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1960s

The Park – Innovation at Disneyland

vintage-mickey-disneyland-med

In addition to creating “The Happiest Place on Earth”, Disneyland was innovative in many other ways. In the 50’s, believe it or not, waiting lines at banks or airports were traditionally a straight line. Sometimes a movie theater would bend them around a corner; the Department of Motor Vehicles would simply open the front door and run the line out onto the sidewalk.

Think what it would look like if security checkpoint lines at airports were linear instead of the sinewy system in use today! I had never seen a waiting line that snaked back and forth like the lines for attractions at Disneyland, where they created a holding pen that economized space.  Such was the system introduced by Walt Disney’s Imagineers.

They also thought of a way to use existing technology to create the Disneyland Monorail System. In 1959, it was the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere. Though the park was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in the off-season, visitors could board at the Disneyland Hotel and still see the Park (though quiet on those days) from a bird’s-eye view. Now, monorails are common at places like metro airports, transporting passengers swiftly from terminal to terminal.

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The Park: Disneyland, Anaheim, 1959

Editors Note: I’m republishing a series of posts written by my Aunt Linda seven years ago. In hosting me over my childhood summers in their Southern California homes, she and my Aunt Dorothea played a key role in nurturing my love of Disneyland (although they… Read More »The Park: Disneyland, Anaheim, 1959

Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland Filming at Disneyland This Week

tomorrowland-case

Ever wonder why there hasn’t been a sequel to Pixar’s The Incredibles yet? That’s because Director Brad Bird has been having too much fun making live action films. His current project sounds like it will entertain Disney fans and loves of a good thriller at the same time. The plot of Tomorrowland is said to be a mystery wrapped in an enigma (which you can say about nearly anything LOST writer Damon Lindelof is involved with), but it definitely is set in mid-60s Disneyland for at least some of the film.

Here’s the plot synopsis:

Bound by a shared destiny, a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor jaded by disillusionment embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory as “Tomorrowland.”

See enigma!

The production has, in fact, been filming at Disneyland this week. Today they’re at “it’s a small world”, conveniently already painted its original color scheme. LaughingPlace.com has a reporter on the scene and has been posting some pictures on Twitter.

More below the jump:
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Flower Power Concert Lineup for 2014 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival

The Flower Power concert series that is part of the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is a crowd favorite bringing many guests to the park to relive some great times enjoying the music of their favorite bands and stars. The Flower Power concert series… Read More »Flower Power Concert Lineup for 2014 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival

Orlando – The Action Center of Florida, Vintage Film Highlights “Before Disney”

Here’s a great vintage film that captures Orlando, Florida as it was just before Walt Disney World changed it forever. Walt’s vision for an experimental prototype city of tomorrow is discussed starting at 4:45 and there’s actually some excellent vintage footage of Disneyland scattered throughout.… Read More »Orlando – The Action Center of Florida, Vintage Film Highlights “Before Disney”

New Featurette for The Help

Here’s a movie that may be flying low on your radar. It’s called ‘The Help’ and I think it could be one of summer’s sleeper hits. Here’s the synopsis if you haven’t heard about it before:

Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, “The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award–nominated Viola Davis “(Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minnie—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk.

From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

A new featurette has just been released. Check it out below the jump:

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