In the fifth of my series comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at selected references to the 1941 movie Dumbo within the parks. Please note, I am specifically referring to the Dumbo paraphernalia within the Magic Kingdoms, rather than anything related which can be found in the hotels, the other parks (such as in Off The Page and World of Color at ...

Hello friends, I'm back for another personal look at Disneyland from my distorted perspective, Dateline 1974. Yes the days of bell bottom jeans, bun hugger pants and tight 501's. Tight? (You mean you guys wore your pants tight back then?) Yes son "tight" not loose and down not to our knees like you guys do today. Wow, totally gross Dad. Without argument, I just chalk it up to the ever-present generation ...

In the fourth of my series comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at Peter Pan's Flight. When I mention California's Peter Pan's Flight in this article, I am referring only to its current post-1983-refurb version, which added the interior queue-line, a Peter Pan audio-animatronic, the pirate-ship deck scene and the "return from Neverland" finale. ...

One of the best nights in the week when I was a boy in the 1960's was Sunday Night. Now you might be thinking, why Sunday? School is the next day right? Yes school was the next day, and yes it's true that it was a dreaded thought. However what made Sunday night an evening to look forward to was Disney's weekly television show "The Wonderful World of Color." It seemed to me that it was always the sweet ...

In the third of a monthly series of comparisons between the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I will be looking at the rides, shops and eateries based on Pinocchio. In California, the ride is called Pinocchio's Daring Journey (as it is in Japan), whereas in Paris, it is called Les Voyages de Pinocchio which translates literally as The Journeys of Pinocchio. For the benefit ...

Back in the early 1980's I was asked by head of Disney park talent (Kevin Frawly) if I was interested in performing at Disneyland /Anaheim with my band, then called, The Nightriders. We were a 5 piece country band at the time, and featured Stand-up bass, Steel Guitar, Lead Guitar, Drums and Sax/Piano. Of course being a total Disney freak, even as a young man, I jumped at the chance. I had booked my band ...

In the second of a monthly series of comparisons between the two Disneylands' closest to my heart (California and Paris), I will be looking at the rides based on Snow White. In California, the ride is called Snow White's Scary Adventures whereas in Paris, it is called Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains which translates literally as Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. For the benefit of this article, I ...

In the first of a monthly series of comparisons between the two Disneyland's' closest to my heart (California and Paris), I will be looking at Sleeping Beauty Castle. The French equivalent, officially known as "Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant", is 167ft high, to California's 77ft. The latter features a coat of arms with three lions passant thereon. Although not officially the Disney Crest ...

About five or six months ago I received an e-mail from the 1313 Club & Ape Pen Publishing Informing me of an event to take place at the Disneyland Hotel. The event, "The Marvelous Mechanized Magic Kingdom" was to feature the talents and stories of current and former employees and imagineers as they worked for Walt over the years. The 1313 Club and Ape Pen are both are created and run by Carlene Thie, ...

I have been looking forward to the opening of the Disney Family Museum for a long time. When I first got wind of it, I immediately e-mailed the curator who informed me I had about 3 years to wait. What, 3 years! I want it now! So I waited, bided my time, checked in at the museum site every couple of weeks to read about the progress. When I thought I could not take it any longer, Bam, they opened up, and I ...

Hello fellow Disney Chums, I just got back from my last trip to the Disneyland, when I say last, I mean last ( for a long while) .Yes, I am not renewing my preferred pass to the park for at least a couple of years. I know I might go through some withdrawals along the way, but this time I think I can handle it. I know I have written about my feeling on this before, but I am kind of getting burned out on the ...

Well hello to all you Disney fans. I want to tell you about some of the exciting times when working on the river. One of the memorable times I recall quite a bit is working the mid-night shift on the rafts. This was a scheduled shift that started at 1am 9am. I know that seems a bit odd but yes the rafts ran at this time. My job was to assist the technicians who worked on the Fantasmic equipment by ...

My how time fly's, seems like yesterday I was asking about when the Rivers of America would be filled again. I never like to visit the park when any of the water is not working. It even bummed me out during the renovation of It's a Small World when I saw the canals were dry. I know, weird eh? Yeah that's me; the water kind of calms me down. Those of you that have read my previous articles know ...

The Mickey Mouse Club Circus Opened Friday, November 25th 1955 Well, here it was opening day at Disneyland! This was no longer the mud show with the misnomer of The Show Beautiful. This was the Mickey Mouse Club Circus everything perfect to the last detail. Every piece of rigging was shining, every costume clean and bright, each animal and person groomed to perfection. The Ringmaster ...

As I sit here at work on my lunch break, all I can think about in-between classes is Disneyland. Do you ever get like that? I am a high school film teacher so my office and studio are filled with Disney memorabilia. I think I have about every Disney CD made, and when I feel low down or stressed out I will play the music that features the sound tracks of the rides. It always put's me there at the park ...

Sitting here in the hub of Main Street, coffee in hand, and hands sticky from the cinnamon roll I just devoured, I would like to start my first article with the past, my past, and my early Disneyland experiences that have implanted themselves in my heart and brain over the years. "Here age relives fond memories of the past" -Walt Disney Today, as a man at the tender age 51, the first ...

Winter Quarters October 20, 1955 At age 17, I graduated from Dorchester High School in Boston in and soon ran away from home to join my older brother, Tony, who was a flying trapeze artist with the Gil Gray Circus, traveling throughout the Mid-west and South. I had started with the show in mid July, playing 25 dates in 77 days, traveling through seven states: Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico, ...

So while things were heating up at Disneyland, what was going on over at a relatively secret location in Glendale where all the shows and rides found at Disneyland were created? The newly christened Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) was rapidly expanding staff to handle the massive project load that was building courtesy of the new management structure. WDI is unique in many ways, but one facet of the company ...

The year 1985 was a pivotal one for Disneyland, and it really set the stage for the following year, which the Marketing team aptly named, "Looks Like We Started Something! Disneyland "86". The new Eisner-Wells team had been busy the two previous years turning on a ton of work, and a lot of it would show up in '86. The "GiftGiver Extraordinaire" was continued over, but this time instead of every 30th guest ...

The early 1980's were a very dramatic time for Disneyland. The company had recently survived the Saul Steinberg corporate raid event, and they had recently created the two new movie divisions that would allow Disney to produce R-rated movies and such to a non-Disney focused market. Michael Eisner and Frank Wells had just come on board and the energy that followed was like a mounting tidal wave that washed ...

March 18, 1967 Disneyland, Anaheim California - The day dawned gray and drizzly, and the passing of Walt Disney was still felt sharply, yet the Press, tourist and locals turned out for Disneyland's newest Attraction - the long awaited and much anticipated "Pirates of the Caribbean". This was the first big event at Disneyland since it's founders death, and was marked with a celebratory feeling among ...

I was at Disneyland when it opened for the public on Monday, July 18, 1955. Since I have some facts about that event that many websites evidently haven't known, I thought you might like to publish them: It's true that Roy Disney, Walt's brother, requested the first printed ticket for his grandchildren's memorabilia. It's also true that the park opened the previous day (Sunday) for a preview for ...