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By Michael - November 23rd, 2010  I thought I should post a notice that Imagineer and author Steve Alcorn has published a new book about the theme park design process, Theme Park Design: Behind The Scenes With An Engineer. Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn McBride Inc., a long-time fixture of the themed entertainment industry, and the author of Building a Better Mouse: The Story of the Electronic Imagineers Who Designed EPCOT (which I still need to review, but is definitely worth your time).
This isn’t a review; that will have to wait, as I’ve just started the book. But I can tell already that it’s going to be an informative read for anyone interested in the how, who and why of theme park design, engineering and operations with a dollop of good humor and some Imagineering anecdotes to boot. Check it out.
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By Michael - November 23rd, 2010  “The World Tour introduces you to the fabulous array of vacation activities available at Walt Disney World with a guided, 3 hour long excursion around the entire World.” Long, long ago when Walt Disney World was billed as the Vacation Kingdom of the World, more emphasis was placed on the recreational opportunities in the resort areas. This led to a variety of swanky opportunities for the hip traveler of the 1970s, from moonlit cruises to hi-tech golf lessons. What better way to introduce visitors, many of whom were no doubt completely unaccustomed to a vacation destination as expansive as Walt Disney World, to the recreation, dining and entertainment experiences available to them than a driving tour of the resort itself?
You’ll really wish you had a time machine for this one – roll up for the Magical Mystery Tour, step right this way!
In 1977 Walt Disney World began offering “The World Tour” – a three hour guided bus excursion that introduced guests to “the fabulous array of vacation opportunities in Walt Disney World.” Guides provided interesting facts about the sights along the way, as well as stories about the resort’s development and some of its “exciting plans for the future.”
Areas covered by the tour included the Polynesian Village, Contemporary and Golf Resort Hotels, River Country, Fort Wilderness, and Lake Buena Vista. At Lake Buena Vista, guests would see the Vacation Villas, Treehouse Villas, Lake Buena Vista Club and the Walt Disney World Village.
For the low, low price of $3 ($1.50 for children 3-11), guests could board that motor coach for “a chance to see more, learn more and explore more of Walt Disney World in three hours than most people can in three days.”
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By Michael - November 19th, 2010 Drip drip drip…
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By Michael - November 19th, 2010  The ever-glamorous Diane Disney Miller There’s an interesting story at The Telegraph about Diane Disney Miller, who has been granting interviews to mark the 70th anniversary of Fantasia. The piece has some interesting bits about Diane’s perspective on her role in the Disney legacy (I especially enjoyed the story about Walt telling her she shouldn’t take a job as a teenager, since she’d be taking a job from someone who really needed it).
It’s no secret that Diane and her husband, former Disney CEO Ron Miller, have kept an extremely low profile over the years – especially since Miller’s ouster from Disney in 1984. But that has changed in recent years with the long-awaited opening of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, something that Diane and her family worked on for years. Diane has therefore been far more public recently and, although Walt’s heirs take the spotlight reluctantly, fans of capital-D Disney and his works should be extremely pleased. When Diane has emerged over the years she’s always been an eloquent spokesperson for Walt and his legacy, and as Disney becomes more of a corporation than a man in the public mindscape it is that much more important that Walt’s family make their presence known.
Also, she and I both like Fantasia best so there’s no disputing good taste.
We can only hope that eventually Ron Miller comes out of Napa to tell his story too. That’s a book that I would read.
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By Michael - November 18th, 2010 The estimable Mickey Mouse turns 82 today; hopefully, his birthday is made more happy because it comes on the cusp of a new wave of recognition thanks to the impending Epic Mickey videogame. It’s hard to believe that the corporate icon of today – the giggling, krumping creature of the “Disney Dance Crew” – was once the scrappy, feisty heir of Fairbanks as seen in Plane Crazy or The Gallopin’ Gaucho. Hopefully we’ll see some more of that spark soon!
For your viewing pleasure, we have the special that aired on NBC’s The Magical World of Disney in 1988 to celebrate Mickey’s 60th birthday. If you were around at that time, you’ll no doubt remember that Mickey’s 60th was a huge deal; during the 1980s any major anniversary of a park or character was celebrated, and those early Eisner years saw a number of specials like this. Mickey’s 60th brought Mickey’s Birthdayland and a new parade to the Magic Kingdom in Florida, but it was also celebrated coast to coast and around the world, as can be seen in this special.
As to the special itself, it comes from the couple of years when Disney was partnering with NBC to produce some fairly high-quality original programming. The Magical World of Disney began with the promise of new serial programming – new hour-long specials based on Davy Crockett and The Absent-Minded Professor were produced – in the vein of Walt’s old Wonderful World of Color shows. The push for original programming overlapped nicely with the promise of the upcoming Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
Of course it never really worked out, but at the time the idea of a return to these classic franchises with a modicum of production values seemed pretty exciting. Let’s face it, once you’ve survived the Klinkers or Kraft, these NBC specials seem like Citizen Kane. Upon watching, I was kind of surprised that it holds up. I watched this a billion times as a kid, but it’s still pretty funny (Charlie Fleischer: “You want me to kill the duck? The duck makes a lot of money…”). At the very least, it reminds us that John Ritter could make the most of any material and that NBC really wishes it still had the primetime lineup from 1988.
So here’s Mickey, with his new friend Roger Rabbit, and a cast of thousands, celebrating Mr. Mouse’s 60th birthday. And a shout-out across the ages to Walt and Ub, for getting the whole thing going and knowing how to make some darn fine cartoon pictures.
Continue reading Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Mouse
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The Progress City Primer
 From the Progress City archives comes this collection of 33 tall tales and true from Disney history. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats. |
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