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By Michael - December 17th, 2011 You might recall my recent post recounting the discovery of the strangest thing I’ve ever seen at Walt Disney World – the toilet paper tree in the window of the jewelry store on the New York Street at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You should remember, at least, as it was one of the most widely-read stories I’ve written in ages; I’m actually starting to worry about you people, considering two of my most commented on and popular stories have been about a toilet paper tree and the the fabled bathrooms of Denmark.
Anyway, I regrettably waited more than a year after my amazing two-ply revelation before sharing it with you, and considering the absolutely insane nature of the display I assumed that it simply had to have been long-gone by this point. After all, if you assume something is a deranged display cobbled together by the evening maintenance staff on a dare, you wouldn’t think it would last long. You wouldn’t think.
So imagine my shock, when after my story people began to send word that – almost two years later – the toilet paper tree was still there.
Continue reading It’s. Still. There.
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By Michael - December 11th, 2011 This week the great guys at the always-amusing WEDway Radio podcast celebrate their 100th episode – an amazing milestone in any medium! To celebrate, they decided to host a round-table discussion about a subject obviously near and dear to me – EPCOT Center, and the Future World of old. I was honored to be invited, and along with Nate and Matt Parrish and George Taylor from Imaginerding I had a great time shooting the breeze about good ol’ EPCOT.
For more information you can check out WEDway Radio; you can also subscribe (and rate! and comment!) on iTunes, or you can simply download the podcast directly.
I hope you enjoy our silliness, and congratulations to Matt and Nate on 100 episodes!
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By Michael - December 3rd, 2011  "Mickey and Shawnee Airline's Al Porter pick the winning ticket" We’ve spoken before about the Lake Buena Vista STOLport, the long-abandoned airstrip that allowed guests to fly directly in to Walt Disney World in its earliest years. Sadly, the commuter flights from Tampa, Orlando, and other locations quickly ended, and the plans to add terminal and hangar facilities to the STOLport never materialized.
But back in the spring of 1972, hopes were still high at Disney for the exciting possibilities provided by owning your own airstrip. Even cast members got in on the act, with Walt Disney World’s Springtime STOLport Getaway – an opportunity for lucky employees to win a flight to the Bahamas directly from Disney property!
Continue reading The Springtime STOLport Stowaway!
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By Michael - December 2nd, 2011 
A subject that comes up often when discussing EPCOT of old is the strange giant dolls that used to roam the promenade around World Showcase before characters were allowed in the parks. Disney wanted to offer a completely different theme park experience at EPCOT; if people wanted characters, went the thinking, they could go to the Magic Kingdom. There was no need for EPCOT to re-hash what had been done before.
Yet the need to have something for guests to interact with led to some hits and misses, and perhaps the oddest of these were the World Showcase dolls. But seeing pictures of these characters don’t convey their true ominous nature – years before the fancy new interactive Mickey, these characters could move their eyes and blink. Witness for yourself the chilling effect.
What’s strange is that unlike so many elements that were cobbled together for EPCOT at the last minute, these dolls were in the works long before the park’s 1982 opening. In September of 1980, the cast newsletter for Walt Disney World’s Maintenance Division published a blurb about the work being done in their machine shops to make these dolls “come to life”. And, naturally, there’s a creepy picture!
 "Tim Taylor, Staff Shop and Bob Dooley, Machine Shop"
SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS
A new dimension has been added to the latest character heads being manufactured by the Staff Shop for use in the World Showcase to represent each participating nation. These new doll heads are made of a fiberglass reinforced plastic shell. The Machine Shop has developed a mechanism that provides the dolls with the capability to roll their eyes from right to left and/or blink the eyelids.
The eye-movement mechanism consists of an aluminum frame containing an intricate system of pivots and linkages operated by two servomechanisms. The servomechanisms and some small hardware (balljoint pivots, swivel links, etc.) are of the same type found in radio-controlled model aircraft. The servos are powered by a detachable, belt-worn “Battery-Pack” and are actuated by three micro-switches contained in a hand-held control unit; thus the character can activate eye moment at will as a manner of expression.
Frames and major components are manufactured in the Machine and Metal Shops. The Machine Shop is also responsible for the assembly and adjustment of linkages and limit switches, as well as the final testing.
As you wander through the World Showcase extravaganza and see any one of these one hundred twenty dolls of various nationalities, you can credit their final “characterization” to our Staff Shop personnel, who apply the final touches with their expert detailing.
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By Michael - November 27th, 2011 This is a strange one.
In 1987 The Walt Disney Company released a brochure to promote “Euro Disneyland”, their newly-planned resort complex near Paris. Since the design of the project itself was still in its early phases, a simple conceptual layout was the only piece of original artwork contained in the publication. The rest of the concept art, which purported to show the delights soon to arrive on the Gallic shore, was culled from the Imagineering vaults and consisted of pieces originally created for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland.
Many of them are familiar; there’s the mandatory Ryman painting of Cinderella castle, as well as his concept for the hub in Tokyo. There are pirates by Davis, Tomorrowland by Hench, and even Walt Disney World’s planned but never built Persian hotel. It might be a surprise to find them in this particular place, but to the savvy fan they’re nothing new. All of them, that is, except for this one.
Continue reading Neverworlds – The Lost Mediterranean Campground Of Euro Disney In Orlando
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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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