The next time you’re in the Italy pavilion at EPCOT…
Don’t blink.
DON’T
BLINK
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The longer one is a fan of anything, the more likely they are to pine for past glories, and those of us interested in the history of the ever-fluid theme park industry are no different. Wonders big and small have been lost over the years, and the Disney parks are no exception to this wistful truth. In fact, of all eleven Disney parks I would personally only say that three are currently at their historical peak; one is Tokyo DisneySea, which has only added to its roster in its short ten years; another is Hong Kong Disneyland, only six years old; and, ironically, the last is California Adventure, which really had nowhere to go but up (Some might argue for the inclusion of Walt Disney Studios park in Paris, but I believe its historical peak came when it was still a vacant lot of grass). The point is, for those of us who are long-time followers, there is a lot in the scrapheap of history to sift through and explore. Some of these are obvious – the “big ticket” cornerstones of nostalgia, if you will. They’re the first things that spring to mind when thinking retrospectively – Horizons, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride – the big ones that got away. But the deeper you dig – or if you were there back in the day – the more obscure the objects of ones affection become. You get into the territory of Disney Handwiches(TM) and frapping and the Get Jet Set game. And somewhere, at the intersection of these realms, sits the Little Orange Bird. Continue reading Little Orange Memories Related Posts...I considered many titles for this article. The typically punny things, naturally – things like “Why We Deride” and things like that. But I think it’s important to underline the fact that this is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen at Walt Disney World. That might be quite the buildup, as I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but this one left me standing in the street, mouth agape, and laughing maniacally. It’s just so strange. It’s well documented that I have a bone to pick with the Studios Formerly Known As Disney-MGM. Not only is it generally bursting to the seams with fail…  "What was that you were saying about visual contradictions, Mr. Hench?" …But among all the Florida parks it has fallen furthest from its potential for greatness (Yes, yes, I know current Future World might qualify for that dubious honor, but at least it used to be brilliant and EPCOT still has Showcase). I’ve always been enthralled by the classic era of Hollywood filmmaking, as well as the iconic look of that period’s architecture and design. Studios should be a slam dunk, with such rich material to draw on; it also gives designers leeway to explore themes and periods that are absorbing but wouldn’t fit in a Kingdom-class park. The western frontier and tropical jungle were dangerous places that Disneyland distilled and made safe and accessible; to modern audiences the mean streets of Los Angeles and New York City might seem equally threatening but they’re just as full of rich iconography and deeply-ingrained lore to exploit in a theme park environment. Studio whiffs on that potential and lacks a clear vision or purpose. But that’s all beside the point. While my subject here might possibly be used to illustrate the unfocused and sub-par aspects of the Studios, it’s just so incredibly bizarre and random that it transcends lack of theming (or veneer-thin theming) and poor spatial layout. It’s so absurdist it almost becomes art in and of itself; there’s simply no reason why this existed. The fact that it did exist means that somewhere there’s a story that I desperately want to know. Continue reading Literally The Strangest Thing I’ve Ever Seen At Walt Disney World Related Posts...
In a speech during the 1970s, author Ray Bradbury famously referred to Imagineering as a “Renaissance organization.” That was an apt metaphor; that first generation of Imagineers contained a remarkable collection of what could legitimately be called Renaissance men (and a handful of Renaissance women as well). These artists, many of whom had been culled from the realm of live-action motion picture art direction as well as Disney’s own animation studio, had not grown up going to Disneyland and dreaming of theme parks; they had seen the world and, like Walt himself, were fascinated with a slew of seemingly unrelated and esoteric subjects. Over the years, though, the mantle of Imagineering’s resident “intellectual” seems to have settled on John Hench. Another long-time Disney staffer and former artist at the animation studio, Hench was the reserved, studious sort. After Walt’s death, when individual Imagineers started to come to the fore in the media, Hench’s position at the top of the WED pile ensured that he received lots of print coverage as Disney tried to figure out what they were going to do about EPCOT. During this time, he publicly began to discuss his philosophies about “the architecture of reassurance” and what, exactly, made Disney Disney. Continue reading Hench On Hench Related Posts... "Just ignore her Morris, and she'll go away!" As I just said, it’s extremely difficult to take notes from 1970s issues of Eyes and Ears without finding one or two things per issue that I need to share. I’ve been trying and control myself; to keep my powder dry. But some things are just… amazing. By the time the Shopping Village opened at Lake Buena Vista, things had gotten fancy. Part and parcel of being an old-school Walt Disney World fan is a constant desire to have access to a time machine. Usually we’d want it to go ride Horizons or If You Had Wings, but then you see something like this… Honestly, this one had me at the headline.
Fashion modeling was actually something that happened quite often back in the day at the Shopping Village; what better way to spent an afternoon at the Village Restaurant than with tea sandwiches and Lake Buena Vista cast members parading back and forth in diaphanous gowns? Answer: There is no better way. Some bonus trivia: Julia Switlick, your contact for this little party, was the very first Walt Disney World employee – although she didn’t know it at the time. Hired on February 1st, 1966, she served as secretary to lawyer Phil Smith who had come to Orlando from Miami to oversee the purchase, in secret, of land for Walt Disney World. In the years leading up to this party, which took place in March of 1976, she had also served as District Clerk for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, City Clerk for both the City of Bay Lake and City of Lake Buena Vista, and as Executive Secretary and Office Manager for Lake Buena Vista Communities. Thanks to Foxx for the swanky picture! Related Posts... |
 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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