by Anthony Sbarra

When I think of the most famous things to see and do in San Francisco, these are some of the things that come to mind:

• Alcatraz
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Fisherman’s Wharf
• AT&T Park (I’m a huge baseball fan)
• Lombard Street (the zig-zag street)

The list can go on and on. There’s so much to see and do in this 47 square mile city that the Walt Disney Family Museum wouldn’t be anywhere near this list. However, there’s no question that the Walt Disney Family Museum is one of the hidden gems of San Francisco.

Opened in October of 2009, the Walt Disney Family Museum is located in the Presidio of San Francisco, a converted military fort into park, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  The museum occupies three retrofitted buildings in the Presidio. It is not owned or operated by the Walt Disney Co., but rather by the Walt Disney Family Foundation.

The museum chronicles Walt Disney’s life, but mostly his career as an animator, producer and director; his contributions to what made the name Disney…Disney. Walt’s career is shown in detail, and showcases almost anything imaginable pertaining towards him.

While on an 11-day family vacation to California, we flew into and spent the first few days in San Francisco. On our last full day there, with an open slot of time in the morning before we headed to AT&T Park to see the Giants play the Dodgers that night, we decided to visit the museum.

Saying that the museum was worth the time that day would be a huge understatement.

This is my experience and reflection of the Walt Disney Family Museum.

Upon walking into the museum (which, honestly, just looks like walking into a large house), the counter to buy tickets is just on the right. (You can also buy tickets ahead of time online, like we did). The ticket counter is in the lobby, which showcases the many awards (Academy Awards and other alike) that Walt Disney received during his lifetime, including the special Oscar he received for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as furniture from Walt’s apartment above the Disneyland fire station. You do not need a ticket to look around in the lobby, or go into the gift shop or café. After looking at all this memorabilia, it’s time to get your ticket scanned and head into the museum.

Forewarning:  photography is not allowed inside the museum.

Once your ticket is scanned, you’re in the museum’s first two rooms. These rooms give a brief overview of Walt’s career and some information about his early life. While the museum does focus on Walt’s actual life, for the most part the museum focuses on Walt’s career as well as just about everything that he created.

After exploring these first two rooms, it’s time to get on an extremely elegant elevator, with voiceover from Walt himself playing, up to the second floor, where most of the museum sits.

Once upstairs, the museum spans Walt’s life and career in the animation industry. From here, multiple rooms go on to tell the story of Walt Disney’s career. What the museum does is not only tell a story, but also tells the story in full detail, in chronological order from the beginning of his career until his death.

While walking the rooms of Walt’s career, the successes of his early animation through Snow White and other Disney-animated features are seen, as well as the praise Walt received for using new technologies in filming techniques. Essentially, you can see just about everything that Walt created throughout his career that made him so successful.

But you also see some of the downside and struggles of the story of Walt’s career, which completes the story in a way it wouldn’t without this detail. Here, what can be seen is the failure that was Laugh-O-Gram Studios, the departure of Ub Iwerks from Disney’s studio, and, in detail, the story of the Disney Animator’s Strike of 1941.

All of the facets to this story are seen using interactive technology where you can listen to conversations and watch videos, and to also look at actual letters written by Walt to various people, see other artifacts from the Disney studios and many of the things that Walt collected and owned throughout his life.

Along the way in the museum there is a glass opening, offering stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Other than the lobby, this is the only point inside the museum where photography is allowed.

After passing this viewing area of the Golden Gate Bridge, you move on to the final parts of the museum, chronicling the later parts of Walt’s life, the 1950s and 1960s. And in these final rooms mostly comes (wait for it)…the Disney parks memorabilia.

Here, you see the progression of Walt’s idea to build a theme park, along with the many projects he worked on late in his life. And thus you see the background to many of the famous attractions in Disneyland (as well as Disney World, eventually). This room is definitely the most vibrant, extravagant, and flashy room in the entire museum. Much of this is seen while going down a circular ramp to get back to the main floor.

At the bottom of the ramp is the main exhibit of the room, a 13-foot diameter scale of Disneyland Park. While we were looking at this, a tour was being lead with about a dozen 8-year-olds. The tour leader said that the scale model is the “Perfect Disneyland.” It does not represent what Disneyland Park looked like at any given time. Rather, it contains attractions and scenery both past and present. I spent a good 10 minutes looking at this model, as a mere six days later I would get to experience Disneyland for the first time.

Once you pass this, that is, if you have the strength to eventually walk away from the glamor of this scale-model, you come across Walt’s early plans for the Florida Project, as well as some of the attractions that would ultimately end up in Disney World, including information on the Carousel of Progress from the 1964 World’s Fair. On a TV screen plays Walt’s EPCOT video from 1966, which definitely catches the attention of just about every person that walks by, for at least a few minutes.

At this point, you’re on this high of energy from seeing so many awesome things in the entire museum, as well as the flashiness of this room. While much of the museum is very subtle in look, this vibrant room really gets you begging for more. It has a very “Oh my God, this is awesome!!! What’s next?!?!” feeling to it. But, as you turn the corner past the EPCOT video, the museum kind of just…comes to an end.

The museum gets very subtle again, and the content and detail is at a lower volume. By this point, it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s next. The EPCOT video was made shortly before Walt Disney passed away. Thus, the second to last room of the museum is dedicated to the day Walt Disney died. There are quotes from family and friends on the passing of Walt Disney, and an old-fashioned television set that plays news coverage from the day of Walt’s death. It is a fairly somber room.

Finally, you come to a white-walled room with a couch in the middle. The televisions in the walls of the room celebrate the life of Walt Disney by playing many of the works he created; a celebration of the Disney industry after Walt, so to say. This room gives you the chance to reflect not necessarily on the content in the museum itself, but to reflect on the impact that Walt Disney had during his lifetime and after he passed.

While Walt once said, “it was all started by a mouse,” brings the story together to really show that it was Walt who started it all.

After taking a few minutes to reflect in this room, you exit through a door that leads to a more open room, where it’s time to go to the souvenir shop!

Due to time restrictions, we spent about two hours in the museum. And I can honestly say, we didn’t see the half of it. To look at every piece in the museum and to read each and every caption would easily be an entire eight-hour day at the museum (as it’s open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Also, the museum is closed on Tuesdays).

All in all (no pun intended, Cars fans) this museum is a museum everyone can appreciate. Not just the Disney-obsessed. It’s a museum everyone can appreciate simply for the history behind Walt and his influence not just towards the animation industry, but also towards society as a whole.

When in San Francisco, the Walt Disney Family Museum is a must-see. Disney-nut or not, it is 100% worth it to spend at least a couple hours in the museum. The material presented in the museum itself is great, and is presented in a way that is second-to-none. The Walt Disney Family Museum is the definitive history and story of one man and his career, and is a museum that everyone can appreciate and enjoy.

And, hey, maybe one day the Walt Disney Family Museum will be added to the list of the most famous things to see in San Francisco.

Anthony Sbarra is a college student whose love for Disney has grown only larger over time. When not immersed in studying or reading for college, one of his favorite hobbies is researching the history, detail and little-known aspects of many of the facets that Disney World has to offer.

The post A First-Hand Look at the Walt Disney Family Museum appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

With ticket in-hand, we started the 1-hour drive to Boston, giddy as can be. Kevin and I went with my parents, and the whole drive up my mom kept asking if we were excited, then when we said “YES!” she would say, “No you aren’t, because I’m more excited!” My parents are big Disney fans, too, so I guess it runs in the family.

On with the event!

We arrived a bit early, which was fine. The event was being held in a theater at a”fancy” hotel, the Revere Hotel. I didn’t really know what to expect, but assumed there would be a lot of booths and places to buy merchandise, like an Expo, but there wasn’t anything except a waiting room. We walked in and reassuringly saw a Disney banner with Genie letting us

know we were in the right place. Two friendly and cheery cast members welcomed us and gave us our pins, a flip book with 2 scenes from Frankenweenie (one of my favorite movies), and 2 movie art promo books, called “For Your Considerations” for Brave and Wreck it Ralph! Already, I thought, “I would pay more than $35 for all of this, even without the rest of the night’s event!”

The cast members really made me feel like I was in WDW. I wish I would have gotten a picture with them or asked them what they usually do for Disney, but I was way too excited for the event to start! I was quite surprised and extremely happy to hear a familiar voice call out my name! It was Betty and Dave from The Box! You may know them from their screen names: DaveBell and BettyMercier. I met them in person at the WDWRadio Dream Cruise 2.0 this past November and it was so great to see them again! That’s what I love so much about this community, we are all already friends, whether we’ve met yet, or not!

We entered the theater when it was time, and the second unexpected thing was realized: there were a lot less people than I expected! I saw that the event was sold out online before we left, but the theater was small and intimate. It was a plus, in my opinion. Yes, it would have been nice if more people could have the opportunity to buy tickets, but having fewer people there made me feel more special. It was as if the show was just for me, and I would be learning this secret information that no one else knew yet!

The show was introduced and we were reminded that we couldn’t take any photos, videos, or audio recordings once it started. Our show hosts then came out: Billy Stanek, D23.com editor, and Justin Arthur, Archives Collections Specialist at The Walt Disney Studios. They started out the show with a shout-out from anyone who tweeted that they would be at the show. I was 1 of the 3 people they shouted out to, of course, and I embarrassingly said “Woo!” when they called my name. And as with the beginning of all Disney attractions, an announcement came over the loud speaker telling us the theater would be moving backwards (into Disney history) and made a joke about pin lanyards.

Throughout the show, Billy and Justin went back and forth introducing different anniversaries, working from 1923, the start of the Walt Disney Company which is at it’s 90th Anniversary this year, all the way to the start of Animal Kingdom, Disney Cruise Line, and Mulan, from 1998, making this year their 15th Anniversary! Between each introduction from this duo, we saw pictures, audio clips, and film from what they were talking about. Most of it was footage rarely seen or heard!

Here are some notable points and facts from the presentation:

• This year marks Mickey’s 85th Birthday
• Disney Legend, Ub Iwerks would produce roughly 700 drawings per day! The average animator today produces about 82 a week!
• John Hench was the official portrait artist of Mickey Mouse for his Birthday portraits. We watched a clip of him speaking about the birthday portraits and he said that he painted this portrait (to the right) of Mickey with long pants instead of his usual shorts because, “he should have long pants by now.” The whole theater laughed at that, and we all sighed at the end of his interview when he got teary eyed and told Mickey Mouse, “I learned to love you a lot.”
• We watched a commercial called “The Collector,” which reminded me a lot of all of us. It was of a man who collected everything Disney, from an alarm clock, to Mickey ears on the top of his car!
• We watched rare footage depicting how Walt, Frank Churchill, and crew came up with the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
• True Life Adventures brought on some interesting video segments, including “Scorpion Dance,” (watch it on YouTube, if you can) which was… weird… If you haven’t seen it, the clip is footage of 2 scorpions edited to look like they are doing a barn dance. We also watched a clip of a duck sliding on ice into a group of other ducks. The scene cut out right before the duck fully crashed into the rest of the others. Seeing this, Walt kept asking the film makers where the rest of the footage was. They explained over and over that they shut off the camera before it happened and the footage didn’t exist. Walt wasn’t impressed and told them to find the rest of the footage. After an exhausted attempt with no luck on finding the non-existent footage, the film makers made a trip up to Minnesota and filmed ducks there. Knowing that this opportunity wouldn’t naturally happen again, the film makers literally picked up ducks and slid them into the other ducks! When Walt saw the footage, he said, “I knew you had it.” Hah!
• Peter Pan‘s 60th Anniversary was introduced with the help of the Magic Mirror, which lead into a segment with a 3D depiction of a spinning Tinkerbell, by Marc Davis, which might not seem impressive until you realize it was drawn, frame by frame, without the aid of computer graphics.
• Ben and Me (60th Anniversary) and Hocus Pocus (20th Anniversary) had ties to Massachusetts! This was a great shout-out for our Boston-crowd!
• It was the 55th Anniversary for the Columbia ship replica, which used to sail around the Rivers of America, is now used in Disneyland’s Fantasmic as Captain Hook’s  ship!
• With the 50th Anniversary of Summer’s Magic, they showed a poster of the movie which displayed Richard and Robert Sherman’s names. It was a great opportunity to talk about them, but they didn’t. I had high hopes though, because next they talked about the 50th Anniversary of the Tiki Room, and I thought for sure we would hear about our guest from the Dream Cruise, but no luck. It was finally when they mentioned Meet the World, that our dear friend was finally mentioned!
• Tony Baxter spoke of the 30th Anniverary of the original New Fantasyland in Disneyland. He said it was scary because when they dismantled the old Fantasyland, the Fantasyland Theater was laying on the ground with the lights that were supposed to hang up around it laying around in the dirt. The timer for the lights was activated and all of a sudden, all of the lights were on. He said to the others working on the project (and of course, I am always paraphrasing here), “This is the heart of Disneyland!… What have we done!?” In this interview, he said that all the love and attention that they originally put into Storybookland is what they think the original Imagineers would have wanted to do full scale if they had the budget to do it at the time and that what they were doing with the New Fantasyland would be fulfilling that wish.
• We watched a promo for Horizons. I know all of you Horizons fans would have loved it! I was never able to experience it, though.
• We were showed a Maelstrom promo photo and our hosts pointed out that the actors were staring in amazement at a wall, which anyone who actually rode it could discover… hah!
• Tim Burton worked on a project called Hansel and Gretel which only aired once because it freaked the executives out a little too much!
• We saw Disney’s Animal Kingdom‘s original carousel idea, which you might remember from this past blog post. The idea was ex-ed because it was too glitzy to fit into AK’s conservation message.
• It was great to learn about the animator’s 3 week trip to China to do research for Mulan!
• And of course, Disney Cruise Line was mentioned since this year marks the 15th Anniversary! It’s a special place for our WDWRadio family!

Highlights of the show (for me, anyway):

• We saw a Tokyo Disneyland Commercial from 1983. It may have been one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. It includes Mickey Mouse in a line with a small group of men and woman, doing such ridiculous choreographed, synchronized dance moves. That wasn’t even the best part. They were singing “I’m Walking Right Down the Middle of Main St. USA,” in Japanese, in an empty theme park. I guess you probably had to see it to think it was funny, though, but the whole theater was cracking up in their seats!
• The Alice in Wonderland Attraction dedication video topped the hilarity of the Tokyo Disneyland video, but for a different reason. Have you ever seen what the 1958 version of Mickey Mouse in the theme parks looked like? Sorry if I am about to scar you for life, but here it is:I didn’t want to have to show you that, but it was necessary for you to understand that we watched that face ride with “Alice” and Walt in a 2 minute-or-so video. To top it off, the bunny character with them had a mask that didn’t cover the back of his head, so a full head of hair and bare neck was poking out, and that key Walt is taking from Alice… well only one side is painted and it was flopping all over the place. Hilarious commentary during the clip was done by our hosts Billy and Justin, such as, “The next clip we are about to see is funny… well, more like.. creepy,” “That kind of looks like the rabbit from Donnie Darko,” and, (in reference to the rabbit) “His roots are showing.”
• Welcome to Pooh Corner was mentioned because of the 30th Anniversary of the Disney Channel. This was one of my favorite shows growing up!
• During the Nightmare Before Christmas portion of the show, Disney Archives Specialist Justin Arthur slipped on a pair of white gloves and uncovered what was hiding under a black sheet. From under it he pulled out an original prop from the movie! It was a jack-o-lantern! I was super excited! There was a hole underneath to put in a light to light it up when necessary, and it was made of foam and rubber. We were able to take a picture of it after the show!

• During the pumpkin reveal, he also pulled out the gaucho doll that Walt was given as a gift during his trip to South America! It was made from felt, with a tag on the arm that said “To: Walt Disney” and it was still in great condition. I wasn’t able to get a picture of this, but here is one I found from D23′s website! Does the doll look like Walt? Because it is supposed to be a caricature of him!

If there are still tickets available to an upcoming D23 Fanniversary in your city, you MUST go! You’ll be happy you did!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post 2013 D23 FaNNIVERSARY, Boston appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

When Walt Disney World was first being built in the late 1960s, Walt Disney had several plans lined up for the large plot of land in central Florida. One of the plans was to have a vast array of hotels at which guests could stay. Land all around the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake were prepped for what were to become several themed resort hotels that were all near the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately,  then CEO, Card Walker, was reluctant to spend money on such lavish hotels with many new hotels popping up right outside of Disney property, the resorts planned for the area were not built. By the time the early 1980s came around, the vision for Walt Disney World was that of a destination resort with the opening of Epcot, and more guests were expected to be staying in or near Orlando Florida once the new park was open. Roy Miller, now having taken over the Disney company, announced three new resorts for the Walt Disney World property: the Grand Floridian resort, the Mediterranean resort, and the Cypress Point Lodge.

I’ve written about the Grand Floridian previously as well as noted about the Mediterranean before but I really want to dig into what once was seen as a medium sized resort that would be near the Fort Wilderness campground and be themed to the National Parks and great outdoors. Cypress Point Lodge was to be a much-needed resort sitting along the waterfront, with several cabins spread out over a large area. This gives off the idea that Disney executives were thinking about suites and a possible Disney Vacation Club experience long before DVC actually happened. The Lodge and main building of the resort would house various shops and restaurants as well as provide the setting of the Yellowstone park feel. The main mode of transportation at the Lodge would be boats. Along the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon, you could walk from your cabin to the dock to make your way over to the Magic Kingdom. It’s unclear how guests would get to Epcot but I would assume a bus transport or some kind was thought up as well during the planning phases of Disney’s 2nd gate.

The announcement of several new hotels also brought along models and concept art that was housed inside the Walt Disney Story attraction on Main Street USA. So long term plans were thought out and were definitely underway. Of course we all know what happened to the Grand Floridian resort and spa, but Cypress Point, despite what was to be a “value” resort, and the need for rooms, was shelved due to the need for money to complete the first phase of Epcot.

So why don’t we have a Cypress Point Lodge now? Well, we sort of do! Michael Eisner and Frank Wells took over the Walt Disney Company in 1984 and even though the announcement of three new resorts was made just a few years earlier, Eisner and company had different plans which would lead into the Disney Decade of the 1990s and the plot of land that was meant for Cypress Point Lodge would eventually become the Wilderness Lodge in 1992. Cypress Point was a smaller resort with several spread out cabins along the waterfront of the Seven Seas Lagoon, but the Wilderness Lodge really brought the National Park feel to the forefront. So with that said, I think we should all be happy that Disney ended up shelving Cypress Point because we got the Wilderness Lodge instead, and I personally can’t say that about too many ideas that have been shelved over the years.

Twitter: @ModernMouseJosh
Email: ModernMouseRadio@yahoo.com

The post The Walt Disney World that Never Was: Cypress Point Lodge appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Tim Burton was on a role with film choices. He made Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands, and our topic for today, The Nightmare Before Christmas. So when I think of October and Halloween time, I think Tim Burton and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

If you are unfamiliar, Tim Burton was a Disney animator during the early 1980s, having worked on Tron, The Fox and The Hound, and The Black Cauldron. He had been fired from the company previously for using the company’s money to make a short film that was too dark and scary for children, Frankenweenie. Despite the firing, he was still interested in working alongside the company in getting a story of his made into a stop-motion animated film in 1990. The Nightmare Before Christmas was Disney and Tim Burton’s first work together after his firing and it proved to be a big success. The film was released under Touchstone Pictures so if it were too scary, the Disney name would be somewhat distant from it; however, it was generally loved by all ages. It was nominated for an Academy Award in best visual effects and Danny Elfman won a Golden Globe award for the soundtrack to the film. Despite the movie being nearly 20 years old now, as it came out in 1993, it continues to have a cult following and a strong showing annually at the box office when it has been released in 3D.

So why am I talking about the Nightmare Before Christmas on a blog about Disney attractions? Well, it is true that Disneyland adds a Nightmare Before Christmas theme to The Haunted Mansion every year between Halloween time and Christmas time, but was there ever a time when Disney Imagineers thought that Nightmare hold up as its own attraction? The answer is yes. Imagineer Chris Merritt had drawn up designs for a dark ride attraction, similar to many of the attractions in Fantasyland, that would take you through the story of Nightmare Before Christmas. The design was intended for both coasts, but was later adjusted to fit only into the Disney-MGM Studios. (Now Disney’s Hollywood Studios.)

The attraction was to be similar to the movie. After boarding your coffin sleigh, which was to be suspended from above, like the boats in Peter Pan’s Flight, you would enter through the tree with the pumpkin door. Just like in the film, the attraction would host many of the Elfman songs while taking you through the story. The attraction would also implement many color and lighting effects, like many of the indoor attractions being built today. The ride through would end after Jack and Sally kiss on the hill top, giving you the Disney happily-ever-after moment that many of the dark ride attractions do.

Although this sounds like an amazing ride to many of us who are Jack Skellington fans, the idea of riding in coffins and seeing the Boogie Man in person was not something that Disney would really jump behind. Despite the success of the film, Disney has only recently attached its name to it instead of the Touchstone Pictures name. Could we ever see an attraction like this? Highly doubtful. I think we will see a Nightmare Before Christmas layover of the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom before we see a full fledged attraction in Florida. With the characters as popular as they are, I would assume you will eventually see them as walk-around characters during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom in the future, but not at any of the other parks and with their own area. Sadly, the Nightmare fans of the world only have one place currently to see these characters and that is at Disneyland during the last few months of the year.

 What do you think?  Would you have enjoyed this attraction?  Would you like to see Jack and Sally meet and greets more often (see blog about the recent one at Downtown Disney.) How about a Haunted Mansion overlay?  Post your thoughts in the comments below!

The post The World that Never Was: Nightmare Before Christmas appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Tomorrowland was one of the original lands of the Disneyland park. Without question, it made its way to the Magic Kingdom park when it opened as part of Walt Disney World in 1971. It’s become a household name with favorite attractions such as Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, and so many others. It’s kept our fascination for years, but unlike the rest of the lands at the Magic Kingdom, it has to forever evolve with the times. When Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland in 1955, the future looked similar to that of the “Jetsons” and attractions like The House of the Future, quickly became irrelevant. The world’s knowledge of our solar system, space, and what we could invent for the future was rapidly increasing, and unfortunately Tomorrowland has had to suffer because of it.

Imagineers, did however, come up with a plan in the late 1980s to solve the problem of always “reinventing tomorrow”  by creating a futuristic look from the Victorian era. A Jules Verne-like future was imagined to be a great answer. Using architecture, costuming, and paint schemes more related to today’s “steampunk” trend more than anything else. This same thinking was also put into play at Disneyland Paris. With this new look and feel, Tomorrowland would have been changed to Discoveryland, a salute to thinkers like Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Leonardo da Vinci. Many of the most popular attractions would stay in Discoveryland, just getting new paint jobs and overhauls. Several other ideas were planned for this area, including a concept that eventually became a Downtown Disney favorite.

The Astronomers Club was to sit between Main Street U.S.A. and Discoveryland, currently where the Tomorrowland Terrace sits. This transitional restaurant would lend to the turn-of-the-century thinking towards what would later become an infatuation with space.  Guests would be seated and would be surrounded with Victorian decor, telescopes, and murals of the solar system. This funky restaurant would not only be a work of art, but a living work of art as actors playing famous, or not so famous, astronomers throughout history would walk around talking with guests and putting on a show for the crowd waiting for their dinner. It is unclear what the menu at the Astronomer’s Club would look like, or if these actors would also be considered part of the wait staff.

So what happened? Discoveryland went from fantasy to reality at Disneyland Paris, however the Astronomer’s Club, which was also planned there, was part of a phase two expansion.  The European park floundered for its first few years, nixing any plans that were involved in phase two. At the Magic Kingdom, it was thought that changing Tomorrowland would be a big leap, both in expense and in keeping guests happy. Several themes from Discoveryland were brought in, including part of the paint scheme, but the eventual theme of Tomorrowland was brought to life in 1994 as the Headquarters for the League of Planets. The Headquarters theme gave the Florida Tomorrowland an American appeal, resembling something you’d have seen on Buck Rogers.

Along with the cost effective change in themes, the Astronomer’s Club was also nixed, keeping many of the restaurants, shops, and attractions unchanged in the 1994 re-theme. The idea did, however, morph into the very popular Adventurer’s Club that opened in 1989 when Pleasure Island opened as part of an extension at Downtown Disney. Disneyland Paris also got the similar Explorer’s Club. Unfortunately, and to much criticism, both the Adventurer’s Club and Explorer’s Club have closed. The cast from the Adventurer’s Club does make appearances from time to time but they have yet to establish a new home.

So what are your thoughts on Discoveryland? Would you have liked it to have come to Walt Disney World? Do you prefer Tomorrowland? What if the Astronomer’s Club opened in Tomorrowland now, would it work? Leave your thoughts and as always, thank you for reading.

Be sure to follow Josh Taylor on Twitter at @kidredo. You can read more from Josh at www.disneyparkhistory.wordpress.com

The post The Walt Disney World That Never Was: The Astonomer’s Club appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

The Walt Disney Company saw a huge shift in the right direction during the mid-1980s with Frank Wells and Michael Eisner taking control of the company and Jeffrey Katzenberg becoming head of the animation and motion picture department. Films like The Little Mermaid, Splash, and several others were put out during the beginning of this “boom” period. Business was strong and executives were looking to launch the next big franchise for the company. Katzenberg looked to a former project he had worked on with Warren Beatty during his time at Paramount. The project was Dick Tracy and had been previously dropped due to disputes over payments to Beatty who was going to direct, produce, and star. Katzenberg and the rest of the crew at Disney thought this could be a perfect storm and that Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy could be a huge hit. The film went into production in February of 1989 and the concept of an attraction for the new Disney-MGM park at Walt Disney World quickly followed.

Dick Tracy’s Crime Stoppers was to be an E-ticket attraction at Disney-MGM Studios (now named Disney’s Hollywood Studios), recreating the sets and pacing of the feature film. Guests boarding the ride would be in for a high speed chase through Chicago streets, chasing and shooting at gangsters as music and sound effects whizzed by. The attraction would use the latest in audio-animatronic figures as well as new vehicles called Enhanced Motion Vehicles. You may now know these vehicles for their use in the Indian Jones Adventure at Disneyland and Dinosaur at Walt Disney World. The vehicles had been in development and Imagineers were looking for an attraction that would fit them. Dick Tracy was to be it.

Crime Stoppers was also to have had technology similar to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Guests boarding the Enhanced Motion Vehicles would be given a toy tommy gun. Aiming at certain areas as you passed through the Chicago environment would allow movements, making the experience different every time you were to ride. If you were to hit a trashcan, it may rattle, or if you were to shoot a window, you would hear the glass shattering.

Not only was Dick Tracy’s Crime Stoppers to be the standout attraction at the new Disney-MGM Studios, but was also to get its own land. Much like the inside of the attraction, guests in the park would wander into a 1920s Chicago, fitting with the themes of the parks Hollywood Boulevard area or the Streets of New York area. As you were to walk into this new Chicago land, you would find yourself in an industrial area, with one of the buildings occupied by the Crime Stoppers attraction. Most likely a shop would be placed in the area to help sell and promote Dick Tracy and future sequels to the film, but nothing is really known of what else would fill out the land. (Crime Stoppers would also make its way to Disneyland in a new land called Hollywoodland, but that is another story for another time.)

Unfortunately for Disney and all of us interested in a Dick Tracy attraction (my hand is raised as high as it can go), Dick Tracy was not the success executives were looking for. Between filming and marketing, the film cost $101 million to make, a very high budget considering Disney originally gave the film a $25 million budget. The film grossed $162 million and was nominated and won for several academy awards, but Disney executives, in particular Katzenberg, believed the film would match the previous years Batman film which grossed $411 million.

On top of a disappointing turnout at the theaters, legal battles between Tribune Media Services, who previously owned the film and television rights to Dick Tracy, and Warren Beatty began soon after the release of the film in 1990. Warren Beatty had purchased the rights from Tribune in 1985, but due to the possible production of other films as well as a television show in the works by Tribune, they wanted their cut of profits or the rights to the character back. (After years of battles and court appearances, a U.S district court judge ruled in favor of Beatty and gave him the rights to the character in 2011.)

Needless to say, the Dick Tracy rights have been a mess and Disney did not see the monetary possibilities involved in future sequels nor a theme park attraction. So Crime Stoppers was nixed as well as the Chicago area of the Disney-MGM Studios and the future Hollywoodland at Disneyland. The technology to be used in the Dick Tracy attraction did not go to waste however, as Disney turned its attention to an Indiana Jones attraction at Disneyland. Eventually, several elements would also come into play in Dinosaur at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Buzzlight Year attractions at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, and Toy Story Mania at Disney’s California Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Would you have enjoyed a Dick Tracy attraction at the Studios?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

The post The Walt Disney World that Never Was: Dick Tracy Crime Stoppers appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

by Brian Vasil

Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center Officially Opens:  June 20, 1995

X-S Files for Chapter 11:  October 12, 2003

Famous Quote:

“If something can’t be done with X-S, then it shouldn’t be done at all!” – LC Clench

“Stitch’s Great Escape was NOT done with X-S” – B Vasil

Favorite Memories:

I’m never lucky at Walt Disney World.  If there’s a giveaway… I am there the day after it.  Soft opening?  I’m there a week early… Celebrity visiting Hollywood Studios?  I’m in Animal Kingdom.  But that would all change in 1994.

My wife and I were walking by the ominous windows of what would become Alien Encounter, when an Imagineer with a clipboard asked us to come inside and try out the new ride.  We were ecstatic!  I remember it was a slightly different show than what it would eventually become.  Sure, the harnesses came down and the Alien breathed on our necks… but the show seemed tame and uneventful.  As we exited the ride, the same Imagineer asked our detailed opinion of everything from the atmosphere, to the fit of the restraints, to the way we felt at the end.  I remembered giving it a resounding “meh” and we thanked him for the ride.

Oh boy did it change.

Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who felt this way.  When the ride officially opened in June of 1995, it was scarier, more intense, darker, and oh so much better!  I really liked this ride… and rather than give a run down of every detail that made it special to me… here’s a quick bullet point list of what I thought made this experience unique and amazing:

-   Pre-Show:  Phil Hartman and Tim Curry involved in the same attraction?  I’m in.

-   Pre-Show:  Anytime I hear the phrase “practically painless” I think of Skippy.  Poor, poor Skippy…

-   Main Show:  One of the scariest parts was waiting for the restraints to come down.  I always hoped my head was properly lined up with each side.  I know… I worry too much.

-   Main Show:  The special effects… blood splatter (ok…Alien saliva…but I always thought it was the bi-product of the cast member with the flashlight above).  Breathing on my neck?  Freaked me out.  The “mother-in-law” joke in binaural audio… the flashes of light… the empty tube…  All of the chaos happening in pitch black darkness while I’m held down to my seat by my speaker/harness.

Good times.

I was sad to see it go.  It was unlike anything else in Tomorrowland… and arguably the entire Magic Kingdom.   Sure, I can still see Skippy in the pre-show of Stitch’s Great Escape… and it’s great to visit my old friend from time to time.  However, it’s my hope that somewhere X-S is perfecting the teleportation technology and will beam out the great Skippy… Sparing him from the current underwhelming experience that stand’s in AE’s place.

What are your memories of Alien Encounter?  What was your favorite special effect?  Let me know in the comments below!  Until next time Mouseketeers!

Brian Vasil has been Disney-obsessed since his first visit to WDW in 1971 (he was only 3 months old…and has visited 100+ times since then). He’s been known for leaving hidden Mickeys in the place settings at his wedding, always choosing the “Desert” ending at Horizons, and weeping at the end of “Wishes” (it gets dusty…). He lives in Ft. Lauderdale with his wife Mindy and daughter Brianna.

The post EXTINCT ATTRACTIONS: Alien Encounter appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Did You Know?

August 21, 1995 – Disneyland’s PeopleMover closes (it will be replaced 3 years later by a faster attraction known as Rocket Rods

• The attraction opened as part of the New Tomorrowland in 1967 and required a “D” ticket to ride
• Its hourly capacity could hold up to 4,885 guests
• The attraction moved uphill and downhill, unlike its Walt Disney World counterpart which glides on a flat track
• Rocket Rods closed in September of 2000 for refurbishment, but never reopened and was officially closed in the Spring of 2001
• The track for the PeopleMover remains, which leaves the door open for it to be revived.

Other Notable Disney Dates:

August 19, 2006 – Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Play It closes at the Disney MGM Studios

August 20, 1928 – The final short of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Hot Dog, is released

August 22, 1968 – The Walt Disney Travel Company is formed in Florida – compromising of travel agents and people who will helps guests plan their vacation to Walt Disney World, although the park will not open for another three years!

August 23, 1986 – A bill is passed by the U.S. Senate declaring December 5, 1986 as “Walt Disney Recognition Day”

August 24, 1989 – Ewok Village opens at the entrance to Star Tours in Walt Disney World’s MGM Studios

August 25, 2008 – Disney announces that it sold 298 acres of Florida property to the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for  new development

Question of the Week:                 

The Tomorrow Land Transit Authority in Walt Disney World  uses linear induction motors to move the cars. How were the cars in Disneyland’s PeopleMover propelled?

Candra Spirtoff and Megan Voisard are identical twins, born and raised in Cincinnati,  Ohio. They both graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Candra with a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Assisting and Megan with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.  They currently work as a paralegals for a local law firm.  Their passion is anything and everything Disney, and they have visited WDW almost every year since 1988, at the age of four.

The post THIS WEEK IN DISNEY HISTORY & PeopleMover Trivia Question appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Did You Know?

August 15, 1999 – The Disney Wonder, Disney’s newest cruise ship, makes its maiden voyage.

• The Disney Cruise Line ships are painted to resemble Mickey Mouse: black, white, yellow and red
• The Disney Cruise Line was the first cruise line to have yellow lifeboats, instead of the traditional orange
• Steamboat Willie stands at the bow of The Disney Wonder; Donald Duck and his nephew, Huey, are painted on the stern A statue of The Little Mermaid stands in the lobby
• Disney Cruise Line ships feature the only “fireworks at sea” display during its “Pirates IN the Caribbean” deck party
• The Disney Wonder, as well as The Disney Magic, are longer than Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World

Other Notable Disney Dates:

August 12, 1929 – Walt Disney is granted a trademark to use the image of Mickey Mouse in motion pictures.

August 13, 1942 – Bambi, Disney’s 5th, full-length animated film, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

August, 13 1954 – Excavation of Disneyland begins

August 14, 1958 – Disneyland’s Alice in Wonderland dark ride has its grand opening

August 14, 1998 – The recording Association of America certifies the Mulan soundtrack as gold – selling 500,000 units!

August 16, 1943 – Walt Disney is selected by the Mexican President, Avila Camacho, to receive the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle – the highest decoration awarded to foreigners – for his achievements as an American film producer

August 17, 1981 – A WEDway PeopleMover opens in Texas at the Houston National Airport – it’s the first use of a Disney system outside of the theme parks!

August 18, 1986 – Crocket’s Tavern, part of Trail’s End Restaurant, opens in Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Resort and campgrounds.

Question of the Week:                 

Where was the Disney Wonder built?

Candra Spirtoff and Megan Voisard are identical twins, born and raised in Cincinnati,  Ohio. They both graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Candra with a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Assisting and Megan with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.  They currently work as a paralegals for a local law firm.  Their passion is anything and everything Disney, and they have visited WDW almost every year since 1988, at the age of four.

The post THIS WEEK IN DISNEY HISTORY: Week of August 13 and DCL Trivia Question appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Did You Know?

• August 7, 1969 – the new attraction, Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, opens to cast members only.

• The Haunted Mansion is the only attraction in four different lands in four different Disney Parks.

• The singing busts, designed by Rick Baker, were modeled after Walt Disney, Paul Frees, Marc Davis, Thurl Ravenscroft and Blaine Gibson

• Audio- Animatronics for Disneyland and Walt Disney World were produced at the same time as the Orlando attraction opened less than two years after its Anaheim counterpart.

Other Notable Disney Dates:

August 5, 1955 – The 20,000 Leagues under the Sea Exhibits opens in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. Exactly 12 years later to the day, the attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space opens in the place of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.

August 5, 1999 – Production begins on Disney’s newest animated feature which will be released in 2002 – Lilo and Stitch.

August 6, 1961 – The Flying Saucers attraction opens in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland.

August 6, 1999 – The Disneyland Monorail Café officially closes to make room for new areas of Downtown Disney.

August 8, 1953 – Walt Disney reviews a site map that Imagineer Marvin Davis has been working on for theme park they plan to build – Disneyland.

August 9, 1934 – Walt Disney presents his animators with an outline for his first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

August 10, 1994 – The Concourse Steak House opens in the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World.

August 11, 1925 – performer Mike Douglas is born in Chicago, Illinois. He is best known as the singing voice of Prince Charming in the 1950 animated feature, Cinderella. William Phipps provided the speaking voice for Prince Charming.

Question of the Week:                 

Can you name the lands in which The Haunted Mansion resides and in what parks?

Candra Spirtoff and Megan Voisard are identical twins, born and raised in Cincinnati,  Ohio. They both graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Candra with a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Assisting and Megan with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.  They currently work as a paralegals for a local law firm.  Their passion is anything and everything Disney, and they have visited WDW almost every year since 1988, at the age of four.

The post This week in Disney History: Week of August 6 & Haunted Mansion TRIVIA QUESTION appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.