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  • Book - A Glimmer of Pixie Dust: Finding Our Hope in the Disney Story

    Book – A Glimmer of Pixie Dust: Finding Our Hope in the Disney Story

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That restaurant would have been so lovely and peac That restaurant would have been so lovely and peaceful next to the water 🥺 The name Motor Mania possibly came from an early Bruce Bushman concept for Disneyland when they were contemplating putting Mr. Toad in Tomorrowland instead of Fantasyland. I honestly think this ride would be perfect in that spot where the Tomorrowland Speedway is now because it could beautifully bridge the gap between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland (which has always been an awkward transition imo). A few other details I didn’t have time to mention here: There would have been a scene where you drive through town and the townspeople scatter (in homage to the original iterations of the attraction), Toad would hurl his prison ball & chain over your head to create your method of escape from the prison, and later in the countryside in a shadowy glen you’d see the home of Mr. Mole. To honor tradition, I feel like, somehow, we should still end up in the hot place 👹 but I suspect this version of the ride ends with us arriving safely at Toad Hall. We go over this concept in more depth with Eric’s own narration of the scenes at the end of our Mr. Toad series for our p0dcast Distory with Kate & Kirk if you’d like to learn more about this fun could-have-been attraction. - #mrtoadwildride #mrtoad #disney #disneyparks #disney #waltdisneyworld #disneyworld #magickingdom #disneyland #disneyfan #disneyhistory #disneyaddict #disneyride #obscuredisney #extinctdisney #disneyfacts #disneysecrets #wdw #retrodisney #vintagedisney #imagineering #conceptart #disneyattractions #sevendwarfsminetrain #windinthewillows #motormania #disneyreels #disneyreel #disneyinsta #disneytrivia #disneyinstagram
Our lives can often feel like one unending, unprec Our lives can often feel like one unending, unprecedented event after another these days. But then we step into the Disney parks or put on our favorite Disney movie, and suddenly we are transported, as if the magic of the worlds these artists created is knitting our bones back together. It reminds us of our resiliency. Our capacity to endure, overcome, accept what is, and step confidently into a life where we know we are fully worthy of the space we occupy. Disney is more than churros and changes that ruffle our feathers. It’s less an escape from our broken world and more a healing of our broken selves. The words in this book are inspired by Disney artists and Imagineers who were real people. They didn’t live in a vacuum. They knew what it was like to feel joy, hope, fear, shame, struggle, and heartbreak. They knew, and they poured it into their work. And that’s the gift, the pixie dust they left behind for us to discover. Hope in the midst of change. Confidence despite critics. A way forward when we feel stuck. Disney’s history has, over time, changed the very fabric of American culture. But more importantly, it’s changed us. As you move through this collection of curated writings—some composed while waiting in long lines for attractions in the Disney parks—may you find the hope you need tucked into the corners of these forgotten stories. May they be the glimmer of pixie dust that helps you find joy, healing, and comfort. And may they remind you that, with the addition of a little faith and trust, there is always, always, always a way to keep moving forward. 💜 A Glimmer of Pixie Dust: Finding our Hope in the Disney Story is available now on Amazon! 📖 (🔗 in bio). - #disney #disneyparks #disneyland #disneyworld #disneylandcalifornia #disneybook #disneyauthor #newbook #disneyhistory #disneysecrets #disneyfacts #disneytrivia #imagineering #imagineers #disneyquotes #disneygram #disneyaddict #disneyfan #disneylove #disneynerd #disneynostalgia #disneyinstagram
This was by far the hardest year I’ve ever lived This was by far the hardest year I’ve ever lived. When I finished writing A Glimmer of Pixie Dust: Finding Our Hope in the Disney Story, I wasn’t sure how to talk about it, because it feels like handing pieces of myself to the world. So this is me leaning into that same spirit… being vulnerable in the hopes that those of you who have had a hard year, too, can find the hope you need in these stories that helped me find my way back to myself. While I’ve had my share of fun with friends and always find something to be thankful for in the Disney parks, for a good long time my smile was half-hearted at best because of the actions of a human I trusted who chose to hurt me. It’s been a year of recognizing my worth, making hard choices, embracing change, and finding ways to move forward, even when forward felt impossible ( I labeled each section in this new book to reflect these four themes). A Glimmer of Pixie Dust is essentially my content in book form… obscure history, encouragement, and inspiration, woven with stories from animators, imagineers, and park history. It’s a curated collection of writings designed to help you see the Disney Parks you know and love in a new way… and maybe discover something new about yourself along the way💜 A Glimmer of Pixie Dust is available now on Amaz0n, 🔗 in my bio. Happy reading, dear Disney friends 🥰 - #disneyparks #disneycreator #disneyland #disneyworld #disney #disneyvlog #disneyvlogger #disneybook #newbook #disneylandcalifornia #disneyhistory #disneyfacts #disneysecrets #disneyfan #disneynerd #disneyfans #disneyinspiration #healing #disneyinstagram #hope #resilience #wdw #waltdisneyworld #disneyreel #disneyreels #disneyinsta #disneygram #disneylife #disneybound #disneymagic
I tear up a little every time I get to this scene I tear up a little every time I get to this scene in the ride now 🥹 Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway was the first ever attraction dedicated to the two starring mice who started it all. There were several other Mickey Mouse rides that were proposed before this one years earlier, including a rollercoaster through the 1930s black and white shorts and another ride that toured Disney studios (which MMRR borrowed some ideas from). The perfect picnic scene always reminds me of my own dear husband Eliot. Once, during a particularly tough season when we weren’t sure if our careers were going to pan out, we went on this ride together and were stuck in this scene for a bit. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and he, with that unspoken language coupled have, just wrapped his arm around me and held me closer. That’s when I knew we’re going to make it happen one way or another. Even if life is sometimes a crazy ride, as long as we had each other, nothing could stop us in moving towards our goals, together 🥹💜 I decided to write an important chapter in my 📖 Who the Mirror Reflects set in that final scene because of that moment between me and my husband of 19 years. - #mickeyandminniesrunawayrailway #mickey #minnie #disneycharacters #disney #imagineering #disneyparks #disneyland #hollywoodstudios #toontown #wdw #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #disneylandpark #disneysecrets #voiceactor #disneytrivia #disneyfacts #disneyfan #disneyfans #disneyhistory #disneyrides #disneyattractions #disneynerd #imagineering #disneyreel #disneyreels #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyrides
The salt box is watching 👀 I may get a little t The salt box is watching 👀 I may get a little too excited about that prop because I just think it’s so clever how the Imagineers added it to tie into Pinocchio’s story 🧂🫏 Pinocchio Square was planned in the earliest versions of Fantasyland, back when Alice in Wonderland was still going to be a walk-through, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride hadn’t entered in the picture quite yet. They ended up removing Pinocchio Square for the 1955 version, but when they were redoing Fantasyland in 1983, no doubt the Imagineers went back in Disney history and revisited that idea, integrating it with Pinocchio Village Haus to make a new iteration of a “square.” Aladdin’s Oasis was in the spot of the Tropical Hideaway from 1993 to 2018, beginning as a dinner show (like it’s predecessor the Tahitian Terrace) and eventually becoming a meet and greet space. The lamps and carpets are a nod to this former space, and the mosaic magic carpet and tile work at the entrance are left over from it as well. Also… RIP Big Thunder Ranch. What I wouldn’t give to sit under the stars there again, listening to live music and eating BBQ ribs 😭 - #disneyland #disneysecrets #disneytrivia #disneyparks #disney #disneyfan #disneyfacts #disneylandpark #imagineering #disneyconcept #disneylandcalifornia #disneyvlog #disneyvlogger #disneyrides #junglecruise #andventureland #mainstreet #mainstreetusa #disneyhistory #disneynerd #fantasyland #hauntedmansion #disneyreel #disneyreels #retrodisney #vintagedisney #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyinstagram
There’s a reason it’s not well lit in that bac There’s a reason it’s not well lit in that back corner of Pirates of the Caribbean 😂 Rapunzel was actually pretty tame for Rolly Crump, his style was heavily influenced by hippie culture and so embracing… ahem… “natural” portraits was prevalent in his art. He was the lead designer of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in Walt Disney World, so his style was everywhere in that attraction, including this portrait in Winky’s pub. As for Redd, I love that Marc turned her story around from what it was in those earlier years. She, in his mind, went from being sold 😬 to becoming a fabulous pirate queen living well in her “retirement.” The portrait we see in the ride today was likely painted by Ed Kohn, but it’s almost identical to Marc’s concept. Anne Bonny and Mary Read were real-life pirates that Marc researched when developing the attraction. They are visible in the queue area of the attraction painted on the wall (best viewed from your bateaux near the end of the ride after you ascend the waterfall). - #disney #disneyparks #disneyland #disneyworld #piratesofthecaribbean #tangled #potc #rapunzel #waltdisneyworld #wdw #disneylandcalifornia #disneyrides #disneyattractions #disneyfacts #imagineering #disneytrivia #disneysecrets #scandalous #disneyhistory #marcdavis #disneynerd #disneyfan #disneyfans #mrtoad #disneyinstagram #disneyreel #disneyreels #disneywomen #disneygram #disneyinsta
This was definitely one of the most dangerous attr This was definitely one of the most dangerous attraction concepts Disney ever considered 😳 probably a good thing it never came to pass 😂 I also love how some of the unused concepts made their way over to Disney World later on. As I’ve said before, Imagineering really loves to recycle. Hunting uranium-235 was considered a fun hobby in the 1950s, as well as a lucrative one as you could turn it into a side hustle. They even had clubs where you could compare ore samples. Claims could be staked in national forests or public land to mine for uranium, and searching for the radioactive rock was touted as a great way to enjoy the outdoors. The Atomic Energy Commission made booklets for people looking to start prospecting. It was kind of like a mini gold rush of the 1950s until the commission had enough of a stockpile and wasn’t looking to purchase more from miners. People weren’t fully aware of the risks of handling/inhaling particles of radioactive uranium back then, which is why it seemed fun and safe to add to Disneyland as an activity for the whole family. The first concept art I showed from the hunt was created by Claude Coats. - #disney #disneyland #tomorrowland #disneyparks #imagineering #radioactive #uranium #disneyconceptart #disneylandpark #wdw #disneyworld #wdw #magickingdom #disneyrides #disneyfacts #disneytrivia #disneysecrets #disneyfan #disneyfans #disneynerd #1950s #vintagedisneyland #retrodisneyland #imagineering #disneycoffee #disneylandcalifornia #disneyinstagram #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyreel #disneyreels
It really is that simple. We just want what Disney It really is that simple. We just want what Disney does best, paired with an original story, created by talented artists. (That is not to discount all the digital artists and what they do… it’s just not the same, is all). It’s true that hand-drawn animation is expensive. That $1.8 million that was spent in 1937 would be about $48 million today. But if Disney is already throwing around many times that amount for movies… perhaps they could find a way to bring back their legacy? Because we need it. We need another Cinderella. Little Mermaid. Peter Pan. Alice in Wonderland. We need someone with the colors of Mary Blair. The distorted trees and moody backgrounds of Claude Coats. The exacting lines of Eyvind Earle. The whimsy and charm of Joe Grant. The humor and creativity of Marc Davis. While we can never replicate these exact personalities and their unique styles, there are millions of artists out there waiting to be discovered to lend their own magic to Disney films for a whole new generation. I guarantee there are still new stories to be told. New worlds to be imagined. New reimaginings of old fairy tales that have been forgotten over time.  We need creativity.  We crave it.  Because our world is rapidly losing our humanity as AI replaces us left and right. What better time to go against the grain and do something that is timeless, rather than progressive? Or… perhaps, in this case, timeless is progressive 🤔 - #disney #disneymovies #snowwhite #snowwhitemovie #snowwhiteandthesevendwarfs #disneyparks #disneyfilm #disneyanimation #waltdisneyanimationstudios #disneyfan #disneynerd #disneyhistory #animationhistory #disneynerd #disneyland #waltdisneyworld #wdw #disneyworld #disneylandpark #disneycaliforniaadventure #hollywoodstudios #disneycommentary #disneymovie #animation #disneylove #waltdisney #disneyinstagram #disneyinsta #disneygram #disneyreel #disneyreels
Raise you hand if you remember the creepy HELP clo Raise you hand if you remember the creepy HELP clown 🙋‍♀️I believe it was Joyce Carlson who said she loved that sad little guy with the help sign 😂 I always find it interesting that the Imagineering teams on the different coasts are allowed a certain amount of customization to the same storytelling. It seems fitting that DL preferred not to have the uncouth “stuffing butter butterflies in his mouth chimp” and instead went with one holding a magnifying glass instead. You’ll also see the props for Trader Sams in different places in each version (like a blue argyle sock that is located in the queue for DL but the store for WDW). And in case you want to know which crew you belong to, the 5 Jungle Cruise Skipper Crews are: - Banana Troop 5571 (for the opening years of DL & WDW) The funny/silly ones - The Pach (for Pachyderm) those who believe “knowledge is an adventure!” - Aves Raras (from Three Caballeros) the “weird bird” creative types who live in the rafters - Upstream Society - those who love a good party and put on Victorian vaudeville plays - Bote Crashers - athletic types who like being active - #disneyparks #disney #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #wdw #magickingdom #adventureland #junglecruise #frontierland #disneyland #disneyhistory #disneynerd #disneyfan #disneyrides #disneytrivia #disneysecrets #disneyfacts #disneyworldflorida #bigthunder #tianasbayouadventure #hauntedmansion #smallworld #disneyreel #disneyreels #disneyinstagram #disneyinsta #disneygram
Chernabog is definitely not as scary once you know Chernabog is definitely not as scary once you know this 😂😂 I love how Distory with Kate and Kirk allows us to go down these bizarre rabbit trails that connect all kinds of things in Disney history. This particular episode of our Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride series is definitely one of my favorites (ep. 135). Shoutout to our Distory listeners who contributed some lights on footage and that Beetlejuice connection (you know who you are, and you so totally rock for helping out 🤘). You can listen to Distory with Kate & Kirk anywhere you enjoy podcasts, or watch on YT & Spotify. A few more notes: The French nightclub from the 1890s was called “Cabaret de l’Enfer” (Hell Cabaret) from the 1890s. Wilfred Jackson wasn’t just around the office, he was the director of Chernabog sequence. He was known as Jaxon at the studio, which was a name he’d chosen for himself because kids teased him about his name when he was younger, calling him Winifred. more info on Jaxon can be found in the amazing 📖 called Directing at Disney by Don Peri & Pete Doctor. And yes, that is reference footage from Snow White of Jaxon dancing with Marge Champion as he was a director on that film. P.S. I dig more into Bill Tytla’s life and work in my own upcoming 📖 called A Glimmer of Pixie Dust: Finding Our Hope in the Disney Story coming later this month! 🎉 - #disneyland #disney #disneylandpark #Fantasia #chernabog #disneynerd #disneysecrets #disneyparks #disneytrivia #disneyfacts #disneyhistory #fantasyland #disneymovies #disneyanimation #disneyanimationstudios #disneystudios #waltdisneyanimationstudios #animationhistory #disneyfans #disneylandcalifornia #fantasmic #hollywoodstudios #disneyfilm #disneyreel #disneyreels #disneygram #disneyinstagram #disneyinsta #animation #snowwhite
There are 40 different routes to scale Disneyland’s Matterhorn Mountain though only 15 are preferred a map resides inside the icy slopes communicating to all climbers a difficulty rating letting them choose their method of ascent and for years people did just that. It started with the Sierra Club whose members Walt hired to put on a show when the mountain premiered in 1959. (Though they put the wrong flag on the top, confusing Switzerland 🇨🇭 with Sweden 🇸🇪 as some Americans tend to do.) “Hans” and “Otto” scaled Furggen Ridge that day names given them by Disney, sometimes joined by “Fritz” they climbed steadily navigating around the overhang at the top exaggerated from its real-life counterpart a choice WED made to create a shadow effect and add to the drama. Once in a while they even added in a fake fall to make the crowd below gasp in shock as they waited in 4-hour lines. But other climbers before these ones made the route possible like Chuck Wilks who placed all the pitons for future climbers to attach their ropes and summit the 1/100 scale Matterhorn. Over the years many have summited this first Disney mountain including Mickey in the 1990s many performing the climb 10 times per day at a rate of $1.75 per hour until they didn’t anymore. There are 40 different routes to scale Matterhorn Mountain a feat that seems impossible from below and yet done a thousand times over by those who see it as an adventure rather than an insurmountable task. Perhaps the mountains that we face the peaks that seem daunting are just waiting for us to choose a route pitons in place beckoning us forward onward up. The climb may not be easy but every step you take every muscle straining in exertion every doubt you have that it’s worth it will fade away when you’re standing on the top looking down at how far you’ve come and realizing you never needed 40 routes. You just needed the courage to choose one. - #matterhorn #disney #disneyparks #disneyland #disneyhistory #fantasyland #disneyrides #disneyattractions #nostalgicdisney #vintagedisney #mountainclimbers #disneylandpark #disneygram #disneytrivia #disneyfacts #disneysecrets #disneyinsta
It’s possible that there was a version of that d It’s possible that there was a version of that devil in Disneyland’s 1955 Mr. Toad, as photos/footage of that scene are extremely hard to come by. But from everything I’ve seen, they only used Bruce Bushman’s “Jaws of Hell” concept for that version and didn’t use many of his other ideas for that finale. The only figures I’ve seen in the 1955 version are the little wiggly cow devils. The big green coughing dragon and the pan-styled judge didn’t appear until the 1983 version. The Tree of Life wasn’t the only ideas pulled from Equatorial Africa for Animal Kingdom. Many of the structures you see in the Africa area today have nods back to that original concept art. So while it’s sad that pavilion never made it into Epcot’s World Showcase, we eventually got what I would consider to be a much grander version in Animal Kingdom. Still would have been interesting to go up in that treehouse and look down on animals in a watering hole, though. As for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, there was another Mickey ride they considered making even before Mickey’s Magical Studio Tour in the 80s. When the Imagineers were developing an area of Fantasyland called Dumbo Circus Land, they were going to make a roller coaster through 1930s era black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons in a dark environment (kind of like space Mountain). That project was canceled, but they resurrected the idea of a Mickey Mouse ride for the Entertainment Pavilion that was going to be in Epcot. When that pavilion grew too big of an idea for Epcot, it became MGM Studios (what we know today as Hollywood Studios) and that’s when Mickey‘s Magical Studio Tour came about. - #disneyworld #disneyland #epcot #animalkingdom #disneylandpark #toontown #hollywoodstudios #disneyparks #wdw #waltdisneyworld #imagineering #disneysecrets #disneytrivia #disneyfacts #disneyfan #disneyrides #winniethepooh #mrtoadswildride #treeoflife #worldshowcase #disneyattractions#disneyconceptart #mickeyandminniesrunawayrailway #mmrr #disneygram #disneyinstagram #disneyinsta #disneyreel #disneyreels
It’s surprising how much of a difference it make It’s surprising how much of a difference it makes in making them appear lifelike. You can see an example of what it was supposed to look like in that one clip with the woman chasing the man from earlier in 1967 👀 which was before Alice took these notes on August 26th of the same year. The chase scene & the auction with the redhead were both significantly changed in 2018. But the characters are still running around in circles, even if the storyline of who is chasing who/what is different now. Alice emphasized that this was a huge error to not have this effect working in her notes, saying, “There were a number of figures not animating. Other figures animated, but less than 50% of planned animation. These figures I shall not list, because I know reports are sent to WED what is and isn’t working. I am most interested in curious why the animated bosoms, in the chase scene have never been placed on the check sheet as not animating. I understand, after checking with many people, the bosoms haven’t been animating for weeks!” Alice really was looking out for the good of the show, however, and noted at the end of her report, “The show is a wonderful show. I know the upkeep isn’t easy. The public will come to see the show as long as it runs and looks well, and love it!” - #piratesofthecaribbean #disney #disneyland #pirates #potc #alicedavis #disney #disneyparks #imagineering #waltdisneyimagineering #imagineers #retrodisney #vintagedisney #disneylandpark #disneyhistory #wdw #magickingdom #disneysecrets #disneyfacts #disneytrivia #disneyfan #1960s #disneynostalgia #disneyreels #disneyreel #disneyinsta #disneynerd #disneyworld #disneygram #audioanimatronics
Honestly I thought we just crash landed for the lo Honestly I thought we just crash landed for the longest time until I learned this 😂 Regarding the upper “fake” tracks, Marty Sklar explained: “We were worried at the time that an invisible ride system–one that could not be seen, except by entering the building–could be a problem for people who should not really take this ride. So, making the vehicles and passengers–even dummy ones– visible was an early goal. Both ideas were abandoned, however, the lower exterior track for weather reasons, and the upper track vehicles and dummy passengers because they were concerned about a scale issue.” They did put some fake passengers in a rocket outside the attraction under the RCA sign when it opened in 1975 to try to achieve the same goal of a “preview” of the intensity and excitement of the attraction. And regarding that peoplemover cocept from 1965, I have ALL the questions about why there are so many people just walking around at the bottom 🤔 Walt Disney wanted it to be dark with projections… those people looked like they were wandering an expo 😂 Note: That interior ride footage of Disney World’s Space Mountain was filmed before Disney changed their policy about device usage on that particular ride. Please follow all current signage and cast member instructions when on Disney attractions. - #disney #spacemountain #disneyland #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #wdw #retrodisney #vintagedisney #tomorrowland #disneyparks #disneylandcalifornia #peoplemover #disneyrides #disneyattractions #disneyconceptart #cosmicrewind #imagineering #gotg #disneynerd #magickingdom #disneytrivia #disneysecrets #disneyfacts #disneyhistory #disneyreel #disneyreels #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyinstagram #disneyfan
For all of you who have been asking about Mr. Toad For all of you who have been asking about Mr. Toad’s Sherlock Holmes… this one is for you 🕵️‍♂️ Edited to add: Ratty is dressed that way after Basil Rathbone but he is the narrator, not the voice of Ratty. Roddy McDowall was the voice actor for that character. Totally my error, I was making this post quickly so I could spend some more time with my kids for Spring Break and just mixed that up 🙈 The dart board in the pub shouldn’t be there because that configuration of scoring wasn’t designed until the mid 1900s and Mr. Toad is set around the turn of the century 🎯 This is something my Distory with Kate & Kirk p0dcast cohost discovered during our episode exploring Winky’s pub… and it’s not the only thing that is historically inaccurate in that scene. The Walt Disney tribute is the splashdown at the end of Big Thunder Mountain (which is admittedly hit or miss these days as to whether or not it’s working). Tony Baxter added it to Big Thunder as a way to honor Walt’s original Matterhorn mountain which also features a splashdown at the end. The use of linear induction motors to pull you in and out of the station was the very first time that technology was ever used on a roller coaster (in 1979). It is not used for the lift hills, that came much later in roller coaster history, but Big Thunder was the first to use it in general. It’s (kinda sorta) like magnets that pull/push you along, and that is what you’re hearing with the humming sound as you are entering and exiting the station. And I don’t even know why that woman was looking at me, I swear I was completely silent while I was filming 😂 - #disney #disneyland #disneyvlog #disneyvlogger #disneyparks #disneytrivia #fantasyland #frontierland #bigthundermountain #disneyrides #californiaadventure #dca #disneyscaliforniaadventure #dapperdans #disneylandcalifornia #disneylandpark #disneysecrets #disneyfacts #disneyhistory #storybooklandcanalboats #disneycreator #disneyfun #retrodisney #vintagedisney #disneyinsta #disneygram #disneyinstagram #disneyreel #disneyreels
I long to be as unbothered as the stretching room I long to be as unbothered as the stretching room occupants the ones we see when we first step into the chamber with no windows and no doors  before the danger is revealed. I remember what it felt like to be that way  before I knew what I know now blissfully unaware of what was to come.  I wonder when Marc Davis sketched these characters meant to make us laugh  what he thought of them, really If they resembled real life  how we pretend and present a version of ourselves we wish we were but underneath the surface we are sinking standing on shaky ground and powder kegs holding onto thorny reminders of our past that we’d rather keep buried  and walking tightropes trying to please people too late discovering that the danger of doing so is far worse than we imagined. We stretch and stretch and stretch ourselves till we no longer resemble who we once were  and that’s when the true peril is revealed not alligators and axes but the shadow versions of ourselves that are the greatest threat of all. Perhaps, though, the stretching room portraits are not unbothered  but quite the opposite.  Haunted by their mistakes pained by their past.  Yet we don’t have to be like them we don’t have to let the ghosts of our former selves follow us home forever  because sometimes being stretched is what reveals something we needed to see all along and once we’ve seen it we can finally rest in peace. - kg - #hauntedmansion #disney #disneyparks #marcdavis #conceptart #disneyconceptart #stretchingroom #hm #disneyshauntedmansion #disneyland #disneyworld #wdw #disneyland_anaheim #disneylandcalifornia #waltdisneyworld #magickingdom #grimgrinningghosts #disneyhistory #wdi #disneynerd #disneyfan #disneyfans #disneyinsta #disneyinstagram #disneygram
Do you think they made the right decision? It’ Do you think they made the right decision? It’s fascinating to see how little boundaries guests had in those early years of the park, but it makes sense if you consider Walt’s inspiration for Disneyland of Denmark’s Tivoli Gardens. People there treat the grass like a picnic area and while there are some fences, in general the landscaping seems to be relatively left alone by the public. The idea that Disneyland would be partially a recreational park is likely what kept them from fencing it in for the first few decades. The iconic green fences were finally added in the early 1970s at Disneyland to keep guests out of the landscaping (and often for safety purposes as well). Fences (boundaries) keep us safe, but can also keep out good things/people if we aren’t careful how we build them. The balance for how high and what kind of fence to construct… these are still questions I wrestle with myself, and I don’t know if there are any easy answers. - #disneyland #disneylandhistory #disney #disneyparks #disneylandresort #disneyvintage #disneyretro #disneynostalgia #fences #boundaries #relationships #waltdisney #disneyhistory #disneyfacts #disneysecrets #disneytrivia #disneyfan #disneyfans #healing #imagineering #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyinstagram #disneyreel #disneyreels
If that baby wasn’t named Ursa something, it was If that baby wasn’t named Ursa something, it was a missed opportunity 😂 Elements of 1994’s New Tomorrowland still exist today, though the storytelling is not as obvious outside of the Peoplemover’s spiel. Some pieces of it include the map of the Galaxy on the Kugel ball fountain, the palm trees from Tomorrowland Light & Power Co., Sonny Eclipse, and the “starport” signage inside Space Mountain (Kevin called it a spaceport). Kevin Rafferty explained it as “a playful version of the ‘future that never was.’ In this whimsical machine-age-meets-early-sci-fi, -comics-future, robots cut your hair and walk your dog, and citizens live out in the hoverburbs.” The Imagineers were inspired by what people in the 20s and 30s thought the future would look like, and that was their inspiration for much of New Tomorrowland’s design. This story comes from Kevin Rafferty’s 📖 called Magic Journey, something you should never read on an airplane because you will for sure annoy your seat mates by laughing out loud repeatedly. - #disney #disneyworld #wdw #magickingdom #tomorrowland #disneysecrets #disneytrivia #disneyfacts #disneyfun #disneyparks #disneyfan #disneyfans #imagineering #imagineers #kevinrafferty #disneyfactsyoudontknow #peoplemover #tta #disneynostalgia #1990s #90s #waltdisneyworld #retrodisney #vintagedisney #disneyworldflorida #disneyreel #disneyreel #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyinstagram
Honestly, it makes so much sense though. They had Honestly, it makes so much sense though. They had to do what they could to make Snow White easier to animate, since they were going for more realistic features and movement vs “rubber hose” animation that was common in the 20s and 30s. There’s also evidence that her collar being so large was partially to hide the issues they had with her neck not looking right. If the collar hid a good portion of it, then it was very forgiving as she moved about. Grim Natwick said that they moved her waist up and moved her neckline and “tried to overcome difficulties by making a braceless outer collar.” Disney’s animators managed to get Snow White looking believable as a human, but the prince was another story. No one wanted the job of animating him, because no matter what they did, he still looked too feminine and awkward. 🙈 They cut many of the scenes he was in because of this difficulty, which is why he doesn’t show up much in the 1937 animated film. He also had an error where he “shimmied” in the final scene where he awakes Snow White. Walt Disney hated it and wanted to go fix it, but when his brother Roy learned how much it would cost to fix just that scene, he refused and said, “Let the Prince shimmy.” And so he did, for years. It’s since been digitally repaired, so the shimmy isn’t as obvious, but there is still quite a lot of instability of his character in that particular scene. All of these stories came from interviews with the original artists and performers who worked on the film back in the 1930s, including Grim Natwick, Joe Grant, Adriana Caselotti and Ward Kimball. - #snowwhitemovie #snowwhite #disneyssnowwhite #disneysnowwhite #disney #disneystudios #waltdisneyanimationstudios #disneyparks #disneyland #disneylandcalifornia #disneylandparis #snowwhiteandthesevendwarfs #animationhistory #disneyhistory #disneyfilms #disneyanimation #disneyanimators #disneysecrets #disneycharacters #disneyfacts #disneytrivia #disneymovies #disneyfan #disneyfans #disneyreels #disneyreel #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyinstagram
That Mowgli costume though 😳 When Disney decid That Mowgli costume though 😳 When Disney decided they wanted to design their own costumes instead of renting the Ice Capades ones (which had leased the rights to the characters for the show), some of the characters were a challenge. As Imagineer John Hench put it, “It is actually astonishing that Mickey held his identity. Making him a real, live character represented a violent shift that violated the head-to-body proportions [of the 2-D character]. They also didn’t have any standardization of the performers at that point in time, so sometimes Mickey was 6 feet tall, with their human limbs more than evident. In 1961, Bill Justice and John Hench helped redesign the characters to make them all more realistic and proportionate at the request of Walters Disney. They also made the costumes more durable, as guests didn’t always go easy on the characters. As Billy Justice put it, “Everything had to be re-designed to more accurately represent the characters and stand up to the rigors of every day use among the guests.” I think it’s interesting that not only did no one think to make these costumes before opening day, but that they didn’t even think they would have the characters long-term. But it was quickly evident that the characters needed to have a presence in Disneyland, as they were the living embodiment of the movies that the public loved so much. As Bill Justice said, “Walt told me ‘Other places can have thrill rides and bands and trains. Only we have our characters.’” - #disney #disneyland #disneycharacters #creepy #mickeymouse #minniemouse #mickey #disneyparks #disneyworld #disneynerd #weirddisney #retrodisney #vintagedisney #disneynostalgia #disneycostumes #disneyhistory #disneylandcalifornia #disneylandresort #disneysecrets #disneytrivia #disneyfacts #obscuredisney #1960s #1950s #disneygram #disneyinsta #disneyinstagram #disneyreel #disneyreels
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