Featured Attractions

Friday, September 23, 2016

Food Fridays: Turkey Legs?


One of the more bizarre foods found at the Disney Theme Parks is the jumbo turkey leg. The same food that gets old fast during the Thanksgiving weekend is regularly gobbled down by the hundreds inside Disney's Magic Kingdoms.

 

Of course, one of the better places to eat these turkey legs is Gaston's Tavern at Florida's Magic Kingdom Theme Park. After all, he uses antlers in all of his decorating.

 


Friday, September 16, 2016

Freaky Fridays: The Strange Characters of EPCOT


Guests who entered Florida's Epcot Center in 1982 would come across some rather strange characters to interact with...

 

As the first non-Disney themed Disney Theme Park, the company wanted to make a break from the past. Instead of being greeted by Mickey and friends, guests would interact with a cavalcade of dead-eyed representatives from each country in the park's World Showcase.

 

Guests hated the new characters and kids were frightened by them. When EPCOT Center's attendance disappointed, the first thing to get the boot from the park were these characters, replaced by Mickey and pals.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Theme Park Thursdays: The Disney Railroads


The DISNEYLAND Railroad in Anaheim was always near and dear to Walt Disney's heart. It was one of the attractions he personally and fully owned. Some people believe that it was the biggest reason why he built DISNEYLAND in the first place.

 

Unbeknownst to park guests, Mr. Disney would often operate the train himself whenever he needed to leave the stress of running the company behind. Since then, every Disneyland-style theme park except for Shanghai Disneyland has opened with a Railroad of its very own. Here are some interesting Disney Railroad facts:

* The DISNEYLAND Railroad was the first operationing attraction at DISNEYLAND. A child who was dying of cancer had requested a ride on the train, as it was not likely he would live to see the park open. Mr. Disney rushed the construction of the railroad so that he could fulfill the boy's wish. It would be the first of many wishes to come true in DISNEYLAND.

* The Walt Disney World Railroad in Florida is the only Disney Railroad that did not have any new train engines built for it. All of its engines were previously junked and were restored.

* Tokyo Disneyland's Railroad only has one station. The park designed it this way to avoid having to classify it as a transit system under Japanese law.

 

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Toontown Tuesdays: The Launchpad Controversy!


Tad Stones, longtime Disney television producer, recently riled up the fans by stating that DuckTales and Darkwing Duck did not exist in the same universe. Why would fans think they did? Well, because they both featured Launchpad McQuack.

 

Launchpad was Scrooge McDuck's incompetent pilot. In Darkwing Duck, he was Darkwing's more competent sidekick. Same name, same clothing- why would Mr. Stones think there was anything different about the worlds inhabited by Launchpad?

 

Launchpad, while depicted as an imbecile in DuckTales, is much smarter in Darkwing Duck. His old friends in Duckberg are rarely mentioned, though he does get a visit from Fenton Crackshell, who was a friend on DuckTales. 

Tad Stones' claim, however, probably has merit. As we've learned in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, in DISNEYLAND's Toontown and on Disney's Magical Express in Florida, the Disney characters are actors who star in the Disney films. Is it hard to believe that Launchpad was merely a toon actor who starred in two different shows, much like Kelsey Grammer in Cheers and Frasier? The Frasier Crane of Frasier would have never hung out with the low lifes from Cheers. This could explain why the Launchpad of Darkwing Duck was so much more competent than the Launchpad of DuckTales.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #9: "Walt Disney Takes You To DISNEYLAND"


 


The ninth release from DISNEYLAND Records finally returned to the park, which had already become an institution. Guests were clamoring for souvenirs to take home and, more importantly, people around the world were dreaming of going there and looked for anything having to do with the park. This record was released to satisfy both groups.

Guests looking for music played in the park would have to wait a bit longer, however. The album featured suites of music from each of the five lands in existence at the time, but the music was more "inspired by" the lands rather than being the actual music played in the park. Most people probably didn't notice this, however. The album became one of the biggest recordings tied to the park and has been re-released twice in the last ten years.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Freaky Fridays: #SaveTheTower


Disney California Adventure has introduced its new line of general merchandise that features a familiar sight-

 

The classic Hollywood Tower Hotel was included, which means that the recently announced retheming was not fully planned out; the park would not have spent the resources to create new artwork for merchandise featuring an attraction with just a few months left in its life. Obviously the retheming was thrown together as a cheap way to get a Marvel attraction- any Marvel attraction- into the park to satisfy some corporate executive who has probably never visited the park before.