the happiest cruise that ever sailed

Today, DISNEYLAND celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the happiest cruise that ever sailed- "it's a small world". Dreamed up by Walt Disney, designed by Mary Blair and dressed by Harriet Burns, "it's a small world" opened at the New York World's Fair in April of 1964. Enchanting millions, it flew back to the state of its birth- California-and became a part of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom of DISNEYLAND.

Since then, it has entertained hundreds of millions of children and their families- teaching a lesson of tolerance in a magical kaleidoscope of color and imagination- just like Walt Disney dreamed it.

Adventureland's Dead End

Guests at DISNEYLAND today know that they can get to New Orleans Square and the Frontierland waterfront by walking through Adventureland. In fact, guests can pretty much roam around the entire west side of the park without having to re-enter the park's Central Plaza. This wasn't always the case, however.

In the 1950's and early 1960's, guests encountered a wall at the end of Adventureland. If they wanted to get to Frontierland, they had to walk back out to Central Plaza, make a left, then enter Frontierland through the main stockade. This caused numerous traffic problems and was rectified once New Orleans Square was built. The wall came down and traffic flowed freely out into the wild frontier.

2719 Hyperion Avenue

The original Walt Disney Studios were located at 2719 Hyperion Avenue in Los Angeles. The studio remained at the location until the company outgrew the space and moved to Burbank in 1940. Sadly, the building no longer remains. Visitors to the site today would find a Gelson's Supermarket. A tribute to the building can be seen at Disney California Adventure, visible from the courtyard in front of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Olaf at DISNEYLAND!

Look to the skies in DISNEYLAND's Fantasyland and you'll see a familiar face- Olaf from Disney's Frozen. He's sitting atop the roof of the Frozen Meet & Greet location, talking to DISNEYLAND guests all day.

Disney Quote Weekends

"Psst! Avast there! It be too late to alter course, mateys . . . and there be plundering pirates lurking in every cove, waitin' to board. Sit closer together, and keep your ruddy hands inboard. That be the best way to repel boarders. And mark well me words, mateys . . . Dead men tell no tales!"

-Talking Skeleton from DISNEYLAND's Pirates of the Caribbean

Disney Quote Weekends

"A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know that he has been alive." 

-Walt Disney

The Matterhorn Basketball Court

To finish out April Fools Week, we highlight one of the most persistent stories out there- that there's a basketball court inside the Matterhorn. This legend is completely..... TRUE.

That's the basketball court up there! It does exist and there are many stories about why it was built. One story claims that Anaheim had a law that said only gymnasiums could be built as tall as the Matterhorn needed to be. Walt Disney placed the basketball hoop inside the mountain so that city planners would have no choice but to allow the mountain to be built. An interesting story, but it falls apart quickly. Why would a gymnasium ever need to be that tall? Could DISNEYLAND possibly believe that the city of Anaheim would classify a mountain as a gymnasium just because it had a basketball hoop in it?

So why was the hoop placed in the Matterhorn? Nobody seems to remember the exact reason, but it was most likely put there to be used by the mountain climbers who scaled the peak daily during the summer months. They needed something to do in between their "climbs".

A Disturbance in the Force....

It was the special George Lucas doesn't want you to see! When Lucas was working on the first Star Wars film, he had to scratch & fight to get funding to finish up the special effects. Twentieth Century Fox was not eager to give him more cash, but they did let him scare up the funds any way he saw fit. (Which led to him eventually getting enough money to buy them out, but that's a different story altogether.) in any case, CBS came to the rescue. They would give Lucas much needed funds in exchange for the rights to make a special based on this "Space Film" if things worked out.

When Star Wars became a sensation, CBS remembered its little option and quickly decided to cash in. George Lucas wasn't interested in the project, but he had to follow through with the deal, so he gave his grudging approval. CBS didn't seem to grasp the reason why Star Wars was a hit, so they hired a staff more suited to producing a variety show than a science fiction themed special.

The result was a disaster that George Lucas would like to forget. Celebrities who had no business being in the Star Wars universe were hired. There were bizarre, creepy sketches, including one that featured a leering wookee watching a stripping Diahann Carroll. Using the vast wealth created by owning merchandising rights to his films, George Lucas buried the special after its one airing. Many Star Wars fans dream of an official release, but Lucas has kept it hidden from public view. With his empire now owned by The Walt Disney Company, there's a new hope that the special will see the light of day.

Myths About Pepsi at Florida's Magic Kingdom

As you might remember from a previous post, Pepsi and Coke were both sold side by side at DISNEYLAND & Florida's Magic Kingdom for many years. There is an interesting story told in Florida about why Pepsi is no longer sold there...

According to this story, the first weekend of operation in Florida exceeded everyone's expectations. The park was so crowded that the restaurants were quickly running out of everything including Coke and Pepsi. When frantic park managers called up both Coke and Pepsi to get more supplies, the Coke representative personally opened the warehouse, which was closed for the weekend, and made sure that Disney's supplies were replenished. The Pepsi representative told Disney that they were out of luck and had to wait until Monday for new stock. Angered, Disney ordered Pepsi removed and Coke picked up the rest of  the park as a reward for its assistance on a busy opening weekend.

An interesting story, but it just isn't true. Attendance at Florida's Magic Kingdom was a bust on opening weekend. If Disney managers made calls to Pepsi or Coke, it was to reduce orders due to lesser than expected attendance. In fact, attendance for the first two months of Florida's existence was so bad, Roy Disney thought he'd made a huge mistake in building the park. Imagineers, loyal to Walt Disney, joked that since Roy threw out Walt Disney's plans for the Florida project that the park was cursed. Luckily for the company, attendance finally picked up two months later. It is interesting to note that had the same thing happened at DISNEYLAND in 1955, the company would have most certainly gone bankrupt. DISNEYLAND's success, however, gave its younger sibling the breathing room it needed to establish itself.

Another reason why this story isn't true? Disney didn't switch to Coke only until 1985. Florida's Magic Kingdom opened in 1971. That would be a long wait to "punish" a slacking vendor. The only reason Pepsi left the parks was because they were overbid for the contract when Disney decided to have an exclusive drink vendor. Interestingly, Pepsi recently won the drink contract at Shanghai Disneyland, so who knows? Maybe Pepsi will make a comeback in the Magic Kingdom.

Mary Wickes *is* Mary Poppins!

Everyone remembers Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, but ten years earlier, the CBS Television Network made a one hour version of Mary Poppins with Hollywood legend Mary Wickes. P.L. Travers reportedly favored Mary's portrayal of the Practically Perfect Nanny and Mary Wickes even lobbied Walt Disney for the part. 

Ms. Wickes is no stranger to the Disney family. In addition to being the live action model for Cruella Deville, she starred in  Walt Disney's Annette, Zorro, Snowball Express, ABC's Father Dowling Mysteries, Touchstone Pictures' Sister Act & Sister Act 2 and Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame.