The Vacation Kingdom on West Street

Up until 1985, DISNEYLAND and the other Disney parks around the world were not open every day. During the offseason, DISNEYLAND would often close on Mondays and Tuesdays, inspiring frustration (and a rather successful movie). Maintenance crews would take advantage of these weekly windows to work on larger refurbishment projects away from the public eye. This created a problem for the park's namesake hotel which often had rooms full of guests who had nothing to do. Jack Wrather, who owned the hotel at the time decided to build up his hotel to have unique and amazing amenities that guests could spend whole days enjoying.

So he built a marina right in the middle of the hotel. Guests could use the paddle boats, explore uniquely themed shops or just enjoy the view.

The marina grew over the years and eventually included a video game room that rivaled even the one at Tomorrowland across the street- Atari's Video Adventure, which was actually built below water level for an extra amazing experience.

A precursor to today's Downtown Disney, the Disney Mall and Plaza Shops provided guests with a dazzling array of souvenirs and unique merchandise. It was always a treat to see what was new. And DISNEYLAND Hotel guests could enjoy a comfortable shopping experience even when the park was closed.

The exotic Seaports of the Pacific made guests feel like they were in uncharted lands; not standing in suburban Los Angeles. The DISNEYLAND Hotel was truly a destination in its own right.

When the park began daily, year round operations, some of the amenities were scaled back. After The Walt Disney Company purchased the property from Bonita Wrather, the goal was to sell longer stay passes, so the company closed or replaced more of the amenities. In 1999, as construction of the DISNEYLAND Resort began in earnest, most of the hotel's amenities were bulldozed to make way for Downtown Disney. While the hotel still has a ton of things to do onsite, most of the services and entertainment it used to provide has moved east to Downtown Disney.

All About Daisy

Daisy Duck, as everyone knows, is Donald Duck's girlfriend. She was obviously an important character, so why does she get left out of group pictures?

As shown above, Daisy doesn't seem to fit into Disney's "Fab Five", but Pluto does. Why does Daisy get short shrift? Well, if one looks at the original Disney cartoons, he or she would notice that Donald Duck appeared in over 150 of them. How many was Daisy in? Just 11. 

While it seems that she must have had more appearances than that, in reality 11 is all she appeared in. While she has since had more appearances on television shows, her classic appearances were quite limited. It's a testament to her character that she made such a huge impression in so few appearances.

Dance Annette

One of DISNEYLAND Records' first big stars was Annette Funicello. In fact, future Disney Legends The Sherman Brothers were brought in originally to write songs for Annette.

Annette never thought of herself as a good singer, but Walt Disney made sure that she had the best songwriters, the best background musicians and even the best backup singers. 

In The Monkey's Uncle, Annette's backup singers were the future Beach Boys, performing before they were famous.

A Horseman Known as Zorro

After the success of Davy Crockett, the world was wondering what Walt Disney would do for an encore. ABC wanted westerns, but Mr. Disney was never someone who would just do what everyone else was doing. He would always put his spin on anything he did. So instead of doing a traditional western, he chose to make Zorro, the masked avenger who fought against the Spanish government in pre-revolution California on behalf of the Californios and the native population.

Zorro was a huge success, inspiring the traditional merchandise like books:

Lunch kits:

Records:

And costumes:

Zorro even appeared in live performances at DISNEYLAND:

And he was visited by other Disney celebrities:

Unfortunately, Zorro couldn't conquer his biggest foe- Hollywood lawyers. In the late 1950's, ABC was dragging its feet in upgrading its technology and paying Walt Disney Productions. The network was also obstructing various projects at DISNEYLAND. Roy Disney decided to buy out their shares in DISNEYLAND and Walt took his weekly show to NBC. ABC, which saw the writing on the wall, decided to claim ownership of Zorro to prevent the show from jumping ship too. Walt chose to fight back; after all, ABC was never promised a piece of Zorro and never fully paid the studio its licensing fees. Tied up in court, the show left the airwaves. By the time the case was decided in favor of Walt Disney Productions, the show had been off the air for so long, it was felt that it would no longer be viable to bring it back on NBC. Zorro had been vanquished.

Disney Quote Weekends

"You're watching the Black and White Period Piece Old Lady Boring Movie Channel."

Disney Quote Weekends

"Some Imagination, huh?"

Marvel's Daredevil- and Foggy

"I dunno, it's kinda spooky- but, if there is a stunningly beautiful woman with questionable judgment in the room, Matt Murdock is gonna find her and Foggy Nelson is gonna suffer!"

Mickey Saves Lionel

In the depths of the depression, many American companies were on the ropes. If you cannot afford food, you probably aren't worried about buying toys or other items. You certainly wouldn't be buying toy trains. Lionel Train Company was falling victim to the financial collapse and in dire straits. Things looked very bleak.

Enter a plucky mouse named Mickey. Lionel decided to license Mickey and Minnie for a novelty handcar that ran around a circular track. The toy was a smash success, selling out nationwide. Lionel was saved.

Mint condition handcars, complete with the circular track can sell for $5000 today. Any surviving handcars can fetch at least $750 regardless of condition.

Disney Legend #26: Sterling Holloway

The 26th Disney Legend was Sterling Holloway. Mr. Holloway began his career at Disney by voicing Mr. Stork in Dumbo.

It was his unforgettable role as Winnie the Pooh that made him a legend. His gentle voice was perfect for everyone's favorite little bear. Mr. Holloway also provided voices for the Cheshire Cat, grown up Flower and Kaa. 

Sterling, who received his honor in 1991, passed away one year later. His work continues to entertain generations of children around the world.

Sing-Along: Let's Go Fly A Kite!

With tuppence for paper and strings 

You can have your own set of wings 

With your feet on the ground You're a bird in a flight With your fist holding tight 

To the string of your kite 

 Oh, oh, oh! Let's go fly a kite 

Up to the highest height!

 Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring Up through the atmosphere 

Up where the air is clear 

Oh, let's go fly a kite! 

When you send it flyin' up there All at once you're lighter than air 

You can dance on the breeze Over houses and trees 

With your fist holding tight To the string of your kite 

 Oh, oh, oh! Let's go fly a kite Up to the highest height!

 Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring 

Up through the atmosphere 

Up where the air is clear 

Oh, Let's go fly a kite!