Not Every Disney Character is Cute

I was going through some Disneyland photos that I had taken over a year ago but didn't look at until today. You know how everyone thinks of Disney characters as cute, lovable, and memorable. Well, every once in awhile I can come across a character that flat out gives me the creeps. Taken at the World of Disney Downtown Disney Store - this is nightmare material here.

Mickey & The Magical Map Is Fun....BUT....

I gotta say that when I first saw the Mickey and the Magical Map show at Disneyland's cavernous Fantasyland Theater I was pleasantly surprised. The 25 minute lively show was quite enjoyable and not a waste of time in the slightest. When I go back to Disneyland, I'll be sure to make it a point to see it again for an entertaining diversion. Best of all, the show has real seats which for Disneyland, is rare. And any show that uses the voice of Leonard Nimoy (sounding just like Spock) can't be all bad.

Now comes the "but....." part. The theater is a huge piece of valuable real estate in Fantasyland. It holds close to 2000 people and on a busy day, Mickey and the Magical Lamp was less than half full. It seems to me, and I've said it before, Disneyland could get far more bang out of the space if it was used for a full-blown ride attraction. Take the space from the neighboring ToonTown (except for Roger Rabbit) and you would really have some area to work with and go development crazy.

That's on my Disneyland imagination wish list, after all, it isn't my money to build expensive rides and attractions. Until then, I can be content with going in and enjoying Mickey and his map. It's a fun thing to do.

Darth Vader - The New Pitch Man For Disney Parks

Show Your Disney Side - the new Disney Parks Promotional Campaign

"Let The Memories Begin" - no, get that out of here. "Limited Time Magic" - the quicker we can get rid of that half baked idea the better. Disney needed to turn to a new source to pitch Disney Parks in a their upcoming promotional ad campaign with corresponding theme park activities. New source? I mean "force". There's a new pitch man in town. The ultimate salesman. When Disney CEO Bob Iger wrote out a check to George Lucas several months back to purchase Lucasfilm, Iger new what he had. Star Wars is one of the most valuable and profitable franchises in the entertainment business and standing in front dressed in Black is Darth Vader, now probably Disney's most valuable character. Mickey.... sorry. Woody and Buzz...sorry, again, there's a new sheriff in these parts. Vader may be the only character that has the ability to pull people into the parks in mass quantities just to get a glimpse. 

Disney knows this so the new Disney pitch man for their newest promotional park campaign begins with the big guy himself. This may not be classic "Disney" but Vader has something bigger. It's called the force. Here is Disney Parks first promotional video.

Impressions of Disneyland's Fantasy Faire

When Disneyland announced it was building it's new Fantasyland Expansion - Fantasy Faire - in front of the iconic Castle, I was one of the many who had reservations of the distinct Fantasyland archetcture intruding onto the charm of Dinseyland's Main St. Well, after seeing Fantasy Faire up close and personal, my reservations can be laid to rest (not that anyone really cares).

Waking down Main St. towards the Hub and looking off to the left towards Fantasy Faire Village, the area remains quite small. Sprawling it isn't and most of the buildings are recessed back as far they will go rather than pushed obtrusively forward. And from a distance, the trees around the village do provide some additional seclusion. It's rather nice actually and for Disney, probably a better use of the space rather than the old Carnation Plaza Gardens events.

 

Classic storytelling by castmember performers takes place in Royal Theater. Even on a slow day, every seat seems to get filled with additional standing room towards the back. But here's where it gets a little weird. When the Princess Meet & Greet was held at the Fantasyland Theater, lines to meet the Disney princesses were often 30, 60, 90 minutes long. With the princesses in their new home - Royal Hall, at least the times I looked in, the lines were always relatively short - 5 or 10 minutes. Could be just my timing or maybe Disney did too good of job secluding the place.

 

Fantasy Faire Village also contains a small gift shop aimed at little princesses and a food stand that didnt't appeal to me at the time. You are also prominently pointed to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Fantasyland to keep the dollars rolling in.

Also in the back of Fantasy Faire Village is a dark covered walk way the dumps you right into the Rancho del Zocalo Restaurant in Frontierland. Talk about an abrupt tranisition. Now that I have seen Fantasy Faire Village, I have no reason to go back. But for little princesses, have fun....

 

 

The Devaluing of Pluto

Pluto, the planet, was discovered in 1930 and was considered the 9th planet of the solar system from 1930 until 2006. In 2006, Pluto was re-evaluated by scientists and astronomers and since it did meet all the requirements for planetary status was reclassified as a dwarf planet.

Pluto, the dog, is Mickey Mouse's pet dog. Pluto, the dog, is considered one of Disneyland's "Fab Five", the 5 main cartoon characters created by Walt Disney himself. As part of the Mount Rushmore of Disney's cartoon characters which also Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, and Goofy, Pluto, the dog, has achieved lofty status in Disney echelon. Other than being Mickey's dog, I'm not sure why Pluto fits in with this group. The dog, other than being cute and lovable, does nothing as far as I can tell.

You can understand the status of Mickey and Minnie even if their relationship through the years makes no sense at all. Mickey and Minnie are the real king and queen of Disney characters. "Fab Five?" You bet. You can understand Donald Duck, a classic character, whose ill tempter makes him one step away from a full on expletive laden tirade. Fab Five material?" Sure. Goofy.... well he's everyone's uncle Dave, the well meaning relatative who tries hard but is basically.....an idiot. "Fab Five?" He's funny, absolutely. But Pluto? Pretty darn useless if you ask me.

I don't know a lick about the history of Walt Disney animated characters. Maybe there is something about Pluto that makes Fab Five worthy. I haven't seen it yet. Maybe the status of Pluto, the dog, needs to be re-evaluated and devalued like Pluto the planet was a few years ago. If you want to be at the top, you have to earn your way there. It can't be just handed to you just because you're cute and like to be scratched behind the ears....

Then again. What do I know?

...And Now A Public Service Announcement From Disney - Vote

Election Day, come tomorrow we won't have to listen another commercial on why the other candidate is a liar and not a real American. But before Election Day comes to a close, a vintage public service video from the Walt Disney Archives (from Disney Posts Blog) gives us Donald Duck and one final reminder.

Funny thing is if I showed up to my polling place without pants, I might be asked leave before ever casting my vote for my preferred candidate.

Coffee At The House on Pooh Corner

Take 1: I'm not a huge Kenny Loggins fan but I saw him in concert several years ago. He played one of the sweetest pop songs I have ever heard - House on Pooh Corner. Yes, it is an homage to the Winnie the Pooh stories. The song is in no way associated with Disney. If you are not familiar with the song, I would encourage any Pooh fan to go out and find it somewhere. I would embed it here but apparently Google makes embedding mp3 files difficult in their blogging tool.

Take 2: We had the inside of our house painted last year including the interior of kitchen cabinets. Everything had to be boxed and taken out to the garage including a collection of Disney coffee mugs that we had picked up on a few of our trips. A lot of the stuff that was crammed into the cabinets never made it back into the house. It's still in boxes out in the garage. Of the Disney coffee mugs, the only drinking vessels that made it back into the house are 3 mugs featuring Pooh characters (mostly Eeyore). I know there are other Disney mugs out in the garage but its been so long now that I have forgotten what they are.

Take 3: I write most of these blog posts on weekend mornings over a cup of coffee that I am drinking from a Pooh mug. It came to me. "Wait a minute, Pooh is sweet, but I'm not really a Pooh kind of guy. Where's my Pirates mug, my Haunted Mansion mug, my Star Tours mug......". As mentioned many times before, I'm not really a Disney shopper but on my next trip I need to make it a point to get a few "guy" type Disney mugs. I should probably save the Pooh mugs for when I'm listening to Kenny Loggins.

Disneyland And A Study In Characters

Just a note before we begin. This is only one person's perception (mine) fully recognizing that I am in the minority.

A few years ago, we booked a family to Disneyland through Walt Disney Travel. Part of the package is kids get a call at home from a Disney character (usually Mickey) that tells them how much the Disney characters look forward to their visit and meeting them. Nice touch and certainly my great nephew Joseph was excited when he got his call from Mickey. Kids love the Disney characters. I am not a kid anymore.

I'm not and never was much of a Disney character guy. I'm not even a fan of most of what can be considered the classic Disney movies. I vaguely remember the Mickey Mouse Club when I was a kid but it hardly left any kind of lasting impression on me. I remember seeing Walt's TV show on Sunday nights from time to time but it wasn't one of those things I had circled in TV Guide as "must see TV". 

So the characters that run around Disneyland don't have a whole lot of interest for me. I'm not even really much of a parade person. No don't get me wrong. The Disney characters in the park do add tremendous value to the overall atmosphere. And I get a bit of kick seeing the expression on kids faces when they do meet their favorite Disney characters but for me, I can take or leave them.

The pictures posted in this blog entry are of the "Fab Five" as they are collectively known by Disney fans. The five are Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto, all original creations of Walt Disney himself. Other than maybe Mickey, I'm not even sure these are the most popular characters in the park with the recent additions of Disney princesses and Pixar characters gaining most of the attention now days.

Everyone likes Mickey. He's "The Man" or rather "The Mouse" in the Disney realm. He's never far away from a picture or statue of Walt Disney who once said "it all started with a mouse". Mickey is cool, an expression that I guess is still used. 

Back in the 1930's, Donald Duck came along to steal some of Mickey's popularity. Donald is perhaps the most interesting of the five who with his ill-tempered attitude always seems to be a step away from launching into an expletive laden tirade at something or someone. He also doesn't wear pants. He wears a shirt or some other top, but no pants. Who, outside of Randy Travis, runs around in public without pants?

I guess my favorite character of the fab five is Goofy. Goofy tries hard. He tries to fix things, build things, learn new things. He is the good intentions of Mr. Everyman. I see a lot of myself in Goofy for where there are good intentions to be found, Goofy is basically an idiot. Yep, as I look back and see some of my past failures of well intentioned efforts I can only look at myself as "what an idiot".

Then there's Minnie and Pluto. Mickey and Minnie seem to lead separate lives infinitely linked in love. In Toon Town, they have separate houses. Somehow they have a son named Max. Not sure how that works. Mickey and Minnie also have a pet dog named Pluto. A mouse with a pet dog. How does that work?

Anyway, I may not be a character guy but it's nice to have legacy and tradition. And in the Disney parks world, while Buzz and Woody, Belle and Ariel, may get the most of the buzz these days, the tradition and legacy of five of Walt's original creations still has and will always have a place.

The Day Mickey Mouse Burst My Bubble

Mickey Mouse's House - ToonTown - DIsneyland

I may have brought this up before in this blog, can't really recall, but since today is my birthday and I'm getting older, repeating myself sort of comes with the territory. Anyway, this little tidbit is about a trip I made to Disneyland back in 2006. I flew down with my sister and two of my nieces along two of their small children for a weekend get-away. Even though it was a very quick trip, flying down early Saturday morning and returning Sunday evening, it was something we needed to do after a particularly hard month for the extended family. 

And we had a great time during our short visit. You can get a lot done in Disneyland in a short amount of time if you really put your mind to it. And one of the things we did was take the kids to Mickey's House in ToonTown. Even if you are an adult, its something everyone should do simply because the place is whimsical, delightful, and quite charming. Its also much larger than you think. 

Getting Mickey's Autograph

I'm sure I've mentioned this before as well, but I am not really a "Disney character" kind of guy but then again, I'm XX years old and not 6 years old. And I will admit that Disney characters walking or standing around really add to the overall atmosphere of the park, but down deep, I can kind of take or leave them. I remember one year where it seems that every time I turned around, I was looking at the Mad Hatter. He was everywhere. Ever since that day I associate the Mad Hatter with the word "annoying".

Anyway, Mickey Mouse is the king character of the place so you have to give him his due, at least I thought he was king. So there we all were in Mickey's house, meandering through the various rooms, waiting for the kids to meet up with Mickey himself. My great niece had her official Disneyland autograph book along with one of those giant pencils and the tuxedo clad Mickey was only too happy to sign it along with allowing us a chance to take a few photos (or have an official Disney $$$ photo taken).

After all was said and done and we were on our out, I looked at Mickey's autograph and was immediately somewhat stunned at the lovely flowing cursive penmanship of the great mouse. "Wait a minute" I thought. "No guy writes like that - ever" "Mickey Mouse underneath was really a girl". Wow! For an old Disneyland guy like me, that was quite a discovery. Another bubble just got burst. So came the realization that in order to play the role of Micky Mouse (or Donald or Goofy or Chip or xxxx) in Disneyland, you don't necessarily need to be of the same gender. The most important job requirement is apparently - whoever you are - you just need to fit the costume.

Another picture from Mickey's House - Nothing to do with Mickey
I just like it because I often wear the same expression in Disneyland

A Closer Look At - Mickey's House

If you think Mickey's House in ToonTown is just a place to take your kids for a meet and greet with the mouse himself, guess again. Mickey's House is a Disney delight for young and old, charmingly themed, colorful, whimsical, interesting, and brilliantly imagineered. Indeed, adult visitors to the park have little use for ToonTown EXCEPT the great Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin dark ride and Mickey's House. An adult Disneyland guest that visits the parks frequently doesn't need to stop by Mick's place on every visit but every once in awhile, it is a real treat reminding you what it is to be young again and remembering that "it all started with a mouse".

At the end of the self-paced house tour, providing he isn't out and about somewhere else in Disneyland (supposedly characters are not allowed to be in two places at the same time in the park so schedules are rigidly set up and computerized) Mickey's House provides the best photo opportunity for the classic Mickey Mouse photograph with both an official Disneyland photo (available for purchase of course) or just take your own. Mickey will also sign autograph books. It's funny, he signed the autograph books for my great niece and nephew. I looked at the autograph, that was girl's handwriting for sure. It should also be pointed out that Minnie's House is right next door. It is considerably smaller that Mickeys.

Again, thanks to Asianjma123 and his fantastic YouTube videos, you too can take take a walk through Mickey's House. Have fun.

Goofy and The Art of Vacationing

Some think he is slow, dim-witted, well, goofy but indeed Goofy is my favorite of the Disney Fab Five (for the uninitiated that's Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto).  He works, he struggles, he fails, but always seems to keep a pretty good attitude, a quality we can all benefit from.  A little while back the Disney Parks YouTube channel posted a video of our friend Goofy making the most of his Disneyland vacation.  Needless to a our slow, dim-witted, well, goofy friend seems to be doing a lot better than I am these days. Enjoy The Art of Vacationing.

More of Oswald the Rabbit in the New DCA?

Most fans of Disney history know that before there was a Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney had a character an animated character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (who actually has something of a resemblance to Mickey Mouse).  Back in the early Hollywood days, Walt and Oswald had two pretty good years together before they went their separate ways - Walt off to create Mickey and Oswald became property of another studio where he languished in obscurity and trivia for decades.  Before Disney reacquired the rights to Oswald a few years back (more on that later), Oswald's last owners were NBC-Universal (and whoever their parent company was at the time).

For the last few years, Disney has been trying to market an Oswald presence in their parks. Oswald hasn't been marketed in the over-the-top sledgehammer way they have been trying to market Duffy the Bear for instance. Oswald's marketing has been more subtle with a more limited selection of clothing and other merchandise made available in selected gift and retail shops. Oswald's marketing also seems to be based of the more chic, trendy, vintage type rather based on a mass appeal. I actually saw one of celebrity chef and Food Network star Bobby Flay's female sidekicks wear a distressed looking Oswald T-Shirt on one of his Throwdown shows - again, trendy and chic. Indeed, Oswald may be a character that's just not for everybody. He isn't so much cute and cuddly as much as he appears to be a bit of a wise guy with a mischievous look of "here comes trouble" in his eye.

Come this June, beyond the turnstiles of Disney California Adventure, we are supposed to enter Buena Vista Street, the Carthay Circle Theater hub, and Hollywoodland of the early 1920's. This is supposedly the world Walt stepped into when he got off that first train ride west with a suitcase fully of dreams and ideas. And Oswald was one of his first. Will Disney and DCA play it that way? I tend to doubt it other that maybe a bigger selection of Oswald merchandise in the Buena Vista Street retail stores.  You see, whether Disneyland or DCA, the Mouse is still king.  A new statue of a young Walt Disney will grace the entrance of the new DCA.  It will not be Oswald at his side but an early incarnation of Mickey Mouse.  It's all about the ears and there's money in those ears.

The Trade:

I love this story.  I'm a football fan as well as a Disney fan.  Legendary play by play man Al Michaels was the major voice for big sporting events for ABC television including Monday Night Football.  As they have a tendency to do, Disney acquired both ABC and the ESPN sports network in an effort to expand their media empire (especially for ESPN, the advertising revenue is almost like gold).  Al wanted continue to do Monday Night Football when Disney decided to move it from ABC over to the more revenue lucrative ESPN.  He signed a brand new contract with Disney to continue on with MNF.

Enter NBC and the NFL.  When the NFL wanted to expand their NFL coverage even more on Sundays now going well into the night, NBC happily volunteered and came up with the large the sum of money needed for the rights to broadcast what is now Sunday Night Football.  NBC also had a couple of aces up their sleeve with the signing another sports legend in coach John Madden to be the color analyst on their signature football game. They also had another old pro in Bob Costas to do the pregame, lead-in, and half time shows for SNF.  But NBC also wanted a world class play by play man and the man they wanted was Al Michaels even with his brand new Disney/ESPN contract. Even though the Monday Night Football was moving to ESPN, Al enjoyed his long standing relationship with Disney and ABC and now ESPN all now one and the same. But even Al began to have his doubts and began thinking about Sunday Night Football with John Madden and Bob Costas.  Talk about high profile.

So Al, through his people I'm sure, let Disney know he wanted out of his brand new contract with ESPN.  With a girth of sports personalities available to ESPN, Disney really didn't have an issue with Al leaving but with a contract, the question was "What can we get from NBC in exchange of Al Michaels?"  The answer of course was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit who was property of NBC-Universal.  So in a world of football trades, and baseball trades, and basketball trades where athlete is exchanged for athelete, Al Michaels was traded for a cartoon rabbit who was long ago created by Walt Disney.

I heard Al Michaels on a radio interview a year or two after he started his Sunday Night Football gig bristle at the question about being essentially traded for a cartoon rabbit. I'm sure his ego is a large one.  He was quick to point out that there were other properties and considerations between Disney and NBC in brokering the deal that brought him to his new network but all that is conveniently forgotten.  It is much more fun to think about how a sports play by play guy got traded for an cartoon rabbit. The bizarre world of Hollywood.

Minnie's Fly Girls Debuts Today at DCA

Minnie's Fly Girls Song & Dance Show at DCA - Disney Parks Blog Photo

Disney Parks Blog just posted that today is the opening of the Minnie's Fly Girl song and dances show at Disney California Adventure park in the Condor Flats area (across of Soarin'). Great, another DCA pop up show I can see once then move on.

That sounds a bit sarcastic. Actually, a small show that provides entertainment from one of Disney's classic characters would be a welcomed addition and I believe would be far better received by the Disney public than the song and dance shows based on Disney Channel shows that have limited popularity and are often the subject of ridicule (i.e. High School Musical). A mini-Minnie show might just hit a welcomed spot.

Who's the lucky guy that gets to appear in the Fly Girls show?

Minnie's Fly Girls - A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Sailor Mickey At The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Disney Parks Blog posted this photo of Sailor Mickey at the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning - a subtle or not so subtle attempt at promoting the Disney Cruise Line.  Speaking of Disney cruises, the Disneyland Traveler's pal Mike is sailing the waters off Mexico this week on a Disney cruise.  We should have tales of his seafaring exploits in about a week or so.  Stand-by.

Pooh & Friends - Disneyland's Best Meet & Greet

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh dark ride in Disneyland's Critter Country is a favorite target of Disneyland regulars who contribute to forums and discussion boards.  The ride seems to be loathed for a number of reasons but here are the main ones.  1) It replaced the legacy attraction Country Bear Jamboree (which no one seemed to go to anymore by the time it closed).  2) It's a dark ride that comes up short on a high impact wow factor for something being relatively new.  3) As characters go, Pooh and friends do not seem to be in the same category as the some of the other classic Disney characters - a second tier so to speak, as Pooh was acquired by Disney rather than created by Disney and 4) There is a version of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Japan that puts this one to shame.

All that being said, as I've blogged about before, I like the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  I enjoy it's color.  It's a feast of the eyes.  And I like it because there is usually very little wait to get on which is always a good thing.  A nice ride, stress free, and no wait, it all adds up to a winner for me.  The ride wouldn't be nearly as controversial if it sat somewhere in Fantasyland where it belongs, but it's not Pooh's fault for being in the wrong spot, off by itself, and next to the powerhouse Splash Mountain attraction.

But sitting in the middle of the Pooh ride, Splash Mountain, and the Pooh Corner retail and candy store is something that should not be overlooked or taken for granted - the Winnie the Pooh & Friends Meet and Greet.  Now I'm not really a M&G kind of guy.  Only on occasion am I in the park with small children but the Pooh meet & greet, anytime, with or without kids, is a reason to smile as Pooh, Tigger, Eyore, and the rest of the pals from the hundred acre wood interact with kids (of all ages).  The line can be a little long but doesn't come anywhere close to princess or Mickey lines for waiting.  And I have to say of all the photos I have of children in my family getting pictures with characters, the Pooh meet & greet pictures are easily the best.  So if the lines for meet & greet's frustrate you, take a walk over to Critter Country and visit a bear, a tiger, and a sad-sack donkey, they'll be glad to see you.  They really will.

The Donald Duck Question

While trying to find some pictures to go along with my ToonTown post I came across this photo and it triggered the burning question - why doesn't this duck wear pants? Ever. He wears tops, shirts, jackets, but never wears pants. It bothers me. Mickey wears pants or shorts. Goofy wears pants. Why is Donald the only character who is always half dressed? There are characters who don't wear clothes at all - Pluto, Chip and Dale, etc. Donald seems to be the only character who leaves the house in morning leaving his pants behind. I have no answer. There is no answer. Just the question - why doesn't Donald Duck wear pants?

Is He Coming Back? The Talking Mickey

Several Disney websites have reported the possibility of the Talking Mickey returning to action at the D23 Expo. Talking Mickey is head scratching amazing as a character who has been signing autographs for decades (he sometimes writes signs his name with very feminine handwriting) in total silence suddenly has the real Mickey voice. The talking Mickey has made a couple of appearances at his house in ToonTown both inside in the photo room and out on the front porch but these were just test runs. He also served as Master of Ceremonies at last year's World of Color Opening introducing a couple of big Mickeys named Bob and Tom. Anyway, if you haven't seen the talking Mickey check out this little video and a couple of others that are out on YouTube. Disney Parks Blog also posted a talkiing Mickey video once the testing got leaked. Some love the talking Mickey and I've heard others say its kind of weird. See what you think