Tiana and the Salt Mine Adventure

Is this a real photograph inside of the soon to come Tiana's Bayou Adventure? Every time I look at construction updates of the conversion of Splash Mountain into the Princess and the Frog themed attraction, I do not picture a real Louisiana salt dome to look covered in flowers. Instead I see this image from Pinocchio's Daring Journey in my mind.

As a hard working company owner of Tiana's Foods, she's traded in her princess frocks for something totally different- and she's chopped off those once beautiful flowing locks into a more manageable do. I'm sure little girls around the world will be queuing for hours to be able to buy the newest addition to Tiana's wardrobe!

(Sarcastic) Kudos to whoever turned the beloved Disney Princess Tiana into Businesswoman Tiana. So magical!

Professor of Rock Changes His Mind on the Carpenters

 People grow up. How else can you explain hating one band than then all of a sudden finding you actually love them? This is what happened to the Professor of Rock, a popular music fan and critic. Carpenters, Karen and Richard Carpenter that is, were once detested and now appreciated. He owes it all to the beautiful ballad Rainy Days and Mondays coming on the radio at just the right (wrong) time in his life. His insights are spot on. Watch it below.

For the First Time in Trip Planning, Universal Orlando Beats Disney World

This is the first time and probably not the last. For our next Florida vacation, we are staying the entire time at a hotel at Universal Orlando Resort- not Walt Disney World, not DVC, not just off property. Butterbeer beats Blue Milk. Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Diagon Alley, and Velocicoaster are calling us- and we cannot dent its pull. Sure, I'm gonna have to ride Tron over at the Magic Kingdom and Ratatouille and Guardians at Epcot, but everything else is up for grabs. Flights are booked, tickets purchased, and hotel is chosen. Let the trip planning begin!

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)

Monday Morning at Disneyland, 1959.

 

Walt Disney's newest experiment, Disneyland, was a beloved success! Since its opening in 1955 millions of guests entered the gates, drawn in by television and the honest to goodness fact that Walt Disney's company produced high quality work regardless of the media they used. (Note to Robert Iger and company: Quality work results in long term profits.)

The land of tomorrow might have been shortchanged at opening with attractions that were mostly corporate exhibits, but by 1959, that was changed for good. The impact of adding the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Submarine Voyage, and the Monorail cannot be understated. Guest numbers were at one million for 1955, but by this expansion, the park was now running at 5 million. Not too shabby for something critics thought would fail.

Tomorrowland was now a destination unto itself- and a much more beautiful one with a shimmering lagoon and a snow covered mountain.

Beginning a day at Disneyland with a leisurely stroll down Main Street U.S.A., guests now had to decide whether to head straight to the beloved Jungle Cruise on one side of the park or head to the other and experience the newest and most compelling to date attractions. 

Perhaps the best plan was to go to Frontierland and explore the Old West before the crowds hit. The East vs. West debate continues to this day.  Maybe the best plan is straight through the castle to ride Peter Pan's Flight or the equally beloved Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. 

From Daveland.

As you can see in the rendering above, Tomorrowland now had a wide variety of choices with attractions to suit just about anyone. Thrill ride? Check. Outer space adventure? Yes. Liquid space journey? A long time favorite. You could drive a car even if you were underage. Visit the House of the Future. Ride in a Rocket Jet. And hop aboard the transportation of the future. 

What a beautiful world Tomorrowland was! At least for another 15 or so years. Until it wasn't. But for now, just imagine a glorious day in the Land of the Future in 1959. It's all there waiting for you!

To My Oldest Daughter

Happy Birthday to my oldest daughter, As I often create multiple posts at once, I was looking for some photos to use for an article celebrating 35 Years of Disney's Hollywood Studios scheduled for its anniversary on May 1. 

I found this. Here is my oldest daughter at Disney-MGM Studios back in 1989. She's still a sweet one all these years later- now with a growing family of her own. And I'm so proud of her!

My eldest son and my wife are behind her. Our youngest daughter is behind me as I take the photo. No second son yet. Time flies quickly. If you have young kids, they are a gift from God. I know they are work, but enjoy them. It is a very wonderful time of life!

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)

Come Sail Away

The warmth of the sun. The smell of the sea air, and the softness of the sand. Can there be anything better to daydream about on a cold and snowy winter day? No.

I saw this photo (photographer unknown) and thought of the classic song by Styx, Come Sail Away. Then, it was the Beach Boys and The Warmth of the Sun. Then, it was my favorite Carpenters song, Boat to Sail. (You've got to hear Karen Carpenter sing this and the great piano by brother Richard.)  And then it was...

The list goes on and on and on.

Design Detail: Shanghai Disneyland's Treasure Cove

Design detail is what used to make the Disney parks unique. It's not exclusive to them anymore as Universal Creative has made huge strides to transform old spaces into highly detailed ones as well as create modern day theme park masterpieces. Their Diagon Alley at Islands of Adventure is the best single Intellectual Property themed land ever. (Proof is here.) But that is not to say Disney Imagineering has given up on delivering lands rich in artistry and hidden design gems to discover.

In spite of how large the park is and how this creates a lack of charm, Shanghai Disneyland holds a fair amount of design detail. When the lands feel sterile (surprisingly, Fantasyland for example), it's really bad. But when it's good, it's really good.

When it comes to Mainland China's Disney park - let's be clear here, it is not the other way around- it seems everyone is focusing on Zootopia right now. That's expected as it is brand new, but I'd like to look at a different area instead. The pirate themed Treasure Cove is also an example of great design. 

Yes, Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure excels in this area. From entrance to queue to the incredible attraction itself, Imagineering hit a grand slam! 

But on the smaller side of the scale, take a look at the top photo of the almost hidden prison cel just above the waterline of the bay that straddles both Treasure Cove and Adventure Isle. There's a skeleton of the last prisoner peering out from behind the bars. You can only see if from the canoes, but it is something that they did not have to add. These thoughtful touches bring something to the park that most guests probably can't put their finger on, but when found all over, they add a depth and richness to the entire park.  Storytelling at its finest.

Here's one more to be found in Treasure Cove...

There's more design detail posts on the blog as these are part of what make great theme parks compelling. At least to me. And probably to you as well if you've read this far!

(Photographer unknown.)

Happy Valentine's Day to My One True Love

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. In this case, it's Sorrento, but you get the idea. Happy Valentine's Day to my one true love! I'm so thankful you chose me. Life and the Lord have taken us on some great adventures. And there's more to come. 

This home high in the hills overlooks Mount Vesuvius and a sparkling bay. These steps leading into the home were a bit treacherous late at night, but during the day, it felt like walking into a secret garden. We'd soon discover the most beautiful restaurant on earth. More Italy trip report to come!

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)

Notable and Quotable: Kansas City Chief's Patrick Mahomes

"Doing what I do every single day, and then knowing that as long I'm doing everything the right way, the way that He'd want me to do it, then I can walk off the field with my head held high and be able to be the man that I'm supposed to be. It's given me a lot of blessing in my life and I'm trying to maximize and glorify Him in everything I do"

Super Bowl Winning Quarterback Patrick Mahomes

California Adventure Had a Birthday?

I guess February 8 was the 23 year anniversary of the opening of Disney's California Adventure. A theme park disaster only "bested" by the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. The same year, Tokyo Disney Resort got the magnificent Tokyo Disneysea. That says a lot about the company's priorities, doesn't it? 

The public outcry for building a cheap and cheap looking park next to Walt Disney's personal masterpiece next door was heard- and mostly ignored for years. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Bugs Land made minimal impact. Finally, CEO Robert Iger admitted it was a "Brand withdrawl", and new plans were put into place to give it Disney quality.

When the new DCA opened, things looked promising. A sparkling new Buena Vista Street and an incredible Cars Land made things look as it the Imagineers were given the go ahead to dream big. The results brought in the crowds.

Then, things turned around, and the park became a dumping ground of mismatched changes. 

Nowadays, does anyone notice or care that Robert Iger no longer talks about "Brand withdrawal"? He should. It's happening every day at the company we all love.

----

The history of DCA is fascinating! Explore it all through the concept art created for the park. Start here at Bargain Basement Imagineering. Then go onto Imagineering a New Dream- this is when things get a lot better! It's all part of a multi-part exploration of the park through the years. 

Unexpected Light

Insight can come from the rarest of places. In what is a bit of a surprise for me, I actually dreamt two scriptures from the Bible last night. Normally, I read the Bible and I pray and I ask God to make me more of a man that He would want me to be. Of course, this is in addition to thanking Him for all He has done and confessing my sin to Him. But to dream scripture? That doesn't happen often. Which ones, you might ask? The two below and in this exact order: 

Ephesians 2:10- "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

John 15:2- "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

I know without a doubt that this ties back to this new season in my life. (You can read about it in this post.) 

Are these verses a source of direction for me? No, but they are a source of encouragement- and right now, that is a good thing! Praise God!

Universal Orlando's Attraction Posters: Jurassic World River Adventure

Everyone loves theme park attraction posters! For a rather Disney-centric blog, when I share those for Universal Orlando Resort's great Jurassic Park attractions, they are among the most highly viewed of all blog articles. And why not! Islands of Adventure is now one of the world's most popular theme parks, eclipsing some of those found at Walt Disney World. And let's be honest: When Epic Universe opens, it will take another place in the Top Ten. Disney's off their game (as everyone knows) and Universal Creative is on a winning streak. 

On the Insights and Sounds blog, I've got one of the largest collection of beautiful attraction posters for all the other Jurassic Park / Jurassic World attractions as well as for the Disney Parks both domestic and international. If you love theme park concept art as much as I do, well, that's the backbone of the blog. There's are hundreds of pieces to be found here. Enjoy!

(Art copyright Universal Orlando Resort)

Epcot's Kingdom of Morocco

The theme park wizards at Disney Imagineering are experts at creating environments that both charm with fantasy elements and entice with real world delights. For my dollar, this unique blend is no more evident than in Epcot's World Showcase. 

Of all the countries represented in this part of the park, the Kingdom of Morocco stands among the most fully realized. There is not a single  traditional attraction or even a beautiful travelogue film, but the shops and restaurants- and even the Aladdin meet and greet- are set in an environment so compelling, guests miss out on something so unique if they just pass by.

What will Disney do with this part of the park? Hard to say. Sadly, most likely in this season, Morocco is toward the bottom of their must-do list. Perhaps something great is in the works. Then this gem of World Showcase will rise to the guest respect level of France, Mexico, Norway, and Canada. Until then, the crowds will pass by and miss one of the park's hidden treasures.

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Karen Carpenter Canta en Español / Karen Carpenter Sings in Spanish

Los fanáticos de Richard y Karen Carpenter sabían que la mujer podía cantar una canción en japonés (mira esto), pero pocos de nosotros sabíamos que también podía cantar en español. Cuando se lanzó el álbum de 1973 Now & Then, fue otro éxito mundial. ¿Cómo no podría serlo con la hermosa Yesterday Once More de Richard Carpenter, el impresionante nuevo clásico de Leon Russell This Masquerade y una gran cantidad de canciones antiguas? ¡Los carpinteros estaban calientes!

(Fans of Richard and Karen Carpenter knew the woman could sing a song in Japanese- check this out- but few of us knew she could also sing in Spanish. When the 1973 album Now & Then was released, it was another worldwide smash. How could it not be with Richard Carpenter's beautiful Yesterday Once More, Leon Russell's stunning new classic This Masquerade, and a whole slew of oldies. The Carpenters were hot!) 

Para el mundo de habla hispana, el dúo grabó una versión de su éxito Sing. ¡Y es tan pegadizo en español como en inglés!

Puedes escucharlo aquí.

(For the Spanish speaking world, the duo recorded a version of their hit Sing. And it's just as catchy in Spanish as it is in English!

You can hear it here.)

----

Sí, hoy se cumplen 41 años del fallecimiento de Karen.

Richard emitió la siguiente declaración:

"Es difícil creer que han pasado 41 años desde que Karen nos dejó. Por diversas razones, no en cada uno de esos años vimos un nuevo álbum, hecho que lamento cada día más, ya que el mundo se vio privado de escucharla cantar innumerables Más canciones, cantadas con una voz que no podía ni puede igualarse.

Siento su pérdida de muchas maneras diferentes, y no sólo en su canto. Estaba dotada de una contagiosa personalidad optimista que era un plus al pasar tantas horas en el estudio.

Cada año la extraño más que el anterior y espero que donde quiera que viva sea consciente de ello. - Ricardo"

(Yes, today marks 41 years since Karen's passing.

Richard issued the following statement: 

"It’s hard to believe that 41 years have passed since Karen left us. Due to various reasons, not every one of those years saw a new album, a fact I regret more each passing day, as the world was deprived of hearing her sing countless more songs, sung in a voice that could not and can not be matched.

I feel her loss in many different ways, and not just her singing.  She was endowed with a contagious upbeat personality which was a plus when spending so many hours in the studio.

Every year, I miss her more than the preceding one, and hope that where ever she resides, she is aware of this. - Richard")

¿Quieres más carpinteros? El blog está lleno de rarezas, incluidas mis reseñas detalladas de cada álbum. En cada uno se incluye material promocional, tomas descartadas de sesiones de fotos y más.

(Want more Carpenters? The blog is full of rarities- including my in detail reviews of each album. Promotional material, photo session outtakes and more are included in each one.)

Mi mirada revisada/nueva a los álbumes:

(My Revisited / Fresh Look at the albums:)

Offering / Ticket to Ride
Close to You
Carpenters 
A Song for You 

Now & Then

The Singles 1969 - 1973

Live in Japan

Horizon

A Kind of Hush

Live at the Palladium

Passage

 

Mis reseñas iniciales de los álbumes:

(My Initial Reviews of the albums:)

Offering/Ticket to Ride

Close to You

Carpenters

A Song for You

Now & Then

The Singles 1969-1973

Live In Japan

Horizon

A Kind of Hush

Live at the Palladium

Passage

The Singles 1974-1978

Christmas Portrait

Made in America

Voice of the Heart

An Old Fashioned Christmas

Time (Richard Solo)

Lovelines

Karen Carpenter (Solo)

As Time Goes By

 

A Quiet Corner in Italy

One of our favorite travel pleasures is to arrive someplace new and take a walk. Not just any walk, but one where we get lost and discover hidden alleyways and nooks and crannies. Sure, we see all the must-do sights we can, but there's something so real and charming about being off the beaten path. 

Here's one such example in Sorrento. It seems everywhere you go in Italy, you're stepping into a photographer's paradise. Sun washed walls and the rich hues of clay rooftops up against magnificent art in various forms of glass, bronze, and paint. Brightly painted flowers of rainbow colors spill across windows and onto cobblestone streets barely wider than a compact car. 

If you like this photo, check out the first two days of our recent trip to Italy and then Paris. More to come.

Day One- Italy Before France, Rome Before Paris

Day Two- The Best of Rome and The Coolest Thing I've Ever Done

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)

A New Beginning

Today begins a new season in our lives. About a year or so ago, I began to feel restless, thinking that God might have something else for me. I desired to finish well and not coast into retirement. From a very practical standpoint, this meant quitting my job and starting from scratch. We began to read our Bible and pray as we wanted to hear clearly what this might mean.

God kept bringing me back again and again to Matthew, chapter 9, verses 14-17: "Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.  Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Now I know from my studies that these verses primarily refer to the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant (conforming to the Law and looking forward to the Savior to come to achieve eternal life vs. Placing trust in Jesus Christ alone as the payment for your sin, turning from the old ways and surrendering your life fully to Him). But there was something else going on. It was to be a new season. A dear friend called me in the midst and said, "As I pray for you, I feel like God is clearing your plate and preparing a new season."

We spoke to our pastor who solidly affirmed what we were reading and hearing in our prayers. With some additional wisdom from godly and trusted friends, we took the steps to alter our lives once more as God directed. It's SO scary! Yet, time and time again, Jesus has been faithful. And we go to bed at night resting in the fact we are being obedient to Him. Needless to say, the job search has begun. If you are a follower of Jesus, please pray for us.