Rome from the Air

The photographer is unknown, but the shot is timeless. The Colosseum is a landmark for any city, but in Rome, history is everywhere. Just everywhere you look! Believers in Jesus Christ were once thrown to the lions in the arena, and gladiators battled to the death. It was a typical afternoon of "entertainment" for the wealthier citizens. Can you imagine? Well, today, Rome offers a diversion of pleasures, and you don't have to be rich to enjoy them. 

Disneyland Attraction Posters: The Main Street U.S.A. Collection

Today, I want to reintroduce a very popular series on the Insights and Sounds blog- Disney Theme Park Attraction Posters. I want to thank the various sources from which I have collected these over the years. Some of these came from the incredible Daveland blog and some from many others- including scans and photographs by me. Thanks to everyone on the web who contributed to keeping especially Disneyland- Walt's park- history alive.

I'm beginning with posters from Disneyland, but I also have collections from California Adventure, Walt Disney World and even Tokyo Disney Resort and more. 

Soon, we will be adding a poster for Walt Disney – A Magical Life. Those of you newer to the blog might find this article interesting. It was an interview with Disney historian Didier Ghez and a surprise guest, Eddie Sotto, who revealed that an Audio Animatronic of Walt Disney was first discussed by Imagineering decades ago. Yes, decades. You can read this article here.

Enjoy these beautiful posters! As long as there is imagination left in Imagineering, there should be more attraction posters!
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As Walt Disney and his team were planning Disneyland, they instinctively knew this was going to be a different type of park. How could they communicate to the public what they would see in it? Of course, television played a huge role in sharing the vision and the details.

With a plan for the park to be defined by the railroad tracks, it was only natural that the Main Street U.S.A. train station would be at the park's entrance. It would have two tunnels in which to pull guests from the front of the turnstiles into Main Street, one on the left and one on the right. Inside these tunnels, the Imagineering team proudly created posters advertising the attractions.

Over the years, the attractions would also be found in front of the park along the fences and over park benches as guests found seating alongside the main entrance. It's only fitting that we begin this look at the attraction posters by starting with the ones first encountered by the earliest guests- the ones for Main Street U.S.A.

Although the Grand Canyon Diorama was a very small part of the route, this poster did a magnificent job of communicating the grandeur and beauty to be found by guests making the full circle tour on the trains.

Primeval World would come later and provide even more thrills.

It's difficult to tell which color scheme of the attraction poster was actually used. Either way, the artist's use of colors not normally associated with railroading and bold imagery created a stunning representation! The beautifully intricate version at the top of this post came many years later, communicating the elegance of Disneyland's railroad in an entirely different way than earlier versions.

The Red Wagon Inn restaurant was the predecessor to the beautiful Plaza Inn and operated by that name until the mid 1960s. Again, the colors in these two posters are slightly different.

Arguably the greatest attraction found on Main Street U.S.A., Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was quickly recognized as a masterpiece of engineering, artistic accomplishment, and exquisite storytelling. The poster above advertised the attraction at its opening. 

 Above is a proposed version of the poster.

 Another variation on a theme.

Several years after Walt's passing, the Disneyland Opera House presented "The Walt Disney Story", a very fitting tribute to the man who started it all. The first version of the attraction replaced time with Mr. Lincoln in favor of a film about Walt. A later version left Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln as the stunning finale of sorts to the attraction. A new poster reflected that change.

This poster was used during the park's 50th anniversary.

The posters for attractions found on Main Street, U.S.A. are quite an impressive lot! There's more to come as we explore the other lands of Disneyland- and eventually Disney parks all over the world.Next time, we'll take a look at those posters for attractions in Adventureland. The exotic attractions form a very beautiful basis for another set are great artistic interpretations. Stay tuned for the next segment in this series- and stay tuned for additional posters to be added!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Next Generation Photographer Makes A Splash

I couldn't be prouder! Love of photography has been a staple trait in our family since the beginning. My wife comes from a Kodak family, and my love for photography blossomed during the early years of our marriage. This has passed on to a couple of our kids. And now it has passed on to our oldest grandson. Look at this photo! It's just terrific!

(Copyright Mark Taft - for the family interests.)

My Favorite Disney Park Photos: A Peaceful Morning at the Grand Floridian

Years ago, a visit to Walt Disney World could mean a relaxing time with tranquil evenings and leisurely paced days. No longer. Not even planning for a trip is simple and easy! But there's still peace to be found if you are willing to get up before the sun breaks. That's exactly what we did and when this photo was taken. Why were we up at the literal crack of dawn? To make absolutely sure we got to ride the Magic Kingdom's newest and hard to book attraction, Tron Lightcycle Run in Tomorrowland. Yes, we snagged seats on the ride, and the bonus was seeing this resort quiet and calm. Following the rush for a reservation was a wonderful sit down breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe. Not a bad way to start the day!

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft)

Oh Boy!

Flipping open the Disneyland app on my phone, I was so struck by the innocent sweetness of the artwork used to promote Disneyland's 70th Birthday / Anniversary. I just had to add it to the blog for my own records. They're always better when they leave "hip and edgy" to other companies.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

The Great American Pastime of watching baseball is even more fun when it's with people you love! The look on my grandsons' faces tells the whole story. I just want to know why my daughter-in-law is not showing her team spirit. Just joking!

Club Disney? Yes, It WAS Built- and the Unbuilt DisneyQuest

Ever heard of Club Disney? I was in one. It really happened! Anyone here remember DisneyQuest- the great indoor theme park that  was once found in Florida's Downtown Disney? It was a great stop at Walt Disney World on the days that the rain or the heat was too much. There was one planned for Disneyland as well, but it never made it off the concept art drawing boards. 

Back when the Westcot theme park (look here) was to be added to California- in the 1990s - before the suits decided the park was to be replaced buy the MUCH more financially safer and very inexpensive Disney's California Adventure, a West Coast version of the indoor gaming playground was all set up to happen. We've all heard the story before and we'll hear it again- plans change, budgets are reallocated, and priorities shift. It happened here. 

This project is not to be confused with Club Disney, the young family focused indoor entertainment center for those with kids 10 and under. One opened in Lone Tree, Colorado, just a few miles from our home. When we visited, it was a combination indoor play area and Chuck E. Cheese and Dave and Busters... enjoyable, charming, expensive, and not worth more than two hours of your time. But it was "Disney", so for this family far from both California and Florida, it was a nice little diversion. 

This new venture was long before Disney's Celebrity Sports Center from the 1960s that lasted until the early 1990s in Denver. (Yes, I had been inside exactly once. It was little more than a run down bowling alley by then. Not even sure who owned it.)

For now, both these are a piece of history. Will the ideas be resurrected again? Probably not, but you never know what could happen as the company and the U.S. economy changes over and over and over again.

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Thank you, Brian Wilson

I wasn't ready to write this one. Yesterday, another great and gifted one passes into the next life. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys dies, and the world loses a genius that impacted many, many artists, including my beloved duo, Carpenters. Brother Richard Carpenter often noted the influence of the "3 Bs" on their music: Burt Bacharach, Beatles, and The Beach Boys. (Later, he'd reference four, adding BeeGees to the list.) His take on the classic Fun, Fun, Fun sits snuggly on the duo's 1973 Now & Then album. A few years later, sister Karen Carpenter had her own chance to sing lead vocal on a Beach Boys tune. Her duet with John Denver on Good Vibrations was arguably the highlight of the duo's first television special. Needless to say, folks will be talking about their admiration for the main architect of The Beach Boys sound for decades to come. Like many things, you don't know what you've got til it's gone. Made in U.S.A. indeed.
 

A Better Monsters Inc. Land Coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Door Roller Coaster is a sure thing! But what is also included in the new plans for Disney's Hollywood Studios revision of the area once home to Muppet*Vision 3D into one that celebrates all things Monsters Inc.? You can bet this concept art is keeping some details hidden, but let's be honest. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor belongs here (with perhaps a new name to avoid its unfortunate abbreviation) as does Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue from Disney California Adventure. 

Disney's Hollywood Studios needs an actual dark ride for the youngest of guests who will not able be to ride the family coaster. The park has a current total of zero old school Disneyland styled classic dark rides. These are the kind of smaller attractions that are classic Disney and round out a park filled with E Tickets and stage shows. Will the suits ever really get their popularity? They bring charm and warmth to any park, something the Studios is sorely lacking.

This expansion also needs a character filled, friendly monster stage show to go with the meet and greets. Imagineering and the Disney park fans have made these an inevitable part of any Disney themed land. 

Lastly, this new land needs a great spot to sit down and eat for folks who cannot get into or choose not to splurge on the sure to be quite overpriced Harryhausen's Japanese restaurant. The slightly Muppets themed PizzeRizzo is a prime location for something great and with a menu price befitting the family friendly budget. 

With the stunning success of Zootopia at Shanghai Disneyland, the bar for this time of land has been set very high. Will it be matched or exceeded at Walt Disney World? It better! With Epic Universe being SO good and nipping at Disney's heels, the war continues.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Thanks to Blog Mickey for the image.)

The Hidden Monster in Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

Look deeply but look quickly! There's a hidden monster that is very difficult to see at Epic Universe's incredible Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment attraction. It's not the above photo but the one below. This little discovery in Dark Universe is all you need to impress your friends! You might think it's the funny and cruel Ygor, but it is not. Nor is it Victoria Frankenstein- although I think that may be up for debate.

Who is he? None other than Quasimodo, the Hunchback himself. Up in the bell at the very beginning of the ride portion of this fantastic attraction. 

You've got to slow down the speed, but you can see him for a few seconds at the 8:40 ish mark. Open this in another tab and watch for yourself. Thanks to LMG Vids for capturing him in enough light!

Update: 

Here's a newer version from "SeeWDW!" at the 31 second mark.

View it here.

The Sparkle of Disneyland's Tomorrowland 1967

The Submarine Voyage and the Peoplemover. What more can you say? Plenty! Add in the Carousel of Progress, the late and great Adventure Thru Inner Space and a refreshed entrance to Tomorrowland.  The year 1967 would remain one for the books in the annals of Disneyland history. 

Walt's park seemed better than ever under the guidance of those first generation Imagineers. And, boy, they were on a roll! It's a Small World was first, then Pirates of the Caribbean in the Spring of '67 and the Haunted Mansion a couple of years later. Let's not forget Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln coming hot off the World's Fair. 

Things would slow down for awhile, but as this photograph from the late and great Vintage Disneyland Tickets shows, the future was also moving at Disneyland- unless you look at Tomorrowland. That revision in 1998 was a dud- Rocket Rods aside-, and it was the last time that area of the park had even the slightest bit of cohesion. Will the Imagineering team bring a great new person of the future for the park's 75th Anniversary? Your guess is as good as mine!

(Photograph copyright Vintage Disneyland Tickets.)

Still My Little Boy

What can I say? He may be a fully grown man with a life full of responsibility, but he will always be my youngest child. Taken just a few days ago, this photo captures the little boy smile that I find in his heart. He's a theme park geek like his dad, but like most folks of his generation, the Universal world is his playground- Harry Potter rules!- and Disney holds the number two spot.
 

Rome - Eternally Yours

Rome- The Eternal City. What an amazing place! The famous sights, the sounds of fountains, music, the people; and the utterly magnificent flavors! But they pale in comparison to what is to come. The true eternal city as described by the beloved Apostle John in the book of Revelation: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Can there be anything better than what is to come for all who have received the free gift of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ? No, a thousand times, no.

 

Imagineer Eddie Sotto Reveals Disneyland Paris' Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain at Disneyland Paris? It's been rumored for years. Of course, now that Disney leadership has flipped the attraction into the seemingly less reliable Tiana's Bayou Adventure, it is probably never going to happen. But former Imagineer Eddie Sotto reveals the truth.
 

Look at these images that show the proposed plan for the French park. There it is, plain as day: Zip A Dee River Run aka Splash Mountain. Rights next to the Cowboy Cookout restaurant in the real frontier of Frontierland, just below the thematic crossover into Adventureland.

Want to see Imagineering's concept art for it? I happen to have it here.

You'd think this would be my favorite reveal of Mr. Sotto's. But check out this amazing story (with concept art) by the man as he reveals a plan for New Orleans Square at Disneyland. an unbuilt project that still has a remnant of what was planned in Walt's park today.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

A Piece of Good Advice

Sometimes the best advice comes in a simple and straightforward manner. Life isn't all that it's cracked up to be at time. And it can always be much better by following these three simple instructions: Be With Jesus; Become Like Jesus; Do What Jesus Did. Will life get easier? Absolutely not! It will get harder because you will wake up to a new dimension of understanding and a clearer set up priorities. But it will be filled with purpose, joy, hope and eternal rewards. Nothing is better than that!

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)