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!

Rare Concept Art for Pinocchio's Village Haus in Disneyland

Stumbled upon this old piece of concept art for Disneyland's Pinocchio Village Haus (now known as the Beauty and the Beast themed Red Rose Taverne). The brand new revitalized Fantasyland of 1983 saw not only the Pinocchio's Daring Journey dark ride but a nice little restaurant off to the side on the pathway to Frontierland. The very charming inn at Disneyland has an older corporate cousin at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. We know bigger isn't always better, but in this case, the Florida location does have a great big scenic window into the load station of It's A Small World. Over in France, it's Au Chalet de la Marionnette at Disneyland Paris. Anyway you see it, the restaurants are infused with Old World charm and a touch of Disney magic.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disney Springs and Pleasure Island

Highly successful, Disney's Springs is continuing to lead the transformation of the entire area around it. Change is constant. Bongo's Cuban restaurant is one of the last pieces of what was The West Side. Back in the day, it was Pleasure Island and the Disney Village. Both were both smartly done and hit two very different audiences.

No, it wasn't just the theme parks that were given the Imagineers touch. Bringing some nightlife to Walt Disney World was also one of their tasks. Just think about the amazing, excellent Adventurer's Club! That's got their hand all over it. (Boy, I miss it!)

Do you want to see more Pleasure Island in its heyday? Go to this post for some great vintage photos taken right after the grand opening- including my favorite, a larger than life, leg swinging Jessica Rabbit. 

Look for more Pleasure Island posts on the blog. You'll be surprised what you find around here...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Not for the Kids- Seriously!

A "slice" of dark humor for fans of Pinocchio, sent to me by my son...

Design Detail: Disneyland's Fantasy Faire

On my recent trip to the Disneyland Resort, you would think all I did was run from attraction to attraction. After all, I rode 26 of them in one long day- and 18 of them were "E Tickets". (How I did it is coming in a post in the next week or so- as well as the last of my trip reports from our recent Walt Disney World vacation.) 

But as usual with every single Disney park visit, I stopped to take in all the incredible little details that make Walt's original kingdom as sweetly charming as it is.

The concept art is equally charming.

Fantasy Faire is a relatively new piece of the park, an area next to the castle that was once the home of the Carnation Plaza Gardens. In spite of the objections of those two think Disneyland should never change, like the Disneyland Historical Preservation Society, Imagineering created a place that fits in wonderfully and creates a much needed space for another theater show and a princess meet and greet. Change is great as long as it is done well and retains the "spirit" of the park's origins.

But there's much more there than that. If you take time to look around, there's a wanted poster for Flynn Rider on the back wall. High above at rooftop level, there's more detail. Figaro the cat from Pinocchio playfully engages the bluebird in a cage. No, they're not static figures but simple Audio-Animatronics. It's touches like these that keep theme park geeks like me coming back for more. And there should be more details like this found in the park next door. Much more effective overall than hitting us over the head as with unneeded transitions like Pixar Pier. 

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)

Concept Art for Pinocchio's Daring Journey

The year was 1983 when, finally, Disneyland's brand new sparkling Fantasyland opened to a very excited public. With much fanfare, the drawbridge to the castle was lifted and lowered for the first time since the park's opening in 1955. 

It was quite a day. I avoided the exact re-opening but visited shortly afterwards, being quite excited at the transformation. Gone were the quickly (and cheaply) built tournament tent surroundings. In its place was an elegant recreation of a European village. Under the heartfelt leadership of Imagineer Tony Baxter, the original Magic Kingdom had finally received the kind of Fantasyland Walt Disney always intended but couldn't afford. 

In addition to all the changes, a brand new attraction appeared: Pinocchio's Daring Journey, a dark ride to match all the others found around the castle. It joined an impressive line-up beginning with the beloved Peter Pan's Flight, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Scary Adventures, and Alice in Wonderland. (Want to see a nice little article on the transformation of Fantasyland? Go to Imagineering Disney. It's chock full of some great before and after photos!)

The man himself with a marionette of Pinocchio.

For some reason, this new dark ride, recently installed in Tokyo Disneyland months earlier, never became a fan favorite. In spite of it being a masterpiece as a film, the transition to dark ride never caught on with park guests as did its dark ride predecessors. Thirty plus years later, the attraction seems to have a very short queue, even on the very busiest of days. Quite the shame, as I think this attraction has it all: a compelling story with dark and light elements, a variety of scenery, wonderful characters, and great special effects. Most of all, the attraction boasts music that has stood the test of time. It may be too much of a morality tale, but it's a solid attraction in its own right. Truly an undiscovered gem of the California park.

(Art and photograph copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

A Rare Look at Never Built Pinocchio in Disneyland

A simple but rare piece of concept art for Disneyland's brand new Fantasyland. New for 1955, anyway! Pinocchio was a critically acclaimed film, a dark but endearing movie masterpiece. How would Walt's Imagineers bring it into the park? As we know, Monstro eventually made the cut as part of the Storybookland Canal Boats, but the rafts morphed into charming watercraft similar to what we envision in the canals of Amsterdam from years gone by.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Friday Night Special: At Pleasure Island

Here's my first offering for something new on the blog. A Friday Night Special. This time it's a piece of concept art for the great adult entertainment area. It's beautiful when enlarged.

The Imagineers did an incredible job bringing some nightlife to Walt Disney World. Now, the Comedy Warehouse only shows up at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Christmas, and the excellent Adventurer's Club is a relic from the past. Boy, it was something back then! 

Want more Pleasure Island? Go to this post for some great vintage photos taken right after the grand opening- including a large, leg swinging Jessica Rabbit. 

Times change, and we all have new places for some fun. Just remember to keep it in check- we don't want to end up like those bad boys in Pinocchio! 

Do search for more Pleasure Island posts on the blog. You'll be surprised what you find around here...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

When You Wish Upon A Star

A brand new year sounds like a great time to put together a wish list, doesn't it? Does to me! So, in no particular order, here are some things I wish for in 2014:

• People to say what they mean and mean what they say. So tired of sarcasm and innuendo. Show some integrity and say and do what you say you will.
• I'd like the suits at The Walt Disney Company to really go toe to toe with their theme park competitors. What would be even better would be if they would view their parks as works of art to be enhanced and added to due to the love of the place and not just the financials. Walt Disney loved his park. It showed, and folks flocked to see his living work of art.
• A change in focus in how news is reported. If you're like me, you'd probably enjoy the news facts being reported and not interpreted for the reader or listener. We are grown up enough to understand what you are telling us. Stop treating us as if we need you to explain events to us. 
• World Peace. Sure, Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality and all the women of pageants clamor for it, convinced it will make them memorable. I want it, but I do not want to have to sacrifice my morals for it. God bless our military men and women for standing up for freedom and humane treatment of others. Yes, someone has to do it. 
• Less Miley Cyrus more Danielle Bradbery. Our culture is prone to produce young women who feel like they have to flaunt their sexuality to sell and make a point. Yes, this includes you, Lady Gaga. Let's give it up instead for some good old-fashioned music made for real people and not Hollywood and their wannabes. Madonna has shown more class throughout most of her career.
• Sports figures you act like good sportsmen. I'm a bit tired of entitled NFL players and the like who act as if they can break the law and get away with it. Say what you will, but men the likes of Tim Tebow are good role models for our youth.
• Politicians that truly care about America and what she stands for. I'm sick of 99% of our politicians, including our current president. Time for something new.
• The church. And I do not mean just the Roman Catholic Church. May we be the light on the hill that Jesus spoke about. We can and must speak the truth in love or who will listen to the only true message that calls us to The One who can save us from ourselves?
• Lastly, I'd like to be a better me. More like the Lord I follow and more like the man He created me to be. Oh God, please change my heart and empower my life.

Here's Monstro

Friday's post on the Fantasyland that never was wasn't an April Fool's joke. In it, I looked at abandoned projects from the Imagineers: from the first concepts for Disneyland's Fantasyland all the way out to ones we hear more about today. (You can see it here.) Yet it seemed the joke was on me as I could only find the overview of the land concept art and not the Monstro the whale specific piece I just knew I had placed somewhere! Guess that's what I should come to expect when I have hundreds upon hundreds of scans and photos!
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Fantasyland to Discovery Bay to Western River Expedition to Beastly Kingdom

Abandoned Disney Imagineering projects began from the very onset of the designs for the park. Here in an early rendering for Fantasyland, you can see a Monstro the Whale water flume attraction that was never built. Inspired by Walt Disney's film masterpiece, Pinocchio, guests would be shot out of the whale's mouth. Sort of a kid friendly, no height restriction version of Splash Mountain. Along with Rock Candy Mountain, these two rides began fan obsession with attractions that never made it past the drawing boards. 

Decades later, I am still smitten by projects lost in the shuffle. And I'm not alone! Walt Disney World's unconstructed behemoth, Western River Expedition is still discussed and dreamed about- even if for Disneyland Paris! Master Imagineer Tony Baxter still fields questions about Disneyland's planned but unbuilt Discovery Bay (a fully built model was even displayed at the park!) and website discussion boards remain abuzz debating and longing for Animal Kingdom's Beastly Kingdom by Joe Rohde and team. Then there's a whole slew of new countries never seen for Epcot, Dick Tracy's Crime Stoppers for Disney's Hollywood Studios, and on and on...

This blogsite provides many pieces of art for these concepts and more. Along with many others, I'm only adding fuel to this fire. As much fun as it is, the Disney company themselves may be playing the cruelest April Fool's Day trick of all by letting us in on the plans- but I wouldn't have it any other way!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)