Everyone Needs a Little Yesterland

With changes to the Disney theme parks coming faster than you can say "Another Marvel / Star Wars movie?", there's one resource all park fans need to know about. Yesterland by Werner Weiss. He has documented most all the changes to each theme park. From Walt's original park on, with a keen eye and a great sense of humor to go along with official images from promotional items, Werner's site is a must read. 

One for the Record

Here's a nice, nice shot of the charming, old school approach to Disney hotel gardens. This waterfall area provided a cool respite from those hot August days in California and brought a romantic touch to the walking path in the twilight of evening. This photo of the grotto at the Disneyland Hotel before its major overhaul came from poster Phrubruh at the WDWMagic Forums. 

My Sister, My Friend

Happy Birthday to You! (Repeat several times.) Thanks for being a wonderful sister and friend. If it weren't for you, I would have never met Karen Carpenter...

(Story here.)

Live from Chip and Joanna Land

No, the greatest theme park in Texas is not Six Flags nor is it Sea World! The best Texas theme park is actually in Waco, and it's called Chip and Joanna Land. 

Chip and Joanna Gaines have created such an interesting series of businesses- and I'm a huge fan of what they do and more importantly the Spirit in which they do it. 

My youngest daughter and her family are down there right now as we speak, and maybe she'll kindly send me photos throughout the day. I'll be updating this post as/if they come in. Enjoy!

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Update: The line to get into the Magnolia Flour bakery is down the street at 2pm on a Thursday...

Video of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle!

Hong Kong Disneyland finally opened its long awaited Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle today. Here is some exclusive video, an entire ride through:

Our heroes make an appearance off the television screens as well! Photo below:

Does it include a small tribute to Disneyland's classic Adventure Thru Inner Space? Watch and decide for yourselves. 

Heroes are doing it for themselves- and you're invited along!

Either way, it looks like a solid next step revision of Buzz Lightyear into a Marvel themed attraction. By 2023, the big E Ticket is next to come.

Thanks to Wonderland912.com!

The Girl Drummer

Just a small trio of shots of Karen Carpenter, the drummer. Yes, she certainly was a beloved singer- even to this day- but this A&M Records superstar was also an excellent drummer. And she loved to sit behind the kit!

For those of us blessed to be able to see Carpenters in concert, we'll be so ever thankful to brother Richard Carpenter for convincing Karen to come out front from her drums and sing from center stage.

Of course, Karen always played at least a bit of the instrument, be it in concert or when she appeared on several of their television shows. Fans loved the joy on her face as she pounded away!

However, as expected, Karen Carpenter will always been known as the consummate singer. Even to this day three decades after her unfortunate passing, her warm buttery vocals remain dear to music fans all over the world.

Author Randy L. Schmidt of Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter has a new book coming out next month. The focus is on each of their studio albums including interviews with music illuminaries as well as this blessed unknown blog writer. It'll be a great read and a great volume to see as it's filled with never before photographs including those of her famous solo album.

Carefree at Disneyland

For almost 20 years, the INA (Insurance Company of North America) sponsored Carefree Corner was the place to go to sign the guest registration book at Disneyland. After the sponsorship ended, the location was host to a variety of other functions.

The above photo from the Gorillas Don't Blog website reveals the elegance of the shops and restaurants found on Main Street U.S.A., where even the most utilitarian services were housed in lovely surroundings.

Free of charge, INA also provided a nice guidebook of Disneyland, listing attractions, services, shops and restaurants for each land. 

From the Mouse Museum.

There was a list of attractions by ticket, individual maps of each land, and quite the variety of information you never thought you needed to know... until you did.  

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Six Year Miracle

Yesterday was the 6th anniversary of a miracle. Two actually. Our youngest daughter was pregnant with her daughter and had a stroke, landing her in the intensive care unit for almost a week. All while I was at work overseas. To say it was touch and go would be putting it mildly, and my poor wife handled it all with God's grace. 

She couldn't take the normal medicine as it would cause her to lose the baby. It was instead determined that twice daily shots was the course of action, but the blood clot in her brain would remain for now. (After much prayer with the laying on of hands by our family and friends, God removed the clot, leaving only a slight trace outline to remind us of it.)

After a several months, our sweet and lively granddaughter was born! And God spared our daughter's life as she had to be on blood thinners, bringing a risk of bleeding out during delivery.  

It doesn't always work like this, but God did give us the miracles we prayed for. Thank you, Lord Jesus!

Flying with Peter Pan in Shanghai

There's a reason that even Shanghai Disneyland gives guests a chance to fly to Neverland with Peter Pan: this iconic Disney attraction is just plain fun! Walt Disney knew visitors all of ages to Disneyland would not be able to resist boarding a pirate galleon and flying over London and follow the second star to the right. This concept art perfectly captures the thrill of soaring high above it all. 

You'll see this beloved attraction at home in every Fantasyland ever created- except for Hong Kong Disneyland, which continues to amaze me since British rule and influence has made such an impact on the people. Perhaps the newly Imagined larger castle will lead to other enhancements for the beautiful but small park. 

Much of the Mainland China park is unique and enticing, yet the weakest part of it all is their version that holds this flying attraction. 

I haven't been there yet, but I think it looks like Fantasyland is an epic design fail. Where shall I begin?

The monstrosity of the boxy castle lacks elegance and charm. Big is not always best. Even worse, the layout of the land seems awkwardly clumsy with an attraction lineup that lacks depth: Aside from the mine train roller coaster, the supposed to be stellar Voyage to the Crystal Grotto is a well known disappointment. The Tim Burton inspired Alice in Wonderland maze seems like an out of place nightmare, and Pooh is just a mash up of cheaper versions found in California and Florida. Fantasyland is clearly where budget cuts and rumored bribes took a bite out of what could have been. Did the money go to the government's Shanghai Shendi Group or somewhere else? And why isn't there much information on which group of Imagineers designed the park?

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Sunday in Kauaii

Another dreary day, the sun has gone away, and I'm longing for my fantasy island home. Kauai that is! I've been to the Hawaiian islands many times over the years, particularly when I was young and lived in California. This one island is still my favorite of all. 

I think I'll go back to bed... and dream.

(Photographer unknown.)

Saturday Playtime

This series of photos from late Summer 2018 says it all! When warm days are here and the siblings are friends and not just family, fun is easily found.

Adorable or what?

Happily Ever After

Although very modern compared to the classic Disney attraction posters, I find this particular one very interesting. The nighttime show Happily Ever After at the Magic Kingdom is a crowd pleaser. 

Even if these shows in front of the castle create a huge mess of a crowd- and they certainly do- they also accomplish one important task: getting guests to Main Street to exit the park as quickly as possible. This makes for a wonderful time to visit the farther edges of the park and enjoy it in comparatively quiet solitude.

Disneyland's Sinking Ship

As we all know, Disneyland is not perfect. Nor is the resort's sister park, Disney California Adventure. Tomorrowland is certainly a problem for the otherwise wonderful Kingdom. Across the way, the latest mess called Pixar Pier is a strong testament to the fact that serious problems and a lack of strong commitment to the classic values of Imagineering are in full play. 

In spite of all this, there's only one sinking ship: It's on Marc Davis' rare piece of concept art for Pirates of the Caribbean. And wouldn't this be a great addition to the already iconic attraction in New Orleans Square? Absolutely.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Prediction: Disney's Flying Robots Bring Spider-Man to Life

Why in the world would I think that we'll see this? Listen to this quote from Marvel project lead  Disney Imagineer Scot Drake: 

"I’m personally most excited to see Spider-Man swinging through these lands in a new suit that you can see now at Walt Disney Studios Park, soon at Disney California Adventure park, and at other locations in the future. "

Brings to mind this video from about 8 months ago or so. What do you think?

California's Golden Coast

Another one from The Traveler Studio. Golden Coast indeed!