Archive for the ‘disneyland’ Category

Forty years ago today, on August 9, 2009, everyone’s favorite haunt opened at Disneyland.

Happy Birthday, Haunted Mansion!

Weird Al has some really good songs. The man takes the parody (which is already a joke in itself) and makes it into a true art form.

What is Weird Al doing on a Disney blog, you may ask?

His latest little diddy, which I suppose will be on his next CD, due out late this year/early next year, is about a guy who wanted to be a famous actor when he grew up, and instead is a Jungle Cruise Skipper.

Very funny stuff! Enjoy!

Skipper Dan

UPDATE: You can now download the single from iTunes, Amazon, and other various online outlets!

A lot of people propose to their significant other at a Disney Park. Each one is magical in their own way, but some are a little more than others.

The official Disney Parks YouTube page posted this back in early June, and I didn’t really get a chance to discuss it until now. It’s probably one of, if not the best proposal I’ve ever seen.

It’s a singing, dancing proposal to end all proposals. Check it out:

There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the video, though. Lots of people are crying foul, and saying it’s all fake. While it does have an over abundance of clearly convenient  attributes to it, and does seem to go above and beyond typical Disney proposals, I still feel it’s the real thing.

If you ask ahead of time, most Disney Cast Members will go out of their way to help make your proposal special, and that’s obviously the case here. To me, it seems like these two guests in this truly magical moment are current or former Disneyland Cast Members themselves, and that’s how he was able to set up all that extra “magic.” I mean, look at that girl’s face. She looks incredibly surprised (and slightly embarassed) by the whole thing. Either that, or she’s a really good actress!

Regardless, whether it is a clever piece of Disney marketing, or just them helping a fellow Cast Member out, it truly is remarkable and definitely memorable!

On April 29th, 2009, two more Disney Legends will be recieving their very own windows honoring them on Main Street, USA in Disneyland.

The first window will belong to Rolly Crump, who is best known for his work at Disneyland. He worked on various projects like Rhe Haunted Mansion, Rhe Enchanted Tiki Room, it’s a small world, and The Carousel of Progress. Crump retired from the company in 1996, but still continues to contribute ideas to this day. He was inducted as a Disney legend in 2004.

The late Don Edgren is also receiving a window. Don was the original chief engineer in the field for the original construction of Disneyland, and he also led the Imagineering engineering team for New Orleans Square and Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. He was inducted as a Disney legend in 2006.

Rolly and Don’s names will be over the porch of the old bra shop and above the Silhouette Studio, respectively.

I love the old attraction posters that Disney displays at the front of their park, advertising all the sights and sounds you will see inside.

One of my favorites is the old 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea one from Disneyland. Though the ride no longer exists in its original form, the poster reminds of me the way it used to be.

I always wanted to put that poster on my wall, and finally decided to actively pursue it. Searching the Internet, I failed to come across an image large enough that would print out the size I wanted, so I decided to make one myself.

They had a fairly niced sized version in the Imagineering book that Disney put out in the 90’s, so I scanned it and blew it up a little. I printed it on 13×19 glossy photo paper, and it looks fantastic!

I figured I would post it here, in case any of you wanted to do the same! Click to enlarge:

Disneyland is planning on closing their three in-park McDonalds as part of a planned refurbishment, according to Reuters. The three ‘quick serve’ kiosks will be closed at the beginning of September, and reopen at a later date with a different theme. According to Disney, the new themes have not been chosen yet.

This is kind of a big deal for Disney, who also ended their movie promotion partnership with McDonalds after the second Pirates film. Though the fast food giant is losing its footing at Disneyland, it’s keeping its three eateries at the Magic Kingdom open. It’s unknown at this time if these kiosks will close as well.

In recent years, Disney has really pushed a more healthy variety of meal choices at their parks, and getting rid of McDonalds is definitely a step in the right direction. I like McDonalds as much as the next guy, but having this fast food machine inside the parks sometimes ruins the magic for me. The image of walking through Frontierland is usually shattered when I come across the french fry cart at WDW. Maybe in the next few years, Disney will give McDonalds the boot completely.