August 21, 2010
4:01 PM
Disney Everywhere
Saturday TV Funhouse, a long-running series of animated features on Saturday Night Live, often satirized Disney topics, even imagining a sequel to Bambi in which the deer's mother survives and, well, it's not a happy time.
The last Funhouse feature to poke fun at Disney aired on April 16, 2006. Entitled 'Journey to the Disney Vault', it starts off quite nicely with Mickey Mouse taking two young children to the famous Disney Vault where they find copies of rare Disney movies no longer available to the general public.
But then the boy opens a door he shouldn't have opened and soon the children discover things Mickey attempts to justify (referring to Walt: "he was who he was") but the worst is still to come: Uncle Remus performing in an early version of Song of the South screened, Mickey tells us, only at Walt's parties; a bound Jim Henson ("he wouldn't sell!"); and an appearance from the Disney lawyers led by The Lion King's Scar.
You don't want to watch this video if you're easily offended by those who poke savage fun at Disney, or if you don't appreciate edgy, outrageous humor, and definitely don't share it with the kids.
(And Uncle Remus: shame!)
MORE: NBC - Saturday Night Live
For the past few weeks, Chuck Schmidt of the Staten Island Advance has been posting installments of his interview with Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr on his blog, Goofy About Disney.
All good things must end: yesterday Chuck posted Part 6, the finale.
To use another cliche, Chuck saved the best for last. In Part 6, Bob Gurr relates the fascinating story of how he designed Audio-Animatronic Abraham Lincoln in the early 1960s - and why he would rather have worked on Grover Cleveland instead.
Bob's work on Lincoln led to the innovation of 'production parts', standard components based on the Lincoln design that could be used in virtually any other Audio-Animatronic figure, even animals.
But Bob is modest about his achievements, explaining that he and many other early Imagineers had no idea they were making 'history' but thought they were '...just doing what Walt wanted us to do because it was pretty neat...".
Pretty neat, for sure. From now on, whenever I watch Abraham Lincoln slowly rise from his seat at Disney's Hall of Presidents, I'm going to think of Bob Gurr.
GoofyAboutDisney has gotten hullabaloo here before, most recently in the August 18 edition for Chuck Schmidt's Interview with Imagineer Bob Gurr: Part 5.
MORE: GoofyAboutDisney (Chuck Schmidt)
I know people who claim they've done everything at Disney World. They use the wanna-be worldly catchphrase - 'been there, done that' - as their pocket reply to whomever asks whether they'll visit the World again.
I have some worldly advice for these people, which upon advice of counsel I won't announce here, but I'm glad to announce instead the far more constructive (and physically feasible) advice offered by Jamie Collins, writing in her blog, OnlyWDWorld.
Jamie's suggestions range from the standard (try a new restaurant) to the sublime (watch the fireworks inside Hollywood Studios, an event that only happens on special occasions). Her most important point is that no one can truthfully say they've experienced everything at Disney World.
For example, I've been to Disney World more times than most people, but I've never played miniature golf at Fantasia Gardens. I've never had my hair cut at the Harmony Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom. And so forth. There are a lot of things I haven't done at Disney, and of the many things I have done, I can't wait to do most of them again.
Actually, I can say 'been there, done that' to one thing: having a bird take a chomp out of my churro as I walked in Epcot's Mexico Pavilion several ago. I can still hear the unsettling rush of wings inches from my face. I asked Disney for three billion dollars in compensation. To date, they haven't even replaced my churro.
OnlyWDWorld has gotten hullabaloo here before, most recently in the August 13 edition for Construction Photos of Epcot's Revamped San Angel Restaurant.
MORE: OnlyWDWorld (Jamie Collins)
Last week Chris Ridgeway, blogging for GrowingUpDisney, gave his favorable opinion of UPinPoint's Disney park map suite for the iPhone.
Well, Chris is back, and now that he knows where he is, courtesy of UPinPoint, he wants to know how long he'll have to stand there in line.
Wouldn't you know it: he found a Disney app for that.
The app, Lines, was developed by the familiar folks at TouringPlans. Lines is free, which means I like it already, but isn't the only such app on the market. As Chris points out, it differs from similar apps in that its information comes not solely from user input but from a combination of that metric with the historical data collected over the years by TouringPlans. The app also provides crowd calendars, park hours, refurbishment schedules, and other data - all of it from TouringPlans.
Chris shares several screen shots of Lines' clean interface and claims it gave him accurate information during his last trip to Disney World.
So now Chris, the Moderne Traveler, has Disney apps to tell him how to find any park ride or attraction and how long he'll have to wait once he gets there. He lacks only an app to plan Disney honeymoons and weddings.
You'd think Disney would have such an app...
GrowingUpDisney has gotten hullabaloo here before, most recently in the August 19 edition for Before Mickey Had a PhilharMagic, He Had a Revue.
MORE: GrowingUpDisney (Chris Ridgeway)
8:09 AM
Disneyland, Disney World
Korri McFann, Disney's Worldwide Marketing and Business Development Director, announces the release of a Facebook application for couples who wish to plan their Disney wedding or honeymoon from the comfort of their home computer.
The application, My Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings Site, is customizable and surprisingly intuitive.
You can use it to upload photos (of yourselves, presumably), send invitations, share information about Disney park tickets and reservations, and plan itineraries and registries.
There's even room for you to tell visitors your 'story' (in 1000 words or less). The sample story involves someone named Bob proposing on bended knee to his Princess in front of Cinderella Castle. The story adds a nice, personal touch to the page, and of course I wish Bob all the best.
For more information about how Disney can get your marriage off to a magical start, check out their Fairy Tale Weddings and their Fairy Tale Honeymoons sites, in that order.
Also revisit my hullabaloo from August 17 entitled In Sickness and in Wealth for information about the newly remodeled Franck's Bridal Studios in Disney World.
MORE: DisneyParksBlog (Korri McFann)
How can you not like a book with 'Dispatch' in the title?
John Frost's forthcoming book, Dispatch from Disneyland: The Fireworks Spot and Other Tales, will be a collection of short stories and essays written by John about his 'favorite place on Earth', Disneyland.
John took a unique approach to self-publishing his book: he's accepting donations from folks who read his current blog, called simply TheDisneyBlog, and who may remember his old blog at LaughingPlace. (I'm sure he'll accept donations from just about anyone, though.)
He needs $2200 to publish his book. Good luck, you say, especially in such tough economic times?
With two weeks left in the donation period, John has exceeded his goal by over $200. I think it's both amazing and wonderful that so many people (currently 58 of them) so value John's work that they'd contribute toward the publication of his book. Some folks even pledged $200 each, earning them such perks as the role of a character in one of John's stories.
John used a site called Kickstarter to collect pledges. I mention it here in case any of my readers (the two I had last week I believe have been joined by a third) have any dream Disney projects that they can't afford to do on their own but which might have sufficient interest to attract donations.
And to John, of course: can't wait to read the book!
MORE: TheDisneyBlog (John Frost)
