Saturday, March 6
Friday, March 5
Doug Higley is a dark ride fanatic who wrote a book -- kind of a gigantic zine -- on the subject a few years ago, called Scary Dark Rides. It wasn't so much a history as it was an appreciation, and I just loved it. He even included a hand-made pop-up surprise, so that the book itself was a kind of scary dark ride. Doug's sincere fanaticism comes through in every word he writes -- I bet he would be much more fun person to take to an amusement park than I am. Since he's a professional voice-over guy, he recently recorded the book as two audio CDs.
Sometimes I recommend a book that isn't, strictly speaking, all that good. Beyond the Castle: The Enchanted Forest might be a bit too folksy and twee for your tastes, but I was completely charmed by it. The author, Mavis Tofte, is the wife of Roger Tofte, who built the Enchanted Forest amusement park in Salem, Oregon in 1964. In the larger scheme of things its a pretty minor amusement park, but it's nothing to sneeze at. What makes the book worth reading is the author's gentle tone; it sounds as if she were taking you on a guided tour of the park. She may ramble on a bit too long from time to time, but so does your grandma, and you love her, right?
One big plus: this book is just chock-a-block with informative color photos.
Mavis Tofte wrote another book specifically about the history of the park, The Enchanted Forest And Its Family, and I look forward to reading that as well.
Thursday, March 4
A life-size 6-foot, 700-pound statue statue of Mickey Mouse [?] inspired by singer Janet Jackson was one of 75 unveiled at Walt Disney World in Orlando last fall to celebrate the 75th birthday of Mickey Mouse. The statues were inspired by celebrities such as tennis star Andre Agassi, actress Jamie Lee Curtis and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. The Jackson statue used a tight black outfit Jackson wore in 1990 after the release of her album, Rhythm Nation 1814. This statue has been removed.
(DANNY ADDS: And yet they continued to show Captain Eo for years after Michael Jackson's first sex scandal...)
(DANNY ADDS: And yet they continued to show Captain Eo for years after Michael Jackson's first sex scandal...)
Wednesday, March 3
From now until March 15th, you can download the Journal of Ride Theory #5, the BAD IDEAS Issue from Lulu.com for FREE! It's an 8.8 meg Adobe Acrobat file, a complete facsimile of the original zine. Includes Flying Saucers at Disneyland, the Cyclodial Chariot (a cross between a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster), submarine busses, Freedomland, Doug Henning's Vedaland and a new introduction. It's a nice cheap way to show off a sample chapter of The Journal of Ride Theory Omnibus to distributors and bookstore buyers, so don't think I'm being entirely altruistic.
A reader kindly pointed out an HTML error in that last post, so here's a tip of the toque to him, a link to his Kathryn Beaumont tribute page. Hey, it counts -- she narrated a ride!
A RealVideo archive of the Save Disney meeting from yesterday is here.
Disney streamed the audio of the stockholders' meeting here, and they say they will archive it until 5:00 p.m. PST on March 10, 2004 -- embarassing though it is. (Thanks and a tip of my Knott's Berry Farm cap to Jim Hill Media for that link.)
Disney streamed the audio of the stockholders' meeting here, and they say they will archive it until 5:00 p.m. PST on March 10, 2004 -- embarassing though it is. (Thanks and a tip of my Knott's Berry Farm cap to Jim Hill Media for that link.)
From SaveDisney.com: Disney Shareholders Give Resounding No Confidence Vote On Eisner.
..."We have said from the start that we believed anything north of a 20% withhold vote would send a strong message to the Board that shareholders were demanding a change at the company, that Michael Eisner must go. After today's mandate, the Board can no longer ignore the will of its shareholders. The 'No Confidence' vote received by Mr. Eisner is unprecedented in American corporate history," they (Messrs Disney and Gold) stated.
And I'll just add that 43% of the shareholders voting "No Confidence" is considerably north of 20%. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out, Michael.
..."We have said from the start that we believed anything north of a 20% withhold vote would send a strong message to the Board that shareholders were demanding a change at the company, that Michael Eisner must go. After today's mandate, the Board can no longer ignore the will of its shareholders. The 'No Confidence' vote received by Mr. Eisner is unprecedented in American corporate history," they (Messrs Disney and Gold) stated.
And I'll just add that 43% of the shareholders voting "No Confidence" is considerably north of 20%. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out, Michael.
Tuesday, March 2
News Quiz Question. Earlier today, who said, "If we had enough rifles, we'd have this thing over with"?
A free all-day pass to Dannysland goes to gmtPlus9 for ushering into our consciousness the marvellous ride art of Charles A.A. Dellschau [1] [2] [3] [4].
Every once in a while, I help to perpetuate an error. When I first heard Raymond Scott's CD MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC., I was thrilled to find a radio ad for the General Motors Futurama II ride at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Also on the CD was a track called Space Mystery, with most of the same sounds as the radio ad, but no narration. So I jumped to the conclusion it was also the background music used in the ride, and I mentioned that "fact" to some of my ride-soundtrack-trading buddies. (Oh yes, bootleg ride soundtrack trading is a whole subculture you previously knew nothing about.) Later, I got a copy of the actual soundtrack, and it was nothing like Space Mystery. Oh well. I assumed Raymond Scott probably wrote it that too. Eventually, someone sent me a CD of bootlegged Disneyland's Tomorrowland soundtracks. As a bonus track, he added Space Mystery, but labled it 1964 Futurama Soundtrack.
By that point, I had read Remembering the Future: The New York World's Fair from 1939 to 1964, a catalog from an exhibit at the Queens Museum, which set the record straight.
"Seventy thousand patient people on any given day waited to board one of 463 three-passenger Fiberglas cars for a fifteen minute ride along an 1850-foot track. Accompanied by music by James Fargas and a poetic text by Edward Reveaux and GM staffers dramatically read by Alexander Scourby..."
Man, I was wronger than a doorknob on a donut.
(The graphic on the masthead of this blog, by the way, shows those "three-passenger Fiberglas cars"...)
By that point, I had read Remembering the Future: The New York World's Fair from 1939 to 1964, a catalog from an exhibit at the Queens Museum, which set the record straight.
"Seventy thousand patient people on any given day waited to board one of 463 three-passenger Fiberglas cars for a fifteen minute ride along an 1850-foot track. Accompanied by music by James Fargas and a poetic text by Edward Reveaux and GM staffers dramatically read by Alexander Scourby..."
Man, I was wronger than a doorknob on a donut.
(The graphic on the masthead of this blog, by the way, shows those "three-passenger Fiberglas cars"...)
Monday, March 1
From Mouse Planet: "Florida State Rep. Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) asked Attorney General Charlie Crist to take a look at what effect a takeover of the Walt Disney Company would have on control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Whether Comcast or another company were to buy the entertainment giant, Gardiner and other area lawmakers wanted to be ready with a legal opinion on whether the unique governmental district should pass to the new entity, and if so, how."
For anyone who doesn't know what this means, the "Reedy Creek Improvement District" is Walt Disney World's private government. When Disney wants to build something, Reedy Creek approves. Neat, clean, no red tape. Though it has governmental powers, it has none of the responsibilities of an elected government, so things like affordable housing for employees fall to the surrounding counties.
More at Jim Hill Media.
For anyone who doesn't know what this means, the "Reedy Creek Improvement District" is Walt Disney World's private government. When Disney wants to build something, Reedy Creek approves. Neat, clean, no red tape. Though it has governmental powers, it has none of the responsibilities of an elected government, so things like affordable housing for employees fall to the surrounding counties.
More at Jim Hill Media.
Sunday, February 29
From Laughing Mouse, a joke that actually made me laugh out loud: "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is set to re-open March 10 after demonstrating an improved safety record in recent months."
