It's been a long time...

I know I don't have very many readers out there, but I realized just how long its been since I've posted anything on this blog.  I also realize that I stopped my personal history lesson before discussing the first and most important park!  Shame on me!

You know how it is - life gets in the way.  I'd planned on taking my trip in December '13, and then I planned on taking it in September '14.  I started planning way too late for that one.

Now I'm locked in to a trip of September 2015!

As a rebirth of my blog, I'm planning several different posts relating to my trip - including itineraries, attraction/shopping suggestions, and more!

Stay tuned!

A Reverse History - Part 2

After the opening of the original Florida project, Walt sought to look toward the future - not just for his parks, but for the world as a whole.  In the early 60's, he conceptualized the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow - the park that in 1982 would come to life as EPCOT Center.

EPCOT is quite a difficult concept to explain if you have no prior knowledge of the park's origins, but it is also a fascinating history and progressive view for the time.  The park, originally, was not a park at all - it was a vast community, to be the central hub of the Walt Disney World.  It would boast housing complexes, hotels, and shopping districts, would have its own government, and would be ever-changing as new technologies developed.  Upon Walt's death in 1966, the project almost died with him.

The Disney Board was weary about starting this venture without its visionary leader, so Walt's brother, Roy, came out of retirement to work on the project.  While the idea of the central living community was scrapped, the underlying concepts of the EPCOT were put into place as the theme park, which opened in 1982.

The design of EPCOT Center was a controversy among board members.  Some wanted a futuristic look at technology and things in every day life, while some wanted it to be the International Marketplace that was to be included in the community.  Someone had the bright idea to take these two circular park ideas and butt them up together, which is where the current layout of Epcot came from.

From the opening day map above, you can see that EPCOT Center was split into two different sections - Future World, which offered a look into different areas of science and technology, and World Showcase, which offered looks at various cultures from around the world (much like the World's Fairs popular in the 60's).

When EPCOT Center opened, not all of the pavilions were completed - Horizons and The Living Seas in Future World were not yet complete, nor was Morocco in World Showcase.

The idea for the pavilions came from the World's Fairs of the late 60's (including the one in New York where Walt Disney introduced the world to several new technologies, like audio-animatronics, and several attractions that featured them, like The Enchanted Tiki Room and the Carousel of Progress).  From my understanding, World's Fairs were set up to where each country (or region) had its own pavilion, where it would showcase films about the country or offer shops with merchandise from each locale.  The idea with the pavilions at EPCOT Center harp back to the original concept for the city - each pavilion would be (and still is) sponsored by a major corporation that funds it, and helps build the technology that goes into it.  This is most prominent in Future World.

Spaceship Earth, Communicore, the Universe of Energy, Horizons, World of Motion, Journey into Imagination, The Land, and The Living Seas pavilions all had corporate sponsors, who paid for rights to have their logos included on the buildings.  The countries of World Showcase, alternately, were funded in part by the countries they represent.

By 1991, you can see there have been a lot of additions to the park - in Future World, Horizons was complete, The Living Seas was open, and the Wonders of Life pavilion had also been built.

World Showcase saw even more changes in those first several years.  The Morocco Pavilion was completed, and the Norway Pavilion was added.  Also added was the International Gateway - this is the waterway that led to Walt Disney's World newest theme park for the time, Disney-MGM Studios.

In 1994, the name of the park was changed to "Epcot '94", and subsequently, "Epcot '95" the next year, bringing back memories of the old World's Fairs.  In 1996, the name was simply changed to "Epcot", which it remains today.

Not many changes happened in the subsequent few years.  This 1997 map shows that World of Motion had been closed, and was preparing to reopen under new sponsorship by GM.  You can also see the sponsors of the other Future World pavilions at the time.

The 1998 edition of the map brought the artwork we are now accustomed to, and as you can see, the World of Motion pavilion has been renamed Test Track.  This really paved the way for the other pavilions to become attractions in themselves, and drop their original EPCOT Center names.  Communicore had also been changed to Innoventions, as communication had been getting so broad, that the focus shifted to invention and innovation.

For the millennium celebration in 2000, an extra pavilion was added to World Showcase, appropriately titled Millennium Village.  This village had exhibits from many other countries not represented in World Showcase, including Ethiopia, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa, Israel, Namibia, Brazil, Chile, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Sweden, Lebanon, Peru, Thailand, Egypt, Greece, Korea, and Venezuela.  On January 1st, 2001, the village closed and became the World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, which, along with Odyssey Restaurant, still hosts a number of special events.

By 2003, other changes to Future World had taken place.  The Horizons pavilion had been demolished to make way for a new attraction.  The Journey into Imagination Pavilion was simply called "Imagination!", and several of the shows and attractions within the other pavilions had changed with the times.

By 2008, even more changes happened.  The attraction that replaced Horizons, called "Mission: Space" had opened to much acclaim.  The Wonders of Life pavilion closed its doors soon after Mission: Space opened, and The Living Seas had been taken over by Nemo and his Friends.  The Land pavilion had received a major facelift, and had added the attraction "Soarin'", which was originally at Disney's California Adventure.  Not to be ignored, several of the attractions and rides in World Showcase received facelifts as well.

So although the concept has drifted from Walt's Community of Tomorrow, the essence of Epcot remains.  It is an ever-changing, always-evolving, constantly progressive park.  Personally, it's my favorite, and I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

A Reverse History - Part 3

For the second post in our series, I'll be focused on the 3rd park to open at Walt Disney World.  Originally, it was an actual working movie and production studio.  While live-action filmmaking has ceased at the park, the animation is still in full swing!  I'm talking, of course, about Disney's Hollywood Studios, formerly known as Disney-MGM Studios.

In my research, one of the things I found most interesting about the Studios park project was the fact that the whole idea centered around one attraction - The Great Movie Ride.  Originally, this ride was designed for Epcot, but in 1985, then-CEO Michael Eisner suggested that the ride was so great that it should be surrounded by its own theme park, and thus the idea for Disney-MGM Studios came to being.

Looking at the original map from 1989, you can see that the park itself was quite small in comparison to the other two parks open at the time.  The Chinese Theatre in the center, a direct replica of Graumann's, was and is the housing of The Great Movie Ride.  The Production Center, the Backlot, and the Backlot Annex were all parts of the working studio, and were only accessible through a Backlot Tour.

One really neat thing that still exists (although future construction has made is hard to see) is the upside down Hidden Mickey that makes up the grand plaza.

1991 saw the first real changes to the Park, with the opening of the Backlot Annex and New York Street.  This opening included the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Jim Henson's Muppet-Vision 3D, and the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure, which are still present, as well as Superstar Television (where randomly selected audience members were the stars - I got to be on Gilligan's Island one time before the show closed!), The Monster Sound Show, and Star Tours (which just underwent redesign).

You can also see The Magic of Disney Animation exhibit is now open, as well as labels on all the Soundstages.  Residential Street was part of the Backlot Tour for many years, and I remember when they tore it down.  It was quite sad to see the front Blanche Deveraux's house get taken away :-(.

Skipping ahead a little bit, this is the 1996 edition of the Disney-MGM Studios map.  I wanted to find the 1994 map (if anyone knows where one is online, please link it in the comments below!)  1994 was an important year for the park, as it was the first major expansion of the park with Sunset Boulevard.  The major draws of this section of the park were the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage!.  The Backlot Tour was still going on with the Soundstages and Residential Street.

(An interesting sidenote - Sunset Boulevard took over the Hidden Mickey's right ear.  His left ear, Echo Lake, is still present in the park today!)

The 1998 edition is the first map (that I have seen) that features the current style of artwork.  You can still see the Hidden Mickey, but they took the Soundstages off the map - those were a surprise for the Backlot Tour.

2002 brought the "100 Years of Magic" Celebration to Walt Disney World, and indeed all of the Disney properties worldwide.  With this event came many additions to all of the parks.  At Disney-MGM Studios, these included that enormous Sorcerer's Hat in front of The Great Movie Ride.  By this time, the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster had become a fixture of Sunset Boulevard (opening in 1999), and Fantasmic! had taken its place as Disney-MGM Studios must-see nightly entertainment (beginning in late 1998)

The biggest item of note in the 2003 map is that despite the fact that the 100 Years of Magic celebration was over, the sorcerer's hat remained - by that point, it had become more of a symbol than Earffel Tower that had served as the park's landmark since its opening.

In 2007, the Walt Disney World President announced that Disney-MGM Studios would be rebranded, dropping the MGM name.  (This was a long time coming - there were a series of lawsuits tainting the park's name since it had opened.)  Effective at the beginning of 2008, the park would now be called Disney's Hollywood Studios, and has remained that way to this day.

Aside from the rebranding, the additions of the Pixar Place section of the park, as well as "Lights, Motors, Action!" which originated at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, the park pretty much adopted the vision it holds even today.  When "Lights, Motors, Action!" was being built in 2006, it took over most of what was left of the backlot, shortening the Backlot Tour significantly.  The main draw of the tour, Catastrophe Canyon, still remains, but for how long, no one really knows.

In 2009 (and evident on the 2011 edition of the map, above), "The American Idol Experience" opened in the old Superstar Television building.  After "Doug, Live!" closed in 2001, and another show had a brief stint in the theater in 2002, it remained vacant.  Announced in 2008, the Idol Experience actually features contestants on stage, similar to the building's beginnings.

In the latest map edition, you can see the newest renovation to the park, in which Star Tours was redesigned as a 3D adventure, and includes the prequel trilogy of Star Wars films.

"The Studios" (as they're often called by WDW frequenters) have a 20+ year history.  This park is always exciting to visit, because the exhibits and attractions constantly change to keep up with the output of Walt Disney Pictures and their subsidiaries.  It's always fun to see which film you can get a backstage glimpse of!

A Reverse History - Part 4

The next four posts in this series are a reverse history of the theme parks of Walt Disney World, as I understand them.  This is not, by any means, an official history - just a layman's history based on my own personal experiences, what I concluded from historical documents, and the knowledge I have of these histories.

First, we will begin with the newest of Walt Disney World's four theme parks - Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Disney's Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, and is the largest of the four theme parks by land area.  It was apparently a dream of Walt's to open a "Disney Zoo" based loosely on the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom.  He succeeded first in doing this by opening Discovery Island off of Bay Lake behind the Contemporary Resort when the resort opened in 1971.  When the Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, Discovery Island closed soon after.

When the park opened on April 22, 1998, there were only 4 major "lands" with one still a work in progress, even today.  The Oasis serves as the entrance to Safari Village, which in turn leads off to the other lands.

Dinoland U.S.A. and Africa were supposed to be the only permanent lands as of when the park opened.  Africa is home to the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction, which is possibly the most popular attraction at the park.  Dinoland U.S.A. houses the Dinosaur attraction, based loosely on the movie, and featuring a few of the same characters.

Camp Minnie-Mickey, on the left of the map, was supposed to be a temporary fixture until the completion of the Asia phase.  Camp Minnie-Mickey is home to the Festival of the Lion King live stage production, which is the most popular live entertainment at the park, as well as the primary character greeting site.

As you can see from this map, the Asia phase was still in its early stage, featuring only the Flights of Wonder bird show.  Also, the Wildlife Express Train out of Africa lead to the Conservation Station.

You can see the difference that just 4 years makes!  The above map is from 2002, and includes a lot of additions to the Animal Kingdom.  The artwork had to be changed to rotate the entrance to the center instead of the corner.  It seems that the biggest reason for this was the addition of the Kali River Rapids attraction in Asia.

You can also see the tent for the Tarzan Rocks! show on the far right.  This was personally one of my favorite shows, right there with Festival of the Lion King.

This map also includes a depiction of Conservation Station within its relation to the rest of the park.  While not entirely accurate, it does Conservation Station a little more justice than being an inset on the map.

This 2006 edition of the Animal Kingdom map from the Walt Disney World Guidebook shows the latest edition to the Animal Kingdom - Expedition Everest, which opened in the spring of 2006, nearly 8 years after the park itself opened.  The addition of Expedition Everest closed the loop between Dinoland, U.S.A. and the Asia.  

Interesting to note is that while the building and attraction itself remained Conservation Station, the section of the park was renamed Rafiki's Planet Watch, to give it a little more character appeal.  Also, the theater where Tarzan Rocks was performed was temporarily closed, in order to plan for a new production...

The 2008 edition of the Animal Kingdom map reveals what replaced Tarzan Rocks in the Theater of the Wild - Finding Nemo, the Musical!  This musical was developed, in part, by Julie Taymor, who directed and conceptualized The Lion King of Broadway.

Not much has changed over the last five years within the Animal Kingdom, as evident in the 2013 edition of the map.  There are some changes in store, however, coming in the next few years.

Disney has signed a deal with James Cameron to produce an 'Avatar'-themed land.  There is some speculation as to where this land will be placed in the park, but it is conceivable that it might replace Camp Minnie-Mickey, since it was supposed to be a temporary fixture in the first place.

Camp Minnie-Mickey was supposed to be a land called "Beastly Kingdom" and feature mythical creatures that have never actually existed.  It was originally put on hold due to budget constraints, and it seems it has fallen by the way-side.  There are still remnants of this originally planned land in the main logo (at the top of this post), with the Dragon.

All I do know is that if they replace Camp Minnie-Mickey with Pandora, they will have to find somewhere to relocate the Festival of the Lion King - it's one of the most highly attended shows at the Florida project.

Disney's Animal Kingdom has only been around for 15 years, but within that time, there have been many changes for the better.  There have been some attractions that have been removed, such as the Discovery Island riverboats and Tarzan Rocks, and plenty more added in their place.  The last time I was there, they hadn't taken out the boat docks, even though the boats haven't run in 10 years or so.

If you're planning to go to the Animal Kingdom, see if you can spot some lost relics of the past!  Post comments below if you find any!  AND make sure to stay tuned for the next installment of this series!

Say hello!

I can see some people have been seeing the blog over the last couple of days - please Please PLEASE comment or leave me a note, so I can say hello!  I'd love to meet some people, and see what your tips are!

The Disney Princesses, and Why I Love Them

Yes, I know.  It's a bit strange.  It may even be a bit obsessive.  But I have a connection with the Disney Princesses.  I collect the dolls, I have the story- and coloring books, I have the stickers and posters.  Yes it may be strange, but allow me to explain why.

I realize there are some princesses missing...it is intentional, but those princesses not represented have to buy their way into my heart before they can be included in my collection.

Snow White - Oh, Snow...first of all, we were born the same day, 50 years apart.  (The movie came out on December 22nd, 1937 - you do the math!)  Aside from that, she grew up living away from home, out from under the thumb of a tyrannical stepmother (my parents weren't that bad, but we had our issues...)

Aurora - Aurora, like Snow White, grew up in the country.  Aurora, however, didn't know that she was royalty, and always felt out of place in the country.  I felt the same way growing up, and when I moved away from my parents to go to college, I really started coming out of my shell.  Not to mention she has a color-changing dress :-P

Belle - Belle loves is smarter than almost everyone else in her small country town, and she longs for bigger and brighter things in the future.  I was the same way as a child.  I also dream of living in a house similar to Beast's.

Ariel - First of all, Ariel was known for her singing voice (I was too as a child.)  Her father was quite tyrannical as the ruler of the ocean (My father was much like that, too), and to get away from it, she ran away (which I did as a child once...).  She wanted a different life as "part of your world" (are we seeing a pattern here?...)  All of these things resounded with me.

Jasmine and Pocahontas - These two are strange to group together, but I will tell you why I did - these two ladies found amazing men who were DIFFERENT, and accepted them!  Not only did they accept them, they fought to win their acceptance among others!  (Granted, Jasmine was a little later, but in the end she came around.)






Mulan - First of all, she was amazingly fierce as a warrior.  Second, she had to hide who she really was in order to make a difference.  I understand what it's like to have to put on a mask everyday just to live out your life.

So, if you missed it in the post, none of this has to do with the fact that 1) they all wore fabulously beautiful clothes; 2) they all found men and lived happily ever after (except Pocahontas...but that's a different story); or 3) they all used their beauty to their advantage (which is simply not true - look at Mulan..).  Therefore, I think it's perfectly ok for me to have love for these ladies and what they stood for.  I lived a part of each of their stories within my lifetime, and it means something to me that they shared the same parts of the story.

Outside the Parks - A Guide to Visiting the Resorts of WDW pt. 2

In part 2, I'm going to talk about what used to be termed the "Moderate" and "Deluxe" Resorts, but I'm not concerned with the pricing - these resorts live up to the standard by which Walt intended them, and that's why they've lasted to this day!

(Again, all images in this post are (c) Disney - No infringement intended)

Disney's Old Key West Resort

This resort is modeled after the vacation destination Key West, with its tropical island feel.  I've actually never been to this resort, but it is one of the oldest resorts, and it sounds beautiful!

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

This is also one of the newer resorts in the Disney portfolio, opening in 2003.  I've never been to this resort either, but I know it's modeled after the Saratoga area of upstate New York, bringing the feel of the Hamptons and the horse-races.  A friend of mine enjoyed working at Saratoga Springs a few year back, and I'm excited to see this resort.

Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts

The Yacht and Beach Club resorts are twin resorts in the Epcot area.  They are both resorts that draw the essence of the yacht clubs of Upstate New York.  Each of these resorts has beachfront on the lake, great pools, and there's a really fantastic Ice Cream shop at the Beach Club...I just can't recall the name of it :-).

Disney's Boardwalk Inn

Across the lake from the Yacht and Beach Clubs lies the Boardwalk, an entertainment and nightclub district that I was never old enough to really see and enjoy...until now :-).  Along the Boardwalk there are different restaurants, nightclubs, bars, and a dance hall.  Above these is the Boardwalk Inn.  It's really cool to see from the outside, because you would never know the buildings were all connected.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

This is Walt Disney World's newest super-deluxe resort.  The inside is like an African tribal community house, and there are animal references everywhere.  From the back, you can look out onto a savanna with live animals.  There's also a restaurant inside that features animal view seating.

Disney's Wilderness Lodge

This magnificent resort evokes images of the great hunting lodges of the Canadian north, but on a major scale.  From the inside, it looks like the world's largest log cabin.  Behind the lobby is a beautiful waterfall structure leading down into one of the pools.  During Christmas, this is one of the resorts that boasts an enormous Christmas tree smack in the middle of the lobby.

Disney's Polynesian Resort

The Polynesian Resort is the first of the three original hotels around Bay Lake, which is front of the Magic Kingdom.  It's centered around the Ceremonial House, which is full of Tiki tribal references, and also features a beautiful beach (just look at that picture!).  The restaurant in the ceremonial house is apparently quite good for dinner and a luau-esque program.

Disney's Contemporary Resort

The shape of this building is what really makes it impressive - the two sides of the building make up the guestrooms, and leave the center of the building open to an enormous atrium, through which the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom runs.  There is a restaurant at the very top - California Grill - that is supposed to be amazing for watching the nighttime fireworks coming over from the Magic Kingdom.

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

This hotel is massive, gorgeous, and regal - that's one of the reasons it's my favorite.  It's literally a stone's throw from the Magic Kingdom, and features Victorian architecture and style.  It's got beautiful white sand beaches, and it's just an incredibly beautiful, romantic place.

And so there you have it!  I hope these two posts have given you some thoughts about things to look for outside of the parks - and keep in mind, all of these resorts are accessible from the parks.  Granted, it will take you a while to get from the Magic Kingdom to the All-Star resorts on the other side of the property, but you can use the maps I'll be posting in the coming days to help plan those transitions!