Time, Technology and Toys

Glenn, from Passamaquoddy, was on episode 67 of the WDW Radio Show discussing the new Toy Story Midway Mania attraction with Lou Mongello. When I heard the segment, I thought that Glenn had made some great points about the future of Disney attractions. I asked him to expand on the ideas. He agreed and the following post was born!

When a creative group such as Disney makes changes to one of their properties, we scramble to make sense of it. Why we seek to understand it is something for another discussion. Now, with the addition of TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, everyone rushes to not only understand and make sense of the thought process, but also to pop as many of Bo Peeps Balloon animals as possible in 30 seconds.

Examining a new attraction solely on its own 4 walls only allows for basic speculation. But with Disney theme parks making an impact on the world for over 53 years, this new attraction is suddenly supported by a long, involved history. For example, back on July 17, 1955 Disneyland opened with many attractions that are long gone. How many of you remember THE ALUMINUM HALL OF FAME?… I’m not making that up.

In 1959, technology and a lot of slide rule math allowed for the creation of the MATTERHORN BOBSELDS. In 1978 The Matterhorn Bobsleds’ saw the introduction of the Yeti. This abominable snowman still remains today to add some “theming” to the thrill attraction. In 2006 across the country in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, EXPEDITION EVEREST opened with another snow covered mountain and a Yeti to spice up the thrills. Over the course of the 47 years between the Matterhorn and Everest attractions, technology made for incredible advances in entertainment that makes the two incomparable. But are there technological ‘steps’ along the way?

When the Disney parks began, it was made up mostly of exotic forms of transport. Visitors would enter Disneyland to ride a train replica, miniature ‘flying’ saucers, keel boats, canoes, and even a mule train. Soon after opening, the Disneyscape was dominated by dark rides done as only Disney animators could imagine them.

Jump forward to 1982 and the grand opening of Epcot Center and we see something different. The 2 minute dark rides have grown into 10-45 minute rides that inform and educate. The technology had changed enough that it felt we were in a new era of attractions, even if they were still “dark rides”. They were larger and often incorporated new advances such as large screen projections. HORIZONS, SAPCESHIP EARTH, WORLD OF MOTION, and JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION are technologically in a different league then PETER PAN’S FLIGHT, IT’s A SMALL WORLD and SNOW WHITE’S SCARY ADVENTURES…

The parks continued to grow and morph revisiting technologies and trying new things including a strong reliance on interactive films. 3-D technology had been around for decades, but it now allowed for the experience to be much more immersive and it frankly had stronger results. Potentially easier and less expensive to update, the films kicked into full gear with MAGIC JOURNEYS – a surreal experience through a child’s eye view of a frolicking day, mixed with German expressionism… I told you it was surreal. Eventually CAPTAIN EO saved the world from that. Even the Muppets got their feltprints into the act with a more interactive experience.

The next trend seemed to be the ride simulator. A small room built on a rotating gimble timed with a projected film seemed to be safer and much more financially feasible then building a new roller coaster to bring in the crowds. STAR TOURS and BODY WARS began the trend. Attractions like Disneyland’s INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF THE FORBIDDEN EYE or the Animal Kingdom’s COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION took the simulator out of the closed theater and placed it on a moving track within a good old dark ride- with all the technological advances it had coming. This seems to have culminated with California Adventure’s SOARIN’, an even more spectacular reimagining of the interactive film and simulator.

So what does the future hold? Of course, we can only speculate. In this day of personal handheld devices and video games that are strong enough to control a medium sized country, imagineers know it is obvious that they must continue to become more interactive, more immersive. Guests will no longer be bowled over by witnessing an experience from the outside. They must now be the story - which brings us to TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA.

In this new attraction, guests are shrunk down to the size of a toy, challenged to a competition by an interactive Mister Potato head, and thrust into a miniature world filled with addictive video game challenges. The guest is now the story.

We are the story.

Be Our Guest Post

A friend of mine, Elizabeth Caran is a librarian and Disney Geek. I ran into her on Disfriends--I couldn't believe there was another librarian and Disney fan (any more of you out there?). We often send e-mails about our upcoming trips or the latest Disney news--usually they are the "Ha ha, I am going to Disney and you are not" variety. Funny as it may sound, we don't talk about books! Elizabeth wanted to write about her Disney Obsession, but didn't feel like she had the proper outlet to play in the big leagues (her words, not mine). She mentioned that she went to the Disney Institute a few years ago and I immediately asked her to write something for Imaginerding. She sent this to me almost without blinking. See, I think every librarian has a writer deep inside of them. Most of the time we have to keep them from clawing their way out.

Make sure to leave a comment if you would like to read more of Elizabeth's musings on Disney. Maybe she can tell us more about her experiences at the Disney Institute!


I’m going to Disney in a couple of weeks with my Mom. We’ve done this once before, just the two of us, and it was awesome, so I’m really looking forward to doing it again. Of course, a lot has changed since then. And even though we’re staying at the Contemporary with a view of the Magic Kingdom, something tells me that this trip won’t be nearly as cool as the first one.

That’s because back then, January 1-5, 1997, we stayed at a one-bedroom villa at the Disney Institute. It was the first time either of us had been there, and we loved it so much, we took my sister back the following year. I’m especially glad we did that since the program closed down shortly after that. I should have known it was too good to last.

It’s a shame more people didn’t take advantage of the Institute. The programs were really fabulous. Sure, you had to give up some time in the parks, but the trade-off was well worth it… especially when traveling with someone like my mom, who doesn’t walk super-fast or like any sort of thrill rides. We spent any spare time we had at Epcot, and that was just fine with her.

I took many classes at DI. Mostly cooking classes, as I was 25 and living totally on my own (no roomies) for the first time in my life. I was about to buy my first house, too, so I tried a gardening class… something that taught me that whatever I did in life, it would NOT be keeping plants alive. I took a couple of animation classes because let’s face it, this is Disney… where else would you want to learn animation?! But my favorite story actually came from an architecture class.

We had an instructor who explained a lot about the faux painting and trompe l’oeil techniques that Disney used to create illusion and tell stories in their buildings and features. He talked about the “weenies” of the park, like the castle and the tree being designed at the new Animal Kingdom Park. He informed us that Tower of Terror is exactly 199 meters (or is it yards?) high because at 200, they would have to put an airplane signal tower on top – totally ruining the effect, and then we went on a field trip to the Wilderness Lodge.

I had never been to the Wilderness Lodge, so I did what EVERYONE does when they walk into the huge lobby… I looked up. Sure enough, so did everyone else. Our instructor immediately turned our attention to the two huge totem poles and told us of opening of the resort.

In Disney’s constant quest for perfection, they invited Native American representatives from the Pacific Northwest to come in and see the resort. They wanted to know if it was authentic, and faithful to any Native American culture it portrayed. Just as I did, the first thing the representatives did upon entering the brand new, almost open building is look up. And they immediately said, “uh oh.”

DISCLAIMER: I am repeating the story I was told in my tour… I have no idea how accurate this information is…

“What’s wrong?” asked the Imagineer.

“Well, that’s Eagle and Raven,” one gentleman replied. “There… at the tops of the poles.”

“Yes?” asked the Disney dude. “Are those not accurate representations?”

“Oh, yes!” the gentleman returned. “But they are enemies, you see. They probably would not even be in the same area… but if they WERE… they would certainly be facing away from each other. Here they are very close, and looking right at one another.”

There was a long pause. There was some nodding. Some blinking. A baby cried somewhere. Crickets… Then Disney dude finally replied…

“This is Disney World. Everyone gets along. So moving forward…”

Don't forget to leave some Disney Geek love for our latest Be Our Guest poster, Elizabeth!

Daily Figment 171: Where all the Villains Shop!

Our adopted Taylor/Nerdy Boys sister, Jessica from If We Can Dream It, sent us this post about the villains from the World of Disney Store at Downtown Disney. Jessica gets to spend a lot of time wandering (and wondering) the parks and her site is full of great details and hidden treasures. She is also the founding member of the WDW Crate Appreciation Society. (I am still waiting on my application!) Take it away, Jessica!

The World of Disney is filled to the brim with characters interacting with each other, but the Villains, true to fashion, have kept to themselves in the Jewelry room. Various icons, including Jafar's snake staff, serve as medallions on ends of the fixtures.

Large statues of Tic Toc (some with clocks in their mouths) stand in the center of the room and hold, what else, watches and clocks.

Ursula stands watch over the jewelry cases, with her tentacles actually going through the glass to surround the merchandise.

Flotsam and Jetsam also make appearances, as well as some of Ursula's "poor unfortunate souls".

Behind the jewelry case hangs the Snow Queen's Magic Mirror, which, if one looks carefully, changes an image of the Snow Queen into the Old Hag.

Even the small mirrors on the counter take on an enchanted appearance with tendrils seemingly winding their way around the heart shaped frame.

Two lenticular portraits hang on the walls, one changing between Cruella and Maleficent, the other between Captain Hook and Jafar.

To finish off the room, four villains have their arms displayed like trophies, displaying their trademarks.Jessica, thanks for such a great post about the villains at Downtown Disney!

Don't forget to stop by her site on a daily basis and leave her some Disney Geek love.

Be Our Guest Post - Grumpy says, "I wish you were here!"

Our friend Ray, is currently at Walt Disney World for a week long birthday celebration with his wife. He is updating his site with live trip reports. Make sure you check out today's post about The Mountain With No Splash!

So, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair, as the Disney Geeks proudly present... your guest post:

George and Andy politely asked me to do a guest post and I thought it would be awesome and slightly irreverent to do my guest post while I'm on vacation at Walt Disney World.

So, in the spirit of my from the heart and hip style posting, I thought I'd do one of my lists.  This time, the Top 10 Things I'll be doing at Walt Disney World while The Disney Geeks are stuck at work:

10.  Verify the validity of Steve Barrett's Hidden Mickey's book
09.  Heckling the Jungle Boat Skippers.
08.  Taking pictures of Trash Cans and Crates
07.  Making scientific observations about the use of water in Epcot
06.  Doing my Disney Geek homework
05.  Tracking down the Bothan Spies for the latest report.
04.  Tracking down Grumpy everywhere he is hiding and get my picture with him
03.  Taking pictures of every window I can find
02.  Ride the newly refurbished Haunted Mansion multiple times to be able to document everything

And the #1 thing I'll be doing at WDW while the Disney Geeks are at work......

01.  Ride Splash Mountain over and over again until my wife and I notice that the water has an odd smell.

Hold on one second, my wife is hollering at me...

"What is it honey?"

"Pirates has no wait?  Be right there!"

Sorry guys, I gotta go.  Too much fun to be had.

Keep it Grumptastic folks!

Be Our Guest Post--Honor Hunter from Blue Sky Disney

We would like to introduce you to a new feature at the Disney Geeks--the Be Our Guest Post series. We want to share some of our favorite authors, Internet celebrities and podcasters with you. The people we think you should be reading (and listening to) on a daily basis.

Our first post is from Honor Hunter over at Blue Sky Disney (BSD), which has become one of the best blogs for keeping up with Imagineering, Pixar (yay, Ratatouille!), Uncle John and general Disney good news. We await his Blue Sky Alerts with baited breath--I think we pester Honor a little too much about new Blue Sky Alerts, though (more, more, more!).

Honor has a great way of distilling, processing and presenting news about Glendale. His Suits vs Creatives posts offer a lot of insight that you will be hard pressed to find on any other Disney blog. Also, he clearly likes Ratatouille (the movie, of course--I didn't ask if he liked the dish), so he must be very intelligent!

So, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair, as the Disney Geeks proudly present... your guest post:

I was asked to write a post for George and Andrew months ago. I agreed to write it, but told George that due to other commitments I'd already made I would have to wait till later in the year. My apologies to the Brother's Geek for my tardiness... fashionably late as usual, I say.

Being as this website is named DisneyGeeks I figured what better subject than to dissect what it is to be a Disney Geek. After-all, we know what a geek is. He's the guy in high school that never got the girl. You know, the one the quarterback was dating. He was the guy with the pocket-protector and horn-rimmed glasses with tap on its bridge because he broke them trying to act macho and catch a football.
It didn't work. He didn't get the girl, but his mom bought him a swanky, new computer so that he could create Microsoft with it. Or something like that.

So what's a Disney Geek, then?

Well, where a normal Geek can tell you what the Force is made up of...or why "Amazing Fantasy #15" is so valuable, a Disney Geek can tell you what the names in the windows on Main Street USA mean. Or where Walt's apartment was... the countless places you can find a hidden Mickey or how to find hidden messages in the sky watching "The Lion King". A typical Geek can point to the reasons he watches a particular movie from his DVD collection, while a Disney Geek can open up a tin, pop it in and stroll right to his favorite Donald Duck cartoon watching it with a kiddish glee.

See, a Disney Geek is just like any other Geek with the added bonus of being obsessed with the Mouse. While you might hear a normal Geek referring to the high score he got on "Grand Theft Auto"... a Disney Geek will be quoting something Walt said about life. Geeks dream...Disney Geeks are continually chasing the dream... not because it's something we've wanted, but more over...it's something we've experienced.

Walt showed us.

And we've been living it ever-since.

In one of their earlier post here, the guys mentioned that to be a Disney Geek you have to read. Yup, it's a good thing if you're going to call yourself one of us then you had better grab a few books and get to know Disney lore... sure, any other Geek would be reading through his calculus book for that examine on Friday. But us, well we're busy reading about the world Walt built or planned on building. We're a feverishly loyal band of folk, but notoriously territorial...step into an argument with us over a Disney myth at your own peril. Some have lost digits, hands and even arms in battle with us over the most trivial things. I mean, we all know Disneyland is better than Walt Disney World, right?

Just kidding... put down that knife. I mean it... I was joking. All Disney theme parks have their own uniqueness... just ask Jay Rasulo. Wait a minute... scratch that idea.

Now where was I?

Oh, yes. We're a special breed... the Disney Geeks. While at Comic-Con this year I saw many people dressed up as their favorite characters... I even saw Jack Sparrow and he was very popular with the ladies. I bet that Disney Geek was living a dream, eh? While there you notice every type of Geek. Comic-Con is the capital of all Geekdom, of course. While they were all sharing the dream... the few that were dressed in character as Disney characters... well, they were a little more friendly. Less worried about being at the Mattel booth to get their autographed Han Solo with kung-fu-grip action figure or what have you. Cause while others are waiting in line dreaming...looking to live in their own fantasy land.

Well, we've already been there. To Fantasyland, I mean. Walt made if for us over fifty years ago. So that we could chase the dream... so that we could live it. Being a Disney Geek isn't for everyone, of course. It takes a special person... one with Mouse Ears most likely. If you want to join us, that'll be twenty bucks... these ears aren't cheap, you know. But all kidding aside, I tend to like being a Disney Geek. I mean, I'm a Geek like everyone else... I didn't get the girl in high school... well, I mean I got a girl, just not THAT girl. I had to wait till I got contacts and grew my hair out in a more stylish way and then when I got the girl, she made me wear completely different clothes so that I looked way cooler. But, I'm still a Disney Geek... only now I've got to find my Mouse Ears.

I know they're around here somewhere... in one of these drawers. No, that's not it... nope... not there either. Well, chances are if you're reading this column, on this website you already are a Disney Geek. If you're new to it... welcome. And check the top of your head, see if there are a pair of Mouse Ears on them.

And enjoy. Welcome to the group... the club. An exclusive club...Now that'll be twenty bucks.

What? You thought I was joking?