D23 Expo Day 5

So this report has little (okay, nothing) to do with the D23 Expo, the Expo ended on day 4.  But, how could any Disney fan be that close to Disneyland and not spend at least a day in the park?

Walt, you just finished 3 day at the D23 Expo, what are you going to do?

I’m going to Disneyland!!!

Up early, well sort of early…  after 3 days of walking the Expo, the bodies just melted away into sleep and rest to restore the tired muscles, including that large one between the ears, and out the door.  Instead of going the long way around to Downtown Disney and the Esplanade, the short cut from the Paradise Pier Hotel is to cross the street and go through the Grand Californian.  No matter how many times I walk into the lobby of the Grand Californian, I am awestruck.  The open expanse of about 50 by 50 feet and 6 stories of craftsman styling is a sight to behold.  As we move to the GCH entrance to DtD, there was some work going on and the Disney requisite wall surrounding it with a Disney security cast member on his post.  As I passed, I commented (as I do) or asked if we were to “don’t pay any attention to that man behind the curtain?”  Must have been to early for him, as all I got back was a blank stare.

Out to Downtown Disney and on our way.  But wait, we had eaten anything yet.  So next stop was the La Brea Tarpit… err Bakery… for a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon, nothing special, but good.  The day’s excitement starts almost immediately, as a woman with her daughter approach the open table next to us and hits a small patch of water on the patio.  Slick wet concrete and flip flops are not a good match, so down she went, rather hard.  As I started to get up to help her, she waved me off saying she was fine which she appeared to be even given the force of the fall.  Fortunately for them, the daughter was carrying the tray of food so that made it to the table unscathed.  Not exactly the kind of excitement I like to start my day with, but, at least nothing, but the woman’s pride, was injured.  And it’s off to the Park.  It seems these days to be a guarantee, so if you are with me, pick a different line…  the one I’m in is always going to be the one with issues.  Three little princesses, Dad, and Mom in front of us, can’t seem to find the right tickets in their package and the turnstile CM is really trying not to get frustrated.  As I’m standing there, I notice the package Mom is hold has the “Make A Wish” logo on it and understand the CM’s extra care.  Okay, we can be patience here too.  After the CM Supervisor arrives, the family ushered in and the line continues to move.  And, we’re in!

HERE YOU LEAVE TODAY

AND ENTER THE WORLD

OF YESTERDAY, TOMORROW

AND FANTASY

That plaque could easily be posted above the entrance to my mind.   J

Stepping on to Main Street, there is that sensation that keeps bringing me back to Disneyland, and one that I get nowhere else…  the youthful EXUBERANCE and EXCITEMENT of a 5 year old experience the park for the first time.  Other than the love of my family and friends, it is large part of what has sustained me over the last 20 twenty year and most especially the last 10.  There are very few things for which I’d consider trading that feel

First stop… the Main Street Train Station.  There are few things that are a must do at Disneyland, riding the Disneyland Railroad is one of them.  I ask the station conductor if I could get a ride on the tender, one of the things I have never done before.  I am told that these are the first runs of the morning and they don’t allow tender rides until the trains have made a few trips around the park.  DRAT!!!  Oh well, I’ll have to do that later, but it will be done.  So, it’s into one of the cars and once around the park.  As we come to a stop at the New Orleans Station, I hear the clickety clack of the station telegraph ringing out, and a little knowing smile crosses my face.  Any real Disney fan knows this, but how many others who pass through that station know what is being tapped out in that telegraph in a continuous loop?

”To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land.”

Yup, it’s the first two lines for Walt Disney’s opening day dedication speech.  On every visit to Disneyland, I find something I’ve never spotted or knew before.  This visit was no different.  As we sat in the New Orleans Station while the engineers took on water, I noticed a plume of steam rising up out of the trees behind the station and wondered what piece of equipment Disney might have back there producing that column of mist?  Then it struck like a DOH! moment, it was the locomotive blowing off the steam in the boiler before they took on more water.  Don’t know if it OSHA, or just Disney thinking ahead to safety, but there is grated small brick structure right in position where the engine stops next to the water tower.  This little structure lines right up with the steam vent on the engine, and is actually a small tunnel that extends several yards out past the tracks.  When the train stops and needs to take on water, this tunnel becomes a secondary vent to funnel steam away from the train and possible issues with the guests or cast members.  Very clever!!!  After filling the water tank, we were on our way again on our trip around the Magic Kingdom, and relaxing and enjoyable trip it was, as we arrived back at the Main Street Station, and debarked.  At street level we began our meandering trip down Main Street.  With the exception of sauntering down the middle of the street and far more inhabitants then you might find, it is very much little visiting any number of small town Main Street across America.  I was immediately reminder of a nice I had recently with a friend in Livermore, whose main drag is not all the different then where I was at the moment.  I wonder how many others on the Main Street today are taking the time to truly experience all that Disneyland’s Main Street really has to offer, or rather, rushing off to experience one thrill ride or another.  My advice, no matter what you do, remember to take the time to experience the moment.  Good memories beget good memories, and if we are always anticipated the next one, we miss so much.

First thrill ride of the visit is for Sam.  She loves Pirates… has since the first time rode it when she was 7.  Bonus, we in the park early enough, the wait is only 15 minutes.  Thank you Touring Plans, and your Android app for Disneyland.  With your help, I knew that before we arrived what we were looking at for a wait time.  So this was my second ride on Pirates in as many days, and wouldn’t know it…  I got soaked again!!!  I do hope this is not a harbinger of things to come, cuz’ I not really a water ride kind of guy.  I don’t like squishing around the Park, even for a little bit on a hot day.  Fortunately, getting wet on Pirates is not as traumatic as, say…  Splash.  J  Now on to the Haunted Mansion where my favorite part of the ride is really the stretch room, I always get a kick out of watching the portraits grow.  Time for a short rest and b-room break for the girls, over by the New Orleans Square train station.  As I look to my right, who is standing there next to me but Mousetalgia’s own – Dave.  In a moment, Becky shows up with Button.  Guys, Sam got a really good picture of her that I’m going to have to get to you.  After a couple of minutes we were off again.  A trip through Adventureland and, of course, a visit to the “back side of water.”  Yes, it’s time for a cruise on the Jungle Boats.  Where else can you transit the great rivers of world, the most notable exception being North America, in the matter of a few minutes? 

It was getting to be lunch time and since we were only going to be there for one day, I had bothered to make any reservations.  Note to self:  Don’t do that again!!!  Well, we decided to try our luck and the Carnation Café, and were lucky enough to only have a 25 minute wait.  Well worth the wait for Chef Oscar’s “Loaded Potato Soup”, YUMMMMM…  After lunch we headed over to the Main Street train station; I AM going to scratch the tender ride off the bucket list, TODAY.  The Conductor at the station has me sit on the bench inside the station while he checked for the next available tender ride.  Turns out, that one, not all the locomotives have a tender that can be ridden in, and two, they don’t take riders on all runs for reasons that will become clear.  So, we can sit a wait for a few minutes.  Shortly thereafter, the E.P. Ripley rolled into the station the conductor came in and said, “Follow me please.”  Sam and I exited the station and down the ramp to the locomotive, my heart all a twitter.  Sam looked at me and just started laughing as we boarded the tender; I guess my 5 year old was showing.  I was so besotted just sitting there, that I don’t even remember the names of our Engineer or Fireman, but they were really nice.  I had told the conductor on our earlier ride that she had one of the coolest jobs in the park.  Sitting there between these two gentlemen, I changed my mind… they have the coolest job in the park.  In reality, aside from the costumed characters, they probably have one of the hottest jobs in the park, sitting behind a several hundred degrees of burner and boiling water.  But, they enjoy their work and had no problem telling me that fact.  The Fireman told me that he looked forward to coming work every day since he’d gotten this job.  Being so excited, I didn’t take many pictures, but then I haven't been able to figure out how to include pictures with my blog reports yet, so it probably doesn't make that much difference.

As we were sitting on a hold at the New Orleans Station, the Fireman confirmed to me that I was right in my earlier AH HA moment.  This station is where they take on more water, but before they can do that, they have to blow out the sediment that develops at the bottom of the boiler.  Each locomotive uses between 40 and 50 gallons of water per trip, and can make about 3 trips before needing to take on water again.  That’s why they don’t allow tender rides on every trip, for safety reasons, they don’t want passengers up front when they have to clear the boiler.  Next time down, I’ll try to do this again, and I’ll be much more attentive.

After the tender ride, Sam wanted to take some pictures with her new camera.  So, she and Mom took the fire engine from the Main Street station down to the Hub, and then back, while I checked out a few things in the Disney Gallery.  I needed a replacement for my Mouseketeers shirt that I got at last year’s Destination D, and I found a tin of Mary Blair postcards.   It was late enough in the afternoon that we decide it was time to return to the hotel for short rest before we tackled DCA.  Interestingly, we did not hit Frontierland, Fantasyland, or Tomorrowland on this visit, so I missed one of my other usual must do’s…  Peter Pan’s Flight.  I’ll have to do that one twice next time.

After a short rest, it was through GCH again and this time over to the GCH entrance to DCA… EIEIO.  J  Didn’t know there was a second entrance into DCA?  Well there is, right next to the Napa Rose.  And to clear up something that I’ve heard on several of the fan boards.  The common claim is that the GCH entrance is only for those guests staying at the Grand Californian.  Not true, I took the time to read the board this time, and it clearly states that the entrances is for guests stay at any of the Disney Resort hotels.  So that would include Paradise Pier and Disneyland Hotels.  So it’s over to the recently reopened Corn Dog Castle for, what else?  A corn dog!!!  Yes, I love the Disneyland Corn Dog, and it’s been a tradition of mine to get at least one during each visit, at either the Corn Dog Castle in DCA or the Red Wagon in Disneyland.  Since the Corn Dog Castle has been closed to the last couple of visits, it got the nod this time.  Then it was off to check out the new food offering where the old burger joint was before.  Sam and Pam aren’t corn dog fans.  For park food, the new place is okay.  After dinner, we walk over to the Paradise Pier section and a ride on Mickey’s Funwheel, well Sam and I rode it, Pam wouldn’t be caught dead on anything that looks like a Ferris wheel.  We got to look out over DCA at how things were developing, mostly the new Carsland area.  Carsland is taking shape nicely, and it looks like it going to be a lot of fun when it opens next year.  Then it was off to use the special fast passes we’d gotten to try out the new Little Mermaid ride.  The fast passes were a good thing because the wait time was over an hour.  By this time we were all starting to fade fast, and we still had to walk back to PPH, so we decided to skip the Wonderful World of Color.  It is a great show, but it we didn’t feel we’d really enjoy it as tired as we were, and we had a long drive home coming in the morning.

So there you have it, Disneyland in 1 day.  Definitely not enough time to do everything, but what we did do was a lot of fun.

Watch next week for my report on the special event happening and the Walt Disney Family Museum on Saturday.  It’s going to be Disney-rific event.

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

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D23 Expo – Day 1

Here we are at the end of Day 1 of the D23 Expo.  Yeah, I know the expo starts tomorrow, but, I’m counting the travel day as Day 1.  My story… my rules.  J

Day started by hitting the road at 6 AM.  We actually got out 10 minutes ahead of schedule…  WOW, how’d that happen?  To the guy on 101 southbound in the Coyote Valley, who had to apply his brakes rather quickly…  You’ll find that happening frequently when you tailgate 4 feet off my bumper at 70.  Dude!!! Learn to back off.  Other than that, it was clean sailing all the way to Paso Robles and our traditional breakfast stop at Jose’s – damn those sausage patties are big, double quarter pounder has nothing on Jose.

By now you’ve all realized, I don’t use I-5 to make my transit to Disneyland.  I prefer the coast route, as its more scenic, and it doesn’t take me all that much longer.  Besides, my grandparents and cousin resident permanently at Conejo Mountain Cemetery, and as I am the only one the travels south regularly, I use the opportunity to stop, visit, and place flowers on just about every trip.  Love you always Nana, Grandpa, and Sean.  So, score first real bonus of the day…  I stop at the same florist on every trip – Camarillo Flower Shop.  Pam called ahead just outside Ventura and ordered our normal three little bouquets.  While Pam was getting some sandwiches next door, I went in to get the flowers.  The gal that owns the shop was working to today and running a little behind.  So, while she was finishing up we were just shooting the breeze, talking about Disneyland, yup, she knows by now where we’re head, and a recent trip with her young  ones, and how she likes that I take the time to stop a visit the family…  not many people do that these days.  Anyway, as she comes out from the back she hands me the flowers, and tells me these are on the house.  She said she was sorry for making me waiting…  really it was that long, but I really appreciate the gift.  I think a little Mickey and Minnie are going to make a stop on the way home.  AND, if you ever find yourself in Camarillo and in need of Flowers, may I strongly recommend Camarillo Flower Shop, 77A Daily Drive, 805-482-2320.  They’re right off of Las Posas Road.

After a nice visit, it was back on the road to Anaheim, and really uneventful, which when driving is pretty good.  Since I’ve started taking 405 down to Katella, its much shorter, time wise.  Have I mentioned I’m not fond of I-5?  Through the central valley or L.A.!!! J

We get to the Paradise Pier Hotel at about 2:30, get the bag, park the car, and check-in.  After waiting about 10 minute for our room to be finished, we head up to the 8^th floor.  Who should get on the elevator right behind us, but ¼ of Mousetaglia, truthfully, it was 2/5’s.  It’s always a pleasure to see Becky, and little Button looked to be plum tuckered out.  But, it was great to see them.  After resting for a few minutes, we headed over the Convention Center to do our Premiere ticket check-in and check out the shopping.  DreamStore was a bit of a bust because we weren’t schedule of admittance until 5:30, and I, nor the girls, want to hang around until then.  So, I trucked it up to the 2^nd floor and checked out the Archive Treasures Store.  Not a couple of nice things.  If anyone shows any interest, I may down a pictures page for the blog???  As I was headed to the escalator, I ran into Don Iwerks.  How do I know this?  I’ve seen him a few times up at the Walt Disney Family Museum.  Very Cool!!!

Just finished watching World of Color from our room, couldn’t see any of the projections, but the fountains and lights are really color sync’d to the music pipe in to our room.  The one thing that stuck me was how amazingly well timed the music is to the water show.  It escaped me when I first saw World of Color, but, seeing it from up high and not seeing the projections made it very apparent, and very cool!

Something new at the Paradise Pier Hotel, maybe at the others too, but, I’m just noticing it.  The shower has a rotating head on it.  As you stand there, the water spray kind of massages your body, again… VERY COOL!

Well, I’m off to bed to get rest for a very busy day to tomorrow.  I’ll try to post as the Expo progresses, but, may well be too tired after very full days.

Hope everyone else is having as Disney-rific days as I am experiencing.  J

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

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WDFM – The Art of Tyrus Wong

The session today (June 11, 2011) at the Walt Disney Family Museum was “The Art of Tyrus Wong.”  While Tyrus’ tenure at the Disney Brothers’ Studio, later to become the Walt Disney Studio, was short, it has had a lasting impact on artists and animators to this day.

Disney Legend Tyrus Wong was born on October 25, 1910, and we are fortunate that he is still with us today at 100.  So fortunate, so, that we were actually graced with his presences at today presentation.  While waiting outside the Museum theater, waiting for the afternoon program to start, those of us who arrive early to secure good seats – actually there are no bad seats at this venue, but we do like to get down front – were treated to an early appearance by Mr. Wong as he entered the theater.  Crowd of a about a dozen and half people erupted in applause has Tyrus enter lobby to theater.  At 100, he walked in with the help of a cane, but walking just the same.  Alert and attentive Tyrus, seeming somewhat surprised by this show of affection, stopped momentarily to acknowledge this small crowd before enter the theater proper.  I hope that I am lucky enough at age 70, an event that is not too far off for me, to be as vital as Tyrus appears at 100.  All I can say is, “WOW!!!”  For a little more in-depth profile of Tyrus Wong; Tyrus worked at the Disney Studio for a very short time (1938 to 1941), with his primary contribution being the inspiration artist for the “Bambi” feature.  He started at studio as an Inbetweener.  Inbetweeners will draw in whatever frames are still missing in between the other animators' drawings, and Tyrus noted during an earlier interview with Charles, that he did not enjoy this work.  But, after one of the other animators saw some of Tyrus artwork and took it to Walt, Walt decided that this was exactly the look he wanted for Bambi which was currently in production.  Interestingly, Tyrus was no recollection of ever actually meeting Walt.  After leaving Disney, Tyrus went on to design greeting and Christmas cards, and worked at Warner Bros. from 1942 to 1968 as a production illustrator drawing set designs and storyboard for several movies. Including a few John Wayne movies, which will no doubt please my youngest daughter.  I will repeat what I say earlier;  at 100 Tyrus is an amazingly alert and vibrant individual, the only thing I can say is WOW!!!

Waiting for the theater to open, I got the opportunity to visit with some of the friend I’ve made as a Museum member, like Jeff from Mousetalgia.  Jeff was the 25% of the Mousetalgia crew who made it to this session, as the other 75%, Dave, Becky, and Kristen were at a meet-up at Disneyland.  Thank you Jeff for penning me for the second time, Kristen will always be my first, but, yours’ is just as special.  But to make our wait in line even better, I discovered that the gentleman standing right beside me in line was none other than Disney authority Don Peri, author of such books as Working with Walt: Interviews with Disney Artists, Walt Disney's First Lady of Imagineering Harriet Burns with Harriet’s daughter Pam Burns-Clair, and most recently, Working with Disney: Interviews with Animators, Producers, and Artists.  Getting the chance to spend time talking with a Disney authority of Don’s caliber was just one more amazing opportunity in what has become a seeming less string of amazing opportunities.  Thanks Don for spending a few minutes few me, and thank you Michael for introducing me.

The afternoon’s presentation started off with, the Museum’s Director of Visitor Experience and Interpretation, Donna Tuggle introducing the session Moderation, Charles Solomon, and announcing to the audience – for those not lucky enough to be in the lobby early – that Tyrus Wong and his daughter were special attendees for today’s session.  Charles Solomon is a prominent critic and authority on Animation and its history, and considered a notable and very knowledgeable Disney authority.  We had the honor of attending another session moderated by Charles, where Disney Legends Alice Davis and Marge Champion this last December.

After his foreword; Charles proceeded to introduce the two guest panelists, joining him on the dais – Ralph Eggleston, and Paul Felix.  While you may not recognize the names, I am sure you will be acquainted with their works.  These are two truly talented artist.

Ralph’s filmography includes such Pixar productions as:

·   Up (2009 - Art Director)

·   WALL-E (2008 - Art Director / Production Designer)

·   The Incredibles (2004 - Art Director)

·   Finding Nemo (2003 - Production Designer)

·   Monsters, Inc. (2001 - Visual Development / Story)

·   For the Birds (2000 - Director / voice of Bird)

·   Toy Story (1995 - Art Director)

Paul worked in animation at the Disney Channel, his credits include such programs as:

·   Aladdin (TV series)

·   The Little Mermaid (TV series)

·   Darkwing Duck (TV series)

·   TaleSpin (TV series)

And in Features Animation at Disney, his credits include:

·   Winnie the Pooh (2011 - Art Director)

·   Bolt (2008 – Art Director)

·   Lilo & Stitch (2002 – Production Designer)

·   Brother Bear (2003 - Visual Development Artist)

·   The Emperor's New Groove (2000 – Production Designer)

·   Tarzan (1999 - Principal Location Designer)

·   Mulan (1998 - Character Designer/Visual Development) 

Charles started the session, talking about some of Tyrus’ inspiration as an artist, and show some slides of the Chinese art.  This is where writing becomes difficult; it is a challenge to describe for you the breath taking images that appeared on the screen throughout this session.  I have always been a fan of the Oriental art forms, there is, for me, a natural serenity in the images portrayed, images that emphasize nature and the environment and minimize the importance or dominance of humankind in nature.  Charles went on to display some of Tyrus’ drawings, and any attempt by me to sufficiently describe these works, would be feeble at best.  While these images that, at first blush, may appear to be simple and lacking in detail, they are full of color, depth, and action, with your eye draw right to artist’s desired location in the frame.  It is a truly amazing talent and even more amazing to me, the effect on one’s mind as you observe these creations.  But, instead of this meager attempt to describe this man’s art, I’ve managed to find a web link for Tyrus Wong images where you can see it for yourself.

As the presentation proceeded, Ralph and Paul both spoke of Tyrus’ use of color (warm and cold) and framing a scene to perfection with the use of voids and negative space.  They have both been inspired by Tyrus in their own art, and display examples of where they were inspired.  Ralph even relate how he, and his director of photography on Finding Nemo, made many Xerox copies of Tyrus’ Bambi drawings and hung this all round their office.  They were not sure how they were going to show their underwater world, and studied these Bambi drawings trying to figure out how Tyrus conveyed his images.  Ralph then show us some of his drawings and clips from Nemo, demonstrating how he tried (quite successfully IMO) to emulate Ty’s work.  Paul showed us some of his work, including a watercolor of his from Lilo and Stitch.  Charles pointed out how, when using watercolors or pastels, one wrong stroke and you have to start over.  These are not easy mediums to work in, and again, these are two truly talented artists, as well as the amazing Tyrus Wong.

I believe I have said this before, but it bears repeating;  I now watch animated features and cartoons with a completely new appreciation, know the real effort and talent it takes to bring them to us.

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

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WDFM - The Evolution of Mickey Mouse

Since I’ve seen a number of threads on various fan forums about a new talking Mickey being testing at Disneyland, I figured it was time to get this piece finished and posted.

In November, the Walt Disney Family Museum welcomed Walt Disney Company Executive Vincent Vedrenne to the Museum to talk about the “Evolution of Mickey Mouse.”

The session opened with Museum Executive Director, Richard Benefield telling us that Mickey Mouse was about to turn 82, and that the first Mickey cartoon showed on November, 18^th 1928.  As Richard is telling us just how important Mickey is to the Museum, and about a potential symposium on him (that would be so cool) and how much Mickey has been study during his life, he showed us a copy of Natural History magazine from 1979, with a picture of Mickey on the cover.  The magazine contained an article from, as Richard described him, “rock star” scientist Stephen Jay Gould, discussing Mickey Mouse’s neotenic features.  Where else are you going to be challenged with terms like neotenic or neoteny?  Okay since it was hard to write fast enough to capture Richard’s definition, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Neoteny (pronounced /niːˈɒtɨniː/), also called juvenilization, is the retention, by adults in a species, of traits previously seen only in juveniles (a kind of pedomorphosis), and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. In neoteny, the physiological (or somatic) development of an animal or organism is slowed or delayed (fallaciously, seen as a dilation of biological time). Ultimately this process results in the retention, in the adults of a species, of juvenile physical characteristics well into maturity. The English word neoteny is borrowed from the German Neotenie, the latter constructed from the Greek νέος (young) and τείνειν (tend to). The standard adjectival form is "neotenous",^[2] although "neotenic" is often used.

Who knew?  Well, I guess Stephen Jay Gould knew, and he made the association with Mickey Mouse.  I really do learn something new every day, and Richard went on to introduce our guest speaker: Vincent Vedrenne is a Walt Disney Company vice president in Corporate Franchise Management, overseeing the business and creative strategy of Disney’s core character franchises; Mickey, Pooh, Princesses, Fairies, and Cars, and responsible for creating consistent business strategies for the promotion of Disney’s most beloved characters.  Vincent has been tasked, by Bob Iger and John Lassiter, to focus on optimizing and protecting, as he puts it, “the world’s most beloved characters.

Vincent opened by telling us that Mickey Mouse was an almost instance success.  His name appearing on movie house billboards in lettering as big as the feature films.  The Disney Brothers Studio received 1000’s of fan letters within the first three week.  And that Mickey Mouse was not just a big hit in the USA, but a worldwide phenomenon.  Mickey is probably one of the most studied animated characters in our culture; academia is still trying to understand his appeal, with no one theory winning out. After watching all 346 cartoon shorts, Vincent has some of his own theories, and broke down the periods in the development of Mickey Mouse.

Our first period of examination Vincent called, Mouse gags – 1928 to 1942 – 87 Shorts were produced.

During this period Mickey was the primary subject of these shorts, with appearance and interaction with Minnie and Pluto.  Two of the shorts mentioned were Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy.  Mickey smoked, drank, and, as Vincent put it, brutalized animals.  These were acceptable activities during this period in our history.  We got to see some of the examples of cartoons from this period.  Vincent explained that Mickey Mouse in “Steamboat” Willie was modeled (as Walt wanted) after Charlie Chaplin, whereas Mickey in “Plane Crazy” was modeled (by Ub Iwerks) after Douglas Fairbanks.  Ultimately Walt’s Charlie Chaplin model won out.

Next we move to the Comic Trio period of 1936 to 1940, where 16 shorts were produced.

Here with so many other Mickey Mouse shorts done, to broaden available subject material and keep the audience engage, Donald Duck and Goofy were created.  Both characters were alter egos of Mickey’s former self, Donald being the tantrum throwing, angry little rascal, and Goofy the personification of ignorant bliss.  To demonstrate this interaction we got to see a clip from 1938’s “Mickey’s Trailer”

In 1939 the studio started making character specific cartoons, and from 1939 to 1953 Mickey got another 14 shorts. During this period Donald became very popular and from 1939 to 1956 he got 135 shorts of his own, with Goofy getting 23 shorts from 1941 to 1953, which Vincent called Goofy’s Lessons and 16 shorts from 1951 to 1953 he called Goofy the Family Man.  Interesting note from the Goofy’s lessons period, we learned that during the production of these shorts, the voice actor (Pinto Colvig from my research) for Goofy had left the studio.  Without the voice for Goofy, Disney decided to use Goofy as the subject of these lessons while using a narrator to explain what was happening.  Finally from 1937 to 1951 we see 55 short produced which Vincent called Pluto’s Misadventures.

We learned that the last Mickey Mouse cartoon was short was made in 1953, and another interesting fact was revealed by Mr. Vedrenne.  The studio stopped regular production of cartoon shorts because the theaters stopped paying for them.  Theater owners and distributors felt that audiences were now coming for the main features and not the shorts, so they discontinued paying for the shorts.  If the studios wanted to include shorts as a bonus feature, that was fine.  Without a revenue source, there was no incentive to produce new shorts.  Disney also released they had a large library which they could begin to recycle.  So with the exception of “The Prince and the Pauper” in 1990 and a “Runaway Brain” in 1995 there has been little Mickey Mouse production in the last 30 years.

Disney (the company) understands the value of Mickey and his friends, hence Mr. Vedrenne’s position at the company, and is looking at how to address the desire from the fans to see more of these characters today.  One of the things they are doing to address this desire, is to repackage the Disney character cartoon in a program called “Have a Laugh” the first two DVD’s have been released (yes, they are already in my collection), and the “Have a Laugh” cartoons have started running in-between popular show on the Disney Channel.   Disney has found that for most viewers today, they lose interest after about three to 4 minute.  So the “Have a Laugh” shorts on the Disney Channel have been edited down to about three minutes.  On the DVD’s both the shortened and original versions of the shorts are included.  It is very cool!

And finally, the reason I decided to finish this one up.  As I opened, there has been a bit of post traffic on several of the fan forums about the new talking Mickey at the Disneyland Park.  They have been testing a new articulated Mickey head which is also able to talk in Mickey’s voice.  We got to see a little 3 minute video of one of the test sessions.  What appeared to be a toddler of about 3 or 4 went rushing up to Mickey as he welcomed him verbally.  The smile from the child was ear-to-ear, but the look on the mother’s face was priceless! 

I think we have a lot to look forward during our future trips to the Parks.

And I’m always anticipating my time at the Museum!

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

When the Mouse Calls

Yes I know I still owe you all reports on activities at the Museum for the last couple of months.  They are coming, I promise.

When the Mouse calls and wants your participation in a focus group, what do you do?  If you are a Disney Nut like me…  Why, you answer the phone, of course.  Or reply to the email in this case, which I did immediately!

For an investment of two hours of my time and participation in a focus group, Disney was kind enough to put me and a guest (my lovely wife of course) up at the Grand California Hotel for the evening, and two one day park hopper tickets.  Still figuring out what I’m going to do with the tickets, since Pam and I are both PAP holders.  Additionally the participants of the focus group were treated to reception hosted by Disneyland Resort President, George Kalogridis, and a VIP viewing of the new World of Color show at DCA.

Before I go too far, let’s deal with the 800 pound gorilla in the room.  I am most confident that you all are anxious to know the focus group topic.  Honestly, I signed a non-disclosure agreement and take that action very seriously.  Additionally, I do not want to do anything that might prevent my invitation to future focus group events.  Even if I was not bound by an NDA, the topic of discussion is in such an early concept phase, that even if it were to come into being, it would probably look very different than the concept we discussed.  All I can say is that it is an idea that is being explored as part of the re-Imagineering of Disney California Adventure, and for the true Disney fan, it sounds really cool.  Enough said.

So our trip began at zero dark o’clock (5:00 AM for those of you not familiar) from San Jose.  I prefer driving to Disneyland because by the time it takes, prep, transportation to and from, security, etc, driving is only a little bit longer.  Besides, it gives me the opportunity to stop and put flowers at my Grandparent and cousin’s graveside in Camarillo.  So awhile back, on Facebook, I posted a comment that about traffic sucking in L.A.  I have since been corrected so I’ll put the correctly version here now:  If you are driving in L.A. between 12:01 AM and 11:59 PM, traffic SUCKS!!!  However, my new route sucks less than my old route.  Well, I can say now that my new, new route sucks even less than my old new route, and a lot less than the old, old route.  While I love coming in from I-5 southbound and see the Disneyland sign, and then driving in on Disneyland Drive, it’s really not worth the extra 2 to 2 ½ hours travel time.  I come down 101, but this will work even if you use the 5 as well.  Take the 405 south.  While the traffic does slow down at some points, it is nothing like the STOP and go on I-5, and it doesn’t seem to matter the time of day.  So take 405 south to 605 north and just stay in the right land.  If you go to Disneyland very often, you’ll recognize the exit.  Yup, that’s right, Katella.  Once on Katella it’s about 9 nine to the “Happiest Place on Earth!”  It is just a little over 90 miles from Camarillo to Disneyland, regardless of the route you choose.  Using I-5 the travel time is 3 ½ to 4 hours or more, depending the proportion of STOP to go.  So far, the two trips using 405 that travel time is reduced to a 1 ½ to just over 2 hours.

We arrived at the Grand California about an hour before the scheduled check in time.  So we checked our luggage with bell services and the car with the valet, and headed off to Downtown Disney for a quick stroll, where yours truly pulled a stupid stunt.  I grouse regularly about people with cell phones not pay attention when to their surrounding when they are engrossed in cells.  I recently joined the 21^st century by trading in my 10 year old TREO for a new HTC EVO Shift.  Yup, I was walking down the hallway leading from the GCH to DTD and was paying more attention to my phone then my surroundings and missed the 3 little steps halfway done the hall.  Stumble, stumble, and roll!  While I never dropped my phone, I did manage to bruise my ribs.  Right in the same place I did a few years ago, when I did something else stupid.  Go figure!

Later in the afternoon, during check-in for the focus group I was pleasantly surprised to see a few familiar faces.  Two faces that should be recognizable to any D23 member, Steven Clark, and Jeffrey Epstein (the Disney Geek), but they disappeared rather quickly.  I did, however, spy a person I know through D23 and the Walt Disney Family Museum, Diana.  Diana and I first got acquainted while waiting in line for a Mouseketeers meet and greet at the Museum in November, and then my wife and I had the pleasure of having Diana as a dinner companion during the D23 Disney and Dickens event at the Tam O’Shanter in December.  I spoke with a Disney cast member while waiting to check-in, because I really wanted to know how I managed to get chosen for this event.  As I said, I know it is partially luck of the draw, but I also know that I was doing something that got me into the pool, and I want to keep doing whatever it was that got me included this time.  I was told that the pool of possible attendees was draw from DVC (that’s the Vacation Club) and from the D23 membership rolls.  Great, I’m a DVC member and a D23 member, and I easily keep doing that…  Well, at about 5:00 PM we were ushered into a meeting room in the Grand California Conference Center, and our guests went off to do whatever they pleased for the next two hours.  After listening to Disney VP in charge of DCA and several other dignitaries talk about some other re-Imagineering work going on at DCA and this new idea, which I still can’t talk about, we broke up into 7 groups to discuss and possibly plus this new idea.  As we introduced ourselves around the table, there was one thing that was clear…  Everyone in my group was a serious Disney fan. After two hours of very interesting discussion, we broke for the evening festivities.

As we were being ushered into the room for the reception, I started to move to the Conference center entrance around the corner to get my wife to join me.  As I have experienced with Disney over time, and a real contributing factor to why I am a really big fan, the Disney Cast Members always seem to be one step ahead.  I was interrupted by a Cast Member and told that my wife was already inside.  Way to go Disney!  Again…  Just inside the door was George Kalogridis introducing himself and shaking hands.  I have said this before, and will say it again, I am always a bit surprised (even though I probably should be any more) just how friendly and approachable Disney people are with guests.  I’ve experienced it at Disneyland, Studio Events, and the Museum.  Yes, I know, they need to do that because they are promoting something.  But, I do think I a pretty good judge of character and what is going on around me, and I don’t get the impression (as I have from others) that they are doing anything because they have too, to the contrary, my impression is they genuinely enjoy what they are doing.  So I got a chance to spend a few minutes with President of the Disneyland Resort and thank him for the invite and the wonderful perks.  I think I also told him (I know I told somebody) that I would have gladly participated without the perks.    

Next I spotted Steven Clark, and made my way over to him.  Steven Clark, for those who may not know, is the head of D23.  I was able to introduce myself to him as I had only seen him on stage at a few events prior to this one.  To my surprise, again I’m not sure why any more, he seems to know that I was one of D23’s charter members.  We talked briefly about the coverage I’d seen of The Disney Dream’s maiden voyage and that I thought Mr. Iger looked more relaxed dressed down in jeans and a t-shirt.  All I’d seen him in previously was button up suit and tie, and he’d always looked to me to be a bit uncomfortable.  Steven confirmed that Bob is more often than not dressed more casually on the lot.  Since I use every opportunity to cross promote, I was wearing my Museum hat, complete with two of my most important pins, and my Mousetalgia Carpe Kingdom button.  It was about now that I noticed Pam waving at me at point to where she was sitting.  When Steven noticed the hat and asked, I told him that I am at the Museum at least once a month, most months more.  No promised were made, nor secrets divulged, but I expect to see some of the D23 Cast Members in San Francisco in the not too distance future.  We also talked about the Disney and Dickens event and how much Pam and I enjoyed it, and what a treasure D23 has in one Ms. Laura.  We talked for a few minutes longer, and then I had to excuse myself as I was sure the Pam thought I had abandon her.

Pam and I sat with another couple, we had met during the Disney and Dickens event, and enjoyed some fine hors d'œuvres, explaining to our spouses that we could really talk about what we’d discuss in the focus group. It was nice to find someone else taking the NDA as seriously as me.  As we sat there, I noticed another familiar face, The Disney Geek – Jeffrey Epstein.  I have met Jeffrey at a couple of D23 events, and routinely comment on the Facebook feed for the weekly Disney Geek broadcast.  So I excuse myself, luckily Pam know me well, and went over to say HI!  It was while I was speaking with Jeffrey that I discovered my invite to the focus group was courtesy of D23.  Jeffrey also commented on my hat, and made no promise or divulged any secret, but left me with the impression that we would be seeing D23 at the Museum in the future.  I am still lobbying for an appearance of Dave Smith at Museum.  I finally got a couple of minutes to visit with Mary Nivens, the Disney VP in charge of DCA.  I thanked her for the focus group invitation and for the attention that DCA is now getting and so richly deserves.  I know that the Imagineers do all that they can, but, they still have to work within the budgets they are given.  Suffice to say for now; the previous leadership at the Disney Company did not value what the Parks bring to the Disney equation.  But, I’ll have more on that in later postings.  Needless to say, I think DCA has a true champion in Mary Nivens.

Finally to round out the evening’s festivities, we were ushered out to one of the VIP viewing areas at The Paradise Pier Lagoon for a viewing of DCA’s new show “Wonderful World of Color”.  While we were waiting for the show to start, I notice Steven and Jeffrey standing behind us.  So I was able to go over and show off my latest D23 acquisition which I had forgotten earlier.  A few days before heading to Disneyland, a package arrived from D23.  It was the most recent addition of D23 quarterly magazine, and enclosed was gift, a D23 watch.  With the silhouette of Mickey down in the corner the watch sports only two numbers, the 2 and the 3.  I wonder why those numbers were selected.  J  Very Cool gift!  Anyway, the lights dim and the show starts.  This is the first chance we’ve had to see the show, and let me say, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!  Columns of water shouting at least 100 feet in the air, little columns of water dancing around the periphery, all the colors of the rainbow (some time even appearing to come together and mix to create new colors), and sprays fanning out to create projection screens displaying all our favorite Disney characters.  Even the lights of Screamin’ and Mickey’s Fun Wheel play in the show.  These words are completely inadequate to explain the show, it is a definitely something you’ve got to see.  The only thing I can say is that it brought back every happy memory I ever had as a child.

So if you are a Disney fan, keep doing what you do, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there a little. You never know what can happen.  Oh yeah, join D23, so far for me it was been SO Worth It!

And yes girls, Dad will make sure you get to see World of Color.

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com