Any other Disney freaks out there?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

This is messing with my normal contrariness. I have an affection for the underdog, and so I used to support Disney. Disney is the original 8 million pound gorilla, but it caught a lot of flak from critics because it toned down and transformed stories, “Disnifying” hem, etc. In defense of Disney I’d say that their version of Alice in Wonderland is entertaining and actually manages to work in a surprising number of the poems and references (more than you probably think – watch it again). Other versions are either a lot less faithful, or faithful and boring. Or, to give another example, I liked Hercules. Sure, they changed things around, and Zeus doesn’t get to be the REAL father of Hercules, but this is a 20th century kid’s film. They were able to keep quite a bit of the real story in place. And so on.

Yeah, I know they distorted The Little Mermaid totally out of shape. Hunchback f Notre Dame isn’t a great choice for a Disney flick, and they gave it a happy ending – but show me ONE SINGLE VERSION of THOND on film that is faithful to Victor Hugo. They ALL change the ending - even the Lon Chaney version. When I saw the animation of Quasimodo rescuing Esmeralda from the stake I almost cried – it was gorgeous.
The problem is that Disney isn’t the underdog anymore – not even critically, a lot of the time. So now I should go to hating Disney. But I don’t. I still prefer both incarnations of Fantasia to Bruno Bozzetto’s Allegro Non Troppo (damn – almost every story in that has a sad ending. Just because you’re not being Disney doesn’t mean you have to be depressing!) Disnet films are satisfyingly constructed and have gorgeous animatio and special effects.
And, of course, now that we have our almost-four-year-old MilliCal, we’re stuck. She watches the films constantly, and she has Lion King memorized from the tapes.

42

Oh, sure, like this is easy…

Favorite characters: Eeyore, Chernabog, Kronk (he cooks! He’s cute! He’s dumb as a post!) and Pongo (I just like to say Pongo)
Favorite Rides: Toads Wild Ride, Inner Space (I miss Inner Space), California Screamin’, Soarin’ over CA
Favorite Attractions: ITTBAB, Tiki Room
Favorite Park: Disneyland (the one, the original!)
Favorite Parade: The Disneyland Christmas Parade.

Least Favorite Parade: The Aladdin Parade.

There’re stories related to both the parades, but I shan’t bore anyone with them (unless you want to know). :wink:

43

No, no - this is a thread for Disney freaks. Details are what we crave. As Ursula would say, “It’s what we live for.” :wink:

Esprix

44

Well, speaking of Ursula, were y’all aware that they had to re-record the soundtrack for Fantasmic because instead of Ursula “taking matters into her own tentacles” it sounded like she was taking them into her “testicles?” :eek:
Well, lessee.

The Christmas Parade: I loved working at Christmastime, anyway, and I ended up spending most of every Christmas I worked in the park on Main Street, either in the Emporium during the day or working Guest Control in the evening. There’s just something about the music for that parade that makes me very happy.

Anyway, one early afternoon I was in the Emporium when the parade was going on outside, and we were D E A D inside (I mean, nobody was shopping), and so I was refilling some of the bins around my register and kind of dancing to the “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” which is where the parade was outside (it had just started). So suddenly I find myself swept up, and a guest and I are now waltzing around the center of the Emporium. Dunno. Just absolutely made the parade for me. :slight_smile:

(also, Sis was in the parade as one of the rollerskating snowflakes. Do you know how much fun it is to be able to tell people that your youngest sibling is a flake?)

Aladdin: Eergh. I still know all the words to “Prince Ali,” and not from overwatching the movie. I worked GC almost that whole summer, and it was that song, over and over and over and…until you wanted to scream.

What killed me about it, though, was the voice over for the second parade of the day, when all of Main Street would hear Iago say, “The Aladdin parade has just started from It’s a Small World. You know, that ride where they play the same song over and over again?”

There were also the 5Ks, which I don’t think the park is doing any more (pity). They were fundraisers for various charities (including Habitat for Humanity, which is the only one I remember) - and the very first one was 5K through It’s a Small World. Mom asked me if I wanted to go, and I said, “no, thank you.” I figured twenty times around that attraction would be more than enough to drive me permanently mad.

The 5K through Pirates was pretty fun, though. We went through once with all the lights off, and all the sound off, but the animatronics on - which was pretty creepy, because we could hear the hydraulics but see nothing. And, well, we ended up singing TV theme songs throughout one trip around…but not, oddly, the Mickey Mouse Club theme.

Gilligan’s Island, yes. :wink:

45

Favorite characters: Rajah, Carpet, Eeyore, Mulan.
Favorite rides: Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion, InnerSpace (even though it’s long gone), Space Mountain (DL version only, WDW’s is not nearly as good), Pirates of the Caribbean (though it was better before they changed to the stupid food-chasing scenes).
Favorite attractions: The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Body Pavillion or whatever it’s called, and the Circle of Life Pavillion or whatever it’s called - the one with the hydroponics display.
Favorite park: Disneyland. You can’t turn your back on these childhood memories.
Favorite parade: No parades. I don’t like parades.
Favorite villains: Ursula, Maleficent.
Best pre-show: Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion
Best cast member costumes (from a purely asthetic standpoint): Haunted Mansion. (I hate the ones they wear in Space Mountain; they look like the old McDonald’s uniforms.)
Best ride first thing in the morning: Space Mountain, 'cause otherwise I can’t wake up.
Best ride last thing before leaving the park: Big Thunder Mountain, which, properly speaking, should only be ridden after sunset.

And a special nomination for love/hate ride: It’s a Small World. Upon which I have been stuck a total of five times, once for long enough that I began seriously contemplating pitching stuff at the dolls. And the song…the song…god, the song. I can’t get it out of my head for weeks after every visit. But the ride is still obligatory and somehow wonderful.

Btw, folks, what’s your favorite places to eat in the parks (not in the hotels)? While I love the parks, eating there can be something of a distressing experience. (Being a vegetarian doesn’t help; Disney’s idea of what constitutes a vegetarian meal is, for the most part, firmly rooted in 1969.) In Disneyland, the only two places we’ll eat are the Bengal Barbeque (for fast food) and the Blue Bayou (for real food). We’ve never found anywhere else that serves food worth eating.

I suppose you’d all say I was crazy if I asked you what your favorite park bathrooms were…

46

Choice! That’s the kind of stuff us DF’s like to hear.

Personally, when I went back to WDW last fall for the first time in 14 years, and we made damn sure we went to see the Main Street Electrical Parade, when I heard that cheesy electrified voice start saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…” and the first float came around the corner, wouldn’t you know I started to get all weepy. I really didn’t think about how much Disney meant to me growing up until I had the chance to do it again as an adult. My mother thinks I’m crazy. :slight_smile:

Oh, and I’ve been thinking about picking up a second, part-time job. I think the Disney Store might be somewhere to drop off an application… :wink:

Esprix

47

Actually I’ve found that Disney is serving more than salads for vegetarian meals (never been to DL, DW is in my corner of the worlds):

Animal Kingdom - Tusker House, Rainforest Cafe - roast vegetable sandwiches, tabouleh, pastas
There was, at one time, a small fast food shop across from the Liberty Tree Tavern that served mostly vegetarian entrees (Sleepy Hollow Resturant?).
Most of the restaurants in EPCOT also have at least one vegetarian entree (more in the Garden Restaurant (the rotating restaurant) in “The Land” pavillion).

48

Careful, Esprix, I’ve heard that the Disney Stores are quite a different working experience than the Parks. Just FYI.

I don’t know about the vegetarian places inside the parks, but now that Downtown Disney is built there are a few places there that might have decent vegetarian meals. My personal favorite place to eat in Disneyland is Rocket Rodds (for sort-of fast food) and the Plaza Inn - but the latter just to harass my mother - and the Blue Bayou (of course) at lunch for a sit-down meal.

I haven’t had much of a chance to eat anything other than fast food at DCA yet, but as far as that goes the “sound stage” at the back of Hollywood (name go bye-bye) is a good choice because it’s got something for everyone: Chinese, Burgers, Salads, Italian, Sandwiches. I’d love to try the Mondavi - either the Terrace (at $15+ per plate) or the actual meal at Mondavi, which is $50 per person and requires reservations (they recommend two weeks in advance :eek: ). My roommate loves the idea, but I question the wisdom of what is essentially a $93 per person meal for the average tourist.

My favorite park bathroom, however, is the one behind Hatmosphere in tomorrowland. It’s kind of tucked between the old America Sings building and Hatmosphere, and beneath the old Skyway building, and it’s always empty (always a plus for a woman at the park.) :wink:

49

You’re kidding, right? I don’t know a single NOA Cast Member who likes those costumes - especially in the summer. (of course, most of the cast members I know are female, which could have something to do with it). Particularly on a “code 90” (more than 90 degrees outside) when the women are allowed only to remove…their aprons. Not to mention the ever-attractive “Bat Hats.”

50

I will also second that the new Downtown Disney will probably alleviate a lot of the restaurant/vegetarian problems at DLP.

Um, for those non-freaks that might be reading, perhaps we ought to give you a few pointers when we start abbreviating:

CM = Cast Member (not “employee”)
DLP = Disneyland Park, what used to be just Disneyland in Ahaheim, CA
DCA = Disney’s California Adventure, the new park in Anaheim (the entire thing - both parks, Downtown Disney and the hotels - is now called Disneyland Resort)
DTD = Downtown Disney (both in Anaheim and Orlando)
WDW = Walt Disney World, in Orlando
MK = Magic Kingdom (same idea as the original DLP, with some variations)
MGM = Disney/MGM Studios, another park at WDW
AK = Animal Kingdom, another park at WDW
PI = Pleasure Island, as explained above, part of DTD in WDW

Any others commonly used?

And, of course, the important question (and speaking of reservations) - who’s going to get me into Club 33 for my 33rd birthday in October? HMMM? <tapping foot impatiently>

Esprix

51

Yup. I can tell just from looking that they’d be gruesomely awful to wear - that’s why I said purely from an aesthetics standpoint, the way they blend into the ride, all that. I like the way they look; I definitely wouldn’t want to wear one.

52

You know, since you posted this I’ve tried to remember if there was a single costume in the park that I wore that was actually comfortable.

The answer? Well, only one, and I wasn’t supposed to be wearing it. The old Main Street costumes were okay, but those heavy polyester skirts in summer just sucked. And, well, not to put too fine a point on it but I’m a bit…busty. Disney employees are evidently not meant to be busty - there were snaps added to most of the shirts. :wink: However, I absolutely could not fit into the blouses for the Big Thunder Bar-Be-Que women’s costume, so I got a special dispensation to wear the men’s. Levis, a western shirt and a cowboy hat. That was pretty comfy.

Of the others, probably my favorite is the Fantasyland Merch costumes; they never fit quite right but they had the whole pseudo-bodice thing going on so they made me look good. :wink:

My least favorite, to wear at least, was the costumes for the second incarnation of Videopolis - which started out in teal and pink. Those were okay. We decided that we were going to steal a set of the second incarnation costume for the women and stencil “Disneyland Correctional Facility” on the back. Yech.

But yeah, the Mansion costumes blend pretty well.

53

Might be hitting DCA next weekend, Sunday the 17th. Anyone else going? :smiley:

Esprix

54

Just for you, deepbluesea, I present the Happiest Potties on Earth (another fine service of MousePlanet). Personally, my favorite in the sense of cleanest and most avialable, is the one in the waiting area for Tiki. If the show is showing on inside it is always available and it is always clean. The one in the stage area for Aladdin and Jasmine’s StoryTime is also good but you have to see the show to use it.

If you are serious, Esprix, and can cover the bill (figure about $100 per person) let me know and I may be able to work something out for you. I don’t have a membership but know many people who do. The actual member need not be a part of the dinner party, they just have to make the reservation.

55

Actually, that’s how I found MousePlanet. Wasn’t that a Weird URL or Threadspotting?

Yes, I read about that, and of course I’m serious. Of course I won’t be picking up the tab - that’s for my friends who are taking me to do, n’est-ce pas? I will talk to my fellow DF’s first to see if they can set it up, but if they can’t, I’m going to take you up on it. I understand you have to make reservations months in advance, though. October 8 is a Monday (and, eek! A holiday this year, Columbus Day, which happens once in a while) - how far in advance would you suggest?

Thanks for the offer. Yer a peach. :wink:

Esprix

56

Ok

Fave Character Baloo

Fave park DL

Fave Ride Star Tours, Matterhorn, Dumbo, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, (heck I love them all)

Fave Character in park Alice (she is so hot)

Fave CM costume The Matterhorn

Fav restaurent The Blue Bayou (I like the Monte Cristo.

Fave Parade None I would like the Electric parade except the song gets stuck in my head for days. Even now…

dun diga dun dun, dun diga diga diga, dun diga dun dun , diga diga diga diga,

My family tradition is who ever sees the Matterhorn first (while driving to the park) gets to pick the first ride.

More proof of my Disney fetish?

In my apartment I have framed, a Beauty and the Beast one-sheet, an attraction poster of the Skyway from DL and a print of Lady and the Tramp eating at Tony’s.

While at WDW I critized the staff at Tony’s restaurant for incorrectly refering to him as the Tramp. (what should they have called him?)

57

Would you like a color aerial photo of Disneyland? DCA was only half-finished when it was taken. (It’s from http://www.mapquest.com.)

(Man, am I grateful for C&P! Click on “QUOTE” to see why.)

58

Me and the wife and kids will be there from the 18th-23rd.

And my favorites are:

Favorite characters: Esmarelda. (hot hot hot!)
Favorite rides: Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Rocket Rods
Favorite attractions: Haunted Mansion Pirates of the Carribean.
Favorite park: Disneyland, the original.
Favorite food: The chocolate filled croissants from the bakery on Main Street next to the penny arcade.

59

I have a print from 101 Dalmatians personally signed by Marc Davis.

Sorry … just had to show off.

60

Just read this on the AP Newswire—

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - After almost two months at the negotiating table, the workers who play characters such as Mickey Mouse and Cinderella at Walt Disney World have won an important concession: clean undergarments. Under a tentative contract between Disney and the Teamsters union, the workers will be assigned individual undergarments, which they can take home each night to clean themselves instead of relying on Disney launderers. Some workers had complained about getting pubic lice and scabies.

“Things have been passed around,” said Gary Steverson, a stilt walker at Animal Kingdom. “I know I don’t want to share my tights and I don’t want to share my underwear.” Many of the characters have to wear Disney-issued jock straps, tights or bike shorts underneath their costumes because regular underwear bunches up and is noticeable. Each night, they turn in the undergarments with the rest of their costume before going home. They then pick up a different set the next day. Disney officials had told the workers that they use hot water to clean the undergarments, but they apparently weren’t doing so, said Steverson, a shop steward with the Teamsters, which represents workers who portray such figures as Goofy, Pluto, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. Some workers complained about receiving undergarments that were stained or smelly. Steverson said there have been three cases of costumed workers at the Magic Kingdom getting pubic lice or scabies during the past two years.