We bring you a few photos submitted to our ImagineeringDisney.com Photo Hunt. Additionally we answer a few questions.

Any of these spark curiosity? Is there something you'd like to know more about? Let us know.

UPDATE:

We've had a GREAT turnout so far. A big thanks to all who have submitted. Many of you have "hunted" for and found some fantastic old photos. We've yet to see a single bad or uninteresting photo submitted. Every one has been wonderful. Many of the photos at first glance appear quite “normal”. But looking twice brings forth details that rarely if ever show up online.

How many photos were submitted??

Hundreds. Many more than we expected.

Where were most the photos taken?

We’ve been somewhat surprised to see that the majority of the photos submitted (maybe 85%) were taken at Walt Disney World. This is a surprise because for some reason it seems that old Disneyland photos (perhaps because of it's older age) surface more often. Either way, we are thrilled with all the photos from Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, Disney-MGM Studios, and various resorts. Any Animal Kingdom photos floating around out there? Specifically of things that no longer exist? Or even some California Adventure Superstar Limo pics? Or old shots of the overseas parks?

Would it be ok to send videos?

YES. We would LOVE old video footage of the parks. We prefer links to videos you’ve already uploaded online. You can upload to Vimeo or YouTube or any other video hosting site and send us the link. Most of these sites are free and offer privacy if you don’t want strangers finding your footage.

Will the “Hunt” continue?

Yes. Keep the photos and videos coming. There will be not end date to the Photo Hunt. We look forward to using these little gems in our post for a very long time.

For more info about the Photo Hunt, click here. 

We bring you photos of those good old iconic Mickey Mouse balloons.

I don't know the history of the Mickey-shaped balloons. I do know I loved picking one out as a little kid every time we went to Disneyland.

Spiffy old balloon vendor costumes...

This next photo is wonderful. It was sent to us by a fan of the blog, Jeffrey Lipack, as part of our Photo Hunt. Look at the grass hill!

These next two were sent in by Daniel Zuccarelli (@PerpetualGeek, PGMShow.net). I love Main Street morning shots like this. If you look closely you'll see a few kids have already gotten their balloon for the day.

Speaking of kids.... This kid is selling the balloons. Lucky guy. Look behind the balloons on the left. The artwork on the bag is fun. It features a very early Mickey and Minnie with that old Walt Disney World logo we all love. Click here for a clearer image.

On a date with a sailor. Great balloon and a fantastic pennant. Pennants were one of my favorite souvenirs after growing out of balloons. Where are all my pennants now?? Sadly I have no clue.

Lone balloons.

Characters with balloons.

Chip and Dale in Rescue Rangers garb.

Chip and Dale in the nude.

Roger Rabbit.

The "new school" version of the Mickey balloon. I actually love these balloons-in-balloons. It's a rare thing to take a classic product and improve on it without ruining any of its original qualities.

Related posts:

EYE CANDY: National Geographic Aug '63 [Part 1]
EYE CANDY: Not Having Fun at Disneyland
Vintage Disneyland Home Movies- Meeting Walt Disney Himself
Disneyland 1955 Model Close-ups
Magic Kingdom Map Found in a Main Street Wall
THEN AND NOW: Disneyland [Part 1]
THEN AND NOW: MK Fantasyland [Part 1]
EYE CANDY: Behind the Scenes Muppeteering

Let’s take a look at Figment and long-lost Dreamfinder at their original EPCOT Center home.

We’ve recreated the track layout of the original Journey Into Imagination and compared it to the layout of the current attraction. You’ll notice it was originally much longer. And wait... Is the current load are on top of what used to be that grand turn-table show scene?? Hmm. For an overview of the Journey Into Imagination ride visit our friends at LOST EPCOT.

Photos

The following photos were submitted to us as part of our recent Photo Hunt (unless stated otherwise).

The beautiful, shiny, (and clean) glass pyramids. Notice the wonderful plant life. It’s as if it’s spilling into the pavilion from The Land next door. This photo is from Ryan R.

Shapes! EPCOT Center Future World was a wonderland of interesting shapes. The upward flowing waterfall is so imaginative. The next two photos are from Brett of WDW Fan Boys.

Nice matching socks, guys.

Dreamfinder and Figment

They were such a big hit together. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall in the meetings where they decided to get rid of them. 

Karate Kid, is that you? Look at those shirts. A Future World t-shirt? Fantastic.

Figment topiary.

These next two photos were from a different photo hunt. In preparation for a certain Epcot celebration Cast Members submitted old photos. These are from Gregory. Has there ever been such a unique meet-and-greet? Didn’t the duo seem so lifelike?

Leap Frog Fountains

As a kid I was MESMERIZED by these. I couldn’t believe water could act in such a way. I believe this was second thing I told my friends in California after returning from my first EPCOT Center trip. The very first thing was "we got to ride the ride inside the big ball from the commercials".

The next four photos are from Shaun Ortolano.

I love the lamp posts in the next photo. And the coloring in the photo is super pretty. This is from David of Futureprobe.

Dreamcatcher

As a kid I never knew there were five of these vehicles. In fact there were five identical Dreamcatcher scenes altogether. Each set of ride vehicles attached itself to a large turn table with one fifth of the table and one of the five show scenes visible. This way riders could view the 2+ minute scene without backing up ride vehicles behind them. It was a brilliant thing.

While working at Epcot I would occasionally find my way to the backside of the old turn table. It was clear the thing was welded in place once it was no longer used (starting in 1998). It was pointed out to me that the table slowly “screwed itself into the ground over the years”. I wish I had photos. I imagine the whole mechanism would have to be completely thrown out if they ever wanted to resurrect this scene again.

Thank you Katherine A. for this great close-up shot of the Dreamcatcher.

And Shaun Ortolano for this one.

You can read my little story of how I obtained a piece of the Dreamcatcher blimp here.

Shaun also sent in this beauty. The use of white set work and colored lights in the original attraction was so fresh and fanciful.

Merchandise

Here Figment appears in a gift shop display in the great Centorium. Anyone else miss the Centorium?? As a kid that was the ultimate in theme park gift shops in my opinion. And figment had a great presence there. Photos from Shaun.

Related posts:

Surviving Pieces of Journey Into Imagination
EPCOT Construction from the Air
EPCOT Center Construction Photos: Future World
Disneyland Meets EPCOT Center
Walt's Wife Talks About EPCOT Center
HORIZONS the way you wish you knew it.
THEN AND NOW: Epcot Future World [Part 1]
Daredevil Circus Spectacular

As a high school kid working at Disneyland I was disappointed to learn that not everyone had a passion for Disneyland like I had. Not every other frontline cast member was enthusiastic about their work environment. The kid I trained with was excited about his new job but quit shortly after to work at a movie theater where they would allow him to grow a goatee. (Good news, kid I trained with...

We bring you a few pieces of one of history's most charming romantic comedies, The Parent Trap.

Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills play twins who get split up at birth. They meet at summer camp and decide to switch places in order to reunite their divorced parents. Get some Fig Newtons and see if their little "trap" works.

And watch for some great movie magic, largely credited to the great Ub Iwerks (the man behind Mickey Mouse's early success). Split screen and body double techniques hold up very well even against fancy new movie techniques of today. 

Charles Ruggles, who plays the Grandfather, is as charming as any old man could possibly be on film. And funny too.

Brian Keith's character lives in the Carmel, California area, is wealthy, outdoorsy, and has the best ranch house I've ever seen. Maureen O'Hara's character is wonderful. My wife says, "she is so stunningly beautiful" every time she first appears on the screen.

The Parent Trap (1961) is my favorite live-action Disney film. It is the most re-watchable of all the movies I own. It is extremely whitty, beautiful, and like I said, charming.

Haven't got plans for Valentine's Day? WATCH THIS. Never seen it? Go buy it right now. Try not to be tempted by the 1998 Lindsay Lohan version. Or the sequels. None of which are the worst things in the world but they don't hold a candle to the original.

One of the real gems of the film is the animated title sequence before the film. It's beautifully crafted  stop motion animation by Bill Justice, X. Atencio (Haunted Mansion, etc.), and T. Hee, (Fantasia, etc.).

Hayley Mills, we love you. Call me. Email me.

 
First six photos from the cover of my cool 2-disk Parent Trap laserdisc.

Related posts:

Walt Disney Studios Post Production Behind-the-Scenes
Fess Dies Today at 85
Original Visions of CalArts
The Makings of a Good Sequel
Magic Highway U.S.A... It doesn't get much better than this.
Swiss Family Treehouse Model

Plans for a boat ride called Rhine River Cruise in EPCOT Center’s Germany Pavilion were shelved sometime shortly after the park opened in 1982. Few details about the ride have ever surfaced. Let’s dive in and see what we can find.

What we know.

"The future River Ride promises to be as enjoyable as it is informative. An early concept has guests boarding a "cruise boat" for a simulated ride down the Rhine and other rivers, the trip affording a visual impression in miniature of the cultural heritage of Germany's past and highlights of its present. Among the detailed models envision are scenes in the Black Forest, the Oktoberfest, Heidelberg, the industrial Ruhr Valley... the possibilities are limited only by the planners' imaginations." –"Walt Disney's EPCOT Center" by Richard Beard

According to the Walt Disney Company's 1976 annual report, the Rhine River Cruise was to be "... a cruise down Germany's most famous rivers– the Rhine, the Tauber, the Ruhr and the Isar. Detailed miniatures of famous landmarks will also be seen, including one of the Cologne Cathedral."

Other accounts claim that the ride would have also feature the country’s more modern achievements much like Norway’s Maelstrom boat ride includes that country’s more recent industrial efforts. These most likely would have stood in the Ruhr Valley portion of the ride.

How much of the ride was built?

For years I was under the understanding that the show building for the river ride was built. It’s widely mentioned online and in at least one book that the the full show building was built and still stands today.

As it turns out, this is false. Or at least partially false. But how can this be? I’ve walked through the show building a number of times. A piece of the show building, attached to the rest of the pavilion, was built and still stands today. But the majority of the show building was never constructed. You’ll notice on our map above that the load area and the unload area are all that could have fit in the existing building.

It is often pointed out that the large castle-like building behind the clock tower is the Rhine River Cruise show building. The tallest, most prominent castle architecture you see to the left is, however, the Biergarten restaurant building. Shorter castle architecture to the right is the queue/load building.

Claims have been made that trenches were built into the foundation of these parts of the building. If true, they’ve since been filled.

Was the rest of the show building built then torn down? It was not. Let’s look at these EPCOT Center construction photos. We see that the rest of the show building was never built. (Additional World Showcase construction photos here.)

Now:

What remains today?

In the early 80’s large wooden doors stood at what was to be the entrance to the Rhine River Cruise queue. They were later covered with a wall and this mural. 

Photo from fan of the blog, Varsenik Wilson.

Photo from fan of the blog, Todd Shirley.

Photo from fan of the blog, Varsenik Wilson.

I am guessing the doors were removed and the mural went in within the first five years. It could have went in much earlier. The inside of the Germany Pavilion archways tend to show up very dark in old photos and video footage. We know by 1987 (at the latest) the doors were gone and the mural was up. This is based on a souvenir book published in 1987 with a clear view of the mural.

Were the wooden doors placed right where the mural is today? Were there additional doors in the archway? Was the whole foyer area west of the Biergarten entrance blocked off? We see from this early early photo (most likely from a pre-opening preview day) that a wooden door or wall appears. It’s difficult to determine if its under the archway itself or further back against the wall.

My guess: This wooden door/wall was up against the archway. Let’s compare it to the left archway in the same photo It appears that nothing as far back as the back wall would be visible in this photo.

Why would the “wooden door” matter?

It was evidence of the unbuilt attraction visible to guests. Could concept art or some sort of “coming soon” signage have appeared on or near the door? If so, such a sign most likely would have been seen by guests for a very short time. The company stopped mentioning the Rhine River Cruise in1982 at some point. Perhaps before a single guest entered EPCOT Centers’ gates.

Why would a door blocking traffic through the archway be important? Could this foyer area have been designed to incorporate the first Rhine River Cruise scenery? Blueprints don’t indicate a separation between the Rhine River side and Biergarten side of the foyer but could a separation have been planned? A queue/load area like the one in this concept art might require some of the foyer real-estate.

Starboard-facing passengers.

It is my conclusion that passengers aboard the boats were to sit facing out the starboard (right) side of the boats. This is based on the layout of the water flume and what we can see in the above artwork. The water loop does not appear to accommodate show scenery on both sides of the water.

If passengers faced one direction, all show scenes would appear directly in front of the passengers and a dark wall would stand behind them. This increases visibly, show designers ensure that their audience sees what they intend them to see, and space is saved. This is much like the Disneyland Railroad benches facing right, toward the inside of the park.

Here we see a rendering of the load area and a boat much wider than they were planned to really be. Isn't the atmosphere is oh so nice?

 
An exit with a view.

Blueprints show an area between the unload are and the exit called “Viewing Area”. This box-shaped area faces the Biergarten stage. Today this area is used for buffet service. I reckon guests leaving the ride would have been able to step off the exit path onto a porch for a view of the restaurant and its live entertainment. The smells of German food might have enticed them to dine at the pavilion. Unlike in the Mexico Pavilion, boat passenger and restaurant guests would not have had a great view of what the others were doing. This viewing area would have at least connected the two in a small way.

Added bonus.

Does it not look like there's a little piece of a boat in the archway of this Germany Pavilion logo?

Other info needed.

If you have other information about the Rhine River Cruise plans, please let us know.

Special thanks to:

Foxxfur from Passport to Dreams.
Michael Crawford from Progress City, U.S.A
Hoot Gibson from Mesa Verde Times
Mike Lee from Widen Your World 
Epcot Explorium
Epcot Encyclopedia
Varsenik Wilson and Todd Shirley for the mural photos.
Various printed resources from The Walt Disney Company.

Related posts:

EPCOT Construction from the Air
THEN AND NOW: Epcot World Showcase [Part 1]
Mural-Removin' Season at Disney
EPCOT Center Graphics
Disneyland Meets EPCOT Center
Walt's Wife Talks About EPCOT Center
Imaaaaaagination
Carolwood Pacific and Other Backyard Railroads
Frito Kid Mysteries Continue

Will you be pulling an all-nighter at Disneyland or Magic Kingdom as part of Disney's "One More Disney Day"? I will be at home and in bed by ten. After watching "Disneyland After Dark" on dvd of course. Here we present some old nighttime photos of Magic Kingdom.

Where was this photo taken? The top of the train station tower? We get a nice view of backstage parking and even Tinker Bell's landing spot atop one of the Tomorrowland buildings (in green lights).

Many of the following photos were sent to us by Ryan Rewasiewicz as part of our Photo Hunt. They were taken in either 1975 or 1976.

Tomorrowland. STUNNING. What great nighttime views old Tomorrowland offered.

Liberty Square.

Frontierland. And the still-in-operation Diamond Horseshoe.

Adventureland. So nice at night. Look at those old signs. "Tropical Serenade" and "The Enchanted Tiki Birds". The Sunshine Pavilion, unique to Florida, was such a delight. This photo is from an old souvenir picture book.

Ahh the soothing water fountain. Excellent photo, Ryan.

Back to Main Street.

For those of you who make it through the night, this may be your view as you turn around on your way back to your car (minus the Skyway poles, of course). Also from a souvenir book.

Why will I not be there for the Leap Year all-night thing? It does sound fun but I'm going to stick with the memories of the many many all-night adventures I had over the years. Grad Nites, Y2K preparation, Hurricane ride-out crews, other work assignments, sneaking around after hours, sleeping on some old couch in the break room under Main Street.

Related posts:

THEN AND NOW: MK Tomorrowland [Part 1]
If This Doesn't Scare You.....
Magic Kingdom Map Found in a Main Street Wall
THEN AND NOW: MK Fantasyland [Part 1]
Atop Cinderella Castle
EYE CANDY: National Geographic Aug '63
EYE CANDY: Not Having Fun at Disneyland

It's a boy! My wife gave birth to our first child this week. She and the baby are doing very well. While discussing various details of "changing bodies", my mother-in-law pulled up this gem and shared interesting memories of watching this Walt Disney Production in middle school.

Take a look some never-before-posted photos of the Florida Orange Bird. Join us in our hunt for additional photos. We know they’re out there!

We’ve had a blast looking at all the great photos people have sent in as part of our Photo Hunt. We were thrilled to receive the following three photos of the Orange Bird costumed character in Adventureland. Notice the two different costumes. One with a smooth head and one with a

We are excited to bring to you this stunning example of "Backyard Imagineering". Alex George, a reader of our blog, engineered a way to bring these miniature Main Street Electrical Parade floats to life. He also takes us on a behind-the-scenes look at his innovative two-year process.

Alex shares:

It was the fall of 2009 when I decided to mechanize a miniature Main Street Electrical Parade. I was collecting the Olszewski Main Street miniatures, including the Electrical Parade floats, when I thought how neat it would be to see the floats traveling down Main Street. I soon realized though, that simply moving the floats wouldn't be enough. There should be a sense of “show”, and so the parade would need to enter and exit Main Street to its musical score, then remain queued off stage until the next performance.

Thus began a two-year trek of attraction design and construction of miniature proportion. I'm an artist, not an engineer – so there was a lot of research needed to design the mechanics. I considered a number of ways to transport the floats using preexisting toy tracks and even motorized curtain rails, but ultimately I settled on a chain and sprocket system of my own design. Adding to the complexity was an electrical contact system to light the floats, and new computer-controlled LEDs that make the floats twinkle and cycle through designated colors.

The completed production resides in a low-sitting table which hides the mechanics as well as the parade when it's between shows. It's a lot of fun putting on the parade for guests, and even those who aren't dedicated Disneyland fans seem genuinely charmed by the show. In my own small way, I think I might know the pleasure felt by the creators of the actual parade when they saw their work enjoyed by audiences at Disneyland.

So take a glimpse at the Main Street Electrical Parade in Miniature, and check out the making-of short for highlights of how it came together.
 

Behind-the-Scenes

The chain system

Adding building supports

Several mock ups of the road, made from painstaking measurements, ensured that the slot defining the parade path would be perfectly aligned with the chain below.

Partial landscaping

After months of testing, the wiring that powers the floats began to break from flexing. The chain has been pulled here, and completely refitted with a far more flexible wire specifically designed for robotics and animatronics. There are four wires: two for power and two for network communication to the LEDs.

A backstage view as the floats make their way up to Main Street.

 
More on the artist at: By George, I Think You've Got It.

A huge thanks to Alex George for contacting us with his spectacular achievement. This is the kind of thing that excites us to no end. Tell your friends!

Related posts:

Swiss Family Treehouse Model
Disneyland Skyway in Your Backyard?
Buena Vista Street Model
The Wonders of Nature's Wonderland [ PART 2 ]
Mars and Beyond Robot
Disneyland 1955 Model Close-ups
A Look at the Progress City Model- Then and Now

Let's look at some wonderful old signs in Tomorrowland that are no longer with us. Some of these signs rarely, if ever, show up in photos anywhere. Each of these photos were sent to us through our Photo Hunt. Thanks everyone for sharing!

Magic Kingdom

Above, Katherine Amante shares this great Space Mountain entrance sign taken sometime between 1982 and 1985. Look at those rad 80s stripes and colors.

This next photo from Shaun Ortolano shows the same sign with an earlier paint design on the wall behind it. This was taken in 1982.

Here Ryan Rewasiewicz shares a similar view that includes that great RCA signage on the pillar with the astronauts.

I was thrilled when Dan Zuccarelli sent in this 1985 photo of the Space Bar Hosted by Wise sign. I've never seen a close-up photo of this sign. Today the location is called the Launching Pad. Disney by Mark (great blog) shares an early look at Disneyland's Space Bar. The two Space Bars were very different in design but served similar purposes.

I was ecstatic when David West Reynolds sent this Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars photo. It's always exciting to see both the old and new versions of a ride featured in the same photograph. Flight to the Moon closed and Mission to Mars took its place during the summer of 1975, just a few months after Space Mountain opened. Making this photo even more priceless, the story of the 11-year-old lad in the photo. He ended up working on Mars probe missions for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

©DWR This photo is not authorized for free general public use by request of its owner.

Remember Mickey's Mart in Tomorrowland? Today it's Mickey’s Star Traders and couldn't look more different. Mexsana makes sun car products and medicated powders and such. You'll notice Coppertone got equal billing on this sign.

Next we get four old signs in one photo. A large WEDWay PeopleMover sign (left), the classy white Carousel of Progress sign (center), part of the If You could Fly sign with a seagull on it (right) and the Space Bar sign we saw earlier (lower left)– this time with a different face and sponsor. Anyone know the sponsor?

Disneyland

Anna-Marie Villegas shares this beautiful Disneyland PeopleMover shot. The rotating blue sign had the Goodyear logo on one side and the PeopleMover logo on the other. It's said that the PeopleMover logo was designed to resemble that of Goodyear, using a similar typeface.

Ray Osburn sends this view of both rotating Goodyear signs– one in front of the tower, one in back. Notice the one in back is hanging. Then there's one of the Coca-Cola signs that adorned Tomorrowland for so many years.

At some point the diamondy-shaped rotating signs became rectangles. I'm not certain as to why. You'll see this in the following two photos from Connie Moreno. It looks like this first one was taken form a Skyway bucket.

Related post:

THEN AND NOW: MK Tomorrowland [Part 1]
Carousel of Progress Like You’ve Never Seen It
A Look at the Progress City Model- Then and Now
THEN AND NOW: Disneyland [Part 1]
Revisiting Early Space Mountain... Sort Of
America Sings
Disneyland Skyway in Your Backyard?

Just under a month ago we posted some never-before-shared images of the fan-favorite Florida Orange Bird. It was said that we doubled the number of Orange Bird photos on the web. Even if that were true, today all of that changed. Not only has Disney been generous enough to share lots of un-seen history... they returned the original Orange Bird figure to its home in Magic Kingdom's Sunshine Tree Terrace!

Photo courtesy of Chief and Fresh Roasted Corn.

A D23 mini-event was held this morning and fans were not disappointed. Disney could have released a plastic Orange Bird button and we fans would have been pleased. But they went much further. SADLY none of us here were able to attend. We invited friend of the blog Chief to go in our place. Great images and details from Chief are found over at Fresh Roasted Corn. Something to note: The word "Florida" doesn't seem to be used anymore as part of the "Orange Bird" title.

To add to the killer merchandise and beautiful new Sunshine Tree Terrace decor, a great video was released about how the return of all this orange goodness came about. From this "D23 Presents Armchair Archivists: The Orange Bird" video (watch below), we bring you the following images.

Video of the costumed Orange Bird interacting with guest... EATING CITRUS SWIRL.

Look in the background!! A shot of the animatronic bird. Until hours ago only one other photo existed online. 

How wonderful is this old photo of a Sunshine Tree Terrace cast member. Check out the Orange Bird cups and those great old cash registers. Is that a Florida Orange Juice logo on his shirt?? The same one seen on the sticker above? Fun.

Oh those wonderful yellow and orange umbrellas, tables, and chairs. Hey Baloo. Who's that on the far left? King Louie? Check out the "Traders of Timbuktu" sign on the right.

The animatronic Orange Bird!!! In speaking with my pal Hoot Gibson a number of times in the last couple of days I learned a many things about this. Apparently the original 1971 figure was static but stood on a moving swing. This is the same figure restored and reinstalled as part of today's event. Shortly after, a robotic version on a "perch" (below) replaced the swinging bird. This version moved his little leaf wings and his head. Soooo... could there be another Orange Bird out there collecting dust?? Let's hope Hoot shares more on the subject. (Did you know Hoot is largely responsible for increased Orange Bird awareness in recent years? Along with Mike Lee of Widen Your World).

Our Twitter pal Jason Grandt played a huge part in the whole project. Here he shares a little about the restoration of that cute little 1971 original Orange Bird figure which was discovered in a drawer at WDI Glendale!

I believe Kevin Kidney found these shots of the original sculpt. How great is this??

And some behind-the-scenes scenic work. Looks like the scenic shop at the Hollywood Studios backlot.

Even legend Richard Sherman joined in on the action, helping the "MeloD23 Singers" sing a couple of Orange Bird songs that he and his late brother wrote. He also shares some history.

Thanks Melody Dale for hosting. Thanks Steven Vagnini for the history lessons.

Hooray for Becky Cline (Walt Disney Archives Director).

Special contributors the the video include: Richard Sherman, Kevin Kidney, Walt Disney Imagineering, Diego Parras, Jason Grant, Dave Hoffman, the MeloD23 Singers, Jim Wilber, Marshall Bowen, and others. Thanks gang.

Sticker image from Sam Howzit. 

Video footage of today's event by Lou Mongello can be found here.

Images ©Disney.

Related posts:

Florida Orange Bir [Part 1]
THEN AND NOW: MK Adventureland [Part 1]
Frito Kid and Deeee-licious Fritos!
Frito Kid Mysteries Continue
Swiss Family Treehouse Model
Magic Kingdom at Night
Magic Kingdom Map Found in a Main Street Wall

Today we go behind-the-scenes to look at the figure-finishing process of Pirates of the Caribbean animatronic figures.

Animatronic figures are maintained on the inside by Engineers in the Engineering Services department. On the outside they are maintained by Figure Finishers, Show Artists, members of the Artist Prep department, Creative Costumers, etc. Ultimately Walt Disney Imagineering is responsible for the show standards of all AA figures. Let’s look at the process.

A pirate is sent to the shop on a trailer, truck, palette, or golf cart to be stripped down. Less prominent figures can be removed from an attraction without being immediately replaced. In theory...

Main Street, U.S.A, Magic Kingdom

Let’s go deep into the famous Haunted Mansion ballroom to spy on a few ghosts. Marc Davis designed this part of the ballroom to feature various ghosts entering the party from a coffin and hearse outside the mansion. See Part 1 here.

We go behind the scenes to see some of the process. Some ghost figures in these photos have their paint, clothing, props, and/or hair stripped off. You’ll notice these figures are mounted to a carousel-like structure.

This ship captain (not found in Marc’s concept) has a famous counterpart in Pirates of the Caribbean... the auctioneer!

Legendary Disney sculptor Blaine Gibson sculpted a number of human heads for Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents, etc. Many of the same heads were used in multiple places. Blaine is also known for sculpting the Walt and Mickey Partners statue. Before working at W.E.D he did animation and special effects work on many of Disney’s classic animated features.

This fella can also be seen in the graveyard scene. Looks like his twin needs some serious refurbing (at least when this photo was taken). Across the river his same head can be spotted again in the blacksmith shop at Fort Langhorn, Tom Sawyer Island.

My oh my. This nice lady’s head makes another appearance in the very same room... but as a man. Old Caesar’s ghost sitting at the table has the very same headskin. She can also be seen in the line of wenches in pirates and other places.

Nearby grandmother reads a book in her rocking chair.

Look familiar?? Now we know where the Carousel of Progress Grandma ends up after she kicks the bucket.

A few of the ghost figures above got their start in this Marc Davis concept art. Although the horses were never added to this scene, a tipped coffin is clearly visible today. The butler with the guest list and the hearse driver never made scene either.

When lit correctly, the revolving ghosts don't appear to revolve in a complete circle. Only a portion of the circle gets light, leaving the rest of the circle invisible to guests looking down from their Doombuggies. This gives the illusion of a never-ending line of ghosts entering the room.

Related posts:

The Haunted Mansion Like You've Never Seen It [Part 1]
ABANDONED DISNEY: Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts
Pirates of the Caribbean Like You've Never Seen It
Carousel of Progress Like You’ve Never Seen It
THEN AND NOW: Liberty Square [Part 1]
I Miss Paul Frees
Little Box of Treasures

Disneyland, U.S.A.

Walt Disney walked just about everywhere in Disneyland. We set out to find some of the exact locations he stood while being photographed...

We've got a bit of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad love for everyone. This marvelous 1/4" = 1' scale model can be seen in the lobby of the "Frontierland Tower" at the Disneyland Hotel. It's the wildest model in the wilderness!

Adventureland, Magic Kingdom 

Related posts:

THEN AND NOW: MK Adventureland [Part 1]
THEN AND NOW: Liberty Square
THEN AND NOW: MK Tomorrowland
THEN AND NOW: MK Fantasyland
THEN AND NOW: Walt at Disneyland
THEN AND NOW: Disneyland

We present a new navigation tab labeled "VINTAGE PHOTOS". This is where we'll share photos sent by you as part of our Photo Hunt. A couple times per week we will share a few photos and a few related thoughts. Our "BLOG" tab will continue to host our regular more detailed posts.

For TODAY ONLY! Check back each hour, on the hour, to see if somethin' new is posted. We will post multiple sets of photos throughout the day.

Sample photos: 

Related post:

Photo Hunt!
Photo Hunt Update
Imaaaaaagination
Signs of the Times: Tomorrowland
Florida Orange Bird
THEN AND NOW: Epcot Future World [Part 1]

 
Yesterday my grandfather told me his good friend worked for Disney during the Florida construction. Of course I immediately asked if his friend took photos or filmed anything while there. No solid answer yet. We’ll see if we locate anything. For now, we'll enjoy these rare professional black and white construction photos.

Related posts:

WDW Before Opening Day 1971
EPCOT Construction from the Air
EPCOT Center Construction Photos: Future World
Magic Kingdom at Night
Magic Kingdom Map Found in a Main Street Wall
Walt Disney and the Santa Maria Railroad