Think Disney

Autopia Restoration

2012-06-29T09:25:00.001-07:00

The most popular post on my blog is the one featuring the classic Disneyland opening day attraction Autopia. Autopia has been an attraction that has faced the test of time has has been the must ride attraction for many kids and adults. Since Autopia has been around now for 57 years it has needed many updates on the vehicles as they sooner or later start to become outdated. But what happens to the old Autopia cars the Disney doesn't use anymore? Well many of things can happen to those vehicles. For instance Disney can give them to employees who want one, but there are so many cars that most of them just get sent to the landfill or the recycling yard. It is a sad but true story as most of us Disney lovers would cry to hear a fate like that as most of us would love to have one of those cars to drive around our back yard, but the actual chances of a regular person being able to own an Autopia car is just about impossible. Except for a person whose name is Shaun. One day while I was looking through my email I spotted an email address that I've never seen before but the subject bar said Original Autopia Mark VI. I was immediately interested and what I was surprised to see was that this guy actually found an Autopia car (I don't know exactly where or how, but it looks like at a house that would be found on the show American Pickers). He is now currently restoring it, because it has seen way too much weather and very little love where it previously was, and it is turning out very nice. He has sent me pictures of his car and I was so moved and amazed by this I had to share it with the other Disneygeeks out there. Below are pictures of the car when he first found it.

It looked pretty rough didn't it? Well look where he currently is on his restoration job below.

That is quite a beautiful car and it would make any Disney fan jealous so keep up the good work Shaun.

(Photo above is from the amazing blog GORILLAS DON'T BLOG)

Now I am going to give a brief history on the Mark VI Autopia car. Autopia as you may not know is an opening day attraction at Disneyland, opening July 17, 1955. Autopia is located in Tomorrowland above The Submarine Voyage and right next to The Disneyland Railroad. Autopia is the most changed attraction in all of Disney history and if you want to learn more about the attraction please visit my Autopia post here http://thinkdisney.blogspot.com/2010/05/autopia.html. Now the Mark VI cars were introduced to the track in 1964 and were a huge design change from the previous Mark I, II, III, IV, and V cars that basically kept the same look. Also the Mark VI car was the fist car to run along the famous and infamous central guide that was installed in 1965 and still remains there today in every incarnation of the ride around the world. Below are pictures of the Mark VI car in Disneyland.

Buena Vista Street Update!

2012-04-17T10:50:00.002-07:00

This June Disney California Adventure Park guest will finally be able to walk down Buena Vista Street which is a replica of what Walt Disney saw when he first came to Los Angeles in 1923. Everyone is excited to see this new land completed and to be able to ride the vintage streetcars to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Below is a awesome video showing a little info on the beautiful murals that guest will see at tthe base of the Carthay Circle Theatre.

A Muppet's Fantasy

2012-04-13T09:32:00.004-07:00

Disney released a cool video of a interview with Pepe the King Prawn aboard the Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship. The interview is about the Midship Detective Agency game on the ship staring no other but The Muppets.

And if you haven't already, buy Disney's "The Muppets" on Blu Ray, DVD, Itunes, or Amazon. It truly is a great movie! Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 96% rating, which is the highest of any Muppet film. It also is the first Muppet film to receive an Academy Award for Best Original Song "Man or Muppet"

Disneyland Paris is Now 20!

2012-04-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 20th birthday/anniversary of Disneyland Paris which opened way back on April 12, 1992. It is amazing that 20 years went by so fast, especially since I am the same age as the park. Happy Birthday Disneyland Paris Resort, and have a great many years to come!

Below is a series of really awesome videos celebrating the 20 strong years of the resort made by parksmania.

Plus the 20th anniversary opening ceremony.

The Muppets

2012-04-11T10:23:00.002-07:00

"Hello Here" I am planning on doing a longer post based on the Muppet*Vision 3D attraction located in Disney's Hollywood Studios and in Disney California Adventure. You should see this post in the coming weeks.

Blue Sky Cellar Cars Land

2012-04-10T11:36:00.001-07:00

Disney just released not to long ago a video of "The Road to Cars Land" update that they did in the Blue Sky Cellar at the end of February in Disney California Adventure. Take a look and be amazed! Cars Land will be opening June 15, 2012.

Walt Disney World Avengers Monorail

2012-04-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Disney recently released a video showing off the new skin on the Walt Disney World Monorails promoting the new film Avengers. Avengers will be based off the comic book series of the same name by Marvel Comics, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. This is the first glimpse of Disney incorporating the Marvel name into it's theme parks (which we will see more in the future). The film is expected to come to theatres May 4.

Some New DCA Red Car Trolley Photos!

2012-03-29T09:40:00.001-07:00

Disney has just release some really awesome photos of the new Red Car Trolley attraction that will be winding its way down Hollywood Pictures Backlot (which will soon become Hollywood Land) and the new Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure Park. The photos were taken by the Disneyland Chief Photographer Paul Hiffmeyer, and the attraction is set to open on June 15 with the rest of Buena Vista Street.

Get ready for a Mad T Party!

2012-03-27T12:19:00.001-07:00

Move over Electronica because Wonderland will now be taking over Disney California Adventure starting June 15.

The Mad T Party is going to be the new night time experience that will take over the Hollywood Pictures Backlot section of DCA, and man does it look hoppin. Here are some sketches of the new costumes we will see as we take a trip down the rabbit hole.

Some Unique Points

2012-03-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Disney has been making a series of videos called Unique Points and they are fantastic. Here are three of there videos which feature The Main Street Omnibus, The E. P. Ripley, and The Mark Twain Riverboat.

Some Beautiful Posters of The New Barnstormer

2012-03-27T12:04:00.004-07:00

So there was a soft opening for the new Storybook Circus section of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom park in Walt Disney World. The section was met with great reviews by guest. The older Goofy's Barnstormer attraction that used to be in Mickey's Toontown Fair has now received a face lift to fit into the circus theme so now it is The Barnstormer featuring Goofy as the Great Goffini. Disney has just released the new attraction posters that will be seen in Storybook Circus and man they look great. If you are a big Disney fan you will be able to recognize some scenes in these posters from various Goofy cartoons.

Plus here is a awesome video from "Inside The Magic" giving a tour of the new Storybook Circus section of Fantasyland.

Some new videos of Cars Land at DCA

2012-03-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

Disney has release some new videos of Cars Land. The first one is of Flo's V8 Cafe where it shows a time lapsed camera of the installation of the 27 foot tall neon sign. The second video gives a sneak peek of the new E Ticket attraction Radiator Springs Racers.

Walt Disney World's Florida Orange Bird is Back!

2011-02-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

The Disney Parks Blog said that the old Florida Orange Bird that sponsored Disney World's version of The Tiki Room called "Tropical Serenade" has returned to the parks, the article is listed below.

"Do you remember the Florida Orange Bird?

This unique character, who appeared exclusively at Magic Kingdom Park in the 1970s, recently reappeared on new T-shirts available at Epcot."

"The Florida Orange Bird originally greeted families at Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland, where guests could buy frozen citrus drinks and shop for Florida Orange Bird merchandise. The character also starred in orange juice commercials and even had his own record, which was released in 1971 to feature “The Orange Bird Song” – a tune penned by the Sherman Brothers (composers of “Mary Poppins” and “The Jungle Book” songs)."

"Although the character disappeared from the park by 1981, Florida Orange Bird merchandise has been a popular collectible among Disney fans for years."

So I am really happy to see a historic Disney icon come back to the parks.

The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure Update!

2011-01-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a update video released by Disney on the Disney Parks Blog about the new Little Mermaid attraction coming this year to Disney California Adventure. I am really excited to see this.

Star Tours

2011-01-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

I decided to make a post about Star Tours because it will truly be missed by many Disneyland fans, even though the excitement for Star Tours II: The Adventures Continue is lingering in all of our minds. The ride that became Star Tours first saw light as a proposal for an attraction based on the 1979 Disney live-action film The Black Hole. It would have been an interactive ride simulator attraction, where guests would have had the ability to choose the ride car's route, but after preliminary planning, the Black Hole attraction was shelved due to its enormous cost—approximately $50 million USD—as well as the unpopularity of the film itself.

But instead of completely dismissing the idea of a simulator, the company decided to make use of a partnership between Disney and George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, that began in 1986 with the opening of Captain EO (a 3-D musical film starring Michael Jackson) at the California park. Disneyland then approached Lucas with the idea for Star Tours. With Lucas' approval, Disney Imagineers purchased four military-grade flight simulators at a cost of $500,000 each and designed the ride structure.

Meanwhile, Lucas and his team of special effects technicians at Industrial Light & Magic produced the first-person perspective film that would be projected inside the simulators. When both simulator and film were completed, a programmer then sat inside and, with the aid of a joystick, manually synchronized the movement of the simulator with the apparent movement on screen. On January 9, 1987, at a final cost of $32 million, almost twice the cost of building the entire park in 1955, the ride opened to throngs of patrons, many of whom dressed up as Star Wars characters for the occasion. In celebration, Disneyland remained open for a special 60-hour marathon from January 9, 1987 at 10 am to January 11, 1987 at 10 pm.

Advertised as "The Ultimate Star Wars Adventure!", Star Tours puts the guest in the role of a space tourist en route to the forest moon of Endor, the site of the climactic battle of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, via the Star Tours travel agency. Much is made of this throughout the ride queue, which is designed to look like a spaceship boarding terminal: posters advertise voyages to different planets, and a giant screen informs riders of the benefits of going to Endor. This area is stocked with Audio-Animatronic characters that seem to speak to the ride patrons (including C-3PO and R2-D2), as well as a life-size mock-up of a StarSpeeder 3000, the fictional spacecraft which riders are about to board. According to the book Disneyland Detective by Kendra Trahan, the figures of C-3PO and R2-D2 in the Disneyland attraction are actual props from the original film, modified to operate via Audio-Animatronics.

Guests then enter a maintenance area where an apparently under productive G2 droid performs repairs on another droid while being distracted by the observing guests, and another droid inadvertently points out all the supposed flaws of the Starspeeder 3000 and its RX pilots. The G2 droids are in fact the animatronic skeletons of two geese from the defunct Tomorrowland attraction America Sings. A ride attendant escorts guests to one of several loading stations where they wait for their turn to ride.

At the end of the ride guest unload from the Starspeeder and go into The Star Trader shop.

Below is a blueprint of Star Tours showing how the queue and ride vehicles fit into the building, and a video of Star Tours.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Every Disney Resort except Hong Kong Disneyland has a version of Star Tours. All of the rides are the same but the buildings and queues vary a little. In Disney's Hollywood Studios the outside of the ride looks like a movie set of the planet Endor. The queue is almost the same as Disneyland's except the very entrance of the building has some chairs for the actors and some filming equipment. The store at the end of the ride is called Tatooine Traders. The Star Tours in Disney's Hollywood Studios opened on Sept. 7, 1989.

Below is a video of Disney's Hollywood Studio's version of Star Tours. This was taken during the final flight ceremony, so this was the last day of flights before the attraction closed.

Tokyo Disneyland

The Star Tours in Tokyo Disneyland opened on July 12, 1989 and was actually the second Star Tours to open (almost two months before Disney's Hollywood Studios's version). The ride building looks like a building that one would see in a Star Wars movie, and the queue has more detail to it than the American versions of the ride. Also this version of Star Tours has audio in both Japanese and English.

At the end of the ride you will see Officer Zzzyxx and he mans what looks like a futuristic baggage screening desk outside of Star Tours at Tokyo Disneyland. He bears an uncanny resemblance to Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Rays in Walt Disney World. According to HiddenMickeys.org, he was first developed for Tokyo Disneyland then re-used (and modified) for the Orlando park.

Below are a couple videos of Tokyo's Star Tours. The first video is the queue, the second is of the safty pre-boarding video, and the third video is the ride.

Disneyland Paris

The Star Tours in Disneyland Paris was the only Star Tours to be an opening day attraction on April 12, 1992. The ride building looks like a Star Wars space information receiver and it has a replica of an X-Wing Fighter out front. The queue is very similar to the one found in California's Disneyland.

Below are two videos. The first one is the pre-board, and the second one is the ride.

If you have ever wondered how the motion simulators worked below is behind scene footage of the simulators for Star Tours in Disneyland Paris.

The Disney Dream

2010-11-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

The DisneyParks Blog has posted some new videos of The Disney Dream cruise ship so I decided to make a small post about it. The cruise ship will start it's voyages on January 26, 2011. Also The Disney Dream is 40% larger than it's two older sister ships, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, with a design gross tonnage of 128,000 tons, a length of 330 meters and a width of 37 meters. Also the Disney Dream will have wi-fi throughout the ship, and every one of it's 1,250 staterooms will have flat screened TVs. The ship will also feature the first water coaster at sea, called "The Aquaduck". The Disney Dream is 45,000 tons larger, 5 decks higher (3 passenger decks), 151 feet longer, it's beam is 15 ft wider, it will hold up to 4,000 passengers (over 1,600 more than its sister ships), and has 555 more crew members than the Disney Magic, and Disney Wonder.

Here is a video of The AquaDuck

Snow White Grotto

2010-11-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Disneyland

Snow White's Grotto is located on the west side of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. The grotto is comprised of statues of Snow White, the seven dwarves, and a few woodland creatures. Snow White is standing at the top of a cascading waterfall. There is a bridge and walkway in front of the waterfall as well as a wishing well (the proceeds of which go to local children's charities).The statues were donated anonymously to Walt Disney, and he was determined to incorporate them into the park. The only problem was that whoever made the statues made Snow White the same size as the dwarves (which she is not). Walt Disney Imagineer John Hench used the optical trick of forced perspective to make the statues work. He put Snow White at the top of the waterfall with a Disney-made small deer and put the dwarves close to ground-level, making Snow appear to be further away, and thus smaller.One rumor as to the origin of the statues is that they were "a gift from an Italian sculptor that had never seen the film, but owned a set of soaps in the form of the princess and the dwarfs. Unfortunately, Snow White was the same size as the dwarfs in the soap set, so the sculptor made her that way." Singing was added to the grotto inside the wishing well on 1984 with the opening of new Fantasyland, and it is the voice of Adriana Castelotti the original voice of Snow White.

Tokyo Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland

World of Color

2010-06-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

The new World of Color water show in Disney California Adventure has opened on June 11, 2010, and let be tell you it is extremely amazing. It was designed by the Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, and the show has more than 1200 fountains which includes lasers, lights, and fire. Also there are high-definition projections on mist screens similar to the ones used in Fantasmic! at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The music for the show was arranged by Mark Hammond and Dave Hamilton. The show is around 27 minutes long and you may get wet while you are watching it. The show was named after Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV show and the water show has scenes from different Disney movies and shows. Also there was a new viewing area made called Paradise Park and it is stunningly beautiful. The pictures below are courtesy of Disneygeek.

Below is a video of the World of Color.

Silly Symphony Swings

2010-05-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

There is a new attraction in California Adventure called Silly Symphony Swings. It is a "wave swinger" attraction located on Paradise Pier. The attraction is themed to the Disney's The Band Concert episode, there Mickey Mouse conductor stands high atop of the attraction, which synchronized with music. Although "The Band Concert" was not part of the 'Silly Symphonies' film series, the name was applied to the attraction due to its apparent symphony storyline. Closely following the plot of "The Band Concert" the main column of the ride rises revealing a tornado which spins the riders to the tune of the William Tell Overture and William Tell's "Storm". Once the tornado safely passes, the music comes to an end and the ride slows and lowers riders to the ground. It is speculated that the new voice of the Silly Symphony Swings is that of the fictitious Mr. Tinkershmidt, the supposed new owner of Paradise Pier. Tinkershmidt and the Silly Symphony Swings update is part of the multi-year, $1.1 billion (US) expansion plan for Disney's California Adventure Park. Below are pictures and vidoe of the attraction.

Controversial Disney?

2010-05-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have never done a post that wasn't about a Disney theme park but here is a article about controversial
Disney characters below.

http://graphicdesigndegrees.org/10-disney-characters-who-stirred-up-controversy/

I don't believe that the Disney company tried to make harmful or racial tensions, but these characters just reflect the mindset of the period of time the movies were made. Think for yourself and comment on my page.

Autopia

2010-05-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Autopia is an original Disneyland attraction that opened on July 17, 1955. The attraction is located in Tomorrowland and it was made to show the future of America's freeway system which were just being made at the time Disneyland first opened.

When the attraction was being made they tried not having bumpers on the cars, but the test drivers soon found out that the shells on the cars would be destroyed if the cars did not have bumpers on them. The original cars were made in Glendale California and the cars shells were (and still are) made out of fiberglass. The 40 original cars were powered by the Gladden 75 engine that had 7.5 horsepower. The engines were the same as the ones used in the Mustang motorcycle. Also amazingly when the attraction opened it did not have the center guide rail system that we love to hate, but still love anyway. The attraction was made to actually feel like driving a car on a freeway, but to many people were crashing on the course so they installed spring loaded bumpers to the cars and the center guide rail. The attraction has received some major changes in 1967 and in 1999.

The Autopia in Tomorrowland was not the only Autopia like ride in the park. On Jun 23, 1956 the Junior Autopia opened in Fantasyland where the old Mickey Mouse Club Circus used to be. The cars looked the same as the original Autopia but booster seats and blocks on the pedals were added so that younger kids could drive them. The attraction later closed on September 15, 1958 because they had to make room for the Matterhorn bobsleds and the Monorail. The attraction was changed and later reopened back up again on January 1, 1959 as the expanded Fantasyland Autopia. The Fantasyland Autopia was across the way from the Matterhorn and it was almost identical to the Tomorrowland Autopia having two tracks and a double sided boarding area with senic routes, going over bridges and cloverleafs. At times the Fanastyland Autopia and the Tomorrowland Autopia came together to make Tomorrowland's four-lane superhighway.

Below is a picture of Fantasyland Autopia.

In 1991 the Fantasyland Autopia was converted to the Rescue Rangers Raceway because of the Disney's Afternoon Avenue makeover in Fantasyland. The attraction changed back into the the Fantasyland Autopia when the promotion ended in 1992. The Fantasyland Autopia remained mostly open until 1999 when both the Tomorrowland and Fantasyland Autopias closed. In 2000 the two Autopias merged to become on gigantic Autopia presented by Chevron in Tomorrowland with a whole new selection of cars.

But wait there's more! If you were still to short to drive Tomorrowland's Autopia and the Junior/Fantasyland Autopia then you could ride the Midget Autopia. The Midget Autopia opened on April 23, 1957 and was next to the Storybook Land Canal Boats in Fantasyland. The Midget Autopia was unique compared to the other Autopias because instead of the person behind the wheel being the driver it used the same ride system that we can find in Mr. Toad's Wild ride. This was the third and the smallest of the Autopias in Disneyland and the ride would go through barns and other farm like themed areas. The attraction closed on April of 1966 to make room for the pathway that leads to "it's a small world". The Midget Autopia did not get destroyed however, but instead Walt Disney donated the ride to his hometown of Marceline, Missouri were it operated for a couple years but had to be closed down because of high maintenance cost. You can still find one of the cars inside the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline, but if you can not travel to Missouri don't worry because you can still see one of the Midget Autopia cars painted to look like a statue on Autopia in Disneyland.

Below are pictures of where the Midget Autopia used to be located in Marceline, MO. You can still see where the track, tunnel, and queue were.

Here is one of the Midget Autopia cars in the Walt Disney Hometown Museum.

Also below is a actual Midget Autopia car still located in Disneyland on Tomorrowland's Autopia.

Below is a video of Autopia.

Tomorrowland Speedway

Every Disneyland style theme park has a version of the original Autopia. In the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort there version is called the Tomorrowland Speedway. When the Magic Kingdom first opened in 1971 the attraction was called the Grand Prix Raceway, and instead of it being themed as the roadways of the future it was themed as a international car race. The Grand Prix Raceway was located on the north end of Tomorrowland and was sponsored by Goodyear which supplied all of the tires for the Mark VII vehicles.

The attraction received a expansion in 1973, but in the late 1980's part of the track was shortened to make room for Mickey's Birthdayland. In 1994 the attraction got remodeled with the rest of Tomorrowland, and the named changed to Tomorrowland Indy Speedway but the track and the vehicles remained the same. On December 20, 1999, the Walt Disney Company and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway cam together to change the theme of the track. The ride was changed to add items from the famous Speedway, such as the famous Yard of Bricks, the Scoring Pylon, Gasoline Alley and the wheel and wing logo. The loading area featured panels with the three Indy events: the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 and the United States Grad Prix. In 2008 the name of the attraction changed again to the Tomorrowland Speedaway, but the ride remained unchanged.

Below is a video of the Tomorrowland Speedway.

Grand Circuit Raceway

Tokyo Disneyland's is called the Grand Circuit Raceway and it opened with the park in 1983 in Tomorrowland. The attraction is sponsored by Bridgestone and has remained mostly untouched since the park opened. The Grand Circuit Raceway is like the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland Raceway, the attraction has multiple racing tracks and it is a large figure eight type course.

Below is a video of the Grand Circuit Raceway.

Disneyland Paris's Autopia

Disneyland Paris's Autopia opened with Euro Disneyland on April 12, 1992. The attraction is located in Discoveryland and it uses the same theming as Disneyland's Autopia. The scenery though is unique to this ride and the cars feature a more rounded toy-like look to them to fit with the 1950's retro theme of the attraction. The ride is about 7-9 minutes long.

Below is a video of the attraction.

Hong Kong Disneyland's Autopia

The Autopia in Hong Kong is the only Autopia themed attraction that did not open when the park first opened, instead it opened about one year later in the summer of 2006 as part of the park's first expansion in Tommorowland. This Autopia is very different than all of the others because it is all electric instead of gas powered, and it has lights on the cars. Also this is the only Autopia with an on board speaker system. The scenery on the attraction looks more futuristic and alien with lots of jungle plants. Hong Kong Disneyland's Autopia is sponsored by Honda.

Below is a video of the attraction.

Casey Jr. Circus Train

2010-03-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Casey Jr. Circus Train:

The Casey Jr. Circus Train is an opening day attraction of Disneyland on July 17, 1955 and is themed after Walt Disney's 1941 film Dumbo. The ride is located at the back of Fantasyland behind Dumbo The Flying Elephant and is the sister attraction of Storybook Land Canal Boats, (which opened a week later) and while on the ride you see the miniature villages but at a faster pace.

When Walt Disney was in the planning stages of his park he wanted a roller coaster ride based on Casey Jr. going down a Rock Candy Mountain, but due to lack of money and technology at the time (since steel coasters were not yet invented) The ride was change to how it is today. Below is some concept art of the attraction.

There were no miniature villages when the ride first opened there was just dirt with some common weeds growing in it (as seen in the model below) but when Storybook Canal Boats opened the attraction gained it's beauty. Most of the train cars that you sit on are the leftover seats from King Arthur Carrousel when they added more horses to it and removed the seats.

The host of the ride is the Ring Master from the movie and throughout the ride you listen to Dumbo's Casey Jr. Song. The train consist of seven cars and the ride duration is 3:30 minutes. The attractions top speed is 14 mph and it has one lift hill. The attraction has two trains but usually one works a day. Below are some pictures and a video of the ride.

Casey Jr. Le Petit Train Du Cirque:

Disneyland Paris's version of the attraction is called Casey Jr. Le Petit Du Cirque and is almost the same as Disneyland's but also different. This version of the ride is not a railroad but actually a powered roller coaster without a lift hill. Also this version goes around their Storybook Land but it gives some better views of the miniature villages that you can not see on the canal boats for example you go around the Beast's castle pretty closely.

The attraction has three trains and the ride duration is 2:30 minutes. The ride opened in 1994 two years after Disneyland Paris opened. Below are pictures and a video of this attraction.

Disney's Port Orleans Resort

2010-03-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

Disney's Port Orleans is a complex of two hotels called "Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter" and "Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside" located in Downtown Disney of the Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter:

The French Quarter hotel was themed and designed to look like the actual French Quarter down in Louisiana and it opened on May 17, 1991 as Disney's Port Orleans Resort. The hotel had 432 guest rooms separated between three buildings. The hotel later expanded to 1,008 rooms and added 7 three story tall buildings holding 144 rooms each.

The French Quarter has one food court called the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory as seen below.

If you love true New Orleans style Jazz then go to the Scat Cat's Club which on select nights features awesome sounding Jazz for your enjoyment.

By the pool there a a bar called Mardi Grogs. the pool at this hotel is called Doubloon Lagoon that holds 225,000 gallons of water and it has a water slide that looks like a sea serpent as seen blow.

Below are more pictures of Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter.

Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside:

Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside is themed to look like the mansions around the southern part of the Mississippi River. The second hotel opened on February 2, 1992 as "Disney's Dixie Landings Resort". This hotel has two sections to stay in "Alligator Bayou" which has a southern rustic theme and "Magnolia Bend" which is themed to look like plantations. Together this hotel has 2,048 rooms to stay at.

Both of the hotels share a restaurant called the Boatwright's Dining Hall which serves southern style cuisine. Boatwright's Dining Hall is flanked by River Roost lounge with a sing-along ragtime piano comedy show on select nights. Up the hall is the Riverside Mill Food Court featuring a working cotton press. There is also a pool bar called Muddy Rivers on Ol' Man Island that sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

At the Riverside hotel there is a 3 1/2 acre area called Ol' Man that has a 158,000 gallon swimming pool with a rustic saw-mill themed water slide and a hot tub in it. The island has a playground for young children to play at and if you want to do some fishing then you can at the Fishin' Hole where they have poles and bate to rent. If you want something more quite there are three other pools located around the hotel.

As of April 1, 2001 the two resorts joined to make the one "Disney's Port Orleans Resort". Also the river that the resort is on is called the Sassagoula River and one can rent boats at the Riverside area to putts around on the water.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

2010-03-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has been one of the most loved attractions in Disneyland since opening day. It is one of the few attractions that opened with the park in 1955 and it is based off the movie "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" which was released on October 5, 1949. The ride and movie are about a rich toad who loves to drive fast and wild on the new invention of automobiles. The attraction is located in the castle courtyard in Fantasyland and is below the Alice in Wonderland attraction.

When the attraction first opened as seen above it used to look like a medieval tournament castle tent like the rest of the attractions in Fantasyland. When Fantasyland was getting it's facelift in 1982 the ride was completely gutted and the Tent was torn down to make a replica of Toad Hall as the ride's new entrance, and the attraction reopen in 1983 with the rest on Fantasyland. Below are pictures of the ride in order and a video clip of the attraction.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride can now only be found at Disneyland, but once it was located in Fantasyland in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The ride was also an opening day attraction of the Magic Kingdom in 1971 and it had two sets of tracks with different experiences, but it closed on September 7, 1998 and was replaced with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction.

Below are videos of both tracks on the ride.

Alice's Curious Labyrinth

2010-02-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

Alice's Curious Labyrinth is a hedge maze at Disneyland Paris located in Fantasyland. The maze is filled with scenes from Disney's Alice in Wonderland that was released in 1951, and is mostly based on the scene when the Queen of Hearts is trying to catch Alice in the maze at the last part of the film. Alice's Curious Labyrinth has two mazes in it. The first maze has scenes from the first half of the movie before she meets the Queen, and the second maze is based on her meet and greet with the Queen of Hearts. The goal of the Labyrinth is to find the Queen of Heart's castle. Once you find the castle you can climb to the top of it and see all of Fantasyland. The castle once had a slide on it but was removed after its first year because of safety purposes. The whole Labyrinth is in the shape of the Cheshire Cat's body. The Labyrinth is an opening day attraction of Disneyland Paris Park. Below are some pictures and a video of Alice's Curious Labyrinth.