Disneyland True Short Stories: "I'm Going to Disneyland!"

 If you're as old as I am, you'll remember the famous sports stars of the moment exclaiming, "I'm going to Disneyland!" after winning the Super Bowl or World Series. That ingenious marketing idea was started in 1987 by then Disney CEO, Michael Eisner. But did you ever wonder where that idea came from? Ok, probably not, but it's a fun story. 

After completing the first ever flight around the world without stopping or refueling, Jeannie Yeager and Burt Rutan had dinner with Michael and Jane Eisner, his wife. 

At the dinner, Michael asked the aviators "What are you doing next?" To which they replied, "We're going to Disneyland." And with that, Jane turned to Michael and said, "Michael, you've got to use that."

And so it was that the next year (1987) Eisner started that marketing campaign.  

Downtown Disney During Coronavirus Restrictions October 2020

I needed to run down to Southern California to pick up a couple of Disney props I obtained from an auction so I figured we'd see what Downtown Disney was like with all the Coronavirus restrictions:

We used this coupon found on Micechat to park at the Anaheim Hotel. I had read that parking in the main Disney parking lot on the West side of the park sometimes meant waiting in line for upwards of 30 minutes at the security checkpoint so we decided to park on the East side of the Park so we could use the East side entrance.

It was truly bizarre to see this pick up/drop off location completely void of vehicles and people. Normally when we come during the summer this sidewalk can be like navigating your way through a maze.

The first of MANY covid related signs...

...and another...

...and another...

...and many more. If I didn't know better, I would have thought this virus had a 99.9% death rate, not survival rate.

There was not another single person entering or leaving on the East side (makes sense since all the hotels are basically shuttered, waiting for Disneyland to be able to open again). 

First, we had a temperature screening... 

...and then went through security. 

No wait!! I doubt we'll see this ever again once things get back to normal.

I was most excited about seeing the new Disneyland Backlot Premiere Shop which had just opened a couple of weeks before we were there.

Here's the entrance which is just on the California Adventure side (South) of the East security checkpoint.

Entering the (normally) back stage area of DCA! 

This was so cool to me to see backstage - probably even cooler than going in the new store!

And here's where you enter the store. Not the grandest of entrances, but still, it was nice to see Disney doing everything they could to get more people back to work by opening this store despite all the restrictions being placed on them.

My first look inside the store...

The merchandise isn't unique to this store but it was nice to have another area to shop to help disperse the crowds.

Here's a look at where you checkout. The switchbacks were not needed this day.

Now off to the esplanade!

I was kindly, but firmly reprimanded after taking this photo by one of the cast members because I took off my mask. I understand why she had to do it but, as you can see, there wasn't another person within 50 yards of me. A little common sense goes a long way in times like these...

Here's a look toward Disneyland from the esplanade. Anyone that's been to Disneyland in the past 10 years knows how eerie this is - not a single person in the whole view of the camera! 

This was as close as I was allowed to get to Disneyland. It was roped off at this point.

Here's a look back toward California Adventure.

I was able to go right up to the exit at DCA. Here's a look inside. This area actually opened for shopping and dining in November (although the dining has now been banned in the area by California so only food pick-up is currently available as of December).

Although there were lines to get into each store (Disneyland has been forced to implement operational capacity restrictions at it's retail locations), the lines weren't too long and we only waited for about 5-10 minutes to get into the few stores we went to. It was actually nice to be able to pleasantly walk through the World of Disney Store without feeling like a packed sardine! Here's a look at the line to
Pin Traders.  

It was a short, but fun visit that will have to hold us over until Disneyland is allowed to open next year.

Disneyland True Short Stories: Wally Boag and the Golden Horseshoe Review

Wally Boag opened the Golden Horseshoe Review on July 17, 1955 - Disneyland's opening day. Actually, his first performance at the Golden Horseshoe was 2 days before that for Walt's Wedding Anniversary.  His amazing career at Disneyland spanned 27 years in which he did 5 performances a day.

Wally was also know for his creativity and being able to ad-lib when needed. On one occasion when Wally's second 5 year contract was up, Walt was in his box (stage left, up stairs) with the Indian Chief and some of the Indians from the Indian Village taking in a show.


In Wally's words:

"I had saved my 'hair gag' so that I could say, 'All right...put down your hatchet...I'll save you the trouble.' I threw my hair down there in front of them...and Walt just fell apart, laughing so hard. After the show was over, I went over and talked to him and he said, 'By the way, you're up for a new contract...don't forget to ask for more money!' You know, that was great."

Disney is its Own Worst Enemy

Disney officially announced today that they will be re-theming the extremely popular Splash Mountain Attraction into a Princess and the Frog attraction due to the racial undertones of the movie Song of the South that characters on the Splash Mountain Attraction are based after.

Let's lay everything out on the table. No one thinks that the attraction is racist or that any of the characters on the attraction are racist. The problem is that in today's society there is a narrative being pushed that the movie that the attraction is based on is racist (I've included a very interesting perspective on that below). But none of the alleged racist parts of the movie are included anywhere on the attraction. In fact, Splash Mountain is one of the most happy, fun-loving attractions in all of Disneyland.

So Disney wants to replace one of the most happy, fun-loving attractions with an attraction based on one of the darkest Disney movies since The Black Cauldron. My kids leave Splash Mountain singing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and "How Do You Do?" for the rest of the day. They won't even watch The Princess and the Frog because they don't like the scariness/darkness of it.

One of the reason's Galaxy's Edge was a flop in the beginning was the lack of music in the area compared with the rest of Disneyland. The music from Song of the South is happy, energizing, upbeat, and catchy - a perfect fit for Disneyland. The music from Princess and the Frog - blah.

This will end up being a disaster for Disney if they actually go through with this. Changing out one of the most beloved attractions and replacing it with a dark, uninspiring theme? What is Disney thinking? They are becoming their own worst enemy. Clearly the wrong people are making the decisions for Disney right now.

*As mentioned above, here is an interesting perspective on race and the movie, Song of the South:

Floyd Norman was an artist, writer, and an award winning black filmmaker. He worked for Disney from 1956 until 1966, animating such films as Sleeping Beauty, The Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, and the Jungle Book. After leaving Disney, he created his own studio called Vignette Films where he focused more on educational films about black history, juvenile justice, social studies, etc. 

In February 2005 he was interviewed by Celbi Vagner Pegoraro about his time working for Disney. One of the questions centered around the movie "Song of the South." Here is the question and the response, unedited, as it appeared in the book Walt's People Volume 3:

Pegoraro: What do you think of Song of the South?

Norman: I guess people interpret the stories by Joel Chandler Harris in many different ways. I always saw the characters of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear as southern in orgin. Whether they were black or white was not really an issue, because in the old south, both whites and blacks spoke with the same dialect.

Adding to that, I don't see Song of the South as white culture or black culture. Rather to me it's always been about American Southern culture. I think people make too much of what were simple stories told to entertain and sometimes educate children. As I wrote in my column, I've shown this wonderful Disney film to black audiences and they loved the movie. I suppose there are many people out there with their own agendas who are making way too much out of a simple movie about a wonderful old storyteller who loved children. The whole issue of racism is overblown. 

Where to eat in Disney Springs, Walt Disney World, Florida

I had the chance to try out 3 different restaurants in Disney Springs, so I thought I'd share what I found, in case there are people out there trying to decide where to eat there. This was the first time I had ever been to Disney Springs, as it didn't exist the last time I was at Walt Disney World in 1988 (at least in the same capacity it exists today).

I was on a bit of a budget so I made sure to look for places that sounded good to me, but that also weren't going to break the bank. The three places I decided to try were D-Luxe Burger, Chicken Guy, and T-Rex Cafe. Here's a look at all three:

D-Luxe Burger 

I loved the food at D-Luxe Burger! I ordered the Classic Cheese Burger and I could BARELY get my mouth around it. I also ordered regular size french fries and a Sprite. My total came to just over $20. The fries were seasoned pretty good and the Sprite was good. The Burger was very tasty. It was a little greasy, which I love, but others might not. I got to the restaurant about 6:15 and there was only one person in line in front of me. However, after I sat down to eat, I noticed that the line went all the way outside! There isn't much seating inside, which was too bad on the frigid night I was there. On most nights I imagine the outside seating would be a great place to eat and relax, though. My one complaint was the service. First, I should say that I won't group all employees into this category because I spoke with a couple of employees there that were extremely helpful. But I mentioned that there was only one person being helped before me - they were being helped by the employee at one register. The other register was open but the kid who was supposed to be running it was joking around with another employee just behind it. I waited for about maybe 2 minutes which really isn't a big deal, other than the poor image the employee gave Disney in general. I'm not an impatient person but I'm sure someone with a different personality would have let this kid hear about it. Here are a few pictures of D-Luxe Burger: 

Here's a look at the menu posted outside.

Here's a look at the inside. The counter is where you order and the line wraps around to the left side of the picture. There is a little more seating (but not much) down the hall to the right. 

This is the Classic Cheeseburger with regular size fries. It was really good. 

Chicken Guy

I also tried the Chicken Guy. It seemed like food I would like at reasonable pricing (for Disney). When I first walked in I realized that, just like at D-Luxe Burger, there wasn't much inside seating. There was a lot of seating outside, but with it being cold, that didn't sound too appealing. I ordered the 5 Chicken Tenders with a side of fries and a Sprite. The total came to about $14. The chicken tenders were good, not great. The fries were also good, not great. Chicken Guy has all kinds of sauces for chicken fingers and fries, so if trying different sauces is your thing, you'll probably really like this place. I'm just a plain ranch type of person for my chicken fingers and ketchup for my fries so the different sauces didn't appeal to me. Overall, I left satisfied for the price I paid. Here is a look at Chicken Guy in pictures:

Here's the outside of the building at night.

Here's a posted menu outside...

...And a closer look.

Here's where you place your order - on the far right, and where the food is cooked.

The inside eating area is very limited, although there is more outside seating just outside the left wall.

I ordered the 5 chicken tenders, a side order a fries, and a Sprite for about $14.

Here's a look at the menu with the food items.

And here's a look at some of the sauces on the other side of the menu.

 T-Rex Cafe

I read a little about the T-Rex Cafe before I left and was on the fence about whether or not I was going to go there. It was a little more pricey than the other places I had been, but the atmosphere seemed to be fun and it had many food options I liked. I decided to give it a go and I really enjoyed my time there. I ordered the Prehistoric Pasta with Chicken, and a Sprite. The food was really good. When it was first brought out to me, I didn't think it looked like very much and I was afraid that I'd leave hungry. But it was just the right amount of food. It was also some of the best Chicken Alfredo I've had. But this restaurant is more than just about the food. To the right side of the restaurant is a gift shop and a play area/archaeological site for kids. In the restaurant, there are four distinct rooms; Coral Reef Dining, Geo Tech Dining, Ice Cave, and Sequoia Room. There are also "events" that happen every 20 minutes such as meteor showers and thunder storms. Many of the Dinosaurs and other animals in the dining area are animatronic. I thoroughly enjoyed my time eating at the T-Rex. Although my meal, after tip, ended up being about $36, I found that I was really not only paying for my food, but also the atmosphere and experience. Here's a look at the T-Rex with pictures and video:

You check in first with the hostess outside the building on the left side of this picture.

This is the line you wait in, after you've been checked in, to be seated.

Unfortunately the lighting made it difficult to get a good picture of the menu. 

Here's the second page.

Here's a look at the Sequoia Room...

...the Ice Cave...

...the Geo Tech Room...

...And the Coral Reef.

The Coral Reef seating area also includes a bar area.

This is the Prehistoric Pasta with chicken. With a sprite and Tip I paid $36.

Here's a look at a "Meteor Shower" at the T-Rex Cafe: