KCM's Wonderful World of Disney Parks

My Favorite Epcot Shot

2011-02-01T07:31:00.001-08:00

This image just felt so 80's to me. I really love this giant sphere, it's look never gets old.

The World Famous Jungle Cruise

2010-10-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I really apologize for being so idle (yet again), but between my new love for photography, my running out of topics/inspiration, and my 2 year old, I've not been ready to post. Sorry, but I'm a bit rusty, but here goes :) ...

During all of my trips to Walt Disney World in the 80's an the 90's, I found the Jungle Cruise to be a complete waste. I can remember my Dad getting us in line for it and me groaning about why were we wasting our time. Uninspired skippers, awful special effects, and long lines had caused a complete distaste for the attraction. I can recall every skipper sounding like a college kid that couldn't wait to get out of work and/or do something else. That all changed in 2000.

In 2000, during my Walt Disney Imagineering interview trip (blog entry here: http://kcmwwodp.blogspot.com/2008/09/so-you-want-to-be-imagineer.html) I took my first visit to Disneyland. I was given the tour by friends of the family that had migrated west and lived very close to the park. First day, first ride: the Jungle Cruise. I can recall boarding my boat and lightly groaning to myself. Little did I know what I was in for.

For the next 8 minutes or so, I was entertained by a young girl that I swear was destined for stardom as a standup comic or acting. I remember that she just had this cool confidence and wit, and did the spiel a bit over the top, even poking fun at some of the old and tired jokes (the "Backside of water" one comes to mind). I'm sure that some of the jokes were the same ones from WDW, but they were told with such comic timing, enthusiasm, or sarcasm that I was blown away. Not all of the jokes were the same; I can definitely remember one in particular: As a kid, I watched a LOT of Merry Melodies. One gag that was repeated over and over in some of the various narrated shorts was one where they were trying to portray a vulnerable, helpless animal calling out for it's mother. The narrator would get very quiet and deliver a line, as if not trying to disturb the little critter: "let's listen as it calls out for her", followed by the shy and timid creature responding with an incredibly boisterous "HEY MA!!!!". As we entered the hippo pool, the guide repeated the exact same gag: "Let's listen out for the baby hippo as it calls out for it's mother." [Leans out of the boat] "HEY MA!" I was floored. Following that, she actually took a SHOT at the hippo charging the boat. WDW seemed to give up the pistols a looong time ago, so this was so cool to me, and I got a total rush of nostalgia as if I was back in 1982 WDW.

On my next trip to Disneyland a few years later, I was definitely not disappointed and I made sure I rode it about 4 times. Each skipper had a unique take on the spiel and delivered beautifully. One skipper did his spiel very slow and deliberate, with lots of sarcasm and fantastic timing like a Steven Wright. Another skipper did this hilarious over-the-top laugh a la Jerry Lewis after every joke. Every one was hysterical and had what I can best describe as an "edge", where they added just enough sarcasm and had some fun at their audience's expense, but didn't cross over into being insulting like I've witnessed at Universal Studios.

Since those trips, I've done the WDW JC many more times, and I've very rarely been impressed. The Disneyland version is far superior. I don't know what they're putting in the skipper drinking water out there, but their skippers are unreal.

Anyways, I posted a list of the Jungle Cruise jokes that I could find here: http://www.kurtmiller.net/Disney/JungleCruiseJokes.htm. Enjoy!

If you liked this post, then I'm Kurt and this is the WWODP site. If you didn't, my name is Phillis and this is MSNBC.

Doing the Parks By Yourself

2009-08-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Phew, it's been a while since I posted something. I apologize, but having a 9 month old really takes up a lot of my time. It's worth every second, though.

In reading my Google Reader collection of Disney blogs, I came across an article on Passport and Dreams, Old and New and came across this article: http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2009/08/who-lives-here.html with the following quote:

The theme parks are meant for people; anybody who has experienced the cold and unique desolation of a Magic Kingdom with no patrons in the wee hours of the morning understands fully how the entire operation's illusion of warmth and vitality depends on the prescence of music, spectators, employees.

This blog entry intrigued me because I've been lucky enough to take a few trips to the park by myself.

In 1999, a coworker of mine was sent to Orlando on a business trip. This gave me the idea to do the same. So, I talked my boss into sending me down to a conference that was sort of similar to my job. This was to be my first time in the parks by myself. Prior to this, I was only used to traveling through the parks with 10 or so family members. This time, I wouldn't have to stop after every ride to eat or use the restroom, I wouldn't have to suffer through any of the kiddie rides. I'd have my recorder with me - I could stop and pause anywhere to record the great atmosphere music that is played.

The very first day, I went to the Magic Kingdom. I can picture the park in my mind as if it was yesterday. I strolled down Main Street, taking it all in and enjoying the brilliant sunshine. I can vividly remember stopping at the hub and taking a seat to simply people watch for quite some time. Another benefit of going alone - you can take time to wait, whereas a big group always seems to be on the move and you're constantly stressed to keep everyone together and happy. The first day was fantastic and I remember being so excited to be getting this entire trip for "free".

However, as the week went on, the excitement began to wear off, and I became very lonely. Watching all of the happy families around me made me go way out my way to try to strike up conversations with perfect strangers just to have someone to talk to. Towards the end of the week, I was desperate to have someone to interact with and actually tagged along with a couple of high school girls who had struck up a conversation with me to see Fantasmic. Yeah, it was a bit odd, but I was going crazy being by myself.

I had a second opportunity to visit the park by myself last year. I was attending another conference in Orlando and had some time to spend at the parks, as most of my courses were over by 5 PM. Much like the first trip, the first few times were fantastic as I was fired up to be there, but as I got towards the end of the trip, I felt uncomfortable being by myself.

Looking back on my trips by myself, they were both fun and lonely. It was something that every park enthusiast should experience in small amounts. It really gives you time to take in the atmosphere of the parks... almost too much time for thinking and reminiscing about family trips from the past.

HDR!

2009-05-24T07:20:00.001-07:00

So, I just got a new filter for Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Adjust, at the recommendation of my online buddy Jeff. It's amazing. Check out some of these shots, post Topaz-ed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13726219@N06/sets/72157618604355619/

Disney's Influence on Video Games

2009-01-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

Note: Both of the games I mention here are NOT for children. Additionally, I suggest clicking on the pictures for the full res versions to see what I mean. Because of the hideous Blogger formatting, I had to shrink the picture sizes down :(

Over the past year I've become an avid Xbox 360 gamer. Two of my all-time favorite games are Bioshock and Fallout 3. While playing both of them, I've been noticing a very similar theming to Disney Studios' Hollywood boulevard.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Bioshock, it is a game about destroyed beauty. It takes place in a city named Rapture which was built under the sea, but is now rotting and leaking. Rapture is bathed in art deco detail, down to the carpet, wallpaper, archways, etc. What was a finely crafted paradise years ago, it is slowly being retaken by the ocean when you arrive.

Looking at some shots of Hollywood Boulevard, there are a lot of architectural similarities. Check out this shot of a Disney Studios' shop and the Tower of Terror and compare that with a shot from one of Bioshock's undersea tunnels. The architecture is both beautiful and haunting at the same time. You can see how the two share certain elements of the art deco style, in their own spoiled way. There was just something about that grandiose 40's style that is gorgeous. Both have that reassuring retro feel to them that everything is sunny and positive, but there is really something sinister at play.

Going even further than architecture, Fallout and the Studios use a similar visual style on their billboards, with the fonts and lettering. There's one particular billboard in Fallout that seems as if it crept out of the 50's Prime Time Cafe and into the digital wasteland that Fallout showcases. The billboard mentioned shows a very idyllic scene with a family and the white picket fence, but being in ruins, it also adds to that feeling of despair. The boards in Disney studios aren't dilapidated, but are very similar.

In addition to the visual elements, the two also have the same soundtrack. In Bioshock, the music is all old 40's tunes - especially the Ink Spots - as well as a bunch of old scratchy tunes that sound like they're being played from your grandmother's record player. As you walk through the city of Rapture, the music seems to seep out of various spots - never taking front stage, but always being present. This is very similar to the Tower of Terror queue, where you can hear that same haunting music (albeit with some added echo for ghostly effect) as you proceed up the ramp to the hotel's mouth. In Fallout 3, the music is taken from the same genre. This includes a song that would've been perfect for the Jungle Cruise (also a period-based attraction), Civilization by Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters (listen - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C60iYHFE2pI&feature=related):

Bongo, Bongo, Bongo, I don't want to leave the congo, oh no no no no no noooo

fantastic stuff.

Once inside Rapture and the Tower of Terror, the interiors are very much alike. Both contain very tiny details such as the crown molding, light fixture style, archways, and color palate. Both contain a lot of deep reds and browns that give that feeling of affluence.

I'm not saying that the the creators of Bioshock and Fallout stole their style from Disney Studios and Sunset Boulevard, but maybe they took a trip to Florida and were inspired by the Disney version of spoiled beauty.

New Disney Park Goer

2008-11-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit idle lately, and with good reason. On October 24th, my son, Carson Jacob Miller was born. Being a father has been a wonderful experience... December 2010 is our next trip to the parks and I can't wait to take him!

Disney's Free Advertising

2008-10-08T17:13:00.000-07:00

If I like something, I'm typically very passionate about it. The parks are no exception. Since I'm such a fan, I find myself pitching the Disney parks to many of the people that I meet from day to day. Likewise, I'm always trying to tell everyone that they have to go to the parks some time in their life. My parents have gone all over the tropics and they still contend that their favorite vacation is WDW. I feel that there's something for everyone there. For instance, if you're a fan of great food, there are the great Epcot restaurants such as Le Cellier and Italy (not sure what the new name is). If you like Broadway shows, there's Finding Nemo in the Animal Kingdom and Beauty and the Beast in Disney Studios. If you like architecture, you have to love the Magic Kingdom 'dissolves' from one land to another and Epcot's World Showcase. If you're into kiddie rides, movies (especially 3D), golf, night life, fireworks, etc. there's something for you. Typically, as I talk about the parks, these varied things get me excited.

However, there's always the odd person who you pitch the park to who comes back shrugging their shoulders when you ask them how it was, or saying that they hated it. When I hear that, I nearly take offense: "What do you mean, you didn't like it???" There are a few reasons that I commonly get as to why people didn't enjoy their Disney experience.

First, I think some people aren't cut out for the stress and exhaustion levels, especially if they have little ones. The kids are going to get tired, the lines sometimes seem to go on forever, the rides occasionally break down, etc. Additionally, there's the added complication of dealing with people that you're not used to dealing with. You may know your uncle/aunt/friend, but when you spend your whole week with these people for the first time, by the end of the week there are guaranteed to be some ruffled feathers. A week in WDW can also be exhausting because Disney is a 24-7 assault on all 5 senses. There's the visual design of the park. Then there's the smell aspect to it - the candy smell as you walk down Main Street, the orange groves in Soarin', and the popcorn and turkey legs. I think that the park's audio is the most underrated feature. Everywhere you go throughout the park there's the atmosphere music that the regular person doesn't notice, but the Disneyphiles know and love.

Second, some people just hit that certain week in the park; my frequent visitor friends are probably familiar with this. That's the week where you just happen to hit all of the wrong attractions at the wrong times. The wait times are long, the rides are broken down, and everything just seems to go awry. Some bad luck can go into a trip where everything seems to go wrong, and some people project these accidental happenings on the park as a whole.

Third, I don't think some people appreciate the little things and the attention to detail. The parks aren't something that can be fully appreciated by jetting from attraction to attraction. There are little details abound that I'm fascinated by. I love how the hinges in Liberty Square hang awkwardly because they're copied from their cheaper leather counterparts from way back in colonial times. I love how the very tall temple in Adventureland that is also visible in Frontierland has some ox-like beasts on it because it's theming is visible from both lands and it fits in perfectly in both settings simultaneously. I love how the Expedition Everest exit queue has giant masses of telephone wires strewn about to make it seem like a remote Asian village. I love how the pavement changes under your feet, because Walt thought that people can sense the changes. I really enjoy those little things, and even after 20-some times to the parks, I still pick up on a new thing just about every time I go. Some people just don't appreciate these little touches throughout the park as they race from one place to another and they really miss out.

But critics aside, it's always nice to take someone for their first trip to the parks that really 'gets it'. I was lucky enough to spent a week in Orlando for a work conference in June of this year. During this trip, a coworker and I spent a night at the Magic Kingdom after a day of the conference. I'd like to think that my excitement was really contagious. He really enjoyed himself and before the night was over, he was pointing out little details from the park that I had never considered before.

With every trip that I take to Walt Disney World, the magic seeps out a little more each time. I think that this is due to me getting older, me listening to park music daily on UAB and Subsonic and wearing it out, and partially because of some stagnation of the parks - they're losing some of that magic due to being all about the money thanks to you-know-who. It's always nice to take first-timers to the park because they help you get that excited feeling all over again as you live vicariously through them. With my first child, a boy, due later this month, I'm sure to have plenty of Disney trip excitement in my future :)

September 11th

2008-09-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

The morning of September 11th started like any other day at the parks. We were in the Animal Kingdom for the day and had just sat down to check out the Flights of Wonder show. When the show's start was 5 minutes late, there came an announcement that the show was canceled. I recall making a joke about a sick bird and something about "the show must go on". As we filed out of the attraction exit, we glanced around and saw everyone in the entire park heading towards the exit. We immediately sensed something was wrong, as there was also a certain buzz going through the crowd. The news passed through the crowd incredibly fast. I overheard someone near me talking about the planes being downed and I was also shocked to know that one of them went down near my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.

The crowd continued towards the exit, as the Disney transport buses began arriving to return visitors to their respective hotels. Near the gate, CMs were handing out free passes for the inconvenience. I quickly snatched up enough for our group as we continued towards the bus lines. Even though it was extremely hot, crowded, and with nowhere to sit, it was incredible to me how orderly the crowd was on that day. Disney did a fantastic job keeping the crowd moving. Of course, maybe that was because everyone was in shock from the news. Definitively one of the most surreal moments of my life.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we pretty much spent the rest of the day glued to the TV, watching the replays over and over again and waiting to hear all of the outcomes of the day. The following day was pretty much back to vacation, as the real impact of what had happened didn't hit us until we got home. Disney had the purse and bag checkers out the next day - it was incredible how quickly they reacted to this disaster. (Of course, I think the bag checkers are a big waste of time, but they moved quickly to install them).

Interestingly enough, on one of our next trips to WDW, Saddam Hussein was captured. Anyone want to chip in to help send me back down so that we can catch Osama :) ?

Disney Parks and the Elements

2008-09-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

The weather during a trip to the Disney parks can play a major role in how your week goes. It really stinks to wait for months for a Disney trip, only to have it ruined by a week of pouring rain. Even though most of the rides are covered, the nighttime shows are often canceled because of the rain, and you lose a lot of the park's ambiance not being outdoors. However the elements have made for a few good stories as well.

In 2007, we had been battling the rain for a few days and I was beginning to get frustrated at having to wear a raincoat for most of the week. Additionally, Fantasmic, my favorite nighttime show, is not performed in the rain and it was about 2 hours to showtime. While standing around waiting to get into the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater where the show is performed, I mentioned to a cast member standing by "hey, can you tell the big man upstairs to stop the rain?" Without hesitation, the cast member faced the heavens with his open hand cupped to his mouth and said "HEY WALT!" I burst into laughter, but sure enough, 30 minutes before showtime the rain stopped.

However, my favorite weather/Fantasmic memory was when I was there with my aunt and uncle, who had never seen the show. Like the 2007 incident, it had been raining all day long and the show was about to start. While sitting on the bleachers in the pouring rain, the announcement was made over the speakers that Fantasmic can be canceled due to inclement weather. The crowd moaned - would we be able to see the show? This was our only shot during this trip, as we had plans for the last few nights. As the drizzle continued, at 8 PM the introduction to the show started: "Good evening and welcome to Fantasmic!" The crowd erupted as if the hometown football team just scored a last second touchdown. The rain stopped in the next 5 minutes.

I've mentioned that I'm a big fan of recording the Disney park music that seems to pour from every corner of the park. I really wanted to get the Fantasyland music - that stuff that sounds like Bavarian/Austrian/German ooompah music. Since it was drizzling, I had my recorder tucked into a plastic bag and I hid it across from where Peter Pan is, by where the Skyway used to dock. While it was recording, the mic also picked up raindrops hitting every so often. Even though it's not a pristine copy of the music, when I listen to it it gives me a nice feeling of what that day in the park was like.

Finally, my father particularly likes to go to the water parks when it's raining, and he has a decent reason why: there are no crowds. For some reason, people at the water parks run for the buses when the rain starts. I never fully understood this either; Aren't you supposed to get wet at a water park? We used this to our advantage: I have fond memories of repeatedly hustling to the top of the storm slides over and over again as the line was non-existant. The park had cleared out completely 30 minutes after the rain started.

So, You Want to Be an Imagineer?

2008-09-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was little, I wanted to work in the Disney parks designing the rides. I actually had a shot once...

In 2000, I was almost a year out of Penn State University. At this time, I was already working out in the software industry, writing code for a company in downtown Pittsburgh. During a trip to Walt Disney World, I got talking to the girl that drew in the Disney-MGM Studios Animation Tour. I was telling her about how I really wanted to work for Disney and she we exchanged email addresses and I began networking through her. About a month later, I actually had a interview with Walt Disney Imagineering in California for a software test position. This was it, what I had been waiting for.

This trip was my first time to California. I had previously interned at Microsoft in 1998, so I wasn't too shook up with taking a trip all by myself to the other coast. It was comforting that we had a few family friends that were living in Cali at that time - A mother with two daughters. The day before my interview, they were fantastic in showing me around. They took me around Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and finally to Disneyland for the first time. I was such a pro at going to WDW, but this was totally unique to me. I thought that the park was interesting - it definitely had a special touch to it, but it also had a feeling of being small time. After seeing Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom in WDW, the Sleeping Beauty castle pales in comparison, as does the shortened Main Street. Anyways, I rode Indiana Jones about 5 times and we had a great day together. I can remember them saying "I've NEVER seen someone so excited about Disneyland before". Just this past year, the oldest girl got married in Mickey ears ;)

So, the day of my interview, I had to drive to North Hollywood for my first part of the interview. I can hardly explain my feelings. I was excited, nervous, and a bit tired from not being able to sleep. While driving to the facility, I was in a bit of shock. I expected green lawns, beautiful foutains, flowers, etc. This was Hollywood, where movies are made. And this is the Disney Imagineering building, this was where the people who design the wonderful parks and resorts work. This place has got to be fantastic, right? The building that I interviewed at appears to have since been closed down as you can see from the picture (I'm not 100% sure this is correct by Google Maps, but it looks like what I remember). It had barbed wire all around it, an armed guard at the door, and was totally not what I expected. Even the building's interior itself had a warehouse feeling, with very little decoration/decor. If you look towards the right of the picture, you can see some rundown building with a decaying street sign. I'm assuming that this was area focused on engineering and the Team Disney building that I went to later in the day was where they kept the 'creative' folks. Hollywood wasn't quite what I expected either. In eyeshot of the famous Hollywood sign on Santa Monica Boulevard there were some very seedy establishments to say the least, with some real 'interesting' characters outside. This was not the vision that I had in my head. It was less than inspiring.

My first interview was with the head of software for this particular division. The first thing he tried to do was access my website that I had posted on the web. At this time, I didn't have my own URL and it was a long path name. It turns out that Disney used a program to scan in resumes, do character recognition on them to get them into their system. In scanning mine in, the font that I used didn't quite recognize correctly, so my URL was messed up, things were mispelled, etc. Not a good start.

As the interviews with the head engineer progressed, I'm not sure if it was a test, if I was just slow on this day, or if things in LA move much quicker, but before I could answer a question, he was asking another one. I was asked how I felt about moving to Japan to work on Tokyo DisneySea. I responded with "well, I really had my heart set on Orlando". After seeing the area around the building and most of Los Angeles, I was a bit worried that this wasn't an environment for me. I was a bit downed to learn that Orlando isn't where the major development is done. Orlando seemed to be more of a maintenance facility for software.

Two interviews later, I met with a gentleman who wrote some software for the Tarzan digital animation. Very interesting guy. Following this, the manager of the software group and one of his team members took me to lunch at a Hawaiian-themed burger joint in Hollywood, where the interview continued in-between bites. After lunch, I had to leave the North Hollywood building and head up to the Team Disney building that was right outside of Disneyland. Not being used to the craziness that is a California freeway, I got a little lost on the way and arrived 20 minutes late, totally frazzled from the day. This also couldn't help my chances.

The afternoon interview was the one that really threw me. It was with a guy who worked extensively on Test Track in the previous few years. To complete that attraction, he actually moved his family to Orlando for over a year and now he was getting ready to pack up soon and move to Tokyo for a while to help complete rides there. What an incredible amount of devotion. The thought of moving so frequently scared me a bit. Then came a statement that pretty much summed up the day. He said to me "It says here you worked at Microsoft, so WHY do you want to work here"? It was said as if he was envious of working at Microsoft. In my mind, I thought "are you kidding? You guys have the coolest job ever". I had expected the engineers to be the most friendly and energetic people, kinda like the cast members you see in the parks. I didn't see the gung ho enthusiasm that I had expected. Again, maybe this was a test of the interview.

After the last interview later in the day, I asked if I could be let into the park. I was led backstage to a door at the foot of a very tall facade. From over the wall, I could hear very cartoon-ish sounds, like "Zing!" and "Boing!" and I figured that we were at the limits of Toontown. Then, the gentleman who was escorting me opened the door, I went through, and just like that, two very interesting things happened. One, it had hit me that I didn't have a good interview and now it was over I had probably blown my chance. And two, I was standing outside a house inside of Toontown. Passing the threshold from backstage to onstage was incredible. Once through the door, the energy of the park was everywhere, where prior to going through the door, there was none. Really fascinating. It was just like Who Framed Roger Rabbit - I had passed the threshold from the real world into Toontown. I think this door is the one pictured here.

I spent the rest of my day walking through the park by myself, reflecting on the day's events. I had a suit and tie on, so I got some interesting looks. I chatted with a few cast members, and one of them working the Pirates of the Caribbean said "normally when we see those (pointing to my tie), we cut them off". Ah, that's more like the Disney employee that I know :)

A few days later I got a call saying that I didn't get the job. Being so green at the time, I probably didn't have many of the developed skills that they were looking for. Another thing that I was told was that I was pixie-dusted; a term for someone who loves the parks, but when they actually see the technology and the job itself, they're bored by it. That was spot-on; I wanted to work with cutting edge breakthrough technology and these guys were building rides that used tried and true technology from 5-10 years ago because safety is #1. I also wasn't interested in moving to LA where I knew almost no one and I felt like a fish out of water. I'm sure that came out in my interviews and contributed to my failure to impress.

So, my brush with being an Imagineer ended. In the end, I figure that it's probably best to let the magicians do their jobs without peeking behind the curtain and ruining the magic. I think it's just as well to work my fantastic job here in Pittsburgh, build my family in a calm laid back environment, and go visit and see the magic on display every year or so. However, if anyone in Walt Disney World needs a really really good software engineering lead, don't hesitate to call me :)

A Few Nice Pictures of the Parks

2008-09-06T17:52:00.001-07:00

OK, so maybe I'm just filled with excitement about posting all of my pictures up on my Flickr account, but I figured I'd share some postcard quality shots with everyone.

This one is from the Disney Cruise - you can see the Flying Dutchman docked at Castaway Cay.

I Love any shot of the Spaceship Earth sphere. This one came out extra symmetrical. The second shot shows how the lighting can completely change its look. For the picture on the right, I really liked the reflection in the castle moat.

This picture shows the level of detail put into Epcot's China theater waiting area rotunda.

There's nothing quite like nighttime at the parks.

Canada's topiary gardens are really beautiful, especially during the garden show.

Dusk falling in the Magic Kingdom.

I just liked how this picture was centered, but taken at an angle.

If money wasn't an issue and I had my choice of resort, I'd stay at the Polynesian. I love the theming and since it's one of older resorts (before the penny pinching), the rooms are larger than, say, the Wilderness Lodge.

The ominous tower. I especially like how they leave a single light on at night so that everyone on their way to Fantasmic gets to wonder what's up in the tower.

The Mansion's wings always make it seem like it's reaching out to get you.

I didn't Photoshop this one, honestly. It almost has an ominous feel to it.

A shot during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party. Just check out the varied lighting effects. So different in color, but when all put together, they all seem to fit.

Saaaandy Mazolla

2008-09-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

My father, Pete, used to work in customer services for Westinghouse. One of his clients was a woman named Sandy Mazolla. When he heard that she happened to be going to WDW on the same week as us (my family), he got very excited and began to tell her what a great place it was. The two of them mentioned meeting up, but never actually made concrete plans. This being years before cell phones became popular, once we boarded a plane for Orlando, there was really no way to contact this Sandy to meet up. Add to this the fact that my Dad had never actually met this Sandy face to face and you have an impossibility.

On day 1 of our trip while walking through the park, my Dad just randomly hollered "Saaaaaandy Mazolla", as if calling from atop a mountain. This got a rousing laugh from the rest of my family and became a running joke. At random points throughout the day, someone in our group would just call out this name of someone that we'd never met.

On day 3, we were coming down from Fantasyland into Liberty Square, right by the Columbia Harbor house, and my Dad gave a "Sandy Mazolla". Naturally, everyone in our group laughed yet again as bystanders looked especially puzzled. However, this time was different. From off in the distance, I hear some woman say "Pete, is that you?". What are the chances of finding a single person in all of Walt Disney World without having made prior plans or connecting via cell phone? 1 in a thousand?

The Land - Before and After

2008-09-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Traditionally, the Land has been home to some less than top attractions. The original land was full of color with a blue backdrop:

The new version of The Land got a new sign, lightened the color scheme a bit, but most importantly, added Soarin', probably the best ride in Epcot. Also notice that in the new pictures the fountain appears to have been removed, I'm guessing to add more tables. Sigh. I always liked eating here while you could hear the fountain in the background. It was very relaxing.

Empty Park Pictures

2008-09-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

I previously blogged about the joys of having the park all to yourself, so I decided to add a few pictures of the park at its most empty. This first one is of a E-ticket night in the MK back in the day (March '03), before they did the Extra Magic Hours. I wish they still had E-ticket nights... The other shot is of MGM - it's rare to see the park so empty (Dec '03).

This Epcot picture isn't quite the late late situation that I refer to in my "fashionable exit" blog, but it's close. The second pic is of MGM; the companion to the other picture. Its a shame that it's so blurry, because it's a shot all the way from Villains in Vogue all the way to the Tower of Terror with not a soul in the frame.

Feel free to peruse around my Flickr pics for some other cool shots: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13726219@N06/. More to come once I buy a subscription :)

Choosing A Candidate

2008-09-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm not talking about McCain and Obama, I'm taking about Hook vs. Pooh in a Main Street showdown in the mid Nineties. Around the park there were ballot boxes with ballots as shown here. While every non-corrupted family obviously chose the good guy Pooh, my family was adamant that Hook was going to win. We grabbed stacks of the ballots equivalent to the size of a phone book and stuffed the box for our boy Hook.

I'm pretty sure that Pooh ended up winning the election, but this began my family's obsession with the 'ol Captain. We became his biggest (and probably only) fans.

One of the best times to catch our hero Hook on display is during Spectromagic, as he shares a float with Peter Pan. There were probably 11 of us at WDW in this year of the election. So, when the Hook/Pan float came into view, we vigorously chanted "Hook, Hook, Hook", and even got some of the bystanders to join us. Hearing all the commotion from his throng of supporters, Hook quickly came over to our side of the float and joined in the fun, giving us a few fencing-like swings. Then, Peter Pan came over to observe this ugly scene. When he arrived, without missing a beat, he put his hands on his hips like a disappointed parent and then leaned toward us and stuck his tongue out. What perfect casting...

Making A Fashionable Epcot Exit

2008-09-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

I've always thought Epcot was the most beautiful of the Disney parks. The way that it utilizes water, angles, architecture, and lighting is breathtaking. As a knee-high young kid walking through the parks, the buildings that house the rides are a sight to behold, as they towered over me. Add in the environmental music that seems to follow you around the parks, and you have a feast for the ears and eyes. As beautiful as it is at daytime, the park is even more impressive at night.

Prior to Illuminations being shown on a grand scale in the lagoon, the Epcot night time shows were very limited in terms of seating. Rather than fight the crowds to get a seat, we skipped the shows completely. We took advantage of this - we would schedule dinner as late as the chosen location would allow us, typically at Italy. We would then proceed to dine very slowly, and by the time we left the Italian pavilion the park would be virtually empty, with not a soul in sight. There's just something about walking around the parks at night when they are not filled with crowds: the music is going, the weather and temperature are perfect, the fountains are all on. It's almost like you own the park. So, for the many years that we went before Illuminations, we would trek out of Epcot every night almost alone.

However, we weren't ALWAYS alone. I recall one particular time that we followed a young couple out of the park probably an hour after the park had officially closed. They appeared to be new honeymooners and were playing and goofing around as they exited the park. When we got to the large fountain at the entrance of the park (the original beautiful fountain with the 3 glass towers shown above), the new husband dumped his wife in. Still dripping and laughing, she chased him all the way to the parking lot.

Testing the Lost And Found

2008-09-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

In 1982 when we went to WDW, I was only 4. My parents took me and my two older cousins, Ray and Dave, who I looked up to immensely. Halfway through the vacation, Ray made a really nice gesture by surprising me with me a toy gun that he bought me in Frontierland. However, he made one mistake: He left his wallet on the counter in the General Store where he made the purchase. Now, this was no ordinary wallet. Ray had saved up all his newspaper money from the summer for this trip, and every penny that he had in this world was inside there. And it had a picture of a horse on the side. Ray was obviously shook up as we made our way to Guest Services. We walked in and asked if they've found a wallet with horses on it. "Is this it?" the cast member said, producing Ray's wallet exactly as he had last seen it. My Dad immediately tried to prepare him for the worst, telling him not to get his hopes up, that maybe there's nothing in it. Sure enough, every last cent was still inside the wallet. It doesn't sound like much, but a lot of these little occurrances add up to make a lot of great memories.

"I'm David, I'm Raymond, I'm Kurt"

2008-08-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Probably my family's most remembered Disney Trip is the one we took in 1982. I was 4, and my parents also took my two older cousins Raymond and David along for the trip. My cousins had never been to Disney, while I had been there a few times over my first few years. This was my chance to show my cousins around the parks, as they had never been there, and I was a grizzled veteran. They were my heroes - both older than me and so much fun. I'm sure more posts will be written about this trip in the future.

One particular memory of this trip (and one that I'll probably never live down) is this audio clip. While on Journey Into Imagination, my Dad turned to us kids and told us to say our names. He instructed us "say your names, say 'I'm David', 'I'm Raymond', 'I'm Kurt' ". What followed was one of the more idiotic things I've ever said: MP3 File. Hey, one mistake over my 31 years isn't bad :)

Yes, that's my cousin Dave cackling over my stupidity in the background.

Abandoned Disney Attractions

2008-08-31T09:06:00.001-07:00

First, I'd like to share a link that I found particular fascinating: The Deserted Skyway Building of Fantasyland, Disneyland.

Being the supremely curious person that I am, I've always been fascinated by Disney attractions that are no more. When we go to WDW these days and enter one of my old favorite attractions of all time, Journey Into Your Imagination (that has been ruined these days), I'm infinitely curious about what's upstairs where the Image Works once was. As a kid, I loved nothing more than running around up there, under the glass pyramid, under the cloud-less Florida skies. I can remember running through the tunnel that changed color when you ran through it, walking on the colored blocks that made different tones when you stepped on them, pressing my hand on the pin boards to see my hand's silhouette on the other side, leading an virtual orchestra with my hands; the place was as the Dreamfinder called it, a creative playground. When the ride was redone in the late 1990's, they closed this part of the attraction and opened up a subpar replacement for it downstairs. Today, the upstairs is roped off so you can't get up there, but you can see that there's something still up there and it appears to still be maintained (at least what you can see from the bottom of the steps). It's so tantalizing to me to jump the rope, run up there, and see what's doing. Maybe a few clicks of some power buttons and I could turn the whole area on and bring it back to life?

Likewise, before Pooh's forest took over the old 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea area, I was fascinated with what was under the water in there. Were all of the old mechanics still in place? Where were the subs? I used to love that ride and I was supremely disappointed when it closed. I'd love nothing more than sneaking behind the scenes back behind the cave to see what they've done with all of the controls and things.

This is why the aforementioned link to the Fantasyland Skyway fascinated me: This was once a place of joy and fun that is now overgrown and hidden from the public. Everything is still in place as it once was, but being overtaken by nature. I wonder how many people remember the Skyway as a kid, reminisce about it, and think of also peeking behind that curtain to see the state of what they remember from years gone by.

Recording Disney Park Audio

2008-08-31T08:02:00.001-07:00

My Mother and Father went to Walt Disney World on their Honeymoon (a few years before I was born). From that trip, and from subsequent business trips to Orlando thanks to Westinghouse, my Dad's employer, he came to love the music that plays in every nook and cranny of WDW. For example, Main Street plays old Victorian tunes, the Tom Sawyer Island docks play what sounds like someone plucking a banjo for the first time, Frontierland plays old Western tunes like "Deep in the Heart of Texas". Once I was born, my Dad started carrying this huge Pioneer boom box into the park to start recording the various aforementioned tunes throughout the park. This thing was the size of suitcase, but wow, it made fantastic recordings for cassette tape. And, they were in stereo, so when he recorded a parade, you can hear the parade come from the right side and move across to the left. I remember when he used to play these tapes in the car when I was about 10, and we'd have a little contest to try to remember where he recorded the song at. Just in the past few years, I took all of those recordings and transferred them to MP3.

As I got older, started going to the park at least once a year, and the technology improved, I started taking a MiniDisc player through the park. I also stepped up the level of the recording to just about every single attraction, environment music, and show that we saw. At this point, I was probably recording about an hour and a half of material a day in the parks.

Over the years, I've recorded probably about 60 or so minidiscs of live Disney park audio, and with the Internet music downloading craze, I've made a few contacts from the web and I've given out a select few recordings to these people that I took the time to transfer to MP3. I've also discovered two websites that stream Disney park music 24/7: Subsonic radio and Utiladors Audio Broadcasting. What's fascinating is that I've heard my own recordings on these radio stations. Just this past week I was listening to Subsonic and I heard a track that sounded very familiar to me. It was the Pirates of the Caribbean music that plays in the area where the two chess playing skeletons are deadlocked in a stalemate. About a minute from the end of the recording, I heard a familar voice. It was my father, whose voice was captured in the background. Yep, it was my track alright. Somehow it had made it full circle and the person whose voice identified the track as uniquely mine was the person that started this whole park recording thing.

Wall-E Review

2008-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, I was able to catch the new Pixar film Wall-E. I have to say that it is difficult to classify. On one hand, it was absolutely brilliant, on par with some of my favorite films. It had heart, beautiful animation, interesting characters, and a very ambitious story for an animated film. On the other hand, I lost slight interest towards the third quarter of the film when it lost sight of the love story and focused on other things.

The first third of the film was probably my favorite. Largely without dialog, this part of the film follows our robot hero as he performs his mundane daily tasks of compacting garbage. Completely alone except for his tiny mechanical cockroach companion, Wall-E is not unlike Aerial from the little Mermaid: He cherishes things from a different world that considered them trash - zippo lighters, sporks, Christmas lights. His cockroach friend has the fundamental characteristic of all cockroaches - they're indestructible. Much like Dory in Finding Nemo playing off of the conception that fish have a very short term memory span, Pixar again uses the most memorable feature of a creature for character development.

In the year of Wall-E, all of humanity is aboard a spaceship out in the cosmos and has been reduced to being overweight orbs. Too fat to move, and completely incapable without technological help, they no longer engage in direct face-to-face contact, but rather talk via video screen. This is one of many nods to that retched steaming pile, 2001. Others are the captain of the ship consulting with a HAL-looking bot to assist in running the ship and the main 2001 theme being cued when the shape of the rising captain resembles the giant black obelisk.

The adventure continues to surround Wall-E's organic prize and culminates with a very heartfelt final act. Since I saw the film on Saturday, the film has been stuck in my head. I've constantly been able to drum up a scene filled with creativity and originality that has made me laugh. I guess that's the best compliment to pay to a film - it is entertaining and is deep enough to make you think at the same time.

So, while Hollywood serves up comic book film after comic book film, Pixar keeps churning out original material that is at such a high level, it makes you wonder if the only creative people in Hollywood work at Pixar.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention Presto, the short that plays before Wall-E. By far my favorite short of all of the Pixar films, this story of a magician battling his bunny is worth the price of admission. It fondly reminded me of the old Looney Toons cartoons. The protagonist, the way the characters moved, and the slapstick humor seemed straight out of the classic Warner shorts. Two thumbs way up.

Bye Pleasure Island

2008-08-31T07:58:00.001-07:00

Walt Disney World has decided to close its nightclub complex, Pleasure Island. PI stands in the middle of Downtown Disney, splitting the two shopping districts that the company would like to unite as one single tourist-gouging entity. I'd like to share my most vivid memory of PI, which is especially relevant today, the 4th of July.

It was the year of September 11th and I was at WDW with my parents and a few friends of the family (this was obviously pre-marriage :). The day of the disaster we were escorted out of the Animal Kingdom around lunchtime. Sitting in our hotel room, we were very unaware at the country's mood. After the World Trade Centers and the other terrorist attacks, the gravity of this one never really hit us.

Two days later, I happened to meet a girl working at MGM who was kind enough to invite me to come to PI with her and her fellow cast members to have some fun on Cast Member night. There, I met a bunch of her friends. As to be expected as WDW cast members, they were from all walks of life and extremely friendly. Some black, some Hispanic, some Caucasian, etc. As the night came to a close, a light misting rain began to fall. As the clubs emptied out, people began to mill around the various avenues of PI, mostly congregating in the center area where the giant screen was still playing music and showing videos. The final music video of the night began - Whitney Houston's rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner from the Gulf War Super Bowl. Slowly, an energetic buzz began to ring throughout the crowd. Before I knew it, the entire crowd was singing along with Whitney, chanting "U S A, U S A". When the song was over the crowd erupted in cheers, all while withstanding what was now a driving rain. I had felt like a bit of an outsider before this, but now we felt like one single unity.

It was such a small thing, but I swelled with American pride and just put it down as another fantastic Disney memory.

Jungle Cruise Jokes

2008-08-31T07:57:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite rides at the Disney parks, the Jungle Cruise is full of bad puns and groan humor. It's fantastic!

I made a list (originally "borrowed" from some guy named Yoda) of all of the different jokes I've heard over the years. Check it out here: http://www.kurtmiller.net/Disney/JungleCruiseJokes.htm

Introductions Are in Order

2008-08-31T07:54:00.001-07:00

So, just to kinda set the mood here, my name is Kurt and I'm 31 at the time of this writing. What will this blog focus on? Well, this will primarily focus on everything Disney park related. Over the years, I've been to the Disney parks well over 25 times and I've had some great experiences. I'll try to detail some of these experience as well as some other fun stuff about the parks and other interesting Disney-things.

Hope you enjoy it...