Shooting at night can be a real delight in a Disney theme park. The Imagineers are masters at lighting and create natural contrasts that make for great pictures:
I like how the brighter foliage leads to the darker stonework with the image concluding in the darkest shade in the far back.
This was taken in Disneyland on the Storybook Land attraction.
And so we start another year.
Great moments in history come and go so fast that we tend to misremember the details or outright forget their importance altogether. We may remember notable quotes when it comes time to play a trivia game, but we fail to make the connections to the way the world was when such quotes were first spoken.
When I saw this LP record in the bargain bin of a local charity shop, I thought it might be good for gaining some perspective into the past:
This LP record contains great moments in time from famous radio broadcasts that aired between 1936 and 1943. You may recall that the Second World War began and raged during this time period.
We have six sections to enjoy: Comedians; Adventure Shows; Sports Coverage; News Broadcasts; Prelude to War; and World War II Reports.
But we start off light with Narrator Jack Benny setting the stage by reminding us what it was like to have only a radio for entertainment back in the day:
We also learn about the importance of sporting events for distracting us from the stresses of the world. Was it better to be there or to hear about it? Below is the introduction to this section:
The LP concludes with two very sobering sections on war. We have almost all of the famous political statements, speeches, and announcements about WWII and its impact on the people on this globe:
If you ever wanted to hear the ‘Day of Infamy’ speech or what was said during the momentous events of a great battle, Side 2 is for you!
The back liner notes play up the fun and humor of the record, but fully half of the time focuses on more serious things. All in all, it gives a well rounded look at a period in history that changed many lives, and not all for the better.
I would recommend this LP record, and the series it is a part of, for any homeschooling program. And for more history, please check out my earlier post on Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, a record of the Disney attraction that debuted at the New York World’s Fair.
Do you remember all the way back to the year 2000 when we thought there was going to be an electronic apocalypse and things would never be the same? But then Disney up and slapped a big wand with the number 2000 on Spaceship Earth and we were all fine:
Yes, how could the world be coming to an end if Disney was celebrating? So we relaxed and started buying all kinds of 2000 merchandise, like this Walt Disney World Millennium Die Cast Vehicle Set:
This set was only available as a Theme Park Exclusive from 1999-2000. Even so, you can find them for sale on the Internet for around $30.00 US plus shipping.
Almost everyone loves riding the vehicles at Walt Disney World. Whether it be a Main Street vehicle, an attraction ride vehicle, or the People Mover, if it moves: We ride it!
This set contains one Ride Vehicle, one Set Vehicle, one Main Street Vehicle, and one bona fide mode of transportation. Oh, and a weird mash up of the number 2000, Mickey, Goofy, and Donald in vehicle form!
Let’s have a look at each in turn with a picture of the real thing alongside them:
KILIMANJARO SAFARIS – RIDE VEHICLE
The Kilimanjaro Safaris is found in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It features custom-built 1990-2002 GMC Topkicks and Ford Super Duty trucks as rugged safari vehicles driven by an expert guide, who helps point out animals and shares fascinating wildlife facts during this extraordinary 18-minute expedition.
DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS – SET VEHICLE (TAXI)
This may be a 1946 Ford car, although the actual vehicle in the Park is newer than the one depicted in gold for this set. It’s possible that when the Park opened as Disney MGM Studios, the taxi on display was an older version.
THE MAGIC KINGDOM – MAIN STREET VEHICLE (FIRETRUCK)
The Main Street Vehicles that carry passengers from the entrance of the Magic Kingdom (Town Square) to Cinderella Castle (Central Plaza) and back are, or were, a staple of any WDW visit. But excessive crowds have limited the ability of these vehicle to operate safely now.
The firetruck at WDW could be a 1922 Ahrens-Fox R-K4 type vehicle, or based on something similar from the period.
WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT – MONORAIL RED
The Mark VI Monorail is currently running on the beams at Walt Disney World, and was also running on the system in 2000.
SPECIALTY VEHICLE – CHARACTER MASHUP
I haven’t removed these diecast models from the display base, choosing instead to leave them as they are for ease of display. But the logo ‘car’ is interesting! It actually has wheels, so presumably, it would roll if I unscrewed it from the base:
For another piece of 2000 merchandise, check out my Collector Plate featuring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy hamming it up in front of Spaceship Earth.
I’ve found another Disney/Lucas Film product in the wild. This time I was picking up a few food items in my local Shoppers Drugmart when I happened across these two Original Stormtrooper flavouring sets on sale for just $17.99 each (half the usual price).
I don’t like hot sauce and never taint my coffee with flavoring, so I left them on the shelf for someone else who would appreciate the taste sensations. You know, someone adventurous and weird. But I knew they’d make a great Foodie Friday post, so:
I don’t think I’m ready to “Embrace my Hot Side” just yet! Apparently Stormtroopers are Galaxy-famous for their hot sauces. Who knew?
Andrew Ainsworth designed the now iconic Stormtrooper helmet in 1976. It endures to this day as one of the coolest helmets that just so happens to be part of the most useless armor of all time.
And speaking of time, it’s Coffee Time:
Does the Dark Side have a sweet side? As Rebels, we may not live long enough to find out! But at least there is a flavourful cup of java (the Hut) to drink while we wait for the Empire to Strike Back. Hey. They use puns, I use puns.
Shepperton Design Studios is still in business and creating weird and wonderful things based on classic movie franchises.
Now if you will excuse me, I have to prepare for the Return of the Java. I’m not sorry.
Futurama is an American adult animated science fiction series created by Matt Groening. It focuses on the lives of a delivery boy named Fry, the ship captain Leela, and Bender (a rather bent robot) in the futuristic 31st century.
The series has it moments, but the best part of it for me was the ship, the Planet Express:
If you’re going to deliver pizza, why not do it in style!
Mini Masters Vehicles seems to do a wide range of more typical vehicles which you can see on their website. They are linked to a company named Shapeways that does 3D Printing.
The ship is detachable from the base allowing you to run around your house with it while making spacey noises. Just remember to close the blinds first.
I can’t recommend the Planet Express delivery service as I have been waiting for my pizza for a least three centuries. It had better be free!
Wallace & Gromit is a British stop-motion animation franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. Gromit is the long-suffering dog of the pair. He is largely silent with no dialogue, communicating through facial expressions and body language. Usually consternation, frustration, and outright disbelief at the ineptitude of his master, Wallace!
But he has a heart of gold and is the most trustworthy protector any man has ever had. So you can be sure that if you place your valuables inside this Gromit dog shoulder bag, they will be safe:
I noticed that Gromit looks like he is in different moods depending upon which side you view him from. But I think the frustration eyes from the front best represents his most common look!
This Gromit shoulder bag is approximately 14″ long by 20″ high without the strap. It was made in 1989 by the Giftware International Ltd. company for Aardman Animations group.
So although your valuables will be safe and sound within Gromit, it is apparent that they had better consist of just a few small things!
For more fun with Wallace & Gromit, and Shawn the Sheep, check out my collection of Funko Pop! figurines featuring the intrepid trio. They’re better than a block of Wensleydale cheese!
I do like me some Dixieland Jazz! You can see my earlier post featuring perhaps one of the most famous Dixieland bands, The Firehouse Five Plus Two at Disneyland, by clicking the link.
The Dukes of Dixieland was a Firehouse Five contemporary American, New Orleans “Dixieland”-style revival band, originally formed in 1948 by the Assunto brothers. Like the FF, they called it quits in the 1970s (1974 to be precise). The Assunto family has denied giving away permission to use the band name with the new line-ups still out there, none of which include any of the original musicians. So beware of imitations!
I enjoy finding links to Disney in odd ways, such as this rather obscure LP record. Disneyland started hosting the Dixieland Jazz Festival in 1955 with only three bands! In 1959 the music was transferred to the Mark Twain riverboat and the festival was really off and… floating. Keeping with the water theme, The Dukes of Dixieland took to a Tom Sawyer raft in 1962 to add their musical voice to the festival.
The tracks for this LP record were more likely recorded during their performances at the Plaza Gardens, however.
While the Firehouse Five tends to add more humor to their sets and play with an irreverence that gives them a unique sound and presence, the Dukes tend to be a bit more serious. Their songs are played with a more measured timing and perhaps ‘traditional’ approach.
Here is a brief taste:
Although these two bands recorded for about the same amount of years, it seems that the Dukes released more albums. They were nothing if not prolific!
I like that the original band was made up of two brothers and their father. They formed a lasting foundation for what would become a revolving member roster. But this is typical of all bands.
I found these two Disney character stackable mugs at a local flea market some years ago. We liked them because of the playful designs. The mugs are similar but also different.
Let’s have a look:
The shape of these mugs is identical with a rim on the bottom allowing them to be stacked for easier storage. That’s how they’re the same. The difference comes in the designs:
The Bambi-themed mug has two designs. One features Bambi and Thumper while the other has Bambi running with Thumper, one of his siblings, and a racoon.
The mug featuring Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Donald Duck’s nephews) only has one design repeated on both sides:
Why the manufacturer decided to repeat a pattern on one mug but add a pattern to another is unknown.
Sango is still in business and creating chinaware. SANGO – INDONESIA has been producing fine china, porcelain, and bone china tableware collections for some four decades.
These mugs bear the trademark of Walt Disney Productions, making them from before 1986. Sango opened its first factory in 1977, so we can say with certainty that the mugs in this post were manufactured and distributed between 1977-1986.
Dick Van Dyke is beloved by Disney fans for his work in Mary Poppins. But what many don’t know is that he did two other movies for Walt. One of those would go on to be one of the worst Disney movies ever entitled Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N.
Am I exaggerating? Nope. Although I will say that it wasn’t Van Dyke’s fault. The story is the problem. The director failed to utilize his hired talent and didn’t capitalize on Van Dyke’s natural physical humor and comedy pacing. And I could say without a doubt that you could swap any comedian into the title role and it wouldn’t change a thing!
What is surprising is that Walt Disney himself conceived the story under the pen name of Retlaw Yensid (not to be confused with the Sorcerer in Fantasia). The plot is filled with old jokes, standard slapstick action, the prerequisite monkey, and inconsistencies aplenty!
So naturally I bought the book as well. We’ll get to that later. The problem with this movie as I see it is that it revolves around the plight of a United States Navy fighter pilot who crashes into the ocean and then finds his way to an island. While he does exhibit some fairly good survival skills once marooned on this typical tropical island, his ineptitude for dealing with conflict, combat, and women, don’t follow for someone so highly trained by the military.
As is common with most family films of this time (1966) it fills out the cast with stereotypical characters that can be hard to watch at times. Again, common sense is thrown out the window if a ‘good’ gag suited the Director better.
The cast hams its way through the movie. His man Friday is a girl Wednesday and her father is not a cannibal, that would be ridiculous in the 1960s! He’s a headhunter. But he does chew through his scenes!
I wish they had let Van Dyke ad lib more and just do what he does best. I felt that he was not being allowed to open up and really do his stuff!
The book is a fair adaption of the movie. The opening pages add some detail about how Crusoe got into his predicament, and the last few pages flesh out what happened after he is rescued.
The back cover attributes the story to ‘those masters of mirth, Walt Disney and Dick Van Dyke’. However, as I’ve said, the mirth was missing from this effort.
Gold Key released two comic book adaptions of the movie. One would have been enough.
Van Dyke’s contract with Disney didn’t last long after Walt’s death and he moved on to bigger and better things like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968.
I always wonder if actors look back on certain movies and regret doing them. Or do they see each outing as stepping stones in a career? Do they agonize over failures? Or see box office flops as just bumps in the road to success? If so, Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N. was a huge pothole for Dick Van Dyke!
EPCOT opened as EPCOT Center on October 1st of 1982. So this Figment plush would have been sold during the first year of that parks operation.
Figment, a small purple dragon, seen below sporting a yellow sweater, is the mascot of the “Imagination!” pavilion and later star of the Journey Into Imagination dark ride. He is the ‘one little spark’ that ignites our imagination!
The Sherman Brothers wrote a song about him and in it we learn how this strange little creature came into being. Or at least, how, or with what, he was made: “Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, horns of a steer, but a lovable fellow. From head to tail, he’s royal purple pigment, and there, voila, you’ve got a Figment.” I think he is also said to have the snout of a crocodile.
I only ever experienced the revised attraction featuring this purple dragon and didn’t care for it much. Unfortunately, that put me off of the character as well. But I have a friend named Nick (a part-time contributor to this site) who loves him, so I tried to give him another chance to win my heart!
This plush pushed Figment over the top for me and now I quite like him. But I still hate the present dark ride and wish they’d bring back the Dreamfinder!
This plush was produced under the Walt Disney Productions trademark and was made in Taiwan.
I love pieces of merchandise like this because they are exclusive to just one Park. So many souvenirs are generic now and are branded WDW/Disneyland, or are sold worldwide. But if you want a Figment, you have to visit Walt Disney World in Florida!
Disleelandia 