DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM, though the newest park to Walt Disney World, it still has had a few extinct attractions. At the Theater in the Wild, the JOURNEY THROUGH JUNGLE BOOK show opened with the park. It lasted from April of 1998 to April of 1999 when it was replaced by TARZAN ROCKS. As Jungle Book left the park, so did my best friend's job, who performed in the show. He drifted around for a few weeks in other parks until he 'just fell off the schedule'. Tarzan ran from July 1999 until Jan. 21, 2006 when the Phil Collins inspired rock concert gave way to the new NEMO show. One of the most over looked shows was POCAHONTAS AND HER ANIMAL FRIENDS, which lasted until September 27,2008. The only time I saw the show, the 'animal friends' weren't being very coperative. A rabbit was supposed to hop across stage. . . it didn't. In fact I a stage hand's hand nudge it just to get it on the stage.
DISCOVERY RIVERBOATS which was intended to be transportation across the park, ran between Safari Village and Asia. It closed in late 1999 because, acording to some reports, the guests thought it was boring. The original non-parade parade, because Animal Kingdom does not 'do' parades, (just like it is also na-ut-a-zu, ask an Animal Kingdom junkie about that) was the MARCH IF THE ARTIMALS. Who ever designed this extremely artsy, fartsy parade must have been sipping a little something extra in thier tea. It was the most bizarre show / parade 'thing' I have ever seen. Neon colored characters and Salvador Dali-esk floats, left me thinking "Huh". One float had a honey bee that was supposed to be getting 'drunk' off the honey and laughing hysterically. Again I say "Huh ?"
Animal Kingdom was to include an area devoted to MYTHICAL CREATURES. Though it has never fully materialized as of 2009, there are a few remains from the orginal plans. You'll notice a section of the parking lot is named "Unicorn", and there's a silhouette of a dragon in the Animal Kingdom logo and dragonhead statue sits atop one of the ticket booths. In Camp Minnie Mickey, which was built as a temporary fill-in for the space, there is a dragon-shaped stone fountain. For many years a burnt suit of armour was next to a 'dragon's lair' on the banks of the river, visible from the Discovery Riverboats. With the opening of Everest, Animal Kingdom did manage to get at least one mythical creature in there with the Yeti.
Moving outside of the parks Disney had some notable and much missed Extinct Attractions as well. Fort Wilderness Campground used to have a train which lasted for five years. The live steam train transported guests through the campgorunds. Even though the one and only time I rode it as a kid, I don't remember having to pay, my resources say it cost $1.00 for an adult to ride all day. One reasons for it's demise was the expense and diffculty of finding people specially trained to work on steam engines. Another issue was in the soft florida sand, the tracks kept trying to separate. In 1979, management decided to scrap the train idea at the Fort and unfortunately the trains were left to rust. However, there is a happy footnote, in 2004 several members of the CAROLWOOD PACIFIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY took ownership of the old Fort trains in order to rehab them to thier former lives.
DISCOVERY ISLAND, before Walt's day was inhabited by a lady and her pet Sandhill Crane (according to Wikipedia) and before that, in the early 1900's, it was called Raz Island and inhabited by the Raz family. Since it's aquisiton into the corporate world of Disney, the island, named TREASURE ISLAND (April 8, 1974-1978), was supposed to have a pirate's theme. However, the aviary turned into an American Zoological Association accredited zoo four years later called Discovery Island. However, when a few of the caretakers were caught killing some of the local, protected birds like hawks and vutures Disney almost lost thier accreditation. With the opening of Animal Kingdom, all of the critters were relocated to the new park in April 8, 1999 and Discovery island was returned to the hawks and vultures from wince it came. The rented Sea Racer boats circle the islnd daily, but I've been told that the watercraft patrol keeps the public off the island.
RIVER COUNTRY water park (June 20, 1976 - Nov. 1 2001) was located in the Fort Wilderness Campground. Much smaller park than the next generation water park Typhoon Lagoon, I've been told by my resources that it's true demise came because of it's proximity to Bay Lake. It seems that it was a bit too difficult to keep Bay Lake and her critters at 'bay'. After sitting domant since 2001, one of the slides from River Country was given a new life at the Fort Wilderness pool in the end of 2008. The picnic pavillion has also been given new life as a seasonal dining option Mickey's Backyard BBQ.
PLEASURE ISLAND opened in May 1, 1989 with a wide variety of shops and night clubs like Mannequins, Motion, Comedy Warehouse, Adventure's Club, Rock and Roll Beach Club, 8Trax among others. Although the physical island is still there, the night clubs closed Sept. 27, 2008. It is believed that the Island began drawing the wrong type of crowds and crime started to rise in and around Downtown Disney. So, Disney pulled the plug and believe it or not things have calmed down. . . Hmmm, eliminate the alcohol and crime fades away, imagine that.
Originally the Disney GOLF RESORT, nestled among the Palm and Magnolia Golf courses opned in 1974 with 151 rooms. In Feb of 1986 it was expanded and renamed THE DISNEY INN. On Feb. 1, 1994 THe United Sates Military aquired a 100 yr lease for the resort, but in 1996 it was purchased outright for $43 million and renamed SHADES OF GREEN. The golf courses are still accessible to guests, but the resort itself is stickly military, which makes for some interesting days with military helicopters coming and going or the Blue Angels doing 'fly-by's' over the Magic Kingdom.
The TREE HOUSES (1975-2002) where eventually retired as a resort due in part to the American Disabilities Act. Logistcally they were a challange to make ADA compliant. For the interim years they served as housing for international college program kids. I was told part of the renovation problem was dealing with the asbestos which was widely used in builings of the 70's and also the fact that they were built in an offical wetlands area. They have since removed the old structures and replaced them with newer villas that were built off site. The footprint for the new villas actually reduced encroachment on the surrounding wetlands by 70 percent for each site. Now they have been incorporated into the Saratoga Springs Vacation Club property.
The DISNEY INSTITUTE as a place was short lived. THey built a mini college style campus on the back side of Downtown Disney. But not too many people wanted to come to Disney and spend hundreds of dollars learning about photography or how play basketball. The short lived project was mostly torn down and Saratoga springs Vacation Club sprung to life. The core buildings, Spa and Restraunts are from the old Institute, but the Villas are all new. Actually, the pool, used to be an ampitheater intended for plays and concerts. . .Oh well. 'The Institute'still exists in the form of buisness development classes and inconjuction with Disney University, however.
As a castmember, there're terms and places that have came and gone as well. Back when we didn't take our 'costumes' home, we had WALK TIME. If you were scheduled till 5:00, your could leave your location at 4:40 so you could change clothes on the clock. In late the 1990's Disney had a change of heart about cast members wearing their costumes into work, and CASTZOOMING was the cutesy name they gave to the process of making us responible for our own clothes. As a result, walk time went away. After all these years of taking your clothes home, Castzooming is a term that only the old timers know about.
During Pocahontas (at the studios), one of Poca's lines was 'Wingapo, that is how we say hello'. So of course we'd always say, "WINGAPO" to each other. Now, people would just think I was weird. At Hunchback Of Notre Dame, we had SNOWBALL the black life size puppet horse. We all talked to him at one point or the other. Several years after the show was gone, I saw Snowball being used as a prop. Of coure I had to go talk to him. People thought I was nuts. During the run of the Muppets shows,there was a breakroom specially built for them and dubed ANIMATION STATION. Wardrobe had a piece of the room and the rest was lined with mirrors and couches. As the muppet shows faded away, the perfomer breakroom turned into a costuming mini warehouse and the costuming room was taken over by either foods or merchandise. We also had a specially made box pargo that we all nicked named to ICE CREAM BOX PARGO. We used is for years after the Muppet shows went away. I beleive it's final demise came when the 'box' part fell off the back. (Yes, Yes we were hard on pargos.)
In the days before Tower of Terror and Fantasmic!, we had the STATUE CAST PARKING LOT, RED LOT and the ORANGE LOT. Statue lot was called that because they stored the Swan and Dolphin statues there while they built the hotels. That parking lot is now . . .Fantasmic!. I'm not sure where the names Red lot and Orange lot came from, but nevermind that, they're both gone. In the old main cast lot sits Rockin' Roller Coaster and in the other parking lot is the new and improved "Fort Knox" style security gate.
In the begining days of the Studios, they filmed the new MICKEY MOUSE CLUB in the soundstages. In the area of the buglalows there was orginally a production only COMMISSARY. It is now just an office. Under the water tower was a Mouskateer class room trailer. I believe the trailer is still there, but who occupies it varies with the wind.
Let us not forget one final thing from years gone by "the E-TICKET RIDES". Back when you had to buy a book of tickets, the E rides were always the first ones used because they were the thrill rides like Space Mountian or the Haunted Mansion. Dating back to the 1950's at Disneyland it carried over to Magic Kingdom until 1982. Today the E- tickets maybe gone, but the term still lives on in pop culture.
And thus ends part three of my history lesson, I now return you to your regulary scheduled blog. :)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
EXTINCT DISNEY PT 2
As if the concept of having two studio themed amusement parks in one town didn't confuse the guests enough, the park formally known as Disney-MGM Studios changed it's name to Disney Hollywood Studios in 2007. Although MGM never really had any presence in Orlando, Disney barrowed the MGM name so we could use the movies in it's attractions and we briefly had the Tom and Jerry characters at the park. They did a promotional video where Tom 'chased' Jerry across the top of the Animation Courtyard arch, but never really went much further. You know it's going to be an interesting video shot when they schedule folks based on whether or not they're afraid of heights. The big question we always get is "Why?" We were told the contract ran out with MGM, the soundstages were being converted into the Toy Story Mania ride and 'film production has left the building'. . . I mean 'the park.'
When the studios opened there was a BACKSTAGE WALKING TOUR (which closed in 2001) that went through the a tour tunnel over looking the soundstages. It was hard to keep the facilities filled with projects. Maybe it was because they didn't like being watched by tourists, or maybe Florida has always been a bit of a step child when it comes to film and television production. The tour snaked it's way through a mock special effects workshops and ended in a real post production house. HOWEVER, again, people editing thier projects don't like being in a fish bowl, so alot of the time the editing rooms remained empty or closed off to the public. Now the Post Production building is independently run and the production tour tunnel has been turned into ONE MAN'S DREAM museum which opened on October 1,2001 to celebrate Walt's one Hundreth birthday.
Soundstages 2 and 3 housed WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE from 2001 to 2006. The closing of Miilionaire was probably the death neel for the "film industry" at Disney Hollywood Studios. In 2008 the stages were gutted and converted into TOY STORY MANIA ride. By the way, Millionaire was not the first big named game show to be shot in the Disney soundstages. Waaaay back in the begining of the park, a revival of LET'S MAKE A DEAL, was made there as well. Sadly it didn't last too long. I believe it was closed down around 1991ish. (i'.m still looking for the actual dates)
The BACKSTAGE TRAM TOUR has had a similar fate of it's walking tour cousin. Though it's still there, it's a mere shadow of it's former self. It's pretty much a drive through Creative Costuming and stop at catastrophe canyon. Oh yeah, they drive past the 'the award winning Earfel Tower'.(As the tour guide's script says). I've asked the guides "what kind of award did the water tower win ?" No one ever seemed to know. In it's day the tram drove past the soundstages and down residential street, but the home To The Golden Girls House, among others, are all gone now.
RESIDENTIAL STREET, opened in May 1, 1989, gave way to a new stunt show in 2005 called Lights Motors Action. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty cool show, but it's a bit heart breaking to see the 'studios' loose it's identity like that. If you ever wondered what was behind the house facades on residential street, it was storage. Mostly horticulture and other items that weather wouldn't hurt since there was only half a house there.
A little further up from Lights Motors Action, in a spot that used to be home to Norman the Cow from the City Slickers Movie, is BACKLOT THEATER. Built in 1993, it was originaly meant to be a temporary stage for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST while the old THEATER OF THE STARS (TOTS)was being relocated to make way for Sunset Blvd. Over the years TOTS was home to a number of song and dance shows including DICK TRACY (1990 - 1991), HOLLYWOOD'S PRETTY WOMEN (Sept. 9, 1991 to Nov. 3.1991), and various Star's of the Day Question and Answer sessions. When B&B got their new snazzy home, 'the powers that be' didn't want to tear down a perfectly good building AND we had a new Pocahontas movie coming out.
Thus the SPIRIT OF POCAHONTAS show was born June 23, 1995, but sadly, it closed on Feb. 24 1996, after a very short run. Casting issues. Staging issues. Staffing issues. They all played a part in it's demise. The intent was to have a totaly native american cast and crew. It ended up being maybe half the cast and a couple of the crew. For a few of the cast, it was in thier contract to either wear thier hair long or keep it in mohawks. If you know anything about 'The Disney Look', it was like an act of congress to get that passed Greta Groom (I'll introduce you to her in another blog).
Hot on Poca's heels was a new show DISNEY'S HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE. (June 21,1996 to Sept 28, 2002)Since everything else in that theater had an extremely short life span, Hunchback spent most of it's life in fear of being closed. At the third year anniversary, we realized that maybe we might just be okay for a while. I personally always felt like we were the step child to B & B. Lasting for seven years, it seemed to take on a life of it's own. The movie was Ehh. . .it was okay. Disney, (as Disney usually does) took liberties with the story that didn't sit well with die hard Victor Hugo fans, but the show itself had a huge following.
After Quasimodo rang his last cathederal bell, the stage sat empty for a while. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles invaded the space briefly as did other character sets using the old greenroom. Starwars weekends used the green room as Starwars Central for two years. Meanwhile, the Spectical of Lights (Christmas lights) crew claimed squatters right's to the stage area for storage. In Dec. 2007 the guts of the building were demolished and a full fledged 'new special events venue' was born for things like Night of Joy, Grad night, conventions, ect.
Next door to Hunckback was an odd stage. From the front, the two stages seemed to be on level ground. From back stage, however, the Muppets theater was a flight of stairs higher than the Backlot theater. This elevation difference, we believe, is what contributed to Hunchback's demise because all of the rain water drained down under the Backlot Theater and eventually rotted out the stage's supports. According to my tech sources the support posts under the stage were beginning to look like swiss cheese.
Working costuming at MUPPETS ON LOCATION: THE DAYS OF SWINE AND ROSES (Sept. 16 1991 and 1994)meant lugging costumes up a flight of stairs every morning and (I hate to admit it) throwing bags of dirty costumes off of the flight of stairs at the end of the day. We worked smarter, not harder, or at least that's what we told management. Since then, the stage has been host to numerous character sets over the years, now it's Buzz and Woody's home when they visit Al's Toy Barn.
Muppets costuming was also home to several of the music groups like the TUBAFOURS and The HOLLYWOOD HITMEN(closed April 7, 2001). During one of the "Oh my God the economy is tanking, must get rid of things' moments, we lost all of our musical groups to layoffs. A few years later they brought music back to the park with Mulch, Sweat and Shears rock band.
THe Studios went through numerous parades over the years. DINOSAUR (1992)(tv show version)was more of a street party complete with Dino whores. . .I mean scantily clad Dino girl cheerleaders, ALADDIN'S ROYAL CARAVAN, (Dec. 21, 1992 - Aug. 27, 1995) The spitting camels are now spitting once again by the Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride at the Kingdom, TOY STORY (1996 - 1997)To Infinfity, the International Space Station and Beyond, HERCULES (June, 27, 1997 to 1998)Hero to Zero, I mean Zero to Hero, MULAN (1998 - 2001) I miss seeing the Perchuran horses everyday, DISNEY STAR AND MOTOR CARS (october 1, 2001- march 8, 2008) Which I hear is coming to Disneyland Paris and last but definately not least, BLOCK PARTY BASH (March 9. 2008) . . .Uhm, never seen, know nothing about it.
SUPER STAR TELEVISION,(1989 to 1999)(Ahh, my home for many years), took guests from the audience and put them in scenes with famous co-stars. Using split screen, green screens, unique costumes and some old fashion imagination, guests were able try their hand at acting with the Golden Girls, Three stooges, David Letterman, Lucille Ball and several others. I'm not sure why it closed other than possible lack of interest/knowledge it existed due to limited advertising.
THe ABC THEATER stage sat dormant for a several years. The show DOUG started in 1999 was there briefly, but he, Patty Mayonaise, Skeeter and Pork Chop soon moved back to Nickelodeon. The cluttered up storage area in the back was given a new coat of paint and turned into a meet and greet area for Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. until Jan. 2008 when they were moved to the Streets of America. ABC THEATER was also used for special events like ESPN Weekends, Super Soap and Starwars Weekends. Its many years of neglect finally came to an end when, in 2009, Fox's AMERICAN IDOL Opened up shop. So the 'poor little stage that could' is now alive and kicking again.
Next door the MONSTER SOUND SHOW started May, 1989, where actors Martin Short and chevy Chase introduced guest to the world of sound effects. On July 1, 1997 the format changed and it became the ABC SOUND STUDIO. Along with the name change came a new animated film clip. SOUNDS DANGEROUS with Drew Carey later replaced the second reincarnation on April 22, 1999.
Across the park, at home of the Voyage of the Little Mermaid was the original Muppet Show called HERE COMES THE MUPPETS(May 25 1990 until Sept 2, 1991). Many people believe Jim Henson's ghost haunts the Mermaid stage because he passed away while the Muppet show resided there. Across the Animation Courtyard used to be the SOUNDSTAGE RESTAURANT. A quick service pizza and burgers place, it was closed to make way for Henson's BEAR AND THE BIG BLUE HOUSE-LIVE ON STAGE in June 7,1999. For the first month or two, our "break room" was the old steel food service counters and the now closed Cat Walk Bar that was over head. They finally decided that Bear or some variation there of was going to be there for a while and did a huge renovation to create a real break room. The far side of the stage still has food service counters and is pretty much untouched from the restaurant days.
Then there is a list of, as I call them 'honorable mention' shows. The small, short run, limited set creations that were never intented to be long term commitments. R.L. STINE'S GOOSEBUMPS started in Sept. 1998 and lasted until Dec of that same year. ACE VENTURA PET DETECTIVE arrived in late 1995 and was gone a few months later. SCREENTEST was an itty bitty 'show?', 'experience?', maybe a little of both located in one of the stores near the front of the park. A Streetmosphere performer would pick people and auditon them. It lasted a few years. I'm not really sure why that one died. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES emerged from thier specially made Turtle Van on New York Street on June 30,1990. They did a brief martial arts routine them signed autographs on the loading dock. If I remember right, they later moved to other locations aroud the park for their sets until 1996 when the Turtles went back to thier sewers for good.
And finally, I bid a fond Rest In Peace to the ANIMATORS. The very real animation studios was shuttered soon after the release of the Mulan movie as yet another cost cutting measure. What used to be an animation tour is now just a character meet and greet area. THe rest of the building is more corporate offices. Fancy corporate offices, but just offices none the less.
Of all the parks, I think the Studios has seen the most change. Now with Disney buying Marvel Comics, I know we haven't seen the last of it.
When the studios opened there was a BACKSTAGE WALKING TOUR (which closed in 2001) that went through the a tour tunnel over looking the soundstages. It was hard to keep the facilities filled with projects. Maybe it was because they didn't like being watched by tourists, or maybe Florida has always been a bit of a step child when it comes to film and television production. The tour snaked it's way through a mock special effects workshops and ended in a real post production house. HOWEVER, again, people editing thier projects don't like being in a fish bowl, so alot of the time the editing rooms remained empty or closed off to the public. Now the Post Production building is independently run and the production tour tunnel has been turned into ONE MAN'S DREAM museum which opened on October 1,2001 to celebrate Walt's one Hundreth birthday.
Soundstages 2 and 3 housed WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE from 2001 to 2006. The closing of Miilionaire was probably the death neel for the "film industry" at Disney Hollywood Studios. In 2008 the stages were gutted and converted into TOY STORY MANIA ride. By the way, Millionaire was not the first big named game show to be shot in the Disney soundstages. Waaaay back in the begining of the park, a revival of LET'S MAKE A DEAL, was made there as well. Sadly it didn't last too long. I believe it was closed down around 1991ish. (i'.m still looking for the actual dates)
The BACKSTAGE TRAM TOUR has had a similar fate of it's walking tour cousin. Though it's still there, it's a mere shadow of it's former self. It's pretty much a drive through Creative Costuming and stop at catastrophe canyon. Oh yeah, they drive past the 'the award winning Earfel Tower'.(As the tour guide's script says). I've asked the guides "what kind of award did the water tower win ?" No one ever seemed to know. In it's day the tram drove past the soundstages and down residential street, but the home To The Golden Girls House, among others, are all gone now.
RESIDENTIAL STREET, opened in May 1, 1989, gave way to a new stunt show in 2005 called Lights Motors Action. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty cool show, but it's a bit heart breaking to see the 'studios' loose it's identity like that. If you ever wondered what was behind the house facades on residential street, it was storage. Mostly horticulture and other items that weather wouldn't hurt since there was only half a house there.
A little further up from Lights Motors Action, in a spot that used to be home to Norman the Cow from the City Slickers Movie, is BACKLOT THEATER. Built in 1993, it was originaly meant to be a temporary stage for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST while the old THEATER OF THE STARS (TOTS)was being relocated to make way for Sunset Blvd. Over the years TOTS was home to a number of song and dance shows including DICK TRACY (1990 - 1991), HOLLYWOOD'S PRETTY WOMEN (Sept. 9, 1991 to Nov. 3.1991), and various Star's of the Day Question and Answer sessions. When B&B got their new snazzy home, 'the powers that be' didn't want to tear down a perfectly good building AND we had a new Pocahontas movie coming out.
Thus the SPIRIT OF POCAHONTAS show was born June 23, 1995, but sadly, it closed on Feb. 24 1996, after a very short run. Casting issues. Staging issues. Staffing issues. They all played a part in it's demise. The intent was to have a totaly native american cast and crew. It ended up being maybe half the cast and a couple of the crew. For a few of the cast, it was in thier contract to either wear thier hair long or keep it in mohawks. If you know anything about 'The Disney Look', it was like an act of congress to get that passed Greta Groom (I'll introduce you to her in another blog).
Hot on Poca's heels was a new show DISNEY'S HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE. (June 21,1996 to Sept 28, 2002)Since everything else in that theater had an extremely short life span, Hunchback spent most of it's life in fear of being closed. At the third year anniversary, we realized that maybe we might just be okay for a while. I personally always felt like we were the step child to B & B. Lasting for seven years, it seemed to take on a life of it's own. The movie was Ehh. . .it was okay. Disney, (as Disney usually does) took liberties with the story that didn't sit well with die hard Victor Hugo fans, but the show itself had a huge following.
After Quasimodo rang his last cathederal bell, the stage sat empty for a while. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles invaded the space briefly as did other character sets using the old greenroom. Starwars weekends used the green room as Starwars Central for two years. Meanwhile, the Spectical of Lights (Christmas lights) crew claimed squatters right's to the stage area for storage. In Dec. 2007 the guts of the building were demolished and a full fledged 'new special events venue' was born for things like Night of Joy, Grad night, conventions, ect.
Next door to Hunckback was an odd stage. From the front, the two stages seemed to be on level ground. From back stage, however, the Muppets theater was a flight of stairs higher than the Backlot theater. This elevation difference, we believe, is what contributed to Hunchback's demise because all of the rain water drained down under the Backlot Theater and eventually rotted out the stage's supports. According to my tech sources the support posts under the stage were beginning to look like swiss cheese.
Working costuming at MUPPETS ON LOCATION: THE DAYS OF SWINE AND ROSES (Sept. 16 1991 and 1994)meant lugging costumes up a flight of stairs every morning and (I hate to admit it) throwing bags of dirty costumes off of the flight of stairs at the end of the day. We worked smarter, not harder, or at least that's what we told management. Since then, the stage has been host to numerous character sets over the years, now it's Buzz and Woody's home when they visit Al's Toy Barn.
Muppets costuming was also home to several of the music groups like the TUBAFOURS and The HOLLYWOOD HITMEN(closed April 7, 2001). During one of the "Oh my God the economy is tanking, must get rid of things' moments, we lost all of our musical groups to layoffs. A few years later they brought music back to the park with Mulch, Sweat and Shears rock band.
THe Studios went through numerous parades over the years. DINOSAUR (1992)(tv show version)was more of a street party complete with Dino whores. . .I mean scantily clad Dino girl cheerleaders, ALADDIN'S ROYAL CARAVAN, (Dec. 21, 1992 - Aug. 27, 1995) The spitting camels are now spitting once again by the Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride at the Kingdom, TOY STORY (1996 - 1997)To Infinfity, the International Space Station and Beyond, HERCULES (June, 27, 1997 to 1998)Hero to Zero, I mean Zero to Hero, MULAN (1998 - 2001) I miss seeing the Perchuran horses everyday, DISNEY STAR AND MOTOR CARS (october 1, 2001- march 8, 2008) Which I hear is coming to Disneyland Paris and last but definately not least, BLOCK PARTY BASH (March 9. 2008) . . .Uhm, never seen, know nothing about it.
SUPER STAR TELEVISION,(1989 to 1999)(Ahh, my home for many years), took guests from the audience and put them in scenes with famous co-stars. Using split screen, green screens, unique costumes and some old fashion imagination, guests were able try their hand at acting with the Golden Girls, Three stooges, David Letterman, Lucille Ball and several others. I'm not sure why it closed other than possible lack of interest/knowledge it existed due to limited advertising.
THe ABC THEATER stage sat dormant for a several years. The show DOUG started in 1999 was there briefly, but he, Patty Mayonaise, Skeeter and Pork Chop soon moved back to Nickelodeon. The cluttered up storage area in the back was given a new coat of paint and turned into a meet and greet area for Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. until Jan. 2008 when they were moved to the Streets of America. ABC THEATER was also used for special events like ESPN Weekends, Super Soap and Starwars Weekends. Its many years of neglect finally came to an end when, in 2009, Fox's AMERICAN IDOL Opened up shop. So the 'poor little stage that could' is now alive and kicking again.
Next door the MONSTER SOUND SHOW started May, 1989, where actors Martin Short and chevy Chase introduced guest to the world of sound effects. On July 1, 1997 the format changed and it became the ABC SOUND STUDIO. Along with the name change came a new animated film clip. SOUNDS DANGEROUS with Drew Carey later replaced the second reincarnation on April 22, 1999.
Across the park, at home of the Voyage of the Little Mermaid was the original Muppet Show called HERE COMES THE MUPPETS(May 25 1990 until Sept 2, 1991). Many people believe Jim Henson's ghost haunts the Mermaid stage because he passed away while the Muppet show resided there. Across the Animation Courtyard used to be the SOUNDSTAGE RESTAURANT. A quick service pizza and burgers place, it was closed to make way for Henson's BEAR AND THE BIG BLUE HOUSE-LIVE ON STAGE in June 7,1999. For the first month or two, our "break room" was the old steel food service counters and the now closed Cat Walk Bar that was over head. They finally decided that Bear or some variation there of was going to be there for a while and did a huge renovation to create a real break room. The far side of the stage still has food service counters and is pretty much untouched from the restaurant days.
Then there is a list of, as I call them 'honorable mention' shows. The small, short run, limited set creations that were never intented to be long term commitments. R.L. STINE'S GOOSEBUMPS started in Sept. 1998 and lasted until Dec of that same year. ACE VENTURA PET DETECTIVE arrived in late 1995 and was gone a few months later. SCREENTEST was an itty bitty 'show?', 'experience?', maybe a little of both located in one of the stores near the front of the park. A Streetmosphere performer would pick people and auditon them. It lasted a few years. I'm not really sure why that one died. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES emerged from thier specially made Turtle Van on New York Street on June 30,1990. They did a brief martial arts routine them signed autographs on the loading dock. If I remember right, they later moved to other locations aroud the park for their sets until 1996 when the Turtles went back to thier sewers for good.
And finally, I bid a fond Rest In Peace to the ANIMATORS. The very real animation studios was shuttered soon after the release of the Mulan movie as yet another cost cutting measure. What used to be an animation tour is now just a character meet and greet area. THe rest of the building is more corporate offices. Fancy corporate offices, but just offices none the less.
Of all the parks, I think the Studios has seen the most change. Now with Disney buying Marvel Comics, I know we haven't seen the last of it.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
EXTINCT DISNEY
OKAY I need everybody's help. If I miss listing something from a by gone era at Walt Disney World (Orlando), PLEASE, email me and let me know.
In a company that's been around since the 1970's there has been alot of things that have came and gone. Some, like Norman the cow, have been forgotten(or eaten). Some have been sorely missed like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. So follow me down memory lane as we rediscover Extinct Disney Places.
Magic Kingdom:
The building and structures for 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1971-1994) were left overgrown and rusted for years. When Anehiem revitalized thier 20k Leagues as a Nemo ride, we had hoped Magic Kingdom would be next. Then they built a Pooh play area over a large chunk of the space. At one time, Disney bragged that 'We had more submarines that the US Navy.' The only difference is thier's actually went under water. . .I guess that would make Disney's, uhmmm. . . glass bottom Boats.
I came across this link to old, old, old pics of the 20,000 leagues ride
http://www.20kride.com/photos_behind.html
The SKYWAY(1971-1999)was a great way to get from the back of the park to the front at the end of the day. For some kids, it was also (-I was told- because I would nnneever do this when I was a kid) a great way to annoy people by dropping popcorn, spit balls and other things on any one who walked underneath it. I'm not sure what brought it to it's final demise, but when a maintenance cast member fell to his death after being hit by a moving ride bucket, it was taken down shortly afterwards. The last time I was in the Kingdom (early 2009), the passanger loading structure in Fantasy land was still in place and pretty much untouched (at least from the outside). The one in Tomarrowland, I hear, wasn't so lucky. As recently as summer 2009, it was still there, but now it think it's being torn down. Now, there are large painted medallions on the concrete to hide the fact that there used to be a huge pole there.
August 2009 I learned that the GALAXY THEATER in tomarrow land was torn down. I have to admit that I never saw a show there. I was told that it was hard to get guests to make the sharp right hand turn around the Buzz Lightyear / Dreamflight / If You Had Wings ride to fill the theater. I was also told that time has not been kind to the stage and safety was a bit of an issue as well. I'm not sure what's going into that space other than a temporary cast parking lot while they work on some office rehab. After that. . .
EASTERN AIRLINES - IF YOU HAD WINGS(1972-1987)/ IF YOU COULD FLY (1987-1989) / DELTA AIRLINES DREAMFLIGHT (1989-1998) was a 'must see'. . . but mainly because it was always a free ride back in the E-ticket days. It's pretty much unchanged structurally, but in 1998 it was turned into a Buzz Lightyear target game. Personally, since there's a Toy Story target shooting ride at the Studios, they could bring the If You Had Wings. . .no wait, I guess they can't since Eastern Airlines is defunct. . . Darn.
Here's a link die hard fans will like: http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/iyhw.htm
FLIGHT TO THE MOON (1971- 1975) / MISSION TO MARS (1975-1993). . . Yeah, it was wwaaay past time to change that one out. ALIEN ENCOUNTER (1993 - 2003)was supposed to be a scare your pants off, 'too intense for little kids' attraction. Maybe they succeded a bit too well, because it turned into a toned down STITCH'S GREAT ESCAPE pretty fast.
According to Wikipedia, the days of the MIKE FINK KEEL BOATS ended 5:30 May 17, 1997. Apparently one of the boats in Disneyland started rocking and was capsized. THey were taken out of service and inspected for seaworthiness. They never returned to the Rivers of America. In fact it says one ended up on ebay and sold for $15,000. The other's (One in D-land, one in D-world) were moored to Tom Sawyer's island. THe D-land one eventually sunk due to a split hull and was removed from show completely in
April 2009. After looking at some old video on youtube, i agree with the verdict. They seemed a bit top heavy. I included a link to one of the videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIJMglGrsM8&feature=related
DAVY CROCKETT EXPLORER CANOES were 35ft long canoes in the Rivers of America. it opened oct. 1 1971 and ran to 1994. This was another ride i never took the time to try out. Another example of being a day late and a dollar short.
In researching the web, I came across an attraction that for some reason, i never knew existed. THE PLAZA SWAN BOATS. They left from a dock near Tomarrowland and tooled around the park's inner canals from May 1973 to August 1983. The website Widen Your World said it was based on the Boston Public Garden's boat ride from 1877. If you see a vaccume boat claening the canals that is one of the last remanents of the Swan boats. The rest of the fleet was removed from the park and later sold.
CIRCLE VISION -AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL (1971-1974 & 1979-1984) / MAGIC CARPET AROUND THE WORLD(1974-1975)/ CIRCLEVISION 360 - AMERICAN JOURNEY (1984-1994)/ TIME KEEPER (1994-2006) had 360 degree view of the world via movie screens encircling you. It went through several name changes and variations of films, but it was always the same concept: Stand in the middle of the room watching a panoramic movie and try not to get vertigo from all the moving. The TIMEKEEPER reincarnation of the attraction included an animatron with Robin William's voice.
DIAMOND HORSESHOE REVUE (1971- 1986)/DIAMOND HORSESHOE JAMBOREE (1986-1995)/DIAMOND HORSESHOE SALOON REVUE AND MEDICINE SHOW confuses me. I vaguely remember as a kid, that they served food and had a vaude ville style show, but then it closed. Then it was an ice cream parlor. Then it was a special events space. Now as a concierge I see they use it as a seasonal dining option again (around the holiday). It's a case of 'Is it open? Is it closed? Now it's open. No wait, now it's closed.' I give up.
Now, the 3D movie MAGICAL JOURNEY'S(1988- 1993) I could swear was the same 3D movie I had seen years before at a since defunct Circus World theme park near I-4 and US 27. I was a warm and fuzzy 3D Imax movie about a couple of kids fantasies, but the best thing in the middle of summer is. . . Air Conditioned theater.
The LEGEND OF THE LION KING (1994-2002)was considered by some to be the forefather of the Broadway show, much like the Beauty and the Beast seemed to be the grandmother of the Broadway show. It definately pushed the bounderies of puppeteering. With the opening of the Nemo show at DAK, some of Broadway's ideas found thier way back to the parks.
MICKEY'S STARLAND /MICKEY'S BIRTHDAYLAND (1988-1996)was expanded into TOONTOWN FAIR. I believe there was talk of creating a Toontown in the Studios to corrilate with Rodger Rabbit, but those plans fizzeled down to a gift shop and a Disney character Toontown popped up at the Kingdom.
KING STEPHEN'S FEAST is still technically there. It's just a Cinderella dinning now.
And finally, let us not forget MR TOAD'S WILD RIDE(1971-1998) (which I almost did). That was one ride that when they announced is was going away, people actually got upset and protested. I later realized that the Pooh ride was exactly the same thing, it was just with a stuffed bear instead of well dressed frogs.
EPCOT
COMMUNICORE (1982-1994)still exists, it's just renamed Innoventions.
All I have to say about SPACEHIP EARTH is 'I miss the tommarrow's child song' as you're leaving the golf ball.
My notes say that the MAGICAL JOURNEY(1982-1987) 3D movie was made by Disney for Epcot's opening, thenmoved to Magic Kingdom. I still say I had seen it before that at Circus World. I must dig deeper into my research.
CAPTIAN EO(1986-1994), Ah yes, the 3D movie hit the internet after Michael Jackson's death. I heard he was hanging around Disney quiet a bit for a while. . . pre legal trouble and pre fatherhood days. Maybe Captian EO will resurface some where else, some day.
Maybe some day, Disney can find a new sponsor for the WONDERS OF LIFE Pavillion(1989-2007). They use the building off and on for special events and it makes a great obstacle course for SEGWAY classes, but sadly, Body Wars and Cranium Command have sat idle for way too long. I had a guest bring thier child to Disney just so she could learn about the birds and the bees in the "Making of Me" movie. Needless to say she was upset when she found out that the whole pavillion was closed. Maybe they should just market the movie for parents :)
The Land Pavillion had a show called KITCHEN KABARET (1982-1994). It was an animatronic show about eating healthy. Honestly, I think I only saw it once.
HORIZON (1983-1999) was a bit redundant, I have to admit, but it was still one of my favorite rides. I think mainly because of the huge IMAX screen at the end. Sadly the Horizon building was torn down for Mission Space. I recently saw where you could buy a Horizon ride car online, if you were a die hard fan.
UNIVERSE of MOTION (1982-1996) is same building structure as Test Track, just different stuff
inside and from the rumors i'm hearing on the street, probably a new sponsor by the end of 2009. . . Toyota, maybe. But that's just a rumor.
ODYSSEY RESTAURANT is still there and still pretty much looks like a restaurant, but it been years since they've served food there. I know they've used it as a Flower and Garden lecture center a few years. Who knows, maybe it was just too far off the beaten track to draw people. I bet they throw a few princesses in there and a couple steak dinners on the menu and they'd be packed. It worked for Le Celliar (in Canada) and Princess Storybook (in Norway).
The DOUBLE DECKER BUS around the world showcase is now just a character thing. Everytime I saw it, it was packed with people. I never did get to ride it.
TAPESTRY OF NATIONS (1999 - 2001)/ TAPESTRY OF DREAMS (2001-2003) was as far as I know, the only parade Epcot ever had. The drummers were pretty cool. The giant walking puppet people always freaked me out. It was a very artsy parade. T OF NATIONS had a rather intimidating Sage of Time. . . In their defense we were coming up on the new Millenium at the time and it was all about TIME. Later they revamped it and turned the Sage into the Dreamseekers. I think logistics and a massive need for man power is what finally killed it.
I love seeing how Disney recycles show elements. The Mexico Pavillion opened with a boat ride called EL RIO DEL TIEMPO(1982-2007). In it there was video of street vendors trying to sell you stuff. They moved that from the If You Had Wings ride in Tomarrowland.
The building formally known as MILLENIUM VILLAGE (1999-2000) is located just outside the park. Now it's a convention and special events space, but from October 1999 to January 2001 it housed several mini pavillions from countries not presently included in the world showcase. Here's link to more indepth information as to what countries, ect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Village. I remember there was even a few minor international spats between neighboring exhibits. . . Really? at a theme park. . . You've got to be kidding.
It makes you just want to say 'OKAY EVERYBODY, COME ON, LET'S HOLD HANDS AND SING 'IT'S A SMALL WORLD'
on that note, I'm going to bed. . . to be continued-
In a company that's been around since the 1970's there has been alot of things that have came and gone. Some, like Norman the cow, have been forgotten(or eaten). Some have been sorely missed like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. So follow me down memory lane as we rediscover Extinct Disney Places.
Magic Kingdom:
The building and structures for 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1971-1994) were left overgrown and rusted for years. When Anehiem revitalized thier 20k Leagues as a Nemo ride, we had hoped Magic Kingdom would be next. Then they built a Pooh play area over a large chunk of the space. At one time, Disney bragged that 'We had more submarines that the US Navy.' The only difference is thier's actually went under water. . .I guess that would make Disney's, uhmmm. . . glass bottom Boats.
I came across this link to old, old, old pics of the 20,000 leagues ride
http://www.20kride.com/photos_behind.html
The SKYWAY(1971-1999)was a great way to get from the back of the park to the front at the end of the day. For some kids, it was also (-I was told- because I would nnneever do this when I was a kid) a great way to annoy people by dropping popcorn, spit balls and other things on any one who walked underneath it. I'm not sure what brought it to it's final demise, but when a maintenance cast member fell to his death after being hit by a moving ride bucket, it was taken down shortly afterwards. The last time I was in the Kingdom (early 2009), the passanger loading structure in Fantasy land was still in place and pretty much untouched (at least from the outside). The one in Tomarrowland, I hear, wasn't so lucky. As recently as summer 2009, it was still there, but now it think it's being torn down. Now, there are large painted medallions on the concrete to hide the fact that there used to be a huge pole there.
August 2009 I learned that the GALAXY THEATER in tomarrow land was torn down. I have to admit that I never saw a show there. I was told that it was hard to get guests to make the sharp right hand turn around the Buzz Lightyear / Dreamflight / If You Had Wings ride to fill the theater. I was also told that time has not been kind to the stage and safety was a bit of an issue as well. I'm not sure what's going into that space other than a temporary cast parking lot while they work on some office rehab. After that. . .
EASTERN AIRLINES - IF YOU HAD WINGS(1972-1987)/ IF YOU COULD FLY (1987-1989) / DELTA AIRLINES DREAMFLIGHT (1989-1998) was a 'must see'. . . but mainly because it was always a free ride back in the E-ticket days. It's pretty much unchanged structurally, but in 1998 it was turned into a Buzz Lightyear target game. Personally, since there's a Toy Story target shooting ride at the Studios, they could bring the If You Had Wings. . .no wait, I guess they can't since Eastern Airlines is defunct. . . Darn.
Here's a link die hard fans will like: http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/iyhw.htm
FLIGHT TO THE MOON (1971- 1975) / MISSION TO MARS (1975-1993). . . Yeah, it was wwaaay past time to change that one out. ALIEN ENCOUNTER (1993 - 2003)was supposed to be a scare your pants off, 'too intense for little kids' attraction. Maybe they succeded a bit too well, because it turned into a toned down STITCH'S GREAT ESCAPE pretty fast.
According to Wikipedia, the days of the MIKE FINK KEEL BOATS ended 5:30 May 17, 1997. Apparently one of the boats in Disneyland started rocking and was capsized. THey were taken out of service and inspected for seaworthiness. They never returned to the Rivers of America. In fact it says one ended up on ebay and sold for $15,000. The other's (One in D-land, one in D-world) were moored to Tom Sawyer's island. THe D-land one eventually sunk due to a split hull and was removed from show completely in
April 2009. After looking at some old video on youtube, i agree with the verdict. They seemed a bit top heavy. I included a link to one of the videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIJMglGrsM8&feature=related
DAVY CROCKETT EXPLORER CANOES were 35ft long canoes in the Rivers of America. it opened oct. 1 1971 and ran to 1994. This was another ride i never took the time to try out. Another example of being a day late and a dollar short.
In researching the web, I came across an attraction that for some reason, i never knew existed. THE PLAZA SWAN BOATS. They left from a dock near Tomarrowland and tooled around the park's inner canals from May 1973 to August 1983. The website Widen Your World said it was based on the Boston Public Garden's boat ride from 1877. If you see a vaccume boat claening the canals that is one of the last remanents of the Swan boats. The rest of the fleet was removed from the park and later sold.
CIRCLE VISION -AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL (1971-1974 & 1979-1984) / MAGIC CARPET AROUND THE WORLD(1974-1975)/ CIRCLEVISION 360 - AMERICAN JOURNEY (1984-1994)/ TIME KEEPER (1994-2006) had 360 degree view of the world via movie screens encircling you. It went through several name changes and variations of films, but it was always the same concept: Stand in the middle of the room watching a panoramic movie and try not to get vertigo from all the moving. The TIMEKEEPER reincarnation of the attraction included an animatron with Robin William's voice.
DIAMOND HORSESHOE REVUE (1971- 1986)/DIAMOND HORSESHOE JAMBOREE (1986-1995)/DIAMOND HORSESHOE SALOON REVUE AND MEDICINE SHOW confuses me. I vaguely remember as a kid, that they served food and had a vaude ville style show, but then it closed. Then it was an ice cream parlor. Then it was a special events space. Now as a concierge I see they use it as a seasonal dining option again (around the holiday). It's a case of 'Is it open? Is it closed? Now it's open. No wait, now it's closed.' I give up.
Now, the 3D movie MAGICAL JOURNEY'S(1988- 1993) I could swear was the same 3D movie I had seen years before at a since defunct Circus World theme park near I-4 and US 27. I was a warm and fuzzy 3D Imax movie about a couple of kids fantasies, but the best thing in the middle of summer is. . . Air Conditioned theater.
The LEGEND OF THE LION KING (1994-2002)was considered by some to be the forefather of the Broadway show, much like the Beauty and the Beast seemed to be the grandmother of the Broadway show. It definately pushed the bounderies of puppeteering. With the opening of the Nemo show at DAK, some of Broadway's ideas found thier way back to the parks.
MICKEY'S STARLAND /MICKEY'S BIRTHDAYLAND (1988-1996)was expanded into TOONTOWN FAIR. I believe there was talk of creating a Toontown in the Studios to corrilate with Rodger Rabbit, but those plans fizzeled down to a gift shop and a Disney character Toontown popped up at the Kingdom.
KING STEPHEN'S FEAST is still technically there. It's just a Cinderella dinning now.
And finally, let us not forget MR TOAD'S WILD RIDE(1971-1998) (which I almost did). That was one ride that when they announced is was going away, people actually got upset and protested. I later realized that the Pooh ride was exactly the same thing, it was just with a stuffed bear instead of well dressed frogs.
EPCOT
COMMUNICORE (1982-1994)still exists, it's just renamed Innoventions.
All I have to say about SPACEHIP EARTH is 'I miss the tommarrow's child song' as you're leaving the golf ball.
My notes say that the MAGICAL JOURNEY(1982-1987) 3D movie was made by Disney for Epcot's opening, thenmoved to Magic Kingdom. I still say I had seen it before that at Circus World. I must dig deeper into my research.
CAPTIAN EO(1986-1994), Ah yes, the 3D movie hit the internet after Michael Jackson's death. I heard he was hanging around Disney quiet a bit for a while. . . pre legal trouble and pre fatherhood days. Maybe Captian EO will resurface some where else, some day.
Maybe some day, Disney can find a new sponsor for the WONDERS OF LIFE Pavillion(1989-2007). They use the building off and on for special events and it makes a great obstacle course for SEGWAY classes, but sadly, Body Wars and Cranium Command have sat idle for way too long. I had a guest bring thier child to Disney just so she could learn about the birds and the bees in the "Making of Me" movie. Needless to say she was upset when she found out that the whole pavillion was closed. Maybe they should just market the movie for parents :)
The Land Pavillion had a show called KITCHEN KABARET (1982-1994). It was an animatronic show about eating healthy. Honestly, I think I only saw it once.
HORIZON (1983-1999) was a bit redundant, I have to admit, but it was still one of my favorite rides. I think mainly because of the huge IMAX screen at the end. Sadly the Horizon building was torn down for Mission Space. I recently saw where you could buy a Horizon ride car online, if you were a die hard fan.
UNIVERSE of MOTION (1982-1996) is same building structure as Test Track, just different stuff
inside and from the rumors i'm hearing on the street, probably a new sponsor by the end of 2009. . . Toyota, maybe. But that's just a rumor.
ODYSSEY RESTAURANT is still there and still pretty much looks like a restaurant, but it been years since they've served food there. I know they've used it as a Flower and Garden lecture center a few years. Who knows, maybe it was just too far off the beaten track to draw people. I bet they throw a few princesses in there and a couple steak dinners on the menu and they'd be packed. It worked for Le Celliar (in Canada) and Princess Storybook (in Norway).
The DOUBLE DECKER BUS around the world showcase is now just a character thing. Everytime I saw it, it was packed with people. I never did get to ride it.
TAPESTRY OF NATIONS (1999 - 2001)/ TAPESTRY OF DREAMS (2001-2003) was as far as I know, the only parade Epcot ever had. The drummers were pretty cool. The giant walking puppet people always freaked me out. It was a very artsy parade. T OF NATIONS had a rather intimidating Sage of Time. . . In their defense we were coming up on the new Millenium at the time and it was all about TIME. Later they revamped it and turned the Sage into the Dreamseekers. I think logistics and a massive need for man power is what finally killed it.
I love seeing how Disney recycles show elements. The Mexico Pavillion opened with a boat ride called EL RIO DEL TIEMPO(1982-2007). In it there was video of street vendors trying to sell you stuff. They moved that from the If You Had Wings ride in Tomarrowland.
The building formally known as MILLENIUM VILLAGE (1999-2000) is located just outside the park. Now it's a convention and special events space, but from October 1999 to January 2001 it housed several mini pavillions from countries not presently included in the world showcase. Here's link to more indepth information as to what countries, ect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Village. I remember there was even a few minor international spats between neighboring exhibits. . . Really? at a theme park. . . You've got to be kidding.
It makes you just want to say 'OKAY EVERYBODY, COME ON, LET'S HOLD HANDS AND SING 'IT'S A SMALL WORLD'
on that note, I'm going to bed. . . to be continued-
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
TAKE A MOMENT TO LAUGH
Over the past several weeks I've been accumulating random thoughts and little snipets of stuff i've seen around property.
Here's my top ten:
YOU KNOW YOU'RE A TOURIST WHEN-
10. You put your kids on leashes, but not your dogs.
9. Buying the paintng of a neon Mickey on velvet
sounded like a good idea at the time.
8. Your back is as red as your lobster dinner.
7. You're willing to trade your 1st born child
for a cigarette lighter (or a lit cigarette)
at the airport arrival terminal.
6. You cry at Kermit singing Rainbow Connection
everytime you walk past the Muppets movie
theater at the Studios
5. When you get into an argument with a cast member
about why they 'Moved the Hulk Roller Coaster'
from the Magic Kingdom.
4. When you get into an argument with a crew member
about why they 'Moved Space Mountian Roller Coaster'
from Universal Studios Orlando.
3. When you circle Animal Kingdom several times wondering
where they 'Moved the Shamu the Killer Whale Show' to.
2. You put squeaky shoes on your toddler so you can find
them in a crowd.
1. You tell time by what dining reservation is next.
OKAY, So I Have two more:
You know you're a tourist when- your wardrobe is matching
neon pinstrip tie dye and you're following triangle shaped
flag with the words 'TOURISMO' on it.
You know you're a tourist when- you voluntarily allow your
body to be thrown into complete darknes at break-neck speeds
while being strapped to a tiny rocket shaped ride car that is
being controlled by an unknown indvidual who is wearing a
dorkey space costume.
POLITICS AND DISNEY:
It has been brought to my attention, that when comes to politics
we are all a bit like the seven dwarfs:
-We meet them and we're Bashful.
-You soon realize the cost for a political meeting is nothing to Sneeze at.
-When we hear their promises we're Happy.
-We hear thier political rhetoric and we're Grumpy.
-After hearing too much political rhetoric and we become Sleepy.
-We get all worked up over the issues and have to call our Doc.
-In the end, if we actually believe them were all a bit Dopey.
Sadly, i didn't come up with this next one, but I've seen it around for years.
Since I worked in shows, this became a relevant piece of my daily life.
THEATER LOGIC
In is down, down is front.
Out is up, up is back.
and of course -
Right is left and Left is right
A drop shouldn't
A block and fall does neither.
a prop doesn't, and a cove holds no water.
Tripping is OKAY
A running crew rarely gets anywhere;
A purchase line will buy you nothing;
A trap will not catch anything, and
A gridiron has nothing to do with football.
Strikes are work (and lots of it)
A green room, thank God, usually isn't.
And in closing, I'd like to say
BREAK A LEG . . . But not really.
Here's my top ten:
YOU KNOW YOU'RE A TOURIST WHEN-
10. You put your kids on leashes, but not your dogs.
9. Buying the paintng of a neon Mickey on velvet
sounded like a good idea at the time.
8. Your back is as red as your lobster dinner.
7. You're willing to trade your 1st born child
for a cigarette lighter (or a lit cigarette)
at the airport arrival terminal.
6. You cry at Kermit singing Rainbow Connection
everytime you walk past the Muppets movie
theater at the Studios
5. When you get into an argument with a cast member
about why they 'Moved the Hulk Roller Coaster'
from the Magic Kingdom.
4. When you get into an argument with a crew member
about why they 'Moved Space Mountian Roller Coaster'
from Universal Studios Orlando.
3. When you circle Animal Kingdom several times wondering
where they 'Moved the Shamu the Killer Whale Show' to.
2. You put squeaky shoes on your toddler so you can find
them in a crowd.
1. You tell time by what dining reservation is next.
OKAY, So I Have two more:
You know you're a tourist when- your wardrobe is matching
neon pinstrip tie dye and you're following triangle shaped
flag with the words 'TOURISMO' on it.
You know you're a tourist when- you voluntarily allow your
body to be thrown into complete darknes at break-neck speeds
while being strapped to a tiny rocket shaped ride car that is
being controlled by an unknown indvidual who is wearing a
dorkey space costume.
POLITICS AND DISNEY:
It has been brought to my attention, that when comes to politics
we are all a bit like the seven dwarfs:
-We meet them and we're Bashful.
-You soon realize the cost for a political meeting is nothing to Sneeze at.
-When we hear their promises we're Happy.
-We hear thier political rhetoric and we're Grumpy.
-After hearing too much political rhetoric and we become Sleepy.
-We get all worked up over the issues and have to call our Doc.
-In the end, if we actually believe them were all a bit Dopey.
Sadly, i didn't come up with this next one, but I've seen it around for years.
Since I worked in shows, this became a relevant piece of my daily life.
THEATER LOGIC
In is down, down is front.
Out is up, up is back.
and of course -
Right is left and Left is right
A drop shouldn't
A block and fall does neither.
a prop doesn't, and a cove holds no water.
Tripping is OKAY
A running crew rarely gets anywhere;
A purchase line will buy you nothing;
A trap will not catch anything, and
A gridiron has nothing to do with football.
Strikes are work (and lots of it)
A green room, thank God, usually isn't.
And in closing, I'd like to say
BREAK A LEG . . . But not really.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
YOU DID WHAT?
The fondest memories are those where you should have gotten into big trouble, but didn't. I was at Epic one day and my coordinator said, "Do you want some ice cream?" Normally that would sound innocent enough, but this was during a show. We walked over to the dinosaur ice cream stand outside Epic and ate ice cream, then strolled back to the stage in time to finish the show.
During the run of Hunchback of Notre Dame, one of my cast was a Michael Jackson impersonator. To look at him out of make up, you would never know it. I am a photographer on the side and had started making a name for my self as such at several of the stages that I worked at. He wanted pictures of him as MJ, so one day, he dressed up and did the hair and make up. Let me say he looked exactly like MJ. We went out on stage and shot some pretty good pictures. The techs saw what we were doing and turned on the fog machines and fans. It was pretty darn cool.
HOWEVER, it didn't stop there. Back in the day, before lights motors action stunt show, there was residential street and a backstage studio tour that ran right next to our stage. MJ impersonator walked off the Hunchback stage and into view of the tour tram. People started to talk. He walked next to the tour tram. The tour guide lost her train of thought and started stumbling over her lines. We, meaning MJ impersonator, myself and half dozen members of the hunckback cast walked into the park. Now, mind you, the cast was wearing shorts and t-shirts with 'Hunchback' written in sharpie on the front. They were playing the body guards. . . . God help us. Seeing how the crowds mobbed MJ, this as not a smart idea.
We heard a few guests say "Hey MJ!" "Is that. . .no it couldn't-" "Look who it is." You could feel the electricity start to build in a matter of moments. Seeing a stir start to build, we ducked out the back gate as soon as we could. End of story ? Not quiet. Later our stage manager came up to us and said,"Please tell me that you did not walk through the park like that." We said, "Of course not." WE knew, that he knew, that we knew.
Speaking of being in place you probably shouldn't, as a photographer for several of the Indy Stunt doubles, I have been in places on that stage that I KNOW I should have neve been in. Like the Mayan temple set in the ball(rolling boulder) track. In a prop rock during the show so I could get pictures of the Plane scene. At the top of the market place buildings, so I could get shots of high falls. At least I never went up in th rafters like the boys did one day. THey were bored and moved the high fall pad to under one of the beams in the rafters and decided to take flying leaps from the roof of the stage.
If you have ever seen the Indy stunt show, then you'll know that scene two is the cairo marketplace. In that set above the awing is a little niche. They use this niche for DJ's at times during convention shows. One day two of our Epic/Fantasmic! cast got bored between Fantasmic shows and decided to climb into the set and pretend they were eating dinner. . . during the Epic show. One was wearing one of Marion's shirts as a diguse. At the end of the scene, he knelt down to the other and pretended to propose. (By the way, both guys were married with kids.)
THe cast and crew about died laughing. The stage manager, thank goodness was awesome. She came up to them and said(paraphased) "That was the funniest thing i have ever seen. Don't you ever do it again."
Fantasmic! stunt perfomers meet at Epic, use Epic's pargo to ride over to the stage. Every so often they'll give ride to a character or two as well. One day the driver took a short cut through the creative costuming tunnel (part of the backstage tour) and turned a lliiitttle to soon. Because setting outside of the tunnel are prop planes from the movie Pearl Harbor. On this particular day, the Epic driver plowed into the wing of the plane an crumpled the top of the pargo. No one was hurt, from what I can remember, but they did have to use the jaws of life to get one of the character girls out of the front seat. And wouldn't you know, the driver still works at Disney.
I had my own personal "You did what ?" moment one day at Fantasmic!. I was not in a good mood that day. I had one precious darling cast mamber get all over my case one day because she said "This is not my costume. My costume does not have this piece in it" (it was a snap in, snap out removable piece)
I said,"you're the only one doing this role today. Not one else has worn it. It's identical to the other costumes in the trailer."
She still said, "This is not my costume, I don't use this piece."
Now, mind you, we are on the steamboat. The cross bridge is pulled back and the boat is about to start moving. I snatched the costume from her hands, ripped out the unwanted item and handed it back to her. "Here it's doesn't have that strap anymore."
She went out and did her part, but ran to the stage manager afterwards and said "costuming was being mean to me."
And 'bless his soul', he stood up for us and said,"Did you check your preset ?"
She started to cry.
I went to my manager and told her what happened. All she said was, "Yeah, you probably shouldn't have done that."
Ah, those were the days.
During the run of Hunchback of Notre Dame, one of my cast was a Michael Jackson impersonator. To look at him out of make up, you would never know it. I am a photographer on the side and had started making a name for my self as such at several of the stages that I worked at. He wanted pictures of him as MJ, so one day, he dressed up and did the hair and make up. Let me say he looked exactly like MJ. We went out on stage and shot some pretty good pictures. The techs saw what we were doing and turned on the fog machines and fans. It was pretty darn cool.
HOWEVER, it didn't stop there. Back in the day, before lights motors action stunt show, there was residential street and a backstage studio tour that ran right next to our stage. MJ impersonator walked off the Hunchback stage and into view of the tour tram. People started to talk. He walked next to the tour tram. The tour guide lost her train of thought and started stumbling over her lines. We, meaning MJ impersonator, myself and half dozen members of the hunckback cast walked into the park. Now, mind you, the cast was wearing shorts and t-shirts with 'Hunchback' written in sharpie on the front. They were playing the body guards. . . . God help us. Seeing how the crowds mobbed MJ, this as not a smart idea.
We heard a few guests say "Hey MJ!" "Is that. . .no it couldn't-" "Look who it is." You could feel the electricity start to build in a matter of moments. Seeing a stir start to build, we ducked out the back gate as soon as we could. End of story ? Not quiet. Later our stage manager came up to us and said,"Please tell me that you did not walk through the park like that." We said, "Of course not." WE knew, that he knew, that we knew.
Speaking of being in place you probably shouldn't, as a photographer for several of the Indy Stunt doubles, I have been in places on that stage that I KNOW I should have neve been in. Like the Mayan temple set in the ball(rolling boulder) track. In a prop rock during the show so I could get pictures of the Plane scene. At the top of the market place buildings, so I could get shots of high falls. At least I never went up in th rafters like the boys did one day. THey were bored and moved the high fall pad to under one of the beams in the rafters and decided to take flying leaps from the roof of the stage.
If you have ever seen the Indy stunt show, then you'll know that scene two is the cairo marketplace. In that set above the awing is a little niche. They use this niche for DJ's at times during convention shows. One day two of our Epic/Fantasmic! cast got bored between Fantasmic shows and decided to climb into the set and pretend they were eating dinner. . . during the Epic show. One was wearing one of Marion's shirts as a diguse. At the end of the scene, he knelt down to the other and pretended to propose. (By the way, both guys were married with kids.)
THe cast and crew about died laughing. The stage manager, thank goodness was awesome. She came up to them and said(paraphased) "That was the funniest thing i have ever seen. Don't you ever do it again."
Fantasmic! stunt perfomers meet at Epic, use Epic's pargo to ride over to the stage. Every so often they'll give ride to a character or two as well. One day the driver took a short cut through the creative costuming tunnel (part of the backstage tour) and turned a lliiitttle to soon. Because setting outside of the tunnel are prop planes from the movie Pearl Harbor. On this particular day, the Epic driver plowed into the wing of the plane an crumpled the top of the pargo. No one was hurt, from what I can remember, but they did have to use the jaws of life to get one of the character girls out of the front seat. And wouldn't you know, the driver still works at Disney.
I had my own personal "You did what ?" moment one day at Fantasmic!. I was not in a good mood that day. I had one precious darling cast mamber get all over my case one day because she said "This is not my costume. My costume does not have this piece in it" (it was a snap in, snap out removable piece)
I said,"you're the only one doing this role today. Not one else has worn it. It's identical to the other costumes in the trailer."
She still said, "This is not my costume, I don't use this piece."
Now, mind you, we are on the steamboat. The cross bridge is pulled back and the boat is about to start moving. I snatched the costume from her hands, ripped out the unwanted item and handed it back to her. "Here it's doesn't have that strap anymore."
She went out and did her part, but ran to the stage manager afterwards and said "costuming was being mean to me."
And 'bless his soul', he stood up for us and said,"Did you check your preset ?"
She started to cry.
I went to my manager and told her what happened. All she said was, "Yeah, you probably shouldn't have done that."
Ah, those were the days.
Monday, July 6, 2009
STARWARS CENTRAL
If you think Star Wars fans swarm the Disney MGM Studios (aka Disney Hollywood Studios) for four weekends in May and June, you would only be half true. In fact, some of the biggest fans are actually backstage. At least for the first few years, there was stiff competition to be in the cast. The first character coordinator took ownership of the event and continuted to live, eat and breathe Star Wars for the first four years of it's existence.
We had Imperial Guard uniforms that were hand me downs from the Star Wars on ice show. We never intended to use these costumes until Coordinator "T" saw them. He got permission to use them and for years they became the official coordinator costume. Sadly, we lost coordinator "T" to cancer during the fourth year of the event. The following year as we unloaded the road cases, we resealed the Imperial Guard costumes and no one used them that year in honor of our friend and colleague.
Coordinator "T" established the greenroom / breakroom as Star Wars Central. He made posterboard size placards to hang around the room, each with a character's picture, history and thier autograph. Every year we had a TV /DVD player set up to play the movies. . . all day . . . non stop. . . over and over and over. Don't get me wrong, I love the movies, but when you start receiting the movie word for word, it gets to be a bit much. The first few years espescially, we'd have the walls covered in character development information, the movies running in one corner and people reading the books in another. Needless to say it was total immersion in the World of Star Wars.
I consider myself a fan of the film, but not a fanatic. However, I was training a new costumer one year. While I was showing her who was who and who did what, I caught myself sounding like a fanatic. "Darth Maul was a Sith Lord who killed. . . . Bobo Fett is the son of Jango Fett who fought in the. . . . Before Anakin turned to the dark side he and Queen Amadalla . . . . " NOoo!!!. I refuse to be a fanatic !!! Okay, there I said. I'm better now. Let's move on. :)
Star Wars was always a bit of a step child when it came to setting up for the event, we were rarely had the same venue twice. One year Star Wars Central was the character's warm up room. Two years it was in the old Hunchback of Notre Dame stage (Until Spectitcal of Lights - the christmas lights people moved in). One year we were in the parade car barn, which got nice and toasty during the day, even with fans and AC blowing. My last year we were over in the lighting and grip building with an outside costume drying room that kept tripping breakers.
Besides the greenroom area and wardrobe, Starwars Central also had a sizeable Cosmotology department. Four o'clock in the morning call times, some of our cast would stumble into work, throw on a t-shirt, climb into the make up chair and fall asleep while the makeup artists worked. Sometime around 8 o'clock they would find caffine, thier costume and THEN thier day would begin.
Packing up such a large event was always an adventure. For the first few years, we used cardboard moving boxes. They work great if you're moving. They don't work very well when you have to pack and unpack over and over. Our poor beat up boxes were eventual replaced by five or six snazzy new roadcases. The only problem is you needed two people who were not afraid to drive 16 ft box trucks across town to the warehouses.
I am proud to say, I met that challenge and won. The first trip however. . . .Let's just say, bouncy box truck + speed bump = unhappy driver. . . and passangers. The first time I drove the truck, I went to the gas pumps near central shops to fill up . . . alone. I wanted to get used to the brakes, ect with out anyone kowing how badly i drove. That was my first lesson on speed bumps. On the road across town to the warehouses (no, I'm not telling you where), I had two people in the cab and the back end filled top to bottom with stuff. Altough it wasn't a speed bump, I learned quickly that MR Box Truck didn't like rough railroad tracks either. My passangers also learned where the 'oh shit grips' were. Sorry guys. I made it up to them a little when we decided to play hooky our way back and stopped at a buffet for lunch.
While Disney Hollywod Studios had a Disney Stars and Motorcars parade, they included a Star Wars car. Luke and Leia would ride in the car and a remoe controlled R2D2 would drive along ahead of it. The day R2 arrived at the studios for a test drive it was like a homing beacon went out to everyone who had ever worked Star Wars weekends. What started out as five or six people grew to nearly twenty in minutes. "There's a real R2 unit." "We have an R2D2." "Can we keep him?" We had a manager who was scared to death of it, so the robot operator made sure he (R2)chased her around backstage every chance he could.
One final thought on Star Wars but sadly, I can't take credit for coming up with this saying.
The Force is like Duct Tape - there's a light side and a dark side and it holds the world together.
We had Imperial Guard uniforms that were hand me downs from the Star Wars on ice show. We never intended to use these costumes until Coordinator "T" saw them. He got permission to use them and for years they became the official coordinator costume. Sadly, we lost coordinator "T" to cancer during the fourth year of the event. The following year as we unloaded the road cases, we resealed the Imperial Guard costumes and no one used them that year in honor of our friend and colleague.
Coordinator "T" established the greenroom / breakroom as Star Wars Central. He made posterboard size placards to hang around the room, each with a character's picture, history and thier autograph. Every year we had a TV /DVD player set up to play the movies. . . all day . . . non stop. . . over and over and over. Don't get me wrong, I love the movies, but when you start receiting the movie word for word, it gets to be a bit much. The first few years espescially, we'd have the walls covered in character development information, the movies running in one corner and people reading the books in another. Needless to say it was total immersion in the World of Star Wars.
I consider myself a fan of the film, but not a fanatic. However, I was training a new costumer one year. While I was showing her who was who and who did what, I caught myself sounding like a fanatic. "Darth Maul was a Sith Lord who killed. . . . Bobo Fett is the son of Jango Fett who fought in the. . . . Before Anakin turned to the dark side he and Queen Amadalla . . . . " NOoo!!!. I refuse to be a fanatic !!! Okay, there I said. I'm better now. Let's move on. :)
Star Wars was always a bit of a step child when it came to setting up for the event, we were rarely had the same venue twice. One year Star Wars Central was the character's warm up room. Two years it was in the old Hunchback of Notre Dame stage (Until Spectitcal of Lights - the christmas lights people moved in). One year we were in the parade car barn, which got nice and toasty during the day, even with fans and AC blowing. My last year we were over in the lighting and grip building with an outside costume drying room that kept tripping breakers.
Besides the greenroom area and wardrobe, Starwars Central also had a sizeable Cosmotology department. Four o'clock in the morning call times, some of our cast would stumble into work, throw on a t-shirt, climb into the make up chair and fall asleep while the makeup artists worked. Sometime around 8 o'clock they would find caffine, thier costume and THEN thier day would begin.
Packing up such a large event was always an adventure. For the first few years, we used cardboard moving boxes. They work great if you're moving. They don't work very well when you have to pack and unpack over and over. Our poor beat up boxes were eventual replaced by five or six snazzy new roadcases. The only problem is you needed two people who were not afraid to drive 16 ft box trucks across town to the warehouses.
I am proud to say, I met that challenge and won. The first trip however. . . .Let's just say, bouncy box truck + speed bump = unhappy driver. . . and passangers. The first time I drove the truck, I went to the gas pumps near central shops to fill up . . . alone. I wanted to get used to the brakes, ect with out anyone kowing how badly i drove. That was my first lesson on speed bumps. On the road across town to the warehouses (no, I'm not telling you where), I had two people in the cab and the back end filled top to bottom with stuff. Altough it wasn't a speed bump, I learned quickly that MR Box Truck didn't like rough railroad tracks either. My passangers also learned where the 'oh shit grips' were. Sorry guys. I made it up to them a little when we decided to play hooky our way back and stopped at a buffet for lunch.
While Disney Hollywod Studios had a Disney Stars and Motorcars parade, they included a Star Wars car. Luke and Leia would ride in the car and a remoe controlled R2D2 would drive along ahead of it. The day R2 arrived at the studios for a test drive it was like a homing beacon went out to everyone who had ever worked Star Wars weekends. What started out as five or six people grew to nearly twenty in minutes. "There's a real R2 unit." "We have an R2D2." "Can we keep him?" We had a manager who was scared to death of it, so the robot operator made sure he (R2)chased her around backstage every chance he could.
One final thought on Star Wars but sadly, I can't take credit for coming up with this saying.
The Force is like Duct Tape - there's a light side and a dark side and it holds the world together.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Star Wars Gay Days and the Eternal Fan
Star Wars Weekends just so happened to land right in the middle of Gay Days at Disney. Now, Gay Days isn't so much a sanctioned event at Disney, as it is the theme parks taking advantage of a golden opportunity. It all started when some people met on line and decided to meet at Walt Disney World. (Since then Sea World, Universal and Downtown Orlando has gotten involved as well.) The group of men then decided to wear red shirts at the parks so they could find each other.
Enter Star Wars Weekends. Among the characters at the event are three Royal Guards dressed head to toe in red. Red helmets. Red velvet capes. Red gloves. Red wellington boots. Lets just say, there were certian individuals scrambling to be Royal Gaurds on Gay days.
In the beginning years, adult fans were not allowed to dress up, but as time went on they started to lighten up on those rules. One year I saw Obi Wan Kenobe pushing a baby stroller. I often wondered why he didn't just use his Jedi telepathy to move it along. We had one fan that came every day of every weekend dressed like a Jedi. She even legally changed her name to one of the character's last name.
Let be known here and now, not every 'body' is meant for spandex. After seeing my fair share of chunky Storm Troopers, I am convinced that some friends need to warn thier Star Wars fan friend that 'maybe you should consider being. . . say, a Tuskin Raider.' When the one of the stars was an ewok, we had a fan try to bring a tiki torch into the park. Management put a stop to that at the gate.
The one fan that kind of gave me the creeps was dressed in a blue velvet cape with a silver hair barrette pulled down over his eyes. He kind of looked like Jordie from Star Trek. I'm not sure if he got his movies confused or what. We had a fan give Darth Maul the creeps one year when she sat next to his autgraph cue line and told everyone that they were married.
As usual, with every good thing, there has to be those dim wits that take things too far. We had a group of high schoolers at Disney on a school function that decided to corner Greedo and attack him. Needless to say the teens were sent home (up north somewhere, so it wasn't cheap airfare) and thier school was banded from Disney invited functions for three or five years (I believe). Lessoned learned: Don't Mess With the Mouse, or in this case The Bounty Hunter.
Most of the fans, however, were just in awe of seeing thier favorite stars. We had one star that played young Anakin. He kept his VIP tour guide hopping. One day before the motorcade, our cast had loaded into the pargos for a ride to the parade step off. Young anakin comes flying around the corner on a bike he had found back stage and was racing the pargos to the front gate. About three minutes back you see his VIP guide in her plaid vest and skirt pedaling her bike for all she's worth trying to catch up
to him. The kid was old enough to know were he had to be and when he had to be there, so in between those times he . . . was being a kid.
I have to say it was amussing to watch one of our stars deal with the throngs of adoring fans. . . when he was hung over. THe VIP host said it was a bout of food poisioning. . . rrright. No one believed it for a minute. As fast as he ran from the motorcade car to the bathroom, he should have been a track star.
Most of the Star Wars stars were great to work with back stage. Down to earth. Easy to talk to. One however, decided to smoke in the covertible before the motorcade and came pretty close to smoking out the ewok that sat nearby. We were more worried about an ash landing on him and setting his fur on fire. He survived. The motorcade went on. And there's one more story for the record books.
Enter Star Wars Weekends. Among the characters at the event are three Royal Guards dressed head to toe in red. Red helmets. Red velvet capes. Red gloves. Red wellington boots. Lets just say, there were certian individuals scrambling to be Royal Gaurds on Gay days.
In the beginning years, adult fans were not allowed to dress up, but as time went on they started to lighten up on those rules. One year I saw Obi Wan Kenobe pushing a baby stroller. I often wondered why he didn't just use his Jedi telepathy to move it along. We had one fan that came every day of every weekend dressed like a Jedi. She even legally changed her name to one of the character's last name.
Let be known here and now, not every 'body' is meant for spandex. After seeing my fair share of chunky Storm Troopers, I am convinced that some friends need to warn thier Star Wars fan friend that 'maybe you should consider being. . . say, a Tuskin Raider.' When the one of the stars was an ewok, we had a fan try to bring a tiki torch into the park. Management put a stop to that at the gate.
The one fan that kind of gave me the creeps was dressed in a blue velvet cape with a silver hair barrette pulled down over his eyes. He kind of looked like Jordie from Star Trek. I'm not sure if he got his movies confused or what. We had a fan give Darth Maul the creeps one year when she sat next to his autgraph cue line and told everyone that they were married.
As usual, with every good thing, there has to be those dim wits that take things too far. We had a group of high schoolers at Disney on a school function that decided to corner Greedo and attack him. Needless to say the teens were sent home (up north somewhere, so it wasn't cheap airfare) and thier school was banded from Disney invited functions for three or five years (I believe). Lessoned learned: Don't Mess With the Mouse, or in this case The Bounty Hunter.
Most of the fans, however, were just in awe of seeing thier favorite stars. We had one star that played young Anakin. He kept his VIP tour guide hopping. One day before the motorcade, our cast had loaded into the pargos for a ride to the parade step off. Young anakin comes flying around the corner on a bike he had found back stage and was racing the pargos to the front gate. About three minutes back you see his VIP guide in her plaid vest and skirt pedaling her bike for all she's worth trying to catch up
to him. The kid was old enough to know were he had to be and when he had to be there, so in between those times he . . . was being a kid.
I have to say it was amussing to watch one of our stars deal with the throngs of adoring fans. . . when he was hung over. THe VIP host said it was a bout of food poisioning. . . rrright. No one believed it for a minute. As fast as he ran from the motorcade car to the bathroom, he should have been a track star.
Most of the Star Wars stars were great to work with back stage. Down to earth. Easy to talk to. One however, decided to smoke in the covertible before the motorcade and came pretty close to smoking out the ewok that sat nearby. We were more worried about an ash landing on him and setting his fur on fire. He survived. The motorcade went on. And there's one more story for the record books.
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