Many lunchtimes were spent listening to faint sounds of Yo Ho Ho and the screams or riders going down the waterfall – don’t remember if it was waterfall 1 or 2.

Man – did I get tired of that song (along with the Main Street Electrical Parade Theme).

The Mr. Lincoln A-A figure was in the Illinois Pavilion, there was no Disney Pavilion. WED Enterprises (now WD Imagineering) made Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln for Illinois, Carousel of Progress for GE, “it’s a small world” for Pepsi for UNICEF, and The Magic Skyway for Ford (not related to the Skyway at the parks.)

And you forgot to mention the story of WDW’s Pirates! Walt Disney World was supposed to get the Western River Expediton, a western-type boat ride, instead of Pirates of the Caribbean. WED thought Florida was too close to the Caribbean, so it wouldn’t be interesting. But they got so many complaints that there was no Pirates ride, they hastily put one in in Adventureland. Supposedly it pales in comparison to Disneyland’s.

@Engineer. Yep. Your reservation for a meal includes park admission, and it’s the only place in Disneyland that serves alcoholic drinks. It was supposed to be where Walt Disney’s elite dining would take place, and his new apartment (where the Disney Dream Suite is now) would connect to it. Animatronic vultures still sit silent in the Trophy Room where Walt would put on a show. Props from movies like Mary Poppins and The Happiest Millionaire line the walls. Plus, as a member you get to ride in the Lilly Belle luxury VIP caboose on the Disneyland Railroad. It must be pretty magnificent to dine in Walt Disney’s last dream.

Ooh, and that reminds me, Carousel of Progress would be a good topic. Saw that the other week. Or “it’s a small world.” DEFINITELY The Haunted Mansion.

Not knowing what to expect, that first waterfall drop scared the crap out of everyone! The whole ride was definitely one of the most mind-blowing experiences of my childhood.

There was an incident (about a year ago, I think?) when they shut down the ride because they saw someone dumping a powdery substance into the water during the ride; turned out that someone was dumping in the cremated ashes of a hard-core PotC fan who wanted to spend eternity there. They totally drained and refilled all the water, sad to say.

The only problem is, the Sparrow figures are so convincing they make the other figures look crappy.

As far as being PC, that’s just ridiculous. I don’t understand why everything has to be sanitized for our protection.

Haunted Mansion should be next. It’s got a huge following, so getting info certainly shouldn’t be a problem Walt had lots of fun ideas when he first started creating it.

(oh, and one other point… You don’t HAVE to have tens of thousands of dollars to get into Club33… well, to be a member, yes, to get inside, it’s not that expensive.. lol.. The Walk In Walt’s Footsteps tour gets you inside… Plus a tour of the park and lunch!)

The earlier commenter is correct, and in fact there were two animatronic Lincolns built – the one for the fair, and another specifically for Disneyland.

As for Pirates being Disney’s favorite ride, well, by that time Walt didn’t much care for Disney rides, instead focusing his energy on EPCOT. He “participated” in designing it, but it isn’t likely he cared very deeply about it.

Yo ho Yo ho.