(YouTube Link)

Oh Disney animators, you know how to breathe life into characters in a way which makes them seem so real, from the dawn of the animated feature (Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs) to your latest hit (Tangled) you’ve almost never disappointed, despite the fact that you’ve been so busy buying up franchises (Marvel Comics,The Muppets) that you haven’t had time to keep your television programming (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) from becoming utter drek.

This video was created by a true Disney film fan (NkMcdonalds), and while it may not feature enough classics for my taste, it tugs at the heartstrings just enough to make you want to bust out the DVDs and have a Disney marathon. Great Mouse Detective here I come!

–via The Mary Sue

Lots of children love Disney princesses, but most of them kind of grow out of it. But not Annfaye Kao, 27, of Taichung, Taiwan.

Annfaye loves Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs so much that she got the entire cast tattooed on her back.

'As a child I used to imagine I was Snow White in a fairytale so it seemed like a good thing to have tattooed on my back.

'Snow White is a part of my childhood and therefore me, so I’m happy I will have it on me forever - it reminds me of my princess dream.'

The Daily Mail has more photos (some NSFW): Link

What Disney movie would you have tattooed on your back? Sadly, I think only Dumbo would have enough heft to fill my backside.

DeviantART member viria13 put modern fashions on Disney princesses (and Anastasia, too). The artwork is lovely, but can someone tell me who “Kida” is? Link -via The Daily What

There are a lot of people who critique the Disney princesses as being poor role models for little girls. I wonder if they’d change their tune if they were more empowered like the X-(Wo)Men.

Link Via The Mary Sue

Cruella de Vil | $10.45

Seeking inspiration? How about a little Cruella de Vil figure from Disney POP! to keep you on your toes? This stylized villain from the movie 101 Dalmations is 3″ tall, so she can watch over you at your desk, workbench, or even your bedroom. It’s a great conversation starter, too! See all the Disney POP! figures at the NeatoShop. And order your Cruella de Vil today!

Link

(YouTube Link)

Everyone joined in the war effort during World War II, helping out however possible stateside. Disney artists decided to join the cause by creating various forms of propaganda, like this surreal animated short, meant to show how food will help the Allies win the war. Using morbidly obese Americans to “black out all of Berlin” never seemed like a valid wartime strategy until this short came out!

Link

(YouTube Link)

Disney’s animated tv shows used to be so good, especially the adventure packed series like DuckTales and Gummi Bears that appealed to audiences of all ages. These shows were so good that I felt superfan nostalgia sweep over me as I watched these 16 intro videos, and I know i’ll be singing the theme songs for days to come!

If cute cartoon theme songs that easily get stuck in your head is your idea of personal hell, then don’t watch these videos. If you enjoyed these shows back in the day and like taking trips down memory lane, then seeing the intro will make you feel like a kid again. Don’t hate!

Link

Someone should turn Mandie Manzano's fantastic stained glass-style illustrations of Disney characters into actual stained glass, stat!

Take a look at more of her artwork at her Tumblr page or over at Buzzfeed - Thanks Donna!

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Disney characters switched faces with one another? The result can be even stranger than you could imagine. BuzzFeed has a variety of bizarre Disney face swaps for your enjoyment.

Link

Behold the fantastic (punktastic?) Steampunk Mickey Ear, made by Christina Grey. Our pal Jen over at Epbot has got it, and I'm officially jealous: Link

Finnish graphic design student Jirka Väätäinen has recently been turning Disney princesses into realistic looking drawings of women. The results are stunning, even if Jasmine looks a little too much like Kim Kardashian to only be coincidence.

Link

If you absolutely adore Disney’s Haunted Mansion, then why not incorporate your own version of the ride’s classic Grim Grinning Ghosts for your Halloween decor this year? Instructables has all the directions you need to get your ghosts socializing.

Link Via Laughing Squid

Disneyland may be the happiest place on Earth, but it's no walk in the park for its hundreds of laundry workers.

Steve Lopez of The Los Angeles Times wrote about the "electronic whip" that hotels at Disneyland installed to spur productivity:

In the basements of the Disneyland and Paradise Pier hotels in Anaheim, big flat-screen monitors hang from the walls in rooms where uniformed crews do laundry. The monitors are like scoreboards, with employees' work speeds compared to one another. Workers are listed by name, so their colleagues can see who is quickest at loading pillow cases, sheets and other items into a laundry machine.

It should come as no surprise that at the happiest place on Earth, not all the employees are smiling.

Isabel Barrera, a Disneyland Hotel laundry worker for eight years, began calling the new system the "electronic whip" when it was installed last year. The name has stuck.

"I was nervous," said Barerra, who makes $11.94 an hour, "and felt that I was being controlled even more."

Link

Previously on Neatorama: Neatorama Facts: Closed Disney Rides | The Early Days of Mickey and Minnie Mouse | The Dark Side of Disney

I wondered “How is he going to handle Nancy Callahan?” With a clip from The Great Mouse Detective, which was rather clever. Disney movies now seem to be a bit risqué.

-via The Flavorwire

Here is a Disney Studios reference test film synched with the finished scene from the 1951 film Alice in Wonderland. You also see the animators at work, capturing the mood and the movements of the actors. -via The Daily What

While I think Pandora was beautiful, I don’t think it warrants its own Avatarland. What do you guys think?

Link

Simba or the Beast may seem like the obvious heavy hitters, but I’m seeing potential for epic combos with Dumbo’s giant ears. And what will happen when Aladdin and Tinkerbell meet?

Link

If you’ve been to Disneyland in the last twenty years, then you’re almost certainly familiar with Splash Mountain. Even if you refuse to ride the massive log ride, you probably at least rode the train through the tunnel that shows the happy ending of the ride. But did you know the ride is based on a movie that has never been released on home video because it’s considered too offensive? Or that the reason there are so many familiar faces inside is because the imagineers salvaged the characters for another attraction? There’s plenty more fun trivia like this inside this edition of our Neatorama Facts series.

Image Via OpenThreads [Flickr]

Trying To Make a Splash

The Zip-a-Dee River Run was originally conceived of as a way to start attracting more people over to the often empty Bear Country area of the park, which was renamed Critter Country after Splash Mountain was opened. Unfortunately, the project quickly ballooned over budget, becoming one of the most expensive projects the Imagineering team had worked on up until that point. To help reduce the cost as much as possible, the team decided to use previously existing animatronic animals from the recently closed America Sings attraction. Even then, the ride still ended up costing $75 million to complete.

Although CEO Michael Eisner kept pushing for the ride to be based on the film Splash, imagineers had long planned to base the ride on the live action/animation film Song of the South and they refused to be moved on that point. In honor of Eisner’s ignored contributions, they did decide to change the name of the ride from the Zip-a-Dee River Run to Splash Mountain.

Strangely, despite the fact that one of the most popular Disney rides was based on Song of the South, the company has still refused to release the title to American home video or DVD because their executives believe the content is offensive to black people. While Uncle Remus is the character believed to be the most offensive and was left out of the ride as well, his presence can be felt in the queue area; a variety of his quotes can be found throughout the barn-themed line area, all the way up to the loading area.

Images Via Express Monorail and PrincessAshley [Flickr]

America Sings Again

Because first Splash Mountain incorporated the characters from America Sings, the Disneyland ride has the most animatronic characters in their version of the ride –a total of 105. While the main characters were specifically created for the new ride, all of the rest were rescued from the closed attraction. All but a handful of the characters from America Sings were used in Splash Mountain; two of the other characters were already hijacked and reskinned for use in Star Tours and one was saved to help teach new imagineers how the technology works.

While the characters may have already been dressed for the occasion, the America Sings animatronics had to be completely reprogrammed and synched with the ride. It took imagineers over 80 hours to rework each figure to fit in their new home. After months of hard work, the characters can now carry out 45 seconds of movement and dialogue before they loop back to the beginning of their programming sequence.

In comparison to the 105 animatronics at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom only has 68 animatronics and Tokyo Disneyland has about the same number. In case you’re wondering, there is no Splash Mountain at Disneyland Paris because the designers agreed the weather was a bad fit for a water-splashing log ride.

A Simple Story From A Time Long Ago

While the live-action story lines aren’t used in Splash Mountain, many of the Br’er Rabbit tales from the film are. When you get on the ride, you are soon put on a conveyor belt that brings you up the side of the mountain. The main characters can be seen, but mostly you’re just serenaded by unseen voices singing “How Do You Do?” before you drop down the first small dip nicknamed “Slippin’ Falls.” You’re then whisked inside the mountain where you are entrenched in a cartoon version of Georgia circa 1870.

Once inside, you see the source of the singing, the geese, frogs and opossums cheerfully saying hello through song. You also see Br’er Rabbit mocking Br’er Bear just before you go down the next small drop, leading to the Rainbow Caverns filled with more characters, this time singing “Ev’rybody’s Got A Laughing Place.”

In the movie, Br’er Rabbit gets caught in a tar blob that was disguised to look like a little person, but since the “tar baby” was considered to have questionable undertones, the ride shows Br’er Fox catching the sly rabbit in the honey of a bee hive instead. The mood in the ride turns somber and the characters start to sing “Burrow’s Lament” and your log starts climbing up the large hill. You pass between two vultures who taught your impending doom and see Br’er Rabbit about to be eaten by Br’er Fox.

In the movie, Br’er Rabbit convinces the fox to throw him into his home in the brier patch using reverse psychology, so after taking the huge dive down “Doo-Dah Landing,” you’re suddenly immersed in a happy land of critters singing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” You see Br’er Rabbit relaxing at home with his family and Br’er Bear and Br’er Fox fighting off a hungry alligator.

Before arriving at the loading area, you’re shown a preview of the photo that was taken during the plunge as Professor Barnaby Owl describes the looks on the rider’s faces.

Image Via Loren Javier [Flickr]

Differences Between The Parks

Overall, the Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom’s versions of the rides are fairly similar, except that the Disney World logs feature a lap bar, likely added after a rider died after trying to get out while the ride was moving. The Disney World version also has slightly different music, as the Southern style of Disneyland’s Critter Country ride was determined to not be a perfect fit for the Magic Kingdom’s version, which was located in Frontierland. As a result, the music is a bit more country-music styled.

The Tokyo version looks largely the same as the others, but it features the country music soundtrack from Disney World with reworded lyrics and the dialogue is split between English and Japanese. The scenes are also put in a different order. This park has the highest drop of the three parks, letting riders fall 60 feet instead of 52 feet. Interestingly, the Japanese version is also the driest, as this version was specially designed to limit the size of the splash. If you want to stay dry at the other parks, all you can do is try to get on a log with a lot of kids, as the more your log weighs, the more water you’ll get soaked with.

Image Via vmpyr_david [Flickr]

Sweet Southern Sounds

You might not realize it when you’re on the ride, but some serious celebrities gave their voices to the characters.  A few background characters with famous voices include: Br’er Owl by Woody Allen, Br’er Frog by Humphrey Bogart, Br’er Turkey by Keanu Reeves and Br’er Frog by James Avery (aka Uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air). Only one voice from the original movie was used, and that is Nick Stewart who voices Br’er Bear. As for the two main characters, they were both voiced by Jess Harnell, who is better known for his role as Wakko Warner on Animaniacs and as the most recent announcer for America’s Funniest Videos. Many of the other characters and the final song, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” were voiced by imagineers and Disneyland cast members who just happened to be working at the park when the ride was being designed.

The only song that Disney paid people outside the company to work on was “How Do You Do?” This number was recorded especially for the ride by a 29-piece group called The Floozies. The bullfrogs singing this number are all performed by members of this band, with one notable exception. The frog with the deep bass voice was voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft who also voiced Tony the Tiger and was one of the lead singers for a variety of other Disney rides, including The Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.

Image Via Express Monorail [Flickr]

Switching the “Sp” for a “F”

While I’m sure some of you are already familiar with why the ride is sometimes called “Flash Mountain,” let me go ahead and corrupt you innocent readers who don’t know about this phenomenon. Because the ride has a huge climax that is viewable by visitors not yet on the ride at the same time guest’s photos are snapped, more than a few women (and men) have decided to flash the camera during the log drop. While Disney is usually pretty good about deleting these images before they get out, at one point an employee managed to steal a number of them and upload them on to the internet. It’s almost impossible for anyone to steal these images from the park now, due to heightened security measures, but even so, a lot of women still bare it all on the drop –only to get escorted off the premises shortly after landing.

Image Via Loren Javier [Flickr]

So, do you guys like the ride or is it too tall or too wet for you? Personally, I love the singing and the characters, but after being wet for over seven hours the last time I went on it, I haven’t been too eager to go back. Have any of you had similar experiences?

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, #3, Disneyland, Songofthesouth.net, Snopes

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Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts:

Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion
Neatorama Facts: Sleeping Beauty Castle
Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean
Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise
Neatorama Facts: Space Mountain
Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room
Neatorama Facts: Christmas at Disneyland
Neatorama Facts: It’s a Small World
Neatorama Facts: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Neatorama Facts: Star Tours

Dante Tyler‘s mock-up Vogue covers featuring Disney Princesses as glamazonian models is at first funny (“Thingamabobs? She’s got 20″), then a bit unsettling. With Pocahontas as a fierce Beyonce look-alike and Belle staring smoky-eyed from behind her top five novel recommendations, you have to wonder how far removed the marketing plans for Vogue and Disney really are from one another. Link -via Flavorwire

via Design You Trust

When you talk about Star Tours nowadays, you have to distinguish between the new and improved version that just opened this year and the classic incarnation, which was first launched in 1987. Personally, I haven’t been on the new version and I’m sure many of you haven’t yet either, which is why it’s so exciting to read about. Of course, the classic ride was something all Disneyland lovers recall with fondness, so I’ll be sure to include plenty of info on that one as well, including the history of the ride itself.

Image via inturnaround [Flickr]

Creating A Ride That Occurs “A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away”

While Star Tours eventually became the first Disney ride based on a film the company had nothing to do with, it didn’t start out that way. Originally the ride was conceived to go along with the 1979 Disney film The Black Hole. The ride was intended to be an interactive simulator that allowed guests the opportunity to choose the car’s route, but because the project was going to be so expensive (ringing in at an estimated $50 million) and the film wasn’t a big success, the idea was quickly shelved.

Fortunately, rather than trashing the idea altogether, the company decided to partner with George Lucas, who was already working with them to produce Captain EO. Once everyone agreed to the idea, the Imagineers started work on the project by buying four military-grade flight simulators that cost $500,000 each and then they started designing the building and ride around their new toys.

While the Imagineers worked on the technical side of the project, Lucas and his team at Industrial Light & Magic worked on the film that would be played inside the simulators. Once the simulators and film were up to speed, a programmer then had to sit inside with a joystick to manually synchronize the vehicle’s movements to the action on screen.

By the time the project was completed in 1987, the ride cost a total of $32 million, which was almost twice the cost Disney paid to build the entire park back in 1955. To celebrate the official opening, and to help promote the new ride, the grand opening of Star Tours coincided with the park being left open for 60 straight hours starting on January 9, 1987 at 10 am.

Image via popculturegeek.com [Flickr]

The Story of A Classic

While the actual ride doesn’t start till you get on the simulators, you enter the story line as soon as you get to the inside queue area. Essentially, you are a tourist traveling through space to visit Endor. As you go through the line, you can see posters advertising different intergalactic destinations, along with animatronic characters who work at the space port and a life-size mock up of a StarSpeeder 3000 –the ship you are using to travel the galaxy.

If you paid attention in the line for the classic version of the ride, you’d notice a few Star Wars favorites, such as Admiral Ackbar, C3P0 and R2D2. The two famous robots were actually used in the film and C3P0 is even plated in gold, which Lucas chose because it was the only material that gave the right color he was looking for and it was guaranteed not to rust. Another fun distraction in the line was a recorded page for “Mr. Egroeg Sacul,” to meet his party at gate 2. If you ever wondered who the heck that is, try reading the name backwards –that’s right, it’s “George Lucas.”

Once you got near the front of the line, you’d be shown a quick safety video and then you would enter the flight simulator. As the doors closed, your pilot, RX-24, introduced himself and chattily told you that this would be his first flight. If you think this pilot sounded familiar, that’s because he’s voiced by Paul Reubens –aka Peewee Herman.

RX-24 screwed up before you even got out of the space station, sending the ship into a tunnel that led to a maintenance yard and almost getting everyone killed right away. He would then take a breath, put the ship into light speed and manage to overshoot his intended destination. Suddenly, the ship is inside of a comet cluster and RX-24 had to maneuver it out of a maze of tunnels inside of a giant comet in the belt. Upon exiting, he would then be captured by the tractor beam of a Star Destroyer.

A rebel X-wing fighter would save the ship by destroying the beam’s generator, but that also meant that the ship had to tag along in the battle while the rebels attempted to destroy a Death Star. The ship had to avoid attacks by the Empire and navigate through a complex maze of rubble before flying away when one of the rebels manages to destroy the Death Star. Finally, RX-24 would put the ship in light speed again and the ship would arrive at its intended destination, but not before almost crashing into a fuel truck before docking.

While the old ride was great, Disneyland has always been dedicated to updating its rides to keep the park feeling modern and to give the guests new experiences. With that in mind, the company worked with George Lucas again to renovate the ride. In celebration of the ride’s closing, Walt Disney World threw a huge celebration and at the end, they held a Star Tours shutdown ceremony where Boba Fett blew the ride up using a thermal detonator.

For those of you who can’t get enough of the classic, you can always take a trip to Disneyland Paris or Tokyo Disneyland, where there have been no announcements to update the rides as of yet.

Images via JoshMcConnell [Flickr] and Peter E. Lee [Flickr]

Enhancing An Already Great Time

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues takes place earlier in the time line of Star Wars. The original ride was set after Return of the Jedi, but the newer version takes place sometime between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It is also majorly different in that it offers over 54 different possible experiences and the equipment used has all been improved –there’s now high-def video, a 3D high-def screen, an improved motion simulator and other new special effects.

The basic story of the ride remains the same, guests are space tourists on their way to a particular destination –but there are now multiple destinations available. Similarly, the queue also features the same animatronic Star Wars characters, only now there is also a discarded Captain RX-24 who periodically delivers lines from his prior role as your captain. The biggest change in the line area though is that there is now a mock security checkpoint where your luggage, cargo and self will be inspected –unlike a TSA checkpoint though, there are no nude body scanners and you can keep your shoes on.

Once you get through security, you’ll see a television monitor showing you C-3PO who has been trapped in the cockpit while trying to perform maintenance on the ship. You will then be seated and start the adventure, which will always involve delivering the Rebel spy (a randomly chosen member of the audience) to safety.

There are eleven segments of the film though and each segment has multiple options that the ride will select randomly. Ultimately, there are 54 different journeys available and that’s not including the bonus that you might be selected as the Rebel spy on your voyage. This means you can ride the attraction over and over without getting bored and if you have been on it a few times, you can even tell the queue operators which journeys you have been on to ensure you get the maximum variety for your trip.

Depending on your specific trip, you may or may not hear the newly recorded audio from famous cast members including Anthony Daniels as C-3P0, James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Frank Oz as Yoda and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. All in all, the ride is even more tied in with the actual films than it used to be and the special effects and random ride options make it even more immersive than ever before.

Images via litlnemo [Flickr] and HarshLight [Flickr]

I’m waiting until the Fall to head back to Disneyland so I won’t have to deal with the heat and all the crowds, so I’m dying to ride the new Star Tours. Have any of you gotten to take a trip yet? If so, what did you think? Do you prefer the old version or the new one?

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places: Disneyland

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Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts:

Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion
Neatorama Facts: Sleeping Beauty Castle
Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean
Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise
Neatorama Facts: Space Mountain
Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room
Neatorama Facts: Christmas at Disneyland
Neatorama Facts: It’s a Small World
Neatorama Facts: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Have you ever wondered what Disneyland had to offer before it began getting massive, modernizing facelifts? Then take a look at this old map of the magical kingdom from 1962, scanned and uploaded in full size by Wishbook, with lots of classic Disney character heads surrounding a detailed, Imagineer drawn map! Look for the view all sizes button on Flickr and choose original size if you want to read the tiny text, and see all the pretty little drawings up close.

Link via Boing Boing.

Illustrator Claire Hummel has taken a look at the Disney princesses with a historical eye, from Snow White’s 16th-century Germany setting to Belle’s late 18th century French environment. She found that the clothes they wore didn’t match up to the historical settings very well and decided to set things straight. Here’s what Claire had to say about her interpretation of Jasmine from Aladdin (above):

“Let’s be frank — Aladdin is hardly an exercise in historical accuracy… It took some effort to track down some midriff-baring outfits but BY GEORGE I DID, thank you Persian fashion plates. I now know what sirwal are called (besides Hammer pants), and that Persian women wore some pretty sweet little jackets that I wish I owned.”

You can read about the rest of her findings over at Flavorwire. Prints are available on Claire’s site – wouldn’t they be a lovely addition to the room of a princess-obsessed little girl?

Link via Flavorwire

Carl and Ellie’s dream house from the movie Up! comes to life in Herriman, Utah, with Disney’s blessing. At Lovely Listing, you can also see a bit of the inside, too. Link

Although he had solved the problem of where to build, a new dilemma cropped up: Walt knew if he was making queries about buying land under his own name, the insanely cheap swampland price of $180 an acre would immediately skyrocket. To avoid price gouging, he created a number of fake companies and purchased the land under their names instead. It only worked for a little while – the Orlando Sentinel caught whiff of the scheme and published a story reporting that Walt was the man behind the purchase of thousands of acres of land in Orange and Osceola counties. He was right about the money – in some cases, prices went up to $80,000 an acre.

Of course, the property now is worth its weight in gold. Link

I’ve always been impressed with dollhouses, but this particular one owned by silent filmstar Colleen Moore is truly amazing. Its opulent interior includes a mural of Cinderella painted by Walt Disney himself and chandeliers with real diamonds and emeralds. Read more about it over at Mental Floss.

Link

Disney has commissioned Southern California native artist NOAH to work his airbrush magic on a painting for their upcoming D23 Expo, which will feature movies celebrating an anniversary this year, like 101 Dalmatians and Alice In Wonderland. This illuminating video shows the master at work on the classic Disney inspired painting featuring a realistic portrait of Walt and a ‘toony Sorcerer Mickey causing lots of colorful trouble. Link

These days, it seems there’s a tool to alter photos into just about every character type you can imagine, but if you can’t get enough of these…or if you just love Captain Jack Sparrow, don’t miss out on Disney’s Pirate Yourself app on FaceBook. That’s mine up there.

Link

The “new management” has been let go and the future of the Adventureland landmark is in the wings and wit of José, Fritz, Michael and Pierre – four crooning parrot hosts who ushered in sophisticated Audio-Animatronics technology at California’s Disneyland in 1963 at The Enchanted Tiki Room.

The attraction, to be renamed The Enchanted Tiki Room, is scheduled to reopen in August. Link -via Boing Boing

Previously: Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room

These new Muppet figures dressed as Star Wars characters will be sold at Disney theme parks beginning this fall. You’ll see Sam the Eagle as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Beaker as C-3PO, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew as R2-D2, Fozzy the Bear as Chewbacca, Link Hogthrob as Han Solo, Kermit as Luke Skywalker, Miss Piggy as Princess Leia, Gonzo as Darth Vader, and his chicken Camilla as a Storm Trooper.  Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

SEAL Team 6 isn’t going down without a fight.
The Navy is challenging Disney’s attempt to trademark the name of the elite squad responsible for taking out the world’s most wanted terrorist.

On May 3, just two days after Usama bin Laden was killed in a raid on the Al Qaeda leader’s Pakistan compound, Disney filed trademark applications to use the name "SEAL Team 6" on everything from entertainment, toys, video games, clothing, footwear — even Christmas ornaments and snow globes.

Disney’s applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filed cover three separate categories of goods and services — meaning, they don’t yet have consumer products but intend to in the future.

But 10 days later, on May 13, the U.S. Navy hit back, filing two applications of its own. The Navy’s competing applications sought trademark status for "SEAL Team" posters and clothing, as well as “Navy SEAL” goods and services, identifying the Navy squad as an organization that “develops and executes military missions involving special operations strategy, doctrine and tactics."

Link

Chewbacca and an Ewok do Guns ‘N’ Roses to get the crowd fired up for Star Wars Weekend 2011 at Walt Disney World. Continue on to see the full 24-minute dance-off show. -via Geeks Are Sexy

Dance-Off with the Star Wars Stars

(YouTube link)

Read more about the Star Wars Weekend at Inside the Magic. Link

Disney fans rejoice, it’s time for yet another set of Neatorama Facts featuring the Happiest Place on Earth. This time, we’re taking a detailed look at “the wildest ride in the wilderness,” Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Image via Mastery of Maps [Flickr]

Conceived and Created In Different Parks

Most of the definitive “Disney” rides seem to have been created specifically for Disneyland long before they were added to Disney World and the other parks, but Big Thunder Mountain started out in exactly the opposite way. This time, the ride was originally conceived as part of a new Magic Kingdom area called the Western River Expedition, a Western-themed area similar to Frontierland. The area would look like a big plateau and contain a number of rides, including a runaway mine train roller coaster. Unfortunately, because the park just opened Pirates of the Caribbean, the area was considered too expensive to install, so Imaginer Tony Baxter proposed building just the coaster as a separate attraction, which would instead be added to Disneyland park first. While that idea was approved, the project way put on hold so the team could focus on Space Mountain.

More Computers, More Problems

The delay in the project actually turned out to be a good thing though, as it meant the developers were allowed to use computers to design the coaster, allowing for a smoother ride than one designed by hand.  Big Thunder Mountain was actually the first ride to use a computer to design the track, but because it was a brand new technology, the creation process was actually anything but smooth.

While ride designers knew what would look good, the computer wanted the ride to be as simple and smooth as possible. So the imagineers had to submit nine different designs before the computer finally accepted one without automatically making changes that would make it less attractive.

Eventually the design was accepted upon by all parties and construction started. The ride opened first in Disneyland in 1979 and a larger version opened in the Magic Kingdom a year later.

Image via Sally Ann French [Flickr]

There Is Actually A Plot

While the railroad coaster may not seem to have as much of a storyline as some of the other rides, it actually have a pretty detailed story. Essentially, gold was discovered at Big Thunder Mountain and the nearby town quickly became a thriving mining town. Unfortunately, the miners who built the mine trains to transport the ore didn’t realize the mountain was sacred to the Native American tribe and that those who disturbed the mountain were cursed. The earthquake in the tunnels destroyed the mines and killed enough workers that the town was quickly abandoned.

I’ve been riding the mine carts for years and never once realized that there’s supposed to be a significance to the fact that there’s no engineer in the train. As it turns out, that was very intentional. The carts are supposedly running on their own because they are possessed.

Tourists are now asked to enjoy a trip through the haunted mines in the possessed trains. Scary, right?

Shoutouts to The Past

Before Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was built in Disneyland, there was already a somewhat similar (although significantly slower) train ride in that spot. The Mine Train attraction featured a small mining town, glowing pools of water and two waterfalls, named Big Thunder and Little Thunder.

After tearing the old attraction down, many of the features were kept around and incorporated to be part of the new ride. The ride itself is named after the large waterfall in the Mine Train ride and the town at the end of the ride was from the old ride, the rainbow caverns at the beginning of the ride, and most of the animatronics are all from the previous occupant of the space.

Image via kalavinka [Flickr]

Acquiring Other Design Details

The rock formations themselves are based on real landscapes found in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah (the landscape at the other parks is based on Arizona’s Monument Valley). As for all those fun decorating details like the ore-crusher and the hauling wagon that sit just out of reach of the tourists, those are real relics from the American Southwest that were purchased specifically for use on the ride.

Sound Familiar?

If you’ve kept up on all of these Neatorama Disneyland articles, you’ve probably noticed that Disney was big on using the same voice actors over and over. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is no exception to this rule. The narrator that warns you to keep your hands and arms inside the ride while you experience the “the wildest ride in the wilderness” is Dallas McKennon. If you think his voice sounds a little familiar, that’s probably because you’ve heard him talk in many other Disney roles, including the fox in Mary Poppins, the Owl in Sleeping Beauty and a number of supplemental characters in Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians. He also did the voice for Archie Andrews in the Archie cartoons of the 60’s.

Image via iheartlatkes [Flickr]

By The Numbers:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad can reach a top speed of 30 miles per hour, but usually travels around 24.
• The ride lasts an average of three minutes and fifteen seconds.
• There are six trains on the ride and they all have terrible puns in their names, all of which start with U.R., I.B. or I.M. The full list is: U.R. Courageous, I.M. Brave, I.M. Bold, U.R. Fearless, I.B. Hearty and U.R. Daring.

Do you guys like Thunder Mountain, or is it a little to fast for you? Also, how many of you actually knew the ride had a plot? Be honest.

Sources: Wikipedia, Mental Floss, All Ears

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Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts:

Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion

Neatorama Facts: Sleeping Beauty Castle

Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean

Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise

Neatorama Facts: Space Mountain

Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room

Neatorama Facts: Christmas at Disneyland

Neatorama Facts: It’s a Small World

Belle does look into that mirror an awful lot, doesn’t she? Artist Chris Hill noticed now nicely the princesses seem to match up with the Seven Deadly Sins. Ariel as Greed? Nailed it. His non-Disney Rapunzel is awesome as well.

Link via Flavorwire

Disney dorks like me will find this peek at Donald Duck’s lineage fascinating. Drawn by comic artist Don Rosa, it first appeared in “Walt Disney’s Comics (and Stories)” in 1995. It gives us a peek at little-known characters like “Sir Swamphole McDuck” and “Humperdink Duck.” What’s up with the mystery around Huey, Dewie and Louie’s dad?

You can also see what names the characters go by in other parts of the world by clicking on their English names. Daisy, for example, is also known as Margarida (Portuguese), Katrien (Dutch), Paperina (Italian) and Dolly (Norwegian).

Link

As many times as I’ve seen the 1932 Disney cartoon The Three Little Pigs, I have never noticed the portrait of the wall of “Father.” Have you? Link

If you won’t be in England to see any of the gems in person this weekend, maybe you can make it to Florida – the sugary creations are on display in the lobby of the Dolphin hotel through the wedding events of this weekend. Link-via Cakewrecks
Photo link

Walt Disney Imagineering is updating the features of the Haunted Mansion. Here’s a look at how they are changing the beloved “hitchhiking ghosts.” -via Boing Boing

I’ve seen this effect at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World (they also do it at Disneyland) and thought it was cool, but some of these examples Mashable put together are even more impressive. My favorite of the bunch is the projection on the Kharkov State Building in the Ukraine (above).

Link

After recently updating the exterior queue at the Haunted Mansion, the good folks at Disney World have unveiled some new tricks on the inside as well.

Link

Remember Nick Pitera, the guy who sang the A Whole New World duet from Disney’s Aladdin all by himself? Well, he’s back with this: a one-man chorus singing a medley paying homage to a few of his Disney favorite films. And this time, he’s got costumes!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]

(video link)

You don’t need to be Madame Leota to predict that the answer is yes. Changes currently in place at the manse at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World include busts that will whisper the stories of their deaths to people waiting in line, interactive wall plaques and a replica of the organ inside the Mansion that plays parts of “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” Word is there’s more to come.

My favorite part, I think, is the new mausoleum that pithily pays tribute to Disney legends:

Link

We haven’t heard much from Neatorama author StacyBee lately. A new baby takes up a lot of your life, but Stacy managed to find the time to run the Disney Princess half-marathon at Walt Disney World in Florida. The event raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Yeah, ignore that time. It’s awful. But I finished!

And I had a good time – I got to run through the Magic Kingdom before the park opened. I got to limp through Epcot before it opened. I got to gaze at 17,000 women (and some men… really, I saw a very hairy Cinderella) in tutus, tiaras and even nude-colored leotards with shell appliques over the boobs (an homage to Ariel, of course).

And she got a tiara! Way to go, Stacy! Link

Image via Thomas Hawk [Flickr]

A Last Minute Addition

One of Disney’s most iconic attractions actually started out as a last minute attraction to the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The team was already working on a number of exhibits for the fair, including the Magic Skyway, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and The Carousel of Progress, when the program manager for the fair reached out to Disney and asked him to creat a tribute to UNICEF.

Always up to a challenge, Disney agreed and asked Mary Blair, Marc Davis, Alice Davis and Gregory S. Marinello for help. Mary gave the ride its overall feel and whimsy and inspired the general character design. Marc designed the scenes and the specific characters, while his wife, Alice, designed the costumes. Gregory designed the clock face on the exterior. Walt oversaw the design of the doll’s faces, which were all made to be exactly the same in order to promote the concept that all around the world children are all the same deep down.

Image via Andy Castro [Flickr]

The original nickname of the ride was “the happiest cruise that ever sailed” and the ride was intended to showcase the national anthem for each country portrayed. Unfortunately, this ended up sounding like a terrible mess in practice, so he hired the Sherman Brothers, the same gents who wrote the theme song for the Tiki Room, to create a song that would unify the ride’s characters together. It was only after the boys came back with their masterpiece that the ride got its name.

To really bring a spirit of unity, children from all over the world were hired to sing the song for the official recording. A London church choir, a Roman school chorus and Mexican tv performers are some of the many voices heard on the soundtrack. In a striking gesture, Disney opted not to copyright the song at the urging of UNICEF and he declared that he gave it to the children of the world as a gift. It remains the only Disney creation to never be copyrighted.

A Smashing Success

At the fair, the ride was a huge hit and over 10 million ride tickets were sold in the two years the fair operated, resulting in a huge chunk of proceeds given to UNICEF. While the ride constantly had visitors, the mechanics of the boat ride allowed for lines to move quickly. The amazing capacity prompted the company to change their plans for the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean attraction from a walk-through exhibit to a boat ride.

As soon as the World’s Fair was over, the ride was installed in the Anaheim park, opening for the first time on May 28, 1966. The attraction was installed rather quickly since it mostly just had to be moved from the World’s Fair back to Disneyland and put back together (all the original pieces were used in the current version). Still, some additions were needed to ensure it could survive as a permanent ride instead of a quick touring ride.

To commemorate the ride’s official opening, Disney invited children from around the world to attend the grand opening. He asked each of them to bring a container of water from a lake, ocean or river in their native country. Before the ride opened, the containers were emptied into the water of the attraction.

Each cruise lasts about 15 minutes and features over 300 costumed dolls singing the official song. Because there are now five Disneyland parks, all of which play the song on a constant loop, the song is estimated to be the most performed musical composition in the world. It’s estimated that more than 256 million people have ridden the cruse, which means it might just hold the record for “song to get stuck in the most people’s heads.”

Changing A Classic

Image via Armadillo444 [Flickr]

As you may have noticed through the Neatorama Facts series about Disneyland, the park always goes through renovations and no matter how minor they are, fans always cry foul. It’s A Small World went through a very serious renovation in 2009 and the reviews seem to be divided. While some of the changes were minor, like the enhancements to the water jets that push the boats through the ride and the replacement of the old boats, the big difference was the addition of over 30 Disney characters into the classic attraction’s scenes. The renovation also included a new “America” area, where there used to be a South American rain forest scene.

Personally, I find the added Disney characters to be subtle and their inclusion creates a fun game for guests to find all of the new characters. Here’s a video of the change for comparison:

Holiday Inspirations

It’s A Small World joins the Haunted Mansion in being one of the only rides to change on the inside and outside during the Christmas season. During this time of year, the children sing classic holiday songs, which are seamlessly blended in with the Small World theme. Each region is also adorned with the area’s traditional holiday décor. On the outside, the façade is just as impressive, adorned with tons of glowing Christmas lights.

Image via Andy Castro [Flickr]

A Few More Fun Tidbits:

• The Sherman Brothers claim to have written the song in response to the fear caused by the Cuban Missile Crisis, hence some of the less cuddly lyrics like “it’s a world of laughter, a world of tears, its a world of hopes, its a world of fears.”
• In reference to the song’s lyrics, which say, “there is just one moon and one golden sun,” there is at least one sun and one moon in every room of the ride.
• The official name of the waterway you travel down is the “Seven Seas Canal.”
• The golden accents on the building are actually 24-karat gold.

Do you guys like It’s A Small World, or does the catchy song drive you bananas? For those of you who are fans, what do you think about the Disney character additions? Are they a fun little enhancement or a distraction?

Sources: Wikipedia, National Institute For Health, Mental Floss, Disneyland and Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places

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Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts:

Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion

Neatorama Facts: Sleeping Beauty Castle

Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean

Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise

Neatorama Facts: Space Mountain

Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room

Neatorama Facts: Christmas at Disneyland

In a continuation of a series (see parts one, two, and three), photographer Annie Leibovitz has unveiled three more Disney Dream Portraits starring famous actors. Shown are Jeff Bridges and Penelope Cruz in a scene from Beauty and the Beast. Other pictures show Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen from Snow White with Alec Baldwin as the Magic Mirror, and Queen Latifah as Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Link -via The Daily What

The Enchanted Tiki Room is kind of like It’s A Small World –people either love it or hate it and no matter how you actually feel about it, you’re guaranteed to have the songs stuck in your head after you leave. Personally, I’m one of those people who loves the show–not least of all because it means getting to sit in a nice air conditioned room while eating pineapple soft serve while the temperature outside exceeds 90 degrees.

Image via CarterHawk [Wikipedia]

Dinner Theater Is For The Birds

When Walt originally started work on the Tiki Room, he envisioned it as a restaurant where guests would be entertained by animatronic birds performing for the diners. It was intended to share a kitchen with the Plaza Pavilion and Tahitian Terrace. Interestingly, now none of these locations operates as a restaurant, the Plaza Pavilion is now used as an Annual Passport processing center and the Tahitian Terrace is now Aladdin’s Oasis, which mostly serves as a meet and greet area for those looking to take pictures with Aladdin and Jasmine.

Image via Loren Javier [Flickr]

There are still aspects of the building that give away its original nature. For one, it is the only attraction to include its own restrooms. Another mark of the planned restaurant, the magic fountain in the center of the room was originally planned to be a coffee station –which is why there is a storage compartment build into the base.

Of course, Walt and his crew soon realized the property would be too popular and was too small to seat all of the people who would want to see the show. Rather than scrapping the idea, the design was altered to accommodate rows of benches for guests to sit and watch the show.

Entertaining Through Animatronics

The Tiki Room was the first Disney attraction to feature Audio-Animatronics and since it required the use of computers (the operations room is located under the attraction), this also meant that it was the first ride to offer air conditioning –a factor that has continued to add to its popularity during hot Southern California summers.

Image via Loren Javier [Wikipedia]

In order to make the birds look as realistic as possible, designers opted to use real feathers on their bodies. They didn’t think the feathers looked quite right on the bird’s chests through, so they continued to brainstorm on what to use until imaginer Harriet Burns had lunch with Walt one day. He was wearing a cashmere sweater and Harriet noticed that the fabric moved on his elbows the exact way the team had envisioned the bird’s chests to move.

When the attraction opened, the four host birds all had the same colored feathers, white, green, yellow and blue. But as time progressed, the designers decided that each bird’s coloring should represent his country of origin. Jose is red, white and green. Michael is white and green. Pierre is blue, white and red. And Fritz is black, red and white.

If you’ve ever wondered about the breakdown of birds to flowers to tiki carvings, there are over 150 animatronic “actors” in the show, including:

• 54 singing orchids
• 12 toucans
• 12 tiki drummers
• 8 macaws (including the four hosts)
• 7 bird of paradise flowers
• 6 cockatoos

Opening A Classic

Strangely, Walt decided to put ownership of the attraction under his own company, WED Enterprises, rather than the Walt Disney Company, which owned the rest of the park. This meant guests had to pay a small admission fee of $.75 when the ride opened in June of 1963.

When the attraction opened, Hawaii had only recently become a state and America was obsessed with anything featuring a tropical island theme. Unsurprisingly, the Tiki Room was an instant success. In fact, the show was so popular that crowds would block up the entire entrance of Adventureland just to catch  glimpse of the talking bird outside the attraction –he was soon removed.

Inside The Show

Image via Loren Javier [Flickr]

Before entering, guests are entertained by talking tiki statutes that each represent Polynesian gods. There is also a Dole-sponsored video about pineapples. Eventually, the doors open and you are invited inside. Once everyone is seated, the cast member taps on Jose’s perch with a bamboo cane and the show begins. While it is not common knowledge, the show doesn’t have to be started by a cast member, so if you ask if you can wake up Jose as the audience filters in, you just might get to kick off the festivities.

The show kicks off with a little banter and then the birds and flowers start to sing “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,” which was written by the Sherman Brothers, who also wrote a number of other Disney classics including “It’s A Small World,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” The fountain then opens up, revealing a chorus line of beautiful cockatoos, the birds then perform “Let’s All Sing Like The Birdies Sing.”

Image via Loren Javier [Flickr]

The next song is the “Hawaiian War Chant,” stars the tiki carvings who sing and play drums. Interestingly, the song wasn’t actually written as a war chant, but as a love song.

The chant suddenly results in thunder, lightning and rain appearing on the windows. The host birds promise to show guests a magic trick by making the audience “disappear.” While everyone leaves, they sing a modified version of Heigh-Ho, that exclaims, “Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s out the door you go.”

Behind The Birds

If certain voices from the Tiki Room sound familiar, there’s a reason for that. Fritz and the Hawaiian god Tangaroa are both voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft –the same man who voiced Tony The Tiger, sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and performed the lead vocals for “Grim Grinning Ghosts” in the Haunted Mansion.

As for some of the lesser known voice talents in the attraction, Jose is voiced by Wally Boag, who was the star actor in the Golden Horseshoe Revue all the way up until 1986. Boag also helped write a lot of the script for the Haunted Mansion. Wally was honored as a Disney Legend in 1995 and was even given his own window on Main Street that reads, “Theatrical Agency – Golden Vaudeville Routines – Wally Boag, Prop.”

Image via Loren Javier [Flickr]

Michael is voiced by Fulton Burley who also worked on the Golden Horseshoe Revue. Pierre was performed by Ernie Newton who also did the singing vocals for Boo-Boo Bear in “Hey There It’s Yogi Bear.” Most of the other bird’s vocals were done by Purvis Pullen, aka Dr. Horatio Q. Birdbath, who was best known for his work with the satirical band Spike Jones and his City Slickers.

The Benefits of Sponsorship

If you don’t like the idea of Disney attractions being sponsored, you may want to reconsider your position when it comes to The Tiki Room. While the original sponsor, United Airlines, didn’t do anything to particularly hurt or help the attraction, Dole did when it took over as a sponsor in 1976. Not only did Dole enhance the show by offering delicious pineapple treats like the Dole Whip (I personally consider these an important aspect of the entire experience), they also put a stipulation in their contract that the attraction remain unchanged. When you consider what happened to the other park’s Tiki Rooms, this can certainly be interpreted as a major victory for the attraction’s fans.

Changes At Other Parks

When the Magic Kingdom opened, they offered a show that was pretty much the exact same, only called the “Tropical Serenade.” This attraction was replaced in 1998 by The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management). This new show started out similar to the original, but was soon interrupted by Iago from Aladdin –voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. Iago yells at the birds and insists they update their act when Zazu from the Lion King enters and tells him to leave the other birds alone and warns him against upsetting the tiki gods. Iago continues and then directly insults the gods, resulting in the tiki goddess Uh-Oa waking up and zapping him with her powers.

When a small fire broke out in the attraction on January 12 of this year, a number of Disney fans expressed the hope that the ride will be “under old management” when it reopens.

The Japanese version also started out like the original, but it was changed to have a Vegas-styled theme with Lounge-styled songs in 1999. Then in 2008 it was changed again, returning to a Hawaiian theme, but this time incorporating Stitch from Lilo and Stitch into the mix. I have to admit that as much as I hate the idea of changing these classic attractions, I’m a huge sucker for Stitch and really want to see this show.

Do you like the Tiki Room or do you find it a little too dull? Also, if you’ve been to the other versions of the attraction, what do you think about the modifications?

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, Little Known Facts About Well Known Places: Disneyland

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Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts:

Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion

Neatorama Facts: Sleeping Beauty Castle

Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean

Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise

Neatorama Facts: Space Mountain

What if Disney had produced the movie Up! in 1965? YouTube member whoiseyevan, who gave us Ghost Busters 1954 and Raiders of the Lost Ark 1951 produced a trailer for a 1960s live-action version. See a list of clips sources at the YouTube link.  -via reddit

So far, I’ve focused all of the Neatorama Disney Parks articles on Disneyland, mostly because it was the first of all the parks and most of the classic rides originated at the Anaheim park. But, when I decided to write about Space Mountain, I soon learned that it was one of only two classic Disney Parks attractions to debut at Disney World (the other was the Country Bear Jamboree), so to do it justice, it was only right to focus on the Disney World version of the ride.

Image via KWDW [Wikipedia]

Necessity Leads to Innovation

The idea for Space Mountain originated from the success of the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland. The popularity of the ride showed Disney that thrilling rides would do well in his park and he started to work with Arrow Development Company (the same firm that designed the Matterhorn) on a concept for a new Tomorrowland attraction called the Space Port. The concept was similar to the Bobsleds, but it would be inside with special lighting and other effects. Originally, the group wanted to use four separate tracks, but when that proved to be too space consuming, the plans were cut down to two tracks. In 1966, the ride was renamed “Space Mountain.” Unfortunately, Walt’s death that year and the new focus on opening the new Disney World park put the plans for Space Mountain on hold indefinitely.

After a few years, it was obvious that The Magic Kingdom was a major success, but also that their customer base was older than originally expected, comprising of a lot of teens and young adults. To keep up their popularity with this age group, the corporation decided they needed to install more thrill rides. There wasn’t enough space in Fantasyland to add another Matterhorn and the weather of Florida made outdoor rollercoasters somewhat impractical. That’s when designers returned to the idea of Space Mountain. There was enough space in Tomorrowland and the technology improvements in the last few years made many of the outlandish concepts for the ride practical.

Because the ride would be kind of expensive to create, Disney approached RCA to sponsor the new attraction –many rides at the park were sponsored at the time. RCA provided communications hardware and money and, in exchange, their name was plastered all over the ride and the moving sidewalk that took guests out of the attraction was accompanied by a “house of the future” exhibit that prominently featured RCA products. RCA’s sponsorship stopped in 1993 and FedEx took over between 1995 and 2005, but the ride no longer has any sponsors.

When the ride was added to the Anaheim park, it had to fit in a smaller dome, so it was reduced to only hold one track. The other Disney parks also have only one track in their Space Mountains.

Image via William M [Wikipedia]

Specs In Space

Space Mountain opened in January 1975 and was the world’s first completely dark indoor rollercoaster. It is now the oldest operating coaster in Florida. It is enclosed in a dome that is 300 feet wide, 183 feet above ground (it also sits 15 feet below the ground, making it a total of 198 feet tall). All together, the dome has a total area of more than 4.5 million feet. The wall is made from 72 massive concrete beams that are each 117 feet long. Because it’s so big, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover passes through it. Fortunately, the PeopleMover features a glass viewing area so guests can look at the ride and see many of the effects used in it.

The Magic Kingdom version of the ride is the only one to offer two tracks and they are almost identical except the Omega track –the one on the right- is ten feet longer so it can cross the tracks to return to its platform.

When the ride is warming up in the morning or after a temporary shutdown, the grease on the track is cold, so the coaster goes slower, up to 25 mph, and the ride lasts longer. Once it’s warmed up, the ride goes up to 32 mph.

Image via WillMcC [Wikipedia]

Travelling Through Space

The ride starts out at the Space Port where guests are loaded into rockets that look similar to the Bobsled carts only there is only one person per seat. Each of the 30 rockets carries six people in a single file line. Guests then travel down a small slope where they enter a circular tunnel featuring shooting lights and repeating sound to signify the building of energy. At the end, it suddenly makes a 180 degree turn and, thanks to the use of mirrors, looks like it will crash into the rocket on the other track. That’s when the real fun starts and guests start seeing the projection of Earth, asteroids, comets and other astral bodies on the ceiling. The ride then goes through a number  of twists and turns before it enters a swirling wormhole that brings it to the braking area and pulls back into the station.

Image via WillMcC [Wikipedia]

All of the park’s Space Mountains are different and while many people prefer the original for its place in history, polls of Disney fans that have gone to all the parks have shown that the one in Paris is considered the best. Have you been on more than one Space Mountain? If so, which is your favorite?

Sources: Disney World, Ultimate Orlando, All Ears, Wikipedia

Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts:

Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion

Neatorama Facts: Sleeping Beauty Castle

Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean

Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise

Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room

Leandro Copperfield put together 500 scenes from eleven Pixar films to make this super mashup. If you’ve seen the movies, you’ll love this! -via The Daily What

This movie mashup fan art just seems right: Buzz Lightyear ready to enter the Grid in the world of Tron, by DeviantART member iamclu. Link -via Breakfast Links

In many ways though, the creation of this holiday magic is even more amazing than the actual displays. Here’s the details that go into transforming a park from a Halloween harvest theme to a Christmas wonderland.

Image via Armidillo444 [Flickr]

The Christmas Tree:

Every year since its opening, Disneyland features a sixty foot tall Christmas tree that towers over Main Street. Up until 2008, live trees were driven in all the way from Mount Shasta, but since then the park has opted to go green and use an artificial pine that was specially designed by Disney’s Imagineering team. The tree is 65 feet tall, as 5 feet of it sits underground for support. It has over 1,200 branches with a total of 280,000 pine needles which are decorated with 2000 ornaments and 75,000 lights. The electrical cable needed to light all of the lights weighs an astonishing 5,000 pounds.

During the majority of the year, the tree is kept in a warehouse away from the park, but in October, they transport all six pieces of it to the park in the middle of the night. The tree is then put together in the back area of the park, the lights are applied and technicians test the light show. Once they are sure it’s ready to go, they take it apart into two sections. In early November, the 12 ton tree is then moved into place in Main Street using 15 cast members and two cranes.

The tree isn’t the only decorative touch in Main Street though. Throughout Disneyland, the park uses more than 1.5 miles of garland and over 2,000 feet of this is used on Main Street alone. Main Street also features 812 bows, which require 1.4 miles worth of ribbon to create.

Image via Andy Castro [Flickr]

Sleeping Beauty’s Castle:

The iconic castle is redone for wintertime, with a fresh layer of artificial snow and 50,000 lights, including hanging icicles that light up during the nighttime shows. The castle is the central part of a three-part show that takes place every night. The first part of the show occurs at twilight when the sound of wind blowing enters the air followed by a child wishing for snow. A motherly voice is heard to respond, “in order for your wishes to come true, you must believe.” Just then, snow machines blast out icy flurries and the castle lights up with its snow glistening.

Later on, the fireworks show starts and the child is again heard wishing for snow. Then the lights on the castle get even brighter as the snow begins falling again. The fireworks then kick off and just as they approach the grand finale and White Christmas starts to play, the icicles light up and then snow falls in Main Street, New Orlean’s Square and the Small World mall.

Image via Andy Castro [Flickr]

It’s A Small World:

We’ve already talked about how The Haunted Mansion is changed to a Nightmare Before Christmas theme throughout Halloween, but that’s not the only ride to be altered during Christmas time. It’s A Small World is also redone to reflect the holiday spirit. Instead of singing the classic song that provides the ride with its namesake, the children throughout the world sing ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Deck the Halls.’ The exterior of the ride is covered in 300,000 Christmas lights and the large clock in the center is decked out with a Santa hat. After dark the façade features a multi-media presentation projection every fifteen minutes.

Big Thunder Ranch is also modified for the holidays, as it provides Santa and his reindeer a relaxing place to stay just before he rushes around the world to deliver toys.

Image via Wikipedia user Lyght

The Parade:

Every year, the park also features “A Christmas Fantasy parade.” While certain aspects of the parade change every year, it always starts with a music box float featuring a ballerina, which is followed by toy soldiers playing snare drums and trumpets. The Winter Wonderland part of the parade features Tigger, Eeyore and Winnie the Pooh riding and pulling sleighs while Mickey and Minnie skate on an ice rink float. Clarabelle Cow, Goofy and Max all work together to bake gingerbread cookies. Cinderella and the other princesses and their respective princes dance together on a ballroom float. Next, toys of all kinds walk and roll by, led by Chip and Dale, members of Toy Story and Pinocchio. At the very end of the parade, Santa rides by in his sled, wishing Merry Christmas to all the good girls and boys.

Image via Armadillo444 [Flickr]

Are you planning to visit any theme parks during the holiday season? If so, which one(s)? Do any of our Orlando-favoring readers fill us in on the details of the Magic Kingdom’s Christmas celebrations?

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, About.com, WDW Info, West Ways Magazine

Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts:

Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion

Neatorama Facts: Sleeping Beauty Castle

Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean

Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise

Neatorama Facts: Space Mountain

Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room