Asian Images on TCM
We’re gonna be keeping the TiVo busy during the month of June for Turner Classic Movies’ Asian Images In Film. This 35-film festival encompasses both Asian films and Hollywoodized treatments of Asian life (such as Kate Hepburn’s slanty-eyed attempt at playing a Chinese peasant in 1944’s Dragon Seed). The highlight for me is a full night of Anna May Wong films on the 5th, including a new documentary on her life and career. I’m also looking forward to Sunday night’s showing of The Peach Girl (not part of the fest proper), a 1931 silent starring the tragic Chinese actress Lingyu Ruan. I wish TCM could have also included Maggie Cheung playing Ruan in 1992’s Centre Stage, but one can’t be too picky with the generous offerings in store.
Cheap Thrill: Color Classics Cartoons
We’ve been spending the last few nights having a re-viewing of the nicely packaged Max Fleischer Color Classics: Somewhere In Dreamland DVD, which originally came out in 2002. The shorts in the set are pallid imitations of Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies cartoons of the ’30s, for sure, but they are fun despite the sometimes shoddy prints used on the DVD. I like to think of the Fleischers as the Warner Bros. to Disney’s MGM — their humor was much more lowbrow and urban, fresh and free of pretentions. Even if many of these shorts focus on cutesy birds, fish and bunnies, you see a lot of ethnic humor and weird animation that makes even the lesser ‘toons (and believe me, there were a lot of ‘em) worthwhile viewing.
Another cool thing about these cartoons is that they have scenes where it appears as if the characters are traipsing around huge and intricate 3D landscapes. This was achieved via a patented “stereo-optical” process of filming animation cels propped vertically against a huge turntable made up to look like a miniature railroad train diorama. It’s a weird effect, but I could see where it would have wowed audiences back then. The process was put to especially good use in the 1934 outing Little Dutch Mill. Check out that amazing windmill:
The image below gives an idea of how the working process went while filming these sequences. Intrepid Christopher tracked down this terrific illustration accompanying the original patent application. Often the cartoons would have moving parts in the backgrounds, or a change in camera angle — it must have been a logistical nightmare, but the results speak for themselves.
Notice that the patent was filed on November 2, 1933 and it was finally granted on September 15, 1936. Ironically, at that point the Fleischer studio was beginning to phase out the use of the process and you see less and less cartoons using it as the thirties went on. All’s Fair at the Fair from 1938 doesn’t use the process at all, and yet it remains one of the best Color Classics due to the surplus of good gags and some wonderful Streamline Moderne designs:
The Color Classics limped onward, eventually becoming the vehicle for a charmless donkey duo called Hunky ‘N Spunky before coming to a close in 1941. Later on, Paramount sold off the series to a TV distributor who eventually let the cartoons lapse into the public domain. That explains why cruddy looking prints are the only surviving way to see them (does Paramount still own the negatives?), but I guess a cruddy print is better than nothing. Even through all the dust and scratches one can see a surplus of creativity going on there. Viva Color Classics!
Weekly Mishmash: May 18-24
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005). A French Canadian film about a dysfunctional family of five brothers growing up in the ’60s and ’70s — centering on Zac, the twee, self-possessed brother with a supernatural “gift” for healing and a serious Bowie fixation. The first 45 minutes are brilliant and darkly funny, calling to mind Amelie, but in the end it dragged on too long and seemed a bit “meh” to me. I was expecting a penetrating gay-themed coming of age tale, but in fact the central character is bisexual and the film dwells more on how the other characters perceive him. The soundtrack and period settings are great and it’s worth a look if you like screwy family films, but don’t expect to be blown away.
Critter Roundup. A title from Nintendo’s new WiiWare line in which you’re a farmer who has to fence in various animals (shades of the classic arcade game Qix). Not worth $10, but fun in its own modest way. Might be the only videogame in which one can get killed by bumping into a chicken.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). “You’ve never seen Temple of Doom?,” Christopher said to me recently. Yep, I’ve seen films #1 and 3 in the original trilogy, but this one passed me by until recently. Why it took 24 years is beyond me, but now I can see why it was never very attractive to me — Kate Capshaw and that Asian kid. Really, could they have found two more shrill, annoying actors to play those parts? I believe Raiders was about as perfect as an action-adventure can possibly be, but with this one Spielberg clearly dumbed things down into a loud, gross kiddie flick. The movie is okay if you watch it with lowered expectations (it’s beautifully mounted with some ace set pieces), but really the only reason this one still gets love today because many saw it at an impressionable age. Nostalgia rears its ugly head again!
Johnny Belinda (1948). Never saw this one before, either, and it was much better than I believed it would be. For a ’40s studio film, it’s refreshing both in the abundance of outdoor photography and its honest, unflinching treatment of rape. Jane Wyman is excellent as the deaf, childlike Belinda, but I think the part could have been done just as well by a dozen other actresses working at that time. The supporting cast, all of ‘em, are also excellent.
Muchos Gracias, Señor
Olé! Kevin Kidney writes on the Frito Kid, the saucer-eyed snack food mascot who long ago took residence at Disneyland’s Casa De Fritos restaurant. He shares a lot of fantastic old images in the post, but do they include the rare and valuable (in my mind) Frito Kid matchbook?
By the way, if anyone has the “Frito Kid and Klondike” track to share, I would sooo love it. This was once available on via the Disneyland Forever make-your-own-CD kiosks — but I missed out on it, dang it!
Lala Land
Just noticed that the La La A Go-Go website has undergone a spiffy new redesign. I first caught wind of the divine Ms. Lala via her flickr stream. If it’s kitschy and from the ’60s or ’70s, she’s got it!
September Songs
We still love TV in all its brilliant, 100-channels-and-nothing-on glory, but isn’t it pathetic how the dominance of the big four networks has eroded over time? The news stories are coming in about underwhelming upfronts and how the writers strike forced the networks the have a curtailed lineup of new shows for the fall season — and all I can think of is how different things were 20, 30 years ago. The fall season used to be a huge deal, heralded with glitzy promos and a full slate of new shows and returning favorites. TV Guide’s thick Fall Preview issue played a big part in all that hype — a subject that the terrific pop culture blog Branded in the ’80s has been exploring lately in a series of posts. Check out the mélange of breathless writeups and appliance ads from the 1978 issue. One thing I like about these Fall Previews is how they give everything equal time, so a classic like WKRP gets the same treatment as the stewardess jiggle drama Flying High (a show that I remember only for the one episode in which the characters have a stopover in Phoenix — hurrah for local color on national TV!).
Which dovetails into another neato vintage TV thing — I know I’ve already written about the montages of TV show opening credits lovingly compiled by YouTube user bobcnn. As of a few months back he had the late ’80s covered, but now it looks like the collection has been expanded to include the years 1979-1992. These are all insanely cool — encompassing both established hits and weird obscurities — so I’m compiling links to every single one here:
1979: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
1980: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
1981: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
1982: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
1983: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
1984: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
1985: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
1986: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
1987: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
1988: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
1989: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
1990: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9
1991: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
1992: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Weekly Mishmash: May 11-17
Happy End of the World — Pizzicato Five and Readymade Digs Disney 1 — Konishi Yasuharu and Pizzicato Five. I was in a Pizzicato Five mood this week. An eMusic download, 1997’s Happy End of the World typifies their brand of fizzy, fun retro dance pop — even if it’s a bit long and dated sounding at times. I was further inspired to look for one of the Readymade Digs Disney compilations after seeing Patrick write about them. Since they’re hard to find Japanese imports, I managed to track down vol. 1 in the series through other means (coughBitTorrentcough). This one has P5 and Konishi Yasuharu covering a variety of Disney tunes in styles that are alternately jazzy and/or layered with hyper dance beats and a sugary children’s chorus. I wasn’t fully prepared for how invigorating and creative this is — especially their takes on the Main Street Electrical Parade theme and that Mary Poppins song with the long, long title.
Modern Times (1936). Another thing to cross off the “classic films I’ve never seen” list. This was very appealing and enjoyable, a beautifully made valentine to the particular strengths of silent filmmaking. Chaplin is still overrated and too sticky-sweet for my tastes, but this was a fun diversion.
North Country (2005). An infuriating movie for all the wrong reasons. This was based on a true story of events at a Minnesota coal mine which led to the first sexual harassment class action lawsuit. A worthy subject for sure, and Charlize Theron is excellent. I just wish the screenwriter didn’t load Theron’s character with an extraneous (and likely fictionalized) backstory and the direction wasn’t so friggin’ unsubtle. The film would have been so much better if they stayed true to what really happened and toned down the Lifetime movie of the week dramatics.
Six Feet Under series finale (2005). I reached a milestone this week when completing all five seasons of Six Feet Under via on and off viewings of rented DVDs (since 2002!). The finale’s end, though, was an unforgettable experience. Recalling old David flashing back to a youthful Keith playing touch football again makes me want to cry.
Bunnies, Comic #8
Two Bunnies and a Duck has been updated with a strip paying tribute to the manga comics I look at all day. If that doesn’t elicit a giggle, how about an Onion news report touring a historic “Blockbuster” video store museum? (via Hacking Netflix)
For Supple Wrists Only
I have to admit that I like playing pinball sometimes, even if pinball doesn’t like playing with me. When I was about 11 years old, my dad bought the family a late ’70s-era pinball machine at auction. It had a gnarly stone age monster theme — rendered in vivid oranges, yellows and greens — and we enjoyed having the luxury of multiple plays without having to feed it quarters all day. Alas, once we got an Atari the bloom fell off that rose. Still, I occasionally got a pinball fix at Castles ‘N Coasters in Phoenix, an arcade/mini golf emporium which houses a roomful of old-ish machines that would give any coin-op museum a run for its money. After getting Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection for the Wii, all these scattered pinball memories came flooding back. All this game does is faithfully render ten vintage pinball machines in a virtual arcade, but it does this so well that it’s like having a little Castles ‘N Coasters at your own disposal.
When you first pop the disc into the Wii, you’re presented with the arcade (complete with generic heavy metal music playing in the background) and 40 credits to spend. Of the ten machines available, only four are unlocked for unlimited free play. Accumulating credits is easy enough, however, and even an average player like me can get all ten machines unlocked within a week or so.
The machines themselves boast a wide variety of visual styles and complexity, enough to keep one busy for a long time. I was even happy to see one table, Gorgar, which closely resembles the one my family had all those years ago (although I don’t remember the name, it must’ve been Bally’s attempt at a Gorgar knockoff). Another favorite was the groovy Jive Time, by far the oldest table of the ten and a creaky antique by pinball standards. Although most of the reviewers I’ve read seem to hate this simple game the most, I find playing it weirdly comforting. The sound of the ball rolling on a wood surface, old-style bell dings, a spinning wheel, and a Peter Max-like playfield add up to a brainless little diversion that’s enjoyable just for winding down at the end of a busy day. With the two most recent machines, Funhouse and Whirlwind, I can recall getting a few frustrating plays from their real-life counterparts. Playing the virtual versions ends up being so much more fulfilling, since it’s a lot less painful to lose balls in the gutter on the Wii. Speaking of the Wii, the makers of this game did a great job adapting pinball controls to the Wiimote and nunchuck. In addition to roaming the arcade playing games randomly, you can also do tournament play and something called the Williams Challenge, a machine-by-machine tournament. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get past the Funhouse stage on the challenge — since basically I suck at Funhouse. The aforementioned Jive Time, Pin*Bot and Taxi are my three favorite machines.
Here’s my obligatory link to buy the game at Amazon. At thirty bucks, it’s a steal. Hey, I might become a pinball wizard after all.
Goodbye, Robert
I was saddened to hear of the death of artist Robert Rauschenberg at age 82 (thanks to Christopher for the link). His work was way ahead of its time; consuming the internet and absorbing the collage of words and images on the web can be closely compared with what his combine prints and paintings were going for. And, of course, he and Jasper Johns were involved in what may have been the coolest gay partnership of the mid-20th century. I remember first hearing about that in a late-’80s interview with Johns and being taken off guard — I had no idea those two were gay, much less involved!
Weekly Mishmash: May 4-10
The Complete Peanuts 1959-1960 by Charles M. Schulz. Fantagraphics’ two volume a year, two years in each volume Complete Peanuts series is still in full swing with the 1967-68 volume having just been released, but I’m still playing catch-up with this earlier volume. The strips from 1959-60 find Schulz at the peak of his talents, a huge asset for the book making up for Whoopi Goldberg’s lousy introduction (in reality it’s just an interview, and a pointless one at that). This was the period that saw the debuts of Lucy’s psychiatry booth, “happiness is a warm puppy,” and Charlie Brown’s baby sister Sally (interestingly, the other characters talk about her for at least a month before she’s actually seen). It also contains one of my very favorite strips, one that was also singled out in Jonathan Franzen’s New Yorker Schulz appreciation from 2004. It’s the total Peanuts philosophy summed up in four panels:
Grave of the Fireflies (1988). I saw a good chunk of this anime classic when it showed up on the IFC channel a few years back, but didn’t get to see the whole thing until Christopher just rented it. The story of two children orphaned in WWII Japan is beautifully told, powerful and at times too bleak. The gorgeous animation and powerful story are things to admire; too bad I wasn’t affected all that much by it at the end of the day.
Network (1976). I haven’t seen this in years, decades maybe, and was a bit taken aback at how prescient it was. What originally played as a farce on the TV industry in ‘76 looks pretty realistic today. A script as smart as Paddy Chayefsky’s doesn’t come along very often. I was also struck by how the part of Diana is one of those “once in a lifetime” roles, and Faye Dunaway really grabs hold of it and makes it entirely hers. William Holden and Robert Duvall were also excellent.
Various — Atlantic Unearthed: Soul Sisters. Picked up this compilation in the same record shopping trip that netted the B-52’s disc from last week. In a selection very similar to the 1992 comp Atlantic Sisters of Soul (the two discs even share a track, Laura Lee’s “What a Man”), these sixteen female-led soul nuggets were either previously unreleased or languished on single b-sides. Although padded with some nicely performed but nondescript R&B, I enjoyed this one a lot. It opens with Aretha Franklin’s stunning cover of “My Way,” recorded in 1970 during the Spirit in the Dark LP sessions. Other highlights include Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles’ “(1-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count the Days” (kinda old-fashioned sounding for 1969 but lovely nonetheless) and Bettye Swann’s seductive, proto-disco “I Ain’t That Easy to Lose” from 1973.
A Very Brady Sequel (1996). Tivo’d this, a rare sequel that’s better than the movie it spawned from. The Brady Bunch Movie was mildly amusing but it milked the “Bradys stranded in the ’90s” theme too much; this one just plays it for laughs and lays on the in-jokes at a fast pace. Not all of it works, and the ending was lame, but I liked it — especially Christine Taylor as Marcia and Jennifer Elise Cox as Jan. Those two are the grooviest!
Book Review: At a Crossroads
You just graduated college, now what to do? Conventional wisdom tells us it’s time to get out there in the so-called “real world” and get in on the ground floor of a lifelong career. That’s what you’re repeatedly told in your teens and early ’20s, but from a jaded 39 year-old’s perspective I now know it’s a crock. Many young college graduates go through a strange “holding pattern” which might even involve returning to the reassuring cocoon of Mom and Dad’s place to regroup for awhile. Kate T. Williamson’s sweet autobiographical comic At a Crossroads: Between a Rock and My Parents’ Place recounts such an experience. After her graduation, Williamson found what was supposed to be a 3-month stay at her parents’ home stretch out to over a year. The book details her mundane life of holidays, concerts, working at a flower shop, noticing the passing seasons, and harboring a strange obsession with the music of Hall & Oates. Although it may seem boring, Williamson has a gift for noticing the bizarre little details in ordinary life that is simultaneously funny and touching. A lot of it reminded me of my own “crossroads” time of being jobless and living with the parents for a few months in the fall of 1992. The book’s minute observations are mirrored in her simple yet effective drawing style, enlivened with lush watercolor paints. This is a brief read, and a bit expensive for such a slight story, but she deals with a subject that is never covered in books and yet remains something that most everyone can relate to.
At a Crossroads: Between a Rock and My Parents’ Place was just recently published by the Princeton Architectural Press. Buy at Amazon here.
Things Are Heating Up in Atlanta
Hot news — an ex-Weather Channel meteorologist has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employers. We have the Weather Channel on 24/7 at the house, and I remember plaintiff Hillary Andrews and defendant Bob Stokes (who left the network last January) very well.
This story came out eerily timed, since a couple of nights ago I had a dream about another Weather Channel personality coming under fire. In the dream I was watching Jennifer Lopez being harassed on the set by her male co-anchor for having a high-pitched, nasal sounding voice. The next day (still in the dream), I tuned in again and found Ms. Lopez was back — only speaking with an affected lower-pitched tone like she was trying to imitate a man’s voice. Weird, huh?
WDW Day Three: The Magic Kingdom Pt. 2
Having checked out almost all of the left side of the Magic Kingdom, we decided to take the train from Frontierland to get to the other side of the park. Unfortunately I was in Disneyland mode and thought there would be a train stop in Tomorrowland. Oops. We ended up departing the train at the Main Street stop and walking back to Tomorrowland, but that was okay. First stop was the Carousel of Progress. I cannot believe they still have this thing running — it was first unveiled at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, for Pete’s sake! WDW presents it as a golden oldie and they take pains to stress how much Walt Disney loved the attraction. All this buttering up didn’t seem to affect the audience I saw it with; the four teenage girls in front of us thought it was a joke, and there was even a rude woman yakking on a cell phone behind us. Despite those distractions, I found it utterly charming. So what if the audio-animatronics were more creepy than anything else, and the final scene (supposedly set in the present day) had an distinct mid-1990s look. It was kitschy and cool at the same time.
After this we took a cruise through the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Another ride much beloved by hardcore WDW fans, this ride is very similar to the old and lamentably gone Peoplemover in Disneyland. The main difference might be that these cars move a lot faster than the leisurely Peoplemover ever did. I had so much fun, and surprisingly the ride gives guests a glimpse at the “City of Tomorrow” model which was originally placed at the end of the Carousel of Progress. On the whole, the ride was a refreshing respite from what was getting to be a hot and humid day.
It was getting later in the afternoon, but too early for our 4:00 meal reservations, so we decided to hang around Main Street until the parade started. I got to break away from the parents (for the only time during the trip), milling about and taking pictures of the buildings. From the outside, this area looks nice, but the insides are full of shops that sell pretty much the same stuff. I went into a section with a gallery sign next to the door, hoping to find something nice. Inside was a bunch of Princess crap. Strangely, the left side of Main Street as you’re looking at the castle is one, long shop. I was able to find a nice, overpriced polo shirt with an appliqué Mickey on it. I caught up with my parents as they were waiting for the Disney Dreams Come True parade. I was expecting corniness galore, but as the parade went by I looked in wonder at the way the costume characters interacted with the kids sitting on either side of me. The performers were complete pros, hard working and cheerful in the hot sun, and they had the children completely enthralled.
After the parade wound up, we had a pleasant yet uneventful lunch/dinner at the Plaza Restaurant, located at the end of Main Street’s right side. We got seated in an octagon-shaped room just off the main dining area, a neat little area with lousy acoustics. It was hard to carry on a conversation with two loud families also in the room, but luckily they left quickly and I was able to enjoy a vanilla shake dessert in relative quiet. After the meal was over, we chatted with our server about working at WDW’s restaurants — 12-hour shifts, no-shows, etc. It was really interesting.
Once the meal was over it was time to explore Fantasyland. Well-timed, too, since the park was closing early for Grad Nite and the crowds in this particular area were thinning out. To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations for Fantasyland since some of my favorite things in Disneyland — the Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland ride, Storybookland Canal Boats, even the Snow White grotto — are completely missing in Florida. With its mishmash of old-style medieval carnival and Swiss village architectural styles, WDW’s Fantasyland seems a bit aimless and incomplete. Our first stop was the Snow White’s Scary Adventures ride. It was a cute attraction, somewhat less substantial than the Disneyland version. The same could be said for the Winnie the Pooh ride. At least Disney used the ride to stress that Pooh’s story was adapted from a book, something my mom noticed with approval. We also caught a showing of the Florida-specific 3D film Mickey’s PhilharMagic, an enjoyable if not very substantial experience. With the exception of the Pooh ride (5 minute wait with Fastpasses), everything was a walk-on.
Since we weren’t interested in waiting in line for the insanely popular Peter Pan’s Flight, we walked onto the WDW version of It’s a Small World and made it our last stop of the day. After the initial disappointment of finding an indoor queue, we got on and found the ride the same reassuringly cheerful experience we always loved at Disneyland. Despite many tinkerings over the years, the ride still hews to Mary Blair’s original designs and the timeless theme of seeking peace through the world’s children. One improvement of the Disneyland version is the fact that the boats sail through a wide “river” as opposed to the narrow canal at DL. I loved the ride and had plenty of opportunity to take (blurry) photos while our boat got into a logjam in the final two rooms.
Our Small World departure marked the end of Fantasyland and the conclusion of our Magic Kingdom day. I’d say that this was the most fulfilling day of the three, since we achieved everything we wanted to do at a leisurely pace. The only major rides we skipped were Peter Pan and Space Mountain (which all three of us didn’t have much interest in). And all of this was completed before 6:30 p.m., too! Since the evening was still early, I was telling my parents that we should take a bus to nearby Blizzard Beach to play a round of miniature golf. They didn’t seem too hot on going, however, and by that time I was getting a bit peaked — so we went back to the hotel. At least that (and the part of World Showcase that I missed) will give me something to look forward to for a far-off “next time.” All in all, it was a once in a lifetime trip that I’ll never forget!
WDW Day Three: The Magic Kingdom Pt. 1
Friday, April 18th, 2008 marked the end of my Florida trip with the parents and a full day at Walt Disney World’s premiere theme park, The Magic Kingdom. As a lifelong fan of Disneyland in California, I always wanted to check out the Magic Kingdom just to see how it differs from its West Coast counterpart. It turns out that the two parks are very similar in the essentials, but they also have some marked differences — maybe its an East Coast/West Coast thing. Generally speaking, I’d say the main difference between the two is that Disneyland attracts a more laid-back, local crowd who are there for a pleasant day trip. On the other hand, the Magic Kingdom can be summed up more like an expensive, all-encompassing vacation spot geared toward (mostly out-of-state) families who desire a quintessential “Disney” experience.
We arrived at the transportation center bright and early for the park’s opening at 9:00 a.m. Taking the monorail though the Contemporary Resort, I got to catch a glimpse of Mary Blair’s massive multi-story Grand Canyon tile mural — an exciting, old-style way to enter the park. We arrived through the turnstiles and found that we had to wait in the front area for the gateway to Main Street U.S.A. to open. Before the opening there was a splashy musical number to herald the beginning of the day. It was cute and all, but this kinda underlines the differences between Disneyland and WDW. At times it felt like Disney was grabbing me by the collar and yelling “ARE YOU HAVING A MAGICAL TIME ALREADY? WELL, ARE YOU?” I like finding the magic on my own, thank you. Luckily there was a lot of magic to be encountered during the course of the day.
With the throng of morning visitors, we entered Main Street U.S.A. My, that area of the park is huge. I loved the ornate architecture everywhere, but at this point there was no time for dawdling. We made our way to the central hub, where I quickly snapped some photos of Cinderella’s Castle (also much larger than I imagined) on our way towards the Liberty Square entrance. It’s funny that they open the park in stages, but I can see where it helps in terms of crowd control. The bottleneck at the entrance was massive, but our group waiting to get through Liberty Square was much more manageable. Eventually the gate opened and we made a beeline for Splash Mountain to get Fastpasses. By the way, the Fastpass system was a huge, huge help in getting the most out of our trip. The first advice I’d give any Disney theme park visitor — use Fastpasses, and use them often! First thing out of the way, we dropped into Big Thunder Mountain next door for some morning thrills. This was a lot of fun, and we only had to wait for about five minutes to get on. The differences between the WDW and DL versions of the ride seemed pretty minimal to me; mainly the WDW queue is situated indoors and the trains pass by a large area with a fake prospector’s camp.
It was at this point that we took a walk around the river bend to ride on my all-time favorite, The Haunted Mansion. Walking along the nearly deserted pathway through Frontierland and Liberty Square was beautiful. I marveled at the buildings and theming, even telling my parents that I wish it was this empty all day. Approaching the Mansion, we walked right in with no wait. This was a great ride, although it was really dark and my eyes never adjusted to the change in light from the outside (the one bad thing about going during the slow time of the day!). The WDW iteration of the Mansion recently underwent some renovations — everything was in tip-top shape and I’d even say the experience is slightly better than the DL version. It seemed a little longer, and although I love the elegant exterior in Disneyland, the WDW Mansion exterior seems a lot more foreboding. I love the exterior theming, too — that little pet cemetery is the coolest! They even had a gravestone for Mr. Toad, whose ride in Florida was destroyed to make way for Winnie the Pooh.
In my singleminded quest to hit the most popular attractions before 11:00 a.m., the Pirates of the Caribbean was next on the agenda. Having heard that the Magic Kingdom version is widely considered disappointing compared to the Disneyland version, I literally walked onto the ride with lowered expectations. I thought it was pretty good — this biggest loss being the atmospheric intro via the Blue Bayou on the DL version. This was a huge loss since it bridges the gap between the real world and the pirate world. WDW’s Pirates also seemed shorter, but the scenes are presented in an order that makes more narrative sense. The Jack Sparrow audio-animatronic figures were impressive, but it bothered me that there were more than one. For some reason, I always thought of PotC as being a journey through several scenes taking place simultaneously, and having multiple Jacks popping up spoils the illusion. After the ride was over, we had a bathroom break and I took some photos of the great Spanish-style theming around Adventureland.
Further exploring Adventureland, we went over to the Swiss Family Treehouse. That’s one of the great things about the Magic Kingdom — some of the rides haven’t been updated in years! I enjoyed climbing through the unsullied treehouse (even as an adult, it’s fun). That in mind, we avoided the Tiki Room, now updated dumbed-down as The Tiki Room: Under New Management. I can’t stand the thought of my beloved Tiki birds having to deal with obnoxious newer birds. After the treehouse, we went over to check out the hoary old Jungle Cruise. It was another walk-on. This was relaxing and enjoyable, even if our skipper seemed on the blasé side. I liked the addition of a small dark part missing from the DL version. The Kiliminjaro Safari in Animal Kingdom, however, has rendered this quaint boat ride irrelevant.
It was getting time to head down to Splash Mountain and take advantage of our Fastpasses. We only had to wait in line for about five minutes. No matter where it’s located, this is one of my favorite Disney rides. It combines classic “Dark Ride” storytelling and log flume thrills so skillfully that one can enjoy it multiple times. This WDW version didn’t seem dramatically different from the DL version, with maybe not as many scenes containing audio-animatronic critters. It is better placed within the park, and for that reason alone I’d give it an edge over Disneyland’s.
Since the park was considerably less busy than I anticipated, we threw away the touring plan at this point and decided to truck over to Tomorrowland and get Fastpasses for the Buzz Lightyear ride (something I didn’t plan to go on). That done, we stopped in the hub and snapped some gorgeous shots of the Castle at midday. My parents were getting hungry, so we stopped for some hot dogs and fudge in Frontierland before riding on some of the less popular attractions. I wanted to check out the old Country Bear Jamboree, an attraction that hasn’t been in Disneyland since 2001. My parents and I have many nostalgic memories of this particular one, so it was a bit heartwarming to find the original still going — albeit a bit threadbare — in WDW. I even bought a souvenir pressed penny there.
I think at this point (around noon or so), the park was at its capacity. We ducked away from the crowds in the nearby Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square. This is another moldy oldie of an attraction, but I enjoyed it in all its patriotic earnestness. Basically its more like a Presidential Roll Call with speeches only by Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush. I loved noticing how some of the audio-animatronic presidents on display would keep moving or reacting even when the spotlight wasn’t on them (for some reason Ronald Reagan’s tapping toe stood out for me). That stage is getting awfully crowded — where will they put the next president, out in the audience? We also took a tour of the river in the Liberty Belle Riverboat, where I saw several fake deer and moose and a real alligator.
Yep, I’ve been going on too long on this baby — next time I will write about the conclusion to our Magic Kingdom day.
