Under The Mouse Ears

by Sam 11.5.21 Although there aren't many left, 1971's opening of Walt Disney World offered guests to enjoy some attractions that were replicas of (or at least similar to) their counterpart in Disneyland. WDW's Magic Kingdom's original Fantasyland has some familiar faces - like Snow White, Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc.. but a few of those original rides are sadly no longer with us. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - a strange attraction based on the moderately successful animated feature, 1949's Wind In The Willows, was just that. I personally remember going on this ride in both 1984 and 1988 and being like "what is this? This is dumb. Who are these characters...?" Well it took a little longer than that, but Michael Eisner obviously agreed, and in 1998, closed the ride for good. Luckily, the internet offers no shortage of websites dedicated to Mr. Toad. And luckily you can still ride it in Disneyland all day long if you want. I've done this too in recent memory and

by Sam. 10.30.21 As a kid, I remember walking around the OLD Epcot (i.e. Horizons, obviously World of Motion, etc) and marveling at the things us youths at the time referred to as "those Learning rides". Everything was slow and boring... a welcome AC break for parents from all those thrill rides at the Magic Kingdom. Where else could you learn about dinosaurs in the ploddy World of Energy; or ride up into the Epcot ball in Spaceship Earth.. all at the speed of a turtle? There was virtually no end other than Figment. I mean, he was of course my homey. Figment is my boy. But all that changed when the Wonders of Life pavilion opened in 1989, introducing Epcot's first thrill ride: Body Wars! So yeah. This is gonna be a Body Wars blog, right? Meh. Maybe later. How about we talk instead about the quieter, less interesting attraction in the Wonders of Life... Cranium Command! You know, that ride that you went on when the Body Wars line was too long.  The Wonders of Life in happi

 by Sam 10/29/21 Way back when Walt bought all that Florida property, most people (including probably most of Disney's 'money people') thought it was for some amazing theme park. In reality, it was for a pretty way out there idea. Walt Disney's 'Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow' was some fairly Orwellian stuff of the future. But when everybody started to balk at it, the eastern version of Disneyland became a stark reality. In order to build Walt's EPCOT, it would take building a Magic Kingdom first. With an Epcot coming though, it's obviously important to put as many strange and bizarre means of transportation throughout. Monorails are one thing... but you need more than just that. And it's not like there was no solid precedent for Walt's wacky ways to get around. While the Disneyland monorail opened in 1959, it was beat by another, older model to get from one place to another.. The Disneyland Skyway opened on June 23, 1956. Purchased

  By Sam. 10.26.21 You're going to notice a recurring theme of my blog posts are defunct rides or attractions that are no longer with us. While it's not an every day thing for me, it certainly isn't uncommon to cast Youtube to the TV and show the kids things that have been removed from the happiest place on earth. With Ellen's Energy Adventure now joining the ranks of Horizons, Communicore, and Kitchen Kabaret, there will never be an end to nostalgia in Walt Disney World as it's constantly evolving. And that brings us to one of Epcot's hottest opening day attractions waaaaaay back in 1982 - the General Motors' presented World of Motion. Thanks to Ford's participation in the 1964 New York World's Far - a pretty historic shaping event in the annals of Disney lore, GM wouldn't be denied when it came time to sponsor an attraction at Disney's newest theme park. They signed a 10 year sponsorship deal and thus began famed 9 angry men member Ward Kim