Disney Lost and Found

It's no secret that I'm a sucker for concept art and unproduced animation. So, when I found out that Charles Solomon was publishing another book on lost animation, I was first in line. I really enjoyed his first book, The Disney That Never Was.

This book comes up a little short in expectations. His first effort covered 50 years of animation. This new book is broken into three sections: Stuff we've already seen before (the soup scene from Snow White) and the remaining two sections devoted to two unproduced films.

The first, "Wild Life", was to have been the first film entirely done in CG. The film was to have taken place in 1970s New York and loosely based on Pygmalion. As most films go through rewrites, this one appeared to have gotten worse instead of better.

The last section is devoted to "My Peoples" described as star-crossed lovers in 1940s Appalachia. I really liked the look of the characters and backgrounds and hope that this one eventually gets made.

As I finished reading the book in all of 20 mins, (there's hardly any text), my initial feeling was "is that it?"

Disneyland: Then, Now and Forever

I just returned from a trip to Disneyland (see previous post) and I picked up the latest version of Disneyland: Then, Now, and Forever.

I was truly impressed with this book when the first edition came out. It's probably one of the best official publications on Disneyland history and definitely the best of the annual publications.

Of course, the first thing I did when I got home, was to open the 2005 edition and do a side by side comparison. (Hey, when you're a collector, it's all about variations).

Most notable, is the new cover. No more dust cover - the graphics are printed directly on the book. Also, gone are references to the 50th anniversary (no castle decorations, no Julie Andrews and no more 50th logo). Several new attractions have found their way onto the pages: Pirates Liar on Tom Sawyer Island, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and the enhancements to both Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.

There was quite of bit of photo changing here and there. For example, the Matterhorn section in the 05 edition contained no current photos. That's been fixed in the 08 edition. But, they didn't catch all of the mistakes. I still don't recognize where the Buzz Lightyear photo is from. (A different park or created in Photoshop?)

DCA and Toy Story

I just got back from a trip to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure to check-out the new Toy Story Midway Mania (or Toy Story Mania, or whatever it's called - the signing is confusing).  

Toy Story officially opened on Tuesday, June 17.  I didn't want anything to do with the opening day crowds, so we took a side trip down to Legoland.  So, on Wednesday morning we made our way over to California Adventure.  As we strolled through the esplanade at 9am (DCA is not scheduled to open until 10am), there was only about 50 people milling around the giant CALIFORNIA letters.  I took this as a very good sign.  We had a leisurely breakfast at the La Brea Bakery, and when we made out way over to DCA at 9:30, the Park had already opened.  A surprise early opening?  Hardy, we were held in a group right at the end of the Sunshine Plaza. I'm really bad at estimating large crowd size - maybe 500-800 people jammed together? Anyone who's been to DCA early, knows that the concessionaires aren't open yet, so we baked in the 90+ heat without any water.  At 9:55am, we make another massive move as a group.  (A CM is leading us so that we don't stampede.)  And, we stop just short of the attraction.  It took about 15 mins for this amount of people to form a single line.  And we spot our first time marker - 120 mins.  I was mentally prepared to do 3 hrs, so I saw this as a blessing. 

We start the meandering in and out of the hot sun.  Finally, concessionaires are open and I hop out of line for some refreshments.  (I wonder why the water line is moving so slowly.  Then, I spot the reason.  Everyone in front of me is buying 4-5 waters each).  Another time marker and this one is at 50 mins.  We're making great progress - way ahead of schedule.  Our total wait time turns out to be 1 hr, 15 mins.  

I'm not going to give away any details on this new attraction.  You could probably find those very easily on the web.  But, this long time Disney fanatic was very impressed!

Later in the day, we're walking by Toy Story, and the line is only 50 mins.  Of course, we jump right in.  And, we got a real treat.  Mr. Potato Head "talked" to my son.  "Hey, kid.  Yeah, you in the orange shirt.  What are you hard of hearing?  Here, use one of my ears."  Mr. Potato Head then pulls his ear right out of his head.  

Very, very cool!

Disneyland Encyclopedia

I finally received my copy of Chris Strodder's Disneyland Encyclopedia. Let me first say that I'm a fanatic when it comes to reference books. I love lists! I'm probably the only person that likes to browse through a reference book.

Anyway, on to Stodder's book. Published in paperback at 480 pages and 500 entries, this book touts itself as being "The unofficial, unauthorized, and unprecedented history of every land, attraction, restaurant, shop, and event in the original magic kingdom." I always have a problem with books that call themselves unauthorized. Will we get a well-researched, well-written book, or something thrown together quickly just to make a fast buck? (Well, since this book isn't about some Hollywood celebrity, I doubt Strodder is out to make a fast buck).

Disneyland presented in an encyclopedic format has been attempted before. The Disneyland Detective was so poorly written and filled with too many mistakes to make it my "go-to" book. So again, I approached Strodder's book with a little bit of trepidation.

Let's dive into the details. The book opens up with maps of all the lands of Disneyland followed by a listing of all the attractions (past and present) that were part of that land. I find this portion very handy as it provides a reference point for bygone attractions. For example, I can never remember where the Plantation House stood. Then, we jump into the meat of the book, and it's all there. From Adventureland to Yumz.

Each entry contains the name of the attraction (eatery, event, etc.), it's location on the map and its history. Strodder also provides the alternate names this attraction may have had over the years. Such as Astro-Jets, aka Tomorrolwand Jets, aka Rocket Jets. I find this feature very handy as Disney has tweaked attraction names numerous times over the years. Also sprinkled throughout the book are assorted lists - tallest structures in Disneyland, Movies not represented with an attraction, etc.

Alas, the book is not perfect. It does have a couple of shortcomings. All of the photos in the book are black and white. I really can't fault Strodder on this as it probably kept the publishing costs down. All of the photos used in the book were taken in 2007 which I feel is a major problem. While I've read that Disney works painstakingly slow at releasing copyright info, Strodder could have partnered with Werner Weiss at Yesterland for photos from different eras. While the author sticks to "just the facts" he does stray here and there and include rumors, such as Bengal BBQ being removed by the expansion of River Belle Terrace (didn't happen) and the old People Mover / Rocket Rods track coming back rethemed as The Incredibles.

I have to admit I haven't read the book cover to cover (yet), but what I have read I've thoroughly enjoyed.

This is probably the first book I've ever read in which I own 99% of the bibliography. Which also means I could have written it myself. Oh well.

For another, very detailed review check out Jason's review over at Disneyland Nomenclature.