Disneyland Indiana Jones Adventure Making of

I'll be back tomorrow with a new DLP update and the latest shots of the ratatouille construction but in the meanwhile here is a great making-of of the best Indiana Jones attraction in the world - Indiana Jones Adventure "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" at Disneyland! This video was released when the ride opened at Disneyland in 1995 and two actors of the original Indy movies - John Rhys-Davies and Karen Allen - are playing in it!




Picture and video: copyright Disney

Herb Ryman's Disneyland Map Artwork

I've got something great for you today. We all know the first and famous Disneyland artwork done by Herb Ryman for Walt in 1954. I've found it for you in a mega-file which is no less than 1,23 meter large! Although the definition is in 72 dpi only, as it is difficult to find this legendary artwork in a size as large as this one so you should enjoy it anyway.

And, in addition to this great black and white file of Ryman's artwork here is also a rare color version of the Disneyland map, not as large as the one above but in pretty good size too.

Talking about Disneyland if you haven't read yet Al Lutz update this week, you should read it as Al reveals that for the first time since Disneyland's opening big changes are coming to Main Street U.S.A with nothing less than the addition of new streets! Go ahead and have a read on Mice Chat HERE.

Artwork: copyright Disney

Disneyland 57th Anniversary Celebration

There was a short celebration last Tuesday for Disneyland 57th birthday. All characters joined on DL Town Square and the whole thing lasted not more than five minutes. I found two videos for those of you who were not there, and the first one was filmed by SoCalThrills.




This next video was filmed by the good guys of dapsmagic.




Videos: copyright SoCalThrills, dapsmagic

It's Disneyland 57th Anniversary ! A Disneyland Tribute, With Walt Himself - Part Two

Here is the part two of my article in tribute to Disneyland 57th Anniversary, always with the participation of Walt himself, thanks to Jim Korkis, Disney historian and author of the great "The Vault of Walt" book, who very kindly provided me these rare interviews of Walt in which he talks about Disneyland. If you've not read it yet the part one of this article is HERE.

This first interview of Walt was done by Hooper Fowler for LOOK magazine, January 1964.

Fowler: How often do you go to Disneyland now, Mr. Disney?

Walt: Oh, I might average once a month. Most of my interest in Disneyland is planning and improving it, and I do a great deal of that here at the studio. So I only go down to check on things now, to see what ought to be done for the coming year. It’s pretty hard to get around Disneyland when people are there. I mean, they’re friendly, they’re wonderful, and I love to meet them, but I can’t stand still long because I’ll…oh, I don’t mind giving autographs. I think it’s wonderful that they do want your autograph. But when I’m at Disneyland, if I stop to sign one autograph, before I can get that signed, there are some more up there, and it accumulates quite a crowd, and it always makes it awful hard to get away.

So when I go through Disneyland today, I walk fast, and it isn’t much fun. So I go down with my staff when Disneyland is closed, and we go through everything. Or I go down when there is a big crowd, a very big crowd, and I walk very fast and watch every part of it and find out where we need to improve our crowd control conditions to make it easier for people to get around and our shade areas and all the problems that we have in the summer when we have the half million plus people a week.

So, mainly my interest in Disneyland has been building that thing, in keeping it alive and keeping it fresh and keeping it successful by doing these things. So most of my fun comes from that end of it.



Above, Walt watching a DL worker in Main Street. Below, Walt checking on of the Peter Pan's Flight vehicle.



Fowler: Will there ever be another Disneyland?

Walt: I think there will only be one Disneyland as such. Now that doesn’t mean that in some areas we might not develop certain projects that would be compatible to that area, that might very well tie in certain historical themes of the area of things like that and we are considering things of that sort. Most of the people coming to Disneyland, the big percentage is coming west of the Mississippi and more or less the Pacific coast. The great center of the population is east of the Mississippi and it’s possible that we could go to these areas with certain things without in any way depreciating the individuality of Disneyland itself. But there will only be one Disneyland as such. It’s quite a chore to keep Disneyland going. It’s like a big show you’ve got to keep on the road, you know. You’ve got to keep it fresh and new and exciting. And when people come back, you always want to have something new they hadn’t had a chance to see before. And we feel a keen responsibility to the customer there. They aren’t customers, we call them paying guests.



Above, a great aerial view of Disneyland, circa 1960. Below, a beautiful shot of Fantasyland more or less at the same time.



This next interview of Walt was done by journalist Pete Martin for the Saturday Evening Post, Summer 1956.

Pete Martin: Let's talk a little about Disneyland and how it's so different from other amusement parks.

Walt: It really takes a person more than a day to see the park without exhausting themselves. And as I get these new things in, it's going to take more time. It's one of those things that people who come in here for the first time and everything's there and they sort of make a hog of themselves, you see? Well, a lot of people come back the third time and just like to sit and listen to the band, see the horses going around. I like to go down and sit by the river and watch the people.



Above, a picture of the Mark Twain sailing on Frontierland river, in the early days of Disneyland.

Walt: Chewing gum sticks up things so we don't sell it. And peanut shells. We sell the unshelled. But shelled peanuts, they just crumble them and throw them all over the place. And nothing with round sticks. People trip on them. The ice cream bars got flat sticks and I won't sell any of this spun candy because the kids get it and get it all over everything and people get it on their hands.

No liquor, no beer, nothing. Because that brings in a rowdy element. That brings people that we don't want and I feel they don't need it. I feel when I go down to the park I don't need a drink. I work around that place all day and I don't have one. After I come out of a heavy day at the studio sometimes I want a drink to relax.



Above, Walt, relaxing on a bench of Disneyland Town Square.

Walt: When it comes to Disneyland, I feel I've given the public everything I can give them. My daughter, Diane, says that I spend too much time around the house talking about how I can give them more for their money when they come to the park. You've got to build. You've got to keep it clean. You don't want to walk in a dirty toilet. I won't have 'em. My toilets are spic and span. And you know another thing, I have to have police so there's no child molesters there. I've got plainclothesmen. They can leave their kids to run around and I have safety inspectors. It's run in a high class manner and I have a high class clientele. The people who go to the park are from all walks of life but they look like solid Americans. That's pretty high class.



Above, Walt with Richard Nixon and family at the opening of the Disneyland Monorail. Below, Walt with India prime minister Nehru, at the end of the 1950's in a Jungle Cruise boat.



Pete Martin: One of the things we should cover is to knock off that rumor that Disneyland's expensive to come to.

(Even in 1956, Walt was getting complaints about the high cost of getting into Disneyland. An adult ticket cost a dollar--nine cents of which went directly to taxes--and a child admission cost fifty cents. On top of that, people bought individual tickets for rides. Walt introduced the concept of ticket books so you got more rides for the money you spent on the book than if you bought each ride individually.)

Walt: Oh, no. Not at all. That's an old hat thing. You hear it from some people because they don't know what else to say.

By the time this article comes out, I'm raising it to two dollars because I'm adding all these new rides. And to extend my ticket book to take care of the rides, I'm putting this to ten rides for two dollars. Figure it out. It averages twenty cents a ride, doesn't it? It would cost an adult three dollars and a junior two dollars and fifty cents to get in and get ten rides. If they don't want that, they can pay their buck and pay their fifty cents for their kid and they can come in. They can sit on the park benches, take up the space, dirty up my toilets, litter up the street. They can do all of that if they pay their dollar-fifty. They can ride as they want to. They can sit around and hear my band; they can visit my free shows. They can do all that and more for their dollar-fifty.



Above, Walt in the locomotive of the Tomorrowland Viewliner. Below, Walt in a vehicle of the Mine Train through Nature Wonderland attraction.



Walt: You can't go in a state park without paying that. See, you've got to pay something. You pay so much a head or so much a car to go in a state park. We even have to pay government tax on admission. So it's really ninety-one cents to get in. Now that's what it amounts to. You can't go to the circus for that. I tell you the complaint about the prices are malicious. Los Angeles is made up of a lot of different characters. How do I know they might not be more interested in some other thing like Marineland? Or some other type of amusement that is competitive. We are competitive, too. Who knows? But there's no foundation for some of these complaints about price. When people make that remark to me, it just sounds to me like they heard it somewhere and they don't know what else to say. How can they compare Disneyland prices with anything else because there is nothing else like it.

Well, you take you children to Disneyland and for a dollar and a half they get in and spend a whole darn 13 hours if they want to. Now, if you want to go in and buy them expensive toys or you want to buy them bathing suits or your wife happened to go along and sees a wonderful woolen skirt that costs $30. Well, people come out and spend all that money. But they don't think twice of going down to Bullocks Wilshire and spending that much on a skirt. If you go into a Broadway Department Store, you can go in and spend $25 or $30. I'm not insisting people buy things but I want to give them the opportunity.



Above and below, Walt with audio-animatronics of the Jungle Cruise.



Walt : So I have to keep improving on ideas. On the jungle ride, I want to get more animation in the animals. I want to really fix it. My monkeys have gone to pot. And I want new monkeys. I'm going to take them out Monday because I'd rather not have them in there looking like that.



Above, probably the most famous picture of Walt at Disneyland. Walt is entering Fantasyland walking through Sleeping Beauty Castle - and not exiting to Central Plaza as sometime it is thought. The picture was shot by Renie Bardeau the same photographer who shot Walt's final photo at Disneyland that you've seen at the end of the part one article yesterday.

To end this Disneyland 57th Anniversary tribute, i've found for you on Youtube this film done in celebration of Disneyland first 25 years. Called "From Dream to Reality", you'll hear in it the voice of Walt and you will also see rare shots of Disneyland construction. The film was done in 1979 and was sold at Disneyland gift shops around the park in 1980 during the 25th Anniversary celebration.




Again, Happy 57th Anniversary Disneyland! And don't miss Jim Korkis fantastic book "The Vault of Walt" available on Amazon, in which Jim weaves timeless tales and fascinating secrets about the "lost" world of Disney thanks to over thirty years of his personal interviews with Disney animators, Imagineers and associates as well as long forgotten documents and many years of research. It really is a must-have!




Pictures: copyright Disney, National Geographic

All my thanks to Jim Korkis for these great interviews!

It's Disneyland 57th Anniversary ! A Disneyland Tribute, With Walt Himself - Part One

It's Disneyland 57th Anniversary today and to celebrate the event here is a great tribute with the participation of Walt himself, thanks to Jim Korkis, Disney historian and author of the great "The Vault of Walt" book, who very kindly provided me rare interviews of Walt in which he is talking about Disneyland. I'm posting the part one of this article today, and you'll get the part two tomorrow, both with great pictures of Walt in the park.

This first interview of Walt Disney was done by Fletcher Markle on September 25, 1963, for the Canadian Broadcasting Company, “Telescope” television series.

Fletcher: Where did you originally get the first notion for Disneyland?

Walt: Well it came about when my daughters were very young and I…Saturday was always Daddy’s day with the two daughters. So we’d start out and try to go someplace, you know, different things, and I’d take them to the merry-go-round and I took them different places and as I’d sit while they rode the merry-go-round and did all these things…sit on a bench, you know, eating peanuts…I felt that there should be something built…some kind of an amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together. So that’s how Disneyland started. Well, it took many years…it was a…o, a period of maybe 15 years developing. I started with many ideas, threw them away, started all over again. And, eventually, it evolved into what you see today at Disneyland. But it all started from a Daddy with two daughters wondering where he could take them where he could have a little fun with them too.



Above, Walt in an Autopia car with his daughter and his grand son. Below, Walt talking with children in Adventureland, near Jungle Cruise.



Fletcher: Who goes to Disneyland? What is the ratio of adults to children as part of the plan of fathers and daughters?

Walt: Oh, it’s four adults to one child. That is we are counting the teenagers as adults. But of course, in the winter time, you can go out there during the week and you won’t see any children. You’ll see all the “oldsters” out there riding all these rides and having fun and everything. Summertime, of course, the average would drop down. But the over all…the year round average…it’s four adults to one child.



Above, a rare picture of Walt on a Disneyland mule, along with two children. Below, Walt in a Main Street car.



Fletcher: What was the initial cost of Disneyland that first saw the light of day?

Walt: Oh, it goes back so far. I had different cost estimates. One time it was three and a half million and then I kept fooling around with it and it got up to seven and half million and I kept fooling around a little more and pretty soon it was twelve and a half and I think when we opened Disneyland it was seventeen million dollars. Today, it’s going on forty-five million dollars.



Above, Walt with the parrots of the Tiki Room.

Fletcher: I understand that the next step beyond the audio-animatronics birds (in the Enchanted Tiki Room) has been to do the same kind of programming with human beings.

Walt: Yes, with human beings. Not going to replace the human being…believe me on that. Just for show purposes, because now you take Disneyland down there. We operate fifteen hours a day. And these shows go on…on the hour. And my Tiki bird show goes on three times an hour and I don’t have to stop for coffee breaks and all that kind of stuff, you see. So that’s the whole idea of it. It’s just another dimension in the animation we have been doing all our life.



Above, Walt looking at a Pirates of Caribbean audio-animatronic, with Imagineer Marc Davis and WDI sculptor Blaine Gibson. Below, Disneyland marquee, circa 1960.



This next interview of Walt was aired on NBC in 1966.

NBC: Walt, why did you pick Anaheim as the site for Disneyland?

Walt: The Disneyland concept kept growing and growing and it finally ended up where I felt I needed two-three hundred acres. So, I wanted it in the Southern California area, there were certain things that I felt that I needed, such as flat land, because I wanted to make my own hills. I didn't want it near the ocean, I wanted it sort of inland, so I had a survey group go out and hunt for areas that might be useful. And they finally came back with several different areas and we settled on Anaheim because the price of the acreage was right. But there was more to it than that. And that is that Anaheim was sort of a growing area. The freeway projection was such that we could see that the freeway would set Anaheim as sort of a hub. Well, that's how we selected Anaheim.



Above, Disneyland Main Street Station in the 1950's, and the parking lot behind where is now Disney California Adventure.

NBC: Do you feel Anaheim has lived up to expectations?

Walt: In every way, the city fathers have been wonderful. They've given us wonderful cooperation right from the start and they are still cooperating.

NBC: What has been your biggest problem?

Walt: Well, I'd say it's been my biggest problem all my life - it's money. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true. From the very start it was a problem of getting the money to open Disneyland. About 17 million dollars it took. We had everything mortgaged, including my family. We were able to get it open and for ten or eleven years now we've been pouring more money back in. In other words, like the old farmer, you've got to pour it back into the ground if you want to get it out. That's been my brother's philosophy and mine too.



Above, Walt and WED Imagineer John Hench in front of the Carnation Plaza model. Below, Walt in front of It's a Small World facade during its construction.



NBC: What plans for the future do you have at Disneyland?

Walt: There's a little plaque out there that says, "As long as there is imagination left in the world, Disneyland will never be complete." We have big plans. This year, we finished over $20 million in new things. Next June, I hope, we'll have a new Tomorrowland; and starting from the ground up, building a whole new Tomorrowland. And it's going to run about $20 million bucks.



Above, a view of Disneyland New Tomorrowland in the late 60's.

NBC: What steps have you taken to see that Disneyland will always be good, family entertainment?

Walt: Well, by this time, my staff, my young group of executives are convinced that Walt is right, that quality will win out, and so I think they will stay with this policy because it's proven it's a good business policy. Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, keep it friendly - I think they're convinced and I think they'll hang on after - as you say, "after Disney."



Above, the very last photo taken of Walt at Disneyland by Renie Bardeau, staged by publicist Charlie Ridgway, showing Walt in the fire engine in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

I'll see you tomorrow for the part two of this article, always with rare Walt interviews about Disneyland, but in the meantime Happy 57th Anniversary Disneyland! And don't miss Jim Korkis fantastic book "The Vault of Walt" available on Amazon, in which Jim weaves timeless tales and fascinating secrets about the "lost" world of Disney thanks to over thirty years of his personal interviews with Disney animators, Imagineers and associates as well as long forgotten documents and many years of research. It really is a must-have!




Pictures: copyright Disney

All my thanks to Jim Korkis for these great interviews!

Rare 1955 Disneyland 20000 Leagues Under the Sea Exhibit View-Master Color Pictures

These extremely rare color pictures of the 20000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit which opened at Disneyland Tomorrowland in 1955 and in which were displayed the original decors from the 1954 movie are View-Master pictures. Photos of the DL 20000 Leagues exhibit - specially in color and in this definition quality - are almost impossible to find and it's thanks to Todd Popp that i am able today to share them with you. These 20000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit photos were released by View-Master in 1955. At that time color photography was not as common as it became later and while Todd was doing his research for his upcoming book, he learned that View-Master was one if not the only licensee permitted to photograph Disneyland at its opening in 1955. View-master then released sets of View-Master packets which at the start were sold exclusively at Disneyland as "Park Souvenirs".

Below, a picture showing the entrance of the 20000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit in Tomorrowland in 1960.



The next picture is a Tom Scherman and David Holman artwork showing the different rooms of the exhibit.



On the left after the entrance was displayed a Nautilus model that was used in the film, in front of a Vulcania matte painting by Peter Ellenshaw...



...and on the right the first decor that Disneyland guests could see was the Nautilus wheelhouse.



One of the highlight of the exhibit was of course Captain Nemo Grand Salon in which Disneyland guests could see Captain Nemo's famous pipe organ, which is now in Disneyland Haunted Mansion ball room.



Another picture of the Grand Salon, with Captain Nemo library.



Of course, what amazed Disneyland guests was the giant squid that they could see through one of Nemo Grand Salon window.



A little bit further in the exhibit was the Nautilus diving chamber.



And right in the center of the 20000 Leagues exhibit was the "Nautilus resting place" with a giant Nautilus.



I'd like to thanks again Todd Popp for these rare 20000 Leagues exhibit View-Master pictures, and his high-quality scans! Those of you interested by View-Master will find a whole chapter in my friend Pascal Pinteau excellent book about cult toys called "Jouets Cultes", here.

Pictures: copyright View-Master. Scans by Todd Popp.

Thanks to Daveland for the 20K Exhibit entrance picture.

Artwork: copyright Disney, Tom Scherman

Disneyland monorails gets a "Cars" face and voice to promote Cars Land

How smart they are at Disneyland marketing office, they always amaze me. No, really, look at their latest idea to promote Cars Land opening: now the three Disneyland monorails have a "Cars" face with mouth and eyes and even a voice that DL guests can hear inside the monorail with a new narration all along the way to and inside Disneyland and back.



Monorails Blue, Orange, and Red have now eyes and mouths, and are three new characters called Mandy, Mona and Manny. magnapurpleboy ha spotted a video on Youtube in which you'll hear the new announcements, here in english, but they also have a spanish version.






Talking about trains Disney Parks released pictures of upcoming Red Car Trolley merchandise, and with the great design of the iconic Red Car Trolley there is for sure some great merchandise products to do with this.



Pictures: copyright Disney

Video: copyright magnapurpleboy

Editor's Note: The SIRI article has been moved to my Innoventions Blog, and if you've not read it yet and want to know how to install for free SIRI - the famous iPhone 4S vocal assistant - on your Mac AND have her saying Disneyland-like announcements when you've got an alert on your computer, just go HERE.

Disneyland Main Street U.S.A New Music Loop

You may have heard that a new music loop was done for Main Street USA at Disneyland Anaheim and if you wish you can hear the whole new music loop below, thanks to a recording of revelers' apprentice. Among the new music being added you'll hear the theme from Pixar UP! at 7.01 min!

By the way, the picture on the top is coming from the Tours Departing Daily web site where Michaela, Matthew and Kevin are posting daily beautiful HDR pictures of Disneyland and DCA. They're extremely talented and you can find their stunning shots HERE.

Go ahead, click on play and while you listen to this new Main Stree music loop you'll be able to read the others articles on this page, isn't it great?


Main Street, U.S.A. - 2012 Area Music Loop by revelers'apprentice

Picture: copyright Tours Departing Daily

Main Street music loop: copyright Disney

Video of the Full Disneyland Paris Book and Update on the Book Production

As you know we are planning to reprint the great Disneyland Paris book "From Sketch to Reality", and the reprint will happen in march. We currently have around 170 pre-orders and we need more or less 100 more pre-orders to have the needed amount to pay the book printing. Considering that we already have 170 pre-orders in less than a month and that the pre-order period is still running until late february we are totally confident now that we will have enough pre-orders to print the book.

But for those of you who haven't pre-order the book yet it's the right time to do it as placing a pre-order also give you a 20% discount on the book final price! You can pay either by Paypal or bank wire transfer if you're living in a foreign country or by bank check, Paypal or bank wire transfer if you're living in France. To place a pre-order send me an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com with your shipping address and please also tell me what will be your kind of payment. The book price is 110 Euros including shipping if you're living in France and 115 Euros including shipping for all others countries. Paypal payments must be send in euros currency and at my Paypal account: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr and you can find more infos on the book HERE in english or HERE in french.

Now, although you've probably heard about this magnificent book, many of you may have never seen a copy of it. So we've done a video presentation of the full book which will show you each of the 320 pages of the book! The book includes 750 pictures of the park, including 250 gorgeous renderings of Walt Disney Imagineering and stunning pictures of the park seen from above. The book is so big that it took us seven and a half minutes to show you the full book, and that's without stopping turning each pages! So, if you want to have a closer look at a page don't hesitate to stop the video. Finally, because we didn't had any more a collector edition copy the video is showing the regular edition of the book, not the collector's edition that you will receive if you place your order, but the inside pages are exactly the same.




Video: copyright Alain Littaye 2012

Disney's "It's A Small World" iPhone - iPad App is a Charming Tribute to Disneyland Beloved Attraction

Disney released recently on the iTunes Appstore a new iPhone - iPad application called "It's a Small World", and this new app is a lovely, charming tribute to Disneyland beloved attraction.

Let's be clear from the start: this is an application designed as an interactive app for very young children. Still, all of you who love Mary Blair's attraction and who are always young at heart - and own an iPhone or iPad or iPod Touch - should enjoy the app. Why? Because they've succeed, i think, to find back the original childhood spirit of the ride. It's not perfect, but you can feel that the guys who developed the application tried their best to find back this "original spirit".

One of the great things is all the interactive part: almost wherever you "touch" elements of each image something is happening, the characters are moving, a crocodile goes out of the water, a dragon breath fire, etc... until the final where you launch your own fireworks by taps in the night sky. So, basically, the app is as much animated as the ride is!

There is 15 "chapters" in the app, and each one transport you, just like in the ride, in a different country or continent. In most of them you'll find Mary Blair famous color tones, and even reminiscences of her style. Here is screen captures of some of them, and although they don't pay totally justice to how it looks when you're experiencing the app, i'm sure you will identify which country / continent they are showing.

















As i've told you the interactive part is charming... for instance in this chapter inspired by the jungle scene of the ride the page will look like this when it appears...



But if you tap on the crocodile or in the black area where you see the glowing eyes then the jungle animals appear, the hippo goes out of water, etc...



Each image is also slowly moving, almost as the same pace than the boat in the ride, giving you the feeling to discover each scene like you do when you're in the ride!

Again, it's a read along / sing along app for young children, but if you download it you'll be surprised how charming it is. The app cost $3.99 or 2.99€ on the Appstore, and knowing all the work it is to develop an app as i create applications also myself as you know, i can tell you that it's a fair price. And no need to say that if you have young children they will love it! Here is the iTunes direct link for those who are interested. There is an iPhone version of the app but of course if you own an iPad it looks even better on it. Finally, Disney also released a promotional video that you can see below.




Pictures and video: copyright Disney