Disney weenies draw you deep into the park. The castle pulled you down Main St USA and as you turned to the left and started into Adventureland you would see the tall Tiki structure in the distance pulling you deeper and deeper into the jungle. Past the Swiss Family Treehouse and the backside of water. But what’s that you hear off in the distance, someone calling to you, a mermaid perhaps….
One of the ways that Disney got people interested in an attraction was the use of barker birds. Both Pirates of the Caribbean and the Enchanted Tiki Room had these barker birds enticing you to come inside and see what it was all about. “Avast there, ya lubbers! This be the place, if ya be seekin’ adventure and salty old pirates! (squawk) Salty old pirates, salty old pirates … (whistle) We pillage and plunder, rifle and loot, yo ho, me hearties, yo ho! (squawk). “Stop walking while I’m squawking! Aloha! It is time for me to tell you all about The Tiki Room.” These birds were such a hit in some cases they would draw their own crowds causing traffic jams and unfortunately their removal.
At the Magic Kingdom, the barker bird stood outside the Pirates of the Caribbean until the rehab in 2006 when it was removed and moved to Downtown Disney (Disney Springs) in the pirates section of The World of Disney.
One of my all-time favorite Disney movies is Pete’s Dragon. When I was a young boy I often pretended to have my own Elliott, yes he was the reason I was always getting into trouble.
Pete’s Dragon, released in 1977 was the first Disney film to be recorded in Dolby Stereo sound. It was also the first Disney feature film to be released on VHS in October of 1980 (Be Kind and Rewind :)) The story is of a young orphan boy named Pete who stumbles into a town called Passamaquoddy, a fishing community in northern Maine. Pete has a dragon friend named Elliott who is only visible to Pete, causing Pete to take blame for everything Elliott does.
The film was written by Malcolm Marmorstein and produced by Don Chaffey. Even though the film was set in Maine much of the filming was done in California, including the lighthouse scenes. For the lighthouse, Disney actually constructed a lighthouse in Morro Bay, CA. Because Disney wanted it to look authentic it was outfitted with a large beacon which required special permission from the Coast Guard.
The film was nominated for many awards including Academy Awards for best original song. Last year Disney announced a remake of Pete’s Dragon. David Lowery has been announced as the director and filming is supposed to begin in New Zealand this fall. There have also been rumors of Robert Redford playing a town local who tells tales involving dragons that no one believes.
What do you think, would you like to see a remake of Pete’s Dragon?
On all of our Disney trips I carry a backpack full of camera equipment and a few snacks, but the heaviest part of the backpack is the water we tote around for later in the day. It’s Disney and it’s hot so that water definitely comes in handy, but did you know that you don’t have to tote this water around, you can find free water on Disney Property?
No, I’m not talking about the water fountains or opening up your mouth and allowing the elephant to spray water in your mouth at Casey Jr’s Spash and Soak Station. This is really cold, fresh and free water, just head into any quick service location and ask. It’s that simple. They cannot give you a bottle so asking at the small outside vendors will not work, it has to come in a standard Disney cup with lid and straw. So next time you are feeling the heat but don’t want to open the wallet, head into a quick (counter) service food location and ask for that cup of water.
This past Monday (June 9th) was DisneyDayByDay Jr’s 10th Birthday. Naturally we headed to the Magic Kingdom to celebrate, here we are in the final seat of Big Thunder Mountain.
And here is Grandpa DisneyDayByDay helping out on the Menehune Adventure Trail at Aulani.
Many of us love to travel with our extended family to Disney or we let our families know that we are planning a Disney trip and they just invite themselves, who isn’t looking for any reason to travel to Disney. As your travel party grows you may find it hard to book your favorite restaurants. Some restaurants are configured in such as way that there are few places for large parties, which make these reservations hard to come by. One thing to consider when you aren’t able to get in is to split the group. Yes I know it sounds drastic, but if you split the group and are able to get times that are close to one another you can request tables next to each other when you check in at the restaurant. You may have to wait an extra minute or two to get in as they get tables next to each other, but this saves you from missing your favorite restaurant.
This week we have linked up on the Travel Tip Thursday Blog Hop with our friends at Love Our Disney. Be sure to hop through and check out the other great tips.
