Imagineering History: Touring My Mecca Pt. 2

After seeing how they converted the annals of Disney history to digital, we were lucky enough to view some of the most glorious artifacts that exist in the archives.

I got to see the original, up close and personal. It was amazing. 

We were brought into a room that had a number of large, metal cabinets. Our host had set up three hand-drawn, framed plans for the original plans for a Disney park adjacent to the studios in Burbank. These original drawing were pretty fantastic, but not nearly as amazing as what was to come.

Our host had put some thought into planning this, as he then took us from the three Burbank park plans, over to a video set up on a MacBook pro of Herb Ryman, or Herbie as our host affectionately referred to him as, discussing in an interview how he and Walt stayed up for a weekend drawing the original plan for Disneyland to show the bankers in New York to get funding for the park. Then, in a well-planned reveal, our host pulled back curtains to reveal that exact hand-drawn, large scale pencil rendering of the plans for Disneyland.

It was amazing. I almost cried. Here I was, standing in front of what was essentially the drawing that started it all. The Disney parks are my favorite aspect of the company besides Walt himself, and here in front of me was a piece of history that was made up equally of both. From the hands of a legendary imagineer and the mind of Walt himself, I almost didn't know how to take it all in. It was like meeting my idol.

The schematic itself was on a rolling wire-mesh wall, with many walls like it in front of it and behind. Hung on those walls were many other original Herb Ryman paintings and drawings, as well as other famous pieces or Disney park art. It was a lot to take in.

We were then shown some of the original silk-screened attraction posters. It was a funny coincidence that I had just started pinning these, and it was an experience to see all these, right there, in stacks. I wish I could have walked away with a couple.

On another wall, behind another curtain, were both the original concept paintings of the stretching room, and ones used on stage. Right there in front of my face, as creepy as ever. It was phenomenal.

After reluctantly pulling myself away from the room, we went to our hosts office which he shares with Vanessa Hunt, one of the two authors behind the new"Poster Art of the Disney Parks" book. I got to meet her, and was bummed I didn't have my copy with me to get signed. Alas it will not arrive until September and is completely sold out at the parks. It was enough just meeting her.

In the office, we were shown the software that the archivists and others use to access the digitized archives. Man, the pinning potential!

Also, sitting in a corner was Figment, an original from Epcot, all nonchalantly. That's just how it is when you're in a building with the most amazing Disney artifacts. Something that could be a spectacular piece on its own is no big deal. It's a weird, overwhelming feeling.

After getting a preview of the Poster art book, while standing in front of its author, we headed over to the WDI gift shop. If I we're a pinning man, I'd have dropped some serious dough on the WDI exclusive pins. Heck, I should have as someone who appreciates a nice ROI, but I'm not. Instead, I got myself two t-shirts: a classic WED Imagineering tee and a more modern, yet equally classic WDI shirt with the blueprint of Sleeping Beauty castle as a background. My girlfriend, in my opinion, got a much more interesting shirt, with an original Disneyland Date night flyer on it. Girls apparel is always more interesting than mens. Always.

It was then that we had to leave. It was a sad moment, but not so sad, because our connection to the place will always be around, and another tour is not impossible.

Destination D: Storify

Imagineering History: Touring My Mecca Pt. 1

My life may not get better than how great it was on Friday, August 3.

That was the day, thanks to a friend of a friend, I toured Disney's Glendale campus, home to Imagineering (which I was not authorized to tour. They keep that place locked down like they're designing the next iPhone in there), and the Imagineering library, which holds some of the most iconic pieces of Disney history.

When I got there, one of the first things I saw as I walked to meet our host was an old entrance to a bowling alley, which has since been converted into offices for Imagineering, and was used as the exterior for Jack Rabbit Slim's restaurant in "Pulp Fiction." A cool fact, but anyone can walk by and see that. Like the saying goes, it's what's on the inside that counts.

We met our host, and the first thing I noticed was a full size print of a stretching room painting from the Haunted Mansion. It was cool, but just a taste of what was to come. We then walked down a hallway with all the highlights from the Disney parks, both domestic and international.

Then it was off, through the new courtyard area, to the library. In that library, Imagineers go to research everything. I was told the library had nearly every National Geographic ever printed, so the Imagineers can get every natural detail right when creating their own environments. We went into the children's library, where, if you pulled out a book, chances were some historic imagineer had picked out the same book years ago. If you were lucky, the book's library slip would be the original, documenting all who had read it before you, maybe John Hench, maybe Bob Gurr. Maybe no one, because someone decided they wanted a centerpiece for their personal collection.

From there we walked by a model of Disneyland constructed of pieces you would receive month-by-month if you were subscribed to a certain magazine. There were a lot of pieces. We also passed a tiki-room animatronic. Herb Ryman's personal library, donated from his estate. It was cold in there, to keep the history fresh. Open up just about any book, and there you could fin Herb's personal notes.

It was off to another room past a Walt Disney World Mr. Toad ride vehicle, and into a room full of binders that had every single detail of every attraction, from the specific color a certain feature was painted. The time I could have spent in there nerding out. We were shown a revolving file cabinet that was so large, the building had to be built around it. All that in old-form, paper media. I was told it was getting digitized. It should be done by 2035. That year was made up.

Another thing we were shown was the room where they do some of that digital documenting, with, ironically, a camera that seemed to be from the Ansel Adams, completely non-digital era. What wasn't old school was the device they used to capture those images, which cost thousands of dollars and produced multi-gigabyte images.

But that was just the beginning... Stay tuned for part 2 of my report!

Visual Queues

Have I mentioned the internet is awesome? That's how I feel, if you don't know.

There are many reasons for me feeling this way, but this weeks, it's because I discovered a blog post with just about every original Tomorrowland poster from the early days of Disneyland.

I'd never seen many of these in person because I was too young to ever go on the rides, but some of these have been part of, what I feel, is the best memory that can be had at Disneyland: walking underneath the Disneyland Rail Road, through the tunnel with all the posters with the awaiting attractions, and walking into town square on Main St. USA.

Those posters may be just static pieces of paper, but what they represent is magic, fun, adventure, exploration, and everything that a day in the Disneyland can be.

I then, through my new fascination with Pinterest, unearthed the other classic posters, from the Matterhorn, to a Indiana Jones to a Peter Pan poster I'd never seen before.

Like I said in my post devoted to Pinterest, the website is enriching my knowledge of Disney History, and with that enrichment comes a huge amount of excitement.

Through Pinterest, I've discovered just how much of Disney's history can be told through visuals, but no other visuals make me feel more like I'm at Disneyland than these posters. They look the same on the screen as they do in real life, unlike everything else, from the castle to Mickey Mouse himself. They literally represent everything that is Disneyland. Many posters have remained unchanged over the many years, and the new ones are done in the same style. The colors are fantastic, the style is simple yet tells the whole story of the ride.

Disney knows this. If you're in the parks, you can pick up their new "Poster Art of the Disney Parks," or if your life is sad like mine and you don't frequent the parks, you can preorder it and get it in September.

I really hope that Disney starts making reprints of these more available. I know there's a kiosk you can order prints from in the Magic Kingdom. Though, getting your hands on a poster that's rare, it's that much more special.

It All Started With a Pin of a Mouse

Pinterest is old news, which is why I am writing this blog post about it. I simply enjoy wasting people's time.

I started a personal Pinterest way back when it was a semi-challenge to get an invite. I pinned some stuff, gave it a chance, and then, like so many other one-trick social networks, I stopped giving it any attention.

Then I realized that a majority of the things that I was either posting or sharing on Main St. Monitor's facebook fan page (which you should like!) were photos. People love photos, I love photos, and Disney has so many amazing photos floating around the internet, just waiting to be appreciated. Facebook was a good place to share them, but not the best place.

So I sent an invitation to myself and made a Pinterest for Mr. MainSt Monitor. Unlike my first go at the mostly-female populated photo/idea sharing site, everything finally clicked.

There's such a vast archive of Disney images out there, from classic photos of the parks, to iconic posters, to early-stage sketches for animated features, that populating my pin boards these inaugural days of the MSM Pinterest have been a blast.

What I've also noticed is there seem to be hundreds of Disney blogs, podcasts, Facebook pages and Twitter account out there, but only a few boards and, besides Disney's official Pinterests, just about zero accounts dedicated solely to Disney (If I'm wrong, comment with the ones you've found, I'd love to follow and re-pin their stuff). So a lot of the things I've been posting have been my own original pins. Though the things I do re-pin are always fascinating.

It has also led to to further explore what hidden Disney gems the internet has to offer. Up until now, I've mostly been following current events, reading about Disney's rich history via old media, like paper books (Yes, they still exist).

People seem to be more receptive to what i share on Pinterest than anywhere else. A couple people like the things I put on the MSM Facebook Page, or click on the links I share on Twitter, and the interaction is a little uneven. From the moment I posted my first pin, people started repining and sharing my content. I haven't had a heavy flow of followers, but people on Pinterest seem to share more freely than on any other social media platform. I'm sure this is old news to anyone who's a casual to heavy user, but it's fascinating to me. No wonder businesses got on board as soon as possible.

Starting the Pinterest account has been a blast, but the best thing that's come out of it is the digging I do to populate the board. There's so many spectacular Disney visuals out there, and pinning them is my new mission.

One Less Magic Hour

In publishing early 2013 operational calendars, The Walt Disney World resort quietly announced that it will be reducing Extra Magic Hours, special hours, either before park opening or after park closing, where select parks are only open to guests staying in Disney hotels and resorts.

The Magic Kingdom, probably during Extra Magic Hours

Many are decrying this move, accusing Disney of being motivated by financial reasons to save on operational costs. Those people are right. 

As an "intern" in the Disney college program, I worked many an Extra Magic Hour (or Extra Tragic Hour, as we called them) at the Magic Kingdom, which often lasted until 3 AM. For the most part, I did very little work, the hardest thing was staying awake. I often asked myself "What is the point of me being here? No one else is." 

I even attempted to attend the Magic Kingdom's Extra Magic Hours when my girlfriend visited, and only stayed until 1 AM, a third of the allotted time. We didn't need much more as we were tired out from what was already a long, productive day. 

I did Extra Magic Hours at Epcot one night, and it saved me absolutely no time. The lines were still gigantic an hour in to Extra Magic Hours. 

From my limited experience with Extra Magic Hours at Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot, and my extensive experience with them at the Magic Kingdom, I feel evening Extra Magic Hours are not worth it. People will be better off with one less hour. 

The opportunity to stay three hours after park closing is a hard one to give up when you spend thousands of dollars on a vacation. The extra time you're getting in the park with no lines gives you a sense that you're getting your dollar's worth. But what about the sleep you're losing that night, the fatigue you'll have the next day and likely the rest of the vacation? 

The way to really get you're value is to take advantage of the morning Extra Magic Hours. You're walking into an empty park, unlike in the evening, where you're staying in a park that's already populated, where lines have to die down, and you have to stay up extra late for them to die down. Yes, the AM Extra Magic Hours are only an hour long, but guests generally don't show up until a couple of hours after the park opens to the general population anyways, so in a way, they are equal to the evening Extra Magic Hours. The lines are much shorter, and you're just starting your day out, instead of elongating an already tiring day. 

It all depends on if you're a morning person or night owl, but I've seen what the Magic Kingdom, the most popular park at Walt Disney World, looks like at 2:30 AM, and you weren't there. Neither was anyone else, really. And the people who were there either looked miserable themselves, or were dragging around powerless, miserable children.     

The First Ten, The Best Ten

Everything good must come to an end.

For Pixar, that fact of life seemed not to apply to its first 10 films. Then they were bought by Disney, John Lasseter took around 30 other jobs on top of his main gig as chief creative officer at the animation studios, and the main vision and values that made the first ten films fantastic was lost in dollar signs and work schedules that wouldn't fit into a 10-day week.

I've written about "Cars 2," and how it ruined the studio's perfect record.  Those with taste can agree that the movie abandoned all of the things that make a Pixar film great (intelligence, wit, originality, lack of pandering). It proved that, maybe after the "Toy Story" franchise, Pixar should avoid sequels (we'll see if they get away with the technicality of making a prequel with "Monster's University").

Originality is where Pixar thrives (and another things "Cars 2" lacked), and I hoped that with the original story of "Brave," the studio would return to to it's pre "Cars 2" back-to-back original hits, "WALL-E" and "Up" (Toy Story 3, though a sequel, was also extremely original).

I was let down.

"Brave" was great, but as many reviewers wrote, held to Pixar standars, it was average to below average. It has a 69/100 score on MetaCritic, meaning the majority of its review are positive. "Toy Story" has a 92. The only Pixar film to have scored lower than "Brave" is, you guessed it, "Cars 2."

The same things that made "Cars 2" a failure also made "Brave" below average. All the hype about "Brave" centered around the fact that it is Pixar's first film with a woman in the lead role. You couldn't escape the comparison's to "The Hunger Game's" Katniss Everdeen . Disney princesses have always taken heat for being damsels in distress who need men to complete them (by people who have too much time to analyze entertainment. To blame a lack of feminine power on Disney is lazy and insulting to women. Independent thought it not exclusively a male trait.) so it started to feel like the story was engineered to create PR buzz. 


When you get down to brass tacks, every Pixar film has the exact same story line. Things are good, a conflict is presented, the characters must go on an adventure, there's a chase scene,  the good guys just barely win, and things end up hunky-dory (The three "Toy Story" films have literally the exact same plot). It's the nuances in both the characters and stories that make the films great, and "Brave" lacked those just as "Cars 2" did before it.

"Cars 2" was made because young boys everywhere eat up "Cars" merchandise like it's free candy laced with nicotine. Then Disney has Pixar make a film with a female princess that can sell merchandise to the other half of the adolescent world? Seems suspicious. And most of all, it seems more like a reaction to criticism than pure innovation that's unaffected by what studio heads feel is popular.


I will now turn to the upcoming (hopefully) original films Pixar will be releasing in the near future: The Good Dinosaur and The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind, along with the 2015 Lee Unkrich film inspired by Die de los Muertos. If they are made without pandering and without consideration of how merchadise will sell, they will be great. If not, they'll still be good, but they won't be truly be Pixar.

Disney: Mall Edition

The Disney Store has gone through many changes between its creation in 1987, to their sale to Hoop retail, owners of The Children's Place stores, in 2004, to Disney's buyback in 2008, to the 2009 announcement that the stores would be completely rebranded. 

Lucky for me, I live in an area that has one of the few Disney stores with the "Magical New Store Design," in the Chandler Fashion Center.

I've always been a huge fan of the Disney Store, just like I've been a fan of Disney. When I was young, I always looked forward to trips to the Arden Faire mall, where I could visit the long-gone model train display and the Disney Store. Sure, it was just another retail store, but it felt as close to Disneyland as I could get while staying close to home.

As I got older, the just-for-retail factor became apparent. If you weren't going to buy anything, the only thing the store had to offer was a large screen with promos for the newest Disney productions projected onto it. 

Not anymore. Yes, the retail aspect is still there, as it is everywhere Disney magic exists, but now the stores have their own magic, and even more attention to detail, that really take you beyond shopping and create a true experience (That Disney hopes will ultimately get you to spend more). 

For the girls, there's a thorough princess section, with a castle, dresses, tiaras, and everything you could want to look like your favorite leading lady. Wave a specific princess's wand in front of the vanity, and that princess magically appears, narrating her story while scenes from her movie play. 

For the boys, there's an extensive Marvel and Cars section, and for everyone else there's a screening area that puts the kids in control via the touch screen. The plush toy section is interactive, with gears to spin and a tunnel to crawl through. All stuff I would have loved when I was small enough to participate. Those AT&T kids commercials have it right, kids these days. 

Then there's 2D trees lining the aisles, with scenes from the newest Disney films projected onto them. The trees are opaque, so the image is visible on both sides.

On the walls, a boarder runs around the top with characters and icons from the most famous Disney properties. And every once in a while, a character, like Rapunzel or EVE pops up to make a small surprise cameo. It's something you have to look for, but when you see it, it's really special, just like all the hidden details at the Disney parks. 

It's still just a store, but it's a store with things to do, even if you don't buy something. It really feels like a little piece of Disney now, not just something hoping you hand over money for your own little piece of Disney in the form of plush.   

Let's Hear it for Licensing Headaches

Disney recently announced that it would include characters from its Marvel comics division for the first time alongside characters created within Disney. It will all take place in the special episode "Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel."

That little tidbit of info doesn't really justify this post's headline. Read on:

Pre-2009, pulling something like this off would have been a licensing nightmare, to get these two huge companies and play nice and figure out how to share their money and intelectual property. It's not now, because they're all one company, but that doesn't mean Disney hasn't done a couple things similar to that.

The most recent example, "Wreck It Ralph," see its antagonist Ralph escape his fictitious videogame Fix-It Felix Jr., where he is unhappy with his role as the game's villain to explore a world made up by many video games, some of them familiar, like Pac Man, Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros., some of them made up, like Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush. 

The only character from Super Mario Bros. that's included is the second-tier character Bowser, because Disney didn't want to pay the royalty fees requested by Nintendo. Not surprising, since out of the three games mentioned, Super Mario Bros. is the only game that managed to stay current (excluding iOS apps). 

I was born a few of years after the most daring feat of cross-branding animation feature "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was released, and grew up watching what turned out to be the kickstart of the Disney Renaissance. As a young child, seeing Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse in the same movie makes sense. They're both animated, why wouldn't they exist in the same world?

As seen through the eyes of any person of any age, it still makes sense. That's why these cross-branding licensing nightmares are dreams come true for audiences. If Wreck it Ralph escaped Fix-It Felix Jr. to explore the internal world of video games, it would only make sense that he ran into Sonic and Bowser. Anything else would seem like cheap pandering. And if Donald Duck was a real, living being, when he got off work, it's completely plausible that he could be neighbors with Daffy Duck.

As adults, it is also known what a legal feat it is to get these huge companies together to do something like this, adding to the wonder of it all. 

It only works in films though: in the physical world, I like to keep my Animal Kingdom and my "Avatar" separate.   

  

Disney's Comic Con