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1:50 p.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
Flying under the radar of the 50th Anniversary celebrations is the reopening
of Jungle Cruise. Several new effects were put in with this recent refurbishment,
attraction cast members are sporting new costumes. The biggest change
which will disappoint as many as it pleases is that a new script is being
implemented with much less humor and cast members will have less leeway
in deviating from it. The decision was that Jungle Cruise is “supposed
to be fun, not funny.”
Cast members have only had the new script for a day or so, and have not
yet memorized it. So for now, a form of hybrid script is being used. One
that is still mostly the old humor-based script with the couple scenes
that have been memorized mixed in.
While smaller changes have been made throughout the park, the two big
ones are at the gorilla camp and at the piranha pool. The gorillas are
now much better armed. One is throwing dynamite into the water, producing
a new water cannon effect while others are shooting off revolvers and
you can hear the ricochets around the bank of the river, a la Pirates
of the Caribbean.
In the piranha pool they have added lots of jumping fish, similar to
those seen in the water behind Big Thunder Mountain. Except these are
piranha and their intent is malicious. Between the water cannon and the
jumping piranha getting a little bit wet is definitely now a risk on the
ride.
During the noon time hour, several boats worth of guests got the pleasant
surprise of riding with Imagineer Tony Baxter and Pixar’s John Lasseter.
After these two rode for the first time, they went around for several
trips without having to exit. Apparently they have better connections
than most of us. Lasseter could be seen reading the new script (to himself)
through at least one of his trips.
Pixar’s John Lasseter heading out for the first of several consecutive
rides. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
One of the aggressive piranha. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
But you can’t say you weren’t warned. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
The hippos are still there, perhaps with cleaner teeth. Photo by Adrienne
Vincent-Phoenix.
The new water cannon effect. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Removing all the dirt surely means she can jump farther now. Photo by
Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
One of the natives, all cleaned up and looking good. Photo by Adrienne
Vincent-Phoenix.
The rhino still has these guys treed. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
All the animals are looking and operating well. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Guns have definitely returned to Jungle Cruise. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Plenty of cute elephants. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Pixar’s John Lasseter heading out for at least his fourth consecutive
ride on Jungle Cruise (this is after offloading and before the next group
was loaded). Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
12:25 p.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
Two minor notes:
1) The second performance of Parade of Dreams just completed and did
not do a show stop. The reason is unknown. It is known that the Ariel
float was not working properly during the first show, so they may have
skipped the show stop to avoid a repeat of that. Or it could just be that
they’re trying to make up time for some reason.
2) Kelsey Grammer has been seen in the park, the first sightings since
he left stage at last night’s press preview. He seems fine except for
a slight limp.
12:05 p.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
The premiere of the golden ride vehicles will certainly be quite a mermory
for a small group of children. The official unveiling used the Dumbo ride
vehicle to kick things off. It began with the covered vehicle being introduced
and then a child for each unit on the ride was brought on stage, each
with a different Disney character.
9-year-old Caroline Sunshine was the lucky girl paired with Mickey Mouse,
and she was certainly a good choice as she had no shyness about mugging
for the cameras. Young Sunshine was the one allowed to pull the rope and
unveil the ride unit. She then got to board the vehicle and spend some
quality alone time with Mickey Mouse. Once the ride was done, it was over
for her and Mickey. They unloaded everybody else, but then lifted the
golden Dumbo back into the air for a lengthy photo op and more playing
to the media.
Mickey Mouse escorts Caroline Sunshine to the podium to reveal the golden
Dumbo ride vehicle. Other children are escorted by other Disney characters.
Photo by Frank Anzalone.
This young boy gets to ride with Minnie Mouse. Other children are escorted
by other Disney characters. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Caroline Sunshine pulls the drape to reveal a very nice looking golden
Dumbo. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
…and revelry ensues. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Carolyn Sunshine gets a kiss from Mickey Mouse before their ride together
starts. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
It appears that Alice may have decided she’s in the wrong movie ride.
Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Mickey Mouse is decked out in his best for the 50th Anniversary. Photo
by Frank Anzalone.
Mickey is sporting a brand new bowtie for the event. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Mickey Mouse and Caroline Sunshine on display for the media. Photo by
Frank Anzalone.
The new golden Teacup does not, unfortunately, spin any faster than the
others. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Mr. Toad’s golden vehicle is intended for photos. Each ride with a golden
vehicle has a second non-functioning unit for posed photographs. Photo
by Frank Anzalone.
11:28 a.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
A photo selection from this morning and the parade. More
will be coming later.
A morning show taping early in front of Main Street Station. Photo by
Frank Anzalone.
Just a photo for memories, since you don’t see it too often. Photo by
Frank Anzalone.
Art Linkletter, host of Disneyland’s opening in 1955 is on site and making
the rounds. Here he is speaking with Karen Anzalone. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Just an opportunity to correct myself. These screens are OLEDs, not LCDs.
Apparently this mistake is a pet peeve for quite a few people. Photo by
Frank Anzalone.
Tinker Belle opens Parade of Dreams. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Lumiere pleases the crow on the Beauty and the Beast float. Photo by Frank
Anzalone.
Gepetto playing with his puppets. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
The Caterpillar checks for rain. Photo by Jeff Moxley.
Pride rock with Simba, and a very small person inside. Photo by Jeff Moxley.
The golden vehicle for Peter Pan. Photo by Jeff Moxley.
10:33 a.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
Links of interest. We’ll be providing links to other sites on the Internet
as well as our own coverage.
- Disneyland’s official podcasts.
Podcasts are audio files meant to be downloaded to your iPod or other
MP3 player. Disneyland is on the bandwagon with files that will include
interviews and descriptions of what we’re telling you about as well.
10:22 a.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
A couple photos of yesterday’s preparations and a great shot from Frank
Anzalone of one of the newly decorated Main Street lamp posts.
The main stage in DCA. Radio stations doing remotes are lined up cheek-to-jowl
along Paradise Pier. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Setting up the main broadcasting location in the Central Plaza, used by
at least KTLA (Los Angeles) this morning. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Photo by Frank Anzalone.
9:56 a.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
8:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning in early May and we’re greeted with
a sight not often seen, even in summer: all of the toll lanes at the Mickey
& Friends parking structure are open . . . and the lines are still
out to the edge of the structure. It’s a good thing they closed Disneyland
today or it might really get crowded.
It is increasingly obvious that May 4th is not going to be a day in the
park for a few thousand contest winners and some invited dignitaries.
Hundreds or thousands of media. Radio and television contest winners (KTLA
in Los Angeles alone gave out at least 400 tickets). Corporate sponsors
with plenty of admissions to reward people with. What appeared to be an
entire school of kindergartners. While it probably won’t seem crowded
to anybody who has been there on an August Sunday, it isn’t going to be
a light attendance day either.
A large group of young children who are going to Disneyland this morning.
Photo by Alex Stroup.
At 9:00 a.m. this set up the sight that a “closed” Disneyland
still had more people in line to enter than an open DCA.
Disney isn’t getting the blue sky backdrop they’d prefer for all the
TV media broadcasting out of here today either. While the weathermen are
saying that if it rains, it won’t be until late this evening, the clouds
are thick and low and the temperatures are still cool.
12:49 a.m., May 4, 2005
by Alex Stroup
A fall, a fire, and not much else
Other than unexpected fall and an unexpected fire, day one of the media
extravaganza was a pretty mild affair with nothing of any particular suprise.
The press and invited guests only evening began at 6:30 last night with
a presentation in the Hyperion Theater. Arriving outside the theater around
5:45 it was interesting to watch all the suits gathered around. Just hanging
out and having a final moment of relative calm before what may be the
showcase event of their careers gets started.
Also of interest was watching Disneyland President Matt Ouimet work the
crowd and cast members in the area. He definitely is not shy about taking
a hello from a passing guest (and each time he turned it into a brief
conversation) or approaching a costumed cast member and thanking them
for their presence. It’s tempting to be cynical and believe he was putting
on a show knowing he was being watched, but he does seem to approach it
sincerely.
Disney Theme Parks President Jay Rasulo introducing events at all the
other parks. Note also the jagged front edge of the stage. Photo by Frank
Anzalone.
Inside the theater, for most the better seating was to actually go up
to the mezzanine level as much of the main seating eara had been converted
into a platform for video and still photographers. Things started a bit
late as the attendees were slow to file in, but it provided extra time
for scanning the crowd for various Disney luminaries rumored to be in
attendance.
The half-hour presentation was essentially an advanced PowerPoint show
that started with a video montage highlighting the changes at Disneyland
over the last 50 years, changes which frequently included the opening
of other theme parks.
This fed directly into the introduction of Disney Parks President Jay
Rasulo, who was responsible for the pure PR effort as he led the audience
first through all the great things that will be happening at the Disney
theme parks not located in Anaheim, California. Once again an effort was
made to make it exciting that Walt Disney World is getting a selection
of attractions imported from the other Disney parks (Cinderellabation
at Magic Kingdom from Tokyo Disneyland; Soarin’ at Epcot from DCA; Lights,
Motors, Action at MGM Studios from Disneyland Paris; and Lucky the
free-roaming dinosaur). Also highlighted were new attractions at Tokyo
Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, the reversioning of Space Mountain at
Disneyland Paris, as well as Paris’s new fireworks.
Emcee Kelsey Grammer explaining 50th Anniversary events at Disneyland.
Photo by Frank Anzalone.
At this point we were well into the presentation and an awful lot of
time was being spent talking about places that are not nearly 50 years
old yet. Finally, Rasulo kicks of the Disneyland portion of the show by
running the television commercials that have been airing for the last
few months. The ones involving various Disney characters getting home
to Disneyland. The ones narrated by Kelsey Grammer.
That was the segue to Grammer’s appearance on stage. The gimmick for
Grammer being the emcee of the 50th Anniversary events is that he too
is just turning 50. With mild comedic detours, Grammer introduced all
the new stuff going on at Disneyland for the 50th Anniversary. None of
which is likely to be news to anybody reading this. Conspicuously included
was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which officially premieres today,
May 4th. No mention was made that it has been open for a couple months
or the little celebration they had back then. Conspicuoulsy missing was
the reopening of Space Mountain, which of course is not available to the
press this weekend.
The new Monsters, Inc. attraction in DCA or the Finding Nemo
edition of the submarines were not announced, though there is a press
session Thursday morning for “future projects” where those presumably
will be announced.
Eventually Grammer meandered into a Frasier-like discussion of his favorite
cheese recipe, Rasulo came out to interrupt and they wandered off the
stage to be replaced by Toy Story green army men who ordered us
out to the party.
Not mentioned in that recap was the only true moment of excitement (and
quite nearly tragedy) in the whole presentation. Grammer, who was walking
about quite a bit during his presentation missed a mark near the uneven
front edge of the stage and tumbled to the floor several feet below. It
was a spectacular fall as he dropped between to star-shaped protusions
at stagefront. He was able to get up himself before leaning against the
stage and saying “oh, shit.” I only repeat it verbatim because
it he said it in that perfectly calm tone of voice people get when they
realize they’ve seriously damaged themself. At that point it was very
unclear whether he’d be able to continue.
Several stage techs came out to check on him, and after a minute he was
climbing back on stage, apologizing for his language, and slowly getting
back into the rhythm of of his presentation, with the occasional ad lib
and going nowhere near the front edge of the stage. It was actually quite
a display of professionalism when nobody would have blamed him for just
limping backstage and letting others figure out how to move on.
Every block party has to have hamburgers on the grill. Photo by Frank
Anzalone.
Outside the theater the entire area between Muppet-Vision and Hollywood
& Dine was turned into an outdoor block party. Hamburgers, sausages,
bbq chicken, and chili were available. Beer and margaritas served in glowing
cups were flowing freely. A live band was a definite improvement over
the regular D.U.H. show and the crowd that seemed equal parts media, Disney
suits, and invited guests made for some interesting elbow rubbing.
Many block parties also eventually involved alcohol being poured into
larger vats. The yellow and red balloons are margarita mix. Photo by Alex
Stroup.
Head of Imagineering Marty Sklar. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Ron Dominguez, whose family used to own the orange groves on which Disneyland
was built. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Jack Linquist, former president of Disneyland. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
The official entertainment for the evening was a performance of the new
Block Party Bash parade, which was very well received by the crowd. It
may not have been the best demographic for dancing in the streets, but
a large group of imported kids hyped up for the television cameras had
an infectious effect on the crowd. By the time this high-energy parade
came on stage, just about everybody was ready to go along for the ride
(maybe the free beer and margaritas helped, just a little). One of the
traffic cone vehicles had a small fire, but it was quickly dealt with
and hardly anybody was aware.
One of the floats in the Block Party Bash parade. Photo by Frank Anzalone.
Local teenagers were brought in to keep the energy high. Photo by Frank
Anzalone.
Then it was on to a lightly attended dessert in A Bug’s Land (most people
seemed to be unaware of it and headed for the gates after the parade)
where guests were able to get photos of themselves with The Incredibles
or Flik and Atta. The photos were printed on the spot and available for
free. Also free were churros. The churro cart in the back of Flik’s Fun
Fair was open and nobody seemed to be aware of it (almost everybody stayed
in the Bountiful Valley Farm section).
Is it just me, or does Bo Peep have just a twinge of the creepy going
on? Photo by Frank Anzalone.
More often than not it is the small thing that makes the Disney magic
come alive. For me, after a very long day I have to say it was a free
Disneyland churro that did the trick.
We’re not done yet! We’ll be updating this page throughout
the day on May 4 and 5. Keep reloading and we’ll do our best to keep
you up on all the current events and links of interest from around the
web. If you have anything of interest, contact Lani Teshima here,
as Alex Stroup is in the park all day and is not checking email.
