Who is that masked elephant? And more Disneyland news
Most of the Columbos in the crowd have probably already cracked this mystery, but the actress who plays Tinker Bell is working double duty. She also performs as the Dumbo “puppet” figure, donning the elephant frame and inflatable skin over her pixie garb.
At the beginning of the fireworks show, she flies in as Tink, lands, puts on the flying Dumbo figure, and takes off, flapping the trunk and ears with her hands and arms. She then lands and resumes to play Tink for the show’s finale.
Dark Rides Go Dark
The summer of Fantasyland refurbishments continues with a four-week remodel of Snow White’s Scary Adventures, to be followed by a similar sprucing up of Pinocchio’s Daring Journey.
But whereas Peter Pan’s Flight got new boats to up capacity, no such upgrade is needed for these two dark rides, where wait times are typically manageable.
Instead, as with the revamped lap bar on Pan, Snow White and Pinocchio will be receiving lawyer-mandated, safety-oriented upgrades. Influenced by Roger Rabbit’s CarToon Spin, the ride vehicles will be equipped with safety skirts, to prevent them from rolling over body parts, and pressure mats will be laid throughout the attractions. “Pressure sensors along the track will trigger a shutdown once someone steps out of a car while the attraction is in operation,” explained one insider.
“Pressure mats and skirts should definitely increase the safety of the attraction for those who enjoy putting themselves in harm’s way since it’s difficult to monitor both the guests getting into the attraction and those already in it,” noted one ride operator.
Two refurb seasons ago, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Alice in Wonderland similarly went down back-to-back to equip the vehicles with skirts. Peter Pan also has pressure mats at the end of the ride.
In addition to increasing safety, the new features will have an added bonus: Helping to cut down on vandalism inside the dark rides, particularly stealing the Styrofoam apple from the old hag inside Snow White. (The next most common target is the King’s heart-shaped scepter in Alice.)
Snow White is set to reopen by July 3. Pinocchio will be down from July 20 to August 14.
Paranoid About Pixie Hollow
Just outside the castle walls, Disneyland management is evidently less concerned about the threat of vandalism. As part of the summertime Nightastic promotion, Pixie Hollow remains open after dark. The character Meet & Greets with Tinker Bell end at 8:00 p.m. After that, the unmanned location stays open, unpatrolled, for the rest of the night.
Several cast members questioned whether this might lead to “nocturnal activities” taking place within the confines of Pixie Hollow, but Entertainment Department managers downplayed the possibility. They explained that the elaborate fiber-optic light shows are, of course, designed to be seen at night.
Bayou Bottleneck
Could New Orleans Square, already a Fantasmic crowd-control nightmare, become even worse come November? That’s when the Entertainment Division rolls out “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee,” a new show and procession utilizing the Mark Twain and based on the upcoming animated film The Princess and the Frog.
“There are concerns of leading 50 selected guests and two dozen performers through New Orleans Square during a busy holiday season,” one cast member admitted. “I am sure you remember how congested the area can get during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Westside Attractions is not thrilled with the disruption it will cause with the Mark Twain. But Entertainment is still under the delusion that they can do no wrong.”
Al Lutz has the particulars of the show at www.miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al051909a.htm.
Will DCA Keep Its Castle?
Plans are for the Corn Dog Castle, which closed earlier this month, to return to Disney’s California Adventure, just not in its original location. Imagineering hopes to relocate the fast-food stand to Carsland by 2012. Could Souvenirs 66 be close behind?
A Fan Club By Any Other Name
After 25 years as the vaguely-named “NFFC,” the Disney enthusiasts group is finally ready to abandon its marketing-unfriendly acronym. Its board of directors has approved renaming the club the Disneyana Fan Club and will put the change up to a vote by members.
The original name was settled upon in the early 1980s precisely because it was so ill-defined. Those were the days when the Disney Company appeared hyper-sensitive toward anyone who might be pretending to have an official connection with the Mouse. It regularly sent out threatening letters to any possible infringers. Most of all, it just hated the idea that anyone out there might be trading off the company’s good name—prompting a preceding group, The Mouse Club, to adopt as its logo a mouse with a bag over its head.
NFFC’s founders were neither as bold nor clever. Their club would not risk provoking Disney’s lawyers. In fact, it was to be seen as pro-Disney in every way imaginable, even militantly so. Its show was eventually renamed the “Strictly Disneyana Show & Sale” and exhibitors were warned that anything they tried to sell that wasn’t expressly Disney-related would be yanked from their tables.
But times have changed. NFFC saw that its invitation for Roy Disney to speak at its convention during the height of the Save Disney campaign didn’t cause the company to punish it. Instead, the company tried to one up Roy—spending an estimated $10,000 to provide entertainment for NFFC’s next convention. And, over the last few years, NFFC has even invited yours truly to present during its convention—with, so far as I know, no grave repercussions.
Plus, NFFC has seen hundreds of online communities and dozens of fan events spring up, most of which, NFFC admits, “have names more readily associated with things Disney than ‘National Fantasy Fan Club.” And perhaps most importantly, Disney has launched its own official fan club, D23, complete with its own seminar-and-sale-laden convention. Meanwhile, NFFC membership and attendance at its conventions continues to drop.
So, NFFC’s board recently received official blessing that the company wouldn’t mind if it used “Disneyana” in its name. You can send the group your comments at info@nffc.org.
As Mary Herself Would Say, “TTFN”
Mary Wormhoudt, longtime secretary for Tommy Walker, Disneyland’s first Entertainment chief, passed away June 2 at the age of 89.
Tommy was a creative dynamo, who introduced the park’s first fireworks show, tour guides, guest bands, and special events and promotions such as Date Night. The ideas came a mile a minute, and it was Mary’s job to keep them all organized.
“Mary had been an executive secretary in London and did continuity in British films, and she therefore had an eye for details and kept the office of Tommy Walker running like a well-oiled machine,” recalled one of her apprentices, Valerie Curry. “Tommy was Director of Customer Relations, which also included Guest Relations and Production (talent). He really liked chaos and a fast-paced office. Mary was not bulldozed by those wishes. She was unflappable, and her terrific organizational skills brought calm and professionalism to the office. Sitting just feet from her in that tiny office, I learned so much from her.
“Whenever Tommy would get on the phone, Mary switched off her IBM electric, picked up a pen, and was ready to write down any date she overheard Tommy commit to (meeting on June 16, 4 p.m.) and that would then be written on her calendar and also transferred to Tommy’s. The education I received in the years I worked in her office gave me invaluable tools for future work. I’m so grateful to have learned from the very best.”
After Tommy left Disney, Mary followed him when he went to work for Knott’s Berry Farm. “They were a contrasting pair, as you can imagine,” Valerie said. “She was vedddy British, with proper composure and attitude; Tommy was full of energy and vitality. I just know she was a grand lady, and I loved her.”
