Goblins on the doorstep,
Phantoms in the air,
Owls on witches’ gateposts
Giving stare for stare, Cats on flying broomsticks,
Bats against the moon,
Stirrings round of fate-cakes
With a solemn spoon.
Whirling apple parings,
Figures draped in sheets,
Dodging, disappearing,
Up and down the streets,
Jack-o’-lanterns grinning,
Shadows on a screen,
Shrieks and starts and laughter
This is Halloween!
From the White House, Barack Obama’s recording session for the NEW Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World. His apparent lack of knowledge regarding audio animatronics indicates that Dude needs to get his butt to a Disney theme park, STAT!
This animation sequence was released as the “Blue Bayou” segment in Walt Disney’s Make Mine Music (1946), one of several Walt Disney “composite” releases of the mid-late 1940s. Originally, however, it was created to accompany Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune as an additional segment for Fantasia. Initially, Mr. Disney had intended Fantasia to be a fluid, changing concept, to which new pieces would be added with each re-release. For a number of reasons (the 1941 animators’ strike, WW2,…), that concept didn’t pan out (at least, not until Fantasia 2000…kind of). In 1998, the original version of Clair de Lune was restored and screened at the London Film Festival.
Here’s an interesting Horizons blog, the Mesa Verde Times. It’s full of original content, mainly behind-the-scenes photos of the attraction and its various set pieces. Horizons has been kaput since January, 1999, but it lives on in the hearts and minds of thousands.
Woo-hoo for ring carrots and loranges. Long may they wave.
Awhile ago I bought an old, rare-ish LP of Hawaiian string exotica arranged by famed Disney composer (and traditional jazz trombonist and tubaist) George Bruns. This is the guy who wrote the tune part of “Pirates Life for Me” (X Atencio wrote the lyrics). The album’s called “Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii,” and it includes several tracks from the later Adventureland Veranda restaurant area loop at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom (I know of two different loops playing in that location; this material is from the second incarnation, ca. 1980s-1993). The title track – “Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii,” one of three tracks on the album that are original Bruns compositions – was actually featured in the International Gardens area loop at the 1964-65 World’s Fair’s Ford Pavilion (You can buy a copy of the “Walt Disney at the World’s Fair” CD set, which includes the fair version of the piece, here).
I’m not sure if the “Moonlight Time” track actually made the Adventureland Veranda (update: it did), but if you remember hearing it playing in situ, please tell me. So far, I’ve IDed a grand total of three songs from the album as AV area loop definites. If you know more, TELL ME. 😀 If you have even crappy snippets of live audio from your vaycay videos, pleeeease let me know!
I’ve bolded the three tracks that I know were used. Side one, tracks 2 and 3 apparently ran in order in the AV loop.
Side One:
1. South Sea Island Magic 2. Hawaiian Paradise (the tailend of this track shows up at the beginning of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkYXoCgXqwA)
3. Moonlight and Shadows (it’s the track that comprises the bulk of this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkYXoCgXqwA)
4. To You, Sweetheart, Aloha
5. Paradise Isle
6. Song of Old Hawaii
Side Two:
1. Blue Hawaii (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZEBkZUb0uw – the piece in the video is obviously Blue Hawaii, even if it doesn’t match the album version…but it seems to)
2. Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii (seems identical to the Ford Pavilion/International Gardens version released on the WF box set…no clue if the track was ever part of the AV loop)
3. Sweet Leilani
4. Aloha Nui Hawaii
5. My Tane
6. Ka Pua (The Flower)
This weekend, I partook of two Disney classics from the 1960s: The Happiest Millionaire (1967) and Bon Voyage (1962). Both star Fred MacMurray. The latter also stars the S.S. United States, upon which the fictional Willard family of Terre Haute travels to France! There’s a cute scene during which MacMurray’s character remarks about five carefree days at sea, which spurred this immediate response from me: “But she could do it in three-and-a-half!”
Speaking of the Big U, the SSUS Conservancy blog linked us for linking them. 😀
But I digress!
According to Disneyland lore, some of the stained glass from the “Let’s Have a Drink on It” set of Millionaire found its way into Cafe Orleans in New Orleans Square. This makes sense, as the film and the cafe opened around the same time. Further, the glass in situ at Cafe O appears to be a match!
For the sake of completeness, I should also mention that Mr. Drexel Biddle’s home phone booth – also featured in the film – is now located in Club 33. If it’s not the original from the Millionaire set, then it’s a very good copy!
I’m not a news service, but as I learn stuff, I post it. Right now, there are several Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary merchandise events planned for Disneyland in 2009. There’s a June pin event, an August cocktail event and product signing with Shag, and a September “Wedding”-themed merch event.
Plan your involvement soon; the September anniversary event begins registering on January 20. It appears to borrow the general format (and pricing philosophy, puke) of the old Haunted Mansion Holiday dinner weekends (snooze) and plays to the new Constance/black widow bride angle (snooze-puke-choke). It falls on 9/9, a month after the actual anniversary, and on a thursday freaking night to boot. Boo.
The Josh Agle cocktail events occur on the real 40th anniversary weekend.
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