Disney World prep

I have been completely consumed with planning for my upcoming trip to Disney World (which is still six months away).

I've been buying star clips from Taiwan and a $100 bag, reading the entirety of WidenYourWorld.net, figuring out how to turn the screen off on my digital camera (so I can take pictures of the newly refurbished Spaceship Earth!), listing what outfits to wear each day, and imagining what to take into each park.

I've purchased this Timbuk2 Custom Messenger Bag to hold my video camera, digital camera, signs, and accoutrements.


One such accoutrement is the star clip, which I shall be putting frantically into my hair as I enter Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom (and perhaps Future World as well).
And hey, it matches my bag!

Other items that will go into my bag:

A whiteboard (for writing messages to hold up in photos);

A wand (for Fantasyland);
A mob cap (for Liberty Square);
Mouse ears (for Mickey's Toontown).

Widen Your World

The man behind "Widen Your World," Mr. Mike Lee, certainly has a way with words, and some intriguing information. Here he is talking about the effect Disney World had on him and his brother:

"...WDW provided us with an introduction to - or a prism through which we came to view - significant aspects of the world around us (foreign cultures, U.S. history, space exploration, classical music and English literature among them). The main difference between its impact on us as individuals was that Brian, being a paranoid hedonist, thought WDW was pretty much the ultimate pleasure zone (full of patently non-threatening fun) and I, an antisocial idealist, regarded it as the perfect example of how the rest of the world should be: immaculately planned, strikingly efficient and unfailingly cordial ... even to someone of a contrary demeanor."

His footnotes are priceless:

"*** I had not yet taken a prostitute to Ponderosa.
"**** In 1980 WDW had 27,443,666 employees and half of them were constantly high. As Walt Disney often said, that's twice as high as the island of Manhattan."

I read the footnotes first, and those are honestly the only reason I read the rest of his "About Me" page, which is well worth it.

Free personalized park maps

I ordered Disney's Customizable Maps a few weeks ago, and received them in the mail last week. They are free, and I thought they would make great wall decorations! And they do.

They include all four Disney World parks and a resort map. They are about 17 by 11 inches, printed on thick, decorative paper, and personalized with your own favorites. They even include gold stickers to mark future favorites.

The only disappointing feature is that they print the maps on both sides of the paper. While this is great for the environment, it means I can only showcase two parks at a time: Animal Kingdom or MGM Studios; Magic Kingdom or Epcot. But that's rather nice too, because I can flip them over ever-so-often, to keep things interesting.

Now go customize and order your free Disney World maps!

Portraits of Propaganda

Disney has recently completed a video to be used by the Department of State to welcome foreign visitors to the U.S. It is called, "Welcome: Portraits of America" and will be played in the customs area of airports around the nation.

You can view the seven-minute video at the U.S. Department of State travel site.

Disney has used a remix of the Illuminations fireworks soundtrack, which I love so dearly. They could attach this music to a video about the benefits of murdering puppies, and I'd be like, "Yeah! Kill the puppies!" So it's a nice piece of propaganda.

Mike and Mark's Response

Snow White

Over the past few weeks I have become infatuated with Snow White. My new goal in life is to be her at Disney World.

Snow White is set apart from other Disney "princesses" by her childlike and innocent qualities. She is quite a moffet, which is apparently a word I've made up that means "unkempt child" or "orphan." I feel Snow White can make mistakes, while Aurora and Cinderella have larger burdens to bear on their heads (like their crowns). They're practically perfect in every way, the princess ideal. I prefer the subtle incongruousness of Snow White.

Mousercise!

Fuck, I used to watch this before school when I was four or five!
I totally remember it, including the fast nutrition facts that began with the jingle, "Did you know?"

This is obviously the reason I love to dance.

The MousePlanet Podcast

Okay, another piece of Disneyana that makes me very happy is the MousePlanet podcast, confusingly called "MouseStation." It has only been in the past few days that I have become obsessed with this Disney news and discussion show. It's hosted by MousePlanet editor and columnist Mark Goldhaber and "former Disney cast member" Mike Demopoulos.

It goes without saying that Mark and Mike know what they're talking about when it comes to Disneyland and Disney World. As voice actors, neither is too dynamic, but the awkward banter is part of their charm. And lord knows I giggle whenever Mike yells "MouseStation! Featured! Topic!"

Truth be told, I find them hilarious -- and I often imagine myself co-hosting with them. I think my laughter in the background would be a welcome addition!

Do the Hustle-tini with Mike and Mark at MouseFest this December!

Mary Blair

The only thing that makes me happy anymore is Disneyana.

Like Mary Blair, who designed a lot of concept art for early Disney films (Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan), as well as several murals in Disneyland and Disney World, and the It's a Small World ride.
There's a new children's picture book showcasing Blair's concept art for Cinderella. Jim Hill's posted an article on it here.


The only mural I've ever seen with my own two eyes is the one in the Contemporary Resort at Disney World (see below). The two Mary Blair murals in Disneyland have been covered up for a decade or two -- see this Yesterland article.

(See more photos of the Grand Canyon Concourse mural here.)

Mary Blair's murals are fascinating for their comments on community and the future. The two 1967 murals in Disneyland are collectively titled "The Spirit of Creative Energies Among Children." The North mural features joyful children from around the world frolicking under colorful satellites and ribbons of communication, insinuating that global communications will bring the peoples of the world closer. The South mural portrays basic forms of energy -- wind, solar, fire, water -- in reference to the harnessing of natural power for human needs.

Themes of global community and communication are popular in Disney's various Tomorrowlands. Disney is all about hope for the future.

I dream about seeing it all again. It's perhaps the one thing I look forward to.