Here You Leave Today...

When asking fans why they are crazy in love Disney Parks... why they listen to podcasts, why they obsess over the history of attractions they've enjoyed a zillion times, why they go to fan expos, why they buy merchandise, the scope of explanation will undoubtedly cover nouns such as nostalgia and adjectives synonymous with 'happy'.  Although the specifics may be different, the fact is that you feel different at Disney than you feel in your day to day life. You have escaped.

The plaque over the entranceway tunnel at Disneyland puts this sentiment in succinct terms:

From what I understand, the phrase was taken from an article written in 1954 about Disneyland for 'The Miniature Locomotive':  

"The visitor to Disneyland will leave behind the cares and confusions of the world of today and enter a world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy."

Below is an image I pulled from Marty Sklar's memoir Dream it! Do it!. Although Walt never saw the plaques (both Disneyland and Disney World's were installed after his death), he planned for them to be there; he personally edited the copy! Sklar muses: 'It was a clear illustration of just how personal Disneyland was to Walt Disney…':

From Marty Sklar's book Dream it, Do it!

A cross-stitch of the phrase available on Etsy.

To fans of the Parks, these words are weighty and valuable. Although it is inevitable that most will miss them as they hurry towards the tunnel, others will stop, look up, and be reminded of why they find themselves there again and again.

FIlm Friday: Stave Church at the Norway Pavilion

Super bummed out to read this announcement on the Disney Parks Blog that Maelstrom will be replaced with a Frozen attraction. Norway is wonderful and complete and charming just as it is and it is a dirty rotten shame that Disney would sacrifice the integrity of World Showcase in order to capitalize on what is sure to be a fleeting fad. I hope they sell enough Olaf plushes to justify my broken heart.

The Stave Church at the Pavilion, who knows what will happen to it now...

Vintage Disney Parks fabrics!

As aforementioned, I spend a decent amount of time skulking around Ebay in hopes of finding unique vintage Disney Parks merchandise.  Whilst looking for Disney-related craft supplies, I came across the following fabric prints:

I love that the Contemporary made it on.

Tomorrowland specific… WHAT!?

Love the castle illustration on this one.

I thought this one was especially charming.

Disneyland Hotel, where I will be staying in less than a month!

Besides the fact they are incredibly charming, these prints are interesting to me based on the fact that the current Disney company gravitates towards generic, mass produced merchandise, opting to keep assortments down in order to maximize profits.  I should also mention that even the small pieces were extremely expensive!  I guess the Disney die-hards want park-specific, land-specific merchandise.  With the Coop opening at Disney Springs and the Haunted Mansion store opening in the old Yankee Traders building, it will be interesting to see how the company approaches merchandise design and assortment and in the coming years.

Film Friday: Dinoland USA

Some snaps of Dinoland USA at Animal Kingdom on a super rainy day. Shot with my Diana Mini on 35mm:

Film Friday: Storybook Circus at Twilight

Dusk is a special time of day anywhere, but it is especially enchanting at Disney Parks.  This picture was taken on the first evening of my 2013 trip with my boyfriend and his nephew… I remember arriving at Magic Kingdom at the tail-end of the golden hour, strolling down Main Street and entering Storybook Circus as sun really began to set.  The sign really looked so lovely, lit up in the twilight and I was pleased to get a decent shot with my (then-new) camera as instant photography can be a bit finicky without enough light.  The Imagineers did a tremendous job with the re-themeing in this area.

Shot with my Instax 7s.

Film Friday: Decades at Pop!

The subject of today's Film Friday is a set of photos I took at Pop Century, one of the hotels on Disney property.  Even though Pop is classed as a value record, I still love the themeing here.  Its bright color scheme lends itself well to lomography, and I love the way this set of photos of the large decade sculptures turned out.  These were shot on 35mm with my Diana mini! Enjoy!

Figment, the newest from Marvel's Disney Kingdoms series!

Of the acquisitions Disney has made over the last decade or so, Marvel has interested me the least.  Although I respect the art form, comics just don't do all that much for me… that is, until Marvel released a series which provides a backstory for Epcot's own cult duo, Dreamfinder and Figment.  My copies of issues #1 and #2 came today!:

This title is the second in what I think is going to be a very interesting series by Marvel called Disney Kingdoms.  The goal of the series is to explore some of the more obscure facets of Disney history, culture, etc. in a fresh way.  For those that don't know, Figment was a character created in the early 80's for Epcot and he, along with his friend, Dreamfinder, were the stars of the attraction Journey into Imagination.  The original incarnation of the attraction closed in 1998, yet, to this day Figment and Dreamfinder maintain a following.

This blog seems to work better when I keep writing to a minimum, so I will let some illustrations from Issue #1 do the rest of the talking for me, and delve further into review mode at a later date. Enjoy!

Silly Figment.

Lyrics lifted straight from One Little Spark, the attraction's theme song.

The story is set in the early 20th century and has a distinct steampunk vibe.

Dreamfinder's leg looks so long!

Disney Thank-You Notes!

Anyone that has been on a Disney World vacation knows that the experience does not exist solely within the time that is spent on property.  Beforehand, it is tied up in booking the hotel, scheduling dining reservations, planning daily itineraries (for me at least!) and afterwards, memories are relived as you sort through photos.  This is one of the reasons that I love using film in the parks because the experience has not completely ended until I receive my processed film in the mail.

Something that Disney does to extend your experience is send a 'thank-you' note after you arrive home from your trip.  I only have two so far (I somehow lost the one from 2013), but I think that are quite a nice thing to save as a memento. I can't wait to share more as I get them!

2012

2014

Film Friday: Miss Minnie at the Studios!

For film, Friday, this Instax snap of our leading lady, Miss Minnie Mouse!  This is her in her meet and greet spot spot at Hollywood Studios.  This Minnie was like 4 feet tall and ultra adorable. What a Betty!

Film Friday: Spaceship Earth Double Exposure

The Diana Mini is my favorite 35mm format camera because it renders results imperfect and wonderful, always unpredictable and often happy.  This double exposure of Spaceship Earth is one such result.  Unlike digital photos, which have their place, exposures on film hold a rawness and depth unique to the medium. I can't wait to share more results from this wonderful little camera!

Spaceship Earth is so good, there should be two!

Film Friday: Chinese Theater.

For Film Friday, a snap of the Chinese theater at Hollywood Studios.  Almost an exact replica of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, this show building (The Great Movie Ride is inside) served as the park icon until the powers that be built a giant, stupid, no-good Sorcerer Mickey Hat in front of it.  Such a shame, it really is a stunning replica.

Fun fact: Mary Poppins premiered at the real Grauman's Chinese theater in Los Angeles August 26th, 1964.

Film Friday!: Quotable Disney!

The walls that are put up to cover any construction that goes on have Walt Disney quotes printed on them.  I have taken pictures of a bunch of them… I love anything that is a nod to the man himself!

Film Friday

My requisite arty photo of Spaceship Earth WHICH I TREASURE:

Film Friday

The great thing about Disney is that it is so easy to integrate with other hobbies you have.  Love drawing?  Do some fan art.  Runner? Choose one of a million runDisney events. One hobby of mine that is integrally bounded to my love affair with Disney is film photography. I have four cameras that I use on a regular basis: an Instax Neo, a Polaroid, a Diana Mini, and a Holga (that I convert to a 35mm), and yes, I bring them all with me when I travel.  I also recently bought a Lomokino, so I'm super excited about giving that a try.

There is something so wonderful about film photography.  With the instants, taking a picture becomes awhile experience, and it's so nice to have something physical to stick around your room when you get home.  With the 35m, your vacation is not quite over until you get that film back.

I started a fan tumblr a few months back to share my film photography of Walt Disney World, but unfortunately, I'm pretty much out of photos until Disneyland in Septemeber :( I figured I could share them once a week here as well.

Roger Rabbit in the 80's Courtyard at Pop Century.

I guess this if fitting considering that Bob Hoskins just passed :(

Check out www.instantdisney.tumblr.com for more like this.