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...

Authentic Mid-90's Figment Plush!

This week I have been staying a friend's house whilst working in the city.  Although this friend isn't a Disney fan in particular, she did pull out this memento from her trip as a child to show me:

That's right! That lovable fellow with two tiny wings and eyes big and yellow, Figment! Here are some more pictures of this very special Disney parks character:

Tiny Ringer Tee!

The best part is that when I took off his little shirt, I learned that his belly is pink!:

Decades after his creation, Figment continues to enchant audiences. Heck, Marvel even wrote a comic about him!  When I asked my friend what is was about Figment that captured her heart (although I don't word things like that in everyday speech!), she said that it had something to do with the fact she had never seen him before. I see this as evidence that every attraction does not have to be tied to a franchise, and in fact, it is often endearing that it not.  I really hope that at some point Disney returns to a philosophy of original attraction developement as opposed to relying so heavily on its films as the sole source of inspiration.

Film Friday: The Greenhouses at the Land Pavilion

When EPCOT Center opened October 1, 1982, the park's mission was use technology and innovation to create attractions that educated its visitors in an entertaining way. Although EPCOT is still my favorite Disney Park, the Future World area has somewhat lost sight of that simple mission as attractions have closed and been replaced by new, sparkly thrill-ish rides. 

One attraction that continues to convey that original message is Living with the Land (which also happens to be one of my favorites).  These photos were snapped in the working greenhouse portion of the attractions. Although these were taken from one of the boat vehicles, I plan on taking the 'Behind the Seeds' tour next time I am down to get a closer look at some of the amazing plants here!

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!

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: Snack cart detail in Future World!

For Film Friday, a detail shot of the pattern on the front of a snack cart in Future World. I love that so much of Epcot is so 80's and I hope that never changes! Can I get an amen!

Asian Goodies from World Showcase!

As a person with taste, shopping at Disney World can be a little tricky.  Much of the merchandise is gaudy, cheap s*@! that you don't really want in your house (although, with the opening of Centerpiece, this seems to be changing).  The huge exception to this is World Showcase.  Here, you can buy authentic world goods (every time I pick up an item, I check the sticker to make sure that it is made in the country in which it is being sold) that don't look like they came from a Disney park.  I wanted to share a few items I picked up last time I was there.

From China, this is the graphic from a bamboo calendar I bought (the calendar portion is the bottom half.)  Once the year is over, the bottom can be cut off and you have this pretty wall hanging.  I think it was like 3 bucks:

From the Mitsukoshi department store, this pretty little plant pot.  The plant is actually a Mickey's Minnie Garden which I bought from the Land pavilion.  Every time I water this little guy I think of Epcot!:

Fun fact, Mitsukoshi is a real Japanese department store chain dating back to, get this 1673!  Hopefully, I'll get to go to a real one someday!:

Film Friday (I said I would catch up!): Quote from the American Adventure

From the walls inside the American Adventure at Epcot.  This is by far the most resonant of the bunch, but the completionist in me wants to snap the rest next time so I have the set.  This was taken with Mickey and Friends Instax mini film.

Film Friday

My requisite arty photo of Spaceship Earth WHICH I TREASURE: