Monthly Archives: July 2018

E.106 World of Color Discussion on Obscure Disney Podcast

Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland, Episodes

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On this episode of the Obscure Disney Podcast, we are talking all about our love for Disney’s California Adventure World of Color and a bit of Pixar Pier.

World of Color is a nighttime show at Disney California Adventure, part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Conceived by Vice President of Parades and Spectaculars, Steve Davison, and designed by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, the show has nearly 1,200 musical water fountains and includes lights, fire, lasers, and fog, with high-definition projections on mist screens. The show is inspired by Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color anthology television series, as evidenced by the use of its eponymous theme song written by the Sherman Brothers.

The process of assembling, installing, and testing the show’s numerous components and equipment in Paradise Bay spanned a period of approximately 15 months. The original version of World of Color premiered on June 11, 2010, as part of the “Summer Nightastic!” promotional campaign. The entire show cost $75 million to design, manufacture and build.

The show transpires at the lagoon of Paradise Bay, while the audience watches the performance at the Paradise Lagoon Amphitheater area in front of The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure attraction. Other nearby attractions such Mickey’s Fun Wheel and California Screamin’ become part of the performance as they undergo various forms of lighting and projections throughout the show. The effects utilized in World of Color (water fountains, mist screens, fire, lasers, lighting, and fog) are choreographed to work in synchronicity with the featured music and image projections.

In June of 2018 during a refurbishment, an electrical vault flooded in the center panel causing a delay of several months.

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Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress E.105 Obscure Disney Podcast

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On this episode of the Obscure Disney Podcast, we discuss Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress as it was on opening day and as it became America Sings and later Innoventions in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.

Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater attraction located at the Magic Kingdom park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando, Florida. Created by both Walt Disney and WED Enterprises as the prime feature of the General Electric (GE) Pavilion for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the attraction was moved to Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California as Carousel of Progress, remaining there from 1967 until 1973. It was replaced in Disneyland by America Sings in 1974, and reopened in its present home in the Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom in 1975.

Steeped in both nostalgia and (in the past) futurism, the attraction’s premise is an exploration of the joys of living through the advent of electricity and other technological advances during the 20th century via a “typical” American family. To keep it up with the times, the attraction has been updated five times (in 1967, 1975, 1981, 1985, and 1993) and has had two different theme songs, both written by the Sherman Brothers (Disney’s Academy Award-winning songwriting team).

Various sources say Walt Disney himself proclaimed that the Carousel of Progress was his favorite attraction and that it should never cease operation. This can be somewhat supported by family and friends, who knew of his constant work on the attraction. Of all the attractions he presented at the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair, Disney seemed especially devoted to the Carousel of Progress.

The Carousel of Progress holds the record as the longest-running stage show, with the most performances, in the history of American theater. It is one of the oldest attractions in the whole Walt Disney World Resort. It is also one of the only attractions at Walt Disney World to have been touched by Walt Disney himself.

Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion Discussion E.104

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On this episode of Obscure Disney Podcast, we discuss Disney’s Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. We talk about Hat Box Ghost and the Fantom Manor in Disneyland Paris.

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland Park (Disneyland Resort), Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The attraction, although differing slightly in every location, places riders inside a haunted manor resided by “999 happy haunts”.

The Haunted Mansion features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called “Doom Buggies”, and a walk-through show is displayed to riders waiting in the line queue. The attraction utilizes a range of technology, from centuries-old theatrical effects to modern special effects featuring spectral Audio-Animatronics. The Haunted Mansion has inspired two similarly themed attractions, Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor, which exist at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, respectively.

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Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens Park Vs Paradise Pier: Changes to Disney’s California Adventure Park E. 103

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On this episode, we discuss Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens Park Vs Paradise Pier along with other changes to Disney’s California Adventure. How Flix Flyer becomes the new inside out ride.

Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens Park are themed lands at Disney California Adventure, based on that of Victorian boardwalks that were once found along the coast of California. Despite its name and the presence of a nearby man-made lake, Pixar Pier is not actually a pier, but a waterside area of the park. Incredicoaster sprawls across much of the area, with various other attractions and forms of entertainment scattered around it.

The area opened as Paradise Pier in 2001 along with the rest of the theme park. A new attraction, Toy Story Midway Mania!, opened on June 17, 2008. The attraction was the first in a series of theming upgrades to the land and park as a whole. This was followed by changes to the Sun Wheel to become Mickey’s Fun Wheel, removing the ears of the Mickey head behind California Screamin’s vertical loop, and new Games of the Boardwalk in 2009. In 2010, World of Color and Silly Symphony Swings were added. To complete the Paradise Pier makeover, Disney opened Goofy’s Sky School and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.

Part of Paradise Pier was re-themed as Pixar Pier, which opened on June 23, 2018. The area that includes Paradise Gardens, Goofy’s Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings, Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Golden Zephyr, and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure was renamed Paradise Gardens Park

Ant-Man and the Wasp E.102

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On this episode, we talk about all things Ant-Man and the Wasp. We also talk about theaters located in the parks at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne / Wasp. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man, and the twentieth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Peyton Reed and written by the writing teams of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari. It stars Rudd as Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Van Dyne, alongside Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, the titular pair work with Hank Pym to retrieve Janet van Dyne from the quantum realm.

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Monsters Ink E.101

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Steve and Ryan discuss Monsters Inc; Mike and Sulley to the Rescue at Disney’s California Adventure, the ride, history, and opinions. Then they talk about the patch (available at disneypatch.com) inspired by the movies and ride.

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