Take a close look at this poster, which can be seen in a scene passed by the Disneyland Railroad.
Coincidence? Subtle pro-President propaganda? Reference to obscure figure in Western history? Can anyone explain this? Could it be that we have located Disneyland’s first “hidden Obama?”
Disneyland has come a long way in recent years, and there have been many improvements, but there are still some things that need urgent attention but are somehow being ignored. For example, take a look at these cupcakes from Disneyland’s Main Street candy store. See the column of cakes second from the left? Now look at the far right at the row of cupcakes you can just make out reflected in the glass. Both of these rows feature cupcakes that do not have Mickey toppers. No problem there — or so you would think, until you realize that these two columns of thematically linked cakes are completely separated from each other by four columns of cupcakes with Mickey toppers!!!!
What the heck kind of grouping is that? Who’s in charge in this place? Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses? It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from anarchy!
Seriously, we want to hear from a cast member who can reassure us that not only has this hideous situation been rectified, but that policies have been put in place to prevent its reocurrance. If you have the authority to issue such a statement, please send it to us via certified mail or leave it in this post’s comments.
Along with the improvements to the river, Disneyland has rolled out new cast-member costumes for Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island staff. The new pilot’s costume (seen at left) is woodsy, attractive, clean, and in keeping with the island’s rustic nature. The on-island staff (seen at right) has costumes that are rugged but also easy to spot even on the most crowded days, during torrential rainfall, or at the bottom of a cave’s bottomless pit. Great stuff!
One of the most delightful “hidden Mickeys” at Disneyland is in the riverboat painting that adorns a small building beside the Mark Twain’s dock. Well, that particular Mickey is delightful no longer. Just look where it was moved during the recent river refurbishment:
Notice the difference? Now you can’t see Mickey unless you are able to levitate — and the majority of park guests are unable to do that, particularly over water, and there’s no hope at all for those in wheel chairs and strollers!
We asked Elite Mousmasta, Disneyland’s head of Imagineering’s liason department’s interface to blogs’ management’s temporary assistant, why it is that this bit of joy was removed from Disneyland guests’ grasp. “To put it simply,” said Elite, “hidden Mickeys aren’t there for guests, they’re there for cast members. If you don’t have a boat and a ladder and access to the park after closing and a flashlight, then perhaps you should just take a hint that this particular inside joke was intended for a different audience.”
It’s not the first time Disney has removed a hidden Mickey from public view. Said Elite, “When Disney/MGM studios was first built, there was a gigantic hidden Mickey that could only be seen if you hovered over the park in a helicopter. Then guests discovered it with Google maps and other satellite-imaging tools, and it just ruined the fun for the rest of us. Why go to the trouble of taking the cast-member helicopter out for a spin if everyone and their brother can just see it online anyway? So we stuck a giant hat in the middle of it and otherwise removed its hidden Mickeyness. To heck wit it. These days, all we seem to have left are the hidden Mickeys back stage and the ones on castmember underclothing. But perhaps I’ve said too much.”
After sneaking into Disneyland more than an hour before opening (it’s amazing what you can do when you’re disguised as a planter), our Official DisneyLies Photographer managed to snap a picture of an Imagineering test of the new Antimatterhorn.
This Matterhorn overlay — accomplished in minutes thanks to billions of carefully installed, computer-controlled black-light LEDs — is intended for use during this year’s Halloween festivities. Rumor has it that, when the Matterhorn is in “evil” mode, the mountain will not only look evil, but the cars will also be fitted with super-bumpy wheels and the Yeti will have a really, really bad haircut (sort of an “abominable mullet,” according to an Imagineer).
In celebration of the immensely profitable new Pixar film WALL*E, Disney is moving forward with its “Hiring the Body Electric” initiative, which will see robots used much more extensively throughout the theme parks.
In this photo, you can just make out a trio of electronic cast members performing regular maintenance in the Haunted Mansion’s garden.
In the future, expect to see robotic humanoids picking up trash, cooking food, repairing attractions, handling disruptions, enforcing line etiquette, punishing the rebellious, and generally keeping puny humans in their rightful place — the happiest place on earth!
Here’s a “hidden Mickey” that even many Disney fans overlook…
If you think you know where in the park it is, leave your answer in this entry’s “comments” section.
And while we’re at it, those who say that Disneyland doesn’t have a rodent problem can be quickly quieted by with this photo. The vermin seem pretty well settled in here!
Disney pin traders will be pleased with the latest addition to Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney — the Disney Pin Vault (captured just before opening by our Official DisneyLies Photo Correspondent).
This gigantic store has the largest collection of rare, vintage, hard-to-find, one-of-a-kind, signed, dangled, pin-on-pin, flocked, lenticular, light-up, animated, jumbo, micro, 3D, audio, holographic, precious-metal, scented, hallucinogenic, holy grail, POH, and self-aware collectible Disney pins on the planet. Says store manager Cloisinné Baubél, “Pin aficionados have been known to become excited to the point that they need medical attention when they see our collection. Our hand-selected pins cost from as little as $25 for a simple retired cast-member lanyard pin to as much as $12,000 for a pin encasing a relic such as a fragment of Walt Disney’s true desk. Many people ask if we trade pins and we answer that we do happily trade — for cold, hard cash.”
The store’s gigantic vault-like front door is in fact the real thing. It operates on a time lock, so guests must enter the store promptly when it opens at 10 a.m., and cannot leave until the door again opens at 5 p.m. Serious pin collectors only. No food, drinks, scrappers, or strollers.
As part of its “living character” initiative, Disney is exploring the possibility of replacing certain castmembers with animatronic figures. A few days ago, our Official DisneyLies Photo Correspondent managed to be on site during a test of the new Buzz Lightyear Guest Services Castbot.
The robot speaks and understands more than 50 languages and can direct guests to any facility on the property, pass out maps, listen attentively to even the most bizarre complaint with a sincerely concerned expression, and blast particularly troublesome guests into oblivion.
The point of Toy Story Midway Mania is to score as many points as possible. Targets are marked with point values — from 100 (simple targets and balloons) to 1,000 (moving targets and other guests) to 1,000,000 (the Eisner-reminiscent “Executive Salarybot” boss character). Some combinations of shots make special bonuses available. For example, shooting all of the balloons on a raincloud might release the “torrential downpour” bonus that provides big points even as it washes the rest of the targets away.
At the end of the game, players receive their official score as well as a “prize.” The prize is simply an icon depicting the player’s skill level. During one ride, we set a record with one player’s gun and let the other player’s gun sit unused so that the best and worst prizes would be awarded.
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