Part 5: Disney Tidbits, Magic Kingdom continued

So let's start with Fantasyland, since last week we did the Castle. (Are these posts making anyone want to go besides me?!)

Did You Know?

• Cinderella's Carousel
• There is only one horse on the carousel that has a gold ribbon on its tail.  This is Cinderella's horse.  Why the second row and not a more prominent position? Because the Princess is a lady, of course. The horse on her outside would belong to the Prince, her noble protector. 
• Cinderella’s Carrousel is the only place in Fantasyland where you can see a picture of Cinderella running with her prince to their carriage after just being married.  
• Cinderella's Carousel was built in 1917 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.  At the time it was constructed, it was red, white, and blue (symbolizing patriotism) and was located at Detroit Palace Garden Park.  In 1928, it was brought back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was refurbished and then relocated to Olympic Park in Maplewood, New Jersey.  Maplewood closed in 1967, and the carousel was due to be silenced, if not for the watchful eye of a Disney person.  The Carousel was fully restored, given the Cinderella theme, and was unveiled at the opening of the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971.  
• There are 90 horses on Cinderella's Golden Carousel.  
• Know what the difference is between a merry-go-round and a carousel?  A carousel's horses all move up and down, while merry-go-rounds have some non-moving horses.

• In Fantasyland, the pavement changes a few times.  One is near Ariel's Grotto.  The pavement is cement mixed with sea shells like you would find near an ocean town.  Another is right in front of the carousel where Merlin the Magician picks a lucky lad to remove the Sword from the Stone.  The pavement there is shaped like sword blades. (Yes, the sword can be pulled out but only at certain times-haven't been able to figure out the timing of it)
• Mickey's Philharmagic:
• The carpeting when exiting Philharmagic has some HMs (Hidden Mickeys).
• Look to the right of the "stage.”  There are musical instruments going down the wall.  Look closely at the tubing on the French horn.  You will see Mickey. 
• In the waiting area for "Mickey's Philharmagic," there are many amusing posters featuring Disney characters, but there are also funny inscriptions in the little one or two inch plaques on the poster frame bottoms.  
• At the end of Mickey's PhilharMagic, Donald's behind can be seen in the back of the theatre wall.  As guests exit into the PhilharMagic gift shop, they'll see his angry front side if they look up.
• In Peter Pan's flight, in the nursery, over by Nana, there are some building blocks spelling out "DISNEY" and "P PAN."
• Snow White:
• Mickey is hiding on the mural.  He's by the flowers! 
• Look at the laundry hanging out to dry.  One pair of shorts has Mickey polka dots.  
• Chip and Dale is in the ride too when Dopey waves goodbye.
• The Winnie the Pooh ride was originally a ride themed after Mr. Toad, so in Owl's house you will see the "deed" (to the ride) being handed off.  On the floor of the Pooh ride, on the right in Owl's house, there is a picture of Pooh and Moley from Mr. Toad (look to your left as you enter owl's house--a framed picture on the wall, just inside the doors).    
• Tink's Treasures (gift shop): If you want to wake Tink, go DIRECTLY to the store as soon as the park opens.  If you are first one in there, you may be allowed to do so.  Normally, children stand on a little stool, get a wand, and tap the treasure box three times saying loudly, "Wake up Tink."  When you do this, the lights and music start to play.  You may also get a certificate that says something along the line of "Had a Magical Moment."  If you go into the store and hear the music, you know she has already been woke up.  If it is quiet, she is still sleeping. 

Updated Free dining dates

Disney has added free dining dates to their fall/winter promotion.  If you already made reservations and your date isn't listed, it will still be honored with the original free dining deal.  Here are the new dates:
Oct. 1-6
Oct. 22-Nov.3
Nov. 12-17
Nov. 26-Dec.1
Dec. 10-15
Jan. 8-12
Jan. 21-Feb. 2
Feb. 11-16
March 3-8
March 24-29

Part 4: Disney Tidbits, Magic Kingdom, The Castle

Let's move to the Castle before we transition to Fantasyland.  Here a few things you might not have known or noticed about the Castle!

• Behind the castle is a fountain with Cinderella.  If you bend down and look at the fountain, the crown on the back wall appears to crown Cinderella.
• When you take a walk down Main Street, take a good close look at the castle.  You will notice that the "bricks" get smaller the higher up the castle goes.  The Imagineers called it the "forced perspective" technique.  The castle looks a little taller than it would if all the "bricks" were the same size.  
• Inside the walls of the walk-through of the castle are several mosaics.  On the mosaic wall farthest from the entrance are the two stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella.  The mosaic shows one of them with a red face and the other with a green face.  Red with Rage and Green with envy!!!  
• Approximately 1,000,000 mosaics to make up the scenes.  
• If you sit on the stone ledge on the side of the castle, you will hear Stitch giggle and tell you to be quiet because he's hiding.
• At Cinderella's Royal Table, in the room where you get your picture taken with Cinderella, there is a flag on the wall that is actually the Disney Family Crest. It is the flag with the Three Lions on it. 
• There are approximately 3.37 million gallons of water in the moat that surrounds the Castle. 
• 13 intricately carved, winged gargoyles appear on the outside of the castle. 
• Reportedly the most photographed building in the world, Cinderella Castle, standing at the entrance to Fantasyland, stands as one of the tallest structures in the Magic Kingdom, at 189 feet tall. Inside the Castle, a series of five incredible, mosaic murals tells the story of Cinderella.
  Designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and crafted and set in place by a team of six artists led by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff, the 15 x 10 foot, ornate panels are shaped in a Gothic arch. The murals took more than two years to complete, and contain hundreds of thousands of pieces of Italian glass and rough smalti (glass made specifically for mosaics traditionally used by Italian craftsmen) in over 500 colors. Many of the hand-cut tiles are fused with sterling silver and 14-carat gold, and some are as small as the head of a tack.   
• The restaurant in Cinderella Castle was originally know as King Stefan's Banquet Hall, and was renamed Cinderella's Royal Table on April 28, 1997. Oddly enough, King Stefan was actually Sleeping Beauty's father, and not Cinderella's. 
• From the MK's central hub, Cinderella Castle acts as the main entrance to Fantasyland, located in the parks' northernmost area. The Castle is closely themed with Fantasyland, acting as a gateway to the medieval village. If you look carefully, you will notice that many of the entrances to the attractions look like tents from a medieval fair!  
• The lower walls of the castle are more like a fortress, designed to protect the village beyond. Note the moat surrounding the structure and the battlements and arrow slits for defense. The upper reaches of the castle are more refined and detailed, befitting the elegance of the Princess who lives here. The gargoyles on the towers may seem imposing, but are actually typical of French gothic architecture. They serve as water spouts, helping with drainage and protecting the castle from a buildup of rainwater.
• The family crest cast in stone above each entrance to the castle is actually the Disney family coat of arms. Whether this is the crest historically associated with the Disney name or just one that Walt Disney picked out is a matter for debate. In any case, this bit of Hidden Disney is appropriate here, since lions as charges on coats of arms were common among ruling families of several European states.
• The clock on the castle is an important symbol from the Cinderella story, but it's also full of details representative of the period. The Roman numeral for "4" is shown as IIII (the use of IV is more modern in nature), and the arms of the clock include astronomical symbols used to indicate such things as the relative position of the sun, moon and zodiacal constellations.
• Of course, while there are elements here that come from the story of Cinderella, you might notice that this castle looks nothing like the one seen in Disney's 1950 animated classic Cinderella. That's because that was the King's castle. The castle in the Magic Kingdom is truly Cinderella's castle, the home built by the King as a wedding present for his son, Prince Charming, and his new daughter-in-law.
• Out back is the beautiful La Fontaine de Cendrillon, depicting our Lady's humble beginnings as a scullery maid in the Tremaine household. (Remember, her actual name is Ella Tremaine. "Cinder Ella" is a nickname given her by those wicked stepsisters.)   
• Behind the castle is Sir Mickey's, a shop with two distinct identities, two "wings" of sorts. The southern wing of the shop continues the French Gothic look of Cinderella Castle and is home to the Armory, outfitting the brave Knights whose task it is to defend the Kingdom.  Some of those Knights can be seen just outside, in the form of Donald Duck and his mischievous nephews. They're leaving their own armor at the door, as instructed. On the wall hangs a banner, warning of a giant at large. Huey has irreverently scribbled a mustache on the face of the giant, but we should take heed. The big guy may just "pop up" later on in the Sir Mickey's story.  Inside the Knights' keep, the decor is decidedly masculine, quite different from nearby Castle Couture. Heavy beams and candle-filled iron chandeliers dominate the room. Scattered about are a selection of shields, armor and weaponry awaiting use.  A door at one end of the room bears a crest featuring a two-headed eagle, an ancient heraldic image symbolizing strength and courage. The Knights will need plenty of both if they plan to defend against that giant. Of course, I understand that he who vanquishes said giant will earn fifty golden pazoozahs and the hand of the fair Princess Minnie!  
• Moving away from the castle, we start into the Kingdom of Fantasyland itself, where we come upon the second half of Sir Mickey's. This is the village tailor's shop, taking its inspiration from the Mickey Mouse short cartoons "The Brave Little Tailor" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk."  From the outside, we see that the beanstalk which grew that night when Mickey dropped the magic beans on the ground is alive and well, pushing up through the cottage and reaching skyward. The monster vine has even ripped the Sir Mickey's sign off the front of the building and is starting to carry it along.  Above the door is a painting of Happy Valley, where Mickey and the gang live in "Mickey and the Beanstalk." As the story goes, once the giant was vanquished all the residents of Happy Valley were "valley" happy. The keys found in the shop also reference this story and Mickey, Donald and Goofy's attempt to rescue the singing harp.  From "The Brave Little Tailor" come the props that help set the scene of the village tailor's shop: scissors, needle, thread, ribbon. Even the hands of the clock are blades from a pair of scissors.  The front window gives us a peek into Mickey's tailoring workshop. Of course, if we need something mended, we're out of luck. It seems Mickey is out giant hunting. He no doubt got roped into the job. Probably shouldn't have bragged so much about killing seven with one blow (especially since he meant flies and not giants).  Ducking back inside, we might just be lucky enough to catch Mickey before he heads up the beanstalk. If he's paying attention, though, he'll realize he doesn't have to go far. The giant has come down to pay him a visit.  Lifting up the roof and peeking into the cottage is Willie the giant himself. Willie made his first appearance in the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of Fun & Fancy Free (1947). Later, he took on a much friendlier role as the Ghost of Christmas Present in the animated featurette "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), where he walked through the village lifting up rooftops just as he's seen doing here. 

Part 3: Disney Tidbits. Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion

It's that time of the week again and as I promised last week, today will be all about the Haunted Mansion ride.  There are so many little secrets and tidbits to this ride, that it deserves a post all its own!!  So read up on it before you go and get ready to experience the ride in a whole new light!

Did You Know?

• If at the Haunted Mansion at night, look at the top-story right above the front door.  You'll notice a light pass by it and some shadows.  It looks like 2 people are walking by with a lantern. 
•  The top architecture is very easy to recognize as chess pieces.  The architect was famous for building structures that had chess pieces as a part of the structure.  When he was commissioned to build the HM, he continued his "signature" and added some chess piece architecture to the top of it.  The only chess piece missing from the outside is the knight.  This is because it is always (k)night INSIDE! 
• The carriage in the courtyard is being led by an invisible horse, notice the hoof prints (go at night if you can).  The invisible horse is called "Old Glue" or "Elmer," and the black hearse is the same one used in a John Wayne movie called THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER.  Follow the hoof prints (and wheel tracks of the hearse) out to the area where the fastpass machines are housed. This is the stable (you can see horse whips, bridles, and horse shoes hanging down from above).  The weather vane atop the carriage house is in the shape of a horse, and bridles and stirrups are hung just inside the building. There's also a supply of horseshoes here. Of course, any superstitious soul worth his salt would tell you that horseshoes must always be hung with the opening facing up, lest all the luck run out of them. Here at the Haunted Mansion's carriage house, all horseshoes point down. 
• Stand in front of the hearse at the Haunted Mansion and listen.  You will hear the "ghost" horse whinnie.
• In the back of the pet cemetery, you can see Mr. Toad! 
• Loeota Toombs (Thomas) is the woman on the gravestone (watch for her eyes to open and look around on the gravestone) and the small bride right before you exit urging you to "hurry back"--this is actually her voice played here.  She is the head in the crystal ball, but the voice of the crystal ball Leota is actually Eleanor Audley, who did the voice for Maleficent and Lady Tremain (from Cinderella).  Leota was not an Imagineer; she was part of the costuming department (wigs).  Walt saw her as he was touring the department and said, "You've got a face that should be in the Haunted Mansion."  What he meant was that she was quite beautiful, and he wanted her likeness as the now-famous Madame Leota.  
• The "hands" on the clock are actually fingers!  
• Side step the ride and use the exit on the right side of the foyer to find a little corridor leading to the exit side of the mansion (used as a VIP or wheelchair entrance).  In the passage is a row of servant bells.    Though the attic is not one of the locations for which there is a bell, Madame Leota has one. 
• Who is the woman who screams in the stretch room? Some say this is the voice of a woman who has thrown herself down from the rafters and you can hear a dull thump at the end of the scream.
• There is a sea captain with a harpoon pictured in the Portrait Gallery.  HM lore includes a story about the owner of the house being a sea captain who murders his bride. 
• Linger behind the crowd as they are exiting the stretching room and pay attention to the gargoyles.  They speak, chatter, and laugh.  After they are done, if you are very quiet, you can hear a faint voice whisper, “Get out.”  
• Be among the first to exit for the Doom Buggies by standing on the side with the painting of the lady with the parasol (a painting of Master Gracey's first wife who was lured to her death by the machinations of Madam(e) Leota).   
• The piano player in the Music Room is invisible, but you can see his moving shadow on the floor.
• There is a Hidden Tinker Bell in a pane of broken glass over the coffin! 
• Look for the duelists who lean out of the paintings in the Grand Ballroom and shoot at each other.  One of them may be Mr. Sewell, whose tombstone in the family plot proclaims he died from a duel. 
• There is a Hidden Mickey on the dining room table and on the right hand corner of the Spirit.

Characters: (for complete listing go here)

• The Ghost Host is invisible throughout the tour of the mansion, guiding foolish mortals with his ominous disembodied voice (Paul Frees). The Ghost Host's sardonic narration is often punctuated with maniacal laughter. It is implied that he hanged himself from the rafters in the cupola, as seen in the Stretching Room scene. The invisible pianist who casts a shadow in the Music Room is the Ghost Host.  A painting of him can be found in the Corridor of Doors, depicting a tall, thin, ghoulish-looking man holding a hatchet - with a noose around his neck. He has long, stringy white hair and one eyeball bulging, the other squinting (perhaps giving the "evil eye"). One version of the painting depicts him with heterochromia (two different iris colors). His shadow is shown to be raising his hatchet in a threatening pose. Additionally, he appears as a Sinister Eleven portrait character.
• In the stretching room there is an old widow sitting atop the tombstone of her axe-murdered husband. This is Constance Hatchaway (who manifests as a ghost in the attic), and the husband is George Hightower (who is depicted as a marble bust in the painting). In an early attraction script, the widow was named Abigale Patecleaver.  
• The Raven - Inspired by Poe's The Raven, this iconic character can be found in many scenes, glaring at visitors with glowing red eyes. In early plans for the attraction, the Raven was to be one of the proposed narrators. In the 1969 record The Story and Song From The Haunted Mansion, the Ghost Host claims that the Raven is possessed by the restless spirit of an old nag. In the 2003 film, much like in the ride, a raven makes an appearance in several scenes. It is revealed in the commentary that the raven used in the film is actually a harmless bird originating from Africa, to compensate for California's law against domesticated birds of prey.
•  Pickwick, a Victorian era-attired ghost, can be seen in the ballroom, drunkenly swinging from the chandelier by his cane. He was inspired by the character from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.  
• Always haunting the Mansion's attic, the bride is considered one of the spookiest characters in the ride's history. The character was possibly derived from the supposedly real-life ghost, the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall. The bride has been altered several times over the years, appearing now as Constance Hatchaway—the Black Widow Bride, using a digital projection effect.  An interesting urban legend is that the bride's "ring" is embedded in the ground outside the exit pathway. In reality, this was from a crowd-control stanchion that was cut down. What was left of the stanchion was disposed of during 2007's Re-Haunting. An "official" ring was embedded into the concrete as a tip of the hat to the popular legend, during the 2011 interactive queue installation. 
• The terrified caretaker and his emaciated, whimpering dog stand at the open gates of the cemetery, wide-eyed and shivering at the sight of hundreds of ghosts flitting about. He and his dog are some of the only "living" characters in the entire attraction, and as such they are lit with incandescent light rather than fluorescent or black light. The caretaker's dog (or a very similar looking dog) is also seen moments later near the mummy, sniffing his sarcophagus.   
• The Singing Busts - A quintet of marble busts sing Grim Grinning Ghosts amidst the revelry in the graveyard. Their names are (from left to right): Rollo Rumkin, Uncle Theodore, Cousin Algernon, Ned Nub, and Phineas P. Pock. Rollo Rumkin - "Lived and died a friendly bumpkin," according to his tombstone (spelled Rolo on the stone). His name is a tribute to Imagineer Rolly Crump. He was played by Verne Rowe; Uncle Theodore - His bust's head is broken off. The lead singer, played by deep-voiced Thurl Ravenscroft (often mistaken for Walt Disney) – known for singing "You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch" and providing the voice of Tony the Tiger. Ravenscroft also narrated the 1969 record The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion. In the 2003 film (like in the attraction), Thurl Ravenscroft's likeness was used for one of the singing busts ;Cousin Algernon - Distinguishable from the other busts by his derby hat. He was played by Chuck Schroeder; Ned Nub - He was played by Jay Meyer; Phineas P. Pock - Relative of the poetess Prudence Pock. He was played by Bob Ebright.  

There are so many more characters to learn about and if you are interested go to the link I provided above the list of the few characters I have posted to learn more.

Part 2: Disney Tidbits, Magic Kingdom

It's Friday, so that means another installment of magical Disney tidbits!  We left off at Magic Kingdom so that's where we will begin today.

Did You Know? 

• When you are at Adventureland and in line for the Jungle Cruise, just before boarding the boat look for an "Employee of the Month" sign.  It will read E.L. O'Fevre which, if you didn't get it, stands for Yellow Fever.
• Near the beginning of the Jungle Cruise there will be tribal head carvings on the three canoes at Pygmy Beach.  They bear a strong resemblance to Mickey, Donald and Goofy!
• There is an airplane tail in the ride, the front half of the airplane is used in the Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios.
• Notice the blackboard once you have exited the cruise at the end.  It will have humorous names of people and boats "missing".
• For the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, if you are directed to the right-hand queue for the ride, you will see a window.  If you look in the window you will see two skeletons playing chess-supposedly a stalemate game.
• Also on the right-hand queue, just before boarding, there is a cave and if you listen closely you can hear someone digging, maybe for treasure?
• In the gift shop at the end of the Pirates ride, there are items sitting on a shelf just below the ceiling.  Look around at these items and see if you can spot the movie props that were given to the shop from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.   (There is a Gold Coin from the first movie, a Key from the second movie, see if you can spot any references to the other two and if not, ask a Cast Member!)
• Beware of a spitting camel just past Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride as you are headed toward the castle!
• The Swiss Flag flying over the Swiss Family Robinson's Treehouse is the only flag of another nation that is on permanent display above a Disney attraction.
• When you get to Frontierland, and are in line for Splash Mountain, you might notice bird houses in the trees.  If its quiet enough, you can hear what sounds like talking or arguing coming from them-this is actually Chip and Dale talking and arguing! 
• Once on the ride see if you can notice a little critter coming out of the ceiling upside down at the part of the ride where you are in a cave-like room, just before the last drop.  Some say he says "FSU" (see what you think!) and it is speculated that his imagineer was a graduate from FSU!
• Notice the claw marks on the floor of the Country Bear Jamboree.
• This is one of my favorite tips!  If you get to Tom Sawyer Island at its opening in the mornings (it opens at 10 am usually) and you are on the first raft over, search the island for paintbrushes.  If you find a paintbrush, you can turn it in to the raft captain for a fastpass to Splash Mountain!  Each morning there are new paintbrushes hidden but once they are found, that's it for the day! (My family had a blast finding these-found I think 9 in all but later found out that they would've given us a fastpass that would've covered all of us for just one! It was fun anyway! And we did give a couple of paintbrushes away to other people once we found enough to cover each person in our group.)   
• While on Tom Sawyer's Island, while at Harper's Mill, look closely at the wooden gears operating. On one of the gears operating horizontally you will see a little blue bird sitting there.
• A good place to beat the heat on the island is in Injun Joe's cave.       
• When you venture into Liberty Square, the Liberty Square Christmas Shop is actually three different shops with walls between them. They are representative of three different colonial families owning them-a German family, a woodcarver's family and a musician's family.   
• The 13 lanterns hanging in the Liberty Square Tree (the big tree to the left of the Paddle Wheel Boat) represent the 13 original colonies.
• Look at the 2nd story windows in Liberty Square.  One has a rifle and another has 2 lanterns-"one if by land, two if by sea".
• In Liberty Square there is a gate around a door.  In the door guards a marble slab that used to be the threshold/step at Monticello.
• In the section of Liberty Square that has different styled building fronts next to each other, observe the details and stylings progressing through the 19th century.  If you place an "18" in front of each house number, that will be the year of that style.

I will stop here because next up is the Haunted Mansion, and that one will have a post of its own!  There is WAY too much on that one! So be sure to tune in next Friday!

UPDATE on Free Dining. 2012 Dates added

Today is the day and low and behold, 2012 dates were added to today's latest Free Dining discount.  The 2012 dates that were added are 1/8-1/14, 1/22-2/4, 2/12-2/18, 3/4-3/10, 3/25-3/31.  The codes for this latest discount are D3X for the Value Resorts/Quick Service Dining Plan and J4J for Moderate or Deluxe/Regular Dining Plan.