Snow White on Ice on iTunes

For the Disney music completist, here's a fun little recording that recently resurfaced on iTunes and Amazon MP3. The title's quite a mouthful:

Tom Arnold Presents an Adaptation on Ice of of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

No, it's not the American Tom Arnold, it's the British theatrical producer Tom Arnold. The four songs on this 1960 $3.99 souvenir record are pleasant covers--exactly what you might expect to hear at an ice show. Give it a sample listen: You might like what you hear.

I'd love to see more of these unusual "Disney By-Product" recordings appear on the digital marketplace. If only Disney would open up more of their own vault...

A Victim of Remodeling: World of Disney's White Rabbit

The White Rabbit is one of my favorite Disney characters, so I was delighted to find him freaking out from inside his residence above the mountain of plush toys in the original version of the "Alice" room of Disneyland Resort's World of Disney Store. Once upon a time, his entire house formed the focal point of that section of the shop.

Unfortunately, W. Rabbit and his house vanished during a major remodeling of the sales floor, and in their place the store got...well....um...nothing memorable.

The Queen of Hearts' exhausted, stressed-out herald can still be found in several spots in Disneyland, but the World of Disney Store is now, regrettably, de-bunnyfied.

The Evil Queen is Watching You

Fantasyland isn't all flying elephants and glass slippers. There's a layer of darkness and shadow lurking about, and thank goodness; without it, the heroes and heroines would have nothing to test themselves against!

Above the entry  to Snow White's Scary Adventures, a pair of red curtains opens every minute or so as the Evil Queen glares out in contempt at the happy crowd below, as she's been doing since the land's remodeling in 1983.

She hates popcorn, mouse ears, California Girls and -- probably most of all -- the dozens of strollers parked on her property.

Grizzly River Run -- Empty and Full

Our most recent trip to Disneyland Resort caught Grizzly River Run right at the tail end of its refurbishment, with the mountain's river flume empty one day and filled with thundering rapids the next.

I enjoyed getting a glimpse of the trackwork along the big drop, which keeps the speeding rafts on a straight, smooth course before releasing them back into the river to bob and bounce freely once more.

We didn't get a chance to brave the rapids on this trip, but it was great to see the river going full blast again. It certainly ties the Grizzly Peak area together and brings the whole environment to life.

Reviewing the Netflix Disney Films: Alice in Wonderland

With several great Disney classics readily available to stream on Netflix, there's no better time to take another look at these amazing films. Today Mouse Troop turns its attention to one of the most problematic and interesting films ever to come out of Walt Disney Studios. It has a castle, but no princess, no love story, no battles, no time, no way (except the Queen's way), no mustard in the watch, no oysters for the Carpenter and no tea (ever) for Alice.

Few would deny that Disney’s animated Alice in Wonderland fails on a few levels. It lacks emotion, it’s episodic, the story has no goal…

And yet…

It’s my favorite Disney film. I first saw it on Wonderful World of Color way back during my 1960's childhood (when a chance to see Disney animation was a rare treat), and it haunted my dreams. I think small children can relate to Alice’s fear of being lost, and if you experience this film at a young age, the movie retains a deep-rooted sense of peril that’s lost on those who initially view it as an adult.

Grizzly River's Bear With No Name

This gigantic bear, all geared up for white water escapades, silently guards the entry to Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure.

It's an impressive sculpture, and a puzzling one; considering all the time, effort and talent that went into its creation, it's odd that the bear has no name, no backstory (beyond his gear), no merchandising presence, and -- as a result -- little impact on guests' memories of DCA.

Then again, when DCA first opened, the 2001 powers-that-be aimed for the park to be as unlike Disneyland as possible, and that extended to a lack of Disney characters or traditional storytelling. Our grizzly friend here might have fallen victim to that somewhat pixie-dust-free approach to park design.

Today's DCA bursts with charm, personality and Disney/Pixar characters. I say it's time to give this wonderful statue a name, a backstory, and some more visibility as a character on the ride itself and on the park merchandise. He's a white-water-rafting grizzly bear in a Disney park! Someone in charge needs to let the Imagineers and product designers go wild with the concept.

The Bronze White Rabbit

While relaxing on this summer Sunday, let's look at one Disney character who never, ever relaxes: the harried and perpetually stressed-out White Rabbit. For this statue in Disneyland's Central Plaza hub, the sculptor really captured W.R.'s spirit perfectly; he looks like he could bolt away at any second -- if he weren't already bolted down.

There are four other White Rabbit figures in Disneyland: a life-size statue at the Alice dark ride's loading zone, and three inside the ride itself, including the one who gets an exploding Unbirthday cake in the face.

What a great and under-appreciated character!

Into the Witch's Lair

When the Imagineers remodeled Fantasyland in the early 1980's, they had a clear goal in mind for the new entry to Snow White's Scary Adventures: they made it quite clear to all guests that the ride was not about cheeping birdies and gooseberry pie.

The queue immediately plunges you into the dark depths of the Evil Queen's dungeon at the exact moment she's planning Snow's demise. Her words and evil laughter echo from just around a corner through that stone arch. One gets the creepy feeling she could lunge out at any second. Love that gargoyle; he looks like he's planning to clobber anyone who gets too close.

Below, you can glimpse the book containing the spell for Sleeping Death. Judging by all the strollers parked outside, many parents still think this is a swell ride for toddlers. Go figure.

I was saddened when Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom recently closed its Snow White dark ride. I rode the terrific, original really scary version of that one (two solid minutes of the witch trying to kill riders) before it was remodeled. Florida fans are in for a real treat, however, when the Seven Dwarfs Mine Car roller coaster opens in 2014!