Lightning Greets Fans at the Cozy Cone

Lightning McQueen welcomes his fans outside Sally's office at the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars Land. The combination of fun food, chatty automobiles, the town's music and terrific Cast Members make this one of the best character meet n' greet set-ups at the resort.

1994: Disneyland's Amazing Lion King Celebration

1994 saw the debut of the greatest daytime parade Disneyland has ever presented: The Lion King Celebration. This amazing production combined music, dance, puppetry, audioanimatronics, acrobatics, radio-controlled creatures, live percussion and audience interaction into a joyful fusion of Disney animation and African art that was unlike any previous park attraction.

More of these two awesome hams after the break

Employing nearly 100 performers and operators, the production became an instant smash-hit for the park, prompting many return visits and repeat viewings.

Classic Ride Review: Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Just look at those awesome elephants. Their wonderfully sculpted expressions of joy and exhilaration carry the whole experience. When you lift off, you instantly plug into the moment at the film's finale when Dumbo spreads his ears and  a miracle happens. That why the Dumbo ride is magical and rip-off clones are not.

Some folks don't "get" Dumbo. They dismiss it as a mere children's ride or a mundane carnival-style attraction not worth a second look. My theory about those folks: either they never rode Dumbo as a child, or else they commute to work every day on a flying elephant and find nothing unusual about the experience.

All I know is, I climb aboard, the ride starts, I push up on the controls, I hear that familiar hydraulic hiss...there's that little bounce as we get airborne...and suddenly I'm seven years old again, with the wind in my face and all of Fantasyland whirling about below me.

Sometimes you don't need the latest technology to create pure and powerful magic.

Too Early For New Disney Christmas Music? Nah!

It's not even Halloween yet, and I'm posting about Christmas; what am I, Target? Okay, I'm fairly certain I'm not the only Disney fan who starts updating their Holiday playlists early as the new Christmas albums start appearing, right?  Anyone?

Disney Christmas albums are often hit & miss. This one's good -- Really, really good. Starting with the best cover art I've ever seen on a Disney Christmas release, Disney Jingle Bell Fun hits all the right...er....notes by balancing sentiment, humor and great performances into one satisfying album.

Keeping the pattern of past Disney Christmas albums, this one's half character-performed songs and half more "mainstream" contributions -- this time by Randy Crenshaw and Hailey Markman. Crenshaw and Markman's tracks are top-notch, but -- let's be honest -- we wanna hear the characters sing.

This time, around, the Fab Five Plus Daisy are in fine form, bringing comic charm to:

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Goofy does a guitar solo & Donald forgot to buy Daisy anything)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Goofy & Donald doing the call-and-response version)
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! (Donald & Daisy)
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Mickey & Minnie)

But the surprise, awesome shocker of this collection is the piano-lounge crooner version of "Toyland" sung by Goofy, completely in character, completely serious, and so touching and perfect that his "shooby-dooby-doos" halfway through don't sound ridiculous. Bill Farmer deserves a standing ovation and a Grammy Award for this one.

I definitely recommend Disney Jingle Bell Fun -- Possibly the best Disney Christmas album yet.

It's available on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/disney-jingle-bell-fun/id562275405?uo=4),  Amazon Mp3 and CD.

WDW 1993: Epcot's Wide Open Spaces

The vast skies and stunning vistas of 1993 Walt Disney World formed the biggest ongoing "Wow" factor during our first-ever visit. We particularly loved the surreal and wonderful landscapes of Epcot. The weather was a real character, too, and we experienced more than one of the awesome 2:00 P.M. cloudbursts which lasted just long enough to sucker us into buying ponchos. We learned our lesson; the next time, we just shopped 'till it ended.

Different view, same day. I think I rode Journey Into Imagination eight hundred times. Okay, maybe more like six...(It tied with Cranium Command and Horizons as my favorite thing in Epcot).

WDW folks say it a lot, and it's true: pictures don't do World Showcase Lagoon justice (especially mine). In person, I could just stare out across the water for an hour. And I would've, but I really wanted to get to Maelstrom.

More WDW 1993 soon!

Fish Heads & Crumbs #7: Cabbages and Kings

Happy Monday! As fans are well aware, many classic Disney films contain little tragedies and minor character deaths that adults just brush off but children never...ever...forget...

Click to Enlarge

Memorabilia at Flo's V8 Cafe: Jeep Date

Before opening a diner in Radiator Springs, Flo performed as the lead singer of the Motorama Girls. The group's album covers can be found in Flo's V8 Cafe in Cars Land, in a music-themed room facing Radiator Springs Racers. Every single one of these back-story albums features wonderful art and car puns galore. It's tough to pick a favorite, but "Jeep Date" is definitely up there.