Of all the Disney mountains, Splash Mountain has to be the most story-centric. It’s populated with a cast of hundreds, it has dozens of show scenes, it builds to a thrilling climax. By contrast, the Matterhorn has a single hairy guy and a lot of ice caverns. Splash is more than just a thrill gimmick. […]
Hip to be Square
We love our Huey Lewis references around the Parkeology offices. Anything that would confuse someone under 30 years old is cool by us. Told you he loved Disney. Shane was freaking out today. First Blogger went down for an extended period of time, then James our (former) map concierge decided it was time to […]
Scariest Park Creature Ever
Disney parks are mostly full of pleasant images. Cotton candy, singing bears, that hot belly dancer in Morocco. But every now and then, they sneak in something unsettling. Today, I’d like to introduce you to a creature that haunts my nightmares. You might wonder where you can find such a beast. Is it the Haunted […]
The Most Famous Disney Sheep Is…?
The Impressions de France script at Epcot features a scene involving a pack of bicyclists and one terrified sheep. Here is that sheep’s story.
Fading Star…
Parkeology was on location at Disneyland Paris the other week. We discovered things both expected and surprising. The PR photos make it look so, well, magical! Disneyland Paris features Discoverlyland in lieu of Tomorrowland. It is meant to serve as an ageless look into the future as imagined by Jules Verne. One surprise came at […]
Stupid Things I Notice While Riding Soarin’
Like many of you, I’ve ridden Soarin’ a number of times. I’m talking Peyton-Manning-to-Marvin-Harrison number of times. Cher-Cosmetic-Procedures number of times. Maybe not Rednecks-on-COPS number of times, but certainly Jessica-Simpson-Attempts-Fourth-Grade number of times. I’m telling you, I can recite every line of dialog in the movie word for word (that’s a little Soarin’ joke. Some […]
Stocks and Bongos
The most evil buzzword in the theme park industry today is “interactive” (followed closely by “guest experience,” and rounded out by “Potter-killer.”) I’m a traditionalist, darn it, and I prefer my theme parks shaken, not stirred. If I have to hear about another “living character initiative” or “NextGen project,” I think I’m going to have […]
Indiana Jones Tank Restored from the Boneyard
The actual Indiana Jones tank scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade can be found at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, now better than ever.
10 Coolest Things Animatronics Have Ever Done
Audio Animatronics have evolved a lot since their debut as multicultural stereotypes. Jose, Michael, Pierre, and Fritz were pretty darn cool. They could move. They could talk. They could do both at the same time (something Al Gore never learned). But even Isaac Asimov couldn’t imagine what they’d do next. Answer: Activate Skynet. We’re a […]