French Heritage Week continues here at parkeology.com (now dragging on into its third actual week, with no sign of letting up). You might think that we have now beat this dead horse into the ground, but we’re only just getting started. Like James Bond, I prefer my metaphors shaken, not stirred. Today we uncover a […]
Survey Says!
A cryptic world hidden right before your eyes. A hint to a clandestine mystery right under foot. A sprawling network of clues cloaked from many, indiscernible to most, shrouded to all but the most inquisitive and yet visible to all in plain sight. But first, it’s time for the Family Feud! Nice shades That’s […]
In Case of Fire, Please Use Stairs
I am on a mission to recover lost elevators, since Disney parks have a propensity for losing them. Or for not adding them in the first place. Remember when they re-opened the Sleeping Beauty Diorama at Disneyland? And then instead of making it handicap-accessible, they simply added a TV waiting room, like at the dentist. […]
Lost Epcot Restaurant Discovered Inside Chefs de France
One of the great things – possibly the best thing – about living in Walt Disney World is that you can look sneeringly at random vacation photos and haughtily announce that you know exactly where that picture was taken. For instance, a close-up of a duck’s head with a smidgen of white rock visible in […]
Muppet Labs Creates Beaker’s Best Line
Last Saturday marked the reopening of MuppetVision 3-D, a Studio staple since the early 90s. The rehab included a new digital projection system, resulting in crystal clear images the likes of which haven’t been seen since Jim Henson’s mind-expansion experiments in the 70s. The show also got new carpet and seat coverings, shunting some […]
Tomorrowland Grassy Knoll
Grassy Knoll, as shot by Abraham Zapruder. If you’re a serious park fan, then you’ve seen the film by now. A gritty Super-8 movie, the colors bleeding at the edges, the background overexposed by the harsh Florida sun. The frame jitters from the amateur camerawork. The scenery streaks with every fast pan. History in the […]
The Last Trace of the Walt Disney World Shopping Village Kaleidoscope
The Walt Disney World Shopping Village Kaleidoscope was once the area’s tallest landmark. It disappeared with the arrival of Downtown Disney.
Who you calling dummy… DUMMY!
Test Track is full of dummies. They get smashed and pounded in the queue, during the preshow and on the ride itself. These dummies were made to be abused; fiberglass and steel can take a great deal of punishment. Ummmm, wrong dummies. Carmakers use these crash test dummies to beat up, they are stand-ins, […]
Born and Bred in a Fire Trap
Rabbits may be clever about a great many things, but the idea of open-flame cooking in a giant patch of brittle thorn brambles is probably not up there among the brightest ideas in the universe. Witness Brer Rabbit’s house, the Briar Patch, where a giant fireplace makes a nice centerpiece to their little collection of kindle. […]