My Dreams of Disney

Exploring Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond!

Wildest Shots of Toy Story Mania!

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Toy Story Mania
Toy Story Mania is great because it is like being a part of Andy’s Toy Box!

Hello everyone!  As we continue our look today at Toy Story Mania, today I’ve got some great Facts and Figures that you may not have known about.  I hope you enjoy!

Toy Story Facts and Figures!

  • Toy Story Mania is the first attraction that Walt Disney Imagineering designed for two parks at the same time — Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s California Adventure!
  • This is the first attraction that Walt Disney Imagineering designed where the Imagineers had to wear 3-D glasses to art direct all the black-light paint elements.
  • In Toy Story Mania, every person experiences life the size of a toy.  So, a 5 1/2 foot tall person is seeing the room the size of a 14 inch toy!
  • Each ride vehicle weighs as much as 8,580 Woody dolls.
  • In each of the Toy Story Mania! games, there is at least one “easter egg” — targets that can trigger the appearance of bonus high-value targets and other changes in the scene.

This is a lot of great information, but there are even more things for you to discover.  Did you know about the easter eggs?  I know that I didn’t!  While I imagine that I may have hit one at some point, I don’t know which one was it, or even if it still exists.  What about you?  Thanks for stopping by today for our #DisneyTrivia post!  Don’t forget to see my friend Jodi’s post at Magical Mouse Schoolhouse and my friend Heidi’s post at Heidi’s Head!  They always have great trivia that is so much better than mine!

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37 Days: Tom Sawyer Island

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Tom Sawyer Island
Tom Sawyer Island is our choice for #Day37 in our #DisneyWorldCountdown! Here is Harper’s Mill.

Do you like Tom Sawyer Island?  I know that, as thrill rides go, this one certainly isn’t an E-Ticket attraction…but if you are looking for a relaxing, change of pace alternative to your Commando Open to Close park adventure, then this is a fine place to relax for a bit and let your feet rejuvenate for what’s ahead!

For me, Tom Sawyer Island is not an every year attraction — in fact, it may be turning into an attraction that we have outgrown — but it is in attractions such as Tom Sawyer Island that I find the handiwork of the Walt Disney Imagineers at it’s best.  It’s easy to build backstory into a thrill ride — if the backstory isn’t quite there, it’s not as big a deal because you still have the thrill ride to make up for it.  But for an attraction like Tom Sawyer Island, the backstory is crucial to the success or failure of the attraction.  Succeed at it, and you’ve got a classic that has been around since day one…fail, and your attraction likely won’t be around long.

With Tom Sawyer Island, YOU are Tom Sawyer.  When you raft to the island, you are crossing the Mighty Mississippi.  When you are in Injun Joe’s Cave, you are looking for treasure.  When you explore Fort Langhorn, you get a feel for what it might have been like to be a frontiersman (or woman) always on the lookout for Injuns.

Tom Sawyer Island
This is the loading and unloading spot of Tom Sawyer Island. You can only get to the island by raft!

Tom Sawyer Island is, perhaps more than any other attraction, an island totally different from anything else.  It was always said that when you arrived at the Magic Kingdom, you left the world behind; you left Florida behind, and you entered a totally new world.  Well, with Tom Sawyer Island, I think it is safe to say that when you go to the island, you leave the Magic Kingdom behind, and you enter into an entirely new world altogether.  One last note — I read last night that Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland was the only attraction for the park that Walt Disney designed himself…so maybe that’s why I like it so much!

Tom Sawyer Island
Tom Sawyer Island has it’s own bridge connecting the two small islands together!

Do you like Tom Sawyer Island?  Or, do you skip on by and circle around the island on your way to the Haunted Mansion or Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?  If you skip this attraction, or if you haven’t done it in several years, then I urge you to take a new look at it, and let me know what you think.  Thanks for stopping by, now go out and make it a great Disney Day!

#DisneyTrivia – Storybook Land Canal Boats

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Monstro the Whale greets you on your journey into the Storybook Land Canal Boats!
Monstro the Whale greets you on your journey into the Storybook Land Canal Boats!

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia!  As always, I’m joined by my lovely and talented co-hosts Jenn from Disney Babies Blog, Heidi from Heidi’s Head, and Jodi from Magical Mouse Schoolhouse, and we’re sharing with you some of our favorite trivia!  Today, I’m taking a look at one of the most charming of attractions at Disneyland — the Storybook Land Canal Boats ride!

I’ve got several tidbits of trivia, so I thought I would list them out here for you.  Enjoy!

Did you know about the Storybook Land Canal Boats…

  • Did you know that the attraction is an opening day attraction at Disneyland, and has been open ever since?
  • The canal contains 465,000 gallons of water, and is pumped to the moat for Sleeping Beauty Castle, the water for the Jungle Cruise, and the Rivers of America before it is pumped back to the canal.  Now that’s a lot of water!
  • The houses in Storybook Land are fitted with 6 inch doors, and 1/4 inch hinges that actually allow the doors to open and close so that the Imagineers can change the light bulbs!

When I think of the Storybook Land Canal Boats ride, I think of the relaxing nature of the ride, the great information from the narrator/boat captain, and the incredible use of perspective to make it seem like we are looking down a distance to the houses.  However, take a look at these photos — some of them look like they are big enough for us to enter!

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One of the scenes in the Storybook Land Canal Boats ride.
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One of the houses with doors that open.

Thank you for stopping by today, now, please go take a look at the rest of the entries by clicking on the images below! Afterwards, go out and make it a Disney Day everyone!

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Remembering Disney Legends – Marc Davis

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Marc Davis
Disney Legend Marc Davis busy at work drawing.

Hello everyone, and welcome to a special series here at My Dreams of Disney.  Over the next few weeks, we are going to spend a little time and take a look back at some of the great Disney Legends that Disney has produced.  It is a special person who becomes a Disney Legend, and in my mind, there is no better person to start with than one of Walt’s Nine Old Men himself, Marc Davis.

Those of you that are truly into the history that Disney has will know his name, and probably know more about him than I know!  However, if you haven’t heard of him before, that’s okay, because we’ll highlight some of his accomplishments during the course of his extraordinary career at Disney.

Marc Davis was hired as an apprentice animator for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  He progressed through the ranks and worked on character design and other duties for Bambi and Victory Through Air Power.  However, his biggest accomplishments in the animation arena came when he was the person behind some of the greatest woman in Disney lore — Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and Tinker Bell from Peter Pan.

After a while Davis transferred to the department that would become Walt Disney Imagineering, and it was there that his signature work would be found on some of the great classic Disney attractions.  All told, Davis worked on the following attractions at Disneyland:

  • Enchanted Tiki Room
  • It’s a Small World
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Jungle Cruise

Marc Davis was the last of the famed group of Disney employees dubbed the “Nine Old Men” by Walt Disney himself to be hired at Disney, but in my opinion, his accomplishments stand up to any.  The term “Nine Old Men” was a play on words by Walt Disney as a reference to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Supreme Court.  The funny thing about this was that all of the Disney “Nine Old Men” were only in their 20s when they started working with the company!

Marc Davis worked for Disney for 43 years, retiring from active work in 1978 — although he did help with the development of EPCOT and Tokyo Disneyland.  Ironically, yesterday was the 24 anniversary of his induction (along with the rest of the Nine Old Men) as a Disney Legend.

Marc Davis passed away on January 12, 2000, at the age of 86.

Having seen much of his work up close, it is our opinion that some of the great attractions that Marc Davis worked on would not be the same if he hadn’t contributed to them, so My Dreams of Disney salutes him.

Next up on our list of Disney Legends: Ward Kimball, another of Disney’s Nine Old Men.

Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia – Expedition Everest

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The subject of this week's Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia!
The subject of this week’s Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia!

Hello everyone, after our snafu last week with the server, we are back this week with our Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia post for the week!  Along for the ride are Heidi from Heidi’s Head, Jenn from Disney Babies Blog, and Jodi from Magical Mouse Schoolhouse!  I know Jodi and myself would like to thank Jenn and Heidi for holding down the fort for us last week!  I also know that Jodi and I would have much rather written our TTT posts than deal with server issues!

Expedition Everest

Today’s trivia comes to us from the Walt Disney World Trivia Book, Volume 2, by Lou Mongello!  I was thumbing through it, when I happened upon this very interesting tidbit — at least, I thought it was interesting!

Did you know…that 1,800 tons of steel was used in Expedition Everest’s mountain structure? That is about 6 times the amount of steel that would be used in a traditional office building of the same size!

1,800 tons = 3,600,000 pounds of steel!

When I read that, I was floored!  It is a ton (pun intended!) of steel in that mountain, which, at 199 1/2 feet tall, is the tallest structure in all of Walt Disney World.  Quick followup trivia question:

Why is Expedition Everest specifically 199 1/2 feet tall?  Why not 200′ tall?

A) Because mechanically, it had to be exactly 199 1/2 feet tall.
B) Because if it was 200 feet tall, it would need a red FAA airline beacon to warn aircraft.
C) Because the Imagineers have an odd sense of humor.
D) I don’t know why…

While all four of those answers make sense, and might be actually part of the backstory that I don’t know about, the answer that I actually have read about is B.  Did you get it right?  Let me know if you did, and congratulations!  Now, head on over and read the posts from my friends, and thanks for stopping by!

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My Dreams of Disney is a Disney Fan Blog, and is not in any way affiliated with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney, or the Walt Disney Company. In it's purest form, My Dreams of Disney is a site showcasing the love I and my family have for Walt Disney's creative genius and the legacy he has left behind. If it weren't for Walt Disney, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, the other Disney parks spread across the world, and this site would not exist. Click to view our Privacy Policy.

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