Sunday, June 10, 2007

A Place to Rest

A bench at Walt Disney World seems like such a simple concept - just a place to rest before heading to the next attraction. Yet no detail is ever overlooked by the Imagineers. I took a trip around World Showcase, photographing each bench (garnering a few curious looks in the process - you would think I would be used to it by now!). What follows is an assemblage of 11 different cultures set in metal, concrete and wood.


We begin in Mexico, with dark wood and ornate, heavy metal.


Norway's design features an airy back with thin vertical bars in metal outlined in a stained wood. It complements nicely with the surrounding architecture.


China's bench is a very distinct constrast to the previous two countries, with a heavy, yet still graceful, concrete seat.


Visions of the Black Forest and the decorative Bavarian architecture spring to mind with the design of Germany's bench.


Italy has two designs, but both equally capture the elegance of the architecture. The concrete bench has a very ancient Roman feeling to it.



The benches of the American Adventure are very colonial in style, like something you would find in Williamsburg. Yet they also have the quaintness of something you would find in a park today.


Similar to China, Japan's bench is also backless, but the curved motif is more prominent here.


Morocco's design echoes the great decorative elements found in the tile work.


Parisian flare finds its way into the simplistic elegance of France's bench design.


The bench at the United Kingdom is very simple in its design, but the heavy wood is a great accent to the rich brick buildings around it.


A very rustic flair is found in the benches at Canada.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

A Salute to All Nations, but Mostly America

I'm going to wrap up my coverage of the MuppetVision queue (for now at least!) with a mixture of some more fun signs.






Friday, June 8, 2007

Getting From Here to There

Continuing a look at the queue of MuppetVision 3D, we'll take a look at the clever walk from here to there. Only the Muppets could take such a mundane task and make it seem so climatic.












Thursday, June 7, 2007

Don't Look Here!

At the far end of the MuppetVision 3D queue is a curious wall that just begs to be explored. In true Muppet fashion, it uses reverse psychology to invite the viewer to do just the opposite of what is asked.


If you peek through the peepholes (which of course, you can't help but do!), you'll find pipework. Normally, this would be hidden completely from guest view, but here the not-so-glamorous is embraced and given a Muppet makeover with hilarious results.


Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The Rainbow Connection

I spent a good 30 minutes the other day just walking through MuppetVision 3D's extended queue (which is very rarely used anymore) looking at all of the clever decorations. I have always particularly enjoyed the little hidden faces added to the various pipes, lights, columns - pretty much anything and everything.


More to come tomorrow...

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

An Exciting Find

It seems that a lot of people enjoyed my tribute to the trash cans around Walt Disney World property. I thought I would share this new find from a few days ago. It is the trash can from the Ice Cream Palor on Main Street USA, and as far as I can tell, there are only two of them. I was quite excited to stumble across them, and the ice cream sundae I had was great too!

Monday, June 4, 2007

Jambo!

With the Tusker House soon to be converted into buffet and character dining, I thought it would be fun to look at the little details found inside.


This lamp is decorated with an array of African hunting spears which creates a very interesting radial design.

This sign is a great theming element, as well as a gentle reminder.

A tour sign lists the safari tours located in the region. Kilimanjaro Safaris is the first one listed, but I think the hot air balloon trip sounds fun too.


Here's a view of the wonderful theming above the registers and counter.

And one can not overlook the great theming that extends even to the pay phones.