Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I wish all of you a safe and prosperous 2008 full of Disney magic. Thank you for your continued support of my humble blog, and I look forward to sharing more details with you in the coming year.

The Zip Award

When digging in Dinoland USA, you better make sure you find something or you will become the recipient of the Zip Award, given to those who find "zip." There is an entire room in Restaurantasaurus dedicated to this prestigious award.

Scientific Crate

This crate can be found in the preshow area for Muppet*Vision 3D, from the Scientific Doohicky Company based out of Newark, New Jersey. Its contents include thingamabobs, whatzits, doodads, widgets, and assorted folderal.

Merry Christmas!

No one decorates for the holidays like Disney, and every park and resort is decorated with its own particular theme. In honor of today, here's a sampling of some of the many beautiful trees scattered about property. Merry Christmas everyone!

BoardWalk

Beach Club

Magic Kingdom

Animal Kingdom

Epcot

Downtown Disney - Once Upon A Toy

Monorail-a-palooza

Nothing says Christmas like a monorail, and for a Disney detail-phile like myself, Christmas Eve means it is time once again for Monorail-a-palooza. Last year my friend Trish and I decided it would be amusing to try to ride all 12 monorails in a single day, and successfully completed the task in 3 hours. This year, my friends Melissa and Travis joined me in the second annual event, and were able to ride all 12 in a record-breaking 2 1/2 hours.

Merry Christmas everyone, from the Highway in the Sky!

The Best in the Business

Here's another great sign from the Studio One Company Store, praising the talents of the Muppets' accountants.

Let the Sun Shine In

One of the favorite mantras of any Disney detail-phile is "look up" and that definitely applies to the spacious lobby of the Grand Floridian. While most guests look down over the Victorian-themed area, make sure you take a moment to look above you or you might just miss the absolutely gorgeous stained glass skylights.

Portobello Road

After having a nice dinner at Portobello Yacht Club, I happened upon this sign on the building doorway:


As construction and new clubs continue to change the way Pleasure Island looks, it is a nice nostalgic look at the Pleasure Island of many years ago when the "delicious exploits of the Pleasure Family" were an integral part of the experience.

Heads Up

As a possible throwback to the now-gone Mile Long Bar, these dinosaur heads are mounted on the wall high above hungry patrons. I like the added McDonald's fry box and antlers on the left dinosaur.

Happy Birthday Walt Disney

Today, December 5th, would have been Walt Disney's 106th birthday. I thought long and hard about what I could possibly say about the man whose legacy has played such an intricate part in my life, but nothing seemed to be sufficient enough. So all I can say is thank you, Mr. Disney, and Happy Birthday.

Hooray for Hollywood

While the Chinese Theatre has unfortunately been overshadowed by the Sorcerer's Hat, it does not make it any less of a stunning piece of architecture. While many people pass through the entrance without a second thought, the amount of careful detail that the Imagineers placed into it warrants a pause.

Birds of a Feather

World of Disney is full of wonderful murals featuring characters both familiar and obscure in fun settings. The next time you are shopping for men's apparel, make sure you look up and check out the scene taking place above you.

The first corner features mainly characters from The Three Caballeros, with Jose and Panchito, the two toucans (who can never stand beak to beak), the scissor bird still getting his tail in trouble, and of course, the infamous Aracuan bird. Spike the bee also makes an appearance, this time without bubble gum.

Moving on, one can catch a glimpse of such characters as Grandmother Willow, Orville, Bernard, Bianca, Friend Owl, and Archimedes.

The next corner features the crows from Dumbo, the vultures from The Jungle Book, the colorful birds and owl from Sleeping Beauty, the squirrel and chipmunk from Bambi, and little Perla from Cinderella.

The final corner includes some a squirrel and some chipmunks from Sleeping Beauty, Zazu and some other savanna birds from The Lion King, the blue birds from Cinderella, Chicken Little (the original), and even the Grasshopper and some of the ants from the 1934 short.

Outdoor Seating

On the second level of Prime Time Cafe there are a few tables set up for imaginary diners who prefer dining alfresco. It provides a nice added detail to the area, as well as good product placement for the Coca-Cola company.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you have ever driven around Disney property, perhaps you have caught a glimpse of some of the animals that call Disney World home. I thought it was only appropriate to have some wild turkeys featured in today's post.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Las Cajas

Who says crates have to be unilingual? The Mexico pavilion provides another great example for the CAS to enjoy.

Yakking it Up

Yak and Yeti has been open for almost a week now, so I feel that it would be a great time to highlight some of the area's decorative features. I had the pleasure of eating there on its first official day of operation, and had a very nice meal.

The exterior features ornate carvings and decorative embellishments, with the sit-down restaurant's entrance painted a rich purple.

The area is filled with themed props to set the storyline.

These paintings line the way to the restrooms and backstage area.

There is also a nice reference to nearby Kali River Rapids.

But perhaps the best detail of all is the container that the food from the quick service side comes in - a personalized version of a Chinese take-out box.

Happy Birthday!

Mickey and Minnie turn 79 today, so I thought it was only fitting to devote today's post to the mice that started it all.

The Carthay Circle Theatre store in Disney-MGM Studios is filled with wonderful Disney memoribilia from years past - here are just a few of the many displays. See if you have any of these pieces in your own collection.

Taking Out the Trash

To finish up my very brief Disneyland detail report, I thought it was only appropriate to focus on one of my favorite details: trash cans. And yes, I did have to stop and take a photo of every one I saw!

This one pretty much says it all, so it's a good place to start. Located in the entrance plaza, it features the Disneyland resort logo with Sleeping Beauty Castle and Grizzly Peak.

it's a small world gets its very own trash can design, taking inspiration from the wonderful style of Mary Blair.

The Indiana Jones trash can features a great excavation themed design, and has a grungy finish similar to what is used on the Tower of Terror trash cans at MGM.

This design is used exclusively for the Halloween season, in the entrance to California Adventure, where candy corn grows everywhere.

The Tower of Terror at California Adventure gets a design with the hotel's logo on it. While it looks great, it doesn't really fit in with the "run down" image like MGM's version does.

One interesting thing to note is the plethora of recycling trash cans around the parks. It seems like every other trash can is paired with one for bottles and cans, which is a really nice touch. Florida could take a lesson from this!