Happy 70th birthday to Disneyland 4 years too early

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Disneyland employs a patented ‘Smellitzer’ device designed to pump certain scents around. The Smellitzer uses a series of pumps and vents to launch the smells 200 feet at just the right second. And then an exhaust system sucks the odor out of the room before it interferes with your next sensory experience. Everything is pleasant in Disneyland, because the park has your very sensations under lock and key. Whether it’s a waft of sea salt in Pirates of the Caribbean, or vanilla in Main Street, your senses are constantly being played for fools. In all, 14 rides, shops, and attractions in Disneyland employ the Smellitzer technology.

 

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When Disneyland first opened in 1955, the roving costumed Mickey Mouse mascot figure looked like this.

 

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Walt Disney’s final words – written rather than spoken – were, rather cryptically ‘Kurt Russell’. No one, including the actor himself, has any idea why.

 

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People occasionally dump their loved ones’ ashes at Disneyland. Popular spots include the Haunted Mansion of course and Pirates of the Caribbean. Two stories in particular stand out, both involving a mother dumping the ashes of their dead sons on their favorite rides. Supposedly you can see the dead boys crying on a pirate boat and in the Haunted Mansion. Here’s a pic someone took of one of the dead boys’ ghost in the Haunted Mansion.

 

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The powers that be at Disneyland determined that it would be more costly to turn off the system that broadcasts the endless song “It’s a Small World After all’ in the ride of the same name and reboot it than it would to just let the speakers keep playing the infectious tune after hours. Only during an emergency or a massive power outage does the music stop, but during nightly and morning cleaning and maintenance, as well as throughout the deserted hours overnight, ‘It’s a Small World’ plays eternally into the ether.

 

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Some dead rides

General Electric Carousel of Progress (1967–1973): A sit-down show in which the building rotated the audience around a series of stages. The stages had audioanimatronic humans and household appliances showing how appliances and electronics advanced about every 20 years from the turn of the century to the “modern” era of the early 1960s. The audience stopped in front of each stage while the characters joked with each other, described life at the time in history, and demonstrated their kitchen.

 

Flying Saucers (1961–1966): Guests rode in single-rider cars on a cushion of air that were steered by shifting body weight. The air cushion was supplied from below through holes in the floor that opened when the cars passed over. The ride’s site later became the site of the Tomorrowland Stage, and is now the site of Magic Eye Theater.

 

Astro Jets (1956–1964): A rocket-spinner ride originally located between Submarine Voyage and Flight to the Moon.

 

Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland (1960–1977): The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction replaced this sedate train ride with a roller coaster version. The only attraction that remained from the scenic vistas was the mighty waterfall tumbling from Cascade Peak into the Rivers of America, visible only from various boat rides around the Rivers. The structure that formed Cascade Peak and its waterfalls was demolished in 1998 after it was found to be suffering structurally from the decades of water that flowed over it.

 

PeopleMover (1967–1995): A scenic, slow-moving ride high-above Tomorrowland that was intended to demonstrate how people could be shuttled around a central urban area without rushing to board individual trains or drive individual cars. It consisted of many dozens of small open-air cars seating up to eight riders, all running continuously on a track above and through the various attractions in Tomorrowland. After the ride was closed, the track sat vacant for two-and-a-half years until the opening of the ill-fated Rocket Rods.

 

Captain EO (1986–1997): 3D film starring Michael Jackson and directed by Francis Ford Coppola about a spaceship captain and his misfit crew battling against an evil queen. The show closed in 1997 due to a decline in popularity.

 

Skyway to Fantasyland (1956–1994): This ride, a typical aerial lift ride seen in many parks, traveled from a chalet on the west side of Fantasyland, through the Matterhorn, to a station in Tomorrowland. Cabins hung from cables and ran constantly back and forth between the two lands. The Fantasyland station still stands – closed to public access – adjacent to the Casey Jr. Circus Train, and is concealed by trees. Its support towers were removed and the holes in the Matterhorn through which the ride passed were filled in.

 

Skull Rock and Pirate’s Cove (1961–1982): An entertainment and dining experience themed to Captain Hook’s pirate ship. Dumbo the Flying Elephant was relocated to the former location of Skull Rock and Pirate’s Cove and reopened there in 1983.

 

Monsanto House of the Future (1957–1967): A walk-through tour of a plastic house with plastic furnishings and interior and modern appliances such as dishwashers. The house was designed in roughly the shape of a plus sign with high-tech rounded exterior contours, all made from white plastic with large windows. It was outdated almost as soon as it was built. It was anchored to a solid concrete foundation that proved to be so indestructible that, when it was dismantled, the work crew gave up and left some of the support pilings in place and they can still be seen in King Triton’s Grotto between the Tomorrowland entrance and Fantasyland.

 

Country Bear Jamboree (1972–2001): An audio-animatronic show featuring traditional American folk songs sung by a variety of bears and their friends, including Henry the host and Big Al, Shaker (aka Terrence), The Sun Bonnets (Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah), Liver Lips McGrowl, Wendell, Ernest, Gomer, Trixie, Teddi Barra, The Five Bear Rugs (Zeke, Zeb, Ted, Fred and Tennessee), and Zeke’s son Oscar.

 

Space Stage (1955–1960)

 

Adventure Thru Inner Space (1967–1985): A dark ride that pretended to shrink the rider gradually down to microscopic size within a snowflake, then further to view a water molecule in the flake, then finally to the point where one could see the throbbing nucleus of a single oxygen atom, with electrons zooming all around. The attraction was replaced by Star Tours in 1986 and is now the site of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.

 

Swiss Family Treehouse (1962–1999): Treehouse based on the film Swiss Family Robinson. Rethemed as Tarzan’s Treehouse in 1999.

 

Rocket to the Moon (1955–1966): Inside a building under a tall futuristic-looking rocket ship, the audience sat in seats around central viewing screens (top and bottom of the center of the room) so that they could see where they were going as they headed away from Earth and towards other worlds. As actual flight to the Moon became more likely, the ride was refurbished Flight to the Moon, a refurbished version of Rocket to the Moon with a mission control pre-show. The ride became obsolete as the United States sent actual manned flights to the Moon between 1969 and 1972, and it was refurbished as Mission to Mars, An updated version of Flight to the Moon, simulating a spaceflight to Mars instead of the Moon. The attraction building is now the site of Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port, a space-themed restaurant.

 

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It’s a well known fact that there are some creepy Disneyland urban legends. One of those legends is that the park is haunted by various ghosts, including the ghost of Walt Disney himself.

 

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Thanksgiving at Disneyland, 1961

 

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Disney created a color called Go Away Green. A very bland green shade you see a lot of in the park but don’t really think anything about – until now. It was created with the idea that the common eye would glaze right over it. Truth is, unless you’re looking for it, it is all too easy to just glance right past anything painted in this all-too-neutral color. No See-Um Green is actually in a lot of places. The fences, buildings, the wall around the park… And most famously, the door to the exclusive Club 33.

 

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Illuminati — The Satanic Face of Disney !!

 

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Bats Day in the Fun Park, also known as Bats Day, Goth Day, Bats Day in the Park and Bats Day Out, started in August 1999 as a joint effort between the promoters of the goth/industrial and deathrock clubs Absynthe and Release the Bats. It has become an annual three-day event taking place at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. Bats Day patrons dress in their Gothic attire for the annual visit to the park. There are other scheduled events and gatherings on this day, including a large group picture in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, group pictures at the Haunted Mansion, and a photo scavenger hunt.

 

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A dishwasher at Disneyland was busted after an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl responded to his Craigslist ad, which offered theme park tickets in exchange for sex. 27-year-old Darreck Michael Enciso responded with interest when an undercover cop posing as a 14-year-old girl contacted him online to set up a meeting. That meeting happened July 9 and Enciso was arrested. He had theme park tickets and condoms on his person. Enciso was charged with a felony attempt of a lewd act on a child, contacting a child with the intent to commit a specified sex crime and meeting a minor with the intent to engage in lewd conduct. He was fired immediately.

 

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Walt Disney’s attention to detail was legendary. He placed the garbage bins at Disneyland 25 steps away from the hot dog stall, as this was how long it took him to eat a hot dog.

 

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Some ride layouts

The Monorail

 

Indiana Jones Adventure

 

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

 

Haunted Mansion

 

Snow White’s Scary Adventures

 

Space Mountain

 

Splash Mountain

 

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The first employee death at Disneyland took place in 1974. Deborah Stone was a greeter on a ride called America Sings when she got caught between a stationary wall on the ride and a moving wall. She was crushed, but not discovered until the next day. The park was closed for three days to clean up and install safety signage.

 

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In October 2004, Disneyland held a charity auction. The prize? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a part of the Haunted Mansion attraction by being “interred” as the honorary “1000th Ghost” to occupy the Haunted Mansion. The winner was Cary “Jay” Sharp, a doctor and medical lawyer who placed the winning bid of $37,400. Sharp was given a special midnight “burial” at Disneyland Park on the porch of the Haunted Mansion, at which time his tombstone, which now rests inside the attraction’s graveyard segment in front of the ghostly band, was unveiled.

 

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In 1999, my family visited Disneyland. We happily rode the Small World ride. I was 12 at the time and my sister was 6. We loved every moment and our parents smiled with nostalgia. At one time near the end, some lights suddenly shut off and rear lights illuminated the ceiling. The moving display parts shut off and crew members wearing red overalls walked along them to help passengers in the boats onto the stages to direct them out of the building via emergency exits. A voice came over the loudspeakers. “Disneyland thanks you for your visit. Please evacuate the attraction in an orderly fashion.” The staff wouldn’t tell us much as they quickly ushered us out of the building. Ambulances were outside and a police car was parked in the main walkway. At the time, my mother still had her camera out and snapped a few last-minute photos of whatever to use up the last of the roll of film. This was the last photo on the reel, aimed at the ceiling at the attraction.

 

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Turn away now if you believe in magic! Stunning photographs go behind the scenes at Disneyland.

The red eyes of the Abominable Snowman in the Matterhorn ride

 

The mechanics that keep the Jungle Cruise in motion.

 

Seen from behind: Animatronic pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

The poles holding up the ‘ghosts’ in the Haunted Mansion reveals them as nothing more than puppets.

 

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A mobile phone video allegedly shows Disneyland’s White Rabbit getting a little too personal with a 14-year-old girl. The 30-second video was filmed by Manuel Carlos. It shows his daughter Alexis pulling on the tail of the White Rabbit. Mr Carlos laughs as his other daughter Jocelyn, 14, also takes a turn. The rabbit then follows Jocelyn pinning her up against a fence. Jocelyn told ABC 10 the rabbit held her by the arm and neck. “He told me, ‘Don’t you ever do that again or I will call security, and tell your stupid friend to stop doing it too’,” Jocelyn told ABC 10. In the video someone can be heard yelling “Hey you get off her”. The rabbit then says, “Don’t even start your shit with me”. In a statement, Disneyland said: “This seems to be a blatant attempt by a lawyer to generate publicity for a case that has no merit. If anything, all this video shows is a family of misbehaving guests deliberately provoking a character for their own malicious amusement.” Disneyland’s White Rabbit is already the subject of a lawsuit after claims the character refused to hug African American children.

 

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Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer Island! An exciting land of adventure! See th- Wait, they removed that. OK then, ride- Oh, there are no rides. Well, you can dine in th- No restaurants. There are absolutely no reasons to visit Tom Sawyer Island. You can blame this one on the hippies–back when they invaded the island in the 70s. On the 6th of August, 1970, about 300 members of the Young International Party (Yippies) descended upon Disneyland. After taking over Castle Rock on Tom Sawyer’s Island, the hippies hoisted the Viet Cong flag. Then these new communist citizens of the new country of Tom Sawyer’s Island marched down Main Street USA and harassed the marching band while sarcastically singing the theme to the Mickey Mouse Club. In response, Disneyland called in the riot cops. Fights broke out between the Yippies and the police — one eyewitness account describes a girl with her “head split open, blood dripping all over her face”– as children everywhere were mentally scarred for life at the sight of Mickey Mouse passively watching an intense and violent beating. Up until that day, Disneyland had had plans to develop Tom Sawyer’s Island into a new “Land” with thrill and dark rides, but this incident caused them to change their policy and leave the Island as uninteresting as possible in order to discourage visitors with ambitions.

 

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Theme songs

Sparks ‘Mickey Mouse’

Eyes ‘Disneyland’

Nero’s Day at Disneyland ‘Mascara Running Everywhere’

Fat White Family ‘Bomb Disneyland’

Tiermodus ‘It’s a Small World’ (Disneyland cover)

Boyd Rice and Friends ‘Disneyland Can Wait’

 

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I am a Disneyland freak. I’m such an afficionado, I want to be burried there. I love cruising around the park and noticing all the little details. However, the greatest detail I’ve ever found is a dark one… an EVIL one. Take a look at this photo, taken from the parking structure down to the road below.

 

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p.s. Hey. ** Dominik, Hi, D!!! Thanks, yeah, it’s exciting. Sure, I intend to read ‘White’ eventually. I’m just … a little wary, what with all the noise there was around it. Well, your love helped … maybe? It was quite painful and lengthy — Dentist (afterwards): ‘Maybe I should have given you more novocaine.’ — but I did go straight to work without a problem, and, as never ceases to amaze US citizen me, the whole operation only cost me 8 euros! So, I’ll attribute those aspects to your love’s interventions, thank you! Love watching this interview with Scotty Clarke and falling confusedly in love, G. ** David Ehrenstein, Thank you. ** _Black_Acrylic, Us too, on the mini-heatwave front, which is supposed to die out tonight on our end, please dear god, and yours too, at the latest, I pray. ** David, Hi. Well, I could wander down to this thing they do in Paris every summer that they call ‘Le Plage’ which involves dumping some sand and beach chairs and a few cabanas on the walkway along the Seine but I don’t think it will take my mind off of anything else, alas. But thanks! ** Florian-AF, Hi, pal. Thank you for the link to your youtube channel. You can bet I’ll be all over that. Everyone, The superb artist Florian Ayala Fauna has a YouTube channel loaded with ‘weird video art stuff’ she’s made, and her work is brilliant and spooky and many other things if you don’t know it, and I can highly recommend a foray. Here. ** T, Hi, T. Great, yes, an amazing label, an amazing guy. Coincidentally, I love that Pita track too to the point that it’s the sound and basis of a scene in Zac Farley’s and my first film ‘Like Cattle Towards Glow’. How’s stuff on your end? The root canal was a big drag for the duration, but today I seem rain-right again. ** Jeff J, Hi, Jeff! I’m so, so sorry about your dad. Having lost mine, I think I know something of the depths and shock of that loss. I’m happy to Skype whenever, of course. But your slow recovery is certainly understandable. So sorry. Peter’s death is still a total, bewildering, and terrible shock. I still kind of can’t believe it. No, there was no confirmed date for the class visit, but I’ll go find the email now. Looking forward to that! Just being in LA in general and seeing friends was a big highlight since it had been so long. Making some progress on the new film with our producer there was good. A kind of general highlight. Oh, you know how it is: the book coming out is mostly just very stressful, a worried blur of excitement and dread. Love to you, my friend. ** Steve Erickson, Hi. No, the decision has been made to end the label. It was 100% Peter’s. There are some last releases he was working on that will get released. There’s talk/hope of selling the backlist/archive to another label to keep everything in print. I’m not a huge Lorde fan, but I’m certainly curious to read your take. Everyone, Steve has written an overview of the work of Lorde for Trouser Press, and you can read it here. ** Damien Ark, Hi, Damien. Oh, man, homelessness is hard. I hope you find a home ASAP. But dude, knock it the fuck off with that 27 club thing. That’s terrible to read and to have to start to worry about. Power through this rough part, man. There’s always a way, and the way out will historicise this period quickly. Lots of love and strength from me. ** Corey Heiferman, Glad you were interested. Yeah, Peter was a great and important friend and guy. Well, disbelieving in generalisations as I do, the Americans I call comrades and/or close buds can be pretty circuitous and subtle on the emotional front.  I’m not interested in standardised definitions of emotional states like happy or sad or whatever. That’s a perfect example of how language is completely inadequate and ultimately just a dumbing down device. So my characters don’t tend to see those extremes as viable landing points for their emotions, no. Bon day! ** Okay. I just felt like celebrating Disneyland, and, when I realised that the park’s 70th anniversary is a mere four years in the future, it seemed like a good enough excuse. See you tomorrow.