MR. TOAD'S WILD RIDE

       I know there are so many people out there that miss this attraction in Walt Disney World.  Even though the show scenes were merely  plywood cutouts with paint, the layout and perspective of the scenes excited the senses. The seemingly randomness of the experience added a element of fun and adventure.  Not to mention the two track layout which also added a sense of disorientation inside the attraction.

       One problem for families with children was there was only one steering wheel in the ride vehicle since it was a car.  Which I am sure created many a temper tantrum of one child getting to "drive" the car and the other being a passenger. I remember hating not having the steering wheel in front of me to spin crazily to no avail.  At one point in time to alleviate crowd issues a back seat was added to the original two seat ride vehicles.  With this new ride vehicle there was another steering wheel added probably because of the fights in the queue over who got to drive

Two seat Mr. Toad vehicle with dual steering wheels

         This was and opening day attraction at the Magic Kingdom and lasted until September 7th, 1998.  A year later on June 5th, 1999 The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh opened in place of the beloved Mr. Toad.  The closing of this attraction was met with much fan uprising after the sudden closing of 20,000 Leagues.  At least the original attraction is still operating in Disneyland, which I hope will stay to help us "Disney World" people remember what we once had in our own Fantasyland.

25th Anniversary Castle

    For the 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World in 1996 Cinderella castle had a wrap that included inflatable elements which resembled a birthday cake.  Many guests expressed malice towards this deformation of Cinderella Castle, but it was a part of the history of the Magic Kingdom now.  Here are some pictures to either relish in the grandeur of, or despise the existence of the cake castle.  Most of these pictures are from the Skyway so you can not hate on them too much. Enjoy!

You do not see this everyday

Not all of the castle was wrapped

Drinking on Top of The World

    Here is a couple recipes for drinks that were able to be purchased at the Top of The World lounge which was located at the Contemporary Resort.  These recipes are found in this Walt Disney World cookbook that was published in 1986.  


       There were a few monorail drinks that were very popular among guests.  Multiple combinations of  juices and different liquors were available as the different monorail colors.  For example; the monorail pink has gin as the liquor mixed with various juices, syrups, and also included heavy whipping cream.  Monorail red includes tequila, and monorail yellow has rum.  These are all blended drinks as well. Try them at home and let me know what you think!  And let me know what other recipes you would like to see.  Just remember that these are from the 70's and 80's  so you are not going to find anything from Fulton's Crab House because it was the Empress Lilly back then.  Thanks for reading!

Mickey testing out some libations

Splash Mountain construction

     Here are a couple of photos from the Magic Kingdom of Splash Mountain being constructed.  This attraction soft opened on July 17th, 1992.  With a dedication ceremony commencing on October 2nd of that year which signified the official opening.  There was a twelve year gap between Splash Mountain's opening and the last major new attraction to grace the Magic Kingdom. The last attraction to open was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on November 8th, 1980.  This attraction completed this side of Frontierland, which remained largely undeveloped before 1980.  There was a Marc Davis deigned attraction that was to be a multi faceted experience which was going to be called the Western River Expedition.  That is a whole story unto itself.  The construction of Splash Mountain necessitated that the Frontierland Train Station be demolished and for a while there were only two stops which included Main Street USA and Mickey's Starland (as it was called at the time).  

Ward Kimball

   I came across this article in an old Disney magazine issue, and was inclined to share it with everybody.  I was perusing this particular magazine because it was issued about 10 years ago.  Soon after Wards death on July 8th 2002.  I will let Charles Solomon, the author of this article, tell you about Ward Kimball.  Open this in a separate window to view full size.

Polynesian Pools of The Past

      Granted the refurbished volcano pool at the Polynesian Resort is still relatively new,  these pictures of the old pool were taken in the late 80's.  The volcano pool was remodeled in 2001, which at that time got rid of the deep end of the pool.  I was a big fan of being able to actually swim in pool on Disney property.  Now all the pools that I know of have a max depth of less than six feet.  This pool used to have a max depth of 9' 6", and the other pool at the Poly had a max depth of 8'.  Now the other "adult pool" has a max depth of less than 5'.  There are a couple reasons that I can think of to remove said deep ends of pools. Either because of insurance liabilities, or not having to pay lifeguards to be on duty. 

      The other round pool used to be a quiet place for adults to relax and sunbathe with all the children at the volcano pool or swimming in the lagoon.  Now that pool is pretty much a kiddie pool as well there is not that area for the adults.  Even when we used to swim there as children we had to keep it mellow for the sake of the other people enjoying their time as well.  If we wanted to roughhouse and be crazy, our parents would send us to the volcano pool.   The last time I was staying at the Poly, which was over the 40th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom, the round pool was as much of a madhouse as the volcano pool.  I do miss the days when Disney actually catered to adults as well as children.  Either it is cost cutting or the fact that Disney knows us adults will come back because of our memories of how awesome it used to be.  One more thing, why does the Poly not have a hot tub?  My rant is over, thanks for reading!

Old volcano pool from the deep end of the pool

Overview of the pool area in its former glory

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The "adult" pool in it's former glory

   Gra

Backlot Tour at Night

     I am not exactly sure when the last time that the Studio Backlot Tour Trams pulled guests around the "backlot" of Disney's MGM Studios at night. I do know it was well before the name change to Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008. Here are some pics of the tour at night around 1990.  Check the Dick Tracy cars and the Flight of the Navigator ship.  Catastrophe Canyon was such a cool experience at night.  Also there is one pic of Residential Street. Enjoy.