A Magical Place at a Magical Time of Year

[annmarieda]

114 days until Disney. Two pirate skeletons are playing what game in Pirates of the Caribbean?
a.) Checkers
b.) Chess
c.) Poker
d.) Golf

B. Chess.

Just after you pass through the "thunderstorm" you are shown some crew's quarters. This is where the skeletons are playing chess.

 

[momabaarjo]

Dang....Ann beat me to the picture...my answer is B!

TOURING TIPS​

This is a classic Walt Disney attraction and should not be missed!

This is a great attraction when it's hot outside since most of the waiting queue is indoors.

There is a small drop (14 feet) in the beginning of the ride.

The turnstiles here have been updated as part of the latest rehab -- they are now the photo-electric cell type with a couple of columns that you can walk through or wheel a wheelchair through.

Hidden Mickey Alert: Treasure Room—iron work on the bottom of four lamps on the left side, one located on each of two columns and two more located on either side of the archway walls.

INTERESTING FACTS​

In the late 1950s, Walt Disney introduced the concept of a pirate adventure to his staff at Walt Disney Imagineering. Like so many other of his ideas, it was far ahead of the current technology needed to achieve the desired effects. It was not until the mid 1960s that the show moved closer to reality. Pirates of the Caribbean opened at DISNEYLAND® Park in New Orleans Square in February, 1967 and in Walt Disney World on December 15, 1973.

The flat-bottomed boats are propelled by jets of water. Lift pumps in the staging area create a current that carries the boats through the channel.

There are 4 cannons on the roof of the attraction and 15 inside. They were all manufactured by Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI).

The drawbridge at the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean is non-operational.

The waterfall may be 52 feet long, but the actual drop is only 14 feet.

"Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me)," music by George Bruns, lyrics by X. (Xavier) Atencio.

The black pirate flag, which flies just outside the entrance to the attraction, features a white skull and crossing swords. This type of flag is representative of ones flown by Caribbean pirates from the 1500s to the early 1800s and holds no additional special significance.

As of the 1700s, pirates began using flags sporting a variety of symbols to include the skeleton, flaming swords, and the hourglass. The most popular design was that of a white skull and crossbones on a black background. This symbol is known as the Jolly Roger.

Paul Frees voices many of the rogues in the attraction. Guests can also hear him as the Ghost Host in The Haunted Mansion. X. (Xavier) Atencio also lends his voice to the talking skull and crossbones (JollyRoger) that issues a warning prior to the waterfall drop in the attraction.

 

[momabaarjo]

One great pirate...

 

[annmarieda]

And did you know that the Pirates ride at DL is superior to WDW? It is one of the only things I like better... it has a more significant drop.

 

[swwake]

Haley hasn't answered yesterday's question on FB yet, so you'll have to wait a little longer.

Here's today's question:
113 days until Disney. In The American Adventure, which Audio-Animatronics figure twirls a lasso?
a.) Roy Rogers
b.) Wyatt Earp
c.) Will Rogers
d.) Ronald Reagan

Also, after Tammie posted a photo of my 2nd favorite pirate, I thought I'd share this:

and this:

That would be my husband Chris (aka Dude) at our movie-themed (thus the red carpet) New Year's Even party 2006.

 

[annmarieda]

Great pirate pictures of your dh! Mine would NEVER dress up like that.

My answer is C. Will Rogers.

 

[momabaarjo]

Mine would never dress up either Ann...I am thinking we need to get our dh's together! They sound way too much alike....

And the answer is C-Will Rogers

Here is a link to information about Will Rogers and the Disney connection.

With common Midwestern backgrounds, a warm friendship grew between Walt Disney and Will Rogers during the early days of moviedom.
During the period when he was amidst the dramatic ascent of his Hollywood career, Disney played polo at the Rogers ranch in California with Will Rogers.
During the final month of his life, Will Rogers wrote about Walt Disney in his nationally syndicated newspaper columns.
“We were all down to a mighty fine dinner they gave to Walter Disney. He is the sire and dam of that gift to the world, ‘Mickey Mouse.’”

At Walt Disney World’s Epcot, Will Rogers is included in the American Adventure as an Audio-Animatronics® figure “that is incredibly lifelike,” Lefebvre-Carter said. “Walt Disney Imagineers bring American history to life with the same pulse and personality depicted in Will Rogers.”
“The American Adventure celebrates the spirit of our nation, through the eyes and words of many great Americans – from Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain to Chief Joseph and our presidents,” said Martin A. Sklar, Executive Vice President and Imagineering Ambassador. “We wanted our story to be true, warts and all, including several Will Rogers classic witticisms. The realism Blaine Gibson captured with his sculpture, and our animators ‘brought to life’ through Audio-Animatronics®, is a true highlight of the show. No one could top Will Rogers in clear commentary through humor.”

 

[shocky5]

Is it too late to guess C - Will Rogers????

Hope to be on here more often this week!

 

[swwake]

Hi everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't been around lately. I promise to come back in the next couple of days and update, score, tally, and give a new trivia question. But I have been working on a project that is taking most of my time.

Chris's 40th birthday is Sept 16th and I am making him a surprise slide show/video montage. I am including photos and videos of Chris from birth to today. Very eclectic, and very cool.

I need to ask for suggestions from y'all. I am trying to find some music for the background. The main thing I need is music that is not sad, or sappy and not depressing, but that talks about living a great life from 0-40 and all the good that is yet to come.

At the risk of tainting your creativity, here's what I've thought of so far:
100 Years - Five for Fighting - GREAT song, but I may not use it because I used it in Katie's grad video.
A Pirate Looks at 40 - Jimmy Buffett - a little slow but appropo. Chris has an affinity for pirates and says he might have been one in a former life. Loves water, loves to sail, loves the ocean.
James Bond theme - Chris LOVES James Bond. I have a selection of him at various ages dressed in suits and tuxes that I'll use this behind.
Better Together - Jack Johnson - I'll use this for the segment about him and me dating and our marriage
I've Had the Time of My Life - from Dirty Dancing - same as above
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult - his favorite song ever, and I'll use this for the segment on Chris and Katie, because it kinda talks about a girl like Katie ("the sparkle in your eyes keeps me alive")
Getting Jiggy With It - Will Smith - this is a song that we played over and over in the boat when we were big on wakeboarding in the late 90s
Santana - Smooth - maybe for wakeboarding/sports segment, maybe for the segment with him and me together, maybe for the one with Katie
The Way You Move - Outkast - he loves this song and I have a segment on him dancing and silly photos.

Others I may or may not use:
Red Hot Chili Peppers (one of his favorite bands) - Higher Ground or other songs
Step On - Happy Mondays - one of his faves from when we met
Bittersweet - Big Head Todd and the Monsters ("our song", but lyrics a bit depressing at the end, I may cut it off)
Love Song - the Cure
No Excuses - Alice in Chains - one of his favorites from the grunge era
Pearl Jam - one of our favorites - he always used to scream Evenflow at the top of his lungs
T.A.T.U. - All the Things She Said - I hate this band of freaky lesbian sisters or whatever, but he used to play the CD all the time and loved them. I probably won't use this.
Beastie Boys - Intergalactic - another wakeboarding song

Any other great ideas from the peanut gallery?

And, speaking of Katie's grad video, I want to share that with y'all. The password is Katie2010. Here's the link. I love this video and it makes me cry.

http://vimeo.com/12304282

 

[annmarieda]

I understand life getting busy. And a big birthday party is sure to take up some time. His birthday... is my wedding anniversary. And...I am not help with songs....

 

[FosterA]

That's awesome about making the video!

I don't have any great advice but I looked over the songs you listed and I just love the Dirty Dancing one!

 

[momabaarjo]

So understand how long a video takes...I did one for my grandmother on her 90th birthday a few years ago that came out so well we used it for her funeral. I was shocked how many baby/young girl pictures she had...coming from a poor family. I only used 1 song for the whole thing and looped it with the song without lyrics...Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney.

 

[swwake]

Just a quick drive by to say...

We are in DOUBLE DIGITS now! We'll be at the Hard Rock Hotel in 99 days and at the Poly in only 100 days!


Once again, I apologize for being a bad DISer. I promise to catch up one day soon. Still working on Chris's video, and we've been sidetracked the past few days with the Central Texas fires. The Steiner Ranch one is 1 mile from us as the crow flies and we watched house after house go up in flames last Sunday night.

We are all fine, but have friends of friends who have lost their homes. It's a real eye-opener in learning to be prepared, especially since we don't have hurricane threats here. We are very blessed. And my heart goes out to all of the victims of the fires. Yesterday, we helped two families by going to Goodwill and Target and buying them tons of clothes to get them back started. They lost their homes and horse stables, along with some small animals like goats and chickens (still devastating). They were lucky to get all of their horses out.

I will be back soon. Did anyone check out Katie's video that I posted that link to? I didn't make that video - paid someone to do it - and it never really got finished like I wanted - but that's ok.

 

[momabaarjo]

Susan-
My thoughts and prayers are with you down state. I so understand what you are going through...that was our spring and early summer in the Panhandle...FIRES! Hopefully we are sending you some cooler temps the next couple days...today was wonderful in the low 80s!

jealous of your double digit dance...8 more days to go!

 

[shocky5]

Susan- I hope all is well! Your hubby's birthday is the same as my hubby's birthday!! Except Eddie is going to be 42. But still cool all the same.

LOVE the songs you have picked out for the video. Another good one is Forever Young by Rod Stewart... upbeat, good message - I'm not a Rod Stewart fan but like this song... Time of Your Life by Green Day... Blessed Union of Souls has one - Peace and Love but it's more of a 'well wishes' song... David Cook has a "time of my life" song... that's all I've got off the top of my head. But looks like you have a lot to pick from or are already planning on using.

Don't you love the double digits... I'm so ready to be at the Poly.

 

[tankgirl427]

I keep forgetting to tell you.... but with the mention of the fires it reminded me.... my sister moved to Austin last summer. She's by Barton Springs. Not that I know where any of that is since I will probably never have the chance to visit her with my year of only Disney trips.

 

[swwake]

In the least detailed added detail, I was reading the Hidden Magic book which said that the game was in honor of some guy who helped develop something. Yeah I retained a lot of that knowledge!

Oooh I LOVE the Hidden Magic book. I loaned it out to a friend in Memphis. Maybe I should get it back.

Except most of the time I'm taking random guesses.

And did you know that the Pirates ride at DL is superior to WDW? It is one of the only things I like better... it has a more significant drop.

I have heard that before. I may have to check it out one of these days.

Great pirate pictures of your dh! Mine would NEVER dress up like that.

Mine would never dress up either Ann...I am thinking we need to get our dh's together! They sound way too much alike....

Oh my DH LOVES to dress up and just be wacky. There's a whole section of his video that I call "outtakes" that is of him just being silly.

Is it too late to guess C - Will Rogers????

Hope to be on here more often this week!

Never too late until I post the answers and score. In this case, it was literally DAYS!

I understand life getting busy. And a big birthday party is sure to take up some time. His birthday... is my wedding anniversary. And...I am not help with songs....

Congrats on your upcoming anniversary!!

That's awesome about making the video!

I don't have any great advice but I looked over the songs you listed and I just love the Dirty Dancing one!

Dirty Dancing got cut. In favor of "Better Together" by Jack Johnson and "Smooth" by Santana with Rob Thomas.

So understand how long a video takes...I did one for my grandmother on her 90th birthday a few years ago that came out so well we used it for her funeral. I was shocked how many baby/young girl pictures she had...coming from a poor family. I only used 1 song for the whole thing and looped it with the song without lyrics...Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney.

I had no idea it would take 14 hours for the video to process once I decided I was dome with it!! I have thoroughly enjoyed making this. I like the idea of looping, but this one ended up almost 37 minutes long - so I'm afraid we'd all be tired of the same song by then.

Susan-
My thoughts and prayers are with you down state. I so understand what you are going through...that was our spring and early summer in the Panhandle...FIRES! Hopefully we are sending you some cooler temps the next couple days...today was wonderful in the low 80s!

jealous of your double digit dance...8 more days to go!

Thanks - it has cooled off and the largest fire is now 40% contained. You will be at double digits faster than you can blink!

Susan- I hope all is well! Your hubby's birthday is the same as my hubby's birthday!! Except Eddie is going to be 42. But still cool all the same.

LOVE the songs you have picked out for the video. Another good one is Forever Young by Rod Stewart... upbeat, good message - I'm not a Rod Stewart fan but like this song... Time of Your Life by Green Day... Blessed Union of Souls has one - Peace and Love but it's more of a 'well wishes' song... David Cook has a "time of my life" song... that's all I've got off the top of my head. But looks like you have a lot to pick from or are already planning on using.

Don't you love the double digits... I'm so ready to be at the Poly.

Happy birthday to your Eddie! Thanks for the song suggestions. I considered a couple of those. Ended up picking songs that are some of his favorites and/or have special meanings and reflect on certain times of his life. Turned out really cool.

I keep forgetting to tell you.... but with the mention of the fires it reminded me.... my sister moved to Austin last summer. She's by Barton Springs. Not that I know where any of that is since I will probably never have the chance to visit her with my year of only Disney trips.

That is so cool. We were at Barton Springs this morning with the dogs for a golden retriever meet-up. I think there were 20-25 goldens. It was really cool. How does your sister like Austin?

 

[swwake]

Whew! Ok, I think I'm back. I have the video 99% finished. I am collecting 15-second video segments from several of Chris's friends, and two of them say they are still sending me videos. I went ahead and "finalized" the video in iMovie so I can share it with my sister and Katie and get their feedback. Little did I know that it will take 14 HOURS to process!!! I am now at about 8 hours and waiting, and had to set my computer's power settings to make sure it doesn't turn off when I walk away from it for awhile. If these other people come through with their videos, or if there are any MAJOR mistakes my sister, Katie and I find in our review, I'll have to process it for ANOTHER 14 hours later this week. Sure am glad I started early!

The good news is - the time waiting for our Disney trip is FLYING! So let's get back to trivia.

98 days until Disney. Guests can pilot their own miniature version of the Jungle Cruise boats in what Adventureland attraction?
a.) Shrunken Ned's Junior Jungle Boats
b.) Bwana Bob's Boats
c.) El Pirata Y El Perico
d.) Pilots of the Caribbean

And my prior questions...

Two pirate skeletons are playing what game in Pirates of the Caribbean?
a.) Checkers
b.) Chess
c.) Poker
d.) Golf

Answer: b.) Chess.
Dead men may not tell any tales, but apparently they still play chess, as evidenced by the two skeletons engaged in a stalemate chess match. You can find these two masters of their game if you peek down into one of the dungeon cells in the queue line. Pirates fans have long insisted that the chess game was set up intentionally so that the two pirates were at a stalemate, thus leading to their demise at the table. Others say that the position of the pieces would be impossible in a real chess match.

Points to tankgirl (1, plus 1 for the vague extra detail ), Ann (1, plus 1 for the photo, 1 for the details as to the location, and 1 more for noting the difference between the attractions at WDW and DL), Tammie (1, plus 2 for all the extra details and trivia and 1 more for the hot picture of Captain Jack)

Next question:

In The American Adventure, which Audio-Animatronics figure twirls a lasso?
a.) Roy Rogers
b.) Wyatt Earp
c.) Will Rogers
d.) Ronald Reagan

Answer: C.
Demonstrating the incredible advances in and realism of Disney's Audio-Animatronics technology, the Will Rogers figure can actually twirl a rope lasso.

Points to Ann (1 plus 1 for the great photo of the attraction), Tammie (1 plus 1 for the trivia), Amy (1 for correct answer)

Point tally:
Ashley - 14
Amy - 5
Ann - 27
Tammie - 32
tankgirl - 9

 

[tankgirl427]

A!

I love reading all the stories of people thinking they are driving the little boats and not realizing they have to put a quarter in it. I would probably be one of those people.

If you see some there with an old beagle/dashound mix who is as skinny as a pole its probably my sister. Not too descriptive there huh? I'm not sure how she likes it. I know she likes some movie theater that plays Breaking Bad.

From the Hidden Magic book: "Disney Legend Marc Davis has marked the attraction with his love of chess..... In keeping with the Imagineer's obsession with accuracy, Davis researches past master tournaments for a no-win outcome, and the chess pieces were correctly placed on board between the skeletons for they would appear to ponder their next move for eternity."

I read somewhere during the rehab adding Johnny Depp that they put the chess pieces in the wrong order and had to dig up the original drawings to figure out where they belonged.

I'm moving on to Mousejunkies for my newest Disney obsessed read.

 

[momabaarjo]

Answer....A Shrunken Ned's

HISTORY:
Steer a miniature boat around the waters of the jungle. Great fun when the queues for rides are long!


LOCATION:
In Adventureland at Disney Magic Kingdom. From the entrance head down Main Street to the castle. Take the first left leading past the Crystal Palace Resturant and continue on to Adventureland. Follow the path till past the Swiss Family Treehouse and go left on a path on the left leading down to this attraction.


ATTRACTION EXPERIENCE:
You will need a dollar or five dollar bill for the machines next to this attraction. Insert bill to recieve token(s). Costs 2 tokens. Nearby machines sell tokens for $1 each or $5 for 6 tokens. Then select a large wheel near the water edge. If you know which type of boat you want to drive, look for the number on the boat and then look for the same number on the stand holding the wheel. Insert token, identify boat by number, time is over when the sound stops. If you pay to use a boat that fails to work, let the nearest cast member (probably at the Jungle Cruise) know, and he or she can help. Don't let Shrunken Ned pull a fast one on you by renting you a broken ship!