My Trip to the 2011 D23 Expo - TR Complete!

[skiingfast]

Wow tons of pictures. Did you ever put your camera down or just keep shooting the whole time?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Alison - another GREAT update. Carsland looks like it will be brilliant and finally transform DCA to a destination!

Can't wait to see it in real life.

Shut up

(and yes, I was on the wrong thread)

That's what you get for doing the laundry!

Wow tons of pictures. Did you ever put your camera down or just keep shooting the whole time?

She must have put the camera down in between taking notes.

 

[Wonder2008]

Thank you for all of those pictures of Cars Land. It looks huge, and I really hope I can go to California when all of this opens.

Robert

 

[franandaj]

Love it Alison!!

Thanks!

I leave for a week to visit family in Oregon and I'm a million pages behind. So sorry to hear about your car, but I'm glad you're all OK.

The auction prices were scary! Love the Peter Pan vehicle and the Ghosts.

My nieces are going to love the Dream, their parents are doomed to have to take the whole family on the Dream or Fantasy after they get a taste of it. The pictures look awesome. Less than 2 months to go, I'm so ready for this trip.

We've decided to use up a SWA credit over the Columbus Day weekend and fly to Las Vegas and drive out to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. That will cross another item off the bucket list.

You are going to love your trips! That sounds like so much fun! We'll have to say "hi" at the Poly before you set sail, how exciting! And to get to the Grand Canyon! I've been there, but it was a bus tour and we only stopped for a few minutes. I'd like to get back and stay awhile.

Wow tons of pictures. Did you ever put your camera down or just keep shooting the whole time?

This! \/ \/ \/

Ali
She must have put the camera down in between taking notes.

Alison - another GREAT update. Carsland looks like it will be brilliant and finally transform DCA to a destination!

Can't wait to see it in real life.

I hope that it starts to soft open (preferrably on days when the So Cal passholders are blocked) so that I can sneak in before the official opening. Next summer DCA is going to be mobbed. Perhaps I can get on Star Tours then!

Thank you for all of those pictures of Cars Land. It looks huge, and I really hope I can go to California when all of this opens.

Robert

It's going to be a great addition to DCA! Hopefully the new Buena Vista Street will be just as cool!

 

[dgbg100106]

DH and I will have to go back to DL soon. It has been years. Flights are just so cheap for us to WDW.

 

[franandaj]

Next up was Jennifer Mock

Her area of specialty was landscaping. If you have even paid attention at a Disney park, you know how much thought and care that they put into the landscaping of an area. There were a few challenges that they had to face. While Anaheim is a pretty dry climate, they are trying to depict an area with an even more dry climate. The plants have to be believable as desert plants, but they also need to be able to thrive in Southern California.

The other thing that they tried to do was really make sure that each character’s home / shop really reflected that character. Tow Mader’s yard needs to be a mess. Also they wanted to provide a lot of shaded areas for the guests, but still needed the place to feel like Radiator Springs, so they couldn’t really do it with big shady trees.

Sarge has flat top shrubs, and there is an olive tree from the Disneyland Hotel which is being groomed to sit outside his place.

This is Lizzy’s Place, but I missed whatever they said about it in my notes.

Flo’s is inspired by Palm Springs.

I don’t remember (nor did I catch it in my notes), but this is an example of the care and thought that they put into the different textures of all the plants that they used in each of the various venues.

Luigi’s is like an Italian Garden, notice the tire related topiaries and accents

Earlier I mentioned about making Anaheim a Desert. They talked quite a bit about this and they purchased over 500 different cacti to help accomplish this feat. Evidently this poor gal went all over So Cal visiting various specialty nurseries. She went from Santa Paula to Sylmar and all sorts of other places looking for just the right plant life. This is mainly for the plants that will be found on the base of Carsland.

Ornament Valley will have a slightly different feel. They decided on Conifers for this region of the new land.

Next up was Roger Gould who is a Pixar Animator

The part of the presentation that he covered was the story, the characters and how this all fits into this new place called Carsland. This slide is really blurry, but I think I can make sense of it for you. The deal is that to make each ride believable you have to have a valid story. This timeline represents the storyline of Cars. On the far left we have the first movie, I guess there was a Cars 1½ and then most recently Cars 2 came out. Evidently most of Carsland takes place after the 2nd movie. However, the Radiator Springs Racers takes place in the first movie.

Now I haven’t seen the second movie, and they gave us a spoiler in the presentation letting us know about something I didn’t, that changes Carsland itself and it’s reality. With some of the upcoming slides, I’ll explain more about the stuff that was created specifically for Carsland that has not been explained through any of the movies.

So you’ve seen Flo’s place before, but as a TS location, they needed more space for people to eat, as shown here there is only room for cars.

So Radiator Springs has gotten busy and business has gotten better, so there has been an add on to the building to accommodate all the overflow customers.

And something that many of us might not know, but Flo was in a “girl band” back in the day.

I didn’t catch a lot about Ramon’s back story, but here are some of the pictures of his body shop

My slide is too blurry, but the paint system in his shop is the “World o Color” paint system

Luigi has a picture of his parents on the wall of his shop

There is even a picture of his beloved Popemobile

 

[franandaj]

DH and I will have to go back to DL soon. It has been years. Flights are just so cheap for us to WDW.

It's kind of the opposite for us since we don't even have to fly, but I would reccomend planning a visit in two years or so. Give Carsland a bit to settle down. Or at least wait until fall of next year, but we wouldn't want it to cut into your F&W trips!

Especially since next year, I'll have to live vicariously through everyone else's reports.

 

[franandaj]

[Radiator Springs Reality Wrap Up]


So in researching for Carsland they traveled along Route 66, and they hired this guy to take them around to all the hot spots. This market pictured here, might be the place that everyone stops at to ask if it is Ramon’s place. This thing I found most amusing was in the lower right hand photo, the guy is obviously talking about and pointing at something, but if you notice none of the imagineers are paying any attention to him!

This next shot inspired the loading area for Radiator Springs Racers

This is a bad picture, but you remember Stanley who had a monument in the town? He founded Radiator Springs. He found the spring, and founded the town nearby. He decided to stay and sell water and radiator caps to cars in need. He had a gimmick that if he didn’t have the cap, it was Free!

I think this was the area where the spring was supposedly located.

Here is where cars can get their water (this will all be part of the queue).

This is another one of the buildings that will be in the queue, I believe it is the radiator cap display

Next up was the Animatronics that you will find throughout Carsland

Of Course you would expect Lightning McQueen and Mader to be Present in Carsland

And you remember these loveable guys

There will be dozens of Audio Animatronic figures throughout Carsland, and the people at Imagineering are busily engaged in creating all of them.

Mac has already been installed in the queue for RSR and he will talk to you (I imagine similar to Mr Potato Head) as you travel through the line.

I’m guessing that Lightning McQueen will also be in the queue.

Now this was the end of the Radiator Springs Reality part of the presentation, but it’s sure nice to be John Lasseter. Evidently back in 1978 (and either a year before or after) he worked as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise. This is a period in his life for which he has no photos, so he is making an appeal out there to anyone who may have a photo of him from that time in his youth. If someone is able to provide a picture of John as the skipper on a Jungle Cruise boat, he will bring that person to the opening day ceremonies at Carsland. So those of you who visited Disneyland in that year, check your pictures! You never know, you could be going to the opening ceremonies.

This photo was taken of him several years ago, and he pointed out that this was not the same uniform that he wore when we was originally a skipper!

So that wraps up the Radiator Springs Reality portion of the Expo. One more seminar left until it’s over!

 

[dgbg100106]

It's kind of the opposite for us since we don't even have to fly, but I would reccomend planning a visit in two years or so. Give Carsland a bit to settle down. Or at least wait until fall of next year, but we wouldn't want it to cut into your F&W trips!

Especially since next year, I'll have to live vicariously through everyone else's reports.

I am so behind on posting my PTR... next on my list of things to catch up on!

 

[dgbg100106]

Alison, I am so jealous you got a scrollie....

 

[franandaj]

I am so behind on posting my PTR... next on my list of things to catch up on!

I can't wait your last trip and your F&W trip is coming very soon!

Alison, I am so jealous you got a scrollie....

I know I can't believe it! I remembered exactly when I made the comment about the pants (reminising back to when *tight* dittos were in style), but it took me over an hour searching all my posts, to figure out where the scrollie came from! I'm fairly pleased with it!

 

[dgbg100106]

I can't wait your last trip and your F&W trip is coming very soon!



I know I can't believe it! I remembered exactly when I made the comment about the pants (reminising back to when *tight* dittos were in style), but it took me over an hour searching all my posts, to figure out where the scrollie came from! I'm fairly pleased with it!

I am so Happy for you.

 

[bangzoom6877]

You can do it Bonnie! It's not that bad. I'm sure it's a little worse for you being so close and all, but millions of people have been doing it safely. Pretty soon we won't even have to take our shoes off any more!

OK, I know I technically can do it...and I know that rationally, it is extremely safe. It's just one of those things for me I guess. When we were engaged, DH had to really convince me to book our honeymoon in the Bahamas, because I didn't want to fly. Ultimately, he didn't mind if I would have decided I didn't want to fly, but we did book it and I came to terms with it...especially since it wasn't a long flight. Then September 11th happened, a little over 2 months before our wedding. And I panicked and was very scared. I told DH that I didn't want to be nervous all day at our wedding just because I knew I had to fly the next day, and I also didn't want to be nervous on the honeymoon knowing I had to fly home. (Yes, I am that neurotic!) He completely understood given the circumstances especially, and we cancelled. It was early enough to get our deposit back too, and we re-booked at a couples' resort in the Poconos (it was owned by Caesars at the time). We had a fantastic honeymoon, and we met a lot of other honeymoon couples that did the same thing...had a honeymoon planned that involved flying but then changed plans. And it was a good thing we did change...a week before our wedding, a plane crashed a few miles from where we live, near the beach. I would have been a complete basket case if I had to fly the week after that one.

I did manage to fly to Europe with my sister in 1996, and I never thought I would be able to bring myself to do that long a flight. When my sister asked me about going to Europe, I couldn't pass up that opportunity. I was picturing her coming back from Europe and telling me all about it, and totally regretting it if I didn't go. That was key in my decision, and I was always so glad I went! Besides that, the only flights I have been on were from NYC to Florida (several times) and once from NYC to San Juan, PR for a cruise. At least on a trans-continental flight, you're over land the whole time...for some reason that makes me feel a *bit* safer.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Boy! Carsland better live up to all this hype. I'm practically salivating to go!

 

[dgbg100106]

Boy! Carsland better live up to all this hype. I'm practically salivating to go!

I agree, but I think I will take the advice and wait awhile before I go.

 

[Leshaface]

Your presentation of Carsland made me even MORE excited to go now!!! I can't imagine how crazy busy it's going to be. Will you be trying to go for the opening?!

 

[franandaj]

OK, I know I technically can do it...and I know that rationally, it is extremely safe. It's just one of those things for me I guess.

I know you can get over it! You want to come out here and see everything, or just make sure the boys are old enough and drug yourself!

Boy! Carsland better live up to all this hype. I'm practically salivating to go!

I agree, but I think I will take the advice and wait awhile before I go.

I know, I think it's going to be really cool. John Lasseter and his team have put a lot of thought into this one. I mean look how popular TSMM is! But yeah you won't find me in DCA next summer!

Your presentation of Carsland made me even MORE excited to go now!!! I can't imagine how crazy busy it's going to be. Will you be trying to go for the opening?!

I will only go to soft opening stuff and AP Preview kind of things. I have no desire to get stuck in huge lines and crowds. We were at DL on Labor Day and Star Tours was out of FPs by noon, so that tells you how nuts these Southern Californians are!

 

[franandaj]

The Radiator Springs Reality panel got out around 2:30ish and for a little I hung out in the hall next to an outlet charging my phone. I was thinking it might be nice to go back to the lounge, or something relaxing. After about 10 minutes, Fran joined up with me and said, “So shall we see if there is a line for the Disneyland Retrospective in Film?” Yippie another 3 hours in line in that refrigerator room. Woohoo! Just what I was looking forward to!

So we trekked off to find the end of the line. The Making of Star Tours started at 3:30, and they had not yet begun loading that room (we decided not even to try for that one, but I heard others were able to get in after Carsland), so the line for Vintage Disneyland was wrapped all around the hallways. I was sure we weren’t going to get in, and after about 20 minutes in the foyer, they finally started to load us into the rooms. I asked if we had any chance in getting in and the CM told me that they were not yet “into standby” so we decided to wait it out.

Once we were placed in our location, our scooters were pretty much “locked into place” we were smack in the middle of a row and turning around would have been difficult at best, and then we would have needed to mow down all the people sitting on the ground. Fran decided just to wait there and read her book. I still had to go pick up the artwork she had purchased earlier so I had to hoof it. I can’t believe how much walking that involved! Down three huge floors on the escalators through the show floor…well I’ll spare you the details. I took the package back to the lounge (they had a bag check service and we had a reception after the show closed), and had a drink. Then I headed back to the refrigerator to wait. With the battery on my phone running incredibly low, it was boring, but I managed to keep myself from falling asleep. Around 5:15 they started to load us into the room. This time we didn’t worry about how close we were sitting. We have sat through at least 3 other showings of Vintage Disney footage and really didn’t expect much new. Luckily I was wrong.

When we arrived in the room they were showing random clips on the screen. I will apologize in advance for the blurriness of some of these photos, but all of these were snipped from live action footage, none of these were stills and the film was almost continually rolling, so snapped the pics as often as I could. I didn’t take any notes here, because it didn’t lend itself to that kind of reporting.

So as I mentioned scenes were playing on the screen when we entered the room, so I just started snapping away. I’m not sure where this is, but my guess it that might be the Autopia being built in the background. This could be the lagoon for the 20,000 leagues under the sea.

I love these pictures with Walt, he was always in the park and loved children

Now I know this one is blurry, but notice how the women are all dressed in their Sunday finest, the woman in the auto has a feathered hat and parasol. I’m guessing she is not a character.

This is a famous actress who I’m too young to recognize

I can’t resist a picture of a band and this is the only one where the trombone slides are not completely blurry!

Now the reason I said a few pictures back that the woman couldn’t be a character is that back then they looked like this!

Mr. Toad’s Ride has certainly come a long way!

And who could forget the Mouseketeers

So once they finally got everyone seated and settled down, Tony Baxter came out on the stage.

To present

For the next hour Tony and another gentleman who spent all night gathering the film footage for us entertained us with all sorts of tidbits. The first thing that we watched was a 15 minute “documentary” on the building of Disneyland which was aired in movie houses as a promotional tool prior to the opening of the park. It has one of those stale 1950s narrators telling us all about what we were seeing. I believe these were monkeys for the Jungle Cruise.

And a lion

I’m not sure if you can make this out, but for the natives, they actually made a plaster of paris mold of a man. Only his head was sticking out, this was pretty insane!

These were the train cars being built, and I believe they said that they were actually built by a company who made actual trains somewhere in LA.

And of course the engine

I had thought that they bought the horses from defunct Merry go Rounds, but maybe this is how they were polishing them up.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

The Autopia cars

The boats for the Jungle Cruise, all these vehicles were built at different Southern California manufacturing locations.

This would have been amusing to see on the Freeways in 1955. I don’t remember what was inside these crates, but I’m sure it looked funny! For anyone local that is the 101 and that's City Hall in Downtown. The other building in front of it is still there too.

Here is opening Day at Disneyland….for those who were there, kinda reminds you of the lines at the Expo, eh?

Walt preparing to board the train

Can you imagine crowds like this today?

And Frontierland looks so …..Frontierlike!

My how things have changed!

Now Walt was a great businessman. He decided having an Indian Village would be a great idea. So he made them build it!

Here is the Columbia being assembled.

Evidently this guy just loved to climb up into the rigging of the ships, his family business did all the building and maintenance for Disneyland. He had other contracts, but his favorite was when he got to climb around like this. OSHA would have had a field day!

Christening of the Columbia

I think that this is Admiral Joe Fowler who built much of DL and MK, or I could be mistaken. I think he is the one in the foreground, not sure who the military man in the left of the picture is.

And this is the (what do you call this ride? Jeez how quick the memory goes) it used to go through the Matterhorn and started over near Autopia. Both DL and WDW lost their versions of the ride. But evidently it was kept running while the construction was going on. Tony Baxter thought this was hilarious, notice no fences! Disney construction without fences!

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[DisneyFirefly]

That's the Skyway, dear.