This is going to be a bit of a convoluted post, but if you bear with me, I think youll get a chuckle or two out of it. Here goes
After recently having spent quite a bit of time sorting through photos from this summers vacation, I thought it was time to give my eyes a much deserved break. Since I had been itching to catch up on the
GF FAQ thread, I turned my attention to it and began reading the pages where I had left off earlier this summer.
At the end of June, DisneyEG had asked a question about the photo of the Grand Floridian that was found on the official WDW website:
click here. DisneyEG wanted to know what building that was in the photo. The answer to the question, of course, was that it was the Main Building, but TammiMcMan put an interesting spin on things with her response:
"They've definitely done some photo shop magic to the picture though, as that's not how it's set up on the property. It does look like you'd walk out the back door and be standing on the beach, but in fact, through that exit, there's a pathway that leads to the theme pool and then to the beach."
Since I had been spending so much time with my photos, I remembered seeing some that had been taken from the water. I sifted through those photos and found one that was taken with an angle that was similar to the photo on Disneys website:
click here.
When I viewed my photo side-by-side with Disneys photo, it didnt look like any Photoshop magic had been done. It looked like Disney was simply using a photo from quite a few years ago. A photo that had been taken before the Summerhouse had been put in place and before the Beach Pool had been built.
To see if my hunch was correct, I set off in search of some old Grand Floridian photos. Since my older photos of the resort were actual photographs and not electronic images (plus, I had no idea what closet they were gathering dust in), I turned to the Internet in my quest. It was time to let my fingers do the walking.
It wasnt long before I had found quite a few photos. The vast majority of the photos, however, had been taken within the past couple of years (the early 2000s). In the photos that had been taken in the late 1980s or early 1990s, well, their images were too tiny, bitwise, to really see much of anything except for the resorts main building. I could never determine with any degree of certainly whether or not the Summerhouse was missing in those photos.
Youre probably wondering why it was important for me to find photos in which the Summerhouse was missing, arent you? Well, I once read that the Summerhouse was added after the Grand Floridian had opened. Since I never knew whether or not that story was true, I tried to find a website that would corroborate it for me. As hard as I tried, though, I couldnt find one. Information about the Summerhouse was extremely scarce.
So that is when my quest turned to locating as many old resort photographs as I could find, in particular, photographs that had been taken from the beach area. My fingers furiously pounded away on the computer keyboard, hunting and pecking their way through the Internet.
I soon found the photo that was used on the official WDW website:
click here. Again, the Summerhouse wasnt seen in that photo, and even the patio area looked different, but as I looked at it, my eyes were drawn to the palm trees. The trees in the patio area werent quite two-stories tall yet. I dont know how quickly palm trees grow (and I dont even know if the palm trees in that photo are still in existence today), but the palm trees in the photo that I had taken during my August of 2005 vacation were definitely much taller:
click here. Some of the palm trees in my photo were four-stories tall.
As I continued to look for old resort photos, I found some that were taken from unusual vantage points:
click here. And others that showed the old beach area:
click here. It was fun for me to reminisce about the resort since my familys first vacation there was quite a few years ago. I especially liked viewing the beach photographs since I remembered how expansive that beach was.
My quest eventually led me to an interesting webpage:
click here. It showed an old photograph of the resort that had been taken from the beach. The photos caption mentioned that an old Beach Boys music video had been filmed at that location around the time of the resorts opening. An old Beach Boys video had been filmed there?
Huh?
A quick search of the Internet gave me a link to the Beach Boys video for the song Kokomo:
click here for the music video on VH1, or
click here for the music video on MTV. (Note: Commercial will play before music video begins.)
I clicked on the link and the music video began to play on my computer. It wasnt long before I saw the Grand Floridian come into view. I was floored at the sight of it. Why on earth would the Beach Boys film a music video at the resort? It made no sense to me, especially since the song was about tropical islands. What did that have to do with Walt Disney World?
In the video I noticed that the resorts windows were dark. That made me wonder when the video had been filmed. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find that answer but it was nowhere to be found. I was eventually forced to make an uneducated guess that the video was probably filmed prior to the resorts opening on June 28, 1988. That would account for the windows being dark during a nighttime filming session. Plus, since the movie was released on July 29, 1988, and most music videos are released to coincide with the release of their movies, it probably meant that the Beach Boys video had been filmed prior to July 29th. How much prior to that date was anyones guess, but it was safe to say at least a couple of weeks. That would potentially put the filming of the music video into the June timeframe when the resort was still closed to the general public. At least that was my guess (and if I ever find the answer, I promise I will post it here).
While I was trying to find the music videos release date, I discovered some interesting facts. For example, the song Kokomo was the Beach Boys biggest-selling hit ever. That surprised me. I would have thought a song from earlier in their career would have been their biggest seller. I also discovered that the song had been featured on the soundtrack for "Cocktail," a Touchstone Pictures movie. Since Touchstone Pictures was a film division of The Walt Disney Company, it suddenly dawned on me why the music video had been filmed in Walt Disney World.
Another surprising thing that I had learned during my research was that the actor John Stamos had actually toured with the Beach Boys in the mid-1980s. I knew he was a fan of the group, but I didnt know that he had actually toured with them. Even more surprising was the fact that he had actually appeared in the Kokomo music video. He had appeared in the video?
What?
I quickly went back and replayed the
Kokomo music video to see if I could spot John Stamos in it. It wasnt long before I spied him. He was wearing a pink tank top and white pants as he played the drums. If I hadnt seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed it.
So, I may not have discovered whether or not Disney was using a Photoshoped photo of the Grand Floridian on their website, but I did discover that the Beach Boys (and John Stamos) had filmed a music video on the shores of my favorite resort many moons ago. I couldnt ask for a better consolation prize.
I hope to do it again soon on my dime!!
The concierge staff were waiting for us, looking at us over the concierge office balcony (we were down by the main concierge desk in the lobby, waiting for my DDs to go to the bathroom, LOL) and they knew we were in the GF due to us checking in at this main concierge desk as we were coming from YC with no luggage. They sent Katie down to bring us up, we got off the elevator on the 3rd floor and there were 2 concierge CMs, Heather & Vonnie, waiting for us. They were all smiling and told us we were going on a "Mystery Tour".....They brought us up to the 4th floor and took us down the hallway and stopped 1/2 way and I just about DIED. We have walked past those double doors so many times, and tried to peak in every time, LOL. They told us what they did for us and I cried & hugged them. It just blew me away and we felt so so special. They checked us in and all that jazz in the suite. I have the most beautiful memories of that whole thing. Now my 20th anniversary is in 2008 and I would love to return to that suite. So unbelievably special as I am a mega Walt and art fan. It was the gift of a lifetime.
)
and was wondering (I saw another thread on the Tpark board that reminded me....) if anybody knows if they do a gingerbread decorating or house building activity for kids during the Xmas season??? I know they were doing something like this last year at the Y & BC early in December as I saw signs posted around that resort. I am thinking I have 2 little girls that would LOVE it if they could do this on our trip. 
