We took the kids to WDW! - All done, Now Bonus features! Festival of Holidays 2/23

[dhorner233]

I love playing in my little community band and string ensemble. It exercises my brain Hurray for the unappreciated viola players!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Thank you for the link to the new TR! I loved this TR thank you for all the writing and photos which I really enjoyed.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

OK folks, I'm just giving you your warning.....this Contest will be wrapping up shortly. It may be over the weekend, it may be next week, but here is your notification that if you want to participate in the Bonus Round, your time is running out!

Hey, Alison. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm going to have the time to go back and work on this. I can barely keep up with updating my own TR! Sounds like it'll be a tough competition to the end!

Hope you're having a great time at WDW!

 

[franandaj]

I love playing in my little community band and string ensemble. It exercises my brain Hurray for the unappreciated viola players!

Yes, it does certainly exercise the brain!

Thank you for the link to the new TR! I loved this TR thank you for all the writing and photos which I really enjoyed.

I'm glad that you could make it over to the new TR.

Hey, Alison. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm going to have the time to go back and work on this. I can barely keep up with updating my own TR! Sounds like it'll be a tough competition to the end!

Hope you're having a great time at WDW!

No problem! You better believe I will not ask questions like that again!

 

[franandaj]

So I bet you kids thought I forgot about this TR and contest! Hardly! But that last round of questions was a doozy and it took me a long long time to tally it up. I thought it was all sewn up, but then just before I left on the last trip, I got hung up and haven’t had a chance until now to get you the full tallies.


Wow! So that was quite final round of questions! Some of you really went above and beyond in your research! I didn’t expect folks to go back and read up with quite such fervor! So I had to figure out a fair way to judge everyone’s answers. So here are a few of the ground rules that I used.

My first thought of this was that I was only thinking about the Disney portion of this trip for these questions, but clearly I did not clearly state that, so I have had to modify the answers a bit and change up how I award the points. The one that totally threw me was when the first few folks responding said that we ate at “Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck”. I was really the first time I read it. Then the second time I had to really consider. Two people came up with that so it couldn’t be a coincidence! So I altered my answers a bit.

Again, on the transportation question, I should have specified that I meant travel once we were on Disney property. No points were deducted if you reported about the travels on Universal property or between Universal and Disney, but those were not counted in the mix as I just didn’t think of it since Universal really doesn’t provide transport like Disney does. Also, I made a mistake on the actual number of trips, it was actually 23 not 22 like I originally said, so I am accepting answers which incorporate either answers. The one that I originally forgot was that we walked/scooted from Disney Springs to SSR before catching the bus to MK.

So in case you are wondering here is how I scored things:

Each question following a number and ending with a question mark was worth 10 points. If you gave me the same number of answers that I expected, say let’s use the number 12, then each correct answer would be worth .83 points. Therefore, if you gave me the number 12 you would get 10 points. If you said 7, you would get 5.83 points. If the correct answer had five parts, each correct answer would be worth 2 points each.

Bonus Points: Some of you went way above and beyond the research that I expected (although knowing some of you as I do, it does not surprise me in hindsight), and for each tidbit of information that you shared, ie kiosk names and treats enjoyed, transportation solutions etc, 3 bonus points were awarded for each tidbit of knowledge shared. You can see how this can add up quickly!


1. How many total friends did I meet up as a result of being a member of the DIS boards?


The answer I was looking for was actually for the number of DISmeets, so 4, Dana, Michael, Pam, and Ellen. However, now that I look at the question, I can understand where there was some confusion, so I’m going to have to accept both answers 10 points for correct answer 2.5 off for each over/under, 3 points for naming each one, however, if you included the companions of the four folks I originally intended, you got bonus points for that. Michael was only he and his brother. The other friend never showed up.

Some of you mentioned Keith the “art-pusher”, but he is Fran’s friend and technically she met him through an eBay sale. She bought a picture of Mary Poppins through him several years ago, and he took a liking to her, either that or decided he had a golden goose on his hands and kept in contact after the initial sale, and he’s been selling her stuff ever since!

2. There were 13 different kiosks, how many different kiosks did we visit total? Bonus points if you can name them or the items we ate.

9 kiosks – 10 points for this answer 1.11 points for each answer over/under. I was a little confusing here, we got refreshments from two places that were not kiosks. The Grapefruit beer came from Sommerfest which is a QS, and the strawberry/lemonade came from the Joffrey’s coffee cart. Those can be bonus answers.

La Isla Fresca – Jamaican Braised Beef, Tres Leches Cake
Pineapple Promenade - Spicy Hot Dog with Mustard, Pineapple Soft-serve, Sparkling Pineapple Wine, Florida Orange Groves Winery, St. Petersburg, FL
Cider House – Pear Cider-brined Shredded Corned Beef with Braised Cabbage and Pears and Branston Dressing, House-made Potato and Cheddar Cheese Biscuit
Jardin de Fiestas - Tacos de Camarón: Tempura Shrimp served with Hibiscus Flower, Caramelized Onions and Habanero Sauce, Corn Tortilla Quesadilla served with Roasted Mushrooms and Zucchini Blossom topped with Green Tomatillo Sauce, Rose Margarita
Primavera Kitchen - Pollo alla Parmigiana: Breaded Breast of Chicken, Tomato, Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese, Mezze Lune Primavera: Egg Pasta stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach in a Creamy Sauce with Spring Vegetables and Pecorino Cheese, Cremoso al Pistacchio: Pistacchio Cream, Strawberries and Mascarpone Cream
The Smokehouse: Barbeque and Brews - Pulled Pig Slider with Crispy Onions and Coleslaw, Smoked Pork Ribs with Roasted Corn Salad, Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash with White Cheddar Fondue and Pickled Jalapeños, Warm Chocolate Cake with Bourbon-Salted Caramel Sauce and Spiced Pecans
Hanami - Frushi: Fresh Pineapple, Strawberry and Melon Rolled with Raspberry Coconut Rice, sprinkled with Toasted Coconut and Whipped Cream on the side, Beef Teriyaki Udon: Thin-sliced Beef, Onions and Noodles tossed on the grill with Soy and Ginger
Taste of Marrakesh - Harissa Chicken Kebab with Sweet Couscous Salad
Fleur de Lys - Tarte à l’Onion Alsacienne: Alsatian Onion Tart with Sautéed Onions, Fresh Thyme and Rosemary on a Flaky Puff Pastry Crust

3. We took 22 total trips from a resort to a resort, resort to park or vice versa. Name the correct number of trips via each form of transportation we used, Bus, Monorail, and Walking.
4/29 – Bus to Epcot, Bus to Hotel, Bus 2
4/30 – Walk to Hoop de Doo, Bus back to hotel, walk 2, bus 3
5/1 - Bus to Epcot, Bus to Hotel, Bus 5, walk 1
5/2 – Bus to AK, Bus to AKL, Bus to AK, Bus to VWL, Bus 9, walk 1
5/3 – Bus to Epcot, Monorail to Poly, Bus 10, Walk 1, Monorail 1
5/4- Monorail to GF, Monorail to MK, Monorail to Poly, Bus 10, Walk 1, Monorail 4
5/5 – Bus to DS, Walk/Scoot to SSR, Bus to MK, Monorail to Poly, Bus 12, Walk 2, Monorail 5
5/6 – Monorail to MK, Monorail to Poly, Bus 12, Walk 2, Monorail 7
5/7 – Monorail to GF, Monorail to Poly,
Final Tally: Bus 12, Walk 2, Monorail 9

4. Not counting food we ate at the Kiosks, we sampled cuisines from six continents or countries, but mostly America. Can you name the countries/continents that we visited outside of America? 1.66 per correct country, 3 points for the correct restaurant
Mexico – San Angel Inn, Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck
India – Sanaa
Polynesia – O’Hana
UK – Cooke’s of Dublin
France – Be Our Guest
Asia – Trader Sam’s, Islands

5. How many characters did I meet up with? Points for naming them. Think about this one!
13 Gru, Kevin the Minion, Stan the Night Bus Driver, Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, Alice, Mad Hatter, Pooh, Tiggr, Mary Poppins, Stitch, The Beast .769 x the number in your guess for characters + 3 points for naming the correct characters.

6. How many times did Fran ditch us in the parks for a nap?
Five times, 2 points per “ditch”, 3 points for naming each time.
Illuminations Night, AK day after lunch, Switch day to the Poly Bungalow, MK day after 1900 Park Fare Breakfast, MK night after Be Our Guest.


Responses


dhorner233,
Question 1: 4? 10 points
Question 2: 7? I'm sorry I don't remember what you got! 7.77 points
Question 3: Bus: 10, Monorail: 10, Walking: 2 3.33 points
Question 4: France, Canada, Mexico, Germany 3.33 points
Question 5: 4. I don't remember who! I didn't know I was going to be tested or maybe I would have taken notes! 0 points
Question 6: 3 times. 6 points
Total for final round: 30.43


dolphgirl47,
Question 1: 4, 10 points
Question 2: 10, La Isla Fresca - Jamaican-braised beef and the Tres Leches cake, Pineapple Promenade - Spicy hot dog, pineapple sparkling wine and pineapple soft serve, Cider House - Pear Cider-brined Shredded Corned Beef with Braised Cabbage and Pears and Branston Dressing, House-made Potato and Cheddar Cheese Biscuit with Smoked Salmon Tartare and Sonoma “The Pitchfork” Organic Pear Hard Cider, Jardin de Fiestas (Mexico) - Rosa Margarita, Shrimp Taco, Vegetable Quesadilla, Germany - Grapefruit Beer, Primavera Kitchen (Italy) - Chicken Parmesan, vegetable ravioli, Pinot Grigio, Pistachio Crema with Strawberries, Hanami (Japan) - Beef udon, Suigei sake, Frushi, sparkling slushy, The Smokehouse (America) - Pulled pig slider, smoked pork ribs, beef brisket burnt ends hash, warm chocolate cake, Zinfandel, Taste of Marrakesh (Morocco) - Harissa Chicken Kebab, Fleur de Lys (France) - Onion tart, rose Grey Goose Slushy, 8.89 points for correct # of booths (minus one point 1.11, Germany where we got the grapefruit beer is a QS open year round) + 114 bonus points for correctly naming booths and foods eaten. Plus 3 for noticing the grapefruit beer, for a total of 125.89 points.
Question 3: Bus – 12, Walking – 2, Monorail – 8, 6.66 points
Question 4: Asia (Chinese, Indonesian) – Islands, Mexican - Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck and San Angel Inn, Africa/ India - Sana'a, Polynesian - 'Ohana, Ireland - Cooke's of Dublin, 8.3 points, three points each for the other correct ones. 23.3 total points
Question 5: 10, Felonius Gru and Kevin the Minion from Despicable Me, Stan the driver of the Knight Bus from Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, Pooh, Tigger, Alice, Stitch, Beast, 7.69 points for 10 out of 13 and 30 bonus points for naming 10 for a total of 37.69 points
Question 6: 5, 10 points
Total for final round: 216.54


Steppesister,
Question 1: 11, Dana and her Fiance, Your "almost" Imagineer friend and his girlfriend, Michael, his friend, and his brother, Ellen and her friend. 7.5 points for question, and 18 bonus points for naming folks, for a total of 25.5 points.
Question 2: 10 #1- Isla Fresca: Jamaican Braised Beef and Tres Leches Cake, #2- Pineapple Promenade: Spicy hot dog, pineapple soft serve, pineapple sparkling wine, #3- Cider House: corned beef, potato/cheese biscuit, Sonoma pitchfork Pear hard cider, #4- Mexico: Rosa Margarita, Shrimp Taco, Vegetable Quesadilla, #5- Primavera Kitchen: Chicken parmesan, veggie ravioli, pinot grigio, Pistachio crema with berries, #6- Frozen Strawberry Lemonade- Stand- 1 with GG shot and pink donuts (It didn't say where you bought the donuts, but I'm assuming here.), #7- Japan: Beef Udon, sake, Frushi, sparkling slushie, #8- America: Pork slider, pork ribs, Brisket hash, chocolate cake and zinfandel, #9- Morocco: Chicken Kebab, #10- France: onion tart, GG slushie, 8.89 points for the # of kiosks (1 extra), 114 Bonus points for kiosks and food items, 6 bonus points for recognizing beer and pretzel weren’t from a kiosk, for a total of 128.89 points.
Question 3: Transportation- In order... I added a few that may or may not have been what you were looking for, but they are additions INCLUDING the 22 you asked for: (I REALLY want a shot at winning this, so took 4 hours today to read every word of this TR again. ) 1. Taxi from Hotel to dinner, 2. Taxi back to Hotel, 3. Van to Disney, 4. Bus to EPCOT, 5. Bus to WL, 6. Scooters to FW for Hoop, 7. Bus back to WL, 8. Bus to EPCOT, 9. Bus back , 10. Bus to AK, 11. Bus to Sana'a, 12. Bus to AK, 13. Bus to WL, 14. Bus to EPCOT, 15. Friendship to Morocco, 16. Monorail to Poly, 17. Monorail to GF, 18. Monorail to MK, 19. Monorail to Poly, 20. Bus to DS, 21. Bus to MK, 22. Monorail back to Poly, 23. Monorail to MK, 24. Monorail to Poly/Sam's (but doesn't directly say; I'm assuming), 25. Mono to GF, 26. Mono back to Poly, 27. MDepress, If you take out the Friendship, the Unmagical Depress, and the taxis and vans, you get 22. , 66 bonus points for naming the legs of the journey.
Question 4: Asian, Mexican - Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck and San Angel Inn, Africa/ India - Sana'a, Polynesian - 'Ohana, Ireland - Cooke's of Dublin, German- caramel and Grapefruit beer, 8.3 points, 15 bonus points, 23.3 points total.
Question 5: 13, Beast, Stan and the Knight Bus, Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, Mary P, Hatter, Pooh, Tigger, Alice, Stitch, Gru and Kevin the Minion, 10 points + 39 Bonus points for naming all 13, for a total of 49 points.
Question 6: 5, 1. First night at EPCOT, 2. From AK Day, 3. @ EPCOT after Seeds Tour, 4. After 1900 Bfst, 5. After BoG, 10 points for the correct # of times ditched and 15 bonus points for naming the instances for a total of 25 points.

Total for Final Round – 317.69


IowaTater
Question 1: 4, 4, although I can’t remember if your “art pusher” is a DIS member. 10 points
Question 2: Apparently 10 is the lucky number. La Isla Fresca – Jamaican braised beef & tres leches; Pineapple Promenade – spicy hot dog, pineapple soft serve, pineapple sparkling wine; Cider House – corned beef, potato & cheese biscuit, pear hard cider; Mexico – margaritas, shrimp taco, veggie quesadilla; Germany – grapefruit beer; Italy – chicken parm, veggie ravioli, pinot grigio, pistachio crema; Japan – beef udon & sake – the guys got frushi & the sparkling slushy; America – one of everything – burnt ends, ribs, chocolate cake, slider; Morocco – chicken kabob; France – onion tart, grey goose slushy, 8.89 points plus 102 bonus points
Question 3: 1 walking, 3 monorail, and 10 trips on the bus (and 1 trip on the Friendship boat J ) 3.33 points
Question 4: Mexico & Germany, 3.32 points
Question 5: Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, Pooh, Tigger, Alice, Stitch, and the Beast. That makes 10, 7.69 points plus 30 bonus points.
Question 6: I have 6 but that sounds like a lot. 8 points
Total for final round: 173.23


Malia78
Question 1: 4 (Dana/Matt, "art pusher", Michael, Podsnel), 7.5 plus 12 bonus points.
Question 2: Ate at 9 kiosks, La Isla Fresca: Jamaican braised beef, Tres Leche cake, Pineapple Promendade: Spicy hot dog, pineapple soft serve, pineapple sparkling wine, Cider House: Corned beef, potato and cheddar cheese biscuit, "Pitchfork" pear hard cider, Jardin de Fiestas: Margarita, Shrimp taco, vegetable quesadilla, Primavera Kitchen: Chicken parmesan, vegetable raviolle, pistachio crema, pinot grigio, Hanami: beef udon, suigei sake + Jim/Alberto frushi, sparkling slushy, The Smokehouse: pulled pork slider, smoked pork ribs, beef brisket burnt ends hash, warm chocolate cake, Zinfandel, Taste of Marrakesh: harissa chicken kebab
Fleur de Lys: onion tart, grey goose slushy, 10 points plus 108 Bonus Points
Question 3: Bus: 12, Walking: 1, Monorail: 9, 10 points
Question 4: Asia: Pan Asian (mix of Chinese, Thai, Vietamese and American-Asian), Mexico: San Angel Inn, Africa/India: Sanaa, ?Polynesia: O'hana, Ireland: Cooke's of Dublin, ?French: BOG, 10 points plus 15 bonus points
Question 5: 13 characters, Gru, Minion, Stan the knight bus driver, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, Pooh, Tigger, Alice, Stitch, Beast, 10 points plus 39 Bonus Points
224 points total for this round


juniorbugman
Question 1: 10 - Disney firefly (Dana & Matt), Ellen (podsnel) & friend, Imagineer & friend, Michael & Michael's brother (flossbina) and Pam & her Mom, 7.5 points, 24 bonus points.
Question 2: 11, 1)Las Isla Fresca - Jamaicica Beef, Tres Leches Cake, 2) Pineapple Promenade - Spicy hot dog & pineapple soft serve, 3) UK & CIDER House - corned beef, potato & cheese biscuit & pear hard cider, 4) Mexico – Margharetta, 5) Gourmet Grapefuit Bar - , 6) Primaverra Kitchen, 7) American Lemonaide Cart ??? - Strawberry Luaa Sunset - Pink Donut, 8) Hanaimi - Beef Udon, Suigai Sake, 9) America - Pulled Pig Slider, Pork Ribs, Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash, Chocolate Cake, 10) Morocco - Tast of Marrakesh - Harissa Chicken Kebabs, 11) France - Fleur des Lys - Onion Tart , & grey goose slushie, 8.88 points plus 72 bonus points
Question 3: Walk - 3 - Bus - 10 - DME - 2 - Uber - 1, Monorail - 6 , Scooters -1, Cab 2, 0 points
Question 4: Morocco, France, Japan, Mexico, Germany , UK, Ireland, Italy, 4.98 points
Question 5: Minion & Gru, Stan and the Night Bus, Ketchup Man, Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Goofy, Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Alice, Piano Player at Caseys, Stitch, Flash Mob - Country Bears & last but not least the Beast. 39 bonus points
Question 6: 5, 10 points
Total for final round: 166.36


DnA2010
Question 1: Dana and Matt (Disney Firefly), Michael (Flossbolna’s OH) and his brother, Art Pusher, Pam and Her mom, Ellen and Friend, 24 bonus points
Question 2: 9, -La Isla Fresca: Jamican braised beef, Tres Leches cake, -Pineapple Promenade: Spicy hot dog, pineapple soft serve, pineapple sparkling wine, -Cider House: corned beef, potato and cheese biscuit, Pitchfork pear cider, -Jardin de Fiestas: shrimp taco, margaritas, veg quesadilla, -Germany (just including as you went in there) : grapefruit beer, kabinett, pretzel, -Italy- Primavera Kitchen: chicken parm, veg ravioli, pinot grigio, pistachio grema, -American Smokehouse: pulled pork slider, smoked pork ribs, beef hash, warm choc cake, zinfandel, -Cartjust including as you went in there) frozen strawberry lemonade, pink donut, -Hanami Japan: Beef udon, suigai sake, frushi, sparkling slushi, -Taste of Marakesh- Harissa chicken kabob, -Fleur de Lys: onion tart, grey goose rose slushie, 10 points plus 117 bonus points
Question 3: Day 3/WDW1- Epcot- bus, bus, Day 4- HDDR- walk, bus to resort, Day 5- bus to Epcot, Bus to resort, Day 6- bus to AK, bus to Sanaa, bus to AK, bus to WL, Day 7- bus to Epcot, monorail to Poly, Day 8- Monorail to GF, monorail to MK (guessing- it doesn’t say), monorail to Poly, Day 9- bus to DS, bus to MK, monorail to Poly (guessing- it doesn’t say), Day 10- Monorail to MK, Monorail to Poly (you and Fran), Day 11- DME to airport (bus), Bus: 11, Monorail: 7, Walk: 1, 3.33 points plus 60 bonus points, Question 4: -Sanaa (African/Indian), -Ohana (Polynesian), -Cooks of Dublin(British), -Universal(Dim Sung/Pan Asian), -Mexico (Mexican), -Germany, 8.33 points plus 15 bonus points
Question 5: 14, -Bob or Dave minion(can’t tell which), Felonius Gru, Stan (night bus), Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Alice, Mad Hatter, Poo, Tigger, Mary Poppins, Stitch, Beast, 9.23 points plus 39 bonus points
Question 6: 3 or 4, Universal (you went swimming so not technically a park), AK- After Sanaa lunch, MK- After 1900 PF, MK- After dinner, didn’t stay for MSEP, 6 points plus 9 bonus points
Total for final round: 300.86


I’ve decided to split it into two contests (as I have two prizes) so here are the totals for each contest.


Just to recap here are the final scores from the initial contest.


DnA2010 – 246 points
dolphingirl47 – 233 points
rndmr – 222 points
juniorbugman – 216.83
Pinkocto – 207.5 points
Captain_Oblivious – 199.5 points
Malia78- 199 points
pkondz – 178.5 points
Steppesister – 157 points
dhorner233 – 157 points
Leshaface – 155 points
IowaTater – 150 points
dizneeat – 136 points


And for those brave souls who chose to enter the Bonus points contest, here are the results from that contest. Obviously those who chose to put in each and every detail got points for doing so.

Steppesister – 317.69 points
DnA2010 – 300.86 points
dolphgirl47 – 216.54 points
Malia78 – 216.5 points
IowaTater – 173.23 points
juniorbugman – 166.36 points
dhorner233 – 30.43 points

So @Steppesister and @DnA2010 PM me your addresses so that I may send you your prizes!

WHEW! Am I glad THAT is over. No more contests for me!

And now I’m down to just one Trip Report! If you’re not already reading along here is a link!
http://www.disboards.com/threads/ce...day-and-what-you-do-when-kiosked-out.3554410/

 

[pkondz]

Congrats to the winners! Sorry I couldn't do the bonus questions Alison. Just not enough hours in the day.

 

[franandaj]

Congrats to the winners! Sorry I couldn't do the bonus questions Alison. Just not enough hours in the day.

I understand! In hindsight, if I'd realized how much it was going to take to tally the results, I may not have even posted it! LOL!

 

[pkondz]

I understand! In hindsight, if I'd realized how much it was going to take to tally the results, I may not have even posted it! LOL!

Okay, I don't feel so bad, then.

 

[DnA2010]

So I must admit, focusing on this TR both answering during the initial thread and then researching/reading again for the second round was a nice distraction from stressing about a new baby and if I was doing it right (she's alive and healthy so looks like success)

Thanks again, I really enjoyed it!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Congratulations to the winners.

Thanks for sharing and for taking the time to run the contests.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Okay, I don't feel so bad, then.

It's hard enough to keep up around here. I don't know why these people offer these silly contests with bonus points, and hidden images! !

So I must admit, focusing on this TR both answering during the initial thread and then researching/reading again for the second round was a nice distraction from stressing about a new baby and if I was doing it right (she's alive and healthy so looks like success)

Thanks again, I really enjoyed it!

I'm glad that I could provide a distraction for you. I hope that things are still going well with the baby and that you're able to sleep through the nights. Sorry I haven't been able to mail out the prizes yet! I've been swamped for the last six weeks or more and now I'm at my folks for Christmas and neglected to bring the prizes!

Congratulations to the winners.

Thanks for sharing and for taking the time to run the contests.

Corinna

You're welcome! This will be my last contest! They are much too much work!

 

[pkondz]

It's hard enough to keep up around here. I don't know why these people offer these silly contests with bonus points, and hidden images! :rolleyes!

That's just stupid.



Wait......

 

[franandaj]

That's just stupid.



Wait......

 

[DnA2010]

No worries at all about the prize- will be a great January surprise!
Gotta catch up on updates now for your new TR
Baby life I swear going just fine and baby is doing pretty well on the sleep front!

 

[franandaj]

No worries at all about the prize- will be a great January surprise!
Gotta catch up on updates now for your new TR
Baby life I swear going just fine and baby is doing pretty well on the sleep front!

I hope baby life continues to do well, and I'm glad you're able to sleep some!

 

[franandaj]

So I’ve been wanting to post this for some time, but things got away from me! If you remember all the way back to last August there was a week where I was out at the park like five out of seven days. First I saw Frozen with Karin, Tom, Alicia and her hubby. The next day I went with Karin and Tom and we just rode some rides and had some drinks. Wednesday, Fran and I went out and enjoyed a nice lunch with Karin and Tom, and then Thursday night we had dinner with Pam and her Mom at Tortilla Jo’s. So there were are, all caught up again!

Saturday morning, we were booked into a special event with some friends of ours. We had to be there early and the park may not have even been open yet when they let us in.





We were there for a presentation celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Disney’s Recording Label.








We had a table with our friends, and started off with some cured meats, yogurt, and some granola to add to our yogurt.



Plus we got a nice batch of breakfast pastries.



I was pretty happy with all this, but then they served us this!



After we had eaten, and been properly caffeinated, we were introduced to our host for the morning. Randy Thornton was our speaker.



He’s a Grammy®-Award winning music producer, and Disney music fans know his work well. He’s been responsible for the restoration and rerelease of many classic Disney soundtracks and albums, from animation soundtracks to Theme-Park favorites. Along the way, he made some amazing discoveries – discoveries that led to “The Lost Chords.”

From the days that the Talkies first came on the scene, Walt knew he wanted that new technology in his pictures. There were several ways that film companies were incorporating sound in their productions. Some companies sent an LP along with the roll of film and they were to be played concurrently. However, that required an alert man in the booth who could start both at precisely the correct time. Walt wouldn't have this. I don't recall what the second method was, but the third was to engrain the sound into a piece of film and then to play both the sound film and the film with the cartoon images on it together at the same time. Walt approved of this method, but there was another challenge, how the orchestra would keep up with the pace of the film.

I’m going to quote myself from a previous bonus feature on a TR with relation to the click track, something that Disney created and modern day studio musicians consider commonplace.

“A perfect example of this is The Skeleton Dance, the very first Silly Symphony. The movement of the skeletons is very precise to the sound of the marimba, and the use of the marimba is to simulate the sound of clacking on the bones of the skeletons.

One conductor that Walt worked with thought he could do exactly what was needed on his own, but after two unsuccessful takes he reluctantly agreed to use a device that Walt had urged him to use at the start. Today studio musicians regard the "click track" as a regular part of the job. It is a metronome that is played through headphones and keeps time steady so that every sound occurs just when it should with respect to the video. When I was in music school, we got to participate in a mock studio recording and were able to play with a cartoon on screen and we stayed in sync using the click track in our headphones.”



We heard several of recordings of Walt's interviews about how the recording process worked back then. It was far more involved than today.

Mr. Thornton talked about the Three little pigs, the 36th Silly Symphony. Notice "Father" in the background.



This was Disney's first really big hit. It was the height of depression, everyone was afraid that the Big Bad Wolf would be knocking on their door. He told us that this song was even bigger that “Let It Go” has been in the pop culture of the 21st Century.

The Silly Symphonies were all a warm up and tutorial preparing for Snow White, the first full length animated feature ever.



This was a timeless production, think about all the classic Disney songs that came from it. "Whistle While You Work", "Someday my Prince Will Come", "Heigh Ho".



This movie was the first ever to produce a "soundtrack", but it wasn't until Pinnochio that the word “soundtrack” was used. They showed us a slide of this original sketch of the music for “Whistle While You Work.” As a music geek, I think this is cool.



Speaking of Pinnochio. "When You Wish Upon A Star" has become one of the most recognized songs ever for the "brand" of the Disney company. Everyone knows that song, but probably don't even know the names of the writers. Do you?

On another note, so far Walt Disney did not have a record label. Walt was friends with Irving Berlin and published all his records through Berlin’s company which eventually became Bourne music. They are still very active in protecting their copyrights (Just a little fun fact I remembered and looked up the details during the process of writing this up. I took the excerpt below from the internet somewhere, probably Wikipedia) I put the gist of the comment in bold as there are so many entities involved in the legal jargon it’s hard to read.


"The owner of the rights to the song, Bourne Co. Music Publishers, sued Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Company, Fuzzy Door Productions, Cartoon Network, Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane to try to stop distribution of a 2003 Family Guy episode entitled "When You Wish upon a Weinstein" that parodies the song in a version called "I Need a Jew". A federal judge ruled against Bourne Co, stating that a parody of the song did not infringe on the company's copyright."


Fantasia was a complete departure from the feature films with a story.



Had WWII not happened Walt would have had access to the European market. But he did not, and many of his staff had been drafted into the army. He focused on the South American Market with Saludos Amigos and the Three Caballeros, and eventually Make Mine Music which incorporated a number of projects that had been floating around the studio unfinished.



Peter and the Wolf was one of the Favorites from that one.



After the war he went back to tried and true, fairytales. Cinderella.



Perry Como had a hit with his song, Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep) and Walt wanted something like that for his Fairy Godmother and thus came the song Bibbity Bobbity Boo.

All the while records were still being released through the Bourne Music Company. It was around this time that Roy started telling Walt that they needed their own record label. But Walt was making movies (animated and his new nature documentaries), he had this little thing in Anaheim going on, and the Mickey Mouse Club, so he really wasn’t all that interested in starting another venture.

What really spawned the record label was the release of the TV show Davey Crockett. In the US market it was released as an episodic piece, meaning every week a new episode was broadcast. Walt didn't want a narrator to come on each week and read a script, "Last week you'll remember..." Instead it was sung in the form of The Ballad of Davy Crockett.




[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

The Disneyland company issued its first album, A Child's Garden of Verses. It was the only thing that they could release right away without copyright restrictions.



Once the Mickey Mouse Club was clearly a hit, they signed Annette as the first recording artist for the label.



The popular Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello, became the label’s first artist in residence.



In 1959, the Buena Vista Records label was formed for Funicello's select recordings and for the release of soundtrack albums and other contemporary music. Jimmy Johnson brought in musician Tutti Camarata, founder of Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, to head the Artists and repertoire of this new enterprise. It was rumoured that Walt put up the money to build Sunset Studios, but every time Tutti was asked about it, his answer was just "Walt was very supportive."











This is the studio where Annette Funicello recorded all her albums. Then Mr Thornton put this out there. It also the same studio where the Doors recorded their albums. He said, "Annette Funicello" (gesturing to the right) "The Doors" (gesturing to the left) I'm just going to let that linger for a moment.







Those of you who aren’t familiar with the Doors, why not? And if you are, I wanted to “be” Jim Morrison, when I was a senior in High School. If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will!



OK, back to Disney. While looking for the right material for Annette, Tutti and his team discovered the songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman after hearing one of their songs on the radio. The two were brought to the Disney studio in Burbank where they eventually became the first staff songwriters for the company. They not only penned a good deal of Annette’s songs, but were also responsible for most of the iconic Disney songs of the 1960s and beyond.



If you aren’t familiar with the Sherman Bros. work, Tiki Room. Jungle Book, Carousel of Progress, Mary Poppins. What rock have you been hiding underneath?



During the 1970s the Disney record label was suffering and almost went bankrupt.

The Herbie franchise really wasn't a big music seller, and either were Escape from Witch Mountain or the Apple Dumpling Gang. How many of you remember these favorites?











However, they turned the beat around with Disco Mickey in 1979.



Mickey Mouse Disco is an album released by Disneyland Records in 1979. A late entry in the genre of disco, Mickey Mouse Disco included disco versions of Disney classics and Disney-fied versions of disco classics. Re-released on CD in 1995, this album is currently out of print in all physical formats, but is currently available for download from iTunes. The album peaked at #35 on Billboard's Pop Albums Chart and was certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). I don't remember exactly how much money he said they made on it, but it was a bundle and saved the label.

It was a long time before Disney really got it back together musically. There were no timeless scores in Oliver and Company, The Black Cauldron, or The Great Mouse Detective. It wasn't until the Little Mermaid came along that timeless scores began to return to Disney animated features. Howard Ashman was a strong believer in the songs serving to advance the story, not for the story to stop so performers could sing a song. If you consider the soundtrack for TLM each song is strong on its own. They are not trendy or dated. Over 25 years later and the melodies are still as pertinent as when they came out in 1989.



One of the projects that Randy Thornton has been working on is called the Lost Chords. As part of his job at Walt Disney Records he is restoring soundtracks from the original masters for use in rereleasing DVDs and CD soundtracks. In that process he is uncovering old gems from movies that were never used. Those songs are being recorded and released on CD sets of the remastered tracks and then the old songs that the public has never heard are also included on the CD sets as well.



The newest addition to this legacy collection includes music from Mary Poppins, he played us “The Chimpanzoo” which was a Sherman Bros song that would have taken the kids on another adventure, but the entire scene was lost on the cutting room floor even before filming commenced. He showed us this picture of PL Travers drawn by one of the animators, and some of the concept art for the Chimpanzoo scene. As you can tell, nothing at Disney is wasted because, Kaa, the evil python in The Jungle Book was recycled from these concept drawings for Mary Poppins.



Then he played us another song which didn’t make the movie, it was a beautiful ballad, but I don’t remember the name. It was to be sung by Julie Andrews while she was reminiscing. He showed this “obviously photoshopped” picture while it played.



The edition of the Lost Chords for Mary Poppins was released last summer and that’s what we received as our parting gift for the event.



In addition we got this poster, and after the presentation he signed both for us.



It had been a while since breakfast, so on our way out of the park I was crazing a sweet treat.



A root beer float.



Then we headed out of the park and back home. I think we even got some work done at the old house later that afternoon.

 

[Pinkocto]

Wow, another fabulous event. Thank you for all the history, fascinating as always!

The parting gifts are great.

 

[rentayenta]

How did I fall so behind? Lets just say I am going to be you in my next life.

Dinner with your friends looks incredible. Love that you had so many visits to the park. And that last event; wow!

 

[DnA2010]

I really enjoyed reading about the event, thank you for the thorough post!