Friday, July 19, 2024

A Vintage Disneyland Trip Report - July 1994

Just six months after my January 1994 trip to Disneyland, I returned to the park for another visit.

They were finally handing out 1994 guidebooks at the entrance!  If you read the trip report about my January 1994 visit, you might remember that 30 days into the new year, they were still giving out 1993 guidebooks!

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin attraction had opened just 6 months earlier.  This is the attraction's final scene, where Roger helps you escape through his "portable hole."

I'm glad that I took this pic of the Dumbo band organ (located behind the Dumbo The Flying Elephant attraction), because I believe it now just sits there and no longer operates.  According to Wikipedia, the circa 1915 band organ can be heard over a mile away, "so it is rarely played."  However, when the band organ debuted at the park in 1983, it played regularly, and that continued at least through the 1990s.  In addition to it playing music, it's front doors would open every so many minutes and a miniature "Dumbo" would pop out, almost like a cuckoo clock.  The last time I checked, the doors were not opening, Dumbo was not "popping out," and the music was pre-recorded instead of being played live.

Skyway bucket alert! (Between the two "Dumbos" on the right.)  Sadly, the Skyway would be ripped out, in just about 3 months.  My friend (seen below), had also gone to the park with me on that January 1994 trip, which I posted about earlier this year.

A shot of the first scene, in "Pinocchio's Daring Journey":

The previous summer, Aladdin's Oasis had replaced the Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland.  Dinner at the new restaurant included a live Aladdin-themed show, but that came to an end just one month after these photos were taken, and only about fourteen months after it debuted.

The structure remained standing for almost 25 years, despite being grossly underused as mostly just a character "meet 'n greet" and "storytelling" location.  In 2018, the Aladdin-themed structures were torn down, and the space was converted into the "Tropical Hideaway," a quick-service food location.

This tower was located around the corner from the main entrance to Aladdin's Oasis, and faced the Jungle Cruise's unloading dock and exit.  This elevated view was actually taken from the upper level of the Jungle Cruise queue.  Notice the finial on top of the tower, in the shape of the magic lamp.

Even though the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction would not be opening for another 8 months, the construction wall had recently been taken down, and guests were now allowed to walk around in the queue area.

These next two photos were taken from the ramp leading up to the temple's entrance.  You can see that the entrance was boarded up, and included signage stating, "DANGER!", "Excavation in Progress", and "DO NOT ENTER."

 

Next, we have over a dozen photos of "The Lion King Celebration" parade.  The parade had debuted the previous month, and ended up running for three full years.  That was a pretty long run for a daytime parade.

Leading the parade were two rhinoceroses, being portrayed by two performers, inside each costume.

This figure of Zazu on the first float, was the first time Audio-Animatronics were ever used in a Disneyland parade.  There was also a Rafiki "costumed character" (not visible here), who stood just on the other side of Zazu.

These giraffes would lower and raise their heads throughout the parade.  They were the first usage of what Disney was calling, "Puppetronics," in a parade.

All of the performers in the parade were supposed to be representing animals.

This float featured a working waterfall, just below the elephant.  And the elephant itself (another "Puppetronic"), sprayed water from it's trunk.  I'm not sure when this "spraying the guests with water" trend began, but it had been used in the park's previous parade, "Aladdin's Royal Caravan."  That parade featured two large camels that would "spit" on the guests.  I included photos of those camels in my "vintage trip report," from January of this year.

The back end of this "swinging monkeys" float included a Pumba puppet, but I didn't get a shot of him during this visit.  I took more pictures of this parade, over the course of it's three-year run.  I will post those photos as I continue to do more of these "vintage trip report" posts, from the 1990s.

This particular performer was a "stilt walker."


This was just one of several musicians featured in the parade.

The last float represented "Pride Rock," from the animated film.

 Simba was featured on top of Pride Rock......
 
 
.....and Nala was positioned just below him.

Simba and Nala were two more examples of the use of "Puppetronics" in the parade.  Both figures would move their heads and blink.  Simba would also open his mouth to roar, and Nala was able to tap her right paw up and down to the beat of the music.

By the way, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of "The Lion King," in theaters!

At the end of the day, I upgraded my one-day park ticket to an annual pass.  (For the "upgrade," they would deduct the cost of your one-day ticket, from the price of the annual pass.)  I had previously had an annual pass beginning in 1983, the very first year that they were available (to Magic Kingdom Club Members only, at first), up until the late 1980s.  After experiencing a little bit of burnout from going to the park so regularly, I took a little break for a few years, and pretty much reduced my park visits to about once a year.  That would change now, with the purchase of this new annual pass.

The 1994 Guidebook was very similar to the 1993 version, which I posted in January of this year.  I am only including here, the pages that were different from the 1993 version.  Please go back to that older post, if you want to see the other pages.

Is there still a "Magic Years Club," and does Disney still offer a discount to Seniors over the age of 60?


The Toontown pages were almost identical to the 1993 guide, with the exception of the photo on the lower left, and the addition of "Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin" to the list of attractions.  Also, there was a "Toontown Camera Window," where you could purchase film, cameras, and accessories, listed in the 1993 guide.  It's missing in this 1994 version.


"The Fox and the Hound" was released on video that year, for the very first time.

At the very bottom of the list of trivia (under "Landscaping"), it states that one of the original trees from the orange groves that existed, prior to construction of the park, was still standing.  It could be found in the Oriental Gardens of the Disneyland Hotel.  What happened to that tree, when the gardens were bulldozed for the construction of Downtown Disney?  I have never heard any other mention of it.

The "Kodak Picture Tips" information remained the same from 1993 to 1994, but three of the four photo examples changed.

The back cover of the guide:

After purchasing an annual passport, I began making more frequent trips to the park.  I will continue to post the photos that I took during those visits.  And since I purchased quite a few souvenirs during this time period, I will also continue to include some of those items in each post.

This three-dimensional magnet is one of the items I bought within this mid-1990s period.  I had it stored away in a box for years, but then one day, I decided that I should have it out where I can enjoy it.  I probably put it on my refrigerator about 10 years ago.  It remained safe there until only recently, when I accidentally knocked it off.  It's 2 inches thick, so it sticks WAY out from the refrigerator!  If you look closely, you can see where the tops of some of the Castle's turrets were chipped.  I would have rather had dents!  Oh, well!  I guess it's better to have it out where I can see it, instead of just stored away and out of sight.

And this is another magnet that I purchased in the mid-nineties.  It came from the Le Gourmet Shop in New Orleans Square.....I don't remember seeing it for sale anywhere else in the park.

The magnet is made of plaster, and it still has the price tag attached to the back.

I hope everyone enjoyed this 30-year old trip report, from July of 1994!

****BONUS****

For anyone who is interested, here's a video I shot in 1995, of the Dumbo band organ.

And here is footage of the entire "Lion King Celebration" parade, which I shot in 1996.

 

13 comments:

JB said...

The Portable Hole ("The Hole Idea") was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid. Interesting how a Warner Bros. cartoon plays so significant a part in a Disney attraction. Yeah, I know that the "Roger Rabbit" movie featured characters from all studios, but it's still surprising to see a WB cartoon in Disneyland.

The image of the Dumbo band organ looks great. I watched your band organ video, it's a bit... screechy. Those high notes!

The Lion King parade (thanks for the video), although short, is probably the best Disney parade, next to the Main Street Electrical Parade. A lot of effort and creativity (and money) went into its construction.
The rhinos are my favorite part. The way they walk (forward and backward), and dance around, all in sync with each other; it's kinda amazing.
The stilt walkers remind me of those spinning brushes that are used in car washes. :-p

Finally, we see a photo of you (on your Annual Passport) without the white oval! I gotta say, you bear a strong resemblance to Pinocchio. No wonder you use the white oval!

On the Kodak page of the Guidebook, it says, "Please do take flash pictures inside Disneyland attractions". DO take??? Is that a typo? Did they leave out the word "not"?

I'm wondering what your Castle magnet is made of, that it broke the tips off when it hit the floor... sugar?

Nice photos, Tokyo!. Thanks.

TokyoMagic! said...

JB, I had to Google "The Hole Idea." I wasn't familiar with that cartoon short. I found a version of it on YouTube, but it was whittled down to only 3 minutes. I liked what there was to see of it...especially the artwork/animation.

ALL music was very screechy, back in the early 1900s! ;-)

I believe the Lion King Celebration parade was the first time Disney had a parade with a "show stop." Most, if not all of Tokyo Disneyland's parades have them. The parade will come to a halt and the characters and dancers will do a performance and then when they are finished, the parade moves on. If I am remembering correctly, I believe the show stops for the Lion King Celebration parade were, the Small World mall, the Plaza, Main St., and Town Square.

I do look a lot like Pinocchio, only my nose is longer.

Disney was ALWAYS encouraging guests to take flash pictures inside all of the attractions....especially in the Haunted Mansion! ;-)

That Castle magnet is made of some type of resin. I remember around that time (in the 90s) when Disney started using resin for a lot of the souvenirs that had previously been "ceramic." I always thought the resin looked and felt so much cheaper. I know when they have their resin Christmas ornaments out for sale, you often have to look through them to find one that doesn't have something broken off of it.

Thanks for commenting, JB!

TokyoMagic! said...

JB, I forgot to mention that even though I hadn't heard of, or seen that cartoon short, "The Hole Idea," that idea of a "portable hole" (like we see in the last scene in the Roger Rabbit attraction) always felt familiar to me. I believe we had seen it used in other Warner Bros. cartoons, like the ones starring "Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner." I seem to remember Wile E. Coyote having a box of "ACME Holes" in at least one of those cartoons.

K. Martinez said...

I see you have included two of your favorites today, Mickey's Toontown and The Fox and the Hound. ;-)

I was truly blown away by the film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Still an absolute favorite of mine. I know there were planned sequels, but in retrospect I think it's best they only made one movie. The Roger Rabbit cartoon shorts were some of my favorites as well.

Aladdin's Oasis always stuck out like a sore thumb in Adventureland. Personal opinion of course.

The Lion King Celebration was definitely one of their better parades. Not a favorite of mine, but very high quality. My friend went ape for it and thought it was the greatest thing. I know he loved it because he took hundreds of photos of it.

I have that same castle magnet, but mine is in mint condition because I keep it in a box stored away and out of sight. Still, I manage to peek at it once in a while. Now that I think of it, I forgot where I put it. Probably buried deep in some box somewhere never to be seen again. ;-)

Thanks for another fun post, TokyoMagic!

TokyoMagic! said...

Ken, I was thinking of refusing to mention Toontown or The Fox and the Hound ever again on this blog, but I changed my mind!

I also really liked the film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as well as the "Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin attraction. I just don't think they should have dedicated an entire land to the film. But that is also just my personal opinion.

I did enjoy the Lion King Celebration parade, but I think it eventually wore out it's welcome. Three whole years was a very long time for a daytime parade at Disneyland.

After keeping that Castle magnet stored away for 20 years, I thought that I might as well get it out and enjoy it. It wasn't doing me any good stuck away in a box in the closet. Maybe I should have put it on a shelf somewhere, since it has a flat base and could pretty much be used as just a "mini sculpture." Still, I have no regrets for getting it out. I have another Castle magnet that is very similar, but just a tad smaller, and it's made out of some kind of heavy duty rubber, so it can't really be broken just by dropping it. I also have a resin Christmas ornament from this same era, which is very similar to that Castle Magnet....the paint job is almost identical. That has been kept in it's original packaging all these years, but maybe it's time to get that out and let the cats knock it off the tree and break it!

DisneyMike said...

Can’t believe it’s been 30 years, I remember watching The Lion King in theaters. It was such an amazing film and the parade was just as amazing, it was the first parade I remember watching at Disneyland.

I remember in ‘95, McDonalds had a 40 years of adventure toy promotion with ride vehicles that served as viewmasters with a photo of the ride inside. I’m proud to say I collected all of them but I think probably have maybe half today lol. One of these was The Lion King Celebration with Simba sitting atop Pride Rock.

Roger Rabbit was an amazing film as well, one of my top 10 favorites for sure. I would have loved to see his walk around character at the park but never got the chance. It’s too bad Disney and Amblin had a falling out causing the in park character to disappear along with any hopes or more cartoon shorts or sequels.

That Dumbo “clock” was so cute, I used to love just standing next to it and just get lost, listening to the live music and waiting for the little Dumbo to pop out, it was just one of those charming little Disneyland spots. Now it serves as a backdrop to the extended line with no live music or small Dumbo, what a tragedy.

Fun little fact about the Dumbo ride, back in 1989, there were two separate accidents within one year. This ride had just been renovated 6 years prior and was already having some serious issues with the mechanical support arms. Upon thinking of what to do so that this wouldn’t happen again, they realized they had an already completed Dumbo ride (All new look as well) for the upcoming Paris park and decided to bring it to Disneyland right away and created another one for Paris.

TokyoMagic! said...

DisneyMike, it is hard to believe that it's been 30 year since The Lion King was first released. I also remember seeing it in the theater (Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood) for that very first time. And the Disneyland parade was so well done. I really liked it, but after seeing it umpteen times over it's three year run, and was ready for a new daytime parade.

I also really liked Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I remember hearing something about a feud between the two companies. I'm assuming it had something to do with Eisner?

I remember that McDonald's promotion, but unfortunately, I never acquired any of the special "viewers."

Yes, the way the company has just left the Dumbo band organ there as a static prop is a tragedy! I also hated how they removed that "wall" of hedge plants (eugenia myrtifolia) behind the band organ, and replaced it with an ugly plywood fence. It especially looks bad when viewing it from Storybook Land.

I remember hearing about Dumbo accidents. I guess one (or both?) involved the car coming off of the mechanical arm. Supposedly, the vehicle wasn't to high up in the air at the time that it fell. I hope those guests got lifetime passes to the park, or at the very least, free tickets to return to the park? Maybe Disney did what Knott's did when guests were stuck up in the air for hours on "Windseeker." All they gave them was a lousy T-shirt!

JB said...

^ All they got was a Zinger and 5 grapes.

TokyoMagic! said...

JB, ha, ha! And let us not forget the dollop of cheese and 3 crackers! ;-)

Andrew said...

TokyoMagic!, I really enjoyed this trip report! I wish that they still played the Dumbo band organ, but I know that Disney doesn't like operating actual antiques, especially when they need constant maintenance. Saying the organ can be heard a mile away sounds like publicity ballyhoo, but they do carry quite far. If all the music is off at Kennywood and the carousel organ is still on, you can hear the music from across the park's lagoon.

The music was pre-recorded instead of being played live. "Live" band organ music makes all the difference! I do like how the current Fantasyland area music fades seamlessly between carousel organ music and regular instrumental versions of the same songs as you move through the land.

I have never experienced Roger Rabbit or Aladdin's Oasis. Major regrets. Nice shots of the Lion King Celebration! Like many people, I saw these same floats at Animal Kingdom.

I love the "Kodak Picture Tips." I think carefully trying to capture the perfect scene is a thing of the past considering you can just take 100 pictures and pick the best one. The Bill Nye the Science Guy "science class was never like this" advertisement is funny to me because we constantly watched the show in grade school. Once the teachers realized they could just leave the teaching to Disney, they did.

TokyoMagic! said...

Andrew, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed this "vintage trip report." I also wish that they still ran the Dumbo band organ. I guess that would require employing someone who is capable of repairing a very old mechanism like that. I was told that is why Knott's got rid of a lot of their antique coin-operated machines, because of their frequent need for repair.

It's a shame that you weren't able to experience Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, when you visited the park. I'm sure you will get to see it eventually, but you won't get to see Jessica Rabbit exposing as much skin.....ha, ha! And as you know, Aladdin's Oasis is gone forever.....no big loss though!

I forgot that DL's Lion King Celebration floats went to Animal Kingdom for their "Festival of the Lion King" show. I just checked, and apparently that show was still running as recently as 2020, but it never returned following the park's shut down for the pandemic. The reason given isn't because of the pandemic, but rather because of "labor disputes" with the performers. I say, Disney just needs to pay all of their cast members a "living wage." So there!

I remember those days of having to keep an eye on how many pictures you were taking, due to the cost of film and developing. I love the fact that we can now take "100" shots of one thing, and not have it cost anything!

Wow, you got to watch a Disney show in school....how fun! I remember my teachers showing us some Disney film strips, featuring Jiminy Cricket. I believe they were about "safety," and were a part of Disney's "I'm No Fool" educational series.

"Lou and Sue" said...

TokyoMagic! What a fun post! I especially enjoyed the parade video - it made me smile. The rhinos are the best, and I like the 'raffia' stilt walkers - very creative and colorful costumes! The radio-controlled(?) alligator was fun - I want one. The elephant sitting on the waterfall (float) was oddly placed. Especially since the water flowed out from under him.

I love the castle artwork on your annual pass; I'm glad you saved it.

The little Dumbo that comes out on the organ is cute. Thanks for sharing that video, too.

You mentioned/questioned about the senior discount, which got me thinking about how Disneyland used to offer 50% off hotel rooms to seniors (and on additional rooms for their traveling companions), which especially came in handy when the Grand Californian first opened. We went a few times when the rooms were a LOT less expensive, plus got the additional 50% off, with my dad being a senior. Now, Disney wants to squeeze every penny out of everyone, even us 'old farts,' so we can kiss those hotel deals goodbye.

Your castle magnet is cool, even with a few chips. But you really do need to add The Dent.

You mentioned the Tropical Hideaway. I LOVE eating there, watching the Jungle Cruise boats floating by.

Thank you for a very enjoyable trip back to Disneyland!

TokyoMagic! said...

Sue, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the parade video. It really was a good parade.

Of course, I was going to save my annual pass! I saved ALL of the annual passes I've had over the years! And the individual one-day park tickets, before there were ever annual passes.

Wow, that's great that they were also giving senior discounts for the hotel rooms. And 50%....I'm a little shocked at that. I didn't know that Disney was ever that generous! Of course, they definitely would not do that now.....not even a much smaller discount of say, 5 or 10%. MONEYGRUBBERS!

Now that my Castle magnet is damaged, I really should get a nail or an ice pick, and carve "The Dent" into that one spot. ;-)

The Tropical Hideaway seems to be very similar to what was there prior to the Tahitian Terrace. I forget the name of that original food location. Adventureland Lanai??? It was before my time, but of course, we've seen photos of it on GDB! I hope they keep "Rosita" in the Tropical Hideaway. I've seen photos online, where she is completely covered up. It seems like the type of thing that they would eventually give up on maintaining and just remove her altogether. But hopefully, that won't happen!