Beacon Joe in the Disney Parks

Today we are going to pay a visit to a resident of Tokyo Disneyland....actually a resident of several of the Disney parks. This is Beacon Joe. He can be seen while riding the Mark Twain Steamboat around the park's Western River (Tokyo's "Rivers of America") The large tressle in the foreground is the Western River Railroad. Behind that is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (that tunnel is the entrance to the "avalanche" scene.)


Let's move in a little closer.......

It turns out that this guy pops up in multiple places throughout the Disney parks, including the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Click (here) to see Daveland's fascinating detective work on this figure!

And if you click (here), it will take you to George Taylor's "Imaginerding" site for one more photo of Beacon Joe sitting on his dock alongside the Rivers of America at Walt Disney World.

We'll end this short post today with an aerial shot taken from Tokyo's Western River Railroad.

Walt Disney World - Steamboats of The Magic Kingdom

Today we will be staying with the theme from last week, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. These first two photos are from the early 70's and show the Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat alongside it's dock in Liberty Square. This paddle wheeler was named after Joe Fowler, the retired Navy Admiral that played an important role in the construction of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. The ship was very similar in appearance to Disneyland's Mark Twain Riverboat.

 

Unfortunately, the Admiral Joe Fowler was damaged beyond repair during a 1980 rehab, so it was permanently removed from service at that time and scrapped. (In 1999 however, one of the ferries that take guests from the Ticket and Transportation Center across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom, was renamed the Admiral Joe Fowler. That boat had previously been known as the Magic Kingdom I.)

Below, is a 2007 photo that I took from almost the same spot along the riverbank as the photo above. The Haunted Mansion is still visible off in the distance, but notice how much the vegetation has grown over the years.

In 1973, a second riverboat, the Richard F. Irvine was introduce to the Rivers of America and actually coexisted with the Admiral Joe Fowler until 1980. This boat was completely refurbished in 1996 and was renamed the Liberty Belle as seen below. Note the single smoke stack on this vessel. I am wondering why Disney built a second riverboat that so closely resembled the original....especially when that original boat was still in operation. How curious!

I had heard that parts of the Admiral Joe Fowler were later reused in the construction of Tokyo Disneyland's Mark Twain Riverboat, which opened in 1983, but I haven't been able to confirm that for sure. Does anyone out there know if that's true? This last photo is from 2009 and shows Tokyo Disneyland's Mark Twain sitting alongside it's dock in Westernland. Splash Mountain can also be seen off in the distance.

Halloween, Popcorn & Westernland

Back in March, I did a post about Tokyo Disneyland's popcorn wagons and mentioned that a couple of them get decorated for Halloween. Let's take a look at those two locations and their seasonal decor.

First up, is this popcorn wagon in Westernland. Here we find Big Al from Country Bear Jamboree all decked out as the Wicked Witch. He even has a basket of apples on his arm!


Notice the wig and the small mole on his nose that help complete the costume.


Here's how he looks the rest of the year.


Next we have another Westernland popcorn wagon featuring Pecos Bill and his horse. Pecos Bill is wearing a Captain Hook hat and wig. His costume also includes a hook for his hand and a strap-on prosthetic chin.

His horse even gets to wear a coordinating Crocodile costume!

Here's how they look without their costumes.

Just in case I don't get another post up before Saturday, I want to wish everyone a very safe and happy Halloween!

Got Popcorn?

Popcorn is just as popular in Japan as it is here in the United States. The Tokyo Disney Resort however, has only a few popcorn stands that sell just plain popcorn. Most of the popcorn sold in their parks is flavored popcorn. Here is a partial list (from memory) of just some of the flavors: Cappuccino, Chocolate, Curry, Honey, Black Pepper, Strawberry, Sea Salt, and Soda (don't ask...I don't know what the Soda flavored one tastes like!) The next time I am there, I will have to make a complete list of the flavors, but this post isn't about the flavors, it's actually about the locations that sell the popcorn.

First up, is the Popping Pod, which kind of looks like it just "landed" in Tomorrowland.

Also in Tomorrowland is this moon rover-looking cart. I do wish the Disney Parks worldwide would stop sticking brown, beige, and copper colors in their Tomorrowlands. Am I the only one that feels that way? I actually don't hate these colors, I just don't like them in Tomorrowland!


This next cart is from Adventureland and has a Tiki bird (complete with chef's hat and scarf), turning the little crank mechanism.

These last two pics are both from Westernland. First we have Big Al turning the crank at one cart.....

....while at another cart, we have the politically incorrect version of Pecos Bill turning the crank with his foot, while smoking a cigarette! (Incidentally, upon it's video release, Disney digitally removed Pecos Bill's cigarette from all scenes in the film Melody Time.)

For Halloween, Tokyo Disneyland puts miniature costumes on Big Al, Pecos Bill and even his horse! I will include those pics in a future post.

*Post Update: I visited Tokyo just about a month after this post and the popcorn flavors that I had listed from memory was a complete list!

*Second Post Update: For the newer post showing the miniature figures wearing their Halloween costumes, click here: Halloween, Popcorn And Westernland.

This and That

Today I present a sampler of pics from Tokyo Disneyland. These include a bathroom, two and a half trashcans, and six telephones.

The photo below is of a bathroom entrance that is located underneath the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Nice themeing!

Next, we have a set of trash cans. One of these is for general trash, one is for recyclables, and the thing in the middle is a sink for dumping your drinks before throwing the containers away. This is EXTREMELY helpful for the cast members that actually have to dump the trash. If you have ever had to do this yourself, or ever watched someone do this, you would know that when the bags are taken out of the cans, they are usually leaking from everyone throwing liquids into the trash and then holes being punctured through the plastic bags by other objects like plastic forks, knives, etc. It is not a pretty job. Although I never worked custodial on a permanent basis, I did have to change some trash bags on several occasions during my employment at Knott's Berry Farm. The smelly "liquid garbage" would usually run right out of the bag onto your shoe or pant leg and just really make your day. Unfortunately for the cast members of Tokyo Disneyland, there aren't too many of these special trash cans within the park, but I have noticed at least a couple others. This one is in Tomorrowland.

Below, is a row of telephones from Tomorrowland. I love the little domes over these. I don't know if they are plastic or glass, but they look even cooler when they are lit up at night. I have actually used the payphones in the Tokyo Disney Parks, but I don't think I have ever seen anyone else using them. I'm guessing that as cellphone use has increased over the years, payphone use has decreased just like here in the U.S.


These next two are also from Tomorrowland and are located underneath the Star Jets Platform.



Here are the same two phones at night...sorry for the slight blurriness. You can tell I really like these phones because I've included three different photos of them!

Got Water? - Tokyo Disneyland

Okay, I know to be grammatically correct, the question should be, "Do you have water?" Someone needs to tell that to the California Milk Processor Board! Well anyway, today we are back in Tokyo Disneyland and taking a look at drinking fountains that are themed to either the lands they are in, or the attractions that they are near. The ones pictured above can be found in Toontown, next to Chip 'N Dale's Treehouse.

Next, we have one that is located at the exit to the Swiss Family Treehouse in Adventureland.

The drinking fountain below is located within the queue of the Pooh's Hunny Hunt attraction in Fantasyland.

This one is from Westernland and can be found just across from the Mark Twain landing.

Last up today, we have a drinking fountain from inside the Pan Galactic Pizza Port in Tomorrowland.

Not all of the drinking fountains in Tokyo Disneyland have this much themeing, but seeing these made me stop and wonder.....does Disneyland in Anaheim have ANY themed drinking fountains? I can't think of any. I would like to hear from the experts out there!

In my next post, we will take a look at themed drinking fountains from Tokyo DisneySea.

More Halloween In Westernland

We're still in Tokyo Disneyland's Westernland, taking a look at Halloween decorations. The scarecrows above are dressed in costumes worn by the Mark Twain Captain (left) and the Western River Railroad's Engineers (right)

Above is another one of the many fun Halloween vignettes set up throughout the park. The scarecrows on either side of the wagon are wearing the ranger (or are they supposed to be cavalry?) uniforms that are worn on Tom Sawyer Island.

The wagon above gets a special holiday covering and the wooden bear that points the way to the Country Bear Theater even gets a special "pumpkin bear head" put over it for the season.

Westernland has LOTS of scarecrows throughout the area.

Halloween In Westernland

Today, we are in Tokyo Disneyland's Westernland at Halloween. This is the Trading Post and on it's rooftop we have a "ghost cowboy" and a "ghost Native American". One of them has a couple bullet holes in it's little ghost body and the other one has several arrows through his chest and hat.

This vignette may be un-PC on several different levels, but I do think it's kind of humorous....especially with the two ghosts smiling at one another.

Bunny, Bubbles and Beeeeulah!

Tokyo Disneyland's Country Bear Jamboree is located in Westernland. They have two separate theaters that are usually operating simultaneously, and Tokyo rotates ALL THREE versions of the show throughout the year. They will run the "Christmas Special/Jingle Bell Jamboree" for the holidays, then switch to the original version of the show after New Year's, and then switch again to "Vacation Hoedown" when summertime comes. I LOVE that they do this! Once Anaheim switched to the "Vacation Hoedown" version back in the mid 1980's, we never saw the original version again.....they would only switch back and forth between the Christmas and Vacation Hoedown versions and then ultimately, they gutted the building for a great big pile of Pooh. Sorry, pun intended.

"All the guys that turn me on, turn me down......"

"Jing-a'ling, Jing-a'ling, Jing-a'ling-a'ling......"

"The West Coast has the sunshine and the bears all get so tan....."

Okay, "Vacation Hoedown" was always my least favorite of the three shows. It just seemed to lack the heart of the other two, but it was still a hundred times better than Anaheim's Pooh ride. Shame on you Disney! Shame, shame, shame!

Cascade Peak And Marmots

I forgot to mention in my "Just Around The River Bend" post from two days ago, that Tokyo Disneyland has their own version of Cascade Peak. I am not sure if their peak actually has a name, but it's sits on the bank of the river where the Mark Twain Steamboat and the Canoes pass by, giving passengers a close up view of it's waterfall and it's audio-animatronic wildlife. At it's peak is a family of birds (hawks?) The mother is feeding the baby while the father watches overhead. Further down on the rocks and to the left of the waterfall, you will see a group of marmots (look closely). They pop up and down randomly from behind the rocks while making noises. These are very similar to the marmots that pop up out of the wrecked mine train that sits along the shores of the Rivers of America at Disneyland in Anaheim (where Cascade Peak used to stand).

Below is a close up of some marmots from the same general area along the Westernland River, but these are only visible while riding the Western River Railroad.

Incidentally, the old Nature's Wonderland Mine Train attraction at Disneyland included a group of marmots along it's route for years.

What's all this talk about marmots? What IS a marmot, do you ask? Well, wikipedia states that "Marmots are generally large ground squirrels......however the groundhog is also properly called a marmot" and that they "typically live in burrows, and hibernate there through the winter". It goes on to say that "most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed. This would explain why the old Nature's Wonderland guide would say that the marmots must be "whistling at all you pretty gals, I can't say I blame 'em". It may have been a sexist remark, but at least it was accurate information about the little critters. What's that? You say you want to know even MORE about marmots? Well wikipedia also states that "some historians suggest that marmots, rather than rats, were the primary carriers of the Bubonic plague during several historic outbreaks. Through this they are credited with a death toll of over a billion, making them second only to the malarial mosquito as a killer of humans." Hmmm, fascinating!

Fort Sam Clemens

* For more photos of Tokyo Disneyland's Fort Sam Clemens, see my posting from August 8, 2008 or click here: Fort Samuel Clemens.

Just Around The River Bend......

Let's take a ride on Tokyo Disneyland's Mark Twain Steamboat. In the photo above, it's sitting at the dock in Westernland, boarding passengers. The orange and black bunting was for Halloween. Tokyo Disneyland decorates Westernland, Fantasyland, Toontown, and World Bazaar (Main St.) for Halloween and has been doing this for years. Anaheim only started decorating for Halloween a couple years ago and the decorations are minimal compared to what Tokyo Disneyland does. I'm trying not to make every post of mine into an Anaheim bashing post, but it is so difficult.....especially when I am trying to point out how the parks are similar and how they are different. Anyway, back to the Mark Twain. Let's take a look at some of the sites we will see while cruising the Westernland River. As we start out, we can see Tom Sawyer Island on the right side of the boat.


The view above is of Castle Rock and Barrel Bridge. The rockwork has been done in a shade that matches Big Thunder Mountain.

Just around the bend we see an Indian village.......

The scene above is reminiscent of Anahiem's "boy and dog" scene.

Also visible from the Mark Twain is the burning cabin...which still "burns." To see a photo of the burning cabin, check out a previous post by clicking here: Tokyo's Burning Cabin.

Fort Wilderness Friday

Okay, so it's not really Fort Wilderness, but it sure looks like it, doesn't it? And no, it's not Fort Siemens although, from the photo above, it looks like the sign could read that way (a pioneer days Innoventions anybody?). It's actually Fort Sam Clemens (as in Samuel Clemens, who went by the pen name Mark Twain and wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer). This fort can be found at Tokyo Disneyland on their Tom Sawyer Island....hence the name "Fort Sam Clemens".

The fort is very reminiscent of Disneyland's old Fort Wilderness. The two doorways on the left in the picture above are "peek-ins". The sign on the wall between them is a little difficult to make out, but it reads "REGIMENTAL HDQRS."

The scene inside is also very similar to the Regimental Headquarters scene of the original Fort Wilderness....minus the wax figures of Andrew Jackson, Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen. Maybe they stepped out for a snack at the Fort Sam Clemens Canteen.


Happy 8-8-08 everybody!