Tip Tuesday: Some of the Hidden Mickey of Liberty Square

 

Hello again for another Tip Tuesday!

This week, we're moseying out of Frontierland and going next door into Liberty Square.  There are quite a few Hidden Mickeys to be found in this area of the Magic Kingdom, even though it's fairly small in comparison to the other lands.

The first Hidden Mickey I want to feature is shown above and it's perhaps my most favorite Hidden Mickey in the Magic Kingdom, if not in all of Walt Disney World.  This little gem can be found in plain sight on the ground in the walkway between the Columbia Harbor House and the entrance to the Haunted Mansion.  I especially like how the hoof prints have been carefully placed in coordination with the water cover to form our favorite mouse icon.

Speaking of the Haunted Mansion, there are a few Hidden Mickey's I want to show you, but before I do, don't forget about The Columbia Harbor House and the Hall of Presidents.  There are a few Hidden Mickeys you can discover.  Here's a hint for one in the Hall of Presidents preshow lobby. 
Our first President must have been a fan of the mouse - Mickey kept giving him a tip.

Now there's another very popular and well-known Hidden Mickey to be found inside the Haunted Mansion.  It seems Mickey is a popular dinner guest in the ballroom scene.  He can be found created by some carefully placed plates on the large dining table.  But that's not the only place where you can find a Hidden Mickey formed by plates.  The other is close by, but you'll need to keep a sharp eye out...

Here's a Hidden Mickey I found a few years ago.  As you enter the loading area for the Doom Buggies, look at the light fixtures mounted on the walls.  On each end is a small Hidden Mickey.  These are on each light, so there are a few opportunities to find this one!  This might be a DisneyDaddy exclusive!  I haven't heard anyone else talk about this one.

There are a few more Hidden Mickeys to be found among the living... and the dead... here in the Haunted Mansion, so as our ghost host would say, "look alive," and see how many you can find!

Photo Friday: The Magic Kingdom's Black Widow

Welcome foolish mortals to another Photo Friday.  In honor of Friday the 13th, I thought I'd share this ghastly photo of the Magic Kingdom's resident black widow bride, Constance (by request from Rebecca P.) 

To date our dear Constance has managed to "sever" ties with five of her dear departed husbands.  She's dying to find a sixth.  Any takers?

Photo Friday: Four score and seven years ago...

Welcome to another Photo Friday!

In honor of the soon-to-be official kickoff to the Presidential campaign season, I thought I'd share one of my photos from the Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom.  It is possible that this attraction might soon need a new update if Mitt Romney were to win this November.  Of course, if President Obama prevails, there of course would be no need for a refurb for four more years (I'll leave my political views out of this).

As the campaigns heat up, I hope both candidates (and you) keep in mind the point of the whole exercise:  to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  And if you need a reminder of why that oath is so important, just stop by the Hall of Presidents and listen as Mr. Washington explains it to you.

Tip Tuesday: Hall of Presidents

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

As election returns come in on this election night, I thought I'd highlight an often overlooked attraction in the Magic Kingdom that chronicles those who have answered the call to serve in the nation's highest office: The Presidency.

An original opening day attraction, The Hall of Presidents was originally developed by Walt Disney himself. Back during the early days of Disneyland, Walt wanted to create an attraction that featured all the Presidents of the United States. Unfortunately, the technology to do so just hadn't been developed yet, so Walt set his sights instead on a single President: Abraham Lincoln. "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln," which premiered at the 1964 New York World's Fair, was the end result of Walt's efforts. After the World's Fair ended, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln moved to Disneyland.

While Walt never gave up on his original idea, he would not live to see any further advancement on his original project.

After Walt's death in Dec. 1966, Imagineers were coming up with ideas for attractions for Liberty Square, one of the lands in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and decided to take another look at Walt Disney's original concept for an attraction featuring all the Presidents. In 1971, the Hall of Presidents was born.

When it first opened, the Hall of Presidents featured 36 Presidents (Richard Nixon was in the White House in 1971). Since then, seven more Presidents have been added (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama).

Last year, the attraction received a significant refurbishment, not just to add the 44th President of the United States (Mr. Obama), but also to add an all-new introduction film voiced by Morgan Freeman and new title: "The Hall of Presidents: A Celebration of Liberty's Leaders." This new title echo's a new storyline, "We the People," paying tribute to the bond between the people and the President.

Outside the theatre, the lobby area is a treasure trove of hidden gems. The pre-show lobby features presidential portraits, display cases filled with personal artifacts of presidents including Gerald Ford, Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and George Washington, and large display cases exhibiting dresses and personal objects worn by several first ladies, including Edith Roosevelt (Teddy’s wife), Elizabeth Monroe and Nancy Reagan.

With all this history, why do so many people go right by? To be honest, I really don't understand it. The Hall of Presidents is a heart-stirring tribute to our nation's leaders and a technological marvel. The line for Peter Pan's Flight can be upwards of an hour and the audio animatronics are nowhere near the caliber of what's in the Hall of Presidents. Don't get me wrong, I really like Peter Pan's Flight, but I think the Hall of Presidents deserves its props for being just as much of a headliner as other attractions. In fact, when HOP opened in 1971, it was an "E" attraction.

The Hall of Presidents is much more than just a place to beat the heat or get out of the rain. The show is very moving and will make you proud to be an American (to my international friends, I hope you also are proud of your heritage as well, so please pardon by bit of national pride here).

I highly encourage you make the time to see the Hall of Presidents. The show runs about 25 minutes, so it's worth the effort. Who knows, in a few years, the show might be changing again. That's one thing that's always interesting about this attraction, when a new President takes the oath, it's time for another refurb for the Hall of Presidents.

Some interesting tidbits:

When Imagineers met with President Obama, they were scheduled to record his speech in the White House Map Room. The sound quality wasn’t optimum for the recording, so White House staff placed upholstered screens around the room to achieve good acoustic quality.

The new Audio-Animatronic Barack Obama stands on stage next to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. His figure is one of the most lifelike because of the subtlety and smoothness of its movements and facial expressions.

Disney legend Blaine Gibson sculpted every president except Obama – his protégée, Disney sculptor Valerie Edwards, sculpted Obama with oversight by Gibson, now in his 90s.

While Barack Obama is the 44th president, there only 43 men standing on the Hall of Presidents stage when the curtain rises. That's because Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, so he is both the 22nd and 24th president.

The Imagineering team combed through the National Archives, Library of Congress, museums and private collections to acquire more than 130 new images ultimately woven into the show.

In the 2009 re-launch of the attraction, Lincoln recites the Gettysburg address with the original Royal Dano recording directed by Walt for President Lincoln’s World’s Fair debut.

Tip Tuesday: Quick exit out of the Haunted Mansion's stretching room

Welcome foolish mortals, to another Tip Tuesday. I am your host, your ghost... ok. Enough with the Haunted Mansion bit. Besides, Master Gracey does it best.

I'm back from Walt Disney World with many new tips for you.

This tip is short, sweet and to the point - and will help your beat a few lines, especially during busy times (like now).

When you enter the stretching room - you are surrounded by a series of portraits. After you hear the ghost host's spiel about having no windows and no doors, etc. (actually there are two doors), you eventually empty out into the loading area for the doom buggies.

As you enter that load area from the stretching room, it can feel like a stampede of cattle. That is, unless you're first out of the gate. So where's the gate?

It's pretty simple -- look for the portrait of the young woman holding the parasol (seen above). As the photo stretches, she is seen standing on a wire above a snapping crocodile. If you stand directly UNDER this photo, you will be standing right at the door that will open at the conclusion of the stretching room scene. This applies for both stretching rooms in the Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion.

Just look for the portrait, stand under it (and away from the walls) and you can pretty much guarantee you will beat the throng trying to stampede to the load area.

Now for less crowded times, I always encourage guests to try to stick around after everyone has left to hear the eerie whispers. It's a neat effect. For peak times of the year -- don't bother. You won't hear it with all the gabble of talking guests. Just move on to the doom buggies.

One more bit of trivia. In Disneyland, the stretching rooms are actually cleverly disguised elevators transporting guests to a lower floor. In Walt Disney World, the floor doesn't move - the ceiling raises.

Hall of Presidents featuring #44

On Sunday, June 28, I had the pleasure of attending a special sneak preview of the newly refurbished Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square. The highlight of the new attraction is our 44th President, Barack Obama, however the speech by George Washington was equally as moving. The most moving of all, honestly, was the opening video narrated by Morgan Freeman. His deep, strident voice lended a sense of importance and authority to the story of how our nation's presidents came to find themselves in the White House.

Much as I wish I could bring you photos (the photo above is from Disney), I was told by a castmember when entering that no photography and video of any kind would be allowed. I decided to respect this request, though it appears others didn't get the same request. AttractionsMagazine.com has video and photos of the new show (animatronic portion only). Disney has released some video on their YouTube channel.

The opening video is a bit shorter than the previous video and quickly moves through the history of our presidents. There is one new bit that I most appreciated in the video portion -- the Abraham Lincoln animatronic makes an appearance isolated by a red curtain curved around his chair. Much like Disneyland's Great Moments with Mister Lincoln, our 16th President stands up from his ornate chair to deliver the Gettysburg address. Afterward, the lights dim and the video continues highlighting Lincoln's efforts to hold the nation together during the Civil War.

In the final scenes, the film shows the now famous video of President George W. Bush standing aside firefighters at ground zero in New York City saying "we can hear you!" Those scenes are still chilling to see and I was gratified that Disney decided to include a reference to 9/11 in the film. The last shot is the space shuttle taking off and as it does, the curtain rises to reveal and introduce all 43 presidents.

After the introductions, George Washington makes a brief speech about how he was honored to serve as the nation's first president and how he did so by taking a short, but ever so solemn oath. President Obama then "takes" the oath of office and continues with his speech about the American dream and the need for tolerance and a shared spirit.

The attraction closes with dawn breaking over the Capitol and the U.S. presidents. It's a very moving visual tableau and leaves you proud to be an American (similar to the end of the American Experience at Epcot).

A few days later I ran into Alex Carruthers, art director for the Magic Kingdom and Eric Jacobson, senior V.P. for Walt Disney Imagineering. They told me they were gratified to see how guests have responded to the newly refurbished attraction.

I'm not a big fan of President Obama, the person; but I am a huge fan of President Obama, the animatronic. Imagineering did a wonderful job of capturing Mr. Obama's mannerisms, stance and gestures. You really get the sense that this is our 44th President. In a similar manner, presidents Washington and Lincoln are equally stunning. The sight of our first president and newest president standing on opposite sides of President Lincoln makes a great picture.

So go and see the new Hall of Presidents -- it's much more than a place to beat the heat or rain. It's an attraction that will remind you what it means to be an American and will help fill you with pride for the U.S.A.