Editor's Report
Page 3 of 3
It's a Mayfair Now: That Hyperion Theater at the end of DCA's Hollywood Blvd. was the home to some of my favorite memories. My first trip into DCA I saw Steps in Time there and loved it. Then they changed it. I saw it after the changes and still liked it quite a bit - enough to have seen it 30 times or more. I saw Blast! make their DCA debut there at a media event. They only performed one number claiming they'd only had minimal rehearsal time. You sure couldn't tell. Blast! is amazing. I also saw a press conference there before DCA opened with Eisner, Pressler, Harriss, Sklar, Braverman and Iger. What a group! That was memorable! And somewhere in there the Disneyland Resort Cast held their annual Flashback talent event for charity. Rebekah and I got to go for the first time and were amazed at how much talent there is in all areas of the Resort.
"Isn't Bright and Shiny?": December 5th was just a perfect day. I already talked about the event held at Disneyland that morning. That evening the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences put on an event as well. Hosted by Leonard Maltin the event featured - among others - Diane Disney Miller, Frank, Ward and Ollie and Peter Ellenshaw. And who's-who of Disney personalities were in attendance as well. Many rare clips of Walt Disney were shown. The highlights were "impatient Walt" as he recorded a spot with an executive from Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Diane Disney Miller showing home movies.
Waterworld or Titanic?: Two
Disney theme parks opened this year. In the states, most of the hubub was over Disney's
California Adventure. But among Disney fans Tokyo DisneySea got a lot of
attention. And why not? Tokyo DisneySea is one ambitious theme park. And by all accounts,
it succeeds in its ambitions. I've not been lucky enough to visit Tokyo DisneySea, but
once again - owning LaughingPlace.com makes me a very lucky person. Our Tokyo contributor
Marc Borrelli has "forced" me to watch DisneySea grow by consistently providing
updates through construction, opening day and beyond. By my count he's sent somewhere
between 1,500 and 2,000 pictures for LaughingPlace.com readers (and me) to enjoy. Tokyo
DisneySea is one beautiful theme park. I hope to see it someday.
Links: Tokyo DisneySea Updates
E-Cards are so impersonal: I
loved LuminAria. I know not everyone did, but I did. But my best LuminAria memories
occurred before it even debuted. In an effort to provide the best coverage possible at
LaughingPlace.com (but mostly because we're impatient), Rebekah, me and anyone who wanted
to join us would climb up the outdoor stairs at the Grand Californian Hotel and stare at
the lagoon. And wait ... and wait ... and wait ... and wait. But then you'd hear the
announcement and LuminAria testing would begin. A couple of times we were treated to some
spectacular fireworks shows that were not a part of the final show. That was fun.
Links: LuminAria picture and video • LuminAria Opening Ceremony
What Goes Up, Must Go Up Again: I've read stories of people who watch the tree at the Wilderness Lodge go up overnight, so when we were on our way home after a late dinner at the Grand Californian and noticed all the furniture moved out the way and a huge cherry picker being brought in, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. As this was the first year things moved a bit more slowly than I suspect they will in years to come. At 3:00 a.m. all they had up was the center poll and the top two branches, and getting that far was quite an adventure - if you ever see me, ask me about it. We couldn't keep our eyes open any more so we left. We were back the next night for dinner and they told us the tree was up by early morning ready for guests, just not yet decorated. On our way out that night we once again noticed the cherry picker coming in and just couldn't resist. So what happens? They take all the branches out of the tree, string the lights, then put all the branches back. We stayed a couple of hours while all this happened and a few decorations were put on. The next day the tree was just about done. The inaugural Grand Californian Christmas Tree - truly a Californian adventure - and I can say I was there.
Look for the final part of my look back at 2001 soon.
Discuss It
Related Links
-- Doobie Moseley
Editor's Report: Doobie's look at some aspect of Disney or LaughingPlace.com..
The Editor's Report does not have a regular schedule.
-- Posted January 22, 2002