Forever Magical - Jun 13, 2001

Forever Magical
Page 3 of 3

My favorite scavenger hunts, though, were the Castle Clue Challenges, which were organized by James Hensley and were based on Minnie's Moonlight Madness. Minnie's is an event for Cast Members hold after park hours for charity. Maybe the reason I liked it was that Doobie and I - along with our various teammates - dominated the competition for three straight years. The challenge was a two-part competition. The first part was 200 or so multiple choice questions surrounding Disneyland and its history. For example "Who found the site for Disneyland? A) Walt Disney B) Walt Disney Productions C) Stanford Research Institute D) The Irvine Company E) None of the Above." These were handed out at the beginning and we had one hour to complete them. We could do them while participating in the scavenger hunt. (By the way the answer to the above questions is C.)

Each team had 2 ½ hours to solve 11 clues. Some of these would involve going to attractions and answering very specific questions. We would select a white envelope and hope that it wasn't going to make us go to Critter Country or Toon Town. Once you knew the answer you'd turn in that clue and pick the next one. This particular year there was an activity revolving around the Main Street Opera. It was number questions such as "What film won the Patsy Award in 1971?" "How many couches are in Walt Disney's working office?" Etc. If you didn't know the answer to the question off the top of your head you'd walk on over to the Main Street Opera House. Another year he directed players to a specific location by following cracks in the cement at Toon Town. I'd tell you more about it, but James will be hosting a DCA Scavenger Hunt for MouseInfo.com this weekend and I don't want to give away any of his secrets.

I will, however,  share one more of my favorite challenges. James gave us a list of search clues which we took to Innoventions. By typing them into the Go.com search engine we got specific urls and answers. We plugged these into the blanks that James provided. Some of the blanks had circles around them. By plugging those select letters into another set of blanks at the bottom we were given a question whose answer could be found in one of Innoventions exhibits. It was complicated but fun and felt really good to complete.

But the most wonderful benefit of frequenting the Disney theme parks is the people I've met. When you go once in awhile you have to dash here and there to catch all your favorite attractions and shows. Me, I sometimes - in fact most of the time - don't go on any rides. I grab a drink and sit some place and talk. Various friends stop by and chat before moving on to their favorite rides. The most amazing thing is that I've met so many people at Disneyland. I met Mark and Jim who loved the Pocahontas stage show. I met Lou, who used to style Marilyn Monroe's hair and his lovely wife, Jean. I've met Disney Legends like Betty Taylor and Wally Boag who used to entertain at the Golden Horseshoe. I've met a lot of great people and some of them I've gotten to know well enough to call friends. (Hi Mark! Hi Jim!) I wonder if Walt envisioned the community that would be created by his theme parks. They are an instant icebreaker. If you visit often and you recognize a face, all you have to do is ask what their favorite attraction is and you've started the conversation. Immediately we know we have something in common - we enjoy Disney.

So do I grow tired of visiting Disney theme parks?…Nope! I look forward to making new friendships, discovering new secrets and watching the parks develop for years to come.

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-- Rebekah Moseley
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Forever Magical: Rebekah's recollections on Disney events of the past - both distant and recent - proving that Disney will always remain forever magical.

-- Posted June 13, 2001

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