1st Trip to Disneyland. Must dos???

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

My initial online search didn't turn up a direct answer but I did see references, concerning the gulf of Mexico at Disneyland, to the sailing ship Columbia and New Orleans Square DL. Pretty busy at work this week so not much time to do research. Hopefully will have some more time next week.

Disneyland is chock full of 60 years of attention to detail. Even to the point of making New Orleans Square appear to have ships sailing up from the Gulf of Mexico. With your back to the Rivers of America, make sure to look UP over the buildings.

 

[SMD]

I couldn't get the tour link to work but I'll research this and other tours. Primarily looking for the history. Not sure how much of the WD studios you can tour but looking for that kind of thing.

There are no public tours of the Disney Studios. There are periodic tours for D23 gold members, which are in April and September this year. Sony, Paramount and WB have studio tours, with WB being the most well known. Universal also includes a tram tour as part of the theme park.

 

[chickapin parterre]

very good stephanie....., looking up is important.....the palm trees and riding dumbo at sunset to see peter pan float in the evening sky.....now on to the stump, ideologically it represents the many myths that surround Disneyland. You can actually purchase a botanical guide to Disneyland and discover that many of the trees where brought into Disneyland to give it a head start, which I guess makes sense when you bulldoze down a orange orchard. But the trees were not random. Nor was the stump random. Regardless of how many myths surround the "stump", I use it as a platform to hold forth as evidences that Walt Disney was a preservation of the United States and that he wanted to bring it to California. So he shipped the stump to Disneyland, just in case they disappeared from the landscape of the USA, though it is very unlikely that this "stump" is going anywhere, unlike the "jumping fish", which us E-Ticket book kids hope returns in some fashion.

 

[dfb]

Disneyland is chock full of 60 years of attention to detail. Even to the point of making New Orleans Square appear to have ships sailing up from the Gulf of Mexico. With your back to the Rivers of America, make sure to look UP over the buildings.

View attachment 215186

I did read this and see the photos of mast/sails attached to the roof tops at NOS. The sails were drawn in and part of the original concept art of NOS in design phase. I forgot the artist name. The sails/mast, I guess were actually added to the park later on for the purpose of disguising spot lights located on the roof. The spot lights were needed for one of the shows.

I did consider this to have the answer but since the ports in New Orleans are inland and many are long the winding Mississippi river, seeing ship masts with the sails stowed backside of buildings could actually be in any direction. I guess I thought about it too much.

But If that is the case, I'm not sure which building the sails are actually located but based on your description, the general direction to the Gulf of Mexico would be Southwest??

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

But If that is the case, I'm not sure which building the sails are actually located but based on your description, the general direction to the Gulf of Mexico would be Southwest??

Lol, I'm completely directionally challenged, so couldn't tell you if they are southwest or northeast. I do know that you can spot them really well from Tom Sawyer's Island when it's open.

 

[dfb]

There are no public tours of the Disney Studios. There are periodic tours for D23 gold members, which are in April and September this year. Sony, Paramount and WB have studio tours, with WB being the most well known. Universal also includes a tram tour as part of the theme park.

Is there any public access to the studio property at all? Just to drive thru?? Probably a silly question. We were just looking for anything; formal tours or even if it's just a drive by landmark or a drive by existing lots. My son had a competition in Kansas City. We drove around using online references to find the house where Walt lived and the building where he had Laugh o gram studios. No big attraction or anything but neat just to drive by and see, if you're already in the area.

I've read about the periodic tours thru D23 but most seemed to be during the annual D23Expo and I didn't want to do my first trip then. I can imagine it would be insanely crowded? But I will check to see if any other D23 tours coincide near our visiting timeframe? I am a D23 gold member and would love to make it to an expo one day but not first trip out!

Thanks!

 

[dfb]

Lol, I'm completely directionally challenged, so couldn't tell you if they are southwest or northeast. I do know that you can spot them really well from Tom Sawyer's Island when it's open.

Thanks for the info

I love the details and the side stories to all the history at Disney. Unfortunately the more info I learn the more I usually forget, got that CRS disease.

 

[dfb]

very good stephanie....., looking up is important.....the palm trees and riding dumbo at sunset to see peter pan float in the evening sky.....now on to the stump, ideologically it represents the many myths that surround Disneyland. You can actually purchase a botanical guide to Disneyland and discover that many of the trees where brought into Disneyland to give it a head start, which I guess makes sense when you bulldoze down a orange orchard. But the trees were not random. Nor was the stump random. Regardless of how many myths surround the "stump", I use it as a platform to hold forth as evidences that Walt Disney was a preservation of the United States and that he wanted to bring it to California. So he shipped the stump to Disneyland, just in case they disappeared from the landscape of the USA, though it is very unlikely that this "stump" is going anywhere, unlike the "jumping fish", which us E-Ticket book kids hope returns in some fashion.

The reference to palm trees - is that about the Dominguez tree? I have some info on that and the eucalyptus trees behind Town Hall.

Seeing peter pan in the sky while riding dumbo at sunset I'll have to look up.

The stump - is that the petrified stump given to Lillian Disney. I've read some on that but don't remember any myth's. What are the myth's?


I do appreciate the info!! It's fun to talk to the family about these and it gets them excited about the trip not that they need that. It does also make it special when you are walking thru Disney to see these things and know the associated stories.

Thank you. ... and keep them coming, please!!

 

[chickapin parterre]

it was not given to Lillian, they were both there in the petrifed forest when Walt bought it and a remark in the the speech at the plaque placement. of the stump was mis-directed. I only found this out on another board about the 15 myths of Disneyland. so..here is another one....the flag pole on main street also supports Walt being preservationist, but it goes beyond the story of that particular flag pole, there is another flag pole that Walt repurposed, where is that flag pole and what hangs on it? could win you some trivia money someday, it did for me,...what city won me 25.00, specific location won me another 25.00 and another 25.00 for where the flag pole came from, which I didn't understand until two months ago researching a whole different subject

 

[SMD]

Is there any public access to the studio property at all? Just to drive thru?? Probably a silly question. We were just looking for anything; formal tours or even if it's just a drive by landmark or a drive by existing lots. My son had a competition in Kansas City. We drove around using online references to find the house where Walt lived and the building where he had Laugh o gram studios. No big attraction or anything but neat just to drive by and see, if you're already in the area.

I've read about the periodic tours thru D23 but most seemed to be during the annual D23Expo and I didn't want to do my first trip then. I can imagine it would be insanely crowded? But I will check to see if any other D23 tours coincide near our visiting timeframe? I am a D23 gold member and would love to make it to an expo one day but not first trip out!

Thanks!

There is no public access to the studio. You could drive there to see the walls around it and the gates, but that's a 75 mile round trip to look at mostly fences. There are no tours during the D23 Expo, which is in Anaheim. The member tours this year are in January, April and September. There's also an Adventures by Disney tour, which isn't offered this year on Mother's Day weekend. https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/north-america/hollywood-disneyland-tour/

There's the Carolwood barn at Griffith Park, which is currently only open on the 3rd Sunday of each month. With the Tink race being the 2nd Sunday, if you stay more than a week that's a possibility. Here is some info about places with a connection to Walt, but as you can see, many of them aren't there anymore or are private property with no public access. https://ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/08/30/walt-disney-los-angeles/

 

[dfb]

There is no public access to the studio. You could drive there to see the walls around it and the gates, but that's a 75 mile round trip to look at mostly fences. There are no tours during the D23 Expo, which is in Anaheim. The member tours this year are in January, April and September. There's also an Adventures by Disney tour, which isn't offered this year on Mother's Day weekend. https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/north-america/hollywood-disneyland-tour/

There's the Carolwood barn at Griffith Park, which is currently only open on the 3rd Sunday of each month. With the Tink race being the 2nd Sunday, if you stay more than a week that's a possibility. Here is some info about places with a connection to Walt, but as you can see, many of them aren't there anymore or are private property with no public access. https://ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/08/30/walt-disney-los-angeles/

Thanks

I'll look over the links and see what we can incorporate into our trip.

 

[dfb]

it was not given to Lillian, they were both there in the petrifed forest when Walt bought it and a remark in the the speech at the plaque placement. of the stump was mis-directed. I only found this out on another board about the 15 myths of Disneyland. so..here is another one....the flag pole on main street also supports Walt being preservationist, but it goes beyond the story of that particular flag pole, there is another flag pole that Walt repurposed, where is that flag pole and what hangs on it? could win you some trivia money someday, it did for me,...what city won me 25.00, specific location won me another 25.00 and another 25.00 for where the flag pole came from, which I didn't understand until two months ago researching a whole different subject

Until I read some articles recently, I never knew of a myth or controversy over the stump, actually I knew nothing of the stump. Fortunately the article I read pointed out the purchase was for the park and the idea of a gift to Lillian was a joke spawned by Walt.

I had read base of the flagpole at Disneyland comes from an antique lamp post in Los Angeles that was knocked down in an auto accident. One of the Disney artist/employee bought for $5 and hauled it off. I don't know if true or not? As for the other flagpole. I did find a couple references to Walt sending a flagpole to the elementary school he attended in Marceline when they renamed it using Walt's name. Walt was on one of the committees for the 1960 Winter Olympics in California. After the Olympics, Walt sent one of the thirty official Olympic flagpoles to the Walt Disney elementary school in Marceline. There is a plaque on the pole describing this. As to what hangs from it, other than the American flag, I don't know. I saw photos of the flagpole at the school flying the American flag, exception some photos showed kids in the process of raising a mickey flag, but this looked more like a publicity photo??

Is this what you were referring?

 

[chickapin parterre]

your doing great, the elementary school is the only other place that the Disneyland flag flies

what three attractions in 2017 are available for your participation, but were not original to Disneyland?

 

[Winnowill]

Until I read some articles recently, I never knew of a myth or controversy over the stump, actually I knew nothing of the stump. Fortunately the article I read pointed out the purchase was for the park and the idea of a gift to Lillian was a joke spawned by Walt.

Hmm. That's interesting. I did the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour last year, and the tour guide repeated as truth the "gift to Lillian" story about the stump.

 

[prestoncaldwell]

your doing great, the elementary school is the only other place that the Disneyland flag flies

what three attractions in 2017 are available for your participation, but were not original to Disneyland?

Hmmmm.

It's a Small World
the Carousel

Hmmmmm

the Columbia???

I mean, the park bench isn't an attraction, is it?

 

[prestoncaldwell]

No, without researching, you would have to be standing in the park AND observant to answer this question.

 

[dfb]

your doing great, the elementary school is the only other place that the Disneyland flag flies

what three attractions in 2017 are available for your participation, but were not original to Disneyland?

These three originated at the NY world's fair
-It's a small world
-Great Moments with Mr Lincoln - The name has changed some but I think the attraction is original??
-Carousel of progress **** but was moved to WDW the 70's

-King Arthur's Carrousel - came from a park in Canada. Some horses in the modification came from Coney island.

Cool bits of history!

 

[dfb]

Hmm. That's interesting. I did the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour last year, and the tour guide repeated as truth the "gift to Lillian" story about the stump.

Here is the article I read about the stump.

http://www.disneyhistoryinstitute.com/2014/10/dhi-mythbusters-edition-truth-about.html

Summary: the article confirms with a letter in 2009 from Diane Disney it was a joke!

Apparently the correspondence Walt created about it being a gift to Lillian was significant enough to keep the joke going for 60+ years. That's a pretty good joke.

I don't know if there's still some confusion in the tour guides training or if the guide was adding some of his personal knowledge even though it may be inaccurate.

 

[chickapin parterre]

your good!!!!! you are going to have a grand time and I look forward to your trip report. I am what they call an E-ticket book kid, that in the 60s, we had a book of tickets, so are ride choices were limited, so i always took the longer rides. But the problem with the 60s is that Disneyland was it, no color TV, no Travel, and books about Dick and Jane. And when my parents dropped me off at the gate as an 8 year old, this is where those two kids lived, and forever changed my life,

shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

[dfb]

your good!!!!! you are going to have a grand time and I look forward to your trip report. I am what they call an E-ticket book kid, that in the 60s, we had a book of tickets, so are ride choices were limited, so i always took the longer rides. But the problem with the 60s is that Disneyland was it, no color TV, no Travel, and books about Dick and Jane. And when my parents dropped me off at the gate as an 8 year old, this is where those two kids lived, and forever changed my life,

shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I appreciate the Disney history points / insights. I too grew up in the 60's/70's, never made it to Disneyland and only one trip to WDW. We did though make a homemade frozen coke every Sunday just in time to watch "The Wonderful World of Disney"

As an adult with kids we've made numerous trips to WDW and looking very forward to our Disneyland trip. My kids, although grown now, still give me a hard time since I'm always dragging them out early and keeping them out late in the parks. Relative to our normal trip routine, I think they would quote Frost more appropriately ...

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

...as I am usually prodding them to the parks, urging them they can sleep when we get home.

Thanks again for the info.