Some Tiki Room Enchantment at D23.com

Fly on over to D23.com for a just-posted article written by me about Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, celebrating five decades of tasty tiki magic. Go here to read "The Tiki Room Celebrates 50 Years" by Jim Fanning at D23.com. (This article is a Members Only feature but now you can get a FREE D23 Membership at the website--be sure and sing up and you can visit all the Members Only fun at D23.com.) And to give Tulgey Wood a touch of D23 magic, here's a repro of the original 1963 Enchanted Tiki Room, given out to "you lucky people you" (Annual Passholders, anyhow) at Disneyland Park on June 23, 2013, the actual anniversary date.

Mirth and Magic From Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

Today, June 23, marks the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland Park in 1963. To celebrate here's a Whitman Publishing (aka Western Publishing Company) Disneyland Sticker Fun book cover from 1964 that puts one of those enchanting tiki birds front and center. (Watch for a D23.com post by me all about this Disneyland favorite.... coming soon!)

Walt Disney Meets Santa Claus

Originally broadcast on December 23, 1962, "Holiday Time at Disneyland" is one of the most delightful Disneyland-centered episodes of the Disney anthology series. First shown on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, this colorful (naturally) episode showed off holiday celebrations at Walt's Magic Kingdom, kicked off with a simultaneously surreal and altogether appropriate meeting between Santa Claus and Walt. Did I say "meet"? Walt and Santa greet each other as if they are old friends. Well, why wouldn't they be? First off, Walt made Santa into a Disney character in two Silly Symphony cartoons, Santa's Toy Shop (1932) and The Night Before Christmas (1933). Secondly, in the conversation between the two magic-makers, Walt clearly expresses his dominion by stating that while Mr. Claus has one day a year, Walt has the other 364—an incredible statement when you think about it. Even Santa is impressed when Walt calls upon Tinker Bell to turn off the unusual Southern Californian snowfall and she obliges with a flick of her magic wand. After all, who is more important in the world of childhood than Walt Disney? I say this as someone who firmly believes (as I'm sure anyone who regularly reads this blog also believes) that Walt Disney is not just for the kids. And neither is Santa. I post all of this (including this still from "Holiday Time at Disneyland" taken from the Storyboard blog of the Walt Disney Family Museum) as a birthday tribute to Walter Elias Disney, born this day in 1901. Surely a bit of Christmas magic must have rubbed off on this December-born baby who would grow up to rival even Santa Claus as a master magic-maker.

Spotted At A Recent Visit To Disneyland

It's the Disneyland Challenge book (written by me) I mentioned back here. Still available, still on sale, I'm proud and thrilled to say, at the Disney Gallery on Main Street, U.S.A. at Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom (in other words, Disneyland).

It's Fireworks with America On Parade!

The Fourth of July brings out the fireworks, so the timing is perfect for a firecracker of an article about America on Parade. This was Disney's Bicentennial salute to the history, people, achievements and amusements of America on her 200th birthday, a patriotic-plus pageant presented at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in 1975-1976. To celebrate Independence Day I wrote "A Fourth of July Salute: Disney's America on Parade" and it's on the D23 website. There have been Disney Theme Park parades before and since of course, but there's never been anything quite as unique as this Bicentennial bash with its specially created band organ score, mammoth float-like mobile stages and—most memorable of all—those towering People of America costumed characters. So in the spirit of '76 (both 1776 and 1976) go to D23.com (it's a FREE site for everyone) for a look at the fascinating fireworks behind America on Parade, written by Jim Fanning. (Above is the FanFare email sent to D23 members. Click on the image for a larger version.)

Christmas On Parade At Disneyland

Today I had the privilege and pleasure of attending a seasonal Walt Disney Archives Presents presentation at the Studio. Given by authors Becky Cline (she of the Walt Disney Archives) and Graham Allan, the excellent show covered holiday celebrations—including of course parades— throughout the years at the Disney Theme Park. Becky and Allen wrote an article about this festive subject in the current issue of Disney twenty-three, the official magazine of D23, but their live presentation was more detailed and jam-packed with photos and even video. (UPDATE: You can see some of the holly-jolly historical photos unearthed by Becky and Graham at the D23 website .) To faintly but festively echo this joyous presentation, here's a look at a Disneyland Park parade from Christmas past, Fantasy on Parade, from the Winter 1968 issue of Disney News.

December 5

Today is the birthday of Walt Disney, who was born in 1901. Certainly one of the best and most appropriate tributes ever paid to Walt is the affecting bronze sculpture Partners, sculpted by the great Imagineer Blaine Gibson. Originally dedicated on November 18, 1993 at Disneyland® Park in honor of Mickey's 65th anniversary, the statue was re-dedicated on what would have been Walt's 100th birthday, December 5, 2001, and Tulgey Wood features it here today in honor of the man and his day.

From the Pages of Sketches Magazine: Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom

In the Summer 2005 issue of Sketches, the Official Magazine of the Walt Disney Collectors Society, there appeared an article written by me to celebrate the golden anniversary of Disneyland® Park. Featuring rare ephemera and precious photos from the Walt Disney Archives and the Disney Photo Library, this article served to celebrate five fantastic decades of Disneyland goodness, with the emphasis on Walt's own favorite attractions and contributions. Sketches is available exclusively to Members of the Walt Disney Collectors Society, so be sure and become a Member by going here . And in the meantime, celebrate the anniversary of Disneyland with this article about the man who started it all.

Haunted Mansion Horror: Disneyland Showtime

Throughout October I've offered all kinds of Halloween treats—but now that October 31st is actually upon us, it's time for a trick. Cue the flashing lightening and crashing thunder as Tulgey Wood asks the ominous question: Can your heart stand the shocking facts of the true story of...Disneyland Showtime??? Hosted by Kurt Russell and starring the Osmond Brothers and E. J. Peaker ("Who's E. J. Peaker?" asks little Donny Osmond, in his innocence), Disneyland Showtime gets off to an auspicious start when kooky E. J. arrives in a wildly decorated Volkswagen. The boys inform the zanily vivacious performer she's late for the Love Bug parade and she perkily replies she set out for Disneyland “right after lunch.” The parade “was last year,” Kurt gamely responds. “Guess I should have left right after breakfast!” is E. J.'s inevitable and quasi-adorable answer. Naturally, Ms. Peaker and the boys are then compelled to sing on the Omnibus, “walk happy” on the Mark Twain Riverboat (also taking time to visit the newly-unveiled Haunted Mansion, of course) and otherwise vocalize and verbalize their way through Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, circa 1970.


It All Began with Disneyland

But just like E. J. Peaker herself, we're getting ahead of ourselves. This March 22, 1970 episode of The Wonderful World of Disney was produced to celebrate Disneyland's newest E-ticket attraction the Haunted Mansion, which had opened on August 9, 1969 to record breaking-success. (Some reference books erroneously state this TV episode focuses on the “opening” of the Haunted Mansion.) The Disney TV show (newly rechristened The Wonderful World of Disney for the 1969-1970 season after 8 years as Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color) had not presented a new show focusing on the Park since Disneyland—From Pirates of the Caribbean to the World of Tomorrow in January of 1968. Before that it was Disneyland Around the Seasons in December of 1966 (the first show to be broadcast after Walt died on December 15, 1966). In a way, the model for this show was the 1963 installment Disneyland After Dark. Disney performers (Annette Funicello) mixed with stars not known for a Disney connection (Louis Armstrong, Bobby Rydell) and sang non-Disney songs around the Park. Throw in a dash of Disneyland's 10th Anniversary from 1965 in which Walt introduced forthcoming attractions (including Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion itself) and you have the witch's brew that is Disneyland Showcase, which of course has some offbeat elements of its own.

The plot is a wacky search through Disneyland as that madcap Donny just has to head for the Haunted Mansion, meaning the rest of the performers must track down the elfin younger Osmond before it's time for the Big Show. It’s all a good-natured excuse for a lively tour through the Park. Kurt and two of the Osmonds briefly hang out in the Swiss Family Treehouse and use a (now vintage and very collectable) Disneyland souvenir map to try and determine where that little scamp could have gotten to.

The Host Wore Tennis Shoes

Part of the reason for this show's unusual format was the death of Walt Disney in 1966. The great showman had hosted the weekly hour from its inception in 1954, when it premiered under its original title Disneyland. Episodes that had presented behind-the-scenes peeks at Disneyland had naturally been hosted and narrated by Walt himself. The Disney show had already tried one alternate approach to Walt as host—having 1967 Disneyland ambassador Marcia Miner act as guide to Disneyland—From Pirates of the Caribbean to the World of Tomorrow, but perhaps the choice of the largely unknown Ms. Miner was considered too impersonal. At any rate Disneyland Showcase needed a host and as it was decided to give this episode a youthful appeal, what better choice could there have been than Kurt Russell? The teen-age star (the show aired five days after Kurt's 19th birthday) was the Disney Studios superstar of the late 1960s-1970s, and he’s put to perfect use here. The young star does a lot more than flash his friendly smile or show off his famous dimples. His easy, affable nature makes him the perfect host, especially at the end of Act III of the program (before the commercial break) when Kurt (who before this had acted as an informal host, welcoming the other performers to Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom with ease and charm) speaks directly to the camera and then (after the commercial, naturally) he narrates the behind-the-scenes footage shot at WED (now Walt Disney Imagineering). For his onstage performance and his talk-to-the-audience introduction, Kurt is wearing some particularly groovy threads (see image above). Well, what would YOU wear if you were going to sing “Sugar, Sugar” in Disneyland?

The Osmonds on the Omnibus (and Elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom)

This talented brother act, famous during this era for their many appearances on NBC's The Andy Williams Show, were actually discovered at Disneyland itself. On a visit to the Park as regular, E-ticket-carrying guests in 1961, they were signed by Disneyland Entertainment after an impromptu performance on Main Street, USA. Shortly thereafter the Osmonds were featured on Disneyland after Dark. In Disneyland Showtime, the “O” boys (with younger Donny now part of the act) are in their native habitat as they perform throughout Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The brothers rock out atop the Omnibus, singing “Down On the Corner” as Kurt displays his dimples and E. J. performs a go-go dance all the way up Main Street. At the Big Show in Tomorrowland the Osmonds give an electric performance of such hits as Led Zeppelin’s “Golden Rainbow” and a “Hair” medley. All that's missing from this trippy concert is the acid.

Walkin' Happy

The star of Hello, Dolly! (Well, not Barbra Streisand. Or Walter Matthau. Or Michael Crawford. Or Marianne McAndrew. Or...), Edra Jean Peaker was known to audiences as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, and she would go on to star in eight episodes of Love, American Style. Here she projects a Barbara Eden-like vivaciousness. Described by author/historian Jeff Kurtti as a “giggly sprite,” E. J. brings her own unknown-planetary-origin appeal to the proceedings. “Mr. Wolf!” she cries in her perky yet raspy voice as she spots the Big Bad Wolf. “I'm looking for a very attractive man with deep set blue eyes, a heavenly smile and flashing white teeth." She's looking for Donny, she could be describing Jay who (since he is with Donny) is now also lost, but she's obviously describing Kurt. No matter, as the BBW thinks she’s talking about him.
Aside from a tearful rendition of “Oh Dear God It Must Be Him” (pointing up the number of non-Disney songs heard in this show), E. J.’s big moment comes with a kicky performance of “Walkin' Happy” all over the Mark Twain. Otherwise throughout the show, the chatty and ever-effervescent Edra Jean is talkin’ happy.


Showcasing Disneyland

One of the show’s highlights is the sight of Disneyland guests throughout the Park, each enjoying the sights and sounds (and tastes, as in these two tykes who it is be hoped are not candidates for childhood obesity. Couldn't these urchins have been filmed eating healthy snacks, as today's corporate Disneyland would have insisted??) Another highlight is those clean-cut singers Kids in the Kingdom energetically performing a charming, upbeat (naturally) version of "This Land is Your Land" (as in “Disneyland is your land”), shot throughout the Park. This segment provides a fascinating snapshot of Disneyland as it was in 1969-1970. There's the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, the Pack Mules and the Magic Skyway, but just as importantly there's no Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, no Space Mountain, no Indiana Jones Adventure.

Welcome, Foolish Mortals

As might be expected the real stars of Disneyland Showtime are the Haunted Mansion and the Imagineers who created the spectacular attraction. Kurt narrates a tour of WED where we glimpse Imagineers Yale Gracey (with his ever-present pipe), Harriet Burns and Bill Justice. There’s an explanation of Audio-Animatronics, and we can spot many of the ghostly residents of the world’s most famous haunted house. Then in the tradition established by Walt, the audience is taken on an experience of the attraction, with the Osmonds, Kurt and E. J. The show ends with one of the most effective images ever created about a Disneyland attraction for the TV show: a long shot of the Manse with the group of stars standing outside (with that rascal Donny once again gone)—as above a myriad of ghosts, ghouls and spooks stream toward the Haunted Mansion. It’s a memorable last shot for an unforgettable show. Unforgettable? Of course it is, featuring as it does everything from the perkiness of Ms. Peaker to the Osmonds’ brand of hard rock, from Kurt Russell's dimples to the brand spookin’ new Haunted Mansion—it’s the one-and-only Disneyland Showtime! A special Tulgey Wood thanks to Disneyland Showtime aficionados Kevin Kidney and Ed Squair for their insights into this unique show, and also to Jeff Kurtti for his all-encompassing knowledge of entertainment history.