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View Full Version : Somthing you've noticed for the first time



Dave Z
05-17-2002, 12:47 PM
Speaking of views and such, over the years I've visited DL many times and on my last visit in March my daughter and I were walking from the NOS train station, a little early for our Mansion fastpass. We stopped at the fountain there, between the two and I realized I had never noticed that fountain before.

For you who visit often, when was the last time that happened to you? And what did you discover?

DZ


About to become verbose.

That is what is so special about DL to me. When you've 'done it all' so to speak and you slow down and 'meander' from place to place, all of a sudden the real magic shows up. A mechanical fish jumps in the river, or is it mechanical, you hear a voice from a dentists window, a bear snoring in a cave.

If you're coming for the first time I urge you to slow down, don't worry about the lines and just look around. Stay for three or more days, come early at least once and stay late at least once. Look for me next time you're there. I'll be the one sitting or meandering.

DZ

Matterhorn Fan
05-17-2002, 12:59 PM
In March, I noticed that from the front of the Haunted Mansion I could see both the castle and the Matterhorn, even with those giant trees.

jslivinski
05-17-2002, 01:12 PM
Walking from Frontierland towards New Orleans square and noticing the backdrop buildings. WOW, where they there before!

Uncle Dick
05-17-2002, 01:18 PM
I only recently realized that the back of the Star Tours and Star Trader buildings are painted to resemble the surrounding buildings on Main Street. Very clever.

Allysen1Derland
05-17-2002, 01:41 PM
I remember a long time ago when I first discovered the "flying fish" in the lagoon across from BTM. You would of thought I discovered the cure for polio, that's how excited I was! I mean, how could everyone else have noticed it except for me?? *Sigh* I haven't discovered anything new yet, but that just means I haven't looked hard enough!:cool:

HBTiggerFan
05-17-2002, 02:01 PM
I walked through the castle comming from fantseyland towards main st., and tool a right though it and hit this quiet deserted area that I think had a theater in it and some restrooms and looked what used to be a snack bar. Never seen that before in my life. :confused:

And walking from tomorrow land through ariels grotto towards the castle I saw snow white and the 7 dwarfs up on rocks. I swore up and down that it was new because I never ever saw it before. But where is the gooft statue in the hub that you all meet at??

justagrrl
05-17-2002, 02:23 PM
I recently noticed the ships sails above the buildings by Pirates. I still wonder - have those always been there or were they just put up in the last couple of months?

Uncle Dick
05-17-2002, 02:38 PM
Originally posted by HB Tigger Fan
But where is the gooft statue in the hub that you all meet at??
It's located on southwest corner of the inner ring of the hub. There are little statues lining the entire inner ring.


Originally posted by justagrrl
I still wonder - have those always been there or were they just put up in the last couple of months?
They've been there for as long as I can remember.

MonorailMan
05-17-2002, 03:30 PM
I just saw the POTC fountain the other day.

Also, I saw that the raft for GRR has a huge bottom, while i was going up the screamin' hill. (a dry one

Lost Boy
05-17-2002, 08:59 PM
The sails behind the buildings have only been there (for real) for 4 or 5 years. What do I mean by "For Real". Well, if you look at the original Herb Ryman paintings for that area of Disneyland that were done way back in the very beginning of New Orleans Square being developed, you will see those very sails in the paintings. They were all set to put them in the "real" place when one of the Bigwigs somewhere wanted to know what they where doing there. There is nothing back there but a Parking Lot (This was before Indiana Jones and long before DCA). The Imagineers and Herb said that they were there to give the illusion that there was a harbor on the other side that had ships at dock to give the area a feeling of depth and realism. The bigwigs said something to the effect that if you put those sails there, guests will think there really is something back there and will try to get to that area. And they will go thru gates that they are not supposed to go through. And we can't have that. They will end up backstage. We can't have that. No sails. Guests are too stupid to realize that that area is the Parking Lot. They will get angy because they will see something they can't get too. No Sail. Not now, not ever.
Well, the bigwigs from that time are gone. Guests are not really that observant anyway, it's only us Disneyland Fans that notice things like this. And we are smart. We know they are there to give the area depth and the illusion of bigness. We know that Downtown Disney is on the other side. We know that we can't get there from anywhere. And the Imagineers know that we know that they know we know. So they put them up. And you know what? Nobody has jumped the fence or broken down a gate to get to the "Harbor with the ships".
I like them and I think they really do add to the area and point them out whenever I get the chance. And many of the people I point them out to are Castmembers who have never seen them. That is fun. :D I love being a smarty pants with new castmembers. :) Really I do love castmembers and want the newbies to understand the legacy of this place. So, I help whenever I can.

MammaSilva
05-17-2002, 09:18 PM
sad to say this but the last time we went (last december) I noticed for the very first time a small sign in the flowerbed just as you walk thru the Arches at the crosswalk that reads, Private property with the appropriate warnings..... I don't know if that went up after 9/11 or if it had always been there but it made me a little 'sad' for some reason ....

justagrrl
05-18-2002, 08:35 AM
Originally posted by Allysen1Derland
I remember a long time ago when I first discovered the "flying fish" in the lagoon across from BTM.


What? What flying fish? Fill me in? I'll even be really excited when I find it ;)

Uncle Dick
05-18-2002, 10:39 AM
Originally posted by justagrrl



What? What flying fish? Fill me in? I'll even be really excited when I find it ;)
As you walk along Big Thunder Trail to Fantasyland, just past the Conestoga Fries cart, you come to a bridge next to a small body of water. Inside the body of water, are "jumping fish" which, if the mechanism is turned on, will do a quick little "jump" out of the water. You have to be pretty patient sometimes and it's not always turned on, but I've seen 'em in there and they're pretty neat.

TerryTiger
05-18-2002, 10:58 AM
Odd little thing...

The other day when entering the park on Main Street, I noticed a tall hedge on the far left of the Emporium Bldg. next to the gate by the firehouse. It had a large circular hole in the middle of it. I had never noticed that before and it seemed to stand out. I walked over to it and looked inside to see a round window the the hedge covered. However, if you walk inside the Emporium, it is just a display wall with NO window. So they cut a viewhole in a hedge for a fake window.

tinkfreak
05-18-2002, 06:39 PM
Originally posted by Uncle Dick

As you walk along Big Thunder Trail to Fantasyland, just past the Conestoga Fries cart, you come to a bridge next to a small body of water. Inside the body of water, are "jumping fish" which, if the mechanism is turned on, will do a quick little "jump" out of the water. You have to be pretty patient sometimes and it's not always turned on, but I've seen 'em in there and they're pretty neat.

Are those left over from the old Mine Train attraction?

Attack of the what?

:D

Pony Sugrue
05-18-2002, 07:02 PM
I agree with "Uncle Dick" on the back side of Star Tours/Star Trader. I don't know when they did that, but one day, a month or so ago, I was flabbergasted at it. That is an amazing undertaking just for the over-observer... but it really adds a lot of depth to Main Street.

Here's something I noticed this past winter for the first time: When you stand next to the old Sky Bucket entrance in Fantasyland or near Casey Junior's queue, you can look over the top of that "Pinocchio" restaurant and see the landing tower for Tinkerbell after her high-wire trip from the Matterhorn over the castle.

I also recently looked up into the upstairs queue area of the JUNGLE CRUISE and saw a big animatronic bird. The real illusive AA animal, though, is a big cobra way on the other side. Since they hardly ever utilize the upstairs anymore, you have to see the snake from either your boat, right after you board, or try to see it from the front of the attraction. I remember seeing that a few visits ago and kinda freakin' out.

Disneyland is rich with hidden gems like that.

Lost Boy
05-18-2002, 07:03 PM
Yes the flying fish are leftover from the old mine train ride, as it the Bear that is scratching itself on the tree that you can see from the Mark Twain or Columbia along with the Moose and the old mine train wreck just before you get back to the dock. The train is an actual train from the old ride. The little Prarie Dogs that pop up out of the cars were added later.

Lost Boy
05-18-2002, 07:26 PM
The upstairs of the Jungel Cruise Boathouse is filled with wonderful little tidbits and goodies. There is a Doctors Quarters filled with all sorts of nasty looking, old time medical tools and bottles full of all kinds of medical things. There is the Cobra moving around in the attic at the far end. And the bird you spotted up on the rafters above the stairs to the upper level was brought in from the river when they built the house. There is a complete history, written by the Imagineers, for this boathouse. It gives a complete history from the original boathouse, up to the current boathouse in the year 1932 (which is the year you are in when you enter Adventureland, in case you didn't know that - the year 1932 was picked to tie the Indiana Jones Attraction into everything else in Adventureland). I have the story around here somewhere, given to me by a castmember. It is too long to print here, running about 6 pages. But maybe I will find it someday and make it available to anyone who wants it. It is very interesting and funny. I can give you one tidbit from the "history".
On the upper level, at the far end where the Cobra is, as you walk thru the queue line you get closer and closer to the far corner of the room, near the river, where a radio is playing. As you get closer to this corner you can feel the floor slants downward. When you leave this corner you can tell you are walking a bit uphill, so to speak. It is very slight, but noticeable, if you are paying attention. Well, the story is that late one night, one of the Boat guys came back to the house really late and he had been having a little too much of the bubbly at a party somewhere downriver. (Don't forget that each boat driver "Owns" his own boat and everything on the boat is his personal property. They work for the company by using their own boats). Well, it seems that when he got back he missed the dock and ran into the boat house, taking out the corner piller that holds up that corner of the boat house. It wasn't knocked out completely, but it would give way if they didn't do something to fix it. The boat house has fallen on many hard time in all the years that it has been in operation, going thru many owners. Everytime something wears out at the boathouse, like the railing falling off, they take railings form another place and patch it up. (Look at the place the next time you are there. You will notice mismatched railings all over the place!) Well, they had nothing left to "borrow" from another part of the boathouse to prop up the corner, so they cut down a Palm Tree and put it the pillar's place. The Palm Tree didn't quite reach the corner of the upper floor, so they stuffed boards and other things in as best they could.
When you leave the dock on your boat ride into the Jungle, look at that corner of the house and you will see the Palm Tree jammed in to hold up the floor of the second story. And you can see that it doesn't quite reach so the floor tips down to rest on the tree-top. It's all quite safe, of course being done on purpose by the Imagineers when they built the place. But it makes a great story and shows the extra level of detail that they put into this place. The next time you go take a real close look at all the stuff that is in that boathouse, and realize that there is a story behind everything there, including the house itself.

Ace
05-19-2002, 11:01 AM
last time I noticed the ships' masts that stick out over NOS. Pretty cool..

Gemini Cricket
05-19-2002, 12:20 PM
I think people miss the baby elephant on Tarzan all the time. I had to point it out to a few guests, just cause I knew they missed it.

There is also a lamp on a table on a balcony in Adventureland. It sort of looks like Aladdin's lamp.

There's the dude taking a shower in an apt over your head in Main Street near the lockers I believe.

One thing I didn't notice was the squirrels on the walls of Sleeping Beauty's castle. From the front they look like gargoyles from the side they lok like squirrels. It's pretty neat. I'm not sure when they put those in. Are they recent?

Eeyore's tail hangs on the walls of one of the apts above one of the shops in Critter Country. When the area opens again it may still be there...

Lost Boy
05-19-2002, 02:38 PM
The "Vampire Squirrels" (as I call them) were added a few years ago. They are drain spouts and the water pours out of the squirrels mouths when it rains real hard. Better than letting the rain build up on the roof! I think they are just great and really add to the "look" of the castle.

Right across the street (so to speak) from the dude taking a shower is a dentist working on some poor soul. You can hear the pain. They are both down "Center Street" and if you face the ice cream window/locker entrance the dude singing in the shower is on your right and the dentist is on your left, both on the second floor.

The Baby Elephant, named "Little Squirt" was also transplated to the Tarzan Treehouse area from the Jungle.

I would imagine that Eyeore's tail will still be hanging around there since there is a pretty good chance that Critter Country will become the Hundred Acre Woods to accomidate Pooh and friends. It also means that I will never again set foot in that area. I hate Pooh and he caused the Bears to go away. Now I hate him even more. Too Much Pooh. It's everywhere.:mad:

Gemini Cricket
05-19-2002, 03:30 PM
Originally posted by Lost Boy
I hate Pooh and he caused the Bears to go away. Now I hate him even more. Too Much Pooh. It's everywhere.:mad:
LOL!:D
I agree. This made me laugh so much because it's true.
:)

Pony Sugrue
05-19-2002, 03:57 PM
I'm sick enough of everything being POOH now in every catalog and every Disney store... but simultaneously "gigging" "Mr Toad" in Florida and putting our "Country Bears" into permanent hibernation here in SoCal makes that "silly willy nilly ol' bear" even more unwelcome.

I'm sure it'll be more popular than its predecessor in that same building (as it is in Florida), but with all the wasted land around DISNEYLAND (Festival of fools area, big thunder ranch, sub-lagoon etc.), it is amazing that they would prey on existing attractions for "Winnie"... especially when the "Hundred acre woods" isn't really a fit as a neighbor for "Splash Mountain": a ride based on the American South.

That area was already a crowded nightmare. It would be a better choice to make it a Fantasyland ride; building it's housing around the old motor boats area near SMALL WORLD. But it's too late now. Pressler has decided to "shoe-horn" the thing into the old "Country Bears" area... even though the "Country Bears" movie is just about to come out.

snappy
05-19-2002, 08:22 PM
I noticed something that happens every 4-6 months on a regular basis: Park Entry fee increase!! Not the type of change or view I enjoy seeing :sleep:

SoCalSnowWhite
05-20-2002, 01:03 PM
I had just recently noticed the voodoo lady in the balcony in NOS by the bathrooms. Actually, my mom noticed...