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nova66guy
08-08-2004, 10:35 PM
I'm trying to find out some info about Tinkerbell's Matterhorn Flight. Has it been going on ever since the Matterhorn opened? Is the lady that does it now related to the original women that did it back in the 60's?

I took this picture a few weeks ago of her landing, funny stuff lol.

http://my.starstream.net/nova66guy/Tink.gif

DCAWhites
08-09-2004, 12:23 AM
From stuff I have heard, it isn't necessarily a lady all the time...

Cloud Buster
08-09-2004, 12:45 AM
I'm trying to find out some info about Tinkerbell's Matterhorn Flight. Has it been going on ever since the Matterhorn opened? Is the lady that does it now related to the original women that did it back in the 60's?

I'm one of very few people working at DLR that can authoritatively answer your questions. That's because Tinkerbell is considered a bit of a celebrity, even backstage, and the crew required is minimal. It's gotten to the point where Tink's dressing room has been moved to a location that's secret even to about 99% of cast members. When Tink used to have a dressing room in the N-19 building (entertainment home base, behind Toontown), all the other performers would "accidently" walk in and want to meet her. A total of 7 people are required for Tink's flight -- Tinkerbell herself, a costumer that helps her dress in the Matterhorn and meets her behind Village Haus after, two to rig her and launch her, two to catch her, and one to time her flight. Yes, it is timed every single night.

No, the flight hasn't been going on as long as the Matterhorn opened. I can't say when it began, but it was some time after the Matterhorn opened, I believe.

To once and for all clear up all misconceptions about the performers that play Tink. First off, there is not one Tinkerbell performer, there are in fact six. That is three regulars, and three alternates. The three regulars fly 3 or 4 days in a row in turns (1 will fly for 3 days, then the next, then the next, then back to the first). Second, ALL of the Tinkerbells are FEMALE. Third, some are tall, some are short. One of them seems almost twice as tall as another (I'm 5'10". One of them comes up to my chest, and one is taller than me!). Fourth, these Tinkerbells are NOT related to the original Tinkerbell who was hired after being a circus performer. The rumors of the original Tink being a bit on the elderly side are true, but that doesn't necessarily apply to our current Tinks.

How much each Tinkerbell makes is still a mystery even to those of us very few that work with them. The rumor within our circle is that each Tink makes between $300-$1000 per flight.

A little birdie also told me that casting is (or was, or will be very soon) performing hush-hush auditions for new Tinkerbells for the 50th. Several new ideas are being played with for Tink. The animatronic Tink rumor is dead, as is the rumor of Tink flying "around" the castle (they couldn't find a viable way to make that work). What is being seriously considered is a two-wire system that would allow Tink to do acrobatics mid-flight. Also, at about 3 AM a month or two ago, we actually did a test flight on a new Tinkerbell costume that had pyrotechnics built into it -- that is, her wand would be a big sparkler, and her shoes have kind of rockety-silver or golden pyro making it look like she's painting the pyro in the sky.

Cloud Buster
08-09-2004, 12:48 AM
I took this picture a few weeks ago of her landing, funny stuff lol.

http://my.starstream.net/nova66guy/Tink.gif
Wow. That landing is about a 9 or 10. The best ones are when she breaks through the first barrier and knocks one of the crew guys out of the way, barreling almost full speed into the the matress at the back of the tower. It doesn't look graceful. It looks painful! :)

sdfilmcritic
08-09-2004, 06:59 AM
Shouldn't the video clip be sent to America's Funniest Home Videos?

CoasterChickie
08-09-2004, 08:15 AM
That looks like fun to me!! If I lived down south I'd audition for the job, especially if it pays $300-$1000 per flight!! :~D


P.S. I also like the idea of a pyre-technic wand!!

SweetAurora
08-09-2004, 03:15 PM
Cloud Buster--thanks so much for that interesting info.

By any chance, do you recall the requirements to audition for this role? I'm assuming Tinkerbell probably has to have a stunt license..? If not, what height/weight/etc do they look for? I work inside the resort already but I know, too, that they keep the role of Tinkerbell pretty "quiet".

Thanks!!

Merm8fan
08-09-2004, 03:53 PM
ROFL! I had a friend who worked for Disney years ago tell me about Tink and her intimate relationship with the mattress, but seeing it is so much better than imagining it!

I am surprised they still use a mattress (my friend was a dancer at Videopolis - yes, many years ago), but I guess if something works well, why change it?

Susan L
08-09-2004, 06:11 PM
I am 47 years old and have been going to Disneyland for 46 years, I don't ever remember a time that Tinker Bell did not make a flight.

splashmtngurl
08-09-2004, 06:19 PM
erm...what exactly is so funny about the clip? is is because it looks like she flew into the bush? i'm a bit confused! :confused:

Anyway i am glad that disney is incorperating (or w/e) our favorite pixie's flight into the new fireworks show. They are going to have a new flight path and everything....awesome!

fiendishnessxsally
08-09-2004, 07:42 PM
This is actually a weird coincidence, just about 4 days ago when my mom and i went to disneyland, she kept wondering WHERE tink lands! i tried to point out to here where the wire lead to, but she kept saying, 'it looks like it just goes right through the castle...'

i'll make sure to give her a link to this board. :)

Disney Vault
08-09-2004, 08:33 PM
I have heard about her landig but i never knew every word about it was true.

soccerlady16
08-11-2004, 06:52 PM
This is actually a weird coincidence, just about 4 days ago when my mom and i went to disneyland, she kept wondering WHERE tink lands! i tried to point out to here where the wire lead to, but she kept saying, 'it looks like it just goes right through the castle...'

i'll make sure to give her a link to this board. :)
Were is the landing platform?

AlxVision360
08-11-2004, 09:32 PM
"As an oddball footnote to her illustrious career, Kline, at age 70, became the very first Tinkerbell at Disneyland. Suspended 146 feet up in the air, she glided down a long wire from the Matterhorn to Sleeping Beauty’s castle at dusk to tap her wand and signal the explosion of fireworks."
(quoted by Janet M. Davis (https://wwwtest.utexas.edu/features/archive/2003/circus.html) editor/author of The Tiny Kline Papers: From Titillation to Tinker Bell)

There was also footage of Ms. Kline's circus wire glide in an episode of Ripley's Believe It or Not (http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/ripleys/database/ep_316a.html)!

haunted_mike
08-12-2004, 12:59 AM
Tinkerbell's first Matterhon flight was in 1961 two years after the ride opened.

Interestingly in his book Mouse Tales David Koenig (http://www.mouseplanet.com/david/) writes that: "To get more mileage out of Tinkerbell's cable, they tried sending down other characters like Dumbo and Baby New Year. In the mid-Sixties they also sent up Mary Poppins, but her ascents were quickly stopped for fear that little boys were looking up her dress."

Photographer
08-12-2004, 06:07 AM
Awww, I missed seeing the landing last week. Drat! But now I can watch it over and over again online. :cool: