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80S ERA
02-12-2002, 10:23 AM
Disney has had its share of weird attractions -- better suited as exhibits.

Just to name a few:
- Kaiser's Hall of Aluminum
- Mission Tortilla Factory
- Monsanto's House of the Future
- Boudin's Bread Baking Exhibit
- Bell Systems Phones (circlevision exit)

Which one do/did you actually enjoy? For me, I liked the phone exhibit. I had fun as a child talking on futuristic phones where many can take place in a "speaker-phone" conversation!

Dave Z
02-12-2002, 10:31 AM
http://www.yesterland.com/futurehouse.html

Monsanto's House of the Future was really cool for a kid like me in the 50's. It was so futuristic. 'One word Benjamin, plastics.'

Microwave Ovens. Wow

hbquikcomjamesl
02-12-2002, 10:43 AM
Uh, to classify the Boudin exhibit as "best of the worst" implies that it's part of "the worst." Quite frankly, even if Tinkerbell were to wave her magic wand, and make Rocket Rods practical and reliable, I'd still list THEM among "the worst" before I'd do so with the Boudin exhibit.

Let's face it, probably half the stuff in Epcot is "exhibits." Considering as how a goodly chunk of what went into DCA's design was the abandoned "Westcot" concept, I'm actually surprised that there aren't far MORE exhibits there

80S ERA
02-12-2002, 12:01 PM
I feel no need to flame a fan of the Boudin's exhibit, but I'd like to share my experience when I visited the attraction.

Rosie and what's-his-face from "who's line is it" did the best job anyone could to keep bread making interesting. Staying through the entire presentation from television to television seemed more like an obligation. I noticed most of the guests had bailed during the middle of the show, leaving us and another couple all alone. I couldn't resist the temptation of taking my bread sample right through the exit.

I am interested to know what makes this attraction appealing to you? Just curious. I'm sure there are many out there who hated the phone exhibit by Bell Systems -- making me the weird one.

Uncle Dick
02-12-2002, 12:10 PM
I like Boudin's simply because you get free bread. The presentation is entertaining enough the first time, and after that it's pretty easy to bail after you get your freebie.

hbquikcomjamesl
02-12-2002, 12:23 PM
Personally, I enjoy watching how ANYTHING is made. With respect to the Boudin exhibit, I like Rosie, and I also enjoy watching cooking shows (did you know that the Food Channel now has 30-odd-year-old vintage Galloping Gourmet reruns late at night?). Last time I was at DCA, I happened to arrive at the Boudin exhibit just as a rack of boules was being readied for the oven, and so I stuck around while about 3 groups came and went.

(Incidentally, I'm also a sucker for lecture-demonstration recordings, and my library includes "Secrets of Synthesis" by Wendy Carlos, and both "The Organ" and its remake, "The Organ in Sight and Sound," by E. Power Biggs.)

I'd personally like very much to make it to Boudin sometime when there's a LOT going on in "the fishbowl." Like maybe when both of the conical rounders are in full operation. Perhaps when a load of dough is just coming out of the mixer.

disneynut
02-12-2002, 02:40 PM
I don't mind the Boudin exhibit. I think it's kinda interesting and I don't have the courage to bail. (My luck they'd stop me by yelling "Hey Lady. Yeah you. You didn't stand through our presentation so bring back the bread. :) ) Anyways my favorite was the Mission exhibit before you had to listen to the mural lecture.
I don't even remember ever seeing the Hall of Aluminum. Where and when was it?

Dave Z
02-12-2002, 02:58 PM
Originally posted by hbquikcomjamesl
...conical rounders are in full operation.

I haven't been to Boudin yet but I will now. I like bread and cooking shows, too. I just need to see conical rounders in action.

I am sorry but that is hard to say without smiling. :D

Horace Horsecollar
02-12-2002, 03:31 PM
I would have to go with the "Superspeed Tunnel: World of Tron" gimmick they used on the Peoplemover--it did give you that "Six-Million-Dollar Man" feeling, sort of.

The frozen Arctic station for Coke at Epcot is pretty bizarre--always felt sorry for the poor guy who froze to death after popping open a Coke.

80S ERA
02-13-2002, 06:50 AM
Originally posted by disneynut
.....
I don't even remember ever seeing the Hall of Aluminum. Where and when was it?

It was in Tomorrowland in the late 50's / early 60's. Wayyy before I was even born!

80S ERA
02-13-2002, 06:57 AM
Here are some more interesting Disney exhibits I've found:

Hall of Chemistry (1955-1966) - Visit Monsanto's first Disneyland attraction, an exhibit about chemicals.
The World Beneath Us (1955-1960) - View a "fast-paced animated history of man's quest for energy" presented by Richfield.
Flight Circle (1955-1966) - Watch a demonstration of gasoline-powered model planes, cars, and boats.
Hall of Aluminum Fame (1955-1965) - Visit the exhibit where Kaiser Aluminum teaches you about... Kaiser Aluminum.
Color Gallery (1956-1960) - Allow Dutch Boy Paints to show you "Our Future in Colors."
Bathroom of Tomorrow (1956-1965) - Presented by Crane.
House of the Future(1957-1967) - Walk through Monsanto's plastic house for a peak at how technology will change the way you live.
Art of Animation (1960-1966) - Learn how Disney makes animated movies. Buy a genuine production cel for $2.
Fashions and Fabrics Through the Ages (1965-1966) - See the history of women's attire from the stone age to the space age in this exhibit by Monsanto.

** All info from yesterland.com **

Wow! I had no idea there were this many exhibits! All from TL.

blusilva
02-13-2002, 09:23 AM
I *loved* those phones in Tomorrowland. I loved calling my favorite Disney characters. And the gigantic booths with the pay phones! They were so futuristic. They were the first speakerphones I ever saw. Now I wish I could run away from speakerphones.

I try to think about how much fun I had with those lame-o phones when I feel the urge to bash Innoventions. What I liked so much about the phones in Tomorrowland was the interactive element of it. You could actually PLAY with them....or on the real ones, call someone you knew and the whole group of you could jeer them because you were at Disneyland and they weren't. :)

Now, with videogames and computers being a large part of everyday life, I'd think that interactivity is a bit less novel than it was in the mid-70s.

But to answer the original question....I always thought it was a bit inappropriate, if nothing else, to have a Kaiser Permanente exhibit on ultrasound technology including the pregnant mannequin in Disneyland.

justagrrl
02-13-2002, 09:44 AM
Originally posted by blusilva
I try to think about how much fun I had with those lame-o phones when I feel the urge to bash Innoventions. What I liked so much about the phones in Tomorrowland was the interactive element of it. You could actually PLAY with them....or on the real ones, call someone you knew and the whole group of you could jeer them because you were at Disneyland and they weren't. :)


Oh my - that's really funny. I can't tell you how many times I'd done that routine growing up in Southern California. It was like some sort of tradition I didn't really remember until I read your post. :)

mad4mky
02-13-2002, 12:20 PM
Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar

The frozen Arctic station for Coke at Epcot is pretty bizarre--always felt sorry for the poor guy who froze to death after popping open a Coke.

Ha, ha. Funny how everyone tastes are different. I have 3 girls, all of varying ages...their FAVORITE thing at WDW....The Coke Station at Epcot. They loved the whole thing...and still talk about it to this day (we were last there in 2000). They still joke about awful tasting sodas...and how cool the frozen guy was!

Best of the Worst...Mission (or Rocket) to the Moon. Hated it as a kid...hated it as an young adult. I'm glad its gone. But, at least you could sit down....after walking all over all day.

stan4d_steph
02-13-2002, 01:11 PM
I really like the Boudin exhibit. I pretty much knew how the bread was made before seeing it, but I think they did a really good job with the little movie. It's interesting and humorous without being too annoying. I also find the "assembly line" process very interesting (keep in mind, I am an engineer). One of these days, I'm going to go in the morning and watch. Anyone else who goes frequently have any advice on when to visit to catch the most action in the fishbowl? My most recent visit was later in the afternoon and nothing was really going on inside.

Horace Horsecollar
02-13-2002, 01:34 PM
Originally posted by mad4mky


Ha, ha. Funny how everyone tastes are different. I have 3 girls, all of varying ages...their FAVORITE thing at WDW....The Coke Station at Epcot. They loved the whole thing...and still talk about it to this day (we were last there in 2000). They still joke about awful tasting sodas...and how cool the frozen guy was!


I sort of liked it, too--especially on one particularly humid day in October a few years back. There was this one soft drink that I thought might make a pretty good aftershave (can't remember the name).

hbquikcomjamesl
02-13-2002, 01:40 PM
:eek: While I never saw it in its earliest incarnation as "Rocket to the Moon," I loved it as "Flight to the Moon" and "Mission to Mars." I remember when, some months (years?) after Star Tours opened, Mission to Mars was closed more often than it was open, and even when it was open, the seats weren't always working. I remember one of the last times it was open. It may very well have been the very last time. I remember being a bit surprised to find it open, and I remember another guest making a remark about it being retired.

:crying: I miss Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars. I miss the sight gag of the bird making an emergency landing. I miss the funky 1960s simulator technology. I even miss the occasional "look under Santa's beard" effect whenever I spotted a cast member slipping in or out in mid-cycle. :crying:

80S ERA
02-13-2002, 02:20 PM
Originally posted by hbquikcomjamesl
:crying: I miss Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars. I miss the sight gag of the bird making an emergency landing. I miss the funky 1960s simulator technology. I even miss the occasional "look under Santa's beard" effect whenever I spotted a cast member slipping in or out in mid-cycle. :crying:

Same here. I could imagine someone hating its "cheesy-ness," but that's what I liked about it. They really tried to convince everyone that they were really boarding a spaceship by setting the stage with a mission control audio-animatronic show and boarding ramp leading to the "ship".

It is details like these that I wish they would put into Soarin' Over California.

Uncle Dick
02-13-2002, 02:46 PM
Of all the exhibits in DCA, I think "Seasons of the Vine" is my favorite. The theater is small and always empty and shows a rather nice film about wine making. It's a great place to sit down and watch a movie, without being overloaded by wacky 3D effects.

disneynut
02-13-2002, 06:16 PM
Originally posted by 80S ERA


They really tried to convince everyone that they were really boarding a spaceship by setting the stage with a mission control audio-animatronic show and boarding ramp leading to the "ship".



All of this time I really thought I'd been to Mars. ;) :D
But seriously when I was a kid I remember being a little freaked out thinking we were actually moving. (I was really little) and my dad always played into it. Kinda like when they shrunk you in Adventures thru Inner Space ("That's amazing how they shrink you and then make you big again, isn't it honey?" )

That coke exhibit I don't remember. The last time we were in WDW was 1997. When did it open and what is it?

jslivinski
03-12-2002, 03:50 PM
Originally posted by disneynut
... Kinda like when they shrunk you in Adventures thru Inner Space ("That's amazing how they shrink you and then make you big again, isn't it honey?" )I remember that, it seemed so real, now I realize it wasn't, but at the time...

Originally posted by blusilva
I *loved* those phones in Tomorrowland. I loved calling my favorite Disney characters. And the gigantic booths with the pay phones! They were so futuristic. They were the first speakerphones I ever saw. Now I wish I could run away from speakerphones. I had forgotten all about those phones until you mentioned them. They were so great for a little kid.

3894
03-12-2002, 04:35 PM
Excellent topic!

I remember seeing the Monsanto Fashions and Fabrics Through the Ages (1965-1966). You can just imagine the faux fur and day-glo colors!

The At&T phones were good, yes. Better still, the phone in the Main Street General Store or whatever they called it. You'd pick up and "listen in" on the neighbors' partyline.

But really, don't you think the award statuette ought to go to the Kodak photo op markers?

Dreamstaker
03-12-2002, 04:59 PM
Originally posted by 3894
Better still, the phone in the Main Street General Store or whatever they called it. You'd pick up and "listen in" on the neighbors' partyline.?

Those still work!

I have a fuzzy memory of giant snow flakes and an eyeball looking at me, I don't remember much else about adventures through inner space.

I do remember calling my Grandparents with the speakerphone (that was the only number I knew).

Horace Horsecollar
03-12-2002, 06:15 PM
Ah, yes, the Adventure Thru Inner Space . . .

My older brother and I had the Paul Frees narration memorized, so we could always anticipate what he was going to say.

"My God--are those electrons about to shoot about us like so many fiery comets?"
"Aghh! Can we possibly survive?"

Yes, we were true geeks who loved that ride--sort of a Rocky Horror-like devotion, I guess.

funnygarcia
03-13-2002, 03:36 PM
Originally posted by blusilva


But to answer the original question....I always thought it was a bit inappropriate, if nothing else, to have a Kaiser Permanente exhibit on ultrasound technology including the pregnant mannequin in Disneyland.

Actually I kind of liked those! My boys (5 and 8 at the time) had lots of questions on how it works and enjoyed trying it out. We also liked the display on laparoscopy surgery - it was a good teaching tool and gave our family a unique perspective as I had just had a lap procedure done that year when I donated a kidney to hubby. :D


I like the exhibit type of attractions - get a little breather from running to rides to shows to parades to meet &greets-- etc. Nice little breaks from the crowd and make a vacation a learning experience too!