50 things you didn't know about Disneyland

DentonRC.com ^ | Wednesday, November 23, 2005 | By JOHN FLINN

[righttackle44]

"my step father Jan Merlin, of tv series, 'space cadets' attended the festivities as well. He still has his ticket stubs."

And I remember MOST of the words to the Tom Corbett Space Cadet Academy song. It was a fun show. Still angry at Astro, though. What a pain he was.

[freedumb2003]

We got stuck on the It's A Small World ride for 2-1/2 hours when I was about 14.

Too young to commit suicide. I guess a blessing ;)

[freedumb2003]

My neice is a spoon in the current parade.

I am not sure I would broadcast that about MY neice ;)

[freedumb2003]

Disney was an avowed Capitalist. Where did you get the idea he was a Commie?

Maybe you have him confused with Eisner?

[bigsigh]

LOL, didn't say she GOT spooned.

[freedumb2003]

I just love vague reference -- just a foible (which also sounds a little racy)

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"In the 80s, Long Beach turned down a Disney Park which would have been mostly on the water."

Didn't know that! "The Pike" was the old-fashioned amusement park there which closed down in the late '60s or early '70s. It can be seen in the background in some of the later chase scenes in the classic "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", which is well worth renting for many reasons! (As is the fairly recent remake, the hilarious "Rat Race".)

[bigsigh]

I remember. Thanx for the memory.

[bigsigh]

punny,

BTW my daughter used to post here as MsFreedumb99

[P8riot]

57. P8riot's first job was skippering a boat through the Jungle Cruise. Though not at the same time as Ron Zeigler.

[freedumb2003]

BTW my daughter used to post here as MsFreedumb99

LOL -- that IS funny!

[bigsigh]

Funnier, I gave her the name. She was new at political talk and forming opinions, so she agreed to the concept of free and dumb: needing to learn more about freedom. etc.

Best wishes!

[Bear_Slayer]

I was born & raised in So Cal and went to Disneyland numerous times. I always enjoyed the banjo player and the magic shop.

I was astounded when I read Martin's biography and found out that it was likely him.

[Recovering Hermit]

Hey! Nice graphic.

[4mycountry]

5. The spooky voice that narrates the Haunted Mansion ride is that of the Pillsbury Doughboy. An actor named Paul Frees, who was to Disney what Mel Blanc was to Warner Brothers, supplied the voices for both, as well as many of the pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean and most of the characters in “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln” (except Abe himself). He was also the voice of John Lennon in the old Beatles cartoons and Boris Badenov in the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.

Awesome. :)

[Bear_Slayer]

I still remember the Jungle Cruise from the late 60s early 70s.

At one section of the river are two apes, I think.

"These are the Lee brothers" said the cruise guide, "Ugly and Homely"

I was a little boy and that made me laugh so hard.

[Fintan]

 

Okay bub, try to get this song out of your head....

[ErnBatavia]

P8riot's first job was skippering a boat through the Jungle Cruise.

Do you still end your shift with "..and now we'll return to the really scary stuff; the California freeways..."?

[logician2u]

I have similar memories to yours of Martin the banjo player on Main Street.

Lucky for him, he spent some of his off hours over at the Golden Horseshoe where he learned comedy watching Wally Boag perform. What a show that was, with can-can girls, singers, and Wally Boag's hilarious comedy.

[Yaelle]

I have a Disney story too. My best friend and I were kicked off Disneyland's dance floor for appearing to be lesbians. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

In So Cal, senior Grad Night was normally a date night at Disneyland, with plenty of schools bringing busloads of couples to the park. I had just returned from overseas and my best buddy was so thrilled to see me again that she chose me (a girl) to be her "date" at our grad night. We honestly thought there would be other kids doing this just to hang out.

Well, noooooo, there weren't! The park was crowded with who-knows-how-many schools that night, but we were the only, the absolute ONLY, same sex couple in the park!! It was a creepy feeling, to say the least! But we still managed to have fun. When we heard a great rock song playing, we jumped onto the dance floor to dance to it (not touching, just rocking out together). Quickly several uniformed Disney authorities ushered us off the dance floor and told us we were not welcome there.

Yes, I was a brave precursor to Disney Gay Days; don't all thank me at once. My friend and I, both married now (to men!) with several kids each, still laugh over this today.