Walt Disney World Leftovers - Part 1

 

For my final two posts covering my recent visit to Walt Disney World I present a batch of photos of elements of the various parks and resorts that didn't fin in my other posts. Today covers the Magic Kingdom, and tomorrow will conclude with Epcot and two of the resorts. Click on the images to view them larger. 

Here are some window displays on Main Street. It was the only time I could get them. The park was completely empty when I took them, but unfortunately the early morning glare kept me from getting better shots. 

I don't think these characters require an introduction. 

It was great to see Horace Horsecollar, I just wish he was in glorious black and white. 

Here's the Golden Outpost at the edge of Adventureland and Frontierland without a crowd of people in front of it. 

Floral topiary displays inside the Crystal Palace. 

Chip and Dale at the hub. 

I don't think I'd ever seen the remote controlled model Jungle Cruise boats that guests could pilot before this trip, so I'm not sure how long they'd been there. Usually the area outside the Jungle Cruise is so congested I head out of it as quickly as possible. My son really wanted to practice his skipper patter with these, but the wait was too long. 

Deer on the Rivers of America. 

The Mad Tea Party remains one of my favorite attractions. 

The Liberty Belle at night. The blue building in the background is the Haunted Mansion. 

For those of you who missed my previous posts in this series, here are some links that will take you to them:

The Magic Kingdom Deserted

The Haunted Mansion

WDW Signage - part 1

WDW Signage - part 2

Yokai at Epcot

Disney's Animal Kingdom - part 1

Disney's Animal Kingdom - part 2

Disney's Animal Kingdom - part 3

Cryptids at WDW

Pirates of the Caribbean Giftshop

       

WDW Pirates of the Caribbean Gift Shop

The Pirates of the Caribbean remains one of my favorite attractions at either Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom. Almost as impressive as the ride is the attention to detail that goes into the theming of the gift shop at the end of the ride in Magic Kingdom. 

Here are some photos of many of the design and decorative elements to be found in the gift shop. These were taken when I was able to do so without anyone else in the gift shop except for the cast member manning the register. Now I only wish that more of the merchandise to be had here was based on the attraction and not on the series of movies which the attraction spawned. 

Click any image to make it larger. 

     

Cryptids in the Magic Kingdom

Cryptozoology, the study of hidden animals, ie; the search for animals not yet proven to exist, such as bigfoot, is not something typically associated with Disney. This summer's Winnie the Pooh will feature the animated short, The Ballad of Nessie about how the Loch Ness monster came to live in Loch Ness. Previously, Nessie could be found in Man, Monsters and Mystery, a fake documentary set out to prove whether or not the Loch Ness monster is real, also starring an animated lake monster set into real backgrounds. This segment was originally featured on The Wonderful World of Disney and can be found as an extra on the Pete's Dragon DVD. In 1971, the Wide World of Disney featured the two-part episode, "The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove" based on the story "The Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake" a Mad Scientist's Club tale by Bertrand R. Brinley about a group of smart kids who construct a hoax sea monster. I really hope this shows up on DVD some time as it was a favorite of mine when it was shown on tv. 

Beyond that, there wasn't a whole lot of cryptozoology to be found in Disney Entertainment. Imagine my surprise at how much cryptozoology could be found at Walt Disney World. Given that we are talking about animals, even though they have not been proven to exist, most of the cryptids were found in Disney's Animal Kingdom including three very visible, very live, very real, former Cryptids; the okapi, komodo dragon, and gorilla. Like the sasquatch, these three animals (along with the giant squid and giant panda, among others) were believed to be the fanciful creations of local folklore. 

The most famous cryptid to be found in Disney's Animal Kingdom is the yeti. Once you enter the part of the park representing Asia, the yeti dominates in signs and decor. There are themed structures, shrines, statues, stores, and even exhibits from a non-existent yeti museum (very difficult to photograph as they line the congested queue to the Expedition Everest thrill ride which also features a gigantic yeti represented in projected 2-D animation, and sadly in a blink and you'll miss it audio-animatronic representation towards the ride's final drop.

It was great to see so much yeti material in one place, both folkloric, scientific, and utterly fantastic. It was also great to see cryptozoologist,  Loren Coleman's book on oilman and cryptozoology expedition funder, Tom Slick not only on sale in the gift shop, but part of the yeti museum display. Sadly, most of the other yeti souvenirs on sale were of a cute and/or cartoony nature, so no realistic or folkloric art  inspired yeti statue came home with us.


At the Norway pavillion in EPCOT' s World Showcase there were some examples of sea serpents to be found. Norse mythology has provided us with two famous sea monster's, the Kraken, and the Midgard Serpent, which circle's the world. The viking dragon ships also evoke the appearance of a sea monster and no doubt that's what inspired the two representations below. Non-cryptid folkloric creatures such as trolls, were the centerpiece of the Maelstrom boat ride in Norway.

The following images come from a previous visit, but can still be seen in Walt Disney World. 

Above is the sea monster seen in the nightly Electric Water Pageant, a water parade of barges carrying fanciful aquatic animals composed of lights. This can be seen on the Seven Seas Lagoon at the base of the Magic Kingdom, or from resorts, such as the Polynesian lining the lagoon.

The above sea serpent made of Lego bricks can easily be found in Downtown Disney. It is pretty enormous and impressive to see. 

If there are other cryptids in Walt Disney World, like their real world counterparts, they remain hidden, at least to me. If you know of any more please let me know what they are, and where to find them. 

       

From the Archives 9

   

It's been a while since I've visited the archives here, hopefully I'll get this feature back on track on a regular schedule here. Here's a little something from 1994. This comes from DC Direct Currents #75 with a June 1994 cover date. This was a free publication that was available in comic book stores before the internet. It showcased all of the titles published by DC for a given month. This information is now available on DC's website.  

This particular issue ran a two page feature promoting the titles in Milestone Media's "second wave," introducing these three titles to potential new readers. The three titles were Xombi, Kobalt (both of which I wrote), and Shadow Cabinet (which I did not). All the Milestone Books that month featured a cover by John Byrne. 

Xombi #5

DC Comics has posted Frazer Irving's  gorgeous cover to XOMBI #5 as well as a bunch of accolades for issue #1. Visit here to see more.

Drunken Severed Head Now At Famous Monsters

Famous Monsters was a magazine that shaped more than one generation of horror and science fiction aficionados, myself included. Some say that it began to go down hill when it began to focus less on monster movies and more on Star Wars ( a movie which killed off the long running monster craze years once and for all). Others say it was when it reluctantly began to include the same movies being covered by young upstart, Fangoria. Then there were the >shudder< Ray Ferry years which we will ignore ever happened.

Famous Monsters is back once again, in a new incarnation for a new era. Whether you like it, or not, will depend on how beholden you are to the original pun-filled run edited by Forry Ackerman. The new Famous Monsters, I think wisely, moves away from the juvenile flavor of the original, while still capturing its spirit in bringing to readers a wide range of subject matter and introducing them to many of the people behind the scenes of their favorite genre movies, past and present.

Defying all sensibility, Famous Monsters has embraced the low brow comedic stylings of Max, the Drunken Severed Head once again risking the wrath of readers the world over.

I jest at Max's expense, because Max expects it of me. In all honesty, Max is a dear friend of mine and an astute observer of people and horror movies alike. He's a very likable, but not lickable, head and I think that he will lend the new incarnation of Famous Monsters a singular personality, charm, and sense of humor that will remind longtime fans of the playful nature of the classic Famous Monsters.

So, go on and visit the Drunken Severed Head in its his new home. Tell him I sent you. He may even let you in for a visit.

Now I'm hoping that the Captain Company will offer up some swanky Drunken Severed Head merchandise, just please, I beg you, not this poster.

Ask Me Anything #8

It's the first Monday of the month which means it's time for "Ask Me Anything," where you can in fact ask me anything. Anything at all.  Head down to the comment section and post your question. I'll either post my answer in the comment section as well, or answer it in a special post all its own sometime later in the month.

Please take the time to view the previous questions so that we don't wind up with a lot of repetition. You can see the previous questions by visiting Ask Me Anything  #1, #2 ,  #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7.  Answers not found following the questions can be found in the archives section for each associated month.

Now ask away.

My Favorite Short Stories

Sean Cloran asked me to recommend some short stories which I think are great.

My all time favorite short story is "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. Working off of the old "be careful what you wish for premise" this eerie story remains the pinnacle example of what one should expect when making wishes. It was also inspiration for Stephen King's Pet Sematary.

My second favorite short story is "The Lady, or the Tiger" by Frank Stockton. It's appeal to me lies less in the body of the story and almost entirely on the open ending, where what happens is left for the reader to decide. I don't think the answer really matters. Some people find this sort of ending (such as with the movie "Inception" aggravating. Unfortunately, among those people have been some of my editors.

I'd also highly recommend the collection 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill. There are two stories in this volume in  particular (one about flying and one about cardboard boxes) that are among the best short stories I've read in some time and well worth the purchase of the book just for themselves.

Magic for Beginners, Pretty Monsters: Stories, Stranger Things Happen: Stories, all by Kelly Link are absolute gems. She's my favorite short story writer and has never disappointed me. I highly recommend her strange, sometimes funny, almost always unsettling, stories to anyone looking for quality reading.

Stephen Millhauser is another favorite short story writer of mine. I recommend The Barnum Museum  as a great starting point and moving on to any of his other works from there.

I also heartily recommend anything by George Saunders, including In Persuasion Nation, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline and Pastoralia.

Aimee Bender has two collections that I really liked, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt: Stories and Willful Creatures.

Finally I'd like to recommend the short stories of Kevin Brockmeier, especially the collection, The View from the Seventh Layer. His writing style may be too precise for some, but there's an almost self conscious quirkiness to them that I enjoyed.

Almost all of these in some way could be considered dark fantasy, but all have a penetrating ability to find the magic that lies just hidden in our own world and to expose it for good or ill.