#Disneyland60.....Today In Disneyland History.........August 21,

People Mover Closes

August 21, 1995

On August 21, 1995 The PeopleMover, sometimes referred to as the Goodyear PeopleMover or the WEDWay PeopleMover in Tomorrowland at Disneyland made it's last trip.   Guests of the PeopleMover boarded small trains that ran on elevated tracks for a "grand circle tour" above Tomorrowland by entering the attraction's vehicles that were always in constant motion, and were accessible by a large turntable inside the station. The trains were not powered by motors within themselves, but rather by being pushed by rotating tires each with its own electric motor, embedded in the track once every nine feet.

Each car included its own sound system that broadcast a continuous audio commentary and soundtrack, relative to the train's location. The commentary pointed out Disneyland's attractions along the way as well as announcing promotional items.

The tour continued from the center of Tomorrowland through many of Tomorrowland's buildings, for a look inside, and then over Disneyland's Submarine Lagoon and Autopia areas, before returning to Tomorrowland.

In 1977, the SuperSpeed Tunnel, located in the Carousel Building, then housing America Sings was added to the ride. Here race cars were projected on the walls all around the trains. In 1982, the scenes were changed to clips from Tron's light cycle race scene, and the tunnel was renamed Tron SuperSpeed Tunnel. These were edited clips of World of Motion's SuperSpeed Tunnel movies designed to look like computer generations.

Sadly, the PeopleMover closed on August 21, 1995 and was replaced by the short-lived Rocket Rods in 1998. The ride track infrastructure, which served both the PeopleMover and Rocket Rods, still stands unused in Tomorrowland. And that’s what happened today in Disneyland’s history.

A "Hidden Gem" at Disney's Hollywood Studios - The Magic of Disney Animation by Cheryl Giardi

And I thought I had seen it all!  Last year at the Silva annual Christmas party while I was heading for my sister in laws nine layer nacho dip, I stumbled upon some new art work in her living room!  There were  four framed drawings of Pluto.  I asked her where she made them.  To my astonishment she said "Hollywood Studios - I thought you were the Disney expert"?   How had I missed this attraction after 20 plus visits?  The Disney guidebooks, the brochures, all the web searches and I had never been a part of this?  I started to tremble, I broke out in a sweat and did what any mousejunkie would immediately do, I began my quest to research to find our more about this attraction!  
A "hidden gem" it is!

First of all  - location? The Magic of Disney Animation  is located in the area by The Voyage of the Little Mermaid and next to Disney Junior - Live on Stage!  It is an attraction/art class that will teach you how animators draw the Disney characters.  I'll take you through it! 

When you walk into the area there will probably be a wait.  Don't worry have one person wait in line and go explore the art work that is around.  Also when we were there, both times there were several character meet and greets in the same building - so we hung out with the Incredibles!  During the pre-show you will watch a small screen of characters being drawn and the audience is usually trying to guess!  Hopefully you will get the cast members that we had that hosted sing along time with our favorite Disney songs!  In the pre-show area there will be  about 40 future animators waiting for their big break.  Then the doors will open.  GASP!  You will enter an art studio:

Okay it's not really that dark I forgot about the flash!  You will scoot down a row and get yourself ready for art class!  Each desk area has a piece of paper and a set of pencils without erasers!  

Now you're almost ready.

Next  you will meet your Disney animator/host who will dazzle you with their talents!  They will pick a Disney character and guide you through the process of drawing it. Animators do not use erasers that is someone else's job to "clean up" their drawings.  The class is about 20 minutes and moves rather quickly.  There were a few small child meltdowns including my own!

Our chosen character was OLAF!  Obviously someone saw me coming and chose one of my favorites.  Or they saw my boys coming in and quickly made the change from princess to snowman!
Here are our masterpieces!

 Here's mine!  Next time I am sneaking in an eraser!

 

The class was awesome and on our way out we headed to the gift shop (what else would you do after a Disney attraction?) and we purchased one of the drawing books to use at home!  We did go back again and participated and this time we drew Minnie - what luck another one of my favorites and I told my son just to draw whatever he wanted rather than getting frustrated trying to follow the quick directions!

  Seriously, how cute is that?

Next year we will host the Christmas party at our house.  I'll make the nine layer dip. And when someone comments on our art work on the wall I will be sure to tell them all about this hidden gem at Disney's Hollywood Studios - The Art of Animation!

Doesn't it make you "wanna build a snowman"?

Tips for Parents and Little Ones Visiting Walt Disney World

Tips for Parents visiting Walt Disney World with little ones

• Have a strategic plan before your trip; Disney is not the place to wing it, as I’ve often said. Research the attractions, layout & meet & greets ahead of time. I promise the proactive approach is the only way to see WDW efficiently & will cause less headaches & aggravation. Trust me….
• Minimize those meltdowns by NOT Park hopping on your first trip. Try to concentrate on one park a day. Disney World is too large & getting to & fro is more time consuming than you might think. Take breaks & rest. Keep your routine as close to normal even on vacay.
• Adults can ride big rides, even if the little kids can’t- Disney has a system called “Rider Switch” that will allow the older members of your family to ride while the younger riders wait. You simply tell the Cast Member at any ride that has a height requirement that you’d like to do a Rider Switch. They’ll give you a Rider Switch pass (which works like a FastPass) so that after you ride, you can hand it to the other half of your party and they can ride without waiting in line.
• Nursing mothers or parents of small children; WDW has baby care centers available at all four theme parks. Open during regular park hours, each full-service facility is complimentary to use. Also a comfortable setting for a child who’s misplaced his parents, lost children will be looked after until a parent arrives.
• Bring snacks that they can snack on such as fruit snacks, apples or gold fish to keep their energy going or NOT, lol. You are allowed to bring food items; such as light snacks or foods that do not require heating into Disney theme parks. The Security Cast Member at the initial bag check will allow or disallow your food items when you enter the park. I’m sure they’ve seen it all, I bet it would be quite funny to hear all of the things peeps thought they could bring into the parks & a little scary too.

• Waterproof Sunscreen & please reapply.
• Make sure if your child has disabilities you have proper identification Walt Disney World provides Guests with disabilities -the Disability Access Service Card. It helps the guest and a number of people from his or her party—to schedule a return time at a specific attraction. For more information-guests should visit the Guest Relations Lobby located at the entrance of each theme park. 
• Safety, please watch your children closely. It’s a new exciting environment & they’re more prone to venture off- check into http://www.safetytat.com/or a dog-tag type necklace with parents name & number for security.
• Make sure you have proper medicines & prescriptions with doctor’s name & phone numbers with you while traveling.

• Be patient & enjoy your kids at their very age~ soon, very soon, they’ll be at a new stage in life & might not have the same likes & dislikes as before, so enjoy them in the moment. Originally published on http://theadultsideofdisney.com/.

Check out this information and much, much more on http://dawnsdorkydiary.com/ & http://www.mqpodcast.com/.

Summer Camp- Let's Make Elephant Toothpaste!

This week at Summer Camp we’re diving into a new way to answer that classic children’s elephant joke:

         “How do you fill an elephant’s tooth?” “Very quickly”

To keep our elephant out of the dentist’s chair, this week at Kid’s Korner Summer Camp edition we’re making Elephant Toothpaste with the help of Gabby.  What exactly is this time honored children’s science classic? Elephant toothpaste is the result of a chemical reaction that creates a rapid expansion of foam. It looks like a volcano of foam that produces so much foam it looks like an amount of toothpaste an elephant could use.

 Like everything found at Summer Camp, this activity can be for little of no cost with materials and supplies you probably already have on hand. 

Materials:

·      16 oz. empty plastic bottle (preferably with a narrow neck)

·      ½ cup 20 volume (6 %) hydrogen peroxide (found in beauty supply stores-note 3% isn’t strong enough for this)

·      Squirt of Dawn dish soap

·      3 to 4 drops food coloring

·      1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons of very warm water

·      Funnel

·      Foil cake pan with two inch sides

·      Goggles, Disposable Gloves and Smock or something to cover your clothes

Directions:

1.  Set a soda pop bottle in the middle of a pan to catch the toothpaste.

2. Mix these in a separate container and swirl together for a minute.  

2 Tablespoons warm water
      1 Teaspoon yeast

3.  Mix these in your soda pop bottle:
      1/2 cup 6% hydrogen peroxide. 
      4-5 drops food coloring
      A squirt of Dawn dish soap

4.  Pour the yeast mixture into the soda pop bottle. Stand back and listen from the squeals of delight!

The Science Behind the Magic:

Warnings:

• Elephant toothpaste can stain!
• The resulting substance is called elephant toothpaste only because of its appearance. Don't put it in your mouth or swallow it.
• The foam will overflow suddenly and quickly, Make sure you do this fun activity on a washable, stain-resistant surface, or better yet, outside and do not stand anywhere near the bottle when it foams.
• This experiment cannot be done safely without goggles and gloves.

Why It Works-The Science Behind the Magic:

• Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) naturally breaks down into water (H2O) and oxygen over time. But you can speed up the process by adding a catalyst such as the enzymes found in the yeast. When the hydrogen peroxide releases a lot of oxygen at once in the presence of detergent, millions of little bubbles form quickly.  You might notice that the reaction produces  a small amount of heat. That's because the chemical process is exothermic, meaning that it releases energy.

Now the only question is, where will you find an elephant! Special thanks to Gabby and her family for allowing us to feature this wonderful up and coming scientist.  

Looking for the links on previous Summer Camps so you can relive the fun? Check out these links and keep checking back each week for more Kid’s Korner Summer Camp activities

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Summer Camp Free Activities In Your Own Neighborhood

Summer Camp Grows Seeds

Summer Camp Makes Ice Cream

Summer Camp Lowe's Build and Grow Field Trip

Summer Camp Tie Dye Mickey Head Tee Shirts

Summer Camp Flubber

Summer Camp Oobleck

Summer Camp Play Dough

Summer Camp Sidewalk Chalk

Summer Camp Homemade Soap