Sadness shall not walk in the Kingdoms, but this man fought for the persistence of their standards and much more, twice. One good life.
Mr Toad has been a prominent Disney character since its introducion…
Early on it has been incoprorated in the magical Disneyland mix. Early visitors were able to ride crazy automobile in what quiclky became one of the most famous Disneyland attraction : Mr Toad’s Wild Ride !
Even though Walt Disney World lost its unique dual tracked Mr Toad’s Wild Ride in 1998, Anaheim kept it, and cherished it with a brand new facade along with the New Fantasyland of 1983.
courtesy of Flickr user VLoB
So Today only one coast still proudly celebrate the honourable Mr Toad and on two location. The guest streaming along Canal Boats will also see a tiny representation of Toad Hall.
courtesy of Flickr user Anna1227
The only other Kingdom where Mr Toad lives is Disneyland Paris but in a very different way. There, the wealthy frog Toad Hall is none other than counter service restaurants using its many rooms as dining area. It is the biggest recreation of Toad Hall, complete with veranda and gardens, and serves fish and chips all through the year !
Toad Hall Restaurant in Disneyland Paris
That’s it, the Shanghai Disney project is official : we’re getting a new resort.
Some feel sorry for it, some feel doubtful… I feel quiet happy.
Happy because, no matter how many parks they choose to inflate this new resort with, this can only mean a new Kingdom for us. A Kingdom to wait for, speculate about and enventually walk through.
EuroDisney emerged in an internet free era, Hong Kong in an interest free era – due to the general deception its evolving concept triggered.
Shangai should be a very well budgeted Disney venture, and so shall be its internet monitoring.
News will be sparse and rumors numerous and I don’t usually post news on this blog but for a 6th Kingdom, I think I’ll take my chance.
Untill we can start comparing…
Heading toward the castle and closing on the hub, your left hear may sense a joyful piano, your left nostril a fresh ketchup scent. This Disney signature counter restaurants proudly bares its white and red colors in two coastal states plus France and Japan : A corner, some hot dogs and plenty of Coca Cola, this article is about the 4 Refreshment Corners style restaurants of the 5 Magic Kingdoms.
The first Refreshment Corner
Even though its sponsors and soda fountain style both define those 4 locations as one family, there are 2 different types of “Corners” and 3 different designs.
The first design made of red brick and white wood stood in Disneyland on its opening day.
Over the year the oldest running fast food inside the berm grew very famous for its music. Rod Miller hold its white piano for 30 years before retiring in 2006.
It is smaller than its 3 counterparts but benefit from a large adjacent terrace called Corner Café. Interior is bright red and white, perfect to wait in line for your refreshment.
The other unique design is in Asia where sits the other Refreshment Corner. Red brick and wood all along but with a major twist. Being a “corner” in Tokyo Disneyland binds you to World Bazaar’s canopy, and so that particular Coca Cola vendor leans right on it as if it was part of support. Like the venue opposing it, it harbors an impressively rich spiral stair enclaved in a giant gazebo. This impressive piece of craftsmanship acts as a little turret towering Corner’s terrace. The theme and feel is very similar to its homonymous sister from California, as only one corner room circles its massive pearly white counter.
But the 2 last corners from France and Florida not only share a name, they share a particular theme. And this theme is non other than early America’s most popular sport: baseball. Those 2 Casey’s Corner, both colored in lemon yellow welcomes visitors in the familiar counter centered room but have some extra space. Passing the counter on the hub side is another room dressed like a sport’s fan room from the past.
Magic Kingdom's Casey's counter.
When Refreshment Corners can only sit guests on their respective terrasse, Casey’s Corners give theirs an indoor option, decorated with flags, signed collectibles and Corner’s distinctive Coca Cola luminaires.
the Backroom from both Casey's Corners
All next to the hub, the 4 Corners do square its circle by completing its swarmy joyful atmosphere for no matter when you visit them, their terraces are always packed with hot dogs cravers. Every way seems to lead to them…
Because, Refreshment Corners, Casey’s or not simply and lively appeal to the top american fan groups: Baseball fans, Coke fans and Disney fans.
CREDITS & RESSOURCES
Disneyland Paris – From Sketch to Reality for the backroom shot. The book is available on Alain’s blog Disney and More.
Flickr user DisneyPrincess71
That’s it, the long promised Google Earth modelization of Disneyland Paris is up and running. You can check it by opening your Google Earth software and go straight to Disneyland Paris after having checked the 3D Building box !
For all of you never having visited the french resort, rush to that marvel of communication !
Expect the same attention to details Walt Disney World already bares.
Hopefully the californian resort should get its 3D soon !
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It all comes from a misplaced Bandstand.
As everyone knows, on the blueprints of Disneyland, the bandstand was supposed to sit in the middle of Town Square for everyone to see it. But once the workers had put it down, Walt Disney realised it blocked the view to its Castle. 2 days before opening, Walt had it moved to a less fancy location. North west to the hub. But musicians would still play there and entertain guest for hours every friday-saturday night making the location so popular it went clustered.
In 1956 the Bandstand was moved again to Frontierland, and in its place was raised a big pavillion under which a stage and dancing ring was set.
- Its red and gold marquee by Flickr user RetroGlider -
And since then, Only In Disneyland can patrons and seldom visitors keep their sneakers on to dance on the best music played by some of the greatest musicians of Orange County. This kind of attraction makes Disneyland rather unique. An animation more than an attraction, Plaza Gardens Stage reminds us that Disney parks are not only about guided entertainement. There anyone can express themselves on some of the most populare tunes of all decades.
- Under the Big Top -
Those Plaza Gardens are not to be confused with Disneyland Paris’ own Plaza Gardens Restaurant. Even though Disneyland’s Plaza Gardens also have a counter serving food since opening.
Plaza Gardens Stage and its present Jump, Jive, Boogie, Dance Party should not be missed by anyone visiting the original Kingdom. You can spend hours just sitting outstide the ring watching those Disneyland oldtimers along with younger patrons perfectionning their steps for everyone to see.
- Backdrop for the stage -
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CREDITS & RESSOURCES
Fickr user RetroGlider for its fantastic shot of the pavillion
The Disneyland Encyclopedia by Chris Strodder
Dave for one great piece about the original Disneyland Bandstand.
Where and How each and every Disney characters or Franchise are imagineered and exploited all around the 5 Kingdoms ?
Just a new modest section of 5 Kingdoms. Alice shall cut the ribbon.
The original Mad Tea Party cups...
Alice is present in all 5 Kingdoms through its world famous attraction. No matter which kingdom you stop by, guests are gonna spin under the charming theme of Alice in Wonderland, but some Kingdoms offer more than a few cups of Alice ! Actually 3 of them have something special from Walt Disney’s Classic Alice in Wonderland.
Since 1958 in the only Kingdom already opened that year, Alice welcomes guests to a unique dark ride located in Fantasyland. You climb on a 2 rows Caterpillar which before and after scrolling through Wonderland goes out of the building to give its riders a great view of Fantasyland. This darklighted masterpiece simply named ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is unique to its Kingdom and encounters quiet a success in Anaheim.
Facade of Alice in Wonderland ride.
Entrance to the Banquet
For long, across the pacific ocean the first Asian Kingdom only had its Mad Tea Party to enjoy, but since 1998, the Tokyo Disneyland got itself a treat. A treat for kids and adults in the form of an authentic Disney buffeteria. Imagineers decided to add a restaurant to Fantasyland and chose the always fresh Alice theme to dress it. Queen of Heart’s Banquet Hall facade works as one of the primary backdrop of the land toward which hungry guest rushes in for the Kingdoms’ only Alice’s culinary experience.
The Big hearted shaped edge welcomes you as in you were entering the maze. Instead you find yourselves seated in Queen of Heart’s castle !
On eside of the building presents the maze. By flickr user frikitiki
Tokyo's Queen of Hearts Banquet's interior.
This works as a great alice decor but another park, the ever “lucky” one got even better on its openning day.
In Disneyland Paris, Alice got a real labyrinth, a unique outdoor Walkthrough attraction whose climax (if you can find it) is the Queen of Heart’s very own Castle replicate. Once you’ve passed this other Heart shaped vegetal entrance you’ll find the maze is filled with Alice references and located right across the Cups by which you can have a tea or pastries in a recreated snack vendor version of the March Hare House.
Disneyland Paris' Alice's Curious Labyrinth by Flickr user joelforeman
Across the entrance of Alice’s Curious Labyrinth stands a March Hare refreshments, faithful replicate this Alice In Wonderland original character. March Hare Refreshments serves beverages and sweets.
- Disneyland Paris’ March Hare Refreshments
Needless to say in those 3 Alice enriched Kingdoms, those attractions/restaurants themed locations assembles into some Alice minilands that work perfectly with the them of Fantasyland in which they are all encompassed.
Hong Kong and Orlando didn’t get any extra bits of Alice, they left stranded with Mad Hatter Tea Cup for one and Mad Tea Party for the other. But Alice is not only in attractions, shops and restaurants. She always gets her own float in any major Disney Parade, and is out and about in every parks quiet often. Actually no matter which Kingdom you visit, you hve a fare chance of meeting her in person bouncing around her own little Wonderland.
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Only in Disneyland Paris can you seat by the March Hare house and watch the everspinning Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, rythmed by the very few apparitions of the Tea Pot dipping Dormouse.
This Alice themed area has been built with the park and openned in 1992 along with Alice Curious Labyrinth and Mad Hatter Tea Cups. It seats right in between the t-2 Alice attractions of this Kingdom making it the center of quiet a miniland inside Paris’ Fantasyland.
March Hare Refreshment serves sweets and beverages all year long and propose an outdoor seating area right by the cups. It is a unique recreation of the March Hare House exterior and shall not be missed by any guests stopping by the parisian Kingdom.
Concept Art by Dave Minichiello
March Hare Refreshment will be featured in an upcoming article that will try and showcase the different ways each Kingdom conveys the colorful universe of Alice in Wonderland.
Come back for the launch of this whole new section “Where in the Kingoms ? – Alice”
CREDITS & RESSOURCES
Concept art picture is from Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality. by Alain Littaye
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They may not really secure any Kingdom they inhabit but each of them has a unique purpose and style, from the founder’s appartment Fire House, to the Firemen store… This article is about the 3 Fire Stations of the 5 Magic Kingdoms!
3 Fire Stations but only 2 design.
The first Fire Station ever build was of course in Disneyland.
Walt Disney had enclaved his privates appartements in there, just above the garage. They were to be used on the man’s ’saturday’s’ strolling and monitoring…
Then came along the second Kingdom to be build, and it naturaly came with a different Fire House to go along with that new kind of Main Street.
The 3rd Fire Station was built in 2005 when Hong Kong opened its Main Street as a faithful replicate of the Original.
Both Fire Department share the red brick and pinnacle look as well as their disposition on Town Square, for those three are both attached to their respective City Hall.
But none of the 3 Kingdoms equipped with a fire brigade use it the same way.
Magic Kingdom’s Engine Co. 71 shelters a store where young and adults can buy goods related to our beloved firefighters.
Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland’s share the same name and look but serve different purposes. The first Disneyland Fire Dept. 105 is a simple exhibition of a horse powered fire engine. Guest can pose for pictures and feel the different tools hung on the walls. The second Fire Dept. 105 is used as a stroller and wheelchair rental office idealy located right by the City Hall.
So 2 designs, 2 names, 3 functions but then again what about those 2 Kingdoms striving without fire protection ?
Tokyo Disneyland’s lacking doesn’t come as a surprise for its very own World Bazaar’s layout rules out any chance for stand alone structures.
The only mension of a Fire Dept. in Disnyeland Paris are painted on some Main Street windows. It may come as a shock to read in this article that the French Kingdom doesn’t have its own Fire Dept. Honestly most visitors could swear they’ve seen it ! What most Disney fans mistook for a Fire Dept. there is a piece of Imagineering dressed in red bricks, topped by a pinnacle, and proudly sitting right on Town Square.
It has everything of a Kingdom’s Fire House but the name. Main Street Transportation Co. serves as a counterpart for the other park’s Fire Houses but was themed differently. Obviously to better suit the automobile twist given to the European Main Street.
This is not a Fire House.
CREDITS & RESSOURCES
- Magic Kingdom’s Engine Co. 71’s picture – unfairly cropped – is from Brian from www.bigbrian-nc.com, Flickr user bigbrian-nc.
- Stroller & Wheelchair sign pictures is from Flickr user xWIZEx World Tour.
- Thanks to Jorn for pointed out Paris’ window painting, check out his comment for more info !
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