Don Iwerks saw it all happen since 1950, the birth of Disneyland & the theme park industry. More importantly, Don was a soft-spoken powerhouse of knowledge & support, always ready to answer questions & share his knowledge with younger staff. My thoughts are with Leslie & the entire Iwerks family.

I will be occasionally posting Granny appreciation photos, as I’ve come across a trove, many more than I imagined. Most are from newspapers or GE internal newsletters. Officially named Mrs. G.E. Faire, Progressland personnel usually referred to her as “Granny” or sometimes “Grandma Moses.” Get it? 😜

How it looked the day after, October 1965.

11-year old boy takes off with Granny as Carousel of Progress closes! Authorities say the boy climbed onto the stage, slashed the scrim, grabbed the figure & exited with her in a wheelchair. The boy was stopped on the Peoplemover platform while attempting to take the figure on the ride. Film at 11.

Granny got around a lot more than I thought before her debut at the Fair.

The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe always comes to mind, although I’ve never seen “The Harvey Girls.” Maybe now I will, because this prolonged musical number is over the top. youtu.be/zSgrOvMLWsY?...

Hey everyone! Join Bob Gurr, Michael Broggie, & me on Aug 1 at Chapman University for a special program honoring the late Roger Broggie Sr, presented by the Carolwood Society. We’ll discuss the earliest days of WED Imagineering & the original Imagineers. For deets & tix, Google CarolwoodAtChapman

That time I was invited to the G8 Summit, Deauville, France.

I don’t usually post film reviews, but I saw Toy Story 5 at a press screening & have to say it was encouraging to see a film so skillfully balance high entertainment with a timely message—w/out having to obviously “preach” it. To that point, this is a good model for Disney/Pixar going forward.

Maybe they heard you!

I'm 100% for this! The show as we’ve known it was a result of sponsorship with GE. Before that, it was planned as a nostalgic show for a neighborhood of Main Street. It now sits in Tomorrowland, and context matters. It wants to be a show that doesn’t focus on household appliances but BETTER LIVING!☀️

I’m with Walt!

In honor of NBC’s 100th anniversary, I cleaned-up and color-corrected a lo-res version of the original Disney-animated Peacock that I found on the Internet sometime ago. This is my inaugural foray into the world of Topaz. Chat GPT held my hand.

This photo taken in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from a private collection, deserves a closer look.

RIP Dean Tavoularis, renowned production designer & one of the most important Imagineers that Disney fans have never heard of. His bio only mentions his work on Lady and the Tramp and leaves out the 8 years he worked for WED. I interviewed Dean in 2019 & I'll share details of that interview shortly.

Werner Herzog version.

Meanwhile, on that other site, this happened. OP Alea must have found that shot online somewhere and didn’t know who the subject in the photo was, but she was right about the flex.

The hotel I’m occupying in Asheville, North Carolina, uses antlers in all of their decorating.

Don’t forget this one, either.

So far, no one has commented on the third photo.

When Dis-nerds meet!

What little lunar knowledge I have I probably picked up from Disney. One of the first scientists to speculate what the dark side of the moon looked like was Renaissance man Roger Hayward, shown here on the left directing the sculpting of the Moon for Disneyland’s Rocket to the Moon ride…

In color, as they stand before a hole in the ground where the Haunted Mansion will soon rise.

If you see this, post a character from space.

Meant to send this retraction earlier: fellow Disney historian @hollifieldjim.bsky.social, who knows much more about Darby O’Gill than I do, has corrected my assertion about the location of the folly on the lake; it was not on the studio backlot. He should know, he’s writing THE book about the film!

Continuing the new wave of serious Disneyland studies, this work by Roland Betancourt is a must-read for mid-century tech archaeologists. It chronicles the early technologies that made the park viable, which Disney then perfected for its own bespoke use. There are some surprises!

“The Computer” as envisioned in 1964 by two of Hollywood’s top art directors, Jack, Martin Smith and Bill Creber. From the TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

The little folly structure was shot back on the Disney lot. I'm not certain, but it's likely that it was placed over the "cement pond" created to test effects for the Submarine Voyage. It was next to the Darby village and they would've just finished the Submarine tests when shooting began on Darby.

The lake (did it have a name?) which I always presumed was at Golden Oak Ranch, was actually shot in Canoga Park/West Hills. Today, the lake is still there, and still has the small island... it's just surround by homes in a gated community! Anyone reading this live here?!

Today you can still see how these rolling hills, when blessed with a little rain, can resemble the terra of Ireland, especially with the occasional, curious rock outcroppings. While much was added by Ellenshaw, this topography provided the film crew with an inexpensive head start.

The rolling foothills leading up to Knocknasheega were also not shot at Golden Oak Ranch, but rather along the hills between Agoura and Thousand Oaks. This shot in particular was looking directly into Westlake Village, but you wouldn't know it thanks to the talents of Peter Ellenshaw and Ub Iwerks.

A few Darby O’Gill fun facts: Not shot in Ireland (y’all knew that) but also not shot at the Golden Oak Ranch, except a few scenes. Village of Rathcullen, including Tavern, was purpose-built on the NE corner of the Disney lot. If you squint, you can see the power lines running along Alameda Ave...

The colors Green, Blue, and Violet would like you to know they hope to return to the Oscars next year!

Watching the Oscars out of the corner of my eye this year as I work on other things. My take away is “endless brown & orange cinematography” (very Tavoularis-esque). The Kodak theater stage, too. If you watch this in its entirety, your eyesight should be greenish blue for the rest of the evening.

Here's something I never noticed before & I bet no one else has either--especially since it's long gone. A hidden, slightly abstracted WED "D" complete w/inner star, hiding within the proscenium of 1967's Tomorrowland Stage. l think we can all guess who placed it. IMHO, more fun than hidden Mickeys!

Great Lucy Show clip discovered by LA historian @alisonmartino which peeks into the LAX Theme building 30 years pre-Encounter, when the restaurant had the sexy name "Host International."🤔 Gail Gordon will forever remind me of Walt Disney, but my comment fell flat with one Lucy historian.

And here is that same space today. I want to believe this only yucca plant on the entire street is in honor of MAMECO.

Autopia cars assembled here. (21 years earlier than this 1976 photo was taken). Source: Marty Martindale

House of Thirteen Gables.

I’m curious about that tree in the foreground, but also the one in the background that might be the corral tree relocated from Tahitian Terrace in ‘62. Add to list…

It was an Evergreen Elm, as spec’d by Ruth Shellhorn.

One of my paranoias is that I’m going to go out with an ironic ending. And this would certainly be one scenario.

Has he officially been named Walt, yet?

1st photo, from the recent (fabulous) book about X Atencio by daughter Tori McCullough, intrigued me, as I’d run across other references to a “WED house” in Palm Springs, for use by its Imagineers in the 1960s/70s and wondered where it was. Now I’ve located it (not in Smoke Tree Ranch) on the right…

A closer look at this mysterious piece of Disney archeology.

Having no relationship to DCA’s 25th or to the Super Bowl, I present a random morsel of Disney archeology I just stumbled on, again while searching for something else. It dates back to 1961, so I assumed it would be gone by now, but lo, it’s still there. I bet someone here recognizes it. I’ll wait.

In my research, I found alternate Haunted Mansion tombstone epitaphs. Since there’s no room for it in my book, I’ll share one here in honor of Marty’s Sklar’s Feb 6th B-day: “We won’t forget our good friend Marty. Hearty Marty loved a party.” Maybe install it one day?! Photo: @Jimagineering

Legs.

Another trip around the sun!