Richard and Robert Sherman (right) with Michael Leon, Harold Kleiner and Randy Thornton of Walt Disney Records
I took this photo back in 1992… 23 years ago! My friend, Randy Thornton (pictured in the middle in the photo above), a producer for Walt Disney Records, was producing a new CD exclusively of Sherman Brothers music. Richard and Robert Sherman were called in to help out, and Randy was kind enough to invite me over, too! Those were such great times, and I’m so grateful to Randy for all he did for me! Check back here at our “Mouse Clubhouse” blog for my interviews with Randy, and Richard Sherman as well! (Be sure to sign up for email updates to be notified when I post the audio of Randy and Richard’s interviews!) Sadly, I never interviewed Bob. He was a good friend, and I just loved spending time with him, but never did a formal interview with him. Luckily, I’ll always have my photos and memories of him.
The Pizzafari restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
This unique lamppost found just outside Pizzafari, restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, gives Guests an idea of the stylings found inside the restaurant’s six themed rooms.
If you eat at Pizzafari, while dining on pizza or other related fare, be sure to listen closely to what sounds like African-styled music. Each song is animal-related and you’ll hear familiar melodies such as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Black Bird,” “Octopus’s Garden” and the theme to the TV series “Mister Ed.”
The 1990 One Man’s Dream stage show at Videopolis in Disneyland
This is NOT a black and white photograph. It’s a full color photo of the ultra-creative way the classic One Man’s Dream stage show began in Disneyland. The music would build and almost instantly the set and characters appeared in full color. The 30 minute show, which was only at Disneyland in 1990, was truly magical, and featured dancers and Disney characters in a revue of brilliant song and dance numbers from Disney’s classic animated features.
One’s Man Dream culminated with a truly grand finale of all the dancers and Disney characters coming together in song, donning their traditional costumes but in sparkling gold!
One Man’s Dream was performed at the Videopolis stage in Disneyland, which today is known as the Fantasyland Theatre. The show was also a big hit in Tokyo Disneyland, and a newer version, One Man’s Dream II: The Magic Lives On, delights audiences daily.
Inside Cranium Command in the Wonders of Life Pavilion at Epcot
by Scott Wolf
With the release of the new Disney-Pixar film, “Inside Out,” which focuses on the “voices inside your head,” for some of us, it is bringing back memories of a former Epcot attraction with a similar concept, so I thought I’d post a couple of my photos from it.
Inside the Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World
Cranium Command was housed inside the Wonders of Life Pavilion at Epcot at Walt Disney World. The pavilion celebrated life and, through entertainment, educated about the human experience. Other attractions within the pavilion included The Making of Me, a short live film starring Martin Short which delicately tells the story of human creation, including hilarious animated segments of the inner body workings of conception, and Body Wars, a flight simulator, like Star Tours, which brought guests on a journey through a human body, rather than outer space, to find and destroy a splinter.
In Cranium Command, guests would enter the brain control room where a young Audio Animatronic boy named Buzzy, helmed the controls. His mission was to keep another young boy out of trouble.
In the photo above, you can see Buzzy within the boy’s head, and through boy’s eyes when he first meets a beautiful girl.
Cranium Command featured an all-star cast with Charles Grodin as Left Brain, Jon Lovitz as Right Brain, George Wendt (Norm from “Cheers”) was the Stomach, Bobcat Goldthwait portrayed the Adrenal Gland, and Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon were the heart’s Right and Left Ventricles (reminiscent of their characters, Hans and Franz, from Saturday Night Live).
The World According to Goofy parade at Disneyland 1992 – “Egyptian Daze”
by Scott Wolf
Parades are a longtime tradition of the Disney theme parks, with the first on Disneyland’s opening day. Here’s some photos I took of The World According to Goofy parade at Disneyland in 1992. The lavish parade represented Goofy in various settings including the Italian “Renais-sauce,” “Egyptian Daze” and running for president of the United States. I’d vote for him!
The World According to Goofy parade at Disneyland 1992 – Professor Ludwig von Drake kicks off the paradeThe World According to Goofy parade at Disneyland 1992 – “The Renais-sauce”
Here’s Mr. Smee and Captain Hook on Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay
I always love to use Disney characters as subjects for my photography, so I couldn’t resist when I saw Captain Hook and Mr. Smee greeting guests on Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay! Be sure to contact Shani for more information about the cruises that sail to this magical getaway!
