Eric sez, "The operator of a monorail at Walt Disney World died Sunday morning when two monorails crashed. About five or six guests were on the monorail at the time of the accident, but they are not seriously injured." It happened at the Ticket and Transportation Center station.

A person who was on the scene reported to the news stations that they head a loud explosion and saw the mangled trains in the station. They tried to run to get people out of the front of the crashed train. They saw a family make it out, but the driver [ed: news report cuts off here]

The monorails involved were the pink and purple trains, according to Local 6 in Orlando; pink was moving and hit purple, which was stationary.

Breaking news: Two monorails crash at Disney World overnight, one Cast Member dead (Thanks, Eric and John!)

The Obamabot 3000 is ready to be unveiled at Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents, along with the Mark II George Washingtron ("Now with real talking action!") and a Gettysburg-complete Lincolnbot.

No word on whether the Obamabot will allow release of the photos of the waterbotting on Pleasure Island, a no-go zone for civilians for several years now.

We're just sorting out our Christmas at Disney World plans -- our first WDW trip with the baby -- and I'm looking forward to this. There is something eerily cool and compelling about all those hyper-detailed robots nodding and twitching at you from out of the uncanny valley while Maya Angelou tells you about the War Between the States.

A remarkably lifelike Audio-Animatronics figure of President Barack Obama enters the spotlight in a revised and refreshed Hall of Presidents show when it reopens July 4 in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. The addition of the countrys 44th chief executive is just part of the most significant update to this classic attraction since its 1971 debut in the parks Liberty Square.

Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin helped develop the show with Disney Imagineers. In this video they talk about the Hall of Presidents: A Celebration of Libertys Leaders.

Barack Obama Joins Hall of Presidents at Disney's Magic Kingdom (Thanks, Patricio!)

Disney's paying Hong Kong US$465M to expand the operations of the failing Hong Kong Disneyland, adding three new areas and 30 attractions (let's hope they finally add a Haunted Mansion!). I imagine the expansion will be on more "reclaimed" (e.g. landfill) territory.

As part of the deal announced Tuesday, the government plans to convert a substantial amount of existing loans to the park into equity, but won't invest any new capital. Its stake in the park will fall to 52%...

The physical size of the theme park, will increase by 23%, Lau said, with the new attractions aimed at broadening Disneyland's appeal to young adults...

In its first year of operations, visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland fell 400,000 short of the park's 5.6 million target. In its second year, attendance fell to just over 4 million visitors.

The park has also drawn criticism for lack of appeal to mainland Chinese tourists, who account for the bulk of its visitors, given their unfamiliarity with Disney stories and characters.

Disney said Tuesday the expansion will focus on "universally understood" stories, adding that many of the new attractions will be unique to the Hong Kong park.

Disney, Hong Kong Government Reach Deal To Expand Hong Kong Theme Park

(Image: 27601 - Hong Kong - Disneyland, a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike photo from Xiquinhosilva's Flickr stream)

The Great Frog's Michael Mouse Ring is a sweet chunk of chunky, infringing silver: a skull in Mickey ears.

Michael Mouse Ring

An incredibly lifelike advanced Obamabot is ready to be installed in the Walt Disney World Hall of Presidents. It's traditional for the current president's robot to give a little speech at the end of the show. Presumably, Obamabot will explain how the reasonable middle-ground demands suspending habeas corpus, covering up war crimes, and blocking the prosecution of participants in illegal wiretapping programs.

The Obama figure is the result of attention to minute details by Disney sculptors, animators, engineers and even anatomists who pored over presidential photographs and video of him and then drew on the latest advances in robotic technology.

Thus the audio-animatronic Obama purses its lips to pronounce its b's and p's in a way frighteningly evocative of the real one, and raises its hands, open-palmed, while shrugging its shoulders, in a way that can only be described as Obamaesque. Even the president's wedding ring, with its braided design, has been recreated.

Animatronic Obama Going to Disney World With High-Tech Style (Thanks, Eloisa!)

Disneyland and Walt Disney World will no longer pay dedicated toplessness-checkers to examine the photos snapped of riders and displayed at the end of the ride. Not enough flashers these days, apparently.

Disney confirmed Tuesday that it has reassigned employees at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure who watched for breast-baring riders because "actual inappropriate behaviors by guests are rare."

Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the changes took effect Sunday at Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain and California Screamin'.

Riders are photographed on the attractions and can then buy souvenir copies. Some have exposed their breasts in hopes that the picture would make it onto a photo preview screen at the ride's exit.

Disney Parks Stop Scans for Topless Riders (Thanks, Dan X!)

Jon sez, "Walt Disney Records has finally released its long-delayed box set of audio from Disney's 1964 World's Fair attractions. (Perhaps you've already sampled it.) It's a fabulous package and a must-have for Disney park fans."

This audio goes straight into the beating heart of what fascinates me about Disney: the use of immersive, mass technology to tell stories and convey value -- all the while embodying a meta-story and a set of meta-values about artisanship (all those handmade robots, sets and controllers!), technology, progress, individualism... I could listen to this all day. The 1964 World's Fair is very high on my shortlist of places to visit when I get my time-machine.

Disneyland Goes To the World's Fair is a rare behind the scenes look at Walt Disney's contribution to the 1964 World's Fair. It was here where Walt unveiled several unique attractions and exhibits that would forever change not only Disneyland, but greatly influence the future of Disney Theme Parks yet to be imagined. This 5-CD Set includes a 24-page full color booklet and more than three hours of recordings from the classic attractions and exhibits Walt Disney and his team of artists created for the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Progressland: Behind-the original World's Fair scenes recordings and original music from the Progressland Exhibit, featuring a never-before released production of Carousel of Progress.

Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln: Experience the sounds of the original Illinois Pavilion. As a special treat, you'll hear the original recording sessions of the man who gave Mr. Lincoln his voice (Royal Dano) and listen to the lavish original score by Disney legend Buddy Baker also presented as individual tracks.

"It's A Small World": Includes the original demo recording of the legendary song as well as isolated vocals and a grand master mix of the varied international interpretations of the famous tune directly from the attraction soundtrack. Also included is a tour of this charming "little boat ride" with Walt Disney as your guide.

Magic Skyway: Takes you on a time-traveling "road trip" with Walt Disney as he personally escorts you hrough the Age of Dinosaurs, the ascent of man, and to the distant future.

BONUS DISC: Carousel of Progress - Alternate Universe Version

Walt Disney and The 1964 World's Fair (Thanks, Jon!)

Ren sez, "This is a smashing video that remixes scenes from Disney movies that appear to be traced from one another. The effect is super-bizarre, but it explains why I was never able to tell those princesses apart!"

Disney Templates (Thanks, Ren!)

Henry sez, "Steve Seifert has been religiously documenting Disney's Polynesian Resort since 1999, first on geocities, and now on homestead. While it's certainly not the most modern, it really shows off true passion of the early web: a single subject site that's zealously updated. Steve also runs the popular Disney fandom Tikifest event, happening this summer.

With his homestead bandwidth bills going, Steve is going to shut down the site as early as today. Please help Steve keep the site alive! Email: polynesian@tikiman2001.net if you can provide hosting / help him import to a more reasonable site."

This really is an impressive fan-site. The Poly is one of my favorite hotels in the world. I wrote the middle chapters of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom on a lanai in the Roratonga long-house, listening to the distant howl of the wolves at the Haunted Mansion, the chug of the railroad, the crack of the Jungle Cruise drivers shooting the hippos, and the calls of the tropical birds all around (I made close friends with an ibis on that trip).

Tikiman's Polynesian Resort Pages (Thanks, Henry!)

Update: Here's Rogers's' slides from the talk

Today at the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco, I saw an outstanding talk on the lessons for level design to be had in the design of Disneyland. It was presented by Scott Rogers, Creative Manager at THQ in Los Angeles, who taught himself level design for Pac Man World by thinking about the experiences he'd had on many visits to Disneyland. The talk was full of lively insights and fun facts about both Disneyland and game-lore, and Rogers was a great presenter. I took copious (for me) notes and photos of most of the slides and I've just put them online (Rogers says he'll put the slides up in better form shortly, I'll link to them when he does).

* Walt invented lots of "moving people around" tricks that are useful in level design e.g. weenies (landmarks that draw guests towards certain locations)
   * Good navigational points for open worlds like GTA
   * Provides "picture spots" to stop and think, "Wow this is cool" -- Athens coming into sight in God of War

* How Weenies Work
    * First weenie is the castle -- you walk down linear Main St, and as you reach the hub, more weenies open up, the fronts of the lands, prompting the player/guest to choose where to go
    * As you go further, more weenies open up, the rivers, treehouse, Matterhorn, Space Mtn -- peeking over the horizon, giving a tantalizing glimpse

* Enhancing Weenies:
    * Draw players towards goals geographically and visually
    * Change altitude to enhance drama/scale
    * Make player backtrack/change direction to give more information
    * Switchbacks can do this
    * See ratchet and clank games

Notes from the talk

Slides from the talk

Scott Rogers' homepage

Richard Metzger is the current Boing Boing guest blogger

Kenneth Anger's creepy/funny homage to Mickey Mouse:

The good folks at Podiobooks have taken advantage of the Creative Commons license on my novels and put together a fantastic free recording of my first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (this is the third fan-reading of that book!), this one by Mark Douglas Nelson, who does a stellar job.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Waxy's rounded up YouTube clips of the iconic "Ooh-De-Lally" song from Walt Disney's Robin Hood as performed in many languages -- Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, German, Catalan (!) and Norwegian. Top prize for translated title, "Tirly Tirly Truly Truly" (Russian). Though the best song itself is definitely "Durul·lari" (Catalan).

Robin Hood's "Oo De Lally," Translated (Thanks, Andy!)

Disneyland Paris is liberally supplied with smoking areas -- which are all roundly ignored by happily puffing Euros swinging their butts at child's-face-height. Luckily, there's one smoking area for the discriminating smoker who wants to obey the rules and blow plumes of smoke into children's faces -- the smoking area in the stroller-rental zone at Disney Studios Park.

Stroller rentals and smoking area, Poesy's first birthday, DIsneyland Paris, France.JPG

Ape Lad sez, "This year is the 40th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion. These lovely purple shoes, featuring the spooky wallpaper design, are being sold as part of the upcoming festivities." Man there's some good stuff in that merch preview and also a lot of junk. I'd love these shoes, and the dessert plates, the candelabra and the chess set (oh, the chess set!). But does the world really need yet another set of crummy pins?

Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary Event (Thanks, Ape Lad!)

Molly sez, "Robbins Barstow's film Disneyland Dream was included in this year's National Film Registry (25 films selected by the Library of Congress annually). He is a tireless advocate for amateur film and a great supporter of Home Movie Day. Steve Martin wrote to Robbins Barstow after the news of Disneyland Dream being selected for the Film Registry. Martin appears in the home movie, he's 11 years old and worked selling guidebooks. Go home movies!"

We've blogged Robbins's amazing home movies here before. The man's a hero of the medium. Well-deserved congratulations indeed.

From the Library of Congress’s press release:

Disneyland Dream (1956)
The Barstow family films a memorable home movie of their trip to Disneyland. Robbins and Meg Barstow, along with their children Mary, David and Daniel were among 25 families who won a free trip to the newly opened Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., as part of a ‘Scotch Brand Cellophane Tape’ contest sponsored by 3M. Through vivid color and droll narration (”The landscape was very different from back home in Connecticut”), we see a fantastic historical snapshot of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Catalina Island, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios and Disneyland in mid-1956. Home movies have assumed a rapidly increasing importance in American cultural studies as they provide a priceless and authentic record of time and place.

The film, along with 15 other Barstow Travel Adventure titles, is available for viewing and downloading at the Internet Archive.

Robbins Barstow’s “Disneyland Dream” Named to National Film Registry, Steve Martin and Disneyland Dream (Thanks, Molly!)

Disney's running an ingenious web-promo; you enter the name of a loved one and they automatically edit a fake video news story about Walt Disney World being given over to that person. I have to admit that I felt a little quickening of my pulse as I watched the video (and the automated editing is really good!). Then, of course, I immediately set about checking the profanity filter to see what kaka-doodie names I could get into the picture. "Shit pissfuck" didn't work, but "Lizard Jesuspants" did!

Doctorow's Kingdom? Disney turns its world over to unknown (Thanks, John and Benjamin!)

How sez, "California hipster artist Shag has created 13 new art pieces commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction. I've collected all the details (and art) known to date about the upcoming event in August of 2009 in one post."

What's not to like? Shag's art + the best ride Disney's Imagineers ever built = sheer heaven!

Details are still a little sketchy (pardon the pun) at this time, but it appears that a range of merchandise will be created based on the art: at the very least, Shag will be signing prints on Sunday, August 9th at the park. Buyers, however, will get the first opportunity to buy the prints at a cocktail party the evening of the 8th where Shag will be the guest of honor. Here’s hoping that they hold the event in the Mansion itself — Walt Disney World has done dinners in the stretch rooms in the past — what a blast it would be to party where “candle lights flicker where the air is deathly still.”

Shag Haunted Mansion art event (Thanks, How!)

ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG. Nipper, a Counterstrike map-hacker, has devised an incredibly detailed reproduction of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World, a ride so fine I wrote a novel about it. Nipper's packed a jaw-dropping amount of detail into the map, even down to various behind-the-scenes sections, and has creatively improved some of the slacker moments in the ride, such as a set of Eschereqsue staircases to one side of the otherwise boring stair-climb. The only thing that could make this better would be modelling ALL the backstage areas, so you could tear through the break rooms and maintenance areas with your giant guns, hunting your fellow players.

YouTube: A ride-through of NIPPER's de_haunts (a "The Haunted Mansion" Counter-Strike: Source map), Download the map (Thanks, David, Nick, Jeremy, Dreambank, Waxy, and Justin!)

I've just come back from Tokyo, where, as ever, I found time to visit Tokyo Disneysea, the most elaborate and beautiful constructed environment I've ever seen. While there, I found three remarkable Disney jazz albums that have knocked my socks off by combining classic Disney standards with novel, artful interpretations from a diverse and talented collection of artists.

First off, Bossa Disney Carioca, which has the worst cover and the best music of all three. These cool Brazilian covers reveal the pure, breathy dreamlike character in Disney's best music, especially Saigenji's "When You Wish Upon a Star" and Maucha Adnet's "Sonhar E Desejar" ("A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"). Every track on this disc made me smile and sing along.

Next up, the altogether more challenging Modal Jazz Loves Disney, a more free-form approach to the canon. These are a little spottier, but when they score, they score big, as with the Helge Lien Trio's cover of the sinister, slinky overture from The Jungle Book, and LTC's sprinkly Baby Mine.

Disney's Jazz Album: Big Band & Swing is the least interesting of the three, but that's mostly because so much of it is drawn from common issues like Disney Songs the Satchmo Way and original soundtrack recordings of tracks like Peggy Lee's smoky He's a Tramp. But this disc does have some standout rarities that were new to me, like the cover of Heigh Ho from Mary Martin and Tutti Camarata and His Orchestra, as well as their cover of Bibbidi Bobbidy Boo.

Bossa Disney Carioca on Amazon Japan, Modal Jazz Loves Disney on Amazon Japan, Disney's Jazz Album: Big Band & Swing on Amazon

See also: Bossa Nova greats cover Disney songs

Over on Boing Boing Gadgets, our John notes that watching Sleeping Beauty on Blu-Ray requires that you accede to over 120 pages of legal garbage in various EULAs before you can start the movie.

Disney has a sickness when it comes to abusive EULAs and contracts. I once had to cancel a speech at Imagineering because the legal department wanted me to sign something saying that I'd never use the word "Disney" in print again without permission. The Laugh Factory attraction at Disney World's Tomorrowland had a ridiculous EULA on a sign (you agreed to the terms by passing under the sign) (!) in which you promised that any jokes you suggested were your own and that you would indemnify Disney from any copyright suits arising from the telling of the jokes (the sign was not a joke). As though eight year olds can form contracts (they can't), by standing under signs (they can't), and as though most jokes people tell are original (they aren't).

People worry that Disney trains their kids to grow up to be princesses and whatnot, but that's nothing next to the risk that watching Sleeping Beauty on Blu-Ray will lead your kids to believe that it's normal to have to agree to hundreds of pages of garbage every time you want to experience culture. Imagine how awful their dinner-parties will be! Sleeping Beauty Blu-Ray requires viewers to agree to 57 page EULA Discuss this on Boing Boing Gadgets

The Adventurer's Club at Walt Disney World -- a cabaret show/bar augmented with puppeteered robotic masks, stone idols, and random junque -- has shut its doors, as part of the shuttering of Pleasure Island (an otherwise lacklustre adult entertainment area with crummy discos and clubs). This was my second-favorite Disney artifact of all time (after the Haunted Mansion ride), and my favorite club in the world. I'm so bummed to hear they shut it down -- I hope it re-opens somewhere else soon!

Three UCF students showed up dressed as Pamelia Perkins, Hathaway Browne, and the Colonel. “It’s the final night,” said Pamelia look-alike Beth Phillips. “We had to do something big.” Nathan Kohlun said choosing to dress like Hathaway was easy. “Everyone loves this character, especially the women. It’s just all really fun.”

About an hour before the doors opened, many of the actors came out in their street clothes to loud cheers. They posed for photos, answered questions, received gifts, and thanked as many fans as they could for their support over the years.

Cassie Cameron, who wore a hand-made Hathaway shirt, brought a snapshot to give to the cast showing her at age 9 in the Mask Room. The now 24-year-old said she’s just sad she won’t get the chance to bring her own daughter to the Club. “She’s three and can already sing the Adventurer’s Song and even Toast! I had really hoped to share this with her some day.”

Huge Crowd Gives Heartfelt Send-off to Adventurer’s Club (Thanks, Heath!)

Tavie sez, "Having been to Disney World so many times, I wanted a way to keep the magic fresh, some detail to focus on that would allow me to look at this beloved place in a new way. So a few trips ago, I started snapping photos of lamps and light fixtures. Disney does detail like no other, and the sheer variety and beauty of these ordinary objects continues to amaze me. My collection only comprises a fraction of the lamps in Walt Disney World (with a few from a trip to Disneyland and Tokyo Disney thrown in.) Each time I visit I add more to the collection." Lamps of Disney (Thanks, Tavie!)

Here's a fantastically horrible 1946 Disney film about menstruation, "The Story of Menstruation." Your period, according to Disney

David Campbell managed to slip evolution into the high-school science curriculum in the conservative Florida town where he teaches -- by using images of Mickey Mouse through the years to illustrate the principle:

On the projector, Campbell placed slides of the cartoon icon: one at his skinny genesis in 1928, one from his 1940 turn as the impish "Sorcerer's Apprentice," and one of the rounded, ingratiating charmer of Mouse Club fame.

"How," he asked his students, "has Mickey changed?"

Natives of Disney World's home state, they waved their hands and called out answers.

"His tail gets shorter," Bryce volunteered.

"Bigger eyes!" someone else shouted.

"He looks happier," one girl observed. "And cuter."

Campbell smiled. "Mickey evolved," he said. "And Mickey gets cuter because Walt Disney makes more money that way. That is 'selection.' "

Teacher shows that science, religion don't have to clash (Thanks, Andrew!)

The LA Times's Joseph Menn has a great, well-researched feature article on the history of the copyright for the image of Mickey Mouse as portrayed in the earliest Disney cartoons -- and the theory that Disney made mistakes early on with its copyright registration, placing images of that specific Mickey (not the Mickey we know today) in the public domain. Prominent legal scholars like Peter Jaszi agree, but who will shell out the millions in legal fees to prove it? After all, the company's already threatened legal action against law-students who publish papers investigating the question!

Brown went searching for flawed formalities -- and found one. It was on the title card at the beginning of a "Steamboat Willie" cartoon that had just been rereleased on a 1993 LaserDisc honoring Mickey's 65th birthday. It said in full:

"Disney Cartoons
Present
A Mickey Mouse
Sound Cartoon
Steamboat Willie
A Walt Disney Comic
By Ub Iwerks
Recorded by Cinephone Powers System
Copyright MCMXXIX."

[...]

The authoritative legal treatise "Nimmer on Copyright" says that a copyright is void if multiple names create uncertainty, and courts have agreed. In 1961, a federal judge in Massachusetts cited the "accompanied by" rule in throwing out a copyright claim by newspaper cartoonist Art Moger. Moger's name was included in the title above his panels, but the name of another artist ran inside the boxes.

Disney's rights to young Mickey Mouse may be wrong (Thanks, Xeni!)

32 unionized Disneyland workers, some dressed as characters, have been arrested at the Disneyland Hotel, where they are striking for better wages and benefits.

More than 600 protesters marched from a Disney-owned hotel to try and block the entrance to the park.

The employees were waving placards and chanting slogans, calling on Disneyland to provide better wages and benefits. Some of the protestors dressed as Disney characters like Tinkerbell, Aladdin and Mickey Mouse.

Disney labor protest ends in 32 arrests

Harriet Burns, the first woman Imagineer, died this week at 79. She was part of the teams that built Sleeping Beauty's Castle, the Matterhorn, Submarine Voyage, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean. and Great Moments with Mr Lincoln.

She also occasionally filled in for Walt Disney on "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color."

In 2000, the Walt Disney Co. named Burns as a Disney Legend, an honor that acknowledges people "whose imagination, talents and dreams have created the Disney magic."

Walt Disney Imagineering issued a statement this week, calling her "the best-dressed employee in the department."

It also released a quote from Burns in which she described her work for Disney in the 1950s: "I wore color-coordinated dresses, high heels and gloves to work. Girls didn't wear slacks back then, although I carried a pair in a little sack, just in case I had to climb into high places."

Link (Thanks, Mat!)

(Image: Harriet, Blaine, and some traveling companions, a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike photo from Ste3ve's Flickr stream)

From the Sociological Images blog: "Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first presidential candidate to use television commercials. Below is one of his commercials, made by Disney, from 1952. Eisenhower was skeptical about using television and his opponent, Stevenson, wouldn’t appear on television because he thought it demeaning to a man ascending to the presidency. Eisenhower won." Link

Tokyo Disneyland offers many charms, but none so, um, suggestive, as this Johnny Depp branded sausage. Link (Thanks, Tavie!)

Jesse Willis went to see the new Disney/Pixar movie Wall-E and discovered that the lovable little robot is actually a dire criminal -- because he undertakes a variety of copying activities (bypassing DRM, file-sharing) that will be illegal under Canada's DMCA. Click through to read the unredacted version (warning -- minor spoiler if you do):

1. WALL-E records audio from his favorite movie, XXXXXXXXXXX, putting in onto his own digital recorder (bypassing the macrovision DRM on the tape). A COPYRIGHT CRIME UNDER C-61

2. WALL-E archives the audio, he doesn’t merely time-shift it. He listens repeatedly! A COPYRIGHT CRIME UNDER C-61

3. WALL-E shares his DRM-broken music with his friend, another robot named XXXXX. A COPYRIGHT CRIME UNDER C-61

Link

Dan Howland has made his amazing theme-park zine omnibus, The Journal of Ride Theory Omnibus, available as a free PDF download -- and he's thrown in his great book Dome and Domer: The Increasingly Stupid Story of the Millennium Dome along with it! Link (Thanks, Dan!)

See also: Journal of Ride Theory amazing zine is now an amazing book

Eric sez, "Instructables user madhatter1138 meticulously interpreted the 'Jungle Cruise' ride at Disneyland into a backyard playhouse for his lucky daughters. He posted a slideshow of the construction and the finished product up on the site." Link (Thanks, Eric!)

Oh no! Walt Disney World's Adventurer's Club -- a wonderfully eccentric nightclub/cabaret that features "on stage" character actors as well as remote-controlled robotic masks, puppets, instruments, stools, and other gags that interact with the guests -- is scheduled to close!

The Adventurer's Club is hands-down the coolest and most interesting attraction at Disney World, but it resides in the otherwise drab and uninteresting Pleasure Island nightclub district, which is going to shut down, and take the Adventurer's Club with it.

A group of Club fans is circulating an online petition. I'm not sure it'll do any good, but I've signed it.

The Adventurers Club has no equal. It is a unique treasure at Walt Disney World and does not deserve to be lumped into the same category as the other "night clubs" on Pleasure Island. We humbly request that it be allowed to stay open, even if it needs to be moved, refurbished, updated, and/or more heavily advertised. A lot of people do not know what this club is all about, but those that do find it a highlight of their trip.

Link

Wlahti sez, "Finnish public television channel one(YLE1) broadcast a couple of Soviet Era Russian animations of Winnie the Pooh last night. I watched both episodes that they broadcast, delighted to have found a bright spot after a completely rainy Midsummers vacation." Link (Thanks, Wlahti!)

In this Disney podcast, Chief Imagineer Marty Sklar enumerates Mickey's 10 Commandments of Theme Park Design. MP3 Link (Thanks, Avi!)

Dinosaurs and Robots guest blogger Robyn Miller (who created the Myst series of computer games with his brother, Rand), discovered this 1930s ad for Mickey Mouse tucked into a book in Paris.

This French Mickey seems to be flaunting the extra digit lacking in his US relative. Link

Ricky sez, "A virtual version of Walt Disney World has launched today on Google Earth, featuring 3D buildings of most of the major points on Walt Disney World property, including attractions and resorts. Not only can you see what different areas of the parks and resorts look like, but you can also click on them to find out more information, watch a video, and book a trip." Link (Thanks, Ricky!)

Earlier this week, Ruben Bolling's TOM THE DANCING BUG toon let fly with some trenchant commentary on Disney and copyright. Link (Thanks, Cori!)

Los Angeles Magazine has a tell-all memoir penned by one of the "Jack Sparrows" that play Disneyland -- a steamy tale of resistance and women throwing themselves at you.

I'll be honest: I didn’t follow all the Disney rules. I played Jack like he was real, and if a woman flirted, I would flirt back. Women loved it. But there were also women who would have too many beers at California Adventure or smuggle in alcohol you could smell on their breath, women who were clearly sloshed.

Here’s a napkin someone wrote on for me: “I will give you a blow job on your break, so sexy! Kim—714-XXX-XXXX.” I would also get offers from women in my ear: “Anything you want, just find me.” I had a girl who had turned 18 the day before. She was with a high school group, and she wrote down her room number at the Downtown Disney hotel. I had a lady hump my leg one day in the park.

Link (Thanks, Tim!)

Matt Mason, author of The Pirate's Dilemma, sez, "I thought you'd be into this 3-D printed scale model of Cinderella’s Castle I received in the mail today. A few weeks back I was speaking at the Disney Imagineering HQ in California, where 3-D printing is used to develop new designs. They made one of these for Bob Iger, one for Steve jobs, and had this one at HQ, which they very kindly sent me as a thank you, after finding out about my obsession with all things 3-D printed. It’s the most detailed thing I’ve seen come out of a prototyping machine yet, this picture doesn’t do justice to the perfect brickwork, spires and columns, nor can you see the corridors that run through the model. It’s pretty nuts. Apparently it took 11 hours to print." Link (Thanks, Matt!)

See also:
Pirate's Dilemma author's speech: "To get rich off pirates, copy them"
Pirate's Dilemma slideshow video -- pirates will save the world

Matt sez, "Along the lines of the 'ghost' hotels in Egypt sitting incomplete, Disney World has had the Legendary Years section of Pop Century sitting incomplete for several years as well. " Link to YouTube video, Link to photo gallery (Thanks, Matt!)

No taking photos in the s33kr1t Disneyland parking lots! I mean, sure, they're full of CCTVs taking pictures of you, but just because you're paying $80 for the day, plus $10 to park, why should you feel free to steal the Mouse's precious, precious parking-lot photons? After all, those photos could be used by Al Quaeda to coordinate a strike on the Mouse House!

At the time I marveled that these were now ten years old--and I remember parking in the lot when it was brand new. Just as I took this photo, however, a Security Cast Member in a patrol unit approached me (well, he stopped a ways away and shouted through a rolled-down window) and told me photography was not permitted there. Since that statement didn't make any sense, my first reaction was to question why that was. As I evaluated the possible responses, I thought "security" or "because I said so" would be what I'd get, so I complied and continued walking. I brought this up to appropriate people, who agreed there is no blanket prohibition of photography there. I wonder what secrets are hidden in this Pinocchio sign that are waiting to be discovered?

Link (Thanks, John!)

The Disney Experience's papercraft replica of the dear departed Disney skybucket ride is fantastic -- so cool to have a replica of this notorious widowmaker from the Happiest Place(s) on Earth. Link (Thanks, Mike!)

Greg Maletic's added another poster to his collection of wonderful fan-made attraction art for Disneyland rides; this one's for Space Mountain. Link

See also: Fan-made Disneyland attraction posters (Thanks, Greg!)

Dan "Ride Theory" Howland sends in a link to a stupendous Internet Archive video entitled "Disneyland Dream," noting: "This would be interesting if it were merely a 1956 home movie of Disneyland, but it becomes great when the skinny, dorky, goofy dad (think Dennis the Menace's pop) not only documents the actual trip, but shows us how they got there -- by winning a Scotch Tape vacation contest. Highlights: the family's matching 1950's 'Wild West' fringe jackets with their names stitched between the shoulders, and the kids repeated insistence they have to change hats to enter different parts of the park."

Every second of this footage is pure gold, from the cornball jokes, the lingering shots of the "tickertape parade" the suburban Connecticut neighbors throw as the family gets into their gigantic land-yacht to drive to the airstrip, the runway footage from Idlewild, and the trips around Pasadena, Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios in 1956. The humor is pure "dad" -- loving and corny and just right.

In July 1956, the five-member Barstow family of Wethersfield, Connecticut, won a free trip to newly-opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in a nationwide contest. This 30-minute amateur documentary film tells the fabulous story of their fun-filled, dream-come-true, family travel adventure, filmed on the scene at Walt Disney's "Magic Kingdom" by Robbins Barstow.

Link (Thanks, Dan!)

The Extinct Attractions Club sells DVDs of long-departed themepark rides and vintage ride-throughs of existing rides, like family movies from Knott's Berry Farm and 8mm films from 1950s visits to Disneyland. There's an emphasis on interviews with and presentations by golden age Imagineers. This is pure park-nerd crack. Link (Thanks, Mark!)

This Disney Haunted Mansion fan's home office is the apotheosis of mansionfan chic. I could get a lot of work done in a place like this!

The green wallpaper with the Lily pattern is actually used in the foyer of the attraction. A company up north in Benicia, CA that makes authentic hand-printed Victorian wallpaper called Bradbury and Bradbury Art Wallpapers (www.bradbury.com) happens to sell it (Dresser Tradition 2-Ashes of Rose Code:LYW Pattern:550 ). The purple/blue wall is a stencil that I made. It is of the wallpaper pattern in the attraction as well. It took a few hours to paint-I still have to paint in all the little pupils in the eyes. The oval mirror is actually a two-way 50/50 mirror. Behind it is a relief sculpture of the Hatchet Goul (to be posted later with an update) that shows through via a light on a timer. The effect is an image that slowly appears and disappears much like the Cheshire Cat in the mirror at the Mad Hatter Shop at Disneyland.

Link (Thanks, Sam!)

Over on Boing Boing Gadgets, our Joel brings word of reader Willykea's newly discovered trove of vintage Epcot pix:

Miraculously, on the day this was first posted I was cleaning out my garage and found a box containing a thick, full-color brochure from 1982 announcing the opening of Epcot. I immediately thought of boingboing. I was shocked when I saw the headline "Incredible Epcot Concept Painting" the next morning and the associated picture that I had just been admiring the day before. The brochure was buried under a pile of old letters and memorabilia that I had held onto for almost 30 years and I found it a few hours before someone posted the picture of the painting online - amazing coincidence. I went out and bought a scanner so that I could share some additional images from the brochure with you guys

Link, Discuss on Boing Boing Gadgets

See also: Incredible Epcot concept painting