Archive from April 2009

10:22 AM - 12,599 non-Disney theme park photos... (posted by Allen )
I added a small bit of photos from opening day of Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa today, bringing the total amount of Theme Park (non-Disney) photos on this site to 12,599.

I guess I should have taken one more.

Oh, and I won an iPod Shuffle (previous generation; the good one with actual buttons on it) as a door prize from the park. I've had one before and loved it, but the darned thing was so small I lost it ;-)

Allen won an iPod

5:13 PM - Iowa's Adventureland opens tomorrow... (posted by Allen )
Tomorrow, Saturday April 25th, Iowa's Adventureland Park opens for the season. They recently (a few months back?) completely redid their website:

http://www.adventurelandpark.com/

They continue to add content, coupons and other things to it. I even noticed there will now be special discounts available to season pass holders, including money off meals at the Main Street "Iowa Cafe" location (which is a place I eat at nearly every visit). The pricing there was already pretty reasonable, so I hope they didn't just increase prices to compensate for the discounts this year.

If I make it out this weekend, I will see if I can post some images to the Live Blog here:

http://gallery.me.com/allenhuffman/100048

6:17 PM - Intrepid Traveler gets Archived by Disney...! (posted by Allen )
The folks at Intrepid Traveler are having some of their books further "sanctioned" by Disney. Here is there press release:

The Intrepid Traveler Archived By Disney

Three Titles Listed in Definitive Disney Bibliography

(Lake Buena Vista, FL) Three books published by The Intrepid Traveler have been chosen for inclusion in the definitive "Walt Disney Company® Selected Bibliography," part of the "Walt Disney Archives" published on Disney's new D23 web site.

The three are Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide To Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secrets and Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys, both by Steven M. Barrett and Spinning Disney's World: Memories of a Magic Kingdom Press Agent by Disney Legend Charles Ridgway.

All three were listed in the Theme Parks category, the most by any non-Disney publisher.

"We are thrilled by this recognition," said Sally Scanlon, The Intrepid Traveler's Associate Publisher. "We have always striven to maintain the highest standards in covering the Happiest Place on Earth® and we are honored to be in such distinguished company."

The complete bibliography can be seen here:

http://d23.disney.go.com/library/000000_WDA_AL_SelectedBibliography.html

Steven Barrett's Hidden Mickeys series celebrates the images of Mickey Mouse cleverly concealed by Imagineers in the rides, restaurants, and attractions throughout all the Disney parks and the resort hotels that ring them. The books are designed as scavenger hunts that allow the whole family to take part in what has become one of the favorite activities of park visitors.

Charles Ridgway's memoir details 40 years of inventive PR work for Disney; during much of that time, Disney didn't advertise its parks, relying on Ridgway's ingenuity to generate free publicity in the media.

The Intrepid Traveler is a travel publishing company based in Branford, CT. Over the years it has published dozens of titles celebrating the many attractions of Orlando and Central Florida.

For more information, contact Sarah Pappanikou at 203-469-0214 or
sarah@intrepidtraveler.com

9:59 PM - New Disneyland iPhone app... (posted by Allen )
From the Disney and More blog, check this out:

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2009/04/first-disneyland-app-for-iphone-is.html

It's a $3 app with tons of Disneyland information. It looks nice, but will it be up to date? The other set of Disney theme park apps does not fare so well. When I downloaded the Disneyland app, right when it was released, it still listed a food place that had been gone for months -- so I'm not sure where they got their out-of-date information, but it kinda helps for an app to be updated to be useful.

We shall see how this one does. My software company (established in 1990, and celebrating its 20th anniversary next year) will be working on similar apps for the iPhone. Stay tuned...

7:39 PM - Mr. Lincoln malfunctions... (posted by Allen )
Just found this on YouTube... I've read many animatronic stories about how the figures have a safe "home" position that they default to if something goes wrong... I guess that's not quite true. Mr. Lincoln, at least for the original 1960s version, was supposed to default to standing straight up...

5:51 PM - Remember the Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo)? (posted by JohnPaul )
I just got back from the 18th Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! This is a yearly event that started out back when Radio Shack was still selling an old home computer. We still get together once a year, though these days they are mostly just social gatherings (though a few new things pop up from time to time).

Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the Color Computer... Hard to believe so much time has past!

Photos in the gallery:

http://www.disneyfans.com/photos/CoCoFests/Chicago2009

And a video:



So, if anyone out there ever was in to the Radio Shack Color Computer, drop me a note!