MEMO: SPECIAL DISNEY ANNIVERSARY SECTION
Published April 17, 2005 in the San Jose Mercury News Travel section
DID YOU KNOW:
By Rebecca Hall and Steve Marinucci
(box) That the employees at Disneyland are called ''cast members'' and the visitors are called ''guests''?
(box) That there is a ''hidden Mickey'' on every ride? See www.hiddenmickeys.org.
(box) That the Matterhorn, which opened in 1959, was the world's first steel roller coaster?
(box) That Disneyland provides kennels? Indoor kennels at the main entrance are available for $15.
(box) That you can have the park hold your paid merchandise and have it ready to be picked up at the front when you leave? Also, guests of Disneyland Resort hotels may have their purchases shipped directly to their hotel through Package Check Service.
(box) That 750,000 gallons of water are used in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction?
(box) That you can buy a piece of the park? Personalized pavers between Disneyland and California Adventure are available to purchase with your name and date.
(box) That the park changes with the seasons? Main Street and rides such as It's a Small World are decorated with poinsettias and lights for Christmas. The Haunted Mansion is converted to ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' for the Halloween and Christmas seasons.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Disneyland experts, test your knowledge
By Steve Marinucci and Rebecca Hall
Mercury News
Published April 17, 2005 in the San Jose Mercury News
DISNEYLAND EXPERTS, TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Think you know the history of the Happiest Place on Earth pretty well? Take our quiz and see how you match up against some real Disneyphiles.
1) Back when Disney sold individual tickets to rides rather than charge one general-admission price, an ''E'' ticket got you onto the top-tier attractions. Which one of the following was NOT an E ticket ride?
a) Matterhorn
b) Pirates of the
Caribbean
c) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
d) Monorail
2) Adventureland had only one working ride the day the park opened. What was it?
3) Name four of the eight submarines in the original Submarine Voyage.
4) The current Winnie the Pooh attraction in Frontierland replaced another group of bears. What was the name of that attraction?
5) Which attraction was originally created for the 1964 World's Fair?
a) Mission to Mars
b) America Sings
c) It's a Small World
d) The Peoplemover
6) How many spooks live in the Haunted Mansion (according to the narrator)?
7) What actor served as singer and narrator of America Sings?
8) How many spinning cups are on the Mad Tea Party?
a) 15
b) 16
c) 17
d) 18
9) At Mickey's Toontown, what's in the refrigerator in Minnie's House?
10) Name the singing group that first performed on Disneyland's Main Street in 1957 and, in its current form, still performs there today.
11) Which of these attractions has been at the park the longest?
a) Mark Twain's
Riverboat
b) Great Moments
with Mr. Lincoln
c) Matterhorn
12) What's inside the tip of the Matterhorn?
13) The Swiss Family Treehouse was evicted to make room for which tree-dweller?
14) Which of the following has not been sold at the concession stands?
a) Pretzels
b) Turkey drumsticks
c) Carl's Jr. hamburgers
d) McDonald's fries
15) When was Disneyland finished?
THE ANSWERS
1) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
2) Jungle Cruise.
3) Nautilus, Triton, Sea Wolf, Skate, Skipjack, George Washington, Patrick Henry and Ethan Allen.
4) Country Bear Jamboree.
5) It's a Small World.
6) There are 999. But there's always room for 1,000.
7) Burl Ives.
8) 18 teacups.
9) Cheese, of course.
10) The Dapper Dans.
11) Mark Twain's Riverboat.
12) A basketball court. A very small one.
13) Tarzan.
14) Carl's Jr. hamburgers.
15) Never. Walt Disney said it would always be changing.
-- Mercury News
CAPTION: PHOTO: DISNEY CO.
The original Submarine Voyage had eight submarines; can you name four of them?
PHOTO: DISNEY CO.
The Monorail and the Matterhorn have always been wildly popular, but were they both ''E'' ticket rides?
Mercury News
Published April 17, 2005 in the San Jose Mercury News
DISNEYLAND EXPERTS, TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Think you know the history of the Happiest Place on Earth pretty well? Take our quiz and see how you match up against some real Disneyphiles.
1) Back when Disney sold individual tickets to rides rather than charge one general-admission price, an ''E'' ticket got you onto the top-tier attractions. Which one of the following was NOT an E ticket ride?
a) Matterhorn
b) Pirates of the
Caribbean
c) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
d) Monorail
2) Adventureland had only one working ride the day the park opened. What was it?
3) Name four of the eight submarines in the original Submarine Voyage.
4) The current Winnie the Pooh attraction in Frontierland replaced another group of bears. What was the name of that attraction?
5) Which attraction was originally created for the 1964 World's Fair?
a) Mission to Mars
b) America Sings
c) It's a Small World
d) The Peoplemover
6) How many spooks live in the Haunted Mansion (according to the narrator)?
7) What actor served as singer and narrator of America Sings?
8) How many spinning cups are on the Mad Tea Party?
a) 15
b) 16
c) 17
d) 18
9) At Mickey's Toontown, what's in the refrigerator in Minnie's House?
10) Name the singing group that first performed on Disneyland's Main Street in 1957 and, in its current form, still performs there today.
11) Which of these attractions has been at the park the longest?
a) Mark Twain's
Riverboat
b) Great Moments
with Mr. Lincoln
c) Matterhorn
12) What's inside the tip of the Matterhorn?
13) The Swiss Family Treehouse was evicted to make room for which tree-dweller?
14) Which of the following has not been sold at the concession stands?
a) Pretzels
b) Turkey drumsticks
c) Carl's Jr. hamburgers
d) McDonald's fries
15) When was Disneyland finished?
THE ANSWERS
1) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
2) Jungle Cruise.
3) Nautilus, Triton, Sea Wolf, Skate, Skipjack, George Washington, Patrick Henry and Ethan Allen.
4) Country Bear Jamboree.
5) It's a Small World.
6) There are 999. But there's always room for 1,000.
7) Burl Ives.
8) 18 teacups.
9) Cheese, of course.
10) The Dapper Dans.
11) Mark Twain's Riverboat.
12) A basketball court. A very small one.
13) Tarzan.
14) Carl's Jr. hamburgers.
15) Never. Walt Disney said it would always be changing.
-- Mercury News
CAPTION: PHOTO: DISNEY CO.
The original Submarine Voyage had eight submarines; can you name four of them?
PHOTO: DISNEY CO.
The Monorail and the Matterhorn have always been wildly popular, but were they both ''E'' ticket rides?
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Viewing Carson was best from seat in studio audience
BY STEVE MARINUCCI
Published Jan. 26, 2005, San Jose Mercury News
Watching Johnny Carson host ''The Tonight Show'' was seeing a master comic at work.
Over the years, I saw Carson do his magic in person three times -- twice on ''The Tonight Show'' and once on ''Who Do You Trust?,'' the game show he emceed (with perennial sidekick Ed McMahon as announcer) before he took over the NBC late-night show.
Watching Carson at home was, of course, like seeing an old friend. But seeing the show live was a different experience. When you were an audience member, the larger-than-life Carson heard you laugh at the jokes that were funny, as most of them were -- and your groans at the jokes that didn't quite go over. You -- we -- were the target of his witty retorts.
''Who Do You Trust?,'' which Carson -- who died Sunday of emphysema -- hosted from September 1957 to December 1963, was taped in New York. On a trip to visit an aunt in Jersey City, my dad took my sister and me -- we were in grade school -- to see several TV shows.
The ''Who Do You Trust?'' taping was filled with a lot of joking between Carson and McMahon, including a noisy mishap involving a washing machine being used in a commercial.
After the show, with no connections to anyone with pull, my dad somehow got us backstage to meet the very tall McMahon. We didn't get to meet Carson, though I recall seeing him stand a short distance from us. Little did I realize he would become the king of late-night television.
More than 15 years later, in 1977, as part of a honeymoon trip to Southern California, my wife and I managed to snag tickets to ''The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.'' After waiting a couple hours in front of the NBC Burbank studios, we were allowed in and discovered, to our surprise, how small ''The Tonight Show'' studio was in comparison to how it looked on TV. We were warned by the ushers not to yell anything out during the show, but that didn't stop the familiar sounds of ''hi-yo'' resonating when Carson walked out on the stage.
About six months later, we decided to go back to Southern California again, and because we enjoyed it so much, we figured we'd pay a return visit to ''The Tonight Show.'' We scored tickets to two shows, one on Monday, Carson's usual night off (with guest host George Carlin, a favorite of ours), and one the next night.
In the pre-show warm-up for the second show, producer Fred De Cordova announced proudly that Carson was in the building and would be hosting the show, which brought a big round of applause from the audience.
The audience got a few extras the home viewers didn't see.
The warm-up featured some extended music and jokes (often of a more risque variety than on the show) from De Cordova, McMahon, Doc Severinsen and members of the Tonight Show band. (Carson didn't appear until you heard the familiar ''He-e-e-e-e-e-re's Johnny.'')
During commercials, the lights on stage were turned off, leaving Carson and the guests in the dark.
One of the guests on that show was film star Ann-Margret. She and Carson chatted in the dark during the commercial break. With other guests, Carson might throw out the occasional ''How is everyone?'' to the audience.
But most memorable was something he apparently did at all tapings. Remember the famous golf swing he would enact after his monologue as the show faded to a commercial? Well, Carson would hold the pose, and after the camera light clicked off -- assuring he was not on the air -- he would say, ''Oh, (expletive).'' Of course, the audience, not expecting anything like that from the normally genteel Carson, burst out laughing.
That was the final time we saw ''The Tonight Show'' in person. Unfortunately, neither of the shows we saw had any moments that would have made ''best of'' compilations.
In 2001, I wrote a review for this newspaper about the newly released DVD collection of highlights from ''The Tonight Show,'' called ''The Ultimate Carson Collection Vols. 1-3.''
Though Carson himself wasn't available for interviews, his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told me the words no Carson fan wanted to hear. ''He's retired; he's thoroughly enjoying his retirement. I don't expect him to do any new production whatsoever.''
CAPTION: PHOTO: AP FILE PHOTOGRAPH
Johnny Carson was a familiar face in 1957 as host of ''Who Do You Trust?''
PHOTO: AP FILE PHOTOGRAPH
During his ''Tonight Show'' reign, Johnny Carson, right, teamed with bandleader Doc Severinsen, left, and announcer Ed McMahon.
Published Jan. 26, 2005, San Jose Mercury News
Watching Johnny Carson host ''The Tonight Show'' was seeing a master comic at work.
Over the years, I saw Carson do his magic in person three times -- twice on ''The Tonight Show'' and once on ''Who Do You Trust?,'' the game show he emceed (with perennial sidekick Ed McMahon as announcer) before he took over the NBC late-night show.
Watching Carson at home was, of course, like seeing an old friend. But seeing the show live was a different experience. When you were an audience member, the larger-than-life Carson heard you laugh at the jokes that were funny, as most of them were -- and your groans at the jokes that didn't quite go over. You -- we -- were the target of his witty retorts.
''Who Do You Trust?,'' which Carson -- who died Sunday of emphysema -- hosted from September 1957 to December 1963, was taped in New York. On a trip to visit an aunt in Jersey City, my dad took my sister and me -- we were in grade school -- to see several TV shows.
The ''Who Do You Trust?'' taping was filled with a lot of joking between Carson and McMahon, including a noisy mishap involving a washing machine being used in a commercial.
After the show, with no connections to anyone with pull, my dad somehow got us backstage to meet the very tall McMahon. We didn't get to meet Carson, though I recall seeing him stand a short distance from us. Little did I realize he would become the king of late-night television.
More than 15 years later, in 1977, as part of a honeymoon trip to Southern California, my wife and I managed to snag tickets to ''The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.'' After waiting a couple hours in front of the NBC Burbank studios, we were allowed in and discovered, to our surprise, how small ''The Tonight Show'' studio was in comparison to how it looked on TV. We were warned by the ushers not to yell anything out during the show, but that didn't stop the familiar sounds of ''hi-yo'' resonating when Carson walked out on the stage.
About six months later, we decided to go back to Southern California again, and because we enjoyed it so much, we figured we'd pay a return visit to ''The Tonight Show.'' We scored tickets to two shows, one on Monday, Carson's usual night off (with guest host George Carlin, a favorite of ours), and one the next night.
In the pre-show warm-up for the second show, producer Fred De Cordova announced proudly that Carson was in the building and would be hosting the show, which brought a big round of applause from the audience.
The audience got a few extras the home viewers didn't see.
The warm-up featured some extended music and jokes (often of a more risque variety than on the show) from De Cordova, McMahon, Doc Severinsen and members of the Tonight Show band. (Carson didn't appear until you heard the familiar ''He-e-e-e-e-e-re's Johnny.'')
During commercials, the lights on stage were turned off, leaving Carson and the guests in the dark.
One of the guests on that show was film star Ann-Margret. She and Carson chatted in the dark during the commercial break. With other guests, Carson might throw out the occasional ''How is everyone?'' to the audience.
But most memorable was something he apparently did at all tapings. Remember the famous golf swing he would enact after his monologue as the show faded to a commercial? Well, Carson would hold the pose, and after the camera light clicked off -- assuring he was not on the air -- he would say, ''Oh, (expletive).'' Of course, the audience, not expecting anything like that from the normally genteel Carson, burst out laughing.
That was the final time we saw ''The Tonight Show'' in person. Unfortunately, neither of the shows we saw had any moments that would have made ''best of'' compilations.
In 2001, I wrote a review for this newspaper about the newly released DVD collection of highlights from ''The Tonight Show,'' called ''The Ultimate Carson Collection Vols. 1-3.''
Though Carson himself wasn't available for interviews, his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told me the words no Carson fan wanted to hear. ''He's retired; he's thoroughly enjoying his retirement. I don't expect him to do any new production whatsoever.''
CAPTION: PHOTO: AP FILE PHOTOGRAPH
Johnny Carson was a familiar face in 1957 as host of ''Who Do You Trust?''
PHOTO: AP FILE PHOTOGRAPH
During his ''Tonight Show'' reign, Johnny Carson, right, teamed with bandleader Doc Severinsen, left, and announcer Ed McMahon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)