The inspiration for this “Disneyland Resort at Dawn” video came from my son. When he was younger he wasn’t quite ready to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so while the older kids went on the attraction we would go check out the fish near Big Thunder Trail. I heard that fishing is best in the early morning, so I had to see for myself if they were jumping.
Do you know the name of this pond, where the fish jump under the shadow of Big Thunder Mountain? Leave your answers in the comments, and I’ll post the answer later today.
See more of the Disneyland Resort at dawn in the posts below:
While I was interviewing Imagineer Larry Nikolai during the making of The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure park, I discovered he designed the beautiful mural located at the entrance himself by creating a scaled rendering in his garage. I had to go back and take another look at the 86.5-foot long painting.
The hand-painted mural is another reminder of the care and detail that goes into all of the attractions designed by our talented Imagineers.
See more from Walt Disney Imagineering in these posts:
I set sail early one morning to see what I could find over at Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyland park. The island was a bit too serene without any buccaneers running about. Then I spotted some irresistible stowaways. Although some of these feathered friends were just getting their sea legs, they seemed quite comfortable in front of the camera.
See the posts below for more unique looks at the Disneyland Resort:
Last year one of the most viewed videos I produced highlighted “hidden Mickeys,” so I thought I’d take the crew out and tape a few more at Disneyland Resort. This is easier said than done. It takes a keen eye to find some of these mouse-shaped gems. Even with helpful hints and suggestions from other cast members, we had a tough time capturing these on camera. Take a look and see if you know where they are. Some are harder to SPOT than others!
The inspiration for this series came from walking through Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland park early one morning. It was fascinating for me to hear all of the sounds and take in the sights. There were so many details I had missed when I was there during the daytime. When I went back with the film crew, I was not disappointed. I had several great visuals to choose from, but my favorite shot happened when the sun was coming up through the fish bowls.
What is your favorite sight or sound in Mickey’s Toontown?
Yesterday, Michelle Harker showed you the Spirit Light trick found at the Main Street Magic Shop. While I was taping that video at Disneyland park, I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Geno Munari. Geno has been practicing magic since he was 12 years old. He has been collecting Houdini memorabilia almost as long and proudly displays part of his collection in the shop windows. I have peeked in the windows before, but never realized the artifacts actually once belonged to Houdini himself!
According to Geno, “Houdini performed illusions and escapes throughout Europe, the United States, Russia, and Australia. Houdini was also an aviator, an inventor, a writer-author, and filmmaker.” Sounds like Houdini and Walt Disney had a lot in common!
When Geno told me Houdini’s birthday was March 24, I knew I had to come back with our video crew to hear more about his amazing collection.
Next time you are on Main Street, U.S.A., be sure to check out the Magic Shop windows and stop in to say hi to Geno. He will be happy to show you a trick or tell you a magical story!
Any cast member who’s had the opportunity to be at the Disneyland Resort during the wee hours of the morning would agree it is truly a magical time to be in the parks. With daylight savings time occurring this week, I thought it was fitting to start this series of videos: “Disneyland Resort at Dawn,” where I will highlight my favorite areas of the Resort at daybreak using “nat sound” or natural sound.
This video was shot in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle continuously from 6:30 a.m. until 8:00 a.m., before we moved the clocks forward. The shoot went a bit longer than expected because it was overcast that day. I was surprised to hear so many birds singing before sunlight!
Look for more videos showing this mystical part of the morning at the Disneyland Resort. Up next…Mickey’s Toontown!
It’s always a good day when I get to produce “Man on the Street” or “MOS” interviews. In this type of video, there is a specific topic and I ask guests to comment on it. Meeting our guests and hearing their stories is a really fun part of my job. The bridge next to Sleeping Beauty Castle is a great location for these types of interviews because it’s a quiet spot and you get to see the beautiful, iconic Castle in the background.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day I thought it would be romantic to see who was celebrating a special anniversary. I was surprised when I found all of these love birds near the Castle in about 30 minutes. Apparently many of you enjoy celebrating anniversaries at the Disneyland Resort!
Have you celebrated a special anniversary at the Disneyland Resort? Tell us your romantic story.
Hello, I’m Shannon Swanson, a senior publicist here at the Disneyland Resort. Part of my job is to produce videos for the Disney Parks Blog and various Disney websites. I’ve had a lot of fun producing all kinds of videos, but my favorites are the “making of” pieces. Meeting with the Walt Disney Imagineers and documenting their vision from concept drawings to opening day of an attraction is truly inspiring.
Today, I’m sharing a video I produced back in 2008 of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, which re-opened on November 27 that year. For the figures, artists used a mix of ambient and UV paint, and they painted in a black light room that was created just for this project. They often used brushes with as little as one hair to paint the tiniest detail. Scenes from the movie, original Eyvind Earle and Ken Anderson drawings from 1957, color boards and renderings were used for inspiration. Forced perspective was used to make the one-dimensional paintings look 3D.
Next time you’re at Disneyland park, take some time to walk through Sleeping Beauty Castle and check out these amazing dioramas. Maybe you’ll get some ideas for your next school project!
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