Happy Birthday, Disneyland!

Today, July 17, is the anniversary of the day Disneyland opened. NOT ONLY THAT, but Disneyland opened in 1955. It is now 55 years since that day! So it's sort of like the park's Golden Birthday, but not. (There's gotta be some term for that, though.)

So this is the perfect day for a brief history of the park.

The idea for Disneyland started one day when Walt had taken his daughters out. Saturdays were his day to spend time with the girls, and he started wishing there could be some place he could take them where the whole family could have fun together, rather than the parent waiting while the child plays. People had been asking for him to arrange tours of the Disney studios, but he thought tours of animation studios would be relatively boring. He wanted people to experience something more interactive, and a park would be the perfect thing.

At the time, amusement parks were in existence. But they were dirty places with gum all over the ground, grumpy employees who would bark instructions at the guests, and the same set of rides-a tunnel of love, a ferris wheel, roller coasters, a ball toss. When Walt tried to describe what he had in mind for Disneyland, people didn't understand what a "theme" park would be. They were shocked he intended to have no tunnel of love or ferris wheels, and told him no one would come. But Walt in his mind saw an ideal place, where the employees treated each guest with enthusiasm, and everything was clean and visually appealing. For this reason, gum has never been sold in the park. Walt had the curbs on Main Street all rounded, as it's more pleasing and comforting than 90 degree angles.

Walt was determined to make his dream a reality. Walt and his brother Roy made many personal sacrifices in order to finance the park. Walt sold his vacation home at a loss, borrowed against his own life insurance policy, and mortgaged his home.

In the 50s, Annaheim, California was not the major city it is today. The land on which Disneyland stands was originally orange groves, surrounded by open farm land. Walt wanted it this way-he didn't want the area around Disneyland crowded with cheap motels and diners. Ironically, the success of Disneyland has made Annaheim a crowded city and detracted from the "escape from reality" concept Walt wanted, but the inside of the park is blocked off from viewing the outside.

Walt was determined not to push back the opening date. Unfortunately, that meant that some shortcuts were taken and opening day was a disaster. The asphalt had been poured only hours earlier than the opening and was so hot still that ladies' heels sank in. A power outage stopped Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. A gas leak led to early closing for Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Frontierland. No fault of Disney's were other contributing factors, like the unbearable heat. A plumber's strike meant Walt had to either have functioning bathrooms or drinking fountains. Walt wisely chose operational bathrooms, saying that people could "buy Pepsi, but they can't pee in the street." The lack of drinking fountains, though, caused people to suspect that they were being forced to spend money on drinks.

In addition, the crowds were more than anyone expected. The premiere was an invitation-only event, with 11,000 passes sent out. But between counterfeit tickets and people climbing over the walls, the attendance count was 28, 154. The heat and the crowds made the day very uncomfortable.

Not only that, but the day was recorded live on camera. To increase support for the park, Walt had created a Disneyland t.v. show. But the live filming was full of bloopers, which are funny now, but were embarrassing at the time.

Because of the disastrous opening day, and because the next day, the 18th, was the day the park opened to the public, sometimes the 18th is called Opening Day. So, it's like a two-day birthday celebration! I read somewhere that employees all wear black ribbons on July 17th to commemorate that first day.

Yet, obviously, despite the problems with the original park, Walt and his team-and later the Disney company-have continually changed and expanded the park, continuing to make it better and better. Walt's death in '66 was a huge shock to the world, but especially to the Disneyland team. Walt intentionally wanted the atmosphere to be like a family. He was often in the park, observing the guests to see what their experience was like and how to make it better. But he also cared about the employees-from the lead operators to the janitors, and would often ask for their opinions about certain ideas he was contemplating. Those who knew him say that his heart was primarily concerned with the guests, and giving them a good experience. Money was secondary, although necessary. After the Disney company came into other hands, the priorities got switched. Make the people happy so that they'll pay more.

But Disneyland has been well-loved by many people-from employees to guests, who range from people all over the world to locals, from families who save for years to be able to afford their trips to royalty and Presidents. Author Ray Bradbury (one of my personal favorites) said of his visit to Disneyland, "I've never had such a day full of zest and high good humor...I found in Disneyland vast reserves of imagination before untapped in our country."

Random

I had always wondered about the line "Screw your courage to the sticking place" in Disney's Beauty and the Beast's "Mob Song." Where exactly is the sticking place for our courage? Who knew it had to be screwed in?

Today I was reading Macbeth and came across the line. Lady Macbeth says it while she's persuading Macbeth to go through with Duncan's murder in Act I, Scene 7.

I was all excited about my discovery, but it's already on IMDB's trivia page, which I've read before but hadn't remembered everything. Those IMDB guys don't miss a thing. So, I'm not posting anything revolutionary here, but it's more exciting when you find something out yourself rather than read it on a list of trivia.

Mouse Tales: A Behind the Ears Look at Disneyland

David Koenig is an unbiased, humorous author who explores the truth behind the Disney movies in Mouse Under Glass, and Disneyland in Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland. This book is a great read for Disney lovers and haters alike. After a brief section on the history of Disneyland, Koenig explores what the Disneyland explorer is like for an employee, and then all the tragic accidents, injuries, deaths, lawsuits, etc. that have happened at the Happiest Place on Earth .


One might imagine it would be a fun job to be a costumed character at Disneyland, but the costumes are heavy and can strain the head and neck, and the furry ones especially are sweat machines. A couple costumes have even caught fire from battery packs worn at the light-up parades. More surprisingly, this job is very dangerous mainly because of the guests. Characters have been hit, kicked, punched in the face, groped, threatened at knifepoint to go on a date, attacked by groups of children, attempted to set on fire, and stabbed. I can't imagine anyone's motivation for this, but even more innocent acts-enthusiastic children pulling and shoving-can be irritations in a costume where movement is limited.

Employees aren't always being attacked, though. They often play minor pranks on park guests, and more elaborate pranks on each other. But being a character can be very rewarding. Koenig lists two incidents which have to do with children with autism-one boy was there who had never spoken in his life. Mickey Mouse was being mobbed, and the autistic boy broke away from his father, rushed over, and said "Mickey Mouse"- his first words. The second incident I'm a little skeptical of-it sounds like a boy with autism "snapped out of it," meaning, I assume, his autism in its entirety, after repeated trips to Disneyland, because "he realized it was better living in Disneyland than in his head."

A majority of the book discusses the accidents that have happened in the Park. A majority were caused by guests doing stupid things-trying to climb from car to car on a moving ride, for example. Some were caused by employee neglicence and some by mechanical failures. Look at the wikipedia link for a list of incidents, many of which Koenig gives more details for. The wikipedia link also includes updated incidents, as the book was published in 1995. The most controversial is not the fact that there are accidents-no one can really be surprised at that, although some do forget that they're still in the real world while at Disneyland-but the fact that Disney tries so hard to make sure the other guests aren't disturbed, they've taken guests to hospitals in unmarked vehicles rather than ambulances, when the faster ride might have saved their life. There's really only one incident in the book where this was a possibility, and I'm not sure if there have been more incidents, or a changed policy, in the past 15 years.

Some of my favorite tidbits:

-The first flying Tinkerbell was 71 years old (Tiny Kline, in 1961)

-At one time the park had a rat problem, so the staff would put rat poison in hot dogs and leave them out at night, later skimming the dead rats off the Rivers of America. One kid get ahold of a hot dog and ate it and got very sick. Whoever this kid's parents are, I don't have any sympathy for them-who lets a kid eat a hot dog off the ground, or ignores a kid that ignorant for long enough for them to eat it?

-"The family of a man who was killed by their neighbors' pet lion sued the park, claiming the neighbors were unable to control the beast because they were spending the day at Disneyland." Forget the lawsuit, which is ridiculous enough in itself-who has a pet lion?? In California??

-Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center wasn't originally supposed to be a theme park, like it is today (which is basically Tomorrowland on steroids, at least in concept.) Walt wanted it to be an actual, idealized city- "a planned and controlled environment, a showcase for the latest in industry, technology, education and culture. Slums wouldn't be allowed to develop because no individuals would own land; they would rent homes, at modest rates, work gainfully and help keep the city alive." Sounds creepy to me...
A picture of the Matterhorn Mountain under construction-the world's first steel roller coaster.

Fairest of them all

Sometimes fairy tales are seen to be shallow and superficial because of the focus on physical appearance. Nearly every major tale (except for Beauty and the Beast, thank you very much) features love at first sight.


Sometimes this bothers me too, but remember we interpret these tales through the lens of our own culture. Back when arranged marriages were the norm for ladies, they would often be married off to older, ugly, potentially abusive husbands. It was a natural thing for them to dream of choosing who they would marry-someone young like them, handsome, and compatible. It's not a perfect fantasy, but a better alternative to their situations.

Hermann Vogel, illustration of Snow White

But more than that, a fairy tale is really a different genre. A fairy tale character never voices their thoughts or motivations-the reader knows by what they do. For example, Cinderella doesn't grieve, she cries. The crying is the outward manifestation of her inner feelings. In the same way, beauty is an outward indicator that a person is good on the inside. Who knows to what extent this may have been believed by our ancestors, but we'd be lying if any of us claimed we don't also judge by appearances, at least a little.

Edmund Dulac, illustration of Cinderella

And sometimes I wonder about the affects of our new visual media, as opposed to oral/written tales. Certainly beauty is emphasized in the old tales-The Grimms' The Frog Prince begins by describing the younges princess who "was so beautiful that the sun himself, who has seen everything, was bemused every time he shone over her because of her beauty." Yet there is nothing specific in this description. Generally the only agreed upon beauty trait in fairy tales is blonde hair, which was not only considered attractive but could be representative of royalty because of its relation to gold. So a girl reading a fairy tale about the most beautiful princess in the world very easily can slip herself into that image. In a way it can increase her self-esteem. But in visual media, there is one specific actress or model who represents the beautiful heroine. It's much easier to compare yourself and feel that you don't measure up when Hollywood standards of beauty are so narrow, as opposed to tales where the scenes and people are left mostly to your imagination.

Fairy Tales gone Vogue

These shoots appeared in American Vogue in 2009. First, some shots from Grace Coddington's "Into the Woods," featuring Natalia Vodianova.

And Annie Leibowitz' Hansel and Gretel-inspired "Little Girl and Boy Lost." Andrew Carfield and Lily Cole as Hansel and Gretel, and Lady Gaga as the witch. I love how the pictures tell the story. This fairy tale, featuring paupers and not royalty, isn't technically as well suited to a fashion editorial, as Hansel and Gretel don't really belong in designer clothes, but I like it anyway.

The shoot was inspired by the opera version (music by Engelbert Humperdinck, 1893). The above picture features the Sandman putting the children to sleep, and the fish waiter is part of the children's dreams.

Disneyland Links

In keeping with my Disneyland-themed summer (25 days!!), here are some links to interesting trivia:
First, The Walt Disney Touch. It has fun facts about Disney and Disneyland. A couple of my favorites:

"Disneyland's address is 1313 Harbor Boulevard. This address was picked by Walt, because at the time Disneyland was built, all that was in the area was orange groves. The explanations for the address are either that 'M' is the thirteenth letter in the alphabet, making the address MM for Mickey Mouse, or that the thirteens, being unlucky, were Walt's way of thumbing his nose at those who thought Disneyland would fail.

Walt Disney was very insistent that the designers take the perspective of young children into account when designing the park. Because of this, Walt would frequently stoop down while looking at a partially constructed building to take into account how smaller people would see things"
Now I know I usually pretty much sing Disney's praises on this blog. This is partly because I do have undying loyalty for Disney, and partly because you hear many intelligent arguments attacking Disney and no intelligent defenses. But here I play a bit of devil's advocate: here's a link to Wikipedia's fascinating page on all the deaths and injuries incurred in Disney Parks.

Mercedes Lackey's Firebird

Mercedes Lackey's Firebird is a good story, yet left me somehow unsettled. It retells the ballet story, which combines the Russian character with other folklore scenes and characters.

The first half I found almost boring. Ilya was not technically the youngest son, as in traditional fairy lore, but fulfilled the role of the underestimated "fool". The brothers were unrealistically stupid, and they spent so much time beating up Ilya and he spent so much time recovering from their beatings, it got tiring. Plus, pain is not something the reader can vicariously experience (not like they want to either). Situations, characters, can be very real to the reader, but descriptions of pain are hard to connect with, especially if there are too many of them.

Finally the Firebird came and things began to happen. I did also like Lackey's twist on the simpleton son-Ilya fakes idiocy in order to protect himself. By the way, is it too late to warn for spoilers? Several plot elements were altered but the scenes progress in the plotline of the ballet version. Lackey also includes the animal helper theme included in many fairy tales, and one of the animals is a fox, probably alluding to one of the better known oral versions of Firebird. In this story, the Firebird bestows on Ilya the gift of understanding animals. This is another common folklore motif-the protagonist assisting an animal, who later comes back to aid him.
Anastasiya Kazakova

The thing that most bugged me was Lackey's portrayal of women. Granted, it is told from a man's perspective, in a very chauvenistic culture. But Ilya is portrayed as the ultimate hero who can do no wrong, a direct contrast to his selfish brothers and father. Yet he only sees women as sex objects, yet supposedly he is the enlightened one for not abusing them like the other males. In this society, women who are beautiful have to sleep their way to higher positions, yet none of the women ever seem to have a problem with this. The end of the story provides an interesting twist-he had fallen in love with the most beautiful tsarina, and they were betrothed. This is where the ballet ends, with the assumption that they all live happily ever after, but the book goes on. Ilya discovers Tatianna's selfishness and realizes he does not love her, but the Firebird. After she's caught cheating on him with his brother, he leaves her, guilt-free, to go back to the Firebird.

Lev Lominago

In theory, I like this twist. But first of all, it seems to me to diminish the mystery and magic of the Firebird to have her fall in love with a mortal-I like that she wasn't part of any romance in the ballet version. That's a more minor point though. The whole thing reminded me of the Disney movie Enchanted-the moral is, you actually can't have love at first sight, but Giselle and the dude fall in love after two whole days of aquaintance (or, in the case of Idina Menzel's character and the Prince, we're back to love at first sight-technically, first dance.) The circumstances contradict the message. Although it's a family comedy, I give it the benefit of the doubt and don't think too hard about it.

This book, however, is not for children. Given the sexual content, it's for mature young adults and adults, so I expect more consistency in messages. Here, Ilya's had a couple conversations (including a dangerous mission, but still, very short on bonding time here) with the Firebird-so, exactly one more than he had with the Princess before betrothal, and we're supposed to imagine that this is true love? And somehow, although he was foolish enough to pledge himself to a stranger just because she's hot, she comes across as the villain and he just the innocent victim. Earlier in the book, there is a character that enforces the stereotype that fat girls are fat because they have no self-discipline and just eat everything in sight, and also they're all probably stupid too. Though Ilya at one point thinks that her heart is better than his beautiful betrothed princess, he as much as stated earlier that it would be impossible for a man to love a woman who was fat and ugly-and this from the most gentlemanly character of all.

Boris Zvorykin

Overall, reading this book just made me feel like I, as a woman, had no worth unless I was beautiful and sexually appealing to men, which disappointed me, especially coming from a female author. Oh, she pays lip service to the character part, but the Firebird just happens to be inhumanly, stunningly beautiful at the same time. It was an interesting, quick read but I probably won't go back to it.

What you never knew about Beauty-according to Villeneuve

This is part II of a series. Read part I to find out the Beast's backstory-here is Beauty's. I would recommend reading part I if you haven't, all the characters are connected and it gets a bit soap opera-y.

Beauty finds out, after the Prince/former Beast told his story, that his mother's brother is actually her father, and is a King. The good fairy (and friend of the Prince and his mother) tells the story. Beauty's father, the King, fell in love with and married a shepherdess, but after she had given him a daughter, she died. The King was heartbroken but took solace in his daughter. He never knew until now that his shepherdess wife was really a fairy, and the sister of the fairy telling the story.

This sister had visited Fortunate Island in disguise, and happened to meet the King. She admired him but assumed that she, as a fairy, could never fall in love with a human. Yet she was curious as to whether she could find a king who could love a humble shepherdess. So she lived for a while in a cottage, tending sheep which were really genii and in no danger of wolves. In time she fell in love with him as well, so though any human is far below the rank of fairie, she consented to marry him.

W. Heath Robinson

Unfortunately, this fairy was not allowed to marry a human, so she had to keep the marriage a secret. The fairies have a general assembly three times a year they are all required to attend, and the fairy was able to come to these without raising suspicions from her fellow fairies, or her husband. Only the story narrator-the fairy's sister-knew the secret. Yet eventually, the fairies noticed that all her deeds had been contained to Fortunate Island, and fairies are expected to travel throughout the world. She promised to travel, but love for her husband and daughter kept her in the same place. At the next council, this angered the other fairies and led them to the magical book that "spiritually records all [they] do at the very second [they] do it." The forbidden marriage was discovered, and the fairy was stripped of her powers and made a prisoner by the fairies. One old evil fairy cursed her, her husband, and declared that her daughter should wed a monster to make up for her mother's shame. The fairy Queen pleaded to be allowed to live as a mortal. The other fairies had pity on her, but the evil fairy insisted that she be made an example of, and her sentence was carried out.

Now this fairy that ensured her punishment became curious as to the King that had won such tender affections. She also happened to be the same fairy who was the Prince's (future Beast's) guardian, at the time. Remember how she was unexpectedly absent from the Prince for a while? This was the reason she was gone.

Charles Robinson

Meanwhile, back in the kingdom, the people were dismayed at the disappearance of their Queen. The servants, fearing the King's anger, told him she was dead. The King mourned and he and his daughter were inseparable.

Yet then the evil fairy came. She too fell in love with the handsome King, yet realized he had no interest in remarrying. The fairy found a nearby princess and put her to sleep, assuming her beautiful form. She came to the King, claiming to be the princess whose husband had been murdered. She hoped that, as a widow, she would attain the King's sympathy and understanding, and eventually lead to marriage. He did appreciate having someone to talk to in a similar situation, and she requested to live in the Palace and become the guardian of his daughter. Yet the King still showed no signs of proposing marriage to her. She tried to stir up the people to insist that the King take a wife, but he refused and asked the fairy to return to her former land.

The fairy was convinced that Beauty was the only obstacle between herself and having the King for a husband, and determined to kill her. She one of the King's council members and his wife, who were willing to help her. Their plan was to suffocate her in the forest and claim she had suddenly died, too far away for help to have come.

Paul Woodroffe

However, the Queen fairy had pleaded with her sister (the narrator) to watch over her husband and daughter (this summary would be a lot easier if they all just had names...). So she secretly kept watch, and took the form of the bear when Beauty's kidnappers entered the forest with her. The fairy killed the murderous couple, and left Beauty's clothes, covered in blood, so that the evil fairy would not suspect that she was still alive.

The fairy found a house in a small village, where an infant had just died. The fairy replaced the infant with Beauty, and in the morning the nurses rejoiced at the sick infant's sudden recovery and took her home to her father, a merchant. The fairy went with, and gave a prophecy to him, giving Beauty her name and telling him that she would save his life and bring fortune to the whole family. (Earlier in the story, when Beauty determines that she will go to give her life for her father's, he remembers this prophecy, and is one of the reasons he allows her to go.)

The King was grieving once again, and the evil fairy renewed her marriage proposal, but he only replied with scorn again. The narrator fairy asked a powerful fairy to protect the King. The princess whose form the evil fairy had stolen woke up, and the evil fairy returned to the Prince, where she fell in love next with him, back in part I.

Beauty grew as one of the merchant's children, with the good fairy watching over her secretly. This fairy also happened to read the Magical book that recorded the fairies' acts and discovered the evil fairy's proposal to the Prince, and the conditions for the undoing of the spell. She revealed this to the fairy Council, and the evil fairy was imprisoned. The good fairy later arranged for Beauty to come to the palace under the right circumstances, and both Beauty and the Beast fulfilled the conditions to be released from the spells of the evil fairy.

By the way, Beauty's mother had just been released, after going a very dangerous ordeal called becoming a Serpent, which gives the fairy who survives it greater rank and power, so she was reunited with her husband and daughter as well.

The Goose Girl

The Grimms' "The Goose Girl" enjoys mid-level fairy tale fame. She isn't a household name like Cinderella or Rapunzel, but fairy tale fans love the story. Shannon Hale's novel version helped spread its popularity. Perhaps one reason it isn't as well known is the overall similarities to Cinderella, although I think I might like the story of the Goose Girl better.

The story begins as a young, beautiful princess is sent off to be married to a prince of a far away country. She is given a speaking horse named Falada by a fairy, andher mother gave her many gifts, including a maid, and a handkerchief with three drops of blood on it (or in some versions, a lock of hair). Her mother warns her not to lose the handkerchief, because it will be of help to her.
While on the journey, the princess gets thirsty and asks the maid to fetch her some water. The maid refuses and the princess says nothing. She asks the maid again, who once again refuses and tells the princess to get her own water. The princess does, and as she does she loses her mother's handkerchief. The maid now takes full advantage of the situation. She makes the princess switch clothes with her, and took her beautiful horse. Once at the palace, the maid was accepted as princess, and the princess was sent to work tending geese.
Stephanie Holmes

The maid knew that Falada could betray her, so she gave orders to have her horse beheaded. The princess, hearing this, gave a piece of gold to the knacker if he would nail Falada's head to the gateway into town. The princess walked under this gateway each day. As she did, she would say, "Alas, Falada, hanging there!"

Falada's head would answer, "Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!
If this your tender mother knew,
Her heart would surely break in two."

Then she would go out into the meadow with the boy who tended the geese, Curdken. She would sit down and let out her beautiful golden hair. Curdken, when he saw it, wanted to pull it, so the princess said a little spell for the wind to blow Curdken's hat away until she had finished braiding her hair.


This same thing happened the next day as well. Curdken complained to the king of the goose girl's conversations with the horse head, and her golden hair. The king hid himself the next day to see what really happened, and saw everything as Curdken described it.

Above illustrations by Arthur Rackham

The King later questioned the goose girl, asking what all this meant. She told him that she had promised not to reveal the truth to anyone, but he advised her to tell her troubles to the iron stove, which would not technically break her promise, while he went away and listened. He revealed to his son, the prince, that this was the true bride, and the prince rejoiced.

A feast was prepared in honor of the princess, whom the false bride did not notice. The king asked what punishment should be given to such a person who did certain events which he described, summarizing her own crimes. The false princess declared that such a person deserved nothing better than to be stripped naked, put in a barrel studded with pointed nails, and driven through town by two white horses until she is dead. She then receives her own punishment, and afterwards the true princess was married.

For anyone who can't get enough Disney music

...or is that just me, who can't get enough Disney music? Either way, here are some slightly different takes on Disney music:

Heigh Ho Mozart: Donald Fraser arranges Disney tunes in the styles of classical composers. Guys...what's not to love about this? From "The Second Star to the Right" in the style of Thomas Tallis to "Beauty and the Beast" in the style of Rachmaninoff, one of my all-time favorite composers (although, alas, it's more in the schmultzy style of the famous movement from his Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini and less the intense Rachmaninoff of the Symphonic Dances or Piano Concertos, but but it fits really well with the Rhapsody theme) to "Winnie the Pooh" in the style of Prokofiev. If this isn't enough for you, there's an additional album, Bibbidi Bobbidi Bach: More Favorite Disney Tunes.

Now...if anyone ever respected my musical opinion, I will probably forever lose it by recommending this next album, but bear with me:

I grew up listening to Mannheim Steamroller every Christmas and loved it then and I love it now, even if it's not all musically quite as excellent as other music one might choose to listen to, but I swear their earlier albums are better, as long as you don't get hung up about synthesizers. So get ready for delightfully awful/awesome 80s renditions of Disney tunes, which are in general even more bizarre than their Christmas albums. I have already used several songs for various teaching purposes. I love being a teacher, you can justify any quirky interests for the sake of some teaching objective.