4/14/08 - Monday in the Parks - News, Photos and Tips
Don't forget, this upcoming weekend is expected to be very busy at the Southern Californian parks between the Long Beach Grand Prix and some large Cheer/Dance competitions. Let's get to it...
Mark VII Monorail Blue placed on the beam April 11th
Last Friday morning, the new Mark VII was placed on the beam with a crane. Since Disney decided to not take any official pictures, they left the shrink wrap on, so they didn't have to worry about the crane straps damaging the new paint job.
Gene Autry gets a Star
Last Monday, April 7th, the Anaheim/OC Walk of Stars unveiled the sixth star of the Walk, this one near the entrance to the 15 minute Parking Lot on Harbor Blvd.
Jackie Autry, widow of Gene Autry, stated that it was Walt Disney who helped Gene Autry to make the final decision to bring the California Angels to Anaheim Stadium. She is also a fan of Disneyland, and visits about twice a year.
Assembly-person Van Tran presenting an official state proclamation to Jackie Autry
Howard Johnson Anaheim Plaza to build a Water Play area
Howard Johnson Anaheim Plaza Hotel (HoJo's), is remodeling its pool areas, and will be building a water play area. The new area, to be called Castaway Cove is scheduled to open in early July, barring any construction delays.
HoJo's is just finishing remodeling its other pool area, which is located next to Tower 2. The new "main" pool will have a larger sun deck and other improvements, and is scheduled to open in the next week or two.
Castaway Cove will replace the current Main Pool, but Speedy's Sprayground and the Hot Tub will remain, but will be closed during the Castaway Cove construction, and will also get a refurbishment.
The designers of the new Water Play area, White Water West, are well known, and were the designers of the Atlantis Resort slides in the Bahamas. The entire project will cost about $1 million.
A look at one of the concept blueprints. Of course, minor changes might be made during construction.
The Former Movieland Wax Museum site makes the news
The Orange County Register reported this week that the city is planning to enter negotiations with a developer to build a "City Walk" like project that would include a television studio.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/c...city-developer
A neat Historical document, and a movie
I have scanned a copy of the employees guide to the Ghost Town area of Knott's Berry Farm, written by Walter Knott, the founder of the park in the mid-1950's. Recommend reading if you are into the Historical aspects of the parks.
http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/4718932_nCfdz
Also, John Frost over at The Disney Blog found a 30 minute film of the Southern California Theme Parks from 1956. You can view at the link.
http://thedisneyblog.com/2008/04/14/...956-home-vide/
Lots of Photos from Darkbeer.Smugmug.com
Work continues on Knott's newest attraction, Pony Express, scheduled to open on May 22nd.
Currently, Knott's is offering Fiesta Mexicana on weekends for the rest of the month. Lots of special food items are available, including the Deep Fried Ice Cream shown above.
A large family of ducks enjoying the river next to Independence Hall, at Knott's
Last Friday was the first day for Disney's Food and Wine Festival
The Tequila seminars are always very popular
For some reason, they removed all the benches at the Smoking Section near GRR. Maybe if they need to be repaired or painted, Disney should only remove one at a time, so you don't force smokers to smoke outside the area.
That's it this week, hope everyone has a great week and stays cool.
Mark VII Monorail Blue placed on the beam April 11th
Last Friday morning, the new Mark VII was placed on the beam with a crane. Since Disney decided to not take any official pictures, they left the shrink wrap on, so they didn't have to worry about the crane straps damaging the new paint job.
Gene Autry gets a Star
Last Monday, April 7th, the Anaheim/OC Walk of Stars unveiled the sixth star of the Walk, this one near the entrance to the 15 minute Parking Lot on Harbor Blvd.
Jackie Autry, widow of Gene Autry, stated that it was Walt Disney who helped Gene Autry to make the final decision to bring the California Angels to Anaheim Stadium. She is also a fan of Disneyland, and visits about twice a year.
Assembly-person Van Tran presenting an official state proclamation to Jackie Autry
Howard Johnson Anaheim Plaza to build a Water Play area
Howard Johnson Anaheim Plaza Hotel (HoJo's), is remodeling its pool areas, and will be building a water play area. The new area, to be called Castaway Cove is scheduled to open in early July, barring any construction delays.
HoJo's is just finishing remodeling its other pool area, which is located next to Tower 2. The new "main" pool will have a larger sun deck and other improvements, and is scheduled to open in the next week or two.
Castaway Cove will replace the current Main Pool, but Speedy's Sprayground and the Hot Tub will remain, but will be closed during the Castaway Cove construction, and will also get a refurbishment.
The designers of the new Water Play area, White Water West, are well known, and were the designers of the Atlantis Resort slides in the Bahamas. The entire project will cost about $1 million.
A look at one of the concept blueprints. Of course, minor changes might be made during construction.
The Former Movieland Wax Museum site makes the news
The Orange County Register reported this week that the city is planning to enter negotiations with a developer to build a "City Walk" like project that would include a television studio.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/c...city-developer
A neat Historical document, and a movie
I have scanned a copy of the employees guide to the Ghost Town area of Knott's Berry Farm, written by Walter Knott, the founder of the park in the mid-1950's. Recommend reading if you are into the Historical aspects of the parks.
http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/4718932_nCfdz
Also, John Frost over at The Disney Blog found a 30 minute film of the Southern California Theme Parks from 1956. You can view at the link.
http://thedisneyblog.com/2008/04/14/...956-home-vide/
Lots of Photos from Darkbeer.Smugmug.com
Work continues on Knott's newest attraction, Pony Express, scheduled to open on May 22nd.
Currently, Knott's is offering Fiesta Mexicana on weekends for the rest of the month. Lots of special food items are available, including the Deep Fried Ice Cream shown above.
A large family of ducks enjoying the river next to Independence Hall, at Knott's
Last Friday was the first day for Disney's Food and Wine Festival
The Tequila seminars are always very popular
For some reason, they removed all the benches at the Smoking Section near GRR. Maybe if they need to be repaired or painted, Disney should only remove one at a time, so you don't force smokers to smoke outside the area.
That's it this week, hope everyone has a great week and stays cool.
Total Comments 10
Comments
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Speaking of Knotts... I sure wish someone would figure out how to have a boysenberry pie shipped to Tennessee... Ah, life would be good...
Posted 04-14-2008 at 06:39 AM by tonyrr1
- Speaking of smoking, maybe making the parks smoke free would be the best bet.Posted 04-14-2008 at 09:03 AM by blackjackdelta
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^^ Maybe not - With Smoking Areas the problem is contained, with only a little grumbling. Without them (totally Smoke Free) I predict open rebellion. And/Or a huge drop in attendance.Posted 04-14-2008 at 10:31 AM by Bruce Bergman 
- smokers smoke anywhere they want with benches even, so what's the real difference? ban public smoking asap, getting fedup of walking through their noxious cloudsPosted 04-14-2008 at 10:47 AM by mojavewolfpup
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Marie Calendars' "Razzleberry" pie, found in the freezer at Wal-Mart, is pretty close to Knotts' Boysenberry.Posted 04-14-2008 at 11:35 AM by Taggart -
I once took a picture of a boysenberry Icee from Knotts. It had no lid and the Icee was piled way over the edge of the cup. It was so beautiful...Posted 04-14-2008 at 05:47 PM by AliKzam -
For me the highlight of this weekend's visit to Disneyland, was my 7 year old being invited to 'steer' our Jungle Cruise boat. 'Skipper Daisy' got a nice big round of applause from guests, Skipper and proud Dad alike.
It was summertime HOT out at Anaheim Saturday.
See you all out there next weekend!Posted 04-14-2008 at 08:48 PM by ttrocc7007 - Wow! That Disneyland blog link, home movie from 1956 was well-done. I'd forgotten the stagecoach ride, the skyway, and the donkey rides. Seeing that movie brought back dusty memories to life. I was 3 or 4 years old again, in 1955, almost anyways, and seeing Disneyland the way it was. It's changed for the better, but it was great back then, too. I was in the park yesterday, and got a great thrill in the California park when a trashcan said hello.Posted 04-15-2008 at 10:09 AM by whamo
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yeah I hope every place goes smoke free, especially anywhere w/kids!!Posted 04-15-2008 at 11:25 AM by wdwnut4life -
I just watched the home movie - how fun! I remember a lot of that too - it was fun to see Universal and Hollywood - I'm hoping to have our home movies from the early 60's done very soon! You know whats fun to watch is how everyone's dressed - boy we got sloppy later in the years didn't we! Love that crowd control! What crowd! NOW that would be nice!
I remember the Indian village and mine donkey's - wow the memories!Posted 04-22-2008 at 03:44 PM by Trac
Updated 04-22-2008 at 03:50 PM by Trac
