The Diamond Horseshoe: A Rootin' Tootin' Good Time!!!

Stepping back in time, once again, we find ourselves at a Magic Kingdom Show that was always a family favorite back in the day, The Diamond Horseshoe Revue.

Situated on your left hand side, as you rush from Liberty Square toward Frontierland's gate-buster attractions, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon now sits quietly, often empty, with most Magic Kingdom visitors not even noticing it is there.

That was not always the case, when I was a kid, I can remember Dad rushing ahead to the building on Main Street USA, where The Art of Disney is now situated, to be sure that he was able to get a reservation for the family to attend the show. While tickets were complimentary, popularity demanded that you reserve them early so as not to miss this extravaganza.

The original show was called The Diamond Horseshoe Revue, and while the name (as well as the performers) changed a few times over it's 22 year run, the show was esentially the same. A wild west saloon show, with comedians, Can-can girls and musical performances.

When the Magic Kingdom, in Florida, first opened, Wally Boag, "The Clown Prince of Disneyland", was brought in and performed for the first three years of the show's run. Wally was the star of Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue and while I do not personally remember his performances, his portrayal of Pecos Bill was always once of my parents' favorites.

My family always looked forward to the Revue, as a kid I can remember my youngest brother Jimmy, being brought on the stage be part of the show.

The look on his face as the drummer's rim shot signaled the opening of a trap door beneath his feet (which was just a joke) will be etched in my mind forever. He did, however, get some nice (and highly coveted by his two brothers) parting gifts for being part of the performance. A certificate stating his participation as well as a huge, Mickey head, topped pencil.

This wild west style show, in one or another of it's various forms, ran through February of 2003.

I will always remember it fondly and think about it each and everytime I walk through Frontierland, it was a huge part of my Magic Kingdom experiences as a kid and will be missed.

Character Meals..."Where it all began"

What Walt Disney World Vacation would be complete without at least one visit to a Character Meal?

If you are looking to sit down and have a meal in the company of Live Disney Characters, choices abound! There is a meal to suit nearly every taste...from dining at Cinderella's Royal Table in the presence of princesses to an African Style Safari with Donald and the gang at the Animal Kingdom's Tusker house, the choices range far and wide.

Today's trip back in time will take us to where it all began, the character breakfast that is, on a fun filled journey aboard The Empress Lilly Riverboat.

Located on the banks of Lake Buena Vista, The Empress Lilly, currently home to Fulton's Crab House, was at one time home to four restaurants and five separate lounges.

The Baton Rouge Lounge, had a full bar and live entertainment, performed by The Riverboat Rascals, who brought Dixieland Jazz and singalongs to guests.

Other lounges included, The Starboard Lounge, The Promenade Lounge, The Texas Deck Lounge and The Empress Lounge.

The restaurants were known as "The Steerman's Quarter's", a steak house which was located on the aft section of the Main Deck, "The Fisherman's Deck", obviously, a seafood restaurant, forward on The Promenade Deck, The Captain's Table, where private groups would be able to hold their events and the flagship restaurant known as The Empress Room was also located on the Promenade Deck and offered a more lavish dining experience.

While I remember quite a bit about the Empress Lilly, lounges not withstanding as I was just a boy at the time, the thing that we loved most about dining aboard her was the "Disney Character Breakfast"!

Located in what I believe was The Steerman's Quarter's Restaurant, this was the very first character meal available at Walt Disney World. Not a buffet, like so many today, it offered a plated, served meal available at either one of two seatings each morning.

The atmosphere, at least in my recollection, was for more festive than the character meals of today. Perhaps it was the fact that it was a one of a kind experience back in those days...or perhaps it was just one little boy's perception of the experience.

Mickey shaped balloons were everywhere, we would each receive a felt Disney Character Breakfast pennant as well as souvenir cups emblazoned with Captain Mickey himself.

The following photos are from back on August 26th, 1981, while we were aboard The Empress Lilly to celebrate my brother Frankie's 8th birthday.

The characters seemed to spend a bit more time " getting to know you" back in those days. Walt Disney World was a much smaller place and with only one park to visit during a 10 day stay, we certainly seemed to take more time to enjoy the little things The World had to offer.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still absolutely love to take my little ones to the character meals...heck, even before my little ones showed up, I always made time for at least breakfast with Mickey.

I will, however, always have a special place in my heart for the meals I had aboard the beautiful Empress Lilly. Meals that took place in a simpler world, in simpler times...at least for me!

Traveling back in time with Fellow Readers...

Since the debut of The WED Page, back in July, I have been lucky enough to receive many incredible photos from readers of the blog.

I have decided to make my job a little easier this week, taking a break from writing and sharing some of these fantastic photos with you all. (With permission of those who submitted the photos, of course.)

Some of these pics show lost characters, unseen in the parks for years, others were submitted to coincide with a past article. The fact of the matter is, no matter what the photo is actually of, they represent wonderful, fun filled memories of the place we all love, Walt Disney World.

The very first photo that we ever received here at The WED Page came to us from Missy Bowser Sexton of Alaska, in response to the article on Fort Wilderness Campground...and she wrote:

Tony,

Thank you for inviting me to be a fan of The WED Page.

After I visited your blog, I was inspired to dig out some old photos and scan them into the computer. Well, I have uploaded one so far :), my progress with the kiddos around is somewhat slow at times, but hey, I'm moving forward!!!

I uploaded a photo of myself as a toddler in the petting zoo at Fort Wilderness. I grew up near Downtown Orlando and my parents would take us camping at Fort Wilderness at least annually.

Staying there was always a momentous occassion!

When I was a bit older, my parents would bring the bikes along and my older brother and I would spent the whole day biking around Fort Wilderness..and of course, swimming!!!

Thanks for inspiring me to bring back the memories!!

Sincerely,

Missy in Alaska

Another reader, Cathy Lord from Ohio, was nice enough to send in a few pics from a trip she took to Walt Disney World back in 1973. (You gotta love the big , fuzzy headed Mickey!!!)

Finally, Christine Jahn from Nevada, was nice enough to send us some amazing photos from back in 1979.

Now I am sure that you all, being the well versed Disney Geeks that you are, will notice that these photos were actually taken in Disneyland.

After thinking long and hard about it, I decided to forgive Christine and post these photos anyhow.

These pics have a little bit of everything I love about "digging through the crates" and pulling out those vintage pics...old parades photos, Long Lost Characters, fantastic, out of style couture on the guests...and so much more!!!

Christine wrote:

Hi Tony,

These are my personal pictures circa 1979. Feel free to use them.

Your Disney friend,

Christine Jahn

I cannot thank Missy, Cathy and Christine enough for sharing these terrific photos with all of us.

I also want to let those of you have sent in photos but did not see them here know, fear not, there are more to come over the next few weeks.

I hope these pics will help to motivate others to dig deep and see what they find in their own box of memories!!!

With the 38 year of memories from Walt Disney World Magic behind us (more if I continue to allow all of you Disneyland Fans to voice an opinion) I am sure that there are vast, untapped caches of memories to be discovered, if only we take the time to look!!!

~Tony

Another "Out of Disney" Experience...

While the usual "bill of fare" here on The WED Page falls under the heading of vintage, I always enjoy exploring new and exciting offerings on anything Disney.

Today's article is about an event I was lucky enough to take part in this past weekend, Disney's Doorway to the World Event.

Held at t he Garden City Hotel on Long Island New York, this event was presented by Disney's Vacation Club. It was sort of an introduction to the new "Disney's Doorway to Dreams" store, which is soon to open at the Roosevelt Field Mall, also located in Garden City. The event was held over a three day period this past weekend.

I received the invitaion several weeks ago and immediately went to the website to learn more and hopefully sign up, only to find that nearly every spot had already been filled. We did manage to secure a few slots for our group, and I am certainly glad we did!

The event started with a presentation by a couple of DVC agents, and while it initially looked as though it was going to become a sales pitch, it quickly turned into so much more than that.

While it was a bit "sales pitchy" in a few segments, they did an amazing presentation of the DVC's newest offerings at Bay Lake Tower and The Animal Kingdom Lodge's Kidani Village.

While I, and I believe most of the audience, seemed to be well versed in these locations, they continued on to show projects that are currently either, in the works, or in the planning stages, both for DVC as well as the Disney Company in general.

Highlights included, the upcoming addition to Disney's California Adventure, CARS LAND.

Now, I have seen some artist concept drawings for this addition, but in this presentation they elaborated on what we already knew and we got a look at a sneak peek of just what was going to be offered there in DCA starting in 2012... and I for one, can hardly wait to get out there to experience it all first hand!!!

They also showed DVC's Hawaiian Resort Project, which is under construction on the island of Oahu at the Ko Olina Resort...this one also very high on my families list of FUTURE MUST DO's.

After the presentation portion of the event (at which we also scored some very nice DVC swag, might I add) we were led down to the lower level of the hotel where we found a "Night club" style set up, complete with DJ. We were then treated to an wonderful dessert buffet and finally some special guests... Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto were all in attendance.

All of the kids (and kids at heart) were out on the dance floor, cutting a rug with Pluto and Goofy. Over to the side of the DJ booth was a meet and greet where you could take photo's and have some quality time with The Big Cheese himself and his lady love.

Everyone in our group had a blast!!!

While, I think, the presentation had alot of information that "dyed in the wool" Disneyphiles were already familiar with, they did a great job of sneaking in plenty of surprises and never before seen photos to get the blood pumping. Most importantly, it was great to be able to get a quick "Disney Fix" between trips to The World.

I know that this is only the third Disney's Doorway to Dreams Store to be opened, with one in Chicago and one coming to the Greater Boston Area, but if and when a new one shows up in your neck of the woods, I highly recommend that you seize the day, and be sure to get your tickets early...as word gets out, they will fill up quick!!!

And be sure to bring your camera...you never know who might turn up at these events!!!

Until next week.....

~Tony

MISSING: Classic Disney Characters

Who doesn't love to meet and greet Disney Characters???

While, these days, most character meetings take place at either a character meal or a formal meet and greet location, that wasn't always the case at Walt Disney World.

There was a time when you could bump into a character just about anywhere. Walking through Fantasyland you may come across any of the Seven Dwarfs...

or while passing through Cinderella's Castle you may stumble upon Robin Hood and his Merry Men...

how about walking past your resort pool and stopping by to have a chat was Pinocchio himself?

Those were the days!!! While I can, half-heartedly, force myself into understanding the fact that the parks and resorts are far busier than they were in those days, I do so miss the "spur of the moment" meet with the characters we all know and love.

One thing that I do miss, even more than where we met the characters, is just who we met. Most of today's character interactions are with the Fab Five, of course the princesses, and a few of the more popular, recently introduced characters.

Once again , I can most certainly understand the laws of supply and demand, but I will always miss the surprise of not knowing just who will be waiting for you outside the tunnel to Main Street USA...

or who could be wandering around Adventureland...

or perhaps, even a chance meeting down at The Lake Buena Vista Village (now I know, I am REALLY dating myself with this one!!!)
But I think you guys get my point!!!

With such a rich history of fantastical character creations...I would love to see a greater variety of walk around characters, I long for the days when you could meet just about any character from Disney's long list of Classic Films...just about anywhere!!!

Maybe even playing back up The BIG CHEESE himself...

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I am always looking for New, OLD photo's of the "LOST" Characters of Walt Disney World.

If you are ever digging through your own secret stash of Vintage WDW photo's, and would not mind sharing, please shoot me an email...I am sure there are plenty of others here on The WED Page, who would love to see what kind of MAGIC you have to share!!!

Until next week....

~Tony

Frontierland:The Rulers of Days Gone By!!!

While "digging through the crates" last week, I stumbled across a little something that took me back...way back.

I was sending my buddy Ryan, Editor-in-Chief at The Main Street Gazette, a collection of Disney World songs, some rare and some out of date, that I had found online. As I was going through this collection, I came across one song in particular, that caused me to stop dead in my tracks. It was the Finale from The Country Bear Jamboree.

Back before the days of Splash Mountain and even Big Thunder Mountain for that matter, there was an attraction that absolutely captured the imagination of three little boys from the Bronx...THE "E-Ticket" attraction of Frontierland, back in the day, was without question The Country Bear Jamboree.This weeks article is less about the show, which we all know and love, and more about a little boy (or three) who were obsessed with it.

We had always loved the show while we were on our family vacations to Walt Disney World, but thanks to a very special gift from Santa Claus on Christmas morning 1976, our obsession was taken to a whole new level...

Many people credit albums from their childhood or teen years for having a profound impression on them, an album that changed their lives. For some it was The Beatles, other had Jimi Hendrix or The Doors.For me...it was this album... (Please Note: LAUGHING WILL NOT BE TOLLERATED!!!)
THE COUNTRY BEAR JAMBOREE!!!

Now, at the tender age 6, I had amassed quite a collection of vinyl. That Christmas morning I added this album to that collection. Sandwiched on a shelf between a Jackson Five album and something by the Carpenters, this was now my prized possession.

I can not say with accuracy, just how many times we played that album...it was certainly enough to know every song, word of word...and also enough to bring a grown man to tears (not sure if Dad looks back on those day as fondly as I do) but what I do know with certainty, in our room, it was on maximum rotation!!!

To this day, I quietly sing every song, every word for that matter, right along with the Bears. If my brother Frankie is there with me...we just may sing it out loud!!!
Our love of the Bears didn't end there. Back in those days there was "Bear's Swag a Plenty" to be found in the Magic Kingdom.

We loved all of the critters in that show, but there was no one quite like Big Al...he was an absolute stud back in those days, a Magic Kingdom SUPERSTAR!

There were Big Al plushes, Big Al books, Big Al buttons...and we had them all. He was the undisputed King of Frontierland and he ruled with an iron fist...er, paw!

Sadly, those days are behind us now. While you may come across the odd collectible or two, the "hey-day" of The Country Bears has long gone by. Not to mention the fact that The Country Bears has since departed from Disneyland. I certainly hope that same fate does not await them at Walt Disney World.

One really neat little treasure that has been lost from WDW's Frontierland, used to be just next door in the Mile Long Bar. While I was thrilled with it's replacement (after all, who doesn't LOVE Pecos Bill's) I do miss seeing the boys, Melvin, Buff and Buck, singing their hearts out for the crowds as they exited the show.

There wasn't much to it really, but to see Audio-animatronics, outside of an attraction, was very cool to me. I can remember walking out the exit of Grizzly Hall, looking forward to seeing them "belting out a little ditty" for the crowd.

As I had mentioned, I know the album word for word, but of all the songs in the show, I still get the most excited for the Grand Finale. I assume that if you are reading this Blog, you are well aquainted with these songs. The first song in the Finale is The Ballad of Davy Crockett, a classic by anyone's standards. The second song from the finale, is certainly the lesser known of the two. As a kid we always called it Bear Tracks. I had always assumed that it was written just for the show.

Some of you may already know this, but during my research earlier this week, I discovered that, after almost 38 years of being The Country Bears biggest fan, that this song is actually titled Ole Slew Foot and is a Blue Grass Classic.

I think that I have gone on about The Bears enough for one week.

Whether you are a huge fan of The Bears, who checks out the show each and every trip or a rare patron of Grizzly Hall, I urge you to stop by and take in the show next time you find yourself in Frontierland.

I hope you can see the MAGIC that captured three little boys back in the early 70's and possesses them, now grown men with their own little ones, to this very day.

~ Tony

PS. Here is just a little something to enjoy before you head off...a few videos to send some pixie dust your way.

The first selection is The Country Bears Finale, taken for 1971 Demo Footage of the show.The second is a vintage video of a performance of Ole Slew Foot by Jim & Jesse, back in 1976.

'Til next week...Enjoy!!!

An "Out of Disney" experience...

While The WED Page is offically dedicated to "The Walt Disney World of the Past, Present and Future"...not all Disney experiences happen at The World.

This past weekend I had one of my greatest Disney experiences of all time...and I was smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania.

Fred Block's MagicMeets was the absolute epitome of what the Disney experience should be...Good friends, great times and whole lotta magic!!!

We arrived early so that we could help out with The Dream Team Auction. For those of you who do not know what the Dream Team is, it is a group started by Lou Mongello. It is a fund raising effort which helps to send sick children to Walt Disney World through the Make A Wish Foundation.
This year marked the 4th Auction to benefit this effort, to be held at MagicMeets. The auction was actually the brain child of a great friend, Pat Whitson. Pat does all of the coordinating for the event....no small task mind you, but she does it in a manner that all of those around her see nothing but a smooth well oiled machine when the auction takes place...and for this we are all TRULY thankful to her. In addition to Lou and Pat, there are a whole host of others who dedicated their time and efforts to making sure that this dream becomes a reality.

This years event raised $27,000 for The Dream Team Project...an absoulutely remarkable amount, which is a true testament to the generosity of the Disney Fan Community.

The Dream Team Auction is only part of this great event. There was also a fantastic key note speech by Disney's CMO (Chief Magic Officer) Justin Muchoney. This was an incredibly inspiring event, and I hope that you all get the opportunity to hear Justin speak sometime...it is absolutely time well spent.

There were also fantastic "Break-out" sessions, with presentations by Lou Mongello, Matt Hochberg, Mike Scopa, Deb Wills, Beci Mahnken, John Rick and others. I was not able to attend all of these, but the ones I did manage to make it to were great fun and very informative.

I was also hoping to attend April and Janet Baker's Very Popular Scrapping Meet on Saturday evening, but two tired toddlers and standing room only right through Midnight, made it quite difficult...maybe next time!!!

I heartily urge you all to try and make it , at some point, to a MagicMeets Event.

Last week at this time, I already felt as though I was part of a special community. A wonderful group of people who, like me, had a special place in their hearts for everything Disney. This past weekend changed all of that!!!

More than just a "community", I now feel as though I am connected to an incredible group of friends who share the same love as I do. Some of these friends have become even more than that...they are an extension of my family and will be an integral part of my life and the lives of my wife and children for years to come...and for THAT, I am truly greatful and blessed!!!

Please take the time to learn more about the great things that are happening with The Dream Team Project. You can connect to us through this link: www.wdwradio.com/Dream-Team-Project

You can also find out more about the great times ahead at future MagicMeets Events at: www.magicmeets.com

I would like to take a second to thank everyone who I met this past weekend...it was great fun to meet face to face with so many of you who have friended me on Facebook or have been following here on The WED Page...please stay in touch and I will certainly do the same.

To The Dream Team, Valerie, Lesa, Steve, Lori, Linda, Kathryn, Terry, Cassidy, Tracy, Lou, Pat, Janet, James, Kathleen, Kate, Erica, Tracy S., Amanda and Brian...I can't thank you guys enough for helping inspire Charlene and I to make a difference...we cannot wait to see you all again, real soon!!!!

And to everyone who donated, whether it was at the auction, online or elsewhere...thank you for helping us make a difference!!! I will be back next week with an all new trip back in time at Walt Disney World...see you then!!!

~Tony