Sometimes We Just Go; Easter 2005
Off to Disneyland again. This time it was Easter 2005 with our friend Dave McTevia. The kids were busy so us kids decided to have fun! We did! We had a ball just walking around and seeing the shows. Sue and Dave were with equipment as Sue was still recovering from back surgery and Dave can no longer walk far because of his heart condition.
The Tiki Room
The attraction opened on June 23, 1963 and was the first to feature Audio-Animatronics, a WED Enterprises patented invention. The attraction's first commercial sponsor was United Airlines but sponsorship soon passed over to Hawaii's Dole Food Company who remains the sponsor to the present day. Dole also provides the unique Dole Whip soft-serve frozen dessert sold at a snack bar near the entrance.
The attraction was at first separated from Disneyland insofar as Walt Disney personally owned it through his own company, WED Enterprises, instead of the rest of Disneyland which was and still is owned by the Walt Disney Company (then Walt Disney Productions). The show was originally going to be a restaurant featuring Audio-Animatronic birds serenading guests as they ate and drank. The "magic fountain" at the room's center was originally planned as a coffee station (there is still a storage compartment within the base of the fountain) and the restaurant would have shared its kitchen with the now-defunct Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland and the Plaza Pavilion restaurant at the corner of Main Street, U.S.A. since all three are actually part of the same building. Since ownership of the attraction was separate from the rest of the park, a nominal admission charge of $0.75 was levied.
Loads of computer work made this guy come to life!
The Golden Horseshoe
The Golden Horseshoe Stage unofficially opened on Wednesday, July 13, 1955, as the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, when Walt and Lillian Disney, along with dozens of guests, celebrated their 30th anniversary with a private party and premiere showing of the original Golden Horseshoe Revue.
On Saturday, July 16, 1955, the Golden Horseshoe opened a day early for a private party of corporate sponsors. This show marked Wally Boag's first official performance as Pecos Bill/Traveling Salesman at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon.
The first venue to open in the Stage was Slue Foot Sue’s Golden Horseshoe Revue (mistakenly spelled review when the correct word should have been "revue") on July 17, 1955. This variety show ran a record 39,000 times and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running musical of all time. One of the features of the show was to have children from the audience, sing and dance on stage. "Davey Crockett," was a favorite song performed by the guests.
In 1962, Ron Miller, son in law to Walt Disney, directed a made-for-television movies by the same title. The film starred Disney darling, Annette Funicello, Ed Wynn, Betty Taylor, Gene Sheldon, Wally Boag and Walt Disney himself.
Today, the Golden Horseshoe Stage is still popular inside and out. For years Disneyland served chili at the bar as well as drinks and deserts. Outside on the front balcony, there is a periodic, comedic wild west shoot-em' up show performed by Laughing Stock and Company that always draws a crowd.
Dave loves the Golden Horseshoe
The Mark Twain
The Mark Twain Riverboat is an attraction, located at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, on which passengers embark on a scenic, 12-minute journey around the Rivers of America. Originally named the Mark Twain Steamboat when the park opened in 1955, the stately, 5/8-scale stern-wheeler was the first functional riverboat to be built in the United States for fifty years.
Paul loves the Paddle Wheeler
