Disneyland, Our Favorite Place

Did You Know? - Petroleum (L. petroleum, from early 15c. "petroleum, rock oil" (mid-14c. in Anglo-French), from Medieval Latin petroleum, from Latin: petra: "rock" + oleum: "oil".) is a naturally occurring, yellow-to-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earth's surface, which is commonly refined into various types of fuels.

It consists of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other organic compounds. The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined crude oil.

A fossil fuel, petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, usually zooplankton and algae, are buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to intense heat and pressure.

Did You Know? - In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata.

By extension, a tiki is a large wooden carving in humanoid form, although this is a somewhat archaic usage in the Māori language. Carvings similar to tikis are found in most Polynesian cultures. They often serve to mark the boundaries of sacred or significant sites.

Did You Know? - The Mark Twain is a working reproduction of the historic vessels that ferried people up and down the mighty Mississippi. An actual working steam engine converts the water from the Rivers of America into steam that in turn powers the large paddle that propels the boat.

On the Riverboat

Featuring meticulously detailed wood craftsmanship, the 28-foot tall, 105-foot-long vessel is comprised of 4 pristine decks:

Pilothouse, also known as the top deck, features the wheelhouse and Captain's Quarters

Promenade Deck includes a salon and a collection of vintage photos and maps

Texas (or Sun) Deck is the perfect place to catch some rays as you float down the river

Main Deck includes the boiler and pistons that run the paddlewheel

Did You Know? - Moonshine, white lightning, mountain dew, hooch, homebrew, and white whiskey are terms used to describe high-proof distilled spirits that are generally produced illicitly. Moonshine is typically made with corn mash as the main ingredient.

The word "moonshine" is believed to be derived from the term "moonrakers" used for early English smugglers and the clandestine nature of the operations of illegal Appalachian distillers who produced and distributed whiskey. The distillation was done at night to avoid discovery.

Moonshine was especially important to the Appalachian area. This white whiskey most likely entered the Appalachian region in the late 1700s to early 1800s.

Scots-Irish immigrants from the Ulster region of Northern Ireland brought their recipe for their uisce beatha, Gaelic for "water of life". The settlers made their whiskey without aging it, and this is the same recipe that became traditional in the Appalachian area.

In the early 20th century, moonshine became a key source of income for many Appalachian residents, since the limited road network made it difficult and expensive to transport corn crops.

As a study of farmers in Cocke County, Tennessee, observes: "One could transport much more value in corn if it was first converted to whiskey. One horse could haul ten times more value on its back in whiskey than in corn."

Did You Know? - Groats (or in some cases, "berries") are the hulled kernels of various cereal grains such as oat, wheat, and rye. Groats are whole grains that include the cereal germ and fiber-rich bran portion of the grain as well as the endosperm (which is the usual product of milling).

Did You Know? - A milk churn is a tall, conical or cylindrical container for the transportation of milk.[1] It is sometimes referred to as a milk can.

Milk was originally distributed in 'pails', a lidded bucket with a handle. Often two pails would be carried on either end of a wooden yoke. Once the railways started carrying milk the pail proved less than ideal as it was top-heavy and tended to spill. Dairy farmers used a tall conical wooden container - a butter churn - to 'churn' the milk to make butter, and this proved to be preferable for the railways to transport.

It held a lot more milk (about seventeen gallons) and its conical shape made it less likely to spill or topple over. These wooden churns were intrinsically heavy however and from the 1850s a steel version was introduced and soon became the standard. The name churn was retained for these containers although they were not themselves used for 'churning' butter.

As with British Railway Milk Tank Wagons. the milk churn was a standard size, the older galvanised iron conical type held 17 gallons, whilst the cylindrical type with the mushroom shaped lid introduced in the 1930s held ten gallons.

Did You Know? - A cider press is used to crush apples or pears. In North America, the unfiltered juice is referred to as cider, becoming known as apple juice once filtered; in Britain it is referred to as juice regardless of whether it is filtered or not (the term cider is reserved for the fermented (alcoholic) juice). Other products include cider vinegar, (hard) cider, apple wine, apple brandy, and apple jack.

The traditional cider press is a ram press. Apples are ground up and placed in a cylinder, and a piston exerts pressure. The cylinder and/or piston is "leaky"[clarification needed] and the juice is forced from the solids. The traditional cider press has not changed much since the early modern period. The only difference being that in earlier versions of the press horses were used to power the machine.

Did You Know? - The ride's concept dates back to Walt Disney's plans for a "magical little park" across the street from his Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. This modestly scaled, never-built amusement park was to include a gravity flow canal boat ride among its attractions.

When plans for the much grander Disneyland were being made, there was to be a "Lilliputianland", inspired by Madurodam, a miniature city in the Netherlands that Disney once visited. However, the technology did not yet exist for creating the miniature animated figures that were to inhabit the "Lilliputian" village, so the canal ride opened under the name Canal Boats of the World.

It was intended to be a journey past miniature recreations of the great landmarks of the world, but time and money prevented its completion.

The ride was plagued by other problems. The outboard motors were prone to overheating, often forcing the boats to be pulled by hand, and because the attraction opened with little landscaping, it earned the nickname among park executives as "The Mud Bank Ride".

After two months of operation, the Canal Boats closed while Storybook Land was constructed and the muddy banks were landscaped with miniature plants, including a bonsai tree planted by Walt Disney himself.

The idea of having Monstro the whale consume the canal boats came from a never-implemented concept for a "Monstro the Whale" ride, in which small boats were to be swallowed by Monstro and then plunged down a watery path into a pond below.

Did You Know? - Journey through the mouth of Monstro the Whale to a magical realm of memorable Disney animated movie locales in miniature.

Hop inside a 12-person boat for a gentle cruise through Storybook Land. As you gracefully make your way past hills and through valleys, discover a dazzling menagerie of enchanted homes and villages from classic Disney movies amazingly rendered in miniature scale.  
During your train ride, be on the look-out for these famous sites:
• Cozy straw, stick and brick houses from Three Little Pigs
• The manicured London park from Peter Pan
• The Alpine village from Pinocchio
• The English village from Alice in Wonderland
• The royal city of Agrabah and Cave of Wonders from Aladdin
• Prince Eric's palace and King Triton's underwater castle from The Little Mermaid
• The dwarf's cottage from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• The French countryside village and mountaintop castle from Cinderella
• The Giant's patchwork quilt from Lullaby Land
• Toad Hall from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Storybook Land Canal Boats features intricately replicated houses, villages and palaces—complete with imaginative landscaping, charming music and special lighting effects. A live tour guide will tell you the story of each scenic environment.
Miniature Magic
The hand-crafted mini models use a scale of one inch to one foot and are as painstakingly detailed as full-sized structures. The doors of many of the buildings actually open for added effect!