Obscure Disney History with a Dash of Encouragement
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Posts tagged Disneyland
Why Disney People Like Weird Things

There’s no doubt about it: Disney people like weird things.
The micro-obsessions we get fixated on at the Disney parks. Something that others might find frivolous or overlook altogether.

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Dear Tony Baxter: How one Disney Imagineer's fearlessness taught us all to be brave

It must have been frustrating to be so young, wanting to be heard but wondering if you had a right to do more than listen, trying to find your place at 22 in the shadow of Walt’s legacy, cobbling together a new idea from pieces of older ones, fragments from the original dream-builders of the park that you loved.

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Making Peace With Our Lost Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts

These hitchhiking ghosts used to haunt our Magic Kingdom Doom Buggies and now they are relics of a time when we valued magic tricks over technology. Subtle over silly.

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Disneyland Was Made for Adults: Historical Evidence in Defense of Those Who are Young at Heart

Over the decades I’ve spent as a Disney historian, I’ve heard people say time and time again that there must be something wrong with Disney Adults. But I have historical evidence that proves that Disneyland was, in fact, created for the enjoyment of adults from the very beginning.

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The Dalmatian Disaster: How the Mistakes We Make Shape Who We Are Becoming

Walt Disney called Ken his “Jack of All Trades,” and he truly was a Renaissance man, able to do almost anything he was tasked to and do it well. And he did.
Well, except that one time he didn’t, and Walt was horribly disappointed.

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The Armor We Choose: Finding Grace in Painful Places

Amidst cat calls, pranks, and those who watched and waited for her to fail so they could pounce, Grace Huntington walked a daily minefield with invisible protective gear making her not as invisible as she wished she could be.

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"Did you know that... ?" Seeking the Truth in Disney Stories

Sometimes Disney fans, creators, and even Cast Members hear a story about something in Disney history and get so excited to hear a "secret" that they immediately pass it on as fact without tracking down the primary source.

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Repurposing The Magic: How We Reimagine Our Moments

It occurred to me the other day that so much of what we see at Disney isn’t actually what we think it is. Or it used to be something very different, but we don’t realize it.
Let me explain.

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Mastering Time like Dr. Strange

I know that Marvel isn't traditionally Disney, and maybe you feel the same way I used to about Marvel. But bear with me, because I just realized something this week:

We are all living a Dr. Strange moment right now.

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How Disney Gives Us the Magic of Confidence

I’ve held my babies with teary eyes during fireworks, I’ve been pixie-dusted for once-in-a-lifetime moments, and I have witnessed a gentle snow falling on Main Street USA in Disneyland Paris at Christmastime. But this moment was one that will go down in the record books as one I will likely never have again, but wish was an everyday occurrence.

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Disney Parks Hidden History & Secrets Scavenger Hunt- Disneyland Edition

If you're headed to Disneyland too (HOORAY!!), make sure you print out or save this FREE scavenger hunt full of unique items to look out for, along with some fun facts about each one!

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Adventuring with young explorers: How to make your Disney travel with kids easier

I'm just going to come right out and say it... traveling to Disney with kids can be less than magical. I admit I'd gotten used to roaming without my littlest explorers due to the pandemic, and now that we are venturing out as a family, suddenly I'm having a crash course in being "mom" again in the Disney parks.

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Every turn of the Disney carousel - Words + History

This carousel nestled in the heart of Fantasyland in Disneyland Park is the "hook" you see as you stand in the hub and look through the castle entrance. It's what draws you into the land, and rightly so!

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Finding thankfulness in the worst year ever

Disney friends, do you find yourself feeling somewhat less than thankful this year?

With Disneyland still not even close to open, COVID-19 messing with our lives, and restrictions on how many people we can see for the holidays, it's hard to see the silver lining here.

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How Disney's hidden magic makes us look closer

As I shuffled around the MDE (My Disney Experience) app to make my next mobile food order, I found myself having walked to a completely new land without ever remembering how I got there.
I stopped abruptly and turned around, aghast at what I had missed.

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