Walt Disney was approached by Nelson A. Rockefeller who asked him to visit South America. Rockefeller explained to Walt that his pictures are popular in Latin America and that he may help offset the Nazi influence by showing them what America is all about. Walt's group left for Brazil on Augus 11, 1941. They did things such as speak to Latin Americans, meet with Latin American artists, vistit concerts and nightclubs, go to beaches and zoos and learn to samba and rumba. Walt also took a 30 mile steamer ride on a Colombian river which was part of his inspiration for Disneylands "Jungle Cruise". Two films came out of this goodwill tour: Saludos Amigos in 1943 and The Three Caballeros in 1945.
"They first wanted me to go on a hand-shaking goodwill tour. But I said, 'I'm not a good hand shaker.' Then they said, 'You go down and make some films about these countries,' and I said, 'Well, thats my business, I can do that, I'm a filmmaker.' " -Walt Disney-
All Disney World and Disneyland fans have a list of their favorite attractions, and for some people, these may no longer be open. We have witnessed the opening and closing of some truly amazing rides. Many of these rides have sentimental value to us. Walt Disney always encouroged constantly changing and improving things, including his rides, in order to make them more appropriate for the time. He realized that times change fast and what may be new and exciting now, most likely will not be 10 years from now. Still, we cant help but miss many of these extinct attractions. Luckily, most of Walt Disney's original rides still remain. I have decided to include a post every once in a while on a Walt Disney World or Disneyland ride that is no longer open. Today's post will be on "The World of Motion".
The World of Motion opened at Epcot on October 1, 1982 (the day the part opened) and remained open until January 2, 1996. The designer of this ride was Marc Davis, who is also known for his work on Pirates of the Carribean, the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion. This was your classic dark ride complete with Audio-Animotronic figres. It was sponsored by General Motors This attraction gave riders a tour of the history of transportation. It was a humorous look at the history of transportation, from ancient times when the only means of transportation was by foot, through time, to a look at what the future of transportation may be like.
I have included a movie of the ride. Please take a look and enjoy the ride. I would love to hear comments from anyone who may have also been a fan of the World of Motion.
"Take a rib-tickling ride through the evolution of transportation and see just why 'It's Fun to be Free!' Discover how mankind's progress has been directly related to worldwide innovations in mobility - and take a look at how tomorrow's transportation will change the face of our cities."
I am sure it would be impossible to find someone who has never heard of Mickey Mouse, but how many of you can say they know Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was actually created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks (1927) before Mickey Mouse was even a thought in their mind. Disney signed a contract with Universal and Oswald became very successful. Once Universal realized how much money could be made from Sowald, they convinced most of Disney's staff to come work for them and Walt Disney lost his rights to Oswald. I guess this was the best thing that happened to Disney because if he had not lost Oswald the world may have never known Mickey Mouse. Disney regained the rights to Oswald in February 2006. It is very easy to see the resemblance between Oswald and Mickey. I included a picture and a video of one of the first Oswald Cartoon that was released to the public entitled "Trolley Troubles."
Every Disney World Fan should download Google Earth. Using this program you can now take a 3D tour of Disney World and find out more information on the attractions. I thought it was pretty cool. Here is the official link from the Walt Disney Website....Walt Disney World Resort in 3D Disney World Virtual Tour
I am sure many of you are aware that Disney's original plans for Epcot was not a Theme park. It was actually going to be a community of tomorrow where 20,000 people would live. The name EPCOT was an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. The following video is of Walt Disney himself describing his plans for EPCOT. Unfortunately, Walt did not live long enough to see the opening of Epcot. As we know, EPCOT is not what Walt envisioned it would be, although it is still my favorite place to visit. Imagine if Walt had lived long enough? Would be have accomplished building this community? Why not? He succeeded at everything else he did. Any opinions on this?
"If you can dream it, you can do it." -Walt Disney-
I Love to look through quotes by Walt Disney because they always inspire me. He is proof that if we work hard, and never give up, we can make our dreams a reality. I would love to hear everyone's favorite Walt Disney Quote. Leave a comment if you have one.
Sleeping Beauty will be released from the disney vault on October 7, 2008. I am so excited! Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite Disney Cartoons. This was the last Disney Cartoon to be based on a Fairytale and produced by Walt Disney himself. It was made while Walt Disney was building Disneyland, which is probably why the Castle at Disney land is called "Sleeping Beauty's Castle." Where does sleeping beauty fall in everyone's list of favorite classic disney movies? I know its at the top of mine.
Sleeping Beauty can be pre-ordered by clicking on the link below....
