Electric Lights?

We Did It

2008-09-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't been cpaturing my home-videos onto my computer lately as it is very time-consuming and time has been very limited for a quite some time now, however, I managed to get this video up for Horizons' upcoming would-be 25th anniversary... 25 Years into the Future. If only Disney had updated Horizons to predict the next 25 years.

Mickey Mania Parade

2008-08-12T19:12:00.001-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen boys and girls, the Magic Kingdom proudly presents our unsettling Mickey-Mouse-ego-gone-wild pageant of daytime mayhem and monotony in thousands of hidden Mickeys and bad hip-hop music and other '90s sounds: The Mickey Mania Parade!

(Be sure to look for the copyright logo on the opening float! haha)

Swisskarhapsody!: A Tribute to the Swisskapolka

2008-07-30T09:11:00.001-07:00

Me playing some variations on the Swisskapolka (Along with some pictures of the Treehouse from my July trip)...

1983horizons1 on piano: Haunted Mansion and Journey into Imagination

2008-07-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

We've had a piano in my house for as long as I can remember... and for as long as I can remember I've always messed around a bit with it. I've never had any formal lessons and can't read music at all, however I can play by ear. Recently, I figured out how to transfer music from my keyboard to the computer, so I figured I might as well share a few songs with the world (or whoever will listen). I'm hoping to make it sort of a mini-series on my youtube if I have the time (and the talent).

For some reason the audio quality declines a bit from the keyboard to the computer (and then some more from my computer to youtube), but I try to tweak it to be the best it can be.

These first two are probably two of the most fun songs to play just because there are unlimited ways to play and ad lib onto them.

Haunted Mansion/Phantom Manor Medley

One Little Spark

(I've woven music from the Dreamport, the White Room and "A Brand New Show" into the main theme)

A World on the Move

2008-06-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

All the best of the TTA/WEDway.

- Nighttime/Daytime.

- Space Mountain with the lights on (not so rare as many people seem to think)

- Space Mountain with the lights off (much rarer)

- Footage from 1993, 1995 and Christmas Eve 2007 approximately 1:00am.

- Tomorrowland Light and Power under construction (the waste-of-space-arcade)

- No narration, just music... there's hundreds of other videos on youtube which include the narration.

Well, here you go...

TransCenter

2008-06-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

After riding World of Motion guests were invited to discover the future of transportation. It was far from being just an older version of the Test Track pre-show. TransCenter focused on all types of future transportation; from cars and monorails to jets and lunar vehicles. The Test Track pre-show is more of an auto show with little to no emphasise on showcasing future transportation technologies. However, I guess that's all the entire pavilion really is now: an extravagant auto show. Notice also how there's no intrusive gift shop.

Kitchen Kabaret

2008-05-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

A show that has the whole town... cooking!

Two for the Road

2008-05-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of short videos of extinct attractions. The first is Melvin, Buff and Max at the entrance to The Mile Long Bar, inviting guests to "Come on In". The second is a clip of the Star Jets from ground level (set to the theme, "From Time to Time").

Psst... I make a cameo appearance as a three year old wearing a hat during the Country Bears video.

The Tops of the World: Around the World

2008-05-04T14:44:00.001-07:00

Here's the tops of some scenery from around World Showcase. I took these on a stroll around the lagoon just before sunset.

China

Italy
France

The Tops of the World: Weather Vanes and Whatnot

2008-05-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

While going through my WDW pictures from last summer and this past Christmas, I noticed I was taking a lot of close-up shots of the tops of buildings, so I thought I'd share a few of them. This first set is a group of some of WDW's famous weather vanes.

A couple of weather vanes on top of Peter Pan's Flight

Br'er Rabbit at the top of a building near Splash Mountain

The bat weather vane on the Haunted Mansion (This weather vane never actually moves, I think there may be some spooky joke to it, but i can't think of it right now)

While not exactly a weather vane, this treble cleft tops the main building to Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf

Electric Lights?

2008-04-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

It's occurring to me that choice of a creative, original name is needed early on. Although, probably better late than never. So here's the new (and hopefully permanent) blog name to avoid confusion with anything else which was similarly named before and to give the blog a little more character. Kudos to those who know where the inspiration came from.

"Electric Lights?"

I'd also like to comment on the new logo I've been using here and on my YouTube since the beginning of April. It is of course a hybrid between the Horizons logo and the logo found on Wilbur Robinson's outfits from Meet the Robinsons. It's a representation of how ideas of the future change as time progresses, but the vision is still there nonetheless.

Main Street U.S.A.

2008-04-28T12:25:00.001-07:00

Main Street U.S.A. is one of the most unique lands in the Disney parks. It resembles the center of town for every small town in America, yet in a surreal way. Main Street U.S.A. uses this familiar, yet magical appearance to ease guests out of the real world and into the Magic Kingdom. Walking down the street and seeing the castle at the end is probably the most magical Disney vision of them all. At the end of the day, Main Street U.S.A. also helps to ease guests out of the magic and back into the real world. Main Street U.S.A. is a gateway, and an attraction in its own right.

A Beautiful Day...

An Enchanted Evening...

A Tree of Life

2008-04-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day 2008 and happy tenth birthday Animal Kingdom!! To celebrate, I've put together some photos from my December trip (and a few other animal close-ups from the flickr creative commons) to show the most unique feature about the icon of Disney's fourth park.

Disney's Animal Kingdom opened on April 22, Earth Day in 1998. Although much more has been added to the park in the ten years past, it's central icon has always been The Tree of Life. It is perhaps the most intriguing of all Disney icons. Guests will constantly be discovering something new about the tree along the paths that weave in and out of its roots.

Spaceship Earth Synthesis!

2008-04-19T15:01:00.001-07:00

Spaceship Earth reopened in late 2007 to mixed reviews. Progress had been kind to this ride in the past, with all previous versions at least being on par with each other. However, the 2007 version had an anti-climatic ending involving touch screens, a very quiet to almost absent musical score and an arguably dumbed down narration. It did reopen with amazing state of the art Audio-Animatronics and two new decent show scenes. In my opinion that was all it really needed. So, here's a video where I combined those 2007 Audio-Animatronics and show scenes with the 1994 narration, musical score and finale sequence.

NOTES ON THE EDITING:I tried to use the 2007 video as much as possible because of the amazing animatronics. However, I found a few segments of 1994 video that were much better lit, so I used that version when appropriate.

I used the 1994 score and narration because it was the longest running version of the attraction (and in my opinion the best version)

I tried to incorporate "Tomorrow's Child" into the ending, but the video would have run too long. Sorry, to the fans of 1986 version.

Save Disneyland's "it's a small world"

2008-04-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

Two videos I made. One is a little history behind the attraction and the other states my position on this whole dilemma. YouTube seemed to be lacking in the "save small world" spirit, and my earlier two videos seemed rude in retrospect, fueled by the heat of the moment when I first heard about the plans for the changes.

Mickey's Starland Disney Afternoon Show

2008-04-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

In 1990, when Mickey's Birthdayland was converted into Mickey's Starland, the Disney Afternoon Show replaced Minnie's Surprise Party. It originally debuted with Roger Rabbit and characters from the Disney Afternoon television shows, Talespin, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, DuckTales and Gummi Bears. It was modified every year mainly to phase out one of the older shows and phase in the newest Disney Afternoon show. This video is the final version of the show, filmed in 1994, before Mickey's Toontown Fair began construction somewhere around 1995/1996. This version includes Mickey Mouse as a replacement for Roger Rabbit and characters from the shows Bonkers, Goof Troop, Darkwing Duck and Talespin.

Of course, every version of the show was hosted by CJ and controlled by D.U.D.E.

I think the official name for the show was "Mickey's Magical TV World Show", but it was rarely advertised as such and was more commonly referred to as "Mickey's Starland Show" or "The Disney Afternoon Show".

Teppanyaki Dining Room

2008-03-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

One of World Showcase's great resturants, here's a peak at the Teppanyaki experience from the year 2000. The restaurant has recently re-opened from refurbishment as "Teppan Edo". (Psst... How is Teppan Edo? I'll be eating there this summer.)