Disney, Railroads, and My Dad

Over the years my dad has attended various Disney events with me.  He is always a great sport and says he enjoys learning about things even though he isn't the Disney fanatic I am.  In fact, he took me to a Disneyana Connvention back in the day, that was just amazing!  Well this past week he was in Sacramento for the National Conventions of the National Model Railroad Association and sent me a very excited text because he was in a clinic that was all about Disney!
I think I would have enjoyed this particular talk given by imagineers John and Katie Olson.  The Olsons talked about their work in Paris working on Big Thunder and how the union rules are different so John was able to hire sculptors along with the contractors.  (John works with the contractors to bring the imagineers vision to life).   They also talked about their work on Radiator Springs and current work in Shanghai.  Below is the clinic description:

Disney Railroading	Thursday July 7	1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
John & Katie Olson		Convention Center 310
John Olson was recruited by Walt Disney Imagineering in 1974 when Mike O'Connell (owner of Chooch Enterprises) was working there as a show writer, and producing a film on model railroading for Kalmbach Publishing, which featured a few of John's dioramas. John began with Disney as a model builder, and soon branched into production design and field art direction for the Disney Theme Parks. Katie, a Disney Scholarship winner, joined Disney shortly after John as a model painter and color designer. Together they have worked on too many Disney Theme Parks to name! Before joining Disney, John worked closely with folks like Tom Daniel, Leo Campbell, and Fred Hill, among other manufacturers and retailers. Also at time, John began publishing with Kalmbach, Carstens, Narrow Gauge Gazette, and of course the NMRA Bulletin. John will be sharing memories of those days. Given the fact that Walt Disney himself was a huge rail fan, trains are ever-present in the Disney vocabulary. Over the years there they have worked with several famous Disney characters, such as Ward Kimball (Grizzly Flats RR), Harper Goff (Great Locomotive Chase art director), Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (private railroads in two locations), Carl Fallberg (Fiddletown and Copperopolis), and many more. The clinic takes us to the homes of the above folks and a pictorial visit to their railroads. John and Katie will also discuss the ever present thread of trains in the Disney theme parks. Katie has color designed many of the railroad stations and locomotives in several of the parks. It was during the early years at Walt Disney Imagineering that John built the Mescal Lines, Cielo Lumber Company, Jerome and Southwestern RR. Later he built (and Katie painted) the Ferrocarril de Tascosa and Calico. John will be sharing some images of his work, and discussing how building Disney theme parks is really similar to building a model railroad!

The Vault of Walt

Jim Korkis has written a fabulous book entitled The Vault of Walt.  The book is a collections of stories and information regarding a variety of topics Disney related.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much information about Snow White I gathered from this book.  In fact, there is an entire chapter dedicated to Snow White's Christmas Premiere.  I have gathered many interesting facts to share This is one book that all Disney fans should read.

Snow White Banned In England (in 1937, that is)

A little trip back in time today.  This Montreal Gazette newspaper from February 7, 1938 confirms that British censors maintain that Snow White is for adults only.  My how times have changed.

Yesterday team Whistle While We Play competed in our first Mice Chat Gumall Rally.  This event is fabulous and a true labor of love by the Mice Chat crew.  We had a blast going from attraction to attraction trying to complete the whole book before time ran out.  It's tough - especially because it covered both parks.  We thought we did great, covering 34 of the 55 listed attractions and not stopping even to eat!  While we didn't even make the top ten, we look forward to improving our strategies for next year.  (We'll need a year just to recover!)

Tomart's Disneyana Update

Tomart's Disneyana Update is a wonderful resource to all Disney collectors.  This resource features articles on new collectables as well as spotlights on older collectables.  Everything from Vinylmations and Pins to Celluloid toys from the 20's and 30's.
The newest issue features eFx Collectibles Evil Queen, Hag, and the fabulous Heart Box.  These beautiful pieces are available at a discount to D23 members.

Look What I Got

On March 12 Disney Hollywood Studios held an event to celebrate the release of the Disney Theme Park Exclusive Ink & Paint Cel Collection: Look What I Got.  Check out the details on the Art of Disney Park website.

The Seven Dwarfs Before Snow White

I have been decidedly remiss in my posting in the month of March - so we're now on to April and it seems I have missed some news -
What were the seven dwarfs up to before Snow White entered thier life?  A new pilot show announced for Disney Junior will explain just that:

7D (animated series pilot on Disney Junior)
Creators, including Walt Disney himself, have long been inspired to access classic folk and fairy tales... reimagining, reinterpreting and reinventing them for new generations. The animated series pilot 7D takes a new creative approach to the beloved Brothers Grimm tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, reimagining it in a comic and contemporary storybook world. The new music-filled stories introduce the whimsical world of Jollywood, where the kind-hearted Queen Delightful calls upon the 7D — Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Grumpy and Doc — for assistance.  (From D23 News 3/17/2011)

This show is still in production and more details are sure to come.  It is an interesting concept, but one that makes me more than a little nervous.  Time shall tell if they get it right.