YEAR IN REVIEW– 2011

Let's look back at some popular posts of 2011.

Walt Disney's Carolwood Pacific and Other Backyard Railroads
We did lots of investigating in order to map out Walt Disney's very own backyard railroad and compare it to the current property.

EPCOT Center Construction Photos: Future World
We dug up some fantastic old construction photos. Many had never posted online before.

National Geographic Aug '63
This two part post was very popular. Filled with amazing Disneyland photos from the early 60s.

 

Ride Concept Competition
Our first-ever competition was a huge success. We asked for your ideas for new rides and received so many great ones. You can check out the winners here.

ABANDONED DISNEY: Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts
An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of the greatest attraction special effects of all time.

Not Having Fun at Disneyland
Old Disneyland photos of kids not having fun at Disneyland. Fun for a laugh!

ABANDONED DISNEY: River Country [Part 4]
Our most popular post of all time is still our first River Country post. Subsequent River Country posts are also very popular. Take a look at Disney's only abandoned park.

Bin Laden Mansion Minutes From Walt Disney World
The day Osama bin Laden was captured and killed we discovered that his brother had a mansion minutes north of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The home is now abandoned.

Walt Disney Studio Post Production Behind-the-Scenes
We found this fantastic video about Walt's studio. Lots of great footage.

Lake Buena Vista: The Other Prototype City with a Peoplemover
A Peoplemover and a Monorail at Downtown Disney?? It was supposed to happen.

EPCOT Center Graphics
Enjoy Mitch's custom graphics inspired by and featuring some of that wonderful Future World architecture.

Frito Kid Mysteries Continue
The very obscure and mysterious Frito Kid once lived at Disneyland. We pin-point his exact locations.

THEN AND NOW: Disneyland [Part 1]
Our "THEN AND NOW" series is one of our most popular. We've posted many comparisons from Walt Disney World in the past. This year we've added Disneyland.

Create Your Own Background Music
Quite possibly the most fun you'll ever have clicking around one of our posts. Easily create music with a click of a mouse. You might need this when scoring your own attraction.

Thanks for a great year. We are thrilled to welcome many new visitors. Keep coming back and feel free to join us on Twitter for daily tweets.

Here's a look at last year's Year in Review.

WDW Fan Boys Podcast [Part 4]

Join me on my latest WDW Fan Boys podcast appearance. The Fanboyzz and I talk about everything from old-school EPCOT Center to old-school Magic Kingdom (go figure!). Specifically, we go over how now-a-days attractions tend to be obnoxious from hundreds of yards away. We also talk about the gooood things going on right now at Walt Disney World (Fantasyland, etc.). And Tim mentions that Magic Kingdom should tear down Peter Pan's Flight. 

Check it out.

Related posts:

WDW Fan Boys Podcast [Part 1]
WDW Fan Boys Podcast [Part 2]
WDW Fan Boys Podcast [Part 3]

EPCOT Center Graphics

I'd like to share a few custom graphics I recently did that feature some of the great retro-futuristic stylings of EPCOT Center's Future World.

If I'm not working on this silly blog or reading some Disneyland souvenir book or digging through boxes of dusty old memorabilia or day-dreaming of my days of climbing through the Jungle Cruise, I'm often doing free-lance design for Disney. As fun as that might sound, it ain't all peaches and cream. I mean it's great and I wanted to do it since childhood and it pays the bills... but they don't always give you all the artistic freedom in the world (and rightfully so). Sometimes (possible always) the project manager has no creative sense whatsoever. Sometimes it is loads of fun and the approval processes (plural) don't take too too long. But sometimes, possibly to free up some clogged artistic part of my brain, I do something for myself for no real reason. 

Humor me while I share my study of some of the fantastic structures of EPCOT Center that too often goes unnoticed. Sometimes they cannot be fully noticed because of that pesky habit Disney has of slapping a bunch of clutter over pieces of world-class architecture ruining the entire viewing experience (Nemo cutouts, Test Track roof thing, Imagination banners, MouseGear cogs, Spaceship Earth wand, etc.). I call it "design by clutter". But that's another story. Let's focus on what really matters: The cool angles and shapes of early 80s theme park awnings and such. Just look at these forms. And shapes. And great use of concrete.

Enjoy.

Related posts:

THEN AND NOW: Epcot Future World [Part 1]
EPCOT Center Poster Art
Daredevil Circus Spectaculars at Epcot Are Just Not What They Used To Be
HORIZONS MURAL, "The Prologue and the Promise" [ High Res ]
HORIZONS the way you wish you knew it
EPCOT Center Construction Photos: Future World