Thanks for downloading this sample copy of The Mini Mouse. In this version you, will find a small sample of the amazing things that can be found within Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom
The book is available from both Amazon UK and Amazon US. The links below will take you directly to the pages respective to your country.
Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mini-Mouse-Adam- Goodger/dp/0955677653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=b ooks&qid=1249291211&sr=8-1
Amazon US http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Mouse-Adam- Goodger/dp/0955677653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=b ooks&qid=1249291260&sr=8-1
I hope you enjoy this small offering of The Mini Mouse
Adam Goodger
!"#$%#$&' !"#$%&'()*&!"#$%&'()*&((( +#,*-%'&&%(.-#( ( ( ( /( ',0&-( ( ( ( ( 11( ( !"#$%&'(%2)!"#$%&'(%2)(( #03&*%.'&4#*0( ( ( ( 51( ',0&-( ( ( ( ( 56( #%%'#!%,)*-( ( ( ( 78( -")2-( ( ( ( ( 79( ((( !"#$%&'(%"'&&!"#$%&'(%"'&&((( ((( :')*%,&'4#*0(( ( ( ( 65( ',0&-( ( ( ( ( 68( #%%'#!%,)*-( ( ( ( 8;( -")2-( ( ( ( ( /<( ((( !"#$%&'(:).'!"#$%&'(:).'(((( 4,=&'%>(-?.#'&( ( ( ( /7( ',0&-( ( ( ( ( /9( -")2-( ( ( ( ( 91( (
((( ((( !"#$%&'(:!"#$%&'(:,3&,3&,3&,3&(((( :#*%#->4#*0( ( ( ( ( 96( ',0&-( ( ( ( ( 9;( #%%'#!%,)*-( ( ( ( 1<5( -")2-( ( ( ( ( 1<6( ((( !"#$%&'(-,@(!"#$%&'(-,@(( ((( +,!A&>B-(%)2*%)2*(:#,'( ( ( 1 (((#$)"*+,$-"#(#$)"*+,$-"##$)"*+,$-"#'''' I know what you are thinking. Another guide book! What on earth does this book have that every other book doesn’t? This is no ordinary guidebook. It is not designed to tell you when to visit an attraction, where to get the best ice cream or the best view for the afternoon parade. This book is designed to be your own personal guide to the Magic Kingdom. When you are standing in line, waiting to ride the next attraction or you’re waiting for the parade to start then you can dip into this book to find out a little more about what you are waiting for. Why not discover more about the Haunted Mansion while you are stood in its queue? Find out a little more about the land you have just stepped into or the one you have just left. This book is designed to give you the facts and trivia you wouldn’t always find whilst in the park. Use it as something to pass the time or a way to brush up on your Disney knowledge, it was made pocket sized for that very reason. I hope you enjoy. !"#$%&''"()*' ! !"#$%&'()( !"#$%&'"()$*!"#$%&'"()$*++++ Although this part of the park was an original land back in 1971 very little was done to it from opening day until the 1980s. The land was designed to show the pioneers of the Wild West. This subject was almost as dear to Walt’s heart as was Main Street USA. Frontierland, as with Main Street, spreads the ages of it’s building over 90 years, from the 1790s to the1880s. The areas of the park were tied into several areas of America and American history. The South west of the USA, shown quite clearly with the legend of Pecos Bill - The frontier of Davy Crockett and the banks of the mighty Mississippi - Rivers of America and of course, not forgetting the age of the Gold Rush with the presence of Big Thunder Mountain. Heightened reality was again at play in Frontierland as many of the sets, props and buildings were inspired from Hollywood and the Westerns that Walt and the Imagineers loved so much. In its original form Frontierland had only 3 rides and attractions: ‘The Country Bear Jamboree’, ‘Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes’ and the ‘Mike Fink Keel Boats’. It was one of the 42 ! last original lands to get any sort of expansion. Prior to any development a large grassy area with a few pine trees and Totem poles took up much of Frontierland. This area was originally reserved for the Western River Expedition, the brainchild of Marc Davis, but was never built. Eventually the land would receive its own Railroad Station and an access road that would lead the parade out of the park. When it was finally decided that the Western River Expedition would not be given the green light, the area was developed for Big Thunder Mountain and, eventually, Splash Mountain. At the other end of the land, a small western town had been constructed. As part of the town a river had been created that would flow past the town’s shores. It was named ‘Rivers of America’ to symbolize the town’s similarities to that of the American towns of the day. Traditional western music would play and the infamous smoked turkey legs would be served. This area of Frontierland has remained similar to its original vision. The transition through Frontierland had to be subtle and Imagineers had to think of a way to show this without the landscape changing too dramatically. They achieved this by creating a series of buildings along the riverfront, a bit like a timeline. As you walk along Frontierland’s shore and head towards Liberty Square you are confronted with buildings that begin to change and modernise. Ever wondered what year you were in when walking through Frontierland? Look at the address on each building. Imagineers 43 ! numbered the buildings in accordance with the year they were supposed to represent. Starting with 1787 - The Hall of Presidents to 1867 on the Town Hall in Frontierland. The development of the town would increase over the years and so would the stories as the many new E-Ticket rides began to emerge. 44 ! !"#$%&'()*+$,-'(./"(!"#$%&'()*+$,-'(./"($ The Story goes a little like this: Back in the 1840’s the Big Thunder Mountain was a hive of activity, it was the height of the gold rush and the mountain had plenty of it. The nearby town of Tumbleweed was thriving and everything was going well. Until, one day the mines ran out of gold. Everyone packed up all of their things and left the town. All except for one, a man known as Uncle Sam. He stayed around in the town of Tumbleweed. Over the coming years the town and the mine deteriorated. The mines became flooded and stalagmites and stalactites began to form. Feeling very brave, Uncle Sam decided to venture back into the mines just incase there was any gold that may have been uncovered by the flooding. Sam approached the mines warily as he was sure that the mine was now haunted and that ghosts wandered the empty caverns. Uncle Sam boarded the old mine train and began his descent into the mines. He could hear the sound of bats and was sure that he saw some of them fly overhead. Suddenly, the train began to speed up, as if it had a mind of its own. Rather than following the track into the mine it began to travel at high speed around the whole of Big Thunder Mountain. Eventually, the train came to a stop in the depot and Uncle Sam declared it the ‘Wildest Ride in the Wilderness’. He tried to get others to come with him to the mines but no one would dare. Eventually, Sam moved away and the mine was closed. No one 47 ! ever dare enter, favoring to listen to the legend of Big Thunder Mountain instead. For years it stayed this way until a brave Disney Imagineer volunteered to enter the mine. When he did, he experienced just what Uncle Sam had always talked about. The Imagineer opened up the mine to the public and people from far and wide traveled to the town of Tumbleweed just to ride the infamous runaway train. A version of this attraction was originally designed to be part of the Western River Expedition, part of Frontierland. The original incarnation of the ride was set around the use of ore cars racing through a mine. Big Thunder Mountain was an adaptation of the original concept. Although both the Disneyland and Disney World completed versions of the attraction were never seen by Walt Disney, he had seen some of the original plans for the ride. This means that before Big Thunder Mountain opened in the Magic Kingdom, it had been on the drawing board for 14 years. The soft opening of the ride was on Tuesday 23rd September 1980 and was officially opened on Saturday 15th November of the same year. This was the second rollercoaster to be built on the Disney property. The Disneyland version of the coaster opened the previous year but was a completely different theme to that of Walt Disney World. The Magic Kingdom version was inspired by Monument 48 ! valley in Utah. The rockwork was designed to look like it had been around centuries before the railway was added. The choice of colour for Big Thunder Mountain was chosen to help with the progression of time from The Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square all the way round the land. Unlike Disneyland’s version there was no need for the ride to fit in with other parts of the park due to its location. In Disneyland, the colour was chosen to fit in with the theme of Fantasyland, as it could be seen. Imagineers had been over to the valley and studied the rock formations and colours and had brought back many photos to help with construction. The ride was originally designed by Imagineering legends Marc Davis, who was the original designer for the Western River Expedition and Tony Baxter, who has since been involved in several other Thunder Mountains around the globe. As previously mentioned, the ride is set in the flooded, fictional town of Tumbleweed during the gold rush. To give the ride it’s authenticity the Imagineers had to find original mining equipment. It was all antique by the time Disney built the attraction and so it was expensive. The Disney Company spent over $300,000 on antiques alone. These were placed in the ride’s queue as well as through out the 2780 feet of track. The antiques are accompanied by over 20 Animatronics in the two and a half acre site including: bats, donkeys, chickens, goats and people. 49 ! The rockwork within the attraction was intricately made, and is a combination of wire mesh and concrete. At its highest point, the butte of the mountain reaches 197.5 feet, only half a foot below Cinderella’s Castle. This was a purposeful decision, as Imagineers wanted the Castle still to be the largest ‘Wienie’ of the park. At the highest point the track reaches 50 feet above ground level and reaches an average top speed of 30 mph. From start to finish the ride last approximately 4 minutes. The actually timing of the ride cannot be exact as it changes during the day. According to Cast Members, when the sun is at its highest point in the day, the ride becomes the fastest. This is due to the grease on the track. As the sun increases the temperature, the grease begins to thin out on the track - therefore increasing the speed. The ride can then increase to 33 mph. That is faster than the official speed on Space Mountain. The ride also has three lift hills, two of them are indoors and one outdoors. At peak times the rides two stations are able to handle the operation of five trains, although there are actually 6 in service. As with most Disney rides and attractions, each of the trains has it’s own name. They are: U.B. Bold, U.R. Daring, U.R Courageous, I.M. Brave (this has since been replaced by I.M. Loco), I.B. Hearty and I.M. Fearless. Each train has 5 cars and each car is able to hold 2 to 3 passengers. A full ride vehicle can hold a maximum of 45 guests. The entire attraction reportedly cost $17 million dollars to 50 ! complete that is the same amount that the Whole of Disneyland cost back in 1955. In 1999, Disney introduced its Fastpass system to the ride. To accommodate the new system the Imagineers built a small mining village to hold all of the fastpass queue and equipment. 012/3&$,-'(./"(012/3&$,-'(./"($ This is a ride that was almost never built. At the time it was to be the most expensive ride ever constructed in a Disney theme park (nearly $75 million) and straightaway Disney executives said ‘no’ to the ride. So, the Imagineers behind the idea, including the infamous Marc Davies and Tony Baxter who had already had great success with Big Thunder Mountain, started an internal publicity campaign. Themselves, and other Imagineers involved in the project, would carry large drawings around the office and give a sales pitch to anyone that would listen. Eventually they won over the Imaginers and ultimately the executives. The ride was built in Disneyland and then appeared in Walt Disney World three years later. The Walt Disney World version began soft openings on Friday July 17th 1992 and officially opened it to the public on Friday 2nd October 1992. The ride was based on the 1946 film ‘Songs Of The South’ and concentrated on three of its main animated characters: Brer Fox, Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit. The 11-minute story 51 ! *+,&-( ADVENTURELAND 21 ARIEL'S GROTTO 102 ASTRO ORBITER 123 BARNSTORMER AT GOOFY'S WISEACRES FARM 115 BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN 47 BUZZ LIGHTYEAR'S SPACE RANGER SPIN 129 CINDERELLA'S CASTLE 142 CINDERELLA'S GOLDEN CARROUSEL 99 COUNTRY BEAR JAMBOREE 60 DONALD'S BOAT 118 DUMBO THE FLYING ELEPHANT 97 ENCHANTED TIKI ROOM 38 FANTASYLAND 84 FRONTIERLAND 42 FRONTIERLAND SHOOTIN' ARCADE 59 153 ! GRAND PRIX RACEWAY 127 HALL OF PRESIDENTS 81 HAUNTED MANSION 68 IT’S A SMALL WORLD 87 JACK SPARROW’S PIRATE TUTORIAL 41 JUNGLE CRUISE 24 LIBERTY BELLE RIVERBOAT 79 LIBERTY SQUARE 63 MAD TEA PARTY 96 MAGIC CARPETS OF ALADDIN 32 MAIN STREET USA 6 MAIN STREET TRANSPORTATION 15 MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH 91 MICKEY'S COUNTRY HOUSE 118 MICKEY’S PHILHARMAGIC 104 MICKEY'S TOONTOWN FAIR 109 MINNIE'S COUNTRY HOUSE 118 MONSTERS INC. LAUGH FLOOR 135 MOVE IT SHAKE IT, CELEBRATE IT STREET PARTY 19 PETER PAN'S FLIGHT 93 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 27 POOH'S PLAYFUL SPOT 102 SHRUKEN NED’S JUNIOR JUNGLE BOATS 37 154 ! SPLASH MOUNTAIN 51 STITCH'S GREAT ESCAPE 132 SWISS FAMILY TREEHOUSE 35 THE LAUGHIN' PLACE 57 TOM SAWYER ISLAND 57 TOMORROWLAND 120 TOMORROWLAND TRANSIT AUTHORITY 123 TROPICAL SERENADE 38 WALT DISNEY'S CAROUSEL OF PROGRESS 137 WALT DISNEY WORLD RAILROAD 11 155 !"#$"#%&'()&*%#&+*,-./&'()%&0-%1$&(%& !"#$% &#'($)(*&% *$+,% *"% -./*%! !"#$%&' ()*+,' -.%*%' /*%' /+0/&#' $%0' !"#$%&'!('&))'*$+'),-.(/)0'! !"#$% &'(% )*$(+% #)% &'(% ,-).#,+% #/% !"#$% &'())'% '*% '+)% ,"$-% .)/)$01! !"#$%&'(#"')*+%,"&'-*%.$/%! !"#$ #%&'$ ()&*"$ #+,"$ -.)$ ./$ +$ !"#$%&'( )*$"#+*( )*&( ,-+./(! !"#$%&'()**&+"#$(,&-(.&(/01*&2/( !""# $%&# %'((&)# *+,$&-'&,# !)(#! !"#$"%!&%'"&()$*&'+,-!.&! ! !"#$#%&'(%)*+%,-(.%'%&$*/(#.% !"#$%&%''()*! ! !"#$%#&'%$"'%(#)*%+',')-.%/0% !"#$%&'()#*$+&(,-.(/$! ! !"#$#% &'(% )*+% ,-(.% /"#% 01#22% !"#$!%&'#()"*+%,#+%#*-&#)+./! !""#$%#&'()(#)(*+(&)#,-.#/$+(#01""# !"#$"%"&'"(#)*#+*,#&-#+*,#! !"#$%&"'$(&)%*('$("'+),$'+-*./-0' !"#$%&'(&)#*+,-!