EarzUp!

Over the years, much has been said of Walt and his drive to get Disneyland ready for opening day, but we don't hear enough of the men behind that drive.   Perhaps the most important company to Disneyland's success was ...

Arrow Development

Today's show is one of our favorites to date!  We interview Dexter Francis, author of "Building Disney's Dream", and it's full of not only Disney history, but amusement park history as well.

Dexter gets into the details of a company called Arrow Development, who was responsible for the designing and building of five original Disneyland rides.  Over the 20 years or so after the park opened, Arrow Development had a hand in something like 15 different Disney rides, much of their work warranted patents, and literally re-defined the roller coaster, and Disneyland, as we know it.

Dexter is full of great information on not only Arrow as a business but how Walt Disney and Arrow worked together to get the park open on time.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  For more cool stories about Arrow Development, and to grab Dexter's eBook, please head over to his great blog on Arrow Development and all they have done for theme parks around the world!

We also do some feedback, including our first ever voice mail feedback!  This show is a long one, so sit back as Dexter takes us back to a time before Disneyland ...

 

The men of Arrow Development. From Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to the Tea Cups, from Pirates to Haunted Mansion, this group of guys redefined the amusement park thrill ride.

If you are like us, you have friends who have children of various age groups, and not all of them know what they can do in the park with their little ones.  So we have put together a list of things to do in ...

Disneyland For All Age Groups!

Is it pointless to bring your 1 year old to Disneyland? Is there anything for grandma and grandpa to do? What about your teenager, will they hate it?On this episode we answer these questions and more when we discuss what you should (or shouldn’t) do with different age groups at Disneyland. We also give some tips about how to make most of your trip, such as:Babies: they’re FREE!, pack light, don’t be afraid to take breaks, buy Mickey Ears! Toddlers/Small Kids: Ride the Dark Rides, be patient, Jedi Academy, buy a silhouette Young Adults: Relive your Childhood, Drink at Carthay, Take the tours, buy another silhouette Grandparents: Mr. Lincoln, Flag Retreat, Disneyland Railroad!, help with the grandkids!

Plus feedback from a Not Greg, and Terrence reveals a terrible secret about one of his friends and Disneyland ...

Is Disneyland for all age groups?  We think so!  And before you bring your little one around, check out our list of ride height requirements and hopefully avoid any small children going nuclear.

Looking for something to do at Disneyland with your toddler?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you are like us, you have friends who have children of various age groups, and not all of them know what they can do in the park with their little ones.  So we have put together a list of things to do in ...

Disneyland For All Age Groups!

Is it pointless to bring your 1 year old to Disneyland? Is there anything for grandma and grandpa to do? What about your teenager, will they hate it?On this episode we answer these questions and more when we discuss what you should (or shouldn’t) do with different age groups at Disneyland. We also give some tips about how to make most of your trip, such as:Babies: they’re FREE!, pack light, don’t be afraid to take breaks, buy Mickey Ears! Toddlers/Small Kids: Ride the Dark Rides, be patient, Jedi Academy, buy a silhouette Young Adults: Relive your Childhood, Drink at Carthay, Take the tours, buy another silhouette Grandparents: Mr. Lincoln, Flag Retreat, Disneyland Railroad!, help with the grandkids!

Plus feedback from a Not Greg, and Terrence reveals a terrible secret about one of his friends and Disneyland ...

Is Disneyland for all age groups?  We think so!  And before you bring your little one around, check out our list of ride height requirements and hopefully avoid any small children going nuclear.

Looking for something to do at Disneyland with your toddler?

We're back!  After over a month of being off the air due to our studio moving, the EarzUp! crew climb back onto the microphones for another show, and what a relief it was.

The show started off with a recap of all the blog posts and happenings going on over on our site while we've been away, like our recap of Disneyland Paris and exclusive photos of the then-secretive Club 33 revamp.  We get some great feedback from a listener called Melanie who told us about how both the EarzUp! crew and Dan over at @MouseBrew helped make a special day even more special.

After feedback, we break into the meat of the show: The Disneyland Yippie Riots of 1970.  If you haven't heard of the Yippie Riots, it's a fairly fascinating event in Disneyland history, and one that nobody at the parks likes talking about.  Essentially, 300 (or less) kids caused the park to shut down about 5 hours early, for only the second time in park history.

Disney News was up next, where we talk about some new Disney animation projects, some cool Disney Infinity announcements, Marvel's adjustments to their Thor character, and Taren and Jason's experience seeing the new-ish Disney film Maleficent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back!  After over a month of being off the air due to our studio moving, the EarzUp! crew climb back onto the microphones for another show, and what a relief it was.

The show started off with a recap of all the blog posts and happenings going on over on our site while we've been away, like our recap of Disneyland Paris and exclusive photos of the then-secretive Club 33 revamp.  We get some great feedback from a listener called Melanie who told us about how both the EarzUp! crew and Dan over at @MouseBrew helped make a special day even more special.

After feedback, we break into the meat of the show: The Disneyland Yippie Riots of 1970.  If you haven't heard of the Yippie Riots, it's a fairly fascinating event in Disneyland history, and one that nobody at the parks likes talking about.  Essentially, 300 (or less) kids caused the park to shut down about 5 hours early, for only the second time in park history.

Disney News was up next, where we talk about some new Disney animation projects, some cool Disney Infinity announcements, Marvel's adjustments to their Thor character, and Taren and Jason's experience seeing the new-ish Disney film Maleficent.

After some downtime, Alice in Wonderland opened back up today with some cool new effects and some much-needed love.  We have some short video of the new projected parts of the ride for you:

No, the track didn't turn on it's side, our video is wonky ...

Nothing jarring, nothing outside of the feel for the ride so far, which was our biggest worry.  Sometimes Disney can get too intrusive with changes, and we enjoyed seeing Alice get a nice boost while still maintaining the old school dark ride vibe.

There are other changes to this ride, but we don't want to ruin all the fun!

Is Disneyland really the place of creativity and imagination we all think it is?  Join us as we talk about ... 

Disneyland Ride Movies

Since the park opened, Disneyland has been a great example of creativity in theme parks.  The depth and variety of the rides and attractions changed the way theme parks were built and what crowds were expecting when spending their day there.

Have things changed?  Has the Disney brand lost their imagination?  It seems that every new movie or ride to come out at the parks or in the theaters has been based on a pre-existing park ride or an older Disney movie.  In today's episode, we talk a bit about that trend and what can be done about it.  The amount of Disney ride movies  - and movies based on rides - may just turn Disneyland into a glorified Universal Studios.

Later in the show we follow the Disney path and try to come up with movies of our own based on rides or attractions in Disneyland - ones that have no movies to date - complete with titles, cast, and directors!

Then we catch up on some Disney news including the new Big Hero films set to come out, the huge jump in park attendance and talk about the Fact of the Show.

 

Come to Fantasyland - AKA Moveland!

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Is Disneyland really the place of creativity and imagination we all think it is?  Join us as we talk about ... 

Disneyland Ride Movies

Since the park opened, Disneyland has been a great example of creativity in theme parks.  The depth and variety of the rides and attractions changed the way theme parks were built and what crowds were expecting when spending their day there.

Have things changed?  Has the Disney brand lost their imagination?  It seems that every new movie or ride to come out at the parks or in the theaters has been based on a pre-existing park ride or an older Disney movie.  In today's episode, we talk a bit about that trend and what can be done about it.  The amount of Disney ride movies  - and movies based on rides - may just turn Disneyland into a glorified Universal Studios.

Later in the show we follow the Disney path and try to come up with movies of our own based on rides or attractions in Disneyland - ones that have no movies to date - complete with titles, cast, and directors!

Then we catch up on some Disney news including the new Big Hero films set to come out, the huge jump in park attendance and talk about the Fact of the Show.

 

Come to Fantasyland - AKA Moveland!

What does soda have to do with Walt Disney and the house he was born in?  We are glad you asked!  Take a moment and learn all about Elias (Walt's Dad) and ...

O-Zell Soda and Walt's Birthplace

We got the opportunity to sit down with Dina and Brent from O-Zell soda and Walt's birthplace to talk about their love of Disney and their ongoing project to restore the house that Elias Disney built in Chicago in 1893, and where Walt Disney himself was born in.  Dina and Brent purchased the home in 2013, and are using the profits from the sales of O-Zell soda to help heal this historic home.

The story of Elias and the O-Zell soda company is a great read, one that could easily be made into a Disney movie, as it has a great story arc moving from Elias being broke due to the owner of O-Zell embezzling his money, to his son Walt becoming a larger-than-life entertainment figure.

We also talk about the recent price changes for the Anaheim parks and what the means for your next vacation.  And ours.

So listen to the history of the Disney family and the O-Zell soda line, then buy some great-tasting soda and help Dina and Brent restore Walt's birthplace!

 

Drinkin' some O-Zell, talking O-Zell! #Meta

 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does soda have to do with Walt Disney and the house he was born in?  We are glad you asked!  Take a moment and learn all about Elias (Walt's Dad) and ...

O-Zell Soda and Walt's Birthplace

We got the opportunity to sit down with Dina and Brent from O-Zell soda and Walt's birthplace to talk about their love of Disney and their ongoing project to restore the house that Elias Disney built in Chicago in 1893, and where Walt Disney himself was born in.  Dina and Brent purchased the home in 2013, and are using the profits from the sales of O-Zell soda to help heal this historic home.

The story of Elias and the O-Zell soda company is a great read, one that could easily be made into a Disney movie, as it has a great story arc moving from Elias being broke due to the owner of O-Zell embezzling his money, to his son Walt becoming a larger-than-life entertainment figure.

We also talk about the recent price changes for the Anaheim parks and what the means for your next vacation.  And ours.

So listen to the history of the Disney family and the O-Zell soda line, then buy some great-tasting soda and help Dina and Brent restore Walt's birthplace!

 

Drinkin' some O-Zell, talking O-Zell! #Meta