Imagineering My Way Podcast

Imagineering My Way Podcast

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Imagineering My Way Podcast episodes

  • Dr. Tiki (Jeff MacPherson) & Mz Stella (Eliza Bayne) [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    DVD Release Party - December 4, 2008 @ The Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, CA


    Editorial Review for Tonga Hut – by Mar Yvette - Citysearch.com

    In Short
    Originally opened in 1959, the Tonga Hut is one of an ever-dwindling number of holdouts from the tiki/Polynesian era. Holding the title of L.A.'s oldest running tiki bar, the NoHo hangout exchanged ownership in 2005 and has since stepped up the experience while maintaining the original charm. Among the giant tiki gods and garden of kitschy delights, the space features a kidney-shaped drop ceiling, hexagon-shaped bar and waterfall--with a model of an outrigger canoe, naturally. The regulars seem to think of this beloved dive as just a neighborhood bar, not a celebration of all things tiki, but we know better.

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  • Lala a.k.a. Beatrice Fastwater (Lara Doucette) [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    DVD Release Party - December 4, 2008 @ The Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, CA


    Editorial Review for Tonga Hut – by Mar Yvette - Citysearch.com

    In Short
    Originally opened in 1959, the Tonga Hut is one of an ever-dwindling number of holdouts from the tiki/Polynesian era. Holding the title of L.A.'s oldest running tiki bar, the NoHo hangout exchanged ownership in 2005 and has since stepped up the experience while maintaining the original charm. Among the giant tiki gods and garden of kitschy delights, the space features a kidney-shaped drop ceiling, hexagon-shaped bar and waterfall--with a model of an outrigger canoe, naturally. The regulars seem to think of this beloved dive as just a neighborhood bar, not a celebration of all things tiki, but we know better.

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  • United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The United Kingdom Pavilion is a stereotypically British-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase, within Epcot at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, United States. Its location is between the French and Canadian pavilions.


    The United Kingdom Pavilion, designed to look like a stereotypical British village, has English gardens including a hedge maze.

    The shops sell British items, such as tea, toys, clothing, and Beatles merchandise.

    A band called the British Revolution perform British rock music covers from acts such as the Police, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Blur, and Led Zeppelin.

    A comedic group, known as the World Showcase Players, used to perform humorous and interactive versions of "King Arthur and the Holy Grail" and "Romeo and Juliet" (renamed "Romeo and Edna").

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  • Stave Church @ Epcot [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The Stave Church is an authentic replica of the Gol stave church found in Oslo, Norway. Inside the elaborate structure is an interesting exhibit on vikings history, which includes sculptures of Olaf II and Erik the Red. Visitors will also find artifacts and weapons used by the vikings themselves.

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  • The Land @ Epcot [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    The Land is the name of a pavilion that sits on the western side of "Future World", one of two themed areas of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida United States. It opened on October 1, 1982, as part of the Phase I features for the grand opening of what was then known as EPCOT Center. "The Land" is a 24 hectare (2.5 million square foot)[1] facility dedicated to human interaction with the land itself. It explores how humans can both use the land for their benefit, and how they can also destroy it. Future Technology in better preserving the land is also explored in the pavilion, along with a focus on the celebration of the land itself.


    While "The Land" pavilion has existed since 1982, it has gone through three significant phases. The pavilion's first incarnation involved a ten-year sponsorship under Kraft Foods Inc. from 1982–1992. Kraft played a vital role in co-financing the everyday functions of the attractions, restaurants, and shops inside the pavilion. The pavilion's interior and exterior design featured earth tone colors and exotic plant life.

    In 1993, plans were made to update and modernize the overall tone of EPCOT Center, including a major refurbishment of "The Land" pavilion. Kraft withdrew its sponsorship on September 26, 1993, with Nestle taking its place. Co-financed by Nestle and the Walt Disney World Resort, a gradual refurbishment of the pavilion began on September 27, 1993.

    The pavilion itself was cosmetically freshened. While some of the original design elements remained, the addition of more vibrant colors and fabrics to the various restaurants and shops gave the pavilion a more modern and refreshed look. The names of certain shops, restaurants, and attractions also changed during this time. The pavilion's main attraction, Listen to the Land, which took guests on connected boats through various exhibits within the pavilion, reopened mostly unchanged as Living with the Land on December 10, 1993.

    The most significant change to "The Land" during its 2004–2005 refurbishment was the closure and entire demolition of Food Rocks, which initially occurred on January 3, 2004. Taking its place would be Soarin', a major E ticket attraction that was originally designed and built for Disney California Adventure Park. Simulating the experience of hang gliding over various landscapes, Soarin's massive movie screens and ride mechanics required the construction of a large physical addition to the pavilion itself.

    "The Land" officially reopened on May 5, 2005, which coincided with the start of Disney's Happiest Celebration on Earth Campaign. While "The Land" as a pavilion has somewhat changed, its purpose has not, and it remains a positive and serious experience featuring elements from all three of its phases, allowing today's guests to experience all that "The Land" has to offer.

    On February 13, 2009, Nestle pulled out of sponsorship, leaving "The Land" without a sponsor.[citation needed]

    "Living with the Land" was closed for a vehicle update from August 2, 2009, to October 2, 2009. This update increased passenger capacity from 36 to 40 guests per vehicle. Newer, more wheelchair-friendly vehicles were also a new addition.

    On July 29, 2011, Chiquita signed on as the new sponsor for the ride Living with the Land.

    Horticulture research

    In addition to being an entertainment venue, "The Land" is also a demonstration, production, and research facility. 43,000 ft² (0.4 hectares) of the pavilion are dedicated to experimental horticulture techniques in hydroponics, irrigation methods, and integrated pest management.

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  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:




    Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter and ride design engineer Bill Watkins. The concept came from Baxter's work on fellow Imagineer Marc Davis's concept for the Western River Expedition, a western-themed pavilion at the Magic Kingdom, designed to look like an enormous plateau and contain many rides, including a runaway mine train roller coaster. However, because the pavilion as a whole was deemed too expensive in light of the 1973 construction and opening of Pirates of the Caribbean, Baxter proposed severing the mine train and building it as a separate attraction.

    The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project was put on hold again in 1974 as resources and personnel were being diverted to work on constructing Space Mountain in Tomorrowland, but this delay may have ultimately produced a smoother ride as the use of computers in attraction design was just beginning when the project was resumed. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of the first Disney rides to utilize computer-aided design. The attraction first opened at Disneyland in 1979, and the Magic Kingdom's larger version in Florida opened in 1980. Tokyo Disneyland's version opened in 1987 and Disneyland Paris opened with its version in 1992. The Paris version's layout and structure were mostly based on the Florida version of the ride, but with several significant differences.

    The revised European ride takes the form of a large island in the center of the Rivers of the Far West, accessed from its riverside station by tunnels underneath the water. The attraction in Disneyland Paris is the only Big Thunder Mountain to have been an opening-day attraction at its park. Hong Kong Disneyland does not have a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction (or a western-themed Frontierland, for that matter). However, Grizzly Gulch has a theme similar to Frontierland. The main attraction, Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, carries a similar theme to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

    For the most part, the track layout of the Magic Kingdom's version is a mirror image of the Disneyland version.

    Riders board the trains in an enclosed loading station on a hillside. Leaving the station, trains make a left hand turn into a bat-infested tunnel, make a slight right turn, and climb the first lift hill. At the top of the lift hill, trains pass under a waterfall and drop to the left. This is followed by a right hand turn, after which the track crosses under the second lift hill and drop. After crossing under the second lift hill drop, the track goes through a 270 degree clockwise spiral and passes through a short tunnel. Trains emerge from the tunnel and pass through the flooded town of Tumbleweed. The train passes over a decaying trestle (where the track is slightly banked from side to side), before entering Davy Jones Mine, where it hits a trim brake. Trains then make a left hand turn and climb the second lift hill.

    At the top of the second lift hill, trains drop to the left and cross under the lift hill, before rising into a 540 degree downhill counterclockwise helix, passing over a broken trestle. Leaving the helix, trains shoot up across a small hill, make a slight right turn, then drop through another tunnel and hit a trim brake. The trains then make a right hand turn into a tunnel and climb the third lift hill. As the train climbs the lift, an earthquake hits and makes the train cars sway from side to side (the effect achieved by slightly banking the track). Leaving the lift, trains emerge from the tunnel, crest a small rise, and drop to the left towards the Rivers of America. After traveling along a short section of straight track, the ride then makes a left hand turn through a short tunnel and crosses a short bridge. The train then makes a right hand turn, and passes through the ribcage of a T-Rex skeleton as it hits the final trim brake, makes a left hand turn past some geysers and hot springs, and rises into the final brakes. The train then coasts back to the station.

    The Florida version was allocated more space in the park, and so the Monument Valley-inspired ride structure assumes 2.5 acres, 25 percent larger than the Disneyland version.

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  • Painted Ladies @ Alamo Square Park, San Francisco, CA [Flickr]

    Greg Nutt posted a photo:

    In American architecture, painted ladies are Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies - San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians.


    Since then the term has also been used to describe groups of colorful Victorian houses in other American cities, such as the Charles Village neighborhood in Baltimore, Lafayette Square in St. Louis, the greater San Francisco and New Orleans areas, Columbia-Tusculum in Cincinnati, the Old West End in Toledo, Ohio, and the city of Cape May, New Jersey.

    One of the best-known groups of "Painted Ladies" is the row of Victorian houses at 710–720 Steiner Street, across from Alamo Square park, in San Francisco. It is sometimes known as "Postcard Row." The houses were built between 1892 and 1896 by developer Matthew Kavanaugh, who lived next door in the 1892 mansion at 722 Steiner Street. This block appears very frequently in media and mass-market photographs of the city and its tourist attractions and has appeared in an estimated 70 movies, TV programs, and ads, including in the opening credits of the television series Full House.

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About Imagineering My Way Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Join Greg, a former Disneyland Cast Member of 10 years, for a journey into the world of Walt Disney Imagineering, Attraction Audio, Music, Interviews, Comedy, and more.