Retropedia: The Peoplemover

http://www.retroland.com/peoplemover

Never mind those pesky jet packs or flying cars from The Jetsons, in the future man will travel in groups of four, roughly at the pace of a hurried snail. At least, that was the vision put forth by Disneyland’s glimpse into a futuristic tomorrow called the Peoplemover. And while this form of transportation never quite became the preferred method of travel for future generations, it managed to provide a service not to be discounted; a peaceful journey through the land of the future.

The Peoplemover opened in 1967 and offered a scenic round trip journey through every nook and cranny of Tomorrowland. Guests traveled up a moving sidewalk to the boarding area, anxious to enter their own transportation vehicle. Each vehicle held up to four adults and each “train” consisted of four vehicles linked together. Each group of vehicles were one of four colors: red, blue, yellow, or green. In 1987, the cars were repainted white with colored stripes.

As you approached your Peoplemover vehicle, the roof would raise to allow easier entry and the doors would slide open in a similar fashion to the doors on Star Trek’s “Enterprise” starship (although, sadly without the whooshing sound). You and your fellow passengers would take your seat and head at a white-knuckled two miles per hour towards the entrance to Tomorrowland before making a sharp left turn and entering the show building that housed either “Monsanto’s Adventure Through Inner Space” or the Star Wars themed, “Star Tours” depended on which era you were visiting in.

Moving forward, you would pop out over the Starcade video game arcade and (again, depending on the decade) enter another show building to catch a glimpse of Space Mountain, a thrilling roller coaster through the darkness of space. Of course, this darkness meant that you were more likely to hear the screams of Space Mountain riders, rather than actually see much of anything, other than a few stars and maybe an asteroid that looked suspiciously like a chocolate chip cookie.

From here, the Peoplemover would travel over the now-extinct Mission to Mars and head onward to a section added in 1977 that would, at least momentarily, give you the impression that you were traveling much faster than you actually were. This “Superspeed Tunnel” later became the futuristic world of Tron and provided the once in a lifetime experience of traveling through a 1980’s video game, though luckily without a Pacman trying to devour your vehicle.

Upon your survival of Tron, you would take a leisurely jaunt over the submarine lagoon and Autopia racetrack before entering the final show building to get a glimpse of the 360-degree film America the Beautiful. Then, it was back to the loading platform, having given your feet a full sixteen minutes of much needed rest.

Sadly, the Peoplemover at Disneyland closed in 1995 (the Florida version is still running), to make room for one of Disneyland’s shortest-lived attractions of all time, the ill-fated Rocket Rods. And yet, the ghostly track of the Peoplemover still winds its way through Tomorrowland, reminded every visitor of its former presence, when colorful cars meandered throughout the area and lent a never-ending kinetic motion to the area. Rumors abound that the Peoplemover may someday return to these tracks but to date, plans have moved almost as slowly as the Peoplemover cars once did.

Then again, the Peoplemover didn’t travel much slower than the rush hour traffic of present day. Maybe the Disney Imagineers weren’t so far off with the speed they chose for the ride. Two miles an hour seems to be the norm these days.

Club 33: Disney’s Bohemian Grove

Shepard Ambellas
November 12, 2011
http://theintelhub.com/2011/11/12/club-33-disneys-bohemian-grove

The original concept of such a VIP club on Disney grounds that would serve alcoholic beverages and cater to the elite with an entry fee of an astonishing $7500 was spawned during the 1964 – 65 World Fair in New York.

Walt Disney sent a team to scout and gather information on what people would be interested in in terms of a theme park concept on the east coast, during the process the team ran across VIP rooms giving Walt the idea for what is now known as Club 33.

Club 33 has a mystic to it and over a 10 year long waiting list for wealthy clients to attend.

The Club originally had a total of 33 corporate sponsors at Disneyland in 1966-1967 at the time of conception. The following are the original sponsors according to Wikipedia:

1.Kodak
2.Atlantic-Richfield
3.Bank of America
4.Bell Telephone
5.C & H Sugar
6.Frito Lay
7.General Electric
8.Global Van Lines
9.Carnation
10.Hallmark
11.Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
12.Douglas Aircraft
13.Coca-Cola
14.Hills Bros. Coffee INC.
15.INA
16.Lincoln Savings and Loan
17.Monsanto CO
18.Pendleton
19.Pepsi-Cola
20.Ken-L Ration
21.Aunt Jemimas
22.Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
23.Spice Islands
24.Chicken of the Sea
25.Sunkist
26.Sunsweet Growers INC
27.Swift & CO
28.Timex
29.United Air Lines
30.The Upjohn CO
31.The Welch’s Grape Juice Company INC
32.Wurlitzer
33.Western Printing and Litho CO

The club is surrounded by masonic influence and symbolism. The unofficial Disney Club 33 website reads like something out of a Bohemian Grove ritual;

Quite often, your first experience at Club 33 can be, well, a bit overwhelming. A myth, a phenomenon, a whisper from guests passing by the anonymous door, the club is surrounded by mystique.

Speaking from experience, my initial visit to the club was a little stressful. When to show up, correct attire, what to say when going through the door, proper etiquette, an endless list of worries. I was very conscientious of embarrassing the member who signed us in. Needless to say, in a matter of minutes the worries passed and a wonderful time was at hand.

I have been asked by several soon-to-visit guests, the same questions which I also endlessly pondered. To assist, here are my general impressions and answers. Please understand, these are based upon my own experiences.

When to arrive at the park:

Arrive at the park at least one hour earlier than your reservation time. An hour should allow enough time to park your vehicle, ride the tram, visit Guest Relations, enter the park, and thusly walk to the club. Unless you have an annual pass, you will be required to pay for parking. Actual club members do not.

Where to go first:

If you do not have annual passes to the park, the first place to visit after parking is Guest Relations. Guest Relations is located East of the entrance to California Adventure, behind the concrete wall, near the lockers. Tell the cast member you have reservations at Club 33, your name, and number in your party. They will have a list of club visitors for that particular day. After checking your ID, the cast member will hand you your guest passes to enter both parks.

Time to arrive at the club:

The club prefers that guests arrive (at club 33) the time of their reservations. Frequently the club is busy and if they are clearing tables or making special arrangements, they may ask that guests wait outside or in the foyer until their table is prepared. The club does not like to keep their guests waiting, so this request is certainly understandable.

If you do arrive early, the club requests no sooner than five minutes.

Allow yourself and your guests enough time to walk through the busy park. Major holidays may experience heavy foot traffic.

How to get inside:

Located in the doorway of the club is the famous brass speaker box. Simply lift the small door below the speaker and push the button.
Your host or hostess will ask your parties name. Answer with your correct name and number of guests. You will hear a small click, at which point you may enter through the door.
If your reservations are at the initial opening time of the club (11:OOAM for lunch, 5:00PM for dinner), and you’re early, there will be no answer when you push the speaker button. Please do not worry. When the club is ready, they will answer the door. They normally do not open early, preferring a routine schedule. A small line usually forms at the door, so waiting patiently pays off as guests are seated in order of check in. Please allow the staff time to make the preparations and process the check ins.

Once inside:

You’re now inside Club 33. The host/hostess will greet you and ask if they can take your hat and coat. Once situated, the host will call upstairs via a special phone and inform the maitre’ d your party is present. There is normally a small wait time of perhaps three to five minutes while preparations are finalized upstairs. Please be patient.

Stairs or lift:

Once preparations are complete, you will be informed that your table is ready. The host will ask if you would care to take the stairs or the French Lift. Most guests take the French Lift, it’s very nostalgic.

Lounge Alley:

Upon arrival on the second floor, you will meet the Disneyland Club 33 maitre’ d. You will now be escorted to your table. Your waiter/waitress is introduced and your meal begins.

The Club located at; 33 Royal Street New Orleans Square Disneyland has a creepy overtone to it and many masonic references.

A second Club 33 is now open on Tokyo Japan.

8 secrets about Disneyland

Adam K. Raymond, MentalFloss.com
July 1, 2011
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/01/ten.secrets.disney.mf
Beneath Disneyland's popular ride, the Matterhorn, is a basketball court -- just one of the park's many secrets.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Disneyland park officials encourage cats because they control the mouse population
Splash Mountain-goers gave the ride a bad name in the 1990s for flashing the camera
A hidden VIP lounge called Club 33 requires a $10,000 initiation fee

From how to score a cocktail to where to scatter grandma's ashes, this is your ticket to the real Magic Kingdom.

1. There are dead bodies in the Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland is one of the scariest places in the park, but not for the reasons you'd expect. In his 1994 book "Mouse Tales," former Disney employee David Koenig tells the story of a tourist group that requested a little extra time on the ride so they could hold a quick memorial for a 7-year-old boy.

Disney gave the family permission, but it turns out, the memorial was only half their plan. When the mourners were spotted sprinkling a powdery substance off their "doom buggies," the Haunted Mansion was quickly shut down until all the remains could be cleaned up.

Amazingly, this wasn't an isolated incident. Stealthy ash scatterings have occurred all over Disneyland. Not everyone tries to skirt the rules, though. Every year, several families ask for permission. According to one Disney spokesperson, the answer is always no.

2. The cats own the night

Each night at Disneyland, after the sunburned families and exhausted cast members have made their way home, the park fills up again -- this time, with hundreds of feral cats. Park officials love the felines because they help control the mouse population. (After all, a park full of cartoon mice is more enticing than a park full of real ones.)

But these cats aren't a new addition to the Disney family. They first showed up at Disneyland shortly after it opened in 1955, and rather than spend time chasing them away, park officials decided to put the cats to work.

Today, there are plenty of benefits to being a Disney-employed mouser. When they're not prowling the grounds, these corporate fat cats spend their days lounging at one of the park's five permanent feeding stations. Of course, Disney also goes to great lengths to manage its feline population. Wranglers at the park work to spay and neuter adult cats, and any time kittens are found, they're put up for adoption.

3. It's a good place to be a flasher, again

Just before the final, five-story drop on Splash Mountain, Disney cameras take a snapshot of the riders to catch their facial expressions. The idea is to provide guests with a wholesome keepsake of the experience.

But in the late 1990s, the photographs took a turn for the obscene after exhibitionists started baring their breasts for the camera. Soon, Splash Mountain had gained a reputation as "Flash Mountain," and Web sites featuring the topless photos began cropping up.

In its effort to curb this Tourists Gone Wild phenomenon, Disney began hiring employees to monitor the photos, training them to pull anything offensive before it got displayed on the big screen. Since then, the number of flashers has dwindled.

In fact, the countermeasure was so effective that in May 2009, Disneyland decided that it didn't need employees to monitor the photographs anymore, putting an end to what must have been one of the strangest jobs in the park -- watching for topless riders.

4. Fully formed mustaches are welcome

Even though Walt Disney had a mustache himself, he wanted his employees clean-shaven. The idea was to make sure they looked as different from the stereotypical image of a creepy carnival worker as possible.

So, for 43 years, Disney theme park workers were forbidden from growing facial hair. But on a momentous day in March 2000, the company took a giant leap forward and decided to grant the park's male employees the right to sport mustaches. (Beards, goatees, and Chester A. Arthur-style muttonchops were still off limits.)

There wasn't much time for rejoicing, though. When several employees started to grow out their facial hair, management realized that they hated the stubbly look. The rule was quickly amended.

Today, in order to have a mustache at the park, Disney employees must either have them when they're hired or grow them during vacation.

5. Disney World is its own city

Four years after opening Disneyland's doors in 1955, Walt Disney became convinced that it was time to expand his franchise. After scouting several locations, he decided on a plot of land in Orlando, Florida. But there was a major obstacle standing in his way.

The land spilled over into two counties, meaning the task of constructing Disney World would require navigating the bureaucracies of two local governments. To skirt the issue, Disney petitioned the Florida State legislature to let the company govern its own land, essentially making Disney World a separate city.

The request wasn't as novel as it may seem, however. Governments often create special districts for private companies because the arrangement is mutually beneficial.

The company wins by receiving more power over things such as building codes and tax-free bonds, while the local government saves money on providing infrastructure. In the end, the state gets an economy-boosting business that it paid little to help build.

So, that's what Florida did. On May 12, 1967, the Reedy Creek Improvement District was born. Governed by a board of supervisors, the agency has powers typically reserved for city and county governments.

It has the authority to open schools, create its own criminal justice system, and open a nuclear power plant -- although it hasn't chosen to do any of those things yet. The company also holds all of the seats on the board, and it can always count on its residents' support. After all, they're all Disney employees.

6. They paint the town green

If you look beyond the fantasy of the Magic Kingdom, Disney hopes you won't see anything at all. The less-than-magical parts of the park, such as fences, garbage bins, and administrative buildings, are all coated in a color known as "Go Away Green" -- a shade that's meant to help things blend in with the landscaping.

According to Disney officials, there's no set formula for the color, but that hasn't stopped die-hard fans from trying to recreate it.

One enthusiast collected paint chips from the park and took them to The Home Depot, where he supposedly found an exact match -- useful knowledge if you're looking to fade into the background at Disneyland.

7. You can shoot hoops inside a mountain

Disneyland's Matterhorn is best known for its bobsled-like roller coaster that twists down the giant peak. But few people outside the park know that deep inside the 147-ft. mountain lurks a basketball court. How did Disneyland become a place where your hoop dreams could come true?

After construction of the Matterhorn was completed in 1959, the roller coaster occupied the bottom two-thirds of the mountain, while the top third remained empty. What to do with the extra space?

Disney employees voted to put in a basketball court. Because a regulation court wouldn't fit inside the mountaintop (sometimes magic can't trump physics), only one goal was installed.

As for the story about the court being installed to skirt building ordinances, that's just an urban legend.

8. There's a speakeasy

Hidden behind a dull green door in Disneyland's New Orleans Square is one of the park's most exclusive and mysterious attractions: a VIP lounge called Club 33.

Walt Disney built the club as a secret hideaway for dignitaries and celebrities, and he even went to New Orleans to personally pick out the knickknacks for the interior. During the 44 years that Club 33 has been operational, it's served the likes of Johnny Depp, Elton John, and scads of executives from companies such as Boeing, Chevron, and AT&T.

But if you're hoping to join, you'll have to be patient. It takes about 10 years to get off the waiting list, after which you'll have to fork over $10,000 in initiation fees and another $3,500 each year that you're a member.

But it's worth it; Club 33 is the only place at Disneyland where you can ditch the kids for a cocktail.

Virual Reality & Disneyland

In 1955, Walt Disney Imagineers achieved virtual reality with Disneyland. Eight Imagineering principles explain how they did it...
Eight Principles of Imagineering

According to Disney historian Alex Wright and contributors to The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland, Imagineering consists of the following eight basic principles.

1. Area Development: “The interstitial spaces between the attractions, restaurants, and shops. This includes landscaping, architecture, propping, show elements, and special enhancements intended to expand the experience.”

2. Blue Sky: “The early stages in the idea-generation process when anything is possible. There are not yet any considerations taken into account that might rein in the creative process. At this point, the sky’s the limit!”

3. Brainstorm: “A gathering for the purpose of generating as many ideas as possible in the shortest time possible. We hold many brainstorming sessions at WDI [Walt Disney Imagineering], always looking for the best ideas.” The rules include remembering that there is no such thing as a bad idea and that nothing should stifle the flow of ideas.

4. Dark Ride: “A term often used to describe the charming Fantasyland attractions, among others, housed more or less completely inside a show building, which allows for greater isolation of show elements and light control, as needed.”

5. Elevation: “A drawing of a true frontal view of an object—usually a building—often drawn from multiple sides, eliminating the perspective that you would see in the real world, for clarity in the design and to lead construction activities.”

6. Kinetics: “Movement and motion in a scene that give it life and energy. This can come from moving vehicles, active signage, changes in lighting, special effects, or even hanging banners or flags that move as the wind blows.”

7. Plussing: “A word derived from Walt’s penchant for always trying to make an idea better. Imagineers are continually trying to plus work, even after it’s ‘finished.’”

8. Show: “Everything we put ‘onstage’ in a Disney park. Walt believed that everything we put out for the Guests in our parks was part of a big show, so much of our terminology originated in the show business world. With that in mind, ‘show’ becomes for us a very broad term that includes just about anything our Guests see, hear, smell, or come in contact with during their visit to any of our parks or resorts.”

Source: The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland by Alex Wright and the Imagineers (Disney Editions, 2008).

Now Is the Time for the Future

At the entrance to the original 1955 Tomorrowland, the first attraction to come into view was a tall clock structure. This was the Clock of the World, which declared that now is the time for the future. This clock was intended to symbolize the incredible futuristic world about to be entered. Standing more than 17 feet tall, the clock looked much like a squeezed soda can topped with a half sphere, gold-spiked anodized aluminum sun and a stylized silver crescent Man in the Moon face. The blue tiles encircling its base depicted the vast universe.

Few passersby stopped to notice that the timepiece showed not only the time in Anaheim, California, but also around the world. Other than serving as a convenient place for parents to meet their kids, the clock rapidly faded into obscurity. The towering red-and-white TWA Rocket was a much more-remembered symbol of Tomorrowland.

The Clock of the World is now gone, with only some first-generation Disneylanders able to recall it. The clock continued to faithfully perform its timekeeping duties until it was removed in 1966, along with the widespread demolition of the original 1955 Tomorrowland. The exiting of the clock was captured in a photo showing the timepiece, minus its top ornamentation, being hauled away with the lower edge of its blue “universe” mosaic tiles broken off at the base.

Sometimes the future can be treated rather shabbily.

Imagineering Realism And Fantasy

To realize his Disneyland vision, Walt Disney assembled a talented team of Imagineers, who would transform ideas and dreams into reality. Looking up at the second-floor windows along Disneyland’s Main Street, you can see painted signs with the names of people and their businesses. While the businesses are somewhat fictitious, the people are not. These are names of Imagineers—such as Harper Goff, Ken Anderson, Herb Ryman, and Sam McKim —and others who played significant roles in making Disneyland happen. Even Walt Disney’s father, Elias Disney, has a window with his name painted on it with “Contractor Est. 1895” listed.

Goff, with his background in designing movie sets, would lend a hand with Main Street and the Jungle Cruise ride. Anderson, trained as an architect and all-around designer, worked on many last-minute Disneyland projects. Ryman, a versatile artist who rendered the dazzling overview of Disneyland in 1953, would later help conceptualize New Orleans Square. McKim, a multitalented artist, rendered concept sketches for Disneyland and other Disney projects.

These and many other Imagineers to follow helped dream and bring Disneyland into existence.

VISIONS: Imagineers in Search of the Future
Gary Dehrer
The Futurist
March-April 2011
http://www.wfs.org/content/visions-imagineers-search-future

Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland Park

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/special-offers/mickeys-halloween-party/

Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland Park

The popular Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party from Disney California Adventure Park has been transformed into a bewitching event at Disneyland Park! Scare up your favorite costume for an evening of spirited attractions, treats, and more!

Event Dates

•October 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29 and 31

Times
•Tuesday Nights: 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
•Fridays and Halloween Night: 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Advance Purchase Ticket Prices*
•$49 Special Discount for These Dates
October 1, 5, 12, 19 and 26

Day-of-Event Ticket Prices*

•$54 If Purchased and Used on These Dates:
October 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22 and 26

•$59 If Purchased and Used on These Dates:
October 29 and 31
All Dates

•Ages Two and Under: No Charge!

Special Annual Passholder Prices

Buy your tickets now and print them at home or call (714) 781-4400. Guests under age 18 must have parent or guardian permission to call.

Mickey the Mason

http://www.ocweekly.com/2003-02-20/food/mickey-the-mason
Mickey the Mason
Behind the door of Uncle Walts exclusive Club 33
Dan Kapelovitz
Thursday, Feb 20 2003

Deep in the heart of the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland's semi-secret restaurant Club 33 beats like a pacemaker. Officially, the club is located at 33 Rue Royale in New Orleans Square, near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. A decorative "33" and an intercom next to a French Quarter-style door are the only markers of the club's entrance. Disneyland's info line says 33 is the product of Walt Disney's "vision of a quiet, elegant place where he could entertain special guests." Sadly, Jesus had other plans, and Mickey Mouse's pappy ascended to that Magic Kingdom in the sky five months before the club's 1967 completion.

With Walt gone, it was decided to allow the public to dine there—or, rather, some of the public. Only card-carrying Club 33 members and their guests can enter the exclusive club. Individual gold memberships run $7,500, plus $2,500 in annual dues. Even if one does have this kind of excess income, there's a multiyear waiting list.

Luckily, W.B. Shaffner and Ana Medina—former owners of Archaic Idiot, a groovy, since-shuttered East Hollywood oddities shop—number among their many ex-customers a Club 33 member. They obtained passes for themselves and psychedelic-sex-cult priestess Giddle Partridge, Death in June front man Douglas Pearce, and noise-music pioneer/Disneyland fanatic Boyd Rice. And me.

After buzzing us in, the hostess directed us to the second-floor dining facilities, decorated with 19th-century antiques and reproductions. There's an oak telephone based on the one in the 1967 Disney film The Happiest Millionaire. Ornate, iron-railed balconies overlook the park's "Mississippi River." In the women's bathroom, ladies sit on an actual throne strategically placed over a waiting toilet. At one time, the club featured hidden microphones and speakers. Although it's rumored that these were installed so Walt could eavesdrop on guests, officially they allowed a Disney performer to entertain dignitaries by talking to them through one of several animatronic birds.

The number 33 is omnipresent; even foil butter wrappers are ordained with the mystical number. Disney literature insists the number is derived from the address. Yet pseudo-addresses on faux streets are obviously whatever Disneyland wants them to be. So why 33? One theory is that Walt Disney was a 33rd Degree Freemason, the order's highest level. And that number's significance? It's the age Jesus was said to have been when he was crucified. However, the Internet urban-legend debunkers at Snopes.com give their own elaborate explanation: after Walt passed away, 33 of the 47 amusement-park participants voted to create the semi-public club. This seems even less likely than the Freemason theory. Could Snopes.com be part of an elaborate Masonic conspiracy? Rice, an avid student of religious symbolism who has dined at the club a few times, says he looks for overt Masonic imagery whenever he's there. The closest he has found to Masonic masonry is at the top of the windows, where there are designs that are almost shaped like an eye.

The staff is superfriendly in that Disneyland way. One extra-supernice waiter dressed in the blue Club 33 uniform told us '70s pop idol Bobby Sherman is a long-standing member who visits often and brings presents to club employees. His autobiography, Bobby Sherman: Still Remembering You, suggests the guy is obsessed with Disneyland. The former star of such TV shows as Here Come the Bridesand Getting Togetherhas made three elaborate scale models of the amusement park, the first when he was only 13.

The cuisine is by far the best in all the land of Disney, which, in itself, isn't saying much. We each ordered the all-you-can-eat buffet—tasty cold cuts, chicken, fruit, beef, a variety of salads, artichoke hearts and pasta dishes prepared by a chef any way you desire. The buffet costs $47, but club guests receive free admission to both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Wine, however, is extra.

Delighted to be in the only place in Disneyland that serves alcohol, Pearce ordered bottle after bottle of chardonnay. Luckily, the Goth rocker from Down Under had plenty of cash in his kangaroo-testicle pouch. We paid the bill and left the heavenly serenity of Club 33 for the reenacted hell of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Club 33 is located at 33 Rue Royale, New Orleans Square, Disneyland. It's members-only.

Disneyland Memorial Orgy

http://paulkrassner.com/

Disneyland Memorial Orgy

In 1967, Paul Krassner published Mad artist Wally Wood’s parody as a centerspread for his satirical magazine, The Realist, and then as a poster. Now here it is, available again, the original poster on high-quality paper, digitally colored, 18"x24" – suitable for framing – mailed in a protective tube.

–for $35.00 (plus $3 S&H)

True or False: 10 Common Travel Beliefs

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-22859262;_ylc=X3oDMTF1aWZva3I4BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDMjcxOTQ4MQRzZWMDZnAtdG9kYXltb2QEc2xrAzEwYmVsaWVmcy0yMDA4LTA0LTMw

True or False: 10 Common Travel Beliefs
Have you heard that New Yorkers are rude, London is rainy, and China is just a shovel away? Here, the truth behind travel rumors

The Rumor: London is always gray and rainy, and the food is terrible.
The Truth: "In terms of rainfall, it's actually low on the list," says Nicole Mitchell, a Weather Channel meteorologist. (The statistics: London gets 23 inches a year, while, on average, supposedly sunny Miami gets a whopping 60 and soggy Seattle gets 39.) "Because London is coastal, it gets drizzly during the winter. But, as with any place, you have to pick the right time to visit," says Mitchell. (She recommends the summer, when it's warmer and sunnier.) And as for the local fare, it has come a long way since the days of ubiquitous bangers and mash. "There was a time when English food was, by definition, bad food, but that reputation is about 10 years out of date," says Tim Zagat, a cofounder of Zagat Survey, a publisher of international restaurant guides. "Now it is one of the best places in the world to eat." (The turnaround is due in part to the increased availability of fresh ingredients.)

The Rumor: It is rude to make eye contact during conversation in Japan.
The Truth: In the Land of the Rising Sun, do not avert your gaze just yet. "That used to be the rule, back in the old days, during the Meiji and Taisho eras (the late 1800s and early 1900s)," explains Robert Whiting, a Japanese-culture expert and the author of "The Samurai Way of Baseball." "It was considered disrespectful, especially when talking to a superior." These days, however, "people in Japan act just like people in the West. Not making eye contact would be considered a bit odd when talking to someone, even the emperor," says Whiting.

The Rumor: Venice is sinking.
The Truth: Not so much, says Fabio Carrera, a native of Venice and a professor of urban studies and planning at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts. If by sinking you mean that the land is going under and losing elevation, then, no, that is no longer true," says Carrera. Once upon a time — from around 1900 up until the 1970s — Venice did dip deeper into the water, by nearly five inches, because the aquifer beneath it was being drained to provide water to the mainland. "When people realized what was happening, they stopped pumping water out, and Venice rebounded by about half an inch," says Carrera.

Still, the city is not totally out of hot water. Thanks to global warming and rising sea levels, Venice — along with other low-lying locales, like New Orleans — remains vulnerable to flooding. But as long as it stays one step ahead of the problem by incorporating preventive measures, like the underwater floodgates currently being constructed, Venice should be the home of many a piazza (and pigeon) for years to come.

The Rumor: New Yorkers are rude.
The Truth: Fuhgeddaboudit! "It's absolutely false that New Yorkers are unfriendly — they may seem standoffish at first, but that's just concealing a very big heart," insists Ed Koch, a former New York mayor and a quintessential New Yorker. (Hey, someone who appeared in "The Muppets Take Manhattan" should know.) So what is with the gruff exterior, then? Call it a coping mechanism for living in a city of more than 8 million people. "We believe that people want their own space, so we don't intrude unless asked for assistance. But if you're visiting from out of town, just walk over to any New Yorker and he'll immediately help you out," says Koch. And rather than feeling upset about a brusque cab driver or a bagel guy who seems to toss your change at you, remember that they are just trying to keep the wheels in motion. "People here want to help you get on with your day!" says Koch.

The Rumor: Afternoon thunderstorms in Florida always pass within an hour.
The Truth: "This does not always happen, but a lot of storms are pretty quick," says meteorologist Nicole Mitchell. "In the heat of the afternoon, there is enough of a contrast between the slightly cooler ocean air temperature and the warmer air temperature over land to trigger storms," she says. "By late afternoon, there is less of a contrast and you lose the trigger for the storms, so they start dying out." And Florida is not the only place you should keep an umbrella handy. Mitchell says the same conditions exist up and down the Gulf Coast, making the weather in places such as Biloxi, Miss.; Mobile, Ala.; and New Orleans equally erratic.

The Rumor: South of the equator, toilet water swirls in the opposite direction.
The Truth: This one goes straight down the commode. Wondering where that crackpot theory originated? "South of the equator, tornadoes go clockwise, while north of the equator, they go counterclockwise, because of the earth's rotation and something called Coriolis force. In principle, the same would happen to water in a toilet or a bath," explains Michael Goodchild, a professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a 2007 recipient of the field's highest honor, the Prix Vautrin Lud. "But the effect of Coriolis force on a small scale is very weak and outweighed by other forces, like the relative positions of the inlet faucet and the plug hole."

The Rumor: The Leaning Tower of Pisa will eventually topple over.
The Truth: It seems inevitable that the tilting medieval bell tower will take a dive someday. But the structure, which developed its famous wonky posture when its foundation settled into the soft ground beneath it, is actually on surprisingly solid footing. About 10 years ago, the base of the tower was reinforced with a combination of concrete and other bracing methods, decreasing the lean by 17 inches to 13 feet 6 inches. "It was the culmination of years of work and planning — the new foundation will last indefinitely," says Donald Friedman, a structural engineer at Old Structures Engineering, in New York City. "It is not going to tip. Now it has the heaviest foundation of anything in that whole city!"

The Rumor: In Russia, locally made vodka is cheaper than water.
The Truth: The answer is a flat-out nyet, says Paul Richardson, who has visited the country more than 20 times and is the publisher of Russian Life magazine. While locally made vodka can be nearly half as cheap in Russia as the imported stuff we buy here — prices start at around $2 a bottle in Moscow — it still outprices water by a long shot.

The Rumor: If you dug a hole straight through the Earth, you would probably make it to China.
The Truth: "It depends on where you start out," says author Michael Goodchild. "If you dug through the center of the Earth, you would emerge at a point opposite to where you started," he says. "Most of the time, if you started from land, you would end in water. But you would end up in China if you started digging in northern Chile." Oh yeah, there is one more little catch. Says Goodchild, "You would need a machine that could form a tunnel through liquid metal at a temperature of around 5,000 degrees." Um, try eBay?

The Rumor: There is a top-secret city beneath Disneyland.
The Truth: Legend has it that there's a top-secret command center under the theme park in Anaheim, Calif., but, alas, not even a wave of Tinker Bell's wand could make this a reality. "There is not much under there — certainly not a city," says Bob Sehlinger, who has visited the park hundreds of times over the past 20 years and recently wrote "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2008." It is very likely that this rumor stems from a case of mistaken identity. As it turns out, sister amusement park Disney World, in Orlando, Fla., does have a subterranean setup of sorts, though it is not quite a metropolis. "In Disney World, there is something called utilidors — Disney-speak for a huge system of tunnels under the park, which allow costumed cast members to scurry underneath the property," explains Sehlinger.

Steve Martin's Orange County

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1942721.php

Saturday, December 15, 2007
Take a tour of comedian Steve Martin's Orange County
The comedian and writer grew up in Garden Grove, worked at Disneyland as a kid and cut his teeth as a performer at Knott's.
By PETER LARSEN
The Orange County Register

If we are shaped by the places we go and people we know in our childhoods, then Steve Martin is an absolute product of Orange County in the '50s and '60s.

From the well-known outlines of the actor-comedian-writer's life we already knew that Martin grew up in Garden Grove, worked at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm as a teen, and launched his career as a comic in the long-gone folk clubs here some 40 years ago.

But with the recent arrival of "Born Standing Up" (Scribner, $25), Martin's memoir of the first half of his life, the details of his years here – the significant places on the map of his life – are revealed in the star's own words and memories.

So with a stack of Post-its and a close eye for local color, we embarked on a journey through Martin's back pages, looking to piece together this travel guide to the star's life in the O.C.

GARDEN GROVE BOUND

Born in Waco, Texas, Martin moved to Los Angeles when he was 5, partly because his father, Glenn, wanted to get into show business. When that plan quickly fizzled, Glenn Martin moved into real estate, and when Martin was 10, the family bought a brand-new house for $16,000 in Garden Grove.

"This area of Orange County gleamed with newness, and the move enabled me to place my small hand on Opportunity's doorknob."

DISNEYLAND DEBUTS

Not long after Martin moved to Garden Grove, Disneyland opened its doors. A friend told him they were hiring kids to sell guidebooks, and Martin sped to the theme park on his bicycle and got the job.

"Disneyland, and the idea of it, seemed so glorious that I believed it should be in some faraway, impossible-to-visit Shangri-la, not two miles from the house where I was about to grow up."

THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE REVUE

After selling his guidebooks, Martin would roam Disneyland, hanging out in the magic shop, with the trick roper and especially at the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland– which remains today. He memorized all of comic Wally Boag's routines, and at least subconsciously noticed his knack for making balloon animals while telling jokes.

"My fantasy was that one day Wally would be sick with the flu, and a desperate stage manager would come out and ask the audience if there was an adolescent boy who could possibly fill in."

MERLIN'S MAGIC SHOP

At Merlin's Magic Shop in Fantasyland– now the Castle Heraldry Shoppe – Martin likewise studied magician Jim Barlow's routine, and when he was 15 was hired to work there with Barlow. The shop sold gags like the arrow-through-head and nose glasses – both of which Martin incorporated years later in his stand-up act. Standing behind the counter, Martin did tricks and learned to work a crowd.

"I tried my first jokes – all lifted from Jim's patter – and had my first audience that wasn't friends or family."

HIGH SCHOOL DAYS

Martin attended Rancho Alamitos High School until 1962, when changes in school district boundaries transferred him to Garden Grove High School, a change he decided to use to make over his image – at least his image of himself.

"I was happy to discard my old personality and adopt a new one defined by the word of the day, 'nonconformist.' Of course, the difference between my old personality and my new personality was probably imperceptible, so I was lucky to have all-new classmates who would not remember my old conformist ways."

ON TO COLLEGE

After graduating from Garden Grove High School, Martin enrolled at Santa Ana Junior College, taking classes in theater and English poetry. Soon after he heard that Knott's Berry Farm was looking for entertainers and decided to take a shot.

"One afternoon I successfully auditioned with my thin magic act at a small theater on the grounds, making this the second happiest day of my life so far."

THE BIRD CAGE THEATRE

The Bird Cage Theatre, in the Ghost Town at Knott's Berry Farm, presented old-fashioned melodramas (it's still in use, too, though only on Christmas and Halloween). And it was there that Martin performed between the ages of 18 and 22. But mostly he was starting to learn his craft – even if he wasn't getting rich doing so.

"I was being paid two dollars a show, twenty-five shows a week. Even in 1963, the rate was considered low."

THE GOLDEN BEAR

With Kathy Westmoreland, a high school friend and fellow Bird Cage performer, Martin developed a hillbilly comedy routine, which they worked on at Knott's before taking it down to the Golden Bear folk club in Huntington Beach, where once and future stars such as Jackson Browne (another O.C. boy) and John Mayall would play. It was, Martin writes, a much tougher audience.

"My belief in the inevitability of our success charged me up before, during, and after the show, and it was not until days later when I acknowledged to myself that our debut in the tougher world of real show business had been met with only a polite response."

MAKING THE ROUNDS

After transferring to Long Beach State College– now Cal State Long Beach – and while still working at the Bird Cage, Martin slowly morphed his magic act into a comedy routine he took out to perform in the folk clubs of Orange County. His regular stops included the Prison of Socrates on Balboa Island (now a B.J.'s pizzeria), the Mecca in Buena Park (now Aloha Family Billiards), the Paradox in Tustin (part of the Jamestown Village shopping center), and Rouge et Noir in Seal Beach,

"I now had my first job outside Knott's Berry Farm (after being hired at the Prison of Socrates), which presented a particular difficulty. It was one thing to do five minutes at the Bird Cage … but it was another thing to do twenty minutes for paying customers."

GARDEN GROVE IN L.A.

As his comedy career slowly developed throughout the '60s, Martin eventually landed a job writing for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and moved to Laurel Canyon in Hollywood. Even there, though, he benefited from old ties to Garden Grove, reconnecting with Bill McEuen– the older brother of high school friend and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member John McEuen– who became Martin's manager for most of his stand-up career.

"He had banged his way out nowhere, too, living just a few miles from me in Garden Grove and growing up under the thumb of a critical father. He had long hair before it was fashionable and kept it not only after it was unfashionable but forever."

FAME BACK AT HOME

Martin worked the comedy circuit in small clubs around the nation and eventually on TV talk shows, finally working his way up to "The Tonight Show" and Johnny Carson in the early '70s. By the mid-'70s, his career was ready to explode, thanks to exposure on the then-new "Saturday Night Live" and hit comedy albums "Let's Get Small" and "A Wild and Crazy Guy." Back in Orange County – where his parents lived in Laguna Beach for the last three decades of their lives – Glenn and Mary Martin reacted differently to their son's new fame: his mother delighted by; his father, with whom the book details his difficult relationship, less.

"After my first appearance on 'Saturday Night Live,' (my father) wrote a bad review of me in his newsletter for the Newport Beach Association of Realtors, of which he was president: 'His performance did nothing to further his career.' Later, shamefaced, my father told me that his best friend had come into his office holding the newsletter, placed it on his desk, and shaken his head sternly, indicating a wordless 'This is wrong.'"

SAYING GOODBYES

Martin quit his stand-up career for the movies in the early '80s – partly from the isolation of the huge fame he'd found, partly because he felt he'd reached the end of what he could do in comedy. And while his father didn't care much for his debut movie, "The Jerk" – "He's no Charlie Chaplin," was all Glenn said after seeing it – they did eventually reconcile and finally express their love for each other by his death in 1997.

By 2002, Mary Martin was in failing health at her home in Laguna Beach, and after saying goodbye to his dying mother, he left the house, driving home to Los Angeles but then finding himself drawn back to Knott's and the Bird Cage. Slipping into the park through a back gate, he made his way to the now-little-used theater, remembering the secret way to enter without a key. And standing there on the darkened stage, Martin says, he thought back over the previous four decades, reflecting on a life shaped mostly by his earlier experiences in Orange County.

"Driving home along the Santa Ana Freeway … I asked myself what it was that had made this place capable of inducing in me such a powerful nostalgic shock. The answer floated clearly into my consciousness as though I had asked the question of a Magic 8-Ball: I wanted to be there again, if only for a day, indulging in high spirits and high jinks, before I turned professional, before comedy became serious."

Contact the writer: 714-796-7787 or plarsen@ocregister.com