Once again today, I take you back to 1996, when I had the good fortune of qualifying for a spot in the Disney Store National Trivia Showdown hosted at Disneyland. The actual competition took place in the Festival of Fools amphitheater and took on the flavor of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney's big animated release that year.
It was then that I met Dave Smith for the first time. For those who aren't familiar with Dave, he started the Walt Disney Archives in 1970 and served as Archives Director for forty years, retiring recently as a Disney Legend. For the trivia finalists that year, Dave hosted a special behind-the-scenes tour of Disneyland and the Archives. Previously, I shared with you moments from our visits to Club 33 and Walt Disney's firehouse apartment, but we got to see so much more.
Among the treats that day was a ride on the Lilly Belle. Originally the Grand Canyon observation car, considered Walt's private car on the Disneyland Railroad, it was later renamed Lilly Belle in honor of Walt's wife, Lillian. It's considered the Presidential Coach and is still occasionally used to host VIPs today.
After the train ride, we stepped backstage for a peek at some of the massive support facility that keeps Disneyland magical day in and day out. I recall visits to the machine shop and sign painter, as well as the Circle D Corral, the real working ranch out beyond Frontierland. This is where all the draft horses and other animals that work in the park are cared for. Look closely in the background of this picture, and you may even spot the back side of the Toontown hills, giving you a bit more of an idea where the ranch is located.
We also stopped by the Parade Barn. Since this was October 1996, the original Main Street Electrical Parade was making its final runs through the park before "glowing" away. We had seen the parade the night before, so it was amazing to be able to get this close to a bit of Disneyland history that was still so bright in our memories.
The next stop on our backstage tour of Disneyland was the relatively new Team Disney Anaheim building. Designed by architect Frank Gehry (who also did the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles), Team Disney opened in 1995 as a home to Disneyland's administration, marketing and other departments supporting the park.
Later, our tour moved to Burbank for a look around the Disney Studios lot and a visit to the Walt Disney Archives. Here, Dave showed off some of the Archives most special treasures, including the first ticket sold to Disneyland and a rare drawing of Mickey by Walt himself. We even got to hold a real Oscar (the one for the 1958 True-Life Adventure feature White Wilderness).
Particularly fascinating to me was the original mechanical bird Walt Disney purchased in New Orleans (a duplicate of which is in the Disneyland Dream Suite). It was this piece that inspired the creation of Audio-Animatronics.
Dave also pulled out a box containing a one-of-a-kind item which had only recently been uncovered and turned over to the Archives: the original book from the opening titles of Sleeping Beauty. This piece was on display at the D23 Expo in 2009, but back in 1996 no one had laid eyes on it in more than thirty years. The book was incredible, not just for the intricately jeweled cover, but for the fact that every page as seen on screen was an original painting by Eyvind Earle, the film's background artist.
Overall, it was an amazing day, filled with unusual sights and wonderful experiences I will never forget. On the way out of Disneyland that evening, we even got a sneak preview of the spectacular replacement for the Main Street Electrical Parade, in the form of this sign over the railroad tunnel. It sparkled with fiber optic energy, inviting us back for even more Disneyland fun.
I never did get back to see Light Magic. I only heard the music, but something tells me that was probably for the best.
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