Pinocchio's Village Haus: Themed Cabinet

   In the pantheon of not so great, but kind of fun restaurants...Pinocchio's Village Haus takes the cake.  There is indeed one on EACH coast, both of which fit in the same category.  Truth be told, I prefer the one at Disneyland.
   The theming isn't as over the top as its Walt Disney World cousin. The nuances and subtlety of the restaurant are fun to explore, as opposed to WDW's over the top crazy extensive gaudy theming. (again, I like both....even if it doesn't sound like I do.) Plus, Disneyland has a terrific apple cheddar salad that is quite delicious...
   Here is one of the fun little corners of the Disneyland Village Haus restaurant, straight from Gepetto's work shop.

exterior...duh.

How To Make Epcot's Notorious School Bread!

   So, I've been on a Disney cooking kick lately.  We've already tackled French Markets four cheese gratin, veggie favorite bunny chow, and breakfast icon tonga toast! 
   Today I'm proud to bring you my ULTIMATE NUMBER ONE FAVORITE DISNEY SNACK!!!!! Yes sir! Today we're making that cult favorite, direct from Epcot's Norway pavilion, School Bread.

 
   If anyone attempts this, let me know how it comes out!  We ate everyone one of these over the course of two days.  My tummy still hurts. :)

Halloween Wednesday: Spooky Disney Playlist.

   For this weeks Halloween Wednesday I've made a fun/spooky playlist of Disney songs!  Sure, Grim Grinning Ghosts is on here a few times...but there is also parade and firework music...and a few fun old songs as well.

Concept Art From Fantasia's Dance of the Hours

   I love Fantasia in all its dry pretentious glory. Most people find it rather stiff and usually somewhat unwatchable...but I think of it in opposite terms.  Fluidity, mesmerizing movement, hypnotic.  These are the adjectives that come to mind when I ponder the grandiose vision of Walt.  And, like I said, also quite dry.
   Humor is not the focus here.  Though pretty dry themselves Snow White and Pinocchio both had plenty of gags thrown in for good measure. Fantasia is the first animated classic to take itself almost too seriously.  One exception to the rule is the Dance of the Hours segment, which proves itself a high water mark of ridiculous dichotomy.  A beautiful ballet by Italian composer Amilcare Ponchielli depicting the subtleties of a days time...acted out by ostriches, hippos, and alligators.   WON-DER-FUL.
   Here are some terrific concepts for the piece:

Alice In Wonderland Dark Ride Love.

   If you followed our ridiculous first trip to Disneyland you may have noticed our affinity towards the Alice In Wonderland dark ride.  In fact, Alice ended up being the first attraction that we experienced at Disneyland...tough choice, but somebody had to pull the trigger.
   Opened in 1958 Alice In Wonderland was among the second generation dark rides at Disneyland and not among the elite opening day attractions.  In many ways this helped the attractions appeal. A new attraction opening in the park was always big news and this time Imagineers had enough time to mull the dynamics of the ride over before jumping the gun.
   Although the Disney animated classic version of this story had been relatively overlooked by critics, audiences, and Walt himself...the decision to build an attraction was inspired.  Where the movie (much like the source material) is derailed from the beginning, the attraction's story is squeezed into a short timeframe of three and a half minutes.  All of the important scenes and characters are represented and oddly enough, the story itself flows very well.

  One of my favorite attraction posters. Why is she so scared?

Disney Blog Roundup: 9/22/12

   Whats that you say? Disney Hipsters are going to be in Disney World in less than a month?? Indeed we are friends, and the countdown has become real.  Reservations are all panned out. (Garden Grill on my birthday!!! Wild By Design tour!!!!)  We truly need this vacation...oh, and the Disney Hipster Meet Up should be fun and ridiculous.

   What we were up to this week:

      - We started the week with with Adam's favorite (theoretical) place to sleep in Walt Disney World.

      - I made a fun art project counting down to our trip, told you I was excited!

      - Halloween Wednesdays continue with my Skeleton Dance decorations...

      - Animal Kingdom Artifact was a quick trip through the Expedition Everest queue.

      - We wrapped up the week with my new favorite Disney collectible...

   What our friends were up to:

      - Ryan at Main Street Gazette has some interesting ideas about the Pirates update supposedly coming to the parks...

      - Save Buzzy!!!! Continues over on Wonders Of Life Eterna. This video gave me the shivers...

      - I agree with Major Pepperidge from Gorillas Don't Blog...I want one of THESE in my house.

      - If I were Rich T. from Mouse Troop I would totally have had a claustrophobia freak out being stuck on Nemo's Subs...

      - If there is one thing I can get behind, its fried corn nuggets.  Eating WDW agrees...

      -  Sounds like Estelle enjoyed From Dreamer To Dreamfinder as much as I did! via This Happy Place Blog.

      - 

Wonderful Vintage Disney Sheet Music Pages

   You may remember a few months ago Adam bought me this great Melody Time sheet music.  I was really struck by the great overall design of the thing, and decided to invest some time in researching more Disney sheet music.  Boy! I had no idea there were so many with terrific covers!
   While researching I decided to purchase a few more, in hopes that they will find a way on to our quickly filling wall space...

This one is my favorite...

Animal Kingdom Artifact: A Brisk Walk Through Expedition Everest.

    During our rope drops at Walt Disney World, I am pretty much forbidden to take pictures.  Adam and me HUSTLE our butts from attraction to attraction getting the most out of our random need to be at rope drop. (Even when we are EXHAUSTED from the night before, we will make it to rope drop a good 30 minutes early...this is vacation???)
    I usually manage to snap a few pictures while briskly walking through the queue of Expedition Everest, mind you that I never actually stop to take the picture.  Here are a few from January. :)

   I wish Adam and I would spend the time waiting in this queue...but our mad touring schedule doesn't allow for it.  The theming really is a thing to admire here, where the line is almost as entertaining as the attraction.

Halloween Wednesday: The Skeleton Dance Decoration Idea!

   I love decorating for Halloween! Our home is currently decked out with banners, pumpkins, bats and pumpkin candles! (keep in mind that I have a giant candy corn tattoo...I really love Halloween.)  One of my favorite Disney shorts is 1929's The Skeleton Dance... so I thought I'd create a little homage to those fancy dancers!

Lets spend our evening drawing skeletons. Also, thats my hair, not a hat...

Disney Trip Countdown Chain!

   You know that feeling you get, when your Disney trip is FINALLY ALMOST REALLY HERE...then you realize you still have a whole month left?  I'm sure the anticipation is hard on everyone, and especially families with small children. Why can't we just leave tomorrow???
   Adam and I basically have the same mind frame as small children.  We start getting hyped up for our trips so early that it could be deemed unhealthy.  In fact, I can't get over my post Disney depression until our next trip is booked and locked down.  Having something to look forward to actually makes our hum drum (yeah right.) lives a little brighter.
   Eagerly anticipating our October trip, I created a little project to help the time go by more quickly.  I cut strips of colored construction paper, and listed things that we are looking forward to the most.  There is a piece of paper for every day leading up to our departure, and each day one is torn off.  We relish the idea of the event listed, and get excited all over again.

I used fall colors, to go with our Halloween decorations...

Sleeping Happily Ever After

      You often hear people talking about using certain attractions throughout Disney World for "Nap Time". It's the time to get out of the blazing Florida sun, put up your feet and get in a few moments of zzzzzzz during a long day at the parks. Popular snoozing favorites include the Hall of President's, Ellen's Energy Adventure and Star Tours (Hey!....it rocks me to sleep andddd god knows my Vestibular System would not let me open my eyes).

      Although I don't condone napping in an attaction while experiencing it, I started to realize that I find certain rooms or areas of attraction extremely relaxing for some reason and dream about sleeping in it. Not napping. SLEEPing in it. Like 8 hours of blissful dreams.

 Big Al Cuddle's

Here are some of my favorites:

Sunday Quickie: Defeated By Schoolbread.

   If you spend an evening snacking around the world at Epcot's World Showcase you start to get full pretty fast.  But wait!!!! I haven't eaten my obligatory school bread from Norway's Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe! Sure, I can fit it in my stomach if I try....

   Maybe not so much. This guy is defeated by bread.

Disney Blog Roundup: 9/15/12

   So, the excitement around here is thick.  Our upcoming WDW trip has us both super giddy.  We have basically been planning every night!  Most of all we are super duper stoked to meet some of our online friends at our first ever meet up!

  - We started the week by taking in a brief history of Baroque Hoedown, who knew the composers were such bad asses???

  - I also looked as some fun theming at Paradise Pier at Disney California Adventure.

  - Halloween Wednesday continues with Disney's Halloween Treat!

And now, all the really good stuff:

   - Rounding out one of the BEST SERIES EVER on This Happy Place Blog could could Melissa Sue look ANY CUTER!?!?!  Love it.

   - Over on Imagineer 2017 a good look is taken over the ridiculous complaints about Enchanted Tales With Belle...

   - Though Sarah at Eating WDW wasn't thrilled with her selection I'm stoked about these new drinks at Animal Kingdom! Rum and lemonade? Yes please.

   - The big news of the week is that beer and wine will be served inside the Magic Kingdom! All the details via Disney Food Blog!

   - Main Street Gazette takes a look at the infamous Monorail drinks! Golly, I wish these were still around! :)

Animal Kingdom Artifact: Bamileke Leopard Headdress

   Camaroon is a diverse country on Africa's central west coast.  Among the diversity we find the Bamileke people, who themselves live primarily in the south west of the country.  Known for their beautiful headdresses and masks, ripe with beading, and a strong sense of whimsy.
   Todays artifact is located at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village.  This Leopard headdress would traditionally be worn by leaders of the community, including the chief or fon.

   Can you even imagine balancing this on your head, and still look dignified?  Takes a lot of practice I'm sure...

Halloween Wednesday: Disney's Halloween Treat.

   Disney is kind of the king of compilations.  If you think about it a giant portion of the company's film output was indeed packaged shorts, and then perhaps repackaged.  A lot of times these might be in the form of a themed clip show...and what better theme than Halloween?  If there is one holiday that Disney dips its finger in (out side of the parks anyway) its Halloween.
   As a little kid in the 1980's and early 1990's I grew up with Disney's Halloween Treat, which is indeed one of the better clip shows.  Besides the truly creepy jack-o-lantern host, who is both awful and amazing at the same time, the clips are very well chosen.  They seem all over the place, but actually give a pretty well rounded view of the more frightening Disney animated shorts, plus some great villain songs thrown in for good measure.  I'm probably reading too much into it, but the placement of Mad Madame Mim next to Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain is particularly inspired.

creepy host...

Extensive Theming: Paradise Pier Merchandise Toppers...

   The ability of Disney Imagineers to cram extensive theming into every conceivable nook and cranny has always amazed me.  This feat is even more impressive in an un-inspiring situation...say, a store in a theme park.  One of the better examples of this is the large store at Disney California Adventure's Paradise Pier area...themed to a boardwalk sideshow.
   All decked out with circus tent ceilings and spotlights this store really is a fun place to poke around.  You will likely miss some of the more subtle details.  Atop the merchandise stands are the whimsical and grotesque characters who are in the "show."

A Short History of Baroque Hoedown

   In the late 1960's use of the Moog synthesizer was still relatively new and vastly unheard by the general population.  Electronic pioneers from all over the world were experimenting with these fabulous new toys...not realizing that it would change the way we listen to music forever.  Two of the  pioneers responsible for popularizing this new art was duo Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley.
 

Perrey and Kingsley...

Sunday Quickie: A Few From Epcot's Gran Fiesta Tour

   As much as I hate missing the experience of the attraction, I LITERALLY cannot make it through the Gran Fiesta Tour without taking a photo.  Something about this colorful attraction makes me want to capture every iota of detail.  Here are just a couple random shots from the Mary Blair inspired room.  So beautiful!

Disney Blog Roundup: 9/7/12

   We had a super fun week here at Disney Hipster Headquarters!  I (andrew) am busy prepping the house for all of our Halloween decorations! (this is much more complicated than it sounds...) and Adam is busy learning Winnie The Pooh songs on guitar. Also, I had a really good greek salad today, so thats something.

  - We started the week by looking at the hardest working Disney characters! to celebrate Labor Day!

  - On Tuesday we made vegan Tonga Toast! Yummy! I'm still thinking about it...

   - Then we looked at one of the more charming details at Epcot! The torii gate in Japan!

Enough about us (kinda...) on with the roundup!

   - Let the countdown begin! Melissa Sue is as exited about Food and Wine as we are! bring on the cheese!

   - As a young man with a candy corn tattoo on my elbow, I appreciate Eating WDW's review of the Goth Goodies candy corn!

   - Bratty kids at Disneyland?  I guess so! via Gorillas Don't Blog...

   - I'm so honored to be part of the Dapper Day series on This Happy Place Blog!!!! So much fun!!!!

   - Futureprobe looks at the Hollywood Studios Cars Land rumors....  I'm all for it! :)

   - Ryan at Main Street Gazette  looks at some initial differences in Epcot Centers design! I can't believe out girl is 30 years old! :/

   - You've undoubtedly tried Disney Food Blog's Cupcake Crawl...but how about the Walt Disney World Cheese Crawl!!!!

Animal Kingdom Artifact: A Few From The Arusha Rock Overlook

   The main savanna viewing area at Jambo house is the grandiose, fancifully designed Arusha Rock savanna overlook.  Ripe with terrifically executed rock work, plants, lighting, and the amazing fire pit...the overlook is one of my favorite areas in the world. (not Disney world...the entire world.)
    An extensive look at this area will come in the next few months, in the mean time enjoy a few random shots.

Wally Boag On The Muppet Show

   Disney legend Wally Boag, famous as the longterm original star of the Golden Horseshoe Review at Disneyland, also did many extracurricular activities.  In addition to his day job at Disneyland (which ran from 1955 to 1982) he also found time to appear across the gamut of television shows and movies.   One of the most delightful is his antics on a 1980 episode of The Muppet Show!  His tenure at Disneyland is coming to an end, yet Boag is on point in his performance, refreshed by the new plush surroundings...

Halloween Wednesday: Tokyo Disneyland Halloween Party Commerical

    Welcome to Halloween Wednesdays! For the next two months we will be bringing you little bits of Halloween goodness each wednesday!  It might not be my favorite holiday (that honor goes to Arbor Day...) it is a close second!
    To kick things off here is the ridiculous commercial for Tokyo Disneyland's Halloween party!  Bask in the lively and absurd nature of it...

   If you don't feel like watching this a million times like I do...these two pictures sum it up pretty well...

   That is one EPIC salsbury steak!  Happy (kind of) fall to everyone!  Lets all get cozy and sit around a fire and drink hot chocolate! 

View From World Showcase: Itsukushima Shrine, Torii Gate

   A casual stroll around Epcot's World Showcase can send a design critic into sensory overload.  There is so much to see that it is pretty easy to overlook some of the smaller details.  One piece of extensive theming that you have probably walked past a million times and thought, "Oh gee, that sure is pretty" while continuing on your walk is the Torii Gate.
 The Torii gate, or Gate of Honor is located in the Japan pavilion, on the waters of the World Showcase Lagoon.  Inspired by the gate located at the Itsukurshima Shrine in the city of Hatsukaichi, this is a much smaller version...though awe-inspiring in its own way.  A wonderful frame for Spaceship Earth indeed.

How To Make Vegan Tonga Toast

   In the realm of Disney Cult Foods rarely does a breakfast item rival tonga toast for shear omnipresent notoriety.  The basis of which is simple: heavenly carbs.  Sourdough bread french toast, stuffed with bananas, covered in sugar and cinnamon.  Pretty simple right? Yes indeed!  Here is my version...both vegan and baked (as opposed to deep fried).  Delicious is the word of the day my friends...enjoy.

   Boy that was fun...but now I'm on carb overload.  I need to pack on some pounds so I can hibernate this winter and never leave my house. :)

Happy Labor Day: Five Disney Characters Who Earned A Day Off...

   Here in the states, we're celebrating the un-official end of Summer with a federal holiday.  Yes friends, today is Labor Day...celebrating another year full of hard, strenuous, soul killing work.  Be you a biologist (like Adam) or a hair stylist (like me) we all do our part for the collective whole.
   Of course, there are some who tend to work a bit harder than others,  the collection of notable Disney characters included.  In no particular order, here is a short list of Disney characters who actually deserve the day off...

   Roger: 101 Dalmations
      What? Just because he's British he can't be on the list?  Sure he can.  Roger spends countless hours slaving away at the piano writing wonderful songs for everyone to enjoy!  As Pongo is quick to point out, Roger works a strict schedule, never taking a break until 5PM...and he works at home!  That is dedication!  Take the day off Roger...

Thanks for working hard Roger... Anita really needs a job.

Sunday Quickie: Getting Ready For Halloween

   Our favorite month at Walt Disney World is October.  The weather is nice, the people are (relatively) few, and there is also food and wine.  But, my friends, you don't have to wait another moment to enjoy Halloween decorations around WDW.  In true Disney fashion Halloween is celebrated a full two months, so go take some fabulous photos with pumpkins...