What's the F***ing Difference? Let me tell you!

It has come to our attention several times that many people do not know the difference between Disneyland and Disney World.  To us, the differences are large (and many), so it's a tad frustrating to answer "How was your vacation is Disneyland?" with "Well, we didn't go to Disneyland..."

'Trivial', you say! Not to us!

We will now attempt to explain the key differences between these 2 amazing vacation destinations -

DISNEYLAND:

The first of Walt Disney's theme parks, this location (Anaheim, California) was opened on July 17th, 1955 and holds the distinction of being the only theme park to be designed, built, opened, and operated by Walt himself. Disneyland property is 500 acres of land surrounded by a city in CA. Its size is restricted by the city itself, as Walt did not envision the mass consumerism and cheap (and rather ugly) elements that would spring up around the gates of Disneyland and skew his vision even further. He vowed to avoid this with Walt Disney World. 

Disney's California Adventure Park(DCA) was the most recent addition to Disneyland. This 55 acre park was added to Disneyland on February 8th, 2001 and in conjunction with the on-property hotels. The name of the park was changed from Disneyland to Disneyland Resort to create a distinction between it and its distant cousins around the world. Sadly DCA has not seen the attendance it was hoping for, and a major expansion (internally) and upgrades are hoping to increase numbers in the coming years.

Attendance Fact: There are nearly 40,000 daily visitors at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. That’s like if the entire city of Annapolis, Maryland decided to go to Disneyland one day. And even more people go on the busier days!

Now, the difference:

WALT DISNEY WORLD (WDW):

The second of Disney's theme parks. Sadly Walt passed away (December 15, 1966) before it was completed and opened on October 1st, 1971 in Orlando, Florida with the Magic Kingdom theme park.   Since then,  additional theme parks were added starting with Epcot (on October 1, 1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios (on May 1, 1989), and Disney's Animal Kingdom (on April 22, 1998), and two water parks - Typhoon Lagoon (1989) and Blizzard Beach (1995).

At present, WDW has 32 resorts and hotels operating on-property (22 of which are Disney owned and operated) and the entire complex is considered a separate county. WDW has their own Board and Committee and their own municipality services (including, fire, police, ambulance, monorail, bus service, etc) all under the name Reedy Creek Improvement District.

A few interesting facts about WDW:

• More than 5,000 cast members are dedicated to maintenance and engineering, including 750 horticulturists and 600 painters.
  
• Disney spends more than $100 million every year on maintenance at the Magic Kingdom.
• In 2003, $6 million was spent on renovating its Crystal Palace Restaurant. 90% of guests say that the upkeep and cleanliness of the Magic Kingdom are excellent or very good.
• The streets in the parks are steam cleaned every night.
• There are cast members permanently assigned to painting the antique carousel horses; they use genuine gold leaf.
• There is a tree farm on site so that when a mature tree needs to be replaced, a thirty-year-old tree will be available to replace it.
• The resort features a Automated Vacuum Collection system for waste disposal; just one of two places in the USA to do so.

WDW is broken down into 4 major park and resort locations.
Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Hollywood Studios (previously MGM Studios)
Animal Kingdom

There are of course additional areas within these areas (water parks, resorts, etc) as well as additional shopping (Downtown Disney) and Entertainment areas (Pleasure island-closed September 27th, 2008 and Disney's Boardwalk).

WDW employs more than 63,000 people, spending more than $1.1 billion on payroll and $478 million on benefits each year. The largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World Resort has more than 3,000 job classifications.

The WDW owned property is exactly 30,000 acres, however only 10,000 is currently in use with 10,000 acres that will never be developed (saved purely for conservation efforts) and another 10,000 that is available for further expansion of the WDW parks and properties.

Attendance Fact: There are roughly 117,260 daily visitors at Walt Disney World just southwest of Orlando, Florida. This includes all four theme parks but doesn't not include people going to the two water parks, Pleasure Island/Downtown Disney, Disney Resorts, or just coming to use the recreation (golf, mini golf, Sammy Duvall's, etc.).

Size does matter! As you can see, 500 acres v/s 10,000 acres is a huge difference, but that isn't the only difference. Some things in both DL and WDW are similar, but not the same size.  Both theme parks have:  

• Pirates of the Caribbean: WDW's is actually much shorter than DL's
  
• It's a Small World: DL's goes outside, while WDW's is strictly contained indoors
• Haunted Mansion: The stretching room goes down in DL, while the ceiling stretches upward in WDW. Also, DL decorates the Haunted Mansion with a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme for the Halloween-Christmas seasons each year.
  
• Enchanted Tiki Room: DL retains the original Tiki Room music and script, while WDW has changed in dramatically (though not to our personal liking)
• Matterhorn/Big Thunder Railroad: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is larger and considerably more detailed in WDW than the original Matterhorn in DL.
  
• Autopia/Tomorrowland Speedway: The only remaining Tomorrowland attraction from DL's opening day, Autopia is considered a much more fun ride than the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway at WDW. The Autopia cars each have their own personality, and you get to travel through different terrains on the journey – including an off-road section!
  
• Splash Mountain: Though nearly identical in both DL and WDW, the order of the scenes are changed and it is a common opinion that the logs in WDW are much more comfortable.
  

We hope that clears everything up!  Any questions?

RIP Ronnie Drew

I am sad to say (for those who did not know) that the amazing Ronnie Drew has passed away after a long battle with cancer. If you are not aware of who Ronnie Drew is, then you have missed one of the most incredible musicians and voices of our time.

This was posted in a Dublin paper:
Legendary folk singer Ronnie Drew has died at the age of 73, after a lengthy illness.
It is understood the founding member of the Dubliners passed away this afternoon at St Vincent’s hospital in Dublin.
Born in Dublin in September 1934, Ronnie Drew founded the group that would later be known as The Dubliners in 1962 and he also went on to pursue a solo career from 1995.
He recorded with many artists including Christy Moore and The Pogues, and in August 2006 his handprints were added outside the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.
Two years ago, it emerged Ronnie Drew was undergoing treatment for cancer.
As his health declined, a number of famous Irish musicians released a song called “The Ballad of Ronnie Drew” as a tribute to him.
His wife Deirdre died last year. He is survived by his two children and five grandchildren.

If you have never experienced Ronnie's singing and are even a little interested in traditional Irish music or this amazing man, check out the following links.

The Dubliners - In The Rare Old Times- A wonderful song about the decline of tradition and how capitalism and progress affected older generations.


Despite the death of his wife and fading health, Ronnie went back into the studio last year to record with my friends Dropkick Murphys for their spin on an old classic called Flannigan's Ball. (warning:This is a Dropkick at their best, so be aware that this is a much harder, rocking song).


Thanks for the the amazing music Ronnie, though I never had the chance to play with you live, rest assured I have sang my heart out and struck my Bodhrán many times to your work. Thank you again for the inspiration and the memories, you will never be forgotten.
Rest In Peace Mr Drew

And now for... Naked Mohawk Babies on Carrots!!

OK, so last night some how (in my sleep) I seemed to have twisted or messed up my back in my usual "how is that possible" fashion. So here I sit on the couch with my loving wife snickering at a blog with pictures of cake disasters and came across this beauty.

I swear to you it hurts a bit when I laugh right now and I was almost in tears and got light-headed from seeing this. It is truly one of the most bizarre images I have ever seen, not to mention that it is on an actual cake.

Meeting a Legend

Surprise!  Yep, I (Darren) am back again with another installment of what I like to call a, “ I should have written this for the blog ages ago, but didn’t” post.  Anyway...though I have recently taken up a new makeup position, this post is regarding events about 2 months ago when I was still working at Weta Workshop.

For those who have never heard of Dick Smith, he is basically the “Godfather of TV/Movie makeup” and a living legend in the business. Luckily, I had the great pleasure of not only meeting Dick when he came to visit us at the Workshop, but actually working with him off and on for the two weeks he was with us.

During the time I had with him, we talked about everything from the best way to remove bubbles from molds, to health and nutrition, even politics.  Dick (as he prefers to be called, no Mr. Smith thank you) is a brilliant man and though even he admits that his mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be, has so very much to teach (even outside of the makeup field).  One day I found myself sitting with him and my writing/project partner Bill Hunt, having lunch and talking about such random topics as the dangers of politics vs. religion and the hazards of soymilk and fluoride.  The wealth of knowledge that this man brings to the table (figuratively and literally) is awe-inspiring and I was truly humbled to be in his presence if only for a few short weeks.

I now email Dick off and on, with questions or comments or just general inquires about his health and family. The fact that I can happily call Dick a friend is a testament to how far I have come both professionally and personally. He has seen my work, critiqued it, and after many conversations has thanked me for my insight and knowledge. This experience has been, and will continue to be, an amazing addition to my life.

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Rest In Peace STAN and thank you...