Tag Archives: Disney

Pirates Turns 50!

Posted on by

Over the weekend Disneyland’s beloved attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean turned 50. Yes, believe it or not, the pirates have been pillaging and plundering for a whole half of a century and the attraction has been reimagined across the globe. To celebrate, I whipped up a Pirates parasol featuring the mural of Anne Bonny and Mary Read that is painted on the walls of the attraction shortly after entering. I have a soft spot for these ladies, as they were pretty bad ass, and I wrote a paper about them in high school. You can learn about these amazing women with this article written by one of my favorite historians, Karen Abbott. I also wore a pirate inspired ensemble for the occasion.

I feel like an anniversary such as this is a wonderful occasion to talk about the history of the attraction. Could you ever imagine Pirates of the Caribbean without riding in those little boats? It just seems perfect, doesn’t it? Well, it was almost a plain ol’ wax museum! But by 1963, the wax museum was put on the back burner as Walt Disney looked ahead to the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, where he committed to building four attractions, all of would find homes at Disneyland after the closing of the World’s Fair. They were Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, “it’s a small world”, the Magic Skyway with Ford Motor Company, where guests rode in a new Mustang and witness the progression of history, and this included the Primeval World that would land along the Disneyland Railroad after, and the Carousel of Progress, which left Disneyland in 1973, but still exists in Walt Disney World. But it was “it’s a small world” and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln that really changed the game for Pirates. The success of the boats in “it’s a small world” meant that an ocean voyage type ride was possible. And President Lincoln was the first successful human Audio-Animatronic, leading to giving these would be static pirates, a life all their own!

The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction has seen a series of changes over the years. In 1997 many of the “sexist” elements were changed. Originally pirates chased women, with the exception of a larger woman chasing a scrawny older pirate, this changed to the women chasing the pirates, and the pirates had armfuls of food, to make it seem they were stealing. There was another pirate, dubbed the “Pooped Pirate”, who held a piece of woman’s clothing, and a woman popping out of a barrel behind him. The pirate said some rather lewd things, and he too got a more PC makeover. He became the “Gluttonous Pirate” holding a chicken leg, and a cat replaced the woman. He then talked about how full he was. But after the massive success of the 2003 film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, based on the attraction, film characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa joined the attraction in 2006. And the “Gluttonous Pirate” receive yet another change, Jack replaced the cat, and the chicken leg was replaced with a map, and then the pirate shared how excited he was to have the treasure map, and how Jack will never get his hands on it. Captain Jack joined some other scenes, Captain Barbossa takes the helm of the large pirate ship that is firing its cannons, Davy Jones speaks to Guests through a waterfall, and other lines in the attraction have seen change to accommodate a Jack Sparrow plot.

To learn more about Pirates of the Caribbean, I highly recommend the book Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies by Jason Surrell.

Below you’ll find one of my favorite videos about Pirates, from the Wonderful World of Disney, it gives you a behind the scenes look at the creation of the attraction, its opening day festivities, and a float through, so you can see the original scenes that have since changed.


Outfit
Pirate Hat: Target (during Halloween)
Blouse: Buffalo Exchange
Skirt: Pinup Girl Clothing
Shoes: Re-Mix
Earrings: Aquanetta
Brooch: I honestly don’t remember…
Rings: Belonged to my grandmother
Parasol: Made by Me

What a Guy, that Gaston!

Posted on by

With the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast hitting theaters (I’ll leave my personal opinion out of this), Disney has been doing a lot of promotion and even gave one of their restaurants, Village Haus, a temporary Beauty and the Beast overlay, to become the Red Rose Taverne. I really wanted to visit it in a Beauty and the Beast inspired outfit and accompanying parasol, and even though I adore Belle, Patrick suggested a brilliant idea for a parasol, which leant more toward a Gaston Disneybound.

I snuck a little mounted jacklope on the parasol, even though there isn’t one in the film, and wore my Hungry Designs jackalope mount brooch as a reflection of the mounted animals.

Inside the Red Rose Tavern, Guests can enjoy some new decor, including some faux stained glass based on the ones in the film, and antlers galore! They can also taste new foods inspired by the film, including the “grey stuff”, which in this case is a red velvet cake wrapped up in grey frosting.

The “Grey Stuff” was, as the song states, “delicious” if rather sweet though. It’s unclear how long this overlay will be in the park, but it’s certainly fun while it lasts!

Outfit
Peasant Top: Pinup Girl Clothing
Skirt: Dolly and Dotty
Belt: Buffalo Exchange
Boots: Antique Alley, Portland, Oregon
Bimbettes Pin: D23
Jackalope Brooch: Hungry Designs
Scarves and Bangles: Here and there…
Gaston Parasol: Made by me

In the South Land there’s a city

Posted on by

Mardi Gras was this past Tuesday and I totally use it as an excuse to Disneybound as Charlotte (one of my favorite, and slightly relatable characters) from The Princess and the Frog and eat loads of beignets and drink mint juleps at Disneyland. I also did another Charlotte parasol, this time featuring her party gown, which is also the inspiration behind my bound (here is a shot from the film for reference). I was also super excited when the Mardi Gras pin for this year feature Louis and Ray from the film!

I apologize for all of the Disneybounding lately! I swear the blog is not turning into a Disney fashion blog! It’s just there has been a lot of fun things going on at the park, and Disney related events that offer up the perfect opportunity to bound! And now with so many decent bound posts under my belt, I really want to do a post about the subject to round it out.

You may also spy a different watermark/signature going on in my photos. Over the years I have had a few photos taken, cropped to the point where my site has been removed, and re-uploaded. As a historian, and user of the internet, knowing source material is extremely important to me, which is a key reason why I watermark. I tried to be nice and not too distracting by placing it in a lower corner, but I see now that even that isn’t good enough. I’m trying this style out now. If you have your own thoughts or experiences on the matter, please feel free to share in the comments.

Outfit
Peasant Top & Skirt: Pinup Girl Clothing
Shoes: Re-Mix
Tiara: The Vintage Darling
Earrings: Some wedding show…I bought them for my wedding earrings actually!
D Brooch: Match Accessories
Mardi Gras Pin: Disneyland
Parasol: Made by me

There’s a Snake in my Boot!

Posted on by

Over the weekend some friends, Patrick, and myself went to the California Science Center as the museum was having an exhibit about the science behind Pixar animation. As lovers of all things Disney, we were excited to further understand what goes into making some of our favorite films. It also gave us a swell chance to Disneybound as characters from some of the Disney/Pixar films. With all of the western wear in my closet, I opted to bound as Woody.

The exhibit was really interesting, and gave me a greater appreciation for the films that Pixar has created. The museum is also the place to go for family friendly science exhibits, although we didn’t get to visit many of them, as we spent a good long while in the Pixar exhibit, followed by time gazing at the massive space shuttle Endeavour that the museum recently acquired. I look forward to a return visit to the California Science Center sometime in the future.

For those in the southern California area, or planning on visiting soon, the Science Behind Pixar exhibit goes through April 16th. Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended.

Outfit
Vintage H Bar C Shirt: Junk for Joy, Burbank, California
String Tie: Joyride, Orange, California
Skirt: Rock Steady via Roadkill Ranch, Fullerton, Ca.
Boots: Antique Alley, Portland, Oregon
Cowboy Boot Earrings: Gift
Tooled Leather Purse & Saddle Ring: I don’t remember…
Hat & Horseshoe Ring: Disneyland

Golly, What a Day!

Posted on by

The Disneyland Resort likes to make their annual passholders (also known as APs) feel special, and last year they started doing a month long event called AP Days. AP Days usually means exclusive merch, special screenings, and exclusive meet-and-greets with characters who rarely make appearances at the parks. You might recall a post around this time year, when Roger Rabbit was one of those exclusive characters and I made a parasol featuring the Toon Patrol. This time, the Disneyland Resort is celebrating the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade, which debuted in the 70s, and in keeping with that theme, the brought back characters from their 1973 version of Robin Hood. I was overjoyed when I heard this, as this version of Robin Hood is one of my favorite Disney films, and quickly put together my Allan-a-Dale Disneybound and grabbed my matching parasol to visit with the characters.

Now that I feel like I’ve finally gotten the hang of this whole Disneybounding thing, and doing it with my own personal style, I’ve been thinking of doing a blog post about it to just have in my back pocket as a reference in the future, or to help out those who like the idea of Disneybounding, but not sure how to integrate their personal vintage esthetic into it.

Outfit
Peasant Top: Pinup Girl Clothing
Clam Diggers, Scarf, & Bangle: I don’t remember…
Shoes: Re-Mix
D Brooch: Match Accessories
Robin Hood Brooch: D23 Expo

Orange Empire Railway Museum

Posted on by

Recently Patrick and I went to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris (about an hour and a half east of Los Angeles) with a couple of friends for a day filled with not just train history, but a glimpse into the history of Los Angeles transit, as well as added bits of Disney history!

Now before I show all of the interesting things the Orange Empire Railway Museum had to offer, I’ll share with you what I wore.

At first glance, it may appear that I am just wearing another western inspired outfit with turquoise jewelry, but I specifically chose to wear turquoise to pay homage to Fred Harvey, a man closely tied with the restaurant industry, railways, and turquoise jewelry.

Fred Harvey was a restaurateur who transitioned into the railroad business. He became fascinated with the southwest and built trading posts at rail stops, filling them with Native American goods, such as blankets, baskets, and jewelry. Harvey went so far as a to make pre-cut (and hallmarked) pieces of jewelry, to then be embellished (traditionally by stamping, like my bracelet) by Native Americans and then sold at his trading posts. The Orange Empire Railway Museum even has a building dedicated to Harvey and his influence on train travel.

Now keep reading to find out all the neat stuff the museum had to offer!

Continue reading →

Christmas Day at Disneyland

Posted on by

Patrick and I went back to back with theme parks this Christmas, with Knott’s Berry Farm Christmas Eve and Disneyland Christmas Day. We enjoyed the beautiful sights and sounds of the holiday season throughout the park, from the garlands to the Dapper Dans, it was a beautiful sun filled Christmas Day.

I won’t lie, I kind of feel bad for all of the theme park spam lately! The holiday season is hectic, and Knott’s and Disneyland are easy to turn to between all of the fun delights they offer, as well as the familiar faces they have; I had several friends working Christmas Day at the Disneyland Resort, so it was nice to be able to wish them a “Merry Christmas”.

As we look to New Year’s festivities, there will likely be a wee bit more of the theme park spam. We are spending New Year’s Eve at Knott’s, followed by attending the Tower of Terror farewell party that is in the evening New Year’s Day! But as for 2017, Patrick and I have loads of (non-theme park) plans already! And I can’t wait to share those experiences with you!

Outfit
Sweater Set & Shoes: Umm…I honestly don’t remember…
D Brooch: Match Accessories
Red & White Bangle: Gift from my dad
Green Bakelite Hinge Bangle: Buffalo Exchange