Q : Classic Disney park songs like “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me),” the Tiki Room song, and “Grim Grinning Ghosts” have such a warm characteristic sound. Were those songs recorded in a Disney studio, or was that work done elsewhere?
Todd, Locust, Virginia
A: According to Glenn Barker at Walt Disney Imagineering, all of these were recorded on “A” Stage, the large orchestra stage, at the Disney Studio in Burbank. The organ for “Grim Grinning Ghosts” was recorded on the 24-rank Robert Morton pipe organ at Whitney Recording Studio in Glendale, California.
Q : I noticed inside the Dream Suite at Disneyland, there was a Cinderella motif. Why did they choose that over Sleeping Beauty?
Suzanne, Merritt Island, Florida
A: According to the publicity announcements of the Disneyland Dream Suite, it was simply based on designs by early Disney Imagineer Dorothea Redmond. The living room is in French Provincial style, reflecting the New Orleans setting. The two bedrooms are themed to 20th century innovation and the American frontier, and to the exotic flavor of jungle adventure stories as told in the Victorian era. Any Cinderella touches might be because she is associated with dreaming, as in the song “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.”
Q : In Disney California Adventure, there is a new statue, “Storytellers,” featuring Walt and Mickey. We’re told that the statue, and in fact the entire Buena Vista Street, represents 1923, when Walt arrived in California. I’m wondering why Mickey is depicted, since he wasn’t even conceived until that fateful train ride in 1928.
Teri, Anaheim, California
A: Very good question; it has been raised by many people. Perhaps Mickey is just there to depict Walt’s dreams of what is to come. Hollywood certainly did not change very much between 1923 and 1928 when Mickey was created.
Q : I recently came across a drawing that was tucked away in my baby book. It is a drawing of Mickey’s head. It appears to have been drawn with a black marker or charcoal pen. Above Mickey’s head is printed “Hi Laurie” and the letter “i” in “Hi” is dotted with a heart. Below his head, it is signed Roy. My mother told me that it was drawn for me by Roy when I was about four years old. I am 58 now. I was wondering if you could tell me where I might get this appraised?
Laura, Mundelein, Illinois
A: These Disneyland drawings by Roy Williams have little collectible value, other than the sentimental value to the person depicted.
Q : I’m the owner/operator of the Disneyland Postcard Reference Guide website, and I am trying to create an up-to-date checklist of Disneyland postcards published starting from when the second edition of The Nickel Tour left off. I’m sure I have all the postcards but failed to record when I purchased them. Is there a way to check what postcards were produced, and when? Also, is there a way to check the number on the back of a card and cross-check it with a database to determine when it was published? Any information you can give me would be very helpful.
Ken, Orange, California
A: The Archives does not have access to that information, if it indeed exists.
Q : Oh what I’d give to have your job! I’m a 15-year-old Disney freak (that’s what I call myself) and I dream in Disney. Anyway, my question is, I once read that Walt Disney put something beneath each of the masts on the S.S. Columbia in Disneyland, California, for good luck. Is this true? If so, what are the things he put there?
Katy, Sherwood, Oregon
A: Though I have found no official confirmation, Internet websites note that, following custom, Walt Disney put a silver dollar under each of the three masts of the Columbia.