Philip, Colorado Springs, Colorado
A: The Monorail Café at the Disneyland Hotel closed in 1999. I would assume that you have an original menu—I have not heard of any reprints. There are a number of the menus pictured on the Internet, as they come up for sale from time to time, so you can compare yours. They were sold or given away when the restaurant closed, just as many restaurants give menus to customers if they ask for them.
Leon, Indiantown, Florida
A: The Walt Disney World Preview Center, which was open from January 1970 to September 1971, was located on Preview Boulevard, now Hotel Plaza Boulevard, near the intersection of State Road 535 and Interstate 4. The building is still there, on the north side of the boulevard between the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort and the Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort; it is now the national headquarters of the Amateur Athletic Union.
Robert, Chatham, Ohio
A: We do not have a 1990 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party pin in the Walt Disney Archives, so we can assume that none was produced, even though there was indeed a party (on December 7, 8, and 14).
Andrew, St. Louis, Missouri
A: There was no coin given to guests at Walt Disney World during its grand opening. There was a coin that guests could purchase. It has Mickey’s head on one side, and Cinderella Castle, the Contemporary Resort, and a sailboat on the verso, and it is marked “Official Opening Oct. 1971.”
Denise, Auburn, California
A: Walt Disney never had a chance to sit in Club 33 and watch his guests below in New Orleans Square (as depicted in a well-known piece of artwork), because he died six months before the club was finished. He was very involved in the early planning of the club, and he and his wife, Lilly, had traveled to New Orleans with the club’s designer, Emile Kuri, to select the beautiful antiques to be featured there. But he never got to see the results as he died on December 15, 1966. The club opened on June 15, 1967.
Dominique, Ocala, Florida
A: Walt Disney and his staff made intensive surveys of Florida, looking for the right amount of available and affordable land, proximity to Interstate Highways, ease of access, etc. It was deemed that area between Ocala and Orlando experienced a significant decline in minimum winter temperature; because cold nights tend to have an adverse effect on attendance and landscaping, the region south of Orlando was more appealing. It was the Orlando area property that fulfilled their needs.
Colleen, Buffalo, New York
A: Perhaps he was thinking of the offerings in the old Tomorrowland Terrace, the former name of Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. Besides a Space Dog and a steak sandwich, back in the late 1970s guests could order a Moon Burger (a cheeseburger)—95¢; an Orbit Burger (a regular hamburger)—80¢; or a Gemini Burger (double beef patties)—$1.25.
Leo, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
A: If you want to send a scan of it to the Walt Disney Archives, they can give you their opinion as to whether it is Walt Disney’s signature. Contact them at
Disney.Archives@disney.com.
Larry, Walker, Louisiana
A: The exact details on the fireworks at Disneyland have not been released, but we know that in the 1970s and 1980s, there were 200-220 shells in each show, and these days, starting in 2000 with the Believe…There’s Magic in the Stars show, there are more.
Nancy, Canton, Ohio
A: There are no plans to bring the Aladdin show, currently in the Hyperion Theater at Disney California Adventure, to Walt Disney World, but it is featured as evening entertainment on the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship during its Caribbean cruises.
