Plastic swords confiscated by French customs

Two-year-old twins had their dream Disneyland holiday ruined – when French airport customs officers swooped on them for carrying plastic swords.

(Their father) Pete, who works for Luton Borough Council, the Herald & Post and a number of major organisations in town, said: "I was furious. It really upset the twins, and it was particularly bad since we had a really bad time at Disney, which we thought was a total rip-off. It was just a final insult when we walked through the airport and these people decided that the youngsters were a security threat."

Ride Soundtrack Update: For anyone who has ever sent me an email asking where they can get some of those rare ride soundtracks I sometimes rant about, here is a site that has a bunch of MP3s of Disney's 1964 World's Fair material. Requires BitTorrent, which isn't available for a Mac running OS 9.2.1, so I can't yet review it until a friend downloads it and burns me a CD.

Big Thunder Mountain Safety Update:

"Disneyland representatives told Vargas what happened Thursday afternoon was a fluke."

Danny's Land representatives say "We told you so!"

More 1920's Oaks Park ads -- lots of detail, so you'll want to click on each to see the larger version.

Some 1920s newspaper ads for Oaks Amusement Park in Portland. Click on them for a larger view.









More soon.

My book, The Journal of Ride Theory, gets written up in the Portland Business Journal.



(UPDATE: MSNBC picks up the story!)

Rich Vosburgh worked out hard, spending four months with a personal trainer. He scrutinized maps and a detailed timetable. He even deployed a secret weapon: artificial-intelligence research to chart a course through death-defying drops, torrents of water and fiery heat. And when this Texas adventurer clambered out of a floating log a year ago, he had reached his holy grail: visiting – in a single day – each of the 41 operating rides, attractions and shows at the Everest of theme parks, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. His time: a record 10 hours, 40 minutes.

Danny's Land is unimpressed. Why? Vosburgh cheated -- he used a computer program to reduce waiting time. His accomplishment, if it can be called that, would be like claiming you won a chess tournament when all you did was push the pawns the way Big Blue told you to.

No, Vosburgh's so-called record can't hold a candle to
Steve Lowery's 1999 conquest of Disneyland -- 45 rides in 16 hours. All done with a little pre-planning and his wits. He did it before FastPass. He did it largely land-by-land -- a completely crazy strategy according to the number crunchers. (And he made the Everest metaphor first, too!)

Eventually, Sharon will tire of this quest, which is, after all, not her own; she'll request such baubles as sitting for lunch and going to the bathroom whenever she wants. I tell him my wife understands the mission, understands that we are partners, that "I'm Hillary, and she's the Sherpa," which I mean in the best possible way.

Yes, it's true that when I first told her of my idea, her first reaction was, "Oh, the kids will love that." To which I counseled: "ARE YOU MAD? Did Hannibal have kids? Did Columbus have kids? Was it Lewis and Clark and kids?! NO KIDS!"

My favorite moment:

As we head to the relatively short lines of the Tomorrowland Autopia, we notice Innoventions, an attraction I had been assured was not yet operational. Housed in the round, rolling space that used to be home to America Sings, Innoventions is very much operational, as the interminable show-tuney whine of Nathan Lane clearly announces. It's 3:21 p.m., and though I'm ahead of schedule with 24 rides-I had planned on having 22 rides under my belt by 4 p.m.-I am very concerned, mindful that monster rides such as Space Mountain, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Star Tours, Dumbo the Flying Elephant as well as all of Mickey's Toon Town lie ahead.

Sharon and I huddle. Should we get on Innoventions? Is Innoventions even a ride? (Intelligence sources had said it amounted to walking through a convention floor full of new technology.) I had struck a deal of 43 rides-a number many people said was unattainable. Why make things even more difficult?

Incredibly, I decide to do it. I do not want an asterisk by my name ("*did not take Innoventions"). I have no desire to be the Magic Kingdom's Roger Maris.

So there it is -- Rich Vosburgh* is the Magic Kingdom's Roger Marris. (Actually, he's more like the Sammy Sosa; he played with a corked bat.)

*used computer scheduling