Campside Circle

While Mickey and the gang may be at the heart of Camp Minnie-Mickey, the biggest draw in this corner of Disney's Animal Kingdom has got to be Festival of the Lion King. The show was cobbled together from assets left over from the Lion King Celebration parade, which had run at Disneyland from 1994-97. Although it may have been a last-minute addition to give visitors to the new park something more to do, Festival of the Lion King quickly became a Guest favorite.

Audiences for the show gather around within Campside Circle, Camp Minnie-Mickey's assembly hall, to hear a tale spun by a band of travelers. As the tale unfolds through music and song, the story magically comes to life, filling the arena with animals and imagery. (photo below ©Disney)

The temporary show, built from recycled parade floats to fill an immediate need, has become an enduring classic. In fact, a new version of Festival of the Lion King was an opening day attraction in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Where in Disney's World - Friday 11/26 Answer

I admit I threw you a curve with this one. Mickey stands atop the gateway arch at Hong Kong Disneyland. As guests arrive at the park, the sign welcomes them to Disney's newest destination, and at the end of the day it thanks them for visiting.

In the same spirit, I would like to thank all of you for visiting the DisneyShawn blog over the last couple of years. I truly enjoy sharing my passion for Disney and the Disney Parks with you. Keep the great comments and emails coming. I love hearing from you and am always open to suggestions on the things you'd like to see more of on the blog.

Weekend Trivia: International Disney Parks

This week's edition of Weekend Trivia took you around the world to Disney's international destinations. How did you fare on these questions? Check your answers in the comments section below.

1) What was the first Disney Park built outside the U.S.?

2) Disney Resort Paris is built on former beet fields in what town 20 miles east of Paris?

3) What is the name of the island on which Hong Kong Disneyland was built?

4) A third Disney resort in Asia is in development for construction near what major city?

5) What is the name of the Downtown Disney-like shopping, dining and entertainment district at Tokyo Disney Resort?

6) What was the original name of the property now known as Disneyland Resort Paris?

7) What two Disney resort hotels are located at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort?

8) What land/port is considered the "Main Street" of Tokyo DisneySEA?

9) Which international Disney Resort features only one theme park?

10) Which of the following attractions is found in all three international Disney destinations?

A - Big Thunder Mountain

B - Space Mountain

C - Splash Mountain

11) What are the three official hotels of the Tokyo Disney Resort?

12) What popular Disney Cruise Line show is performed daily at the Storybook Theater in Fantasyland at Hong Kong Disneyland?

13) What can be found beneath Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant in Disneyland Paris?

14) What name is associated with the monorail system at Tokyo Disney Resort?

15) Before it was decided to build Disneyland Paris in France, what other European country was a prime contender to host the resort?

BONUS) Name the opening dates for each of Disney's five international theme parks.

Ex-Train-eous Information

Walt Disney's affinity for trains has been well-documented, most notably in Michael Broggie's excellent book, Walt Disney's Railroad Story. That passion manifested in the creation of the original Disneyland & Santa Fe Railroad and has spread with the development of every Disneyland park since.

This bulletin, found on the lower level of the Main Street Station at Walt Disney World, pays homage to Disney's railroad heritage.

CAROLWOOD PACIFIC - This was Walt Disney's miniature railroad, built in the backyard of his home in Holmby Hills.

GRIZZLY FLATS EXPRESS - Grizzly Flats was another backyard railroad (albeit full size), operated on animator Ward Kimball's property. Ward was a fellow train enthusiast, and it was his invitation for Walt to join him at the Chicago Railroad Fair in the late '40s that inspired many of the ideas behind Disneyland.

C.K. HOLLIDAY/E.P. RIPLEY/FRED GURLEY/ERNEST S. MARSH - These are the names of the trains on the Disneyland Railroad, each named for a key figure in the history of the Santa Fe Railroad, the original sponsor of the Disneyland attraction.

RAINBOW CAVERNS LINE - The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train toured Guests through the Living Desert in Frontierland at Disneyland, starting in 1956. In 1960, the area was expanded, and the attraction became part of the Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland. The line was retired in 1979 with the opening of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

RIO GRAND/COLORADO/MISSOURI/MISSISSIPPI - These locomotives operate on the Western River Railroad in Tokyo Disneyland. Different from their American counterparts, the trains in Japan don't provide transportation from one point to another. They simply run a circuit around Adventureland and Westernland, returning to the same station.

W.F. CODY/G. WASHINGTON/C.K. HOLLIDAY/EUREKA - The trains of the Disneyland Paris Railroad bear the names of William F. Cody (better known as Buffalo Bill), George Washington and C.K. Holliday (founder of the Santa Fe Railroad). A fourth engine was added after the park opened in order to increase capacity. It's name, Eureka, comes from the exclamation often used by prospectors when they found a bit of gold.

WILDERNESS LINE - This narrow gauge railroad operated from 1973 to 1980 at the Fort Wilderness Campground in Florida, taking Guests from the parking lot back to Pioneer Hall and River Country.

ROGER E. BROGGIE/WARD KIMBALL/LILLY BELLE - These trains, along with the Roy O. Disney and Walter E. Disney, run at the Magic Kingdom. The Ward Kimball, named for the animator, was only in Florida for a short time while some of the other locomotives were being refurbished. It now calls the Disneyland Railroad its home.

WHISPERING CANYON LINE/SILVER CREEK EXPRESS - These names don't refer to specific trains, but to locations at Disney's Wilderness Lodge (Whispering Canyon Cafe and Silver Creek Springs pool area). In the lobby of the adjacent Villas is the Carolwood Pacific Room, featuring a display of memorabilia from Walt's early backyard railroad.

D. CROCKETT - Apart from Fess Parker's connections to Davy Crockett, Frontierland and Disneyland, the actor also starred in the Disney film The Great Locomotive Chase in 1956.

WILDLIFE EXPRESS/EASTER STAR - This reference comes from Disney's Animal Kingdom, where the Easter Star Railway operates the Wildlife Express route between Harambe and Rafiki's Planet Watch.

This prop was added to the Main Street Station prior to the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, so that's why there are no references to the trains from that park (Walter E. Disney; Roy O. Disney and Frank G. Wells, named for the former President of the Walt Disney Company).

TomorrowSEA

Port Discovery at Tokyo DisneySEA transports us to an undefined future time, one very much inspired by futuristic ideals of the past. This is the home of the Center for Weather Control, where scientists from around the world gather to study the earth's weather systems. Today, the research teams of Port Discovery are celebrating the success of their StormRider initiative, designed to neutralize hurricanes before they reach populated areas.

As part of the celebration, Guests at Port Discovery are invited to explore some of the CWC's research vessels and even take a spin on the Aquatopia, a kind of technology workshop where the scientists test new navigation and propulsion systems.

A ride on Aquatopia is unpredictable to say the least. As each 2-3 person vehicle "floats" across the surface of Horizon Bay, it spins and twirls through an obstacle course of rocks, fountains and whirlpools.

While it may appear that the vehicles are floating on a pool of water, they are actually rolling on hidden wheels (the water is only about three inches deep). Their seemingly random movements are guided by a trackless Location Positioning System (LPS) that keeps track of all the vehicles in the area and directs each one where to go next. A similar system is used on the Pooh's Hunny Hunt attraction at Tokyo Disneyland and is planned for Mystic Manor, opening at Hong Kong Disneyland by 2014.

Les Chefs

Paul Bocuse, Gaston Lenotre, Roger Verge, and... Remy the rat? That's right. There's a new chef in the kitchen at Les Chefs de France at Epcot, although this particular celebrity chef spends most of his time in the dining room mingling with Guests.

The latest project from Walt Disney Imagineering's Living Character initiative, Remy first made his debut at the Rendez-Vous des Stars restaurant in Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Resort Paris. Now, the star of Disney-Pixar's Ratatouille can be spotted daily at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The Living Character program at WDI is an initiative to leverage technology to bring Disney characters to life in the parks like never before. The very first version of a Living Character was DRU-1, a robotic dolphin showcased in The Living Seas pavilion at Epcot for a five-day test run in October 1999.

Since then, other Living Character projects have included Meeko (appearing with Pocahontas for storytelling sessions at Disney's California Adventure), Lucky the dinosaur (now participating in Adventures by Disney tours at the WDI campus in Glendale), and Muppet Mobile Labs (currently entertaining Guests at Hong Kong Disneyland, after stints in DCA and Epcot).

The Living Character initiative has also produced amazing animated creations, beginning with the Stitch Phone once featured in Innoventions at Disneyland. That experiment ultimately grew into the creation of the Stitch Live! shows seen in Hong Kong and Paris. An animated, interactive Stitch will also soon be part of the Stitch's Supersonic Celebration live show in Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World. Beyond 626, Guests also now have the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Crush from Finding Nemo (Turtle Talk attractions are featured at Epcot, Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland) and a gang of comedic monsters at the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor attraction in the Magic Kingdom Park in Florida.