BEYOND THE THEME PARKS

ANITA ANSWER
Archives

8/24/09
--Anita's Mini Blog for 8/24/09
--Space Mountain's Seating Configuration: Has It changed?
--Which Direction Was the Wand Set?
--Booking Accommodations for Six Online?

8/17/09
--A Brief History of Castaway Cay
--Name That Restaurant!
--The Morse Code Message in Spaceship Earth
--Answer to the 8/10 Trivia Question

8/10/09
--What Castle Served as the Inspiration for Cinderella Castle?
--The "Hotel" in the Canada Pavilion
--What About the Original Back Lot Tour?
--Anita's Mini Blog for 8/10/09

8/3/09
-- Anita's 8/3/09 Mini Blog
--What Was This Old Ride?
--Backlot Tour Bet
--Base Tickets and Extra Magic Hours
--Answers to Trivia Questions and Doctor Who Challenge

7/27/09
--Anita's 7/27/09 Mini Blog
--What Was the Name of This Ice Cream Shop?
--Square Footage of the New Treehouses
--When Do the Holiday Decorations Come Down?

7/13/09
--2009 Dates for Epcot's Candlelight Processional
--Using Music's Bus Stops When Staying at Movies?
--How Old Is Too Old for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique?
--Answer to the June 29 Trivia Question

7/6/09
--A European Trip Blog
--The Difference Between B and C Tickets?
--A Lounge with Live Music?
--No Car, No Grocery Stop. Where to Get Alcohol?

6/1/09
--Where is the Randy Pausch Plaque Located?
--What Was This Old Store in the Studios?
--Rod Serling and the Tower of Terror Pre-Show
--Answer to the May 25 Trivia Question

5/25/09
--Is Christmas Really That Crowded?
--Adult or Child Ticket When Child Turns 10 in the Middle of the Trip?
--Which Was the First Disney Vacation Club Resort to Open?
--Answer to the May 18 Trivia Question

5/18/09
--Will Pirates and the Haunted Mansion Be Closed In June?
--Where Would Anita Stay and Dine?
--What Are Those Stone Things at Epcot's Entrance?
--Answer to the May 4 Trivia Question

5/11/09
5/4/09
--The Mural in the Contemporary
--Showers at Old Key West's Pool
--A Flashing Light above the Blue Bayou Restaurant
--The Wasps' "Sting" in Tough to Be a Bug
--Answer to the April 27 Trivia Question

More Anita Answer Columns

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Anita Answers

Hi! I'm Anita!

Got a question about Walt Disney World? I probably have the answer! Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide is the most comprehensive guide to the World on the Web, but if you still can't find the information you're looking for by using the Search Function, or the Anita Answer Archives, drop me a line and I'll do my best to find the answer for you. Since there are only 24 hours in a day, I can't answer every email I receive - however, I do read every one and try to answer as many as possible.

Check back weekly to see if your answer is waiting! Meanwhile, I'm All Ears!

June 1, 2009

Where is the Randy Pausch Plaque Located?
What Was This Old Store in the Studios?
Rod Serling and the Tower of Terror Pre-Show
Answer to the May 25 Trivia Question

Anita writes:

I saw on "Oprah" today that there is a plaque at WDW dedicated to Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture. We will be visiting the World this fall and I want to add that to my spreadsheet of "gotta-do's" for this trip. Where is it located?

Thanks so much for all your WDWorldly info. It makes our visits so much more fun, interesting and knowledgeable!

Hi Anita!

The Randy Pausch plaque is located in Fantasyland in the Alice-themed garden on the west side of the Mad Tea Party. The garden is more or less between the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the Tea Cups. It's a small but lovely tribute to Pausch and his philosophy of life.

A.A.

Chris writes:

My girlfriend and I love your column, and we've used it to discover more then a few hidden gems during our last few visits to the World. Your column gives us the Disney-fix we need between vacations!

My question is about a store in MGM that I remember from my childhood, but no longer exists. Sometime around 1990 my brother, father and I visited a store off of Hollywood Blvd. in MGM and filmed a movie. We started off by selecting a script and getting outfitted in costumes for our roles in the production, and later were filmed performing the show on a small sound stage. The store was staffed by great characters (I remember one woman pretending to have a crush on my brother, which mortified him at that age). Do you have any information about this place?

Keep up the great work!

Hi Chris!

The store you remember was called Pacific Electric Pictures. You must have visited during its very brief lifespan - it was closed by late 1991! Due to its here-today, gone-tomorrow status, I couldn't find much on it other than it existed, it was exactly where you described it to be, and you could make your own videos, also just as you described. In my experience, the Studios' early years are the most difficult to research because so very many changes were made to the park in its first five years of operation.

A.A.

Taylor writes:

There's something I've been wondering lately. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was built in the early '90s. Rod Serling died in 1975. How did they get the preshow video? As far as I remember (it's been a while since I've been to that park), it was really him in the video.

Hi Taylor!

The video in the Tower of Terror preshow is from an episode of the Twilight Zone called "It's a Good Life," originally aired on November 3, 1961. The lines that the late Rod Serling spoke in this episode were similar but not exactly the same, so the pre-show film is actual footage of Serling, but the voice has been dubbed (AKA "looped") by voice actor Mark Silverman. According to Silverman, he was chosen by Serling's widow from a pool of several voice actors who auditioned for the part.

Some Tower Trivia:

• The lobby contains a reference to "Anthony Fremont," the name of the creepy kid who could control the world with his mind in "It's A Good Life."
• The entire hotel features props used in various episodes of the "Twilight Zone" TV series. These are too numerous to list here.
• At 199 feet, the Tower of Terror is the third-tallest attraction at WDW. The second-tallest structure is Animal Kingdom's Expedition EVEREST at 199.5 feet. The new Characters in Flight balloon is now the tallest (highest?) attraction at WDW at over 300 feet when it's aloft.
• "Lightning" struck the Hollywood Tower Hotel at 8:05 p.m. on October 31, 1939, during a party at the Tip Top Club. This is where that glamorous couple in the elevator was headed. The evening's entertainment was provided by the Anthony Fremont Orchestra.
• The exterior of the Hollywood Tower Hotel was designed and painted to blend in with the Morocco Pavilion at Epcot because, from certain vantage points in Epcot, the HTH can clearly be seen behind the pavilion.
• In the lobby, between the libraries, is a directory with removable lettering. At one time, the fallen letters appeared as a message in the bottom of the glass case covering the directory. It spelled out "evil Tower UR doomed." The message disappeared in late 2001, but reappeared again for a very short time in 2007. I checked it recently, and it's still gone. Another little bit of Disney hidden treasure gone forever, I guess.

A.A

Last Week's Trivia Question:

What year did the Vacation Club Resort change its name to Old Key West?

Answer:

The Vacation Club Resort officially changed its name to Old Key West Resort in January 1996 in anticipation of the Boardwalk Villas opening later that year.

This week's question was neither too hard nor too easy -- it was just right. Out of 35 responses, I received 21 correct answers. The Disney Geeks of the Week Role Call returns! This week, we bestow geekly honor upon Sabrina B, Maureen B, Lindsay C, Paul P, Emelie O, Mary Jo G, Reagan G, Zachary W, Taryn, Jeff G, Jenna S, Jamie P, Daniel S, Noreen R, George S, Paul S, Kevin F, Donna R, another Jenna, Keith, and Bob R. Well done!

There is no trivia question this week as the next new column will be in July. It's crunch time here at the Answer household, with graduation for Minnie Answer later this week, and our trip to Europe will soon follow. Hope you all have a great month, and I'll see you when I return in July, full of new stories and information from Disneyland Paris, and maybe even some more Doctor Who-related stuff, since so many of you have asked. Until then, have a magical month!

Anita

That's it for this edition!

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