============================================================================ The following is a effort by David Tomita and Don Bertino to document the attractions at Disneyland - the Original (tm). These descriptions where taken out the handout available from Disneyland called "Disneyland Park - Description Book for Guests with Hearing Impairments" As each attraction is typed in, it will be posted and stored at ftp.calweb.com /users/b/bertino or http://www.calweb.com/~bertino Any comments/additions/corrections would be welcomed. =========================================================================== THE WALT DISNEY STORY Just across Town Square is the Disneyland Opera House, featuring the Walt Disney Story. Inside is a display of nostalgic photographs, memorabilia, and awards honoring the accomplishments of Walt Disney. Also on display are Walt's studio offices, recreated with the same items he used for 26 years. The "working office" was used for conferences with directors, writers, artists, and almost anyone involved in creating Disney productions. Walt used his "formal office" for appointments with special guests visiting the Disney Studio. Although Walt didn't play the piano himself, several of the Studio songwriters would occasionally stop by to play a tune for him. For instance, Leopold Stokowski played some of the music from _Fantasia_ on this baby grand more that 50 years ago. And in the early 1960's, the Sherman Brothers offered Walt a preview of the Academy Award winning songs from _Mary Poppins_. Behind the desk, in the corner of the "format office" are Norman Rockwell portraits of Walt's daughters, with Sharon on the left and Diane on the right. Between these sketchings is a portion of Walt's miniature collection, which is said to have been part of the inspiration behind the attraction, "It's A Small World". In all, more that 960 awards were received during Walt's lifetime, including 51 Academy Award "Oscars". Just across form the offices is a special tribute to Walt Disney the naturalist, and his Academy Award winning _True-Life Adventure_ films. Walt had a high regard for education, and many of his films were designed for this purpose. At the far end of the lobby is a brief presentation about Walt's pioneering achievements in animation. The climax of The Walt Disney Story is "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", first introduced to guest at the 1964 New York World's Fair. This incredibly lifelike show stunned audiences with its realism, and marked the first time *Audio-Animatronics(tm)* -- an electronic animation and synchronization process -- was used to animate a human form. don