GO TRAVEL PLANET

2012-10-19T18:11:00.000+01:00

2012-06-25T21:28:00.001+01:00


Cayman Islands	Jamaica	The Bahamas	Puerto Rico	Colombia

Peru	Ecuador	Galapagos Islands	Japan	Monaco

Mexico	Egypt	China	Alaska	Hawaii

Costa Rica	Morocco	Hungary	France	Scothland

Belgium	Finland	Switzerland	Germany	Austria

Sweden	Croatia	Slovenia	Neatherland	Slovakia

England	Italy	Ireland	Latvia	Lithuania

Spain	Portugal	Poland	Canada	United States

Denmark	Estonia	Luxembourg

Lego

2011-11-10T21:08:00.002Z

Lego (trademarked in capitals as LEGO) is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts. Lego bricks can be assembled and connected in many ways, to construct such objects as vehicles, buildings, and even working robots. Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used to make other objects. The toys were originally designed in the 1940s in Denmark and have achieved an international appeal, with an extensive subculture that supports Lego movies, games, video games, competitions, and five Lego theme amusement parks.
The Lego Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958), a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934, his company came to be called "Lego", from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means "play-well".

It expanded to producing plastic toys in 1947. In 1949 Lego began producing the now famous interlocking bricks, calling them "Automatic Binding Bricks". These bricks were based largely on the patent of Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, which were released in the United Kingdom in 1947. Lego modified the design of the Kiddicraft brick after examining a sample given to it by the British supplier of an injection-molding machine that the company had purchased. The bricks, originally manufactured from cellulose acetate, were a development of traditional stackable wooden blocks that locked together by means of several round studs on top and a hollow rectangular bottom. The blocks snapped together, but not so tightly that they required extraordinary effort to be separated.

The Lego Group's motto is det bedste er ikke for godt which means roughly 'only the best is good enough' (more literally 'the best is never too good'). This motto was created by Ole Kirk to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he believed in strongly. The motto is still used within the company today. The use of plastic for toy manufacture was not highly regarded by retailers and consumers of the time. Many of the Lego Group's shipments were returned after poor sales; it was thought that plastic toys could never replace wooden ones.

By 1954, Christiansen's son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was his conversation with an overseas buyer that struck the idea of a toy system. Godtfred saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play but the bricks still had some problems from a technical standpoint: their locking ability was limited and they were not very versatile. In 1958, the modern brick design was developed but it took another five years to find the right material for it, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) polymer. The modern Lego brick was patented at 1:58 p.m on January 28, 1958; bricks from that year are still compatible with current bricks.
Primary concept and development work takes place at the Billund headquarters, where the company employs approximately 120 designers. The company also has smaller design offices in the UK, Spain, Germany, and Japan, which are tasked with developing products aimed specifically at these markets. The average development period for a new product is around twelve months, in three stages. The first stage is to identify market trends and developments, including contact by the designers directly with the market; some are stationed in toy shops close to holiday periods, while others interview children. The second stage is the design and development of the product based upon the results of the first stage. As of September 2008 the design teams use 3D modeling software to generate CAD drawings from initial design sketches. The designs are then prototyped using an in-house stereolithography machine. These are presented to the entire project team for comment and for testing by parents and children during the "validation" process. Designs may then be altered in accordance with the results from the focus groups. Virtual models of completed Lego products are built concurrently with the writing of the user instructions. Completed CAD models are also used in the wider organization, such as for marketing and packaging.
Since 1963, Lego pieces have been manufactured from a strong, resilient plastic known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). As of September 2008, the engineers use the NX CAD/CAM/CAE PLM software suite to model the elements. The software allows the parts to be optimized by way of mold flow and stress analysis. Prototype molds are sometimes built before the design is committed to mass production. The ABS plastic is heated to 232 °C (450 °F) until at a dough-like consistency. It is then injected into the molds at pressures between 25 and 150 tons, and takes approximately 15 seconds to cool. The molds are permitted a tolerance of up to two micrometres, to ensure the bricks remain connected. Human inspectors check the output of the molds, to eliminate significant variations in color or thickness. According to the Lego Group, about eighteen bricks out of every million fail to meet the standard required. Lego factories recycle all but about 1 percent of their plastic waste from the manufacturing process every year. If the plastic cannot be re-used in Lego bricks, it is processed and sold on to industries that can make use of it.

Manufacturing of Lego bricks occurs at a number of locations around the world. Molding is done in Billund, Denmark, Nyíregyháza, Hungary and Monterrey, Mexico. Brick decorations and packaging is done at plants in Denmark, Hungary, Mexico and Kladno in the Czech Republic. The Lego Group estimates that in the course of five decades it has produced some 400 billion Lego blocks. Annual production of Lego bricks averages approximately 36 billion per year, or about 1140 elements per second. If all the Lego bricks ever produced were to be divided equally among a world population of six billion, each person would have 62 Lego bricks. According to an article in BusinessWeek in 2006, Lego could be considered the world's No. 1 tire manufacturer; the factory produces about 306 million tiny rubber tires a year.
Since it began producing plastic bricks, the Lego Group has released thousands of sets with a variety of themes, including town and city, space, robots, pirates, trains, Vikings, castle, dinosaurs, undersea exploration, and wild west.

New elements are often released along with new sets. There are also Lego sets designed to appeal to young girls such as the Belville and Clikits lines which consists of small interlocking parts that are meant to encourage creativity and arts and crafts, much like regular Lego bricks. Belville and Clikit pieces can interlock with regular Lego bricks as decorative elements.

While there are sets which can be seen to have a military theme – such as Star Wars, the German and Russian soldiers in the Indiana Jones sets, the Toy Story green soldiers and Lego Castle – there are no directly military-themed sets in any line. This is following Ole Kirk Christiansen's policy of not wanting to make war seem like child's play.

The Lego range has expanded to encompass accessory motors, gears, lights, sensors, and cameras designed to be used with Lego components. Motors, battery packs, lights and switches are sold under the name Power Functions. The Technic line utilizes newer types of interlocking connections that are still compatible with the older brick type connections. The Technic line can often be motorized with Power Functions.

Bionicle is a line of toys by the Lego Group that is marketed towards those in the 7–16 year-old age range. The line was launched in January 2001 in Europe and June/July 2001 in the United States. The Bionicle idea originated from the earlier toy lines Slizers (also known as Throwbots) and Roboriders. Both of these lines had similar throwing disks and characters based on classical elements. The sets in the Bionicle line have increased in size and flexibility through the years. Bionicle was replaced with Hero Factory in 2010.

The Lego group's Duplo product line, introduced in 1969, is a range of simple blocks which measure twice the width, height and depth of standard Lego blocks, and are aimed at younger children.

'Fabuland' ran from 1979 to 1989. The more advanced 'Lego Technic' was launched in 1977. 'Lego Primo' is a line of blocks by the Lego Group for very young children that ran between 2004 and 2006. In 1995 'Lego Baby' was launched for babies.

One of the largest Lego sets ever commercially produced is a minifig-scaled edition of the Star Wars Millennium Falcon. Designed by Jens Kronvold Fredericksen, it was released in 2007 and has 5,195 pieces. It was surpassed, though, by a 5,922 piece Taj Mahal.

In May 2011, Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS-134 brought 13 Lego kits to the International Space Station, where astronauts will build models and see how they react in microgravity, as part of the Lego Bricks in Space program. The results will be shared with schools as part of an educational project.

The incredibles

2011-11-10T20:55:00.001Z

The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The starring voices are Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr, Holly Hunter as his wife Helen Parr; Sarah Vowell as their teenage daughter Violet; Spencer Fox as their young son Dash; Jason Lee as the supervillain Syndrome; Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone; and Elizabeth Peña as Syndrome's beautiful assistant, Mirage. Bob's yearning to help people draws the entire Parr family into a battle with the villain and his killer robot.

The film won the 2004 Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, along with two 2004 Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing. It also received nominations for two other Academy Awards, won a 2005 Hugo Award, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 2004 Golden Globes.
"Supers", humans gifted with superpowers, were once seen as heroes, but collateral damage from their various good deeds led the government to create a Supers Relocation Program, forcing the Supers to fit in among the civilians and not use their superpowers. Bob and Helen Parr, who are supers, have married and raised three children, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack, in the suburbs of Metroville; Violet and Dash have innate superpowers, but the toddler Jack-Jack has yet to show any. Bob, stuck in a white-collar job at an insurance agency, reminisces of his former days as Mr. Incredible, and sneaks out on Wednesday nights with his Super friend, Lucius Best aka Frozone, to fight street crime.

One day, Bob loses his temper with his boss, revealing his super strength and losing him his job. While trying to figure out what to tell Helen, he finds a message from a woman named Mirage, who asks for Mr. Incredible's help to stop a rogue robot on a distant island for a lucrative reward. Bob, claiming that he is going on a business trip to Helen, takes up Mirage's offer, and successfully defeats the powerful Omnidroid. On his return to Metroville, Bob spends his days working out and getting back into shape. He takes his super suit, torn in the battle with Omnidroid, to Edna Mode, the fashion design to the Supers, and asks her to repair it. She does so, and also insists on creating a new, better super suit for him. She refuses his request to add a cape, though, highlighting how the accessory doomed several other Supers before him by getting caught on things.

Mirage soon contacts Bob with another job on the island. On arriving, he finds the Omnidroid, rebuilt and reprogrammed to be stronger than before. While trapped by the robot, he meets its creator, the technology-savvy villain Syndrome. Bob recognizes him as a young fan, Buddy, who wanted to be Mr. Incredible's sidekick but got in the way. Syndrome vows revenge for this shunning, and sets the Omnidroid to kill Bob. Bob manages to fake his death and hide from the robot, discovering the body of a former Super. His curiosity piqued, he breaks into Syndrome's base and finds a computer, outlining Syndrome's past work to identify the civilian identities of former Supers and luring them to fight Omnidroid, and using the results of those fatal battles to improve each iteration of the machine. Bob is relieved to discover that Helen and his children are not yet identified in Syndrome's database.

Meanwhile, Helen has become suspicious of Bob having an affair. After discovering Bob's repaired suit, she talks to Edna and learns she created suits for the entire Parr family, each outfitted with a tracking device. Helen triggers Bob's, identifying the remote island but inadvertently revealing Bob's presence to Syndrome and causing him to be captured. Helen borrows a private jet from a old friend and travels to the island, disappointed to learn that Violet and Dash have stowed away while leaving Jack-Jack at home with a babysitter. As they near the island, Syndrome shoots down the jet, but Helen and the children safely make it ashore. Though Helen rescues Bob and regroups with Violet and Dash as they outrun Syndrome's guards, they are soon captured by Syndrome, identifying all the Parrs as Supers. With the Parrs contained, Syndrome explains that he will launch the perfected Omnidroid to Metroville, sending the city into chaos, upon which he will appear and using a control band, "subdue" the robot and become the city's hero. Syndrome launches the Omnidroid on a rocket and follows in his aircraft. After his departure, Violet helps to free the rest of the family, and with Mirage's help, they board a second rocket bound for the city.

In Metroville, the Omnidroid starts a path of destruction, and Syndrome enacts his plan, stopping the robot to the people's cheers. The Omnidroid observes the control band and fires it off Syndrome's arm, sending the villain scurrying away while the robot continues to wreck the city. The combined abilities of the Parrs and Lucius are able to best and destroy the robot, and the city welcomes them as heroes. As they are driven back to their home, Helen anxiously calls the babysitter and learns that Syndrome has abducted Jack-Jack. Arriving at home, Syndrome is taking the toddler to his ship, planning to raise the boy to fight against the Supers in the future. As Bob and Helen launch a rescue attempt, Jack-Jack reveals his powers of transformation, forcing Syndrome to drop him into Helen's waiting arms. Syndrome tries to escape but his cape is caught in the suction of his aircraft's engine, killing Syndrome. The ruined plane crashes into the Parr's home, but Violet is able to protect the family from harm. Some time later, the Parrs have re-adjusted to normal life, but when a new villain, the Underminer, appears, the Parrs all don their masks, ready to battle the new foe.

Cars

2011-11-10T20:50:00.000Z

Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, it features voices by Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Paul Newman (in his final non-documentary feature), Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, and Paul Dooley, as well as voice cameos by several celebrities including Jeremy Piven, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bob Costas, Darrell Waltrip, Jay Leno, Michael Schumacher, Tom and Ray Magliozzi from NPR's Car Talk, and Mario Andretti. The film is also the second Pixar film—after A Bug's Life—to have an entirely non-human cast.

Cars premiered on May 26, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, and was released on June 9, 2006, to generally favorable reviews. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. It was released on DVD November 7, 2006 and on Blu-ray Disc in late 2007. Related merchandise, including scale models of several of the cars, broke records for retail sales of merchandise based on a Disney·Pixar film, with an estimated $5 billion in sales.

A sequel, Cars 2, was released on June 24, 2011.
Cars takes place in a world populated by anthropomorphic motor vehicles. The film begins with the last race of the Piston Cup championship, which ends in a three-way tie between retiring veteran Strip Weathers, perennial runner-up Chick Hicks, and rookie Lightning McQueen. The tiebreaker race is scheduled for one week later at the Los Angeles International Speedway. Lightning is desperate to win the race, since it would allow him to leave the unglamorous sponsorship of Rust-Eze, a rust treatment for old cars, and allow him to take The King's place as the sponsored car of the lucrative Dinoco team. Eager to start practice in California as soon as possible, Lightning pushes his big rig, Mack, to travel all night long. While McQueen is sleeping, the exhausted Mack drifts off, and is startled by a gang of reckless street racers, causing McQueen to fall out the back of the truck into the road. McQueen wakes in the middle of traffic, and speeds off the highway to find Mack, ending up in a run-down town of Radiator Springs and inadvertently ruining the pavement of its main road.

After being arrested and impounded overnight, McQueen is ordered by the town's judge and doctor, Doc Hudson, to leave town immediately. The local lawyer Sally Carrera insists that McQueen be given community service to repave the road, to which Doc agrees. McQueen tries to repave it in a day in time, but it turns out to be shoddy and McQueen must repave the road again, which takes several days to complete. During this time, he becomes friends with several of the cars, and learns that Radiator Springs used to be a popular stopover along U.S. Route 66, but with the construction of Interstate 40 bypassing the town, it was effectively taken off the map. McQueen also discovers that Doc is really the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a three-time Piston Cup winner who was forced out of racing after an accident, and quickly forgotten by the sport. McQueen finishes the road, which has invigorated the cars to improve their town, and spends an extra day in town with his new friends, before Mack and the media descend on the town, led by a tip to McQueen's location. McQueen reluctantly leaves with the media to get to California in time for the race, while Sally chastises Doc after discovering that he had tipped off the media to McQueen's whereabouts, not wanting to be discovered himself instead.

At the speedway, McQueen's mind is not fully set on the race, and he soon falls into last place. He is surprised to discover that Doc Hudson, decked out in his old racing colors, has taken over as his crew chief, along with several other friends from Radiator Springs to help in the pit. Inspired and recalling tricks he learned from Doc and his friends, McQueen quickly emerges to lead the race into the final laps. Hicks, refusing to lose, sends Weathers into a dangerous accident. Seeing this and recalling Doc's fate, McQueen stops just short of the finish line, allowing Hicks to win, and drives back to push Weathers over the finish line. The crowd and media condemn Hicks' victory and give praise to McQueen's sportsmanship. Though offered the Dinoco sponsorship deal, McQueen declines, insisting on staying with his current sponsors as an appreciation of their past support. Later, back at Radiator Springs, McQueen returns and announces that he will be setting up his headquarters there, helping to put Radiator Springs back on the map.

Minnie Mouse

2011-11-10T20:46:00.002Z

Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an animated character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" (published January 19-May 2, 1942) by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minnie has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi Taylor. Both Minnie and Mickey were first drawn in 1928 by Ub Iwerks.

The comic strip story "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" (published September 22 – December 26, 1930) introduced her father Marcus Mouse and her mother Margie Mouse, both farmers. The same story featured photographs of her grandparents Marshall Mouse and Matilda Mouse. Her best known relatives, however, remain her uncle Mortimer Mouse and her twin nieces, Millie and Melody Mouse, though most often a single niece, Melody, appears. In many appearances, Minnie is presented as the wife or girlfriend of Mickey Mouse, a close friend of Daisy Duck,Donald Duck's wife (or girlfriend), and occasionally a friend to Clarabelle Cow. Minnie's sister, Mandie Mouse was a recurring character early on.

In 1928, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Mickey Mouse to act as a replacement to his previous star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. But Mickey could not fill the void alone. Among the few consistent character traits Oswald had developed before moving on to Universal Studios was his near-constant pursuit of potential sweethearts. So for Mickey to have a chance to emulate his predecessor at flirting, someone had to replace Oswald's many love interests. This replacement to Miss Rabbit, Miss Cottontail, Fanny and an uncertain number of unnamed nurses and dancers was to become Minnie Mouse.

Minnie was designed in the fashion of a "flapper" girl. She was so probably intended to follow the trends of then-modern youth culture, such as liking the color red, in an effort to add to her audience appeal. Her main outfit usually included a feminine bowler hat with a daisy sticking out of it, white gloves and a short dress. In the 1929 cartoon The Karnival Kid it was also revealed that she wears black stockings. Her shoes are probably her most distinctive article of clothing. For comedic effect, she wears over-sized high heeled pumps that are too big for her feet. Her heels often slip out of her shoes, and she even loses her shoes completely in The Gallopin' Gaucho. When she walked or danced, the clip clop of her large pumps were usually heard clearly and often went with the rhythm of the music that was played in the background. Along with Mickey, she was redesigned in the 1940s. Her hat was replaced with a large bow, and bows were added to her shoes as well. Her eyes were also given more detail. Throughout the forties and fifties, her look and personality became more conservative. This can be attributed to the fact that, as a result of The Great Depression and World War II, the culture of the USA had become more conservative, and the flapper girl style was falling out of fashion.

Minnie first appeared in Plane Crazy. Minnie is invited to join Mickey in the first flight of his aircraft. She accepts the invitation but not his request for a kiss in mid-flight. Mickey eventually forces Minnie into a kiss but this only results in her parachuting out of the plane. This first film depicted Minnie as somewhat resistant to the demanding affection of her potential boyfriend and capable of escaping his grasp.

Their debut however featured the couple already familiar to each other. The next film featuring them was The Gallopin' Gaucho. The film was the second of their series to be produced, but the third to be released, and was released on December 30, 1928. We find Minnie employed as the Cantina Argentina, a bar and restaurant established in the Pampas of Argentina. She performs the Tango for Mickey the gaucho and Black Pete the outlaw. Both flirt with her but the latter intends to abduct her while the former obliges in saving the Damsel in Distress from the villain. All three characters acted as strangers first being introduced to each other.

But it was their third cartoon that established the definitive early look and personality of both Mickey and Minnie, as well as Pete. Steamboat Willie,was the third short of the series to be produced but released first on November 18, 1928. Pete was featured as the Captain of the steamboat, Mickey as a crew of one and Minnie as their single passenger. The two anthropomorphic mice first star in a sound film and spend most of its duration playing music to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw".

Her final appearance for the year was in Wild Waves, carried by a wave into the sea. She panics and seems to start drowning. Mickey uses a row boat to rescue her and return her to the shore but Minnie is still visibly shaken from the experience. Mickey starts singing the tune of "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep,", a maritime ballad, in an apparent effort to cheer her up. Minnie cheers up and the short ends. This is the second time Minnie is placed in danger and then saved by her new boyfriend. It would not be the last.

In fact this was the case with her next appearance in The Cactus Kid (April 12, 1930). As the title implies the short was intended as a Western movie parody, but it is considered to be more or less a remake of The Gallopin' Gaucho set in Mexico instead of Argentina. Minnie was again cast as the local tavern dancer who is abducted by Peg-Leg Pedro (Black Pete in his first appearance with a peg-leg). Mickey again comes to the rescue. The short is considered significant for being the last short featuring Mickey and Minnie to be animated by Ub Iwerks.

The Shindig (July 11, 1930) featured Minnie joining Mickey, Horace and Clarabelle in a barn dance. Among them Clarabelle seems to be the actual star of the short. Director Burt Gillett turned in another enjoyable entry in the series, proved that production could go on without Iwerks. This was arguably the first time Minnie was upstaged by a female co-star.

In The Fire Fighters (August 6, 1930) Minnie is trapped in a hotel during a fire. She spends the duration of the short in mortal peril but is rescued by firefighters under chief Mickey Mouse. Horace Horsecollar is among the firefighters. An unnamed cow in the background is possibly Clarabelle making a cameo. The music of the short was, appropriately, the tune of "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight".

The next entry in the series is considered curious: The Gorilla Mystery (October 1, 1930). The short starts with Beppo the Gorilla escaping from a zoo. Mickey learns of it and panics. He phones Minnie to warn her about the dangerous gorilla wandering about. Minnie is unconcerned and plays tunes on her piano for Mickey to hear over the phone and know she is not afraid. Her tunes are interrupted by her scream and Mickey rushes to her house to save her. Meanwhile Beppo has wrapped up Minnie in rope and holds her hostage. Mickey confronts the gorilla and once again rescues the damsel in distress. The short ends with Minnie and Mickey jointly wrapping up the gorilla in rope. Modern audiences have commented on elements of bondage apparent in the short and the mysterious motivation of Beppo. Note that the theme of kidnapping by a gorilla is present here three years prior to the King Kong film of 1933.

In The Picnic, (November 14, 1930) Minnie introduces her boyfriend to her new pet dog Rover. This is actually Pluto making his first appearance as an individual character. Two unnamed bloodhound guard dogs strikingly similar to him had previously appeared in The Chain Gang (August 18, 1930) which featured Mickey incarcerated in prison without Minnie at his side. Otherwise the short features a typical picnic excursion harassed by forest animals and brought to a premature end by a sudden rain.

The final appearance of Minnie during the year was Pioneer Days (December 10, 1930). The short featured Minnie and her mate as pioneer settlers heading to the American Old West driving a covered wagon in a wagon train. They are unsurprisingly attacked by Native Americans on their way, a stock plot of Western movies at the time. While their fellows are either subjected to scalping or running for their lives, Minnie is captured by the attackers. Mickey attempts to rescue her only to be captured himself. In a reversal of their usual roles, Minnie escapes her captors and rescues her mate. They then dress as soldiers of the United States Army. Their mere appearance proves sufficient to have the entire tribe running for the hills. The Mouse couple stands triumphant at the end. The short has been criticized for its unflattering depiction of Native Americans as rather bestial predators. Their depiction as being part Jewish is not particularly fondly seen by modern audiences either. The finale has been edited out in recent viewings for depicting the "braves" submitting to cowardice.

In several shorts and on some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, Minnie owns a black and white kitten named Figaro, who had originated in the Disney animated feature Pinocchio.

Mickey Mouse

2011-11-10T20:18:00.003Z

Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves. He is one of the most recognizable cartoon characters in the world and is the mascot of The Walt Disney Company.

Mickey debuted in November 1928 in the animated cartoon Steamboat Willie after initially appearing in test screenings earlier that year. He went on to appear in over 130 films including The Band Concert (1935), Brave Little Tailor (1938), and Fantasia (1940). Mickey appeared primarily in short films, but also in a few feature-length films. Nine of Mickey's cartoons were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, one of which, Lend a Paw, won the award in 1942. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Beginning 1930, Mickey has also been featured extensively as a comic strip character. His self-titled newspaper strip, drawn primarily by Floyd Gottfredson, ran for 45 years. Mickey has also appeared in comic books and in television series such as The Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1996) and others. He also appears in other media such as video games as well as merchandising, and is a meetable character at the Disney parks.

Mickey typically appears alongside his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, his friends Horace Horsecollar, Donald Duck, and Goofy, and his nemesis Pete among others. Originally characterized as a mischievous anti hero, Mickey's increasing popularity led to his being rebranded as an everyman, usually seen as an ever cheerful, yet shy role model. In 2009, Disney announced that they will begin to rebrand the character again by putting less emphasis on his pleasant, cheerful side and reintroducing the more mischievous and adventurous sides of his personality, starting with the video game Epic Mickey.
Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier cartoon character created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios. In the spring of 1928, with the series going strong, Disney asked Mintz for an increase in the budget. But Mintz instead demanded that Walt take a 20 percent budget cut, and as leverage, he reminded Disney that Universal owned the character, and revealed that he had already signed most of Disney's current employees to his new contract. Mintz owned Oswald and thought he had Disney over a barrel. Angrily, Disney refused the deal and returned to produce the final Oswald cartoons he contractually owed Mintz. Disney was dismayed at the betrayal by his staff, but determined to restart from scratch. The new Disney Studio initially consisted of animator Ub Iwerks and a loyal apprentice artist, Les Clark, who together with Wilfred Jackson were among the few who remained loyal to Walt. One lesson Disney learned from the experience was to thereafter always make sure that he owned all rights to the characters produced by his company.

In the spring of 1928, Disney asked Ub Iwerks to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of various animals, such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were also rejected. They would later turn up as Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar. (A male frog, also rejected, would later show up in Iwerks' own Flip the Frog series.) Walt Disney got the inspiration for Mickey Mouse from his old pet mouse he used to have on his farm. In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney. These inspired Ub Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney. "Mortimer Mouse" had been Disney's original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it, and ultimately Mickey Mouse came to be. Actor Mickey Rooney has claimed that, during his Mickey McGuire days, he met cartoonist Walt Disney at the Warner Brothers studio, and that Disney was inspired to name Mickey Mouse after him.
Ub Iwerks designed Mickey's body out of circles in order to make the character simple to animate. Disney employees John Hench and Marc Davis believed that this design was part of Mickey's success – it made him more dynamic and appealing to audiences. Mickey's circular design is most noticeable in his ears, which in traditional animation, always appear circular no matter which way Mickey faces. This made Mickey easily recognizable to audiences and made his ears an unofficial personal trademark. Even today, the symbol is often used by the Disney company to represent Mickey. (see Hidden Mickey) This later created a dilemma for toy creators who had to recreate a three dimensional Mickey. In animation in the 1940s Mickey's ears were animated in perspective.

Animator Fred Moore would later redesign Mickey's body away from its circular design to a pear-shape design. Colleague Ward Kimball praised Moore for being the first animator to break from Mickey's "rubber hose, round circle" design. Although Moore himself was nervous at first about changing Mickey, Walt Disney liked the new design and told Moore "that's the way I want Mickey to be drawn from now on."

Each of Mickey's hands have only three fingers and a thumb. Disney said that this was both an artistic and financial decision, explaining "Artistically five digits are too many for a mouse. His hand would look like a bunch of bananas. Financially, not having an extra finger in each of 45,000 drawings that make up a six and one half minute short has saved the Studio millions." In the film The Opry House (1929), Mickey was given his white gloves which were a simple way of contrasting his naturally black hands against his black body.

Mickey's eyes, as drawn in Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho, were large and white and defined by black outlines. In Steamboat Willie the black outlines were removed, although the upper edges still contrasted with his head. Mickey's eyes were later re-imagined as only consisting of the small black dots which were his pupils, while what was the upper edges of his eyes became a hairline. This is evident only when Mickey blinks. Fred Moore later redesigned the eyes to be small white eyes with pupils and gave his face a caucasian skin tone instead of plain white. This new Mickey first appeared in 1938 on the cover of a party program, and in animation the following year with the release of The Pointer. Mickey is sometimes given eyebrows as seen in The Simple Things (1953) and in the comic strip, although he does not have eyebrows in his most recent appearances.

Besides Mickey's gloves and shoes, he typically wears only a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front. Although the animated Mickey was seen only in black and white for over seven years, print images confirmed that the shorts were red. When Mickey is not wearing his red shorts, he is often still wearing red clothing. This includes a red bandmaster coat (The Band Concert, The Mickey Mouse Club), red overalls (Clock Cleaners, Boat Builders), a red cloak (Fantasia, Fun and Fancy Free), a red coat (Squatter's Rights, Mickey's Christmas Carol), and a red shirt (Mickey Down Under, The Simple Things).
A large part of Mickey's screen persona is his famously shy, falsetto voice. From his first speaking role in The Karnival Kid onward, Mickey was voiced by Walt Disney himself, a task in which Disney took great personal pride. (Carl Stalling and Clarence Nash allegedly did some uncredited ADR for Mickey in a few early shorts as well.) However, by 1946, Disney was becoming too busy with running the studio to do regular voice work which means he could not do Mickey's voice anymore (and as it is speculated his cigarette habit had damaged his voice over the years), and during the recording of the Mickey and the Beanstalk section of Fun and Fancy Free, Mickey's voice was handed over to veteran Disney musician and actor Jimmy MacDonald. (Both Disney's and MacDonald's voices can be heard on the final soundtrack.) MacDonald voiced Mickey in the remainder of the theatrical shorts, and for various television and publicity projects up until his retirement in the mid-1970s, although Walt voiced Mickey again for the introductions of the original 1954—1959 The Mickey Mouse Club TV series and the "Fourth Anniversary Show" episode of the Disneyland TV series aired on September 11, 1958. 1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol marked the theatrical debut of the late Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, who was the voice of Mickey until his death in 2009. Allwine was, incidentally, married to Russi Taylor, the current voice of Minnie Mouse. Les Perkins did the voice of Mickey in the TV special Down and Out with Donald Duck released in 1987.

Bret Iwan, a former Hallmark greeting card artist, is the current voice of Mickey. His early recordings in 2009 included work for the Disney Cruise Line, Mickey toys, Theme Parks, and also the Disney on Ice: Celebrations! ice show. His first video game voiceover of Mickey Mouse can be found on Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, a video game for PlayStation Portable. He has also voiced the character in the next games for the Kingdom Hearts series. Bret also does the vocal effects of Mickey in Epic Mickey.
As the official Walt Disney mascot, Mickey has played a central role in the Disney parks since the opening of Disneyland in 1955. As with other characters, Mickey is often portrayed by a non-speaking costumed actor. In this form he has participated in ceremonies and countless parades. A popular activity with guests is getting to meet and pose for photographs with the mouse. As of the presidency of George W. Bush, Mickey has met every U.S. President since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Mickey also features in several specific attractions at the Disney parks. Mickey's Toontown (Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Magic Kingdom as "Mickey's Toontown Fair") is a themed land which is a recreation of Mickey's neighborhood. Buildings are built in a cartoon style and guests can visit Mickey or Minnie's houses, Donald Duck's boat, or Goofy's garage. This is a common place to meet the characters.

Mickey's PhilharMagic (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland) is a 4-D film which features Mickey in the familiar role of symphony conductor. At Main Street Cinema everal of Mickey's short films are shown on a rotating basis; the sixth film is always Steamboat Willie. Mickey plays a central role in Fantasmic! (Disneyland Resort, Disney's Hollywood Studios) a live nighttime show which famously features Mickey in his role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Mickey was also a central character in the now defunct Mickey Mouse Revue (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland) which was an indoor show featuring animatronic characters. Mickey's face currently graces the Mickey's Fun Wheel at Disney California Adventure Park

In addition to Mickey's overt presence in the parks, numerous images of him are also subtly included in sometimes unexpected places. This phenomenon is known as "Hidden Mickey."

Pluto

2011-11-10T18:54:00.003Z

Pluto (formerly known as Pluto the Pup) is an animated cartoon character made famous in a series of Disney short cartoons. He has most frequently appeared as Mickey Mouse's pet dog. He also had an independent starring role in 48 Disney shorts in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Pluto is unusual for a Disney character in that he is not anthropomorphized beyond showing an unusually broad range of facial expressions or use of his front paws at key points; he is actually represented as a normal dog (unlike Goofy who is an anthropomorphic dog).
Pluto was initially a minor character until 1934, when Disney animator Norm Ferguson gave the dog a key role in the cartoon Playful Pluto. Pluto becomes entangled with a sticky piece of flypaper, and Ferguson expanded the sequence significantly. The segment became a classic, demonstrating how Disney artists can take a simple circumstance and build humor through a character.

Pluto is considered one of the first Disney characters to break out of the "rubber hose and circle" formula style the studio had relied on; the dog's design gave him the appearance of actually being round instead of flat. In addition, Pluto is one of the first cartoon characters that is actually shown to have thought processes through the use of character animation.
In Pluto's own cartoons, his friends included Fifi the Peke, Dinah the Dachshund, and Ronnie the St. Bernard Puppy. His enemies included Black Pete, Donald Duck, Salty the Seal, Butch the Bulldog, Figaro the Kitten, Chip 'n Dale, Spike the Bee, Ol' Benttail the Coyote, Milton the cat and other characters. In Disney's 1937 animated short Pluto's Quinpuplets, Pluto has a son who is simply referred to as "Pluto Junior." In the 1946 animated short Pluto's Kid Brother, Pluto has a younger brother named K.B.

Although Pluto does not normally speak, like his anthropomorphized companions, he communicates in a series of dog barks, facial expressions and body movement. The only words ever heard out of Pluto was in the cartoon The Moose Hunt (1931) where he says "Kiss me." Also in the film Squatter's Rights (1946), when Mickey asks Pluto "You wanna build a fire don't ya?" Pluto clearly responds "Yeah!"
he pup first appeared in Walt Disney's short The Chain Gang, released in the USA on January 4, 1930. However, the dog had no name. In the next appearance on October 23, 1930, in The Picnic the dog is named not Pluto, but Rover. It was in The Moose Hunt, released on May 8, 1931, that the dog is called Pluto the Pup, the studio's original name. A September 1931 model sheet for the character with that name is illustrated in Barrier's Hollywood Cartoons.

Several months had passed between the naming of what was believed to have been the ninth planet, Pluto, on March 24, 1930, and the attachment of that name to the dog character. Venetia Burney (later Venetia Phair), who as an eleven-year-old schoolgirl had suggested the name Pluto for the planet, remarked in 2006: “The name had nothing to do with the Disney cartoon. Mickey Mouse's dog was named after the planet, not the other way around.”

Although it has been claimed that the Disney studio named the dog after the planet (rather than after the mythical god of the underworld), this has not been verified. Disney animator Ben Sharpsteen has said: "We thought the name [Rover] was too common, so we had to look for something else. We changed it to Pluto the Pup, but I don't honestly remember why."
Two unnamed bloodhounds which are seen in the 1930 Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang resemble what would in later cartoons appear as Pluto the Pup, Mickey's pet dog. The Picnic, another Mickey Mouse cartoon from the same year features a pet dog of Minnie, referred to as "my little rover". The same canine appears as Mickey's pet dog in the 1931 cartoon The Moose Hunt and is named as Pluto for the first time. On rare occasions the dog was paired with Donald Duck in such toons as "The Window Cleaners" (1940). From then onwards, Pluto has joined the Mickey gang as a permanent character.

His first comics appearance was in the Mickey Mouse daily strips in 1931 two months after the release of The Moose Hunt. Pluto Saves the Ship, a comic book published in 1942, is one of the first Disney comics prepared for publication outside newspaper strips. However, not counting a few cereal give-away mini-comics in 1947 and 1951, he did not have his own comics title until 1952.

Pluto runs his own neighborhood in Disney's Toontown Online. It's called the Brrrgh and it's always snowing there except during Halloween. During April Toons Week, a weekly event that is very silly, Pluto switches playgrounds with Minnie(all other characters do this as well). Pluto actually talks in Minnie's Melodyland.

Pluto has also appeared in the television series Mickey Mouse Works, Disney's House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Curiously enough, however, Pluto was the only standard Disney character not included when the whole gang was reunited for the 1983 featurette Mickey's Christmas Carol, although he did return in The Prince and the Pauper in 1990 and Runaway Brain five years later, and was also spotted in Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988. In 1996, he made a cameo appearance in the Quack Pack episode "The Really Mighty Ducks".

Donald Duck

2011-11-10T18:45:00.001Z

Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald's most famous personality trait is his easily provoked and explosive temper. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald is one of the most popular Disney characters and was included in TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002. He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character and is the fourth most published comic book character in the world after Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man.

Donald rose to fame with his comedic roles in animated cartoons. He first appeared in The Wise Little Hen (1934), but it was his second appearance in Orphan's Benefit which introduced him as a temperamental comic foil to Mickey Mouse. Throughout the 1930s, '40s and '50s he appeared in over 150 theatrical films, several of which were recognized at the Academy Awards. Donald was regularly part of an ensemble cast with Mickey and Goofy, and was given his own series of films in 1937, starting with Don Donald. These films introduced Donald's girlfriend Daisy Duck and sometimes featured his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. After the 1956 film Chips Ahoy, Donald appeared primarily in educational films before eventually returning to theatrical animation in 1983 with Mickey's Christmas Carol. His most recent theatrical appearance was 1999's Fantasia 2000. Donald has also appeared in direct-to-video features such as Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and The Three Musketeers (2004) as well as television programs such as DuckTales (1987–1990), Quack Pack (1996), and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006–present).

Donald's voice, one of the most identifiable voices in animation, was performed by voice actor Clarence Nash up to his death in 1985. It was largely this semi-intelligible speech that would cement Donald's image into audiences' minds and help fuel both Donald's and Nash's rise to stardom. Since 1985, Donald has been voiced by Tony Anselmo who was trained by Nash for the role.

Beyond animation Donald is primarily known for his appearances in comics, both in newspaper strips and comic books. Donald was most famously drawn by Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa. Barks in particular is credited for greatly expanding the "duck universe," the world in which Donald lives, and creating many additional characters such as Donald's maternal uncle Scrooge McDuck. Today Donald is a very popular character in Europe, particularly in Scandinavian countries where his weekly magazine has remained the most popular comics publication for over 50 years. Disney comics' fandom is sometimes humorously referred to as "Donaldism," a term which originated in Norway. (Norwegian: Donaldisme)

Personality
Donald's dominant personality trait is his short temper and, in contrast, his positive look on life. Many Donald shorts start with Donald in a happy mood, without a care in the world, until something comes and spoils his day. His anger is a great cause of suffering in the duck's life, and he has on multiple occasions got in over his head and lost competitions because of it. There are times when he fights to keep his temper, and he has succeeded a few times, but he always returns to his well known, aggressive self at the end of the day.

Donald's aggressive nature is a double-edged sword however, and while it at times is a hindrance and even a handicap for him, it has also helped him in times of need. When faced against a threat of some kind, Donald may get frightened and even intimidated (mostly by Pete), but rather than getting scared, he gets mad and has taken up fights with ghosts, sharks, mountain goats and even the forces of nature. And, more often than not, Donald has come out on top.

Donald can at times be a bit of a bully and a tease, especially against his nephews and Chip 'n Dale. As animator Fred Spencer once wrote:

The Duck gets a big kick out of imposing on other people or annoying them, but he immediately loses his temper when the tables are turned. In other words, he can dish it out, but he can't take it.
However, there is seldom any malice in Donald's pranks. He is never out to hurt anyone, and if he ever goes too far in his pranks he is always very regretful. In Truant Officer Donald, for example, when he is tricked into believing he accidentally killed Huey, Dewey and Louie, he shows great remorse, blaming himself and willingly takes a kick handed out by one of the “angel” nephews. That is, of course, until he realizes he has been played a sap and directly loses his temper.

Donald has also been shown to be a bit of a show-off. He likes to brag, especially when he is very skilled at something. This has a tendency to get him into trouble, however, as he also tends to get in over his head.

Still, Donald has proven that he is a Jack of all Trades and is, amongst other things, a good fisher and hockey player.

Among his personality traits is his stubbornness and commitment. Even though Donald at times can be lazy, and he has stated many times that his favorite place is in the hammock, once he has committed to something he goes in for it 100%, sometimes going to extreme measures to reach his goal.

Phrases
Donald has a few memorable phrases that he occasionally comes out with in given situations. "What's the Big Idea!?" is a common one, which Donald usually says when stumbling across other characters in the midst of planning some sort of retaliation or prank, and sometimes when certain things do not go as planned or do not work properly. "Aw Phooey!" is another memorable saying Donald makes, usually after giving up on a particular action or event. Another popular phrase Donald says, in particular to Daisy, is, "Hiya, toots!". "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy" is yet another common phrase Donald uses, usually when he's very excited about something.

Health
A running gag in the Donald Duck comics is about his physical condition. Usually, some character close to Donald believes that because of his laziness, Donald needs to do some exercise, which annoys Donald. But, in spite of his apparent lazy condition, Donald proves that he is physically strong, as evidenced in one of his shorts, Sea Scouts, where Donald travels in a boat with his nephews, but a shark attacks the boat and Donald, after several misadventures, finally defeats the shark with a single punch.

Rivalry with Mickey Mouse
Throughout his career, Donald has shown that he's jealous of Mickey and wants his job as Disney's greatest star. This is very similar to the Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck rivalry. In most Disney theatrical cartoons, Mickey and Donald are shown as partners and have little to no rivalry. However by the time The Mickey Mouse Club aired on television (after Bugs vs. Daffy cartoons such as Rabbit Fire), it was shown that Donald always wanted the spotlight. One animated short that rivaled the famous Mickey Mouse March song was showing Huey, Dewey, and Louie as Boy Scouts and Donald as their Scoutmaster at a cliff near a remote forest and Donald leads them in a song mirroring the Mouseketeers theme "D-O-N-A-L-D D-U-C-K-! Donald Duck!" The rivalry would cause Donald some problems, in a 1988 TV special, where Mickey is cursed by a sorcerer to become unnoticed, the world believes Mickey to be kidnapped. Donald Duck is then arrested for the kidnapping of Mickey, as he is considered to be the chief suspect, due to their rivalry. However, Donald did later get the charges dismissed, due to lack of evidence. Walt Disney, in his Wonderful World of Color, would sometimes make reference to the rivalry. Walt, one time, had presented Donald with a gigantic birthday cake and commented how it was "even bigger than Mickey's", which pleased Donald. The clip was rebroadcast in November 1984 during a TV special honoring Donald's 50th birthday, with Dick Van Dyke substituting for Walt.

The rivalry between Mickey and Donald has also been shown in Disney's House of Mouse. It was shown that Donald wanted to be the Club's founder and wanted to change the name from House of Mouse to House of Duck. However, in later episodes, Donald accepted that Mickey was the founder and worked with Mickey as a partner to make the club profitable.

Mickey Mouse has failed to realize how much Donald does not like him at times, and always counts him as one of his best friends. Despite the rivalry, Donald seems to be an honest friend of Mickey's, and will be faithful to him in tough situations, such as working with Mickey and Goofy as a team akin to The Three Musketeers. In the Kingdom Hearts games, Donald is quite loyal to Mickey, even briefly leaving Sora to follow King Mickey's orders.

The rivalry between Mickey and Donald is not unlike that of Warner Bros. characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and many animation fans have commented on the parallels present among the four characters. However, the main difference is that Bugs is aware of the fact that Daffy does not always like him, and takes advantage of it by playing tricks on the duck.

Nemesis
Donald has enemies, as worse than Mickey Mouse: Chip and Dale, Humphrey the Bear, Spike The Bee, Mountain Lion Louie, Bootle Beetle, Witch Hazel (in Trick and Treat), Aracuan Bird and Baby Shelby (in Mickey Mouse Works).

In the comics, are the Beagle Boys, Magica De Spell and Mr. Jones.

In the videogame Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers, he saves Daisy from Merlock.

Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story

2011-11-10T18:35:00.002Z

Buzz Lightyear is a character and the main deuteragonist of the Toy Story franchise. Buzz is a space ranger action figure and the co-leader of Andy's Room. He has also appeared in the movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins and the television series spin-off Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, as well as the two film sequels. His often repeated catchphrase is "To infinity ... and beyond!" Tim Allen voiced the character in the Toy Story film trilogy and the TV movie, while Patrick Warburton provided Buzz's voice for the TV series, and Pat Fraley voiced him for the video games and the attractions in Disney Parks.
Buzz Lightyear's name was inspired by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin acknowledged the tribute when he pulled a Buzz Lightyear doll out during a speech at NASA, to rapturous cheers; a clip of this can be found on the Toy Story 10th Anniversary DVD. Aldrin did not, however, receive any endorsement fees for the use of his first name. Regarding the design of Lightyear, his creator, John Lasseter, is on record as saying he wanted to create an action figure in the line of GI Joe for Toy Story and decided upon a spaceman figure. He attributes his design to the influence Apollo astronauts, in particular their clear helmets, skullcaps, communication devices and white suits The purple and lime green colour scheme were his wife's and his own favourite colours respectively. The wholesome good looks of television actor Ed Kemmer are also believed to be a prototype for Lightyear. Lightyear's chin, specifically, was inspired by Brendan Mullen, although Lasseter downplayed Lightyear's chin size in comparison to keep it from seeming too 'cartoonish.' Kemmer played Commander Buzz Corry in Space Patrol, one of first science-fiction series on US TV.

Toy Story
In Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear is first seen when given as a gift to Andy at his birthday party. Buzz is the most popular toy in the media at that time, and Andy's toys are quickly amazed at the impressive features that he has. However, Woody, the leader of Andy's toys, immediately grows jealous of the attention Buzz gets. The friction between the two is soon put aside when they save themselves and each other from a "toy murderer", Sid.

Toy Story 2
In Toy Story 2, Buzz Lightyear appears as the main protagonist and must assume the leader of the gang, in order to rescue Woody, who was captured by a toy collector named Al. Things get complicated when a toy named Stinky Pete tries to force Woody to get shipped to Japan with him, a pull-string doll named Jessie, and her horse, Bullseye. Buzz and the toys eventually rescue Woody, Jessie and Bullseye, who come to live in Andy's room with everyone.

Toy Story 3
In Toy Story 3, Woody, Buzz, and the gang end up in a daycare center, whom the leader of the toys is evil Lots-O-Huggin' Bear. Buzz is caught spying, and turned back to "demo mode". Therefore, he thinks he is a real space ranger again, and turns on his friends. Buzz turns back to his normal self, after he nearly gets crushed by a television set in a garbage truck. After many situations they face, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the other toys are given by Andy to a little girl named Bonnie. The end credits show the toys embracing their new life with Bonnie.

In other media
In Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Buzz is a space ranger working for Star Command, protecting the universe from Evil Emperor Zurg. He works in a team alongside Mira Nova, a Tangean princess with phasing powers, Booster, a janitor from the planet Jo-Ad, and XR, a robot created by the Little Green Men (the aliens from the movies, LGM for short). To compare this animation and the Toy Story films, the button between the red and blue ones is green in the Toy Story films and yellow in this animation with the releasing of strings when pressed. He returned as the main protagonist with Woody only being a supporting character

In the outtakes of the Home improvement episode "Say goodnight, Gracie", Tim is seen arguing with a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Also on the episode "I Was a Teenage Taylor", a small child comes trick or treating at the taylor house dressed up as Buzz Lightyear.

In the Super Bowl on February 3, 2008 during the 3rd quarter, Buzz and Woody are watching the Super Bowl and then watch a promo for WALL-E, who is playing with a vacuum.

Buzz Lightyear can be seen as meet-and-greet characters in the various Disneyland theme parks around the world. He also has a cameo appearance in Bedtime Stories as part of the audience (hence reasoning why he is Bugsy).

In Finding Nemo, a Buzz toy can be found in a toy box in the dentist's office. In The Simpsons episode "Loan-a-Lisa" he is seen as a cloud in a parody of Up called P.U. and in The Color Yellow, he appears in a drawing by Ralphie and Toy Story being mentioned as well then him being played by Tim Allen is mentioned in the episode The Itallian Bob by Lisa. In The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Buzz Lightyear can be seen on an alarm clock (hence when Toy Story 3 was in theaters four weeks before).

Buzz returns in the theatrical short film Hawaiian Vacation.

Sheriff Woody, Toy Story

2011-11-10T18:31:00.001Z

Sheriff Woody Pride, or simply Woody, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Toy Story franchise (alongside Buzz Lightyear). He is voiced by Tom Hanks in the films, and by Jim Hanks in most other media.

Toy Story
In Toy Story, Woody assumes the leader of Andy's toys, and takes his position seriously. He states many times that it's not about who gets played with most, it's always being there for Andy. However, later in the film, Andy gets a new toy for his birthday; which is a Buzz Lightyear, the most popular toy around at the time. Therefore, Andy's toys are amazed by the features Buzz has. Except for Woody, who is very jealous of Buzz's attention, and is worried that Buzz will take his place of being Andy's favourite toy. This is all resolved after the two work together to save themselves from a "toy murderer" named Sid.

Toy Story 2
In Toy Story 2, Woody, (with Buzz at his side) is still the leader of the toys, and prepares for an upcoming yard sale; which is an apperant dreadful situation for toys. A toy named Wheezie gets chosen to be sold, and Woody risks his saftey to save him while riding on Andy's new puppy, Buster. His plan is successful until he falls off of Buster and gets stolen by a greedy toy collector named Al. Woody is rescued by the toys just in time, before he is shipped off to Japan to be displayed in a museum.

Toy Story 3
In Toy Story 3, Andy is now 17 years old, and preparing to leave for college. Woody and the gang are heartbroken, and wonder what will become of them. Andy chooses Woody to take with him to college, thus putting him in a packing box. He puts the rest of the toys in a garbage bag to store in the attic. Andy's mother mistakes them for garbage, and the toys just manage to escape a garbage truck. Woody tries to convince everyone that Andy was going to put them in the attic, but is not believed. After a mix-up lands everyone at Sunnyside daycare, (an apperant nightmare for toys) they manage to escape all a chaos they face along the way, and are all given by Andy to a little girl named Bonnie. As seen in the credits, Woody and his toy companions then embrace their new life with Bonnie.

Other appearances
Woody also made a cameo in the movie A Bug's Life as a crew member in one of the outtakes. He appeared in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, where he only appeared at the beginning and was voiced by Jim Hanks. He appeared in the intro show of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command as a cameo. He also appeared in the ending of Cars as a little toy station wagon. He appears in the theatrical short, Hawaiian Vacation, used for the release of Cars 2.

Characteristics
Woody is an old-fashioned pull-string cowboy doll. The voice-box that is activated by the pull-string says many simple phrases such as "Reach for the sky!", "You're my favorite deputy!" and "There's a snake in my boot!". As mentioned in Toy Story 2, his construction includes an "original hand-painted face, natural dyed-blanket stitched vest, and hand-stitched poly-vinyl hat." Woody wears an empty gun holster at his belt. He is Andy's favorite toy since kindergarten, with a special spot on the bed, and is the leader of the toys in Andy's room. In Toy Story 2 it is revealed that he is based on the main character from a popular 1950s TV show, Woody's Roundup. When Al is bargaining with Andy's mom in an attempt to take Woody, Andy's mom declines Al's bargain, stating that Woody is "an old family toy." Stinky Pete also directly refers to him as a hand-me-down toy later in the movie, and when Woody finds a record player in Al's apartment room, he states "I haven't seen one of these in ages!", again supporting that he has been around longer than Andy. (In fact, when introducing the 2009 set of Toy Story collectibles, John Lasseter said "We always imagined he was a hand-me-down to Andy from his father.") He is voiced by Tom Hanks in the films and by his brother Jim Hanks on other occasions.

In the three films, Woody makes two strong friendships with Buzz and Jessie. At first, however, when Buzz temporarily became Andy's favorite toy, he tried to push him off the dresser but accidentally knocked him out the window. When Sid had them, however, he and Buzz worked together to escape. Since then, he and Buzz are very close and care deeply about each other and will do anything for each other. Even though he and Jessie argue with each other sometimes, they are still very close friends.

Although he has been deemed the boss in Andy's room, Woody is somewhat of a flawed character as seen in all three movies, as he has random bouts of jealousy, anger, frustration, and feelings of inadequacy regarding his role many times. These emotions often arise out of his frustration of being an immortal toy adjusting to his human owner aging.

It was revealed in August 2009 by Lee Unkrich that Woody's official last name is "Pride". Unkrich stated in his Twitter blog that “Woody’s actual full name is ‘Woody Pride’ and has been since the earliest days of developing the original Toy Story.”

TOY STORY

2011-11-10T18:24:00.002Z

Sheriff Woody

Buzz Lightyear

Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Steve Jobs and Tim Allen. It was written by Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, and featured music by Randy Newman. Its executive producer was Steve Jobs. Toy Story follows a group of toys who pretend to be lifeless whenever humans are present, and focuses on Woody, a pullstring Mew doll (Hanks), and Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut action figure (Allen).

The top-grossing film on its opening weekend, Toy Story went on to earn over $191 million in the United States and Canada during its initial theatrical release and took in more than $361 million worldwide. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, praising both the technical innovation of the animation and the wit and sophistication of the screenplay, and it is now widely considered, by many critics, to be one of the greatest and most revolutionary films in the history of animation.

In addition to DVD and Blu-ray releases, Toy Story-inspired material has run the gamut from toys, video games, theme park attractions, spin-offs, and merchandise. View-Master released a three-reel set in 3D in 1995, prior to release of 3D films. The film was so successful it prompted two sequels; Toy Story 2 (1999) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Both sequels were instant hits and garnered critical acclaim similar to the first; Toy Story 3 is, to date, the highest-grossing film in Pixar's canon. Leading up to the third film's premiere, as part of its promotion, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were also re-released as a double feature in Disney Digital 3-D on October 2, 2009. The film was selected into the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2005, its first year of eligibility.
Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll, is the leader of a group of toys that belong to a boy named Andy Davis and come to life when humans are not in sight. With his family moving to a new home and having a party, both one week before his birthday, the toys stage a reconnaissance mission to discover Andy's new presents. Andy receives a space ranger Buzz Lightyear action figure, whose interesting features threaten Woody's position as Andy's favorite toy. What's worse, Buzz does not realize that he is a toy and thinks that he is a real space ranger--and many of Woody's toy pals also fall for this fantasy.

As Andy prepares to go to a family outing at a space-themed Pizza Planet restaurant with Buzz, Woody attempts to have Buzz misplaced, but knocks him out a window instead. With Buzz missing, Andy takes Woody to Pizza Planet with him instead. However, Buzz climbs into the car and confronts Woody when they stop at a gas station. The two toys fight and accidentally fall out of the car, which drives off and leaves them behind. Woody sees a pickup truck bound for Pizza Planet and plans to rendezvous with Andy there, convincing Buzz to come with him by saying that the pickup truck can take him to his home planet. Once at Pizza Planet, Buzz makes his way into a claw game machine shaped like a spaceship, thinking that it is the ship that Woody had promised him. When Woody follows Buzz into the claw game to try and rescue him, they get captured by Andy's next door neighbor, Sid Phillips, who likes to torture and destroy toys for fun.

At Sid's house, the two stage numerous attempts to escape before Andy's family's moving day, encountering nightmarish hodge-podge toys of Sid's creation as well as Sid's vicious dog, Scud. Buzz sees a commercial for Buzz Lightyear action figures just like himself and realizes that he is a toy and becomes too depressed to participate in Woody's escape plan. Sid prepares to destroy Buzz by strapping him to a rocket, but is delayed by a thunderstorm and sleeps for the night. Woody convinces Buzz life is worth living even if he is not a space ranger because of the joy he can bring to Andy, and helps Buzz regain his spirit. Cooperating with Sid's mutant toys, Woody stages a rescue for Buzz and scares Sid away by coming to life in front of him. However, the two miss Andy's car as it drives away to his new house.

Running down the road, they climb onto a moving truck but Scud chases them and Buzz tackles the dog to save Woody. Woody attempts to rescue Buzz with Andy's RC car but the other toys, who still distrust him, toss Woody off onto the road. Spotting Woody driving RC back with Buzz alive, the other toys realize their mistake and try to help them into the truck. When RC's batteries become depleted, Woody ignites the rocket on Buzz's back and manages to throw RC into the moving truck just in time before they go soaring into the air. Buzz then opens his wings to cut himself free before he and Woody glide safely into the car. Andy looks in the box and is relieved to have found Woody and Buzz.

On Christmas Eve at their new house, Buzz and Woody stage another reconnaissance mission to prepare for the new toy arrivals, one of which is a Mrs. Potato Head, much to the delight of Mr. Potato Head. Woody jokingly asks Buzz "What could Andy possibly get that is worse than you?", a question which is immediately answered; Andy's new gift, as it turns out, is a puppy, and the two share a worried smile.

Mister Potato

2011-11-10T18:20:00.002Z

Mr. Potato Head is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in 1949, and first manufactured and distributed by Hasbro in 1952. Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on television and has remained in production since its debut. The toy was originally produced as separate plastic parts that could be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable. Government regulations forced Hasbro into including a plastic potato body within the toy set.

Over the years, the original toy was joined by Mrs. Potato Head and supplemented with accessories such as a car and a boat trailer. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head may be best known for their appearances in the Toy Story franchise. Additionally, in 1998 The Mr. Potato Head Show aired, but was short lived with only one season being produced. As one of the prominent marks of Hasbro, a Mr. Potato Head balloon has also joined others in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Today, Mr. Potato Head can still be seen adorning hats, shirts, and ties. Toy Story Midway Mania at California Adventure Park in Disneyland California also features a large talking Mr. Potato Head.
In the early 1950s, Brooklyn-born toy inventor George Lerner came up with the idea of inserting small, pronged body and face parts into fruits and vegetables to create a "funny face man". Lerner would often take potatoes from his mother's garden and, using various other fruits and vegetables as facial features, he would make dolls with which his younger sisters could play. The grape-eyed, carrot-nosed, potato-headed dolls became the principal idea behind the plastic toy which would later be manufactured.

In the beginning, Lerner's toy proved controversial. With the war and food rationing a recent memory for most Americans, the use of fruits and vegetables to make toys was considered irresponsible and wasteful. Toy companies rejected Lerner's creation. After several years of trying to sell the toy, Lerner finally convinced a food company to distribute the plastic parts as premiums in breakfast cereal boxes. He sold the idea for $5,000. But in 1951, Lerner showed the idea to textile manufacturers Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld, who conducted a small school supply and toy business called Hassenfeld Brothers (later changed to Hasbro). Realizing the toy was quite unlike anything in their line, they paid the cereal company $2,000 to stop production and bought the rights for $5,000. Lerner was offered an advance of $500 and a 5% royalty on every kit sold. The toy was dubbed Mr Potato Head and went into production.

Mr. Potato Head was born on May 1, 1952. The original toy cost $0.98, and contained hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pairs of eyes, four noses, three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and eight felt pieces resembling facial hair. The original Mr Potato Head kit did not come with a potato "body", so parents had to provide their own potato into which children could stick the various pieces. Shortly after the toy's initial release, an order form for 50 additional pieces was enclosed in every kit.

On April 30, 1952, Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised directly to children on television. Before this, all toy advertising had been directed at parents. This commercial revolutionized marketing, and caused an industrial boom. Over one million kits were sold in the first year. In 1953, Mrs. Potato Head was added, and soon after, Brother Spud and Sister Yam completed the Potato Head family with accessories reflecting the affluence of the fifties that included a car, a boat trailer, a kitchen set, a stroller, and pets called Spud-ettes. Although originally produced as separate plastic parts to be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable, a plastic potato was added to the kit in 1964.

In the 1960s, government regulations forced the Potato Head parts to be less sharp, leaving them unable to puncture vegetables easily. By 1964, the company was therefore forced to include a plastic potato "body" in its kit. Little children were also choking on the small pieces and cutting themselves with the sharp pieces. About this time, Hasbro introduced Oscar the Orange and Pete the Pepper, a plastic orange and green pepper with attachable face parts similar to Mr Potato Head's. Each came with Mr Potato Head in a separate kit. Female characters Katie Carrot and Cookie Cucumber also made an appearance.Hasbro also made a fast food based line called Mr.Potato Head's Picnic Pals.Some characters where Mr.Soda Pop Head and Franky franky frank. The friends and pals were later discontinued, but Funko revived Oscar and Pete as bobbleheads (along with a Mr Potato Head bobblehead) in 2002.

In 1975, the main potato part of the toy doubled in size and the dimensions of its accessories were similarly increased. This was done mainly because of new toy child safety regulations that were introduced by the U.S. government. This change in size also increased the market to younger children, enabling them to play and attach the facial pieces easily. Hasbro also replaced the holes with flat slats, which made it impossible for users to put the face pieces and other body parts the wrong way around. In the 1980s, Hasbro reduced the range of accessories for Mr. Potato Head to one set of parts. The company did, however, reintroduce round holes in the main potato body, and once again parts were able to go onto the toy in the wrong locations.

In 1986, Mr. Potato Head became "Spokespud" for the annual Great American Smokeout and surrendered his pipe to Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in Washington, D.C.

In 1995, Mr. Potato Head made his debut in Hollywood with a leading role in the Disney/Pixar animated feature Toy Story.

In 2000, Mr. Potato Head was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, NY.

In 2006, Hasbro also began selling sets of pieces without bodies for customers to add to their collections. Some of these themed sets included Mermaid, Rockstar, Pirate King Princess, Firefighter, Construction Worker, Halloween, Santa Claus, Chef, and Police Officer. In the same year, Hasbro introduced a line called "Sports Spuds" with a generic plastic potato (smaller than the standard size) customized to a wide variety of professional and collegiate teams.

In 2011, Mr. Potato Head got his first new look in nearly 30 years.

Monsters Inc

2011-11-10T18:15:00.001Z

Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett Reese, Jonathan Roberts, and Andrew Stanton. The starring voices are John Goodman and Billy Crystal as Sulley and Mike, two monsters who work at a power plant that powers the monster world with children's screams, Mary Gibbs as Boo, a little girl who enters the monster world, Steve Buscemi as Randall, a rival monster, Jennifer Tilly as Celia, Mike's girlfriend, and James Coburn as Mr. Waternoose, the plant's owner.

The film was released to theatres by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 2, 2001, in Australia on December 26, 2001, and in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2002. It was a commercial and critical success, grossing over $525,366,597 worldwide. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes also reported extremely positive reviews with a 95% approval rating. The film is scheduled for a 3D re-release on January 18, 2013. Also, a prequel, Monsters University, is scheduled for a June 21, 2013 release.
Monstropolis is a city populated entirely by monsters. The monster world can be connected to children's bedrooms in the human world through closet doors. When a door is properly activated, it becomes a portal between the monster world and the human world. The city's power supply is provided by Monsters, Inc., a power plant that employs monsters to scare children and extract energy from their screams. The company has a large warehouse full of doors, work areas called "scare floors" where the doors are activated, and a special training room in which employees practice their scare skills. The company's best scarer is James Sullivan (Goodman), whose assistant is his best friend and room mate Michael "Mike" Wazowski (Crystal). Sulley's main rival is Randall Boggs (Buscemi), but enjoys a patronizing relationship with the company's CEO, Henry J. Waternoose III (Coburn), who likes Sulley because of his scaring ability. Waternoose is also worried about an energy crisis because children are harder to scare than they used to be.

One day, Sulley finds an activated door on his scare floor after the workday has ended. He finds no one in the room behind the door, but a little two-year-old girl (Gibbs) follows him back into the monster world. Far from being scared, she calls him "Kitty" and delights in playing with him. Since monsters think humans are lethally toxic, Sulley tries repeatedly to return the girl to her room, but she keeps following him back, and Randall eventually deactivates and stores the door, leaving the girl stuck in the monster world. The girl's presence then becomes public knowledge when Sulley sneaks her into a restaurant to find Mike, so they hide her in their home while the Child Detection Agency (CDA) searches for her. Sulley decides to call the girl "Boo", and he slowly bonds with her after realizing that she is not poisonous. He also discovers that her laughter produces even more energy than her screams.

The next morning, Sulley and Mike disguise Boo in a monster costume and sneak her into work. Randall agrees to help them return her to her bedroom, but when Mike enters the room, Randall captures him in a box, thinking that he is Boo. Randall intends to kidnap Boo and subject her to a device that extracts her screams.

What follows is a series of battles, chases, and accidents in which Sulley and Mike attempt to protect Boo from Randall and his scream machine but Waternoose banishes both Sulley and Mike to the Himalayas, where they meet the Abominable Snowman (John Ratzenberger). Sulley and Mike return to the monster world through a village at the foot of the mountain, where Randall chases them through the company's roller-coaster-like door-moving system. When the energy in Boo's laughter activates the doors in storage, the chase passes in and out of the human world. Finally, Sulley and Boo defeat Randall. Sulley throws Randall through the door of a trailer-park trailer, where a woman beats Randall with a shovel thinking that he was an alligator, and Mike destroys the door to make sure Randall never comes back.

Just as Sulley and Mike attempt to return Boo to her home, Waternoose and the CDA call her door to the scare floor, ready to arrest them, but Mike leads the agents away by fleeing with Boo's monster costume, and Sulley flees with Boo and the door. When Waternoose follows Sulley and Boo, Sulley attempts to set up and activate the door, and when Waternoose follows them through the door, he confesses to Sulley that he is willing to kidnap a thousand children before he lets the company die. However, Sulley had not properly activated Boo's door, causing the three to actually wind up in the adjacent Monsters, Inc. training room, which is equipped with a video monitoring system. Mike has recorded Waternoose's confession, and after he replays the confession, CDA agents arrest Waternoose and take him away.

With the scream-machine plot foiled, the CDA agents call in their leader, who is revealed to be Roz (Bob Peterson), the company's bookkeeper who was working undercover at Monsters Inc. Mike says goodbye to Boo and Sulley returns her to her bedroom, then Roz has the door shredded, preventing monsters from entering the human world and visiting Boo again. Sulley keeps one of the wood splinters as a memento.

Some time later, Sulley becomes the CEO of Monsters, Inc., and the company has ended the energy crisis with his policy of making children laugh instead of scaring them. Meanwhile, Mike has managed to collect and reassemble the pieces of Boo's shredded door. When Sulley puts his piece in its place, the door becomes activated again, and when he peeks into Boo's room, she greets him.

Flik, A Bug's Life

2011-11-10T18:11:00.001Z

A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy Story and DreamWorks' Antz. Based on Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai, and Aesop's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper", it tells the tale of an oddball individualist inventor ant named Flik who hires what he thinks are "warrior bugs" – actually circus performers – to fight off a small band of grasshoppers who have made the ant colony their servants. The film was directed by John Lasseter, and was co-directed by Andrew Stanton.
Flik is an individualist and would-be inventor in a colony of ants. Flik is different and always unappreciated due to his inventions causing trouble.

The colony is constantly oppressed by a gang of marauding grasshoppers who arrive every season demanding food from the ants. However, when the offering that the ants were putting together to appease the grasshoppers is accidentally knocked into a stream by Flik's latest invention, a harvester device, the grasshoppers demand twice as much food at the end of the season. Given a temporary reprieve by the grasshoppers, the ants pretend to agree to Flik's plan to recruit "warrior bugs" to fight off the grasshoppers. While Flik actually believes in the plan, the other ants see it as a fool's errand to get rid of Flik.

Flik finds his way to the "big city" (a garbage dump), where he mistakes a group of circus bugs, whose act collapses into chaos, for the warrior bugs he's seeking. The bugs meanwhile mistake Flik for a talent agent, and agree to travel with him back to Ant Island.

The bugs earn the ants' respect after they save the Queen's daughter, Dot, from a bird. The bird attack inspires Flik into making a plan to build a fake bird to scare away Hopper, leader of the grasshoppers, who is deeply afraid of bug-eating birds. Eventually, the circus ringmaster, P.T. Flea, arrives searching for the circus bugs. Angered at Flik's deception, the ants exile him.

The ants desperately try to pull together enough food for a new offering to the grasshoppers, but are unable to do so. Dot, upon overhearing Hopper's plan to kill the queen after the offering, leaves the colony in search of Flik and convinces him to return and put his original plans to action to save the queen. The plan nearly works, but P.T. Flea mistakes the model for an actual bird and sets it on fire, causing Hopper to realized that he has been tricked. He orders one of his grasshoppers to attack Flik, whom he then proceeds to finish himself. Before he can do so, Princess Atta steps in and defends Flik, prompting the rest of the colony to stand up to the grasshoppers and fight them out of the colony. In the chaos, Hopper viciously pursues Flik, who leads him to an actual bird's nest, where he is ultimately eaten by baby chicks. Flik is welcomed back to the colony, and the circus bugs join him in a celebration. Princess Atta kisses Flik and is given her mother's, The Queen's, crown, making Princess Atta the Queen.

DISNEY WORLD CHARACTERS

2011-11-10T17:57:00.004Z

This is a compilation of the Disney Characters that we were able to find in Disney World:

Flik, bugs life

Monsters

Mister Potato

Sheriff Woody

Buzz lightyear

Donald Duck

Toy Story

Mickey Mouse

Pluto

Minnie Mouse

Cars

Incredibles

Lego

Disney's Animal Kingdom

2011-11-09T17:52:00.003Z

Disney's Animal Kingdom is an animal theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The fourth park built at the resort, it opened on April 22, 1998, and it is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than 500 acres (202 ha). It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely around animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney himself. Disney's Animal Kingdom is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, meaning they have met or exceeded the standards in Education, Conservation and Research.

The park consists of seven themed areas, with all but one connected to Discovery Island, which contains The Tree of Life, a sculpted 14-story, 50-foot-wide artificial tree that serves as the centerpiece and icon of Disney's Animal Kingdom. A new area based on the 2009 film Avatar and its planned sequels is set to begin construction by 2013. In 2010, the park hosted approximately 9.7 million guests, ranking it the fourth-most visited amusement park in the United States and seventh-most visited in the world.

Oasis
The Oasis is the park's main entrance. Along with providing various guest services, the Oasis features a number of animal habitats. Guests can encounter muntjacs, spoonbills, ducks, wallabies and giant anteaters, among others. The main paths lead deeper into the park, and onto Discovery Island.
A Rainforest Cafe is also located at the entrance of the Oasis, although technically it is outside the park boundaries. Guests may dine at the restaurant without entering Disney's Animal Kingdom, while guests entering the restaurant from within the theme park are actually exiting the park and must present their admission tickets to return to the park.

Discovery Island
Discovery Island is located roughly at the center of the park, in the middle of the Discovery River waterway. It was originally called Safari Village, as Discovery Island was the name for the small zoological park located in Walt Disney World's Bay Lake. After that facility closed in 1999, Safari Village was renamed Discovery Island. This is the "central hub" of Disney's Animal Kingdom, connecting almost all of the other sections of the park, except Rafiki's Planet Watch. The Tree of Life, the park's visual icon, is located here, surrounded by animal enclosures showcasing kangaroos, black crowned cranes, lemurs and others. The park's largest gift shops and two of its major restaurants are on Discovery Island, each with a different design theme, such as décor based on nocturnal animals, insects and so forth. The island's other major draw is It's Tough to be a Bug!, a comical 4-D film featuring appearances by Flik and Hopper from Disney·Pixar's A Bug's Life.

Camp Minnie-Mickey
Camp Minnie-Mickey is themed as a rustic summer camp. Here guests can meet the Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and others. Located in the area's main theatre is Festival of the Lion King, a live stage show featuring acrobatics and musical performances inspired by The Lion King.
Camp Minnie-Mickey was built on the spot where the Beastly Kingdom was planned to be.

Africa
Set in the fictional east African village of Harambe, this area contains a number of animal exhibits. According to Disney legend, Harambe was once part of a Dutch colony, but a peaceful revolution made Harambe self-governing in 1963. Today, Harambe is the starting point for tourists and students who want to observe Africa's animals in their natural habitats.

The village is the namesake of the Harambe Wildlife Preserve, the fictional home of Africa's main attraction, Kilimanjaro Safaris. Guests climb aboard an open-sided safari vehicle for an expedition to see numerous African animals freely roam through acres of savanna, rivers and rocky hills, including reticulated giraffes, hippos, African elephants and lions. On the adjacent Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, visitors trek into the forest in search of gorillas. Along the way, the guest goes on a nature walk through a verdant African valley filled with Nile hippos, birds and fish.

Rafiki's Planet Watch
The one section of the park not connected to Discovery Island, Rafiki's Planet Watch is instead connected to Africa. Guests board the Wildlife Express Train for the short trip to and from Planet Watch, which consists of three distinct areas. Guests first encounter Habitat Habit!, where they can see cottontop tamarins and learn about the efforts to protect these endangered primates in their natural homes. Along the way, guests can also learn how to provide animal habitats in and around their own homes.

Conservation Station showcases the various conservation efforts supported by the Walt Disney Company. It also gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Disney's Animal Kingdom's animal care facilities, including a veterinary examination room complete with a two-way communications system so the veterinary staff can answer guest questions. Outside, Affection Section is a petting zoo featuring goats, sheep and other domesticated animals.

Asia
Asia was the first expansion area added to Disney's Animal Kingdom, first opening in 1999. Like Africa, the section's attractions are part of a fictional place, the kingdom of Anandapur (which means "Place of many delights"). Anandapur comprises two villages: the riverside village of Anandapur and Serka Zong, which is in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. Portraits of Anandapur's royal family, the Maharajah and his wife, can be found in most of the businesses within the two villages, and a map of the kingdom, featuring both villages and their location relative to the mountains and river can be found on the wall of the Disney Vacation Club kiosk located there. Much like Harambe, Disney legend states that Anandapur is now a center of animal research and tourism. At the Caravan Stage, these two "worlds" meet in Flights of Wonder, a live bird show where one of Anandapur's bird researchers educates a tour guide with a fear of birds about natural bird behaviors and the effects of habitat loss and conservation efforts on bird species, such as the Black Crowned Crane and American Bald Eagle.

The Maharajah Jungle Trek leads guests through the forests and ruins outside the village, which are home to a number of animal species, such as Komodo dragons, fruit bats, tapirs, and tigers. Nearby, Kali River Rapids is a river rapids ride along the fictional Chakranadi River through a rainforest, past an illegal logging operation and down a waterfall. Looming in the distance behind Anandapur is the Forbidden Mountain, the home of Expedition Everest, a roller coaster ride through the Himalayas.

DinoLand U.S.A.
DinoLand U.S.A. is inspired by the public's general curiosity about dinosaurs. The fictitious Dino Institute and its surrounding facilities attract those with a scientific interest in the long-extinct animals, while Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama recalls the many roadside attractions that were once scattered throughout the United States. Like the other sections of Disney's Animal Kingdom, there are animals on display.

These particular animals, such as the American Crocodile and Asian brown tortoise, have evolutionary links to the age of the dinosaurs. Other plant and animal species that have survived since the dinosaur era can be found along the Cretaceous Trail. At the edge of DinoLand U.S.A. is the "Theater in the Wild," which hosts Finding Nemo - The Musical, a live-action musical stage show based on the story of the Disney·Pixar feature film.

The Dino Institute is the home of DINOSAUR, a thrill ride featuring a trip through time to the Late Cretaceous Period. Just outside the Institute is "Dino-Sue", a casting of a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil that is the most complete yet found. At the nearby Boneyard, children enjoy a multi-leveled playground area complete with a mammoth fossil to be uncovered.

Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama, on the other hand, is about dinosaurs as fun. The TriceraTop Spin is a colorful ride for families, while Primeval Whirl is a spinning roller coaster for thrill-seekers. Throughout the area are carnival games and gift shops, as well as chances to meet Disney characters.

The area was formerly sponsored by McDonald's, until 2009 when the contract ran out.

Disney's Animal Kingdom focuses on three broad classifications of animals: those that exist today; those that did exist, but are now extinct (i.e., dinosaurs); and those that exist in legend and mythology. In the original design for the park, the animals of legend were to have their own section.

The original design for Animal Kingdom included a section called the Beastly Kingdom (possibly spelled as "Beastly Kingdomme"). It was a land devoted to creatures of legend and mythology. Due to budget constraints, Beastly Kingdom never came to fruition and Camp Minnie-Mickey was built as a temporary tenant of the Beastly Kingdom land.

Beastly Kingdom was to have featured mythical animals such as unicorns, dragons, and sea monsters. The land would feature realms of both good and evil creatures. The evil side would be dominated by Dragon Tower, a ruined castle home to a greedy fire-breathing dragon who horded a fabulous treasure in the tower chamber. The castle would also be inhabited by bats who planned to rob the dragon of his riches. They would enlist the guests' help in their scheme and whisk them off on a thrilling roller coaster ride through the castle ruins. The climax of the ride would be an encounter with the evil dragon himself, resulting in a nearly-barbecued train of guests.

The good side of this land would be home to Quest of the Unicorn, an adventure which sent guests through a maze of medieval mythological creatures to seek the hidden grotto where the unicorn lived. Finally, the Fantasia Gardens attraction would be a musical boat ride through animal scenes from Disney's animated classic, Fantasia. The ride would feature both the crocodiles and hippos from " Dance of the Hours" and the Pegasus, fauns, and centaurs from Beethoven's "Pastoral."

Remnants of this planned area were visible when the park opened or are still visible today:

The parking lot contains a section named "Unicorn."
The silhouette of a dragon appears in the Animal Kingdom logo.
There is a dragon-shaped stone fountain near Camp Minnie-Mickey.
A detailed dragonhead statue sits atop one of the ticket booths at the park's entrance.
Blasts of fire would be spewed from a cave at the edge of the water, in Camp Minnie-Mickey. Burnt suits of armor were just outside the cave entrance, and when boats passed this scene in the now-closed Discovery River Boats attraction, guests were told by the boat's captain that the fire was created by a fire-breathing dragon inside the cave. This scene was visible from Discovery River Boats attraction and the Camp Minnie-Mickey bridge for several years.
One of the McDonald's Animal Kingdom-themed Happy Meal toys was a winged purple dragon.
As Expedition Everest features the mythological yeti, a creature that may or may not exist, the park now features at least one attraction based on each type of animal (living, extinct and legendary). As to Beastly Kingdom's future, Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde said in 2000: "We had a vision and now it's become a place holder. We have all kinds of ideas and not all of them fit with the theme of Beastly Kingdom. I'm not even convinced there will be a Beastly Kingdom.".

MORE PICTURES

Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney World

2011-11-09T17:21:00.002Z

Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres (546,000 m²) in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. The third park built at the resort, it opened on May 1, 1989 as Disney-MGM Studios.

In 2010, the park hosted approximately 9.6 million guests, ranking it the fifth-most visited amusement park in the United States, and eighth-most visited in the world.

The park is represented by The Sorcerer's Hat, a stylized version of the magical hat from Fantasia. It replaced the Earful Tower as the park's icon in 2001.

The idea that led to Disney’s Hollywood Studios began at its sister park, Epcot. A team of Imagineers led by Marty Sklar and Randy Bright had been given an assignment to create two new pavilions for the park's Future World section. The fruits of the brainstorming sessions were the Wonders of Life pavilion and the Great Movie Ride pavilion. The second of the two was to have sat between the Land pavilion and the Journey Into Imagination pavilion, and was to look like a soundstage backdrop, with a movie theater-style entrance in the middle. The actual attraction is very similar to the plans for the equivalent at Epcot, only, when newly-appointed CEO Michael Eisner saw the plans for the pavilion, he requested that, instead of placing the ride in an already existing park, it should be surrounded by a brand new theme park which extended the showbiz, Hollywood and entertainment theme.

The park consists of six themed areas. Unlike the other Walt Disney World parks, Disney's Hollywood Studios does not have a defined layout; it is more a mass of streets and buildings that blend into each other, much like a real motion picture studio. The layout of the park, however, did have an interesting design characteristic. The plaza at the end of Hollywood Boulevard featured a large Hidden Mickey, which was visible in aerial photographs of the park and on the park's early guide maps. However, construction and other changes to the park have eliminated much of this image.

Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard serves as the park's main entrance and is lined with venues selling Disney merchandise. Parades such as the Pixar Block Party Bash travel down Hollywood Boulevard on their route through the park, and live street entertainment can be found here throughout the day. Michael Eisner, who had a major part in the park's creation ever since the earliest development, demanded the opening land operate on the same principle as Main Street, U.S.A. but in a style more fitting to the Studios.

At the far end of Hollywood Boulevard stands the Sorcerer's Hat, the icon of Disney's Hollywood Studios. Behind it, inside a replica of Grauman's Chinese Theater, is The Great Movie Ride, a dark ride paying homage to several classic films, including Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Echo Lake is the park's small oval-shaped lagoon, which was designed to form one of the ears in the enormous Hidden Mickey from the park's original layout. Surrounding it are numerous attractions and services, some in structures designed to mimic the "California Crazy" form of architecture from Hollywood's Golden Age.

At The American Idol Experience, park guests can audition and sing for live audiences, and potentially win a special front-of-the-line pass for the popular TV series' real tryouts. Next door, Sounds Dangerous! features a 3-D audio presentation starring comedian Drew Carey. In between them is the A.T.A.S. Hall of Fame Plaza, a display of busts of past and present icons of the television era, such as Oprah Winfrey and Walt Disney.

Echo Lake
Echo Lake includes three attractions based on characters and films produced by George Lucas' Lucasfilm studio. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is a 3-D motion simulator ride set in the Star Wars universe. This attraction also exists at Disneyland Park. The Jedi Training Academy, a live-action stage show, invites children to become "padawan learners" and receive "lightsaber training" from a Jedi master. Lastly, the live-action Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! re-enacts various scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark while illustrating how movie stunts are performed.

Streets of America
Originally the New York Street backlot set that was part of the park's original Backlot Studio Tour, the section was later opened to pedestrian traffic. More recently, additional architectural treatments were added to create street sets resembling San Francisco and New York. The current version of the Studio Backlot Tour features the American Film Institute Showcase, a rotating exhibit of movie props and memorabilia, and a tram ride through the backlot areas and through Catastrophe Canyon, an effects-laden "movie set". Muppet*Vision 3D is a 3-D film featuring Jim Henson's Muppets. The attraction utilizes multiple effects to display the characters inside the theater during the presentation. Younger guests can play amongst oversized plants and toys at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure, based on the 1989 Disney film. Added in 2005, the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show is a behind-the-scenes look at how vehicle action sequences are created for films, and was adapted from a similar show at Walt Disney Studios Park.

Animation Courtyard
This section of the park originally was the starting point for the tours of the park's active production studios. Its entrance is marked by a square "studio arch," much like a real Hollywood studio lot entrance might be marked. The Animation Courtyard is home to a number of attractions based on Disney characters of yesterday, today and tomorrow. The Magic of Disney Animation is an attraction that examines the development process of an animated character. It also includes interactive games and exhibits, along with meet-and-greet areas for Disney and Pixar characters.

Mickey Avenue, a sub-section of Animation Courtyard, is home to a walk-through exhibit, Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, which explores the life and legacy of Walt Disney through photos, models, rare artifacts, and a short biographical film narrated by Julie Andrews.

The Courtyard section also hosts two live shows. Playhouse Disney Live on Stage! entertains guests with puppet characters from the Playhouse Disney block of programming on The Disney Channel, including Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins. Across the plaza, Voyage of the Little Mermaid uses glow-in-the-dark puppets, lasers, music, projectors, human actors and water effects to re-create favorite scenes and songs from the animated Little Mermaid film.

Pixar Place
The park's newest section includes many of the original soundstages used when the park hosted actual production facilities. Today, Pixar Place resembles the Emeryville, California campus of Pixar Animation Studios. Its sole attraction is Toy Story Midway Mania!, an interactive 3D attraction inspired by classic carnival midway games, each hosted by characters from the Toy Story film series. Pixar Place is also the home of Luxo Jr., a six-foot-tall audio-animatronics version of Pixar's desk-lamp mascot. The moving character performs periodic shows throughout the day and evening across from Toy Story Midway Mania.

Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard was the first expansion to Disney's Hollywood Studios, opening in July 1994. The visual focal point of Sunset Boulevard is The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a thrill ride based on the classic television series. Located nearby is Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, an indoor roller coaster in the dark with three inversions and a high-speed launch.
Sunset Boulevard has two outdoor amphitheaters for live stage shows. The covered Theater of the Stars hosts Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, a stage show featuring highlights of the film. The open-air Hollywood Hills Amphitheater is the home of Fantasmic!, a nighttime show featuring Mickey Mouse and many other Disney characters in a story filled with fireworks, lasers and water effects.

Live entertainment
Disney's Hollywood Studios has featured numerous forms of in-park entertainment throughout its history. During its early years, the park featured the "Star Today" program, with a daily celebrity guest. The celebrity would often be featured in a motorcade along Hollywood Boulevard, or would take part in a handprint ceremony at the Great Movie Ride's entrance, or even participate in an interview session.

At other times, Disney has imported characters that were not part of its own library of films and television shows. Some of these characters have included the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and characters from the Goosebumps series by author R. L. Stine. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made appearances in the park during the first seasons of the television series, but then vanished. Disney had ownership of the Power Rangers franchise through its purchase of Saban Entertainment until May 2010 when Saban Entertainment purchased the franchise back, and were regular members of the park's cast of characters through that time.

Many of the park's costumed entertainers are not related to any particular film or TV show. Instead, they are live-action caricatures of figures from Hollywood's history. Originally dubbed "streetmosphere" by Disney and now called the "Citizens of Hollywood", they appear at regular intervals on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards. Some of these characters include directors, talent agents, starlets or hopefuls, and will often take part in streetside shows that will include audience participation.

Today, guests are treated to a wide array of characters and performers, many of which make their only Walt Disney World appearances at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Some examples include characters from JoJo's Circus, Little Einsteins and Kim Possible. Similarly, characters from new Disney and Pixar animated features will make their Walt Disney World debuts at the park, such as those from Bolt and Pixar's Ratatouille. Live musical acts, such as the cover band Mulch, Sweat and Shears and the a cappella quartet Four For a Dollar, will perform on the park streets or as pre-show entertainment at the larger shows.

Like the Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom parks, Disney's Hollywood Studios also runs daily parades down Hollywood Boulevard. The "Pixar Block Party Bash" parade features Pixar film characters performing in a street party along Hollywood Boulevard and near Echo Lake. Several times each day, the "High School Musical 3 Senior Year : Right Here Right Now" show will travel Hollywood Boulevard before performing a live street show in front of the Sorcerer's Hat.

MORE PICTURES

Canada, Epcot, World Disney

2011-11-09T17:16:00.003Z

The Canada Pavilion is designed to remind guests of the Canadian outdoors. It includes a canyon, a waterfall, gardens, a pool with fountains, and totem poles. The main attraction is O Canada!, a Circle-Vision 360° movie of Canada's cities, scenery and people. The pavilion also includes Le Cellier Steakhouse and the semi-permanent home of the Celtic rock band Off Kilter. Characters from the film Brother Bear and Pocahontas can sometimes be seen.
Prior to the construction of the pavilion, the Walt Disney Company sought financial support for the attraction from the Canadian government. The company wanted the federal government to fund the cost of building the attraction; in return the government would have input into the design and layout. The Canadian government was concerned about the stereotype of Canada that Disney wanted (i.e., lumberjacks). Funding was refused, and Disney threatened to pull the exhibit, but ultimately did not.

At one time during the planning, the pavilion was to have been divided by a main street of shops and restaurants, with one side representing French Canada and the other English Canada.

At the opening in 1982, the original musical talent for the Canadian pavilion was a trio called the "Caledonian Pipe Band", consisting of two pipers and one drummer. The performers were Robert (Bob) Proctor (lead, drummer), Kenneth Mauchin (piper) and Robert Mauchin (piper). They were recruited by Ron Rodriguez (talent co-ordinator for Walt Disney World) from the Rosie O'Grady's Pipe Band of Orlando. Because all three had ties to Scotland, they also performed in the UK pavilion at various times.

In 2007, Disney updated the movie O Canada!, filmed in 1979. For several years, the Canadian Tourism Commission lobbied to have the movie updated, partly to remove outdated stereotypes of Canadian life. On August 31, 2007, the updated edition opened with a new host, Canadian actor Martin Short, and Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila reprising the original film's theme song, "Canada (You're a Lifetime Journey)".

Attraction
O Canada!, a Circle-Vision 360° movie of Canada's cities and scenery.

Dining
Le Cellier Steakhouse provides sit down restaurant service. The interior is to give the impression of a wine cellar as its name suggests. Food offerings include seafood and steaks, along with popular Canadian wines and beer. It is located in the main building of the pavilion, Hotel du Canada modeled after the Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa. The building is presented (with the aid of forced perspective) to look as if it is six stories in height, but is really three. The restaurant was originally a cafeteria-style dining hall. It actually is a cellar, located underneath the chateau; it was designed to appear as a wine cellar, with simulated stone arches and dark ambient lighting.
Popcorn Cart sells popcorn, soda, Moosehead Lager, Moosehead Light and Labatt's Blue On Draft

Shopping
Northwest Mercantile sells wilderness themed Christmas ornaments, NHL jerseys and accessories for Canada's seven teams, a variety of animal plush, maple syrup, and a selection of Canadian wines and ice wines. It is located in the trading post building, which is designed to look like a traditional West coast native longhouse.
The Wood Cart (located on the promenade) sells a variety of wine-themed merchandise, animal plush, flags and other assorted goods. The Cart also features an engraving stand, where guests can have their names engraved onto genuine leather bracelets, cuffs, cell phone strap charms, and Disney character keychains.

Entertainment
Off Kilter is a Celtic rock band which debuted at the Canada pavilion July 1, 1997.[citation needed] It plays in the pavilion throughout the week.

Totem poles
The pavilion has three native totem poles, up to 30' in height. Two are made of fiberglass, and one is carved out of wood. The wooden totem pole depicts three stories of the "Raven" tricking the "Sky Chief" into the release of sun, moon and stars from a chest. It was carved by the British Columbia artist David Boxley, and was officially put on display in April 1998.

Gardens
Gardens at the Canada PavilionThe Victoria Gardens which are adjacent to the Hotel du Canada are inspired by the Butchart Gardens near Victoria, British Columbia. The gardens are the largest (and most labour intensive) of all the national pavilions.

Hidden Mickeys
The Canada Pavilion contains three Hidden Mickeys:
1. Just outside Northwest Mercantile, there is the largest totem pole in the Canada pavilion. The Mickey is just underneath the elbow of a set of arms near the top of the pole.
2. Inside the Northwest Mercantile shop is a roughly foot-long fish hanging from a crate. The Mickey is painted on the fish itself.
3. Just inside Le Cellier steakhouse there is the counter where you would check in for your meal. Behind that counter is a small wine storage room. In the very top center of the rack are three bottles of wine, a large one with two small ones on top of it forming a familiar shape.

United Kingdom, Epcot, World Disney

2011-11-09T17:05:00.002Z

The United Kingdom Pavilion, designed to look like a typical British village, looks like 1/100 villages that are in the UK, although it could be argued that it is more stereotypical, with buildings based on different periods of British architecture. It has British gardens (including a hedge maze). The shops sell British items, such as tea, toys, clothing and Beatles merchandise. There is also a band called "The English Channel" that performs regularly in the Pavilion. The Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room serves traditional British food, as well as beer and ale. There is also a quick-service counter serving Fish and Chips. There is a sport shop selling British sport equipment, including Chelsea F.C. and Liverpool F.C. shirts.

AttractionKim Possible World Showcase Adventure
[edit] DiningRose & Crown Pub & Dining Room
A full service restaurant that serves English cuisine in both an indoor and outdoor setting. The indoor section resembles a pub, while the outdoor seating is located on a patio overlooking the lagoon. Lunch and dinner are served daily. Dishes include Potato and Leek Soup, Bangers and Mash and Fish and Chips. The Rose and Crown menu was revamped in 2009 to more closely resemble traditional British food following observations by serving staff (all British) and customers that it was slightly un-authentic, containing American food such as burgers-resulting some would say from the fact that the management and kitchen staff were almost universally Americans who had never visited the UK.

A key attraction to the Rose and Crown is the selection of ales and stouts including Bass, Harp and Guinness as well as Stella Artois (despite being Belgian, it is the UKs most popular lager or non-traditional ale).

Yorkshire County Fish Shop
A quick service fish and chip counter restaurant that serves only fish, chips, and shortbread. Drinks, including Bass Ale and Harp Lager, are available. Seating is outdoors only. Yorkshire is very rarely referred to as "Yorkshire County", despite being a county, because "shire" and "county" are synonymous in the UK.

Shopping
The Toy Soldier: Sells wooden toys, Thomas The Tank Engine trains, DVDs, swords, shields, action figures, books, British police hats, stuffed animals, and quills with ink, Narnia merchandise.

The Crown and Crest: Sells The Beatles merchandise. Including, DVDs, CDs, books, cups and mugs, Shirts, lunch boxes, biscuit jars, key rings and Pins.
HRC : The Historical Research Center. Sells coats of arms, shirts and lets you look at the history of your last name.
Sportsman's Shoppe: Sells football team apparel, footballs, and books about football and Rugby Balls.
The Tea Caddy: Sells Twinings Tea, teaballs, teacups, teapots, and British sweets
UK Cart: Sells Walt Disney World Trading pins, lanyards, Minnie and Mickey Mouse Plushes, Shot glasses and UK shirts.

Entertainment
British Revolution - Band playing British rock music from the 1960s through 1990s
The Hat Lady - Piano player in the Rose & Crown
World Showcase Players - Roving comedy show
Pub Magician - Close- up magic in the Rose & Crown

Meet Disney Characters from the films
Mary Poppins
Alice in Wonderland
Winnie the Pooh

Morocco, Epcot, World Disney

2011-11-09T17:01:00.002Z

The Moroccan Pavilion, designed to look like a Moroccan city with a realistic Minaret, features the only pavilion in which the country's government aided in the design. Guests to the pavilion gain insight on the lifestyle and culture of the Moroccan people through the Gallery of Arts and History. The Fes House shows guests the typical Moroccan house. Inside the pavilion, North African plants including citrus trees, date palms, and olive trees, and fountains. The courtyard plays hosts to entertainment, including a belly dancing show in the evening. Restaurant Marrakesh, along with the Tangierine Cafe, serve Moroccan fare, including roast lamb in Tajine, Couscous, and Harira soup. Six shops adorn the pavilion, selling patrons everything from rugs to leather goods, and traditional Moroccan clothing.

Some of the major defining structures of the pavilion include Chellah, a replication of the necropolis in Rabat, and the Koutoubia, a replica of the minaret of the same name in Marrakesh. A replica of Bab Boujeloud, the gateway to the Fez medina leads you to a Bazaar area.

King Hassan II actually sent Moroccan artisans to design and create the many mosaics. Due to Islamic religious beliefs on the content of art, the mosaics contain no representations of people. The government also sponsors the pavilion, while a corporation holds sponsoring rights on every other pavilion.

The Tower of Terror in Disney's Hollywood Studios is seen at an angle from the Morrocan pavilion, and the top of the Tower is designed so it blends in with the Morrocan architecture.

Dining
Restaurant Marrakesh - Serves various types of Moroccan cuisine including: Harira soup, Pastilla Appetizers, couscous, various lamb dishes, and shisk kabob.
Tangerine Cafe - Serves hummus, various salads, rotisserie chicken, Baklava along with beverages including coffee, mint tea, slushies, beer, and carbonated beverages

Shopping
Tangier Trades - Sells jewelry, Moroccan clothing and shoes, mirrors made from camel bones, and daggers
Brass Baazar - Mosaic fountains and brass and silver plates and mirrors
Outdoor Baazar - extension of the Brass Baazar. Items include decorative ceramic tiles and vases, Moroccan instruments, and handmade baskets.
Medina Arts - More ceramics.
Casablanca Carpets - Offers Moroccan-made rugs, lanterns, and sconces.
Souk-Al-Magreb - Sells belly dancing how-to's, couscous and the cooking utensils to make couscous, fez hats, and rose water

Entertainment
Mo'Rockin - Rock and roll music set to Arabian rhythms

Meet Disney Characters from the films
Aladdin, Princess Jasmine & Genie.

Japan, Epcot, World Disney

2011-11-09T16:58:00.002Z

The Japan pavilion is one of the original World Showcase pavilions and had been in planning since the late 1970s. Many attractions have been proposed for the pavilion and one show building was built, but left unused. Meet the World was one planned attraction and was a clone of the attraction Meet the World that was once at Tokyo Disneyland. But because management thought that the Japanese film's omission of World War II might upset many Veterans, it was dropped. The show was so close to opening that the show building and rotating platform was built, but not used.

For years, Imagineers have considered building a roller coaster attraction based on Matterhorn Bobsleds from Disneyland but themed to Japan's Mt. Fuji. At one point, Godzilla or a large lizard attacking guests in their cars was considered.Fujifilm originally wanted to sponsor the ride in the early 1990s, but Kodak, a major Epcot sponsor, convinced Disney to decline the sponsorship. Another proposed attraction was a walk-through version of "Circle-Vision", in which guests would board and walk through a Shinkansen (bullet train) and look through windows (actually film screens) that showcase Japan's changing landscapes. The train would have shaken and moved like a train going through the countryside.
The Japan pavilion is made up of buildings surrounding a courtyard. The entrance to the courtyard features a Japanese Pagoda. A torii gate decorates the water in front of the pavilion. The area is filled with Japanese pools and gardens. At the end of the courtyard is the gate to a Japanese castle, including a moat, which leads into a display of Japanese culture.

Attraction
Bijutsu-kan - A collection of Japanese arts. It is currently exhibiting "Spirited Beasts: From Ancient Stories to Anime Stars", a depiction of Japanese mythology's creatures being adapted into japanese pop culture.
Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure

Dining
Teppan Edo: Formerly called "Teppanyaki Dining Room," chefs prepare stir-fried foods right in front of the guests, just like other teppanyaki restaurants.
Tokyo Dining: Originally occupied by two separate restaurants, Tempura Kiku and the Matsu No Ma lounge, Tokyo Dining is now a traditional sushi restaurant. They serve sushi, tempura and some other grilled items (such as steak, grilled chiken and so on).

Yakitori House: A counter-service restaurant located on a hill adjacent to the pagoda.

Shopping
Mitsukoshi department store: Sells many Japanese items, including clothing, jewelry, books, manga, anime items (such as posters), and toys. It has been expanded in recent years to include a far greater variety of items than before. More specifically, a greater portion of the store sells Japanese pop-culture related items, presumably to take advantage of the growing interest in these types of products in America.

Entertainment

MiyukiMain article: Miyuki (Epcot)
One of the unique offerings at this pavilion is live demonstrations by Miyuki, a candy artist. This art goes back over 250 years in Japan with artists creating animals or flowers from very hot, soft dough that hardens when it cools. Of the current 15 Japanese candy artists, Miyuki is the only woman.

Matsuriza
Matsuriza are traditional Taiko drummers and a Japanese Storytellers located at the base of the pagoda.

Italy, Epcot, World Disney

2011-11-09T16:50:00.002Z

The Italian Pavilion features a plaza surrounded by a collection of buildings evocative of Venetian, Florentine, and Roman architecture. Venetian architecture is represented by a re-creation of St Mark's Campanile (bell tower) and a replica of the Doge's Palace. The pavilion's design is inspired by other hallmarks of Italian architecture, such as the Neptune Fountain (reminiscent of Rome's Trevi Fountain) and the Il Bel Cristallo shop (meant to resemble the exterior of the Sistine Chapel). Musicians, clowns and acting troupes often appear in the piazza throughout the day. There are also small shops selling Italian goods, such as candy and wine.

The original plans for the pavilion called for an expansion that would be built in Epcot's "Phase II" of construction, thus leaving a wall with nothing behind it at the rear of the pavilion. The expansion would have included a gondola dark ride and a Roman ruins walk-through. When "Phase II" was canceled, the pavilion was left incomplete. However, a restaurant by the name of Via Napoli, designed by the Florentine architects Stefano Nardini and Raffaella Melucci, opened under the Patina Restaurant Group in 2010, and brought the pavilion its long-awaited completion. It features Florentine architecture and authentic Neapolitan cuisine. The water used to make pizza dough is imported from Pennsylvania to simulate authentic Neapolitan dough. Via Napoli's three wood burning ovens pay tribute to the three active volcanoes in Italy: Etna, Vesuvio, and Stromboli. To do this, each of the three ovens are sculpted in the shape of the face of the god that their corresponding volcano is named after. The long communal table in the center of the room was built in Florence and features hand painted tiles depicting iconic monuments in Italy. Other notable features of Via Napoli are its high and vaulted ceilings, imported ceramics and blown glass, and the abundance of windows that flood the establishment with natural light.

Attractions
Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure

DiningTutto Italia
Via Napoli Pizzeria E Ristorante

Shopping
Il Bel Cristallo
La Bottega Italiana

Entertainment
World Showcase Players

Meet Disney Characters from the films
Pinocchio

Germany, Epcot, World Dinesy

2011-11-09T16:48:00.002Z

The original design of the pavilion called for a boat ride along the Rhine river. It was to have focused on German folklore, in a similar manner to the Mexico and Norway rides. According to the Walt Disney Company's 1976 annual report the ride was to be " ... a cruise down Germany's most famous rivers -- the Rhine, the Tauber, the Ruhr and the Isar. Detailed miniatures of famous landmarks will also be seen, including one of the Cologne Cathedral."

Though the building was built, Disney did not complete the ride construction by opening day. It was announced to be part of "phase two" of expansion. To avoid costs, Disney dropped all phase two attractions and decided that any expansion projects would only be allowed if a host country funded for it. Because of lack of funding, the ride building is now used as storage space. You can see the main entrance hall, as it's now the dining area for the Biergarten. The ride building is used for storage for floats, a workshop and cast member rehearsal space.
The Germany Pavilion is designed to look like a German town, but with architecture from different eras and regions. The Platz (square) is decorated with a statue of St. George and the Dragon and a clock tower. The Biergarten, at the rear of the courtyard, sells traditional German food. The pavilion also has numerous small shops selling German goods, including dolls and cuckoo clocks. The area near the pavilion is decorated by an extensive model village with working model trains.

Characters from the Walt Disney animated feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", which was inspired by the version of the tale attributed to the Brothers Grimm, make appearances in and around the pavilion.

Attraction
Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure

Dining
Biergarten Restaurant
Sommerfest,

Shopping
Das Kaufhaus
Der Teddybär
Die Weihnachtsecke
Karamell-Küche

Entertainment Characters
Snow White

China, Epcot, World Disney

2011-11-09T16:46:00.001Z

Visitors enter the China Pavilion through a large Chinese gate. The courtyard is dominated by a replica of the Temple of Heaven, which contains the entrance to "Reflections of China", a Circle-Vision 360° movie exploring China's history and scenery, as well as a museum containing several ancient Chinese artifacts. The courtyard is bordered by shops selling Chinese merchandise, and two Chinese restaurants. The pavilion is decorated with ponds, crossed by bridges. Chinese acrobats also perform frequently in the pavilion.

The pavilion served as the backdrop for a music video for one of the film's songs, "Reflection", performed by a then-unknown Christina Aguilera.

Attractions
Reflections of China
Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure

Dining
Nine Dragons, a full-service gourmet Chinese restaurant featuring traditional Chinese fare, such as two-course Peking duck.
Lotus Blossom Cafe, a quick-service restaurant serving an assortment of Chinese dishes.

Live entertainment
Dragon Legend Acrobats

Meet Disney Characters from the films
Mulan and Mushu

Mexico, EPCOT, World Disney

2011-11-09T16:42:00.002Z

The Mexico pavilion resembles a Mesoamerican pyramid. The nightly fireworks show "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" is controlled from a small office atop the building. The office's window is barely visible from street level, but can be seen at an angle.

Visitors enter through a display of Mexican artwork, the "Animales Fantasticos" art collection. The main room is the home to a twilight-lit Mexican marketplace, Plaza de los Amigos. At the edge of the plaza, a restaurant, San Angel Inn, overlooks an indoor lagoon. To the side of the plaza, a boarding area leads to a boat ride, Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros.

Attractions
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros (2007 - present)
El Rio del Tiempo (The River of Time) (1982 - 2007), a slow boat ride through Mexico.
Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure

Dining
San Angel Inn is the sibling to Mexico City's restaurant of the same name, which dates back to 1692.
La Hacienda de San Angel, a lakeside table-service restaurant, opened in September 2010.
Cantina de San Angel is a lakeside counter-service location.
La Cava del Tequila is a tequila bar with a vast collection of tequilas, specialty margaritas and light Mexican appetizers, hosted by tequila "connoisseurs" that interact with park guests.

Live entertainment
Mariachi Cobre

EPCOT, World Disney

2011-11-09T16:41:00.004Z

Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named EPCOT Center. In 1994, the "Center" was dropped from the park's name, and by 1996, the park was simply named Epcot. In 2010, Epcot hosted approximately 10.83 million guests, ranking it the third most visited theme park in the United States, and fifth most visited theme park in the world.

EPCOT is an acronym of Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, which was the name originally given by Walt Disney to a conceptual Utopian city of the future that he had wanted to build on the site that is now Walt Disney World. Disney's original vision of EPCOT was for a model community, home to twenty thousand residents, which would be a test bed for city planning and organization. Disney's vision was not realized as funding and permission to start work on his Florida property would not be granted until he agreed to build the Magic Kingdom first. Disney died before the Magic Kingdom opened and the Walt Disney Company decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a city.

The theme park originally was known as EPCOT Center to reflect the fact that the park was built to embody the ideals and values of EPCOT the city. The park consists of two sections; Future World and World Showcase, laid out in an hourglass shape. Both sections are patterned after the types of exhibits found at world expositions. In its early years, Epcot was often called a "permanent World's Fair."

EPCOT Center was constructed for an estimated $800 million to $1.4 billion and took three years to build (at the time the largest construction project on Earth). Covering an area of 300 acres (120 ha), it is more than twice the size of the Magic Kingdom. The parking lot serving the park is 141 acres (57 ha) (including bus area) and can accommodate 11,211 vehicles (grass areas hold additional 500+ vehicles).

The name Epcot derives from the acronym EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), a utopian city of the future planned by Walt Disney (sometimes using the word "City" instead of "Community" when expanding the acronym). In Walt Disney's words: "EPCOT... will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing and testing and demonstrating new materials and systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise."

Walt Disney's original vision of EPCOT was for a model community, home to twenty thousand residents, which would be a test bed for city planning and organization. The community was to have been built in the shape of a circle, with businesses and commercial areas at its center, community buildings and schools and recreational complexes around it, and residential neighborhoods along the perimeter. Transportation would have been provided by monorails and PeopleMovers (like the one in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland). Automobile traffic would be kept underground, leaving pedestrians safe above-ground. Walt Disney said, "It will be a planned, controlled community, a showcase for American industry and research, schools, cultural and educational opportunities. In EPCOT, there will be no slum areas because we won't let them develop. There will be no landowners and therefore no voting control. People will rent houses instead of buying them, and at modest rentals. There will be no retirees; everyone must be employed." The original model of this original vision of EPCOT can still be seen by passengers riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority attraction in the Magic Kingdom park; when the PeopleMover enters the showhouse for Stitch's Great Escape!, the model is visible on the left (when facing forward) behind glass. This vision was not realized. Walt Disney was not able to obtain funding and permission to start work on his Florida property until he agreed to build the Magic Kingdom first. Disney died before the Magic Kingdom opened.
After Disney's death, The Walt Disney Company decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a city. The model community of Celebration, Florida has been mentioned as a realization of Disney's original vision, but Celebration is based on concepts of new urbanism which is radically different from Disney's modernist and futurist visions. However, the idea of EPCOT was instrumental in prompting the state of Florida to create the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) and the Cities of Bay Lake and Reedy Creek (soon renamed Lake Buena Vista), a legislative mechanism which allows the Walt Disney Company to exercise governmental powers over Walt Disney World. Control over the RCID is vested in the landowners of the district, and the promise of an actual city in the district would have meant that the powers of the RCID would have been distributed among the landowners in EPCOT. Because the idea of EPCOT was never implemented, the Disney Corporation remained almost the sole landowner in the district allowing it to maintain control of the RCID and the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista; Disney further cemented this control by deannexing Celebration from the RCID.
The theme park originally was known as EPCOT Center to reflect the fact that the park was built to embody the ideals and values of EPCOT the city. In 1994, the name was changed to Epcot '94 and subsequently Epcot '95 a year later. By 1996, the park was known simply as Epcot, a non-acronym, mixed-case word.

The original plans for the park showed indecision over what the park's purpose was to be: some Imagineers wanted it to represent the cutting edge of technology, while others wanted it to showcase international cultures and customs. At one point a model of the futuristic park was pushed together against a model of the international park, and EPCOT Center was born—a theme park with the flavor of a World's Fair.
Before the park debuted on October 1, 1982, Walt Disney World Ambassador Genie Field introduced E. Cardon Walker, Disney's chairman and CEO, who dedicated EPCOT Center. Walker also presented a family with lifetime passes for the two Walt Disney World theme parks. His remarks were followed by Florida Governor Bob Graham and William Ellinghouse, president of AT&T.

As part of the opening-day ceremony, dancers and band members performed We've Just Begun to Dream. The Sherman Brothers wrote a song especially for the occasion entitled, "The World Showcase March". During the finale, doves and many sets of balloons were released.

Performing groups representing countries from all over the world performed in World Showcase. Water gathered from major rivers across the globe was emptied into the park's fountain of nations ceremonial containers to mark the opening.

Located at the front of the park is a plaque bearing Walker's opening-day dedication, as seen above.

World Showcase
World Showcase contains pavilions representing eleven countries—click on the links below for more information about each. In clockwise order, the pavilions are:

Mexico
Norway
China
Germany
Italy
The American Adventure
Japan
Morocco
France
United Kingdom
Canada

Of the eleven pavilions, Norway and Morocco were not present at the park's opening, and were added later. Each of these contains representative shops and restaurants and is staffed by citizens of these countries, as part of the Cultural Representative Program. Some also contain rides and shows. The only pavilion that is sponsored by the country it represents is Morocco. The remaining country pavilions are all sponsored by private companies.

Pavilions for Russia, Spain, Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, and Israel never made it past the planning phase. An Equatorial Africa pavilion was planned but never built. It would have featured a large African presentation film hosted by Alex Haley. A small African themed refreshment stop is now in its place, known as the Outpost. After Disney's Animal Kingdom—an African-and-Asian-themed animal preserve and park—opened, any plans for an African Pavilion were dropped.

The World Showcase usually opens two hours after park opening and remains open later than the Future World section of the park, however most major attractions in Future World including Test Track, Soarin', Mission Space, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Spaceship Earth remain open until park close.

Unlike the Magic Kingdom, which does not serve alcohol, many stores and restaurants in the World Showcase do serve or sell alcoholic beverages from their respective countries, and beer is sold at refreshment stands throughout the park.

There is an entrance to the park between the France and United Kingdom Pavilions known as the International Gateway. Guests staying in a number of the Epcot Resorts and guests coming from Disney's Hollywood Studios can access this gate by walkway or boat.

MORE PICTURES

Tomorrowland, Magic Kingdom

2011-11-09T16:04:00.002Z

Tomorrowland is one of the many theme lands at the five "Disneyland-style" theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions that depict views of the future. Disneyland Park (Paris) includes a similar area called Discoveryland, which shares some elements with other Tomorrowlands but emphasizes Jules Verne-inspired visions of a future that never came to fruition.

Walt Disney was known for his futurist views and, through his television programs, showed the American public how the world was moving into the future. Tomorrowland was the realized culmination of his views. In his own words: "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future."

It is this movement into the future that has, on occasion, left Tomorrowland mired in the past. Disneyland's Tomorrowland is now in its third generation, and the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland is in its second. The Walt Disney Company has mentioned that it wanted to keep Tomorrowland from becoming "Yesterdayland". As a self-referential joke along this line, Disney's 2007 film Meet the Robinsons (which is set mainly in the year 2037) features an amusement park called Todayland, which has rides that look remarkably like Space Mountain and Disneyland's original Rocket Jets.

Attractions and Entertainment
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Space Mountain
Astro Orbitor
Autopia
Captain EO
Disneyland Monorail
Disneyland Railroad
Innoventions
Jedi Training Academy
Starcade
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

Restaurants
Redd Rockett's Pizza Port
The Spirit of Refreshment
Tomorrowland Terrace

Shopping
Little Green Men Store Command
Star Trader
Tomorrowlanding

Former Attractions and Entertainment
The World Beneath Us (1955-1960)
Circarama (1955-1997)
Circle-Vision 360°(1955-1997, re-themed as Rocket Rods)
Skyway to Fantasyland (1956-1994)
The Viewliner (1957-1958)
Monsanto House of the Future (1957-1967)
Submarine Voyage (1959-1998)
Flying Saucers (1961-1966)
Carousel of Progress (1967-1973)
Adventure Through Inner Space (1967-1985)
PeopleMover (1967-1995)
Rocket Jets (1967-1997)
America Sings (1974-1988)
Mission to Mars (1975-1992)
Magic Journeys (1984-1986)
Wonders of China (1984-1996)
Star Tours (1987-2010)
Toy Story Funhouse and Hamm’s All-Doll Revue
Rocket Rods (1998-2001, re-themed as Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters)
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (1998-2010)
America the Beautiful
Art Corner
The Art of Animation
Mission to the Moon
Phantom Boats

Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom

2011-11-09T15:50:00.002Z

Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Each Fantasyland has a castle as well as several gentle rides themed after Disney movies. In the words of Walt Disney: "Fantasyland is dedicated to the young at heart and to those who believe that when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."

Fantasyland is one of the original themed lands at Disneyland. Fantasyland at the original Disneyland features a central courtyard dominated by King Arthur's Carrousel, in front of which sits a sword in an anvil; several times each day a costumed Merlin helps a child pull the sword from it. Walt Disney said, "What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London, or tumbling into Alice's nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone's youth have become realities for youngsters - of all ages - to participate in."

In 1983, Fantasyland received a major facelift (dubbed "New Fantasyland") and the attraction facades changed from a Renaissance motif to a fantasy mock up of a Bavarian village. Fantasyland's main entrance is through Sleeping Beauty Castle. The entrance also contains a separate walk through attraction that opened in 1957 but was closed from 2001-2008 for security concerns after the September 11, attacks. The new attraction re-opened in May of 2008.

The plaque in the castle courtyard marks the spot where the Disneyland Time Capsule is buried. Sealed on the 40th anniversary of the park, it contains different things from Disney parks history. It is scheduled to open in the year 2035, 40 more years after it was first sealed. The "Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks" show was introduced in 1956, but Tinkerbell's first flight wasn't until 1961. The first Tinkerbell was Tiny Kline, former circus aerialist.

Attractions and Entertainment
Alice in Wonderland
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Fantasyland Theater currently featuring Disney Princess Fantasy Faire
It's a Small World
King Arthur Carrousel
Mad Tea Party
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Peter Pan's Flight
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Pixie Hollow
Rapunzel and Flynn "Meet and Greet"
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Snow White Grotto
Storybook Land Canal Boats

Restaurants
Troubador Tavern
Village Haus Restaurant

Shopping
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
The Castle Heraldry Shop
Fantasy Faire Gifts
"it's a small world" Toy Shop
Le Petit Chalet
The Mad Hatter

Former Attractions and Entertainment
The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship and Restaurant (1955-1982)
Mickey Mouse Club Theater (1955-1982, re-themed as Pinocchio's Daring Journey)
Fantasyland Depot (1955-1993, re-themed as Toon Town Depot)
Skyway to Tomorrowland (1956-1994)
Motor Boat Cruise (1957-1993)
Midget Autopia (1957-?)
Skull Rock (1960-1982)
Captain Hook’s Galley (1982-?)
Disney Afternoon Avenue, featuring Disney Afternoon Characters (1991)
Ariel's Grotto in Triton’s Garden (1996-2008, re-themed as Pixie Hollow)
Fantasyland Theater
"Plane Crazy" Stage Show (1991)
Beauty and the Beast (1992-1995)
The Spirit of Pocahontas (1995-1997)
Disney's Animazement - The Musical (1998-2001)
Mickey's Detective School (2002-2003)
Snow White: An Enchanting Musical (2004-2006)

Adventureland, Magic Kingdom

2011-11-09T15:16:00.001Z

Adventureland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by the Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed to resemble the remote jungles in Africa, Asia, South America, and the South Pacific. "To create a land that would make this dream reality", said Walt Disney, "we pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa."

Adventureland provides a 1950s view of exotic adventure, capitalizing on the post-war Tiki craze. Lush vegetation resembles jungles while elements of the "other" surround the visitor. Tribal performance masks, conga drums, non-American totem poles, exotic animal statues, and architecture of Pacific influence make for a confined area wherein industry and technology take a back seat to uncharted nature. Noted art historian David T. Doris explains Adventureland as, "a pastiche of imaginary colonial spaces, conflated within the green and foliate milieu of 'the Jungle.'"

Main Street, U.S.A, Magic Kingdom

2011-11-09T15:04:00.001Z

Instead of being a replica of a small Midwestern American town, Main Street at Magic Kingdom features some stylistic influences from around the country. Taking its inspiration from New England to Missouri, this design is most noticeable in the four corners area in the middle of Main Street, where each of the four corner buildings represents a different architectural style. There is also no opera house on Magic Kingdom's Main Street as there is at Disneyland; instead, there is the Town Square Theater.

Main Street is lined with shops selling merchandise and food. The decor is early-20th century small-town America, inspired by Walt Disney's childhood and the film Lady and the Tramp. City Hall contains the Guest Relations lobby, where cast members provide information and assistance. A working barber shop gives haircuts for a fee. The Emporium carries a wide variety of Disney souvenirs such as plush toys, collectible pins and Mickey-ear hats. Tony’s Town Square Restaurant and The Plaza Restaurant are table-service locations. Casey's Corner is at the end of Main Street and sells traditional American ballpark fare including hot dogs and fries. The Main Street Confectionary sells sweets priced by their weight, such as candied apples, crisped rice treats, chocolates, cookies and fudge.

Most windows on Main Street bear the name of people who were influential at Walt Disney World or other Disney parks. An example of a classic Main Street, U.S.A. attraction is the Walt Disney World Railroad, which transports guest throughout the park, making stops at Main Street, U.S.A. and Frontierland. The railroad previously made stops at Mickey's Toontown Fair.

In the distance beyond the end of Main Street stands Cinderella Castle. Though only 189 feet (55m) tall, it benefits from a technique known as forced perspective. The second stories of all the buildings along Main Street are shorter than the first stories, and the third stories are even shorter than the second, and the top windows of the castle are much smaller than they appear. The resulting visual effect is that the buildings appear to be larger and taller than they really are.

Symbolically, Main Street, U.S.A. represents the park's "opening credits". Guests pass under the train station (the opening curtain), then view the names of key personnel along the windows of the buildings' upper floors. Many windows bear the name of a fictional business, such as "Seven Summits Expeditions, Frank G. Wells President", with each representing a tribute to significant people connected to the Disney company and the development of the Walt Disney World Resort.

The park contains two additional tributes: the Partners statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella Castle and the Sharing the Magic statue of Roy O. Disney sitting with Minnie Mouse in the Town Square section of Main Street, U.S.A. Both were sculpted by veteran Imagineer Blaine Gibson.

Magic Kingdom, Disney World

2011-11-09T14:52:00.003Z

Main Street USA

Adventureland

Fantasyland

Tomorrowland

Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. In 2010, the park hosted approximately 17 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the world.
Although Walt Disney himself had been highly involved in planning The Florida Project, The Walt Disney Company began construction on Magic Kingdom and the entire resort in 1967 after his death. The park was built similarly to the existing Disneyland in California but was built in a larger area and improved upon the design of Disneyland in several ways.

There are several anecdotes relating to reasons for some of the features of Walt Disney World, and Magic Kingdom specifically. According to one story, Walt Disney once saw a Frontierland cowboy walking through Tomorrowland at Disneyland. He disliked that the cowboy intruded on the futuristic setting of Tomorrowland and wanted to avoid situations like this in the new park. Therefore, Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels called utilidors, a portmanteau of utility and corridor. These tunnels allow employees (aka cast members) to move through the park out of sight from guests, maintaining the show.

Because of Florida's high water table, the tunnels could not be put underground, so they were built at the existing grade. This means that the park is actually built on the second story, giving Magic Kingdom an elevation of 107 feet (33 m). The area around the utilidors was filled in with dirt removed from the Seven Seas Lagoon, which was being constructed at the same time.

The utilidors were built in the initial construction and were not extended as the park expanded. The tunnels were intended to be designed into in all subsequent Walt Disney World parks, but these plans were mostly set aside because of financial constraints. Future World at Epcot and Pleasure Island each have a smaller network of utilidors.
Magic Kingdom opened as the first part of Walt Disney's planned Florida Project on Oct. 1, 1971. It was the only theme park on the resort at the time and opened concurrently with two hotels on the property: Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Resort. The park opened with 23 attractions, three unique to the park and 20 copies of attractions at Disneyland. The Walt Disney Company promised to increase this number with more attractions like those in Disneyland as well as more unique ones. The attractions were split into six themed lands, five copies of those at Disneyland and the unique Liberty Square.

While there is no individual dedication to Magic Kingdom Park, the dedication by Roy O. Disney for the entire Walt Disney World Resort was placed within its gates.

Since opening day, Magic Kingdom has only been closed for five incidents: Hurricane Floyd, the September 11 attacks, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Charley, and Hurricane Wilma.
Magic Kingdom had often been used as an unofficial nickname for Disneyland Park before the Walt Disney World Resort was built. The official tagline for Disneyland is The Happiest Place On Earth, while the tagline for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is, The Most Magical Place On Earth. Despite the similarities, the Florida park's tickets have always borne the official name of Magic Kingdom. In 1994, in order to differentiate it from Disneyland, the park was officially renamed to Magic Kingdom Park but is most often simply called Magic Kingdom. Like all of Disney's theme parks it does not take an article ("the"), however it is a common mistake to see it described as such. The sign on the railroad station at the front of the park erroneously states "The Magic Kingdom."
The layout of the resort places Magic Kingdom more than a mile away from its parking lot, on the opposite side of the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon. Upon arrival, guests are taken by the parking lot trams to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), which sells tickets to the parks and provides transportation connections throughout the resort complex. It also has a small gift shop and the central lost-and-found facility for all four theme parks.
To reach Magic Kingdom, guests either use the Walt Disney World Monorail System, the Staten Island-style ferryboats, or Buses depending on the location of their hotel. The three hotels closest to Magic Kingdom, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort, and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa use either the ferry or monorail system to travel to Magic Kingdom. Guests staying at Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground can also ride a dedicated ferry boat to the Magic Kingdom docks. The other hotels take the buses to travel to this specific park. The three ferries are clad in different trim colors and are named for past Disney executives: the General Joe Potter (blue), the Richard F. Irvine (red) and the Admiral Joe Fowler (green).

The main monorail loop has two lanes. The outer lane is a direct nonstop loop between the TTC and Magic Kingdom. The inner loop has additional stops at Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Epcot is accessible by a spur monorail line that was added upon that park's opening in 1982.

DISNEY WORLD

2011-11-08T22:39:00.009Z

Magic kingdom

Epcot

Animal Kingdom

Hollywood Studios

Disney World, is the world's largest and most-visited recreational resort. Located approximately 21 miles southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of 30,080-acre and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels, including a campground, two health spas and physical fitness centers, and other recreational venues and entertainment. It opened on October 1, 1971 with only the Magic Kingdom theme park and has since added Epcot (October 1, 1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios (May 1, 1989) and Disney's Animal Kingdom (April 22, 1998).

The resort was inspired by the dreams of Walt Disney, who wanted a park on the East Coast to supplement Disneyland in California (Disney World's Magic Kingdom was designed similarly to Disneyland). However, Walt envisioned Disney World to be much different from Disneyland's one day visit. This included entertainment, uniquely-themed resort hotels, and a much wider variety of sports and recreational opportunities. In fact, Walt's original plans for the Florida property were far more ambitious: he also wanted to construct a real planned city of approximately 20,000 residents, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", which would serve as a test bed for city planning and organization. Walt died in 1966 before his vision was fully realized, and his plans for Disney World eventually evolved to what it is today.

In 1959, Walt Disney Productions began looking for land for a second park to supplement Disneyland, which opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Market surveys revealed that only 2% of Disneyland's visitors came from east of the Mississippi River, where 75 percent of the population of the United States lived. Additionally, Walt Disney disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland and wanted control of a much larger area of land for the new project. A more romanticized anecdote was that Walt Disney himself once encountered a family who left Disneyland early because they saw congestion building on the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) from the Skyway ride, an incident that committed him to producing a greater buffer from reality at future parks.

Walt Disney flew over the Orlando site (one of many) in November 1963. Seeing the well-developed network of roads, including the planned Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike, with McCoy Air Force Base (later Orlando International Airport) to the east, Disney selected a centrally-located site near Bay Lake.

To avoid a burst of land speculation, Disney used various dummy corporations to acquire 27,443 acres (11,106 ha) of land.. In May 1965, some of these major land transactions were recorded a few miles southwest of Orlando in Osceola County. Also, two large tracts totaling $1.5 million were sold, and smaller tracts of flatlands and cattle pastures were purchased by exotic-sounding companies such as the Latin-American Development and Management Corporation and the Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation (Some of these names are now memorialized on a window above Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom). In addition to three huge parcels of land were many smaller parcels, referred to as "outs."

Much of the land acquired had been platted into 5-acre (2.0 ha) lots in 1912 by the Munger Land Company and sold to investors. In most cases, the owners were happy to get rid of the land, which was mostly swamp. Another issue was the mineral rights to the land, which were owned by Tufts University. Without the transfer of these rights, Tufts could come in at any time and demand the removal of buildings to obtain minerals. Disney's team eventually negotiated a deal with Tufts to buy the mineral rights for $15,000.
After most of the land had been bought, the truth of the property's owner was leaked to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper on October 20, 1965. A press conference soon was organized for November 15. At the presentation, Walt Disney explained the plans for the site, including EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, which was to be a futuristic planned city (and which was also known as Progress City). He envisioned a real working city with both commercial and residential areas, but one that also continued to showcase and test new ideas and concepts for urban living.

Walt Disney died from lung cancer on December 15, 1966, before his vision was realized. His brother and business partner, Roy O. Disney, postponed his retirement to oversee construction of the resort's first phase.

On February 2, 1967, Roy O. Disney held a press conference at the Park Theatres in Winter Park, Florida. The role of EPCOT was emphasized in the film that was played, the last one recorded by Walt Disney before his death. After the film, it was explained that for Disney World, including EPCOT, to succeed, a special district would have to be formed: the Reedy Creek Improvement District with two cities inside it, the City of Bay Lake and the City of Reedy Creek (now the City of Lake Buena Vista). In addition to the standard powers of an incorporated city, which include the issuance of tax-free bonds, the district would have immunity from any current or future county or state land-use laws. The only areas where the district had to submit to the county and state would be property taxes and elevator inspections.

The legislation forming the district and the two cities was signed into law by Florida Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967. The Florida Supreme Court then ruled in 1968 that the district was allowed to issue tax-exempt bonds for public projects within the district despite the sole beneficiary being Walt Disney Productions.

The district soon began construction of drainage canals, and Disney built the first roads and the Magic Kingdom. Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort, and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground were also completed in time for the park's opening on October 1, 1971. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses near the Magic Kingdom had opened a few weeks before. At the park's opening, Roy O. Disney dedicated the property and declared that it would be known as "Walt Disney World" in his brother's honor. In his own words: "Everyone has heard of Ford cars. But have they all heard of Henry Ford, who started it all? Walt Disney World is in memory of the man who started it all, so people will know his name as long as Walt Disney World is here." After the dedication, Roy Disney asked Walt's widow, Lillian, what she thought of Walt Disney World. According to biographer Bob Thomas, she responded, "I think Walt would have approved." Roy O. Disney died on December 20, 1971, less than three months after the property opened.

However, much of Walt Disney's plans for his Progress City were abandoned after his death. The Disney Company board decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a city. The EPCOT concept evolved into EPCOT Center, the resort's second theme park, which opened in 1982. While still emulating Walt Disney's original idea of showcasing new technology, it is closer to a world's fair than a "community of tomorrow". The park would later permanently adopt the name Epcot in 1996. Some of the urban planning concepts from the original idea of EPCOT would instead be integrated into the community of Celebration much later.

In 1989, the resort added Disney-MGM Studios, a theme park inspired by show business, whose name was changed to Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008. The resort's fourth theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998.

Meg Crofton was named president of the resort in August 2006, replacing Al Weiss, who had overseen the site since 1994.

NATIVE AMERICANS, INDIANS

2011-07-27T15:27:00.002+01:00

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact political communities. The terms used to refer to Native Americans are controversial; according to a 1995 US Census Bureau set of home interviews, most of the respondents with an expressed preference refer to themselves as American Indians or Indians.

In the last 500 years, Afro-Eurasian migration to the Americas has led to centuries of conflict and adjustment between Old and New World societies. Most of the written historical record about Native Americans was made by Europeans after their immigration to the Americas. Many Native Americans lived as hunter-gatherer societies, although in many groups, women carried out sophisticated cultivation of a variety of staples: maize, beans and squash. Their cultures were quite different from those of the agrarian, proto-industrial immigrants from western Eurasia. The differences in culture between the established native Americans and immigrant Europeans, as well as shifting alliances among different nations of each culture, caused a great deal of political tension and ethnic violence. Estimates of the pre-Columbian population of what today constitutes the U.S. vary significantly, ranging from 1 million to 18 million.

After the colonies revolted against Great Britain and established the United States of America, President George Washington and Henry Knox conceived of the idea of "civilizing" Native Americans in preparation for United States citizenship. Assimilation (whether voluntary as with the Choctaw, or forced) became a consistent policy through American administrations. During the 19th century, the ideology of Manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Expansion of European-American populations after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native American lands, warfare between the groups, and rising tensions. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, authorizing the government to relocate most Native Americans of the Deep South east of the Mississippi River from their homelands to accommodate European-American expansion from the United States. Government officials thought that by decreasing the conflict between the groups, they could also help the Indians survive. Remnant groups have descendants living throughout the South. They have organized and been recognized as tribes since the late 20th century by several states and, in some cases, by the federal government.

The first European Americans encountered western tribes as fur traders. As United States expansion reached into the American West, settler and miner migrants came into increasing conflict with the Great Plains tribes. These were complex nomadic cultures based on using horses and traveling seasonally to hunt bison. They carried out strong resistance to American incursions in the decades after the American Civil War, in a series of "Indian Wars", which were frequent up until the 1890s. The coming of the transcontinental railroad increased pressures on the western tribes. Over time, the U.S. forced a series of treaties and land cessions by the tribes, and established reservations for them in many western states. U.S. agents encouraged Native Americans to adopt European-style farming and similar pursuits, but the lands were often too poor to support such uses.

Contemporary Native Americans today have a unique relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands of Native Americans who have sovereignty or independence from the government of the United States. Their societies and cultures flourish within a larger population of descendants of immigrants (both voluntary and involuntary—slave): African, Asian, Middle Eastern, and European peoples. Native Americans who were not already U.S. citizens were granted citizenship in 1924 by the Congress of the United States.

According to the still-debated theory of the Settlement of the Americas, a migration of humans from Eurasia to the Americas took place via Beringia, a land bridge which formerly connected the two continents across what is now the Bering Strait. Falling sea levels created the Bering land bridge that joined Siberia to Alaska, which began about 60,000–25,000 years ago. The minimum time depth by which this migration had taken place is confirmed at 12,000 years ago, with the upper bound (or earliest period) remaining a matter of some unresolved contention. Three major migrations occurred, as traced by linguistic and genetic data, and the early Paleoamericans soon spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. The North American climate finally stabilized by 8000 BCE; climatic conditions were very similar to today's. This led to widespread migration, cultivation of crops, and subsequently a dramatic rise in population all over the Americas.

The big-game hunting culture labeled as the Clovis culture is primarily identified with its production of fluted projectile points. The culture received its name from artifacts found near Clovis, New Mexico; the first evidence of this tool complex was excavated in 1932. The Clovis culture ranged over much of North America and also appeared in South America. The culture is identified by the distinctive Clovis point, a flaked flint spear-point with a notched flute, by which it was inserted into a shaft. Dating of Clovis materials has been by association with animal bones and by the use of carbon dating methods. Recent reexaminations of Clovis materials using improved carbon-dating methods produced results of 11,050 and 10,800 radiocarbon years B.P. (roughly 9100 to 8850 BC).

Numerous Paleoindian cultures occupied North America, with some arrayed around the Great Plains and Great Lakes of the modern United States of America and Canada, as well as adjacent areas to the West and Southwest. According to the oral histories of many of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, they have been living on this continent since their genesis, described by a wide range of traditional creation stories, but other stories recount migrations across long tracts of land and a great river believed to be the Mississippi. Genetic and linguistic data connect the indigenous people of this continent with ancient northeast Asians.

The Folsom Tradition was characterized by use of Folsom points as projectile tips, and activities known from kill sites where slaughter and butchering of bison took place. Folsom tools were left behind between 9000 BCE and 8000 BCE.

The Na-Dené people entered North America starting around 8000 BC, reaching the Pacific Northwest by 5000 BCE, and from there migrating along the Pacific Coast and into the interior. Linguists, anthropologists and archeologists believe their ancestors comprised a separate migration into North America, later than the first Paleo-Indians. They settled first around present-day Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, from where they migrated into Alaska and northern Canada, south along the Pacific Coast, and into the interior. They were the earliest ancestors of the Athabascan- speaking peoples, including the present-day and historical Navajo and Apache. Their villages were constructed with large multi-family dwellings, used seasonally. People did not live there year round, but for the summer to hunt and fish, and to gather food supplies for the winter. The Oshara Tradition people lived from 5500 BCE to 600 CE. The Southwestern Archaic Tradition was centered in north-central New Mexico, the San Juan Basin, the Rio Grande Valley, southern Colorado, and southeastern Utah.

Poverty Point culture is an archaeological culture whose people inhabited the area of the lower Mississippi Valley and surrounding Gulf Coast. The culture thrived from 2200 BC- 700 BC, during the late Archaic period. Evidence of this culture has been found at more than 100 sites, from Poverty Point, Louisiana across a 100-mile (160 km) range to the Jaketown Site near Belzoni, Mississippi.

The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures refers to the time period from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland" was coined in the 1930s and refers to prehistoric sites dated between the Archaic period and the Mississippian cultures. The Hopewell tradition is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BC to 500 CE.
The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related populations, who were connected by a common network of trade routes, known as the Hopewell Exchange System. At its greatest extent, the Hopewell exchange system ran from the Southeastern United States into the southeastern Canadian shores of Lake Ontario. Within this area, societies participated in a high degree of exchange with the highest amount of activity along the waterways serving as their major transportation routes. The Hopewell exchange system traded materials from all over the United States.

Coles Creek culture is an archaeological culture from the Lower Mississippi valley in the southern present-day United States. The period marked a significant change in the cultural history of the area. Population increased dramatically. There is strong evidence of a growing cultural and political complexity, especially by the end of the Coles Creek sequence. Although many of the classic traits of chiefdom societies were not yet manifested, by 1000 CE the formation of simple elite polities had begun. Coles Creek sites are found in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Texas. It is considered ancestral to the Plaquemine culture.

Hohokam is one of the four major prehistoric archaeological traditions of the present-day American Southwest. Living as simple farmers, they raised corn and beans. The early Hohokam founded a series of small villages along the middle Gila River. The communities were located near good arable land, with dry farming common in the earlier years of this period. Wells, usually less than 10 feet (3 m) deep, were dug for domestic water supplies by 300 CE to 500 CE. Early Hohokam homes were constructed of branches bent in a semi-circular fashion and then covered with twigs, reeds and heavily applied mud and other materials at hand.

Although not as technologically advanced as the Mesoamerican civilizations further south, sophisticated pre-Columbian sedentary societies evolved in North America. The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex is the name archeologists have given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies and mythology of the Mississippian culture, which coincided with the people's adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from 1200 CE to 1650 CE. Contrary to popular belief, this development appears to have no direct links to Mesoamerica. It developed independently, with sophistication based on the accumulation of maize surpluses, more dense population and specialization of skills. This Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples, and is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.

The Mississippian culture created the largest earthworks in North America north of Mexico, most notably at Cahokia, based on a tributary of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. Its 10-story Monks Mound has a larger circumference than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan or the Great Pyramid of Egypt. The six-square mile city complex was based on the people's cosmology and had more than 100 mounds, oriented to their sophisticated knowledge of astronomy. It included a Woodhenge, whose sacred cedar poles were placed to mark the summer and winter solstices and fall and spring equinoxes. Its peak population in 1250 AD of 30,000–40,000 people was not equalled by any city in the present-day United States until after 1800. In addition, Cahokia was a major regional chiefdom, with trade and tributary chiefdoms ranging from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Iroquois League of Nations or "People of the Long House" had a confederacy model that was claimed to contributed to political thinking during the later development of the democratic United States government. Their system of affiliation was a kind of federation, a departure from the strong monarchies from which the Europeans came. Leadership was restricted to a group of 50 sachem chiefs, each representing one clan within a tribe; the Oneidas and Mohawk people had nine seats each, the Onondagas held fourteen, the Cayugas had ten and the Senecas had eight. Representation was not based on population numbers, as the Seneca tribe greatly outnumbered the others, possibly even combined. When a sachem chief died, his successor was chosen by the senior woman of his tribe in consultation with other female members of the clan, with descent occurring matrilineally. Decisions were not made through voting but through consensus decision making, with each sachem chief holding theoretical veto power. The Onondagas were the "firekeepers", responsible for raising topics to be discussed, and occupied one side of a three-sided fire (the Mohawks and Senecas sat on one side of the fire, the Oneidas and Cayugas on the other). Elizabeth Tooker, anthropologist at Temple University, commented that it was unlikely the system of government was copied by the founding fathers as it bears little resemblance to the ultimate system of governance adopted in the United States and includes inherited rather than elected leadership selected by female members of the tribes, unanimous decision making irrespective of population size and only a single group capable of bringing matters before the legislative body.

Long-distance trading did not prevent warfare among the indigenous peoples. For instance, archaeology and the tribes' oral histories have contributed to an understanding that the Iroquois' conducted invasions and warfare about 1200 CE against tribes in the Ohio River area of present-day Kentucky. Finally they drove many to migrate west to their historically traditional lands west of the Mississippi River. Tribes originating in the Ohio Valley who moved west included the Osage, Kaw, Ponca and Omaha people. By the mid-17th century, they had resettled in their historical lands in present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Osage warred with native Caddo-speaking Native Americans, displacing them in turn by the mid-18th century and dominating their new historical territories.

WALNUT CANYON NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA

2011-07-27T15:15:00.002+01:00

Walnut Canyon National Monument is a United States National Monument located about 10 mi (16 km) southeast of downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, just off Interstate 40. The canyon rim lies at 6,690 ft (2,040 m); the canyon's floor is 350 ft lower. A 0.9 mi (1.4 km) long loop trail descends 185 ft (56 m) into the canyon passing 25 cliff dwelling rooms constructed by the Sinagua, a pre-Columbian cultural group that lived in Walnut Canyon from about 1100 to 1250 CE. Other contemporary habitations of the Sinagua people are preserved in the nearby Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle national monuments.

The Sinagua, who inhabitanted the dwellings in Walnut Canyon, left mysteriously around 1250 CE. It is thought that the Sinagua left because of fear of neighboring tribes or droughts, but it is not certain. The disappearance of the Sinagua left over 80 cliff dwellings behind. The dwellings themselves were small but large enough for the inhabitants to still be able to cook and sleep. Most of the cliff dwelling rooms are situated near the loop trail, typically slightly above the trail and immediately outside the loop itself. A typical room might have been the dwelling of a single family, and might measure approximately two meters high by six meters long by three meters deep. Because of the area's dry climate, the water present in the canyon was essential for its inhabitants over 700 years ago as it is for the animal and plant life that exists there today.

There are many more dwellings to be seen up close in the canyon just east of the Monument, although it is illegal to actually enter the canyon because of the park's rules and regulations.

Walnut Canyon was proclaimed a national monument on November 30, 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson in order to preserve the ancient cliff dwellings. It was transferred from the USDA Forest Service to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the national monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. At Walnut Canyon, there are trails for tourists to get a close view of the dwellings.

Walnut Canyon lies on the Colorado Plateau and cuts through the Permian Kaibab Limestone, which exposes the Toroweap Formation and Coconino Sandstone. The Kaibab formation also forms the rim of the Grand Canyon. Crossbedding is present in the Coconino Sandstone.

The Walnut Canyon site contains Walnut Creek, which carved a 600 foot deep canyon that flows east. The creek joins into the Little Colorado River on its way to the Grand Canyon. The upper third of Walnut Canyon's walls contain Kaibab limestone that varies in layers and hardness. Many layers of the limestone eroded, creating alcoves that the Sinagua Indians used as cave-dwellings.

Today a variety of archeological and natural resources are preserved on approximately 3600 acres.

Park entrance road, trails, and Visitor Center are open all year, except December 25. From May till October the monument is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MST and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MST the rest of the year. Entry to park trails closes 1 hour before the monument closes.

The Walnut Canyon site is near Flagstaff. It is 7 miles east of I-40 and 3 miles south of exit 204. The park has a museum and a small visitor center that sits on top of a cliff. The site has ancient dwellings that were built in U-shapes in the canyon, where the creek surrounds 3 sides. There are other ruins in the surround area which are not open to the public. Other dwellings of the Sinagua people can be found in the nearby Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle monuments.

THE WAVE, ARIZONA

2011-07-27T14:31:00.005+01:00

The Wave is a sandstone rock formation located in the United States of America near the Arizona and Utah border on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes, in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, on the Colorado Plateau. It is famous among hikers and photographers for its colorful, undulating forms, and the rugged, trackless hike required to reach it.

The Jurassic Navajo Sandstone Formation is the foundation of Coyote Buttes (and the Wave), Nearly 200 million years ago, this region was a sandy desert where huge dunes migrated across the landscape pushed by seasonal winds. Prevailing winds of that ancient Jurassic time can be determined by examining the cross-bedding (layers) in the sandstone. What we see today are some of the original crossbedded dunes shaped into dramatic landforms and exposed by erosion from eons of runoff. The spectacular ribbons of various colors called Liesegang Bands, were formed by movement and precipitation of oxidizing materials such as iron and manganese by ground water. Thin veins or fins of calcite cut across the sandstone, adding another dimension to the landscape. (Source: Bureau of Land Management display at the Wave trailhead.)

The soft sandstone of The Wave is fragile, one needs to walk carefully to not break the small ridges.

A good time for photographing The Wave is the few hours around midday when there are no shadows in the center, although early morning and late afternoon shadows can also make for dramatic photos. After a recent rain storm, numerous pools form which can contain hundreds of tadpoles and fairy shrimp. These pools can be present for several days.

Above and slightly west of The Wave is the "Second Wave," which has fainter colors but is still of interest to most visitors and photographers. Hugo Martin from the Los Angeles Times said, "You can't call yourself a landscape photographer if you haven't snapped a photo or two of the Wave".

The Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, which contains The Wave, is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A permit from the BLM is required to visit The Wave.

The BLM limits access to the North Coyote Buttes Wilderness Area to just twenty permits per day. Ten of the permits are available in advance by an on-line lottery that is conducted four months before the month for which the permit is sought. The remaining ten permits are made available by lottery the day before one's intended hike at the Paria Ranger Station on highway 89 west of Page, Arizona. The lottery for the walk-in permits takes place at 9:00 in the morning. Spring and autumn are the most popular times of year to visit, but the popularity of The Wave is such that the chances of obtaining a permit by either advance lottery or the day-before lottery are much less than 50% from March through November. The Wave is particularly well known among European tourists, partly because it appeared in Faszination Natur - Seven Seasons, a German documentary film made in the 1990s.

The trail begins at Wire Pass Trailhead, about 8.3 miles (13.4 km) south of US 89 along House Rock Valley Road, a dirt road about 35.4 miles (57.0 km) west of Page, Arizona or 38.6 miles (62.1 km) east of Kanab, Utah, that is accessible to most vehicles in good weather. During and after a storm the road may be impassable, even with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Wire Pass Trailhead includes a wide parking lot with restrooms, but no water. It is also accessible from the Arizona side by taking U.S. Highway 89A from Jacob Lake on the Kaibab Plateau towards Navajo Bridge on turning north onto the House Rock Valley Road soon after descending from the Kaibab. This is a much longer access route over dirt road than from the Utah side.

From the Wire Pass Trailhead, The Wave can be reached by hiking approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) across open desert, making the round-trip to and from The Wave a nearly 6 miles (9.7 km) hike that climbs about 350 feet (110 m) in altitude. Temperatures in this area typically climb above 100 °F (38 °C) in the summer, so it is best to start the hike early. Anyone attempting the hike in any season is wise to be prepared for harsh desert conditions, including fierce winds, blowing sand, and little shade.

The Wave is challenging to find. In an effort to maintain the natural integrity of the region, there is no formal trail to The Wave. Most hikers are guided to The Wave either by GPS or a prominent landmark known as "the Black Crack," which is widely visible within the Coyote Buttes region. The Wave lies directly below the Black Crack. Hikers must choose their own route across the open desert, which requires traversing exposed sandstone, sand dunes, and sandy wash bottoms. It is not uncommon for hikers to get lost and never find The Wave.

A formal guide sheet for navigating to the Wave is now provided to every permitted hiker by the BLM. The guide is designed for use with compass, GPS, or visual navigation. The are six checkpoints each for the outbound hike to the Wave and the return to the trailhead. Each checkpoint includes a marked color photo of the terrain ahead, azimuth, latitude, longitude, UTM, northing, and easting. While less reliable, hikers may also observe many footprints in sandy areas and informal cairns on the slickrock. Visitors are well advised to closely study the guide sheet before starting their hike.

In past years there have been a significant number of Search and Rescue Operations conducted by both the Coconino County Sheriff's Office (Arizona) and the Kane County Sheriff's Office (Utah) for persons lost during the over-land hike to and from The Wave. Visitors are advised to take particular care in their navigation, carry a topographic map, compass and GPS and use them in the course of their excursions. The changing appearance of the terrain as the direction of the light shifts seems to be a important factor in a number of incidents. Any lost or missing persons should be reported immediately to either Sheriff's Office as the response time for SAR personnel to the area can be protracted. (It is best to call early and possibly have to cancel the response, rather than wait, which may cause the SAR operation to be conducted in the dark or after inclement weather moves in.)

MORE PICTURES

ROCK HOUSES, ARIZONA

2011-07-27T14:26:00.002+01:00

These are houses builded on rocks in the middle of the desert. They keep the interior cold in summer and warm in winter.

PARIA CANYON, ARIZIONA

2011-07-26T22:44:00.004+01:00

The Paria River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 95 miles (153 km) long, in southern Utah and northern Arizona in the United States. It drains a rugged and arid region northwest of the Colorado, flowing through roadless slot canyons along part of its course.

It is formed in southern Utah, in southwestern Garfield County from several creeks that descend from the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, meeting just north of Tropic. It flows SSE across Kane County and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Along the Arizona state line, it descends through the Vermilion Cliffs in the Paria Canyon and onto the Paria Plateau. It joins the Colorado from the northwest approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Page, Arizona and the Glen Canyon Dam. The lower 20 mi (32 km) of the river are within the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management; a permit is required for any overnight visit. The Paria is essentially a large creek and is not navigable.

The Paria is one of the most popular destinations for canyoneering in the region. Buckskin Gulch, a side canyon along the river in the narrows section, is considered to be one of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the United States. The Paria is also home to a number of important historical, geological and biological resources. Lee's Ferry and the adjoining settlement are located within the canyon just upstream of the confluence with the Colorado River, with a number of other abandoned settlements further north. The Paria and several nearby rivers and canyons also are the site of several well-preserved specimens of Native American petroglyphs, prehistoric drawings and symbols carved into stone. The Paria boasts a vibrant desert riparian habitat that is home to a number of sensitive and endangered species, and is also the location of Wrather Arch, the longest natural arch outside of Utah.

MORE PICTURES

MONTEZUME CASTLE NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA

2011-07-26T21:30:00.002+01:00

Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona, in the Southwestern United States, features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 AD. Several Hopi clans trace their roots to immigrants from the Montezuma Castle/Beaver Creek area. Clan members periodically return to their former homes for religious ceremonies. When European Americans discovered them in the 1860s, they named them for the Aztec emperor (of Mexico) Montezuma II, due to mistaken beliefs that the emperor had been connected to their construction. Neither part of the monument's name is correct. The Sinaqua dwelling was abandoned 100 years before Montezuma was even born and the Dwellings were not a castle. It was more like a "prehistoric high rise apartment complex".

Montezuma Castle is near the top of a Verde Valley cliff and is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. Before 1125, the Sinagua lived on the hills nearby and sustained themselves on agriculture dependent on rain. After 1125, the Sinagua settled in the Verde Valley and used irrigation systems left by the Hohokam. The last known record of Sinagua occupation for any sites are for Montezuma Castle National Monument around 1425 AD. The reasons for abandonment of their habitation sites are not yet known, but warfare, drought, and clashes with the newly-arrived Yavapai people have been suggested. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people. A natural overhang shades the rooms and shelters them from rain. Another part of the cliff wall bears the marks of an even larger dwelling, which has not survived. Due to heavy looting, very few original artifacts remain. The discovery of Castle A in 1933 revealed many Sinagua artifacts and greatly increased our understanding of their way of life.

The castle was carved into the limestone of a high cliff. This shows that the Sinaqua were very daring builders. It took ladders to climb Montezuma Castle which made it incredibly difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate the natural defense of the vertical barrier.

The dwellings and the surrounding area were declared a U.S. National Monument on December 8, 1906. It was one of the four original sites designated National Monuments by President Theodore Roosevelt after the passage of the antiquities act. The National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

This is an easy monument to visit, a short distance off Interstate 17, exit 287. There is a paved trail a 1/4 mile from the visitor center along the base of the cliff containing the ruins. Access to the ruins has not been allowed since 1950 due to extensive damage of the dwelling. About 350,000 tourists visit the site each year.

The visitor center includes a museum about the Sinagua and the tools they used to build the dwellings. The Montezuma Castle site houses many artifacts, such as stone tools, metates used for grinding corn, bone needles and ornaments of shell and gemstone which prove that the Sinagua were fine artisans. All of these relics are on display at the Montezuma Visitors Center. There is also a gift shop.

Montezuma Well (Yavapai: Ahakaskyaywa) is a natural limestone sinkhole near Rimrock, Arizona through which some 1,400,000 gallons of water flow each day through two underground springs. It is located 11 miles (18 km) northeast of the castle. The well measures in at 368 feet across and 55 feet deep. The water is highly carbonated and contains high levels of arsenic. At least five endemic species live (only) in the Well: the diatom, the springtail, the water scorpion, the amphipod (Hyalella montezuma), and the leech (Erpodbella montezuma) -- the most endemic species in any spring in the Southwestern United States. It is also home to the Montezuma Well springsnail.

Montezuma Well's outflow has been used for irrigation since the 8th century. Part of a prehistoric canal is preserved at the picnic ground, and portions of the original Sinagua canal are still in use today.

The existence of the well was relatively unknown before the publishing of Handbook to America by Richard J. Hinton in 1878. In 1968, Montezuma Well was the subject of the first ever underwater archaeological survey to take place in a National Park, led by archaeologist George R Fischer.

The Yavapai people believe they emerged into this world through the well, and as such, it is a very sacred place to them.

In recent years Illinois Pondweed (Potamogeton illinoensis) has invaded the well. Weekly maintenance is required to keep water from the well flowing.

NAVAJO BRIDGE, ARIZONA

2011-07-26T21:26:00.001+01:00

Navajo Bridge crosses the Colorado River's Marble Canyon near Lee's Ferry in the U.S. state of Arizona. Apart from the Glen Canyon Bridge a few miles upstream at Page, Arizona, it is the only roadway crossing of the river and the Grand Canyon for nearly 600 miles (970 km). Spanning Marble Canyon, the bridge carries northbound travelers to southern Utah and to the Arizona Strip, the otherwise inaccessible portion of Arizona north of the Colorado River, which includes the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Prior to the construction of the first Navajo Bridge, the only river crossing from Arizona to Utah was at nearby Lee's Ferry, where the canyon walls are low and getting vehicles onto the water is relatively convenient. The ferry offered only unreliable service, however, as adverse weather and flooding regularly prevented its operation.

Construction of the original Navajo Bridge began in 1927, and the bridge opened to traffic in 1929. It was paid for by the nascent Arizona State Highway Commission (now the Arizona Department of Transportation) in cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, as the eastern landing is on the Navajo Nation. The steel spandrel bridge design was constructed by the Kansas City Structural Steel Company. The bridge is 834 feet (254 m) in length, with a maximum height of 467 feet (142 m) from the canyon floor. Its roadway offers an 18-foot (5.5 m) surface width with a load capacity of 22.5 tons (although the posted legal weight limit was 40 tons). During the design phase, a wider roadway was considered, but ultimately rejected, as it would have required a costly third arch to be added to the design, and the vehicles of the time did not necessitate the wider road.

In 1990, however, it was decided that the traffic flow was too great for the original bridge, and that a new solution was needed. The sharp corners in the roadway on each side of the bridge's approach had become a safety hazard due to low visibility, and the deficiency in the original design's width and load capacity specifications were becoming problematic. The bridge had also become part of U.S. Route 89A.

Deciding on a solution was difficult, due to the many local interests. Issues included preservation of sacred Navajo land, endangered plant species in Marble Canyon, and the possibility of construction pollution entering the river. The original proposal called for merely widening and fortifying the bridge, but this was ultimately rejected since this could not possibly bring it up to current federal highway standards. Replacement was then the only option, and it was eventually decided to entirely discontinue automobile use of the original bridge. A new bridge would be built immediately next to the original and have a considerably similar visual appearance, but would conform to modern highway codes.

The new steel arch bridge was commissioned by the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, and was completed in September 1995, at a cost of approximately $15 million.

The original Navajo Bridge is still open to pedestrian and equestrian use, and an interpretive center has been constructed nearby to showcase the historical nature of the bridge and early crossing of the Colorado River. Bungee jumpers are frequently seen using the span. The original bridge has been designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

MARBLE CANYON, ARIZONA

2011-07-26T21:24:00.001+01:00

Marble Canyon is the section of the Colorado River canyon in northern Arizona from Lee's Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon.

Lee's Ferry is a common launching point for river runners starting their journey through the Grand Canyon. Marble Canyon is also well-known for the Navajo Bridge, where US Highway 89A crosses the Colorado River.

Marble Canyon marks the western boundary of the Navajo Nation. In 1975, the former Marble Canyon National Monument, which followed the Colorado River northeast from the Grand Canyon to Lee's Ferry, was made part of Grand Canyon National Park.

Marble Canyon is the site of one of the last great proposed dam projects on the Colorado. Proposed and investigated in the early 1950s, the proposal met substantial opposition, notably from the Sierra Club, when it was considered as part of the Central Arizona Project from 1965 to 1968. The proposed dam was abandoned in 1968. Exploratory holes, which were drilled in the Redwall Limestone of the canyon walls in an early phase of the abortive project, can still be seen at Mile 39.2.

LAKE POWELL, ARIZONA

2011-07-26T21:13:00.002+01:00

Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona (most of it, along with Rainbow Bridge, is in Utah). It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing 24,322,000 acre feet (30 km³) of water when full. Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the controversial Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, a popular summer destination. The reservoir is named for explorer John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the river via three wooden boats in 1869. In 1972, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established. It is public land managed by the National Park Service, and available to the public for recreational purposes. It lies in parts of Garfield, Kane, and San Juan counties in southern Utah, and Coconino County in northern Arizona. The northern limits of the lake extend at least as far as the Hite Crossing Bridge. A map centered at the confluence of the Escalante River 37°17′22″N 110°52′20″W / 37.28944°N 110.87222°W / 37.28944; -110.87222 with the Colorado River gives a good view of the extent of the lake.

Lake Powell is a storage facility for the Upper Basin states of the Colorado River Compact (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico). The Compact specifies that the Upper Basin states are to provide a minimum annual flow of 7.5 million acre feet (10 km³) to the Lower Basin states (Arizona, Nevada, and California).
In the 1940s and early 1950s, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation planned to construct a series of Colorado River dams in the rugged Colorado Plateau province of Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Glen Canyon Dam was born of a controversial damsite the Bureau selected in Echo Park, in what is now Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado. A small but politically effective group of objectors led by David Brower of the Sierra Club succeeded in defeating the Bureau's bid, citing Echo Park's natural and scenic qualities as too valuable to submerge.
But by agreeing to a relocated damsite near Lee's Ferry, between Glen and Grand Canyons, Brower did not realize what he had gambled away. At the time, Brower had not actually been to Glen Canyon. When he later saw Glen Canyon on a river trip, Brower discovered that it had the kind of scenic, cultural, and wilderness qualities often associated with America's national parks. Over 80 side canyons in the colorful Navajo Sandstone contained clear streams, abundant wildlife, arches, natural bridges, and thousands of Native American archeological sites. By then, however, it was too late to stop the Bureau and its commissioner Floyd Dominy from building Glen Canyon Dam. Dominy was a firm believer in putting the river to human use, once saying "Now I admit that nature can't improve upon man. We're probably the supreme being." Brower believed the river should remain free, and would forever after consider the loss of Glen Canyon his life's ultimate disappointment.

Construction on Glen Canyon Dam began with a demolition blast keyed by the push of a button by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at his desk in the Oval Office on October 1, 1956. The first blast started clearing tunnels for water diversion. On February 11, 1959, water was diverted through the tunnels so dam construction could begin. Later that year, the bridge was completed, allowing trucks to deliver equipment and materials for the dam, and also for the new town of Page, Arizona.

Concrete placement started around the clock on June 17, 1960. The last bucket of concrete was poured on September 13, 1963. Over 5 million cubic yards (4,000,000 m³) of concrete make up Glen Canyon Dam. The Dam is 710 feet (216 m) high, with the surface elevation of the water at full pool being approximately 3700 feet (1100 m). Construction of the Dam cost $155 million, and 18 lives were lost in the process. From 1963 to 1966, turbines and generators were installed for hydroelectricity. On September 22, 1966, Glen Canyon Dam was dedicated by Lady Bird Johnson.

Upon completion of Glen Canyon Dam on September 13, 1963, the Colorado River began to back up, no longer being diverted through the tunnels. The newly flooded Glen Canyon formed Lake Powell. It took 17 years for the lake to rise to the high water mark, on June 22, 1980. Since then the lake level has fluctuated considerably depending on the seasonal snow runoff from the mountains.

Colorado River flows have been below average since the year 2000, leading to lower lake levels. In the winter of 2005 (before the spring run-off) the lake reached its lowest level since filling, an elevation of 3,550 feet (1,080 m) above sea level, which was approximately 150 feet (46 m) below full pool (elevation 3700'). Since 2005 the lake level has risen 78 feet (24 m), to a high elevation of 3,628 feet (1,106 m) above sea level in spring/early summer 2008. As of July 4, 2011, the lake level had exceeded 3650'.
Glen Canyon was carved by differential erosion from the Colorado River over an estimated 5 million years. The Colorado Plateau, through which the canyon cuts, arose some 11 million years ago. Within that plateau lie layers of rock from over 300 million years ago to the relatively recent volcanic activity. Pennsylvanian and Permian formations can be seen in Cataract Canyon and San Juan Canyon. The Moenkopi Formation, which dates from 230 million years ago (Triassic Period), and the Chinle Formation are found at Lees Ferry and the Rincon. Both formations are the result of the ancient inland sea that covered the area. Once the sea drained, windblown sand invaded the area, creating what is known as Wingate Sandstone. The more recent (Jurassic Period) formations include Kayenta Sandstone, which produces the trademark blue-black "desert varnish" that streaks down many walls of the canyons. Above this is Navajo Sandstone, the result of more compressed sand dunes. Many of the arches, including Rainbow Bridge, lie at this transition point. This period also includes light yellow Entrada Formations, and the dark brown, almost purple Carmel Formation. These latter two can be seen on the tops of mesas around Wahweap, and the crown of Castle Rock and Tower Butte. Above these layers lie the Straight Cliffs Sandstone and conglomerate shales that make up the Kaiparowits Plateau and San Rafael Swell to the north of the lake.

The confluences of the Escalante River and San Juan River lie within Lake Powell. The slower flow of the San Juan river has produced goosenecks where 5 miles (8.0 km) of river are contained within 1-mile (1.6 km) on a straight line.

MORE PICTURES

HORSESHOE BEND, ARIZONA

2011-07-26T20:43:00.008+01:00

Horseshoe Bend is the name for a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona, in the United States. The bend is locally known as "King Bend." It is located five miles (8.5 km) downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about four miles or 6 km southwest of Page. Accessible via a ¾-mile (1.2 km) hike from U.S. Route 89, it can be viewed from the steep cliff above. According to Google terrain maps, the overlook is 4,200 feet above sea level and the Colorado River is at 3,200 feet above sea level making it a breathtaking 1,000 foot drop.

MORE PICTURES

HOODOOS

2011-07-26T19:48:00.004+01:00

A hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Hoodoos consist of soft sedimentary rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements.

They are mainly located in the desert in dry, hot areas. In common usage, the difference between hoodoos and pinnacles or spires is that hoodoos have a variable thickness often described as having a "totem pole-shaped body." A spire, on the other hand, has a smoother profile or uniform thickness that tapers from the ground upward.

Hoodoos range in size from that of an average human to heights exceeding a 10-story building. Hoodoo shapes are affected by the erosional patterns of alternating hard and softer rock layers. Minerals deposited within different rock types cause hoodoos to have different colors throughout their height.
Hoodoos are commonly found in the High Plateaus region of the Colorado Plateau and in the Badlands regions of the Northern Great Plains (both in North America). While hoodoos are scattered throughout these areas, nowhere in the world are they as abundant as in the northern section of Bryce Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Utah (see geology of the Bryce Canyon area).

Hoodoos are a tourist attraction in the Cappadocia region of Turkey where houses have been carved from these formations. These rock formations were depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50 new lira banknote of 2005-2009.

In French, they are called demoiselles coiffées ("ladies with hairdos") and a number of them are found in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; one of the best-known examples is the formation called Demoiselles Coiffées de Pontis.

Đavolja Varoš (Devil's Town) hoodoos in Serbia feature 202 exotic formations described as earth pyramids or "towers", as the locals refer to them. Since 1959, Đavolja Varoš has been protected by the state, and it is also a nominee in the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign.

The hoodoo stones on the northern coast of Taiwan are unusual for their coastal setting. The stones formed as the seabed rose rapidly out of the ocean during the Miocene epoch. Efforts have been made to slow the erosion in the case of iconic specimens in Wanli.
The geology of areas where fairy chimneys form typically comprises a thick layer of tuff (consolidated volcanic ash), covered by a thin layer of basalt or other volcanic rocks that are more resistant to erosion than the underlying tuff. Over time, cracks in the basalt allow the much softer tuff to be eroded and washed away. Fairy chimneys are formed where a small cap or boulder of the original basalt remains, and protects a cone of tuff beneath it from erosion. Eventually, the tuff will be undercut to the extent that the cap falls off, and the remaining cone is then quickly eroded.

MORE PICTURES

CAMERON, ARIZONA

2011-07-26T19:46:00.000+01:00

Cameron is a census-designated place (CDP) in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The population was 978 at the 2000 census. Most of the town's economy is tourist food and craft stalls, restaurants, and other services for north-south traffic from Flagstaff and Page. There is a ranger station supplying information and hiking permits for the Navajo Nation as well as a small selection of books for sale. There is also a large craft store run by the Nation itself; most vendors in the area operate from small private stalls.

ANTELOPE CANYON, ARIZONA

2011-07-26T19:05:00.006+01:00

Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. It is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona. Antelope Canyon includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon or The Crack; and Lower Antelope Canyon or The Corkscrew.

The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazí (advertised as "Hasdestwazi" by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department), or "spiral rock arches." Both are located within the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation.

Antelope Canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding and secondarily due to other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways are eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in such a way as to form characteristic 'flowing' shapes in the rock.

Flooding in the canyon still occurs. A flood occurred on October 30, 2006 that lasted 36 hours, and caused the Tribal Park Authorities to close Lower Antelope Canyon for five months.
Antelope Canyon is a popular location for photographers and sightseers, and a source of tourism business for the Navajo Nation. It has been accessible by permit only since 1997, when the Navajo Tribe made it a Navajo Tribal Park. Photography within the canyons is difficult due to the wide exposure range (often 10 EV or more) made by light reflecting off the canyon walls.
Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, "the place where water runs through rocks" by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists, due to two considerations. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams (shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings in the top of the canyon) are much more common in Upper than in Lower. Beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are a little more muted like the photo displayed here. Summer months provide two types of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 15 and disappear October 7 each year.

Lower Antelope Canyon, called Hazdistazí, or "spiral rock arches" by the Navajo, is located a few kilometers away. Prior to the installation of metal stairways, visiting the canyon required climbing along pre-installed ladders in certain areas. Even following the installation of stairways, it is a more difficult hike than Upper Antelope—it is longer, narrower in spots, and even footing is not available in all areas. At the end, the climb out requires several flights of stairs.

Despite these limitations, Lower Antelope Canyon draws a considerable number of photographers, though casual sightseers are much less common there than in Upper.

The lower canyon is in the shape of a "V" and shallower than the Upper Antelope. Lighting is better in the early hours and late afternoon.

Antelope Canyon is visited exclusively through guided tours, in part because rains during monsoon season can quickly flood the canyon. Rain does not have to fall on or near the Antelope Canyon slots for flash floods to whip through, as rain falling dozens of miles away 'upstream' of the canyons can funnel into them with little prior notice. On August 12, 1997, eleven tourists, including seven from France, one from the United Kingdom, one from Sweden and two from the United States, were killed in Lower Antelope Canyon by a flash flood. Very little rain fell at the site that day, but an earlier thunderstorm had dumped a large amount of water into the canyon basin, seven miles upstream. The lone survivor of the flood was tour guide Francisco "Poncho" Quintana, who had prior swift-water training. At the time, the ladder system consisted of amateur-built wood ladders that were swept away by the flash flood. Today, ladder systems have been bolted in place, and deployable cargo nets are installed at the top of the canyon. At the fee booth, a NOAA Weather Radio from the National Weather Service and an alarm horn are stationed.

Entry to Antelope Canyon is restricted to guided tours led by authorized guides.

MORE PICTURES

VIEQUES, BIOLUMINESCENT BAY, PUERTO RICO

2011-07-26T17:30:00.003+01:00

Vieques, in full Isla de Vieques, is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Like the rest of Puerto Rico, a U.S. Commonwealth, Vieques retains strong influences from 400 years of Spanish ownership.

Vieques lies about 8 miles (13 km) east of the Puerto Rican mainland, and measures about 21 miles (34 km) long by 4 miles (6 km) wide. Its two main towns are Isabel Segunda (sometimes written "Isabel II"), the administrative center on the northern side of the island, and Esperanza on the southern side. At peak, the population of Vieques is around 10,000.

The island's name is a Spanish spelling of a Native American word said to mean "small island". It also has the nickname "Isla Nena", usually translated from the Spanish as "Little Girl Island", alluding to its perception as Puerto Rico's little sister. During the colonial period, the British name was "Crab Island".

Vieques is best known internationally as the site of a series of protests against the United States Navy's use of the island as a bombing range and testing ground, which led to the Navy's departure in 2003. Today the former Navy land is a national wildlife refuge, with numerous beaches that still retain the names given by the Navy, including Red Beach, Blue Beach, Green Beach and others. The beaches are commonly listed among the top beaches in the Caribbean for their azure-colored waters and white sands.

The Bioluminescent Bay (also known as Puerto Mosquito, Mosquito Bay, or "The Bio Bay"), is perhaps the world's largest and brightest. The luminescence is caused by micro-organisms (dinoflagellates) which glow whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of neon blue. A combination of factors create the necessary conditions for bioluminescence: red mangrove trees surround the water (the organisms feed off the dead leaves); a complete lack of modern development around the bay; the water is cool enough and deep enough; and a small channel to the ocean keeps the dinoflagellates in the bay. This small channel is the result of Spanish ships' attempts to choke off the bay from the ocean's waters. The Spanish believed that the bioluminescence they first encountered was the work of the Devil ('El Diablo') and tried to block the ocean's waters from entering the bay by dropping huge boulders in the channel. The Spanish only succeeded in preserving and increasing the luminescence. Kayaking is permitted in the bay and can be arranged through local vendors. Swimming is allowed on limited basis through guided tours.

LUQUILLO, PUERTO RICO

2011-07-26T17:15:00.003+01:00

Luquillo is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo; and east of Rio Grande. Luquillo is spread over 5 wards and Luquillo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Fajardo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Luquillo was founded in 1797 and is known as "La Capital del Sol" (sun capital), "La Riviera de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rico's riviera, and "Los Come Cocos" (The coconut eaters). The town was named after the Indian cacique Loquillo, who died a few years after the last Indian rebellion in 1513.

If you stay on the coastal highway going east from San Juan, you'll soon reach Luquillo Beach. This huge plantation of majestic coconut palms shades more than a mile of fine and shimmering sand. It is one of the most popular and nicest public beaches in the San Juan area. It offers cafeterias, public bathrooms with showers, access for disabled people, and an ample parking lot. Monserrate Beach is one of the public beaches most frequented by the locals. In 2006 El Balneario de Luquillo (The Luquillo Beach) was pronounced the most popular one in Puerto Rico.

Landmarks and places of interest
Chief Loquillo Monument
La Fortuna Hacienda
La Bandera Beach
La Monserrate Beach
La Pared Beach
Las Pailas Beach
Luquillo Beach
Mameyes Beach
Ocean View Boulevard
Fortuna Beach
El Parque de Recreacion
El Balneario
The Brass Cactus rest.

Festivals and events
Patron Saint Celebrations - March
Leatherback Turtle Festival - April
Coconut Festival - September
Typical Dish Festival - December
The Three Kings Day Celebration at The Luquillo Plaza - January

Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico

2011-07-26T16:59:00.002+01:00

El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Luquillo National Forest, and the Caribbean National Forest, is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rain forest in the United States. The forest is commonly known as El Yunque, which may be attributed to either a Spanish approximation of the aboriginal Taino word yu-ke which means "white lands", or the word anvil, which means yunque in Spanish. The second-tallest mountain within El Yunque is also named El Yunque. El Yunque National Rainforest is located on the slopes of the Sierra de Luquillo Mountains and it encompasses 28,000 acres (43.753 mi² or 113.32 km²) of land, making it the largest block of public land in Puerto Rico. El Toro, the highest mountain peak in the forest rises 1,065 meters (3,537 ft) above sea level. Ample rainfall (over 200 inches a year in some areas) creates a jungle-like setting - lush foliage, crags, waterfalls and rivers are a prevalent scene. The forest has a number of trails from where the jungle-like territory's flora and fauna can be appreciated.
The forest region was initially set aside in 1876 by the King Alfonso XII of Spain, and represents one of the oldest reserves in the Western Hemisphere. It was established as the Luquillo Forest Reserve on 17 January 1903 by the General Land Office with 65,950 acres (266.9 km2), and became a National Forest in 1906. It was renamed Caribbean National Forest on 4 June 1935. It is home to over 200 species of trees and plants, 23 of which are found nowhere else. The critically endangered Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata), with an estimated wild population of 30 individuals, occurred exclusively in this forest until 19 November 2006, when another wild population was released by the Department of Natural Resources in the municipality of Utuado's Rio Abajo State Forest.

An Executive Order signed by President George W. Bush on 2 April 2007 changed the name of the Caribbean National Forest to El Yunque National Forest, better reflecting the cultural and historical feelings of the Puerto Rican people. Because Puerto Rico is south of the Tropic of Cancer, it has a tropical climate. There is no distinct wet or dry season in the El Yunque; it rains year round. The temperature and length of daylight remain fairly constant throughout the year. All of these factors provide a year-round growing season.
Typical yearly rainfall can be up to 6 m (240 inches) per year, which constitutes more than 380,000,000 m³ (100 billion US gallons) spread over the forest. The forest contains hundreds of species of trees, orchids, plants, and a few animals. You will hear the Coqui frogs and see large snails as they are enjoying the moisture of the forest. The rain helps to create the perfect ecosystem for the frogs and snails and some other creatures in the habitat. You will also hear many birds singing as you walk the trails.

El Yunque is composed of four different forest vegetation areas: Tabonuco Forest, Palo Colorado Forest, Sierra Palm Forest, and Dwarf Forest. El Yunque is also renowned for its unique Taíno petroglyphs.
Its ecosystem is specifically surveyed by the Management Team of Ecosystems, which is led by Pedro Rios. Due to its location in the North Eastern part of Puerto Rico the incoming trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean bash into the mountains, leading to an excess of rainfall registered at about 6m (240 inches) per year "About the Forest". This process is called the orographic lift and accounts for the intense rainfall and constant cloud presence in this mountainous region. This constant cloud cover and persistent winds produced by the adiabatic process of air particles rushing up through the mountainside has affected the morphology of El Yunque, but the most effect has been on the Bosque Enano or the Dwarf Forest

Anecdotas

2011-06-07T02:30:00.002+01:00

Eslovenia
Ljubljana
Mientras esperaba un tren en la estacion alrededor de las 2 de la maniana un mendigo me ofrecio generosamente sus cartones para dormir.

USA
California
Sequoia National Park: conduciendo en las carreteras del parque, cuesta abajo y llena de curvas, se calentaron los frenos y el coche no frenaba. Terminamos parandos cuando la carretera empezo cuesta arriba y por la inercia el coche se paro.
Arizona
The Wave: solo 20 personas al dia pueden acceder a The Wave. 10 de ellas reservando 6 meses con anterioridad y otras 10 a traves de una loteria el dia anterior en la base del parque. Nos toco la loteria y tras caminar 2 horas por el desierto sin indicaciones ni camino encontramos el lugar. A la vuelta nos perdimos pero finalmente encontramos el camino. Mas tarde mirando las cordenadas en internet resulta que estuvimos a tan solo 100 metros de The wave pero no exactamente en el lugar.

COLOMBIA

2011-05-17T22:17:00.002+01:00

Bogota

Salt Cathedral
Monserrate
Gold Museum
Botero Museum

Santa Marta
Tayrona National Park
Taganga

Cartagena de Indias
Islas del Rosario
Castillo de San Felipe

Colombia, is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. With a population of over 45 million people, Colombia has the 29th largest population in the world and the second largest in South America, after Brazil. Colombia has the third largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico and Spain.

The territory of what is now "Colombia" was originally inhabited by indigenous people including the Muisca, Quimbaya, and Tairona. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada (comprising modern-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, the northwest region of Brazil and Panama) with its capital in Bogotá. Independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 "Gran Colombia" had collapsed with the secession of Venezuela and Ecuador. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858), and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Panama seceded in 1903 under pressure to fulfill financial responsibilities towards the United States government to build the Panama Canal.

Colombia has a long tradition of constitutional government. The Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. However, tensions between the two have frequently erupted into violence, most notably in the Thousand Days War (1899–1902) and La Violencia, beginning in 1948. Since the 1960s, government forces, left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries have been engaged in the continent's longest-running armed conflict. Fuelled by the cocaine trade, this escalated dramatically in the 1980s. Nevertheless, in the recent decade (2000s) the violence has decreased significantly. Many paramilitary groups have demobilized as part of a controversial peace process with the government, and the guerrillas have lost control in many areas where they once dominated. Meanwhile Colombia's homicide rate, for many years one of the highest in the world, almost halved between 2002 and 2006. 2009 and 2010 saw an increase in the urban homicide rate, particularly in the city of Medellín, attributed to gang warfare and paramilitary successor groups. According to the Maplecroft research institute, in 2010 Colombia had the world's sixth highest risk of terrorism.

Colombia is a standing middle power with the fourth largest economy in Latin America. Inequality and unequal distribution of wealth are widespread. In 1990, the ratio of income between the poorest and richest 10 per cent was 40-to-one. Following a decade of economic restructuring and a recession, this ratio had climbed to 80-to-one in the year 2000. By 2009, Colombia had reached a Gini coefficient of 0.587, which was the highest in Latin America. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "there has been a decrease in the poverty rate in recent years, around half of the population continues to live under the poverty line" as of 2008-2009. Official figures for 2009 indicate that about 46% of Colombians lived below the poverty line and some 17% in "extreme poverty".

Colombia is very ethnically diverse, and the interaction between descendants of the original native inhabitants, Spanish colonists, Africans brought as slaves and twentieth-century immigrants from Europe and the Middle East has produced a rich cultural heritage. This has also been influenced by Colombia's varied geography. The majority of the urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains, but Colombian territory also encompasses Amazon rainforest, tropical grassland and both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. Ecologically, Colombia is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Approximately 10,000 BC, hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá (at "El Abra" and "Tequendama") which traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River Valley Beginning in the first millennium BC, groups of Amerindians developed the political system of "cacicazgos" with a pyramidal structure of power headed by caciques. Within Colombia, the two cultures with the most complex cacicazgo systems were the Tayronas in the Caribbean Region, and the Muiscas in the highlands around Bogotá, both of which were of the Chibcha language family. The Muisca people are considered to have had one of the most developed political systems in South America, after the Incas.
Spanish explorers made the first exploration of the Caribbean littoral in 1499 led by Rodrigo de Bastidas. Christopher Columbus navigated near the Caribbean in 1502. In 1508, Vasco Núñez de Balboa started the conquest of the territory through the region of Urabá. In 1513, he was the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean, which he called Mar del Sur (or "Sea of the South") and which in fact would bring the Spaniards to Peru and Chile.

Alonso de Lugo (who had sailed with Columbus) reached the Guajira Peninsula in 1500. Santa Marta was founded in 1525, and Cartagena in 1533. Gonzalo Jiminez de Quesada led an expedition to the interior in 1535, and founded the "New City of Granada", the name soon changed to "Santa Fé de Bogotá." Two other notable journeys by Spaniards to the interior took place in the same period. Sebastian de Belalcazar, conqueror of Quito, traveled north and founded Cali in 1536 and Popayán in 1537; Nicolas Federman crossed Llanos Orientales and went over the Eastern Cordillera.

The territory's main population was made up of hundreds of tribes of the Chibchan and Carib, currently known as the Caribbean people, whom the Spaniards conquered through warfare and alliances, while resulting disease such as smallpox, and the conquest and ethnic cleansing itself caused a demographic reduction among the indigenous people. In the 16th century, Europeans began to bring slaves from Africa.
Since the beginning of the periods of Conquest and Colonization, there were several rebel movements under Spanish rule, most of them either being crushed or remaining too weak to change the overall situation. The last one which sought outright independence from Spain sprang up around 1810, following the independence of St. Domingue in 1804 (present-day Haiti), who provided a non-negligible degree of support to the eventual leaders of this rebellion: Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander.

A movement initiated by Antonio Nariño, who opposed Spanish centralism and led the opposition against the viceroyalty, led to the independence of Cartagena in November 1811. This led to the formation of two independent governments which fought a civil war, a period known as La Patria Boba. The following year Nariño proclaimed the United Provinces of New Granada, headed by Camilo Torres Tenorio. Despite the successes of the rebellion, the emergence of two distinct ideological currents among the liberators (federalism and centralism) gave rise to an internal clash between these two, thus contributing to the reconquest of territory by the Spanish, allowing restoration of the viceroyalty under the command of Juan de Samano, whose regime punished those who participated in the uprisings. This stoked renewed rebellion, which, combined with a weakened Spain, made possible a successful rebellion led by Simón Bolívar, who finally proclaimed independence in 1819. The pro-Spanish resistance was finally defeated in 1822 in the present territory of Colombia and in 1823 in Venezuela.

The territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the Republic of Colombia organized as a union of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela (Panama was then an integral part of Colombia). The Congress of Cucuta in 1821 adopted a constitution for the new Republic. The first President of Colombia was the Venezuelan-born Simón Bolívar, and Francisco de Paula Santander was Vice President. However, the new republic was very unstable and ended with the rupture of Venezuela in 1829, followed by Ecuador in 1830.
Internal political and territorial divisions led to the secession of Venezuela and Quito (today's Ecuador) in 1830. The so-called "Department of Cundinamarca" adopted the name "Nueva Granada", which it kept until 1856 when it became the "Confederación Granadina" (Grenadine Confederation). After a two-year civil war in 1863, the "United States of Colombia" was created, lasting until 1886, when the country finally became known as the Republic of Colombia. Internal divisions remained between the bipartisan political forces, occasionally igniting very bloody civil wars, the most significant being the Thousand Days civil war (1899–1902).

This, together with the United States of America's intentions to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the separation of the Department of Panama in 1903 and the establishment of it as a nation. The United States paid Colombia $25,000,000 in 1921, seven years after completion of the canal, for redress of President Roosevelt's role in the creation of Panama, and Colombia recognized Panama under the terms of the Thomson-Urrutia Treaty. Colombia was engulfed in the Year-Long War with Peru over a territorial dispute involving the Amazonas Department and its capital Leticia.

Soon after, Colombia achieved a relative degree of political stability, which was interrupted by a bloody conflict that took place between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, a period known as La Violencia ("The Violence"). Its cause was mainly mounting tensions between the two leading political parties, which subsequently ignited after the assassination of the Liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on April 9, 1948. This assassination caused riots in Bogotá and became known as El Bogotazo. The violence from these riots spread throughout the country and claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians.

From 1953 to 1964 the violence between the two political parties decreased first when Gustavo Rojas deposed the President of Colombia in a coup d'état and negotiated with the guerrillas, and then under the military junta of General Gabriel París Gordillo.

After Rojas' deposition the two political parties Colombian Conservative Party and Colombian Liberal Party agreed to the creation of a "National Front", whereby the Liberal and Conservative parties would govern jointly. The presidency would be determined by an alternating conservative and liberal president every 4 years for 16 years; the two parties would have parity in all other elective offices. The National Front ended "La Violencia", and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with the Alliance for Progress. In the end, the contradictions between each successive Liberal and Conservative administration made the results decidedly mixed. Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political problems continued, and guerrilla groups were formally created such as the FARC, ELN and M-19 to fight the government and political apparatus. These guerrilla groups were dominated by Marxist doctrines.

Emerging in the late 1970s, powerful and violent drug cartels further developed during the 1980s and 1990s. The Medellín Cartel under Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel, in particular, exerted political, economic and social influence in Colombia during this period. These cartels also financed and influenced different illegal armed groups throughout the political spectrum. Some enemies of these allied with the guerrillas and created or influenced paramilitary groups.
The new Colombian Constitution of 1991 was ratified after being drafted by the Constituent Assembly of Colombia. The constitution included key provisions on political, ethnic, human and gender rights. The new constitution initially prohibited the extradition of Colombian nationals, causing accusations that drug cartels had lobbied for the provision; extradition was allowed again in 1996 when the provision was repealed. The cartels had previously promoted a violent campaign against extradition, leading to many terrorist attacks and mafia-style executions. They also tried to influence the government and political structure of Colombia through corruption, as in the case of the 8000 Process scandal.

In recent years, the country has continued to be plagued by the effects of the drug trade, guerrilla insurgencies like FARC, and paramilitary groups such as the AUC, which along with other minor factions have engaged in a bloody internal armed conflict. President Andrés Pastrana and the FARC attempted to negotiate a solution to the conflict between 1999 and 2002. The government set up a "demilitarized" zone, but repeated tensions and crisis led the Pastrana administration to conclude that the negotiations were ineffectual. Pastrana also began to implement the Plan Colombia initiative, with the dual goal of ending the armed conflict and promoting a strong anti-narcotic strategy.

During the presidency of Álvaro Uribe, the government applied more military pressure on the FARC and other outlawed groups. After the offensive, which was supported by foreign aid provided by the United States, many security indicators improved. Reported kidnappings showed a steep decrease (from 3,700 in the year 2000 to 172 in 2009 (Jan.-Oct.)) and so did intentional homicides (from 28,837 in 2002 to 15,817 in 2009, according to police, while the health system reported a decline from 28,534 to 17,717 during the same period). Kidnappings suffered a steady decline for almost a decade until a 2010 increase saw 280 cases reported between January and October, most of which were concentrated in the Medellín area. According to official statistics, guerrillas were reduced from 24,000 fighters in 2002 to 9,500 in 2010. While rural areas and jungles remained dangerous, the overall reduction of violence led to the growth of internal travel and tourism after security conditions improved.

The 2006–2007 Colombian parapolitics scandal emerged from the revelations and judicial implications of past and present links between paramilitary groups, mainly the AUC, and some government officials and many politicians, most of them allied to the governing administration.

SALT CATHEDRAL of ZIPAQUIRA (CATEDRAL DE SAL), COLOMBIA

2011-05-17T21:58:00.002+01:00

The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 meters underground in a Halite mountain near the town of Zipaquirá, in Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is a very popular tourist destination and place of pilgrimage in the country. The name "Salt Cathedral" is mostly to attract tourists - while a functioning church that receives as many as 3,000 visitors on Sundays, it has no bishop and therefore no official status as a cathedral in Catholicism.

The temple at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The icons, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some marble sculptures are included.

The Salt Cathedral is considered one of the most notable achievements of Colombian architecture. Also it has been denominated as "Jewel of Modern Architecture". The cathedral represents for the Colombian people a valuable cultural, environmental and religious patrimony.

The cathedral is part of a larger complex including "Parque de la Sal" (Salt Park), and a Museum of mining, mineralogy, Geology and natural resources.

The halite mines were exploited already by the pre-Columbian Muisca culture since the 5th century B.C. being one of their most important economic activities. The traditional halite mining was described by Alexander von Humboldt during his visit to Zipaquira in 1801. He depicts this deposit as bigger than the main halite mines of the time, such as those in Spain, Switzerland, Poland and the County of Tyrol with a calculated resource estimation of one million cubic meters. Von Humboldt also criticized the excavation techniques as being unpractical for future exploitation, recommending drift mining instead, since the halite tunnels don't require beams, lowering the costs.

Years before the underground church was built, (around 1932) the miners had carved a sanctuary, as a place for their daily prayers asking for protection to the saints before starting to work. In 1950 the construction of a bigger project had begun: the Salt Cathedral which was inaugurated on August 15, 1954 and dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary, Patron saint of miners. It was compound of three naves and a monumental cross. Part of the galleries were actually carved by the ancient muiscas. However, as the cathedral was carved inside an active mine, so structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut down the sanctuary in 1990. This construction cost over 285 million U.S. dollars. The building had 120 m length, 5.500 m² surface and 22 m height. It had six main columns, and a maximum capacity of 8,000 people.

The main nave included the monumental cross, which was illuminated from the base up, projecting a large cross-shaped shadow in the ceiling. The right nave included the Stations of the Cross icons and the Rosary chapel, with the Virgin of Rosary Icon (sculpted by Daniel Rodriguez Moreno and later transported to the new cathedral). The left nave included the icons of the birth of Jesus and the baptism of Jesus, with a waterfall symbolising the Jordan River.
The Industrial Investment Institute, together with Salinas Concession and the Colombian Society of Architects opened a contest for the design of the new cathedral, the winner of which was the project presented by Roswell Garavito Pearl which included structural changes in the access tunnel and the dome.

In 1991 the construction of a new Cathedral was undertaken, 200 feet under the older one. This new Cathedral was inaugurated in 1995. Its various corridors and sanctuaries were achieved by making small but significant additions to the caves left behind by previous mining operations.

The main sections of the building are:

The Stations of the Cross: At the entrance of the church, there are 14 small chapels, representing the stations of the cross, which illustrate the events of Jesus' last journey. Each station has a cross and several kneeling platforms carved into the halite structure.
The Dome: Located at the end of the main descending entrance ramp. From here, the visitor descends to the bas relief cross chambers, the balcony and the Narthex labyrinth.
The three naves: They are interconnected by a crack, symbolising the birth and death of Christ. Copies of Creation of Adam and Pietá can be seen.
Four large cylindric columns represent the Four Evangelists.

The cathedral has electrical generator and access for vehicles to the inner space(for emergencies only).

MONSERRATE, BOGOTA

2011-05-17T21:44:00.002+01:00

Typs:

Go on Sundays is cheaper. Normal fare: 14,000 Pesos, Sundays fare, 8,200 Pesos

Monserrate (after Catalan homonym mountain Montserrat) is a mountain that dominates the city centre of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to 3,152 metres (10,341 ft) above the sea level, where there is a church (built in the 17th century) with a shrine, devoted to "El Señor Caído" (Fallen Lord).

The hill is a pilgrim destination, as well as a tourist attraction. In addition to the church, the summit contains restaurants, cafeteria, souvenir shops and many smaller tourist facilities. Monserrate can be accessed by aerial tramway, a funicular or by climbing, the preferred way of pilgrims.

All downtown Bogotá, south Bogotá and some sections of the north of the city are visible facing west, making it a popular destination for watching the sun set over the city.

The Governor of the Nuevo Reino de Granada (New Kingdom of Granada, what the majority of Colombia was called in the 17th century), Mr Juan de Borga authorized the building of a church in the name of Monserrat's Morena Virgin whose sanctuary was located in Barcelona, Spain.

Don Pedro Solis created this piece of artwork taking advantage of the tranquility and harmony with nature.It was finally finished in 1657 with some help from the locals and to be later the home of a special shrine.Ever since then for more than four centuries pilgrims and citizen have hiked the mountain to offer their prayers to the shrine of "El Señor Caido".

Land Railway
Monday-Saturday: 7:45 am to 11:45 am Sundays: 5:30 am to 6:30 pm Holidays: 6:00 am to 6:30 pm

Cable Railway
Monday-Saturday: 12 m to 12:00 pm Sundays: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

BOTERO MUSEUM, BOGOTA

2011-05-17T21:40:00.003+01:00

Botero Museum is part of the Luis Ángel Arango Library.

Luis Ángel Arango Library, is a public library located in Bogotá, Colombia. It was founded in 1923 as a small library with a few books on economics. It is currently under the administration of the Bank of the Republic. Today, its collection has grown to the point where it has become the country's premier library and it has come to be considered to be the most important public library in Latin America. It has over 1.1 million books and 1900 reading places; it received 6.7 million visitors in 2008. Books and documents on the following subjects can be found: music, geography, social sciences, economics, arts and humanities, the constitution, rare books and manuscripts, science and technology, and Luis López de Mesa newspaper archives. They also provide audio-visual material. In addition, there is a Concert Hall, reprography service, a cafeteria and parking facilities. The Botero Museum is part of the library. The main entrance features an Athena or Minerva statue.

There is also a bookstore in the first floor of the library. The bookstore specializes in books about Colombia, scientific magazines, and literature related to Colombia and its values.

The library is named after the lawyer and business man Dr. Luis Angel Arango, who occupied the general manager position of the "Banco de la Republica" in Colombia, and who was an advocate for culture and literature.
Fernando Botero Angulo (born April 19, 1932) is a Colombian figurative artist, self-titled "the most Colombian of Colombian artists" early on. He came to national prominence when he won the first prize at the Salón de Artistas Colombianos in 1958. Working most of the year in Paris, in the last three decades he has achieved international recognition for his paintings, drawings and sculpture, with exhibitions across the world. His art is collected by major museums, corporations and private collectors.