California Archives - Page 20 of 58 - Uncle Walt's Insider
Without doubt, the best Star Wars holiday special ever. Collage by MixeD via YouTube.

BIG NEWS: Galaxy’s Edge WILL be themed to Star Wars Holiday Special!

The Holiday Special consistent ranks as everyone's third favorite Christmas TV show, just behind "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Battlestar Galactica: Home for the Holidays?" BATUU -- With Halloween behind us and Christmas decorations spreading across Disney parks on both coasts, fans have been wondering: will the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge areas be decorated for the holidays? Uncle Walt's Insider can now answer that with a resounding "You betcha!" Sources tell us that the Star Wars areas on both coasts will ... Read more
Knott's Mary Farm's 2019 crop. Photo by Matanya [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons & Pixabay.

Details emerge for this year’s “Knott’s Mary Farm”

Coming up after that? Knott's Carey Farm: a tribute to Drew Carey. BUENA PARK, CA -- The spooky Halloween version of Knott's Berry Farm, called Knott's Scarry Farm, is winding down. Soon the park will get its annual Christmas decorations up and be temporarily renamed "Knott's Mary Farm," as a tribute to the Virgin Mary. Theme park history fans will know, of course, that KBF's founder, Don Knotts, was a lifelong Catholic who left the priesthood to play Barney Fife on the popular ... Read more
The old Disney look (left) versus the new standards (right). Or is it the other way around? We can't tell them apart.

Disney’s new “Relaxed Look” policy — too relaxed?

In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking; now heaven knows, anything goes. SANTA MONICA, CA -- When Walt Disney first opened his beloved park (Disneyland), he mandated that the only mustache allowed in the park be on his face. Cast Member's hair could be no longer than his, and their uniforms had to match the land in which they worked. Thousands of newly-hired Cast Members were forced to get a shave and a haircut, which in ... Read more
Ford, seen here napping between ride vehicles. Photo by Loren Javier [CC BY-ND 2.0] via Flickr.

Harrison Ford retiring from Indiana Jones Adventure

He'll be replaced by audio-animatronics. DISNEYLAND, CA -- Actor Harrison Ford, age 77, has informed Disneyland officials that he will no longer be playing Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones Adventure ride. A spokesperson for the actor says that the repeated performances for each ride vehicle, involving rope climbing and outrunning large boulders, was becoming too much for Ford, especially when combined with his multiple daily performances in Florida's Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. The ride will be closed for "refurbishment" in early November. ... Read more
16th Century composer John Dowland, still scowling after his Disneyland ejection. Image courtesy lanazione.it.

“Fine Knacks for Ladies” writer ejected from Disneyland: ‘None of us wast in the wrong’

Just the latest in controversial musician ejections. ANAHEIM, CA -- Fine Knacks for Ladies writer and 16th century composer John Dowland said he did nothing wrong when his entourage was ejected from Disneyland last month. The group was booted after someone in his party allegedly made threatening remarks to a Disney Cast Member to "fetch a caliver and cometh back," according to a recent interview. The songwriter explained his side of the story and defended those accompanying him in a new video posted ... Read more