Tockstein Disney History, part 4

JULY, 1992

In the four years since we had last been to Disney, much had happened. In 1989 we moved to West Virginia. In 1991 we moved back to Knoxville. My sister and I went to no less than 4 different schools during all the moving around. We got two great dogs, Captain and later his offspring Bugsy. I started working...first at Dairy Queen, then loading trucks at a textile mill, and finally found a steady gig at Krogers. And it was during this period of changes that I discovered what I wanted to do with my life: use a video camera to somehow make a living. In West Virginia I began to shoot silly short movies with my new friends Nate and Steve, and found that there was nothing I'd rather do. We would write these scripts, shoot the movie, and edit it, adding music and sound effects (without the aid of a computer)...all of this within a 5 or 6 hour period. There was nothing more gratifying than finally sitting down in front of the TV at the end of the day to watch the fruits of our labor. Things really picked up when we moved back to Knoxville, and my best friends Josh and Al got in on the act. When we weren't at our jobs or school, we were shooting movies in the basement of my house. Some of our classics include "Life Goes On", about a hitman hired by an alien robot, "The Adventures of the 35-Cent Boy", who was a kid rebuilt with bionic parts that cost -- you guessed it -- 35 cents. And of course there was the "Trip to the Mailbox" series, which ususally involved a crazy Post Office employee trying to wreak havoc on unsuspecting citizens. We were also fond of making our own versions of famous movies, and some of our most elaborate productions were Indiana Jones and Psycho knock-offs. Josh, Al, and I were actually given an award by a local film production company for Best Amateur Short in 1994...but I am getting ahead of myself. Where was I? Oh yes, Disney...

This trip was important to me for two reasons: the Disney/MGM Studios and Universal Studios Florida. These two parks had opened in 1989 and 1990 respectively. Of course, Universal Studios is not a Disney park, but for the purposes of this entry I'm lumping it in with the rest of the parks.

For this trip we were staying for a week, this time at the Caribbean Beach Resort, one of the newer Disney-owned resorts at that time. It was, and is, a nice place to stay, and I have returned to it several times since. This time it was just my sister, me, and my folks. My cousin Amy did not make the trip.

The first park we visited was one we had not yet been to: Disney/MGM Studios. I remember walking up to the gate and hearing loud symphonic movie music being played and became hypnotized by this place. The look of the park is great. The entrance is modeled after 1930's Hollywood, and really does a great job of putting you in that time and place. The first ride we went on was The Great Movie Ride, which was located inside a replica of the famous Mann's Chinese Theater. It was a ride through famous movie scenes, with the movie sets replicated at full scale and populated by Disney's trademark animatronic figures. I loved it, especially the movie montage at the end of the ride, showcasing great moments from movie history. For the budding film geek like myself, it was quite a treat.

Then of course there was Star Tours, a ride based on Star Wars. It was so completely immersive, from the Ewok Village and Imperial Walker outside, to the spaceport inside where they actually gave announcements in Huttese (Jabba's language)! My geek brain was in overload. I was re-experiencing this complete immersion into an environment in a way I had not since I first visited the Magic Kingdom 11 years before. To feel like that at age 6 isn't that tough, but to make a 17-year old high school student feel that way...well, that is saying something.

Also at MGM Studios was the Indiana Jones stunt show, and I was picked to be an extra in the show. I remember being taken backstage and put into a costume and loving every second of it. I remember seeing all of the techs backstage and the directors wrangling people...I was in awe. And it further cemented in my brain that I had to do something like this for a living.

Anyway, that was just the first day! Stay tuned.