Welcome to Ask The Duchess – Vol. 70, a monthly Q&A post covering a variety of resort-related topics. Ask The Duchess answers questions submitted by readers. If you have a question you’d like answered, send me a message here.
1. Who is Roy Disney? Why does he have a statue in Disney World? (submitted by Catherine)
Roy was Walt Disney’s brother, and he supported Walt in many Disney projects. Roy himself dedicated the Magic Kingdom at its opening in 1971, and the statue on Main Street pays tribute to him.
2. Would you recommend a dinner at Lamplight Lounge or a dinner at Carthay Circle? (submitted by John)
Carthay Circle, hands down. But I love Lamplight for brunch or drinks 🙂
3. Why did California Adventure have such weird shows when it opened? Like, who really wanted a tortilla-making tour or a video of Whoopi Goldberg talking about the gold rush? (submitted by Carl)
Hahaha. I can’t really answer that – they didn’t consult me! Though I will say, stranger concepts have been released in the parks. Tomorrowland once had a walkthrough attraction about bathrooms.
4. Where does Fantasyland turn into Adventureland? (submitted by Ella)
At Disneyland, Fantasyland and Adventureland don’t share a border. You have to walk through either Main Street USA or Frontierland to cross between the two.
5. What’s your most prized souvenir you’ve bought at Disneyland? (submitted by Nila)
Ooh, that’s a really hard one. I guess my tiara…but I could honestly rattle off a list of at least 10!
I think that I can answer no. 3 a little better. California Adventure was built on the cheap. The very, very cheap. Why? Because the head honcho of Parks at the time didn’t give a hoot about Disneyland or the guests. All he cared about was profits. So anything cheap, like a tortilla factory was put in. Whoopie Goldberg was more or less a contract player for Disney, so she was relatively cheap. She appeared EVERYWHERE in DCA! So much so that I used to call the park Whoopieland. I agree with John Hench who said “I liked it better as a parking lot.
This horrible head of Parks not only prevented the imagineers from doing their jobs, but he cut maintenance in the park so much that a person was killed on Big Thunder. He left shortly after.
*Roy Disney was the behind the scenes financial genius. When I worked there between 1957 and 1965, we would see Roy talking business with the “bosses” more than Uncle Walt. Sometimes needing to step around them to do our job.
100% agree with you on Carthay Circle. I love that place, the architecture, the decor, AND the food. I haven’t tried Lamplighters – didn’t realise it was table service, which is what I am always on the lookout for. Most of the fast food outlets can’t handle my food allergy with any guarantees (I’m gluten intollerant) so I either have to find an opening at one of the popular table service restaurants or head back out to Downtown Disney for a meal.
I know that Lamplight Lounge has a specific allergy-friendly menu, so I think you’ll find something good there 🙂