The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (144 page)

Universal soon took
Oswald
from
Mintz
, and over the next decades Walter Lantz (of Woody Woodpecker fame), substantially redesigned the rabbit, until he looked nothing like the original
Oswald
character.

Disney
managed to survive without
Oswald
–and how!  But it was nonetheless marvelous that in 2006,
Disney
finally brought the lost character back into the
Disney
fold. 
Disney
welcomed
Oswald
back; as part of the deal, NBC-Universal welcomed an
ABC-ESPN
sportscaster they had wanted for their own stable.

Disney
reintroduced its long-lost son
Oswald
to the world via DVD, clothing, and toys, as well as giving
Oswald
a plum role in the blockbuster
Epic Mickey
video games. 
Disney
’s contemporary
Oswald
is the original
Oswald
, the way
Walt
and
Ub
designed him.

* * *

When Guests enter
DCA
through the main turnstiles,
Oswald’s
, a service station on the east side of
Buena Vista Street
, and the first business Guests encounter, tends to draw attention.  The bright red neon signs; the bright red gas pumps and air pumps; the bold geometry of the rounded overhang and obelisk tower of this little Art Deco gem, are all eye-catching.

Given that
Oswald
was
Disney
’s first truly significant animated character, it’s appropriate that the first landmark Guests see upon entering
DCA
is called
Oswald’s
. 
Walt
famously said that it–“it” being the
Disney
empire–all started with a mouse, but the mouse was created because the rabbit was purloined.

What the
Imagineers
have done with
Buena Vista Street
is to design a community resembling–
not
reproducing–the Los Angeles
Walt
found in 1923, and businesses and personalities he might have encountered, that might have inspired and informed his creative work.

So, was there a service station called Oswald’s in 1920’s L.A., and is that what prompted
Walt
to create
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
?  No, and no.  But
something
inspired
Walt
, and he often was inspired by creatively by real-life events and personalities in his life.  So the
Imagineers
are on target with this oblique approach.

This is the type of service station
Walt
would’ve seen in 1920’s & ‘30’s L.A.  And the gleaming, streamlined Packard coupe permanently parked outside
Oswald
’s is the type of car that would have rolled up to service stations for gas, oil, and air. 
Walt
owned a Packard.  This sculpted automobile is one of the most prominent features at
Oswald’s
; Guests pose for photos next to the car.  Those with sharp eyes note the license plate:  “8U 75 92 … California 1937” the year of
Snow White
’s release.

The bulk of
Oswald’s
merchandise is standard sundry fare:  Sunglasses, sunscreen, keychains, mugs, and lots of hats– things you’d pick up if you stopped at a service station during a family road trip.

The standout items are the
Oswald
wares. 
Oswald
dolls. 
Oswald
T-shirts.  Even
Oswald Ear Hats
!  Yes–if you prefer, you can sport rabbit ears rather than mouse ears during your resort visit.  What you won’t find here are
Oswald
DVDs, but you can order them online, or stream the cartoons on YouTube for a taste of what the early
Disney
protagonist was all about.

Oswald
is a sort of everyman (as
Mickey
would be when
Walt
and
Ub
later created him). 
Oswald
grapples with visually interesting and humorous predicaments, whether driving a trolley, clearing a cow off the track, or trying to build a skyscraper.  One could argue that cartoons were the perfect medium for the 1920’s, when an increasingly mechanized, industrialized society pitted man (or rabbit, or mouse) against machine (and against a natural world that defied mechanization) with hilarious results.

The first
Oswald
cartoon released in theaters was Universal’s
Trolley Troubles
(1927).  The
Oswald
shorts are simple, but fluid and funny. 
Walt
loved variety shows and began collecting gags as a child; he always had an unerring sense of what would play funny in an animated short.  And because of his childhood experiences attending and performing in theatricals,
Walt
had a wonderful sense of pantomime, gesture, and timing; that’s why the animated characters’ gestures are always so perfectly suited to the moment (and spot-on funny) in early
Disney
cartoons.

Oswald’s
service station is a great first stop when you arrive at
DCA
, or last stop before you leave.  Pick up a hat, some sunblock, and an
Oswald
T-shirt for that coworker who’s a big animation buff.  Get your photo snapped in front of that Packard.  And remember that it all started with a mouse–after it started with a rabbit. 
Did You Know?
 
Oswald’s
is located at
2600 Buena Vista Street
.  Interestingly,
Walt
’s studio made 26
Oswald
shorts. 
Double Vision:
  Compare the
Oswald
cartoon
Sky Scrappers
(1928) to
Mickey
’s
Building a Building
(1933).  Backgrounds, characters, fluidity, gags–all much more sophisticated by 1933.  But
Building a Building
is clearly indebted to
Sky Scrappers
, from the opening close up of the steam shovel, to the heroine’s flowered hat, to the hero’s battle with a brutish villain.

Trolley Treats

[
FastView:
 
Tasty treats including chocolate-dipped marshmallows crafted while you watch.  Check out the candy mountain for one of the best
Hidden Mickeys
in the park.
]

Although technically a store, not a restaurant,
Trolley Treats
sells a lot of tasty treats.  If you have a sweet tooth, build this shop into your itinerary.

Just south of
Atwater Ink & Paint
, on a street lined with lovely exteriors,
Trolley Treats
has some of the best.  A classic “Candy” sign, and above it, a block stamped “1923”–the year
Walt
moved to Los Angeles.  Detailed terracotta ornamentation, including bears and a bee hive.  Sparkling plate glass windows through which Guests watch Cast Members in spotless white uniforms crafting fresh candies and treats.

Trolley Treats
’ most eye-catching window display is a model of
Rock Candy Mountain
, a
Disneyland
attraction that was designed back in the early days but never built.  The
Casey Jr. Circus Train
and
Storybook Land Canal Boasts
would have navigated over and through a sugary mountain of oversized candy and sweets.

Why wasn’t it built?  Apparently, the model, fashioned from real candy, started to make the
Imagineers
working on the project queasy, and they believed a big giant candy mountain would eventually make Guests queasy too.  (The author disagrees!)  I would suspect budget was also a factor in those early days.  The idea was scrapped and the candy mountain model was tossed outside, where crows devoured it.

Trolley Treats
’
Rock Candy Mountain
isn’t an exact replica of the
Imagineers
’ original design.  The original sketch depicts a low, broad, meandering mountain.  The
Rock Candy Mountain
in
Trolley Treats
’ window is a tall, proud peak.  It seems carved from crystalline rock candy, and tiers of cake, ice cream, hot fudge, gobs of marshmallow, pink icing, and whipped cream.

An adorable little
Red Car Trolley
winds its way around mountain lanes lined with lollipops, Astro Pops, jelly beans, gum drops, peppermints, cookies, a gingerbread train station, and a gosh-darned chocolate waterfall.  The designers of this
Rock Candy Mountain
model clearly had a blast with the assignment.  And unlike the original model, which was made of
real
candy and began to melt and rot, this mountain is made of artificial materials and specially treated candy, so it can last–one hopes–a lifetime, and still look sparkling new.

This sculpture caught my eye during a
Buena Vista Street
preview.  Knowing about the never-built
Rock Candy Mountain
, I realized what the
Trolley Treats
display was at a glance.  The
Imagineers
could have gone small or simple on this, but they went for broke, crafting a candy vision that almost everyone in your party will want to examine.  And they can, through the display window, and also from another angle, inside
Trolley Treats
.

Heather Sievers, Disney Dining columnist at
www.disneyfoodblog.com
, reported a
Hidden Mickey
snowman secreted
inside
the
Rock Candy Mountain
, as pointed out by
Hidden Mickey
expert
Steven M. Barrett
.  Can
you
find it?  Hint:  The best vantage point is from within the store; you have to contort a bit.

Hidden Mickeys
and
Rock Candy Mountain
aside,
Trolley Treats
is a wonderful shop with a lot to recommend it.  As with all of
Buena Vista Street
, no expense was spared, and the vintage glass and woodwork and tile are simply beautiful.  Note the stained glass lollipops–first class!  Shelves and stands are arranged thoughtfully; there is room to see the merchandise; everything isn’t jam-packed together.

DCA
deploys its A-list Cast Members on
Buena Vista Street
–so patient, so friendly, so knowledgeable.  I’ve dropped into
Trolley Treats
many times, but my first visit stands out, because the cheerful Cast Member answered my questions so readily and related the back story of the establishment.  It seems a trolley-and-train enthusiast fell in love with a candy-maker.  So they married, and founded
Trolley Treats
, which combines both their interests.

That’s why there are so many little trains and trolleys decorating the establishment.  And, of course, why it’s filled to the
high ceiling with delicious treats.

You can purchase pre-packaged
Disney
delights here, like bags of
Goofy
sours and
Disney Chocolatears
malted milk balls and nonpareils.  But the stars at
Trolley Treats
are those unusual confections that are crafted with artisanal style by the Cast Members in the afore-mentioned
Trolley Treats
candy room.

You can watch the CMs through the glass, rolling wands of pure marshmallow in rich chocolate, dipping strawberries and crispy treats in vats of molten chocolate, deftly arranging colorful sprinkles on caramel-or-chocolate-robed apples to form a design that reminds us of
Mickey
or
Minnie
or
Jack Skellington
or a favorite
Disney Princess
.  Everything they create is pretty and rare.  Some items are available in date-stamped packets; many must be purchased fresh from the glass cases at the front of the store.

Trolley Treats
is part of the sugar triumvirate at the southwest end of
Buena Vista Street
: 
Trolley Treats
flows into
Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream
, which flows into the
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café
.  So if you’re looking for a sweet indulgence at
DCA
, make this one of your stops!
Did You Know?
  The popular children’s song
Big Rock Candy Mountain
(those of a certain age recall hearing the 1949
Burl Ives
recording) was based on a song about hobo heaven, recorded in the late 1920’s by Harry McClintock.  In the original hobo version, the lyrics were far less charming and picturesque; “peppermint trees” were “cigarette trees”, and there was mention of whiskey.
Burl Ives
’ 1940’s version keeps the cigarette trees, but softens the rest. 
Did You Also Know?
  Astro Pops were created by two real rocket scientists in 1963, during America’s great fever to explore space.  An Astro Pop’s sleek shape is a perfect example of Space Age design. 
Trolley Vision:
  Looking for
Red Car Trolley
merchandise?  Check out the
Julius Katz
shops (trolley home décor),
Los Feliz Five & Dime
(trolley T-shirts, jackets,
Conductor Ear Hats
),
Big Top Toys
(remote-controlled
Red Car Trolleys
!), and
Clarabelle’s
(trolley ice cream containers). 
Hidden Mickey:
  To see the super-secret
Hidden Mickey
, peer through the opening in the candy mountain visible from inside
Trolley Treats
.  There’s a miniature scaffold blocking the opening, and at times a tiny
Red Car Trolley
blocks much of the view.  Peer into the cave, toward the right, and peek through the scaffold to find the adorable mini snowman and the
Hidden Mickey
(the snowman’s classic
Ear Hat
).  On a day trip in January 2013, I was unable to spot the well-camouflaged
Mickey
image, but a
Trolley Treats
Cast Member confirmed that it’s there.  In February 2013, looking at just the right angle, I
finally
spotted the snowman.  Can
you
find it?  Sweet hunting!