The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (42 page)

This shop specializes in
Disney
hats of all kinds, from classic
Ear Hats
to those giant, melty-looking birthday cake hats with candles and white icing.  Want a
Goofy Ear Hat?
  A
Mickey Sorcerer’s Apprentice Hat
?  An antique
Mad Hatter
top hat complete with shocking red hair,
á la
Johnny Depp
’s
chapeau
in
Disney
’s 2010 film
Alice in Wonderland
?  But of course!

Cast Members will stitch your name on your hat
for a fee of $3+ (this service is no longer free).  Other things that make this beautiful shop a must include a nearby giant teacup and saucer in which you can sit with your loved ones for a photo that’s sure to be a keeper, and a little door in the side of the shop that appears to be the door to the
White Rabbit
’s house.  Kids are often the first to notice this little door, and can be seen tapping upon it with a hopeful air.

In fact, before
Fantasyland
’s 1983 refurb, this
was
the
White Rabbit
’s abode.  The
Mad Hatter
store, which has been around since 1956, was in a smaller space in the
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
building.  With the release of
Disney
’s
Tim Burton
’s live action
Alice in Wonderland
in 2010, the
Alice in Wonderland
and
Mad Tea Party
attractions and the
Mad Hatter
, all adjacent, saw an uptick in attendance, and are likely to see another one now that
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
airs on
ABC
. 
Did You Know?
  That darn
Cheshire Cat
, always popping in without warning!  See if you can spot him in the
Mad Hatter
.  Need a hint?  Remember that
Disney
’s animated feature
Alice in Wonderland
(1951) was based on
both
Lewis Carroll books,
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
(1865) and
Through the Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There
(1871).

Stromboli’s Wagon

[
FastView:
 
Another great budget souvenir cart, and the last shop before you cross from
Fantasyland
into
Frontierland
.
]

Near the
Village Haus
Restaurant
, just before the path crosses into
Frontierland
, stands a painted kiosk that sells candy, postcards, and small souvenirs.

Stromboli’s Wagon
is a good spot to shop for knick-knacks at modest price points, especially for Guests on a budget and kids looking for tiny keepsakes.  If vendors like the
Heraldry Shoppe
are too rich for your blood on this trip, more modest kiosks and counters like
Fantasy Faire Gifts
,
Le Petit Chalet
, and
Stromboli’s Wagon
will put the smile back on your face!

Part of the 1983
Fantasyland
re-imagining,
Stromboli’s Wagon
is designed like a real “gypsy” wagon, complete with wheels, and gaily painted in the alpine style that characterizes
Pinocchio
’s world.  Even if you don’t buy anything, if you’re in the northwest area of
Fantasyland
, it’s worth a glance. 
Did You Know?
  In
Disney
’s 1940 animated classic
Pinocchio
, the malevolent
Stromboli
is voiced by actor
Charles Judels
.  A character actor who specialized in foreign accents, his filmography includes a notable role as a cheese shop owner in Laurel and Hardy’s 1938 film “Swiss Miss” and a role in the 1936 musical extravaganza “The Great Ziegfeld.” 
Judels
’ menacing vocals as
Stromboli
the marionette-show owner have set kids’ teeth chattering in fear for generations!

Wishing Star
Magic Crystals
  (Closed 2009)

[
FastView:
 
Defunct.  The following entry is of historical interest only.
]

On the northwest side of
Fantasyland
, near
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
, was a
Pinocchio
-themed shop called
Wishing Star Magic Crystals
that sold lovely crystal wares.

Formlery
Geppetto’s Holiday Workshop
, the exterior is gorgeous, part of a 2008 refurb when
Wishing Star Crystals
opened here.  The handsome wooden sign over the shop was emblazoned with a painting of
Geppetto
,
Figaro
,
Jiminy Cricket
, and
Pinocchio
, with, of course, the
magical
wishing star shining above them in the night sky. In the painting, the family was rejoicing that
Pinocchio
had been transformed from a puppet into a real live boy.

Even though the shop has departed, t
he building’s exterior is still lovely, a pretty blush-sunset color, with the wooden timbers, shutters, and window box that one expects of alpine design, all painted with little flowers and a puppet figure at the peak of the roof beams.  Through a glass window in the street-facing wall one sees a small puppet show set, complete with tiny red stage curtains.  As on
Main Street
, this window is set low enough so that children will be able to look through it and appreciate the display within.  But at times the white curtains are closed.

There
are a couple of painted flats with alpine buildings on them at the sides of the miniature stage, a
Jiminy Cricket
puppet, a
Pinocchio
puppet and a
Tyrolean
maiden puppet with her distinctive lace cap.  Guests of all ages but particularly children wanted to pause here and look at the display, even if no one ventured into the shop.

When you enter
ed the
Wishing Star
’s dim premises you had to blink and give your eyes a moment to adjust to the lavender-blue dimness, which highlighted the beauty of the engraved crystal items along the shelves, all lit by tiny lights.

The concept of this shop wa
s that you had your photo taken and then the image was engraved on or in a crystal item.  It looked like your image
magically
appeared in the crystal.

It wa
s less expensive than you would expect, but still a far more substantial investment than a typical
Disneyland
tchotchke
.  If you and your party could afford it, this was a magnificent way to capture and memorialize a memory of your
Disneyland
trip forever.  How is the space being used now?  As a
Rapunzel
(
Tangled
) meet-and-greet.  You can’t miss the banner of golden hair twining around the spires! 
Did You Know?
  The
magic
in
Disney
’s 1940 animated feature
Pinocchio
is provided by the
Blue Fairy
.  Her two acts of extreme
magic
bookend the plot.  In the opening, she animates the lifeless wooden puppet
Pinocchio
in answer to
Geppetto
’s wish upon a star.  The movie closes with her resurrecting
Pinocchio
after he dies saving
Geppetto
, and answering
Pinocchio
’s wish by transforming him into a real live boy, now that he’s earned it.  Voiced by actress
Evelyn Venable
, who had a short but prolific career from 1933 to 1943,
Disney
’s
Blue Fairy
remains a bit of a mystery.  She responds to wishes upon the
Wishing Star
but
who
is she?  Viewers know she’s lovely, magical, motherly, and exacting.  Some scholars have tried to cast her as a Marian figure, given her maternal aspect and predilection for blue.  Whoever she is, she has power over life and death, and doesn’t make dreams come true unless and until she feels they’ve been earned. 
Did You Also Know?
  This shop hosted
Rapunzel
’s character meet-and-greets beginning with the November 2010 release of
Tangled
.

Grub:

Edelweiss Snacks
(S)

[
FastView:
 
Filling snacks at reasonable prices located between
“small world”
and the
Matterhorn. 
Enjoy your treat at the charming seating area on a pier behind
Edelweiss Snacks
.
]

In autumn 2009,
Fantasyland
opened a new eatery,
Edelweiss Snacks
, a snack counter presented in an enchanting little three-story fairy tale house.  Located near the
Fantasyland
smoking area and face painting booth, between the
Matterhorn
and
“it’s a small world”
promenade,
Edelweiss Snacks
replaces the small
Disneyland Turkey Leg
/Chimichanga/Corn Cob cart that used to stand in this area.

The snack menu is simple and for the most part reasonably priced.  Beverages like waters and sodas range from $3 to $
3.50 each. 
Soft Frozen Beverages
(
Apple
,
Cherry
, or
Raspberry
) cost $4.19.  Chips are $3.  (Expect prices to inch up in 2014.)

Filling
Chimichangas
are around $6 each.  For those non-Californians and non-Texans wondering what the heck a chimichanga is, it’s a fried burrito usually containing beans, cheese, rice, and shredded beef or chicken. 
Buttered
or
Chili Lime Corn-on-the-Cob
costs $4.59 each.

Corn on the cob i
s a relatively new addition to the
Disneyland
menu.  Tasty, with large yellow kernels, the corn is a winner but, although hot, it is served without holders, and is nearly as juicy as the famed
Turkey Legs
.  Savvy Guests therefore grab plenty of napkins to enjoy their corn on the cob treat.

Of course, the
piѐce de résistance
at
Edelweiss Snacks
are the famous
Disneyland
Turkey Legs
at around $10 each.  That might sound pricey, but they’re gargantuan; these enormous, bubbling, flavorful
Turkey Legs
can be shared between two people, although little kids of no more than eight can be witnessed happily devouring a turkey leg all on their own.

Warning:  W
ear a bib or poncho when you dine on these treats!  Guests who regularly devour the
Turkey Legs
warn that they’re as splat-tastic as they are delicious.

Edelweiss
Snacks
is a welcome upgrade of the previous snack stand.  It’s delightful to see
Disneyland
investing in converting a plain, generic snack stand into a charming alpine cottage, with its blue shutters, fieldstone-and-timber construction, and darling little chimney. Heidi and her grandfather might live here!
Edelweiss Snacks
blends perfectly into its surroundings and raises the tone of this
Fantasyland
corridor. 
Did You Know?
  Edelweiss is a hearty but lovely alpine plant with star-like flowers.  Edelweiss, roughly translated, is German for noble and pale, which describes the blossoms.  Most Americans have heard of edelweiss via the “Sound of Music” ballad “Edelweiss” that Captain von Trapp sings poignantly before he and his family flee occupied Austria.  “Edelweiss” sounds like a venerable folk song, but it was written by master songsmiths Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II for the 1959 Broadway musical.  The popular tune was included in the film adaptation. 
Christopher Plummer
, who portrayed Captain von Trapp, voiced villain
Charles Muntz
in
Disney
’s Oscar-winning 2009 film
Up
.

Fantasyland Fruit Cart
(S)

[
FastView:
 
Healthy food and beverages, an alternative to cotton candy and ice cream.
]

Located near
Stromboli’s Wagon
, not far from the
Village Haus Restaurant
in the northwest quadrant of the park, the
Fantasyland Fruit Cart
is part of
Disneyland
’s ongoing efforts to offer Guests healthier food choices.  One positive result of this campaign is that you’ll find a fruit cart in every land.

The
Fantasyland Fruit Cart
is a great place to stop and buy a juice or a healthy snack.  They also sell cocoa and coffee.  Some of the small items are pricey, so if they’re not marked, ask
before
you buy to get an idea of what you’ll be spending.

Disneyland
offers
Kid’s Power Packs
, pre-packaged variety packs of healthful items for children, including apple slices, crackers, and yogurt.  For grown-ups, a bottle of water and an apple or slice of watermelon is usually a good deal–and good for you.  Expect to pay $2 to $5 for each beverage and $2 to $4 for each fruit, veggie, or trail mix snack.

This stand is
located near the entrance to
Big Thunder Trail
, a backwoods route to
Frontierland
.  If you’ve just finished a whirlwind tour of the
Fantasyland
attractions, and are headed into frontier country, this is a smart place to stop for a drink and snack to keep you energized as your day continues. 
Did You Know?
  This cart is parked near the entrance and exit stairs for the long-retired
Skyway
attraction.  The steps climb to the old loading and unloading station, which is now screened by trees and foliage.  If you look carefully, you can see the Swiss-themed structure.  Note that the abandoned
Skyway station
and the stairs are off-limits to Guests.

Maurice’s Treats
(S)

[
FastView:
  Fantasyland
’s newest eatery, a beverage-and-treat cart in
Fantasy Faire
.
]

A mere stone’s throw from the entrance to
Fantasy Faire
’s
Royal Theatre
,
Maurice’s Treats
is a deceptively humble snack wagon that vends some of the tastiest and most reasonably priced snacks in
Fantasyland
.

Attending an
Annual Passholder
’s sneak preview on March 9, 2013, I dutifully queued to sample the offerings at
Maurice’s Treats
, expecting good, quality food, but nothing
magical
.  I was in for a pleasant surprise.

The carved wooden
“gypsy” cart, not unlike
Stromboli
’s, is painted with simple, colorful designs.  Easy-to-read signs in storybook font allow Guests to view the minimalist menu and its prices prior to ordering.

The customer service
is very good.  The line moves fast.  Cast Members are polite and efficient.  Guest orders are prepared quickly.  One complaint about
Disneyland
snack stands is that although they only sell a few items, it sometimes can take forever (and ever) to receive an order.  When a snack cart is only selling a few items, those items should fly out of the cart and into Guests’ hands.

At
Maurice’s
, order fulfillment is aces.  Everything fires on all pistons.  A minute after placing an order, you receive your treat and/or beverage.  It’s given to you with a smile, and you are told,
without having to ask
, where you can find napkins, etc. (at a stand next to the cart).  This excellent service continued long after
Fantasy Faire
’s opening, and should continue into 2014.

Now, the
really
good part:  The food is
delicious
and
interesting
.

Maurice
,
Belle
’s father in
Beauty and the Beast
, is an inventor, and the cart’s back story (yes, the
Imagineers
crafted a back story for this little cart, one of the indicators of the richness of this new mini-land) is that
Maurice
has invented a way to twist foods together, and to twist beverages together, to make them more fun.

Guests choose among three different bread twists, two sweet, and one savory.  The
Chocolate
or
Strawberry Bread Twists
(only $3.49 each) are feather-light and delicately flaky, pastry more than bread.  The chocolate twist in particularly has a delicacy and richness of flavor that reminds me of hand-crafted twist pretzels at Italian bakeries in Boston, famous for their European pastry treats.  The savory
Cheddar Garlic Bagel Twist
(slightly pricier at $4.19) is a dense, toothsome braid pairing garlic and cheddar flavors.  All three treats are winners.  Budget Bonus:  Each twist is large enough for kids or adults with moderate appetites to break and share.  Grab plenty of napkins.

Now, the beverages.  If you’re just craving water, the cart sells bottles of Dasani for about $3.  But why not
hydrate your inner
Snow White
(or
Prince Charming
) with a unique new beverage called the
Boysen Apple Freeze
($4.69)?

Golden-green frozen apple juice is infused with berry syrup and crowned with fruit foam.  The result?  A beverage that appears to be laced with ruby-red poison, foaming and potentially fatal!  The taste?  A unique blend of apple and berry, a braiding of different textures as well as different tastes.  This is what Guests want at
Disneyland
, treats you won’t find anywhere else. 
Boysen Apple Freezes
deliver.  And they can be purchased in
Disney Princess
goblets or
Beast
steins (about $10 each); rinse them and take them home as souvenirs.

Spin by
Maurice’s Treats
on your next
DL
trip and get caught up in these twisty concoctions! 
Did You Know?
  In
Disney
’s
Beauty and the Beast
(1991),
Maurice
,
Belle
’s inventor father, was voiced by
Rex Everhart
, an actor at home on Broadway as well as the silver screen.  A true character actor, he could play any role from Benjamin Franklin (“1776”) to a truck driver in “Friday the 13
th
”. 
Everhart
took his final bow in 2000. 
Did You Also Know?
  The name
Boysen Apple Freeze
is a reference to the poisoned apple in
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
(1937).  Disguised as a hideous peddler crone, the
Evil Queen
gives
Snow White
a poisoned apple that sends the little princess into a sleep only a prince’s kiss can break. 
Did You Also Know?
  Who was one of the developers of the Boysenberry (a cross between the Loganberry and diverse blackberries)?  How about Walter Knott – creator of Knott’s Berry Farm!  Abandoned Boysenberry vines were nursed back to health and cultivated by Knott in the soil of Buena Park, California, right where Knott’s Berry Farm would open around 1940, and just down the road from where
Disneyland
would open in 1955.

Snack Carts
(S)

[
FastView:
 
A tasty—if not always healthy—alternative to waiting in restaurant queues.
]

Other lands have snack carts, but they’re particularly important in congested, sprawling
Fantasyland
where parents are trying to keep throngs of children fed, hydrated, and happy.

There are
many snack carts along
Small World Promenade
, between the
Fantasyland
village to the south and northern attractions like the
Fantasyland Theatre
and
“it’s a small world”
.

In this area you’ll find
popcorn carts, an ice cream cart, and churro, cotton candy, and pretzel carts.  Not familiar with churros?  They’re a sweet, delicious Southern California treat, sticks of fried dough sprinkled liberally with cinnamon. 
Disneyland
Guests eat almost 2.8
million
churros each year, and voted them their favorite resort sweet treat in a recent Facebook poll.