The Wild Story of Baby New Year Being Fling Off Disneyland's Matterhorn

The Unlikely Friendship of Alice Cooper and Groucho Marx

• 💡 Alice Cooper, despite his stage persona, was a genuinely kind individual who befriended the elderly and insomniac Groucho Marx.
• 🤝 Their friendship involved late-night movie viewings, with Alice caring for Groucho by tamping out his cigars and covering him with a blanket.
• 💰 In 1978, Alice Cooper famously spent $27,500 to buy the letter 'O' for the Hollywood sign, dedicating it to Groucho.
• 🎭 Groucho Marx, along with Jack Benny and George Burns, attended an Alice Cooper show, finding it reminiscent of vaudeville.

Disney Parks News and Updates

• 🚢 The Disney Dish podcast is hosting its first-ever cruise on the Disney Wish from September 23rd to 26th, 2022.
• 🎢 Disney shifted several attractions from Individual Lightning Lane to Genie Plus for the holidays, including Expedition Everest, Runaway Railway, Frozen Ever After, and Space Mountain, likely as a capacity and profitability move.
• 💧 Typhoon Lagoon is set to reopen on January 2nd, 2022, with expected mid-80s weather in Central Florida.
• 🏨 The All-Star Sports resort is scheduled to reopen on March 31st, 2022, marking the reopening of all Disney World resorts.

The Mystery of Jimmy Bryant's Disney Compositions

• 🎶 Jimmy Bryant, the singing voice of Tony in the 1961 West Side Story, is rumored to have composed music for Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.
• 🔍 While research is ongoing, potential contributions include area music for Tokyo Disneyland's Frontier Land and possibly the Canada Pavilion at Epcot.
• 🎵 The difficulty in confirming these contributions highlights the challenges in tracking music composed for theme parks, as organizations like ASCAP have historically undervalued this work.

The Infamous Baby New Year Incident at Disneyland

• 👶 In 1961, Disneyland attempted a dramatic New Year's Eve stunt: launching Baby New Year (portrayed by Paul Castle) from the top of the Matterhorn.
• 🎭 Paul Castle, a 4'6" athlete and former Ice Capades performer, was hired by Walt Disney in 1961 and became the park's primary Mickey Mouse.
• 😬 Despite being assured it was a zipline ride, Castle was hesitant, and according to one account, was thrown off the Matterhorn by Teamsters just before midnight.
• 🎥 Footage of the incident, described as exquisite cinematography, shows Castle flailing wildly as he spins 360 degrees down the zipline, reportedly screaming threats.
• 💥 The stunt was a one-off due to the chaotic and frightening nature of the event, with the catchers abandoning their posts and Castle later found drunk in the employee break room.
• 🌟 Paul Castle had a long career with Disney, cherished his time with Walt, and remained with the company until 1986, but the Baby New Year incident remains a legendary, albeit unreleased, piece of Disney history.