Fresh Roasted Corn

Yes! We're popular!

2012-02-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

We've reached the point at which we're popular enough to get spam comments from Chinese viagra knock offs! Hurray for Fresh Roasted Corn!

I've been corrected

2012-02-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hey FRC fans! Our new pal Alan Nowogrodzki has color corrected our 20k pics! Check these out:

Unbelievable! I'm still going to provide the original scans for you weirdos who like "old" looking pictures (me) with the corrected versions coming later. Alan will also receive the very first "Fresh Roasted Corn Achievement Award" and will be crowned King of Photo Technology at the FRC Laboratory and Vault . Congratulations Alan.

Oh Boy!

2012-02-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

We all get spam email about "the world lottery" and shit like that. I answer them! Every time! Here's what I just replied with the original email below.

Oh boy! I won! I can't believe how lucky I am because I just won the World Lottery last Thursday!

I'm glad you chose me because I'm the most honest person in the world. In fact here's what I'm going to do with the money:

1. Build a huge fucking submarine ride. One of the subs will be my personal "Pleasure Yacht" with all the trimmings. We'll have rubber sharks and everything. Every Tuesday the homeless ride for free but not on my pleasure yacht. There's going to be a special sub that serves crab legs and Hormel canned meats for them. (see how nice I am?)

2. I'm going to build a Jungle Cruise. One of the boats will be my personal pleasure yacht. I'm going to have REAL diseases in my jungle like Jungle Rot and Herpes. (not on my pleasure yacht though). I also want the lost Marc Davis scenes and a Spanish midget who calls me "boss".

3. I'd like to fund the presidential campaign of Dreamfinder for 2012. We need him.

4. I'm not going to have Horizons rebuilt. Nope. We're going to start from scratch and offer a new version of the future that will be fun to explore outside of your ride vehicle. One of the vehicles will be my own personal pleasure yacht with Zebra skin seats and a beer keg strapped to the top. I may spend two or three days at a time riding through this lovely vision of future living. Tom Fitzgerald can't ride in my pleasure yacht vehicle.

5. I'm going to sponsor "It's a Small World" at Disneyland. That would be the greatest. No funny stuff here just a classic attraction living on.

So, in closing, send me my money. Cash only please and don't ask for my bank account info.

-Hoot Gibson

On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 2:44 PM, Lucas, James (CRDUS) wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is to notify you that you have been chosen through your e-mail address By the Board of trustees of the above International (Charity & Human Developmental) Organization, as one of the final recipients to receive a Cash Grant/Donation for your economy growth and personal development for the year 2012. Based on the random selection of internet Web Pages and millions of Supermarket cash invoices worldwide your e-mail was selected among the beneficiaries to receive the sum of £2,500,000.00 (Two Million and Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds) as developmental aid from the UN Foundation. Beneficiaries have been chosen from every UN Member Nation from all continents. You are required to expeditiously Contact the Executive Secretary of The Donations Department with the details below for documentation and processing of the release of your cash aid, Please Endeavour to quote your Qualification numbers (UNF/FBF-816-1119 G-900-94) in all discussions.

Forward this email to the Executive Secretary:
Mr Richard Daniels

E-mail: undp.grantn@w.cn

Note that at least 20% of the awarded Grant funds should be used by you (The Recipient) to develop a part of your community.

On behalf of the Board,
Yours faithfully,
UNDP- Mr. Burr Carrie

Even MORE 20k!

2012-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

I'm glad you all like these. It's my pleasure to post them for you. If you'd like to use them on your blog or tribute site be my guest. Please leave our tag on them though so more folks can find FRC. We're totally non profit we just like to spread the wealth. Please save each and every one of these because if I die tomorrow my entire collection will be in the Orange County landfill by Friday afternoon. You can bet on that!

Back to the serpent. Also note the sitting mermaid on the left! Bare breasted and covered with a plastic bag. Look at that! She has her little mirror and everything!

If you look at the stone grid on the floor you'll see just how forced the perspective was in this scene. The large pots on the left actually get smaller as they go back. Simply incredible.

This one isn't as good but its like I always say, "there ARE NO bad pictures of 20k".

Enjoy!

Isn't this nice?

2012-01-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

I don't want you pals to think this is only a 20k blog because it's not. I just happen to be in the mood to remember this attraction. It touched me deeply as a kid and...... it will have been closed for 20 YEARS in 2014! That's 18 years RIGHT NOW!

No fanfare when it closed. Just a shitty pin sold later that a certain "art" manager approved for printing even though she had never experienced the ride. Nut fucks then paid real money for this half assed pot metal bullshit which should at least be melted into a bullet shape and shot right through their skulls.

Put it on your lanyard so you can come across as "cool" to the other furrys while they dry hump your wolf costume during which you can mention.......... Fresh Roasted Corn...like you're part of it, while they ejaculate all over your muscle enhanced Tigger suit.

When you're nursing your rug burned private parts the next day you can wait for more of these even though you have no idea what you're seeing:

These are some of Nemos' farmers. I'll explain the scale of these divers in the next post.

Squid Attack

2012-01-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid I was in love with this scene! Not exactly because it had a giant squid but because it showed a fellow submarine under attack! All of a sudden you were pulled into the scene because it showed that, yes, even your mighty sub could crack in half and drown you! While you're on vacation!

I remember having that feeling of "Holy shit! That could have been us! those poor souls could have been in front of us at Pecos Bill's Cafe only an hour earlier"! When our turn came, however, Captain Nemo managed to save us.

I'd like to say that this was the first time anyone showed a ride vehicle under attack. Cedar Point might claim that prize I'm afraid. They had a burning river boat sinking into the water after injuns shot it to pieces. almost 30 years later "Jaws" at Universal would copy the trick as one of the Amity tour boats (that had just left the dock ahead of you) sank while on fire. No survivors.

Download and zoom in on the above pic. All of the decorative elements on that Nautilus (X) are painted on. Could anybody tell? Nope. I, for one, was too busy scanning the surrounding waters for bodies!

Just after they drained it I discovered that the squid was still there. So was the other one. A few days later they were both gone forever.

My dad, who hated Disney World, was sad when I told him that 20k was gone. He said "What?! That's the only one I ever liked". I was shocked to learn that he actually liked something at the Magic Kingdom.

You think you're seeing Sea Serpents?

2012-01-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

Here ya go! No reason why we shouldn't cut right to the chase and post a picture of the coolest Disney attraction character ever! Actually there were two serpents and they weren't exactly the same but mirrored and with different paint schemes. So this is one of TWO of the best......character..... This guy would have been on the right side of the sub's forward motion.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea held the most amazing set design in the entire park. Every inch was an illusion of depth giving us the idea that we were seeing vast undersea worlds. The treasure vaults in the background, for example, are only a few feet tall.

The above was taken during a rehab of the attraction in 1976. The water has been drained hence the clear photo.

Learn yerself about sub ridin'!

More to come!

Nemo

2012-01-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

Are there any 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (attraction) fans out there? I have a stack of cool pictures from 1981 that my pal Lee gave me. Wanna see?

This is one of mine from the last days of 20k. I waited and waited until the lagoon was drained. I wore my worst pair of boots and a respirator with hazardous chemical cartridges because of the horrible smell. I slipped and fell in the muck but I got the last few pictures I could. In three weeks the entire attraction was gone. I wish I did more.

As gay as Disneyland

2012-01-08T13:32:00.001-08:00

I own a vast collection of Comic Digests from the 1970's including the Gold Key Walt Disney brand. I came across this back cover gem to share! For only one dollar you could make your child's bedroom "as gay and colorful as Disneyland"! 28 characters including Mary Poppins, one out of three little pigs, Pongo, etc.

Think about this. If you were to spend only one dollar you'd never have to go to Disneyland again. Your child's bedroom would be just as good! The Submarine Ride is nothing compared to your child's shoe rack!

See how similar?

2012-01-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

In support of my last post in which I over analyze the Haunted Mansion:

"No privacy at all around this place".

The Haunted Mansion

2012-01-05T16:44:00.000-08:00

Uh oh! Looks like Cousin Orville from The Carousel of Progress died! Not only that but he's forced to drink tea and wear a floppy hat for all eternity!

I'ts probably not the same face as Cousin Orville. If not, I'm sure some Mansion fan will chime in to correct me. When they do I'll pull some of that over analyzing shit that Mansion blogs tend to dish out. I'll say "Then WHY does this figure have bare feet just like Cousin Orville?!". "And why is he sitting next to a crypt in which the stones are the same shape as Cousin Orville's BLOCK OF ICE?!". "AND WHY, Smart face, is this character clearly drinking TEA when Orville has a full glass of ice-fuckin'-TEA right next to the bathtub?

....and what about this floppy hat?

....in your face.

Old Bags Part One

2012-01-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

I came across the cool little WDW shopping bag that I've had for a LONG time. Not only are the graphics sweet but it's full of cool postcards. Mostly standard early Magic Kingdom shots but with a few Shopping Village cards as well.

My father would have rather committed suicide than visit the Shopping Village. That probably explains why my first visit wasn't until 1985:(

Whoever assembled this little sack of fun saved the best attraction for last:

" The Candle Factory" of St Pete Beach!

Refreshing Works That You Should Own

2011-12-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

I just happened upon this wonderful collection of art work crafted by my dear friend Mike Lee. I've always been a fan of his drawings and paintings and I have one or two originals he did for me as well as a few prints.

VISIT

When you look at one of his images you're looking through a keyhole into a vast world of his own invention. An absolute utopia that exists for him alone where the pop culture of his childhood wars it out with the boring reality of modern life. He's created his perfect world stocked with its own inhabitants and the only glimpse we're lucky enough to see is through the window of his art. It's a place that, even after 25 years, I can barley understand but I'll keep trying.

Times are tough

2011-12-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

Here's one for the last of you three people who follow this blog. The "JAWS" attraction at Universal Studios Florida is closing forever on January 2nd 2012. FOREVER. Making more room for that Harry Potter phase two thing. You can read about that elsewhere as I sit here not giving a shit.

Ok. JAWS is not the Jungle Cruise but it HAS earned its place in Orlando theme park history. Searching around online tonight you'd never know it though. There are barely any pics and only a handful of on ride videos which makes me ask.........(and I mean it because Horizons was in the same place at one point in time)....

*WHO out there has the great white BALLS to document this attraction inside and out?
*WHICH employee is willing to sacrifice his lunch break to get a few pics behind the scenes and then blog about it?
*WHO will go behind the fence and risk barley anything to become the last know-it-all of Jaws Florida??

This is big and I REALLY hope someone takes advantage of it. You may ask "why haven't you, Hoot Gibson?" Well I went out to Universal today. Shot some video along the road that's next to the JAWS lagoon. See? I did my part now go do yours!

8,000,000 random WDW Pictures

2011-12-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

I might have mentioned before that I have a SHITLOAD of WDW pictures mostly from the 80' and 90's. In the grand tradition of cool Disneyland blogs like Daveland, Gorillas Don't Blog, Stuff from the Park, etc, I'd like to post them all. If I don't start now and keep at it I'll never finish even if I live to the ripe old age of 65.

These pics may or may not be interesting. That depends on what you're into. I, however, will be able to sleep at night knowing that I put them out there. Have fun.

Cedar Point Fucks Up.

2011-08-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today I caught wind of the horrible fact that Cedar Point, in Sandusky Ohio is about to do something SO bad it could bankrupt them in less than a year. I'm not kidding.

History. I, Hoot Lariat Gibson, was born in Sandusky in the late 60's and Cedar Point was my first taste of the theme park experience. Luckily it was the time at which CP, like MANY other parks, was trying to become the Disneyland of the east. It was a time when some of the finest Disneyland rip-offs were created and many proved to be pretty damned good even if they didn't stand the test of time.

Cedar Point has announced that it will close one of the last examples of what I'm preaching about. "The Riverboat Excursion" (original name "Western Cruise" ) will close forever at the end of the 2011 season after 48 years of magic. A lovely cross between The Jungle Cruise, The Rivers of America, and the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train, with its cute little side wheel boats and corny animated scenes will paddle into history. Pretty much forgotten. Yep. I did a little searching and found almost nothing on this classic attraction.

It would be a crime if it all just went away without SOMEONE documenting every square inch of it over the next week or so. Who? OH WHO will be the one to earn a spot in history as the caretaker of this piece of history? Who will join the likes of Chief and I as brave historians? Who will be named "The Last Captain" and present their findings to the world (and me)? Who......has the balls of Hercules himself?????????

Uh oh! Cannon fire from the fort!

Realistic wildlife! That Cougar's name is spot. He's been standing in the same spot for 48 years!

Moonshiners! Kill 'em!

BEAVERS! Trees that fall and then rise again!

Trapper Dan skinnin' the hides of the executives who decided to close his attraction!

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

In closing, Hoot and Chief DO NOT endorse sneaking around theme park attractions so.......... get busy! I'm makin' the fuckin' popcorn right now in anticipation of your blog!

Thanks to the handful of people who I jacked these images from.

(4 hours and 7 beers later) AND WHO will skin the skins of the unholy by taking their digital camera into the wilderness of northern Ohio and capture the manna (images) of this creation before it crumbles like the walls of the sodomites as they try to invade the Dolomite!? WHO will venture into the unknown and be not a hunter but a gatherer of corny attraction history?

(? beers later) who will come forth as the Cedar Point golden child? Who will deliver us unto the land of the Western Cruise? Who will be welcomed in the house of Hoot and receive free room and board while in town as well as theme park admission?

Buttons Monday Part01 of 2,645

2011-02-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

MULE SATURDAY!

2010-11-27T18:22:00.000-08:00

Yep. On Saturday we celebrate mules! Mostly the Audio Animatronic kind.

Hey! that train could see us if we aren't careful! We didn't care. We had permission!

Here are the Big Thunder mules all naked without their harnesses on.

It's a shame you don't get to see them better when you ride the ride or the train for that matter.

Mules are great!

Space Mountain Models Part One

2010-11-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

One of the hardest areas in the entire Magic Kingdom to pay a visit to was where the entry tunnel models lived. The only way in, as we found after years of trying, was to figure out a way to get complete permission to go there and take any photos we wanted to. We sucked the devil's teat but it was worth it.

Remember waiting in line and watching the ride vehicle model zip past your window? Well here it is! To achieve the effect the model was hung upside down on a huge wheel!

ZOOM! That thing could take your head off if you stood to close. Our guide was quick to point that out.

See how the oil drips down on the model? Proof that these pics shouldn't be rotated 180:)

She's so happy! Not as happy as we were though.

Bye!

Monkey God

2010-10-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Speaking of the Jungle Cruise, the temple ruins are the most spiritual place in the Magic Kingdom. Even if you don't worship gods with monkey heads you'd find it hard not to get the feeling of some divine force living here.

I personally worship Monkey Gods. Not the real kind in south east Asia, I worship this one made of fiberglass and asbestos.

I'll let some other blog give you a 97 paragraph analysis on what this god is and blah blah blah. I'm only concerned about Magic Kingdom icons.

Here's a cool newspaper clipping from 10/14/1970. It'd be over a year before this figure made his debut as King of the temple. That little boy doesn't give two shits about Mickey and Goofy. He's at the knee of the Monkey God!

Here's where this post takes a turn from the ordinary and becomes a Hoot and Chief adventure. Upon closer inspection of the Monkey God, we found a pair of party store sunglasses in his hand as well as an out of place vase at his feet. It looked more like something you'd see in the Haunted Mansion. Victorian or something.

Chief and Applewhite were there when I opened the urn. It was full of ashes. Hidden Mickey nothing we found a hidden dead person! These ashes were placed here for a reason. Who was/is it? Pretty amazing and we just looked at each other not knowing what to say.

I put the lid back on and we three wondered what to do. We decided to do nothing and after a long conversation at Perkins we decided not to tell anyone else.

We had, and still have, questions. Who is it? Was it person who felt the JC was very important to them? How did an urn full of ashes end up here? Can a Theme Park serve as a holy place as long as humans feel it to be so?

I laid down all of the cash I had in my pockets at the Monkey God's feet and we left.

If it's still there don't mess with it. You'll turn into a Rhesus Monkey and your arm will get stuck in a vase.

Jungle Cruise Tiger?!

2010-10-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

I was looking for cool pictures of the Jungle Cruise when I happened upon what I hope to be a joke. Maybe someone out there can help me.

The tiger has always been one of the finest examples of figure finishing I've ever seen.

Here he is in the spray booth at MAPO. The pose is striking, the fur excellent, and as you can see it's already great looking even though its not finished.

Over the years he was always well maintained. I took this shot in 1990. The stripes aren't exactly right but it still looks nice.

At some point (late 90's?) a serious wave of "lazy" drifted over the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise. Annual rehabs became a thing of the past and the ride rapidly lost it's magic. Broken animals, worn out props, a complete lack of horticultural care etc. The tiger became very dirty.

Folks, I don't go to Walt Disney World anymore. I just don't enjoy it but friends like to give me progress reports on certain things they see and don't like. My pal Bobby called me one day to tell me that he rode the JC and he was shocked at how bad the tiger looked after coming back from rehab. Not like Lindsey Lohan but the kind of rehab where they pull a figure out of the show to give him a freshening up. Bobby is one of the best figure finishers alive and sometimes he's overly critical having done several tigers for other parks.

I forgot that he told me that until I happened upon this image today.

WTF????????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is a train wreck! WHO? HOW? WHY? Did the last competent artist finally get the boot? Was the senior artist asleep when this was installed? How did this once beautiful figure end up like this? Will all of the animals eventually look as bad as the shitty animals in the Rain Forest Cafe?

Rudolf the Red Nose Tiger was NOT in the original Marc Davis painting.

Perhaps one of you fine readers would be kind enough to force yourself to look at this thing and get a pic or two for Uncle Hoot. I'm praying that this was a mistake that's been corrected.

The Idea Bag is Full.. Part02

2010-09-29T16:09:00.001-07:00

OOH! Here are some more Dream Finder blimp pics!

There has to be a dude (girls don't build models) who's building a model of the this this. I know there was small collectible YEARS ago but somebody out there is working hard on a larger version and needs pics. Here you are!

You can see the little motor that spins the prop. You can also see Chief digging around for cool shit.

Did I say girls don't build models? Harriet Burns would strike me dead in my tracks:(

Dream finder's chair sat on this stump.

Blogger is acting stupid. More pics to come.

Oscar Mayer

2010-09-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

I came across a record today at a sale and, of course I bought it because I buy anything retro. It's called "Music to Sell Oscar Mayer Wieners By" and I love every second of it. It's probably out there in Mp3. If not here it is. I don't usually search for Oscar Mayer tracks on Vues.

The record was made in '67 and if you listen to the tracks while reading Mike Lee's article on the Town Square Cafe at the Magic Kingdom, you'll fall into a time warp that may kill you. Seriously you might die. What if they played these songs on a loop while you ate there?

Fall into the bliss.

Track one is in the style of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The track is titled "Tijuana".

Track two is titled "Dixie"

Track three is "Bassa Nova". The sexiest hot dog song ever recorded.

Track four is by a boy band called Gary and the Hornets. They kick ass on this one and if you play it backward it says "Jonas Brothers can suck it".

Track five. Motown. I'd love to attend a black southern church and hear this done live.

Track six. Country Western.

Thanks to The Cartoon Basement for hosting these tracks.

2010-09-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Sunnycide and I shot this. This would be the last time we saw the original pre show.

It still pains me to think that the "new" "show" is still there. "But, Hoot, at least it's still there in some form". I would have rather seen it burned down, folks. What if your favorite granny was going to die? What if you decided you wanted to keep her around but when she comes out of the hospital she has four tits, a Jerry curl, and has to sleep in cage because she rubs her own feces on you! Is that better than having your fond memories of her? "well at least Granny is here in SOME form".

Sometimes dead is better.

Enjoy the early evening glow of orange on the scene. My favorite time to experience it.

The Idea Bag is Full..

2010-09-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

Chief and I have a knack for finding ourselves in the right place at the right time. It never ceases to amaze me because it happens again and again.

I was at work one day in '99 when a huge crate came in. It was my job to open it and I couldn't believe what I found! I called Chief right away.

Was this REAL? How in the hell did a Dreamfinder Blimp get here??????

The company I was working for got the contract for the "Mouse Gear" store. A piece of shit if you ask me but, here, in our faces was one of the actual "Journey Into Imagination" props!

In true Hoot and Chief fashion we took pictures......

Hey! It's Figment! Yep, we had our way with this amazing piece of history. We found so many details.......

Part two is coming soon.

Now is the time.....

2010-09-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to "Fresh Roasted Corn" or the further adventures of Hoot, Chief, and friends.

I shot this clip in 1991. I can't remember shooting it because I'm old now. The only thing I remember is wanting to ride COP so I went up the ramp but there wasn't anybody there. I saw an open door so I went in to enjoy the show. The theater was empty and the show wasn't working. I decided to run my camera. The employees must have been on break:(