Sunday, April 08, 2007

Deciphering the Train Bulletin


The Train Bulletin hangs on a wall below the Main Street Train Station in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and is essentially a puzzle of Disney trivia. Each row represents a specific Disney reference. In order, here is what they all mean:

  • Grizzly Bear Flats and Kimball Canyon - This row is a homage to legendary animator Ward Kimball. Kimball was a railroad enthusiast, and in 1938 he acquired a locomotive from the Nevada Central Railroad, and a Southern Pacific passenger coach. Thus, the Grizzly Flats Railroad was born in Kimball’s own backyard.
  • Hickory and Siddons City - The 1966 film Follow Me Boys features the character of Lemuel Siddons played by Fred MacMurray. The setting is the quaint little town of Hickory in the 1930s.
  • Medfield and Rutledge - These are the two rival colleges from The Absent-Minded Professor and its sequel Son of Flubber.
  • Harrington Hills and Pendegast Plains - Harrington is the small town setting for the film Pollyanna. Pendegast is the name of the story’s primary villain, Mr. Pendegast, portrayed by Adolphe Menjou.
  • Bullwhip and Griffin Gulch - The final row on the bulletin makes reference to the 1967 film The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, starring Roddy McDowall.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very cool. Never noticed the train bulletin before at WDW. Also love the site's new look.

Anonymous said...

I knew most of this, but not all of it. Personally, I love the reference to Ward Kimball.

Anonymous said...

Uh, in THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR and SON OF FLUBBER, Medfield College's arch-rival is actually Rutland College. And POLLYANNA's Mr. Pendergast is no villain -- he's just a moody curmudgeon who blossoms in the course of the movie into a lovable guy. [He even adopts orphan Jimmy Bean (Kevin Corcoran) at the end of the movie!]

Jeffrey Pepper said...

My characterization of Pendegrast as a villain was a bit extreme--I stand corrected.

I firmly believe that the Bulletin designer's intent was to reference the Flubber films. I didn't think to go back and fact-check the movies. Or is there a possible Rutledge reference we haven't determined?