Skeleton Dance Desktop Wallpaper

Jeff Pepper’s got another great desktop wallpaper for you:

Desktop Retro: Wet Paint

Need a little Donald to brighten up your desktop?2719 Hyperion’s got you covered.

Desktop Wallpaper, Other Goodies at Disneyland Paris Web Site

It is surely a sign of masochism that I subscribe to email updates from Disneyland Paris, since my frequent flier miles balance absolutely doesn’t support another trip there anytime soon.

But then I’m glad I subscribe, because sometimes they send out fun stuff . . . today they sent electronic goodies like desktop wallpapers and screensavers.

Sigh . . . oh, to be on the RER again, en route to Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy station. To go eat with the lions again at Cafe Hyperion. Maybe someday, maybe someday.

Ghoulish Pirates Desktop Wallpaper Images

If you’ve been to the World of Disney store in Walt Disney World Downtown Disney Marketplace latey, you’ve probably been greeted by these ghoulish figures at the door, as part of a Pirates of the Caribbean display. I took these pictures with a flash, which lit up some of the details, especially farther back where you can’t see the details under the usual store lighting. These are perhaps a bit macabre for some tastes, but for somebody with a strange enough aesthetic, they might be great desktop wallpapers.

Christmas Disneyland Desktops

Mouseplanet just posted some good hi-res pictures of Disneyland’s Christmas decorations, available in many sizes and quite suitable for use as computer desktops.

Photos from Disneyland’s Grand Opening

Just seen on boingboing: USC has posted online a great collection of images from Disneyland’s Grand Opening in 1955, and from the park’s construction. It’s good stuff, in reasonaby high resolutions (some of which would makedecent desktop wallpaper, though given the vintage they’re not exactly designed for it).

The page seems to have been posted a few years back, but may have escaped some fans’ notice (I hadn’t seen this before myself).

A Lovely Day at Animal Kingdom (Part I)

I haven’t posted anything here for a while, but it’s not for lack of good intentions . . . I spent a very good part of the last couple weeks working behind-the-scenes at a conference in Tampa. (Bonus points and a special gold star to any of you who can figure out which conference that was! And no, it doesn’t count if you’re related to me by blood, marriage, or 25+ years of friendship.)

But joy of joys, miracle of miracles, I found myself with 24 hours free in central Florida last weekend — and you won’t be surprised to know that I used this opportunity to exercise my WDW Annual Pass. After 9 long (but wonderful) days in the Tampa Convention Center, it was a real pleasure to wake up at the Sheraton Safari in Orlando, ready to spend the day at Animal Kingdom. (I don’t usually spend much time at Animal Kingdom; it’s been my least favorite of the Orlando parks. But it’s also my son’s least favorite, so it minimized my guilt about going without him!)

I’d booked the Sheraton Safari room on Priceline the previous morning, and quite frankly I wish I’d checked biddingfortravel.com, as I think I could have gotten the room for less than the 50 bucks I’d paid. The place wasn’t that great . . . I found the building a bit run-down, and the room not as clean as I’d become accustomed to. I even found a (grossness alert! proceed with caution!!) very large toenail clipping on the floor of my room. But the location was good, the registration staff super-friendly (bordering on flirtatious, really), and the billing staff readily fixed a problem with my folio in the morning.

And so it was that I rolled out of bed without an alarm for the first time in recent memory, and watched a little Disney Resort TV before heading over to the World. Dunkin Donuts was across the street to meet my coffee and bagel needs. I was in Downtown Disney before I knew it, following the signs to Animal Kingdom.

At the main plaza in front of the turnstiles, I met Wes Palm, who seems to be a close relative of Push (the talking trash can in Tomorrowland in both Anaheim and Orlando). I grabbed a quick video, so you can get a sense of his general schtick; it’s on YouTube now for your viewing pleasure.

I love Kilamanjaro Safaris, so I headed right over. It’s best to get there in the morning, for primo animal viewing. It was a lovely way to start the day.

But then, the real treat of the morning: I fell in love. With, well, a piece of foliage. You Animal Kingdom fans and Disney geeks already know who I’m talking about: De Vine.

(If you’re as smitten as I, you may want the high-res version of this image to use as your computer desktop.)

I found a video on YouTube that gives you a taste of her performance, but truly the camera just can’t do her justice.And then the day continued, next with a run to Expedition Everest . . . I’ll post more on the rest of my visit to Animal Kingdom as the week goes on. For now, I’ll leave you with more desktop-friendly images, of Expedition Everest and its surroundings.

(Link to full-res version for desktop wallpaper.)

(Link to full-res version for desktop wallpaper.)

More Hi-Res Images from Walt Disney World, Plus a Special Thanks

I’ve noticed that my blog posts with images for desktop wallpaper get a decent amount of traffic, so on my trip to WDW last weekend (yay!) I took a few more pictures that might just make good desktop wallpapers. The first one in the list below currently graces my own Thinkpad.

Rock’n’ Roller Coaster:

Magic Kingdom WDW Railroad:

And the Railroad again, for those who prefer the image off to the right:

Bear in the Big Blue House, in the Disney/MGM Studios Stars and Motor Cars parade:

Mickey, Minnie, and Donald, in that same parade:

I also wanted to say a special thanks to a few Cast Members who made our trip last weekend extra-special, as my son and I were visiting with my super-duper old-time best friend Lisa, celebrating her fortieth birthday. CM Chris, riding a Segway near Mission Space on Friday evening, spent some extra time with us and gave us a little VIP treatment. CM Jack laughed with us as we took silly pictures at the Crystal Palace on Saturday. A monorail driver, whose name I have sadly forgotten, gave us inside tips about the Electrical Water Pageant, and made my son very happy with a Monorail Co-Pilot’s license and a trading card. All of these were special, magical moments . . . and each one of them even more special to us than the official Year of a Million Dreams moments we were fortunate enough to have that weekend as well! (More on that later . . . I’m still collecting my thoughts after such a great weekend, and will blog more on it anon!)

Disney Park Wallpapers: Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Lego Store

I’ve noticed that a good percentage of the people visiting this site are finding me because they’ve searched for Disney parks wallpaper. So, here are a few more reasonably hi-res images from my trips to Disney theme parks which make good desktop wallpaper.

Epcot’s “Spaceship Earth”, at night:

Walt Disney World Railroad Main Street Station, during the opening ceremony:

Giant robot outside the Lego Store at Downtown Disney (anybody know if this guy’s got a name?”

Desktop Wallpaper: Mickey climbs the Matterhorn

At Disneyland this summer, as part of the still-going-and-going celebration of Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary “Happiest Homecoming on Earth,” they’re running an occasional brief show where Mickey climbs the Matterhorn, with a little encouragement from Minnie and Goofy, as well as silent help from an anonymous friend. Here’s a shot of Mickey at the top of the Matterhorn, with streamers flying to announce his victory:

(Image posted here through ImageShack.)

It’s a fairly decent resolution, and should work well as a desktop on many systems. I edited it a bit, removing most traces of the wires on which Tinkerbell flies during the fireworks.