Will Budget Cuts Bring Back Disneyland’s Flash Mountain?

Well, Al Lutz of MiceAge thinks it could happen, and I do see his point:

The decision, officially agreed to in March prior to the layoffs, has been made to cut the Cast Member position working in the shop outside Splash Mountain that screens every picture taken of riders going over the big drop in their logs. The photos are sold at a little stand near the exit with the longest store title in Disneyland, “Professor Barnaby Owl’s Photographic Art Studio.” The Cast Members just call the place “Owl Photo,” and for the sake of brevity we will too.

Effective May 3rd at Owl Photo, there will no longer be anyone editing the obscene photos as “washed away” before they appear on both the screen next to the animatronic owl as your log approaches the end of the ride, as well as the exit viewing room with the half dozen large screens displaying the photos for sale at the nearby Owl Photo shop.

The Cast Members staffing the screening equipment for more than a decade, in a separate little room just past the exit, see some rather graphic scenes on the average summer day. Admittedly the numbers of young ladies (term used loosely in this case) who lift their tops for the cameras for their shot at Flash Mountain infamy has lessened over the years now that the word is out that editing of the photos is very strict at Disneyland. Not only are the CM’s looking for bared breasts, but they also catch people engaged in unsafe behavior and displaying lewd gestures.

New Tween Electronics From Disney

Mr Broke Hoedown just sent me the link to GizmoDiva’s page on the new electronics from Disney, aimed at the tween market:

I’m going crazy with the way today’s kids are entertained with gadgets that keep’em busy all thru the day. And if all that wasn’t enough, blame Disney for unveiling more high-techie gadgets for more interesting entertainment. Kids and tweens are in for a ton of fun this fall with a hot line of Disney electronics waiting to be unleashed. The line includes the Disney Flix Video Camera, a digital video camera that comes bundled with Disney Director software, which allows your brats to star in their own Disney movies. They are also offering LCD TVs, such as the 15-inch High School Musical model, resembling a locker.

I know for sure my nieces, who aren’t even close to being tweens yet, would go nuts for the High School Musical television!

Flash Mountain Harassment Suit Close to Settlement

From Boston.com (via The Disney Blog):

A settlement is underway in a federal lawsuit that states that Lawrence [Massachusetts] city officials failed to take proper action after learning that the city clerk allegedly sexually harassed an employee by using the woman’s office computer to view pornographic websites and making sexually explicit comments.

The Disney connection?

In 1998, Padellaro’s lawsuit alleges, McGravey began visiting pornographic websites, including one called “Flash Mountain,” which posts photographs of women exposing their breasts on a ride at Disney World. McGravey, in court filings, admits that in 1998 and 1999, he occasionally logged on to inappropriate websites from various locations at work, and that he and other city employees logged onto the “Flash Mountain” website.