Mad Hatter Day is Just My Cup of Tea

Mad Hatter pin

For some time, October 6^th or “10/6” has been celebrated as “Mad Hatter Day” since 10/6 is part of the inscription on the sales tag tucked into the character’s hat in many traditional depictions and illustrations of this character from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The original meaning of “In This Style 10/6” was literally an advertisement of the cost of a hat of that design made by a hat-maker – ten shillings and sixpence.

So in honor of this mad occasion, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite performances of the Mad Hatter!

5) Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, 2010)

• This version inherits Johnny Depp’s special brand of madness, being another in a string of Tim Burton’s lost, lonely, longing boys (including Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Ichabod Crane, Sweeney Todd, and Barnabas Collins). They’re all variations on a theme, made appealing by Depp’s projected vulnerability. While the shtick didn’t work quite as well in the sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, his sweet, innocent, mad sorrow still charms in the first film under the direction of Depp’s artistic soulmate, Burton.

4) Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn – voice character, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, 1951)

• Don’t let’s be silly! One of Walt Disney’s favorite actors to work with provided not just the voice of the Mad Hatter, but also the visual reference for the animators, as well as some improvised dialogue. His comic instincts and the actor’s lisp helped define the resulting character onscreen. Charming, delightful and of course, mad as a hatter, he was the one I wanted to dance around a tea party table with as a child. But I would not trust him to fix my watch!

Downtown Disney Mousertainment – Grilled Cheese Soundwich

“You shook me all night long!”

As I mentioned in my recent feature on another favorite band – Hiatus – who have been playing in Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort, the stage by the ESPN Zone has recently been hosting some “Rockin’ Wednesdays”. I’m incredibly excited that this September event has been extended into October as well, which means there are more opportunities to not only see Hiatus, but the fantastic Grilled Cheese Soundwich as well!

Mousertainment Tip: Grilled Cheese Soundwich will be getting cheesy in Downtown Disney this Wednesday, October 5^th and two weeks later on Wednesday, October 19^th. Hiatus will be playing the alternate two Wednesdays in Downtown Disney – the 12^th and the 26^th (and having their Halloween Hiatus show at The Grove in Anaheim on the 19^th – tickets still available!). And if we’re really lucky, maybe management will notice what big audiences both of these bands attract and will want to extend them later into the year!

This week, I caught this terrific team performing four sets (from 6pm-10pm) and as always – they rocked their faces off!

Playing a wide variety of pop and rock music – seriously, their sets ran the gamut from Elvis to Bruno Mars to Neil Diamond to AC/DC to Meghan Trainor to Guns ‘n Roses – they brought in a big crowd of both longtime fans and guests just wandering through the area who decided to stop and check them out.

Happy 45th Anniversary to the Walt Disney World Resort!

“In everything you do – celebrate you!”

On October 1, 1971, Roy O. Disney helped make another of Walt Disney’s dreams come true by opening the first park in the Walt Disney World Resort – The Magic Kingdom.

It was the beginning of the ultimate vacation destination and has grown over the past 45 years to incredible proportions to include four theme parks, two water parks, golf courses, a sports training area, resort hotels and a huge shopping district in the newly renamed Disney Springs.

In honor of this special occasion, I’m posting a few shots of the central image of The Magic Kingdom – Cinderella’s Castle – one of the most beautiful structures to photograph in the Resort (plus you can actually enjoy a meal inside of it!):

A view into the restaurant inside the Castle at night.

Even under stormy skies, Cinderella’s Castle is beautiful to behold!

Particularly stunning during Wishes fireworks!

Eleven years later, on October 1, 1982, the Walt Disney World Resort opened EPCOT Center – a World’s Fair theme park focused on edutainment ranging from science to world cultures.