If you ever wanted to feel what it was like to be Luke Skywalker, look no further than Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Every inch of this land, is full of eye candy and Easter eggs. Build your own lightsaber or droid, rub elbows with other fans at Oga’s Cantina or fly the Millennium Falcon. This land is the stuff that 12 year-old me could only dream of.
One of my favorite Easter eggs is this transport parked on top Cookie’s restaurant. The 3 cargo containers are labelled with the year of the Original Trilogy’s release. “77” for Star Wars: A New Hope, “80” for The Empire Empire Strikes Back and “83” for Return of The Jedi”. Keep your eyes peeled for even more hidden details.
The latest attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA is a tribute to the superhero franchise, Marvel Studios. Whether you’re a fan of the comic books, TV shows or Movies, Avenger’s Campus is the place to be.
Situated in Disney’s California Adventure, this new land brings the stories of the Marvel heroes to life. Train with the Dora Milaje, watch your favorite superhero, like Shang-Chi, battle villains or just take in the atmosphere of this former Stark campus.
Okoye from “Black Panther”, Captain America, Gamora from “The Guardians of The Galaxy” and Thor’s little brother, Loki, share the stage with the one and only Spiderman.
If you’re quick you may just catch Spiderman leaping high above the crowd.
A visit to Avenger’s Campus is ultimate adventure for anyone.
Graumann’s Chinese Theater has been a landmark on Hollywood Blvd. since 1927. Since then it has played a part in many motion picture premieres. In 1973 it became Mann’s Chinese Theater until Ted Mann divorced the wife, Rhonda Fleming. A year later he went bankrupt. It reverted to it’s original name until TCL, a Chinese electronics company purchased the naming rights 2013, renaming it the TCL Chinese Theater.
West Side Story, Mary Poppins and even Star Wars all premiered at the Chinese Theater over the years. Today it is still a hot property that Motion Picture Studios still try to book the theater for new movie premieres.
One of the most famous features of the theater is the celebrity handprints immortalized in cement. There are a number of stories about how they came to be, but the most widely retold, involves an actress, Norma Talmadge, accidentally stepped in wet cement.
Here you can see the handprints of John Wayne along with his fist. Whoopi Goldberg pushed a dreadlock into her cement and Mel Brooks wore a sixth finger on his right hand. Not all of the handprints are on display at any one time. With several hundred prints having been done, there are always some being repaired and just in storage.
Like many historic landmarks, The Chinese Theater is also haunted. In 1982, actor, Victor Killian was bludgeoned to death in his nearby apartment in 1982. He is purported to search the streets looking for his murderer. Employees have also reported strange noises and movement behind the theaters heavy curtain.
You can’t pay a visit to California without catching a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign. For the more adventurous among you, you can hike close to it via several trails. Be aware it could be a three hour undertaking. There are a number of stories about the sign and how it came to be. The publisher of the LA Times had the sign erected to advertise his upscale subdivision.
In 1923, the Hollywoodland Sign was erected on Mount Lee overlooking Lake Hollywood. Each letter is 30 feet wide and 43 feet tall. It was originally meant to last about a year and a half to advertise the new subdivision. It has been in place for over 80 years.
In the spirit of Halloween, the sign is said to be haunted by the ghost of an aspiring young actress. Peg Entwistle. On Sept. 18th 1932, a hiker found a woman’s shoe, jacket and purse under the sign. When she opened the purse, she discovered a suicide note signed P.E. Having climbed up a workman’s ladder, she threw her self off of the letter “H”.
Numerous hikers have reported seeing the figure of a beautiful blonde woman in 1930’s clothing. She is often seen on very foggy nights. Some say, they were overwhelmed by the aroma of Gardenias in the air. They were Peg’s favorite perfume.
Check out this website for more information about the Hollywood and how you can visit it.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame features over 2,700 stars and almost half of them are in the Motion Pictures category. Anyone can nominate someone for the honor, but the honoree (or their agent) must provide a letter of agreement to be considered. Each application also requires a sponsor to pay the $50,000 for the creation and upkeep of their star. The star is also obligated to appear at the star’s unveiling ceremony. Barbra Streisand was the only star that refused, however she did show up years later when hubby, James Brolin was honored.
Over the year’s four stars were stolen. Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Jimmy Stewart and Gene Autry all were the victims of star theft. Gene Autry had 4 other stars on the walk, so it wasn’t a big deal. Douglas and Stewart’s stars were recovered from the home of a construction worker who was hired to secure them.
Gregory Peck’s star on the corner of Hollywood and Gower, was stolen in broad daylight. Men wearing orange construction vests cut a perfect square around the star, loaded the 300lb slab onto a truck and never were heard from again. The star has never been recovered.
The Hollywood Property Owners Alliance is responsible for the upkeep but today many stars in poor condition. The pink terrazzo and brass stars are sometimes cared for by the celebrities fans. You would think that the 20 stars issued ever year at $50,000 each, there would be plenty of money to keep Aerosmith’s star in good condition.
You don’t even need to be a real person to get your star on The Walk Of Fame. Mickey and Minnie Mouse have their own stars, so do Godzilla, Alvin and The Chipmunks and Shrek. Animal actors including Rin Tin Tin and Lassie have been honored with stars.
For more information check out this official website.
Driving around Los Angeles, you may have a sense of deja vu when you pass 11122 Dilling St. in Studio City. Here is the house where Mike and Carol Brady lived with their six children, their dog, Tiger and their housekeeper, Alice. Sometimes cousin Oliver was there too.
The Brady Bunch house was sold to HGTV for $3.5 million and subsequently renovated by the original Brady kids. Former N’Sync member, Lance Bass, had put an offer on the home, but it was turned down when someone said they wanted the house at any cost.
After The White House, it is the second most photographed house in the United States. The house at 11222 Dilling St. was only used for the exterior shots. The interior of the Brady abode was done on a soundstage at Paramount Studios, in reality it only had 3 bedrooms.
During the renovation, the house was remodeled to look like the classic show. HGTV hosted a very Brady scavenger hunt for fans to help source the many bits of set decoration necessary. Among the props that were found were the Horse statue in the living room, a stuffed giraffe from the girl’s room and that flower covered couch in the sitting room.
Next time you’re in California, take a trip back to the 70’s and say hi to Alice.
As of 2021, there are 41 skyscrapers in New York City. Among those are Central Park Tower, the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere. If you’re in the market for a new apartment a small studio can cost $1,000,000. If you need some more space be prepared to pay as much as $95,000,000 for a 4 bedroom apartment.
In 2020, the tallest office tower in Manhattan opened. One Vanderbilt Place is the 4th tallest building in the city. This structure boasts a glass elevator that travels up the outside of the building and an amazing observation deck.
Out of all of the buildings in The Big Apple, The Chrysler Building is my favorite. It was constructed by the chairman of the Chrysler Corporation but funded the entire project himself so that his children could inherit it. It was the tallest building in the city for only 11 months, losing out to the Empire State Building. Among it’s ornaments are gargoyles, 1929 Chrysler radiator caps and American eagles.
New York City has one of the unique city skylines. Out of all of the places I’ve visited, I always consider The Big Apple to be one of my favorites. Giant skyscrapers densely populate the city and the best vantage point is from high up.
Famously, The Empire State Building stands proud and tall. There are 1,872 steps to the Observation Deck on the 102nd floor. But don’t worry, there’s a high speed elevator if you prefer to save your energy. From the Deck of the most photographed in the world, you can see six different states on a clear day.
The upper deck was originally designed as a mooring post for Airships and Dirigibles. The building was part of a mad rush to build the tallest building in the city. The nearby Chrysler Building was topped off by a spire making it 1048 feet tall. The Empire State Building beats that at 1250 feet. It was the tallest building in the world until 1970 when the World Trade Center was completed.
If you want a great shot of the NYC skyline that features the Empire State Building, you have to venture to one of the other observations decks around Manhattan. I can recommend The Edge in Hudson Yards or Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. Both will give you breathtaking views of this magical city.
The building is often lit in a myriad of different colors throughout the year. On the night I visited, the tower was bathed in red light to celebrate New York Comic Con. You can even see a schedule of when the tower is lit at this link.
Travels With Ackbar 