By Rick West

It's more than safe to say that without Marc Davis, the "face" of Disney would be very, very different today.

Beyond Disney however, it is important to note that Marc was an accomplished artist and his ability went far beyond theme park attractions or animated features.  In fact, Marc's uncanny ability to capture life in an instant and quickly put it down on a blank page was - and still is - staggering.  One of the most impressive aspects about Marc's talent is that he wasn't confined to one medium or stylization of drawing or painting; he did it all.  And not just well... Marc was a master.

Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, has been host to an exhibit of Marc's private works since May and will be open to the public for just a short time longer, until July 26th.  Marc's wife and Disney Legend in her own right, Alice Davis, invites all Theme Park Adventure readers to come to Forest Lawn and partake in this special showing while there is still time.

TPA's relationship with the Davis' goes back years, when I first started working on our Pirates of the Caribbean book, which we then sold in the late '90s to fans around the world.  It seems like yesterday when I called Marc and Alice at their home in Los Angeles and told them about the project - and also explained that I needed their blessing and direct participation in the project.  Because without Marc and Alice, there would be no Pirates of the Caribbean to write about.  They accepted and their contribution to my book was monumental.  However, the friendship that was created lasted far longer than the popularity of my written words.

And our on-going friendship with Alice Davis means so very much to me personally.  Marc and Alice are giants in the industry which TPA is in love with; but above that, they as a team were and are quite simply, beautiful people.  Though Marc is no longer with us physically, Alice has kept him very much alive - and very busy - from special events continuing to honor both of them at Disney to private functions and ultimately, this public exhibition of incredible art at Forest Lawn.

The exhibit is at the Glendale location's Museum and is free to the public.  Operating hours are 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM; the Museum is closed on Mondays.

We encourage all TPA readers within driving distance of Forest Lawn to make the trip over to admire and pay respect to the stunning talent of this one-of-a-kind talent.  It takes approximately 30 - 45 minutes for the average visitor to take in the exhibit, and it is definitely appealing to the young and old alike; while we visited, we saw boys, girls, men and women of all ages coming through to admire the art.  Lots of Disney fans.  Lots of people just looking to see what the exhibit is all about.  And all coming away impressed.

Do yourself a favor and take the time this coming week to visit Forest Lawn and experience the brilliant art of Marc Davis, from sculpture to subjects ranging from bull fighters to Papua New Guinea natives and yes, two pieces from The Haunted Mansion.  A constantly-showing presentation of Disney's documentary Four Artists Paint One Tree is shown, which is captivating to watch from start to finish.  This is a great exhibit and we thank Forest Lawn for allowing us in with our camera and especially, Alice for making it happen and for once again, sharing Marc with the fans.

For more information, please visit: http://forestlawn.com/Index.asp or call (800) 204-3131.

By Amy Lucas

With Ohio still covered in melting snow and ice, and all seasonal parks coming to the final stretch of their off-season slumber, I was getting cabin fever and had to do something!  My father and I took a trip to Fairfield to check out Jungle Jim's.  To be quite honest, I had not been there for about seven years, so I was not prepared for what I was going to see.

The Ohio native, James O. Bonaminio (a.k.a. "Jungle" Jim Bonaminio), originally began this thing as a roadside produce stand in 1971.  Yes that's right, a similar beginning as Knott's Berry Farm.

Today, it is a six-acre, "food lovers paradise" and the largest marketplace in the Tri-State area.  I have never seen so much international food in my 21 years, from seafood to Amish, to Asian sushi to goat… rabbit... and even wine tasting.

Jungle Jim's prides itself on its beer collection being the largest in the area.  Also featured are some of the big-name folks (which surprised me something crazy) - Starbucks, Hallmark, MaggieMoo's and CiCi's Pizza.

There is a foot doctor on-site, possibly for when your feet start to throb and hurt from all the walking around the complex.  And there's a family dentistry too; I guess for your kids if they got into a bunch of candy and get cavities while there.

Shows and entertainment are also provided, but sadly my father and I were on a tight schedule, so we were only there for little over an hour.  We couldn't check any of that out this trip... *sigh*.

Yeah, this place has certainly grown.  And how nice… the man still leases land out to MORE people, and offers that his folks will theme whatever new business comes on property to the jungle theme.  "We will theme it for you!" is plastered on the signs.

Now the time has come to step back into 1974 briefly, to Kings Island when the Lion Country Safari monorail debuted.  Who could forget this?  All those lions with the big fangs, the crushing weight of the African elephants, massive giraffes, and chubby zebras roaming around in their own piece of the savannah right there at Kings Island.  And you'd have the occasions when a rhino or any of the other animals decided they wanted to graze or snooze right at the monorail track and the train had to stop to wait for the animal handlers to come...  Ah well, that was OKAY as long as we were sitting in the air-conditioned train; who cares if the train is stopped?  It could be 90 degrees out, so it would be all good!  All this had to see the sad ending in 1993.

Now back to the present...

Little over 10 years ago, Jungle Jim's acquired the monorail system and trains from Kings Island that was once property of Lion Country Safari.  Today, you can see the trains parked, and construction still taking place putting the track together.  Jim wants to use the trains to take you from the parking lot to the Oscar Event Center (and I must say it's lovely).

If you're someone like my father, who remembers the attraction in his teen years, seeing the trains is a huge blast from the past (our trip was mainly focused around the things that were originally from Kings Island and a part of the station).  After the monorail system having to face so many hurdles, it will be neat to see the the trains gliding along again in their current home.

Kudos to Jim -  it looks great!

The event started with a social pizza meet and greet and then the large group of TPAers made its way to the SAW Haunted Attraction, which was open for the weekend to the public.  The bonus that Theme Park Adventure readers received was a special behind-the-scenes lights-on tour of the attraction, which gave people the opportunity to take pictures, video and spend time admiring the maze, their favorite props and hanging out/talking shop with the attraction's crew.

At the conclusion of the evening, SAW Haunted Attraction creator Jeff Schiefelbein was kind enough to host a large Q&A session with Theme Park Adventure readers, offering insight into creating such a large-scale maze, what his future plans are for the location (as well as other projects) and giving advice to fans and haunters alike on how to go about setting up their own attractions.

It was a very positive evening, and we were very pleased with the turn-out.  At the attraction, even more friendly faces were recognized (we'll let it slide and assume they all suffer from acute pizza and beer allergies) from the Halloween Haunt family as well as other SoCal haunters.

Our thanks to Jeff and his crew for allowing Theme Park Adventure and its readers fantastic access to his attraction - and a special thanks to all of you that showed up and made the evening so much fun!  Both Johanna Atilano and Rick West were snapping away with their cameras throughout the event; below are the shots.  Enjoy, and feel free to "steal" any pics you may find yourself in for your MySpace page, etc.  We only ask that you give credit to Theme Park Adventure.  And better yet - that you recruit some of your friends to come along with you to the next TPA gathering!

Over the past few months, Theme Park Adventure has taken a new approach to Internet visibility for the site, with a regularly-updated MySpace.com page and even our own YouTube.com channel where we are now featuring videos that accompany new stories as they go up on the main TPA site.

This new aggressive stance online is aimed at getting new readers and fans to come to ThemeParkAdventure.com and see what we're all about and where we're going.  We have a big year planned, including the kick-off of our 15th Anniversary this coming September that we want as many people as possible to be involved with.

New readers and fans also means bigger and more successful TPA events and gatherings, such as our annual TPA Night at Haunt and the soon-to-be unveiled TERROR TOUR 2009 as well as other events.

If you haven't yet found TPA on MySpace.com, our address there is:  http://www.myspace.com/themeparkadventure

Please add us as a friend and get your friends online to also join in the fun that is TPA.  Together, we plan on making 2009 a banner year for Theme Park Adventure as we move into an entirely new chapter in our story and get ready for more user meets, contests and reader events than ever before.  We can only do it with your help, so get involved on the Message Board, on sites such as MySpace.com and anywhere else you may think that potential new TPA readers may be just waiting to discover us!

Thank you all for your continued support - we'll be seeing you real soon!

- The TPA Crew