Things Shore Are Swell For Runaway Railway Mickey Mouse Made Of Shells

I am now officially a Florida resident.  And I was inspired to make a Mickey Mouse (as he appears in the new Walt Disney World Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway attraction) out of sea shells, rocks, and shark teeth.  A black and white Mickey Mouse dark ride had been in the planning stages for Disney parks since at least the 1970s (one was called Mickey's Madhouse).  We finally got one in 2020 at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  Runaway Railway is based of the (somewhat polarizing) newer Paul Rudish-directed Mickey Mouse shorts.  I actually love Mickey in these cartoons, as he is voiced with some swagger by Silicon Valley star Chris Diamantopoulos.

I also made Goofy out of shells and sea junk.  Goofy is the train conductor in Runaway Railway.

Goofy is ready for a vacation to Potatoland.

I also built Peg Leg Pete.  Pete's ears are made of shark teeth and his grinning mouth is a cool white rock.

In Runaway Railway, Pete is a construction worker.  When Pete uses his jackhammer, the buildings around him shake.

Pluto appears throughout Runaway Railway, chasing after Mickey and Minnie.

These new Mickey Mouse shorts have a very different take on Pluto, exploring a rivalry with Goofy.

Donald Duck has a few small cameo appearances in Runaway Railway.

Donald Duck is very much a supporting character in the new Mickey Mouse shorts.  The creators have allowed Mickey Mouse to have more of the traits that Donald is known for, giving Mickey more to do and be more interesting as a character.

I also built the Orange Bird.  The Florida Orange Bird was created by Disney for the Florida Citrus Commission and became a fixture at Adventureland near the Enchanted Tiki Room at Walt Disney World in 1971.

The Orange Bird became popular at Tokyo Disneyland circa 2004 due to the character's association with Japan's Orange Day in April.  The Orange Bird became visible in the Stateside Parks in recent years after being absent for a long time.

Zip a dee doo dah!  It is Brer Fox from Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain (and the movie, Song of the South).

Brer Fox is made out of Florida shells, but his Splash Mountain rock base is from my brother's ranch in Texas.

Everybody's got a laughing place.  Brer Rabbit's is Splash Mountain.

How do you do?  Just fine, thanks for asking.

Brer Bear is causing problems upstream at Splash Mountain.

It is the truth.  It's actual.  Everything is satisfactual.

We're all mad here.  How do you run from what is inside your head?

Wipe that silly grin off your face, Cheshire Cat.

I am the terror that flaps in the night.  I am the sand in your swimsuit.  I am Darkwing Duck!

The daring duck of mystery defies death yet again, to defeat the dastardly denizens of darkness!

Roadrunner, the Coyote is after you!  Iron ore from my brother's ranch in Texas inspired me to build the famous Southwestern Warner Brothers characters.

The Roadrunner is a mix of Florida seashore junk, and the base is genuine Texas iron ore.

Wile E. Coyote plots to capture the famous Western bird.

The Coyote is made of a mix of rocks and shells.  The "boulders" behind him are iron ore.

Sufferin' Succotash!  It is Sylvester!

Sylvester is on the hunt for Tweety Bird.

I tawt I taw a puddy tat!

Bad ol' puddy tat!

Woo hoo!  Daffy Duck enjoys pond life.

Thank goodness it's rabbit season, not duck season.

I live in Venice, Florida, which is the Shark Tooth Capital of the World.  I grew up visiting the beaches in Venice, so I have some shark tooth hunting skills.  I started making sculptures out of found beach materials in recent years.  The first cartoon character I made out of shells was Fred Flintstone.

Fred Flintstone was a request from my Aunt.  I had to carefully pack Fred up so she could take him back to Indiana with her.

I have been selling my own designs.  The latest figures are animals from Australia.  I love Australian Animals.  I think I've only ever seen a Koala at Busch Gardens in Tampa years back.

I was especially excited to find pieces of coral to use for the Koala's ears.  I also found coral for his eucalyptus.


A Platypus seems like the ultimate farm animal because it produces eggs and milk.

Though they are cute and odd, a platypus is actually very dangerous.

In addition to eggs and milk, the strange platypus produces venom.

I enjoy finding interesting bases for these figures.

I love the 1950s, so I had to build some Greasers.  These are Sea Rockabilly guys.

The cool leather jacketed dude on the Motorcycle is a little bit Fonzie, a little bit Elvis.  The Surfer can keep his hair looking perfect even when he's in the ocean.

In Venice, I've seen a few guys driving hot rods.

This cool cruiser was inspired by Luke Perry and Outsiders era Matt Dillon.

Conrad Birdie from Bye Bye Birdie was on my mind when I put together this guitar player.

The Sea Rockabilly Chick knows all the latest dance moves.


Venice (and Sarasota in general) is famous for being a former Circus Town.  Aside from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, areas around Venice housed the old Ringling Brothers Circus.  There's even a Circus Bridge in Venice.

Naturally, I had to build my own Circus.  The Venezia Brothers Circus!  The Venezia Brothers are a Ringmaster, Clown, and Strongman.  I even made a Unicorn!  Way back in 1984, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Baily had a controversial Unicorn.  It was really just a surgically altered goat.

Disneyland's Party Gras Parade

In 1990, Disneyland in Anaheim, California celebrated its 35th Birthday in a big way. The Party Gras Parade featured large balloon floats depicting Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and Roger Rabbit.



This looks like fun, and it was! I got to skip school for a few days and fly across the country to Disneyland in September of 1990.


They gave away prizes! I did not win anything, though.


I wonder what time the 3:00 parade starts? This question is frequently asked by Disneyland visitors. Luckily, the Party Gras Parade is shown twice a day!

Be sure to note where you parked your car! Disneyland's old parking lot is long gone (it's now a theme park, Disney's California Adventure).



Keep this show guide handy, because you don't want to miss Dick Tracy in "Diamond Double-Cross" or Roger Rabbit (in Adventureland!) with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy in "The Legend of the Island Jewel." I regret not seeing these shows!



In Tomorrowland, you could vote for "The Person of the Century." I wonder who won?


Delta was the official Airline of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Luckily, that's the Airline that got me to California!


Technically, I think Delta was only supposed to give this magazine to young children. I was a freshman in high school at this time, but I asked them really nice for a copy.

Oooh, Disneyland 35th Birthday Games!



Snow White has a message for us! What is she trying to tell us?! I think maybe it's "Be Sure To Drink Your Ovaltine."



I usually made a point not to mark on items like these, because I thought they might be a collector's item one day. I did deface this "Connect-The-Dots" page:


It's the Party Gras Parade!



The music is loud and lively, and the Disney characters are gigantic!



Mickey and Pluto lead the wild celebration.



The Party Gras Parade uses audience participation, and stops to perform and encourage you to dance and join a conga line.



It's tough to stand still during the Party Gras!



Look, it's Minnie and a Macaw!

Up next is a float with a fish lady riding on a big fish.



That's Ariel, The Little Mermaid, which was a new movie at the time.



Donald Duck appears with the Pluto balloon. I would hate to have to clean up after a dog Pluto's size...



It's Chip and Dale, dancers.



I don't think that any other Rescue Rangers were on this float.



Goofy fits in with the Jokers and Jesters.



Minnie is up next in her Carmen Miranda costume.



Panchito the rooster from "The Three Caballeros" is here, so surely Jose Carioca the parrot was in this parade, too.



Roger Rabbit used to be everywhere.



Roger Rabbit is the last balloon float in the parade. It looked like Roger would be shown regularly with Mickey and his friends, but he was phased out as Disney created characters it completely owned, like Ariel and her friends from The Little Mermaid (Roger Rabbit is co-owned with Amblin Entertainment).




The celebration is over, and Guests and Disney characters close the parade.



This high-energy event featured a terrific soundtrack:





Walt Disney World had a similar parade for its 20th Birthday in 1991.


It was called "Surprise Celebration" and included Disney character balloons that were very similar to Disneyland's (a couple of them, like the one used for Minnie Mouse, looked identical).