Since our last recap, Mom agreed to sit down for an interview with me.  It was so much fun! She talked about Grandpa being like a big kid in many ways, always dreaming, telling stories, not worrying one bit about responsibilities. Mom and I shared a moment when we realized that the same bedtime story Grandpa used to tell her as a kid was the same story he used to tell me! We enjoyed recalling some interesting details together about this dream world Grandpa dreamt up.

Then the following day, this happened:

Yeah. Wallace released his latest work of art – a map of Walt’s Haunts – and friends from around Southern California immediately set out to investigate. First stop: Chili John’s.

Folks who ordered their chili with “a side of pinto beans to go” got a free can of chili. If they were hungry, it might’ve been a bit disappointing. But if they had an appetite for knowledge, I’m sure they walked away very satisfied, because inside the can was a message from the society – a note about “recruiting tactics.” And apparently there was more than one message, as by my count, people reported finding five different notes!  It sounds like this society was recruiting only the best and the brightest in many disciplines from around the globe.  I wonder: have these cans been there since the 60’s? (If so, probably a good thing there was no chili inside!)

The Carousel at Griffith Park in Los Angeles also appeared on the map.

Walt used to take his own daughters there before he started creating carousels of his own. The map of Walt’s Haunts also included a picture of a horse with a ribbon, and on that ribbon were the words: RIDE THE LAST DARK HORSE.  Our fellow optimists found a dark horse near the center of the carousel, which had a leather belt stamped with seemingly random letters. If you wrapped this belt around the pole, the letters on the belt lined up to spell out this message:

SOCIETY MEMBERS – WE EACH PLAY A ROLE IN BUILDING TOMORROW – REMEMBER OUR GOAL TO FORGE A BRIGHTER PATH FOR THE FUTURE & KEEP THE WORLD GOING ROUND

It seems to be a reminder for members of the society, to keep them on the right path, so to speak. I wonder if the Carousel was a place where they met regularly?  Maybe this was the real reason that Walt was on the bench that day?

Which takes us to our next stop on Wallace’s map: Le Grand Courtyard.  After being led into Club 33 (!!), some of you discovered glassware, each with its own set of initials.

Debra was the first to post whom the initials belong to:

AME = Amelia Mary Earhart
JGV = Jules Gabriel Verne
SLC = Samuel Leghorns Clemens (Mark Twain)
TAE = Thomas Alva Edison
AGE = August Gustav Eiffel
HGW = H.G. Wells
NT = Nicola Tesla
And last but not least, WED = Walter Elias Disney

Ricky first posted on the blog that he believed these were all members of the rumored secret society that we all have been discussing.  It looks like this society had some pretty illustrious roots!

The next destination on Walt’s Haunts brought many of you to Walt’s Barn at the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society.

Along with the “Red Barn” where Walt tinkered with model trains and came up with big ideas, many of you visited the “Combine Car” and found a poster of the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. A note on Wallace’s map revealed a “flash photo opportunity inside.” And when you took a flash photo of the poster inside, “New Orleans Square” and a telegraph sign magically appeared on the poster.

Upon seeing that, a number of you trekked back to Disneyland to record the telegraph message at New Orleans Square, and Ricky deciphered it:

“Welcome society members of 1966 and our new inductee RDB.”

Is RDB referring to Ray Bradbury?  Was he part of this society as well?  Before this was all discovered, I didn’t even realize he knew Walt Disney!  Can you imagine hanging out with that group of brilliant minds?

And then yesterday!  The last stop on Wallace’s map – the Bench.

What an incredible journey from meeting Wallace (I’m so jealous!) to going into Walt’s apartment.  We are still tracking down what it all means, but I feel like we are getting closer to understanding that something very big was going on.   And it wasn’t just Walt and the Imagineers – it seems like they were part of some society that stretched across the globe.  For quite some time.  But how can we confirm that?  What was it they were all working on?  And how in the world did grandpa fit in?  It’s almost like we need to find someone who had an inside scoop.

This is so much fun to uncover with all of you, my fellow optimists.  I feel like we are on the verge of putting it all together.

Above and Beyond. That’s where you’ve gone. And thinking about all the amazing things you all are finding and figuring out, I have that feeling I get while watching a parade. With fireworks. And confetti. And silly string, the kind that doesn’t get stuck in your hair.

It’s probably because I went so long thinking I had to do everything on my own. Yes, Grandpa believed in the power of optimistic people teaming up and joining forces. But Mom? Well, let’s just say she’s been looking out for me. She’s tough, independent, and she raised me to be the same. But I personally love the idea of merging both those worlds. Grandpa AND Mom’s.

This isn’t about me, though. This is about making sense of the last week or so, giving credit where credit is due.

First, I came across a nuclear fusion brochure in Grandpa’s apartment, and Stephen figured out that the message on it was written in shorthand. Chad’s grandmother and Reid’s mother translated the message, discovering a possible schedule for meetings with Wernher (Von Braun?), (Ray?) Bradbury, and Howard (Hughes?).

Who knew Grandpa knew shorthand!

Then we discussed Wallace from disneycartography.com, who posted his own map of the refreshed Tomorrowland in 1959. There appears to be three locations on Wallace’s map that seemed to be designated as points of particular interest – Submarine Voyage, Tomorrowland Monorail Station, and Tomorrowland Autopia.  Kalani found a secret code at the Midget Autopia statue. And Hastin found two more codes at Submarine Voyage and Tomorrowland Monorail Station.  Amber then pointed out those codes are U.S. patent numbers.  But what do they mean?

Then – remember those World’s Fair records I mailed out last week?

I mailed the records out to a bunch of you to thank you for all your help and hard work. After receiving one of the records, Elizabeth discovered that they were multi-grooved, with an extra track containing alternative narration for certain World’s Fair attractions – the Carousel of Progress and the Primeval World diorama.*  The audio for Side A can be found here and Side B can be found here.

James figured out that the alternative audio narration on the record was intended for special VIP guests. I believe each alternative narration was meant to be listened to at specific points in their corresponding attractions! The extra track audio hints at advancements in technology that didn’t come about until well after 1964.

A while back, we found out from Lott’s email footer that we can access protected pages on his website by adding a slash after the Lott Family Construction URL, followed by the codename of the project requested. After I posted a note about Grandpa that hinted at his involvement in something referred to as “eticket59”, Stephen entered “/eticket59” at the end of the Lott Family Construction URL and unlocked access to blueprints for the original Tomorrowland.

From the ‘client area’ on the Lott Family Construction website.

Within the original Tomorrowland blueprints, Jody and Stephen discovered secret keys to those patents, and the secret meanings of the patent diagrams were revealed. Shining light on top-secret tech. Finally illuminating what “Signal Flag,” Auto Apparatus,” and “Mark 0” were code names for!

Either way, all of the work you did and discoveries you found continually inspire me to continue on. To forge ahead. Undaunted. Overall, awesome progress this week. Looking forward to tomorrow. Always.

*Update:  Oops!  In my sleepy haze last night I posted the wrong name.  Silly me.  After listening to it, I think Stephen is right and the track is referencing Primeval World.

Now I’m*really* late to lab – gotta run!

Grandpa sold his work to Disney and worked with them on some kind of Special Projects Team. That team was up to something at the ’64 World’s Fair. More than just building mechanical presidents and magical skyways, anyway. Along with building the attractions, they were, apparently, building lots of other stuff we (the general public) were never meant to see. Christina and Kalani figured out the secret conference code and heard a fifty-year-old recording that gave us more questions than answers. If you call (213) 438-9463 and enter the month and day for the date you call (like today would be 0712), you can hear it yourself. Buuut… What was the World’s Fair Special Projects Team really up to? How did Grandpa fit into all of this? What’s the deal with the secret patents that they didn’t want released?

Thanks to James (@baseballmickey) and Nick, who did a little email detective work prodding Mr. Lott, we know that Michael Lott at Lott Family Construction worked on some super-secret stuff that was shown to VIPs during the fair. Here’s the memo to prove it:

Thanks to James and Nick’s detective work, we have this memo from Mr. Lott.

Kimberly discovered that if you adjust the levels and contrast on the memo, you can make out some of the redacted materials.

Thanks to Kimberly, Michael, and James (on Twitter) we think the redactions are (in order): “The City, Florida Project, The City, _________ Signal Flag, Auto Apparatus, and Mark 0 Project.

Amber and Kalani were one of the groups that went to the Tam O’Shanter and posted photos of the markings on the table where Walt Disney and his Imagineers used to eat. They found dinosaurs, more codes, and noticed this T/U symbol that’s cropped up on both the table and on a poster celebrating Imagineers at the Tam, by someone named Wallace. Kira also went to the Tam and discovered the soufflé was chocolaty molten deliciousness (so craving some right now).

Poster found at the Tam O’Shanter – the small text at the bottom says it was made by a fellow named ‘Wallace’ of disneycartography.com

While poking around on Wallace’s site, disneycartography.com, Stephen noticed some strange details on some of the posters. Who is this Wallace who made the poster at the Tam? What’s his connection to all this? We don’t know.

Yet.

I’ll say it again. You are awesome.

Grandma, mom, and grandpa – back in the day.

Since he’s passed, I’ve gone through stacks and more stacks and yet even more stacks of stuff from his younger days as a writer. Digging through this, a lot of his life is still a mystery to me. As I look at him as a wide-eyed young man — with his whole future ahead of him (and wearing uber-skinny ties) — I can’t help but wonder what he was like when he was chasing his dreams. Writing about tomorrow, imagining humanity coming together to build a new world.

He was never a huge success. In the time of Clarke, Asimov, and Bradbury, he was an unknown. Just an optimist with a typewriter. He sold one short story in the fifties, “Orbit’s Story” to Disney, and then gave up the chance for fame to follow his own path. It’s the kind of bravery I wish I had.

Grandpa was always so creative!

We would walk through the woods and he would share with me impossible tales of cities of tomorrow. Of machines discovering the core of what humanity means. Of bringing the world together as they explored the furthest reaches of the universe. Of exploring time and space by crossing dimensions. At their heart, they were about looking at bright futures that could be. He saw the best in everyone. In everything. Always.

These are the stories he told at bedtime when I slipped into sleep. These are the stories he would tell me on Saturday mornings while I ate my cereal. And stories he told me watching a sunrise hand-in-hand. You know that smile your Grandpa gets when he’s telling a story, and right when things look their darkest he gets to the good part? I do.

He created whole worlds for me, and I just want to tell his story as one last ‘thank you’ to him.