Mesa Verde Times

How I met Chief in super colorful comix form!

2022-10-24T15:29:00.001-04:00

True Life Adventure Comics 1 & 2

The amazing tale of the how Chief and I met plus plenty more TRUE stories from the Magic Kingdom!

RATED "R"

Just like real life!

The Last of the Lost?

2022-10-23T19:49:00.001-04:00

I almost typed that this would be the last post for Mesa Verde Times. I'm not going to do that because you never know what'll show up in future as we learned the other day. This blog, folks, has been the absolute highlight of my entire life. I've been through many adventures and many struggles but Mesa Verde Times always comes back to keep me going and so does Ed.

Most of you have no idea that Ed and I hadn't talked to each other for five years when I started this blog. We had a falling out over something crazy and acted like idiots to one another. I started this blog and then reached out to him to join me in posting this adventure and it healed our friendship. It also galvanised it. I was extremely lucky to gain his friendship back and enjoy his company for a short time before cancer took him away. All because of this grand adventure.

Now I'm alone in posting these forgotten pictures but I feel like he's seeing them too and reading my posts from somewhere in the great beyond. I keep expecting the phone to ring and he says "Nice post, Man! That was funny as hell". I keep expecting to see his comments on it shedding more light on the subject. Someday.

I'd like to thank every single person who ever read this blog and felt inspired by it. Hell, I'll even thank the people who hated it for giving us fun comments to read. Ed loved to meet people and answer questions about our adventures. He loved to spread the joy of it all.

You made a hero out of Ed Barlow. You made him feel important as a true Disney fan. A Disney Cult Legend. A title that he was very proud of. I thank every one of you "Last of the Cool People".

- Dave "Hoot Gibson" Ensign

The last Picture of Hoot and Chief

Last batch.....for now

2022-10-23T19:40:00.007-04:00

I know at one point I posted the picture of the Zero G bicycle girl but this pic of Fonz Behind the set was never shared.

Here are the last three. GE Fiber Optic Logo. long turned off. Scuba Class, and Fonz in the Control booth in Mesa Verde.

2022-10-22T21:54:00.002-04:00

Here we have Fonz and myself entering the Space Shuttle scene. You may remember the floating luggage in the lower right corner.

Anyone would be proud of getting their picture taken in this scene. Just like arriving from Earth on a Space Shuttle.

Hard to believe that this is all long gone.

Lost Mesa Verde Times Part Five

2022-10-21T20:49:00.002-04:00

Check out how Mom is right in the middle of a sentence with her mouth flapping open! Haha. At first it was strange to see these animatronics moving as we touched them but a few times in we didn't even notice anymore. If you feel like wasting hours of your life you can find the footage I was shooting in this picture and match it all up into a coherent timeline. I might get to it when I retire.

Wanna buy me a beer? Hit that nice donate button over there to the right.

Lost Mesa Verde Times Part Four

2022-10-21T20:37:00.004-04:00

Most of these pictures are of Fonz and me. The only reason I can imagine that Chief would have omitted them would be because it would have taken too long to blur his face out of every one. You see, Fonz got hired at Disney right after these pictures were taken. From time to time I see him around and he thanks me for not outing him as part of this particular tomfoolery.

Maybe Ed gave him the second set of prints as a souvenir? That's most likely what happened because I know that Ed was fond of the Fonz.

That doesn't explain why I had copies of some of the pictures in this envelope...................

Lost Mesa Verde Times Part Three

2022-10-21T20:26:00.001-04:00

I recognized these as being from the first trip in which "Bionic Fonzie" joined us. As you may recall, the fonz, had the best Horizons info site on the World Wide Web. I enjoyed it very much so I decided to invite him along on one of our trips. I felt like Captain Nemo when he says to the Professor "Your works are brilliant but the real story begins where you left off"

Me and Fonz

Of course all of these pictures were taken by Chief. In this one he had run ahead and was up there with the bathtub lady.

Of course he did the right thing while he was up there:)

If you're enjoying this and want to buy me a beer hit that Paypal donate button over there on the right.

Lost Mesa Verde Times Part Two

2022-10-21T20:16:00.000-04:00

Sure as hell, I was looking at a roll of pictures that were taken in 1997. Images that I never would have thought existed. It was like seeing another chapter in a story you wrote yourself and there I was, 29 years old, running around a Disney attraction with a video camera and my best friend.

The mystery is why didn't Ed share these when this blog was relevant 12 years ago? Maybe I'll figure it out.

Long Lost Mesa Verde Times Part One

2022-10-21T20:05:00.003-04:00

The strangest thing that ever happened came a couple of weeks ago when I went over to Chief's moms house to pick up some more of his belongings that she thought I'd like. She's always right I love anything that reminds me of my old friend. This time was a bit different. She gave me a plastic box with a bunch of Paul F. Anderson cassette tapes and a pack of photos mixed in with tons of other stuff.

After a week or so I got around to the plastic box. I was surprised to see that the photo package had Horizons pics that weren't in the huge photo album with all of his other Horizons stuff. What were these? Extras? You can't imagine how surprised I was when I found that I had never seen most of these pictures before!! Why? We gave each other copies of every single roll of film we took.

....and now General Electric, The Walt Disney Company, and Pabst Blue Ribbon proudly present "Chief's Mystery Photos"

And then a film.

2019-01-03T22:37:00.000-05:00

Months ago, a young film maker messaged me about doing a film about our adventures, as you see them here on this blog. He didn't know whether or not I would like the idea and he did something extraordinary. He made the film almost complete to show how much he loved the story! I thought it was wonderful after watching it 16 times and told him he had my blessing 100%. Not only was he driven as an artist and film maker but he is naturally gifted in the fine art of story telling. The Film maker is Mathew Serrano.

RIP Chief

2014-08-03T20:19:00.003-04:00

X-Rated Motels of the Future

2013-12-28T13:23:00.000-05:00

I love to read articles like this one. It's funny how different reporters perceived EPCOT Center, it's attractions, it's impact etc. This article's fun because it mentions X-rated Motels as well as Horizons.

It's no surprise to me because the few times we stayed overnight in the Disney area we stayed at horrible roach motels on 192. You see folks, my mom's a very interesting person. She didn't (and still doesn't) give a shit about "a nice Hotel". She wants the cheapest and that's that.

Mom: I'm going in to check the rates. You kids hide on the floor so they don't see you.

Me: There's a man laying in the bushes.

Mom: Well that's none of our God damned business!

Dad: If he messes with us he'll be running around without an ass.

Mom: Yes, sir, what are your room rates?

Clerk: $3 an hour, baby.

Mom: Wonderful! I'll take 6 hours please.

Mom: Hoot take that bucket down and get some ice.

Me: I'm afraid, Mom. I heard gun shots.

Mom: THOSE ARE THE GOD DAMNED DISNEY FIREWORKS!

Me: But we saw the fireworks.

Mom: They shoot 'em off all night. Everybody knows that.

Me: Can't you send sis? She's older than me.

Mom: Hell no! She'll get raped or something. Get going.

Me: They have a juice machine by the ice. Can I have some change for an orange juice?

Mom: How much are they?

Me: 25 cents

Mom: YOU CAN BUY A WHOLE GOD DAMNED ORANGE TREE FOR 25 CENTS!!

The good 'ol days:)

NEW HORIZONS DISCOVERY! Hold on TIGHT!

2013-12-17T15:02:00.002-05:00

Just when you think it's all over and it's all been said....POW! Something amazing about Horizons hits you right in the face!

Folks, I'm sitting here going through old pictures trying to find suitable reference for issue #2 of the comic book. I happened upon some classic shots from 2004 when, as you may recall, Chief and I found ourselves working in a Magic Kingdom art department. Briefly. Very briefly but that's another story.

One of the first things I did was to explore the several storage containers that sat in the parking lot. That's when I discovered a rack full of Horizons character heads! That in itself is amazingly cool. There was so much cool shit in there I lost track but over the next few months I took plenty of photographs. Like This:

In the middle is the woman from the Space scene. She was piloting that robot armed craft. To the right is the dad who was trying to get the shoe in the Space Shuttle dock.

Below that there where shelves of Haunted Mansion stuff. You can see Gus, Little Leotta, and Ezra. The guy in charge of the mansion figures would come in here and pretend he was working. He primed Little Leotta there and got primer all over the place.

ANYWAY as I sit here in December 2013 I find this picture and I wonder "why is little Leotta not in the Haunted Mansion and where is her head?"

POW! BECAUSE THAT ISN'T LITTLE LEOTTA IN THE HAUNTED MANSION THAT'S THE MINI HOLOGRAM GIRL FROM HORIZONS!!!!!!! THEY WERE THE SAME FIGURE! The Horizons Hologram Girl is standing at the exit to the WDW Haunted Mansion! Flesh colored hands and all.

AND that's why Hologram Girl's costume was on Ebay years ago!

AND that's why the non moving Leotta figure is laid to rest right under the Horizons heads!

AND why was her head in the black light paint room and cast in clear resin? I DON"T KNOW!

AND now General Electric and Hoot Gibson present "Brian Removing His False Teeth and Gumming Hoot's Big White Ass!". Ain't THAT a hoot?

Long live Mesa Verde Times.

The Further Adventures of Hoot and Chief

2013-12-02T07:38:00.000-05:00

...and now for the first time ever, Kraft cheese and Polaroid Film proudly present The Further Adventures of Hoot and Chief!

Click to purchase from WardDizzley.com! 32 pages of hair raising adventure! You might puke! Choose from either real printed on paper copy or futuristic electronic version (Kindle) from the brave new world of the 21st century! Either version will provide perfect reading on the go or on the crapper. Hours of fun!

GET YOURS NOW AND HELP DEFEAT COMMUNISM!

Our Favorite Red Head

2013-11-05T19:52:00.000-05:00

This post is WAY WAY WAY overdue. In true Hoot Gibson fashion, I simply put it off for too long. Just like when I started this blog 12 years after our adventures in Horizons. Oops.

It went down like this as some of you may know by now. We THOUGHT we had found the red haired grand daughter until her real life daughter called us on it by saying "that is NOT my mother"! After feeling like a complete horses ass we got in touch with her and she agreed to talk to us over the phone! Chief joined in on the conference call and we talked with her for about two hours. One of the most amazing experiences any Horizons fan could want.

Here's a bit from our email correspondence:

Hoot, I love your enthusiasm and tenacity to find the truth!!

Well, I really do appreciate you setting the story straight for my benefit and to show what amazing researchers you are! I am here to prove that I am "Your Favorite Redhead". I have attached a photo taken during the original filming of the video at Burbank Stuidios in California.

I had no idea how popular the Horizons ride had become. It's great to hear how many loyal fans there are. I had such a wonderful experience being involved in the entire process and would love to share it with you and your friends. The making of my twin, the audio animatronic, was especially eventful.

Thank you again for keeping Horizons ALIVE!!!

~Corine~

And now, REAL Corine Cook! Just as lovely as ever! Oh, the red hair was just a wig that Disney decided to use at the last minute.

And now, the most amazing picture in the free world....scanned for 'ol Hoot and Chief by Corine herself....

That's her on the set at the Disney Studios shooting the video chat scene with Tom Fitzgerald!!!!!!!! This picture has never been shared and if it's not every persons wallpaper by the end of the week you're in for it!

How awesome is that? She also couldn't remember "Beach Boy" Tom Fitzgerald's name. She was under the impression that he was just another actor. I explained who he was/is and that he's still at Disney! She thought that was pretty cool.

More to come!

oh and here's the old post which lead to us finding the real girl:)

http://mesaverdetimes.blogspot.com/2010/07/red-head-final.html

Horizons Area Loop

2013-09-19T20:15:00.001-04:00

I'm willing to bet this track is running around out there somewhere. If not here's our recording:

http://soundcloud.com/hoot-and-chief/horizons-area-loop

More Horizons audio on the way!

You need this as bad as we do!

2013-09-15T11:31:00.002-04:00

Here it is, folks, the complete Hoot and Chief adventure series in beautiful full color! More "backstage" Disney magic than should be humanly possible! We need to raise funds to get this printed and once we do we'll release not only the hard copy comic book but the e-book as well! Issue #1 is going to be limited to 500 copies, each signed by Hoot, Chief, Ward Dizzley, and cartoon king World Famous Dave Ensign! Reserve yours today and sleep well tonight knowing you helped a couple of adventurers tell their tales.

Newly Captured Audio

2013-09-14T17:33:00.001-04:00

Hey everybody! Chief and I have a Sound Cloud page where you'll be assaulted with hours of audio that we recorded in Horizons etc. Here's the latest:

http://soundcloud.com/hoot-and-chief/horizons-space-drop

This is a big one. We were into capturing long loops of various scenes by dropping our tape recorder off on the ground under the ride vehicles. We'd come back later and retrieve it. This clip, for example, would be like what you would hear if you fell out of the ride vehicle and broke both your legs. You'd pretty much lay there listening to this loop until you bled out and went to Jesus.

Things to listen for in this clip:

00:00 we run our mouths about where to leave the recorder.
01:08 Chief lays it on the ground
08:29 Breakdown spiel
19:07 We retrieve the recorder

we then ride to the "Choose Your Tomorrow" Star Field and leave the recorder again until it runs out.

Last of the Lost

2012-07-22T10:37:00.001-04:00

Horizons fans, it looks like this is our last clip.

By this point we knew enough about what we were doing to concentrate on our list of things to document. Chief and I would come up with a rough plan for the night and then work on getting what we wanted. You can see this in the part where I run up the stairs to the lady in the bathtub. I photograph a whole body shot of her and then I get a shot of her pink shoes. Both shots listed on the "to do" list. The same list I had just stared at for 9 hours during my mind numbing desk job.

2012-07-19T20:32:00.003-04:00

There were a lot of times when we would go all the way to EPCOT Center only to find that the park was crowded. Finding a big enough gap was hard and some nights it didn't happen at all. We'd stand in the Horizons load area for hours waiting for a chance. This video is a great example of a short gap. Not much time to document things. Things get much better on our second attempt coming up next.

A special thanks to Chris Wallace for this comment:

Chris WallaceJuly 18, 2012 11:15 AM

DO YOU REALIZE HOW HELPFUL THIS IS TO ME?! More than ANY other ride through video Ive seen. You captured so much of the stuff guests ARENT supposed to have looked at - which is exactly where the "blind spots" in my reference have been. That god almighty you guys had the forethought to video tape the "unimportant" stuff, or shooting from afar (before or after the scene had passed) to get more things in the frame. AND THE LIGHT!!!!! Do you realize there was virtually no way for me to know how those dark transition areas really looked? Or how they were textured? Now I know! (the lumia transition scenes from the omnimax theatre and the seam between the projection wall and the reflective soffit!!

That's exactly why we decided to share this stuff in the first place. Use it, people! HORIZONS RESURRECTED

2012-07-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

This would be the last time we ever rode Horizons without leaving our ride vehicle. This trilogy of trips, which happened in the same night, gave us the basic info we needed. We watched the tape over and over. The very next time we rode it Chief was the first one out. That's coming up next.

2012-07-14T14:54:00.001-04:00

Follow us here. This is the second ride through and something VERY important happens. It starts with Chief attaching his huge light to the top of his video camera which is cool in itself. By doing this we decide not to ruin the attraction for other riders so.......the Monolith appears......and we decide to wait for a six car GAP before and after our ride vehicle! So other riders wouldn't see our spotlight! ( :49) THAT, for you new visitors, also meant that WE couldn't be seen which led to us jumping out and the rest is history.

At 2:11 you can see my audio recorder. The strip of white tape is so I can see to pick it up on my next ride through, Mike Lee style.

2012-07-12T22:13:00.000-04:00

In the grand scheme of things this video should have been the very first to be posted here. THIS is from the tape in which Chief and I learn that Horizons is going to close (again) so we head out to get a couple of rides on tape.

What you're about to see is the evolution of how we went from normal behavior to our exploration phase. It's like watching two apes at the very moment they learn to use a stick to eat more ants. All of a sudden the Monolith appears. The two apes start to walk erect and use more advanced tools............and climb right out of their ride vehicle!

Lost Video Part Two!

2012-06-29T19:36:00.003-04:00

LOST VIDEO Part One

2012-06-28T13:20:00.000-04:00

You never know what will turn up in the Hoot and Chief Archives! I thought this tape was 80's porn but upon further inspection I found some lost footage from Horizons! Part two coming soon!