Francisco, the most famous of the Disneyland cats, receives special social media attention on Fridays. Photos are posted with the hashtag #FranciscoFriday. (Yvonne Arasmith)
Posted on 05/10/2015 1:56:56 PM PDT by BenLurkin
“If I were a cat, there would be no better place to live than Disneyland.” - Taylor Roberts, a freelance writer who still remembers his first sighting at the park: a cat darting across a path in Fantasyland
A Disneyland spokesman declined to comment on the four-legged inhabitants of the carefully manicured resort, except to acknowledge that they exist, and a woman darted away without revealing her identity when caught feeding one of the favorite felines. But the theme park has been known to care for the cats, who reciprocate by keeping the mice and other rodents at bay.
It's a partnership that may go back to the days of Walt Disney, who, some say, first discovered scores of cats in Sleeping Beauty Castle and refused to let them be killed.
Over the years, the Disneyland cats have developed a loyal fan club. In addition to the @disneylandcats Twitter handle (8,000 followers), more than 18,000 Instagram users follow an account that features dozens of photos of felines lounging in front of the Indiana Jones ride, hunkered down at the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue and walking with a purpose past a lamp in New Orleans Square.
The cat cult mirrors other quirky Disneyland obsessions. Some allegedly scatter the ashes of loved ones on rides, visitors speculate over whether a basketball court really is atop the Matterhorn, and the truly obsessed look for mysterious "hidden Mickeys" camouflaged in the park's decor — some visible only if the light is just right.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
PING this one over to Slings and Arrows. :) =^..^=
Had a professer who was a former firemarshall out there in Florida. Most of the operations were literally underground and he told us cats were all over the place and that they never considered them a nuisance other than tripping over them.
Thanks for the ping!
My pleasure.
How beautiful. Though, I think this one would be more aptly named Francesca.
Francisco’s Gender Crisis
Posted on disneylandcats
in Mew-sings
on December 12, 2014
http://disneylandcats.com/franciscos-gender-crisis/
What do you think the most frequent comment we get here at the Cats of Disneyland would be? “Gee, you’re hilarious”? “I just love your orange coat”? “You should be made a Disney Legend”?
No. In fact, what we have heard literally hundreds of times is, “You know Francisco is female, right? All torties are.” After ignoring you all for years, we’re finally going to comment on it this statement.
First of all, no, not ALL torties are female. About 1 in 3000 is male, and I’m really hoping none of you have gotten close enough to Francisco to check.
Second, we are all spayed and neutered here, so gender really isn’t something we think much about. It’s all the same when you don’t have any of the equipment to get kittens made.
Third (and most importantly), we’re cats! I’ve been the subject of much scrutiny among my fellows for learning human language and communicating with you at all, so you should really consider yourselves lucky. If you must know, Francisco’s given name is “mrrowl mew meow meow purr,” but I thought that was a little long, so I shortened it during translation.
You might notice that we avoid gender-specific pronouns whenever writing about Francisco on our Instagram posts, but that’s as good as you’re going to get. #FranciscoFriday will live on without being changed and I know that Francisco would appreciate it if you’d stop commenting on his/her gender. You’re going to give him/her a complex.
Slighty OT, but there IS a basketball court inside the matterhorn. It’s an employee break room.
CC
Interesting!
I suppose they don’t admit vets with crossbows...
[ducking and running for cover]
Respectfully, Disneyland is not in Florida.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.