SPAM Museum added to the gallery!

At some point, I became aware of the existence of a SPAM museum in Minnesota. I actually like SPAM, and generally have an “emergency can” in my pantry. Sometimes a SPAM sandwich or “hillbilly charcuterie” really hits the spot.

SPAM hillbilly charcuterie – the fancy date night version.

Okay, that above photo is the fancy one for date night. But if I’m making it for myself, and don’t have all the fancy toppings, it looks like this:

SPAM Hillbilly charcuterie – the cost reduced version. (2010 photo from an iPhone 3GS I think.)

I have even been bold enough to try some SPAM microwave dinners–and found them surprisingly good! Spam Jambalaya, anyone?

SPAM “Meal for 1” microwave dinners.

I wonder if these are still being sold.

Anywho, while I am no SPAM super fan, I am certainly no stranger to enjoying this unique “meat in a can.”

From Wisconsin Dells to SPAM…

We recently returned from a drive up to Wisconsin Dells, WI. You can find photos from that excursion here:

https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/misc/OtherPlaces/Wisconsin/WisconsinDells/WisconsinDells2025/index.html

On the way there from Des Moines, Google’s WAZE GPS program took us kinda east then north. On the way back, it decided to take us west then south. This return route had us go through Minnesota, and that made me wonder …. just where in Minnesota is the SPAM Museum?

Turns out, it is in Austin, MN and we were going to be driving right past there! So naturally, we had to stop in. I mean, it’s FREE after all!

SPAM Museum

SPAM Museum – main area. (Austin. MN)

I was immediately surprised to find out how large a museum dedicated to a canned meat product could be. It was divided into several areas. The main room (shown above) featured a variety of information displays and interactive touch screens. If you ever wanted to know “what kind of SPAM” you are, there was one for that. Of course.

And overhead, reminding me of Star Tours at Disneyland (and the old Gag Shop at Toontown) was a conveyor belt of SPAM cans. It circled all over the main area, and into the gift shop, where a large gearing system appeared to control it.

SPAM Museum – conveyor belt. (Austin. MN)

There was a display dedicated to the famous Monty Python’s SPAM sketch, which I had heard about, as well as one for SPAMalot, which I was not expecting.

SPAM Museum – Monty Python display (Austin. MN)

There is an area that covers the International versions of SPAM and how it is used in other countries. I don’t know why, but this section really gave me EPCOT World Showcase vibes (Millennium Village, circa 2000).

SPAM Museum – international display. (Austin. MN)

Who knew other countries liked SPAM even more than America!

There was also one dedicated to SPAM during wartime.

SPAM Museum – wartime area. (Austin. MN)

As well as one that focused more on the Hormel company that created SPAM.

SPAM Museum – Hormel history. (Austin. MN)

And knowing kids get bored at museums (even ones with all kinds of interactive displays), there was a “Factory” room where kids could put on outfits and then see how fast they can stuff a “SPAM can”.

SPAM Museum – factory area. (Austin. MN)

Of course, the SPAM Shop was there for all your SPAM merchandise needs… You could even buy a huge pack of all the flavors of SPAM currently being made. Almost. There were still a few that we had to buy separately because they wouldn’t fit into the 12-pack. Who knew there was “Hot Honey” SPAM???

SPAM Museum – SPAM Shop. (Austin. MN)

You can take a deeper look into this fascinating museum in my Misc photo gallery. I now have an entry of Minnesota that features SPAM and a random coffee shop we stopped at (Cabin Coffee Co., which originated here in Iowa).

Check out all 223 SPAM Museum photos here:

https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/misc/OtherPlaces/Minnesota/index.html

Now I’m hungry. I wonder what’s for lunch.

Oh, wait…

Until next time…

Site is back. But you can tell.

I had this blog behind a password for a few days to try to get some image problems resolved. Many sites (including most of mine) are being visited by robot scripts that are, some speculate, download everything on the site for A.I. training. This has taken down several of my projects (temporarily), and during my image maintenance I was suspecting these robots were responsible for things to be failing.

Anyway, it’s back now. Howdy.

Disney World prohibits selfie sticks and tall stands

Ah, yes. It is time once again to revisit some theme park rules. Recently, I have seen a few posts from folks in the 360-video community about bringing their camera to a Disney park. Selfie sticks are banned at the Disney parks in the U.S.A., which makes taking 360 photos and videos a bit awkward due to the “giant thumb” problem when you try to handhold one of these cameras…

For example, here is a 2017 handheld shot from Disney’s California Adventure “Bug’s Land”:

Let’s see if I can show that as a 360 image:

Looking down in that image shows … I really need to stop biting my nails.

But I digress…

Cameras on sticks

In this modern world, folks wander around theme parks yakking away to their “camera on a stick” but if that stick is a selfie stick, they are not supposed to have it in the park.

Here is what Walt Disney World currently says about this:

  • Selfie sticks, hand-held extension poles for cameras or mobile devices, flags and banners are not allowed in any theme park or water park.
  • Tripods or monopod stands that cannot fit inside a standard backpack or that extend over 6ā€™ (182 cm) are not allowed in theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, or ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/park-rules/ as of 8/28/2026

The term “hand-held extension pole” likely comes from people arguing with them that their “camera on a stick” was not on a selfie stick because they were not using it to take selfies…

The more we try to work around the rules, the more rules we get. The system always fights back.

Break the rules without breaking the rules.

The easiest way to “break the rules without breaking the rules” is to bring in a monopod. A monopod is a one-legged tripod (ha) that extends just like a selfie stick. There was a time when I would bring in my full sized tripod into Disneyland for my camcorder, but as the park got more crowded, security started stopping me from using it. It would block the lanes, they said. Fair.

Back then, I switched to a monopod so I could still get a stable shot without blocking the lanes. I just had to keep holding my camera to keep it upright. Also fair.

A few years ago, I travelled to Disneyland with my 360 camera and knew to leave my selfie sticks behind. I did, however, bring in a monopod like this:

Hmm, I had no idea WordPress is now generating previews from Amazon links. In case you don’t see that, the photo is basically a huge selfie stick.

It was specifically allowed on the Disneyland website, after all.

Rules don’t matter.

Unfortunately, rules don’t matter. It only matters what the enforcers (bag check, security) think the rules are.

I tried to bring a monopod in, which was specifically listed as allowed (and within the length they allow). I approached the security checkpoint, confident I had followed the rules…

Disneyland Resort security checkpoint, 10-11-2022.

…but bag check turned me down, denying the monopod.

When I disagreed, they brought over a security officer… who also agreed with bag check, and would not allow me to bring in the monopod.

After fifteen or so minutes of showing them their own webpage where it says I can bring it in, and them responding with “but this is just a long selfie stick,” a lead (manager) finally came to my rescue and agreed I could bring it in.

I did not bother to bring it the remaining days of my visit. Enjoying the park was more important to me than wasting time waiting for a manager each morning, in case they stopped me again.

Don’t expect. Prepare for rejection.

My advice, from someone who has been taking gear into Disney parks since I started going on my own in the 1990s is: Just because someone else tells you they got some item in “just fine” does not mean it will work for you. People break rules and get away with it all the time. (Folks manage to sneak in alcohol, and even weapons.)

If you follow the rules, also prepare for rejection.

As this post shows, even when you try to follow the rules, you can still get rejected.

Yes, you may be able to sneak in a selfie stick. The same visit my monopod was rejected I saw someone using a 9 foot Insta360 selfie stick inside the park!

You may be also able to record rides and shows that tell you not to. Many people do. But you may be the one that gets caught and in trouble for doing so.

Just enjoy the parks. Follow the rules, and even then, understand you may still be told no.

Good luck!

360-degree photo update…

Some issues with the JAlbum photo gallery software I use have been resolved, and I am running some test code which appears to be working.

Three galleries now have 360-degree photos that let you look around, up and down, using your phone, tablet, or computer. I have no idea how you would view them in a VR helmet, but maybe that is also possible.

Atlas9 – Kansas City, Kansas

Over 100 360-degree images added to the gallery:

https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/misc/OtherPlaces/Kansas/Atlas9/360/index.html

Adventureland – Altoona, Iowa

I took an early 360-degree camera with me to the park in 2016. Here is the first batch of photos (over 250 of them):

https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/themeparks/AdventurelandParkIA/Adventureland2016/360/index.html

Of note, this weird two-lens camera got alot of curious looks (well, frankly, even in 2026 360-cameras still get curious looks, though many more people recognize what type of camera it is). I have a gallery of various park managers and staff posing with me in the camera. It was fun to look back on those. Everyone in those photos is ten years older today šŸ˜‰

I have more, but they were done handheld. Cameras back then did not have all the gyroscope sensors in them, so if I try to view them, they are crooked. I need to take time to level all of them out, then I will have another batch to add to that gallery.

In 2018, Adventureland’s Iowa Cafe was redone into Doc and Leone’s. I captured its opening year in 360-degree as well, plus a few more images from Main Street. Only a few from this visit:

https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/themeparks/AdventurelandParkIA/Adventureland2018/360/index.html

I will be going through my archives and finding more to add. I know I took some at Disneyland (2017-2018 era), and Walt Disney World (2018) as well as Universal Orlando (also 2018), though very few, and most probably are not good enough to share. But we’ll see.

Until then…

The $195 theme park meal…

YouTube just showed me a random video of someone walking around Epcot. One of the things he did was walk over to a restaurant in World Showcase, and show the sign.

$195.

For a meal in a theme park.

$195.

I am clearly not the demographic Disney is after…

360-degree photos being added to the galleries!

Huzzah! I just learned that the photo album software I use, JAlbum, supports 360-degree photos. I should really read the fine manual someday…

I can share all the 360-degree photos I have been taking in my albums. The first test was a set of images taken at Atlas9 in Kansas City, KS:

https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/misc/OtherPlaces/Kansas/Atlas9/360/index.html

They even view on a phone just fine. In the past, the only place I shared them was in Facebook groups, and lots of folks do not use Facebook.

My history with 360…

As I repeat endlessly here, I got my first digital camera in 1996. Less than ten years later (2005), I was experimenting with “one shot” 360 panorama photos. I write a bit about my camera history on my Cameras page.

I doubt that modern 360 viewers will support those ancient SurroundPhoto images I took at Disneyland during its 50th Anniversary in 2005, but I am going to test. If they work, that will be the first time I have ever been able to share those ancient, low resolution 360-degree (horizontally, at least) images.

I don’t think I took a “real” 360-degree camera to any theme parks until 2016 (Iowa’s Adventureland). The first time I took one to Disneyland was 2017. Assuming the album software supports whatever size these older “modern” images are, I hope to get those shared as well.

Fun times.

Lost Island POV videos… Official ones.

For some reason, video bloggers think we need fifty different videos of the same roller coaster riding the same track. And, in many cases, these fan videos are breaking park rules unless you have specific permission to record on rides.

Here is my “Pro Tip” (no, there is no such thing as a “pro” tip unless your profession is giving tips):

If the park already provides official POVs, you are not contributing anything but an inferior version.

Here are some official POV examples provided by Lost Island Themepark in Waterloo, Iowa.

Mura Fury

Shaman’s Curse

Fire Runner

Nopuko Air Coaster

Skyborne

Lokolo

This one is my favorite they have posted šŸ˜‰

Matugani

Now, put down your camera while on the ride and just have fun…

Chateau Avalon themed hotel Disney could learn from

In Kansas City, Kansas is the Chateau Avalon Hotel. We discovered it while researching places to stay near Atlas9, a super cool attraction which I have written about previously.

The Chateau Avalon is a small boutique hotel with about three dozen rooms.

Chateau Avalon – exterior

And this place is quite nice, even though we got our room for about $20 more than nearby Holiday Inn type hotels! During our visit, the hotel was undergoing some updating, with signs saying “Chateau Avalon 2.0 now loading” hanging on various walls. Hopefully this will result in repairing some of the crumbling stairs we noticed.

Chateau Avalon – entrance

Unlike the normal “cookie cutter” hotels that even companies like Disney are now building, no two rooms at Chateau Avalon are identical. The rooms are also themed, rather than “decorated.” i.e., you can decorate a room with Mickey Mouse shapes but that is “Mickey Mouse decorated.” If you built the room to look like a house in Toontown, that would be a “themed” room.

This hotel does themed rooms. We stayed in a western themed room, simply because it was the cheapest rate at the time of our visit.

Yes, that is actually a room within a room! When you enter the hotel room, you are “outside” the cabin, where the outside jacuzzi-style tub and shower is, along with a small dining table. The restroom was off to the right (sink and toilet), then the bedroom, TV and closet was “in” the cabin. Very cool first impression!

The hotel has a small bar, with rather pricy drinks ($14-$16, so still cheaper than Disney/Universal). It has a small inside seating area, then a larger outdoor patio.

Chateau Avalon – D’Nile Bar

There is no restaurant, but you can fill out a card and leave it outside your room door (before 11 p.m.) and receive room service breakfast — for only $13.95! (Drinks, alcohol, etc. extra, of course.)

Chateau Avalon – room service breakfast

It was surpassing that “rooms service” was cheaper than a lot of the normal restaurants we go to for a similar meal.

But, this place only charges $1.25 for their bottled water, so clearly they are not making their money off the snacks.

Chateau Avalon – $1.25 bottled water

Here is their webpage listing of various room types, from ones like we stayed in, to “Penthouse” suites or rooms with Eqyptian themes:

https://chateauavalonhotel.com/rooms/

If this hotel were in Orlando at one of the theme parks, I expect it would be many times more expensive and basically impossible to get reservations at.

So the next time you are in the Kansas City area to check out Atlas9, consider checking this one out. It has all the fun theming that Disney used to have but seems to have gotten away from.

Atlas9 gets it. People matter.

The “Meow Wolf-like” experience in Kansas City, Atlas9, has taken some flack for their use of A.I. in their attraction. Some A.I. use is obvious — your photo is taken during your “agent onboarding” and then your image is used later in the attraction to put you in a movie poster.

Atlas9 movie poster.

While I hate “A.I. Slop” as much as the next person, I think this type of use of A.I. seems fine enough. Disney added a similar feature to Epcot’s Spaceship Earth decades ago, though using the technology available back then, the result was not quite as nice…

Epcot Spaceship Earth “puts you in the video” using pre-A.I. technology.

This post is not about their use of A.I., or the complaints about it. Instead, this post is about the people you encounter while visiting Atlas9.

First, there is a live show every hour, alternating between the Jazz Club…

Atlas9 Jazz Club performance.

…and Auditorium 9.

Atlas9 auditorium 9 performance.

These shows feature multiple performers and really add a lot to the experience.

But Atlas9 does more than that.

Each time we have visited Atlas9, we have encountered into various actors (apparently known as “ambient characters”, per a reference on a behind-the-scenes Instagram video) roaming around. The storyline of the place is that these entities have escaped from the movies that were showing at this theater when the Holomax projector system was first brought online in 1995.

The characters we have seen the most are these orange haired gals that seem travel in packs of three:

Atlas9 mysterious orange hairs.

I do not think these characters speak, though they sometimes will offer you candy from a pizza box or black briefcase.

Which is not creepy at all.

From watching various videos on YouTube, we have seen there are quite a few others that have been seen inside the attraction. We saw this one for the first time during a short stop on our way back home from Branson:

Atlas9 – The Hypnotist ambient character.

…and we finally encountered these “beep, boop” characters, that only speak in beeps and boops…

Atlas9 “beep, boop” characters.

And, of course, the actual staff of the place — from the “agents” that help you with your “training”…

Atlas9 – Agent C08 begins your onboarding process.

…or the random “theater employees” you might run into while they are cleaning mirrors…

Atlas9 theater employee Angel.

…as well as workers at the concession stand, Speakereasy bar and Splice Bros. Pizza. Atlas9 feels more alive than what we encountered at our three different Meow Wolf visits.

So, kudos to Atlas9. While they may take flack for their use of A.I., they also make use of actual people. (Well, at least we think most of them are people. Still unsure on the origins of the orange hairs…)

Until next time…