Mouse Extra

Day two of our four day trip began early.  The Animal Kingdom was open at 8 in the morning for Extra Magic Hours.  According to the Unofficial Guide’s Touring Plans website, this may be a somewhat crowded day, with a rating of 7 out 10.  With this information in hand, we decided to get there as early as possible to make sure we see the big attractions before it got too hot to stand on a long line.

We went first to Kilimanjaro Safaris for a FastPass and then walked over to Expedition Everest.  The FastPass machines were spitting out the new passes at the Safaris, and the entire system was down at Everest.  I can only assume the new passes are now at Expedition Everest as well.  Needless to say the line was only a five minute wait at 8:15am.  By the time we were done there, we went back to the Safaris, which was only using one loading dock.  Still, the wait with the FastPass was only five minutes at the most. 

Our plan was to stay until the first showing of the Nemo musical, and then have lunch before heading back to the hotel.  We needed to change rooms, so a trip back to the Saratoga Springs was needed.  But it was still a while before the first showing of Nemo, so we saw the Festival of the Lion King and then headed to Dinosaur.  The Lion King was maybe 40% full, and the line for Dinosaur was nonexistent.  So far we had breezed onto everything, so you can imagine our surprise when we saw the mass of humanity lining up for the musical.  Now I had run my wife ragged all morning and was pretty certain the theatre would not have a problem fitting everyone, but when I saw the look on her face I knew this wasn’t going to happen.  Once again, we’d skip Nemo for another day.  So after lunch at the Tusker House we headed to the bus.

Our plan was to eat dinner at Trail’s End over at Fort Wilderness, my wife’s favorite place in the world.  So we took care of changing rooms at the hotel and headed over to Downtown Disney so we can grab an ice cream at Ghirardelli’s and then hop the bus to the campground.  We were running a little early, so I suggested we take the bus to the Wilderness Lodge instead.  My wife had never been inside, and I wanted to see the Iron Spike Room at the villas.  So we strolled around the lodge for a bit, and then took the boat to dinner.

Now, like I said before, Trail’s End is my wife’s favorite place to eat…anywhere.  And it’s near the top of my list too.  We like to sit at the Crockett’s Tavern bar, and eat there.  It’s quieter, the bartenders are always great, and the conversation is good.  Plus, you get to watch the world go by out the windows, which is always a source of entertainment.  We literally could have sat there all night, but the Magic Kingdom was closing at 10pm, so off we went.

Have you ever watched the promotional video for the Disney Vacation Club they show at the resorts?  Well, it is apparently changing, because the host and a camera crew were outside the firehouse on Main Street shooting a scene.  Let’s hope the cheese level decreases here.  Though I must admit, the cheese is much easier to handle then the Velveeta filled “Top Seven Must-Sees”.

We were at the Magic Kingdom for maybe two hours, but in that time we managed to get on the Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, Buzz Lightyear, and the new Monsters Inc. attraction.  We also managed to squeeze in the Tomorrowland Transit Authorty to rest the feet.  Not a single ride had a wait of more than five minutes.  In fact, Splash Mountain had so few people they asked us if we wanted to stay on and ride again.  It would appear Len Testa overshot his crowd prediction a bit.  There was nobody there on a day predicted to be a 7 out of 10.  To be fair, this is the first day in all the days I used that index when it wasn’t right on the money.

We had a good day.  It was long, but we got to do a lot of stuff and ate like royalty.  The plan was to squeeze in two parks the next day as well…

WDWMagic.com is reporting on the changes to the storyline at Kilimanjaro Safaris reportedly in use this past weekend.  There appears to be many, but also a bit less sweeping then I would have liked.

Apparently Ms. Jobson is gone completely, and thankfully the banter between her and Wilson the warden.  Also, there is no more mention of Big Red and Little Red, another bit of welcome news.  However, it seems the basic plot is mostly intact.  Here are some important bullet points from the report…

The story of helping to force the poachers towards Wilson’s plane is still in place.

The truck with the baby elephant has been repositioned, making it much more obvious that the elephant is in the back.

From this information, it is hard to see exactly what has been accomplished here.  Some of the silliness may have been removed, but the story, which was the root of the problem, is still there.  The report does not offer an opinion or any sort of detail as to how the change has affected the experience.  After reporting this rumor for ages, I was personally hoping to hear of something more exciting and different. 

If anyone has information on this, and has experienced it first hand, please post a comment or send an email to info@mouseextra.com.

It’s time for a Trip Report from my 4 day visit to Walt Disney World earlier this month.  We spent some time talking about the planning phase, so now I’ll tell you how it all worked out.  We’ll split this into 4 posts, one for each day…

We arrived in the middle of the afternoon on Sunday and boarded the Magical Express.  Once again, this process was quick, easy, and free.  I’ve heard many criticisms about the Express, but I’ve never experienced anything remotely unsatisfactory.  (The only thing I don’t like is that you get back to the airport on your way home about 45 minutes too early.  There’s nothing I hate more than sitting in an airport.)  We got to the Saratoga Springs quickly, and hopped the bus to Epcot.

I knew Spaceship Earth was going to be closed for the remainder of my trip, so that was my first stop.  To my disappointment, I could see Cast Members stopping people from entering as I approached.  Luckily, they told me it was only temporary and they expected it to open soon.  So instead we decided to go to our favorite attraction in Epcot…the Rose and Crown.  Nothing starts a vacation like a pint and a show from Off Kilter!

As the night came, we decided to give Spaceship Earth another try, but first we went to the Seas pavilion to see Crush’s new theater and the changes they’ve made in the post-show area.  This pavilion is really coming together well.  The line for Turtle Talk is no longer taking up space right in the middle of the lobby, and the added capacity is making it easier to experience.  Also, some of the new exhibits are rather well done.

Spaceship Earth was open, and we got to see it for the last time in its current form.  I have always loved this ride, and I am very excited that it is finally getting an update and some TLC.  We also got to see the new post-show area, check out my full review if you haven’t already.  When we finished here, we did some Mouse Gear shopping, looked at the new pins behind the “wait times” board, and then headed back to the World Showcase.

Dinner was approaching fast, and we had reservations at Alfredo’s, which I also wanted to see one more time before it changed.  But neither my wife nor I felt hungry enough for a full meal.  So I cancelled and went to see the Flower Power concert playing at the America Gardens Theatre.  It was the band Nelson, made up of two sons of Pop legend Ricky Nelson and was a former 80’s hair-band one hit wonder as well.  My wife thought it was hilarious, but after hearing one of the brothers telling me he turned down a gig playing with Avril Lavigne’s band just to be here at Epcot…I felt I had enough nostalgia.

We strolled at leisurely pace around the promenade and made our way out to the bus stop to take us back to the Saratoga Springs Resort.  It was about 9:30 and now we were hungry.  We got something quick at the Artist’s Palette and then went back to the room.  It was an early night, because we were planning on hitting the Animal Kingdom for an 8am rope drop. 

Disney was scheduled to release their newest imagineering field guide on June 1st, but instead it has already been released. This last one is based on Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You may have read my glowing review of the Magic Kingdom edition of these guides. Like that book, the premise is based on the wildlife field guides so popular with hikers, birders, and other nature buffs. The book itself is thin and small for easy use “in the field.”

Like the other guides, I very much enjoyed reading the information on how the Animal Kingdom was imagineered. Also, like the previous books, this one provides a wealth of photos, illustrations, and concept art. These alone are worth the $9.95 sticker price. Some examples include early depiction by Joe Rohde of the entrance where guests cross a bridge and walk-thru a giant Noah’s ark. An early design of a carousel (something I think the park could use) for the Oasis also sheds light on some of the early ideas.

Any Disney fan, even those not particularly enamored of this park, will find something interesting in this volume. If you own the other books in this series, you will note that the Animal Kingdom’s design is very different from the other parks. Landscaping is a very important aspect, for example. Perhaps most notably, this park is in part a zoo which makes it a different breed of animal (pun intended) in the theme park world. Feeding, caring for, housing, and exhibiting live creatures separates this park from the others and the book spends a considerable amount of space on those distinctions. As an example, the book illustrates the differences between the Oasis and Main Street, USA. Both areas provide similar functions, i.e. funneling people to the center of the park. However, the Oasis hides the centerpiece, the Tree of Life, from view until you are nearly on top of it, making it more impressive when first seen. There is a discussion on the landscaping issues as well as the choice in animals- all non-aggressive, calm species.

Another difference with the Animal Kingdom is the travel schedule of the imagineers. These designers traveled periodically to Africa, Asia and other places to research motifs, architecture, and exhibitory in order to gain inspirations for Harambe and Anandapur, the fictitious places at the park. You will also note the design of Discovery Island which is influenced by various tropical island cultures. Each section of the park gets its own section, including for some reason Theater of the Wild, as its own chapter.

There are some minor drawbacks to this book. First of all, out of the 125 pages, the first thirteen is reprinted information in the other books of the series. This section , titled “Imagineering 101″, gives you the basic background and glossary of terms for the discipline. I understand why its in every volume, but I would think the vast majority of people who book this book also have the Epcot and Magic Kingdom versions, as well. Still, there are new illustrations and pictures in this section such as a mold from the Yeti’s head or an early survey of the park. The authors also spend a decent amount of time explaining the choices behind Chester and Hester’s Dinorama, the often ridiculed mini-land at Dinoland USA. While I have never had as big of a problem with the area as many others (heck, I have fun on Primeval Whirl), I’m not sure we need several pages of how difficult it is to make the concrete look cheap or the area to look cheesy.

My biggest problem is actually with omission. Perhaps the most famous “lost land” of any Disney park, is the legendary Beastly Kingdomme, the would be land of mythical beasts such as dragons. Even up to and well past the park’s opening, Disney was planning to create this area. Even today, we still get rumors of its impending construction. Numerous articles, both unofficial and official, describe the imagineered ideas that we were being conceptualized. Yet, there is not one peep about it in the book.

Still, all in all, I love this series and I hope it continues to the Studios, to California, and beyond-perhaps even a volume on the Resorts or the Cruise line. Pick this book up and enjoy the background information it provides on how this places are dreamt up. Its fascinating. And bring it with you to the Animal Kingdom.

 Today’s merchandise review is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra

You are probably wondering why there is a review of Spider Man DVDs on a Disney website. Well, get this, Disney owns the rights to the Spider Man animated series from the mid-90s-the heyday of comics. This show often played along with other action adventure fare, such as the Power Rangers, on Disney’s Jetix block of shows on its various cable channels. The company has also released several DVDs for this series. Unfortunately, Disney has chosen to release single DVDs containing 4 or 5 related (some barely so) episodes at a time. Thus, Disney is charging you about $16 for 5 cartoons instead of $40 for an entire season in what I can only assume is an attempt to milk the consumer even more, since most animated series release whole seasons at a time.

The series itself is very good. Its is the forbearer of the resurgence in quality comic-based animation such as its contemporary, Fox’s X-men series to the more recent Batman and Justice League shows. It was on of the first of its kind not to treat its audience like a bunch of morons. Like much of Disney’s children’s entertainment creations, it is not “dumbed down.” It addresses issues that people actually have-a hallmark of Marvel since its birth in the early 1960s. Issues like racism in the X-Men to teen angst in Spider Man, set Marvel apart. It understood, as is demonstrated in this series, that any good science fiction must have real people in extraordinary situations. We see Peter Parker struggle with being a college student and photographer while trying to save New York City on a seemingly nightly basis.

So far, Disney has only released 5 DVDs. The last of which, “The Venom Saga”, was released in June 2005. The rest of the series- “Spider Man vs. Daredevil”, “The Return of the Green Goblin”, “The Ultimate Villain Showdown”, and “Spider Man vs. Doc Ock”- are of roughly the same quality. Some do have interesting bonus features like episodes for the 1960s series or a villains’ guide. Plus, interest has increased with the recently released mega-hit Spider Man 3. Its unclear if Disney has any plans to release more DVDs, but I do hope they release the entire run at some point.

Today’s merchandise review is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

For several months, Breathless had been sitting on a lift at the Yacht Club Resort marina.  It was something of a sad sight to see this beautiful classic wooden runabout which used to fly around Crescent Lake literally sleeping its days away.  Now she’s gone, but soon a sister ship will come to Walt Disney World, and turn heads much in the same fashion Breathless used to.

According to the Hacker Boat Company, a 1991 26 foot Hacker-Craft wooden powerboat should be arriving sometime soon, if it’s not there already.  The company’s history stretches back to the early part of the 20th century, when its founder John Hacker made his name by designing some of the fastest boats around.  According to the company’s website, he designed a boat called the “Kitty Hawk” in 1911 which was “the first successful step hydroplane which reached a then-unknown speed of 50 miles per hour.”  It sounds to me like it was a great thrill ride.

The company flourished in the 1920’s, building fast and beautiful runabouts for the rich and famous.  The current vessels are in the same classic mold, just like Breathless.  Rather than building a boat from scratch, Disney has decided to purchase a slightly older vessel and restore her to what has been described to me as “excellent condition”.  Before you consider this a cost cutting measure, keep in mind that restoration is as much a part of the legacy of wooden runabouts as building a new one.