Mouse Extra

Well, the Disney internet community has certainly exploded with news that Disney plans an over 1 billion dollar expansion and overhaul at the Disneyland Resort.  Since we mostly cover Disney World here and leave the west coast park to the Californians in the community I was not going to cover this much.  But the news is absolutely fascinating and I just couldn’t resist. 

Take a look at this LaughingPlace.com story that includes most of the conceptual drawing that accompany this news.  Do these drawing look familiar?  To varying degrees they do.  Do you remember a few months ago we were shown some of these for no apparent reason?  Well, now we have that reason.

We all know that Disney’s California Adventure is in desperate need for some reason to go there, but like I said, I’m a Florida guy.  And I just can’t help myself but to notice how some of these ideas would fit oh so well into the Magic Kingdom.

Like this one…

Wouldn’t Tony Baxter’s dark ride, see the latest Little Mermaid DVD for a fun virtual ride-through of this, go perfectly into where 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea used to be?

And what about this one?

I have been hoping for a serious update to the Speedway for some time now.  It’s lost its luster in my opinion.  But forget a refurbishment of the same old ride.  Let’s see if this ride, or some form of it, can fit into there.  Yes, I know it is a Test Track style experience, but don’t let that stop it.  How many roller coasters do we have at Walt Disney World?  This could be a serious gate buster at the Magic Kingdom.

Scott Powers of the Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday in his blog that construction has begun on the T-Rex restaurant over at Downtown Disney.  I mention this because in the paragraph below, Mr. Powers echoed a conversation I was just having yesterday about the lack of good food at Downtown Disney.

T-Rex is to become a full-menu, full-service family-oriented restaurant, a genre that’s oddly scarce at Downown Disney. Marketplace has Rainforest Cafe, and there’s Planet Hollywood sort of off on its own at Downtown Disney, but everything else at Marketplace, and most of what’s spread across Pleasure Island and the West Side, is either counter-service or something more along the lines of adult-oriented themed restaurants such as the Portobello Yacht Club, Raglan Road and Wolfgang Puck.

This is something I only recently realized.  I often stay at Saratoga Springs, and one of the selling features about the resort is that you can just hop a boat or even walk to all the food at Downtown Disney.  But in reality, there isn’t all that much.  The Rainforest Café is okay, but that’s about the best you can say.  Planet Hollywood is somewhat overbearing and Raglan Road can be rather noisy.  Hopefully the T-Rex does the job and turns around this trend.  Downtown needs a really good eatery.

I’ll take some photos of the construction next week and report on the progress.

So here I am, only days away from a trip to Walt Disney World.  I am obviously excited and counting down the days, but this trip offers a new wrinkle that I can never be prepared for.  There is an uncertainty before this trip that I am not used to.

Like most of us that go to the Mouse often, you learn that planning is essential.  For some, myself included, this can easily turn into an obsessive, near clinically treatable, compulsion that begins on that all important 180 day mark.  Those who have let this fixation come close to taking over their entire lives have turned this problem into podcasts, blogs, or other such outlets.  But on this trip, planning was a near impossibility.  (My wife is expecting the nervous twitching to stop soon…)

There was nothing I could do about it.  It’s not just my wife and I going this time.  I can’t keep a plan in my head and spring it on her at the last minute, giving it a clever disguise of spontaneity.  We’re going with my wife’s relatives, and I think she is in some ways enjoying torturing me by giving me little to no information on what they may like to do, where they would enjoy eating, or what kind of attractions they may want to see.  I have nothing to go.  None of Len Testa’s famous touring plans can help me.  I have no idea what to expect or where we may end up.

So I guess I can expect waiting on lines, not making it for rope drop, and eating at places I don’t prefer; three things I haven’t done in years of going to Disney World.  At least I need to prepare myself for it.  Can we still have fun at Disney without hitting the trip planning websites, listening to Matt Hochberg crying about Dinosaur, or without ever even referring to the Unofficial Guide?  I know it sounds tough, but I think I can hack it. 

In fact, I am kind of looking forward to it.  Just letting things happen and see what the Mouse and friends can come up with without months of me planning and scheduling.  I think it can be done.

Among Disney park afficinadoes, debates often rise in guidebooks, message boards, and podcasts on whats the best of the parks such as the best Mountain at the Magic Kingdom, the best deluxe resort, the best character breakfast and the like. I would like to make my pitch for what I think is the best stage show at any of the World’s parks- Festival of the Lion King.

It is one of the most original productions at any theme park for certain. Oddly, it is located at the North American park themed Camp Minnie-Mickey. It seems Disney misunderstood the popularity of this hodgepodge collection of character greeting areas and stage shows. There is one passageway leading in and out and it can get jammed, especially right after the crowds bust out of the Lion King show. They also misjudged the popularity of the show itself as it often fills to capacity during the busier times of the year. Make sure you get there early on all but the quietest of days.

The show itself appeals greatly to children who often have a tough time sitting still during some of the other stage shows. The performers are nothing short of amazing. Gymnasts dressed as monkeys use their skills along with slapstick humor to warm up the crowd. Massive puppet elephants and the like impress the younger generation. They also enjoy the Timon, Pumba and Simba appearances. Other highlights include the polynesian-inspired fire dancer and the woman ballerina bird. The four hosts, one for each section of the audience, are excellent vocalists.

As I said, the performers are all first class (but that is true of most Disney park productions). But here there is a great variety and uniqueness to the show mixing so many different schools- singing, gymnastics, ballet. The audience is also made to feel a part of the show, a sure fire way to keep it lively.

I am just over a week away from heading down for a quick 5 day jaunt to Walt Disney World.  Now my planning is coming down to trying to squeeze everything I want to do inside only five day.  It’s a great problem to have, don’t you think?

It certainly says something about the Mouse when one needs to stress over trying to fit everything they want to do inside five days.  There are some new things, like the re-opened Haunted Mansion and the new film in Canada that I certainly can not miss, but that’s not enough to stress over.

The first problem is that two days are totally booked already.  The space shuttle is scheduled to launch when we are there, and me being a nut for that kind of stuff I simply can’t miss it.  So we plan on spending a day driving out to the Kennedy Space Center for the launch and a tour of the area.  Also, my wife and I always like to spend the better part of a day just strolling the World Showcase catching as much of the British Invasion and Off Kilter as we possibly have.

So that leaves me with 3 days.  The trouble here is we are not going alone.  My wife could care less where we go.  As long as there is beer and/or food at the end of the day she is happy.  But we have family going as well, and they have not been to Disney World in many years.  The last time they were at the Mouse, the Tower of Terror only dropped once and animals were still only robots.  There is an entirely new theme park now, not to mention the scores of new attraction, shows, and re-makes.  They’ve never seen Soarin, the Rock n’ Rollercoaster, Test Track, or Capt. Jack in the Pirates of the Caribbean.    Can I get this all in with only three days to do it? 

And remember, these are not Disney commandos like many of us.  I can’t expect everyone to get up for rope drop and stay on their feet until the last park closes.  That only works for us addicts.  Doing that will only make them tired, and less than enthusiastic with their tour guide.

Do you ever get a bit frustrated when you hear one of your favorite attractions will be “closed for refurbishment” while you are at Walt Disney World?  There’s nothing you can do about it, but does that really help relieve any of the disappointment?  Yes it has to be done, and it will be better when it is, and yada yada yada!!  It just stinks.  There’s no two ways about it!

I will be in Walt Disney World very soon, and I just received word that Big Thunder Mountain will be closed for the next two-plus weeks for some minor work.  That means I am shut out of my favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom.  I’ll be honest, I’m not too happy about it.  I mean, couldn’t they shut down something I never ride for that week, like Snow White or Stitch? 

There is no better solution, I guess.  Things need to be fixed and late-October is probably as good a time as any to close an e-ticket.  But I can’t help thinking of those people who don’t get to go multiple times a year like I do.  For those who have not been able to ride their favorite runaway train for years may never get to ride it again.

Okay, that’s enough whining for today…