Mouse Extra

This morning’s Orlando Sentinel has a rather in-depth report about a new Broadway style musical coming to the Disney Wonder this spring.  It will be called “Toy Story-The Musical” and the Sentinel has a great accompanying video that shows some of an early rehearsal.

Toy Story — The Musical will debut in April aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship. It’s the latest entry in Disney’s expansive live-theater network that launched in 1993 with the purchase of a Broadway theater and has grown to include full-blown, movie-based Broadway musicals such as The Lion King, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast.

I think a new show is overdue aboard the ships and this will be a welcome change for the repeat cruisers.  Toy Story is a wildly popular and it is amazing to see how often it is still used and how well it gets received all these years later.

Yes, Pixar is invading the Cruise Line as well.  It is interesting to note that John Lasseter, who has been involved with the development of this project from early on, was not all that excited about the idea when he first heard it.  To be honest, neither am I.  But Lasseter the idea grew on him and maybe it will grow on me as well.  I am one of the few who did not care for the Finding Nemo musical at the Animal Kingdom, so I won’t get my hopes up.  (I and what I think are cheesy musicals just don’t go well together!)

Is 2008 going to be the year when something new finally is announced for the former ABC Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?  According to many sources, it seems that an project has been green lighted for this long empty building.  Lou Mongello of DisneyWorldTrivia.com is one such source in his rumor mill for this week.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I spoke about work being performed at the long-closed ABC Theater, although no details of what is going on inside have been released as yet. One thing that I have heard recently are rumors of a code name, or even a working title, for the Theater work. Known as “The Stars of Hollywood Hills” (the storied location of the Amphitheater that houses Fantasmic!), the theater MAY reopen as early as May or June, and speculation is that the new show will continue to allow Guests to interact and be a part of the magic – this time, in an “American Idol” style singing contest. I will of course let you know more as I hear anything further.

I have heard this from number of sources, but nothing has been announced.  There were a few different possibilities that were being kicked around the internet last month, but it does appear the rumor mill is settling on this one.  It makes some sense.  “American Idol” is popular, and depending on what they offer the winner this may turns some heads.

But doesn’t this seem a bit odd to you?  First, this is not a Disney franchise and they don’t seem to make anything that does not tie into a film or television show these days.  Would this really be such a blatant copy of a competing studio’s property?  Now I have no information to back this up, but I expect that some sort of synergistic tie-in will be added to this idea.  If this were an e-ticket I would think it more possible, but not something like this.

Second, how popular would this really be?  How many people would want to participate in such a contest?  How many people would want to watch it?  My personal feeling is that this could be very different from what we are hearing now.

From a general point of view, the Moon Handbooks have been consistently good travel guides for some time. From a personal point of view, I have always used their Maine Coast book to gear up for my annual trek to the area. With that said, the recent Moon Handbook to Walt Disney World & Orlando does not disappoint.

The “& Orlando” part is important. This guide does not just throw in a few tidbits about other areas. Instead, nearly half of the volume’s 300 or so pages covers attractions not in “the World.” Sure, Universal Studios, the Space Coast and Sea World take up a large portion of the back half of the book. Moreover, many of the area’s multitude of diverse small attractions are covered in excellent detail. You will learn much about attractions like Reptile World and the Tupperware National Headquarters. In fact, this diversity is a real plus to the book. If you are traveler who spends much of your vacation time “off World”, this is probably the best guidebook you can buy. Even if you are like me and never spend any time “off World”, the descriptions of places such as Skull Kingdom or Historic Bok Santuary are a fun read. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be inspired to see something out there on your next trip.

The beginning of the book provides a nice over view of the Walt Disney World resort. There are nice sections on those two very important groups of theme park visitors- kids and thrill-seekers. There is also a good overview on how to plan a day at a particular park. This book does not take planning to the extreme like the bible of Disney guides- the Unofficial Guide. However, it does give you a basic idea on how to plan a day. I personally really like the Rainy Day Planner for those ugly weather times. I would suggest that in future volumes though they take a look at the maps of the parks. Not only is it scaled incorrectly, there are even attractions placed in the wrong spots. This is especially true of the Magic Kingdom map.

I also like how the author, Laura Reiley, speaks her mind. You just need to read her lambasting Its a Small World. Apparently, the attraction gives her a full body rash in combination with nausea. I don’t always agree with her. She likes Lights! Motors! Action! while I find it tediously slow. She also feels Epcot is doable in a day, but I think that would be shortchanging the park. But I do agree that the Tomorrowland Speedway doesn’t work in theming or execution. I, too, can’t figure out why there is a scene from Pocohontas in the middle of Fantasmic. Well, you get the point. Unlike many other guides, the author is not afraid to criticize. Nor is she afraid to be funny. An important trait in a travel guide which as a genre can get bogged down in details.

When I look at a guidebook, I look to how several things are covered by the authors. They are in order of importance: attractions, dining (sit down meals, counter-service, and snacks), resorts, non-park offerings (like the water parks or Downtown Disney), shopping and ameneties such as Extra Magic Hours and the Magical Express. The book covers all of these topics at least adquately and in some cases much more so. Despite the fact that I am a Disney World vet and don’t need a guidebook at all, I still always get the Unofficial Guide, the Passporter, and the Complete Walt Disney World for entertainment purposes. This new Moon Handbook now joins that list.

Today’s merchandise review is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra and our resident guidebook junky.

If we have any cast members reading this, I really hope you can confirm this information.  According to what I have been told, the Cast Member magazine, Eyes and Ears, has listed the 2008 Star Wars Weekends are going to take place again in June.  If this is true, I am aggravated on so many levels.

Why would this be announced to Cast Members and not to potential guests?  If the dates are decided, and it appears they are, what purpose would it serve to keep it a secret from the folks who need the information the most?  June is a very busy time, and in case Disney executive can’t perform simple math too well, we are already past a six month window.  By the time this gets announced, those who want to go will be behind the eight-ball on booking dining reservation in an extremely crowded month.  When you can’t get Hoop-Dee-Doo or Le Cellier, you know who to thank!

Also, I did not attend Star Wars Weekend last year because it was in June.  My hunch was that it would be way too crowded and hot.  From everything I heard my hunch was right.  This event has been in May every year but 2007 because May conflicted with a big Star Wars convention out west.  That is not a problem this year, so going back to May would make sense.  However, it appears making sense is not the order of the day.

But more importantly is the timing of the announcement and this happens every year.  Disney always waits until late January or February to announce this enormously popular event.  For a company the actively encourages guests to plan in advance, this seems like an unnecessary obstacle.

In a move that may delight some and offend others, Disney announced this week that children under the age of ten years are banned from dining at Victoria and Albert’s in the Grand Floridian resort.  The Orlando Sentinel has the story this morning.

The company that reinvented the family vacation has drawn the line against potentially loud, ill-mannered or whiny kids in its only restaurant with a five-diamond rating from AAA travel service. Children younger than 10 are no longer welcome.

“We want to be the restaurant that’s available for that adult experience,” said Victoria & Albert’s general manager, Israel Perez.

Though a first for a restaurant at Walt Disney World, this is not a first for the Disney Company.  Palo, an adult-only restaurant on top of each of the Disney Cruise Line ships, immediately comes to mind as a comparison.  Victoria and Albert’s is simply looking for the same type of atmosphere.  But it is rare, even outside of Disney, to see a published ban like this. 

Victoria and Albert’s is not a particularly kid friendly place to begin with.  According to the article, they only get a few per month anyway.  So then one must wonder why make the ban to begin with?  The answer is plain and simple, marketing.

Our final entry in the 12 Milestones in Disney World history is the most recent of them all.  And it is very possible that it will be the biggest and most important to the future of the theme parks, not only in Florida but around the world.  It took place on January 24, 2006, the day the Disney Company acquired Pixar.

The shockwave has already left no stone unturned.  Nemo has made his way into Epcot and the Animal Kingdom.  Monsters Inc. was added to the Magic Kingdom.  And soon a very expensive new e-ticket attraction will be added to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, formerly the Disney-MGM Studios, called Toy Story Mania.  And there is no reason to believe the Pixar invasion will stop there.  More and more rumors of Pixar additions seem to be swirling around the internet everyday.

The biggest reason why we can fully expect this trend to continue is that Pixar’s creative chief John Lasseter was named to head Imagineering as part of the deal.  It is the first time since Walt Disney was alive that a true filmmaker headed this much heralded group of creators.  Will it make a difference and bring new attractions that have the same enduring quality Walt’s did?  Only time can answer that.  So far most of what he has introduced has been Pixar related.  When he breaks out of that mold we will see what he is really made of.

As a result of this merger the extremely annoying phrase “the Pixar-ization of the parks” has come into the vocabulary of Disney purists.  It carries a negative with it, a fear that Lasseter will turn the theme parks into a Pixar promotional zone and erase the memories of the Disney legacy.  There are two problems with that. The first is that I, and many others, love Pixar’s films.  I have never disliked anything they have done, so the more the better as far as I am concerned.  The second problem is that anyone who thinks Lasseter will try and erase the Disney legacy must not know anything about the man.  This is a former Disneyland cast member who speaks of Walt with the kind of glowing worship that someone in his position should.

Besides being the most recent and probably the most important milestone in our list for the future of Disney World, the Pixar merger is also the most exciting.  The final years of Michael Eisner’s reign brought budget cuts and scaled-down attractions.  Though it is a bit early to say with any certainty, it does seem that Lasseter may reverse that to some degree.  The re-making of California Adventure will answer many of these questions and fans of Disney’s theme parks around the world will be watching this project very closely.