Mouse Extra

It is time for me to vent a bit.  There was only one thing in my recent 10 day trip to Walt Disney World that truly made me mad.  It happened last Monday when we all planned on going to the Animal Kingdom for “rope drop”.

The night before, I saw in my hotel that the Animal Kingdom was going to have an early Extra Magic Hour the next day.  So in response, we decided to go to that park and take advantage of the extra time to get on the “e-tickets” that tend to get crowded very quickly over there.  So I got my entire family out of bed before 7am, and they were not all thrilled about that to say the least, and headed over to the park.

We got there a few minutes after 8am, and as we walked towards the gate and through the bag check I noticed a significant line at the turnstile.  It seemed strange to me to even have a line, but what was even stranger was that as we got closer I noticed it wasn’t moving at all.  What could be happening?  There was a good crowd of people so we clearly weren’t the only ones coming for Extra Magic Hours.

Soon I realized the park was not yet open.  What was going on here?  It was only maybe five minutes after 8am.  All these people could not be here this early unless they also knew about the Extra Magic Hours.  I looked around for a cast member and noticed a man swamped with people and questions.  I made my way over and eavesdropped on his conversation with other guests.

He was apologizing and telling his angry customers that management had no idea it was supposed to be and Extra Magic Hour this morning.   Their schedules didn’t say this, and he didn’t know what to tell us.  All he could say was that management knew now of the problem and expectations.  SO I assumed they were scrambling to open as soon as possible.

But the hour crept by and crowds grew larger and larger.  At about 8:40 we were let threw the turnstiles only to wait the remaining twenty minutes in front of the Tree of Life.  Instead of an Extra Magic Hour of small lines and low crowds, we faced a completely packed park filled with ornery guests.  Disney did nothing to rectify the situation or even offer and apology of some sorts.  Only that one poor cast member swamped with angry resort guests ever offered a simple “sorry”.

What could they have done?  Perhaps nothing, but why did this happen?  How could such a terrible mistake be made?  Has this ever happened to you?

Yesterday, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the “mystery tower” going up next to the Contemporary Resort has undergone a name change.  The building that will most likely be the flagship of the Disney Vacation Club was reported earlier this year to be called “Kingdom Tower”.  However, now it seems that has changed into “Bay Lake Tower”.

“Bay Lake Tower” has replaced “Kingdom Tower” as the name of the project, at least in filings with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

What’s more, earlier this month Disney filed paperwork to create a “Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Condominium Association,” presumably to manage the resort once it is sold off to individual owners. Disney had created a “Kingdom Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Condominium Association” in January.

Disney had to know that there was no way they would escape criticism on this project no matter what they did.  And the name is no different.    People didn’t like the name Kingdom Tower and now people won’t like Bay Lake Tower.  As soon as they decided to build something this big they released the hounds. It is just too close to the Magic Kingdom and way too close to the Contemporary to escape criticism.

Personally, I like the new name a little better.  Kingdom Tower was fine, and I think the idea of it sounding too much like a Jehovah’s Witness church is just ridiculous.  But it didn’t fit such a modern design.  Kingdom Tower should be something that looks more like a castle than a suburbia office building.  But at the same time, Bay Lake Tower sounds more like a retirement community in Coral Gables than a resort at Walt Disney World.  At least that name doesn’t seem counterintuitive the theme of the building. 

What’s in a name?  Everything is in a name.  Think of how perfect nearly every name Disney uses at their resorts fits the theme.  This would be the first one that didn’t accomplish this.  However, until I see more concrete plans for the décor and theme of this new project I can’t really make much of a suggestion.

By the way, the photos that you see here were taken by me late last week.  This project appears to be moving along fairly quickly. 

It appears Disney’s Wide World of Sports is about to undergo a major change, as Disney finally puts the mega-popular ESPN brand name to its proper use in the theme parks.   According to a press release this morning, the complex will undergo a complete rebranding.  You can read the entire press release here.

Aligning the world’s No. 1 family vacation destination with the worldwide leader in sports, Walt Disney World Resort and ESPN are joining forces to re-brand Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex with the ESPN brand, creating an entertaining and immersive experience for the nearly 2 million athletes, coaches and spectators who come through the Disney sports complex each year.

Plans for the re-branding initiative – which was announced today during the ESPN upfront presentation to advertisers and sponsors – are still in the development stage, but initial concepts involve renaming the sports complex and incorporating the signature elements of ESPN throughout the 220-acre facility, which is a leading venue for amateur and professional sports in the country.  The project aims to enhance the experience of both athletes and spectators by connecting them to their favorite ESPN programs, personalities and elements.  It also will provide advertisers new sponsorship opportunities at the grass roots level.

It is somewhat unusual for Disney to be so upfront with things that are still at the “developmental stage”.  Usually they let it orbit the rumor world for a few months and then offer the details when they are good and ready.  Despite the longwinded press release, there is little here that says much more than a new name.  Could that really be all there is to this project?  Perhaps, but they seem to be hinting here to much more.

For one thing, I believe there still is an All Star Café over at that complex.  I can’t imagine ESPN would want a direct competitor to its own line of restaurants within their new digs.  Could this be the place where Disney puts the giant-sized flagship ESPNZone?

As I crossed over a bridge and back down a set of stairs onto the loading platform of the brand new Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios I was immediately struck by how slow the loading process was.  The comparison has often been made between this attraction and the Buzz Lightyear attraction at the Magic Kingdom.  In most respects Toy Story Midway Mania is far superior, but in this aspect it falls way short.    However, as you go through the game itself it is easy to understand why this process is slow.

The vehicle looks like a very traditional Disney dark ride vehicle, only it has two riders facing one way and two facing the opposite way.  There is an inexplicable lap bar along with a shooter which has a ball on a string as the trigger and a video screen between the two riders.  My wife and I both agree the string-thing is prime to be a maintenance headache for many years to come and will most likely be replaced eventually.

As your car takes you inside what the sign above calls the “Midway Games Playset”, the games begin.  Unlike Buzz Lightyear, there are multiple games and they all take place on a video screen.  Basically it is a series of 3-D video games, all of which involve shooting something at a target and are not very different from each other.  There are no audio-animatronics or anything not on the screens of any significance or even noticeable as you pass through.  But the games themselves are high energy, fast paced and pretty fun.  There is also some of the same Disney 3-D tricks employed here that you find in most of the parks’ films.  For instance, when you are shooting bottles you may get a spray of water, or you might feel a blast of air when you hit a balloon.  But believe it or not, the game is some quick and intense that you hardly even notice these things.

Each game is timed, and after it finishes your score is tallied on the screen in front of you.  One nice touch is that you also get to see your accuracy percentage.  This gives an added element to the competition.    Simply firing off your shooter as fast as possible might mean you score terribly on the accuracy scale.  This actually makes you slow down and aim more carefully thus paying more attention to what is going on and not just peppering the screen with as much shot as you can.  Imagineers also threw in a great little “practice round” if your vehicle is delayed.  Rather than staring a blank screen while sitting in a holding pattern, the game continues to play, only without counting points.

After the games are completed you pass a screen that shows the month’s best scores as well as the top three scores of the day.  Getting on this screen is certainly going to be a goal of many who come to experience this attraction.  It is a great way to up the interactive and competitive angles of the ride.

My overall impression of Toy Story Midway Mania is a positive one.  The queue is terrific.  The games are fun and exciting while being simple enough for even the most video game illiterate to be competitive.  The 3-D effects are fine enough, but they certainly do not wow you.  However this attraction is about the competition and not the effects so that doesn’t really matter much.  They do the job just fine.

I do not think this going to be a long term gate-busting attraction.  It simply is not a super “e-ticket” like Expedition Everest or Soarin’.  It is, however, a great addition to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and is hopefully just the beginning of more exciting things to come at the Pixar Studios section of the park.

Saturday morning my wife and I stood outside Disney’s Hollywood Studios waiting for the rope to drop on what was a mad dash to the new Pixar Studios section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.   It turned out to be a really good idea to get there early, because only 1 hour into the Annual Passholder and DVC member preview of the new Toy Story Midway Mania the wait time was reported by cast members to be around two hours.  But from my experience on this new attraction, which was certainly a positive one, I don’t expect two hours to be the norm in the future.

First, notice that I called it “Toy Story Midway Mania” and not “Toy Story Mania”.  This is because of some very bizarre confusion going on at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  All of the marketing Disney is doing calls it Toy Story Mania.  Even the guide map uses that title, but from the picture above you can clearly see it is actually called “Toy Story Midway Mania”?  What is the purpose of the peculiarity?  Your guess is as good as mine.

The exterior of the building is themed to look like a real working, and also aesthetically boring, studio.  The theme is also somewhat jumbled, because this rather dull looking studio building is also littered with toys, like monkeys and green army men.   These same items are used in the queue area, so is this a studio or a toy chest?  One or the other would be much better than what appears now to be a thrown together mess.

The queue itself is really well done, and fits in nicely with the recent Disney World tradition of fun and immersive queues.  I was told that this was supposed to be like you were under the bed of Andy, the boy who owned all our favorite characters from the Toy Story films.  But it really feels more like being inside a toy chest.  Either way, it features brand name nostalgic games and toys, as well as Andy’s own drawings that make great conversations pieces.  It is also so packed full of so much eye candy that you can’t possibly see it all.

But the star of this area is Mr. Potato head.  He is a large and beautifully fluid audio-animatronics character that entertains the waiting crowd with jokes and songs.  Of all the audio-animatronics used in queues, he is the best.  It was reported that he would be interactive and even talk directly to guests like Crush does at Turtle Talk or the Monsters over at the Laugh Floor.  Perhaps that will some day be the case, but it was clear while I was there that this was just a very well orchestrated trick.  Mr. Potato Head would ask questions and point to people on the line, but it was clearly pre-recorded.  However, this is something you would only notice if, like me, you get stuck in front of him for 15 minutes waiting for the ride to start working.  But don’t think I am trying to be negative about this.  He works very, very well and did a great job at entertaining the waiting masses.

After you pass Mr. Potato Head you go up a flight of stairs, through a circus like corridor, and out into the loading area.  You actually walk through an overpass that goes over the ride track itself and onto the loading area. 

Check back later for a spoiler filled review of the game itself…

Thanks to all of our readers for being patient over the last two weeks.  The entire staff was on an extended stay at Walt Disney World and we only just got back late last night.  It was ludicrously hot, terrifically fun and it absolutely stinks to be home.  When the folks at the Boardwalk say “welcome home” I tend to take it a bit too seriously…

But the good news is that we have loads of new photos, stories, and reviews to send your way so check back often during the coming days as we try and cram it all in.  We hit some new restaurants to review and even some new attractions.

Later today I promise to have a full report from this weekend’s Toy Story Mania passholder and DVC member preview.  I have loads of photos from inside the new Pixar Studios area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to download off my camera so give me some time to get that done and check back with us later.