Mouse Extra

It is easy to miss the Flights of Wonder while you are running as fast as you can from Expedition Everest to Kilimanjaro Safaris to hit your FastPass time.  But do yourself a favor.  After you are done experiencing the Animal Kingdom’s e-tickets, make your way back to Asia for this amazing and hilarious show.

Flights of Wonder is a 25 minute show that features dozens of birds from all over the world doing things that will amaze you and often make you smile.  The show actually begins outside the theater where a handler is holding a Eurasian Eagle Owl named Bayo.  Now all Bayo does is sit quietly on his handlers arm while the handler speaks in detail about this stunningly beautiful creature and takes questions from the audience.  But even this small Q-and-A session explains the power of live animals and why Walt Disney loved them so much.  During this whole session everyone, especially the little ones, have their eyes glued to Bayo and are absolutely fascinated with him.

When show time arrives the audience heads into the well-themed Caravan Stage Theater for the show.  Flights of Wonder is not a typical Disney show.  There are no singing characters or Broadway-style dancers.  There is just a host, some comic relief from an actor-comedian named Joe who is playing a tour guide, and a whole mess of birds.  The birds perform an array of amazing stunts, but they are mostly examples of their natural behavior and not learned tricks.  They swoop down across the audience, snatch grapes out of the air, and generally amaze the audience.

Of course, it is hard not to enjoy a singing parrot named, I believe, Groucho.  Groucho apparently has a rather extensive repertoire of favorites he sings for the audience, so you can never be quite sure what he will belt out during your show.  Needless to say, I don’t think Groucho next job is going to be at the Festival of the Lion King, but hey, he tries hard and always gets a deserving round of applause.

As Disney’s Animal Kingdom continues to grow, most of the attention of fans will probably be focused on new attractions.  Racing across the park to ride the new rides or see the new shows might cause you to miss some of the park’s best and most astounding offerings.  The Animal Kingdom is best experienced by seeing the big draws and then taking your time to enjoy the animals and what the park is really all about.  There is no better example of this than Flights of Wonder.  Don’t miss it.

No, this is not another of those far-fetched stories of Disney buying property for a new theme park in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, or any of the other dozen or so places that seem to be the subject of yearly rumors.  That headline is legit, and the Washington Post is the reporting source.  Disney is not looking to rebuild the lost “Disney’s America” park, but they are going to build a branded resort in the nation’s capitol.

Walt Disney Co. has bought a 15-acre parcel at Prince George’s County’s sprawling National Harbor development, a shot in the arm for a project that opened with big ambitions a year ago, only to run headfirst into one of the sharpest economic declines in decades.

Disney plans to build a 500-room hotel resort on the parcel, providing another anchor for a 300-acre venture that seeks to rival the District as a conference and convention destination. National Harbor already includes six hotels; more than a dozen restaurants; and a giant conference center run by Gaylord Entertainment, owner of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

But, of course being this early in the planning stage there is very little to report on the details of this resort.  All we can make out is this is probably going to be something similar to that of the Hawaii Disney Vacation Club property, though it would seem to be a somewhat less elaborate project.  A better comparison would probably be the DVC resorts in Vero Beach or Hilton Head, just with the challenge of dealing with a much longer and colder winter each year.

The National Harbor, the area where the resort is being built, is a massive project that is seeking to become a destination all its own, rather than just a place to stay for tourists coming to Washington D.C.  Disney’s involvement is the best thing they could ask for.  With the right kind of property, DVC members from the northeast, which is where most of its members reside, will have a place to go for a weekend getaway and the National Harbor will have a set of tourists the convention trade could never supply.

Disney does have a history in the Washington D.C. area.  We all know the story of the failed Disney America theme park and of how politicians and local pressure ended the project.  But Jay Rasulo, Disney’s head of Parks and Resorts, is confirming that the new resort will not be an attempt to get back to that old idea.

“The National Harbor resort is a completely different kind of project,” Rasulo said. “It’s specifically zoned for hotel, residential and other commercial development. This project is a hotel resort. It is not by any stretch of the imagination a theme-park project and never will be. We have no intention of building a large-scale theme park in the Washington area.”

Like I mentioned before, we do not know what the theme will be for this resort or any specifics yet at all.  All we know is around how many rooms the building may have and where it will be.  The article does offer some location details…

The property Disney has bought sits on a rise at the top of a tree-lined promenade named American Way, which is fashioned after the main street in Barcelona, called Las Ramblas. The Disney site overlooks the National Harbor complex and the Potomac and faces north toward the District. Visitors can see the Washington Monument in the distance.

Rasulo said Disney has to weigh “lots of factors in the coming months and the coming years” before deciding when to break ground.

“We wouldn’t be buying this property if we didn’t think this was a great location for a Disney resort hotel,” Rasulo said.

I can honestly say that I have not been more excited about a piece of Disney news then this one in many years.  Being a DVC member and living only a four hour drive from Washington D.C., this just has me smiling.  I simply can’t wait to see what we get here.  To be able to hop in the car and stay at a Disney resort without the hassle and cost of airline travel is a dream come true.  You can bet that I will have my ear to the pavement listening for more on this one.

Let’s take another look at some of the scenes found during this year’s Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.  Today we will take a stroll around the World Showcase Lagoon to see some wonderful images.

Our first stop is at Italy where Lady and the Tramp star.  The detail that went into making this topiary of Lady is truly incredible.  The expression and life in her eyes just blew me away.

Continuing along our walk, we find Aladdin outside the Moroccan pavilion.  Posing on his magic carpet, you can bet Aladdin drew quite a bit of attention from Disney fans.

And finally, what says France like perfume bottles?  Yes, I was looking around for the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, or maybe even Remy.  But what I couldn’t help but photograph were these bottles.

It certainly seemed to me that this year’s Flower and Garden Festival was more subdued than past editions.  I can’t say this for sure, but it felt like there was less to see, fewer topiaries.  The Festival center at the old Wonders of Life Pavilion was not always opened and with the Flower Power Concerts only playing on the weekends it just seemed much quieter at Epcot.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining.  Quiet is a good thing.  Did anyone else get this same impression?

This past trip I finally had the chance to visit and stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.  After decades of going to Walt Disney World this was the only resort I had never been to, so just that fact alone was exciting.  I had heard some bad things about the resort leading up to my trip, so my expectations were low.  But even though I thought it not nearly as good as others in the same “moderate” level pricing, it is still a fine resort.

Coronado Springs is also a convention center, which is why I was there.  My wife was down on business and I was along for the ride.  For those who may have a bizarre problem seeing people walking around in business attire while on vacation this is not your place.  (Don’t laugh!  I have actually heard this complaint many times.)  A resort full of conventioneers can be good and bad.  The bad is that during lunch and dinner times the dining facilities could get a bit more crowded then one would expect to find when the parks are open.  The good part is that these are generally pretty quiet people, many there by themselves.  Thus Coronado Springs has a much quieter and relaxing atmosphere then other Disney resorts that may have really loud pool areas or kids running through the food court at all hours.

Coronado Springs was named after Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, the Spanish explorer who traveled western Mexico and the American Southwest in the 16th century.  The grounds are typically beautiful for a Disney moderate resort.  The buildings are well designed with a theme that recalls the area Coronado himself explored.  The entire resort surrounds Lago Dorado which makes for terrific atmosphere.  There is a main pool, called the Dig Site, which sits in the shadow of an ancient stepped pyramid.  It can be a bit noisy, but there are also plenty of quiet pools as well.

The resort is big, much bigger then your average hotel or deluxe Disney resort.  Some rooms can be quite a hike to the lobby, but we are not talking about the multiple-time zone Disney resort like Caribbean Beach or Saratoga Springs.   Theme Park buses do make a couple of stops around the grounds, and for some reason, maybe just good luck, I found the buses were quicker here then other moderates.

There is a sit down restaurant, the Maya Grill, a food court called the Pepper Market, and Café Rix which is a stylish lounge.  There is also a counter-service coffee shop for the quick cup of Joe and a muffin.  I did not try the Maya Grill, mostly because it was expensive and had an unexciting menu.  The Pepper Market was also something of a let down.  It is not your typical Disney resort food court.  The selection is more refined then burgers and sandwiches, and therefore more expensive then you would imagine.  After you decide what you want, your food is brought to your table, so add on a gratuity when factoring in your costs.  The food itself is pretty good, and the idea is interesting, but I personally like a resort food court because it is less expensive then theme park restaurants.  That is not the case here.  Entrees easily average over fifteen dollars.

All in all, I liked the Coronado Springs Resort, but not enough to say I would try my best to go back.  The rooms and grounds are certainly on par with the other Moderate resorts.  But where Coronado falls short is in the dining offerings.  So I guess I would say this; If you don’t want the noise of a Value resort, or your company is sending you to the Mouse for a conference, you will enjoy the Coronado Springs.  It may not be the absolute best resort on Disney property, but it is no where near the worst either.

This week I will be posting a few pictures of some of the horticultural highlights at this year’s Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.  As usual, the character topiaries are nothing short of amazing.  Today we head to the entrance of the World Showcase, where we are introduced to a scene filled with characters from my all-time favorite Disney feature, the Lion King.

The first, and most impressive, is that wonderful signature scene of Rafiki holding the newly born prince Simba up for all to see.

Watching the ceremony are other animals, like this beautifully detailed giraffe.  His impressive size makes him tower over the other animals.

What would the Lion King be without the singing a dancing duo of Timon and Pumba, the soon-to-be king’s best friends.  Their smiles are just as infectious here as they are in the film.

And finally, we see what I think is hands-down the best villain ever created for a Disney film, Scar.  The King’s brother is after the throne and he is willing to kill everyone in his family to get it. 

We will continue around Epcot this week, so check back for more photos.

This week I finally got a chance to see “Earth”, the first film from Disney’s new independent label dedicated to nature documentaries called Disneynature.  It is a visually breathtaking film, and the label itself is a terrific idea moving forward.  But “Earth” did not meet the level of expectations that I had for it.

“Earth” begins with incredible sweeping landscape shots that leave your jaw on the floor.  Like the television documentary, the film relies heavily on time-lapse landscape scenes to offer an insightful view into how our planet works.  Kids and adults alike will be astonished.  But it isn’t all just visual eye candy.  There is also something of a story to this film.

What Disneynature has attempted to do with “Earth”, keeping with the great tradition of Walt Disney’s True Life Adventures, is to bring all of this incredible footage into three separate stories about three different families struggling for survival in a harsh natural world.  We meet ridiculously cute polar bear cubs learning to walk on the ice and snow for the first time, a baby elephant who, like many of our own little ones, struggles to keep pace with an adult world, and a mother and baby humpback whale traveling thousands of miles for food.  Some succeed in their struggle and some don’t.  The question I have is whether or not kids, or even adults, will find it upsetting.  Yes, I know that it is an accurate reflection of the “Circle of Life”, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch.

For instance, throughout the film we follow a Polar Bear male who we are told is the father of the two cubs.  Near the very end of the film we watch this “father” struggle to find food and then eventually starve to death as a result of injuries inflicted while trying to hunt walruses.  The entire sequence, from the fights with the walruses, to the slow painful death of the bear is something I would not want my kids to have to see if they are at all sensitive.  It is a difficult scene for anyone to watch.  Honestly, my own wife would be crying if she saw it!

In fairness to Disney, they have done their best to keep and blood or gore out of this film.  But they still need to be more sensitive to the audience they seek.  In future films, if they are going to market them towards families, they should try and keep the melancholy out of it. Being just about the last sequence in the film, the dying Polar Bear is about all most will remember.  And that is what will ruin this film for many people. 

The first thought that came through my mind was “are they really going to roll a camera and watch this bear die?  Is there nothing they can do to help?  No rescue organization to call?”  Now that may all be irrational, but the point is, imagine what a child would think?  As you can plainly tell the scene upset me, even though I had seen it before on television.  But I am an adult.  I can see the important message of how fragile even this giant and ferocious bear’s life really is.  But I doubt a child can.

I know this is what happens in the wild, and I expect to see this when watching Animal Planet or PBS.  But this is something Disney is producing and we expect to have a film everyone can watch and enjoy as a result of the Disney name.  Couldn’t we get perhaps a more “family friendly” version of the television series?  This one sequence turned a family friendly film into a real-life drama of life and death, and I am not sure that is what they wanted or what parents will want.  While other scenes are also tough, this one sequence, seeing a very endangered bear die slowly and painfully was totally unnecessary in this the supposed “family friendly” version of this footage.

The film was shot by the same British crew that shot the popular Discovery Channel miniseries called “Planet Earth” which aired back in 2007.  No matter what you may read about how much new footage was in this film, I believe Disney says only 30 percent of the footage is old, you can’t help but think this is just a shorter version of the miniseries.  While some footage may have been new, many of what I would call the “signature scenes” that made “Planet Earth” famous are here.  The Mandarin Duck chicks leaping from their nest high in a tree and bouncing on the ground, Great White Sharks flying out of the water to catch seals, lions chasing down an elephant at night, and even the Polar Bear death sequence are all major portions of the television program.  While their may be lots of new footage here, there was certainly more than enough very noticeable old stuff to make you wonder how new this film really is.

Having said all that, I suppose I would recommend this film to adults who either never saw “Planet Earth” or did and enjoyed it.  The narration and music in the movie far surpasses that of the television series, and the visuals are something truly to behold on the big screen.  But I can assure you I won’t be watching it again.  For future films, and Disneynature has a film called “Oceans” coming out on Earth Day 2010, I would advise the filmmakers to do all they can to try and show the real world but to keep in mind that Disney will market this film to children.