Mouse Extra

Many I am sure remember the last D23 Expo which was held almost two years ago. Many exciting things occurred at that event. Perhaps the most memorable were the announcements relating to the new projects Disney Imagineers had in mind for Walt Disney World. At that event, Disney announced both the major overhaul of Fantasyland and Star Tours 2.

So, what does Disney have in mind for this event? Will they announce thier new big plans for parks? I am inclined to believe there will be some reveals for the Florida parks, although I don’t think there will be anything quite on the scale of the 2009 event.  So I have put together a rudimentary list of possibilities involving the parks in Florida.

1. Brazil Comes to World Showcase: To me, this is the most likely possibility on this list. And by a wide margin. The last event saw announcements for both the Magic Kingdom and the Studios. It is likely Disney will want to spread the love. And what better way then to add something to World Showcase which has basically been stagnant for over 20 years. There have been some clues as to Brazil, as well. There is a new line of vinylmation representing the World Showcase. Every current pavillon has a one, plus Brazil. And there was a recent article in a brazilian newspaper indicating Disney and Brazil had an agreement on a World Showcase pavillon. So, I think this one is likely. Remember Disney’s plans for Fantasyland were leaked in the weeks leading up to the 2009 D23 Expo, probably by Disney. This has the same kind of M.O.

2. Monsters’ Inc. Rollercoaster for Pixar Place: This rumor has been kicking around for a long time. Will we finally get a “Closet Door Factory” coaster. It seems that Disney will eventually add to Pixar Place and if they do, this seems to be the most likely addition. I would think Disney would add this over a Mike & Sulley to the Rescue clone or some dark ride based on the Incredibles. A new Monsters Inc. movie is on the way, so synergy here we come. Plus, Disney can finally change the HISTA playground to a Bug’s Life playground at very little expense. And Voila! You have a Pixar Place.

3. The Wonderful World of Color comes to Florida: This seems all but inevitable really. Sooner or later, this hit show from Cali will work its way east. I just don’t think its now. The question though is when and where. I think Disney will keep this a California Adventure exclusive for a little while longer. As to where? Well, I hope this eventually becomes the day capping event at the Animal Kingdom. They could put it over at Camp Minnie Mickey especially if they move Festival of the Lion King to Africa.

4. Australia!: Sooner or later, Disney will add a land to the Animal Kingdom and Australia makes a lot of sense. Kangaroos and koalas are very popular and you can certainly build thrill rides based on crocodiles, sharks and the like. Disney has a lot of coasters but only one log flume. Maybe a Crocodile Falls?

5. Star Wars Land: This is more of a pipe dream for me than anything else. Disney just finished the Star Tours redo, and they are unlikely to continue down that road at this point. But, seriously, how cool would a Mos Eisley Cantina be next to Star Tours 2? And what if they took the Sounds Dangerous building and did something cool and star warsy with that?

6. The Return of the Adventurers’ Club: Why do we have to have 2 Rainforest Cafes? Wouldn’t it be much better to have the Adventurers’ Club at the entrance to Disney’s Animal Kingdom? This is also unlikely but still there has been a lot of outcry at the closing of this club at the old Pleasure Island. However, Disney usually ignores that (see Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride). But every once in awhile Disney does bring things back (see Figment).

7. Marvel makes its presence known in Florida: This one is not only unlikely, but possibly illegal. Universal has the rights to Marvel characters in theme parks east of the Mississippi, so if there is an announcement of this nature, it won’t have anything to do with Florida. However, there will be a big Marvel event at the Expo so you never know….

There are just some of the possibilities awaiting us in a few weeks. What do you think we will get?

Today’s article is from Mike

Time to continue with a trip report for last week’s vacation at Walt Disney World.  Day One of the trip is chronicled early last week.  My intention was to publish these reports the day on a sort of semi-live basis during my trip.  But honestly, when I am at the Mouse I really don’t have much time for blogging.

Before we being, I think it is important to explain the type of Disney World travelers we have become.  The days of standing on lines for E-tickets, or even walking back and forth across theme parks to make FastPass times are generally behind us.  We go to the Mouse as much for relaxation and good food as we do for the world class attractions and entertainment.  So you will come to notice we don’t squeeze as many attractions as possible into our days at the parks.

Day Two began around dinner time, as my wife and I had some family business to attend to during the morning and afternoon.  Epcot had an evening Extra Magic Hours scheduled for that night, plus we were looking for something to eat, so it was off to World Showcase.  (A recurring theme on this trip as you will come to find…)

We sampled some more of the Food and Wine Festival, always a great idea, and rode on the Maelstrom and Three Caballeros.  Let me also mention here that our attempt to sample one item from all of the Food and Wine stations met with miserable failure.  The problem was that the items we tried during our first 2 days were so darn good we wanted to get them again, which put an end to our mission.

Finally, with the Food and Wine closing and an inferno-barge-less showing of Illuminations, we walked down to Future World for a ride on Spaceship Earth, some pin-shopping, and a succesful attempt at getting my wife to try Beverly at Club Cool.  (I am a bad man, I know!)  By this time it was after 10pm and we were both spent after a long day.

By now, every Disney fanatic has heard about Summer Nightastic coming to Walt Disney World this summer.  The centerpiece of the marketing program is a return of the famous Main Street Electrical Parade to the Magic Kingdom after a decades’ long absence.  And now we find out that the upcoming run in Florida will be barely over two months long.

Yesterday, the Disney Parks Blog added an update to its original story about the parade’s return informing us that Summer Nightastic will run from June 6 through August 14, a much shorter run than many wishing to see the parade had hoped.  This gives fans just over five months to get to Orlando or risk missing the parade for who knows how long.

In years past I have complained vociferously about this kind of short-term announcement from Disney, but this one takes the cake.  Most often, I have moaned about how long it takes for them to announce the dates for Star Wars Weekends, but at least fans who want to attend that event have a relative idea when it might take place and can start planning accordingly.  This event, containing something nearly every Disney fan over the age of 25 gets overly nostalgic about, was completely unexpected.  And now, we all have only five months to raise funds, find the time to take off from work, and do all the planning.  You think this bugs?  You’re darn right it does!

Last week, Disney World officials announced “Summer Nightastic”, a promotional program for this summer at the Orlando parks.  Like last year’s Disneyland promotion of the same name, Florida officials hope that a one bit of big news for Disney fans combined with few relatively modest changes and a catchy tagline, will be enough to put a sense of urgency into potential visitors.

For the Disney purist, the center piece of this promotion includes something that is certain to be very exciting.  The Main Street Electrical Parade will finally return to the Magic Kingdom.  But truth be told, that is the only part of what has been announced so far for Summer Nightastic that is really worth talking about.  The other elements include…

• A very non-specific announcement of a new fireworks show coming to the Magic Kingdom, which we really can’t get too excited about until we know more about what to expect.
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is planning “New lighting effects and the addition of a new drop sequence”.  While new lighting can be interesting, I am not sure what the virtue is of a new drop sequence when the current sequence is supposedly random.  What can be more new and exciting than a random sequence that is new every time you ride?
• A summer concert series at Epcot, which again we can not judge until we know more about it.
• Extended evening operating hours at the Animal Kingdom.  A good idea to be sure, but not exactly earth shattering news.

The obvious conclusion to draw here is that Summer Nightastic is Walt Disney World’s response to the opening of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter this spring.  But let me give Disney the benefit of the doubt and assume that is not the primary reason for this promotion.  I mean, if someone there thinks this program can compete with Potterland they ought to be fired.

No, Summer Nightastic is just simply too sparse to be considered by anyone with a brain to be an adequate “response” to Universal’s project.  But that shouldn’t take away from the potential positives here.  For the tourist with plans to head to the Mouse this summer, this comes as really good news.  The return of the Main Street Electrical Parade is truly a treat for the longtime Disney faithful.  And how could extended hours and a new fireworks display ever be considered anything but positive?

So rather than dwell on the obvious “could haves” with this promotion, lets just say that Summer Nightastic seems like a nice addition  to the Disney World slate for this year.  We all want more and expect more out of Imagineering.  And while it does seem strange that Disney is obviously allowing Universal to take center stage for the time being, let’s not draw conclusions on what this promotion was intended to do and then criticize it for not achieving a phantom goal.

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 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.