Mouse Extra

WDW News Today, a terrific website for truly in-depth coverage of Walt Disney World happenings, has some tantalizingly cool information about Toy Story Mania, soon to open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  This apparently e-ticket caliber ride is nearly ready to launch and the details continue to trickle out. 

Last week, WDI canceled the cast member previews it had planned leading some to believe the ride was seriously behind schedule.  Annual Passholders began to worry if their May 10-12 previews were still going to happen.  But according to the report, cast members will have their look next weekend and so we can assume the AP previews are still a go.

But it was tantalizing details that I promised you, and WDW News Today provides just that…

It seems the original plans for a separate special track in the ride were right, as we are now being told that if you hit a certain special target, your Toy Story Tram will be sent down a secret bonus track of some kind.

The loading area for the attraction is themed to the underneath of Andy’s bed, a much more detailed experience then you will find at the Disney’s California Adventure version of Toy Story Mania. The attraction’s queue is going to take place on two levels of the show building.

The queue area sounds a little like that of The Sea with Nemo and Friends over at Epcot.  If that is true then I approve.  I know people think interactive is the way to go with queue areas, but I love the visually appealing and immersive queues like Pirates of the Caribbean, the Great Movie Ride or Expedition Everest.  They set the mood perfectly and by the time you board the ride vehicle you’ve already been reeled in.

And as far as the “secret track” goes, how long do you think it will be before detailed instructions on how to find this secret track hit the internet?  Days?  Hours?  Minutes?  It won’t be much longer than that.

I do apologize for the lack of anything…real for the past few days.  I was away for a few days and then we needed to allow Mike to show off his peculiar sense of humor for April Fool’s Day.  But there was certainly not a lack of rumors and news while we were gone, so let’s get right into it.

For those of you who are Annual Passholders or Disney Vacation Club members, there is some good news that has yet to be confirmed.  According to DVCNews.com, we may be close to an announcement regarding special previews of Toy Story Mania, a new attraction coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

According to a source, Disney will soon announce Toy Story Mania preview dates for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members.  The current dates being targeted are May 10th, 11th and 12th.

Let me just say that this would be terrifically good news if it pans out this way.  I plan on being at Walt Disney World during this time, and you can be certain that I will have my camera and pen in hand to give you the most in-depth, spoiler filled report possible.

It certainly seems as though the hype for this attraction is no where near the fever pitch of past projects, such as Expedition Everest or even the Pirates remake.  Can we conclude from this that Disney doesn’t think this will be as big a hit as those?

Kevin Yee of MiceAge.com had a rundown yesterday of the all the projects and rumors going on at Walt Disney World.  Some are confirmed, some are close to confirmation, and others seem a bit wild.  But if you are like me, reading about any such rumors is something we scour the internet for everyday.  And when we find a good one, we just can’t stop talking about it. 

There are a few goodies in Mr. Yee’s report, but the one I like the most is this one…

Ratatouille-themed clone of DSP’s Crush Coaster. The mostly-indoor Crush coaster at Disney Studios-Paris enjoys a great reputation and will be cloned at Pixar Place, likely with a Ratatouille theme. Earlier ideas included Monsters Inc. (specifically, the doors factory), but that appears shelved for now.

As I am sure many of you know, Ratatouille was a big favorite of mine.  I thought it was an absolutely brilliant film.  Having it represented in a big way at Disney World is exciting to me.  And what I like about this idea is that the film didn’t appeal as much to little kids as it did to slightly older ones and adults.  Those people over five are the ones who would truly love a new thrill ride. 

But I also like that Disney does not seem to be ready to just transplant a ride from one park to the next lock, stock and barrel.  We have seen a lot of that.  Some of it works and some of it doesn’t.  But getting a bit creative about the concepts and trying some new things with a working formula is more of what we should expect out of Imagineering. 

Special Note: For the past couple of days we here at Mouse Extra have been victims of internet hackers.  Thanks to the amazing folks at Vision This Hosting we are back up and running and as good as ever.  Let me just say two things.  First, how do hackers have the time to do these things?  I mean, I barely have ten minutes a day to make these posting.  Second, let me give a shameless plug.  If you ever consider starting your own blog or website, I would seriously recommend the service I have always used for Mouse Extra, Vision This Hosting.  They have always done a terrific job.

Our friend Tom over at the always readable WDW News Today has found a terrific video from MSNBC that offers us the best preview yet of the Toy Story Mania attraction coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Click here for Tom’s posting.

While the video is the typical kind of cagey pre-release video Imagineering produces when it wants to promote a new attraction without really showing it, it does give us a look at some concrete details.  For one thing, we get to see the ride vehicle in its entirety and in action and it look pretty good to me.  It has a classic dark-ride vehicle feel and seems to blend the concepts of the new attraction well.

We also get a look at the shooting mechanism, and that is a slightly less exciting.  Just from this quick view, it seems a bit cumbersome and very prone to breaking.  But I will admit this is the type of thing that really needs to be experience within the context of the games to know for certain if it does or does not work.  Perhaps it is just silly enough to fit right in.

It does seem that we are inching closer and closer to the opening of this ride.  While it certainly won’t create the type of explosive hype the surrounded Expedition Everest, it should be very exciting to see Toy Story Mania in action.  My next trip to Walt Disney World is coming in the first week of May, and I must admit that I am rooting hard for previews to be happening by then so I can see this.

I was very happy to see that a great little detail over at the Disney MGM Studios has returned after a long absence.  The “Singin’ in the Rain” umbrella has been reinstalled back to all its glory.  I thought it was fitting to find a group of kids taking turns getting their pictures taken with this hidden little gem of Walt Disney World.

As we reported a few months ago, the umbrella was reportedly destroyed last holiday season during the moving of some of the larger Christmas decorations used in that area for the Osborne lights display.  Months later, it was still not replaced causing many of us to be more than a bit upset with the possibility that Disney decided it wasn’t worth it to replace it.

But that wasn’t the case, and happily it has returned.  Next time you are back by the Lights, Motors, Action entrance take a look across the courtyard and give it a try.  See if you can resist the temptation to sing.

After five days at Walt Disney World, we are back.  Thank you for your patience and I promise we will make it up to you with lots of great new pictures, updates and more.  I will be bringing you a tour around Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, the obligatory trip report, and the good and bad we experienced this past week.  All of that and more will be posted in the coming days so check back often.

But first, construction is moving along over at the Disney MGM Studios on the new e-ticket attraction Toy Story Mania.  This shot is from over by Journey into Narnia…

And this one is from the opposite side…

Also, the construction wall is covered with signs, like the one pictured below, which do a good job at hyping this one up.

I plan on being there in early May of 2008.  Even though it appears it may not open until sometime in the summer, I am hoping to have some previews or soft-openings when I am there.  This is a huge building and hopefully the ride delivers the good.