Mouse Extra

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.

According to the Daily Disney Blog, the 3D musical starring Michael Jackson is returning to EPCOT for the summer crowd. It is expected to return on July 2nd, the height of the summer season. The film also stars Angelica Huston and was directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppolla.

 
As I am sure many of you know, Captain E-O started playing in Disneyland again a few months ago after being shelved in 1994. And the feedback, according to Disney suits, has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
 
One thing is for certain, the current film at the Imagation Pavillon, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, seems very stale these days. It wasn’t that long ago when 3D films at theme parks seemed light years ahead of those played at local theaters. But with IMAX 3D and such hits as How to Train Your Dragon and, of course, Avatar, the local movie has more than closed the gap in technology.
 
Thus, Captain E-O returns for the nostalgia not the special effects. At the time it premiered, Captain E-O was an amazing display of movie technology. Not so any more. However, it is a better film than the current Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Disney officials state that HISTA will eventually come back. But I hope not. I hope Disney keeps Captain E-O going at least until they take the next step in special effects.

One of the more underappreciated parts of Epcot is Innoventions. For most guests, its the two buildings you walk through to go from Test Track to Soarin’, fastpasses in hand. Or the home of Mouse Gears. Or just the place they keep the bathrooms. But there are some interesting things at Innoventions. I loved the area where you can see posters and concept art from the early days of EPCOT Center, for example.

 
 
Orlando Attractions Magazine published some concept art for a new attraction at Innoventions called the Sum of ALl Thrills that will be coming soon. It is Disney’s first attempt at the robotic arm type simulator. Accordinl to the article, guests will design a ride for a roller coaster, jet plane, or bobsled. The arm technology is similar to the one used to control the angler fish at Nemo & Friends during the ride portion of the Living Seas. Hopefully, it won’t suffer from the same technical difficulties. That fish never seems to be working.
 
The attraction also sounds an awful lot like CyberSpace Mountain at Disney Quest. But that attraction is outdated. The visual graphics are ancient so at the very least, this should be a step up in that department. It also should add some thrills to Innoventions. This maybe something the guest will seek out. And as the introduction of new technology, it could be a surprise hit, like Turtle Talk was initially.

John Frost of the Disney Blog reported late last week that the long anticipated Tequila Bar will be opening at the end of this month inside the Mexico pavilion at Epcot.  It will be called La Cava del Tequila and it will open its doors on August 28.

Guests visiting La Cava del Tequila will have the opportunity to enjoy over 70 types of authentic tequila from several major brands, ranging from the simplest to the rarest of them all, aged to perfection and made from the finest distilled spirits from the Agave Plant. A Tequila Ambassador will be on-hand to educate Guests on the history of Tequila making and its rich Mexican heritage.

Exotic and unique-blended margaritas will be served introducing a variety of flavored salts, spices and tropical fresh fruits masterfully prepared by experienced mixologists.

The plan also calls for a small Tapas-style menu as well, which would really add a nice reason to sit and hang around for awhile, rather than just grabbing a margarita in a plastic cup and moving on to Norway.

Now, I am not much of a tequila fan.  I guess there is just too much Irish in me for that.  But this sounds like a really terrific addition to the Mexico pavilion and the experience for adults at Epcot.  There are no character or movie tie-ins with this addition.  It is just a great way for adults to get out of the way of runaway strollers for a little while and enjoy a very popular piece of Mexican history and heritage.

Since EPCOT Center’s opening, Disney has been looking for ways to make the culture and cuisine heavy World Showcase more accessible to children. They have added a ton of character meet-n-greets. They threw in a small flume ride when they contructed Norway. They created the kidcot craft tables. All of them are fairly successful. And now they are bringing an animated star from the Disney channel lineup: Kim Possible

World Showcase seems an ideal place for kids to jet-set around the world as secret agents. Guests get Kimmunicators at certain kiosks. These interactive devices, presumably stemming from the My Pal Mickey tech, will guide guests throughout World Showcase on some sort of treasure hunt to find items. The whole idea is to stop villians from taking over the world, an admirable goal for certain. Each country will feature a unique mission. The countries involved are apparently Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Japan, France and the United Kingdom. Here is the report from redorbit.com

I must say that I find this to be a unique and possibly interesting addition to World Showcase. Its a great way to involve the kids while not intruding on the more adult ideals of the area, such as the shopping, architecture and food. Its apparently going to begin later this year.

Today’s update is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Sometimes I report or write about something on this website that makes me want to go out and by a plane ticket to Orlando right now.  This is one of those times.  Disney announced yesterday that some of the stars of one of my favorite television shows, “The Deadliest Catch” on the Discovery Channel, will be appearing inside the Norway pavilion in Epcot in mid-July.

Here is part of the press release…

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Norway pavilion at Epcot will host Sig Hansen — one of the featured stars on the popular reality series on The Discovery Channel, “The Deadliest Catch” — for an in-park appearance July 10-13, 2008. Hansen will appear inside The Puffin’s Roost, the pavilion’s merchandise location, each day. He will be joined by his brothers, Edgar and Norman Hansen, who also appear on the show.

A fourth-generation Norwegian fisherman, Sig Hansen is the captain of the Northwestern, one of the crab-catching vessels on “The Deadliest Catch.” He, Edgar and Norman own and operate the Northwestern. Based in Seattle, Wash., the Hansens have fished together for nearly 20 years.

Yes, I am a “Deadliest Catch” junky.  I can’t get enough of it and can’t stand that it only airs about a dozen times a year.  The visuals from this show are mind blowing and the work these guys do is downright crazy.  New episodes air Tuesdays at 9pm ET, but re-runs seem to be on every day while the show is in season.

Why couldn’t they make this appearance when I am there??