More Info and Pics from Toy Story Midway Mania

Today was the first day of the Annual Passholder Preview for Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney Hollywood Studio. We arrived at the park at about 2:30PM and it was Africa Hot!!! We made our way through the crowds towards the new Pixar Studios area of the park. We were greeted by polite, smiling cast members who asked to see our Annual Passes as well as a photo I.D.

Big kudos to these cast members for being as perky and nice as they were. Many folks who were not AP holders were being turned away and were not happy. The CM’s smiled and were as nice as can be as they turned these unhappy folks away.

Once we got passed the Mouse’s top security squad we entered the Pixar Studios ’street’ - for lack of a better term. The old Who Wants to be a Millionaire area and attraction has been beautifully redone. I can’t want to see what might be going in across the street from Toy Story Midway Mania (see a previous blog for rumors).

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Cool Behind-The-Scenes Info regarding Disneyland in California

A few weeks ago I received some cool ‘behind the scenes’ info from a DISer about a tour she took at Disneyland in California.  With her permission I would like to share her experience with you all, as well as some great info she obtained, in her own words.

….27 DIS ladies took the VIP tour at Disneyland.  Among the things we learned was that yes, a Tinkerbell attraction IS coming to Fantasyland this autumn, in an existing building.  It won’t be a sit-down ride, but a static attraction.

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Toy Story Midway Mania in Cast Member Previews

Whenever Disney develops a new ride, show or attraction there is always a lot of testing and reworking to make sure it is perfect for when guests arrive. One of the final phases of testing is called Cast Member Previews and, as the name suggests, Cast Members (aka Disney employees) will experience the attraction to help work out any kinks or problems. In most cases the Cast Member is allowed to bring family or friends along for the ‘ride’. This not only provides Disney with some valuable feedback on how the ride, show or attraction functions and feels without having to impact the guest experience but it allows Cast Members a sneak peak before the general public experiences it.

Toy Story Mania at Disney Hollywood Stories is currently in Cast Member previews and I have some first hand info from someone who had a chance to experience this latest attraction. The following information was provided by the guest of a Cast Member and we are very grateful they decided to share this with us.

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A Very Special Day

Today turned out very different than we originally planned.  Today was the day we were supposed to record our first ever Live Audience Podcast for the The DIS Unplugged.  We had worked with the Gaylord Palms Resort for several months and arranged for a nice convention room set-up to accommodate a modest audience, some ‘finger’ food, drinks and roundtable whereby we were going to set-up our microphones and headsets and let those in attendance see how we record a show.

On Monday April 28th Bob Varley passed away suddenly and all our plans changed.

While dealing with our grief and comforting his family it became apparent that we could not record the Live Show. Not only did we all realize we would not be able to ‘get through it’ we felt it would not be appropriate.  However, we did recognize that we had a whole bunch of people either planning on coming to see us, or already in town.

We quickly changed gears and decided to make it a ‘Meet and Greet’ and a chance for folks to come and honor Bob, his memory and pay their respects to his family.

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Goodbye old friend….

Nothing can be said about Bob Varley without recognizing first that he was an original. While it’s true that we are all unique, it’s safe to say that Bob was more unique than most. It didn’t matter what the event or occasion – no matter how grand or mundane – Bob did it just a little differently.

Bob loved to help, whether you wanted him to or not – it didn’t matter what the situation was – if you were moving to a new house, Bob was there with a handcart. If you needed a ride to the airport, Bob was there with his van (and inside that van was apparently every piece of paper Bob ever came across). And if you were planning a trip to Disney World and happened to mention that to Bob – then God help you. But that was Bob – your need was his need, your pain was his pain, your joy was his joy.

I had the pleasure of being Bob’s friend and co-worker for nearly a decade. It never failed to amaze me that a deli manager from Massachusetts could so effortlessly reinvent himself as a broadcaster, photographer, negotiator, pitchman and all around travel expert without ever breaking a sweat. For most, any one of those disciplines would be an overwhelming life change, but Bob embraced all of it with that seemingly endless supply of energy and good humor that was his hallmark.

Bob was there almost from the beginning of our web site – going from a small group of like minded Disney fans into a worldwide phenomenon that has helped millions of people from all around the world discover the joy of Disney – I can not imagine a job better suited to Bob – and I can tell you his presence and work are in equal measure – irreplaceable.

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Simpsons Ride Soft Open

I want to be up front with you before I start to let you know that I have never been a follower of the Simpsons on TV. I can not remember sitting through a whole Simpsons TV show ever. It was always one of those shows that just was not watched in our house. I guess with show #400 going to be aired in May it must be a big hit, and maybe I need to go back and view a few of them.

I arrived at Universal around 12:30 pm in hopes of finding the New Simpsons ride open for testing. To my surprise it was open and had a 90 minute wait to get in posted. Now I have to be fair here,  in a soft open there are times that you will find that the adjustments to the ride are being made. That is what the soft open really is for, working out the bugs and tweeking the ride.

I spoke to the cast members about the ride to get an idea if it really will take 90 minutes to ride. They advised if you could come back first thing in the morning that would be best to get right on the ride with a minimal wait.  I decided that was probably a good idea and went about taking my pictures of the attraction.

Then something happened that I did not expect. I noticed a Read the rest of this entry »

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park 10th Anniversary Celebration

It’s hard to believe that the Animal Kingdom is 10 years old.  I was there for opening day and to say this park has grown in the past 10 years would be an understatement.  New rides, shows, attractions and restaurants have all been welcome improvements to a park that started out feeling less than complete when it first opened.  I feel honored to have been able to witness that growth and to be present at the 10^th Anniversary Ceremonies.

It started out as a very early day, well for me anyway.  We arrived at the park at 8AM to find the folks from WDW Celebrations had an area set-up just to left in front of the turnstiles.  There they greeted everyone with a smile and gave out lanyards with ID tags, a small card with the days events on it and a very cool 10^th Anniversary button.  I must say I am totally impressed with the way this has been handled and executed.  We did not sign up beforehand but we were still welcomed and given a sticker that indicated we had priority seating for one of the main events, a lecture given by Imagineer Joe Rohde.  Mr. Rohde is one of the driving forces behind Animal Kingdom – but more on him and his lecture later.

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My Ode to Earth Day

I’m cheating this week. I’m using the one and only trip report I ever wrote as my blog. We went on the “Eco Tour” at Castaway Cay in May of 2004. To this day I remain traumatized.  Consider this my tribute to Earth Day:

Disney Cruise Line described the Eco Tour excursion as follows: “Get to know Castaway Cay like a native! A knowledgeable guide will take you on a fascinating eco adventure via a personal watercraft as you learn about the area’s abundant marine life, unique ecology and storied history.”

Sounds good! I’ve been on the Water Mice/Sprites at Disney World, no problem. There’s a guide, Mickey gives it a thumbs up, we should do this.

There we were. Me (as in the one who had the bright idea to do this tour), my husband and our daughter and we’re ready to go. The sun is shining, it’s a perfect day at Castaway Cay and it’s time for our Eco Tour.

First, we get our life jackets and then we get instructions. Wait, what does the fist in the air mean again? Slashing motion across the neck means stop? Are you sure that we’re not in the middle of a Charlie Brown cartoon where he’s giving stage directions? Read the rest of this entry »

Members Only

Well, after tons of offers in the mail to join the Disney Movie Club, I did it!  I had always thrown them away (everything but the free stickers) thinking I had no use for a membership in the DMC, but after the fourth one I gave in and picked my 5 movies for $1.99 each.  Since I was getting the first 5 for such a great deal, I added the sixth one for $14.95 and the seventh one for $9.95.  If you’re keeping count that is 7 movies for less that $40.00!  Of course, being the Disney classic fan that I am, I chose Fox and the Hound, Mary Poppins, The Sword in the Stone, and the list goes on.  I hope Corey is ready for a movie marathon when they arrive!  Some of them may be torture for him, but he is always a good sport.

They still have not arrived on my doorstep after nearly three weeks of waiting!  Ok, I know I need to be more patient, but I want my DMC!  This week I recieved my first movie offer as a club member and the selection was Enchanted (which I already own) so I politely declined.  I did, however, look over the catalog that was sent just to see if anything peaked my interest and to my absolute delight I found the Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad!  Needless to say, I ordered it instead of Enchanted and now I am sitting on pins and needles waiting for it to arrive!  Those of you that listen to the podcast already know of my love for J. Thaddeus Toad aka Mr. Toad.

I only need to buy 3 more movies by April of next year to fulfill my contractual obligation!

New Monsters Inc. Boulevard and Dark Ride coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

As many of you know Pete Werner is in California this week on a working vacation.  Interspersed among meetings he is getting some time to enjoy Disneyland California as well as socialize with random strangers (an aspect of the human condition that has eluded me personally).

I guess being sociable can pay off as Pete spent some time with a very knowledgeable Disney employee who shared some very cool insider information.

This unnamed Cast Member (of apparently some importance) works for Disney in Burbank and told Pete that John Lasseter has really invigorated the Imagineering department at Disney.  So much so that they are getting excited about new projects and ideas in a way they haven’t been in years.  Mr. Lasseter is also working to bring in new/younger Imagineers.  Currently, the average age of the Disney Imagineer is 47 and they are afraid that they might lose that ‘talent’ if older Imagineers retire and there are no new ones to replace them.

Mr. Lasseter is also instrumental in integrating the Pixar brand more into the overall Disney consciousness, as evidenced by Toy Story the Musical on the Disney Cruise Line, the new Pixar inspired parades at Disney World and Disneyland, the soon-to-be-debuted Toy Story Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS) as well as something new on the slate for DHS – a whole new area based on Monsters Inc.

This area will be a Boulevard all it’s own within DHS.  We do not know if this will replace a current area/street at the Studios theme park or if it will be added to the current footprint of the park somehow.

This new Boulevard/area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be themed based on Monsters Inc. and will include a new ‘dark ride’ based on the ‘door scene’ from the movie.  This is the scene that expands on the premise that the Monster world gains access to the human world via the closet doors in children’s rooms.  We can only imagine what the Disney Imagineers might come up with based on the scene in the movie where the doors fly by on ‘drycleaner’ type apparatus and open up to new rooms and adventures for Sully and Mike.

The new area at Disney Hollywood Studios, as well as the new ride, are both still in the concept stage and has not been finalized yet, but Pete is confident the information is sound based on the source.

Thanks to Pete Werner for getting us this info.

Corey said the “B” word

Why did Corey have to mention bathing suits?

I’m on the “full-figured” side, which is a nice way of saying I need to lose 20 pounds……….per thigh.

I’ve been on quite a few Disney cruises. No matter what, the routine never varies. I scope out the adult pool. YAY!! There are plenty of other plus size gals so I run to my stateroom to change.

Much as I’d like to say throwing on a bathing suit takes five minutes, there’s a ritual that must be followed. (Number one on the list is all mirrors and reflective surfaces must be covered.) I’ve packed my “miracle” suit and am about to look 10 pounds slimmer!! Read the rest of this entry »

Toy Story The Musical onboard The Disney Wonder

This morning I had the great fortune of being able to attend a special event onboard the Disney Wonder. It was a sneak preview/press event for Toy Story The Musical, the newest stage show being performed on the Disney Wonder.

The logistics of the event and what goes on are almost as interesting as what is being showcased, but I think I will save that for this week’s podcast. So tune in for more on that this Tuesday 4/15. For this blog I will concentrate on the show itself.

Presented in the Walt Disney Theater onboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship, Toy Story The Musical is a nice addition to the family friendly, well produced and thoroughly enjoyable stage shows one comes to expect from Disney Cruise Line.

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Water Parks vs. Resort Pools – Why do you pack a bathing suit?

It’s safe to say that the majority of people that come to Walt Disney World pack a bathing suit for their trip, whether they end up using it or not is another thing. For me, it’s one of the first things I think about. Does my bathing suit still fit? Is it time to upgrade? Now that Julie does the packing for me, she’s the one asking me these questions . “Babe, are you fine with your bathing suit? I don’t want to hear you complain that it doesn’t fit once we leave”. I am more than willing to pack my own stuff, but she’s not willing to wait until an hour before we leave for me to do so. I’ll never forget the Disney Cruise that Julie forgot to pack my suit. I ended having to buy a cheesy Mickey Mouse one at the gift shop. I swear this thing had 12 pockets on it - I gave that one to my dad.

What is it about vacationing and pools that go so well together? For some, it’s a time to relax with a book and forget about the worries of home. Others have a mission of getting the best tan possible while strategically rubbing a variety of suntan lotion on all parts of their body like it’s an art (Julie). Then there are those that want to spend the whole day swimming and going on slides to the point of exhaustion. Some spend time at pools just for their kids. For me, I’d rather grab a cold beer and an iPod and just burn in the sun.

Why do you pack a bathing suit for your vacation? Are you looking forward to the water parks, taking advantage of the resort pools, or both?

Whoopee, the inlaws are joining us

This is for those of you who visit family in Florida.

As I mentioned in another blog entry, my father-in-law moved to Florida after marrying a woman he met when visiting his brother in Boca Raton. The trips south were split between seeing Pop-Pop and seeing Mickey.

Early on, the in-laws would join us for the Disney part of the trip. The first time we visited, we all stayed at a Disney Fairway Villa.

These had a great set up for larger parties, or so it seemed. The main floor had a kitchen, a half bathroom and a living room with a pull down queen bed. Downstairs was a bedroom with two double beds and a full bath; while upstairs was a loft bedroom with a queen bed and a second full bath. Read the rest of this entry »

Pop Century Resort Review or A trip back in time. The arrival

Hi Folks, I recently stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.

Let me begin by saying it is important to get a first hand look at each Disney hotel property to really be able to comment about it. It makes a big difference to be at the hotel for a couple of days, so you experience what people that are staying there are really experiencing. The focus is the hotel, not the theme parks when we are there. I have found by doing this you will see things that others that are focused on the theme parks might not see.

I will start my review by saying I am very fond of this hotel. Having grown up in the Classic Years as Disney refers to the time period from 1950 – 2000, I found myself traveling back in time. Even before you get to the security gate you start to feel like you are in a way back time machine. I found signs along the side of the road that brought back memories of past road trips my family and I use to take. Read the rest of this entry »

Am I the Only One?

Ok, I know it has now been three weeks since Enchanted was released on DVD; but, am I the only one who rushed out on March 18th and bought it?  I must admit I am a little bit of a freak for this great, relatively new Disney movie.  I saw it twice in the theater!  Corey took me to see it when it first came out and then, over Christmas, I took my little sis to a showing in Louisiana. 

The weekend after I bought it we saw it twice!  Once with Corey’s parents and then again with his parents and sister!  Now I am up to 4 viewings and I find myself wanting to watch it all over again quite often.  The Happy Working song plays in my head constantly and I wish I had cute little animals to help me with my housework.  Hopefully, I am not the only person out there obsessed with this wonderful addition to the Disney movie collection!

An Extravagant Brunch

This past Saturday was my birthday and my family (John and my folks) and I had a deal.

We’ve reached the point in life that we have pretty much every toy we want so we have given up the burden of finding the perfect birthday gift. We live comfortably (and modestly) but we have the means to enjoy ourselves occasionally, so we have all agreed that birthdays would be about enjoying ourselves and each other’s company.

That being said…I was surprised this weekend with a rather extravagant celebration. I was told on Saturday that we would be enjoying brunch on Sunday at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort’s La Coquina.

La Coquina is the restaurant that wins the Best Brunch award in the Orlando Sentinel’s yearly restaurant awards. It has quite the reputation as being truly fantastic. It also has the reputation for being pricey.  I would say both are accurate.

Our brunch reservation was for 11:30am and there would be 6 of us. My brother and his wife would be joining us. We are a pretty casual bunch of folks and the dress code states “no shorts”.  It’s a tough crowd to get into slacks, but we did.

We arrived at the restaurant and were given a tour of the brunch buffet. The buffet is set up almost entirely in the kitchen and consists of several different tables of the most wonderful and delectable foods.  There are also several hot entrees that are made to order, as well as omelettes and a waffle station.

We are not talking about your average brunch buffet. There were three kinds of caviar, 8 kinds of sushi, a raw bar, a seafood bar with barbecued scallops and shrimp. There were several kinds of pasta, an assortment of 12 cheeses with accompanying fresh fruit, pastries, breads cookies, sticky buns and on and on and on.

The hot entrees were buffalo, lamb, roast beef, three kinds of fresh fish, eggs benedict and anything you could decribe to the chef. My mother asked if there any sort of breakfast potatoes and while they weren’t on the menu, they were created on the spot.

All the fresh squeezed OJ, champagne, cofffee, tea and soft drinks were refilled within seconds and included in the price.

The dessert buffet looked like an art gallery. Each and every item looked too beautiful to disturb. The amazing thing is that they tasted as good as they looked. Thats unusual. Usually, if they are that pretty, all of the effort went into looks.

The setting for this feast is a large room, two sides of which are floor to ceiling windows overlooking the resort’s gardens. All during brunch, a pianist played softly, wihout taking a break.

The cost of this wonderous event is $61.95 per person. I realize that is an enormous price tag, but it is worth every penny.

The Podcast Crew is often asked if there is a place to celebrate a special event. I’m of the opinion that this is wonderful choice that will impress just about anyone.

It’s an extravagance that I think will live up to your expectations.

The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is located adjacent to Disney property and just off Hotel Plaza Blvd.

Cafe Rix, Nice Addition to Coronado Springs Resort

The other day I found myself over at The Coronado Springs Resort so I decided to pop my head into Rix Lounge, the new ‘ultra lounge’ styled bar located just outside of the Pepper Market.  I found the space to be well themed and inviting with some cool areas to sit with friends for a drink and discussion.  Since this was already covered by Bob Varley on the Podcast I won’t go into details of the offerings, needless to say they are expensive.  As someone who rarely drinks I doubt I will be spending any time at Rix Lounge, but I think many of the conventioneers at The Coronado Springs will enjoy the adult, non-Disney atmosphere and libations - especially those who are on a per diem.

Since this was the first time I had been to the Coronado since the completion of Rix Lounge I didn’t know they also built a new grab-n-go food area called Cafe Rix.  This is located between Rix Lounge and the store.

I must say that this looks a like a really great addition to this resort.

For those of you who don’t know, the old grab-n-go food location was right next to the podium for the Pepper Market.  This new location is much more centrally located and convenient for folks who want to sit outside along the water and have a bite to eat.

While we didn’t stop and eat here the food actually looked good, and quite reasonable for Disney Resort fare.  There were hot and cold sandwich platters which ranged from $6.99 to $9.50, soups and salads from $7.50 to $10.85,  fresh fruit and both fountain and bottled drinks in a very wide variety.

What impressed me the most was the fresh baked items and gelato.  Everything looked so good and fresh, and I didn’t think the prices were that bad.

For those of you who want to know exactly what is being offered check out the MENU for Cafe Rix on the DIS.

Again, we did not stop and eat so I do not know what the food tasted like but it all looked very good and very high quality.

Maybe next time we’ll take some time to stop in for a snack at Rix. 

Crazy thing happened at Universals Mardi Gras or Hey you can’t Do that!!!

Hi folks, I just want to add an experience I encountered while attending Mardi Gras on Saturday evening for the Heart concert.

I decided after touring the park for a little while that it might be a good idea to go Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday in the Park with Scar - Part 2

It’s important to understand a few things before reading this. First, Walter is not a ‘Disney fan’, or even much of a Universal fan. He likes the hotels well enough, there are a couple of rides he enjoy’s and a he’s happy to eat at a few of the restaurants - but he’s not ‘into’ this like we are. Our adventures that morning had given us a glimpse in the bizzare world of his hobby - now he was about to get (yet another) glimpse into the frightening world of mine. I should also mention that it took me years to get him to join me on anything work related. But, he loves Mardis Gras at Universal, so I felt pretty comfortable bringing him along for our prize giveaway.

Second, he thought it was an odd idea to begin with - that we were going to walk around the park and give a cruise away to the first person that said hello. He glazed over a bit when I told him there was a lot of discussion on the boards about it - as little as he’s in Disney, he’s even less into ‘the boards’. He likes you folks well enough, really - but he just doesn’t get how anyone could spend that much time on a discussion board. I’ve tried to explain it to him, but unless I pepper a sentance with words like “orchid” and “decidious”, I just get this blank look back. However, since I’ve now had a close up look at plant people in their natural habitiat, I feel I’m well armed the next time he tries to poke fun at my Disney obsession - a simple ‘how-dee-doo’ should pretty much neutralize those conversations from now on.

We decided to head over to Universal around 6pm. I was well rested from my nap, and Scar decided to forgo sleep to tend to his Orchids - which I knew instantly meant that he was going to start getting cranky. Walter is at his worst when he’s tired or hungry - but if you mix the two of those things together, we have the makings of a pychotic break. On the way over to Universal, he mentioned that he really hadn’t eaten either - a slight chill of terror went down my spine.

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