The wife and I just booked our trip to Japan, which I will gush about in future posts but today has been replete with Mystic Manor news, announcements, updates, and now: A VIDEO!
This looks absolutely incredible and yet another trackless ride system from Disney’s Imagineering team! I had never even heard of trackless ride systems until researching our Tokyo Disneyland trip but now this is something I KNOW we need here in the US parks. Robert told me that TOT in Florida is a trackless system which I had no clue but these have come quite a way in 20 years!
I am surprised it’s in English although I have done little to no study on the overseas parks. Disneyland Resort Paris had a few rides that offered an English experience and Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea parks seem to be mainly in Japanese (with the option of picking up “story papers” at City Hall.) Also, Danny Elfman’s score is a fitting choice for this attraction and it offers a great new soundtrack for those attraction audiophiles out there!
Mystic Manor is China’s first foray into the Haunted Mansion-type attraction. However, from what I can tell and have heard, ghosts are a big taboo in China so the imagineers thought up a clever workaround using a cute, mischievous, and marketable monkey and a mysterious music box that is a recent addition to Lord Henry’s collection of antiquities.
Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland’s new Mystic Point area officially open to the public May 17, 2013.
I was recently sent a follow-up survey for August’s Glow With The Show with Fantasmic! event. It was super short and I was confused about what the point was until I was put into a live-chat situation. While near the end I realized that this was being conducted by a 3rd party forDisney, it was still super fun to chat with someone in a very conversational way about Disneyland Parks, Glow With The Show plans, etc.
Here’s what transpired in that chat:
You are now connected to: Brianna Brianna: Hi and thank you very much for chatting with me today. I’d like to talk to you about ‘Glow with the Show’ ear hats. Guest: Sure Brianna: To get started, what would you say about your experience with your ‘Glow with the Show’ ear hat? What was it like? How did you feel? Guest: I love the technology of the show and seeing a complete sea of hats is absolutely an incredible sight. Guest: Another of my favorite features is that the hat turns OFF inside dark rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion Brianna: 🙂 Tell me more about what makes the technology so appealing for you… Guest: I wish all glowing items (swords, necklaces, bracelets, toys) had that same technology. Guest: Seeing all the colors and patterns in sync with the music really plusses the show for me Brianna: How do you feel during one of these shows? Guest: Fantasmic! brings the goosebumps for sure. I’ll admit I got a little tear-y eyed with the premiere event and seeing all the hats in sync with the music. I had already seen the effect with the World of Color and didn’t think I would like it any better with Fantasmic! but it really nailed it for me Brianna: What do you think Fantasmic! did that really ‘nailed it’ for you, if you could pinpoint it? Brianna: *did differently Guest: The music lends itself to an epic light display. As an AP, I kind of had expectations for what it might be like and it was that and more. I mean, the show area is so much smaller than the World of Color area so I thought it might be a bust, but it REALLY is incredible because it’s more of a horseshoe shape so seeing the ears near the Golden Horseshoe all the way from near The Haunted Mansion brings a whole other element I hadn’t anticipated. It really distinguishes the show’s setting with the edges of the rivers of america. In a normal show, you’re very much looking forward at the show the whole time, which I suppose is the point. But with the Glow with the Show, it’s like you’re IN the show, so you’re looking there, you’re looking next to you, behind you, left, right, all around you. Brianna: Thank you sooo much for that detail! 🙂 And what do you like about the hat turning off inside dark rides? Guest: Let’s be honest, the only thing more annoying than people reciting the Ghost Host’s dialogue in the stretching portrait room are those light-up toys. When I first heard about GWTS, I worried that there would be MORE light pollution and thought to myself, that technology should work both ways — control the timing for shows and extinguish the lights for moments like that. I try to ride the rides as if everyone else in the room is on it for the first time. The effect is lost on Pirates and Mansion (and more) when you see someone’s light saber or necklace blinking all over the place. Brianna: Understandable! Now, I see that you had some issues with the design of the hat. Tell me more about that… Guest: Well it reminds me of Glowfest which wasn’t the most elegant. I just am not a huge fan of the black-light coloring style — especially since I don’t know of any current use of blacklights with those hats. It’s just an aesthetics thing. When the technology allows for smaller receivers in the hats, I wouldn’t mind if every hat had the technology. Even if it were in the form of LEDs as opposed to an entire ear lighting up (although that may not be as dramatic for shows) Brianna: Just to be clear, when you talk about the ‘black-light coloring style’, to which part of the hat are you referring? Guest: Sorry, the fabric on the “dome” portion of the hat. Guest: that’s the only part I am not crazy about. I wouldn’t have bought it probably were it not for the tech Brianna: Got it; thanks 🙂 That said, how would a different design make you feel about the ‘Glow with the Show’ ear hats? Guest: Like I said, I wouldn’t mind if every hat I have had the technology! I would love more designs for sure! I am not a huge fan of the Mad-T Party but I know people that are and would flock to a limited edition GWTS hat for that event since it utilizes the tech Guest: Same with a Sorcerer’s Apprentice hat for Fantasmic or a WoC hat Brianna: That would be cool! And how (if at all) would a different design affect how often you would wear your hat? Guest: I would probably forget it at home more often. To be honest, I don’t wear hats that often, I just display the ones I love at home (club 33, paris 15th, dland 50th) although I’ll bet if I could get it embroidered, that might make a difference. Brianna: Tell me more about the difference it would make if you could get it embroidered… Guest: Well, if I could get it embroidered, it makes the hat more personal which would make me more inclined to wear it. Right now, my hat looks exactly like everyone else’s. If I were to drop it in a crowd, it’d be indistinguishable from anyone else’s. Brianna: You’ve had some great ideas specific to people’s interests… What other types of designs would you want to see, personally? Guest: Sorcerer’s Apprentice for Fantasmic! for SURE Brianna: How about for the dome portion of the hat? Guest: Keep it standard like the regular sorcer’s apprentice hats which I believe are just black felt. Outside of the ears lighting up, I don’t care that my hat looks like a GWTS hat in the daylight Guest: I love the idea of any hat being GWTS in the future so there needs to be no real advertising it as such on the ones that are — if that makes any sense Brianna: It does 🙂 In your opinion, how many different designs should there be? Brianna: (with the current ears, that is) Brianna: Sorry, let me rephrase that… how many designs for the dome should there be with the current Glow Ears? Guest: I think 3. A MTP version, A WoC version, and a Fantasmic! version Guest: Each themed after their perspective shows. I kind of consider the Genie the mascot of WoC and a Genie themed dome would be neat, I think but not sure that’s indicative of the entire show, really. Brianna: Ok. And aside from the embroidery, which of these design options would encourage you to own and wear more than one pair of Glow Ears? Guest: What do you mean? Like if there were a Genie themed one and a Sorcer’s Apprentice themed one, would I buy and wear both? Brianna: Yes Guest: ( for example) Guest: Yes. Those two hats in particular I would buy Guest: and wear Guest: and likely give my old ears to a kid somewhere in the park to encourage more participation in the shows Brianna: 🙂 Now switching gears a bit, have you brought your Glow Ears back to the Disneyland Resort since your experience at the AP Fantasmic! Glow with the Show Premiere on Tuesday, August 28? Guest: Not that I can remember. Brianna: Do you think you will take the one you have to the Disneyland Resort again in the future? Please explain why or why not… Guest: Yes and mainly to participate in the shows. Like I said, they’re not my favorite design and I don’t care to advertise the fact that I have them as much as I care to take part in the shows. However, I might only do it if I planned on seeing one of the shows for sure (dinner plan, bringing guests, etc.) There are times I decide to watch the shows spontaneously but I might at that point think “oh, i should have brought the hat” but not think much beyond that Brianna: For you personally, does it matter how much participation from other guests is present at the shows? (that is, how many others have the ears also) Guest: Yes. I saw WoC shortly after the GWTS event and it was kind of a bummer to see it without full participation. It’s SUCH a cool technology I wish people could see that more Brianna: So for you, would you go ahead and bring your Ears when you planned ahead to attend a show (if you didn’t know how much participation would be there)? Guest: Correct. If I planned on seeing the shows for sure as a part of my trip, I wouldn’t think twice about it. Brianna: On that note, you may or may not have attended the New Year’s Eve event at Disneyland Resort. Those wearing their Glow Ears were given ‘2013 clings’ (which are like see-through stickers to put on Glow Ears). What do you think of this special giveaway? Guest: Oh I missed that! Guest: I do remember seeing that offered and we thought about going SPECIFICALLY for that giveaway though Brianna: What kept you from going? Guest: We went last year, I got off work late, and we had guests in town that couldn’t attend Brianna: Bummer! (Just wanted to make sure it didn’t have to do with the ears 🙂 Though it seems obvious from our conversation, how do special perks like this affect your likelihood to bring your Glow Ears back to Disneyland Resort? Guest: In a positive way. I would bring them more and more. For example, if there were a day this year where instead of an extra Disney day, they gave away GWTS ears to regular park guests, I might try to get down just for that day to participate. Or giveaways for previous owners, etc. for sure Brianna: And you may or may not have experienced special viewing areas for those with Glow Ears during the 12/20/12—1/6/13 Fantasmic!, fireworks, and World of Color shows/events at Disneyland Resort. Those wearing their Glow Ears were given access to a special viewing section closer to the action. What do you think of this? Guest: I am super bummed I hadn’t hear about this. I had quite the holiday work load this year. 🙁 WDW, while amazing, really packed the back half of my year! Guest: I think it’s incredible! Guest: It goes with what I said earlier, there’s something incredible seeing the stark darkness of the rivers of america enhanced by the glowing of the ears on the shore. It really outlines the show-space Brianna: And what do you think about guests with Glow Ears receiving this kind of privilege?
Guest: I think it’s incredible and a terrific idea. Although those without them may not like it so much (ie the people that camp out at 3pm (me and my family in ’93) Brianna: True 🙂 Now, how would you describe ‘Glow with the Show’ ear hats to a friend or family member? Guest: oof…. Guest: Depends on how technical they are but I would say that they’re special mouse ears that are controlled by the show and blink on and off with the music and SFX in patterns and colors. All you do is sit back and enjoy and the ears do the work for you. To someone more technical, I might describe how they work which I have tried but I can’t nail it down. I refuse to believe it’s as simple as IR Brianna: Thanks! Now, this is how Disneyland Resort describes them: ‘Glow with the Show’ ear hats are Mickey ears that interact at various points at the Disneyland Resort. At Disneyland Park, Glow Ears interact with Fantasmic!. At Disney California Adventure Park, Glow Ears interact with World of Color and Mad T Party. They also interact in Cars Land at the Cozy Cone Motel, Flo’s V8 Café, and Luigi’s Flying Tires. Brianna: Talk to me about these interaction points. What do you think about them? Do you like them? Why or why not? Guest: Cars Land has always been a cool implementation of it but there’s not much that actually “happens” there other than the neon coming to life at dusk. Other than that it’s more elemental and environmental there. So while a cool feature, probably not AS noteworthy although I knew it was a part of it. I would say that Cars Land is a template for other lands to follow suit but in the grand scheme of things, less important. For musically interactivity like MTP, WoC, and Fantasmic!, it’s a no-brainer. I actually remember saying “I can’t wait until this gets implemented with ‘Remember, Dreams Come True!'” so I am among those ready for more and more implementations around the parks Guest: And while at WDW, I couldn’t stop telling the interested cast members how cool it was if only it had more guest interaction, but the AP events were out of this world Brianna: 🙂 And just to clarify, were you aware of ALL these interaction points mentioned? Guest: Not Flo’s or Luigi’s but yes at Cozy Cone et al Brianna: How interested are you in seeing what happens at Flo’s? Guest: Absolutely! and Luigi’s, although are you suggesting that it’s not as cool? Brianna: Not at all! (I don’t actually know; I’m an independent researcher unaffiliated with Disney) Guest: Ah! Guest: Now you know how crazy we Disney folk are O_O Brianna: 🙂 In addition to the current interaction points, what other venues or entertainment offerings would you like to interact with your ‘Glow with the Show’ ear hat, such as Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, the fireworks, or parades? Brianna: Not crazy, delightful 🙂 Guest: I was bummed when it wasnt (as far as I know) implemented with the Halloween or Christmas time fireworks so I would LOVE to see more of that. I think an implementation with Small World’s “Magic Memories and You” show is a no-braniner and I would love to see that. Also the castle would be great! I am interested in it all! Even Mansion and/or Pirates if implemented correctly but it REALLY has to work well and add to the shows for those rides Brianna: Those are all the questions I have for you. Thank you so much for your time and feedback! Please click “NEXT” to continue…. Have a wonderful rest of your day!!
Pretty neat! How would you have answered some of these? Are there GWTS updates coming soon? We sure hope so!
Yesterday, I posted about an incredible feat of ingiuity and dedication: a shot-for-shot recreation of Pixar’s first feature-length animated film Toy Story. It was so incredible and I was so impressed that I had to reach out to the film-makers themselves to figure out how and why they did it. They were gracious enough to answer the few questions I (and apparently a bunch of other blogs around the interweb) had for them regarding the film:
Remain Seated Please: What inspired you to pull off such a daunting task of recreating a feature-length pixar film, shot for shot?
Jesse Perrotta: I think part of what started the fire in us to make us want to do this was the release of Toy Story 3. The months following the movie’s release, we were in constant Toy Story mode, haha. Also, we wanted make something that would be historical (the first shot-for-shot recreation of an animated film in live action.) Nobody did it before, and we wanted to be the first!
RSP: How long from start to finish did this take?
Jesse: Without counting preparation, it took us almost 2 years to the day (August 2010 to August 2012).
RSP: What film making inspiration did you have (outside of Toy Story, obviously?)
Jesse: It’s hard to think of another answer besides Toy Story, haha. I wasn’t really inspired to do it but anything else
Jonason Pauley: I was also inspired by the kids in the 80s who re-made Raiders of the Lost Ark, the guys who re-made the Goofy Movie song in a similar way… I just loved watching shot-for-shot type low budget re-makes (Be Kind Rewind would have been better if they had more of those type of scenes.)
RSP: What was the most difficult sequence to shoot? 4.) what did you edit this in?
Jesse: I would say the hardest scene was the shot after Buzz jumps on Scud’s face, when Scud is trying to shake Buzz of while the camera is moving away from them. It took us countless takes until Scud finally did what he was supposed to do.
Jonason: For the most part, shooting all day we completed about a minute of the film, but it seemed to take twice as long for the chase scene. Also, working with kids and Scud wasn’t too easy either. It was fun, just not easy.
RSP: What did you shoot this on (camera type?)
Jonason: I filmed with just a normal consumer camcorder. Panasonic HDD (that’s not High Def Delux, that’s Hard Drive Disk)
RSP: What program did you use for editorial?
Jesse: We edited the movie on Adobe Premiere Pro.
Jonason: I did the majority of the editing, like Jesse said, on Adobe, but you, Jesse, edited a scene in Vegas.
RSP: Did you have any “technical advisors” or was a lot of it improvised between the two of you? (ie – stop motion stuff, marionette, puppetry, etc?)
Jesse: It was pretty much all on-the-spot decisions. (e.g., “I can’t get his arms to do what I want. let’s use the wire.”, or, “This shot’s so hard to do! Let’s film it backwards!”) Also, Jonason’s dad would sometimes be around and give us some tips on how to accomplish a certain scene.
Jonason: A.D. is credited as “Technical Expertize” because he resurrected my computer from the dead to a zombie-like state once.
RSP: Is film production a dream of yours?
Jesse: I can answer this for both of us… yes! We definitely want to have careers in film-making. I, personally, would love to compose music for films and television shows.
Jonason: I want to make good movies.
RSP: What’s next for you two?
Jesse: I’m planning on riding this Live Action Toy Story success train for a while, and see where it takes me. I’m also going to be working on a new series called Billy and Chucky (it’s a puppet show.)
Jonason: I’m going to school for a film degree and it doesn’t really matter to me what I do, as long as I have a part in making movies and videos that people will enjoy as much as I do. For now, more internet stuff.
RSP: What has the reception been like? 5.5M* views in just 5 days is unheard-of!
Jesse: I’m so amazed to see how much this movie has been getting attention these past few days! We’re not just popular on Youtube, but it seems like we’re showing up everywhere on the internet! It’s really exciting, and it feels so rewarding to know that people are enjoying it, and watching it with their families
Jonason: I am amazed at how well received it has been as well.
*6.3M as of today!
I had never done an interview before this one but these kids and their project inspired it. Very inspiring seeing what they pulled off and from their points of view, it’d appear that it was also very rewarding.
As I went on and did more homework on these kids, I learned that they took a trip to Emeryville, California with no promise (or success as far as I could tell) of getting in but just to hand out DVD copies of the film to Pixar employees and they were met with a smile from security who seemed to be expecting them. Although Pixar has a history of never commenting on fan-projects (because then we would all do fan-projects), they have received accolades from a few Pixar insiders including Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3!
It also turns out that these are the same kids behind the live-action Toy Story 3 finale released last year which is what first gained the interest of Unkrich as well as 2.6M other viewers since it was released.
These kids have two major viral hits on their hands and we here at Remain Seated Please are glad to be in their corner early-on! To the next few-million hits!
This is something special. From their Facebook page: “‘TS Project’ started production in late June 2010 by Jonason Pauley, (then 17), and Jesse Perrotta (18).” Uploaded just 5 days ago, this 2.5-year-long project was finally uploaded to YouTube and has already garnered 5.5M views!
I am 23 minutes in and just astonished with what these kids pulled off. The Buzz flying scene was quite the feat! While not the prettiest thing, I can’t imagine the techniques they picked up on while making this — coverage, stop motion, reveals, etc. Incredible story-telling school in the span of 2 and a half years — and some crazy dedication.
I’d love to sit down with these guys and hear how they pulled some of this off, their inspirations, and some technical specs! The full feature is embedded below — enjoy!
Last night was the 50th Anniversary of my favorite spot in Los Angeles: The Magic Castle. January 3rd, 1963m Milt and Bill Larsen opened the private magic club in the Rollin B. Lane mansion at Franklin and Orange in the heart of Hollywood, CA. In fact, I would say that The Magic Castle is as close to what The Hollywood Tower Hotel is being touted as in the Tower of Terror library scene – a beacon for the showbiz elite! Richard and Robert Sherman of the Sherman Brothers (It’s A Small World, Mary Poppins, Carousel of Progress, etc.) is one of the very first members of the castle (Richard was in attendance last night!) Carey Grant was on the Board of Directors at one time, establishing the “Carey Grant” rule which still applies today — NO PHOTOGRAPHY INSIDE THE CASTLE! Let’s just say I happened upon these photos from “someone’s” recent trip to the castle.
Imagineer Yale Gracey was a friend of the castle. Yale created many incredible effects at Disneyland including, but not limited to, the Pepper’s Ghost effect – which he had not even read about at the time of its discovery. Meaning he had invented something that, although had been an ancient parlor trick, was an incredible achievement in the world of optical illusion and trickery. It was so impressive that he showed a model to Walt Disney himself demonstrating the effect and thus The Haunted Mansion was born!
That model now lives at the Magic Castle in the wine cellar below the main bar. It has changed positions over its tenure but where it landed was in a hallway of strange and similar parlor tricks. None, however, worked as well as the Pepper’s Ghost model.
Well, last night we ventured down to take a look around and lo and behold, we saw some familiar and new faces to the castle!
The Hatbox Ghost!The Bride!
The Hatbox Ghost and the Bride from The Haunted Mansion! It seems they have transformed this hallway into a sort-of haunted hall. The Hatbox ghost, in case it’s not clear, is guarding an endless hallway of wine bottles (also recently relocated to this hallway). The Bride is where an old Banjo used to sit. There is a big red button to the right that I thought would make the banjo play but it never did in my time there. However, the button remains with this new Bride display and knowing President Neil Patrick Harris*, he may have plans in store for this effect in the future!
These statues stand about 18 – 24 inches tall and look very authentic. If you have any information as to whether they were sold in the parks or from where they came, let us know!
Also notable there was some new signage to go with the haunted-hallway theme.
If you ever get the chance to visit the Magic Castle, be sure to check out the Haunted Wine Cellar. It’s sure to excite even the most casual Disney fan!
* – Yes, THAT Neil Patrick Harris. He is the current president of the Academy of Magical Arts which calls the Magic Castle its home!
Our fourth day brought us into a whole new world for us with Disney – Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Fun fact: The island across from the Contemporary Resort to the west was once the catalyst for what is now Animal Kingdom: Discovery Island. It has been closed for the last 13 years but not too long ago, some urban explorers set foot upon the island in a less-than legal manner but provided some amazing photos which can be viewed here. It’s a pretty fun, if not lacking, read. One is left wanting more from their exploration.
Everest looms!
Well, today, we did not go to the original Discovery Island but we did head into Discovery Island – the land – at Animal Kingdom. Discovery Island is the main hub of AK park from which all lands protrude in classic Disney park fashion. Interesting that they kept that name. We hurried straight over to Asia to ascend our most anticipated Disney mountain on Expedition Everest!
Expedition Everest!
This ride is by far the most amazing at this park in terms of thrill and theming. I absolutely love it and is my favorite of any of the Disney park mountains. You go forward, backward, fast, slow, and it’s just a super awesome thrill! According to friends and family, the Yeti has been inoperable for a long while. However, having never ridden it with it being operable, I didn’t notice anything strange about it and this is such a sense stimulator that one is never left wanting anything more or feeling cheated in any way.
Absolutely awesome!
We walked onto this ride three times in a row. We were able to take in the detail in the queue but not stop long enough to take any photos worth really posting. You walk through a base-camp on the way up to the base of Everest with some great artifacts, equipment both old and new, and a lot of strange footprints, photos, and books about the mysterious Yeti. When the train arrives to take you to the peak, you pass even more of what appear to be warning signs. Everything seems fine until you realize that the track taking you to the summit has been ripped from it’s ties and you immediately plunge backward! You encounter the creature a couple times on your trek and narrowly escape in the end. Such a thrill and an amazing attraction! We must have done it about 6 or 7 times this day alone!
My favorite part of this park was the early-morning mist that engulfed the entire park. Extra Magic Hours got us to the park at 7am on the very last day of Daylight Saving Time so it was the absolute earliest (in relative position of the sunrise) we could be at the park for the entire year. It was absolutely magical! My least favorite part? The smell — and unfortunately the mist did a lot to carry those smells throughout the park. The flamingos are largely to blame for it, I’m sure, as they’re a foul smelling bird. The early morning beauty, however, trumped any other sensory overload provided by the park.
The second attraction I was most excited for was the Kilimanjaro Safaris! We had gone to San Diego’s Wild Animal Park (now renamed Safari Park) 5 or 6 years back and were sorely disappointed by the fact that there is no safari included in the price of admission! I couldn’t believe how expensive doing a safari on par with AK’s safari was! ($130+). The Kilimanjaro Safaris is everything you’d want it to be and more!
Giraffes!Ostrich eggs!The King
The safari uses real vehicles to see real animals without visible (or literal in some cases) boundaries. The animals are all out and about and mingling with one another (when appropriate). We asked where the best place to sit was for photos and were told the back left side was probably the best place because your field of view is much wider. We ended up getting the entire back row to ourselves so we were able to get some incredible pics from all sides! Make sure you set your camera for a faster shutter speed as the vehicle rarely stops so you’ve really gotta snap away and sort thru the pics later!
Chillin’
Another great thing this park has is an abundance of walking tours. Each takes you into a different eco system with animals to all sides of you. You can really get great shots of different species in their different habitats. If you’re lucky, they’ll come right up to you or you may just see something unexpected and not necessarily on the tour.
I had never seen a woodpecker actually pecking wood in the wild! This guy was not on the map.Adorable
We went to eat at Pizzafari for breakfast. Just your standard breakfast sandwich fare to get by. We snapped a cool pic while inside.
Neat!
Next up was DinoLand U.S.A. which seemed to be geared toward children yet had some of my favorite attractions at the park including Dinosaur! and Primeval Whirl. Dinosaur is like Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland Park but with time travel and dinosaurs. Another ride with a cool queue (like being at the Jurassic Park visitor center) that we sort of flew past because there were no lines. There is, however, a cool intro video with Phylicia Rashad.
Primeval Whirl is as close to Hollywood Studios’ (at Disneyland Paris) Crush’s Coaster ride system as you can get here in the states. It’s like Goofy’s Sky School but instead of always facing front, half way thru the ride, the car unlocks itself from the base and you spin on an axis while the coaster continues down the track. It’s a tough explanation and I’ll post a video and pictures soon of this attraction.
There’s so much at this park to take in the first time because it’s so unlike any other Disney park so most of the best pics we took here were on our second visit to the park later in the trip.
More walking trails!Tigers!Maybe the best merchandise in the park!
There are also some great shows and characters at this park! So much so that this park is maybe best done in two days because the animals’ bed times are pretty early. This park was closing at 5pm today so we had to pass on some things this day and plan to do them on a return trip because we really wanted to see the Festival of the Lion King show at Camp Minnie-Mickey as well as meet a slew of characters in their AK “garb.”
“The Festival of the Lion King” is another stunning example of great Floridian theatre! Seriously, if you aren’t landing gigs on Broadway or in Los Angeles, head on down to Orlando because this city has some incredible theatre within the WDW resort.
It was pretty dark during the show and it’s quite the sensory overload but I did capture this fire-twirler! It’s like a Cirque du Soleil show mixed with a Mardi Gras vibe. Very French, apparently.
The Greeting Trails at AK are pretty neat because the characters are in different outfits than you’ll see anywhere else in the resort. Since it was just at the end of Halloween Time, we caught them today in their AK-appropriate halloween garb.
Donald Crockett!
Meeting these characters were among the longest lines of our entire trip but well worth seeing them in their different outfits. Before the day was thru, we wanted to see “Finding Nemo – the Musical.” We had a while so we ran into a quick showing of “It’s Tough to be a Bug” inside the Tree of Life. While it’s the same show we have at DCA, the attraction’s building is among the most elaborate of any Disney Park. The theatre is below the gigantic Tree of Life with animals carved within the bark and roots of the tree. Even more impressive is walking through the root system while walking into the theatre and seeing all the incredible details!
The Tree of Life catacombs!Incredible details!
“Finding Nemo – The Musical” is a lot like DCA’s “Aladdin…” show in terms of scale and length. It’s a full-blown musical and an impressive one at that! This could be on Broadway, it’s so catchy and well done! The master puppetry keeps the audience engaged and the cast is just incredible. There’s incredible fly-work, sets, lighting, animatronics — the works! They even tie it into the song at the end of EPCOT’s “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” which makes sense but is still a nice touch.
Bruce’s big scene!An Australian fish tank.
At the end of the show, we had just enough time to ride Expedition Everest again before heading over to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
Magic Kingdom has a lot to teach Disneyland Park in Anaheim about how to do Halloween! From the scarecrows in the Town Square, the pumpkins on the lamps down Main Street, the villain’s show in front of Cinderella’s castle and most importantly, the “Boo to You!” parade!
So excited to go to this ticket event!Halloween lighting down Main Street U.S.A.Halloween Lamps. They ARE different than Anaheim’sThere are a BUNCH of these!
I cannot describe this “Boo to You!” parade in terms that would do it justice and since I only got to see it once, I am sure I would forget some of the greatest details like the headless horseman starting the parade off by riding along the entire parade route holding a jack-o-lantern. I’ll just focus on my favorite and most appropriate section of the parade: The Haunted Mansion scene. My goodness! It starts with the caretaker and his dog (A REAL DOG!) wandering the parade route complete with lantern-and-all!
I was snapping away furiously while still trying to enjoy the show!
He is followed closely by a flurry of dancing grave diggers doing a “Thriller”-style dance number with shovels as their dancing canes. Imagine a zombie Fred Astaire in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video. They danced with those shovels with the greatest of ease and they would drag it furiously along the ground in time with the music shooting sparks all over the place. CHILLS, PEOPLE!
Leota!The Hitchhiking Ghosts!
They are then followed by the hitchhiking ghosts themselves atop a huge furiously-fogging float! While cool in person, it did not provide great photos but I am telling you, the fog worked SO WELL in person. Super awesome parade and I really dislike parades. Disneyland has a lot to learn from it’s east coast relative about how to do Halloween Time.
Happy HalloWishes: A Grim Grinning Ghosts Spooktacular in the Sky
What the Magic Kingdom has over the Anaheim resort is space. Therefore, fireworks times and vicinity is not at all a factor. Fireworks at WDW seem to go off later than Disneyland’s and in some respects, larger fireworks seem to be used all around. What I mean is when at Disneyland, we have scenes in the show where fireworks launch all around you depending on your location. At WDW, they’re actual fireworks and not just quick spurts of flame or sparklers. It’s pretty impressive when immersed in actual exploding fireworks rather than just bursts of light.
What I found lacking was the use of a large structure like the Matterhorn in conjunction with the castle. While Cinderella’s castle towers over Sleeping Beauty’s in Anaheim, Aurora’s castle plays with the Matterhorn in many ways — projections, flying characters, etc. They don’t have this luxury at WDW. So for the Halloween Fireworks show, there is no Zero, there is no Jack Skellington host (which I am totally fine with) but a rather fun narration by Corey Burton as the Ghost Host from Haunted Mansion. The lack of Jack Skellington makes for a better Halloween show, in my opinion. Yet I believe WDW cast members might disagree since most all of them that we spoke with longed for HMH. While I do absolutely love HMH, I wish the “Nightmare Before Christmas” theme stayed in that area rather than become the Halloween mascot of the park.
Big Thunder Pirates!
Other cool things for Halloween were a Jolly Roger projection on Big Thunder, one-stop-shop trick-or-treating (there were multiple stops but they were VERY generous), and the “Villains Mix and Mingle” show in front of the castle. Best part of the villains show? That it attracts other villains! We got to meet the evil step mother and those pesky step-sisters from Cinderella!
EVIL!
The cast members in Florida have their characters DOWN! So much fun to play wit! Usually the face characters are sort of awkward to meet because they’re your age. I think my favorite is Lady Renata in front of the Haunted Mansion. She watches over the mansion and has a sharp tongue and quick wit! We sat and watched her for about 30 minutes which she lampooned and chided the passers-by at the mansion.
Welcome, foolish mortals!Lady Renata!
I wish she’d come visit our mansion someday! Also cool were some special photo stations where you can take a picture with some Grim Grinning Ghosts.
A Ghostly Carriage DriverBeware!
All in all, a great time was had at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Highly recommended and well worth the entrance fee for the parade alone! Well, it was back to the hotel for the night to prepare for our fifth day. Now that we had hit up every park, the (Walt Disney) World was our oyster and anything could go!
Goodnight!
See our full gallery from this day below!
Expedition Everest!
Absolutely awesome!
Giraffes!
The King
Ostrich eggs!
Chillin’
Everest looms!
I had never seen a woodpecker actually pecking wood in the wild! This guy was not on the map.
Adorable
Neat!
More walking trails!
Tigers!
It was pretty dark during the show and it’s quite the sensory overload but I did capture this fire-twirler! It’s like a Cirque du Soleil show mixed with a Mardi Gras vibe. Very French, apparently.
Donald Crockett!
The Tree of Life catacombs!
Incredible details!
Bruce’s big scene!
An Australian fish tank.
So excited to go to this ticket event!
Halloween lighting down Main Street U.S.A.
I was snapping away furiously while still trying to enjoy the show!
Leota!
The Hitchhiking Ghosts!
Goodnight!
Happy HalloWishes: A Grim Grinning Ghosts Spooktacular in the Sky
Halloween Lamps. They ARE different than Anaheim’s
I know I am behind the times but I only just watched the original live-action black and white Tim Burton production of Frankenweenie from 1984 and I absolutely LOVED it! It’s available on your “Nightmare Before Christmas” DVD, if you own it.
If not, check it out below! It is seriously one of his best films and really shows his love of monster movies of the 30s and 40s as well as his potential as a blossoming director. Unfortunately, he was fired from Disney soon after this film in an almost Ed-Wood-ian fashion for wasting the studio’s time and resources. For a long time, it had only been screened in the UK before “The Neverending Story” as both films starred Barret Oliver. It was later released in a re-edited and censored form to try to recoup some money most likely. Then, after being shelved for a long time and Tim Burton’s enormous success, it was released in its original uncensored form with the “Nightmare…” DVD.
After seeing the extended preview now playing at DCA, I can say that the new film seems to stay pretty true to the original down to the tiniest details! So, if you have not seen this original masterpiece and want to be surprised by the 2012 feature-length remake, I would suggest steering clear. I cannot confirm that the ending is in any way similar in the 2012 version but I want to give fair warning that this version has an ending that I was very happy with and would be excited to see in a stop-motion remake.
And now, sit back, grab some cocoa and enjoy Frankenweenie (1984):
What did you think of the film?! Leave your impressions below or, obviously, in the YouTube comments page! I would have to say that this film has shot up into my top 5 of Burton’s films.
