The Disney Teen Blog

Splashing Down in Quality

2012-02-06T20:47:00.017-05:00

Splash Mountain at the Magic Kingdom has to be one of my favorite attractions in Walt Disney World. In fact, it currently sits in the number two spot on my “All Time Favorite” attractions list under the Tower of Terror. I have always regarded Splash as my favorite because of its fantastic theming and attention to detail. Whenever I floated through Br’er Rabbits world, the combination of a great story and really immersive visual effects always pulled me into the story. Unfortunately over the past couple of years, Splash Mountain has deteriorated due to a simple lack of upkeep. While this attraction is much harder to maintain than others because of the water eroding the banks, it does not mean it shouldn’t be kept up like every other attraction in the Magic Kingdom.

Recently I rode Splash Mountain and, after being stuck on it for an hour and a half, I decided to re ride and write down a majority of the things I saw that were wrong with the attraction.

First Lift Hill: Right from the beginning of the attraction problems are evident. After the safety spiel as you ascend the first lift hill you meet Br’er Frog on the left. Not only is he not synced to his audio, his mouth barely moves. All of his movements are short and jittery. Not a good way to start the attraction.

First Show Scene: This is the first indoor area and it comes in right after the first big drop (Slippin’ Falls). My first major problem here is lighting. This scene is supposed to take place on a bright sunny day in Br’er Country, So why is it so dark? Lighting for this scene, and much of the attraction, is not fulfilling its main purpose, which is to let you be able to see things! The things you can see are not much better. Many functions of the animatronics are broken, such as eye movement, resulting in droopy-eyed characters that frankly look pretty creepy.

The paint on the wall is dull and is in desperate need of a new coat. Lighting continues to be a problem as half of Br’er Rabbits house is totally lit up, and half remains in the dark. On your left side you see the Porcupine playing the drums on a turtle and a Raccoon playing a harmonica. The audio here is not synced with the rest of the ride, creating an echoing effect and destroying the illusion that all of the animals are singing together. Up ahead comes the illusion of Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear chasing Br’er Rabbit over the hill. This is accomplished by using a technique called projection mapping. Usually, it looks really awesome, but as of late, the image is blurry, not mapped properly (they’re running either through the solid hill or on the sky) and sometimes I even see snow! That’s right, snow. Like on your TV when there’s no signal. Snow. Then comes the little rabbit who says something like “Looks like Br’er Rabbit is in trouble again.” His speaker is totally blown so his audio has a demonic quality to it. It’s actually kind of terrifying. As you pass through this scene you hit the Br’er rabbit jumping effect, which is pretty cool, IF it’s synced to your boat. Every time I ride it he jumps either way early or I have to turn around to watch him do it.

The Cave: After the short beehive scene we find ourselves in the cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites….I think…Anyways, this room is my favorite because it has my favorite thing ever! Laminar jumping fountains! You can see these in many places in Walt Disney World, like outside of the Imagination pavilion at Epcot. These streams of water bounce all around the room and over your head, missing you by inches! Or do they? Nope they don’t. In fact, almost all of the water effects in this room currently do not work. On your right side you see some turtles who are supposed to be floating on a stream of water. This effect is just a hydraulic lift pushing the turtles up and down. A stream of water conceals the mechanisms so the integrity of the show isn’t ruined and illusion is maintained. Right? RIGHT?!

I guess not. After you pass these broken effects you start you climb up to the climax of the climb, Br’er Fox’s Lair. Now usually there is a really cool projection of Br’er Fox up on the wall behind Br’er Rabbit, much like the projection of Br’er Rabbit in the queue. Most of the time, the projection is off, and when it is on, its dim and out of focus.

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Da: After your five-story plunge into the Br’er Patch, you enter the steam boat scene. The animatronics on this boat are never really articulate and as of late, I have noticed more and more failures of the singing swans. Many time I’ll see them and they’ll be in what I like to call “seizure mode”. Their eyes roll back and they violently shake. It’s not pretty. And finally as you turn the corner and look above Br’er Rabbits house, you notice that the moon is no longer luminescent.

Now you might be saying: “Wow. Alyx is WAY to picky!”. And you’d be right in saying that I have an eye for things that 90% of guests won’t even notice. But I hold Disney to a much higher standard than other parks I visit. To me, it is Disney’s job as a storyteller to not only create the illusion, but also to maintain it. Every one of these problems is fixable with a little effort on Disney’s part. As of the time of this writing, Disney has backed themselves into a corner regarding Frontierland. Right now, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is currently in a large refurb and won’t reopen until May of 2012. So that means they cannot really work on Splash until that time. Unfortunately this ride goes under the category of “Things Disney should fix, but its not really a priority because guests will ride it either way”, much like the Yeti in Animal Kingdom’s Expedition Everest. I just hope that Disney realizes how important these minor details actually are and put the time, effort, and money into fixing this attraction.

Disney from a Different Perpsective - Rafael Negron

2011-11-07T03:17:00.005-05:00

Coming into college has been a huge leap from me especially considering the fact that I (as well as pretty much everyone else) was essentially spoon fed in high school. My first and foremost thing I would have to mention is the fact that I have now been to the Walt Disney World Resort more times in 3 months than I have in 5 years!

Considering this is a blog about Disney, let's just stick to the topic and let me not ramble and bore you with nonsense. So anyway, I just became a contributor to this blog which I must say has a bunch of potential; so to our audience out there, stay tuned for new things everyday because you never know what Alyx and I have tucked away in our "sleeves". We both our Disney fanatics and are dying to learn more about Disney everyday and publish our findings right here on this blog. Were planning a trip this weekend to Disney World for 2 nights (hopefully) and cannot wait to uncover some new things! So pretty much, just stay tuned for more and tell your friends about us because the fun is just beginning! :D

-Rafael

Flyin' Solo at the World

2011-11-07T01:28:00.013-05:00

This week, I made my first solo venture to the world. Needless to say, it was daunting. Having been there more times than I can count, what I was most apprehensive about was the fact that I was going to be alone. By myself. Me, myself, and I. As it turns out, after a day of solo touring, I enjoyed it so much, that I came back two more times during that week. Here are some of the questions I had before hand, and how I would answer them today:

What am I going to do?

Well, the answer to this one is pretty simple: Whatever I darn well please! As a solo traveler, there's none of that pesky thing called "other people's desires". When touring the parks, you have the advantage of riding what you want to, eating where you want to, and taking in any show you want to.

For example, for the first time today I finally got to explore Tom Sawyers Island in Frontierland. While it's no Space Mountain, there were a lot of hidden gems in there which proved to be pretty entertaining. However, a majority of guest will pass up visiting the home of Tom and Huck in favor of waiting for an E-Ticket attraction. Which is pretty reasonable, after all by the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World's attraction classification, Tom Sawyer's Island is a "diversion" in comparison to the behemoths next door. Yet, in classic Disney style, it truly is a delight to traipse through. This is one of many experiences I was able to enjoy because of the more flexible touring style.

How's dining going to work?

It seemed like dining was going to be one of the more awkward moments on the trip. Amidst the hoards of bustling families, lovey-dovey couples, and Brazilian tour groups sharing compacted tables, it seems like the only way to enjoy your meal is if someone is enjoying it with you.

Well that's not always the case. Never underestimate the power of people-watching! While eating at Epcot's Electric Umbrella Restaurant, I grabbed up a table on the patio facing the Fountain of Nations and watched as the masses came by. It was nice and relaxing to be able to sit back and watch the water jets scream into the air, and tiny infants scream into their parents ears. And if even this solution seems a bit daunting, there's nothing stopping you from grabbing a turkey leg and taking it on the go!

Whose going to do the other stuff?

The one drawback of touring alone deals with the secondary stuff, for example, running to grab FASTPASSes, or holding on to your things while riding Splash Mountain. Now to the best of my knowledge, it's not a good idea to hand all of your valuables to a random stranger while you ride. The one solution I found was the lockers at the entrance of every park. While a tad pricey at $7.00, ($12.00 deposit and $5.00 back), it is probably the best way to secure your valuables while in the park.

And while you may not be able to grab a FASTPASS for Toy Story while standing by for Tower of Terror, you can take advantage of the single-rider line. The theory behind the single rider line is that in return for a shorter wait time, guests give up the ability to ride with a companion or family. But as you are a solo tourer, that makes no difference to you! I've found that at a majority of attractions that offer it, the single rider line dramatically reduces your wait times, that is, if the cast member working it knows what they're doing.

Overall, I found my time in the parks alone to be a lot of fun. My advice to you would be to soak it all up, but take a step back from the headliner attractions and focus on experiences you wouldn't normally get to take part in. Also, just because you're alone doesn't mean you have to become a hermit for your entire trip. Engage other guests in conversation, and talk to cast members. In fact, I had a great monorail ride to Epcot with a family from North Carolina because I was able to strike up a conversation.

So don't be apprehensive about going to the World solo. As long as you approach it positively, you're going to have a great time!

-Alyx

SITE ANNOUNCEMENT

2011-11-07T01:06:00.003-05:00

Hey folks!

In the spirit of Halloween, DTB is BaCk FroM tHe DEAD!!!

While we can't guarantee regular scheduled updates, we'll do our best to push out new material whenever we can.

Also, we'd like to welcome a new staff writer, Rafael Negron, a fellow Disney Teen Expert who you'll start to see material from soon.

Thanks, and have a Zip-a-dee-doo-da-day!

Site Update

2010-06-04T00:06:00.001-04:00

Hello all,

Unfortunately, the DTB is experiencing a major amount of technical problems as of now. We are doing everything in our power to fix these problems and begin once again creating new posts for you to enjoy. Thank you for your continued support and long live Horizons!

-Alyx

Disney Pin Trading with Cody

2010-05-05T20:37:00.012-04:00

If you ask any Disney fan, they'll tell you that, regardless of their affinity for it, Pin trading is a huge part of the Disney Universe. Today, the Disney Teen Blog has the honor of hosting an interview with none other than the Disney Pin authority himself, Cody, from the Global Disney Pinvestigation Blog, for an interview AND a surprise, first-ever announcement about his site. And without further a due, here we go!

DTB: Hey Cody, how's it going?

Cody: Pretty good, happy to be here!

DTB: Great. So what sparked your interest in Disney?

Cody: My real interest in Disney was sparked in 2005, during the Happiest Celebration on Earth as Disneyland’s 50^th Anniversary was celebrated around the world at all (at the time) 4 resorts, and the newly added Hong Kong Resort. After that I tried learning everything I could about it. But I had always been a ‘fan’ of Disney since I was a child, but didn’t get very in-depth until the Happiest Celebration on Earth.

DTB: What got you into pin collecting?

Cody: I got interested in Pin Collecting near the beginning, in 2001, as I just collected several Open Edition pins for attractions, characters, holidays, etc. (the basics). Then it continued on, and evolved when I attended my first pin event (one of the first), in 2002 at Disney-MGM Studios, the Lights, Cameras, Pins Event, and got a few pins there. That was where I learned and saw that many more people are addicted to pin trading. Since then, I’ve gone to ALL WDW Pin Events (except two), from 2002 to now, I’ve been to about 20 events.

DTB: What inspired you to start the GDP Blog?

Cody: I started the Global Disney Pinvestigation (GDP) Blog in March 2009 as a way to share my love for Disney. I wanted to do something involved with Disney, but different. At first I was going to do just a Disney blog with EVERYTHING Disney involved news, but I didn’t go far with it because it was like everyone else, and I wanted something to set me apart from other Disney Blogs out there, and I wanted people to read it, as if I put work in it, I wouldn’t want it to go to ‘waste’. Originally titled Global Disney Pinformation, the GDP (as it has become to be known as), or the Pinvestigation Blog as others call, is a blog that searches and tells in-depth histories of some of Disney Theme Park’s attractions, shows, etc, and shows how Disney Pins have evolved with the attraction(s). Beginning this year, we started a Vinylmation section, as they are getting popular, and I love Vinylmations.

DTB: Explain the concept behind vinylmation. What is it and how does it affect pin trading?

Cody: Vinylmation is basically a more creative way for the Disney Design Group Artists to make more art. They can make art based on either Disney Theme Parks (the Park Series) or just other random stuff (the Urban Series). The main concept is the blind boxing, where you don't know exactly what you get, which a lot of people think is fun, i know i do. As for affecting pin trading: many people thought that they would start phasing out pins, but all in all it was said by Steven Miller (Disney Trading Project Manager) that it is giving guests more options for purchasing, and Pin Trading and Vinylmation Collecting/Trading are both here to stay and will be together.

DTB: As a teen yourself, how do you view pin collecting/trading versus someone older or younger than yourself?

Cody: Speaking for myself, I feel that as a teen I view pin collecting as more of a hobby and fun as opposed to an older person. As a lot of the older people in the collecting aspect of it (especially the ones that have been at it from the beginning, of which there aren’t that many left) look for ‘profit’ and don’t really consider it a hobby, sure lots of people do consider it a hobby, but there are many people out there that almost consider it a business. As for children younger than me, they go for anything they like, which is good. Being someone that started out when I was about 9, I have learned to evolve WITH the hobby. As more came out, I had to cut more themes out. Originally having over 5,000 pins, I have recently cut back tremendously and now probably have a little less than 1,000, and just stick to one main theme, International Stitch pins from Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

DTB: Explain the concept behind vinylmation. How does it affect pin trading?

Cody: In the coming months we will be having ‘themed’ months, May will be a Pirates month, themed to Pirates of the Caribbean, both the attractions and movies. In June we will have a Toy Story month, for the release of Toy Story 3. And the thing I am most excited about: we are in the midst of trying to set up an interview with Chief Disney Archivist, Dave Smith. So just stay tuned to Global Disney Pinvestigation for information and more surprises.

The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror

2010-04-10T10:23:00.000-04:00

"You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination...in the Tower of Terror."

This week on the Disney Teen Blog, I decided to look at one of my personal favorite attractions, the Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror. This thrill ride combines optical illusions, extensive theming, a deep story, and a terrifying drop sequence to create one kick-ass attraction. Before we talk about the attraction, let's look at a little bit of history...

"Hollywood: 1939"

Surprisingly enough, the Tower of Terror didn't get its start in Florida, or even in California, but a few thousand miles away in Paris, France. Originally planned for Disneyland Paris, a mine train attraction featured a ride sequence where a "geyser" would shoot the mine train up into the air, and bring it back down onto the tracks via a drop mechanism much like the Tower of today's. While this ride never got further than the planning stages, the idea of a free-fall attraction stuck with the Imagineers for a very long time.

In the early 1990's, the then Disney MGM-Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) was looking to expand the small park. The Imagineers had played with the idea of a Sunset Blvd. area for a while, and finally came up with a good set of shops and restaurants. What the park lacked was a good thrilling E ticket attraction. The Imagineers remembered their "free=fall" idea from Paris and thus the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was born.

"One Stormy Night Long Ago..."

The story is that back in 1939, the elite Hollywood Tower Hotel was struck by a bolt of lightning, sending five people in one of the hotels elevators down fourteen stories into the Twilight Zone. The story takes a twist when suddenly YOU become the star or this episode of the Twilight Zone television show. Now, you board a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you. But this elevator travels directly to...the Twilight Zone

The Tower of Terror opened its gates to the public on June 22nd, 1994, and was an immediate smash hit! People flocked from all over to experience this near-death phenomenon. Another reason for its sudden popularity was its uniqueness. I mean, where else can you get in an elevator, plunge 14 stories into another dimension? To use a phrase from the attractions pre-show, the Tower of Terror was, "a star in it's own right".

"The Twilight Zone"

All Disney attractions have two things in common, a theme and a story line, while not always clear or represented in full, nonetheless, appear in some form in every ride, restaurant, or experience you can have in a Disney park. But what sets the Tower apart from the rest, is the level of attention to detail the Imagineers put into this attraction. Everything from the cobwebs to the unopened letters in the mail boxes show just how carefully this attractions theme and story was crafted. During construction, Disney even hired professional mahjong players to begin a game in the lobby, and stand up and walk out in the middle of the game to enhance the notion of everyone in the hotel suddenly vanishing. Even as you walk into the building through the front path way you notice the atmosphere change from a sunny day on Sunset Blvd. to an eerie mood where it looks the the groundskeeper of the property hasn't been there in say...71 years. Blend this attention to theme and story with an amazing thrill ride and you get an amazing attraction that can connect with guests on a physical and emotional level. This is why the Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror earns the coveted position of my all time favorite Disney attraction.

-Alyx

Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon

2010-01-10T16:31:00.020-05:00

Hey everyone,

So I just got back from running the Walt Disney World Half Marathon this weekend. I had an awesome time and can't wait to do it again next year! Here are a few photos I took over the course of the weekend. Also, some of the photos were taken from my cell phone, and a complementary Disney disposable camera so the quality is not that good :/ Anyways, here we go!

We'll start with my hotel:

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was only 30 seconds outside of Downtown Disney. Overall, it was a good weekend hotel. Here are a few random pics of the lobby:

A Disney Good Neighbor Hotel :)

Me and my parents before the race. Judging from our race attire, you could guess it was a wee bit cold. The temperature was 30-35 degrees the whole morning. While waiting in the chute snow started falling, but soon the snow turned into sleet. About halfway through the race, sleet turned into a light rain. Thankfully, it could have been a lot worse.

Us running down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. This is one of those pics using the disposable camera.
Tomorrowland

Fantasyland

This is the view running out from Cinderella Castle

This is the backstage area that you get to by going in between Splash Mountain and Pecos Bills. In the background you can see some hippos from the jungle cruise. Don't worry, they're only dangerous if they're blowing bubbles and wiggling their ears. And in the foreground of this shot is a random woman.

It's a little hard to see, but this is the float storage area. In here I saw a lot of floats as well as a lot of random set pieces and props.

Splash Mtn. is currently going under refurbishment, so all of the logs are backstage. Here you can see one of them sitting out behind the Splash show building

A bunch of porta-potties behind The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion.

On the left is Spaceship Earth and on the right is the Seas pavilion

That's all the pics I have of during the race. After that, we had lunch at the Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary Resort. And since the Contemporary is a much more awesome resort then my hotel, here are a few random pics of the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower:

Contempo Cafe

Space Mountain and the Monorail track from the sky bridge between Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary.

And I will leave you with a picture of me and my parents with our Donald Duck medals, happy that it is all over....

...until next year!

Cars, Cars, Cars!

2010-01-08T22:19:00.006-05:00

If you are a teen, you’ve probably thought about cars. Not the movie, but real, live cars. Well not live, but you know what I mean! And for some of you younger readers, the possibility of actually driving a car is a few years away. Once again, a little bit of Disney “magic” has made it possible for everyone to experience what it’s like behind the wheel of a car. In the 1964 New York Worlds Fair, Walt Disney built an attraction that allowed guests to ride in well known Ford cars through model cities and such. This tradition of attractions based around cars still is president today, and in this post, I’m going talk about a few car attractions that every car fanatic should see.

Test Track – In 1999, Test Track replaced the World of Motion attraction in Epcot’s Future World. With the longest ride track ever created for Disney, this high-speed thrill ride takes you through the process of what every GM car has to go through before it rolls out into your local dealership. After a series of cool an interesting tests such as braking, suspension, and environmental tests, you are taken for some high speed runs that hurl you out and around the outside of the circular ride building at over 60 miles per hour. This ride has something for everybody.

The Tomorrowland Indy Speedway – While not nearly as thrilling as Epcot’s Test Track, the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway (TIS) holds a special place in my heart. Some of my first Disney World memories were of me driving around the loop at a mind-blowing 7 miles per hour. This may not seem like much to you, but to a six-year-old, I might as well have been breaking the sound barrier! Just for the memories I still have with this ride, to me, the TIS is still fun today!

Lights! Motos! Action! Extreme Stunt Show – This show is not for the weak-at-heart. LMA features two wheeled driving, cars passing within inches of each other at high speeds, guns, jet skis, a fruit stand, and the ever-important explosions. This show is not only exciting, but also dangerous. One false movie could spell doom for the stunt drivers on stage. Basically the story goes like this: The red car is the hero. The black cars are the villains. Our hero needs to get out of town with a secret package and the bad guys are trying to stop him. With stunts inspired by some awesome action flicks, this show will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

-Alyx

Star Tours 2.0

2010-01-08T17:34:00.006-05:00

Chances are you’ve heard of the Star Wars saga, and the Disney attraction based on it, Star Tours, a motion-simulator ride that flies you through the Star Wars universe. It was recently announced at the D23 expo that this classic attraction will be receiving a major refurbishment and update in 2011. The update will get rid of the current story, which takes you a trip to the forest moon of Endor from Star Wars Episode VI, and replace it with a new story with elements from the second trilogy as well such as the podrace sequence from Episode One.

This is upsetting to many long time Star Wars fans who were not thrilled with the release of Episodes I-III. They argue that there is no reason that these movies need to be included in this great attraction. However, the inclusion of the newer films in the attraction will please many teens and young adults who grew up with this generation of Star Wars movies. My position? Well personally I think that the original trilogy is far better then the new movies, but that’s not to say I don’t think they should be included in the attraction. Once Disney adds the new additions to the ride, a whole new generation of Star Wars fans will open up to this attraction, making it an extremely popular asset to the Disney Parks. This, in turn, helps out park attendance and ultimately the Walt Disney Company.

So while this refurbishment may not sit well with Star Wars vets, it will help out Disney parks, and we can all be thankful for that.

-Alyx

DTB's Top Seven Disney Sites

2010-01-07T21:33:00.010-05:00

Seeing you are on the Internet, one could guess you like using the world wide web. And seeing that you are on a Disney site, it's safe to say you have some affinity for the Walt Disney Company. Today, I'm going to take a page from one of my favorite Disney podcasts, the Netcot Podcast (see below for link) to create the Disney Teen Blog's Top Seven Disney Sites. And in the words of Van, "Here we go!"

1.) WDW Today - Home of the WDW Today podcast, the show features a wealth of knowledge provided by a panel of Disney World Experts. (wdwtoday.com)

2.) Visions Fantastic - Focusing mostly on Disneyland, although covering many aspects of the Disney universe, this site has one of the largest libraries of Disney multimedia anywhere on the web, as well as a warm and open community on the boards. (visionsfantastic.com)

3.) Touring Plans - This is the companion website to the, "Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa, this site has two things that make my Disney World Vacation possible: Touring Plans, and the Crowd Calender. These two utilities can help you reduce your in park wait times by up to four hours! And I will personally vouch for the effectiveness of these tools because I have used them many, many times.

4.) Netcot - This great site is the home of a great news center and awesome podcast. The podcast hosted by Van is a well rounded show featuring many segments such as the Featured Attraction, Top Seven Lists, Compare"VAN"Contrast, and many other creative aspects that make this show truly enjoyable to listen to, and one of my favorite shows on the web! (netcot.com)

5.) Global Disney Pinvestigation - For those of you pin traders this blog is the place you wanna be! This site is run by my friend Cody and has a lot of interesting articles, pin and non-pin related! (http://gdpinvestigation.blogspot.com)

6.) AllEars - Featuring a comprehensive guide to everything Disney, including attraction bios, restaurant menus, and many blogs, if you need to know anything about Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Cruise Line, this is the site for you (allears.net)

7.) Mouse World Radio - If you love Disney as much as I do, then you probably love Disney music too. This Internet radio station streams Disney park audio 24/7 on a few different radio streams. This is great to listen to while doing homework or relaxing. (mouseworldradio.com)

Well that about wraps this post up. I hope you enjoy these sites! And, again, in the words of Van, "until next time, ROCK ON!"

-Alyx

Site Announcement

2010-01-07T21:20:00.003-05:00

Hey guys,

First off, I wanted to sincerely apologize for my lack of post in the last few months. Between a myriad of computer issues, school, and marathon training, the blog took a backseat to other issues in my life. After all, this is a teen blog, so what do you expect? :)

Right now I am preparing to drive up to Walt Disney World for the WDW Half Marathon this Saturday and will post about it as soon as I get back. After that, I hope DTB will be back on a semi-normal schedule.

I'm sorry again and thank you all so much!

-Alyx

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorowland

2009-11-16T17:10:00.009-05:00

Tomorrowland is home to two of my favorite Magic Kingdom attractions. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Space Mountain. While these two attractions are nothing like each other (except for the space theme), they remain on my "short list" regardless of their differences. Recently both of these attractions came off a seven month refurbishment that added many new features to both rides. A lot of what I've seen is good, but there are still a few things I'm not happy with.

One new addition that really annoys me is the new narration of the TTA. Before the refurbishment, the theming of the ride was preserved with the transit-announcement style narration. Now, it just sounds like an extensive commercial for the Tomorrowland attractions. To me, it seems like all of the theming of the attraction was lost. Besides for the audio, not much else has changed on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

On a brighter note, the new renovations to Space Mountain make me want to fly to the moon! (pun intended) A new color scheme with bright green accents really spruces up the entrance queue and "destination board". Another innovation is the queue entertainment. Like Epcot's Soarin', interactive queue games entertain guests as they prepare to blast off to outer space. The only thing that I can find fault with is the loading area. I used to love looking up from the loading area and see the asteroids (giant cookies) flying across the ceiling. I also enjoyed riding the TTA and looking down into the queue to see all the prospective astronauts. Now, however, the loading bay has been enclosed and you can no longer see what I have just described.

Regardless of my criticisms, these two rides will still go down as two of my favorite attractions of yesterday, today, and Tomorrowland.

Playing Disney - Epic Mickey

2009-11-15T00:23:00.004-05:00

So many of you are probably wondering what in Gods name is that monstrous thing in the blogs title picture? Well I'll tell you. That is one of the concept art paintings for Warren Spector's new video game for the Wii, Epic Mickey. This thing is really cool, so listen up!

Epic Mickey is a new kind of Disney game. It's not light and fluffy like most. This game is grouped into a sub-genre called a "steampunk" game. For those of you who don't know, "steampunk" is a sub-genre of speculative fiction. Think Victorian era meets Jules Verne technology. Cool right?

The basic plot-line of the game is this: Oswald the rabbit (Walt Disney's first cartoon character who never reached stardom after being stolen by Universal) and other Disney characters are after Mickey to take revenge for their lose of fame and fortune.

I think this game is a great direction for Disney gaming. First we started with Kingdom Hearts, witch is an amazing game in itself, but now this. This game style will attract a whole new audience for Disney: teens. Most of Disney's games are centered around the animated films or geared toward the younger crown (with the exception of KH). Epic Mickey will make a new niche in the Disney gaming world for teens who don't necessarily want to see the light and fluffy side of Disney. I can't wait for this game to appear in stores.

There is not a lot being released about E.M. yet, so we are hanging on what we have now. Here is another good article about the game. All I can say for sure is Epic Mickey is going to be EPIC!

Thrill Rides - How They Size Up and the Disney Difference

2009-11-12T20:18:00.010-05:00

We all know that feeling. The butterflies you get in your stomach as you climb up the first lift hill. The feeling that your seconds away from certain death, even though you know you are perfectly safe in your ride vehicle. These are the feelings all thrill "junkies" crave. When you ask a "junkie" about their favorite thrill rides, they will most likely differ to places like Islands of Adventure, Six Flags, or Busch Gardens. Now why does Disney normally not enter the mix? Disney thrill rides all have one thing in common. It is what separates Disney from your generic thrill park. It's the "Disney Difference". It's the story.

When roller coaster designers design coasters for parks like Six-Flags, they think about only how high and fast can they push their guests? Whenever Disney plans on building anything, from a roller coaster to a resturant to a bathroom, they make sure there is an extensive back story to it. Like any story, a Disney attraction has four parts; The exposistion (introduction), the rising action, the climax, and the conclusion. A great example of this story line is Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Throughout the queue, we see a plethora of artifacts and exhibits about the mythical "Guardian of the Forbidden Mountain", the Yeti. The queue line for an attraction serves as the exposition. It provides the back-story and gives us any information we might need to know. The rising action happens from the point at which you leave the loading station untill that final encounter with the ferocious Yeti, which serves as the climax. The conclusion is when you pull into the unloading station and get out of the train. When you just go for the max-out thrills, you miss all of that story.

Now as for the reason why Disney thrill rides sometimes don't match up in the eyes of thrill seekers is that when so much emphasis is put into conveying the story, an element of thrill is lost. Now I'm not saying that Disney thrill rides are bad because they focus on a plot line, I'm saying quite the opposite. What I am saying is that without the element of story, Disney thrill rides would just be that same-old roller coaster you can see at your local amusement park. Unfortunately, most thrill junkies don't really care about the story behind the attraction. This is why most teens and junkies will choose other theme park attractions over Disney. And while it is disappointing that these people will miss out on "The Disney Difference", at least it cuts down on my wait times! :)

It's a Disney Blog...for teens

2009-11-11T20:46:00.003-05:00

There's two words you don't often hear together, "Disney" and "Teen". In the eyes of many teenagers, Disney is something you had to give up at age 12. To them, the Walt Disney Company is only represented by frilly princesses and cartoon mice. Obviously, this is not the epitome of coolness that most teens would like to portray. Because of this stereotype, teens aren't open to what the rest of Disney is about. That is why I created this blog. This is to help people, not only teens, get an idea of what the Disney Teen Community thinks is good, not-good, cool, or not-cool. Most parents researching what is good for their teenager on their next trip to Walt Disney World will find many articles about what is cool for teenagers at WDW. However, most of these articles are written by adults. While these experts have a good idea of what appeals to today's teens, the best information will come straight from the source. This blog will cover topics from all of the Disney Universe, but will center mostly on the Disney theme parks, and movies. In addition to telling readers what teens think and like about Disney, informational and journalistic pieces will pop up as well, showing the many fun facts, secrets, and surprises of the Disney Universe. I hope that you enjoy reading this blog, and I hope it enjoys being read by you.

And here we gooooo!