Mouse Magic HD Blogs

Link: http://disney.go.com/theatre/marypoppins/tour/#/home/

OK, so I didn't go to Disney World, but I did go to Chicago. More specifically, the Cadillac Palace Theatre. What was there you ask? Well Mary Poppins herself. Yes, I went to go see Mary Poppins the musical. And it was practically perfect in every way.

The National Tour, which kicks off in Chicago, stars the original Bert and Mary from Broadway, Gavin Lee and Ashley Brown. It was quite something to see them, and how much they look, sound and act like Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. The sets were amazing, with number 17 Cherry Tree Lane opening out like a doll house to see its inner workings. The music was wonderful, and the other acting very good.

The musical takes on a little different tone than the movie, with more of the original P.L. Travers stories added in, making for a slightly scary middle section. I would recommend that children under 8 or so be left home with their nanny. Also, if anyone is into Mary Poppins as much as I am, there is a wonderful book entitled Mary Poppins, Practically Perfect in Every Way.

To see for yourself how wonderful Mary Poppins is, get down to Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre before July 12th, or see it soon in a theatre near you. Au Revoir!

DisTips (@DisTipster on Twitter) recently has started an experiment on Twitter to "provide timely information on ride wait times at Walt Disney World." This idea is an extension of Touring Plans (@TouringPlans on Twitter) receiving wait times from guest in the park and then Re-Tweeting Them. The idea is to use hashtags (you have probably seen them before, they are the words that are preceded with a #, example #Disney) to post updates and then allow for simple and easy searching while at the park or for those who like to follow those at the park while waiting for their next vacation.

The four park #hashtags are #WDWQ (Walt Disney World Queue) plus the common bulletin board abbreviation for the parks:

#WDWQMK for Magic Kingdom
#WDWQEP for Epcot
#WDWQDHS for Disney Hollywood Studios
#WDWQAK for Animal Kingdom

For those of you at the other coast then there are tags setup for Disneyland and DCA:

#DLQMK for the original Disneyland in Anaheim
#DLQDCA for Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim

Now to find the search use the application in your phone or visit http://search.twitter.com and enter the proper hashtag or use the following direct links:

#WDWQMK
#WDWQEP
#WDWQDHS
#WDWQAK
#DLQMK
#DLQDCA

I personally think this a great idea and of course the only way for this to be a success is to have knowledge and participation so here is me doing my duty and passing on the information.

As you can see, I am already setup on my iPhone using Twitterriffic for easy search. Now I need to remember to use the hashtags when in the park to have the updates available for others.

Also so you know you are doing the search right you will see a post from my Twitter Account (@MouseMagicHD) when you search for the 4 Walt Disney World park hashtags (#WDWQMK, #WDWQEP, #WDWQDHS, #WDWQAK).

Again the only way this "experiment" will be successful is for participation so please pass on this information to your fellow Disney Visitors.

The day started very early with a wake up call of 7 AM. Even though none of the parks opened until 9 AM, I still had to drive from Tampa, park, get my free birthday entry and get over to the park.

Traffic, weather and timing was perfect in which I arrived at the Ticket and Transportation Center around 8:15 or 8:30. I had to go to the Will-Call window to receive my free Birthday admission. I did not pre-register online however receiving the ticket was still simple. I showed my ID, waited a few minutes while the cast member typed my information into the computer and after scanning my finger I received my free ticket. Best part is the ticket is made of plastic and says Happy Birthday so it is a great collectible for after your birthday.

Next stop was to get to the Magic Kingdom. The line for the ferryboat had about enough people to fill up at least two boats. The monorail line went out from the station and was queued back and forth out in the sun. I performed a secret trick and went in line for the resort monorail which had maybe 20 people already waiting. Sure the resort monorail makes stops at the Contemporary and Grand Floridian before arriving at the Magic Kingdom but it was better then waiting in line out in the sun.

Upon arriving at the Magic Kingdom the park was just opened. Security lines and entry through the turn style was very smooth despite the number of individuals entering the park.

As I entered the park I noticed the double decker bus on Main Street was loading with seats available on the second deck. I decided to take a ride (as well as shoot some footage) up to the Castle.

My next stop was a swing by the Jungle Cruise. Stand by was 35 minutes so I grabbed a fast pass which would let me ride in about the 35 minutes, so I saved my wait in line. I then headed to Pirates which had only a 10 min wait.

I then walked back to Main Street to find the Dapper Dans for their 9:55 AM performance. They passed me on the horse drawn trolley at which I picked it up at the Main Entrance Hub. I jumped on and they sang Happy Birthday to me as we took off down Main Street headed towards the Castle. They also sang a number of other tunes as we slowly went down Main Street.

I then headed over to Tomorrow Land to see how the closure of Space Mountain and WedWay Peoplemover err... TTA has effected the crowds. Buzz Lightyear stand by was 15 minutes, though it looked longer, so I decided to grab a fastpass which I could use about 30 minutes later.

While getting my FP for Buzz I heard the Stitch's Supersonic Celebration going on, so I went over to check it out as I had yet to see it in person since the opening. It was an ok show, not up to the Disney standards though. The music and whole show didn't seem to spark that magical feeling. I later learned that this show is soon going away. Upon leaving Tomorrowland Buzz Lightyear standby jumped to 40 minutes, so I was right about the wait looking longer then it actually was.

I then ran back to Adventureland to use my Fast Pass for the Jungle Cruise. The wait at JC was then up to 40 minutes. FP was only a few minute wait, most of it walking through the queue. Upon getting to the end of the tour the skipper had everyone on the boat wish me a Happy Birthday.

I then headed over to get myself a Dole Whip. It was very refreshing due to the high heat and temperature of the day (temp was at least around 88 at about 11 AM).

As I was heading back to Tomorrowland to use my Buzz FP the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It! Street Party was just arriving at the Castle Hub. I decided to stop and Celebrate with them for a little bit. Very fun upbeat show with some interaction. The dancers are amazing and get into it and I can't imagine doing this high level of activity in the Florida heat multiple times per day.

I then headed back over to Buzz to cash in on that Fastpass. The FP line was out the door and there was a side queue for the Fastpass. Despite being long the FP line did still move very quickly. Unfortunately I had what I consider a "poor" score.

I then hung out in Tomorrowland to find my good friend PUSH the Talking Trashcan. PUSH was in his traditional social self, talking to everyone, getting hugs, making friends, singing, dancing and even doing impressions. PUSH sang Happy Birthday to me. He then met a couple from Cleveland of which he did his best LeBron James impression. You know PUSH is a huge Orlando Magic Fan.

After saying hello to my friend PUSH (yes we are friends on Facebook, check it out). I headed through Fantasyland. Pooh and Peter Pan were highly popular with wait times over 40 minutes and fastpass with a return window hours later. It's A Small World was having work done on the facade but the attraction was still open. The wait time was unknown.

Deciding that the attractions in Fantasyland were not worth the wait I headed over the Haunted Mansion which had a posted wait time of 30 minutes. The wait was significantly shorter. My luck of causing the Haunted Mansion to go 101 continued. Since the refurb of the Haunted Mansion there has only been one instance which I completed a ride without it going 101. The wait was only a few minutes and it was nice to be sitting in a nice air conditioned attraction. Upon leaving the Haunted Mansion the line was even longer but still had a posted wait time of 30 min. The queue was so long a haunted Mansion Butler stood at the back holding a sign that the line for Haunted Mansion started there.

I then headed through Liberty Square to Frontierland and caught the Banjo Brothers and Bob. They sang me Happy Birthday and then I watched the rest of their performance. I headed past Splash Mountain, due to having equipment I did not take the chance to ride it and went to Big Thunder. Big Thunder was 101 so I decided to head across the river to Tom Sawyer's Island.

Tom Sawyer's Island was fun to roam around. I caught a lot of video footage from the caves to the fort. Getting to the island was quick but getting off the island they actually had two rafts with the main raft having a possible wait of two rafts.

After completing my trip on Tom Sawyer's Island I started to head to the front gate. I stopped by Casey's Corner to hear the pianist finishing his set.

Before heading out of the park I decided to stop into the Main Street Expo Hall. I believe this is one of the most skipped and overlooked location at Disney World. Many do not know that if you go in you can see some great display on the history of cameras as well as four cutouts which are great for photo opportunities. Also there is a movie screen playing classic Disney cartoons with seats a great place to sit and relax in air conditioning while being entertained for however long you like.

Overall the trip was very enjoyable. The park was fairly crowded but was not as bad as I expected it to be for the summer months. The heat was very high, I even saw paramedics who was treating a guest due to overheating. Even as a native Floridian I was very hot and had to stop many times for water, air conditioning, shade or just to relax. The UV index was also very high for that day so remember to bring sun screen and reapply. Again the cast members are amazing. I could not imagine having to perform, sing, dance, clean, stand, walk around, etc. in that heat, especially with some of those costumes (for example Banjo Bro and Bob and Dapper Dans both have long sleeve outfits. The Magic Kingdom was having a lot of work done from Space Mountain refurbs to many other refurb walls up (like the Hall of Fame on Main Street). This was surprising that so much was going on at the Magic Kingdom and it did detract some from the Magic which is unfortunate for those who only get to the parks once or twice in their lifetime but still as always there is so much more going on that you look past the cleaning/updates and enjoy everything else.

Today is International Panic Day, a day for everyone to be worried and concerned. We're not sure what is so big, and so widespread, to create an international incident of this magnitude. But, here it is on the calendar folks...an international day of panic.

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Since there is no official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy attraction at Walt Disney World, I'm thinking of a few Attractions off the top of my head. First thing that came to mind was Muppetvision 3D at Disney Hollywood Studios... as the Muppets always seem to be on the ragged edge of panic. Another easy answer would be Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, with the constant, soothing (and incorrect) contact with Dr. Seeker while looking for the Iguanadon.

But no.

The attraction that most resonates with me with regard to International Panic Day is the oft-maligned Stitch's Great Escape, at the Magic Kingdom. The Security force is on the edge of panic... the hosts of the tour are panicking... the panic at the mere arrival of 626 causes more panic per capita than any other attraction.

So...

We salute you, Stitch, for being the embodiment of panic on this, International Panic Day!

Link: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/main.html

PIXAR movies are generally very good, and Up is no exception. If I were to grade it out of 10 points, it would definitely get a 7 or an 8. The plot line is quite sad for a PIXAR movie, (I won't spoil the details), but it all turns out OK in the end. The best part of the movie I thought was the preview for Toy Story 3, coming out June 18, 2010. My second favorite would be the Disney Digital 3-D. I had not seen a Disney 3-D movie before outside of Mickey's Philharmagic, but I was most impressed. They did not, as the Muppets would say, "Resort to cheap 3-D tricks". It was just there naturally, as an added bonus to the movie. Overall, Up is a great PIXAR movie to watch while everyone waits to see Toy Story 3.