Mouse Magic HD Blogs

Amnesty International Day recognizes the need to protect human rights around the world. The Amnesty International organization strives to accomplish these goals by providing awareness and recognition of the issues. They work to publicize local and regional problems, and to arouse citizens, governments and politicians to action.

==============================

This took me a moment to decide which aspect of Walt Disney World to discuss, but then, it shined through like a beacon of hope: The American Adventure at Epcot.

The amazing show at the heart of this pavilion exemplifies the ideals set forth in the constitution, as well as outlines the tenets that created the United States to begin with, which line up with what Amnesty International strives to achieve.

As an honorable mention... Raglan Road at Downtown Disney... due to the fact that Bono is Irish and is heavily enmeshed in world politics, for better or worse. That aside... Raglan Road is a MUST DO every trip down to Walt Disney World... from the food to the ambiance to the beer... live entertainment... Ah. Raglan Road is fantastic!

So, today, I salute The American Adventure and Raglan Road!

Below is a "video" to Wishes sung by Peabo Bryson and Kimberley Locke for the Make a Wish Foundation. Not as great as the original in my opinion (both for the fireworks and the pop post version) but still it is a great rendition of a fantastic Disney score.

Babe Ruth Day honors one of Baseball's greatest players ever.

On April 27, 1947, Babe Ruth attended Yankee Stadium for Babe Ruth Day. It was to be the second last time he was at the stadium. In 1946, Babe Ruth was diagnosed with Throat Cancer. Back then, there was not as much treatment as there is today.

On this day in 1947, "The Bambino" returned to "The House that Ruth Built" to be honored.

==============================

Not many places take me to thinking about Babe Ruth when in Walt Disney World. There are a couple that fleetingly enter my mind, like the Wide World of Sports complex, or All-Star Sports' baseball section. There's the sports shop at Downtown Disney, or catch a game during the summer at the ESPN Club at the Boardwalk resort. One of my favorite Goofy animated short films is when he shows how to play baseball!

Which leads me to this day's topic... NOTHING says baseball like Babe Ruth, and in Walt Disney World, nothing says baseball like Casey's Corner, in The Magic Kingdom, at the end of Main Street.

Grab a hot dog and a soda (for far less than at a real game!) and pull up a bleacher seat to watch some vintage animated Disney shorts, including Casey at the Bat and the Goofy short I wrote about earlier.

It's the quintessential Americana of baseball and hot dogs that leads me to salute you, Casey's Corner, on Babe Ruth Day!

Did you know that you can have a dinner event in The Great Movie Ride? You can, but it is something you will want to save for the specialist of all occasions.

The progressive Dinner event includes:

• Cocktail Reception in the Gangster Scene
• Plated Dinner and Beverage Service in the Western Scene
• Desert Party in the Land of Oz

The event capacity is up to 80 guests. There are other add on options such as entertainment, premium brand bar for 2 hours and themed photos.

So what is the cost? Well just to rent the venue is $3,000. That does not include what you have to pay for dinner which comes out to $105 per person (not including service charge [21%], which is taxable and sales tax [6.5%]). There is also a $2,000 food and beverage minimum. So you are looking at a minimum of 20 guests to cover your food and beverage for a grand total of at least $5,000 (not include service charges and tax).

Now you can get added options like mentioned before. For only $8,845 you can have a Director, 2 Gangsters, Pianist, Western Trio and Ma and Good Witch. If you want to add the premium bar for 2 hours that will be an additional $27.50 per person (plus service charge and sales tax). You can also add Themed Photos for $660, but each 5 x 7 purchased will cost $9.50 + tax. Some locations for the photos may require 20 amp power drops which are an additional cost not included in the literature.

Personally I like to go large. How often do you get to eat and party in a Disney Attraction after hours knowing that just a few minutes before and in just less then 12 hours from when you depart there will be thousands of people from all over the world enjoying the attraction? I thought I would do the full 80 people for dinner and bar service. Might as well throw in the entertainment, as well as photography and I even offered to purchase a photo for each of my guests in attendance. With all said and done with service charge and tax included it would be a total of $27,169.09 or about $332 per person. That is one heck of a party!

Some of you might be budget minded so the entertainment would be out and the guest can buy their own photos if they wish to get one. So you are looking at $6,561.17 to $14,679.66 for dinner only and $7,269.92 to $17,514.69 for dinner and premium bar for anywhere from 20-80 guests including a chance to have your picture taken.

So, what do you think is the best date for the Mouse Magic HD Great Movie Ride Dinner?

Source

Note: Prices and availability are subject change. All calculations and numbers listed above are estimates only. Please contact Disney for an accurate quote.

Hopefully you already know this, especially if you are planning a trip to the world in the next few days, but Space Mountain and TTA will be going down for refurb starting the 19th. This means that Saturday is your list day to ride these attractions for a good portion of the year.

The TTA is the first scheduled to reopen on August 24th. Space Mountain will be down a little longer and is scheduled to reopen November 21st.

This is a long time for SM to be closed down. WDW SM will not get as much of an upgrade as the Disneyland version however it is being reported there will be a significant amount of work that will be performed to bring the ride quality and enjoyability up.

So if you have a chance to get to the parks today, tomorrow or the next day be sure to swing by Tomorrowland and take in these attractions.