Saturday, October 31, 2009

Thanks to All!

I have to give a big shout out to my mom, Steve and Liz, and Mickey Mouse.

I recieved something from all four characters today.

From mom I got a huge singing Halloween card.



It sings "One Eyed, One Horned, Flying Purple People Eater." Amazing and I really appreciate it! I makes me smile every time I open it! Thanks and I love an miss you!

From the Vitale's, I got a really cool hand drawn card with a three-eyed monster with one eye closed. He wished me a Happy Hallowink! Very cool. Unfortunately the photo below doesn't do it justice.

There was also some pins for FBO+1, Mo from Puppatoons, a magnet already in a happy home on the fridge, and an amazingly awesome monster beast with candies inside. Love it love it!



There was also some propoganda for the 501st. That reminds me of a project I need to do.

My gift from Mickey Mouse was mailed to my house in Georgia and mom mailed it to me. Mickey gave me an early Christmas gift, an extra day in the parks for 3 people, some coupons for free drinks and popcorn, discounts on already discounted items, and some other really cool things, like a free photopass picture and discounts on Cirque du Soleil which is normally not discounted until day-of performances.

Thanks to Liz, Steve, Mom and Mickey for making my Halloween so much better!

I am going to bed very soon. Harry (my roommate) and I went to Epcot yesterday, then laundry, then I made my marshmallow smore bites for co-workers so I go very little sleep. Thank goodness for the time change!

Here's Harry with a Terracotta Chinese warrior in Epcot's China. He says he looks a lot like them with similar eyebrows and facial structure. Of course, the Terracotta rarely smile so I don't see the similarities nearly as much as he does.



And me making the smore bites.



Oh yeah. If you haven't already, set the clocks back one hour.

TTFN

I Lied In Tomorrowland (Forgive Me Lord...!)

Lord Vader that is. Some Jedi was using a mind trick on me I swear!

Anyway, I was doing my photo shoot of Tomorrowland the other day and here are the results.



Now, Tomorrowland is actually pretty small so this will go quickly.

We start with the great big beautiful tomorrow. That would be Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. It takes one through several different scenes with an American family showing the progress of energy and inventions.



It's a long journey, but a great way to beat the heat. And yes. It is still hot here right now.

There's also the Tomorrowland Speedway. Calling this attraction a speedway is being very generous, but it's a classic 7mph ride.



Let's take a quick time out to look at the shopping and places to eat in Tomorrowland. -"Now approaching Mickey's Startraders..."-



My favorite is Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. Here, you pick what you want then go to the bay that supplies it. Burgers are Bay 2 while Bay 1 is chicken and Bay 3 is sandwiches and salads.



I always go to Bay 2 then immediately to the best part of Ray's...



I don't even take off the bun. I just cover the burger in a thick layer of artery clogging goodness, then put on the ketchup and mustard with a bunch of pickles. Then cover them in more cheese. I then take a seat near the lounge singer, Sonny Eclipse.



Let's exit Ray's. I'm getting all hungry now.

Look up and you'll see a few things. You can see the one way people mover, that's the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (TTA). This goes all around Tomorrowland and through some attractions, like Buzz's Space Ranger Spin. You can also see the Astro Orbiter ride, kinda like Dumbo but a lot higher up.



Speaking of the spin, here it is.



There is also the main street that leads back to Cinderella Castle. This has the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor on one side of the street and Stitch's Great Escape on the other.



I love the Laugh Floor. Here, you interact with a cartoon monster within the monster world. Since laughs produce more energy, they are capturing our laughs to power their city. It's really neat talking to a cartoon and having them talk back.

Stitch's Great Escape (or Stitch's Great Ess-Cop-A as Dory the fish might say) is okay. You are transporting dangerous criminals when Stitch shows up and creates some comic mischief.

Scattered through Tomorrowland are some interesting sights, such as the palm trees that open and close like flowers in the sun. There's also a big sphere you can spin.



Also, let's not forget the two characters. I saw Buzz Lightyear and Push the Trash Can.



If you look closely at Buzz's behind, it's stamped (C) DISNEY. Ha! Yeah, the pictures not great but I didn't know how to get it gracefully. "Excuse me, Buzz? Can you turn around for a butt shot?"

And I expected Buzz to give the thumbs up like he did with every guest before me, but of course he didn't for me so I look like an absolute goober.

Oh, and what was that about me fibbing? Let's go to the video tape.



Lord Vader is of course my favorite Star Wars character, but I just blanked out. There's a lot of pressure talking to a trash can, especially one that talks back. I like R2 don't get me wrong, but how can you compete with a machineman that can crush you with his mind?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed your journey into the Future here at Disney's Tomorrowland inside the Magic Kingdom.

But wait? Isn't there an iconic ride in Tomorrowland?

Of course, there is Space Mountain. It is currently being refurbished for your future enjoyment. You can see the wall keeping guests out in the picture with the palm trees. FYI, that's the TTA in that same picture above the trees.

Corrections...

I screwed up on an earlier post and put the same clip for more than one day. I went back and corrected the error on the earlier post. It was the one called My Favorite Horror Film or something like that. Also, I have posted pictures of the All Star Resorts. Because of the time of the initial draft, it is posted further down the list of blogs than the Halloween clips.

So enjoy the special Halloween post, the All Star Resorts and the corrected horror trailer starring Bill Murray. And Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Happy Halloween!

I present to you two different things for this day. Definately PG-13. Seriously, don't look if you are easily offended. This is a very different blog entry than my normal ones.

First, we have a bunch of Disney Villians staring in a Marilyn Manson recording of "This Is Halloween" from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas.



Next, we have some renderings of Disney Princesses from illustrator Jeffrey Thomas.

Now, I don't exactly approve of what he did to my beloved princesses, but it seems highly appropriate for Halloween.



Happy Halloween! Be safe trick-or-treating kids. Wear reflective clothing, do not enter a strangers house or vehicle, use a light, have a parent or other trusted adult close by, and do not eat anything until it can be inspected for possible tampering.

My Favorite Horror Film

I really like this trailer.

Awesome.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

All Star Photos

No, I'm not that full of myself.

Okay. Maybe I am.

The title is actually referring to this latest installment of photos. They are the All Star Resorts.



Some people refer to them as one large resort with three parts. Some of this is very true. One gate for the guests, often one bus to the resorts. As a cast member, you are trained on all three and scheduled at all three because the lobby buildings are cookie-cutters of one another. However, some consider the resorts different from one another.

Technically, they are different, but I certainly understand why they get lumped in together to the degree people do. Actually, I'm going to do the same thing.

Anyway, let's take a look at All Star Sports, All Star Music, and All Star Movies. Now, each one is basically the same basic design. There's a central building with check-in and such, then several seperate buildings with specific themes to the resorts overall theme.

Here we go with All Star Sports.



Now we look at the different themed spurs of the main theme. We have Surf's Up, a surfing themed resort with giant surf boards, lifeguard tower staircases, and huge shark fin decoration.



Moving on to the Hoops Hotel, basketball land. The middle is a basketball half court (oversized of course) with big referee whistles. We also have big basketballs, big basketball hoops, and cheerleader megaphone staircases.



Continuing our tour of the Tennis Complex. This has a tennis court where Donald Duck is playing tennis while Huey, Duey, and Lewy are playing baseball, much to Donald's shagrin. In addition, note the decorative and huge Judge's Chairs, rackets, and staircases in the shape of a can of balls.



Next is the Homerun Hotel. Baseball themed, so of course we have giant balls, bats, and decorative ribbons. The staircases are what we all think of when we think of baseball, Coca-Cola cups. There's a pool as well looking like an entire field. Goofy is pitching using a cannon for some reason. Note the Braves banner on display.



Touchdown! That's the next theme and final theme here at All Star Sports. We've got a huge field with X's and O's flanked on both sides by giant helmets complete with football staircases.



Now, let's move on the second resort, All Star Music.




The Calypso is first with it's xylophone and miraca decorations. This is of course complimented by the bongo stairs.



Moving to the Jazz Inn with giant drum sets and sweet jazz musical intrusment decorations. The stairs are hidden by a soulful sax player.



Rock on! The Rock 'n Roll area's next. This features guitars, a sweet Chevy and a giant jukeboxes. The stairs are amplifiers.



Country Fair is next. Giant cowboy boots and twangy instruments (violins, banjos) inhabit the area. The stairs are big harmonicas (I think).



On Broadway! Yes, Broadway Street runs down the middle of this section complete with stage door stairs, giant tuxedos, and a big marquee.



We are down to the last resort, the All Star Movies.



Each section is themed after a different movie. We have 101 Dalmations complete with Purdee, Pongo, all the puppies, and that infamous puppy watching television. The stairs are fire hydrants.



The Mighty Ducks are next. This brings back memories of when Disney actually owned the team. There's hockey sticks, a Goofy goaltender, lockerrooms, a hockey rink themed pool, and the famous duck mask art work. The stairs are encased in giant hockey goals.



Fantasia is a little different. All of the other themes at each All Stars has two buildings that are basically the same thing on both sides. But Fantasia has the original Fantasia on one side, and the new one on the other. Both have books for stairs while the original is decorated by brooms and the hat. The 2000 version has dolls and a scary jack-in-the-box.



Let's see that from a different angle.



Moving on because I want to look away from the scary man, we go to the Love Bug section starring Herbie. Here, you can find both ends of Herbie, some giant wrenches and other tools and tires, as well as stairs hidden by a giant clapper board. Another cool thing is you can see the actual car used during the parades in the Magic Kingdom from 1978-1990 in the Winner's Circle. I actually remember seeing this car in that parade from when I was a child. He lifted his lid and squirted water out his front.



We end our exhaustive tour with the Toy Story addition. Here, you enter Andy's Room through a thirty foot high door to see the RC Car, Buzz, Woody, Rex, Bo-Peep, and some giant checkers and blocks. The stairs? Huge buckets of toy soldiers. The shadow on that bucket was a happy accident I didn't notice until much later.



That's it! That's the largest resort area!

Oh, any my apologizes to Liz for posting some nephew art!