Thursday, February 19, 2009

Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, Norway:Completed

On our trip down to WDW this past January we had the chance to try out the new Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. This was fantastic. A truly interactive, I can’t wait to see what happens next, kind of activity. It is a great way to give kids, big and small, a new experience in the World Showcase at EPCOT. I am going to go through the experience in detail, so there might be spoilers(Pssst, pssst, there will be spoilers...and pictures...and video). But, since this is only for Norway and since there is suppose to be 6-7 more adventures, you could read this one and plan on doing all the other Adventures first. I’ll also not tell the exact story so that will be kinda new when you do this. This was really fun.
I had heard about this from the various podcasts I listen to, but had r
eally forgotten about it until we saw the Kim Possible sign recruiting to ‘Save the World’ directing us into Inoventions West. Right inside the door to the left is a Kim Possible (KP) Wall with various stations with a monitor at each. They are touch sensitive and you read through a number of screens asking about your party and telling you the beginnings of a story about Kim and Ron not being available and could you help out. Next to the machine is a slot that spit out a Fastpass looking card that had a country name (Norway) and a time that our Adventure would begin. I think we started at 12:45. We had some time so we hit Club Cool. Got the 8 year old with Beverly, but that’s another story, and strolled through Mexico. The KP stand was easy to spot as were the Cast Members. Nice Ron stoppable looking Purple shirts. We handed over our pass and were given a cell phone looking device. We were told how to use them and then we were directed to get about 100 feet away from the cart. Even though there were specific times to start the adventure, you did not have to be there at the time that was on your ticket, so there was a little bit of sound over-lap between our team and others. We listened to Wade describe a World Class disaster in the making and we need follow clues through Norway to solve the mission. I have never been in the Stave Church in all my times down to Epcot and that’s the first place the game took us. Wade directs you to a place and then asks a question that can be answered by reading or looking around where you are sent. Here is one example. In the Stave Church there is a replica of a famous Norwegian boat, can’t remember the name. Wade’s question, that will help us catch the villain, was how long was the boat. The question has four possible answers and you pick the right one to continue the adventure. SPOILERS: The interactivity was great. At one point Wade had us look at Japan and smile. A picture of us from a hidden camera was then sent to our phone/device. Again, the interactivty with the Norway pavailion was great. We caused smoke to rise out of one of the chimmneys near the Maelstrom. We lit lanterns for signals and had flags raised
over a Dragon as an answer to a vital question and even talked to a famous norwegian marathon runner's statue. There was a great finale which you'll need to see and then you dumpedthe device into a trunk near the entrance to the Maelstrom. This was great. I saw parts of Norway I have never seen before. The Stave Church and Perrin's Roost and just the general details of Norway. It took about 40 minutes and I can see us doing this at least once or twice on our next trip. I can't wait to do China or Japan next. Let me know if you've done any other countries.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

New Hidden Mickeys...at least new to us.

The Walt Disney Park Imagineers are men and women who have created rides and attractions both big and small. However, one of their best creations is something that started small but has become a fun obsession for the family and I. Hidden Mickeys. For those that don't know, "...a hidden Mickey is a partial or complete impression of Mickey Mouse placed by the Imagineers and artists to blend into the designs of Disney attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other areas. " That quote came from the number one expert on Hidden Mickeys(HM), Steve Barrett and his Hidden Mickey Guide and website. You can even buy his book in the parks. Steve has a couple of Disney travel books, but the HM's are the most fun.

We are always looking for more. This past trip in Jan. we spotted three new HM's. At least they were new to us, when we got home and checked Steve's site, they were all already reported. It was still fun spotting them though. The first two were at Epcot. First in the Living Seas with Nemo. As we walked down to the aquarium section of the pavilion, we saw this very obvious HM on the seabed. Next on Spaceship Earth. We always screw our heads around trying to find a new one in here. Well, we thought we had done it, found a new one. In the scene with the Jewish Library, as you see the one guy sleeping, behind him on the shelf, there are three scrolls that are next to each other. Here is a LINK to Steve's site and a picture of this one. My pictures in Spaceship Earth never look good. The last one for this trip was found while we were on line for the Jungle Cruise. We were in the Fastpass line on the left side of the dock as you face the water. We were moving in line to the right and saw this jar with what looked like walnuts in it or ping pong balls. But there it was, the classic hidden mickey shape. When I was down in September I had a really novel HM pointed out to me. Novel in that it was always there in front of us. Too bad my picture was not that great. But it You can get the general idea of what it looks like. These plates are on the table in the Dancing room. So next time you head out to a Disney park, Hotel or Restaurant, keep your eyes open for those hidden extras the imagineers have left for you to find.