Ken Polsson's Walt Disney Company Chronologies

I came across this website about a month ago and wanted to pass it on. The site is the Chronology of the Walt Disney Company web site. I have seen a lot of attempts at Disney Chronologies, but Ken Polsson's site is the all time King. He's been working on this peice of Art since 1995 and continues to update it every day. Here is a sample of what happened in the Disney Company 25 years ago today from Ken's site:

"July 9
Buena Vista releases the live-action and animated feature film Tron to theaters in the US. It cost US$21 million to produce. It is presented in Super Panavision 70mm. Mickey Mouse has a cameo appearance. (Total American theater ticket sales: US$39 million.) [11] [15] [23] [34.272] [52.65] [97.29] [112.503] [245.34] [246.92] [255.D4] [256.C8] [370.317] [436.65] [440.56] [501.572] [602.40]
Bally debuts the arcade game Tron. [255.D4] "

His information is very detailed and completely footnoted, hence the bracketed numbers above. This is a great source and any serious fan of the Disney Worlds should have this link handy at all times. This second link is to his references page where he has links to his Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Mickey Mouse Chronologies.

This is a prime example of one of the Websites to Check-Out.

Check out the Ratatouille Video Podcast

I saw Ratatouille on July 4th with the family. I thought it was a pretty cool animated movie, once you got past that whole Rats in the kitchen thing. I laughed quite a bit as did the kids. I did not think it was worth an article in the blog though, until I came across the Disney Ratatouille Video Podcast on Itunes. It's free and you can do a search for it in the Itunes store. These podcast are 40 second to 4 minute long clips about the movie. The clips are like the extras you would see on the DVD. I followed the link back to the Official Ratatouille Web site. You can get the podcast there also. I was blown away by this site. Disney has finally figured out how to use the Internet. This is a beautiful, colorful, crisply animated and very detailed web site. The Characters menu Bar at the top right was the first tip off that there was some serious time spent on the design of this site. I can't wait to show the kids tomorrow night. Enjoy.

This is the "Hands Down" Best News You'll Hear Today

The Mickey Arm, Hand and Wand structure on Spaceship Earth in Epcot is coming down. I was searching around and came across this article from the Sun-Sentinel of Florida. It appears that it is confirmed that the arm is coming down.

"Epcot Vice President Jim MacPhee announced this morning that the time has come to remove the structure, which has served both as a colorful, lighted Epcot sign since 2000, and as a lightning rod for criticism from Epcot purists who contended the image was out of character for Epcot's architecture."

And as far as a time-table:

Deconstruction of the 50-ton structure begins Monday, and will be completed shortly before the park's 25th anniversary, October 1. Also coming down are the 36-foot-high "Epcot" letters and colored stars splashing across the sphere.

I personally cannot wait for this. I thought it was great for the year 2000. But hated the idea of the wand staying up. And just in time for the Epcot Anniversary. This is, as far as I can remember, the first time we've gotten any type of recognition that the 25Th anniversary was coming up from WDW management. Looking forward to more!!!

Do you like Dole Whip? Well Guess What you can now do at Home?

Have you ever had a Dole Whip? If not, your really missing out on something. A cold soft serve wonder made from real pineapple juice. Well, maybe real pineapple flavoring. Either way, people, me included, rave about these culinary quick serve delights. I even came across this poem by Matthew Walker from Started by the Mouse web site.

oh, luscious frozen treat how i crave

your pineappley goodness that makes me rave
swirled high inside the bowl like a yellow mountain high

I use my spoon to lap you up before letting out a yummy sigh
the line to savor your tasty goodness can sometimes block the way to adventureland

and while I may have wait in that 30-minute line I truly can't wait to get you in my hand
others may prefer the more prevalent snacks of cinnamon-sugary churros and salty popcorn

but given my druthers of what to eat I want the one shaped like the matterhorn

For those that have, until now you’ve had to be in one of three places to get some. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Hawaii. That is until now. While listening to the Inside the Magic Podcast, I heard Ricky announce that he now has a process where you can make Dole Whips at home. Don’t get too excited, it’s not quite as mad scientist like in making Orange Julius’s(coffee grounds and all), but still looks like fun. What you need is an Ice Cream maker, water, and the Official Dole Whip powder mix. Ricky found a link for buying the real deal for making Dole Whips. A 4 lb. bag is $22.00. He even put together a very nice How-to-Video of making it from beginning to end. Here is the link to ITM Dole Whip Page.
So turn on the Adventureland drum music and enjoy some fresh made Dole Whip.

Thanks to La2kw from the disboards for the top pic.

So Your Going to WDW: Magic Kingdom Must See's

What I am trying to do in these next four “So your Going to WDW” articles is to try to give you an idea of some of the attractions that you should make plans to see if you’re a FIRST TIME VISITOR to the parks. I will rate them by MUST SEE attraction(MS), SECOND TIME to PARK attraction(STP), and HAVE NOT TRIED attraction(HNT).
MS is obvious, but I don’t want this to be a ride description article. If I say MS I won't go into too much detail. STP is for rides that can wait until your second time to the park. It can also mean once you do all of the MS attractions and have time, hit the STP attractions. The HNT rating means I have not tried this attraction yet and cannot judge . Maybe bad on me and I am meaning to get to it. Or there is a reason to skip it. Although I hate to pass anything up I’ll mention why the HNT when I get to them. Please keep in mind, this is just my opinion. If your passing something I ranked as STP and it looks like fun and there is no line, jump on it. Nothings in Stone.

Main Street
There is plenty of places to shop and eat on Main Street, but as far as a Must See or MS, The only thing I would bring up would be get there early for Parade seats if you want to sit on Main Street. 45 Minutes at least. Other than that I would leave extra time on your way out of the park and check out the stores and food shops on either side of the street. The food offered is from snacks to candy to fast food to Sit down Table Service. I’ll talk all about food and shopping on Main Street at another time in another post.

Adventureland
Jungle Cruise: MS This is a boat ride through the jungle of animatronic animals and funny live Skippers.
Tiki Room: MS This is a dark room attraction with plenty of anamatronic birds all around. Don’t forget to look at the plants and the wood carvings everywhere.
Swiss Family Robinson: STP The Swiss Family Robinson Tree house is nice to see especially if you remember the movie. The problem is the walk-thru is single file and can be slow at times.
Pirates of the Caribbean: MS This is a dark attraction. Pretty calm boat ride except for one spot. Plenty of action and pirates. Keep your eyes peeled for Capt. Jack Sparrow
Alladin’s Carpet Ride: STP If you know the Dumbo ride, substitute a carpet for the elephant. Also, watch out, one of the Camels watching has a very bad habit.

Frontierland
Country Bear Jamboree: MS Great Fun every time.
Big Thunder: MS It’s a ‘roller coaster’ but no big hills and lots of scenery.
Tom Sawyer Island: HNT Will soon though. Looks like fun but never had the time.
Splash Mountain: MS This is a classic indoor/outdoor 'Song of the South' Log Flume ride. You can getvery wet on this one, so be prepared.
WDW Railroad Train Station: MS We use the WDW RR everytime we go. It's an MS for two reasons. First, it's a quick way to get to the other side of the park. Second, the train themselves are very cool. With Walt Disney's love of trains, the park keeps these trains well maintained and authentic in all reagards.

FantasyLand
It’s a Small World: MS I list this as a must see attraction. However, if you ever get caught on this ride during a break-down of 5 minutes or more I could owe you a huge apology. Great for Kids. Plenty to see.
Peter Pans Flight: MS You fly in a ship over London and on to Never Never Land. Nuff Said. Really good detail all over.
Mickey's Philharmagic: MS This is an a great musical 3D adventure with the help of a lot of Disney Characters. Two points, it should be Donald's Philharmagic and look for the hidden Mickey whle waiting for the show to start.
Cinderella’s Carousel: STP Of course depending on the age of your Kids this can easily be an MS attraction. Standard Carousel. The white horse with the gold bow is Cinderella’s favorite mount.
Dumbo Ride: MS for 10 and under. STP for all others. We’ve all seen this on TV. Round and Round he goes. Usually a long wait after 11:00 am.
Snow White’s Scary Adventures MS. Although this could be a little scary for the younger kids.
Pooh's Playful Spot STP. This is a meet and greet play area for little kids.
Pooh Ride: MS. This is a very fun ride through the world of Winnie the Pooh.
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Cup ride: STP. If you like spinning rides, go for it. I have retired this ride from my ride list.

Toontown
Toontown is mainly a meet and greet for characters. Mickey's and Minnie's houses and a Donald Duck Boat play area.
The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farms Rollercoaster: MS for 10 and younger. For all others, too small.

Tomorrowland
Indy Speedway: STP. This has one of the slowest lines in the park. If there is already a line, forget about it for now and try later. It’s pretty much a kids ride.
Astro Orbiters: HNT. Not sure why not? Too many other things to do in tomorrowland I guess. It is on my MS list from now on.
Space Mountain: MS. Great queue displays going in and out. Rough roller coaster in the dark. Must ride every time I go to the parks though.
Carousel of Progress: MS. I say must see as a personal opinion. It is a dated attraction, true, but it is one of the best examples of an attraction that was designed by WD and was in the Worlds Fair of 1964. We’re talking history here.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority: MS. This is a slow ride through the attractions of Tomorrowland. You get a glimpse of all the rides except for Stitches escape. We saw Space Mountain lit up inside two trips ago.
Buzz LightYear: MS. A very family friendly ride. More than a dark attraction, it’s a space age shooting range. I bet I can score more than you. 999,990, beat that.
Stitches Escape: STP. This is a scary attraction. Not for small kids. I still smell the Chilli dog today.
Monster Inc., Laugh Floor:HNT. I will in November '07.

Liberty Square:
Haunted Mansion: MS Kinda scary but ok for some kids.
Liberty Square River Boat: HNT Never wanted to waste the time. As bad as that sounds, we will try with the next trip.

Presenting, the Haunted Mansion's, Master Brigante

Ricky Brigante of the Inside the Magic Podcast had a very special show this week. If you ever wanted to work at Disneyland, show # 115 will give you an idea what you would expect. If you have not followed his story, Ricky had won one of the Dream jobs offered through CareerBuilder.com at Disneyland. This was a contest where you sent in your video audition for a Disneyland Job. If you won the job, you would be invited into the park, trained and would work for one day. The jobs available were Haunted Mansion Butler/Maid, Jungle Cruise Skipper, High School Musical Dancer, Princess in Waiting, and Pirate. Ricky had sent CreerBuilder.com his audition tape for Haunted Mansion butler. Audition Video. It was posted with others online and you got to vote for the one you liked the best.

On the Job Video
The show this week was a re-cap of the week that the winners had out in Disneyland. Ricky invited some of the other winners onto his show so we hear all about all of the jobs. It sounded like the Pirates had the most fun of all, but all of the jobs sounded great. So listen to the Inside the Magic Podcast and keep your eyes open for any Hitch-hiking Ghosts.

Other Winners Videos Link

Ricky just added another page to Inside the Magic that chronicals his trip and experiences in disneyland. Ricky's Dream Job Page. updated 7/2

A Hidden Mickey on the Way Home from Camping

You never know where you’ll find a Hidden Mickey. Last weekend we went camping in SE Pennsylvania. On the drive there, Quinn, my son, said he spotted a Hidden Mickey. My daughter and I told him that he must have been seeing things and since we were already late, we continued on without turning around to check. After the weekend, on the way home, we kept our eyes peeled. And shazam, there it was. I am not sure if I would call this a Hidden Mickey, as you can see from the picture, it was not hidden but definitely Mickey. Since this was Quinn’s find, I asked him to write up a post, here it is:

“Surprise! A Hidden Mickey!

When me and Hope and my Dad were coming home from camping, we saw a hidden mickey in Schwenksville, Pa. I took some pictures of it”

Lesley's Surprise Trip to Disneyland Paris

My wife Lesley had a great surprise this past Sunday. She went to Disneyland Paris. To back-track a little. She was sent to England for business. While there she connected with her friend Rosaba and her family. Rosaba and Family were going to Paris and Lesley went along. On the way they decided to take an extra day and go to Disneyland Paris. Here is a link to some pictures for now. I'll try to get some kind of trip report out of her to post. Here is a link to some pictures.
http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p196/Maz2468/Disney%20Paris/

The Mickey Room Podcast

The Mickey Room Podcast

The Mickey Room podcast is a podcast from Texas with Wayne and Kimberly as it’s hosts. Each week this couple brings us a look at their experiences from inside the parks and out. They have various segments each week such as Park Tips, Jokes, and restaurant reviews. They also run a lot of contests. There is usually a picture contest running each week on their Web Site and a Podcast contest every so often.
The charm of this podcast is it is like sitting down with your neighbors for about 45 minutes of Disney talk each week. For having such a small show, Wayne and Kimberly talk about a lot of topics such as the parks, the hotels, collecting, food and sometimes music. They tell you about the Disney properties from the eyes of a couple with a young boy. And, as a bonus, they go to Disneyland as well as WDW. They are part of the Disney Podcast Network as are many podcasts. They usually put out a 45-60 minute show each Sunday. So if you like a slice of down home Apple pie with your Disney podcast, download The Mickey Room podcast. Or is that a Monte Carlo sandwich? Either way, enjoy.