Toy Story Mania - 200 Minutes?

I've been sorting through pictures and found one from June 2010 that proves a story I've been telling since that trip.   Most people talk about Stand-by line times and what their cut-off is.  For me it's 20-30 minutes.  Anything more than that I'll move on and not waste the time.  In June 2010 I was in DHS.  It was not a busy day by any means, but here is the wait time for Toy Story Mania.  Granted the times for this attraction have always been large, but 200 minutes?  I tried putting that into perspective which seemed odd.  It's just that I don't use terms like 200 minutes too often.  I would just say 3 hours and 20 minutes.  HOLY S*#T!  How can someone take a look at that wait time and get on line?  Well, people were.  I'm sure those that are there for the first and maybe only time?  It just seems like you could cover a lot of other things in that 3 and a half hours.  W.E.

Disney's John Carter Newest Trailer

I just saw the new commercial for Disney's John Carter of Mars.  I did notice that the title is now officially just Disney's John Carter.  I've been looking forward to this release for a little while now.  2008-Post-a 2008 Post-b and 2009 Post on John Carter.

This looks like an epic movie and I can't wait to see the movie about writer Edgar Rice Burroughs Uncle John. 

Was the deal for Avatarland signed too soon?  Time will tell with the way this turns out.

Here is the latest trailer introduced by John Stanton:

Goodbye Dear Friend!

Goodbye old friend.  I bought this hat on our honeymoon in 1993.  That makes it 18 years old, wow!  It’s been getting ready for the old heave ho the last couple of months, but the metal clasp in the back broke and now is the time to throw it out.  You have served me well old friend and have survived 100’s of rides without coming off, many storms and  hours upon hours of play and work.  Thanks and goodbye.

Happy Birthday Walt

Today is Walt Disney's Birthday.  He was born on Dec. 5, 1901 which would have made him 110.  On his birthday I like to take a look at what he has created and what it has become.  Not just the material things as in the movies/tv and the parks, but for the spiritual.  I truly believe that Walt was one in ten billion.  Through his early determination and inspiration in animation and his can-do attitude led to the building of an empire that had one over-all goal, besides feeding the family, and that was to create entertainment that can be enjoyed, understood and then loved by all ages, races, creeds and religions. 

"I am interested in entertaining people, in bringing pleasure, particularly laughter, to others, rather than being concerned with 'expressing' myself with obscure creative impressions."


"We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public."

"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality."


"Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language."
 
There were many industrialists and business leaders that it can be argued changed the world.  Walt truly did just that, he changed the world and even made it a bit smaller to all of our benefits.
 

Happy Birthday Walt!

The "WGTWDW" Podcast Show # 10

This week we celebrate our 10th show with a long(for us) conversation about the Disney Cruise we took this past June.  We actually talk so much we needed to cut this show into two parts.  This week we talk about the pre-cruise activities with Magnets and Fish Extenders.  We then get on the boat and talk about the room, shows, the restaurants and more.  We're saving Castaway Cay, Nassau and anything we missed for our next show. 

Here are a couple picturs of the magnets and the Fish Extender.  It's hanging on the right side of the door.  We were having so much fun on this cruise, we never actaully took a picture of the door we spent so much time creating.  A friend on the BOGP Forums who was on the trip took this for us.  We ate at the Animators Palate the first night and it was a fun meal with Crush.  We saw all of the shows the cruise had to offer and had such a great time.  Hear all about it and maybe pick up some tips on this weeks show.
Thanks for Listening!

The "WGTWDW" Podcast Show # 9

On this weeks show we switch it up a little due to the heavy schedule that the kids had this week.  From Basketball to Swim Team and School and CCD and a Boy Scout Camping trip had us all very busy this week.  In the show we post some audio clips from the last couple of times we've been down in WDW.  Here are some of the video links for those to give you the added visual along with the audio on the show.  The first clip was the Voices of Liberty over at the American Experience at Epcot.  A must see group.  The next clip we have is from the Adventures Club's Live Radio show.  This was a really great night and a little sad as it was the last time I was there before it closed.  Next we had the Jamminators from Epcot.  These are the most common looking guys.  You might even walk past them without noticing, until they start playing.  They were really good.  After that we visit the Magic Kingdom at Rope Drop.  This is one of our favorite times of the day.  Getting to the park early and watching this show is a great start to a fun day.  We then finish up with the Main Street Philharmonic.  You should have heard how many times I kept saying the Main Street Philharmagic.  We love these guyus and will almost always stop and watch.  They are one happy bunch of guys.

Thanks for listening to the show this week.  We promise to be back next week with a fully staffed show to talk all about our Disney Cruise from this past June

The "We're Going to Walt Disney World" Podcast Show # 8

On this weeks show we spin the Wheel of Attractions and landed on Dino Sue.  We sounded a little unsure during the show, but I was right.  Dino Sue is the T-Rex loacted along the pathway leading to the Dinosaur attraction.  Here she is, Dino Sue.  You never know where the wheel will stop.  We then talk about Disney Character interactions at WDW.  From Character Meals to getting autographs from the characters themselves.  It might not have come across clear in the show, but the autograph books we made for the kids are in my eyes, incredible.  Not for the look of it, they are pretty simple, but for putting the picture with the autograph.  Here are a couple of samples.  The quailty is a little off, but you can get the idea.  The middle picture was Quinn at Chef Mickey's and the first picture in the book.  Minnie is signing the book in the picture. He was 4 1/2 years old and that was 2002.  I just realized that we have had these books for almost a decade.  The right picture was from Crystal Palace.

And in the Disney-Net-Check I talk about our different locations on the internet.  Of course this blog and our Podbean account.  We also have a channel on Youtube with almost 50 videos of our WDW trips.  And you can follow me on Twitter @EdMaz.  Our email address is WGTWDW@gmail.com.  Thanks for listening and see you next week. 

Star Wars Weekend Poster Art over the Years

My two great interests in life other than the family are Disney and Star Wars and what better way to join these two things together than in Star Wars Weekends held each year at the Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando.  S.W. weekends are held on 4 weekends in the May-June time of the year.  These weekends have special Star Wars events such as autograph signings, special Star Wars/Disney merchandise and various entertainment events.  These events are things such as a Star Wars themed parade, a lip sync/dance off staring SW characters, and other great meet and greets with never seen start wars characters.  I, alas have never been to a weekend, but in following the information that comes out of the event, I kept track of these really cool advertisement posters.  They were posted at the Orlando Airport the first year and have since found their way to various locations.  As I was going through pictures on the box, I came across these posters and threw them into a Windows Live Video.  I think these are all great.  My two favorites are the Tie Fighter moored up at the end of the ramp and Vader in line with his boots off sharing all of our pain.

Enjoy!

The "We're Going to Walt Disney World" Podcast Show # 7

On this weeks show we spin the Wheel of Attractions one more time. This week the wheel landed on Peter Pan’s Flight. We all agreed that this is a great attraction and we talk about some of the things we like about the ride, some of the things we think they can add, and some tips about the line.

We next try out a new segment called “Beyond the Rides”. In this segment we discuss things we like to do at the WDW resort…that are not rides. We thought we’d switch it up between the Family Tip segment and this new one. This week we talk about the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot’s the Land pavilion. We really liked this tour and the price and time needed were just right to do with the family. You can listen as we actually slip and give up a great family tip with this tour.

 

Our Disney-Net-Check this week is the Disney History Blog run by an internet friend of mine, Didier Ghez. This site is a source of incredible insights, interviews and articles about Walt and the Walt Disney Studios. He also has a great line of books of which volume 10 has just been released. Walt’s People are a set of books that let you read interviews of many of the people that worked with Walt and the Studios.

We also announce the winner of our first ever contest. I think I said first annual on the show. We’ll do this more often than annual. So Tune in for a really great show!

The "We're Going to Walt Disney World" Podcast Show #6

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From now on I thought I would set-up a much more detailed version of the Show Notes, here in my blog.  Podbean has a lot to be desired about their posting software.

On this weeks show of the “We’re Going to Walt Disney World” podcast we once again spin the Wheel of Attractions.  The kids have a lot to say about Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride.  I don’t get it, the spinning and all, but the kids seem to really like it.   

We then talk about pressed pennies in the Family Tip segment.  Pressed penny machines can be found through-out all of WDW.  We talk about this fun activity that we have been doing for years.  One of the great finds I came up with about pressed pennies was finding the www.Presscoins.com web site.  Right now, we’ve got three full books of pressed WDW pennies and are beginning another.  Hope mentioned the book with the Mickey head shaped penny.  Here it is and here is the inside of it.  This book has the Epcot Country series of pennies we discussed on the show.  Some trips, it's like we'll press pennies if we see a machine.  Other trips, it's a mission.  We talk about more on the show.

For the Disney Net-Check, our 60 second look at really good Disney themed web sites, I talk about Steve Soares’ Walt Disney WorldEntertainment web site.  This is a really nice site that is updated every week with every live event at the WDW resort.  We always hit this site the week before a trip.  You can get times for everything from Streetmosphere to the Dapper Dan’s to when is the Mad Hatter signing autographs.  A very good information site.  Enjoy.

To finish show number 6, we announce our FIRST CONTEST!.  Simple rules, email us at WGTWDW@Gmail.com with any two of the attractions we have discussed in the Wheel of Attractions segment we have done.  Once we hit the cut-off on Sat., Nov. 5^th at 5:00 pm WDW time we will throw all contestants into a hat and pick two winners.  The first winner pulled will get a great Splash Mountain pin and a pressed penny chosen by the kids.  The second winner pulled will get a Sleepy Dwarf in a Box, Cast Member pin.  So send in your emails.

You can find the "We're Going to Walt Disney World" Podcast on Itunes and on Podbean.

Bring Back Spectromagic…Please?

     Ever since WDW brought back the Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP) to the Magic Kingdom there has been some debate as to which is the better parade. Spectromagic was the parade that had recently been at the Magic Kingdom since 1991. There was a two year break where MSEP did come to the Magic Kingdom, but other than that, it’s been Spectro. In June 2010 they switched over to the newer version of the MSEP and that has been the parade ever since.

     When it was announced that the MSEP was coming back, my first thought was, “wow, that’d be great!” Up to now I had seen some video and had heard the music and was looking forward to the change. I was down in the parks that June solo and had my first chance to see this parade. Again, not something I would normally do alone, but with all the hype I made it a point. And, sad to say, I was not impressed. Let me explain.

     First, a small tangent thought. I went to see the film ‘Waking Sleeping Beauty’ when it came around a couple of years ago. Producer Don Hahn gave a great talk and answered questions about the movie and his times at the WDW Studios. One of the things that he said has always stuck with me. Sound is about 75% of your movie experience. He then went on to explain this statement by saying, “When you have a chance, throw in a favorite movie and first watch a couple minutes of it with no sound. Next, watch a couple minutes with sound but don’t watch the screen.” I’ve tried this and had some other people do the same and it’s always the same, you can listen to the movie as long as you want while watching with no sound gets real boring real quick. That logic might apply here, kind of.  As I watched MSEP for the first time, about ¾ of the way through the parade I was like, is that it? The song seems to be on a loop as it plays its way through the parade. As I was thinking that, it actually began to gnaw at me a little more and became one of the main impressions that I came away from the parade with. The music began to get repetative.

     Don’t get me wrong, the floats were great and the interactions with Alice and Pete (Pete’s Magic Dragon) and the crowd were very cool. I liked how they were mic’ed up and you can hear what they say.  The Dwarf train was fun and colorful and the swish of electric stars that was on each float that lit up like a wave from the front of the parade to the back boasted technology and looked great. And the closing float with the patriotic dancers was a great touch also and totally fitting where we are with the country.  Even so, I still came away humming that same refrain over and over and thought it was just over done.

     In August, my whole crew went down.  I wanted to see the parade again to see if it had been a fluke and the three times in Jan. was just my imaginataion.  I also wanted to get the kids reactions to the parade.  Well after we watched the parade from the curb on Main Street, their thoughts were basically the same. I was hoping that I would have a change of mind also, but again as the parade went on, the thought again came into my head about, “Is the music stuck in a loop?” The kids, were not thrilled enough to even want to see it again while we were there. Let’s just say we used the Parade Diversion-Short Line Ride method for the other days we were in MK and the Parade was running.

Things I liked about Spectro: 

• I liked how the music had basically the same theme, but had it's own sounds or specific song for each unit or float.
• I liked the magical flourish of music that would trigger the change of all the colors in that section of the parade to go to black and white and how all the characters reacted the same way.   
• I liked having the kids try to find the animated Tinkerbelle that flew between various floats.
• I liked how colorful it was even compared to the MSEP.  It seemed to just have more.
• I liked being in the right place at the right time to see Chernabog open up. 
• I liked Chip and Dale playing it up at the Piano.
• And as sentimental as it is, I liked how it felt to see my kids see their first night-time parade when they were so young and it was Spectromagic.

     My last point is the key, I think,  it's most people's likes and dislikes.  What happened during a specific event helps a lot in how you remember it.  I don't begrudge the MSEP fans at all.  They deserve to like what they like as much as I do.  To really put it to a test though I posted a poll on the Disboards.  The question was simple, MSEP or Spectro.  I got a great response.  Thanks for participating guys.  126 for Spectro and 54 for MSEP, but out of 45 posts that people left, it was closer. 25 Spectro and 20 MSEP.
     So, bring back Spectromagic...Please?

The "We're Going to Walt Disney World" Podcast Show # 5

This week we celebrate Halloween with couple of audio clips from the Magic Kingdom.  What says Trick or Treat better than Stich in Stiches Great Escape.  The second clip is our own Ghost Hunter investigation.  The rumour goes that if you stay in the stretching room after most have left you might hear some strange voices.  I think we did.  Listen along and hear what you can hear with our recording from the Haunted Mansions Stretching room.

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Happy Halloween

It's all in the Details; Muppets 3D Store Signage

As promised another post about Muppets 3D.  Here are some of the signs I saw in the retail store our last trip down.  I had time to let my eyes wander while I was waiting for the kids to get done looking around the store.  It must be great to have a job coming up with this stuff.

It's all in the Details; Muppets 3D World Headquarters

The Muppets 3D attraction in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is one of my favorites each and every time we go to the parks. It is the one attraction in WDW that I can truly say has a queue and pre-show that are as interesting as or even more so than the show itself. I was going though pictures from a previous trip and came across one from Muppets 3D. As you walk into the attraction you pass a couple of boards listing the Muppet 3D World Headquarters directory. It’s amazing how many times you can walk past something and never really see it. I’m sure I have noticed this before, I even took a picture of it, but I was really surprised at all of the gags that can be found.

Directory 

Institute of Heckling & BrowBeating: 
Statler and Waldorf - Curmedgeons in Chief  Box A Mezz.

Muppet Kitchens & Pyrotechnic Research:
Swedish Chef - Tippy Top Cookie Guy     Suite 2649

Dept. of Poultry & Mold Cultivation:
The Great Gonzo - Paramour - Connoisseur        Suite 1631

Patriotic Analysis & Protocol:
Sam the Eagle - American                Suite 127E

Sartorical Accumulation Division:
Miss Piggy - Diva                             Very Suite 4444

Academy of Amphibian Science:
Kermit - The Frog                            Suite 5235

The Rest of the Directory

Division of Decibel Development:

Animal - Percussionist at Large               Suite 6420

Adittudinal Adjustement & Groove Testing:

Dr. Teeth, Chairman & Floyd Pepper, Ottoman      Suite 7129

Dept. of Comedic Timing & Delivery:
Take Fozzie Bear - Please                      Suite 8932

Cute Cuddly & A.W. Shucks Attorneys:
Bean Bunny - Your Pal                         2 Suite 4 U

Soup of the Day

Split Pea:  Cup 2.95      Bowl 1.50       No Soup  3.95

Alphabet Soup:  P V M D E F N W C N P

Like I said I really like Muppets 3D.  Look forward to some more posts soon!  Don't forget, keep your eyes open next time your in Muppets 3D.  Read everything and don't laugh too loud.  You'll tip off everyone that this queue is the show.

Behind the Seeds Tour at Epcot

Walt Disney World offers a number of behind the scenes tours. Each park offers different types of tours. One of the tours that we took last summer was the Behind the Seeds tour. This tour was help in the Land at Epcot. It is a tour of the greenhouses in the “This is the Land” attraction. We had looked at doing this the last couple of trips and finally did it. Of all the tours this is the least expensive. I think we paid $14 each and were able to get a 10% discount using our Disney Visa card.
We paid for the tour and waited for our Tour Guide downstairs on the Land at the Soarin Information Desk. We got our name tags and waited about 5 minutes as other guests strolled up. The Tour Guide came out and off we went. We went out the doors right their near the bathrooms and walked to a set of doors that lead to the laboratory areas of the pavilion. In here we heard about the science involved in creating new plants by such processes like grafting. After that we saw a quick video about the good insects that they use to help the plants. This would come into play later. From here we were off into the greenhouses. As you see the kids go through those doors, it is over pressured in that there was a big blast of air as we entered.
One of the biggest warnings we got was to not walk on any of the sand that the plants were growing in. The threat of plant killing microbes coming in on our shoes was a big threat. As you go through on the ride you’ll see some cast members wearing white booties on their shoes. Pictures were allowed on this tour and we asked a lot of questions. Hope released some ladybugs to fight the bad bugs and all the kids on the tour were allowed to feed the Tilapia. We walked through every section that you see on the ride and were offered samples of the harvest to try out. Cucumbers. The tour itself is about 1 ½ hours and was very informative. Just seeing the people going by in the tour boats was pretty cool. We were in many pictures that day. Some people would wave at you if you looked at them. Very fun. We finished where we started. I’d like to try this again in a couple of years to see what’s changed. I give this tour…wait for it…two GREEN thumbs up!

WDW Radio 40 Hour live show from Walt Disney World

THEY DID IT! This weekend the WDWRadio Podcast, hosted by Lou Mongello, performed 40 hours worth of charity work. Those 40 hours were consecutive and tough, but it was for the best of causes..."For the Children". Lou and his friend Beci Mahnken of MEI and Mousefan Travel brought us a live 40 hour show from Walt Disney World. Lou came up with this idea months ago as a Tribute to the 40th Anniversary of the opening of WDW's Magic Kingdom. Lou and company started at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning and went through to Sunday night at midnight. While this marathon of Park Touring was going on, his site hosted an auction of 40 items. People could bid on any of the items and that money would donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America through Lou's Dream Team Project.

These past 40 hours saw Lou, Beci and their band of followers move from the Magic Kingdom, to Epcot and the Boardwalk and Food & Wine, DHS and an nice look at the All-Star Vacation home. This was also a special occasion in that we saw technology allow this event to be watched globally. Through Ustream Lou was able to broadcast live for virtually all of those 40 hours. Granted, there were some issues with bandwidth in the parks and battery life. (Heh, Picked up two new charging spots in Epcot, American Adventure and Lotus Blossom)

There is another group of people to be thanked for this event however and they did not even leave their homes. The Box People who bid on the auction items and watched and talked to Lou and his friends over the last 40 hours are to be thanked in a large way for this event. The Box People came about when Lou first began using his laptop to stream live video from some of the events he gets to go to. The birth of the Box People officially happened at the first ever D23 convention two years ago. Follow this link to a previous Blog post of mine about the birth of the Box People. Ever since then we have been attending all of Lou's events.

This time Lou and the Box People out-did themselves. At the end of the night, Lou announced that they had raised $17, 231 for the Make a Wish Foundation. I would expect that number to exceed $20,000 due to donations outside the auction.

Lou and Beci had plenty of help to stay awake. A number of faces and voices we've heard from the show. Scott, Glenn, Tony, Mike, Vicki, and plenty more.

GREAT JOB GUYS!!! Now how about that 2012 announcement?

The "We're Going to Walt Disney World" Podcast

I’ve got a really big announcement for this Blog Post. We have decided to start a Disney themed podcast. The “We’re Going to Walt Disney World” Podcast is now available on Itunes. We will explore all things Disney…With a Family Twist. All members of the Mazzilli family are included in this podcast with views and opinions for all talking members of the family. We’ll try to find a way to include the dog down the road. Our plan for now is a 15 minute show comprised of two segments. We’re learning as we go so bear with us. We’re going to talk about all things Disney, not just the parks. We can be found here and on Itunes.

It's all in the Details; "Bert's Boats" on Castaway Cay

We have just returned from our first Disney cruise and WOW, it was a blast. I hope to write some more posts as soon as I can. I was going through pictures and was stopped at one I took on Castaway Cay. We were lucky enough to spend two days on Castaway Cay and on the second day we all went for a bike ride. It’s a great place for a ride considering the tallest hills are the speed bumps. We had a nice ride and on the road I passed this nice little display. “Bert’s Boats” I have a friend named Bert so I took a picture for him and then rode on. When I saw the picture again, I was thinking how the Disney Imagineers hardly ever add a specific detail with out a reason. Well, with a little research, I found the connection and it was pretty obvious once I did. "Bert" Swets is the Vice President of Marine & Technical Operations. Bam! There it is. These are the details that make a Disney trips at the parks or even on their Caribbean island so much more fulfilling.

Adventurer's Club Member Sighting

One of the things outside the park we would do on every trip as an adult, was to go to Disney's Pleasure Island and specifically end up at the Adventurer's Club. We would have such a fun time trying to catch different shows each time we've gone. I was lucky enough to be down in WDW a couple weeks before it closed for good. We saw all the shows that night. In the picture to the right and this link to one of my Youtube videos of the Club shows Otis T.Wren. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUlHhjgiSC8

On a recent trip to Animal Kingdom I had a Adventurer's Club Alumni sighting. It was none other than Professor Otis T. Wren from that last night who was moonlighting as the Tour Guide Leader at the Flights of Wonder in AK. This was one of those great chance encounters that are always around the corner. I was going to skip Flights of Wonder this time anyway. But, the CM with the Owl out front of the attraction got me and in I went. When it got to the point where the noisy, ornithopiac (afraid of birds), tour guide leader enters on stage waving his classic red flag. It was Otis. He was great. It was a really nice treat to see this actor continuing to work with Disney. He played his part way above and beyond and was really a good 'straight man' for the birds. Always fun to see old friends. I saw that there were sightings over at the Chef's de France rest. at Epcot of two other former members of the Adventure. Keep your eyes open for other Club alumni moving on.

Happy New Year 2011!

Happy New Year to all of My Great Friends out there in the world. 2010 was a a good year I hope 2011 surpasses it for you.