The World for One

Forum Fading… is it an illness?

2009-06-23T07:37:00.001-07:00

No, in fact I believe it’s rather healthy. To get away from the internet and computer for a while. To just get outside and enjoy nature’s bandwidth of sunshine and fresh air. However, that theory kind of goes out the window when you’re still attached to said internet and computer. I haven’t been posting in the forums I used to. Or this blog for that matter. I still spend way too much time on the internet however. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and just general web surfing mostly. Every once in a while I’ll go and read a bit on the forums I used to frequent. More of a lurker than a regular poster.

I still go to the Disney parks, although not nearly as frequently as I did when The World for One podcast was still going. I’ve sort of been just wasting my days by sleeping through them, then waking up at night not able to fall back asleep. Living in a motel room is a really easy way to get extremely bored. And with my nocturnal sleeping habits, there is even less to do at night while I’m wide awake. What I need is a job, a car, and some money for college. I still am not entirely sure as to what I want to be when I “grow up”. I don’t think I’ll ever really grow up, nor do I wish to.

However, I do need to have more responsibilities than I do for my age. I’m 19, and though I dropped out of school way too early, I have gone back and received my High School Diploma. That should make getting a job easier, right? Well apparently not. Not during this funk called the economy. I live on Highway 192 which is like International Drive 2.0, it connects to I-Drive in fact. I would have thought there would be plenty of job opportunities out here. In actuality, not really. I mean I might be able to get a job flipping burgers for minimum wage but I REALLY don’t want to do that and I don’t believe I need to.

Being as young as I am means that I have plenty of opportunities ahead of me. Opportunities for success. True, everyone has to start somewhere, but I don’t think it has to be with doing something you’d rather not be doing. Yes, plenty of extremely successful and happy folks did start by doing jobs they’ve hated. But the way I look at it is this: If you have a goal in mind and are working your way to that goal, if you enjoy the work you’re doing, the more likely you are to stick to chasing down that goal.

That’s not to say that I’m going to have to overcome obstacles and tough things on my journey, but again, it shouldn’t be something I hate, but rather something that motivates me to beat it and gain knowledge and experience in the process. Knowledge and experience which I can use to my advantage in my future endeavors. So anyway, this is a Disney blog. Not my personal journal to express my life’s frustrations. But I just feel like expressing why I haven’t been adding my input on Disney topics on this blog and Disney fan message boards and things.

So to turn this post around back in to Disney related material, check out this cool patch I found while going through some old boxes this morning. It’s Mickey Mouse in the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps outfit (from The American Adventure pavilion at Epcot).

Disney & Me @ Sea? Maybe. We’ll See. Tee-Hee.

2009-04-23T04:26:00.001-07:00

Anyone who listens to Disney fan podcasts is probably aware of the Mouse Guest Weekly podcast, created by the gang over at mouseguest.com, where they claim you can ‘get your fix’. This is most certainly true. Not just with the awesome virtual tours of the happiest place… in Orlando, but with the warm and welcoming community in the forums. Another little thing Disney fans may be aware of are the fan gatherings in the parks. The two that first come to mind are of course Mousefest (FL) and WestFest (CA).

However, there are a few smaller gatherings from communities all over the interwebs, yet they all share the passion for the magic Disney’s famous for. Last year, mouseguest.com and the Mouse Guest Weekly podcast started their own little gathering. Known as ‘The Mouse Guest Experience’, or MGE, this fan gathering kicked off it’s inaugural festivities in October of 2008. A much smaller, and more personal group of Disney fans made for a very, quite fun and easy going event. Unlike the magical mayhem, often overwhelming, Mousefest.

That’s not to say that Mousefest is inferior in anyway to the MGE. It’s just that with big gatherings like Mousefest, first timers to such events may find themselves not having the best times as they know not what to expect. First timers at smaller events like the MGE can relax and just take it slow. The fan gathering event regulars also have more time to help out with the first timers. So if someone has pondered with the idea of attending a larger event, I’d suggest going to a smaller one first.

This year’s MGE will also be taking place at Walt Disney World during the second week of October. The 10th through the 15th to be exact. You can register for the event, though it’s not mandatory, over at mouseguest.com/experience. There is even a free registration option, even though the highest registration level isn’t expensive at all. I’m pretty excited for this year’s festivities. But the real point of this post is about 2010’s MGE which will be taking place on The Disney Cruise Line. I’ve never been on a cruise before, and I’ve always wanted to go on the Disney cruise.

There are pretty decent rates for the cruise when you book with the group space. The cheapest rate for a double occupancy standard inside stateroom is just a little under $2,000 (including tax). That’s for both passengers! Since it’s still over a year away, there’s plenty of time to save up for it. However, there is a limited time half off price on deposits. Usually $250, you only have to pay $125 per person. Which is again, not a bad deal at all, but it’s not going to last long. So be sure to book now!

As I said, I’m very excited for this year’s Walt Disney World MGE, but next year’s cruise will be just amazing and I really hope I can make it. I’m totally going to start saving my doubloons for this here adventarrrrghhhh!

I <3 Tomorrowland

2009-04-22T03:55:00.000-07:00

Claustrophobics Need Not Apply

2009-04-13T05:51:00.001-07:00

Many have been speculating about Disney’s financial acrobatics during the current state of the economy lately. With quite a few number of unfortunate cut backs throughout the parks, as well as the incredible deals and vacation packages Disney has been offering recently, a lot of folks have been thinking that Disney wasn’t economically bullet proof. While that may be true, Disney is most certainly not taking as hard a hit as we once where lead to believe. Pictured below is an example at how well Disney is in fact doing with having people in their parks. This photo was taken a week ago on April 6th, 2009. It was a little after 12pm. The crowd you see is a mix between the dump out of the 11:30am performance of Finding Nemo – The Musical and the queue line for the 1pm performance. As you may know, this is my favorite show at any of the parks, and actually my favorite attraction at Animal Kingdom. So bare with me while I divulge for you some numbers about the show.

During normal seasons at WDW, they’ll show 5 performances at the following show times: 10am, 11:30am, 1:45pm, 3:15pm, and 4:45pm. During peak seasons, which with Spring Break and Easter, is no doubt is in full swing now, they’ll show 6 performances. These show times are slightly different however, since the park is open later. (also due to peak season). The peak show times are as follows: 11:30am, 1pm, 3:15pm, 4:45pm, 6pm and 7:15pm.

On that same day the photo above was taken, Disney did something for the first time that I had never heard of before. They actually had an Extra Magic Hours performance of the show at 10pm! Extra Magic Hours have been benefiting resort guests for a few years now. As far as I know, they’ve only kept attractions, shops, and restaurants open for guests during EMH evenings. With the popularity of Finding Nemo – The Musical, it doesn’t really surprise me that it would be the first stage show to be included in the EMH repertoire.

The Theatre in the Wild has a capacity of 1,700 people. The total count of people who where lucky enough to see the best show on property last week was a bit over 10,000! That means the theatre was filled to capacity for nearly every performance. I have so much love and respect to everyone at the show. From the ushers, to managers, cast and crew, everybody does such a spectacular job at pulling off such an amazing show every time.

ParkTunes.com

2008-11-10T02:33:00.000-08:00

From the creative team behind the Inside the Magic Podcast, and Orlando Attractions Magazine, comes this awesome site dedicated to all the wonderful music heard around the various Disney parks & resorts. ParkTunes.com is a brand new website created by Ricky Brigante, host of Inside the Magic. The purpose of the site is to help share the magic of music heard around the parks and hotels, legally. Instead of venturing into the sometimes shady, and always risky realm of illegal peer to peer file sharing, Park Tunes is a way for people to actually purchase their own copy of the great music we all love. Either from Amazon.com or the iTunes store, ParkTunes.com acts as a directory for all the Disney park and resort music that can be purchased on the net. Instead of tirelessly searching, often with no avail, yourself, Park Tunes has done all the searching for you, and has gathered quite a bit of music for the short time the site has been open. You can even listen to 30 second sample clips (Quicktime plug in required), as well as help form what the most popular batch of albums are just by purchasing your favorites. I highly recommend this great new site to any Disney fan, music fan, and especially the Disney music fan.

Joining the Big Blue World

2008-10-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of Finding Nemo: The Musical at Disney's Animal Kingdom. So much so in fact, that I have been thinking about applying for a job at the parks, so I can later audition for a part in the show. I have no real acting experience, other than one year of drama class in middle school. Also, me working for Disney would require me to end the podcast. I've always wanted to work at the parks, in one position or another, yet I was never really sure of where or when I would want to work. The first position I really wanted to fill was that of a Bellhop at The Hollywood Tower Hotel (Tower of Terror) at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Then I really wanted to be Mugsy, the gangster hijacker, in The Great Movie Ride, also at The Studios.

So as you can see, I've always wanted to be more than a regular attractions host. I want to be a part of the attraction or show. Being a Jungle Cruise Skipper is another one that involves some sort of performance. It has always fascinated me. But Finding Nemo: The Musical is something else completely. That show is just so unbelievable, and a big part of that is most certainly the cast. They are all so amazingly talented. I know that some of them where just regular cast members who loved the show and wanted to be in it, but most of them are actors. Finding Nemo is just work, it's their career.

With Disney Park Entertainment, for actors and performers on the street, or in shows, the contracts are slightly different. I'm not entirely sure about all the details of it, but I do know that if I where to actually get cast a part in the show, I wouldn't be able to stay in the show for the whole time the show is there. I'd have to re-audition every so often, which is one of the things about the contracts for actors. But I think it would be worth it. I absolutely love that show, and it looks like a lot of fun to be a part of. A lot of work, but a lot of fun. So like I said, as of right now, this is just a blue sky thought for the future. Or should I say a blue world thought?

Well at least if I don't audition for the show, I'll be ready with bad puns for the Jungle Cruise!

9/20/08 Super Mega Fireworks?

2008-09-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

I've heard a rumor that at around 9:30pm on Saturday, the 20th, The Magic Kingdom will be showing the biggest baddest fireworks show in Walt Disney World history. Apparently, this is part of a pyrotechnics convention of sorts. They did this a few years ago, and ended up setting some woods on fire. Now with a sprinkler system installed in the wooded area, they are going to do it again this weekend. As with most rumors, take this with a grain of salt, and as Matt "Collar" Hochberg would say, "seeing is believing". Fortunately, I can go up to the 5th floor of my building and see fireworks at the parks. I will try to remember to do this on Saturday, and report back what, if anything, I could see.

Another benefit of knowing a Cast Member

2008-09-15T02:16:00.000-07:00

First of all, I do see this as a benefit, not an exploit. This past week I renewed my FL Resident Premium Annual Pass... kind of. I actually bought a brand new one. After doing a little research, I found out that I could save more money buying a brand new pass than renewing my original one. The way this works is with a WDW Cast Member 10% Discount, when you purchase tickets at a Company D location. There is no discount on renewals, just new tickets. So I could have paid $462.23 to renew my original pass. Instead, I decided to have my dad purchase a brand new pass at Company D for only $459.15. So no, it isn't saving much, but the point it is saving. Not only is it a little cheaper, but because it's a new pass, the expiration date isn't the same. If I renewed my original, it would have been good until 9/7/09, my brand new pass is good until 9/11/09. So all in all, I saved about $3, and 4 days. Pretty good deal considering the state of the economy right now.

Why it's good to be, or know, a WDW Cast Member.

2008-08-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

So a few times each year, Walt Disney World have various celebrations for their Cast Members. During these celebrations, they will usually have liquidation sales on various merchandise. Yesterday, my dad made some purchases. Click the photos below for better detail. All of this stuff for under $30.

***The Animal Kingdom Lodge shirt I will be giving away as a prize on The World for One. I'm not sure yet of how I'll set up a contest for it, but stay tuned to the show to hear more.***

Where would you go for a free meal?

2008-08-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

My dad won, in a Cast Member drawing, 2 free mid priced meal certificates. The rules are as follows:

Walt Disney World Resort
Cast Mid Priced Dinner Certificate
**Valid through December 19, 2008
This Certificate is Void if Sold

**Valid through December 19, 2008 except on the following block out dates:
January 1-4 (New Year's Day); March 16-29 (Spring Break/Easter Holiday); May 11 (Mother's Day); July 4 (Independence Day); August 03 - September 28; November 27-29 (Thanksgiving)

This Dining certificate is valid during normal dinner operating hours only at a participating restaurant located within the Walt Disney World Resort, and includes One (1) appetizer, One (1) entree, One (1) single serving non-alcoholic beverage and One (1) dessert at a participating Table Service Location OR One (1) combo meal (entree, side dish), One (1) dessert and One (1) single serving non-alcoholic beverage OR One (1) entree, One (1) side dish (if non included with entree), One (1) dessert and One (1) single serving non-alcoholic beverage at participating Counter Service Locations.

This certificate is only valid at one of the participating locations listed on the back of this certificate. Applicable tax and gratuities are included. Alcoholic beverages, souvenir drink mugs, and room service are not included.

Eligible dining locations are listed on the back of this certificate. Reservations for Character Dining are recommended. Reservations may be made by Touching "55" on your Disney in-room telephone or by calling (407) WDW-CAST (407-939-2278). All restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort are non-smoking.

To redeem certificate, please adhere to the following guidlines:
Cast Member must be present and present valid Walt Disney World ID to use the Meal Certificate
Meal Certificate is valid for one (1) meal per person
Meal Certificate must be presented prior to ordering meal

The restaurant locations are as follows:
(Click the image for full picture)

WDW Today Music Video

2008-07-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this blog, then I'm sure you've at least heard of a little podcast called WDW Today. If not, then stop reading, check out www.wdwtoday.com, subscribe, then come back and keep reading. I'll wait...

Welcome back. WDW Today was one of the first Disney podcasts I started listening to. Being the fan that I am, I decided to put together a little music video for the show's theme song. The song was created by another fan of the show, Jarrid Crespo. Jarrid wrote all the words and music, I just made pictures to go along with the jokes. So anyway, enjoy the WDW Today Music Video! NOTE: If you don't get the jokes, you should visit the WDW Today Wiki!

Soda Sponsorship Battle Royale

2008-07-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Are you a Pepsi-Cola fan, and wondered why Disney chose Coke as a sponsor over Pepsi? Actually, back during the first two weeks of Walt Disney World's operation, the Pepsi-Cola Co. was in fact the sponsor. On the second weekend of WDW being open, they ran out of soda. So Disney contacted the Pepsi-Cola offices and tried to place an order for more soft drinks to be delivered as soon as possible. Well the person in charge at Pepsi said that because it was the weekend, they wouldn't be able to ship anything until the following Monday.

So then Disney contacted The Coca-Cola Co. The person in charge at Coke gave the same information that due to the weekend, all the truck divers were at home. However, this person decide to go above and beyond what the Pepsi-Cola guy was willing to do. The Coke guy actually called all the drivers at home, and got them to ship all the soda the next day. So after that, Disney signed a multi-million dollar contract with Coke. Needless to say, the guy in charge at Pepsi got fired.

Summer 2008 Cast Member Complimentary Ticket Design

2008-07-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

My dad got these in the mail a few days ago. This year's design is my favorite so far.

New Life at Wonders?

2008-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

First of all, I think I should start this post by stating that all this information is purely rumor and not official word by Disney.

Having that said, many folks have long treasured and missed this pavilion and it's attractions like Cranium Command, The Making of Me, and of course everyone's favorite, Body Wars. Well, back in 2004 Disney made the pavilion operating seasonally, and

more recently, it has closed completely only for special events such as the Food & Wine, and Flower & Garden festivals, as well as for private corporate parties. None of the attractions are operated during these times, and many people have pretty much just ruled Wonders of Life out as being a dead pavilion, with not much of a future. As many people know, no good idea at Disney is left to die. From what I've heard, from a very reliable source, this is also true for The Wonders of Life. Disney is currently looking for possible sponsorship for the pavilion. There are also some blueprints somewhere. So I think it's safe to say that Disney definitely has a plan for this pavilion. But again, this is all just rumor and no official word from Disney has been released just yet. But I wouldn't be surprised to see some serious work being done in this location in the somewhat near future.

The Water World for One - Typhoon Lagoon

2008-06-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the Summer season, I've decided to do a couple of picture tours of the water parks for the blog. Up first is Typhoon Lagoon.

Coming soon to The Water World for One, Blizzard Beach!

Journey into Epcot (A Very small trip report for 5/15)

2008-05-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

As I previously posted, today was the day that a very special Pin was released. The Figment pin in the Magical Monorail Collector's series. It's a (very) limited edition size of only 750. It was $26.63 (with tax), and totally worth it, in my opinion. It is rather large, and has the Dreamfinder's vehicle, which I still don't know the name of, on the outside of the Monorail. As well as Figment, in his yellow sweater, and the original Imagination Pavilion's logo. When you open the monorail doors, you see the Dreamfinder, holding Figment of course, standing in the sensory color tunnel, from the old ImageWorks post show.

After I picked that up, I headed over to the current ImageWorks post show, to get pictures of a new hidden mickey, which I just submitted to Steve Barrett, Author of the Hidden Mickeys Guidebooks. Then I went on Spaceship Earth since it had no wait. I decided to pick Japanese as my language, as I had heard how funny and different the narration for the ride is. Below is my future video, in Japanese. Enjoy!

Toads, distant cousins to Dung Beetles?

2008-04-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

You be the judge....

1983 - 1993 10 years with GE

2008-04-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

Last year I discovered this great set of commemorative cards, celebrating GE's 10th year involved with various Walt Disney World attractions.

Quick Trip Report for 4-24-08

2008-04-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

I started off the day at Epcot. I arrived there around 11am, or so. It was pretty crowded, but more congested in Future World. Spaceship Earth had a 40 minute wait, so I headed around World Showcase. I went counter-clockwise, starting in Canada. I stopped at America for some lunch. I had nothing for breakfast so I was quite hungry. I had a bacon double cheeseburger with fries, a large coke, and a brownie. The burger and fries were good, but the brownie wasn't nearly as good as freshly baked brownies.

I should mention that I haven't been to the parks for a while, like over a month! I know! So I decided that today I was just going to enjoy the parks and not bring my camera with me, as I usually do. I would have brought my cell phone, but the battery is dead and I'm still waiting for a new charger from Amazon.com, but thats an entirely different story. Anyway, I just wanted to mention that, because I will be posting only one picture with this report. But that's coming a little later.

After lunch, I made my way over to ride Maelstrom, which had a 5 min wait, (WALK-ON!). I noticed that it seemed like it recently got a new paint job. All the colors were much brighter and richer. Also at the end of the ride, when you "splash down" by that big... oil platform? thing, the lights on the platform where all functional, and it looked very new. I then dodged the film, and headed over to Test Track and Mission: SPACE only to find what I had expected, super long lines.

So I figured I'd get some free Coke from China. Once I was refreshed, I walked over to Spaceship Earth. I only waited here because it is an Omnimoving ride and for the most part, the line was always moving. About 25 min later I was beginning my journey into the past. Here comes that picture I told you about. This was "my future" postcard thing:

So anyway, after that I headed over to The Magic Kingdom. I first headed to the TTA, and followed that up with a spin on the CoP. Next I got a Tropical Fruit Smoothie from that ice cream place in Tomorrowland, the name of which escapes me right now. With a brain freeze creeping its way up my spine and into my cranium, I headed on over to visit Master Gracey and the other 998 happy haunts.

Once I returned to my "corruptible, mortal state," I went to Frontierland and actually waited in line for Splash Mountain for 90+ min! I'm not sure why really. I guess I was tired of walking around in the sun, since most of Splash's queue is shady...in a good way. As I finally emerged from the briar patch, a bit moister than before, I decided to head home for the day.

Earlier this morning, my brother asked me to bring back a big chocolate chip cookie and a coffee from the parks. Well I didn't find the big cookie so I got a box of Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and a variety pack of Mickey's Coffee. I'll be posting reviews of those to goodies soon!

Whats next? "Big Bang Burgers?"

2008-03-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

Here's some great signage near Dinoland U.S.A at Animal Kingdom.

Random (minor) Change in Spaceship Earth

2008-03-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned in a previous episode of The World for One, I had noticed that the AA of the man in the new computer room scene has changed appearance between December of last year, and this past February. I'm sure there is some reason for this, but it just stood out to me and I figured I'd blog about it. After all, trivial Disney details is always fun, right?

The World for One now on The Podcast Pickle!

2008-02-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

Yep! The World for One is now available over at PodcastPickle.com, "The Original Podcast and Vidcast Community." And the site that TIME magazine declares the "Coolest Website of 2006". Check it out here.

Disney Pin Crazy

2008-02-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

Some see Disney Pin Trading as just another money making scheme, while others see it as a completely necessary addiction. I am not a Pin Trader, but I'm still very interested in the Pins. I've purchased about 4 of them so far. I do not buy regular pins, unless they are really neat, and I like them. I usually buy the limited edition ones. So I guess you can call me a Pin Collector. I've got Tower of Terror's 13th Anniversary pin, Epcot's 25th Anniversary pin, (Cast Member Exclusive), and 2 of the 4 Spotlight pins. Every time I go to Epcot, my eye gets caught by the Pin Central kiosk, and I find myself feverously flipping through the pages of the pin catalog. Well this time, I've found one of the most expensive pins that I have to get. I must get the MAGICAL MONORAIL COLLECTION - FIGMENT pin. It must be done! There are a few other Figment/Imagination pins, but this one is an edition size of only 750. I really really can't wait to get this one. It comes out May 15th, and it is $25.00 but I'll gladly pay that for this great homage to a once great attraction. I'm sure Jessica over at the If We Can Dream It blog is as excited about this pin as I am. I am slowly but surely becoming more and more addicted to collecting Disney Pins, and maybe one day I'll start trading, once I see some really cool pins on guests' or Cast Members' lanyards. But until then, it's just a collection for me.

New Site Design Up & Running!

2008-02-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

Yes folks, thats right! The new look for www.worldforone.org is now up and running over at... well www.worldforone.org thanks to Paul from Eternal Pheonix Studios for all the help. Also, some great new additions have been added over on The World for One Forums, and there are more to come. Again, big thanks to Paul!

New Site Design (Coming Soon)

2008-01-28T13:48:00.000-08:00

Go and check out this link to see what the site will look like soon. Thanks to Paul who design all the new artwork for the site and show.

A hidden gem at The Studios. (A Review)

2008-01-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

If you have ever been to the message boards at www.studioscentral.com, you'll know that the hidden gem in the title of this post is none other than The Tune-In Lounge! If you don't know, The Tune-In Lounge is a bar thats connected to The 50s Prime Time Cafe. Well, I went to The Studios yesterday, and was quite hungry. So I figured I'd give The Tune-In Lounge a shot. I had been meaning to do so for some time now. Anyway, I ordered the stacked sandwich, with smoked turkey on multi grain bread topped with a tomato slice, lettuce, and mayo. I got the side of fries, but you can get potato chips or the house salad. To drink, I had the cherry coke. The bartender was very friendly, and had actually been working at Walt Disney World since back in the 80's. His name was Dave. It was really kinda interesting watching those old T.V. show clips.

I should mention that the Tune-In Lounge is not just a bar. As the name implies, it is also a lounge, or in this case, a living room. This is where the different families will wait for Mom to call them into the dining room for lunch or supper. It's a good place to go if you have never eaten at the Prime Time Cafe, as that way you can sort of sample the lively attitudes of the Cast Members. Then you can see if it looks fun for you or your family. The service was very good. Dave greeted me with a smile, and I gave him my order. The cherry coke was awesome. It's not like regular cherry cokes. It's just coke, with cherry flavoring added. Okay, so I know that sounds exactly like regular cherry coke. But it's not, because the barthender is the one who adds the flavoring, right there at the bar. It was topped with two cherries, and came with a bendy straw.

About 2 to 3 minutes later, my food arrived. It looked extremely tasty, and it was. They're not kidding when they call it the stacked sandwich. That thing was packed with turkey! The fries where outstanding! Sorry to steal your word there Hydrolators Hochberg! But they are much better than all the Mc Donalds fries you can get throughout the parks. They really are just like mom used to made. The price was pretty decent too. The sandwich was about $10 and the cherry coke was $3, with free refills. So the total was around $14. Overall I'd definitely have to call The Tune-In Lounge a must do. At least once during your trip.

Bandwidth Exceeded....Grrrr

2008-01-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

Well unfortunately, I have reached my bandwidth limit on www.worldforone.org. I'm not sure when the site, and show, will be back up and running again, as I haven't heard back from my step dad. He is the one who pays for the site, but we were talking about using the adsense thing with the Blog to help raise money. What I want to do is to have a donation button set up through PayPal, but again, I need to get in touch with Doug. I hope to have things back to normal very soon. Sorry for the delay, thank you for your patience.

Tower of Terror? More Like Line of Terror!!!

2008-01-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

While I was at The Studios yesterday, the park was PACKED! I waited for about an hour in the single rider line for Rock 'N' Roller Coaster! Well since Tower doesn't have a singles line, and at only 1pm the Fast Pass machines where closed, I did not wait.

DisFriends, a new MicePace? Get it?

2007-12-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

There is a new place to get your Disney fix, as well as connect with other Disney Geeks, and a couple of Imaginerds.... I'm talking about DisFriends. I just joined yesterday, and I'm looking up and adding all the well known Mouseketeers in the Online Disney Community that have a profile on DisFriends. I really like the style of the site and I think I will frequently be visiting there in the next few days.

Lost in Transportation

2007-12-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

This post is just an anecdote of what happened to me a couple days ago while I was at the parks. It was Thursday, December 20th. I was at the library in the morning, posting the 2nd episode of the podcast and doing my usual forum postings and such when I decided to cut my online time short and go to the parks. I went to The Studios first, to take pictures of the now bare archway at the Animation Courtyard. Anyway, I strolled around the park for a while, checking out the Harlem Gospel Choir, as well as the Osbourne Family Spectical of Dancing Lights. Around 6:30pm I decided to try and head over to Epcot and get a bunch of imported candy from Japan before going back home. Well as I was heading out of the park gates, I was deciding weather I should take the boat, bus, or just walk. Well the line for the boat looked like it could fill two boats, and I really didn't want to walk. Just then a bus pulled up to the Epcot stop so I went with that. Now it wasn't a regular Disney Transportation bus. It was a Downtown Disney Resort bus.

Earlier this year, I had ridden a charter bus that picked up at Animal Kingdom, and dropped off at Epoct. So I figured that they were using the Downtown Disney bus to replace a park bus that was down or late for whatever reason. Everyone got on the bus and about 10 minutes later a man asked the driver if he was going to Epoct and much to everyone's surprise the driver said no. He was going to the Hilton, and about 6 other hotels before he was going to Epcot, so it would be about an hour before he would get there. I don't think there was anyone on the bus that was trying to get to any of the hotels. So needless to say, everyone was a little less than happy, and pretty confused.

The next bus that came was also going to Epcot, but like the previous one, it had other hotels to go to, so it would about 40 minutes to an hour. Well everyone decided to just take that bus, while I decided to go in the hotel and try to find out more information. I got a cappuccino at the Starbucks and asked about the best way to get back to the parks. I was informed that I could just walk to Downtown Disney, so thats what I did. By now I had scrubbed my original plans for going to Epcot, and decided to just hang out at Downtown Disney for a little bit before going home. I started browsing around some of the stores and found an excellent CD in the Once Upon A Toy store. Its The Haunted Mansion (ride) Soundtrack. It has a bunch of ride audio as well as unused recordings.

I'll go over the CD a little bit more in Episode 3 of the podcast, which comes out tomorrow. Anyway, I started to get hungry so I went over to Earl of Sandwhich, but that place was PACKED! So I settled for less, and got a double quater pounder w/ cheese at McDonalds. Once I finished my meal, I figured I'd better get back to TTC so I wouldn't miss the last Lynx bus home. I got on a Disney bus to the Grand Floridian, then took the Monorail back to TTC. Once I got there, Wishes had started, and about 10 minutes later Illuminations could be seen through the trees across the parking lot. With both firework shows going on, they had to close some of the roads. So instead of the Lynx bus leaving TTC at 9:53pm, it didn't arrive until 10:15 or so. That was one of the strangest, and slightly frustating experiences I've ever had at Disney.

Spaceship Earth Review

2007-12-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago I heard that "sneak previews" for Spaceship Earth for all guests, not just Cast Members, would start today, December 15th. Well the night before last I heard that they've already started sometime last week. So needless to say, I went to Epcot early in the morning yesterday. I got to TTC at around 8:00 or so, and while at the Epcot Monorail station, I could not believe how foggy it was. This was the foggiest I've seen it in a long while. I got on the Monorail and arrived at the gate at Epcot about 15 before they let anybody through the turnstiles. Once they started letting people in, I went directly over to Spaceship Earth. On the right side, by the Camera shop, bathrooms and lockers, I sat on a bench for a little less than an hour.

The sun started to peak out from behind the clouds, and SSE, and it was shining directly in my face so I got up and started walking around the SSE "breezeway". I walked over to the Project Tomorrow post show area, there was absolutely nobody there. This was about 10 minutes before the rope drop. I saw the big round screen was running Windows, lol. Then I walked back out to where I was before. I noticed a couple who looked like they were lingering around SSE for a sneak peek as well. I walked over and started to talk with them. They said that they were from Wyoming and they were spending a lot of money to just stand and wait there. I was talking with them for about 10 minutes before a few more people came over and joined us in waiting for it to open up, including a Canadian couple who said that if I had blond hair, I would look exactly like actor Cary Elwes of Saw and Princess Bride fame. Anyway, a great SSE Cast Member, John, was our "inside guy". He would occasionally be called in to SSE by his supervisor and come back out and update us on what was going on. He also talked to us about other things, not related to SSE. Like, next time you go to Test Track, as a Cast Member what happened to Car 17... Anyway, we finally got to ride sometime after noon. I thought it was very nice and cool for everyone to offer for me to be first in line since I had been waiting there for as long as I was.

I will try not to get in to too much spoiler detail for folks that haven't been on it yet, or who want to wait for it to open. The first thing I noticed was the ascent up no longer had the three large screens on the left showing you about the car turning, instead that was displayed above the cars just before you started going up. Also, the twinkling lights are blue instead of white, and there appears to be a lot more of them. Then you pass through a little section that takes your picture. I was thinking the picture would come in to play somehow with the screens, but no. You never see the picture they took, and it is never even mentioned for the rest of the ride. The narration starts off the same, "Like a grand, and miraculous spaceship..." this time, it's Judi Dench instead of Jeremy Irons. The lighting strikes against a purple-ish background is still there. But then the next big noticeable change is the neanderthal fighting the mammoth. No longer is it still images of one neanderthal and one mammoth. Now it is a digital animated clip of multiple neanderthals and mammoths in a fierce snow storm.

Next is the scene in the cave with the neanderthal group. The audio animatronics are extremely different in the way and how much they move. The movements are so much fuller and faster, and very lifelike than before. Also, there are paintings on the cave wall of a mammoth fighting with a couple of cavemen that move. It appears to be a projection, from behind, that makes the paintings change in a slide show type fashion. It is like the paintings are alive, telling the story. After that there really isn't too much else that is different other than the fact of the upgraded AAs, and a better paint job and lighting, and a couple new AAs added in. When you get to the scene with the artist sculpting the statue of a woman, they have covered up her exposed breast, which I kind of found odd seeing as how it is art, but then again kids in their early teens and younger probably don't see it for anymore than something they can point and giggle at. Then when you get to the scene with the big steam powered printing machine on the left, I noticed that the black AA has been aged, and that the newspaper's headline reads: "CIVIL WAR OVER". I'm not sure if the newspapers always said that, but I am sure that the AA didn't look as old before.

Something odd I noticed with the paper boy, who used to stand on the corner, facing the ride vehicles as they go by, is now sort of "tucked away" with his back facing the guests, even though you can still here him yelling "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!". Then on the right side, where the guy at the desk receiving the Morse code message is, you can hear the sound effect of the Morse code machine making the clicks, but the actual machine isn't moving at all like it used to. This may just be a little compressed air problem, and not anything they've changed. Back on the left side the telephone operators are unaltered as far as I can tell. The radio station seems to be the same as well. Although I noticed that the station, "WDI" is painted on the microphone, WDI being Walt Disney Imagineering. I don't know if that has always been on the microphone or not.

Back over to the right side, the lady in the ticket taking booth now has an actual "theater". Instead of multiple screens showing different video clips, there is one screen, with curtains on the side, and even cut-outs made to look like the silhouette of an audience. There is a big marquee overhead that says "Cinema" but I am pretty sure that was there before. On the floor by the audience there is a small sign telling what is being shown. Then another big change is with the family on the right watching TV Before, it used to pretty much be a couch, a TV, and a family of AAs. Now it is like they cut an whole Family Room out of a hose from the 60's, and on the TV is the Moon Landing. Behind the couch, you can see the board game Mouse Trap set up. Then there is a small cityscape mural on the wall with black light paint. I think I noticed a small Hidden Mickey in this mural, but I'm not sure as the circles appear to be the same size, but it looks out of place.

Then another huge change. A new scene! It is a computer room from the 60's when computers took up an entire room. This used to be where the little boy and girl were talking with a sort of video conference system. The new room feels so much bigger than what the scene used to be. Then right after that, we go through a garage in Silicon Valley, California where a Steve Wozniak type AA is working on the first modern computer. Following that you go through a tunnel of scrim with a very Matrix like projection of green digits that scroll over you, giving you an effect of going faster than you really are. After that you see Earth and the stars, just like you used to. As you start to turn, you pass by a speaker that announces you're turning. Before this voice was female. Now that the ride narration is a female voice, this announcement is a male voice.

And now for the not so grand finale of the ride. It fits that it is when your going back down, because it is a downer. Lame pun I know, but this change is pretty lame. You go into a matrix of blue dots, and the interactive screens are finally used. There is no show or set pieces, just blue fiber optic points of light. The screen is the only source of "entertainment" for the rest of the ride. It asks you a series of multiple choice questions, to "build your future". Like, "What is more important to you? Home, Work, Play... etc. or How would you like to travel in the future? Wind Energy, Solar Energy." After you answer all the questions, it then has a sort of "pop quiz" to see what you've learned from the ride. there is no interaction at this point. It just displays a question, then the answer. After that is says that your future is ready. Then it shows a little animation that totally rips off The Jetsons and is put together based off of your answers to the multiple choice questions. The screens are also really bright, so much so in fact that if you look away from the screen, you can see things you're not supposed to. Like speakers, or other structures for the ride that are painted black so you won't see it. Those screens really should be taken out.

The second time I rode I didn't answer anything to see what the "future" is for an empty car and its basically a default animation, but at the end there is a reference to Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress cause the last lines of that animation are "... Looks like there's a great big beautiful tomorrow!" Then you unload and go to the Project Tomorrow post show area. So with all the changes to Spaceship Earth, I like it overall. Even with the disappointing ending. It doesn't officially open until February 18th, and Soft Openings will probably start on Christmas Day, according to that Cast Member John. So I really hope WDI reads the reviews and changes the 2nd half of the ride because it really kills it. If they would have left it exactly the same, I would have been completely happy. But that whole "interactivity" with screens is just a bad show in my opinion. All in all, I give the new Spaceship Earth a 4.3 out of 5 stars. It is still a while before the official reopening so they may in fact have something else up their sleeve for the 2nd half, and I really really hope they do!

The World for One - Episode 1 - December 13, 2007

2007-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

Finally, it's here! Episode 1 of The World for One is available for download. It should be available on iTunes by Saturday at the latest. In this premiere episode I explain who I am and why I wanted to start this podcast and I have some in-park audio. You can download the first episode (39.2 MB) by Clicking Here, or you can access the main feed by Clicking Here. The quality of the in-park audio is not too good as it was taken by my digital camera. I hope to get a decent portable audio recording device soon. I hope to make this a weekly show, if I don't have another episode out next Thursday, then I will the following week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy The World for One!

Trip Report for 12/4/07

2007-12-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Ok so instead of posting multiple copies of my trip reports on The World for One forums as well as other forums, I'll just post them here, and link to each one in all the forums I usually post trip reports. Anyway, I decided to visit The World yesterday in hopes of maybe getting the chance to test the new Spaceship Earth. Well I wish I was a Cast Member, because I saw one after another go from backstage to behind the construction wall and back 15 minutes later. I even asked working CMs if they were testing it and got the same answer each time, "All they've told us that it would be having soft openings sometime in January and would be opening in February." So I pretty much figured that either they really haven't been informed of the CM testing dates, or they were instructed to tell guests the January - February spiel. Well I had gotten to Epcot pretty early, about 8:15am or so. As I was on the Monorail circling the park before coming into the station, I noticed that Test Track was open and guests where going in. The park doesn't officially open until 9am. Thats when they usually have the rope drop in front of the Future World fountains. Well at about 8:45 I was walking around the Land and saw that one of the escalators was broken and there was a crew working on it. Now I haven't seen the inside of one of those so I snapped a pic. Anyway, I headed on down to Sunshine Seasons and got myself a medium coffee and a chocolate chip muffin. I found it kind of odd that Soarin' and Test Track were open before 9. Anyway, I finished my muffin and headed out of The Land. With coffee in hand, I made my way to Mission: Space. I finished my coffee outside and got an "Orange Team, More Intense Training" card. After that I got on Test Track. Next I walked over to Norway and took quite a few pics. I walked back towards Mexico since it was still before 11am and none of the World Showcase attractions were open yet. I took a couple more pics here. I was walking back towards Future World, taking some pics of the Then I walked over to The Imagination Institute and took a few fountain pics, and one of Figment for good measure. Then I headed towards the exit. Along the way I noticed a sign outside of The Art of Disney presenting the artwork of Larry Dotson. I went inside and let me tell you, this guy is amazing. The first painting that caught my eye was the new Haunted Mansion painting. I really wanted to take a picture of it to use as my computers wallpaper, but much to my surprise Larry himself walked up to me and asked me what I was doing. I told him I wanted to take a picture of that painting to put on my computer. Well he asked me not to and of course I obliged. I apologized and left the store. I felt, and still feel bad about that. I'm not a big art person, but I like what I see. I do not know proper art etiquette, but I figure that taking a picture of a picture, especially right in front of the artist, is quite rude. I didn't even consider that until after that little encounter with Larry. So if you somehow found my little blog, Larry, I am truly sorry for that. My ignorance of the art world is troubling, I know. I really really like your work and would gladly buy it, if I could afford it and if I had a better way to properly display the art. Since I live in a hotel room, a small one at that, it would do the artwork injustice to hang it on a wall in there. Anyway, I left the park and noticed new fencing (pictured below).
Then I headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. As I always do upon entering The Studios, I first rode The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, then Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. Then I went over to see the construction on Toy Story Mania and the Pixar Place gate/sign. While I was in that area of the park, I figured I'd check out Journey Into Narnia: Creating The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe since I had never seen this walk through attraction. I was not overly impressed with this. I was expecting it to be more like the walk through portions of the Backlot Tour. Although there was one element I wasn't expecting in a walk through attraction. That was the live actress portraying The White Witch. Now I have yet to see The Chronicles of Narnia, but I probably will rent it before the next film is released this coming spring. I then went and watched The Voyage of The Little Mermaid because I literally had not seen this show since I was about 3 or 4. As with most childhood memories, I remember the theater being a bit bigger, more the size of the Muppet * Vision 3D theater. The lasers and bubbles was about all I remember of the actual show, so this was a good refresher. Then I went over to The Great Movie Ride. I got a great Tour Guide named Chris, and a not so great female Gangster hijacker. Her gangster accent wasn't that great and she didn't seen like she was enjoying what she was doing, although the whole Gangster character is supposed to be a bit of a downer in morale, but I would really love that position. I know almost all the lines, and I can do a pretty good accent if I do say so myself! After GMR, I went on Star Tours, then got a bite to eat at the Studios Catering Co. I got the Ceaser Chicken Wrap and a large Coke. The wrap wasn't bad but I prefer the chicken wrap over at Pecos Bill's at The Magic Kingdom. After I ate I went and saw Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, since I had only seen it once since it opened. Then I went back to Coaster and rode that 4 more times, and then Tower 4 more as well before heading home. The last ride one Tower was one of the most memorable I've ever had. I had unintentionally timed it just right so that when the doors opened in the drop shaft, a red firework shell exploded in the sky behind Tower (Fantasmic!) and the entire park glowed red right before the drop. I was amazed at how cool it looked. That was a one in a lifetime chance of that happening. Well at least one in a good while. After that I made may way to the buses, and went home.

10 More Days!

2007-12-03T16:39:00.000-08:00

In just 10 days from now, December 13, 2007, The World for One podcast will premiere! I am finishing up the recording process then I will start editing. The website is a bit plain right now, but I hope to get a better template soon. If any of you designers out there want to make a Disney World themed web page template for free, let me know! Anyway, the reason I'm doing this blog, is so I can post updates and such for listeners to see. I also have a Forum section up on the site. I will post the update information there as well. Feel free to come by and join. It's free! As I said before, Episode 1 of The World for One podcast will be available for you to download December 13th. I will also submit the podcast to iTunes and post the subscription link here once it becomes available. Peace.

--Jake Thompson--
Host of The World for One podcast