Well...

...this really happened on American Idol last night. Don't know how long it will stay up so watch it while you can.

THIS...

...actually exists. Oh my God!

Training for MVMCP

It's not easy marching in Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade.

Disney World on Friends?!?

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Friends-Blu-ray-Kevin-Bright-1055975.aspx

In our second piece of Disney World related television news today, I stumbled upon an article from TV Guide with one of the producers of Friends (one of my favorite TV shows of all time,) talking about the show's blu-ray release. Therin I found this tidbit of info that I'd never ever heard of.

After the interviewer asks if there were any episodes that never came to fruition, producer Kevin Bright responds: "The one that never got made was a Disney World episode. Joey gets a summer job at Disney World as one of the lightbulb people in the electrical parade. Basically, he meets the girl who plays Cinderella and has an affair with her, but doesn't ever get her real name. She has to leave suddenly because she has to get the costume back by midnight or they're going to fire her, and all she leaves behind is her bra. The idea was the bra was going to be the glass slipper. Unfortunately, it wasn't a story Disney World was looking to get shot on location. It was a little too racy for them, but it would've been fun to take the friends to Disney World."

Umm...YEAH it would have been awesome! Phoebe discovering there is a person portraying the characters, Ben forcing Ross to ride Space Mountain, Monica obsessing over touring plans and priority seating. The possibilities are endless. After seeing how awesome Modern Family was at Disneyland, I'd have given anything for this Friends episode to actually happen.

In hindsight the Ross/Rachel drunk Vegas wedding storyarc was probably better for the show in general but without it this would have made a great season five finale. Or they could have easily plugged it into season nine when the show was dragging anyway.

(Edited to add that another possible storyline for the episode could involve Ross trying to sneak into the park, since it's already been established that Ross was banned from the Magic Kingdom for getting frisky with ex-wife Carol during a breakdown of It's A Small World.")

Hollywood Adapting Another Disney Ride

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/disney-big-thunder-mountain-tv-abc-389824

It looks like Big Thunder Mountain is the next Disney ride to be adapted by Hollywood, this time as a possible television pilot for ABC. This is still a long way from the fall schedule but the project is definitely in development. Don't clear out the rest of your Sundays after Once Upon a Time just yet, but you never know what could happen.

"Wait...What?!?" - Doritos

No matter how much information we think we have at our disposal, every once in awhile we learn something new about Disney...

http://nowiknow.com/a-chip-off-the-old-mouse/

Did you know that Doritos were invented at Disneyland? Read on.

Beer at Be Our Guest will be...

...REAL! And wine too!

I could see why you would assume that a noted drunk such as myself would be excited by this news but honestly I don't care either way.

I don't see why they don't just serve liquor in all of the fine dining restaurants anyway. They serve alcohol everywhere else on property from the other parks to the hotel pools to the water parks etc. and it's not like people are falling down drunk all over the place. I get not having carts selling Bud Light in front of Cinderella Castle but with the exception of nighttime debauchery at the already primarily adult World Showcase, does anyone really go to Disney with the intent of getting wasted anyway? Do you really think people are going to be throwing back full bottles of wine while at dinner with their kids in the Beauty and the Beast restaurant. Plus everyone knows if you want to get bombed at the Magic Kingdom you just do a monorail bar crawl first. Sheesh!

Beer at Gaston's Tavern will be...

 http://land.allears.net/blogs/dnews/2012/09/gasons_tavern_new_brew.html

..."no-sugar added frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow, topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam, served in souvenir steins and goblets."

So in other words, Disney took the cliched way out and made their own version of Butterbeer. This is so disappointing. I thought this would be an awesome opportunity to create some specially brewed "only available at Disney World" varieties of root beer, birch beer, etc. Instead we get Disney copying Universal. Thumbs down, guys.

Though I AM looking forward to the souvenir steins and goblets!

My Disney Experience...

...is a pretty cool app. Just downloaded it and I'm digging it. It actually (gasp) gives current wait times without being physically in the park! Of course this could change at any time but at this exact moment it's pretty cool.

Ranking Epcot

Robert Niles, one of my favorite bloggers, from Theme Park Insider just posted his personal rankings of 10 of the 11 worldwide Disney theme parks, based on visits he's made in the past year. You can (and should) read his full article here.

His rankings end up:

1. Tokyo DisneySea
2. Tokyo Disneyland
3. California Adventure
4. Disneyland
5. Disneyland Paris
6. Magic Kingdom
7. Animal Kingdom
8. Hollywood Studios
9. Epcot
10. Disney Studios Paris

As I noted in the TPI comments section, it's an interesting point Niles makes about Epcot. Going into the list I assumed the two Tokyo parks were 1 & 2 and then I figured Epcot would be 3. When I finally found it in there at 9 and read his reasoning, it really got me thinking.

In a "think fast" scenario, I could honestly call Epcot my favorite place in the world...but it really is lagging behind. Maybe Disney figures it's perfect as it is and doesn't need much improvement or something.

Considering my last two visits, I rode Soarin once, saw Captain EO once just because I never had before and ditto Turtle Talk. Then I didn't even bother with the rest of Future World. The Spaceship Earth update is annoying, Mission Space isn't really my thing, and I've done everything else so many times over the years that there was really nothing I felt I needed to see.

World Showcase is a perfect place to catch a show, have a nice dinner, maybe stroll the promenade with a beer, then watch fireworks. I'm not someone who thinks they need to add another country or anything. But they definitely need to add something else to Future World to keep people interested. Maybe a complete upgrade to Imagination or Energy, replace Wonders of Life with something, or even bring some "bigger" more marketable things to Innoventions. The new Test Track is something but I don't know if it's enough.

Definite food for thought.

Bah Humbug?

From NBC News...

http://itineraries.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/25/12947983-humbug-disney-world-tells-santa-look-alike-to-tone-it-down?lite

So before anyone gets their panties in a bunch about this one, let's remember something. Disney didn't tell a guy with a long white beard that he couldn't come into the parks. And they probably wouldn't have even made him take of his Santa Hawaiian shirt and red sneakers with green laces, as ridiculous as that is, if he hadn't also been POSING FOR PICTURES AND SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS at the same time!

I also like how he said that he wouldn't tell people that he was on vacation and couldn't pose for pictures because "Santa wouldn't do that." Come on guy! There's a line somewhere between being eccentric and delusional. I would maybe have some sympathy for him if he wasn't PRETENDING TO BE SANTA CLAUS!

Anyway, clearly Disney is in the right here. They even gave the dude free clothes and return tickets. Though I see he wonders if "the same thing will happen next time." Well maybe not if you leave the Santa outfit at home!

Toddler + Bride = Princess Autograph

From "The Disney Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons Ever After Blog"...

http://disneyweddingsblog.com/disneyland-resort/magical-moment-a-princess-bride/

On Disneyland bride Kristie’s wedding day, a tiny tot approached her with his autograph book in tow- he thought she was a Disney princess (rightfully so, she looked stunning!) and was determined to get her autograph. Kristie of course obliged and singed “Princess Bride Kristie” in his memory book.

That's one of those great moments you can only get from Disney. How awesome. Princess Bride Kristie rocks!

More Animal Kingdom News to Make You Puke

From "The Disney Blog"...

The Orange County Health System and Walt Disney World report that a stomach bug was causing violent illnesses in many guests who just just been on the [Wild Africa Trek}...

While contracting a bug on vacation is not all that common, it’s not unheard of either. All it takes is one sick person touching a common surface and that other guests then interact with. Even that’s not enough, it turns out guests who went on the ‘Wild Africa Trek’ but used either hand sanitizer or frequently washed their hands, did not develop the symptoms.

Since learning of the outbreak Disney has added extra hand sanitizer stations and performed a thorough cleaning of surfaces and equipment and the bug has gone away. The County has also inspected the kitchens where the food for Wild Africa Trek is prepared and found no problems.

I just read something recently where the author said they were just getting over a sickness after the Trek. I with I could remember who or where.

Anywho, I think Disney should promote this! The "Wild Africa Trek" is so authentic that you might leave with a rare tropical stomach disease!

Pixar Presents...SEQUELS!

From "The Disney Blog":

Recently some rumors (though some sources are calling it fact, but you can never tell with Pixar) came out stating that Finding Nemo 2 was being made under Andrew Stanton’s direction and that Toy Story 4 was in the works as well. After these two stories broke, Twitter was a buzz. The non-Pixar/Disney die-hard fans were super excited to see their childhood come back to the big screen, starting with Monsters University next year. Everyone else…not so happy. Multiple fans came out and bashed Pixar saying how they are falling into a gutter of un-original ideas and creating sequels that aren’t needed.

My take?

Finding Nemo 2 isn’t necessarily a bad idea. The first one was exceptional and doesn’t NEED a sequel but it is certainly open for one. I have no idea how they could manage to bring back the beloved characters in a non-contrived way but I’d be willing to let Pixar roll with it and see what happens.

Toy Story 4, on the other hand, is incredibly unnecessary. I’ve gone on record as calling TS3 the most perfect conclusion to a trilogy ever made and I see no reason why they should (pardon the pun) toy with it. I would love to see those characters again but I just don’t see where they could go with it that will be remotely as satisfying emotionally as Andy playing with his toys one last time before going off to college. I still get teary TYPING that sentence.

I think people are just overreacting because Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and Monsters University all hit in a very short time-span and now they’re hearing about two more sequels without realizing that there are 3/4 movies coming out in the meantime. This will die down as it plays out.