Summer Nightastic is "Magical"

I so want to go to Disneyland now... This summer Nightastic show is really magical.



Zz.

Junior Imagineers

How cool is this?

A group of college students won the 18th annual Walt Disney Imagineering ImagiNations Design Competition, and get to do their summer internship at Walt Disney Imagineering!

Walt Disney Imagineering is the organization that creates, from concept through construction, all Disney theme parks, resorts and cruise ships. The ImagiNation Design Competition was started to encourage university students to consider careers in creative and technical fields such as digital arts, engineering and architecture. The competition challenges participants to use their artistic and technical skills to create their own rides, lands, hotels or attractions. They are encouraged to present their projects using storyboards, videos, models and computer designs.

Well done, boys!

Zz.

2 Disney Busses Collided

As if Disney needs another bad reputation for their transportation, now comes news report of a bus collision.

The rear-end crash happened about 2:40 p.m. when one southbound bus stopped to merge as the World Drive narrowed from three to two lanes, said Sgt. Kim Miller, an FHP spokeswoman. The second bus, which was traveling slowly, did not stop in time.

Oy vey!

Zz.

Heat Loss in Dumbo: A Theoretical Approach

This research paper was published in 2001, but if there is anything deserving of an Ig Nobel prize, this certainly is a strong candidate for that year! :)

P.K. Phillips and J.E. Heath "Heat loss in Dumbo: a theoretical approach", Journal of Thermal Biology v.26, p.117 (2001).

Abstract: A flat plate model was used to calculate heat loss from the pinnae of the animated elephant Dumbo. In conditions of high wind velocity and large gradients, Dumbo could potentially dissipate more heat than he produces. This suggests that he may need the large ears to help lose the excess heat produced while flying.

That's hysterical!!

Zz.

First Look at World of Color

LA Times has a first look at DCA's World of Color water show.

In the “Alice in Wonderland” sequence from World of Color, the Cheshire Cat’s face will be projected on a fan mist screen while water whips create his body and tail. In the foreground, a diminutive Alice falls into a bottle floating on a psychedelic sea of color amid rising and falling fountains.

It seems that more of the concept art will be released this week at the Blue Sky preview center.

Now this looks like something worth staying for in the evening at DCA.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

Zawadi Marketplace at Jumbo House, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.



Zz.

Buzz Lightyear As A Scarecrow?

Hum.. can you imagine Buzz Lightyear as a scarecrow? What about a Buzz Lightyear as tall as a lamp post? Will that make an effective scarecrow?

Well, somebody thinks it does! :)

The village of Llangwm in Pembrokeshire is staging its 10th anniversary scarecrow festival. Among the 83 scarecrows on show is a giant Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story films.

Zz.

Comic-Con Agenda is Full of Firsts for Walt Disney Studios

Last time, they had a sneak preview of Tron. This year's ComicCon has even more jaw-dropping sessions involving the Walt Disney Studios.

- COMIC-CON'S FIRST EVER 3D PANEL -- Veteran directors Robert Zemeckis and Tim Burton join TRON producers Sean Bailey and Steve Lisberger on Thurs., July 23 at 11 a.m. for an unprecedented presentation featuring behind-the-scenes filmmaker insights about the highly anticipated 3D adventures DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL, ALICE IN WONDERLAND and TRON. In addition to Q&A opportunities with each of the filmmakers, the 90-minute panel will feature never-before-seen concept art, trailers, actual 3D film footage and other Comic-Con-only footage debuts. In a groundbreaking technical feat, this is the first time ever that 3D footage will be shown at Comic-Con. Patton Oswalt will moderate.

-- ANIMATION PANEL -- Animation legends Hayao Miyazaki and John Lasseter join veteran animation directors Lee Unkrich, Kirk Wise, Ron Clements and John Musker on Fri., July 24 at 12:45 p.m. for an animation panel which will highlight upcoming animated films, including Disney-Pixar's TOY STORY/TOY STORY 2 double feature, Disney-Pixar's TOY STORY 3, Walt Disney Animation Studios' BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Walt Disney Animation Studios' half-hour holiday TV special PREP & LANDING, Walt Disney Animation Studios' THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG and Miyazaki's PONYO. John Lasseter will host the panel and Patton Oswalt will moderate a group Q&A following the presentation, which will include filmmaker insights, trailers and select film sequences.

I wanna go!!!

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

This was from the old "3 o'clock parade" at the Magic Kingdom. :)



Zz.

Dole Whip Pin Update 3

If you've missed my quest to collection as many Chip 'N Dale dole whip pins, you might want to read up on them first.

So as some of you know, I've been trying to collect as many of this pin as I can get my hands on. But what do you do with them? I'm sure the Pin Gods, who have ordained it onto me to be the custodian of these pins, will want me to display them in some fashion. And that's the key word here, "fashion". :) :)

So I decided to mount these pins onto a vest. I specifically went out to Macy's one day to look for such a vest, and lo and behold, I found a couple of them, and they were on sale too! I have mounted all my dole whip pins onto one vest so far.

The newly decorated vest made its public debut at a Windy City Pin Trader monthly pin meet a week before we left for our last WDW trip for the Museum of Pin-tiquities pin event trip. Of course, everyone admired it, especially those who had contributed to my collection and went out of their way to find me the pins. So I thought, why not bring the vest along with me to the pin event at WDW?

So I did! I will have to say that it became a minor hit. I had to repeat the story on why I'm collecting the identical pin every time I met someone, or while standing in line to play one of the pin board games. Everyone loved the story. In fact, several people that I told the story too came back and looked for me when they found dole whip pins in some pin trader books. It seemed that everyone was determined to help me expand my collection. And I did! I think I added about a dozen more to the collection.

So here is the vest that I wore at the pin event.


As it is now, I have exactly 40 dole whip pins. And hopefully, I will find more....

:)

Zz.

Framing Disney Pins

One of the things we have been doing for the past couple of years is to frame many of our Disney pin collections and hang them on the wall. Not only do we dispense with the need to have pin books and albums to keep them, but it also allows us to look at them periodically and enjoy them, rather than have them kept unseen. Our guests also seem to enjoy seeing them whenever they come for a visit.

Still, what we end up doing is nowhere near what one of our friends has done with her pin collection. Thanks to Erica for sending this picture for me to show on here. She is one talented girl, and her artistry shows not only in many of the sketches that she has done that I got the privilege to see, but also in the ways she displays her pins. This is one such example. When I first saw this, my jaw dropped. It must have taken a lot of time and effort to do something like this, and it totally makes for an astounding wall display.



I don't have that kind of creativity. I'm too busy battling not having enough wall space to hang all of my pins! :)

Zz.

So Long And Thank You, Marty Sklar

D23 Fanfare has a fitting tribute to Marty Sklar, will will retire next week on July 17, which is Disneyland's birthday.

I've only seen Marty in person once, during the Epcot's 25th Anniversary celebration. He was charming at the Rededication Ceremony, and his "Conversation with Marty Sklar" that traces the history of Epcot was just a gem! I wish I had the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him for all the joy he has help bring to many of us.

Happy retirement, Marty!

Zz.

Full NTSB Statement On Disney Monorail Crash

The NTSB has released the possible scenario for the WDW Monorail crash. It looks like several of the earlier guesses by a number of people on what might have happened are quite close to the NTSB's version.

The one thing that still is a bit confusing for me is this part:

The Pink train was then instructed to back through the track switch, towards the Magic Kingdom loop. At about the same time, the Purple train, which was inbound to the TTC station, was instructed to stop at the station to detrain passengers. For undetermined reasons that are currently under investigation, the switch had not changed position needed to allow the Pink train to be routed to the Magic Kingdom loop, which resulted in the Pink train backing down the same track it had just come from, putting it on a collision course with the Purple train. The Pink train passed through the TTC station and struck the Purple train while it was outside the station.

So, was the Purple train already moving backwards when it got stuck? If it was detraining the passengers, it should be fully in the train when it got struck, and stationary. So how come it was struck "while it was outside the station"? The only possible reason for this would be that Purple was already reversing itself and not moving fast enough outside of the station. But this doesn't make any sense either.

Now I'm confused.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

The marina at Ft. Wilderness and Campgrounds during sun set.



Zz.

WDW Monorail Back Online

The WDW Monorail is back in operation.

After the dust has settled a few days after the tragic event at WDW, we are now getting a little bit clearer picture on the event itself.

The announcement came as other investigators looking into Sunday's crash appeared to zero in on what may have been a botched attempt to switch a train from one track to another.

The crash early Sunday occurred as one of Disney's trains was supposed to be using a spur to transfer from the resort's Epcot line to a Magic Kingdom line so it could return to the maintenance bay for the night.

But the switch was never completed. Instead, the train apparently moved in reverse back down the Epcot line -- with an onboard collision-avoidance system likely on override -- and slammed into a second train carrying a handful of passengers.

Someone at work asked me the other day if I would ride in the front cab again. I replied, without hesitation, that I would. When this all happened, and before I even heard of the circumstances, I had a very strong belief that what happened was a result of a "non-standard" or "non-operational" maneuver that they were trying to execute. In other words, this would not occur under normal, operating conditions. And after this tragedy, the monorail system will be even safer than before, which was already damn safe as it was.

So yes, if they let me, I would ride in the front cab this very second.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

View of the Contemporary main building from Bay Lake Tower.



Zz.

More Plausible Scenario Surrounding the Monorail Collision

I think a little bit more consistent picture is emerging out of this tragedy on what might have occurred. This is based on two accounts by someone familiar with the monorail system and how it is operated. I've linked to the first one already, and here's the second one.

More than ever, I know for sure that this occurred under a non-normal operating situation, and something or someone at Control didn't get this right.

Zz.

Post from Micechat

Read this for whatever it is worth. I cannot verify the validity. (Thanks to MouseTraveler at WDWForGrownUps for pointing this out.

http://micechat.com/forums/news/119188-monorail-crash-kills-driver-stuns-passengers-disney-world.html#post1055420438

Zz.

A Tribute to WDW Monorail and Monorail Pilots

I've had this video for a couple of years already, and it is even currently the video I'm highlighting on my blog. But after the tragedy this morning, I'm going to post the video again in a blog entry as a tribute to the fallen monorail pilot, and how much fun it is to ride the monorail, especially in the front car.

I'm sure we will learn more about what truly happened with the accident, but till then, we can only sit and wait. I again hope that they will not completely stop letting guests ride in the front car.

"Please will you let me ride?"


Zz.

After The Monorail Collision - No More Up Front Seating?

Rampant speculation are going around at various internet forums about possible consequences of this accident. One that has been brought up which is a real possibility is that Disney will no longer allow guests to sit in the front monorail car with the monorail pilot.

I can understand if they do this, even if on a temporary basis, but it would be sad if they do. Sitting up front is such a joy and fun thing to do for guests. If they have the system properly run, there's no reason why this isn't a safe thing to do. Maybe they can institute a rule that the pilot cannot engage in any "conversation" with the guests while the monorail is in motion, if they they don't want the pilot being distracted. But I sincerely hope that they do not completely stop this option.

Zz.

Crash Picture of WDW Monorail Collision

We are now getting crash pictures, both on TV and online, of the monorail collision.

Either way, this is tragic.

Does anyone know if they have shut down the whole monorail system, or just the Epcot line?

Zz.

Edit: I have news reports that indicated that the whole monorail system is not running.

There are also pictures (captured from TV and other news sources) from here.

WDW Monorail Crash - One Killed

This is just horrible news!

A monorail crash occurred at the Transportation and Ticket Center at WDW early this morning, killing one monorail driver.

Witnesses who called the News 13 newsroom said the trains collided around 2 a.m. Sunday on the Epcot track of the Transportation and Ticket Center, located at the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom, as guests were leaving the park following a Fourth of July fireworks show.

The Reedy Creek Fire Department told News 13 the driver was pronounced dead on the the scene, and another driver was taken to the hospital.

From all the other reports that I've read, it appears to be on the Epcot line. This is just tragic. Of course, the question would be how this could have happened, especially when it obviously isn't during the "peak" hours - there were barely any passengers (luckily) on the monorail. The safety mechanism should have alerted someone of the impending collision. Heaven knows, I've been stuck in one of these monorails many times when it could not move due to "traffic" ahead of it.

Hopefully, we'll know (and Disney will know) what went wrong here for it to not happen again.

Zz.

List of Disappointments

Our last trip to WDW, in conjunction with the Museum of Pin-tiquities pin event, was a lot of fun. Of course, as avid Disney fans, and frequent guests at WDW, we tend to notice things more carefully than most average Disney guests. So many of my "complaints" here are really nit-picking in some sense, but for others, I think there is a temporary loss of memory of some of the basic Disney mantra. And before it gets misinterpreted, none of what I will list will reduce or diminish our love for Disney and WDW. Will still be passholders, DVC members, and will continue our multiple pilgrimage, to the most magical place on earth. But I sincerely wish something is done with what I see as shortcomings in presenting the Disney magic.

The most immediate and most noticeable shortcoming was the pin event itself. There wre just way too many obvious recycling from the previous year. While we are all for recycling and reducing waste, it doesn't work in this case. The decorations were just not up to par with previous years, and in my opinion, this is the least decorated and the weakest themeing done in years. The pin-back mascot that was used last year still adorned the entrance to World Showcase for this event - it is completely off-theme. They could have done a lot more to impress the attendees - build a pyramid in the middle of World Showcase and have pin games in there or something. That would have been a jaw-dropper for many of us.

Still, I think this is only a temporary setback due to cost-cutting measures instituted by Disney during the challenging economic times. While I'm disappointed by the weak themeing, I fully understand why it was done and why it wasn't more elaborate. I just hope they pick it up when the times get better and not settle in this rut.

The next couple of complaints involve pins AND cast members, although I'm not so sure the blame falls on the cast members themselves, or if it is rather the lack of training and the type of cast members Disney management put in place in a particular situation.

Many locations, especially at the resorts, have pin trading boards that the cast members will bring out when you ask for them. While it used to be that they will bring the board out whenever you ask for it when the cast members are not busy, it seems that now, they have a set time when they can be brought out. This is certainly true at the Carriage House at Saratoga Springs where we stayed. When we first asked for it when we just arrived, we were told that the board is available only between 11:00 am till 8:00 pm each day. Fine. But when we came back a couple of days later and asked for it (it was around 11:15 am), we were told that it can be brought out only between Noon and 8:00 pm. Again, this isn't a big deal with that 1 hour difference, but still, I wish they get their story straight for something this simple. We made a special trip to the Carriage House at that time because we thought we could take a look at the pin trading board before we left to go to the parks. If we knew it would be later before we could look at it, we wouldn't have made the stop and would have gone straight to the parks. As I've said earlier, as an institution or a business, there is no more efficient way to infuriate your customers then to give them conflicting information.

The other annoying incident happened at Fantasia, a gift store at the Contemporary. You see, there is this Pin Trading Nights pin, a limited edition of only 500, that seems to be available (or left) only at this store (at least, no one else could find it anywhere else). After we discovered it, bought it, and told our friends about it, it appears to be gone by Tuesday morning when we arrived to do our parasailing. We thought it was sold out because the rack space where the pins were hanging from was empty. Still, we thought we should ask the cast member working at the store and see if the pins were truly sold out, or if they were simply not stocked yet. When we asked, the cast member at the cash register not only thought they were gone, but also had no idea what pin we were talking about. She kept thinking that we wanted lanyards, or some other pins. This gets annoying rather fast. I suppose it is a bit too much to request that the person working the store actually have some interest and some knowledge of the merchandise being sold in that store. I think a cast member who has some interest in pins should be working at stores that carry an extensive number of pins for sale, and especially when that location (The Contemporary) happens to regularly hold pin trading nights events.

So after getting the idea that the pins were sold out, we went away to do what we wanted to do that day. I think you can see what's coming next. When we went back to the store later that day, guess what? The pin trading nights pins were now in exactly the same rack space that was empty this morning! As I had expected, the pins weren't sold out, they were just not restocked, and the cast member we asked earlier simply had no clue where, or too lazy, to actually look for them. In addition to that, the cast member who was working later that day in Fantasia was the same one who I think knew a bit more about pins, and helped us earlier in our trip to find a few pins that we were looking. It is my guess that when he came on his shift and saw the empty rack space, that he restocked them. I know we can't have every cast member working at the store having a good knowledge of pins, but they should at least know WHERE to look and figure out what to restock when the racks are empty. Empty racks means that there could be missed sales! If we didn't come back to the store later in the day, we wouldn't have spent money to buy those pins. In fact, I can think of many pins that ended up in either discount bins at the Cast Connection, or during the cast pin event, that many of us regular guests were looking for but simply could not find when they were first released. Did someone forgot to restock them, or could not find them to restock the racks? How many of these pins did not get sold because they were never put on the racks? For those of us avid pin collectors, we certainly will be disappointed when a pin sells out, but it would be infuriating if something is unavailable simply because it is in some box somewhere and not being restocked.

The last complaint here is more serious and something that is uncharacteristic for a Disney theme park. The lack of themeing of the parking area at Kidani Village is ASTOUNDING! One can easily get the impression that one is parking in some parking garage at an airport! It is THAT BAD! I had such utter disbelief in such blatant lack of any effort to blend the parking area with the resort - concrete pillars, exposed pipes, and not a single shred of any attempt at theming. It was a huge disappointment, and the biggest one of the whole trip. In fact, if we ever plan on having dinner at Sanna again, I would rather park at Jumbo House, and then make that long walk to Kidani Village just to avoid the disastrous parking area. What were they thinking?

And what's with the exposed backstage area and also exposed fencing for the animals in the viewing area? At Jumbo House, none of these are ever apparent. Why is it OK to show them at Kidani Village?

I don't understand why Disney doesn't think that there's anything wrong with shortchanging the theme for a DVC resort. One would think that a DVC member is someone who is VERY familiar with Disney, and also tends to get into the whole spirit of Disney when he/she is at a Disney resort. Yet, they're letting the standard drop for a DVC resort! This is mind-boggling! If ANYONE would notice such lack of attention, I would guess that it would be a DVC member, rather than a casual guest. So Disney is really exposing themselves to the very people who would notice such shortcomings! I don't get it!

Zz.

A Snag In HK Disneyland Expansion

Looks like the Hong Kong legislatures are going to play hard ball with the Hong Kong Disneyland expansion. They want the park to release attendance figures since it opened before they will go along with the expansion plans.

Scrutinizing the deal Saturday, lawmakers said the Hong Kong executive has not disclosed the park's attendance figures or told them how well it has performed in the more than three years since it opened. They said they needed to see more details of the expansion before they could vote Friday to approve or reject the plan.

"We have to decide whether to approve the commitment of this large sum as equity for the expansion of the park, but we have been given very little information. This is really depressing," said pro-government lawmaker Starry Lee.

This could be interesting, and that is what you get when you are in partnership with local governments rather than a private enterprise. While the situation may not be identical, Disney may want to consider to expect something similar when it partners with the local government for Shanghai Disneyland.

Zz.

Barack Obama Joins the Hall of Presidents

We were at the Passholder/DVC Member preview of Hall of Presidents last week while we were there. Disney has now released a short promotional documentary on the newly rehabbed Hall of Presidents, and in particular the Obama animatronic.



Zz.

Change In Comments Setting For This Blog

I had to change the setting for this blog to put all comments posted into moderation. A pathetic jackass originating out of the domain "edu.hk" decided to spam my blog. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by such a thing, considering that a huge number of such losers are around the 'net with nothing better to do with their miserable little lives.

So unfortunately, all comments posted in this blog will have to be in a moderation queue from now on. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Zz.

"The Little Mermaid" on Broadway Closing

I think we can all see this coming after the not-so-stellar review when the show opened. "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway will close at the end of August this year, after opening in January of last year.

In a statement, Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions, said that "it would be fiscally irresponsible to our shareholders to risk operating losses with such a big show in the historically challenging fall months. We are closing the Broadway production to concentrate on the long future life of this title -- beginning with next year’s national tour and upcoming international productions."

So now, doesn't this leaves The Lion King and Mary Poppins as the only two Disney productions left on Broadway? They could have had Beauty and the Beast, and still be pulling in more audience than Mermaid, but they closed that already.

Zz.

We are back!

We are back from a most magical trip to WDW. Still trying to recover, and unpacked. Yup, we brought back a lot of stuff, especially pins from the pin event. It will take the whole weekend to sort things out.

I'll post more pictures and reports from the trip as I go through them, and a few observations here and there. There's plenty to say, and I want to think it through a bit before I say them.

Can't wait for December already.

Zz.

At OIA

We are at the airport waiting for our flight back to Chicago. Our magical vacation is over. It was a great trip filled with a lifetime of memories.

We won't be back until the first week of December. It now feels like a lifetime away.

Animation Academy

At the animation academy waiting to get in. I wonder who we get to draw this time. Last week it was dopey.

Mishap on indiana jones

A mishap happened on indiana jones during the 11:30 am show. A cast got hurt. 2 other casts helped him off stage.

Indiana Jones

We are waiting for indiana jones to start. We haven't see the show in at least 4 years.

DHS

Spending our last morning at Studios. Waiting for our fast pass time for ToT. We did rock n roller coaster already.

DVC Member Preview of BLT

We attended a DVC members preview of Bay Lake Tower yesterday called "Vacation as you wish". I must say that the DVC people sure knows how to throw a fun party. Besides the entertaining presentation, they also threw a party afterwards with lots of good finger food and the characters (but no Donald!).

The highlight of the preview was a tour of the BLT itself. We got one of the first preview of the 3-bedroom villa, and also the members exclusive lounge at the top of the tower. So here are a series of picture from that tour.



Our DVC tour guide gave us a briefing on what we were about to see.


Walking on the bridge connecting the main building and BLT.




The welcome mat.


The elevator right after you get into the building from the bridge.


The view from the top of the pool area.


View of the main building from BLT.


Walking along the corridor towards the model 3-bedroom villa.


The interiors of the 3-bedroom villa, with this huge picture window overlooking the Magic Kingdom.











More views out of the amazing picture window.



We then headed to the top of the building and into the members lounge. This lounge is exclusive only to DVC members who are staying at BLT.






The outdoor viewing area outside of the members lounge











Walking back towards the main building.




It certainly was a very impressive preview, and I can see why the resort is selling at a brisk pace, even during this economically tough times.

Zz.