Random WDW Picture

Mr Toad, found in the Haunted Mansion Pet Cemetery.

Zz.

Disney Dream Cruise with Food Network

Some of us won't be home at this time, so it may be time to set up the DVR for this one.

This one-hour special brings together some of Food Network's favorite hosts for a vacation like no other. The Kitchen's Jeff Mauro and Katie Lee, Chopped's Amanda Freitag, and Guy's Grocery Games' Melissa d'Arabian, along with their families and friends, set sail on The Disney Dream cruise ship for three days of sun, fun and food. Go behind the scenes as the hosts go where no cameras have gone before — the inner workings of the ship's galleys, the kitchens, where The Dream's talented chefs prepare food for thousands every day. And no cruise would be complete without surf, sand and, of course, incredible meals.

Airing dates:

Fri, March 27, 8|7c
Sat, March 28 3a|2c
Sat, April 4 12|11c

Zz.

Major Differences Between Disneyland and Walt Disney World Experiences

This is a nice article that sums up the differences in experience at Disneyland in CA, and Walt Disney World in FL.

The size of WDW is, to me, an advantage, as I had stated a while back. There is just this lack of a "buffer" between the unorganized, real world and the theme park at Disneyland. Whereas at WDW, the size allows it to force the guests to emotionally, or psychologically separate themselves, consciously or unconsciously, from that real world. And certainly, WDW is a resort in the truest sense.

Zz.

New Chicago Disney Store Pins

... or at least, they are new to me since I haven't seen them before.

Thanks go Anne for finding these. Supposedly, one pin can be found at the Michigan Ave. store, while the other is at the State Street store. I do not know if it is going to be that way, or even both can be found at both stores eventually.

Zz.

8 Walt Disney Quotes That Are Actually Fake

.. at least according to this article.

The 8 quotes listed here that were attributed to Walt are:

1. If you can dream it, you can do it.
2. Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.
3. The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for.
4. The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.
5. You can't just let nature run wild.
6. Leadership shows judgment, wisdom, personal appeal and proven competence.
7. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.
8. The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up.

I must admit that I am familiar with only the first one, and may have had the inkling that it was from Walt.


Now we know.

Zz.

A Disney Monorail For Sale On E-Bay

So, anyone bidding for this one?

Happily though, thanks to the Internet, you can now purchase quite possibly the next best thing – one of Walt Disney World’s monorail cars. It’s listed up for sale on eBay, and according to the seller, it’s the only Disney monorail to make it into private ownership. It will cost you a pretty penny though. Bidding starts at $160,000. 

I'd like to see someone covert this into a diner! :)

Zz.

"Frozen 2" Is A Go!

Bob Iger has just announced at the shareholders meeting that the sequel to "Frozen" has officially been given the green light.

This is really not that surprising, is it? :)

Zz.

Post-Mortem On "John Carter"

One would think that one  would let bleeding dog lie, but not in this case. An article on Forbes is discussing what could have possibly gone wrong with the $250 million "John Carter", 3 years after it was originally released.

Yes, Princess of Mars was among the first modern fantasy adventure stories. Yes, every fantastical adventure to explode into theaters over the last several decades, from Star Wars to Avatar, from Planet of the Apes to Army of Darkness, owes something to the groundbreaking fantasy fiction on which John Carter was based. But that’s not common knowledge and the film’s marketing gave you little idea of the film’s historical pedigree. For reasons that I dare not speculate upon, the marketing for John Carter was painfully generic and outright bland, with one uninspiring trailer after another. We saw a straight-faced bare-chested white male hero played by a relative unknown, a desert landscape, various alien creatures, and a damsel-in-distress to be rescued and romanced. To audiences that had perhaps grown up on the various would-be rip-offs of this specific source material, they had little reason to think they were seeing anything other than Generic Blockbuster: The Movie.

Certainly, the Disney Studios were in a major turmoil at that time, and right off the bat, the promotion of this film was not very original at all. I think if it wasn't a Disney film, I would not have gone out and seen it.

Still, I wonder if many in Hollywood will actually learn from this debacle.

Zz.

Toy Story Mania and Soarin' at WDW are being upgraded

WDWMagic reports that Toy Story Mania will be getting a third track

The hugely popular Toy Story Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studios has faced long waits and high FastPass+ demand since opening, and work began in October of last year on refitting Soundstage One as an additional track. You can read more about the project from our original article last year.

In a related post  Disney confirmed that Soarin' at WDW will be getting a 3rd concourse and an upgraded projection system.  Hope they can find a way to clean the screen more often.