Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World-September/October 2008 - Part 6

By Nick

Thursday, October 2nd 2008

Part 1-Part 2-Part 3-Part 4-Part 5

I was up early, of course. The weather was beautiful and we headed over to the Magic Kingdom.





We missed rope drop because it was Morning Extra Magic Hours, but still, everything in Fantasyland was walk on, as was everything in Tomorrowland.
(This was in the middle of the economic downturn, and there were actual periods that the parks were not crowded.)
We walked over to Adventureland and rode Pirates of the Caribbean, and then had lunch at Columbia Harbour House.

We headed to Epcot around Noon. We rode Spaceship Earth, and then went to check out Storm Struck at Innoventions East.
One last ride on Test Track, then over to World Showcase, were we had one last taste of Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival. Our favorite of the whole event was the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce from The Buenos Aires Argentina kiosk (Still a favorite till this day, Argentina is now the Patagonia booth. )















We then walked over to the Beach Club, where we split a burger at Beaches and Cream. I also had a No Way Jose Sundae.



MMMM good! By then, it was about 4pm, and we sadly went back to the Boardwalk to wait for Magical Express.
Flew out on the 8:30 flight, and Southwest got us back to Philly early.

Thank you for following this trip, and please stop back for more journeys back in time on future Thursdays.

Wordless Wednesday: Giraffes from Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Photos Nick and Barbie

Disneyland Park Map Circa 1968

By Nick

Yet another great souvenir from my Aunt Sandy sent me, a 1968 park map.

It measures 45″ x 29 3/4″.

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Walt Disney’s opening day dedication speech.

Beautiful colors and details.

The Disneyland hotel was connected to the park via Monorail.

Great to see one of my favorite, and often overlooked, characters, Humphrey the Bear, along with a bear buddy, prominently featured in the upper left hand corner.

Mickey’s center stage welcoming guests.

The Tomorrowland  of today looks very different.

 

Mickey's Mailbox

by Gaylin

Did you know that if you are at the Magic Kingdom, on Main Street, the green mailbox is not just for decoration?

It is a working mail box and on my last trip I decided to mail a few post cards to see how long it would take for the mail to go through. Turns out, the cards probably left the Magic Kingdom that day but took a week to 3 weeks to get to their various US destinations!

Next time you are there, remember mail your cards from here:

The Disney Exchange- Episode 31- The Best in the Lands

By Nick 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

-The Disney Exchange is David Hodges, Lisa Green, and me, Nicholas Maglio  

-Main Topic: The Best in the Lands

-We start with a shout out and Lisa has to reign us in, before we quickly (for us) get to our main topic, where David, Lisa, and I discuss our favorite attractions, shops, food, details, etc. in the lands of the Magic Kingdom.

-We start with Main Street, and I ask if seeing Cinderella Castle ever gets old?

-We go clockwise through Adventureland, and Dave and I disagree, not surprisingly on whether or not one place or another had Citrus Swirls in the past, and I think we both were confused! This is what it is like to grow old. Aloha Isle did have Citrus Swirl. Dave, I apologize?

-We very surprisingly veer off topic before going on to Frontierland.

-We may discuss this in a future episode.

-In Liberty Square we argue over the differences between Ravens and Crows.

-Sarah McLachlin, just...Sarah McLachlin. 

-Off to Fantasyland.

-Dave has grown, and his favorite ride is no longer Winnie the Pooh! Will Pooh forgive him?

-Finally, Tomorrowland.

-The Wheel of Distiny topic-  The most disgusting thing we've eaten at Walt Disney World.

Thank you for listening to The Disney Exchange.

You can find us on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thedisneyexchange
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyexchange
Or email us at: info@thedisneyexchange

Walt Disney World's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

By Lisa Green 

Note:  This post actually has an accompanying video (such as it is) of my first ride on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  If you’re interested in watching, catch the action here (twice for some reason!) on Living a Disney Life’s YouTube channel.

So much hype!  Such incredible buildup!  Those walls were up in Fantasyland for years!  Could the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ever live up to the sky high expectations?  Sadly, it couldn’t.  Probably, not much could have proved worthy of all the massive promotion.  Nothing, realistically, could be as spectacular as the excitement generated by years of rumor and speculation, promises of cutting-edge ride vehicle technology, and the fervor created by a huge media blowout event.  All of that pre-excitement was counterproductive, maybe – stealing the thunder from what could have been a great final reveal.

I recently (finally!) rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and I loved it.  Was it as amazing as it was cracked up to be?  Not so much.  But – it was new, it was fun, and it has a lot of charm.  Some will call it a Kiddie Coaster (must be 38″ to ride), but I consider it more of a Family Coaster because the incredibly smooth ride will appeal to adults who don’t care for the rougher coasters like Big Thunder and Space Mountains.  I can see grandparents riding this with their grandchildren and making happy Disney memories.

We had previously held fastpasses for the day we arrived (5/25, during soft opening) but our dinner ADR and a torrential downpour nixed those plans.  So, while I DID get to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train on May 30th, I only rode once and did not get to see any of the interactive standby queue.  That standby line was loooooong and some friendly Cast Members were on hand with cups of ice water to keep everyone properly hydrated and as cool as possible.  I will be returning to Walt Disney World in October and hopefully, time will allow us to use the standby queue – I’ve heard so much about it!

 

The highlights of the ride (for me) included the landscaping, the indoor/outdoor aspect (which I also love about Expedition Everest, Big Thunder, and Splash Mountain), the mine scene with the Dwarfs and familiar music, and yes, of course – it’s the little details, once again, that make this attraction a winner!  The shadows of the Dwarfs walking that are seen along the mine’s walls are a great touch!  It’s also a ride that begs to be ridden over and over because of the different details riders will spot that went unnoticed on the previous ride(s).

What would I change?  Well….that’s easy.  I’d make it a little longer (it’s only about 2.5 minutes), I’d make Snow White easier to see (she can briefly be seen through a cottage window, pay attention or you’ll miss her), I’d add just a few scary details, like maybe some of those scary trees that reach for you with their bare branch fingers.  I’d also probably toss in a few more friendly woodland creatures just for fun.

Overall, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a winner.  There’s a true feeling of quality to the ride, scenery, and perfectly aged, realistic details and animatronics.  The swaying, suspended-over-the-track mine carts are a fantastic innovation that do create a very smooth, quiet coaster experience.  The lap bar, though! 

Heed this warning (thanks to Joseph for pointing it out before Raymond and I took our first ride):  The lap bar pulls down smoothly and soundlessly (no clicking into place) – it’s very easy to pull it down too far – once it’s down, it doesn’t go back up until the ride’s over.  If you squish yourself in too much with the bar after you sit down, the ride can be extremely uncomfortable as your body shifts over the hills and around the turns.

Talk to me!  Have you ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train yet?  How did you feel about it?  Did it meet your expectations?  If you haven’t ridden it yet – how high are your expectations for this new experience?

This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at @life_of_green

Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!

Disneyland 40th Anniversary Happy Meal Toys

By: Nick

As Disneyland celebrates it's 60th Anniversary today, I thought we'd look back at a truly excellent set of Happy Meals Toys released by Disney and McDonald's back in 1995, celebrating Disneyland's 40th.

This set is a viewer set, like a mono viewmaster, featuring Disneyland park attractions.


These first two were for totally different attractions than what I'd assumed they were. Here we have Peter Pan. This must represent Peter Pan's flight, right? Nope



It is actually for Fantasmic.



The next one, I thought must have been from a parade, but it is actually from a dinner show called Aladdin's Oasis, that ran during two summers and on selected weekend days during other seasons.


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This last one is pretty easy to guess. Mickey is riding Space Mountain.





Happy Anniversary Disneyland!

Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World-September/October 2008 - Part 5

By Nick

Wednesday, October 1st 2008

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4

At Disney's Hollywood Studios for rope drop, made the B-line for Toy Story Midway Mania, then 2 rides on Tower of Terror, a The Great Movie Ride, and then back to TSMM to use our FastPasses (this was the days of the paper FastPass).



By then it was 11:30am, so we headed over to Epcot to hit the Food and Wine kiosks we'd missed previously.





We rode Test Track, and then headed back to swim.



About 6pm we headed over to the Magic Kingdom.



It was October 1st, Walt Disney World's birthday. Cast Members used to get special birthday buttons every year, so I thought I'd try to score one. 

Well, we got to the MK and walked around, and noticed nobody had a pin on. I went to guest services to inquire, and the girl we spoke to said that they didn't get a pin that year. Usually they are handed the pin when they clock in, and for the 1st time in 37 years, no pin!

That was sad.
We drowned our sorrows in Dole Whip Floats. We rode Haunted Mansion, and because I was still sad, I further consoled myself with a burger at Pecos Bill's. About 8, we took the monorail over to the Polynesian, where we met up with Pam, Tom, Kathy, Ron, Dave (owner of David's Vacation Club Rentals) and his wife Cathy.

We all watched Wishes from the beach and talked. Afterwards, Pam and Tom were kind enough to drive us back to the Boardwalk.

Wordless Wednesday: Lost on Safari at the Dawa Bar in Disney's Animal Kingdom

Wall-E and Eve Figures

By Nick

These Wall-E and EVE figures may be small, measuring around 2″, but what they lack in size, they make up for in personality.

With almost no dialogue, the characters Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth Class) and EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) convey more emotion than some actors and actresses.

Here is EVE showing her lighting skills. Clearly, because of the greenery, this is after the revegetation of Earth has begun.

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Here Wall-E is dancing while listening to show tunes. If you are wondering what the little illustration is on his lunchbox, that is his cockroach friend, Hal. Now, I have a total phobia of cockroaches, but not this one, so that proves how much I love this movie.

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Made by Thinkway Toys for Disney Pixar.

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As I’ve previously mentioned, Wall-E is one of my favorite movies. Hmm, maybe Hal is a water beetle, now that I think of it! Even better!