Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Podcastus Disneyii Interruptus

Well, folks, my string of nearly 7 months of consecutive podcast updates will sadly be broken today. I got the first half of November's updates completed and was doing a quick turnaround on Monday to get the 16th-30th done and posted. I started at the end of the alphabet and was had gotten up to the mid-M's (around 25-30 podcast shows by my estimate). I decided to quit for a while and clicked on "save" on Word.



Word shuts down on me while trying to save.



NOOOOOOOoooooooooo.....


Okay, I have the autorecover function going on Word...it had to have saved at least once in the 1.5 hours I had been working on it.



Nope.


Nothing.


Nada.


NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo...........




I went to the root directory where the autorecover files are stored, and it's empty.


With the week I've been having, I almost started crying.


Then I remembered: HEY! The episodes I had deleted from iTunes are still in the Recycle Bin. I go in there and try to restore an episode of MouseStation back to iTunes.


Yeah...didn't work. Nothing showed up.


So here's the case: I have a number of shows that I no longer have. While I do have quite a bit from the first half of the alphabet, I feel like I can't give full updates to only them and leave the others hanging, so I've decided to *sob* forego doing updates for that two-week period from November 16-30, 2009. I'll try to recall some of the highlights though:


  • WaltCast had an interview with Lee Cockerell!
  • WDW Today had me nearly crying from laughter at both the "What to Do on Attractions" and the "Secondary Park Icons" episodes (a bench, Len...seriously???).
  • Gordon said "BLECH" a lot in his show on dissecting a 20 mile run with a calf blowing up on you (and had me cracking up in the process...sorry, Gordon, but hearing you say that just made me laugh).
  • Mike and Mark did a good recap of one of our favorite attractions: Mickey's Philharmagic.
  • Van is being classic Van on his Netcot shows (love his sense of humor).
  • OH LOU! does it yet again with an awesome interview with Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry on their collaborative Peter and the Starcatchers books.
  • BMSLou gives some more great video from his recent trip down there.
  • DISCast did a review of Touringplan's new Lines App
  • Matt and Nate did an amazing interview with Henry from Touringplans and also with Shawn and Katie from WaltCast on the same show.
  • MouseStation did a recap on their MouseAdventure. Coupling this show with one of the shows from Disney, Indiana where Scott and Tracey talk about volunteering for the Adventure shows just how much work went into it. Sounds like an amazing event!
  • MouseDroppings...Keegan meets up with the Esquire...'nuf said!
  • Tom Corless and the WDWNT crew did a Timekeeper episode...I never got to see that attraction.
  • Ricky's Inside the Magic had a show with a couple of early reviews of The Princess and the Frog and gives some interesting ideas about the show.
  • Mike, Rikki, and the Be Our Guest crew had a really good interview with Len Testa on why he is how he is.

Trust me, there are other shows that had some great material. If I recall them, I'll add them here so that they can be searchable by the web engines.


Sorry folks...I don't like doing this. Believe me, I like seeing the searches hitting the blog and people clicking through to the podcasts to download - the blog is doing what I hope it does. Barring another snafu, I'll start working on getting caught up with December after the holidays.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

WDW Mushfam December 2007 Trip Report Index




PRE-TRIP

Click Here (Only ONE Part??? GASP!)



DAY 1, YOU AGAIN??!!

Part III



DAY 2 , HELLO??? IT'S INCREDIBLE!!!

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV





DAY 3, Shhh...Happy Birthday!!!
Part I
Part II
Part III 
Part IV



DAY 4
Part I

Part II 
Part III
Part IV 





DAY 5

Only 1 Part!!!

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 2, Part 3: Hello??? It's Incredible!!!


Part 2 of Day 2 can be viewed HERE.





Folks, please accept my apologies for the temporary rudeness of my soon-to-be-recycled cell phone. I need to take some of the blame as I actually was distracted with my new iPod (when I wrote this), though, in my defense, if the Moose Meet music wasn't so darn good, I wouldn't be trying to import all that into the Nano. 1L (another online friend) gets part of the blame.



Okay…in going over all of the stuff he put in the first part, he actually didn't do too bad a job for the most part. There were more calls that I'm sure of, but they weren't in the log. I seriously did plan to save DD's message with her number, but a bus was pulling up, and I was trying to listen to the message while trying to get a kid out of a stroller and fold it down at the same time. Oh yeah…one other thing that the phone selectively forgot to mention. We took Pal Mickey with us, but his batteries had died. Those were brand new batteries put in 2 days ago too! I think the phone had something to do with it (jealousy? Perhaps Camera was showing a little too much affection to Mickey).



Where were we…oh yeah…back at the hotel to rest. Eric and Sheri fall asleep rather quickly, while Aaron and I watch Toon Disney. I ultimately crash for about 20 minutes, but Aaron refuses to go to sleep. With 2 fairly refreshed, 1 sorta refreshed, and 1 still on an adrenaline high, we head back out to the bus stop around 4:30…just as a bus pulls up for us.



I'll give you one guess as to which one of us fell asleep on the bus.



We arrive at MK just before 5 and wake Aaron up before he takes the return trip to the Pop. We get a couple of pics at the Mickey floral on Photopass and run up to the train station to catch the train. As we get on the train, I hear them start the retreat/flag ceremony. I almost got us off the train so I could witness this. Someday I'll try to request to take part in it as I've read that Veterans are allowed to assist.



Anyways…back on the train…







The boys love trains, and they were on cloud 9 all the way to Frontierland. As soon as we get off the train, it starts sprinkling. I jokingly suggest that we do Splash Mountain as we're gonna get wet anyways! Needless to say, it didn't go over well…especially with a 70 minute wait. We make it to Pecos Bills and threaten Aaron with doing no more rides ever again as long as I'm alive if he didn't start behaving immediately. We tried to get him to sleep. Nope. Now we have Kidzilla on our hands. We tried to get him to go potty before we got to Pecos Bill's. Nope. 5 minutes later and he's dancing and begging me to take him. We tried to tell him to quit jumping around. Nope. The goose-egg on his head will serve as a reminder not to jump, especially under low-hanging places.



We get our food, and I take Aaron to the closest bathroom I know of…the one between Adventureland and Liberty Square. Of course he's too tired to walk, so I carry him. He does his business and demands that I carry him back to eat. We get back to the restaurant, and Sheri heads up to the fixin's bar. She comes back, and I head up to load up the burger. I LOVE this place! Aaron whines that there's no cheese on his burger, so I swap buns with him. FINALLY things start calming down for us. We finish our dessert and start to head out when I notice that there was a restroom actually in Pecos Bills…about 9 feet from where we were sitting.



…and I took Aaron to the one about a half-mile away.



Geez…I really am a moron.



We miss the castle-lighting ceremony…but it was just a "possible" to-do today. We make our way over to Adventureland to see how bad the wait is for Pirates. 30 minute wait. Nope! We keep on going around to see if Aladdin was running. Nope! (are y'all seeing a pattern here?) Tiki birds? I think Eric will request a new family if we take him there with all the darkness, lightning, and Polynesia.



He proved me wrong…Man, he loved the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room!!! We head out and contemplate getting back in line again for it until we see Aladdin up and running. The line was fairly short, so we decide to hop in.






I had to get this pose as one of my favorite ones from when we took Aaron back in 2005 is this exact same pose:









Can ya tell they're brothers?



While we're up on the ride, we get our first glimpse of the castle iced out. Pictures simply don't do that justice. Absolutely breathtaking is the only way to describe it.



We head off of Aladdin and make a non-touring-plan mistake…we wondered what to ride next. We had time, and Aaron was begging us, so we decided to head back to Pirates. As we walked up, the wait time cycled from 30 to 20 minutes, so we hopped in line. We had a good conversation with the family in front of us. The 9 year old son was showing off with his knowledge of Disney World…he's a little me in training, according to Sheri. We hop on the ride, and I ask wifey if she had Eric's light-up toy from Todd and Mo just in case.



Ummmm…Todd…Maureen…please skip the next couple paragraphs.













Sheri gets this shocked look on her face.



It was then that we realized that we left them in the bag in the stroller outside.



So much for that idea. This attraction was one of the things that we thought Eric might need the reinforcement. Oh well…we'll just have to add it to the pocket-packing list for the rest of the days.







Okay…Todd…Maureen…you can start reading again.



Eric LOVED THE LIGHT and kept the light on during the first part of the ride. It was because of the light that he made it through!













They ain't buying it, are they?



Eric actually did really good…he held on to Sheri just a bit during the short plunge but loved the ride. Aaron was singing the song all the way through. We then went through the gift shop, where I knew the boys would want to play with the swords.











Notice that I am nowhere near holding a sword and fighting with the boys. There was an infamous pic 2 years ago…





Those of you who have been around the Lodge for a while may recognize the pose I'm in. Photoshop everything but me out of there and then add a pic of a rather well-endowed animal that you can see over in Animal Kingdom, and you get the source of my angst. I still pray to God every night that Dan gets cursed with an unending case of hemorrhoids for doing that.



ANYWAYS!



Continued…HERE.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Disney Podcast Updates, October 30-November 15

Well, this has been delayed well over a month. I won't bore you with the details; however, it does involve the end of the semester as a faculty member, Thanksgiving, and two separate trips to the emergency room with our sons (they're going to be okay). Much like October, what you'll see here is mostly updates from the show descriptions. I was so far behind that I realized that I'd never get caught up if I listened to each one and wrote my own recap for every show (which I much prefer...I like giving the personal touches to the comments).


I still hope one day to get this back to a weekly update, and I hope that some new equipment after the holidays will help. If all goes well, I hope to get a 16G Nano that allows for voice memo recordings. This way, I'll have space to actually download all the shows instead of constantly shuffling to get stuff to fit, and I'll be able to do the memos for each podcast as I listen to them (instead of trying to remember what was on each show).


There are a couple more shows that I'm thinking of adding, but I just don't have the time at the moment to do it. In time, I'll get to them, but it may take a month.


If you are interested in listening to any of these episodes, I have links to subscribe for most of these shows in my post HERE. Also, if you're willing, you can help these shows out by posting a review over on iTunes. The more they get, the higher up they appear on searches.


As always, please note that this again is not a comprehensive list of the Disney Podcasts that are out there. Mike Hamilton has created Disneypodcastdirectory.net, which he periodically updates with new podcasts and removes dead casts. He also has the automated RSS (historical) feeds of the podcasts. This is more of a cross-section of what is currently being talked about…perhaps something may sound interesting, and you'll subscribe to listen to that topic.


Any and all comments are welcomed! Also, if you know of another podcast that fits here, let me know.



    • 11/09/09 – Show #2, Hi I am back did you miss us? We return with some news and a new segment. I hate talking all the time when I have a great person on the ATF to help... Jason In SD is here to add to that and his new segment. I threw this together real quick to get this out. Sorry if some levels are not right.
      Time: 20:54
    • 11/6/09 – Episode 134, This week we return to doing one of our "What if..." segments and this time we're going to discuss how the Marvel characters could potentially be incorporated into the Disney parks. This is a bit of a challenging topic that's been widely talked about ever since Disney announced the purchase of the Marvel characters so we've invited 2 of our listeners on the show this week to join us in this discussion. We also have some breaking news concerning Disney's progress in building another theme park in China...this time in Shang-hai. We'll also be joined by Deb Wills from AllEars.net who has just returned from the Disney Cruise Line conference in NYC and she'll be sharing with us all of the details that they announced for their newest ship that will begin sailing in 2011. The Disney Dream! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! Time: 1:49:39
    • 11/13/09 – Episode 135, This week Jonathan returns to All About the Mouse from being on leave with his wife and new baby Elizabeth. We have some announcements that we'll make on this week's show as well as some news about events that we're planning and we'll also read some listener email with lots of Disneyland subject matter. In the news this week: Another Disney Studios executive resigns, Florida Residents and Passholders can now receive half off on a Pirate League makeover in Adventureland, a new photo opportunity arrives at Disney's Hollywood Studios for A Christmas Carol, and much more. Time: 1:20:19
    • 11/1/09 – Episode 173, Today we have a really special show lined up for you. Today, we talk with friends Katie and Ed from North Carolina about their recent trip to Walt Disney World. They did LIVE Dining Reviews of the various booths during Epcot's Food 8 Wine Festival 2009. See what they thought of each country's offerings! Also, stay tuned to the end of the show for two special audio clips! Thank you for listening to today's show! Time: 38:20
    • 11/5/09 – Episode 174, Today we discuss attractions and feelings at Walt Disney World that are very sentimental to us. I know ours are a little bizarre, but we would love to hear yours! Please share yours on the message boards. Also, we announce the first-ever Be Our Guest Podcast Cruise aboard the Disney Dream on June 21, 2011! Hear how you can cruise with your favorite podcast! We also play your voice mails from all over the world! Time: 54:45
    • 11/8/09 – Episode 175, Danette from Tennessee joins us today to talk about her wonderful Walt Disney World wedding from September 20, 2009. We talk about preparations before leaving for WDW, arrival and check-in before the wedding, and of course, we talk about the "Big Day!" This is a touching story of a girl and her guy living out the dream. Time: 45:07
    • 11/12/09 – Episode 176, Can you guess what today's podcast is going to be about? We actually had a different topic to talk about, but we put that on hold. Today, the panel discusses our feelings on Disney's newest ship, the Dream, and our upcoming Be Our Guest Podcast Cruise in 2011! We talk about things that are really getting us exciting about sailing with the Disney Cruise Line, answer some questions, and share what we are looking forward to! If you would like to sail with us, there are still staterooms available! Just let Mike or Pam know if you would like a no-obligation quote! Time: 36:09
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 177, Today we have Danette from Tennessee back with us to talk about the differences between touring Walt Disney World just as a couple, and then with lots of friends and family. We spend time talking about making Advanced Dining Reservations, touring the parks, meeting the needs of everyone in the group, and much more! Thank you for listening to today's podcast! Time: 32:54
    • 11/2/09 – BMS 75, Pre-Trip and Day 1 footage from my Oct, 2009 WDW family vacation. (Mush: Thanks for the Sanaa and Kidani video…good to see what it looks like in there!) Time: 29:54
    • 11/3/09 – IYEE 51, Recorded live in AK. Time: 44:33
    • 11/14/09 –BMS 76, Day 2 Footage, Oct, 2009 Vacation. (Mush: Good Illuminations footage at the end!) Time: 29:37
    • 11/15/09 – IYEE 52, Good (and bad)music in this episode. Enjoy. Time: 26:40
    • 11/15/09 – Show 42, Disneyland's Parade of Dreams from Chris Fisher on Video. The Parade of Dreams was Disneyland's 50th Celebration Parade. This Episode was recorded about a month before the parade finished it's run. As parades go it was a pretty decent parade and I am not a huge fan of parades. Time: 18:29
    • 10/30/09 – Episode 81, On this episode: The World In News - Disney World News; Pluto's Rumor of the Week - Expensive Times; Disney Dining Experience - Liberty Tree Tavern; Monorail Station - Tower of Terror vs Haunted Mansion; Story Time - Trick or Treating with Uncle Sorcerer; Email Time - Listener Questions; Show Members: Sorcerer, Imagine, Pluto, Jeff, Kristen, Chernabog, Uncle Sorcerer. Time: 1:12:51
    • 11/2/09 – Episode 18, Its the Halloween editing of the DISCAST this week featuring the top 10 scariest things at any Disney park. For this weeks top 10, I am joined by: Marc from the Remember The Magic podcast. Time: 46:25
    • 11/8/09 – Episode 19 (?), This week on a very special DISCAST episode, I am joined by Marc from the Remember the Magic Podcast for the length of the show as the DISCAST and Remember the Magic combined into one podcast this week. We get you updated with the latest Disney/tech news. Give you this week's weather report for Disney World. And bring you an attraction ride through from Epcot. Time: 16:15
    • 11/9/09 – Episode 34, Welcome back! The Disney Dudes are having a contest! Can you be the winner? Are you a NON MF'er? You will find out on this show. The dudes also listen to a few emails. Time: 1:07:59
    • 10/31/09 – Episode 83, Welcome to another edition of The Disney Pincast. Join hosts Tom Corless and John Rick for Disney pin news, upcoming pin trading opportunities across the United States, a profile of I.P.L.S. member number #64, all of this weekrsquo;s pin releases from the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort, our new segment The Vinylmation Station, an interview with I.P.L.S. member Kelly Mann, and much more!!! Time: 2:34:11
    • 11/6/09 – Episode 84, Join hosts Tom Corless and John Rick for Disney pin news, upcoming pin trading opportunities across the United States, a profile of I.P.L.S. member number #65, the I.P.L.S. Random Selection Contest, all of this weekrsquo;s pin releases from the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort, John Rick's Disney Pin Investigation, Pin-queries, and much more!!! Time: 1:40:48
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 86 (I may be off on the show number), Join hosts Tom Corless and John Rick for Disney pin news, upcoming pin trading opportunities across the United States, a profile of I.P.L.S. member number #66, all of this weekrsquo;s pin releases from the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort, John Rickrsquo;s Ten, Tom Corless' Pin Trading Time Machine, Pin-queries, and much more!!! Time: 1:49:51
    • 11/2/09 – Episode 34, In today's episode, Scott and Tracey head over to the Main Street Cinema to join the Mortis and his family in a viewing of the 1983 Disney live-action film "Something Wicked This Way Comes". They discuss the movie, then Scott and Tracey visit the Secret Movie Research Facility to provide some background material on the film, including audio from the author, Ray Bradbury. Thanks to the Mortis Matinee podcast for joining us for this episode. Time: 1:09:19
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 35, Scott and Tracey are at Walt Disney World, so Jessica hosts episode 35 of the Disney, Indiana Podcast. For those of you who are not aware, Jessica is the master computer that runs Disney, Indiana. Today, Jessica plays some audio from last summer's Friends of the Magic meet at Disneyland. Jessica shares the recording of Margaret Kerry (the reference model for Tinker Bell) as she talks about being Tink, working with Walt and Disney history. Welcome to Disney, Indiana! Time: 56:18
    • 11/10/09 – Special Supplement, This is the official guide of Mousemeets 2009. Please take a look inside even if you are not attending the actual event.
    • 11/10/09 – Episode 28, Hello and Welcome to Episode 28 of the Disneybrit Podcast for Wednesday 11th November 2009. On this show we start of, as always, with the news and rumours from Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris as well as some Mousemeets news. We then bring you another live report from the show as we ring Craig on his tour of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Have you ever wondered about Pin Trading? Join us at Theobald's Park in Hertfordshire as we find out a little more about pin trading in the UK and what it is that makes people collect so many pins. We chime in with Adam as he brings the 9th and 10th day of his Disney Daily Diary and then we return to Epcot as Craig gives us a Food and Wine review from Italy. With Mousemeets getting closer we bring the last Mousemeets update for the 2009 event as we take a look through the Events at this year's meet. Finally, we bring you the trivia quiz questions for this month. Time: 1:41:26
    • 11/4/09 – Episode 166, Join David O'neal, for podcast full of forward looking thoughts as he describes what's next for Extinct Attractions. Time: 26:56
    • 11/9/09 – Episode 167, Main Street Electrical Parade Show. Time: 22:39
    • 11/11/09 – Episode 168, Liana, Stevie Wonder, and the Skyway (Mush: Yeah, it sounds like a Mad Gabs). Time: 1:16:59
    • 11/12/09 – Episode 169, Join us for details on special auctions over the next six weeks on DisneylandSouvenirs.com. Find out how you can help needy people and at the same time, get great Disney park items. Time: 13:49
    • 11/1/09 – Episode 239, We head to the Magic Kingdom to enjoy a special one-time welcome for Princess Tiana followed by a performance of Tiana's Showboat Jubilee along the Rivers of America. Plus, we chat with Disney representatives from Entertainment, Feature Animation, and Merchandising about the show and The Princess and the Frog film. Skipper Ben brings us a spooky day-after-Halloween vinyl recording and we round out the show with one last recording from the Haunted Mansion 40th anniversary event. Time: 1:28:15
    • 11/1/09 – Video Extra, Ricky's Halloween decorations (Mush: you might need therapy after seeing this…he did really good on it!). Time: 2:44
    • 11/8/09 – Episode 240, This week's show is packed with Disney news covering all of the events and information from the last few weeks. Plus, we have listener reviews of the newest Epcot Segway tour and a Disney iPhone app as well as catching up on other listener feedback, questions, and comments. Time: 59:25
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 241, Take a trip on the newly-refurbished and updated Space Mountain with a full report and binaural ride through the queue, coaster, and post-show. Then Skipper Ben joins us with a fun roller coaster recording from Disneyland. Plus plenty of Disney news and great listener feedback. Time: 1:12: 35.
    • 10/29/09 – The thank you marathon!! And the conclusion to Lauren's birthday bonanza! (Mush: Really liked this one…no offense, Mikey, but Lauren's better looking than you, and the shows are better when she's in front of the camera instead of you :) !) Time: 9:58
    • 11/11/09 – It's a Small Wonderland After all! (Mush: liked the audio interlude during isaw) Time: 9:58
    • 11/15/09 – Our day in Hollywood, part 1. This is pretty much us driving there, and our first experiences with the real "Citizens of Hollywood". Next episode will be our trip in to a wax museum! Fun stuff!!! See ya real soon! Time: 9:24
    • 11/15/09 – After a four-week hiatus, the Magical Definition Disney show is back on the air; and on this week's show, Nathan Rose and Jim Hill discuss the controversy surrounding Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members and the sense of "false entitlement". Time: 36:30
    • 10/30/09 – Episode 98, Join myself, Superdry Steve, and DisneyParkHopper Doug out at the Magic Kingdom in Florida for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. It was a beautiful Fall evening full of costumed guests and you are along for the fun through the magic of audio. Headphones are your friend! Highlights include:- A visit to the Haunted Mansion (A Halloween Show just wouldn't be complete without it); - Hanging out with dead people at the newly refurbished Hall of Presidents (a Halloween tradition started by Trapped on Vacation); Hallowishes Fireworks Spectacular; Mickey's Boo to You Halloween Parade. Time: 1:29:46
    • 10/30/09 - Your hosts read various e-mails that cover a wide range of topics and have interesting and lively discussions because of them. Time: 1:34:36
    • 10/30/09 – Video Extra, Last year, your hosts (and a couple of guests) visited the 36thAnnual Halloween Haunt at Knott's Scary Farm. In keeping with our Halloween Tradition of giving our fans some sort of Halloween content, we are finally releasing the video from last year. Time: 7:04
    • 11/10/09 – We received a plethora of voice mails on the DF POOP line so we thought we'd play them and see what happens. This is the result. (Mush's Note: I'm still cracking up at the new voicemail line number!) Time: 2:01:48
    • 11/10/09 – Episode 17, We review Walt Disney's 1968 Blackbeard's ghost. Time: 25:23
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 65, Stage at the Hollywood Studios. I also have an interview with a disgruntled Beast, and he doesn't use his words. We also introduce a new contest that should be a lot of fun with a couple of great prizes to the winner. Enjoy the show. Time: 1:10:52
    • 10/29/09 – Episode 16, Join Matt and Will (from the Magic Never Ends podcast - magicneverends.com) as they ride the Tower of Terror in Disney's Hollywood Studios. Later in the show, we salute an over eight billion dollar industry with a list of possible new ventures based on rides in Orlando. Be sure to attend the upcoming Drop a Shot before you Drink a Lot event in Epcot's Club Cool on December 11th at 3:30pm, a part of the DPN World Holiday weekend! Also, join us on theDPN.com at 8pm on November 7th as we have our first video chat party! Time: 19:26
    • 11/8/09 – Episode 17, Join Matt and Keegan (from the Adventures of a Teenage Disney Geek podcast) as they find some aspiring DFs en route to Stitch's Great Escape, in the Magic Kingdom. Stick around through the very end of the show for the world premiere of a new Mouse Droppings "Not So Original" song. Be sure to attend the upcoming Drop a Shot before you Drink a Lot event in Epcot's Club Cool on December 11th at 3:30pm, a part of the DPN World Holiday weekend! (Mush's Note: the December 11th event sounded really interesting…hope it went well!) Time: 32:20
    • 10/31/09 – Episode 223, Day 3 at the Mouse Guest Experience was all about food. Well, Food and Wine, technically. Join us as our group goes around the World Showcase, sampling the delicious (and not so delicious) offerings of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. Then, we finish off the day with a viewing of Illuminations from the Japan Pavilion. Grab a snack from the fridge, because this episode will make you hungry! (Mush's note: haven't heard it yet, but I'm keeping this one in iTunes to get to. LOVE F&W!) Time: 57:18
    • 11/7/09 – Episode 224, On to Day 4 of the Mouse Guest Experience 2, where we didn't record much, either because our mouths were full of tasty food or because we neglected to bring extra batteries. Nonetheless, we have audio from the Maharajah Jungle Trek before we headed down the path, and from the "Smore Fun Meet", hosted by Matt Hochberg of studioscentral.com. Plus, Eric shares a tale of a harrowing and surreal bus trip! Time: 40:00
    • 11/14/09 – Episode 225, Day 5 of the Mouse Guest Experience 2 started off with the all-new A-Magical Race, a photo scavenger hunt in and around the Magic Kingdom. Then, after a day sweltering in the heat, we all tried to cool off in an overloaded nighttime Jungle Cruise. It was a harrowing adventure, let me tell you. Join us as we cheer on the backside of water! Time: 47:25
    • 10/29/09 – Episode 2 of Season 2, In this episode of the Mouse Lounge, celebrate 70 years with the one that started it all, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. From the Walt Disney Family Museum: In a darkened theater filled to overflowing at the D23 Expo, I had the honor of sitting in the presence of true Disney legends and experts. Producer, Don Hahn moderates a panel discussion about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In attendance were animator, Andreas Deja, who invoked life into Scar in the Lion King, and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Eric Goldberg, responsible for animating the Genie in Aladdin, and directing the jaw dropping Rhapsody in Blue and hilarious Flamingo with a Yo Yo sequences in Fantasia 2000, Disney historian and author, J.B. Kaufman, animation historian and prolific writer, Charles Solomon, and special guest, looking dazzling at 90 years young, Marge Gower Champion, the live action model for Snow White. Each week, in From the Vault we sample a clip from a classic Disney film, short, television or radio program, or Disneyland Record. This week we serve up a triple feature. At the beginning of 1938, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was taking America by storm. By using the radio medium, Walt was able to stoke the fire of his marketing machine promoting Snow White; while at the same time, entertaining a national audience. On January 2nd 1938, a radio episode of The Mickey Mouse Theater hit the airwaves, coupling elements from the picture with other famous Disney characters. Pay particular attention as Walt himself effortlessly goes from his natural speaking voice into character as Mickey. Next, scoop up slices of film from the cutting room floor and wonder, what if? Have a listen right here to the marvelous but deleted soup sequence from Snow White. Each week we present a high definition ride-through from a Disney Park East or a Disney Park West. This week, enjoy a one of a kind compare and contrast as you hear back to back versions of Snow Whites Scary Adventures, first in on the west coast in Disneyland then in Walt Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom. There are striking differences between the two. Which do you like better? We close the show with unique takes from the soundtrack. First from the newly remastered original soundtrack, the infectious Silly Song; then Satchmo Armstrong teaches you how to Whistle While You Work, and finishing with Ashley Tisdale's turn at Some Day My Prince Will Come. Time: 2:00:11
    • 11/7/09, Call or text with your comments!!! New number -> (805) 270-5785 In this episode of the Mouse Lounge, we take an adventure in Melody and to the mythic land of Agrabah! From the Walt Disney Family Museum: Peek into the process of one of Americas Modern Masters of Melody, Alan Menkin. Each week, in From the Vault we sample a clip from a classic Disney film, short, television or radio program, or Disneyland Record. This week we unearth RCA Victors VY-4000. On four Little Nipper Storybook 78s on 1952 Adventures in Music: Melody. This entire segment, as well as images from the album will be available in the Multimedia area of Mouselounge.com. Each week we present a high definition ride-through from a Disney Park East or a Disney Park West. This week, Don your Dishdasha and duck into DCA for a trip to mythic Agrabah! This is a very recent recording of Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular and the pop culture references are fast and furious. Also pay close attention to how the Genie makes short work of a heckler in the audience. Take issue with the Genie at your peril! We close the show with a trip across the esplanade into Disneyland for the Disneyland Band Noon Concert themed to a trip into the movies. Enjoy! (Mush's Note…I got to see Aladdin a couple of years ago and was amazed at the improv abilities of the actor portraying the Genie…the one in this clip absolutely blows away what I thought was great. Awesome Clip!). Time: 2:23:24
    • 11/2/09 – Episode 359, The Great Movie Ride, Kringla Bakeri og Cafe, a Magical Moment, plus listener feedback and more in this week's collection of short subjects. Time: 39:25
    • 11/4/09 – Episode 360, Where not to find Mark and Mike at Disney's Discovery Park. Time: 28:50
    • 11/9/09 – Episode 361, Spaceship Earth, the Yacht Club Resort, plus listener feedback and more in this week's collection of short subjects. Time: 51:18
    • 11/12/09 – Episode 362, Steven talks to Paige O'Hara, Eddie Carroll and Margaret Kerry. Time: 29:15
    • 10/30/09 – Episode 141, Top 7: Already Scary Attractions | compareVancontrast: Downtown Disneys | Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris news. Facts/trivia and rare audio from... Netcot :: Disney news, trivia, audio and FUN from Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Hosted by Van. Time: 29:39
    • 11/6/09 – Episode 142, Top 7: Queueless Attractions | feat: Changes to Mickey Mouse (Van's editorial) | Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris news. Facts/trivia. Time: 37:54 (Mush's Note…interesting editorial on Mickey. I like the original, somewhat darker Mickey when Iwerks/Disney first created him (think Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie Mickey), but I understand your point, too, regarding the benefits of the current phase of the icon. Time: 37:54
    • 11/10/09 – Episode 51, In this show we introduce a new segment Disneymagic.ca email where we with the help of Sean webmaster of the Disneymagic.ca website answer your questions. Robb gives us part one of his trip report he was lucky enough to be able to sandwich two land portions between a cruise. But first we'll start with some mousekeeping and then a special marathon minute. I just ran a local 10km race and made it to the finish line, for those of you who are running in January at Disney I'd like to know how your training is going I find there is no better motivator than letting someone know how what you're doing. Time: 42:41
    • 11/2/09 – Episode 36, Accountability, Twitter, and Dragons. (Mush's note: your son sounds so much like what my older son would say at the end with the Dragons!) Time: 1:17:00
    • 11/3/09 – Episode 77, This week's show contains park audio from the Kimpossible Adventure at World Showcase last April. Time: 33:47
    • 11/10/09 – Episode 78, Video Games and Gawd-awful music. Time: 29:26
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 125, TOV is back and with a new edition to the family (who is sleeping and letting me record the episode...) Come along with us as we join the Mouse Guest Weekly gang during the Mouse Guest Experience on one of our favorite attractions, and then hit Mickey's Philharmagic at the Magic Kingdom! Have fun and we'll see you soon! Time: 31:01
    • 11/3/09 –Episode 15, Shawn and Katie have returned from a short trip to Walt Disney World and share a trip report with everyone. Katie also delivers some News. November and December look like busy months for guests on the show, so keep checking back for updates. Time: 1:18:17
    • 11/10/09 – Episode 16, Bryan Ripper joins us back on the show for a segment about things you can do outside the Parks. The show is lengthy, but funny. You'll probably be rolling on the floor laughing near the end. Sit back, relax, and let us do the talking. We'll begin soon! Time: 1:30:24
    • 11/5/09 – Episode 117, To kick off this week's show, we have the return of "The Golden Age". In this controversial discussion featuring The Land pavilion at Epcot, we will continue our quest land by land, area by area, and space by space throughout the Vacation Kingdom to find what is truly the Golden Age of the entire Walt Disney World Resort. Finally, to conclude this week's program, we have yet another edition of Town Square Talk with Mayor Justin Heyman, filling you in on everything going on around the WDWNT Network. In this week's trip down Main Street WDWNT, we'll have all the details on our next special edition of WDWNT Live!, a change in the event dates for WDWNT: The Weekend, and more about a huge new project about to debut from the WDWNT Network. Time: 48:15
    • 11/12/09 – Episode 118, To kick off this week's show, we have your Walt Disney World Resort News and Rumor Report. In this week's report, we'll be discussing more details concerning "A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas!" at the Magic Kingdom, the earliest start in event history for the 2010 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, and the imminent introduction of the mobile magic application for Verizon Wireless customers. Following the report, we'll play another audio adventure from Brandon Struve, this time featuring some audio from the Jungle Cruise attraction at the Magic Kingdom, including some interesting changes to the skipper scripts. Finally, to wrap up this week's show, we have another edition of "The World's Finest". In our continuing effort to find the best of Walt Disney World in each and every category, we'll be trying to decide what is truly the best Disney Value Resort in all of the Vacation Kingdom. Time: 1:08:09
    • 11/1/09 – Episode 143, We'll start off this week's show with a look at some Walt Disney World News, but the big news from Disney this week of course is about the newest addition to the Disney Cruise Line – the Disney Dream. This week, we'll take a look at the announcement and some of the incredible, innovative details about the ship, as well as its destinations, itineraries, and amazing features. And what better time than now to announce the details for the WDW Radio Cruise on the Disney Dream in 2011 as we are set to announce our sailing date and additional information. I'll give you the answers and winner of our last Walt Disney World trivia contest, and update you on upcoming Meets of the Month in Walt Disney World before playing more of your voicemails at the end of the show. Time: 1:45:32
    • 11/8/09 – Episode 144, Join me as we journey aboard my Walt Disney World Wayback Machine to a year instead of to a specific attraction. And this week, we're going to set the dials to 1973. We will look at Walt Disney World less than two years after it opened, and visit the Magic Kingdom and many of its now-extinct attractions, take the monorail to the only two resorts on the loop, and look at some things that we thought were on their way, yet never came to be. I'll have some announcements at the end of show, including a few ways you can help before playing more of your voicemails at the end of the show. Time: 1:35:10
    • 11/11/09 – Video Extra, Join Lou Mongello from WDW Radio in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, as he takes a quick trip through the park, enjoying some of the many things that simply make you smile. (Mush: yep…a lot of food is involved…& nice zoom in on Jessica!). Time: 7:27
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 145, This week's show looks at a unique Character Connection in Walt Disney World, as the individual in question may have been one found in Disney films, but was also one that started a cultural phenomenon, and was not really a character at all – but an historical American folk hero. Of course, he is Davy Crockett, and he and his trademark coonskin cap were popularized by Disney on TV in the mid-1950's. He also has many connections to Walt Disney World as well, and this week I'm joined by one of the foremost experts on Davy Crockett and longtime Walt Disney World fan to explore his connections in and around the parks. Listen for more of your voicemails at the end of the show, so sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show. Time: 43:58
    • 11/2/09 – Episode 638, Today, we answer listener e-mails regarding Annual Passes. Time: 20:05
    • 11/4/09 – Episode 639, Today, we answer your listener questions. Time: 30:46
    • 11/6/09 – Episode 640, Today, Lisa Battista author of "Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers" joins us to discuss taking preschoolers to Walt Disney World. Time: 22:18
    • 11/9/09 – Episode 641, Today, we discuss if certain events are worth doing or not. Time: 17:58
    • 11/11/09 – Episode 639, Today, we answer your listener questions. Time: 29:14
    • 11/13/09 – Episode 640, Today, Michelle and Emily join us to discuss Vegan and Vegetarian dining options throughout the WDW theme parks and resorts. Time: 19:50
    • 11/2/09 – Episode 27 In this episode Matt and Nate explore the back story of the Country Bear Jamboree which includes a great story of the planned Disney Mineral King Ski Resort. Time: 56:47
    • 11/1/09 – Episode 2 (Now I know I'm not that far off on the show numbers!), Once a year, Paul and all his friends get together to enjoy the Halloween festivities held at Blackheart Manor, better known as Brian Sommers' house. This year, since Patrick was not available, Paul takes the helm for the annual Halloween show, and in his own questionable style, brings you some cool Halloween sounds... including a trip through Blackheart Manor. Time: 1:09:32
    • 11/3/09 – Special Announcement (I never knew you could do this!), The 2010 WTTM Calendars are here, and you can get yours today! http://store.windowtothemagic.com
    • 11/8/09 – Episode 212, a.k.a. MDM #10 (a.k.a. WTF #3 for me), Paul got sick, so Magic Joe has stepped in to save the day with a trip to Fantasyland of the 1970's.The WDFM / 3 Caballeros/ JB Kaufman audio will be presented next week instead. Time: 1:10:24
    • 11/15/09 – Episode 213, This week, we have a little bit different of a show. Recently Paul went to the Walt Disney Family Museum for the October WTTM Meet of the Month and was lucky enough to be able to attend a screening of the 3 Caballeros followed by a discussion of the film and light discussion of Walt Disney's famous Good Neighbor Program tour to South America which spawned several films, including Saludos Amigos and the 3 Caballeros. Paul was given permission by Donna Tuggle, director of Education and Public Programs for the WDFM to capture the audio of JB Kaufman's discussion before and after the film, and this week, that is the audio we will be sharing with you. We'll begin with Donna introducing JB and his short introduction to the film (3 caballeros) which we were about to see. Then, we play for you a sampling of the wonderful soundtrack from the film, as we meet up with JB after the movie for more information, some Q&A from the crowd and then, as a bonus, we will talk personally with JB about Walt Disney, JB's fascination with Disney, and JB's new book, South of the Border with Disney, Walt Disney and the Good Neighbor Program 1941-1948... So sit back as you virtually attend the first WTTM WDFM MOTM... and maybe someday soon we'll see all of you in person at the museum for one of our meets. Time: 1:11:36


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 2, Part 2: Hello??? It's Incredible!!!




(Day 2, Part 1 is located HERE)



The Incredifam head over near Liberty Square and wait for the rope drop. The goal was to head over to Fantasyland first and get those rides out of the way. I knew this because Moron had me in the same pocket as his pocket-sized touring book. Well, that, and I recall some other folks that they talked to the previous night mentioning that they would also be near Fantasyland at the opening. The rope drops, and several women with strollers go SCREAMING up the pathway towards Fantasyland. Chris just shakes his head and mentions something to Sheri about parents running to get their daughters to wake up Tink. We make our way towards the first attraction, and I can feel Moron start to tense up. We walk on the first ride of an attraction called "Dumbo"…the very first ride of the day for this one. Moron nervously looks around and says to Sheri that he was fully expecting to see Debbie with a video camera on the ground. Sheri grabs Camera…







In case you didn't see that one well enough, here it is again (on orders from Sheri)







And again (told you there was some evil in her on the inside)







(Mush's note: Okay, for those who are newer readers, there is a long-running joke with a bunch of my friends about me and elephants. It all stems back to a funny post war I had with the owner of the boards that I frequent, and it involved making your own "motivational posters" with whatever pictures and text you had or could come up with. I got him with a couple of good posters in a row, and he fired back with a poster involving me, an elephant, and a little creative photoshopping...it goes down in infamy as one of the funniest (and wrongest) things I've ever seen. THAT'S why there are so many elephant jokes thrown my way on occasion...anyways, back to the phone.)



Just look at that smile on Eric…his first ride, and he's on cloud nine! We ride Dumbo, and Eric giggled the entire ride. We disembark and head over to Peter Pan. Sheri rides with Eric, and Chris rides with Aaron. It appeared a bit darker that usual (some of the backlighting was out). This is one of Chris's and Aaron's favorite rides, and they pointed out things to each other the entire ride. After the ride, they went to see how Eric liked it (Peter Pan is his second-favorite movie, after Toy Story). He was a little freaked out with the dark.



Eric points to the Carrousel, and Chris mentions that we're well ahead of schedule, so we head over and do that. Then we make our way over to Tomorrowland for Buzz. Eric is psyched for this ride because Aaron has been talking this one up nonstop. The wait time is, as Sheri puts it, AFAYCW (As Fast As You Can Walk). We can go straight to the ride, but the Incredifam exits stage left into the queue lines so the boys can listen to Buzz give the lecture.











As we exit Buzz, we find Stitch. This was a character that Aaron wanted to see last time, but we never had the timing right for him. We get in line, and Eric almost runs in front of the family in front of us. Stitch runs away from the boys for a few seconds, and they boys just love it!



















Oh, and Eric would NOT take off those ears for almost the entire trip!



Again, my apologies for all of the pics. Since I was shoved in a pocket for much of this part, I had to rely on Camera regarding what went on.



All of this was about to change, however.



Moron pulls me out and uses me like a…well, he called Maureen (aka 'Mo') at 9:55. As he's talking to Mo about where everyone was, I get an incoming call (9:56) from a number not stored in my brain. I let Moron know that someone's calling, but he's too busy talking to someone else, so I tell the other phone to go to my long-term memory (you humans call it voice-mail). The Incredifam heads to the Tomorrowland bridge to meet up with Todd, Mo, and Company. Chris uses me to check the voice mail, and it's Mare, letting him know that they're running a bit late. I'm temporarily put back in the pocket while the families meet. I ring again (somewhere around 10:15…so many calls that I didn't register this one), and my memory tells me it's someone called Mel. They're heading from Fantasyland to ToonTown, and we're on our way from Tomorrowland to ToonTown. Moron puts me back as we get to ToonTown. The Incredifam, along with Todd and Christian, ride the Barnstormer.




The boys loved this one…good sign in case Aaron wanted to consider BTMRR. We hop in line with Mo and the kids for Minnie's House and then head over to Mickey's house, so Eric can FINALLY see him. Next in line, and I ring…Mel was calling (10:21). Moron had me on vibrate and decided to let voice mail take it since we were about to let the kids loose on the mouse. After we leave there, I'm used to check the voice mail. Mel's crew is in ToonTown and wondering where we were at. We start heading back towards the Barnstormer area (where Todd was) when we spot Mel going into Minnie's house. Moron grabs me and tries to call Mel, but he didn't get her in time. The Incredifam and Christian wait at the exit, while Mo, Charlotte, and Rhiannon head in the front. While we're waiting, Aaron, Eric, and Christian get to know each other a little better:







Moron sees Maureen peering through the window in Minnie's house…they caught up with Mel and Amelia. What does he do? He sticks his tongue out at her. I swear he's a 12 year old trapped in a 67 year old's body! They all come out, and introductions were made all around. The Incrediboys were getting really antsy, and Ernie (Mel's and EB's son...Amelia's little brother...got it?) was in a rare melting down stage. Sheri promised the boys that they could see the princesses (I think Chris was included in the rank of "boys"). Plans were made to get back together, and into the big tent we went.



We waited.



And waited.



And waited.



It was getting a little hot, and the boys were getting tired and cranky. The Incredifam struck up a conversation with the family behind them. Too bad they didn't hear me screaming at them to answer me. Debbie left a message (10:34). We finally got to the point where we were about to go into the room, and we knew it would be close on getting in or waiting a few more minutes. When the CM asked how many people were in our party, Moron looked at the family behind us and jokingly asked if they were with us. Both families made it through, with the other family calling out "wait for us Dad!" to the Moron. Chris turned and asked why HE had to be the Daddy! They agreed to be third cousins.



They're all morons.



Camera got the best view for this part. While in the room, we were waiting for Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle. Eric nearly wet his pants (literally) when he first saw Cindy as he is madly in love with her. None of the families in the room were to her yet, so she notices him (his excitement, not the potentially wet pants) and (of course) comments on the Incredibles family. She asks who Aaron is (Dash) and who Eric is ("Jack Jack") – she then comments that she has a friend named Jack-Jack (the mouse in red FYI…hey, even though I'm a phone, I'm on during the day and I have seen/heard this movie at least 25 times!). She asks where Violet was. Sheri immediately turns to Moron and says, "SEE?! We need a Violet!" Simultaneously, Chris, in a dead-serious tone, looks directly at Cindy and says, "There is no Violet, and there probably won't be a Violet!" At almost the exact same time, our third cousins behind us state that Violet is, in fact, in college and couldn't make the trip.



Poor Cindy dropped out of character for a moment and burst out laughing for about 20 seconds before regaining herself.



Up first was Aurora. She really made the boys comfortable and talked to them for quite a while.









Then came Cinderelly.



Eric simply was enamored by her and wouldn't take his eyes off of her. She asked what his name was, and he said "Jack-Jack" again. She was absolutely great with them.















Belle was next, and each boy got a kiss from her. Camera thinks Aaron liked Belle the best.



With that done, the Moron FINALLY looks at me and notices that there's a message waiting for him. They grab something to drink, and, while Chris is waiting to pay (the folks in front had a minor problem with a purchase), Sheri kept putting things up to add to the things to buy. While paying, Sheri took some pics of the boys in hats:





Dale and Dale (Dave and Dave? ...in reference to a friend whose daughter called Chip and Dale "Chuck and Dave" when she was younger)







A little over a week early, Eric…it's on the 28th.









He had us in Stitches.





The Moron tries to call Debbie's old number again and once again doesn't get her. We head out towards Fantasyland and decide to try Philharmagic. The crowds are getting a little crazier, and it's definitely getting hotter out here.







With the attraction being a little dark and a little loud, Chris and Sheri were concerned about Eric, though Aaron absolutely loved it a couple of years ago. Eric smiled throughout the entire show as he grabbed for all the 3D items. Yep, I'll speak for the Incredifam…this had become Eric's favorite attraction. After a short fight with Eric to give the 3D glasses up, Elastigirl decides to head over to try IASW. The line is out the door and into the walkway between IASW and Peter Pan. We get in and immediately I hear someone holler out Chris's name.



Good…he ain't hearing me when I ring…maybe he'll hear someone shouting at him from 20 feet away.



Chris looks up and sees Mo and Mare together in the same queue as us. They decide to wait for us to catch up with them. They say that Debbie had JUST left as we walked up. I think I overheard them say that Mel's crew might still be somewhere in the park.







The entire crew took up 3 rows of the boat. 5 kids pile into the row between the adults, while Mo, Charlotte, and Mare ride in front, and Sheri, Eric, and Chris ride in back. Throughout the ride, the kids point and talk. Renee and Mare offer up some fantastic trivia about the attraction, which the Moron readily absorbs (he can't recall whether he locked the house up or turned off the coffee pot every day, but he can readily remember facts on stuff that are useless). Mo and Mare talk to Sheri about joining the Lodge (which she eventually did), and Mare comments that she thinks Sheri has a secret dark side to her. Moron informs Mare that there is no secret about it and then points out the pornographic chicken (see the May 2007 Trip Report). I think I heard Eric tell his parents that he really liked the tunnels on the ride.



Huh?



We get off and notice that it rained while we were on the ride. I secretly thanked my owner for not getting me wet this time. Todd comes over, and everybody gabs for a few minutes. Plans are made for the evening. Todd was really funny…he suggested that the Moron arrive around 6 pm and save a few places to view Spectro at that time. Mo gave Aaron and Eric light-up toys to use in the dark rides in case they get scared.



Everyone parts ways, and the Incredifam starts swimming upstream through the castle towards the exit. I am put into action again as Debbie calls (12:34), but I was once again ignored, so she goes to voice-mail. We miraculously make it out of the park and head towards the buses. Now here is where Chris hits an all-time low in the stupidity factor. He decides to check his voice mail while in line for the bus. Debbie actually LEAVES HIM her cell phone number in the message. Chris kind of noticed that the number didn't sound the same as what he had saved for her, but, in his infinite wisdom, forgets to save the message and ultimately deletes it!



In the case of World vs. Mush on whether Chris is a moron or not, the Prosecution rests!



At 12:55, Mel calls. Hallelujah…Moron hears me screaming and answers me! It was another close call, but meeting up with them just doesn't seem to be in the cards for today. Chris agrees to call her in the evening to see if they will be around for the parade. On the ride back to the Pop, I hear him humming the various songs on the bus (theme to All in the Family, Witch Doctor, New York New York, etc). Soon we arrive at the hotel, and the crew makes it to their room. To our delight, housekeeping has already been there. Chris throws me on the table (the bastard!) and then picks me up as he grabs a mug to go fill up with diet-coke. He decides that, while walking up to the food court, he'd give "Debbie" a call to catch up, since he hadn't talked to her yet (1:29).



For some strange reason, Debbie again didn't answer the phone (IT'S NOT HER NUMBER!!!!!) so Chris leaves this: "Hiya Deb! It's Mush…call Squid! Okay…here's where everyone's at: Mare's with Mo's crew and still at MK. They may have already hooked back up with y'all. Mel is at MK but heading out soon, though they might be back tonight. We're at the Pop resting and will be back at MK this evening. We'll be calling Mo, Mare, and Mel to try to hook up for Spectro and maybe Wishes. Mo, Mare, and Mel…try to say that 5 times fast! Hope to see ya tonight!"



That restraining order from the poor woman in New York who got all these messages shuld be arriving in Central Ilinis any day now.



Moron g_ts th d__ks in the mug an h_ds back ro_______. Aar___ ____ j_mp_ng on the b_d___. __________



Powers Down




Part 3 HERE

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 2, Part 1: Hello??? It's Incredible!!!

Day 1 can be viewed HERE


Hi there, I’m V, Chris’s cell phone. Chris is too busy playing with his iPod that he just got, and he simply won’t write up the report for Day 2. Since I was around the entire day today and actually played a major role in the events, I am taking it upon myself to type this one up.

First, we need to re-introduce the characters:

Chris (DM…damn moron), my owner, who doesn’t care for me one bit.
Sheri (DMW…damn moron’s wife), pristine on the outside, evil on the inside.
Aaron (DMPS1…damn moron’s first poor son), generally ignores me.
Eric (DMPS2…you can figure it out), nice for the most part, but likes to press my numbers.


The very first part of the morning was kind of fuzzy, and not because of all the lint in the pockets. Chris shuts me off at night, thinking that I will save energy. I still have calls come through, though (the moron).


Here’s what I think happened...


The cute phone in the room (with buttons in all the right places) lets out this hot ring around 6:20, and Aaron answers it. Whoever it was got Aaron giggling…someone named “Stitch” I think he said. Chris mumbles something about being up for ten minutes already and heads into the place with all the water for a shower. I immediately cringe because I know what water does to me. One time, the moron left me in his pants, and I went through a wash and rinse cycle before being thrown into what felt like a blast furnace - it was then that Sheri rescued me. She’s actually the one that gave Chris the name “Moron”. I liked it, and the name stuck.

Anyways, they all are running around the room. Moron tells the kids time after time after time to get dressed so they can get on a bus. I hear some rustling nearby…it was my friends, the coins, going into the moron’s pocket. FINALLY I’m turned on (minds out of the gutters, folks). Chris takes one look at me and shoves me in his pocket. We go outside around 6:58 to try to catch an early bus. They pause for a moment, and I hear them take out my other good friend, Camera. We’re in cahoots, so Camera let me in on some of what was going on.






The first thing I notice is that there appears to be a huge dog's ass in the background. The second thing I notice is that the boys are dressed the exactly the same. Moron takes me out to look at the time, and I then see that he and Sheri are also dressed exactly the same. As we all head to the elevator, I hear a passing family laugh and mention something about the Incredible family. Sheri tells Chris that everybody was staring at them. Chris responds with “don’t tell me you’re actually surprised at that” and “remember, this was YOUR idea!” After an elevator ride down and a sarcastic remark from Sheri about taking the short way out, we head to the bus stops.


Now, the moron has this illusion that the random event of walking up when a bus arrives actually predicts how the day will go. The bus pulls up as we get in line, and, while loading up a wheelchair, I hear someone comment on the Incredibles family again, and the moron pipes back with, “Yeah, it’s incredible we’re still a family right now!” Eric starts calling himself “Jack-Jack” about this time. Everyone gets on the bus, and we start our way to the Magic Kingdom. We first stop at a place called the Contemporary, and everyone but us gets off the bus…guess they all were as annoyed with him as I am (I just wish I had the chance to leave). We make our way to the Magic Kingdom, and I hear that the park opens at 9 am today…I look at myself for a second and see that it’s 7:35! Geez…he really is a moron to get to a park an hour and a half before opening. Perhaps the D in “DM” should stand for DUMB!




We get off, and Aaron skips towards the entrance. Wow! What a surprise…they aren’t letting anyone in yet! We get in line with about 60 Brazilians in yellow shirts, and Sheri gives Camera a workout.






For some reason, the powers that be let us in. We go through the tunnel and see the same thing that I’ve already seen several times this year. Come on….ain’t this getting old by now? Sheri tells the Moron that she’ll get in position with camera so she can capture Eric seeing the castle for the first time. Apparently Eric has been talking about Cinderella’s castle for several months now. I hear Chris talking…

“Okay, Eric…there’s Cinderella’s Castle! Aaron, get back here




“Right over there, bud AARON, GO BY MOMMY!




“Eric, it’s 189 feet tall, Dude…That BIG building at the end of the road! The thing that looks like a castle!”



“Oh boy…how can he not see it? THERE IT IS!!! He saw it finally!!!”




Wow…for a moment there I was worried Eric had some qualities from Chris.



Chris is getting a bit nervous about the time because he keeps pulling me out of his pocket and glancing at me for an update. When he checked it for the third time in a minute, I contemplated phantom-calling one of his ex-girlfriends and making it an awkward-yet-humorous situation for him. They decide that they had time for a quick pic:




Every time they talked to somebody, Chris would always start with “The shirts were HER idea!”

We make our way over to a place called the Crystal Palace. This is a new one for me. I’ve made the trek to Disney World 4 times in my life, and this is a first. I’ve never heard of the place, but it appears that the yellow Brazilians had heard of it. Chris takes me to check in, so I had to rely on Camera for what went on with the others.



Camera told me that Sheri actually let Aaron take this picture:



Aaron did pretty well.


This last one…When I saw it, I had to let my guard down and almost shed a tear…this must be what the Magic Kingdom is all about:




Anyways…Moron gets checked in, and within a few minutes, we all get whisked into the Crystal Palace for breakfast. I overheard Chris mention that the breakfast lasagna definitely lived up to its hype. Aaron went with Chris and got chocolate chip Mickey pancakes. Chris also got a omelet. Camera got a major workout this meal, as a bunch of characters walked around. Winnie the Pooh came around, and I heard Aaron whisper to Chris that he knew it was a fake Winnie the Pooh because he had a zipper. I heard Chris gulp and mumble under his breath something about being too damn smart for his age. Chris asked Aaron if he had any zippers, and I thought I smelled smoke as Aaron contemplated that thought for a moment. “Yes, I have a zipper.” Aaron didn’t mention anything else about the characters for the rest of the trip. Apparently, he’s real, and he has a zipper, so all things with zippers are real; therefore, the characters must be real.

Sheri made the mistake of letting the moron have Camera while she got some food. Eeyore came by, and he did his best taking a picture. Too bad he couldn’t get a pic of everyone looking at Camera. She came back, saw the pictures, and just shook her head. She then stole his orange juice and drank it.

I overheard Sheri and the moron mentioning how organized it seemed there. There were a lot of people eating, but it didn’t seem crowded at all. Moron was more relaxed that there were no further questions/comments about how real the characters were. Aaron was at the “near beating” stage as it appeared that he was chugging syrup by the gallon and every 20 seconds would ask if he could ride the Haunted Mansion. He had lost 2 teeth over the past week, and he discovered that he can make some new sounds with his mouth – one being Donald Duck…well, in his mind, he thought it sounded like Donald Duck. It sounded nothing like Donald…in my opinion, it sounded like a cross between what the aliens in the movie Mars Attacks sounded like and a crow in heat (nope...don't have a clip of that). In the Moron’s defense, he can do a pretty good Donald impersonation. Aaron…not so much. Added to that, Tigger and Piglet were, as Sheri put it, “Sucking Air”, so we decided to head out before the boys spontaneously combusted. The poor sons didn’t seem to mind (that, or they were oblivious). On the way out, the Incredible family paused to view the topiaries of the Pooh Characters. Sheri let Aaron use Camera again, and he took another good picture:




Aaron then dropped my good friend Camera, and her guts went flying everywhere. The batteries rolled under an ECV parked inside the doors. I laughed at Moron trying to get them.

They headed out towards the castle and assaulted a Photopass person for another pic:



(Camera's pics were better than the actual Photopass pics from the same area, so this is from Camera)




Continued HERE