Linda Mac's Orlando Adventures

Linda Mac, Michelle Scribner-Maclean, Mike Scopa and special mystery guest Steve Barrett were in the Magic Kingdom today to meet with fellow Disney fans.

LindaMac sends these photos from her Iphone:

More Photos Later.......

Disney's Animal Kingdom celebrated its 10th Anniversary on April 22, Earth Day. Officially, the event was very low key. If you were lucky and arrived very early you were treated to the opening rededication ceremony in front of the Tree of Life featuring Joe Rohde, Jane Goodall and Erin Wallace.

There were also the usual Earth Day displays throughout the park but other than that, it was business as usual for most guests.

There was one exception, Joe Rohde, senior vice president and executive designer of Walt Disney Imagineering and, in my opinion, the face of Disney's Animal Kingdom, had two more public appearances.

After the rededication of Animal Kingdom, Joe spoke to cast members, annual passholders and other invited guests at the Theater in the Wild. His presentation went way too fast as he shared some of the process that went into the creation of Animal Kingdom.

In the afternoon, Joe was available at a meet and greet autograph session which was open to all guests at 1 pm.

After Animal Kingdom's park events, the rest of the day was spent enjoying A Wild Decade!

"A Wild Decade" was put together by Adam Roth and his exceptional group from WDW Celebrations.

AllEars.Net was a proud sponsor of this terrific event. Folks who registered to participate in "A Wild Decade" spent the day by attending a presentation of Finding Nemo The Musical, riding Expedition Everest, and shared a meal at the Flame Tree Barbecue.

In addition, a "History Walk" outlining the timeline and evolution of the Animal Kingdom theme park was led by several of the meet organizers. At the end of the day, the Wild Decade organizers presented a $500 check to author Lou Mongello (The Walt Disney World Trivia Book) to go to the Dream Team charity he has established, which benefits terminally ill children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The rededication ceremony to honor the transformation of Spaceship Earth and the official reopening of the attraction took place at 8:45a.m. today in front of the Fountains of Nations. Epcot’s Spaceship Earth made a stunning background for the event.

A special area directly in front of the stage was roped off for approximately 75 Siemens executives and their guests. The crowds were very light so everyone had a great view.

2008 Ambassador, TC Newman spoke briefly.

She then introduced Billy Flanigan, the emcee and former Cast Member who worked at the attraction. You may remember Billy from the cast of Tarzan Rocks.

Next up, The Voices of Liberty performed "One Voice".

Jim Hunt, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts gave the dedication speech by talking about the upgrade including Project Tomorrow and the role Siemens will play in the world of tomorrow. "We're always looking at our attractions and determining how we can take them to the next level to our guests. How can we do what only Disney can do?" said Jim Hunt.

He went on to say "Today we celebrate Siemens and the long-term strategic alliance which brought two global brands, Siemens and Disney, together," Jim said. "All of us at Disney are thrilled that Siemens chose to have a major presence at Epcot, both at World Showcase, with IllumiNations, and here in this one of a kind Future World Spaceship Earth. Many of us have experienced Spaceship Earth before, but the alliance with Siemens, and the creative energy with our Walt Disney Imagineers have simply brought it to new heights."

He then introduced the President of Siemens One, Ken Cornelius. "A lot of what we do is so impactful to people's lives in industry, energy and healthcare. We thought it was important for people to know the company behind it," said Ken Cornelius. "On behalf of the 70,000 employees of Siemens in the U.S.A., and the 400,000 employees around the world, it's my distinct honor to represent Siemens at this wonderful dedication ceremony,"

Cornelius said. "Siemens' solutions for the future mix with Disney magic in a way that's truly cutting edge. Here, you see not just what the future can look like but directly interact with the attraction so you can see yourself squarely in that vision. This attraction is truly one of a kind." Mr.Cornelius also quoted Walt Disney "that is all started with a mouse".

20 Cast Members arrived on stage carrying the attraction flags and were followed by special guests Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck and Pluto.

Mr. Cornelius had the privilege of pushing the button for a small fireworks show to end the dedication of Spaceship Earth on this beautiful but somewhat overcast day at EPCOT.

Magical Moments can and do happen when you least expect them. Last Sunday Deb Wills, Masayo and Nozomi ( from Japan) and myself were wandering around World Showcase when Masayo spotted Goofy near the seating area for the Liberty Inn.

When we all took a closer look not only was Goofy making a special surprise appearance but so was Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Pluto, Stitch, Baloo and Rakifi. WOW! Masayo and Nozomi’s enthusiasm for everything Disney is contagious! The three of us just turned into little kids and pretty much left Deb in the dust. Sorry about the Deb. She laughed at us and said "Go for it". What a good sport!

We were some of the first people to spot the characters just hanging around and took many wonderful photos. As more people realized what was going on, the character handlers started organizing lines. I tried to find out if this would be regular character meet and greet but really couldn't get any firm information. The cast member told me it was a one time event to surprise guests. Well, it was a magical surprise for us.

With camera and tripod in hand, I was all set to spend an evening at this year's first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in the Magic Kingdom on Friday night, September 14th.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate at all! It started pouring with bad lightning and thunder at 7:30pm and continued through the time I left around 9:20pm. I was able to get some pictures prior to the heavy rains....

Cast Member Welcomes on Main Street.

The storm starts rolling in....

Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain were both closed due to weather. Pirates of the Caribbean was closed for several hours due technical difficulties.

Even with my poncho, I was soaked to the skin. I thought I was doing a good job keeping my cameras dry, but even that bag was quite wet! Fortunately, the cameras are ok.

Needless to say, the guidemap is soaked and in pieces, so I can barely read it! The parade and fireworks times are the same times as 2006. One of the villian's mix time is now 10:05 instead of 10:15. Character Meet and Greets will take place until 11:30pm.

The guide map also mentioned the Pirate and Princess Party coming on select dates in 2008 (but no specific dates mentioned)

By the time I left the park about an hour or so after the storm started, the rain had come so fast that I walked through puddles that were up to my ankles to get to the buses or boats.

What an opening! People lined up at the ropes at Adventureland, the Liberty Square entrance near the hub and at Fantasyland. It was an Extra Magic Hour (EMH) day so guests waiting in Fantasyland were given priority. And there were plenty of them! Notice the first photo. I was coming from Liberty Square at rope drop. Had I known that EHM guests would get priority, I would have arrived earlier. Instead, I was lollygagging over at the Wilderness Lodge after I checked-in. By the time I reached the park at 8:45 am, they were not even checking for resort keys. So it truly wasn't an "hour" of Extra Magic for resort guests only.

The posted wait time when I arrived was 13 minutes. Nice touch that took me a few moments to get. The sign was soon changed to a 30 minute wait and I was still trying to get in the line. The new queue starts out by going through the area where the old FastPass machines were.

Two single pins were released for the opening. Each sold for $12.95 and were limited to 2000 pins. A boxed set of 4 pins that represented the 4 new portraits at the beginning of the attraction were sold for $55 and were limited to 750 sets. These pins change images when you move them just like the portraits change on the attraction.

After several short twisting queues, we reached the main queue area which went up, down and back up to reach the graveyard and mansion entrance. The line moved quickly and we were inside in about 20 minutes.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

The first change you will notice is the audio in the stretch room. The voice of our Ghost Host is crisp and the speakers that surround you will make it seem like he is moving around the room. As the room "stretches" you now hear creaking noises. And the best part, you can clearly see the Ghost Host at the top of the room when he says "there's always my way".

Next up, at the very beginning of the ride there are now windows on your left hand side. They give you the impression there is a terrible thunderstorm outside. On your other side, there are four pictures hanging on the wall. As the lightning strikes, the pictures change dramatically. On my second trip through the Mansion, I was so lucky because I rode with Andrea who is better known to most readers as Anita Answer. I had run into Andrea, Jack and CC from AllEars after the my first ride. Anita Answer told me that the same scene is in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion but it is in a walk-thru part of the attraction. One portrait of Master Gracey goes from his human form to a rotting corpse as the lightning strikes.

As we continue on, there are new stairways on both sides and above you as you travel through the Mansion. Footsteps mysteriously appear on the steps as you are passing them. Very cool and a great improvement over the old spiders.

Another scene that seems to new to me are the bats. The eyes of bats are watching you and as you pass them, they blend into the wallpaper.

And finally, the attic scene features a collection of wedding gifts, personal items, and wedding portraits. In each portrait, the bride is featured with a different groom (Ambrose, Frank, Reginald, The Marquis, and George), who’s heads disappear. Just before leaving the attic, the haunted bride is seen floating in the air. As she raises her arms, a hatchet appears in her hands. I did not see the hatchet but was told about it by a Cast Member.

I hope you enjoy your next ride in the Haunted Mansion!

If you're looking for more information on the Haunted Mansion, Jason Surrell has written a great book on this attraction. The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies fleshes out how the Mansion's 999 grim grinning ghosts were brought to life. Rare early sketches and story concepts, and stunning architectural drawings illustrate the Mansion's evolution as it was constructed at each Magic Kingdom Park around the globe.
The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies

Scott Powers, Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer, had a column today on Disney's FastPass. I thought this was very interesting and wanted to the pass it along.

Walt Disney World visitors could someday order line-skipping, "FastPass" ride tickets from their cell phones or home computers, and could receive preferential treatment based on the price of their Disney accommodations, using a new technology the resort's parent company is developing.

Read the complete story.

Howdy Everyone or maybe I should say Ahoy Maties!

If you have been following Deb Wills and Linda Lou's travel blogs about preparing, packing, using spread sheets for the daily trip schedules, researching destinations, etc.....not just for this trip but the Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney World than you should know by now that the knowledge they share with us is invaluable when planning any type of travel. When I booked this AllEars.Net group trip several months ago, I really, really had the best intentions of being organized and knowledgeable about our destinations which include Phoenix, Sedona, The Grand Canyon and Moab. But as months turned into weeks and then weeks to just days on the count down clock, my time to plan and organize just ran out.

Friday night I found myself watching the Tampa Bay Bucs in their first pre-season game instead of packing. They beat the New England Pats, yes I know, the game really doesn't count but with a 4 and 12 record last year, I am glad for even the smallest of victories. When Saturday night rolled around and I was still not even close to being ready for my 9 am flight on Monday, I did what any good Disney fan would or should do. I said to heck with all this stress and headed over to the opening night for the Pirate and Princess Party at Magic Kingdom.

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For most part, the party was same as it was last winter. I arrived at 6:30 and as soon I stepped on Main Street it started to pour like opening night last January. One of the things to do that was high on my list was to meet Captain Jack Sparrow. For him, I make a list. Hmmm..... 90 minutes later he was admiring my gold necklace with a mouse ears charm and I was telling him I needed more treasure and his reply was "don't we all, my love". You gotta love Jack.

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At this time, the Pirate and Princess Party is only place to have a meet and greet with Captain Jack. Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella who I hear are also exclusive to the party were out and about in Fantasyland and what a show they were putting for anyone who wanted to meet them for a picture.

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Aladdin's Royal Guard Recruitment show which is next to the Jungle Cruise is a cute show and the young ones will love it.

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The Gator from Peter Pan is a new additon to the Enchanted Adventures Parade.

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And I am glad to report that Tinkerbell has returned to the parade.

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The Pirate Mickey and Minnie topiaries from the Flower and Garden Festival have been relocated to the entrance to ToonTown.

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Small changes to the current parties include scheduled time of events such are the Magic, Music and Mayhem Fireworks Spectacular and the Enchanted Adventures Parade have changed by 15 to 30 minutes since last winter. Pirate Mickey and Pirate Donald are now meeting and greeting guests next to the Carousel of Progress. Belle is now spending most of her time in the Fairytale Garden instead of Fantasyland Wardrobe set. She only appears at the Wardrobe at 9 pm. And finally, the Liberty Square Riverboat which ran last winter with the ghost of Jolly Roger spinning tales is no longer operation during the party.

Eclipse's Mixes Dance Party with DJ Eddie and the Pirate Play Spot are now both located in Tomorrowland. The big song I have been hearing around the parks at these DJ parties is "The Hamburger Song" and let me tell it will get into your head just the tune from It's a Small World.

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Details on the Pirate and Princess Party

Photo Gallery of the Pirate and Princess Party.

Read Views and Write your own experience for the Pirate and Princess Party.
More photos to come.......

To celebrate Disney-Pixar's newest animated film, Ratatouille, which is due out on June 29th, two of the star characters made their first appearance today in Disney-MGM Studios. Remy and Emile (he's the fat rat on the right who eats garbage in the movie trailer) arrived at 11:10 am and spent about 45 minutes signing autographs and posing for pictures. They have a brand new set located in The Magic of Disney Animation attraction and have replaced the characters from Meet The Robinsons. The backdrop is a kitchen with oversized icons of creme, eggs and cheese.

Remy and Emile's arrival was not listed on today's Disney-MGM Studios Times Guide and New Information sheet, so the crowds were pretty light for their first appearance. According to a Cast Members I spoke to, they will appear for about 45 minutes and then take a "cheese" break for another 45 minutes before returning to their set. I noticed an odd thing while waiting my turn in line, most of the parents were referring to Remy and Emile as mice. I guess that most people did not realize they are rats and cute one's at that. Especially, Emile.

For more information on Character Meet and Greets, please click here.

UPDATE: Remy and Emile are leading the Stars and Motor Cars Parade everyday at Disney-MGM Studios. Poor, over weight Emile has to walk but Remy is lucky enough to be driven in a Special Stars Car. They are followed by several dancing chef's.

I should have known that when you attend a Flower Power Concert at EPCOT and the headliners' main claim to fame song is "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" that with my recent luck, there was a good chance I was going to soaked. And... the weather forecasters were predicting rain.

With an "it will blow over" attitude, I headed into EPCOT via the International Gateway for a brief visit on Friday night and arrived just in time to join the queue for the second set (7 PM) of the B.J. Thomas Flower Power Concert. I actually thought the Grass Roots were playing. Guess I need to check the AllEars.Net site a little closer next time :) It was no big deal since I had committed to myself to seeing as many concerts as possible this year as a new Orlando resident. For a weekend show, the crowds seemed smaller then usual. I guess other guests actually paid attention to the weather forecast.

As the concert began, the skies over towards Italy and Germany turned black. Oh well, this is Florida and that is not unusual. The concert show consisted of a total of eight songs and all seemed to well known to a good portion of the audience. Mr. Thomas opened with No Love At All followed by The Eyes of a New York Woman, Most of All, Rock and Roll Lullaby, I Just Can't Help Believing, Hooked on a Feeling, Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head and his closing song was an amazing version of The Mighty Clouds of Joy.

All of these songs are part of his Greatest Hits CD, which was especially pleasing to me because at a few of the concerts that I have attended this year, the bands have been doing cover songs and finishing with their own hits at the end of the set. During a few of the songs performed by B.J. Thomas, I just closed my eyes and felt like I was transported back in time to days of riding bicycles and my first car, date, etc. It was magical. The voices of many of the artists sound just the same as they did 30 to 40 years ago.

Unlike several of the recent Flowers Power Concert performers, this show was all about the music. Not to say that B.J. Thomas did not interact with the crowd because he did. He even semi-posed for a picture in the middle of a song when I went to the front and kneeled down to get a good shot. Some the past groups that I have been lucky enough to see this year, especially Paul Revere and the Raiders tossed in alot of comedy and talked about the old times which is OK but when they referred to the fans as grandparents, hmmm. I can do without being reminded of my age, thank you very much.

After the concert with the skies still threatning, I headed over to Japan to do a little shopping at Mitsukoshi Department Store in search of Lucky Cats for a good friend. While in the store, I was so surprised how popular the Oyster Pearl counter was. Maybe I am missing something here but the cost is $14.95 an oyster. Having lived in Florida for over 20 years, I prefer my oysters by the dozen and on crackers with some lemon, hot sauce and maybe some fresh horseradish.

Needless to say when I came out of the store, it was raining. Ok, I loved the irony of the whole raindrops are falling on my head thing. But, by the time I reached the International Gateway, the sky opened up. I did my best imitation of a marathon runner heading for the Beach Club. By the time I hit the top of bridge where you can go towards the Boardwalk Resort or go straight, I was winded. But as the Disney magic would have it, I happened by 3 woman in their 30-40’s who were as wet as I was. They were jumping in the puddles and laughing so hard that I did not even care anymore that I was soaked to the skin. Sometimes the simple pleasures come from watching other guests having magical times.

The moral of the story is, do listen to the weather forecasters because sometimes they get it right and a rain poncho hanging in your closet may work out better if kept in your car or backpack!

On a final note, if you hear thunder or see any lightning, even in the distance, please take cover and don’t try and make a run for it. They don’t call Florida the Lightning Capital of the World for nothing. Safety first.

Work continues on Toy Story Mania at Disney’s MGM Studios.

Set to open in the spring of 2008, it will be located in the former "Who Wants to be a Millionaire-Play It!" building. Guests will shrink to the size of a toy and travel in ride vehicles along a carnival midway route. Upon arriving at each game booth, they will aim at animated targets using their on-board “toy cannon” and competed against other riders. Toy Story Mania will be an interactive ride experience that will be different on every ride-through.

The most noticeable change in the construction is that the tarps and coverings have now gone up on what was an open structure on my last visit. Must be some serious imagineering going on behind the curtain. Hmmm...... As work progresses, I will continue to bring you updates as they become available.

Linda Mac