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(With Editorial, because it is fun)

Epcot Flower and Garden Festival announces concerts included in your park admission and the list of performers.

Upon seeing this list, it will be totally understandable that many people will still demand a refund

  • March 6-8: Gin Blossoms
  • Not even news worthy since 1992 when they released their only hit "Hey Jealousy".  The band broke up in 1997 after an inner-band tragedy.  The band reunited in 2002 and released 2 albums with meager success.
  • March 13-15: Pablo Cruise “Love Will Find a Way”
  • This band had a handful of songs place on the Billboard Top 20 and then broke up in 1984.  20 years later they reunited with all original band members.
  • March 20-22: En Vogue
  • One of the most successful acts of the 90's with their most successful song being "Free Your Mind", what they have done with the 20 years since then is anyone's call.
  • March 27-29: Starship
  • Formerly the rock Goliath Jefferson Airplane, this group made huge waves in the 60's and 70's before inner fighting and we'll say lots of the stuff that 60's bands "did" caused many of the founding members of the band to leave.  The band reformed as Jefferson Starship and eventually reformed again into Starship where they had success with the song "We Built This City (on Rock and Roll)" which was featured in The Muppets
  • April 3-5: The Orchestra starring former members of ELO
  • Here we have some of the members of Electric Light Orchestra, I have no idea what this is or what this is going to be.  But ELO did have a hit on their hands with "Evil Woman" that should be great to hear coming through the PA at Epcot.
  • April 10-12: Village People
  • What can I say?  If you haven't heard of them or a song from them I would be surprised but just in case I'm leaving this one up to you.  The Village People
  • April 17-19: Jon Secada
  • Jon Secada has had a long career and is by all standards a very good vocalist.  He has worked with a number of other stars.  This performance could be the highlight of the other performances.
  • April 24-26: The Guess Who
  • The Guess Who had a number of hits in the 70's ... yes the 1970's and posthumously fell off the face of the Earth.
  • May 1-3: Taylor Dayne
  • Taylor Dayne had 2 hits "Tell it to My Heart" in 1987 and "Love Will Lead You Back" in the early 90's and has since gone on to appear on "Going Country" and "Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook Off".  Take that as you will.
  • May 8-10: Little River Band
  • Won't you all join me in saying "WHO???"
  • May 15-17: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
  • Herman's Hermits had a hit song called “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am” or otherwise known as the song that Patric Swayze would not stop singing to Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost.  Thanks to that movie this song always gets a lot of crowd participation for better or worse, but at least it is fun.

DATES FOR THE EPCOT FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL!!!

If you haven't gone to this, you must it is a fantastic experience to try food from around the world at a relatively small price.  This year the festival will run from September 25th to November 16th.  Be forewarned though, expect large crowds this time of the year as it is massively popular.  Sadly, the booths and the menus have yet to be released.  As soon as I get the information I will post it.

More about the extended closure and refurbishment of The Pirates of the Caribbean (WDW)

First off, I know I should post this in the "refurb" section but this is more on the news side about the refurb so let's just call it a reporting "gray area" shall we?

The Pirates of the Caribbean has been open at WDW since 1973, it was one of the rides that Walt himself had input on and has been going strong since then with only minor tweaks to the ride like to add Jack Sparrow for example.  Lately though the attraction has been experiencing heavy issues with the animatronics and the audio that could make for a bad experience for the rider.  The main issue I feel that the fine folks at Disney are needing to address is the fact that the boats have begun taking on water which as we all know is a precursor to well ... sinking.  To eliminate this Disney will be forced to close the attraction for 6 months while they retool the animatronics, rebuild the audio, and get new boats.  The wait will no doubt be a hard one and there will be many disappointed fans of The Pirates during that time but in the long run the ride really needs it and it will make for a better ride experience for all.

Kouzzina Sign is finally GONE!!

Many people such as myself were less than thrilled with Spoodles at the Boardwalk in WDW was replaced by the celebrity chef Cat Coura's restaurant Kouzzina.  Spoodles main attraction as far as I am concerned was the family style breakfast that came with fresh baked pastries as an appetizer and then all of the eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, and pancakes you could stuff into yourself ... and yes, I stuffed.  Kouzzina came to town and offered such a sharp change in the cuisine that it was destine to fail.  Kouzinna replaced the "Breakfast of Champions" as far as I am concerned with "Turkey sausage hash with sweet potatoes" and "Anise French Toast" (honestly, licorice flavored french toast??) that it wasn't long before people began to look elsewhere for the sustenance needs even resorting to bringing in their own food and eating it in their rooms.  Well Kouzinna closed it's doors forever in September 2014 to be replaced with an Italian restaurant by the name of Trattoria al Forno which boasts wood fired pizza, braised short ribs, lasagna, and many other Italian favorites.  What it holds for breakfast options is still unknown at this point.   But no matter what way you look at it, the only way to go is up.

Measles?!?!?!?!?

Just a heads up you California people or people planning on visiting Disneyland.  A measles outbreak has started around DL right before Christmas and is now spreading to the nearby communities.  Obviously this is only a concern if you have not gotten vaccinated for it which most people have.  Currently there have only been 41 reported cases and those 41 cases are people who had not gotten the vaccine.  More about this can be read HERE

Disney Park news 1/21/2015

The Measles continues it's march through Disneyland and has now infected 5 cast members.  For more information on what the Measles are please click HERE.  And of course, if you have been to the park and feel you might be showing symptoms please see a health care professional.

Disney Studio's Hat Removal and Why Was It Even There? 

Let me start with a little history.  When initially opened the Disney Studios was originally named the Disney MGM Studios and while the park lacked a central focal point like Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom or Spaceship Earth at Epcot but what the Studios had was an extremely accurate replica of Grauman's/Mann's/TLC Chinese Theater.  The replica was so accurate that more people were going to see theater at the Studios than real one. 

This is for a number of reasons the first being that there were already thousands of people teeming in and out of the Disney MGM Studios every day the second is that the Chinese Theater is not in the safest part of town.  Either way you cut it, the Disney Theater was generating more revenue than the original and was actually causing the original to lose revenue.  So what happens next?  The then owners of the Chinese theater filed suit against Disney and Disney answered the suit by not removing the theater but by obstructing the view with a giant sorcerer's hat from Fantasia.

Well that was then and this is now and the hat is on its way out.  Construction has begun (or I guess deconstruction?) taking the sorcerer's hat out piece by piece and restoring the Studios to the look and feel that was originally intended for the Disney Studios which is the "golden age of Hollywood".

Photo of the demolition courtesy of wdwmagic.com

Reality vs. Media (an editorial)

I'm sure we've all seen it, those BIG headlines that jump out of your internet browser, grab you buy the hand, and force you to click on the story.  It is important to realize that these types of headlines are there to get you to do just that and you cannot just read the headline and know you have the whole story.  What prompts me to write this is this headline from the Huffington Post "2 Died After Riding Disney World Attractions" on the surface it sounds like there may be people who are getting hurt on Disney rides.  While I am sure that there were people that died, and there are several reasons why this happened least of which is Disney's operational standards.

The first person who died was a woman during the Christmas season who rode "It's a Small World".  If, by chance, you have never ridden "It's a Small World" (ISW) it can be described as one of the if not THE most mild ride ever made.  You sit in a boat and float down a little stream of water while dolls representing children of the world sing the titular song ... then you get off the ride.  There are no hills, dark spots, powered launches, rolls, or G forces at work (other than the G force that keeps you attached safely to Earth).  I will say that ISW is not without it's design flaws, one poor man confined to a wheel chair was stuck in the ride for 45 minutes (!!!) because the ride broke down and there was not an easy way to get him out.  That man saw the problem and capitalized on it by promptly suing Disney for the pain and anguish of having to sit on the boat and listen to the song for 45 minutes all while having to pee.  The case was settled out of court.  I can see this as a big deal not because this guy had to make #1 but because if there had been a bigger emergency there may have been an issue getting medical care to him.

The next incident happened on Toy Story Mania (TSM) at the Disney Studios where a woman lost consciousness while riding this ride.   TSM is another child friendly ride that is also on the same level of thrill as ISW except there is no boat and no water.

So what happened?  Well that is where we can look at our own personal care while we take on things like going to big parks like this.  People taking their children or even just taking themselves on a trip to a Disney Park is usually a very big deal, high costs mean that people have to spend a good portion of time saving money for these trips and once they are there they usually push themselves to get their money's worth.  That is totally understandable, I can honestly say that I even do the same thing.  But the difference is  YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOUR LIMITS.   Remember you are there to make memories not become one so take care of yourself while you are there.  Stay hydrated!  Take care of your feet!  And most of all, if you feel like you are worn out or tired ... TAKE A BREAK!  Go back to your hotel and lounge by the pool for a bit, stop in a restaurant and just chill especially if you are in EPCOT!  Talk to the people working there not only are the tremendous people but they almost always have some great stories to tell.  A simple investment in your own health will keep you fit for your entire trip and will make sure that you are happy and healthy the whole time.

Until the next time

Have a Magical Day!

Mike

MeasleGate 2015 Continues!!!!

I did a quick count and there are roughly 108,180 doctor's offices in the Greater Los Angeles area.  If for whatever reason you have not gotten vaccinated you have 108,180 chance to do so.  Measles doesn't sound pleasant, so if you can avoid it, you should.  Just a heads up, it has started spreading to the Bay Area: in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara.

Until the next time

Have a Magical Day

Mike

Soarin' Second Theater Under Construction!!

During the WDW marathon that happened 2 weeks ago one of the contestants was able to snap a couple of pictures of the construction site where the new Soarin' theater is going to go.  This is great news!  Long lines and limited showtimes have kept many a guest from experiencing this great show.  Hopefully with this second theater everyone will be able to enjoy the show with less of a wait.

WDW Central Hub Going Under the Proverbial Knife

A vast majority of the central hub (see illustration) is under construction for a hub renovation.  No details on what is going to be put in.

Hub and spoke:

Until the next time

Have a Magical Day

Mike

WDW and DL Park Ticket Prices on the Rise and the "No Expiration" on the Way Out.

Mid-February will mark another price increase for tickets for WDW and DL.  What is worse is that the "No Expiration" option which let you keep the days on your ticket for another day will being going away also.  Considering that in 2014 Disney turned a profit of 1.5 BILLION dollars, this price hike seems (and always will seem) unnecessary.  No word yet on how high the price is going to go.

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