Three Hour Cruise Meal?

Hello my fellow Utilidorians. So D23 just happened and I am not gonna speak of the obvious. I am going to speak of the most hidden in plain site construction ever. The brand-new Jungle Navigation Co., Ltd. Skipper Canteen will be coming to Adventureland. I have been hearing scuttlebutt about this since mid last year but nothing anywhere else. I listen to a lot of the Disney podcasts and read many a blog but nothing. Thus I put this jungle cruise restaurant in the rumor files.

Photo Courtesey of widenyourworld.com

On my first trip in January to the Kingdom this year we went by the old Veranda building and all was fine on the Friday, we came back by it Sunday and walls had sprouted up all around the Veranda, but still nothing. Then in the Spring with the swap of Sunshine Tree Terrace and Aloha Isle which everybody thought was a way to decongest the area for foot traffic it started fluttering again.  It was for decongestion but not for foot traffic it was a measure to alleviate traffic in front of a new restaurant’s entrances and exits. Still only chatterings but no definites on the Restaurant. Lots of speculation, a long talked about Pirates Jack Sparrow eatery, maybe a Trader Sam’s inside the park, but no real answer. By our latest trip in July still nothing but you could see the construction from the bridge to Adventureland and Liberty Square.

At this point I decided to see the incarnations of the Veranda. The Adventureland Veranda opened October 1st 1971 with no sponsor. It was sponsored by Kikkoman from 1977 to 1994 for Lunch and Dinner and as the 1975 guidebook said it served "Fried chicken, hot sandwiches and soft drinks in a Polynesian setting."  It changed food themes many times over its 23 years from burgers to Asian inspired foods but after losing sponsor it closed its doors in 1994 and sat relatively untouched since then. Depending on one's vantage point and level of interest, this building looks anything  from Carribean to African.  It is a great example of how Disney masks it buildings to look as distant locales and, in turn, make you feel like you are on an adventure.  Inside, the furniture was also a mashup, with dark wooden paneling, earth-colored tile floors, high ceilings braced by ornate rafters and flowery brass chandeliers.

After it closed the building sat dormant opening during busy seasons for sitting and an area was also set up for Captain Jack Sparrow and the Fairies and their leader Tinkerbell until she was sent off to Town Square. So at D23 they announced the new Restaurant which looks like a cross between adventurers club, the Polynesian Resort and the upcoming Jock Lindey’s. I am also wondering during their counter service Lunch and sit down Dinner what “World Famous Jungle Cuisine” is? Don’t know what it is but can’t wait to taste it. My only other thing to say in closing is, could Disney not come up with a better mock up than that? I mean we have a huge Pandora landscape model where you can see basically trees rocks and a giant blue planet, but the restaurant get a sepia colored picture of the building with a caricature of skippers and people in front. Well that’s just my opinion. Guess it’s that time again and I will talk to ya next time.

  

A Studio Too Far Far Away....

I swear I am trying to commit to this blogging thing but it is so much easier to sit on my butt watching television. Now that I have gotten that out let’s get to business.

Today I am going to talk about Americas favorite third of a day park, that’s right Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now hop into my pal Marty’s DeLorean and lets go back to the year 1989. I was sitting in class when all of a sudden over the PA I am called to the front office. I walk slowly to the front office wondering which one of my many daily infractions I had been caught doing, I see my Dad in the office and totally seized up. This never happens so I ask Dad what’s up and he tells me my Mom has fallen and broken her leg and he was picking me and my brothers up early from school. Now this means nothing on its own, but my mother had to be in the hospital a few days.  So on Monday May first of 1989 we went to visit her and on the TV they were showing the opening ceremonies of Disney’s MGM Studios. At that point my day became less about my poor moms leg and more about the gallantry and splendor of the opening of uncle Walt’s newest park.

As a budding nerd I was always about movies. I loved watching them, seeing the trailers and eating the popcorn. With that in mind riding movie related rides made my 15 year old mind explode! That following summer after my mother’s leg got better we jumped into the old family trickster and drove to Disney’s MGM Studios. We got there and wow there were only a handful of rides but wow it was awesome! An almost 2 hour immersive behind the scenes and backlot tour , Star Tours, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Monster Sound Show, Superstar Television and The Magic of Disney Animation Tour. Boom that’s it, that was all that was there and we loved it! We were so glad to be there enjoying the studios and seeing all the new stuff, and that is the memory that made me saddest the last trip I went down.

The last trip to the now Disney’s Hollywood Studios was with my brother his wife and the nieces. Of course it was hot as all blazes and Olaf has taken over with his Summer Frozen Fun, which with a three year old girl we had to partake. 

We did the Frozen sing along and a couple of other things and before leaving we did Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I had never seen that show and now I have my wife and nieces liked it… so. Now when we exited the show my brother needed  a restroom break with the older niece, so my wife and I waited by the stroller parking which is in front of The Magic of Disney Animation Tour. This is where this blog all started, as we were standing there I hear the cast member  at the Animation door yell out to passers by “Hey don’t go down to Toy Story Midway Mania, we don’t have a wait and they will be there Monday!”,  yup we were there August 11^th, and that attraction closed forever at the end of the day Sunday August 12^th. If you are a Disney fan you know that the Studios have been closing rides left and right, supposedly for the D23 Announcement of a name change and Lucas Land and Pixar Land, which I am sure will be great but man that was a spear through my heart. That’s right this whole blog for that one line from a cast member.

I know the future is going to be great and that everything will be Disneyrific, but I can only think of what we have lost as of late. Well enough of this, I gotta get back to the tunnels. Until next time have a magical day.

Birds of a Feather...or I mean Leaf.

Welcome back Utilidorians! Today I was walking around the Kingdom and noticed they moved the Sunshine Terrace with Aloha Isle! This is probably a logistical move due to the Dole Whip line in front of Aloha Isle being crunched by walkway and the entrance to the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Anyways I was looking at the new Sunshine Terrace and noticed something missing. The Orange Bird was missing from his new home. This is not the first time he has gone missing, but let’s start this from the beginning.

Orange Bird came up as an exchange between Disney and the Florida Citrus Commission. In 1970 the Florida Citrus Commission wanted a mascot, so naturally they knew Disney was opening in Florida so who better to give them a mascot. Walt Disney needed a sponsor for his Magic Kingdom Tropical Serenade  attraction,  which was a copy of his Enchanted Tiki Room from Disneyland, so they worked out a deal and poof  in 1970 the Orange Bird was born. He was an amalgamation of orange and bird with a big orange for a head an orange body with green leaf like wings.  The Orange Bird took flight quickly.

  

 Anita Bryant a singer of the times who was the spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission sang songs for orange juice commercials with the Orange Bird. Orange Bird does not speak, he communicates with orange thought bubbles. Do to this Anita Bryant made a record that depicted the Orange Birds story. The Orange Bird even had a walk around character at the Magic Kingdom.

  

In 1977 Anita Bryant tried to repeal an ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It was a very well publicized protest that lasted many months even to the point of Ms. Bryant being publicly pied in the face on a October 1977 press conference. This was the beginning of the end for old Orange Bird. In 1979 Anita’s contract with the Florida Citrus Commission was let lapse due to controversy and the negative publicity her political campaign had done. The Orange Bird lasted another couple of years and faded into obscurity. In 1987 the Florida Citrus Commission and Disney severed ties and the Orange Bird flew his coop.

Flash forward and in 2004 in Tokyo Disney who should raise his big orange head but the Orange Bird. Leave it to Tokyo home of Godzilla and anything cute to coax him back out. The Asian community took him in as they did Duffy bear. The Orange Bird was not only liked he was loved by the Japanese and received a lot of coinciding merchandise. He is also depicted on a lot of Japans Orange Day festival which happens in April. Eventually he made it back to Walt Disney World and was welcomed with open arms and wallets, as he also got tons of merchandise in the US also.

 Eventually on April 17^th of 2012, the Orange Bird made a proper return to the Sunshine Terrace.

So this brings me back to the new move and the Orange Birds absence. Hopefully this is just a transitional misplacement I hope. So there you have it that is my story of the Orange Bird. Well time to get back to work, until next time keep moving forward.

Over the Falls of Catastrophe Canyon!!

  

 Stop writing for a couple of months and the world is changed forever. In the past couple of weeks we lost most of the Epcot staple entertainment, Norway pavilions Maelstorm and now the Backlot Tour (what was left)! So in all honesty I never put that much into the Stable of musicians at Epcot. I have seen the Jamitors a couple of times and past by a performance of Off Kilter and the British Invasion while drinking my way around the world. Other than that really no opinion for these bands either way, hate to see them go but good luck to them and moving forward.

Maelstrom oh dear sweet Maelstrom, what can I say about you sweet cool air conditioned Florida sun retreat. As much as I enjoyed showing everyone your mickey mouse hat wearing Viking in the mural, or the creepy eye following child in same said mural. As Odin’s great eye showed me the past of its great land or the Trolls sending me back, back over the falls. Oh and at the end the great….Oil Rig, really the climactic end to that ride is an oil rig. 

Yep Odin’s Eye, some Vikings, polar bears, trolls, oil rig, movie of Norway, gift shop full of things we saw except oil rig. I remember seeing  Willard Scott and other C list  celebs in the inaugural voyage of Maelstrom on and ABC Disney special back in July of 1988 all of them clad in Gorton’s Fisherman rain slickers. I could not wait to ride this water soaking ride. The next time we went to Epcot I could not contain the excitement my pre- pubescent year old self had. Me my mom and dad and my brothers went to world showcase, but always started on the Canada side because mom loved going to France for a pastry. So by the time we got to Norway we were very excited we waited about 30 to 40 minutes in line then boom! we were in. In for the slowest non wet ride of our lives. After that initial year we always went on the ride as a “well it’s a ride” type of thing, really until it was announced it was closing I had no feeling, now it will be missed. So long old friend, hello Olaf!

Now we come to the announcement that hurts the most. The Backlot Tour is closing. Ever since May of 1989 when the Disney MGM Studios opened I have loved this ride. I have always loved movies and the glamour of all things Hollywood, so when this park opened I was enthralled watching the opening ceremonies with my mom at Grady Hospital. (My mom had broken her foot.) I remember being so excited that next spring when we went. I remember every last bit of that tour from the costuming and prop departments, to residential street with all the homes from golden girls and other shows, then New York street. The junkyard was awesome and the Catastrophe Canyon. After that you were dropped off in the ACME warehouse where all the stuff from Roger Rabbit was. 

Then there was part two of the tour, the walking tour. Here you went to the water tank where if you were lucky you were picked to act out a war movie on the seas. Then you continued and there were different studios you walked through. Each studio was a different part of film making, production, prop making green screening and so on. I remember TV’s along the way that told you what was happening with celebrities like Pee Wee Herman, Mel Gibson, Robin Williams(R.I.P.) and others. I even remember wanting to be picked as the kid to ride the giant bee in the green screen part. All in all this was like 3 hours of your trip.

Unfortunately it has not been this way in a long time. Over time we lost parts, residential street turned into part of Lights, Motors, Action show, we lost part of the walking tour to the Studio catering company and so on and so forth. All this until all we had left was the water tank, Catastrophe Canyon a small boneyard and the exiting museum part.

I know Walt always wanted the park to move forward and I accept it, but I don’t need to like it. I always held out hope the Tour would rise as the great Phoenix from its ashes into what it once was, but now as of September 27, 2014 its doors will be shuttered for what I am sure will be something great from our Imagineers. Good bye old chum.

Magic Stamps

You ever get that memory from back when you were a kid and you have no idea where it came from and then boom you are transported to that time. So I was watching a show on TV and they were talking about ultraviolet blah, blah, blah. I dozed off and then ended up dreaming about the Magic Kingdom. When I awoke all I could think and talk about was Main Street’s House of Magic.

  

The House of Magic was that non-attraction that I had to visit every trip or else it felt like the trip was a wash. I have always been a fan of the macabre and spooky so just that funeral parloresque look of the outside would bring me in.  Inside was very dark and ominous compared to the rest of the Penny Arcade. There were all sorts of gags and tricks on the walls the counter was were the clerk would show of magic tricks you could buy at the shop.       Everything from fake dog poo and vomit to t-shirts like the one below.

  

Up above the shop on the upper shelves were horror masks. They scared the heck out of me. Yes I said earlier that I loved all things scary, I did not say I was ok with them. As a matter of fact I was scared of almost everything till about 13, but that’s another story. The masks scary as they were always intrigued me because they were sort of out of reach, not only height wise but price wise as well. Now the reason we are all here, on the wall where the windows were was all this stuff that had black light to make it glow. Posters, shirts, knick knacks, and cool stuff that now you can find at a Spencer gifts.

They were all neat things but the neatest was the one day when my brothers and I had been at Epcot then we went to the Magic Kingdom . This was the day we went to the the House of Magic and were just looking around and reached for something on the black lit wall. As my brother reached for a t-shirt I noticed a glimmering something on the back of his hand. Closer inspection made it clear what it was, it was the returning to park stamp for re-entry sort of like the one below.

  The importance of this is that this was the first time we ever noticed this. So many times in and out of the parks, getting stamped and putting our hands inTo the little lamp at the park. It was a black light stamp, you can't see it until under that special ultraviolet light. Which brings the story full circle, see the ultraviolet show made me think of this moment in 199something. That triggered the memory of the house of magic which had the black light and Ta Da!... full circle! Again the Magic inside the park what a beauty. Well time to get back to the Utilidors, thanks till next time. 

Lights On!!!

So during my down time at the utilidors I was thinking about little things in the kingdom you don’t see every day. I remembered one of my favorite times. My family was visiting the Kingdom during a summer vacation in the late 80s and we went on one of my go to rides the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (TTA), known then as the WedWay Peoplemover. I liked this ride for two things, first it never has big lines (unless it is raining), and B the TTA would go through the ride If You Had Wings (later Delta Dreamflight) which was sponsored by Eastern Airlines and my Dad worked for Eastern so it was like we owned part of it.

So we got on the TTA and started our ride towards the autopia tracks down on the ground. There is our first destination the Space Mountain A Journey Through Time and Space. This was always in the past kinda boring, the Space Mountain part was dark and all you really could see was the queue line and static sets….so we thought! Here comes the turn and then BOOM went our minds. It was not dark; the lights were on inside Space Mountain! This could not be real, this sort of thing cannot happen, this is awesome and only we (And everyone before and after us) have seen this. Space Mountain is a roller coaster, not a real space craft to the moon? How can this be I’ve been on there and it seemed huge and expansive and with the lights on it was small and diminutive. Now as our minds were blown we kept telling each other we needed to see it again.

We jibber jabbered about seeing it again so much we missed If You Had Wings and most of the rest of the ride. We saw it from what I remember a couple more times and thought it was the greatest thing ever. Looking back on it I feel silly but it was worth it because to this day I hold it as one of my favorite moments not only of Kingdom, but of my brothers. We have our own lives now and I am the only one that still thinks that the Magic Kingdom is just that: MAGIC! The great thing about memories is that you can relive them over and over. This is probably one of the last times that the family went down together. It is also the last time that ever happened to me. I hear it happens all the time because the TTA and Space Mountain systems are autonomous so if Space Mountain goes down TTA stays moving and vice versa.  I still love this ride and my wife rides it with me all the time so maybe one day. Until then I will keep making my TTA trips and trying to keep my wife’s hat on her head not on the awning near the beltway up to the TTA, but that is another story. Any ways it is time for me to get back to the utilidors. Until next time have a magical time.

Mickey Retires!

Good day utiladorians! So scavenging through the stuff down here I have found something that was fantastic…for about 4 years. No not the retooling of a figmentless Imagination Pavilion, but PAL Mickey. PAL Mickey was a stuffed interactive Mickey Mouse doll that guided you through the parks and played games and trivia with you when away from the parks. PAL Mickey came out in May of 2003. Version 1 was a Mickey stuffed doll with his iconic red shorts, yellow buttons and shoes. What you did with PAL Mickey is you turned him on using the button on his back, and then clip him to your belt, using the pager-type clip provided. As you're walking through the park, Mickey will giggle and shake when he has something to say. Just squeeze one of his hands or tummy within 15 seconds and listen. A spokesperson for Disney stated “Pal Mickey not only knows where he is in the parks, he knows where he's been, so he doesn't keep repeating the same information, he has 700 pieces of information to share on everything from the parade times to attraction wait times." A sample of what he may say: "I hear Belle is over in France about now. Let's go say hi!" It is pretty cheesy but it is all in Mickey’s voice. If you miss what Mickey said, and want to hear it again, press his hand or tummy within 15 seconds and he'll repeat it up to five more times. This is all using Infrared Technology that is set up all throughout the park.

  

 Above is a picture of Version 1. As you can see it is the regular Mickey we all know This version was available starting May of 2003 it is commonly known as “1.0” This sold for $50.00, and could be rented for $8.00 per day with a $50.00 deposit and needed to be returned by noon the following day, if not returned the deposit was taken and you have just bought yourself a PAL Mickey. The rental aspect ended at the end of 2004.This version came with a clip that clipped onto your belt and you could clip him there. You could buy and rent at Island Mercantile at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, The Dark Room at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Epcot Camera Center and MouseGear at Epcot, The Emporium at the Magic Kingdom and the World of Disney at the Downtown Disney Marketplace. This version was a bit heavy and cumbersome. It would fall off the clip easily and was hard to keep facing forward. It needed to face forward due to the fact that the sensor was in his nose. Also there were issues with his audio, his eyes are the speakers and through the bustle of park music and noise you could not hear.

These and other improvements brought us the "Happiest Celebration on Earth" version of the toy or "2.0". This version was introduced on May 5, 2005 with the start of the Happiest Celebration on Earth. It was priced at $65.00. With a greater price tag you got a Tuxedo jacket, gold bowtie, and is dressed in red shorts with gold buttons, white gloves, and yellow shoes. This time you get a clip and a lanyard for carrying it. This version improves on the original in many small ways, the speakers are louder, this Mickey sings and has trivia, and this version has a gold medallion on his right hand that lights up and makes him giggle when pressed. To me the lanyard makes this version a little easier to carry.  In September 2006, Pal Mickey Sorcerer came out this version is known as "3.0". 3.0 replaced the previous Happiest Celebration on Earth version. This Pal Mickey is dressed in a Sorcerer Mickey outfit hat, red robe, and blue shorts. Missing is the Gold Medallion and oddly enough he has red shorts with the blue sorcerer shorts sewn over them. A Spanish language version of Pal Mickey was also available. This version was still $65.00. Here is a picture of Sorcerer Mickey 3.0.

Four costumes for the toy were made available in early 2006. The costumes were Mickey Mouse Club, Pin Trader, Safari Guide, and Rain Wear. These sold for about $10.00 each. Later in October 2006 they came out with some costume style suits. A Pirate Cap'n and Santa Mickey costumes were made available for $12.00. The Santa Mickey sold out during December 2006; however, it returned for the 2007 holiday season here is a picture of the outfits on the PAL Mickey.

The toy was discontinued in fall 2008. It was said that all previously purchased toys will still work; Disney is simply no longer producing any more of the toy. With my experience with my 2.0 PAL Mickey it seems that as rides get refurbished we are losing the infrared markers. On my last trip (January 2014) I wore him all day and the only place it actually did something was in Tomorrowland, one at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and the other on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. It was pretty funny because it was towards the end of the day and my wife kept asking if he had said anything. When we went to get in line for Buzz he started shaking and giggling. I pressed his hand and he told me about how Emperor Zurg was taking over the Galaxy and only Buzz and I could stop it. Tracy said I looked like an excited kid at Christmas as I was giggling and yelling that he was working. Then on TTA he told me that he did not know much about the future but that he enjoyed being with me today. We will take him again on our Halloween trip and see, but after that we will probably leave him at home.

Other facts on the doll, the first version had three games That Isn't Here, Mickey chose a park and asked what did not belong, Mickey Says which was a Disney Simon Says, and Fast Friends, Mickey will say things about characters and you answer who that is. Version 2 and 3 added Follow Me similar to the game Simon. You have to repeat a sequence of actions. Try 'n' Keep Up where you must react quickly to Mickey's directions and Repeating Myself Mickey will say Disney Character names and you listen to the one he repeats. Before the games begin Mickey gives you rules and how to answer by squeezing the hands or tummy depending on the rules. Pal Mickey's electronics and batteries are encased in plastic housings which can be seen by unzipping the back of the doll. There is an on/off switch which enables or disables the doll’s squeeze and infrared sensors so as not to use up your battery. The dolls have batteries when you buy them, and they are set to "demo mode" while they were in the store. Rumors are that if this would have been a widely successful endeavor we would have seen PAL Poohs and PAL Buzzes all over the Disneyverse but as I said that is a rumor.

All in all I enjoy my 2.0 and I had a 1.0 that now lives with the niece. It would be great if all still worked in the park but I think the demise of PAL Mickey was smartphone technology. I mean why buy a $65.00 doll if you already have a phone that can do all the things PAL Mickey can do and more. It seems as though PAL Mickey may have done better as an APP than a doll, but then we would not have these memories. Well back to the utilidors til next time!