MouseStation 64 – Collected Epcot short subjects
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Run time 0:31:07
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Thanks to our sponsor, and a contest
Today’s show is sponsored by Owner’s
Locker, a new service that gives you a place to leave your vacation-only
stuff until your next trip to visit the Mouse.
This week, we were joined by John Van Meter from Owner’s Locker to announce
the winner of our contest. Of all of the entries received so far, John chose
the entry that we read on the show last week from Sondra, whose “Holiday
in a Box” struck a chord with him.
But never fear! We were able to talk John into giving another locker away!
All entries already received (with the exception of Sondra’s other entry,
which we’ll read on a future show) will remain eligible, but everyone else
has until midnight on Halloween to send
in your ideas on what you would do with an Owner’s Locker. John will again
select his favorite, and he’ll join us on the November 5 show to announce
our next winner!
Happy 25th Birthday, Epcot!!!
In honor of today being Epcot’s 25th birthday, all of the featurettes today
focus on that park.
Tip of the Week
This week’s tip comes from Mark, because the tip jar was empty. (Send
in your tip now! It might make it onto next week’s show!).
Mark recommended that instead of rushing to the exit after the end of Illuminations,
walk further into the park. Walk the long way around World Showcase Lagoon,
and take your time. Soon, the masses will all be past you, rushing to stand
in line at the parking lot trams and bus stations. Take a leisurely stroll,
enjoying the quiet background music. Don’t worry about missing the last bus.
As long as there are people to get back to their resorts, they’ll even run
a dedicated bus if you’re the only one there.
Mark also gave a second, related tip: If you delay long enough, you’ll be
around for the “blow off,” when the remaining fuel on the Inferno
Barge is ignited in one large fireball. While Mark has only been in the park
late enough once, it was during the time when the Barge was out of the show
for repairs following an explosion in a launch tube. Mike has seen the blow
off, though, and said that it is quite impressive.
Featured attraction
This week, we look at Impressions de France
at (where else?) Epcot’s France pavilion.
All of the music accompanying the film is by French composers (such as Debussy,
Saint-Saens, Boieldieu, Ravel, Offenbach, Dukas and Satie), and was arranged
by Disney legend Buddy
Baker.
It’s always one of Mark’s favorite tracks on the Walt Disney World CDs. He
loves the music, the scenes of France, and the fact that it’s a nice quiet
place to enjoy the attraction. There’s never a wait to get in (other than
the wait for the next show to start), and the theater lets out into a little
shop adjacent to La Boulangerie Patisserie (home of the beloved Shocolatte
Mousssse).
While it’s not an every-trip attraction for Mike, he also really enjoys it.
To find the theater, go to the back of the pavilion. Go past the fountain
and keep walking back.
Review system spotlight
This week’s spotlight focuses on the Garden Grill Restaurant in The Land
pavilion at Epcot. This week, we feature two conflicting reviews. The first
is a 2-planet review by annebkpk of California, while the second is a 5-planet
review by Imjusta babyduck of Pace, Florida. MousePlanet readers like the
Garden Grill, rating
it 3.9 out of five planets on the strength of 16 reviews.
annebkpk was not impressed by the restaurant, and was very disappointed in
the food. She was also disappointed that she did not get more attention from
the characters due to her birthday button. Instead, the characters usually
just skipped by her and her husband.
Imjusta babyduck enjoys the restaurant so much that they eat there with their
family every time they go to Walt Disney World. Their family loves the food,
and they enjoyed some good time with the characters.
It seems that the restaurant may be inconsistent.
The restaurant is actually one of Mike’s favorites, for both the food and
the characters.
Mark hasn’t been there in many years. He ate there shortly after it opened
as the Good Turn Restaurant, and then after it became the Land Grille Room.
He may have eaten there with the characters as the Garden Grill once. He didnt’
feel that it was quite memorable.
Mike noted that it can be “weird” to go there as a solo diner because
when one person asks for seconds it’s much more noticeable.
You can also find the Garden Grill Restaurant in our Park
Guide.
Ask the Kid
Mark didn’t have any Epcot segments recorded with his 9-year-old son, so
he asked the next-nearest kid: Mike. (After all, he is old enough
to be Mike’s father. Scary, isn’t it?)
Mark asked Mike: “What do you find is the best young person’s date attraction
at Epcot?”
Mike has taken many dates to the park, and he used to prefer the Stave Church
in Norway because it’s quiet, noone ever goes in there, and you can make out.
However, since they redid it into the Vikings exhibit, it’s hard to do anything
because of the security cameras.
Mark asked what his current favorite is, since the Stave Church has been
converted.
Mike said that it would either be Mission: Space if the girl gets scared
easily (for the comforting hug) or Circle of Life if they’re young at heart
(because it gets them happy, and if it doesn’t work, he gets to see the Lion
King scenes).
To avoid more “Ask the Kid” segments like this, send
us your question to ask Mark’s son.
Magical Moment
This week’s moment came in a voicemail from listener Dean from NYC.
Dean had Test Track break down on him halfway through the ride. His group
got front of the line return passes, and finally went back to the attraction
at morning Extra Magic Hours on his last day, and was able to ride the attraction
by himself, with the on-ride photo to prove it.
Mike once got to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster by himself, with the photo
to prove it.
There are no on-ride photos (certainly not back in 2002) when Mark rode Big
Thunder by himself three of the six consecutive rides that he took one night
at an E-Ride night, before they were replaced with Extra Magic Hours.
Feedback and MouseFest
Please weigh in on the idea of returning to a single feed via email
or by calling our toll-free feedback line at 1-866-939-2278. Don’t forget
that we love voicemails because then we can put your voice on the show!
Don’t forget that you’ve now got until Halloween to get your entry in for
our second Owner’s Locker contest!
We also wanted to remind you that we have now scheduled our MouseFest meet
for the podcasts. The MouseStation Hustle-tini Meet will begin at 5:30 p.m.
at Classic Concoctions in the Everything Pop food court at Disney’s Pop Century
Resort for Bluetinis to get our nerve up to get up and boogie. We’ll make
sure that we’re in the lobby before 6 p.m. so that we can do The Hustle, then
return to Classic Concoctions or elsewhere to record some more for the podcast.
For more information on the Hustle-tini or any other MousePlanet-sponsored
meet at MouseFest, check out our MouseFest
information page. If you’ve got any ideas on what might make a cool MouseStation
T-shirt for MouseFest, let Mark know!
Wrapping up
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You can get your MousePlanet (or MouseStation) swag from the MousePlanet
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CafePress store.
Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng.
Thank you for listening!
