MouseStation 226 – Collected short subjects
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Run time 0:35:14
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Send in your suggestions, comments or tips via our email feedback form or via voicemail on our toll-free feedback line (1-866-939-2278).
We’ve put together a new listener survey to help us learn more about you and what you like most about this podcast. This one is much more targeted than the old Podtrac survey. Please take a few minutes to fill it out and let us know what you think.
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Thanks to our sponsor
Today’s show is sponsored by Owner’s Locker, a great service that gives you a place to leave your vacation-only stuff until your next trip to visit the Mouse.
The cost of an Owner’s Locker isn’t quite as high when you think about the per-bag fees that many airlines are now charging. It’s a risk-free trial, so why not give it a try? Mike just added a second locker to his account.
Also, if you have any great ideas for how to use an Owner’s Locker, if you’ve signed up and are anticipating using your locker, or if you have already used your locker, send us an email or call our voicemail and let us know what you think!
Tip of the Week
This week’s Tip of the Week comes from Mike (yes, the tip jar is empty again – send in your tip today!), who recommends using a wireless router or hub in your room to make using your Internet connection easier. Some rooms have especially inconvenient locations for the Internet connection, like a short wire behind the nightstand. With a wireless router or hub, you can use your laptop anywhere within the room. (Mike even suggested using your laptop in the bathroom. Mark prefers a table.)
Mike and Mark have also shared Mark’s wireless router on occasion. Mark has even left his wireless router in his Owner’s Locker between trips.
If you use one, you probably want to lock it down so that nobody can piggyback on your signal.
Featured Attraction
This week we look at the Autopia at Disneyland Park and the Tomorrowland Speedway at Walt Disney World‘s Magic Kingdom.
Mark talked about the benefits and hindrances of the rails that the cars ride on. Mike couldn’t rent a kid to go with, so he has only driven the cars himself. Mark has shared his ride just about every time. Mike and Mark agree that Autopia beats the Tomorrowland Speedway hands-down in pretty much every aspect, from the cars to the queue to the track. Mark isn’t sure if The Kid will be tall enough to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway himself on his upcoming trip, but it may be close.
Review System Spotlight
This week we look at Spoodles at the Boardwalk Resort. Our MousePlanet readers really love Spoodles, rating it 4.7 out of five planets. Our featured review this week is by CraigC of Memphis, Tennessee.
Craig and his family had a great meal, and the only thing that wasn’t enjoyed was a four-cheese flatbread that his daughter ordered that was delicious but had too much garlic and feta for his daughter’s taste. They skipped dessert in favor of ice cream on the Boardwalk, but the restaurant is now one of their favorites and has earned a repeat trip.
Mark had eaten at Spoodles back when it opened and was still a tapas restaurant, and he still kind of misses that. He hadn’t eaten there for a while after that, but had a nice meal there a few years ago. He had breakfast there for the first time during MouseFest 2006, and it was very good. The closest Mike has gotten to eating at Spoodles is the Boardwalk Pizza Window, which really isn’t Spoodles. Mike likes the pizza window, and Mark has eaten there a few times and liked it, as well.
You can also find Spoodles in our Park Guide.
Ask the Kid
This week’s question came from Paul from Abilene, Texas, who asked Mark’s son: On my past trips to the Magic Kingdom, I’ve noticed that there always seems to be a much larger line for the Peter Pan ride than most of the other rides in Fantasyland. From a kid’s perspective, would you rather wait in line to ride Peter Pan once, or ride two or three rides like Small World, Pooh, or Snow White in the same amount of time?
Mark’s son would rather do other rides because you can get more done, but instead of Pooh or Snow White, he’d want to do teacups and Mickey’s House or something. He had a very short and succinct answer this time. A discussion of Peter Pan’s Fastpasses prompted Mike and Mark to discuss the fact that the Fastpass machines were not operating the day of the 2005 Mini-MouseAdventure when players were asked to get invalid Fastpasses for Peter Pan.
Mark needs to record more Ask the Kid questions. If you’ve got more questions and send them in in the next week, they might get answered during the next recording session.
Magical Moment
This week’s Magical Moment came from listener Dan Young. Dan had a great experience to cap off his 40th birthday. He celebrated his SCUBA certification with his first dive at Epcot DiveQuest, had dinner at Coral Reef and drinks at the Rose & Crown, then watched Illuminations before heading out through Innoventions. He was watching Pluto interact with a bunch of kids and talking with the character greeter, when Pluto and his handler got a crowd of people to sing “Happy Birthday” to him.
That reminded Mike of the story of his birthday back in 2005 when he was doing a trial run of the first Mini-MouseAdventure and called Mark to confirm what to do with quests that were no longer valid because of changes at the park. He was on the phone in Town Square, asking Mark a question when he started laughing histerically. Baloo and King Louie had left their meet-and-greet to sneak up behind him and tap him on the shoulder, then handed him a park guide map that said “GET OFF THE PHONE! YOU’RE AT DISNEY!”
Last Week on MousePlanet
We continued our experiment in telling you what you may have missed on the MousePlanet site last week if you’re not visiting regularly, with Andrew Rich down at MousePlanet Global Headquarters. Let us know what you think about this segment!
Feedback and Other Stuff
We’ve put together a new listener survey to help us learn more about you and what you like most about this podcast. This one is much more targeted than the old Podtrac survey. Please take a few minutes to fill it out and let us know what you think.
Send us feedback 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!
Wrapping up
Don’t forget to go to the iTunes podcast directory and give us a good rating for the combined feed!
You can get your MousePlanet (or MouseStation) swag from the MousePlanet CafePress store and the brand-new MouseStation CafePress store.
Also remember to go out to our main podcast page and poke a pin into our Frappr map.
Thanks to the Imagineers who appeared on the show, and to Marilyn Waters for helping to set everything up for us.
Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng.
Thank you for listening!
