MouseStation 240 – Collected short subjects
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Run time 0:27:01
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Let us hear from you!
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.
If you want to contribute a story for our Tuesday Magical Moment segment (and possible inclusion in the Cast Place column here on MousePlanet), you can either use our email Magical Moment story form or the toll-free feedback line. (We love it when you use the voice mail system, because then we can play your call on the show!)
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?
At the time of recording, Mark had just received an email from John Van Meter of Owner’s Locker stating that Tropical Storm Fay had passed by and the lockers were all fine and there was no damage. Mike got the same email.
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 Sharla of Athens, GA, who recommends getting the book The Next Exit, which provides information about every exit of every Interstate highway in the United States, as it’s very useful for those driving to Walt Disney World or anywhere else, for that matter.
Mike could’ve used it during his trip driving Nora down to Walt Disney World from Minnesota.
Mark noted that there’s a Web site that has information about every exit on I-95, which he used during his drive to Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort in 2004.
Featured Attraction
This week we look at Pinocchio’s Daring Journey at Disneyland Park.
This is one of the few attractions at Disneyland that does not appear at Walt Disney World. (It first appeared at Tokyo Disneyland, but it still hasn’t made it to Florida.)
Mark really likes the attraction; it’s a fun dark ride. It’s one of Mike’s favorite dark rides at Disneyland. They disagreed over whether it’s more or less scary than Snow White’s Scary Adventures.
Mark expanded the discussion to note that he really enjoys Disneyland’s Fantasyland much more than Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland.
PhotoPass Update
We passed all of your comments and questions on to Maggie Varnadoe of Disney’s PhotoPass and got answers to many of your questions, though there were some that she was not at liberty to answer at this time.
The most commonly-asked question by the listeners was about adding ride photos to PhotoPass. Maggie noted that “We recognize the guest interest in ride photos and hope I have something to report to you on that in the future.”
As to photos taken at character dining, photos taken at the character dining locations are available for viewing online if the package is purchased at the table. When you buy in the restaurant, online viewing instructions are included in the photo folder.
They are looking at various storage options to resolve the expiration date issues, but don’t have anything concrete enough to report right now.
Disney also hopes to add a CD option for uploaded photos in the near future.
PhotoPass has plans to launch new products at the end of September. They’re going to add calendars, ornaments and stickers to the site as well as an expanded line of greeting cards.
On the Professional Portrait services, Disney is rolling out new pricing effective September 1. A Portrait session now costs $149.95 and includes all the portrait photos (but not regular PhotoPass photos) on a CD. You can add on a PhotoPass CD if you have PhotoPass images for $50, thus getting both your Professional portraits and all PhotoPass photos for $199.95.
They now offer portrait sessions at the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge and soon will be opening at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (in addition to the other locations at the Grand Floridian, Polynesian and Saratoga Springs resorts).
Last Week on MousePlanet
Once again, Andrew Rich, down at MousePlanet Global Headquarters, told you what you may have missed on the MousePlanet site last week if you’re not visiting regularly. Let us know what you think about this segment!
CHOC Walk/Team MousePlanet
For more information on supporting Team MousePlanet at this year’s CHOC Walk, go to the Team MousePlanet page or get information on the MousePad discussion forums.
Listener Feedback
Tracey from Indiana (thanks for that great intro for today’s show!) called while walking her dog and listening to Episode 236, noting that we neglected to note that, while you may want to take your shoes off while on Kali River Rapids, you’re not allowed to ride barefoot. She recommended bringing a pair of flip flops or crocs if you want to keep your sneakers dry. The attraction is similar to Grizzly River Rapids at Disney’s California Adventure, but GRR actually provides fre lockers near the ride, with no charge for up to an hour with charges accruing every 15 minutes thereafter.
Mark can’t believe that he forgot to mention that riding barefoot is not permitted on Kali River Rapids. He agreed that you should bring flip flips, crocs or water shoes when riding. He also believes that he remembers the free lockers at GRR. Mike mentioned that SeaWorld and Universal offer free lockers where the free time is tied to the queue length.
Mary Tesch wrote in to say that she hoped that we hadn’t permanently lost the “Ask the Kid” segment. She likes hearing what Mark’s son has to say. She also noted that she already reads the Walt Disney World Park Update on the MousePlanet site on Mondays and she doesn’t really need to listen to the Walt Disney Company news (noting “While I find most of it interesting, I don’t really care how many weeks Disney has milked out of the 1 week limited showing of the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus 3D movie.”), so she thinks that putting the Company news on the site as a separate column and keeping it off of the podcast would be a good alternative.
While Mike feels strongly about the Hannah Montana movie, he agreed that he didn’t care how many weeks Disney had milked out of it, either.
Mark noted that we had run out the string of “Ask the Kid” questions that we had pre-recorded, and we hadn’t had time to record any more yet. We hope to have some more segments showing up soon.
Mark also thanked Mary for her kind comments about the Park Update.
Send us your Adventurer’s Club memories
The MouseStation is planning to give the Adventurer’s Club a proper sendoff as it heads to YesterWorld at the end of September. You can be a part of it by sending your memories of the Adventurer’s Club to us via email or by calling them in to 1-866-939-2278. Please get them in by September 21 to make sure that we get them before we record the show. Kungaloosh!
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
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Also remember to go out to our main podcast page and poke a pin into our Frappr map.
Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng.
Thank you for listening!
