MouseStation 277 – Collected Short Subjects
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Run time 0:41:13
On today’s show, we cover Smart Watermelon in Las Vegas, T-Rex Cafe, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, designing a thrill ride for cowboy Woody, a quick MouseFest chat with Chris Barry, listener feedback and more.
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Thanks to our sponsors
Today’s show is sponsored by:
MouseEarVacations.com. Providing Magical Vacations for over 21 years.
Scooter Vacations. Official mobility scooter charitable partner to Kids Wish Network and Starlight Starbright Foundation.
Owner’s Locker. Why bring all that stuff back and forth, when you can leave it at Disney and have it waiting for you when you come back?
Tip of the Week
West Coast correspondent Andrew Rich wrote in following his trip to Las Vegas to let us know how you can get a little taste of Walt Disney World in Vegas.
You can get Smart Watermelon, Lift Apple, Beverly and other foreign Coca-Cola flavors—which are available at Club Cool at Epcot—at the Coca Cola store across the Strip for the Monte Carlo hotel. In addition, the Miracle Mile/Desert Passage mall at the Planet Hollywood hotel has an Earl of Sandwich.
Featured Attraction
This week we look at the Voyage of the Little Mermaid at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Mark saw it in August for the first time in a while, and thought that they do a good job, but that the 17-minute version of the animated feature is so condensed that it may lose people who have never seen the movie. Mike complained that the “continuous shows” throughout the day didn’t give you exact show times that allow you to return in time to make it into your show of choice. Mark also talked a little about the original history of the theater.
Review System Spotlight
This week we look at T-Rex Cafe at Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney. A MousePlanet reader sort of likes it, rating it 3.0 out of five planets. Our featured review this week, the only review of the restaurant so far, is by Ripley68 of Huntsville, AL.
Ripley68 wasn’t overly impressed by the decor and thought that it was too noisy. Her family thought that the food was OK, but wasn’t impressed by it. They decided not to return there.
Mike visited T-Rex Cafe twice during MouseFest. He thought that the theming was better than Rainforest Cafe, and that the food was so-so. The service both nights was really great because the waiter recognized him from the show. He also took issue that the specialty drinks required you to buy the souvenir glasses, which really added to the price. He had a really bad sandwich, which he sent back, and replaced it with a quesadilla, which was wonderful.
You can also find T-Rex Cafe in our Park Guide.
Ask the Kid
This week’s question comes from Sean Jones, who asks: “What would make a better coaster ride for Woody from Toy Story – a water ride (like Splash Mountain) or a traditional roller coaster (like Big Thunder)?”
The Kid originally suggested a water coaster, where it’s a coaster at some points but at other points it’s a water ride. When he actually got to describing the attraction, though, he ended up with a highly themed roller coaster (including on-ride sound effects) that had a splashdown at the end like the Matterhorn at Disneyland.
You can submit your own question for The Kid.
Last Week on MousePlanet
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.
MouseFest Moment
Rather than doing a big show compiling a whole bunch of short interviews Mike did during MouseFest, we’re going to string them out for a few months as an extra segment on our Monday show.
This week, Mike talks with MousePlanet’s Chris Barry at PodFest. Chris writes about “Disney Stuff” on a monthly basis. He’s been writing for MousePlanet for about seven months, after writing for Jim Hill Media for almost two years. He’s been very happy writing for MousePlanet, and is hoping to increase how much he’s writing here.
He related a story about some magic that cast members made for his wife for a special birthday, and also talked about his past in television production including his time with Jim Henson and the Muppets.
Listener Feedback
Stuart Sternberg thanked us for our hard work and wished us a happy and healthy New Year.
Chuck suggested that a “La Ratatouille” bistro in the France area of Epcot would work well. It would serve nice little meals for lunch and dinner. He hoped that some Epcot staff might take note of his idea. He also wished us happy holidays.
March of Dimes
If you’re looking for a last-minute tax deduction this year, Mark has been able to set up his March of Dimes site early this year. For more information or to donate, go to his fundraising page.
We’re now on Facebook! Join the MousePlanet and MouseStation groups. You can also become a fan of MousePlanet or the MouseStation. If you join the club and use Pieces of Flair, you can get your MousePlanet and MouseStation flair from Mark (though you have to friend him first).
Wrapping up
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.
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 MouseStation CafePress store.
Also remember to go out to our main podcast page and stick a pin into our Frappr map.
Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng and to announcer Andrew Rich.
Thank you for listening!
