MouseStation 297 – Collected Short Subjects
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Run time 0:48:44
On today’s show, we’ve got Disney Animation, Earl of Sandwich, listener suggestions on show topics and more.
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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 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
Listener Sean Jones wrote in to recommend viewing the movies that theme park attractions are based on. He’s always shocked to hear and read about Disney parks enthusiasts that have never seen movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Pinocchio. Sean recommended watching (for Disneyland, at least) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. He also added a number of other films.
Mike was helping out at a daycare center recently and he was amazed how many kids hadn’t seen The Lion King. Mark noted how, due to cuts in story in order to keep Finding Nemo – The Musical to a reasonable running length, people who had not seen the movie complained of being lost trying to keep up with the story during the show. He also made note of the Winky character in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
Somehow, Mark and Mike got onto scratch-and-sniff smells during movies, and Mark mentioned John Waters’ Polyester. Mike brought it back to Disney by mentioning ushers with scent spritzers during the initial run of Fantasia.
Mark also brought it back to the relationship between The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and the Headless Horseman who leads off Mickey’s Boo To You Parade during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
Featured Attraction
This week we look at the Walt Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom.
Mark stumped Mike on the names of the four locomotives on the railroad (Walter E. Disney, Roy O. Disney, Roger E. Broggie and Lilly Belle). He also gave an overview of the three stations and then a detailed look at all three. He also did a poor imitation of Mr. Dawes, the Elder when talking about the wooden leg named Smith in the lost and found. Mark went on to describe some of the visuals and sound along the rest of the track. Mark also talked about an old story about scuplted alligators along the track in the back of the park.
Review System Spotlight
This week we take a look at Cinderella’s Royal Table at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. MousePlanet readers really like it, rating it 3.5 out of five planets for character breakfast and rating it 4.0 out of five planets for lunch and dinner. Our featured review this week is by brs214 of Philadelphia, PA.
brs214 and her husband thought that the restaurant was good, but not worth the price.
Mark doesn’t pay close attention to what’s going on with this restaurant these days, as he doesn’t think that it’s worth the price and his son doesn’t have much interest in princesses. He believes, however, that there are now many princesses at breakfast and lunch, while dinner is just the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella’s mouse friends.
Mike isn’t thrilled with the food quality, but he enjoys sitting there during the fireworks and watching the light from the fireworks through the stained glass windows.
While breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table is probably the toughest meal to book at Walt Disney World, Mike and Mark both mentioned that a Disney specialist travel agent will often try to make this booking for you as part of their services when you make your travel reservations through them. Mark noted that MousePlanet’s preferred Disney travel providers are MouseEarVacations and Small World Vacations, forgetting that Get Away Today also sponsors the Disneyland side of the site. Of course, only MouseEarVacations is a current sponsor of the MouseStation Podcast.
You can also find Cinderella’s Royal Table in our Park Guide.
Episode 300 is coming!
We still don’t know what we’re going to do for Episode 300, but we’re wondering what your favorite episodes or favorite moments from the first 2 and a quarter years of the MouseStation might be. We still don’t know what we’re going to do with them, but call or write in and let us know what you like the most!
Magical Moment
This week’s Magical Moment comes from listener Ron Rowe from McAllen, Texas (near South Padre Island, Texas).
Ron wrote in with a story about a great vacation with his parents, and how the most memorable part of the whole trip for his mother was a couple of seconds of interaction with a parade performer who noticed her “First Visit” button.
Mark and Mike talked some more about how the cast member interactions are the real strength of the Disney experience. Mark noted that last week’s layoffs will hopefully not impact the guest service within the parks. (For more on the layoffs, see yesterday’s Walt Disney World Park Update and Disneyland Park Update.
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.
Listener Feedback
Joey in Tucson called into the voicemail and told us that the video for the “I’m So Excited” opening to the Disneyland 30th Anniversary Special is available on YouTube. He followed up with the link, so here it is:
Mike and Mark had a bit to say about this, but you can form your own opinions.
Eric wrote in to ask if we knew what Jason Surrell’s next book will be about. At this point, we do not. We haven’t gotten new information from him since then. We do know, however, that he has moved over from Walt Disney Imagineering to Walt Disney World Entertainment, and that he had a role in the creation of the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party, but that’s about it at the moment.
Paul wrote in to share a story about being a bystander when a child was forced to sit through the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter against his wishes. Not only was the boy terrified throughout the show (and likely traumatized afterward), his constant wailing during the show made it impossible for any of the other guests to enjoy the show.
Paul also asked why nobody has ever mentioned the recently-modified bus sound systems that announce your destination and play music related to your destination. Mike noted that the system was installed in 2007, and that he doesn’t mind it in the morning, but found it obnoxious at night when he’s tired. Mark noted that he understands why Disney has made the change, but that he also knows that some people miss the personality of the bus drivers (who have even led singalongs or played trivia contests on the buses). Mike mentioned a bus driver in 2004 who made like the bus was a horse, complete with sound effects, and noted that many guests afterward wanted to talk with the driver and thank him for the ride.
Stuart Sternberg wrote in to congratulate us on our upcoming 300th episode and suggested that we hit the milestone as a Mousestation March of Dimes live call in pledgeathon. Mark isn’t sure whether we’re set up to do a live call-in show, and he’s also not comfortable doing a hard sell. (Plus, how many people would call in on a Thursday night?)
Matt wrote in to ask if we knew how he could get in contact with Imagineering to conduct an interview or any information available for a research paper on WDI that he’s doing for school. Mark recommended sending them a letter at WDI headquarters, as he can’t pass out the contact information for his press representatives.
Walt Disney Imagineering
1401 Flower St
Glendale, CA 91201-2421
Their phone number is: (818) 544-6500
March of Dimes
Mark was recently named the top walker for the March of Dimes Northeastern New York region for 2008, and second overall in Upstate New York (above the counties of Westchester and Rockland). MousePlanet readers and MouseStation listeners helped Mark to raise over $5,000 for the worthy charity. We’re looking to beat that this year and raise $6,000! Just go to Mark’s fundraising page and help to provide a better chance to prevent prematurity and to help those babies that are born prematurely.
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MouseAdventure at Walt Disney World, November 14
Don’t forget to sign up for the MouseAdventure Newsletter, which will keep you informed as the MouseAdventure on the High Seas cruise and other details are announced!
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.
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Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng and to announcer Andrew Rich.
Thank you for listening!
