MouseStation 307 – Collected Short Subjects
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Run time 0:37:09
On today’s show, Mike and Mark talk about Star Tours, Mama Melrose’s 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.
Tip of the Week
Mark put out a call via Twitter and Facebook for Tip of the Week contributions, and got a whole bunch of suggestions in response that we’ll use in the coming weeks. Today’s tip comes via Facebook from Steve Kiscamp. Steve suggests that you always be upwind during Illuminations.
The last time Mike and Mark saw Illuminations with Steve (and his wife Vicki) was back in 2006, and there were smoke problems due to their location at that time.
Mark had major fallout problems when at Lou Mongello’s Illuminations meet during MouseFest 2008 at Japan’s Torii Gate. The fallout was very bad, and people were being hit by fireworks shrapnel.
Mark suggested having three places in mind for viewing Illuminations and then selecting whichever one is upwind about an hour before show time.
Mike remembered that his worst shrapnel experience was after riding Dumbo during Wishes one night when he was there with Mark and another friend.
Featured Attraction
This week we look at Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Mark first talked about still not hearing anything further about a re-do for the attraction. Note that this show was recorded before the first confirmation of the new film being underway was widely known. So there is definite work being done on a new film for the ride, but none of the other technology changes are known, so it will take an indefinite amount of time to change it over.
Mark pointed out some inside items to keep an eye out for when you’re going on the attraction.
Mark and Mike bickered and bantered a bit about the attraction. Mike is very happy about all of the top-level third-party franchises in the Disney parks.
Review System Spotlight
This week we take a look at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. MousePlanet readers really like it, rating it 3.7 out of five planets. Our featured review this week is by muchado aboutmuffins of Cambs, UK.
Muchado aboutmuffins and hs family had a good meal, but were disappointed with some things. They were also somewhat disappointed that, though they had purchased the Fantasmic Dining Package, they didn’t get to see the show because the show was rained out that night and there were no rainchecks.
Mark explained the difficulty with attempting to provide dining plan rain checks for Fantasmic.
Mark again talked about missing the old all-you-can-eat pasta dishes at Mama Melrose’s. Mark and Mike also talked about how the restaurant is the usual lunch stop during the Backstage Magic Tour, and is well-situated for that purpose.
You can also find Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano in our Park Guide.
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
Paul Schnebelen wrote in to congratulate us on our 300th show, and to note that his favorite moments of the show have been the blooper shows, as it provides him comfort to know that things can get messed up here, as well.
Paul Jones wrote to Mark on Facebook noting that we shouldn’t give up on checking out Shades of Green, as military folks can bring friends, and maybe Mark could take a research trip sometime soon. Mark finds the concept intriguing, and would be happy to even tour the resort without staying there. If any of our listeners would be able to provide such a tour, please let Mark know.
Mark Daniel Martinez (a.k.a. Digital Jedi) wrote in to once again state that – on the topic of parents forcing kids on attractions – people who say that you have to know your kids then go on to dictate their preferred method for all kids. Mark wanted to reiterate that it varies per child and that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. In other words, “know your child, but please don’t presume to also know mine.” Great point.
Brian from Atomic Bear Press sent a message to Mark via Twitter suggesting that we do a top 3 of which movies would you want to have as additional dark rides in Fantasyland. That’s a great idea, and we’ll put it on the list of possible topics.
March of Dimes
Mark’s walk for the March of Dimes went well, though he did not make his goal. MousePlanet readers and MouseStation listeners made up more than half of the non-Mark-contributed money – thanks so much! The donations page should remain active through the end of the month, so you there’s still time to donate, if you’d like. 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 that registration is now open for MouseAdventure Walt Disney World! Get your team ready and sign up now!
Also, don’t forget to sign up for the MouseAdventure Newsletter, which will keep you informed as more details about MouseAdventure and the MouseAdventure on the High Seas cruise 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!
