MouseStation 159 – Listener Feedback
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Run time 0:37:38
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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).
If you want to contribute a story for our Monday 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!)
Listener Feedback Friday!
In this week’s Listener Feedback:
Sil Spagnuolo wrote in to let us know that he’s making his first trip to Disneyland this summer, then doing the Eastbound repositioning cruise on the Disney Magic. (Mike and Mark are both envious.) The primary reason for his note was to complain that we did not include The Dig Site at the Coronado Springs Resort in our list of top 3 pools.
Mark likes The Dig Site and the Jaguar Slide rocks, but Mike’s not a big fan. In either case, neither of us likes it enough to include it in our top 3. Somehow, Mike doesn’t remember that Coronado Springs has quiet pools.
Sil also noted that he planned to donate to Mark’s March of Dimes walk. (Thanks, Sil!)
Mike wrote in with his Top 3 resorts and favorite pools.
- Resorts
- 3. Disneyland Hotel
- 2. Contemporary – garden view rooms
- 1. Polynesian
He also thought that it was almost irresponsible of us to omit the Neverland pool at the Disneyland Hotel and the pool area of the Contemporary from our top 3. While we agree that the Neverland pool is really cool, and it didn’t make either of our top threes for various reasons (Mike’s reason is that he forgot about it), neither of us is impressed by the pool area at the Contemporary.
Thomas wrote in to stir the pot some more in our ongoing saga of “which park got the Dumbo ride apparatus targeted for Euro Disneyland”?
He referred us to the Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom, where it says (on page 93) that “In 1991, the ride apparatus for Disneyland Paris was redirected at the last minute to WDW in order to meet an accelerated rehab scedule. This was good for WDW, but the Disneyland Paris team was forced to build a replacment very quickly to be ready for their Opening Day! Our new Dumbo reopened 1n 1993 with some welcome enhancements.”
Those dates seem wrong to Mark, since Euro Disneyland (now Disneyland Paris) opened in April 1992, so why would apparatus be rerouted from a 1992 opening to a 1993 re-opening? Mark has sent an email to see if we can get Alex Wright (the author of the Imagineering Field Guide series) to clarify the answer once and for all. We’ll let you know if and when we hear back from him.
Dan the Light Man and Nancy the Light Girl called in a lengthy voicemail (that we trimmed for the show, yet it still ran over 7 minutes) with a review of Citricos. It’s their favorite restaurant at Walt Disney World with the exception of Victoria & Albert’s, which is in a whole different class.
They ate there twice on their last trip in February. (The “special Valentine’s Day menu” was just the regular menu with some Valentine’s Day decorations on it.) On their first trip, Nancy had the sauteed shrimp appetizer, while Dan had the gateau of crab. Dan had the Florida black grouper (with a special citrus sauce instead of the standard olives and olive oil), while Nancy had the braised veal shank. Dessert was the Year of a Million Dreams lemon cheesecake for Nancy and the warm chocolate banana torte for Dan. Nancy topped it off with a dessert wine, Moscatto di Asti Vasponeta. Nancy gives Citricos 5 out of 5 planets, while Dan would give it a 4.8, as there’s always room for improvement.
Valentine’s Day dinner was pan-seared scallops for Dan and duck confit for Nancy. (And Nancy actually got on the phone to talk about her meal!) They enjoyed their first meal more than their Valentine’s meal, though. (Dan, if you can send us a scan of the menu, we’d love to put it on our Park Guide page for the restaurant.) And of course, everybody who has eaten at Citricos should submit their own reviews to our Review System page for the restaurant.
Our Aussie friend John Mouland wrote in to ask for help promoting the Disney Podcast Network’s WestFest. While our show is not a member of the Network, and we won’t be able to attend WestFest, we’ll pass along the information anyway, in case anybody wants to attend. (If you do, please wear a MouseStation shirt from our CafePress store to carry our flag!) Here’s the information from John:
Westfest is a gathering of anyone with a love of Disney. The organisers of Westfest invite you to join the festivities at the ³Original Anaheim Kingdom² in Southern California.
This is a perfect opportunity to visit with good friends, put faces to online names, make new friends, have some laughs and share our love for what Walt Disney created over 50 years ago. It¹s a weekend full of family, friends and just plain having FUN!
Enjoy your visit to the Disneyland Resort. Take some time to explore the parks and along the way the DPN Podcasters will be holding a number of events to enhance your visit even further.
The events can be as simple as sharing a ride on one of the attractions or more involved like getting the inside scoop of some of the more intimate details of the parks, given by a former Cast Member.
The events are scattered throughout the weekend to give a nice balance of activities and times to relax and enjoy what the Disneyland Resort has to offer.
At Westfest there is something for everyone. Just as Walt wanted a place that parents and children could experience together, we want Westfest to be an event that can be shared and enjoyed with all people.
Westfest is an event meant to be shared among families and between friends for a weekend that you¹ll be talking about for years to come.
The weekend¹s signature event is the Banquet Dinner held on Saturday night. This is one Gala Event you won¹t want to miss! The Westfest banquet dinner will be held on Saturday, May 3 from 6pm to10pm at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Anaheim, Anaheim.
We are very excited to announce that we will have Yehaa Bob Jackson from Walt Disney World’s Port Orleans Riverside resort joining us as the entertainment for the evening.
Bob has been bringing laughter and music to audiences at Walt Disney World for more than ten years. Bob will combine his great boogie woogie piano skills with comedy and sing along to create a unique audience interactive experience for Westfest attendees. Seats are limited so sign up early.
For bookings and enquiries, please head to Westfest¹s official website: www.dpnwestfest.com
See you at Westfest! May 3 & 4, 2008 – Disneyland, Anaheim California
Kate Tillan wrote in to say how much she enjoyed our interview with David Koenig. She was able to buy his latest book (Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World) and have him sign it at MouseFest, and she really enjoyed reading it. She’s looking forward to reading his other books. Mark recommended the Golden Anniversary edition of Mouse Tales, since it has a great audio CD of David and the “Forward Into the Past” guy taking you on a tour of Disneyland during its early days.
Sharla asked whether we could involve our listeners more, maybe having someone sit in with us once a month or so. She also asked for advice on her first solo trip to Walt Disney World at the end of the month, as she’s not sure how to approach a trip where she’s traveling alone.
We’ll see if we can come up with a way to record with listeners. Since we record late at night, it will be especially difficult to record with East Coast listeners, but we’ll look into ways to either include one listener in a show or set up a conference-call sort of event. Let us know what you think!
As to taking a solo trip, Mark recommended the pub section of the Rose and Crown, the Biergarten or Teppan Edo as locations where it’s easy to sit as a single person and have others sitting with you, making it easier to have a nice chat during dinner. He also likes just going wherever the whim takes him. He also likes striking up conversations with the folks around him while waiting for parades and nighttime spectaculars.
Mike suggests bringing a book or an iPod for down times. He also recommends taking tours, because it’s more affordable to pay for only one person. It’s also easier to get into a tour as a single.
Wrapping up
Please send us your comments 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!
On April 27, Mark will be walking to raise money for the March of Dimes for the third time. Please consider supporting him. The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
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Thanks to our West Coast correspondent Andrew Rich, and audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng.
Thank you for listening!
