WDWGuy Blog

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Huh, where am I?

Posted on September 7th, 2007 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Wow, has it really been a year since I’ve posted to the blog?

Just goes to show what can happen when you get bombarded by life. If you have been checking to see where I have been these last few months, I apologize for being AWOL. New jobs for both my wife and myself, along with surgeries for both of us, have made it difficult to find the time to provide updates.

But now I am back and ready to start posting again. In the time since I’ve been gone, there have been a lot of developments at Walt Disney World, most of which I have gotten to see up close, since we took at trip there in May. That’s right! I and my family were at WDW just a few months ago. I’ll try to post some pictures and musings over the next few days, as time allows, and try to get into a more regular pattern of posting as well.

If you’ve stuck with me, thanks. If this is your first time here, welcome. Hopefully you will like it enough to come back.

Mouse Radio

Posted on August 17th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Added another link to link list, so I thought I would give it a plug.

Mouse Radio is an internet radio station on the Live365 network. I’ve talked about a couple of the stations before, and this is in the top tier. They play a great mix of stuff from the Walt Disney World parks, and it’s clear-as-a-bell audio. Listen to it on good equipment, and it’s almost like you are there. There are links to the Live365 website where you can get the station, and it’s available in both free and VIP format.

There’s also a forum that is mostly dedicated to Walt Disney World photos, but where you can also make comments on the stations’ format and content. All-in-all a good site if you are interested in park music or photos.

Best times to go to WDW?

Posted on August 16th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Had someone who is planning a trip ask me what is the best time to go to the Walt Disney World Resort. I think that’s a very good question and depends on a lot of factors, so there’s not one definitive answer, as far as I’m concerned. However, all things being equal, I would pick two times — early May or early December.

I’ve been a couple of times in early May and it’s a fabulous time. It’s warm but not hot, and the crowds are only moderate. The parks are open to a reasonable hour and all the parades and fireworks shows are shown virtually every night. My last trip was in the second week of May and it was a perfect time to take our then-3-year-old. He really enjoyed it and we didn’t have any problems at all from a logistical standpoint.

While I personally have never been in early December, from what I understand, it’s also a pretty good time. The parks are decorated for Christmas and crowds are among their lowest of the year. Parks are not open very late and scheduling for fireworks and parades are sporadic, but that’s a tradeoff that’s worth it to be able to walk onto almost every ride.

So that’s my picks. Anyone agree or disagree?

Pecos Bill’s Cafe

Posted on August 15th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: Magic Kingdom, General posts.

Trying to get back to a more regular schedule of posting, so, as promised, here is another restuarant review for you. This time, we’re taking a look at Pecos Bill’s Cafe in Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom.

In my opinion, this is the best counter service restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, and maybe the best in the entire resort. I have eaten here many times, at least once per trip for the last decade. As the name suggests, the fare is not fancy — burgers and hot dogs are the staples. You can also get a pretty good chicken sandwich, and salads and fruit are available for those who don’t want\can’t eat fast food. But what Pecos Bill’s lacks in the “fanciness” of its food, it more than makes up for in quality. The burgers are excellent, especially for theme park fare, and the hot dogs are just as tasty. Portions are big, bordering on huge and prices are just overpriced and not ridiculous.

But the best part of the restaurant is the fixin’ bar, where you can dress your sandwich any way that you like. Standard condiments — catsup, mustard, mayonaise — are available, as well as tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and onions, both raw and sauteed. You can also get cheese sauce and sauteed mushrooms as well. The arrangement is good for both Disney and patrons — Disney restaurant staff can be more efficient in preparing sandwiches if it doesn’t have to specialize create each one to order, and people who can create the sandwich they want are much more likely to be satisfied with their meal.

The eating area is pretty big, with tables both inside and outside, but does tend to get crowded at lunch and dinner, even on sparse days, as this is one of the most popular eateries in the park. And the fixin bar can be a traffic nightmare any time of the day.

Still, the plusses outweigh the minuses at Pecos Bill’s. It’s definitely worth a stop if you want good fast food in the park.

Timekeeper’s demise

Posted on August 14th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: Magic Kingdom, General posts.

The news has been out for a while, but I haven’t had a chance yet to comment on the demise of the “Timekeeper” attraction at Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom. While I’m intrigued by it’s replacement — a Monster’s Inc. version of the wildly entertaining and successful “Turtle Talk with Crush” — I’m going to miss the “Timekeeper” very much.

Why? Several reasons. First, this was one of Robin Williams’ most hysterical “family” roles. Granted, the guy is funny in almost anything that he does, but a lot of his work is not for general consumption. As the Timekeeper, he was both funny and clean and at his manic best. Second, it was also one of the few places where you could still get a dose of Robin Williams at Disney World. There’s not an Aladdin show anymore. The Animation Courtyard movie that he did with Walter Cronkite has been replaced. The Timekeeper was it, and the loss of Williams at Disney World is a loss for everyone as far as I’m concerned.

But finally, this was one of the few Circlevision movies that I could get my wife to go see. For some reason, they play havoc with her equilibrium, give her a headache and make her extremely queezy. Inexplicably, these problems didn’t seem to affect her on “Timekeeper.” Guess if I want to see the China or Canada movie now, I’ll be seeing them by myself.

Get out your wallet

Posted on August 8th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

If you’re planning a trip to Walt Disney World anytime soon, that giant sucking sound you’re hearing is Disney putting a vacuum cleaner to your bank account. For the second time in less than a year, the Mouse House has raised ticket prices at theme parks in the Walt Disney World Resort, starting August 6. Now, granted, the jump is not huge, but it is across the board. Basically ever aspect of the “Magic your Way” scheme that Disney came up with last year is more expensive.

Here’s one example. Let’s say you wanted a five-day ticket with Park Hopping priviledges. Before the increase, it would have been $239 for an adult (including taxes) and $202 for kids. Now it’s $251 for adults and $214 for kids. Basically a $12 increase, or just over $2 a day.

I certainly don’t begrudge a company getting what it can get for it’s product, and Disney certainly doesn’t believe that this increase is going to make any kind of dent in theme park attendance, or they wouldn’t have done it. But I just don’t think it’s good PR to raise prices more than once a year, unless you’ve got a pretty compelling reason. And a chance to grab more of people’s money is NOT a compelling reason.

If you are interested in looking at a chart with all the new prices, go to this page on the WDW Magic website.

Huh, where am I?

Posted on August 8th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Geez, has it really been over two weeks since I’ve posted to the site? Really, really sorry about that. Things have been crazy at my real job and I’ve had a few family issues as well. But i’m back now and hopefully posting a LOT more regularly. Thanks if you’re still around for sticking with me through this time.

Monorail vs. Ferryboat

Posted on July 20th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Got to thinking today about which way I prefer to get to the Magic Kingdom from the Transportation and Ticket Center — the Monorail or the Ferryboat. For me, I would have to say the Monorail. It was the first way I got there as a kid, and it just somehow seems right to hustle up the ramp, bound through the turnstiles and onto the “highway in the sky.”

I’ve ridden the Ferryboat a few times, and it’s actually not a bad trip, especially at the end of the day, when you are tired and need some peace. But there is just something about the Monorail that makes it special. Maybe it’s going through the Contemporary Resort. Maybe its the cool air conditioning. Maybe it’s just the uniqueness of it. I don’t know.

What does everyone else think?

Biergarten

Posted on July 19th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: Epcot, General posts.

Once a week or so I’m going to try to give some dining suggestions for the Walt Disney World Resort. I’m going to try to do a mix — not just the more expensive sit-down restaurants, but the counter-service, food stands and specialty shops that I’ve had a chance to try out as well.

My first recommendation is going to be Biergarten in Germany at Epcot. Now, I’ve been to Epcot many times, but it wasn’t until my trip in 2000 that I actually tried this restaurtant, and then it was at the insistance of another couple that was with my wife and myself on the trip. My one experience with a German restaurant in the past had not been great, so I was reluctant to “waste” a meal in Germany when there were so many other perfectly good dining options in World Showcase.

Boy, was I wrong. Biergarten is a reasonably (for Disney) priced buffet (about $25 for dinner), with surprisingly good food. Brats and weinkraut, German salads and such. Some American staples like chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for the kids. An oompah band for entertainment. I’ve been twice now and it’s been a hoot both times.

Vacation Planning Kit

Posted on July 19th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Got my copy of this year’s Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Kit in the mail the other day, and this one is pretty cool. If you don’t know what this is, if you go to the Walt Disney World website, and click on the Vacation Planning kit (or just click on this link), you can sign up for a free copy of the kit. Included is a DVD, a CD-ROM for the computer, and several brochures.

I’ve been getting these things for a decade now, and each one gets better and better. The DVDs are especially good, because they have interactive menus and tons of information. This year’s has a unique and informative cast to host it, with one person dealing with the relaxation aspects of the resort, one with the family entertainment, one with thrills, and one who … well, she’s just really cute and perky. Definitely worth it if you aren’t familiar with the resort, or if you just need a fix and can’t afford to go right now (which is the situation I am in this year).

A new look

Posted on July 18th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

If you’ve dropped by the site in our first week or so of existance and have come back now, you’ll see that I’ve changed the look. I liked the colors of the original, but it was a bit busy, and it didn’t give me a lot of flexibility in terms of what I might want to do in the future. So I’ve switched themes, at least for the time being.

I thought this one was pretty good, because it will allow me (or you) to change the look of the site at any time. The little boxes under the title are links to different Walt Disney World wallpapers that i’ve uploaded, and you can change them anytime you want just by clicking on the box. Right now I just have three of them, but I plan on adding more as I can. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Vote in our poll

Posted on July 18th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Look over to the right and you will see that I’ve added a poll to the blog. I don’t know how often I’ll change it out, we’ll see how that goes. But right now, the question is pretty simple: Which of the four Disney parks is your favorite? I’ve started the voting off with the Magic Kingdom. Which one is yours?

MouseWorld Radio and Sorcerer Radio

Posted on July 18th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Just added two more links to the list at the left, and both are pretty cool. I’m really into Walt Disney World Sounds, namely, music and sound effects from the parks. I’ve got a pretty good collection and have managed to find a lot of stuff on the internet. I’ve got probably a couple hundred sounds and songs from the parks.

However, I stumbled across these two sites, MouseWorld Radio and Sorcerer Radio, which make me look like an amateur. Both are part of the Live365 network, and “broadcast” Walt Disney World sounds and songs 24 hours a day. It’s amazing. You do have to download a proprietary player to your browser, but if you’ve got high-speed internet, you can get Walt Disney World ambiance on your computer pretty much anytime you want it.

Enjoy.

Re-Imagineering Blog

Posted on July 17th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Just added a new link to the list over on the left side, and if you follow Disney very much at all, then you’ve probably already seen it.

When Disney acquired Pixar earlier this year, John Lasseter, head of Pixar’s creative team and one of the founders of the company, became head of Walt Disney Imagineering. Now Lasseter is a huge Disney geek, and like the rest of us geeks, has been pretty ticked off about some of the things that Disney has done with the parks in the last 20 years. So in order to get a feel for what the Imagineers would have done, had they been given the money and/or permission, he invited them to start a blog to share their feeling. Here’s how the subtitle to the Re-Imagineering blog puts it:

A forum for Pixar and Disney professionals passionate about the Disney Theme Parks to catalog past Imagineering missteps and offer tenable practical solutions in hopes that a new wave of creative management at Imagineering can restore some of the wonder and magic that’s been missing from the parks for decades.

I don’t think it was ever meant for the general public, but something that juicy is going to get out. The insights that it has provided have been extremely interesting, and even though it’s updated infrequently (an average of around once a week), the posts are usually great.

However, the posters can tend to get a pit preachy in their feelings toward Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Take this post for example. The writer is bemoaning the fact that Disney has taken to putting a themed shop at the exit of virtually every ride in the parks. A “Buzz Lightyear” shop at the end of “Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin” is once instance. There are tons of others. Somehow, the writer seems to think that since Walt Disney had a “disdain for the hard sell” that he wouldn’t approve. Frankly, to me it doesn’t matter whether Walt would approve or not. Those stores are there for one reason — the stuff in them sells. Real estate in the parks are at a premium and always will be. If a particular area doesn’t generate revenue (or in the case of an attraction, visitors), it gets changed. Period.

But that’s my only real criticism of the site. Otherwise, it’s a must for the bookmarks of any serious Disney fan.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Posted on July 17th, 2006 by wdwguy.
Categories: General posts.

Is it just me, or does there seem to be a lack of WDW news out there right now? Looked around several Disney websites this morning, and about the only thing I can find is that one of the lakes at Epcot (near The Land) is being drained. Not much to say about that.