50 Magical Ears - A Very Rambling WDW 2022 Trip Report

None of us are ever going to get Harmonious the way the little girl next to me cheering and clapping and singing along Gets it.

But Harmonious is very good!  I really liked it!  It's not "Reflections of Earth", but what could be?  "Reflections of Earth" was a transcendent experience.  They wanted you to be in awe of the Millennium and the world and maybe even leave you tearing up - all in a nightly pyrotechnic spectacular.  

Harmonious wants you to get up and dance.  And honestly, that's fine!  The effects are insane and not only does the show still look good from an odd angle, where you cannot see the "Stargate" (a big worry of mine), it also looks great from outside the park.

The new Ratatouille ride is so fun and cute!  I really like this new trend of trackless rides.  So far all of them have been very good.  The new little area of France where the ride is situated is lovely.  That said, it was both hilarious and unnerving how many people I overheard who thought the ride was a restaurant. 

And I'm going to go ahead and mention one of the bad changes at Disney.  Genie+ is terrible.  I really don't think I ever heard anyone swear under their breath louder or more often over anything WDW related before Genie came along.  Fastpass wasn't perfect, but it was pretty easy to understand and didn't cost extra.  I haven't the foggiest idea how first time visitors are meant to figure it out.

More things that were new to me: The Skyliner is very cool.  We had a fun time just riding it around.  I don't know that I'd ever go near it in bad weather, but the week we were at Disney we mostly lucked out with sunny days.  It was even warm enough to swim; I don't think I've been able to do that in years!  

So, Galaxy's Edge.  It's nice; the last time I was there I didn't have much time to explore the place but this visit, I could spend the better part of the afternoon there.  The little details are great and I had a lot of fun playing the interactive games.  And Rise of the Resistance is unbelievable!  Like, I can't even describe how good it is.  And it is long!  My goodness, it's nice to have a brand new good long ride.

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Art of the Day!  Have some sketches from a Liminal Space.  Click for big:

More Art and Thoughts From Around WDW

 Okay, this post was originally going to be The Trip Report but as soon as I started writing that, it turned out to deserve a whole blog of it's own.  So look forward to that next week (Edit: Sorry, make that NEXT next week.  Probably.  I hope.)  

Meanwhile, more sketches and thoughts from Animal Kingdom park, the Coral Reef restaurant, and around the Beach Club pools.

So. The Pandemic.  It did not end up adversely affecting much that I could see.  (Indeed, we mostly had a great time and any bad times were almost always due to things neither we nor Disney could've controlled.  Almost.)  One of the big changes was how character encounters work.  You can't go up to meet them, so they'll show up in the little patios at EPCOT, or riding a boat along the river in Animal Kingdom. It is almost like how it was in the 70's-90's where random characters would just show up whenever, and I have to say, hearing music and looking around to see Mickey riding in a boat is a heck of a lot more fun than waiting in line to meet him in a room.

Above, you see my very brief impression of Disney's Kite Tails.  This is a new live show at Animal Kingdom, replacing Rivers of Light.  Rivers of Light was very nice when all of the effects worked, which, more often than not, they did not.  Kite Tails, as I'm sure you know if you've already seen the videos, is Very Special.  Part of me wants it to stick around for a while so everyone can experience it for themselves.  BUT!  Another much louder part of me wants it to end up a short-lived Bizarrerie like Superstar Limo or Barbie's Birthday Bash.  Only better because I was there this time!  I got to see the show!  And years later, I'll try to describe it to younger WDW fans -- and they will probably just assume I am recalling a weird dream.  Which is fair.

The parks were way more crowded than I ever would have guessed, given the reservation system.  I have heard since that there are no more "slow days" or less-crowded weeks at Disney.  What a bummer, especially if you're trying to eat dinner at EPCOT with no reservation.  There was no getting into Space 220, nor the Garden Grill.  But where the sky and land failed us, the Sea welcomed us.  Er, we got into Coral Reef I mean.  What a nice, underrated restaurant.  The sharks and rays were very active that evening and the food and drinks were excellent.

We'll round things out today with a trip to Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Kidani Village had a special tour of one of their savannas and I got to see their elusive Okapis up close!  This was another of my favorite experiences this trip; right up there with Harmonious.

"Life is a Kumquat!" - Let's watch the Grand Opening of Walt Disney World!

You didn't think I'd head down to the 50'th Anniversary Celebration of Walt Disney World without sharing a vintage Disney Parks special did you?  Well strap in, because what better special to watch for the anniversary of Walt Disney World than the Grand Opening of Walt Disney World?

I love this.  It's not as insane as the Tenth Anniversary special (what could be?) but it is very close.  That running subplot about the campers is extremely special.  So is the catchy song about how, if you think you do not have to visit WDW because you've been to Disneyland, you are very wrong, because WDW has MORE!!!  We get extended looks at the Country Bears and the Hall of Presidents, and rare footage of the Mickey Mouse Review.  Arthur Fiedler conducts a huge marching band, Bob Hope gives a weird speech, Glen Campbell sings existential songs in the woods, and Julie Andrews sings and watches a good chunk of the Animated Canon!  All this and the amazing Vault Disney bumper!

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Art of the Day!

It's still Faebruary, so here's a portrait of the best Disney Fairy.

Let's go Under the Sea!

It is Pisces Season my friends, and I can think of no better place to spend it than deep under the sea.  First, lets travel on a virtual ride on the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction from the early, weird days of Disney World.  This comes from our friends at Defunctland, and is intended to be experienced on a VR headset.  I played it on my phone held right up to my face, which worked... okay.  It is a phenomenal recreation of a ride I got to experience one time ever and I look forward to other attraction recreations.

Next, an episode of the wonderful "Eyewitness Video" series about the ocean.  I really like this series and want to binge it at some point - after "The Muppet Show" of course.

And finally, Blank Check Podcast is doing a series on John Musker and Ron Clements and the Disney Renaissance.  So far, it's fantastic and their recent "Little Mermaid" episode is wonderful.

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Art of the Day!

A little water sprite for Faebruary

Hello, Nostalgia Bomb. Let's Watch "A Dream Called Walt Disney World"

The early days of Walt Disney Home Video were... something.  But among the seemingly random films and specials in the first few runs of home video releases was this very nice short film about Walt Disney World circa 1980.  It's basically a visual guide to the park presumably for tourists.  But in it's brief half-hour it provides a lovely document of what Disney World had to offer back then.  The Bob-around Boats, Top of the World dinner show, and River Country may be gone now, but goodness, there are still a few early attractions I've never experienced!



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Art of the Day!

More Mary Blair-ish things!

A Salute to All of America, but Mostly Mickey's Birthdayland? Let's Watch the 1988 WDW Independance Day Special!

It's February and you know what that means: I'm going to Walt Disney World this month!  And as is of course tradition, I am hyping myself up by watching weird vintage Disney Park television specials.

And because I also felt it was kind of weird keeping a Christmas post up top for so long, here's a... Fourth of July special?  Well, why not?



A special with this much stuff is right for any season.  Highlights include wrong-sounding Mickey announcing the whole entire new Magic Kingdom land built for his birthday, the very odd "Spirit of America" parade, a look at the then-new Norway pavilion, the Electric Light Parade complete with circus floats, a special preview of the Disney/MGM Studios, and the triumphant return of our lanky tap-dancing friend Tommy Tune in a patriotic musical finale that seems to go on forever. 

I hope that everyone in the coming year brings as much enthusiasm to their creative endeavors as Uncle Jessie does playing percussion here.

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Art of the Week!

I drew Pluto from memory and this happened:

2018 Animal Kingdom Sketches

I went to Animal Kingdom for the first time since they opened Pandora: The World of Avatar Pandora Landora!  But before we talk about that, we need to dive deep into the early days of this blog and talk Moleskines and Moleskine alternatives.



The unthinkable happened; I was about to go on a trip and did not have a new Sketchbook handy to start once my current one ran out of pages.  (I draw through and entire Sketchbook and start a new one immediately.  I have heard this is unusual of me but my broken OCD brain and I just can't believe it.)  Fortunately, I was able to order the two lovelies pictured above right away from Amazon.

The one on top is the one I am currently using and that went to Florida with me, the ZenArt Supplies B6 Sketchbook.  And it's very nice for sketching, doodling, and writing with a pencil or ballpoint pen.  But the pages are almost ridiculously thin; I have to scan with a sheet of card stock in between the pages or you'd have a nice preview of the art on the next page.  Art markers bleed right through and the pages roll over and give up at the very sight of even a dry-ish watercolor brush.  It fits right in my purse, though, and so this little Sketchbook joined me on every ride, show, exhibit, and other adventure in Disney World.  (For what it's worth, yes the paper is blacklight sensitive.)

And the ZenArt went to Animal Kingdom with me.  I have to say the ZenArt is very nice for drawing quickly on the spot.  I suppose though, so would a Sketchbook with nicer paper of the same size.  Oh well, here are the studies of the animals there:

The '90s Were Our '70s. Let's Watch "Witching You Were Here"!

The earlier Disney Parks specials have a certain "'70s-ness".  This special, however, celebrating the 25'th anniversary of Walt Disney World, has what I can only describe as a '90s-ness.

And also a '70s-ness.  See, I remember reading somewhere that you'd never be able to write a truly accurate depiction of life during the '70s without including the rampant '50s nostalgia.  Guess what rampant nostalgia '90s kids were bombarded with?

And so, we have a Disney Park special that whisks two little boys from 1971 through time to land in 1996.  Yup, it's bonkers.  It's more fun than "The Dream is Alive" at least; we actually get to see Walt Disney World for one thing.



Highlights to watch out for include the infamous Castle Cake, a deeply troubling walk-around Quasimodo costume, a God-damn "Really 700 Years Old" gag in a Disney special?!? 😨, and -of course- a mime!  Because it isn't a truly baffling vintage Disney Parks special without mimes.

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Art of the Day!

So, I've been thinking about the "Kingdom Hearts 3" trailer a lot, and I think my very favorite part is when this happens:

"Ah, man, I heard about this thing..." - Let's watch "The Dream is Alive"!

I reiterate: I like to watch vintage Disney Park specials before heading down to The World.  I like to see what's changed, what's stayed the same, and what I missed out on that I honestly wouldn't believe actually happened unless they were documented on film for posterity.

"Walt Disney World's 20'th Anniversary: The Dream is Alive" does not preserve much of the latter (save for a brief glimpse of a Pleasure Island marquee).  In fact, this Disney Park Anniversary Special contains almost NO footage of Walt Disney World at all.  What it gives us instead is Michael Eisner -a LOT of Michael Eisner- struggling to be as charismatic as possible.

Whew, they really don't make them like this anymore.  Look for Eddie Murphy's expression at about the seven minute mark, because I had a similar one watching this.



Side note: Me having to pause and rub my temples at the sight of Michael Eisner's credit in "Bojack Horseman" is the new me having to pause and rub my temples at the sight of Seth MacFarlane's credit in "Cosmos". 

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Art of the Day!

Speaking of Especially Weird Disney Things, we recently got a look at "Kingdom Hearts 3" and...

Oh no...

Oh nooooo...

In Which Barbie and I Both Celebrate Our Birthdays In EPCOT!

😍😍😍 HEY WOW WOWIE WOW AWESOME COOL FUN PARTY BARBIE BIRTHDAY AWESOME WOW YIPPEE YAY WIZARD WOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😍😍😍💩🍹🍰



😨
Okay, this one is going to take some explaining.

If you spend any significant amount of time in the Disney fan portion of this vast sea we call the Internet, you'll find that one thing Disney Park fans like to complain about is the inclusion of popular established characters in Epcot attractions.  This hasn't been bothering me nearly as much as it does others, but after watching "BARBIE BIRTHDAY PARTY AT WALT DISNEY WORLD EPCOT '94!!!" (henceforth, "BARBIE IN EPCOT" because I just... can't) I can see where the dissent is coming from.

The whole "BARBIE IN EPCOT" thing was actually a contractual obligation between Disney and Mattel and ye gods, does it ever look like it.  I feel like this must have been the Faustian bargain for all the Mattel characters they got to include in "Toy Story".  The stage show lasted a little over a year and a half, and just about the only real evidence that it wasn't some kind of group hallucination is this video.  The video was available for purchase with special Barbie dolls for a penny, which seems about right.

On the one hand, it's always neat to get a behind-the-scenes look at Disney stage shows, and the segments about how birthdays are celebrated around the world are very nice.  On the other hand, you have the screaming 90's child actors.  Do anything you can to prepare yourself, because the screaming 90's child actor hosts of this special are like entire seasons of "Full House" made flesh.  I hate them, I hate them so much, and it's as much about the screaming and their being genuinely horrible (get your damn fingers off that beautiful cake you monsters!) as it is that I wish I could get as excited about anything as these screaming 90's child actors get about literally everything.

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Because it's my Birthday and I love you (and also because Faebruary's still in my rear-view mirror and St. Patrick's Day is this weekend) have a Bonus Especially Weird Disney Thing!  Let me show you the traditional dances of my people:



This isn't what I saw a few nights ago in Raglan Road after downing two Kilkennys (though it's close).  This is "Light Magic".  It's from 1997 and was meant to be the replacement, in Disneyland, for the Main Street Electrical Parade.  Once again, home videos like this are about the only real evidence this wasn't a mass hallucination.

It's also from that very weird, very specific, and thankfully very over period where Disney Parks defined "parade" as "Three or four floats that ride down the street, then stop and stay still for several minutes at a time to do a long elaborate show, then start moving again to suddenly stop and do another show and so on".  It went over even less well than "BARBIE IN EPCOT", not even surviving one whole year.

To paraphrase Cap'n Wacky,

May the good Fairies draw near to you,
And spread love and luck with their weird little dances every day.
And may a good strong drink
Make the memories of horrible screaming 90's child actors go away.

A Salute To All Nations, But Mostly America - Let's Watch "Walt Disney World's 15'th Birthday Celebration"!

I am going to celebrate a big momentous birthday in Walt Disney World!  And I really like to watch vintage Disney Park specials before heading down to The World.  I like to see what's changed, what's stayed the same, and what I missed out on.

And this time, I've found some really weird ones.  First up, we have a special celebrating what, in my opinion, was the most awesome Disney Parks anniversary of all, the fifteenth anniversary of Walt Disney World.  I think this might have even been one of my family's first trips.  Every fifteen minutes, someone entering the park would win a prize, and the decorations were terrific. 

This special doesn't focus on that at all.  Instead, we get half of the Golden Girls, a really strange tour of World Showcase, a reminder of how 3/4ths of the Monkees were everywhere in the 80's, a seemingly endless patriotic production narrated by Charlton Heston, and previews of upcoming attractions, including something about a "studio tour"...

WDW Trip Report: Animal Kingdom Sketches

Oh yes, it is time!   Time to share what me and my little Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook got up to while in Disney's Animal Kingdom:



Wild Anhinga spotted on the river, a duck (Pochard?), and a really cool plant.



More abstract studies of another Anhinga.



On the subject of birds, there is a new presentation at Dinoland USA that features live birds, is essentially a sequel to my beloved Flights of Wonder, and matter-of-factly presents birds as a kind of dinosaur.  This... okay, Dinoland still makes me drink heavily, but this is a very nice change for the better.  More like this, please.





Flights of Wonder is still awesome and I finally got to sit in the "I'm glad I am wearing a hat" seats.  Only thing is, I thought I'd heard that the show had finally received a rewrite, but it seems essentially the same.  I tell you, the Dr. Guano story is getting as taxing as Little Red back in the day.



The Komodo Dragon was surprisingly spry, and the Lion Macaques are a new addition.



A graceful Tree Monitor, a handsome Jungle Fowl, and a Mystery Bovine!  (All Ears identifies it as a Banteng, while the Cast Member I asked called it a Water Buffalo.  Either way, nice model.)



An Argus Pheasant and Crowned Pigeon...



...and some studies from my Safari photos.



Bonus: A Limpkin I met at the Boardwalk docks...



And a surprisingly graceful Manatee at the Living Seas.

WDW Trip Report: Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom By Night

The past few years have seen Disney's Animal Kingdom become quite lively after the sun goes down.  The park used to go to bed with the resident animals, and sights like the Tree of Life lit up were rare treats.  Now, Animal Kingdom is a full-day park, in anticipation of Screw-The-Haters-I-Think-It-Looks-Rad-As-Fudge Pandora Landora.



One of the highlights of touring Animal Kingdom in the evening is being able to ride the safari at dusk.  A few of the animals had already gone to their sleeping quarters, especially some of the more charismatic megafauna (this isn't the time to ride if you want to see elephants).  But we got to see many animals we hadn't seen before, like one of the last Black Rhinos in the world...



...the hyenas...



...a Thompson's Gazelle and an Eland calf...



...and the lions out in the open like they rule the place.



But the most exciting change to Animal Kingdom was thankfully already (finally, after many many delays) open by the time of our trip.  This giant lotus raft is the centerpiece of Rivers of Light, which finally gives Animal Kingdom a nighttime "finale" of its very own.

Now, Rivers of Light has gotten some mixed reviews.  I really liked it for what it is.  It's as if the Electric Water Pageant, Epcot's Fountain of Nations, the aurora scene from "Brother Bear", the good parts of Fantasmic (if you're wondering, yes, we still have a really long "Pocahontas" interlude), and your Yoga instructor's favorite Pintrest boards all got together and made an awesome baby... somehow.  It's short, though.  Like, really short.  And it is very much best seen from the middle of the stadium, where the mist screen projections actually focus properly.



See, we were way off to the side in the "Moon" section of the stadium, nearest the Finding Nemo theater.  We felt like we were out in the boondocks in a way I never felt with Illuminations or Fantasmic.  It was hard to tell at times whether the show still had bugs to iron out or if it was just us.

There's certainly plenty to see wherever you're sitting, thankfully.  We did like the prologue to the show a lot, with the floating fountains moving around and projections of dancing animal shadows on the opposite shore.  The latter might have been my favorite effect in the whole show.



These beautiful boats, representing the moon and sun, housed live performers dancing along to the music.  I'm told the ambitious Tapestry of Dreams parade in Epcot, which I never got to see, was rather similar in tone.



The lotuses change into colorful dancing fountains...



...and giant animal floats sail in to join the party.  As you can see in my inept night-time photography.



Finally, the river erupts into a grand celebration with the festive elements of water, fire, and light.

Fore some reason, this feels familiar.  Ah well.

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That wasn't the only nighttime party we experienced during this trip.  Our visit coincided with a Disney Vacation Club exclusive after-hours event at the Magic Kingdom.  It was nearly identical in practice to the special holiday parties, with free (and free-ish) food and drink, popular (and not) attractions running, and even special fireworks.  It was all to remind us DVC members that we are just better than other Disney guests.

Yeah, the whole thing made me a touch uncomfortable.



But being in a nearly-empty Magic Kingdom all lit up at night?  I'm not kidding, it was one of the most truly magical times I've ever been there.  The crowds earlier that same day at MK were at what I can only describe as "Hell is other people" level with a side order of sweltering heat.  Just not fun at all.  After-hours, I was able to really take everything in and appreciate the beauty of the new central hub gardens and all.

Now I staked out a spot here for the fireworks expecting maybe some cheesy pop music and a few leftovers from Wishes.  Oh, how happy I was to be wrong:






Cheesy pop music, yes.  (The soundtrack was all bland pop covers of Disney songs, which... euw.  But they did play "Eye 2 Eye" from "A Goofy Movie" and it brought the house down.)  Cheesy fireworks hell no!  This was a full-on elaborate production using pyrotechnics and effects I've never seen before.  If this is what the successor to Wishes might look like, tomorrow looks grand.

Next week: Drawings of animals!

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Art of the Day!

Another little impressionistic Epcot landscape. I love the flowers around the lagoon!

WDW Trip Report: Epcot Gets Artful! Like, More So Than Usual!

My family's most recent visit to Walt Disney World was a bit of a doozy.  There were lot of brand new (and new-to-us) events and shows and rides to be experienced.  My personal priority was the brand-new Epcot Festival of the Arts.

I arrived on the very last day of this festival.  Fortunately, it was early enough that I could run right through the International Gateway from the Boardwalk (our first time staying there and we love it) and have myself a whirlwind tour of what the fest had to offer.



And for the most part, what Artful Epcot had to offer in terms of art was... Epcot itself, being artful.  Epcot really is a downright beautiful place, and the many artists working throughout the park on both temporary and lasting pieces made it all the more lovely.  Furthermore, since they were preparing for the upcoming Flower and Garden Festival, the gardens were fabulous works of science-art.

And cooking is a science and an art as well.  Don't you forget it.  This festival wasn't about to let me.  Yeah, it turns out that this was really the Festival of All Arts, But Mostly Culinary Arts.  I didn't have time to try any of the food, but what I saw looked like it was more visually appealing than appetizing.  I'll direct you to the good old Disney Food Blog to have a look at the many and varied "Deconstructed" food.  (I did finally try School Bread this trip and... I don't get it.)

There's also the matter of the Figment's Brush With the Masters scavenger hunt...



I swear to God, years and years of Art History classes and I have no idea how to react to this.



I found my new Twitter avatar though.



Figment's Brush With the Masters may be the ultimate perfect storm of Disney-cutesy and "We can't possibly let kids be bored for even a second in World Showcase aaah!"  But it's nice to see something (or anything, really) done with Figment in Epcot proper.  And anyway, I want these adorable frames.



Of course, one of the nicest overlooked attractions in World Showcase -one of the things that attracts *me*, at least- are the many galleries to be found in nearly every country's pavilion.  I had the "Frozen" concept art gallery in Norway to myself, the Kawaii gallery in Japan was fantastic, and I loved the exhibit of concept art from Shanghai Disney in China.  (But somebody help me identify the sheep in the above Twelve Friends.  E: It's one of the lambs from "Mary Poppins".  Sucks to be Danny from "So Dear to my Heart".)  They stick around long after the Festival, thankfully.



I did get to visit one temporary gallery in the Odyssey building (and being open looks real nice on the Odyssey).  It was full of lovely concept art by Mary Blair and Herb Ryman, including the above Ryman piece that hit me straight in the childhood.

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Art of the Day!

Thus inspired, I made some Artful Epcot Art of my own: