Monthly Archives: February 2014
Top 5: Reasons The Haunted Masion is the Best
Feb 28
Haunted Mansion! WOOOO!!
Ok, Angie here, once again hijacking Josh’s Top 5 article. There’s a reason though – Haunted Mansion is the most amazing thing ever. Seriously it’s the best. “Angie, I think you meant to say ‘it’s the best attraction’.” Nope, it’s simply the best. Period. And it needs to be said.
Of course, this is a matter of opinion, but let me enlighten you as to WHY it’s the best, so you can see if you agree with me or not. And if you don’t, at least lie to me and tell me how you love it so… otherwise you’ll break my heart!
So, here it is – my Top 5 reasons I think the Haunted Mansion is the BEST:
Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion – the original
5. It’s a classic – The Haunted Mansion (and its counterparts around the world; Haunted Mansion in Disneyland and Walt Disney World, Phantom Manor, and Mystic Manor) is a dark ride, which basically means you are riding through a slow moving story inside of a building where they can illuminate main story-telling objects, while hiding the parts they don’t want you to see in the dark. It’s also one of the few dark rides that isn’t based on a movie (and one of few that actually inspired movies, like Pirates of the Caribbean!) The dark ride, story telling model, as well as the Omni-mover track system is a Disney signature, which makes riding it feel as special as anything else with the Disney brand on it is. Because of this layout, the Haunted Mansion is undoubtedly immersive – you are completely involved in this “world” when you are riding through! It’s also friendly for all ages! Seriously, even though children may be reluctant to ride at first, it’s actually more humorous than scary, though there are definitely some scares along the way. There’s a reason the ghosts in this attraction are described as “happy haunts,” after all. The optical illusions will leave you in awe, and being able to sit down for a while is actually a nice break from wandering the rest of the park!
beware of hitchhiking ghosts!
4. It has a cornucopia of themes – Obviously there’s a touch of “scary” in this attraction, I mean it is a haunted house, after all! But it’s also funny, like I mentioned above. Singing busts and silly looking ghosts keep the ride through a little more lighthearted. Also, if magic-tricks interest you, you’ll be on the edge of your seat trying to figure out how some of the gags work. (Most of which will make you want to ride again and again to make sure you didn’t miss anything, or in hopes that you will figure out how they did it all!)
the classic ballroom scene in Disneyland (with a gingerbread house for their holiday overlay!)
3. It is well executed – You actually feel like you are literally riding through a house because of the way everything is presented. You can really get this sense in the attic room, hallways, and ballroom scene, especially. It’s as if you were actually a guest invited to this ghost retirement home, and you are no undoubtedly on a tour of the house! I know this might seem like an obvious thing, but it’s unlike most other attractions in the sense that the space you are viewing from your Doom Buggy is enormous during some scenes, appropriate to which room you are riding through. For example it is unlike The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in the sense that in your “Hunny” Pot you are riding through self contained rooms that aren’t supposed to represent actual rooms, they are simply spaces to place the props and animatronics appropriate for the ride. But, with the Haunted Mansion, it is a different experience because you are riding through rooms that serve that very purpose – to be rooms. So, this makes the magnificence of the large ballroom or long corridors necessary to the story (much like the enormous “room” you ride through in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride that represents being on the sea at night next to a huge pirate ship). It makes this ride truly an awe-inspiring spectacle!
the best book EVER
2. The back-story – Every Disney attraction has it’s own back-story, even if it isn’t completely told through what you see in the attraction’s details, but the story always explains all the “whys” of what you are seeing throughout the rides. For Christmas, Josh got me this wonderful book about the creation of the Haunted Mansion, called . It’s so interesting, and has so much about the process of how the Haunted Mansion came to be exactly what it is today. For example, it wasn’t originally going to be a Omni-mover track attraction where you sit in a Doom Buggy ride vehicle that takes you through the attraction. In fact, originally guests were going to walk through the attraction! (But, I will save more of that back story for another article) There were also lots of rumors surrounding the attraction going around between park guests when it didn’t open for its originally scheduled time, and old rumors are always fun! Each of the different Disney parks that house their own Haunted Mansion (even those with different names) have their own individual origin stories, and each one is just as creepy and interesting as the last.
Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom
1. It’s unusual – Creepy, strange, weird, eerie – all adjectives you usually wouldn’t think of when describing something “Disney.” Well, Haunted Mansion fits those categories, and this makes it unique. Because of this it is very “Disney” and very “un-Disney” at the same time. It is very “Disney” because of it’s attention to detail, story, and immersive nature, but it is also very “un-Disney” because it isn’t all princesses and fantasy and fluffy and cute like you might normally associate with Disney. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fantasy world Disney so often brings you into, but this attraction adds the perfect dash of something-different to the parks. Plus, I just love creepy, strange, weird, and eerie things in general!
What are your reasons for loving the Haunted Mansion so much? Which of the 2 Haunted Mansions/Mystic Manor/Phantom Manor is your favorite and why? Leave your answers in the comments below!
Angie Carreiro
http://www.ILoveAnimalArt.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/flipadeeflop
Live Show Tonight! Feb 27, 2014
Feb 27
Watch the Feb 27th, 2014 Live Show here:
We will be discussing some Disney news, a Would You Rather question, Frozen’s growing popularity, the new Muppets film, 7 Dwarf’s Mine Train Coaster, Aladdin in NYC, Ratatouille in Paris, Big Thunder Mountain reopening, Star Wars in Disneyland, and much more! Join our discussion @
Web Comic Thursday: Chester & Hester #4
Feb 27
Chester & Hester #4
Next Web Comic Chester & Hester #5 | Previous Web Comic Chester & Hester #3
DIY Disney Movie Night: Cars
Feb 26
Things don’t always go as planned. Our Cars night was one of those instances. My stepdaughter is now 12 years old. She is at an age where she wants to start hanging out with her friends on the weekends. The weekend we had our Cars night scheduled was one of those weekends. Of course, my 3 ½ was disappointed she didn’t get to see her big sister, but she still wanted to do Cars night since it was her pick. On with the show, right?
The decorations: I used a black table cloth and cut out white lines from construction paper to create lines for a road. We then used all of my little one’s toy cars as decorations for our “road”. I also purchased Cars plates and napkins from Oriental Trading Company.
The menu: Lightening McQueen’s race cars, Mater’s mac & cheese, Sally’s salad and stop light treats. For the race car sandwiches, I made barbeque chicken. I just took boneless skinless chicken breasts and seasoned them with a chicken seasoning (I used Penzeys Spices 33rd and Galena chicken and pork rub). Then I placed the chicken in a slow cooker and covered with barbeque sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s) and cooked on low for 6 hours. About an hour before we ate, I shredded the chicken with two forks. To assemble the race car sandwiches, I took whole wheat hoagie rolls and hollowed out the center. I took four pretzel sticks and inserted them into each corner with a pickle on the end for the wheels. I then filled the hollowed out center with the barbeque chicken. I think they turned out super cute!
I actually let my daughter make the stop light treats all by herself. She loves helping out in the kitchen. She took a graham cracker stick and dipped it in vanilla frosting. She then topped the frosted side with one red M&M, one yellow M&M, and one green M&M to look like a stop light. She did a great job and was so proud of herself for making them without any help!
The activity: I purchased some balloon car racers from Oriental Trading Company. I wanted to take them outside, but it was too cold, so we ended up racing in the living room. I learned the hard way that the balloons don’t blow up very big. They pop pretty easily! My daughter had a blast with these and is still playing with them.
Even though she missed her big sister, my daughter said it was the best movie night ever and that I am “the best cooker ever”. Of course, she says that after ever movie night, but I don’t think I will ever get tired of hearing it.
It’s big sister’s turn to pick, so she picked Toy Story. I absolutely love Toy Story and plan on going completely overboard. Stay tuned for our Toy Story Triple Feature: All three movies, three themed meals, and three Toy Story activities!
Alexia Christensen
Disney Trip Planning: DisneyBounding on Your Trip
Feb 25
Visit Keith’s Tumblr to find out how to win your own button (and he has tons more designs!)
For all who don’t know, DisneyBounding is a new trend that has sprung up within the Disney fan base. Thanks to people like Leslie Kay (You can hear her on Modern Mouse Radio HERE!) and many others, the trend has become part of the #DisneySide promotion that Disney is running with this year. Summing up the trend is quite simple: dress in the colors of your favorite characters in a fashionable way. Check out the pictures in the post to get an even better idea.
DisneyBounding is a fun way to enjoy the parks and show off your Disney side. This past year we saw tons of photos of people doing it for Halloween, Dapper Day, and on any other day of the year. It is something that anyone can do and if you have the chance, we recommend doing it, but I do want to go over some steps to make sure you can jump into the parks as a hipster Ariel without looking a bit off kilter.
Thanks to perksofbeingveronica on Tumblr for posting this picture!
Shop Deals: Long before your vacation, be sure to shop online and find the right deals as well as the perfect clothing to be able to pull off your look. Buy something within your budget and shop for deals. That is key in my opinion. Save some money for souvenirs at the park instead of going bankrupt before you even step foot inside the gates of a park.
Be Subtle: Subtlety is very important, unless you love wearing something once then dumping it in a trash bin. Make sure you put together an outfit that you could wear any night out no matter where you are and it wouldn’t look like you found an adult size Peter Pan costume for sale at a thrift store. If you think you can wear it out with friends to a local restaurant without anyone recognizing that you are dressed like Pocahontas, you’ve succeeded.
A fancier version of Buzz put together by Leslie on Disneybound.Tumblr.com
Be Comfortable: When dressing up for a day at the parks, you have to remember that you are spending countless hours outdoors. You will be walking and standing a good portion of the day. That being said, quality shoes and shoes that are a bit worn are important. Ladies, don’t forget that sometimes the wind picks up so if you are wearing a dress, take into consideration that you don’t want to hold down the bottom half of your dress all day. It may be best to wear some tights underneath. Light jackets are also something to consider as part of your attire. Rain is frequent at any of the parks across the world and you don’t want to be caught in a rainstorm with short sleeves. The same goes for chilly evenings depending on the time of year. If you are drawing inspiration from outfits already put together by other people online, you may want to tweak their ideas to be a little more comfortable – especially when it comes to shoes! (Plus, if you want to read more about dressing comfortable in the parks, we have a whole article on it HERE!)
A Haunted Mansion inspired outfit by Leslie on Disneybound.tumbler.com
No matter what reason you decide to dress up in the parks, whether it be an event like Dapper Day, Disney Bounding, getting your Engagement photos taken in the parks, or dressing for a special occasion, all of these guidelines can be applied! All of these tips will help you have a more enjoyable experience in parks and really look like you know exactly what you’re doing without breaking the bank!
Have you ever dressed up for a special occasion in the parks? What was it and how was your experience with it? Leave your answers in the comments below!
Like to learn more on Disney Trip Planning from Modern Mouse Radio? Click HERE!
More NEW Posts This Week from Modern Mouse Radio!:
- Tuesday 2/25 – article – NEW! Disney Trip Planning: DisneyBounding on your Trip
- Monday 2/24 – article – NEW! Monday Memes: Why is Peter Pan Always Flying?…
- Sunday 2/23 – podcast – NEW! Modern Mouse Radio #47: Top 10 Favorite Disney Parks Memories
- Saturday 2/22 – video – NEW! Keith’s Walt Disney World January 2014 Vacation (Part 4)
- Friday 2/21 – article – NEW! Top 5: Dogs of Disney
- Thursday 2/20 – web comic – NEW! Chester & Hester #3
- Wednesday 2/19 – article – NEW! The Whole Picture: Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
&
Angie Carreiro
https://www.etsy.com/shop/flipadeeflop
Monday Memes: Why is Peter Pan Always Flying?….
Feb 24
…wakka wakka
Modern Mouse Radio #47: Top 10 Favorite Disney Parks Memories
Feb 23
Mutants are Memories too!
Direct Download This Episode
In this Episode, Keith and Josh get personal and talk about their personal favorite Disney Parks memories from the past. Join them as the talk about happiness, laughter, surprises, and Ninja Turtles.
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modernmouseradio.com
www.keithlapinig.com
Keith’s Walt Disney World January 2014 Vacation (Part 4)
Feb 22
It’s Animal Kingdom day! Keith and friends take on the animals at the park and Keith gets chosen to play with birds. Check out more from Keith as well over at the following links:
Top 5: Dogs of Disney
Feb 21
My dog, Flip, with Oswald rabbit
Everyone loves dogs, right? I know at least a lot of internet people do. That’s why dog pictures, and videos, and gifs go viral every day on social networking sites! Well, I personally LOVE dogs. If I could fill a room with puppies and just lay in the middle of the floor and be bombarded with puppy kisses all day, I would. I’d make it my job, if possible. So, naturally I love Disney dogs, too, as I’m sure you all do; Pluto, Goofy, all 101 of the Dalmatians… shall I go on? So, this week’s top 5 is officially being hijacked by me (Angie) to tell you my favorite Dogs of Disney!
Slinky Dog
5. Slinky: Loyal (just like a real-life dog) to Woody, Slinky possesses both qualities that make him so dog-like plus his resourcefulness that comes from his stretching abilities often helps save the day! He’s a great, well developed character in the Toy Story movies, as are all of the Toy Story characters, in my opinion. He’s always the one most worried about Woody, leading the others to come to the rescue when needed. That’s just what a lead character needs from a supporting character, just like a real-life human needs from their animal companion!
Dodger
4. Dodger: He is just the slickest, hippest, sliest, street-smart dog out there. Seriously, if you don’t think Dodger is cool, then you clearly didn’t see Oliver and Company. He really came along and helped out Oliver when he needed it the most, and even though he has some flaws, he’s an all around good guy. He’s a terrier, too, and you just gotta love that terrier personality! Plus, man can he sing (I mean, he’s Billy Joel for goodness sake)!
“One minute I’m in Central Park
Then I’m down on Delancey Street
From the Bow’ry to St Marks
There’s a syncopated beat
Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo…”
YEAH! Now, that song is stuck in your head all day!
Percy and Meeko (I’d probably hate Meeko at first, too, if I were him)
3. Percy: He starts out as a prissy, self absorbed, cocky, pampered pooch in Pocahontas, but his character grows just as much (if not more) than the people do in this movie. Seriously, you can’t blame him for being ignorant in the beginning, he knows nothing else but what Ratcliff raises him to know. But, after meeting Meeko, Flit, and the rest of the non-English characters, he comes around by the end of the movie. He forms an unlikely relationship with someone so different than he (Meeko), showing differences shouldn’t matter, which serves to push the moral of the story in your face that much harder. Good boy, Percy!
Stitch the… uhh.. dog…
2. Stitch: Ok, ok… he’s technically not a dog, but really, he may as well be. He sort-of acted like one for about 1/2 the movie anyway… He has all the great qualities that make dogs so lovable, loyal companionship and unconditional love. Plus, Josh and I always picture our dog, Flip, saying “Ohana,” just like he does every time we leave the house to go do something without her, “But Mama, Dada, Ohana means you have to take me with you!” That makes Stitch more of a dog to us, an alien-dog, but still a dog.
“I have just met you and I love you”
1. Doug: Doug is the epitome of the happy-go-lucky dog personality, and you just have to love him for it. He’s also loyal and loves human companionship. A good person could seriously do nothing wrong in his eyes. He’ll always act like a puppy, no matter how old he gets, and he’ll stick by your side through and through. You couldn’t possibly say “no” to those puppy dog eyes! Maybe it’s because I can see so much of my dog, Flip, in Doug (especially when he gets so easily distracted when any quick movement in the distance might mean a SQUIRREL is about!), but he is definitely my number 1 Disney Dog.
Who makes your favorite Disney Dog list? Is it because they remind you of your own dog, or of a dog you wish you had? Leave your answers in the comments below!
Angie Carreiro
http://www.ILoveAnimalArt.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/flipadeeflop
Web Comic Thursday: Chester & Hester #3
Feb 20
Chester & Hester #3
Next Web Comic Chester & Hester #4 | Previous Web Comic Chester & Hester #2