Mouse Extra, Read All ABout It!!

We have moved to a new address. www.mouseextra.com.

After weeks of working on the new site, we are up and running and should begin posting today. Please come by and enjoy.

Thanks,

Dave

Web Check; Jim Hill Media Rumors Suggest New Coaster at the Magic Kingdom

by Dave

Have a look at today’s article by Jim Hill on his website. Mr. Hill is one of the web’s Disney informants. Today piece offers history and rumors, but I want to speak about this fun little nugget…

The Imagineers have also reportedly been toying with adding "Raging Spirits" to the Adventureland section of WDW's Magic Kingdom. Since it's been more than a decade now since Disney World's signature theme park last got a new thrill ride.

What, no Jack Sparrow??? Where are the Pixar characters??? Isn’t it really called something like “Captain Barbossa’s Raging Spirits”? Could WDI really be adding attraction to Walt Disney World that won’t come neatly wrapped with a gift shop filled with Mr. Incredible dolls? Here’s how the Tokyo DisneySea website explains the ride…

A new adventure awaits you at the mysterious Lost River Delta! This roller coaster attraction takes everyone on a high-speed ride through the ruins of an ancient ceremonial site. As you pass by the vengeful spirits awakened during the excavation, the bursting flames, encompassing steam, and spine-tingling 360-degree loop will make it a truly thrilling experience!

Take a look at the photos as well…

Well, as much as the purists like to claim that Disney has done nothing that didn’t include the four-letter word “synergy”, that claim just is not true. Look at the e-tickets added in recent years. They include Expedition Everest, Soarin, and Mission Space, so it is not a stretch to expect an addition like this. The Magic Kingdom is due for a new gate-buster, and considering how highly regarded DisneySea is, we have long been expecting WDI to import an attraction from there to the U.S. parks.

Nothing Says "Trick-or-Treat" Like Your Very Own Haunted Mansion

by Dave

Happy Halloween to all my fellow Disney addicts!!

If you are looking for something nice to put into your favorite Mouseketeer’s trick-or-treat sack, then how about a mansion that inspired the exterior of the Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion? Click this link for the listing of the Harry Packer Mansion in Jim Thorpe, PA.





The house was built by Asa Packer, historically one of the Lehigh Valley’s most influential political figures. He founded Lehigh University, was a major tycoon in the areas mining and railroad industry, and even was considered for the Democratic nomination for president in the 1860’s. He gave this little item to his son as a wedding gift. Nice present, huh? Now you can give it to whoever you want, for the small fee of $1.75 million. (That may be more than you were willing to spend for a trick-or-treat gift.)



It’s easy to see how this building inspired the Haunted Mansion. If you have never been to Jim Thorpe, and are in the area, take a ride out there and see it for yourself. The town is terrific, especially around St. Patrick’s Day, and the Harry Packer Mansion is much more spectacular in person.

Jungle Cruise the Movie, uh-oh!

by Dave

As I am sure you already know, the Hollywood Reporter revealed last month that the first steps towards converting the Jungle Cruise into a major motion picture have already been taken. There are almost no details to speak about, but the concept alone seems risky.

There are so many ways this can go. Would it be slap-stick? The ride certainly has a slap-stick quality to it, but Disney’s recent attempts at turning rides into comedies certainly have been met with lukewarm responses, see the Haunted Mansion and Country Bear Jamboree films. Will it be slightly more intense, like Pirates? I guess it could be, but the moving down this road really separates film from ride, not that I think that is a bad thing.

The reason the Pirates films have worked is that the story is well written, and the ride is only really used as a launching point to get an immediate connection with potential film-goers. The same needs to be done with the Jungle Cruise if it is to work. Can we really have a 20 something captain of a canopy boat cracking bad jokes for 2 hours? Will going to all the rivers mentioned in the attraction really work for a movie storyline? Do we really need to hear the “back side of water” joke again in order to find the film worthy of us Disney addicts?

The answer to all these questions is no. What we need is a great, fun movie and not an attempt to turn a ride into a film. Considering the attraction has been so popular for so many years, it is easy to see the temptation to turn cliché. The ride offers great scenery, and some funny ideas to build on, just like Pirates did, but the challenge is to move away from that and not try to balloon this campy old ride into a movie.

We Need a Little Fanfare for the 35th Anniversary of Walt Disney World

by Dave

Today's post is a little bit of whining and moaning over something I wish was a bigger deal than it seems to be to the folks at the Mouse, Walt Disney World's 35th anniversary. As I am sure most of you remember, the 50th anniversary of Disneyland was treated with a small bit of fanfare (wink!), as have other such anniversaries of the U.S. parks. This anniversary doesn't even get a nice t-shirt.

I am not great collector of Disneyana, but I do have a few pieces that I really like. I have some pins, some figurines, perhaps a print or two, but my favorite piece is this Lionel Train pictured below. It was released in 1990 Lionel catalog, and is a wonderfully detailed locomotive in the Disneyland Railroad colors and even has the "35 Years of Magic" symbol on the tender. For those of you who don't know, Disney and Mickey Mouse practically saved the Lionel company from bankruptcy in the 1930's by licensing a handcar for Lionel to sell during the Depression. The Mickey Handcar sold somewhere around a quarter of a million units and Lionel lived to see decades of success in the years to come, thanks in large part to the Mouse.





Now that's a great way to celebrate an anniversary, don't you think? And it was by no means the only way the Mouse celebrated Disneyland's birthday. But sadly, it seems they have forgotten this anniversary. With the exception of perhaps a few pins, it seems the Year of a Million Sweepstakes have taken its place. Perhaps this will change and some things will change. An item like this train is by no means enough, but it would certainly be a nice start.

The Little Things in Life

By Dave

Just a silly post for today...

I am a new member of the Disney Vacation Club, and have yet to even use it. But that certainly doesn't stop me from getting all giddy over the little promotional items they send to make me...well...giddy about being a DVC member.

Last week when the delivery driver walked up to my door with a package from the DVC, I, of course, jumped for joy even though I had no clue what it might be. It turned out to be the new Vacation Planner for 2007-08. It was all decked out for the 15th anniversary and included this giclee.



Considering we are very close to our first ever trip "home", as they say at the DVC, receiving this silly little print that I have absolutely no use for made me even more excited to go. So excited in fact, that I took a picture of it and posted it on this blog. (My wife still looks at me funny!)

Rumor; Re-furb coming to Haunted Mansion in '07

by Dave

Screamscape.com is reporting today that the Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion may be going down for a long refurbishment in early 2007. This is a long overdue rehab as the attraction does show the neglect, but is seems unclear from what I have also heard whether this is simply a facelift or if WDI plans to add some of the special effects that the Disneyland version has recently added.



The broader curiosity surrounds whether or not this, as a follow-up to the recent Pirates re-do, signals the start of WDW investing money into updating some of its more neglected and dated attractions at the Magic Kingdom. There have been rumors galore about such an initiative. Back on September 17, the Mousetunes podcast reported, “Space Mountain is rumored to get a $30+ million refurb and Jungle Cruise one valued at $13 million.” We all know that the Magic Kingdom, as much as we love it, has been seemingly left alone and ignored over the past few years.

All of these attractions can use an update in technology as well as a simple cleaning. The additions to Space Mountain can really revitalize this great coaster that time has left behind. The Jungle Cruise is fun, but the technology exists to make this a much more impressive experience while maintaining its campy appeal. But let’s not stop there. The Speedway, Tom Sawyer Island, and Swiss Family Treehouse can all use..well…some reason to go there. The Country Bear Jamboree could be enhanced with some state of the art AA’s and much improved sound system.

Whenever changes are made to these old Magic Kingdon stand-buys people get nervous. But I think we may be at the point where something needs to be done to make the Kingdom sparkle again.

Photos from Finding Nemo the Musical

by Dave

Check out the photos of the upcoming "Finding Nemo-The Musical" on wdwmagic.com, a site which should be a daily staple if you're a WDW addict. Besides the photos, which are from Disney, they have a terrific description.


COPYRIGHT 2006. THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY (photo from wdwmagic.com)

This new show is part of the "Year of a Million Dreams" and replaces the old "Tarzan Rocks" show. The natural complaint is that Nemo is not exactly the best theme for Animal Kingdom and that people did enjoy Tarzan Rocks. I don't really care about either of those. I have two problems with this...

The first is that this is a replacement, and a very expensive one, to something that was there already. Animal Kingdom needs to expand. It needs to become a park that takes a full-day to experience. Expedition Everest brings it down that path, but this show does not. Instead of pouring money into additional attractions that make the park worth the price tag, they spent what must be tens of millions of dollars on completely renovation the theater on top of the already high costs of staging such an elaborate show. I'm just not sure that is the best allocation of funds right now.

The second is...well...It looks down-right weird. I don't know how else to put it. Seeing these photos does not excite me in the least. Oh well, I'll have to give it a try. WDI has proved me wrong several times before.

Will Tom Sawyer Island become Port Royal? Let's hope so

by Dave

There was a rumor making the rounds in the last few weeks that WDI was considering changing the theme of Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland to a Pirates of the Caribbean theme. Judging from the nearly unanimous response it received from the Disney community, I think I may be the only one who likes the idea. Oh well, I’m good with that. I mean, after all, what would be the point of reading this if it wasn’t a little different.

So let me start with a compromise. We don’t want this at Disneyland? Fine, let’s consider it at Walt Disney World then. I understand that the bond between the park and Walt is much stronger at Disneyland then it is in Orlando and that the folks who go there “to walk in Walt’s steps” will be forever heartbroken over losing Tom Sawyer Island. This logic escapes be, but I respect it.

Think of the possibilities! Can you see the Black Pearl or the Dauntless sitting at a replica of the Port Royal docks? Imagine replacing the worn-out fort with the citadel the Pearl bombarded in the first film and having it loom over Liberty Square. There can be pirates roaming the island, singing and telling stories. There are so many ways to make this idea work and appeal to everyone that it is hard to see why they want to keep Tom Sawyer Island and ignore this concept.

I am sorry to say this, but the world has passed Tom Sawyer Island by. It has been ignored by WDI and guests alike. Pirates are a draw to any audience, and a rehab of the island with this concept done right will cause a traffic jam to get across the river. It seems this concept may die on the drawing board due to the backlash from the Disneyland faithful. Let’s not pass judgment until we get a look at some concept designs. Many things have been replaced with something better. I know that many things have been replaced with something worse, but let’s have some faith in John Lasseter that he will not allow an overhaul like this to be disappointing.