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Halloween at Walt Disney World 2020 – What’s Different?

15 September 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Disney Halloween 2020 This year has been a challenging one for theme parks and the tourism industry in general. The normal Disney holiday offerings and events that we have grown accustomed to and can mark our calendars by have changed drastically. Normally we’d be over a month into Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties by now, but as you know, Disney Halloween in 2020 is very different. For all of August, we wondered “When is Disney going to decorate for Halloween?!” However today was a banner day, as the Halloween decorations appeared on Main Street, U.S.A.! (This was after an announcement a few weeks back that they would be adding Disney Fall Decorations them on this day.)

What’s Different For Disney Halloween This Year?

I decided to celebrate by making a Park Pass reservation, and Christian joined me and we roamed around and discovered all the Halloween fun! As you can see in the video, there aren’t the huge pumpkins in the front of the park entrance or the train station, as there used to be. Also missing are the Main Street scarecrows in Town Square. I understand that this decision may be to discourage crowding and queuing up for photo ops, but I do hope they add the scarecrows at some point!

With the elimination of the parties, Disney has added most of the party-specific snacks to regular park hours. We seek out some of them and test them out in our video. The other addition to replace the party entertainment is character cavalcades. Characters have been coming out on trolleys, horses and parade floats during regular park hours.

Now that Disney Halloween is here, these characters are now in costume, and joined by favorite villains and other spooky favorites. There are no schedules for these cavalcades, and not all of them are every day, so if you visit, you may not see all of them. For us, we just did a quick trip, and just missed the Boo to You float with all the Fab 5 characters (but we did catch them on the train station!), and the Villains “Good to Be Bad” float. It will be fun to just happen upon these if you are in the park from now through the end of October!

Roy and Minnie Statue

This was our first visit back to the Magic Kingdom in over 6 months, so we also shared our thoughts on the new Cinderella Castle coloring as well. We wrap it up with some Halloween merchandise overviews in case there’s anything you want to add to your list next time you visit!

Christian and I also checked in with the Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom* game, and find out if there will be a special Halloween or Christmas card this year! *We’re going to have a new video soon with the updated gameplay for this fun game. It’s been a while since we’ve played!

We hope you enjoy our silly vlog, I will admit it was a lot harder to do our silly banter in a mask, but hopefully I’ll get used to it next time!

We’ll have some other Halloween fun coming up here soon at Zannaland, so be sure you are following along everywhere so you don’t miss a thing!

 

 

Watch all the Disney Halloween 2020 fun right here:

 

Zannaland and Up the Waterfall Community – Let’s Connect!

FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO: 
  • Twitter: @zannaland, @otisney
  • Instagram: @zannaland, @UpTheWaterfall, @otisney
  • Zannaland’s facebook page, Up the Waterfall on Facebook
  • Zannaland on YouTube
  • Listen to Up the Waterfall podcast, subscribe on iTunes, or watch Up the Waterfall on YouTube

Thanks for watching and reading, and joining in the fun!

 

 

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Filed Under: Disney News, Latest News, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Disney Halloween, Disney Halloween 2020, Disney Halloween differences 2020, Disney Halloween merchandise, Disney Halloween vlog, Halloween character cavalcades, Magic Kingdom Halloween, Magic Kingdom halloween decor, Magic Kingdom Halloween snacks, Main Street Halloween, zannaland vlog

Fall 2020 Decorations Coming Soon to Disney’s Magic Kingdom

27 August 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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When will the Fall decorations appear on Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom? This was one of our first “Speculation Station” segments on our Up the Waterfall LIVE! show (Thursdays at 8p on Facebook and YouTube!) and now I can’t even remember what my guess was, but if you guessed September 15th, you win!

Fall 2020 decor Magic Kingdom

Autumn at Magic Kingdom is always one of our favorite times of the year. The Fall season is very different this year, with the cancellation of the usual Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, due to Covid-19. However, the return of the classic Halloween Mickey pumpkin lamp decorations is somehow comforting. This season, we will see those happy jack-o-lanterns against the new Cinderella Castle Royal Makeover as a backdrop. In addition to decor, Disney has just announced that there will be some new surprises. We are happy to see Disney going above and beyond. According to Disney:

…There will be some bewitching surprises this year, including a special Halloween-themed cavalcade with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and pals wearing their favorite Halloween costumes. Guests may even spot those rascally chipmunks, Chip ‘n’ Dale, in costume over in Frontierland, and look for other Disney character friends dressed up and riding the horse-drawn trolley down Main Street, U.S.A.

And speaking of costumes, you will want to get yours ready! To bring some Halloween party fun into the park this year, for the first time guests of all ages can wear their funniest, Disney-ist, most creative costumes during Magic Kingdom regular operating hours from Sept. 15 to Oct. 31. As an important reminder, costume masks are not permitted for adults; only children younger than 14 years old are permitted to wear costume masks. In addition, all guests are required to wear approved face coverings during their visit.

Autumn at Walt Disney World Resort wouldn’t be complete without our popular fall treats, such as the famous Pumpkin-spiced Waffle Sundae at Magic Kingdom. Check back soon for our official Foodie Guide to Fall at Walt Disney World, which will contain all of the yummy details.

Fall 2020 treats Magic Kingdom

Festive Halloween-themed merchandise will be available in select locations around the park. Featured items include a new spirit jersey, Loungefly backpack and candy-swirl Minnie Mouse headband, along with a selection of apparel inspired by Disney Villains and more. *NOTE – be sure to be following Zannaland on Instagram! We’ll be giving away some sweet & spooky ears in the coming weeks! 

And be sure to capture special moments with Disney PhotoPass! Photographers will be available throughout the park for themed photo opps. But beware – happy haunts may materialize in the pictures!

We are very excited to see Fall and Halloween returning to the Magic Kingdom (even if we are still observing from afar). What’s your favorite part of autumn in Magic Kingdom? Stay tuned for more news on the ever-changing new Disney park updates.

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Filed Under: Disney News, Latest News, Official Disney, Theme Park Holiday Events, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Autumn 2020 Disney, autumn Disney parks, Autumn Magic Kingdom, Disney Halloween, Disney Halloween decorations, Fall 2020 Disney, Fall decorations Disney, Fall Disney parks, Fall Magic Kingdom, Halloween 2020, Magic Kingdom Halloween, Magic Kingdom halloween decor, Mickey's Not So Scary

2020 Epcot Food & Wine Festival Merchandise Preview

25 August 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Along with the newest Disney Dooney & Bourke 2020 Epcot Food & Wine Festival bags, some new merchandise was revealed today. Lucky for purple-hearted people like me, this include LOTS of Figment designs! This was from a media preview today, so I don’t have all the pricing, but this gives you an idea of what your “must-haves” may be for this upcoming Festival, which starts September 1, 2020.

I really love almost all of the designs, and it’s usually hit or miss for me. The designs, and the styles of merchandise really seem to check off all the boxes. Scroll through the gallery below and see what your favorites are. You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it. Thanks to Brooke G. McDonald on instagram for her photos from the event today.

Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
Disney Dooney & Bourke 2020 Food & Wine designs
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Adorable Figment merchandise
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Passholder exclusive 2020 Epcot Food & Wine merchandise
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Figment salt and pepper shaker
2020 Epcot Food & Wine merchandise
More Figment merch
2020 Epcot Food & Wine merchandise
Epcot Food & Wine 2020 merchandise
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Mickey & Minnie designs
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Food & Wine Festival merchandise
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Taste the World merchandise
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Figment mug and ornament
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Epcot Food & Wine 2020 merchandise
2020 Epcot Food & Wine merchandise
Figment leggings!
2020 Epcot Food & Wine merchandise
Epcot Food & Wine 2020 cheese board and wine glasses

 

Any favorites? I don’t know if I can pull them off, but I kind of love those leggings!! I will definitely have to pick up quite a few Figment items. At the very least the long-sleeve shirt. Well enough about ruining my wallet, share your picks with me in the comments below or let me know on social media! You can follow me here:

FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO: 
  • Twitter: @zannaland, @otisney
  • Instagram: @zannaland, @UpTheWaterfall, @otisney
  • Zannaland’s facebook page
  • Zannaland on YouTube
  • Listen to Up the Waterfall podcast, subscribe on iTunes, or watch Up the Waterfall on YouTube

We thank you for your support and for sharing the love! 

 

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Filed Under: Disney News, Latest News, Walt Disney World Tagged With: 2020 Epcot Food & Wine Festival, 2020 Epcot Food & Wine Festival merchandise, Disney Dooney, Epcot Food and Wine Festival, Figment, Figment merchandise, Food & Wine Festival merchandise, FreshEpcot, Passholder exclusive merchandise, TasteOfEpcot

2020 Disney Dooney & Bourke Epcot Food & Wine Festival Designs

25 August 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Hey there folks! Remember when I used to post all the latest and greatest Disney Dooney & Bourke bag designs? So much has happened since I was able to keep up with that and it’s gone from a handful of designs to seemingly hundreds, with new purses for each festival, new film, character and more! I am going to return to my roots here and make every attempt to keep up with these latest and greatest designs. Of course, there are now so many other partnerships now as well, Coach, Vera Bradley, Loungefly, etc. and I’ll do my best to keep up with those too. That said, let’s jump right back into it with the very newest Disney Dooney & Bourke designs for the 2020 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!2020 Epcot Food & Wine Dooney & Bourke

Right now, EPCOT has reopened with limited hours, and a sort of mix of the Flower and Garden and Food and Wine food booths, called the Taste of Epcot. The Food and Wine Festival is returning, and will begin on September 1, 2020. With it of course comes new Festival merchandise items! We’ll have those in a separate Epcot Food & Wine Festival Merchandise post.

This Festival will of course be very different, with the global pandemic of Covid-19 still in play. Mask and social distancing requirements, and Park Pass reservations needed to even get into EPCOT in the first place. We will leave it up to you to decide when the time is right to return to the parks. I will say some of my family members and friends have returned and been very impressed with the safety measures in play. It really does depend on the guests, the number of guests, and the cast members ability to enforce the rules, so your mileage may vary.

Disney Dooney & Bourke 2020 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival designs will appear later in September. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we see they have arrived, along with pricing. Here are the three designs we now know about, with thanks to Brooke G. McDonald on instagram and Chip & Co. for the use of their photos (click to enlarge any photo):

Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
Disney Dooney & Bourke 2020 Food & Wine designs
Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
Wallet clutch, crossbody and satchel design
Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
Wristlet/wallet
Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
Close up of crossbody
Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
Satchel
Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
Dooney & Bourke logo plate
Disney Dooney and Bourke Epcot Food and Wine 2020
2020 Epcot Food & Wine Festival hang tag
Epcot Food and Wine 2020 merch
Adorable Figment merchandise

Don’t forget to check shopDisney.com for sales of select current released Disney Dooney & Bourke purses and peruse Zannaland’s Disney Dooney & Bourke page with the original lineup of handbag photos and info.

Merchandise Hotline number for Walt Disney World Resort: 407-363-6200 or 407-828-1451.

*DisneyStore.com links are affiliate links. That means it costs you nothing extra to click or buy but if you do, I get a small commission. Thanks for reading!

 

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Filed Under: Disney News, Latest News, Walt Disney World Tagged With: 2020 Epcot Food & Wine Festival, Disney Dooney, Disney Dooney & Bourke, Disney Dooney Food and Wine, Disney handbags, Disney Merchandise, Dooney & Bourke Epcot Food & Wine, Epcot Food and Wine 2020

The History of Little Orange Bird at Walt Disney World – Up the Waterfall Episode 36

19 August 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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This week we delve into one of my favorite topics: the unique and fascinating story of the Little Orange Bird and his residence at Walt Disney World. Much like Figment showing up in all the EPCOT festival merchandise, Orange Bird is now found all over the parks and resorts, when just 8 years ago, he couldn’t be found anywhere.

Back in the late 1960’s, Walt Disney World was still in its planning stages. Disney was working to obtain sponsorships from various corporations who wanted to be involved in the new park. With those sponsors came the opportunity to be affiliated with a particular attraction, show, or restaurant. The Florida Citrus Commission closed a deal with Disney on October 22, 1969, underwriting a “tropical bird show” for $3 million.

Original Sunshine Pavilion
Image courtesy of MrThemeParkAudio

That “tropical bird show” of course became the Sunshine Pavilion, which included the Tropical Serenade (or Tiki Room) Original Orange Bird and with it the Sunshine Tree Terrace, serving the soon-to-be-famous Orange Swirl, among other citrus delicacies.

Disney company marketing maven Vince Jefferds came up with the Orange Bird idea and developed the backstory, which would be released in book form, with an accompanying record with six songs penned by the renowned Sherman brothers. Bob Moore, the designer who handled many special projects for the Disney Company including the Walt Disney postage stamp and the eagle mascot for the 1984 Olympic games, came up with the character design for the Little Orange Bird.

On this week’s episode of Up the Waterfall, we discuss all things Orange Bird, from his inception to appearances in the park, and reappearance 8 years ago. We hope you’ll join us for this citrus-filled discussion and memory sharing of the adorable little bird with an orange for a head. You can also read my article on the Return of Orange Bird from when he first reappeared at the Sunshine Tree Terrace back in 2012.

 

Do you have memories of the Little Orange Bird? Are you a Citrus Swirl fan? Or is it Dole Whip all the way? Let us know! Join in the discussion at Facebook.com/UpTheWaterfall or any of the places listed below. Thank you as always for listening or watching! If you enjoyed – please share with a friend you think may enjoy too!


As always, we thank you for watching and listening! If you enjoyed, please share with a friend so more folks can learn about our growing podcast! Thank you!

Listen to Up the Waterfall:

You can listen anywhere you download and listen to podcasts, including: 

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Google Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Stitcher
  • I Heart Radio
  • Anchor

(If there’s a podcast service where you can’t find our show, let us know and we’ll get it added there!)

Watch Up the Waterfall:

Head to our Up the Waterfall YouTube Playlist – where you can see our opening sequence and see some unique images during some episodes.

Feel free to comment below with your opinions on ANY of these hot button topics, any questions or info you’d like to add, or if it’s easier, head to the Zannaland Facebook page and join the discussion there with fellow Disney Parks fans!

Zannaland and Up the Waterfall Community – Let’s Connect!

FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO: 
  • Twitter: @zannaland, @otisney
  • Instagram: @zannaland, @UpTheWaterfall, @otisney
  • Zannaland’s facebook page
  • Zannaland on YouTube
  • Listen to Up the Waterfall podcast, subscribe on iTunes, or watch Up the Waterfall on YouTube

We thank you for your support and for sharing the love! 

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Filed Under: Commentary Land, Disney Parks, Resorts, & Entertainment, Disney Past, Up the Waterfall Podcast, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Disney history podcast, disney podcast, history of little orange bird, history of orange bird, Little Orange Bird, Orange Bird, return of orange bird, The Little Orange Bird, Up the Waterfall, Up the Waterfall podcast

Disney Closes All US Stores In COVID-19 Response

16 March 2020 by Chris Ryan Leave a Comment

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In response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Disney previously announced the closure of all its parks worldwide, effective as of today, March 16th. This morning, Disney has provided a new update on the operations of more of its properties.

In a statement from the Walt Disney World website, Disney writes,

In line with state and federal guidance, in an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our guests and cast members we are proceeding with the closure of all Disney stores in North America, beginning March 17. Guests continue to visit shopDisney.com.

Disney will also be closing all of its owned and operated locations at Downtown Disney in Anaheim and Disney Springs in Orlando, beginning March 17. Individual tenants will make decisions on whether to continue or adjust operations.

Additionally, Disney owned and operated hotels at Walt Disney World Resort and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort will close at 5pm on Friday, March 20. This will give Guests the ability to make other arrangements.

We will continue to monitor the situation and maintain regular contact with the appropriate officials and health experts.

This tells us that all first-party Disney locations at Disney Springs and Downtown Disney will close, including World of Disney, Marketplace Co-Op, and the newly opened NBA Experience. This also includes all first-party Disney stores around the country.

Few third-party locations have provided details on their continuing operating hours. Some larger tenants, like AMC Theaters have announced their policy for their stores nation-wide. We suggest doing your own research into locations you may need to visit during this time.

We will continue to post updates on the operations of the parks as they are announced.

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Filed Under: Disney News, Disney Parks, Resorts, & Entertainment, Disneyland Resort, Official Disney, Walt Disney World Tagged With: coronavirus, covid 19, disney closed, Disney Covid 19, Disney Springs, Disneyland, Downtown Disney, Walt Disney World, World of Disney

What’s MouseAdventure?! A Disney Scavenger Hunt!

15 March 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Having been around the Disney internet-sphere for over a decade, I’ve certainly heard of MouseAdventure, and knew it was a scavenger hunt-like game held at Disney parks. Despite taking part in a few Disney scavenger hunts myself, I’d never done MouseAdventure. Well, my procrastination and forgetfulness to figure it out and sign up myself came to an end this year, when the fine folks at MouseAdventure invited us out to experience it first hand. I soon found out it was much more than a scavenger hunt!

Mouse Adventure Night and Day

What IS MouseAdventure?

If you are completely unfamiliar, MouseAdventure is a scavenger hunt/brain puzzle game that has been taking place for the past 20 years! Looking back at the timeline linked above, I am kind of really regretting not doing this earlier, some of the themes sound so fun. This year’s theme was “Night and Day” like the Pixar short “Day and Night” that was shown before Toy Story 3. It was named this because it was taking place over 2 days; the first at night in the Magic Kingdom, and the second the next day at Disney Springs. Teams could sign up for either both days together, or just the Saturday night or just the Sunday day. We were given a full ticket, so we were able to do both Night and Day events.

Mouse Adventure 20

How Do You Sign Up for MouseAdventure?

From the MouseAdventure site for the most recent Walt Disney World registration:

MouseAdventure registration does not include theme park admission. All registrations are final. Registration is strictly limited by the capacity of the event venue, and teams may not change divisions or add players after registration closes. Once we are fully registered, we cannot make special exceptions or extend registration. There is no waiting list for this event.

Your MouseAdventure team must consist of at least two players and no more than four players. Some people like having four brains on their team; some teams work better with just two or three players. It is up to you to decide whether you want 2, 3, or 4 people on your team, but there are often advantages for larger teams.

MouseAdventure events can sell out very quickly, so you’ll want to have your team’s details before registration opens:

  • Pick a team captain who will be responsible for registering your team. Don’t assume your teammate is going to register for your team!

  • Signup for an account at thirdgategames.com. You will need an account to register for the event.

  • Decide on a team name. (optional, but if you are going to have a team name, you must provide it during registration)

  • Be sure to have the first name, last name, and email address for each member of your team. This is a really good time to add [email protected] to your e-mail client’s approved sender list. (If you use Earthlink or Hotmail, we can not guarantee that you will receive event-related e-mail from MouseAdventure. We STRONGLY encourage players with Earthlink or Hotmail accounts to register for another e-mail address [GMail is free, and works just fine] to ensure you receive all of the messages from MouseAdventure.)

  • Names for personalized buttons (optional)

 

Then, the fun can begin! When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom bus loop area, we didn’t really know what to expect. Most exciting was how MANY people there were participating with us. One of the organizers, Stephanie Wien, who invited us, let me know that there were 63 teams signed up for Saturday’s game (If I got that wrong let me know Steph!). Since each team can have up to 4 team members, that adds up quick!

The MouseAdventure folks were amazing at keeping us all organized and passing out all of the info, and then quest packets in an orderly fashion. I was very impressed. Knowing that MouseAdventure has 20 years of experience behind them lets you know this is not some Mickey Mouse operation (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Once we got our quest packets, we were set loose upon the Magic Kingdom and had 4 hours-ish to complete our quests. We were ready. I think.

Past Experience
Team badges and scoring sheets
Team badges and scoring sheets – photo courtesy of MouseAdventure

Previously, I participated in D23’s Walt Disney World Scavenger Hunt (which took place in May of 2011 over 2 days with 4 parks being visited and an average “feels like” temperature of about 157 degrees. :P).

I also competed in a Goofy’s Mystery Tour. Goofy’s is a Walt Disney World Cast Members-only trivia/puzzle event where you and 3 teammates are bungee corded together and compete in a park after hours. It’s as crazy as it sounds. My husband, Scott Otis has a record 3 consecutive Goofy’s wins. He won a 4th time in 2014, when I was on his team and it was enough for me to want to retire and rest on my laurels after that.

Disney has recently changed its registration process for Goofy’s to a lottery-type system, so Scott has pretty much retired as well. Point being, I knew what to expect a little. Although I was a bit rusty with my puzzle-solving, it wasn’t like we were coming in blind to how the game worked.

How Does MouseAdventure Work?

Basically, you receive a packet of quests, which contain mini-quests and clues within them, and then formulate your final answers to the main quest, and answer on the answer sheet. There are puzzles and visual clues where you have to find signs or letters etc. Lastly, there are trivia questions on both days, which can also help make or break your scores.

How to Choose Your MouseAdventure Team

MouseAdventure is a great cross-section of quests that involve finding details throughout the park you are in (or Disney Springs in this case), brain-teaser puzzles where you have to unscramble word puzzles or even math, and trivia, which if you’re signing up to do MouseAdventure, you probably are prepared to answer random Disney trivia questions. But be prepared to cover allll areas of Disney – parks, attractions, movies, tv, etc!

This is why it’s great to have people on your team that also represent this cross-section of skills. For example, Scott is really good at word jumble type filling-in-the-missing-letters type puzzles and math too. Me, not so much. I can do some word puzzles, but under pressure, and when you really have to dig in to do things like “3 letters up from and 5 letters down from” I kind of zone out. But that doesn’t mean this wasn’t fun for me, it was a blast! I love high-energy, complex situations where you need to stay on your toes and still get surprised.

The best plan is to look over the various quests that you receive, and see first if there are any answers you can fill out on your own (but it’s always good to double check even if you think you know it!). Next you should be reading all the clues to organize your paths within the park. See if you can tell up front which clues will send you to Tomorrowland vs. Fantasyland vs. Frontierland, for example. That will hopefully save you a lot of zig-zagging back and forth across the park. This is both for the sake of your feet and the time expiring with every step you take!

Our Zannaland MouseAdventure Video!

To see more of what this edition of MouseAdventure was like, Christian put together a fun video of our experience. Since we kept joking that it was like The Amazing Race (a show which our entire family watches religiously and likes to pontificate about what we would do in each situation), Christian themed the video to The Amazing Race, which makes it worth a watch just for that comedic value.

Some notes on the video and our game play while you watch…

The first quest we did, the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor quest – we got wrong. 😛 This was a case of Scott solving the clue by filling in the blanks. We were thinking we knew the answer to the final clue – but we didn’t. THAT is where these quests trip you up. You might think “The future of energy at Monsters Inc….” is LAUGHTER, but turns out, it’s a JOKE. So we lost points on that. I take full responsibility for that one, because Scott wanted to double check and go back in the queue. However, we had spent so much time in there…and the cast working the attraction were NOT too happy with all of us looking at the bulletin board in the queue for 15 minutes. So I said “No, what else would it be?” haha joke was literally on me.

Mouse Adventure Zannaland

Additionally, at Disney Springs, one of the questions was “name all of the parking lot fruits listed on the Disney Springs map.” We included the garages as well, which was NOT what they were asking. So things like that really make a difference between ranking high or winning, and getting knocked down a few pegs. But that’s all part of the fun and it definitely makes you want to play again and “prove” yourself if you’re the competitive type (which Scott definitely is).

The End Result

There is a reason they have teams “master out” after 3 consecutive wins. Teams can still play, but won’t compete to win any longer. And some teams just do it for fun anyway, which I think is really the best way to approach a MouseAdventure scavenger hunt! At the end of the event, there is a ceremony to award winners their Disney gift cards and buttons and other fun stuff. Scores are later posted online with answers to the quests (but not trivia) so you can see how you did.

Mouse Adventure Night and Day
The final tallies – photo courtesy of MouseAdventure

Anyway, we had a great time and we are so grateful to MouseAdventure for inviting us out. As always, our opinions are our own. We hope you enjoyed our experiences too! If you’d like to do more research and sign up for the next event, head to MouseAdventure.com and also be sure to check out the MouseAdventure forums to see lots of great conversations and more puzzles too.

Have you ever participated in MouseAdventure or another theme park scavenger hunt? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear what you thought!

Zannaland and Up the Waterfall Community – Let’s Connect!

FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO: 
  • Twitter: @zannaland, @otisney, @badgesickle
  • Instagram: @zannaland, @UpTheWaterfall, @otisney, @badgesickle
  • Zannaland’s facebook page
  • Zannaland on YouTube
  • Listen to Up the Waterfall podcast, subscribe on iTunes, or watch Up the Waterfall on YouTube

We thank you for your support and for sharing the love! 

 

 

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Filed Under: Disney Parks, Resorts, & Entertainment, Top Stories, Videos, Vlogs, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Mouse Adventure, Mouse Adventure Disney Springs, Mouse Adventure Disneyland, Mouse Adventure game, Mouse Adventure Magic Kingdom, Mouse Adventure Night and Day, Mouse Adventure scavenger hunt, Mouse Adventure video, Mouse Adventure Walt Disney World, Mouse Adventure wdw, MouseAdventure

Raglan Road’s Mighty St. Patrick’s Festival Returns to Disney Springs

10 March 2020 by Chris Ryan Leave a Comment

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A great annual event is returning this week—the Mighty St. Patrick’s Festival at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant returns to Disney Springs! Break out your green and celebrate for five days of fun March 13-17 with non-stop Irish-infused entertainment from morning until night, a mighty selection of beers and cocktails and of course, the most authentic Irish pub grub around.

The Disney Parks blog has released quite a bit of info on this event:

The regular menu will be available during the event featuring your favorite go-to dishes like the Guinness-infused Bangin’ Bangers and Mighty Mash. Planning to stop by over the weekend? The Rollicking Raglan Weekend Brunch will be served March 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 pm.

Guests who dine on Monday, March 16 can enjoy a new whiskey pairing dinner from 3-11 p.m. featuring a special prix fixe menu with locally sourced dishes like Whiskey Cured House Smoked Salmon and Apple Baked Dumplings paired with the finest Irish whiskey cocktails.

One of the most thrilling highlights of this annual event is the amazing live entertainment hand-picked straight from Ireland. Here’s a look at this year’s line-up:

  • Strings & Things will bring their contemporary Irish Trad/Folk/Roots crossover talent from Tipperary and Galway to the festival stage. Their unique sound and powerful stage energy promise a raucous evening of music and song.
  • TradGad features three talented musicians from Kerry, Dublin and Galway charming guests with their vibrant performances on guitar, fiddle, mandolin, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, banjo and bouzouki.
  • Maca, an Irish sister duo dubbed “Ireland’s next big thing” will rock the Raglan Road Pub stages with their extraordinary talent.
  • Fia Rua, featuring band members from Ireland and Scotland, will blend their musical backgrounds to perform and wow guests with a unique Celtic sound.
  • Mike Waters, from the southeast of Ireland, will perform Irish songs and ballads from traditional to contemporary with a good measure of chat and humor.
  • Emily Furlong, an extraordinary singer and entertainer from Wexford, Ireland will captivate guests with her stunning voice.
  • No Half Measures, an exciting, fresh and vibrant four-piece band from Scotland, Cork and Kilkenny will spin their youthful, contemporary sound for the Mighty Festival audience.

Of course, don’t miss the popular Raglan Road Irish Dancers plucked from the cast and stages of the world’s greatest Irish dance shows! They’ll be performing intermittently during the festival and ready to teach you an Irish jig – no experience necessary! Kids will also have a blast at this family-friendly party so be sure to bring everyone dressed in their best green garb and enjoy complimentary face painting.

For those planning to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day, be sure to plan ahead for the fun! On March 17, guests will be seated on a first-come, first-serve basis with a cover charge of $10 for each guest 18 and older. Reservations can be booked online for other festival days, including brunch by calling 407-938-0300.

This release was originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog.

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Filed Under: Disney Dining, Official Disney, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Disney Dining, Disney Springs, Disney Springs events, disney springs food, irish disney, Raglan Road, st patricks day

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway Rundown Review!

4 March 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway neon marquee The newest attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – open today – features the oldest and most beloved characters in Disney history (minus Oswald of course, maybe someday he’ll get an attraction). Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway may feature the original Fab 5 – but in a very new and non-traditional way. As I’m sure you know by now, this new ride is entirely drawn from the Mickey Mouse original cartoon shorts that premiered back in 2013. These cartoon shorts really created a whole new world that Mickey and his pals lived in, and we got to see an entirely different side of Mickey and the gang.

Runaway Railway Backstory

As much as I am for the most part a Disney purist and don’t like to see character integrity challenged, I really love these shorts. I found the fact that Mickey had more “human” qualities of not just being perfect and having nothing go wrong, combined with very non-human effects and cartoon physics, a hilarious combo.

Mickey and Minnie are still in love, Donald and Daisy are still in love (but bickering cause Donald has that temper), Goofy was still a class A goof, and Pluto was a loyal best friend. Those character traits are pushed to extremes in these cartoon shorts, all while highlighting obscure Disney or Disney parks history, or poking fun at themselves in the best possible way. Additionally, many of these shorts feature different countries; their traditions, music, culture, and even language. The shorts are little love-letters to their featured country, and Mickey and the gang speak the native language in these episodes, with no translation. I love this because it shows the power of Mickey as a character, how beloved he is across the world, and how he can fit right in anywhere because of his universal appeal and good intentions.

Panda-monium
Panda-Monium
Mumbai Madness
Mumbai Madness
Gubbles Flushed
Flushed
Potatoland
Potatoland!

Anyway, I’m getting a little off track (no Runaway Railway pun intended) but I really do think these shorts are a triumph in character and art style, and show that Mickey can keep up with the times and be enjoyed by a whole new generation, while appreciating the history of the past. For those that aren’t fans of the animation style, or how different the characters may look at times, I like to just look at these set of shorts as a whole separate entity from the Mickey and friends represented in the parks, movies, and comics. Just as some classic Disney attractions and characters received new treatments in the form of comic books in recent years, this is a whole new separate way to enjoy Mickey and pals.

Back to the Runaway Railway…I think if Walt Disney Imagineering tried to create a new ride based on the Fab 5, it would almost immediately be outdated, or look odd. Honestly, even the talking/blinking Mickey characters in the parks looks a little off to me. Seeing tiny, casual, full-of-life representation of these characters is a great way to ensure this attraction can appeal to everyone, because it is linked to these shorts and not tied to any one Mickey Mouse storyline or timeline.

Thanks to Imagineer Kevin Rafferty and the entire Runaway Railway team, the Mickey Shorts we’ve come to love have come to life before our eyes, and we get to be a part of the action and fun. I think there are a lot of spoilers out there already, and I don’t aim to add to that. So this review really just serves as a discussion for my thoughts after riding multiple times yesterday, and its impact on Disney’s Hollywood Studios overall.

Runaway Railway Rundown

Location

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is located in the former home of The Great Movie Ride, at the Chinese Theatre. This end of the park has gone through its own ups and downs. Once seen as you first entered the park, welcoming you at the end of Hollywood Blvd., it was then hidden behind a giant hat, providing a merchandise and pin trading location. We finally got rid of the hat, and an even larger, movable stage popped up, for Star Wars performances. This stage is still in use today, but I hope that the new attraction opening will see the end of that stage. There is no shortage of Star Wars content around the park, having it block the iconic Chinese Theatre just seems silly.

Of course its new home meant the end of a classic and much beloved attraction – The Great Movie Ride. I have countless memories of this ride, both of myself as a child, and with my own children. I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few events inside the former attraction, and getting to roam the track and get up close and personal to the amazing details that went into The Great Movie Ride are some of my most treasured memories.

Do I wish Runaway Railway could’ve found a new home elsewhere in the park? Yes. But alas I don’t make the decisions, and it’s here now. I do think that The Great Movie ride was sorely in need of updating and more TLC, and I don’t know that it ever would, in an age of IP drawing in the crowds and being the reasons for vacations being planned. The majority of folks were not flocking to Walt Disney World because of the Great Movie Ride, and right or wrong, Disney decided to change that by taking it out of the equation altogether.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway neon marquee

Disney’s Hollywood Studios, along with EPCOT, have had an issue with the parks not being able to live up to their original messages, themes, and experiences. Much like EPCOT Center was a place for inspiration, understanding and discovery, Disney’s Hollywood Studios was originally a love note to the past, and a guidebook for the present, in the form of the movie-making industry. That all changed when the Studios were no longer studios at all. The tours were still there, but soon those became stagnant as well, and unable to properly represent the process of making movies. So the focus shifted, to rides vs. experiences. Thrills vs. nostalgia. What we were then left with, in both those parks, was a mishmash of different themes, different messages, different stories. Both parks are now in flux and perhaps in the future will tell a more cohesive story overall.

Runaway Railway Queue

The facade of the Chinese Theatre is for the most part unchanged with this new attraction. Yes, there is a new sign out front, reminiscent of old Hollywood neon, with nods to the former marquee within the Great Movie Ride load area. The taller palm trees that flanked the main entrance have been replaced by shorter trees, presumably to keep from blocking the sign, while still keeping some foliage in the plaza.

The queue itself is pretty similar in the first portion, looking to the original Chinese Theatre for its decor. However, once you make the turn into the former pre-show area for The Great Movie Ride, where you’d see the “coming attractions” on the big screen, you’ll notice a big change. The room is now only perhaps a quarter of that size, and is walled off. That is the very end of the queue, and there are I think 3 pre-show rooms that you will be ushered into for the first portion of the ride. It’s a very small room because it’s basically just the amount of guests that will fit on one train, which is much less than the old people-eating GMR moving theaters.

The queue itself does not seem very big, but while it’s hard not to compare it to The Great Movie Ride, it really shouldn’t be done as it’s a completely different experience from pre-show to load to ride to exit. It’s no longer a slow-moving queue where you would sometimes see the coming attraction movies multiple times in that room. And it’s no longer loading two huge cars full of guests at a time, but then keeping them in there for 18 minutes or so.

Pre-show

I won’t get into spoilers here, since it literally just opened today, and the spoiler potential starts right with the pre-show. As someone who had the pre-show spoiled for me, I wish I hadn’t and don’t want to do that to anyone else. It was still fun, but why not preserve the magic whenever possible? Anyway, as mentioned above this is a smaller room and there are I believe 2 of them, but in the madness of the media event, I may be getting that wrong.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway preshow

The premise here is that you are arriving at the theatre to see Mickey and Minnie’s newest short, Perfect Picnic. Then in classic Disney fashion, something goes very wrong. But it’s all good, Goofy’s in charge!

Ride Rooms

There have been quite a few video clips and images released by Disney at this point, and we’ve included some in our Runaway Railway Review video. More than what’s shown there, I don’t want to reveal. I wouldn’t do it justice by describing it, or showing it on video. It is best experienced in person, and as difficult as it may be to do for a while, experiencing it multiple times to really take it all in.

 

 

The main experience here is that you are IN a Mickey Mouse short, and enjoying a trip from Runnamuck Railway Station to the park to meet up with Mickey and Minnie. And that does happen, eventually. Along the way you’ll see stunning visuals, albeit in the style of the Mickey shorts mentioned above. There are some character animatronics, which are also in that style. As a result, they may look a little odd from certain angles. It’s best to try different train cars when you can to see things from different angles. And even if you don’t, you may find that you end up in a different car than you started in.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway ride photo
Engineer Goofy says hello to Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

There are 8 rows of seats, 2 rows in 4 cars, plus Goofy driving the train. Each seat is a good view, but the perspectives will be different if you are further up or further back.

Characters on the Ride

    • Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse – These true originals are ready to take their little red convertible for a leisurely drive through Runnamuck Park in search of the perfect picnic spot. What could possibly go wrong?
    • Pluto – The dutiful dog just wants to bring Mickey and Minnie their lost picnic basket.
    • Engineer Goofy – Mickey and Minnie’s lanky pal invites guests into the cartoon world for what surely promises to be an uneventful train ride through Runnamuck Park.
    • Daisy Duck – The proprietor of Daisy’s Dance Studio is ready to teach guests some fancy new moves.
    • Donald Duck – Everyone’s favorite hot-headed “problem child” is steaming again, as someone made off with the sign from his hot dog stand at the carnival.
    • Jackhammer Pete – The big brute’s vibrations may have some unforeseen consequences for Mickey and Minnie.
    • Chuuby (pronounced “choo-bee”) – This adorable little bird – created exclusively for the attraction – likes to sing and dance in Runnamuck Park.

Runaway Railway Music

If you are a fan of the cartoon shorts, then you’ll know that the music is very catchy and gets stuck in your head. Many episodes have their own original songs, which are brilliantly memorable. Even just the tune of the theme song and end credits get stuck in my head all the time. Runaway Railway is no exception. There is a new song composed just for the ride, and I think Disney knew it was going to be so catchy that they put the lyrics on multiple merchandise items. So get ready for “Nothing Can Stop Us Now…” to be rolling around your brain as you ride other attractions throughout the day! (You can hear the composer Chris Willis speak about the process in our video above!)

Runaway Railway Merchandise

We’ll have another post up soon highlighting all the exclusive ride-themed merchandise for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. For now you can see the Runaway Railway merchandise in our video or on our instagram and facebook too.

Speaking of instagram and facebook, we are giving away an exclusive MagicBand that we received for the Runaway Railway media event on our instagram and facebook page. The MagicBand has not been linked to any account so it’ll be good to go for whoever wins! Head to our zannaland instagram or zannaland facebook page to enter to win!

Runaway Railway MagicBand
Runaway Railway MagicBand

We  hope this review and rundown give you some backstory and helps with your planning to experience Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

Runaway Railway Tips:

  • We’d definitely advise getting FastPasses if you can. These can be reserved up to 180 days in advance if you are staying on property. For locals, we only have 30 days in advance, but it’s better than nothing!
  • If you can’t get a FastPass, get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios super early. Then head straight to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway first and you shouldn’t have too long for standby.
  • We’d advise riding in the first two cars the first time you ride, if you can request it. We preferred the second or third row of all the rows we tried.
  • Be on the lookout for some nods to The Great Movie Ride including a prop from the ride along with other visual Easter eggs.
  • And while you’re waiting, there’s a fun new Mickey & Minnie trivia game on the Disney Parks Play app, so be sure you’ve got that ready to go and you can test your knowledge while you wait to ride!

 

If you’ve experienced this ride, let us know what you thought in the comments below! 

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway

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Filed Under: Disney Attractions, Disney News, Disney Parks, Resorts, & Entertainment, Latest News, Top Stories, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Disney-MGM Studios, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, mickey mouse cartoons, Mickey Shorts, MMRR, Runaway Railway, Runaway Railway planning, Runaway Railway Review, Runaway Railway Tips, The Great Movie Ride

Best Scenic Spots in Disney Parks – Up the Waterfall

17 February 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Disney California Adventure - Best Scenic Spots in Disney Parks This week on Up the Waterfall we took a break from the deep dives into Disney history and have a palate cleanser of sorts with a Best Scenic Spots in Disney Parks episode. This came about from my handful of recent visits to the newest Disney hotels – Disney’s Riviera Resort and Gran Destino Tower, both of which have rooftop restaurants or lounges with amazing views. It made me really appreciate some of the great scenery that exists around Disney parks. Of course, I mean outside of the normal ones we expect like Cinderella Castle and the main “weenies” of the parks.

In this episode we share our favorite scenic spots in Walt Disney World, Disneyland and the Disney resort hotels as well. Do any of our picks align with yours? What did we leave out? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear your best scenic spots in Disney parks picks too!

 

We hope you enjoy this week’s episode of Up the Waterfall!

How to Listen to Up the Waterfall

You can listen anywhere you download and listen to podcasts, including: 

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(If there’s a podcast service where you can’t find our show, let us know and we’ll get it added there!)

How to Watch Up the Waterfall

Head to our Up the Waterfall YouTube Playlist – where you can see our opening sequence and some unique images of the places we mention. Here’s the latest episode:

 

Feel free to comment below with your favorites spots, any questions or info you’d like to add, or if it’s easier, head to the Zannaland Facebook page and join the discussion there with fellow Disney fans!

 

 

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Filed Under: Disneyland Resort, Latest News, Top Stories, Up the Waterfall Podcast, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Best scenic spots in Disney, Best views in Disney parks, Disney history podcast, Disney parks, Places to celebrate in Disney parks, Scenic Disney spots, Up the Waterfall, Up the Waterfall podcast

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