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Disney California Adventure Spider-Man Ride DETAILS ANNOUNCED

11 March 2020 by Chris Ryan Leave a Comment

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During a shareholders meeting this morning, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced new details for the upcoming spider-man themed ride at the Avengers Campus, opening this summer.

Titled ‘Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure,’ the ride will give guests their own web-slinging powers as they team with Spider-Man to take on an army of spider-bots on the loose.

Walt Disney Imagineering creative executive director Brent Strong reveals,

At WEB, young inventors like Peter Parker have been brought together by Tony Stark to help create technologies that allow everyday people like us to have powers just like the Avengers. When we get inside, we find out that they’re not quite as well funded as Stark Enterprises. They’re not quite as militaristic as SHIELD. In fact, they’re not all that organized at all. These are some kids that have some amazing power, right? Vibranium from Wakanda, Pym Particles from Ant-Man. They have arc reactors from Tony Stark. In fact, they probably have a little bit more power than they have responsibility.

In a ride similar to this, Toy Story Midway Mania, guests use a blaster triggered by pulling a cord to hit targets. Superpowers don’t work like this though, and the folks at WDI had to figure out a more natural and immersive way to perform tasks on this new attraction.

What you won’t see is people holding onto a blaster, people holding onto an interface. Believe it or not, with nothing in your hands, you get to reach out and you will sling webs on this ride. In order to do that we invented a brand new interface.

This is the first time we’ve ever shown this outside [of Imagineering]. This is a gesture recognition system that we have built into every slinger vehicle and sixty times a second, we are able to determine where a guest’s head is, their shoulders, their elbows, and even their wrists. We’re able to track the motion of your body so that when you reach out and sling a web, since we know where your eyes are, and we know where your hands are, we can render a virtual web coming right out of the palm of your hand, right out of your virtual web-shooters and into a virtual world.

Strong also said that there are no age or height requirements for the ride, making it more accessible to all families.

This is something where guests of all ages get to live out that epic action, which is wonderful.

The ride will feature Spider-Man himself, as voiced by Tom Holland, who will explain the situation before loading guests into the new ride vehicles, called ‘slinger vehicles.’

Earlier this year, it was also announced that the ride would feature a brand-new, stunt-performing animatronic of the web-slinger himself.

We’re super excited for this brand new experience at Disney California Adventure, so stay tuned for all our future updates on it!

The Avengers Campus opens July 18th, 2020 at Disney California Adventure park.

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Filed Under: Disney Attractions, Disney News, Disney Parks, Resorts, & Entertainment, Disneyland Resort, Latest News Tagged With: Avengers, Avengers Campus, avengers ride, DCA, Disney California Adventure, Marvel, marvel ride, marvel super heroes, spider man, spider man ride, web slingers

MARVEL Avengers Campus OPENING DATE Announced

11 March 2020 by Chris Ryan Leave a Comment

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During a shareholders meeting this morning, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has announced that guests will be able to meet some of their favorite adventures beginning July 18th, 2020!

The Avengers Campus is the brand-new Marvel themed area expansion to Disney California Adventure, which replaces the former a bug’s land area. In this new land of the park, guests will be recruited by the Avengers to become the next generation of super heroes.

July 18th is the scheduled date for Phase One of the area’s completion. This includes the brand new Spider-Man experience, which is the first Disney-built ride-through attraction to feature the web-slinger himself. Guests can also enjoy the currently open Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! attraction, as a part of the land’s adventures.

Phase Two of the land, which will include the new Avengers-themed E-ticket attraction is still yet to come.

Avengers Campus will also feature the Pym Test Kitchen, an Ant-Man and The Wasp themed dining location specializing in growing and shrinking every-day food with Pym Technology.

Stay tuned here for all the latest updates on the Avengers Campus, and all over Disney parks and resorts.

 

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Filed Under: Disney Attractions, Disney News, Disney Parks, Resorts, & Entertainment, Disneyland Resort, Latest News Tagged With: Avengers, Avengers Campus, avengers ride, DCA, Disney California Adventure, guardians of the galazy, Marvel, marvel super heroes, spider man, spider man ride

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

NIK WALLENDA to Perform Stunt at LEGOLAND’s Pirate Island Hotel Opening

10 March 2020 by Chris Ryan Leave a Comment

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World-renown daredevil Nik Wallenda has announced that he will be ‘walking the plank’ at the grand opening of LEGOLAND Florida Resort’s all-new Pirate Island Hotel. The stunt is scheduled to air live on ABC for all to view!

LEGOLAND Florida Resort writes,

In true pirate-fashion, Wallenda will “walk the plank” from inside the theme park to the new hotel to kick off the resort’s opening festivities on Thursday, April 16. LEGOLAND Florida Resort park and hotel guests are invited to take part in the fun and watch the nail-biting stunt safely from the ground.

This event will be no “walk in the park” for the Wallenda Team as they will construct a high wire longer than 500 feet for the walk. They will also work closely with LEGOLAND master model builders to craft LEGO bricks onto Wallenda’s 28-foot balance pole.

LEGOLAND and Nik Wallenda fans alike can stay tuned to Facebook and Instagram as the park releases additional details on how to watch the stunt unfold live on Thursday, April 16.

NEW! LEGOLAND® Pirate Island Hotel Grand Opening – April 17

Located just 130 kid-steps from the theme park entrance, LEGOLAND Pirate Island Hotel will feature 150 LEGO-filled rooms (including four suites), a heated pool (complete with LEGO soft bricks to build in the pool), hundreds of LEGO models, exclusive character experiences and in-room LEGO treasure hunts. Similar to the popular LEGOLAND Hotel, each room will include two separate spaces: a kid’s sleeping area and an adult area.

The five-story hotel will house the pirate-themed Shipwreck Restaurant with family-style dining, Smuggler’s Bar for adult swashbucklers, an entertainment area with kid-friendly nightly programming and LEGO play areas. Directly outside the entrance to the hotel, a pirate shipwreck will greet guests and offer a unique photo opportunity.

LEGOLAND Florida Resort has also prepared a brief video to tell us more about the event!

[videopress hF5wR6Ny]

The Pirate Island Hotel will officially open to the public on Fri., April 17. Reservations are available at LEGOLAND.com/pirateisland

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Filed Under: Florida Theme Parks & Attractions, Latest News, LEGOLAND Florida, Places to Stay Tagged With: grand opening, LEGOLAND, LEGOLAND Florida, legoland florida resort, legoland pirate, nik wallenda, pirate hotel, pirate island hotel

Best Special Effects at Disney – Up the Waterfall

9 March 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Season 2 – Episode 9 (Episode 24) of Up the Waterfall

One of the things that makes us love Disney so much is the ability to transport us. Whether it’s visually or through sounds, smells and movement, Disney parks have some of the Best Special Effects around. We’ve discussed some of the Biggest Hits (and Misses) of Disney parks, and among that list were things like animatronics. Jumping off from that point, this week on Up the Waterfall, Scott and I each share our picks for the best special effects used by Disney Imagineers that really “changed the game” so to speak as far as attractions go. And as always, we know that attractions doesn’t necessarily mean rides.

With all of the amazing ride and Imagineering technologies available today, one of the things we explore is that it can sometimes be the simplest of effects that have the biggest impact. For example, growing up, for both Scott and I, the effect of “fire” in Pirates of the Caribbean burning village scene. Another of Scott’s favorites (and mine once I finally got to Disneyland) was the “lava” in the Primeval World diorama on the Disneyland Railroad. Simple rolling logs covered in foil, with lighting, has the uncanny appearance of flowing lava.

Pirates of the Caribbean village fire scene
photo credit: Disney

Effects like this laid the groundwork for today’s Na’vi River Journey‘s Shaman of Songs animatronic, or the newest attractions of Rise of the Resistance and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (which we don’t discuss too much to be completely spoiler-free).

Get comfy and listen along or watch below and see if our list matches yours – OR – if we left one of your favorite Disney special effects out of this episode! Feel free to comment below with your picks, or if you disagree with our choices. If you enjoy our show, we’d love you to subscribe to Up the Waterfall podcast, either on your podcast app of choice, or on Zannaland’s YouTube channel, to see all of the fun as well as hear it. Keep reading below for all the places to find and listen or watch.

Thank you for reading, watching, and listening as we go Up the Waterfall!

You can watch this Best Special Effects at Disney episode here:

 

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: 

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Google Podcasts
  • Spotify
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  • Anchor

(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 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!

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FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO: 
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  • Zannaland’s facebook page
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  • 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, Up the Waterfall Podcast Tagged With: Disney animatronics, Disney effects, Disney history podcast, disney imagineers, disney podcast, Disney ride effects, Disney special effects, Fantasmic effects, Up the Waterfall, Up the Waterfall podcast

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

If you’re visiting Zannaland for the first time, we’d love you to join our community and stay up to date on all that we share:

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

FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO: 
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We thank you for your support and for sharing the love! 

 

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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

Disney Parks Recent Changes-Good/Bad?-Up the Waterfall

2 March 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Taking a break from Disney parks history, we’re sharing a round table discussion of the Disney Parks Recent Changes. All the major and subtle changes that have taken place at Disney parks over the past 5-10 years and how those changes have affected the park-going experience.

This past week we’ve seen major announcements and changes upcoming to Disney parks – a new chairman – Bob Chapek, Spaceship Earth closing, and so many other updates. Rather than comment on the decisions that will affect FUTURE experiences, we are commenting on past changes and how that has affected current park experiences.

Disney After Hours

We discuss many controversial topics like Upcharge Events, Festivals, Drinking in the Parks, and Homogonization of the parks in general. HOT BUTTONS! You may not agree with us, and that’s ok too! We’d love to hear your thoughts.

You can watch this episode here:

 

 

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: 

  • Apple Podcasts
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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 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: 
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Filed Under: Disney News, Disney Parks, Resorts, & Entertainment, Top Stories, Up the Waterfall Podcast Tagged With: Disney changes, Disney Parks changes, disney podcasts, Disney upcharge events, Drinking in Magic Kingdom, Drinking in the Parks, Festivals, Homogonization, Up the Waterfall, Up the Waterfall podcast, Up the Waterfall podcasts, Upcharge Events, VIP Disney

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!

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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

VLOG: 2020 EPCOT Festival of the Arts

16 February 2020 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Epcot Festival of the Arts We’ve done a preview video of the 2020 Epcot Festival of the Arts, but we thought we’d go back and share our experience. This time we took part in the paint by numbers mural and completed the Figment Scavenger Hunt that takes place with each ArtfulEpcot Festival.

 

If you haven’t been, here’s a rundown of all there is to see and do at the Epcot Festival of the Arts:

Art: This festival features so many different kinds of Disney art – Chalk Art in 3-D by artists, Paint-by-Numbers mural that you get to paint each day. Disney artists are there sharing their creations in print, postcard and original canvas form. Different artisans showing how art can be added to scarves, shirts, even bicycle-powered spin art this year.

Food: As with all the other Epcot festivals, there are various food booths or kiosks offering unique treats. With this Artful Epcot festival, they try to make the food items more artistic, either deconstructing a classic dish, or theming it after a famous art style.

Merchandise: Ear hats, spirit jerseys, MagicBands, plush…all the usual suspects are at this festival. You can find unique Figment designs for the Festival of the Arts. Each year they try to switch up Figment’s look for another art style. You can see more of the Festival exclusive merchandise in our Epcot Art Festival Preview

Disney on Broadway: Each year we are treated to Broadway stars singing their current or former Disney on Broadway roles, or other Disney favorites as solos and duets. This is one of my favorite parts of this festival.

Here’s our latest vlog – where we get creative with the Paint by Numbers mural, and find some Figment art with the Figment’s Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt!

 

 

We hope you enjoy our 2020 Epcot Festival of the Arts vlog! Have you been to the Epcot Festival of the Arts? What was your favorite part? Tell us in the comments below! Also be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to know when we upload a new video or podcast!

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, Videos, Vlogs, Walt Disney World Tagged With: 2020 Epcot Festival of the Arts, Artful Epcot, Artful Epcot 2020, ArtfulEpcot, Epcot Art Festival, Epcot Festival of the Arts, Epcot Festival of the Arts vlog, Epcot video, Epcot vlog

VLOG: City Works Disney Springs Dining Review!

14 February 2020 by Chris Ryan Leave a Comment

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Join us for another fun vlog as we review the new City Works Eatery at Disney Springs. This is the newest  restaurant at Disney Springs, located next to the new NBA Experience. With over 90 craft beers on tap, City Works Eatery and Pour House makes for a fun addition of American sports-bar style flair to your vacation.

City Works currently has nine locations across the country in cities and towns including Fort Worth, Tex.; Frisco, Tex.; King of Prussia, Pa.; Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Schaumburg, Ill.; Tysons, Va.; Wheeling, Ill.; and Vernon Hills, Ill. With 90 local and global beers on tap, the restaurant offers a wide range of rare and unique craft selections. All locations are open for brunch, lunch and dinner, and prices range from $13-$20 for lunch and $15-$28 for dinner.

City Works will have 30-40% of its draft beer taps dedicated to local breweries and eight wines on draft. It will also offer a seasonally changing cocktail menu and a fully stocked bar, plus a whiskey list. Guests can enjoy Happy Hour specials, including $2 off well drinks, local craft beers and glasses of wine, and $7 bar bites Monday through Thursday 3-6 p.m. Drink specials also are available 10 p.m.-midnight.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday 11 a.m.-midnight, Friday 11 a.m.-1 a.m., Saturday 10:30 a.m.-1 a.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m.-midnight. It also offers brunch dishes on the weekends 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

We’ll have a full blog post review soon, but until then, enjoy our City Works video review! You can check out our other Zannaland Videos here.

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Filed Under: Disney Dining, Top Stories, Videos, Vlogs, Walt Disney World Tagged With: City Works, City Works Eatery, City Works restaurant, City Works restaurant review, City Works review, City Works video, City Works vlog, Disney Springs, Downtown Disney, NBA Experience, Walt Disney World

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