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I’ve seen them run out of Fast Pass (for the day) at Toy Story Midway Mania by 10:30 AM. Sometimes the lines for this ride are unbelievable. But waiting in the queue isn’t that bad. Check it out:
Category: Toy Story Midway Mania
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Toy Story 3 came out on DVD and Blu-ray this past week. Great Movie! I can’t believe they have actually made three of them and each one has been better than the one before it. If you know the history of the series, you know that the first one almost wasn’t made. The reason was that Pixar, when they were just becoming Pixar, had problems putting together the movie they wanted to make. Of course it all came together and the rest as they say is history. I’ve heard a few people say:
“I just wish that now that Pixar is part of Disney, that they would have more of an attraction presence in Walt Disney World. I know in California they are building Cars Land, and in Japan they have the Monsters Inc. Roller Coaster, but in Florida, we only have Toy Story Midway Mania, for now. There are many Rumors out there about different Pixar themed attractions coming to the different Disney World parks, but they are just that, Rumors.”
What these people don’t realize, is that Pixar can already be found all around Disney World. To show this, I present, The Unknown Magic of the Pixar in Walt Disney World.
The obvious place to find Pixar is in the Disney Hollywood Studios the area that houses Toy Story Midway Mania and the character meet and greet with Woody and friends is called Pixar Place. They used to have Woody and Buzz at another part of the Studios and they posed in front of Al’s Toy Barn. Now Woody and a few friends have their own inside meet and greet across from the entrance to the Toy Story Attraction. Over near the Streets of America there is a meet and greet at Luigi’s Casa Della Tires. Here you can have your picture taken with Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars. You can also meet the newest Pixar Characters, when a new movie comes out, inside the Magic of Disney Animation.
Across from the ABC Commissary, Mike and Sully used to greet their fans with their own little area set up to make it seem like you were in Monstropolis. It was a little area that Roz overlooked to make sure that they continued their work as greeters. You could have your Picture taken with them and if you had one of the Disney Photo Pass photographers take the Picture, you could get their autographs on the Picture when you bought it.
Another place you can see Mike Wazowski is in the Magic Kingdom at The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. He hosts the show here that is an audience participation comedy show. Roz (from Monsters Inc.) is “Always Watching” the show to make sure it is a good one. Also located in the Magic Kingdom is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. This is an interactive ride that has Buzz and the Little Green Aliens trying to stop Zurg from destroying the Universe.
The Pixar Characters can also be found in the Move it! Shake It! Celebrate it! Street Party.
But Pixar isn’t just represented in Disney Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom. Characters from your favorite Disney-Pixar films are found in Epcot and the Animal Kingdom also. Over in Epcot, they are found in the Seas with Nemo and Friends. This is Disney’s aquarium that has been fitted with some special things to make Magical Experiences for the Nemo fans. Also in the Seas Pavilion, is Turtle Talk with Crush another interactive experience, where kids can talk to and learn from Crush the 150 year old turtle from Finding Nemo.
A few years ago, in Epcot, they also had a guest appearance from Remy from Ratatouille. He would come around to your table as you ate in the Les Chefs de France and talk with you and the waiter that was with him. It was a very amazing animatronics presentation.
The weenie* for the Animal Kingdom is the Tree of Life; in the root system of the tree is another Pixar presentation, It’s Tough to Be a Bug, Hosted by Flik, from A Bug’s Life. This show is a 3-D show that is fun and exciting and explains the world of insects to us humans. Also in Animal Kingdom, they have Nemo-the Musical, a thirty minute theatrical adaptation of the movie.
So, now you know, Pixar is not just part of the Disney Company now, but it is represented in all of the parks in Walt Disney World. The rides that are rumored to be coming to the Walt Disney World Resort will just be more great Pixar Places to have Magical Experiences, if they come.
*Walt Disney gave the name “weenie” to a focal point you move toward when entering the parks.
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| Most of the nine of us |
Our first trip to Walt Disney World as a Family was in 2005. I wrote about it in an article I wrote for Growing Up Disney called The Best Thing I’ve Ever Seen at a Disney Park. Since then we have been down many times. One of our trips in 2007 was with my family, a group of nine; three kids and six adults. This past summer we went with friends and it was a group of seven; two teenagers, four adults and a baby. It is different travelling with others, but it is also different when you travel with larger groups. When you travel anywhere with a larger group there is always a worry about where to go, what to do and how to get there. When you are in Walt Disney World, it seems that these worries are lessened. Disney makes it easy to travel with a larger group. So, I offer for you today, The Unknown Magic of taking a large group to Disney.
Usually the first thing you have to worry about if you are travelling with a group of 4 or more is accommodations. Disney makes it easier on families of more than four. They have the Deluxe Villas, which are the Disney Vacation Club Villas, which come in different sizes, but with a two bedroom suite, you can comfortably have 5 adults staying in a room, without a roll-away bed, which you may get in some places. They also offer at the ALL-Star Music Resort a “family suite” that six can stay in. This is a wonderful thing, because the ALL-Star resort is one of their ‘value” resorts and the price is a little lower.
Next thing you may worry about when you are travelling with a larger group is where to eat. Going out with a family of three or four is nice, when you are on vacation, because this is the normal group size that most restaurants are expecting. Even a party of six isn’t usually a problem. When you get towards eight, it starts getting into pushing table together territory. This is always awkward. Where is everyone going to sit, who gets to sit next to the baby, why do we have to sit so far away from each other, it’s a pain. In Walt Disney World, it doesn’t seem to be a problem. And they never seem to have just pushed a table together for you. They always seem ready for a larger group and are happy to accommodate. Some of the best places for a large party are their
dinner shows. The Hoop-De Doo Revue and the Spirit of Aloha Luau are really set up for parties larger than four. They serve the food Family Style and the tables are larger tables (mainly to hold all the food!) The dinner shows are actually more fun and can be more of a Magical Experience when you have more people with you.
With a larger travelling party, getting around wherever you are is sometimes a challenge. I still recommend driving in Disney, but when we were down this past summer we made the busses and boats work. Even with seven of us, a stroller and the baby, we really didn’t have any problems on the Buses or the monorail. We kept the group together and were able to talk to one another. Once again it is because Disney makes group travel easy. With a larger group, if you do have a van or even two cars, getting around in Walt Disney World is even easier. Not having to wait for busses with a kid is always a plus, but if there are three of them, as we had a few years ago, then it is even better when you don’t have to wait. Disney also makes it easy for you to travel by car if you want to keep your group moving and together, by allowing you to park for free at the parks and resorts if you are staying on Disney Property.
The only problem you may have when travelling with a larger group is who gets to sit next to whom on the attractions. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Toy Story Midway Mania are two of the attractions where this could be a problem. The reason is that these are competitive, interactive rides. When we were down this past year, we actually had a great time on the Space Ranger Spin, because we used the extra Magic Hour and we were able to go through the ride six times, changing partners each time, so that everyone got a chance to play against each other. It was a very fun time. And once again, it was because of something that Disney does to make this able to happen. The extra Magic Hour helps groups to enjoy the parks, as you can move through the parks easier when there are less people in the Parks. Another way they make it easy to re-do an attraction is with FASTPASS (which I have talked about in “No Need to go Commando”) When you are able to re-do an attraction, this makes it easy to ride with someone else in your party also.
So, now you know, travelling with a large party in Disney is easy. The accommodations they offer for bigger families are great and eating with a group isn’t a problem either. Other worries you might have about taking a large group to Walt Disney World should be pushed aside also, as Disney takes care of everything from getting you where you want to go to making it easy for you to enjoy yourself with your family. So get the whole family together and go enjoy a Magical Experience in the Happiest Place on Earth, Walt Disney World.
unknownmagicwithinwaltdisneyworld 