To Pin or Not to Pin

You might not know this but Disney makes a lot of pins. You might not know this but people buy them too. Type “Disney Pin” into the search field on eBay and you’ll typically get about 30,000+ hits on any given day.

I have to admit, Disney does a great job with a majority of the pins they put out. Many are detailed, well designed, and really grab the eye. However, there are some pins I just don’t understand. For instance, they have pins of the bathroom signs. WHO IS BUYING THE BATHROOM PINS!?! Why!?! Why do you want to collect pins that have the bathroom signs on them? What kind of a vacation did you have where these cause nostalgia?

I don’t go overboard in the pin department but I do own a number of them. I have specific rules for the pins I buy. They have to meet certain requirements:

1 – Can be a ride I’ve ridden and enjoy
2 – Can be an event I was present for
3 – Can be tied into a Disney World vacation memory
4 – Can be a resort I’ve stayed at

To give examples of the above, I have a Splash Mountain pin because I’ve ridden it and enjoyed it. I do not have a Turtle Talk with Crush pin because I’ve never ridden it.

I own pins for the 15th and 25 anniversaries of the Magic Kingdom because I went to Disney on both occasions. I also own a Year of a Million Dreams pin because I was there for it. I do not own a 35th anniversary pin because I wasn’t there for it.

I own a pin of Pluto sitting on top of the Disney World sign because Pluto once stole my shoe and ran off with it at Chef Mickey’s.

I only own two resort pins – Fort Wilderness and the Contemporary. I’ve never stayed anywhere else. When I do I’ll add to that list.

There is only one exception in my collection. It’s a Grumpy pin. I’m not a fan of Grumpy but this pin was funny. It’s for a stout beer and says “always bitter.”

There are also a bunch of pins I’d love to get my hands on like a Horizons, World of Motion, Body Wars, Original Journey Into Imagination, Dream Flight, and the Time Keeper pins. I’ve seen some of them but I’m too cheap to buy them. They tend to be expensive. I normally don’t pay more than five dollars for a pin. The only real exception was for an Alien Encounter pin. I think I paid eight for that.

Hold It In – We All Win!

Disney announced their latest “green” promotion this week. In an effort to reduce water use, all guests are encouraged to go to the bathroom less. For every hour between 5pm and 7am that your room’s toilet does not flush you will receive one dollar towards your bill.

In addition Disney is shutting down random restrooms across the property. On the closed restrooms doors is Disney’s new “green” slogan “Hold It In – We All Win!”

Disney is also placing signs on all of the other restrooms that inform guests: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.”

Disney expects that the new program will save an estimated one million gallons of water a day and also save roughly 100,000 dollars a day in expenses.

However not everyone is on board with the new program. Many have already expressed criticism of the plan.

“I’m terribly offended by those signs. I think they are offensive and crude,” stated Minnie Mouse in an interview after the announcement was made.

She continued “What if you can’t hold it? Are you supposed to jump in the bushes? I think this idea could really backfire!”

Grumpy Dwarf stated “It stinks!” when asked to comment on the new program.

Grumpy may have a point. Disney World could become very smelly while the program is in place. Is that worth the estimated 100,000 dollar a day savings? Only time will tell. For now it might be a good idea to bring a nose plug or gas mask with you on your next trip to the World.

Grumpy Flies Defamation Suit

Grumpy, the famous “little person” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves fame, has filed a defamation suit and is seeking damages for what he calls “character assignation.”

The suit states that use of the term Little Person is offensive and should be discontinued. The suit also draws attention to the fact that a “little person” refers to a human of small stature and is not as appropriate term for non-humans.

“When will people get it through their heads?!? I’m not a human, I’m a dwarf! Do you find people calling Gimli from the Lord of the Rings fame a human? NO! Does R. A. Salvatore call his characters who are dwarves, little people? NO! Stop calling me a little person!” Grumpy ranted at a recent press conference.

The suit is seeking 100 Trillion in damages from anyone who has ever called Grumpy a little person and is also seeking to remove all references of “little people” from anything related to Snow White and the Seven….Short, Stocky, Non-Humans.

“Snow White never called us “little people.” She was intelligent enough to know we weren’t human. Why do you think none of us other than Dopey ever made romantic advances towards her?!? Maybe it’s because she’s not a dwarf and we’re not human! Dopey only did because he’s an idiot and thought she was just a really tall dwarf,” Grumpy told a reporter from the Toon Town Gazette.

The suit is expected to reach the courts sometime in August. Until then everyone is urged to avoid using the term “little person” in reference to Grumpy.

Yeti Virus Outbreak Shuts Down Animal Kingdom

A major outbreak of the dreaded Yeti Virus has forced Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park to close until further notice.

The virus was first detected last week when guests of the park started to display symptoms often associated with the disease. By the end of the week it was estimated that one hundred and eight people had contracted the virus.

“If you start sprouting tuffs of coarse hair all over you body, grow large fangs, and start eating people, we urge you to seek medical attention,” stated a leading expert on the Yeti Virus.

“I don’t think it’s any surprise as to the origin of the outbreak. The Yeti who hangs out in Expedition Everest said he wasn’t feeling well. He also started sneezing on the guests as they passed through his cave,” a cast member stated.

“My girlfriend got sneezed on by the yeti. She got off the ride and ran to take a shower. She was covered in Yeti boogers. By the next day she stared growing hair everywhere and then she ate my roommate. That’s when I got concerned and called for help,” stated a local resident.

The virus is only spread through direct contact and is not airborne. The Yeti has been quarantined and the Animal Kingdom is being disinfected. The park is expected to open as soon as the cleaning is complete. However, Expedition Everest will not reopen until two weeks after the Yeti’s symptoms have cleared.

Herding Cats is Easier

When I went to Disney World in December 2008 it was my wife’s first real trip. I thought I knew what she’d like and what she wouldn’t. I was wrong. I found out that herding cats is easier than trying to predict what attractions my wife would like.

Mickey’s Philarmagic: I thought I’d have a fight on my hands just to get my wife into this. I was wrong. She willingly entered. I think she was tired and just wanted to sit down. What concerned me was, she’s not a Disney fan. Mickey’s Philarmagic and a non-Disney fan is a bad mix. That ride was build for Disney fans. Somehow she enjoyed it.

Tom Sawyers Island: As a kid I loved Tom Sawyers Island and I love the fact that it’s still around. For some reason my wife liked it even though she’d never been on it before. We went through all of the caves and over all of the bridges. She didn’t complain once.

Carousal of Progress: She gave me the “You seriously want to go on that?” line when I headed towards this one. Over all she liked it. However, she did point out the flaws in the timeline. She didn’t complain about the tech in the final scene, she complained that the guy would be about 150 if he was the same person through each scene. She also complained about the song. She didn’t think it was bad, it just got stuck in her head. Every now and then I record it onto her cell phone voicemail.

Flights of Wonder: I think I got a roll of the eyes when planned this one. I think this one did a lot to prove the difference between Disney and Non-Disney to her. A show about birds in most places would be boring to most people. A show about birds in Disney is a whole other story. She really like enjoyed it.

O’Canada: The only reason I got my wife into this show is because it was pouring. She wasn’t happy. Afterwards she let is slip that she enjoyed it.

Despite my best efforts I couldn’t get her to do Impressions de France, The American Adventure, or Reflections of China. It just wasn’t happening. The irony is she sat through the movie in Norway. It was her idea. Long story but she likes anything Norwegian. Except NCL but that too is a long story.

How am I going to do those attractions next time? I have two plans. Plan A: Send her to the spa for a few hours. Plan B: Bring her to France, hand her $50, and tell her to keep putting the booze back until it’s gone. That’ll buy be about 20 minutes if I’m lucky.

Everyone Has a Favorite

Every little girl…ok most little girls dream of being a princess. Disney has made oodles of money off of this fact. Just look at the boutique in Cinderella’s Castle that will transform your daughter into princess for a small fortune. Every little girl has her favorite princess.

Do you want to know a secret? Every guy has his favorite princess too. Most men just keep that a secret or only admit to it by accident or under threat of serious harm. Take for example the stellar bravery of Corey Martin from the DIS. He freely admitted that his favorite was Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty.

Mike Scopa also displayed some true grit when he not only admitted that he has been to the Norway Princess breakfast in Epcot, but that he enjoyed it! Then again age could be catching up to him…I hope he’s not turning into one of those creepy old guys who makes all sorts of lewd comments to pretty women…Na he’s just being brave…I hope.

People who have read this blog (so no one) might think my choice would be Mary Poppins. They would be wrong for a few reasons. One: Mary Poppins is not a princess. Two: Mary Poppins is my favorite Disney character. I never said she was the most attractive. Three: Most of the time Mary Poppins shows up in the white dress which I strongly dislike.

My choice is a little different. Most people pick Cinderella. I’ve never really liked blondes (so I guess that eliminates Aurora too). I always thought Jasmine was a little skanky. I’ve always thought Ariel was barley a teenager and that’s kind of creepy. So that leaves two right (three in a few months but until she shows up in the parks she’s not in the running)? Belle or Snow White - for most people that would be a hard decision, but it’s not for me. Every time I’ve seen Snow White in the parks I’ve done a double take. I don’t know if it’s the makeup or the costume or what but she hits the top of my list. What I should say is – Snow White is German and my wife is partly German so Snow White reminds me of my wife…..yeah that’s it.

Ok now that this post has hit a record level of creepiness I’ll stop. Last thing I need is a restraining order.

Ride Photos Are Fun

Ride photos can be really good or really bad. In either case they are normally good for a laugh. The ride photo above is from Dinosaur in the Animal Kingdom. It is a classic example of a ride photo. It has every thing in it. Let’s do a breakdown:

Back Row – First Seat (left): Either this woman is scared senseless or the 100+ db blast has killed her.

Back Row – Second Seat: This guy looks like he’s having fun. He’s looking in the right direction and is smiling. For a ride photo that’s rare.

Back Row – Third Seat: This guy doesn’t have a clue but at least it looks like he’s having fun. I guess he didn’t notice the giant dinosaur charging at him.

Back Row – Fourth Seat: This woman looks surprised. Not sure if it’s from the dinosaur or the fact the man sitting next to her is about to smack her in the face.

Middle Row – First Seat: This guy looks about as impressed as a man who is about to get a prostate exam. Someone should check him for a pulse.

Middle Row – Second Seat: You’ll find this on almost all scary rides, a mother / other trying to calm a terrified child.

Middle Row – Third Seat: The token screaming kid.

Middle Row – Fourth Seat: The token parent / other trying to calm the kid by pointing out something they think is fun to distract them from the horror in front of them.

Front Row – First Seat: Apparently this lady finds the dinosaur offensive. She looks disgusted.

Front Row – Second Seat: I’m guessing this kids parents said they would beat him if he had fun. He doesn’t look happy. He doesn’t look scared. He looks drugged.

Front Row – Third Seat: This guy looks legitimately startled. At least one person got the intended effect. Poor guy might have to change his underwear before the next ride.

Rumors Are Fun!

1 - Blueprints were leaked onto the internet of a massive fantasy land overhaul. It would add a sit down restaurant, a 7 Dwarfs roller coaster, and about six other ride additions / enhancements beyond that. On of the enhancements would be a major upgrade to Dumbo. If it happens it will be on of the largest overhauls ever undertaken in Disney World.

ANALYSIS - Some of it might happen but I don't think it'll all happen. I think this is a case where the imagineers ask for everything they’ve ever wanted in hopes that at least a couple things get picked.

2 - WALL-E - Buy & Large overhaul of tomorrowland. The overhaul would include replacement attractions of Stitch, Buzz Light-year, and Monsters Laugh Floor.

ANALYSIS - Ok…who’s on the crack? No chance this happens. I could see a WALL-E themed ride but they would not remove a ride as popular as Buzz. You might see a slow incorporation of a WALL-E / Buy and Large theme. By that I mean Buy and Large signs and things like that.

3 - Monsters Inc. Roller Coaster in Disney Hollywood Studios. Roller coaster would be placed next to Toy Story Midway Mania.

ANALYSIS - This is very, very likely. I'd be surprised if it didn't happen. The rumors have been around for years. I’d expect an announcement soon.

4 - Overhaul of the imagination pavilion with a possible trackless ride system and a return of the dream finder. Also may include a replacement for Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

ANALYSIS - I feel this one has some merit to it. This has been such a sore spot since its original overhaul. Not only that, HISA is really showing it’s age.

5 - Test Track replacement.

ANALYSIS - I'd say no, way it's just too popular. However, GM is in the gutter, Test Track is insanely expensive to operate, and it's one of the least reliable rides in Disney World. My fear is we’ll see an outright shutdown.

6 - Return of the Adventures Club

ANALYSIS - I'd believe this if someone could tell me a reasonable place to locate it. Putting it in a park doesn’t seem right.

7 – Night Kingdom theme park

ANALYSIS – I’m fairly sure this was going to happen before the economy got flushed down the toilet. This might make a comeback when the economy better.

8 – Alien Encounter 2.0 aka Alien Encounter moved to DHS, Alien from the Alien movies added in, made more intense, first ever age limit on a ride due to content.

ANALYSIS – How can I even start to point out all the things wrong with this? I’d say there is a slim chance of AE even making it back into where it was never mind the rest of the malarkey mentioned here.

9 – Advanced guest tracking / ride video capture. In a sense you could buy a video of yourself at the end of the day and it would have all the rides you went on. It would also add interactive to a number of the rides.

ANALYSIS – Something like this will happen as so as Disney can turn a profit on it.

10 – Song of the South DVD / Blu-ray

ANALYSIS – This will happen if Disney can make it profitable. That means counting the flack that this move would generate.

New G-Force Attraction Planned

A new G-Force area will soon be opened at Disney Hollywood Studios. The new area will simulate what it’s like to be a hamster. Guests will be placed in a giant hamster cage where they can relive themselves on the woodchips, drink from the rodent bottle, or eat dried seeds and hamster food.

Guests who do the simulation will only be let out of the cage after a guest on the outside picks them.

“I think this is a great example of synergy and we really tried to immerse guests so they understand what it’s like to be a hamster. We expect that guests who want to get out will line up against the glass and try to entice the other guests to pick them,” stated a company representative.

The new attraction is expected to be open as long as the film is in theaters. However, the timeframe may be extended depending on the success of the film and if any sequels are planned.

Dancing Fountains Video Has Been Posted

This is a video of the dancing fountains that can be found in Future World in Epcot. This is not the jumping fountains in the Imagination pavilion. This is the fountain behind Spaceship Earth.

Although not as impressive as the fountain shows in Las Vegas, this is still an entertaining show.

This was taken in December 2009.

The Video can be viewed HERE

Theme Parks at Night: The Magic Kingdom

Few theme parks take on another life at night like the Magic Kingdom does. Not even Epcot can match the Magic Kingdom in its night time grandeur. Here are a number of things that are amazingly different at night.

Cinderella’s Castle: During the day Cinderella’s Castle is amazing. At night it’s hard to describe. It’s lighted with changing colors like green, blue, purple, and pink. In the holiday season it gets even more impressive. They hang lights to accentuate the castle on top of the flood lights they use to illuminate it.

Splash Mountain: Splash Mountain at night is amazing. You can’t see the drops as well. They tend to be shadowed and dark. A number of things are lighted causing cool shadows throughout the exterior of the ride. The biggest change is the final drop. During the day you can see the bottom or at least get a feel for it if they have fogged it up. At night they don’t just fog it they often light the fog up making the drop seem bottomless.

Big Thunder Mountain: Few rides change as much as Big Thunder Mountain does at night. The lighting is amazing but it goes beyond the lighting. There are parts of Big Thunder that you can only see at night. For example the town scene comes alive a night. I won’t give it away but as you pass it you can look into the buildings at night. It’s crazy.

The Jungle Cruise: The Jungle Cruise takes on a fun creepy feel at night. Things seem to move even though you know they don’t. There seems to be more going on at night even though you know nothing has really changed. You have to ride it to really know what I’m talking about.

Tomorrow Land: Tomorrow Land during the day is cool but there is no doubt that Tomorrow Land was build with the nighttime in mind. The neon lights are everywhere. Everything takes on a cool futuristic feel. The best way you can experience it? The Tomorrow Land Transit Authority of course. The TTA is a must do at night.

Test Track Video Now Available

I contemplated whether or not to post this video. As you can tell my camcorder is awful in low light (if anyone knows a good one please let me know). Test Track has a lot of dark parts to it. In other words please don’t complain about the quality, I know it’s not great.

I ended up posting this because Test Track is a fun ride and some people who have ridden it might like to view this one.

I took this video in December 2008.

You can view the video HERE

Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Academy Video Has Been Posted

I have posted the video of the Captain Jack Sparrow Pirate Academy.

This is a funny show that took place near Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventure Land in the Magic Kingdom. I’m not sure if this show is still going on.

The video was taken in December 2008 and can be viewed HERE.

The Jumping Fountains

Now that “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” has been allowed to stay around far longer than it should have and Journey Into Imagination has been converted into a shameful wreck of what it once was, why should you go to the Imagination Pavilion? You need to see the fountains. One of the best parts of the Imagination Pavilion is the jumping fountains.

The jumping fountains are off to the side and could be missed by a militant family trying to cover everything in one day. They are as described. They are fountains that jump. They are not like the normal jumping fountains that just jump straight up in the air. They jump in arcs from one circle to the next. They don’t go nonstop either. They jump at intervals and can catch people off guard.

They can also be used to trick people. When I was a kid I didn’t know about the jumping fountains but my sister did. She convinced me to climb up on the small three foot wall that they are on. You can imagine what happened next. The fountain went off and I got hit in the back of the head. Being a “bright” child I turned around to see what happened and got another shot of water in the face.

At first I was upset but then I decided it was fun and started jumping in front of all of the spouts. My parents just gave up and realized that I was going to be soaked for the rest of the day.

If you ever find yourself in Epcot and want to cool off or think someone else needs to cool off, just take a trip over to the Imagination Pavilion.

Nathan Rose vs. Jim Hill – The Wager

I could never figure out why Nathan Rose champions Blu-Ray like a rabid animal. I like Blu-Ray. I have a PS3 and own a number of Blu-Ray movies. I think they are good and was on board from the launch of the PS3 but I don’t turn into a poo flinging monkey if someone disagrees about Blu-Ray.

I thought this was odd so I did what I do…I looked into it.

During my research I discovered that back in 2005 a heated dispute took place between Nathan Rose and Jim Hill. The dispute was over the future of home entertainment. Nathan claimed that Blu-Ray was the future while Jim Hill claimed that digital copy was the future.

The two nearly came to blows before deciding to create a wager. If Blu-Ray became the industry standard, Jim would have to award Nathan ownership of Jim Hill Media. If digital copy became the standard Nathan would have to award Magical Mountain to Jim.

At first I thought who cares? Would anyone really want either? Then I looked into it. It turns out that that Magical Mountain actually owns Magic Mountain in California. Six Flags only has a lease for it. Jim Hill Media was originally called Chapel Hill Media and actual owns all of Chapel Hill North Carolina. In other words this is the mother of all wagers.

Both Nathan and Jim tried to get the upper hand. Using their unlimited contacts and astronomical resources they both caused massive shifts in the world of entertainment. Nathan single handedly crushed HD-DVD. It wasn’t Sony it was Nathan. After that he put the screws to DVD executives and forced them all to convert to Blu-Ray ASAP. If they didn’t he said he pull strings and the WDW Mafia would be paying a visit (see The DIS – WDW Mafia’s Legal Front).

Jim single handedly convinced Netflix, Apple, and Amazon to jump on the digital delivery bandwagon. He threatened them with removal of everything Disney if they didn’t. Yes…Jim Hill has those kinds of connections.

Jim and Nathan’s epic battle was witnessed by many Disney insiders. One in particular took notice and wanted to end the feud. The only problem is – how could you negate the wager? Only one person in the Disney Community has that kind of power. Yes I’m talking about Deb Wills (see How Does Deb Wills Do It?). Deb waved her wand and POOF! All high end Disney Blu-Rays come with Digital Copy.

Now Nathan and Jim are friends again thanks to Deb Wills.

The New Summit Challenge

I’d say very few people know what the Seven Summits challenge is. Unless you follow or research professional mountain climbing, don’t feel bad if you don’t know it. The Seven Summits challenge is completed when an individual successfully summits the tallest mountain on every continent. Needless to say this is a very difficult and dangerous task. Despite the risk and monetary cost, a number of people have completed the challenge.

A far more dangerous challenge is joining the 8000 meter club. To join the 8000 meter club you need to climb every mountain that is 8000 meters (24,000 feet) or higher. To my knowledge the only American who has joined this club is Ed Viesturs. The risk in doing this can be enormous. Most people think Everest is dangerous. They are right. For every 20 people who summit Everest, one person dies. To join the 8000 meter club you also have to climb a number of other dangerous mountains including K2 and Annapurna. For every five people who summits K2, one person dies. For every three people who summits Annapurna, one person dies.

Why would someone attempt either? The main reason is people like the challenge, the fame, and in some cases they get “Addicted to Danger” (Jim Wickwire).

In the spirit of dangerous challenges, a new summit challenge has emerged. The new challenge is called “The Four Peaks Club.” To join this club you need to free climb, without a rope, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Expedition Everest Mountain.

The dangerous in attempting this is extreme. To date no one has completed the challenge.

It’s recommended that one starts with Space Mountain as a warm up, then attempt Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and Expedition, in that order.

Many people have already been killed or severely injured in attempting to join the Four Peaks Club. Here is a brief rundown of the accidents to date:

- 8 people have been electrocuted when lightening struck Space Mountain during their ascents

- 4 people have been impaled on the thorns in Splash Mountain after falls

- 2 people were clubbed by Brer Bear after being mistaken for Brer Rabbit on Splash Mountain

- 4 people were bitten by Brer Fox on Splash Mountain

- 24 people were stung by bees on Splash Mountain.

- 5 people have been crushed by logs at the bottom of the chute in Splash Mountain

- 3 people have lost their grips and slid off of Space Mountain breaking bones and other serious injuries

- 14 people have been run over by trains on Big Thunder

- 7 people have been nailed in the crotch by a mountain goat on Big Thunder

- 11 people have fallen to their deaths trying to reach the highest point of Big Thunder

- 9 people have been run over by a train on Everest.

- 21 people have fallen from the steep slopes of Everest, 10 died, 11 were seriously injured

- 73 people have been mauled or eaten by the Yeti on Everest.

Disney Announces New Service for Divided Homes

A Disney spokesman announced a new service for people who live in Disney Divided households last week. The new service called “Spouse Locker” will allow Disney fans to bring their unknowing non-Disney spouses to a facility where they will be put in a medical comma for a set period of time.

“This is a great service for all of our fans whose spouses complain about vacationing at Disney. We expect to see a boost in park attendance from this program,” stated VP of Grumpy Guests, Donald Duck.

The service has multiple levels and price points to cover almost every household. Level one includes basic medical sedation and revival. Level two adds a manicure / pedicure to the package. Level three adds vacation memory implants so your spouse doesn’t know they didn’t going on a Caribbean vacation. Level four adds spray tanning and numerous simulated photos as proof they were on vacation.

A fifth level is being considered for long term storage. Cryogenics has been proposed as an option for individuals whose spouses truly hate Disney.
The service is expected to be online later this year.

Mmmmmmm….Turkey Legs….

Some people hate turkey legs. If you are a vegetarian I can understand that. If you just hate them because you don’t like them….you are what I refer to as a freak. The turkey legs in Disney World are a must do. They are a classic. What’s not to like?

Every time I see a turkey leg I think of the Flintstones. The legs are huge. You could use them as a weapon if the need arose and that’s amazing because most food items that can be used as a weapon tend to be low quality. Take stale muffins for example. Stale muffins get rock hard and you could injure someone with one if you hit them just right. Would you want to eat a stale muffin? Of course not.

Turkey legs are nothing like stale muffins. They are smoked yet still moist. I don’t know how Disney does that on such a large scale. Most items that a smoked in bulk tend to be a little dry or unevenly cooked. I’ve never had a raw or dry turkey leg.

When you walk by the carts you get hit with that salty, smoky scent, that just beckons you get in line. I think it’s the same with the popcorn when you first enter the Main Street. They should really find a way to control that. My waist line can’t take it.

Turkey legs are also one of the best quick service meals in Disney. On the Disney Dining Plan you can get a turkey leg, bag of chips, and a soda for one quick service meal. You might balk at that and say it’s not worth the cost. That might be so but you’ll be so stuffed you won’t care.

Dining in Mexico

It seems like every time I hear about the restaurant in the Mexico Pavilion, its people complaining about how expensive it is. That’s always surprised me. How many things in Disney World are cheap? When it comes to quality food, cheap and Disney are two worlds that cannot be used in the same sentence (most of the time). With that in mind I’m going to throw cost out the window and do a review of my experience in Mexico.

Mexico was the first dining experience we had in Disney World on our last trip. We checked in at the Contemporary and headed over to Epcot. We rode Soarin’ and then went to Mexico for our 11:30 lunch reservation….oh sorry ADR.

Walking into the Mexico Pavilion is always an amazing experience. If you’ve never been in the Mexico Pavilion it’s hard to describe. It might sound cliché but it’s really like you’re walking into another world. It could be noon outside but as soon as you step through the entrance it’s nighttime in an open air Mexican market with a restaurant at the back of the pavilion, right on the river.

First of all our reservation was for 11:30 which is the earliest you can have lunch in the pavilion. It was dead. Because of that, we were able to pick our table and of course we had to sit on the water.

We both got margaritas. Other than the fact that they cost ten dollars, they were great. Then again, it was booze and we were on vacation so it’s hard to complain.

The service was good. It wasn’t excellent. Our waiter didn’t really do anything to stand out but we didn’t have to wait for anything.

The food was very good. We have a good Mexican restaurant chain in NH and my wife spent a month in backwoods Mexico so we can normally tell good Mexican from bad Mexican. This was good. Even if you removed the fact that we were sitting across from a Mayan pyramid, on the water, in simulated night with flickering candles and festive lighting, it was still good. The atmosphere didn’t improve the taste, it held its own.

Overall eating at Mexico is a must for us. The pavilion is Disney at it’s finest. We know we are on vacation when we eat there.

The Best Souvenirs are Free!

Disney has come up with everything you can think of as far as souvenirs go. My mom even bought me a Mickey Mouse cocktail shaker. That’s tame compared to some of the things Disney has developed to make a buck. That leads some people to question if there are any free souvenirs. You can’t really count your ticket because you paid an arm and a leg for it. A resort mug, even if you got it as part of a package is still paid for. I guess food wrappers are close but who wants to collect those? You could rip up a plant and smuggle it out of the park but that’s a crummy souvenir and you might banned from the parks. How about the soap in the hotel rooms? That’s a little better but still doesn’t fit the bill as a good souvenir and it’s not very collectable.

How about an unused Fast Pass? BINGO! It’s the perfect free souvenir. Each fast pass is different, it’s dated, and it’s collectable. The only real drawback is that you can’t get another fast pass until after the one you want to keep has expired. That’s no problem if you pick one up as you are leaving the park. They also fit nicely in a wallet which will protect them. All of the best (and some of the worst) have fast passes.

For some reason I only grabbed two on my last trip. Want to take a guess as to what they are? If you said Splash Mountain, you would be wrong. The fast pass wasn’t running during my trip. The two I have are Space Mountain and Expedition Everest.

Everest was the first one I nabbed. I didn’t plan on keeping it either. I got stuck with the fast pass because my wife felt too queasy after going on it once. She can’t go backwards without getting ill. I just stuck the fast pass in my wallet.

It wasn’t until the end of our trip that I figured that a fast pass would be a good souvenir. Our last day was in the Magic Kingdom. Because Splash Mountain wasn’t handing them out I went over and grabbed a Space Mountain fast pass. I figured if they change the fast pass with the refurbish, I’ll have an original.

So there you go. There is something free in Disney World that’s worth keeping.