Mickey’s Toontown Fair is Officially Gone

Last week Mickey’s Toontown Fair officially closed.  I’ll be honest.  In all my trips to Disney World I never once went through this area of the Magic Kingdom.  I never rode any of the rides or saw any of the characters there.

If I had been able to get down to Disney before the area was shut down I would have gone through it.  It sounded ok and seemed like it had some fun areas and details.  I guess that’s my only regret is the fact that I never got to really see Toontown.

I know a lot of other people are really upset at seeing this area close.   I can understand that.  I feel bummed every time I think about the original Journey Into Imagination, Horizons, World of Motion, and the Original Version of the Universe of Energy.

Most of the time people are not upset about the attraction closing.  Most of the time people are upset because it feels like something is being taken away and there is nothing they can do about it.  People like to go back to Disney and share their memories with family and friends.  You can stop and point to an area and reminisce about a fond memory.  When that area is no longer there you are just left with a memory.  When the area no longer exists you can’t relive the experience with your children or friends.  I think that’s what really bothers people.

One thing I try to keep in mind when anything is replaced is the “Norway Syndrome.” The Norway Syndrome is when something is left in place for too long and it goes from relevant to annoying to humorous.  Of course I am talking about the movie in Norway.  Believe it or not but that was an ok movie when I was a kid and saw it the year it opened.  Within ten years it was bad and needed to be replaced.  If it had been replaced I guarantee you that there would be people today who would claim the movie was good and wish it hadn’t been replaced.

Even though we loved Horizons and other long gone attractions would we still love them today?  Sometimes we would.  Sometimes Disney makes a timeless attraction like the original Journey Into Imagination.  If Horizons was still around it would have needed some major rehabs over the years but we might still like it.

Let us hope that the Mickey’s Toontown Fair attractions are remembered with more smiles than frowns ten years from now.

What Gets You Out of Bed?

One of the worst things about the late fall and winter is getting up when it's dark outside.  Getting up is hard enough but when it still looks like nighttime outside it's that much harder. 

One thing that helps is a good alram clock. I have an alarm clock that I can plug my iphone into and wake up to any song I want. I have a few of those tree hugging hippy tracks of nature sounds.  Those are ok to wake up to but they are not as good as something else.

There is one track I set as my wake up song more often than anyone else.  It seems like the perfect wake up track.  It's not too loud or soft.  It's soothing yet not enough to put you back to sleep.

What is my wake up track?  Let me give you a few hints:

1 - It's from a former Disney World attraction.

2 - The attraction was located in Epcot.

3 - The attraction was located in Future World.

4 - The attraction was located in Future World East.

A true Deek has now arrived at two attractions.  Here are a couple more hints.

5 - The attraction allowed you to choose your own ending.

6 - The attraction was replaced my Mission Space.

You have the attraction now but what track could it be?

7 - The track was played during one of the endings.

8 - It's not the ocean ending.

9 - It's not the desert ending.

A majority of the people reading this blog now know what track I wake up to.  For those of you who never rode Horizons or who don't remember the endings - the track is "Space."

There are a number of Disney songs that are decent to wake up to.  There are also some that are AWFUL but they will wake you up.  For instance "There's a Great Big Beatiful Tomorrow" is just punishing to wake up to.  The way it starts could wake someone out of a coma.

If you've never heard the song you can listen to it here.  It's the background music of this Disney slideshow.

What gets you out of bed or what would you want to wake up to?

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.

Second Video Now Loaded!

The Cousin Mickey Doesn't Talk About has loaded another video. The new video is a slide show of Disney World Fireworks. Illuminations, Holiday Wishes, and the Mickey's Christmas Party displays are all included. The slide show is played to the music of "Space" which used to be part of the Horizons attraction in future world in Epcot.

Feel free to rate the video and leave messages either here or on YouTube.

The video can be viewed at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk9pmjbWekM

It Got a Flat Tire so We Bought a New Car.

Through the years there has been a lot of protests over rides that Disney has decided to remove / close / replace. In each case the hard feelings normally boiled down to the fact that people felt like a piece of their childhood or young adulthood was been erased. When you look beyond that there are some rides that really make you wonder why they were shelved while others remained. In many cases these rides were either unique, ground breaking, or victims of circumstance. Here are the ones that I want to see again:


ExtraTERROResital Alien Encounter: This ride was intense. It was the most Un-Disney ride Disney ever built. It has as many rabid fans as it does sworn enemies. The problem with this ride was it was opened in the Magic Kingdom with only a height requirement. Too many young children were allowed on this attraction. When you think about it this attraction was a PG-13 borderline R attraction. I say that because you got sprayed with water to simulate someone getting torn apart above you and it was beyond frightening for children. If Disney had opened this in DHS with an age requirement or actual rating I think it would still be around today. Too many dumb parents ignored the warning at the entrance and dragged their kids on this ride.


Horizons: I was fascinated by this ride as a child. It’s the first ride I can remember that had an interactive ending. I rode it over and over so I could see all of the endings. I’ve ridden Mission Space (Horizons replacement) once. It was good but I don’t think I’d ride it more than once a visit. I consider myself fortunate that I rode this ride just before it closed. There are a lot of rumors as to why Horizons bit the dust. Some say that the building had a sinkhole developing under it. Some said it would have been too expensive to overhaul. Others say that Disney couldn’t find a sponsor for it. I tend to believe the last one. Disney always puts money ahead of its guests, they just mask it well.


Mr. Toads Wild Ride: Ok this isn’t on the level of others but I have two reasons why it should have stayed. It was the only ride ever in which you died and went to hell. That makes it beyond unique. Here is my other reason. You replaced it with crap. I’m sorry but at its best the Pooh ride breaks even with Mr. Toad. If you’re going to replace a classic it better be an improvement.

The World of Motion: The song was great, the scenes were funny, and it was a classic Disney experience. Granted the World of Motion was getting old but that’s not an excuse. There are a lot of rides that are far older that are still around. According to many, GM is responsible for the death of this ride. It was time to re-sign and they wanted something new and flashy. Because they had the money, Disney was more than happy to jump on that band wagon. What we got as a replacement isthe most over hyped, over rated, attraction in Disney history.

The original Pirates: I like the new Pirates. I think they were some great additions that improved the ride. What runined those improvements is the fact that Disney knocked the teeth out of Pirates. They made it so PC that it’s just not funny anymore. Face it. It’s only a matter of time before the fat lady in the “take home a wench” scene is replaced and the sign is changed to say "Marry a Maid". Everything else that was funny was removed to avoid offending anyone. Like the fat lady chasing the pirate. That was classic!