New Video Posted: The Tiki Room in 1080p

A video of the Tiki Room has been posted to YouTube.  It's in 1080p so you can see all of the colors really pop if you take the time to download that version.

There is something about the old Tiki Room that puts a smile on your face.  Seeing this really brought me back to the first few times I ever went to Disney World.

You can see the video HERE.

New Video Posted: Good Skipper on the Jungle Cruise

I've posted another Jungle Cruise video to YouTube.  This time I got a decent skipper.  While not the best skipper I've ever had he's still very good.

The right skipper can make or break this ride. To see what I mean compare these two videos.  The first one is my video of possibly the worst Jungle Cruise skipper I've ever seen.  The second on is this guy.

Bad Skipper

Good Skipper

It's amazing to compare these two.  You can tell one likes his job and one is just mailing it in and collecting a paycheck.

Monkeys Invade the Swiss Family Tree House

A number of escaped monkeys from a local zoo have turned up in the Magic Kingdom.

Last month a group of monkeys escaped when a zoo keeper left their pen unlocked. The monkeys were thought to have disappeared into the forests outside of Orlando. However, last week the monkeys appeared in the Swiss Family Tree House in the Magic Kingdom.

“This is great!” exclaimed a cast member, “The monkeys are drawing huge crowds to the Tree House. We haven’t seen this many people checking out this attraction in decades.”

“It’s funny. Half of the park guests don’t know the Swiss Family story but they love this attraction. Most of them think Swiss Family Robinson is story about a family of monkeys. I’m not even going to try and explain it them,” stated long time Disney employee Daisy Duck.

The response to the monkeys has been impressive. To capitalize on crowds Disney has released a new series of monkey pins, t-shirts, and hats. Disney has also setup a banana cart near the entrance of the Tree House so guests can feed the monkeys.

“There has been one drawback to the monkey infestation. We’ve had to assign a cast member to the attraction full time. Someone has to clean up the monkey poo. It’s a seriously slip hazard,” explains a supervisor in Adventure Land.

Instead of waste the waste Disney has been shipping the monkey poo over to their Horticultural Department to be used as fertilizer.

“Hey they just took advantage of a crappy situation,” explains one of the birds from the Tiki Room. “I was afraid they’d pile the stuff over here. It’s not like anyone would really be able to tell the difference. Our show stinks.”

It’s unknown if the zoo that lost the monkeys will attempt to capture them or if Disney will broker a deal to keep the monkeys. Only time will tell.

CMDTA on His Own: The Tiki Room Under New Management

As I stood in line for the Tiki Room I asked myself why I was wasting my free time to see this subpar show. The only answer I could find was the fact that I had done this attraction every single time I had been to Disney World. I think this is the last time I’ll do this ride.

I’m a fan of the original Tiki Room so every time I see the new show it bothers me. It went from charming to loud and obnoxious. I sat in the wrong place. I was right next to a speaker. I really wish I had brought some ear plugs. It was brutally loud.

If you’ve never see this show before, don’t. It’s not worth your time. This ride really needs some help. It needs to be moved to the Polynesian and reverted to its original format.

There is no reason to see the current version of this show. I doubt even old people would could find a way to enjoy this show.

Oh wait! I’ve thought of a time you should see this show. If you are about to suffer heatstroke and can’t make it to the hall of presidents.

CMDTA on His Own: Swiss Family Tree House

My wife had no desire to do the Swiss Family Tree House. Her feet were blistered and her legs hurt so the idea of climbing the tree house wasn’t going to fly. A few days later I climbed up the Disney Classic.

One thing that the Tree House really needs is for the water to be running. The last two times I’ve done this attraction the water hasn’t been running. The running water really gives this attraction a wow factor.

Even without the water running the tree house still has some charm. I loved the movie and thought idea of living in a tree house of that scope was the best thing ever. Even to this day as I walk through all of replicated rooms and locations I would still love to have a house like that.

Even if you don’t care about Swiss Family Movie you should still check out this attraction. Why? The view you get from the tree house is unique. You’ll be amazed by what you can see from up there. Most people overlook that because they are just running through the attraction. Don’t make that mistake. Take your time and look around. You’ll be glad you did.

New Video: Pirates of the Caribbean

A video of Pirates of the Caribbean has been posted on YouTube. This video was taken in March of 2010. The original video was in 1080p. You'll notice that the smoke screen video at the start of the ride was broken when we were on this. A few days later it was working again.

This is the Walt Disney World version which puts the video under six minutes once I edited it.

I filmed this without using a view finder so the quality isn't fantastic but it's far better than what my old camera could do.

The video can be viewed here.

Swiss Family Tree House

There have been rumors for years about the Swiss Family Tree House getting closed done for a major overhaul / replacement. I can see why. Anyone under the age of twenty probably has no idea who the Swiss Family Robinson is. Some of the hardcore Disney kids would know and would have seen the movie but all the other kids most likely have no idea why the giant tree house is in Disney World.

Before I get hate mail I have to say this; I hope the tree house does not close. It’s an original. It’s classic Disney. It has a charm that can’t be reproduced. It’s just like Tom Sawyers Island. It could never be built again (for legal reasons).

I can’t see a reason to shut down the tree house. I always see people going through it. It seems fairly popular. There is also the fact that there is nothing like it. I can’t think of another attraction that is similar. You can also consider that people who know nothing about the movie can enjoy the tree house. Sure they might enjoy it more if they saw the movie but it is still an interesting attraction even without the back story.

In a day when we’ve lost classics like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Horizons, The World of Motion, Body Wars, Alien Encounter (yes I consider it a classic), and Journey Into Imagination is a joke, it’s nice to know we there are still some timeless classics left in the “World.”

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.