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.”

WDW Today Goes to Oregon

What would happen if the gang from the WDW Today podcast attempted to travel the Oregon Trail? Good question. I decided to find out. I plugged everyone in and sent them down the trail to see what would happen.

They got off to a bad start thanks to Scopa’s uncanny ability to lose the trail. With Scopa Leading, on April 12th, he los the trail and it took three days to find it again. Unfortunately he did it again on April 19th but only lost one day this time.

The first member to get seriously ill was Len. He contracted dysentery on May 5th and it took him four days to recover.

The first member to break something was Newel. He busted his leg on May 14th and it took him four days to recover.

Having to be the center of attention, Len went ahead and caught measles on May 22nd and it took him two days to get better.

Annette didn’t want to be showed up by the boys so she went ahead and contracted typhoid on June 16th, costing the team four days of travel time.

Apparently Matt had enough and ran off getting himself lost on June 27th. It took three days to find him. His little adventure left him weak which resulted in a nice case of dysentery on July 4th costing the team three days.

Len climbed a maple tree in search of syrup, fell out, and broke his arm on July 15th. It was four days before he could travel again.

Scopa’s brilliant navigation skills made a comeback on July 21st when the team lost the trail again. Only a day was lost this time.

Matt, still weak from the dysentery, caught a nice case of the measles on July 28th. The team lost three days.

Newell, who had been healthy since his injury, had two bouts of Cholera on August 1st and August 12th costing the team a total of seven days.

On August 13th Len though it would be fun to play with a snake on the side of the trail. The snake bit him. Len got sick and delayed the team for three days. The bit left him weak and he contracted typhoid on August 31st costing the team another three days.

Len tripped Matt resulting in a broken leg on September 5th. It took five days for Matt to recover.

On September 11th Scopa got excited when thought he smelled the ocean but it turned out to be Newell. Len ratted him out.

On September 17th a fight broke out when Scopa told Annette that she needed a bath.

On September 21st, with the destination in sight, Matt decided it was a good time to catch Dysentery. Instead of waiting for him to recover, a doctor was paid $28 in gold to help. That’s roughly $2800 when adjusted for inflation.

On September 23rd Matt tried to trip Len. Len dodged out of the way and Newell tripped instead, breaking his arm in the process. Their shenanigans cost the team another $14 in doctor bills.

On September 25th Scopa had the brilliant idea of trying to float down the river to their goal. He crashed the raft in process. Everyone survived but it caused a 20 day delay while the wagon was rebuilt.

On October 24th the WDW Today team reached finally reached Oregon.

What did we learn by doing this? A number of things:

- Never let Scopa drive!
- It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then it’s hilarious.
- If Matt isn’t sick, Len will be.
- Newell likes to break things.
- Annette is nearly invincible and knows how to travel. I guess there is a reason she is a travel agent.
- Never, EVER let Scopa drive one of the rafts that go to Tom Sawyers Island. It won’t end well.

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.