HIATUS. Again.

Sorry guys, school’s on the way. Hopefully I will be back 0n 2011.

 

Enjoy your holidays!

STRAT REPORT: Duffy!

This is the Straaat Report

Brings you the long and the short

Every scream, roar and haunt

Not a tale, I distort

In the Straaat Report

Hey hey hey! It’s me, Stratofarius, with your Strat Report. Today we are going to cover a very, very important problem that has been invading the Disney Parks recently. We call this problem: “Duffy.”

Now, this thing ACTUALLY has a history, believe it or not. It started on the american parks as the Disney bear, but then it was shipped to Tokyo since it didn’t made a big sucess. There, it was transformed into the newest mania of the japanese folks. Duffy was everywhere, and people loved it- and still love it. So, Disney thought: “Hey, it is famous here on Japan, lets ship a bunch to the United States and sell them. Not only that, lets make meet and greets, a new tv show, millions of plushies, EVERYTHING just for him. I mean, if japanese people loved it, the americans surely will!”

Oh boy! I’m sure he looks great! Let’s take a look at him.

…

So…

It’s just… that?

“Oh, but wait!” says Disney “You can dress him in multiple costumes! You can listen to his theme song! You can see his new animated TV show! You can meet and greet him! He’s going to be everywhere because everyone will love it!”

But it’s just a teddy bear!

“But everyone loved it in Japan!”

But that’s an entire different culture, Disney. If they love a teddy bear there, maybe people won’t love it here! Did you even try and see if people were going to like it before doing everything to him?

“… No?”

See? And now what you’re going to have?

“… Problems since we wasted all that money?”

And what could you use that money for?

“OH! More Disney Channel shows!”

GET OUT OF HERE!

This was the Strat Report. If you enjoyed it, don’t buy a Duffy plush. Please. Don’t.

A Trip Report… From 3 Years Ago! (Part 2)

I’m late, I’m late, for a very important post! No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late I’m late I’M LATE! Let’s get to it.

October 1st, 00:00 AM

Wow, its really really late here! I’m writing this after a day where two things happened- for the first part of the day, we went out and bought our first next-gen console, the Nintendo Wii! (yeah yeah, I know)  But after that, as we came back to the resort, it started to rain- and it rained, it rained and IT RAINED! (mind this, I didn’t knew about the Living Seas back then) It just wouldn’t stop. And when it stopped, we hopped on to the car and RAN to the second park, called Epcot. Arriving there, we went to this attraction (I KNOW) called Innoventions, and it was really boring- we just did one thing and the attraction closed down. I guess we got there late, I don’t know (I still have a memory from that small visit) but they had to close down. We then went to this awesome place called Mission: Space! My brother went to the Orange Team, while me, my niece and my mom went to the Green Team (oh, if I knew the things I knew now…). It was really fun, it kinda felt like you were in space, and it had that guy from Forrest Gump! Then we went on to Test Track, and it was really fun, the line had this REALLY catchy song. The ride itself was fun too, I thought we were going to really crash! After that, we grabbed some things to put on our wrists so we could have more time on the parks and went on the Nemo ride. It was like “oh its nemonemonemonemonemomnemonemomneomonemo ok ride’s over”, and when I wanted to see the actual aquarium, my mom told me I didn’t have time (not kidding, this hasn’t changed until now). We went on Soarin’ which was loads of fun and then we came back. I think we missed a few things but I think that I have enjoyed EPCOT for now (GOD I HATE MYSELF WHY DIDN’T YOU GO ON JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION YOU IDIOT HNNNNNNNG!)

October 2nd, 01:00AM

Double park day! We started the day by going to Animal Kingdom- its a half-day park, my niece says, if I wanted to see animals I would have stayed in Brazil. I have to agree with her- we went on Dinoland, on the Dinosaur ride (I seemed to be the only one that remembered the movie), and then my niece and mom went to watch Finding Nemo The Musical while we rode an strange rollercoaster that was so boring my brother slept. I went in to see the show, and when I came back, my niece was looking at me, angrily- they had left the show midway through, and just as I entered, they left. It looked nice for the sequences I saw. After that we- excluding my niece, went on Expedition Everest and it rocked! The Yeti was so scary! (yes, this was before Disco mode) I swear he was going to grab me! After that a ride on Kali River Rapids and the funniest scene I have ever saw in my entire life- my niece screaming to death in a fall on a raft ride! Amazing! After that we bought a really cool dino (I still have him) and went back to the resort for lunch. After that MGM Studios!… Which we didn’t do anything! We arrived there, went to a STUPID sound show or something, then went to the Star Wars simulator, that was awesome, and then we wanted to see a car show but they told me that 3/4 of the park had to close down for the Fantasmic show! Ok, so we went to see Fantasmic and it was amazing (even though a sparkle or something got in my eye at the end). After that we had nothing to do (Err… MuppetVision?) so we went shopping (Tower of Terror?) and after that we went back to the resort. (TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA? Oh yeah, it wasn’t open.)

October 3rd, 18:00PM

Today we visited the Magic Kingdom to finally watch the afternoon parade and go on Tomorrowland. Space Mountain was loads of fun, Buzz Lightyear was surprisingly awesome, and Monsters Inc was really fun to watch even though I didn’t understand half of the jokes. Now, Stitch… I had high hopes for Stitch, but it just wasn’t that fun. It tried, but it failed, miserably. After that, we watched the parade- which was fun! Repeated some of the rides and wen back to the resort. Right now I’m writing as we are leaving, for we are going to Epcot to go on Test Track and Mission: Space again, and watch Illuminations. See ya!

Well, after that, it was straight Universal and Islands of Adventure. But this is not the Universal Studios blog, so…

I want to pose a question to all of you, readers, do you think that if I knew back then what I know now, would my trip be more fun?

New Podcast and More!

Hey there fellas!

Just want to warn you all that my newest Disney podcast, D-History, is on at www.dhistorypod.wordpress.com. My main objective is to make short (I’m trying), audio-focused shows all about Disney Parks history (and sometimes even more). Our second episode covers a lot of deleted songs from Disney movies, go check it out! My partnership with Imagineer2017 expands to that too.

Here’s an schedule for the next posts:

25/10 – A Trip Report from 3 Years Ago (Part 2)

31/10 – STRAT REPORT: Duffy Opnions

6/11 – INSIDE DISNEY: MuppetVision 3D

Get ready for these 3 next posts. I have to schedule them thanks to school and all…

PARK COMPARISONS: Fantasyland

Before we begin, a word from Imagineer2017, whom I just recently started a partnership with:

Stratofarius is one heck of a blogger, and an even more amazing Parks Fan. I've known Strat for some time now, thanks to WDWNT (great site, check it out). He amazed me then, as he still does now, with his knowledge and love of the parks.

	Being a teenage fan as well, I can really appreciate his passion for the parks. No one seems to understand that iasw can be fun...Right?
	What's even more impressive, he doesn't even live in the United States! To be living so far from WDW and yet still having such a passion takes much more than I could possibly imagine!

	Becoming a fan who loves the parks, who loves park history, and who can sing something like "No Place Like World Showcase" takes a lot. Strat has all this, and more. I'm very impressed that he takes the time to write such great articles and share his opinions. So really, thank you Strat.
I'm proud to be doing this with you!

Thanks, Alex. On the next post (A Trip Report… From 3 Years Ago – Part 2), I’ll post my little contribution to you. But for now…

You know the Magic Kingdom like it is your own house- better yet, your own room. You know where the Coca Cola Stand is. You know where the Churros Stand is. And it comes the day where you have to visit Disneyland. And you get there and… Wait… There’s something wrong here… Where are the things you are so familiar with?

Welcome to Stratoblog’s PARK COMPARISONS, where I show everyone how different are each lands on Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom. Both parks have the same names, but are they the same on the layout? Let’s find out! Today, we will talk about Fantasyland!

 

While Disneyland's Fantasyland looks more like a circle, Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland looks like a blob of paint.

 

I would like to start by reminding everyone that this might bescome useless in a few years because, of course, there is the totally un-necessary Fantasyland Expansion coming to Walt Disney World. Why it’s un-necessary? Let’s talk about it later. Also, this will be more of an attractions thing than an layout thing- because on layout, you can’t really compare both Fantasylands.

Let’s start with the castle- most people don’t realize that it is part of Fantasyland. While some people may not understand, the one in Disneyland is smaller because they didn’t have enough space, and is dedicated to Sleeping Beauty, while the WDW one is dedicated to Cinderella and is more bigger.

Mickey’s Toontown Fair and Toontown are two different things- on WDW, Toontown is (well, was) on the far right-top of Fantasyland, while on Disneyland it is on the top of Fantasyland.

Also technically, the place where the carousel stand is the same place his counterpart stands, but right besides him are two different things- on Disneyland, it is the Mad Teacups, but on WDW, its Dumbo. Dumbo, on Disneyland, is placed infront of the Fantasyland Boats and Storybookland, where WDW’s It’s a Small World stays. But…

What happened to the area on WDW where It’s a Small World stands on Disneyland? Well, on WDW, its the Pooh’s Playful Spot. Speaking about Pooh, right in front of it in WDW its the Mad Teacups, but on Disneyland, it’s the Matterhon. Also, the spot which Pooh’s ride stays is the same spot where Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride stays in Disneyland.

Instead of Mickey’s Philharmagic, Disneyland has Pinnochio’s Daring Adventure. That’s because Pinnochio’s was once the home for the Fantasyland Theater. And while WDW’s maintained its theater, Disneyland’s one got destroyed in 1983.

The only two things that perhaps stay in the same places are Snow White’s Scary Adventures and Peter Pan… Of course, I may be wrong, but you never know…

Well, that was Fantasyland. Short, eh? But don’t worry. I can assure you that the next comparison will be bigger and more… junglier.

 

Hey! Don’t forget to check out the latest Disney podcast, D-History! Click here!

Partnership with Imagineer2017!

I’m happy to announce I am doing a partnership with Imagineer2017!

Imagineer2017 or Alex, as we’ll call him, is a good friend of mine. We met at the WDWNTunes chat, a really great place, and for a long time we had been doing comics based on the topics the hosts were discussing. He runs a Facebook page where he posts the latest news on the Disney Parks and the Disney online community. Check it out! (click here)

From now on, a link to Alex’s Facebook page will be found at our Links page, at our sidebar, and sometimes at the end of posts. Maybe he’ll even join in and make a guest post, hm?

What is?

Digg verification test.

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STRAT REPORT: Goodbye, Haunted Mansion.

Before you ask, a Trip Report From 3 Years Ago is coming. I just had to wait until the last part of the diary to put everything in a Part 2. Should I exclude Universal? Before I begin, thanks to the DisMarks fellas for puttin’ two of my posts in the highest rated list. Now, lets get down to business. Hang on to your hats and glasses, I got a bad piece of news for ya: they are ruining the Haunted Mansion.

 

 

Say WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!- Wait, its the WDW Version. Picture from bsckids.com

 

Now, I’d like to say my opnions in relation to this famous attraction. Number one: I love Haunted Mansion. Number two: I love Haunted Mansion Holiday. Number three: I loved the 2007 update they did to this attraction. You see? I love everything about it. I love the ride, I love the narration, I love the updates, I love the Halloween/Christmas overlay, and most of all, I love the queue.

And I also have to say my opnions regarding interactivity in ride. Particularly the famous expression “queueless queues” and the interactivity forced into rides that didn’t have it before. Let’s take, for example Spaceship Earth. I mean, did they need that… thing at the end? Let me answer you with a picture.

 

 

NO! NO NO NO NO NO!

 

Why must you try to add interactivity into attractions that DON’T NEED IT, Team Disney Orlando?

Do you remember the test they ran on the Haunted Mansion a couple of months ago? Did you enjoy that? Of course not- NO ONE EVEN PAYED ATTENTION TO THE DISPLAY. And it wasn’t even well made! And now they want to “upgrade” the queue to add more interactivity to it with the rumor that they are removing one of the most classic things on the entire attraction… The graveyard stones.

I mean, WHY?! Haunted Mansion is never one of the busiest attractions at the Magic Kingdom, and when it’s busy, the lines empty pretty quickly thanks to the ride system. But why must they add interactivity to a ride that doesn’t even suffers from long lines?! Go do it at the Meet and Greets or something else? What next, add a touch screen to the It’s a Small World boats, empty the last room, add a narrator with a british accent and make an unfunny and unnecessary animated video at the end?

WHAT’S THE POINT IN IT?

We don’t need that stuff in this ride. We pratically don’t need it anywhere! Here are some tweets that pretty much describe the situation:

When will they realize I go to the park to experience the theming and rides, not play video games. by EPCOTMedia

We lost Spaceship Earth to “interactivity” now we might lose Mansion. by SCMouseatwork

Disney is probably doing more to dumb down kids these days than any other Company on Earth. by SCMouseatwork

Let us all bid a fond farewell to one of the most classic elements of the Haunted Mansion, the cemetery. Thanks WDI, for nothing. by MasterGracey

Hey, TDO! Haunted Mansionistas are NOT dying to see the classic exterior of The World’s Greatest Dark Ride ruined by your cheesy display. by TheHatboxGhost

TheHatboxGhost isn’t surprised that Disney execs know little about preserving the integrity of an attraction. They don’t understand integrity, period. by TheHatboxGhost

TheHatboxGhost thinks TDO’s stupid displays belong in the parking lot at MacDonald’s, NOT on the grounds of a CLASSSIC DARK ATTRACTION! by The HatboxGhost

Well, at least I can be sure that the Disneyland version will stay the same. So remember kids, next time you visit the Mansion and you see an 2 hours long line, remember to thank WDI for nothing.

This is Strat with the Strat Report saying good day/afternoon/night and remember: when the creep doors creep and tombstones shake, spo0ks come out for a swingin’ wake. Join us next time as we discuss: “Small World kids: animatronics or real people?”

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A Trip Report… From 3 Years Ago (Part 1)

Today I have decided to do something new for my blog, as I have been trying to find things that I could write Imagineer That, Inside Disney or Top 10′s about- although Park Comparisons – Fantasyland is coming up. So, what did I decided? I decided to create this little thing called A Trip Report… From 3 Years Ago. From now onto October 7th, I’ll take you on an extradiornary trip back to 2007, as we experience, through my Travel Diary, how my first trip to Disney was. Now, join me, 3 years ago, in this very day. Everything written here is directly translated from my Travel Diary, except for a comment or two that I write in italics. Enjoy.

September 30th, 1:00AM, plane.

We have just left Brazil. That’s right, I’m heading for my first trip to Disney! I am so excited you don’t have a clue, diary. Together with me are my brother, my mother and my niece- this is only the first trip for me and my brother. Anyway, things are going nice here in the plane. It keeps repeating the same episode of Kids Next Door, but I am watching Bruce Almighty right now (I really like it!)

September 30th, 6AM, Miami Airport

We’re actually doing a connection. Right now its around 5-6AM here on Miami and we have to wait until 10AM to get a flight to Orlando. So we’re sitting here, almost sleeping, hearing some weird Miami radio (boy, I have never heard this music before) and talking about what we are going to do. My niece has this plan: we aren’t going to eat on Disney a lot (except for popcorn, I love that) except for a lunch or a dinner, but after every day in the parks, we are going to the supermarket to get some stuff to eat at the resort room. It does work, she told me, and she saved a lot of money back at her first trip in the 90′s (yeah, she’s old alright).

September 30th, 10:30AM Orlando Airport

Wow, this place is BIG. And I mean it. I’m on the hall, right besides a shop for Universal Studios Orlando. My mother went to look for a map, she’s going with my brother to get our rented car while me and my niece get this thing called Magical Express. Should be fun, we’re going directly to the resort, meeting them there.

September 30th, 11:00AM, All-Star Sports Resort

I’m with my niece waiting at the resort hall right now, sitting in front of a TV seeing some old Donald Duck cartoons, really fun. Goofy’s store is near me, and my brother and my mother still haven’t arrived. I think it’s 11AM, but who cares, I just want to enjoy my time around here- she told me that right after they arrive here, we’re going to the Magic Kingdom.

September 30th, 22:00PM, Resort Room

Wow, our trip to the Magic Kingdom was AWESOME! Here’s how it went: we quickly went down Main Street to the Pirates of the Caribbean, and we went on this really boring treehouse (folks, take in mind this was before my Disney obsession started), I thought there was something fun at the end, but no, just things to look at. Then we went to Frontierland and had lunch at this place called Peco’s Bill, I think- really nice stuff! We then waited in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (I think the time we stayed at the line took care of the digestion part of the day) and I loved the scene where the rocks are falling over you. After that, my mother and brother decided to go on Splash Mountain- they’re crazy, I’m not going in there (boy I hate myself for that), so I waited with my niece- we ate a Mickey ice cream, how do they do those? We then walked over to the Haunted Mansion, you know, where they based the movie with Eddie Murphy on. My niece got replaced by a ghost at the end, how do they do that again? We then went to Fantasyland, and boy it was starting to rain. We took a ride on It’s a Small World- oh my god that song is stuck in my head- and got some Fastpasses for Peter Pan while we rode Mickey’s Philharmagic- I LOVED THAT SHOW! It was so awesome! There was some pie smell when Donald picked up a pie, and the 3D was amazing- how come we don’t have that on Brazil?! We then went on Peter Pan, great effects, I liked the flying over London scene, and then went on the Pooh ride- thats when it began to rain. We went to Mickey’s Toontown Fair, relaxed a bit, went on the rollercoaster (bo-ring) and then took some pics with Mickey and his pals. The sky started to darken and we went to see that light parade thing- we didn’t see the fireworks, my mother said that the fireworks from EPCOT were better. We hopped on the monorail and left back to the resort room. Now its sleep time. See ya tomorrow!

http://stratoblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/trip-from-3-years-ago-part-1

My Last Flight to Endor was in 2007

My Last Tour to Endor was in 2007, and I am a Disney fan in a place where the things I like are always looked over or ignored.

So the closing of an attraction doesn’t means too much to me. I was happy as a Disney fan that HISTA closed (don’t get me started on that) and EO came back (since I am a retro EPCOT fan). But I’ll have to admit: I pretty much got interested in Disney Parks after I visited Disney, and that was, and still is, the worst part of my trip. But the fact that I am now seeing the closure of an attraction that I had the chance to ride really makes me wonder a bit about my trip.

I remember entering the big Star Tours building back at Disney’s MGM Studios. And as soon as I saw the big robot (I think his name is AT&AT, I never really watched the Star Wars original trilogy), I knew I had to do one thing: record a video to my Star Wars loving cousin back at Brazil. In the video, I pointed at the AT&AT and said “are you envying me right now?” Well guess what, I am. I am envying that little boy in the camera enjoying his time at Disney World.

As I made my way into the building, I immediately spotted C3PO and R2-D2. They were like, icons for me back in Brazil. I had a little C3PO doll that I got once Revenge of the Sith came out, and I used to listen to a podcast that would talk about Star Wars here and then. But seeing these two in real life made me realise that I wasn’t in Disney World anymore. I was in the Star Wars world. The aliens, the droids, and everything seemed so amazing to me, and back then I really thought that there was someone under that C3PO suit. I never really thought about the word “Audio Animatronic”.

When I got to the holding area, I thought to myself: “well, this is a simulator!” And now I think: “Why did I think of that?” Even if the experience of the ride itself was incredible, that ruined at least one half of the ride for me. When the original Star Tours opened at Disneyland, the most asked question from the guests was “How did they fit so much track in that building?” But I didn’t want to fully enter this world and had to remind myself that this was only a simulator. I did the same for when I went to “It’s Though to Be a Bug” and “Stitch’s Great Escape”- I constantly found myself lifting my legs so I wouldn’t feel any of the effects.

So I entered the simulator, and when I saw REX for the first time, it was like a kid seeing Cinderella Castle being lit for the first time. It was like: “its a robot, a real robot, and it’s on my FACE!” I wasn’t seeing this from an Doom Buggy or a boat, it was on my face! He was looking at me, talking to me, and every topsy turn and steep brake I was screaming and saying “woaaaaaaaah!” And I didn’t know what was going on! When I stepped out of the ride, it looked like my experience was ten times better just because of the “woaaaah!”

I really didn’t understand how things worked back then, but now, I notice that I didn’t need to be a Disney fan to really enjoy Star Tours. It really didn’t matter if my Last Tour to Endor was in 2010 or 2007. It doesn’t matters if you are a Disney fan or a Star Wars fan, or none. Star Tours is an attraction you can enjoy anytime. Doesn’t matters who you are, what you know and when you ride it.

My Last Tour to Endor was in 2007. And I’m proud of it.