Finally got a number of pictures loaded up so it's time to continue the review of last month's trip. I've gotten through all the pictures but still have a number to upload. Anyway, this is what we did in our two trips to EPCOT.
Spaceship Earth - Three Times. The linchpin of the park still holds an appeal for me. Many long-term fans will argue that the current version of this ride pales in comparison to some of it's previous versions but I still love this ride and it's edutainment qualities.
Test Track - Test Track is an attempt to marry education (how cars are tested before they are mass produced) with a thrill ride (doing about 65 in a NASCAR like turn). In principal, this is the right way to approach the concept at EPCOT. You can't just fling a coaster in EPCOT and have it fit the theming. Test Track makes you the test 'dummy' in a car. You ride around in the main building going through rough road tests, heat tests, cold tests, brake tests, etc. The final test tries to trick you into thinking you're going to crash but the wall opens and you're outside the main building, whipping through a mighty curve at a high rate of speed. It's like riding in a full sized slot car. It's fun but there's no real adventure to be found. We walked through the queue and immediately got on the ride. Once we'd finished the ride, there was a slight queue. That was enough to keep us from riding again. It's just not that fun. Besides, we were going faster during the car ride to and from Orlando. There are rumors that a couple of the not in use pavilions will be removed in order to put up a thrill ride at EPCOT. If they can marry education and thrill ride more successfully than this, it may be the greatest thing ever. Otherwise, blah.
The Seas with Nemo and Friends - Twice. It's not that long, it's fun, and there was no line for it. Win - win.
Turtle Talk with Crush - a show where the computer animated Crush interacts with the audience. The interaction is impressive. It's a fun show. Kids ask questions of the figure on the screen and he answers them. Recommended.
Soarin' - Once. Hang glide over bits of country. Very nice.
Living with the Land - Once. Boat ride through a number of experimental greenhouses. More interesting than it sounds. Seeing things grow without being planted in dirt and receiving no water is impressive.
The Circle of Life - Once. Short movie about ecology with the main characters from The Lion King. A bit dated but nice.
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros - Twice. Boat ride. Jose Carioca and Panchito are to appear with Donald Duck but, where is Donald? The birds search Mexico to find their friend, always being one step behind the famous Duck until the end. It's an entertaining way to 'tour' Mexico while still having a story to follow as well as using some lesser known Disney characters. Brief and fun.
Maelstrom - Twice. Boat ride. You float through Norway's history and myth. This is brief but fun as all heck. You see some vikings and such before approaching a troll who casts a spell on you and flings your boat away from him, backwards! You rocket past polar bears and things, your boat almost 'falls' from the building (there's a hole in the front of the building where your boat readjusts back to traveling forward), you go down a waterfall, and float past a oil platform in the North Sea. You finally dock in the middle of a normal looking town in wherever Norway. There's a lot going on in this ride. Lots of fun to be had in its way. As much as I enjoyed the ride in Mexico, the going backwards and the drop make this much more fun. Most of the other countries in the World Showcase have a film to watch about the country, which is fine, but if they all had a ride like this, it would be so much more awesome in general.
The UK area has a Pub and a Fish n Chip shop. They warm the heart to think of them. I don't care much for seafood but I can do the occasional fish n chips drown in malt vinegar, especially with a pint of lager to go with it. Mmmm...
Pictures on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044181&id=1353274305&l=fd4714be13
12 December 2009
11 December 2009
A Few Thoughts on Comics from The Past Couple Weeks
Dark Avengers Annual #1 gives us a whiz-bang blowout of a fight as well as a new heir to the name: Captain Marvel. Interesting.
The Marvels Project #4 shows us the origin of the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, but from the point-of-view of the Nazi agent assigned to kill the 'traitor' scientist working on the project. Interesting.
In Thor #604, the hammer wielding hero finds out that Doctor Doom has been experimenting on Asgardians. A beat-down is about to be delivered. Interesting.
Vincent Price Presents #13 features the return of one of my favorite Price characters: Dr. Phibes! The art style is a bit odd, darkly inked like Jae Lee, but still with enough detail and character to communicate the story well. The story shows it's links to the two movies and continues the story in a way that allows for further sequels. The characters are written well enough to what we've already seen. The story seems a bit over the top but, really, the best Vincent Price movies all are a bit over the top. I liked this but I'm not sure I loved it, mostly because the art style was a bit too weird at times.
Siege: The Cabal shows the beginnings of the end of Norman Osborn's reign of darkness over the Marvel Universe. We see Loki's influence on him is strong, stronger than I expected. I'm hoping that we don't get a 'everything that has gone on in the past seven years our time has all been Loki's fault' but it is nice to see Loki messing with the Avengers as that type of story tends to go well for the reader.
Invincible Iron Man #21 further details Tony's plan to have his friends 'reboot' him. All these bits and pieces from storylines from the past couple years come together as one big master plan. Excellent. Even better is an appearance by Captain America. Captain Americas maybe? Oh yeah, Steve Rogers is back and his shield is a big part of the plan!
New Avengers Annual #3 is also a big piece of the 'beginning of the end' puzzle for Norman Osborn's reign. The New Avengers (hopefully to just be The Avengers again soon) lose their hideout but may gain a new leader at the end. Mike Mayhew's art is beautiful, looking like it's tightly drawn pencils that have been colored. Very wow!
The Muppet Show Comic Book #0, the first of the ongoing Muppet Show Comic, was a bit of a let-down for me, the first Muppet Comic in the new line that left me a bit cold. It's not the style of the new artist throwing me off, that I didn't mind. Link Hogthrob had a few lines that just didn't sound like him and threw me off. The construction of the story was a bit odd as well. The 'Pigs in Space' storyline is supposed to be a movie pitch, which could explain the odd phrasing from Link, but the ending would seem to negate that concept. The movie execs being Statler and Waldorf is obvious from the beginning of the book and is either stupid, because its too easy a joke to have them turn something down, or is awesome, as that's been their job this entire time and explains why they're used to hating. The story just seemed a little lazy. That said, it does earn a point for Bunsen Honeydew making a sonic screwdriver comment.
The Marvels Project #4 shows us the origin of the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, but from the point-of-view of the Nazi agent assigned to kill the 'traitor' scientist working on the project. Interesting.
In Thor #604, the hammer wielding hero finds out that Doctor Doom has been experimenting on Asgardians. A beat-down is about to be delivered. Interesting.
Vincent Price Presents #13 features the return of one of my favorite Price characters: Dr. Phibes! The art style is a bit odd, darkly inked like Jae Lee, but still with enough detail and character to communicate the story well. The story shows it's links to the two movies and continues the story in a way that allows for further sequels. The characters are written well enough to what we've already seen. The story seems a bit over the top but, really, the best Vincent Price movies all are a bit over the top. I liked this but I'm not sure I loved it, mostly because the art style was a bit too weird at times.
Siege: The Cabal shows the beginnings of the end of Norman Osborn's reign of darkness over the Marvel Universe. We see Loki's influence on him is strong, stronger than I expected. I'm hoping that we don't get a 'everything that has gone on in the past seven years our time has all been Loki's fault' but it is nice to see Loki messing with the Avengers as that type of story tends to go well for the reader.
Invincible Iron Man #21 further details Tony's plan to have his friends 'reboot' him. All these bits and pieces from storylines from the past couple years come together as one big master plan. Excellent. Even better is an appearance by Captain America. Captain Americas maybe? Oh yeah, Steve Rogers is back and his shield is a big part of the plan!
New Avengers Annual #3 is also a big piece of the 'beginning of the end' puzzle for Norman Osborn's reign. The New Avengers (hopefully to just be The Avengers again soon) lose their hideout but may gain a new leader at the end. Mike Mayhew's art is beautiful, looking like it's tightly drawn pencils that have been colored. Very wow!
The Muppet Show Comic Book #0, the first of the ongoing Muppet Show Comic, was a bit of a let-down for me, the first Muppet Comic in the new line that left me a bit cold. It's not the style of the new artist throwing me off, that I didn't mind. Link Hogthrob had a few lines that just didn't sound like him and threw me off. The construction of the story was a bit odd as well. The 'Pigs in Space' storyline is supposed to be a movie pitch, which could explain the odd phrasing from Link, but the ending would seem to negate that concept. The movie execs being Statler and Waldorf is obvious from the beginning of the book and is either stupid, because its too easy a joke to have them turn something down, or is awesome, as that's been their job this entire time and explains why they're used to hating. The story just seemed a little lazy. That said, it does earn a point for Bunsen Honeydew making a sonic screwdriver comment.
09 December 2009
Snow Day
Last night was supposed to be the unholiest of snowstorms. Milwaukee did get snow but wasn't as badly hit as some of the surrounding area. If it had just been a bit a snow, today would have been fine. We lost power overnight and it didn't come back on until early evening. The bits of routine were lost today. No morning coffee, no causal puttering online, no tidying as I listen to podcasts. Nothing. I wanted to write but the chill and lack of coffee got to me. Not an outstanding day of days.
08 December 2009
A Haunted Tale
In advance we had decided to attend one of the occurrences of the 'Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party' that would be held at the Magic Kingdom. Gaining access was simple; you just bought a ticket. The only catch was that the number of available tickets were limited. This turned out to be a non-factor as we all got in.
At about 8pm, anyone not wearing a wristband indicating they'd paid for the party was asked to leave. The party ran until midnight. During this time lines were almost non-existent. It was about as close as you could get to having a park to yourself. For example, earlier in the week the line for 'Peter Pan's Flight' had been 40-50 minutes. During the party, I rode 'Flight' three times in about 15 minutes. It was great. For rides that tended to not have much of a line anyway during this relatively quiet time, it meant you could pretty much just walk on and ride.
Some of the gang was going back on Peter Pan. Some were going on 'its a small world'. I'd had my fill of both and declared my intention to go to the Haunted Mansion. By myself. But it's haunted! Spooky!
The Haunted Mansion is a fun ride, a little creepy, a little spooky, but mostly fun. Still, I don't think I'd ever ridden anything completely by myself and this dark ride would be an odd choice to start with if it wasn't so fun. My imagination is just too good sometimes in the dark. I scare myself.
The queue area was silent for the ride as I approached it, meaning that the creepy started immediately. I zipped through the lack of line and headed for the entrance to the Mansion. There's a sudden right turn just before the door. As I rounded the corner, the door slammed shut. Until the room cycled and the Castmembers opened the door, I'd be outside. I was alone.
A small cemetery rests just outside the Mansion, sitting in tribute to the major Imagineers that worked on its design. Thankfully, I knew what the trick was and waited.
At about 8pm, anyone not wearing a wristband indicating they'd paid for the party was asked to leave. The party ran until midnight. During this time lines were almost non-existent. It was about as close as you could get to having a park to yourself. For example, earlier in the week the line for 'Peter Pan's Flight' had been 40-50 minutes. During the party, I rode 'Flight' three times in about 15 minutes. It was great. For rides that tended to not have much of a line anyway during this relatively quiet time, it meant you could pretty much just walk on and ride.
Some of the gang was going back on Peter Pan. Some were going on 'its a small world'. I'd had my fill of both and declared my intention to go to the Haunted Mansion. By myself. But it's haunted! Spooky!
The Haunted Mansion is a fun ride, a little creepy, a little spooky, but mostly fun. Still, I don't think I'd ever ridden anything completely by myself and this dark ride would be an odd choice to start with if it wasn't so fun. My imagination is just too good sometimes in the dark. I scare myself.
The queue area was silent for the ride as I approached it, meaning that the creepy started immediately. I zipped through the lack of line and headed for the entrance to the Mansion. There's a sudden right turn just before the door. As I rounded the corner, the door slammed shut. Until the room cycled and the Castmembers opened the door, I'd be outside. I was alone.
A small cemetery rests just outside the Mansion, sitting in tribute to the major Imagineers that worked on its design. Thankfully, I knew what the trick was and waited.
Madame Leota is the spirit trapped in the crystal ball, the room that signals the switch between the 'creepy' rooms and the more fun rooms. While I sat alone for a couple minutes, I watched her memorial stone.
And it moved! Having read up on many things Disney since my last trip, I knew this would happen and waited on the picture (which kinda turned out). The carved head opens its eyes and moves around a bit before resetting to 'stone'. I was glad I knew about this because, otherwise, it would have freaked me out a bit.
Soon enough, other people arrived and lined up. Some of them didn't know and soon there was a nervous 'did it move?' comment. Then there was excited giggling as everyone sought to watch. Disney is full of little things like this, attentions to detail that add so much to the experience.
I survived the Haunted Mansion riding in a Doombuggy all by myself. I had fun, even when the ride paused twice. After the moment of 'oh man it's stopping' came the 'I got to hear the breakdown spiel!' which then turned into 'why couldn't I have stopped in front of something I could take a picture of?'
There are more general Park stories to tell. I just finished going through all my pictures tonight and am still uploading them to Facebook. I took almost 600 in one day, about a third of those being Muppet related. It's a work in progress.
07 December 2009
Music Monday - Sloan
There's something about rock/pop bands that sing harmonies. The Beatles? Awesome. The Hollies? Awesome. Sloan? Awesome.
Sloan's a bit like Weezer without being quite so comical. Sloan seems to understand that rock music can be many things but it should be fun most of all. That's why I've picked two of their songs from the same album, 'Pretty Together'. One is clearly a fun hands in the air rocker while the other is more maudlin, thoughtful. Variety, I also love variety in a band. This is good stuff.
Sloan's a bit like Weezer without being quite so comical. Sloan seems to understand that rock music can be many things but it should be fun most of all. That's why I've picked two of their songs from the same album, 'Pretty Together'. One is clearly a fun hands in the air rocker while the other is more maudlin, thoughtful. Variety, I also love variety in a band. This is good stuff.
06 December 2009
A Passing Review of Blizzard Brawl 5
I'm not trying to do a blow-by-blow review of last night's show. I just want to cover the highlights, the memories as I have them before they disappear and get muddled. It was a busy and fun time.
Normally I meet and get a picture with a wrestler or two. I bumped into some friends I haven't seen in way too long and chose to catch up with them rather than get a picture with Bobby Heenan. Tough decision, honestly.
Pre-show: Ten bell salute for Eddie 'Umaga' Fata who passed away on Friday at far too young an age.
First Match: Dakota Darsow vs Tony Scarpone (?)
Dakota we've seen once before, put on a good show, and was really nice. He's the son of Barry Darsow aka Demolition Smash (amongst other ring names). Dakota was billed as being from Minnesota and Tony as from Chicago, causing me to lean over to my buddy Brian and ponder 'I had this problem while watching football last week. When Chicago plays Minnesota, who do you cheer for?' Dakota had a cockiness to him that was new. Tony played the big tough guy. Dakota got the win.
Second Match: Headbanger Mosh vs Ryan Rogue
Late 90s WWF wrestler vs local boy. Nice match, both guys worked hard, some high flying, some bumping to the outside, but something weird happened with the finish and the match ended on what appeared to be a blown spot. Everyone seemed okay though.
Third Match: The 'Gun Show' Retirement Gauntlet.
Local tv reporter Lance Allen is 3-0 at Blizzard Brawl and announced he intended to retire after tonight undefeated. His manager, wrestling legend King Kong Bundy, would insure success. GLCW commissioner Armando Estrada announced he had searched high and low in Wisconsin to find three opponents, one of which had to defeat Lance. Opponent one, Bobby V, wore black briefs barely covered by a weird fuzzy pink singlet that appeared to be for a female. (Bundy's comment to Bobby V was 'I've taken dumps bigger than you and they were better looking!') Bobby V was quickly defeated. Opponent two, 'El Vato' Jose Guerrero, was more of a challenge but Lance managed a victory. Opponent three was Eric Freedom and the dirty hippie caused the tired Lance problems. King Kong Bundy assisted and Lance got the victory, able to retire undefeated.
Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan tribute. Bobby was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the local wrestling talk show as well as the proclamation that December 5th, 2009 was Bobby 'the Brain' Heenan Day in Milwaukee. Bobby wondered if there was a cash reward as well. King Kong Bundy did an introduction for his former manager. The crowd chanted 'Bobby', 'Thank you Bobby', and, briefly, 'Weasel'. Bobby is a throat cancer survivor and the crowd went totally silent when the man grabbed the microphone. 'Thank you. Very much.' This was a wonderfully sweet moment.
Footage of such:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYxhyo2uFt4&feature=player_embedded
Intermission. More talking with my buddies that I haven't seen in ages. Entertainment value increased as I said hello to the passing Jose Guerrero, he came to politely shake hands, and then realized that I was with the Milkman and started chatting about old times to him. Very nice.
Match Four: GLCW Tag Team Championship Defense - Demolition vs Matt 'Love Machine' Longtime and Ryan (?) McCoy
It was supposed to be a team of McCoys so one must be hurt. Another solid tag match. Demolition move good in the ring for being such big fellows. After the Demos get the win to retain their belts, some long haired blond fella and Dakota Darsow hit the ring and attack Demolition with Longtime and McCoy. Road Warrior Animal flies from the back to defend Demolition, setting up a handicap tag match at the next show. Demolition teaming with a Road Warrior? Wow!
Match Five: Women's Title Defense - Sparky (w/Eric Freedom) vs ODB
Womens matches in GLCW tend to be comedy matches and this was no different. Sparky is a thin guy and doesn't pretend to be a female. He insisted that ODB was a man and had Eric Freedom face 'him'. Haystacks Ross came to be defense. In the end, ODB won by DQ, winning the match but not the belt. Fun for the brief time it ran. More fun because it was brief.
Match Six: Armando Estrada vs Mr. Ken Anderson (formerly Ken Kennedy in WWE)
Anderson is the local boy that made good but couldn't stay healthy enough up in the 'big leagues'. Being from Green Bay, he got cheered. He and Estrada did some funny back-and-forth stuff before the match. The match started hot. A few minutes in, Commissioner Estrada made the match no count-out, no DQ. Anderson immediately slugged him with a chair. They fought through the crowd like we were in Memphis, passing by our seats to return to the ring. After a high energy, high impact match, Anderson hit his 'kenton bomb' to win.
After the match, the opponents got together to salute their friend Umaga (Estrada was Umaga's manager in WWE). Anderson brought Estrada an Umaga shirt, Estrada did his Umaga introduction one more time, and had a few sad words to say to a (mostly) silent and respectful audience. It was another very nice moment.
Match Seven: Al Snow vs Billy Gunn vs Road Dogg Jesse James with Mick Foley as special referee.
Foley warned them to behave before the match or he'd have to get involved. As Gunn and Dogg are a tag team, they turned the match into a handicap match rather than an actual three-way type match. After Gunn put his hands on Foley, Mick threw some fists around. Having had enough, Mick stopped the match and turned it into a tag match: Snow and Foley (reuniting the 'Best Friends') vs the New Age Outlaws. A ref slid in the ring and it was on! Al Snow wrestled most of the match. Once he tagged in Foley, punches were thrown, Mr Socko arrived, the Mandible Claw was applied to both members of the NAOs at once, and Snow hit Billy Gunn with Head for the pin.
Fun show. Lots of guests to celebrate the anniversary show. I got some old AWA footage and have been soaking in classic Bobby Heenan interviews today.
Normally I meet and get a picture with a wrestler or two. I bumped into some friends I haven't seen in way too long and chose to catch up with them rather than get a picture with Bobby Heenan. Tough decision, honestly.
Pre-show: Ten bell salute for Eddie 'Umaga' Fata who passed away on Friday at far too young an age.
First Match: Dakota Darsow vs Tony Scarpone (?)
Dakota we've seen once before, put on a good show, and was really nice. He's the son of Barry Darsow aka Demolition Smash (amongst other ring names). Dakota was billed as being from Minnesota and Tony as from Chicago, causing me to lean over to my buddy Brian and ponder 'I had this problem while watching football last week. When Chicago plays Minnesota, who do you cheer for?' Dakota had a cockiness to him that was new. Tony played the big tough guy. Dakota got the win.
Second Match: Headbanger Mosh vs Ryan Rogue
Late 90s WWF wrestler vs local boy. Nice match, both guys worked hard, some high flying, some bumping to the outside, but something weird happened with the finish and the match ended on what appeared to be a blown spot. Everyone seemed okay though.
Third Match: The 'Gun Show' Retirement Gauntlet.
Local tv reporter Lance Allen is 3-0 at Blizzard Brawl and announced he intended to retire after tonight undefeated. His manager, wrestling legend King Kong Bundy, would insure success. GLCW commissioner Armando Estrada announced he had searched high and low in Wisconsin to find three opponents, one of which had to defeat Lance. Opponent one, Bobby V, wore black briefs barely covered by a weird fuzzy pink singlet that appeared to be for a female. (Bundy's comment to Bobby V was 'I've taken dumps bigger than you and they were better looking!') Bobby V was quickly defeated. Opponent two, 'El Vato' Jose Guerrero, was more of a challenge but Lance managed a victory. Opponent three was Eric Freedom and the dirty hippie caused the tired Lance problems. King Kong Bundy assisted and Lance got the victory, able to retire undefeated.
Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan tribute. Bobby was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the local wrestling talk show as well as the proclamation that December 5th, 2009 was Bobby 'the Brain' Heenan Day in Milwaukee. Bobby wondered if there was a cash reward as well. King Kong Bundy did an introduction for his former manager. The crowd chanted 'Bobby', 'Thank you Bobby', and, briefly, 'Weasel'. Bobby is a throat cancer survivor and the crowd went totally silent when the man grabbed the microphone. 'Thank you. Very much.' This was a wonderfully sweet moment.
Footage of such:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYxhyo2uFt4&feature=player_embedded
Intermission. More talking with my buddies that I haven't seen in ages. Entertainment value increased as I said hello to the passing Jose Guerrero, he came to politely shake hands, and then realized that I was with the Milkman and started chatting about old times to him. Very nice.
Match Four: GLCW Tag Team Championship Defense - Demolition vs Matt 'Love Machine' Longtime and Ryan (?) McCoy
It was supposed to be a team of McCoys so one must be hurt. Another solid tag match. Demolition move good in the ring for being such big fellows. After the Demos get the win to retain their belts, some long haired blond fella and Dakota Darsow hit the ring and attack Demolition with Longtime and McCoy. Road Warrior Animal flies from the back to defend Demolition, setting up a handicap tag match at the next show. Demolition teaming with a Road Warrior? Wow!
Match Five: Women's Title Defense - Sparky (w/Eric Freedom) vs ODB
Womens matches in GLCW tend to be comedy matches and this was no different. Sparky is a thin guy and doesn't pretend to be a female. He insisted that ODB was a man and had Eric Freedom face 'him'. Haystacks Ross came to be defense. In the end, ODB won by DQ, winning the match but not the belt. Fun for the brief time it ran. More fun because it was brief.
Match Six: Armando Estrada vs Mr. Ken Anderson (formerly Ken Kennedy in WWE)
Anderson is the local boy that made good but couldn't stay healthy enough up in the 'big leagues'. Being from Green Bay, he got cheered. He and Estrada did some funny back-and-forth stuff before the match. The match started hot. A few minutes in, Commissioner Estrada made the match no count-out, no DQ. Anderson immediately slugged him with a chair. They fought through the crowd like we were in Memphis, passing by our seats to return to the ring. After a high energy, high impact match, Anderson hit his 'kenton bomb' to win.
After the match, the opponents got together to salute their friend Umaga (Estrada was Umaga's manager in WWE). Anderson brought Estrada an Umaga shirt, Estrada did his Umaga introduction one more time, and had a few sad words to say to a (mostly) silent and respectful audience. It was another very nice moment.
Match Seven: Al Snow vs Billy Gunn vs Road Dogg Jesse James with Mick Foley as special referee.
Foley warned them to behave before the match or he'd have to get involved. As Gunn and Dogg are a tag team, they turned the match into a handicap match rather than an actual three-way type match. After Gunn put his hands on Foley, Mick threw some fists around. Having had enough, Mick stopped the match and turned it into a tag match: Snow and Foley (reuniting the 'Best Friends') vs the New Age Outlaws. A ref slid in the ring and it was on! Al Snow wrestled most of the match. Once he tagged in Foley, punches were thrown, Mr Socko arrived, the Mandible Claw was applied to both members of the NAOs at once, and Snow hit Billy Gunn with Head for the pin.
Fun show. Lots of guests to celebrate the anniversary show. I got some old AWA footage and have been soaking in classic Bobby Heenan interviews today.
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