Toy Story Mania Madness! Buckets, Potato Head!

StudiosCentral has pictures of souvenir popcorn buckets themed to the upcoming Toy Story Mania atraction, and apparently destined for distribution at all of the Disney Parks. Waaah, I can hardly wait! I am a total sucker for Toy Story swag. Plus, as an avid reader of icanhascheezburger, I have a certain attachment to bukkits.

Plus, The Disney Blog has some cool YouTube videos of Mr Potato Head, currently entertaining Guests at Disney’s California Adventure. I started to watch one of them . . . and then resisted the urge. I am trying trying trying to stay reasonably spoiler-free!

Monorail Service for Anaheim Tourist District?

The Disney Blog has a story this week about a proposed new monorail for Anaheim. Not just for Disneyland Resort mind you . . . for the whole tourism area.

Stop the presses. Did someone just propose a monorail transportation system in Southern California? Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle (doesn’t that name just make you crave junk food) just proposed building a monorail that would connect Anaheim’s growing transportation hub with its established tourist zone.

I haven’t stayed far enough away to need an Anaheim monorail in recent memory; the furthest I’ve stayed is the HoJo’s, about an 8 minute walk from the main gates. But I’d consider staying much farther afield if I could rely on monorail transit to the parks, and if the fees were lower than the ART shuttle buses. Despite having not yet ridden the ART shuttle buses, I’m skeptical and don’t want to pay the fees. (I can’t even blame my medications for this, unlike the sudden desire to purchase Annette Sings Anka that arose earlier this week.)

$1B Investment Announced for California Adventure

The Wall Street Journal has now reported what BlueSkyDisney readers already knew: Disney’s California Adventure is getting $1 billion in upgrades and redesigns:

Just as Main Street harks back to Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Mo., in the early 1900s, California Adventure’s new entrance will trace the footsteps of Walt Disney from when he arrived in Los Angeles in the 1920s, these people say. Similar to Disneyland’s iconic castle, the redesigned park will feature a replica of Hollywood’s former Carthay Circle theater, where Walt Disney premiered the movie “Snow White” in 1937.

The new-look park also will be expanded by around 12 acres and will bulk up its attractions, with a heavy emphasis on animated movies created by Pixar, including “Cars” and “Toy Story.”

I’m guessing that Toy Story ride is the already-under-contstruction Toy Story Mania . . . anybody know different?

Not everything’s changing, though:

It is still unclear what will happen to the name, as the company sees appeal in the words “Disney,” “California” and “Adventure,” these people say. But there is a big risk in leaving it the same. That said, some unusual relics will be left untouched for now, including the tortilla-making factory and a bread-baking demonstration. A person familiar with the plan says the Golden State area isn’t considered as thematically out-of-place as others in the new plan and won’t be changed in the near-term.

The Golden State area is lovely and relaxing, so I’m glad they’re not planning to mess with it much.

While there’s a lot of Pixar in this plan, there’s a lot of Walt too, and even a new Little Mermaid ride. Still, I expect the Pixarization-bashing to begin in 5, 4, 3, 2 . . .

Gayest WDW Today Podcast Ever!

Episode 310 of the WDW Today Podcast is totally gay - and you know, coming from me this is a compliment on the highest order. Our WDW Today buddies interview the authors of Queens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks, and it’s genius. Best Holy Land Experience reference ever! And you’ve just gotta love a show that prompts one listener to leave this comment: “The bitter, jaded Italian female is a lot like the smart, hot gay in many respects.” Hubba.

How is it that I don’t own this book already? Jeffrey and Eddie, will you please please please start up either a blog or a podcast? Or at least come out to Boston to do a reading of your “Seven Gayest Attractions at the Disney Parks” . . . we got a few queens out here, a few Disney fans, I’m sure we could pack the house!

Night of Rowdy Debauchery?

Now, here’s something that’s just sat in my blogreader for days, because I couldn’t figure out what to make of it. Mousevine posted last week that the Night of Joy Christian music event at Walt Disney World is being moved from Magic Kingdom to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Not a big deal to me . . . my fondness for Christian music is pretty much centered in Bach chorales, Gregorian chants, and similar golden oldies. So, what caught my eye was Mousevine’s commentary on the event itself:

. . . some who have attended previous NOJ festivals, as well as Cast Members who’ve worked it, claim that of all the separate-ticket events held at the Magic Kingdom, it’s the most unruly. Tales abound of the Magic Kingdom overrun by mobs of drunken teens, petty thievery in the shops, as well as an overworked security dealing with fights among the crowds of young concert attendees. Not exactly the kind of behavior one would expect to find at a Christian music festival. The discussion then devolves into those who swear the stories are true and those who accuse people of being anti-Christian posting their false stories.

It’s hard to assess the veracity of the tales of debauchery involving NOJ unless one witnesses it for themselves. I have read of one Disney fansite who had members attend the concerts to see if the stories were true or if it had become another Disney urban legend to add to the pile. And for the most part, the group found the stories to be true. And it’s hard not to believe the stories when you read the accounts by cast members who’ve worked NOJ and the majority are negative.

Wow, I had totally missed this Disney fan controversy! Almost makes me want to attend NOJ and see for myself. (But hey, it doesn’t take much to make me want to go to Disney World, now does it?)

Shameless Plug: MGW Podcast on YOMD

Today’s MouseGuest Weekly Podcast features a segment my BFF Lisa and I recorded live this week with Dan and Eric, commenting at length on various criticisms we’ve heard of the Year of a Million Dreams. Per usual we also take a few tangents, like poking a bit of fun at other Disney podcasters, and taking inventory of my Pal Mickey’s rapidly-expanding custom wardrobe.

Posters Online for Toy Story Mania

DIS Updates has a set of posters available for Toy Story Mania, coming to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2008. Yee haw!

Please Stand Clear of the Doors

From the Disney Geeks’ Daily Figment:

I submit to you the ultimate collectible: a monorail in your own backyard! Dan Pedersen of Fremont, California has constructed the ultimate reminder of a trip to WDW. For under $5,000.00 (not including his years of labor), Ken constructed a complex, usable monorail system in his own backyard. The monorail reaches a height of over eight feet and travels a lengthy 300 feet around his backyard, making several stops along the way.

Head on over to Wired.com for more pictures.