Ewok Village in Costa Rica . . . Who Knew?

I just love Dark Roasted Blend . . .without it, would I ever have heard about this real-life sustainable treehouse community in Costa Rica?

If you been dreaming of picking up roots, living on the edge, or literally going out on a limb in terms of eco-lifestyle possibilities, then Finca Bellavista: A Sustainable Rainforest Community might be just the thing for you. Located on the base of an almost 6,000 foot primary rainforest mountain on the South Pacific Coast of Costa Rica - not far from the Pan American Highway, Finca Bellavista was created with the sole purpose of preserving 300 acres of local rainforest by offering a unique opportunity for ecologically minded property owners to live sustainably in and steward a managed rainforest environment.

And speaking of Ewoks, the Dark Lord of the Sith has a great column this weekend about the Rebel Alliance folks you can usually meet at Star Wars Weekends. This paragraph in particular made me laugh out loud at the breakfast table:

Also wandering around you will occasionally find some JAWAS. Unfortunately they are harder to understand than the Ewoks and have the attention span of a two year old if you aren’t interested in buying Droids. We did manage an autograph from one last year and I’m not real clear if he understood what we wanted. It is simply signed JAWA. Still it is fun to get a shot of them when you can.

Hmm, harder to understand than Ewoks . . . now that’s an interesting thought.

Not that I’m looking forward to SWW or anything. (3 months 2 weeks 3 days . . .)

Not That I’m Looking Forward to Star Wars Weekend . . .

. . . but my countdown ticker on DisFriends reminds me that I’ll be there in 3 months and 3 weeks.

Bits and pieces of news emerge from time to time at Hochberg’s Star Wars Weekends site. I so totally wish I could be there for weekend 2, to meet Peter Mayhew! Plus there’s also a cool party planned for weekend 1, which I truly wish I could attend. Alas, business travel and the academic calendar have conspired to prevent me from getting to either of those weekends . . . but I’m sure I’ll have a blast anyway, and can hardly wait to hear who the guests will be when I’m in town.

And hey Lisa, a message to you, since you are of course far, far younger than me:

Official Dates for Star Wars Weekends

Here’s what I see today on Disney.com’s Star Wars Weekends page:

Dates:
June 6, 2008 - June 8, 2008
June 13, 2008 - June 15, 2008
June 20, 2008 - June 22, 2008

Hat tip to Jaina050 on StarWars.com forums!

Toy Story Mania Mania!

I’ve got a fever . . . and there’s no amount of cowbell that’s gonna help. I’ve got Toy Story Mania mania!

This week’s WDW Today Episode 363 helped a little bit, and now this morning I see that WDW News Today has some info about both TSM and the expected opening dates for the Pixar Place section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The attraction’s expected to open the second week of June on both coasts, so (if life circumstances permit) I’m likely to either head down to Orlando for a Star Wars Weekend late in June, or make a trip out to Anaheim later in the summer, perhaps for Bat Day at the Fun Park, otherwise known as Goth Day. Bat Day hasn’t announced a date yet, but their web site promises that “The Year of a Million Screams will begin Fall 2008,” making me think that perhaps they’ll be holding the event too late for me, since my travel schedule is largely dictated by the school vacation calendar. Either way, I just love it when my geeky interests collide. Goths at Disney! R2D2 meets Mickey! Yay!

Favorite Disney/MGM Studios Memories

My Jentasmic! column today recounts some of my favorite memories of the now-extinct Disney/MGM Studios park. Sure, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is virtually indistinguishable from MGM, but I needed a hook for the column, and will take any excuse to reminisce. Here’s one of the memories, just to try to encourage you to read the rest over at StudiosCentral:

4) Stars and Motor Cars Parade, October 2006. Yeah, I know, I know. It’s nobody’s favorite parade. But see, here’s the thing. I’m quite the Star Wars fan, and my son’s following in my footsteps (he easily whups me at Star Wars Trivial Pursuit these days). And most of our WDW trips have been during the holidays, when the Star Wars characters take a break from their parade duties (what, maybe they’re up at the North Pole helping the elves pack gifts?). But that October we were lucky enough to make a special trip, so we finally got to see R2 cruise down Hollywood Boulevard. I tried to get a decent video for YouTube, but the audio track was too full of my shouting, “Oh my God, it’s Artoo! It’s Chewie! Hey, Artoo, come over here!”

Oh, and by the way, if you’re still looking for a new tattoo for Star Wars Weekends, Hello Kitty Hell has a little fodder for you:

Rumor from Mouse Extra: Star Wars Weekends, June 2008

The Mouse Extra blog today says that the Disney Cast Member magazine, Eyes and Ears, has published that Star Wars Weekends 2008 will be in June. Anybody out there have more details, or confirmation?

Jedi Academy to Replace Endor Village?

Bittersweet news for Star Wars fans . . . MGMstudios.org reports that:

Disney has filed plans with the Orange County Comptroller’s Office to begin construction on a permanent stage for Jedi Training Academy. According to the plans, the stage will be built where the Endor village currently is.

I’m stoked about the Jedi Training Academy becoming a permanent feature at Disney-MGM Studios, rather than just a special event during Star Wars Weekends. But man I love that Endor village, especially in the evenings where you can hear the little dudes celebrating.

Big hat tip to MouseExtra, not just for bringing my attention to MGMStudios.org’s posting in the first place, but also for being a big freakin’ Star Wars geek (yay!):

The description of the project offered within the official files is “to design, engineer, construct, and install an outdoor stage reminiscent of the Imperial Bunker on Endor from Star Wars”. Not withstanding the fact that the bunker was in Return of the Jedi and not Star Wars [emphasis mine], we can only assume that such a stage must be for the Academy, although in the file I read there is not mention of the Academy.

Dancing with the Star Wars Stars!

So wrong, it’s gotta be right! They almost lost me in the silliness of Luke and Leia dancing to We Are Family, but Amadala performing I Will Survive with Darth Vader brought things back to the sublimely ridiculous.