It’s the Real Thing: Mezzo Mix

As a fan of Epcot’s Club Cool at Walt Disney World, I’ve been disappointed to find no evidence of the Beverly soft drink actually existing in Italy. So you can imagine my enthusiasm and excitement when I arrived in Germany last week and discovered Mezzo Mix in the wild: In two-liter  bottles, on restaurant menus, in vending machines. There’s even a Mezzo Mix Light.

The gallery below includes pictures taken in Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Munich.

Emergency Mezzo Mix in the Fridge

Mezzo Mix on a Bistro Menu

Mezzo Mix in the Vending Machines

Mezzo Mix on a Snack Shop Street Sign

Mezzo Mix Light – For the Calorie Conscious

Yours Truly Ready to Enjoy Mezzo Mix

Yours Truly Enjoying a Frosty Mezzo Mix in Frankfurt

Even Ponies Like Mezzo Mix

Do You Have Mezzo Mix in the Can?

Captain EO is the Answer. What Was the Question?

"Hello, good times"

Some mornings, Captain EO is the only reasonable answer. And at times like this, I thank my lucky stars for sites like E82 which keep me well-stocked with nostalgic Epcot tunes. (Why yes indeed, I did need to hear Angelica Huston hiss “Infidels!!!” on my way to work this morning. Not sure if I could have survived the commute without it, at least on an emotional level.)

Hat tip to The Adventures of a Lost Boy, whose author clued me in on E82.

Well, Maybe I Can Do Without Cyberspace Mountain After All

The one thing I hate about the idea that DisneyQuest will probably eventually close is that I fear they won’t move Cyberspace Mountain, but just let it die. I love Cyberspace Mountain, and was sad this summer that it’s gone from Walt Disney Studios Paris. Bill Nye in French, how can you argue with that?

But….looks like they might have me covered, what with the new The Sum of All Thrills design-your-own-roller-coaster attraction coming soon to Epcot. And being a geek, I’m intrigued by the math angle they seem to be working. From Raytheon’s press release:

“The Sum of All Thrills” will be a core component of Raytheon’s MathMovesU program, an initiative designed to engage middle school students in math and science, and help create the next generation of innovators for the U.S. It will be located in the INNOVENTIONS pavilion at Epcot, a unique area of the park that contains 100,000 square feet of interactive, hands-on exhibits that allow visitors to celebrate the inspiration and innovation that improve their lives and expand their horizons.

If you’re not a nerd, you might find the photo in the Orlando Sentinel a little sexier.

Satire: Hitler Finds Out About EPCoT

Before you click play….let me please repeat my standard disclaimer that this blog is rated PG-13?

From projectxblog on YouTube, hat tip to my buddy Trace from The Disney Dudes Podcast.

Stunning, Creepy Deathcot by Jon Santos

Is this truly the destroyed Death Star, far smaller than one would have imagined? Has it been brought home like a trophy, and installed in utopian Future World at Epcot to celebrate our triumph over the Empire?

Twenty-five archival prints are available for sale, as the original run sold out in 2005.

Hat tip: BoingBoing.

Epcot London or Real London?

Listeners of the Those Darn Cats podcast know that I have a tiny little bit of an opinion about the difference between Epcot pavillions and their corresponding real-world locations. So, can you spot six differences between these pictures of me in Epcot London and the real London? And can you tell which one is which?

(Heya Danielle, since you took one of these pictures, no fair cheating!)

MouseFest Shopping List, Part I

Just seen on WDW News Today: Finally, a super-kawaii Figment shirt, apparently in a women’s cut! And if I’m reading the tag right, it’s priced fairly reasonably. I guess I know where I’m spending my souvenir allowance at MouseFest!

I also recently saw a WALL-E souvenir on the Home by the Sea blog which is philosophically in keeping with the movie’s environmental theme: Pressed nickels, which of course are made from 100% recycled materials (heck, you’re recycling them yourself, and in some machines at least you’re even contributing some of the energy to press them). Sadly, so far I’ve only heard of them being at Disneyland…if anybody sees them pop up on Walt Disney World campus please drop me a note! (Hat tip: John Frost‘s shared RSS items.)

Lutefisk, The Paris Sewer Museum, and WALL-E

A lovely traditional meal, featuring a big chunk of lutefisk front and center. Image from Wikipedia.

How amused was I to hear discussion of lefse on Episode 430 of WDW Today? It would have been nice under any circumstances…but it was doubly amusing because this week’s Those Darn Cats podcast also mentions that same tasty Norwegian treat! We also touch upon Lutefisk, a delicacy you’re not likely to find on Disney property. For those unfamiliar with Lutefisk, here’s a Garrison Keillor quote I grabbed out of Wikipedia:

“Lutefisk is cod that has been dried in a lye solution. It looks like the desiccated cadavers of squirrels run over by trucks, but after it is soaked and reconstituted and the lye is washed out and it’s cooked, it looks more fish-related, though with lutefisk, the window of success is small. It can be tasty, but the statistics aren’t on your side. It is the hereditary delicacy of Swedes and Norwegians who serve it around the holidays, in memory of their ancestors, who ate it because they were poor. Most lutefisk is not edible by normal people. It is reminiscent of the afterbirth of a dog or the world’s largest chunk of phlegm.”

My dear husband, running from a giant sediment-cleaning ball at the Paris Sewer Museum

I hope I never forget the time my son and I were walking past Epcot Norway, and I turned to him saying, “Honey, this is where some of your ancestors came from.” I had to stop myself short…my son’s ancestors were not, in fact from Central Florida. They were from the real Norway, and visiting a pavilion at Epcot is absolutely no substitute for visiting the real place. I do imagine that if I ever make it to the real Norway, dodging the occasional encounter with lutefisk will be just one of the joys of visiting a country rich in heritage and culture, much like a visit to Paris just doesn’t feel complete without a visit to the sewer museum, or maybe the Catacombs next time. We live in a complicated, sometimes smelly, and always unpredictable world…pretty much the opposite of the idealized international experiences we enjoy at Epcot.

And don’t get me wrong: I do in fact enjoy those experiences. I love dashing into Epcot Japan’s Mitsukoshi Department Store to grab a couple phone charms. I enjoy wandering the Twinings tea shop in Epcot UK, and wonder how different that will feel after I’ve actually seen London. I can never resist ducking into the Mexico pavilion to look at the folk arts, or perhaps grab a ride on what my son and I used to call “The River of Boredom” before Donald and pals plussed the place.

But none of these are a substitute for getting out into that un-sanitized real world, full of sewers and lutefisk and traffic jams. And hey, isn’t that actually one of the messages of this summer’s Pixar blockbuster? I love the moment when WALL-E’s interrupted this woman’s quality time with her computer screen on her barcolounger, and she discovers for the first time that there’s actually a swimming pool in the middle of this big ol’ lounge area. Life works best for me when I approach computer-mediated and otherwise-artificial experiences consciously, carefully, enjoying them only for what they are, and doing my best to approach this big messy beautiful world open-heartedly.

Even if it means yes, occasionally having a bite of lutefisk.

June 2008 WDW Trip Report: The Best and The Worst

A splendid time was had by all! And by “all,” I mean my son The Wachamacallit, my BFF Lisa, and myself. (I sure hope the folks we met up with there had a good time too! Shout-outs to Hayden, Matt, and Glenn!) As usual, there were high and low points to the trip. Here are my picks for the best and worst parts of our trip June 19-24, 2008.

Best new or updated attraction: Haunted Mansion. Yes indeed, as much as I loved Toy Story Midway Mania, and the updated Spaceship Earth, the improved audio and new features of the Haunted Mansion win this prize. I love the way the Escher room came out, and the graveyard’s a much more satisfying ride-through now that they’ve fixed the audio system and enhanced the visuals.

Worst hotel check-in line: Nickelodeon Family Suites. I’d booked this trip primarily with hotel points and frequent flier miles, so we had the distinct pleasure of checking out/in to hotels almost every day. For the most part, things went quite smoothly, and I have to give special props to Hampton Inn Lake Buena Vista for its comfortable rooms and complementary breakfast buffet, and to Pop Century for its always-boffo theming (and their quick attention to a problem with our room on arrival). We enjoyed our Sunday night stay at the Nick as well, especially for its fabulously-themed two-bedroom suites, and its Sony Playstations. But the registration line? We waited for about 45 minutes, by far the longest I’ve ever waited to check in at a hotel before.

Best trade: Silver-toned beads from a Jawa. This one was a tough call! I’m a pin-trader, and certainly I came home with a few fabulous finds. My collection of Figment “mood” pins is now complete! But I’ve gotta say that none of this can compare with having traded a tarnished old penny for a shiny new necklace from a Jawa we encountered on Commissary Lane. Uttini!!

Worst character meet-and-greet opportunities: Jedi Mickey, Stormtrooper Donald, Leia Minnie, and Darth Goofy. Disney surely knows that meeting any one of these characters is a must-have photo op for the Disney and Star Wars enthusiast. And there’s plenty of space in the Studios to set such things up. So why on earth do these four characters all share one location, and rotate who’s up for pictures? Why not give each a location of their own? The queue was usually 20-50 people deep, so only the most committed fan (or the parent with the most desperately-begging children) was likely to get a picture. Perhaps Disney could have made some money off this artificially-created scarcity, and had a $40/person character meal specifically for the Star Wars/Disney mash-up characters.

Most liberating fashion moment: Leaving the lumbar pack behind. It is a well-known fact that the amount of crap parents have to lug around is inversely proportional to the age of their child. And yes indeed, my child has gotten to the age where not only can he go more than 120 seconds without eating, in fact he is quite happy to carry his own snacks, water bottles, and other assorted paraphernalia. So, my days as a sherpa are over! But it’s not like I’m donating my massive lumbar pack to the Expedition Everest queue (hat tip to Hochberg)…I’m hanging onto it for now. You never know, I might be toting around stuff for grandkids someday.

Best non-traditional view of Wishes: From Ariel’s Grotto. This was a tough call too…I truly enjoyed watching Wishes from the ferry, while leaving the Magic Kingdom Saturday night (to go meet Lisa, who’d just arrived in Orlando, yay!). But better yet was being in line at Mrs. Pott’s Cupboard for ice cream when we realized Wishes was about to start, and scurrying over to the area right in front of Ariel’s Grotto to watch. I did get a good bit of whiplash from craning my neck back and forth to catch the fireworks in both directions, and the coordination of pyrotechnics didn’t work so well that way, but the sheer joy of being right in the middle of it all made me laugh out loud.

Most exciting competition: Padawan Footrace Challenge. I knew we needed to get to the park well before rope drop Saturday to sign up my son The Wachamacallit for the Padawan Mind Challenge, but I had no idea that, despite Cast Member instructions to the contrary, there would be an all-out dash to the sign-up table. I was trying to keep it to a fast walk myself…but somehow couldn’t bring myself to tell my kid to stop running when the other kids sprinted ahead of him. True to the competitive family spirit, my kid did in fact get to the table first, which he now speaks of with the same amount of pride as he does the fact that he tied for first place in the Mind Challenge a few hours later.

Least successful theming: Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station’s Monsters Inc decor. I asked a Cast Member what the wooden cut-outs of Monsters Inc characters were for, and she explained to me that this was now a themed restaurant, that it is a station where the children of the world can eat noodles. She was so thoroughly committed to the bit that I didn’t even consider the fact that this was absurd, and in fact not “theming” at all, but rather a haphazard attempt at decor. Hilarity ensued. If you want to know what I sound like when I’m laughing so hard that I can hardly breathe, and tears are running down my cheeks, just listen to Those Darn Cats podcast #7 (recorded live in and around the Noodle Station, and a good bit more random than TDC on an average day).

Best attraction queue: Toy Story Midway Mania. The queue is designed to feel like you’re walking through Andy’s room, and you’re the size of a toy. All sorts of fabulous things are there…Chutes and Ladders on the ceiling, Viewmaster wheels from Peter Pan and Disneyland, Candyland pathways under your feet. But for me the best part of all was actually in the exit queue: A super-size Golden Book of Tin Toy, sure to catch the eye of any Pixar fan. I threw a few pictures onto Flickr of a couple pages (this and this), plus Pinocchio and Mickey Mouse from the back cover (Donald was there too, but I didn’t get the shot). Oh, and I trust that word has spread about the hidden Mickey near the place where you pick up your 3D glasses? Hayden found it, and told us where to look. Check out the Andy-drawn Nemo on the wall, and look down.

Worst traffic management: Toy Story Midway Mania. It’s clear they’re trying…Cast Members escorted the crowds from the rope to the FastPass machines at park opening Sunday, which perhaps averted a potential re-enactment of the 1979 Who concert in Cincinnati. But as my BFF Lisa has observed, the walkway in front of the attraction is just plain too narrow, even without the construction barricades for the building across the way. Sure, the crowds will diminish in time, so I trust that the wait-time won’t always surge close to an hour within 20 minutes of park opening. But I do believe this attraction’s popularity will last, and the area will stay congested. Perhaps they need to move the FastPass machines farther from the attraction, a la Dinosaur or Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin?

Best Easter Egg: Rainbow balloons. Toy Story Midway Mania has a whole bunch of special features and views that you can unlock by hitting the proper combination of targets. My favorite by far? The rainbow balloons which cascade down in the Bo Peep room, if you and your partner shoot down the final balloons on the corner clouds at the same time. I saw it just once, with the help of some guy I happened to be sharing a car with (he’d come through the single rider line, and was thrilled to find out that these Easter Eggs might give him an edge in an ongoing competition with his wife).

Most delicious meal: Le Cellier. bien sur! I was sure I’d be ordering the strip steak, but Cast Member Sarah (whose nametag inexplicably said “Ashley”) made the mushroom filet sound so appealing! I substituted cream cheese potatoes for the mushroom risotto, and it was fabulous. For dessert? A maple crème brûlée the size of my head. Good thing Pal Mickey was hungry too. Runner up: A pineapple Dole Whip, which technically does not constitute a meal but was nonetheless quite tasty.

Worst customer experience: United Airlines. It’s not the fact that our flight was delayed by weather, or that mechanical problems and crew-availability problems further delayed us. It’s not even the fact that we missed our connection in Dulles, and got stuck there overnight. It’s the fact that their recent schedule reductions and equipment downsizing meant that very few options were available for re-booking, and that about an hour after we’d re-booked, I got a text message telling me that flight was canceled (despite the fact that it was fully booked). It’s also about their customer service representative suggesting that my child’s health needs were inflexible, and that we should just sleep in the airport. I hope the airline’s just going through transitional pains, along with the rest of the industry, but after several years of elite frequent flier status, I’m seriously considering switching my loyalty to another carrier.

Best addition to my plushie menagerie: Towel animal! This little guy was waiting in the window for us in our room at Pop Century Monday night. I wasn’t sure if I could take him home…so I called the front desk, feeling rather sheepish, and the Cast Member reassured me quite kindly that my new terrycloth friend was mine to keep. I forgot to ask about care and feeding, but he does seem to be thriving in his new environment.

Most bittersweet moment: Knowing I’ll be making my next Disney trip solo. Well, not quite solo exactly…my next Disney trip will be to MouseFest 2008, so it’s not like I’m going to lack for companionship! But again, my child is growing up, and old enough now to understand that Mom’s going to Disney World on her own this December. Not only that, but he probably wouldn’t want me to pull him out of school for a trip, even if I were willing to do that, and after moping around when so many of my friends were there last December I promised myself I wouldn’t miss 2008. For me, the essential challenge of parenting is the gradual separation, knowing when to pull him close and when to let him fly. As he learns to fly higher and farther on his own, I may miss him, but I also can continue to enjoy the way my own freedom grows.

I trust that my friends who read this blog will remember I’ve said this, and bring my own words back to me when they find me weeping on Main Street come December!

Can We Dance With Your Dates?

You know, I just had to smile when I saw that Otis Day and the Knights are playing at Epcot’s annual “Eat to the Beat” concert series.