Category: Movies
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 141 – Donald Duck in Carbonite
At the end of a busy day today, I swung by Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the third time in two days after realizing that despite the fact that I was just there yesterday to cover the grand opening of Star Tours, I completely forgot to check out the merchandise tent. I also wanted to see this year’s Hyperspace Hoopla, which I was too tired to stay for at the end of the day yesterday. The new bigger stage is amazing and Dance-Off with the Star Wars Stars 2011 is one of the best yet (full video here).
In the merchandise tent (which is also bigger than ever), Michelle took a photo of me with this life-sized Donald Duck in Carbonite. Boba Fett seemed uninterested.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 140 – Me and the real C-3PO
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the updated Star Tours ride officially opened today with a grand dedication ceremony. You can catch up on everything Star Tours here, including videos, audio, photos, reviews, interviews, and more.
And speaking of interviews… after the grand opening today, I had a chance to interview Anthony Daniels, better known as the guy who played C-3PO (in the suit and as the voice) for all of the Star Wars movies. He’s an incredibly nice guy with a great passion for what he does. You can watch my interview with him here.
And don’t ask why I wore a Muppets shirt to the Star Tours opening today. I was on less than 5 hours of sleep and somehow it made sense when I got dressed this morning. I suppose it’s not too much of a stretch…
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 137 – Yo Ho, A Preview Life for Me
Tonight I attended a preview screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the “Pirates” series. I’ll post a full review tomorrow on InsideTheMagic.net but in short, it was great! It’s not quite as good as the first film, but far better than the second and third (which isn’t saying much). The plot is simple, the action is fun, and there are jokes are throughout, but without being silly. I enjoyed it.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 134 – The Adventures Continue at Star Tours!
After two days of running around all four Walt Disney World theme parks, I was looking forward to simply sitting in a convention hall of Disney’s Contemporary Resort all weekend and enjoying the presentations from Destination D. But… today I received word midday that Star Tours 2 was going to open for the first time to guests. And that was too exciting to pass up.
So I hurried back to Hollywood Studios, arriving at nearly the same time I did yesterday for the final leg of the Great Disney Scavenger Hunt. But this time, I only had one attraction on my mind. A crowd had already gathered in front of Star Tours, but rain scattered everyone for a few minutes. A little while after it stopped, Cast Members finally dropped the rope and let everyone in. And it was glorious.
This ride has needed an update for many years and it is now once again incredibly fun. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, so I’ve posted a spoiler-free review.
And my first ride turned out to be extra special, as I ended up in the same cabin as Imagineers and Hollywood Studios VP Rilous Carter, who were riding in the back row.
After riding 4 times, I wanted to get back to Destination D in time for Imagineer Tony Baxter’s presentation, so I left the park and snapped the photo below on the way out. It was still raining off and on, so I didn’t get my own picture in front of the ride, but there will be plenty of time for that in the future. For now, I had a blast being one of the first guests to ride the updated Star Tours.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 126 – May 20 is going to be a fun day
Today was a busy work day, but two items kept me thinking of some of the many fun things coming up in the next couple weeks. During the day, the Summer 2011 issue of the Mickey Monitor showed up in the mail, previewing Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, which opens May 20 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I’ll definitely be there for that. Then, after work was all done, Michelle and I played my review copy of LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. I’m not allowed to post my thoughts on the game until its official release date on May 10, but it did keep me thinking of “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” which also opens on May 20. Blackbeard (from the new film) will be added to the Pirates ride at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland on May 20 as well. It’s going to be a busy (but fun) day!
Oh, and I got an extra copy of the LEGO Pirates game to give away too. Click here to enter the contest.
