Freshly Frozen- An Epcot Attraction Update... and an Avatar Teaser

Brand new- a look at the Frozen Ever After attraction in Epcot's aging but still beautiful World Showcase. 

The walls cannot hide the massive addition this is that will change the feel of Norway as well as the surrounding areas. Well, not at all really. The area will change, and the addition of more characters to World Showcase further diminishes the original intent of the park, but the land mass used is really not that big. It does, however, leave no room for another country next door.

Will the attraction be enjoyable? Yes, certainly. Will it bring in the crowds? Yes. And will it make the true fans of old school Imagineering wish it was more? Without a doubt.

And now for a quick Pandora / World of Avatar update. As my son-in-law said, the "most advanced photo on the planet."

Thanks to my daughter for the photos in the middle of her trip...

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

Perhaps the Most Beautiful Animal Kingdom Art Ever

I am not going to comment and let this beautiful piece of concept art for Disney's Animal Kingdom speak for itself...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Awaiting a New Kingdom

Shanghai Disneyland is coming. A new Pandora for Animal Kingdom, Star Wars Land for Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. It's pretty impressive line up of new experiences and fantastic worlds to explore. And yet, a whole different group of people are awaiting the arrival of a totally different kingdom. This gripping article puts life into perspective a bit. Let me encourage you to read it...

"At several steps on their path to death by beheading and crucifixion last month, 11 indigenous Christian workers near Aleppo, Syria, had the option to leave the area and live. The 12-year-old son of a ministry team leader also could have spared his life by denying Christ.

The indigenous missionaries were not required to stay at their ministry base in a village near Aleppo, Syria; rather, the ministry director who trained them had entreated them to leave. As the Islamic State (ISIS), other rebel groups and Syrian government forces turned Aleppo into a war zone of carnage and destruction, ISIS took over several outlying villages. The Syrian ministry workers in those villages chose to stay in order to provide aid in the name of Christ to survivors.

"I asked them to leave, but I gave them the freedom to choose," said the ministry director, his voice tremulous as he recalled their horrific deaths. "As their leader, I should have insisted that they leave." They stayed because they believed they were called to share Christ with those caught in the crossfire, he said.

"Every time we talked to them," the director said, "they were always saying, 'We want to stay here—this is what God has told us to do. This is what we want to do.' They just wanted to stay and share the gospel."

Those who chose to stay could have scattered and hid in other areas, as their surviving family members did. On a visit to the surviving relatives in hiding, the ministry director learned of the cruel executions.

The relatives said ISIS militants on Aug. 7 captured the Christian workers in a village whose name is withheld for security reasons. On Aug. 28, the militants asked if they had renounced Islam for Christianity. When the Christians said that they had, the rebels asked if they wanted to return to Islam. The Christians said they would never renounce Christ.

The 41-year-old team leader, his young son and two ministry members in their 20s were questioned at one village site where ISIS militants had summoned a crowd. The team leader presided over nine house churches he had helped to establish. His son was two months away from his 13th birthday.

"All were badly brutalized and then crucified," the ministry leader said. "They were left on their crosses for two days. No one was allowed to remove them."

The martyrs died beside signs the ISIS militants had put up identifying them as "infidels."

Eight other ministry team members, including two women, were taken to another site in the village that day (Aug. 28) and were asked the same questions before a crowd. The women, ages 29 and 33, tried to tell the ISIS militants they were only sharing the peace and love of Christ and asked what they had done wrong to deserve the abuse. The Islamic extremists then publicly raped the women, who continued to pray during the ordeal, leading the ISIS militants to beat them all the more furiously.

As the two women and the six men knelt before they were beheaded, they were all praying.

"Villagers said some were praying in the name of Jesus, others said some were praying the Lord's prayer, and others said some of them lifted their heads to commend their spirits to Jesus," the ministry director said. "One of the women looked up and seemed to be almost smiling as she said, 'Jesus!'"

After they were beheaded, their bodies were hung on crosses, the ministry director said, his voice breaking. He had trained all of the workers for their evangelistic ministry, and he had baptized the team leader and some of the others.

Hundreds of former Muslims in Syrian villages are in danger of being captured and killed by ISIS, which is fighting to establish a caliphate in which apostasy is punishable by death. The underground church in the region has mushroomed since June 2014, when ISIS began terrorizing those who do not swear allegiance to its caliphate, both non-Muslims and Muslims. Consequently, the potential for large-scale executions has grown along with the gains in ISIS-controlled territory.

The ministry assisted by Christian Aid Mission is providing resources and trying to find ways to evacuate these families by other routes.  

Many of the ministry's teams also remain in Syria. Christian Aid Mission assists those who do not or cannot leave with the means to survive.

Even those who leave, however, may encounter ISIS militants and other criminals in refugee camps, said the leader of another ministry that Christian Aid Mission assists. He spoke of a Muslim from northern Syria who, like all men in areas that ISIS takes over, was coerced into joining the caliphate or being killed.

Recruited into ISIS, he fled the country after his brother was killed in the fighting. Disillusioned with ISIS but still adhering to Islam and its teaching that Christians and Jews are unclean "pigs," he went to Amman, Jordan, as he had learned that relatives there were receiving aid from Christians.

The Muslim, whose name is withheld for security reasons, went to a Christian meeting with the intention of killing the aid workers gathered there. Something kept him from following through on his plan, though, and that night he saw Jesus in a dream, the ministry director said.

"The next day he came back and said, 'I came to kill you, but last night I saw Jesus, and I want to know what are you teaching—who is this One who held me up from killing you?'" the director said. "He received Christ with tears, and today he's actually helping in the church, helping out other people. We're praying for lots of such Sauls to change to Pauls."

The sorrow of the ministry team leader who lost 11 workers and one of their children last month has been deep, but he takes heart that their faithfulness could help change the hearts of persecutors.

"They kept on praying loudly and sharing Jesus until their last breath," he said. "They did this in front of the villagers as a testimony for others."

He asked for prayer for surviving family members and for himself.

"These things have been very hard on me," he said. "What wrong did those people do to deserve to die? What is happening is more and more people are being saved. The ministry is growing and growing—in the past we used to pray to have one person from a Muslim background come to the Lord. Now there are so many we can barely handle all the work among them."

Annie Cotton/Christian Aid Mission

Art for Dragon's Challenge at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Unbuilt Disney attractions. Is there anything else that creates a high level of both curiosity and frustration among fans of Imagineering and the Disney theme parks? Not for me, especially in a Disney world where good enough often passes for excellence while the competition next door is turning out world class attractions.

Western River Expedition, Westcot, Discovery Bay and countless other unrealized gems are the backbone of discussions for armchair imaginers and would-be Disney Company CEOs. These are the things of myth and legend... and some great concept art!

Over at Disney's Animal Kingdom, long before Avatar made an impact on the physical landscape, plans were well under way for Beastly Kingdom, a land full of dragons, unicorns, and other animals of mythology. Effectively, this was to be the Fantasyland of the park, bringing dark rides, family friendly attractions, and a bit of the imaginary element promised for the park and reflected in its dedication by Michael Eisner:

Welcome to a kingdom of animals... real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn.

                          Michael D. Eisner, April 22, 1998

An intriguing entrance to the attraction.

The centerpiece attraction was to be Dragon's Challenge, a roller coaster thrill ride where guests encounter one of the largest Audio-Animatronic creatures ever built as they try to capture kingdom treasure long under guard this dangerous inhabitant.

The concept art that introduces this post supposedly shows the inside of the climax of the attraction. Honestly, there is some speculation it may not be really the work of Imagineers and instead is just the art drawn by a fan. Yet, the viewer can indeed get a better idea of the concept hat surely would have been a winner in guest satisfaction surveys. The two pieces that follow are well known paintings from Disney itself.

Will we ever see a Beastly Kingdom? Sadly, my guess is that we never will. Universal's Islands of Adventure, have very high profile thrill rides with Harry Potter and company that make good use of the dragons found in the books from which the attractions were derived. I believe its safe to say that Disney does not want to be seen as following the leader by repeating what's already been done. 

But the re-Imagining of Disney's Hollywood Studios park better be first class. The fact is, for many fans, Disney is already following the new leader. It is not going unnoticed by the Disney suits that folks are beginning to spend two or three days of their vacation at Universal instead of Walt Disney World. The lack of revenue- and the word of mouth about the great attractions found at their competition's parks- are creating issues in the House of Mouse. Nobody steals the treasure from that dragon!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disney's Animal Kingdom: A True Life Adventure (Part Seven)

Today I offer up Part Seven of the extremely popular series, Disney's Animal Kingdom: A True Life Adventure. The very first part of the series dates back to Earth Day 2008. From the very beginning, my goal was to present some rare concept art and photos as I told the story of the evolution of Animal Kingdom- from concept to reality and all the changes in between. Toss in an objective analysis, a few trip reports, and rumors in the mix, and you've got a lot of enjoyable reading. 

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When we left off in Part Six, it was clear that Disney's newest theme park in Florida was in transition and without a clear vision for the future.  

Rare Beasty Kingdom(me) art found on a limited edition
 collector's pin. Thanks to my friend Mike S at WDWMagic.

Old concepts such as Beastly Kingdom (above and below) were tossed aside as expensive and old school- plus they were blatantly stolen over at Universal's Islands of Adventure - brought to Disney's competitors when several Imagineers took up residence there after being laid off by the Mouse.

Thanks to Werner Weiss for this excellent scan 

of the Beastly Kingdom(me) overview.

Coming after the park saving Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, was next year's Finding Nemo the Musical. It's debut in 2007 was hailed by hard core theme park fans but failed to deliver an attendance bump. 

In the new Disney world, which meant that character infusions were forced into places they did not belong, the Nemo musical fit surprisingly well into a park which celebrated animals in an extremely creative way. The beautiful huge puppets and consistently good musical numbers perfectly complemented the sweet, heartwarming story. The songs were written by the husband and wife team that brought Frozen to life, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. One number, (In The) Big Blue World also found its way into The Living Seas at Epcot. At 40 minutes in length, the new production took up another large chunk of the guest's day with schedules that offered differing times than the park's other must see musical, Legend of the Lion King. 

The next attraction to make its way to Animal Kingdom was...

Rare concept for the Tree of Life.

...Nothing. Absolutely nothing but the closing of the Pocahontas show. The park sat stagnant for several years. The Walt Disney Company was reeling from its loss of the Harry Potter property to competitor Universal. In an unexpected twist of blessing for the attendance starved Islands of Adventure, author J.K. Rowling turned over the theme park reins to Universal Creative and not Disney. It was a stunning coup for the fledging park operator. For Disney, it was back to the drawing boards.

Welcome to a kingdom of animals... real, ancient and imagined:    a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn. 
  
—   Michael D. Eisner, April 22, 1998

Would the Imagineers (and the suits that controlled the budget) take a look back at the opening day inscription for the park when thinking and planning for its future? What would they do?

Come 2010 and the opening of Harry Potter and his wildly thrilling Forbidden Journey, the massively big, popular attraction at Disney's competition, took the public interest by storm. Not only did the new area increase Universal's guest count by several million people annually, it also made Florida visitors rethink an all-Disney vacation. More and more folks took a day or two off from the Walt Disney World property in favor of time with Harry. The Disney suits took notice.

Disney publicly denied they were worried (as anyone with any business sense would suspect) but privately, the frantic search began for a property they could use to create their own must-see experience for Animal Kingdom. 

Another up charge tour.

In the meantime, the suits dreamed up a new adventure for the elite tourist with big bucks to spare. With minimal investment, the Wild Africa Trek promised a more personal and up close look at the animals found in the Kilimanjaro Safaris. Of course it was expensive just for the experience of more animals and a trendy meal. Of course it pleased the suits because of the instant cash flow. And of course, it infuriated theme park purists, like myself, that new Disney was into milking all it could from its guests versus steadily improving the parks and the guest experience. 

The gorgeous Tree of Life.

 More characters were thrown into the park. Disney bloggers who benefitted from personal invitations to Disney park "events" went into high gear promoting the wonders of the world. On the other end of the spectrum, press was solid if not enthusiastic for the soon to come Cars Land in California. It seemed 2012 couldn't come soon enough to divert some attention from Universal. 

Pandora coming your way in 2017?

In the Fall of 2011, the Walt Disney Company announced a partnership with filmmaker James Cameron to bring the world of Avatar to the animal based park. Instant controversy. 

What place did movie aliens have in celebrating the animals on planet Earth? The Discussion Boards on Disney park websites began to debate back and forth about the merit of the addition. Sure, there was a shared conservation theme, and yes, a giant tree played a pivotal part in both the park and the film. But was there more commonality between the two projects?

James Cameron, Thomas Staggs, 

and Imagineer Joe Rohde

Actually, there is more in common than you would think. There's a spiritual emphasis that links the two. The theme park digs deeper into our emotional connection between animals and man with an underlying- sometimes blatant-  theme of conservation.  At Animal Kingdom, Disney carefully straddles the lines between man as guardian and steward of creation with man as equal with the rest of creation. This is done with the utmost sensitivity as to not offend guests with a Judeo-Christian ethic and world view, creating either controversy or decreased revenue. In this way, Disney's lovely and charming and peaceful park is no different in its presenting philosophy than the core belief system of Cameron's equally beautiful and artistic film.   

More explanation might make sense: The opening act of the park, the Oasis area, was once named Genesis Gardens during the initial planning. The Tree of Life is a direct reference found in the holy books of all three major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In each of these books, Man and woman were created by God and placed in this beautiful world. In the very middle of the garden stood the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When the first couple disobeys God and eats of the forbidden fruit, they are punished for their choice and must await a savior to pay the price for their grievous sin of disobedience.

(Photograph courtesy Main Street Gazette)

In Disney and Cameron's Eden, man may return to favor by harmoniously blending with his surroundings. Here guests have the opportunity to return to this glorious place, a place where man,  beast, and nature co-exist in harmony. The concept of Gaia is the realm of belief in both kingdoms; the Earth (and in Avatar, the other planets) is a seen as a one living, breathing creature. This living land is able to sustain life on its own. 

How could the Imagineers walk a very thin line between offending paying guests by subtly teaching earth worship theology to a large segment of guests who believe otherwise? By creating a gorgeous park! Sometimes it's not so subtle- see photo above- and you can see where Disney Imagineers have openly embraced the new age/old school pagan philosophies. Directly in opposition to the classic Judeo-Christian teachings, Gaia calls for east worship, revealing these truths as real for today as when they were written: "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse...They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised." Right from the Bible. Of course, here Islam and Judaism part ways with Christianity, as Jesus claims to be God and proclaims He is the only One through which one might get to an eternal place of peace, joy, and life. Now back to the park story...

A new look for the Tree of Life after dark.

Paired with a version of World of Color, Rivers of Light,

the park should look terrific after dark!

Ground was finally broken on Pandora in early 2014 with a projected opening date of 2017 once Cameron finished the next two films in his planned series. Disney released a series of new pieces of art to showcase the project as well as announcing the arrival of a nighttime water show designed to make this once half-day park into a full day excursion, Rivers of Light. The concept art for both projects is spectacular! If the end result is nearly as true to the artists' work, I'll be very happy this Avatar addition came to Walt Disney World... even if I think that stylistically the world of Pandora belongs elsewhere. 

Great photo from DaMouse website.

In a move that took years to realize, the tremendously popular theater show, Legend of the Lion King, finally moved to Africa, making room for the expansion.  This allowed the placeholder Camp Minnie-Mickey to finally be replaced with Cameron's vision built in concrete and steel. The new home for the show was so beautifully designed and executed, it is almost as if it was planned from the beginning. Harambe, the fictional city of Animal Kingdom's Africa, seems fully realized now, and there's more to come.

Anticipating increase in park attendance once Pandora opens and the Rivers of Light water show debuts, Disney Imagineers are hard at work on a marketplace expansion to Africa, falling between its borders and Asia. More shops and eateries will make for a pleasant experience during the growing attendance bump.

Smaller projects are happening as well. Good or bad- the choice is up to you. Starbucks is on its way, and a newly expanded open space around the Tree of Life has recently opened. A table service restaurant will debut on Discovery Island, taking up some space from Pizzafari. 

Rivers of Light: Enough to keep park guests after dark?

More questions remain: Will the Discovery River once again find watercraft filled tourists on its waters? Will Pandora be home to more than one attraction? Will Disney continue to invest in this park after this most recent expansion or will that take decades? Those questions will have to be answered later in the next installment.

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This concludes Part Seven of the series. If you've never read the first pieces and want to discover all the rare concept art as well as read more about the park's development and history, you can find more information here:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
(Concept art and top photo copyright The Walt Disney Company. All other photos copyright Mark Taft.)

Animal Kingdom's Unrealized Jungle River Cruise

Disney's Animal Kingdom has the potential to become my favorite park at Walt Disney World.  I am often blown away by its lush beauty, serene environment and thrilling attractions- especially when they are in full operating order. Deep down inside, I think a park of this magnitude and high maintenance requirements will never be built again.

The history of the park fascinates me, and long time readers of this blog know I've written an extensive multi-part history of its fascinating development and haphazard growth. (Six parts beginning here.) The comprehensive look- filled with concept art and more- would made Joe Rohde proud. At least I think I did he and his team justice.

The list of unbuilt attractions is almost unrivaled in Disney fan circles given the relatively short length of time the park has been open. It really is unfortunate as some of the Imagineers' most intriguing projects have never seen the light of day. 

Prior to it's debut, work was on the drawing boards for a real life Jungle Cruise through the Asia section of the park. A piece for that attraction is seen at the top of the post. It is one thing to go to the Magic Kingdom and see tons of Audio-Animatronic creatures, and its another altogether to take a cruise past very real and very unpredictable animals. Truly wild. 

The challenges of a theme park with a zoo built in continue to create more challenges for the Imagineers- including finding its own audience for the place. Sometimes that hurdle results in less than instantly fitting choices. 

Of course, the fan community already knows James Cameron's Pandora is coming to they park. Will the rumored boar ride fall into the "never built" category?

Regardless of the attraction choices, will the World of Avatar, a trip into Pandora, thrill me and keep the love coming? I have to admit that even though I was not a fan of the idea initially, the latest concept art and video is pretty interesting...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Animal Kingdom's Quiet Transformation

The wonderful and thoughtful website, Parkeology, has posted an insightful piece on the quiet transformation of Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's well worth a read. Find it here.

(Photograph copyright Parkeology.)

The New King of Theme Parks: A Boy Wizard

Diagon Alley. The name should be striking fear into the heart of Robert Iger and every Walt Disney Company executive. Especially those with a focus on the theme parks and Imagineering. As the video leaks out of the new expansion at Universal Studios Florida and its attraction/connection to Hogsmeade and Forbidden Journey at Islands of Adventure, their worst fears are being realized: theme park fans will now be taking two days out of their Florida vacation to see what Harry Potter has up his sleeve. 

Universal Creative has out-Disneyed Disney. When folks usually have to settle for YouTube films followed by comments of "These don't do it justice", you know the end result in real life should be better. But when the YouTube videos show park expansion that looks absolutely amazing even with poor photography, what is created is a drawing card that only matches television advertising and word of mouth. And the word on the street is that Disney has been surpassed. It's time to crown a new creative king. 

The opening day crowds for Escape from Gringotts are only a taste of things to come. The financial loss of one day is hard enough for the Disney suits and accountants. Yet, if most visitors are like me, they will now lob off two days on their next trip. I know I will. 

Add unique dining and shopping- with items exclusive to the park, and it's a sure fire hit. One that won't be satisfied by a half day visit. Unfortunately, something I still do at Disney's Animal Kingdom. And soon Disney Hollywood Studios.

I am not even a Harry Potter fan in the slightest. I've read none of the books and seen only one movie. However, when something this incredible has been created and the boundaries are pushed, I've got to go. See you there...

(Images copyright Universal Studios Florida.)

Odds and Ends: Disney and More

Where to begin? There's not enough at this point in time for a single topic post, but there is just enough for a variety of comments regarding Disney news and More. So, with apologies to my friend Alain Littaye...

A return to the name Polynesian Village Resort? Great move. Usually when Disney suits play on nostalgia, it is accompanied by lots of retro merchandise. It's a clever way to acknowledge the buying power of long term fans, make a few bucks, and take their eye off the fact most of the Walt Disney World property is much ado about nothing compared to Universal Orlando. A demolished waterfall lobby? Bad news- no question. The iconic center and heart of the resort is now under wraps. And it is a tragedy. Not like real human loss, but it is an aesthetic loss to be sure. Trader Sam's whatever-they-are-going-to-call-it. Um, ok. If it's a great retro 60's thing, it may work well. I'll wait to see it for myself.

Michael Jackson. A previously unreleased track, Love Never Felt So Good is really... good, almost great. And why shouldn't it be? Either version, with or without Justin Timberlake, sparkles. The production is top notch, but it is Michael's understated vocals that pull no punches and set it apart. Recorded after the Off the Wall sessions in 1983, it fits on that disc, and it is instantly better and more danceable than anything off Thriller.

The glut of Christian themed films leaves me mixed. Noah plays nothing like the Biblical truth. Heaven is for Real entices with a great story, and Son of God puts in a good word for Jesus. Yet, if you really want to know what God has to say about Himself and the state of mankind, pick up a Bible and begin with the book of John in the New Testament. Don't rely on someone else- do your own reading, your own research, and make up your mind on your own. Your choice for all eternity is on the line. 

After a brief visit to the Disneyland Resort as few weeks ago, I am convinced that the California Kingdom is in much better shape than its counterpart in Florida. The hotels and Downtown Disney looked terrific- especially the shopping area's new Starbucks- and just a quick peek into California Adventure shows it to be a park with much potential now that there's been an awakening of sorts with its extensive remodel. I didn't do into either park, but I can guarantee Disneyland's once majestic Tomorrowland is still well overdue for a revisioning. 

Back on the East Coast, I am loving the look of the new Lion King theater at Animal Kingdom. Not only does it belong in Africa as it has from the opening of the park, it looks appropriately authentic. Let's just hope the crowds don't overwhelm the area of this already underdeveloped, low attractioned, but exceedingly beautiful theme park. It has all the potential to be my favorite park in Florida. But let's be honest, however beautiful Avatar / Pandora might be, it will not be enough. Rivers of Light will be a nice addition as it allows guests to tour in the evenings when the parks are usually their most beautiful, yet it still needs something. More charm, more hidden little attractions, something.

After seeing the completed Seven Dwarf's Mine Train and the effect is has on the entirely opened New Fantasyland, I am starting to think this Magic Kingdom may eventually surpass Disneyland in the beauty category. Not the attraction count or quality, not the shop and restaurant options, but the physical look of the place. The vast expanse of concrete that once was is now a beautiful, almost mesmerizing piece of placemaking. Even though there's fewer dark rides, the foliage is lush, and the opportunity to enter the worlds of Belle, Gaston, Ariel and Eric is hard to pass up. There's no New Orleans Square here and Liberty Square has lost some of its unique offerings, but Tomorrowland is much more cohesive in theme and execution- and it has the Transit Authority. However,  Adventureland is a mixed bag, but its made up in Frontierland by no pirates on Tom Sawyer Island and the venerable favorite, Country Bear Jamboree. 

The current state of Sports and Politics generally leaves me disgusted, so I'd best go back to the realm of entertainment...

The Voice's on the show's namesake are much more gifted this year than most of those found on American Idol. I'll miss Shakira, and I don't get Adam Levine's new blond do, but the judges are much more engaging than the three on Idol. I do like them individually, but the chemistry is not there.

Why The Voice can't build a superstar like Idol can is something I do not understand, but they have yet to produce a Carrie Underwood or even a Chris Daughtry. Or even an Elliott Yamin. (And what is he doing, by the way? The man can sing.) There's just not much else to enjoy on television, and Downton Abbey isn't back for another seven months. It's good. It's time to be outside anyway. 

There is one good thing on television these days- the commercials for the Harry Potter expansion at Universal Studios Florida. I've seen exactly one film and read none of the books, but my wife and I agree that our next visit to Florida will mean two days away from Disney so we can visit both the Studios and Islands of Adventure. The Mouse had better get going. Universal has upped the ante by adding attraction after attraction in a speed that Disney only uses for building out timeshares and new restaurants at Epcot. 

Oh, my beloved Epcot! What a shadow of its former glory. The Future World paint scheme does reveal how out of touch the suits are with the purpose of the park, trading its former glory for the latest trends in Disney films. Ratatouille in France? I don't believe it for a moment. Another bakery perhaps, but an attraction in World Showcase? Nope. Restaurants and bars are all they build there these days. And speaking of Ratatouille, what is it with building a French themed attraction in Paris? Isn't that akin to building a California themed park in California? ;)

Well, enough ranting. I'm going to go back and enjoy my family. Time passes much too quickly, and I have other places to explore. Our next trip will be to Switzerland and France- without a Disney castle in sight. I cannot wait!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Most photographs by Mark Taft.)

Universal Launches Next Strike With Diagon Alley

Disney may think the competition is light and friendly, but with Universal Orlando's Diagon Alley, it's clear Universal means to go for the jugular! With an exclusive presentation today, Universal Creative released an entire batch of fresh concept art for the new area at Universal Studios. I'm guessing that the new Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is just the next step in the battle between the two Orlando giants. From the looks of things, Universal will be getting two full days of my next Florida vacation. One for this park and one for the constantly improving  Islands of Adventure. It's time for the Disney suits to get serious. Blue aliens of Avatar and a beautiful but weak New Fantasyland are not enough to bring me back- and make me stay on the Disney soil as it was in days gone by. 

(Art copyright Universal Creative.)

Leaving Disney World Behind

Due to a stagnating Walt Disney World, my travel dollars this year are going to Europe. We haven't been to the World in 5 years, and there is nothing there that is drawing us back. And, as much as I love it, Disneyland Paris is not on the drawing boards as part of our visit. Not even the new Ratatouille attraction will pull me in. Perhaps when something is added to the original Paris kingdom, I will gladly return.

Our "home base" destination for Europe has already been established, and thanks to tons of miles from business trips, the flights are booked. I am not entirely sure exactly where we will end up, but I know it will be magical. 

How can a guest not explore any portion of the continent without feeling it? The wonderful main cities, the small quaint villages. New people, new experiences.

I'd suggest others follow my advice, and go elsewhere this year- even explore your own city. Until Disney gets we fans are serious about demanding more, they will continue to give us less.