April 12th Trip Report

Had a chance to visit TDL on Easter Sunday, April 12th. It also happened to be the final weekend of the 25th Anniversary celebrations. It was a warm day and a Japanese friend of mine was able to save a space right in front of the gates. A little later, SuperDry and his friend came by and we spent some time together.

Once the gates opened, we confirmed that Monsters, Inc. was closed to general Guests but open to contest winners and other promotional event Guests. We made our way to Tomorrowland Hall and won lottery tickets for the first performance Dreams Within, the Castle stage show. We watched the show and at the end and noticed the lackluster reaction of the Guests. The show is not one of my favorites at all.

We rode a number of attractions, then had lunch at Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. I had the "hamburg" steak patty with rice and veggies. Later, SuperDry and I went to TDS to film The Legend of Mythica from the Roman Bridge and the foot of Mt. Prometheus. We got some pretty good angles of all the floats entering and leaving the harbor.

The picture posted above is of Bon Voyage and its wall poster sign. They were recently painted after years of being faded. They look quite nice! I left the Resort right after watching Mythica.

Attraction tally for today: Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (twice), Big Thunder Mountain.

Show tally: Dreams Within, The Legend of Mythica

Restaurant tally: Captain Hook's Galley, Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall

Jolly Trolley's Final Run

The Jolly Trolley had its final run last Tuesday, April 14th. The Toontown attraction closed permanently after 13 years with a tribute from its many Cast Members and Guest. The day was marred by rain but that didn't stop more than 100 people waiting until half an hour after the Park closed to see the two trolley trains taken into the barn. We have full coverage with pictures and video of the final moments.

The train that ran from Mickey Avenue to Downtown Toontown was reportedly closed because of safety issues and operational costs. The ride opened along with the Toontown premiere on April 15th, 1996. The last TDL attraction to close was Starcade in Novermber 2007 and the next one scheduled to close is Mickey Mouse Revue on May 25th.

Monsters, Inc. Attraction Media Day

Wednesday, April 9th was the first media preview day for Monsters, Inc. "Ride & Go Seek!" The first new TDL attraction to open in five years opens officially on April 15th for the Park's 26th Anniversary. The new merchandise shop was also open for the press.

The ride has been opened for public sneak previews since March 19th. It was closed on this day to give media outlets a chance to cover the new ride. There were also several media crews filming feature spots for upcoming variety and morning programs for Japanese television. More pictures are available on the Japanese site of MSN/Sankei News.

A poster on Micechat.com has added pictures from her visit that day. It also features new merchandise being sold ahead of the official opening.

Alain Littaye's Tribute to "Journey to the Center of the Earth" Attraction Designer

In the latest Disney and More blog post, Alain Littaye pays tribute to Tom "Thor" Thordarson and his artwork for the popular DisneySea attraction Journey to the Center of the Earth. He also had a hand in another Mysterious Island attraction 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea during his time as a Director/Senior Concept Designer for WDI.

Thordarson's concept art for the attraction is on display at the site as well as a few comments from the artist himself. It also features pictures of his team exploring real caverns and models of what would become two of TDS's premiere attractions!