Countdown of the Top 5 Best Shrinking Attractions that have been at the Disneyworld Resorts

Number 5 

 A Bug's Land 2002- Present

Designed as a land where you are the size of a bug from A Bug's Life--this area of DCA was a much needed addition at the time it opened in 2002.  When DCA opened it had wine tasting, a Wolfgang Puck's  restaurant and a beer wagon, but not a whole lot for the really little kids to do.  A Bug's Land was the answer and features 4 rides for the wee ones.  

Number 4

2015   Ant-Man  Sneak Peek

In the It's Tough to be a Bug 4-D Theater they recently had a sneak Peek for Ant-Man.  This was the perfect setting for this look into the shrunken down world from Ant-Man's point of view.  The sneak peek featured cool 4-D effects and was a cool temporary addition to the parks in promotion of the movie.

Number 3

1998 -2010  Honey I Shrunk the Audience

This 4-D movie was in the Captain EO Theater in Tomorrowland and was a blast.  Following as an extension of the Honey I Shrunk movie series and featuring Rick Moranis (SCTV) and Eric Idle (Monty Python) it was a cool idea for a 4-D experience as the shrink ray shrunk the entire audience and included a cool scene where a toddler picked up the shrunken theater which shook when he did this.  

Number 2

Body Wars   1989 -2007

A lot of people hated this ride that used to be in the now long gone Wonders of Life Pavilion at Epcot.  It was based on the same ride system as Star Tours and shrunk your craft down to the size small enough to fit inside the human body.  I enjoyed it the one time I got to go on it right after it opened ---It made a lot of people sick however as the adventure inside the body was a little wilder than would have liked.

1967-1985   Adventures Thru Innerspace

This is by far my favorite Shrinking Attraction.  I used to love this ride as a kid.  It shrunk you down to the size of the atom and took you on a slow moving Omni-mover ride shrinking you and shrinking you.  I'm sure it would probably seem cheesy now--but back in its day it was a classic and the audio which you can find online featuring Paul Frees still makes me smile to this day.

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3 Interesting Dates on Closed Attraction schedule that could have a Star Wars Connection.

3 Interesting Dates on  Closed Attraction schedule that could have a Star Wars Connection.

 I still have Star Wars on the brain after the big D23 announcement.   I went online today because I was thinking about how non specific they were regarding the dates  for Star Wars related happenings at the park .  I thought I’d check and see if the Blue Sky Cellar was listed anywhere –since it has been closed for quite awhile.    Not only did I see a listing for it –but several other Ride Closure updates caught my attention.  Here is a link to one of the sites that shows the ride closures and openings.

http://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/closures

1.        Innoventions has been closed since before March of this year and at D23 we found out why……Star Wars Launching Bay and Mavel Superhero HQ is going in.   Innoventions is currently listed as Reopening on 10/01/2015…….So we may be getting the Star Wars Launching Bay in slightly over a month.  This is truly exciting.

2.       Blue Sky Cellar is scheduled to reopen on 10/03/2015…….This means that we could start to see some peeks up close and in personal of what is coming with Star Wars Land like we did before Carsland went in at DCA.

3.       The last listed attraction closure and reopening is the Tomorrowland Theater:   It shows as being closed from 06/8/2015 (last is when Tomorrowland sneak peek ended)  It is listed as reopening on 12/02/2012.   If you do the math –that is about 16days before The Force Awakens opens in theaters. I know I said that it probably wouldn't happen---since Avengers didn't get a sneak peek and Star Wars is a even bigger movie and probably doesn't need the extra advertising.....but if it doesn't I'll be there all day watching it.

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4 Star Wars things to look forward to at Disneyland until Star Wars Land is built.

Star Wars Land was finally  been announced for Disneyland and Disney Studios.   Now we  just have to wait for it to be built.   (Where’s my Delorean when I need it)  

I'll talk about  Star Wars Land itself in a different blog…… but in this blog I'd like to discuss what we will get until then.

The announcement of a Star Wars Land –was expected and is truly exciting –but just makes us want to know more because the details are vague.    I have always dreamed of a Star Wars theme park and have discussed my ultimate vision for one years ago before  Disney even bought  Star Wars.  A full Star Wars theme park has always been a pipe dream---I’m just thrilled that at least we are getting a land.

Here is link to my old blog. (Recently reposted)
http://braddisneylandblog.blogspot.com/2015/10/my-ideas-for-star-wars-casino-and-theme.html

With the Force Awakens hitting theaters this December and a Star Wars Land now officially in the works Disney knows that  people are going to be chomping at the bit until this new land opens.    

 So wisely they have plans to give us more Star Wars while we wait. 

  Here are the 4 things we can look forward to in the near future……while we wait for Star Wars land to be built

1.  Star Wars Launch Bay:    Innoventions is going to basically have an entire floor dedicated to Star Wars.  News out of D23 and the Disney Parks Blog describes the Launch Bay as an experience that will take guests into the Force Awakens with exhibits and behind the scenes looks.   It will have special merchandise and  Star Wars characters.   This is exciting news!!!     When I went to the Star Wars Celebration earlier this year---I thought  that the Force Awakens exhibit should just make its way across the street to Disneyland …..I guess Disney agrees and is bringing us an extra floor full of Star Wars to the Innoventions building.   No specific date was given for when this will open.     I would assume that it will open right around when the film is going to come out in December.

  

2.    Jedi Academy is getting updates.

Darth Maul will likely be replaced with one of the Villains from Season 2 of Rebels

This popular experience for young kids (that every Star Wars fan my age wishes they could be a part of as well)  will be getting an update that will feature characters from the excellent Star Wars Rebels animated series.  The second season of this show should be hitting Disney XD sometime this fall.  I would assume the changes to the Jedi Academy will accompany that shows return.

3.   A new adventure added to  Star Tours:

The Disney Parks blog says " Later this year, Star Tour - The Adventure Continues will include a new adventure"      It will supposedly feature locations and character from The Force Awakens.   No specific date has been given, but this will most likely occur right around the release of the new film

4.   Season of the Force:  
This sounds like a Star Wars version of when Disneyland decorates for the holidays.   It is described as a new seasonal event that will start in early 2016.    This is super exciting for the West Coast Disneyland Star Wars fans that have been begging for something like Star Wars weekends which occur every year in Orlando.    Guests to the park during this event will get a taste of some special Star Wars entertainment  that will include food locations and much more......The Disneyland version will include Hyperspace Mountain:  a Star Wars Overlay to Space Mountain that will include effects and a John Williams soundtrack  (Dream do come true).  Why didn't they think of this earlier.

So while we patiently wait a couple of years for Star Wars Land to be built there is a lot to look forward to.

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Descendants 2015 6 out of 10 (Disney Channel Movie #2)

Descendants 2015  6 out of 10

It was family movie night and my stepdaughter wanted to watch the direct to Disney channel movie Descendants.  It was a well done yet predictable direct to TV Disney movie.   The movie is a fun musical take on the famous Disney heroes and villains from the the animated movies.  It takes place in a world where The Beast from Beauty and the Beast has united all of the kingdoms and expelled the villains to live on a remote Isle of the Lost.   His son Ben will be taking over as king and as one of his first acts decides to grant the villains children a chance to attend school with the heroes kids. 

The Movie itself:

(Spoiler)    The movie is predictable in that the bad kids will of course end up good in the end  (you never really feel like they are actually bad).   The movie features the sons and daughters of the Evil Queen from Snow White, Cruella Devil, Jafar and Maleficent.  Even though it is clear where this movie is going from the beginning the fun in the film comes from Dove Cameron who plays the main character Mal (daughter of Maleficent).  Dove Cameron is a true talent and shines in this movie. 

 She has an IT quality like Lindsey Lohan did (before she went crazy party girl) Dove especially shines when opposite one of her idols Kristin Chenoweth who plays her evil mother. 

  

The music :

The music and dance numbers are good but not Disney animated great,  with the exception of the duet between Maleficent and her daughter Mal, which is top notch.   The dance numbers were great especially the opening number that introduces the characters and the finale.  As Disney channel movies go it was a fun watch with the kids . They enjoyed the film and I would recommend it for the family.  It was a fun an interesting world that I could see some interesting stories told in.    I personally would have liked it more if it hadn't been so predictable from the beginning.  It lacked tension that could have made it a better movie.

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A Disney Attraction Review: Lights. Motors, Action 8 out of 10

Lights, Motors, Action  Extreme Stunt Show

While at Disney Studios we went to see the Lights, Motor Action stunt show which is a basically a stunt show featuring cars.  I had never seen this before (I think it opened right after my last visit to the parks)

It was interesting to see something other than the typical fall off of the top of the building stunts -but there is really only so much you can do with cars in such a small setting.  I like that they were able to show you how the stunts they shot were able to be edited into the exciting scenes you see in the movies and give you a look at how some of the cool stunts were done.

Herbie the Love Bug step aside as the fan favorite car of boys these days is Lightning McQueen.  They had a cool life size version in as a small part of the show. Which the audience really responded to.

After Lightning left it was back to the action in more car chases.  This stunt show has a lot of testosterone and I think it is a safe bet that if you are a car person you will enjoy this show.   

A stuntman on fire is always exciting

 There were motor cycle jumps

The jet ski scene I could have done without....(It gave me flashbacks of Universal's lackluster Waterworld show)

The finale scene was really great and luckily I was able to get a picture just as the car was going through the flames

Take a bow gentlemen

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"Extra, Extra Read all about it" Mickey Mouse on Buena Vista Street in DCA

"Extra, Extra  Read all about it"   The Streets are buzzing with news that a Mouse has arrived to takeover Hollywood on Buena Vista Street.

He has arrived to take apart in a celebration :

The Carthay Circle is all decked out for the occasion. Something about a 60th anniversary.

The Citizens of Buena Vista street are talking all about it.

We had a cameraman on the scene to capture the arrival of this Mouse.   Rumor has it that big things are going to happen for him in Hollywood.

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