As I talked about in my AVATAR opinion post, Lou Mongello had a few good points in his newscast video, so I thought I would share it with those who have not watched his newscast before. Make sure to check out all of Lou's videos and mass amounts of information on his site, www.wdwradio.com.
Showing posts with label Lou Mongello. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lou Mongello. Show all posts
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
My Say on "Avatar Land"
I've had people ask, so here it is, my opinion on yesterday's big announcment:
......................................
Yes, that's right, I don't have an opinion as of right now. Why you might ask? Well, for starters, I have never seen the movie Avatar! (Yea, I know, cone of shame and all that jazz) I just never found it over the top appealing or had a need to watch it. This announcement has certainly given me the motivation to watch it, and I plan to, hopefully as a group, but I will get to that later.
For those of you who are upset, I pose a question to you.....why?? It is not like groaning about it is going to change anything, Disney is going to do what they want and what they feel will be best overall for their park and company. A few griping guests is not going to change their mind. And besides, even if you decide to never set foot on "Avatar Land", it's not like you will stop giving them money in other ways.
The addition of this land to Animal Kingdom completes the original plans of the park. Creatures of the past, present and fantasy were to be represented within the park and, while many have said they would have rather seen the originally planned Beastly Kingdom, "Avatar Land" does fit the bill for this category.
Ok, before I continue, I do have to give my one actual beef with the whole announcement. I am really, REALLY hoping that "Avatar Land" is a working title for the project and not what it will actually be called, because it's kinda lame and WDI can do better than that.
Ok, moving on...
For those griping about Disney pulling ideas from outside sources, Lou Mongello pointed out that Disney has been doing this FOREVER! Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, it's not like those are original stories from the mind of Walt, he just put his spin on the classic story. Disney has found a story they believe will stand the test of time and have come up with ways to incorporate the story into the parks. Lou also made the point that Cameron, like the people at Disney, is a story teller and will do what he can to stand by a story. We must remember, this is not just some ho-hum director getting with a mediocre theme park, this is James Cameron and his imagination getting with the talents and imaginations of the Disney imagineers, the guys who get paid to imagine! Combining these elements and getting a ho-hum result just seems illogical. Once Lou gets this week's newscast up, I will post it here for you to enjoy and hopefully to help some see the pros and optimistic side of this endeavor.
A practical reason for putting this update in Animal Kingdom? It needs it BADLY! This park is considered by many to be merely a half-day park with very few E-ticket attractions. Guests have been calling for an addition to this park for a long time now it has finally come to be! This could even open the opportunity for extended park hours in Animal Kingdom, especially if the plans for the land call for some kind of glowing forest! They could close the safari earlier so that the animals will be taken care of, but leave the rest of the park open later for more experience. Plus, the opening of this area will give the E-ticket potential and distraction needed to put Expedition Everest under refurb and allow for the much needed fix for the Disco Yeti problem! (For those unaware, the short of it is that the Yeti in the attraction was way cool until his foundation broke causing him not to be able to function properly and the only way to remedy the situation is to shut the entire ride down for months in order to break through the main foundations to the Yeti foundation, repair it and fix the other foundations again.)
Why was this not announced at the D23 Expo last month? This is all merely speculation by the way, but my first idea was that they did not want to cause major outrage at the Expo like what was seen at the announcement and through social media. I don't think they were prepared for a riot at the Expo. Another thought, and one I actually stand by moreso, they were going to announce it, but pulled it out of the show at the last second. They were prepared to announce it during the Parks and Resorts event, but there were negotiations going on still, so when the Expo came up ad they negotiations were not finished, they pulled the announcement. This would explain the sudden cut of the Parks and Resorts program by a half an hour days before the Expo.
I know there is a lot here, I am just trying to help people see what could be the positives of this announcement, even if they are not fans of the movie. As soon as change is announced, people tend to immediately get upset about it, but we really have nothing to get upset about right now. There are no plans, we have no idea what they are going to start building since they wont be moving any dirt until 2013, so there is plenty of time to be calm and think about the possibilities before having to freak out. Remember Magic, Memories and You; people freaked when that was announced, talking about how dumb it was and being negative, but now it is really a beloved feature of the parks and a great show of technology.
The biggest realization of this whole thing: This is Disney we are talking about!! Haven't they earned our trust by now? Yes, the Pepto-Bismol castle, Stitch's SuperSonic Celebration and the second iteration of Journey into Imagination were a few dark spots, but I think they're positive decisions FAR outweigh the negative ones. For now, I am putting my trust in Disney to plan something spectacular.
......................................
Yes, that's right, I don't have an opinion as of right now. Why you might ask? Well, for starters, I have never seen the movie Avatar! (Yea, I know, cone of shame and all that jazz) I just never found it over the top appealing or had a need to watch it. This announcement has certainly given me the motivation to watch it, and I plan to, hopefully as a group, but I will get to that later.
For those of you who are upset, I pose a question to you.....why?? It is not like groaning about it is going to change anything, Disney is going to do what they want and what they feel will be best overall for their park and company. A few griping guests is not going to change their mind. And besides, even if you decide to never set foot on "Avatar Land", it's not like you will stop giving them money in other ways.
The addition of this land to Animal Kingdom completes the original plans of the park. Creatures of the past, present and fantasy were to be represented within the park and, while many have said they would have rather seen the originally planned Beastly Kingdom, "Avatar Land" does fit the bill for this category.
Ok, before I continue, I do have to give my one actual beef with the whole announcement. I am really, REALLY hoping that "Avatar Land" is a working title for the project and not what it will actually be called, because it's kinda lame and WDI can do better than that.
Ok, moving on...
For those griping about Disney pulling ideas from outside sources, Lou Mongello pointed out that Disney has been doing this FOREVER! Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, it's not like those are original stories from the mind of Walt, he just put his spin on the classic story. Disney has found a story they believe will stand the test of time and have come up with ways to incorporate the story into the parks. Lou also made the point that Cameron, like the people at Disney, is a story teller and will do what he can to stand by a story. We must remember, this is not just some ho-hum director getting with a mediocre theme park, this is James Cameron and his imagination getting with the talents and imaginations of the Disney imagineers, the guys who get paid to imagine! Combining these elements and getting a ho-hum result just seems illogical. Once Lou gets this week's newscast up, I will post it here for you to enjoy and hopefully to help some see the pros and optimistic side of this endeavor.
A practical reason for putting this update in Animal Kingdom? It needs it BADLY! This park is considered by many to be merely a half-day park with very few E-ticket attractions. Guests have been calling for an addition to this park for a long time now it has finally come to be! This could even open the opportunity for extended park hours in Animal Kingdom, especially if the plans for the land call for some kind of glowing forest! They could close the safari earlier so that the animals will be taken care of, but leave the rest of the park open later for more experience. Plus, the opening of this area will give the E-ticket potential and distraction needed to put Expedition Everest under refurb and allow for the much needed fix for the Disco Yeti problem! (For those unaware, the short of it is that the Yeti in the attraction was way cool until his foundation broke causing him not to be able to function properly and the only way to remedy the situation is to shut the entire ride down for months in order to break through the main foundations to the Yeti foundation, repair it and fix the other foundations again.)
Why was this not announced at the D23 Expo last month? This is all merely speculation by the way, but my first idea was that they did not want to cause major outrage at the Expo like what was seen at the announcement and through social media. I don't think they were prepared for a riot at the Expo. Another thought, and one I actually stand by moreso, they were going to announce it, but pulled it out of the show at the last second. They were prepared to announce it during the Parks and Resorts event, but there were negotiations going on still, so when the Expo came up ad they negotiations were not finished, they pulled the announcement. This would explain the sudden cut of the Parks and Resorts program by a half an hour days before the Expo.
I know there is a lot here, I am just trying to help people see what could be the positives of this announcement, even if they are not fans of the movie. As soon as change is announced, people tend to immediately get upset about it, but we really have nothing to get upset about right now. There are no plans, we have no idea what they are going to start building since they wont be moving any dirt until 2013, so there is plenty of time to be calm and think about the possibilities before having to freak out. Remember Magic, Memories and You; people freaked when that was announced, talking about how dumb it was and being negative, but now it is really a beloved feature of the parks and a great show of technology.
The biggest realization of this whole thing: This is Disney we are talking about!! Haven't they earned our trust by now? Yes, the Pepto-Bismol castle, Stitch's SuperSonic Celebration and the second iteration of Journey into Imagination were a few dark spots, but I think they're positive decisions FAR outweigh the negative ones. For now, I am putting my trust in Disney to plan something spectacular.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
My Californian Adventure
Two years ago this September, for four days, I was glued to my computer as Lou Mongello and some people who I recognized from their twitter names told me about what was said and done at the first ever D23 Expo.
This time tomorrow, I will be on a plane heading to Anaheim, California to meet Lou Mongello and Tim Foster there, among many of my very good friends who I have met because of twitter, to be at the Second D23 Expo.
Wow how things do change in two years!!!
That's right, instead of just writing posts about what happens, I will be tweeting live from the D23 Expo as major announcements occur! I will be there, in the Convention Center for all three days of Expo, covering events and the happenings within the Collector's Forum from the most happening booth there, the MEI/Mousefan, WDW Radio and Celebrations Magazine booth!
Besides all of that excitement, I will also be visiting the Disneyland Resort for the first time in my life! I will tweet pictures and my reactions to the parks as well as collect lots of video to be edited for Youtube viewing in the (hopefully) near future!
Want to follow my California shenanigans? Follow me on twitter at twitter.com/lady_aurora as well as my tweets from the Celebrations Magazine twitter at twitter.com/celebrationsmag. Celebrations is also on facebook at facebook.com/celebrationsmag.
This time tomorrow, I will be on a plane heading to Anaheim, California to meet Lou Mongello and Tim Foster there, among many of my very good friends who I have met because of twitter, to be at the Second D23 Expo.
Wow how things do change in two years!!!
That's right, instead of just writing posts about what happens, I will be tweeting live from the D23 Expo as major announcements occur! I will be there, in the Convention Center for all three days of Expo, covering events and the happenings within the Collector's Forum from the most happening booth there, the MEI/Mousefan, WDW Radio and Celebrations Magazine booth!
Besides all of that excitement, I will also be visiting the Disneyland Resort for the first time in my life! I will tweet pictures and my reactions to the parks as well as collect lots of video to be edited for Youtube viewing in the (hopefully) near future!
Want to follow my California shenanigans? Follow me on twitter at twitter.com/lady_aurora as well as my tweets from the Celebrations Magazine twitter at twitter.com/celebrationsmag. Celebrations is also on facebook at facebook.com/celebrationsmag.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Weekly DDL Post
This week on The Disney Driven Life, I wrote a post about a "Meet of the Minds" featuring some of our favorite Disney authors! Find out who some of them are and where they met by reading my article here!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Relive Toontown Every Day!
Just the other day, we lost a great place in Walt Disney World, a fun spot for children to have fun and run around the town where their favorites characters live; Mickey's Toontown Fair! Will you be missing Toontown? I know I will be! But there is something out there that can help you relive your walks through Toontown over and over again while giving you some amazing details! The Mickey's Toontown Fair Audio Guide by Lou Mongello!
I got this audio guide and I absolutely love it!! The sounds make you feel like you are really walking down the street by Mickey's house! The descriptions and details that Lou tells you about give the history of the amazing land and will make you remember your good times there!
If you are missing Toontown as much as I am, get Lou's audio guide and relive the magic! Click Here to order the Toontown Guide today!!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Wonderful World of Disney Web- November 22 to November 28
The schedule this week is pretty small, everyone is taking off this week for the Thanksgiving Holiday here in the USA. There are a couple things that I am aware of to report however!
Monday, November 22
This is all that I know of schedule wise for this week. If you know of anything else and would like for me to post it on the WWDW link on the top of my blog, comment below or send me an email! Have a magical week and for all my fellow Americans, Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 22
- 1:00 PM Eastern- Cosmic Reid's Starlight Cafe- Listen at www.magicalmouseradio.com for 90 minutes of great Disney music and AMAZING Disney interviews hosted by "Cosmic" Chris Reid! You can join his chatroom during the show as well at http://cosmicreid.com/
- 7:30 PM Eastern- WDW Radio NewsCast- Lou Mongello fills you in on all of the lastest Disney news live via webcam. Click Here to find out more about NewsCast and Go to http://WDWNewsCast.com to join in the NewsCast live!
- USA Thanksgiving!
This is all that I know of schedule wise for this week. If you know of anything else and would like for me to post it on the WWDW link on the top of my blog, comment below or send me an email! Have a magical week and for all my fellow Americans, Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
D23 Expo away from the Expo
If you are like me and are not one of the incredibly lucky people who are at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, you are trying to find every internet source possible to get information about it. I thought I would help you all out by putting some of the popular links I have up here on the blog. If you know of any that I do not have, please post them in the comments, as I am trying to follow every source I can get my hands on!!
Lou Mongello's Live Cam - Lou Mongello is hosting a LIVE cam from his pavilion on the Collectors Forum floor at the Expo! He has had many people stop by already to say hi to the cam and him and his wife update the people watching on what is going on! Check the cam out and feel free to chat and ask questions in the chatroom that is there!
Disney D23 Official Site- They have tons of information about the Expo, including pictures and schedules of all of the events going on this weekend!
AllEarsNet Updates- Deb from allears.net will be tweeting and updating blogs from the conference! Check out all hear info at the site.
The Glamorous Life Association- This site has tons of great pictures from the conference! Make sure to check them out!
Magic Never Ends Blog- Will has an awesome list compiled of D23 attendees, some of them I do not have on here, so make sure to check it out!! His blog is awesome to boot, so look around!
Again, if any of you know of any more sites, please send them my way or post them in the comments. I know there has to be more than this!!!
Lou Mongello's Live Cam - Lou Mongello is hosting a LIVE cam from his pavilion on the Collectors Forum floor at the Expo! He has had many people stop by already to say hi to the cam and him and his wife update the people watching on what is going on! Check the cam out and feel free to chat and ask questions in the chatroom that is there!
Disney D23 Official Site- They have tons of information about the Expo, including pictures and schedules of all of the events going on this weekend!
AllEarsNet Updates- Deb from allears.net will be tweeting and updating blogs from the conference! Check out all hear info at the site.
The Glamorous Life Association- This site has tons of great pictures from the conference! Make sure to check them out!
Magic Never Ends Blog- Will has an awesome list compiled of D23 attendees, some of them I do not have on here, so make sure to check it out!! His blog is awesome to boot, so look around!
Twitter users who are tweeting information and pictures from the Expo:
Stitch Kingdom
Disney 23
AllEars.net D23Expo
Disney Parks
Lou Mongello
Justin Muchoney
Stitch Kingdom
Disney 23
AllEars.net D23Expo
Disney Parks
Lou Mongello
Justin Muchoney
Greg Sorvig
Walt Disney Animation
Disney's Family.com
Tom Corless (WDWNT)
Finding Mickey
Touring Plans
Michael Crawford (ProgressCityUSA)
Scott Donahue (WDW Daily News)
Debra Alexandre (Mystic DDA)
Disneyland News
Cody Smith (gdp_D23)
Marcy Massura (Theglamlife)
Marc Lorenzo (marcmantoo)
Walt Disney Animation
Disney's Family.com
Tom Corless (WDWNT)
Finding Mickey
Touring Plans
Michael Crawford (ProgressCityUSA)
Scott Donahue (WDW Daily News)
Debra Alexandre (Mystic DDA)
Disneyland News
Cody Smith (gdp_D23)
Marcy Massura (Theglamlife)
Marc Lorenzo (marcmantoo)
Again, if any of you know of any more sites, please send them my way or post them in the comments. I know there has to be more than this!!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Well Known Names Getting Billing at D23 Expo
If you a Disney fan, there are some names that are synonymous with being a fan. I mean, obviously there's Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, but there are other names also, the names that help bring the magic to you at home; names like Lou Mongello, host of the WDW Radio Show and author of the Walt Disney World Trivia Books, and Steven Barrett, author of the Hidden Mickeys Guide. Both of these outstanding gentlemen are out in Anaheim as I write this, getting ready for their debuts at Disney's First D23 Expo!
Both authors will have their own booth at the Collectors' Forum, where all attendees of the Expo will
be able to walk around the various showcases and see what each has to offer. For D23 members, the Collectors' Forum is open every day from 8am to 5pm while for non-D23 attendees of the Expo are able to view the Forum from 9am to 5pm daily.
Steven Barrett will be at his table throughout the event, signing copies of his books; his Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys just released its 4th edition while his Disneyland Hidden Mickeys Guide released its 2nd edition. He also is looking forward to meeting some of the people who helped him uncover hidden mickeys for his Disneyland book.
Lou Mongello will not only be promoting his Walt Disney World Trivia Books, his WDW Radio Show and his Walt Disney World Audio Guides, but he will also be promoting the newest undertaking of his and co-editor Tim Foster's (Author of Guide to the Magic), the Celebrations Magazine. Lou is looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing his experiences not only with the attendees, but using the gift of technology to share it with all of us non-attendees that follow him on facebook, twitter (@loumongello) and on his website.
Both authors will have their own booth at the Collectors' Forum, where all attendees of the Expo will
be able to walk around the various showcases and see what each has to offer. For D23 members, the Collectors' Forum is open every day from 8am to 5pm while for non-D23 attendees of the Expo are able to view the Forum from 9am to 5pm daily.Steven Barrett will be at his table throughout the event, signing copies of his books; his Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys just released its 4th edition while his Disneyland Hidden Mickeys Guide released its 2nd edition. He also is looking forward to meeting some of the people who helped him uncover hidden mickeys for his Disneyland book.
Lou Mongello will not only be promoting his Walt Disney World Trivia Books, his WDW Radio Show and his Walt Disney World Audio Guides, but he will also be promoting the newest undertaking of his and co-editor Tim Foster's (Author of Guide to the Magic), the Celebrations Magazine. Lou is looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing his experiences not only with the attendees, but using the gift of technology to share it with all of us non-attendees that follow him on facebook, twitter (@loumongello) and on his website.
To Visit Lou Mongello's Website, go to www.wdwradio.com
To check out or subscribe to Celebrations Magazine, go to www.celebrationspress.com or click the magazine cover on the side bar of my blog.
To visit Steven Barrett's Website, visit www.hiddenmickeysguide.com
For more information on Barrett's new books, check out www.theotherorlando.com/hm4.html
To check out or subscribe to Celebrations Magazine, go to www.celebrationspress.com or click the magazine cover on the side bar of my blog.
To visit Steven Barrett's Website, visit www.hiddenmickeysguide.com
For more information on Barrett's new books, check out www.theotherorlando.com/hm4.html
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