Autographed Vinylmations

First of all, I just want to say a big thanks to all those who read and retweeted my last post on Podcasts. This was my most read blog post since the Muppets blog post and I also got a lot of great feedback from the hosts of the podcasts that I talked about; so thanks. It means a lot whenever I get feedback or a retweet, so please feel free to do either or why not be adventurous and try both!!

Now back on subject, how many of you Disney fans have a bunch of these?

And hands up, who has them shoved away in some drawer somewhere, never looked at again, because despite having carried them and pens around for the entire vacation, once you have gotten home, there’s not a whole lot you can do with them.

Unfortunately, while collecting autographs on a Disney vacation is fun at the time, the format for doing so is pretty boring; the books are pretty generic (a few here are the same book bought years apart), you rarely if ever look through them again and unless the character you meet makes an extra effort in the signing, the signatures are pretty standard and could be from any of the 5+ time you’ve met Mickey that trip. Most of all, because they are not really displayable, other than stacked up on a bookshelf, they become forgotten about very quickly. In fact, if it weren’t for the little clues here and there (or proper labelling on the “my details” page), I would have a hard time working out which book was from which holiday; they have no charisma and little individuality.

I first tried something a little bit different in 2006 on our first family trip to Walt Disney World. Gage still had his autograph book, but I went with a pack of scrapbook background cards. Tara, at the time, was operating a scrapbooking supplies home business, so I knew we would be making a scrapbook of this holiday; and having the autographs directly on the right papers meant they could be added straight in. While this doesn’t get looked at a great deal either, because the scrapbook too just sits on a shelf with a bunch of them; at least when looked at, the autograph can be easily linked to the picture and some memory of obtaining it.

It wasn’t until the summer 2010 Disneyland Paris trip that I got experimental again. At a recent WDW Radio event, a whole bunch of fans and friends had signed a plain white 9” Vinylmation figure which was given to Lou as a memento and I thought it was a cool idea; so why not try it in the parks with characters.

For those who have no idea, I should explain what a Vinylmation figure is. Basically it is a vinyl figurine in a caricature shape of Mickey Mouse; however it is rarely painted to feature Mickey himself and is instead used as a 3D canvas for other art and designs. Usually 3” tall, these are released in themed collections as blind boxes, to add the element of luck and to encourage trading. The original Vinylmation shape design was very Mickey orientated, however recent changes to the design have taken out some of the elements that were being a bit pesky for the designers such as his nub nose and shorts buttons as well as indented lines that shaped around his face and separated his shorts from torso; while still obviously Mickey (because of the ears), it is now a far more generic canvas than previously. To learn more about Vinylmation you can check out the wiki page or these Vinylmation orientated websites:

Now I should give a spoiler alert here; I will be breaking kayfabe, so if you believe everything in Disney park is real, please stop reading here.

Still with me?

So its August 2010 and we have just arrived at Disneyland Paris. We check in at the Newport Bay Club and I buy a 9” plain white Vinylmation from the gift shop; I had brought a nice selection of coloured sharpie markers with me in preparation. From there we head off to Café Mickey where we have a birthday meal booked for Gage. As the characters come around I present them with the figure to sign rather than the standard book, and while there is some hesitation on their part, the experiment is under way. Now I should say from the start, that if you are a perfectionist, then doing this isn’t for you. The 3D shape of the object makes it hard for characters to both hold and sign, especially for those with gloves or mittens; and with the vision impairment there will often be clashing of signatures as misjudgements of size or direction are frequent. I think it is mostly a case of practice; character performers are so used to the standard flat book of a certain size for holding and signing, that they can do it without proper vision, much like typing on a keyboard; this changes everything. But while the signatures are usually not perfect, it is their imperfection that makes them and the finished keepsake both unique and memorable. Unfortunately, some characters, sometimes, either cannot or will not sign a Vinylmation; this can be because they do not feel confident enough to do it and themselves do not want to give a non perfect signature, because they cannot hold it themselves (Eeyore being a prime example), or because they usually use a stamp (like Buzz Lightyear) and you can’t stamp a 3D object. The key is persistence and good humoured begging, either with the character to solve the problem (such as holding it for Eeyore in his vision line so he can sign it); or to try again the next time you meet the character as it often comes down to performer capability or willingness.

And so here are the results of this first experiment and I was very happy with them. Yes, it’s was harder to carry around and it takes a little extra care as you don’t want to get it dirty or smudge the wet marker pens; but the end result was so much more charming than the book. Whenever a character handler would see us with it, they would comment on what a wonderful idea it was; people in line with us would also often comment, and those characters that could communicate would see it being signed by others and actually ask if they could sign it next with genuine excitement. Snow White kissed him on the nose; hence the pinkish smudge.

Signed by: Mickey, Jack Sparrow, Captain Hook, Mulan, Jasmine, Aladdin, Snow White, Eeyore, Dopey, Tigger, Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, Emile, Ariel, Tiana, Minnie, Goofy, Woody, Aurora, Chip & Dale, Tic & Tac, Pluto, Scrooge McDuck, Stitch, Lilo, Mary Poppins, Bert, The Genie, Price Philip, Smee, Daisy, Donald, Jessie, Remy, Pinocchio, Geppetto, Naveen & Belle

Most of all though, this didn’t come home and get put in a cupboard with the other autograph books. I decided at the beginning to write the holiday destination and the date in the front facing ears and also to have it hold a pen from the park which features either the year or the celebration theme of the time further identifying it; and so this became something that could be displayed and would stand out as a constant reminder of the trip. The only rule I had about it, was that I would only get one signature from each character; otherwise it would end up having lots of Mickeys, Goofys and Plutos on it and not much room for others (although in France I have gained two autographs from characters with French and English names)

A few months later, over Christmas and New Year, we went on a trip that involved a few days at Walt Disney World and a trip on the Disney Wonder cruise ship. Again I went with the Vinylmation to get signed, and again we were told time after time what a cool idea it was; apart from one CM on the ship who every time he saw me getting it signed said that I should hand it in to guest services and it would be signed and returned. While I understood his point, as obviously not rushed and out of costume the signatures would come back in a much more perfect condition, to me it was not the point as the whole point was to have this as a memory maker, not just something that was delivered completed; besides, that same handler had no qualms with signing it himself while in costume as Captain Jack Sparrow on Pirate Night.

Signed by: Mickey, Minnie, Woody, Pooh, Tiana, Thumper, Ariel, Eeyore, Mr Incredible, Goofy, Captain Hook, Belle, Jack Sparrow, Daisy, Handy Manny, Peter Pan, Snow White, Stitch, Pocahontas, Pluto, Duffy, Donald, Jasmine, Aladdin, Tigger, Lotso, Chip & Dale, Buzz, Lilo, Aurora, Piglet, Miss Bunny, Mulan, Frozone, Marie & Cinderella

By the end of this trip, it had become obvious to me that, for us, this was the preferred way of collecting autographs; it was fun, different and most of all memorable and had an a place after the trip; the autograph book was a thing of the past.

2011 saw our mammoth Disney adventure and given that this was my first real trip to Disneyland, and with the only one signature from each character rule, I didn’t want to go there with full Vinylmation and not make any memories there. So the only alternative was to split this trip up, a Vinylmation for Walt Disney World, one for the D23 Expo, and one for Disneyland; thus growing the collection by 150% in 3 weeks.

The WDW vinyl from this trip is probably my favourite looking of all them, it’s full, it’s colourful and features a lot of autographs that feature on no others.

Signed by: Mickey, Donald, Buzz, Cinderella, Daisy, Tinkerbelle, Rapunzel, Alice, Snow White, Tigger, Duffy, Belle, Jessie, Pluto, Phineas, Ferb, Pooh, Jasmine, Thumper, Oso, Minnie, Pocahontas, Marie, Angelica, Leo, June, Eeyore, Mary Poppins, Terk, Ariel, Eric, Frozone, Mr Incredible, Miss Bunny, Woody, Stitch, Lilo, Mrs Incredible, Tiana, Brer Bear, Aurora, Jiminy Cricket, Goofy, Chip & Dale, Handy Manny, Piglet, Rafiki, Fairy Godmother, The Genie, White Rabbit, Pinocchio, Aladdin, Vidia, Peter Pan & Yehaw Bob

The D23 Expo vinyl is special because it’s full of friends and celebrities that we had the chance to meet while at the event. The only character signature on this one is Mickey Mouse and this was the living character version and our first chance to interact with him (you can see the video of it being signed here). Others included voice actors, artists and Disney Legends.

Signed by: Lou Mongello(podcaster, author, hobbit), Beci Mahnken (MEI Mousefan Travel), MoJo Collins, Ricky Brigante (podcaster), Vicki Damanti (MEI Mousefan Travel), Annette Owens (podcaster, MEI Mousefan Travel), Jessica Clawson, Noah (Artist), TonyCaggiano, Jim Valeri (lead Vinylmation designer), Mickey Mouse (Icon), DaveSmith (Disney archivist), Scott Otis, Henry Work (former podcaster), PaigeO’Hara (voice of Belle), Marc Lorenzo (Disney Dad), Amy Mebberson (cartoonist), Stitch Kingdom (Disney news site), Alex Maher (artist), David Koenig (author), Sean Astin (voice of Oso, Goonie, Hobbit), Big Momma, as well as actors from Phineas & Ferb, Pair of Kings, Handy Manny and Fish Hooks; and many more.

And then we come to Disneyland; and this is where this blog is about to become a rant. First things first, when we got to Disneyland, finding a plain 9” Vinylmation was bloody hard work. In all other parks I have been to, the Emporium on Main St is loaded with them as are many other places; but I drew a blank in all park shops at Disneyland. Eventually on the first evening I was able to find the couple I needed at D-Street in Downtown but for a while I didn’t think I was going to find any at all anywhere. 

Our Disneyland autograph collecting started at the Storytellers Café the next morning where we had a character breakfast. As I usually do, I had the Vinylmation on the table along with an assortment of coloured pens and first out came Dale; but when asked to sign he turned me down. Now, in my experience, the turn downs usually happen when the vinyl is new or near empty and as soon as it starts to populate, the characters are all much more willing and eager to sign it; so a single turn down like this didn’t really bother me. Next up came Terk who signed and it seemed like things were back on track, but we were then turned down by Rafiki, Koda and Brer Fox in quick succession; which was disappointing because I hadn’t met Brer Fox since childhood and don’t have his or Koda’s signatures on a vinyl.

So we left the breakfast with just Terk and Chip’s autographs and headed to the park where we got in line for Alice and the Mad Hatter in Town Square. Hatter at one point started making his way down the line and I presented him with the vinyl; he hesitated before saying something like “I’m not supposed to but….” and then he signed it hurriedly; but on the bottom base rather than the visible area. When we got to Alice she started signing it too, but her handler got her attention to which she replied “oh, well, I’ve started it now”. This was getting weirder and weirder. So next we lined up for Mickey Mouse and we did the photo etc and then I presented the vinyl; and not only did he gesture that he wouldn’t sign it; but I could actually hear the female cast member inside the costume saying “Sorry, I can’t sign that”; the first time I have ever heard a masked character break kayfabe in such a manner and communicate with a guest verbally.

As this was the end of a character cycle, there were quite a few handlers milling about, so I asked one of them what the deal was with characters refusing to sign my Vinylmation to which he answered that they had received a memo basically saying that Vinylmations were not to be signed. I first said that it seems odd seeing as I have seen characters signing anything before, be it books, maps, tshirts, even books from other parks such as Universal to which the guy said he understood but couldn’t tell me any more. Not one to back down too easly, I then scrolled backwards through the pictures on my camera to one I had taken the day before of my signed Vinylmation from WDW, from the previous week, and showed it to the cast member countering with, “well, if there’s been a ban on signing them, why is everyone at WDW still doing it?” which left him a bit speechless and confused enough to go and get his supervisor. The supervisor basically said the same thing and both cast members (who were very nice btw) said that I should keep trying with characters and those who wanted to sign it, would; but both thought it wrong and odd that Disneyland character performers had been told not to sign them when other parks were either not being given the same restraints or not abiding by them.

I was later given the reason (by Mary Poppins) that signing had been stopped on Vinylmation because they are a piece of art and thus shouldn’t be embellished upon; and while I cannot argue with the sentiment behind this, because I too consider them a piece of art, this is wrong because this is a blank one that is for the sole purpose of embellishment. In this case the signatures I get turn this blank canvas into a unique piece of art that will be a reminder of our holiday; so the argument just doesn’t hold up. Anyway, once others had started signing it, more and more characters were willing; unfortunately this was a bit too late to fill the vinyl up so it looks a little sparse compared to the others.

Signed by: Mickey, Alice, Donald, Cruella De Ville, Terk, Mulan, Snow White, Geppetto, Stitch, Pooh, Chip & Dale, Minnie, Goofy, Pinocchio, Aurora, Jessie, Pluto, Eeyore, Mad Hatter, Baloo & Tigger

Refused to sign: Mickey, Rafiki, Brer Fox, Woody, Koda, Russell, Mary Poppins, Bert, Dug & more

Honestly, I hope this whole incident was just a big misunderstanding, someone has sent out the memo saying “don’t sign Vinylmations because they are art” and not had the thought to put “apart from the blank ones, they are ok” on the end of the sentence for clarification. Since this happened, I have wanted to put the rant you have just read into a letter to Disneyland operations, maybe to at least get clarification or a proper reason, but as I wouldn’t have a clue where to send it, I haven’t; maybe someone who reads this will pass it on. I plan on returning to Disneyland in 2013, and would hate to have another disappointing experience with autographs.

Ok, sorry, rant over.

The newest member of our autographed Vinylmation family came in November while I took a solo weekend trip to Disneyland Paris. Considering I was only there for a couple of days, I am very happy with how full it is. Also, being that it was a solo trip I thought it would fun to experiment again, so this time I got a red Vinylmation rather than the usual white and went with just black ink. While I like how it came out, it seems a little less eye catching than some of the others.

Siged by: Mickey, Chip & Dale, Tic & Tac, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, Minnie, Donald, Tigger, Rafiki, Baloo, The Genie, Winnie the Pooh, Timon, Gedeon, Eeyore, Pinocchio, Mad Hatter, Goofy, Dingol, Woody, Friar Tuck, Wendy, Pluto, Duffy, Geppetto, Jack Sparrow, John Darling & Captain Hook

And so that is our current collection of autographed Vinylmations. There will be 3 or 4 more added this year; hopefully each as individual and full of memories as these. If any of you have tired of autograph books, why not give this a go; it’s much more fun and I’m sure will give you a treasured keepsake of your visit to the parks.

Speak Soon :)

An Earfull of Podcasts

The world of Podcasting is huge and by no means do I consider myself knowledgeable or an expert on the matter. Honestly, I do not think anyone can be, as much like TV, there aren’t enough minutes in the day in order to consume all that is released in this ever growing format.

Podcasting is an unusual medium in that it breaks the normal barriers of media; much like blogs but obviously in audio form. Many of the more publicised podcasts, the ones you will find on the front page of iTunes are produced by professional media companies and feature those who would usually be classed as celebrities. These are often condensed radio or TV shows, material from comedians or news/sportscasts; but really there are very few barriers of entry to podcasting, so anyone with a computer and a microphone can make and release their own podcast if they have something to talk about (or sometimes even if they don’t). In many ways a podcast could be compared to Public TV in terms of open access; but as it’s much easier to make an audio stream sound professional with simple effects, music overlay and editing than it is with the video format; and this helps to further blur the line between those produced professionally and those that start as a hobby and can grow to become much more.

The term “podcast” originated in 2004 and when Apple added podcast subscription and management to iTunes in 2005 the medium really started to take off. That isn’t to say that podcasts did not exist before these points, there were already internet radio shows that could be listened to either on demand or streamed; this technology just revolutionised their delivery and storage to allow them to be listened to both on demand and while mobile. Actually, I myself (despite my terrible voice) used to have a segment on a wrestling internet radio show back in 1999; nowadays that would be been classed and distributed as a podcast.

I, however, did not start getting involved in listening to podcasts mid late 2006. There were two reasons for this; firstly, I didn’t know of any that I wanted to listen to, but secondly (and mostly), my hatred of Apple at the time (and some still lingering) made me fight against having an iPod and like an idiot I thought you required one of these in order to listen to podcasts (it’s in the name!). Anyway, as I explained in my history with Disney blog, it was in mid 2006 while researching what had happened and why at Walt Disney World that I came across the MouseTunes podcast by Lou Mongello and Nathan Rose; I became a weekly listener straight away and also downloaded some of their older episodes. The mantra for the show was “you keep listening, we’ll keep babbling” and there were many mammothly long shows; but I really enjoyed the casual chatting which was both informative and entertaining. As I still didn’t have an iPod, I had at this point downloaded iTunes in order to get the new and old episodes and I listened to them in the study on the desktop while generally browsing the internet. Eventually, however, I caved and bought my first Apple device and with the ability to listen on the go, and my restarting to commute into the city, on a daily basis, my podcast library began to grow.

So, my podcasting origin story over, here’s a run down of my favourite podcasts in no particular, but at the same time very biased, order.

The Dave Gorman Podcast

I have been a big fan of Dave Gorman’s work for a long time having read all his books (some multiple times) and owning all his DVDs; Googlewhack in particular which since 2004 has remained “the” DVD that is put on in bed when there is nothing on TV. Summer 2009 saw Dave stand in for Frank Skinner on Absolute Radio and I downloaded the podcast versions of those, and later in the year Dave started his own radio show on the station which is live 10am till midday on a Sunday (GMT). Unfortunately, I didn’t know about the show until April the following year, so I spent the best part of two weeks catching up on the first 20 podcasts; I have never laughed out loud on a crowded train so often.

Dave is joined on the podcast by two more comics, Danielle Ward and Martin White; and the three of them have a great rapport. The show has a main topic each week and encourages and in fact thrives on listener interaction through twitter, text or email both live and in retrospect; the retrospect emails being half the content of the podcast extras (taped after the live radio show has ended) and the Someday podcast which is taped at the same time but released “Someday” (usually Thursday after controversy whether Wednesday or Thursday was midweek). Each of the presenters also get their chance to shine as a comic, Dave recites Found Poetry, Danielle presents Ward’s Weekly Word, and Martin writes and sings a song each show based on that week’s listener contributions. Several of the show topics have become full blown features on the show, the most recent to have stuck being Listeners Lexicon which encourages the submission of slang used within a family or friend group that is unique; but in the past there has also been Nicknaming with Attitude and Existential Moments of Self Doubt. And then there is Pun Street; having started as a show where they wanted real shops and services with pun names; this feature has become a beast that cannot be stopped. With the caveat that there can only be one shop or service of any type on the street at one time, there is competition and have been many controversies; the precinct has also been expanded to included Fail Lane, Charming Alley, Creepy Close and Punintention-ally for names that aren’t really puns but need a home. Two of the classics, and my personal favourites, are the dog grooming business “Indiana Bones and the Temple of Groom” and the halall butcher “Halall, is it Meat You’re Looking For?”; remember, these are real places of business. Unfortunately my submission for Fail Lane of “Melissa” which is an electrical supply shop near me never made it to the planning committee stage.

I have however had other entries read out on the live show and podcast, a couple just in passing, but the most prominent was on the 4^th September 2011 show where, at 6:20 in, Danielle reads out my text message concerning a very Disney holiday over the summer before questioning if I have a life. At 9mins in, Dave then makes the Disney connection between that text and tweets from someone wearing Mickey ears in their profile picture tweeting from Tesco, and I made it into Martin’s song too.

The WDW Radio Show

In early 2007, pretty much to the surprise of listeners, MouseTunes presenters Lou Mongello and Nathan Rose announced they were going their separate ways. Shortly after Lou launched the WDW Radio show, a one man show which in the years since has grown to have a rather large supporting cast that join Lou for various segments concerning Disney history, current events and, obviously with it in the name, WDW. In the years since its inception, Lou and WDW Radio, along with the website and Lou’s others ventures such as his trivia books, audio guides and Celebrations magazine, have become a cornerstone in the online Disney fan community. The podcast, released Sundays, has evolved over time, at first including news and several segments per show, but now usually being more in depth about one particular subject or interview; with news being covered in a separate mid week Newscast that can be downloaded as a podcast or watched and listened to live as recorded from “The Box”.

Before explaining what “The Box” is, I should say that the WDW Radio Show is not only a community corner stone because of it’s content; but also because of its interaction with the fans; both virtually and in person. WDW Radio has long had meet events both in the parks and also at various Disney conventions and it’s turned strangers into friends and friends into a family where new members are warmly welcomed. In 2009, Lou broadcasted from a Disney fan event via UStream as an experiment and a few months later he did the same from the WDW Radio booth at the inaugural D23 Expo. It was originally thought it would just be for a few hours each day, it ended up being the entire event. For those of us who could not be at the Expo, this was our portal to the event, we chatted with people there, we were taken on trips around the exhibits (as long as the battery and the mobile signal lasted) and we experienced something amazing that we normally would have had no decent live contact with. And for the hundreds of us who watched non stop for 4 days through a webcam interacting with those there and with each other in the accompanying chat box; a real sense of community was developed. That weekend we christened ourselves “The Box People from Lou Mongello’s Basement” although later on it was shortened to just “The Box People”; we even have our own facebook goup. Many of my twitter and facebook Disney friends were met in The Box, and it has only helped contribute to the togetherness world wide of the online Disney fans. If I blame Lou’s MouseTunes podcast for turning me into a smart mark Disney fan, then I have to blame Lou’s WDW Radio Show for making me a member of the much larger fan community on a personal level.

Since then WDW Radio has broadcast from various events to The Box People including a 24hr live broadcast over Star Wars Weekends and a 40hr live broadcast on WDW’s 40^th Anniversary. Meanwhile the podcast remains strong, winning the Best Travel Podcast category of the Podcast Awards every year since the show’s inception.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to communicate with Lou on several occasions, during live shows and by email; but in August 2011 I finally got the chance to meet Lou along with many members of the WDW Radio crew/family over several days while at the second D23 Expo. It was also my opportunity, for the first time, to be on the opposite side of the Box and give a wave to those with whom I usually share the virtual space; I made the "I Escaped The Box" stickers that were given to Box attendees at the event. WDW Radio meets have also started in the UK with Lou joining us via Skype, and this winter, I will be joining 500 other WDW Radio fans on the WDW Radio Dream Cruise 2.0; a trip I am really looking forward to.

WEDway Radio

WEDway Radio, hosted by brothers Matt and Nate Parish has been on the air for 3 years now and has been one of the breakout Disney related Podcasts of the past year or so; breaking into the Best Travel Podcast category of last years Podcast Awards. I first found out about WEDway through the BetaMouse podcast in early 2010 and it quickly became one of my favourites to listen to as I made my way through much of its back catalogue.

WEDway Radio, released Sundays, differs from many of the other Disney podcasts as it predominately covers Disney history, whether people, studio, or park based; and so is often informative and a learning experience whilst remaining entertaining. What I think I like most about WEDway though is that its basically a chat, and while Matt and Nate have a decent history with the company and knowledge base to build on, you can tell they have researched each show topic individually and thus they are learning themselves and from each other as the conversation on the show unfolds as well; it makes the show seem very informal and less like a history tutorial.

WEDway Radio has also recently launched a midweek podcast called WEDway NOW which covers this weeks Disney news so they have kept the original show in its niche history offering while having the time to expand their coverage to include the current.

Magical Definition Podcast

After MouseTunes ended, Nathan Rose launched the Magical Definition Podcast, released Sundays, along with Tim Devine and with Jim Hill as a frequent special guest. Soon after the crew was joined by Jackie O, who had been a frequent fan contributor to MouseTunes; but after the initial year the podcast went through some changes and has since become a show where Nathan interviews Jim on current subjects with the occasional historic look back.

What I like about this show is that you hear things here from Jim that many other podcasts either do not talk about or do not know about. It is obvious that Jim, being a member of the press, has a lot of inside connections within the company and while he doesn’t expose secrets that he is not supposed to, he does give a lot of inside sentiment and reaction to events and rumours. Jim is also a realist and looks at the company on a far more financial and business level, and not the rose tinted glasses of a Disney fan, which I find interesting; plainly saying when something like a movie or an event has been a flop or not met expectations.

Inside the Magic

Inside the Magic, hosted by Ricky Brigante, has been broadcasting since April 2005 and has predominantly been a one man hosted show although at various times there have been outside produced segments that Ricky has given air time to. Being a one man show usually without guests, ITM comes across as a newscast type show which usually covers everything that has happened in the last week, with an in-depth look at certain topics, often including audio clips from events or attractions. The show also includes movie, DVD and game reviews and listener email questions. In recent times, ITM has been recorded live with an audio and video stream available allowing chat between fans and with Ricky during recording breaks and outtakes.

ITM’s website is also full of videos and photos that Ricky takes from the parks on regular basis so offers a visual look at what is happening or new attractions. At the D23 Expo, Ricky recorded his encounter with the “B” Mode interactive Mickey Mouse and that of the guests in line after him; the first of which just happened to be Tara and I; so you can see us here.

WDW Today

Starting in the fall of 2005, WDW Today is one of the more prolific podcast releasers, issuing podcasts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The show is one of the few panel Disney podcasts with usual host Matt Hochberg, Mike Newell, Mike Scopa, Len Testa and Annette Owens. WDW Today covers some news, but is mostly geared towards advice concerning visiting the parks. Unfortunately, this means that often the same topics are covered multiple times, especially in listener emails where there is a lot of question repetition or such a small variance that the answer is still the same. That said, there have been some classic topics such as where in Walt Disney World would you want to be in order to give the best chances of surviving the zombie apocalypse (episode 837). If you are looking for advice, I do recommend this podcast, just look through the back episodes to find the subject you are looking for advice on.

WDW Today also has a live call in show once a month that airs on MouseWorld Radio and is released via the podcast stream later in the month; again mostly questions and advice.

Do The Right Thing

Yes, its another non-Disney podcast (That’s two! That’s a collection!). Danielle Ward hosts a panel comedy show that has been recorded in front of an audience; and with it being done for an explicit rated podcast, it’s anything goes. As the name suggests, the premise of the show sees the panellists trying to come up with the right, or sometimes wrong, thing to do when given a certain out of the ordinary situation. Unfortunately there have only been 5 shows recorded to date, but they are well worth a listen for the not easily offended.

Film Fandango

Another Absolute Radio podcast hosted by Danielle Ward (you may be seeing a pattern arising) where she and David Reed, joined by a special guest, review a newly released film which they may or may not have even seen, followed by a film brought in by the special guest which is usually a cult classic. Again often very funny, and I actually prefer the conversations on the cult classic movies than the recent releases.

The Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish with Jim Hill

A podcast series with 4 episodes so far, Len Testa and Jim Hill roam Walt Disney World talking about what was there, what is there now, what could have been. Much like MDP, this is Jim Hill sharing his immense knowledge of the Disney company and there is always a bunch of tidbits to learn from.

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Due to the nature of podcasting, where so many are done by amateurs for fun; there are some podcasts that unfortunately come to an end; usually because of the time demands put on the makers. I have already mentioned MouseTunes, which ended in 2007, but I would like to mention a few others that I thoroughly enjoyed during their runs.

All About The Mouse

AATM was started in April ’07 by Bryan Ripper and from episode 12 onwards co-hosted by Jonathan Dichter. I knew Jonathan from MouseTunes where he would do impressions known as “The Voice”; and it was through him that I started listening to AATM. What was great about AATM was that it never took itself too seriously, it was produced very well but it was fun and informal and such a good time with plenty of humour and jokes made at their own expense. They also instigated the “All About The Mouseketeer” roll call for fans to get their official Mouseketeer numbers; mine was 365. Unfortunately, All About The Mouse came to an end in the summer of 2010 with a live call in show; the sheer number of online Disney community celebrities that either called in or left an audio message showed how much the whole community loved these two.

Lets Talk About Disney

LTAD was actually the first Disney podcast that I listened to which wasn’t by Lou Mongello or Nathan Rose. Starting in 2005, LTAD was presented by Jana and Mike and was a call in show with a sometimes wicked sense of humour and a real sense of community. As it was a call in show, it was always live and would be slightly edited down for podcast release; but it was the one live show that I always made an effort to be there for live (often with a video stream and chat room) even in the middle of the night because it was always so much fun. After the show was finished there would be either an aftershow party or LTAD-X which was not family friendly but was often hysterical as we all just hung out and chatted. If anyone witnessed the New Years Eve live party, it was me that sent Mike the bottle of Goldvasser which the two of us were doing shots of throughout. Sadly throughout the summer of 2008, the notices of a live recording became less and less until the podcast came to an end; but it was great while it lasted.

BetaMouse

The geekiest Disney podcast around, BetaMouse was dedicated to technology and how it is used within the Disney universe, either by the company or by the fans. Lasting only 2 years, ending in early 2012, and falling just shy of 100 episode, it was the revolution that brought up terms such as “Amped”, “Jazzed” and “FutureBox”. Hosted by Henry Work, then a programmer for TouringPlans but now working for the mouse, Jeff Chaney, Scott Barertt, Kidani Katie and Nate Parish, from WEDway radio; this was a fun chat session each week focusing on a very niche area. I found out about Betamouse when Lou Mongello was their guest on episode 13; I then went back and listened to the first 12 episodes as I joined the revolution and also starting listening to WEDway Radio though hearing Nate. Betamouse was again fun, and would include recorded bloopers after the outro.

I got the chance to meet Henry several times while at the 2011 D23 Expo; I wish him great success now working within Disney; just as long as he fixes everything that was complained about during the shows.

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So that’s my podcast preferences. If you are a Disney fan, then I think all the podcasts I have mentioned are certainly worth a listen; and everyone should listen to the Dave Gorman podcast as anyone should enjoy it. I've mentioned before that Tara and I have had an idea for a podcast of our own for some time; maybe one day this logo will be a reality (until then I have dibs on the name).

Again I do ask that if you like what I have written, please tweet the link out or share it on facebook and help me grow this thing a little.

Speak Soon :)

Damn those Alligators!

So, I should or would have liked to have completed my "History with Disney" blog by now; but I haven't. I had intended on tapping away on it the last few days on the trains to and from work, but Disney itself has managed to get in the way. How? Because it's not easy to crack on with it when there's the constant distraction of a certain Alligator.

No, not this alligator; I completed him ages ago. This week we got introduced to his friend Cranky!

And with 40 new levels to complete, well, I've been a little distracted.

For those who don't know, Where's My Water is an iPhone and Android game released by Disney Mobile and is the first Disney game to not only create characters and not be based on existing franchises; but also, to be good. In fact, it's not just good; it's great!! Like Angry Birds additictively great.

The concept of the game is very simple, you have to maneuver water through various courses in order to give the main character of the game, Swampy, a shower; after all he is very hygiene conscious. Throughout the game you are introduced to various tools and other liquids that have to be utilized in order to reach your shower objective; steam becomes water, poison turns water into poison, water dissolves acid which itself can eat through dirt and turn algae hard; acid and poison mixed cause an explosion! And just for added fun, there's three ducks in each level which you have to have the water pass through on the way to completion in order to really complete the level; as well as a whole bunch of time and event challenges to complete.

This week however, the game took an usual twist with the introduction of Cranky. Cranky levels are essentially the same concept, only now, its the purple posion that you have to get to the finish and through the ducks, and suddenly, water is the bad guy. This change is so simple but ingenious. It's the same enjoyable game, but totally different because all strategies have been turned on their head to get the desired result and it breathes a whole new life into an already enjoyable game.

If you like phone games but haven't tried Where's My Water yet, go try it out now!! and if you've been a fan of Swampy, you are gonna love Cranky!

The good news is, 39 of 40 levels are now complete, so the Disney blog will be back on my screen shortly.

Speak soon :)

Disney - The Epic Story

OK, here goes….. Disney; its going to be a long one.

Much like The Muppets, I do not remember life without Disney. That I remember, I did not have a huge amount of Disney toys as a child, I certainly do not remember having plush; but I do remember having Disney characters on my birthday cakes and watching the Disney anthology TV shows from a very young age.

This is the point where in previous blogs I have started telling the story of the subject and weave in where I come into it, but in this case it is just impossible, Disney is just too big a subject to even attempt it; there are 2 inch thick books on just the man, let alone the company. So, instead I will just say that Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5^th 1901 and changed the world forever.

Now I know there are some people who would question that comment, these are the same people who question or give a funny look to an adult being an admitted Disney geek; something that every Disney geek experiences. But I often find that when you question them back, pretty much everyone is a fan of something Disney deep down. Sure, there are levels of fandom, there always are; but Disney’s reach and range of products is so great and wide that I doubt there are many whose lives have not been and are still touched by Disney on a daily basis. Because Disney isn’t just Mickey Mouse and friends, or the theme parks, the Disney Channels or even all the animated classics or motion pictures that most people associate with it; it’s a whole range of brand names like ESPN (“The World Wide Leader in Sports” – apparently) and ABC Television (which in recent times has made shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives), Touchstone Pictures (which made numerous popular movies since the 80s) and Miramax (Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, both Disney); and countless others that cover all kinds of media and consumerism, recently adding Marvel and Playdom to the list.

But there is also a whole different side to Disney that you don’t get with other brand names; there is a fan community that transcends both the brand and its products.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report for 2011 lists Disney at number 38 (up from 41 the previous year); a number which may seem quite low down, but consider that Budweiser is ranked 45, Mercedes 50, Nike 57, Pepsi 63, Starbucks 72, Nintendo 79 and Sony 85; so 38 is really very high. But also looking down the list, of which the Top 10 are Apple, Google, IBM, McDonalds, Microsoft, Coca Cola, AT&T, Marlboro, China Mobile and GE; none of them have a fan following or community the same way that Disney does. A better comparison from a fan following point of view would be product franchises such as Star Wars, Star Trek, or dare I say it, Harry Potter, or even…. Twilight (little bit of sick in my throat from even typing that). But even these are not really comparable to Disney either because they are a reasonably limited and closed universe in stories and products, whereas Disney is a breathing company that is always changing, expanding and releasing new content.

Oddly enough, the best comparison to Disney fans I can think of is those of pro wrestling; which as some of you may know, I used to be involved in as a fan and professionally. Now I know that even the Disney fans reading this are now giving me a very odd look and thinking I have finally completely lost the plot; but hear me out. In both wrestling and Disney you have two very distinct halves, “the show” and the reality behind it; in wrestling the line between the two is called “kayfabe” and is rarely broken.

The kayfabe line also splits the two main definitions of fan. For a large amount of fans, all they will ever know and be a fan of is “the show”, the fictional side; what they see on film, on TV, read on company produced documents or websites, or experience in person as presented as part of the show; in wrestling these are called “marks”. This doesn’t mean to say that marks do not know that what they are enjoying or consuming is fake; it just means that they suspend disbelief to enjoy the fictional side without caring about the reality behind it. However, you do then get fans who do delve deeper, that care about the small details of the show and the reality behind them as it is often much more interesting than the show itself, they care about the people behind the show, listen for rumours of changes to be made or new things introduced, debate whether things are being done properly in reality to produce the best show and often as a progressional aspect of this, learn about the history of both the show and reality as they get deeper and deeper involved; in wrestling these are called “smart marks”. Now this doesn’t mean that smart marks can’t enjoy the show for what it is, they still suspend disbelief while watching the show and lose themselves in the story; they are just more informed and often appreciative of what has gone into producing the show as presented when it is done right; and often more annoyed when it is done badly.

Hopefully the Disney fans reading this are now onboard with my comparison and the men in white suits have been cancelled. But I think that all Disney fans start as marks, often at a very young age and can continue to be a mark for Disney for as long as they chose to, enjoying the entertainment, the movies, the parks etc for what they are. Then one day they pick up one of the many books on sale about Disney, or listen to a non company produced podcast or even watch DVD extras and suddenly the curtain is lifted between show and backstage; kayfabe is broken. At this point they could say “oh, that’s interesting” and think nothing more of it remaining a mark; or it could open their eyes to a whole new level of fandom as they become smart marks and become fans of Disney and not just the Disney product. And if or when they do, they suddenly find that not only is there is a huge amount of subject base and resources available, but there is also a very big and welcoming fan community to which they can become a part of.

I will go into my conversion from mark to smart mark a little later, but first we have to go way back to the late seventies when I was a just a few years old.

The Ferguson Videostar 3V22 (pictured here in all its retro glory) was released in the UK in 1978 and my parents were pretty early adopters of the VHS technology getting one in 79/80. No-one quite remembers how we came to have them, but we had pretty much the entire catalogue, two per tape, of Disney animated classics; obviously not legit as they weren’t released officially for many years after this. So from a very young age I watched these movies over and over and over again and in a time before Transformers, MASK and Thundercats, these were very much my main entertainment. I also saw a lot of the theatrical re-releases of the classics seeing almost all of them on the big screen, and also the 1981 debut release of The Fox and the Hound, which also turned up on VHS in our household and was one of my favourites. One of the theatrical re-releases I was taken to was the 1979 release of Bedknobs and Broomsticks; and without going into detail, I slept with my light on until my teens thanks to that experience.

Skipping ahead a few years, Easter 1985 saw my family’s first trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) in Florida. Being 8 at the time, I have quite a few memories, but they are mostly glimpses and small snippets of information. Space Mountain was my first ever roller coaster, although Big Thunder became the family favourite. We rode Toad many many times, but I never rode Dumbo. Rope drop back then was past Main Street, and the only character meal took place aboard the Empress Lilly at the Disney Village. EPCOT Center was still new, and we loved the Journey into Imagination and Horizons attractions; although World Showcase didn’t do much for young me.

Our next trip to WDW was in 1988 and to be honest, I have difficulty distinguishing between this and the first trip; apart from the opening of the Living Seas at EPCOT, very little had changed and for the most part we were riding the same rides and seeing the same shows again. The most noticeable difference for me was the introduction of Captain EO in the Imagination pavilion; I quickly had the tshirt and 3D comic book. One of the oddest memories I have of both these first trips is that back then, Main Street USA was the only place we knew where we could buy Knotts Berry Farm Boysenberry Syrup, a family favourite, so we would bring back bottles of it on every trip.

It was after this point, and as I approached my teen years that Disney started to take a back seat in my list of interests. In fact, in 1990 at the age of 14, I not only spent over a month in Boca Raton and didn’t visit the park, but at the summer camp at which I was a junior councillor (in art), I complained every day whenever the new Little Mermaid soundtrack CD was put on; I know, I know, I’m hanging my head in shame.

However, when I eventually saw the Little Mermaid I quickly changed my tune, and I saw all of the renaissance movies (excluding Pocahontas) in the cinema in the years that followed. I also throughout my teens watched and owned a lot of the Touchstone movies, not knowing at the time that they had anything to do with Disney; some of which I consider movies that defined my teen years.

Disneyland Paris (DLRP), then EuroDisney, opened in 1992 and we went for my sister’s birthday in September of that year. I have to say that I remember very little about this trip; and if it hadn’t been for a nagging memory of going as a family (pre-Tara) and me sleeping in bunk beds, then I probably would have forgotten about it completely.

1993 saw my return to WDW on another family easter trip. Now at the age of 16, this is what I consider to be my last trip as a kid; but also marked my first visit to the then named Disney-MGM Studios where I got to see the studio tour in its original form although I do not remember what was being produced in the animation wing at the time as it was before work began on Mulan; the first feature film to be made there.

When I travelled the USA in 1997 I had my first opportunity to visit Disneyland (DLR). I spent a single day there and I have to admit, that I was not overly appreciative of all that makes Disneyland so important or great. Having been used to WDW, I was too busy thinking everything seemed so small (especially the castle) to notice how perfectly everything is interwoven, or how so many of their rides are superior to their east coast counterpart. I did, however, have a really nice day there and it was capped off by my main memory of the visit, sitting around the Rivers of America and seeing Fantasmic for the first time; a show that blew me away.

By early 1999, Tara and I were together and while spending a few weeks at the Ft Lauderdale office of my place of employment at the time, we took a weekend to visit the Orlando area spending at day at the Magic Kingdom and another at Universal (sorry for swearing). We spent much of the day meeting characters and doing our favourite rides, and while the trip was too quick for me to notice the major differences since my childhood visits; I did at that time have to mourn the loss of 20,000 Leagues, at that time replaced by the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore meet, and Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, now The Adventures of Pooh dark ride.

Late ’99 saw us visit Disneyland Paris for my Dad’s 50th Birthday and experience the Christmas celebrations; it was a very cold weekend. We were supposed to return for Halloween a couple of years later but weather at the time put a stop on the Eurostar services and the trip was unfortunately abandoned. In case you were wondering, I lost over 3 stone (42lbs) between the start and end of 1999.

It wouldn’t be until Halloween 2005 that we next visited Disneyland Paris; by this time with a son. This trip was important for many reasons; predominantly because it was Gage’s first visit to a Disney park (aged 2), but it was unknowingly the start of our pin trading collection and also the start of the reinvigoration of my love of Disney.

Now of course I never stopped loving Disney, but we hadn’t bothered to see many of the animated films since the turn of the millennium; and as already mentioned, in the period from 1993 until 2005 I had only spent 4 days in a Disney park. I think like many, my main Disney exposure during this period was the Pixar produced movies which had revolutionised the industry.

In 2006 we returned to WDW, other than the single day in 99, this was my first proper visit in 13 years. This was a visit of highs and lows; we had a great time, but there were so many things that I had loved as a kid that I wanted to share with my son that were no longer the way they had been and that I had loved; and often not for the better. Obviously I knew that Toad and Leagues had gone, and it didn’t take long to notice Alien Encounter which Tara and I had loved in ’99 was also gone; but the biggest surprise came when we visited Epcot. Firstly I saw “the wand” but for some reason I knew about it’s existence already, then there was no Horizons any more which I thought was a terrible shame; but the biggest shock came as we went into the Imagination pavilion. I was so excited as I hadn’t ridden Journey into Imagination since 1993 and was looking forward to Gage falling in love with Figment the way I had; and then we rode it. There were however some nice firsts during the trip; my first visit to Animal Kingdom, Flower & Garden festival at Epcot, and La Nouba at Downtown Disney; not to mention the Steak ‘n Shake that our hotel backed onto. This trip also contributed towards the slippery slope that is pin collecting.

Importantly, this truly was the pivotal point in my fandom of Disney; obviously I hated what had happened to Imagination, but I was also annoyed with myself that I was clueless to it happening as well as Horizons closing and so many other things changing; I had a head full of questions. The following week was spent in Tara’s hometown in Alabama and this gave me a lot of downtime which I spent trawling the internet for information and in that week I started down the road to becoming a smart mark fan of Disney. Obviously, a lot of my searches led me to Wiki pages and using the reference links I started finding other websites such as MiceAge/MiceChat; but while I found the answers to my questions, I also started finding out loads of information that I wished I had known about a week earlier as it could only have enhanced our visit. My searching also led me to a podcast called MouseTunes by Lou Mongello and Nathan Rose which I started listening to religiously (to the point that I bought an iPod just to facilitate listening). The discovery of this podcast really contributed towards a change in my life, especially when a few months after this trip I started working in the city again and so with almost 10 hours of commute time a week, this podcast, and others that I heard about through it, became a companion and I started becoming a part of the community. From this point onwards, I was a Disney fan in its deepest sense; not someone who just enjoyed the movies, or enjoyed the occasional visit to the park; but I started reading history books, blogs and news sites and consuming information on the company and not just it’s product. I will be doing blogs in the future about my favourite Disney related podcasts and books.

Oddly our next Disney experience was the Word Of Disney store which in 2007 was a three storey store on the corner of 5^th and 55^th St in New York. Now I know this was just store, but it had character meets twice a day on certain days, and during our trip, there weren’t many sessions that we missed. The visits to this store were also the end of any claims Tara and I had that we weren’t into Disney pin trading as our lanyards filled up.

For Halloween 2007 we returned to Disneyland Paris and knowing more than I ever had before, we had great trip. If I learnt two things from all the podcasts etc, it was to look out for attention to detail (and Hidden Mickeys) and to experience proper dining in the parks. In all the times we had been to any of the parks, apart from a few character breakfasts, we were guilty of grabbing the quick hamburger and fries meals rather than sitting down for an hour plus and eating properly; this was the first trip that we changed that habit and enjoyed finer dining and we haven’t changed back since. This holiday will also always be remembered for the holiday where we were stalked by Friar Tuck; everywhere we went, the Tuck was there!!

2008 didn’t quite go as planned so no visits, but in early 2009 Disney launched the D23 fan club, of which I was an early member (although sadly I cannot claim first day).

Halloween 2009 saw our return to WDW; and I have to say that its only when writing this now, that I am realising how many of our trips are at Halloween time. With all the knowledge I had picked up since 2006, this was a trip of firsts. Our first time staying “on property”, our first time using the Dining Plan (as it was financially beneficial back then – especially as counter service DP came free and all I had to pay was upgrade) and thus our first time experiencing many of the better restaurants like Le Cellier and 50s Prime Time, our first Mickey’s Not So Scary party and our first Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

Our next trip was to Disneyland Paris in August 2010. This was a very odd trip for me as I had lost my dad to cancer a few weeks earlier; but it was a much needed break for the same reasons. This was the trip where we got our first Vinylmation figures for fun (mostly because they were Muppet ones), and we started using a 9” blank Vinylmation figure as our trip autograph book, which has become a tradition since.

This was followed by an unforgettable Christmas/New Year 2010 trip to Florida for both good and bad reasons; I have never had a travelling experience as draining and mentally exhausting as this was thanks to the snow; but it all worked out in the end. Again a trip of firsts, we got to stay at two more on property resorts, experience the Christmas celebrations and New Years Eve in the parks and we spent Christmas day with the family aboard the Disney Wonder as we enjoyed our first Disney Cruise Line experience as we toured the Caribbean. This was also the trip that I became a Disney Premier Passport holder; few pieces of plastic have made me happier.

2011 was another mega trip year for us, this time in August we spent an enjoyable week at WDW before hopping coast and spending just over a week at Disneyland; the first 3 days of which were at the D23 Expo. I will have to write a blog on those days alone at some point, but this was a chance for me to not only see and experience some cool stuff; but mostly a chance to meet so many of the people that I knew from the online community, an awesome few days. In many ways I also think of this as my first real trip to Disneyland, now with the California Adventure second park; and I loved it, so much charm and detail, its an amazing place to be.

When Tara and Gage went to Alabama in November of 2011 I decided to make an impromptu solo trip to Disneyland Paris for a long weekend, although it turned out to directly coincide with my Mum, Sister and her family being there so wasn’t so solo after all. This was a fun couple of days for me because I was able to take the tours that the park offers but I never have the time to do on family visits. Also, financially, it worked out beneficial for me to become an Annual Passholder for that park too; so for 4 weeks of 2011 I was an Annual Passholder of every Disney park on two continents :)

And that brings me to the present. What next? Well, it would be wrong of me not to use my Disneyland Paris annual pass, but we probably wont return there until after April once all of the new entertainment for the 20^th Anniversary has started. Tara and I will be heading to WDW for Halloween this year (yes, Halloween again) for Mickey’s Not So Scary on Halloween night itself and for some gorging at Food & Wine; but mostly to be a part of the WDW Radio Dream Cruise 2.0 which we are really looking forward to. A year ago, Tara and I thought up a cool concept for a podcast of our own which keeps coming up in my mind, maybe we will do something about that one day. As for me personally, well, I hope to be blogging more and more here, and most likely a lot of it will be Disney related. So I do ask, that if you are a Disney fan, please tweet this out or link it on your facebook using the tools below; after writing 4,000 words, it would be nice if someone reads it.

Speak Soon :)

Cirque Du Soleil - TOTEM-ly Awesome!!

I know I said that my next blog would be about my history with Disney, and that piece is progressing nicely, but I'm going to digress tonight to write about the Cirque Du Soleil show Totem; currently playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

I should say two things to preface this piece. Firstly, big thanks and kisses to my wife who not only got me the tickets for Xmas, but was more than willing to spend more of my money in order to get a absolutely awesome centre stage box seats with a just fantastic view. Secondly I should say that having seen nine Cirque shows internationally, some several times, I would consider myself a fan of their work; so this wasn't some kind of revelational experience for me.

So, onto the show. Three words. Go See It. OK, should probably give you a bit more than just that.

Firstly, the set. For a travelling show made to be stageable in any location and not inside a Cirque custom tent; I thought this set blew all the others I have seen away. The scorpion arm was a fantastic feature that was used extremely well for transitions and entrances and coupled with the interactive projections on it and the back stage, it lent so much towards setting the scene for the story. The front stage was a typical Cirque stage with numerous trap doors, lighting and hidden trampoline; but was accessorised with an encompassing turtle shell cage that was used or manipulated throughout the show.

The music for this show was a very cool modernised mix of Native American, Flamenco and Indian beats and rhythms. It wasn't a hugely lyrical show like Alegria, and this helped to not think you were missing something because you can't understand a word of it; but what singing there was, was all excellent. It is certainly a soundtrack I will be listening to again in the near future.

All Cirque shows have a story or theme that is portrayed via performance and music; sometimes it is very obvious, sometimes hugely interpretive. Totem demonstrates the evolution of mankind from amphibian to monkey to man to space with the feeling that you are being told the story by Native Americans symbolism rather than speech. The overall theme is very obvious in Totem with much of the story being told by the extras between the main acts. Some of the acts are obvious of what they represent in the theme of Evolution, others not so much; and some, after looking online and finding out, I still don’t see it. This one probably isn't for the scientologists out there.

LOL! 400 words in and I haven't even mentioned the acts or acrobatics; I guess that shows how total to the senses the experience of a Cirque should be.

As anyone who has seen a Cirque show knows, the clowns are one of the most integral parts of the show; not only providing the laughs but also transitioning the acts. What usually becomes very apparent too is that the term "clown" is very underselling as they are incredibly talented. In Totem there are 2 main clowns and a further 2 (the scientist and the tracker) who are of the clown role but also have a specific act of their own. I thought the clowns in this show were very good, I wouldn't say they were the funniest I've seen but they did make great use of the fantastic set.

The show starts off with a piece combining the normal Cirque trampoline track and a pair of parallel bars. I really enjoyed the combination and while what they did was fantastic, I would have loved to see this act go a few minutes longer and a few more wow moments thrown in. But it was a really good opening act.

Next we were introduced to the Native American side of the story telling with a hoop dancer who used a combination of four hoops to mimic various animals. With this not being the main instance of the act, it didn’t last very long; but the manipulation of the hoops and his body through and around was very impressive.

After our first real introduction to one of the clowns (they appeared throughout the audience for 10 minutes before curtain as they often do), there was a rings duo which expanded to a trio act. While entertaining, this was probably my least favourite of the acts, it didn’t have much in the way of wow moments nor do I have any idea where it fits in with the show’s theme. It did have a cool Bollywood rift though.

After the first showing of what the scorpion arm could do, a troop of five girls on very high unicycles came out balancing bowls on their heads and while riding around and keeping the unicycles moving with one foot, they then started launch kicking further bowls from a standing foot start up and into the bowls on their own and each others heads. The mixture of timing, accuracy and balance in this piece was stunning and as I said to Tara at the time, “you don’t f*ck with Chinese girls at Cirque”; they will invariably steal the show. Absolutely awesome act, although not sure what it had to do with the theme of Evolution.

The next act is called Foot Juggling, but I do not think that explains what it was. This was a pair of sisters using some chair apparatus and spinning square clothes with their hands and feet. They then proceeded to start flinging, tossing and catching them in all kinds of weird and wonderful ways. This was one of those weird acts, technically very well done, but not stunning in what is happening. However, with the laser lighting and music added in, the act worked really well with a great finale trick.

The finale of the first half was called Perches. Proceeding this however told the story of Ape to Man with the Perches performers coming out in business suits before being stripped off by the remaining monkeys. This was a tough one for me, there is obviously a lot of skill, balance, team work and strength involved in the act; however, I truly wonder how much the safety wire was just for safety or if it was also instrumental in the ability to do what they were doing. The finale trick of the act was very impressive and off centre to the safety wire it also put it all down to skill; a near slip showing how ready to jump they were.

After the intermission the Tracker character did his main act called devil sticks. This was basically the intricate manipulation of a third stick by using two being held. Much like the start of the first half, this act was mainly to get the audience back into the mood; but was very entertaining as the Tracker and one of the clowns interacted.

Following was a male and female duo act on a fixed trapeze which for me this was the act of the night. The story being told of flirting, attraction and playing hard to get was very obvious in the movements, attitudes and facial expressions; but the intricacy in all the movements timed to perfection and executed perfectly to a piece of beautiful music made the entire act incredibly enjoyable.

Next it was the scientists turn to show his main act. At many points before this, there had been interaction between the scientist, the tracker and monkeys with balls of light. This time, after some very clever box stacking and bowl spinning, the scientist entered a test tube like cone where we found out he was a very clever juggler who used the cone to send light balls spinning around at all kinds of angles and speeds. A very enjoyable and unexpected act; certainly nothing I have seen before.

We then were treated to the full version of the Native American hoop dancing, now with two performers manipulating the hoops. Like the first time, this wasn’t something that made you go wow, but with the tribal music, it was very entertaining.

The penultimate act was a couple of roller skaters which on a very small platform performed a series of extremely fast spins and lifts that you could only compare to ice skaters; only faster. Truly a mixture of beauty and speed.

As the finale to the show we had the Russian Bar, a Cirque classic. This was a three bar version of the act where acrobats use very bendy and springy bars supported on other performer’s shoulders like a trampoline in order to somersault; half the wow factor being the very precise landing, often not on the bar from which they left. As always, a very enjoyable act.

Overall, this was a great Cirque Du Soleil show with very few low points; and those were probably because I have high expectations having seen so many other shows; I’m sure even my low points wowed newbies. I would recommend seeing this show to anybody, it was a great mixture of act, music and artistic interpretation and thoroughly enjoyable. As a Cirque fan, I can honestly say that this show compares very well against the others I have seen; I don’t think it ranks as my favourite in categories (other than the travelling stage), but it ranks very highly in all for an all around great experience.

Go See It!

Speak Soon :)

Bloody Hell!! It's a Blog Post!!

Well, it has only been 18 months since my last post, so probably time to write put fingers to keyboard.

I have long wanted to do a blog and enjoy writing about things I love and doing a bit of research on them at the same time, but truth is, I started this blog at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. As some of you may know, the commencement of this blog coincided with the final months of my dad’s brave battle against cancer. I used this blog as an escape from the terrible reality and always wrote about old subjects because that allowed me to think about happier times.

But 18 months later, as New Year 2012 approached, I had two resolutions in my head. One was to lose a little weight (like most people), and that got off to a great start on January 1st when lunch was at McDonalds; and the other was to return to this blog and do it properly this time and not as an escape. So here goes.

That said, while I was looking back in my previous posts, I do still think it important that I give some basic histories of myself in order for the reader to understand me or where I come from and for that reason I do want to write one more “my history with” piece; that being on Disney. It’s probably going to be quite a vague one as there are so many facets to cover, and I want to look at them more in-depth in separate blogs later on; so hopefully it wont take another 18months for me to get it out (but no promises).

Speak Soon :)