Firsts, Fourths, and Farewells (4/28 Back to the Future!)

[thecapells]

After Herbie went off to be fixed, more stunt cars made their appearance.
This time they were joined by motorcycles.

At this point, the driver hopped out and jumped onto some netting to swing across the stream at the front of the set.
This was cool and all, but check out the background.
Look through the tunnel.
Anyone see a familiar site?

That’s the snowspeeder from Empire Strikes Back that used to be sitting out front of Star Tours!
That shot cracked me up!

After this scene, the director called a child down and handed him a remote to one of the hero cars.
He “drove” the car around making sharp turns and stops.
However, as he concentrated on the remote, the audience was able to see that the car was really being controlled by a stunt driver.
The driver was in a cage on the side of the car and could not be seen from the original angle.
It was pretty funny.

Next up, a stuntman was shot and fell from a building.
This is what continuous shot on your camera is made for.
Actually, the whole show is – in fact, right before the show started, I showed J how to use his.
Which also explains why we have an insane amount of pictures of this show.

The next stunt was to light one of the actors on fire after he escaped a wreck.
This was really cool…
Well, it was actually hot but you know what I mean…

Then, because we’d seen everything else, it was time for speedboats!

This show had everything.
If you or your child likes vehicles, this is the place to go.
X was having a blast!
Speaking of blasts, check out the finale…

(Doesn’t that last one look like a doggie in the cloud of smoke?)

 

[thecapells]

On the way out, J even caught a sneak peak of the plane Walt used to check out the Florida site for his new project.
Later it was used to travel back and forth between Disneyland (Los Angeles) and Walt Disney World (Florida).
Introducing, Mickey Mouse One!

And with that, we headed out into the swarm of Brazilians to try and find Mom.
This part was not fun.
But what you may ask was Mom doing all by her lonesome?
Well, that's up to her to say...

 

[dawnbu40]

Nice update! I felt like I was there

All the action shots are great!

Sorry mom wasn't allowed to join you but looking forward to hearing how she spent her solo time

 

[thecapells]

Nice update! I felt like I was there

All the action shots are great!

Sorry mom wasn't allowed to join you but looking forward to hearing how she spent her solo time

Yeah, and that's only about 40 of the 800+ pictures we took of the show.
With both J and I on continuous shot, the picture count was insane.
I spent alot of time deleting most of them and keeping it to the "highlights."
And I still had over 40 shots.

 

[thecapells]

I also just noticed in the "doggy smoke" picture, the "nose" of the dog is a Hidden Mickey!!

 

[boxmaster]

I also just noticed in the "doggy smoke" picture, the "nose" of the dog is a Hidden Mickey!!

When I'm good, I'm GOOD.

More precisely, continuous shot will get you all sorts of shots you could never get otherwise. Even if I had ever had a camera capable of that back in the day of actual FILM in the camera, no chance I'd've ever dreamt to use a continuous shot, only to waste all that expensive film. Here, it's just a little extra room on a chip that'll be formatted that evening.

Don't forget what I think we mentioned briefly early on -- the part that was ultra-galling for Mike sifting. We didn't sync our cameras' times in advance. And, somehow, I was about an hour behind Mike and Stacey's clocks. So after we left here and even after we had our next meal, I think, on your camera, I finally "caught up" back in time to us being at the show on mine. (And so it went for the entire 9 days. This went undiscovered during the trip.)

Multi-camera DIS'ers, beware: sync your cameras' clocks as closely as possible to save yourself the aggravation, especially if one or more of you go hog-wild on continuous shot.

 

[TheCapellsMom]

So, my DH left off when I made the serious mistake of heading to the Ladies Room just outside the entrance to the Lights Motor Action show.
I was thinking how I had a huge drink with lunch and I would hate to have to get up and go half way through the show.
Well, by the time I got out of the Ladies Room, the front gates to the LMA Stunt Show were closed.
I tried explaining to the CM that my husband and little kids were already inside.
I even tried playing the “mommy card."
I said I was really worried about my little guy getting scared during the show and I was planning to hold him in my lap for the whole thing.
The CM was really very nice about it but he would not/could not let me in.
He suggested that my husband bring the little guy out to wait with me if the show would be too scary for him.
So, I finally gave up and decided to take advantage of the rare bit of kid-free time I was getting.
I took a mellow stroll around the whole Streets of America area checking out all of the little details that I usually breeze past when I am in a hurry to get somewhere.

So, I found this cute little shop- I just love the name!
Do you think that’s spelled with a Brooklyn accent? Or a Bronx accent?

Then I noticed how awesome this newsstand looks- VERY realistic! From a distance it totally looked real.

Upon closer inspection I noticed that the newspapers had actual articles about Disney movies printed on them.
This one is about “Steamboat Willie.”

The other paper had a front page article about how the movie “UP” had a blockbuster weekend.
Obviously the painting had been done fairly recently (or at least this part was updated recently).

Finally, I decided to head back towards the LMA Stunt Show entrance/exit.
When I was looking for a street sign to get my bearings, I found this one. Looks like Mickey is trying to find his way around DHS too!

I also took some pics of the Muppets area of the park.
Apparently, DH sorted those pics into a folder with the Muppets attraction so you don’t get to see them now. SORRY!
I wasn’t sure when the show would be ending exactly, but I eventually headed back to the street right outside of the Stunt Show- and it was jam packed!
Yup, you guessed it- Brazilian Tour Groups!
Well, the red group and the orange group were effectively blocking the entire road outside of the exit.
Since I didn’t want to fight my way through their crowds I chose a spot on the sidewalk across the street.
There I sat down leaning against a tree, and closed my eyes for a power nap.
When the family finally emerged from the show, there were a few thousand Brazilians between them and me.
They called on my cell and I told them to take their time getting out, use the restrooms, take photos in front of the LMA sign, etc.
When the crowd cleared a little bit, they headed in my general direction but I had to direct them by phone:
“See the 3rd lamppost from the corner? Look past that to the 2nd tall tree...” and so on.
It was tedious and time consuming and VERY frustrating!

This whole afternoon just served as a reminder that I NEVER want to go to WDW when the crowd levels are high!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

I'm sorry your solo time was dampened by the tour groups but at least you got to take some great pictures and sneak in a power nap

 

[boxmaster]

Do you think that’s spelled with a Brooklyn accent? Or a Bronx accent?

Brooklyn, all the way!

Upon closer inspection I noticed that the newspapers had actual articles about Disney movies printed on them.
This one is about “Steamboat Willie.”

Curious. Is there a particular reason why the headline is lisping? It looks like it's saying "WEMEMBERING THE CLASSICS!"

I wasn’t sure when the show would be ending exactly, but I eventually headed back to the street right outside of the Stunt Show- and it was jam packed!
Yup, you guessed it- Brazilian Tour Groups!

And, as I think was commented on at least once during the trip, it seemed like there were a bazillion Brazilian tour groups.

 

[thecapells]

So where were we?
Oh yeah – J and I attempting to wade through a sea of Brazilian tour groups to find my wife as she guided us on her cell phone.
It really was insane – you could not see anything in that courtyard.
You basically had to “go with the flow” or be stampeded.
I saw a section just about smack into the side of Herbie’s Drive-In.

But we finally found Mom and tried to wait out the crest of the wave of people.
The problem was what to do next?
We needed to go to where the people were not going.
My schedule suggested we go hang with Mike and Sully at their meet and greet.
I ran over to scout it out.
Nope – lines stretched all the way around the corner.
Maybe we can bide our time in the playground.
I figured the Brazilians were too old to jam that up.
The kids headed to the restroom and I went ahead with the stroller to park it.
I parked it and waited for the crew to return at the entrance to Honey I Shrunk the Kids Adventure.

And there I saw something I couldn’t believe.
A line.
A line to get into a playground.
Are you kidding me!?!!?!?!
There was even a sign suggesting a 10 minute wait.
FOR A ***!$##@@?? PLAYGROUND!

Everyone finally caught up to me and we debated what to do next.
Our dinner ADR’s were fast approaching (we had very early ADR’s due to our Fantasmic! Dinner package).
Finally, we decided to head towards dinner and do something in that direction.
Which brings us to the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational attraction in the park.
Welcome to Muppet*Vision 3-D!

According to Fozzy, we had to Walka-Walka this way…

But first, some area shots.
I love Gonzo hanging off the hands of the clock…

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew I presume?

One drama queen posing with another.
They could be twins!

Another detail I hadn’t noticed before.
Rizzo left his paw prints as a signature to his place:

And then an example of the 3-D effects you’ll see inside.
Courtesy of Mom’s favorite – Sweet Ums!

Of course, Waldorf and Statler have to have their say before we can enter.

These I just noticed this trip.
For the first time in my life, we were directed to the outside part of the queue.
And if you look on top of the wall, you’ll see some interesting plants.

As you continue through the queue, the plants aren’t quite plants anymore.
Ummm, is that ice cream???

Continuing through the queue, apparently someone got hungry.

There are plenty of little details all around the outside of the building
Random muppetty-type things decorated the queue.

I was very excited when reached the “World’s First Experimental Line.”

It was quite an experience…

Then came the famous Muppet Movie Poster parodies like only the Muppets can do…

This one is my favorite!

As is this one…

Even the pipes looked muppet-ish…

 

[thecapells]

Finally we reached the inside of the building.

And the infamous security checkpoint.
Back in 5 minutes!

Luckily, we knew where the key was!
Still one of my favorite details…

Just in case you were wondering.
Don’t go this way…

“This Door Is Not a Door”
Like that sign isn’t tempting…

And it’s always important to “Stay Ahead of the Times”

When the drama queens in your life become “directors”, this is what happens…

It’s always fun to wander the pre-show area here.
I find something I haven’t seen before every single time…

Leftovers from the finale…

Sam the Eagle preps his “Salute to All Nations, but Mostly America”

Not really sure what’s going on in this one but it’s Gonzo, so you’re probably not supposed to understand…

Rizzo’s best Mickey impersonation…

The good ol’ Jim Henson Muppet

The doors opened shortly and we headed into the theatre.
We were ready to go!

As usual, it was a great show.
Happily, everything was working this time.
On my last trip, Swedish Chef wasn’t working and the explosions weren’t working right.
But we got to enjoy it all this time around.
On the way out, Beaker didn’t look so happy…

And the Electric Mayhem was already looking for a new gig!

So was Rizzo – ummm, Ricky…

And Fozzie…

We love this show.
It’s a must do every trip as the Muppets are just a blast.
I’m not fond of that silly 3-D gag character but I grew up with the Muppets.
And we’ve made sure our kids have to as we watch the movies and old TV shows all the time.
It makes me wonder how much better this section of the park could’ve been if Disney signed that deal with Jim Henson before he died.
For those who don’t know the story, a deal was on the table to turn this section of what was then Disney’s MGM Studios into Muppet Studios.
Next to Muppetvision was supposed to be a 2nd Muppet attraction – the Great Muppet Movie Ride.
It would be the same concept as the Great Movie Ride except here the Muppets would be acting out different movies.
From what I understand, the guest would see some behind the scenes stuff as the Muppets scrambled to get scenes ready as well as the “on-stage” stuff.
In addition, Mama Melrose would be Gonzo’s crazy restaurant.
Swedish Chef would make all the dishes and you’d be able to see him in the back probably chasing chickens with a hatchet.
In addition, throughout the meal, you’d hear bits and pieces of the insanity going on in the kitchen – muppet-style.
Gonzo would then send the food out to you via trains that circled the restaurant.
My guess is that they would be driven by Rizzo and his friends.
It would be mayhem – which is exactly what you'd expect from the Muppets.
I would’ve loved to see all that.
Alas, it was not to be.

So, with our Muppet fix behind us, there’s only one real choice of things to do upon exiting this attraction.
Can anyone guess what that might be?

 

[dawnbu40]

I always think of you guys when we do Muppetvision

I didn't know all that Muppet trivia. Those plans would have been really cool if they had come to be!

The picture of the kids in their glasses is too cute

 

[thecapells]

I always think of you guys when we do Muppetvision

I didn't know all that Muppet trivia. Those plans would have been really cool if they had come to be!

The picture of the kids in their glasses is too cute

Hmmm - does that mean we remind you of Muppets?
Or do the Muppets remind you of us?

 

[dawnbu40]

Hmmm - does that mean we remind you of Muppets?
Or do the Muppets remind you of us?

I just know how much you like them

 

[thecapells]

I just know how much you like them

We are definitely a family full of Muppet fans.
Even J is a long-time Muppet-lover!!

 

[boxmaster]

We are definitely a family full of Muppet fans.
Even J is a long-time Muppet-lover!!

Bork Bork Bork!

 

[MEK]

Wow...all I can say is WOW - you really know how to photograph the muppet queue like nobody's business. I have never noticed about 3/4 of those things. I am now officially on a mission to photograph that queue.

So glad I stopped by this morning, even though I got hopelessly behind again.

And the kids - they are so darn cute, as always!

 

[thecapells]

Wow...all I can say is WOW - you really know how to photograph the muppet queue like nobody's business. I have never noticed about 3/4 of those things. I am now officially on a mission to photograph that queue.

So glad I stopped by this morning, even though I got hopelessly behind again.

And the kids - they are so darn cute, as always!

And that's just the stuff I didn't take pictures of before.
I would definitely argue that the queue and pre-show of Muppets is one of the most detailed areas in Walt Disney World.
I find something new every time we go...

 

[thecapells]

When you head down the ramp from MuppetVision 3-D, you can hear a revving of engines.
Looking immediately to your right at the end of the ramp, there is no mistaking the sight.
There one can find (or one used to be able to find as I hear it’s changed), Casa della Tires.
Straight out of the movie Cars, Lightning McQueen is parked with his new best friend Mater outside of Luigi’s establishment.
And once X sees his favorite Disney characters, there is no questioning what is next on our list.
Needless to say, we headed straight for the queue.

Not quite the leaning tower of tires seen in the movie, but here’s a cute detail nonetheless…

And, in case you wondering, here’s a sure sign of knowing where you are.
Welcome to Radiator Springs!

Apparently we even picked the right day.
Lightning and Mater were here obviously for the sale Luigi was having…

X was literally bouncing up and down as he caught site of Mater from the queue.

Finally, it was our turn and he literally ran to see his heroes.
First he actually petted Lightning and then ran back and forth between the two having the time of his life.
It was actually hard to get him to look at the camera and not the cars.
And I can’t really blame him…

Luckily there’s a Photopass photographer present at this Meet and Greet.
And that means we can add fun borders to the occasion.

I was actually surprised that there was no special Cars-themed borders though.
So, I found a logo on the internet and cropped it into some of the pics myself.

The problem is when it is time to say “good-bye” to these characters.
X literally breaks down and cries.
Everytime.
So, much like we did last time, we hopped on-line again.
And X visited his friends one more time.

This time leaving wasn’t as traumatic but he still wasn’t happy.
He could probably stay here all day long.
But we had lots more fun in store for our day at Hollywood Studios.
And now it’s “time to get things started.”
Stay tuned…

 

[dawnbu40]

Finding your own border? Very creative I never would have thought of that.

I love how excited X looks! Great pics

Could you be headed to the Muppet store?