NYC: The Little Mermaid

There's lots to see in a big city, but in London or New York you definitely want to check out the Theater Scene. And in my opinion, you can do no better than Disney's The Little Mermaid on Broadway.

I first saw the show a while back, and the cast was fantastic, with Sierra Boggess as a fabulous Ariel. Sierra truly captured the wonder and innocence of the character, and though she must have performed the show hundreds of times, her performance was fresh and real. However, it seems like Sierra is leaving the show, to be replaced by understudy Chelsea Morgan Stock. Is it possible for someone to compete with Sierra Boggess's performance?

Believe it or not, but the answer is YES. I do not want to do a side by side comparison, because that would not be fair to either. Both perform the role with their own flair, and both capture the spirit of Ariel very well. The performances are both very convincing, and very fresh, and utterly delightful. So... though we wish Sierra all the best, we welcome Chelsea, with all the confidence that she can fill Sierra's... fins!



The rest of the cast has seen some changes as well, but it appears that the Actors must meet with Disney's standards. All of the performances are top notch, although Rogelio Douglas's Sebastion has a fantastic voice and energy, and the blond kid who plays Flounder really holds his own with the rest of the cast.(Sorry, can't find his name)

I haven't seen the movie, but I am assuming the story is much the same. The Broadway show offers several new songs, though, and outstanding sets. To me, a theater show resembles a comic strip. You have one 'panel' in which to set a scene, and place the characters against. All the action happens on one stage, yet Disney is able to show us under the sea, inside a castle, and on the beach and on a ship. Disney does a great job of this, and the Actors rolling along on inline skates give a realistic feal to the speed and flow of swimming sea creatures.



The story itself is timeless. Dad does what he thinks is best for his kids... the youngest rebels... runs away... changes species... and eventually everything works out in the end. Even though Dads get a bum rap in the story, I hope the lesson sinks in that King Triton is only doing what he thinks is best for his daughters, and trying to keep them safe.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Christmas in Walt Disney World

Sticking with our Christmas theme from last post, I almost went to Florida this year for the Holiday party at Disney World. This blog wasn't around last year, and I did indeed attend the festivities at WDW and Epcot, and a great time was had.

Last year, my trip began with winning a very, very nice gift because of the Year of a Million Dreams. Without going into details, the gift was expensive, and nice, and made my trip easier, and placed Disney World on the top of my list of very best friends.

That said, Disney is a class act, and puts on one heck of a party. If you haven't attended a Disney Party, I can say that the Halloween and Christmas Parties at WDW in Florida are well worth the extra cost. The extra cost is a small fee for tickets to the park at night, and the park is only open to those ticketholders, so is relatively less crowded than on a normal day. The party consists of a special parade and fireworks exclusive to the party, and of course the place is decorated to the hilt. I'll cover the Halloween party at a later date, but the Christmas party has hot cocoa and cookies at different areas of the park, and other freebies I can't remember right now. There is artificial snow falling in Main Street, and Disney Characters available for meet and greets, and Belle telling a Christmas story behind the castle, and the castle? Wow!



The castle is covered with lights that change color slowly, and truly makes the place look magical. The lights are practically invisible during the daytime, unless you get up real close to the castle, and look for them. At night, though, the lights are hard to take your eyes away from.



At the larger hotels, the chefs create special edible holiday displays thta must be seen to be believed. At the Beach Club in 2007, a gingerbread carousel smelled and looked wonderful. At Epcot there is a candlelight procession, Santa's from around the world, Holiday foods and music, and more. The Cast Members are very helpful, and enjoy talking about their Holiday traditions. At MGM, or Holiday Studios, (whatever they're calling it this year) there is a beautiful display of Christmas lights set up that again must be seen to be believed. Each of the parks also has their own giant Christmas tree, decorated to match the parks theme, such as the tree at Animal Kingdom being covered with animals.



Altogether, Christmas at Disney is a wonderful experience. Sure, the snow isn't real, and the swimming pools are full of bathers, but the Christmas magic is there, and the Holiday is very enjoyable, even to someone who is used to cold and snow at Christmas. :0)



And here's a Disney secret! Book yourself for an early morning event, like breakfast with the Princesses, or special offers that give you early access to the parks. It's amazing to walk through the gates and seeing Main Street Disney, with the castle looming behind it, all sparkling clean, and free from the crowds. Very nice!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

We're Going Live in 3, 2,1...

They say that you either love LA, or hate LA, but who cares about that? I'm in Anaheim, and about to hit Disneyland for the fourth day. That's right, The Traveling 'Toonist is reporting live for the first time, and ready to give up to the minute reports, travel tips, and answers to your questions.

AFTER I hit the parks, of course. :o)

Ciao, JOHN :0)


Getting up close and personal with a Princess

UPDATE 0: No,it wasn't me assaulting Cinderella above, but someone else was, and she remained smiling the whole time while security took care of the matter. One of the nice things about Disney parks is that the characters are great, stay in character, and are very friendly and accomodating. I only saw one incident where a princess made a face at a family, and hopefully she'll be replaced.

UPDATE 1: I'll update this with photos or illustrations when I return home. I'll also give you my plusses and minuses on my current Disney vacation.

UPDATE 2: The economy sucks right now, so those of you outside the US can come here right now and live the high life. For those of you IN the US, the price of gas has some benefits... mainly shorter lines at Disney, since there are fewer vacationers. Later hours means little or no lines on great attractions like Pirates or Haunted Mansion or that Buzz Lightyear ride.

UPDATE 3: Ran into Jack Sparrow, (that's Captain Jack Sparrow) in the Pirate's Lair of Tom Sawyer's Island. He let me in on an exclusive tip! He says there will be a 4th Pirates adventure, and it involves Captain Barbosa in the land of the Dead! Yes, you heard it here first, folks! A Pirates of the Caribean exclusive, straight from the Captain's mouth. :0)


Captain Jack Sparrow


UPDATE 4: The new ride at Disney is Toy Story mania, and it is definitely something to get manic about. 3D target shooting fun, fun, fun! I was told that people have stood in line for two hours to get in, and I can believe that. Even at closing time, the lines had a 45 minute wait. Definitely a ton of fun.

UPDATE 5: Disneyland is NOT a copy of Disney World, nor vice versa. Both have a lot in common, but maintain their uniqueness nonetheless. Disney World does have 4 parks to offer, but Disneyland has California Adventure that is a beautiful park that has a lot to offer. Also, the parks in California are not as small as you may think, nor are they 'old or run down', as I've heard people surmise. Yes, Disneyland goes back to the 50's, but Disney is a class act, and they've maintained the parks well. Another reason for you East coasters to go to California? Pirates of the Caribean and Haunted Mansion are both far superior to their counterparts in Florida. PLUS, Pirates is not only longer, but has a restaurant inside called the Blue Bayou! How cool is that? I actually had dinner while people were riding by in their little boats, heading for adventure with salty pirates.


The view from the Blue Bayou

UPDATE 6: Walt Disney came up with the idea of Disneyland while out and aboot with his kids. He wanted a place where parents could have fun with their kids, not just sit on the bench watching them. A great idea, but what did I see so much of? People sitting on benches while their kids and other loved ones ran off to the rides.

So what happened to Walt's dream? First of all, I wonder if he imagined just how big the parks would get, or just how many things there are to do there? Even 4 days wasn't nearly enough to do all that I wanted to do, and trust me, after 8, 10, 0r 12 hours in the Californian or Floridian sun, you are tired... exhausted even, and with the kiddies along, chances are they have passed out long before you are ready to leave.

Another reason? I don't imagine that Walt wanted you people to bring along infants! I can't tell you how many boneheads I saw carrying one or two month old children around in the hot sun. First off, infants shouldn't even be in public for the first few months, to protect them from colds and stuff, and second, their little heads and everything else are just too fragile to be putting them through a theme park environment. Third of all, why would you want to sit on the bench for hours on end or push strollers everywhere? Please, people, please... come back when the kids are older.


A denizen of 'The Mansion'!


UPDATE 7: I'm home, and can I please add that even with gas prices so high, I think I'll drive on my next vacation. The quality of air travel has gone down considerably. The plane I was on had the poorest air quality imaginable. You could smell the stench of the plane the second they opened the doors, and I was standing about 30 feet away! The food was bad, the bathrooms dirty, and the plane was kept much too hot. I'm sure the plane was so hot because they wanted to save money by not using the air conditioner. They actually asked us to close the shades so that they could conserve energy. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I'm driving next time, even if it's over seas.

Okay, now it's time to add some photos. I'll post some more if and when it comes to me. Cheers, JOHN :0)

UPDATE 8: While travelling, please avoid at all costs the internet connection that hotels provide on your hotel television set. It usually costs about 10 bucks a day, and it isn't worth 10 cents. The screen is awful, the graphics are awful, and the connection craps out every 15 seconds. And apparently my reply to Brian didn't even get through. Save your money, folks!


Disney's California Adventure by night


UPDATE 9: If you are going to do Disney, do it right. Save up your money, and look for deals. I've got the Disney Visa Card, and it comes with some nice perks. (I wish I could get a commision for saying that!)

Also, buy park tickets ahead of time to save a lot of money. At the door they are very costly. Get a park Hopper ticket, so that you can come and go as you please, and visit multiple parks in one day. Some parks close early, some late, and with the Park Hopper Pass you can take advantage of this.

Another MUST DO? Stay within the parks, in a Disney Hotel. There are hotels for every budget, although the cheaper ones? Well, you get what you pay for. The real benefit is closeness and ease. In California, the Disney Californian opens right into Disney's California adventure, and into Downtown Disney, and is mere steps away from Disneyland. I stayed at the Convention Center which advertised being only 1 block from the park, but that was misleading. The parking lot was a block away, but the entrance to the park was a very, very long walk. In Florida, the Disney World parks have a bus system that runs every 5 minutes from your hotel to the parks, which is soooooo convenient, that I cannot recommend it highly! No need for car seats, no looking for parking spots, and you can go from park to park or park to hotel and back in a short, comfortable ride. A wonderful service, that is free with your Disney Hotel package.