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theprawncracker
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Hey Muppet Central! It's your good friend Ryan, theprawncracker, here, and as most/some of you know, last week I went to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. And before I left, I promised a report on how the Muppets are lookin' under the big cheese. Just as my good friend Vic Romano did last February in this thread, and, I hope Vic doesn't mind, I'm going to be borrowing some of the pictures from that thread to show you guys some of the merchandise I found, and some of the merchandise I didn't find. Anyway, here it is, my day by day report from Walt Disney World.
Day One - Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Gonna go ahead and warn you now, Day One was pretty uneventful. Since I didn't arrive in Orlando until after ten at night, I didn't get to go to any of the parks. In fact, we only got to go to our resort, the Caribbean Beach. They had a pretty neat gift shop at the main hub of the resort, but alas, no Muppet stuff.
I wasn't terribly surprised, I figured that for the resorts they'd just stock it with all Mickey, all Minnie, all Goofy stuff, just to brace their visitors for the parks they were gonna hit later in their stay. So that was it for Day One.
Muppet Status - Day One: BEEN BETTER
Day Two - Disney's Polynesian Resort and the Magic Kingdom
Today my family and I had breakfast reservations at the Polynesian Resort, it was a totally cool resort, with, of course, gift shops! So, while we were waiting for our table I grab my little bro and we run off to the store. Now, you've got to understand that this store was considerably smaller than the one at the Caribbean Beach Resort, could explain why they didn't have any Muppet stuff either.
So we got through breakfast, me still without any Muppet stuff, and heading to the Magic Kingdom. Now, of course my mind wasn't completely set on hitting every single store in the Kingdom for Muppet stuff, hey I AM a kid after all. So, I stopped in a few of the bigger stores (STILL no Muppet stuff) then ran off to the rides. I had the extreme luck of riding Splash Mountain three times in a row due to the temperature outside, but I actually didn't get wet at all! But you don't really care about that, you care about the Muppet stuff! Yes, I actually found some today! Two! Two of Disney's pin trading pins, one was a group shot pin with Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and Animal, and the other, a limited edition "Hidden Mickey" pin with Kermit sitting on the Muppet*Vision fountain playing his banjo, with Waldo attached on a spring, this was my favorite of the Muppet pins I found. But, sadly, that was all the Muppet stuff I found on Day Two.
Muppet Status - Day Two: Could be worse
Day Three - Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Contemporary Resort
Woot! Day Three! MGM Studios! THE Muppet fans home away from MC! Now first, I'd just like to point out that I saw Jim Henson and Kermit's names in the sidewalk outside the Great Movie Ride, and I was thrilled! Took pictures, which I'll have up sooner rather than later. Then we went to Muppet*Vision! Gosh! What a fantastic walk! I mean, you can see the Kermit balloon from most anywhere in the park, so just watching that in the sky above you as you make your way to the show is just great!
So I finally get to the Muppet lot, pass the Muppet*Vision fence sign with Kermit's face next to "Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D", took my picture there (I stood in the same place as MrsPepper!!
). Then, I saw the fountain. It's so gorgeous, and no worries gang, despite the construction signs surrounding the icon previously in the year, the fountain is in pristine shape. In fact, I'd say it's never looked better. All the fountains are operational, Piggy spins perfectly, it was great.
And what else was great was being able to take my picture with a life-size wood cut out of Sweetums playing paddle-ball (that same picture may in fact be the picture I submit to Vic Romano for the Muppet Central Show II, CLICK
]), and also taking pictures with the Statler and Waldorf cut outs.
So, pictures taken, time to head into the show, right? Wrong-o! I'm walking to go into the show, and one of the cast members who's working the show comes up to me and says, "Hey, I saw you guys taking pictures of well...Everything, and I thought maybe you'd like to go down back on the side of the theater, there's posters and stuff down there you can take pictures of." Naturally, my little Muppet obsessed prawn heart lepta at the chance. So, I walked down the queue, where there would usually be a line waiting to go into the show, and I was staring face to face with more Muppet movie parody posters than I'd ever seen! "Super Beaker", "Moi Jane", "Star Chores", to name a few, I'll have pictures of those up soon too.
NOW it was time to go into the show! Finally! The moment I've been waiting for, the reason I came on this trip, was finally here! Everything in the theater was in perfect shape, everything was polished, shined, gorgeous! The props in the waiting area to go into the theater were so realistic, and made for the greatest pictures I've ever had the pleasure of being in. I took pictures with Gonzo's crates, Scooter's, Sam's, Piggy's, Lew Zealand's, and my favorite part was the Electric Mayhem's band equipment! Totally cool! Then the pre-show came on, I laughed my head off, and ya know what? So did the audience!! Holy pigeon snot gang! When Rizzo came out as Mickey Mouse there wasn't an un-used laugh box in the room! That right there made my day.
So I go to the show, do bear in mind that I've seen this at least four times before, and I was dazzled, marveled, completely in awe. It was by far, in my opinion, one of the greatest things the Muppets have ever done. It's funny, it's charming, it's beautiful, and most of all, it's advanced. Muppet*Vision was made in 1990, sixteen years later, it remains the most highly advanced 3D shows I've ever seen. I compared it to the "Mickey's Philharmagic" 3D show at the Magic Kingdom, and I realized, "Wow, this is SO much better." I mean, it was like comparing The Muppet Movie to Cinderella II, there was no contest! I mean EVERYTHING was 3D! Even when it wasn't supposed to be! I mean, when Kermit walked down the hall, you could TELL that he was another dimension away from the walls behind him, it was just amazing, by far the highlight of my trip.
And that my friends is the first installment of the thread, I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of the trip.
COMING UP: The Muppet*Vision gift shop, outside Muppet*Vision, the MGM Christmas parade, The Television Academy Hall of Fame garden, The Contemporary Resort, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and more!
Until tomorrow,
Ryan
Prawnie
theprawncracker
Day One - Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Gonna go ahead and warn you now, Day One was pretty uneventful. Since I didn't arrive in Orlando until after ten at night, I didn't get to go to any of the parks. In fact, we only got to go to our resort, the Caribbean Beach. They had a pretty neat gift shop at the main hub of the resort, but alas, no Muppet stuff.
I wasn't terribly surprised, I figured that for the resorts they'd just stock it with all Mickey, all Minnie, all Goofy stuff, just to brace their visitors for the parks they were gonna hit later in their stay. So that was it for Day One.
Muppet Status - Day One: BEEN BETTER
Day Two - Disney's Polynesian Resort and the Magic Kingdom
Today my family and I had breakfast reservations at the Polynesian Resort, it was a totally cool resort, with, of course, gift shops! So, while we were waiting for our table I grab my little bro and we run off to the store. Now, you've got to understand that this store was considerably smaller than the one at the Caribbean Beach Resort, could explain why they didn't have any Muppet stuff either.
So we got through breakfast, me still without any Muppet stuff, and heading to the Magic Kingdom. Now, of course my mind wasn't completely set on hitting every single store in the Kingdom for Muppet stuff, hey I AM a kid after all. So, I stopped in a few of the bigger stores (STILL no Muppet stuff) then ran off to the rides. I had the extreme luck of riding Splash Mountain three times in a row due to the temperature outside, but I actually didn't get wet at all! But you don't really care about that, you care about the Muppet stuff! Yes, I actually found some today! Two! Two of Disney's pin trading pins, one was a group shot pin with Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and Animal, and the other, a limited edition "Hidden Mickey" pin with Kermit sitting on the Muppet*Vision fountain playing his banjo, with Waldo attached on a spring, this was my favorite of the Muppet pins I found. But, sadly, that was all the Muppet stuff I found on Day Two.
Muppet Status - Day Two: Could be worse
Day Three - Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Contemporary Resort
Woot! Day Three! MGM Studios! THE Muppet fans home away from MC! Now first, I'd just like to point out that I saw Jim Henson and Kermit's names in the sidewalk outside the Great Movie Ride, and I was thrilled! Took pictures, which I'll have up sooner rather than later. Then we went to Muppet*Vision! Gosh! What a fantastic walk! I mean, you can see the Kermit balloon from most anywhere in the park, so just watching that in the sky above you as you make your way to the show is just great!
So I finally get to the Muppet lot, pass the Muppet*Vision fence sign with Kermit's face next to "Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D", took my picture there (I stood in the same place as MrsPepper!!
). Then, I saw the fountain. It's so gorgeous, and no worries gang, despite the construction signs surrounding the icon previously in the year, the fountain is in pristine shape. In fact, I'd say it's never looked better. All the fountains are operational, Piggy spins perfectly, it was great. And what else was great was being able to take my picture with a life-size wood cut out of Sweetums playing paddle-ball (that same picture may in fact be the picture I submit to Vic Romano for the Muppet Central Show II, CLICK![You owe me Vic!!
]), and also taking pictures with the Statler and Waldorf cut outs. So, pictures taken, time to head into the show, right? Wrong-o! I'm walking to go into the show, and one of the cast members who's working the show comes up to me and says, "Hey, I saw you guys taking pictures of well...Everything, and I thought maybe you'd like to go down back on the side of the theater, there's posters and stuff down there you can take pictures of." Naturally, my little Muppet obsessed prawn heart lepta at the chance. So, I walked down the queue, where there would usually be a line waiting to go into the show, and I was staring face to face with more Muppet movie parody posters than I'd ever seen! "Super Beaker", "Moi Jane", "Star Chores", to name a few, I'll have pictures of those up soon too.
NOW it was time to go into the show! Finally! The moment I've been waiting for, the reason I came on this trip, was finally here! Everything in the theater was in perfect shape, everything was polished, shined, gorgeous! The props in the waiting area to go into the theater were so realistic, and made for the greatest pictures I've ever had the pleasure of being in. I took pictures with Gonzo's crates, Scooter's, Sam's, Piggy's, Lew Zealand's, and my favorite part was the Electric Mayhem's band equipment! Totally cool! Then the pre-show came on, I laughed my head off, and ya know what? So did the audience!! Holy pigeon snot gang! When Rizzo came out as Mickey Mouse there wasn't an un-used laugh box in the room! That right there made my day.
So I go to the show, do bear in mind that I've seen this at least four times before, and I was dazzled, marveled, completely in awe. It was by far, in my opinion, one of the greatest things the Muppets have ever done. It's funny, it's charming, it's beautiful, and most of all, it's advanced. Muppet*Vision was made in 1990, sixteen years later, it remains the most highly advanced 3D shows I've ever seen. I compared it to the "Mickey's Philharmagic" 3D show at the Magic Kingdom, and I realized, "Wow, this is SO much better." I mean, it was like comparing The Muppet Movie to Cinderella II, there was no contest! I mean EVERYTHING was 3D! Even when it wasn't supposed to be! I mean, when Kermit walked down the hall, you could TELL that he was another dimension away from the walls behind him, it was just amazing, by far the highlight of my trip.
And that my friends is the first installment of the thread, I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of the trip.
COMING UP: The Muppet*Vision gift shop, outside Muppet*Vision, the MGM Christmas parade, The Television Academy Hall of Fame garden, The Contemporary Resort, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and more!
Until tomorrow,
Ryan
Prawnie
theprawncracker
I've stayed at the Beach resort,and it was pretty good.
Can't wait to read your next update.