My thoughts on Tron: Legacy

The fam went to see TRON: Legacy on Friday night.  In 3D, of course.

I can honestly say that I give it a solid 7/10, and most of that was because it was a great 3D experience.  I can also honestly say that ...

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

OK now that's done ... here's what I think.

Starting with what I didn't like ...

I think that they didn't do nearly as much as they could have with the possibilities presented by the storyline.

I think that Garrett Hedlund was only marginally pretty to look at.

I think that Flynn's character was less "Flynn" and more "The Dude From The Big Lebowski".

I think it's DUMB that TRON didn't remove his helmet.

I expected SO MUCH MORE from Daft Punk.

The ISO subplot was weak.  It seemed like merely a MacGuffin to get Olivia Wilde in the flick.  Don't get me wrong, I liked the Quorra character quite a bit.  However, I think I'd have liked it better if she ended up being Sam's sister or something. The sheltered weirdo that followed The Dude around?  Not the best use of her talents.

And where the Mickey Mouse were the TANKS?  Seriously - just the discs and lightcycles?  And really, since when do lightcycles have curved trails?  Just sayin'.

Now, here's what I DID like ...

I cannot express my love for Michael Sheen enough.  TEAM ARO!  I had to, of course, interrupt my husband's nerdgasm to inform him that Aro is my favorite vampire.  Clearly, I am not Team Sparkle Vamp.  Gah.

They knocked the Sirens' costuming out of the park. Home run, people ... simply fabulous.

When they used the 3D effects?  BRILLIANT.  Sadly I think too much of the movie was shot in 2D, but when they did the effects of the programs shattering?  Brilliant.

The re-imagining of the uniforms of those in the Grid, by the way, was awesome.  And I really liked when TRON was falling at the end, and his "lines" changed from the red (CLU loyal) to white (Flynn loyal).  Even though I know that it was clearly a set-up for a sequel to the sequel, it still made me squee.

All in all ... I liked it more than I didn't.  Will I buy it on Blu Ray when it's released?  Maybe.  But it's not the ZOMG MUST HAVE IT NOW!!1! that I expected to feel.

And here ... via the awesomeness that is EPBOT ... check this out.  This year's IceHotel?  TRON THEMED.  This is at least twenty kinds of awesome.  Maybe more.

Clearly, Someone's Wished For My Freedom.

I've been in total purgatory over the past two weeks.  Between the pending holiday season (I just love Christmakwanzakkuh), finishing my first MBA class (I am officially 1/10 of the way to my MBA), and the usual cat-herding that ensues in a family ... writing for pleasure has taken a back seat.

To that I say ... NO MORE!

I have a lot of pent up Disney energy, and I'm not afraid to use it. 

But before I do that ... I need to get a decent night's sleep.

ESPN: The Weekend

My Panda and I are huge sports fans.  And I may or may not have a schoolgirl-like crush on Mike Golic (of Mike And Mike In The Morning fame).  So, the opportunity to mix two of my favorite things (sports and Disney) is really appealing.

At this year's ESPN: The Weekend, I'd have the opportunity to actually stalk meet Golic face-to-face.  Of course, this will require me to actually get out of bed at a relatively early hour (when one fine female is usually just getting to bed), and to stand in line to get a table.  I'd also have to decide what's most important: Golic, or rope drop?

Also - if I get to the radio show's broadcast at oh-dark-thirty, will I have to stay the whole time?  I'd honestly want to get in, get my hero-worship completed, squick out my husband, and give up my table / seat to another fan in line.  I really don't need to stay for the entire show, merely just long enough to not get arrested for trespass / stalking / other inconvenient misdemeanor offenses.


Also scheduled to appear is Chad Ochocinco.  I've been a fan of his for a while now, and would actually enjoy stalking meeting him as well.  If Jared Allen ends up being scheduled to appear, I may be forced to move in to the Polynesian (or the Yacht / Beach Club, as I hear that most of the talent stays there) to catch him too. 

So, in case anyone has been keeping score, we're planning a Christmas trip next year.  And this trip in March ... so that means we'll be at The World twice next year, minimum.  WIN.

This is my confession.

Channeling my inner Usher here, apparently.

So, I know that this may come as a bit of a shock to everyone, but I'm a bit of a planner.  I'm kind of a control freak.  Stop laughing at me.

Disney vacations are really an OCD planner's dream.  So many options, so many details, so many variables ... of course, all must be researched and discussed.  It can be very overwhelming to some people, to the point to where they ask random people their opinions (or trust a travel agent that doesn't specialize in Disney travel).  This logic is flawed because most of the information that's given will be that of conventional wisdom.  You know ... Christmas is the best time to visit, make sure you hit those extra magic hours, and sleep in as much as possible. 

To quote my daughter: Oh noes, mommy.  Oh noes they didn't.

When planning my first trip, I scoured the interwebs for information.  There are literally thousands of Disney planning sites out there - some are based upon the books you'll find in the stores, some are web-only resources, and some are provided by travel agencies or those that have some other sort of "skin in the game".  Understanding each site's "angle" or philosophy is key, because if the site's philosophy doesn't match yours, then it's a waste of your time to even review its most basic information / guidance.

Personally, I am a pretty seasoned traveler.  OK, that's an understatement.  Travel is my drug of choice.  And my daughter has had her own frequent flier account since she was 3 months old.  My kid is better at navigating the TSA checkpoints than most adults!  So I don't need basic travel advice - I need location-specific guidance, and to-the-point facts. 

This is why I'm a devotee of TourGuideMike.  Now, many people will say "why should I pay for Disney planning advice when I can get it for free some other places?"  Well, although places like The DIS are wonderful ... sometimes the quality of the advice that's given isn't the best.  As registration isn't well-controlled (anyone can join), you will get basic and publicly available advice.  TGM, on the other hand, is a wealth of information from "the best of the best".  Not only staffed by Mike himself, the forums are a group of Disneyphiles that visit often. 

Mike (and his staff) analyze the park calendars, known group outings (such as Pop Warner, Wide World Of Sports / Disney Endurance races, etc), and other pixie dust.  They then assign each day a "color", and tell you what parks are the best to visit that day (and why).  Now, you could likely do this yourself.  But honestly, once you're paying thousands of dollars for a Disney trip, the meager TGM subscription price (approximately $20) is worth every penny.  And since I've used TGM for my last two trips, I can honestly say that he's yet to steer me wrong.  Also ... if you look around on the internet, you can find discount codes published by partner sites (one of which is the DIS), to even make it a more economical purchase. 

I highly recommend TGM.  Give them a try.

Wordless Wednesday. Really, There Are No Words For This.

Pizza. Epic Mickey. Glee. WIN.

Sorry that I'm MIA.

Panda got me some delicious pizza.  And the Collector's Edition of Epic Mickey.  And Glee's on.


Even my Sam-Cat is in on the action ...

Tomorrow is the day!

I am giddily anticipating the release of Epic Mickey tomorrow.  I've already had my fit at GameStop for not having a midnight release party.  After all, if they can have one for stupid Halo ... why not My Favorite Mouse?

Harumph.  Clearly they just don't understand how important this is to me.

Anyhow, I'm ecstatic.  The release date is upon us.  Panda pre-ordered the collector's edition for me, so I can't wait to get home from work tomorrow and play it.

Also on the docket for release tomorrow:  Waking Sleeping Beauty.  This documentary chronicles the reworking and resurgence of the Disney Animation team.  I've heard such wonderful things about this movie, so I really am anticipating it.

Besides ... I need something to occupy my time until next Tuesday. What's that, you ask?  Why, it's the Blu-Ray release of Eclipse. Yes, I admit it.  I'm one of "those women" ... the Twilight moms.  ***paperbag over head*** 

Here's to some great video and gaming releases this week!

photo courtesy Game Informer / GameStop.

Black Friday FTW!

So, my husband got his first taste of the madness that is Black Friday today.  He's never went shopping on this fateful and joyous day.  So of course I schooled him.

During our travels today, we came across two things that were for mommy (me) ...  Check them out.

First, my hubby threw this in the cart ... the Epic Mickey Wiimote Charging Station.

 

You sit the Wiimote in the inkblot cradle, and it charges.  He also snagged a black Wiimote for me.  Get this - its eyes light up!  It's really spooky, but very very cool.  You can't see the Mickey figure very well, but it is on the lower right corner.  He's wielding the paintbrush!  Speaking of ... check out my other exciting purchase:

 

 Yes, that's the paintbrush nunchuk.  Seriously, it's really cool.  I'm really excited about using it to play the game. 

Tuesday will be quite the stressful day for me ... so many choices!  Do I zone out with Epic Mickey all night?  Or do I take an hour-long break for my weekly Glee fest?  Of course I'll break for Glee.  But still.  Decisions, decisions.

(photos courtesy of Toys R Us)

It's a holiday post!

But not the one you think.  Yes, I know today is Thanksgiving here in the US, but I have to wait for the turkey to finish cooking.  So ... while we wait ... let's talk about Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  Or, in the lexicon of my fellow Disneyphiles ... MNSSHP.

This year was our first outing to MNSSHP.  I'd heard wonderful things about it, and was really excited about going.  At first, I balked at the extra admission price.  But then I realized that the price of admission was a small price to pay for the possibility of very low lines.  I figured that it was worth a try.

I cannot express how happy I am with that decision. 

My daughter and I arrived right after the 4:00 PM "cutoff".  We had a very short wait in line for admission, and we walked into a magical park.  Cast members were everywhere ... they asked to see our admission ticket, and gave us a wristband.  These wristbands were wonderful - because I personally witnessed some guests being denied entrance to a ride queue and being "gently ushered" toward the gate later in the evening.

Upon admission to the Magic Kingdom, we snapped a photo on Main Street USA.  We were given a special MNSSHP PhotoPass card to use that day - because it allowed us a discount and access to some stock Halloween photos.  This is a very good thing, in consideration of the fact that my fabulous little Fujifilm "point and shoot" didn't capture very good photos of some of the key moments.

After getting our photos taken, we quickly headed back toward Adventureland and Frontierland.  Our goal for the night was to ride The Mountains as many times as possible.  In fact, we had discussed our "game plan", and had bets on how many times we could just walk on to each of Maddie's favorite rides.  It turns out we ran the Splash / Thunder Mountain circuit four times back-to-back before we got bored with the rides.  Isn't that funny ... we bored of two of Maddie's most favorite rides on the planet!

After our ride-a-palooza on the two Mountains, we decided to pop in to Pecos Bill's for a quick bite.  I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the burgers we received.  And oh, the toppings bar was a very welcome surprise.  The fries were the same fries as are found throughout the parks, but the burgers were much tastier.

During the first "Boo To You" parade, we took the train around to the Toontown stop.  We disembarked, and made a beeline toward Maddie's other favorite ride ... Space Mountain.  We rode it twice in a row and then went to stake out our spot on Main Street USA for the HalloWishes fireworks.

Simply amazing.  I think that Disney really does fireworks "right", and this show was absolutely no exception.  Ordinarily, I"d say that you can get a better view of fireworks to the side of the castle - but I highly suggest actually staying in "the hub" for these.  You are immersed in the magic, as they explode all around you.

After our fireworks experience, we then ran quickly to the front of the stage.  One of the biggest perks of MNSSHP is the rare appearance of the Villains.  My daughter just LOVES Maleficent (or, as she says, Falefficent).  Of course, we giddily waited to snap a photo with her:

After this, her night was nearly complete - but wait!  There's more!

The Boo-To-You parade is wonderful.  In my opinion, it's second only to SpectroMagic.  Every float was amazing, there were rarely seen characters on board, and the song (heard by clicking here) is so catchy that it'll be in your head for MONTHS after the party. And the best part?  The last float, with Goofy.  It blows bubbles!

All in all, I give MNSSHP two thumbs up.  It was a great time, the lines were super short, and we got to see some things that we never see in the parks during regular hours.  In my opinion, it's worth the extra money.

Gowalla ... Foursquare ... Facebook Places? Stalk-tastic!

I admit it ... I love Foursquare.  I have been "playing" for a while, and have amassed such fabulous badges as "I'm On A Boat!"

However, I must say that I'm intrigued by Disney's partnership with Gowalla.  They have several "trips" outlined; including one for kids not tall enough for "The Mountains" at Magic Kingdom.  I think it'll be a fun distraction and a fun project to do while in the parks.  Granted, I'm a Liner, so I'm already furiously tappity-tappity-tapping on my phone while visiting.  But this really seems like a good thing to try.  And of course, they have park-specific "pins" to earn by checking in at different places!  Fun!

As I'm an Android user, Gowalla wasn't available for my preferred platform until very recently.  I have just installed and downloaded it to my precious (aka my Droid), and will give it a whirl this weekend.  Add me as a friend ... connect with me by clicking here.

I'm off to visit with some of my Second Wives Cafe friends (and by "some", I mean "at least ten").  We're going to Foxwoods Casino to play bingo, and we plan to catch up with each other.  We haven't been together for a year and change, and there's much to celebrate (new boyfriends, new husbands, new jobs, and even Heather's pregnancy).  I can't wait to see my friends.

Have a wonderful and magical weekend!