Passamaquoddy

As you all know, our little town of Passamaquoddy has been super busy the past week or so. Busy enough that nothing was done pretty much anywhere in town. It’s almost as if our town of Passamaquoddy was actually just one geeky person trying to balance family, blogging and an awkward attraction to cheesecake. But since we know better than that, please excuse the lack of updates to our town blog.

With that said, I took advantage of the wealth of time available to catch up on my reading…

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination is the largest, dare I say the most thorough examination of Walt that I’ve ever read. In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever felt like I knew the man. And at over 900 pages, a number that makes J.K.Rowling spill her butterbeer, I feel closer to Disney in general. Neal Gabler has crafted quite a portrait using data and interviews where many previous Disney biographers use speculation and theories. The information is exhaustive… and the journey is exhausting.

Like most biographies, the early pages introduce Walt’s parents and his early life. The stories help us understand why Walt became Walt Disney. But, it is the middle pages I found most compelling. In these, we read about the creation of the Disney animated features. From the first shorts to SNOW WHITE, all the way up to THE JUNGLE BOOK, we get the greatest understanding of the factors and decisions affecting the final output. I congratulate Gabler in tying his work directly to my own memories of these films, and even enhancing my own experience with them

The last segment of the book is dedicated to the burgeoning Disney organization as it expands into Disneyland, all the way through the initial phases of Epcot. This again is familiar and informative, but is tainted by Walt’s own fading interest and pending death.

The book is a rewarding chore to read, and a great supplement to many of the recent “Treasures” DVD sets. There will be people who are going to hate this book. Anyone looking for a book that finally exposes Walt Disney as a horrific monster, despite the lack of evidence… they will not be happy with this book. On the other hand, anyone who is hoping the book will justify their own view of Walt as a perfect man who would frown on current Disney practices… they will be disappointed as well. In fact, I feel that Walt would have been accepting of any and all changes that have happened in the parks and in films. Walt Disney was a great man who succeeded due tothree things: persistence, a good support team and living in a simpler time. Neal Gabler’s book “Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination is a great book for getting you back in touch with all three.

Many other book reviews are available by searching for “Bookworm” in the search engine in the right menu box.

And in our local news today, KWDY is pleased to announce that a recent new arrival to our community has been spotted along our peaceful Passamaquoddy shores.

Imma Itchy, a retired schoolmarm from Sawyerville recently purchased Harpers Mill.

The rumors surrounding this local site can now be put to rest, as Imma has announced plans are now officially in place to renovate the site and open a Bed and Breakfast soon.

“This should be a tremendous boost to our local economy” states former Mayor Jim Backus. He went on to note that many tourists often stop to enjoy the view from our lighthouse and tour the local cannery.

Imma plans to open the new kitchen to local residents as well. Sunday night will be sea shanty night, where residents can literally sing for their supper. Shrimp, scallops and oysters will be part of the new menu, which will also include Imma’s famous corn soup.

Be sure to drop by and say hello to Imma on your way to the docks and look for the “Itchy” Bed & Breakfast to open soon.

From the Canadian Outback

I’ve had this recurring nightmare. I’m in Epcot and I’m walking toward the other side of World Showcase after several runs on Montezuma’s Revenge - the new mud flume built outside the Mexico pavilion. (I told you it was a nightmare). Anyway, me and my dream party – which in addition to myself, consists of my brother and his wife, the lady who played Julie on the original “The Love Boat” TV series and inexplicably, half of the 1984 Olympic figure skating team. Anyway, we’re all hungry and we head over to the Canada pavilion to eat – without a reservation. I approach the host stand at La Cellier – the Canadian steakhouse – and ask if there is room for any walk-ups. The Cast member joked “you don’t have a reservation?” I say “I didn’t think to call”… But the cast member breaks into laughter… calls her friends, tells them what happens in French.. they laugh… Soon, the entire staff of the restaurant and many of the patrons are standing in the little lobby of the restaurant, pointing and laughing, repeatedly yelling “non réservacion”. Then I look down and realize I forgot to wear pants that day…

Then I wake up in a sweat, back safe in my lighthouse in good ole Passamaquoddy. The moral of the dream “if you want to eat at La Cellier, get a reservation and get it early.”.. and also that “Lauren Tewes was cute in 1978 but her cutesy voice gets on your nerves pretty quick.”

Back to reality… after many, many visits I finally scored an ADR – an Advanced Dining Reservation – at La Cellier during the week of Mousefest. I filled out the reservation with some friends, including Bryan from the “All About the Mouse” podcast.

The ALL ABOUT THE MOOSE meet

Andy Jackson, Glenn, Amy and Bryan Ripper

It had been years since I was inside the restaurant and was quickly reminded that the scarcity of reservations may be associated with the small size of the dining space. We waited in the small lobby and attempted to answer their trivia question at the host stand… Which we got very wrong. (it asked us how many Canadian Provinces there were and to name them… Our group got involved and we even employed some other folk in a similar waiting predicament. And the best we could come up with was five out of 13 – and one of them was “maple syrup”. We were okay with that because I quickly realized that my group and all of the other people waiting to eat could easily whoop the three hosts.

We were seated and our server, Mere from British Columbia promptly gave us a visit. She was a pleasure and offered great service and attention throughout the meal.

Most of us weren’t very adventurous with our drinks, but one friend tried a traditional Canadian beer called “Trois Pistoles”. He wasn’t sure whether he liked the flavor but, he did ask a cast iron stove on a date afterwards.

The lunch menu is not very dangerous. Everything is identifiable. After all, it is a steakhouse. At our table we tried the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup ($5.49) and the Wasabi Shrimp Cocktail ($9.99) for an appetizer. Both offerings as well as the nice bread variety were delicious. Other appetizers ran in price up to a $12.99 Duck Confit.

For our meals we had a couple grilled steak burgers ($11.49) and a couple New York Strip steaks ($24.99). My friends’ burgers were rich and succulent and they smiled throughout their meal. The steaks themselves were tasty, but I found the cut a bit fatty – a risk you take in any restaurant. Other sandwiches and entrees fall between our meals in price and include chicken dishes, prime rib, trout and squash ravioli.

Desserts ranged from $4.99 for S’Mores or Chocolate Moose up to a $7.00 Chocolate Whiskey Cake.

In closing, I’m constantly reminding myself that the foods and restaurants around Walt Disney World are inside of high traffic theme parks. With that in mind, I’m amazed at the quality of food – usually in line with upper midline restaurants outside of the parks. And with Disney involved, the servers are usually many steps above their real world counterparts.

Enjoy La Cellier.. but be sure to get that ADR! 407-WDW-DINE.

Be sure to check out Bryan’s website and podcast.

Other Passamaquoddy Dining reviews can be found by searching for “Dining” in the search engine on the upper right.

Our recent post about Chumshop Earth created quite a stir. Folk from all sides of the fishing world sent in emails or left comments, many of which didn’t remember many of the details. One of the people who had a great recollection of the attraction was Andrew Taylor or the Imaginerding blog.

Here is a picture of Andy and his brother George at a character meet and greet outside of the World of Ocean attraction. This photo with Captain Seasick was taken just minutes before the character took out a six year who punched him in the gullet.

As always, good times were had by all… except the six year old…

Be sure to check out the Imaginerding blog. It’s a great place to visit for a nice touch of humor, detailed observation and a scholarly look at Disney themed books. Visit them here.

If you scour the Disney internet community about now, you’ll be flooded with reports, photos and videos from Mousefest. Since nobody in Passamaquoddy had ever been to Mousefest until this year, we’ve even got a touch of it here. I must admit I was reluctant to attend Mousefest. I wasn’t sure what Mousefest was like and joining a cult of Disney freaks holding hands and singing “The Mickey Mouse Club March” bilingually for four hours straight didn’t sit well with this fisherman. Fortunately, my trepidation was unfounded and we never did get around to that sing-along. Mousefest turns out to be a no-duh, obvious vacation option.

Weeks before the event begins, attendees receive a convenient little booklet including a detailed agenda of all the possible events. It puts you quickly in the mood as you look at your options and make up your preliminary schedule- a schedule that works flawlessly at its inception. It just won’t work when the events start running. You quickly find things pulling you this way and that, turning your schedule into a guideline- but that is okay.

In my mind, there are four types of meets that you can attend.

1. The Mouse Club: This is a meet built around networking and meeting others from the various Disney communities around the world. It’s a place to shake hands, hug and put faces to names and avatars. The largest event – the Mega Mouse Meet- is a perfect example of this.

2. The Mousekebar: Similar to the Mouse Club, but this meet revolves around food and/or drink. From a Dole Whip to fancy glowing martinis, to character breakfasts, to the most rancid drink that ever was produced, to everything including the kitchen sink ice cream, people gather and chat over their meal.

3. The Wild Ride: Here you have the opportunity to join your friends – sometimes hundreds of them – as you experience one of the Disney attractions en masses. From flying on Soarin’ , challenging the Yeti, to taking over several Simba 1 vehicles on the morning safari, the group gathers for fun – and photographs.

4. Mouse Studies: These meets are a bit more intellectually stimulating, where an expert takes the time, sharing knowledge with attendees. Whether it’s hunting for Hidden Mickeys, learning photography tips, checking your knowledge in trivia contests, studying a park through history, or exploring the details of décor and story in a DSI (Disney Scene Investigation).

Depending on personality types and interests, attendees will lean toward a particular style of meet. Even with all of the available meets, there are other things to pull you off schedule. You’ll have old and new friends who pull you away to enjoy ADRs and other events. Not to mention, you’re in the largest, most spectacular playground in the world, its rides pulling you their way.

No matter the schedule, Mousefest is a very rewarding experience. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be giving some reports on the happenings.

As most of you know, in our little hamlet of Passamaquoddy, some of the behind the scenes people call themselves “Quoddesigners”. So while down at Disneyworld, I found that the Disney folks have a similar name for their creative workers, “Imagineers”. So, since I’m attending college online to become a Quoddesigner myself, I decided I’d write my school papers about Disney. If studying their creation will help us get a real tar road out to Foster’s Cove, then so be it… For my first study, I’m gonna look at Spaceship Earth…

From the parks inception, Spaceship Earth has been the prominent icon of Epcot. And whether it sports a sparkly party favor wand or not, it is a symbol that Disney fans hold dear to their hearts. So, when the attraction closes down for a major refurbishment, it catches the imaginations of many. And when the refurb begins to run a bit longer than expected, imagination can give way to paranoia. Rumors were flying about the changes being done inside that big golf ball.

During the recent Mousefestivities, many of the most ardent Disney fans were finally given a glimpse of the attractions latest incantation. Construction walls still block prying eyes from peeking in, but on occasion, they opened the door and let a few folk in… As I walked by the wall, there was not a soul in line and nobody seemed aware of the gap. So with trepidation and excitement, I proceeded through the opening.

The ride vehicles look as before with one large difference, a touch screen video monitor prominently displayed in each seat. These screens are used sparingly through most of the ride, but when they do, they take command of the last quarter of the ride. As the vehicles ascend, a photograph is taken of the riders, one that may be used at a later time but during these previews, were never used again.

As before, the ride is synchronized with a narration. And in the first big change in tone, the ride is now guided by Dame Judi Dench. Initially, the ride was narrated by Vic Perrin who was replaced by Walter Cronkite. Both of their narrations were of the “voice of God” nature, giving an heir of legitimacy and importance to the experience. Several years later, along with a rehab, the narration was switched over to Jeremy Irons, who brought a darker, more cynical commentary to the proceedings. The new narration is definitely the lightest interpretation. Now, it seems to be guided by a matronly presence, more specific to the scenes along the way. This has been a point of contention for some, finding the change limiting for such an important attraction. But maybe that is by design, ramping up the entertainment and decreasing the education.

When the “time travelers” reach the top of the ascension, we see the first in a plethora of fantastic new animatronics. For the next several minutes, familiar characters have been given a new lease on life, exchanging clunky movements for fluid, lifelike choreography. All the favorites are there, looking better than ever: from the cave storyteller, to the Roman Centurion, to the sleeping monk scribing a book, to the 1969 family watching the moon landing on the television. They are joined by two new scenes, one a vast room representing the birth of a large supercomputer and a second showing the invention of the home computer by a computer geek in his California home.

Now, the vehicle gets its view of “Spaceship Earth” floating in a sea of stars. It still is visually impressive, but the narration and musical score lack the oomph that many are accustomed.

Now, the ride vehicles descend back down, returning riders to the present. In earlier versions of the ride, Imagineers toyed with many views of the future, views that may have dated very quickly. The descent is now devoted to the interactive touch screens. With the exception of some hanging light effects, focus is on the ride computer. It guides riders through a series of questions and builds a short video of that future. This may be a section of the ride that is still under construction; cause at this time, this descent is not very intriguing and has a very small replayability factor.

It is good to have the attraction back up and running, and I can only hope for some more minor and major tweaks are done before it opens wide in February of next year.