The second part of the Opening Cinematic has been released for Epic Mickey. It is looking like it will be an AWESOME game! What do you think?

Here is the first one:

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

I’m spoiled by the magic. I admit it. I spend a lot of time running in and out of the parks and I’m spoiled. Granted, quite often my jaunt into the park is just an hour or two but it is still enough. I have seen many of the shows hundreds of times. If the park were empty, I could probably find my way to most of the attractions blindfolded without killing myself. When it comes to the Disneyland Resort, I have seen just about everything there is to see.

I still have a very healthy appreciation for the magic that is created there daily. I would go further and say that I experience magic vicariously through observing it happening in the parks. Last night was a prime example. As I watched the first Fantasmic! showing and then Magical I was surrounded by a family from the Netherlands and another family from the United Kingdom. I was having an absolute blast listening to both the kids and parents alike getting excited for Mickey when he first appeared at the beginning of Fantasmic! and then you should have heard them when Maleficent appeared as a dragon! I’m not really sure what the family from the Netherlands said at that point because they reverted to their native tongue in the excitement. Then during Magical, the squeals of delight as Dumbo and Tinker Bell flew through the night were priceless!  The music for Mary Poppins began playing and this cute little British girl next to me blurts out “that’s Mary Poppins!” Hearing that said with a British accent was absolutely magical! Then when the argument of “make it Pink!” or “no, blue!” began they were all giggling away.

As I sat there listening to there listening to them thoroughly enjoy the show I thought to myself, “this is what it is all about.” It really is what it is all about. For most people who don’t get to go to Disneyland all the time, most of what they see blows them away. Disney really is the best at what it does. They provide a family friendly experience that by and large is magical. Obviously nothing is perfect but I think you can either choose to focus on the imperfections and get stuck in the rut of negativity…or you can look at the bright side and have a lot more fun in the process!

Disney is the very best at what they do. Nobody in the world can equal the level of quality that they offer. It is easy to criticize or take things for granted. I’d ask you to stop yourself though the next time you feel the inkling… instead take a moment and observe the grandparents dancing along with their grandkids to the music of Celebrate: A Street Party! Watch the little boy giggling away as he gets squirted by water during Pixar Play Parade.  Watch a little girl’s eyes open wide as she sees Cinderella walking down the steps at Princess Fantasy Faire. Or even simpler still, stand at the main gate of either park and watch the excitement of people as they walk into Disneyland or Disney California Adventure for the first time. Watch their eyes light up as they see Mickey Mouse for the first time and remember, it did all start with a mouse.

Walt Disney created Disneyland so that it would be “a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” I’m so glad that every time I go there I do find it as a source of joy and inspiration. Disneyland really should be a place of joy and they do a darned good job of creating a place that can be that source of joy. Sometimes they are better at this than others but last night Disneyland was definitely that source.

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

Last week, a new Epic Mickey trailer was released. It is simply amazing. This is a game I have been excited about since I originally heard about it. This trailer really sets the scene for the game and it definitely does not disappoint. It is full of references to Disney historical events. Everyone I know who has seen it that is a Disney fan has totally geeked out about it and it has been fun to watch people get really excited about this. Take a few minutes and watch it:

So... what do you think? I, for one, am very glad that I have a Wii right now! Who besides me is going to go out and get this? I can't wait!

Make it a GREAT day!

- Mr. DAPs

A few weeks ago, DAPs Magic member Lucie emailed me some INCREDIBLE pictures. Some of them were of the original Disneyland Newspaper. Others were of really old Mickey and Minnie Mouse dolls. And there were still more of an old school Disneyland Guide Book! They really are incredible pictures. She emailed them in a large format. So, I kept them as large as I could and uploaded them to www.mrdaps.com for your enjoyment. I also interviewed her about them. It really is worth looking at. What I posted above is just a TINY glimpse of what there is to see. You can see them all here: http://mrdaps.com/?p=754

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

Friday I found myself walking to the left of Sleeping Beauty Castle away from Carnation Plaza Gardens and towards the castle. There is a little white arched bridge there that I was crossing when I noticed a queue in the walkway that is closest to the moat. Seeing as the Fairy Godmother meets people there I didn’t really pay attention at first. Then I noticed that people weren’t getting their picture with the Fairy Godmother. Instead, the Little Mermaid herself was posing for pictures and signing autographs. I stopped on the white bridge where I had a fairly good vantage point without people in the way and started to snap a few pictures. I was a bit surprised as I can’t remember the last time I saw a princess around the castle, especially Ariel.

After this little adventure, I met up with my friend Brianna Garcia. We enjoyed chatting and as we wandered around I looked up and saw Peter Pan by Snow White’s Grotto to the right of Sleeping Beauty Castle. As we walked over to see him, we noticed that he was with Snow White herself. Bri, an accomplished artist and a photographer had also been drooling over my camera a little bit. So, after taking a picture or two, I relinquished the camera to her and let her have her fun. She got some beautiful pictures of Snow White, Peter Pan, and the two of them together.

Having taken our fill of pictures of Snow White and Peter Pan, we made our way towards Coke Corner to visit Ragtime Robert. As I enjoyed Ragtime Robert’s music and the mayhem that comes with Musical Chairs, Bri took some more wonderful pictures. After the game, I got to say hi to Alive in Wonderlandblogger Suzanne Broughton and meet her two kids. They look like a beautiful family. I believe they were off to search for Hidden Mickeys.

With the game over and our goodbyes said, we made our way towards the exit as we both had places to be. As we wandered into Town Square we saw that Mickey and Minnie were together so of course… more pictures! A cute moment was when Minnie gave Mickey a quick kiss. It looked like Mickey almost had a heart attack and had to bend over and catch his breath.

All in all, it made for a nice quick trip into the park on Friday. You can see all of the photos from the day here or go to Mr. DAPs’ Photos to find those pics and others!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

A friend recently posted this article on his facebook and I definitely think it is worth sharing. In it, the author writes about the ten things he misses the most about Disneyland in the past. It really got me thinking, what things do I miss from the past? What things do YOU miss from the Disneyland of the past? While Disneyland will never be finished and will always be growing and evolving, it also has some wonderful memories and a beautiful history. It is on these memories and rich heritage that new ideas and attractions are built from. It is a very tricky balance to continue forward and work to build a newer and better Disneyland while still remembering and respecting the Disneyland of the past. It is often quite easy to fall back into the trap of the old ways are the better ways and grumble about anything that is new. It is much harder to look at what made the old things great and take those ingredients to make something new that is even greater! While we all miss things of the past, we have to learn from them to make the future even better! Disneyland has a long and bright future ahead of it.

Walt Disney once said, “I have blind faith in the policy that quality, tempered with good judgment and showmanship, will win against all odds.” It seems to me that the powers that be (I have a feeling with some influence from John Lasseter) are recognizing that and acting on it. Of course this doesn’t apply to everything in the Disneyland Resort and there will always be room for improvement. Let’s just hope that they continue to work on this.

As I write this I do have to think back to things I remember as a child about Disneyland that no longer happen. Some of these things were even more recent. I hear so frequently how people miss seeing Mickey Mouse and his friends just walking around Disneyland (I once saw him riding a Mickey mobile in Disneyland Paris, was AWESOME!). After all, Disneyland is where Mickey Mouse lives. Why wouldn’t he walk around? Another memory that is frequently brought up is Tomorrowland’s People Mover. Then there is the old Skyway, Rocket to the Moon, House of the Future, Adventure Thru Inner Space, Fort Wilderness, Nature’s Wonderland, the Mike Fink Keelboats, and so many others. Oh, and did I mention Animazement? 

Of course the disappearance of these attractions have led to new and wonderful attractions like Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, or Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters to name just a few. The disappearance of an old parking lot led to a new theme park and while it has taken a few years to polish it is beginning to really shine, especially with the World of Color! We can still look back fondly on the attractions and shows of the past. I for one personally miss the People Moverand Animazement a lot. They were favorites. What do attractions or shows do you remember with fondness? What are some of your own favorite memories of the past?

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

The Disney Parks Blog has released artwork for the upcoming Mickey’s Soundsational Parade that should be coming to the Disneyland Resort sometime in 2011. This is obviously a very small glimpse at what this parade will be like. It sure does look exciting though doesn’t it? Here is what the Disney Parks Blog has to say about Mickey’s Soundsational Parade:

I love Disneyland Paris. It is one of my favorite places to visit. It is beautifully themed and has amazing detail! It also has a wonderful parade entitled Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade. In both 2008 and 2009 when I visited Disneyland Paris I made an effort to watch this parade. My favorite unit is probably the Peter Pan unit. All of them are fun though and it is a very enjoyable parade.

While visiting Disneyland Paris last year, I took entirely too many pictures. For the most part, they have stayed on my external hard drive... until today. I have posted them on mrdaps.com for your enjoyment in Mr. DAPs' Photos section. If you'd rather, you can just click here.

This is a magical parade and I've also included my video of it for your enjoyment. The first one is the entire parade in 2009. The second is just the Peter Pan unit at the show stop from when I saw it in 2008. I'm sorry for the video quality of the second one. It was before I had a video camera! Hope you enjoy both!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

I was talking with a friend earlier today about the look of Mickey Mouse. It is very evident in the World of Color commercial that Mickey’s ears are considerably smaller than what we are normally used to. This led to a discussion about how Mickey has changed throughout the years. While we aren’t really sure how the decisions are made to change the look of Mickey Mouse, it clearly has happened. Obviously, back in the day, Walt Disney himself made those decisions and who would question that? But as time has moved on, Mickey has still changed. So, here is just a quick look at what Mickey Mouse has looked like through the years. You will notice I didn’t post a picture of Mickey from 2010 as I’m just not entirely sure what he will look like this year. Also, the only animated version of him that I’m aware of this year would either be from that commercial that I mentioned before or one of his upcoming video games. Hope you enjoy this brief look at the visual history of Mickey Mouse!

Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie - 1928

As far as the Walt Disney Company is concerned, Mickey Mouse was born on November 18, 1928 when he came to life in Steamboat Willie. He was created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Walt Disney also voiced Mickey. He already had showed up on screen before in Plane Crazy six months earlier but this was the first time that he talked! Little did they know back then that 82 years later Mickey Mouse would jump from talking on the big screen to talking to people at Disneyland and also the opening of a major show, World of Color!

Mickey Mouse - Plane Crazy 1928

Mickey Mouse -Mickey Steps Out 1931

By the 1930’s Mickey now donned his white gloves. His eyes had also changed a bit more towards what we are used to today but not precisely. That would still be some time down the road.

Mickey Mouse - Band Concert 1935

As Mickey Mouse moved into color he gained his signature yellow shoes. The white gloves that are believed to have help show his hands when over his body remained and Mickey went from being simply a comic to being the leader of the pack.

Mickey Mouse - The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Fantasia 1940

In 1940, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice as a segment of Fantasia, Mickey looks mainly like what he looks like today. This is the Mickey Mouse that generations have grown up knowing and loving.  While subtle changes have been made since, the main features have remained the same. For a time he was given eyebrows but those later disappeared.

Mickey Mouse - Mickey's Christmas Carol 1983

Move ahead to 1983 and Mickey’s Christmas Carol and you see that Mickey still looks pretty much the same.

Mickey Mouse - Runaway Brain 1995

In 1995, Mickey Mouse starred in Runaway Brain. It did seem that some of his dimensions were slightly changed (before his BIG change in the short) for this role.

Mickey Mouse - Mickey Mouse Works 1999

By Mouse Works in 1999 it seemed that Mickey Mouse’s animation was changed for good. It lost that old school Disney feel and moved to the feel of the modern cartoon. The backgrounds almost had a more Warner Bros. feel to them.

Mickey Mouse - House of Mouse 2001

A new millennium brought about another forum for Mickey Mouse to perform in. In the House of Mouse, Mickey ran a club and was responsible for making sure the show went on every night. The biggest change to Mickey this time was his wardrobe.

Mickey Mouse - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2008

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse showed Mickey in his digital form. While his main dimensions are probably the same, in an effort to make him look as 2 dimensional Mickey’s look changed quite a bit as he went from traditional animation to digital. His movements also changed quite a bit with this transition. This was and is the most recent/current television appearance by Mickey Mouse.

At this time it is unknown what Mickey’s next role will be in terms of acting. He is scheduled to appear in Epic Mickey, a video game along with the coming Kingdom Hearts games. I personally would love to see him star in some shorts again along with his buddies Donald Duck and Goofy. Heck, throw in the rest of the gang too! Mickey Mouse is, to me, the heart and soul of the Walt Disney Company. Let’s see more of him!