A walk down Main Street is never complete without a stop at the Coke Corner. Whether you are stopping to enjoy a chili dog or just relax during the afternoon, chances are you will be treated to the musical stylings of Ragtime Robert Glenn. Since May of 2006, Ragtime Robert has been wowing audiences with his amazing piano skills and medleys.

Now audiences can bring home a little bit of Disneyland magic, memories, and music! The cd MainStreet Music Magic is just what the title describes. Now fans of Disneyland and Ragtime Robert Glenn can bring a little Main Street to their home. The album features 13 tracks, some are Disney and some are not. They are:

1. No New Tunes     
2. Mainstreet Medley     
3. School Daze     
4. Mary Poppins Medley
5. Train Medley
6. Shanty In Old Shanty Town
7. Haunted/Pirates
8. Black and White Rag
9. Robert's Boogie
10. Ragtime Cowboy Joe
11. Muppet Mayhem
12. Bill Bailey
13. Finale: 2nd Star to the Right/Baby Mine/When You Wish Upon a Star
    
The "Haunted/Pirates" and "Finale" were personally my favorites. The "Haunted/Pirates" was fun and the interaction with the fans prior to playing was great! It brings out the fun Disney intended for both attractions' themes.  "Finale" almost brought tears to my eyes! There is something magical about the arrangement and it definitely tugs on the heart strings. Additionally, "Robert's Boogie" showcases Ragtime Robert's true talent and maestro status!

Overall, this is a great album for Disney lovers as well as those who just enjoy loose ragtime piano music. Watch out Joplin here comes Ragtime Robert Glen!

Have a Magical Day!
Sarah

Did you know that the Swedish Chef had an uncle? It's true! He showed up on The Muppet Show once to help the Swedish Chef prepare a turkey. Being a fan of both the Swedish Chef and Danny Kaye, I have always enjoyed this sketch. Hope you do as well!



Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

According to Wikipedia, Ludwig Von Drake was first introduced on September 24, 1961, as the presenter the cartoon An Adventure in Color, part of the first show of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on NBC. He is also said to be an uncle of Donald Duck. Ludwig was voiced by Paul Frees until his death in 1986. Paul Frees is known for his voice work on several Disney projects such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

The album features 7 songs:

1. I'm Ludwig von Drake

2. The Spectrum Song

3. The Green With Envy Blues

4. It Gets You

5. Von Drake Variations on "The Blue Danube"

6. Professor Ludwig von Drake Discourse: All About Sound Recording

7. An Operatic Version of a Theme from 'Cinderella'

I have to say that if you like Ludwig Von Drake prior to hearing this you will love him all the more! If you don’t like Ludwig Von Drake then I think a listening of the song “I’m Ludwig Von Drake” is in order. This album is hysterical! From the Elvis Von Drake to the “char char char” you will be laughing your tush off!  It is classic Disney comedy and is just as fresh and funny today as it was in 1961. I don’t think that honestly I could pick one song that sticks out as a favorite. They are all funny in their own way and play off of each other wonderfully.

Overall I would say this a great addition to any Disney collection and definitely worth the price.

Have a Magical Day!

Sarah

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

Rapunzel is coming to Disneyland. She’ll be here before we know it. Disneyland is working to prepare her home for her arrival in Fantasyland. Knowing that work would begin shortly I stopped by Geppetto’s  Candy Shoppe last week for a brief look at what the area looked like before things began changing. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have no problems with this change. I just wanted to grab a few pictures of what was there before for posterity.

Last night I stopped by again to see the progress being made. Obviously I couldn’t see much because of all the scaffolding but I thought I’d stop by anyway. The Village Haus is also closed during this work and the wing closest to what will be Rapunzel’s cottage is blocked as well. It is kind of cool to see things in progress and I can’t wait to see what is unveiled when the scaffolding comes down.

Who is looking forward to Rapunzel coming to Disneyland? Are you looking forward to seeing Tangled? I think it will most likely be a visually stunning movie. I hope the rest of it can match up! I am definitely looking forward to it.

That’s all for now on this topic. Hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

As part of an ongoing celebration of Disneyland‘s 55th year, I have been in friendly competition with my friend Francis over whether it is possible to go on 55 attraction in 55 hours at the park. We have gone through a significant chunk of those hours and the end is in sight. I’m glad I’m not the one doing it though as he seems to be living in lines or on attractions. I’m quite content to sip on my coffee, listen to Ragtime Robert, and watch him whiz by on his way to the next attraction. I have to admit, he has done better than I expected him to and it might end up actually being close. It does remind me that I need to get busy with my computer and edit all the video that we have compiled. We have at least two, or three, or four more episodes worth of footage filmed. I might keep it down to one or two though.

For those of you who haven’t seen the first episode, I am including it in today’s post.  Do you think Francis will be able to achieve this challenge? Only time will tell. I guess that is all from me for today. Enjoy the video!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

As you might have noticed on DAPs Disney News this morning, they are casting for The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Along with the opportunity to be a part of the next Muppet movie this release also gave a better look at what the movie will be about.

According to the release, The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made will  ”center on the The Muppets reunion, in order to save The Muppet Studio in Hollywood. They get everyone together in an adventure to defeat Tex Richman, an evil Hollywood man who wants their studio! Everyone must work together in order to save their beloved Muppet studio, and together with their human pal, Gary, they are sure to do so!”

We can make a fairly educated guess that Gary will be played by Jason Segal. It will also be directed by Nicholas Stoller.  Ben Stiller and George Clooney are rumored to be working on The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made as well. The rest is up in the air. One draft of the screenplay indicated they’d like to have a lot of celebrity cameos including Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Christian Bale,  Steve Carrell,  Jack Black, Mel Brooks, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Rachel Ray, Bob Saget, Lisa Lampenelli, Jeff Ross, and Charles Grodin. I think it’d be a complete coup if they pulled all this off. Traditionally, the GREAT Muppet exploits had some really fun cameos throughout the years.

The release date for The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made is December 25, 2011. Filming will be this month (September) through November of this year as well.

I cannot wait for this movie! I think this will be the best Muppet movie since The Muppet Christmas Carol. So now as I wrap this up for today I have a couple of questions for you. What is your FAVORITE Muppet movie? What is your favorite Muppet? Do you think that they are on the right track with this movie?

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

ps. For information on the casting call you can click HERE or check out DAPs Magic Daily Disney News.

Now they are making Mr. Popper’s Penguins into a movie.  Originally Ben Stiller was attached to the project but for whatever reason that didn’t work. Now, after some speculation on if it’d be Owen Wilson, Jack Black, or Jim Carey, a new Mr. Popper has been chosen. Jim Carey will be playing Mr. Popper.

Sadly, they have also made some changes to the storyline.  As it turns out, in the movie Mr. Popper is no longer poor but a rich man. He inherits the penguins and they end up becoming his family. Because he is focusing so much on the penguins, his business ventures go down the tubes and he ends up in trouble. While this might seem like a good idea in a studio conference room somewhere…I would much rather have seen a period piece that stayed true to the original story. The original really was an enchanting storyline that would still make a wonderful family/kid movie. I am hoping that they still overcome this (what I consider) flaw and make a decent movie. Only time will tell though.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins will be released sometime in 2012.

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

A trip to Disneyland is a treat for all of the senses. The sights and sounds are the most common sense that people think of. With the music, bright balloons, beautiful castle, fireworks and more it is easy to see why these two senses might be the most commonly thought of. However, have you ever stopped to smell the roses when you enter the park? That may sound silly, but I mean it in the most literal sense.

Let’s close our eyes and take a mental stroll down Main Street shall we? There are many scents here to tease your nose. Start right when you enter the tunnel the scent of popcorn from the popcorn cart by the flag pole almost instantly demands you buy a bucket (ok maybe that’s just me). As you continue your stroll the coffee and vanilla fragrance from the coffee house, bakery and candy store overwhelms you. An interesting little fact about the vanilla scent is that most of what you smell is actually filtered out to the street to entice you to come get a snack (and boy does it work!).

Continuing on our little tour of scents we will head to Adventureland. Up until this point we have really been focusing mainly on food which Adventureland does have (umm hello? The ever popular Bengal Barbecue never ever smells bad) but here we have our first attraction scent as well. The Jungle Cruise is known for its great jokes and animatronics. These are part of what has kept the ride as popular as it is. I invite you to take into consideration however the scents that surround it. While floating down the river the smell of wet soil, water, and even the cap gun keep you immersed in the adventure you are taking part of.   

Venturing over to New Orleans Square brings us to my personal favorite smell in the park if not the whole world (well my husband is my favorite smell but this is a very close second). This magical scent is Pirates of the Caribbean! There is something completely unique about the smell of that ride. Maybe it’s a combination of chlorine, age and animatronic oil, but the next time you are there deep in the berm just close your eyes and inhale. It’s truly an experience you won’t regret. The Haunted Mansion has a similar “scentsation” sans the chlorine.

Hopping on the train in New Orleans Square and riding it over to Fantasyland allows for another unique scent, the natural gas used by the train. The smell that collects can be especially strong in the tunnel where passengers view Splash Mountain. While it’s not the greatest scent it is distinctive and not something you will soon forget.  

During the spring Fantasyland can be one of the most fragrant spots in the park. The flowers blooming around Storybook Land and Casey Junior offer a unique bouquet that tantalizes ones nose. Be forewarned however that if you have allergies they might tickle your nose as well as your fancy.

Tomorrowland offers many of the same scents as the rest of the park. Most of these smells are food related. This is not surprising because I am sure there aren’t a lot of smells in space. One smell I often notice here that is not prevalent anywhere else in the park is garlic! Redd Rocket’s Pizza Port exudes garlic when walking towards Space Mountain.    

This is just small sampling of the scents that can be found at the Disneyland Resort. The “scentsation” offered is not limited to just the Disneyland Park. Don’t forget that Soarin’ Over California and It’s Tough to Be a Bug in Disney’s California Adventures also treats its riders and/or audience to some interesting fragrances.

Now that you know some of my favorite scents in the park, what are yours? Popcorn, ice cream, coffee? Maybe a ride? I look forward to hearing some idea to go sniff out for myself!

Have a magical day!

Sarah

When you think about Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST: TNG from here on out) there are a few iconic images that probably come to mind. Beyond that massive ship they introduced, the first that comes to mind for me is a bald captain. I would probably have to go with the android Data, with his yellowish skin, to be my second icon for ST: TNG. Obviously the rest of the regulars onST: TNG would eventually come to mind as one thinks back about ST: TNG. But what if those hadn’t been the main icons of this show?  If things had gone as originally thought, this very well could have been what happened.

A recently released casting memo gives insight into what might have been withST: TNG. In fact, if you look at the memo you quickly realize that only ONE person from the memo actually got the part that they were listed for. That would be Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher. But wait, you say that’s not the name on the memo? Well, Gates first name is really Cheryl.

So now lets look at what could have been. Let’s start with Captain Picard. In the show he was played by Patrick Stewart. However Stewart wasn’t the only front runner for the job. Patrick Bauchau was also in the running. You might recognize him if you ever watched The Pretender a few years back. Being that he is from Belgium it is understandable why he would be considered for the role of a French captain. I’ve always thought it was interesting that they chose and English man to play the French Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I’ve never questioned it but always thought it was interesting.

Some other interesting casting switches that happened. Denise Crosby, who eventually went on to play Tasha Yar, was slated on this memo to play Counselor Troi. For Tasha Yar they had Star Trek: Deep Space 9′s Rosalind Chao(Keiko O’Brien) on the list.  Another Star Trek alum, Tim Russ (Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager) was in the running to play Geordi La Forge.  Other actors vying for that role included Reggie Jackson and Wesley Snipes. That sure would have made for a MUCH different show! I think the one that really catches my attention the most is Wesley Snipes as a potential Geordi La Forge. I really have to wonder how he would have played it differently than LeVar Burton did. Looking at the list for Data I notice that Brent Spiner isn’t even on the list! He is definitely a character I cannot picture someone else playing.

It is always fun when a little nugget like this casting memo gets released. We get so set in the way things are that quite often we don’t think of the way things might have been. Who knows if it would have been better or worse but it is definitely interesting to consider! What do you think? Anyone you’d have liked to seen in the cast of ST: TNG? It’s definitely interesting, and a bit weird, to think about!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs