Disney Books: THE KINGDOM KEEPERS POWER PLAY

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you may or may not recall that I've reviewed other books in this series:  the first two books and the third book.   This is the fourth book of the series, and in my view, it is the best yet.  To me it looks like Mr. Pearson took the plotting of this book very seriously, not allowing it to become overburdened with details and keeping the story moving (my criticisms of the third book) and kept it consistent and sensible (my criticism of the first book).  (I liked the second quite a bit; I thought that was well done.)

In this story, it seems like the Keepers themselves are being compromised in some way, and when they discover that a couple of new evil Overtakers have taken over the leadership of that group, they learn why:  the Evil Queen (from Snow White) can cast spells.  And the OT's can now access the DHI servers and can become DHI's themselves.  And they have a plan, and the Keepers are having trouble ascertaining exactly what they're trying to do.  The OT's are keeping the Keepers off balance with recruits from their high school and with continual wrenches thrown into their best efforts to guard the Kingdom. 

The story takes a logical and welcome step forward with the addition of the "good" Disney characters, who will hopefully play a major role in the next book (which has been out in hardcover for some time now), and I look forward to reading further in the series.  I've known that Mr. Pearson is a very good writer from reading a few of his adult novels, and was waiting for that talent to manifest in this young adult series.  It has done so in this book, I feel.

*****

Lincoln Child's UTOPIA revisited

I'm sort of a book nut; I've got thousands of the things laying around.  I mostly read mystery and thriller fiction, but at a given time I could be reading something in any genre:  I read a lot of science fiction, horror, and some fantasy.  (I read a lot of books on Disney, too...as many as I can...)

A while back I made this blog post about the Lincoln Child novel, UTOPIA, and talked generally about the story, which was a thriller about terrorists holding a huge indoor theme park sort of built into a canyon near Las Vegas hostage.  It was a good taut story, in my opinion, with interesting characters, from a really good thriller writer (Child is well known for his collaborations with Douglas Preston, stories featuring Agent Pendergast).  One of the major characters in this book is not a person at all, but the theme park where everything takes place.  Child delves into the details of the place, and I have always found it to be a repeatable read for me.

This is a scan of the drawings at the beginning of the book, depicting the park as it is designed.  You can see that there are four distinct areas to the fictional park.  The first, Boardwalk, is sort of a carnival area with thrill rides and an aquarium.  From there you can go to Camelot, which is sort of self explanatory.  Gaslight, a third area, is an area themed to a part of London, England, and last is Callisto, a space station/skyport futuristic area.  A fifth area is scheduled to open, themed to Atlantis.

I think that the detail of the drawing is really well done.  It's a very thoroughly thought-out concept brought into book form.  According to Child, there are no plans for future novels set in Utopia.  But I wonder about Child's obvious fascination with the art form known as the "theme park".  Where did his inspiration for this come from?  There are some obvious (to Disney fans, anyway) comparisons to be made between the found of this park and Walt Disney. 

I'll just reiterate:  it was a fun read and I probably will read it again someday soon.

*****

Art of Animation or the Polynesian?

I always like reading Kevin Yee's articles on his own blog or on MiceAge, and his latest, titled Roar or Bore?, was interesting.  It is a review of the new Art of Animation resort, which is a value resort themed to various classic Disney animated features.  So far there is a Nemo section, a Cars section, and now, newly opened, a Lion King section. 

Kevin doesn't give the Lion King section very high marks, unlike those other two sections, which he feels are really well done and really immerse the guests in the world of Disney characters and stories. 

I don't have any opinions about this resort.  I've never stayed in any of the value resorts, and as a DVC member, will likely never do so in the future.  What I found interesting (besides the info on the resort in a general sense) was that Kevin says he sort of prefers this sort of a resort, themed to Disney stories, to something like the Polynesian.  His argument is that the point of a Disney vacation would be to immerse one's self in all things Disney, and the Polynesian is something that could be experienced elsewhere, as there are other, "real" Polynesian type resorts out there.

There are other resorts like the Polynesian, probably.  Most of them are probably actually in Hawaii, though I'm sure there are some on the mainland as well.  I know of a resort in the Wisconsin Dells called the Polynesian, which is a hotel and water park.  It's on the lower to middle end of the resorts there, I think, though I've not stayed there.  Still, I suppose the point is valid.  Anyone can open a Polynesian themed resort. 

But which of the Disney resorts are fully immersive in the sense that they are themed to Disney movies and characters and such?  I don't think ANY of them are, not fully.  Animal Kingdom Lodge has some Lion King stuff around, but it's really not immersive in the sense that you're living in the movie or anything.  The Polynesian, actually, has a few Lilo-and-Stitch moments around, I think, though I really don't pay much attention to them. 

I suppose that if I was really THAT Disney crazy, I wouldn't mind staying in such a resort.  But people already say I'm Disney-crazy enough.  And I don't have any issue with staying in a unique, comfortable resort, especially one where you can look out and see the castle rising over the Magic Kingdom, you can watch the fireworks over the park from a beach, you can hop on a futuristic (I know it's not, but it still sort of looks the part) monorail and ride over to the park.  I like the people there.  I like the decor, the rooms, the grounds.  To me, the Polynesian says "Disney". 

The Contemporary also says "Disney" to me, even though I've never stayed there.  Where else can you see a monorail running through the lobby?  The Animal Kingdom Lodge says "Disney" to me.  Where else can you go out and watch animals roaming a savannah from your balcony?  The Port Orleans says "Disney" to me, too.  It has a very "New Orleans" feel to me, but with the proximity to all that Disney immersiveness. 

I feel that resorts like these give me an experience that I can't get elsewhere.  That says
"Disney" to me as much as seeing Cars or Lion King characters around.  I'm looking for comfort and relaxation, also...at least as much as I can get when we're not attacking the parks, commando-style.  I get enough of the crowds at the parks.  It's not about "escaping" the characters, it's about being on vacation.  To me, "vacation" means getting as much comfort as I can afford. 

I'll take the Polynesian, every time.

*****

Personal thing...Tribune Article

Back in 1986, I was a senior in dental school.  Something bad happened in January of that year - something that has impacted our nation's space program, echoing even to today.  The space shuttle Challenger exploded on launch, killing all seven astronauts, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.  (Did I spell that wrong?)

Neal Armstrong died a few days ago.  Most of you will remember that he was the first man to step onto the surface of the moon.  Well, I was reading science fiction author Steven M. Moore's blog entry on the subject, where he discussed his own feelings about Armstrong's legacy and what has happened to our space program, and I recalled in the comments there that I wrote an op-ed piece shortly after the disaster and submitted it to the Chicago Tribune. 

I never was contacted by the Trib to let me know the fate of the article, but a couple weeks later, my friend called me and told me that his mom had seen the article in that Sunday's Tribune.  I went out and bought some copies, of course, and I was always proud that they thought enough of the article to put it in there. 

Steve asked if I could maybe repost it as a guest entry on his blog, and I said okay, assuming I can locate my copies.  I immediately googled it and, lo and behold, there it is! 

Man's Destiny Is In Space

I wrote this as an idealistic, enthusiastic young man who was inspired by the future promised by continued exploration of space.  Have a read if you would like.  I think it holds up pretty good.

*****

What is that...???

...in Joe Rohde's left ear?

Yesterday we were flipping channels and I came across a History Channel showing Modern Marvels:  Walt Disney World.  I have the DVD of this one, but it's hidden aways somewhere and so my son and I watched just about the whole thing. 

When we got to the part on the Animal Kingdom, they show a lot of Imagineer Joe Rohde discussing the construction of that park.  At first I didn't think much about it, but my son asked me, "What's that thing hanging from his ear?"  I told him it was an earring or something, but thought that it was awful big! 

A bit later, they showed him a bit more from the left side, and it looks like his ear lobe is grossly stretched out. 

Anyone know what it's supposed to be, and what is the point of doing that?

I guess I'm just getting old...but Joe doesn't look like a spring chicken (as they say)...

*****

Six Flags Great America Gurnee Visit

We visited Six Flags' Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, on Wednesday.  It was our first visit to that park in two years.  We planned on going earlier this summer, but with 100 degree heat much of the season, it just wasn't happening.  As it worked out, going in mid-August was a good experience.  Not too hot and not overly crowded, right before school starts. 

Great America started its existence as "Marriot's Great America".  I know this because I was a teenager when it opened.  Back then it attempted to be a bit more of a theme park with a handful of thrill rides.  The log flume and the boat flume rides that were there at opening are still there.  They actually sort of fit the theming.  The Whizzer "Family" coaster was there back then, too.  Then it was called "Willard's Whizzer".  It's the same coaster, though. 

Now it's a thrill ride park with a nod to the themes of each land.  And not much of a nod.  The log ride was and is in a part of the park called "Yukon Territory", and the boat flume ride, called "Yankee Clipper" was and is still in a part of the park called "Yankee Harbor".  Aside from those two rides, however, rides don't have much relation to the part of the park where they're located.  For example, the "Southwest Territory" area contains coasters called the Viper (a wooden coaster) and the Raging Bull (a big steel coaster).  The Southwest Territory has nice theming in the buildings, but really, that's about it. 

Orleans Place and Mardi Gras sections (separate sections according to the park guide map) are both themed like New Orleans.  What rides might you expect to find in New Orleans?  A swamp tour, maybe?  A riverboat?  A streetcar?  These sections house The Dark Knight indoor dark coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight (a flying coaster), the Condor (a spinning ride that raises you 112 feet in the air) and Roaring Rapids (a whitewater raft ride).  There are bumper cars called Rue Le Dodge and a spinning coaster (think Primeval Whirl) called the Ragin' Cajun.  Again, the buildings are nicely themed, but that's pretty much it. 

Other sections of the park include the County Fair, Hometown Square, and Carousel Plaza.  The park features a waterpark called Hurricane Harbor. 

None of this affected my sons' enjoyment of the 7 coasters they rode.  (I myself only rode one - the new X-Flight wing coaster - and my neck told me that no more coasters would be ridden that day.)  It's a thrill park.  I guess those "lands" are convenient markers for the map, but not much else today.

I'm still trying to figure out what Batman: The Ride has to do with Yankee Harbor, however.

*****

Disney's X-Pass (Virtual Queues...)

I don't regularly read Jim Hill Media but I find his articles interesting usually.  I was perusing his site and came across this article which discusses rumors and inside info about the X-pass virtual queuing system that will allow WDW guests to reserve up to 4 attraction/experience times depending on how far in advance they are making their reservations.  It sounds like a super-Fastpass thing except that according to the article it will extend to things like shows and spots for fireworks and parades and such. 

Reaction in the two pages of comments I read was mixed.  Either people hated it or they thought it was a great idea.

I know that studies show the number one thing that bothers/irritates theme park guests is waiting in long lines.  I hate it myself; we use Fastpass to bypass lines at most of the popular attractions.  It means only experiencing those attractions one time (via Fastpass), but really, so does standing in a 60 minute standby line.  There are only so many hours available for attractions in a day as it is.  Fastpasses make it possible for us to relax a bit more at lunch, or do a little shopping, or maybe see that movie in Canada or China that we'd never seen before. 

So the search for a solution for long queues predictably passes from theming to make those queues more interesting and entertaining while in them to figuring out a way for more guests to line up "virtually", through a reservation system of sorts.  I just don't know if this is a good move. 

As many Disney bloggers and cast members have pointed out, Fastpass works by allowing people to "stand in two lines at the same time", be it a line for food or for a less popular, low-wait time attraction.  This in turn increases wait times for those who don't have Fastpass.  A cast member in Disneyland commented on how long the lines for the Nemo Subs would be if they had Fastpass at that attraction.  I see the logic in this assessment.  Yet I use it to my advantage when we go to WDW or Disneyland. 

It seems the best way to reduce wait times would be to have more attractions.  And by that I mean they should have more "popular" attractions.  Carousel of Progress and the People Mover have short waits most of the time, and their presence does not seem to affect the wait times for Buzz or for Space Mountain.  What if there was another "Buzz" or "Space" type ride that was as popular as those two?  Wouldn't it follow that there will be less people in the other lines? 

More capacity would seem to be a better answer than virtual queues.  After all, those people in the "virtual queue" are still in line, and still making the lines and wait times longer; you just can't see them from the standby line...

*****