Under The Mouse Ears

  By Sam. 10.26.21 You're going to notice a recurring theme of my blog posts are defunct rides or attractions that are no longer with us. While it's not an every day thing for me, it certainly isn't uncommon to cast Youtube to the TV and show the kids things that have been removed from the happiest place on earth. With Ellen's Energy Adventure now joining the ranks of Horizons, Communicore, and Kitchen Kabaret, there will never be an end to nostalgia in Walt Disney World as it's constantly evolving. And that brings us to one of Epcot's hottest opening day attractions waaaaaay back in 1982 - the General Motors' presented World of Motion. Thanks to Ford's participation in the 1964 New York World's Far - a pretty historic shaping event in the annals of Disney lore, GM wouldn't be denied when it came time to sponsor an attraction at Disney's newest theme park. They signed a 10 year sponsorship deal and thus began famed 9 angry men member Ward Kim

 by Sam. 10.25.21 Walt Disney World is filled with a bevy of interesting historical tidbits. From Richard Nixon's "I'm Not A Crook" speech at the Contemporary ballroom to another far less known event - the official breakup of the Beatles? Check out Ultimate Classic Rock's article below, followed with our photos of just where it went down... **** Leave it to John Lennon to make the Beatles break up official by signing the termination papers while on holiday at Disney World. Lennon, the last of the four to actually sign off on the contract, was the first to shout out “I want a divorce” before he walked out of a meeting at Apple headquarters with the other three members present back in 1969. Both Ringo Starr and George Harrison had already quit by 1968, prior to this incident, yet they were convinced to return, whereas Lennon never did. Then there’s Paul McCartney, the one who publicly announced the news to the press in 1970, declaring, “I’m quitting The Beatles.”

by Sam. 10.23.21 Ahoy maties! Fresh off our latest Disney Cruise, it seems like a good time to dive in (ok ok - enough puns) to the history of the happiest cruise line on the seas.. The Disney Cruise Line. I'm a little biased in my cruise coverage, because aside from an awesome Royal Caribbean cruise I took over 20 years ago.... and also a rather dim and less spectacular Carnival cruise we took nigh 15 years ago, all of my other ship experience (3 times) has been aboard the incredible Disney Dream. It's really easy to just assign all of your Disney thoughts to being for children. And yeah, I get it. What's more childlike than thoughts of Mickey and friends singing 'When You Wish Upon A Star'... but this isn't just a big boat where all the crew wear mickey ears. No sir, it's far more than that. As with all things Disney, it's the attention to detail that for me, just never ceases to amaze. But there's plenty of stuff online about the layout of the boa

by Sam 10.22.21    As anyone who has eyes can tell, Epcot's Futureworld is undergoing a rather momentous retrofit. As the Fountain of Nations was drained and toppled, so have nearly all of the winding buildings that jutted out from Spaceship Earth and winded all throughout the front of the park been gutted and town down. As Epcot's Moana themed revolution continues, we're left to reminisce about what was. But alas, Disney lovers. Like that's really anything new.    In 1982, these winding buildings were quite alive, primarily educating the public about the technological advancements made in human communication. As Wikipedia so eloquently puts it:  CommuniCore was the hub of EPCOT Center, both geographically and conceptually, as it brought together nearly all of the ideas and concepts explored in Future World and complemented the experiences offered by other pavilions. For example, the Energy Exchange was located in a sector of CommuniCore adjacent to the  Universe of En

by Sam. 10.20.21    I was lucky enough to have gotten married in October and even luckier we chose WDW as our honeymoon. While it wasn't my first run-in with the Food and Wine Festival, the timing pretty much cemented F&WF as a staple of our Disney trips from now on and well into the future.    Obviously drinking around the world at Epcot is nothing new. Many a blog post hosts a bevy of strategies in order to hit as many countries as possible. But Food and Wine takes that and ups the ante. It's one thing to get a yard in England or a schnitzel in Germany. Now you have all those typical options but with a booth (or booths) on every turn, looks like you're gonna need a bigger tummy (and a sportier liver).    On our last trip, I got to thinking about when F&WF started. Surprisingly I learned it was in 1996 - and the brainchild of former WDW president George Kalogridis. And he might know a thing or two about Disney World btw. His first gig was at MK, where he bussed tab