Yesterday I visited the Magic Kingdom to take a gander at their “True Love Week” Limited Time Magic. Now while recent promotions have left me wanting more, I was pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong, this was not a huge deal. Instead it was small touches like décor, lighting, and photo ops that added a little something special to the day. It did not take over the park, just added a little extra pixie dust.
The Princesses who were with their Princes was very popular at Town Square Theatre posting a 60 minute wait while I waited for my Tony’s Town Square reservation. Many kids came out of the experience with big smiles on their faces while holding their special autograph cards. It was really great to see.
While at Tony’s Town Square, they had a non-promoted Limited Time Magic special. You got a garden salad, spaghetti and meatballs, strawberry cheesecake, and a fountain drink for $30 per person. For those that wanted to recreate the most romantic scene in Disney cinematic history, it was a nice touch. As an aside, the food at Tony’s was much better than I remember; if you have not been in awhile you might want to give it another glance.
There were special PhotoPass locations throughout the park. While the Valentine’s Day Mickey and Minnie Topiary and Cinderella’s Coach got a lot of attention, I enjoyed the hidden gem of the alcove by the Crystal Palace. They added some greenery that made it a nice snapshot that features Cinderella Castle in the background.
The final love-filled touch of my evening was a heart projected on the ground as I exited the park while the Baroque Hoedown played in the background. It was a perfect example of what this Limited Time Magic promotion was, small touches that added up to be much more than the sum of its parts.
MU: Monsters University grabbed some headlines at Toy Fair with the unveiling of the toy program that will support the film. We also got a few more details about the plot. It turns out that Mike and Sulley were roommates at MU however they both had the same major. The ensuing competition between the future best friends results in some Animal House-style antics. Reminds me of my college days of debauchery staying up late watching Disney films while drinking Coca-Cola. I was such a rebel.
MU.edu: Speaking of Monsters University, Disney Interactive took the opportunity to unveil their Monsters Inc. characters from Disney Infinity. This one game has the ability to make or break the entire Disney Interactive unit. Expect to see more publicity from this endeavor as we head to launch date.
Fusion: ABC News and Univision has announced that their joint-venture news channel that caters to English-speaking Hispanics will be called Fusion. For those of us that remember high school physics know that fusion is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. The question is whether the process of combining ABC News and Univision will create ratings energy. If not, the resulting aftermath could prove to be interesting. What will the channel evolve into as it sees what works and what does not. Should be an interesting thing to watch.
This is the Spring Training You Were Looking For: Predating Star Wars Weekends by two months, Disney Parks has announced their first Star Wars collaboration. On 3/15 and 3/16 ESPN’s Wide World of Sports will host Star Wars Days at the Atlanta Braves Spring Training. Even before the merger, Star Wars has participated in these themed days at various sporting events around the country, but it should be interesting to see what happens at the first one held at a venue that is owned by the same company. Batter’s Up!