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1. Page Turn’Ears’ Review #1 – ‘Creating Magic’ by Lee Cockerell There are literally hundreds of Disney-related books out there, from...

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Fulton’s Crab House is offering a hearty and delicious meal fit for an Irish King! Start out with Irish Potato and Leek Soup followed by sliced corned beef brisket with braised Fulton cabbage, red wine marinated roasted shallot and caramelized tent peg carrots. The meal is $18.95 excluding tax and gratuity.

Although Portobello serves the tastiest Italian fare, they are celebrating the luck of the Irish with a special St. Patrick’s Day cocktail! The Café Irlandese is a mix of triple olive espresso vodka, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Liquer 43 finished with a scoop of smooth whip cream. A perfect Irish-inspired addition to one of Portobello’s signature pasta dishes!

At Wolfgang Puck Café, Chef Sinclair Thorne is offering a special Irish-inspired St. Patrick’s Day menu in the dining room. The three-course menu includes a Potato Pancake with Smoked Salmon; Asparagus Salad, locally grown albino asparagus and pencil asparagus with spicy hazelnuts, shaved parmesan cheese and finished with 5 yr old aged balsamic Vinegar; Corn Beef and Vegetables, house-made corned beef with seasonal vegetable medley over smashed potato and served with a Guinness mustard sauce and finally White and Dark Chocolate Bread pudding. The menu is $40.95 per person excluding tax and gratuity.

                          

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Downtown Disney St. Patricks Day Dining Specials
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Open. Open. Open.

This looks a little different from the ‘proof of concept’ trailer that was shown at Comic-Con, but it’s still good. What do you think?

                          

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Tron Legacy Trailer Hits the Internet
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All About the Mouse (iTunes) Episode #150 A Guide to Disney Artwork-OK kiddies grab your books, because it’s time to be schooled on Disney animation artwork. The syllabus includes: definition of terms-production drawing, production cell, three way set up, serigraph, sericel, lithograph, in betweeners. Discussion essay-what things decrease the value of cells, what to look for to be sure of authenticity and an inexpensive way to start collection.

Be Our Guest (iTunes) Episode #206 Where to be inspired at Walt Disney World-What inspires you? Even without Rikki they present heart tugging areas of the parks. Political arenas, images of Walt, even dealing with Space exploration all are discussed in detail. The people, the scenery, the attractions that inspire us. . . to go deeper into the jungle.

The Mouse Droppings (iTunes) Episode #23 Do I Smell Bacon? Another Innoventions attraction visited this episode. This time it’s the Piggy Bank Adventure. “He’s so cute, I want to keep him.” Of course this refers to the piggy bank used as you wind your way to the goal and the ‘Ultimate Vacation.’ And Matt concludes with some initial screen tips for Toy Story Mania.

Coaster Buzz (iTunes) Episode#171 March 1, 2010-The Disney topic discussed is the return of Captain EO and their lackluster enthusiasm. Of course it doesn’t help that the effects are missing. The Sea World tragedy is also referenced, downplaying the recent animal rights outcries.

                          

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Mickey Ears – Disney Podcast Review
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The Holiday Inn Walt Disney World Resort at Lake Buena Vista reopened for business on February 12th after a period of ‘rebuilding’. Over 18 months they took the interior of building down to the bare concrete and replaced nearly everything from pipes to fixtures on every floor and the main guest areas. I was pleased to be invited to a special tour of the new hotel.

The airy lobby

When you walk in the front door it’s very airy, very light, you hear background music and enjoy a welcoming smell. The sound and scent is pumped into the area. The whole design is aimed to be inviting to the entire family. The dad sees the bar, the kids see the pool and mom sees that everyone is happy and she has somewhere to sit and watch her kids, or perhaps get a drink from the bar.

an ‘ah-ha’ moment

This hotel is one of the 1800 Holiday Inns that have been remodeled to the new brand standard. That has given them a lot of “ah-ha” moments including a hook under the bar for a woman’s purse or that bag of souvenirs you’ve brought back from the parks.

Outside of the bar next too the pool will be an outdoor bar specializing in Tapas called Aqua Luna. Those couches look very comfortable.

Future tapas bar area

The pool has three regions designed to make it as family friendly as possible. The odd looking shape has luxurious entry steps, a lap pool and a toddler friendly zero entry all in one.

A totally new pool for the property

We saw two different rooms. 1/3rd of the rooms have King beds that can accommodate a sleeper. Those rooms feature a glass door shower with no tub. Most of the rest are two queens, which come with a bathtub. Another ah-ha moment was to include lots of extra outlets in each room for all the modern toys and tools travelers bring with them these days.

All the rooms have a safe big enough for a 17 inch laptop, complimentary fridge, 32 hdtv with hd signal, a cordless phone, premium bedding, and local & 800 calls are free. The rooms and bathrooms were well lit, with extra care to the makeup counter and mirror so you won’t miss a details as you get ready for that night on the town, or that important business meeting. 75% of the hotel’s rooms have balconies.

The rooms feature Internet plug-in ethernet to meet with government business requirements. There is wi-fi available in the lobby and business center.

The hotel amenities also include a fitness room, a restaurant with Asian fusion cuisine, a 6000 sq ft ballroom and various conference rooms, and buses direct to each of the Disney theme parks. Kids 2-12 eat free at the restaurant with each paying adult and care is taken to address any food allergies. Soon a Disney operated store will be opening in the lobby area which means package express will be available to guests staying at the hotel. A nice bonus.

the main restaurant

I liked the open, light, clean, and welcoming feel of the hotel. It was so quiet. Even in the room looking over the I-4 freeway you couldn’t hear a thing, that’s due to the airport quality noise suppression glass. It was all those little details that will make the Holiday Inn at Walt Disney World Resort the new gem of the Downtown Disney resorts.

view of Downtown Disney

                          

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Holiday Inn – ReBuild at DownTown Disney Complete
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“UP” did lose for best screenplay. Frankly if they’re going to give animated films a separate best picture category, they should do the same for Screenplays since they’re written so differently from the average script. “Up” failed to collect in the best “Sound Editing” category as well.

On the other hand, Disney’s The Princess and The Frog was shut-out from the awards last night. It lost to “UP” for best animated picture, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Disney has a way to go to return to Beauty and the Beast level of animated story telling.

The Princess and the Frog was also nominated for some of its music Unfortunately it was composed by Randy Newman, which the Academy just barely tolerates. And since they already gave him an award for Monster’s Inc’s “If I didn’t have you” in 2002. That’s it for any film that uses Newman for its songs.

In a footnote to the ceremony, ABC/Disney and Cablevision settled their differences just past midnight and viewers in the NYC area were able to turn into WABC about 10 minutes after the show started.

I think the big loser last night was the show’s producers. The supposed new vision for this years production was no where to be seen. Despite their best efforts the show ran long, and worse, it dragged. Long moments were interminably slow and the lack of humor or Hollywood pizazz had me wanting an escape hatch about 40 minutes in.

What did you think? Will you watch next year?

                          

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An “UP” Night at the Oscars
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