Presenting the Disney Blog

Hey Folks-


I invite you to visit my all new Disney Blog.

Just click here!

Pardon Our Dust

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry for the lack of post this week, but I've been working on getting my Disney blog up and running.

I fully expect to simulcast my first Disney post this week.

I sincerely hope you all tune in to the launch. I've rarely been this excited for a completely inconsequential thing.

While you wait... some random thoughts.

- I'm running myself ragged right now working on directing The Crucible for my local theatre group. This is the first experiment with being fully involved with a show while working my overnight shift at work. I'm fine most of the time, but I have very little extra time to like... DO anything. It's a good thing it's almost done. We open in just over a month.

- The Cincinnati Bearcats ended their season last night with a tough loss to Ohio State. It's been one of the more enjoyable seasons of basketball in my memory. I wouldn't place it with the iconic early 90s seasons when there was nowhere to go but up, but it was a lot of fun, and they proved themselves worthy of wearing the "C". I loved this team far more than I expected to at the start of the season. Hopefully, we're on another great upswing.

- I'm starting to wonder if all of my Disney blog planning is a great idea for my psyche. I normally can get a solid 8 months of satiation from a visit, and this most recent one in October was a particularly long visit, so I was hoping the hankering would hold off for a year... Sadly no. I'm in full-on Disney-Reverie. I feel bad for the Tofu Muchacha... We're not planning to go until January of 2014. I'm not sure I'll be able to take it.

- I'm super excited for baseball season to get started. I'm feeling good about the Reds this season, and I think I'm going to be at a fever pitch for a good amount of the year. It'll be fun times. I'm very excited about Mat Latos.

Anyway... More blogging coming soon.

A Disney (Ad)Venture

Hey Everyone!

The regularly scheduled blog post about some such nonsense, and my lack of ability to screen my own language will be coming later this week, but I wanted to take today’s blog to announce something extremely exciting!

In 2 weeks I will be launching my new blog adventure! A new blog dedicated expressly for Disney and the Disney lovers out there.

This is planned to be a sister blog to this site, so any Disney related blog will be linked on this page, and will appear in full on the new Disney blog.

I’m not ready to announce the name of the new endeavor yet, though I have created the blog URL for it, and we’re on track to start in a couple of weeks.

Why am I doing this?

Well… as any attention whore worth their salt, I love getting comments, especially those left by complete strangers who just happened by. In order to have more comments, I need more consistent readers. From everything I’ve read about gaining traffic on your blog, you need to specialize.

Don’t get me wrong… I love this blog. It is a ton of fun to write about all manner of things here, and not worrying about appealing to everyone. It’s very liberating. I have every intention of this remaining my primary blog where all of my thoughts on random things like parking and Jesus having Christmas stolen from him by those rude Jews, and whatever sports related thing nobody seems to care about.

Still… I crave feedback, and I crave attention (yeah… I admit it). The purpose of the Disney only blog is to create a space that features focused content, likely more PG language, and hopefully get more readers who have a passion for Disney and Disney parks.

It certainly remains to be seen how this will work. Whenever I’ve created offshoot blogs in the past, they were short-lived. Of course, that was mainly due to a lack of content, and I believe I’ve proven that there’s barely a limit to my willingness to discuss Disney ad-nauseum.

I hope to have regular segments;
Movie reviews… New ones when they come out, and old ones in between.

E-mail Debates

Polls

Park Plans

Ride Reviews

And, as they say, much much more.

Also exciting is that my friend, the incredibly talented Tony Doench will be designing a new version of the Beefy Muchacho, with Disney in mind. It’s going to be epic. He’s the artist behind the original iconic Muchacho image displayed on the header of this blog.

So there ya have it. I’m very excited for this new blogging endeavor. I hope to see everyone visit and enjoy the Disney-Exclusive content.  

Disney World E-mail Debate - Top 10 Attractions

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There are very few people I know who love Disney as much as I do. My friend Annie is one of them. She’s been there many times, and puts a lot of thought into her visits.

She’s often expressed interest in my Disney-themed blogs over the years, so in an effort to bring more variety to my blog posts, I’ve asked her to occasionally discuss various topics via email… The products of those discussions will be posted here.

For the first one, I asked her simply to name her Top 10 Rides/Attractions at Disney World. Here’s our unedited (except for typos) exchange:

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ANNIE:

Well hello there, Dan! Look at me! I'm actually doing this! After literally years of talking about it. Amazing. Anyway, without further ado, my top ten rides at Walt Disney World.

My number one is easy: Splash Mountain.
This is always my answer to the age-old "If you only had time for ONE ride..." question. It has everything. Thrills? Check. Cute Disney characters singing? Check. Impressive audio animatronics? Checkity check. Granted the queue is pretty heinous in crowded mid-July and it can be amazingly stressful when the woman in front of you lets her toddler stand up for the entire ride, but the ride itself? Pure Disney perfection.

Two is Expedition Everest.
The backwards drop is so freaking cool. It's rare now but I loved when it was first built and people honestly did not know what was going on when we pulled up to that mangled
track. I'm sure they didn't think a yeti had destroyed it, but when's the last time you went on a roller coaster and were surprised by anything? I actually screamed, "AHH THE YETI" the first time I rode when they light him up near the end. It's a damn cool ride.

Three? Space Mountain.
Nuff said.

Four is Spaceship Earth.
It would've ranked higher before the recent changes. Would it be that difficult to allow riders to select which audio they want? But I digress. This ride can also be made stressful by idiot teenagers who climb around the cars during the backwards descent. Am I the only one who notices these things? And never, ever forgets them? And DO NOT call it a golf ball. I am not responsible for my actions if someone calls it a golf ball.

Five is the TOWER OF TERROR!
I never really realized until just then what a sweet name that really is. Anyway. Another example of many Disney fans' reason for loving the rides so much. It's not just a drop
ride--go up, come down--like every other theme park builds. It's got a story and it is SO COOL. When your elevator car goes forward into the Twilight Zone? Amazing.

Six is Pirates of the Caribbean.
Iconic, classic, fun. Although, I once read a probably-not-true story about how the cast member in the bridge above the drop can forget to press a button that will make the
boat behind you land on top of your boat. I assume there would be scalping. I always imagine scalping. I cannot get this out of my head, so I find myself unreasonably stressed during that part of the ride. (Wow, I didn't expect this list to illustrate how neurotic I truly am.) Would've scored higher without all the changes. I understand including Jack, though. I just don't love it.

Seven is It's A Small World.
I know, I know. But I love Mary Blair. I love the cheesy hippie dippy message. I could be wrong, but I think they haven't added the character dolls to the Disney World ride. I saw the new version in Disneyland and I'm not really a huge fan. I love when they Blair-ize the characters, but they felt out of place. I hope, in vain, that they leave the WDW attraction alone. (ramblerambleramble) Only downside is when you're stuck in a mass of boats for 12 years at the end of every ride. Also a favorite ride for Mothers who like to let their toddlers stand up and stress me out.

Eight is Soarin'.
Every time I remind myself not to look down. And then promptly look down.

Nine is Ye Olde Rock n Roller Coaster.

And ten, and it's so wrong but so right, is the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
No offense to ole Snowy, but some of the Fantasyland dark rides are barely worth any wait above 20 minutes. I like this one. I like when the rain rain rain comes down down down and it feels like we're floating along. I like the Heffalumps (Woozles...meh). I like the book pages throughout. I just think it's really well done even for such a simple concept.

And there you have it. Now tear it to shreds! Let me guess your
list... "1. Spaceship Earth 2. Soarin' 3. Everest....."

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MUCHACHO:

Alright! This is gonna be fun. So, first... an interesting list. I think I could have predicted at least 7 of your 10. Maybe not in order...  I dunno... It's hard to say you're wrong about any of them (except I can't see putting Winnie the Pooh in any Top Ten, and my feelings about It's a Small World are well chronicled, though I at least understand the historical significance of that one.. I'll discuss more of your choices after my list..

Also, I'm not as tormented as you are by children standing up on the ride vehicles. Part of me really wants to see one of them fall out of the People Mover, or whatever, so it doesn't bother me. I've found my enjoyment of some of the attractions diminished, though, by the jackasses who take flash pictures and the other ones who don't go all the way down the row. These things make me far more angry, and they definitely alter my rankings. Little Mermaid is pretty fun until you get stuck on the edge because some family acting as though the rules don't apply to them decided to stop in the middle. I pride myself on my crowd estimating, and know exactly where to stand to get a good seat. All my planning is ruined when they stop in the middle.

Anyway, lets do this, and then we can hash it out. And you guessed 3 of my top 10 in your last sentence, but not the order..

Number 1: Soarin'
It's the same deal for me with the whole "if you could only ride one thing". I thought not as much about what ride I would choose, but what ride I'd be most bummed I'd skipped. I think that makes sense...right? Anyway, I really think that Soarin' is everything a Disney ride should be... It's technically superior to everything else like it in the world. Every motion simulator TRIES to be this good and fails. It's just an incredible feat of engineering. It has thrills, but not the kind you get at King's Island, which are cheap. Any ride can drop you or whatever, but Soarin' is exciting when you're not really even moving at all, and I like that it avoids terror and is more a mellow thrill... if that makes sense. I also love the smells. I know it's weird, but literally whenever I smell oranges, I think of Soarin'. That's a weird thing to try to explain to someone.

Number 2: Pirates of the Caribbean
I can go either way on the additions of Jack, Barbosa and the rest, but really it's a real classic of Disney creativity. It's a legendary dark ride. It's so weird too... Every time I ride it I see something new. Like... You know how you go through that room where the pirates are chasing the women, and the one woman with the rolling pin is chasing the pirate? I never noticed until this past trip that their legs actually move! I always just thought they were gliding around, and maybe they are, but the legs are definitely churning away. How freakin' awesome is that? I've ridden the thing 30+ times and I'm still experiencing it differently. That's cool.

Number 3: Expedition Everest:
Waaaay back in the Spring of 09 I wrote a blog called "Disney World for Aliens" where I decided what 5 attractions I would recommend to aliens if they were ever to visit and ask "Explain what makes Disney World great in 5 Attractions". Everest was my #1 thing. It wasn't saying that it was my favorite ride, just what attraction was the most Disney. It scored one of the two perfect 10 scores. I think I still agree... First, it's another one of those technical marvels. You have backward and forward movement, tracks that literally flip around, and enormous animatronic things. Next, the theming is right up there as one of the most intricate in the whole of the Disney Empire. Third, it has this visual impact that beats just about every ride in the place aside from Spaceship Earth. You walk in and that mountain just TOWERS over to the right. It's amazing to look at. Add to that the totally exciting ride itself, and it's a top 3 attraction any day. It still makes me feel really gross afterward though. Have I mentioned I'm not a roller coaster fan?

Number 4: The Haunted Mansion
I've come to love this ride more and more as time goes by. It's funny; it's another excellent example of theming. It's the ride I'd most want to work on if I were a cast member (Not the job I'd most want, but if I were to be a ride character). I've been known to listen to the full narration of the ride (By Thurl Ravenscroft...greatest name ever!) in my car. I tried to record it on video this past visit, but I failed miserably. I really like the updates they made to it over the past 5 years, and the new queue is a lot of fun. You'd mentioned the narration on Spaceship Earth, and I think this one is even more indispensable.  Thurl died in 2005, and there's really no way to get anyone to come close to being as snarky and creepy and funny at the same time. None.

Number 5: Mickey's Philharmagic
You know... I'm a softie, and this attraction pushes all of my nostalgia buttons. I just found out that they didn't record any new Donald voice stuff for any of the ride, but simply took old recordings of him and pieced it together. Anyway, there are a few great scenes, each re-done with pretty excellent 3D.. Especially, if I do say so, the Peter Pan scene where you fly around Big Ben.

Number 6: Spaceship Earth
You're right... it's not as good as it once was with the old Jeremy Irons narration. That was epic. There was nothing better than cresting at the top of the dome and hearing "Or will we use this power to usher in a new age of understanding and cooperation on this, our SPACESHIP EARTH." That was a magical moment... I'm not sure, though that it would beat out any of the other 5 for me anyway. And there are still some awesome things. As a Hidden Mickey fan, S.E. is a treasure trove of them. It's also infinitely entertaining to 1) make funny faces into the new cameras that put your head into the animations at the end. 2) Select a random language so you have no idea what you're choosing in the interactive portion. That shit his hilarious. I'll never forget selecting French and watching our funny faces marching around with French narration as we boarded our sea cars. It loses points by getting rid of Irons, but I love a lot of the new additions. So... it evens out for me, mostly.

Number 7: Tower of Terror!
I hadn't ridden this ride since 1994 before my visit in 2009. Let's be clear about something... I was a great big pussy for a long time. This ride fucking TERRIFIED me (fittingly, I suppose). The TM convinced me to ride it again after all that time, and i came to realize... holy crap is that fun! I've talked a lot about the theming previously, and sure enough... it's awesome. What I never realized was how much fun it was to be the heavy end of a yoyo. They've changed the ride mechanism like... five times since I rode it the year it opened, when they pretty much just dropped you once and that was it. Now it's totally random, and it drops you like 5 times. And almost bounces. It's crazy fun.

Number 8: Splash Mountain
You're totally right about everything you said about Splash Mountain. It's definitely the best incorporation of characters into a ride. It's gotta be the longest actual RIDE ride anywhere. The music will get right in your head ("Pretty good sureasyourborn") and while the drops are scary, they're not so scary that I dread them at this point. I used to, though... In fact, I remember years where I'd watch the people plummet (and there's no other word for it), and I'd straight up talk myself out of it. Not anymore. It's really, really fun. The only reason it doesn't make it into the top 5 is that I really dislike walking around with wet shoes. Trust me when I say... If you ride it once and make it off without getting soaked. STOP RIDING. The gods do not appreciate you tempting fate by riding a second time. Every time I've done it, I've paid the price with soaking wet shoes. I can't abide wet shoes, so the ranking drops just on the outside chance of shoe wetness.

Number 9: Star Tours
Never, in a million years, would I have predicted that Star Tours would crack my top ten even a year ago. It was shaky and nauseating and definitely outdated. A cool (and I believe the first) motion simulator that had seen better days. Not anymore. They've worked out every mechanical kink, so the movement is now smooth as silk, and the motion seems really, really real. Oh... and they've changed the plot. To FIFTY FOUR variations. The plot comes in these episodic pieces that they puzzle together to create a larger adventure, and each experience is different. Officially, it would take 6 hours of non-stop riding to experience all of the options. What better way to keep the thing fresh? It also has you fighting Darth Vader, and that's pretty cool.

Number 10: Finding Nemo: The Musical
It's easy to forget about this show, but if you're going to the Animal Kingdom, you HAVE to see it. It's so well performed, and the music is so catchy and clever (Written by the people who wrote Avenue Q). It also manages to pack in a really good proximity of the full Finding Nemo story in a little over 40 minutes. The tech is awesome. The puppetry is really inventive (I would LOVE to play Bruce the Shark), and the singing is, overall very well executed. After the TM and I saw it in 09, we liked it so much that she bought me the soundtrack, which lived in slot #5 in my car CD player for the next 2 years. This is easily the best show in all the parks, and one of my favorite things at Disney.

Honorable Mentions: Peter Pan, Kilimanjaro Safari, People Mover, Carousel of Progress,

So... it seems we have a lot of overlap (Splash Mtn, Everest, Tower of Terror, Pirates, Soarin, Spaceship Earth).  I mentioned above your questionable inclusion of Winnie the Pooh, so I won't belabor it, even though I could say that I think it's inferior to Peter Pan in every way, except for the duration.  I'd like for you to explain your inclusions of Space Mountain, which is, in my opinion a little boring, always has way too long a line, and is kind of painful to ride.... and Rock n Roller Coaster, which to me is the most non-Disney of all of the major attractions, even though it's really fun.

What were your "Close but no cigar" choices? I'm surprised that neither of us had Journey into Imagination, even though it's widely considered terrible. I'm also surprised there was no Toy Story Mania... Just for the newness. Strangely neither made my top 15. What about Kali River Rapids?

This is fun.
Go!

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ANNIE:

My sick obsession with reading about theme park accidents is why I stress so much about it. The People Mover has killed before! The vehicles really do not care if you are stuck underneath them, it seems. Shudder.

I commented that some evergreen smelling thing reminded me of Soarin' recently. You are not alone. I'd also like to add that Soarin' is really cool to experience as a group with other riders. I've always been surrounded by people ooh-ing and ahh-ing. (I always do single rider for this one, who cares who you're sitting next to?)

We, too, have the Haunted Mansion CD with Thurl. He was Tony the Tiger! And sang "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch!" He was actually a bonus answer at my trivia one night. (No one got it.)

I almost added Philharmagic. It was number 11. I have yet to get through the damn thing without crying though. (There go those neuroses again)

I like the new things at the end of Spaceship Earth, too. Although I made the mistake of opening my mouth for the picture so I ended up with a see-through mouth.

The first time I rode Tower of Terror I had to be helped off of it because my legs were totally jellified. And I could not wait to ride it again. Disney has a way of making things just scary enough without being too much (Mission: SPACE excluded). I am not a ride person at all anywhere else. If it doesn't make me puke, then I'll surely get a headache. At Disney, I know I can safely ride anything without risk of day ruination.

Also on Splash Mountain, if you've made it down the drop without getting wet, don't get too comfortable. That elephant sees me coming every time.

I cannot--CANNOT--wait to see the new Star Tours. Why must you taunt
me by speaking of it's awesomeness?

OMFG WITH THE NEMO MUSICAL! I still cannot believe I let you make me sit through that garbage. The puppets are really cool. Other than that? Total waste of everything. The lyrics are written by a five year old! "I'm so sad/I miss my dad". Oh, just wretched, that thing. I also cannot make it through this without crying. (Get it? Cuz it's so bad? ZING.) But it's good to know that they sold that one soundtrack that they made by accident.

Peter Pan is short and underwhelming. The concept is cool, it's great to look at, but I can never justify a 45 minute wait for 3 minutes of, "Cool! So small!" Ride vehicles are neat-o, though. You must always wave to Nana. WAVE TO NANA!

I think Space Mountain is so totally rad. I honestly get giddy every time I climb into that car because I'm about to go into space and it's SO COOL. I love the exterior as well--so 70's futuristic. I'm having trouble coming up with any explanation beyond, "CUZ ITS COOL, I LIKE LIGHTS!" The DL version is much less cool, I will say. If this were a DL list, I'm not sure that it would've made it. You know, less colors. I've waited two hours for Space Mountain before. With a FP [Fast Pass] in hand to ride it again immediately after. Maybe I have some sort of forgotten childhood subconscious thing with it. Who knows? Same with Rock n Roller Coaster, too, really. I mean, arguably Everest is no different. There's nothing "Disney" about a Yeti. Their Disney-oscity lies in their awesome-noscity.

I considered Philharmagic, Toy Story Mania (which I do think is really fun but I can't wait to not have to wait in line for 6 days just to ride it), Star Tours and MuppetVision3D. Oh, and I seriously tried to rationalize adding El Rio del Tiempo (name change? what name change? lalalala...) or Maelstrom. But that's when my brain starts going, "And
Jungle Cruise! And the Tiki Room! Andandandand!" and I remind myself that the point is to pick only ten.

Oddly, I've never ridden Kali River Rapids. I've always wanted to but there's never been a convenient time to be soaking wet. I get pretty wham-bam in Animal Kingdom. Get in, ride Everest a couple of times, Dinosaur, Rainforest Cafe, and I'm outta there. I'm a little surprised you didn't have your little safari on there, too. Or the dreaded Carousel of Progress.

This felt reeeeeeeeally ramble-y. Feel free to edit. Structure was never my strong suit.

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MUCHACHO

That was a lot to take in... I'll respond, you respond (in short form) with any closing thoughts, and we'll call this one complete...

1) Finding Nemo, when we saw it, was still in rewrites. I scanned through the soundtrack and there is no "I'm so sad; I miss my Dad". So, if that was in it in 2006, it's not in there now. Either way, the tech and the puppetry is awesome. The music is catchy, and it grows on you. I love it now.

2) I wonder if that open mouth thing is what happened to me. We got a video with 2 Tofu Muchachas. It was mildly disconcerting.

3) You mention, briefly, Mission Space. I read things all the time about Top 10s and whatnot, and I very rarely see it mentioned. I've ridden it once, and it was "meh" for me. Not memorable. (I did ride the tame version). It didn't make me sick or anything, but I can see how it would. I also note no mentions at all of Test Track. I skipped it for the first time on my most recent visit. And we definitely had the time.

4) The difference between Rock'n'Roller Coaster / Space Mountain vs Everest in terms of "Disney-Osity" is the level of technology and the theming. There's nothing more inherently Disney about a Yeti than there is about Pirates, but the Yeti itself is so awesome, and well done.. ONLY Disney could do it. I've never felt the same about the other 2. There's something original about Space Mountain that I will concede, because i think it was the first indoor, dark roller coaster. I'd be more inclined to include that one, just because of the historical significance. Maybe it's the Aerosmith inclusion in the other one that sort of makes me apathetic to it. Seems to date it very specifically, and isn't Disney supposed to be at least a little timeless?

5) I feel far more "Wham Bam" about Studios than I do about Animal Kingdom, though Tower of Terror is a fairly new addition to my favorite rides and it certainly extends my stay there. AK has a bunch of "second tier" things for me. The Safari is awesome, but it’s far too dependent on the animals' moods to be truly in top 10 considerations. Dinosaur is good, but not great. Festival of the Lion King is great, but I didn't have room for 2 shows. Same with Tough to Be a Bug. I'd choose Philharmagic over it any day.  Kali River Rapids is fun, but way too short, and yeah... There's about a 50% chance of getting more than soaked. Like... completely water-logged drenched. Not worth it.

6) Carousel of Progress is part of the subject of a whole other e-mail exchange: Things that sorely need updating.

7) You mentioned also the Tiki Room... They finally brought it back to the old show, and it was awesome. It also just missed inclusion.

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ANNIE:

Well, we agreed on an awful lot, even if the placement was different. I think it's really heartening how many recent additions we both have on our lists. I think it's easy to sit back and look at all the things that have changed or that Disney is doing wrong nowadays. This list served to remind me that they still do a lot of really cool things
that stay true that what Disney once provided and what we fans have come to expect. A beginning, middle and end. Intense theming. Superior technology.

It's also nice to see that things that have barely been changed since their construction (adding Sparrow or changing audio are really small changes, if you think about it) on both of our lists. The Star Tours changes have updated a ride that was starting to feel dated and stale without changing the essence of the ride--or getting rid of it all
together. These lists have really made me feel a lot less pessimistic about Disney (as reading critical blogs can often lead you to be).

With the big Fantasyland expansion looming, it feels exciting to think about what these lists will look like in another ten years. How odd and special how Disney can balance the old with the new and manage to have guests love all of it. It's not as though it's all geriatrics on Pirates while the kids are zooming around Test Track. Well, that's enough gushing about WDW. I'm glad to have my current list archived so I can look back and it (and think, 'Really, Annie? Really?').

One last note: Seriously? Finding Nemo: the Musical? Out of everything--EVERYTHING--else, you pick that. It boggles my mind so much that I give the computer screen the side eye, wondering if you're just trolling your own brain somehow. But, sure. Tell people it's awesome. Less people in line for Everest that way.

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If you were entertained and wish to follow Annie on Twitter, she can be found at @djphob
Me? I'm at @beefymuchacho (of course).

Disney: A Recap (and some bitching, as always)

Hey Everybody!

The TM and I returned from Disney a couple of weeks back and I think I've finally organized my thoughts enough to write coherently about the trip.

First a couple of general thoughts, and then my likes and dislikes.

Thought 1:
This may be surprising to my readers, but as great a time as I had this trip, I think I'm okay not going again for a couple of years. There are some things that occurred to me during the trip that make me feel like I've been going about it all wrong the last few visits, and maybe I burned myself out a bit.

The thing I need to remind myself is that I'm not a rookie. I'm not going for just a couple of days. I've seen everything several times. I know what I love, and what I can live without. And yet... I attack the visit like a rookie. Every time. I try to cram in everything. I try to plan every day and meal and whatever, and if I'm being honest with myself... I'm done with that.

I could go, literally, 20 more visits without riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and a) I know it'll be there on visit 21, and b) I know that every turn and twist will be the same as it has been for ever one of my previous 15 visits. That's the beauty of Disney World. The classics (for the most part) aren't going anywhere. They so rarely close major attractions. I mean... they don't need to. They usually would just expand. It's not without exception, but you know... even if they were to get rid of Big Thunder? I would be bummed I didn't ride it one last time, but not devastated.

There are a few rides I would be devastated about... Pirates. Haunted Mansion. Kilimanjaro Safari. Soarin. They aren't going anywhere.

My point is... Skipping a ride due to a long line, or to preserve my sanity? That's gotta be something I embrace from now on. Time to take a deep breath. Time to plan less, enjoy more, and not stress about fitting it all in. (That's what she said)

Thought 2:
I can barely tolerate crowds anymore. Like... at all. We chose the 2nd slowest time of year, and it was still really crowded when compared to a shopping mall or whatever. I need to find every way possible to eliminate the crowds from my experience. How do I do that?
a) Bring rain gear - One of the best times we had was after a torrential rain. We had the whole World Showcase to our selves (you know... relatively). Of course two hours after the rain, the crowd was back to normal.
b) Avoid the bus system whenever possible. I hate the buses. They are crowded, and well... crowded. They make me stressed out for like.. 2 hours prior to getting on them. Thats no good. This pretty much leaves us with 2 different hotel choices in the future. The Yacht Club and The Boardwalk. Sadly, these are also much more expensive, so the frequency of visits will need to be adjusted. These two resorts have alternate access to two of the four parks. This appeals to me. They also tend to have generally less crowded buses. And, especially with the Boardwalk, they have interesting things to do when you're not at the park.

Okay, so....

Things I liked:

- The new restaurant in Mexico was the best meal I had the whole time. It was awesome. I'd heard some mixed things about it, but I loved what I got, and the setting is great. It's the new "place to eat and watch Illuminations". Really good stuff.

- The Fantasyland Expansion plans. Seriously, that shit is going to be awesome.

- Best Kilimanjaro Safari experience (annoying people notwithstanding) I've had in ages. It was all about the giraffes this time around, and I really enjoyed it.

- Fucking DOLE WHIP. I mean... I'd always heard about Dole Whip being this thing you got in Adventureland, and I never thought about it much past that. Well... We tried it this time, and my god. It's seriously the best shit ever. I can't believe I waited so long.

- The Wishes Fireworks. I'm not a fireworks guy, but damn.... those are some good fireworks indeed. Very impressive.

- Port Orleans French Quarter. It's probably my favorite of all of the hotels I've stayed in Disney, and even though my comments about the buses are sincere, they shouldn't reflect poorly on this place. It's really nice.

- Finding Nemo the Musical. I know I've talked about it before at least a little, but that's a damned good show for a theme park. Great music. Excellent acting. It's all of the things missing from the poor Great Movie Ride.

- Tower of Terror. I've never been shy about how little I like roller coasters (very little), and the reason for this being the terrifying drops and plummets and whatnot. Well... Let's call this the exception to the rule. We rode it twice in a row, and I seriously laughed like a kook both times. It's so much damned fun. They do this thing where each ride is a little different, because its' on some computer randomizer thing. It's less like falling than like being a giant yo-yo. I love it.

- STAR TOURS. I admit I've never been a great fan of Star Tours, despite the theming. That has all changed since they refurbished it. The changes were inspired. There were all these rumors about it being converted into a pod racing simulator, which sounded cool, but I was also wary of, because pod racing only showed up in the terrible first chapter. Well... There are over FIFTY possible stories (including pod racing), and the story is random. in fact, you'd have to ride it for 6 straight hours to experience all of the stories. How cool is that?! Also, it's 3D now, and incredibly smooth. Darth Vader threw our vehicle with THE FORCE. Awesome.

-Taking Fisheye and Wide Angle photos of my favorite Disney things. The lead photo is a fisheye lens photo of Spaceship Earth. From immediately beneath it. Amazing. Here's a good one of Magic Kingdom:

There were, of course, more things that I liked and have liked for years, but for the sake of brevity, I'm keeping it at these NEW developments.

Things I didn't like so much...

- Most of the rest of the food. It's not that it's bad, but god damn is it overpriced. I wasn't even paying for most of it outside of the dining plan, but they make the mistake of showing us the bills even when we are paying with plan. The Dining Plan is definitely reasonable, and I have no complaints. We ended up using almost all of our snacks during the Food and Wine Festival, whcih was fun, but still... overall the quality of the food wasn't equivalent to the price. Not even close. We're talking about movie-theater popcorn level overpriced. It's hard to remember sometimes that in the end, you're dealing with family restaurants that are glossed up for the location. The food is generally boring.

- Again... the crowds. If I had to choose one specific target? Strollers, Scooters, and Wheelchairs. I would never begrudge someone who really needed one of these things, but FAR too many people were using their strollers are glorified shopping carts. Far too many people were using their scooters as battering rams. Far too many people just loved to stop in the middle of an already crowded walkway and block everything up with their damned strollers and carts and whatever. That shit makes me crazy. I am 100% convinced that I identified several people who were using the wheelchairs as an excuse to get their whole party to the front of lines. I get that you want to bring your little kids. I would never say that's wrong. Just have some fucking respect for others, please. In general, I find people rude. How difficult is it to walk around a poor guy taking one photo. Or, you know... wait for a few seconds. Apparently impossible.

You know... Those are really the two main problems I had this time.

The Flash Photography craze I noted last time seems to have ebbed, thankfully.

Disney seems to be on the right track with their updates. Even the tired-ass Swiss Family Treehouse is being refurbished. The Fantasyland expansion will be great. I'm really looking forward to the James Cameron assisted new land in Animal Kingdom (I think I may have to write a whole blog about that).

There's a million great things to come at my beloved Disney World. I just have to remember that I don't need to do everything every time. I had an amazing time, and I can't wait to go back... Whenever that might be.

Happy Birthday, Walt Disney World.

Yesterday marked the 40^th Anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida. If you’ve ever visited my blog, you’ll know that this is a big deal to me, and that Disney World is my favorite place on Earth.

To honor this milestone I present you with…

The Top 5 Things Disney World Needs to Do to Keep Moving Forward

Get Back to Basics.


One of the things that has drawn so many people into the Disney Experience over the years is the company’s legendary, outstanding customer service. Heck, I even invoked the Disney Service name when I interviewed for my first job in private aviation, when I knew nothing about planes.

The thing is… that level of service has slipped just a little over the past 10 years or so.

There was a time that nobody came close, and now… well.. they’re still the best, but the margin has slimmed. It’s not unusual to see a cast member texting, or complaining about how long their shift is. I shouldn’t say it’s a common occurrence, but not long ago there was no chance of that happening. It’s not just the cast members running the rides or selling the merchandise… One of my favorite rides for years was The Great Movie Ride at what used to be MGM Studios. The best part of it was that there were actors on the ride, interacting with you… These days the actors suck ass. That’s just an example.

Don’t get me wrong. Disney is still the best at what they do, and we’re talking just tiny tweaks. And even moreso, there are still many, many cast members who wanted to work for Disney for the very reasons I’ve mentioned… It’s why I would like to work for them. The majority of the cast members are top notch, and they love what they do. I just want Disney to make it a point to get back to being so much better than every other theme park when it comes to the customer experience, that the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” would shut the hell up.

Expand Animal Kingdom.


I’m probably one of the most unabashed supporters of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, but even I admit that it’s not a full day experience like Magic Kingdom or Epcot, and it doesn’t have the big giant draws that Studios has. (With the exception of Expedition Everest, which is awesome.) There’s just not a lot to do. If you don’t want to get absolutely soaked, you need to skip one of the biggest rides, in Kali River Rapids. If you’re bored with watching animals in their natural environment, you’ll skip the Kilimanjaro Safari. If you aren’t interested in taking the full hour or so needed to go to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, you’ll skip that. Basically there are only a couple of big draws in the park, and I’d venture to say that only one of those actually entices people to go to AK. This has got to change.

Fortunately (I think), the company just announced a big expansion to the park based on the film “Avatar”, which.. while I initially was very disappointed in, but once I thought it through more, and realized that it’s more likely to be based on the world of Pandora from the film (and the upcoming 2 more films that take place elsewhere in that world), the more excited I am. This opens up a whole world of possibilities, even potentially re-starting the “Beastly Kingdom” expansion that has long been discussed. See? Disney’s listening to me already.

Spruce Up The World Showcase


The World Showcase at Epcot is one of my favorite things about Disney, and it’s clearly the Tofu Muchacha’s favorite out of anything. There are so many cool shops and attractions, and the architecture and theming is really cool. One of the things that impressed me the most about Disney as a 13 year old first timer was how all of the countries were populated entirely by people from their respective countries (i.e. The Germany Pavilion is entirely staffed by Germans).

So, what do I mean by “spruce up”? Well…

There are 2 things that need to be done, definitely.

First, there’s spot way out there by Germany and China that is simply called “The Outpost”. This very clearly has to be developed into another country. Some countries that never got through the planning stages are Israel, Russia, Venezuela, and the UAE. My personal vote would be something like Brazil… Something completely different than all of the other countries. As it is right now, there’s just this semi-offensive area that vaguely represents a white bread African hut with generic misters and whatnot. It’s just lazy. Get a country in there. There hasn’t been a new one since The Norway Pavilion was opened in 1988.

Second, Disney needs to go systematically through each pavilion and determine if there’s anything that can be added or improved to the existing country pavilions. For example, while many of the counties have either movies (China, Canada, France, Norway) or exhibits (China, Japan) or Rides (Norway, Mexico) or… national embarrassments (USA), there are several that don’t really feature any sort of attraction to speak of (Britain, Italy, Germany, Morocco).

Let’s talk briefly about the aforementioned “National Embarrassment”. Currently the largest pavilion and the gaudiest show in the park, if not at Disney World is The American Pavilion, and the attached show “The American Adventure”. Yes, it’s impressive. Yes, it’s sort of vaguely emotional. Still…. I think it’s inexcusable. It’s like throwing your own birthday party and then giving yourself a better gift than anyone else gave you. We should all be embarrassed. We should all skip “The American Adventure”. I mean… I think it’s more than anything a redundancy. We’re LIVING The “American Adventure” every fucking day. It’s like a vanity plate on a Hummer. (Says the guy with the vanity plate).

Figure out The Studios.


When I first visited Disney World in 1993, my favorite park was Disney’s MGM Studios. It had this magical Disney feel that combined the romanticism of movies just around the time I was first developing a love for movies and movie making. There was all of this “old Hollywood” charm that I probably enjoyed more than any 13 year old straight kid ever did. Oh, and the rides were all fresh and fun and new. As in…everything was at the most, four years old.

Now? Not so much.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still many, many things I love about the place. I think the visuals of the place are absolutely incredible, even down to the fact that the original layout was a Hidden Mickey visible from space. They had Star Wars and Indiana Jones. They had the best shops in the whole of Walt Disney World (That’s actually probably still true.) It was really freaking awesome.

Sadly, as the emphasis of the part became more weighted toward the dual thrill rides of Rock’n’Roller Coaster and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the rest of the part went neglected for a little too long. The Great Movie Ride, once one of my favorite things about Disney World (in fact you will have seen it appear very high on my “Favorite Things” lists leading up to two past Disney vacations) has not been updated for like… ever. The acting is bad. The movies featured aren’t that recent, or even that relatable at this point. There’s really not a lot of things to “do”, but rather a crapload of things to “see”. This is problematic, because it makes it difficult to navigate the whole park in a day. You can certainly experience the 5 (that’s right, only 5) rides and attractions:

The Great Movie Ride
Tower of Terror
Rock-n-Roller Coaster
Star Tours
Toy Story Mania

If you go in looking to only do those 5 things, and you get there early on an light day, you’re done by noon. The problem is… there are something like 19 shows. There’s no way you can ever see 19 shows in one day. Maybe not even two. There’s just so much waiting in lines, and then waiting in audiences. It’s just become this sort of boring park.

Wow… that was a lot of background for my point… sorry..

They’ve made strides, certainly. Star Tours has been re-done to with a new theme and new movie. Pixar has taken up residence, which is kind of awesome. The American Idol experience is a fun diversion (especially if you make it onto the “show”), though I can’t imagine much more shelf-life of it, especially after Idol finally takes it’s final bow. I believe there’s been talk of updating the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular (woefully outdated still featuring Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is the same thing it was when I was 13), to be a Pirates of the Caribbean Stunt Show. That would be awesome.

Seriously, though… come on, guys….update the Great Movie Ride. Add more rides to the Pixar area. Where’s that Monster’s Inc roller coaster? Maybe something new with the Muppets?

It’s getting almost to the point where the visit to The Studios is perfunctory, and not anticipated with the glee it once was.

Think “Long Term Legacy”.


Listen… I am a capitalist. I have never been offended by a company (whose goal is to make money) trying to make money. I believe that there’s no inherent higher call to be charitable or anything like that.

But what I don’t like, specifically with Walt Disney World, is when the company chooses to capitalize on short term, fad type things, and focus less on the long term things that will last a long time and will create that nostalgic feel that keeps people coming back year after year and generation after generation. This, again, is what separates Disney from their “competitors”. Disney creates stand-alone iconic rides like “It’s a Small World” and “The Haunted Mansion” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Rides that spawned films. The competition creates rides based on popular movies. The problem with that, is that those movies fade most of the time, and then you have this dated ride. Think “Twister” at Universal. That was a cool attraction, but I guarantee that most of the teens at Universal have never seen the movie.

My preference is to see less advantage taken of the “Princess” fad. Or the “Pirates” fad. I understand that the company wants to make the money when the money is there to be made, but I wish they’d sometimes do a little better to integrate theming and more lasting motifs into their money makers. I can think of two examples of where this sort of “brand marketing” failed, and crowds either complained long enough to change things, or that time is coming soon..

The Enchanted Tiki Room is one of the legendary attractions at Disney World. Walt himself famously talked to a mechanical parrot, teasing the attraction. About 15 years ago, they decided that the classic version of the ride wasn’t cutting it anymore, so they added the currently popular Iago from Aladdin and Zazu from The Lion King. Not to say that those weren’t both great movies. They are. Still… the show never had the same timeless resonance that it once did, so while the interest was briefly increased, ultimately it petered out.

The other example is the once great “Alien Encounter”. Now… I understand why they got rid of that attraction. Ultimately the Magic Kingdom is a park for kids more than anything, and that was a damned scary attraction. But it also was awesome. And unique. And not tied to anything in particular, so had it been in a different environment, it could have lasted as long as they wanted. So they replaced it, almost entirely with a watered down version featuring Stitch. I LOVE Stitch, but this is one of the dumbest things in the whole park. People hate it. Everyone hates it.

Damn, I’m rambling today.

So I guess my final point for this is that Disney knows how to make money. They know they can make money by constantly changing their target and going after whatever is the most popular thing at any given moment in time. They could also choose to seek out the possibly harder to find, but ultimately more valuable timeless classic. I just wish they’d quit so blatantly going after the first, and start going after the second again.

I know I sound like I’m complaining here. I mean… I feel that way. You have to know, though, that I struggled coming up with these 5 things. There are so many amazing things that I always talk about, I sometimes feel like it’s okay to talk about the ways they can still improve. Walt Disney himself famously said “Keep Moving Forward”.

Disney does it the best. They’ve got the best idea people, the best artists, the best everything, and that’s why I go back as often as the TM will allow me. All of the things I suggest are small in proportion to the magic the place makes every day.

Happy Birthday, Disney World. My favorite place.

I'm So Vain: A Poll

Hey folks-

I got a new car, and I am getting vanity plates. I know... I know... Shhhhhhh

So, I'm putting it to you, my readers, to vote on the final decision:

CHOOSE THE MUCHACHO'S VANITY PLATE
	CPN HOOK
	BEEFY 16
	DZNY DAN
	JET DAN 1
	TAIL NBR
pollcode.com free polls

I have to order them soon, so the results will be final as of the end of the business day on Friday.

Thanks in advance for voting!

A Triumphant Return!

The Tofu Muchacha and I have made our Disney World reservations for our next visit. It's still a long way away.... 4 more months. So long that I'm almost embarrased to be as excited for it as I am. It would be like an 8 year old being excited for their wedding.

I've promised myself to be a little staid in regards to my Disney Trip blogs until the trip gets closer, but in honor of our wonderful, upcoming travels to The Happiest Place on Earth, I've decided to a list of my top 5 favorite restaurants at Disney World (a topic requested by The Tofu Muchacha, who is WAY more excited about the trip than she is letting on.)

So, here we go... Instead of ranking them, I'm going to give you my winner in each of five categories.

The Beefy Muchacho's Five Favorite Disney World Restaurants:

Favorite Resort Restaurant:

Boma at The Animal Kingdom Lodge. I first tried this place kind of on a whim when I was in Orlando for work, and I turned my 1 day work thing into a 4 day trip to Disney. I was by myself, and didn't have a time-table, so I drove my rental car over to the newly opened Animal Kingdom Lodge. After wandering around for a while, I made my way down the stairs where the two restaurants, Jiko and Boma are located. I looked at the prices at Jiko, and headed right in to Boma. Boma is an African-cuisine inspired buffet, and it is really freakin' incredible. The food quality is comparable to a high-end buffet you'd find at The Bellagio or The Wynn in Vegas, and the food itself is really unique and really delicious. In fact, I've requested 3 recipes at Disney World ever, and 2 of them came from Boma. This delicious soup called Mulligatawny (which isn't just a joke on The Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld), and this peanut butter rice dish. Crazy good. It's good enough that I plan on enticing The TM to get over her anti-Buffet sentiments (if only for a night) and try it out. I haven't been there in a couple of visits.

Favorite Restaurant Theming (non-chain)

Sci-Fi Dine-in at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Let be honest... the food at the Sci-Fi Dine-in is mediocre. The burgers are good, but not great. The fries are good, but not great. The seating is odd, and the wait-times are legendarily bad. BUT... that doesn't take away from one of the coolest restaurant themes anywhere. You walk through the doors, and you're transported back into the 1950s Drive-in Culture. Your dinner tables are all situated inside of 1950s era cars. All of the seats face the movie screen, and the screen shows a long and amusing loop of the old, terrible sci-fi movie trailers of the time. The seats aren't particularly comfortable, but man, is that place fun to sit in for an hour, of the hot air, and sipping on truly average milkshake. I can tell you that I've visited it several times over my visits and not once has it been for the food. But it IS worth a visit. By the way, I had to make this a "non-chain" category, because The Rainforest Cafe wins every day.

Favorite Restaurant View

The Coral Reef at Epcot. While not exactly a traditional view, the scenery here is so spectacular that I had to count this as the best restaurant view in all of Walt Disney World. It's fairly unexpected when you walk in, as it just seems like you're going into this luminescent cavern. Cool sounding enough, I know... but it doesn't prepare you for the actual vista Disney lays out before you... A giant wall of glass, and beyond it an amazing, enormous aquarium of fish and coral and turtles and all kinds of amazing sea creatures. The dining room is laid out like one of those old school cabana clubs, with the tables lined up in semi circles around a proscenium stage, only instead of a stage there's this amazing fish tank. Maybe I was spoiled since my first visit ever to the Coral Reef featured this awesome view:

Favorite Place to Crash Without Reservations**

The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Look... I've never made a secret about loving my Rainforest Cafe. It's a guilty pleasure, I know. But then, I think one of the things that has always made me go back is that while it's usually a total, freaky madhouse with hundreds of families all gorging themselves and lining up around the block to get a table, the Rainforest Cafe has this awesome bar under a giant mushroom (don't judge), and there are almost always seats to be had with no wait whatsoever. To give you an idea of how awesome that is... Disney lets you make dinner reservations 180 days in advance of your trip. I, being the totally insane lunatic I am, called on that exact date to make our reservations. This of course requires me to know exactly where we're going each day of the trip six months ahead of time, but there it is. So anyway, as I went through and made each of our reservations, I was able to get just about all of the ones I wanted, at the times I wanted. It was awesome. The ONLY restaurant that was fully booked up was the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney. And yet, I did not fret. I knew I would be able to eat at my favorite chain restaurant of all time, thanks to that good old bar under that big-ass mushroom.


** The only caveat is that you really can't rely on this for more than 2 people, unless you're willing to sit apart.

Favorite Restaurant, Overall

This is a tough one. I have been so many times, and tried so many places. It's difficult to choose a single place that best sums up all of the things I look for in a Disney Restaurant. The food has to be good. The setting has to be unique. It has to evoke a memory or three that probably blurs my judgement a little.

All of the restaurants listed above could be contenders. Boma is an incredible place with incredible food, and I even have some great memories there. I've even requested recipies from there (and tried one, though it was difficult to follow). Sci-Fi is probably the most fun in terms of setting, but as I mentioned above, the food is just okay. Rainforest's food and theme are great, but I don't think I could really give the title to a chain, no matter how much I love it. The Coral Reef... probably has the best shot at the title... The food is great, the setting is beautiful, and maybe best of all, I spent my one and only visit there with my love, the amazing Tofu Muchacha. I can't deny that I'm tempted to call it the winner...

And maybe it's just that my all time favorite restaurant at Disney is the only one I can ever remember closing, but I may never have another Alfredo's. The now gone Italian place in Epcot that I spent some awesome times with Tofu Madrastra (Step mom), who may love Disney almost as much as me. It's a tough place to replace, and I don't know that a clear answer has shown itself yet.

So... I'm going to say that for now, my favorite is The San Angel Inn, located in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot.

Kind of out of left field, right? Well...

Food: Outstanding. More authentic than almost any Mexican food that you'll find anywhere in America outside of the far South West, but not so authentic that you worry you're possibly eating roasted ant eggs or goat (though, goat is, admittedly, delicioso!).

Setting: Pretty much the most visually stunning of all the Epcot country pavilions, and the restaurant has the best seats for the view.

Memories: Well... It doesn't necessarily stand out more than The Coral Reef, but I gave it the victory in this category, because the TM and I love us some Mexican food. I have been thinking about writing reviews of local Mexican restaurants because we try so many.


Maybe my reasons are lame for this last one... I wonder if it's because in the end, I really am always holding out hope that the next visit to Disney will help me discover my new favorite place to replace good old Alfredo's.

Later this week (hopefully): The Best Unintentionally Scary Places at Disney World.

I see a lot of movies.

Happy New Year, Faithful Readers!

One of my favorite things I did this past year on my blog was track each and every movie I saw in the theaters, and rank them as they came in. I was always curious as to how many movies I saw, and I was also sort of interested in seeing how I'd rank movies if I had a continuous flow-chart sort of thing where I listed them.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and I will definitely be starting a new list for 2011 soon.

So... Without further ado, a look back at the best and worst from my perspective, based only on the movies I saw.

Best Actress:
For me this comes down to three.
Natalie Portman in Black Swan is likely going to win the Oscar, and she definitely would be deserving. I didn't totally love the movie, overall. It felt... kind of unfocused. It seemed like it was trying to be different things. That doesn't make her performance any less incredible. She killed it.
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air. I know that technically this was a 2009 movie, but I saw it in 2010, and it didn't get wide release until then. So there. Anyway, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for this movie, and really I think she was robbed.
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit. Ten minutes into this movie I knew this girl's performance was special. She was totally badass and she stood toe to toe with Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, and Matt Damon and made them all have to rise to her level. She rocks.

Honorable Mention:
Anne Hathaway in Love and Other Drugs

Best Actor:
I mean... I don't think there were any truly transcendent performances by men this year.
Jeff Bridges in True Grit was great, and I firmly believe the guy makes a case for 2 wins in a row, after Crazy Heart last year. I wasn't the fan of DiCaprio's performance in Inception that many were. I felt like Joseph Levitt was better. Gyllenhall is good in Love and Other Drugs. Jesse Eisenberg is good in The Social Network. Just... I don't think anyone really stands out more than the others. I think I'm gonna have to go with Clooney in Up in the Air. Best movie of the year in the non-Animated category. He was great. And he has mastered the "The same but different" thing. I loved that movie.

Worst Actress:
Jennifer Aniston in The Bounty Hunter. There's really no contest here.

Worst Actor:
Gerard Butler in The Bounty Hunter or, as much as I hate to say it... Will Arnett in When in Rome. I've talked about how much disdain I have for Gerard Butler before. He's horrid in every possible way. It makes me super sad, though, to report that Will Arnett's schtick is getting old. He was awesome as Gob Bluth. He was funnier than anyone knows in Lets Go to Prison. But as funny as the guy is, he's limited, and it seems that his limits have been reached. Sad.

Best Performance in a Shitty Movie:
I'm gonna go with Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones. I probably wouldn't go so far as to call The Lovely Bones shitty, but it did solidly fall in the lower half of my list. Stanley Tucci is generally awesome, and almost always excellent. I don't know what it is about him, but he's always awesome. He was awesome in Burlesque too. His performance as a terrifying serial killer was one of the creepiest things I saw all year.

Worst Performance in a Good Movie:
Man... I mean.. maybe Nicholas Cage in Kick Ass? Or Nicholas Cage in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Hard to say. And funny enough, Good Old Nic Cage kicks ass in both of these movies. I can't think of anyone better in either role, and he is SO, SOOO bad. It's like an effing M.C. Ecsher painting.

Best Cameos:
TIE: The Rock and Samuel L. Jackson in The Other Guys. One of the most drop-dead hilarious bits in any movie this year, and I can't say any more or else I'll spoil it.

Non-Disney movie I'm Most Likely to Buy on Blue Ray:
This eliminates Toy Story 3, Tangled, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, so... I think I'd be really torn between Kick Ass and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. There were definitely better movies. Up in the Air, True Grit, Inception. Still... knowing my personal tastes in at-home-viewing, I think I'd be fairly unlikely to regularly watch those heavier flicks. Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim are both total nerd dreams, and a ton of fun. That's pretty much what I like. Something not too deep. These weren't deep, but they were a blast. If forced to choose, I go with Kick-Ass.

Worst Picture:
I don't know... I think I'd have a hard time thinking of a worse movie than The Bounty Hunter. Not just this year, but ever. I mean... I know it's not the worst movie ever *cough* Titanic *cough*, but it is really, really bad. Not even a close second on this list. Daybreakers, my 2nd lowest rated movie features a fairly entertaining premise and a fairly entertaining performance by Willem Defoe. They can't save it from Ethan Hawke, but it wasn't a travesty. The Bounty Hunter was a travesty.

Best Picture:
Generally, I think it was a strong year for movies in the "good but not great" range, but not nearly as strong on the high end. If I had to vote for Best Picture of the movies I saw, I'd be hard-pressed not to give it to Toy Story 3, which will never ever win. It was the best movie I saw all year. It was hilarious and deeply emotional. It had a great story. It was beautiful to watch. It was definitely the most great of any of the really good movies I saw this year.

Now, on to 2011.