Photo Flashback!!! -- Rex!

Who doesn't love our old friend and former Star Tours pilot, Rex. No one gets lost like he does. 

A Walk Around The World With Ridge -- Picture Day!

In honor of Star Wars Weekends beeing only 10 Weeks away, here are 10 fun photo's from my Last Weekends Adventures.

 

keep up with me as we get closer to trip time for ideas on how to have a fun and event filled Star Wars Weekend. This year I'll be going with a friend who has never experienced Star Wars quite like this.

 

 

R2-D2 is out for a morning stroll to meet his fans.

Chewbaca.. you're taller in person.

C3PO and R2 still giving each other the business on reopening day.

Capitan Rex.... oh, that explains a lot.

Mickey uses his Jedi mind tricks to get us all to keep spending money.

One of my favorite things is an AT-AT looking through the trees.

Dang it man! Always and I mean always let the Wookie WIN!

Anthony Daniels  putting on, I mean hijacking the show.

Who doesn't need an Ewok with a Slash complex?

Did anyone know that Boba Fett's mom worked here on weekends?

A Walk Around The World With Ridge--My close encounter with Carbonite

My appointment was scheduled for 8:25AM on Saturday to have the Carbonite Freeze done on my pretty face. I was fairly optimistic about it all. I would sit for what I was hoping would be some kind of high-tech laser scan of my face. Then a few weeks later I would have myself all fixed up like Han Solo and all I would need is someone to try to rescue me from Jabba and life would be complete.

When I arrived at the park the day prior to my appointment, I went over to the former “Sounds Dangerous” to see what was outside as far as samples of the product were concerned. I was somewhat unimpressed by the models they had on display but that was in direct sunlight and I was moving on to meet people so it wouldn’t be until in the morning that I would see these again.

The "freeze" chamber

Next day: 8:00AM.  Arrive at park but miss rope drop by a couple of minutes…. That stinks, but on to my destination. When I get to the CF I was greeted and welcomed to look around at the more elaborate displays. My beard was a big concern to me because of what it may look like on the finished product. There was one on display of the product creator and his had a beard. Well to me it looked odd, it showed up as just a darker area on the face so when the CM came to get me I expressed my concern that I didn’t think that it looked very good and was this the finished product? She told me yes and looked somewhat panicked and left to get me the supervising Imagineer. While I waited, I was handed a model I could hold and examine. Here I was able to feel the weight and the finish.

When I met the Imagineer, we talked for a few minutes about the materials used, overall cost involved, the unique printing process involved (yes I said printing process) and just the general coolness of the idea. Still I wasn’t feeling impressed, the money didn’t bother me. At 100.00 dollars it isn’t small change but considering the total cost of a trip to Disney World you can spend 100.00 bucks before breakfast. Back to the matter at hand… the Imagineer and I were soon joined by another and they invited me inside to see the process and told me to take all the pictures I wanted. Now we’ve gotten this far and I haven’t even told you my criticism so here it goes as I told the Imagineers.

Likes:

·         Price, 100.00 dollars to have my face on some merch… not bad.

·         The size of the statue is good at around 9 inches. Perfect to see detail.

Dislike:

·         The finish. The finish wasn’t smooth and you could clearly see the lines from the resin gypsum printing. (it is printed on a 3D printer and built one layer at a time, awesome process but generally not used for finished products but for prototypes)

·         Materials: I understand that the cost is driving the material but for my money getting my face on something I want it to look nice. The movie props are smooth and finished. I suggested a lacquer finish and even some painting would make them look better to smooth out some of the details. Even better would be a cast model. Yes, again I understand keep costs down.

·         The process wasn’t actually a scan but a series of pictures that were then composited together. This is a cheap way of getting a result but nothing as accurate as a laser image scan.

products with packaging

packaging

the "freeze" chamber

Overall I agree it is an impressive product and there were tons of happy people having their pictures taken for the memories. The reason I was given for the some of what I called “short comings” was this was a new product that had never been tested on this scale and, if it did well, improvements would be made and it would be back next year. So I will definitely be back next year to scope out the improvements.  

For the official news Check the Disney Parks Blog for their description of the experience.

A Walk Around The World With Ridge--Trip Report part II--- finally.

Well hello there, it has been a long break in between these two parts of my telling of my May trip to Disney but the Editor thought it a nice idea if we all took a little break to recharge our batteries, usher new additions of the family into the world and enjoy a little break in general.

When last I left off I was going to talk about Star Tours and how fantastic it was. See here for an article I wrote for the Magical Blogorail on this topic. It was fantastic and I can’t wait till my October trip to ride it again. So much so that on several occasions I have thought about just getting in the car and making a mad dash for the weekend and seeing some of my wonderful Disney friends. If there is a couch to sleep on I’ll be on my way right now! If not I’ll be waiting a little while longer.

To the rest of my trip: Return of the Merchandise Tent, Jabba’s Hut. A day or two after the main ceremonies to get everything kicked off I found myself once again in the tent and waiting in line to help a friend pick up a DVC limited edition pin. While there I lost my mind for a second and bought myself a writing pen, limited edition to 1000 and didn’t question the price till I was at the register and it was 50 bucks… I wish I had upgraded my annual pass to premium before that day. But I bought it anyway and we moved on. I moved back and forth between groups of Disney friends. At this point I do have to say that I am far enough removed from the trip that some of it has run together. Good thing I have pictures. Check out my flicker account for all of the pictures from my trips!

In the couple days that followed I was on the go like nobody’s business, I spent time in all of the parks with tons of people but the main group for the bulk of my trip was Christa, Ashley and Jeb. Jeb is a Disney newbie so there was lots of explaining from us nerds about everything. I am pretty sure a good time was had by all. We all seem to be pretty alike so it was easy to hang out. However, Jeb and the Country Bears… priceless moments in time. I did break away for a few minutes at Magic Kingdom so not to completely bore my friends and took pictures with my 35mm film camera. Photography has become quite the hobby of mine and I never want to call myself a photographer; I just want to be an avid hobbyist. The Hall of Presidents is perhaps my favorite area to shoot because I love the architecture and have already posted about it before so I won’t go into that here.

I drove everywhere on my last trip and stayed off property again on the second half of my adventure to save a little money. Now I have brought up the fact many a time that I use an iPhone and one of the best things I do with it is drop a pin on my map when I get out of my car in the lot and I will be taken right back to it at the end of the day. I tell this little factoid, I forgot to do this at the Studios, being so excited to get inside and see my friends. So at the end of the day when I was ready to leave I walked all the way to the back of the parking lot, forgetting that I was there at rope drop and had parked one row over from cast member parking. Good job me.

Things that were highlights: Having a churro and sitting in a rocking chair watching the crowd walk by in Frontierland. I’ll never forget standing in line for 30 minutes for Pirates, wow lots of laughing. Giving a guided tour of Liberty Square, look for the musket in the window next time and the symbol of a tax payer over a back gate. Seeing the new queue at Haunted Mansion, it really is very nice and I am so glad the old turnstile is gone. Having a Dole Whip…. Just hanging out with great people at a fantastic place.
I’ll be returning to WDW soon for the 40th anniversary on 10/01/2011. It should be a blast getting to see old friends again and maybe one day I can become one of the faithful and get moved down there.

Till next time friends, see ya real soon!

Magical Blogorail: I Always Run First To...

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you who have just hopped aboard. I am the final stop on our Magical Blogorail.

This month's topic is “What attraction do you always run to first at Disney and why?” Ridge has just returned from two weekends in a row at Star Wars Weekends. As you might imagine, he makes a beeline for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Now that Star Tours is back open and better than ever, it is definitely my "I gotta do this now and probably several more times today" attraction at WDW. If you haven’t seen it, ridden it, read about it, watched a YouTube video of it or have just been living under a rock for the last couple of months, I will be glad to fill you in on the awesomeness and immersive experience that is Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. Star Tours has always been one of my favorite attractions since the first time I rode it. After that I was hooked for life, even when it became apparent that it wasn’t exactly being kept up as well as it should have been. Now the new Star Tours is open and being there for opening weekend was worth the wait.

If you don’t want to hear some spoilers then give up now because I will tell you about a few of my new favorite things. First I am happy that the Ewok Village is still intact. Inside the queue is still the same basic set up with the Star Speeder being repainted and the Calamarians offering some new screens to look at. C3PO is nice and shiny and has a fancy new screen behind him too. Walking into the old droid room, it is no longer the conveyer system and is now more of a real spaceport with the old goose droids now repurposed as TSA agents. One is on the lower level scanning luggage and having a grand time. He has no idea what he is looking at in the bags and making comments on the passersby. The other droid is located just before you enter the loading area and is checking each guest with a thermal imaging camera. To me he sounds like the droid version of Patrick Warburton and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he recorded the track. In the corner when you first walk into the room with the TSA agents, on your left is REX marked as defective and if you get to stand near him long enough he says some of his script from the previous incarnation. There are lots and lots of things to be distracted by in this room and the lines might just accommodate you being able to check it all out.

Now to the bread and butter and why I’m making this attraction a top priority: variety and most excellent CGI and 3D graphics. Your Star Speeder hasn’t changed, although if I understand right there were some modifications to the ride structure to add a new axis of motion for the side to side wiggle. Seats, seatbelts, and the preflight spiel are all still about the same; they just look far better on the new preflight video. Once inside the magic happens by donning your 3D glasses and the front blast shield is lowered to revel your pilot: C3PO? As you guessed it, the safe and efficient travel promised by Star Tours is anything but. Someone is going to be coming to your transport and asking if a rebel spy is on board then the mayhem ensues. I rode five times and once I was the rebel spy! It actually was a good picture of me, wish they sold that at the gift shop. The GCI by Lucas Film Limited is nothing but the best and I really think it is 3D the way 3D should be everywhere. There were no cheap 3D tricks (waka waka) unless you get to see Naboo but that is soooo worth it. Best way I can say it; Visually Stunning. The planets I have seen were all beautifully rendered. The hologram effect is totally boss and having a CGI Princess Leia telling me I was the only hope was magic and my nerd levels went off the charts. There is just so much that can be said about the attraction and so far I have nothing negative other than after being open to the public for two days, the paint was already peeling from the walls. I mean, really people, that’s why we can’t have nice things and if you can’t act right, I’m turning you over to Vader because I find your lack of respect disturbing.

The planets that I made the jump into hyperspace for were Tatooine for the pod races, which the first time I saw this it was amazing, I rode the first two times with my mouth agape because I had NO idea it was going to live up to the hype I had seen on twitter all the way down to Disney. After I saw the pod races again I was tired because they are not my favorite part of Episode I and were tiring to watch no less cool though. Then I saw Hoth where the rebel base was being attacked and we were hit in classic style and almost crashed before R2 was able to restart the engines and jump us away. The next time I rode I saw Kashyyyk the Wookie planet, here two storm troopers are chasing a Wookie on speeder bikes and R2 blasts them after the Wookie has a little mishap. The planets we saw at the end were Geonosis with the Death Star over head and Boba Fett gunning us down. Naboo with a trip under water to see the Gungan City before making to the destination in a grand style. Let us not forget about Coruscant with its busy skyways and wrong way traffic. Oh, the combinations are awesome and seem to have been well written to cross over ok, there is continuity problems but I don't care. The ride is fantastic.


To see all of Ridge's pictures from Star Tours click here for the Flickr stream.

Below is a video Ridge took of one of the "TSA" droids.

Thank you for joining us this month. We will be back July 15th with an all new theme, though keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, head over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our blogorail members’ blogs and our previous loops.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ WDW Backstage
2nd Stop ~ Makin’ Memories
3rd Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney
4th Stop ~ A World View
Final Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

A Walk Around The World With Ridge-- I'm Home...sort of

What an adventure I had this May. I went to my first Star Wars Weekends and was there for the reopening of Star Tours. To make it even more crazy, my trip consisted of two trips in one. I was part of the fun from May 19-25, went home to Birmingham, worked for two days and then went right back for Memorial Day weekend. Why didn’t I just stay the extra two days instead of drive all the way home to work? Well at the time this made perfect sense because vacation time is finite and I needed as much of it as possible to make the rest of the trips I already have planned for the rest of the year.  The most important being July so I can go and see the new baby in our family, Little Miss Ashley. So like I said it made perfect sense when I planned it.  Knowing all the trouble I have had now, I wish I had either stayed or just not taken the second weekend.

Arrival for my first part of the trip was to Pop Century Resort. Now yes my family and I are DVC members but in an effort not to single handedly drain all the points for the year, I stayed on my own dime.  I did what everyone should do and called Travel with the Magic and got a room booked.  Thanks Kelly!

My trip was far from smooth sailing.  If you have followed the blog you already know I had a bit of car trouble about 2 hours south of Birmingham in my old haunt of Auburn. After having the car repaired I had a relatively uneventful drive into Orlando, getting to check in at the Pop around midnight. Lucky for me I always do online check-in but until this trip never knew how handy it would really be. When I got to Pop, the computer system for check-in wasn’t working. So I let the CM know that I had completed online check-in and he took my driver’s license and walked over to a counter and came back with a check-in packet. Because they had a little warning that the computers were going to be down all the people that had pre-checked-in had their packets already made. So that was a painless moment.

I wandered over to my room and like the crazy person that I am, before I could bring anything into the room, I had to take pictures of it.

The room was a good size and was very clean. I was in the 50s building and there is a fun framed poster on the wall with lots of little bits of memoriblia featured.

I very much liked that the T.V. had been updated to a flatscreen model on swivel base that almost pivoted 180 degrees.

After taking pictures and unpacking, it was time to hit the hay because Friday was the grand opening of Star Tours: the Adventures Continue and George Lucas himself was going to be there. I was looking very forward to the day and got up early, having only what I would call a nap.  I got over to the park, picked up my annual pass from guest services while also getting my Tables in Wonderland card and headed into the Studios. Having never attended the Star Wars Weekends before I was unprepared for the people in costume, lightsabers as far as the eye could see and the socially awkward adults buying everything they could get their hands on. I went straight to Star Tours to get a Fastpass because I knew from the tweets and other chatter that FPs were going to go fast and the lines will be long.

Now a mistake I made early on was NOT fully reading the schedule and didn’t realize that the opening ceremonies were at 11.  During that time I was trapped in the merchandise line in Jabba’s Hutt. On the bright side I got several exclusive pins, a coin and a writing pen. So while I missed being in the sun and George Lucas telling Darth Vader he was “about to meet his maker,” I bought some cool stuff that not everyone got to have.

Come back for more next time when I tackle my new favorite attraction and the rest of the crazy trip.

Good morning from Walt Disney World

The last couple of days have been a blur of activity and not nearly as much sleep as I would like to have, but have fun or have sleep...or have fun sleeping I guess. On this trip though I'll just have to sleep when I'm dead because I'll leave here Wednesday to go home work 2 days then come back to see my friends for one more weekend. Jim if you read this I'll bring you back a souvenir in exchange for leaving early next Friday. *wink*
The previous statement in no way was a bribe. lol. So on with the recap.

So as you read on Thursday my trip started off with a bang having my O2 sensor go out and causing a two hour layover while I had it repaired. Good times, at least the best circumstances surrounded a bad situation and I was able to get back on the road quickly. That night check in was late and the next morning came early for it was opening day for Star Wars Weekends as well as Star Tours the Saga Continues. It is technically a prequel but we will not go into the continuity issues and just focus on the fact the 3D that is being used was the most vivid and real as seeing in everyday life. As a matter of fact nothing in real life looks that good so now regular vision is kind of a let down.
The opening day hoopla was impressive so I understand. In a fit of failure that is beginning to sum up my Friday morning, I misread the schedule of events and missed the festivities, however I was in the line for merchandise and able to get a couple of exclusive pins that were sold out by the end of the day. In that respect I won, but I missed seeing George Lucas on stage giving his blessing to Disney for all the hard work that goes into Star Wars Weekends and Star Tours.






The fun was shared by meeting up with the Startours2live.com and Studiocentral.com crew as well as other bloggers and friends. Twitter brings people together and destroys 3rd world countries (not really but it has great power for some reason). Oh the social media gatherings are always so much fun. Here is just one picture of it all.






Friday was long but somehow Saturday was longer. I meet up with the WDW Radio fans to see Lou Mongello and all the other friends from the day before then a group of about 30 of us went to Momma Melrose for lunch. Fantastic.











I'll go into detail later about how much I enjoyed lunch and having it with that many friends was incredibly entertaining. After lunch we did several activities as a group then ended the night at Hyperspace Hoopla a dance party type show with all you favorite characters. When I can get my pictures off my camera I'll be posting more about that show but I'll say one thing: Ewok dressed as Slash. My night was complete.

Now I am up and just being lazy meeting up with my friends Mary and Christa this afternoon at Epcot once Mary flys in. I dropped of some film at Walgreens and am right now having Breakfast at BabyCakes NYC at Downtown Disney just killing time. I will say though I am a new fan of it here. Is a Vegan bakery and the eats are great.





Pictured are a vanilla cake crumble donut and a cinnamon roll. They worked for me and bonus they took a DVC discount. Discounts make everything better.

Before I go out and play a little more today I wanted to say thank you to Kelly from Travelwiththemagic.com for helping me book my trip this go 'round and for all the advice she has lent me for October. Kelly I'll be in-touch with you soon about all that. Thanks again.

- Posted by Ridge using BlogPress from my iPhone

Star Tours E-Postcard

Check out this link to create your own e-postcard from one of several Star Wars locations.  Disney currently offers Tatooine, Hoth, and Naboo; more will be released in the coming weeks. 

I made one with a picture of Tink, diving Lake Paonga.  It turned out very cute and reminds me of e-postcards we've sent in years past from Innoventions.  The catch seems to be that you can only post this to Facebook.  So much for adding it to this blog post.  It's still a fun diversion on a Friday afternoon.  Have a great weekend!

~Amy

Star Tours 2

Is fantastic. Smiling me.





- Posted by Ridge using BlogPress from my iPhone

Watching the Star Tours opening ceremony

Are you?




Unlike my brother, I couldn't be there in person but I really enjoyed watching the webcast of today's event.  George Lucas is definitely more comfortable with a light saber than is Bob Iger.

-Amy

AU breakdown

Sounds like a country song. Just to follow up on the last piece. The car is now fixed and driving smooth. Wesley Tire & Auto was fast and super friendly. Thanks!






- Posted by Ridge using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mishap for the day...

I left work on time and programmed the GPS to take me away however in my infinite wisdom knowing much better the direction I wanted to take I ignored my GPS and started out. Using it more as an estimate for time rather than a direction.
This arrogance soon backfired as I got trapped in traffic due to a pretty bad wreck. Then while taking to my sister the check engine light came on. This was then followed by then engine running very rough. I was so close to my old stomping ground Auburn University that pulled on in to the local auto parts store and had them diagnose the light. "O2 sensor, we don't carry that one". After a call to DisneyDad, I was calling the local dealership to see if they had it. They DID! But surprise! The service department sucked so they couldn't put it on. Luckily one of the guys there called a local mechanic and he said he could get it on now and save me burning my hands (these things are not located conveniently). So that leads me to right now, delayed but not deterred. I'll be back on the road in no time hopefully with a functioning car and a lighter wallet. I would have fixed it myself in a pinch and was prepared to since I carry a set of tools in the trunk. However, I don't have a split wrench that you need to do something like this so paying a professional seems like my best option right now.

Back on the road soon....

- Posted by Ridge using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's Go Time.

It's finally here: day zero, party day, travel day oh, and still a working day. Not complaining though, my job and manager Jim are flexible and very understanding of the fact I seem to have a Disney problem. Thinking of that I have to take a drug and alcohol awareness in the workplace compliance do-hicky before I leave out today. So hi, my name is Chris and I have an addiction to good entertainment, a large mouse and the world of family fun that Walt built. The byproduct of all this is a large collection of camera gear, movies, trips to Florida and a pretty large group of friends, some of which I'll be seeing Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as next week.

So I'll be posting as often as possible to the blog here as activities allow at Star Wars Weekends and other fun times from my trip.

- Posted by Ridge using BlogPress from my iPhone

Photo Flashback!!! A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy.. you get the point

Since we are so close to the Saga continuing I couldn't help but post the classic me looking serious on a speeder bike.

A Walk Around The World With Ridge—28 Days & Counting.

There are few things I get really excited about these days. I prefer to have a quite reserve, unflappable demeanor, but the eminent re-opening of Star Tours has me pretty geared up. Also it doesn’t hurt that I have made wonderful friends and I’ll be seeing lots of them again at the opening. The opening of Star Tours 2 will be on May 20, 2011. It has been closed since September of 2010 and in a short time has been retooled to house a new ride, new preshow and lots of excitement. I understand that Tatooine Traders has been closed for refurbishment to get ready for the grand opening.

Like most guys my age I am a Star Wars fan. When the original films were re-released for the first time in special addition packaging and in theatrical and enhanced editions on VHS, I got them. Action figures... I have those too. Yeah, I even have a lightsaber that I bought back in about 1993 from the then titled MGM Studios. Like most people I know, Star Tours was originally a staple attraction not to be missed. Toward the end of the run of Star Tours 1 it was easy to walk right on and sometimes even get your own vehicle. But the attraction had so much character, from outside in.

When MGM Studios was a working TV and Movie studio, the attractions at the time were all built to reflect the studio feel. So Star Tours outdoor queue is only detailed on the front and the backs are exposed steel. When you first walked in there was a director’s chair on the right as well as painted signs of active set and even the red lights to let you know that filming was in progress. You were being let onto the set to be part of your own movie.

The new ride has been in the works, I can only assume, for a long time because all of the computer graphics involved. I am sure those can’t be completed overnight. Also writing the storyline takes a while and George Lucas doesn’t just approve anything. In the last few days there has been lots of fun info released. I have been keeping up with it all thanks to http://www.startours2live.com/.

As the time looms nearer I am growing more excited. It will be a new attraction combined with an old favorite and the Studios have extended the park hours to accommodate staying open till midnight. It is going to be an absolute blast.

A Walk Around The World With Ridge--Star Tours

On arrival at Walt Disney World in 1991 Star Tours was tops on my list, being a Star Wars fan and 10 years old. I doubt I would have believed you if you told me none of it was real. I don't always take pictures but I stop and stand in the queue for as long as I can almost every time. On my most recent trip in April of 2010, I made it to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at rope drop and then headed straight to Star Tours. I had to take a commemorative trip knowing that it was going to be closing in September. Also one of my best friends from college was getting married the weekend I came home and I had to pick up a special edition Jedi Mickey and R2-MK for his soon-to-be stepson. What can I say; I had to get myself one too. (I tossed in a picture of me at 18 just for fun.)

I have been a fan of Star Wars for as long as I can remember and the Christmas that I got my VHS release (and not even the enhanced copy) of the trilogy was a big one. I collected the action figures, vehicles and magazines. A small fortune was probably spent in my youth on things we call "collectables." I even have a lightsaber I bought at MGM back in the day. It was one of the first ones that were produced en masse, the Luke Skywalker model. I remember spending all the money I had on it then having to ride 10 hours home with it on my lap because it couldn't fit in the trunk. I think that really shows a little love for Star Wars.

I always loved the attraction in its original form because of the combination of the outdoor and indoor queues made it really feel like you were no longer in Central Florida.

I can't wait to see what the new queue holds in store for us next year. I have been looking around on some of my favorite sites (studioscentral.com, insidethemagic.net endorexpress.net & allears.net as well as disneyparks.com) trying to find any information I can about the outside of the attraction as well. The story line is changing and the time line is changing; it will take place between Episode III & IV. The Ewok village being ominously lorded over by an AT-AT Walker is sure to be removed. So far I haven't seen anything that will indicate what, if any, new outdoor theming there will be. Since I couldn't be at the final flight to Endor, I want thank Rickey over at insidethemagic.net for posting a video of the final flight.

Only a little news has been announced about the future of the attraction. The new version is slated to reopen on May 17, 2011 so only 241 days till it is back. I only hope there is some kind of soft opening for annual passholders or DVC members or even D23 members (that might be my reason to join.) The new attraction is supposed to be in 3D and be a new (older) star speeder. The old one is the 3000 the new one is the 1000 and don't try and think about it, there is a new story that takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But be assured with Disney Imagineering and George Lucas together, this new venture with have us all heading back at light speed.