Late Spring and the theme park world is bursting with excitement.  Every weekend, we bring you the world in pictures.  It's our little way of saving you the time, money, and gas of having to visit the world's theme parks every week on your own.  I guess you could say that we are single-handedly saving the planet one reader at a time .  This week's update takes us to the new Simpsons ride at the Universal Parks, Tokyo Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland.  We'd like to thank MiceChat readers Sly8008 (for his fantastic pictures of Epcot's sculpture garden) and Silverarrow (for the wonderful Disneyland shots).  Fantastic work by all of our amazing photographers.  If you've got Theme Park or attraction photos and information that you'd like to share, please contact dustysage@aol.com [1].  If possible, we'll put them in a future update!  Click here for the entire MiceChat Weekend Update [2] [1] http://micechat.commailto:dustysage@aol.com [2] http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=406

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Andy Castro is back with his weekly Disneyland photo update. This time around, he has some interesting shots and commentary about the marketing for the new Toy Story Midway Mania ride at Disney's California Adventure park. The billboards around the city simply say "Disney.Pixar Toy Story Mania Opens June 17th Disneyland Resort" with the "Resort" in very small letters. No mention of whether this is a show, parade, a ride or just exactly what it is. It isn't until you get to the resort and see the banners (pictured above) that you find out that the attraction is actually at California Adventure, but you still aren't told that it is a new "Ride." Interesting, but confusing, marketing. There are also lots of great update and constructions photos that Andy has become famous for - including a build your own ear hat station in Town Town and Small World and Grand Californian construction shots. Read the entire Dateline Disneyland HERE [1] [1] http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=403

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Hayden Landis, computer graphics supervisor on the new Indiana Jones film, was recently interviewed by C/Net News [1]about the CGI effects in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  It is an interesting interview.  But what should catch the eye and imagination of Disney nuts is this sentence at the end of the story:   "Next up for Landis is another nostalgia-oriented project--a redo of the Star Tours ride at Disneyland."  It's about time!  The discussion thread on MiceChat can be found HERE  [2] [1] http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9951772-7.html [2] http://micechat.com/forums/showthread.php/star_tours_2_confirmed-97354.html

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Every week, MiceChat delivers a digest of the best news and discussions on the site. If you don't have time to keep up with all the hundreds of new topics every week, this is a great way for you to stay up to date. [1] Find out what the Funniest thing you've Overheard while at the Parks?? [2] is. See the Crazy Ride Photos! [3], Learn about Indiana Jones and the World Famous Jungle Cruise [4],. Find out if Anamagique will replace the Aladdin Musical [Rumor] [5], Space Mountain Refurb Update, [6] There are always great trip reports on MiceChat, this week: The Clinkerbelle's ride the new Simpsons Ride (Pictures and other USH stuff), [7]And "Draybrook" visits the Memphis Botanical Garden (Picture Heavy!) [8] Don't miss these weekly Round-Ups, you'd be surprised how much you are missing: The entire MiceChat Round-Up can be read HERE [9] [1] http://miceage.micechat.com/mc/mc052808a.htm [2] http://micechat.com../forums/showthread.php/funniest_thing_youve_overhead_while-96944.html [3] http://micechat.com../forums/showthread.php/crazy_ride_photos-97001.html [4] http://micechat.com../forums/showthread.php/indiana_jones_and_world_famous-97148.html [5] http://micechat.com../forums/showthread.php/animagique_replace_aladdin_musical_rumor-97244.html [6] http://micechat.com../forums/showthread.php/space_mountain_refurb_update-96889.html [7] http://micechat.com../forums/showthread.php/clinkerbelles_ride_new_simpsons_ride-97242.html [8] http://micechat.com../forums/showthread.php/memphis_botanical_garden_picture_heavy-97158.html [9] http://miceage.micechat.com/mc/mc052808a.htm

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Behind this flat forest, in Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney, a T Rex will come to animatronic life: Join Denise "Nbodyhome" of www.mousesteps.com [1] as she takes us on another of her famous photo tours of the Disney World Resort in Florida. This time around, T-Rex construction, a new tower grows at the Contemporary Resort, and a photo of one of the former tree house lodges reduced to rubble. And to end on a beautiful note, Denise takes us to Epcot for some Flower and Garden goodness as well as a few shots of World Showcase. Read the entire photo report from WDW HERE [2] [3] ? Grab this Headline Animator [4] [1] http://www.mousesteps.com [2] http://micechat.com/forums/showthread.php/5_25_treehouse_contemporary_t-97245.html [3] http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/micechat/portal/~6/1 [4] http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/headlineanimator/install?id=2025372&w=1

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David Michael fills us in on all the new Indiana Jones streetmosphere and show in Adventureland and construction updates around the resort. He also brings us pictures of the newest coaster at Knott's Berry Farm, which eats up a bit of Ghost Town real estate. Will Sea World be getting a new owner? Stop in to check out this week's news. And please drop your thanks to David in the comments section. He does an amazing job keeping us all informed.

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Join us as Weekend Update Editor, Rixter, takes us on another photo safari of theme parks from around the world. This week, TDLFAN takes us to Tokyo Disneyland's 25 Anniversary celebration and Hong Kong Disneyland's new It's a Small World attraction. MiceChat reader, Aimster, sent in some lovely pictures from Disney World - including some really good shots of the Pop Century resort. SummerInFl shows off her celebrity talents with close up shots of the dashing Prince Caspian, Darth Vader, and a host of characters from the Disney Dreams Come True parade. Denise "nbodyhome" Preskitt of www.mousesteps.com [1] has been following the construction of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and pool at the Caribbean Beach Resort but also chimes in with some fantastic pictures from Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival. And finally, Sir Clinksalot brings us the surprisingly interesting photos of Hershey Park [2]. Come for the photos, stay for the chocolate. The Weekend Update is always a pleasant diversion, and this week's extended holiday edition is no exception. If you've got interesting tourist photos (from any attraction world wide) we'd love to see them, and if we can use them, you might just find yourself in a future Weekend Update. The full Weekend Update can be found HERE [3] [1] http://www.mousesteps.com [2] http://www.hersheypark.com/index.php [3] http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=392

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Sesame Street Bay of Play at SeaWorld San Diego [1] is the park's newest attraction along with the 4-D movie "Lights, Camera, Imagination" which opens March 23rd. SeaWorld and the Sesame Street people entered into an agreement last year to incorporate the Sesame Street characters into special areas of the SeaWorld parks. Bay of Play is in the location formerly home to Shamu's Happy Harbor. The entire area has been refreshed with a sea theme. The highlights of the area are the introduction of three rides designed for kids! There's Abbey's Sea Star Spin (teacups), Elmo's Flying Fish (Dumbo), and Oscar's Rocking Eel (spinning tugboat type ride). All are designed for parents and kids to ride together. In addition, there's 1-2-3 Smile with Me where kids can get their photos with their favorite Sesame Street characters. Old Happy Harbor favorites like the net climb, punching bags and toddler sand pit remain. Bay of Play opens on May 23rd, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Click any of the photos below for a larger view: [gallery] A big thanks to MiceChatter "GapToothed" for the photos and details in this post. We'd also like to point you to DLMountainFan's Sea World and Bay of Play trip report in our "Other Parks" section [2]. [1] http://www.seaworld.com/sitepage.aspx?PageID=308 [2] http://micechat.com/forums/showthread.php/sea_world_bay_play_more-97133.html

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[1] This week's Dateline Disneyland chronicles the newly added Indiana Jones entertainment in Adventureland. Indy takes over Aladdin's Oasis and then makes the rest of the land his playground. Andy also updates us on what's going on with Small World, Nemo's Subs, the winery, and Toy Story Mania. It is a really great update this week, packed with fantastic photos: Read the entire Dateline Disneyland HERE [2] . [1] http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=394 [2] http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=394

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You can always count on the MiceChatters to tell it like it is. Moderator, Sir Clinksalot, wanted to know what the word on the street is about the highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and found no shortage of opinions. The film just opened but there are already an impressive number of votes, reviews, and comments on the film - Crystal Skull is getting an average 3.5 MiceChat stars out of a possible 5 to date. Not too bad for an action pick with heavy expectations. © & ™ 2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. MiceChatter, Twist_Of_Fate, gave the film 5 stars for being fun and campy. Karnever said that it was a good movie, at least better than Temple of Doom. And Painted Windows disliked the film giving it 2 stars "out of pity" and felt like the ride at Disneyland has a better plot than the film. Have you seen the new Indiana Jones film? What are your thoughts? Read the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Discussion on MiceChat [1] [1] http://micechat.com/forums/showthread.php/indiana_jones_and_kingdom_crystal-96958.html

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It is always fascinating to hear about the real world experiences of people working in a most unreal place - Disneyland. An ex-Jack Sparrow recently spoke with Dave Gardetta of LA Magazine [1] about his real life adventures working for the mouse. As someone who has attended character auditions, and had countless friends attend them, I can tell you that it is a bit like the early stages of American Idol. They line you up and have you do various things. There are round after round of interviews, dances, costume wearing, until they are left with the folks they are most interested in. By the time you get selected (if you do) you are fully invested in the process. Almost all new employees start their jobs fresh faced and excited to be working at the "Happiest Place on Earth." But it doesn't always stay that way. Here's a short blurb from the interview at LA Magazine: [2] Disney warned us we were going to have a lot of horny women coming on to us. They were also worried about girls. I heard Disneyland had an Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She was very flirtatious, and they finally pulled her because men found her too sexually arousing and were acting out. The male character they had pulled was Tarzan. He moved around the tree house dressed in just a butt flap. Disney had hired these good-looking, muscular guys—even airbrushing abs on—and apparently there was excessive pinching of Tarzan’s ass by the park’s female visitors. Knowing all this, and also knowing what women were like around Jack at the Renaissance Faire, I told the other guys, “Don’t complain if girls flirt with you too much. If you do, they’ll pull the character from the park.” Of course, Disney is walking a fine line with a character like Jack Sparrow. If he is played in the park like he is played in the movies,  he doesn't exactly come across as family friendly.  As a result, the Jacks were given "Acting Classes"  to "Tone Down" the character. This a pirate's tale of dating a mermaid, horny guests, managers overly concerned by pictures on the Internet, Disney's "Points" system, and why to worry if you see managers floating around you. It is a fascinating account of how a very talented and popular employee spirals into trouble and is ejected from the Magic Kingdom. Pirate's Booty [3] [1] http://lamag.com/featuredarticle.aspx?id=7016&page=1 [2] http://lamag.com/featuredarticle.aspx?id=7016&page=1 [3] http://lamag.com/featuredarticle.aspx?id=7016&page=1

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[1] The weekend update is always filled with interesting discussions and information. Among this week's topics: Sleeping Beauty is coming to Blu-ray disc, the house of the future returns to Disneyland and Prince Caspian makes it to Hong Kong. Jump on in! The chat is fun. Read the Entire MiceChat Roundup HERE [2] [1] http://miceage.micechat.com/mc/mc052108a.htm [2] http://miceage.micechat.com/mc/mc052108a.htm

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