ImagiNERDing Has Moved!

I moved ImagiNERDing to a WordPress site back in September. I've left my original blogger platform up since I wrote here for over six years.

Head on over and add the new site to your favorite reader or just bookmark it.

• http://www.imaginerding.com/

Disney App Store Labor Day Sale

Labor Day App Sale from Disney!

With Labor Day as the last long weekend to enjoy those long summer car ride trips, Disney is celebrating with a special Labor Day sale on mobile apps across Disney’s beloved properties! From August 29th through September 4th, more than 25+ of our most popular mobile apps will go on sale for 99 cents.  

From princess playtime or adventuring with our favorite superheroes, Disney’s mobile apps have something anyone can enjoy for some great backseat fun. Featured apps include Disney classics like Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Marvel superheroes with Spiderman and Avengers, and all-time favorite Disney princesses. Apps also span formats including animated storytelling to interactive gaming activities. Whatever you decide, each one of our Disney apps is sure to extend the magic of Disney to your family in the most engaging ways possible.

Click here to visit iTunes and see the available apps!

Disney Princess: Story Theater

Disney Princess Royal Salon

Princess Dress-Up: My Stickerbook

Minnie Fashion Tour HD

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Paint & Play

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Wildlife Count Along

Mickey's Spooky Night Puzzle Book

Numbers with Nemo

Lightning Was Here: My Puzzle Book

Letters with Pooh

Mickey Mouse: Mash-Up

Frozen: Storybook Deluxe

Brave: Storybook Deluxe

Tangled: Storybook Deluxe

Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace

Toy Story: Story Theater

Wreck-It Ralph Storybook Deluxe

The Lion King: Timon's Tale

Planes: Storybook Deluxe

Cars 2 World Grand Prix Read and Race

Spider-Man AR Book HD

Avengers Origins: Assemble!

Avengers Origins: Hulk

The Amazing Spider-Man: An Origin Story

La Luna: The Story Project

Disney Karaoke: Frozen

Disney Magic Mirror

Wake Up With Disney

Disney XD Grand Prix

Gravity Falls Mystery Shack Attack

Disney Super Speedway

Press Release: Disney Interactive And Harmonix Bring The Music And The Magic From “Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved” To Pax Prime 2014

Press release from Disney about several special events taking place at Pax Prime in Seattle this weekend.

***

DISNEY INTERACTIVE AND HARMONIX BRING THE MUSIC AND THE MAGIC FROM

“DISNEY FANTASIA: MUSIC EVOLVED” TO PAX PRIME 2014

Fans Experience and Play Through New Worlds and Music To Earn Exclusive Collectible Swag

Full Soundtrack and Footage of Recording Sessions Revealed at Panel

BURBANK, Calif. — (August 26, 2014) – Disney Interactive and Harmonix are delivering music and magic to PAX Prime 2014 in Seattle with the award-winning “Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved.”  Disney Interactive and Harmonix will be on hand for the ultimate fan experience, giving attendees opportunities to collect exclusive swag, play new songs at the Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved Soundscape, and receive a behind-the-scenes look at the music production for the game at the ‘Music Evolved – From 8 Bit Soundtrack to Gameplay’ panel.

“Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved” Soundscape

When: Friday, August 29 – Sunday, August 31 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Monday, September 1 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Location: Portland & Discovery Rooms at the Grand Hyatt (721 Pine Street)

Stop by the Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved Soundscape and play through new worlds and music featured in the game to earn limited edition “Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved” giveaways including collectible buttons (8 styles – collect them all!) and a T-shirt featuring award-winning original artwork, while supplies last.  Fans can also enter for a chance to win a custom Xbox One.  Daily drawings will be held one hour before doors close.

“Music Evolved – From 8 Bit Soundtrack to Gameplay” Panel

When: Saturday, August 30 at 12:00PM – 1:00PM PT

Location: Hedgehog Theatre at the Washington State Convention Center

Join Award-winning Composer, Inon Zur, Recording Producer and Engineer Eddie Kramer, Host/Producer of “Classical MPR” Emily Reese and instrumental members of the Disney Interactive music team to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce music for the first-ever immersive music discovery platform.  Full soundtrack will be announced and never-before-seen footage of recording sessions revealed.

Featuring over 30 tracks – including contemporary hits, classic rock, classical music, and more – “Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved” transports players to a breathtaking world where music and magic combine to transform extraordinary interactive landscapes in entirely new and creative ways.

“Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved” will be available worldwide on October 21, 2014 for $59.99 for Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Kinect for Xbox 360 with an ESRB rating of E10+ with lyrics descriptor. For additional information about “Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved,” join the Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/fantasiagame, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @FantasiaGame and view all videos on our YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/FantasiaGame.

My Disney Library: Disney Years: Seen Through a Photographers Lens by Thie and Kilpatrick

Disney Years: Seen Through a Photographer's Lens by Carlene Thie and Mel Kilpatrick. 2002.

This book is a collection of black and white photographs taken by Mel Kilpatrick during the first few years of Disneyland. There are 60 photos that he took while he worked for a local newspaper. The photos are beautiful, but there's nothing monumental. If you love Disneyland, especially the first few years, then you'll love the high-resolution photos.

WYWHW: Monorail at Walt Disney World Postcard

Wish You Were Here Wednesday: Monorail!

One of the most unique forms of transportation, "The Monorail" transports you to the Magic Kingdom Park to Epcot with stops at some of the famous Disney Resort hotels in between.

This postcard has a rather odd juxtaposition of the monorail, Tomorrowland and Cinderella Castle. I'm assuming the vantage point is between the Magic Kingdom bus stop and the Contemporary Resort.

DVD Review: Unidentified Flying Oddball

We received a copy of the Unidentified Flying Oddball from the Disney Movie Rewards Club for redeeming points from Blu-rays. I'd never seen it before and it's been on our shelves for more than a year. After a violent storm, we lost internet, so I pulled this one out to watch while we waited for internet to start working.

The film was released in 1979 and was originally entitled A Spaceman and King Arthur. It's a take on Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court which was published in 1889. I've not read Twain's novel but I'm familiar with the story and I had a few expectations.

The story centers on Tom Trimble and his work with NASA. A space shuttle called Stardust that can travel faster than any ship before has been developed by NASA. Instead of sending a person into outer space on a journey that could take 30 years, they decide to create an android duplicate. Tom Trimble, the lead scientist (I think), creates an android duplicate of himself. Trouble ensues during launch sending the android and Trimble to England in the 600s.

Unidentified Flying Object is a fish-out-of-water story in which any amount of sophistication on the part of any of the characters would have resulted in a different film all together. There is some charm, but the characters seem so out-of-touch that I spent half of my time dismayed at the choices they made. Trimble is an awkward leading man and an even more awkward scientist. He tends to take each situation without regard to his life. He spends time telling King Arthur and Sir Gawain the history of the world until the 1970s, which would prove nothing to anyone.

Merlin was played rather nefariously, which is interesting since it's out of character for what we always perceive as the court wizard. Sir Mordred, played by the amazing Jim Dale, is the best part of the whole film. He's campy, over-the-top and laughably evil (and I mean that in a good way). His character is a splinter of Doc Terminus from the wonderful Pete's Dragon. To me, he's the only actor in the film that really stepped up and gave his best performance.

Overall, the movie seemed to miss on quite a few levels; I just couldn't get past the obvious lack of a thought process by the characters. As I mentioned earlier, there was some charm, but not enough to give the movie the heart that it needed. It felt like it was another film that Disney put out because they were too afraid to break with the films of Walt Disney or the stereotype of a Disney live-action film.

My ten year-old had no interest in the film, but he did stop to watch some of the action scenes, including the android jousting and Trimble being burned at the stake. If you're looking for a decent family film without any presuppositions, then it's a good choice. There's not too much that's overtly offensive, except a very ditzy blonde with a gander.

Did they have ditzy blondes in England during the 600s?

My Disney Library: Disney Queue Line Survival Guidebook by Kimberly Button

The Disney Queue Line Survival Guidebook by Kimberly Button was released in 2006 and was one of the first titles to address the issue of waiting in the queue. The book offers a short description of the attraction and the estimated time of the ride. The majority of the book is dedicated to trivia questions and scavenger hunts to use during the queue.

My only gripe about the book is that she uses the word queue and line together. Seeing as how the book is almost ten years old, there's no reason to purchase a copy since it hasn't been updated. Unless you're a completist, like me.

That's Not at Disneyland by Dominick Cancilla as ruined by Horatio Q Liar

That's Not at Disneyland by Dominick Cancilla (as ruined by Horatio Q. Liar)

We just got our review copies and I'm really excited about diving into this book. Basically, Horatio Liar took Dominic's scrapbook of his various trips from Disneyland and messed them up a bit.

We reviewed Horatio's book 396 Pure, Unadulterated, Dyed-in-the-Wool, 100% Made-up, Completely Fake Disneyland "Facts" during our Season One Finale of Communicore Weekly (the Greatest Online Show™).

Carowinds New Giga Coaster Fury 325!

Carowinds has been teasing us for a few weeks about a big announcement that was supposed to transform the park. At their media event, they released the details on the new giga coaster set to debut Spring 2015.

Fury 325

• 325-foot hill
• 81 degree first loop
• Speeds up to 95 miles per hour
• 6,602 feet of track
• three and a half-minute ride time

Fury 325 is designed and manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M) of Monthey, Switzerland, a recognized industry leader in roller coaster development and the same firm that brought Vortex to Carowinds in 1992, Afterburn in 1999, and The Intimidator™ in 2010.

This will be the world's fastest and tallest giga coaster and should help breathe a lot of life into Carowinds and make it more of an international draw for coaster enthusiasts.

Another part of the press release discussed revamping the entrance plaza, which will include walking through the Fury 325 track. The new 8.2 acre main entrance complex that includes a "state–of–the–art ticketing and season pass processing area and expanded guest service facilities."

Fury 325 is part of a planned $50 million dollar multiyear investment to bring new life to founder Pat Hall’s original vision for Carowinds. The park will be revamped from top to bottom to celebrate Carolina culture including new rides and attractions, signature Carolina food offerings and entertainment.

Honestly, this section of the press release excited me the most! This is a true opportunity for Cedar Fair to make Carowinds stand out and not just be a regional coaster park. It's a great step to becoming a true theme park, like Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm.

Check out the flyover of the new entrance, the park and the Fury 325!

WYWHW: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Postcard

Wish You Were Here Wednesday: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Postcard

"Hang on to your hats and glasses 'cause this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness." Travel on this rollicking mine train through an Old West mining town for a rip-roarin', thrill-a-minute ride.

This is an interesting postcard image because of it's non-traditional shot of the attraction vehicle. Maybe it's that the train is going down a small hill instead of the more traditional lift hill shot.

What do you think about this postcard for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?

Press Release: Vinylmation Pixar Villains Series 5 Descend on Disney Store!

I've never been a big collector of the Disney Vinylmation characters, but there are quite a few that I've not been able to resist (usually ones related to my favorite theme park attractions). Disney has just released Villains Series 5 that contains eight villains from Disney Pixar films, including a mystery figure.

Each blind-boxed package contains one of eight different designs in this series. You won't know which one you've got until you open the box!

Figures in this series include: Syndrome - The Incredibles (Artist: Enrique Pita), Mordu - Brave (Enrique Pita), Thumper - A Bug's Life (Marvin Lao), Charles Muntz - Up (Gerald Mendez), Darla - Finding Nemo (Gerald Mendez), Waternoose - Monsters, Inc. (Marvin Lao), Dean Hardscrabble -Monsters University - with neck extension (Enrique Pita), plus Mystery Figure.

Do you collect the Vinylmation figures? Which one is your favorite of the Disney Villains Series 5?

My Disney Library: Disney Creative Arts

This is an interesting book that's related to a program for 10-15 year-olds that Walt Disney World Seminar Productions featured in the late 1970s and early 1980s called the Wonders of Walt Disney World. It was sort of like a day program that kids could participate in that took up several full days. Basically, the kids looked at how art was featured in Walt Disney World.

Disney Creative Arts is a large book that takes you through the creative process--at Disney and throughout the art world--in order to show you how art is everywhere and how you can create art. It was published in 1979 with a reprint in 1984. It's 104 pages.

It's a neat book but the real reason to own it is because there are some pretty cool photos of Walt Disney World that I haven't seen in other places.

Did you ever get to experience the Wonders of Walt Disney World?