Denise's Corner

7/1/2011 Denise’s Corner – Weekly Roundup, New Disney Store Fragrance Review

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is ready for the Fourth of July weekend! The Magic Kingdom is now decked out for the holiday, from the front of the Main Street Railroad Station down to Casey’s Corner. 

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City Hall, Magic Kingdom

We’ll be enjoying the Magic Kingdom fireworks on Sunday, but I’m looking forward to a more relaxing Fourth of July (i.e. not working) on Monday night, watching the 80’s themed fireworks at Celebration. The band A Flock of Seagulls will be there as well, performing a free concert!

Due to the rain, this week was mostly spent working at home instead of photographing the parks as often as we normally would. But since last Friday, I posted a Fantasyland update, a Cars 2 review (which includes a second review of the AMC Dine-In Theaters), and an interview with the artist Shag (who designed a unique line of 40th Anniversary Walt Disney World merchandise). Shag is one of the nicest people I’ve ever interviewed!  While he isn’t a Disney artist, he has worked with Disneyland often over the last 10 years and I’m excited he’s branched out to Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line.

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Meeting the artist Shag, Magic Kingdom

Will you be in the Washington D.C. area on July 13th? My father emailed me a link he received from the National Press Club, which will be the setting for a Disney Channel presentation. Eric Coleman, Senior Vice President for Disney Television Animation, along with panelists from “Phineas and Ferb” and “Fish Hooks” will be there. According to the National Press Club site, “This event offers a unique opportunity to meet the animators and stars who create Disney’s signature shows”. Panelists include “Phineas and Ferb” creator and executive producer Jeff “Swampy” Marsh and actress Alyson Stoner. It sounds like a great event, I wish I could be in D.C. for it! National Press Club events often sell out early!

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Phineas and Ferb, Disney’s Hollywood Studios

The Disney Store just launched it’s first ever fragrance collection with the first signature fragrance named Imagination, described as “an enchanted forest of sequoia trees, cool moss and green leaves …giving the sense of being in an enchanted forest. It’s a timeless scent inspired by nature that instills a feeling of natural calm, allowing the imagination to soar”. Next up will be Magic, launching in July 2011, “an unforgettable blend of icy blue mint, rich chocolate, and invigorating sea spray, epitomizes the adventure of Disney and all that is Mickey Mouse”. And in fall, Pixie Dust will bow, “a shimmering scent of citrus sorbet, candied fruits and summer rain, the fragrance inspired by Tinker Bell”.

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Magic Fragrance Spray and Candle Boxes

We had the opportunity to try out some of these products at home, including the lotion from Imagination and several items from the Magic line. My verdict?

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Imagination Lotion

Of the four items I received, the Imagination Hand and Body Lotion is my favorite.  My hands are dry by the end of each evening, and this lotion easily stands in for my normal Molten Brown brand. Neither too thin or too thick, it works well to moisturize my hands (and it smells wonderful too!)

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Magic Room Spray

We also received the Magic Room Spray, Candle, and Hand Wash. One of the things I like about this line is that Mickey Mouse is present on everything. The Magic Candle not only leaves a wonderful scent in the room, but it will give us a nice, decorative glass to use for small items after it’s finished.  Our first test with the Magic Room Spray was on a night with guests, but it was no match for my chicken curry. 🙂 It is a wonderfully mild scent, which gives off a fresh ambience – and the combination of the candle and room spray doesn’t overwhelm the senses. The spray bottle will also be put on my shelf once finished, a fun souvenir. These items make great gifts, and the Magic Candle and Magic Room Spray come in elegant pink boxes.

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Magic Candle

This week, we received a couple of questions. One included a nice comment from Amy in TX (thanks for liking my column!), who ended by asking “what’s going on with the Haunted Mansion? What’s the new interactive queue”?

Amy – I hope you are able to come back to Walt Disney World soon!  A few months ago, Disney added a fantastic new Haunted Mansion queue which allows guests to “play” as they walk through it. We did a full write-up with photos and video, which you can find here. This isn’t Disney’s first interactive queue, the other more recent one is at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I just hope that Disney can maintain these new queues well! The end scene of the Haunted Mansion is also different, with a fun new twist.

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Haunted Mansion Interactive Queue, Walt Disney World

The other question is regarding Flynn Rider, “Is he really leaving the Magic Kingdom Meet and Greet?”

Yes, July 2nd is his last day. It’s very disappointing. I’ve heard conflicting reports on Prince Naveen and Eric as well, but we’ll see what happens in the upcoming weeks. The line for Rapunzel and Flynn Rider IS long at the Magic Kingdom – the Play & Greet only allows a small amount of guests to attend it. We were going to get in line to see them today, but when told that it’d be 3 hours until we would be let in, we decided to try tomorrow instead. The Play & Greet is said to be stopping as well, with Rapunzel just signing autographs. I’m not sure why they are removing Flynn Rider, as they both could sign autographs. Guests LOVE him! The Play & Greet has been my favorite character experience in the parks.

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Flynn Rider, Magic Kingdom

Happy Fourth of July everyone!  Remember to follow Mousesteps on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date information.

Denise