INTERCOT Insider  July 2002 Edition

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This newsletter and other past issues can also be read online at; http://www.intercot.com/interactive/insider/archive

<< Introduction>>

Another month has gone by and we find ourselves looking at summer winding down. Just this weekend I was walking through that upscale shop most of us call “Target” and noticed that we’re already in the “Back to School” season. This made me realize that, once again, a summer has gone by and I wasn’t able to visit Walt Disney World. With the baby, it will be some time until we’re ready to tackle another week in Central Florida.

I’m not the only one. In fact our own Goofy Forever has discovered that he has a disease his doctor can’t quite cure. The disease is called “Disneyitis” and there is a cure. This edition is dedicated to those of us who won’t make it back to the world for a while and what we do to cure our overwhelming urges.

Also in this edition we’ll, discover some of the Intercot’s hidden gems, go “chop chop” and find out what’s going on in the world.

<< What in the World is Going On, with DisneyWizard >>

What’s new and improved at Walt Disney World? More than ever! Recently, new attractions have opened and rumors have been buzzing about like mad. Let’s check out what’s been going on.

- Figment is back!
Figment returned on June 1st to enthusiastic crowds in his own ride, Journey Into Your Imagination With Figment. Our own Intercotees have been giving the new ride positive reviews including:

"I really enjoyed this ride greatly. From what I was hearing, so did most others." –John
"Great improvement from the last but will never live up to the original." -mpmarine
"...I think Figment fans will be happy." -lephelps

- A shocking new show for Epcot.
Now until August 24th you can spot SHOCKWAVE, a new musically energetic show in the American Gardens Theatre located in Epcot. The show, created by the same people who created BLAST, will be playing four times daily all throughout the summer. Annual pass holders have the added perk of reserved seating for the show. Check out Intercot for show times and more information.

"I saw the show while I was there last week - it was absolutely wonderful." -Jeremy Wilcox
"See the show! Its worth your time." -OHIcOaster
"The talent is out of this world." – DisneyDog

- Refillable mugs now being monitored.
A new system of bar coding has been implemented at the water parks to stop the abuse of returning WDW visitors from using their refillable mugs over and over. The new system only allows your mug to be refilled during the length of your stay and will soon be placed in resorts as well. This came with mixed reactions from Intercotees:

"I brought them back last summer (and refilled them) and was planning to bring them in August." – Goofy Forever
"It was an honour system that was badly abused." –Patricia

- New carriage rides available at Fort Wilderness.
Guests can now enjoy a relaxing trip around the peaceful campground via horse-drawn carriages. 30-minute rides will be available and can be booked up to 30 days ahead.

"The carriage rides sound like a lot of fun...something new to add to the list of things to do next time down." –Disneypro

- Get Happy...With ABC!
This new show previewing ABC’s fall lineup has opened in Disney-MGM Studios. The attraction is only meant to stay until October 5th at the ABC Theatre. It runs 25 minutes long and includes free prizes for select audience members.

- Downtown Disney expands
A unique toy store cleverly titled "Once Upon a Toy" will open in Downtown Disney featuring unique Disney-themed games, toys, and interactive playthings. Along with the toys comes "Disney's Pin Traders", the new store devoted entirely to Disney pin-trading. Both stores open August 1st with soft openings starting July 19th.

Keep in touch with new WDW Events at our News, Rumors, & Imagineering forum:

<< Communicore with PolyGirl40 >>

Info Central continues to expand. If you have explored the confines recently, you would have noticed the newest additions, "Candlelight Processional" and "Surviving the Summer Heat". We received so much positive feedback in reference to Beth's Insider articles on heat, the information has been added for future reference to Info Central.

Updated pages include; Annual Pass holder benefits, Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort map, and fax numbers can now be found on the WDW Resorts Information and Reservations Phone Number page. The Events and Park hours pages are current through September.

Look for new sections to be added over the next few months. The current coals in the fire include a Disney Recipe section and an expansion of the menu area. If you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see added, drop us a line. Send an e-mail to me at, [email protected].

Check back often and Happy Planning!

<< Dinner at that “chop-chop” place… with JanetMegan >>

Ok, ok, I know it isn’t called the “chop-chop” place. But when I was younger Teppanyaki wasn’t an easy word to say. That’s right, this month we are headed for a fun dinner in Japan. I know it’s a long walk around to the back of the World Showcase, but meet me there for a lot of fun and some great food. I enjoyed two dinners at Teppanyaki in May and wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences with you guys this month. I also am including a great review written by a fellow Intercotee.

First off I want to thank their excellent hostessing staff. We were tired and hungry on the evening of Mother’s Day with no Priority Seating. As you can guess the restaurants around the World Showcase were pretty fairly booked there was not a PS to be found by late afternoon. We headed back to Japan and asked if there was any way we could wait for seating for a party of two. They told us it might be 30 minutes but they would try to work us in. We enjoyed a drink in the lounge and watched Tapestry of Nations pass by. After about 25 minutes they called us in and sat us with our other 6 tablemates for a relaxing dinner after a super hot day tromping through Epcot.

(Your experience here can vary greatly depending on your tablemates. If you have less than a party of 8 you will be seated with strangers. You can choose to make conversation or not, but I have met some great fellow vacationers this way. But, if you are looking for super quiet or romantic, this isn’t the place for you.)

The food here is cooked teppan style; this means the chef prepares your meal, along with the meals of your tablemates’ right in front of you on your table. Your meal includes a yummy salad with ginger dressing, your meat of choice, grilled fresh veggies and steamed rice. I usually have the steak or chicken, but they also have excellent shrimp, scallops, and even lobster. Combination dinners run about $20-$30 depending on what you choose. They offer a wide array of sushi appetizers as well, but even this reviewer won’t be sampling that for you guys…

Teppanyki, offers children’s meals for $9 that include the same fixings as the adults plus ice cream, and fruit salad instead of a green salad if they prefer. They also offer lunch, which is the same food at cheaper prices for those of you budget minded diners. Priority Seatings are suggested, especially at peak dining times.

Instead of me going on about it, let’s hear from a fellow Intercotee, ElenitaB, who dined here a couple weeks ago…

“After you climb the stairs up to the entrance and enter the reception area with its subdued sounds and colors, you realize that you have left the hustle and bustle of the World Showcase and have entered a place where time runs a little slower (until you’re seated at your table, that is). The host takes your name and checks you in, and the hostesses graciously give the younger members of your party a tiny origami animal that, with any luck, will hold their attention while waiting to be seated. After a short wait you’re called and when you arrive to the entrance to your dining room, where eight chairs surround one of four tables, other people are waiting also. These strangers will be your dining companions. The tables themselves are the grills —the teppans— on which your meal will be cooked. The adults in the party are advised several times to make sure that children not touch the grill as it is heated to the high temperatures needed for cooking.

After people have had time to make introductions, a hostess arrives to take orders for drinks and any appetizers you wish to have, a choice that includes sushi, edamame (boiled soybean pods which you shell in the same way that you’d shell peas) or soup. She will also take your order for your entrée, which can consist of chicken, steak, shrimp, scallops and lobster, or a combination thereof (vegetarians can opt for a selection of fresh vegetables). The maincourse is preceded by a iceberg lettuce salad topped with a ginger dressing; and is accompanied by steamed sticky rice, vegetables and udon noodles. A children’s meal is available that includes a fruit cup instead of the salad and a choice of desserts.

Once everyone has finished his or her salads, the chef arrived. Bowls of rice were served and two different types of soy sauce presented to each person at the table. Then the show began. Wielding knives at great speed and with great flair, he sliced the chicken and steaks for cooking and removed the tails from the shrimp and sliced vegetables. Shrimp tails went flying into bowls on his cart. No one at our table ordered lobster (it’s lobster tail that’s served), so the curiosity remains how he would have handled it.

The food itself is prepared very simply, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bland by any means. A little oil is used to prepare the grill and the meats are seared and grilled, with a touch of butter added for moisture (I was left with the curiosity as to whether butter is traditionally used in Japan or if it’s an adaptation for the American palate). Soy sauce was added for seasoning at the right moment. The vegetables and udon noodles were prepared in the same way. Our party had shrimp and scallops, which were both very tasty. And my son devoured his rice (with chopsticks and ginger soy sauce no less!), even though at home he tells me he’s allergic to rice!

I felt that compared to the other chefs that we saw in our room, ours was a little sedate. However, he responded to the energy level at the table. While the Teppanyaki staff can control the heat of the grill and the quality of the food they serve, they can’t control the interaction of the guests that they sit at the tables. Obviously, they thought that seating three parties with boys under 12 would provide the right mix for a fun evening; however one of the parties preferred to keep to themselves despite efforts to engage them in conversation. Had everyone interacted (as the singles were at the table across from us), I’m sure that our experience would have been greatly enhanced. The food was very good, the service very good; the spark that was missing at our table was beyond the staff’s reach —unfortunate but true.

Would we go back to eat at Teppanyaki? Probably. I can honestly say that the food and the experience of watching the chef prepare your meal right in front of you does merit a return visit. Just be sure to bring lots of smiles with you and hope that your tablemates are on the same wavelength!”

Thanks Ellen for your great review! I welcome anyone else to feel free to submit a review for submission to future Insider Newsletters. Until next month-happy dining!

<< Off Topic . . . With Patricia >>

Off Topic is currently on summer hiatus. Patricia will be back soon with some more goofy stories where Intercotees are the stars.


<< AN INTERCOT INVESTIGATIVE REPORT: DISNEYITIS >>

It’s a terrible disease that afflicts untold millions. It’s the walking pneumonia of the Disney community. A terrible affliction called “Disneyitis.”

You need to go back. During a highly important meeting with your boss, you notice that the freckles on the side of his nose form a very familiar concentric circle pattern. One day you may be drinking your morning coffee in traffic and suddenly you’re transported back to your hotel room. You have a sudden urge to point the car towards Orlando and never look back.

Sitting at your desk, the Hudsucker Industries contract incomplete on, you wonder if you’re justified in paying $5000 for a Dumbo ride vehicle at EBay.

And then it escalates. You start themeing your room and your friends think you are insane. “This is the Wilderness Lodge room. If you notice, the center beam is not really wood. That’s Disney Wood. But you couldn’t tell the difference, could you?” And yet, it gets even worse. We know there is at least one man who has completed a back yard monorail. Reports are coming in from Michigan that someone is building a replica of It’s A Small World in his bathtub. Will it ever end?

Bringing Disney Home
We all have a favorite thing about Disney World. A quick stroll through the boards finds a few important tools to bring Disney home. Here are some suggestions to use to make your house smell and feel just like Disney World (thanks to LittleSpirit02, Frog823, Ultimate Disney Freak and JoyL, Polygirl40, StepsUS1fan, DisneyPro, roses and DisneyWizard for some great ideas!!):

* Roast Turkey Legs (then sell them to your friends for a tidy profit).
* Water and Tropical plants, for that good old Poly smell, a humidifier is a must in this case (hula dancers optional).
* Load a closet with tons of candy and open it periodically to smell just like the Mainstreet Candy Store (side effect: Devouring candy).
* Put some vanilla extract in a cookie sheet and place it in a warm oven for that Main Street smell.
* Buy and orange based cleaning solution like Orange Glo or Ultra-Citrus for that special Horizons smell!
* Juniper Breeze, from the Bath and Body Works reminds many people of the Poly. Do some searches and you’ll also find Juniper Breeze bath fizzer, candles and fragrance oils. Every day will be a Poly day!
* Keep and frame menus from your favorite Disney restaurants.
* A nice fire in the fireplace, or a campfire, smells just like Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge or the burning or Rome scene in Spaceship Earth.
* Nescafe coffee is the coffee used in WDW. Brewed juuuuust right, and you’ll be transported back. Extra points for putting it in a refillable resort
mug.
* Ponchos! Wear them whenever you can. Even in the shower.

Disney on TV
Disney pops up in the strangest places some times. Here are a few hints to get a Disney fix without giving yourself away (too much).

* Troll the airwaves for episodes of Full House or Roseanne. Sometimes they are painful to watch, but you never know when you may see the episode where they visit Disney World.
* Disney Sing Alongs—There are a ton of sing along videos that have WDW as a backdrop. Pop the tapes in, crank up the volume and sing at the top of your lungs. No one will notice . . . probably because they’ll leave the room rolling their eyes. If only they knew what we know!
* Watch Vault Disney every night. You never know when they might show one of the anniversary specials!
* Watch Marvin’s Room. It’s depressing . . . but parts of it were filmed on location at WDW!
* Pop in the Walt Disney Treasures DVD Disneyland USA.
* For another Disneyland fix, check out the IMAX movie (available on video and DVD) “Adventures in Wild California”.
* Finally, it’s a brief glimpse but . . . in That Thing You Do!, the band’s drummer is glimpsed briefly riding The Matterhorn (complete with vintage ride vehicle) with none other than Mickey himself! (Warning: The title song WILL get caught in your head).

Of course, watching your own home videos or any Disney film never hurts. For a great Disney fix, watch the newly re-released Swiss Family Robinson. Great locales, adventure and one great house!

<< Disney Music on the Road with TiggerRPh >>

Okay…. it’s been six months since you’ve been to Walt Disney World, it’s six months until you leave on your next trip, and it’s a hot summer day…. what do you do? Well, I find a reason to get into the car, pop the sunroof and head down the road with some of my favorite Disney CD’s.

Lately, the soundtrack to Lilo & Stitch has been finding a lot of time in my car’s CD player, with my favorite tracks Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride and Wynonna’s rocking version of Burning Love getting a lot of play time. Is it possible to wear out tracks on a CD? I hope not!

If you’re looking for park music, I like to pop into the CD player Walt Disney Resort Celebrating 100 Years of Magic to make me feel like I’m right in the middle of WDW. If I’m in the mood to feel like being in a Disney parade, then it’s time to play Magic in the Streets – Parade Memories. I have gotten a few odd looks waving to the people on the side of the road.

You want some jazz while cruising the highway? There isn’t anything better than Disney Songs the Satchmo Way with Louis Armstrong. I have recently gotten this CD, but it is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

I’m a big country music fan, so I must have The Best of Country Sing the Best of Disney in my stack of CD’s that accompany me in the car. Country stars such as Faith Hill, Little Texas, Collin Raye, George Jones and Kathy Mattea sing their versions of some classic Disney songs on this CD.

Although not technically Disney music, Off Kilter performs regularly at the Canada pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. When I play their CD’s, Off Kilter and Etched in Stone, I feel like Walt Disney World has landed right in my car with me.

Just remember, no popcorn is allowed while listening to the movie songs while driving and Disney doesn’t encourage trying to get in attraction lines while in your car.

<< Disney Music At Work With Dizneyana >>

We’ve all experienced it... There you are sitting at your desk, in the middle of the most tedious spreadsheet ever, and you get that hankering for Disney. Happens to the best of us, and happens to me just about daily! Knowing full well that you can’t just stop, drop your pen, say goodbye, and run out the door to satisfy that urge, you can always turn to Disney music to soothe the savage beast.

Whether you are a big movie soundtrack fan, or a park music fan, there is so much Disney music to be had. If your office is music friendly, and you don’t have to be too discreet, you might want to jam to Mouse House –Disney Dance Mixes, the soundtrack from A Goofy Movie, Fantasmic, or the Main Street Electrical Parade. The Official Album allows you to imagine while sitting in your office chair that you are on a high speed flight on Space Mountain, or sharing an afternoon boat ride with the dolls of It’s A Small World. You might also choose to groove to a little jazzy Disney with Louis Armstrong doing Disney Songs the Satchmo Way.

For those of you who work in an environment where discretion is key, you might choose things like Take My Hand – Songs from the 100 Acre Wood, Pooh’s Grand Adventure, Fantasia, or Mannheim Meets the Mouse, which is a fabulous collection of Disney songs, performed by the great Mannheim Steamroller. This is one of my absolute favorites.

There are several albums available that have the Disney flavor, but are not true Disney albums. Some of these are my personal favorites, especially for the quieter office setting. Delos International puts out 3 of these albums: Heigh-Ho Mozart, and Bibbidi Bobbidi Bach which are made up of Disney tunes set in the style of great classical composers. Many a time that people have walked by my office while I was playing one of these, and they hear nice classical music, then stop and come back and say “Hey, do I hear Disney music in there?” The third Delos album is more for the upbeat office and is called Beauty and the Beat (not to be confused with the Go-Go’s) and is Disney tunes in Steelband Style. The band is the Trinidad and Tobago Showboat Orchestra and they have been playing the Disney parks for years. Excellent CD in my opinion.

Don’t have your own Disney audio library? Not to worry, just visit INTERCOT Radio and WebDisney Radio. All the sounds of the parks in full streaming audio for your listening pleasure. Now, get back to work before your boss catches you!! Happy listening!

<< Closing >>

We ran a little long this month so we’ll have to have a quick goodbye! See you real soon!
 

<< INTERCOT Would Like To Thank>>

The INTERCOT Insider and INTERCOT.com are supported by the following sponsors who in turn, help us bring the Magic to you!

Magical Journeys
Magical Journeys is your Disney Vacation specialist. Start planning your Vacation Discount Dreams today!
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Radisson Resort Parkway
Right in the heart of action! Only 1.5 miles from Walt Disney World is an oasis of ponds, beautiful landscaping, serene waterfalls and relaxing options hiding in every corner.
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The Official Ticket Center
Walt Disney World’s, Universal Studios and Sea World’s #1 guest service provider for the last 3 years. The Official Ticket Center has been servicing vacationers for more than 7 years now and sells tickets only, at a discount price.
Website: http://www.officialticketcenter.com/default.aspx?affid=TC21LBC

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