|
WHAT
IS MOUSEFEST? — For
the past 7 years, Disney fans from around the world who frequent
the Usenet newsgroup Rec.Arts.Disney.Parks (RADP) have had periodic,
informal get-togethers at Walt Disney World and also in their
own locales to get to know one another "in real life."
This has included an ever-growing annual holiday gathering in
Orlando. Many other Disney fans who have connected through other
Disney-related websites and message boards have also gathered
at Walt Disney World, and other locations, to share their love
of the Most Magical Place on Earth.
But
imagine if you can a gathering that encompasses ALL these groups…
a gathering that unites the enormous family of Disney enthusiasts
from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, from all over the
country, from all over the globe! Imagine all of these people convening
at Walt Disney World for a short Disney cruise, followed by several
days of fun and merriment, special meals, events, and an all-round
spirit of Mickey Mania! Now you've imagined MouseFest
2003!
The
Scrapbook of MouseFest 2003 Follows…
Other
information–
Memories
of MouseFest 2003 – Deb Wills & Debra Martin Koma
Mouseplanet's
Mike Scopa Writes About MouseFest 2003
RADP8
– Around the World in 8 Days
(includes MegaMouseMeet Group Photo!)
Read more about MouseFest 2003
SUNDAY,
NOVEMBER 30, 2003
 MouseFest
2003 Kicks Off November 30th! There's is nothing like a Disney
Cruise Line Sail Away Party to get you in the mood! Nearly 100
cruisers including AllEarsNet.com™ founder Deb Wills, Passporter
Guidebook authors Jennifer Watson and Dave Marx, Hidden Mickey's
Field Guide Author Steve Barrett and WhatWouldWaltDo.com founders
Alison and Tom Keaney were all aboard the Disney Wonder for the
official start of MouseFest 2003! "Crusin' MouseFest 2003"
magnets were handed out at the Sail Away Party which folks used
to decorate their cabin doors! In addition to the ship's personal
navigator, all cruisers received a MouseFest Navigator too, courtesy
of Jennifer and Dave.
MONDAY,
DECEMBER 1
 Some
folks opted to see Disney's latest movie, The Haunted Mansion, while
others joined in the Hidden Mickey Hunt. Steve Barrett, equipped
with his laser pointer, lead the Hidden Mickey Tour on the
Disney Wonder. Steve also lead Hidden Mickey Tours at all 4 theme
parks during the MouseFest land portion! We had to "Look Down
for these Mickeys", Look Up to spot these Mickeys and find
the Mickey hiding on the teacup!
TUESDAY,
DECEMBER 2ND
 PassPorter's
Wonder-Full Treasure Hunt — Hosted
by Jennifer and Dave, this fun hunt took contestants all around
Deck 9 as well as other areas of the ship. Folks scoured the Disney
Wonder to find little details and collect a few things along the
way. Questions like: Where was the Disney Wonder constructed to
what do the 3 Signal Flags beside the Quiet Cove Pool spell were
asked. Points were also awarded for collected items such as a Personal
Navigator, coffee stirrer and shore excursion information sheet.
The Prize for the Best Individual Score went to Maggie
Andrelczyk and Best Team Score to Joanne
Ernest and David Ernest.
WEDNESDAY,
DECEMBER 3RD
One of the best parts of a Disney Cruise is the day
at Castaway Cay. Disney's private island is so beautiful! So, where
else but Castaway Cay would you find adults shoveling sand?? Passporter
Guide *Belle hosted a Sandcastle Building Contest. There
were 2 categories; the Disney category winners were Jennifer and
Dave and the Creative category winners were Brant Wigginton and
Andrew Ernest (shown in the photo). Later in the day, a special
reception was held for cruisers who booked through MouseEarVacations.com.
Special
thanks to MouseEarVacations.com for putting together the
MouseFest 2003 Group Cruise, Annette, Vickie and Stephanie!
Extra special thanks to Annette for all her hard work in making
this a most memorable enjoyable cruise!
THURSDAY,
DECEMBER 4
This
was a travel day for most folks….either from Port Canaveral or
from hundreds of different towns across the world.
FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 5
 4th
Annual Kilimanjaro Safari Meet – After last year's "rainout",
over 100 folks traveled to Africa to enjoy an early morning Safari
ride. Hosted by Deb Wills, members from a variety of Disney communities
were in full force including All Ears™, RADP, the DIS, and
Disney Dollarless. Also braving the wilds were Bob Sehlinger and
Len Testa of the Unofficial WDW Guide book! (More Kilimanjaro Meet
Photos coming soon)
4th
Annual Kali River Rapids Meet – As Wet as you Want to Be! MickeyMom
hosts this annual event. "There were 10 of us riding (and it
was a chilly morning) and 12 folks were at the meet. Disney Dean
and Lori got the wettest. Larry (MickeyMom's husband) stayed dry
for once."
All
Ears™ Ask the Experts – A special gathering at Pizzafari
hosted by AllEarsNet.com founder Deb Wills and the Unofficial WDW
Guide Book Bob Sehlinger. After brief introductions, Deb and Bob
opened the floor for questions… ok.. we bribed some folks with
free Disney trinkets to get the questions started — and a great
hour of conversation followed. Over 90 attendees entered a drawing
for some special prizes that included items from the October WDW
Press Event and a Pal Mickey!
Walt's
Birthday Safari Treasure Hunt – Jennifer and Dave outdid themselves
again with this fascainating photo treasure hunt. From Asia to Africa
the group sought to match photos with real life locations. The Individual
winner was Brant Wigginton and the Team Prize went to Nate Stokes
and LauraBelle Hime.
 Special
IllumiNations Dessert Party – warm coffee and lots of great
desserts in addition to a private viewing area for IllumiNations
made this special MouseEarVacations.com event extra special!
SATURDAY,
DECEMBER 6
3rd
Annual Future World Morning Marathon: Journey to the Center
of Spaceship Earth! Hosted by Catherine and Lori, attendees started
out riding Mission: SPACE (a new addition this year), then went
on to the Test Track Drive-Thru, Spaceship Earth Roulette and finally
Ice Station Cool-down!
Catherine
recounts: We had 21 riders for Mission: SPACE first thing in the
a.m. No discernible wait in line. They got us into the preshow room
and showed us the movie, then could not load us into the pods. Eventually
we were moved to another preshow room where we were coincidentally
joined by 3 more RADP riders for 24 riders in all. About 20 minutes
after we entered the line we actually got onto the ride.
I skipped
Test Track because the delay on Mission:SPACE had seriously thrown
off my groove. Some people went and rode it anyway.
Nearly
froze to death taking down guesses for Spaceship Earth Roulette
at the tip board. We ended up with 37 riders who made guesses. The
ride didn't stop again (it's a real anticlimax when it doesn't stop,
that's two years in a row it's happened, or not happened as the
case may be). Ben won the game for picking "ride doesn't stop"
and got a pair of red Mickey Mouse suspenders. Nobody picked "ride
doesn't stop" on the second sheet, so Ben was our only winner.
The
Beverly Chugging (at Ice Station Cool) degenerated into Beverly
Gulping, slurping and spilling contest. Michael from the DISboards
won the official contest by doing eight shots in the least time.
Margaret then came forward and did nine extracurricular shots. Bob
and Arlene from Disney Dollarless did 10 and 11 shots each. John
from the DISboards tried to do 12 but didn't make it. A guy named
Jimmy finally downed 13 shots of Beverly just to prove he could.
All participants ran for the restrooms.
 Mega
Mouse Meet – The first gathering of it's kind in recent memory
to bring together Disney Internet Communities, Webmaster/founders
and WDW Guide book authors in one place! Over 450 folks attended
the MegaMouse Meet and were able to meet over 25 author and website
representatives! The "Special Guests" began the morning
with a breakfast at Tubbi's Buffeteria before meeting hundreds of
Disney enthusiasts! Near the conclusion of the meet, Jennifer Watson
and Dave Marx gathered everyove for one whuge group photo for the
cover of Passporter WDW 2005! (More on the MegaMouseMeet next week!)
To Boldly Go… Kenny's 300th Mission Space! – One of the unadvertised,
yet heralded events of the weekend, was RADP'er extraordinare Kenny
Cottrell going on his 300th ride on Mission Space. The Cast Members
were even more excited than Kenny and gave him a "Where Magic
Lives" Certificate!
 IllumiNations
Cruises – Celebrating the 6th year of this sold-out event, MouseFest
crewed several boats Friday through Monday to the International
Gateway for a special viewing of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth!
The pontoon boats cruised the waterways for nearly an hour before
settling under the International Gateway bridge in Epcot to watch
the fireworks and laser show. It was a very chilly night, with temps
dipping down into the low 40s or high 30s, but the boats provided
warm blankets, while some of the cruise hosts provided, well, something
else in the line of "warmer-uppers." The spirit was lively
and congenial.
SUNDAY,
DECEMBER 7
 Magic
Kingdom Jim and Jim Tour – Writer Jim Hill and Disney historian
Jim Korkis led 2 incredible walking tours of the Magic Kingdom!
Learn the importance of the "language of vision". Hear
the stories of the people who made the dream come true. Whether
you have been in the park once or a hundred times, discover the
thrill of experiencing the park with a different perspective.
 5th
Annual Frontierland Meet – No annual meet would be complete
without riding the Mountains of Frontierland hosted by Jan, Tracy
and Charlotte! This annual event begins at the Briar Patch!
 Pirates
and Jungle Cruise – Climb aboard to tour many sights not often
seen my mortal man! We had an impromptu Pirates meet just before
the Jungle Cruise in which we did overload a boat and it was stuck
for a few moments on the first drop. I had "dead men tell no
tales" reverberating in my head for hours! Hosted by MickeyMom,
the Jungle Cruise meet had 49 folks crammed onto one Jungle Cruise
boat to the delight of everyone involved!
MONDAY,
DECEMBER 8
Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster – Tracy, Jan and Chalotte
hosted another of our annual events! 35 folks took the plunge on
the Tower of Terror and then looped the loops on the Rock N Roller
Coaster.
AdultsatWDW.com Pin Meet – a small but dedicated group of pin
traders gathered to show off their treasures and trade for more
the meet. A few lucky folks received a special AdultsatWDW pin from
hostess Rose Folan!
 Great
Move Ride Meet – Patti hosted a terrific Great Movie Ride meet.
We only had a few rows of "civilians" in the car with
the Mousefest-ers, and I'd venture a guess that they'll never have
a ride quite like that ever again. Thanks to Michael for being a
great guide and for figuring out right from the beginning that there
was a group on his tram that might give him trouble! Could it be
the number of people sticking their ams out of the tram immediately
after he said "keep your arms and feet inside the vehicle at
all times" that gave him the first clue?
 Fantasmic!
and Jolly Holiday at the Links – MickeyMom stood in as hostess
for Bianca (we missed you!) were 10 folks watch the show. Then most
of us went on to play mini-golf with the rest of the gang at Winter-Summerlands
course. That was a blast – we stayed so late that we closed the
place and didn't go to the Adventurer's Club!
|
