Life with Disney, Lego ‘Summer Vacation’, birthday buttons

Summer may be coming to an end, but there’s still time for a fictional vacation at the “Star Wars” hotel or in a time machine to visit Walt Disney without leaving your couch. Theme Park Rangers Radar records with a Disney+/Lego production, a theme park magazine, and a Belle and Beast moment.

Radar is a weekly compilation of theme park ratings and nods. It appears on OrlandoSentinel.com on Wednesdays.

“Lego Star Wars Summer Vacation” isn’t like being on Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, but there are overlapping blocks.

The Disney+ production puts the “Star Wars” characters in tourist mode, and we first see them in the Halcyon, the ship that Starcruiser visitors board. Its atrium, though Lego-ized, is an eye-catching reproduction of the real thing, right down to the funky-angled furniture and architectural details.

The producers took amusing liberties – it’s not a documentary, of course. For example, there is no real-life shuffleboard game, which is actually based on reel fiction. But there is a breathless reference to the “engineering room experience,” which Starcruisers may remember visiting.

The living room’s “climate simulator” is much larger than the garden that allows Starcruiser passengers to get some fresh air.

Like other Lego movies, there are some nice touches, like C-3PO in a dress with the Chandrila Star Line logo on it. And Rey and Rose’s room — Deck 7, Room 301 — exists on the Starcruiser Experience.

The story of “Summer Vacation” revolves around the spirits of classic “Star Wars” characters sharing flashbacks and life lessons about togetherness with Finn. But there are things that can’t be invisible, like ghostly Obi-Wan in a Hawaiian shirt and scuba diving Anakin. (Strangely satisfying: Kylo Ren pubescent.)

Voice actors include Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Kelly Marie Tran, Yvette Nicole Brown, Kevin Michael Richardson and “Weird Al” Yankovic.

You don’t need to be steeped in movie lore or have ever been a passenger on Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, which opened near Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park in March, to enjoy the program. 48 minutes. Relax. That’s what (spoiler alert) Finn learns.

I bought an outlet at the grocery store and recently came home with an edition of Life magazine called “Inside the Disney Parks”.

A photo of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth under construction with seven workers standing along its top ridge caught my eye. I want to believe they are attached, but I can’t see it.

I’m a sucker for construction and historic photos, and this post has its fair share. There is also a story that recaps the history of Walt Disney and the theme parks from Marceline, Missouri to Shanghai. It’s a familiar refrain, though it makes Walt sound even more railroad than I imagined.

We Orlando theme park goers might be a tough audience for a general-interest Disney magazine. For example, we probably don’t need an explanation of what Imagineers or Hidden Mickeys are, but it’s understandable for other markets.

The writer includes quotes from Disney experts and former Imagineers and delves into post-Walt criticism. In a five-paragraph stretch, there are references to Michael Eisner, a murder in Celebration, “Song of the South,” MagicBands, valuing real estate over innovation, and “a 45-minute ride celebrating combustibles.” fossils”. I didn’t see the Florida man, but I wouldn’t have been surprised.

Among the mesmerizing photos are an aerial view of the construction of Magic Kingdom in November 1969; Walt photographing his daughters Sharon and Diane in the 1950s; a colorful preview of the New York World’s Fair; and a Tomorrowland dance party at Shanghai Disneyland.

The magazine cover price is $14.99.

Cinderella’s castle pops up multiple times, including a snap that was a cover of Life magazine in 1971. But there’s not a single one of the icon with her 50th anniversary look that sent me into the small characters where there are copyrights going back to 2018. So this work has been fidgeting for a while. I was fooled by the proximity to fresh produce. Can we blame the supply chain?

I spent part of my birthday last week at Hollywood Studios. Don’t worry if you missed it. We Lions have a way of extending our days in the sun. For the first time in ages, I picked up a Walt Disney World birthday button at Guest Relations.

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As the actor pressed my larger-than-average name on the button, she asked if it was “really” my birthday, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t going to hand the badge over. There seems to be some wiggle room. I appreciated that she brightened up the button without putting that three-dot Mickey on it.

As expected, Disney employees greeted me often. One of them rushed across the street to wish me a good day. The only tangible perk was a drink “offered by the house”, a happy accident.

My secret plot to strategically stand with a pouty face and a birthday badge outside of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in hopes of jumping into Lightning Lane was foiled by the fact that the attraction was off. service. The Force was trying to tell me something.

Instead, my birthday present — another happy accident — was to see the fully-packed show “Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage” for the first time since before the pandemic. The stage looked positively crowded, in a terrific way, with a full set of spoon guys and even the singing sundae.

The recently restored production, I’m happy to report, once again has Belle at touching distance from Beast at the show’s most vital and touching moment. Audience members cheered as Belle and Eric entered the ballroom, and I even enjoyed Gaston’s preening during the curtain call.

The guard gave another cheerful “Happy Birthday” as I exited for the parking lot. All this has energized my approach. Don’t doubt the birthday button.

• Science Night Live, an adult-only night at the Orlando Science Center, is scheduled for Saturday.
• The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival continues daily. Eat to the Beat concert performers include former Journey lead singer Steve Augeri on Friday and Saturday, followed by Air Supply on Sunday and Monday.
• SeaWorld’s Electric Ocean festivities, along with its Craft Beer Festival, are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

What’s on your radar? Email me at [email protected].