MouseFest: Looking Back — Wed. thru Fri.

By now most of the trip reports have been written, most of the colds have passed (I hope), but the memories still linger from just an extraordinary MouseFest 2008.

I thought about delivering a blow-by-blow description of how my MouseFest 2008 experience went but it would take forever for me to bring you each and every detail.

So my purpose here is to bring you my fondest memories of MouseFest 2008 and a perspective as to what it all meant to me.

Day 1 – Wednesday

I flew down on Wednesday morning of MouseFest week with fellow AllEars colleague Michelle Scribner MacLean.

As the day moved along we gradually ran into more and more familiar faces followed by warm embraces and quips of “How are ya?” and “How long you stayin’?”

Highlights of the day included a visit to see what T-Rex was all about (this restaurant opened earlier this year at Downtown Disney)…

…a gathering of about 60 friends at Trail’s End at Fort Wilderness for a pre-MouseFest dinner…

; and an end to my first day with a viewing of Holiday Illuminations at EPCOT.

I love MouseFest Wednesday because it is essentially the only real flexible day of the week and one in which a schedule does not dictate where I should be and for how long.

That flexibility allows me to spend time with friends who I may not be able to see as much once the official land portion of MouseFest begins.

Day 2 – Thursday

Thursday morning I woke up, stared at the ceiling and said to myself, “This will be a long but fun-filled day.”

The first order of business was to co-host MouseFest 101 with Mouseplanet staffer Mark Goldhaber. We addressed about 300 plus people at the Contemporary Resort with over 100 of them coming to MouseFest for the first time.

The highlight of MouseFest 101 for me was handing tickets for the Sunday night Illuminations Dessert Party to David and Nancy Dunkowski. I had wandered about the hall prior to starting MouseFest 101 and talked with several folks”¦looking for some first-timers. David and Nancy seemed most deserving.

After MF101 I was overwhelmed by the number of first-timers who stood in line to talk with me. Their patience fueled me into making sure I talked with every person in line and meeting all those wonderful people for the first time was one of my overall highlights of MouseFest 101. Imagine, I made over 100 new friends in an hour”¦awesome.

I remember afterwards rushing over to the Dole Whip meet with Beci Mahnken of Mei/Mouse Fan Travel right afterwards and running into my friend Val who works at Magic Kingdom’s Guest Relations.

When I saw Val I sort of shrugged my shoulders and asked, “Val is it too crowded at Aloha Isle?”

“No Mike” she sort of chuckled,”It’s fine”¦go enjoy your meet and have a Dole Whip.”

I did.

Other memories for Thursday center on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and the Wishes Meet in the upper Rose Garden. I co-hosted that meet with Michelle and with Mike Newell of MouseWorldRadio.

That meet, along with MouseFest 101 and the Dole Whip Meet was an unbelievable way for me to kickoff MouseFest.

Those three meets always bring me into the spirit of what MouseFest was all about because they are designed to encourage the greeting of both old and new friends from all the MouseFest Communities.

Way back early in the morning I should have realized that this day would be special. You see, Michelle and I rode up front in the monorail en route to the Contemporary.

But it gets even better; to finish off the day we rode up front in the monorail from The Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center.

Meeting old friends; making new friends; eating Dole Whip; and riding up front in the monorail twice in one day. That sounds like a formula for making Day 1 of MouseFest 2008 a day to remember.

Day 3 – Friday

MouseFest Friday started out early with everyone heading to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The All Ears meet in Africa at the Harambe Fort was very successful and that too was an opportunity to meet up with old friends and make even more new acquaintances.

MouseFest Friday is a split day and that means two parks.

At mid-day international MouseFest icon Masayo Kano and I drove from Disney’s Animal Kingdom to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

We both had commitments and split up immediately after rushing through the turnstiles.

I walked over to the Brown Derby to find Michelle, Deb Wills, Deb Koma, and Linda Eckwerth enjoying a quiet lunch.

Now here is where I tell you how blessed I am. My wife Carol is a big supporter of all the Disney “stuff” I do and one reason she doesn’t worry about me is because she knows that when she is not with me at Walt Disney World that I am surrounded by those who she calls my “Disney wives.”

The week before MouseFest Carol had asked Michelle, who lives but 10 miles from us, to make sure that I ate at MouseFest.

It’s true”¦I have all these rules about MouseFest yet I always find them difficult to follow.

Once I walked into the Brown Derby and found these ladies I was immediately “convinced” by them to sit down and eat something”¦or else. I never want to find out what “or else” means so I gladly sat down and had a bite to eat.

This day was to have two major highlights for me.

The first highlight was the celebration of the 500th WDWTODAY podcast held at the Studios Prop Shop. If you’re wondering what the Prop Shop is, it used to be part of the old animation tour”¦it was the room in which guests watched how Disney Magic was used in the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” movie.

We recorded two shows with a live audience and had a blast being able to have folks not just only hear us but to see us as well.

What made that memory even sweeter was the fact that we were able to use that milestone show to raise funds for Deb’s Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

The other Friday highlight was the wonderful AllEars team get-together at the Gaylord Palms Resort for a memorable dinner…

…and afterwards the touring of “Ice” which is an amazing display of ice sculpture.

MouseFest for me is usually scrambling from one place to the next”¦.sometimes having no time to eat.

However, on this night I got to spend five, count’ em, five hours with some very special people, look into their eyes, enjoy great conversation, and realize just how fortunate I am.

Thanks Deb.

Next Time: Saturday thru Monday

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