|
|
Disneyana Convention: 1998
(Convention Theme '98: 75 Years of Love & Laughter)
Okay; so the chosen theme of "love and laughter" seems pretty
broad. So what? After the Villains-themed convention in
'97, they obviously felt they should follow such a theme with a salute to
happier, lovable moments of Disney cartoon history. Even the logo was
cute, with Mickey and Pluto sharing a hug. Even a "villain"
would think so, really.
Let's begin with registration, as always
(and very understandably, I would say). I think when you register for a
Disneyana convention, it really puts you in the best frame of mind
when one of your favorite Disney characters is given to you, as a small
statuette, for free(!). This year,
the now-annual free clock/statuette was of none other than Jessica and
Roger Rabbit, which was totally cool, seeing as Who Framed Roger Rabbit
was one of my favorite of the "new" Disney animated movies. A similar statue
of this Rabbit duo sells at Disney collectible stores for hundreds of dollars; the
fact that a similar statuette was given to convention guests,
just for registration, made me extremely forward to seeing what would come
next that week!
 Each
convention tries to offer something new. For this year, they began what is
called "Mickey's Attic"; sort of a garage sale,
with items from Disney World! Such items in this sale included decorations
from many of the recent "anniversaries" of the park, including those used on
the Pink "Cinderella's Castle Cake" of '97, plus the 25th anniversary
mirrors put on the streetlights (the latter of which is now on my mom's
staircase in her home). This was a good idea that they would use for later
conventions as well.
Not that this was the only chance to buy
Disney items of high standing. For the
really high spenders, the annual Disneyana Auction included items as
intriguing as --get this, girls!-- an actual, made to scale glass slipper!
The slipper even came complete with royal pillow to display it on! Was that a cool auction item,
or what? On earlier Disneyana reviews I know I've spoken little of the
auction, not because these auctions weren't worth mentioning, but because
I rarely can afford the four-figure (at least) items auctioned there. This
item was worth mentioning though. It was fun just to see it before the
auction.
"Theme Night"
was set in Disney World's recently opened Animal Kingdom, which was reserved exclusively for Convention members
that night. Making things even more
intriguing  was
seeing the park at night, when it is rarely open to the
public (the "Tree of Life" is particularly well lit in the
evening). Many of the better attractions were open, including the 3D feature based on the
Bug's Life movie, and the Countdown to Extinction
dinosaur ride. Food,
as always, was all you can eat, and included freshly cooked pasta, Chicken
and Beef ke-bobs, and so on. The evening ended with a parade exclusively
for ConventionEars. Cool.
"Banquet Night" included an amusing departure from the normal
dinner -and-a-show festivities.
During the welcome reception on an earlier night, some conventioneers were asked to ham it up,
by either singing their favorite Disney song, or acting out
a classic scene. Video captured during these moments were shown during the
banquet, with prizes given to the best of them! 
It was very lighthearted to see guests of all ages attempt the
Zip-a-De-Doo-Da
song, as well as the classic scene when Pinocchio comes to life. One guest
had a funny "improv" moment where he said as Pinocchio: "I
can walk...I can talk...I have pants!" Yet the biggest prize would of
course go to the cutest tyke you ever saw, singing a Disney song as
adorably as you could imagine. Cute! These
performances made for intriguing viewing, to say the least. Mind you; this
wasn't the only entertainment, with this year's celebrity guest being Susan Egan, the voice of Meg in Disney's
then just-released animated film, Hercules. Her own
anecdotes of Disney World as a little girl were fun to hear, as was the
live musical numbers. It was another great banquet night for Disneyana.
Ah yes; the annual parting gift! While
winners of that earlier acting/singing contest left with additional gifts,
all guests left with a pewter statuette of
Mickey Mouse, atop a cinema reel. The base opened to reveal a
pin, commemorating Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. This was
definitely one of the best parting gifts to date (and as always, it was limited
in production only to the number of ConventionEars that year). What a
great finale!
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed product, are created by Techtite,
copyright 2000; all rights reserved. Pictures are scanned from
promotional material and vacation video pertaining to this
attraction. They are discrete thumbnails, used only for the purpose of
review, and by no means represent any affiliation with Techtite and the distributors of that attraction. For further "legalese"
& disclaimers, click here... |
|
Burnout
Near
Miss
Small
Crater
Large
Crater
Deep
Impact
