Disney Headlines for October 22nd, 2021
Did you know that Mickey Mouse once turned on Minnie Mouse and thereby earned an Oscar nomination in the process?
Also, have you seen the video of the most miserable child at the Happiest Place on Earth?
We’ll talk about those things and the start of the paid line-skipping era at Disney theme parks in this week’s Disney Headlines.
Disney Genie Is Granting Wishes
MickeyBlog is covering this story in plenty of other places, but I need to discuss it here as well.
THE Disney story of the week is Disney Genie, the new virtual assistant for theme park guests.
On its own, Disney Genie represents a new and improved way to spend time at the parks.
Unfortunately, first-day guests quickly recognized that some of the promised features weren’t available yet.
Disney had promised recommendations for return times and detailed information about wait times.
Instead, an unlabeled bar graph appears for each attraction. Even statisticians wouldn’t get much out of this data.
But They Aren’t the Greatest Wishes…
As usual, Disney tech will apparently need a few days to catch up with the marketing team’s promises.
Meanwhile, Disney Genie+ came with its own share of hilarious shenanigans.
According to the paid app, everyone’s favorite attraction is apparently Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel.
A comical number of guests received this carousel ride as their Rope Drop suggestion.
Some reported that they kept getting the recommendation whenever they exited any ride.
You leave Space Mountain, and you should go to the carousel. You ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Then, the app tries to send you to the carousel.
Obviously, this sort of suggestion isn’t helpful and diminishes customers’ willingness to spend $15 for the service.
Also, I’m frustrated to report that these aren’t isolated incidents. Disney apparently programmed the software to emphasize unheralded rides too much.
On the Plus Side…
Thankfully, Disney Genie+ is easy to tweak, just as was the case with MyMagic+ a few years ago.
Veterans of the early MagicBand Wars can detail the many times they stood in line at temporary FastPass+ stations to vent about technological errors.
Those stations were only supposed to last a few weeks, but they remained for like four years. Getting the technology right takes time.
Overall, the guests who paid for Disney Genie+ did receive exceptional benefits. In addition, the number of customers proved small enough that the waits were minimal.
Seriously, some people were on and off Peter Pan’s Flight in under 10 minutes. That’s an attraction that has averaged a 60-minute wait lately.
So, Disney Genie+ justifies its expense, at least for solo travelers. The catch is that you must know Disney park trends to recognize lousy suggestions.
Please keep reading MickeyBlog, as we’ll frequently provide the latest advice for how to maximize the benefits of Disney Genie+.
The Forgotten Mickey Mouse Short
Polygon has brought back to light one of Disney’s most fascinating bits of Mickey Mouse trivia.
Do you remember what a big deal it was back in 2013 when Get a Horse! debuted?
Disney hadn’t created an animated short starring Mickey Mouse since 1995.
What few people remembered at the time was the 1995 animated short.
That’s amazing because the video in question, Runaway Brain, actually earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film.
Disney generally trumpets its Mickey Mouse videos that do well. However, Runaway Brain has remained the black sheep of the family, so to speak.
You won’t find this one on Disney+. In fact, the only way to watch it currently is by buying a digital copy of the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection.
How to Watch Runaway Brain
Humorously, I already owned this collection and had never realized I had a copy of this. If you own the copy, you can watch the animated short here.
You’ll notice it’s an extra rather than a part of the actual collection. Disney has buried it that deep.
What’s the problem with the story? Well, there’s not one, really. It’s a charming short that tells another story of Mickey Mouse forgetting a big date.
Minnie Mouse incorrectly believes that he is taking her to Hawaii, a trip that costs a massive $999. Ah, tourism prices in the 1990s.
Anyway, Mickey needs to come up with a thousand bucks immediately. Otherwise, he’ll disappoint his generally tolerant girlfriend.
So, Mickey accidentally donates his brain to science. After some mad science, he switches brains with a giant monster named Julius.
As “Mickey Mouse,” Julius is pretty scary. Disney has since decided that it’s not the best look for the face of the brand, even if it’s not really him.
Runaway Brain makes for perfect Halloween viewing if you’ve never seen it. I highly recommend that you spend the $19.99 to buy this on Vudu/iTunes.
Plus, you never know when Disney might shove it back in the vault. So you’ll want a copy while you can grab one.
The Happiest Place on Earth?
Every new parent dreams of that magical day when they take their child to a Disney theme park for the first time.
These moments function as rites of passage. The family takes photographs that will go on the walls for decades to come.
Well, what happens when your one-year-old child has the worst time imaginable?
A family recently experienced this rare phenomenon, and they recapped it on TikTok.
@jfam.ily he really felt the disney magic ✨🥰
Happy first birthday, kid! You…may not be a Disney fan.
Seriously, I always joke that some kids never respond to a Disney visit the way that people expect.
Some of them only notice the large crowds, loud noises, and giant animals who can somehow sign an autograph.
I’m using this TikTok as my proof from now on. You could have dropped this child in an active volcano for his birthday. He still would have had a better time.
I promise that it gets better, Myley. You might want to try Chuck E. Cheese for your second birthday party, though.