[Clotho]

Okay, so we still dont' feel we could make a day of DCA, but we had a good time of the half days we spent there.

We had never done Soarin' and enjoyed it. The tech behind the whole thing encouraged us to go back again when we had nothing better to do the next day, but am not sure I would prioritize it. The transitions between scenes were choppy and strangely chosen at times. Otherwise, good fun and a break from hot weather.

Over in the Animation Building, we LOVED Crush. Saw him 5 times throughout the weekend. though to be fair, we would have only seen him 3 times had it not been for us waiting around for the sporadic soft openings of Animation Academy, which we both agreed was a highlight of our trip. Even with the bugs to be worked out (music spontaneously starting, and seemingly no way to turn down the volume so we could hear the animator, for instance), we had a great time and had great success drawing our characters (Pooh, Donald, Daisy, and Mickey, in that order over two days and four sessions). So much so that I ended up buying a "how to draw a Disney character" book on how to sketch Stitch and Lilo. On my flight home, I was completely immersed, and hace sinve drawn half the things in the book, with great success! Who knew I could draw?!

Anyway, Crush is really funny. If you don't agree, and have only been once, please make a point to go again. We found, across our 5 visits, that the quality of the show relies on so many factors, it can vary widely from one show to the next. The obvious factor being the actor behind Crush, but other factors including the host, and of course the audience participation. We saw some great shows, and some so-so shows. But every time we looked forward to going back (BTW, same goes for Stitch over at Innoventions--SEE HIM! He's great, with a great Stitch actor. Awful with a bad one...)

Animation Academy was a great break from the heat, a quiet respite with a successful feeling of accomplishment and interaction that I love Disney for. I hope I get back some day when they are more solidified in their format, but can't be sure since I only get back every few years. I wish them much success!

Does anyone "get" Sorcerer's Academy? I understand the voice-over section (which was kinda fun, but went waaay too fast for us adults, and I wonder about the kids...). the character you are most like libaray was kind of fun, but so few books and so many kids made for a wait for not much to do once you got to sit down. but the first room...where you make the little strips to make a movie...? there were NO instructions of any kind. Just strips of paper, pencils, and a few examples. It was too adbvanced for us. What do KIDS do in there? Do they even KNOW what to do?

Overall, I would say 50% of the stuff in the Animation building are worth coming back for. The other two need reworking.

Screamin' was still down. Maliboomer, onf of our favorites, was running only one tower and despite short lines took FOREVER to get on, so we only went once. Not much else to hold our attention at DCA just now, sadly...