Super-Blog Team-Up -- Star Wars: Season of the Force

Karen: It's time for another internet-shattering Super-Blog Team Up! This time, the theme is (surprise) Star Wars! All things Star Wars are up for discussion and dissection by the various members of this coalition. For our part, we'll be sharing my trip a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...or maybe it was just last month in Anaheim,

Karen: The week before Thanksgiving, my husband and I traveled to Disneyland and met up with an old friend there to take in the pleasures of the park all decorated for the holidays. Ah, who am I kidding: we all wanted to see what Disney was doing in the park to tie in to the new Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens! 

Karen: As is turns out, they had basically given Tomorrowland a Star Wars facelift, proclaiming "Star Wars: Season of the Force" in big banners throughout that area. Music from the different films played constantly throughout Tomorrowland and Star Wars themed treats and toys were everywhere. Of course, there will actually be a Star Wars Land in Disneyland eventually - construction on the area, north of Tom Sawyer Island, will begin in January - but this temporary change really affects only a few attractions.

Karen: Star Tours, which has been a mainstay of Tomorrowland since 1987, got revamped in 2011 to allow a random sequence of different planets that guests could experience with each ride. The ride has been updated again to include a segment that is directly connected to the new film and it's a lot of fun. I won't spoil it (if you really want to know, you can find it out there in other articles online).  The new segment is always included with each ride.

Karen: Venerable Space Mountain became Hyperspace Mountain for the foreseeable future, and I heard it was great -but sadly, I can't tell you first hand, as that's one ride that's always left my head spinning!

Karen: The old Carousel of Progress has been transformed into the Star Wars Launch Bay. This served as a large theater/showroom/meet and greet/giftshop area. There were tons of models and props from all of the Star Wars films. Honestly I don't know if these were props used in the films or replicas, but they were all quite detailed and impressive. One part of the building was showing a documentary about the making of the new film. I only watched a little -I still want to be surprised! - but it sounded very interesting, and I am hoping this might be an extra on the eventual blu-ray. 

Karen: Two character meet and greets were available:if you were looking for a good guy, then you were able to go into what looked like the Rebel base on Yavin (the planet at the end of the original Star Wars) and get a big hug from Chewbacca! Chewie was very friendly, although I couldn't understand anything he said -and he did make all those wookiee sounds just like in the movies. My husband and I got a picture with him. 

Karen: If you're feeling more on the dark side, you could go see the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Boy, that guy didn't let up. He kept telling us we didn't know the power of the dark side, and we would wind up joining him. He was not a hugger...at all. 

Karen: The old Captain EO theater was converted to show Path of the Jedi, a ten minute film that included highlights from all of the previous films, and a short clip from the new film, with some extra effects included, like lights and wind. Some folks scoffed at this, but I have to say, I enjoyed seeing moments from the original trilogy up on a big screen again, in a beautiful, sharp picture. If anything, it got me excited for the new film, which obviously was the point of all of this! In that respect, Disney did a great job -probably every fifth person I saw in the park was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt or hat, and you could feel the enthusiasm for the new film. If there was anything that didn't go over well, it was the wretched food offerings at the revamped Tomorrowland Terrace. The chicken sandwich reminded me of the nasty frog-creatures Jabba gulped down in Return of the Jedi, and I was told the burgers were equally awful. Do yourself a favor and go have lunch over at Cafe Orleans instead.

Karen: All in all, we really enjoyed this taste of Star Wars at Disneyland and can't wait to see what the Star Wars Land will be like in a couple of years. I'm sure it will be fantastic. More than that, I can't wait to see The Force Awakens in a couple of days! May the Force be with all of you!

Bronze Age Babies Extra:

I couldn't end the post without giving you a look at the Super-Hero HQ that sits right above the Star Wars Launch Bay. It seems a little empty at this point, but there's a whole section of Iron Man armors, and we also saw an Ant-Man costume among other things. Didn't do the meet and greet with Spider-Man or Thor though. Maybe next time!

Longbox Graveyard: Star Wars Card Trader

The Retroist: Star Wars Book and Record

Between The Pages: A long time ago in a bookstore far, far away…

Son of Crapbox Of Cthullu: Growing up Star Wars

 

Mystery V-Log: My Personal Star Wars History

Superhero Satellite: Star Wars Episode 7: The Toys Awaken

In My Not So Humble Opinion: Star Wars Sketch Book
 

Hey, Look! It's the Post-Vacation "Catching-Up" Post!

Doug: Greetings, O Faithful Ones! Today is one of those potpourri posts where just about anything goes. I'm going to drop a bulleted list of things that have come up or have been on my mind over the past 32 days. Of course you do the same, and we'll treat this like one big water cooler.

• If you saw my post from Sunday, then you know I am about to come into some serious cash. While the lion's share of it will go into our fund for a new car/student loans, I have been treating myself to a self-gift every now and then. Today I would like any of our readers with knowledge of the IDW Artist Editions to tell me about those books. I am really, really intrigued. And with my interest in original art, I have my eye on the Joe Kubert Tarzan book, the John Buscema Silver Surfer tome, and the one that reprints Marvel Comics covers. Please give me a critique of the best and worst thing about the books in general, and if you happen to have any that I mentioned, those books in particular. My thanks in advance!
  
• Many of our readers are great fans of the art of George Perez. It has come to my attention that DC is giving the artist's Wonder Woman run the omnibus treatment and I am excited! I bought the second trade a couple of years ago (and used it to write this review), and intended to at some point buy them all. Not sure if I'll snatch this up right away, but at least I know life could be simplified!
  
• Many of you Bat-fans may have heard that renowned 90s Batman artist Norm Breyfogle recently suffered a stroke. There are funds that have been established to help offset some of his aftercare, and perhaps notable for this crowd DC has rushed into production a new volume in their wonderful hardcover series reprinting Batman tales from the 1960s to the present. Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle will be for sale in July 2015. I'll most likely get a copy. If you are not in the know, Breyfogle was the illustrator of the first Tim Drake adventures as the third Robin. I should say that I do not know if DC is donating any proceeds to Breyfogle's care; I did certainly imply that they are.
  
• Lastly, in a week or so Karen and I will be giving our State of the Blog address. We've had conversations on the condition of our little corner of the blogosphere and its form and format moving forward. We're not ready to give any specifics, but I will say that we're not going anywhere, not at all considering ceasing publication. But you may notice a bit more intermittence in our posting for the time being. Just a head's up to our loyal conversationalists.

Doug: Be sure to post whatever has been on your mind -- questions, concerns, and mindless observations are all welcome today. It's good to be back, friends!

And Now for Something Completely Nerdy...

 

Doug: I saw this on Twitter a few weeks ago. I'm sure it's been discussed across the Internet in the past, but I don't think we've ever broached the subject on this blog. Really, it's such an awesome topic for pondering that I don't know why we haven't gotten to it. So without further ado, see the image below and pick a side!

Who's the Best...Cyborg?