Here's some theme park etiquette

So since moving to Orlando around this time last year, I've become what you might call a regular at the local hotspots. Oh you know, nowhere you've heard of or probably have any plans to go to...

It's the sort of place that really

reminds you that you're living in Florida.

I'm sure you probably caught onto what I'm really talking about now, and now that I've been a regular at the theme parks for about a year and thereby am clearly now an expert at everything Disney and Universal (and SeaWorld and the 12 other parks I haven't even visited yet), I just thought I'd offer some insight into the sort of behaviors and habits that you should accustom yourself to in order to maximize your experience during your vacation. Or staycation (you know your hubrises, Floridians). Now, I would call them "suggestions," but for ths sake of understanding that doing these things will really help out every other person who's right there vacationing with you, I think "etiquette" is a much more appropraite term. 

Without further ado...

1) Do your research before you arrive.

Yes, I know, a little spontaneity really helps to spice up an otherwise droll vacation. I understand that. But if you're coming to one of the most popular theme parks in the world on, for the sake of argument, some summer holiday weekend, your former willingness to "play it by ear" is really gonna make your day miserable. I promise. So, if you're coming to Disney, really take the time to hop onto google and the My Disney Experience website (Universal and all the other parks have similar websites and apps) and have an understanding of what it is you want to do and how much time, money, and effort your theme park day is going to require. Unless of course waiting in a 40 minute line at Guest Services because your plans aren't going accordingly is more your speed. But I'd rather be on Splash Mountain. DIGRESS!

2) Have your hotel accomodations ready BEFORE you arrive.

I can't tell you how many people I've run into who know for a fact that they're gonna be staying in Orlando for 4 or 5 days and say, "Yeah we're going to head to one of the Disney resorts and check if they have any rooms tonight." ... I'm sure that this works with some success in the off seasons. But if youre gonna come in the middle of July thinking you're a great pirate about to plunder a hotel room at the last second, I can't help but imagine that you're gonna leave the lobby surprised and disappointed.

This is a more realistic accomodation

for that scenario.

3) When you go to the parks, listen to the cast (or team) members.

This shouldn't have to be said aloud, but the companies running the theme parks you want to go to are paying their employees coin to make sure that your time is safe, efficient, and yes, fun. So just help them help you by not arguing. The theme parks aren't an NPR discussion forum between you and the employee - they're (generally) telling you what they're telling you for a reason, and its not your prerogative to debate. A couple of very common examples: when security tells you they need your bags open... Open 'em. When the train conductor at Magic Kingdom tells you that your butt needs to stay on the seat before they come to a full and complete stop, they're not somehow conspiring to ruin your family's entire 2 week vacation - but falling off the train and getting your arm broken will be a surefire way to do exactly that.

4) Be respectful of your fellow guests.

I get it. Main Street USA is not the easiest place to navigate on a sunny Saturday at 2 in the afternoon. Between the balloon vendors, photograhy cast members, and the parades that run through the area (see #3 on this one), getting from Town Square to Cinderella Castle is an adventure by itself. But consider this while you're making that journey... Or when yourale anywhere at the Magic Kingdom, or literally any theme park: stopping in the middle of the walkway is probably a tremendously bad and inconvenient idea. Especially when you or the guests around you are using wheelchaits or scooters. Pick a nearby shaded and out of the way area to pull out your guide map... Maybe right near Tomorrowland Terrace where the Plaza restaurant is, using my Main Street USA example. Separately, loud screaming where it's out of place is not doing your fellow guests any favors, either. If you're on the Tower of Terror or Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket at Universal, loud screaming is expected and encouraged. That's the point of those type of rides. Now, let's say you take yourself back to Magic Kingdom, or Disneyland for you west coast folks, and release some of that pent up adrenaline on the Haunted Mansion.

The look on this little girl's face is

probably your best case outcome for this example.

We all know that your first time at the park is all veey exciting, but logic is the best thing you can have about you when coming through the entrance. Gauge where you're at and how many people are around you. It'll make everyone's lives easier and keep your dignity, if not your ability to legally return to the parks in some scenarios, intact.

Well, that'll about do it for me. The animation world is a bit slow these days (at least for me), so I'm branching off into more theme park type writing in my fair blog. If you like it, great! If this is the first time youre seeing this blog and you like it, double great! Stick around and follow my facebook page, I'll definitely deliver on more of this type of content! If you're not into a whole lot of reading, well... I'm probably not 100% your speed, though you're more than welcome to share my blog to your friends and family!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to gaze into the stars and wonder why people unironically feel the need to ask what time the 3:00 parade is going to be.

Steven Spielberg just couldn't get enough. I'm gonna talk at you about that.

So, if you aren't an adult-child who spends all of their time perusing cartoons and cartoon-related news, this may blind side you a bit. Especially if you were lucky enough to be a kid in the 90s.

Now, of course, this is a rumor at the moment, but it seems that the success of Animaniacs on Netflix has caught the attention of Warner Bros. Animation, who's portfolio of rebooting their classic cartoons has been... Touch and go. Largely, their direct to video Tom and Jerry movies aren't all that abysmal, and the Looney Tunes Show from 2012 was surprisingly, refreshingly good. But than we have to deal with the fact that they're making Fred Flintstone and George Jetson team up with the WWE to save the respective days, which is dubious enough as it is. And than there's...

Not to be discussed in civilized

conversation.

Well, thankfully, the success of Animaniacs on the streaming platform has also caught the eyes of Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, who I'm convinced carried 75% of the weight that was Warner Bros. cartoons in the 90s. This is important because it seems that the original executives for the show have gotten back together and seem to be talking about bringing the Warner Brothers (and sister Dot, naturally) back for brand new hijinks. And this is a wonderful thing on multiple levels.

Quit lying, you know you're ready

to relive this all over again.

Obviously being that this is a rumor (and even if it were officially confirmed), any real, solid information on what direction this will go is, well... Nonexistent. But you know im not shy about opening my mouth and offering opinions anyway. So to me, if you couldn't tell from my demeanor before, this is just the bee's knees. But getting back to WB's track record of reboots, I'm going to remain as cautiously optimistic as my inner 90's child will allow. Also, in an animation culture where shows like Steven Universe are what's in demand, one should also consider how well the antics of Slappy Squirrel will resonate with today's animation consumers.

My hero. <3

On the other hand, one of the virtues of Animaniacs is that they have a very deep understanding of pop culture, and aren't afraid to throw relevant punches when they're gonna be funny. And there's a lot of material for the writers to work with these days... 20 minutes of scrolling through the news should be everything they'll ever need.

On the whole, though, I think if this does come to fruition, I don't see why or how a new generation of Animaniacs could fail entirely. The evidence is in the fact that the show continues to resonate with audiences on Netflix, despite that some parts of it clearly show their age. We might be seeing some real TV magic in the making, folks.

I for one am ecstatic to see more of...

whatever the heck is going on here... After 20 years.

But remember... This is all only a RUMOR.

So in the meantime, if you want your fix, hop onto your Netflix account and get binging. Or, I guess you could just look it up on YouTube, if being cheap and low quality more your speed (like me. Some days). For now, I'm gonna stop this here and hop onto Netflix and relive the glory days of 90s TV animation.

Expect me to talk about this more as more news unfolds!

PS: an open letter to WB animation and Amblin: if you need animators for this thing, I will Forrest Gump my way across the country to help you bring this thing to life. I should probably do something with my animation degree, and this project has my name on it.

Pictured: me, the half second I see

a listing for animator on this show.