Leonard Kinsey's Blog, page 5

Backstage in Mexico, Podcasts, Draven Mouse Ears, and DVC Rentals!

Lots of updates today, so I'll dive right in!

First up are two new videos from my November 2011 trip. This was the same trip where I went up to Image Works and the Land's VIP Lounge. One of the other locations I wanted to hit was backstage at the Mexico pavilion, because Hoot and Chief from Mesa Verde Times had previously told me how to get back there. Unfortunately, even though I did end up getting back there, I completely misunderstood their directions!

The first vid is the complete...

One More Dark Side of Disney Day!

Here's the video from our "One More Disney Day" adventure on 2/29/2012. We showed up around 9PM (after going to Theme Park Connection and then Drinking Around the Monorail – videos of both coming soon) and it was incredibly crowded, to the point where they actually routed us backstage!

The back story behind "Cancer Patient Draven" is that she kept getting recognized in the parks earlier that week. We didn't want to risk being stopped at the gates because we really wanted to attend the event...

Germany Trip and a New Book Update

Just got back from Germany, which was awesome, although not really much like the EPCOT pavilion. I was in Berlin for most of the trip, though, and I think the EPCOT pavilion was modeled more on the southern, Bavarian part of the country. That said, I drank a ton of amazing beer, ate plenty of pretzel rolls, ogled hot women, came close to getting shot by a crazy security guard, and was told to stop filming at two separate high-security locations. So, not a whole lot different than my typical W...

Weekend Recap!

Whew, this weekend wore me out! Here's a rundown:

Friday morning: Woke up at 6AM, which sucked ass. Picked up Draven, and drove to the 98 Rock radio station for our appearance on the Mickey, Amelia, and Spiegel morning show. Really enjoyed talking to the hosts – we had a good rapport and they seemed genuinely interested in the book. You can listen to a portion of the interview at http://thejoint.98online.com/_Leonard-Kinsey/audio/922286/13306.html

Friday evening: Arrived at Atomic Books at...

Sneaking Into the VIP Lounge at The Land

I'm back, bitches! My self-imposed exile is over, which means MORE VIDEOS!

But first, some other business:

1. Draven Star and I will be signing and reading at Atomic Books in Baltimore this Friday, 1/27 from 7-9PM. If you're anywhere near Baltimore, you definitely shouldn't miss this event! We'll also be on 98 Rock that morning promoting the event, probably around 8:15AM.

2. I was recently interviewed on the WDW Dis-Cussion Podcast, and it turned out really well! The hosts had some interesting q...

1st Draft of New Book Complete & Upcoming Events

I haven't posted in a bit, but that's because I cloistered myself in my office over the holidays, ignored all of my relatives at Christmas, didn't go out for NYE, and…. FINISHED THE 1ST DRAFT OF MY NEW BOOK!!!

This one is a little different than DSoD. It's fiction, but it does take place in Walt Disney World and features tons of sex, drugs, violence, and bad language. I think anyone who enjoyed DSoD is going to get a kick out of this one, too.

The next step is to do a few more drafts to take...

Draven Star in “Debauchery at Disney” and random stuff

Draven Star, Pentakis Dodecahedron, and I went to The Magic Kingdom back in November, and I finally had a chance to edit together the video!

The Snow White meeting definitely isn’t very “Dark Side”, but it was such a great example of a CM going out of their way to make someone’s day special that I had to include it. Draven is a huge Snow White fan, and the one thing she had to do at MK was meet her favorite princess. She started crying the second Snow White walked out the door, and obviously w...

Draven Star in "Debauchery at Disney" and random stuff

Draven Star, Pentakis Dodecahedron, and I went to The Magic Kingdom back in November, and I finally had a chance to edit together the video!

The Snow White meeting definitely isn't very "Dark Side", but it was such a great example of a CM going out of their way to make someone's day special that I had to include it. Draven is a huge Snow White fan, and the one thing she had to do at MK was meet her favorite princess. She started crying the second Snow White walked out the door, and obviously w...

Review from Jim Hill!

Just received an awesome review from Jim Hill, the illustrious and infamous Disney rabble-rouser and rumor-monger who knows a little something about the company's Dark Side (see his account of how they shut down his private tours of Disneyland). He seemed to enjoy the book quite a bit:

"So what makes this book better than – say – hanging out at the Perkins at the Crossroads Shopping Center near Downtown Disney and listening to some of your old Cast Member friends tell tales out of school...

Sneaking Into Image Works @ The Imagination Pavilion

I had a list of various adventures I wanted to complete during my recent visit to Walt Disney World, and a tour of the abandoned Image Works area in the Imagination pavilion was right about at the top of that list. For those who don't know, this was an area on the 2nd floor of the pavilion where there were a bunch of kick-ass hands-on exhibits. I remember spending hours up there, walking through the Rainbow Tunnel, waving my hand under the pin tables, and jumping on the musical light tiles...