Disney Infinity - Maybe This Time

If there is one part of the massive Walt Disney Company that badly lags behind the rest it is the Gaming division. Video games and online gaming are hugely popular and profitable when the gaming creations hit the all right notes and deliver a product the public can't get enough of. Disney is kind of a niche player in the world of gaming, picking up their fans with the Epic Mickey games and Pirates of the Caribbean Online but so far Disney games just haven't produced the kind of mass appeal Disney is looking for. Enter Disney Infinity.

With Disney Infinity, many of the most popular Disney and Pixar characters, primarily from the world of movies, come together is various playing scenarios. In a world like this, Disney wins by bringing films, home video, consumer products, and many other aspects of the company into living rooms everywhere - providing the game can prove popular with a wide range of ages. Disney Infinity looks like it is set to release in June on all gaming platforms. Should prove interesting. Below are videos from John Lasseter promoting the game and the first official trailer.

In the Works: Epic Mickey 2

Promotional artwork for Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

This past Wednesday Disney announced that a sequel to its hit video game Epic Mickey was in production. The new game, again under the direction of gaming master Warren Spector, is titled Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two and co-stars Oswald the Rabbit along with the Mick.  Two players will now be able to control each charter as they once again wander through a bizarro Disneyland.  According to the press releases, Spector is correcting some of the shortcomings of the original Epic Mickey game from 2010 by having the characters actually speak (in the original game all Mickey could do was give us his high pitched grunt) and provide a better camera view so people like me who aren't in any way professional gamers constantly having Mickey jump into oblivion. The new game is also being made for all major gaming systems: Nintendo Wii, XBOX 360, and Playstation 3. The original Epic Mickey was only available for the Wii system.

To promote the game, Disney pulled out of its archive a 1928 drawing of Oswald the Rabbit that supposedly hasn't been seen in 40 years. 

1928 drawing of Oswald the Rabbit from the animated film "Sky Scrapper" - Disney Archives 

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MouseWaits

While we're on the topic of "staying connected", if your a Disneyland fan, a must have app for your iPhone, Android phone, and I think even a BlackBerry is MouseWaits.  With a couple of presses on my phone's touch screen I can have the wait time of any Disneyland or DCA ride or attraction (there is a WDW version of the app also) instantly.  It even has fast pass return times. So I'm sitting in my cubicle at lunch and I need a break from the ongoing mind-numbing monotany of it all, off too MouseWaits and I can in an instantly see there is a 50 minute wait time at this very moment to get on Star Tours and a fast pass return time of 3:40. You can even find out how long the wait is for a corn dog from the Little Red Wagon or a Dole Pineapple Whip. In a strange, bizarre, fun way, MouseWaits puts you in Disneyland no matter where you are.

There are other Disney apps that feature wait times but MouseWaits by all appearances in the undisputed king. Check it out your smartphone or smart device app store.  It's free.