Top Five Favorite Safety Spiels

Who says safety can't be fun? In addition to informational signage, most Disney attractions feature audio warnings to discourage riders from doing incredibly stupid things such as standing up and/or sticking their legs out of a moving vehicle.

Fortunately, Disney injects a lot of character and humor into their audio safety spiels. Some, such as "Hang on to them hats and glasses" and "The spirits will materialize only if you remain quietly seated" have become classics. I'm not including those most famous lines on this list; Consider them forever enshrined in the Great Ride Warnings Hall of Fame.

Although four of these five come from my "home" parks (Disneyland & DCA), the top prize goes to a Walt Disney World ride I haven't even experienced yet! I have Internet Radio and YouTube to thank for my exposure to the joys of WDW attraction audio!

Here we go! Oh--and be sure to remain seated and...well, you know the drill...

TOP FIVE FAVORITE SAFETY SPIELS!

5) Snow White's Scary Adventures as spoken by the Wicked Witch:

"Looking for Snow White, Deary? Then SIT STILL!"

4) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride as spoken by Ratty:

"Welcome to Toad Hall! To be sure of a safe and glorious drive in your motorcar, remain firmly seated with your hands, arms, feet and legs inside. Watch your children--and do try to drive more carefully than Toad."

3) Radiator Springs Racers as spoken by Sheriff over the car radio:

"All right. You be sure to remain seated with your seat belt buckled! Don't make me come after you. Sheriff out."

2) California Screamin' as spoken by The Barker

"Second thoughts? TOO LATE! Head back! Face forward! And hold on like ya mean it! And away you go in five, four, three, two, ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And, here we are: My current favorite ride safety audio:

Video by wdwfacts1

1) TriceraTop Spin as spoken by Chester:

"Hey, spinners! It's Chester here, reminding you for your safety ta stay seated with that seatbelt fastened good n' tight as you spin. Whilst yer spinning, keep your hands, arms, feet and legs inside--and be sure to watch your children."

It's the "whilst yer spinning" part that busts me up and crowns this as number one. I haven't been to Dino-Rama in person yet, and I had mixed feelings about the area's concept--until I heard this awesome performance that tells me all I need to know about the land's backstory in one simple, great delivery of a safety warning. Suddenly, I really, really like Chester and Hester. Dino-Rama has become a must-see for me.

What are your current favorites? Do you find the ever-present safety spiels annoying, or is Disney doing a good job of working the warnings into the story?

Netflix Adds Five Disney Children's Series

I wish I had more exciting Netflix news for animation fans this month, but the streaming service has added no classic Disney films in the last several weeks. For younger viewers, however, four popular Disney pre-school shows and an action series for older children are arriving this month.

The two most recent shows on that short list are the fist to arrive--In fact, they're available now. Jake and the Never Land Pirates, the At-Least-It's-Not-As-Bad-As-Little-Einsteins preschool show and Tron Uprising, an action series for older children, are ready for viewing.

Later this month, the service will add the cheerful Handy Manny, the Someone-Please-Tell-Disney-That-Adult-James-Bond-References-Do-Not-Make-Appropriate-Preschool-Show-Episode-Titles awfulness of Special Agent Oso and the classic claymation Jo Jo's Circus.

Again, I wish I had more exciting news to report for older Disney fans, but I'm willing to cut Netflix some slack, for their current Disney selection has a decent number of great classics.

I wonder, though: Does anyone at Netflix realize how many subscribers they'd instantly gain if they added shows like Ducktales and Talespin to the roster?

The Five Best Moments in Adventureland

Just a few paces from Main Street U.S.A, you can find yourself suddenly surrounded by unfamiliar gods, skulls on posts and snakes in barrels. Welcome to Adventureland, home of a fearless archeologist, a man raised by gorillas, an infamous jungle tour company, and one very enchanted roomful of tikis.

If you count the Jungle and all of the Indiana Jones attraction, Adventureland is enormous -- but you'd never guess from the one small, crowded avenue that handles all the foot traffic.

It'd be easy to make a short list of the best attractions in Adventureland, but I'd like to focus on the best moments the land has to offer. Here's a quick list of my five favorite Adventureland moments, starting with #5:

Here they come...

5) The Jungle Cruise piranha attack. I love the whole Jungle Cruise, but the piranha attack near the end is very clever and actually makes people scream...in a good way.

Walt & Mickey Watch Five & Dime

The incredibly talented performers of Five & Dime bring a fantastic burst of energy and fun to Buena Vista Street. On your next visit to Disney California Adventure, try not to miss this wonderful act -- my favorite of all of DCA's entertainment.

My sister took this photo and caught not only the show, but a pair of very special spectators in the background.

Disneyland Annual Passholders Receive a Free Book

Disneyland Annual Passholders have been finding a nice surprise freebie in the mail this week: A Celebration of a Wish Come True, an 80-page 8 1/2 x 11 1/4 souvenir book commemorating the resort's amazing summer of 2012.