Steampunk Maleficent Dragon!

Today The Disney Parks Blog unveiled what may be the best parade float in human history.

Steampunk is cool. Maleficent in dragon form is cool. Steampunk Maleficent Dragon is a whole new reason to plan a vacation to Walt Disney World. I can't stop smiling when I look at these shots. This amazing float will be part of this Spring's Festival of Fantasy parade at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

Now, if Disney's really smart, they'll make a clockwork toy out of this to sell in the parks...

Photos from Disney Parks Blog

Review: Disney's Official Park Albums Hit iTunes

Today, for the first time ever, Disney's new Official Albums for Disneyland and Walt Disney World are available for digital download on iTunes, Amazon and Disney's own online music store.

The Good News: Most of the tracks are available for individual purchase, so great new selections from both coasts such as "Radiator Springs Racers," "Test Track," "A Suitcase and a Dream" and "Be Our Guest" can be added to fans' playlists without purchasing both entire albums ($19.99 each). This is a great plus for buyers who already own most of the tracks from previous editions of the park CDs.

The Bad News (but we knew this was coming): Longer tracks (and a couple of short ones, such as Pooh) are only available if the entire album is purchased. There's no way iTunes would offer the nearly 20-minute long Fantasyland Dark Ride Suite for $1.29, after all.

Whether you call Disneyland or Walt Disney World your "home" resort, both of these albums are terrific collections of some of the best music ever produced under the Disney banner. There's actually very little duplication between the two albums. Toy Story Midway Mania, for instance, is represented by two completely different tracks on each set.

What follows is a quick overview of the collections. I'm going to assume most of you already own most of the classic tracks. If not, you can't go wrong buying both albums in their entirety.

Strange Things 10: Welcome Irish Bedknob Birds Edition

Great off-beat Disney tunes keep cropping up on iTunes and Amazon, so here we go with another round of Strange Things--Disney tunes that are rarely heard, obscure or performed in unexpected ways.

Our first pick is a Walt Disney World tribute! One problem: This particular non-Disney album cover is so ugly, we're not going to post it. Instead, here are some lovely Main Street flowers...

Track: WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME
Album: Cool & Classy Take on TV

This is such an odd find: Hidden among this album's ho-hum offering of TV themes you'll find an instrumental rendition of the "Welcome, Welcome, Welcome" show at Magic Kingdom. Whaaa...?!? The medley includes the "Welcome" song, "Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street U.S.A" and "The Trolley Song." It seems arranged as a Karaoke backing track, but it still sound's upbeat as all heck. This one seems to be iTunes-only just now.

Next: A performance that's almost guaranteed to lift the sulkiest of spirits...

When Hinges Creak (with Fish Heads & Crumbs)

There's no mistaking this creepy foyer for any other; we've just stepped into The Haunted Mansion, and this is the view you get when you're near the back of the group.

Despite the crowd, this is one of those classic Disneyland moments. How many of you are old enough to remember the pre-internet days, back even before Disney released the music on CD, LP or tape, when the only time you could hear that unforgettable organ theme was when you were actually standing there in the foyer? The creepy awesomeness would wash over you in a wave of...I dunno...welcoming forboding? You felt like you'd come home...to the dead...and it made you grin...It could only happen at Disneyland or WDW's Magic Kingdom!

The 999 Happy Haunts of Haunted Mansion keep looking for number 1,000. They just don't want it to be one particular guy. Shoebox is back. I am so sorry...

Six Flags from a Disney Fan's Perspective

As my group approached the gates of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, I innocently said, "Let's ride Superman. It looks fun." I would soon regret those words...

I usually save all my theme park funds for Disneyland, but I was fortunate enough to be invited to an off-season private event at Discovery Kingdom in Northern California with friends and family. I'd never visited DK before, and I'm not a Six Flags fan. I was heading for a day of surprises.

WDW 1993: Splash Mountain Signage & Statues

We're temporarily moving from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom for this bit of our 1993 tour, to check out a few wonderful exterior details around Splash Mountain. All these elements are still present in 2012, but fans may be able to spot the differences between then and now.

Here's the statue of Brer Fox, Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit as it appeared in '93, with a natural-looking finish.

And Brer Rabbit looks for adventure atop one of the best signposts on earth.

We've discussed before which resort's Splash Mountain we find superior (Spoiler: It's WDW's). More focused storytelling was one factor that swung the vote.

I wish we'd spent more time in the Magic Kingdom back in '93. In our defense, though, this group of Disneyland regulars just couldn't stay away from Epcot for more than half a day!

More from 1993 WDW soon!

Pandora or Pandaria -- A Warcraft What-if For Disney's Animal Kingdom

I've previously suggested Disneyland should bring their Kingdom Hearts game world into Fantasyland. Here's another perfect park-game matchup: Disney's Animal Kingdom and World of Warcraft's new online realm, Pandaria. This is not to be confused, of course, with Avatar's Pandora.

WDW 1993: Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

I love Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and I'm very glad I got a chance to ride both tracks of the Walt Disney World version several times before it went away.

Why is a Disneyland-centric website posting this? Well, I just found all the photos from Mouse Troop's 1993 Walt Disney World trip. I think fans on both coasts might enjoy some views of World of Motion, Cranium Command, the original Journey Into Imagination and a lot of other wonderful attractions as they existed back then.

Look for Walt Disney World 1993 popping up a couple of times a week on Mouse Troop. These photos bring back some incredible memories for us; we hope you'll enjoy them.

By the way, of the two Mr. Toad tracks, the one with the farm, the weasels and the cops was my favorite.

What if Disney added Kingdom Hearts to Fantasyland?

Never. Gonna. Happen.

Now that Disney California Adventure has finished its multi-year makeover, rumors naturally turn to "What's next For Disneyland Park?" The most likely candidate for renovation is Tomorrowland, and an expansion for Frontierland could also be in the works.

I'm no Imagineer, but there's a franchise out there that Disney could -- and should -- bring into Fantasyland in one form or another. It's called Kingdom Hearts. If you don't know what Kingdom Hearts is, ask your children, your teenagers, or your resident game player. Full of Disney characters, yet darker and edgier than we're used to seeing, it's a world that could potentially be as popular and profitable for the park as the Nightmare Before Christmas.

Click below for more about Kingdom Hearts and why it could make a great addition to Disneyland. Please keep in mind that this is all wishful thinking on my part; Disney has announced no plans to build a Kingdom Hearts attraction.