First look: ‘Incredibles’ expo at Disney World
COMMENTARY
Edna Mode is in the (Mouse) house. The fashion designer character from Disney-Pixar’s “The Incredibles” can now be seen at Magic Kingdom during the Incredible Tomorrowland Expo, part of Walt Disney World’s Incredible Summer promotion. Edna made her debut on stage during the park’s five-hour Super Party Time, working the crowd to the tunes of “Supermodel” and “Vogue.”
Edna appeared 45 minutes into the event, after several other characters, including Elastigirl, Mr. Incredible and Frozone. Each are accompanied by a skit of sorts and an apropos dance song. There were also some “up and coming” heroes, including Whippersnapper, who snaps a whip that carries him from dimension to dimension or from Epcot, and Electrogirl, who had the power of hula hoops.
I liked that it was a little different than the usual Disney dance party, where, say, Donald Duck wanders out on the dance floor and kind of mingles with children. I did not like the blazing daylight hours as the party is at the foot of the shade-poor Rockettower Plaza Stage.
Edna was pretty much mobbed as she walked through the audience, even though lots of people had come close to her during a runway segment. The other characters from the first film had similar experiences. Folks are happy to see them, but it’s a slow slog for casual observers.
You have a better chance of a longer interaction with the characters during the random appearances that start at 10 a.m. daily in Tomorrowland. Although a cast member warned that there were no autographs at this time, the characters did stop for photos. I was surprised by how heartwarming it was to see Frozone interact with kids, although his extreme height can be off-putting if you’re little. (Buzz Lightyear, a character from another Pixar universe, is still in his meet-and-greet station over by Carousel of Progress.)
Disney has installed this “Incredibles” overlay in Tomorrowland in support of “Incredibles 2,” set for theaters on June 15. The setting is a MegaCon-esque gathering called the Incredible Tomorrowland Expo, and the Magic Kingdom land is festooned with banners and such to promote the gathering. The Tomorrowland entrance from the hub has been altered to reflect this theme too. “Incredibles” music is playing at the entrance and inside the PeopleMover space, but I was OK with that.
Another addition is a set of funny walk-around characters that are conventiongoers, all badged out. Think Citizens of Tomorrowland Expo.
At high noon, there was a baby crawling race tied to the Jack-Jack character. I read some online grumbling about this event, but maybe they’ll be consoled by the fact that the whole thing was 10-minutes long start to finish, and that included two heats, introductions and post-sprint interviews. Oh, and only two babies actually made much of a forward motion.
Disney is offering some themed foods for the event, although they are spread out from the Lunching Pad to Cosmic Ray’s and I had trouble locating a couple of them – including an Ednainspired crepe -- on Friday. I had success with the mobile ordering of the Super Stretchy Burger, which had cheese sticks under the beef and bacon plus a ranch dressing sauce. It tastes just like you’d imagine and weighs more. I’d suggest dancing that off.
The Incredible Tomorrowland Expo isn’t extraordinary. Let’s face it, we’re not aiming for Star Wars Land here. But it’s fresh and new and has its entertaining moments. It’s worth a spin if tomorrow should bring you to Tomorrowland.
Sidenote: A friend recently asked me if Edna Mode was man or woman. Hmm. Is it wrong that I assumed Edna was a woman? She is voiced by a man: Brad Bird, director of the first “Incredibles” film in 2004 and the upcoming sequel. He has another voice-over credit: “monorail announcer” in 2015’s “Jurassic World.”