Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Exclusive Press Event at Disney

 by Shellie Driscoll

On Tuesday, October 9th, Disney Interactive, hosted a media review event for bloggers, press and Disney enthusiasts to spend a very special fun-filled day at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and to unveil two new Disney games called “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” and “Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion”. What a day it was!

My fun-filled day began at 11:30 a.m. when a hired car from Disneyland picked me up from my home and drove me to the Grand Californian Hotel!  I have to say that I was more than just a little excited to be at this event since this was my first real media event and it promised to be a day I would not soon forget!

A wonderful lunch was being prepared for us while we heard from Bill Roper the VP/GM of Product Development from Disney Interactive who then introduced us to the Founder/Creative VP of Junction Point Studios, Warren Spector.  Warren is the top guru and mastermind, if you will, for the “Disney Epic Mickey” and  Disney“Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” games.  As he spoke, you really got a sense that he is such a down-to-earth kind of guy who truly loves all things Disney; which you would expect from someone who has the task of making sure that every detail of the games reflect the iconic symbol that Mickey Mouse is.

Warren shared several new exciting things about the new game such as a new land called “Disney Gulch” which is based on Disneyland’s Frontierland, one of the oldest areas of Disneyland and probably the most changed area over the years as well.  Another exciting change is the 1 or 2 player co-op modes…Mickey and Oswald (The Lucky Rabbit): the power of two work together to fix Wasteland.  Mickey uses his magical paintbrush to affect the world around him and Oswald controls electricity by using his remote.  There is also an option to either defeat or befriend your enemies.  You can go through the entire game without defeating an enemy if you want to.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a great lunch and played the new “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” game on the Wii! It was so much fun to play!  As a mom I really appreciate the fact that this is not another one of those shoot em’ up games.  There is puzzle solving and strategy involved.  Parents and kids alike will both love to play it!  We were told not to fill up on lunch because we were going to have a very special dinner later on.  We were all hoping it was going to be at the exclusive Club 33 restaurant!  Our fun had only just begun however!

Our next adventure had us going on a once in a lifetime “Walk In Walt’s Footsteps” guided tour.  We went to the Tiki Room, on the Jungle Cruise ride and down Main Street where we learned some great history about Disneyland and Walt Disney.  Have you ever noticed names on some of the windows while walking down Main Street?  Our tour guide informed us that Walt Disney wanted to honor the names of those who had significantly contributed to the establishment and vision of Disneyland.

During our tour of the Tiki Room Warren Spector shared that his team got the idea for animatronic characters for the game because of a visit to the Tiki Room.  They were inspired to create an entire class of robotic enemies that Mickey and Oswald could interact with.  We also learned from our tour guide that the Tiki Room was originally supposed to be a restaurant but Walt Disney decided it was too small so they ended up just making it one of the first attractions in Disneyland.

After the jungle cruise ride our tour guide informed us that we were about to do something very special…..he was taking us on a private tour of Walt Disney’s apartment!  Talk about a special moment!  Wow!  (You can see the apartment in the video below!)  The apartment is only about 500 square feet and a lot of the furniture and decor’ have roses on them.  Apparently Walt’s wife really liked roses.  Another interesting fact is that there is a lamp near the window that Walt always looked out of and the lamp is lit 24/7 for 365 days a year in memory of him.

After our tour had ended we were told that we were going to have an amazing dinner at the infamous Club 33 restaurant!  Can you say excited??  Club 33 is located in Disneyland’s French Quarter, next to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride exit. It’s a place that Walt Disney himself envisioned at the 1964 World’s Fair.  He recognized they had private clubs for dignitaries and corporate sponsors so he wanted to have that at Disneyland as well.  I can honestly say that it was one of the best dinners I’ve ever had!  How does an appetizer of lobster mac n’ cheese with Monterrey white cheddar and English peas sound?  The entree was a New York strip loin steak with Gorgonzola balsamic cream and creamy polenta with sautéed haricot vert!  The best steak ever!!

As if that wasn’t amazing enough, we ended the night watching the Halloween Screams fireworks spectacular show and going on the Haunted Mansion ride!  Phew! An amazing and truly magical day at the Magic Kingdom!  I didn’t want the day to end.

Enjoy a glimpse of our day by watching the guided tour video!  This video shows our “Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” tour…including Walt Disney’s apartment.  If you’re a Disney affectionado, you won’t want to miss this exclusive video!

“Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” game is coming out on November 18th for X360, Wii, 3DS, Mac, PC, PS3…don’t miss it!