The Casual Reporter: June 2009

Saturday, June 27, 2009

WWS Bids Public Farewell to Michael Jackson



One of the privelages of playing Buffalo Bill in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Disney Village, Disneyland Paris, is that I sometimes have the freedom (or take the liberty) to add a few lines of text at the end of the show to commemorate special moments. Usually, for instance, when a cast member leaves the show, I (or whoever is playing Buffalo Bill) will say a few lines. Somber moments are sometimes recognized as well, as was the case tonight. Here is a transcript of my final words tonight:

We hope you have all enjoyed yourselves tonight, and we hope you will all come back and return with us again to the legendary world of the pioneer days on the great American plains.

Before we leave I just want to say that the late Michael Jackson was a friend of this show. He watched our show several times. There was always something special about performing in front of one of the greatest entertainers that has ever lived. We are saddened by his passing. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and fans. May he rest in peace.

Just remember, wherever there is a sunset, there is a West, but there's only one... BUFFALO BILL'S WILD WEST!!!

Friday, June 26, 2009

The Pinkie Chronicles: Pinkie Sings "Pinkie" Again

Pinkie sings a new version of "Pinkie", with new, unforgettable lyrics:

Luka - Vote for my rendition!
Disclaimer: Although based on a real person and real events, all accounts of "The Pinkie Chronicles" are fictional, meant for entertainment purposes only. Personal characteristics of the fictional "Pinkie" do not necessarily reflect the personal characteristics of the real person on whom "The Pinkie Chronicles" are based.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Guest Email - Great Review!

Following my entry on the DLRP Review website, and subsequent quoting on The Casual Reporter, a long-time guest of the show sent me an email showing that most of us are doing a pretty good job after all. Maybe I was a bit too egotistical and unfair suggesting my shows are something special. From this guests' perspective, our show rarely misses the mark. With his permission, here is his email:

Hi, sorry to trouble you.

I have just read your review on DLRPmagic, and subsequently looked at your blog.

I would like to take the opportunity of thanking both you, and everybody else involved in the show.

My wife and I have seen Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show some 15 times now, (over the last 12 years). Our 2 children (aged 5 and 3) have seen it 3 times and spend many a happy hour playing cowboys and indians, mainly inspired by the show.

I have only seen 1 poor production of the show, and that was 3 years ago when there was a failure of the technical side of things, the sound track and lights were all over the place and the serving of the food was out of sync with the action of the show.

Even so, the cast and servers did a faultless (as always) job.

So, once again, my thanks. I look forward to seeing the show again on our next visit (25th to 20th July).

Kind regards.
To everyone thinking of seeing us, be confident you will have a great time. For those performers who read this blog, keep up the great work! The guests are watching...

Trent Scouts Wild West Show Reviews

I sometimes take time to search the web looking for comments and feedback on our show. Here are some interesting excerpts from comments posted on DLRP Review, one of the top results for the search "Buffalo Bill Mickey Review":

Have seen this show about 5 times over the years and have to say that this visit was the most disappointing one of all. There were a lot of empty seats whereas previously each show has been packed.

The addition of Mickey and friends is completely pointless and spoils the show as the whole thing is disjointed, there were only 2 races which were over in the blink of an eye so not much chance to get into the spirit of backing your team. Certainly not the enjoyable dinner spectacle it once was.
And another:
The atmosphere is nice, such as waving your free hat around and shouting ‘YEEHA!’ and some of the food is ok, but it can get a bit tedious at times. Nobody really knows what’s going on and it can get quite boring. The animal parts are quite exciting though.
Another negative excerpt:
...on the show front everything was going along nicely (atmospheric Red Indians etc.) until Annie Oakley came out. Her part has always been a bit hokey, but the inclusion of Mickey and Minnie to hand over the medal for the best shot was completely unecessary and just slowed things down.

As expected the characters came out during the campfire singsong and led us in a few choruses of “If You’re Happy and You Know It” amongst others. Needless to say this went over real well with the 9:30pm crowd of mostly adults. This section went on far too long.

When the games began the characters stuck around and kind of acted as unofficial mascots for the different ranches, but their purpose on stage was never really explained. During this part the Rodeo Clowns did their best to keep the half-empty arena enthuised and they did a good job, but I don’t remember them being so mean-spirited before. The Green Clown took my Dad’s hat and stomped on it. I was not impressed...

Ultimately, the show was lacklustre. The best bits were the atmospheric moments with the Red Indians and the finale (read: the bits they left alone), but ultimately the characters killed any kind of atmosphere that could have been present. This was only made worse by two things; first, the shows small audience and second, the fact that some of the performers seemed like they were going through the motions. There was no sense of excitement like there had been before. I could barely care if our medicine ball made it to the stage let alone into the basket. What enthuisiasm there was seemed forced and unnatural.

This coupled with the mediocre food and poor service made this show the lowlight of our trip. I really feel like we wasted the chance of a good meal elsewhere.
Fortunately these negative comments were balanced somewhat by very positive reviews:

Definitely my favourite attraction, absolutely loved it! The horses were superb, well trained. You really got the feel for western life. Crowd participation was required, everyone cheering for their team and booing the others. Food was okay, although I didn’t manage to eat all mine before they came to take the plates away. Too busy watching the show.

Well worth the money. If you take a package, get this as an extra and you get a discount. Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!

Another:

YEEEEEEEEEHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

This is worth going to see and worth every penny, I took my wife and daughter to see it last year 2007 and my wife can`t stand anything to do with Westerns, but to my astonishment she loved every minute of it..

I was sat beside her and watching her from the corner of my eye and I could see just how much she was enjoying the feeling of being part of the Wild Wild West….

The atmosphere was ELECTRIC you could see just how much everyone was getting involved in the show, and the Rodeo Clowns what can I say FANTASSSSTIC….

And what made it all worth while my wife made a comment saying that even though we were having our food they didn`t stop the show, but hey the stars of the show The Horses, Buffallos how well trained they were..

This show I would deffinately agree for everyone to see and we will be going again this year 2008 providing its open as last year it was only open for two nights before closing down for some time, so we timed it right at going at that time of year to get the show in….

I would say the highlight was when the Rodeo Clowns got you roped in to boo and hiss your rivals (As there are 4 sections) Taking your hats off and waving them in the air when your team in the arena wanted support, it was a total laugh and very enjoyable…..

A CREDIT TO ALL STAFF INVOLVED IN THE SHOW AND THE ANIMAL TRAINERS…….

And another:

I have seen this show many times before now, and i know the plot off by heart (and in fact some of the words) but i still keep going back for more on each of my visits!

The show is breathtaking! Some of the stunts that they perform are incredible! The food is average, they dont give you long to eat! The audience participation makes the show really exciting, parents be warned you may be sent down into the ring!!!

So grab those cowboy hats and give a big “YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAA”

And finally:

A must see show. The main attraction is not the food but the show. The food is a bit of a distraction really. It is good quality if somewhat lacking on the portion size. Unlimited beer? Only if you can grab a waiter to top you up. The show is outstanding. The audience is involved from start to finish and the storyline keeps you entertained the whole time. As I said at the beginning, a must see show.

Not one to remain silent, I signed on to dlrpreview.com and give my own two cents worth. Here's my comment on our show:

I am one of the actors who plays Buffalo Bill in the show (that’s an older photo of me to your right). I thought you might want to hear my thoughts.

It pains me to read the negative reviews, especially knowing that they are honest and accurate. And it thrills me to read the positive ones, which I also know are honest and accurate. The truth is some performances are better than others.

I can guarantee when I’m playing that Buffalo Bill will be energetic, dynamic, and fun, and the show will probably be outstanding. I can’t vouch for the other performers. The food and service I have no control over.

Your best bet, honestly, is to email me from my blog, http://www.thecasualreporter.com and find out when I’m working. Feel free to do so. (There’s a link from there to “Buffalo Bill’s Blog” my other blog, although the content is nearly identical.) Come when I’m playing if you have a choice. You’ll be glad you did.

Then later I added:

My post (above) needs updating. It’s true I’m frustrated that some of our performers have behaved on stage in a way that would warrant descriptions like “tedious, boring, going through the motions, no sense of excitement” and so on. It’s unacceptable.

I stand by my guarantee that my performances will be consistently of the highest caliber but I add that I CAN vouch for a whole lot of the other performers as well, many of whom are excellent and put their heart into their performances. I won’t name them here, but they are in their own right worth coming to see our show.

I just can’t vouch for ALL of the performers all of the time. Check out my blog for more from me: http://www.thecasualreporter.com

I challenge all performers who read this blog to step up to the plate and make the same guarantee to their audience, to themselves, and to their fellow performers, that I did. Many things we have little or no control over, but our own performances, how we work on stage together, is completely within our control. Do your own thing right before you criticize others. We all depend on it.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

New Articles on Buffalo Bill's Blog

I posted a couple new articles on Buffalo Bill's Blog that you don't want to miss: The Pinkie Chronicles: Pinkie singing "Pinkie" and The Adam Bomb Video . The first is a spoof of me imitating Pinkie singing the Suzanne Vega song, "Luka" as "Pinkie". The second is a video of Adam's accidental stunt where his descender breaks and he free falls 11 or 12 meters to the arena surface.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Trent Vance Interviewed by DisneyBrit.com


Several weeks ago I was contacted by Adam Goodger, originator of The Disney Brit Podcast to be interviewed. The Disney Brit Podcast is a collection of podcasts (iPod Broadcasts) created by Adam and his business partner Juz (author of 'The Family Guide' series of books that currently includes Orlando and Disneyland Paris) around the theme of Disney. Adam found me via my other blog, The Casual Reporter and thought our Wild West Show story interesting enough to showcase in one of his weekly podcasts. I agreed, of course, and eventually he interviewed me between scenes of one of the shows. The interview is broadcast in two halves, Episode 14 and Episode 15, which you can access by clicking on the Episode above, clicking here, searching for "Disney Brit" in the podcast section of your iTunes application (download iTunes here for free) or scrolling down to the embedded players below. His podcasts are very well produced. Adam is an excellent interviewer. He asked my thoughts on the characters in the show, on my portrayal of Buffalo Bill, on the evolution of the show, and much more. Since we did the interview in my dressing room you can hear the show in the background through the backstage speakers. Let me know what you think!