Since Toy Story Midway Mania opened in May 2008, we have been staring at this particular prop waiting for it to do something. We always assumed that just like the real Mr. Spell toy, it would scroll text and speak at some point. Well, 4 years have gone by and finally, this has happened:
So, it’s not completely working yet, but there are signs of life at least. We can only hope that he’ll start speaking as well in the coming days… stay tuned.
I should mention that, while your information on this website is usually very accurate, this prop actually DID work and displayed that exact same as well as similar barker-like messages when the area first opened (As I may or may not have been working across the street from it at TSM! during the opening!) It wasn’t until about 6 months later that he stopped scrolling messages. I have never witnessed him speak though.
For example: this image is a night time shot from October 2008. http://www.flickr.com/photos/linnettealissa/3036705603/