Where in WDW? Challenge 145

It's time once again to play our favorite quiz game ... Where in WDW? where you get to test your knowledge of Walt Disney World. Everything shown will be in areas where guests can see them - in other words, no backstage shots. From time to time, however, you may be asked to identify something that was but no longer exists. Have fun ... either post your guess in the comments below or other location on which this was posted.


Last time you were challenged to identify Where in WDW you would find this ...

This can be found above the train station at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom.

Didn't get it? Well, here is another one for you - Where in WDW? would you see this?

As usual, make your guess in the COMMENTS section below or other location on which this was posted and then stop back next time to see if you were correct.

Word Filled Wordless Wednesday - A Mouse In The House

It's Wednesday, so time to link up with Deb Silhan's/Focused on the Magic's Word Filled Wordless Magic. This week the topic is, A Mouse in The House ... and Like Deb, it was the 50's TV shows that brought me into the fold.

Like most kids my age - in the US at least - I grew up knowing that my Sunday nights would mean watching Walt Disney and Ed Sullivan. Naturally I was more interested in Walt than Ed, though I did enjoy Topo Gigio. But of course it was a different mouse that I looked forward to seeing, and that was Mickey. Over the years Walt Disney's presence on Sunday night was legendary. Although the name of the show changed many times, my favorite segments were always those that showed Walt's little park, Disneyland. I loved watching all of the rides and attractions, and the people enjoying them. The only problem was that Disneyland was on the totally opposite side of the country, so while I enjoyed watching the shows about Disneyland, I never seriously thought I would be there. People really weren't in the habit of flying for vacations yet. And this being the fifties and the sixties, there was only one Disney park.

I watched with great excitement as Walt talked about four new projects though. He told us that a lifelike Lincoln who would stand up and speak was being developed. And how about that ride where you would drive a car through history, from the dinosaurs to the caveman to the present and the future? Or that other history ride where you would sit in a theater which moved from scene to scene from the beginning of the twentieth century to the very modern present of 1964!! And finally he told us about a boat ride through the countries of the world - with little children singing a wonderful Sherman brothers' song. (Shhhh ... I heard that!)

What made this so exciting for me was the fact that I would actually be able to experience all of these attractions! They were being prepared for the State of Illinois, Ford Motor Company, General Electric and Pepsi/UNICEF. They were going to be at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair, and since I lived in New York City I knew I would see each of them a number of times. And I did.

And then, before school was out for the summer of 1968, my parents (teachers by profession) informed me and my brother and sister that we would spend our summer vacation driving cross country. You know what that meant? We would be in California ... and Disneyland was in California. (Oh yeah, a few other things as well, but ... Disneyland!!!)

The end of June came ... school was out for the summer ... and we were on the road! Yes indeed we saw some great things on the way out there, but Disneyland was the "wienie" as Walt would have put it. And then, on July 26th, 1968 the day came that I finally got to go to Disneyland. (I just realized for the first time that 10 years to the day later, my daughter - the current Walt Disney World Cast Member - would be born.) I remember the excitement as we saw the Disneyland sign from the highway ... the highway which had no signs about the park. How exciting it was to finally be in the parking lot, about to have my parents buy that booklet with the ABCDE tickets in it? The wonderful things I saw on my black and white television (we wouldn't have color TV until late in 1969) now appeared before me (as they would say on TV) in living color ... ready to capture with the same Ansco Cadet camera that I had used at the NY World's Fair!

As we walked into the park and underneath the Disneyland Railroad, Main Street and the castle (The Castle) appeared before us.

I couldn't wait to walk down the street and look into all the stores which I had seen on Walt Disney's Sunday night television shows.

How many times had I seen an animated Tinkerbell (who I still insist is a jealous/murderous sprite ... a strange choice as a corporate spokesfairy) splash the front of the castle in an array of color to start another Sunday night Disney show? To me it looked so large and amazing standing there at the end of Main Street - the famous "wienie" Walt wanted in the center of the park.

But of course, the most exciting things were the attractions. I wanted to ride the Jungle Cruise, which I had seen so much of on TV. I had to experience something that was still unique to Disneyland back then - the steel rollercoaster type ride that was the Matterhorn. I couldn't wait to ride the traditional dark rides which were not super scary as they were back home in Brooklyn (at Coney Island), but much more family friendly with Disney characters. And what about Walt's fleet of submarines - or the skyride ... or the monorail ... and the other rides and attractions that I had seen for so long?  I had to do it all. But I think the attraction that I wanted to see the most, was the newest. I watched it take shape over the years on the Sunday night tv program, and now I would get to see it in person ... The Pirates of the Caribbean! And I wasn't disappointed. (The Haunted Mansion, which became my all time favorite - and still is - wouldn't be open until my 1969 visit. My son would be working in the Walt Disney World version at the moment 1999 became 2000.)

I also had to see the four World's Fair attractions which I had experienced just a few years earlier back at home; Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (Illinois), The Grand Canyon Diorama on the train trip around the park (Ford), Carousel of Progress (General Electric) and It's a Small World (Pepsi/UNICEF).

It was exciting finding out which type of ticket each attraction required, then ripping the appropriate one out of the booklet for admission. And as always ... the day ended much too soon. I would be back the next summer, and again a few times since I have been married, but nothing can match the excitement of that first time.

Today, as a frequent visitor to Walt Disney World, I get a completely different feeling upon walking in to that first park - whichever it is on that trip - from the excitement of my first time in Disneyland. Today is more of a comfortable "I'm home again" feeling.

But The Mouse didn't stop at my just my house, but now also inhabits the houses and families of my grown children. Right from an early age, my daughter and then my son came under The Mouse's influence. Between TV and trips to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, they were as much fans of all things Disney as I was.

When he was in college, my son spent a semester working at Walt Disney World as a participant in the college program. He got to celebrate the turn of the new millennium in the Magic Kingdom ... INSIDE THE HAUNTED MANSION!!! It had closed to guests for the duration of the New Year's Eve celebration, but as low man on the totem pole, my son had to stay inside so that they attraction could keep running since as soon as the celebration was over, guests would be readmitted!

A year later, his older sister - now having graduated from college - also participated in the college program. However, her plans were different from her brother's ... she would stay on and make Disney her career! From her start in Conservation Station in Animal Kingdom ... through her days at the front desk at Caribbean Beach Resort (with brief stops at All Stars and Grand Floridian), since 2006 she has been a systems analyst in Disney's IT department.

Today, if you ask my granddaughter (her daughter) what she wants to do for the day, she'll tell you, "Go to Disney World" ... the mouse infestation has reached yet another generation of my family!

(My grandsons - my son's sons would tell you the same thing if they didn't live over 1,000 miles from WDW!)

Thanks Deb for hosting this week's Word Filled Wordless Wednesday!

Where in WDW? Challenge 144

It's time once again to play our favorite quiz game ... Where in WDW? where you get to test your knowledge of Walt Disney World. Everything shown will be in areas where guests can see them - in other words, no backstage shots. From time to time, however, you may be asked to identify something that was but no longer exists. Have fun ... either post your guess in the comments below or other location on which this was posted.


Last time you were challenged to identify Where in WDW you would find this ...

This can be found above the entrance to Columbia Harbour House in the Magic Kingdom.

Didn't get it? Well, here is another one for you - Where in WDW? would you see this?

As usual, make your guess in the COMMENTS section below or other location on which this was posted and then stop back next time to see if you were correct.

Planning

It's been a while since I participated in Wordless Wednesday which now is Wordful or Wordless - which is a good thing since I do like to use a lot of words! 
This week's theme is planning, which for me has changed quite a bit over the years. At one time it including travel plans, as well as lodging in Florida and ticket purchases. Occasionally it included dining reservations which often meant that we had to figure out which park we wanted to go to on each day of our trip. As time went on, however, the situation changed. In 1999 my son took part in the Disney College Program in Walt Disney World, followed in 2000 by my daughter. While my son came back home, my daughter never did - as was planned - and we found ourselves visiting WDW much more often which changed how we "did" the parks. No longer did we feel that we had to see everything or do everything. We would go to the parks late and (most often) leave early. We still had to plan on getting a room (which I usually left to my daughter to arrange) and possibly one or two dining (or dinner show) reservations, but more and more as the years went on it became much more open and spontaneous - even with the advent of Fastpass and Fastpass +.
Then a major change occurred and we became snowbirds. Our house in Florida is not in the Orlando area, but it's only about an hour's drive to WDW, so our visits became even less planned. Often I would get up in the morning and decided to drive over for the day. I might make a dining reservation - or not ... I don't usually eat at the "normal" meal times so getting a walk-in is almost always possible. I might make a few Fastpasses if something interests me ... or wait on standby ... or perhaps not even do any attractions on that particular day.
But the biggest change has been the birth of my granddaughter in 2015. When I used to watch my grandsons in NY when they were very young, my wife and I would take them to to local playground for the day. We do the same thing for our granddaughter, however the local playgrounds are named, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Ask her what she wants to do on any particular day and she will tell you, "Go to Disney World", and we do!
Planning for these trips usually amounts to seeing what "Brooke friendly" attractions have available Fastpasses including character meet and greets. She has just recently gotten her first autograph book and really enjoys meeting the characters and getting her book signed. 
And while she is just now becoming familiar with the princesses and other face characters, since she was just a few months old, she has been meeting the classic Disney (fur) characters with enthusiasm! That's not to say that she doesn't like the rides as well. She is just reaching the height where she can get onto some of the more active attractions - and she does appear to be happiest on the more daring rides. 
So today a visit to a Disney park is different than it was a number of years ago, and the planning has changed quite a bit for us ... as has what a day in the park looks like.

Where in WDW? Challenge 143

It's time once again to play our favorite quiz game ... Where in WDW? where you get to test your knowledge of Walt Disney World. Everything shown will be in areas where guests can see them - in other words, no backstage shots. From time to time, however, you may be asked to identify something that was but no longer exists. Have fun ... either post your guess in the comments below or other location on which this was posted.


Last time you were challenged to identify Where in WDW you would find this ...

This can be found around the corner from the entrance to Les Chefs De France in EPCOT.

Didn't get it? Well, here is another one for you - Where in WDW? would you see this? (Once again I have removed the wording - you need to tell me what it says.)

As usual, make your guess in the COMMENTS section below or other location on which this was posted and then stop back next time to see if you were correct.

Where in WDW? Challenge 142

It's time once again to play our favorite quiz game ... Where in WDW? where you get to test your knowledge of Walt Disney World. Everything shown will be in areas where guests can see them - in other words, no backstage shots. From time to time, however, you may be asked to identify something that was but no longer exists. Have fun ... either post your guess in the comments below or other location on which this was posted.


Last time you were challenged to identify Where in WDW you would find this ...

This can be found over the entrance to The Darkroom at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Didn't get it? Well, here is another one for you - Where in WDW? would you see this? (I have removed the wording. Tell me what WAS there.)

As usual, make your guess in the COMMENTS section below or other location on which this was posted and then stop back next time to see if you were correct.

Where in WDW? Challenge 141

It's time once again to play our favorite quiz game ... Where in WDW? where you get to test your knowledge of Walt Disney World. Everything shown will be in areas where guests can see them - in other words, no backstage shots. From time to time, however, you may be asked to identify something that was but no longer exists. Have fun ... either post your guess in the comments below or other location on which this was posted.


Last time you were challenged to identify Where in WDW you would find this ...

This can be found by the Dawa Bar on the path to the Festival of the Lion King theater in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Didn't get it? Well, here is another one for you - Where in WDW? would you see this?

As usual, make your guess in the COMMENTS section below or other location on which this was posted and then stop back next time to see if you were correct.