Spring Trip - Day 4 - Magic Kingdom

April 10, 2012

Believe it or not, the last park that we will get to is the Magic Kingdom. Certainly not because we like it least, but sometimes it just works out that way and this is one of those times.

After the usual morning routine of a late wake-up and breakfast, we head to the bus to The Magic Kingdom. It's another beautiful day, though a bit on the warm side as we approach the park.

After we go through security and the turnstile, my wife wants to do a little souvenir hunting (yeah, like that surprised you!), so I find myself a chair on the train station and take some shots around the entrance area and down Main Street towards the Castle ... reputed to be the most photographed structure in the world! I might have contributed to that number considering how many pictures I have taken of it since 1971! (Lots of pictures today. You can see the pictures of the Magic Kingdom by clicking here.) While waiting, I decide to check my Disney app and see if there are any dining reservations to be had. The original plan called for a counter service dinner, but since it is so hot, I wanted to see if we could get something where we could sit down in air conditioning and be served. The only places still available were Crystal Palace and Liberty Tree Tavern. Both are all you can eat dinners, but Crystal Palace is a buffet with Pooh and Friends, while Liberty Tree Tavern is all sit down and be served, and no characters. I reserve a table at Liberty Tree Tavern.

When my wife returns, we decide to alter our usual start to a day at the Magic Kingdom, and take the train directly to the new Fantasyland station and see some of the new area. With the Fantasyland expansion which has been going on for quite some time now, the station had been closed and remodeled. It is now open and some of the expansion (The Barnstormer and one of the Dumbo rides) is now operating. (See the pictures.) In the distance you can see the Beast's Castle.

As we head into the original Fantasyland, we decide to ride Snow White's ride (a classic) for the final time ever, as it is slated to be closed and replaced in the Fantasyland expansion with a new Snow White attraction.

From  here we head to Liberty Square to go through the Haunted Mansion - always my favorite attraction - but the line is a bit long so we decide to have some lunch at Columbia Harbour House and then head over to the Hall of Presidents before rechecking back at the Haunted Mansion.

When we return, the line is a bit shorter, but since it always moves rather quickly, we decide it is not bad and get into the queue.

Since we are not in a hurry, we opt to go through the graveyard. As always, I love all of the headstones, the names which come from the original Imagineers who designed and built the original Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. However, since the first time my son (a former Haunted Mansion butler himself) brought the grandtwins here for the first time, this has been my favorite of the tombstones, for obvious reasons. Of course it is spelled differently, but I am happy to share it with Disney legend Marc Davis anyway. (And yes, lots of pictures of the interactive graveyard can be see among all of the rest of the photos from today.) While we are on line, however, it seems to stand still for quite a while. A cast member comes by and informs us that they are having some technical difficulties and for a long time no one is admitted to the attraction. However, before long the problem is solved and we continue along until we are finally in the foyer listening to those familiar words, "Welcome foolish mortal ... "

From the Haunted Mansion we turn back into the "old" Fantasyland and It's a Small World.

When we emerge from our cruise, and a quick trip to Adventurland for a Dole Whip, we head back to Liberty Square where we sit down for a while until it is time for our dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. It is still a while so we sit and enjoy the now cooling early evening and take in the atmosphere and do a bit of people watching until it is time to check in.

After a very enjoyable dinner, it is now about 2 hours before the Electrical Parade and 3 hours before Wishes (fireworks) and I head back to the trains station where I find a chair and a spot to set up my tripod for pictures of both the parade and fireworks. During the wait, I take some pictures of the park as the sun goes down. Also, as I sit and relax waiting for the events, a British family takes a spot right next to me and we spend the evening talking and socializing, making the wait time much more pleasant - and seem quicker. That is one of my favorite things to do in the quiet times at any of the parks - meet and talk with people. Tonight was memorable thanks to some time spent with some nice folks.

Eventually it is time for the Electrical Parade (formerly the Walt Disney World Main Street Electrical Parade). Originally running in the Magic Kingdom in 1972, it is still so popular that many times it has been brought back to replace SpectroMagic, the night time electrical parade which originally replaced it. It returned 2 years ago for what was supposed to be a short run, but here it still is. Tonight, as the opening chords of Baroque Hoedown, the parade's theme song, come over the speakers, I still get goosebumps. (Pictures of tonight's parade can be seen here.)

Now it is time to wait for Wishes.  The fireworks are preceded by The Music, The Memories and You, a multimedia show presented on the castle itself showing guests enjoying their day in the park. Then the main event, Wishes! (And of course the photos of Wishes can be seen here.)

With the end of Wishes, our day is over, and we head back to Pop Century. Tomorrow we will do a second day at Disney's Animal Kingdom, and it will be an unusual one in at least one regard. Stop by and find out why.

(And don't forget that there are three photo sets for today's trip report; the day at the park, the electrical parade, and wishes fireworks.)

Spring Trip - Day 3 - EPCOT

April 9, 2012

This morning starts as all have this week, with a late breakfast at the food court and then a bus trip to the park. Today we will be at EPCOT where the International Flower and Garden Festival is in full swing. I have been here before during this festival, but this is the first time since getting back to my passion of photography. This is what I have been waiting for and anticipating and hope to come away with some superb photos.

As we enter the park, I stop to take some photos of the topiaries at the front of the park. This year the theme there is the original Fantasia. (Yes, of course you know I am going to let you see all of the photos and not just this one. Have a look here.)

Once inside the park we decide that the line for Spaceship Earth is longer than we care to wait, so we continue on. My wife enjoys looking in the Art of Disney store, so while she goes in, I sit outside and take a few more shots.

When she comes out, we decide that we need a drink and head over to Club Cool. (I love watching unsuspecting folk having their first drink of Beverly! Yes, I am bad.)

Next up will be a nice long attraction where we can sit down for an extended period of time. (There will be a lot of sitting and taking it easy this trip.) Naturally, that means Ellen's Energy Adventure at The Universe of Energy. Almost an hour later we emerge and I start to take some pictures of the topiaries and flowers in front of the Festival Center - the former Wonders of Life building. Today is one of the two warmest days we will have on the trip so we want to take it slow, which works out fine as photos of the flowers will be the main order of business today.

EPCOT is full of new plantings for this festival. It is hard to convey exactly how beautiful the park is during this time through photos alone ... but I will try. (You have looked here by now, haven't you?)

We had thoughts of going on Test Track and considered our options. The fastpass return time is now in the middle of our dinner reservations, and with the new policy of enforcing the one hour window printed on the fastpass, the time does not work for us. The standby line is well over an hour and a half, and the single rider line is at 40 minutes, so we decide to pass it by at this point, and head over to World Showcase.

Although we have had a late breakfast, the craving for lunch has started to set in. Originally we had thought that we might have lunch either at the Mexican counter service or China counter service locations. Since we first pass Mexico, we go to see if we could find a table, and all are filled, so we decided to continue on to China. We pass Norway and arrive at China and we are feeling a bit warm at this point, so I ask my wife if she would consider a sit down lunch at Nine Dragons (if they can take a walk-up) where we can sit in the air conditioning and be served. She agrees so we go in and find that they can indeed accommodate us, so we have our lunch there.

Feeling fed and refreshed, we continue our walk around World Showcase, and I continue to find and photograph the flowers and topiaries put out for the festival. And there are many.

As we pass Germany, my wife and I stop into the carmel kitchen and who can possibly resist the goodies they have inside. Not only the commercial, prepackaged caramels (Werthers for example), but caramel goodies fresh made right onsite. We, of course, have to get something, and do.

Continuing along, I stop and take a few moments to photograph the miniature village and trains set up just past the Germany pavilion. We pass Italy and then we continue on until we reach the American Adventure. Air conditioning, seats, The Voices of Liberty, a theater show with more sitting in air conditioning ... we never miss it!

Continuing along our trip around World Showcase, we pass Japan (where we will be returning for dinner) and Morocco and then come to France. As usual, my wife wants to look at the souvenirs, so I find a shady spot to sit - and take some pictures - while she is gone. After a while she comes back ... with a piece of cheesecake and a coffee. She had gone in just to get a coffee, but could not resist the cheesecake.

Continuing around, we decide that we will stop at the UK to sit down, listen to The British Revolution, and wait for our daughter to meet us here. It is Monday so she was back at work, but will meet us in the park and join us for dinner.

We text her our location and sit back and wait for the show to begin. She arrives before it does and joins us on the bench watching/listening to the performance. It's a pleasant way to start the evening, and when it is over we head towards Japan and our reservation at Tokyo Dining.

When dinner is over, my wife and daughter do some shopping at Japan while I head over to a spot I like in front of Germany where I set up my tripod and wait for Illuminations. My wife and daughter join me and we end our day here with Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.

Tomorrow - The Magic Kingdom


Don't forget - all of the photos from today can be seen here.

Spring Trip - Day 2 - Disney's Animal Kingdom

April 8, 2012

Today is a holiday for some, and we hope to avoid major crowds, so we decided that Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK) might be a good choice for today. (From what I later heard, the other parks were also rather uncrowded today as it turns out.)

Our daughter will not be working today since it is Sunday, so since she lives closer to DAK than to Pop Century, we will meet her at the park. Today, as usual, we get up and go to the food court for a late breakfast before heading out.

When we get to the park, I immediately get my camera out, as this is one of my favorite places to take photos - not just in Disney World, but anywhere. (You can see all of today's photos by clicking here.) As we walk to the park itself, I stop for a few photos.

As usual, we head back towards Harambe villiage and the Safari with plans of either getting fastpasses or waiting on the standby line if it is short. It is currently 40 minutes, but the fastpass return window is in about an hour. I decide to text our daughter to see what time we should expect her to arrive so I know if I should wait for her or get our fastpasses now. Since she is on her way, we decide to wait so we can all ride together. We find a table at the Dawa Bar and soon she arrives.

We get our fastpasses and then decide to get some lunch before our fastpass window opens. Usually it is either too hot or too cold to get lunch at Flametree BBQ which only has outdoor seating, but today it is comfortable so we decide to eat there.

Once we are finished it is time to ride the Safari. You never know what to expect, and today we see a rare sight, one of the hippos has left the water. I don't think we have seen that in all the times that we have ridden through the Safari, so naturally I have to get the shot. Happily it is a bright sunny day and I can use a fast shutter speed since the safari truck does have a tendency to be quite bouncy. Also, we are in the front on this trip which helps, as it it quite a bit more stable than the back, where we usually find ourselves riding.

Amazingly, I am able to get another once in a lifetime shot on this safari - of the scariest mammal on this adventure ... have a look! (Yes, it is my wife!)

We have a good driver, and she does make a few stops along the route to see the animals. Yet another unusual sighting is a troupe of mandrills. Most often they are not seen, but today is a charm. What we don't see, however, as we approach Pride Rock, is any of the lions. This is now the second time in a row that has happened, and it has been suggested that with the modifications to the safari (the poachers story will be dropped and that area will have a zebra herd occupying the space) that perhaps the lions will be moved and they might be getting acclimated to their new space, as the zebras currently are doing. Time will tell.

Since my feet are still feeling pretty good, my daughter and I decide to walk the Pangani Trail - while my wife heads to Rafiki's Planet Watch where we will meet her once we are finished.  Within Conservation Station at Rafiki's Planet Watch there is quite a lot to keep her busy, and best of all it is air conditioned and has plenty of places for her to sit while she is there.

Although I usually want to take the walk through Pangani, either my feet are hurting by the time we get here or no one wants to go with me. This time it is early enough in the week and the day so with camera in hand we walk through. One of my favorite animals to photograph here are the lowland gorillas, and sure enough, at one point on the trail, a few members of the bachelor troupe are within sight. In fact, two of them almost seem to be posing for pictures. This fellow seems to be playing peek-a-boo! (Don't forget, more of these photos can be seen here.)

Once through, my daughter and I head over to the train to meet my wife. This is sort of a homecoming for my daughter, since this is where she worked when she first started working at WDW ... almost 12 years ago now. She has since moved on to other roles within the company, but this is where it all started.

We all catch up at Conservation Station, and spend some time in Affection Section petting the goats and sheep, and then head back to the train station to catch the train back to Harambe and head over to Camp Minnie-Mickey to see the Festival of the Lion King. We almost make it before our way is blocked by Mickey's Jamming Jungle Parade. With no other choice, we settle in and watch the parade. Once it passes, we become parade followers until we come to the road to Camp Minnie-Mickey.

Even with the delay, we make it to the show before the doors open, and when they do we find seats and watch the show. This is one of our favorite things to do here, and no matter how many times we see it ... well, a show with Timon and Tumble Monkeys ... it's a must see. Oh yes, don't forget this guy. (Do I still have to remind you where you can see the rest of this photos from today, including the photos from The Festival of the Lion King? No? Okay then!)

At this point, we left the park, and our daughter drove us to see the neighborhood to which they would be moving the day after we go home. Unfortunately they don't get the key until then, but the neighborhood looked very nice, and the next time we are there we will get to see inside their new apartment.

From there we drive by her current apartment to pick up her husband and go out for a very nice dinner.

Tomorrow we will be heading to EPCOT.

Where in WDW? Wednesday

Welcome to the first Where in WDW? Wednesday.

Each Wednesday I will post a photo I have taken in WDW and you will need to guess where it is.

The following Wednesday I will post a new photo, and will reveal where the object in the photo exists.

Hint: Most of the photos will have appeared in previous photos posted on this blog. You will need to check the photo links to find them however.

So let us begin ...


Where in WDW is this?

Post your answer below.

Spring Trip - Day 1 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Day 0 - April 6, 2012

Today we head down to Walt Disney World (WDW) to visit our daughter and son-in-law. We will be flying Southwest Airlines for the first time - they just recently started flying from the NYC airports. The best fare (by far) that I could find had us flying to Orlando by way of St. Louis. This will be interesting.

We arrive at our off site parking and are shuttled to Newark Liberty Airport, where we are dropped off at the Southwest check-in. I must say that our first in-person contact was very pleasant, and as soon as our bags are checked in, we go through security and head for the gate.

I was a little concerned about Southwest's open seating policy, but through 4 flight segments (2 going, 2 returning), I have never seen an aircraft emptied and loaded so quickly. Some of our flights actually left early! I was happily impressed with the whole experience.

The flights both to and from St. Louis are comfortable and timely, and we arrive in Orlando just as my daughter is leaving home to come get us. By the time we get our luggage, we only have to wait a short time for her to retrieve us.

We are already checked into our room at Pop Century, and after a long day it is nice to settle in and get ready for our first full day at WDW.

Day 1 - April 7, 2012

Today is our first full day here, and it looks like it will be sunny, but not too hot. While my wife is getting ready, I decide to take a walk along Hourglass Lake - where our room is situated - to get a look at the new resort currently being built, Disney's Art of Animation Resort.

The original plan for Pop Century called for 2 sections, each on opposite sides of the lake. The Legendary Years (1950's - 1990's) and the Classic Years (1900's - 1940's). You can still see remnants of this plan on the bridge. However, when travel slacked off after 9/11, Pop Century's opening was delayed. The Legendary Years opened, and then the Classic Years began construction. It was decided to stop work on the Classic Years, and for many years the uncompleted resort sat there, like a ghost town as you can see in this picture taken in April, 2004.

The decision to re-theme it and build the Art of Animation Resort has almost come to fruition at this time. You can see the theming of the first three sections, Cars, The Lion King and Finding Nemo already on the buildings. These will be family suites. The final section, now being worked on, The Little Mermaid, will be standard, Value Resort Rooms.

Pictures of this morning walk showing the new resort as well as some Pop Century can be seen here.

Once done, and after breakfast at the Pop Century food court, we take the bus to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Once there, my wife makes her usual visit to Sid Cahuenga's store, and proves her movie expertise by taking a quiz - and getting all the questions correct.

We will be meeting our daughter and son-in-law here this afternoon for lunch at 50's Prime Time Café, but for now we head to Toy Story: Midway Mania to see if we can get fastpasses for later in the day. The standby line is at 90 minutes, and the fastpasses are for after 8:00 PM. As will be the case all this week, we do not rush to get to any park early, and generally arrive each day at about noon.

With our fastpasses in hand, we decide to next take the Backlot Tour. (Photos of this and our day at Disney's Hollywood Studios can be see here.) When it ends at the AFI exhibit, I wait outside while my wife has a look through the gift shop - a recurring theme for this (and most) trips. In fact, our next destination is the Muppets souvenir shop. We don't do the attraction at this point, but while she is in the store, I take some pictures of the area.

It's now time to meet our daughter and son-in-law, so we head towards 50's Prime Time Café. This is always a favorite place to eat - and was in fact the very first place we ate here when the park first opened (and was known as the Disney/MGM Studios). After a short wait our family is called in and we meet our server, who is most certainly into his "cousin" role, and makes for quite an enjoyable meal - not to mention that the food is, as always, quite good, and it is an experience worth having.

As we head back over to the Muppets' area, this time to see the attraction, it is almost time for the Pixar Pals parade, so we find a good spot to watch as the parade passes our position.

Once it is finished, we continue our trip to see the Muppets 3-D attraction. We are enjoying what to us seems a nice warm day, while my daughter and son-in-law are happy that it is cooler than it has been for quite a while, having been a very hot winter. (Our winter was also warmer than normal in the Northeast.)

Before we get there, however, my wife wants to make a stop in The Writers Stop bookstore and pick up a book that she had seen while she was there earlier in the day. We do that and then it is just a short walk to see The Muppets.

It has been a while since we stopped to see Lights, Motors, Action! which is the auto stunt show, so after we are finished here, and since it is just about time for the next stunt show, we head over to the arena. They haven't started letting people in yet, so we have to wait for about 10 minutes, but then we get in, and get a seat. At this point of the day all the seats are in the shade and for a rare change, we are not too hot or too cold watching the show. This is the first time we have seen the show since they have replaced Herbie (The Lovebug) with Lightning McQueen.

When the stunt show was over, the "kids" had to head home since they both had to work the next day, but my wife and I stayed in the park, at least until we were able to use our fastpasses later in the evening.

Since no trip to The Studios is complete without a trip through the movies, our next destination was The Great Movie Ride. This is always good at the end of the day when you are tired and your feet hurt, as you get to sit down for (at least) 37 minutes.

After The Great Movie Ride there is still a bit of time until our fastpasses are valid - and they are now enforcing the one hour window during which you may return. We decide to fill this time with a class at the Animation Academy. Rather than take the entire animation tour, which we have done quite a few times, we head in through the gift shop and find that a class is about to go in and is filled to capacity. This works into our time schedule very well and we get to sit for the half hour until the next class (ours) gets to go in. Our subject for today is Dale (of Chip and Dale), a character which I have only done once before.

When we exit, it is nearly time to use our fastpasses, so we take a slow walk over to Pixar Place and shortly we are able to enter.

With that, our first day is finished and we head back to Pop Century where we will have dinner where the day began.

Tomorrow - Disney's Animal Kingdom


(Remember you can see pictures from today here and here.)

Spirit of Aloha - (Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

When the Polynesian Resort first opened in Walt Disney World in October, 1971, it was a given that it would have some form of Luau dinner show — and it did. That show, with only small changes over the years, ran for many years. On February 19, 2003, in what was a cast member preview, the Polynesian's Luau Cove premiered Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, to replace the one that had run since the beginning. I was lucky enough to have been present at that performance.

Having seen the original luau show as well as the character version many times, I was very happy to see a new show with enough of the traditional luau show to satisfy almost everyone.

The preview period lasted for a week until the official opening in March, 2003

Disney Flashback Friday

This will be my first participation in the Flashback Friday Blog Hop hosted by Deb of Focused on the Magic. For this first entry I don't have to go very far back to revisit what was without a doubt, my family's most special day in Disney World. There have been many special days, but none can match this one. Enjoy!  

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August 24, 2011

It's 5:30 AM and an alarm goes off. My daughter is about to get up and start getting ready for her wedding day. Jason will also be arriving (with his mom) to get ready for the day.

At 7:00 the hair stylist and make-up artist arrives and starts to work. There had been worries that rain might move the ceremony indoors, but as of now, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. So the predicted rain may not indeed become a factor. And anyway, the forecast only calls for a 30% chance of rain by 10:00 AM, the scheduled time of the ceremony.

Soon, the photographer that my daughter has hired (in addition to the one provided by Disney) arrives in the room and starts to work. I do my best to stay out of his way and not play "flash tag" with him, since his will be the more important photos of the day. Still, I manage to get quite a few good shots of the preparation. And then it is time for me to get dressed.

At 9:30 we leave the room to meet the rabbi in order to sign the civil marriage license and the ketubah ... the Jewish marriage contract. The guests, who have arrived at The Boardwalk lobby are invited to join us for this. A quick look outside confirms that it is still sunny and that the ceremony will be taking place outdoors as planned.

We leave the hotel and head out onto the boardwalk itself and walk towards the pavilion where the ceremony is to be held. Once the guests are seated, Jason and his mom, and my wife, daughter and I prepare for the ceremony to begin. The violinist plays and Jason and his mom walk in and take their place under the chupah. The violinist starts to play "When You Wish Upon a Star," and my wife and I escort Iris down the aisle and take our places under the chupah as well. The ceremony begins. I do my best to keep my sniffling under control. It is a beautiful ceremony and Iris and Jason look as happy as can be.

The ceremony ends with Jason breaking the glass and the violinist plays Baroque Hoedown as the happy couple walk back down the aisle, followed by Jason's mom and my wife and myself.

Tables had been set up outside of the pavilion for champagne and cake, but since it is such a hot day, and the sun is already very strong, everyone stays under the cover of the pavilion for the toast (which I manage, somehow, to get through ... only "losing it" a little bit) and the cutting of the cake. The eating of the cake will wait for a bit, since we have arranged for lunch at The Turf Club at Saratoga Springs Resort, and will have it served there. Now, however, it is time for more pictures with family and pictures of the bride and groom around the lake. As hot as it is, these pictures will look amazing when they are ready, and all of the heat, humidity and sweat will be forgotten. Many of the guests head back to our room while both photographers work to get those memories saved. I stay back and watch them work, taking a few pictures myself along the way. The Boardwalk and the surrounding lake present some wonderful photo opportunities both on the beach and on the boardwalk itself.

Finally it is time to head over to Saratoga Springs Resort for lunch. The stretch limousine arrives to take the couple (and parents) there. In the limousine, we all are simply happy to have cold water on ice, and enjoy the short air conditioned ride to the resort. The Turf Club is a restaurant that we have been to a number of times, and Iris worked with the chef to put together a wonderful experience for all of us. We had an area in the back of the restaurant to ourselves, and the staff couldn't have been nicer, friendlier or more attentive to our needs. Remember the cake from the ceremony? It was cut and served for dessert here ... chocolate and lemon cake covered in fondant. Need I tell you how good it was? When it was over, the limousine took us back to The Boardwalk - along with a box of the left over wedding cake - where Iris and Jason would check in to their room. The rest of us head back to our room where we can change out of our formal wear and into something comfortable and relax for the rest of the afternoon. Soon naps are being taken and everyone is getting ready for later, when the final activity of the day will be taking place. But for now the main event is over, the weather held out and the ceremony was able to go on outside as everyone had planned and hoped for.

The final activity of the day started out at The Contemporary Resort marina. We were going out on a fireworks cruise to see Wishes at the Magic Kingdom from the Seven Seas Lagoon. We left from the dock and had a tour of Bay Lake and all of the spots of interest there when we were treated to an up close view of the Electric Water Pageant. This parade, which has been running continuously since the resort opened in 1971, is the forerunner to both the Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic. We then headed over to the Seven Seas Lagoon and soon took our place to watch Wishes. It was the perfect ending to a most perfect day.