Ruffing it in the Wilderness

Ruffing it in the Wilderness. There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you venture into the wilderness. The wide open spaces… the call of the wild… discovering a natural spring, a meandering creek, a nice little waterfall, the beauty of the forest.

Yep… there’s nothing quite like the Wilderness… but lets be civilized too… I do enjoy creature comforts too… and yes…

you can have your cake and eat it too.

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge… ahh… yes… one of my favorite Disney Hotels.

Majestic is one word that comes to mind.

The grand lobby lives up to it’s name….

truly Grand in every aspect.

The Rooms are nice too.

There’s a hot spring right in the grand lobby.

that flows under the bridge, out under the windows and begins the creek outside.

Than flows down to the waterfalls

and into the pool.

Yep… quite majestic!

or take the raised pathway to the docks to

catch a boat or to see Old Faithful.

Yep…a favorite Disney Hotel.

Was that Sam ? Gotta Go !

Down by the Riverside…

Down by the Riverside….

One of our favorite Disney Resorts is

Port Orleans – Riverside.

Formally Dixie Landings

I personally liked the name Dixie Landings, but the combining of French Quarter and Dixie Landings under the banner of Port Orleans must have seemed like a good idea to someone. Never the less, it is one of the most beautiful resorts. The resort is quite large… so a good way to get around is a bike surrey, a wonderful way to have a relaxing ride while seeing all the beauty that abounds.

Like Plantation Mansions of the south… full of magnolia trees and weeping willows…

and beautiful waterways throughout.

…long rose lined walkways

… flowered arches…

or take a carriage ride…

Well… you judge for yourself.

or get a room… and stay a while.

Cruisin’ into History & Culture

[FLASHBACK]

Taking a Cruise on a large cruise ship is a great experience. On an even brighter side… it’s even more enjoyable if you are not prone to getting sick on the high seas. I’ll work on that.

This particular cruise took us on a Carnival Lines Ship, the Glory. I had been on Carnival’s Fantasy before and this was much bigger.

Fantasy was 80,000 tons and the Glory was 110,000 tons of fun. This cruise took us to the western Caribbean…. Leaving from Port Canaveral and stopping at Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya,

Progresso, and Key West. The food was great too!

This time we were on the Verandah Deck.

Here’s a nice sample room…

It was a lot of fun and the ports of call were a mix of Mayan History and local customs and culture.

The Ship was great and shore excursions were a lot of fun. Seeing the Mayan ruins was too bad either.

A great Vacation…

 On the flip side… It was our first time to see what third world countries look like. Near the port is very nice and the surrounding area, the local town near the port are fairly nice with a mix of grand homes & estates and fairly nice normal housing and businesses… beyond the port town and into the outer areas… well… the it’s almost hard to imagine…. and the soldiers that manned the entrance/exit from the port… I wasn’t sure if they were guarding the port from the locals, or the locals from visitors at the port… neither thought is of much comfort. Certainly plan to take another cruise again, but probably not to see the old world of Mayan ruins…. or the third world of poverty. 

Our next cruise is planned… you guessed it…

on the Disney Lines… what else!   

 

Christmas Day Parade

Disney’s Christmas Parade… Tv version vs. Live in the Park.

Seems like that since I was just a kid… we always watched the Disney Christmas Day Parade. I always thought that it would be a dream come true to actually see the parade in person.

Now that we spend several months in Orlando each year, we have plenty of time to enjoy Disney whenever we want.

We have seen Disney’s Magic Kingdom Christmas Parade many times over the years, usually 2-3 times each Christmas Season.

Always a absolute joy, great way to get into the Holiday Spirit.

No One should ever miss it!

Now… having said that…

We noticed that the Televised Christmas Parade is completely different from what you see in the Park. Both parades are great and not to be missed. BUT… the Tv version is just that… a Tv version…. it’s made for Tv… just like any other Tv production. The Tv version contains special performances from entertainers and singers in various locations. Not only Disney World & Disneyland… but also different locations at the each resort. So you could not see in person, everything that you see on the Tv. It also has marching bands and hundreds of dancers from all over the country. There’s also extra floats and those huge balloons that you will only see in the Tv version.

And… since it’s a Tv production… the Tv Parade itself, is not really a continuous parade… it’s recorded in segments and all put together to create a magical parade on Tv.

So… if you go into the Magic Kingdom during Christmas… you will see an unforgettable Christmas Parade… and you will see a lot of things that you see in the Tv version. Watch the Tv version… on Tv… and see a Great Holiday Tradition Christmas Parade in person. BUT… never plan to be in the Park when the actually Tv Christmas Day Parade is being taped. You will see bits and pieces, here and there… and while each bit and piece may be an exciting experience… the parade is not a parade… and the shows… are not really a show. The Tv production itself… while being recorded… is a lot less magical than the end result. We started our experience by seeing, on and off, the same street performers, over a 2 1/2 hour period, doing retakes and retakes… and more retakes… until they got the perfect take for Tv. It was a little less than magical after the first few takes… and so went the rest of the day. So… Hope you got to enjoy the Disney’s Christmas Parade (Tv), and can someday see the Christmas Parade at Magic Kingdom…. Both are Magical!

and… not to burst your bubble… the actual televised Christmas Day Parade is actually taped the first week of December.

Brighten up your day.

Spring, summer and fall have all come and gone… winter is here at last. While there are many things about winter that can be beautiful… nothing quite compares to Spring Flowers. So here’s a few of my favorites just to brighten the prospect of a long winter.

I would love to tell you what kind of flower each is… but in reality… at least for me… names are not important… just their beauty.

Just never know where a great photo will present itself… have your camera ready.

Merry Christmas

Sergeant Joe Friday…

da,da-da…da,da-da, da-da…

Just a quick side trip for my own, and perhaps your amusement. When entering Epcot, we passed through the security checkpoint.

Everything seemed normal.

Than we met Sergeant Joe Friday… Disney Security.

Straight forward… just the facts…

He must have been is serious mode that day…

da,da-da… da,da-da, da-da…. da,da,daaah.

Just One of Disney’s Finest.

Sniffing out possible danger….

Hey… wonder which one of those guys is Gannon?

and who’s got that little plastic bag?

Disney’s Bay Lake Island

[FLASHBACK]

Blackbeard’s Island….

Treasure Island….

Discovery Island…

Abandoned Island….

There’s an Island in the middle of Disney’s Bay Lake. If you take a boat to Fort Wilderness Campground you will pass by the Island. With careful observation as you go by the Island, you can still see some man-made structures slowly being reclaimed by nature. The Island originally opened for visitors as Blackbeard’s Island [1972] and was soon changed to be called Treasure Island [1974]

… still maintaining the Pirate persona, but trying to draw on the image and popularity of the movie… Treasure Island. Several years later [1978] the theme of the Island was changed again with the emphasis on wildlife rather than Pirates, and it was renamed Discovery Island.

With the new persona of wildlife and vegetation, it remained a wildlife habitat until it was officially abandoned with the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom [1998].

So there’s a little history… of an almost forgotten Island… lost in time.

http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/trsislnd.htm

Merry Christmas to All !