One Man's Dream

A couple of days after our visit to Animal Kingdom, we headed for Hollywood Studios which did not yet have the FastPass+ system in place.  One of the big attractions there is Toy Story Mania, and we figured if we got there right when the gates opened, we could ride it at least twice by getting a FastPass to use later, getting right on the ride (minimal lines that early), and then use our FastPass when we
got off the ride.  Depending on the return times, we might even be able to get another FastPass and ride a 3rd time before the lines and return times got too crazy.  However, when we arrived, we learned that the ride was down for technical difficulties but that we could get a FastPass and use it for any time during the day instead of just the 1 hour window.  They estimated a couple of hours before it would be functional.

 

With time to kill we ventured over to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream.  We hadn’t been through this self-guided gallery in many years, and it seems to have gotten an upgrade.  We remember it as being kind of boring and not much to it, but now there seemed to be lots to see.  It’s full of memorabilia from the Disney archives with some

never-before-seen items, all of which help tell the story of Walt’s life and the creation of his vision.  At the end of the gallery, you can watch a 15-minute film narrated by Julie Andrews and even Walt himself in rare audio recordings.  Really a fascinating exhibit, one that we’re sure many overlook, and we had in the past but just might visit again because there’s so much to see and.  It was quite a dream this man had!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      By 10:30 the ride was back up and running, and while Russ stood in line, I quickly grabbed another FastPass since the return time was still early enough.  This 4D ride is loads of fun and is themed like a shooting gallery of carnival games.  Wearing 3D glasses, you take aim at 5 different games throughout the ride.  Russ beat me both times, but it looks like we need lots more practice to reach the highest scores already achieved that day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   In between those two games we wandered around some more and even found Sorcerer Mickey!  There were plenty of kids in line for a photo op so we decided to continue on our merry way.

 

One of the most entertaining things at Hollywood Studios are the street performers, collectively known as the “Citizens of Hollywood”.  They appear on the “streets” performing mini-skits, interacting not only with each other but with the guests as well.  In fact Russ was a participant several years ago when a “policeman” issued him a "citation"!  As is the Disney

way, the “citizens” are in full character as they make their way to their designated spots.  Sometimes you don’t run across any, and then others times like today you find several.  Just being in the right place at the right time and not being in a hurry.  They sure are fun to watch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few days later we headed to Epcot, another park which had not yet instituted the FastPass+ program.  We arrived at opening with the intention of riding on Soarin’ at least a couple of times.  It’s such an incredibly popular ride that FastPasses can be all given out before noon so the first thing we did was get a FastPass to use when we got off the ride the first time.  This trip we actually set a new personal record for riding Soarin’…4 times before 10:30AM!!  (Our previous record had been 3 before 11:30AM.)  When FastPass+ hits Epcot, this won’t be possible so we enjoyed it while we had the opportunity.

Not A Plus For Us...Yet

The month of January tends to be a slower (meaning less crowded) one at Disney World so the perfect time to visit the parks.  We decided to check out Animal Kingdom on what looked to be one of their slowest days of the year because we wanted to try out the new FastPass+ system that was being rolled out gradually throughout the parks.  It had been in place at Animal Kingdom since mid-Dec.  The original FastPass system allowed you to save time not waiting in
long lines for many of the more popular rides and attractions.  By inserting your admission ticket into a machine at the ride, you were issued a paper ticket indicating the time to return.  The new system, FastPass+, moves into a more high tech realm eliminating the paper passes.  It’s supposed to moderate wait times and allow you to make reservations for certain rides/attractions.  Guests staying at a
Disney resort hotels can make reservations up to 60 days in advance on their computer. However, those staying elsewhere or folks like us with annual passes need to make their same-day reservations at one of the FastPass+ kiosks located inside the parks.  Another drawback - you can get only one FastPass+ per attraction per day with a max of 3 total. So if you wanted to ride
Kilimanjaro Safari twice, you could reserve one and would have to use the stand-by line for the other thus making the stand-by lines even longer than they normally are.  Disney also limits the combinations of FastPass+ reservations you can have which keeps guests from using all of the park’s most popular rides/attractions on the same day, a plus and a minus.  On this particular day we wanted to find out
more about the new system and give it a try.  Shortly after arriving we found a very knowledgeable cast member who answered all of our questions and pointed us in the direction of the nearest kiosk.  The line was a little long, but there were several cast members with tablets eager to assist since there were only 2 kiosks at this station.  The cast member did all the work which defeated the purpose of us to trying it out ourselves, but we got 3 booked.  The computer automatically picks your times, but you can make some changes/adjustments if availability allows.

 

After riding Kilimanjaro Safari (photos above), our next “reservation” was an hour away so we wandered around checking out the critters on the Tree of Life (previous post) and rode the Primeval Whirl (a first for us) located in the Dinoland area.  It’s probably geared more towards the younger set, but since there was barely anyone in line, we thought we’d give it a go.  Basically it’s a
roller coaster with cars that spin in circles while traveling on tracks (thank goodness it was a short ride!)  Each car holds 4 riders and we were crammed in with a father and son.  The ride is themed as a time travel machine taking you “back in time” to when the dinosaurs lived, and I managed to get a couple of photos before the spinning started including one from the top overlooking the area.










 

As we continued our stroll, we came upon a cast member who was there to offer information and answer every possible question you could have about the American Crocodile. Like we’ve said before, sometimes just being able to take the time to wander around with no agenda can be the most enjoyable, and this was one of those days.  Though we only used 2 of our 3 reservations (you have to pick 3), we’re not sure this new system is such a plus for us…at least not at this time. 

How Many Can You Find?

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, the centerpiece of Animal Kingdom is the145 ft. tall, 50 ft. wide Tree of Life with its approximately 325 carved animals making up the trunk and roots of the tree.  On a recent visit, we were leisurely strolling through the park, taking in some of our favorite things, and just enjoying our
surroundings with far less crowds than usual.  On this laid back day we took some time to view the Tree from a few different angles throughout the park and see just how many different creatures we could find.  What a fun day…sometimes it’s just the simple things in life.

So here for you are several pictures for you to see how many critters you can find. (Remember to click on any photo to enlarge.)  It’s only a fraction of what’s on the Tree, and some will be quite easy to spot as they are zoomed in, but be sure to look all around because there might be one or two hidden that you might not readily see!

It's A New Year!

What better way to start off the new year than a visit from Russ’ sister and her husband!  We picked them up at the airport on the 1^st, they spent their first night with us in the RV after enjoying some homemade lobster bisque and a yummy prime rib roast we had prepared, and then spent the remainder of their nights in hotels on Disney property.  However, we saw them every day during their stay.

One place none of us had ever visited was Disney’s Art of Animation Resort that opened in 2012.  This is one of the value-priced hotels on Disney property created especially with families in mind featuring 4 of their most popular themes: Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid.  Located throughout are giant versions of various items and characters from the movies.  We wandered through 3 of them but never made it over to The Little Mermaid…maybe next time.
















          Christmas decorations were still up at most of the resorts and it was one of the things Terri definitely wanted to see this trip.  We rode the monorail to The Grand Floridian which is always incredibly beautiful any time of the year but especially at Christmas time.  When we arrived, a cast member dressed in period costume was singing songs from Disney movies accompanied by a pianist dressed in black tux.  We wandered through several of the shops, and from one of the
decks marveled at the newest pool where an upside-down Mad Hatter’s hat fills with water and then dumps onto guests below!  Nobody was in the pool since it was too chilly but you can see how fun it would be!  From there we continued our ride to the
  Contemporary Hotel, again wandering through the shops and checking out the decorations, and then rode to the Polynesian Hotel for a relaxing cocktail even though their decorations were no longer up.

Another day we met up with them at Epcot’s Japan to watch Bill’s favorite, Matsuriza, traditional Taiko drummers.  They're amazing and just watching them made my arms hurt...such strength needed!  We wandered in and out of most of the shops (do you see a theme here?!), stopping to watch the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps, and finishing with nachos and margaritas in Mexico.

  Continuing with the shopping theme (plenty of grandkids for Terri to buy for!), one day was spent at Downtown Disney where there are plenty of stores and always plenty of photo opportunities not the least of which is The Lego Store with lots of Lego built items on display.  Terri
took our picture with Buzz Lightyear, and I snapped one outside of a “vacationing family” all of which are completely made of Legos.  After a quick and yummy lunch at the Earl of Sandwich (www.earlofsandwichusa.com/), it was off to more stores including the World of Disney, the world’s largest Disney Character store. Don’t forget to look up because there are all sorts of characters and scenes hanging from the ceiling!

Sunday we drove them over to the Contemporary Hotel where they’d be spending their last two nights.  The monorail drives right through part of it, and I’ve tried several times at Christmas to get a photo of the Mickey head wreath but it’s almost impossible from inside the
   monorail.  However, being in the parking lot I was finally able to get a decent shot (the monorail was even on the track heading in!) and then got one of it all lit up that night when we went back over to watch the fireworks from the rooftop of their building.

 The Castle was still draped in its "icicles", but the fireworks were a little disappointing from up on the hotel's roof mainly because most of them didn’t appear over the Castle.  The wind didn't help matters as it pushed them even further away, but I did get a couple of decent shots, even one including the Castle.  We returned to their room and were also able to catch the Epcot fireworks in the distance from their balcony.

Epcot

Epcot




   The hotel is located on Bay Lake and every night the Electrical Water Pageant winds around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.  Shortly after the Epcot fireworks finished, the Pageant had made its way past The Contemporary and we watched from the balcony.  It
  consists of 2 strings of 7 barges, each carrying a 25 foot tall screen of lights depicting sea creatures moving and changing in time to the music and then concludes with a salute to the Stars and Stripes set to a patriotic medley.

Their last day in town was spent at the Magic Kingdom.  We caught up with them around noon and watched the Hall of Presidents audio-animatronic show before heading back towards the front of the park going through nearly all the shops on Main Street.  At one point we even got to enjoy the Main Street Trolley Show as dancers/singers disembarked from a horse-drawn trolley and entertained the crowd with a couple of songs.  We also stopped at the Crystal Arts Shop to watch a gentleman demonstrate the age-old art of
glass sculpting…pretty amazing!  The temperature was starting to drop rather quickly so we caught the monorail back to the hotel where we visited for a bit longer before heading home.  It was a great visit, but time just flew by all too quickly.