Lovin' Disney

The last couple of weeks have flown by!  The last weekend of March we enjoyed the musical stylings of The Lovin’ Spoonful (Summer in the City, Do You Believe in Magic, Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?) at Epcot.  Did you know that they were the first rock band to have their hit song, Nashville Cats, on both the pop and country charts at the same time?  The band includes original members Steve Boone and Joe Butler along with Jerry Yester (who joined the band in 1967) and provided a nice mellow evening with their folk/rock sound even if both shows were exactly the same including jokes. J

 

Instead of staying for the Epcot fireworks we met Joe and Nancy at Magic Kingdom to watch its fireworks, Wishes.  Since we’d be beginning our trek west soon, this was probably going to be the last chance we’d have to see them this season.  The place was packed, but we managed to find some seats for viewing.

The FastPass+ program has now been expanded to allow Annual Pass holders to also reserve FastPasses online.  So we managed trips back to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for a couple of our favorite attractions, but I didn’t take the camera either time so I have no proof that I finally beat Russ at Toy Story Mania!

 

Our last trip to Epcot was the following weekend.  In addition to the topiaries (more pics below), they had created a sand sculpture to help announce Disney’s upcoming movie, Bears.   From what I gather it’s filmed in the mountain ranges of Alaska and documents the lives of two mother bears and their cubs over the span of one year.

 

This weekend’s concert series featured Paul Revere & the Raiders (Hungry, Kicks, Indian Reservation).  We arrived for the 6:45 show, and Paul, who is 76, didn’t seem to be as energetic as usual though still quite sharp and funny. His left arm was in a sling but no mention was made of it during either show, and he walked out using a cane assisted by his
son, Jamie, who’s now playing with the band. He crammed many of his hits into the 30 min. set, and every time they played a song, he’d say “I think that was a solid gold hit, let me check”, then hit a button on his keyboard, and a cash register ka-ching! would sound, and he’d say “yeah, it was!” He also noted that his was the first rock group to
ever perform at Disney World and they have played somewhere in the park every year since 1971.  Lead singer, Darren, also does a great impersonation of Elvis which they play up to the audience by giving out "scarves" which are pulled from rolls of toilet paper...what a hoot!  We stayed for the 3rd show, too, which is pretty much the same with a few variations.  If you’ve never seen the band, these master musicians are quite entertaining and Paul is a riot.  He just might truly be the “last wild man of rock and roll”!

 

After the last show instead of watching Illuminations again, we decided to take one last ride on Spaceship Earth (called the big golf ball by most people) since there was literally no line.  We’d be leaving FL in a few days, and it was a lovely, relaxing way to spend our last day until next season.  So for now I’ll simply leave you with more topiary pictures to enjoy.