A Magical Fantasy

It’s great having a Disney World annual pass because we can go over to any of the parks for just a couple of hours instead of rushing around trying to experience everything in one day (or even a week) like so many others.  Before RVing we’d go for a week’s vacation, arriving at one of the parks the minute it opened and not get back to the hotel until after the fireworks were over at one of the other parks.  Those were long days but we were much younger then.  J

 

Late morning on one chilly, overcast day we headed to Magic Kingdom and got to watch as the crane was busily removing the icicle lights from Cinderella’s Castle.  This process actually takes several weeks to put up and take down, but we don’t understand why they just don’t leave them up all year.  They are so amazingly beautiful at night, but then again, it’s just one of those “limited time” events for folks to look forward to during the Christmas season.  We also were able to catch part of the Dream Along With

Mickey show that takes place right in front of the Castle and features Mickey, Minnie, and their friends as they celebrate the magic of dreams.  Several characters appear throughout this 20- min. live stage show, and there was a large crowd by the time we arrived so no close-up shots.

 

We’ve seen it several times so didn’t stay till the end because we needed to get to Liberty Square to use our Haunted Mansion FastPass before it expired.  (This is the horseless carriage located just outside the mansion.)  From here we had plenty of time to get over to Fantasyland to use our FastPass on the newest of Magic Kingdom’s

rides, the much anticipated Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  Yes, we had finally been able to get a FastPass for this hugely popular ride!  On our way through the queue we passed their house, and at the very end of the ride, we got a peek inside as they partied.  Unfortu-nately, we were hugely disap-

pointed in this attraction and were

so thankful we hadn’t waited 80 min. in the standby line to ride it.  Maybe it was that the hype had just been so huge and our anticipation so high that caused our disillusionment.  However, maybe we’ll give it another try one of these days, but it definitely won’t be by standing in line.

We wandered around some more stopping for a bit to watch the 47-ft. tall, 3-tiered Liberty Belle Riverboat go by as it was making its 1/2 mile journey around Tom Sawyer Island.  Located in Frontierland, the Island is a fun
      place for kids to run, play, and explore and is only accessible by these log rafts known as the Becky Thatcher and the Huck Finn.

 

From there we ventured over to Tomorrowland where we enjoyed
   the fun and laughter of the “live” comedy show, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (no photos allowed inside the show). Then it was on to the relaxing Transit Authority People Mover, a slow moving 10 min. narrated ride above the crowds through and past many of the other attractions in
Tomorrowland.  Now it was time for our last FastPass for the day, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and once again Russ beat me at the game but only by 100 points this time.

 

      One reason we came at this time of day was so we could catch the Festival of Fantasy Parade, a daily event that was introduced for the first time last year and one we had never seen.  We found a spot near the entrance at Main Street and
    caught a glimpse of Snow White leaving after having her picture taken with many adoring fans (just one of the many character greetings).  We figured she was headed backstage to appear in the parade, but we were wrong as she was not seen.  There are more
   than 100 live performers and many floats based on such Disney favorites as Beauty & the Beast, Little Mermaid, Tiana, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and many more including of course the princesses from Frozen.  The costumes and
       floats are amazing! For instance, Tangled (based on the story of Rapunzel) takes place on a 36 ft. long, 29 ft. tall ship with “ruffians” atop swaying pendulums (brave guys!), while Merida from Disney’s Brave stands atop an enormous bagpipe.  One of the most
magnificent floats is 53 ft. long and 26 ft. tall featuring the dragon from Sleeping Beauty.  It actually breathes fire but unfortunately I couldn’t get a shot of that…maybe next time.  Though Prince Philip walks the route ahead of the dragon, our Sleeping Beauty Aurora was nowhere in sight.  The
    tallest float is the last one, Mickey’s Airship, which stands at 32 ft. high and carries Mickey and Minnie in a hot air balloon.  These photos are just a few of the floats in this fabulous and well developed parade that takes its audience through a fun magical fantasy!

    The following week we returned to the Magic Kingdom, but this time we got there about an hour after it opened and the day was clear and sunny…quite a difference.  We arrived just as the trolley was making its way down Main Street with the Dapper Dans barbershop
   quartet on board entertaining as they rolled along.  The Mayor and one of the “Citizens of Main Street” were also there to greet the crowds.

 

We continued meandering up Main Street towards the Castle, when
   what should come around the corner but the trolley!  It’s on a specific schedule and was going to wait there until it was time to once again head back to be part of the Main Street Trolley Show so of course I had Russ snap my picture
     (touching the Clydesdale is not allowed).  We walked a little further back down Main Street and found a place to catch the show, and it was the perfect spot because a few minutes later several period
     costumed citizens came running out of the store across the street right past us to peer into the ice cream shop window. It was closed so they were knocking on the door and windows then suddenly turned and ran up the street to “catch the
   trolley”, sing, and dance.  The show is performed several times each morning, making 3 stops along Main Street, and on this particular day we caught two of them.  Just part of the fun and magic of Disney!

 

  We strolled towards the back of the park and decided to check out a spot that we’d always seen from the People Mover but never visited, the Tomorrowland Arcade.  It has lots of video games towards the back, and a little gift shop plus pinball machines in the front.  Russ just couldn’t resist playing an actual pinball machine, something you don’t see much of these days, and especially since it was only 50 cents.  He actually played 3 games, paying for 2 and winning one as a bonus game!

 

We continued wandering through the park heading towards Fantasyland, just checking out the sites and people watching, and then headed to Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean after first watching some little kids try their hand at being pirates with
the help of Capt. Jack Sparrow. 
From there we ventured over to Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café for lunch, something we almost never do at Disney but decided to splurge today.  We came in through the back way where Russ warmed his hands by the fire (no, it wasn’t cold just a photo op J).

 

   It was time for our next Fast Pass which was for the Jungle River Cruise, a relaxing fun little attraction where visitors board a riverboat and travel along the rivers of Asia, Africa, and South America, passing all manner of animatronic creatures like these elephants.  Each boat has a skipper
who narrates a humorous corny rehearsed script, but it seems they allow the skippers plenty of room for ad libbing especially at the end when you’re waiting for the boat in front of you to dock.  Some narrators are better at delivering the lines than others but it’s still fun for all.

 

Almost directly across from the Jungle Cruise is the Enchanted Tiki Room, a place we haven’t visited for a couple of years.  We had heard that refurbishments had been done, and we did see some enhancements.  It’s basically a Hawaiian themed musical show housed in a circular room featuring audio-animatronic singing birds, flowers, and totem poles.  Just another fun little Disney attraction!

 

We made our way back over to Tomorrowland for another ride on the People Mover before it was time for our last FastPass of the day, another ride on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.  And yes, once again, Russ beat me but this time by 4,300 points…I never win!

Citrus Bowling

Happy New Year!  Hope your year started off as well as ours did (and no, it did not involve rolling fruit at objects J).  Our Missouri Tigers football team played in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day held here in Orlando.  Russ had looked online, and through a link on the university’s website, found seats for $9 each plus tax and a fee of $5.75 to have them emailed…yes, really.

The game was scheduled to start at 1pm, but we arrived at 7:30am, set up the grill, and cooked ourselves up some breakfast before enjoying some Bloody Marys (that’s what’s in the red cups above).

We were the first to arrive in this particular lot so were able to get a 
great spot right across from where the Tigers would be arriving.  The Missouri equipment truck was already there as was their opponent’s just a few yards down the road.  Mizzou was playing the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and a huge contingent of MN students had arrived to cheer on their team.

 

The team buses began showing up a couple of hours after we got there, coming in stages.  The first bus carried mostly staff, practice squad, and second string players.  About an hour later, arriving with a police escort bearing Tigers flags on their motorcycles and logos on their helmets, came the rest of the team, and there were plenty of Mizzou fans waiting to cheer their arrival.

 

There were lots of pre-game events though we didn't attend any (most cost a pretty penny).  However, a little further down from the Gopher’s equipment truck was a tent with a private pre-game party with visits from each team’s band, cheerleaders, and mascots.  Since this part of the event was outside, we had walked down in time to see/hear some of the Missouri band and cheerleaders and even got

a close-up of Truman as he left to head towards the stadium.  Just outside our stadium entrance was a small group of the Minnesota band that had stopped to entertain the fans by singing “Hey Baby!” which seems to be a standard with many college bands.

 

   This was the first college bowl game held here since the recent renovation of the stadium last year.  About 90% of it was torn down and replaced over a period of nearly 10 months…really an amazing feat when you think about it!  Once inside we easily found our seats which turned out to be really

great.  They were in the upper deck in the corner, almost directly above the tunnel from where the Tigers would emerge, and close to the band and other Mizzou fans though it seemed that there were way more Minnesota fans in attendance!

 

    Pre-game consisted of brief musical selections from each of the college bands (Mizzou at left, MN below left) plus a performance by the All-American Spirit Squad consisting of several hundred cheerleaders and dancers.  Only the nation’s best between the ages of 12 and 21 were selected to join in the pre-game and halftime events.  The Universal Cheerleaders

Assn. (UCA) and the Universal Dance Assn. (UDA) held tryouts at summer camps last year for the opportunity to perform.  Joining them on the field were 50 All-Star Mascots who were also chosen from UCA summer camps around the country, and only 12% of the mascots trying out earned the chance to perform (below right).

The national anthem was sung by the a capella group Voices of Liberty and near the end two Air Force fighter jets flew overhead.  I wish I had snapped a photo of the flyover, but my hand was over my heart and I was so wrapped up in experiencing the moment that I didn’t think of it till the moment was gone.  (The pilots were from Tyndall AFB and got a rousing ovation when they were introduced on the field at the 3rd quarter.)

It was a great game, though the first quarter was a little unnerving with the Tigers down 7-0.  It was still a little too close for comfort at the half with Mizzou up 10-7, and even going into the 4th quarter only being up by 2 points.

        But the Tigers prevailed, bowling over the Golden Gophers with a 33-17 win in front of a crowd of 48,624.  What a game…what a win!

 

      Near the end of the game Coach Pinkel was doused with the obligatory bucket of Gatorade, and I actually got a couple shots of him “enjoying” his shower!

 

Missouri’s defensive end, Markus Golden, was named Citrus Bowl MVP, but this half of the defensive dynamic duo dubbed Golden-Ray
insisted on having his pass-rushing partner, defensive end Shane Ray onstage with him to accept the award.  As Ray said, “We dedicate everything to each other.  Without him, there can be no me. Without me, there could be no him. We’ve always fed off of each other.”  A couple of very humble and classy guys.

 

We headed back to the car and hung out for awhile waiting for the traffic to die down.  We watched as the players came out the team entrance to greet family, friends, and fans, and each was carrying his own large Papa John’s pizza.  They had definitely worked up an appetite and earned it!