Finishing Off Disney

Thursday and Friday                                                              Most Recent Posts
February 9 and 10, 2017                                                You Have to See it To Believe It: Part 2 of Animal Kingdom
Hollywood Studios, Epcot                                         The Bad, The Good and The Irritating – I Could Use Your Help
and Magic Kingdom

 

As you can see from the dates above it is way more than time to FINISH off Disney. This post has been sitting around now for 10 days. The OWL/Live Writer Problem appears to be with google (of course) and specifically google photos so we’ll see if this one goes or not based on a suggestion to a board I posted to back when I felt better than now.  David made himself coffee two days in a row.  He must be nearly well to care about coffee.   Thanks so much for all your concern.  Reading your comments has been the bright part of my day.

 

THURSDAY

 

First thing on our agenda today is to meet up with the busy Paul and Marti Dahl.  They are here with their son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters.  We’ve all been very busy these last days but today the parents are going to visit a friend and so the girls and their grandparents are around for us to stop by.   Not sure where those darling girls were when I took this picture, on the golf cart I think.  Seems each of them was to have 5 minutes of “driving time” but little Lizzy wasn’t taking her big sister’s turn too well.   LOL!

It was wonderful seeing them if even for such a short time.  They look well and happy.  What more can any of us ask.

After that we bike up to the Outpost bus stop for our ride over to Hollywood Studios.

When we arrive, Mickey and Minnie are there to great us.  Well topiary Micky and Minnie.

 

The decor is mostly from the Hollywood of the 50’s, right down to the price of gas.

 

 

That’s right 19.9 CENTS a gallon.  Nearly 10 gallons for $2.00.

 

Our favorite thing at Hollywood Studios is the movie about the life of Walt Disney “One Man’s Dream”.  It is at the end of a long set of exhibits of his life and creations which is wonderfully done.  I’ve heard rumors that this may be closing or being moved.  I certainly hope not.  We see it every time we come here.   This is my favorite picture of Walt.  My favorite of his quotes is “I hope we don’t lose sight of one thing….it was all started by a mouse.”

 

From there we head to use our fast passes for The Great Movie Ride, another of the things that we always do and never tire of.   Like “It’s Tough to be a Bug”, the wait line for this ride makes the time fly right by.  There is continuous feed presentation of the history of movies by Turner Classic Films.  Each time we have done the Great Movie Ride we have come back afterwards to watch the whole thing.

 

 

The ride itself takes you through scenes of classic movies.  How many can you identify?

 

 

 

On our way out of Hollywood we were stopped by these guys marching down the street.
There is a LOT of Starwars at Hollywood Studios these days.

 

 

I love having park hopper passes.  From Hollywood we could hop a boat and go back to the international gateway ouside of Epcot and spend the afternoon there.  Without the park hopper option, you are limited to one park per day.

 

Once we got back inside Epcot after the bag search and the Magic Band scan we walk the other way around the World Showcase Lagoon from earlier in the week when we visited and saw the films in Canada, France and China.

This time we find the amazing Japanese drummers performing.

 

 

 

 

 

From there we wander by Epcot’s Garden Railway Miniature Train.  The very impressive layout was created for the 1995 Epcot Food & Wine Festival. But the display turned out to be so popular that it's become a permanent fixture of the Germany Pavilion.

The detail is amazing.  The village the trains run through is based upon a miniature 1950’s Bavarian village. There always seems to be something new happening as village and countryside are decorated for special events like holidays. It’s fun to try to determine what has changed since the last time you were here.  They add shaped topiaries during the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival; small Marketplace Kiosks for the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival; and Christmas decorations during the holidays.

In Person, if you look closely, you can find a wedding taking place.

The trains move through the village and into the countryside, in tunnels and over bridges, past people and live “trees” and shrubs in the country side. 

 

 

 

You can view the set up from the front edge and also from a bridge that goes across it.

 

 

As the sun sets we catch the always wonderful and always different Chinese Acrobats.

We leave the park as the sun sts over the Lagoon.

 

Friday

We close our stay at Disney World the same way we opened it, at the Magic Kingdom.
This is definitely not the wisest planning since it seems Mondays and Fridays are heavy days here.

 

We wander down Main Street enjoying the wonderful architecture of turn of the 20th century middle America.  They say Main Street was inspired after Walt’s home town in Marceline  Missouri. 

 

This time on Main Street David doesn’t meet the mayor.  Not sure how this Plains Indian Chief with a robe came to be on Main Street but the two seem to get along well.  I assume he was once a Cigar Store marker for those in the early 20th century who couldn’t read just as Barbers had striped poles and cobblers often had shoe signs.

 

The castle forecourt has a circular drive in front of it around which the parades go.  Just before it on either side of Main Street are two parks.  Each has has a fountain and bronze statues of favorite Disney Characters.

 

These are my favorites.

 

In taking pictures of them and the detail, flash worked better some times than others.

 

 

Speaking of parades, the Move It, Shake It, Dance Party comes around the circle as we begin to walk toward Fantasy Land.

 

 

 

 

Walking up the path beside the castle moat, on our way to Dumbo in Fantasy Land, a couple takes pity on us trying to do a selfie and offers to do it for us.  Pretty good job given the subjects.

As we go by Winnie the Pooh, I vow one day I am going to get down and go into Mr Sanders home in the base of that tree and see what it looks like.. Notice the wait time for the ride is 40 minutes

 

There are actually two Dumbos, one for the fast pass holders like us and one for the stand by holders. 

 

 

 

 

 

Time for lunch.  On our way to the restaurant we pass through Adventureland and find Captain Jack Sparrow and his first mate recruiting members for his crew.

 

We always seem to come to the Magic Kingdom twice during our five days.  While we don’t always eat out,  my faovite place is hands down the Columbia Harbor House in Liberty Square where they have a very decent lobster roll and GREEN VEGETABLES.

 

We come out of Harbor House to find the street roped off for the Festival of Fantasy Parade.  No matter how many times we’ve seen it, it never fails to be exciting and bring smiles and cheers to everyone’s faces.

The costuming is amazing and so are the floats.  It’s a fantasy all right.

 

I’ve always wanted to wear one of these gowns and do a Vienese Waltz.

 

 

Peter’s Lost Boys.  Sorry you can’t see their tails.

 

 

 

The fire breathing dragon always brings down the house – well not exactly since there is no house but you get the idea.

 

 

From there we head over to Pirates of the Caribbean where we explore the alcoves off the fast pass line.  It seems the Pirates watery adventure lies behind or underneath a lovely hocienda with a flowered courtyard and beautiful doorways.

In Disney World as everywhere, the beauty is in the details and the journey, not the goal, is to be savored.  We’ve found wonderful things we’d never seen before when we looked around the waiting lines in every ride.

 

After Pirates, we are just in time to catch what is becoming one of my favorite street performances, a Muppet take on American History entitled “Great Moments in History”.

It takes place next to the Hall of Presidents which is closed for the installation of our latest president.  Thank goodness the Muppets give us something to laugh at.  Notice in the window cut out in the eave  triangle of the building, Sam Eagle, the ultra patriotic American eagle who is forever trying to set a high moral standard for the Muppets.

 

 

Sam wishes to discuss the signing of the Declaration of Independence as a Great Moment.

Sam is joined by A (human) town crier in Colonial-era garb as well as the puppets  Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and The Great Gonzo in the second-story windows of the adjacent Heritage House building

 

Kermit in a tricorn hat plays Thomas Jefferson and has to inform Miss Piggy there is no role for her since this is about the founding fathers.   She quickly fixes that by becoming Queen Georgette.

 

When she realizes that George III loses the war, she quickly reincarnates herself as Georgette Washington.

Much to poor Sam’s dismay.

 

But all’s well that ends well as they aeys have it to pass the Declaration and Gonzo’s all chicken chorus joins them for a hearty rendition of the song “Great Moments in History”

 

 

The day is waning as we walk from Libery Square through Fantasyland and catch a ride on the Carousel.

 

 

 

David is blurry as he is determined to get my picture.

 

 

The sun sets behind the castle as we move down toward Main Street.

 

Our last stop before saying Good-bye to Disney world is of course an All American Sundae.

 

On our final boat ride from the Kingdom, the full moon shines over the water as we return to the dock.

 

It lights our way home to Winnona waiting at our site in Fort Wilderness.  Tomorrow we leave headed for Rainbow Springs State Park.