Monthly Archives: June 2015

When Dinosaur used to be Countdown to Extinction

Posted on by

Welcome to Saturdays With Nick!  This week we’re taking a look back in time at an attraction that looks back in time!  Whether you love it or hate it, Dinosaur in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is full of interesting details and has a history all its own.

When Dinosaur used to be Countdown to Extinction

By Nick

One of my favorite rides at Walt Disney World is Dinosaur, located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Dinosaur is a dark ride that takes us back to the Cretaceous Period, aboard a Time Rover, to bring back a live dinosaur, dangerously close to when a large asteroid is going to hit the earth. Along the way we encounter many species of dinos, and come very close to getting hit by meteorites.

Did you know, however, that the ride was initially called Countdown to Extinction? It was changed to Dinosaur to promote the film of the same name, released in 2000. At that time, there were several changes made to the ride, including toning down some of the more frightening effect elements, and making the ride itself less intense.

I was not fortunate enough to ride the original, but do have a few items from that period, including this button.
The button is lenticular, starting with the Carnotaurus in the distance…

…and, suddenly, he is upon Mickey!

I also have a book, “Countdown to Extinction, A Hologram Adventure to the Age of the Dinosaurs”,
from Disney Press, by A. J. Wood, illustrated by Chris Forsey.

.

From the back cover:

Catch the mistakes in the Dino Institutes Files on a holographic adventure through the prehistoric past. The Dino Institutes Files have been corrupted by a computer error and there’s only one way to find the mistakes. Climb aboard the Time Rover and explore the age of the dinosaurs, but be careful: the past is filled with a hungry Carnotaurus, meteor showers, and erupting volcanoes. With vivid illustrations and holograms on every page, this exciting book ties into the knew Countdown to Extinction attraction at DinoLand U.S.A., part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, and brings the dinosaurs back to life.

Throughout the book, we are asked to find the mistakes in the Time Rover Files.

For instance, we are asked to look at the picture and find 2 mistakes. The files state that these tiny chicken sized dinosaurs, Compsognathus, were 98 feet big. That would be a big chicken! So, error number 1. The file states that the Compsognathus has five fingered hands. Clearly the picture shows they have three, so we have mistake number 2! I feel so smart!

Can you tell which is the T-Rex and which is the Triceratops?  YOU are smart too!  We are getting the Time Rover files all straightened out!

Speaking of Time Rover, I’ll be featuring MY very own Time Rover in a future post, so please stop back.

For more Disney adventures with Nick and his wife, Barbie, follow Disney Musings on your favorite social media:  Disney Musings Blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, On Instagram, On Pinterest.

5 Reasons to Take a Disney Cruise (Without Kids)

Posted on by

RM-Meg-&-Joe-Dressed-For-PaloI’m not trying to rub it in or make you jealous, but we’ve successfully completed the child-rearing phase of our lives and are in the “reaping the rewards” part.  They’ve flown the coop, our offspring, and when we vacation together, we are now all grownups and enjoy each other’s company in a completely different way than we did when our children were younger.

On our most recent vacation, we made the most of our grownup status and embraced all that Disney Cruise Line has to offer adults-only traveling parties.  And it was fun!  Looking back at the highlights of being aboard the Magic as she made her inaugural cruise through the Norwegian fjords, I discovered it was easy to come up with a quick list of…

5 Reasons to Take a Disney Cruise (Without Kids)

1. Mixology Class – That’s what we chose, but there were loads of options for learning about adult beverages!  Other seminars like chocolate and liquor tasting, tequila and margarita tasting, martini tasting, and mojito and caipirinha tasting were also offered.RM-Keys-Mixology

2. Cove Café – We let Megan and Joseph sleep in while we ate breakfast in Cabanas before dropping in at the Cove Café – an adults-only specialty coffee shop full of peace, quiet, and tons of amazingly delicious coffee options!RM-Cove-Cafe-Counter-Disney-Magic

3. Movies Anytime – First run movies are shown in the Buena Vista Theater throughout the day and night.  We caught Avengers: Age of Ultron in 3D on our last at-sea day in a very uncrowded, virtually kid-free theater.RM-Buena-Vista-Theater-Disney-Magic

4. Staying Up Past Our Bedtime – What a blast we had!  We loved the Irish Trio called Runa that was performing for the first three nights of our cruise so much – we went to see them all three evenings.  We even bought their CD and asked them to autograph the cover – which they were happy to do for us.RM-Runa-Irish-Music-Disney-Magic-NorwayWe saw Paul Zerdin‘s (ventriloquist/comedian) show and were hysterical with laughter.  We played several games of trivia and had a ton of fun (even if we didn’t win a single game).  Keys, O’Gills, and Fathoms in the nighttime adults-only entertainment district had something for everyone…including late-night snacks and excellent bar service.

5. Kid-free Dining – We were on the Magic, which has Palo – a grownup Italian eatery.  RM-PaloYes, there’s an upcharge per person, but the view (dining room surrounded by windows on the uppermost Deck 10), the quiet, the exceptional service, and the menu make for an extraordinary experience!  Try the Chocolate Soufflé for dessert – you won’t be sorry.RM-Palo-Chocolate-Souffle

Bonus Perk:  Doing Whatever We Wanted – whenever we wanted!  (And there was no whining.)  When we wanted to meet characters, we did!RM-Viking-Goofy RM-Meeting-Thor-Disney-MagicWhen we wanted to have a glass of wine and an “All Hands on Deck” cheese platter in our stateroom in the afternoon, we did!  When we wanted to sleep late, we did!  When we wanted to visit with new friends (I’m talking about YOU, Linda and Phillip) – we had plenty of time to do that, too.  It was guilt-free!  We were together most of the time – doing grown-up stuff (and some not-grown-up stuff) as a family and having the time of our lives.

Have you taken a kid-less Disney cruise?  What was (or would be) your favorite part?

7 Elements of a Great Disney Vacation

Posted on by

RM-BalloonsFor our family, after so many years of Disney vacations, there are certain aspects…particular elements I’ve identified that make each trip fantastic and unique.  So many things are the same – which is what brings us back, right?  Favorite rides, beloved snacks, c’mon! The pre-show dialogue for Soarin’ or MuppetVision3D, the upside-down singing ‘possums on Splash Mountain or hearing “We Wants the Redhead” on Pirates or even the smell of Rome burning on Spaceship Earth are all awesome and have each become an expected treasure on every trip!  Today I’m talking about the DIFFERENCES that are important.  Gee, this is harder to explain than I thought it would be.

There are very identifiable somethings on each and every Disney vacation that make a trip memorable.  If our vacations were all exactly the same, it would be hard for us to distinguish one trip from another – see where I’m going with this?  Every Disney vacation is memorable for a particular list of reasons – I’ve thought long and hard about this!  Here are the…

7 Elements of a Great Disney VacationRM-Fiesta-Donald

1. Characters – Because he’s my favorite, I’ll use Donald for this example.  On one trip to Disney World a few years back, Raymond and I ditched the kids allowed Megan and Joseph some time on their own one morning.  In Magic Kingdom, Raymond and I ran into Frontierland Donald and were able to have our picture taken with him – I remember how tiny he was and how I had to lean down to hug him.  During this year’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend, I met Fiesta Donald at the Mexican Pavilion in Epcot.  He was particularly funny and made ma laugh a lot.  And let’s not forget the Donald interaction that made me a fan for life.  All the same character – but each interaction was completely different and made unique memories for each vacation.

Cast Member in Norway Pavilion2. Cast Members – Some of them are generic – pleasant, but generally unmemorable.  I’m talking about the extra-special, Pixie-Dust-specialists that make your day, or even your entire trip, extra Disney-ish.  I talked about the critical importance of Cast Members in this post and I stand firm by my assessment – Disney Cast Members are crucial in making each vacation magical and memorable.

3. The Perfect Souvenir – Lots of times, it’s a single Disney pin trade that we remember because we found a particular pin we’d been hunting for.  Maybe it’s several pins – like the Orange Bird collection I started in 2012 and completed in 2014.  We fondly remember the Disney cruise we were on when we bought Remy for our kitchen.  Every time someone compliments my watch I think about our first Food & Wine Festival trip last year for our anniversary.  See?  Inexpensive or a splurge – the perfect souvenir can set one Disney vacation apart from another in your mind.

4. A Particularly Memorable Meal or Snack (or two or three) – Because it’s such an importantRM-Magic-Kingdom-Parade-Watching-1996 tradition to sit down together and relax at the end of the day, our family tends to remember particular table service dinners the most (Flying Fish comes to mind as one of the best memories).  Food and fun combos make me recall certain moments so clearly – having Mickey bars in Animal Kingdom just after getting completely soaked on Kali River Rapids.  Enjoying some Casey’s Corner fare while waiting for the parade on Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom – I remember it so well and that was 19 years ago!

5. Magical Details – There are always new discoveries to be made!  Hidden Mickeys, footprints in the walkways in Animal Kingdom, the windows on Main Street USA or in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, interactive queues…too many to name, but finding new and interesting, funny or clever Disney touches makes us happy – AND makes great vacation memories.

6. Live Entertainment – On a Disney cruise, on the Boardwalk, around Epcot’s World Showcase,Epcot's Voices of Liberty parades, musicians, comedians, magicians…For us, finding these unique and wonderful entertainers makes our vacations extra memorable.  I will remember the details of the first time I heard the Voices of Liberty forever.

7. A Hilarious Happening…that will later become an inside joke.  Megan’s face when she found out SHE was the Rebel Spy!  Joseph “getting engaged” to Drizella at 1900 Park Fare.  That snake in the China pavilion at Epcot…all these and dozens more unexpected, unplanned and perfectly wonderful moments are precious – like souvenirs in our memories that set each Disney vacation apart from the rest.

I really want to know!  What elements for a great Disney vacation are on your list? 

Disney Cruising in Norway

Posted on by

I have so much to tell you about the Disney Cruise vacation we just took through the fjords of Norway!  I’m virtually overflowing with experiences to share, food to discuss, adventures to describe – so much happened in such a short time, I can scarcely decide how and where to begin.  I know there’s no way you’ll be as excited to hear about our vacation as I’ll be telling you about it, but I figured that by offering you some of the trip’s highlights, it might give you the big picture about what you can expect in more detail over the days and weeks to come.

Disney Cruising in Norway – 33 Favorite (Random) Moments!

The excitement began long before we landed in Copenhagen, Denmark where we would board the Disney Magic.RM-View-From-the-PlaneJetlag could only be beat by making great plans that kept us moving forward!  First, a Segway tour of Copenhagen where we saw some amazing sights and learned a lot about the Kingdom of Denmark.RM-Segway-Tour-Copenhagen RM-Segway-CopenhagenThen, a much anticipated visit to Tivoli Gardens – the amusement park (originally opened in 1843) that  was an inspiration for Walt Disney in planning Disneyland.RM-Tivoli-Gardens-ArchWe were thrilled to find some awesome rides, an interesting and beautiful aquarium, and…RM-Tivoli-Octopus-Ride Tivoli-OctopusRM-Tivoli-Gardens-Big-Beerthat they serve very large beers with dinner.

At the port in Copenhagen, the Disney Magic was waiting – as beautiful as ever.RM-Disney-Magic-Stack RM-Disney-Magic-DeckThe Disney service and wonderful Cast Members made us feel pampered.  April and Andres were our servers – the best we’ve had in a long, long time.RM-Disney-CM-AprilWe tried new foods and enjoyed some old favorites.RM-DCL-Lunch-Lumiere's RM-DCL-Mickey-BarWe learned about Mixology in Keys and enjoyed incredible Irish music in O’Gills.RM-Mixology-Keys RM-Runa-O'GillsOf course, our stateroom host, Kenneth, was a towel-animal artist of exceptional talent!RM-Towel-Elephant-DCLI got to meet Commodore Tom, the Magic’s captain, who is from Norway and was beyond excited to take the Magic’s passengers on this inaugural voyage through his homeland.RM-Meeting-Commodore-TomMegan and Joseph were busy meeting new people, too!RM-Meeting-Captain-AmericaIn every port, we enjoyed incredible, amazing adventures – the likes of which we’d never experienced before!  In Stavanger, we took an extraordinary hike to Pulpit Rock – I really cannot wait to tell you all about this particular excursion.RM-Pulpit-Rock-MapIt was a LOT of hard work walking uphill for such a long way, but then?  I was sitting on top of the world.RM-Pulpit-Rock-SelfieAlesund, the next port we visited, was a perfect place to explore by kayak.RM-Alesund-Sea-Kayaking RM-Alesund-NorwayGeirangerfjord was better seen by bicycle.  I’m not going to lie – it was very cold with sleet and rain, but SO worth the effort.RM-GeirangerfjordRM-Geirangerfjord-Snow RM-Geirangerfjord-Bicycles  In our last port, Bergen, we learned the most about Norwegian history.  We discovered the meaning of this statue…RM-Bergen-Fish-StatueExplored one of the most interesting places I’ve ever visited…RM-Bergen-Museum RM-Bergen-Norway

And found out what everyone’s favorite Norway Pavilion snack in Epcot tastes like in its natural setting!RM-Skolebrod

We celebrated…RM-Joseph's Birthday RM-Cheers!We Froze the Night Away…RM-Freezing-the-Night-Away-PartyWe enjoyed breathtaking views…RM-Geirangerfjord-Waterfall RM-DCL-Norway

And we had the most amazing time!

Come back soon for the entire trip report, excursion details, food and beverage reviews, and tips for taking your own European Disney adventure.  If there’s anything in particular you’d be interested in knowing more about or if you have any questions, leave me a comment here or over on Facebook.  Thanks for reading!!!