Category Archives: Walt Disney World

Magical Memory Monday – Walk Around the World Brick

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We took our first trip to Disney World with children in 1996.  Megan was four and Joseph was 13-months old.  This trip was taken during what I fondly refer to as “the lean years” – you know, the just-starting-out part of your lives when you’re living on love ’cause there’s not much else.  It was a big deal for us to take this trip.  A family reunion was planned at an off-site motel, so we flew down a few days early and splurged for an on-property stay at a value resort.  All Star Music is where we ended up.  In July.  Yes, just imagine!  We knew so little back then!!!  I will say, the Brazilian teens we encountered were very sweet and the girls all wanted to hold Joseph, marveling over his (then) blonde hair and blue eyes.  He soaked up the attention (and candy) they heaped upon his little baby self while he practiced his charm with the ladies at the guitar-shaped swimming pool.

Even though money was so tight back then, we were, of course, completely and totally IMG_1980enthralled by the perfection of Disney World as a vacation spot for The Fam.  We decided on an additional splurge: a Walk Around the World brick to mark our spot at OUR Happiest Place on Earth – even if we couldn’t visit again for a while.  I have found that Disney does a great job of inducing you to make emotion-driven purchases, but that’s another topic for another day.  Plus, I’ve never been a fan of being TOO practical anyway.

IMG_2076So the deal was, you dished out about $250 (if I recall correctly) for a personalized brick paver to be placed on the walkway which had been planned to circle the Seven Seas Lagoon.  Now, unfortunately, the circling was scrapped, but hundreds (thousands?) of us purchased bricks nonetheless.  Look down on the walkway outside Magic Kingdom!  It made us feel part of the magic – even if we couldn’t be there.  It took us a while to go back – about 8 years, but once we made it, it was time to see our brick.

A code on the certificate we received with the brick’s purchase indicated the brick’s location.  Ours started with a “W” so we knew our brick would be west of the Magic Kingdom heading on the walkway towards (but never reaching) the Grand Floridian.  Raymond did the research to narrow down the exact location.  We went in search of our little mark on Disney World.  A lot worn down and worse for IMG_1981wear, we were thrilled anyway when we found it!  Even though a long time had passed between trips, knowing that our hexagonal marker was waiting for us, made it’s very impractical purchase worth every penny.

 

 

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Kilimanjaro Safari

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I must really love the Kilimanjaro Safari!  Every time I take the tour I act like I’ve never seen any of those animals before in my life (and may never see them again).  I take a million pictures.  As if my life depends on it.  Every.  Single.  Time.

I can’t just get in the vehicle and happily listenIMG_3185 to the guide as we go along on our exotic animal-spotting expedition.  I hear, “Jambo, Everyone!” and I immediately start swiveling and craning, camera ever at the ready – snapping pictures like crazy!  WHY!?!!  What causes this irresistible urge to photograph every single animal over and over again?  How many pictures of giraffes eating does one family need?

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If you haven’t yet enjoyed this grand adventure in the Africa section at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – hit it as early in the day as possible while everybody out there on the savannah is feeling perky and moving around.  Once in the park, head for the Tree of Life.  Once you’ve crossed the bridge onto Discovery Island, keep the Tree on your right as you go back along its left side.  You’ll cross one more bridge and then you’ll be in Africa!  The line for the Safari moves quickly and the tour takes about 18 minutes to wind you all around the 100 acres of African habitat.

There are some extremely cool animals to see and, if you’re lucky, many of them get pretty close to you (while you bump along safely in your open-air tour vehicle).  I prefer sitting close to the front (if I can manage it) and at either end of the bench seat (to minimize the number of times I accidentally take a picture of the back of someone’s head).

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Among the many animals you can see (and photograph!) are rhinos, lions, wildebeest, IMG_5319crocodiles, antelope, giraffe hippos, elephants, okapi, mandrills, and many others.  Go ahead, take some pictures.  I’ve decided that for some of us, that’s just how we answer the call of the wild.

Off the Beaten Path – Disney World Photo Ops

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IMG_2021We all want to have Disney World vacation photos taken in front of Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle, Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Sorcerer’s Hat (maybe).  Those are the quintessential pictures we treasure, of course, and that’s where the Disney Photo Pass photographers are located/easiest to find.  What I want to talk about today is this:  Where else around the World can we snap some photos that’ll make awesome, if a little less iconic, treasures?

When I’m looking at our vacation pics*, I find I really love these off the beaten path, lesser known photo-ops and the funny (some are hilarious) moments captured there.

If you’re planning to go to Disney World, here are some different photo locations you might consider:

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The Beanstalk! (Magic Kingdom’s Fantasy Land) and The Snowman (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)

 

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Tiki Man (gift shop at the Polynesian Resort), Toy Soldier (Pixar Place, Studios)

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The Great White Shark (Living Seas, Epcot)…give that guy a toothpick!

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I found Nemo! – Also at Epcot’s Living Seas (just steps away from the seagulls that yell “MINE!”)

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I don’t know if it’s still there, but some custodial-type cast members joined in the fun with us at this giant Coca-Cola bottle (in the Studios, if I’m not mistaken).

*Just a note about the picture quality – these are, for the most part, pictures of pictures due to the tragic and unfortunate loss of digital copies our home suffered in the “great computer crash of 2011”.  Sorry they’re not better this time.

If you’ve been to Disney World before, I invite you to look back over some of your most beloved photos from all around the parks – what locations (aside from the big four) were your favorites?

Magical Memory Monday – Disney’s Grand Floridian

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Ceiling of The Grand Floridian

Way back in December, 2007, we were booked on the Disney Cruise Line’s Western Caribbean itinerary to celebrate both the New Year and Megan’s upcoming high school graduation.  If you are cruising out of Port Canaveral, it’s pretty hard to be that close to The Happiest Place on Earth without sparing at least a couple of days for a visit.  So, we’d planned a short post-cruise jump to Disney World – very short, like two nights’ stay short.  In light of that, I thought it would be nice to stay at the Grand Floridian.  We do like the monorail hotels best of all – location, location, location!  And the Grand Floridian is so, well, grand, we thought it would make a nice finale to our vacation.

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The Orchestra at The Grand Floridian

The cruise was fantastic (especially Key West and Grand Cayman) but our sailing had experienced especially rough seas.  With seriously BIG waves.  Good thing none of us are prone to seasickness (or sympathetic vomiting ’cause that had been going on all over the place).  It’s true:  Disney goes all out when weather conditions are adverse; planning extra on-board activities and events, but they can’t do anything about the loss of sleep that’s inevitable when closet doors are crashing open with every giant sway of the ship.  Lots of noise.  All. Night. Long.

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What is the View from our Room Like?

Needless to say, when the cruise was over and we reached the Grand Floridian, we were all very tired and cranky (to put it mildly).  I let The Fam wrangle the suitcases while I made my way to the front desk.  I know I was standing there in an exhausted daze waiting for the man to bring up our reservation, but I was suddenly snapped out of my stupor the second I heard him say, “Oh!  You’ve been upgraded!  Let me call someone from concierge to take care of you.”  WHAT?  A little sprinkle of pixie dust later and a nice concierge lady whisked us away to the concierge lounge where we sat in comfy seating while she explained details about our room and the amenities we would be enjoying.  She said that our early arrival meant our room was not quite ready but…”You’ll love it because…..well, I’ll just let you be surprised”.  So she made a note of Raymond’s cell phone number, sent our luggage away to be stored, and encouraged us to go enjoy the parks as she’d be certain to give us a call when our room was all set.

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The View from our Room

Sure enough, when we got back to The Grand Floridian after a fun, full day of park-hopping, our room was perfect.  The food in the concierge lounge?  Perfect.  The service?  Perfect.  The Disney-Pixie-Dust-Sprinklers couldn’t have possibly known what it would mean to us to receive this most pleasant surprise after our high seas adventure, but we will never forget what a special, magical experience it was.  And the view from our room?  Just GRAND!