Tag Archives: Disney World

Epcot’s Living With the Land

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RM-Living-With-The-Land-SceneAs with each and every Walt Disney World attraction, Living With the Land will not appeal to everyone.  In truth, it’ll probably appeal to fewer folks than most rides and that’s just how it is.  It’s not breathtaking like Soarin’ or thrilling like Mission: Space and Test Track, but it IS unique and special in its own way.  It harkens back to Epcot’s roots (HA! You’ll get that one in a minute) and is both entertaining(-ish) and educational (but still fun).  Plus, it’s a realistic, behind-the-scenes look at the heart of Walt Disney World.

Decidedly slow-moving, Living With the Land takes guests on a boat tour.  No, not like Magic Kingdom’s Pirates of the Caribbean or Splash Mountain – this tour hasn’t got any singing animals nor does it take you to a world of make believe.  Living With the Land mostly keeps you in the here and now while, in it’s own unique and fascinating way, shows visitors how Epcot uses the most cutting edge agricultural and aqua-cultural techniques to feed Walt Disney World guests.  It’s also packed with lessons on the effects of climate and environment on organic food production.RM-Living-With-The-Land-Production-and-Research-Sign

If Living With the Land sounds boring to you, you’re not alone.  Many people pass up what certainly sounds like a major snooze-fest.  I’d like you to reconsider.  It will eat up a whopping 15-or-so minutes of your Epcot day, but there’s rarely a wait!  The Land pavilion has Soarin’ and one of my favorite snack places, Sunshine Seasons (chocolate croissant, just a suggestion), but if you need a break, want to relax, are tired, hot, or trying to maybe save your legs for a runDisney event, you really can’t ask for a better attraction than Living With the Land!RM-Living-With-The-Land-Tunnel

The tour is made up of two halves – the first explains the Earth’s different agricultural environments and challenges.RM-Living-With-The-Land-Scene RM-Living-With-The-Land-Landscape-SceneRM-Living-With-The-Land-Buffalo-SceneThe second part (which is SO cool!) shows how Epcot raises large quantities of produce to use in Epcot’s Garden Grill and Sunshine Seasons restaurants and demonstrates the use of soil-less and other modern agricultural techniques to reduce the use of natural resources and incorporate natural pest control.RM-Living-With-The-Land-Produce RM-Living-With-The-Land-Greenhouse RM-Living-With-The-Land-Banana-Plant RM-Living-With-The-Land-Agriculture-AreaThere are also displays of modern aquaculture – I’m talking tanks of fish!  Interesting-looking giant “vats” of eels, catfish, tilapia and more.  There is also an alligator-raising area.RM-Living-With-The-Land-Aquaculture-Area RM-Living-With-The-Land-Fish

So maybe your FastPass for Soarin’ isn’t good for the next 20 minutes – whatever the reason, you should consider hopping a boat for the Living With the Land experience.  There’s a little bit of something for everyone and, even if you’re not into educational vacation experiences, you’re bound to see something interesting.

Have you ever tried Living With the Land before?  What did you thing about it?

 

Disney World History – Out With the Old

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RM-Mickey's-PhilharMagicI am so pleased to welcome back Andrew Carrieri as a guest today!  Andrew is passionate about history and can always be counted on to offer up some awesome tidbits of Disney history for our enjoyment.  I want to hear from you!  What do you think when Disney replaces a ride or attraction with the latest and most popular movie or character?  What attractions are at Walt Disney World now that you’d like to see replaced with a newer theme? (Andrew can be found as a contributing writer at The Mouse For Less and on Twitter @AndrewCfran)

Disney World History – Out With the Old

Throughout the history of Walt Disney World, numerous attractions have been shuttered and replaced by attractions that are more connected to current happenings. For example, in 1994, Disney replaced “Magic Journeys,” a 3D show in Fantasyland, with a stage show called “The Legend of The Lion King.” This show, a retelling of The Lion King, which was at the time Disney’s new hit movie, entertained guests until 2002, when it closed to be converted to “Mickey’s PhilharMagic.”

Below, I will discuss three other instances where Disney changed attractions based on current trends.

1) “Stitch’s Great Escape” replaces “ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter” (2004): Despite being the centerpiece of the 1995 Tomorrowland overhaul, “Alien Encounter,” a theater-in-the-round show, never caught on because many guests deemed it too scary, especially considering its location in the Magic Kingdom.RM-Stitch's-Great-Escape

“Alien Encounter” closed in late 2003 and was replaced by “Stitch’s Great Escape,” another theater-in-the-round show, which features the alien from Disney’s 2002 film Lilo and Stitch. The attraction’s Stitch animatronic is arguably the best animatronic ever created by Disney, but “Stitch’s Great Escape” has received consistently bad reviews since its debut. People say it stinks, and I would agree with this assessment because Stitch’s chili dog burp doesn’t smell that great. Still, I thought the show was funny and an upgrade over “Alien Encounter,” which I ironically found extremely boring the one time I experienced it; I didn’t get the hype. To each their own.

2) “Captain EO” replaces “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” (2010): What goes around comes around. Following Michael Jackson’s 2009 death, Disney brought “Captain EO,” the 3D show starring Jackson, back to its old stomping grounds at Epcot’s Magic Eye Theater, replacing the long-running “Honey I Shrunk the Audience.” Ironically, “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” had replaced “Captain EO” in 1994 following the latter show’s original eight-year run at the Magic Eye Theater.

“Honey I Shrunk the Audience” had aged, and “Captain EO” was a nice throwback for a tribute, but I think it has remained too long and should be replaced by a new attraction. On a side note, 2016 will mark Captain EO’s thirtieth birthday!Malestrom / Norway Pavilion / World Showcase

3) Frozen Attraction to replace “Maelstrom” (Scheduled for 2016): Frozen has seemingly been the biggest thing since sliced bread over the past two years, so in 2014, Disney closed “Maelstrom,” a boat ride at Epcot’s Norway Pavilion since 1988, to construct an attraction based on Frozen.Princess-Half-Mile-6-Sign

“Maelstrom” had a cult following, but it was far from a headliner or even a classic attraction that Walt Disney himself developed, such as “The Carousel of Progress.” The opposition to the change, therefore, seems to be based more on the idea that Epcot’s World Showcase should feature authentic content about the various countries, not attractions based on fantasy.

I am ambivalent to the change, but I think a Frozen attraction would be a better fit for the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland, which I think could use more dark rides to compete with the vast array of these attractions present in its Disneyland counterpart.

Disney Dining – Hollywood Brown Derby Patio Lounge

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RM-Brown-Derby-PatioDid you know that the Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has a patio lounge?  Indeed, you can eat indoors at the Derby and experience signature restaurant dining (2 table-service credits on the Disney Dining Plan) OR you can dine al fresco and save both time and money.  The patio lounge is a great place to enjoy happy hour!  And that’s just what Raymond and I did on our last visit to Walt Disney World.

On the day we visited the Brown Derby’s outdoor eating area, we were spending only the afternoon in the Studios and were looking forward to our dinner reservations that night at The Swan’s Il Mulino.  We were having fun!  Riding rides, taking pictures of the very last bits of the Sorcerer’s Hat left to be disassembled and getting hungry!  We needed a snack, but not just any snack.  We didn’t want to spoil our supper and had only a few minutes before the start time of our FastPass for Rock’n’ Roller Coaster.  We thought an adult beverage would also be a welcome treat at that particular time.  Hmmm…we were making our way from Star Tours toward Sunset Boulevard and I had a craving for wine and cheese.  HA!  I remembered the Brown Derby’s new-ish outdoor eating area (opened in October, 2013).  Perfect!  I told Raymond I had the perfect solution (with a look instead of words, ’cause that’s how we roll after 25 years of marriage) and off we went!RM-Brown-Derby-Outdoor-Seating

We didn’t have much time and the place was crowded.  We were willing to forego the food and just have a glass of wine if we couldn’t be seated within about 5 minutes.  There’s a walk-up bar at the end of the patio, so we ordered our wine and inquired about the chances of getting a snack.RM-Brown-Derby-Patio-WineTurns out, we were in luck – a table opened up, we were seated, and our server arrived promptly.  Once we explained our time limitation, he was totally onboard with getting us on our way as quickly as possible.

If you’ve read any of my previous dining reviews, you’ll have noticed that we are a family of cheese-loving people!  The artisanal cheese plate at the Brown Derby was calling our names – and we thought that would be just the right snack…not too much, not too little.RM-Brown-Derby-Patio-Artisanal-Cheese-PlateWe were very happy with ourselves when our cheeses (and accompaniments) arrived.  Hungrier than we’d originally thought, we fell upon that plate of cheesy goodness and made short work of nearly every crumb.RM-Brown-Derby-Patio-Empty-Plates

It’s a story with a happy ending – our experience at the Hollywood Brown Derby’s Patio Lounge was everything we’d hoped for and more!  Good wine, tasty cheeses, and excellent service, we were soon on our way to G-Force Records for our limo ride & backstage passes.  If you’re at the Studios and looking for a fantastic, relaxing place to enjoy a cocktail and snack, look no further than the Derby’s patio.

What other places at Walt Disney World are great for happy hour?

 

My First runDisney Events – An Overview

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RM-RunDisney-RoadYou might remember this post from last summer where I shared the story of why I run.  I didn’t start running until I was in my 30’s, so if you’ve been toying with the idea of giving it a try, it’s never too late to find your inner athlete.  If you think you don’t have one, you’re wrong…he/she is in there somewhere and it’s just a matter of patience and commitment to locate him/her.  In fact, if you’re a Disney fan, perhaps what I’m about to share might be just the motivation you need to stop thinking and start doing.  I’m not saying everyone should run.  I’m saying that if you love Disney as much as I do, there’s no better place to participate in an athletic event that in Disney parks!

I’d explored the runDisney site thoroughly and even then I was still completely unprepared for the reality (the magnitude & magic) of a runDisney event.  My friends, family and coworkers might have thought I was crazy (many of them were very verbal about it) to enter three races over three days, but I was highly motivated by both the entrance fees (on the expensive side & I planned on getting my money’s worth) and wanting to enjoy myself by training enough to be comfortable for all three events.  I chose the Princess Half Marathon weekend because of its February date which worked well with my schedule.  I chose the Glass Slipper Challenge (the combination of both the Enchanted 10K on Saturday and the Princess Half Marathon on Sunday) because I’d run several half marathons and thought the challenge of the two races would be, well, challenging (in a good way).  Raymond pointed out that if I was going to do the 10K and the half and we’d be at Walt Disney World anyway, I might as well add Friday’s Frozen 5K and get another medal.  Sure, sounded reasonable to me, so I added that too.

Some things I had to do between registration and the actual events:RM-Donald-costume

  • Submit a proof of time for the half marathon or start in one of the last corrals.  I chose the only event near home that I could do by the December 1st deadline which ended up being a cold and rainy East Texas Half Marathon on my 50th birthday.
  • Figure out some sort of outfit or costume to wear for each race.  A tutu for me would be too-too much, so I was committed to dressing up in my own way and style.  I decided on a Donald Duck themed outfit for the 5K, a Minnie tribute for the 10K, and my favorite, an Evil Queen ensemble for the half marathon.  I picked up pieces for the outfits here and there over the months leading up to our trip.
  • Book Advance Dining Reservations for dinner (ADRs) bearing in mind that I’d be getting up incredibly early the morning of each race.  Sadly, I’d have to go to sleep between 8:00 and 9:00 each night or I’d be too tired to function.  Thursday:  Kona Café, Friday: Le Cellier, Saturday: Il Mulino (at the Swan).  Sunday we planned to celebrate with our last dinner of the trip at Yachtsman Steakhouse and it was fantastic, but turned out to NOT be our last dinner of this Disney visit.  More on that another day.
  • Plan park days with careful consideration about the amount of walking that would be required and select some attractions for relaxation rather than thrills.
  • Run a lot of miles.  That’s the downside (or upside depending on how you look at it) for choosing February races – a bunch of mileage had to happen throughout the holiday season.  It was hard to fit in all the time I needed, but the happy side effect was that I did not gain a single pound over Christmas.  I’m fortunate that Raymond loves to bicycle and was willing to go with me and ride while I ran my long runs every weekend in my favorite place to train, the Vicksburg National Military Park.RM-Disney's-Wide-World-of-Sports

I will do actual (shorter) posts on each race because they each had their own charm.  Today l want to share my overall impressions from my very first runDisney experiences:

I’m hooked!  I plan to be back again next year to do it again.  This was, without a doubt, the most fun I’ve ever had in any event anywhere.  From the volunteers to the medical and security teams, to the Cast Members, photographers, and characters – everyone was kind, caring, and professional.  I’ve never been congratulated so many times for crossing a finish line before.  The races are not just well-organized, they’re overflowing with magical Disney details far beyond anything I’d imagined.RM-Half-Corral-Walking

RunDisney events are designed to delight both first-time racers and long-time runners.  Also, these races are great for families.  There are also kids’ races held during the weekend.  Mothers and daughters, sisters, couples, groups of friends – there were a lot of people participating together and all of them were having a wonderful time.  It’s hard to get “swept” – there’s a very generous time limit so more people will be successful in finishing.  That’s the goal – simply finish and have a blast along the way!  There’s no pressure to be fast, in fact, runners are encouraged and enticed to stop many times along the way for a variety of unique and very special photo ops with a variety of characters – some of whom are rarely seen together.

Check back for more details about my adventures in the 2015 Frozen 5K, Enchanted 10K and Princess Half Marathon.

Are you a runDisney fan?  Do you want to be?