Preparation…

Typically before I go out on a new adventure I get online and look up strange places to check out.  Sometimes this means literally looking up “top places to visit in Florida” or a specific search such as “places to snorkel”.  I then look up where this magical place is and how long it might take to get there, deciding if I need a hotel for the night, etc.  Honestly that is about the extent of my preparation.  I don’t look up places to eat, or things to do.  I feel like that somehow takes away from the mystery and discovery of the entire experience.  I generally have an idea of what is in the area such as key lime pie and snorkeling  in the Keys for instance, but a to do list is never in the cards.  I also prefer to live as much like a local once in these locations, as I did in the Bahamas.  Not to say that I won’t do a tour or something of that nature, but fancy resorts and big restaurants are not what I typically look for in an outing.  

This weekend coming up I am looking to do something new and exciting for myself, as I almost always go on these trips solo. Going alone also adds a huge level of surprise to the day as well.  Having to soley rely on yourself and your surroundings for entertainment you get a better fell for the place and less about the relationship you are in (friend or otherwise).  There also is a sizable level of uncomfortableness doing this alone.  Imagine going to a restaurant and sitting at a table alone and having dinner, not a fast food location or a bar staring at your phone pretending to be deeply involved in some conversation. Now take that feeling and add a few layers of being somewhere foreign for a few days.  It is completely odd, and amazing at the same time.  I have been putting myself in these situations on purpose  for some time now.  Being in this state of mind as often as I have has allowed me to almost overcome any and all fear of being uncomfortable in most situations.

So this week I think that I am going to do one of two things, Check out some deep sea fishing, or check out Sanibel and Captiva islands.  From what I gather online it is a great place to get shells and see some beautiful wildlife such as dolphins and manatees.  I am currently leaning towards the Island as it is something new and I want to get into the ocean, so now the waiting…Looking like a Tuesday trip for me and may possibly be bringing a friend, but as always I plan on going solo!

Cinderella Preview at Hollywood Studios

This afternoon I wanted to see what the park was looking like with the new things going on. The park was fairly busy today with wait times in excess of 50 minutes for Star Tours.  Immediately upon entering the park the first sign of big changes is that a big part of the big hat is missing.

I am one of the “will not miss” when it comes to the hat…Now maybe that isn’t exactly true, I will miss it but not as much as it would be nice to see the Original view of the Chinese Theater.  What I am wondering is if that will be the final view for now or if they plan on putting something in its place such as a more permanent stage for events.  My hope is that they are gearing up for a major overhaul of the studios.  Time will tell.

The main reason I came in today was to see the preview of the new live action Cinderella movie coming in march.  I have seen several of these previews in the past starting with The Lone Ranger.  The abc sound theater they use for these previews works great for what it is.  I went in to this wondering how it would be, thinking that it would be alright but not great, what I saw was fantastic.  The woman playing Cinderella was nice, but Helena Bonham Carter was so perfect for the role of “The Fairy Godmother”.  They previewed about ten minutes of the film with a good portion of the transformation scene in tact.  The effects were beautiful, scenes funny and magical and music moving.  I can’t wait to see this movie.

The other big change in Hollywood is the addition of a Starbucks location in this park.  This was the former kids toy location or as I used it the shortcut to Hollywood Blvd.  I can imagine this will be both welcomed and more profitable .

Finally I walked over to the backside of the big o hat and said my respects to Michael Jackson in front of the theater. and Took a quick picture of this.

That was pretty much the day. I think I was only there for a couple of hours, stopping here and there to look at one mans dream, and i headed home.

A world of fruit flavors, no just clotted cream!

September in Orlando…music to my ears.
Why you might ask? Well, peak tourist season is over until the holidays and the parks tend to be fairly empty. The temperature falls a few degrees and Halloween decorations start trickling in. As was the case today.
I hit Universal Studios today at roughly 1030 and made my way back to Diagon Alley as has been my routine as of late. Immediately I could see the difference in attendance. I strolled in to a fairly clear street with that big beautiful dragon greeting me with a roar and a burst of flames that can be felt from the entrance. The music coming from almost inside your head fits so perfectly that you almost don’t notice it.

Out of curiosity I headed to the end of the street towards Gringots Bank and was shocked to see a wait time of only 10 minutes vs the hours that have plagued the ride since opening in July… I locked away my GoPro in the lockers and headed inside. The entrance is so amazing to this place. I would say the que is clearly half the experience here as well as Hogwarts.
Nothing can express just how realistic the goblins are inside the lobby.

I enjoyed the experience more this go around for some reason, maybe it was the short wait! Afterwards ice cream was calling my name.

I am making a point to try each and every treat at Diagon Alley and today was Earl Grey and lavender along with a side of Clotted cream. The clotted cream was very smooth tasting vanilla in my opinion but the other was almost a citrus taste, not like I expected at all! I loved it. And how can you not love ice cream coming from this place.
Next with a happy set of taste buds I hit up the magical shop.

Inside they have some great shirts and other goodies, but it’s the ceiling that is my favorite.

Outside is also a nice place to cool off with a Gilly Water and an elixir of your choosing.

Heading out towards the Hogwarts express I detoured to Rip Ride Rock-it and Transformers, a quick flight with my pal E.T. And some alien hunting with the M.I.B. And I was back to take that train ride over to the other park.

Hogsmead was fairly busy but the rides were not, 15 minute wait for the attraction over here, again an amazing line. I had accomplished what I had set out to do today and headed out of the park as the skies started to shift from beautiful sunshine to some rainy clouds.

A fantastic day and I headed home for a nap while listening to the soundtrack of the park I had just visited. These are the days that I think to myself what an amazing life I have. I work, play and live where so many save and plan to spend one week every so often if not once in a lifetime. This is the world I have chosen to be…and I couldn’t be happier!

Leaky Cauldron Table for 1

  Yesterday I headed into work and after an hour I was allowed to go home early.  I decided to head over to Diagon Alley for lunch and to take some pictures.  I headed in past transformers and the San Francisco pier into the magical world of Harry Potter.  The area was pretty busy but not overly crowded in the stores and shops.  I walked up a little to the left where the above picture was taken by the entrance to Nocturne Alley.  Hearing some musical performance in the distance i crossed over to where they were doing one of the shows and noticed some team members using a tablet to control the lighting and such as I don’t believe there is a control booth anywhere around, interesting to a dude like me who likes the tech side of theme parks. 

 I was getting hungry and headed over to the Leaky Cauldron for a quick bite.  Upon entering the order area, there is a window with mock meals set up so you have a reference of the size and what it is you will soon be ordering.  Today I chose to have the Mini Pie Combination.  This is a half portion of cottage pie, as there is no lamb to make it  shepherd pie and fisherman’s pie with a small salad. I also noticed they had Pumpkin Juice on tap and was off to find my seat.  Ordering is much like that of Be Our Guest where the food shows up to your table via a candle fitted with blue tooth or some such technology and you are served.  I very much enjoyed lunch and at less then 20 dollars for everything a good deal. I was surprised with the salad as they had a tomato roasted served with the dish, fantastic along with the 2 pies.  Let me also say I prefer Pumpkin Juice on draft and not in the bottle, it is smoother and more like juice with much less grainy-ness. 

  Full I took a few more pictures and was able to catch the fire breatheing dragon in action followed by the crowds oohs and ahhs.

 Wait time today at Gringotts was 150 minutes and the standby line was out the entrance for single riders.

 

 I roamed around took more pictures and ordered some Butterbeer Ice Cream that I then sent a picture to a friend who replied “Don’t Be Mean” .  Accomplished in my goal for the afternoon I  went over to city walk and enjoyed an IMAX viewing of Guardians of the Galaxy for a second time.  This was my first IMAX viewing in Orlando and was very impressed, will definitely be back!

 

Who Turned on the Lights?

This week I was able to enjoy another amazing perk of being a cast member at Walt Disney Word.  I had signed up a few weeks ago to tour the Haunted Mansion.  Only 20 people were allowed on the tour and I was number 2 to sign up!  The only downside was that the tour started at 630 am!  Not an issue for me.  I set my alarm and was at the Westclock parking lot that is where Magic Kingdom Cast Members park for work, and met up with a few others at the bus stop.  Just a few minutes later we were in the Utilidoors heading past the backstage exits to a set of stairs leading up behind Its a Small World and The Haunted Mansion.  Walking past ride vehicles for Peter Pans Flight and a pink teacup.  We were greeted by one of the fantastic butlers of the mansion who walked us into the park.  Now let me first say that the park is strange at this time of morning as there are vehicles, people, golf carts and all other oddities everywhere prepping for the days guests.

   We were led into the Mansion and informed that we could basically touch whatever except when told and no photos were allowed.  Easy rules to follow.  First we started in the loading area, as the working lights were on and no Doombuggies in motion we wondered around looking at all the details that make up the majority of the 999 happy haunts. We entered the first show scene with a staircase and floating candle and were introduced to 2 paintings on the wall and their stories.  Making our way into the second scene where all the painting are that change into other things when lightning strikes we were allowed to inspect them up close and see how they work.  Next up was the library, where I learned that there are 13 hidden Jack Skellington images hidden throughout the mansion. In this room we were shown 2.  Neat thing was looking out the window behind the piano and seeing the behind the scene elements, including the trees that were cut down originally in front of the load area of the mansion.  The room of stairs is much like what you think it is and seeing over the edge of the ledge was a small thrill.  On to the Madam Leota room where we learned about how many people leave the ride vehicle on a daily basis and how they sometimes get hurt as a result. Not a good plan folks stay seated!  The tour continued past the ballroom and attic where we saw small details otherwise un-viewable with the lights off.  We were able to pet the dog with the ribs and meet the shaking man in the graveyard and learn about the hitchhiking ghosts. We then left the show building and were led underneath the mansion where the magic really happens,  Two words. Ball Room.  Yes I walked around in the ball room, touched the plates, the organ and seating.  Got a good look at the cobwebs from 1970 and almost was floored by the idea that as a kid i looked at amazement at this iconic view and years later I, as a Cast Member was standing inside that very scene, Surreal to say the least.  A memory that will always stay with me.

 After our 2 hour visit we then went to the stretching room and saw the entire loop from stretching to shrinking again and that was something to see.  We had a group shot in front of the fireplace and were led outside till the ride opened.  at 9 am we were led inside to enjoy the ride and take as many flash pictures as possible. Unfortunately I only had my iPhone and my photos did not turn out well.

Once done I headed over to Space Mountain and enjoyed lunch at Be Our Guest.  I had the braised pork loin with mashed potatoes and green beens….and of course the Grey Stuff!

Amazing Day!

 

Harry Potter and The Escape from Gringotts Bank

Today I decided to drive over to Universal Studios Orlando Resort and try out the recently opened new attraction within the new Diagon Alley expansion. The park was fairly busy on a Thursday afternoon as I arrived around 2 o’clock. Directly past the growing Citywalk I entered the Universal Studios side of the resort. Wait times were high and I really didn’t expect to get a break on my own wait time, but they have a single rider line for this attraction and I tend to use them and save a lot of waiting. Walking up the main street in Diagon Alley I set my sights on catching a ride on this bad boy. I have heard a lot about the experience without spoiling it for myself, I did not watch any videos nor did I read much about it.
Stepping under the Dragon that overseas the area and through the doorway to the right of the main entrance I got my first glance of the beautiful lobby! It looks just like the movie with goblins included. The single rider line goes to the right and goes down a hallway decorated with dark paneling and stone work. 20 minutes later I was picking up my mine goggles (3d glasses). Warning the soon to be riders, was a painting on the now black stone walls aged by time, with a goblin speaking to us about what to expect and who and who shouldn’t ride this ride. I met a family who was right behind me who was on vacation from my home state Arkansas, How funny right? They had driven 19 hours over night. Of course I told them I was from there as well, They asked me all about moving to Florida and what it was like working at Disney World. Up some steps we went into the loading area looking just like a massive cave with 2 loading areas though only one was working today, this explains the 180 minute wait at the moment. I won’t spoil the ride for anyone other than to say it is not a roller coaster as it only uses this type of ride to go from scene to scene, the 3D is amazingly realistic and the special effects inside are neat. Escape from Gringotts is a much more family friendly ride than that of the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
All be told it was an hour wait from start to finish. Not too bad considering that only days ago lines were hours upon hours. Leaving the ride I headed over to the brewery and ordered a Dragon Scale beer and enjoyed as I walked sections of this new land. About and hour later I decided to call it a day as I have laundry to do before work tomorrow, but needed to see if I could try this out now that the main crowds have dispersed. I need to go back soon and experience the entire que but today was not that day!

Trails End…and the End of Hunger

As a cast member here at Disney World I have been able to take advantage of some of the perks and discounts, one of my favorite being dining.  I have a goal to try and eat at every location on property and have been making my way through the journey and on a few occasions invited my friend Valerie to join me.  Today on the  agenda was located at the Fort Wilderness campground for the Trails End.  Now let me start off by saying that I have never been here and was unaware until arriving that you have to take a bus to the location from the parking lot.  There may be other ways but that is the way we were led.  This resort, like every other resort, is pretty large as you would expect a campground to be.  Scattered throughout are “swimming holes” and horse trails, stables and other outdoor activities.

As a Florida local now for these past two years I have forgotten the wonderful aroma of horse stables and agh what a wonderful reminder this was! The horses here were beautiful and appeared ready to ride, I am not sure if that is always the case or they set them up for a party that might be on the way.

This appears to be one of many locations for animals as over by the dining location there were more.  We made our way to the bus stop as directed by the front gate and boarded one of 3 bus lines within the resort, yellow, purple and orange. As they all go to the summit it didn’t matter which we chose.

As you can see this place is pretty darn big!  A short ride and a few stops later we arrived and walked in what felt like another state with no signs of palm trees or anything that might take you out of that traditional rustic “camping” feel.  To our left as we walked towards our destination were yet more animals for guests enjoyment.

Arriving at our location we were pretty hungry and a few minutes late so exploring was out of the question, feed us is all that was on our minds…We were seated in the well themed restaurant beside a huge Buffalo and a canoe hanging from the ceiling.  The menu was very straight forward with a few appetizers and main dishes along with some tasty looking desserts.  We opted to start out with couple of drinks that by no surprise came in mason jars.  Time to get down to business here the food…The cornbread with honey butter was great, I swear I could have just eaten a vat of the butter alone,  We also tried the grilled romaine heart salad with balsamic vinaigrette and bacon croutons.

We followed with a Bacon Cheeseburger with mixed fries

and my favorite of the day, including my favorite of its kind in all of orlando thus far….Wait for it and play the trumpets!!!

Chicken and Waffles

Fried Chicken Fillets and Buttermilk Waffles with Warm Buttered Rosemary-Maple Syrup

Oh my oh my. Get the clue I enjoyed it?  Simply amazing. We ate chatted about or lives since BestBuy and what the future holds, family updates, and such.  We then left as it appeared a film crew was shooting something for Disney, most likely one of the top ten segments on resort tv. So if you ever see them talking about this location and she is a blond woman you know we were there!

If you are ever in the area and looking for a very relaxing setting, looking for an amazing order of Chicken and Waffles then look no further…I will be back.

Maleficent Preview at Hollywood Studios, a Burger and Squealing Tires

This was the first week to see an extended preview of Disney’s new movie Maleficent, a re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty from possibly one of the best villains in all of Disney history… So over to Hollywood Studios I headed with Magic Band on my wrist and a smile on my face along with a growling in my stomach.  The park seemed pretty busy today, but it was just a lot of traffic in the main entrance areas and in front of the giant hat.  I shot left past the American Idol experience and said hi to the bust of Walt and just thought for a few about how most everything in my life currently is because of the dreams of that man so many years ago, crazy how life is all connected somehow, anyway!  As you can see they are using the old abc Sound stage where Sounds Dangerous was once located, This is also the same location where they previewed the Lone Ranger sometime last year.

I arrived just on time to not have to wait in line to experience this 15 to 20 minute show.  Be warned as it is a pretty small location and as much as I am a front row viewer at times, this places front row is touchable by outstretched legs! I sat further back and to one side. Very simple setup, big screen, nice lighting and huge speakers!!

A few moments later and the lights dimmed, the typical behind the scenes 5 minute program introduced the actors and the plot of this well known story from the other side of the coin. This part was in traditional 2d, We then were treated to almost the entire scene we remember from the animated film where the fairies give their gifts and Maleficent crashes the party. Interesting that they changed the names of the fairies, not sure why but hey it is what it is.  This film looks beautiful, dark and exciting. I don’t wanna ruin anything but I will be there opening weekend for sure!  After we were let out we were handed a pair of Maleficent “horns” in the form of those burger king paper crowns, nice little treat and several people were cruising the park in these beauties.

The second reason I was here reminded me by growling again, where to eat? 50’s Prime time, ABC Commissary, Backlot express?  No sir I was going to try and get into Sci-Fi Dine in Theater… Let me start off by saying this is one of my very favorite themed locations in all of Walt Disney World! My family and I have always loved it and I remember getting chocolate mats with my mom and it will always have a place near and dear to my heart.  So much so I even texted my mom some pictures of it when I was dining today saying “wish you were here”. With that being said I didn’t expect to be able to get in with any manageable wit time but it was worth a shot, after all it was just me. I asked the nice lady at the podium if i could get a walk in to possibly sit at one of the back seats, she asked how many, I said one! she smiled and said of course I can get you in, I was given a pager and almost instantly called before I could even grab a seat.  I was a hitchhicker with another family sitting in the back row of a car, again not expected, what luck!  I chatted with this family for a few and took a picture of them and was then invited to be in a picture with them. Fun.  I ordered a Cookies and cream shake and the Picnic burger!

 

Now what is the All-American Picnic Burger?  A flame-broiled Angus burger patty topped with grilled hot dog, sauerkraut, sautéed onions, mustard, and ketchup; served with fries! Yeah Thats right! Amazing! I ordered it cooked medium and it was perfect! Highly recommended if you like back yard barbecue. 

 

After my filling and tasty lunch I went over to see lights Motors Action as it has been a bit.

I sat at the very tip top and enjoyed this fun show, Leaving here I went over to the animation courtyard to see if they had any new paintings or sculptures but nothing really too exciting that I had not already seen a few dozen times.  On my way out of the park today I decided to head over to Company D as I hadn’t made it there yet!  So what is Company D? Cast member stores around property selling cast exclusive merchandise that either says cast member on it or such, They also sell tickets to parks and movie passes. I went over to the location in the Epcot cast parking and saw Spaceship Earth in an entirely new light.  Here is what I scored today!

Very cool stuff…Well that was my day in a nutshell as of now I am about to head over to the Magic Kingdom for a few quick rides and call it a very eventful Disney day off!

 

Please! Please just curve….Gutter!!!

About a week and change ago, I know, I know perfect measure of time, A friend and I went over to bowl at a new to us location on I drive.  Kings, a bowling and gaming complex.  They have everything from bowling to pool and other games such as ping pong, shuffle board, and bocce ball.  We chose just to bowl and have a few appetizers. First off the place was beautiful on the inside, very large and as we were there early in the afternoon not very crowded.  We checked in on this rainy afternoon at the desk and were given our shoes and directed towards the front where we found our lane in the private room.  This room was amazing with huge disco balls on the ceiling and a giant hd projection screen over the lanes.  The bowling pins also were black lit and fun.  We changed into comfy shoes and got our choice of ball and set up for a few games.  Our waiter came over and we ordered some appetizers. Pulled pork nachos and franc fries are what we decided to sample.  The nachos were fairly good sized but not that interesting.  However the franc fries were fantastic and were finished!  The lanes are very nice with a neat thing that I had not seen before, but the younger or inexperienced player in your group can have, when it is there turn, gutter bumpers automatically come up from the floor during their turn!  This blew my mind. How awesome!  Another fun thing is that when you make or miss a frame, on the screen video clips play”americas funniest home video” type clips for missed and sometimes animated clips as well.   These were a fun addition to the game and had us laughing.  After 2 games we decided that we were going to play another one or two and at five bucks a game the price wasn’t that bad. I had an amazing time and didn’t do that bad.  I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for something to do on a rainy day…I will be back and would love to bring a large group to share in the fun!  

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Welcome Aboard..now lets eat!

This week has been quite busy as you can imagine.  After Traditions I came home with this lot of loot! Including some complimentary mouse ears and my very own Disney Name Badge!  I had them put Benton, Arkansas on there as that was my last home for several years, I met 2 others from the state while in Traditions as well. “Small World” huh?  It was very neat how they gave us our badges and I don’t want to give too much away for anyone with future plans to attend but lets just say my boss brought it by.   

 The day was busy with a trip over to the Magic Kingdom trough the backstage locations. Knowing that any and everyone pretty much knows about them I can share, but the utilidors were really neat to get to tour.  Of course you have no idea where everything is above you, thank goodness for the singe and the color coded walls.  The sights were strange as well with the cast all heading to their own lands and areas for the day. We headed up Main Street towards Cinderella Castle and looked at things from a cast member point of view as we had learned about the 4 keys of Disney and then had to give examples of what we were seeing.  It was a new experience for me obviously and if i don’t have to wear long sleeves and a tie during a hot Disney day for a while I will be ok with that.  

 We later headed over to costuming and I received my shoes as they are a special slip resistant kind for my new role.  It is amazing that every piece of clothing from belts to shirts and pants all have barcodes and proximity sensors in them! So neat.  

 The next two days consisted of location tours of where I would be working and Elearning on computers.  After completion today I received my full costume and I totally dig it.  I have seen tons of other costumes out there and I did not get a bad one believe me..  I also met some of my team today and who I will be training with tomorrow.  

 After work I went over to the parking lot but not before checking out this amazing view.

I get to see this every time I come and go!  Not to mention that the directions to my job is take a left past the Tower of Terror… Very cool to me.  

 I headed over to Epcot for a quick bite at the Flower and Garden Festival and tried the other two items on the menu over by The American Adventure.  These were the Pork Slider and the Brisket.  

Lets start wit the Pork Slider.  It was very good, the slaw on top was what seemed to be pickled with a slight vinegar taste which I liked on top of a generous portion of smoked pulled pork. It was very well cooked and had a great flavor all on a nice bun making it a pretty good sized sandwich more than a slider.  I also personally topped mine off with the provided barbecue sauce, of which I chose the hot variety… I wouldn’t say that it was hot but a little bit warm.  Again it was very tasty, that was until I tried the brisket.

Ahh.. the Smoked beef brisket with collard greens and jalapeño corn bread! Where to start? I started with a nice place to sit, over by the concert stage on a bench alone I dove into this delicious dish.  The first to hop on my fork was the collard greens, cooked well, nice and soft with a bit of crunch still in there, slightly salty and just yummy especially when paired with the jalapeño corn bread broken up in it. This was a perfect combination of flavor with a nice kick from the peppers.  I had a few bites of the brisket alone and with the other variety barbecue sauce being that of the sweet. I preferred this way. The portion of the meat was not too bad, as thick as it was wide it took several tasty bites to make it through. It was very tender as I used a plastic fork and did not need to cut anything. Nice and hot and filling. Definitely something I would recommend to anyone who enjoys good smoked food. After enjoying all this good food I headed into a 3:00 showing of the American Adventure of which i saw 3 minutes and quickly fell asleep…full belly and a dark air conditioned room. You do the math! Refreshed I made my way over to Club Cool to taste a few different soda flavors from around the world minus Italy and was on my way home, but not before stopping by the collectible store by Spaceship Earth and fell in love with this painting!

 

 Busy day and I do it all again tomorrow!  Actually tomorrow is on the job training with the bartender… Here we go the first day in full costume!