Wordless Wednesday : Magic Kingdom Train Station in Autumn

Photos: Barbie & Nick

1978 Walt Disney World Guide

By Gaylin 

Your Complete Guide to WDW

It surprises me that the Disney shopping bags from my 1978 trip survived for the last 34 years and fared quite well. Because this park map book is in rough shape. Vancouver is quite a damp place to live and I did not do a great job of storing this.

Front and Back covers

The back cover has a nice selection of ‘new’ movies for 1978. The Jungle Book would have been a re-release. Don Knots in Hot Lead and Cold Feet and The Cat From Outer Space were two funny movies!

Table of copious contents

 

 

It’s a shame that Captain Nemo left WDW forever!

Nice overview maps

 

Resort fun at its most Polynesian and Contemporary

Golf Resort Hotel is no more, at least, not under that name

Concluding with more recreational activities

I guess people in the 1970′s needed a lot of instruction on how to have a good vacation because this booklet has 32 pages!

Ratatouille Sign

By Nick

Raise your hand if you channel surf.
There are channel guides that we can consult to find something we may be interested in, but where is the fun in that? So we surf. And there are certain movies that, if we should happen to encounter them, we'll stop and watch, regardless of how many times we've seen them. Jaws. The Matrix. The Avengers. Star Wars. (Any Star Wars, even the prequels!) Any Disney/Pixar Movie. Those last few probably aren't a surprise as this is, after all, a Disney Blog.

Recently while surfing I came across Ratatouille, one of my very favorite Pixar movies, and had to stop and watch.
It got me wanting a collectible from the film. I only have one item from this terrific motion picture, a Hallmark ornament of Remy looking at the book, Anyone Can Cook!

I came across a few things that caught my eye on eBay, but then, as the movie ended, and I saw the Ratatouille sign over Paris, I had the idea to go to Etsy, and did a search.

Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find this for $30 plus $12 shipping! It's metal and measures 14 x 14 1/4 inches.

As you can see, it is very close to the sign in the movie:

Before making the purchase, I consulted with Barbie, as this was to hang in our kitchen, and she immediately gave her approval.

We briefly considered hanging it exactly as it is in Ratatouille, but we decided it wouldn't have nearly the same aesthetic effect hanging in the kitchen as it would with Paris in the background, so went with just hanging it on the kitchen wall visible as you enter the room.

I'm very happy with this purchase, a wonderful reminder of a wonderful film.

The Disney Exchange Podcast, Episode 41 ; Aulani with Special Guest Dave Tupper

By: Nick 
Photos: Dave Tupper

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Disney Exchange is David Hodges, Lisa Green, and me, Nicholas Maglio.
This week we are joined by special guest Dave Tupper to discuss Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa!

If you are not familiar, Aulani is a DVC (Disney Vacation Club) resort located in Ko Olina, Hawaii on the island of Oahu.

Dave tells us about Disney and Menehune magic which can be found all over the resort, and that you should not miss the Starlit Hui, which is like a luau, with hula dancing and Hawaiian music.

Parking and Disney's way of limiting locals access to amenities which would lead to overcrowding is discussed.

We talk about the check in process and how smooth it is and the Disney magic to be found in the lobby.

We break into our favorite topic, eating, and Dave tells us about the dining options found in Aulani, including the character breakfast.

Dave goes on to tell us about Aunty's Beach House, the kids club.

Aulani gets top notch Hawaiian musicians in to entertain guests.

Are you like me, and don't want to go in the ocean because that's where the sharks live? 
There are plenty of fantastic swimming / hot tub options at the resort that don't bring you in contact with aquatic critters.

The Wheel of Distiny: Favorite Disney attraction music.

Thank you for listening to The Disney Exchange Podcast, and thank you very much for joining us Dave Tupper!

You can find us on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thedisneyexchange
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyexchange
Or email us at: info@thedisneyexchange 

The Pangani Forest Trail in Disney’s Animal Kingdom

By Lisa Green 

I’m a little perplexed about something.  (If you can clear up my confusion, please do!)  Why do so many people skip the exploration trails at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?  Is it because they think it’ll be too much like a typical zoo experience and they want more “Disney” things to do?  Maybe some folks are afraid there will be unpleasant animal smells? (There aren’t)  Is it because there are so many other things at Animal Kingdom to see and do they think they don’t have time? (That one I could sort of understand)  I have a theory about it…I think people skip the trails because they don’t think they’ll be exciting or that there’s nothing new or different to see.  Of course, if that’s the case, they’d be WRONG!  Perhaps I could dispel that nasty rumor once and for all…

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you, iFIVE great thngs about The Pangani Forest Exploration Trail:  (Don’t worry, I will devote an entire future post to the Maharajah Jungle Trek).

1.  Naked (Nekkid!) Mole Rats.  Somewhat (okay, VERY) disgusting, always fascinating!  Along the trail you’ll come to a research building full of fascinating exhibits – none more interesting than those mole rats!  They’re like some sort of horrible oddity – you know what I’m talking about – the kind of thing you can’t look away from but you’re freaked out by.  Want to know more?  See these Fun Facts at the Smithsonian’s site.

2.  Meerkats – These little guys (and girls, I suppose) are so fun to watch!  Popping up and down, playing sentry for their mob.  They are cute and funny and wonderful to see.  Why would anyone pass up this opportunity?  Need more convincing?  Check out National Geographic’s Meerkat facts for kids here.

3. Hippos!  There’s an underwater viewing area.  You can see hippos in the water on Kilimanjaro Safari, but seeing them from below the water’s surface is just spectacular!  Really!

4. The Aviary – Birds take so many different shapes and sizes!  They’re also smaller than some of the other animals on the trail, so the stroller set may find them more interesting.  Of course, if you’re scared of birds you should avoid this area at all costs!  Me?  I think they’re just ducky.  (See what I did there?)

5.  THE very best part of this experience – Western Lowland Gorillas.  Incredible.  Fascinating.  Also so fun to watch as they go about their day – and seem to be interested in watching you go about yours.  If you’ve ever been to a stinky primate house at a zoo, forget about it!  These amazing creatures are right there in front of you – with no bars or glass obscuring your view.  See the gorilla in the picture?  He had a metal dish/bowl for drinking water, but he stopped drinking to stare at me…while I looked at him.  I think we really connected there for a while.

 

So, those are my reasons for visiting Animal Kingdom’s Pangani Forest Exploration Trail on every visit.  You should give it a try!  Especially if you’re looking for any sort of educational opportunities on vacation (if you took the kids out of school to visit Walt Disney World, these trails are the stuff research reports are made of!)

Have you explored the Pangani Forest trail?  What was your favorite animal along the way? 

This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at @life_of_green

Please check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on the Disney Exchange Podcast! -Nick

The Muppets Mostly Spoiler Free Review

By Nick

I've written on this blog about how I grew up watching the Muppets, both the show and all of their movies and of course I also love Muppet*Vision 3-D.

There has been a lot of talk about the new television show The Muppets, on ABC Tuesday's at 8PM, somehow ruining the Muppets by making them too adult.

Having watched the 1st episode this past Tuesday night, I have to say I disagree. 

The new show is a mockumentary-style series that follows the personal and professional lives of the gang as they work on a late night show hosted by Miss Piggy.

There are some jokes that some may find questionable, some of which that may even be over the heads of grown ups, nevermind kids.

But I've always felt the Muppets were edgier than their relatives on Sesame Street, and feel the new show is a natural next step. Let's put it this way. I view the Muppets as actors and actresses and think of this as a TV show about the Muppets playing a more adult version of the Muppets.They are still THE MUPPETS.

Another complaint was The Muppets lacked any sweetness. I disagree with this as well. Without giving too much away, a certain couple has broken up, and the plot addresses this in a way that perhaps comes off as flippant, but as the show goes on, you realize a certain pig really was upset about this turn of events.

As my fellow blogger, Disney Exchange Podcast co-host and friend Lisa Green said "I grew up with the Muppets and now they've finally grown up too!"
I  couldn't agree more. 

Did you see The Muppets and what did you think?

Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World - October 2009 - Part 3

By Nick

Back in the day, my social media outlet was the DVC News Forums. I would write trip reports for each of our visits to Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and I'm sharing them here.
Some trip reports were more in depth than others, and this one is on the more descriptive side. Also, as this was a "live" trip report, I jump back in forth in time, making live comments and then going on to describe activities earlier in the day.
Any commentary I make will be in italics.

Part Three: Sunday 10/4/09 
Part 2 can be found here


Day 3 - 10/4 - 715AM

Woke up about 630AM, too excited to sleep, because we move to the Beach Club today.
I love it here, but I'm still excited to stay at a new place.
The same group of animals are out this morning, but in smaller numbers.
Probably because of the kid SCREAMING "Look" at the top of his lungs a couple of balconies away!
Time to pack up.

Day 3 - 10/4 - 1035PM

It's been a full day.
We took a cab from the AKL about 8AM and checked into BC about 820.



Our room wasn't ready, so we went to Epcot. Rode Soarin, Living with the Land, and Imagination.
We went into Innoventions and did the Great Piggy Bank Adventure. According to that, we need to save more towards retirement. Well, duh. It was cute, and a good escape from the heat.




We then grabbed a FP for Test Track, and went to the F & W Center. We saw a free seminar featuring a chef who has several restaurants in Philadelphia, Jose Garces.



During this we got a text message saying our room was ready, so we started back through WS, and stopped at a F & W stands for a quick lunch. Argentina, Peurto Rico, Canada, and Ireland. Everything we tried was good.



Got to the BCV, and went to our room, 476. Well, initially, we took the elevator off the main lobby, and the walk to our room seemed longer than the walk from Kidani Village to Jambo House. It is just about the very end, just like at the AKL.
It overlooks the canal, with the parking lot to the right, and the pool to the left.



We went down to Stormalong Bay, and that is truly a highlight. We spent a couple of hours there.



Enjoyed a Coke float, and cup of chocolate ice cream from Beaches and Cream, then headed back to the room for a shower.
On the way back, we discovered a much quicker way to our room.
We went back to Epcot around 5, and rode TT. We had a nice conversation with a DVC CM at a kiosk, then met up with, the group outside Le Cellier. Had a 2 minute wait after checking in. Dinner was terrific.



And Tom and Pam had a truly wonderful surprise for us. They had 2 Dining credits left, and treated us to dinner!
Thank you again, Pam and Tom!
I had the Kansas City Coffee Rubbed Steak, Barbie the Filet.
The steak had a very nice flavor, a subtle start, and then a noticeable coffee finish. Barbie said her filet was the best yet.
I had the chocolate chocolate cake for desert, Barbie had the apple something. I'd ask her the exact name, but she's asleep
at the moment.
We left the restaurant about a minute before Illuminations, and watched it from over by Canada.



 
Please come back next Thursday for Part 4!

Where in the World Would You Find a Vortex Capacitor

By Nick

It's surprising that something that sounds so ominous would be found at Walt Disney World, yet this Vortex Capacitor, with Implosive Bolts no less, is indeed located within a park! Do you know where? I won't keep you in the dark (a hint?!) for long, the answer can be found below the photo.

 ɯopbuıʞ ןɐɯıuɐ s,ʎǝusıp uı ɹnɐsouıp ɟo ɐǝɹɐ buıpɐoן ǝןɔıɥǝʌ ɹǝʌoɹ ǝɯıʇ ǝɥʇ

A Disney Day at the Flea Market

By Nick

On Episode 18 of The Disney Exchange about Disney souvenirs, we briefly discuss my collection. Many pieces have been Flea Market Finds.

I thought I'd take photos of what could be found at the Columbus Flea Market in New Jersey on a random, lovely Spring morning, and to be completely honest, this was not the best assortment we've seen, but it is always a crap shoot when it comes to flea marketing. Not that I walked away empty handed; more on that later.
There is a wide variety, from the expensive to the down right cheap. Let's start at the very first table we encountered. The owner of this stuffed Mickey from Macys, which comes with an alarm clock, wanted $25, a bit steep in my opinion. If I was very interested, I could have perhaps haggled him down to $20.



We move on to another table, where we find this Winnie the Pooh collectible and this Walt Disney World Pen set, which sits on top of a pad. The owner wanted $20 for Pooh and $10 for the pen set.





Some people mark their items clearly, so you don't need to ask a price. I prefer this. I often wonder if I approach someone selling a Disney item and I am wearing a piece of Disney clothing, if they don't quote me a higher price.

If this Minnie had a matching Mickey, I most likely would have picked up the pair.



Every week, this booth is set up featuring a wide assortment of cookie jars and salt and pepper shaker sets, primarily Disney, but also featuring other franchises. I have never bought anything from here however, due to the fact we don't collect salt and pepper shakers, and simply don't have the space for cookie jars, but that doesn't mean we aren't tempted every week!







You can also find very reasonably priced items of all sorts, from mugs, collectible figures, cast iron, even clothing, everywhere you look!









I was on the fence on a few items on this particular morning, including this mug for $4...



...and this Snow White stamp set.





I did purchase something from this table.



I bought this pin set, for $35, because every pin on it, and the image featured on the packaging makes me smile! I intend on framing this as is!



I actually spent more than I normally would, but it was originally $44, and I figured, if I saw it at the park, even with a %10 discount, I'm saving money. Plus the guy selling it was so darn nice!

Do you go to your local flea markets looking for Disney treasures?

This article was originally posted on The Disney Exchange.