The View From Our Room at The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian

By: Nick

Yesterday we checked out of what is now my favorite DVC Resort, The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian.

Our room, 1204, which is on the 2nd floor, overlooked the Seven Seas Lagoon towards the Polynesian resort, and Ticket and Transportation Center.

Late afternoon.

Sunrise.

The section of the Villas where our room was located in the building to the right, 

seen from a boat.

Me, waving from our balcony.

I posted the photo below of the ferry as seen from our bed on Facebook, and our friend Matthew suggested I tape an hours worth of the calming scene, so that people could share in the relaxing view.

This isn't quite an hour, in fact, it's about 8 minutes, but I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Update: For a longer, clearer version, here is a link to my YouTube channel:

http://youtu.be/_HiuQEQwoUI

Cold or Rain on a Disney Vacation?

Which would you choose?

Cold and beautiful...

...or warm and rainy?

The 1st photo is from yesterday at Epcot in Walt Disney World, when it started off in the 30s in Florida.
The 2nd is from our 1st trip to Disneyland in 2008, when it rained on a couple mornings very heavily, but at least was warmer (though, to be 100% honest, only in the mid 50s!).

I think you can tell from my facial expressions which one I prefer.

A Shandy at Epcot's United Kingdom Pavilion

By: Nick

Have you ever had a Shandy? Have you ever heard of a Shandy? I cannot recall where I first heard about them, but when I did, I knew I wanted one.

What is a Shandy? In the real United Kingdom, a Shandy is beer mixed with carbonated lemonade.

At the Rose and Crown Pub at Epcot's United Kingdom Pavilion, it's 1/2 Sprite & 1/2 Bass Ale or Harp Lager.

Bartender Adam serving up my first Shandy, made with Bass Ale.

 

Delicious.

A couple of nights ago, my friend Ron was kind enough to buy me one. I chose to have this one made with Harp Lager, as I was told by the bartender that it is less sweet.

I liked this even more!

Next time you're in Epcot, give a Shandy a try.

 Cheers!

We Were Celebrities at The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney's Hollywood Studios!

By Nick:

As I've talked about in the past, The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney's Hollywood Studios is our favorite restaurant at Walt Disney World. It's got my wife, Barbie's favorite, the Cobb Salad, my favorite pork chop in the whole world, plus the Grapefruit Cake.

How could it get any better?

Well, we discovered how yesterday!

It was 11:00am, and we were at DHS and we were getting hungry. We hadn't made an ADR for The Brown Derby, so we walked up to the desk and inquired if we could get a seat as soon as possible. The restaurant doesn't open until 11:30am, but they had seating available at that time, and I responded with "That sounds great! This is our favorite restaurant!"

The gentleman taking our information, got a big smile on his face, and asked if we would like to be the celebrity couple of the day and open the restaurant. We said "Absolutely!"

We were give a plastic bowler for me, and a feather boa for Barbie, and asked to return at 11:20.

 

We then walked around outside a bit, laughing at the funny looks we were receiving.

At 11:20, we returned, and a few minutes later, the manager came out, announced us, and took a photo, just as I was taking out my phone to ask for a photo. (You'll see why I mention this last fact later.)

They took a picture of us cutting a red ribbon, officially opening the restaurant for the day.

They then asked us again to stop, and strike a leading man and diva pose.

We were then escorted to a table strewn with silver stars and Mickey heads!

Our meal was wonderful, as usual. And we had one more surprise at the end! We were given this commemorative photo souvenir!

In the last photo, as mentioned earlier, I am just taking my phone out and asking for a photo. THAT is the moment captured forever here, which makes for a rather hilarious photo, in our opinion!

Another magical moment, at the most magical place on Earth!

Tea For Two at the Grand Floridian

By: Nick

Yesterday, Barbie and I had Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Tea Room at the Grand Floridian.
We'll have a full review soon, so stop back!

In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of us displaying the proper way to hold a tea cup.

Donald and Daisy Duck Statues: Where in Walt Disney World

Where in Walt Disney World would you find these Donald and Daisy Duck figures?

˙ʇɹosǝɹ sǝıʌoɯ ɹɐʇs ןןɐ s,ʎǝusıp ɟo uoıʇɔǝs 0002 ɐısɐʇuɐɟ ǝɥʇ uı

Here's a picture of another character with these 2 characters.

 

Preview: The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian

By: Nick

Barbie and I are spending a few nights at the newest DVC resort, The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian.

Stop back for a full review in the coming weeks, and please stop by our Facebook page for pics from our trip.

Coming Soon: All Star Movies

By: Nick

Barbie and I are spending a night at the All Star Movies Resort at Walt Disney World. Look for a full review in the next few weeks.

A Thrilling Magic Kingdom Metal Lunch Box

I love lunch boxes. They remind me of the (relatively) carefree days of my youth.
I had a metal lunch box, of course, but confess, it wasn't a Disney lunch box!
As an adult, I've made up for this, by buying as many reasonably priced boxes as I can get my hands on.
I got this one on eBay several years ago.

 This box is pretty exciting! 
Mickey, Donald and Pluto enjoy Space Mountain, which seems to have broken free of the attraction building, and has flown past Cinderella Castle, as a pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean prepares to take aim and shoot the errant craft down!
Whew!

Then there's the back, which is, arguably, even more dramatic.

Mickey's nephews, Morty and Ferdie, while trying to get away from an escaped elephant from The Jungle Cruise are running right into the path of the runaway train over at Big Thunder Mountain, while the Haunted Mansion caretaker looks on!
I hope those crazy kids will be okay!
 

This is all too much for me! Let's calm down by taking a ride on It's a Small World.

The image continues all the way around the sides of the box.

The inside is actually pretty clean.

From the thermos, it looks like Mickey is okay and enjoying the fireworks, thank goodness. It was  some day!

1979, Walt Disney Productions.

By Aladdin Industries Incorporated, from Nashville, Tennessee.

We'll be away at Walt Disney World for a week, but we'll be sharing trip photos here and on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/disneymusings

Epcot - Japan Candy Artist

by Gaylin

Until recently, on the Epcot schedule, Japan had a candy artist. Her name was Miyuki and she was a wonderful artist, a great entertainer and her results were edible! Her cart was in front of the store at Japan and it was partially cordoned off as the rice candy had to be kept very hot to be pliable. Sadly she retired on November 23, 2013, she had been entertaining at the Japan pavilion since 1996.

She would ask for suggestions from the crowd as to what animals to make and once she had an idea, she would colour some of the rice candy and start working! She made more than one piece of art per show and it was amazing how fast she worked.

When we saw her, the first piece she made was a unicorn.

 

The second piece was a bird, not sure what kind but it is a beautiful shade of blue.

Miyuki did not always stay behind the cart, she walked around and sculpted while she walked and talked – multi-tasking at its finest. This is the beginning of a dragon.

The finished dragon.

I am not sure what this is but it was by far the most complicated piece of the show.

And finally, she asked me what I would like, I blurted out dolphin and got this lovely creature! Sadly I can't tell you how the candy tastes as it is made from rice and I am allergic. My friend said it was very good, he was glad to not have to share.

The ABC Commissary at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The ABC Commissary is a large counter service restaurant at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, located on Commissary Lane, behind the American Idol Experience.

 

 

 

There are advertisements for ABC television shows constantly being played on the many TVs throughout the establishment. There are even costumes from popular shows on display, such as these from Once Upon a Time.

This is a large, clean looking, and nicely designed eatery.

Sadly, the food doesn't live up to the surroundings.

My wife and I have only eaten at the ABC Commissary a few times. In the past, I've gotten the 1/3 lb Angus Cheeseburger and Fried Shrimp, served with Apple Slices or French Fries. My wife would eat the shrimp, as I'm allergic, and I would eat the burger, which I really liked with the shrimp sauce, which I believe was a cocktail sauce. They have changed this to a rather bland horseradish sauce. In addition, the burger was dry.
We were with friends, who got the Chicken Bleu, which is also served with Apple Slices or French Fries. They described the chicken as chewy and flavorless.

With so many other food options available at Disney's Hollywood Studios, I can't recommend this one, and we will likely not be returning anytime soon.