And so it came to be that I found myself on my hands and
knees, cleaning the oven, at noon on a Monday. And somehow in my mind, the
light coming through the glass block windows had me convinced that it was 80F
outside. It must be. Blue skies, green grass, a light breeze. Now, even with
the best of imagination, this would be rather unconvincing to any Iowan that's
spent the past 3 months cooped up inside waiting for the ice to melt... the
secret is having been in such a paradise only a few short hours before. And
your head asking why you aren't living there.
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Our Resort at Port Orleans-French Quarter |
We spent last week in Orlando at Walt Disney World taking
in the magic of the place, and magic there is. We picked up our Sebring
Convertible, sorry, 200 Convertible at the airport and within the hour I was
set with gold rimmed aviators and a fedora. Something about the weather must
bring out my inner octogenarian. Also, Cheesy Puffs for Cara; a regional
specialty.
Following the iPad's directions we made our way to our
resort at Port Orleans-French Quarter. Now, when I say Disney sweat's the
details, they sweat the details. From the spanish moss in the trees to the
rivet heads in all the New Orleans ironwork. After unloading our bags we
dropped the car off at the Disney car-care center, jumped into an Alamo shuttle
that took us directly to Hollywood Studios, and strolled over to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater for our 7:05 reservation with time to spare. Once again, it's
the details that make fantasy reality.
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Hollywood Studios at Sunset |
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The Sci-Fi Dine-In, a drive-in theater...inside! |
There's a lot of "retro" and new reissue stuff
today. From countertops to table lamps. Let me tell you, Disney doesn't play
that hackneyed game. I swear, they must design and fabricate damn near
everything, from the cast iron building supports at our resort (in 1800's
styles) to the wall tiles and wall paper in their restaurants. It's one thing
to imagine a world and create it in animation, but it's something else to
create it in the physical world when half of what you need doesn't exist at any
cost.
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What's real? What's imaginary? |
Oh, we had our days at the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios,
and Animal Kingdom, and even met up with my parents for a day at EPCOT. Words
can't describe the places, or the food. We were on the Dining Plus plan which
includes a table service meal, a quick service meal, and a snack for every day.
Let me put it this way, a quick service meal would consist of something you
might get down at Toad's. A big burger or sandwich, fries on the side, plus a
dessert. A table service would be Brown Bottle territory. Except that when we
ate at Tutto Italia in EPCOT, the food was prepared by an Italian chef and
served by waiters that were actually from Italy as part of the Disney program.
By the end of of the week we were leaving food on the plates, it was just too
much!
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Quick Service at Ray's Cafe |
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Desserts at The Brown Derby |
One of my favorite rides....Mission: Space and Twilight
Zone Tower of Terror. The former utilizes a centrifuge with hydraulic-ram
actuated pods that contain high def displays with a simulation of space. Once
you climb in and buckle up (4 seats, 4 displays, 4 sets of controls to each
pod), the controls and monitors tip towards you and you feel 2.5G's pull you
back into the seat as you look out the "window" in front of you as if
you were in the nosecone of an actual rocket leaving the pad. The forces and
tilt match the video window as though you really left earth. It's quite an
experience but leave many people feeling pretty sick. Because of that, a lesser
version is also offered that keeps the tipping but does away with the g-forces.
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EPCOT at Night |
The latter ride, with equally long lines, is based on the
premise of a service elevator free-falling down a shaft in a haunted hotel. The
elevator happens to seat something like 36 people, and actually does drop
approximately 13 stories. In fact, you fall faster than gravity because the
motors actually accelerate you downward. A computer program ensures the drops
and lifts are random and occasionally 'elevator doors' open up to the outside
while you're 100' up. Needless to say, it's got good seat belts. You'd be on
the ceiling otherwise.
And so, running out of enthusiasm to share every minute detail, I'll let the following pictures do the talking....
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Carousel of Progress- One of Walt's Original Attractions |
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Inside the Carousel of Progress |
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A Sneezing Lunch-Bird |
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A Hippo, Ducks, and one of many Herons |
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We Meet Tigger for Breakfast! |
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IBM Celebrates their 100th Anniversary |
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Cara checks out her car at GM's Test Track |
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We fight the crowds during extended hours.. |
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A friend joins us for lunch.. |
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Giraffes...Cool. |
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The Magic Kingdom at Night |
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Back to Reality |
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