A look at Disney Springs

Monday 25 April 2016. After our visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom we head over to Disney Springs to meet up with Eddie, Gill and Grace for a meal.

We are there well before our arranged time to catch up with the EGGs. This shot looks back towards The Landing area from West Side (see map below).

Disney Springs is a large complex containing merchandise shopping, fast food outlets and restaurants, some with cabaret or other entertainment. Merchandise from the shops can be delivered to your Disney resort if you find you have bought more than you can carry!

Miss Franny finds herself amongst familiar friends. They are cheerful looking, but can be quite hard... I had a look in an art shop with some fabulous paintings of scenes from Disney films, views of the theme parks and some beautiful scale models of the buildings along Main Street U.S.A., a little like Miss Franny's Lilliput Lane cottages. I would have loved to buy a painting or two but at $1,000 for the ones I was fancying, they were a little outside my comfort level!

We sat for a while facing Lake Buena Vista. The other day we had taken a bus from EPCOT to the Saratoga Springs Resort and another from there to Disney Springs. Well this view directly across the lake is of Saratoga Springs Resort... We could have walked it.

We saw plenty of these little gecko lizards during our holiday. They would scurry away from your approach on the pathways at our own resort and occasionally you would see them near to flower beds in the parks. This chap was sunning himself on the rocks at the edge of the lake and didn't budge when I came closer to take a picture.

At The Landing you could take a chauffeur-driven ride in a 1960s amphibious car. The Amphicar was designed and built in West Germany between 1961 and 1965 and they were sold in the USA up until 1967 when dealers were told "No, there aren't any more..." They cut more of a dash on the road than in the water really and once having been in the water you had to get out your grease gun and grease the car in thirteen different places, including one which required removal of the back seat.

I'd forgotten all about grease guns until I looked up these cars on Wikipedia. At one time they were an essential part of a motorist's kit. Cars required grease to be pumped into certain joints at regular intervals. Even more regularly than servicing, which in the 1960s was around every 3,000 miles! I wonder how many people under the age of 50 would even know what a grease gun looks like these days? (Hint: nothing like a gun.) And I always remember half-used pots of grease seemed to attract and capture a number of earwigs...

We have a meal at the Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe. I can't really remember a thing about it, but Miss Franny informs me I had salmon...

Fran takes Grace on a little train ride. This was only two dollars with the adult riding free and Miss Franny thought it would go round the track once or twice and that would be it.

It went round at least eight times and by then Nana's usually exemplary behaviour had deteriorated a little and was rubbing off on Grace...

There was also a little carousel to go on. Miss Franny was looking at Grace's safety strap in confusion. Grace sighed and said "Just put it round me, Nana, then fasten the end on this bit here..."

There's a massive bang - the volcano on top of the Rainforest Cafe has gone berserk...

Disney World Holiday Index

Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom, Florida

Monday 25 April 2016. We are now starting our second week in Walt Disney World and it's starting to feel like an entire world too... We are meeting up with the family for a meal later at Disney Springs, but before then we decide to have a look at a park that didn't exist when we last came to Florida in 1993: Disney's Animal Kingdom.

It was a bit of an overcast day, but it was still very hot. In fact it reached 92 degrees Fahrenheit this day and from now on would get hotter!

This has a very different look and feel to the other Disney parks. Nature plays a much greater part both in attractions with animals and in the lush vegetation that forms the background and surroundings. We both found the humidity was hitting the roof, making this feel much hotter than the other parks. Drinking regularly is a must. There had been an Island of Discovery at Fort Wilderness in 1993. This had a collection of both wild and "displayed" animals, but was closed in 1999 after a guest died through swimming in the lake in which the island sat. His death was put down to his having swallowed an amoeba, a microscopic animal, from the water and people are kept well away from it these days.

The name is remembered in Discovery Island in the middle of Animal Kingdom. This is the hub of the park with trails leading to the various main areas. The 145 feet tall artificial baobab tree which is somewhat magnificent, covered in sculpted animals.

We have our photos taken and they ask Fran to hold her arm out. A little green cartoon chameleon is added! I somehow have the feeling that Miss Franny would not be so relaxed and smiling if they had tried to plonk a real one on her arm...

We pass through the Gates of Africa. The park closes earlier than the other parks as the many animals are returned to their pens for the night. They mostly do this of their own accord and the process takes around two hours, which for safety has to be completed before it goes dark.

Once through the gates we have to cross Discovery River, seen here extending into the Asia section of the park with Mount Everest at the rear..

Harambe is a fictional village in East Africa. It has restaurants, refreshments stalls and shops all with African-themed products. There's a 30-minute version of The Lion King presented Broadway or London West End theatre style with actors, dancers, puppetry and music.

The deliberate "distressing" of buildings creates a very different feel to that of the other Disney parks! Other little touches like low-slung wires across the street or spider's webs of electrical or telephone wiring on the sides of buildings all adds to the feeling of being in a less affluent environment.

A cannon reminds us of colonial times. Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Portugal all had colonies along the East African coast with the island of Madagascar coming under the French. Each jealously guarded their dominions.

A line forms at the Festival of The Lion King show. It being a show, the start times are known so it's only worth going well before time if it is likely to be over-capacity.

A sign warned of crocodiles. I wasn't sure if it was meant to warn of real danger or just set dressing. There are crocs and alligators a-plenty in Florida, but as far as I know they are removed from Disney property, particularly if large. That being said, they roam Florida wild, there have been reported sightings even in Magic Kingdom in the past. The only one I saw this entire trip however was at the side of a pond as we were on the bus from the airport to our resort.

We took a ride on the Wildlife Express Train. This goes between the Africa area and Rafiki's Planet Watch on a round trip and goes through some backlot areas where the animals are housed at night. We saw a couple of white rhinos in one compound but most were empty with the animals being out in the open where they could be seen on the safari rides.

Unlike the more usual carriage, seats were arranged to give a view out of the side of the open coach.

And back at the Africa station again. We'll take a safari through Africa on another visit. I waited before exiting to get a shot of the train pulling in. There were two trains running and the round trip takes around 10-14 minutes.

It was quite cool under the shade of the station - we were almost reluctant to go back out now as the sun had come out and the temperature was soaring up!

Following the path round the back of the park, we leave Africa and pass into Asia. In normal circumstances that would be one heck of a walk...!

The props, buildings and kiosks change in nature and now we are on the Spice Road. If you ever wish to know what in your house has caused the most deaths and misery to people throughout history - just look at those two little shakers in the centre of your dining table...

We are walking through the sights of India, Pakistan, Nepal et al on our way to the mighty Himalayas. The Yak and Yeti Restaurant ("Mummy, I don't like yeti..." "Well leave it at the side of your plate, Harvey") actually sells Asian and Mandarin style chicken.

Just let's have a closer look at that previous photo - that seems to be a lady desperate not to be photographed... Sorry!

We pass a part-ruined shrine. There are two gibbon monkeys playing and hiding amongst the scaffolding if you can find them. If you can't see them, there's a closer look at the same photo below.

A little spot of India, selling soft ice cream. Actually, soft or hard didn't matter - it was all soft within a few seconds...

We are approaching Mount Everest in the distance.

The mountain, home of the Yeti, has a coaster ride, Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. Possible the roller coaster with the longest name...

The mountain itself contains loads of hidden sculptures of animals all of which need to be seen from just the right angle for you to see them. I'll just point you to a few. Above and to the left of the clump of bushes on the right of the mountain's base is a seated elephant. The coaster's lift hill at the left passes behind a bluish rock which is a gorilla's (or Yeti's) head. Just down and to the right of that is another face. They are quite small on here, but take my word for it, they are there!

On this view, find the hole where the train comes out in the previous photo and compare the two photos. In the first it's just rocks, but from this angle there is clearly an animal's face. We're still not quite in the exact position to see it properly, but the dark area makes one eye with cheek bone beneath and it has a long nose. Very clever!

Disney World Holiday Index

EPCOT And The World Showcase Part Two

Sunday 24 April 2016. We met up with the family for breakfast at the resort and then caught a bus to EPCOT. There's a few Disney characters to meet along the way but we'll have another look at the World Showcase during our visit.

Grace wanted to meet Joy and Sadness from the recent Disney/Pixar film Inside Out. Eddie was fancying a ride that had a very long waiting time and we said we'd take Grace whilst he and Gill went on that. We took her off in the right direction, saw a sign saying "Character Meeting" or something similar and joined a half-hour queue. With ten minutes or so to go we realised we were in the wrong queue and that we should have gone into the opposite building. We were now queueing to meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy...

We could hardly jump out of the queue at that stage so we met up with the aged trio (Goofy is 84 and Mickey and Minnie are both 88) and figured we would just have to queue for the other characters later. Grace was quite happy to meet them anyway - she loves Minnie Mouse especially and had not so far had the chance to meet her.

The queue for the Inside Out characters was 45 minutes so I said I'd go to our rendezvous point and meet Gill and Eddie whilst Miss Franny took Grace and joined the queue. It took me half an hour to find Gill and she said there were two lines for the ride they had gone for. The one for two riders was 90 minutes and the one for a single rider was an hour. Eddie had gone for that and was still in there.

I explained what had happened and left her to wait for him and then follow. I went back thinking that I wouldn't have long to wait. After sitting outside the entrance for a further half hour I was wondering whether they had come out a different door and I'd missed them. After an hour I was pacing up and down, but then they came out with Gill and Eddie who had gone in a different way and had been told they could wait near the exit and sneak in when they saw Grace and Fran have their turn.

In the film these characters occupy the brain of a little girl. Joy and Sadness control those emotions and two more characters, Fear and Anger make up the full team. Sadness had seen Grace's long hair and used it to dry her (Sadness's) tears! Whatever had caused the hold-up in the queue, Grace had weathered it without her own brain coming under the control of Anger, causing tantrums!

We split up for a bit after this and Fran and I went to resume our look around the World Showcase that we had started but had to rush the other day. This is the interior of the Aztec pyramid of Mexico where it is always twilight. We looked through the market stalls and watched a craftsman carving wooden animals.

Then, heading for the rear of the room, we took an eight-minute boat ride through the Gran Fiesta Tour starring The Three Caballeros. This is a slightly different theme and content from our previous visit in 1993.

Outside, the sound of mariachi music drew us over to watch and listen to this group of dancer and musicians. We hadn't too long to stay and listen as we were meeting up again for a pre-booked meal at the Norway Pavilion.

We visited the real Norway in 2013 (and will again in 2017) and we appreciated a chance to recall slowly sailing up the fjords and walking around wooden buildings and shops in both Stavanger and Bergen.

A row of shops in particular reminded us of the old town areas of those two cities.

We didn't find any buildings with grass on the roof though. The Norwegians use goats to keep the grass from growing too long on the roofs!

Also authentic were the many trolls in the shops. I wasn't taking any chances this huge one might pass on a cold...

We were booked at the Princess Storybook Dining at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Belle from Beauty and The Beast is the first to welcome us and then Grace tries out her throne as we wait to be seated.

First around the tables is Grace's absolute favourite Princess - Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. She was awake, but she certainly was a beauty. After this, she could easily be my favourite as well...

Cinderella too is no slouch when it comes to beauty - Norway must have first pick of the actresses playing these princesses!

Snow White and Arial, the Little Mermaid (the version with legs) make up the full compliment of princesses for the day. Grace wants to see Aurora again (good girl!) and after enquiring, she comes back for a return visit to talk to Grace and give her a hug. Then she goes back to whichever table should have been next on her tour, much to the surprise and disappointment of everyone else on the other tables in our alcove...

The meal over, we split up again and we continue our stroll through the pavilions of the World Showcase. Looking through the Chinese Gateway into the Chinese Pavilion. The circular blue-roofed building contains a 360 degrees screen and shows a 14-minute film Reflections of China.

The Morocco Pavilion where we had a wander through the shops, a much more relaxed experience than it would have been in Agadir, where we were bombarded with people trying to drag us into their shops.

At Morocco there is a viewpoint over the lagoon. One of the ferry boats from the Showcase Plaza, the edge of the lagoon closest to the park entrance and Future Worlds, is coming in to the landing at Morocco.

Approaching the France Pavilion. The bridge takes you over a waterway. I'm not sure if it's a river or a canal (which is more likely) but you can get a boat from here to Disney's Hollywood Studios and some EPCOT resorts.

The Canada Pavilion. We went in to see another of those 14-minute Circle-Vision 360 degree films about Canada, narrated by Canadian actor and comedian, Martin Short.

Some of the topiary sculptures for the Flower and Garden Festival. Bambi and friends.

We went back towards the main park and waited to catch a photograph of the Monorail on this part of the track that circles the Future Worlds between dropping passengers off and taking on new passengers to and from the park.

Snack time before leaving the park. Apple pieces and a coffee.

Disney World Holiday Index