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Showing posts with the label disney

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel Coaster - #39 in Collection, #15 from Disney Parks

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It has been two-and-a-half years since I added a photo to my online [coaster collection] with the last one posted was in Summer of 2021 when I added the Riviera Resort down at Walt Disney World to my collection .  Earlier this year, we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland Resort and either from the hotel room or from the lounge by the pool, I found and came away with this lovely disposable coaster.  One side features the letters G C H.  The reverse is a flower and leaves. The title tells the story of this being the 15th piece of Disney Parks ephemera in the form of coasters from restaurants and resorts.   This is the third Disneyland Resort Coaster; with a Disneyland Hotel one and the Lamplight Lounge Pixar coasters already being posted in the collection.   Here's the Full Disney Parks coaster list: The full Disney list includes: 1. The standard one you see in your rooms @  Walt Disney World resort hotels . 2. This  black and white one from the original Disneyland

Holiday Magic Disney Christmas Pin 2023 Very Merry Christmas Party - January 2024

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My annual Christmastime Disney pin - this year's version is below - featured Santa Mickey Mouse steering a sled chock'd full of presents and lead by just one flying reindeer.  The phrase "Holiday Magic" is at the top and it has a pair of studs in the back due to it being a 'longer' pin (longer than it is tall).  This is an exclusive Disney Pin to the 2023 Very Merry Christmas Party and includes that note on the big green gift tag in in the sleigh.  2023 Disney Very Merry Pin - Holiday Magic I wore it on Christmas Eve and it will now go up with its fellow Christmas Disney pins .

A Disney-Inspired Water Feature for 2023? February 2023

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One of the things that I've been chasing FOR YEARS in all three of our gardens (two of our own, one borrowed via my sister Vic/Equation Boy/Man when we lived there for two years) is a water feature.  I've longed after one in various forms.  Over the years, I've had two water features that managed to be planned, executed and maintained.  But, each of them lasted for just one season. The first one was this three-tiered acrylic fountain that I had near our garden in our first house in Elmhurst.  The birds loved it.  But, it dried out rapidly.  Then it cracked and was junk.   The second one was this small wine barrel water 'feature' that we had in the borrowed garden/patio .  It was an insert that wasn't quite the right size inside of a wine barrel planter from the hardware store.   I've talked about adding some water - for both the visuals but also the sounds - many times.  I included it on my 2022 to-do list and it was an item that didn't get done.   Wh

Disney's Magic Kingdom 50th Anniversary Park GuideMap - March 2022

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Over the years, I've made a small little catalog of Disney Parks Maps from various visits here on the blog.  I'm drawn to various forms of Disney Parks ephemera and have posted some photos online here, mostly so I can remember them and...throw out the actual map.  Here's the tag of all the Parks Maps posts .   And, here's another collection of posts all showing various Disney Parks ephemera .  The last time I shared a Disney Parks map was from 2019 when we went to the opening season of Star Wars Galaxy Edge in Disneyland Park .   Below, is the latest parks map showing the 50th Anniversary of the Magic Kingdom showing Cinderella's Castle on the front.   Below is an inside look that shows the 'Now Programming' for the Tron ride in Tomorrowland. Below is one of the inside spreads featuring the details of "The World's Most Magical Celebration" for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom. For the rest of the catalog of Disney

Riding the Calm Seas - Walt Disney World - March 2022

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This recent boat ride - from the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian - was on aboard a new-to-us vessel:  the Calm Seas.  We love a good Disney boat ride and have done a bunch of them:  from resort to parks.  From resort to Disney Springs.  From Resort to Resort.   Friendship boats.  Motor Launch boats.  Ferries.  Pontoon boats.  But, the boat you see below in photos, was new-to-us:  Calm Seas. It was running on the Seven Seas Lagoon, so that had me wondering...what was the story with the boat?  Turns out, it is repurposed boat from Animal Kingdom.  Via Wikipedia, we discover (get it??) that the once-used Discovery River Boats ride was in service for about 18 months and closed in 1999 .  Two of the four boats have stayed at Animal Kingdom.  But, Wikipedia tells us about the Calm Seas and how it was relocated .  With another boat: Two of the boats were later moved to the Magic Kingdom resort area on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon, where they were repurposed for a pirate-themed fire

Staghorn Ferns On Disney's Jungle Cruise in Adventureland - March 2022

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We recently rode the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom and being all-in on Staghorn Ferns lately, it was a lovely surprise when I spotted a couple of them attached to tree trunks near the beginning of the ride.  I've looked at a bunch of POV videos on YouTube , but can't seem to find a clear look at the ferns and I wasn't able to whip my phone out fast enough to capture them.  But, trust me...they're there.  Once you leave the dock, look to the right side on a few of the bare palm tree trunks - about six-or-so-feet high from the waterline, you'll see a couple of Staghorn Ferns.   Although there isn't a similar site for Walt Disney World, the folks at Plants of Disneyland have documented four different Staghorn Ferns in Disneyland.  You can see the listing page here - screenshot below.   Source via Plants of Disneyland I'll be sure to have my phone out the NEXT TIME that we board the cruise. 

Disney's Boardwalk: The Showplace of the Shore - March 2022

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We've been going to Disney's Boardwalk since for ten years now ( here's a post showing our first visit, I think...back in March of 2012)  and have come to really love and appreciate this resort area of Walt Disney World.  Sure, the Magic Kingdom resorts have the monorail, the electric water pageant and Magic Kingdom Fireworks.  But the Epcot resorts have walking-to two parks, the Skyliner and the Boardwalk area.  On a recent walk around the Boardwalk, I came across this sign that is situated right on the border between the Yacht Club and the Swan and Dolphin bridge that evokes one of those old-time-y vacation postcards.  It has a cute Walt Disney World Resort postmark on the top, even.  But, the part that jumped out to me was the copy in the red bar across the bottom:  "Come to the Showplace of the Shore".  That's a new-to-me tagline for the resort area.  See the signage below: A quick spin around the Google machine shows me, however, that is his NOT a new tag

Disney Tsum Tsum Pins - Park Collection - February 2022

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One of the kids pieced together this collection of Disney Tsum Tsum trading pins that I found when digging out some of our Disney stuff.  You have 'Disney Parks stuff', don't you?   As for these pins....I don't think Tsum Tsums are 'a thing' any more, are they?  I never really *got* them - they were stackable - that was the appeal.  But, they're mostly hamster-looking Disney characters.  Not for me, but that's ok.  Same with Funko Pops.  Not drawn to them.  These Tsum Tsums *do* have cute faces, though.  This collection of pins will join some other Tsum Tsum pins on our big boards in the garage .    There are a few interesting ones in this group - Obi Won from Star Wars, Baloo from Jungle Book and the pair of birds that are from an Adventureland Booster set.  Juan the Barker Bird from the outside pre-show at the Tiki Room is pretty awesome.   And, so is one of the Showgirl Birds - the cockatoos who come down from the ceiling during "Let's All

My Disney Wine and Dine 5K Experience - January 2022

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Back in November, I posted a photo of what I called a pair of "underutilized" Disney MagicBands .  I wrote about how they weren't able to "live their best life" because our trip was cut short.  In a post a week earlier where I posted a photo of Pooh Bear as a 50th Anniversary statue , I talked about how we didn't see too many of those statues due to "unforeseen circumstances".  But, in those posts, I didn't really talk about what we *did* do on our trip.  Besides going to a couple of parks and having some good drinks at my favorite restaurant on Disney property (more on that in a different post, I think), Nat and I were down there for the Run Disney Wine & Dine Race Weekend.   Both Nat and I were set to run the 5K, but she was also running another, much longer race.  I was happy to just do the 5K.  Here, below is my bib.   Our race started in the rain and thankfully we had ponchos.  We stood out there for a couple of hours, waiting in the c

Stunt Bar Pizza: BBQ Chicken Pizza With Cheddar Frico - January 2022

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I make exactly ONE "stunt pizza" at home.  It is a BBQ chicken pizza that I call the "Orange Bird" that features chicken and double application of a store-bought sweet bbq sauce.  First I apply the sauce to the chassis and then, post-oven, I squeeze on a drizzle (it is, I suppose, *more* than a drizzle, but less than a full slather) on top.  I've added this post-oven drizzle after I found the pice a little dry but that the sauce burns pretty easily when put on top pre-bake.  In this case, (once I de-pan the pie) I put down (first) a heavy hand of post-oven Romano scattered on top, then after waiting a beat, I put down this sauce which finishes with the heat off the top of the pizza.   Btw....you might be wondering what a 'stunt pizza' is?  Urban Dictionary has an entry that sums up the term pretty well , but that's not where I picked up the term.  It was from Pizza Blogger Adam Kuban - somewhere along the lines of following him online in various plac

Vintage Vacation Kingdom Balloon Logo - Florida Project - Vintage Disney

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I was thumbing through a Disney World 50th Anniversary coffee table book at the Downers Grove Library last week and I was (of course) drawn to the early days pages.  From the land acquisition (Walt was involved then) to the opening of the Preview Center, the ephemera that they show is pretty interesting.  One of the standouts was this Florida Disney World balloon logo that features the Disney World glove as the center of the Mickey ear balloons. They've moved away from the Vacation Kingdom monicker, but with the 50th Anniversary merchandise that came out this fall, it seems that (at least part of) Disney is leaning into nostalgia.  

Our Very Own Tiny Jingle Cruise - December 2021

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We have this tiny, plastic replica of a Jungle Cruise boat that a special Dole Whip was served to us in on a trip to Disneyland in our living room.  And, I didn't want to get too far away from Christmas before I forget to post a photo of what Nat did to convert it to a Jingle Cruise boat.  She applied a little sign that is perfect for us (name blurred out) and is a nice touch for Christmastime.  IYKYK.  I suppose this is a bigtime #DisneyAdult post.  I'm embracing it. 

Just a Pair of Under-Utilized MagicBands - November 2021

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These two Disney MagicBands (Orange Bird on the left for him and Epcot Construction Walls on the right for her) barely had a chance.  They got all gussied up and didn't get to live their best life.  Sure, they rode the Magic Express and rode the boat from the Wilderness Lodge to the Magic Kingdom.  But, they had so much more planned for their journey.  These MagicBand stickers are different than the ones we've used in the past, but they seemed to work just fine.  Here's hoping they'll get to live their best life one day. I've posted photos of some of our MagicBands over the years here on the blog including some of the original version (without the circle bump-out in the middle) here with Mary Poppins and Bert in 2016 and with Monorail Orange in 2016 , too.  And the full boxed versions in 2015 and 2014 .  

Buffalo Painting at Disney's Wilderness Lodge - 2nd Floor Lounge - 2021

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I've posted a few times about our experience(s) at Disney's Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World over the years .  It was the first place we stayed on our own as a family, the first place we experienced the Electrical Water Pageant and has the best resort-to-park transportation experience on property (imho) with the boat ride from the dock at Wilderness Lodge to the front of Magic Kingdom.  One of the best spots to just sit and relax on property is in the train room in the DVC studios building on the first floor where they have a bunch of Walt Disney's Carolwood Pacific backyard trains displayed .   On our recent trip at the Lodge, we found ourselves in an area that we've never really been before:  a little hidden area on the 2nd floor of the resort that feels tucked away and very private.  There's a big desk to do work and a little couch area, too.  I'll post about that part in a different post.   But, by the desk area....there's a really striking painting

Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration Pooh Bear and Piglet Statue - November 2021

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I thought we'd see a lot of these Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary "Fab 50" statues .  But, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I only took a single photo of *just* one of the golden (EARidescent is what they're calling them, I think) character statues that is inside of the Magic Kingdom. Luckily, it is a guy who's big in our house - Pooh Bear.  And, it is a double feature that has the big guy (Winnie the Pooh) giving a nice cuddle to his pal Piglet.   Guess we'll have to go back before the 50th Anniversary Celebration is over. I know this is a minor thing, but it bothers me that there aren't REALLY 50 statues like this one for the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World - the Vacation Kingdom.  There are *ONLY* 36 statues .  A bunch of them are two-fers like this Pooh Bear/Piglet one above.  I know that costs are important, but feels like a little bit of the bean counters winning out.

Early Fall - Disneyland Roses Blooming - September 2021

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About ten days ago, I posted some photos and details about a new pair of Crabapple trees that I planted right alongside our house on the south side that I'm planning on training into an espalier.  In that post, I talked about how the only thing over there were the three Disneyland Roses.  But, I don't think I did the three Floribunda roses (the *only* roses we have) justice.  Because they're STILL looking really great and throwing off some beautiful, multi-hue'd blooms: These roses started blooming in early Summer - photo from June 10th - and have gone through at least three cycles of flowers.  I haven't watched these that closely over the years, but have shown similar late Summer/early Fall blooms last year in late August .  And, by mid-October last year , they still had flowers on them, but were beginning to fade.   There are two that have been here since 2018 and one that I transplanted this Spring.  Below, is the one closet to the front of the house.  This one

Juniper in a Wooden Tree Box - DIY Project Idea

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I have an idea for a garden-related project that has been knocking around my head for a number of years.  Well...there are tons of those kind of projects, frankly.  But, for this post, I'm talking about one of them specifically.  This one...involves trees.  And...I haven't moved on it - for a variety of reasons including shifting priorities, lack of need, the right nursery stock and the opportunity.   It starts with this post about Hollywood Junipers in 2018 where I posted a photo of a tree in a wooden box for a container .  And, was likely rekindled during one of my trips to Tokyo where I saw all sorts of container'd conifers.  Like this one from House of Bonsai below: Via House of Bonsai . This is not my photo. And, even more recently, I came across a couple of striking conifer trees by the bus stops down at Disney Springs.  They were relatively new (newly planted) and still had their tags on them. Here's a shot of them below: And, below, is a look at the tag reveali

Mickey Mouse Topiary Update - September 2021

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The last time I posted an update on our Mickey Mouse (standing) topiary was back in late July of this Summer .  I had just recently moved it outside to our back patio and the Creeping Fig Vine that I had planted on it was doing well and growing to cover part of the frame.  We brought home the frame from this Spring's Epcot Flower and Garden Festival and I bought the balance of the supplies online .  That look back in July was at about the 3 month mark .   Today, marks the five month mark since stuffing, wiring and planting the topiary.  And we're seeing quite a bit more coverage with the Creeping Fig Vine seeming to have established itself and would around the front and back of the frame.   Here, below, is the front of the Mickey Mouse topiary after about 150 days.  The vine - planted in the 'heart' has covered a lot of his belly, some of his face and some of one of his ears. Below, you can see a photo of the back of the topiary.  I just started to train some of the vin

Diamond Pattern Espalier at Disneyland Resort - Belgian Fence - Summer 2021

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One of the things that I'm always struck by during our visits to the Disneyland Resort is the Disney horticulture .  I guess that I always look at a 'place's' horticulture, but when I'm at Disneyland, I always come away thinking how great of a job they do - AND - how foreign it is to me being a Zone 5b Northern climate gardener.   I've posted a bunch of photos over the years from our trips here on the blog including some photos of the Disneyland Roses , some crazy cubed shrubs near Small World  and a few times about some Belgian Fence espaliers that they have in the parks.  I first posted a photo of this Belgian Fence in January of 2019 .  Then, I posted about Disneyland's Belgian Fences later that same year.    Below, you'll see a new photo of what I think is the 'matching pair' to the espalier that I've posted about before.  This one is on the City Hall side of the train station - just as you go under the sign that reads:  "Here you l

Mickey Mouse Topiary - 3 Months In - Creeping Fig Vine - July 2021

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Earlier this Spring, we came home with a Standing Micky Mouse metal wire topiary frame from the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival and I went ahead figuring out how to acquire the material, stuff the thing, wire it up and plant it with a creeping Fig Vine.  Here's that post from April that shows the steps I took to get it set up initially.   Mickey Mouse topiary spent the first few months of its life on our counter top in the kitchen sitting in a bowl.  I tried to keep it pretty wet and the vine grew just a little bit.  Then, I had a setback with some dieback on the tips of the vine.  I think I let it dry out too much.  Around the beginning of June, I decided to try to move it outside on our back stoop and patio.  After a few days of trying to harden the vine off (I put it out in the shade for a few hours, then brought it back in.  Repeat that process over the course of a week or so, each day adding a little bit of time.), I decided to give it a little bit of assistance in terms of