Why I Oughta...

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

Some of the best fireworks at Walt Disney World are clearly New Year's Eve.  And  we've seen those from our room at the Polynesian Village Resort .  I posted about that experience  here  and  here .   That show has ruined me for just about any other fireworks show .   The second best?  Might be Hallowishes that they put on during  Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party .   We went to the party one night, but we also were staying at the Grand Floridian during another night that they hosted the party and we did not attend.  We did, however, head down to the pier to catch the show from near the water and it was pretty great.  Perimeter fireworks were still great - not quite as great as being dead-on from the Polynesian - and light up the waterfront.  There was a small crowd down on the end of the pier, but we stayed next to Narcoossee's and were able to enjoy them all by ourselves.   We've experienced the various fireworks shows from Bay Lake Tower, but