Why I Oughta...

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo of a tropical, beach-dwelling shrub on Disney's Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point that had silver foliage and was nestled in amongst a palm tree right on the white-sand beach.   We visited both of Disney's "private islands" recently and some of the early reviews of Lookout Cat at Lighthouse Point had me thinking that we were going to arrive at a 'young' island with lots of 'young' trees, shrubs and plants.  Whereas, Castaway Cay has been established in 1998 - so it is more than 25 years 'old'.   There was some chatter of how it 'was going to take some time for Lookout Cay to grow' and that the plants were all not-established and tiny.   Of the two islands, I enjoyed my time on both.  But...I'm surprised that in hindsight, I think I prefer Lookout Cay over the two - and that's with the horticulture - which *is* very young - in mind.  Below are a few photos showing various shots of trees, sh...

Amongst the various hard surfaces around the Walt Disney World Resort are 'realistic' (Animal Kingdom) and not-so-realistic (the brown middle part in Liberty Square).  It isn't hard to miss some of the hardscape elements, but it is also worth taking a beat and looking around to see what they're using in various spots.  One of them is this European Fan at Disney Springs.  See below for the cobble stones: I've been spending time thinking about the hard surfaces for my pizza oven patio - here's my initial 'musings' post .  This European Fan pattern sent me looking out on the Web for how I could use it down there.  I found this concrete fan pattern that can be used to stamp concrete .  Could be a nice treatment, right?

There are a number of tile mosaics in and around the Disney Treasure .  These are pretty-good storytelling devices that feature characters from adventure-adjacent intellectual property including Moana.  Below is one of the mosaics that are put together by some CLEARLY talented tile artists.  These are complementary to the movie-related art that is in the aft and forward stairwell landings that I've previously posted about ( here , here and here ).   The Disney Treasure is the latest (most recent) ship in the fleet of the Disney Cruise line. 

Another day, another post showing the artwork from Disney's latest cruise ship - the Disney Treasure. The stairwell landings on the Disney Treasure cruise ship are filled with art that reference 'Adveture-ish' or 'Adventureland-adjacent' films and movies in the Disney catalog. I shared a couple looks at the WALL-E art in the aft stairs . And the "Tomb Sweet Tomb" Haunted Mansion needlepoint in the Haunted Mansion Parlor or the DCL ship Disney Treasure. Then, I shared the Jungle Book large-format art that is also in the aft stairs . It features Baloo and Mogli from Disney's Jungle Book animated film. Below are some photos showing art from a different floor - focused on Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.  These were organized into a 'gallery wall' display with multiple, smaller-sized framed works of art covering the different parts of the Enchanted Tiki Room attraction.  These are in the 'forward stairs' of the ship:

Needlepoint, I believe.  Framed. Reading:  Tomb, Sweet Tomb. As seen in  the vestibule to the Haunted Mansion Parlor on the Disney Treasure from the Disney Cruise Line in early 2025.  I previously posted a couple of photos of some WALL-E related art in the stairwells of the Disney Treasure cruise ship .  

The stairwell landings on the Disney Treasure cruise ship are filled with art that reference 'Adveture-ish' or 'Adventureland-adjacent' films and movies in the Disney catalog. I shared a couple looks at the WALL-E art in the aft stairs .  And the "Tomb Sweet Tomb" Haunted Mansion needlepoint in the Haunted Mansion Parlor or the DCL ship Disney Treasure.  Today, I'm sharing the Jungle Book art below that is also in the aft stairs.  This is a wide-ratio piece of art featuring Baloo and Mogli from Disney's Jungle Book animated film.

The family beach (there are two family beaches and one adults-only beach) at Castaway Cay in the Bahamas is loaded with these tiny white seashells that are halves.   The beach is not-quite-as-white as the sand on Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, but it has the same 'baking soda'-type texture.  

As spotted at Disney Old Key West resort on a quick stop around the resort grounds.  Nice little expressive tree on the banks of the Sassagola River as part of the horticulture program from the team at the Vacation Kingdom.   

This is the best Pixar movie, right?  Hits the emotions pretty hard. Up is right up there, too. They have some WALL-E artwork on one of the landings in the aft stairwell on Disney Cruise Line's newest ship the Disney Treasure.   

Full sun. Drought tolerant. And sandy soil.  Soft to the touch. As planted in a variety of spots on Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in the Bahamas. 

I've been doing the 'throw out the number of items that match the day of the month' thing during October.  That means that I've turned to cleaning out my desk and office to toss unnecessary items.  It also means that I'm finding some things that I stashed away and forgot about.   One of those stashed/forgotten is this:  a Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort Pin featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse in their cabana gear.  I've always been a 'deluxe resort' kinda guy at Disney Parks.  But...can I say something?  I REALLY liked Caribbean Beach Resort.  The Skyliner is there.  We had a 'corner room', so we had windows on two sides (sorta), so it felt a little less motel-y.   We could walk to the Disney Riveria resort for breakfast or dinner.  I'd stay here again.  

The EPCOT Center annual Flower and Garden Festival is headlined by character topiaries and food booths.  Those are both just lovely.  But, in each of the last few visits we've made down there during the festival, the star(s) of the show (for me) are the bedding annuals that the horticulture team at Disney plant in large, colorful masses all around the park.  Here, below are a few of my favorite views of annual flowers in/around the World Showcase. First is a trio of purple, red and white - all planted in their own colonies: Closer to the Butterfly room, they have this colorful combo: SunPatiens made a big splash: This bed below is mixed with a number of flowering annuals all about the same height: Of course, I couldn't include a roundup of the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival beds without a look at the UK Pavilion.  I included a similar look from 3 years ago ( 2021 Festival) where they planted a similar red/yellow/purple mixed bed .   These below are my fav...

One of the garden design components that I've been observing (and thinking about) over the years are garden walls.  I haven't built a garden wall (yet), but it is something I've been trying to figure out how to tuck into our yard in one-way-or-the-other.    The most-likely place has been the bed at the feet of the espalier'd Greenspire Linden trees (that now feature a mass of boxwoods) .   Or out front where the floating mulch/drainage issue remains out-in-front of our front porch bed .   I've collected some inspiration for walls in various public places including back in 2019 when Gabion-style walls were one of the big trends  and in the wild in Lisle .  And I've dreamed about a 'fountain wall' by our patio in back .   I also have found an example at Disney's Aulani Resort here .  Disney Parks are (for me) a good place to look around at built, landscape environments.  And on a recent trip I was drawn to a retaining wall i...

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 an...

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 .

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...

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 Disn...

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...

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.