Why I Oughta...

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...

When we first went to the Magic Kingdom when the Babe was very young, I remember being struck by these twinkling lights that they had in the park.  At one point, they had a bunch of trees in the 'hub' - that have all been removed so people can view the castle/projection show.  On *those* trees were these twinkling lights that they turned on at dusk. I can't find a video of *those* lights, but I do have this one of what I think are the same lights up at Downtown Disney. Those lights give off a little bit of a firefly vibe and are what I remember. And, it isn't just *me* who remembers the lights, as if you put in the phrase [twinkle lights disney trees], you'll see dozens of forum posts all about buying or replicating those lights.  I've spent the past few months wading through them and I think I've come up with an approach that I'm going to attempt to DIY here at home. First, the bulbs and the fixtures. Again...based on wading through the ...

There are these lovely little entrance plaques at some Disney parks that feature a quote from Walt Disney at the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim.  As you walk through the entrance tunnels, you can look up/over and see these and smile and remember that the whole thing was in one dude's mind.  Pretty amazing. I posted the one at the Magic Kingdom in Florida here on the blog back in 2016.  This one, in Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris is a bit different.  First, the dual language thing, of course.  But also the phrases are different. Magic Kingdom : ...and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.  Disneyland Park: ...and enter worlds of history, discovery and ageless fantasy. 

Look at me.  All over the #PurpleWall at the Magic Kingdom .  Just give me a pair of Rose Gold ears and I'd be a hit, right?  Also, note that this was taken *right before* t hey updated/changed the #purplewall in Tomorrowland to be a bit more interesting.  Old school is the way I roll when it comes to Walt Disney World famous selfie spots.  

Do you guys follow Boyfriends of Instagram ?  Besides all the pizza nerdery that I follow on (as the kids say...) Insta, my favorite account *has* to be Boyfriends of Instagram .  For those of you new to this handle, it is a place where people share images and videos of people forced to take ridiculous instagram photos of their girlfriend/spouse/partner/friend/etc. So, when I came across this weird situation right in front of Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom down at Walt Disney World, I knew that I had witnessed a 'Boyfriends of Instagram' moment myself! Check out what this Dad (I'm assuming??) is doing to get *that* special photo of his daughter in her big, Princess dress.   This is taking place up the ramps that are open sometimes, like right in front of the opening that you take to go 'under' the Castle.  During a super busy time.  You can see all the other people just walking past trying to experience the Castle.  All the while....Dad ...

Came across another one of these construction signs that includes a quote from Walt Disney on the walls of a job site inside of WDW.  I've posted two of these before including this one about deadlines and this one about curiosity .   This one was on the backside of Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom in an area that I think was where the crane was located as they installed Christmas lights. Unlike those other ones that were outside of Epcot, this one is definitely Fantasyland-themed and is appropriate for the place it is hung. This one, too, is sponsored by Stanley, which I continue to think is a nice sponsorship integration for both parties.

I've written a few times about Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party down at the Magic Kingdom in the past.  In 2015, I posted a few photos of Halloween pins and a video of the Sanderson Sisters .  I also posted a photo of a Christmas ornament - yes Christmas - that was a Mickey-shaped pumpkin .  And, finally, that same year, we picked up a few 'limited edition' pins from the party and I shared a photo of those .    This year, I'll place this year's map here in my diary to remember what things looked like and where the trick-or-treat locations were located.  You can see those below. This isn't the first Parks map that I've posted.  You can see more from Disneyland/Sea Tokyo here .  And the full archive of maps-specific posts here . Boo to you!

This one is more badge than pin, but it is sold in the pin store down at Disney Springs, so we'll call it a pin.  But, I'll also call it something else:  awesome.   This Jungle Cruise Skipper is - as you can see - Limited Edition.   It is pretty big and it has 2 backs on it, but that didn't stop the Babe from wearing it and getting a bunch of compliments on it. The Jungle Cruise is Nat's favorite ride inside of the Magic Kingdom and the Babe really likes it too. Especially since she's been an honorary skipper and piloted a Jungle Cruise boat into the dock. Here's the video from a few years ago:

Not my current view, but this year's NYE's show from the folks at the Magic Kingdom may have spoiled me for every other fireworks show in existence.

We were in Magic Kingdom recently and on our way out one morning, we saw this 2 horse coach charging right up Main Street USA.  This is a vehicle that we had never seen before.  And a few quick searches on the Googles, I think I've discovered that it is a rare sight? I've written in the past about meeting the Main Street USA Characters.  The latest of those posts featuring Bea Starr - who is the Chairwoman of the Main Street USA Thespian Society - is here from earlier this year . But this is the first time, I think, I've written about the vehicles of Main Street USA.  Turns out, it is a pretty common topic for various Disney World outlets to cover.   Here's Touring Plans page .   Here's MousePlanet's vehicle page . Just peek at this wiki listing of various Main Street USA vehicles .  They even have photos. The horse-drawn vehicles in that post and in the official Disney World posting about Main Street USA vehicles show the usual horse-dra...

On the left is Chief Smokey Miller and on the far right is Victoria Trumpetto - both of whom I've posted about already.  But, right next to me is a new one:  Beatrice Starr.  We met her on the same day earlier this year.  According to the DisneyParks Blog, she runs the theatre program around Main Street USA: Miss Beatrice Starr is better known as “Bea” (pronounced Be-uh), and is the Chairman of The Main Street Thespian Society. She signed one of the girl's books, too! So, that now makes Honorable Christopher George Weaver , Mayor of Main Street USA Scoop Sanderson , Main Street Gazette Reporter, Town Councilman and Pin-thusiast Chief Smokey Miller , Chief of the Main Street Volunteer Fire Department, Mayor George Weaver's “right-hand man” Ms. Hildegard Olivia Harding , socialite and suffragette, President of the Main Street Social Society, Women’s Auxiliary and Decorating Committee, and owner of the Emporium Victoria Trumpetto, the Main Street C...

Adding another resident of Main Street USA to our list of meeting with this photo of Nat and two ladies.  I'll post and talk about the woman on the right in a different post, but let's talk about the woman on the left:  Ms. Hildegard Olivia Harding. From the Disney Parks Blog : Miss Hildegard Olivia Harding is a socialite and suffragette, President of the Main Street Social Society, Women’s Auxiliary and Decorating Committee, and works diligently with the women, educating them on Women’s Rights (as her friend Taby says “Those who don’t believe in Women’s Rights should watch out for Women’s Lefts.”). Hildegard’s finger is in every pie, especially chocolate. “One can never have enough chocolate!” Miss Harding owns the Emporium and has an apartment upstairs where she throws lavish functions, often serving her specialty- calamari scones. Look at that "Women Unite" sash she's wearing!  Couldn't be a more perfect meeting for Natalie and these ladies right ...

That right there is Fozzie Bear, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggie and Gonzo the Great (along with his chickens) in the windows above Liberty Square in Walt Disney World preforming what they call "Great Moments in History....but only the American ones!".  What you don't see is Sam Eagle, who sits in his own window (hole) in an adjacent building. We stopped and watched the show a few times and we heard two different stories:  the Declaration of Independence and Paul Revere's ride.  They were really cute and the Muppets are a PERFECT addition to Liberty Square.  We've always just used Liberty Square as a kind of 'pass through' area of the Magic Kingdom.  Sure, we'd eat up their waffles and stop at the Christmas shop, but it was mostly a way to get to the Haunted Mansion or to the Hub.  Now, there's a reason to hang there. I've stopped taking any sort of videos from Disney World because there are pros out there that get *much* better video than ...