Disney Picture of the Day

 Not everybody loves Tiggers:

Brunchin' at the Gaylord

The hubby and I had Sunday brunch over at Gaylord Palms  the other week-end. It was our first time there even tho we drive by it nearly every day.

Most definitely impressive.

As we walked through the 4-and-a-half indoor acres of different atriums (Everglades, St Augustine, Key West, Emerald Bay), my thought was: Disney should do THIS!

St Augustine atrium

Oh, and the brunch?
I didn't try everything ... but did have best tiramisu I've ever had ... otherwise, just okay.

Our service was lukewarm, but other servers seemed pretty good.

Would I recommend it?   Sure.
And don't forget to get your parking ticket validated!

(Photos: Gaylord Palms)

Toy Story Characters

I dunno if this is true ... so if someone knows, plmk, before I try it and make a bigger-than-usual fool of myself.

Kthanx!

Let the Farce Be With Us!

It's almost time for Stars Wars Weekends!

Where: Disney's Hollywood Studios

  When: May 17- June 9  2013/ Fri-Sat-Sun

All Photos: WDW

Disney Princess # 11

Merida, the red-headed lassie from "Brave" is going to be the 11th  Disney Princess.
 

 She will join:

Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, and Rapunzel as an official Disney princess.

Photo: Disney

 Photo: Definitely NOT Disney!

Goodnight, Sweet Princess

Annette Funicello, original Mouseketeer and unofficial Disney princess died yesterday.

Annette Funicello beloved Mouseketeer dies at 70

I watched Annette every weekday afternoon on our little black and white tv set all those many years ago and wanted to be just like her. As role models go, I could not have chosen a better one.

 

And for anyone who does not know who Annette Funicello was:

Annette Funicello

Real Life Disney: Ratatouille

Which is the real Alfredo Linguini?

Hyperion Wharf / Disney Springs

Remember the make-over of Pleasure Island that was supposed to be 'Hyperion Wharf'?

Well, it looks like that ain't a-gonna happen after all, which is no big surprise as nothing has been done or said about it in over a year.

Just heard on the local evening news that speculation and rumors abound about a new plan: 'Disney Springs'


The Downtown Disney area will become ‘Disney Springs,’ with 6 neighborhoods: The Gateway, The Town Center, The Springs, The Landing, The West Side and The Village Marketplace.

• The Gateway of “Disney Springs” - the main entrance hub with a 5-story parking garage.
• The Town Center - a retail area built on two existing parking lots.
• The Springs - a more natural, relaxing area next to  ...
• The Landings, which is a dining sector.
• The West Side and The Village Marketplace will remain the same (almost).

Here's more, including a conceptual map from Parkrumors.com: 
 

Major facelift for-planned Downtown-Disney      

 

Real Life Disney: Tow Mater

Disney Mater:

 

Real Life Maters:

 

My Morning at the Animal Kingdom

I finally got over to The Animal Kingdom to ride the 'new'  Kilimanjaro Safari . I really liked it. It seemed slightly longer, had more animals including the zebras (yay), and no, I did not miss the ride spiel about Little Red vs the poachers at all.

Photo:Disney

After exiting the ride, we stopped over at the gorilla viewing area as we usually do, and this time there was quite a crowd gathered. One of the big bachelors (male) was, um, sitting at the edge of the ledge taking care of some monkey business.  The hubby says "If he reaches around behind him, RUN." Well, yeah, I already knew this!  So the big guy finishes and as he's standing, he lifts his bottom up in the air and MOONS us! The crowd collectively gasps, so of course, he does it again. Then he walked over to the rocks and as he reached the top, before sitting with his back to the crowd, moons us again!  What a show.

Photo:Disney

As we were heading over to the Asia area to ride Expedtion:Everest, out of the bushes come a mother and father duck with two itty-bitty ducklings. They were an instant attraction with most folks making way for the ducklings, but a few kids kept trying to catch/touch them. A couple of CMs took up escort duty and the ducks made it safely to the bushes on the other side of the walkway.

After riding Everest, we walked through Dinoland to see the American crocodile. It was sunning itself, mouth open, at the pond's edge. As we watched, it closed its mouth, turned its head, opened mouth again. I do believe that's the 1st time I've seen it move!

Then - the highlight of my day! Dug and Russell were at a Character Spot near "Tough to be a Bug", so of course I got in line with all the kids. Got a big hug from Dug and did the Wilderness Explorer bird-hand gesture with Russell!
 "The wilderness must be explored! CAW-CAW! RAAWWRR"

Photo: AllEars/Steve Barrett

PS: I still miss Tarzan Rocks!