A Year of Disney (and Universal) Trips- Universal Christmas Photos- updated 12/23

[meeko_33785]

“A Disney Afternoon”-July 2011 Mini Day Trip

Most trips to Disney are at least a day, if not a few days, a whole week or an extended vacation. Buzz and my June trip to Walt Disney World lasted less than three hours. We were in Orlando anyway and figured since we were so close that we would stop by Downtown Disney for lunch. Since the visit was so short and won’t have a lot of commentary, I’ll be posting the entire report at once. I hope that you enjoy it. ​

Buzz and I began our time at Downtown Disney at the Marketplace.

This was our first time visiting since the Lego store was expanded and all the Disney-themed Lego sculptures were added outside, so of course we stopped to check them out. The Snow White display was pretty impressive.

The Sleeping Beauty sculpture depicting the battle between Prince Phillip and Maleficent in dragon form was also a great one.

After being distracted by Disney classics in Lego form, we got back on track to get some lunch. We went with one of our Downtown Disney favorites- the Earl of Sandwich. The line looked a little long, but it moved very quickly. I went with what I always seem to get- the Hawaiian BBQ Sandwich. I’m a sucker for practically anything with pineapple. Buzz had the All American which sounded somewhat like Thanksgiving dinner in sandwich form with turkey and cranberries. Our sandwiches were great, and considering their quality, I really think that this is one of the better values as far a Disney quick service dining goes. We grabbed at outdoor table and enjoyed both our lunch and the atmosphere of the Marketplace.

After lunch, we took some time to peruse a few of the shops. The pin shop was only steps away from the restaurant so we started there.

Next, we checked out the new Marketplace Fun Finds shop where everything is, according to the Downtown Disney guide map “priced at extraordinary values”. It looked like all the same merchandise that is sold at every other store on property but with signs over it proclaiming whether it is $10, $15 or $20. Still, it’s a nice selection of Disney souvenirs and a lot less crowded than World of Disney.

I believe some of the lighting fixtures were left over from when this shop was Pooh Corner. Isn’t it somewhat funny that the same year the new Winnie the Pooh movie comes out, the Pooh store is replaced with something much more generic?

Pooh Corner may be a thing on the past, but the Pooh and friends photo opportunity was still outside the shop.

Next stop was Disney Days of Christmas where we got into the spirit for Christmas in July.

I want to say that some of the banners around the store, including these of the Princesses dressed up for the Holiday, were new since I had been here last.

A lesson in Holiday recycling: apparently a decoration from a long-past celebration (like “The Happiest Celebration on Earth”, for example) can easily become a Christmas decoration as long as you cover up the old celebration’s name and put a stocking holder and some tinsel in front of it.

It just isn’t Christmas without an appearance from Scrooge.

I think Mickey has a Holiday secret.

After browsing through the Art of Disney, we looked around the Rainforest Cafe shop for a bit.

As we passed Marketplace Fun Finds again, I got another quick shot of the Pooh photo opp.

Over at Once Upon a Toy, it seems like the Muppets have more and more of a presence every time we visit. I’m guessing once the new movie comes out, there will be even more.

A few of the hidden Disney characters in the mural of Geppetto’s workshop behind the store’s cash registers.

Next, we took a quick look through Tren-D.

 

[meeko_33785]

It had been overcast all day, but by now, it was really looking like it might start to storm, so we headed on to World of Disney. If we had to ride out a storm somewhere in the Marketplace, it might as well be the world’s largest Disney store.

If you’ve read any of my previous trip reports, you know that it has become somewhat of a tradition for me to get pictures of the characters- particularly the more obscure characters that you may not see represented in many other places around Disney World- in the store’s ceiling murals. In the Magic Room, the Genie’s lamp is just one of the magic-makers represented.

It’s not really the best likeness, but Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother is included as well.

The mural on the Bird Room’s ceiling is my favorite since it tends to have the most obscure characters, like the vultures from The Jungle Book.

A few of Snow White’s forest friends are included as well.

Zazu isn’t that obscure, but especially now that he is no longer in the Tiki Room, he doesn’t have too much of a presence in the World anymore.

After checking out the ceilings, I checked out some more of the displays and decorations around the store.

When we left the World of Disney, it appeared that the storm missed us, so we decided to head towards Pleasure Island and West Side. On the way, we took a look around the expanded Lego store.

A glimpse of Fulton’s Crab House.

There wasn’t much going on in Pleasure Island with the exception of these fun and (I think) new flower sculptures.

West Side.

We took a quick look through the new Harley Davidson store. It certainly was bigger than the one that they had at Pleasure Island.

We checked out D-Street as well.

I read somewhere that a lot of the retro-looking props in D-Street are recycled artifacts from Pleasure Island’s former Adventurers’ Club. Having never been to the Adventures’ Club, I can’t verify that, but from what I know of the club, I’d believe it.

The witch at Disney’s Candy Cauldron. I’m still not sure about a candy apple store themed to poisoned apples.

While we were there, we took a look around the DisneyQuest gift shop. I didn’t realize until this year that DisneyQuest merchandise was a thing of the past. It seemed to be all the same Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story and Mickey items that you would find in most other shops. After we left the shop, it was beginning to lightly sprinkle, so we decided to end our brief visit.



Since I really can’t think of anything to add, I won’t do my usual separate post for trip reflections and end the report here. It may have been short and not particularly eventful, but I hope that you enjoyed it. Up next, I’ll switch gears and start writing about a somewhat more substantial trip- our family vacation at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Stay tuned for that.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I so wish I lived close enough to Disney to be able to just drop by Downtown Disney for lunch. What a great perk for you!

Great detailed pictures once again.

 

[Jennifer48]

Those new Lego sculptures are very impressive. DH wants to have that job!

We love EoS also. Its a must stop for us on our Disney trips. I only just tried the All American recently. Did Buzz like it?

Your photo of Donald from Pin Station is scary!

 

[dawnbu40]

Looks like a fun afternoon! I am so jealous of your close proximity to WDW!

I love the angry Donald pic!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I love the DTD pictures, especially the lego ones. Those really are impressive.

I am pretty sure they "recycled" those flower sculptures from the Flower and Garden Festival-they always have things like those at Epcot.

 

[jenseib]

I love all your DTD pictures. Stil lgreat....even if brief.
I never look up at WOD. I'll have to remember that next time.

 

[meeko_33785]

I so wish I lived close enough to Disney to be able to just drop by Downtown Disney for lunch. What a great perk for you!

Great detailed pictures once again.

Living in Florida does have its advantages. I'm glad that you enjoyed the pictures.

Those new Lego sculptures are very impressive. DH wants to have that job!

We love EoS also. Its a must stop for us on our Disney trips. I only just tried the All American recently. Did Buzz like it?

Your photo of Donald from Pin Station is scary!

Buzz did like the All American. He said his favorite is still the Original 1762 though.

Donald does look a but intimidating, doesn't he?

Looks like a fun afternoon! I am so jealous of your close proximity to WDW!

I love the angry Donald pic!

I think that's why it's hard for me to imagine living anywhere else but Florida. It's so convenient to be relatively close to Orlando.

Angry Donald is one of my favorite pictures of the day. I'm glad that you liked it too.

I love the DTD pictures, especially the lego ones. Those really are impressive.

I am pretty sure they "recycled" those flower sculptures from the Flower and Garden Festival-they always have things like those at Epcot.

You know, both Buzz and I thought that we recognized them from some Flower and Garden photos. We also thought that some of the new shrubs around the area used the same frames from the odd-looking Christmas bushes from Future World last year.

They actually look nicer with some different plants that didn't give them the "Cousin It" look.

I love all your DTD pictures. Stil lgreat....even if brief.
I never look up at WOD. I'll have to remember that next time.

Next time you go to World of Disney, definitley take at look at the ceilings. They're always some of my favorite things about the shop. Who knows, it good be good for your wallet. I know that I always get so distracted by all the decor that I never do any shopping while I'm there.

 

[meeko_33785]

“Africa in the Rainy Season”-August 2011 Trip

A few weeks after Buzz and my afternoon at Downtown Disney, we again returned to Walt Disney World. Unlike the day trips before it in this report, our August trip was a four day/ 3 night family vacation with not only Buzz and I but our parents as well. From the get-go, this trip was sort of a departure from our past Disney experiences as we planned to spend most of our time relaxing at our resort- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge- and not visiting any of the theme parks.

Normally, introductions like this tend to either explain or tease about the meaning behind the title, but, I think that you’ll pretty quickly catch on to why it’s so fitting. Even in the most well-intentioned vacations, a little (or a lot) of rain can fall. I hope you enjoy our trip to “Africa in the Rainy Season”.​

As we were driving onto Disney property, it started to rain. It was, perhaps, not the best sign of things to come, but it could have been worse. Thankfully, it was just a light shower instead of the thunderstorms that are more typical during the Florida summers, but it was still rain. It was still raining when we pulled into the Animal Kingdom Lodge, so we quickly made our way from the car and into Jambo House where we were greeted by a Cast Member with a clip board, a headset and somewhat wild eyes who seemed to know who we were (obviously, the security guard had called ahead to her that we had arrived and were on our way). After an enthusiastic welcome, we were directed to the check-in desk where we were informed that our rooms were ready. Our reservations were for standard rooms, but secretly we were hoping to be upgraded to a Savanna view. Once we got to our rooms, we pulled back the curtain to reveal…

A view of the Sunset Savanna! True, it was just a small corner of the Savanna, but it was a view of the Savanna nonetheless. I assume an actual “Savanna View” room has a view of some of the more expansive vistas, but for a standard room, we were thrilled.

Of course, the inside of the rooms looked wonderful too. After only staying at Value or Moderate Resorts over the past couple of years, a Deluxe felt a bit more luxurious.

A sitting area.

A flat-screen TV, refrigerator and some wall art.

In addition to the Mickey-shaped towel sculpture on the bed, there were also little towel animals in each of the rooms as well.

Normally, I’m not one to take pictures in the bathrooms, but the wall paper in the sink/ vanity area was too cool looking to pass up.


By now, the rain had let up, so once we were settled in, we headed down to the Mara to get something quick for lunch. Mom, Dad and Buzz went for the Chicken Flatbread. I was thinking about trying that was well until I found out what was in their African Stew. Usually, when a dish includes both curry and coconut milk, it’s a safe bet that it will be right up my alley. It turned out that I was right. The stew was delicious. The rest of the family couldn’t say enough good things about their flatbreads either. Lunch was definitely a hit. I really think this is probably the best food I can remember having at a resort food court- even better than the Louisiana dishes at Port Orleans (which I love). Before going back to the room, we decided to make a reservation for breakfast at Bomma for our last morning.

Back at the room, we relaxed and watched the animals for a bit. Disney resort rooms have lots of amazing views, but it’s hard to beat being able to watch giraffes roaming the savanna from your balcony.

If you look in the center of this photo, you’ll spot a large antelope called an Eland with a white bird on its back. These two were almost always together and were some of favorite animals to watch throughout the trip.

As great as it is to be able to watch animals from our room, I was ready to do some exploring around the resort, so I set off toward the Arusha Rock Savanna Overlook. On the way, I checked out the Savanna from one of the resorts many observation decks.

Over at Asusha Rock, I checked out the fire pit. It was far too early in the day for the fire to be lit.

The most active animals in the Overlook were the pelicans. I loved this guy’s hairdo (feather-do?)

One of the many details around the resort.

There was plenty of check out inside the lobby as well.

We had planned to spend our first evening at Downtown Disney, so I headed back to the room to meet up with the rest of the family.

Before going to Downtown Disney, we all went down to the Arusha Rock Overlook.

Another detail in the area. It seemed like there were as many giraffes throughout the decor as Mickeys.

There were a lot more animals close by to watch this time around.

Once we could all pry ourselves away from watching the animals, we walked back through the lobby where we were distracted by some of the African art scattered throughout the resort. Eventually, we made it to the bus stop and were on our way to Downtown Disney.



Next chapter: A taste of Ireland.

 

[Lady Lallie]

That is a gorgeous photo of the pelican, I love all the detail you can see in his feathers and beak.

Beautiful pictures of AKL, I'd really love to stay there and explore the lodge more.

 

[meeko_33785]

That is a gorgeous photo of the pelican, I love all the detail you can see in his feathers and beak.

Beautiful pictures of AKL, I'd really love to stay there and explore the lodge more.

Thanks LL. The picture of the pelican is one of my favorites from this trip. He was so fun to watch too.

 

[Jennifer48]

AKL is our home resort and we have yet to listen to the storytellers around the fire pit outside. Love it there.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I love AKL. I like how you said when you could pry yourselves away from watching the animals because that's usually how I feel too. It's so amazing to be so close to those animals.

 

[meeko_33785]

AKL is our home resort and we have yet to listen to the storytellers around the fire pit outside. Love it there.

In three days of rarely leaving AKL, we never made to the storytellers either, but we did a number of the other activities.

I love AKL. I like how you said when you could pry yourselves away from watching the animals because that's usually how I feel too. It's so amazing to be so close to those animals.

It's true.

 

[jenseib]

that pelican is so cool looking. I love him. What a gorgeous room and great view!!! I can't wait to hear all about how you spent this trip.

 

[meeko_33785]

that pelican is so cool looking. I love him. What a gorgeous room and great view!!! I can't wait to hear all about how you spent this trip.

Thanks. We loved the room. We wouldn't have minded not having a Savanna view, but having one really was a plus.

 

[meeko_33785]

Hey everyone. I've been taking a little break from The DIS lately, but I wanted to pop by and do a quick update.

Recently, Buzz and I were back in Orlando again and since we had a couple of hours to spare, decided to check out both the the Disney outlet store at Orlando Premium Outlets and Downtown Disney. It was another very short visit, and I didn't get that many photos. Still, I hope that you'll enjoy the report anyway (once I get around to it, of course).

 

[jenseib]

Take your time.... I am slowly catching up ion Dis too ,but sometimes I need a break as well.

 

[meeko_33785]

Hey everyone. I'm still on my DIS break for the Holidays and probably won't have the time to work on this report until 2012, but I wanted to pop by and share a few photos from our recent trip to Universal while it's still the appropriate season to do so.

We had a great time, and I'm looking forward to sharing more about it. For no, though, I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy Holiday season. See you in 2012!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Merry Christmas Meeko!

Thanks for sharing the great pictures from Universal.