Bunnies and mooses and groupies, Oh my!!! The Wilderness Lodge groupies thread. 4.0

[Muushka]

You know, I never really gave that much thought to things I want to do before I move on...but based on my interests, here goes

1. Would love to visit every battlefield site from the Civil War. Every since I was a kid, I have always been intrigued by this time period of our history. It amazes me that people would leave their homes, take up arms and go out in their own country and fight for whatever their cause may have been. I would have to think long and hard to seriously consider doing something like that. I have been to Ft. Sumter, Mannassas, Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, The Wilderness, Appomattox, Saylers Creek, Bennett Place, Bentonville, Ft. Fisher(my great grandfather fought there), Ft. Macon, Antietam, Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg(my great, great grandfather was shot and captured there) and have been fortunate enough to sleep on Gettysburg battlefield on McPhersons Ridge. As you can see I have a passion equal to all things Disney. As Tammy tells me, there could be worse habits.

2. Go to Hawaii, amongst the other things to do, visit Pearl Harbor. History overwhelms me sometimes.

3.See the sites out West, like Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, etc.

4. Go snowskiing out west.

5. Play guitar on stage with Eddie Van Halen(yeah right, like thats gonna happen)

We can have a Guitar Hero playoff JT!! I'll play with you! You can be Eddie and I will be Eric (Slow Hand)!

Interesting about the history. We are pretty interested in it also. Me, no civil war, Mr Muush, yes. Me, more founding fathers, revolutionary type.

Oh, can I add another bucket list item? I have a bird living inside of me. I love to fly, love heights. I really want to do a ride in a glider (no, not hand). And an ultra-light and a helicopter. Not necessarily in that order!
And Hawaii for us too.

Eliza, good for you and working on that cause. As I read the paper today and saw the TV regarding the high speed rails they are planning, I think I may have found a cause.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Oh, can I add another bucket list item? I have a bird living inside of me. I love to fly, love heights. I really want to do a ride in a glider (no, not hand). And an ultra-light and a helicopter. Not necessarily in that order!
And Hawaii for us too.

Combine two of those together Muushka - ride the helicopter in Hawaii! I have a bit of bird in me I guess too since I've done the hang glider, helicopter and ultra-light. Not a glider plane though. All outstanding experiences.

Someday I plan to put together a formal bucket list and many of my things will be attending events. The Olympics (I came so close this year to going), the Super Bowl (I would have been there if the Vikings had made it even if I was standing outside! ). And also travel - visit the Galapagos, Antarctica, Spain, the valley of the Grand Canyon to name a few.

 

[stopher1]

Oh, can I add another bucket list item? I have a bird living inside of me. I love to fly, love heights. I really want to do a ride in a glider (no, not hand). And an ultra-light and a helicopter. Not necessarily in that order!
And Hawaii for us too.
.

Oh yeah - helicopters are fun! I have a cousin who is a pilot, half the year in Alaska, the other half in Hawaii! He loves it. I've been up in his bird a few times, and it's a blast! Definitely go for it - and as Kat said, do it in Hawaii... all the better.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Muushka, this was something I had wanted to do as well and we did Dec 2008. I know it's not VWL/WL related, but thought I'd share my pics from that day (which happened to be one of the coldest days ever ! We were beyond freezing).

It was different than I imagined. All the buildings are so close/compact in that part of NYC (in most parts actually). It was hard to imagine the absolute terror and chaos on those streets. On my video, I pan to an open area near a rather new looking sky rise----that open area was where the World Trade Center stood. A very emotional visit.

Maria

Your right Maria it is very emotional. We went there 3 summers ago.
Tea Pot is right with the Wall comparison. It was my first time back in NYC since 9/11 and coming into the city on the bus and not seeing the buildings there was really emotional.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Here's a few pictures from my quick visit to WDW this past week.

Wednesday night I arrived at BWV around 5PM. After getting settled in I did the short walk to Epcot - one of the big pluses of staying at this resort! I started out with a Grand Marnier Slushie in France, picked up some food in Japan and China and after riding the Maelstrom finished off with desert in Norway! Then I headed over here:

It was walk on so I rode it twice before heading to a spot to watch Illuminations.

The next morning I slept in a bit before making the move to my studio at BLT. My view changed from this the night before:

to this:

Ok - that's zoomed in quite a bit. My MK view was really a view of the Contemporary and when I was on the balcony I could see the MK. Room 7428 on the 4th floor.

This better shows what the view was like to the normal eye.

I liked the view but not for MK points. I think I'll write a little report on staying at BLT on a separate thread.

My room at BLT was ready when I arrived so I parked and took my luggage up, checked things out then headed over to the TTC to catch the shuttle to Richard Petty Driving Experience!

I did the free passholder ride along. Lots of fun and it's amazing how quickly 1 mile goes by when you're going up to 140 MPH!!!

My driver:

After catching the van back to the TTC I got on a bus for AK since the weather was supposed to be the best this day. I got some nice pictures of many of the animals - and some amusing ones.

This was more amusing to watch - the Rhino was pacing back and forth in this small area. He really wanted to go under the tree! The driver commented that he was going to get himself stuck if he wasn't careful. It reminded me of my old dog which after getting senile would get herself stuck in a corner and couldn't remember how to back out.

Itchy bird:

The closest I've seen a Giraffe on the safari - they were in the bushes right by the road.

Happy Cheetahs:

Another comfy kitty:

Hippos playing at the underwater viewing area:

Always love these little guys!

Yawning Gorilla:

And another big boy:

Next it was off to see the bats but not too many of them were out and this was the best picture I took there.

I then walked over and looked at Kali River Rapids but did not feel like getting wet since it was starting to cool down.

Finally - Everest!

After four walk-on rides I felt the brain slosh starting to happen and decided to head back to the room after a great day!

 

[stopher1]

You got some amazing pics Katthy! Those animal shots are wonderful, and the ones while riding Everest - and oh yes, your super zoom of the MK from your balcony. Loved them all. How nice to be able to enjoy a quick visit like that. Sounds like you enjoyed the ride along...that's definitely something I'd like to do sometime. It looks like you have had some great weather.

 

[horselover]

Here's a few pictures from my quick visit to WDW this past week.

Wednesday night I arrived at BWV around 5PM. After getting settled in I did the short walk to Epcot - one of the big pluses of staying at this resort! I started out with a Grand Marnier Slushie in France, picked up some food in Japan and China and after riding the Maelstrom finished off with desert in Norway! Then I headed over here:

Love those Grand Marnier Slushes!

The next morning I slept in a bit before making the move to my studio at BLT. My view changed from this the night before:

Whoa! Ok now I know why people are scared of the clown. When we stayed at BWV we were behind the slide & never saw it at night. Thank goodness because that definitely would have given me nightmares!

Beautiful AK shots! What kind of lens did you use?

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Kathy your pictures are amazing! I really would like to be able to take pictures that well. My DD wants to be a photographer so she will be able to give me some tips one day. Well actually she does that now. Loved the ones taken on Everest!

 

[eliza61]

Ok Kathy,
How the heck did you get pictures on Everest? My head is usually buried in some poor strangers lap so far that we could probably check the same household box on the census at the end of the ride (the old guy won't ride so I'm always sitting next to a stranger)
I've yet to see the Yeti.

Great shots.

 

[horselover]

Hey groupies! If you haven't seen it yet check out this video from John at Owner's Locker of our beloved Lodge!

http://travelwithrick.com/2010/01/3...r-magic-kingdom-walt-disney-world-episode-55/

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

You got some amazing pics Katthy! Those animal shots are wonderful, and the ones while riding Everest - and oh yes, your super zoom of the MK from your balcony. Loved them all. How nice to be able to enjoy a quick visit like that. Sounds like you enjoyed the ride along...that's definitely something I'd like to do sometime. It looks like you have had some great weather.

Thanks Stopher1! If you can get a chance to do the ride along I say go for it. It's a unique experience! The weather was great for the first evening and day - then it started to change as you'll see in some of my next pictures. Still - not bad at all for early Feb.

Whoa! Ok now I know why people are scared of the clown. When we stayed at BWV we were behind the slide & never saw it at night. Thank goodness because that definitely would have given me nightmares!

Beautiful AK shots! What kind of lens did you use?

I appreciate the compliment HL! The lens was a 70-300mm - used almost exclusively at 300mm for the animals and a 16mm fisheye lens for the Everest shots.

That was definitely some crazy imagineer that decided on those glowy clown eyes!

Kathy your pictures are amazing! I really would like to be able to take pictures that well. My DD wants to be a photographer so she will be able to give me some tips one day. Well actually she does that now. Loved the ones taken on Everest!

Thank you DLI! That's great your DD is into photography. I was given my first camera by my grandfather when I was pretty young. He was into photography and thought I needed a camera too! My first large purchase with my own money was for a SLR and it was my nephew who inspired me to get the DSLR. I certainly have fun with it.

Ok Kathy,
How the heck did you get pictures on Everest? My head is usually buried in some poor strangers lap so far that we could probably check the same household box on the census at the end of the ride (the old guy won't ride so I'm always sitting next to a stranger)
I've yet to see the Yeti.

Great shots.

I always close my eyes in the section where you start going backwards in the dark into the loop! Otherwise it's just setting the shutter speed for a fast enough picure, taking a guess at pointing the camera in a direction and pushing the button! And holding the camera very tight!! I do love that ride!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Kathy I just showed my DD your pictures and she really loved them. She loved the color of your pictures. The only problem is that now she wants a fish eye lens! Well actually now I do too!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Kathy....your photos have me in awe ! You're an awesome photog !

Hey WD, guess what? We get to do it all again on Wednesday. Aren't we lucky another nor'easter is forcasted. Yippee another 12-15 inches for Philly./QUOTE]

I heard 12-18....but who's counting at this point eliza ? Wish we could give some of this snow to Canada for the Olympics....heard they were trucking snow in !!!

And...just a side note...but I was looking for return address labels and stumbled across these if anyone is interested (WL/VWL themed !)
http://www.currentcatalog.com/05732.html

Maria

 

[wildernessDad]

They're calling for another 10 to 20 inches here.

 

[MiaSRN62]

They're calling for another 10 to 20 inches here.

We have also been upgraded to 14-20 ....I feel your pain WD.....


Maria

 

[Muushka]

KAT4, may I make a suggestion? You need to create a thread just for those pictures. Everyone needs to see those!

To all who are getting more snow (oh my gosh I had just typed snot instead of snow! Freudian??), you are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Granny]

We're getting off easy in St. Louis as we only got about 5 inches of snow last night. The good thing is that the snowfalls have been spaced far enough apart to let the streets clear between storms. Best wishes to all who have to deal with major snow and ice right now.

KAT...excellent photos! Thank you for sharing them.

 

[Inkmahm]

They're calling for another 10 to 20 inches here.

We're in the 10 to 14 zone. It seems like everyone is getting snow today across the country!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks Maria and Granny! Glad you enjoyed the photos.

Kathy I just showed my DD your pictures and she really loved them. She loved the color of your pictures. The only problem is that now she wants a fish eye lens! Well actually now I do too!

The fish eye is lots of fun so I won't try and talk you out of it! I believe it was my most used lens on this trip.

KAT4, may I make a suggestion? You need to create a thread just for those pictures. Everyone needs to see those!

Awww - thanks Muushka! I had been thinking about posting it as a brief trip report so maybe I will.

 

[MiaSRN62]

another snow update !!! Now it's 18 to 24 inches !!!

Maria