Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Bumping May Occur (2009)
"Bumping My Occur"
Well, isn't that an understatement. Folks drive the little cars on the Tomorrowland Speedway so you can smash into others! That's the appeal of the ride. (Well, not officially, but we all know the real purpose, don't we?)
While Amy & I were doing some reorganizing at our condo over the weekend, I rediscovered this cool magnet I bought at Chicago's DisneyQuest back in 2001.
Explore Zone, Create Zone, Score Zone, and Replay Zone
Even though this image doesn't look very "Disney", it actually reflects the very structured and themed approach that DisneyQuest had upon opening.
Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Bus Directional Sign (2007)
This directional sign is located at the Ticket and Transportation Center, and points to bus stops that you can use to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom and the Disney-MGM Studios.
I snapped this photo in September 2007 knowing that the Studios was going to get a name change to Disney's Hollywood Studios, thus that iconic logo would disappear from the parks forever.
You should also note the logo for Animal Kingdom, which harkens back to when the park opened. If you look carefully, you'll see a dragon represented in the middle. Originally, Animal Kingdom was to represent animals that are no longer with us, animals in the present, and fictional animals. While the first two points are met, the budget for Beastly Kingdom was cut and it never happened, only to be substituted by a placeholder land with ugly garbage cans.
However, given Disney's recent announcement that a land based on the film Avatar is in the works, we might actually see something surreal in Animal Kingdom after all!
Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Dole Whipping: Steve (2011) and Nancy, Amy, & John (2009)
The Dole Whip. Disney theme park fans tend to get a little crazy when you mention it.
In short, it's soft-serve pineapple sorbet made by Dole (a Disney sponsor), served alone in a cup or mixed with pineapple juice to make a float. Sure, doesn't sound like a lot, but the rarity of the flavors is what makes this a special find. At Disneyland, you can buy one next to the Tiki Room, whereas if you are at Walt Disney World, stop by Advetureland's Aloha Isle or Captain Cook's at the Polynesian Resort.
Even though it's been around for quite a long time, I didn't experience my first Dole Whip until December 2009 during a family trip… and got to introduce others while I was back at the Magic Kingdom in January 2011 for a conference.
I don't even like pineapple, but it's a pretty awesome frozen treat!
Now that I've got some downtime after being hit by a car while riding my bike (we'll save that story for later), I figured it would be a good time to look at some other things we did over the past few months. It's another "Summertime Out and About" post!
Ticket to Ride at the Botnaic Gardens!
Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Steve & Amy ride Mr. Toad once again! (2005)
A few weeks ago I talked about the long-gone Mr. Toad's Wild Ride attraction at Walt Disney World. I loved that ride. Well, back in January 2005, I got to ride it once again… sorta.
You see, Disneyland still has a version of the ride, though it's a single-track implementation vs. the twin-track awesomeness of the Florida version. During a conference on the West Coast, Amy & I got to experience Walt's original park for the first time… and ride Mr. Toad!
Disneyland's take is more "refined" and less insane, but it was still gerat to spend some time on the ride. With Baby Tanner on the way, you can be sure he'll be exposed to classic Disney films that most folks have long forgotten… including 1949's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Wilderness Lodge Dock (2007)
Today's photo features the boat dock at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, on the shores of Bay Lake, near the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, where the Tanner family has spent many a vacation. I took this photo during a September 2007 visit and just liked the way the sun was setting in the image.
Wilderness Lodge opened in 1994 with a Pacific Northwest theme, based on the historic National Park lodges. While Fort Wilderness is considered "low end" in the Disney caste system, Wilderness Lodge is upscale, complete with a set of timeshares. It's always been interesting to share a boat with folks from both resorts to see the differences in lifestyle, personality, and perception. (Translation: Disney treats Wilderness Lodge folks better.)
There have been rumors that Disney is looking at building another Vacation Club timeshare between the two resorts, on or near the location of the long-closed River Country water park. Great, just what we need… more timeshares mucking up a beautiful campground environment!
Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Circling the entrance to Tomorrowland (2005)
As part of the failed "Tomorrowland 1998" retro-futurist project at Disneyland, the former Rocket Jets ride was removed from the top of the PeopleMover building, while another spinner-type ride called the Astro Orbitor was placed at the entrance of Tomorrowland at ground level. Many have felt this was a design mistake, as it clogs up the entrance to the land, but it remains there to this day.
During our first visit ever to Disneyland in 2005, Amy & I rode the Astro Orbitor… in the rain. (It seems every visit we've had to a Disney theme park on the West Coast has been when it was wet!) In today's photo, you can see Amy piloting her ride vehicle… while my foot literally stands watch on the left side! If you look carefully at the upper left corner, you can also see the abandoned PeopleMover track, which stopped running at Disneyland in 1995. The ride was shortly replaced by the Rocket Rods, which ran on the same track from 1998-2001, but the track remains unused today.
After driving up the wrong side of a mountain, we got some good sleep and headed out for a new adventure on Monday, August 8. Our Smoky Siesta continued after leaving Chicago, visiting family, enjoying Nashville, and cursing GPS directions in the mountains.
Hiking the Oconaluftee River Trail
We had breakfast on the porch of the cabin and our view… well, it was pretty awesome! After a relaxed morning, we hopped in the car and drove over to Cherokee, NC.
Back in February, Days of Wonder – the makers of Ticket to Ride – announced a Map Design Contest. Per the contest information, the winning fan-created map would join other maps and be released as part of a new product, the Ticket to Ride Map Collection, slated for October 2011 availability.
Ticket to Ride Map Collection #1 Asia
The company received 612 entries from 40 countries… but has been pretty tight-lipped about the winning map or what might be contained in the "Map Collection." Fans have been hoping for the unpublished "Japan" map that creator Alan R. Moon previously noted was the inspiration for the Alvin & Dexter expansion. Leaked information from a game event website seemed to indicate that this "Map Collection" concept was actually part of a series, with many releases planned.
