It's Thursday, which means it's time to once again celebrate Theme Park Thursdays. Here we post a photo from one of our theme park adventures in the past.

Steve wants Old Management to return! (2006)

This photo is from January 2006 and was shot at Walt Disney World, specifically the Magic Kingdom. Here I'm standing out in front of one of my favorite attractions, the Tiki Room. Unfortunately, since 1998 this attraction has been known as The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management… and has been horrible.

While the original attraction opened at Walt Disney World in 1971, it was rebooted in the late 1990s to make it "hip and edgy," mainly through the inclusion of Iago (from Aladdin) and Zazu (from The Lion King). The storyline was changed to these two birds being the "new owners," with a postmodern take on music and dialog to follow.

And it's bad.

In an interesting twist of fate, while I was at Walt Disney World for a conference in January, a fire broke out in the Tiki Room ceiling. It hasn't reopened since. There are rumors that maybe the show is being changed out to something else. Here's hoping!

It's time for another Theme Park Thursday photo. This one is from Disney's California Adventure…

Amy loves Disney's California Adventure (2005)

In January 2005, Amy & I got to travel to California for a conference I worked while on staff with Kidology.  For me, it was my first visit to the West Coast.  More importantly, it was my first visit to Disneyland, the mother park!  In typical Tanner fashion, it pretty much rained the entire time we were there.  We got to spend 2 days at the Disneyland Resort, which gave us a chance not only to check out Disneyland, but also explore the park that everyone loves to hate, Disney's California Adventure.

Continue Reading…

Even though I've written many stories about our trips to Disney theme parks, there are often photos and situations that never get told. So I had this idea to start what I'm calling "Theme Park Thursdays." Basically, I'll post a photo or two from a previous trip and jot down a couple of words about it. Well, at least that's the idea. We'll see how it works in the coming weeks!

Dusk approaches on Crescent Lake (2009)

In December 2009, my family was given the fortunate opportunity to rent a Disney Vacation Club villa from a friend, giving us a week at the Beach Club near Epcot around Christmastime. Given that we typically camped at Walt Disney World (Fort Wilderness Forever!), this was quite a different experience.

One of the highlights for me was the entire well-themed Boardwark area set around Crescent Lake, which joins the Yacht Club, Beach Club, Boardwalk, Swan, and Dolphin resorts together. The lights and setting were quite magical!