9 posts tagged “magic kingdom”

My oldest niece sent my wife and I her school project, Flat Stanley.

For those of you not in-the-know, Flat Stanley is a children's story about a kid who had a bulletin board fall on him while he was in bed causing him to be flat.  He then mails himself all over the place and his family receives pictures about his adventures.  At the end of the story, Stanley's brother blows him up with a bicycle pump.

I remember reading the story when I was in 1st or second grade.  I think I even made a Flat Stanley.  We didn't mail ours around, though.

We received Jordan's Flat Stanley a few weeks ago with a letter from her instructing us on what he likes/dislikes and also a letter from her teacher explaining everything.  The best part, "...if you can't do anything fun with Stanley, just take pictures of him helping around the house or with your pets."  Riiiighhhttt.

The wife first took him to her workplace and down to the vault for pics with kickass memorabilia that wasn't currently on display around the world.  Stuff that would impress teenagers and adults, but not mean much to little kids.

I, on the other hand, could do quite a bit to impress her classmates.

I awoke early on Sunday and headed off on my adventure.  Went to all 4 theme parks in a matter of a few hours.  Barely stopping to rest and eat (although I did spin on the Tea Cups, go on the Haunted Mansion which had even more updates installed since I was last on it, and Spaceship Earth which was also just updated).

What I learned was that a ton of grandparents knew what I was doing.  A ton of kids knew what I was doing.  Some people gave me strange looks.  Others questioned what I was up to and then asked why my niece wasn't there doing this.  I tried to explain the concept of the project, but they still didn't get it.  I was also reminded that I should have brought sunscreen and a hat with me (I had my haircut on Main Street first thing- Stanley received a trim immediately after).

 I feel sorry for any kid that has to follow her presentation.
  "Here is Flat Stanley with Mickey Mouse, Kim Possible, and Stitch."

 "Here is Flat Stanley with my grandma's dog."

Here are the pics from the adventure.

Although it is hard to see in the pic (it was hard to take the pic), this wonderful little sign says "Magic Kingdom Closed".

What does that mean?

The park is just a tad bit crowded.

Well, actually, it has come to Orlando.  But they did make it to Lake Buena Vista to snap pics through the main thoroughfares of Walt Disney World.

Here is the Magic Kingdom Toll Plaza

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-disneybrawl052207,0,3582906.story

Three teens and two adults were arrested at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom after deputies said they spat on guests, cursed and brawled with an Orange County deputy, according to a report released Monday.

The arrests took place at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday, after Rose Dipietro, 20, Brian Guilfoil, 19, and three teens, all of Shirley, N.Y., were detained by Disney security for being unruly and possibly drunk, according to a sheriff's report.

The group threatened the security officers, who called for help from sheriff's deputies. When one deputy tried to intercede, Guilfoil pushed the deputy while his companions rushed into the fray, the report states.

Security guards and deputies rushed to the deputy's aid, and the deputy used his stun gun against a 17-year-old girl.. The five suspected brawlers were arrested for felony battery on a law enforcement officer and other related charges.

Dipietro and Guilfoil were booked into Orange County Jail, where they were released Monday afternoon on $2,300 bail each.

The teens -- girls 17 and 16 and a 14-year-old boy -- were taken to the county's juvenile detention facility.

A Jacksonville news station ran 2 segments on "hidden places" at Walt Disney World.

The first segment talks about the Utilidors underneath the Magic Kingdom.  These really aren't a secret since they are discussed in every Travel Channel special highlighting WDW.

The next segment talks about the massive wardrobe department and how thousands of Cast Member costumes are issued and cleaned each day.

Both videos are linked at the top of the article (the text is a transcript of the Utilidor segment).  The video is much more entertaining than the text.

Hidden Places: Beneath Walt Disney World
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/spotlight/news-article.aspx?storyid=81978

Went to the Magic Kingdom yesterday to get my haircut.  The barbershop was packed with people.  Sometimes the crowds are due to first-time hair cuts (all members of extended families must view these I guess).  Other times it is a bunch of little kids who only want colored gel in their hair and have no interest in getting an actual cut.  Anyway, the line was out the door (which kills me because people can wait inside) and there really wasn't anyway to tell if the people were outside were with people inside, if they had actually queued up, or what.

I just walked around the park and took some pictures- jumped on Peter Pan with a 5 min wait as well as The Haunted Mansion (I almost had a stretch room to myself, but 3 others ran in just before the butler closed the door).

I also wanted to experiment with the "Match Color" with famous paintings technique recently featured in MAKE (I've used this before, just not with the famous subject matter) and pairing it with some Lomo actions that I've been tweaking for years.

I like the results.

As for my hair- I went back this morning and then walked the loop of the park before heading over to Epcot to ride "Living with the Land" (haven't been on it since they automated the spiel) and the rehabbed Mexico boat ride with the Three Caballeros.

Show us something pink.

Take a photo of something striped.

Wall paper in the Haunted Mansion's Stretch Room.

Neat thing about this is that it is actually blue and white.  The lighting gives it the yellow/green stripes.

This is somewhat unique- Robert Burke sets up a musical diary of his day visiting the Magic Kingdom.

I thought it was going to be a list of cliche songs after his first picks, "Vacation" by the Go-Go's and Willie's "On the road again", but I was surprised by the range of selections.   Screeching Weasel is on there!

Even got me to drop $.99 on iTunes to purchase "Welcome to Orlando" by Kilowatthours.