Another busy week has just passed by, and here we are,
facing a new very full week. So full,
that I wasn’t even able to get to writing this until late Monday night… usually
I write it over the weekend to post Monday morning.
I spent my weekend in the woods at a Scouting event. Specifically a Firecrafter event. Firecrafter is a Fraternal Honor organization
within the state of Indiana for the Boy Scouts.
It’s a really neat organization that I’ve been a part of for the past
two years, and I always enjoy going to the different events. The high ideals of the organization
(friendship, leadership and service) all come into play in so many different
ways throughout the weekend event. The
activities are fun, the hours are long, the memories are lasting. I never get much sleep on these outings, but
I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Needless to say, when I got home late Sunday
afternoon, my mind was not on writing something for stopher’s stuff, especially
since I wanted to watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics! Now that that’s completed, I can’t wait for
the winter games in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
Next weekend will be another Scouting event, although that
one will take up not just Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but also Monday. It will be filled with Wood Badge training – the
highest level of training an adult can get within the Boy Scouts - though I’m
not going to receive training, rather to help provide the training. I’m on staff.
I completed my own course in Wood Badge in 2010, and completed my ticket
(or project) in early 2011. It was an
honor to be asked to be a member of the staff, and I’m looking forward to
seeing it “from the other side” this time around. Watching the participants as they arrive, and
then working with a group of them throughout the two different weekend events
and all that they need to do to complete their ticket, is something I’ve been looking
forward to for quite some time. I love
teaching and mentoring people, and this is a great way to give of my talents
and time.
So here we are once again looking at the start of
school. My kids are both excited and
not-so-excited about it beginning once again. However moving back into the
regular routine that the school schedule brings will be nice for all of
us. It was strange to my wife and I when
we first came to Indiana for school to begin in the middle of August, but we’re
very much used to it now. Growing up in
Southern California, our schools didn’t begin until early September – either the
day or two after Labor Day, or even the week following Labor Day – so yes,
mid-August was a bit strange at first.
All in all, extremely busy weeks of late. Here are just a couple of things that I
wanted to share from the goings-on in the Disneysphere. Old news to the various blogs and websites,
but I’ll mention them anyway.
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Construction on Disneyland’s new Fantasy Faire area is progressing nicely. This new area replaces the long-standing (since 1956) Carnation Plaza Gardens. Personally it was a sad day when the closure was announced (that’s where I got my start at Disneyland). But the concept models, shown here, look really nice. It will be strange seeing a bit of Fantasyland OUTSIDE the castle by the hub, but at least the imagineers have done a really nice job with the theming. This new princess meet & greet area will no doubt be popular when it opens in early 2013.
Construction on the Magic Kingdom’s New Fantasyland is
definitely progressing well. The Grand
Opening date of December 6th was set, which will officially debut the new attraction Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid; new restaurants Be Our Guest and Gaston's Tavern; new shop Bonjour! Village Gifts, and meet and greet locations Enchanted
Tales with Belle and Ariel’s Grotto.
Add all of these to the already open Storybook Circus water-play area and the twin Dumbo
the Flying Elephant spinners, and the soon to open Pete’s Circus meet and greet
area, and you can see there are some very exciting things going on at Walt
Disney World. The final new attraction in the New Fantasyland project Seven
Dwarfs Mine Train will open in 2013, and with the new princess meet and greet area inside the now removed Snow White's Scary Adventures building will complete the massive undertaking of New Fantasyland.
Alright, that’s about it for now. As Mickey likes to say, see ya real soon!
Until next time,
After more than seven years of master planning, and 52 months of construction (nearly four and a half years), with more than eight million cubic yards of earth moved - the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971. It was the largest individual construction project since the Hoover Dam. 
Did you know that The Great Movie Ride, at Disney's Hollywood Studios (originally known as Disney-MGM Studios), was intended to be the heart of an "entertainment-themed" pavilion at Epcot? It's true, that as the Imagineers developed the concepts for the attraction and pavilion, it was determined that there were so many good ideas there - too many for just a pavilion at Epcot, and thus the 45 acre Disney-MGM Studios them park concept was born. 
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As a DVC timeshare property, the villas are owned by members
through DVC’s points-based system. DVC
maintains about 3-4% ownership of the total point allocation for each of their
timeshare resorts, therefore rooms are available for rent year-round to
non-members. 
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Morocco debuts as the first new international pavilion to be
added to Epcot’s World Showcase since the park opened in October 1982. The
pavilion is situated between Japan and France, and is the first pavilion to be
sponsored by a national government instead of a corporation. The King of Morocco sent royal craftsmen to do
all of the carvings, paintings and hand lay all of the tile work through the
pavilion, which recreates the architectural styling and atmosphere of
Casablanca, Fez, and Marrakesh. 
The water tanks at Catastrophe Canyon on the Backlot Tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios release 70,000 gallons of water, all resetting in less than four minutes to be released all over again. 
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As a DVC timeshare property, the villas are owned by members
through DVC’s points-based system. DVC
maintains about 3-4% ownership of the total point allocation for each of their
timeshare resorts, therefore rooms are available for rent year-round to
non-members. 
The
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular attraction is dedicated at the Disney-MGM
Studios in Florida. It is the first theme park attraction to use a computer
based show control system in conjunction with a programmable logic controller
system to trigger, control and sequence complex live events in real time ... in
many cases controlled by the actors! The 30-minute stunt show recreates some of
the most thrilling and heart-pounding moments from the Indiana Jones films..JPG)
The resort is comprised of 5 sections, representing the 1950’s,
‘60’s, ‘70’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s. Each section is decorated and themed with its’
own oversized icons – such as a giant jukebox and 45 rpm records for the
1950’s; giant “Baloo & Mowgli” figures from Disney’s ‘60’s classic film, The Jungle Book; giant Mickey Mouse Phone, giant Big Wheel and
8-track tapes representing the ‘70’s and so many more. The resort is designed with exterior doors
and staircases (which are also themed with coverings such as giant bowling pins
or Rubick’s Cubes)..JPG)
Disney’s POP Century Resort® features a total of 2,880 guest rooms, each
accommodating up to 4 guests, plus one child under 3 in a crib. All rooms have
either 2 double beds or 1 king-sized bed.
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Construction on Disneyland’s new Fantasy Faire area is progressing nicely. This new area replaces the long-standing (since 1956) Carnation Plaza Gardens. Personally it was a sad day when the closure was announced (that’s where I got my start at Disneyland). But the concept models, shown here, look really nice. It will be strange seeing a bit of Fantasyland OUTSIDE the castle by the hub, but at least the imagineers have done a really nice job with the theming. This new princess meet & greet area will no doubt be popular when it opens in early 2013.
Construction on the Magic Kingdom’s New Fantasyland is
definitely progressing well. The Grand
Opening date of December 6th was set, which will officially debut the new attraction Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid; new restaurants Be Our Guest and Gaston's Tavern; new shop Bonjour! Village Gifts, and meet and greet locations Enchanted
Tales with Belle and Ariel’s Grotto.
Add all of these to the already open Storybook Circus water-play area and the twin Dumbo
the Flying Elephant spinners, and the soon to open Pete’s Circus meet and greet
area, and you can see there are some very exciting things going on at Walt
Disney World. The final new attraction in the New Fantasyland project Seven
Dwarfs Mine Train will open in 2013, and with the new princess meet and greet area inside the now removed Snow White's Scary Adventures building will complete the massive undertaking of New Fantasyland. 
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Disney's Wilderness Lodge® features 727 guest
rooms, offering wildlife, nature and Native American themes. Honeymoon suites feature marble whirlpool
tubs; many rooms feature bunk-beds for
families with small children. Larger 1
and 2 bedroom suites are also available. 
Enjoy all this—and more—when this
annual event returns to Epcot theme park in fall 2012. Dine your way around the
world. Cultivate your cooking skills. Savor a rare vintage. Enjoy an
exhilarating outdoor concert. Make magical memories to last a lifetime at Epcot
International Food & Wine Festival. 
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Disney's Art of Animation Resort®, an all-new resort located at Walt Disney World® Resort, premiered on May 31, 2012 with the first of four phases opening on that date. It is located on the site once planned for the expansion of Disney’s POP Century Resort®, but plans for that continued construction were abandoned following the attacks of September 11, 2001. It is the first new value-level resort built since Disney’s POP Century Resort first opened in 2003.
The resort is comprised of 4 sections, representing Disney’s classic animated films “The Little Mermaid”, “The Lion King”, and Disney*PIXAR films, “Finding Nemo” and “Cars”. Each section is decorated and themed with its’ own oversized icons – such as the various car characters from the Cars films, super-sized coral from Finding Nemo, gigantic clam shells, pride rocks and many more. In a change from the other value-level resorts, the Art of Animation is designed with rooms having interior doors and sealed hallways rather than exterior doors. Emergency staircases are done in the same exterior fashion as the other value-level resorts (and are themed with coverings such as giant pride rocks, coral, or super-sized dock pilings).
The resort includes a themed pool, “The Big Blue”, a quick-service food court: Landscape of Flavors; and lounges, poolside snack bar, The Drop Off Pool Bar and in-room pizza delivery service. 
