The Magic Kingdom in December

Finally it was the day I’d originally envisioned. It was time to visit the Magic Kingdom. I’d been here for Christmas once before and although the park was wall to wall people that trip, I remember the decorations were spectacular.

The mono rail was not running to the Magic Kingdom so everyone had to get there by boat.

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We lined up and waited, and waited and waited. There’s no place to sit or lean. It didn’t take long for my newly improved back muscles to start a downhill slide.

As soon as we reached the park I rushed to get through security and ticketing.

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I had my eye on the ECV (electric convenience vehicle or scooter) rentals. Too late, there was a waiting list. I was #2 on the list. They would call our cell phone as soon as one came back in. They don’t take reservations so you just take your chances that one will be available. This was the first time I’d struck out.

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We headed into the park.

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Even though this is consider a slow week the Magic Kingdom was full!

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Because of my questionable ambulatory abilities we stayed close to the square but there was plenty to see there.

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We started out by taking the train ride around the park.

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You never know who you might run into.

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The goal is to just have fun.

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We got back in time to see the horse drawn trolley pull up and enjoy a rousing show of song and dance.

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It was the last show of the day. They only do these shows in the mornings so we were lucky.

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And even though the park was crowded, we still had front row places. Great for memorializing the event in pictures.

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As they unhitched the beautiful Clydesdale from the trolley I could almost hear him say, “That’s all folks”.

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There was only a 10 minute wait to see Tinkerbell so like little kids we hopped in line. I may be a grown up but I still love the character visits.

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Joe seems to like these visits too even though his job keeps him in contact with them all the time. He had to get his “selfie”.

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The Soft Kitty Conundrum

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Anyone familiar with the “Big Bang Theory”  has heard Sheldon’s whine “Sing Soft Kitty for me”.

It’s the lullaby that provides comfort when sickness strikes the sitcom.

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The little song may give Sheldon comfort but it is turning into a headache for Warner Bros.

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The song was written in the 1930’s  by Edith Newlin who passed away in 2004. A recent lawsuit by the daughters of the author/composer claims copy-write infringement. The suit maintains that Warner Bros. sought permission in 2007 from Willis Music Co., a company that previously published the lyrics in a book titled “Songs for the Nursery School.” According to Newlin’s daughters, Willis Music Co. authorized the use of lyrics without consultation or permission.

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What I find most interesting is that these heirs didn’t know anything about the song’s use until they ran across a blog entry about the show  while researching their mother’s life.

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How long does a copy-write last  before it becomes public domain anyway??Until 1977 I think these time frames applied:

  • All works published in the U.S. before 1923
  • All works published with a copyright notice from 1923 through 1963 without copyright renewal
  • All works published without a copyright notice from 1923 through 1977
  • All works published without a copyright notice from 1978 through March 1, 1989, and without subsequent registration within 5 years

A whole new set of expiration dates were set by congress in 1977 so who knows if they have a case or not. Can even the collective big brains of the geniuses on BBT figure it out? I’m sure lots of high priced lawyers are racking up the billable hours on this right now.

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In the meantime, I love my Soft Kitty T-shirt. And so do all the folks that stop me on the street to tell me they like it too!

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Once More to the EYE

It was time to leave the Animal Kingdom behind. The Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the other parks so as not to disrupt the animals sleep cycle or circadian timer. We have one too but if we choose to ignore it  that’s our problem. The animals at Animal Kingdom are at the mercy of their keepers and so far Disney has tried hard to give them a natural environment.

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Although dark it was still early so we decided to try the EYE again. If it was running we could take a ride. If not at least we could get some pictures of it after dark.

We pulled into the free parking and the EYE was right in front of us. When we parked earlier I didn’t notice what a great view there was from the parking garage.

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We spent more than a few minutes trying to find the best spot to see the great wheel.

Pretty quickly it became apparent that it wasn’t moving.

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Even so we went to the ground level and checked for spots to photograph it from there. It’s really a beautiful sight.

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Remember that restaurant. They had their lights on too.

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I just wish we’d had a chance to see Orlando from the top. I wonder if we could have seen the Fireworks from the Disney Parks?

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Work From Home

Hi everyone

I had some disturbing news on the work front and although I am not at liberty to share any details I will say that my days of working from home seem to be numbered. Working from home is the #1 perk of my job and its why I am willing to put in such long hours during our busy season. I am crushed to learn that management, in their wisdom,  feels that “we” can be more productive working 9-6 in an office.

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I suppose I should be thankful I have a job these days and one that pays enough so that I can enjoy life a little but I’m at the point in my life that I no longer want the stress of a morning or afternoon commute. It feels like wasted time to sit in traffic and traffic there will be since we’ll be working prime hours.

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If you search “work from home” jobs you find a long list of cottage industries and self employment “opportunities”. They may work for some but I’ve tried a lot of those with varying degrees of success. At this point I don’t want to be self employed or an entrepreneur. I just want to do a job , from home, and be left alone, not involved in office politics and get my paycheck. The only stress I want is from whatever the job entails, not the  commute, not from who is stabbing who in the back. I prefer not to know.

I’m always one of the top producers so there’s never been a performance issue.

Anyone out there work from home? Any suggestions for someone almost 65 who is not ready to retire yet?

I really don’t want to leave my job. It’s been a good run and I like it a lot but my stomach just goes into knots when I think of commuting every day again.

Any ideas?

The Festival of the Lion King

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A trick I’ve learned from having back problems is that if you rent the electric chair to get around that you survive the parks much better than walking. Call me lazy but I like ending the day with a little energy left instead of exhausted , hot and aching.

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Anyway, I had rented the electric scooter at Animal Kingdom so when we arrived to the Lion King show they asked me if I wanted to keep it or walk in. I said I’d keep it and boy was I glad I did. There are no bad seats in the Lion King Theater but with the scooter I was floor side, practically on top of the performers…or maybe they were on top of me!

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Perfect for low light shots.

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So rather than try to describe the action I’m going to share a few of my photos.

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Simba:
I’m gonna be a mighty king
So enemies beware!

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Zazu:
Well, I’ve never seen a king of beasts
With quite so little hair!

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Simba:
I’m gonna be the main event
Like no king was before
I’m brushing up on looking down
I’m working on my roar!

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Zazu:
Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing

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Simba:
Oh, I just can’t wait to be king!

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Simba:
Oh, I just can’t wait to be king!

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Everybody look left
Everybody look right
Everywhere you look I’m
Standing in the spotlight

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