Tag Archives: Disney

Beyond the Mouse: A Real Traveler’s Guide to Florida

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A woman wearing oversized white cartoon gloves, sunglasses, a white shirt, and a dark jacket stands on a grassy roadside with her arms raised in front of the Walt Disney World entrance sign that reads “Where Dreams Come True.” Colorful flags and a castle graphic top the sign, capturing a playful and celebratory moment at the park entrance.

Don’t try this yourself. It’s illegal!

The Happiest Place on Earth… and the Sweatiest

Rats and Mice on barrelsLet’s talk about that tourist trap known as the Happiest Place on Earth — Disney World. I’m not anti‑Disney or anti‑mouse. Mice can be adorable, and who’s cuter than Mickey and Minnie? But Florida is hot, and if you take your vacation in the summer, you can add humidity thick enough to swim through.

And then there are the lines. Disney tried to make things better with FastPass, but I’m not convinced it helped much. Don’t get me wrong — Disney is an amazing place. I once dragged my friend and her kids there because I thought it would be magical. Spoiler: it wasn’t. The kids whined, the adults wilted, and it turned into one of the most exhausting vacations I’ve ever taken.

Ironically, the big hit of that trip wasn’t Disney at all — it was the Serpentarium. Cheaper, cooler, and the kids loved every minute.

My Disney Resume (and Why Animal Kingdom Wins)Giraffe

I’ve been to Disney World more times than I can count. My favorite part? Animal Kingdom, for obvious reasons. You get to rumble around in an old safari truck and see genuinely amazing animals. It’s the closest thing Disney has to real adventure.

I’ve also been to Disneyland in California — the original. But honestly? It’s a shadow of the Florida version. If you’re a roller‑coaster person, maybe it’s worth it. But the price tag… let’s just say you shouldn’t need a second mortgage to ride Space Mountain.

The Real Florida: Wild, Wet, and Full of Gators

So what’s truly fun in Florida? For me, it’s the Everglades.

Alligators are everywhere — so common you practically have to watch where you step when you get out of your car. And if you want cute? There’s nothing quite like a mama gator with her babies riding on her back. Alligators are surprisingly good mothers. They guard their nests, stay close to their hatchlings, and the babies even chirp to call their moms.

Shark Valley: Wildlife, Science, and Shade

If you enter the Everglades at Shark Valley, you can take a tram tour led by a biologist who points out everything from alligators to Wood Storks to the occasional deer. They explain the terrain, the ecosystem, and the challenges the Everglades face today. And best of all — it beats walking in the heat.

 

Holiday Park and the Gator Boys

Another fun stop is Holiday Park, once home to the Gator Boys TV show on Animal Planet (2012–2014). They still host alligator shows, and you can hop on an airboat right from there.

Airboats: Florida’s Version of a Thrill Ride

Airboat rides are one of the best ways to experience the Everglades. They’re fast, breezy, loud, and ridiculously fun. The operators slow down to point out wildlife, especially gators. Honestly, it’s almost as much fun as a log ride at Disney — maybe even better.

Final Verdict

Visiting the Mouse is fine. It’s fun, it’s iconic, and everyone should experience it at least once. But me? I’d go back to the Everglades any time. That’s where Florida really comes alive.

Mickey Mouse

What’s a Visit to Orlando without A Mouse?

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Disney World, Orlando

Who goes to Orlando without at least one visit to Mickey Mouse? Even when Hurricane Irma blew through Orlando, the Walt JR on the job at DisneyDisney World Parks only closed for a couple of days. After spending a day with the manatees I only had 2 more days in Orlando so I hooked up with my BFF, JR. He works for Disney so he knows all of the shortcuts and tricks to a great visit. He’s also a Disney Photographer so he gets me to places where I can get great shots of my own.

Entering Disney

Don’t try this yourself. It’s illegal!

(Disney Tip) If you are one of those people who love photos of your vacation and plan to buy the photos the Disney Photographers take of you and your family, The Disney Photo Pass is the way to go.  It sounds expensive but it will save you money in the end.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom Entrance

Disney is always adding and subtracting attractions and parks so it’s always changing. Through all of this “newness” I still love Animal Kingdom the best. I picked JR up at his work location. That was an adventure all by itself. Apparently GPS doesn’t work too well  in Disney’s back stage area. I wound up at the entrance to Magic Kingdom.The cast member at the entrance allowed me to turn around. A call to JR for directions soon had me pulling up to his work location. With JR to navigate I found the Animal Kingdom entrance with no problem.

Kali River RapidsFast Pass and the World of Pandora

Fast Pass is the best way to reserve your favorite rides. The Kali River Rapids is my favorite  ride but prepare to get wet. It wasn’t running when we first arrived. The crews were still repairing damages from the hurricane. Once it reopened we weren’t prepared with a change of clothes so we skipped it this time. My focus this trip was to see the new Pandora – The World of Avatar. Its been featured in a Disney Special on TV and it looks amazing. I have to see for myself! There were no Fast Passes for Pandora rides but we wandered over to check out the newest “land” in Animal Kingdom anyway.

Rainforest of Pandora

Greetings from Sunny Orlando

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Sunny and 80’s is the word of the day.

Orlando is sunny and hot! A typical Florida experience. I want to thank everyone who has been checking in regularly even though I haven’t been able to post anything. It’s great to see you dropped by.

No phone No Internet

I’ve been out of touch because my resort was without phone or internet. Cell phone service was spotty at best. When I checked in the lobby had a huge hole in the ceiling, no A/C and huge fans going. The poor desk clerks were seated at folding tables with lap tops to process the guests. Half of the resort was without any power but my unit had everything except phone, cable and wifi so no Facebook or Aroundustyroads updates and no TV at night. I guess I can handle that.

HangglidingAll Thanks to Hurricane Irma

I picked Joe up at his work so he had a chance to see the resort. By the time I got settled in it was getting dark out so I didn’t have a chance to really survey the damage. Joe said some of the rides and attractions at Disney were still closed. They had a lot of trees down. We had planned to enjoy the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort but due to the property damage from Irma it was canceled. Instead Joe managed to get Fastpasses for Soarin’ at Epcot. I loved the old ride but its changed now. Today you go Soarin‘ the world. Fantastic! I highly recommend this ride. I could go over and over if only they let me!

Loved the Show Skip the Food

Soarin’ was as great as I remembered. There were breaching whales and Polar bears! A calving glacier and shifting sand with camels and Pyramids. Look quick! It’s the Eiffel Tower all a-light! Around the world we go! After the ride it was definitely time to eat. It was almost 9 pm! There’s a food court right there where the ride is located. Since it was raining that seemed like the best option.  I was very disappointed in both the food choices and finally the food. I can’t recommend the food here but I can recommend the ride.

 

Hollywood Studios- That’s a Wrap!

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Since this was the last season for The Osborne Family Lights, we were prepared for a big crowd. We arrived at Hollywood Studios well before the first show of the evening so there was time to enjoy a bit of “FROZEN”. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it turned out to be great fun.

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Make fun of me if you want but I love the songs from the movie, even “Let it Go”…with the frozen fractals all around…How many little kids do you know who understand that line?

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Anyway, I just love that song, Let it Go, Let it go,  Can’t hold it back any more!

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The Frozen Sing A Long was a great warm up for the Christmas light show. And it was time to head over there. The Osborne Family Light show at Disney originally started out in Arkansas.

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Starting out as a small display on one house the display eventually grew to 3 million lights covering 3 lots.. At that point the neighbors began to file complaints and eventually law suits alleging traffic problems and safety issues.

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The publicity from the court cases drew national attention which brought it to the attention of Walt Disney World who offered to put it on a “residential Street” in the back lot of Hollywood Studios.

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Residential Street was visited using the backlot tour’s tram vehicles. When the light display was in place, however, the tram tours would stop before sunset, allowing guests to walk among the displays. Initially the display was purely the original lights from the Osborne estate, but in subsequent years the display was augmented to its current size of over five million lights. The display’s Disney caretakers have also added a number of hidden Mickeys into the lights. The 2007 edition of the display featured over 40 of the icons.

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In 2004, the park began construction on a new arena for its upcoming Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show, set to open in 2005. Part of the construction included the demolition of Residential Street, thus necessitating another move of the display. The solution was to move it to another part of the park, the New York Street set (now known as the Streets of America). As part of the move, the Studios added an artificial snow effect to the display, made up of 33 snow machines that use 100 US gal (380 L) of fluid per evening.

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There have been several other upgrades and changes over the years but now it was time to pull the plug. This was to be the last year for the Osborne Family Light Display. With that announcement, Disney guaranteed there would be crowds every night as fans arrived in droves to experience the lights one last time.

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The Polynesian at Christmas

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After we  left the Grand Floridian we caught the next water taxi to the Polynesian Village Resort.

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The Polynesian has been undergoing a complete makeover. The swimming pool has experienced upgrades and the Bora Bora Bungalows are scheduled to open soon.

boraBora

These are over – the -water accommodations just like the South Pacific but I’m getting off track.

We were just stopping there to see the decorations.

There was a modest tree in the lobby with tropical blooms.

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Nearby a Tiki carving was gathering leis and offerings.

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We had a light snack on the deck near the pool. Mine was a hot dog, an $8.59 hot dog.

hot dog

Even the snacks are expensive! A pair of ducks were begging from table to table. All of the signs said not to feed the wildlife but these guys were so tame they took  bits of food right out of your fingers.

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Refreshed we grabbed the Monorail back to Hollywood Studios. As we headed to the Mono rail I couldn’t help but think that Disney had captured the essence of Hawaii.