The Festival of the Lion King

Posted on January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 by Dusty Roads

DSC_1891 copy

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.

DSC_1896 copy

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!

DSC_1886 copy

Perfect for low light shots.

DSC_1890 copy

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

DSC_1892 copy

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

DSC_1898 copy

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

DSC_1903 copy

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!

DSC_1909 copy

Zazu:
Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing

DSC_1912 copy

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

DSC_1914 copy

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

DSC_1917 copy

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

DSC_1919 copy

Animal Kingdom At Christmas

Posted on January 3, 2016January 3, 2016 by Dusty Roads

With the Orlando Eye down for the count Joe and I put our heads together to come up with a plan B. Now when you are in Orlando and your BFF works for Disney World, what is the most logical conclusion for a Plan B? Why, go to one of the parks , of course!

DSC_1816 copy

My very favorite park is Animal Kingdom because of the animals. We figured we could get The Kilimanjaro Safari ride in and maybe the Lion King Show before the park closed for the day.

DSC_1817 copy

I love the bridge where we can see the Mountain. I always have to stop and take a picture there. Usually there’s a park photographer too because its such a popular vista.

DSC_1824 copy

The park was pretty slow so we were able to get on the safari ride pretty quickly.

DSC_1834 copy

A lot of the animals were out of sight waiting for the evening feeding but that meant that I got to see some that I’ve missed in the past.

DSC_1829 copy

There was a lovely bright colored bird. The driver told us its name but I don’t remember it now.

DSC_1827a_edited-1

Of course the elephants can’t hide

DSC_1843 copy

and there were giraffes.

DSC_1831 copy

The best were the big cats and of the big cats, the lions.

DSC_1855 copy

We even got a roar out of the male before he laid down for his nap!

DSC_1859 copy

Too soon it was time to move on if we wanted to see the Lion King Show.

Candlelight, France and Neil Patrick Harris

Posted on December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone, who knows what Christmas is all about?!

Linus: Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please?

shepherds_in_a_field

And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.

linus

That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

CB tree

What do candlelight, France and Neil Patrick Harris have in common? Why Disney , of course. Lunch at Les Chef Da France and the Candlelight Processional.

DSC_1721 copy

Imagine Linus’ narration with an extraordinary production of orchestra and choirs and you have the Disney Candlelight Processional.

DSC_1732 copy

In our version Neil Patrick Harris has the role of Linus.

DSC_1734 copy

The show is moving.

DSC_1731 copy

It’s spectacular.

DSC_1737 copy

The grand finale of the Hallelujah Chorus will bring you to your feet.

DSC_1742 copy

Amazing, beautiful , not to be missed!

DSC_1753 copy

DSC_1750 copy

Epcot 2015

Posted on December 20, 2015December 20, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Please understand that my plan for Disney was to spend one day at the Magic Kingdom to photograph decorations and hopefully get some shots I can use for Christmas cards.

Hidden Mickey

That was it. The rest of the time I planned to check out other venues like botanical gardens that I hadn’t been to before. I am not now and never have been a Mickey fanatic.

DSC_1705 copy

Those plans got side tracked very quickly when I told my friend Joe that I was coming to Orlando in December. I booked the dates in March and that led to a continuous series of emails and phone calls with everything Joe wanted to do while I was in town. It pretty much revolved around the Disney parks.

DSC_1707 copy

After much suggesting, pleading, assuming and just charging forward, Joe finally convinced me to book the Candlelight Processional with dinner. The two possible narrators while I was in Orlando were Neil Patrick Harris or Whoopie Goldberg . I enjoy both so it came down to when we could get a reservation. Dinner/show spots were all sold out so we settled on lunch/5 pm show. I booked Thursday because, I confess, I was doing this more to appease Joe than because I wanted to go so I wanted to get it over with. Thursday was the last night Neil Patrick Harris was the narrator. By having a 1:15 lunch reservation at Les Chefs de France it pretty much guaranteed we’d be spending the day at Epcot.

DSC_1692 copy

Joe met me for breakfast at Kenzie’s and then we headed for the park. Epcot was beautiful as are all of the parks at Christmas. We enjoyed a few rides/shows before scrambling to make our reservation for lunch.

DSC_1696 copy

We had a small two top (that’s restaurant speak for a table for 2) right next to the window so we could watch Father Christmas and other characters pass by. Lunch was acceptable. I’m just a plain and simple person when it comes to food so french cuisine is just “over the top”. Sometimes a grilled cheese should just be a grilled cheese.

I chose Les Chef de France because I wanted escargot but I’d just had that in New Orleans and it’s not an item I can eat every day. My favorite part was the dessert, puff pastry with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

my-dessert

Joe had the mousse.

Chefs

Then with several hours to kill we went Soaring. This is a really popular ride and usually has long lines so I had never been on it before. All I can say is that it’s terrific. I hated to have it end. I guess it’s as close to flying as you’ll get unless you are one of those glider suit people.

DSC_1698 copy

Kris Kringle was entertaining all comers with a series of Holiday Stories. He was funny even if he looked a bit intimidating.

DSC_1702 copy

We followed up with a visit with Tigger and Poo Bear and then it was time to get in our seats for the main event.

PhotoPass_Visiting_Epcot_7554017993

Love Poo Bear

PhotoPass_Visiting_Epcot_7554016710

And Tigger!

Poo bear

Saturday Night in Vegas

Posted on January 27, 2015January 27, 2015 by Dusty Roads

When you think about it, JR and I did an amazing job of coordinating our arrival and finding each other amid the lights, bells , whistles and people in the hotel and casino. As you can imagine after spending 3 days and nights on a greyhound bus, JR’s first priority was a shower and change of clothes. I was in better shape as I’d had a shower and fresh clothes before I left San Diego.

The Hotel we are staying in is the LINQ, a part of the Caesar’s Palace empire. The Hotel was billed as one of the newest jewels in the Caesar Crown and I fell for it. I paid the upgrade because I wanted JR to have a great time as it was his birthday gift. It was a rip off. The hotel room was very basic. It didn’t even have a dresser or a coffee pot. The closet door was a curtain. The bathroom door was a sliding “pocket door” and it was shower only, no tub. Our cruise ship cabin was almost as big!

About all I can say for it is that it was clean. The room was on the 18th floor but no balcony and security was tight. We had to show our room keys to a security guard whenever we went up in the elevator. At least that made me feel safe.

View From Our Window , 18th floor of the LINQ

We decided not to lug the cameras the first night and just roam around until dinner time. Anything interesting could be captured on the cell phone cameras and there was a lot of interest. One of my favorite things were the characters. It was almost like being in Disney.

There was Olaf, Mickey and Minnie but there was also Elvis and Darth Vader, Marilyn Monroe and on and on.

We enjoyed a very loud dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and wandered over to the Bellagio for the fountain show. Along the way we passed the Eiffel Tower and Paris and The Flamingo Hotel. For neon lovers, Vegas at night does not disappoint!

Yummy Pina Colada

On our return we stopped at the Linq Promenade for more colorful fountains and our first look at the High Roller, the biggest Ferris Wheel in the World! The pods make me think of Star Wars!

LINQ Promenade and High Roller

Back in the hotel it didn’t take long to hit the hay. I was asleep before JR turned off the TV. Tomorrow I have the obligatory presentation ( a 60 minute sales pitch) and then we’ll check out the mono rail and decide what we want to spend the day exploring.