Rise and
Shine! We’re surrounded by Walt Disney World (WDW)!
5 miles to
the north is Animal Kingdom and Epcot and beyond that all the rest including
the Magic Kingdom. 3 miles to the south is the town of Celebration (a former
Disney community) and all along rte 192 are Disney wanna-bes.
But first a
visit from our local Cracker Barrel
pet- a bare headed duck, or something. I’m
too lazy to look this one up so one of you may do so, but I believe only
carrion eating birds have bare heads and necks.
I’ve just never heard of a Vulture Duck.
The view out
our front windows beyond the strange duck is the Wyndham Vacation Club Timeshare
Resort. Very nice landscaping! And considering those villas cost about 350.00 a
night and up, and our rolling condo is parked for free, we are glad to have
such a nice view.
We have
decided to take the Gresh’s advice and try out the free visits to many or ALL
of the WDW resorts. The amenities are
relaxation, welcoming hosts, fine architecture and fascinatingly beautiful
furnishings and décor.
Our first
resort, and the one we enjoyed for most of the day, was Animal Kingdom. Here there is not only beautiful décor but
delightful animals.
There are
two viewing decks in the center of each round residence construction built like
African rocky blinds where you can view some of the animals which are part of
the Animal Kingdom Safari Ride. If you
stay at this resort your deck allows you to look over one of these areas 24
hours a day.
A wonderful
extra to much of WDW are the people hired to make you feel welcome- the
hosts. Here many of them are from
countries in Africa and they share their own culture in many interesting and
sometimes tuneful ways.
Where
possible Disney’s creative cast members have brought a bit of the museum into
the environment with educational displays like these.
It is still
quite hard for us to realize that it is December 10th with the weather
above 65 today. But the wonderful Disney
Christmas decorations sure work to make the point.
We walked, read,
picnicked, and otherwise simply enjoyed this resort immensely.
But all things
must end so we loaded up TOAD and headed over the 3 miles to ALL STAR RESORTS. Located near the ESPN Sports Center this
triple play of a resort features budget priced but still DISNEY style living in
a motel like setting.
Each of the
three multiple building resorts is focused on a different theme: Movies, Music,
and Sport. All three of them are filled with kids and chaperones of all ages
this week for the annual Pop Warner Midget Football Tournament being held at
the ESPN Center.
These kids
loved the pools! After all, every one of
the six of them were at a warm 83 degrees.
A short hop
to the Disney created town of Celebration for a slice of New York pizza and a snow storm was next.
Every year,
from the day after Thanksgiving through December 31st, Market Street
in this town features on the hour blizzards at 6, 7, 8 and 9pm that fill the
street with screaming and happy kids, adults and snow.
The plastic
ice skating rinks are open all day long and they provide the special skates for
anyone to wear. But it’s the snow (a soft bubbly substance that apparently does
not stain, stink up, or hurt you or your clothes) that brings the crowds.
We spoke to
a shop owner about the effect this nightly event has on her sales. She told us what I was afraid of. The alcohol
and food sales go up slightly but evening retail sales drop since the crowds
aren’t there to shop and they keep shoppers away who don’t want to deal with
the crowds.
But there’s
no talk of stopping this tradition. Its become something even the shop keepers
pretty much look forward to each year, and its magical!
FULL pics on Facebook!
-Ken
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