Garden Rocks

While Susan and Jenn hung out in the Dallas Fort Worth area, I spent some time in Disney World.Thursday morning I took the first cruiser from Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness for breakfast at Trail’s End. A guest had told me the brisket and eggs meal was really good, but they don’t have that on the menu anymore.

 

Work on the new Lakeshore Lodge continues. Last month they put roofs on the cabins to the west of the Lodge and this month they are doing those on the east. After breakfast I walked around to the front to take some photos there.

I then went back to Magic Kingdom and walked around a bit. Foundations and retaining walls are being installed for the new Piston Peak Cars attraction, and Big Thunder Mountain and Buzz Lightyear are still closed for refurbishment. In addition the buildings in the Storybook Circus area are being renovated. From there I took the train to the front, then headed home.

Yesterday afternoon I went into Epcot to check out the Flower and Garden Festival, which started two weeks ago. I made a circuit around the park, checking out the topiaries, gardens, and booths. I didn’t notice any new topiaries, but many were in new places. I exited the park briefly at the International Gateway to say hi to some Friendship Boat captains, then made my way back to the American Gardens theater. 

I grabbed a pretzel and a beer then waited for the first set of the night’s garden rocks performers, the Orchestra. Former members of the Electric Light Orchestra, they played several ELO songs. It was a pretty good show.

Animal Kingdom

Last Saturday afternoon, Jennifer visited Animal Kingdom with a friend. Dinoland is now completely closed, but the frame of the new show building for the future Encanto ride can be seen above the construction walls. 

They mostly went to look at merchandise and have some snacks, so they only stayed for a few hours. On the way out they took photos with Chip and Dale, who liked Jenn's outfit. With Dinoland closed, they no longer meet in their dinosaur costumes, but instead are before the entrance to the park. 

Last Tuesday night, Jenn with with some friends to Tampa to watch a hockey match. The Tampa Bay Lightning lost 5-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Susan and I spent our days off doing chores and running errands, but we did eat out a couple times and swung by Cast Connection to see what new stuff they had. 

Monday morning, Susan and Jenn left for Texas. After staying the night in Monroe Louisiana, they arrived in Fort Worth yesterday afternoon. Last night they attended a book signing at a bookstore in Dallas.

This morning I went into Animal Kingdom at opening. Besides Dinoland, Conservation Station and the train to it are closed for refurbishment. They are scheduled to reopen around Memorial Day with new experiences. I walked the trails and looked at animal habitats, but soon ran out of things to do.

Starlight Parade

Monday morning, Susan got to take a special behind the scenes tour of Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom.

Yesterday afternoon, Susan, Jenn, and I went to Magic Kingdom, mostly to watch the Starlight Parade, the new night parade that debuted last summer. Recently, Disney started repainting the castle. It’s going back to a blue grey from the pink, deep blue, and gold that they painted it for the 50th celebration. 

We had dinner at the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon, which is currently running a great discount for cast members. It had been at least a decade since we had eaten there, and then it just had simple meals. Now it has the same menu as the Liberty Tree Tavern next door, mostly Thanksgiving food served family style. 

After dinner we did a couple of rides, including the Peoplemover. I wanted to see how the refurbishment of Buzz Lightyear was progressing, but we got to see Space Mountain with the lights on.

Guests started lining up around the hub and Main Street an hour before the parade started, so we ended up watching it in front of Emporium near the Fire Station. It’s a fairly good parade, with nine floats - Blue Fairy, Wish, Encanto, Frozen, Princesses, Coco, Moana, Peter Pan, and Mickey and friends.