Old Disney World - One Last Ride

This past fall I decided to take a small trip back to Disney World. There were reports that large portions of the parks were going to be torn down and redeveloped before I had planned to go back.

Rivers of America in the Magic Kingdom was going to be removed and and replaced with a Cars land. The Muppets area in Hollywood Studios was going to be turned into a Monsters theme land--I think. Dinoland in Animal Kingdom was going to become a Latin America themed land.

Muppet Vision 3D in Hollywood Studios has always been one of my favorite mid-day attraction. A low-wait, sit-down, air conditioned attraction! All around it are interesting tid-bits to see. Did anyone ever really check to see if there was a key under the mat? I did!

By happenstance, I was able to get the dead center of the theater. My last show. :(

The Muppets aren't totally going away. They are going to be going across the park to displace Aerosmith from Rock 'n Roller Coaster.

Over in the Magic Kingdom, I headed for Tom Sawyer's Island which is surrounded by the Rivers of America. I would skip this all the time because it sucked so much time out of the day. However, this was my final chance to take it in before it is gone forever.

And one last trip on the steamboat.

Looks like these Indians will be removed too.

It was a good time. It was also a solo trip. Let me tell you, I got shit done. I didn't have to buy lightning lanes and I was able to get on every ride I needed to with even some repeats.

In Greencastle, Indiana to See the Eclipse

<<--See also: In Casper, Wyoming to See the Eclipse & Hoping for Eclipse Part II 

I woke up at 2 o’clock in the morning filled with excitement and hope to see the eclipse. Still, it seemed like a struggle to make my way to the coffee pot! While the coffee was brewing, I started the shower and did a quick check on the computer to see about the cloud forecast. No appreciable change. It looked that Greencastle, Indiana would be my target. 

I chose Greencastle because it was toward the top of the path of totality which had an acceptable cloud coverage forecast. It had sites that I thought would be available. It was also near some country roads that I could use if the main roads such as US-31 or I-65 got hopelessly clogged. 

Showered, dressed, and packed, I started with my journey with the first stop being the ATM. It was down. On my way out of town, a deer ran in front of me. The day was starting off just perfectly! Was there a message being sent? 

Driving down was easy US-31. The traffic became noticeable around Carmel. When I got on the belt, traffic was busy. It died again when I left Indy to go towards Greencastle. Knowing what happened to me in Wyoming for the last eclipse, I brought a 5 gallon gas can just incase. 

I found a city park and there was one car was there besides myself. I may have overestimated the demand. After doing some more internet digging, I found out that there was en eclipse event down the road so I headed over there. I ended up being early as there, too, was plenty of empty space. At least there were a few others, though. 

Empty lot!

The crowd really started to come in around an hour before the eclipse. Yet, even then, there was plenty of room. I could have just slept in some more and I would have been fine! 

My camera phone wasn’t going to take spectacular shots of the eclipse. If I wanted a picture of that, I’m sure that there were plenty of professional shots that I could steal for my album. I could at least get some video of the event as a wide shot. Professionals could get the close shot. I could get the context of the event. Of course, I could sneak in a shot or two! 

I was able to see two planets – Jupiter and Venus. I did a quick check to see if I could see the comet but no more than a few seconds. I didn’t find it. The corona wasn’t as striking as the one I saw in 2017 but I’m not sure if that is because of the high clouds. I did see some more prominences with one at the bottom of the disk being most noticeable. That prominence could even be seen with the naked eye with a red dot. 

Seeing a total eclipse is an almost indescribable experience. You can have all the photos and videos you want but it really is a shadow of the actual event. “You had to be there,” is a true statement. 

This eclipse was longer than the one I saw in 2017 in Wyoming and felt just as short. It really isn’t enough and I have the gnawing need for more. So… Luxor, Egypt 2027, anyone?

As soon as totality was over there were some who immediately left. Some of us stayed behind. I know I stayed to let some of the initial traffic die down. While I was watching some videos, I was also watching the traffic map start to light up. After a couple hours, I did leave. I made my way back using country roads. There were a lot of cars still on the roads and there were a few bad cases of backups. Nearly 20 hours after leaving home, I finally made it back.

Hoping for Eclipse Part II

See also: In Casper, Wyoming to See the Eclipse

Shortly I will be on my way to see a solar eclipse. Where I will end up is uncertain but my main plan is to be in Texas. I chose Texas as April isn't exactly known for sunny days in Indiana or Ohio. 

So I have a reservation in Fort Stockton. Trying to find accommodations in the eclipse path proved to be difficult once I got my PTO from work approved. It's about 4 hours from where I think I will go - Eagle Pass which is on the border with Mexico. I'm guessing even Fort Stockton is filling up as I was contacted today by the hotel to see if I really needed two beds.

Eagle Pass has a designated place that will open to the public for parking. I hope that will go as smoothly as it did when I went to the last eclipse in Casper, Wyoming. Back then and there, I saw people camping on the road. But aside from having to wait in line for the fair grounds to open, there was plenty of room and nothing to worry about.

I am worry about the traffic since there are limited roads down there. I got lucky in Wyoming but I don't want to press that luck down there. So I will be make sure to bring an extra gas can and plan on sticking around until evening.

Who knows, though. If the weather turns out to be crappy down there and sunny up here, there's a possibility that I just head for Indy or Muncie. Two of my friends--Stacey and Kraig, and their kids are heading for a campground in Ohio. A coworker plans to see it at Cedar Point in Ohio. I hope that we all end up getting to see this. If you haven't seen a solar eclipse, I highly encourage you to seek one out.

To the UP: Kitch-iti-kipi and Pictured Rocks

 

Kitch-iti-kipi is a spring with amazingly clear water. I got there at park opening and aside for a park worker, I was the only one there. I took the raft out to the middle of the lake to watch the sediment get disturbed the water gushing from the ground as well as watch the fish. When I came back, three other people were waiting for me to dock. One couple turned out to be from South Bend. Small world!

I was supposed to take a boat tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I may not seem like it but the wind was bad enough that it was cancelled. So I headed up to Miners Castle and Miners Beach.

To the UP: Superior Falls and Lake of the Clouds

Vacation! Most of the time I spent at home doing some odds and ends. I decided, though, that I needed to see more of my state. This would be my third trip to the UP but the first time, I'd visit the western end.

The first destination is Superior Falls which is on the far western point of Michigan. When I got there, there was a couple from Pennsylvania that was heading back to their car. They asked me if I knew where the falls were. I had to admit that I didn't know because this was my first visit. I knew there were falls, though. The guy said that they saw some water pipes at a power station but that was it. As I made my way up the river, I came to the place they had mentioned. I went through the facility to continue along the river and shortly after, saw the falls. It was shame they had not gone further.

Traveling east I came to the Lake of the Clouds. I hiked a little along the path but the bugs really were unbearable. 

Disney World! Day 3 Filling Up On Food and Art

Today brought us to my favorite park: Epcot. More importantly, we were there for the Festival of the Arts which means... art... and food!

I had started eating well before this picture of some dishes from Mexico. The nice thing about being in a group of three is that we can share these expensive treats... for the most part.

Germany had this braised rib dish that was so good, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Beef Wellington at the America Pavilion.

Not seen is is the flight of chocolates (in liquid form). Holy diabetes that was sweet! Mike bought a coffee to dump the chocolate in because we couldn't handle it in its pure form.

The festival had setup these booths so you can be in famous works of arts. Here were are trying to cross the Delaware. No one listens to the navigator.

Channeling my inner Frida Kahlo.

World showcase is my favorite thing about Epcot. Here we are in Canada.

Getting on in the day, we were filling pretty full but there was a reservation at Les Chefs de France.

As kids, we would never have expected to do table dining at Epcot. Here we are!

I opted for the boeuf bourguignon. Kris and Mike opted for the fish. The food was okay. The deserts were top notch. I took our waiter's suggested and got a complicated dish which was a nest of merengue with banana cream inside it, whipped cream and berries on the top. On the side of which was a berry flavored ice cream on top of something crunchy.

After dinner we caught the our last viewings of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. After two decades, Disney will be ending the show.

I was was struck at how beautiful  this looked at night and had to get a picture before leaving.

Disney World! Day 2 Magic Kingdom and the Hoop De Doo Revue

We started our day in the Animal Kingdom as it was opening an hour before all the other parks and we figured that we could rope drop Flight of Passage. By the time we go there, though, the line kept going and going until we were in the next land over--Africa. When we finally got to the end of the line, we decided that it wasn't worth the wait. So we continued on past Africa and into Asia to ride Expedition Everest.

With the crowd waiting to get on Flight of Passage, the rest of the park was remarkably empty.

We also took the opportunity to go on the Safari ride. I have read suggestions that the best time to see the animals were in the morning or evening. This lion didn't disappoint. Not quite roaring--but definitely making his presence known.

We hopped on over to the Magic Kingdom after a quick breakfast.

One of the new things that DW introduced since I last visited was The Muppets Presents... Great Moments in History. It takes place in Liberty Square at certain times of the day. If you can, please take time to check it out.

Getting reservations to Be Our Guest was a priority for me. I've wanted to check it out since New Fantasyland opened but you can't go in without a reservation. We went for lunch and I had the braised pork with mashed potatoes and green beans. If you need a filling lunch that will last the day, that would be it! However, now that I've been there and checked it out, I probably won't be going back any time soon. 

Sibling story time!

Wrapping up the evening with Dumbo.

I have always wanted to check out the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue--a dinner show at the Fort Wilderness Resort. As a Christmas present, they bought me dinner. It was a small crowd that evening so we managed to get upgraded to closer to the stage.

The food was meh with the exception of the strawberry short cake--that was first rate. It was all about the show and that was thoroughly enjoyable. I've got some other things I want to check out first but I would definitely go back.

All the parks had closed by the time the show was over so they provided busses to make sure we could get back to our own resorts. Usually, you have to go back to a park for a connecting bus. Unfortunately, our bus driver hit something on the way so we had to stop at Coronado Springs for a while. We weren't able to get back to our room until midnight but we got a fast pass out of it.

Disney World! Day 1 Arrival

Earlier this past fall, I started planning on going to Disney World. It had been a number of years since I last had a proper vacation and there were a number of new things that had opened since. It was also a good time because there were a number of things going away. I mentioned this to my sister and it turned out it was a good time for her and her fiance, Mike to go as well. So we decided to go together.

Since Kris and Mike live near Detroit, we flew out of there to Orlando.

Arrival at MCO

We arrived to the All Star Music resort mid-afternoon. After stowing our stuff, we headed out to Animal Kingdom. The last time I was there, Expedition Everest was in construction. I was really looking forward to getting on that and seeing Pandora - The World of Avatar.

Pandora at Night

Pandora was fantastic. Kris managed to score some fast passes for Flight of Passage, the E-ticket ride for the land. While the ride wasn't technically impressive to me, the flying around Pandora was. The sights and smells were awesome. You almost regret having to come back to this boring planet.

On the Na'vi River Journey

Unfortunately it wasn't a full day but it was packed with new experiences.

Dim Sum Quest

I have been wanting to go to a dim sum restaurant for a long time. There aren't any near where I live. To get some, I needed to go to Chicago so I got my friend and former co-worker, Gibran, and hopped on a train to the big city.

So this is where we ended up. MingHin has a location near Millennium Park and is an easy walk from the train station.

When we got in, Gibran shared that he was not a seafood person. I was a little frustrated because a lot of the dim sum that I wanted to try had some seafood in it. He played it safe and ordered a plate of General Tso's Chicken. I was there for the dim sum. Here is some of what we got:

Shrimp Dumplings with Peas

Tofu Wraps

Siu Mai (ground pork and shrimp)

We ended up getting six dishes, seven if you include the Gen. Tso's. The total bill ended up coming to $48 even which was substantially lower than what I was expecting. The food was fantastic and I would definitely like to do this again.

Walking in the park before are train departs.