The Wandering Disciple

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: A trip down Sunset Boulevard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is like taking a step back in time to the glamorous days of Hollywood. Designed to resemble Hollywood during the 1940’s, Sunset Boulevards is home to two of the parks major attractions. Sunset Boulevard opened in 1994 as an expansion to the park. The new expansion added a new avenue for shops, rides and attractions. The expansion was anchored by a new thrill ride, the Tower of Terror and a new theater, Theater of the Stars. Tower of Terror opened in 1994 and was the tallest attraction in Walt Disney World until Expedition Everest opened in 2006. The ride is based on the popular sci-fi TV show “The Twilight Zone.” Guests enter the eerie Hollywood Tower Hotel and quickly begin to notice that things aren’t quite right. As you continue further into the hotel, you see indications at how vibrant the hotel once was and then all of a sudden everyone just disappeared. Soon you are ushered into an elevator car...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Today marked our final day of this trip. The theme park of the day today was Disney Hollywood Studios. We grabbed breakfast this morning at the McDonald’s by the hotel then hopped aboard the WDW bus to the park. We arrived at the park before opening and found ourselves close to the front of the line for entry into the park. Once the gates opened we began our tour through the studios. The first stop was The Great Movie Ride. It has been several years since I rode this ride and since most of the time it has a large line, we took advantage of being near the front of the crowd to hop aboard with no wait. The focus of the visit to the studios was to try and hit some of the shows and attractions we normally skip in an effort to get to our favorites. Since we have an annual pass, we rarely do everything in the park, rather mingle new attraction in each time we go in an attempt to experience everything that Disney has to offer. With this in mind, today we ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Nestle among the thrills of the theme parks and the luxury of the resort hotels is a place where guests can pitch a tent and take a break from the hustle and bustle of a Disney vacation. The campsites and cabins of Fort Wilderness brings the joys of camping to the magical world of Walt Disney World Resort. Opened in 1971, the Fort Wilderness Resort features 800 campsites and over 400 fully equipped cabins spread out over 700 acres. The campsites vary from tent only sites to sites large enough for an RV. The cabins sleep up to six guests and feature a kitchen, double bed, bunk bed, Murphy bed and more. The resort features a wide variety of activities for everyone in the family to enjoy. There are two swimming pools, marina with boat rentals, fishing, petting zoo, stable with pony and horse riding, arcades and much more. In the evening, there is a campfire program in which guests can watch a movie under the stars and roast marshmallows on the campfire....

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: The newest and smallest land in the Magic Kingdom is one of the biggest hits to the parks smaller guests. At Mickey’s Toontown Fair you can meet and mingle with many of the parks characters, tour Mickey and Minnie’s house or hop a ride on a roller coaster, it is all here for your enjoyment. The land began its life as Mickey’s Birthdayland in 1988, as part of Mickey Mouse’s 60th birthday celebration. The popularity of the attraction led to it becoming a permanent land. Once the celebration was over, the land was renamed Mickey’s Starland. In 1996, the land was renovated to take on a county fair theme and then was renamed Mickey’s Toontown Fair. The main attraction of the land is the character meets. This is one place within the park where characters are always available to meet with guests. Here you can meet Mickey Mouse himself as a judge in the fair. The Toontown Hall of Fame is one of the largest collection of characters available in the park. Her...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: We woke up early and hit the cafeteria in the hotel for breakfast. It was early enough that it was not crowded yet. The food was average, nothing spectacular but it hit the spot. Afterwards we hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom. Once the park opened, we headed straight for Fantasyland. Fantasyland has the largest collection of rides that our son could ride. We hit every ride in Fantasyland before heading to Mickey’s Toontown Fair to ride Barnstormer. We continued our tour of the park through Tomorrowland where we rode the Tomorrowland Speedway, Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Carousel of Progress. We tried to stick to the rides that were appropriate for a two year old so the whole family can enjoy, however it was tough passing by Space Mountain and not going for a ride. As we crossed across the central hub to hit attractions on the other side of the park, we stopped for lunch at the Columbia Harbour House. The Columbia Harbour House in Liberty ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Rocky slopes and waterfalls of the Canadian Rockies to the tall totem poles of the Pacific Northwest, the only thing missing is the snowfall. No detail is spared as Walt Disney World Imagineers try to make the Canada Pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase as realistic as possible. One of the original counties of World Showcase, the Canada Pavilion opened to the public in 1982 with the grand opening of Epcot. The pavilion is one of the two gateway countries of the World Showcase, it is the first or last country you will visit in your journey around the world. The pavilion is built to resemble many of the prominent features of Canada. There is a miniature re-creation of the Canadian Rockies, three totem poles similar to those found along the Pacific Northwest, a garden built to resemble Victoria Gardens in British Columbia and a large, elegant hotel modeled after the Chateau Laurier of Ottawa. The one and only attraction of the Canada pavilion is a Circle-Visio...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: The first of Disney’s value resorts is still one of the resorts most popular choices amongst families and youth groups. Adorned with larger then life sports relics, the All-Star Sports Resort has been a hit for over 15 years. Opened in 1994, the All-Star Sports Resort features 1,920 rooms among 10 buildings. The building are decorated with a sports theme and pay tribute to surfing, basket ball, tennis, football and baseball. The rooms are 260 square feet and feature two double beds or one king bed and the basic amenities to get you through your trip. The resort features plenty of stuff to do onsite while your taking a break from the theme parks. There are two pools, Surfboard Bay and Grand Slam. There is also the Game Point Arcade and several outdoor play areas throughout the resort. And if your hungry, stop by the End Zone Food Court for a meal or just a snack. Plus there is a gift shop called Sporty Goofy Gift and Sundries where you can pick up a so...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Our annual passes for Walt Disney World were about to expire, so we decided to take extended weekend trip to the house of the Mouse. In our quest to stay at each of the Disney resort properties at least once, we chose the All-Star Sports Resort. The value resort was offered a great rate and since it was one we had not stayed at yet, I jumped on the deal. As we arrived at Walt Disney World, our first duty was to drop out dog off at the Disney kennel at Fort Wilderness. When we visit Disney, we always leave our dog at one of their kennels. The one at Fort Wilderness is our preferred choice because of its property. You are away from the hustle and bustle of the parks and there is so much to do at Fort Wilderness after you walk your pet. Then we headed over to the All-Star Sports and checked into our room. Although it was early and our room was not ready yet, we checked in early to avoid the crowds of traditional check-in time. Then it was off to the park...

Tampa, Florida: In 1965, Busch Gardens Tampa added the Serengeti Plain. Guided by Anheuser Busch President and wildlife lover August Busch Jr., the 29 acre Serengeti Plain was a place for the African wildlife to roam free for the guests of Busch Gardens to enjoy. The Serengeti Plain is home to many African wildlife, including; • Giraffes • Zebras • Bongo • Rhinos • Water Buffalo • Impala • Gazelle • Ostrich Great views of the plain can be seen from Nairobi, Edge of Africa and from the Crown Colony House. But there are a few ways to get a closer look at the animals, they are: •Serengeti Express; take the train ride through the Serengeti and get a close look as the animals as you ride unobstructed through their habitat. •The Skyride; view the plain from the sky, look down at their home from 30 feet in the air. •Serengeti Safari; ride into the Serengeti on the back of a Busch Garden truck, listen to the stories of the animals from a zookeeper and take the opportunity to feed and pet g...