Disneyworld 2007 - Kennedy Space Center

Our third day was one of the funnest. Before leaving, Frontier Airlines informed us that our flight home on Tuesday was canceled to do an equipment change. So, we had to decide to go home a day early or stay an extra day. Gee, an extra day in Florida... Could we handle it? Since our Disney tickets were only for a 4 day admission, we needed to figure out what else to do. So, we decided to take a tour of the Kennedy Space Center, about 45 minutes east of Orlando.

We started out at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Very interesting exhibits, including a lot of hands-on displays, including a command capsule to give you a feeling of how easy (or hard) they are to get in and out of. Some of the other exhibits included a sample console the ground technicians used, and a lots of historical information, especially about the Apollo 1 Mission that caught fire killing the astronauts inside. Very tragic. Of course there were other tributes to others who died, including the shuttle astronauts.

The next stop was at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center. This is actually a large complex made up of different buildings and purposes. The main building is to screen for security and information booths. There is a rocket garden, IMAX theater, gift shops, restaurants and food court, memorial, simulator, and full-size shuttle walk through. There were also a number of other educational and operational buildings, all open to the public.

We had chosen a "behind the scenes" tour which included launch pads, Apollo/Saturn V Center, and International Space Station Center (which we didn't make it to due to time constraints). Nevertheless, it was very interesting. Our tour guide, Bill did an excellent job. Our biggest complaint was that the tour was not accessible, forcing DeeAnn to stay on the bus, all after paying full price for the tour. Not fair!

I was fascinating to see the crawler that they loaded the shuttle and rockets onto and the road used to transport it all. They even use a rock that is designed to shatter on impact to reduce vibration in the crawler and the 8 screws holding the rockets and shuttle together.

We saw the building they use to put the shuttle together with the rockets, and several launch pads, including the pads used for all the moon landings during the Apollo era.

One of the things DeeAnn was not able to see was the Atlantic Ocean, just over the mound from one of our observation areas.

But we were shown the runway used when the shuttle lands in Florida. It was pointed out to us the runway is cupped about two feet from the middle to the side to ensure absolutely no water pools. We were actually parked in the area they marshall the recovery vehicles used when the shuttle lands.

At the end of our tour we were shown the room the ground technicians used to communicate with the capsules, saw the size of the Saturn V rocket, and the moon rover.

And all this was while STS-120 (Discovery) was up. It would land there, at the Center two days later. Another mission (STS-122) is scheduled for December 6th. It was interesting to learn that being anywhere within a mile of the launch pad would probably kill you, mostly from the sound of the rockets.

Disneyworld 2007 - Magic Kingdom & MGM

Our second day at Disneyworld was spent in both Magic Kingdom and at Disney-MGM Studios. Because we had an early seating for breakfast before the park opened, Main Street was nearly deserted. Our breakfast at the Crystal Palace featured meeting Winnie-the-Pooh and friends (pictured below). Some of the rides we went on included Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Haunted Mansion (actually the night before), Buzz Lightyear, It's a Small World, Laugh Floor Comedy, Peter Pan's Flight, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Then we got onto the boat (pictured) for a ride over to the transportation center to wait for a bus to Disney-MGM Studios. We waited for little longer than we expected and were surprised that there was no transportation to other parks direct from the Magic Kingdom.

Once at the Studios, we took the Great Movie Ride, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Studios Backlot Tour(pictured), Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular (also pictured), Voyage of the Little Mermaid show, and Tower of Terror.

That evening we ate in the Sci-Fi Dine In, a unique restaurant decorated to resemble a drive-in theater. Boy that made me feel old when I overheard parents of children in other booths talking about how their parents used to go to the drive-ins all the time. Each dining area was in a car, designed to allow you to fact the screen which had repeating short films, cartoons, and intermission clips showing. Our car was actually a table so we could face each other and get the wheelchair in, but it, like the others, was complete with the old fashioned speakers. One of the things that really struck me was how quiet it was compared to the other restaurants in Disneyworld. Eerie!

That night we bid Dorie and Jimmy a fond farewell and sent them home while we went back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for another good nights rest in preperation for another full day ahead of us tomorrow.

Disneyworld 2007 - Epcot

Our first full day at Disneyworld found us at EPCOT. Dorie and Jimmy joined us for the day which included a few fast rides such as Test Track and Mission:SPACE.

We also visited Universe of Energy, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Living with the Land (pictures shown below) , Soarin', Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Journey into Imagination with Figment.


Note the hidden Mickey in the picture below.


But what I was looking forward to the most was the Food and Wine Festival. I do have to say I was disappointed in the quality and size of the portions this year. This year I tried several booths, but it was sooo busy (that's what we get for going on a Saturday) that we avoided a lot of booths that I would have liked to have tried. Nevertheless, I tried the lamb at the New Zealand booth (okay, would have been better if cooked more and a little warmer), strawberry shortcake at the USA booth (very good), and the boxty (potatoe pancake) and the cheese plate at the Ireland booth (photo below; not very impressive, the pancake had little flavor--I guess I like the Perkins Restaurant variety better--and the cheese was dried out).

Meanwhile, DeeAnn, Dorie and Jimmy all tried other foods, including shrimp on the barbie from Australia, Spaetzle with mushroom ragout (pictured below) and Debriziner sausage with saurkraut in a pretzel roll from Germany (pictured with Jimmy eating), and of course, Leftsa from the Norway snack shop and funnel cake from a snack shop along the way (does Jimmy ever stop eating?).

Disneyworld 2007 - The Arrival

Having just returned from another wonderful vacation to Disneyworld, we are now rested and relaxed, though we would be happy to return at any time!

We started our journeys Thursday, flying through Denver on Frontier Airlines. For the most part the trip was uneventful. After we arrived in Orlando and experienced the most efficient transportation system on earth, the Disney Magical Express. Very impressive. Then we arrived at the most beautiful hotel we have stayed at, the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
The arrival area, our first impression of the lodge.

We were greeted with Mickey Mouse ears on our bed made out of towels.

The lobby is large and expansive, decorated with African art throughout the lobby (and hotel). There are numerous gathering spots throughout the lobby, some with fire pits, others with views of the savanna.

The attention to detail through the lodge is very impressive.

An example of the art displayed in the lodge.

The view outside of the room off the balcony were a peaceful savanna with giraffes, zebras, gazelles, kudus, impalas,and Ankole Cattle roaming throughout the area along with birds native to the African continent such as hornbills, spoonbills, cranes, flamingos, storks, ostrichs, pelicans, and vultures.