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If I were not going to head for Fort Wilderness, a close second for a one of a kind evening activity is Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The nightly storytelling program is imbued with the same feelings as the sing-a-long at Fort Wilderness, but does it with its own unique set of standards. Set around Ogun’s Firepit at Arusha Rock, the stories are not only fascinating, but also encourage participation from the guests who choose to stop by and warm up around the fire. After the storytelling has wrapped up, and before returning to your room for the evening, be sure to take a moment to talk with the tellers of the tales who have much more to share with those willing to listen or venture out into the darkness to take part in some nighttime animal viewing with night-vision equipment.TOASTING – Inspired by the newfangled ironworks we saw in Chicago, I cooked up this oven to roast my cocoa beans to perfection.
BREAKING AND WINNOWING – This device, of my own invention, cracks open the cocoa beans and blows away the husks, leaving only the tasty chocolate insides.
The cupcake is listed as being comprised of “Chocolate Cake with Buttercream and Dark Chocolate,” but is so much more than that. Let’s start with the cake. The Disney Park’s Blog listed the hefty cake portion as a dark chocolate, and while it has the richness associated with a dark chocolate cake, there is not a hint of bitterness and a lot of rich sweetness to make this cake a favorite of mine. The cake is topped with a wonderful buttercream! I hope this continues and that, as time passes, we do not find that a grainy, overly sugary frosting takes its place. The buttercream is adorned with large shavings of dark chocolate, and if you’re a fan of the shavings in a typical French silk pie, you’ll love these additions.
So, what does this exhibit have to do with The Magic of Disney Animation? Everything. When you consider that California is home to the Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Archives, and the Walt Disney Family Museum, it does feel like the East Coast has taken a bit of a shellacking in the history department. Okay, sure, the Studios and Archives aren’t open to the public on a regular basis and tours are extremely difficult to come by (quick aside, if anyone in the Archives or Studios is willing to give me a tour, I will find a way to get myself across the country). However, the opportunities do come up on rare occasions. Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream is almost an East Coast version of the Walt Disney Family Museum, it is a historical portrait of Walt Disney, but still leaves quite a bit unexplored.Bear Chief, symbolizing the house owner, sits at the base of this totem pole. It is widely believed that, in all of nature, bears and humans are most like each other. Bear Chief holds Frog to his mouth. Frog is known as the communicator, for he can speak to all of the animals and humans. Frog tells the Bear Chief that he should hold that he should hold a potlatch feast for his young nephew, Bear Cub.
On this pole, we see Bear Cub emerging between Bear Chief’s ears. Nephews are traditionally trained by their uncles, whose responsibility it is to educate them in the way of the Bear Clan. Bear Chief has planned to raise this totem in front of his new house at the time of the potlatch feast that he will give in honor of his nephew and all their invited guests.A great painted shield of copper, the symbol of highest wealth, shows the design of Staget, the magical spirit between animals and humans. Originally pounded flat from native copper traded by these northwest coast Indians from the mountain folk of the far north, a shield such as this copper shield is judged to be worth an enormous amount. This copper has been given the name “27 Servants” which indicates the value of this treasured possession, a piece of which the Bear Chief plans to give to his nephew during the potlatch feast.
Klu-kun, the Mountain Goat, sits on the pole showing his shiny black horns and magic hooves. He is a famous cliff jumper and is very generous in supplying his smooth, rich, back fat, a rare ointment used by both animals and humans to heal and beautify the skin. Mountain Goat once helped a young copper seeker to climb down the mountain cliffs by lending him his hooves. Then Goat showed that youth how to jump the widest river by lending him his white leaping coat. It is Mountain Goat who holds the copper to protect it.
A short section of carefully glazed red cedar pole with a hole in its front where Ksem Wed-Zin, Mouse Woman, lives and views the animals and human world around her. Mouse Woman has always been famous for helping young people.
Once when a fisherman grew bad tempered because of his hunger, he took a salmon club and struck a young boy who was dancing and singing around the fire.
Mouse Woman scurried down for her hole in the pole and stood before the fisherman. “Angry man,” Mouse Woman said, “it was wrong of you to strike that child. The boy disappeared, but I can still hear him crying out in pain. Quickly, quickly, fisherman! Find all of the scraps of salmon meat and bones you scattered when you had finished eating, then throw them carefully into the fire.”
The fisherman had no sooner done what Mouse Woman had asked than the child whom he had struck was healed again, reappeared, and continued his happy dancing and singing around the fire. The fisherman felt very sorry for what he had done and took the boy out in his canoe and taught him the true art of fishing.
Supernatural Raven arrived in the earliest times when the earth itself was very young. There were still only a few animals and no humans in the world. Raven was flying along a long, narrow arm of sand that thrusts itself far out to the sea. Suddenly, he saw a large clam lying on the beach. Raven swooped down and opened its shell with his powerful beak. In this way, raven released the first humans who ever walked on this earth. These humans were all very small, no larger than the size of your smallest finger. But as they went running toward freedom along this lonely beach, they commenced to grow and grow until they reached the size of you and me. After that these animals humans busied themselves building houses, carving totem poles, and raising their young. The built huge sea canoes and paddle them along all the coastlines and around all the island until soon they had populated the whole world!
Beaver sits very high upon the pole, between Raven and Eagle, for these two great supernatural birds have not always lived in peace together. Once when Raven and Eagle were having an argument about who should grab the smaller Beaver’s crest and take it for their own, Beaver grew very angry and threw down his chew stick. He whistled through his teeth to both those birds, saying, “I come from a place where there’s a giant beaver bigger than either of you. He is bigger than both of you together!”
When Eagle and Raven laughed at him, Beaver dove down from his place on the pole into the family beaver dam and pulled away the small logs and alder saplings. The water in the beaver dam rushed out through the hole. Eagle and Raven called out in wonder, for there beneath them was the biggest beaver in the world hiding at the bottom of the beaver’s pond. This giant Beaver had faces on all his joints and protected himself with his huge, leather tail.
Supernatural Eagle, standing on top of the pole, sometimes chooses to be a bird, but it is said that he has the power to change easily into a human being. This Eagle once heard a girl crying far out to sea because long ago, she had gone away to marry one of the Undersea People, but while there she grew so sad and lonely for her family and her people that she cried endlessly with large tears rolling down her cheeks. Eagle flew out to the island in the sea, picked up the girl, and started to fly her back to her family again.
“Don’t look out,” Eagle warned the girl. “Don’t look down.” But, so curious was she that she spread his wing feather to have a peek, and that caused Eagle to fall down into the sea in front of the girl’s village and they both had a terrible struggle to swim ashore.
Eagle wants to be a helper to all and that is why atop his head sits three small Taan-skeels. These are the watchmen for all the humans and animals. Wearing tall, shading hats, Taan-skeel keeps their eyes wide open day and night, for it is they who protect their village houses. They peer endlessly out to sea, along the beaches, and deep inside the shadows of the forest that stands behind the village. These three Taan-skeels are the watchful helpers of the world.
The printed description of the Club is, “Turkey, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado Ranch Dressing on Multi-grain Toast.” Sounds pretty generic, right? Okay, well, let’s dispense with the lettuce and tomato, they were both fresh and added their desired flavors and textures to the sandwich. Similarly, the multi-grain toast was an excellent, and hearty, bookend for this sandwich. That leaves us with the turkey, bacon, and avocado ranch dressing.
First off, can we just take a moment to marvel at this cover image? The simplicity with which the message is conveyed with two colors, silhouetting the dancer and the moon between pools of orange and brown, is stunning (the art form, not the dancer). Okay, so my mind immediately wanders to the classic NBA icon, but in a way it is that same strength of message tied to a strong singular image that makes both so successful. “Watch as kamaainas (natives) perform symbolic songs and dances from the South Seas isles.
Thrill to the Samoan Knife dance as a young islander skillfully whirls sharp blades in a hypnotizing display… or experience the tense excitement of an authentic fire dance. Then view the delightful Samoan slap dance – just for fun.
And the music is enchanting too, whether it’s the romantic verse of the favorite Hawaiian Wedding Song or the pulsating beat of the ceremonial drums. Later, the spotlight is on you as the natives ask for partners for the hip-undulating Tahitian tamura.”
It is rare that I stay at Fort Wilderness these days. I’m still a tent person, and when I grew up there were 10 tents to every one RV in the campground, it seems nowadays that ratio has been completely reversed. The underbrush has been cleared away, there are no more boardwalks, and there are almost no railroad remnants to unearth. I understand the need for safety and progress, I do, but Fort Wilderness is not the place that I remember. Does that keep me from spending a decent amount of time there? Heck, no! I still wander the old trails (as much as are still passable), sit on the fence rails, take in the smell of the Meadow Trading Post (if you’ve been there, you know there is a distinct smell among the souvenirs and sundries), watch the campfires being lit, and search for shooting stars just beyond the edge of the outdoor movie screen. I didn’t even mention fried chicken, did I? Well, I grab a couple of pieces of that too.
Just down the shoreline a ways is the Wilderness Lodge. In fact, there is even a trail that runs between the two if you have a mind to venture that way on foot. For me, it’s a motor launch, it’s always a motor launch. The Wilderness Lodge pays homage to the National Parks and lodges of the west. The totem poles, artwork, music, and Native American artifacts and imagery gets this message across perfectly clear, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel Florida and Fort Wilderness in and around the resort. For starters, there may be pine trees outside, but they are natives to Florida, not Northwestern transplants. There is a small boardwalk to the boat dock, a simple reminder of Fort Wilderness’ simple pleasures, and the roughhewn logs that fill every corner of the Wilderness Lodge are almost identical to the same type of fencing and architecture found in the few structures of Fort Wilderness. Not to mention, you are still overlooking Bay Lake, listening to the same boat and train whistles that echo across the waterways to both Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge.
When considering Port Orleans – Riverside as one of my celebrate Florida resorts, you may think I’m off my rocker, and if you’re picturing the Magnolia Bend section of the resort, you’d be absolutely right! I am, of course, thinking of the Alligator Bayou area of Port Orleans – Riverside. Yes, this resort was built to resemble to wetlands on the outskirts of New Orleans, but there is a fair amount of resemblance between that area of the country and the lowlands of central Florida. Fishing holes, small houses, and waterwheels aside, I think the one thing here that beckons me back to my Fort Wilderness days are the meandering trails that lead to and from parking areas, resort buildings, and the main activity hubs. For those who have never spent much time in Fort Wilderness, as a child I loved running along the trails behind the campsites that led to the Comfort Stations (that’s restrooms and showers for the uninitiated). These trails connected to every campsite to one another and the communal hub of the loop, provided you were in a section of the loop that shared the same side of the street with the Comfort Station. I’ve gotten lost wandering those footpaths in Fort Wilderness, and I’ve misplaced myself in the Alligator Bayou just as quickly, and I’ve never been happier.
The pre-show area of Muppet-Vision 3D, who are we kidding the entire area is show from beginning to end, but the pre-show holding area is filled with Muppets, props, belonging, and items that have been shipped to the various Muppets. There may seem like there are a lot of barrels in this picture, but they have to feed a heck of a lot of beaks! The label reads:From: Far North Foods
To: Nicky Napoleon & The Emperor Penguins
c/o Muppet Studios
Orlando, Fla.
PICKLED HERRING
Keep Refrigerated!
As I was making my way through the throng of guests pouring out of the Enchanted Tiki Room for the third time in a single day, I realized there was once again a crowd assembled around the Sunshine Tree Terrace, a sight as rare in recent years as a packed Tiki Room, and I decided to give the menu a once over. Remembering the good ole’ days when oranges ruled supreme under the Sunshine Tree, I ordered an Orange Slush. It was as close to the orange concentrate side of the Citrus Swirl as I had tasted in many years. To top it off, it even looked like a natural shade of orange, none of this glowing neon orange to hammer home the idea that you were partaking in something that was orange flavored.DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY -- Mannequins at Walt Disney World’s Pleasure Island specializes in hot dance tunes in a bizarre, warehouse atmosphere for the over 21 crowd. The nightclub sizzles with a revolving dance floor and performances by professional dancers. It is one of seven nightspots in Disney’s new entertainment complex.All I’m going to say is that it’s a short trip from revolutionizing world transportation to spinning intoxicated twenty-somethings around a dance floor merry-go-‘round. Trust me, if you can’t figure out how you got across the room after spending a few minutes on the dance floor, it is as if you were transported halfway across the globe!Mannequins
PLEASURE CANVAS WORKS
FABRICATION PLANT #1
1912
Second building erected on the Island, this actually housed Merriweather Pleasure’s famous canvas works. In the 1930s it was converted to a soundstage for Invisible Pictures, then into a design studio and workshop for various Pleasure projects. Most notable of these was a huge locomotive powered by a combination of steam and magnetic power. A colossal turntable was installed to facilitate the work on this revolutionary product, called “Maxwell’s Demon,” that was intended to revolutionize world transportation. It didn’t.
For further unverifiable information on the life and times of Pleasure Island, refer to the theoretical histerical plaques located at the Island’s entrances.”
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