Maelstrom…..the Ride…

Posted in DISNEY ATTRACTIONS, DISNEY'S EPCOT with tags , on April 26, 2012 by disneychronicles

Maelstrom uses a 16 passenger Viking-style boat that takes you through a 10th century Viking village and a mythical forest where you’ll encounter trolls who cast a curse on the boats. ohhhhhhh scary…..lol ok not really!

The ride first takes visitors back to a mythological version of Norway’s Viking days. The boats first pass through scenes of seafarers and Vikings. The boats then enter an enchanted swamp, and are forced backwards down a waterfall by angry trolls. The boats float rapidly past scenes of polar bears and living trees, before coming to a stop on the edge of another waterfall, exposed to the Norway pavilion’s main thoroughfare. After again rotating to a forward-facing position, the boats plunge forward into the stormy North Sea. The boats pass dangerously close to an oil rig and the ride comes to an abrupt end in a calm harbor.  After the ride, guests disembark and then have the option to watch a 6 minute film highlighting the history and folklore of Norway.A decent enough water ride but not suited for thrill-seekers! and it really seems these rides are getting shorter & shorter 😦

spoiler alert……You may not want to watch 🙂

Click to watch….

Maelstrom

Who’s this Duffy Bear anyway?

Posted in EVERYTHING DISNEY with tags , on April 21, 2012 by disneychronicles

Duffy….Mickey’s Teddy Bear! He originated from the creative minds at Tokyo Disney Resort … they took a merchandise item, named it, created a backstory, and ended up with an extremely popular, immersive entertainment experience. Fans went crazy for him and really embraced the character.” ..Duffy was initially introduced in 2002 for the opening of “Once Upon a Toy” at Downtown Disney in Orlando, and was known only as “The Disney Bear” (He really hasn’t taken off as well in the US)

So here’s the story…..

“When Mickey was leaving on a long sea voyage, Minnie didn’t want him to be lonely so she made Duffy to keep him company during his travels. Minnie presented her hand-sewn bear to Mickey in a duffel bag, which is how he came up with the nickname ‘Duffy.’ Mickey and Duffy visited many exciting places together and made lots of new friends along the way. At the end of their journey, they sailed back home to be reunited with Minnie.”

Although Duffy has sported holiday-themed costumes at various Parks’ parades, he’s known for rocking the sailor suit that reminds him of his travels with Mickey. “Guests can purchase different outfits for their Duffy bears, including some that represent the different countries at Epcot and all the holidays!

What you may not know about is (also introduced several years after her beau) ShellieMay.  She is Duffy’s girlfriend (and, yes, she’s a real Disney Character!). Currently, this bow-clad bear can only be seen at Tokyo DisneySea.

and of course…Duffy even has his own Facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/DuffytheDisneyBear

And there it is!

All that you ever wanted to know about this bear named Duffy!

Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival 2012

Posted in DISNEY'S EPCOT with tags , on April 15, 2012 by disneychronicles

We stopped in on a Saturday, the weather was a little cloudy but it sure did not take away from the creativity and beauty of these creations.

The festival is held March 7, 2012 through May 20, 2012. It is worth checking out! Green thumb or not you will be AMAZED!

I promise you.

You’ll find more than 100 topiaries throughout Epcot theme park—including more than 75 Disney character topiaries!

Highlights include character topiaries representing Buzz, Woody and Lotso from the Disney•Pixar film Toy Story 3, Lightning McQueen and Mater from the Disney•Pixar film Cars 2, and other classic favorites.

They are beautiful and amazing! It makes you wonder how long it took to make some of them. No detail was left behind!

Lady & the Tramp was my favorite!

Check out all my pics here….

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150701464203853.407196.142061353852&type=3

Check out the official Facebook page…

https://www.facebook.com/EpcotFlowerandGarden

ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS

Posted in EVERYTHING DISNEY, FLORIDA ADVENTURES with tags , , on April 13, 2012 by disneychronicles

It is a 220-acre sports complex, host of more than 60 sports and thousands of events for athletes of all ages and skill levels. From the state-of-the-art broadcast center and the ESPN Innovation Lab to professionally kept fields and courts, there is no other place like this to play at the next level. This place is pretty awesome 🙂

It was our first time here (at least to see a game) It was Spring Training…Atlanta Braves Vs. New York Mets (Mets won)!

Mickey was on hand and of course Donald threw out the first pitch!

You will immediately recognize this as a Disney facility. It is very clean and believe it or not the parking is FREE! (shocking! I know)

We bought lawn seats for our first time. They are located right along the third base line. We thought it would be nice to spread out. No chairs are allowed in this area and they wouldn’t work anyway, the lawn is pretty steep. So steep that everything will kept rolling down the hill! (no worries there’s ways to work around this) we propped our drinks up against our bags.

The concessions themselves have been “Disneyfied”….in the sense you may be better off packing a lunch. They will allow you to bring in food as long as it is not in a large hard cooler. Drinks you may need to buy especially if it’s HOT! Which it was when were were there! Scorching! Don’t forget the SUNBLOCK!

Tip… DO NOT USE TICKETMASTER to pay for your tickets. There is no need. You can go directly through Wide World of Sports box office and pick your tickets up at will call along with the people who paid via ticketmaster. The only difference is that you’ll have paid about $5 per ticket less!

and after the game they did the all time favorite for the kids! Letting them run the bases! We had a lot of fun and we will do it again!