Souvenir Pennies

There are many fun additions to a Disney vacation that can provide some great souvenirs: pin trading, wizard trading cards from the Magic Kingdom firehall, and more.  An old time favorite is Souvenir Penny collecting. 

In almost all the resorts and throughout the parks, you can find the penny making machines. 

Each machine has several difference designs that can be picked.

The system is easy: put two quarters and a shinny penny into the slot, select the design you want, crank the handle, and the machine will squish the penny and apply the new design.

Several gift shops have penny collector books to store and display the pennies.

Participation requires a little planning. Collect as many quarters and shinny pennies as you can before heading to the Magic Kingdom. Them, be on the look out for the machines. 

This can be a fun and relatively cheap collecting souvenir adventure for your children.

Poly Lobby

After a long wait, we finally were able to see the new lobby at the Polynesian. In the past there was always a large water fall. I loved that water fall and was upset when I heard they were going to remove it. The construction walls went up for what seemed like a year. And now, during this trip, we saw the results. And the results are amazing.

The large water fall has been replaced with a much smaller one:

The lobby is lit with glass globes overhead.

The best part is the large amount of seating that has been opened up. The seating is filled with people waiting for their rooms, waiting for a reservation, or just relaxing.

I had heard the waterfall was being removed to make room for a new world famous cafe. There is no cafe in site. Just plenty of comfortable seating.

While I do miss the old water fall, this new change isn't too bad. It is part of a resort renovation that included removing the arcade and removing a creek that ran from outside the lobby to the pool area. I am not sure whether I really like these changes, or I really like the fact that the construction is done. In the end, the changes look nice, are an attractive addition, and I enjoyed having the additional seating available. 

2015 Left Overs

In 2014, I reported on our Grocery Left Overs. How did we do this year? Unfortunately... not as well. We will be able to take most of the food home with us, but, it would have been nice if we didn't purchase it in the first place. Things we'll have to throw away?

Package of hot dogs
Package of sliced ham
Blueberries
two chicken patties
a frozen pizza
a bag and a half of frozen smile french fries
four waffles
1 gallon of water
2 two liter soda

Things we bought that we'll have to take home with us (if we can fit it in the car)
2 bags of potato chips
Tortea chips
Peanuts
Three boxes of cereal
Velvetta cups
two cans of Manwhich
one can of chili
two cans of soup
Bush's Baked Beans
two jars of Spaghetti sauce
One box of spaghetti
Raisens
Croutons
Cinamon
Sesame Seeds

Maybe next time we can be able to refine and improve our grocery list to avoid this problem

Poly Luau

We headed over to the Poly for a last chance to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks for 2015. We wanted to get into Ohana for dinner, but, there were no openings at all. On a whim, we checked at the Luau and were surprised that there was an opening! The Luau is pricey compared to what we had planned to spend, but, we decided to go for it.

It has been years since we have done the Luau. We love it, but it is pricey.

The food is incredible, starting with a salad, rolls, and then the main course arrives.

While eating, we watched a show on stage with dancers telling a Hawaiian story and doing dances of the islands. We had a great time, and afterwards, walked down to the beach to watch the fireworks.

Walking Ten Miles Per Day at Disney

I have written previously about the importance of going to Disney World with a good pair of walking shoes. Flip flops, saddles, shoes and the like might seem cool but will result in sore feet.  If comfortable feet means buying a new pair of sneakers? Make sure you break them in far in advance and are assured the shoes are comfortable.

I have heard Disney guests talk about the health benefits from a day at Disney, but I never really knew how much walking was involved. For this trip, I enabled my iPhone's pedometer and found that walking 8-10 miles per day at Disney is realistic.

A lot of walking requires good shoes. My wife bought a new pair of sneakers, broke them in, but didn't do much walking with them. After a few days at the park, the side of her foot hurt so bad that she developed a limp. 

I thought I was all set with my sneakers. However, New a balance sneaker quality gets worse and worse every year. After a few days at Disney I suffered a blow out: the sole on my heal separated from the rest of the shoe!

A little Crazy Glue to the rescue saved the trip. It is amazing how convenient a little Crazy Glue can be when on a vacation.

When walking ten miles per day around Disney World, it is essential to have a good pair of shoes to avoid sore blistering and hurt feet.

Magnolia Glen Review

I have had several opportunities to walk through Magnolia Glen just off Florence Villa Grove in Davenport Florida.

This is an older neighborhood and the houses are showing their age. I found several yards over grown and most of the shrubs lack attention.

There is a bulletin board for HOA activities that haven't been updated for several months.

I wasn't very impressed with this well lived-in community. I got the impression that the community is all residential 

This community is across the street from the Hill Crest community, another community that I wasn't impressed with.

Given the choice, I would not want to rent or live in this community. There are too many beautiful alternatives in the area.

Rainforest

The rain Forest Cafe is a jungle themed restaurant that leaves the impression you are dining in the middle of a rainforest. Throughout the restaurant are animatronic animals (monkeys, elephants, etc) who wake up, take some action, and then turn back to silence. Then once every so often, the entire rainforest wakes up with a storm of activity.

There are two Rainforest Cafe at Disney World: Downtown Disney and Animal Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom cafe has been open since the park opened. Back in those days we could see the water falls towering to the side of the entrance. 

Today, the restaurant is hidden behind an overgrowth of trees to the left of the park's entrance gates. You don't need to have an Animal Kingdom park pass to dine - there are two entrances, one from inside the park and one just after the security check point before the park entrance.

We arrived at park closure with no reservations and with a large party of nine. We were prepared to wait longer than an hour to get a seat. Instead, we got right in with almost no wait!

The restaurant cost is within expectations for a table service restaurant at Disney.

I had the Chicken Parmasean, which was an interesting and odd twist on the classic. The chicken breading had Parmasean in it, and small pieces of cheese melted over it. It was served with linguini, and the sauce wasn't to my liking, but I managed to eat my fill.

The Rain Forest Cafe at Animal Kingdom can be a nice break from the traditional Disney fare. While we were lucky and able to walk-up and get seated, I do recommend calling for reservations.