Tag Archives: EPCOT

Music to Ease the Post-Vacation Blues (or Pre-Vacation Anxious Waiting!)

By NDH17 | Published: Thursday, April 11, 2013

So, you just had the time of your… or maybe it was a while ago.  Either way, you have a wait till you’re back at the happiest place on earth, and you need something to ease the wait.  One of the best ways to make your days magical in-between trips is with listening to Disney music.  But with a ton of Disney music out there, it can be daunting to find the music that best captures the essence and magic of Disney, especially the magic of Walt Disney World.  Here’s a quick look at at few Disney CDs  (and an internet radio station) that do a great job of easing the wait between till your next Disney trip.

4 Parks CD front

Four Parks – One World

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Test Track Rehab – First Impression

By Bill I. (NDH#35) | Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2012

After much time, the long anticipated opening of the refurbished “Test Track” is finally here. Originally presented by General Motors, it is now sponsored by another GM division, Chevrolet. GM wanted the new ride experience to spotlight on one brand.  When you first arrive, the outside looks very much like the Test Track we all are familiar with. The only big difference is the monikers outside proclaiming the new sponsor.

FRONT

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Christmas in Disney: The Busiest Week of the Year (Part 2)

By NDH17 | Published: Sunday, December 2, 2012

This is the second part of a blog series that will look at the different steps of planning for an upcoming Christmas trip to the World.  Essentially, I found myself in August suddenly planning for a Christmas trip.  In my last post, I went through the reasoning that led me to choose the Contemporary Resort as the best choice for the week.  This post is all about Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs).

ADRs can be made 180 days in advance of the first day of your trip, and for some restaurants which fill up quickly, you definitely need to call as soon as that window opens- especially during busier times of the year.  So, maybe you can imagine that I was a bit panicked to begin planning meals in August for a Christmas trip- we were already more than a month inside that 180-day window for the most crowded week of the year.  I knew there wasn’t time to lose in making ADRs.  But, it’s not as simple as trying to make ADRs at any restaurant possible… I didn’t want to make an ADR at the Brown Derby on a day that we would end up spending in the Magic Kingdom.  So I quickly had to plot out which day we’ll be in which park (because it would stink to be in Animal Kingdom with an ADR in Epcot!). This is a huge task, but an important one- and there is only one resource I trust to help with such plotting… the “Crowd Calendar” over at touringplans.com.

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How the Happiest Place on Earth Guarantees Happy Babies Too

By Lynn W. (NDM#371) | Published: Friday, November 9, 2012

Millions of families from all across the globe travel to Disney World each year for fun and entertainment. Whether you plan to board theme park rides, watch shows, or visit some of the local attractions you’re sure to have a great time. But for parents visiting the park with babies and infants, keeping everyone happy can be a challenge. Your baby might not be ready to enjoy the main attractions but Disney World offers some great facilities that should make your trip a lot of fun, even with a baby in tow.

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Posted in Children, Disney Driven Life, Lifestyle, Parents, Planning, Travel Tips, Vacation | Also tagged , , , , , ,
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Celebrating EPCOT’s 30th Anniversary with WDWcelebrations.com

By Bill I. (NDH#35) | Published: Wednesday, October 3, 2012

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 30 years since EPOCT opened. I remember coming here a month after its bow and have been captivated with this vision of Walt’s utopian city ever since.  And I cannot think of celebration the park’s 30th birthday with anyone else but the crew from WDWcelebrations.com. I first met this group of Disney enthusiast’s on April 22, 2008 when they hosted Animal Kingdoms 10thbirthday, an event they called “A Wild Decade”. And that is the main focus of the group, celebrating Disney milestones with like-minded fans at the parks, complete with fun activities, meets and a way for fans to connect and embellish their love of Disney with each other. I have been covering Disney press events and writing about Disney for the past seven years, and I cannot say enough about this group of personable and dedicated individuals. I wrote an article about the site in 2009 and before we review EPCOT’s festivities, let’s take a look again at WDWcelebrations.com.

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Orlando Attractions Magazine: The Teaser 10. 04. 12

By JeniLynn Knopp | Published: Wednesday, October 3, 2012

JL Knopp (NDM#1) and Banks Lee (NDI#177) bring you another episode of The Show.  Orlando’s latest attraction-based news is now available to you in this fun and entertaining venue every week.  Watch for it right here on The Disney Driven Life, on iTunes, on the Orlando Attractions You Tube Channel and even on Bright House Cable.

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Orlando Attractions Magazine: The Teaser 9. 27. 12

By JeniLynn Knopp | Published: Wednesday, September 26, 2012

JL Knopp (NDM#1) and Banks Lee (NDI#177) bring you another episode of The Show.  Orlando’s latest attraction-based news is now available to you in this fun and entertaining venue every week.  Watch for it right here on The Disney Driven Life, on iTunes, on the Orlando Attractions You Tube Channel and even on Bright House Cable.

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Disney Driven Life Interviews Sam Gennawey

By Bill I. (NDH#35) | Published: Friday, June 1, 2012

Photo credit: Amazon.com

Sam Gennawey is an urban planner, currently working as a senior Associate at Urban Planning and Communications firm in Pasadena, California, that specializes in community infrastructure, planning and development. Sam has a BA from DePaul University in Urban Planning. A Disney lover and fanatic since a kid, he is also a columnist for MiceAge and Micechat and Webmaster of Samland’s Disney Adventures. It is Sam’s expertise in city planning and love of Disneyland and Walt Disney that prompted him to write this important historical and informational book entitled “Walt and the Promise of Progress City.”

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Percussion in the Parks

By mouselounge | Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012

I recently stumbled upon a Youtube video of the late, great Karen Carpenter. I’ve known her my entire life as a sultry smooth alto, able to milk a beautifully romantic lyric and sing unique multi-layered harmonies with her brother Richard. I’d always known she was a drummer, but not until I watched this video compilation did I realize that she was not only a competent pop drummer, but a virtuoso percussionist. Then I read the liner notes that accompanied the video, and ‘lo and behold who was the kit drummer when Karen would step out from behind her own to sing to the crowd? None other than Cubby O’Brien! Yes, THAT Cubby, from the original Mickey Mouse Club.

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Walking around the World…EPCOT’s 2012 Flower and Garden Festival

By Bill I. (NDH#35) | Published: Friday, March 30, 2012

Disney’s 19th annual Flower and Garden Festival is now in full bloom here at EPCOT. Sponsored again by the popular cable show HGTV, this year’s Festival brings new topiaries, workshops and seminars by your favorite HGTV stars in the Festival Center. (The old “Wonders of Life” building located between Ellen’s Energy Adventure and Mission Space).  Inside the center you’ll find merchandise and find information all about the 75 day event. You can get the seminar schedules where on Fridays through Sunday, your favorite HGTV personalities will be on the “Designers Stage” and on Monday through Thursday, other garden notable experts will be giving advice and lectures.

Popular attractions at the Festival not to be missed are the “Flower Power” concert series which are held at the American Gardens’ Theater every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All the popular groups of the “Flower Power” era will be there to bring back those musical memories. The Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden for kids is again at the Test Track Walkway and Bambi’s Butterfly House is by Innovations West’ Imagination Walkway.

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Book Review: Four Decades of Magic

By John M. (NDD#172) | Published: Friday, October 21, 2011

Photo Credit: Ayefour Publishing

Four Decades of Magic:  Celebrating the First Forty Years of Disney World: a collection of essays, Compiled by Chad Denver Emerson, Ayefour Publishing, 2011, 379 pp.

Amid the pomp and circumstance certain to be part of the Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary celebration, what will likely be ignored is any reference to the Walt Disney World that never was.

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Posted in Celebrities, Disney Company, Disney Reviews, Events, History, Imagineering, Literature, Media, News, Resorts | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The Campanile

By Brian F. (NDH#44) | Published: Thursday, October 6, 2011

Photo Credit: Brian Fee

 

I love to walk around Epcot and discover new perspectives of the World Showcase pavilions. One of the best areas for me has been Italy pavilion. This image of the replica bell tower of the Campanile seems larger than it is in real life. I really enjoy walking to the very back of all the pavilions and working my way back to the front, all the while taking my time in the shops and looking at all of the specialty items they have for everyone to buy. Disney does such a great job of changing things ever so slightly that it’s almost like a game to figure out what is new or has moved. In this case I was looking for those changes and I found this awesome angle of one of the light posts and the Campanile.

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FEATURED BLOGGER OF THE MONTH

By Connie R. (NDI#176) | Published: Friday, September 30, 2011

This month’s featured blogger is a DJ for Sorcerer Radio, keeps a travel journal for her Disney trips and has a “Disney Nut” for a son. Welcome Natalie Henley, #NDM 268, the Resorts Blogger for DDL! As an accountant, she uses her skills to teach others how to save enough money to afford trips to Disney, while not spending too much while there, on her blog, Meet the Magic.

Natalie is married to a fireman, EMT and Search and Rescue Professional, and she has a six year-old son, who recently began Kindergarten. She can spend hours talking with her son about their trips to Disney, the attractions, the resort they stayed at, and the memories they made. They also plan their upcoming visits together. Her husband is a fan while he’s at the parks, but not too interested in the planning or discussing end of things. Her photos, travel journal and blog allow her to relieve those memories without missing any details.

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Edible Epcot

By Molly B. (NDM#398) | Published: Friday, September 9, 2011

Photo Credit: Molly Beckley

“Jake, what kind of cake would you like Mommy to make you this year?” I asked my soon to be 5 year old. “Epcot, Mom.”, he replied. Beads of sweat started to form on my brow. I had made all of children’s birthday cakes every year of their lives. And when they are old enough to talk, I make them per their own requests. I had already made Jake both a pirate hat and pirate map cake in June for his birthday party with friends. I had been wondering what was stirring in that sharp little mind of his in regards to his birthday cake to be enjoyed with family. “You want me to make you an Epcot cake.” I retorted, as more of a statement than a question. “Yes, Mom, that’s what I want!”. I decided at that moment that if Jake wanted an Epcot cake, an Epcot cake he was going to get. This was going to be no easy undertaking. When most of us think of Epcot, we think of that giant silver golf ball that is Spaceship Earth. And I knew when Jake said that he wanted an Epcot Cake, what he really meant was that he wanted a Spaceship Earth cake. My son is like me in many ways, and one of these ways is that his favorite of all the Disney parks is Epcot. It is strange for a child not to have the Magic Kingdom as their favorite park, but when I was a little girl, I always felt most at home in Epcot, and Jake, a budding Imagineer, really enjoys the more educational feel of this park.

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Posted in Children, Disney Driven Life, Food, Lifestyle, Parents | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Learning Investment FUNdamentals at Innoventions

By Mark J. (NDD#102) | Published: Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Photo Credit: Disney

Want an easy, fun way to teach your children (or yourself) the fundamentals of investing? Then head over to Innoventions West at Epcot. There, you’ll find The Great Piggy Bank Adventure to be both a fun game and a great teaching tool.

The Great Piggy Bank Adventure, presented by investment firm T. Rowe Price, has participants competing not against each other, but against “the Wolf,” in an effort to achieve the goal they set for themselves. In doing so, the Adventure covers four “financial building blocks”—1) set goals, 2) save, 3) remember inflation, and 4) diversify.

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WDW Update…EPCOT 2011 Food and Wine Festival

By Bill I. (NDH#35) | Published: Monday, August 22, 2011

One of my favorite happenings at Walt Disney World is the International Food and Wine Festival here at EPCOT. Since it’s inauguration in 1993, it has been a guest favorite. This year’s 16th annual festival returns (September 30th to November 13th) with over 25 authentic samplings from around the world, a chance to obtain some fantastic “Know-how” from famous Culinary experts and, of course, the popular “Eat to the Beat” concerts at the American Garden’s Theater all awaits the crowds.

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Walking around the World…Japan’s new Kubuki Cafe

By Bill I. (NDH#35) | Published: Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Opened for about a week and a half, Japan has revamped the old Kakigori refreshment cart into a newer, expanded menu outlet called the “Kabuki Café.” This café is named after the traditional Japanese theater art form which originated in Japan around 1603, originally with female performers. This form of theater was popular among the common folk, rather than Japan’s elite. If you look on the roof of the kiosk, you will see two art prints of actors from that period.

The new refreshment stand sports a bigger menu, with the emphasis on portability. Many of the offerings are made so you can nosh and walk around World Showcase. Have no fear, the original and popular shaved ice, Kakigori is still on the menu along with premium Japanese beer, Asahi and Sapporo and a favorite of mine, Sake and Plum wine, both served hot or cold. (Note…Americans call it Sake, but the Japanese term for this particular wine is Nihonshu, meaning Japanese Alcohol)  If you do order the Sake, try it hot, even in the summer. I think it has a better flavor. Also offered are green tea, Japanese Soda called Ramune and Coke, bottled water and iced or hot coffee and tea.

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A 5-YEAR-OLD’S MUST-DOs

By Molly B. (NDM#398) | Published: Friday, August 5, 2011

Photo Credit: Molly Beckley

My three previous trips to Walt Disney World as an adult have been planned completely by myself with the exception of my foodie husband usually picking out the places in which we will dine. For this year’s trip, I got the added bonus of my son being old enough to have a lot to say about what he wants to do in Walt Disney World this year!

Here is your Disney Dozen for the things my almost 5-year-old Neurotic Disney Kid, must do on his trip to Walt Disney World this year, in his own words.

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Posted in Advice, Children, Disney Driven Life, Kids' Viewpoint, Lifestyle, Parents, Travel Tips, Vacation | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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GET A TASTE OF THE MIDDLE EAST WITH MO’ROCKIN

By Shalon G. (NDI#167) | Published: Friday, June 24, 2011

copyright Disney

Many people dream of traveling the world and experiencing other cultures, but most never get the chance.  Luckily, Epcot has brought many of the world’s cultures state side where
they can be experienced by those who may never travel abroad.  One of the more “exotic” countries represented in the World Showcase is Morocco.  From the beautiful architecture to the palette enticing food, Morocco tends to leave quite an impression on park guests.  Like many of the countries in Epcot, there is also some great live entertainment located within the pavilion.
Every day, on a stage that is situated along the World Showcase promenade, guests can get a taste of traditional and contemporary Moroccan music and dance.  The group Mo’Rockin
is a 6 person group that blends Middle Eastern, African, Spanish and American music into what is a more contemporary vibe of rhythmic songs that can be heard throughout the country.  Amir Ali formed the group in 1998 and they have been performing in Epcot ever since.  The group uses a mix of traditional and contemporary instruments such as a Zendrum and an Oud during their performances.  The Zendrum is a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) that is primarily used as a percussion instrument but can play many sounds like a keyboard and is held similar to a guitar.  The Oud is a pear shaped stringed instrument that’s been around for thousands of years.

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FEATURED BLOGGER OF THE MONTH

By Connie R. (NDI#176) | Published: Thursday, June 23, 2011

If you’ve read Disney inspired haiku, you know the June Featured Blogger of the Month – J.B. Conway. He  is also known as the Mouse of Zen or MOZ.  J.B. has 13 years in law enforcement, wants to be a Disney Travel agent and currently manages several social media accounts.  J.B.’s interest for Disney is a huge part of his life.

His first memory of visiting Disney was losing his Mickey Ears in the toilet when he was only three years old. Although he wanted to keep that hat, his parents insisted he throw it away. J.B. was heartbroken. Now he saves everything from his Disney trips – photos, souvenirs, park guide maps, etc. Hopefully he won’t become a hoarder after this traumatic event! J.B.’s Disney haiku is another way to save Disney memories, or actually create them. He has his own blog and book both named Mouse Of Zen, where he shares his poetry for readers to enjoy.

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Posted in DDL Blogger of the Month, Disney Driven Life, Haiku, Hobbies, Literature, Poetry | Also tagged , , , , ,
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