After yet another massive breakfast, we made another journey southward: this time to Downtown Disney. As noted here earlier, the name of our destination is changing once again in the near future. But as we arrived, we noticed that the appearance is also undergoing drastic changes. Daddy remembers when Pleasure Island was a regular hangout, and the West Side had not been created yet. Each night with his friends, this after a long day at the various parks, we'd hang out at Pleasure Island to kick off the "new year" at midnight, go to the comedy club, go to the Adventurer's Club, and a few other destinations as well. Only vaguely do I remember before there was a Pleasure Island, when it was Walt Disney World Village - apparently after the name had already changed from Lake Buena Vista Village. It's been changing ever since, name and appearance. I think this next overhaul is designed to bring the entire place to a uniform theme, rather than the three separate regions they've had for the past several years.
This is a traditional stop for us, even when we're not staying at Disney. It's sort of a visit to Disney World without the big investment of time/money. Of course, for Mommy, everything is centered around the stop at Ghiradelli's. We did get our ice cream today, and found a seat rather easily, as it wasn't terribly crowded here yet. I imagine our Spring Break was earlier than many others, so we were able to take advantage of that. We sat by the mural inside the restaurant, and enjoyed our "Strike it Rich" as always, before moving on to look at the art gallery and "Once Upon a Time" store nearby. Also, another destination has been "Tren D" lately, where Mommy looks around a little longer than Madison and Daddy, who sneak next door to see the games, books, movies and toys. Mommy got us a pillow - it's one of those pillows that says, "A dream is a wish your heart makes." They have these in various hotels at Disney, and on the cruise as well. We liked the small pillow they had on the Disney Cruise, but that was being sold for $175, which was a little on the pricy side for a pillow. This was a nice compromise - it's a sweet little decorative pillow.
Meanwhile, Daddy and Madison were raiding the new Disney Infinity discs that just came out this week. Series three was released, so Daddy and Madison got four blind packs to open later on the way home. One was Mulan's fireworks cannon - we did okay with the disc hunt, plus these were purchased at Disney, so they're special.
As always, we went by the art gallery there. We're challenged to do more in this regard - maybe someday we'll act on our impulses. We have the supplies in the basement, but time just gets the best of us and we find ourselves always visiting here, and always thinking as we arrive, why don't we paint more? It looks like fun. Maybe this time next year we'll be showing off some paintings!
We usually do one bigger thing, and for the past year, that's been mini-golf. We tried both of the courses last year, but this year we were thinking of checking out the movie theater at Downtown Disney. We were there to see "The Muppets Most Wanted," and were pretty impressed by it all. First of all, the theater itself: the auditorium we went to was the biggest I've ever been in. It's about four times as big as the theater auditoriums we have at home. Patrons walk in from the front of the screen area, and the theater is so big you never see anyone walk in or out - because the screen is so big. It was pricy, but that's expected. We got our typical order of popcorn, and with Mommy's smuggled drinks, we were set up in the ultra-comfy chairs to watch the big movie and the big screen.
As for the movie itself, it was fantastic. We enjoyed it much better than the last Muppets movie, which was pretty decent. This one felt faster-paced, more fun, and the music was much better too. Madison enjoyed the movie, but Mommy and Daddy really did too - this one will be in our collection when it is released.
As we left, we passed a bunch of folks waiting in line to see the new Captain America movie, which had a sneak peek or two today. We'll see that later on next week when we can get someone to watch over Madison at home. But we still had time to pose Madison in front of a promo for the movie.
One place we went back to this time around was the House of Blues. Daddy's sun glassses crumbled to bits essentially - these were purchased at the House of Blues about six years ago. On the way down this time, they broke on their own - we'll blame erosion. So, it was time for my six-year replacement. As we were purchasing these, we told them we'd be back in about six years or so, which was kind of funny. With Mommy's diet, we're still a little uncertain of places to eat, so we held back on all the locations here this time around. Besides, there was a meal waiting for us at Ba-Ba and Nana's not far away.
So we rode our boat ride across the lagoon once more - this may qualify as our only Disney "ride" this time around. As mentioned earlier, there was a lot of construction going on, so it'll be interesting to see all the changes that take place next time we're there. That shouldn't be too long from now - this stop is long-standing tradition.
This is a traditional stop for us, even when we're not staying at Disney. It's sort of a visit to Disney World without the big investment of time/money. Of course, for Mommy, everything is centered around the stop at Ghiradelli's. We did get our ice cream today, and found a seat rather easily, as it wasn't terribly crowded here yet. I imagine our Spring Break was earlier than many others, so we were able to take advantage of that. We sat by the mural inside the restaurant, and enjoyed our "Strike it Rich" as always, before moving on to look at the art gallery and "Once Upon a Time" store nearby. Also, another destination has been "Tren D" lately, where Mommy looks around a little longer than Madison and Daddy, who sneak next door to see the games, books, movies and toys. Mommy got us a pillow - it's one of those pillows that says, "A dream is a wish your heart makes." They have these in various hotels at Disney, and on the cruise as well. We liked the small pillow they had on the Disney Cruise, but that was being sold for $175, which was a little on the pricy side for a pillow. This was a nice compromise - it's a sweet little decorative pillow.
Meanwhile, Daddy and Madison were raiding the new Disney Infinity discs that just came out this week. Series three was released, so Daddy and Madison got four blind packs to open later on the way home. One was Mulan's fireworks cannon - we did okay with the disc hunt, plus these were purchased at Disney, so they're special.
As always, we went by the art gallery there. We're challenged to do more in this regard - maybe someday we'll act on our impulses. We have the supplies in the basement, but time just gets the best of us and we find ourselves always visiting here, and always thinking as we arrive, why don't we paint more? It looks like fun. Maybe this time next year we'll be showing off some paintings!
We usually do one bigger thing, and for the past year, that's been mini-golf. We tried both of the courses last year, but this year we were thinking of checking out the movie theater at Downtown Disney. We were there to see "The Muppets Most Wanted," and were pretty impressed by it all. First of all, the theater itself: the auditorium we went to was the biggest I've ever been in. It's about four times as big as the theater auditoriums we have at home. Patrons walk in from the front of the screen area, and the theater is so big you never see anyone walk in or out - because the screen is so big. It was pricy, but that's expected. We got our typical order of popcorn, and with Mommy's smuggled drinks, we were set up in the ultra-comfy chairs to watch the big movie and the big screen.
As for the movie itself, it was fantastic. We enjoyed it much better than the last Muppets movie, which was pretty decent. This one felt faster-paced, more fun, and the music was much better too. Madison enjoyed the movie, but Mommy and Daddy really did too - this one will be in our collection when it is released.
As we left, we passed a bunch of folks waiting in line to see the new Captain America movie, which had a sneak peek or two today. We'll see that later on next week when we can get someone to watch over Madison at home. But we still had time to pose Madison in front of a promo for the movie.
One place we went back to this time around was the House of Blues. Daddy's sun glassses crumbled to bits essentially - these were purchased at the House of Blues about six years ago. On the way down this time, they broke on their own - we'll blame erosion. So, it was time for my six-year replacement. As we were purchasing these, we told them we'd be back in about six years or so, which was kind of funny. With Mommy's diet, we're still a little uncertain of places to eat, so we held back on all the locations here this time around. Besides, there was a meal waiting for us at Ba-Ba and Nana's not far away.
So we rode our boat ride across the lagoon once more - this may qualify as our only Disney "ride" this time around. As mentioned earlier, there was a lot of construction going on, so it'll be interesting to see all the changes that take place next time we're there. That shouldn't be too long from now - this stop is long-standing tradition.
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