Gardner's Shack: Vintage Resort Landscaping

To finish are look at these vintage landscape photos from the late 80s or early 90s, I wanted to show the few resort shots that were in the collection. Three from the Contemporary. All focused on the long entrance area of the resort and it's amazing upside-down cup topiaries.

 

One photo from the Polynesian Resort. The original lobby with its waterfalls and lush jungle. This was replaced in recent years with a very open and minimalistic look that is nice but in my opinion, doesn't set the theme very well. It's a Polynesian Village not a Polynesian office complex.

Lastly a few lobby shots from the at the time brand new Grand Floridian. Live plants and live flowers need I say more. However, would have liked to see some pictures of the lawns in the early days to compare how they look now. They are always well-manicured but I bet they were amazing back then.

 

 

Making Memories: Staying at the Duck Pond

A lot of people give the All-Star Resorts a hard time. Yes, they are value resorts so you are not getting the level of service you would at the Grand. However, if you love the Mighty Ducks and want to stay at an on-property hotel that is still better then most value chains around the country then the All-Star Movies is for you. So next time you are at Walt Disney World have your Quack Pack form a Flying-V over to the All-Stars, you may score a fun time.

Making Memories: Shadows along the Riverside

Some black and white photos I took on a trip to Port Orleans Riverside.

Making Memories: A walk in the wilderness

A walk along the boardwalk from the Wilderness Lodge to the boat docks.

Disney Dining At Home - Maui Scalloped Potatoes from 'Ohana

Aloha! Let's head to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and to my favorite restaurant, 'Ohana. This recipe for Maui Scalloped Potatoes adds a nice tropical twist to any meal and only takes a few minutes to prep and just an hour to cook.

Ingredients
1 lb Russet potatoes sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet onions
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a baking pan.
3. Combine all ingredients into pan
4. Place pan into oven and bake for 1 hour
5. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes
6. Serve and enjoy.

Disney Dining At Home - Captain’s Mai Tai from The Walt Disney World Resort

This drink can be found all over Disney World, mostly at the resort pool bars. At the time of writing this post they sell for $13.00 so for the cost of about two drinks you can buy all the ingredients below and make enough for a whole party.

Serving Size: 1 drink

Glass: Hurricane

Garnish: Pineapple Wedge

Ingredients:
1 ounce Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
3/4 ounce Amaretto
4 ounce Pineapple Juice
1/2 ounce Lime Juice
1/4 ounce Grenadine
1/4 ounce Myers's Rum Float

Method of Preparation:
1. Add all but Myers's Rum in a mixing glass over ice.
2. Shake.
3. Pour in Hurricane glass and add float of Myers's Rum.
4. Garnish with Pineapple wedge and serve.

Disney Dining At Home - Chicken Corn Chowder from Boma

Today we trek to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and to the Boma for a look at their Chicken Corn Chowder. This recipe makes 8 servings and takes about 2 hours to make

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and diced
1 pound Russet Potatoes, cooked and diced
2 cups Corn Kernels (frozen)
1/8 cup Onion, diced
1/8 cup Red Bell Peppers, diced
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Milk
2 t. Sugar
2 t. Hot Sauce
1/8 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 Chicken Bouillon Cube
Optional: Bacon or Bacon-bits

Method:
1. Cook chicken in a pan to an internal temp of 165 degrees
2. Bring chicken stock and Bouillon Cube to a boil.
3. Add milk, heavy cream, chicken, potatoes, red peppers, onions, corn, and sugar.
4. Simmer for 40 minutes.
5. Add parsley and hot sauce, simmer for five minutes.
6. Take of heat and serve.
7. Optional: Sprinkle with Bacon (fresh or Bacon-bits)

60 Days of Disneyween: Day 27

Holiday window shopping at the Grand.

On Canvas: Resort Series, The Pop, Saratoga, and Art of Animation Resorts

#20 in the Resort Series. Pop Century Resort

#21 in the Resort Series. Saratoga Springs Resort

#22 in the Resort Series. The Art of Animation Resort

On Canvas: Resort Series, The Coronado Springs Resort and Animal Kingdom Lodge

#18 in the Resort Series. The Coronado Springs Resort

#19 in the Resort Series. The Animal Kingdom Lodge

On Canvas: Resort Series:The Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk

#16 in the Resort Series. The Wilderness Lodge

#17 in the Resort Series. The Boardwalk

On Canvas: Resort Series, The All-Star Resorts

#13 in the Resort Series. The All-Star Sports Resort

#14 in the Resort Series. The All-Star Music Resort

#15 in the Resort Series. The All-star Movies Resort

D-Tube: Friendship Boats on Crescent Lake

Over on the Manifesting the Magic YouTube page we just uploaded a new video. This time we watch the Friendship Boats come and go on Crescent Lake. We watch them leave dock, pass under bridges, and just cruise along the waterway.

On Canvas: Resort Series, The French Quarter, Riverside, and Old Key West

#10 in the Resort Series. Port Orleans French Quarter

#11 in the Resort Series. Port Orleans Riverside

#12 in the Resort Series. The Old Key West Resort

On Canvas: The Resort Series, The Swan and Dolphin

 #8 in the Resort Series. The Swan

#9 in the Resort Series. The Dolphin

On Canvas: Resort Series, Yacht and Beach

#6 in the Resort Series. The Yacht Club 

#7 in the Resort Series. The Beach Club

On Canvas: Resort Series, The Grand and Caribbean Beach

#4 in the Resort Series. The Grand Floridian Resort

#5 in the Resort Series. Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort

On Canvas: Resort Series, The Contemporary Polynesian and The Fort

This is a new series of oil painting effect Photoshop images that I have created. This series is all the resorts of Walt Disney World. There are 22 images in this collection. Over the next several weeks I will release them in the order the resorts were constructed. If anyone is interested in getting a print of any of these, please let me know in the comments below and i will make them available in the Manifesting the Magic store on what ever type of media you prefer.

#1 in the Resort Series. The Contemporary Resort

#2 in the Resort Series. The Polynesian Village Resort

#3 in the Resort Series. Fort Wilderness Campground

Making Memories: Goofy About Sports

If your ever Goofing around the All Star

Movies Resort, look for this Star goalie

in the Mighty Ducks area.

It's Alive!

In a earlier post I made a reference to a resorts aliveness factor. So I decided it was time to explain this rating system I use so in future resort posts I can include its Aliveness score. A resort is alive when it has something special that makes it more then just a bunch of buildings to sleep in. I use six categories to base the rating on then from there come up with a overall score. Below are the six categories.

1. Immersive themeing

2.Activities for guests

3. Water features

4. Other natural features

5. Live Entertainment

6. Background Music

Immersive themeing is rated in how well the theme takes you way to another place. A good example would be the Wilderness Lodge and how it takes you away to the National Parks of the North West. Activities for guest are activities that the cast put on for guest on a regular basis. An example would be the pool side games at most resorts. Water features can be both man made or natural. Examples would be the Polynesian Resort has man made creeks and waterfalls and also great beach front views. Other natural features would include things like fire effects like tiki torches at the Poly, walking trails like at Fort Wilderness, or Caribbean Cay the lush jungle island in the middle of the Caribbean Resort. Two great examples of live entertainment would be Bob Jackson at Port Orleans Riverside and the Campfire Movies at Fort Wilderness but there are many more. And lastly background music (BGM). Most resorts have it but which ones use it well? you'll have to wait and see in future posts.