Photo of the Week: Spain

Shopping in Palma de Mallorca, Spain

EPCOT Holiday Storytellers

During the holiday season one of the special events is that each country pavillion has a storyteller who tells the story of their holiday.  Most are Christmas centered stories, but a few are not related to Christmas.  Terye and I went to the shows in Mexico, United Kingdom, China, Morocco, and Italy.

In China we saw the story of the Monkey King, as I write this months later, I don't remember much aside from it was the story of new years.  But, I do remember it was hot sitting in the sun and the actor was sweating a lot.  But you wouldn't have known it from his performance, it was excellent.  Very lively and passionate.

Next up was the Three Kings in Mexico, this performance had 3 performers - the 3 kings and the story of Epiphany.  This was another great performance. 

In the United Kingdom there was Father Christmas.  He was very sweet and even brought a child up to help him ring his bells. 

In Italy we learned the story of La Befana, a witch and about Epiphany.  This was probably my favorite of the performances, La Befana was very animated and her story was fun. 

The show I enjoyed the least was in Morocco.  I'm not sure if the actor was maybe a little less intense then the others, if i was just tired and seated too far away or if it's because I already knew about Ramadan.  It wasn't a bad show, but so many of the other story tellers were so good thatt this paled in comparison. 

To find out about show times check the times guide for Epcot.  If would not be possible to see all the shows in one day, but they are often spaced that you could see 2 or 3 in a row.  There was not much seating at the spots where the shows are done, so be prepared to stand or sit on the ground for the show. 

I do think these are a nice way to learn about holiday traditions, the shows are typically only about 10 minutes, well performed and even the ones revolving around Christmas talk about traditions that may not be celebrated by all Christians. My suggestion would be to see at least one or two that are non-Christmas related, so as to branch out and learn about a whole different culture.

This year I hope to see a few more of these shows.

Photo of the Week: Italy

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

Happy 4th Of July

I'm taking the holiday off, but wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th Of July!

Photo of the Week: Hawaii

The NCL Pride of America in Kona, Hawaii

The Ghost of Christmas Present

One of the many things I enjoy at Disney World are the Streetmospheres, the "actors" who go around parks and do impromptu (though I'm sure they're planned, they are impromptu for most guests) shows.

Guest Scrooge

Last December while shopping in the United Kingdom the Streetmospheres started a show called, A Christmas Carol.  It was hysterical.

Instead of featuring Bob Cratchit, they featured Bob Skratchit, I think he was allergic to something too.  And typical of streetmospheres, they did not have enough people in their crew and borrowed some from the crowd.

The Skratchit Family

The story was pretty much the same, though the ghosts may have been switched out to help with the pop culture aspect of the show.

Ghost of Christmas Past 

Ghost of Christmas Future

 I can't give away the humor, in part because that's mean and in part because I know it can change a bit from show to show.  But I do highly recommend watching this one if you see it.

Photo of the Week: Palma

Palma, Spain

Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Terye and I visited the Osborne Lights twice during our visit.  Once during regular park hours and once as part of WDW Today podcast's Reunion after park closing.

The short story of how the spectacle came to be.  Many, many years ago Arkansas resident Mr. Osborne has an extensive Christmas light display.  So extensive that the local government made him stop putting it up.  Disney World acquired the display and now you can see the Osborne Lights daily during the holidays, it is one of the best light shows out there.

The first night we went it was PACKED, tough for me to get around with my camera on the tripod, but most of my pictures are from that night.  We did not attend the turning on of the lights, which I know can be extra busy.  But these were the coolest lights I had ever seen.  And they danced to the music, AWESOME!

The second time we went it was a private event, about 200 guests.  I didn't have my good camera, just my iphone, it was freeing  I was dancing in the streets, literally.  I had so much fun, I was sad when they turned off the lights and escorted us out.

There are a few special things within the Osborne Lights:  find the hidden Mickey's.  Between the two nights Terye and I found almost all of the Mickeys, if you use the official number.  There is always a black cat hidden (it's actually purple, but it looks like a black halloween cat).  We also found a razorback (University of Arkansas mascot), a toilet paper tree and a paper towel tree.  One of the angels is in white, to honor the passing of Mr. Osborne in 2011.

The lights are rearranged every year, so you can have a fun night of exploring every year.  I would rank this as my second favorite holiday event in Disney World.  And, it's free!  As long as you pay to get into the park.

For my Jewish readers!

 

You can check out my video on Youtube.

You can follow me on Twitter: @Travelingiraffe

Photo of the Week: Disneyland

The partners statue at Disneyland.  I'm pretty sure Walt is rolling over in his grave.