Food Finds: Boardwalk Pizza Window and Boardwalk Bakery

Out of all the Disney Parks, Epcot undoubtedly has the widest variety of food options and definitely the best.  Sometimes, though, you don't want an elaborate dinner, international delight, or healthy meal.  Sometimes you just want something quick, tasty, and bad for you.  Disney's Boardwalk offers two places for that quick fix, and it's just a short walk from World Showcase's International Gateway entrance.

Disney World Update: Week of July 23-29

It's the middle of the summer break season in Orlando, and Main Street USA, as well as the rest of the parks, is packed full of sweaty tourists.  Now is the time of year to get a cool drink, find a quiet spot to sit, and watch the oddest human tapestry on Earth march by to the next attraction.

Even with the summer heat, construction continues at a rapid pace on New Fantasyland.  More and more detail work is visible on the new castle walls.

Creatures of Central Florida: Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

• Native to Florida: Found in coastal regions on the Gulf of Mexico
• Spotted in captivity at Disney's Animal Kingdom
• Also on exhibit at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, Aquatica at SeaWorld Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
• Best viewed in the wild at the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

2012 Olympics Merchandise Available at Epcot

With the Olympic Games kicked off in London, it should come as no surprise that a wide array of 2012 Olympics merchandise is available in Epcot's United Kingdom Pavilion.  Available at the Sportsman's Shoppe, products range from t-shirts and posters to toys and mugs.   Many of these items feature Wenlock, the official mascot of the 2012 Olympic Games.  My personal favorite item is the Wenlock plush dressed as a Royal Guard.

New Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Trading Card Game Announced

Photos courtesy of DisneyParks Blog.

Today DisneyParks Blog announced a new trading card game coming in August based on the interactive Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom attraction.  The Magic Kingdom attraction features battles with Disney villains throughout the park, utilizing a randomly distributed  pack of spell cards as weapons.  These cards already featured extra information, such as power numbers and card types, that some speculated had greater importance than the basic game described.

An Underwhelming First Look at the Art of Animation Resort Lion King Wing

 

DisneyParks Blog claimed to have an exclusive first look yesterday of the Art of Animation Resort's new Lion King themed expansion.  The entire first look is that singular photo above.  That's it.

Rather than give a decent overall view of the area, or a nice picture of the pool, or even an overview of some of the new themed rooms, we get a picture of a Simba statue with no perspective.  At least they could have made it a shot that gives any real sense of the size of the statue.  As it is, all this photo tells me is that Simba will be appearing in the Lion King section of the of the hotel.   Hopefully next they'll tell us if there will be water in the swimming pool and if the beds will have sheets.

Intense sarcasm aside, I've heard many good reviews of this new resort so far, and I'm sure the Lion King wing will be stunning when completed.  Hopefully we'll get a better view of it soon than just Simba's big rocks.

Mr. Nixon Will Not Be Appearing on Tonight's Mickey Mouse Club

Courtesy of the National Archives.

For me, the two most fascinating figures of the last century are Richard Nixon and Walt Disney.  They shared a surprising amount of similarities in upbringing and even some of their views.  In a lot of ways they represent two sides of the American Dream, one using talent and opportunity to enrich the world, the other wasting it on power and corruption.  If I have to explain who did what in the previous sentence, then you need to read a lot more about history.

There's already been a decent amount of coverage about Nixon's connections to Disney.  Still, researching the topic myself, I come across some interesting things.  This letter from 1956 personally requests then Vice President Nixon appear on the Micky Mouse Club show to address the question "Why should I be a Republican?"  Most likely meant for a segment about the upcoming election, Nixon was unfortunately unable to fit the appearance into this schedule.

Apparently it was only a tight schedule that prevented the appearance, as two years later Nixon appeared on an episode of the program.  Unfortunately, recordings of the episode or even transcripts of it are not readily available online, but it's safe to assume he probably didn't talk about his dog Checkers or sweat too much in front of the camera.  At least, I hope not.