The Importance of Rope Drop

Waking up really early is not something I enjoy, except if it is to wake up in order to begin the trek to Walt Disney World.  Going on vacation is exciting and merits an early wakeup call; however, many people do not like to wake up early on every day of their vacations.  That is completely understandable; it is supposed to be a vacation after all.  Although I do not relish being an early riser on vacation, the benefits outweigh my desire for my sleep. 

When you embark on a Disney World vacation, you should follow at least this piece of advice.   Wake up early!  If you wake up early, you will be present in one of the parks for rope drop, which is key if you want to accomplish everything in a particular park.  If you have never been to WDW before, rope drop is a term that refers to the time that the park officially opens to guests.  Often times, castmembers will escort guests into the park (depending on the park) to a certain location, and there will be a rope and various castmembers preventing guests from entering the park until the official opening time.  So, the rope literally drops for the guests to enter, hence the term rope drop.  Sometimes, castmembers give guests some pixie dust to sprinkle as the park opens, and some parks have full-blown welcome shows.  The Magic Kingdom welcome show is by far the best and most entertaining.  You will miss these types of shows if you arrive to the park too late.

 In addition, the earlier you arrive to a park, the more you will see and do throughout the rest of the day.  Attractions that have terribly long wait times later in the day are virtually walk-ons in the early morning with little or no wait.  If you have a desire to see and do everything in a particular park or you are limited on time, rising early is vital.  If you get to a park early in the day, you will not feel guilty going back to your hotel room for a mid-day break or a dip in the pool.  You can refresh yourself and your family, but you will still have the rest of the day to play in the parks.  Most parks stay open late, and it is a good idea to go back to you hotel room in the middle of the day, and then tackle the parks during these late operating hours.

Another benefit of waking up early involves extra magic hours.  If you are a Disney resort guest, you can enter certain parks on various days an hour before other park guests.  This extra hour will allow you to do so much more than if you were to arrive at the parks around mid-day.  Also, the weather in Florida is no secret.  It is hot most of the day, most of the year.  The earlier you arrive in the parks, the more of the heat you can avoid.  Most of the time, heavy rain showers occur in the afternoon, so if you return to your hotel for a few hours of recharging time, you will avoid being wet and miserable. 

I know that you want your vacation to be relaxing, but if you want to get the most out of your Disney World trip, you really should make an attempt at least for a few of your days to wake up early to experience all of the perks that a little less sleep will provide while you are visiting the World.  Until next time, have a magical day, and keep moving forward!

Hunting for Disneyana

Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat?  Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete?  Do these words from Ariel, the little mermaid, sound familiar?  Well, to me these words apply to my ever-growing Disneyana collection.  I love to purchase all things Disney, even if I am not in Disney World.  Some of my favorite purchases are vintage/antique items that I find in online auctions or flea markets.  I have found many treasures by hunting both the Internet and various stores for Disney merchandise that has long been retired.  Disney souvenirs of the past were so detailed and specific to the time period and parks from which they came.  Anything that is labeled as being produced by Walt Disney Productions is probably from the early 1980s or earlier.  Disney stopped printing this label on their current items.  Many items are now just marked Disney or Disney Parks.  You know that you have something a little vintage when you check out the year or date printed on the item as well as the manufacturer.  I love to collect anything that is from the days of Disney past.

Over the course of my hunting, I have purchased many pieces of jewelry that clearly come from a time when souvenirs were more than just t-shirts, plastic cups, and the like.  One of my most recent acquisitions has been a Disneyland locket bracelet.  This is no ordinary locket; it comes with miniature post cards from the days of Disneyland’s past.  The pictures are very detailed, and judging from the content, they seem to come from the late 1950s or early 1960s.  In addition, the locket has a small medallion on the front cover with an engraving of Sleeping Beauty Castle.  The locket resembles a small book, and it is one of my favorite pieces of Disneyana past. 

 

                                

I have also purchased a watch that is from the 1982 opening of EPCOT Center at Wald Disney World.  This watch is a gold and silver tone piece, and it is beautiful.  The attention to detail in the face of the watch shows the monorail circling Spaceship Earth, which is made of a shiny silver material.  The watch has a metal band, and is somewhat dressy.

Lastly, I have also purchased a heavy silver bracelet that is from Disneyland.  It includes pictures of the long-lost Skyway attraction as well as the Matterhorn and Sleeping Beauty Castle.  It is another piece of beautiful craftsmanship, and it is sterling silver.

                      

All of these items are some of my cherished souvenirs, and Disney needs to continue to make such beautiful pieces for guests to purchase and treasure.  Disney merchandising has recently returned to a more nostalgic and park specific line of merchandise, which is a welcome change for all of the visitors who do not want to purchase a generic t-shirt.  In the past year, I have purchased some of the retro t-shirts that have started popping up at the World as well as the well-made, but very expensive, Dooney and Bourke purses (I have 5 of them!).  Hopefully, Disney merchandising will continue to listen to the public and produce high quality items that people will be able to keep and continue to enjoy just as I am giving a second home to all of the treasures that I have found at flea markets and on the web.  Until next time, have a magical day, and keep moving forward!

Are You a Disney Coffee Connoisseur?

Many people have tackled the subject of coffee in Disney World.  The general consensus among many blogs that I have read is that Nescafe is not a favorite among serious coffee drinkers.  Nescafe is a topic that comes up quite frequently with regard to Disney World beverages.  This type of coffee is basically instant coffee that is the staple of the food courts at Disney World as well as many counter services.  Despite the hate that Nescafe receives on a daily basis from Internet bloggers, I am here to say that I love Nescafe!  Yes, I do love it!  The smell of this instant coffee lets me know that I am in Disney World.  In addition to the scent, I even love the taste.  I know that this coffee is not that high of a quality, but I still love it anyway.  I will actually choose Nescafe over higher quality coffee if it is available.  Am I crazy?  Perhaps I am.

            Now, even though I am a fan of Nescafe, I have branched out when at the World to try other types of coffee both of the hot and cold variety.  Several restaurants offer coffee that has been brewed in a press pot.  This type of brewing process actually occurs when you combine the coffee grinds and boiling water in a glass carafe.  The boiling water and grinds brew for a while, and the process of “pressing” the water through the grinds creates the coffee.  Kona Café, The Wave, Narcoossee's, and Jiko all offer various types of coffee in a press pot.  Kona Café sells 100% Kona coffee from Hawaii, and this coffee is very smooth.  You can order the press pot and drink this coffee at your meal, but you can also buy the coffee to take home with you.  My husband purchases this coffee in whole beans, grinds it himself, and uses a press pot at home in order to recreate the coffee from Kona Café.  He really likes that coffee!  The Wave and Narcoossee's sell pretty standard coffee in their press pots, but it is of higher quality than Nescafe.  At Jiko, you can order a press pot of Kenyan coffee, which I found to be very strong.  I tend to like a weaker and smoother brew for my coffee.  All of these examples represent the many different types of hot coffee that we have sampled around the World.

             In addition to hot coffee, we have also tried varying flavors of frozen/iced coffees in WDW.  In the Magic Kingdom, my favorite iced coffee can be found at Sleepy Hollow refreshments in Liberty Square.  The French vanilla iced coffee is delicious, and you do not even need to add sweetener.  It is perfect just the way it is prepared.  I also enjoy the iced coffee float from the Sunshine Tree Terrace.  This beverage is more of a dessert because it combines iced coffee and ice cream into a tasty treat.  As for other cold varieties of coffee, we have tried iced lattes at the Writer’s Stop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  This beverage was good, but not any different from any other iced latte I have had.  We have also tried the frozen coffee from the Animal Kingdom.  My husband really enjoyed this coffee, but it was too sweet for me.  That coffee is definitely more of a dessert item.

            After sampling many different types of coffee from around WDW, I can honestly say that I am not too serious or picky when it comes to my choice of coffee.  I will drink any kind of coffee, and I am perfectly fine drinking Nescafe.  If you enjoy a stronger brew, you may want to stick to Kona coffee or some of the other coffee that is served in press pots at finer dining establishments.  Until next time, have a magical day, and keep moving forward! 

Here is my husband enjoying his pure Kona coffee at the Polynesian.