Don't make the rookie error ..... know your Mary Blair

Let's compare:

it's a small world

Alice in Wonderland

(source: liveauctioneers)

and the Contemporary Resort's Grand Canyon Concourse

(source: omniluxe)

What do you think brings them all together - besides being Disney things?

it's Mary Blair!

(source: Mary Blair Gallery)

For me, Mary Blair is one, from among many many Disney luminaries, as one who is special.  Every time I see her unique work I feel like I am gaining a glimpse of true American culture.

So Mary was an artist - and worked as one of the original animators for Walt. Her strong sense of design was behind many Disney's pieces including Alice - and also:

Peter Pan

Cinderella

and Song of the South

 

Mary did about a decade in the fifties away from the Disney studio doing private work for advertising and Little Golden Books - her most famous being I Can Fly

 

Lured back to Disney, Walt put Mary to work not on films, but on building things! 

Mary's murals decorated Tomorrowland 

Go read the whole post on Yesterland - it pays magnificent homage to the murals and tells the story of where the murals are now

The Gran Fiesta Tour in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot

(source WDW Magic)

And most famously Mary designed it's a small world for the 1964 New York World's Fair to benefit UNICEF. 

I like these attractions at the parks - I feel like I am immersing myself into American art history - not just riding a dumb old Disney thing with a ear worm song. I feel the style is strong and unique and captures a spirit of lightness, movement, naivety - childhood dreams - the way we wish it was. It is isn't about intellectual or inaccessible. This art is congruent in its style, colours, themes and ultimate application. So it works.

My favourite is the Grand Canyon Concourse in the Contemporary Resort 

(source: Mouse Planet)

Over 18,000 hand made tiles, over 90 ft tall and wrapping around the sides of this central elevator column, this magnificent mural captures the spirit and colours of the Grand Canyon.

(source: Burning Settlers Cabin)

I love that I can walk up to and run my hands over the knobbly tiles.

It celebrates the people of the canyon

and the skunks (source: all ears.net)

There's this cute bear

(source: onmiluxe)

I can't wait to get you there and make you search for the infamous 5 legged goat! 

(of course, if you are coming to the California Grill fireworks dinner you get into this wondrously decorated elevator riser)

This short you tube mini - doco is really charming, full of her art and story, describing how Mary's style emerged.

This partner piece by the young chap includes clips from those final films including Donald and that cute train.

When we are in Orlando, be aware and you'll begin to recognise Mary's influence all over the place.

So how do you find the art of Mary Blair?

(source: Magic of Mary Blair)

If too much Mary is barely enough - with the 50th anniversary of its a small world, Mary Blair displays have been popping up everywhere. Check out:

• The Magic of Mary Blair. run by Mary's nieces
• The Walt Disney Family Museum exhibit Magic, Color, Flair of Mary Blair plus some images from the exhibition
• Pinterest pages that show some of her advertising work
• The Mary Blair Facebook page give more links to more articles 

If you read one article about Disney Dining, make it this one.

Any one who follows Mrs Banks on Facebook knows that time has just disappeared with Christmas and birthdays and travel to Sydney and dining reservations. I am now enjoying my summer holiday and have the chance to sit and relax to prepare these posts for a couple of weeks - in between bouts of chopping things with my new chainsaw!! Oh - how The Ken Man knows me so well......  

OK .. On with the show! Here's a post I started writing about 2 weeks ago: 


It's all fuss and excitement and crazy internets clicking here tonight!

If you want to secure your favourite table service Disney dining reservation you have to book 6 months in advance - and that day is almost here past for me!!  (ha ha ha - that shows how long it takes me to write a post)

guess what I'm doing tomorrow evening?? (source: pscalculator )

Only 4 more sleeps until (now after) Christmas Day - but I feel like it's already arrived as I go crazy with the dining reservations!

We have some underlying rules to follow with our dining arrangements, including:

• We want to try lots of different things
  
• We can't eat everything (dang!) SO a la carte dining more often to give more control over the amount of food purchased and consumed.
• We are happy to split large dishes, and taste each other's meals - also happy to hoard if it's too good to share!
• Limit buffet attendance. (Usually poor food items and some of us have limited intake.)
• Enjoy meals with others.
• No cheap and nasty park food - hot dogs, burgers and dreaded Disney fries (oh, I shiver just thinking about Pecos Bills - ewwwwww - and where they ask you not to spit. Well not in front of women and children.)

Please don't make me go here (source:Disney food blog)

• Let your friend wear stretchy pants

By getting online the moment bookings opened I was able to get everything I wanted - some of which are very coveted bookings! Here are some highlights from our bookings so far:  (the links will allow you to see the current menus)

• Breakfasts - Staying in Boardwalk Villas gives easy access to fabulous breakfasts including Greek style Kouzzina (21st); Captain's Grill (22nd) and Kona Cafe (26th) (the home of REAL coffee in WDW). We are also visiting Safari Donald at Tusker House (24th) for Harambe style.

Kona Cafe's Tonga Toast. My precious ....

• Good fun themery lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe (23rd) where you eat your veges and keep your elbows off the table.  Biergarten (21st) where it's Oktoberfest every day! Liberty Tree Tavern (22nd) where it is 4th July everyday!

 

No, Please, your quiet enjoyment of the meal will be thanks enough for these coveted bookings:

• Le Cellier - the Canadian Steakhouse (21st). This small underground wine cellar serves it's signature dishes: cheddar cheese soup and Filet mignon on truffled mushroom risotto. Oh sigh.

 

•  Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's Restaurant - this classic is rated one of the USA's 15 most iconic restaurants, and with scores like 29/30 is one of Zagat's most highly rated. 

Now the category: "Everyone is arriving in Orlando now. Let's all go out together for a meal"

• The Crabby Shack! Fulton's Crab House will be hosting at least 10 of us on the 25th. Will you join in for more than you can eat seafood?

lobster tails, crabs, prawns, clams, oysters - served on platters, in towers, in buckets!

• On the afternoon of the 26th, we shall be raising our pinkies and ensconced at the Grand Floridian Resort's Garden View Tea Room for Afternoon Tea. It's all cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off and scones with jam and cream.

(source: wdwinfo - read their full review including menu)

And now here's a booking that will be a highlight of your trip - the all new California Grill! (26th)

Closed for 8 months in 2013 to undergo a complete overhaul, I am so excited to see this new look and new menu. One thing that hasn't changed - location. It is still on the roof of the Contemporary Resort and every meal offers premier viewing of the Magic Kingdom fireworks show!

Our last evening in WDW will finish on a high note! (source: DisneyFoodBlog - read their full review)

Who cares about pictures of the restaurant or what's on the menu. Because FIREWORKS!

UPDATE: I have now secured a 2nd California Grill dinner booking for Sunday 29 June - when everyone will be in Orlando.

If you would like to come meet everyone and join in, please contact me ASAP before seating books out! As is the case with Zontians, the more the merrier!

Are you a foodie? What type of cuisine do you want to enjoy in Orlando?

How to save the big bucks on your Disney hotel accommodation

If I'm gonna fly all the way around the world to Orlando, you can guess what I'm gonna do

 

yep - I'm going to Disney World.

 Oh .... I skip a beat everytime i see those purple gates! (source: grumpydisney.com)

As if you haven't already worked that out.

You're welcome to join me .... always happy to have friends to beat at Toy Story Mania and listen to my screaming on Splash Mountain. (not because of the drop, but because of that relentless song)

extreme chess

I only recommend going to WDW with a plan. Without, that way there be dragons - and crazy, queuing, hungry, unhappy people who have spent far too much money. Get organised and be a person who has spent far too much money on your desired hotel, desired restaurants, and avoiding the queues.

Today I share the technique for how I can afford such magnificent lodgings for such low prices.

Disney Vacation Club

or DVC - kinda like a complex timeshare arrangement.

Now I haven't bought into DVC but there are some 145,000 out there who have and it is possible to "rent" from those people.

Animal Kingdom Lodge studio apartment

Let me summarise:

DVC works on points - differing amounts of points are needed for different hotels, different room types, different times of the year, different days of the week. Work out when you are going, for how long and where you would like to stay, what room, and the DVC chart tells you how many points you need. 

Boardwalk Inn villas recreate the Atlantic Boardwalk - very plush

Then you find an owner and "rent" your required number of points. Typically points cost for $10 - $13@. So if you need 100 points for a week somewhere, obviously your cost for your accommodation will be $1,000 - $1,300. Divide by 7 and you'll get your nightly cost - which you can use to compare to the ordinary cash rack rate charged by Disney.

(source: myfirstvisit.net)

Let me give you an example. Here is the cost of my stay last year at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort. I stayed 9 nights in a studio in December, during the "value" period.

Beach Club Studio Apartment - walk to Epcot and huge swimming area, with pool, slides, lazy river, and sandy bottom!

Full price rack rate = $407 per night (I know - absolutely ridiculous - NO ONE is to pay these rates)

Disney did eventually announce a discount for paying cash - 30% off for general public, 35% off for Annual Passholders.

Discount price  = $265 per night (this is more normal)

DVC points @ $12/point for 124 points = $1,488

DVC average daily rate = $165 per night.

This represents a 60% discount off the "silly rack rate nobody pays" and 25% off the Disney "pay cash" discount offer.

1 bedroom villa, Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort - right next to Magic Kingdom and on monorail

Here's an example for June 2014: 7 nights at Disney's Boardwalk Inn, the week before Convention, in a studio apartment, standard view (a.k.a - the carpark)

current advertised full price = $571 / night (CRAZY)
current DVC rental cost = $185 / night (Ka-ching! back in MY pocket)

source: yourfirstvisit.net

There is NO OTHER CHEAPER WAY TO GET A DISNEY ROOM (unless you are some kind of insider and then you need to call me .... really)

So I hear you calling out: "Mrs. Banks - how do I get these amazing discounts??"

1. Decide how many beds & rooms you need, and choose your dates.
2. Get online and look at the DVC resorts and pick your hotel, and desired room type. (allears site is the best! Photos and videos of every room)
3. Get online and select a broker, e.g.:

• DVC Rental Store
• DVC Rental  - whom I went with and were fine
• Sell my timeshare now rental page - deal direct with the owner
• David's DVC - the biggest & most expensive

All of these sites have resort overviews, point and cost calculators and very helpful people who will assist with your questions and make your resort booking for you.

Boardwalk Inn Villa Grand Villa (source; allears.net)

The price you pay for not paying the price

HA HA - guess what - there's no such thing as a free lunch! (except when you sit through a timeshare sales pitch)

The lower price means:

• Do your research and get in the queue with a broker more than 12 months out from your check in date.
• The booking is made between 11 months - 7 months out and you have to pay at that time.
• There is no cancellation or alterations (get travel insurance)
• Being a self-contained apartment, housekeeping is limited - or pay extra to secure daily service.
• Doing this is CRAZY popular and you have to have 2nd choices & patience cause everyone is chasing this deal.

1 Bedroom Villa, Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary Resort

Having Fun

You don't have to do a DVC rental - you may want to stay in one of the other hotel style resorts - or don't want to book and pay upfront. There will be a general public discount (e.g. 30% off) from Disney released closer to the date. There really is no excuse for paying the ridiculous rack rate.

1 Bedroom Villa at Squirrel Wilderness Lodge 1860's American west rustic Yee Hah! All the pine makes it smell like Christmas! .....or Ikea

So will you join us in WDW the week before convention? Do you want more info on DVC? Shout out in the comments.

Oh - and I'm looking for some people to share a Grand Villa with me .....

(source: yourfirstvisit.net)

Gingy Bells, Gingy Bells, Ginger bells rock ...

For Christmas The Ken Man and I travelled to Sydney to visit family and we stayed in a fairly reasonable hotel. When we checked in on Christmas day all the tinsel was still hanging, the tree was trimmed and in the centre of the foyer was a little gingerbread house.

Let me re-iterate: a LITTLE gingerbread house. Probably the size of a small doll house, displayed on a table.

"Borrowed" from the hotel's facebook page.

It is very pretty and expertly decorated with precision.

But it's not this:

16ft, lifesize gingerbread house in the Grand Floridian Resort foyer

Gingerbread appears to be the No.1 preferred construction material in Orlando. Excellent for luring entertaining small children.

You can go in the backdoor where all kinds of goodies are available at reasonable prices.

Disney released this little video showing construction in 30 seconds!

I bet my Sydney based hotel did not need a cherry picker to construct their house.

Have a look at the window and porch detail:

hmmm ...chocolate.....

Such beautiful work on those poinsettias

Kandy Sparkles from Mouse Chat captured a few things I missed. Go and look at her post - I'll wait here.

Hidden Mickey couch upholstery!

Real smoke coming out the chimney! On purpose - the house hadn't spontaneously combusted in a chemical reaction of bicarb, cleaning fluids and over-sugared children.

So whilst this is the only gingerbread construction large enough for an ensuite off the main, most resorts will construct a similar gingerbready offering to the tourism gods.

The Contemporary Resort had a 17ft tree with a "it's a small world" theme

Oh the irony - it was the smallest gingerbread construction after all.

The Boardwalk Inn has this sort of mixture of a pergola with a loungeroom - showing a fireplace with Santa Donald's feet slowly roasting ( ....hmmmm.... roast duck.....)

The Ritz Carlton had this little shop where they were holding kids house building classes. See the names of the families written in icing on the "bricks".

"Arrgghhh ... I be the classic Scottish Pirate bear of Christmas legend"

 and the World Centre Marriott had a little house tucked in a corner:

So why do I show you these? After all you will be visiting in June - not December.

I hope to demonstrate that the Orlando hotels can take those extra steps to create little magic moments for their guests. The competition leads the hotels to work hard for their money and they go WAY beyond what is typical for Australian hotels. No matter where you stay it will have a special something for a jolly holiday.

So what's your story about a fantastic hotel that sought to delight its guests?

Merry Christmas and Happy New 2013! (eek! only 18mths until convention!)

 

Food Porn: Platnium Plan - the meal that was last and the least - Chef Mickey (or what was I thinking?)

Let's not waste our time on this one.

" I have to go jetskiing at Sammy Duvall's at the Contemporary Resort at 9am. It would be easiest if I eat at Chef Mickey. It's a buffet. Have what I like, as much as I want. Meet the characters, duck out to Sammy's"

I arrive an hour late but I suppose it's all "what's one more in the crowd", and they seat me almost straight away.

Atmosphere:

Barnyard:

think loud wandering animals and costumed characters.

Can you imagine the back room Mickey Mouse roster allocations every morning?

"MickeyBob - you're on 3pm Celebration Parade"

"MickeySue- you're down at Camp Mickey meet and greet from 1pm - 2pm"

"MickeyJane - you're performance yesterday at Dreams Come True Castle Show was appalling. You obviously didn't believe in the dream. Today you are 7am shift at Chef Mickey and I want to see some enthusiasm for the napkin dance."

"FRICKIN' CRAP"


Buffet:

sugar + fat

Once again I am too lazy to do my own review: check out the far more generous review from the Disney Food Blog including photos of all the carbohydrates

There is one photo worthy of closer inspection:

The cereal tubes - ummmm ..... what kind of cereal do you think is in each? I think this pretty much sums up the place.

OK OK - so I had a plate of fresh fruit and the french toast with maple syrup.

yummmm.....sugary wheaty goodness

caught up with the Duck:

Just as well ducks don't have big ears in this place*

and then I did a runner.

yep - left without settling the account! **

at $35/hd (plus drinks and gratuity) this is a fairly expensive breakfast. I suppose the price reflects the popularity - you need to book months in advance for this one.

one spoon - not top quality but the buffet means there is something for everyone

PIG OUT potential plus here - knock yourself out on starch, with drizzled sugar and a cherry on top

 

* cause noddy wouldn't pay the ransom (HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA)

** I did go back to the hotel later in the day. As this was included in the Platnium Plan I just needed a box ticked on my file.