Onkel Hans

TCD, I'm  sorry you are so outraged  about the trees, and I dont have time or desire to write half of what you wrote to me but, of course I know that bay lake was there from the beginning.  There were once trees where the MK and parking lots are too, and I hope you are not still mourning their fate. If you want untouched prestine land, try a national park for a change.  I personally think they do a pretty good job of talking care of the nature that they maintain and OWN, and I recognize I have zero say in what they do with it, just like they have none with my land.   
If you dont like it, stop going or spending money there and realize some relationships run their course whether we want them to or not .

While working on my cruise for next July the DCL site glitched and dumped me to a new home page. 
 
This one was designed more in the style of WDW's site. I decided to play with it and see how much of it would work. And just for you guys I took screen shots of everything I could. 
 
Here we go. 
 
New home page

 

As someone who is a professional search engine marketer, I'd say what they are mainly trying to do is eliminate competition both for paid and organic search, but mainly for paid search.
 
See, there is very little chance that any agency, no matter how large, will ever outrank the main Disney website if someone is searching for "Disney vacation" or any variation.
 
However, an agency could, if they have deep enough pockets and a cunning search engine marketer (not unlike myself ), outbid them on Disney related keywords and artificially rank ahead of them in search engine results.
 
Disney would then need to pay more for the same keyword than they would if they had no competition. So they are eliminating the competition entirely. Pretty sneaky, but not surprising.
 
Reading through this, there doesn't seem to be much for anyone to worry about unless they participate in pay per click advertising or have a Disney trademarked word in their URL.

What's worse than getting stuck on the monorail? Getting stuck 600 miles from the monorail! Worst case scenario, YOU'RE AT DISNEY WORLD!

I have seen every Star Wars movie on opening day with the exception of episode 2. I was deployed at the time and wasn't able to see it opening day. I was deployed for episode 1s release date as well, but Lucas built us a nice state of the art theater at our base in Saudi Arabia so he could release the movie over there for the troops. So I skimmed by on that one.

Some of you may recall that my family did a Hoop Dee Doo dinner night at home last year. (My previous post is quoted below.)
 
We liked it so much that we decided to make it an annual tradition, and because we like to plan ahead, we've set a date this year for Saturday, February 22.
 
Why not plan your own for that same date? I'd love to see the pictures from other families having the same kind of fun. (And giving me ideas to steal for next year.)
 
Anyone else up for it? You've got 29 days to make it happen. You can do it!
 
 

Hello All!
 
Over the last few years, I have developed a style of pen & ink/watercolor artwork that I really enjoy.  The centerpiece of each picture is an almost maze-like image (inspired originally by Aztec designs) drawn with only one unbroken line.  This design is later accented with watercolor.
 
DramaMama and I have discussed me creating a very large piece for our Disney-inspired master bedroom that would consist of many canvases of varying sizes depicting the various parks and resorts of Walt Disney World.  I decided to work on several smaller pieces first to shake off the rust -- it's been awhile since I've worked on one of these.
 
So...here is the first of my Disney series of paintings.  I call it "Conduit".  I need to take a better picture -- some of the design on the edges is cut off -- but this will give you an idea.  See what you think...
 

This is not really a trip report, but I just want to share the most fabulous weekend. Many of you have met my son and a few of you have met my brand new daughter :)
 
Except for the day my children were born, this is about the happiest couple days of my life :)
 
We hosted the rehearsal party in our backyard.  Rick loves being the grill master :)
 
Just chillin as folks arrive and dinner is being cooked. My son and my parents
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 
Matt's grandmother and aunt, and Kevin's girlfriend
 

 
My dad always has a camera around, I guess that's where I got the shutterbug from
 

 

 
Jamie's mom
 

 
Matt
 

 
My boys "not fighting"
 

 

 
Ready for the rest of the food
 

 

 

 

 
Some more of Jamie's family
 

Jamie's sister, Jamie's dad, family friends

 

 
The toast and the couple 
 

 

 
Practicing for the big day
 

 
This evening was a lot of work for us, but it was really so much more fun than a restaurant :)
 
Wedding pictures coming soon :)

Day Five continued:
When we departed PEI, the ship's captain came on the PA and let us know we would be going under the Confederation Bridge. We would clear it with 6 feet to spare!
The bridge was opened the 1997 and joined PEI and New Brunswick. It is 8 miles long and is the longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world. www.confederationbridge.com Tolls are only charged leaving PEI. $44.50 for the first two axles, $7.25 for each additional axle.
It took so long for the decision to be made to build it because people thought the ice would crush the bridge supports. Someone finally came up with the idea to have the supports wider at the bottom and narrower toward the top so the ice can rise up and fall away. Here is a link to the website to show you what I'm trying to explain: http://www.confederationbridge.com/about/confederation-bridge/design.html
It was cold and windy on the deck above the Crow's Nest:

We were up there early so we sat down on the deck to get out of the wind:

More people started coming up as the sun was setting:





That was exciting!
Since the next way was a sea day, the Indonesian crew members put on a show of their native dances and songs at 11:00 PM in the Showroom at Sea. While none should quit their day jobs, they were enthusiastic and had a wonderful time putting on the show. It was the one show we attended where no one left before the end. They received a standing ovation!

Welcome aboard!
  
 Convince you, maybe. We had a great time.
 
Dave:  I've been trying to think of something creepy from this trip to post JUST FOR YOU.  Guess what?  I can't think of a thing! 
 
While in Portsmouth, we look a day cruise on the Isles of Shoals Steam Ship Company's Thomas Laighton.  We left from Portsmouth, went down the Piscataqua River to Star Island which is part of the Isles of Shoals off the Maine and New Hampshire coast.  Portsmouth Harbor is definitely a working harbor.  Note the salt pile and scrap heap in the background.  The scrap metal is sent to China. 
 

 
The new draw bridge from Portsmouth NH to Kittery Maine went up just for us.   I hope you like bridges.  This trip report is going to have lots of bridge pics. 
 

 
We went by the Portsmouth Naval Ship Yard.  Here is a submarine in for maintenance:
 

 
This is a reproduction of a gundalow boat.  You can take cruises on it, too. 
 

 
Portsmouth Light at Fort Constitution, Newcastle, NH:
 

 
Whaleback Light where the Piscataqua River meets the Atlantic Ocean:
 

 
Star Island is primarily a conference center; however, the general public can spend a few hours exploring it. 
 

 
 
The island cemetery from it's early days when it was famous for cod fishing.
 

 
One requirement for visiting Portsmouth is at least one meal at Newick's:
 

 

 
Next up.. the Port of Boston! 

First of all, they need to change the name of this sandwich. Hot Roasted Turkey Sandwich sounds boring! That baby has apples and brie on it! It's not just a turkey sandwich.
 
Here's their description..... (I would have never ordered it unless I read what was on it.)
 
Hot Smoked Turkey Sandwich
Turkey, Brie, Arugula, Green Apple Slices, Apple Butter, and Honey Mustard on Challah Bread with French Fries, Chilled Sesame Green Beans, or House-made Chips 9.19
 
Let me tell you the thing is HUGE. We got housemade chips, and Mom and I could have easily shared. I'm not a honey mustard person (plus it has apple butter on it too), so I left off that and the arugula.
 
Here's the Disney version:
 

 
I used different bread because it was the best I could find. (I wanted dense bread.) I toasted the inside and spread on the apple butter. I'm making 2 sandwiches because my friend was over, but both of these together are the size of the Disney one.
 

 
Then I sliced the apples and brie and heated up the turkey. Stacked it all.
 

 
Then I used my panini press to grill it.
 

 
Here's my version. Next time, I'll use a little more apple butter and a little less turkey. Let me just tell you though, it was FANTASTIC and definitly satisfied my craving.
 

 

Stayed in the cabins there several times. The pool near the cabins is nice and quiet. You have everything you need right in your cabin. I found the pull down murphy bed to be the most comfortable. Full size fridge , cookware , utensils, dishwasher , can opener ,and basic needs are all included. They even leave you a small bottle of dish soap and dishwasher powder. They also leave paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates, coffee filters, kitchen towels. We love the 2500 loop. We were literally right next to the pool and laundry.
We also had Ana as our housekeeper. We loved her! Doesn't speak lots of english but very sweet and always took good care of us and did a excellent job cleaning the rooms. Gave us TONS of towel animals and more soap and towels than we would ever need. lol Not sure if she cleans the other loops or if she is even still there. But 2500 is the best loop for cabins in my opinion.
We brought a over the door organizer ( the kind you put shoes in) and hung it over the little 1/2 door in the hallway that houses the ac unit. It was great to have park essentials like hand wipes, glow sticks, kids Id , etc. , ready to go on the way out the door.

We leave for the Fort in only three days and just received the custom dresses I had made for my little ones. They will wear them to the campfire one night. I sure hope Chip and Dale approve!
 

 
The picture is a little pixelated, but the center section with the fire and marshmallows says, "Happy Camper."
 
I can't wait for the girls to see them, they are going to be so tickled. THREE MORE DAYS!

A great memory that must be relived. :)

Well we have been goingn to Disney for a couple of weeks every year for the last decade and decided it was time to experience the camp grounds. We came across this site and have been reading quite abit.
So off we went and bought a used RV. We have been remodeling quite a bit and decided it should have the full Disney make over. It's currently a work in progress as you can see in the link, but well on the way.
Hope you like it. We will be there this June 1-12, 2013 hopefully we can meet some of the members.
Tim
https://plus.google.com/photos/114249486255854888450/albums/5854492352013041457?banner=pwa

The one thing I really liked when we went (wasn't a Disney cruise ) was printed out a decent sized map of the us and had star stickers for people to put a sticker where they were from, we then had a sheet printed where they could label their sticker and write their town and state. That was fun.

Disney on UFOs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHunekX1xPw&feature=youtu.be

This has not been answered in awhile but thought I would answer anyway. I don't clean all the time but I do like to clean inside and outsideof camper enough to keep the ants, bees and flies away! LOL! I have to be and keep things put away and organized a little bit or it would drive me crazy! I love the plastic bins from Walmart! I do like to make my beds in the morning, keep my dishes and pots and pans clean & put away, (try to use paper plates, cups, plastic silverware), keep our camper and rug out front sweeped off, wet towels & bathing suits hung up, dirty laundry in a hamper, things organized in bins, or picked up outside camper depending on what we are doing and using, (fishing stuff, bats, balls, toys, shoes, floats, sunscreen, etc., ).Garbage cans are a problem! We keep small garbage can in my bathroom and one in the kithcen area that the walmart bags fit into. These fill up fast & have to be emptied all the time! For outside we saw the green pop up garbage can , with zipped lid at Campers World and bought it. Because of the lid you can't put a bag in it. It also blows away. My husband then bought a garbage bag holder with a lid and 4 sides that collapsed that held the tall kithchen bags. That didn't work either! So... then I noticed one day last year he had combined the two, by puting the white garbage bag holder in the green pop up garbage can with zipped lid. He had also put a brick in the bottom of the green pop up garbage can first so it so it wouldn't blow away! LOL! So I guess whatever works!

Obscure reference: "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is."