My Dreams of Disney

Exploring Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond!

Magical Blogorail: The Mexico Pavilion!

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Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Green Loop. Today we are taking you on a virtual tour of Epcot’s World Showcase.

Mexico Pavilion
The Mexico Pavilion is housed in an Aztec style pyramid!

The Mexico Pavilion

Welcome, friends, to the Mexico Pavilion, one of the eleven incredible countries depicted in the World Showcase of Epcot!  I’m joining my friends at the Magical Blogorail in talking about each of the pavilions, and I’m going to tell you why I love the Mexico Pavilion, and describe in more detail what you can experience when you visit this country — one of the original countries at Epcot!

The Mexico Pavilion is one of my favorite World Showcase countries.  Featuring a nighttime outdoor market theme, wonderful shops, incredible smells from the San Angel Inn, and the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros, this pavilion has it all!

For starters, the structure that is the focal point of the pavilion is the Aztec style pyramid that houses the pavilion.  Inside this structure is the open air market, pictured below, with it’s subdued lighting and aesthetics.  The Disney Imagineers are such incredible storytellers, when we enter the pavilion I am immediately immersed, perhaps even transported, from Florida to a spring evening in Mexico, with twinkling stars and the smell of delicious food wafting through the air.

Mexico Pavilion
The open air market depicted in the Mexico Pavilion is one of it’s biggest selling points!

Aside from shopping, there are many more things to do.  For starters, the San Angel Inn is located in the pavilion; while I have not eaten here, in my mind it is the perfect romantic setting for a wonderful date.  This is because the seating overlooks the launch site for the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros! This ride takes you on a relaxing journey through the heart of Mexico, and you find out that Donald Duck has gone missing — perhaps because of his love of the women?  In any event, your journey follows Panchito and Jose Carioca as they look high and low for Donald so that they can perform their concert!

Mexico Pavilion
Be on the look out for Donald Duck, help Panchito and Jose Carioca find him!

In addition to the San Angel Inn, La Cava del Tequila features appetizers and over 200 varieties of tequila for you to choose from; personally, it’s not my style of hangout, but that’s just me.

Outside of the pavilion is La Hacienda de San Angel.  This restaurant, pictured below, is strategically located on the lagoon for great viewing locations of the Illuminations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show.

Mexico Pavilion
La Hacienda de San Angel is located outside the Mexico Pavilion on the World Showcase Lagoon.

Additionally, Donald Duck makes his presence known both inside and outside the pavilion.  Perhaps the reason he couldn’t be found on the Gran Fiesta Tour was because he was getting his picture with my daughter?

Mexico Pavilion
Donald Duck signs autograph books and poses for pictures inside and outside the Mexico Pavilion!

Thank you for stopping by today, and taking a stroll into the Mexico Pavilion with us!  Do you like this pavilion?  Please let me know in the comments, and thanks!

For more info on Epcot’s World Showcase, check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Green | Tour of Epcot’s World Showcase Loop:

My Top 5 Epcot Attractions

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Hello everyone, and welcome to the second in my series of favorite attractions!  Last week, we took a look at my top 5 Magic Kingdom Attractions; today we are looking at my top 5 Epcot attractions!  Does my list match up with yours?  Read through, and then let me know your list in the comments below!  Thanks for stopping by!

#5: Maelstrom

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Maelstrom, located over in the Norway pavilion, is a boat ride that takes you through Norway’s past, present, and future as you see all of the ways that the seas impact the lives of Norwegians!  It is fun, with trolls, polar bears, and oil rigs — as well as a drop near the end!  It used to have a movie that would be shown at the end, but that isn’t shown very often anymore.

#4: The American Adventure

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When it comes to history, especially the history of our great country, at Epcot, there is nothing that comes close to The American Adventure, a great show that features many of the great moments of our country’s history, but highlights on it’s most important aspect — the people!

#3: Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros!

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The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros is a boat ride in the Mexican Pavilion that takes you on a journey through Mexico to try and find Donald Duck!  Jose Carioca and Panchito are your navigators as you look — and ultimately find — Donald Duck!

#2: Soarin’

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Soarin’ used to be one of my least favorite attractions — but I’ve had a change of heart!  This incredible ride takes you through the California countryside as you see the sights from a unique perspective — a hang glider!  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the wonderful beauty, knowing that it’ll be okay, you won’t fall…

#1: Spaceship Earth

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At number one, though, is my favorite attraction at Epcot — Spaceship Earth.  This unique attraction, which takes you deep within the geodesic dome, shows you how far we have come in our communication methods — and leaves us wondering how far we can journey…at the end of the ride is a simulator to give you an idea of what your future might have in store for it, and don’t forget all the great things you can do in Project Tomorrow!

Honorable Mentions

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Illuminations: Reflections of Earth — while not an “attraction” in the sense that I’m thinking, is still a great draw, and something I look forward to seeing every time we visit!

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O Canada is one of my favorite shows, with it’s CircleVision 360 view of everything, and narration by Martin Short!  Stop by and see it in the Canada Pavilion!

I hope you have enjoyed my top 5 attractions at Epcot!  What are your top 5?  Let me know in the comments, and thanks for stopping by!

Coming Soon: The My Dreams of Disney Attraction Guide

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The Magic Kingdom Attraction Guide is the first in our series. Look for it soon!

 

Coming soon, the My Dreams of Disney Attraction Guides!  These sections are going to look at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Parks and share with you all the attractions you can experience there.  We’re going to start with the Magic Kingdom Attraction Guide, and follow up with the others in this order:

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The Epcot Attraction Guide will be second in our series!

 

The Hollywood Studios Attraction Guide is next!
The Hollywood Studios Attraction Guide is next!
Last, but certainly not least, the Animal Kingdom Attraction Guide!
Last, but certainly not least, the Animal Kingdom Attraction Guide!

Each of these sections will share with you the attractions you can find at each park, as well as our opinions on what we think of it.  We’ll categorize them with rankings such as “get a FastPass” or “wait in standby” or “skip it”, and so forth.  I hope that these attraction guides will be helpful to you in your Disney Vacation planning!

Any questions?  Feel free to leave me a comment, shoot me an email, write on our Facebook page, or send me a tweet!

Magical Blogorail – Dreaming of a Disney Christmas

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MB-Green-Logo

Welcome to the first stop aboard Magical Blogorail Green. Enjoy the ride as we discuss Dreaming of a Disney Christmas.

Walt Disney World at Christmas

Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug
Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug

For so many people, Walt Disney World at Christmas is the perfect time to visit.  Since I’ve not been fortunate yet to be able to visit during the Christmas season, I’m dreaming of a Disney Christmas — and perhaps adding a few touches here at home to allow my family to have a bit of a Disney Christmas without leaving home!

My friend Andy is the creator of the Facebook Page WDW Shutterbug, and it is thanks to his wonderful talent and generosity that I’m able to share with you many of the sites that I could picture in my minds eye, even before he sent me these photos.  At the top is one of my favorite pictures of all time, featuring Cinderella Castle nestled at the end of a lit up Main Street, U.S.A.  For this post, I’m going to share with you some of the wonderful scenes you will be able to enjoy when you visit Walt Disney World during the Christmas season!

Magic Kingdom

Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug
Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug

Cinderella Castle is all decked out in twinkling lights. This year, they have added a Frozen motif to it, and it looks incredible.  The picture above is from last year, but is still just as incredible to me.

Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug
Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug

One of my favorite ways to take photos at Walt Disney World is by including the reflection in the water in the shot, as my friend Andy did here.  Stunning, that’s all I can say about this shot…

Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug
Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug

As you can see, it’s not all Christmas lights at the Magic Kingdom.  Here, a Toy Soldier is proudly on display among all the great Christmas decorations on Main Street, U.S.A.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug
Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug

The Christmas Magic isn’t limited to just the Magic Kingdom, though.  Here, you see part of the scenery for The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!  What an incredible display of scenes to capture the imagination with!

Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug
Image courtesy and ©WDW Shutterbug

The picture of the Nativity Scene is, to me, what Christmas is all about, and I really like this picture.

Epcot

Image courtesy and ©Denny
Image courtesy and ©Denny

In many ways, though, I think the true Spirit of Christmas is on display over at Epcot with the Candlelight Processional that is performed throughout the Christmas season.  Each night, a celebrity guest tells the Christmas story with the help of musicians.  I think that this will be my favorite part of Christmas at Disney when we are able to experience it for ourselves.  Special thanks goes out to my friend Denny for sharing this picture with me.

Back at Home

Of course, a Disney Christmas doesn’t have to be spent at Disney — although, that’s the way I want to do it one year.  For us, since that isn’t in the cards this year, we have decided to add a little Disney right here at home.  My neighborhood is big on Christmas lights and decorations, so we have added two significant Disney characters to our “blow-up” collection.  Here are pictures of them for you to enjoy!

Minnie adorns our front yard this Christmas!
Minnie adorns our front yard this Christmas!
Olaf is one of the ways we celebrate a Disney Christmas -- at home!
Olaf is one of the ways we celebrate a Disney Christmas — at home!

His name is Olaf, and he likes Warm Hugs!  It’s not like being at Walt Disney World, but my neighbor Harry told me that Olaf is the talk of the neighborhood!  What is your favorite way to celebrate a Disney Christmas?

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is Heidi’s Head.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ My Dream’s of Disney – Dreaming of a Disney Christmas
2nd Stop ~ Heidi’s Head – Dreaming of a Disneyland Christmas
3rd Stop ~ Mommy To All Girls – Dreaming of a DCL Christmas
4th Stop ~ Frugal Mouse – Dreaming of a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Final Stop ~ Superheroes and Teacups – My Dream Christmas Trip to the Walt Disney World Parks

Epcot to remove Fife and Drum Corps, others

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Fife and Drum
Have you seen the Fife & Drum Corps perform?

I was surprised when I learned yesterday that Walt Disney World has announced plans to remove the popular shows Mo’Rockin’, Off Kilter, the World Showcase Players, and my favorite, Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps effective the end of September.  From a personal opinion, I can see the closing of some of these performance groups, but the ones that I truly feel like should not have been closed are Off Kilter and the Fife & Drum Corps.  Part of me worries that they are doing this not so much for a specific reason, but rather because they feel like they need to do so in order that those people that only visit Disney once or twice will see something shiny and new instead of something that has been around for a while.

For me, and others like me that really enjoy Disney and go multiple times, the biggest draw for me is the chance to take my wife and child to the Disney I know and love from my childhood.  It’s not so much about riding Seven Dwarfs Mine Train — despite how incredibly cool that attraction is.  For me, it’s about walking with Cindy and Sophie, seeing a show or enjoy a ride, and remembering something from a prior visit that the attraction, show, parade, etc. triggered.  The best part of the Disney Magic for me is how we can be transported back in time to when we saw something for the first time.

Fife and Drum
The Fife & Drum Corps performing inside the Liberty Inn restaurant!

When I read the news about the Fife & Drum Corps, immediately I remembered this story from the time we took Stephanie to Walt Disney World with us:

I remember that we were at World Showcase, and all of a sudden it started raining.  Since it was nearly lunchtime, and we were near the American Adventure Pavilion, we decided to eat lunch at the Liberty Inn counter service restaurant.  This restaurant is great because it serves good food and has a lot of seating to get in out of the elements.  Anyway, we were inside, eating our lunch, when all of a sudden the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps marched in, took up their positions, and started playing for us.  It was a moment where we just happened to be there, nothing was listed on the Times Guide, and Walt Disney World turned the Disney Magic up for us because of the rain (or so it seemed)!

Hearing about the end of the Fife & Drum Corps immediately took me back to that memory, and made me a little sad that I won’t experience it again…

I’ve got other stories for the other World Showcase Entertainments that are closing, but to me, the one that bites deep is the closing of the Spirit of  America Fife & Drum Corps.

What do you think about this news?  Please let me know in the comments, or on our Google+ page, or our Facebook page, or shoot me a tweet — I’d love to know your thoughts!  Thanks for stopping by, and everyone, go out and make it a great Disney Day!


Disclaimer

My Dreams of Disney is a Disney Fan Blog, and is not in any way affiliated with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney, or the Walt Disney Company. In it's purest form, My Dreams of Disney is a site showcasing the love I and my family have for Walt Disney's creative genius and the legacy he has left behind. If it weren't for Walt Disney, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, the other Disney parks spread across the world, and this site would not exist. Click to view our Privacy Policy.

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