Month: December 2014

Port Orleans French Quarter

Disney understands immersion and one need look no further than their resort theming as a great example. When we stayed at Coronado Springs we were surrounded by sights, sounds, and smells of Spanish-colonial Mexico, from the room decor, the food court selections, the plants, the music playing, down to the pool, with it’s majestic 50-foot replica of a Mayan pyramid. We booked our resort for March and after initially selecting Caribbean Beach Resort switched to Port Orleans French Quarter. I love New Orleans and the French Quarter. Some shots below show the details Disney uses to create this immersive experience. One might think they are actually in the French Quarter, at the corner of St. Peter and Royal. This is the only resort where you can get beignets, but I doubt they’re as good as Cafe Du Monde. Either way, laissez les bon temps roulez!

pofq

Port Orleans French Quarter Pool Entranace

port-orleans-resort-french-quarter-00-full

French-Quarter-resort

port-orleans-hitchin-post

Disneys-Port-Orleans-French-Quarter_Full_19206

Courtyard

pofq-2

Disneys-Port-Orleans-French-Quarter_Full_6978

20131001_085504

Port-Orleans-French-Quarter-0291

sassagoula-floatworks-and-food-factory-gallery00

The Martian – Andy Weir

The Martian

Spoiler

“I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I’m in a Hab designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah. I’m fucked.” – Mark Watney

[collapse]

I’m on a quest to read 50 books in 2015. With my Paperwhite and calibre in tow, I hope to make it happen.

1/50 The Martian – Andy Weir

Footage of the Magic Kingdom Under Construction

It’s fascinating seeing Seven Seas Lagoon before it was filled in.

Also, from the Wikipedia page, I never knew that… “The Seven Seas Lagoon was originally configured for artificial waves, tall enough to allow surfing. The machine began operation with the opening of the resort in 1971. However, it was soon disabled after causing severe beach erosion to the Polynesian Village Resort, for which the machine was installed.”

We Are Here to Change the World

Captain EO may not be at EPCOT much longer based on what’s happened to it at Disneyland. I’m glad I got to see it both at Disneyland and Disney World. I’m really glad I got to watch it sitting next to my mom, who loved it a lot.

Here’s one track from EO, called We Are Here to Change the World.

If you have time, watch the full video of Captain EO.

SERIAL

Is anyone else listening to Sarah Koenig’s Serial podcast? If you are, are you also obsessively reading threads at the Serial subreddit?

SERIAL

On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She’d been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae’s body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t.

?>