Showing posts with label if i lived. Show all posts
Showing posts with label if i lived. Show all posts

Friday, July 1, 2011

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... go the magic kingdom prior to rope drop, find a place to sit, and then listen to the entire entrance loop while watching people enter the park to make their dreams come true. all to often i am eager to walk onto main street u.s.a. and make my way to the first thing; usually a peter pan's flight fastpass.

if i lived in central florida getting that fastpass, or any fastpass, would become increasingly less important and i would be able to enjoy some of life's simpler pleasures - that of simply living in and enjoying the moment without thought or agenda.

this morning, we woke up to the familiar strains of the magic kingdom entrance loop. a very pleasant way to begin any day.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... make a list of every dining location, be it snack stand, counter service or table service restaurant in walt disney world. the list would include parks, resorts, downtown disney, etc. then i would make and execute a plan to eat at every single location at least once. some, i am sure, would merit repeat visits.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... drive to kissimmee (if i wasn't living in that area), and welcome amy and craig petermann and their two daughters home! if you have not been following the relocated tourist these past sixteen months, let me recommend you visit their blog and read about their incredible and inspiring journey.

"welcome home" amy, craig, kyra and emily! your's is a wonderful adventure!

Friday, May 20, 2011

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... somehow arrange to take all the backstage tours. it would take some time, but then, i'd have the time.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... i'd be walking around the World Showcase with friends who have come to town to run in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. Oh, now that would be fun - the walking around the World Showcase, not the running bit.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... visit epcot and get in the soarin' standby queue, simply to listen to the background music loop. someday i'll actually live in central florida and actually do that so then i won't have to be only satisified with listening to the loop on my drive time to work.
still, i'll listen to it while driving. it is that good.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... i'd find a nice bench in innoventions plaza and sit listening to the background music loop. i really enjoy that loop and whenever i am having a stressful or difficult week that music always lifts my spirit. i'm in a "burning the candle at both ends" mode at the moment so i am listening to the innoventions loop daily.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

if i lived in central florida i'd...

... find a remote place in the world showcase, perhaps the gardens in the back of the united kingdom pavilion and have a seat. there i'd pull out my journal and begin to write. i'm not sure what i'd write, but i'd write.

there was a time when i lived in england and life was considerably slower. then i had a favorite pub i'd like to go and write in. i got a lot of writing done in those days. now, not so much.

i miss it.

Friday, October 1, 2010

if i lived in central florida i'd...

... be walking down the Avenue of the Stars towards Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin with my good friend Ryan Wilson. I imagine we'd both score 999,999!

Friday, September 24, 2010

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

...walk slowly through the soarin' queue (several times) just to listen to background loop. great loop! oh, and i'd soar a few times as well.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Let Me Recommend...

Let me draw you're attention to a blog I've been following of late. It is called The Relocated Tourist. It tells the story of Going from 'What If?' to 'Why Not!'. The blog chronicles the adventures of Carl and Ellie Peters and their daughters as they prepare to move to Central Florida to be close to the Magic.

Wow! They are preparing to live the dream that perhaps, many of us have.

In a recent post entitled 300 Days and Counting, they commemorated this milestone in their countdown by listing 300 things they are looking forward to once they have relocated. It is a great list and reminds me of my moments of daydreaming that I call "if i lived in central florida i'd..."

Stop by their site and take a look, and be sure to check in frequently. For those of us who harbor even the slightest hope of someday living within after work distance from the parks, their journey will inspire you.

Monday, August 23, 2010

On 'if i lived in central florida'

From time to time I will include a short post about what I’d be doing if I lived in Central Florida. This has ranged from grabbing a Dole Whip in Adventureland to experiencing every exhibit found in Innoventions. Essentially, it is my way of going from day to day, here, away from Walt Disney World. I pause and wonder what I’d do if I were close enough to drop by the World on the way home.


I have this sense that I am not alone in my thinking. It is safe, I feel, to assume that there are several of you reading this who have had the same thought. You’ve asked yourself the question, “What would I be doing if I were in Walt Disney World right now?” You’ve probably said, “I wish I could live close to the parks.” Truthfully, there is not a week that goes by that I haven’t thought that once, twice, well several times.


My trips to the parks are packed; too packed at times. Three of my last five trips have only allowed me to be in the parks for two days. While I love the opportunity to be there, for even a short period of time, it is too quick. To fast. It goes by so fast and it affords so little time to fully take in the parks. We, you and I, know that the parks are filled with so much to be experienced and explored, and it is constantly changing. We also know that nothing short of living within an easy morning, afternoon or evening drive will give us the time we need to truly find all that is there to be found. A backstage tour during my last trip re-enforced that to me. That, and instilled the desire to take a tour with every new trip.


The parks change. Yes, this is both good and bad. I am sure I am not the only one who wishes I could once more explore Horizons or take another trip through the World of Motion. And I would love the opportunity to tap the riches of my imagination with Figment, and, The Dreamfinder. But we need to remember what Walt Disney himself once said, “Disneyland is something that will never be finished. Something that I can keep developing, keep plussing and adding to. It’s alive. It will be a live, breathing thing that will need change.” We can be sure that this same spirit lives in Walt Disney World. So while we can look fondly back on those attractions of the past, we can look forward with great anticipation for the new things on the horizon.


This is what “if i lived in central florida” means to me. It is the chance to anticipate what is will be new, while enjoying the things of the past. It is the opportunity to not be rushed. It is the time needed to fully and completely enjoy everything the parks present to us; more than what can be taken in during a week, two weeks, or even a month. Someday I’d like to have that time, and barring that, I’d like to be close enough to visit frequently and savor all the flavors of Walt Disney World.


I’d sit and watch and listen to a complete fountain cycle; two or three times.


I’d experience every attraction in Innoventions.


I’d find a place to sit in every pavilion on the World Showcase, for hours.


I’d visit every special event.


I’d find a park bench on the second level of the Main Street Station and watch the day go by.


Yes, if i lived in central florida i’d ...

Friday, August 6, 2010

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... be making my way over to Disney's Animal Kingdom. I am feeling like a little Finding Nemo - The Musical would be good right about now. "Now go out and have an adventure!"

Friday, July 30, 2010

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... spend a good part of my day in Epcot going through each exhibit / attraction in Innoventions. Every now and then I'll stop and look at something (I especially liked the home theater exhibit in there some years back), but more than likely I am using it as an air-conditioned shortcut. And this is not always a good thing. I know there are things in there that I would find extremely interesting; if only I had the time. If I lived in Central Florida, I'd have the time.

While we're at it, I miss Communicore.

Friday, July 9, 2010

...if i lived in central florida i'd...

... head over to the magic kingdom and take another backstage tour; possibly the backstage magic tour. in the spirit of the "this time next week", "this time last week" modes, i was on the keys to the kingdom tour. great tour! highly recommended!

Friday, June 25, 2010

...if I lived in central florida i'd

... be in the Magic Kingdom enjoying the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Oh wait, this time next week I'll be doing that very thing.

Friday, June 11, 2010

if i lived in central florida i'd...

...find a rocking chair overlooking the Town Square in Magic Kingdom and share a few quiet moments with my wife.

Friday, May 21, 2010

if i lived in central florida i'd...

... spend a long, lazy afternoon strolling the World Showcase Promenade enjoying the sights, sounds and smells. I know I may have mentioned this before, but with the kind of week I have been having, you cannot imagine how much I wish it were so right now.

Friday, May 7, 2010

if i lived in central florida i'd...

...spend the day in typhoon lagoon (again). but this time i’d ride all three courses of the slush ‘n’ gusher. then i’d go back and do it again and again and again.

Friday, April 30, 2010

if i lived in central florida i'd...

...strike out for Disney's Hollywood Studios and stop by The Writer's Stop. There I'd order a Carrot Cake Cookie and a hot Americano. I'd then pull a choice book from the shelf, find a nice chair, and spend a relaxing few hours in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Studios.

How about you?