meinen Reisen MY TRAVELS mijn reizen mes voyages meus cursos mis viajes minhas viagens mo taisteal mine rejser mina resor i miei viaggi

This afternoon we went to Epcot. Later, we took the monorail from Epcot to Magic Kingdom. We had FastPasses for Buzz, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder.

Our flight to Costa Rica is in 8.5 hours!!! Andrea and I return Friday afternoon. I will try to post on Friday or Saturday.

Adios!

Today, we went to the Winter Park Farmer’s Market. We didn’t even realize that a 10K and 2-miler were going on this morning!! The runners received peacock medals. We ate at Panera and watched the kids’ races. Later, we went shopping a few stores and the outlet mall.

We rode Dinosaur and Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom and ate at Sweet Tomatoes. We also went to Epcot.

Today, we hosted a Japanese delegation at our place. They were interested in how Florida attracts and retains people in the construction industry.

More pictures are here: https://plus.google.com/photos/109969599133463855393/albums/6125788277200982369

Andrea arrived around 8 p.m.

We went to CityWalk at Universal. We ate nachos at Southwest Moe’s and Andrea had banana flavored ice cream at Menchie’s.

I met the Murphy’s at Magic Kingdom Friday night. We ate at Pecos Bill’s and rode a few rides. We saw the castle light show and the fireworks. On Saturday, I met them at Epcot in the afternoon. We saw all the topiaries. We ate at Norway for dinner. The temperature dropped from 87 on Thursday to 53 on Friday, so I got sick, but my cold only lasted about 24 hours. On Sunday afternoon, I met them at French Quarter and just relaxed around the pool. We walked to Riverside and explored Saratoga Springs where we spotted a snake. We ate at Wolfgang Puck’s for dinner.

The picture of the entrance of Poseidon’s Fury at Universal is the start of some pictures off my phone from Thursday on.

• Total acreage of the Walt Disney World Resort: 25,000
• The Walt Disney World Resort covers approximately 40 square miles in the heart of Central Florida
• Total acreage devoted to maintained landscapes and gardens: 4,200
• Number of interior plants used each year: 8,500
• The Festival Center is home to over 400 orchids during the Flower & Garden Festival
• Number of hanging baskets on show at one time: 1,000
• It takes 50 to 75 four-inch plants to create just one of our poinsettia balls for the holiday season
• Number of hanging baskets produced each year: about 5,000
• On average, each basket is in production for three months and ‘on state’ for three months
• Number of bedding plants and annuals planted each year: Over 3.5 million
• Over 200,000 additional bedding plants are added to the landscape each year for the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival
• Total number of plan species represented: nearly 3,500
• The species represent flora gathered from every continent except Antarctica
• Number of shrubs maintained in the landscaped: over 4 million
• Number of irrigation valves that are controlled by 848 irrigation controllers: 10,678

• There are over 120 hanging baskets at the bus turnaround at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, making it the largest basket set on property.
• The huge live oak tree by the pool at Disney’s Port Orleans, Riverside weighed in at 76 tons when it was moved to that spot on Earth Day 1991.
• During the winter holidays, we use over 90,000 poinsettias to introduce the holidays and create a festive atmosphere at our parks.
• Our pest management technicians practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by releasing beneficial insects like lacewings and predatory mites, wasps, and beetles.
• There are over 500 Disney Horticulture Cast Members; this diverse group of professionals includes gardeners, arborists, irrigation specialists, and pest management technicians.
• Our largest theme park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, covers just over 400 acres. The African savannah of the Kilimanjaro Safari alone is over 100 acres.
• There are 84 rain sensors located across property that monitor any local rainfall.
• Roughly, 80% of the Walt Disney World Resort is irrigated using reclaimed water.

• At the spectacular 75 days, the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is one of the largest flower and garden festivals in the United States.
• The festival encompasses more than 300 acres and more than a mile and a half of stunning gardens.
• More than 100 topiaries are on display during the Festival, including more than 70 Disney character topiaries.
• The tallest character topiary is Goofy at 14 feet tall.
• 216 Floating Gardens adorn Future World’s East & West Lake.
• 50 four-inch annuals are planted in one floating garden.
• The Festival Blooms, the floral design encircling Future World’s East & West Lake, showcases 76,000 bedding plants.
• It takes over four nights to plant just one side of the Festival Blooms.
• To bring ever more color to Future World, 37 Flower Towers have been added.
• Each flower tower is planted with 250 four-inch annuals.
• Over 600 native butterflies can be found fluttering at Butterflies on the Go.
• The Zebra Longwing, which lays its eggs on the Passion Vine, is the state butterfly for Florida.
• Over 1,200 orchids will be added to the Mexico Pavilion. To create this vibrant display, the orchids are affixed to the trees using sphagnum moss and monofilament.

Last night, I went to Celebration with the Murphys. We ate at the Columbia Restaurant. It was the same restaurant that sponsored the half-marathon in Tampa. It was really good. Tom got the filet mignon where the waiter lit it on fire at the table. I really like Kilwin’s, so we had some toasted coconut ice cream too. I showed them Old Town, where I used to live, and I got gas at Wawa. Wawa’s sure are popping up everywhere in Florida.

Tonight I met them at Epcot. We went to Club Cool, ate at France, and got caramel corn at Germany. We also watched IllumiNations. The Flower and Garden Festival started today. I think this weekend it really will be busier with more kiosks. I got the violet frozen desert lemonade which was really good.

The high today was 87 degrees, but I think it feels like a cool 80. I do not even break a sweat driving down to Disney without air conditioning.

Murphys arrived today. They came by the NEC and met my boss. He gave them a tour. We then went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant next my apartment (by the lake I run around).

I met Tom and Cindy at House of Blues tonight down at Disney Springs (once known as Downtown Disney). I was forced to park in the parking ramp. It had lighted signs saying how many parking spots were available in each row. They say this is new technology. Tesco in Ireland had this at least back in 2008 when I was over there, but it is still nice. There is a green light above each parking spot if the spot is open.

Afterwards, we walked around stopping at various stores.

Christopher (from our French Quarter days) and I went to Epcot tonight. We went around the world tasting chocolate. He is going to be a cruise director on a cruise that cruises American rivers. He might stop at the Port of Burlington one day.