>A Grand Disney World Favorite

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For most people, their “I’m in Disney” Moment happens when they see Cinderella Castle. For me this happens when I see the Grand Canyon Concourse. I have to go to the Contemporary Resort at some point, usually in the beginning, of my visit to Walt Disney World. I don’t know why, it may be because this was the first Disney World Resort I stayed in as a child, or maybe it’s just the view of the Grand Canyon Concourse from the Monorail above, but to me, the Grand Canyon Concourse is as exciting to see as the first view of Cinderella Castle is for many others. This is why it is one of My Favorite things in Disney World.

The Grand Canyon Concourse is located in the Contemporary Resort. It is actually the name given to the fourth floor of the Resort. The fourth floor is actually two floors in one. The upper part of the floor is the Monorail Station. To get there you have to go up an escalator or elevator near the bathrooms and elevator banks that are located in the middle of the floor. This is the only Monorail Station that is located in a building in Walt Disney World. From the Station and actually from the Monorail as you are pulling into the station or just passing through, you can see the lower part of the Fourth Floor, which is the Grand Canyon Concourse. This is always a Magical Experience for me.

The Grand Canyon Concourse is known to many as the home to Chef Mickey’s. Chef Mickey’s is a character meal buffet. They serve breakfast and dinner and Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy come around to your table as you eat. The Food is great; at dinner make sure you try the parmesan mashed potatoes. The Character visits are Fun and at different times throughout the meal they have a sing-along that can lead to Magical Experiences for the kids. I heavily recommend an Advance Dining Reservation, if you are planning on eating there, because the food is good and this character meal is one of the biggest and best!

Another place to eat on the Grand Canyon Concourse is the Contempo Café. The Contempo Café is a quick serve/counter restaurant that is open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. It is one of the new automated ordering food centers in Walt Disney World. You order your food at a kiosk, without going to the counter. You only go to the counter to pick up your food. The food here is like most of the Quick Serve/Counter meals in Disney World’s Resorts; it is good food that is reasonably priced, but it is nothing really flashy.

These two restaurants are next to a lounge, the Outer Rim, which has windows overlooking the resort’s pool and the Seven Seas Lagoon. The Outer Rim is a full service bar with specialty drinks and light snacks. This is a great place to watch the Electric Water Pageant which is very cool to watch and is another Magical Experience that many people miss.

The Electrical Water Pageant is an electrical parade out on the water. There are 14 floats that travel around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. The floats all have lights on them, which are made into shapes like sea creatures and other aquatic animals. The “parade” is accompanied by music from Disney movies, such as the Little Mermaid and Peter Pan (although sitting inside the Contemporary you cannot hear the music). As the Pageant comes to an end, the lighted shapes change to a Patriotic theme and so does the music.

All three of these food and drink places are to the left of the Grand Canyon Concourse as you are looking at the 90 foot Mosaic that goes from the Floor to the Ceiling. This Mosaic has been in the Contemporary since the Resort opened in 1971 and

features a 5 legged goat among other wonderful things. The Mosaic was made by Mary Blair who is also responsible for the designing of it’s a Small World and has 1,800 1-square-foot tiles and took 18 months to construct.

To the right of the Mosaic, There are four different kinds of shopping experiences, from Disney clothing and gifts to health and beauty items. My favorite store on Grand Canyon Concourse is Definitely Bayview Gifts, which according to Disney’s site “ offers unique Disney-branded souvenirs, chocolates, gifts for the home, collectibles, watches, jewelry, framed art and both men’s and women’s fashions.” In other words it has some cool Disney Stuff, which can make for a Magical Experience.

Another neat thing in the shopping area of the Grand Canyon Concourse is the Mickey Mouse Ear Sculpture that used to be behind the Resort, in an area near the pool. This Sculpture is large enough for two adults to each sit in an ear to have their picture taken. They also have a huge Disney Snow globe in this area. A new addition to the Grand Canyon Concourse is the Sky Bridge that connects the Bay lake Tower (the New Disney Vacation Club Resort) to the Grand Canyon Concourse. To use this bridge you need to have a key card form your room in Bay Lake Tower.

So, now you know about one of my favorite things in Walt Disney World. The Unknown Magics that many people miss the Grand Canyon Concourse. It is a place that brings Magical Experiences in many different ways, from great Character Meals to incredible lagoon views where you can see things only presented in Disney World. So, next time you’re in the Magic Kingdom, take a monorail ride to the Contemporary Resort and see one of my favorite things in Walt Disney World.

>Ooooh, Ahhhhhh (part 1)

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The Fireworks in Walt Disney World are the best hands down anywhere. The Best! There is no comparison, Disney does it well and they do it every night, sometimes more than once, in two different parks. Estimates for how much it

costs them a night range from $10,000-$35,000. They know how to do Fireworks. And everyone knows that you need to see the Fireworks in The Magic Kingdom, and in Epcot. And if you are able to get to see Fantasmic at Disney Hollywood Studios that is a neat Experience as well. These Experiences are Magical in themselves, watching the Fireworks explode above Cinderella Castle, as you stand at the end of Main Street USA, or looking across the World Show Case Lagoon at The American Experience and watch Illuminations, will give you goose-bumps.

So, how am I going to tell you new and Unknown Magic about the Fireworks? Well how about how to watch them with little or no crowd or in a different place so that you can experience them as few do. This post will not be all inclusive, but will be the first of a three part series of weekly posts on the Firework experience at Walt Disney World, so make sure you come back to find more Unknown places to view the Fireworks for a Magical Experience.

We’re going to start with the Magic Kingdom. The Firework show right now is called Wishes Nighttime Spectacular and as the Disney website says “Wishes Nighttime Spectacular is an amazing, high-tech fireworks show at Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World Resort.” In Early June, they are changing the show to Summer Nightastic! Fireworks Spectacular, this will be part of their Summer Nightastic Celebration.

If you are in Walt Disney World for the first time, and have already caught the Fireworks from Main Street USA (the best is from above the Train Station if you have the time to sit and wait), there are other places to see the fireworks from that can be Magical. One place that we happened upon by accident one trip was next to Dumbo the Flying Elephant. The Fireworks actually come from right behind that area. It is very different to actually see them flying up to the sky basically right past you. I Do Not Recommend watching the Fireworks from this area if you do not like loud noises or have small children with you.

There is another place in the park that we enjoyed other than just for the Fireworks themselves. As part of the Wishes program, Tinkerbell Floats, from Cinderella Castle across the sky. If you set yourself up on the rocks along the walkway from Main Street USA to Tomorrowland, as you go past the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station, (you make the right immediately after the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street) Tinkerbell will actually fly right past you, which we all found very cool.

Another great place to catch the Magic Kingdom Fireworks is on the top of the Contemporary Resort. The top floor of the Contemporary Resort is home to the California Grill Restaurant. If you are lucky enough to have a reservation later in the evening and ask for a view of the Magic Kingdom, you will be able to watch the Fireworks while you are dining on an award winning meal. If the California Grill is not your cup of tea, you can still take the

elevator to the 15th floor of the Contemporary and then walk right past the entrance to the restaurant, and walk out on the observation deck. From here you can see the Fireworks with a few other people and get a different view of them, as this viewing angle does not look right at Cinderella Castle. After the Fireworks are over, you can catch an elevator to the Grand Canyon Concourse Monorail Station and go where you need to go without the hassle of fighting the crowd to get out of the park.

As mentioned in a previous post, The Beach behind the Polynesian Resort is one of my favorite places to watch the Magic Kingdom Fireworks. It is so nice to sit on a beach chair in the sand and watch the Sky above Cinderella Castle light up with excitement. Another great thing about this location, besides the lack of crowd, is that the kids can run around and play in the sand and just be kids. This is important after a long day in the parks. When you wait in the
Magic Kingdom for the Fireworks to begin, you will notice people start to set themselves up for viewing anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour before they are shot off. Here you don’t have to do that without having to worry if your spot is going to be taken, before the fireworks even begin. I do recommend if you want a chair or a hammock to get there a little while before they begin, but you don’t have to stop your enjoyment an hour before hand.

Another really neat Magical Experience if you plan it right, which does take some doing, is riding the Monorail during the Fireworks show. It is very neat to see. This one however is difficult to do, because of the timing aspect, and it is also not a great way to see all of the Fireworks, because you keep stopping in the stations.

So, now you know, Some Magical places to Experience the Magic Kingdom Fireworks, without being on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. After you see them once from Main Street, check them out these other places for A Magical Experience you won’t forget.

For an overview of the Wishes Nightime Spectacular check out the Disney site.