An Armadillo in Florida: a WDW Invasion Photo Thread

[Armadillo4]

(Ok, now I think we're on the next page!)

Alice, Mad Hatter and...Tigger? LOL!


I think Tigger just likes crossing over into whatever animated film that he wants.


The Aladdin-Dumbo-Pooh float made me realize that the movies mix and mingle in this parade.




This Aladdin looks like he came from New Jersey, or maybe the Midwest--definitely not Agrabah.


On second thought, he kinda reminds me of Dustysage.


The chimney sweeps are awesome parade characters!


I'm not quite sure I feel the same way about the bicycling animators.


The Villains float is pretty cool


Although there wasn't any room for Captain Hook




Here's an eclectic mix of characters.


I do love the Robin Hood characters though!


Back later with the last batch of parade pics!

[SummerInFL]

Stunning, honestly, thank you for sharing your great gift.

[aashee]

Your pictures are so crystal clear! Thanks Arm4!

[DonDuck]

Wow, you do not disappoint. Awesome updates!

[Mac Daddy]

Truly spectacular!

[Armadillo4]

Stunning, honestly, thank you for sharing your great gift.

Summer, it's my pleasure sharing these photos! When you have a subject matter like a Disney theme park, it really helps. LOL!

Your pictures are so crystal clear! Thanks Arm4!

Thanks aashee! I do have lots of blurry, out-of-focus pictures too, but figured it would be okay to leave those out.

[Armadillo4]

Wow, you do not disappoint. Awesome updates!

Thanks DonDuck for your note and for looking at this thread! It's much appreciated.

Truly spectacular!

Mac Daddy, you're too kind! Thanks again for your encouragement. By the way, your avatar pic is pretty cool.

[Armadillo4]

Continuing on with the rest of the parade, Peter Pan and Wendy come rolling through on their float.








Here comes Fairy Godmother, Cinderella and Prince Charming




After getting a pretty good photo earlier of Aurora in front of the castle, I was hoping to do the same with the castle's namesake herself. But the float's design and my position didn't quite work out. I was a little frustrated, but vowed that I'd have to come back to WDW and try again, right?


I LOVED all the small details on the float. This one is one of my favorites.


The other Princesses and Princes came by in quick succession. The floats were tightly bunched and I wish they were more spaced out to allow wider angle shots with the Castle.

Next is the lovely Belle and Beast


Then Prince Eric and Ariel


Ariel waves to the camera


And one of my favorite characters: Flounder


For the WDW experts, does Aurora normally appear in this sequence of floats when she's not in the pre-parade?

[aashee]

Thanks aashee! I do have lots of blurry, out-of-focus pictures too, but figured it would be okay to leave those out.

That's the difference between a great trip report and a good one. You know how to keep the blurry ones outs. Once again, your pictures really shine in the TR.

[Armadillo4]

The final float in the parade comes around the bend.




Our side of the float had Dale and Pluto. Chip and Donald were on the other side.






And Minnie Mouse helped end the parade on a happy note.


I actually felt that the final float was a little anticlimactic without Mickey next to Minnie. I think I'm so used to seeing Mickey and Minnie at the end of POD that it set some false expectations. Regardless, this was my first time seeing the Disney Dreams Come True Parade and I enjoyed it!

[Armadillo4]

After the parade, I wanted to go ride Pirates. But first, I had to snap a quick photo of the CMs ready to clean up the Hub.


This person faced the consequences of taking flash photos while on the ride.














I was pretty happy getting a couple decent shots of this scene, finally.






And who should be waiting at the end, except for Captain Jack Sparrow?


After Pirates, I stopped for a quick snack at Pecos Bill. Then it was a short trek over to Tomorrowland for my first experience with the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.






During the pre-show, I was chosen to buy churros for everyone in the audience. No one bothered to ask me afterwards for their churro. Their loss I guess.

I did some browsing down the Main Street stores before returning to Epcot on the Monorail. Next up: dinner at Boma!

[Armadillo4]

For my last night and dinner at WDW, I went to my FAVORITE restaurant on property, Boma. I didn't have an ADR and when I called Disney Dining a few days earlier, there were no openings. Might as well risk the walk-up and prepare for a wait.


Turns out, there was just a 10 minute wait! Woo-hoo!
To start, I love Boma's eclectic soup choices. For tonight, the waiter recommended the butternut squash soup. It was wonderful!


I then put together an appetizer tray featuring fried plantain corn salad, falafel w/yogurt mustard sauce, white bean hummus (amazing!) and pita bread.


The main entrees and sides were next: roasted pork (w/Boma mustard), BBQ tamarind salmon, roasted vegetables, and mealie bread. I tried to pick small pieces as I knew I'd be going back for seconds.


Seconds: prime rib and fufu (mashed potato medley). Note: I had earlier struck up some conversation with the CM carving the prime rib. When I brought my plate up for prime rib, he winked at me and placed two large pieces on my plate. Needless to say, I couldn't finish.


By this time, I had probably eaten the equivalent of two full meals. But that wasn't going to stop me from dessert: zebra domes, crunchy n'dizi and cassava cake. I swore to hit the gym for the next two weeks straight.


When I was done, I noticed that the restaurant had practically cleared out. There were approximately 15-20 diners left as I was leaving.


Coming up: a half-day of theme park entertainment (shows at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios) before flying back to Los Angeles.

[almandot]

no Aurora. Just maleficent in the villains float and the 3 fairies in front of the castle float

[WheresMickey]

Great report, love all the pictures! Can't wait to see more!

[flynnibus]

your POTC shots are most impressive! great camera work there