Let's go Lou-ping

[TnBob 311]

Did we run out of gas? Well, Fuel?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Did we run out of gas? Well, Fuel?

Where've you been, Bob? We've all been inside World Showcase drinking around the world. Just fixing to reboard the bus now....

[Lou... 3,118]

How was that ice cream? Wipe your chin Bob.

The second to last resort area is the Animal Kingdom Resort Area made up of Coronado Springs, All-Stars and the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Coronado Springs is first. It's another convention hotel, a moderate resort, and it's huge.

If you're into Mexican/Spanish food, you may want to check out the food offerings here. There are two quick service locations and one themed table service restaurant as well as a lakeside lounge and pool side bar. The pool area like all WDW pool areas is great.

As we head over to the All-Stars, we'll pass by Blizzard Beach, which is closed for refurb and Winter Summerland mini golf which is not.

The All-Stars resort is made up of three resorts, Sports, Music, and Movies. Some people swear that there is a difference between the three, but except for which large groups are booked at one of the three during certain times of the year and the theming, they're pretty much the same. The same cast members work at all three, the same buses stop at all three. There is one GM, food & beverage, recreation, retail, and room operations manager for all three, so how can they be different? I've stayed there a few times and for the price, I have no quams about staying there again.

The last of the three resorts is the Animal Kingdom Lodge, a deluxe, which includes Jambo House and a DVC, Kidani Village. Aesthetically the interior of both resorts is outstanding, especially the Jambo House. The exteriors, not so much. It's also the most unique Disney resort in that there are rooms overlooking one of four Savannas with many wild animals roaming free.

It has two table service, Sanaa and Jiko, and one buffet, Boma, restaurants that offer very different, but IMO, great tasting and unusual food.

One of the raps on the AKL is that it's so far away from everything. The bus ride from the AKL to MK is the same as the bus ride from Pop Century to MK. The bus ride from AKL to HS is about the same as the bus ride from the Grand Floridian to HS. And there are equivalent AKL bus rides for other resorts to Epcot and DTD. So, the too far away rap is baloney.

As an animal lover, this is where I would stay. I wonder if I can sneak Buddy in? Can you picture him chasing after the Giraffes?

[TnBob 311]

Oh thanks for wakeing me up! I think someone sliped me something....................Dave!

oh Animal Kingdom, I'm going back to sleep wake me when we get to, well anywhere.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I can see Buddy chasing the Giraffes. ... Go Buddy!

[Lou... 3,118]

Oh thanks for wakeing me up! I think someone sliped me something....................Dave!

oh Animal Kingdom, I'm going back to sleep wake me when we get to, well anywhere.

I thought of you as wrote that part. You and me, AK, next time.

[YENSIDCAMPER 66]

A couple of days after Christmas I had the bright idea that I wanted to eat at Earl of Sandwich for dinner. We drove over, and of course the DTD parking lots were jammed. So we bailed on that idea, and I figured we'd hit the food court at Port Orleans. I seemed to remember that they had a build your own pasta bar there, which INC and the girls thought was a good idea. Only problem was, I couldn't remember if it was POR or POFQ. The first entrance we came to was FQ, so I asked the guard if they had a food court. She said yes, and to come on in and enjoy. Well let me tell you, the pasta bar is not at FQ. And in fact, the food court at FQ kinda sucks. And not only was the food lacking, but the dining room is filled with giant Mardis Gras heads peering down at you when you eat. This was not appealing to Anna at all, I assure you.

Ok, sorry Lou. Move on with the tour.

but they have the best beignets for breakfast

move on nothing more to read here...

[Lou... 3,118]

but they have the best beignets for breakfast

Are you saying that you make a special trip to POFQ for a donut without a hole covered with sugar?

[kampfirekim 260]

Do you think that confusion is accidental or on porpoise?

:lmao1:

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

This is incredible. Thanks for the insights Lou.

Last February I took my daughter on a surprise trip to the World. We flew out and stayed at PC for 7 nights. I had time to use or loose at work, and I am not loosing time off. So... we left mom at home cause she couldn't get off work and away we went. I was impressed with the bus service at PC. Except the day that Mrs. O'Bama and her girls went to WWS for the cheerleader finals. Traffic was a nightmare that day.

[We4mickey 6]

Thanks for the tour Lou, love it!

[mommy rainbo.....Bo 41]

Thanks for tour. I think Buddy might need some help with the giraffes.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Thank you for the tour Mr. Lou.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

We have called the Swan and Dolphin "the dead fish hotel" for as long as I can remember. Being little kids we only thought dolphins were Flipper so that caused confusion and then my brother or I decided it looked like a dead fish.

Well, as any Navy Submariner will tell you (I used to be married to one), the "fish" on the Dolphin are the only true Dolphins!! Flipper and his brothers and sisters are PORPOISES!!!

(Although, those that work with them, have found scientific reason to call some of them dolphins)

That's what most people say, those don't look like a Dolphins.

Having worked there, we were given the real story behind the fish statues Obviously they are not the Dolphins that we're most familiar with. They are representations of the fish shown on old nautical maps, the "Nautical Dolphin". The actual images were copied from the fish statues in the very famous Triton Fountain in Rome.

There is also a Dolphinfish, better known as the Mahi-mahi.

The Dolphins on the Submarine Service badge are based on the mythological dolphins of Triton/King Neptune. The same ones are used at the Dolphin Resort. And yes, there is the Dolphin that has re-labeled with the Hawai'ian name mahi-mahi to cause/avoid confusion.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Best bus tour. EVAH.

I would LOVE to stay at the Beach club someday, and walk into the WS for drinks and/or dinner.

We stayed there once. It's nice but H-U-G-E. Our biggest complaint was that it took us forever to get to our room from the lobby. Oh and that Brian kept getting lost in the maze of hallways. :rofl2:

It was very cool though to be just a short walk to WS and the whole Boardwalk area.

We have called the Swan and Dolphin "the dead fish hotel" for as long as I can remember.

We always call it the Swalphin.

But Lou's right, there are definitely some cool places there. We've eaten sushi at Kimono's and it's probably a close second to the California Grill.

You can also walk to the Studios!!! Why wait for a slooooooow boat when walking is faster :)

Never wait for the sloooooow boat!

Coronado Springs is first. It's another convention hotel, a moderate resort, and it's huge.

If you're into Mexican/Spanish food, you may want to check out the food offerings here. There are two quick service locations and one themed table service restaurant as well as a lakeside lounge and pool side bar. The pool area like all WDW pool areas is great.

And a really cool lounge - Rix.

http://www.rixlounge.com/

LOVE the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's one of the few other resorts that I would really like to stay at some day and it's a great resort to just go explore. There are lots of areas that guests can view the animals on the savannah, and the resort as a whole is gorgeous. It's also one of our favorite resorts to dine at. Their QS is quite good, Boma is a great buffet that's very different from many others on property, and Jiko is just plain fantastic! We *still* haven't gotten to try Sanaa yet, but I hear really good things about it. I'm putting it at the top of the list of new places to try for our next trip.

Where to next, Lou?

[TnBob 311]

Vila Napoli!

[momof3kids-Yvonne 595]

Vila Napoli!

I think you forgot the rest of that statement and your z snap.

[Lou... 3,118]

Where to next, Lou?

Tomorrow we're going off the resort area lou-ping and we'll do some backstage stuff.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Looking forward to more sir. Thanks

[Lou... 3,118]

As the Fort is so close to all of the MK resorts and most of you are familiar with them, we'll move on and do some backstage lou-ping.

We're driving past the Contemporary on the right and Space mountain on the left. Further down on the right is the Pluto Lot. A CM parking lot. This lot is for non-costumed CMs. Buses pick up CMs here and bring them to the Utilidor main entrance.

Next on the right is a WDW Transportation Maintenance facility. The lower level services the MK railroad and the top level with the beams running into it services the Monorails. The Monorails have been breaking down a lot lately so these guys have been busy.

We'll make another right turn onto Facilities Way and pass the enormous Central Shops building. That's a building that most people would love to tour. If it needs to be fabricated, refurbished, or painted, that's where it's done. Directly behind it is the Ride and Show Engineering building. While Imagineering gets all the glory and publicity for their pie in the sky goofball ideas, Ride and Show does most of the actual real world engineering.

Before I retired, I was contacted by Ride & Show, asking if I would like to be interviewed for a design engineering position. But by that time I found out what they do and how they do it, I said thanks, but no thanks. I wasn't willing to take a step back. Disney engineering isn't at the level that it's perceived to be.

We'll stay on Facilities Way and head over to the MK watercraft area. This is where the MK boats are stored and serviced.

Look, there's the third Ferry. Usually they only need to use two ferrys, so the third can be found here. You can also see the smaller boats and the even the rental boats here too. This is where the Liberty Bell is towed to when it needs to be refurbished.

Heading back out and on the right is Costume Processing. That's where CM costumes are laundered. On the left is one of the Imagineering locations and on the right is Event & Decorating Support. Last is Holiday Services where the holiday decorations are fabricated and maintained.

Next up is Disney University. Lets park the bus and go inside. Before entering the main building is the office where CMs get their IDs. Entering the lobby, the cafeteria is on the left and some Disney propaganda is on the right. Straight ahead is one of the number of "Company D" CM stores. In addition to all sorts of Diseny stuff, CMs can also buy discount tickets here. Continuing down the hall we see some of the class rooms. These are where new hires spend their first day. The class is called Traditions and it's a lot of fun. Because I've come and gone so many times, I've had to take it 5 or 6 times. I've lost count, but it’s always fun. The first time I took it, it was a two day ordeal. Now it's just one. They also conduct re-training and continuing education for CMs at DU.

Back on the bus everyone.

Across from DU is the main parking lot for MK CMs and the bus pick up area. Costumed CMs are picked up here and brought to the Utilidor.

Let's go down the road to do some shopping.

There are four sections to the complex. The Cast Connection sells all sorts of new, discontinued, or over stocked Disney stuff. They also carry bulk food items. The tagged prices are discounted plus there is an additional CM discount. The tagged price is the same as what you'd find at the off property Disney discount stores, but with the CM discount, it's the lowest prices anywhere.

The second section is where the cash and carry items are for sale. It's all used items including CM costumes, furniture, art work, and decorations.

The third section is called Property Control. This is where no longer used items are auctioned off in a weekly silent auction. Lots of big items, machinery, arcade games, and misc. equipment. I've bid on a few items, but have never won.

The fourth section is where obsolete or flawed items can be found. While CM guests are allowed into the other three sections, only CMs are allowed here. The prices are low and it would be a haven for resellers if anyone were allowed in.

Let's head for the famous Utilidor or what is usually called the tunnels. Which, by the way, they are not because they're not underground. They are at ground level. MK is built on top. It was another stupid and expensive idea that Walt had and it was never repeated. Except for a few exceptions, all supplies have to come and go through there, including most CMs. All other parks utilize a perimeter road which doesn't suffer from the bottle neck problem..

At the gate, security has to check everyone's IDs. I vouched for all of you, so we're all set. Our first bus stop is where CMs that work at Story Book Circus get on and off. As we weave back, you'll notice that there is a lot going on back here. It's a zoo. That's because it's the main drop off point for CMs and supplies for most of MK. It's amazing that there aren't more accidents back here. Buses, delivery and maintenance trucks are everywhere. Add everything required to support the Fantasyland expansion and it's a nightmare. I'm not a big fan of driving the CM shuttle back here and I try to avoid it like the plague.

OK, we're here, straight ahead is the tunnel entrance. Once inside you can see that it's just a wide corridor that you might find underneath any large hotel. There is nothing magical about. If you kept walking, you'd come out behind Main St. near the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. And no, I have never seen Mickey walking around without his head on. That story is probably a myth.

Well hooligans, that's it, now get off my bus, lou-ping is over.......for now.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Thank you so much for the tour Mr. Lou. We had lots of fun.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Thanks for the tour Lou. It has been fun!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Awesome tour Lou!!!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

OK, we're here, straight ahead is the tunnel entrance. Once inside you can see that it's just a wide corridor that you might find underneath any large hotel. There is nothing magical about. If you kept walking, you'd come out behind Main St. near the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. And no, I have never seen Mickey walking around without his head on. That story is probably a myth.

No, but have you seen Walt's head walking around without its body?

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Great tour!