Two of the things that I wanted to see were the mosaics at Cinderella Castle, and the Hall of Presidents.
The exquisite mosaics at Cinderella Castle were completed by Hanns Scharff. During WW2 Mr. Scharff was a Luftwaffe interrogator that was very so successful that after the war, his methods were adopted by the US. More here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanns_Scharff

Here are two of the 5 mosaic panels:







The other stop was the Hall of Presidents. I sat through it twice. Nice update to the whole presentation, new film, narrative, etc. I did notice that they changed the speech by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was voiced most often by Royal Dano, but this presentation had a different voice actor. Trumps speech focused on the sacrifice of veterans. I did notice that after I left the auditorium, that the "river" where the riverboat cruises was undergoing maintenance. It looked like a drained swamp to me:

I'm at Disney world currently and didn't know of either. Ill have to check out the castle interior.

I'm a WW2 history enthusiast and had never heard this story. Thank you for sharing this. I had never heard about Mr. Scharff. My family and I visited Disney World this past February and I stood in that very castle gazing at these mosaics and appreciating their beauty. Lo and behold they were hand crafted by a Wiley Nazi! Who'd of thunk?

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
I'm at Disney world currently and didn't know of either. Ill have to check out the castle interior.

If you're there now, also check out the Scharff mosaic at the entrance to the Land pavilion at EPCOT. The long walls on both sides are identical, save for a single stone that is a different color, left as a "signature".

You've got to be among the very smallest percentage of people attending WDW that would even care about these mosaics, let alone appreciate them. Not saying you're an odd-ball however, most of the people there couldn't care less.

If you're into mosaics or, can appreciate them, you should visit the town of Ravenna, Italy. The mosaics there in several of the churches/mausoleums are pretty stunning. After Rome fell, the Byzantine-era ruled and Ravenna was it's Western capitol.

As a local Central Florida resident, I'd like to extend a personal thank you to Sgt Neutron and 1967Goat for taking one for the team and paying all the ridiculous resort fees and taxes imposed at Disney. Your contributions to the local and state economy is appreciated.

I'll be at Disneyland this week. Anything like that, that I should check out on the left coast?

Tony.

SigForum is forever churning up new and interesting information. I read the Wikipedia article, was fascinated (thank you!) and now have ordered the book The Interrogator .

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
I'll be at Disneyland this week. Anything like that, that I should check out on the left coast?

Tony.

Yeah, get ready for the worst climate in the world. I was there last week (returned late last night) and I don't know how those people live there with the heat and humidity. It is brutal and relentless.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
I'll be at Disneyland this week. Anything like that, that I should check out on the left coast?

Tony.

Yeah, get ready for the worst climate in the world. I was there last week (returned late last night) and I don't know how those people live there with the heat and humidity. It is brutal and relentless.

At Disneyland, in California? Didn't know it got hot and humid there as well. It's bad enough here in Florida at Disney World.

I've probably seen the mosaics a few times, but didn't know the back story. I'll have to take a closer look if we go there again.

Looks like they had another new attraction at Disney World...skip down to the vid

https://www.washingtonexaminer...sign-at-disney-world

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
As a local Central Florida resident, I'd like to extend a personal thank you to Sgt Neutron and 1967Goat for taking one for the team and paying all the ridiculous resort fees and taxes imposed at Disney. Your contributions to the local and state economy is appreciated.

I just go along cause that's what dad's do. I am miserable.
Magic Kingdom yesterday and tomorrow. Epcot today.
Wish I was home on the new to me wakeboard boat. I honestly don't know how anyone can live in this climate. I am standing in line to get in and sweat is dripping.

Glad you enjoyed it.

My SIL and her husband go there 3-4 times a year. To each their own I guess, I have no desire.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
As a local Central Florida resident, I'd like to extend a personal thank you to Sgt Neutron and 1967Goat for taking one for the team and paying all the ridiculous resort fees and taxes imposed at Disney. Your contributions to the local and state economy is appreciated.

My contribution is somewhat less than others. A;though I stay "on property", I stay at Shades of Green, which is a US DOD AFRC (Armed Forces Recreation Center) operated resort. Since this is on DOD controlled property, local & state taxes are not collected.
Tickets are purchased at the Hotel, again no tax is collected, in addition to a 10% discount. I still pay taxes on any food or merchandise purchsed in the parks, but if I eat at the hotel, or buy merchandise in the small PX (post exchange) in the hotel, no taxes.
Normally we head down to FL in January to escape the Washington gray, rainy winter and get some sunshine. Not heading down again outside of the winter. I forgot about how the heat & humidity gang up on you.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
As a local Central Florida resident, I'd like to extend a personal thank you to Sgt Neutron and 1967Goat for taking one for the team and paying all the ridiculous resort fees and taxes imposed at Disney. Your contributions to the local and state economy is appreciated.

I just go along cause that's what dad's do. I am miserable.
Magic Kingdom yesterday and tomorrow. Epcot today.
Wish I was home on the new to me wakeboard boat. I honestly don't know how anyone can live in this climate. I am standing in line to get in and sweat is dripping.

As a dad who also had to endure the Disney phase with my son and other family, I can tell you without hesitation, Rule #1 of going to Disney is never to go during the summer months, which stretch from March to October.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:As a dad who also had to endure the Disney phase with my son and other family, I can tell you without hesitation, Rule #1 of going to Disney is never to go during the summer months, which stretch from March to October.

I'd say that's a critical part of a positive experience. We always used to go around my daughter's birthday in late January. Small crowds and cool temps. As a bonus, the hotels were cheaper at that time of year. I sure didn't mind doing it, but would probably feel very different if the timing included heat and crowds.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
I just go along cause that's what dad's do. I am miserable.
Magic Kingdom yesterday and tomorrow. Epcot today.
Wish I was home on the new to me wakeboard boat. I honestly don't know how anyone can live in this climate. I am standing in line to get in and sweat is dripping.

Native Floridian here. The key to Disney, if you are going in the summer/warmer months, is to split the day into 3 parts:

Part 1: Morning, 8-11am - be at the park BEFORE it opens, once it does immediately go ride the most popular ride (I.e. Splash or Space Mountain, Tower of Terror). Spend about 2-3 hours in the park, prioritizing rides from the most popular to least.

Part 2: Midday, 12-5:30pm - LEAVE THE PARK. Go to a Disney resort, there are free buses/monorails everywhere. Spent these 5 hours in blissful AC or a nice shaded area, have a nice lunch, doze off in a comfy chair, explore the gift shop etc. (my favorite is Wilderness Lodge to do this, there’s a boat from Magic Kingdom)

Part 3: Evening, 6-Park Close - stroll back into the park, see all of the exhausted, sweaty families streaming out with kids at the point of heat stroke. Leisurely begin doing rides from the least crowded, culminating in whatever super popular rides you missed or want to do again around park close.


Once you do this, you will laugh at your former self who tormented themselves in Florida heat during midday standing in line. That’s for suckers...