While today was supposed to be Castway Cay day, Tropical Storm Hanna has been rolling around and we are not docking in Castaway Cay today. We are somewhere around Freeport... I think.

Captain has advised us that we are safe and they are very aware of all weather reports. Safety is the number one concern and I know they are doing everything possible to keep us out of harms way. I certainly am not worried.

We are expecting revised Navigators with today's activities within the hour.

We do have rough seas today ... up to 30 foot swells.

Decks 4 and 10 are closed. All deck chairs have been removed. Crew is tying down items that may move.

Here are some pics from this morning:

Sunday at Walt Disney World was very humid and overcast, but at least it didn't pour rain like it did all day Saturday.

We got up early and went to the Beach Club Marketplace to grab a quick breakfast. 2 Ham and Cheese Omelets on a Crossaint with a coffee each was just over $15. The food was ok, like any quick service place. The cheese omelets were premade and they included a piece of ham on sandwich. Soggy crossant by the time I got back to the room. But removing the pastry left a quick protein breakfast.

Linda decided to take care of things in the room and run some errands. I headed to Epcot to see Storm Struck, the new exhibit in Innoventions.

I will write more about it another time, but parents please use caution when deciding if you child should see the show. It is VERY loud and VERY in your face. It's 3-D and there are just 3 rows so you are quite close to the auction. There are also special effects. From a Virtual Reality perspective it was quite realistic. After the 3D movie there are then questions on a monitor in front of you to test your knowledge of home protection techniques.

I did like that there was a child area outside the theatre, so that "child swap" is possible. There is a cool activity for the kids about storm preparation.

I have been very impressed with a couple recent additions to Innoventions, like Storm Struck and Where the Fire - as they are what Epcot is all about Edutainment!!!

After the show I wandered around Future World for a bit and then headed back to the Beach Club. Today was prep day -- getting all the last minute items reading for the evenings event at the American Adventure and also getting ready for the cruise.

Speaking of the cruise, we are all watching Tropical Storm Hanna very closely. All the cruisers I have talked to already here in Florida have great attitudes and are ready for the adventure that lies ahead. We are now affectionately calling it the Magical Mystery Cruise. We may or may not keep our Ports of Call. It was be interesting to see first hand how the Disney Cruise Line deals with hurricanes.

Soon, it was time for our lunch meeting at Wave, the new dining place in the Contemporary. Steve and Vickie Barrett, Beci and Annette from MouseFanTravel, and Linda and myself were meeting to go over last minute items for our special cruise.

I absolutely LOVED my Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Linda LOVED her Reuben. Steve thought the Vegetable Stew was also outstanding. Beci had a Cheeseburger which she enjoyed. Likewise, Annette enjoyed the Italian Chef Salad although it had small potatoes in it, which was odd. Vickie was probably the least satisfied of us with the Spice-crusted Chicken Salad. It would have been good except the chicken was all dark meat.

We split up after lunch. Linda, Steve and I went to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with LindaMac, Masayo, and Nozomi. I had managed to get one of the time slots for the DVC hosted tour of the Castle Suite. Steve had not seen the suite, so I gave him my slot. The 5 of them had a wonderful time seeing all the special touches in the suite.

Time to head back to the room and get ready for dinner. But first a nap. I'm not ashamed to say I have to nap each day when at WDW. One hour later, I felt refreshed and ready to go!

This evening was a very very special signature event at the American Adventure.
Time to head back to the room and get ready for dinner. But first a nap. I'm not ashamed to say I have to nap each day when at WDW. One hour later, I felt refreshed and ready to go!

Approximately 100 of us entered an elegant American Adventure atrium to round tables set up with candlelight. In addition to an elegant buffet and fondue table, attendees were invited to a private area in Italy to watch IllumiNations.

A wonderful day had come to an end and soon it will be time for the actual cruise to begin!

We are at Castway Cay today, our regularly planned stop. It's very nice out although fairly windy. Most of the excursions were cancelled but I know the Stingray one was still held. The Bahamas shop was closed as was the post office.

The Captain did swap Wed and Thurs so now we are at Sea on Wednesday and at Nassau on Thursday. They have told us they are watching the weather very very carefully and continuously.

Internet service has been VERY iffy and I'm sure the storms are all wreaking havoc with the satelite internet service.

Well, better go while I can log off....

More when we can.

8:00pm Another update from the Captain. We are going to Nassau on Wednesday as orginally planned!

Linda and I left a very quiet BWI airport on Saturday morning. We couldn't believe how empty the parking lot was at the terminal. Our skycap told us that number of travelers for Labor Day Friday and Sat, compared to last year, was down over 50%! WOW.

Same was true for our Southwest Flight. Can't tell you the last time I was on a fairly empty Southwest flight to Orlando... our plane yesterday was about 1/3 full.

We arrived to a very rainy Orlando. Got all our bagage, did the grocery stop thing and arrived at the Beach Club about 1ish.

The Magic began right away for us. While Linda took care of the luggage, I went to check in. Here's where I was quite impressed with the Beach Club... As I entered the foyer area from the outside, just before the doors to the lobby itself, a Cast Member came over and greeted me..

Checking in? Why Yes. And your last name? Wills. Come with me. I'll be honest, I was a bit dumbfounded. This hadn't happened to me before. He escorted me to the line at the front desk and then said.. this is too long, let me see what else I can do. He disappeared and returned a few minutes later and had me move over the Lobby Concierge for check in. I don't think in all the years I have been coming to WDW, that has ever happened!

Cast Member Grace checked me in and she was outstanding. Oh, your room isn't ready, let me find one that is for you. And with that, she picked up the phone and got me a room! I was thrilled. She let me know my Owner's Lockers were in storage ready for me. Had we checked our luggage? She take care of that. And soon we were ready to head to the room.

On the way we had our first sighting of Deb and Steve cruisers in the lobby, Jill and Carolyn!! These two ladies are just amazing with their magical spirit. They always make me smile. I got to meet their children and Jill's mom Brenda. We chatted for a bit and then saw our luggage making it's way down the hall...so off we went.

Our Bell Services Cast Member was also great.... I think his name was Robert? Without us realizing it, he had stopped and got ice for us so that when he put the luggage in the room, he filled our ice bucket. Great touch!!!!!

WOW -- This is the Disney service I have missed. Throughout the day, there were cast members in the lobby making sure things were going smoothly. Asking if we needed any assistance, etc. Oh and the gentleman that escorted me to check in, saw me later in the day and called me by name. Ok, whoever set this up at the Beach Club -- KUDOS!!!!

We went to the Captain's Galley in the Yacht Club for lunch. My grilled chicken sandwich was good. Linda was disappointed with her Fish and Chips. The fish batter was overly spiced and overly peppered....and Linda loves pepper.

We had a reservation at Brown Derby, but once we saw the weather, decided for plan B (cancel Brown Derby and go to a resort restaurant). I was pretty amazed that on a Saturday night of a holiday weekend, we were able to get a table for 4 at Flying Fish at 6pm.

Errands followed and at 5:30 met up with Beci and Annette to head over to Flying Fish for dinner. We had a great dinner, awesome bottle of wine, John Anthony 2004 Napa Cab. It's a splurge bottle, but a great one I highly recommend.

A special hello to Cast Member Penny former seater at Flying Fish and before that Artist Point. I asked where she was and they told me she was now part of the Dream Squad! She's going to be awesome!!!!

From dinner we went to Martha's Vineyard for relaxation. We were joined by Matt Hochberg and Marissa and Mary and Mike Newell (WDWToday. Podcast).

I was disappointed in the lounge. It had been a while since I was there, but gone was the wonderful wine list and instead, the standard Disney cocktail bar menu. The place was packed with families as it now seems to be the overflow waiting area for the Cape May Clam Bake. Also, a private party, complete with DJ, was happening in Ariels.

While there we spotted Deb and Steve cruisers Michelle and Jimmy and spent some time catching up with them.

All in all a wonderful first day!

It's now Sunday morning. Not raining, but supposed to today. I've decided to change my plans once again and not go to Animal Kingdom this morning.

We just got breakfast from the Marketplace -- it's ok and decent for quick service. Very limited breakfast items (unless you want pastry). The premade cheese omelets had a slice of ham added to them and put on a croisant.

I wanted to get this online... and now it's time to get ready for today!~

We held a random drawing this morning and the winning email belongs to

Chris and Jenny Murray!!!! Congratulations.

Thank you everyone!!!!!

Deb

Today, I have a very limited and very unique opportunity for 2 lucky folks.

Here's the scoop.

1) You must be in the WDW area on Sunday night, August 31, 2008
2) You must have your own admission into Epcot
3) You are TWO adults (both over 18)
4) You don't have dinner plans or you can cancel the plans you do have.
5) You must be free from 6:30pm until park closing.
6) You are interested in making a donation to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

So far so good?

Ok, Here's the deal. I have 2 tickets for the special private American Adventure Dinner Party hosted by Steve Barrett and Myself on Sunday night August 31, 2008.

These tickets were selling for $70/a piece, so it's a $140 value.

How this works....

By midnight tonight send me 25 words or less on why you'd like to attend the American Adventure dinner on Sunday night. Include the names of both adults who will be attending and where you are staying.

Mail this to allearsnet@yahoo.com Put AA dinner in the subject line.

I will do a drawing and select one winner who will receive 2 tickets. I will notify the selected email by email on Friday morning.

Once notified, you make an online donation to my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Fundraiser. The amount is up to you, but a minimum of $10 is required by the Avon Website. Once that is done, I'll send you specifics on where and when to meet me on Sunday.

This is not a contest or a sweepstakes. All decisions final by me. Lost emails are not my fault. There is no complaining or anything else. It's a bit of magic for you and a cause near and dear to me.

Time is a factor so act VERY quickly.

Good Luck!

The Land opened in Epcot's Future World on October 1, 1982 and was sponsored by Kraft. When the initial 10 year contract was up, Nestle became the new sponsor November 1992.

When the pavilion opened, the following components were in the building:

Listen to the Land Boat Ride - take a gentle cruise through various climates and learn about the history of farming. As the ride continued, you were taken into the future to see new and innovative techniques of both land and sea farming. While the ride is basically the same today, it has gone through several rehabs where the music and narration has changed.

Harvest Theatre - Symbiosis, an 18 minute film, explored the relationship between humans and their environment. The Harvest Theatre is still part of the pavilion, but now houses the environmental focused Circle of Life - Lion King movie with Timon and Pumba.

Kitchen Kaberet - these fun animated foods taught us about healthy eating and starred Bonnie Appetit, the Kitchen Krackpots and Hamm n Eggz. This attraction closed January 3, 1994 and gave way to Food Rocks on March 26, 1994 to make it more contemporary. Then on January 3, 2004, it was closed for good. Soarin now occupies that space once held by the singing fruits and vegies.

Farmer’s Market - 8 fast food booths offering wholesome and nutritious meals and snacks. Now called Sunshine Seasons

Broccoli & Co. - the souvenir store. As always, there is a merchandise store in every area.

The Good Turn Restaurant - a 250 seat revolving full service restaurant. It's gone through several name changes (including the Land Grille Room) and today is the Garden Grill.

The Land - Discover at Epcot -- Harvest new knowledge about man's relationship with planet Earth and dig into advanced food-growing technologies.

** Hydroponics
** Symbiosis and Resource Conservation
** History and Future of Agriculture
** Nutrition
** Aquaculture

Here are some postcards from the early days ...

"LAND - Explore creative partnerships with the land. Set sail for "Tomorrow's Harvest". Sing along at a show that has the whole town cooking. And enjoy country-store fun, food and flavor."

"Listen to the Land - in the "country fair" setting of the Land pavilion, review age old agriculture techniques. Then, sail through the environments of the world and glimpse Tomorrow's Harvest."

" The Kitchen Krackpots - During your tour through The Land, you will see a wacky show which tells the story of nutrition in a very unusual way." Notice that this postcard does refer to the Kitchen Krackpots which was the name of the band that played at the Kitchen Kaberet.

"Seasoned Performers flavor some spicy numbers on good nutrition at the Kitchen Kaberet, in the Land pavilion. Acts include Fiesta Fruit, Dairy Goods, and the hit of the Breakfast Circuit, Ham n Eggz".

The following photographs are digital images of the PanaVue slides that were sold at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot in the 80s.

Here are some websites that offer photos and/or information about the early days of the Land:

All Ears Kitchen Kaberet Archives

Epcot Field Guide - The Land

Lost Epcot Features descriptions and photos from the early days of the Land.

Do you have photos from the 1980s of the Land Pavilion or any of it's attractions? I'd love to see them and possibly include them in a future blog. Please send to
allearsnet at yahoo dot com
Thanks!

WOW! We have been planning this special cruise for well over a year now! Steve Barrett and myself are hosting a very special Disney Magic Cruise that begins September 1st. Originally we planned to do a 7 night cruise this fall, but when Disney announced this special 5 night cruise with 2 stops at Castaway Cay, we jumped on it!!

There has been a LOT of planning going on behind the scenes. And with that planning we hope we've included some Magic too.

Deb and Steve cruisers have access to special events designed just for them! Here are just a few of the planned events!

Steve will be doing Hidden Mickey Walk Abouts on the ship as well as hosting a Hidden Mickey hunt on Castaway Cay.

We have a Suite Tour set up for Embarkation Day with our cruisers having the opportunity to tour a one bedroom and two bedroom suite aboard the Disney Magic.

10 lucky folks had their cabin numbers drawn to dine in Palo's private dining room for brunch and also for dinner thanks to special arrangements by MouseFanTravel, the official travel agency of the Deb and Steve Cruise!

Oh and Steve and I are each hosting a boat of 10 folks to go Parasailing at Castaway Cay!!! That's always a special treat.

Oh and I forgot to mention the special dinner at the American Adventure that will be held on Sunday night August 31st! We even have some special magic thrown in for those attendees as well!

This weekend is time to pack the bags and get all the final items organized and ready to go.

LindaLou and I will be headed to Orlando on Saturday so look for blogs starting next weekend.

I planned to share some details about the trip to see if you might join me!

Like... it's an adult only trip.

Like...we'd be visiting Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons!

Like... Beci Mahnken of MouseFanTravel worked up an incredible deal for those who wish to adventure with us with the hopes we'd have enough folks sign up for it to be exclusive for us only!

Like Special Guests Steve Barrett (Hidden Mickeys) and Mike Newell (MouseWorldRadio and WDWToday Podcast) would be joining me on this Adventure.

"So what happened Deb"? you may be thinking.

This past Sunday I announced the Adventure on AllEars.net. By late Monday more than half the Quest for the West trip was booked.

Today, I am here to tell you the Quest for the West Adventure I am hosting is SOLD OUT.

Yes, within 72 hours, folks faxed their deposits to MouseFanTravel and we are now fully booked!

For those of you lucky enough to snag a spot... we are going to have a Fantastic Time! For those of you who missed out, MouseFanTravel is keeping a "waiting list".

And...for those families/adults that are still interested in joining an Adventure hosted by Beci and myself, fill out the blog comment form - be sure to select Deb's Blog and let me know what US Adventure you are seriously interested in.

We don't have any plans right now to add another trip, but you just never know what opportunities may present themselves!

Here are the US Adventures for 2009:

1) Golden Path to Yosemite: Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and San Francisco

2) Rocky Trails and Mountie Tales: Glacier National Park, Canadian Rockies, Banff National Park

3) Taming the Last Frontier Alaska: Fairbanks, Denali National Park & Reserve, Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage

4) Beantown: Boston, Newport and NYC

5) Backstage Magic: Hollywood and Disneyland® Resort

6) Spirit of America: Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Williamsburg

7) Southwest Splendors: Arizona and Utah: Sedona, Grand Canyon National Park, and Moab

Here are photos from Saturday, July 19, 2008. Most pictures are from LindaLou and a few from Scott Thomas. Enjoy....

The AllEars team is well represented!

Michelle, Cathy and Glo - Team AllEars

Keynote Speaker Dave Anderson checks out the Dream Team's Silent Auction

Deb bids on a Silent Auction Item

The Magic Meets Sponsors!

Getting ready for the Cruise Breakout!

Also during the first breakout session was Shontell Crawford, talking about the Disney Vacation Club.

and Disney's First Chief Magical Officer (CMO) Justin!

Deb gets a few minutes to chat with Justin.

WDWToday Podcast broadcast live the drawing for Palo meals during the Deb and Steve September cruise. Jill and Carolyn learn they will be joining Deb and Steve for a special Palo dinner!

Terry and Stephanie won Breakfast with Deb from the Dream Team Silent Auction during the Mousefest Cruise!

Laura wins the AllEars MagicMeets Prize Basket (value over $325)

There were 2 incredible Grand Prizes. Here is Sara Moore and Fred Block with the winner of the 7 night All Star Vacation Home prize.

Beci and Fred with the other Grand Prize winner - A cabin on the 2009 MouseFest Cruise!

Fred receives special gifts of thanks in honor of his 5 years of dedication to MagicMeets!

Still to come, Sunday at Magic Meets!

First up is the Meet before the Magic Event --

The Sponsors for this year's Meet before the Magic were Beci Mahnken (MouseFanTravel), Sara Moore (All Star Vacation Homes), Deb Wills (All Ears) and of course, Fred Block.

Magic Meets Door Prizes

Enjoying the light snacks

The happy door prize winner of the AllEars Basket o goodies.

While this event was winding down, the next event was being setup. Mike Scopa wrote a Pre-Magic Meets blog on Magic Tunes which will give you the background info.

Basically, it was a charity event benefiting Lou Mongello's Dream Team and my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

I want to thank everyone who attended this event and donated to these worthwhile causes. I was honored to receive half of the donations, a total of $325, which I have already deposited in my 2009 Avon Breast Cancer Walk Fundraiser!

Mike Scopa was the MC.

The 4 contestants were Lou Mongello, Annette Owens, Steve Barrett and myself. Suffice to say I was the first eliminated, LOL.

Here are some photos taken during the morning:

Lots of truck loading and unloading was done by a group of guys (Brad, Jim and others).

And some of us were at the ballroom to assist in unloading the cars

At some point the Mongello Family arrived... and went to check in.

And Fred was keeping things rolling on his Segway.

Many of the folks are still in the ballroom. The goal tonight was to help Mike Newell get all the audio set up. Me, it's past my bedtime and the next few days are VERY full.

Tomorrow, the official start of Magic Meets!
Will blog as time allows!!!!

We decided to sleep in this morning as it will be our last day of doing that until Monday! Beci and Shontell arrived last evening and we had a great time catching up.

After breakfast we packed the car and headed out. There was so much stuff to bring, that LindaLou and I each drove our own car. Fortunately, we will not have packed cars when we return home.

In the past, we have always left for Magic Meets on Friday, but last year so many of our friends arrived on Thursday that we decided we would do that also. In addition, it gives the speakers and sponsors time to catchup and spend some down time together before the arrival of over 500 attendees.

After we checked in and unloaded the car, we headed over to Perkins to meet up with folks who had already arrived.

Mike (AllEars.net and WDWToday Podcast) and Carol Scopa, drove in today from New Hampshire:

Mike (MouseWorldRadio and WDWToday Podcast) and Mary Newell drove in from New York:

Michelle Scribner-MacLean and LindaLou (AllEars.net) and Beci Mahnken (MouseFanTravel). Michelle flew in from New Hampshire, Beci (Seattle) and LindaLou drove in today from Maryland.

After a while, Mr. MagicMeets walked in the door, Fred Block!

We all chatted for a while and then decided to head back to the hotel, get settled in our rooms and reconnect later today.

And a surprise cake from the Felty Family!!!!!