Ryan’s Place

Epcot’s Ice Station Cool has always been a favorite destination of mine. That’s why I was disappointed last year when it was closed for reburishment. When I was there last August I thought they might actually be just taking the whole area down, but that’s not the case.

For the uninitiated, Ice Station Cool is walk-in Coca Cola advertisement that you don’t feel guilty spending some time at. The original version of it had you walking through a small corridor that was cooled to feel arctic and even had fake snow being generated. After your walk through the cold you were let out into a large area with soda fountains all over. Each fountain had multiple heads on it, dispensing Coke products from around the world. Mind you, Coca Cola itself was never dispensed there.

The fun of it is being able to try soft drinks from all over the world. The implication is that the sodas in front of you are what is commonly drank across the world. You get an idea of how tastes differ across the world and realize that there are many flavors out there that others take for granted that Americans have never even considered.

Israel has a stronlgy sweet and slightly sour Kinley Lemon drink, while China has a watermelon flavored cola. They also have Mezzo Mix from Germany and Japanese Vegitabeta. My (literally) bittersweet favorite was always Italy’s Beverly. The label on the fountain indicates it’s a common apertif, and its taste indicates it’s clearly not for filling up your Big Gulp jug. It’s entertaining to watch people try that nasty drink for the first time.

That’s why I was disappointed to see it shuttered in August of 2005. After some research on the Internet, I found out it wasn’t being torn down, but was actually being redone. I was happy, and eagerly awaited my return in August of 2006.

For its reopening, its name has been changed to Club Cool, and the ice station theme has been done away with. The attraction fits in the same area, but now has a cleaner, more cohesive feel to it. One was never exactly sure why they were walking through the arctic and what exactly an ice station was.

The fountains have seemingly been slightly redone and the merchandise areas have been moved around a bit. Beacuse it was all too easy to fill an empty Dasani bottle with Kinley Lemon and walk away (believe me, I’ve done it), the fountains dispense only enough and are sized just right for the the 2 ounce cups they provide.

On this visit, Beverly was noticeably missing, as were a few other drinks. You can see in the photos the prevalance of “Please Try Another Flavor” signs over the missing over certain fountain heads. There had been some speculationon WDW message boards that Beverly was going away for good and other flavors were to be rotated in, however after talking to a cast member, this proved to be false. Appparently the flavors that were there in the past are soon coming back, they’re just waitin for the next shipment of syrups to arrive before putting them back on tap.

I’m a big fan of taking pictures, in case you haven’t noticed, so when I saw an opportunity to snap a shot of something others might not have seen before, I took it. I was walking around Epcot’s World Showcase and saw some temporary walls put around a usually empty area. A door leading behind these walls was left wide open, I walked over and took a picture.

At the time, I thought what was behind the scenes might be some new exhibit or a reburishment of something I hadn’t noticed before. About the only thing I saw before taking the picture was a sign with the word “Australia” written across it in large letters. Without thinking what time of year it was, I pondered the idea of Disney finally adding a new country to the World Showcase.

Before I could think too much, a voice came from behind, “Do you work here?” “Huh?” I said, thinking it was a tourist getting persnickety with me. It was not in fact a tourist, but a cast member (a lowly character escort no less) who saw me take the picture. “You shouldn’t be taking pictures of that,” she said, then continued on to the backstage area along with TImon and Rafiki. I snapped a picture of her before she got too far, though.

I was somewhat maddened by the tone she took with me, and it was definitely not Disney-like. Should I have been taking pictures back there? Possibly not. Should they leave the door open to areas like that and then expect people not to be curious? Probably not. Should the cast member have taken that tone with me? Definitely not.

Later on, I reviewed the picture on my laptop in the room and thought about it for a bit more. It turns out this was the Australia exhibit for the upcoming Food and Wine Festival. If you zoom in on the signs in the background of the full-res image, you can see something about “wine” on them. Knowing that this is probably an annual exhibit makes the cast member’s comment seem silly. If everyone has seen this stuff before, there’s no reason to be so protective of it.

When Disney’s Animal Kingdom first opened they made a big deal about how conservation-oriented the park was and how well they treat the animals. They even created a themed area to reveal how the park runs and how the animals are cared for.

I seem to remember this area being called Conservation Station, but the past few times I’ve been to the AK it’s been Rafiki’s Planet Watch, with Conservation Station being just one area of it. My first visit to the area was with Cameron in 2000 and provided so little entertainment that I decided I didn’t have to go back.

Well, Ross had never been there, so I once again boarded the train that takes you somewhat backstage and lets you off at Conservation Station. The train is unique in the fact that passengers on it face one way so that only one side of the backstage area is revealed. That way the other side can have things Disney doesn’t want you to see, without entirely ruining the effect.

Once there, you wander down this little path, past some small demonstration areas with cast members talking about birds and how not-shooting them helps them live, or something. You end up at what I remember being the only part of Conservation Station. The inside of this building seems expansive and almost indicative of some missing exhibits. A small area to the side plays a loop video presentation, while windows on the veterinary care areas provide insight on how animals get treated.

Just outside of this building is a Disneyfied petting zoo area known as the Affection Section. The outer entrance of it has a hand wash station and is fenced off from the other area so that the animals don’t become escapees. Like any other petting zoo, the animal of choice to pet is the goat.

As I was wandering around, probably taking pictures, I felt something rub up against me. Realizing it was a small animal (and thankfully not a small child), I tried to step away. Before I even had a chance, the goat was nibbling at my pocket and quickly had my paper times guide in his mouth. By this time, people around me had noticed the indcident and watched in amazement as the hairy garbage-eater chomped away at and then swallowed my times guide.

I imagine these animals dine on times guides often enough for them to be considered a delicacy of sorts. It was a funny experience and I was baffled by how bold the goat was. The onlookers smiled at me and checked their own pockets for paper of their own, and the goat pranced away to find more bleached tree pulp to swallow.

I don’t like chain restaurants. When I travel for work my motto is “Never eat at a chain restaurant (that I’ve never been to).” Needless to say, I’ve always been apprehensive about going to certain restaurants at Disney World. There are so many unique places to eat at WDW that spending any time at a restaurant I could eat at at home would be a waste.

Disney World brings a different dimension to my no chains rule. There are certainly chains there: Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, ESPN Club, however there are also non-Disney owned restaurants. These generally get lumped into a category between Disney owned and chains. A plan B, if you will. They’re not the first places I seek out, but I’ll take them any day over eating at a chain.

This is right where L’Originale Alfredo di Roma at Italy’s World Showcase pavillion fits in. It’s actually an American outpost of a tiny Italian chain. In fact, they take claim to inventing fettucine alfredo, which, you’ll read, I had as my entree.

The free dining plan offer had every restaurant we tried for booked full – nothing at Akershus, Le Cellier, or San Angel Inn. So, when Disney Dining said there was a 4:45 opening at Italy, we took it.

Alfredo’s is tucked away in the rear of the Italy pavillion, in a building that is seemingly small (like so many other buildings at WDW). A line out the door indicated that this too, was going to be a busy meal. We checked in at the podium and waited for our Italian-born host to seat us. We were taken to a giant dining hall which was filled with both people and noise. Our table was between an 8 top and another 2 top, each with groups already seated.

Our waittress was extremely nice, and despite the robotic feel to her opening speech, we felt we would get good service. Ross and I ordered a glass of their sangria which was amazing. Sangria is generally a Spanish drink, so their Italian twist of honey and spices set it apart from others we’ve had. I suggest trying it yourself if you get the chance.

We had rationed out our dining plan points and determined that this meal would be paid for out of pocket. Because of that, we only got one appetizer, the melon and prosciutto. It was nothing to write home about, but hit the spot.

For an entree, Ross had a trio of pastas: lasagna, ziti and “dumplings,” while I had the aforementioned fettucine alfredo. The sauce was strongly flavorered, yet not too rich and greasy like some can be. The pasta was excellent, as it was made on site (or so they claim). I’ll take homemade pasta any day over the dried stuff.

We opted out of dessert as we had some snack credits remaining and had to eventually get to the Studios for Fantasmic.

My hesitation about non-Disney owned restaurants might largely be due to my compulsion for all things Disney, but I felt justified with it that night knowing that it wasn’t the best Italian meal ever but still was satisfactory. I wouldn’t rush to get an Alfredo’s reservation in the future, but faced with no tables at Le Cellier and a short line at Planet Hollywood, I’d check for an opening at Alfredo’s any day.

I’ve heard that Thursdays are the best nights to visit Pleasure Island, so the past few trips I’ve made it a point to visit on that night. Even with PI under some decent refurbishment work, it was still decently busy.

I remember going into the Adventurer’s Club with my parents when I was younger, but not really sticking around too long. I’m not sure if it was because the content was a little off-color, or if we were just there in a lull between shows. Since my first 21+ visit, I’ve made a point to return every trip.

The Club is a 1930′s themed hunting club tended to by period-themed improvisational actors. A cast of six or so are there any one night. The most interactive skits, and where you might want to lay-low, take place in the main salon. An animatronic colonel of sorts generally leads the proceedings there. The cast ridicules guests and each other, in adult-oriented ways that one would never imagine occur at Disney World.

Periodically throughout the night, skits take place in smaller rooms surrounding the main salon. The Mask Room has what seem to be 100 masks on the wall, each with animated features of some type or another. Mouths move on one, while eyebrows move on others. A few near the entrance even talk.

The library is, perhaps, the most entertaining room in the place. It’s large enough to hold 75 people or so, and can get full pretty quickly on busier nights. Tall shelves of books line the walls and a stage adorns the front of the room. A remote-controlled organ takes center stage.

While ordering our Kungalooshes (the AC’s signature drink), a lady saw me with my camera and offered to take a picture of us. I said sure and let her snap away. She was sitting at the bar and interacting a lot with the cast. We saw her again in the Mask Room, interacting like crazy with Hathaway Brown. One could only help but think she was a regular.

We stepped out for a bit to head to Mannequins, but were back in time for the Hoopla! show in the AC’s library. As we waited for things to finish up in the Treasure Room, the lady from before approached us. It was rather awkward, as she asked said she knew an excellent place to sit and wanted to know if we would sit with her. Ross, without thinking, said yes and we were whisked away (through a crowd of people waiting to go in!) to the library doors. Waiting for us there was her male friend.

I thought it was odd Ross had said yes, and I tried indicating that a few times without the lady noticing. As we had to wait there for a few minutes, the couple introduced themselves as (I think) Chris and Joanne. Now that we were in close quarters with them, we realized this was a mistake. Both reeked of body odor and Chris had massively foul breath. I tried to distance myself and let Ross do most of the talking, as he had gotten us into this.

As soon as the doors opened to let us into the library, our smelly friends pushed the attendant away and raced to the front of the room to a booth…by the stage. Apparently, Joanne said, you do not get harrassed at all by the cast if you sit there as they focus on the audience sitting at the tables. While we were small-talking waiting to get in, the odiferous duo mentioned this was only their second time at the AC. We thought this seemed odd as she interacted so much and knew that sitting at that booth would keep us safe from ridicule.

As you can imagine, the next half hour was memorable and miserable at the same time. The show they put on was great, per usual, but the company we were with brought us down. I was lucky enough to sit next to Chris, while Ross had an end seat. I tried to not talk to the nose-confounding twins as the show went on so I didn’t have to smell their breath, however I could still smell their B.O.

The Hoopla! show is the night cap at the AC, and includes a small skit at the beginning (where Pamela Perkins made fun of an audience member’s transulcent bra) followed by a wrap-up song in which every character gets a turn to sing about another. The song is based on “The Happy Wanderer,” but the second verse is improvised each time and the audience participates in the chorus.

I highly recommend going to the AC if you get a chance to hit up Pleasure Island at WDW.

As an aside, take note of the plastic-bubbled cameras in the far rear corner and right above the entrance of the Mask Room to see how the voices behind the masks know what’s going on. Same thing goes for the middle of the rear wall of the library and a couple places on stage. Anyone know where the Colonel gets his eyes in the main salon?

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I’m mildly addicted to a show call “How It’s Made” on the Discovery Channel. It’s syndicated episodes of a TV show that seemingly was on in Canada for many years. It’s comprised of 3-5 segments about, you guessed it, how things are made.

It never ceases to amaze me how many specialized machines we have for creating everyday things. Each time they show something new being made, I always end up thinking “I guess I never thought about that.”

The last segment is always something historical in nature. They’ll do a stylized animated skit, drawing all figures with one continuous line. The graphics remind me of Spaceship Earth or (former) World of Motion dioramas, it’s kind of weird.

This show is on at least twice a day, and Tivo knows to grab it for me. I have a tough time keeping up on them, so think there are about 20 shows piled up for me to watch right now. That’s not a bad thing.

You start to read the teaser for this on madison.com and think that Steve Bridges might be from Madison, but no:

“THE HOTTEST person in show business right now just might be a middle-aged overnight sensation whose name you probably don’t know, and whose face you wouldn’t recognize.”

It’s not him that is from Madison, but it’s his manager. Somehow that makes the Bush impersonator a local story. I don’t get it.

I took four days off work last week and headed out to Vegas. I hadn’t been there before, neither had Ross. It was quite the experience for both of us.

My overall impression was exactly what I expected it to be. I will definitely go back, but I’m in no hurry to do so. That isn’t to say I didn’t like it or found it boring, I just dislike cigarette smoke. I can’t stand it. If there is one thing that stood out about every single place I went there, it was the smoke. I fully expected it to be that way, and there’s nothing you can do to prepare for it or lessen the impact. I’d go to bed at night and my whole body would reek of smoke. My suitcase smelled like smoke and all I did was keep my dirty clothes in it. That part was miserable.

The other stand-out thing from my trip was all the walking. Again, I knew going into it that I’d be walking a lot. I always had this loomingly large idea of the strip in my head. Seeing it in person proved that quickly. We stayed at the Luxor, which is on the far end of the strip. It’s part of the MGM Grand juggernaut hotel group. It had nice amenities and the rooms were OK overall. There just wasn’t much about it that made it worthwhile to stay at all day. All the exciting hotels were down the street, towards the middle of the strip. And even half way down the strip is a decent walk.

We flew out of Milwaukee because of the price of tickets. They were something around $240ish each. I have a fetish for flying Northwest, and rightly so. I was upgraded on all four segments of the trip. Ross likes that. I’ve gotten to the point where if I don’t fly first class I feel let down. NW is lucky they didn’t let me down.

Mitchell Field is an interesting airport to depart from for me. I fly so much now that I get to see how different airports across the country handle different things. The layout of the check in area, baggage handling, security layout, etc. Flying through MKE is my chance to see how my hometown does travel. The first class line was empty and unattended, so I asked the agent at the line next to me if she was working the first class line. She said she was, but looked very annoyed. All I did was ask a question, whatever. She got me checked in and then neglected to put my priority tag on my luggage. She wasn’t happy I pointed this out. She helped R check in as well, and was just as “pleased” to do so. Towards the end of my encounter with her she had lightened up a bit and wished us both good luck. It didn’t help.

Security was completely empty. The officers looked excited to actually have passengers coming through. The conveyor belt guy had to go through R’s backpack for some reason. They completely missed the pair of scissors that was in there. Seriously, there was. I don’t feel like putting forth the effort to check policy on scissors, but I’m sure having those wasn’t kosher. The guy was nice about the search. He even offered to take the cookies in R’s bag from him. Nice guy, but wasn’t quite up to snuff on his searching ability.

The agent had said the Worldclub was closing at 7:00. We had checked in at 6:50. We stopped at the Worldclub anyway, just to see. It turns out they were closing at 7:30, which was perfect as that was the time our flight began boarding. We each had a drink and headed to the gate.

The gate area was loaded with people from our flight, as it was the last one out for the night. A group of Franklin HS’ers were there, as well as a lady who was picking her nose. I snapped a few pics of her rolling her booger between her fingers. Seriously, she did. The flight itself was mostly uneventful. The first class attendant was really nice and kept getting me more booze. I didn’t really need it, but she got it. That doesn’t mean I didn’t drink it, either. I didn’t want her to crack open a new bottle of wine, but she said someone behind me offered to finish the other half if I had some. I couldn’t say no. For the first time, I was served real snacks on a NW flight. A selection of cookies, chips and granola bars were offered. I accidentally took lemon cookies which I thought were lemon drops. I don’t do lemon cookies.

Landing was an amazing experience. We were seated on the left hand side of the plane and our approach took us right past the strip at night. The lights, buildings and general atmosphere was awesome to see from the air. It definitely served as a teaser of things to come. We landed on time and hit the ground running to beat some of the others from the flight to baggage claim. LAS has a tram that runs from the outlying terminals to the main one. We were one of the first people there, however by the time it arrived there were plenty of people there. The first thing that I noticed at the airport were the slot machines all over the place. I’m not sure who operates them or who recieves the profits, but they’re right in your face when you hit the ground. I didn’t bother touching them.

Baggage was supposed to be turning on the first carousel we stopped at, but after waiting for ten minutes it switched to another one, unannounced. This wouldn’t have been a big deal had there not been 150 people standing around the one we were at waiting for bags. By the time we got to the second carousel it was packed. Our bags came out after another 10 minutes and we proceeded to the line for cabs.

The cab line was deceptively long. Luckily, it moved quickly. Of course, people found it necessary to smoke in line. Something about the stress of waiting for a cab. The line probably took 20 minutes to wind through, which is a hassle when you’re toting a large suitcase behind you. Our cabbie whisked us away to the hotel via the 15. R later told me we were most likely getting ripped off if the cabbie took this route. It might seem quicker but the distance is longer so they get paid more. Had I known that I would have tipped less. Oh well.

The Luxor is a large pyramid structure poking out of the strip. A large, extremely bright light shines from its center. We could see it as we approached. After paying the cabbie we walked into the lobby area to check in. They somehow pipe the smell of mint into the lobby area, it stood out every time I passed through it.

The check in line took 2-3 minutes to get through and the check in process itself took a bit more. They didn’t have the room type I had reserved so the agent was trying to offer something else instead. I was hoping for an upgrade to a whirlpool suite. I figured she was bargaining so I might as well try to get the best possible room. After talking to her manager, I was shot down. I’d have to deal with a room on the 5th floor and a $20 discount for the night. I don’t mind discounts.

The elevator situation is quite the fiasco. The building itself is 25 storeys tall. One would assume he could use any elevator around to get to his room. That’s not the case. I knew they had special “inclinators” there, due to the pyramidal shape and location of the elevator shafts along the outside perimeter. They actually go up the building on a diagonal. It turns out that the first five floors can only be accessed by regular elevators, in a different area than the inclinators. We found out the hard way and eventually got to our room.

Sure, we were exhausted and wanted to get to sleep. Sure the earlier we went to bed the earlier we could get up and do things. But, it was just too tempting to wander around our hotel and the adjacent ones to see what the future wold bring us. We headed over to Mandalay Bay, which is one hotel down from ours and attached via a walkway. There was a noticeable difference in decor and amenities between the two hotels. Upscale shops lined the walkway, which eventually dumped us out to, where else, their casino.

My main interest in Vegas had switched from gambling to dining a while ago. Over the past decade or so, Vegas has become a dining destination like no other. We’re not talking Olive Garden and TGI Fridays, but Robuchon and Nobu. I hadn’t studied the exact locations of any of the restaurants, but I found my way over to Aureole and Red Square at MB. Seeing them was the first indication that everything I had read about Vegas was true and that good eats had the importance in Vegas that all the guide books told me it did.

We snapped a few pictures of our surroundings and hopped on the little tram that operates between MB, Luxor and the Excalibur to get back. After R partook in his customary watching of local TV, we were sleeping.

Sad:

Not much else to say:

Every once in a while when I’m falling asleep, just before I actually doze off, I have a sort of deja vu sensation. My eyes will be closed, the room is dark, and there’s no sound except the air conditioner. The situation is what one would expect when falling asleep. The feeling I get is that I’m not actually at my apartment in Madison, but back in Franklin in my old bedroom. The one my sister has now.

My mind is convinced that that’s where I am. Even when I initially open my eyes I feel like I’m someplace else. If I keep my eyes closed I can actually envision things around my old room, and believe that they should be there when I open them. My old dresser will be in the corner, red desk up against the window, bookshelf at my feet, and my nightstand to my back, with its Green Bay Packer lamp on top. I have to adjust for just a tiny bit before I realize where I truly am.

It’s not a bad thing, it’s just strange. It’s not something indicative of a desire to return to that room, just my mind calling attention to the fact that I’ve been through this routine for the past 23 years.

I’ve done the same thing at hotels, and I’ve been in plenty of those this year. Instead of thinking I’m home in my bed, I think that I’m in another hotel, one more familiar to me than the one I’m falling asleep in. It’s as if there’s some subconscious trigger in my head that indicates I’m falling asleep in someplace other than “home” and sends my thoughts to the surroundings of other hotels. When I realize I’m having one of these deja vu experiences, I will play along. I often switch my mental surroundings to a place I’m more fond of, someplace I’ve been many times and my presence at this location carries a pleasurable feeling. Usually this is Disney World. Of course.

I’ll be laying in bed at an All Star resort, with buzzing air conditioners from the rows of rooms that flank me. I’ll hear an occasional shout from a child, door bouncing off the security latch as someone goes for ice, or the roar that is toilet flushes from adjacent rooms at Disney resorts. It’s an instant transport to someplace I’d rather be. A mental paradigm shift.

Many nights, I get more thinking done in the 15 minutes it takes to doze off than I did all day. I never remember what I was thinking about the next morning. Maybe I’ll have a lingering sensation of having a good idea and the general topic of the idea, but never the specific notion. If I had a mental notebook to carry around I’d be 50% more intelligent. Or maybe I am 50% more intelligent than I think I am, but never remember it. In any case, I think that’s justification enough to warrant sleeping at work. Just as long as I wake up before I forget my thoughts.

I love the Food Network, I really do. I watch so much of it that Tivo grabs more shows from that channel than any other. I can watch reruns of some shows and like it because I pick up on things I hadn’t seen the last time I saw them. I like the shows where they travel around and show you food in other places. I even watch some of their cooking contests. I really love Good Eats. You can’t do much better than a show like that.

But on the other hand, one thing that I’ve noticed, maybe due to the span of years I’ve watched the network, is how much overlap the shows contain. It must be tough to get a show with a good premise, entertaining host and correct content but never progress into anything difficult. It always seems like shows want to make things easy for you and simplify your life. I have no problem with that, but once you hit show 200 of Emeril, you kind of want him to kick up the skill level a notch or two.

Cooking shows began as a way to make cuisine available to the masses. Julia Child can obviously be considered the matriarch of this movement. In her day, doing anything other than Swanson dinners or pot roast and mashed potatoes was complicated. It was ok for her to keep it simple. Her show forged a path for other shows that made cooking more accessible. The Frugal Gourmet, Jacques Pepin, Paul Prudhomme and even Cooking With Caprial were all foundations that indirectly built the Food Network. Let’s not forget Discovery’s Great Chefs, which provided quite a few afternoons of entertainment after school.

But now that I’ve watched so much Food TV, I’m getting tired of hearing the same old thing over and over. I know how to peel garlic, I know that a sub sandwich is called a hoagie, bomber or any number of other things. I don’t need to be shown that again. It’s time for the Food Network to dig in deep and bring out a show that takes simplifying cuisine and tosses it aside. Do a reality show of a real New York kitchen and keep the editing to a minimum. Have Emeril not talk down to his audience for once, and have him speak intelligently (if possible) instead. Why not a show about specific techniques for doing things? How to cut, how to use professional kitchen equipment, how to butcher your own cow.

Maybe I’ve just gotten to the point where the shows aren’t as entertaining because they all seem to rehash what another show has said. I still like to watch them, but I look them more for ideas on what to make moreso than how to do anything. I guess that’s why Alton Brown’s show intrigues me so much. He always goes in-depth into his show’s topics and then does variations on it. It’s never just a straight “here’s a recipe” sort of deal.

Let’s take Rachel Ray and have her go fancy places and review them. Let’s not always go to the best little shop aruond the corner to get food for under $4.99 and brag about it. What about a show on 4 star restaurants and why they are worth each star? A “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” for cuisine, if you will. How about a show specifically about drinks. They don’t have to be alcoholic, although I’d be partial to that. It could be how to make drinks with a certain spirit each week. What’s in each mixer, how to pour them, where they came from. I’m sure there’d be an audience for that. Find someone with some enthusiasm for wine and booze and throw in some good visuals and useful information and you have a series worth a few dozen episodes. Why hasn’t a Food Network show really devoted one episode to drinks anyway?

I know I started off saying I love the Food Network, and I mean that. I just think it’s time they branch out a bit and realize some of their most frequent viewers have hit the stage where shows seem to have the same information. It’s like a car factory. Each car that comes out is still relatively the same as the car before it, but each has been modified just a bit to fit a particular taste.