It's A Small World

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears. It's a world of hopes, and a world of fears. -It's A Small World

Along with Carousel of Progress, the "Its a small World" ride made its premiere at the 1964 World Fair. After the fair was over the ride was re-assembled at Disneyland.

The "It's a small world" is an attraction that people have a love-hate relationship with. When you visit Disney you feel obligated to go on the ride, and then you spend the rest of the trip hating the ride because you keep singing the theme song over and over again.

Here are some notable facts about this ride:

• This is the only water ride in DisneyWorld where you won't get wet.
• In Walt Disney World the power for It's a Small World and Haunted Mansion is from the same source. So if there is a power issue at one ride, it will impact the other ride.
• The exterior design are different between the two parks. In Disneyland, the clock display is very visible to people walking around Fantasyland. In DisneyWorld, you can't see the clock display unless you're in the inside waiting area.
• The display gets a Christmas seasonal makeover, which causes the attraction to be closed. When the Christmas season is over, the ride is shut down for a couple of days to change the The ride is also closed when Disney has to take down the display.
• Disney spends a lot of effort on the clock, plan your ride so that you can see the hourly time show.
• After you get on the boat, be sure to wave at the security people. They are always waving and making sure everyone is sitting before the boat moves.
• You can buy an "It's a Small World" boat toy at the Emporium Shop on Main Street USA. Simply ask a cast member for it. It's a perfect tub toy for any preschool.
• At Disneyland, the turrets and gold colored ornaments on the outside of the Small World Ride are an actual 22K gold leaf. Normal gold tone paint had been used early on when the ride first opened but the paint would oxidize very quickly and need to be replaced on a continual basis. While initially expensive to gold leaf, the gold is actually more cost effective in the long run.
• At the end of It's a Small World, there are signs with the word "Goodbye" in different languages from all over the world. However the sign that supposedly represents Japan is the Japanese word "Arigato" meaning "Thank You".
• In "It's a Small World" in Disneyland, there is a clown holding a "Help Me!" sign. The clown holding it is the only character in the whole ride that is not smiling - he has a little frown. The sign is just to keep him in character.
• There are no American Small World scenes in Walt Disney World's the Magic Kingdom. There's one in Disneyland Paris.
• All seven princesses are someplace on the ride. This is a fun thing for little ones to search for. Tip: Expect them to be in the lands where the character appears in.
• Total uninterrupted ride time is 10:30, this tends to be slightly longer when it's extremely busy as the boats bump into each other as the waiting queue causes a backup.
• Listen closely during the grand finale of the Muppet Show when all the soldiers come out carrying the different countries flags. At one point you can hear them softly singing "It's A Small World!"

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Carousel of Progress

One of the oldest continuing attentions in Disney World is the Carousel of Progress which made its original debut at the 1964 World Fair. After the fair, it was moved to Tomorrowland Disneyland and stayed there until 1974. In 1975, it premiered in Walt Disney World.

The Carousel of Progress offers Disney guests a unique opportunity to sit in a moving theater and learn about how technology in the 20th Century has improved the American Family.

The entire show is just about 20 minutes long, which makes this a great place for little ones to rest for a bit. My 4-year-old daughter enjoyed sitting through the show and listening to the music.

The Carousel of Progress is a great place to head to when a sudden afternoon rain storm hits. Much of the waiting area is under cover and you won't have to wait too long to get in. If it's still raining after the ride, you can use the People Mover as cover to get something to eat or shopping.

Just about every seat in the theater is a good seat. I have found that the center seats in the back two rows to offer the best vantage point to see everything going on. If you want to look at the details sit in front row.

Photography and videotaping are not permitted during the show. I have been to a couple of shows where I got distracted because of the rear camera screen or the occasional flash photography. If you plan to film the show, please do it in the back row and learn how to take pictures without a flash.

Despite the no video recording policy, Disney Guest still managed to get some good quality videos on Youtube.

Here are some things to pay attention to on your next show:

• In the first Act, "Turn of the Century" there is a calendar on the back wall - near the clock. Check out the month and year. (You may need to sit in the front row to the far right for this one.)
• In the first Act a little girl is introduced helping the mother with the laundry but then is never mentioned again. What happened to her?
• In the 2nd Act look at the fathers shoes, it looks like that he has on two left shoes.
• There is a cat in every Act. You do have to look hard in some Act, but there is a cat showplace.
• The original Imagineers created the dog on the Carousel of Progress to look exactly like Walt Disney's Dog. It's the same dog you see on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, holding the key the prisoners want.
• In every Act there is a well placed hidden Mickey. In the final Act, you can see at least three; include one very well place Mickey Mouse stuff figure by the presents under the tree. Look around the room for other "Hidden Mickey."
• In the last scene, if you look at the billboard you will see a note which says - "Marty called - he wants changes!" This is certainly a poke at Walt Disney Imagineering President Marty Skylar, who always made last minute changes.
• Can you guess where in the United States the Carousel of Progress family actually lives? Hint: It's not California or Florida! Look for clues throughout the show!

Walt Disney was a fan of the Carousel of Progress and told many people that it was his favorite attraction. He did a lot of work for the 1964 World Fair, but he spent most of his time making sure that the Carousel of Progress came out just right.

A really cool thing that Disney did was to add a date to the Carousel of Progress sign in Tomorrowland. This allowed guests the opportunity to take pictures of the sign with a dated milestone of their trip. A few years ago the date was removed from the sign. It's not clear why Disney did this. Currently, there's no milestone landmark that guest can take as a traditional souvenir photo.

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Disney's Magical Express

In 2005, Disney made staying on the property a lot easier with the Disney Magical Express from the Orlando International airport to the Resorts in Disney World. This service will pick up your luggage and deliver it safely to your room. Traveler that stay on Disney property no longer has to plan for transportation cost from the airport to their resort and vice versa.

Getting to the Magical Express Bus in the airport terminal can be a bit tricky. Orlando International airport is huge. The signs at the airport can be hard to read with all the visual distractions.

So here are some clear instructions on getting to the loading area:

The Disney Magical Express bus is located in the Main Terminal on side B at the Ground Transportation Level. When you get off the airplane at a Gate terminal, you will need to take the train to the main terminal. Once you are in the main terminal, head to Side B and then to the Ground Transportation area. (Referrer to the map on how to get to the Disney Magical Express location.) You should be looking for the "Disney Airport Welcome Center."

Travelers Tip: The Main terminal area is big, simply look for the Gares 30-49 (United) then take the stairs need the trains to the Ground Transportation.

Here are some important things to know:

• Plan to take your bathroom break before you arrive at the "Disney Airport Welcome Center." Tip: Use the ones in the Main Terminal area and not the ones near the Bus area.
• Car seats are not permitted on the motor coaches and must be stowed underneath the motorcoach.
• Once you arrive at the bus area find your resort name at one of the waiting lines and someone will come up to you and check you in.
• Reminder: Don't pack your magic bands in your suitcase, you will need them to confirm your reservation and get in your hotel room.
• Your luggage may take up to 3 hours to be delivered to your room after you arrive at your Resort hotel.
• As you travel to your hotel, you will watch a short video on your Disney Magical Express experience. Your bus may make as many as four stops before you arrive at your resort. Your driver will let you know the various stops they will make.
• It should take about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the Walt Disney World area.
• Bus drivers accept tips if you feel that they have done an exceptional job and made your journey awesome. Consider $1 a bag, or $2 if your bag is exception heavy. (Bonus: Consider having your child give the tip to the driver.)

Once you arrive at your resort, look for the Resort Airline Check-In Service which should be near the Lobby. You'll most likely use this to make the return trip a bit easier. Good to know in advance!

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Quietest Place in the Magic Kingdom

There's no question about it, Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom in Disney World is a fun place to bring kids. That's the whole reason the Walt Disney built the park. It's a fun place for the whole family.

There is a problem when the littlest one needs a fairly quiet place to take a nap. As many people may encounter, there is no real quiet place in the Magic Kingdom.

One would think the area between the railroad station in fantasyland and Space Mountain would be the perfect spot. Unfortunately, it's pretty busy because its the only legal smoking area in the Magic Kingdom. A smoking area isn't a good nap spot for kids.

The rest of the park is tough because of sounds from attractions and the crowds walking around. In addition, Disney likes to add music any place it can to liven up the mood.

Where is the perfect napping spot?

The perfect napping spot we have found is the Tomorrowland terrace. This is located between Main Street and Tomorrowland, near the Plaza Restaurant. Simply take a right after the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and follow

During the past few visits we found the place to be empty and fairly quiet. The metal chairs do make some noise when people move them to sit down. Otherwise, the only sound you do hear is the music which we found to be quieter than the rest of the park.

We have found this to be a great location when a sudden rainstorm occurs and you need a place to stay dry for a bit. There's plenty of room for everyone. You don???t feel trap and the bathrooms are nearby.

Since this isn't a very busy area, we have found that the bathrooms at the top of the terrace are not kept up to other areas of the park. It is certainly not what I would expect from Disney, where they do very good job paying attention to details. Your nearest clean bathrooms would be next to the Plaza Restaurant .

What about the Baby Care Centers?

The Baby Center does have some quiet rooms where Moms and babies can sit and relax. The problem is that you have to take the baby out of the stroller - which isn't good if they are already napping. In addition, there's limited seating and there is a chance of other babies crying and waking up your child.

I think your best bet is to check out the Tomorrowland Terrence.

Got any Disney ideas that you wish to share? Let me know, and I'll be happy to post it.

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Haunted Mansion Light Shadow Box

Disneyland Haunted Mansion The Three Hitch Hiking Ghosts Olszewski Gallery Of Light Shadow Box

Instead of buying cheap souvenirs on your next Disney vacation, consider getting something practical or valuable to help you remember your trip. Yes, you're better off spending more than throwing away your money on a cheap item.

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I have found that in most cases, cheap souvenirs will get used for a couple of weeks, after the vacation, and then loose its appeal. Eventually it will be put aside in a bin to be donated or put in a yard sale.

Disney has a great premium souvenirs selection available at selected stored on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom and in several stores in Downtown Disney. On our last trip to Disneyworld, we stopped at the ‎The Art of Disney in downtown Disney. The store sells all sorts of unique artwork featuring various Disney characters.

The Haunted Mansion Light Up Box

Among all the art displays, I found a really cool Haunted Mansion light up box that I had to have. It's a small 4x4 inch box and inside is the Hitch Hiking Ghost scene from the Haunted Mansion ride. I instantly thought it would be perfect on my home desk. So we purchased it for $99 and had it ship home. (No chance that I was going to risk a bag handler break this item)

It took a week for the package to arrive home and I was very excited to see it again. The box is sitting on my desk at a perfect height so that I can turn it on and see the Haunted Mansion. It a very cool souvenir that I like to show anyone coming over to our house. I feel it was worth the money and I do remember the trip every time I turn the box on.

I got another Haunted Mansion light up box for my birthday. This one features Madam Leota and the various music items that are in the room with her in the Haunted Mansion. Both of these look really cool next to each other.

So on your next trip, try to come up with some type of practical souvenir that you can use every day. Consider your desk at home or at work and what unique item that you can put on your desk. One side note to this blog posting:

The Fake Ice Cream Story

If you should visit the ?Ben and Jerry?s? store in Vermont in your travels, don?t get the fake spilled ice cream in the container for the office. I purchased this last year and thought it would look really cool on my desk. However, the people who clean the office didn?t get the joke and threw it away the same day I placed it.

Seriously!

Someone from the cleaning crew picked up the cup and threw it away. I guess it was too real looking for them to realized that it was fake. It was that event that I decided that it wasn?t worth bringing anything nice on my desk at work. An expensive $12 lesson.

This isn?t the only thing that the cleaning crew threw away. Last year when Coke ran a promotion when they had names on the bottle. My college roommate found two bottles with my name and gave them to me. The cleaning crew assumed it was trash and threw those away too. (or at least probably returned the containers to get the deposit refund.)

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Best Haunted Mansion Night Shots

Three Tips to get the best Haunted Mansion photos

Here are three things that you need to have a successful experience taking photos of the Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion at night. Disney does a great job with lighting up the mansion and taking pictures of it at night can be very tricky.

A Good Camera

While you can try to take a picture of the Haunted Mansion with an iPhone 6s Plus, you are much better using a camera that has a low relative aperture or f-number.

Cameras such as the Nikon DF, Olympus E-M5, Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EOS 7D and Olympus XZ-2 iHS have taken phenomenal night shots of the Haunted Mansion. You don't need to spend a lot of money on a camera, just look for one that has a small Sensor size and has the ability to shoot in low light conditions.

Make sure to buy the camera long before you head to the Magic Kingdom. You can learn how to use the camera by challenging yourself to take pictures of different surroundings and with different lighting. Go outside and take pictures of public buildings that are light up. College Buildings and Downtowns would be good practice settings.

Yes, you can use your smart phone to take pictures. You'll get really good results when you look at the picture on your phone. I have found that that same awesome picture on my phone looks very blurry on my computer or on paper. You will get a slightly darker picture than if you use a regular camera.

Tripod

You can still bring a tripod into the Magic Kingdom in Disney World. Disney knows that a lot of people like to take pictures around the park at night. Any photo expert will tell you that the best night pictures are taken using a tripod.

You can use any standard travel tripod. Don't spend too much on anything very fancy. You just need one that will support your camera and lens. You can bring the tripod to the park and leave it in the lockers just off Main Street until you need it.

You dont need to bring a full size tripod, mini tripods will work just fine. There are plenty of places to put a Joby GripTight tripod, Ravelli Tripod or a Manfrotto Mini Tripod.

A tripod is key to having a nice steady shot.

Location, Location, Location

The key thing to remember when your taking night photos that there are special effects going on at the Mansion. Every four minutes, inside the mansion there will be a person that appears to be walking in the conservatory. If you are using a camera timer setting you should be away of the sudden light change as it may impact your time-lapse picture.

The best location for night photos is near the Fast Pass checking entrance. Just beyond where the cast members are standing to check for Fast Pass is the perfect location of the Mansion and the hearse. Just tell the cast members that you want to take some pictures and they will let you in. If you have a mini tripod you can ask to place it on the cast member stand for a few minutes, if they are not busy they will let you have your fun.

Click on image for a larger version.

If you have a Joby GripTight you can wrap it around one of the gates in the garden just by the hearse. (See the red arrows in the above picture) You'll also find that some of the post around the hearse are perfect for mini-tripods, perhaps they were put there for that reason. Theres a trash can position at the entrance of the hearse gate that in a perfect position for holding your camera. Make sure to stand in the way from anyone trying to use the trash.

In front of the hearse gate is a circle on the ground. (See the yellow arrow in the above picture) This is a perfect spot to set up your tripod. You can get a great few of the mansion and the hearse from this spot. The circle spot is perfectly level to make the tripod balance the shot.

If you have a good lens on your camera you should head down past Liberty Square and get a picture at Frontier land. A good spot is just across away from the Diamond Horseshoe. You can position your mini-tripod on the wall and get a good distance view of the mansion. This is a tricky shot location because of the lights from other attractions can make it hard to see the lights on the mansion.

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Hidden Mickey in the Haunted Mansion

Hidden Mickey are fun to find. It's one way that you know that the imagineers at Disney pay fantastic attention to the details. A Mickey Mouse symbol will appear when you least expect it.

Haunted Mansion - Magic Kingdom Disney World

If you read any official Hidden Mickey source - you'll find that there's only one officially documented 'Hidden Mickey' in the Haunted Mansion. It's in the dinning room, if you look at the down at the dinning room table you can find the one of the plate settings to be in a Mickey Mouse layout. (Usually it's the last place setting on the dinning room table).

Before heading to Disney World on a recent trip, I was looking at pictures of the Haunted Mansion and was wondering if there was another hidden Mickey in wall by the waiting area: (See the color area of the picture.)

Click on the image for a large version.

I was looking at the bricks color formations and thought it was a good opportunity that someone placed a very well hidden Mickey in the wall. Since a lot of people tend to take pictures from the boat and Frontier Land, it would be a great place for a well hidden Mickey.

Hard to believe, but of all the pictures that I took of the Haunted Mansion, none of them show all the bricks on the wall. I made a note when I visit Disney World in November to take lots of pictures of the wall. I even took the boat ride just to make sure that I didn't miss any opportunities.

After careful examination, I sadly concluded that there is no hidden Mickey in the wall. So if your looking at the Haunted Mansion wall in Liberty Square or Frontier land you'll be disappointed that there's no Mickey Mouse ears in the wall. So for now, if you want to see a Hidden Mickey at the Haunted Mansion, wait until you get to the Dinning room.

Note: If the Disney company should do any construction work on the wall in the future, it would be a good place to put one. (Not all that complicated basically making sure similar colors line up correctly.

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Eating Gluten Free in Disney World

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Walt Disney World can be an awesome vacation even if you have to eat Gluten free. The key thing to remember is let your server know and a Speciality Chief will come to your table and help you have a truly awesome experience.

Here are some of the notes from our experience at various establishments that we visited. We made reservations far in advance and mention the Gluten allergy, even though it's technically not an allergy.

Click on the establishment name to visit the official restaurant page and make reservations for your next trip.

Riverside Mill Food Court
Port Orleans Resort Riverside

• On our first day at the food court we were a little confused on what to do. There wasn't anyone around to ask questions. We finally ask someone who was stocking mugs. They went in back to get a Chief to help us out.
• It turns out that we need to see the Chief every time to place an allergy free order. We later discovered that its not easy when the food court is very busy
• Some of the people that worked in the kitchen were not aware of what meals were available Gluten Free
• The Chief told us they can pretty much make everything on the menu Gluten free, however you still need to see a Chief for validation.
• If you do ask for something at the counter, the order taker had to ask a Speciality Chief if it was Gluten free safe. At the time, I was ordering a cheese burger and I knew they had Gluten free bun. The Speciality Chief basic gave the thumbs up to the person putting together the order that all that was needed was the bun not toasted. The speciality chief was the only to hand me the order, basically ensuring me that it was safe to eat.
• One evening they had a printed menu of available Gluten Free meals, but we never saw it again. Not having a menu made it hard when we walked into the food court to know what could be made Gluten Free. For example, on pasta day the only Gluten free pasta they had was elbows. Which is fine since my daughter likes Mac & Cheese, but sometimes she wants spaghetti.

Hollywood and Vine
Disney's Hollywood Studios

• We have eaten breakfast here before, but this is the first time eating here Gluten free. We made reservations far in advance and let them know that members of our party had a Gluten Allergy.
• Shortly after we were seated the Chief came to our table.
• The Chief did a walked through on the buffet line to point us out which buffet items were not Gluten free. He also indicated which items could be made Gluten free to order. We did ask for Gluten free waffles.
• They made a special order of Gluten Free Mickey Waffles that were very yummy. He gave us such a large plate of waffles that we didn't need to ask for more.
• The chief returned back and made sure we were satisfied with the order and if we had any questions.
• We were very impress with their service and everything was yummy.

The Crystal Palace
Magic Kingdom

• We love eating at the Crystal Palace and have eaten there plenty of times. Who doesn't like meeting Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore.
• We made reservations far in advance, you kind of have to, and let them know of our allergy.
• The chief came to the table with lots of options.
• They went over some of the things at the buffet, he specifically said that he didn't want to insult our intelligence and pointed to some of the things that did contain Gluten.
• They brought a small try of Gluten Free options, which were basically frozen items; such as Katz Gluten Free Donuts and regular Gluten Free waffles. (Nothing like the made to order service we got at Hollywood and Vine)
• Food was yummy and everyone had a good time

Chief Mickey
The Contemporary Resort

• We made reservations far in advance and let them know of our allergy. We have eaten here plenty of times and enjoy seeing Mickey and Friends
• After we got seated the Chief came over and wanted to know if it was really an allergy. (We were a bit surprise by this.)
• He described some of the things in the buffet that we could eat, but left off some things. Basically giving us the brief version of what we could eat.
• They brought out a small tray of food, but it was mostly fruit and Gluten Free pancakes.
• There were a lot of good food in the buffet and we did like their food, but was a bit disappointed with the service and most likely won't be going back on a future visit.

We were a little disappointed with the service at Chief Mickey and felt that 'Hollywood and Vine' were more thoughtful with being Gluten free.

Hope the above information is helpful and you found it useful. If you have any particular questions, please feel free to send me an email.

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Port Orleans Riverside Resort

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Seven reasons not to stay at the Port Orleans Riverside resort

1. Large Property layout - The Port Orleans Resort is a fairly big layout. Depending on where your room is, you could be in for a long walk to the lobby or Riverside Mill Food Court. No so much fun on the last day when you have to bring the luggage to the lobby. Also it can be a long walk to get your morning coffee.
2. No pool towels at the secondary pools. You are encouraged to go to the main pool and get towels. Some people did bring towels from their rooms. I recall that the hotel discourage guest from doing this.
3. Small Laundry area - The laundry area is near the pools, so you can go swimming while you wait for your laundry. However, our wait was longer because their weren't any available washing machines. Do you really want to spend vacation time waiting for someone else's laundry to be done before starting yours?
4. Long lines at the Riverside Mill Food Court. During peak times you can anticipate a long wait to ordering your food and then waiting in a different line to pay for it. Also there's nobody working the waiting area to answer any questions.
5. Poor cable - During our stay many of the popular Disney channels were not working. This is a problem if you have a youngster that might want to fall a sleep to Mickey and friends at night.
6. Too Many Bus Stops - There are four bus stops on the property with the main stop being the last stop. This means that it takes that much longer to get back to your room. (Art of Animation has only one stop.)
7. Not stroller friendly - The room we stayed at didn't have a ramp near the garden stairs. We saw plenty of guests that had to ask their children to get out of the stroller just to get up and down a small set of stairs.

Seven Reasons to Stay

1. Ferry Boat to Disney Springs - One of the few places on Disney property where you can go to Disney Springs by boat. Nice romantic way to start an evening at Disney Springs. Boats are running about every 20 minutes during Disney Spring hours.
2. Riverside Mill Food Court was yummy - Lots of good choices and plenty of seating. We didn't eat at Boatwright's since the wait times were very long, but from what I read online it seems to be the place to go.
3. Unique room designs - The bed headboard has a cool 30 second firework show. My daughter loved the princess pictures on the walls and getting a special welcome from Tiana.
4. Horse buggy Rides - A chance to ride in a carriage across the resort property. Great fun for the whole family!
5. Quiet Rooms - We found it very quiet where we stayed. We didn't hear anyone in the halls or banging in the rooms around us.
6. Fulton's General Store - Lots of Disney goodies and essential supplies in case you forget to bring something. Double check before you leave, otherwise you'll pay a premium. But if you forget an item, they will have it in stock! (Also the only place on Disney Property to get an Eeyore Penny Souvenir.)
7. Lively Nightly Entertainment. I just happen to catch some of the entertainment at the River Roost Lounge and the crowd was fired up and singing along to many hits. I didn't get a chance to watch the whole show, but it appear to be a hit even from the people standing in the nearby hallway.

Some additional things to note from our stay during the first week of November, 2015

• There is a quality hair dryer in the room. This isn't a cheap wall mounted hair dryer. There's no need to bring one if your staying at this resort. If your room doesn't have the right one, you can always call the front desk and request one.
• The washer and dryers only take credit cards, no need to bring a bag of quarters or extra cash for the laundry room.
• There is a small dorm room size fridge in the room. Ours didn't seem to keep our drinks all that cold. The refrigerator has no freezer space.
• The coffee machine in the room was just Ok. The one in the Riverside Mill Food Court is better since you can add sugar and fresh cream.
• There are plenty of soda and ice vending machines around and they were well stocked up. I didn?t check the prices on this trip but I think it would be around $3 for a 20oz bottle.
• Plugs are somewhat hard to find in the resort rooms. You should consider bringing a mini extension cord especially if you have multiple USB devices and want to charge them overnight.
• You can buy water at the bus stops, but it cost you $3 for a 20oz bottle. Your better off filling up a Disney mug before heading out.

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Olszewski Haunted Mansion miniature

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For about 35 years, if you wanted a Haunted Mansion souvenir you went to the small cart next to the popular attraction. In 2014, Disney converted a Liberty Square shop into a souvenir store for the Haunted Mansion. They stocked it with all sorts of new Haunted Mansion goodies.

True Haunted Mansion fans know that to get the good stuff you need to head to Main Street USA and Disney Springs. That's where you'll find unique collectable souvenirs.

This past week I stopped in the Main Street Cinema on Main Street USA - formally the movie theater.( They still have a screen on the back wall showing some classic Disney cartoons.) In the store I saw several Olszewski's miniature displays of popular attractions around Disney World. In the corner on one of the cases, I spotted a very familiar attraction:

Yes, that's a pretty good replica of the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. The back comes off and you can interchange the inside to see the dinning room or the attic. As I recall, this item will set you back at least $499.

When I was looking at it, a cast member took it out of the display because someone just purchased it. I was thinking that it was good that I stopped in the store when I did and got a picture of it.

As impressive of a souvenir as that was, I remember in 2009 seeing a $4,000 miniature version of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. This was being sold at the Art display store just above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I am not sure who purchased that item, but it certainly is the most expensive Haunted Mansion premium souvenirs that I have seen Disney in any of the parks.

You can find a lot more Olszewski's light box displays in Disney Springs. They are certainly worth looking at if you are interested in a reasonably price souvenir. If you like miniature versions of popular attractions, your best best is the Main Street Cinema on Main Street USA in Disney world.

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