Geyser Point Bar & Grill Now Open at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

 

The all new Geyser Point Bar & Grill is now open at Disney's Wilderness Lodge.  Geyser Point is located along the water's edge and is designed to be reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest with cedar beams and natural stone.

The bar at Geyser Point will feature artisanal sips that include drinks from Pacific Northwest Brewers and distilleries, as well as wines from Oregon and Washington.  

 

Geyser Point will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will also offer a quick-service walk-up window.

Disneyland Set To Offer Beauty and the Beast Experiences

 

With the release of the live action Beauty and the Beast coming in March, Disneyland is bringing the story to life in Fantasyland with limited time experiences.  

Red Rose Taverne - The Village  Haus Restaurant will be turned  into a lively French taverne, offering French themed quick-service meals, signature beverages, and of course, the grey stuff.  The Taverne will feature beautiful murals depicting favorite scenes from Disney’s animated feature, “Beauty and the Beast".  While each room of Red Rose Taverne will tell a different chapter of the story. The menu will transform as well, featuring some of your favorite tastes with a French taverne-inspired twist, as well as new signature beverages.

Royal Reception - This will be a unique merchandise location adjacent to Red Rose Taverne and will allow guests to purchase "Beauty and the Beast" themed merchandise.

Maurice's Treats - The menu at Maurice's treats will feature a twist.  Unfortuntely there is no word yet on exactly what these twists will be.

The Royal Theatre Presents “Beauty and the Beast” – The Royal Theatre in Fantasy Faire will feature Mr. Smythe and Mr. Jones presenting their take on “Beauty and the Beast” in this daily favorite.

Gaston - The villainous Gaston will be preening around Fantasyland and flexing his biceps for admiring guests.

Get Your Picture Made With Cinderella's Royal Carriage for Valentine's Day

 

Just for Valentine's Day Disney Photo Pass is bringing out Cinderella's Royal Carriage and this is your opportunity to get your picture made with Cinderella's Royal Carriage.  If you are in Disney be sure to take advantage of this rare opportunity!  The carriage will be set up on February 13th-14th in Magic Kingdom.  It will be located near the wall in New Fantasyland by Pinnochio's place, which is behind the carousel and before you get to the the Beauty and the Beast area.  

Animal Kingdom's River of Light Opening Date Released

For months now we have been teased about the opening of Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom as the opening date was pushed back, but now we have an official opening date.  Today, Walt Disney World announced that Rivers of Light will officially open on February 17th.

The Rivers of Light show will add to Animal Kingdom's growing number of night offerings as Walt Disney World makes the push for this park to go from a daytime only park to a full day park.  The show will feature floating set pieces, live performers, music, fountains, lights and more.  

What's even better is, like Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, Rivers of Light will be available as part of a dinner package.  The dinner package will be available for Tusker House Restaurant and Tiffins.  I am ecstatic that it will include Donald Duck's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House Restaurant.  The dinner package must be reserved in advance, and can be reserved starting today.  The good news is that the dinner package for Rivers of Life is the same price as what it would cost to eat at the restaurant normally and can also be paid for using the Disney Dining Plan.

 

Visiting the USS LST 325 Memorial

For this Independence Day weekend we decided to visit the USS LST 325 Memorial in Evansville, Indiana.  

The USS LST 325 is the only operational LST in the United States.  The LST's were built specifically for use during World War II and their use was limited to delivering troops, along with their artillery by water.  After World War II they were no longer needed and were not preserved.  

The LST 325 has a very unique story to it, as several World War II veterans went to Greece to bring this ship back to the USA to make a memorial out of it.  This story is told in a History channel documentary which is played in the gift shop before your tour starts, so be sure to arrive early.  

Tours run every hour on the hour and each tour lasts about an hour.  

The cost for the tour is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 5-17, and under age 5 is free.  There is also a donation box to donate to the memorial if you so wish.  

Tours start in a small gift shop.  You can also purchase beverages in the gift shop that you can take with you on the tour.  Temperatures inside of the ship can reach over 100 degrees on hot days so a drink might be something you want to consider taking.

The tour takes you through all decks of the ship.  You will be doing a lot of walking and there are several staircases.  It's nothing to strenuous but something you might want to be aware of.  Strollers are not allowed on the tour.

The LST 325 participated in D-Day and has two places where it was fired upon.  This ramp that the troops exited onto the beach through may well have been the last sight for many boys.  For me it was an excellent reminder of how our freedom isn't free.

 he memorial has several items from World War II displayed.  While this jeep may not have been in World War II however it's claim to fame is that it was used in the first Mash movie.

Our family really enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend it if you are in the area.  

You can learn more about the USS LST 325 Memorial by visiting their website.

The Dream Car Museum - Evansville, Indiana

Continuing our day in Evansville, Indiana we followed our trip to the USS LST 325 Memorial with a trip to the Dream Car Museum.

 The Dream Car Museum is a private collection of cars that is housed at Bennett Motors in Evansville.  One of the best things about the Dream Car Museum is that admission is free.

 The museum features a variety of cars that range from vintage collectibles to exotic cars.  Each car lists the actual mileage of the car, most are very low mileage, and the estimated value of the car.  

And some cars are famous like the General Lee that was used for the filming of the Dukes of Hazard.

 Or the Dodge Charger that was used in the final scene of  the filming of The Fast and The Furious.

 Another favorite was the Ultimate Barn Find Corvette.

It takes about an hour to go through the museum, it's definitely not an all day attraction, but if you are a car lover it is a must see.

The Dream Car Museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays. 

Visiting the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

This past weekend we visited the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City, Indiana.  The Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is part of the National Park system and is built on the area where Abraham Lincoln's family lived during their time in Indiana.

The cost for admission to the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is $5 per person or $10 per family and is good for seven days.

 We started our visit in the memorial building which features a museum with exhibits focusing on Abraham Lincoln's time in Indiana, a movie theater that shows a movie about his time in Indiana, and a gift shop.

A short walk from the memorial building is the Pioneer Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln is buried.

From the Pioneer Cemetery you can take a short hike, about a half mile, to the 1820's homestead which is a living historical farm.  If you want to avoid the hike there is a road to drive up the homestead.

At the homestead you can view a bronze outline of the foundation of the cabin Abraham Lincoln lived in as a young boy.  

There are several buildings on the homestead for you to visit.  This is the cabin that is at the homestead and those pegs on the wall are the "stairs" leading to the loft of the cabin.

One of the favorite buildings for my boys was the woodworking shop.

Not only did the shop feature woodworking tools from the time period it also featured the pelts of several wild animals that would have lived in the area at the time Lincoln lived here.

From the homestead we took the Trail of Twelve Stones back to the memorial center.  The trail features stones from important buildings and places in Abraham Lincoln's life.  Which included this stone from the White House.

We found the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial to be a very educational trip and enjoyed our time there.  I highly recommend visiting if you are in the area.