Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Kalanchoe Chronicle

The Land is one of my favorite places in all of Walt Disney World. In fact, it will have its own tribute post coming soon! For now, though, I'm posting the beginning of my Kalanchoe Chronicle. "Mickey's Mini Gardens" are sold in The Land pavilion, at the desk next to Soarin'. These are tiny plant tissue cultures, cultivated from the greenhouse inside The Land. A few varieties are available. I selected a kalanchoe, based on my understanding that this will be a hardy variety! Inspired by the fine folks at Main Street Gazette, I'm chronicling my attempt at growing this kalanchoe on the Plus the Magic Facebook page. If you've not already visited & liked our page, please do so! You can find our Facebook page here.

Our chronicle begins...



The Land Pavilion, located in Epcot's Future World West, is home to some of my favorite attractions. In addition to the ever-popular Soarin', the pavilion also houses Living with the Land, an agricultural boat ride tour through a fantastic working greenhouse. Sunshine Seasons- one of my favorite quick service eateries- can also be found here.



Just outside of the Soarin' entrance on the lower level, you'll find a counter where you can sign up for Behind the Seeds, a backstage tour of the greenhouses. (I highly recommend this tour- watch for a post dedicated to Behind the Seeds coming soon!). It's here that you will find a display for Mickey's Mini Gardens! These tiny plant tissue cultures, propagated right here in The Land pavilion, are growing in an agar gel and are sealed in glass.




The instructions included in the box will give you information on how your plant came to be, as well as how to transplant and grow it.



Out of the box and ready to grow!



The first step was to prepare a small pot, using a good quality potting soil.



Next it was time to take the little guy out of the glass jar. This was not as easy as I thought it would be. The gel was much firmer than I expected, and I needed a spoon to coax it out. I lost one tiny green leaf in the process.


Carefully rinsing off the gel to expose the roots was our next step. After removing the gel, there were hardly any roots remaining. I hope there are enough to support this little guy. Time will tell...

Week 0

Once planted, a plastic bag is put over the plant to maintain humidity. This will stay on for the first few weeks, and holes will be added shortly to increase air circulation. I hung a ruler next to the kalanchoe, so we can (hopefully) measure growth as the weeks go by.

 Week 1

After one full week, the kalanchoe seems to be doing fine. There's no discernible growth yet. The photo on the right was taken with a flash, so that the humidity inside would be visible.


To follow along on The Kalanchoe Chronicle journey, please visit our Facebook page! Thanks for joining us.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Flowers and Gardens


Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop...

This week's theme: Flowers and Gardens



Glass  flowers from the Land of Oz in Epcot...




Topiary dragon at the China Pavilion

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Thanks to Deb @ Focused on the Magic  for hosting the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! 

If you hopped  over, I invite you to check out my other posts, and please consider joining the blog or following on twitter.

Check out all the other Wordless Wednesday links, and remember to share some comment love...

Focused on the Magic

Monday, March 11, 2013

Attention to Detail: Lamp Posts

One of the things that sets Disney apart from any place else is the attention to detail given to everything- especially the mundane things that would normally go unnoticed elsewhere. Case in point: lamp posts. The first in a series of posts on Attention to Detail focuses on these luminous structures. These lighting fixtures are found everywhere, in each park and resort. As with most things, though, Disney does it with flair. Each lamp post found throughout WDW is themed carefully to its environment. Each one represents the area it lights, enhancing its surroundings or blending seamlessly with the atmosphere. Below are a few examples. Have you ever noticed the light fixtures around the parks and resorts? Tell us about it in the comments. Can you guess where each one can be found? You can leave your guesses in the comments as well.

Here are a few examples of the beautifully crafted, thoughtfully themed lamp posts found throughout the Walt Disney World parks and resorts...

A

B

C


D


(close up of  D- one of my favorites)


E


F


G


H


I


J


K


L


M


N


(sorry, this one got cut off. I must have been focused on that 
sweet castle in the background...)


P


Q


R (same area as Q, slightly different style)


S


Just a sampling of some of the many lamp posts that illustrate Disney's Attention to Detail. 

Which one is your favorite?




Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: March Calendar Shot


Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop...

This week's theme: March Calendar Shot




Photo captured March 4, 2013

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Thanks to Deb @ Focused on the Magic  for hosting the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! 

If you hopped  over, I invite you to check out my other posts, and please consider joining the blog or following on twitter.

Check out all the other Wordless Wednesday links, and remember to share some comment love...

Focused on the Magic

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The perfect end to a long weekend getaway....

You know that bittersweet feeling on the last day of your trip, when you want to soak in every last possible drop, but you have that looming sadness as the clock ticks down to your way-too-early Magical Express pick-up time? That's where I was yesterday. But a sprinkling of unexpected pixie dust made my last moments magical...

I spent the last hour of my trip doing one of my very favorite  things- strolling the World Showcase in Epcot. I was at the Canadian pavilion when I realized it was time for me to head to the International Gateway and make my sad walk out for the final time. Just as I was passing the large gate to the backstage area (Millenium Village/World Showplace) between Canada and Great Britain, the gate opened to reveal Ariel in her ball gown. A Cast Member invited me over to come in and say hello. After chatting and taking a few photos, I walked out and heard them close the gate behind me. As I make my way through Great Britain, I see my destination in the distance. But wait! Now I'm  face to face with Mary Poppins, in her beautiful red travelling coat. I've always wanted to meet Mary, and there she was, with no line, as I was on my way out! After that meeting, as I walked down the hill towards the exit, my phone buzzed with an incoming message- a well-known personality in the Disney community was now following me on Twitter! How cool is that? Now it was really time to go. I reach the International Gateway, and as I say my final goodbye to the Cast Member at the turnstiles...and I look down to see that she has the completer pin I've been searching for all weekend! This all happened in the final 10 minutes of my visit. Pixie Dust is real.