February 17, 2012
Location: Main Street, USA, Magic Kingdom
There seems to be a common
trend this week on our themed articles
dealing with Lady and the Tramp: the famous
Bella Notte scene just keeps coming up over
and over again, and you are in luck, it is
hitting Fun Find Friday by storm as well!
The references to Lady and the Tramp throughout the
parks are difficult to discover, but the most obvious reference to
the film is Tony's Town Square Restaurant found just after entering
the Magic Kingdom. We all remember the famous scene where Lady and
Tramp share their spaghetti meal in the back alley and as they both
gaze off into the stars the end up slurping on the same strand of
spaghetti until their lips meet for the first time. Kind of makes
you wish you were a dog, right?
Well, maybe not really, but still. The evening for
the two didn't end there. They then took a romantic stroll through
the park where they came across freshly poured concrete that two
humans had carved a heart in. Lady and Tramp approached the heart
and placed their pawprints inside symbolizing the love they both
shared for each other.
How does this all tie in to the Magic Kingdom? Well,
next time you are facing Tony's Town Square Restaurant pay close
attention to the pavement out front. Upon the ground here you'll
find (when strollers aren't covering it up that is), the heart with
pawprints inside showing the love that was formed during that lovely
bella notte.

February 10, 2012
Location: Africa, Disney's Animal Kingdom
It's no question. Disney is
the master of details and for over 50 weeks
we've covered several details that Disney
has hidden around for Disney nerds like us
to discover. The amazing thing about these
details is that while some are obvious,
others you can pass hundreds of times
without ever noticing them. Today we'll talk
about one of those.
There are several attractions found throughout Walt
Disney World where you feel the need to exit fairly quickly.
Kilimanjaro Safaris has always felt this way to me especially.
Throughout all of Disney's Animal Kingdom I always feel very relaxed
while walking around as if I don't need to rush from attraction to
attraction (like most do at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and
Epcot), but for some reason every time I get off of Kilimanjaro
Safaris I feel the urge to stand up and exit towards the Warden Post
around the corner. Due to this, I missed an extremely important part
of Kilimanjaro Safaris storyline for years.
Yes, we are in Harambe, but the Harambe Wildlife
Reserve didn't just pop up over night. In fact, before the Reserve
was created Harambe was well known for being a hub in the livestock
trading industry. So when Kilimanjaro Safaris came to Harambe with
the intention of starting up two week safaris, they needed to
realized the easiest way to load and unload their guests would be at
the same gates where livestock were herded on and off trucks as
well. So which company did the purchase a building from? Smythe-Wallis
British East Africa Livestock Ltd. of course!
In fact, when you are being herded off the ride
(much like the livestock that once roamed this area) make sure you
take a look up to find a nice nod to the former owners of the
building:
