Inside John's Locker

There's a covered bridge at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios that you walk across to get to the hotel lobby from the parking lot.

And, along the bridge itself is a collection of frogs playing musical instruments.

The frogs are only about six inches tall and and each has a different instrument.

The Royal Pacific has 1000 rooms and is one of three hotels Lowes operates at Universal...the others are Portofino Bay and the Hard Rock Hotel...
john

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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There are lots and lots of impressive things about Walt Disney World. One of the things that has always amazed me is the transportation infrastructure. Of course, there are the monorails and busses and even a train. But there are also boats...lots of boats.

In addition to the ferries to and from the Magic Kingdom and the EPCOT Friend Ships, there are several fleets that serve some of the WDW resorts. The Sassagoula River Cruise is one of them:

Here is a map of the "ports" served by the Sassagoula River Cruise ferry service. This photo was taken at the Port Orleans French Quarter dock and you can see two of the ferry boats...one is tied up while the other is just departing.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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My earliest memories of the Polynesian are of catching fleeting glimpses from the monorail as a college student as it was returning from the Magic Kingdom.

A lot of the buildings have colorful designs in the gables and a couple have faces like this one:

You can't see this face from the monorail, however...it faces the other direction.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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One of the Disney horticulture crew was busy sprucing up one of the topiary Canada geese at the entrance to Wilderness Lodge very early this morning. They do an amazing job keeping Walt Disney World looking in tip top condition...
john

Disney's Wilderness Lodge is located in Walt Disney World.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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I'll bet I've been in the lobby of Coronado Springs over a hundred times. As soon as you walk in the door of the El Centro building, there's a fountain that immediately catches your eye.

And I had never bothered to look up...until this morning...and here's what I've been missing:

The fountain I now know sits in a rotunda with this amazing dome overhead.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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The gang at Boarwalk had a contest for cast members to create something out of recycled materials (in other words, trash) in honor of Earth Day.

The winner was the recreation department with this model of the slide at the Boardwalk Villas pool.

It's made of room keys...very clever! (I know that Earth day was yesterday but I just noticed the display this morning)...
john

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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I wonder what that glowing green stuff is inside this time capsule at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort?

It looks like slime to me...

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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I know, I know, it's another tree. But after a really rough winter (for Florida at least) the trees are now blooming with a vengeance.

Take the Bottlebrush tree at Old Key West:

One look at the bright red blossoms and it's obvious where this tree gets its name.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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A little over a month ago, I shared with you some of the artwork in Bay Lake Tower and commented that the art is a major theming tool in the new tower next to the Contemporary. Click here to the earlier post showing the piece on the right hand side of the lobby entrance.

This is the companion piece on the left side of the lobby entrance.

Like it's mate, it's a six panel photo montage of Cinderella Castle...
john

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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Have you ever wanted to pilot a sailing yacht?
You can get your chance in the lobby of the Yacht Club.

On the left side of the lobby near the entrance to Captain's Grill (formerly Yacht Club Galley) you'll find this "Mohagany Ship's Helm Station circa 1920"...so, while you're waiting to be seated, grab the wheel, close your eyes and steer your yacht into port...
john

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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So, how big is the Pop Century sign? I knew it was big but I don't think I had a full appreciation of just how big until I saw these guys doing some touch-up work this morning...
john

Disney's Pop Century Resort is located in Walt Disney World.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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Why is there a rather large pink dog welcoming you to the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs?

The Pepper Market is the food court at Coronado Springs and is located in the main building, El Centro, at the resort and this little fellow stands right at the entrance. the red peppers you see decorate the gate to the food court. One side is open.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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It's Woody from Toy Story...
It's a VERY BIG Woody from Toy Story...
It's a 30 foot tall Woody from Toy Story...
...and you can find him at All-Star Movies.

Disney's All-Star resorts are famous for their huge icons like Woody.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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There's a real hidden gem of a resort at Walt Disney World that you may not even know exists. It's called Shades of Green and this is what the lobby looks like:

Shades of Green is something called an Armed Forces Recreation Center owned by the US government to provide R&R for military and Defense Department personnel and their families. It became Shades of Green in 1994 and was expanded in 2004 and now has 586 rooms.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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One of the things I enjoy most about driving a purple van around WDW is the landscaping. it always looks great. But it's even better if you get to see it every day, season after season.

Take this tree with the yellow blossoms at Caribbean Beach, For just a couple of weeks every spring it looks like this:

It loses its leaves in the winter...but every spring before any leaves come out, there are tons of yellow flowers. The tree is stunning and I think the yellow carpet of flowers underneath is pretty cool, too.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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This is Fantasia, the gift shop at Disney's Contemporary Resort.

This photo was taken from the 9th floor. The shop itself is on the fourth floor of the Contemporary.

The Contemporary was the first hotel to open at Disney World in 1971 and has about 500 rooms in the main tower. There are an additional 250 rooms in the South Garden Wing. The North Garden Wing was recently replaced by Bay Lake Tower.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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Here are a couple of shots of this morning's shuttle launch taken from the purple van. The first was taken before dawn as the shuttle cleared the trees near the Owner's Locker office:

click here for a high(er) resolution version of this photo.
This is the exhaust still in a cloudless sky as the sun was coming up...
john

Click here for a high resolution version of this photo.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers
j.

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Take a look at these cute Easter towel animals that were on display in the lobby of Boardwalk this morning.

Happy Easter from your faithful purple van driver!...
john

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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There are enough woodworking tools on these walls to build a boat.

They are part of Boatwright's Dining Hall at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort.

The main feature of Boatwright's is a life-sized boat under construction suspended above the dining tables and the tools on the surrounding walls are ones like the craftsmen would have used to construct the vessel

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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When I was delivering Lockers and strollers this morning to Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House, I was asked by one of the front desk staff why yesterday's Everyday Adventure featured the Easter eggs at Kidani Village. Jambo House cast members had been decorating ostrich eggs, too, I was informed!

Indeed they have...and here they are:

The Jambo House cast has come up with some fantastic designs.

The Everyday Adventures Of The Purple Van is brought to you by Owner's Locker and Magic Strollers.
j

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