I met Prince Charming during my recent not-so-magic visit to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. No, not the man of my dreams. I met the Prince Charming who appears at the side of Cinderella in every Disney parade. Or so he claimed.

The tunnel beneath Cinderella's Castle leads to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Cinderella's Royal Table, but not to any special tours of the inside of the castle

After a few hours of walking around the park, taking rides, and visiting attractions, my sister, Linda, and I sat down to rest, along with several of the other adults that were chaperoning my niece’s choral group. We began discussing where to eat, checking the park map to see if any of the restaurants offered vegetarian fare.

“You can eat seafood, right?” Linda asked. “We went by a place that smelled like it had great fish and chips, but I don’t remember where it was.”

When I confirmed that, in a pinch, I could get by with seafood, the young man sitting next to me on the bench piped up.

“Go to Columbia Harbour House. They have great fish. I know all the best places to eat because I work here.”

“Really? What do you do?” I asked.

“I’m Prince Charming.”

I gave him the once-over. He certainly looked the part – tall and slim, with sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He was definitely an attractive young man and he knew it.

“How did you get that job?” my sister asked. Read the rest of this entry »

Cruise on over to This Marriage Thing to read what those clever Blogging Boomers are saying during this week’s carvnival. You just never know what’s on their minds, but whatever they’re writing about is sure to amuse, shock, or delight.

Remember the TV ads that featured Olympic Gold Medalists, Super Bowl stars, and World Series MVP’s responding to the question “What Now?” Their answer was always  “I’m going to Disney World!” Those ads made such an impression on me that I added Walt Disney World to my list of places to see before I die. When my niece’s choral group was chosen to perform at Disney last week, I decided the time was right to make good on my promise and began making arrangements.

The process was unbelievably frustrating. I Googled Walt Disney World and clicked on the site that indicated it was the “Official Site for all things Disney.” From the top navigation bar I chose “Parks” which took me to a second page where I had to choose “Walt Disney World” from the left nav bar, bringing me to yet another page that featured exploding fireworks, music, and a window titled “Price Your Dream Vacation.” I filled out the necessary information for ticket purchases and clicked on “Get Prices.” Then I waited. And waited some more. Nothing. The page just hung.

Back to Google to try one of the other links. But nothing I tried worked. When I finally resorted to calling the toll fee number for Disney World, I was directed to a web site that actually worked, but even then the multitude of ticket choices was confusing and poorly presented and the person on the phone could not adequately explain to me how the various passes worked. In fact, I NEVER got the correct information until I actually arrived at the park. I eventually opted for a two-day pass, hoping that it would be flexible enough to work with my niece’s performances, which had not yet been firmly nailed down as to time and location.

Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom

Next I needed directions to the park. When I finally found a page on the site that provided driving instructions from Tampa (it took at least half an hour to find this page and as of this writing I cannot find it again) it said something like “Drive east on I-4 until you get to the signs for Walt Disney World.” Big, big help. I know the park is in the Orlando area, but where in the Orlando area? Lake Buena Vista? Orlando proper? Kissimmee? I am trying to figure out what time I must leave Sarasota in order to meet my family at a prearranged hour. I resorted to mapquest. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work with just the name Walt Disney World and the parks are not shown on their maps. Back to the Disney site to look for a specific address with a city name. Can you guess what’s coming? There is no address for Walt Disney World shown anywhere on the website. Are they purposely trying to make this the most frustrating process I have ever been through?

The next morning I did as directed – headed east on I-4. A few miles west of Orlando the signs for Walt Disney World began appearing; each of five exits indicated it was the correct one for Walt Disney World. By the time I had passed the final Disney World exit on the way to my hotel, I finally got it – Walt Disney World refers to the whole complex of parks – the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, etc. I always thought the term Walt Disney World referred to the place with Cinderella’s castle where all the Disney characters hung out. In my opinion, this is a classic case of marketers who are too close to their product. They assume that people know these things. Frankly, I think the entire site should be redesigned to provide basic information on the front page, the navigation should be made consistent and simple, and the plethora of domain names should all redirect to one website. Why in heaven’s name aren’t they using the domain name Disney.com? They obviously own the domain name, because if you type it into your browser, it redirects to disney.go.com. But I digress… Read the rest of this entry »

Red-Shouldered Hawk in Sarasota, Florida

We had a big blow today. As I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment, tropical storm strength winds were kicking up dust and sending debris flying through the air. I don’t know what made me look up into the tree limbs hanging just beyond my windshield, or how I even spotted him. Sitting in the nook of a tree limb, perfectly camouflaged, was a Red Shouldered Hawk. Other than blinking at me, he sat perfectly still, even when I opened the rear cargo door, gathered up my groceries, and walked to my front door. I can only assume he was disorientd by the high winds. I never expected him to still be there by the time I returned with my camera, but he posed for a half-dozen photos before disappearing in a flutter of feathers. We don’t always need to travel to exotic places to experience nature. Beauty is all around us – if only we are open to seeing it.

Exterior of the Sarasota Opera House

Before 2006, I’d never attended an opera. That year, however, I happened to have a house mate who played in the orchestra for the Sarasota Opera, and he arranged for me to see Madame Butterfly. It was thoroughly enjoyable, despite the fact that my seat was in the very last row of the nosebleed section. For one reason or another, I hadn’t revisited the opera – I am constantly busy, I travel a lot, I am watching my pennies, etc. But this past weekend I happened to run into another musician from the opera, who insisted I should let her hook me up with a “friends and family” ticket to see Tosca that very evening.

I forked over $10 to my friend, rushed home to change into something more presentable, and arrived at the will call window to pick up my ticket with only minutes to spare before the performance began. To my surprise, I was escorted Read the rest of this entry »

Moon Fiji by David Stanley

Most people who travel a lot – especially budget travelers – have at one time or another invested in a guide book. Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are well known names in the genre; less well known are the Moon guide books. In fact, I had never before read a Moon guide until a copy of Moon Fiji came my way, courtesy of author David Stanley.

I have never actually read a travel guide. It usually gets stuck it in my backpack and pulled out for reference when I’m looking for an affordable place to stay, a decent meal, or to figure out which sights are must sees. Moon Fiji, however, is a different kind of guide book. That may be partly due to its author, who has crossed six continents overland and visited 193 of the planet’s 245 countries. For his first trip across the Pacific in 1978, Stanley bought the longest ticket ever issued in Canada by Pan American Airways. Though Stanley has traveled widely and become a specialist on many parts of the world, he keeps returning to his favorite area, the South Pacific.

I read this guide book from cover to cover and I highly recommend purchasing Moon Fiji if you are South Pacific bound. This compact guidebook does everything right. Take, for example, the following examples of what I found within: Read the rest of this entry »

Yet another boomer blog is host to our carnival this week – Rhea over at The Gemini Web provides a great review of what the participants are writing about. The mini theme running through this week’s posts seems to be one of changing trends  – everything from people keeping cars longer to boomers participating in a 24-hour “Global Twitter & Telephone Idea Party.” As Rhea says, feast your eyes.

Interesting old building in Cuba. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/rudiheim/65098327.

For years I have dreamed of traveling to Cuba. My desire may have originated with the movie Havana, which starred Robert Redford, but since then I have become even more intrigued upon seeing photos of streets filled with 1950′s and 1960′s era cars and hearing stories of the wonderful music that emanates from bars and cafes on every street.

I have seriously considered entering Cuba via Mexico, the Bahamas, or Canada, as Americans have been doing for years, but just never pulled that together. Three years ago, I even booked a tour through a firm that had obtained legal permission to travel to Cuba under the auspices of a “cultural exchange program” but then had to cancel that trip for personal reasons. So when I read that the rules regarding Cuba travel had been eased, I was excited. Read the rest of this entry »

The number of film festivals being held around the world has exploded since the first major one was held in Venice in 1938. According to FilmCampus.net, there are 183 film festivals held annually in North America alone. With all those to choose from, why would anyone care about a film festival in little ole’ Sarasota?

For starters, although Sarasota may be a smaller city, the Sarasota Film Festival is anything but small. The 10-day event, which runs from March 27 to April 5, 2009, features more than 160 narrative, documentary, and short films from the U.S. and around the world, as well as a series of special events that will provide an opportunity for the public to interact with legends of film.

The Messenger movie stars Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster

Each year, the festival kicks off with an opening night film that has been specially selected after months of viewing and vetting potential offerings. This year’s selection, The Messenger, stars Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, Samantha Morton, and Jean Malone. This timeless story of military brotherhood and service is a powerful story of military personnel who perform the function of casualty notification officers. The film production was supported by the U.S. Army, which worked on the script with the writers and directors to ensure that this sensitive subject was portrayed accurately. In honor of our men and women in uniform, the Sarasota Film Festival is hosting 400 members from all branches of the armed services at the screening and offering all military personnel a 25%  discount on tickets. Community members are also invited to donate tickets for “Send A Soldier to Opening Night,” and SFF will match every donated ticket with an additional complimentary ticket for a soldier. Both Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster are expected to attend the opening night. Read the rest of this entry »