After very vocal complaints and public outcry spurred on by doctors, body image experts and the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (yes, that really is a thing), Disney closed the attraction and totally re-imagined the attraction, which re-opened in January 2013 to much more positive reactions.

I have been to Innoventions numerous times between January 2013 and February 2014 and I never even realized the attraction was open! There is never a line and until my visit on 2/28/14, I had never noticed a cast member near the entrance. On our February 28, 2014 visit there was a cast member there so our party of 5 decided to check out the attraction.

Habit Heroes 2.0

In Habit Heroes 2.0, a host takes a group of up to 12 guests through the 16 minutes interactive experience. The goal is for the guests to become Habit Heroes, healthy super heroes.

In the briefing room the “recruits” aka guests, meet Director Jin and agents Quench, Fuel and Dynamo. The recruits learn about the enemies that they must defeat: poor nutrition, inactivity and dehydration. In each of the subsequent rooms the recruits complete activities to defeat these bad habits with the healthy habits of water, activity and fruits & vegetables.

The re-imagined Habit Heroes does healthy living education in a fun, interactive and educational manner. It no longer focuses on childhood obesity but on making healthy choices which is a message we all need to learn. Next time you are at Epcot, check out Habit Heroes and see for yourself.

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The exhibits have changed over the years, but Innoventions is still a favorite place to hang out in Epcot.

Two of my boys’ favorite activities are…

Segway

Sum of All Thrills

What are your favorite exhibits at Innoventions? Write your post and join the meme!

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We ordered a few different appetizers off the menu so we could test them. None of them were foods I cared for so, I didn’t try any. Our server shared with us the story behind the famous Cobb salad, which was originally created in 1937 at the Original Brown Derby in Hollywood by Robert Cobb for theatre magnate Sid Grauman.  In case you didn’t know the Cobb Salad is made up of finely chopped greens, turkey breast, egg, bacon, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado, chives and Cobb dressing.

For my entree I chose the Grilled Rib Eye Steak – with arugula, crispy sweet onions, gorgonzola, red bliss potatoes, and oven-dried tomato vinaigrette and it was to die for! For dessert I chose the signature dessert of the Hollywood Brown Derby, the Grapefruit Cake. It was good but I enjoyed helping Tina finish off her Bananas Foster much better!

Have you ever eaten at the Hollywood Brown Derby? What is your favorite menu item? Leave me a comment and let’s talk.

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This amazing resort boasts 295 spacious rooms ranging from studios to the 3 bedroom, 4 bath, multiple balconied  grand villas. Due to the resort’s location, guests have a choice of the standard view, Bay Lake view or the awe inducing Magic Kingdom view.

The crescent shaped resort beautifully compliments the A-framed Contemporary Resort to which it is attached. Bay Lake Tower is connected to The Contemporary Resort by the Sky Way Bridge (not the one in St. Petersburg). This room key accessible, covered walkway connects Bay Lake Tower to the restaurants, shops and monorail station of The Contemporary.

Sky Way Bridge

The resort lobby is modern and warm. The color palate used throughout the resort is very contemporary yet warm and inviting.

lobby

We toured a Grand Villa Suite with Magic Kingdom View. When we stepped into the suite there was a collective gasp as we saw the view from the 2-story window. I actually got goosebumps when I entered!

The View

The Kitchen

The loft sitting area

The master bedroom

The Disney artwork that hangs on the walls of this resort is very modern yet classy.

View from jaccuzzi tub

This picture doesn’t do it justice but you can sit in the jaccuzzi tub with the sliding wall open to the master bedroom and have the curtains open and watch the fireworks over Cinderella Castle! Turn your surround sound television to channel 20 and you can even listen to the narration and music for Wishes! I’m thinking add some chocolate covered strawberries and it could be the perfect evening

Bay Lake Tower offers a Mickey shaped pool, a kids splash fountain and awesome looking pool slide as part of it’s recreational features.

We are not DVC (Disney’s Vacation Club) owners, though we have dreamed about it. A stay at Bay Lake Tower will cost you anywhere from 12 points per night for a standard view studio to 153 points per night for this spectacular grand villa with Magic Kingdom View, depending on the season. Non-DVC owners can stay here on rented points or, when there are rooms available, they may stay here for anywhere between $395-$2000 per night depending on the room size, view and season. The #magicalmoms I toured with discussed each chipping in $167 + tax and having a one night reunion in this incredible suite.* I think it’s worth it!

*Disney does have minimum length of stay rule on most DVC resort stays so unfortunately this dream probably won’t become a reality.

Next time I’ll show you the very exclusive Top of the World Lounge at Bay Lake Tower.

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The Hall of Presidents is updated regularly with each new US President being added. Other than the addition of new presidents, the attraction was basically unchanged from 1971-1993. In 1993 the script was changed, much to the chagrin of Disney and US History purists. The narrator was also changed from Lawrence Dobkin to Maya Angelou. For me personally, this major overhaul did not improve the attraction. Though I have visited Walt Disney World many more times between 1993-2009 than I did 1971-1993, I have entered the Hall of Presidents fewer times since 1993’s changes. In 2001 actor J.D. Hall re-recorded the narration previously done by Ms Angelou.

On July 4, 2009 the Hall of President’s re-opens after undergoing more updating. Yes, President Barak Obama gives a speech, as have the past two presidents. The new narrator is Morgan Freeman who has a much more commanding voice than Hall. The attraction has also been retitled: Hall of Presidents: A Celebration of Liberty’s Leaders. Other upgrades include Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Address, and for the first time in the history of the attraction, George Washington stands and gives a stirring speech.

Though I am not a fan of President Obama, I am a fan of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, the Hall of Presidents and Walt Disney World. I am eager to witness the upgraded attraction and I hope the the minor historical inaccuracies of the last major upgrade have been fixed.

Here is video, direct from the White House website of President Obama recording his speech for the Hall of Presidents.

I must say, I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know what the attraction was or what it was about. No, Mr President, they are not wax figures, they are audio-animatronics. Please, do your girls a favor and bring them to Walt Disney World on vacation like most Americans. What are your thoughts? Any special memories of the Hall of Presidents? Leave me a comment and let me know.

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Every Thursday Heidi at Reviews by Heidi hosts a Disney themed photo meme called Destination Disney. Each week she posts a different topic and we post photos and/or a story about that part of our previous Walt Disney World vacations. It is a lot of fun and gives me another reason to dig through my Disney photos.

This week’s topic is Animal Kingdom-Dinoland USA

Dinoland USA is a fun kitschy area of Animal Kingdom. There is The Boneyard-an amazing play area for kids. The Boneyard is a great place to let the kids run and play for a while-especially if they have spent a lot of time waiting in lines. Next is the Dinosaur ride. This ride is not for the faint of heart. It is a thrill ride and the ride itself is very jerky. I don’t recommend this for young children or people with back and neck issues.

The 1500 seat Theatre in the Wild orginally was home to Tarzan Rocks an awesome rock concert show based on the Disney’s Tarzan movie. The first picture is of Tarzan and Jane and the second is of the full stage and the extreme skating monkeys. The Theatre in the Wild is now home to Finding Nemo-The Musical. This is currently my favorite show on Disney property. I love the acting, scenery, puppetry and music. We own the soundtrack and listen to it all the time. None of my pictures for this show have come out well but trust me, this is a beautiful show and is not to be missed.

As you head into Chester and Hester’s Dino-rama, you go back to a 50’s style midway complete with games of chance, 2 rides and you may even get to have your picture taken with your hosts Chester and Hester. Triceratop Spin is a Dumbo-esgue ride. One of my all time favorite rides is also found in Dino-rama, Primeval Whirl. It is a wild mouse coaster with a twist. Each car also spins like a tilt-a-whirl car! It is so much fun! Here you have myself, my husband, my son Jordan and my father-in-law heading off on our Primeval Whirl adventure.

Dinoland USA is a lot of fun and has plenty of rides and shows to keep you entertained.

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We arrive in line at the will call window at 8:45am. While waiting in line, I took off my prescription sunglasses so that I could apply sunscreen to my face and I accidentally dropped-and broke-my sunglasses, hopefully the day will get better.  It was 9:15am by the time I had my turn at the window. I turned in my registration paper (if you are going to take advantage of the “Free Admission on Your Birthday” promotion go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ and pre-register). I got my ticket and my birthday badge and entered the park.

Since there is still a week left in the annual Flower and Garden Festival we were greeted with beautiful topiaries of the princesses and their princes. I love this picture of Cinderella’s pumpkin coach rising out of the pumpkin patch.

We headed to Test Track first, since there was a 20 minute wait for regular riders we chose to go as single riders. We walked right in, skipped the pre-show movie and were on the ride in less than 3 minutes. As soon as the ride finished we went back in the single rider line and rode again. We enjoy riding Test track with strangers, especially if we get to ride with people who have never ridden before. It makes the ride even more fun! Next we walked over to get our fastpasses for Soarin’. We then went to The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. the line wasn’t that long so we rode the ride, spent some time watching the manatees and fish and then went in the theatre to see Turtle Talk with Crush.

Next it was off to Innoventions. There have been a lot of new attractions added to Innoventions since our last visit. We did Storm Struck, about severe weather safety, that was very interesting especially for those of us that live in hurricane plagued Florida. We also did The Great Piggy Bank Adventure-sponsored by T. Rowe Price. This is a great interactive exhibit on finances, saving and investing. We had a lot of fun working to save and make money for our ultimate family vacation. Here is Jordan with our piggy bank. In Innoventions I got to ride a Segway for the first time, that was way cool! We also went to the SlapStick Studios show sponsored by Velcro. That was a funny audience participation game show about all of the uses for hook and loop fasteners.

After eating lunch at the Electric Umbrella and riding Soarin’, it was time to head to World Showcase. In France we had a tweet-up! We were able to connect with Lou Mongello from WDWradio.com. I have talked to Lou on line and it was great to meet him in person. After meeting with Lou we took a turn at the new Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. This was a lot of fun. Back in Innoventions we had registered for our “Kimmunicator”. We picked it up when we arrived in the World Showcase. It is a cool Verizon phone with amazing graphics and sound. You receive clues to help Kim and Ron solve a case in the country they send you to. here is a video of part of our mission in France.

We had a lot of fun on the adventure. Each mission takes about 35 minutes to complete and depending on how busy it is in the park you can do 1-2 missions before being told where to turn in your Kimmunicator. Our second mission was in China and most of it took place in the large store at the back. That was a good thing because, the only rain we saw all day came then and it was torrential!

We visited Mexico to ride the Gran Fiesta Boat Tour and Norway to ride Maelstrom before heading back to Future World. In Future World we rode Journey into Imagination with Figment, took another ride on Test track via the single rider line, and then ended our day by riding Spaceship Earth. We had a great day, met a new friend and basked in the magic that is Walt Disney World.

If you want more information on Epcot or any of the attractions I mentioned in this post, please leave me a comment, I love to answer your questions.

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