Once upon a time there was a Sword named Excalibur which was lodged in an anvil in an enchanted place called Fantasyland. The stone on which the anvil rested was inscribed, "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rich and wise ruler born of England".



Along came the young price, Sir William, full of vim and vigor and in his youthful exuberance did he try to free said sword from it's prison of iron and stone. But, alas, it was not to be.


Even with his father, Lord Timoteo, by his side, young Sir William could not free the sword, despite his most passionate attempts. Clearly, all of the muscle power the young men could amass would not be enough to release Excalibur from it's prison.


Along came Lord Timoteo's father, whom Sir William doth moniker as the Mighty Pop-Pop, and try as they might, they three nobelmen could not manage to retrieve the mighty Excalibur. This was going to take more than sheer muscle and might to solve. What to do? What to do?


After wishing on a star with his tender heart, the sweet and loving Sir William got his wish in the form of a fairy named Valerie, who wore a magical white straw hat and carried a magic wand that made bubbles with every wave. Could Valerie grant Sir William the magical powers needed to release Excalibur from it's place of confinement? Did Sir William possess the purity and innocence to free the Sword from the Stone?


With some magic words and little bit of pixie dust, something incredible started to happen... the sword began to lift from the anvil! All hail Sir William, the new King of Fantasyland!

Labels: fantasyland, sword and stone, the magic kingdom

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Tom Sawyer Island is a hidden yet very exciting portion of the Magic Kingdom where you can get some great views of local attractions. Here is Big Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World as seen from the edge of TSI. I really love the beautiful colors in the rocks and the sky. A very peaceful and scenic image.

Labels: big thunder mountain, the magic kingdom, tom sawyer island

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I recently obtained a new plugin for Adobe Photoshop CS4 which will turn any color photo into a vintage black and white image. Through a careful mix of layers and blending, the resulting image is as shown. I think the treatment suits the image quite perfectly. Got any other ideas for this treatment (besides the Hollywood Tower Hotel, which is a given)? By adding the black and white to a new layer and changing the opacity of the black and white layer, some of the underlying color was allowed to blend through, creating a new image with a spooky tone.

Labels: Haunted Mansion, Photoshop, the magic kingdom

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Wishes! is the night-time fireworks spectacular at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Set to a moving score featuring Jiminey Cricket, Wishes! is an unforgettable way to end any day at the Magic Kingdom.

Labels: fireworks, the magic kingdom, wishes

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WOW... 3 straight days with a new post....

Jim, the ragtime pianist at Casey's Corner in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, is a truly talented musician. He plays requests off the top of his head and never has a note of music in front of him while playing. I asked him to play something from Mary Poppins for my 10 month old back in Mousefest '07, and not only did he play a song from Mary Poppins, but unleashed a furious ragtime medley of Mary Poppins songs one after another that got the entire group of folks listening rocking along with him. Jim, you are a true talent, and a class act, and I enjoy all the time I get to spend listening to you and speaking with you at Casey's Corner. Keep playing and I hope to see you this summer.

Labels: casey's corner, music, the magic kingdom, walt disney world

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