2023 January Trip

We left Fort Wilderness on November 20th and headed south for about an hour to the Lake Wales area where we checked in at The Resort at Canopy Oaks. We really like this campground and we had a very relaxing two and a half month stay there.

Monday January 30, 2023
It was hard to leave Canopy Oaks after such an enjoyable stay, but since we were on our way to Fort Wilderness we 'sucked it up' and were on the road at 9:00 a.m.
	Canopy Oaks is beautifully landscaped; even the drive out is pleasant!
In just over an hour the Disney signs came into view and by 10:45 we were parked at Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground overflow waiting for a text message to tell us our campsite number. We unhooked the tow car and took the dogs for a short walk while we waited.

Soon the message came telling us to head to site #1703. We were happy to get the rig backed in and the utilities all hooked up before noon. The temperature was already in the mid 80's so it was nice to have the A/C going when we stopped setting up for a few minutes to have a bite of lunch. We were pretty much finished our chores by 2:00 and relaxed a bit before heading off to EPCOT for the annual Festival of the Arts. The dogs had an early dinner and we hit the road at about 4:30.

There is always an incredible variety of unique and original Disney themed art on display at the festival kiosks and we always look forward to saying hello to a few f the Disney artists we've gotten to know over the years. This 24" tall sculpture of Goofy surfing caught my eye. I'm a big Goofy fan!
If you have an extra $10,000 or $20,000 burning a hole in your pocket you could be the proud owner of this one-of-a-kind Ariel table or the Snow White sculpture on the right.
	For the less affluent, like Carol and I, there are also some less expensive options, like these prints. Carol picked up an Orange Bird canvas wrap that she's been admiring for a few weeks.
There are some interesting art displays tucked away in out of the way corners around the park, like this portrait of Donald Duck near the Mexico Pavilion.
	By 5:30 we were seated at Nine Dragons, one of our favourite EPCOT restaurants. When we were both full and there was enough left to fill a 'to-go box' which will probably be Carol's lunch tomorrow.
After dinner we headed directly to the America Gardens Theatre where we found great seats for the 6:45 p.m. Disney on Broadway performance. Every year we look forward to seeing the stars of Disney shows on Broadway perform free concerts for EPCOT guests in the amphitheatre beside the American Pavilion. Tonight's performers were Patti Murin and Robert Creighton. We've seen Robert before but this was Patti's first appearance at EPCOT.


	They put on a great show for us. Robert belted out some familiar Disney show tunes and danced up a storm. Patti is a very talented singer and actress, but since she's expecting her second child we didn't see a lot of energetic dancing. The show finished to a thunderous applause at 7:20.

	We took a slow stroll toward the park exit, browsing all the art kiosks along the way. We enjoyed this chalk-art depiction of Daisy on our way down the central walkway heading toward Spaceship Earth. The dogs were happy to see us when we rolled in at about 8:30.

Tuesday January 31, 2023
Our day started slowly. We spent some time finishing our campsite set-up with a few lights and signs, then Carol rode her bike off to the two stores in the campground. I fiddled at the computer working on our little web site and uploading yesterday's exciting chapter of our latest Disney adventure!
	A bright red male cardinal teased Carol most of the morning flitting around in the tops of the tall pines surrounding us. She managed to get a few good pictures with our little point and shoot camera.
After lunch we sat outside for a while and enjoyed the sunshine. I thought Carol was sound asleep in her zero gravity chair . . . but then my phone chirped and I saw her Facebook post that included the picture on the right and her caption: 'This is what I'm looking at right now!'
	I was sitting in a chair just few feet away and I saw the scene pictured on the right.
We left the dogs behind and headed back to EPCOT for a bit more of the Festival of the Arts.

We had a little fun with a PhotoPass photographer near Figment's Imagination Station as we passed through Future World on our way to England.

	Carol snapped a few pictures of flowers and totems as we passed through Canada and at 5:00 p.m. we checked in for dinner at England's Rose & Crown Pub.
That's our server Shawn in the yellow shirt in the middle of the photo. The precious cargo on his tray is my pint of Guinness.

After a tasty dinner we settled in at The America Gardens Theatre to enjoy another concert by Broadway performers Tonight's stars were both fresh faces and voices for Carol and I and they proved themselves to be outstanding singers. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening! Mandy is a very energetic performer. She sang, danced and vamped her way across the stage again and again. Her high-energy style made her very difficult to photograph. Steven has the powerful, booming voice you would expect from someone who is currently starring as Mufasa in The Lion King on Broadway.






	It was an awesome show. It reminded us again that these free concerts are one of the main reasons we try to attend The Festival of the Arts every year. When the show ended at 7:15 we scurried off toward the exit. Along the way Carol snapped a few pictures of the amazing lights that animate Spaceship Earth every night.

	We were home with the dogs by 8:15 p.m.

Wednesday February 1, 2023
We started the day slowly but by 9:30 we were on the road, headed toward Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. Soon after we entered we spotted DeVine but she was just finishing her show and was heading backstage so we didn't get any good pictures.

Carol did some browsing at Island Mercantile while I took a few pictures at The Tree of Life. Carol joined me just as the 10:15 Winged Encounters show began.

The sky is filled with free-flying macaws . . . they are bright and they are noisy!
Carol spotted a pair of otters sleeping in what looked like a stone box.	They're even cuter when you zoom in on them!
Russell and Dug sailed under the bridge as we crossed into Harambe Village.

	It looked for a few minutes like Carol and I might have a private safari, but the the crowd caught up to us and totally filled the truck! Bummer!

	Wildebeest have the giraffe on the run!
Carol shouted, 'Look, look!' When I turned I saw a herd of wildebeest stampeding and a few startled giraffe scampering in front of the herd. That was something new! They quickly settled down and started grazing again!



	The dogs were happy to see us when we got home about 12:30
	After a quiet afternoon at home we fed the dogs early and drove to Universal Orlando where we met our good friends Deb and Linda for dinner.
We spent a fun-filled two-and-a-half hours sharing experiences and laughing as we enjoyed a delicious dinner. All four of us ordered lasagne! What are the odds?	At about 10:00 p.m. Carol took the dogs out and noticed that the moon was almost full. The sky she's been photographing during the day looked like this at night!

Thursday February 2, 2023
We had plans to visit Disney's Hollywood Studios this morning but before that happened Carol decided to recline in her zero gravity chair and check out the view.
	This is what she saw so she instantly cancelled our plans and we enjoyed a relaxing morning at home with the puppies.
In the afternoon we had a nice long visit with some friends from Ohio. Lucy and Rene (on the right with Carol and I) are both actively involved in organizing Dayton Disneyana, the amazing event we've been attending every June for the last decade. Most times they're friendly and hospitable . . . but when we're all bidding on the same Disney collectibles in the live auction - these ladies are TIGERS! We had a great afternoon with them. When the event is in progress in Dayton there is time to talk, but never time to converse. It was nice to have the time to sit, relax and chat!


During their stay Lucy and Rene took a few pictures of Carol and I and dozens of pictures of the dogs. I guess we know who they really came to visit!
	In the evening we headed to Pioneer Hall for a Rootin' Tootin' Good Time. This is the longest continuous running show in America and it has hardly changed at all since it first opened June 30, 1974. Singing, dancing, corny jokes and good food. It's the recipe for a very enjoyable night!

We sat right behind the orchestra! They were talented musicians and as you can see they behaved with dignity and decorum all night!



	There was comedy, there was romance, there was drama!




Carol gave me a washboard lesson. Turns out that I'm a quick learner and a musical prodigy!

	Our ribs were sore from laughter when we got home to the dogs at 8:30.

Friday February 3, 2023
This morning I left bright and early to return the ECV I had rented for our stay at Disney World. When I got back to the campsite Carol was a few campsites down, dumping our bag of trash into a garbage bin. I waved to her and said, 'Come quick, you've got to see this!' That's an armadillo right beside our motor home. What you can't see in the picture is Jasper. He's on the other side of the RV straining on his lead as he watches this bizarre (and possibly tasty) creature only a few feet away!

It was sprinkling lightly as we passed the guard shack on our way out of the campground at 10:45 and by the time we left Disney property just a few minutes later it was pouring.
	It rained almost steadily during our hour-and-a-half drive to Oak Alley RV Resort at Webster Florida. I had hoped that the rain would wash away all of the yellow pine pollen that had coated the coach and the car during our four-day stay. Unfortunately that didn't work out. I'll have to wash them both. We pulled into Oak Alley just a few minutes after noon and began setting up our campsite. This will be home until March 6th when we return to Fort Wilderness to spend a few days at the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival.