Photo of the Week - Walkway to the Magic Kingdom

You pay more at hotels like the Contemporary for a reason.  Other than the normal amenities you pay for location.  If you stay at the Contemporary you can walk to the Magic Kingdom via a nice walkway. This walkway passes under the Monorail which allows for some great photos.

CMDTA on Vacation: St. Lucia

If you have little to no money what can you do in St. Lucia’s Port?

First of all St. Lucia has an odd port.  It’s a mix of old and new.  There are some nice shop areas that are new and updated.  Right next to that there is what I’d call a flea market.  The flea market feels confined and you keep thinking someone is going to try to mug you while you are in it. This might sound odd but that’s the place to go.

The clean area has your normal port stores so in other words it’s nothing special.  The flea market has a lot of odd stuff. Stuff you might not be able to find in other places. The people in the flea market are also interesting.  They are true locals.  That might sound odd but there is a reason why that stands out.

Often the tourist stores hire non-locals.  Some of the major ones even hire Americans.  Some of these employees work year round for these companies.  You might wonder how they get through the off season.  The answer to that is rather interesting. 

My wife and I were in St. Thomas one year and we walked into a Spectrum store.  Spectrum specializes in ammolite which my wife likes but we could never afford. However because she likes it we always check out the stores selling it.  The sales rep knew us.  He knew us because he tried to sell us some ammolite in Ketchikan.  Ketchikan is in Alaska. Turns out a lot of the workers you see in the Alaskan ports spend their summers in the Alaska and their winters in the Islands.  I don’t know how much money is in that but how awesome does that sound?

OK back to the port in St. Lucia.  Other than the flea market there isn’t a whole lot in the port for poor people.  One thing you can do is head to the end of the port where you’ll find a bar that does karaoke.  It’s always fun to listen to drunk people try to sing.

If St. Lucia didn’t have the flea market and the karaoke bar I’d say skip it if you can’t afford to take a tour. However, those two places make it worth getting off the boat.

CMDTA on Vacation: St. Kitts

Continuing on my overview of islands when you are broke – St. Kitts!  St. Kitts has one of the most generic port areas in all the islands.  It’s crammed full of shops, bars, and touring companies.  80% of the shops are jewelry stores, 10% are liquor stores, and the rest sell crap.

If you can’t tell already I wasn’t impressed by the shopping in St. Kitts.  The bars weren’t much better.  Unlike in St. Maarten the prices for beer are insanely low.  You can find some good deals but you’ll have to hunt for them.  If you want a mixed drink you are going to pay a fair amount for it. 

On the subjects of drinks I should mention my experience with non-alcoholic drinks in St. Kitts.  I was being good so I ordered a Diet Coke.  What they gave me was a Coke Lite.  Coke Lite looks like a Diet Coke but tastes very different.  I can understand why the name is different but I’m not sure why you would change the formula.  It wasn’t awful it was just different.

On really strange thing you’ll run into in a lot of the shops in St. Kitts are the skeletons.  It seems like every shop has some creepy motorized skeleton that shakes. I might be able to understand this if it was Halloween but not a week after Thanksgiving.  I really don’t know why all the shop keepers thought these were a good idea.

A final note about St. Kitts – Look out for the monkey people.  There are a lot of people walking around the port are with monkeys.  Most of the monkeys are wearing diapers. Their goal is to put a monkey on your shoulder so you’ll pay them money to have your picture taken with the monkey.  I don’t know about you but I don’t want anything wearing a diaper on my shoulder. 

Overall St. Kitts isn’t the best stop if you are broke.  You might be better off just staying on the boat unless you want to grab a couple of beers.

New Video Posted

It only took me three months but I finally got my White Mountains video posted to YouTube.

Thanks to the new version of iMovie I can now upload HD movies.  This movie is in 720p. 

All footage was taken in October of 2010. 

You can see the video HERE.

CMDTA’s 1st Annual Disney Podcast Awards

I know there are some legitimate podcast awards out there.  Those are no fun.  I’m doing podcast awards my way.  You won’t find your normal categories on this list.  In fact no one else does a Disney Podcast Award (I think).

The “I thought they died” Award:

This one was tough.  Annette Owens took a big break from WDW Today.  Most years she’d walk away with this award except Van from Netcot only put out a couple episodes this year. Congrats Van! I thought you were dead!

Best Rant

In this category Pete Werner from the DIS Unplugged is nominated…about 15 times. So it’s Pete vs. Himself!  I guess that takes the suspense out of who wins but not for what!  Pete wins for his rant on the “Sick Show.” He was the only person on that episode and he still took the time to do a rant!  Now there is an example of going above and beyond.

Goofiest Guest

In terms of Disney – It’s good to be Goofy!  Out of all the countless guests, who was the goofiest?  The award goes to Tim “Bananas” Foster on the WDW Radio show.  What can you say?  The guy sounds like a dufus and he is a major deek.  Of course I mean that in a good way.

Award for the Podcast with the Most inside Jokes

The winner by a massive margin is WDW Today! When you have to check the wiki at least once in every podcast you know there are a lot of inside jokes.  Arrrgh MONGELLO!!!

Best New Personality Not on Their Own Show or Own Segment for that Matter

Congrats Princess Lisa!  It’s good to know someone is keeping Skipper Ben in line.

Award for the Most Insane Episode

You’d think WDW Today would win this one.  You would be wrong.  This goes to Inside the Magic for its year end review. It clocked in at over five hours. FIVE HOURS! Some people don’t sleep that long at night.

Podcaster Most Likely to be Caught Picking His Nose on a Ride

The first name that comes to mind is Lou Mongello.  However, Lou loves to eat and that’s just gross so this award goes to Len Testa!  Congrats Len!

Most Addicted Podcaster

Ricky Brigante for his Haunted Mansion addiction!  Don’t be surprised if he dies on this attraction while trying to set the consecutive ride record.

The Odd Couple Award

Who doesn’t love an odd combo?  Even the Disney Podcast Community has one.  Congrats Jim Hill and Nathan Rose from the Magical Definitions Podcast!

Most Likely to Die a Death Somehow Related to Van Halen While in a Disney Park

Do I even have to say this one?  Congrats Len Testa!

Most Likely to be Mistaken for the Yeti

Congrats Mike Scoppa!  Most people don’t know this but if you shave the Yeti you find he’s Mike Scoppa’s long lost brother.

CMDTA on Vacation – St. Maarten – St. Martin

No, I didn’t misspell the title and no I am not talking about two countries.  St. Martin is an island in the Caribbean.  It has two names because it’s technically two different countries.  It’s up to some debate but the Island itself is called St. Martin but the island is divided into two sections.  The French side is called St. Martin and the Dutch side is called St. Maarten.  Just to clarify my wife and I visited St. Maarten.

Sadly on this trip my wife and I couldn’t afford to do any excursions so my reviews of all islands will be based on what you get in the port.  I actually hope this ends up being a helpful way of reviewing islands considering how expensive excursions have become.

St. Maarten has a pier.  Right off the bat this puts it above other islands.  I hate getting tendered on and off a cruise ship.  From the pier you could walk to the shopping area but that would be a long walk.  Instead you go to the right hand side of the port and take a water taxi to the shopping area.  It’s only a five minute boat ride and it’s totally worth it.

Where the water taxi drops you off is a long sandy beach which is lined with bars and cheap shops.  Beyond the bars and cheap shops is a street that is lined with numerous shops.  This is a great island shopping area.  I use the term “island” because it’s a typical example of what you find on almost every island in the Caribbean.  These shopping areas consist of lots of jewelry, liquor, clothing, and what I call tourist junk stores.

Tourist junk stores is where you find all the crap you laugh at when you are home, but are compelled to buy when you are on vacation.  I don’t think I need to say anything else.  You know what I am talking about.

The best part of this destination is the beach.  You can rent a beach site for next to nothing, the water is clean and warm, and the bars will serve you if you want.

Included in the beach are the bars. I say this because if you are looking for a beer you will be in heaven here.  To explain what I mean I first have to inform you about beer on cruise ships.  Carnival (Royal Caribbean and NCL) sell “beer buckets” on the ship.  These are insanely expensive four packs of beer.  Bud Light or Bud (which are both like pee in a bottle) will run you around $15 when you count the gratuity.  In St. Maarten you can buy a “beer bucket” for $10.  Oh and by the way these beer buckets have six beers, you can pick what beers are in there, and it’s not “pee in a bottle” beer.  Normally you can pick between six or so Caribbean and Mexican beers. WOOOOOOO!

So that is the St. Maarten port area.  If you are broke it’s the place to be.

Disney Year in Review

I’m a little late getting this post out.  By now everyone must be sick to death of all of the “end of year” reviews out there. Don’t let that stop you from reading.  If you’ve ever read this blog before you know I’m a few sandwiches short of a picnic. 

I’m not going to do an in depth overview of the year.  I’m going to do a hit list of the events that made an impression on me.

Give a Day Get a Day: This was a great idea and that was proven by the fact it ran out in a blink of an eye.  I guess the only real drawback of this promotion was the fact that a lot of people who wanted to participate in it could not because it ran out so fast.

Epic Mickey: It was a game with so much promise.  It was a game with everything going for it.  It was a game that fell so short of the mark it made me sad. The only thing that made it even worse was Warren Spector’s, slap in the face, remarks about how everyone was wrong.  The game was good people just didn’t know how to play it or understand what they were trying to do.  I guess I should thank him for letting us know how stupid we are.

D23 Price Drop: This was a step in the right direction but still not what needed to be done to fix D23.  If you want to know how to fix D23 just search my blog for “D23.” I do have to say that I think Disney stole part of my idea.  I just wish they’d steal the entire idea.

Alice in Wonderland: I saw this move and I liked this movie.  In fact it was the only movie I saw in the theater this year.  I’m not sure how it broke a billion but I’m happy it did.  This movie was a welcome surprise.

Captain EO Returns: I have really mixed feelings about this.  Captain EO was awesome when I was a kid.  I got to see it less than a year after it opened in Epcot.  I’m a huge fan of the old school Epcot.  Out of all the things they could have brought back this wouldn’t have been on the top of my list.  What bugs me is the only reason it came back was because Michael Jackson died.  If Michael was still alive Captain EO would still be sitting on a shelf.

Power Ranges Get Dumped: YES! WOOOHOOO! I hated seeing the power rangers in DHS.  I don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Prince Charming’s Carousal: I declare this the official “Say what?!?” Disney moment of the year.  I’d use another term but this is a mostly family friendly blog.  This just happened.  Why?  We don’t know.  How many people know the story and name changed? Almost no one knows.  Why?  Disney didn’t make a big deal about it.  So again, why?

Summer Nightastic: It had an annoying song that got stuck in your head and they messed up the Tower of Terror for a while.  Oh, they also brought back some kind of parade I remember watching when I was eight.

Development for the Rich: I refuse to even mention its name.  This was an awful move.  People shouldn’t live on Disney World property. The problem is Disney is supposed to be for everyone and every family not just the people who wipe their butts with hundred dollar bills.

Doggie Hotel: Why does a dog need a tv and story time?  Sorry I have to stop thinking about this.  My head is starting to hurt.

Toy Story 3: Great move but it had the darkest scene I’ve seen in any Disney movie.  I have to say the landfill scene actually shocked me.  It’s still a top notch movie.

CMDTA Raids Disney: Somehow Disney survived another raid by CMDTA.  New Hampshire didn’t though.  The second biggest ice storm in NH history hit :P

There were a lot of other subjects but I these were the ones I wanted to mention. 

CMDTA on Vacation – Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse

I’m not a fan of the “dine when you want” trend in cruise industry.  This trend has also lead to the creation of multiple restaurants that have a cover charge.  Thankfully Carnival lets you still have a set dining time and only have one extra restaurant with a cover charge. 

At first my wife and I didn’t even consider going to Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse.  We normally avoid those places because we’ve never had a good experience at one.  What changed our mind was the fact that we got seated with another couple at dinner.  Don’t get me wrong, John and Ashley were very nice and we had a decent amount in common but my wife does not like people.  She has to deal with people all day long where she works and has to put up with a lot of their issues.  She gets burned out.  The last thing she wants to do on vacation is make small talk.  Add that to the fact that we were celebrating our anniversary and John and Ashley were on their honeymoon and you can understand why all of us would need a couple days away from people.

Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse cost $30 a person for dinner.  This is no surprise.  They mention the cover charge in you daily cruise flyer and when you call to make a reservation.  They also mention when you make a reservation that dinner can take up to 2hrs to complete.  That surprised me at first but then I realized that they were trying to do a truly classic dining experience.

On a side note:  You do need to make reservations.  They number of people they serve each night is VERY limited.  In fact they book the place with the mindset that everyone is going to take 2hrs for dinner.  This means you never have to wait for your table and the place is quiet because it’s never more than half full.

There are three ways to get to Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse which is located on the 10^th floor of the ship.  The first way is to take the glass elevators to the 10^th floor.  This is a nice scenic way to get there.  You can also take the normal stairs by the elevators but that’s boring.  The final way is the best way.  There are glass (or plastic) stairs that curve out from the lido deck, over the atrium, and up to Nick and Nora’s.  There is something very unsettling about being able to see down 90 feet by looking at your feet.  I’ll also warn you that if you have vertigo or are afraid of heights that this will scare the pants off of you.

The meal is five courses long.  You start with an odd taster that you don’t order they just deliver it to you.  Then you get to choose a salad.  Next you order an appetizer.  After that comes the main meal and desert. 

Anything you order here is going to be great. The food is amazing.  The options are excellent too.  You truly get what you pay for.  To explain why consider what my wife and I got for our main course.  I ordered a 24oz porterhouse and my wife ordered a lobster tail and filet.  That one course would have cost $83 + tax at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club in Disney World.  Oh and that $83 does not include the lobster tail or tip.

There is only one other thing food wise I will point out because it was insane.  It’s one of the deserts.  It was chocolate five ways.  The five parts were shooter glasses with different chocolate deserts including banana, tiramisu, white chocolate, black forest and dark chocolate. Believe it or not, it looked as good as it tasted.

The service was excellent.  You couldn’t ask for better service. You had four different people who serviced you and the manager came by as well.

The atmosphere is great.  The atrium is capped by a large glass ceiling. The lighting is dark but not too dark. Everything feels open and spacious.  If you are not sitting in the atrium you are sitting up against large windows.  It’s very nice.

All considered the cover charge was worth it.  For what you get it’s an amazing value.

Outsourcing – Disney’s Dark Side

One thing I disagree with on a large scale is outsourcing.  On a small scale it can let small businesses offer services they otherwise could not afford.  In some cases it allows a business to offer a better quality service by using a company that specializes in a certain area. 

Outsourcing to save money almost always fails.  Look at HP and other huge companies.  They like to outsource their call centers.  I don’t call their call centers.  If I can’t do it on my own, guess what?  I return the product and buy their competitor.  The reason is the service tends to be so poor at their out sourced companies I’d rather get in my car and drive somewhere than deal with them.

Disney has gotten in the bad habit of outsourcing.  The two areas are the “Magical” “Express” and their luggage transfer service.  If you have to deal with either service you realize that something just isn’t “Magical.”  The fact is those services are not up to Disney standards. 

I don’t doubt for a minute that Disney is saving money by using these services, but that doesn’t make it right.  If you have a problem with these services Disney quickly passes the buck and refuses to take any responsibility.  They are quick to inform you that those are not Disney run services if something goes wrong.  There is a good chance this is the only time you will hear Disney inform you of that fact.

In my opinion, if you outsource something you are just as responsible for what happens as that company.  I know that’s not legally correct but I stand firm in saying it’s morally correct.  If you don’t want to take responsibility for the other company then don’t use them.

Disney isn’t alone.  Most travel companies outsource in some way.  To be honest I don’t care if you do but I don’t think the services that directly impact your customers should ever be outsourced. If you want to hire another company for waste removal or maintenance then go ahead.  If you are going to outsource your bus drivers or ticket sellers then I have a problem with that.

Photo of the Week - Universe of Energy

You can call it Ellen's Energy Adventure all you want.  This pavilion will always be the Universe of Energy to me.  Everything about this pavilion is odd. The building is odd, the show is odd, even the pool out front is odd. 

Enjoy this attraction while you can.  They don't build them like this anymore.