Secrets Playa Bonita - Standard Room Review

First watch the video, and then I'll fill in some blanks.

So what else is there?  In the bathroom, I mention the gaps where mold can grow.  One of these is caused by the wall moving.  I'm serious.  If you push on the wall, it moves.  It's as if it is floating and not bolted to anything.

You'll notice that the sheets are messy in this video.  That's because the maid service was spotty.  Multiple times during our trip we did not get maid service or a turn down, despite spending at least eight hours a day outside of our room.

You might notice that the door to the room looks wooden.  It is and it's not even slightly insulated.  This means you will hear anything going on outside.  Despite this fact, the AC keeps the room nice and cool.  I can't imagine the amount of energy they burn through maintaining this.

New Video Posted: Baltimore Departure

A new video has been posted to YouTube.  It's a video of the cruise ship departure from the Port of Baltimore.   My goal is to get a series of these overtime.  I want to add Boston, New York, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and maybe some others.

The video is in 1080p and can be viewed here.

New Video Posted: Secrets Junior Suite Overview

A new video has been posted to YouTube.  It's a video overview of an average Junior Suite that can be found at the Secrets St. James resort found in Montego Bay Jamaica.

Overall it's a decent room but it has some...odd features.  Some of the features would be total deal breakers for some people. 

You can see the video here.

Videos From 1990

Until now every video I have linked in this blog have been my own.  This post is different.

My parents took me to Disney for the first time in the mid to late 1980's.  Some of the best memories from my childhood were of Disney from 1987 to 1996.

Today I found someone on YouTube who uploaded a ton of videos from his vacation in 1990.  He has a ton of these videos and I have to admit that they were like a walk down memory lane.

He has a lot of what seem to be random videos but in face they are some of the rare things that have been stripped out of Disney over the years.

If you went to Disney in the early 90's then you will find something you will love in these videos.

You can see them all HERE.

New Videos - The Haunted Mansion in 1080p

I posted two new videos to YouTube.  The first one is for the the stretching mansion at the Haunted Mansion.  The second one is the ride portion of the Haunted Mansion.

Keep in mind that the ride portion is very dark. Even considering that it's still a fun video.

You can see the Stretching Room here.

You can see the ride portion here.

Both are in 1080p.

Two New Videos Posted

Two new videos have been posted to YouTube.  The first one is a short goofy video entitled "When You Know You Went to Mickey's Philharmagic Too Early in the Day."  This has to be a rare video.  It's a video of me in Mickey's Philharmagic and me alone.  That's right there is not a single other person anywhere.  I didn't even see a cast member.

The second video is entitled "Epcot's Fountain of Nations in 1080p."  One nice thing about this video is the weather.  The sky is crystal clear.  There is not a cloud in the sky so it's really easy to see the water shooting into the air.

You can see the Mickey's Philharmagic video here.


You can see the Fountain of Nations video here.

Video Posted: Broke Splash Mountain in 1080p HD

Splash Mountain is one of the best rides in Disney World.  Sadly it's currently in possibly the worst shape in it's history. Many of the animatronics are broken, many of the water effects are out of order,  some of the lighting effects are not working, and it's in need of a paint job.

In the video you can see HERE I try to point out some of the glaring issues.  In time Disney will bring down Splash Mountain for a much needed rehab. You won't see it this year because Big Thunder is going down for a rehab.  You might see it in the winter of 2013 once a good chunk of the Fantasy Land expansion is open.

New Video Posted - The Seas Lockout Tank

From another overlooked corner of the "World" comes the lockout tank at the Seas pavilion.  I would love to try this sometime but I get the feeling that really isn't going to happen.

This reminds me of the good old days before Nemo stuck his tail into the seas.  Back then the theming at the seas was top notch.  They really tried to convince you that you were going far below the ocean surface.

You can see the video here.

New Video Posted: Illuminations Globe Up Close

If you have never seen the Illuminations globe enter the lake check this video out. 

I'd never really given it much thought before.  To get the globe in they raise one of the bridges near the Africa trading post.  This surprised be because I've crossed this bridge many times over the years and never realized that this was a drawbridge.

The globe itself is rather impressive.  I can't imagine how many hours of engineering went into it.  It also looks like it could be a monster to try and fix. 

You can see the video here.

New Video Posted: Fountain of Nations at Night

The Fountain of Nations is one of the most underrated things in Disney World.  There are multiple shows set to a number of different music tracks.

Everyone has heard of the fountain shows in Vegas.  Lots of people line up to see them.  People don't realize that the Fountain of Nations show started years before the shows in Vegas.

Next time you are in Epcot stop and check them out.

You can see the video here.

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.

2010 Disney Montage!

The best Disney montage video EVER...this week...has been posted to YouTube. The video is set to the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves theme and was filmed in 1080p.

I don't want to hear any complaints. I know all this footage is from February and yes it took me five months to get around to editing this.

If you like it, rate it or leave a comment on YouTube.

You can see the video here.

New Video Posted - Illuminations

I have posted a new version of Illuminations to YouTube. This video is better quality than my last one. I won't say exactly where I was but I will say it was in the Canada Pavilion. You'll notice the very large full moon. It was an almost perfect night in Epcot.

Part One

Part Two

New Video Posted: Wishes

A video of Wishes has been posted to YouTube. The video was taken in March of 2010. Near the entrance to Tomorrow Land there are some paths that are often empty when the fireworks start. This video was taken from there. It lends a unique view. If you've seen Wishes before you might want to try this area. Other than a different view Tinker Bell soars right over your head.

You can see the video through these two links. The video is in two parts because of YouTube's ten minute time limit. The total run time is just over 11 minutes.

Part One
Part Two

New Video: Big Thunder Mountain

A new video of Big Thunder Mountain has been posted. It was taken in March of 2010. The intro was filmed at Tom Sawyers Island near Fort Longhorn. The video was originally taken in 1080p. You might notice something missing from the film. The Goat chewing dynamite appears to be missing. I could be wrong. If I am please let me know but I didn't see it any of the times I went on the ride.

The video can be viewed here.

New Video: Pirates of the Caribbean

A video of Pirates of the Caribbean has been posted on YouTube. This video was taken in March of 2010. The original video was in 1080p. You'll notice that the smoke screen video at the start of the ride was broken when we were on this. A few days later it was working again.

This is the Walt Disney World version which puts the video under six minutes once I edited it.

I filmed this without using a view finder so the quality isn't fantastic but it's far better than what my old camera could do.

The video can be viewed here.

New Video: Splash Mountain

If you've been following the blog for a while you know I had Splash Mountain video from my 2008 trip posted on YouTube. I've replaced that with a new version which has far better quality.

The video was taken in the beginning of March 2010 just days after Splash Mountain reopened after it's refurbishment. The light seemed brighter, the paint seemed more vibrant, and almost everything seemed to be working well. The only exception was the Brer Rabbit that jumps. You could really it's wires and it made it look almost creepy.

The video can be viewed here.

New Video: Splash Mountain Drop in Slow Motion

A video of the drop on Splash Mountain in actual slow motion has been posted to YouTube. The video is not regular video slowed down it's high speed video played at a normal speed.

The video was taken in February 2010 and can be seen here.

New Video: Tomorrow Land Transit Authority at Night

I've always loved the TTA or Webway People Mover as it should still be called. I took this video on a cold night in March. This video was impossible with m old video camera. It didn't come out too bad.

There will be a lot more video's coming.

You can see the video here.

New Video - Festival of the Lion King

A full version of Festival of the Lion King have been posted to YouTube. You can find this attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Camp Minnie Mickey. It's one of the better shows in Disney World.

This video was taken in February of 2010 during a very slow day at the Animal Kingdom.

This is the first video I'm posting with my new camcorder. The original files were in 1080p.

The video is in four parts because of YouTube's time restrictions.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four