Casey's Corner Disney World

Hot dogs.   I love hot dogs.    When I go to Disney World's Magic Kingdom I invariably eat lunch at a counter-service restaurant called Casey's Corner. 

 I assume that it got its name from the old poem Casey at the Bat.  

A great poem that was required reading in High School (or maybe it was Junior High).   The cast members (employees) all wear the old style of baseball uniforms.  

And what is traditional to eat at baseball games?   Yep, hot dogs.    So I get it:  Casey's Corner  a Casey at the Bat a Baseball a Hot Dogs.   No hamburgers.   No meatball subs.   Just hot dogs.   All kinds of hot dogs.

I like the chili cheese dog best.

They also have foot long hot dogs.   I once got a foot long chili  cheese dog at Casey's.

The two little things of ketchup are for my french fries and not the hot dog.   I tried ketchup on a hot dog once and found the taste to be terrible.   I am strictly mustard for a plain hot dog.   The chili cheese dog already has a really good chili topping.   But the foot long was enormous and just too big for me.   Plus the french fries.   I couldn't eat the french fries and so I fed them to the birds and ducks.   Last week I went to Magic Kingdom and once again I had a chili cheese dog (standard size) with french fries.   They have indoor dining but that fills up pretty quickly.

They have outside dining which is where I sat to eat my hot dog.

I sat next to the wrought iron fence.   And along came a duck.   A female mallard looking at me eagerly wanting some food.   What could I do, there went my french fries which she enjoyed immensely.

On my next visit I will be getting their specialty hot dog for October which is the loaded mashed potato hot dog.   The toppings are garlic mashed potatoes, caramelized onions, cheddar, bacon, scallion sour cream, and green onion.   This will definitely be a gastronomic adventure.

Disney always keeps coming up with new things which is why I keep coming back.   And what's next?   Maybe the two foot long hot dog that Casey's Corner had for a limited time.   Looks like something from the Man vs Food television show.   LOL.

Have a great day.   Lew

THE FIREMAN



Well, not a real fireman but a cast member on Main Street of Magic Kingdom at Disney World portraying a fireman.   He was a very personable individual.   He would ask people "Are you on fire?"   And if they said yes he would ask them if they would like to be misted.   Within seconds after this picture was taken people were stopping and asking to be misted.   He had a red pump-up hand sprayer and would mist the people like the man in the blue shirt.



People were also getting their picture taken next to him.   I had not seen this character at Disney World before but the individual with his jovial and friendly personality was perfect for the portrayal.



No matter how many times I go to Disney World there is always something new or something that I have not seen there before.   Always a fun place to visit.   Like Disney said, The happiest place on earth.     Lew

moths and camouflage

I remember a long time ago being taught about natural selection and evolution.   The story that I heard was that during the Industrial Revolution in England that a species of moth called pale, speckled moth gradually changed color to very dark.   The problem is obvious with the two moths in the picture below.

There was soot everywhere from the smoke stacks of the factories.  The soot was on the sides of building, sides of tree, and generally just everywhere.  So these light colored moths stood out and susceptible to predation.   The darker the moth was, the more it blended in with the dark soot covered background and didn't get eaten.   A few days ago there was a very dark moth on the white ceiling of the garage and it really stood out.  

I took the picture on day one and it was back the next day in a different spot on the white ceiling.   Pretty hard for a dark moth to conceal itself on a white background.  On day 3 it was back again but on the window.   Mary managed to get the moth to fly out of the garage.   Hopefully it found a darker place to rest during the day.   Anything is better than a white ceiling.   It hasn't come back to the garage.   But the moth reminded me of a biology lesson from a very, very long time ago.   Lew

Lobster Thermidor

Lobster Thermidor.   I recently saw on the internet Disney Food Blog that the Grand Floridian Hotel in Disney World is offering a Disney Thermidor hamburger.   The Grand Floridan Hotel looks to be styled after the Hotel del Coronado located in San Diego.

HOTEL DEL CORONADO

GRAND FLORIDIAN

Do you see the similarities?
But a lobster thermidor hamburger.    I have heard of lobster thermidor but never a lobster thermidor hamburger.  What does it look like?    Here it is.

So much lobster in it.   I hope that the hamburger meat doesn't interfere with the flavor of the lobster.   How much is a lobster thermidor hamburger?

Did I mention that it comes with French fries?

 

Does it seem pricey?   Not really.   I usually pay $12.95 for a hamburger at Disney served cafeteria style.   Plus I have to take the tray with the papers and left-overs to a garbage can myself.
Does the Hotel del Mar have a lobster thermidor hamburger?   Has anyone ever tried this combination of hamburger + lobster thermidor?   Well, I had two lobster rolls yesterday for lunch and they were good.

They were really quite good.  There was so much lobster in it.   I was quite surprised by how much lobster there was.   I asked the manager if the lobster was real lobster.   He assured me that it was.   He told me that he had made up five cans of the mixture that morning.   This was at a fast-food seafood chain called Captain D's.   I don't know if they are a national chain.

 You're wondering how much it was?   Yep, $3.69 for two of these rolls.   These lobster rolls were just crammed with the lobster filling.   Piled on above the level of the bun.   Quite a bargain.   Definitely got the Grand Floridian beat. 

 

What epicurean adventures have you had lately?   As they say, "Life is too short for cheap wine".   Have a great day.   Lew

Scapular medal

I had a gold Scapular medal on a gold chain.  

Gold is nice in that it doesn't corrode.   Stays nice and shiny forever.  Unfortunately gold is soft and breaks easily.   And that is what must have happened.   One day I discovered that the scapular medal and chain were gone from around my neck.   I had worn the medal and chain for so long that I had gotten so use to it that I was not aware of it.   I looked but I couldn't find it.   I decided to replace the gold Scapular medal with a silver Scapular medal with a silver chain.   Silver will be much stronger than the gold.   Plus the gold was really expensive.   I decided to go to the Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine locally.   It is incredible huge.   Maximum capacity inside the shrine is:

That is a lot of parishioners.   The gift shop is equally large.  By far, the largest religious gift shop that I have ever seen.   They have an incredible selection of everything that you could ever think of, including some scapular medals.  They had three of the same design.  

But hey, guess who was there?

 Not really.   It was just a life size cardboard cut-out.

Their scapular medals were just too modernistic for me.   I am more of a traditionalist.  I still have an old scapular medal that I had which I have always liked the design best.  I think that it was gold on silver and after a period of time the gold started to flake off.

On the back side of the medal you can see how the gold has flaked off.

This particular shape is very difficult to find.   I did an unsuccessful internet search.   So I decided to see if I could order something of a similar shape and design from Amazon.   If it was close I would be happy.   I couldn't believe it when I found the same exact medal shape and design in silver for sale on Amazon.   I was elated.

It has been shipped and is on its way.   The silver should not break.   But it will tarnish.   But that is alright because it is easy to clean.  I am happy.   Have a blessed day.   Lew

Little Green Army Men

Little green army men.   Remember them?   They were one of my favorite childhood toys.

For a dollar I could get a large bag of these toy soldiers.   They had a base to them to help keep the toy soldiers from falling over.

I visited Walt Disney World, Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land this week.  It was a nostalgia trip down memory lane with huge representations of toys from my childhood.

And along came these "Little Green Army Men" drumming a nice marching beat on their drums.   Actually, they weren't so little.

They were completely covered in green material.   It is August and incredibly

hot, especially at 100% humidity.   I don't know how they managed to tolerate  the heat.

What was interesting was that they had flat pieces on the bottom of their boots similar to the toy army men.   And they could walk without any problem.

I only saw about half of the Toy Story Land but evidently they have the Little Green Army Men for sale in a gift shop.

By the way I was a big fan of R. Lee Ermy.   He was great both in Full Metal Jacket and Mail Call.

Have a really nice day wherever you may be.    Lew

 

The Impossible

10" x 12".   Not very big.   About the size of a standard picture frame.   It is also the size of an x-ray film.   Actually the standard size of x-ray films were 8" x 10", 10" x 12", 11" x 14", and 14" x 17".   But there is something special about the 10" x 12" size as you will see.   In the past, x-ray films were developed by hand.   The films was clipped to a "hanger" and then dipped into various tanks of solutions.

The hangers made it easier to get a film into and out of a particular tank of solution.   It was a messy process.

One day a co-worker said that he could pas through a 10" x 12" hanger.   He was slender but this would still be impossible.   His shoulders were too wide.   Imagine taking a standard picture frame, remove the back, remove the glass, and then try squeezing through the frame.   No way.   Impossible.   He had a 10" x 12" hanger and proceeded with great effort trying to squeeze the hangar.   I was right, he had difficulty with the shoulders.   But he persisted and persisted in his effort and eventually made it.   There were several people in the room also to see this and we were all amazed by this.   I mean, have you ever seen something which you know is impossible but someone does it?   Sort of like watching a magician in a magic show do their illusions.   But this was no illusion or trickery, he actually passed through that 10" x 12" hanger.   And the hanger didn't get bent at all.   Although I saw it, I am still amazed by it.   Take a ruler and measure out and draw a rectangle of 10" x 12".   Do you think that you could fit through?   I know I can't but Jim did.   Have a pleasant day wherever you may be.    Lew