The World by Day

Link: http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/July/allornothingday.htm

Today is All or Nothing Day. How will your day go? Will you have it all....or nothing. (Sounds to me, a little like "Deal, or no Deal?"

How would one describe All or Nothing Day. It is certainly as day of extremes. If you're a gambler, it's a day to go for broke. A little drastic day, perhaps. There's definitely no grey area in how you spend this day

We hope you have it all on All or Nothing Day, and every day.

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This one came to me VERY quickly, but let's go about this a little more closely.

An honorable mention could be The Magic Kingdom's Mad Tea Party; as there is always a reason to celebrate: a Birthday, or an UN-Birthday. This would be a case of All. A celebration of Nothing can be found in Epcot's Ellen's Energy Adventure, when Bill Nye (The Science Guy) shows Ellen the time before the Big Bang, when there was…well…Nothing!

Since there are no Shades of Gray, I guess Shades of Green resort is out as well. Sorry, Veterans!

Back to my initial thought…when I think of All or Nothing…I think of none other than Epcot's Mission:Space. You choose the Orange (intense) mission, or the Green (gentle) mission. I for one see this as a "you can ride this ride as intended, or watch it on TV" kind of choice. For me, It's ALL SYSTEMS GO on the Orange Mission!

I know there are those who are prone to claustrophobia or motion sickness, who would not get to ride, so it's nice that thee is the TV version they can "ride". But, I'm a Black or White kind of guy!

So, today I salute you, Mission:Space, for being my epitome of All or Nothing Day!

Link: http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/February/cardreadingday.htm

Card Reading Day is a fun day. It's a day to read cards..... no more, no less.

Beyond a doubt, the stationery and Ecard companies love this day. It encourages you to send cards. They like that.

As we did our research, we thought we'd find some history that suggest it is a day for Tarot card readings. It very well could be. But, we found no written evidence to support our theory.

What we can tell you, is that its very popular to send and receive cards today. In order to read a card, someone has to send one. So, get the ball rolling and send out some cards today. Chances are, you will get a few back.

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Well! Honestly, my first instinct for this day is the card readers that let you in to each park…those wonderful biometric scanners, then I thought of the security line, and the people who simply refuse to learn that they have to open EVERY zippered section of their bag… *shudder*

Then, bizarrely, my thoughts turned towards the Backstage Magic tour I took, and the way cast members had to scan in their uniform / costumes using their ID badges…but that's too obscure.

Finally, I land on the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom…specifically, the Madame Leota crystal ball seance scene. Nothing evokes the feeling of a creepy tarot session that the floating head-in-a-ball can conjure!

So, on this Card Reading Day, I salute you, The Haunted Masion!

Link: http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/November/cooksomethingboldday.htm

According to it's creator, Wellcat.com, Cook Something Bold Day is designed to encourage us to cook something bold and daring, that will fill up the house with warm, "homey" odors. It is celebrated in the month of November, as houses are closed up for the winter, and capture the cooking smells.

We hope you cook up a storm today, and have a very happy Cook Something Bold Day!!!

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First and foremost, this enters the realm of more than a few fans of the Disney parks and resorts… food! At first thought  I'm drawn to the mixed-reviewed Yak 'n Yeti restaurant in Animal Kingdom, if only because the asian-fusion recipies can appear to be VERY bold, especially for theme park food!

On the other hand, the description of "warm, 'homey' odors" takes me to Disney Hollywood Studios, and Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano. Again, this place seems to engender either a positive or negative reaction from park-goers, and never, it seems, anyone on the fence. The ambiance; the way the restaurant is seeped in old-world italian smells and old-Hollywood decor and charm... Ah. Very good.

But.

Both of these locations can't be called "Bold". Not really. I can get both types of food pretty much wherever I go, and even within a 10 minute drive from my house.

My choice for this week is actually  Earl of Sandwich, at Downtown Disney's Marketplace. The reason being there are sandwiches on the menu that I would NEVER consider making for myself, nor ordering when I'm just going out for a regular lunch at a regular sandwich shop. Sure, they offer the old stand-bys, but, for me, the "Thanksgiving" sandwich, with cranberries on it? or the Hawaiian Barbeque sandwich? Now, that's bold.

So, for today, Cook Something Bold Day, I salue you, Earl of Sandwich!

Sorry for the break in format, folks, but today I think back to the trip my wife took me on to Walt Disney World for my 30th birthday. I was unemployed, my wife was 5 months pregnant, and we went for a September trip for 8 days! Had GLORIOUS 90° weather, hit both water parks (including Extra Magic Hours Evening at Typhoon Lagoon - which, if you've never done it, is a VERY different and awesome experience!), theme parks, Downtown Disney, you name it.

One of the best birthday days I ever had was this one. It was a Sunday, and my wife got us Advance Dining Reservations at Donald's Breakfastsaurus at Restaurantasaurus for the character meal. It was before the park opened, so as we made the right turn after passing through the Oasis, heading to Dinoland, USA, Tigger, Pooh, and Eyeore were all alone and looking for ANYONE!

No doubt you notice the hat… that was part of the birthday basket Wifey gave me, delivered by the Disney florist the night before! I wore that and my special shirt there all day…and it was over 90°! WAY HOT under that hat! (Disclosure, I only wore it for photos after breakfast! LOL)

After breakfast we enjoyed a nice morning at Animal Kingdom. Around noon we boarded the bus to go to Boardwalk, and the ESPN Club. Because I was going to watch my team, the Buffalo Bills, play on TV!

We arrived at ESPN around 1, and told the server our game preference We were seated around 3 or so, but they had a TV on outside and they had an outdoor bar; it was like tailgating!

These were the glory days of the Dining Plan. 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert, 1 non-alcoholic beverage. We ordered an order of nachos, an order of buffalo wings, we both ordered the steak, and for dessert we ordered coffees and a now-non-existant SuperBowl™ Sundae! ALL on the Dining Plan!

The only thing that could have made my day better was if the Bills had won, but, alas, it was not to be.

We hit Epcot for Illuminations and some night riding of Soarin', Mission:Space and Test Track (for me, not Wifey! LOL).

All in all... It was my birthday, I was at Walt Disney World, I did a Character Breakfast, I watched the Bills, I had countless adult beverages at ESPN Club, I had a prepaid FANTASTIC 4-hour lunch/dinner, and I had this dessert

Disney magic certainly lived that trip, and continued when we returned home. I got a job shortly thereafter (3, actually!), and my Wife produced the most beautiful baby girl exactly 4 months after this day in my life.

So today, I salute you, my beloved wife, for providing me with this birthday fantasy!

Link: http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/September/cherriesjubileeday.htm

National Cherries Jubilee Day will make cherry lovers jubilant. If you enjoy cherries, you must absolutely love this day.

Cherries Jubilee is easy to make. All you need is a can of cherry pie filling, some cognac (or brandy) and vanilla ice cream.

Make today as sweet as a cherry. Enjoy National Cherries Jubilee Day to the max

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Wow! As much as this could be a repeat trip to Tom Sawyer's Island in the Magic Kingdom, crazily enough, this day takes me to Epcot. Before you can have cherries, you need cherry blossoms. And before you have cherry blossoms, you need cherry trees.

And nothing says cherry trees like our first President, George Washington.

Today takes us back to the far reaches of World Showcase, back to the American Adventure. While they do not serve Cherries Jubilee, the americana is palpable in the dish and in the pavilion. And with Washington serving as the focus of several scenes in the show, it's a memorial to the man who famously is attributed (falsely) to have chopped down a cherry tree then told the truth of it to his father. Just as (falsely) there is Cherries Jubilee at Epcot!

So, today I salute you, American Adventure on this National Cherries Jubilee Day!