Off Kilter

Many people go to Walt Disney World without realizing how much it has to offer beyond theme park rides. I’ve known people who have gone to the Magic Kingdom, assuming that was all there was to Disney World! When I inquired about how they liked Animal Kingdom or Epcot, they looked at me like they didn’t have any idea what I was talking about. They didn’t realize Disney World is actually four theme parks in one, plus the shopping/entertainment complex of Downtown Disney, plus the Boardwalk, plus two water parks! So it’s not really surprising, I guess, that people are unaware of what Disney offers beyond theme park rides.

I’ve always been impressed with the free live entertainment options at Disney World. Once you’ve paid your park admission, you can go on any ride or see any show for no extra cost.  Don’t get me wrong; I love the rides here. But after rushing all over a park, and standing in lines for a few hours, I just want to slow down for a little while. Shows allow you to do that.

I find going to shows as a solo traveler to be a great way to meet other people, too. It doesn’t take much to turn to whoever is sitting or standing next to you and make a comment like “Great music, huh?” Plus as just one person, you can squeeze into a seat right up front, where a party of four might not be able to. (There are advantages to going solo!) Here are just a few (my favorites, naturally) of the great entertainment options you can enjoy on Disney property, listed by park:

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Probably the #1 entertainment show in this park for most people is Fantasmic! I feel like a bit of a Grinch saying I didn’t care for it all that much. I remember thinking it wasn’t really worth the long wait involved. Your mileage may vary. But I did love the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which involves some thrilling stunts—gun fights, chase scenes, big explosions; it’s like watching a live action version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, minus Harrison Ford and Karen Allen. Good stuff.

Indiana Jones Stunt Show

Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is a classic park with some of my favorite rides, but the best live entertainment it provides is its parades, including the Main Street Electrical Parade, the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party, and the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade. There’s also the Dream Along with Mickey party. If you’re not a parade person, you’ll find better choices elsewhere.

Parade at Magic Kingdom

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom has by far my favorite live entertainment in the Festival of the Lion King show. I’m not exaggerating when I say that if you visit Disney World and don’t go see the Lion King, what a tragedy that is. The show is extremely well-done and uplifting. I’ve seen it several times, and it never gets old. Featuring characters from Disney’s Lion King (Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa), along with some outstanding singers and acrobats, and giant animatronic jungle animals, it’s a feast for the senses.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Epcot

By far my favorite park for live entertainment is Epcot. It has so many great bands and other live entertainment options, I just can’t choose one. So here are all my favorites from Epcot:

Off Kilter is a celtic rock band, complete with bagpiper Jamie Holton (a founder of the group) and some badass drums and guitar from guys wearing kilts. Mark Weldon is co-founder, lead singer, and plays the bass guitar. Rounding out the “front men” is Randy Holbrook on lead guitar. People walking through Epcot can’t help but stop and watch and jam out to their music.

Off Kilter at Epcot

The British Revolution replaced the former Beatles tribute band in England, and I have say they’re a definite improvement. They play classic rock songs from a variety of British rock acts, including Elton John, the Beatles, the Police, Queen, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and more. They’re talented musicians and singers, and a lot easier to look at than a bunch of middle-aged guys wearing bowl-cut wigs. (Shallow, but true.)

The British Revolution

Mo’Rockin is a—wait for it—Moroccan rock band with a distinctly Middle Eastern sound and a belly dancer. Technically, the kind of music they play is “world fusion”, so you’ll hear snippets of sounds from many different parts of the world. They play right outside the Tangierine Cafe, so you can grab a bite to eat and sit in the courtyard while chilling out to the sounds. I know, I had you at “belly dancer,” didn’t I?

Mo'Rockin

You can hear the Taiko Drummers (“Matsuriza”) in Japan several countries away (Epcot World Showcase countries, of course). I am a sucker for taiko drums (which may partially explain my mad love for the soundtrack of Battlestar Galactica, where they’re used liberally). I never get tired of watching them, but I bet they get tired. Taiko drumming looks like quite the arm workout. I’m betting they don’t have to worry about tricep jiggle.

Taiko Drummer

Japan also features Miyuki, aka “the candy lady,” who creates the most detailed figurines–like dragons and flamingos–out of soft rice dough in less time than it takes me to toast bread. It’s riveting to watch. She will take requests, too. There’s not much space around her performance area, so get there early to get a good spot.

Miyuki, the "candy lady"

Mariachi Cobre is a 12-piece mariachi band that plays in Mexico. You’ll probably recognize some of their traditional music if you’ve heard any Mexican music at all in your life. For some reason, Mexico always feels like the hottest country in World Showcase, so I have to hand it to these guys standing out there in the sun wearing their suits. Whew.

Musicians in Epcot's Mexico

As you can see, regardless of your tastes in live entertainment, you should be able to find something on Disney property that appeals to you. For those of you who have been there before, what’s your favorite live entertainment?

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Live Entertainment at Disney World is a post from: SoloFriendly.com

Citywalk

Ask almost any regular Orlando visitor which has the best nightlife options–Universal Orlando’s CityWalk or Disney World’s Downtown Disney–and the majority will say: CityWalk. I would have also said this, even before I visited CityWalk for the first time (mainly because I’m still bitter about Disney shutting down the Adventurer’s Club). And yet if you look at it purely from the numbers, CityWalk offers almost nothing that Downtown Disney doesn’t:

Disclaimer: Numbers are approximate; I may have missed some things.

Is this a case of “perception is reality”? Maybe it’s less about categories and more about specific offerings? Or perhaps it has more to do with the customer demographics at each place? For me, and for other adults traveling without children, CityWalk may be more appealing because it seems to offer a more adult-oriented experience at night than Downtown Disney does. That’s not to say you won’t see children in strollers at CityWalk or that there are no bars in Downtown Disney, but there seems to be a more adult atmosphere at CityWalk.

Nightlife at CityWalk

There is certainly nothing obvious about the retail experiences at each to suggest that one would appeal more to an adult crowd than the other. However, CityWalk does have more chain restaurants that may appeal to the masses (Hard Rock Cafe, Margaritaville, Bubba Gump, etc.) and nightlife options that project more of a “party” atmosphere (Hard Rock Live, Pat O’Briens, Fat Tuesdays, the groove, etc.). This explains why young adults looking for a club scene gravitate to CityWalk, not Disney World.

Hard Rock Cafe CityWalk

CityWalk wins hands-down in terms of ease in getting to it from anywhere else on Universal’s property and then getting around it. Because of how spread out Disney World is, it can take as long as 45 minutes to get to Downtown Disney from certain resorts and parks. Whereas Universal is so compact that CityWalk is a quick walk or boat ride away from any of the furthest points on property. CityWalk is also shaped like a ring, which makes getting around quicker and easier than getting from the far end of Disney’s West Side to the far end of Disney’s Marketplace.

Retail, dining and entertainment at CityWalk

If I thought Disney World executives actually gave a damn about its childless adult guests, I would suggest they made a strategic error by splitting the property’s nightlife options between two distinctly different areas–Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk–which are nowhere near each other.  For guests stuck on site without a car, you have to make a choice about where you plan to spend the evening, either/or. It’s more difficult to move from say, a movie at Downtown Disney’s cineplex to dueling pianos at Jellyrolls on the Boardwalk; whereas it’s quite easy to go from CityWalk’s movie theater to Pat O’Brien’s dueling pianos–which is just up a set of stairs. But ultimately, I don’t think Disney execs care about offering adult-oriented nightlife.

Citywalk is a short (and pretty) walk or boat ride from the resorts

Does this mean I’m going to switch my allegiance from Disney World to Universal? Er, no. What it means is that I can appreciate that each park does some things better than the other, which makes them both equally worth a visit. What Universal does very well is nightlife, and that’s mostly because of CityWalk. Now, your mileage may vary; if you’re a major Disney fan, you may prefer to be surrounded by everything Disney, all the time. But if you’re visiting Orlando and nightlife is very important to you, do yourself a favor and check out CityWalk.

Margaritaville's Porch of Indecision

Have you visited both CityWalk and Downtown Disney? Which did you prefer, and why?

Universal’s CityWalk vs. Downtown Disney is a post from: SoloFriendly.com

Blues Guitarist on a street in Montreal

When I travel, I usually visit cities. I’m from the country, and yet I think I might have been a city girl in another life, because I love cities. I love the bustle and the buildings, the ease of getting around on foot or via public transportation, and I love how alive cities feel.  In the sleepy little town I grew up in, there was never anything to do after 5pm except drink at the local bar or sit home and watch TV. But cities have so much to offer. I like to keep busy when I travel (solo or otherwise), and I like knowing there is a variety of activities to keep me busy. Cities have all that. They also have my favorite free/cheap form of entertainment: Buskers (otherwise known as street performers).

Jeannie Mark (@NomadicChick) and I saw the young man in the top photo when we were exploring Old Montreal. He was singing some of the best blues I’ve heard in awhile. We both remarked that we couldn’t believe he didn’t have a gig in a nightclub somewhere. He was fabulous.

Street violinist in Montreal

I also enjoyed this guy playing the violin. I have a soft spot for violinists. It’s not an easy instrument to play, and many people don’t appreciate what it can do. During my trip to Las Vegas in December, I was dining outside one night at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris hotel. On the sidewalk nearby were three Asian girls, playing Christmas carols on their violins. It really put me in the Christmas spirit. I never did get a photo of them, but as soon as I left the restaurant, I went over and left some money in their open violin case.

New York City is a great place to catch some music on the fly. I’m not crazy about the musicians who hop the subway, play some music, and then pass around a cup.It’s a little too “in your face” at a time when people feel like a captive audience–literally. But I love the street performers you see in the parks and on street corners.

Central Park Musicians

I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across these guys making some great music in Central Park on a Monday morning when there was hardly anyone around. They couldn’t possibly have expected to make any money at that time, yet there they were, banging out some good tunes anyway. That’s one of the joys of wandering a city. You just never know what you’re going to stumble across.

Paris had the subway jumping musicians as well, but I preferred the ones who stationed themselves in the metro, either in busy spots or on the platform.  They were a spot of sunshine in an otherwise long, dreary trek through the underground tunnels while changing trains.

Even little ol’ Burlington, Vermont has its buskers.

Busker in Burlington

I’ve seen some really creative buskers on the Church Street Marketplace. It seems to be an environment that encourages performance artists to come out and try new things. I’ve seen magic, acrobatics, fire jugglers, people playing every instrument you can imagine (and some you can’t), the “one man band,” and dancers.

Break dancing in Burlington

Which city that I’ve visited had the best buskers? I’d have to hand that honor to New Orleans. This can’t come as a great shock to anyone, given that New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz. Yet somehow I never managed to take a picture of any of the buskers I saw there. There was a group of young men singing a capella who were better than most of the musicians I stopped to listen to in the bars on Bourbon Street. A sizeable crowd of us gathered around to listen to them, and I would have stayed longer, except it started to rain, and I didn’t have an umbrella. The rain didn’t stop them though. They kept on singing. That’s the life of a busker.

Not all buskers are created equal, of course. For every virtuoso on the violin, there’s a warbler who can’t carry a tune in a bucket.  But you’ve got to give them credit for having the guts to try. So here’s to all those street performers around the world who are out there every day, enchanting visitors to their  cities and giving it their all for the change in our pockets.  Let’s hear it for the buskers!

Let’s Hear it for the Buskers! is a post from: SoloFriendly.com

Pete Contino

Do you like going out to hear live music when you travel?  I do.  I rarely go out for live music at home, because I have to get up pretty early for work and our local music venues tend to target a much younger demographic (it’s a college town). So going out to hear live music is a treat for me, and a priority when I travel.   Several Las Vegas resorts have lounges featuring live bands.  Most are cover bands, and most will never be more than that.   The Fontana Lounge at the Bellagio and Margaritaville at the Flamingo are just two of the better venues.  But I like the blues.  What’s a blues lover to do when she wants to hear live music in Vegas?   You could go to the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, or the newly-opened BB King’s Blues Club at the Mirage.  But during my September trip, I headed off the Strip for a change to Brendan’s Irish Pub at the Orleans to catch the Pete Contino Band.

Brendan’s Irish Pub lends itself to the solo traveler fairly well.  It has friendly bartenders and a very long bar (although there were fewer stools than there should have been–quite a bit of real estate in front of the bar is wasted on trash receptacles). There is a wall of television sets for the solo who wants to catch the big game, live music for those of us who are music fans, a pool table, and plenty of good drinks.  It’s a lovely pub, with lots of dark wood, a huge mirror with stained glass above it, and old-fashioned lamps hanging from the ceiling.  It seemed to be trying to recall a past era.  The Pub has two drawbacks:

• No bathroom.  You have to go out to the casino and use the closest bathroom out there.  It’s not far away, but it does present a logistical difficulty for the solo traveler.  I had to keep letting the bartender know where I was going and that I would be back, and hope that no one took my seat while I was gone.
• Their food is not made in the Pub.  It’s made over at Fuddruckers (around the corner) and is brought to the Pub by a runner. I saw that in New Orleans once, too, and I just think it’s the strangest practice–ordering takeout from one establishment to eat in another.

These drawbacks fade into the woodwork once the Pete Contino Band takes the stage.   (If the name Contino sounds familiar, it’s because his dad, Dick Contino, was a famous accordionist.) Pete also plays the accordion, which gives his particular brand of blues a cajun or zydeco spin.  It was like being back in New Orleans again.   He is backed by some very talented musicisns–one of whom played slide guitar and harmonica simultaneously. They played some covers, but also some of Pete’s orginal songs.  I was in music nirvana.

I was perplexed by the fact that the Pub was only about a quarter full.  It was a holiday weekend, the Orleans casino was packed.  Couldn’t people hear the great tunes coming out of the Pub?  But then, the night was young.  I stayed until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any more, but left before midnight, which is  considered “early” by Vegas standards.  I was still on East Coast time.  I left happy, though.  I got my fix of good blues music.  I think I might just have to make Brendan’s a regular stop on all my future trips to Vegas.

A Solo Night at Brendan’s Irish Pub is a post from: SoloFriendly.com

Photo by Josh Semans, Creative Commons 2.0

Harrahs dueling piano show, featuring identical twin sisters Kimberley and Tamara Pinegar, was the first dueling piano show I ever saw.  I loved the concept of dueling pianos and thought it was a blast.  The crowd was already primed, having just come off a wickedly funny and fun karaoke show.  The twins had a good verbal rapport with each other and the audience; they knew how to engage the crowd, and everyone in the bar participated, singing lustily to great music and making song requests.  The whole room felt awash in a positive buzz.  It was like a lovefest.

The second time I went to see the show was very different.  Now that I was a bit more experienced at this whole dueling piano show thing, it seemed to my jaded eye that the twins spent a little too much time whipping the audience into a bidding frenzy over song requests and not enough time actually playing the songs that were requested.  I don’t think they played an entire song from start to finish the whole time I was there.  One sister would play a few bars of a song while the other sister got someone in the audience to override it with a new request, and this kept going back and forth, with the tips for these requests going as high as $100.  I’m sure they made a  lot of money that night, but it wasn’t as enjoyable for me.  When I go to hear live music, I want to actually hear some music. 

Harrahs Dueling Piano Show

So this time, I went to Harrahs dueling piano show with a bit of a skeptical attitude.  I actually had to stand on the periphery of the bar, since the place was packed.  (That’s what I get for showing up late.)  I was in good company, though; Harrahs dueling piano bar is right off the casino and near the entrance to Carnaval Court, so it tends to draw a lot of curious onlookers who stand near the two threshholds and a large open window area to watch the show.

Van Walraven at the keyboards

As it turned out, there was a slate of revolving pianists that night, with the constant being Mr. Versatility himself, Shaun DeGraff, whom I had enjoyed so much at New York-New York earlier in the week.  One of the twins (I couldn’t tell which one) was playing opposite him when I arrived, but was soon after replaced by Van Walraven, a veteran of the Las Vegas dueling piano scene.   Van and Shaun worked the crowd expertly, and a boisterous good time was had by all. Like Dave at Napoleon’s, Van, too, played harmonica while playing piano during Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”.  He was quite the showman and another incredibly talented pianist.  (If you can’t tell by now, Vegas is full of them!)

I enjoyed this show very much.  It had all the necessary elements–humor, crowd interaction, and great music.  There’s a good long bar here, so if you’re solo, arrive early and snag a seat at the bar.  There are also lots of tables.  If you’d like to make new friends, grab one and offer to share. Just be forewarned that drink prices seem to go up during the show.

The dueling piano show at Harrahs might be for you if:

• You want to be part of a fun, engaged crowd that understands its role in the dueling piano show and will sing with gusto.
• You want a place that has plenty of bar seating for solos.
• You want to see a female dueling piano show. (Though, obviously, there is no guarantee the twins will be playing on the night you go.)
• You want a very casual atmosphere where you don’t have to dress to impress anyone.
• You like upbeat rock music.
• You don’t want to pay a cover.

Thus concludes my series on the dueling piano shows on the Las Vegas Strip. In case you were wondering which show is my favorite, I have to give the edge to Harrahs.  It’s casual, the crowd is always engaged, the music they play here is perfect for my tastes, and there’s no cover. The only time it’s not as enjoyable for me is when the pianists focus too much on the “request wars” and not enough on the music.  And if that’s the case, it’s easy enough to duck out to Carnaval Court to catch the live band playing out there.

Have you been to one or more of these dueling piano shows? Which one is your favorite and why?

(Photo of piano keys by Josh Semans can be found at Creative Commons.)

Dueling Piano Shows, Part IV: Harrahs is a post from: SoloFriendly.com