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Walter Scott and His Dog Windy

Death Valley’s Famous Castle – Scotty’s Castle

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Walter Scott and His Dog Windy

Walter Scott was born in 1872. He came to Death Valley at the age of 12. His name has been linked to the area ever since. Scotty toured the world with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Shows for 12 years, after which he returned to the valley. Scotty’s friend Albert Johnson built the Castle that became linked to Scotty’s name.
Kolor View Press ©1975

Located about three hours outside of Las Vegas, in Grapevine Canyon, California, is a “castle” unlike many you have seen in the traditional sense. On one of my grandparents many trips to Las Vegas, they happen to do a little side-trip out to Scotty’s Castle for a little history lesson on why anyone would elect to construct a home in the blazing heat of Death Valley. What I learned of Scotty’s Castle was quite interesting, not necessarily because of the beauty and grandeur of the structure, but more because of the history behind its existence.

The main character associated with the Death Valley Ranch was Mr. Walter Scott. Born in 1872, Mr. Scott fell in love with the Death Valley area at a young age. By the age of 18, Walter was discovered and incorporated into Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. After traveling with the show for 12 years, he later returned to Death Valley on the promise of the gold rush.

Mr. Scott convinced investors to mine for gold throughout Death Valley. However, failed attempted to extract any valuable gold caused most of his investors to back out.

It was around that time that Walter invited investor Albert Mussey Johnson out to Death Valley. It was there that Mr. Johnson grew fond of the area. Over the next decade, Mr. Johnson and his wife, Bessie Penniman Johnson, continued to visit Death Valley.

Mrs. Johnson eventually convinced Mr. Johnson to build her a home out in the valley. Per the tour (see video below), the original home was quite simple without a lot of embellishments. As the Death Valley Ranch began to get constructed and become more elaborate, Mr. Scott took advantage of the situation by convincing other investors that it was gold money that was building up the area. The funny thing was that Mr. Johnson even went along with the story for the sake of Scotty.

Walter Scott's Death Valley Castle

Scotty’s Castle is considered the finest example of a Spanish Castle ever built in America. The legendary Death Valley Scotty gave the Castle fame, and the Desert remoteness makes it unique.
Kolor View Press ©1975

As the home was being constructed, a surveying error was discovered, which resulted in the home being construction on government land. After investing nearly $2,000,000 over a five year period, the house construction was never completed as planned.

What is not completely clear is what happened once it was discovered the home was constructed on federal land.

Bedroom of Walter Scott's Castle

This room is characteristic of it’s owner, with window shutters inside and out. A painting of Buffalo Bill Cody on the wall, surrounded with Photographs of Annie Oakley and others from his days with Cody’s Wild West Shows. Note the carvings of rattlesnakes and burro’s on the shutters.
Kolor View Press ©1975

Music Room of Walter Scott's Castle

This is the Stage and grill work in front of the Welte Mignon organ, which can be played from rolls or played by hand. The piano also plays when rolls are used. The chimes in the great tower can be played from the manual console. The room is probably the favorite in the castle.
Kolor View Press ©1975

Apparently despite the Death Valley Ranch being constructed on government land, the Johnson’s still continued to visit the place until their deaths in the 1940s. The home was willed to a charitable organization who continued to run the place as a hotel and with tours. Surprisingly, Mr. Walter Scott also continued to live on the property until his death in 1954.

Mr. Scott was later buried on a hill overlooking the castle.

To see a tour guided video of Scotty’s Castle, check out this video from YouTube.

The relationship between the Johnson’s and Mr. Scott is quite intriguing, and they definitely found a fondness in each other. Call it charisma or swindling, Mr. Scott had a lasting impact on the Valley.

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Source: InACents

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty%27s_Castle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Scott
http://www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/scottys-castle.htm
http://www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/scottys-bts-pag11.htm
http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/june/papr/du_dvscotty.html

Legoland Home School Discounts

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We write a lot about Legoland and the various discounts that can save guests varying amounts of money. However, when I found an offer for Legoland Home School discounts, it was a little bit outside of my expertise. So I turned to our friend Tonya, from The Traveling Praters, who is not only an expert on home schooling and travel, but also a terrific resource for information. Please welcome Tonya to InACents!

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I do not pretend to suggest that home schooling is for everyone. But those who do go down that road, may be surprised to find that when it comes to travel, home schooling your children offers several perks. I have spent 13 years making the most of those benefits with my three children, and today I will share a few with you.

When my husband began traveling extensively with his job, home schooling allowed us the freedom to join him on the road. While my husband was working, the kids and I explored the general area. In many cases this proved to be extremely educational as we were often near places of historic significance such as Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Fort Raleigh.

As a family, home schooling has allowed us the flexibility to travel during the off-season. Since it is normally more costly to travel during peak season, this allowed us to save money and avoid the crowds that are normally present during busier times of the year. On the flip side, it also spoiled my kids who now have a low tolerance for crowds of any kind. I guess there are trade-offs to everything.

Finally, home schooling allows us to attend special events at popular attractions for a fraction of the normal admission price. As a bonus, special educational programming are sometimes offered for those in attendance. While most attractions are willing to set up tours and special programming throughout the year for a group of home school students, deeper discounts are often available during special “Home School Day” events.

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LEGOLAND® Florida is one of the attractions that offer this special Home School programming throughout the year. The following 2014 days are considered Home School days.
$8 per student days
January: 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 27
February: 3, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 24, 27, 28
March: 3, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20, 21, 24, 31
April: 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 21, 24, 25, 28
May: 5, 12, 19

$10 per student days
June: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
July: 7, 14, 21, 28
August: 4, 11, 18, 25
September: 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 22, 25, 26, 29
October: 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31
November: 3, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20, 21
December: 1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19

Home school students will gain access to LEGOLAND® Florida for only $8/10 per student which includes park admission and self-guided experience through the park! That is a pretty amazing deal! And while LEGOLAND® FLORIDA is geared for children up to the age of 12, and I agree with that recommendation, this price is extended to all home school students in the home, up to 12th grade. At the discounted price, even older kids will find a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida worthwhile and enjoyable.

One free chaperone ticket will be given to families purchasing more than five tickets, while additional family members and friends will receive the discounted admission of $25. That is an amazing deal but in order to receive the Home School Day pricing, you need to make advance reservations by calling 1-877-350-5346 (press 3 then follow the prompts) or online at the Legoland Home School site.

I called the park to verify that this offer is open not only to Florida residents but also to all current home schooling families. And good news, it is! If you are planning a trip to Florida that coincides with these dates and you are a home schooling family, you will be able to take advantage of this offer.

All families participating will need to provide verification of their home school status. Qualifying documentation include a copy of your country’s letter of intent, your home school name on founded letterhead, proof of involvement in a local support group, non-traditional or umbrella school or a state or national organization like FPEA, HSLDA, HEF and CHESS. If you do not present the proper verification, you will not receive the discounted rate.

Varied Resource Guides to enhance your experience are available for grades K-6th grade for instant download from the LEGOLAND® Florida website.

Legoland California also offers discount admission to homeschoolers on Mondays from January 6 to April 14, 2014 and May 5-19, 2014. Visit the Legoland California site for additional details and to register for the associated coupons.

Thank you Tonya for adding this terrific information on Legoland and the homeschooling programs. For all of the latest Legoland discounts, please visit our Legoland Promotions, Discounts, and Coupons (Buy One, Get One) page. Tonya has also put together a great list of discounts for home schoolers at various attractions around the Country.

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Tonya Prater began her blog, The Traveling Praters, when her husband’s job unexpectedly took the family on the road as a means to keep in touch with those “back home.” Though they are no longer “on the road,” do not expect to find them at home. This home school family is on a quest to explore North America one fun, family-friendly, educational adventure at a time.

Updates:
6/27/14- Updated dates
1/9/14- Updated dates
10/1/13- Updated links
7/9/13- Updated dates

Disney’s California Adventure Missing the Mark on Customer Experience

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During our recent visit to Disney’s California Adventure (DCA), we really learned the pros and cons of what Disney does great, and unfortunately, what they really need to improve on. We arrived right as the park opened, and immediately went to the Toy Story Mania ride to avoid long lines later in the day. From there, we casually made our way around the Boardwalk towards the Little Mermaid ride. The park was amazingly empty on this side of the park and early in the morning, which was nice, but we quickly learned later on in the day where all the guests were hiding.

120611 Disney's California Adventure (1) Boardwalk

We celebrated with an early lunch at Ariel’s Grotto with all of the Princesses. Our little boys have an early affection towards girls, and in particular Princesses in pretty dresses.

The afternoon was filled with the Aladdin show, Bug’s Land, and Muppet*Vision 3D. However, beyond that, the disappointments of the park started to settle in. For starters, we were at DCA 3 days before the grand opening of Cars Land. So we assumed the Cars Land area was either 1) completely closed off to guests, or 2) guests might be able to at least walk through the area and see everything. We had no preconceived notions of getting to actually experience Cars Land by riding the attractions or shopping in the stores, after all, it was not open yet. However, the complete pre-grand opening experience was a complete disaster from a guests perspective.

The entire Cars Land area was quarantined with large walls hiding the attractions from view. That could be expected since it was not scheduled to open for 3 more days. However, what really made us feel like second hand guests was that apparently Disney had been raffling off early admission tickets to Cars Land. As a result, we were practically the only guests in the park that day that did not have wristbands granting admission.

120611 Disney's California Adventure (10) Carsland Entrance

The ominous wall of separation.

One-by-one, hundreds of guests rushed into the Cars Land area to experience the new attraction in all of its glory. Seeing every guest hurry in to see the Cars Land exhibits made us feel inferior as guests and sucked the life out of us. The feeling at that moment was completely hard to explain. After having a great morning in the DCA park, it literally felt like the rug was pulled out from under us, forcing us to feel slighted for the remainder of the day. We would have gotten great satisfaction out of just walking through the area. Instead, we had to hear all of the excitement on the other side of the walls as guests enjoyed the various attractions.

120611 Disney's California Adventure (8) Carsland from Ferris Wheel

This Cars Land view was as good as it was going to get for outsiders.

When it comes to Disney, it is always about the customer experience, the fantasy, and the magic, and this one time, Disney did not uphold its end of the bargain. With all of the expansions going on at both U.S. based Disney parks, the new areas should be either opened or closed. Do not make guests, that have no idea of the early raffling of tickets, stand around wishing they could have gotten a glimpse of what the new areas had to offer. For once, a Disney detail was not well thought out from the guests perspective.

120611 Disney's California Adventure (2) Corn Dog Castle

Some GREAT corn dogs to pass the time.

Following our dismay, we proceeded to try and kill enough time for the rest of the day until World of Color started. This is the second blunder of the day, when we realized DCA is not a full-day park. There simply is not enough stuff to do to fill an entire day, especially when you have young children and riding some of the larger rides is not an option.

By the late afternoon, there is only so many times you can continue walking through the Sourdough exhibit, or going Under the Sea. Keep in mind, our visit was also right before the opening of Buena Vista Street, so another area off limits of the park.

If there is one thing I learned, it is try and avoid visiting the parks during a major expansion project. At least at the smaller California Adventure park, because with select areas shut down, filling an entire day proved to be a monumental task.

120611 Disney's California Adventure (6) 120611 Disney's California Adventure (5) 120611 Disney's California Adventure (3) 120611 Disney's California Adventure (7)

We found ourselves riding stuff like the Little Mermaid ride over and over again, just to try and make it to the finale. However, when the World of Color finally started, we quickly learned that despite the days blunders, Disney really does know how to entertain.

The picture on the left (above) represents the ticketed, standing-room only area for the World of Color show. We pre-purchased the picnic lunches, which also gave us reserve tickets for the close end. The secret is that once inside the gated area, you are free to claim your spot anywhere you would like. So we made our way towards the middle and claimed our perfect viewing location.

(For those reading this post via email, click here to watch the video over on my site.)

The World of Color show is a spectacular array of water, lights, and music from all the Disney movie favorites. The show is approximately 30 minutes long, and well worth the wait. Think of the Bellagio fountains, but more wonderful and mixed with the emotions that Disney movies conjure.

The video above is the complete show, and still brings goosebumps to my skin watching it. The magic of the music, the lights, and the stories is oh so Disney.

If it was not for the World of Color, Disney’s California Adventure would have been a complete bust on this trip. I understand Disney has a system they have worked out, which probably works for them, but when you get shunned aside in a Disney Park, it tends to stand out.

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