Day 1089: A Not So White Christmas

I'm certainly dreaming of a white Christmas...one that definitely can't be found.

Growing up in Wisconsin, snow for Christmas has always been a thing, and I can't remember many Christmas Days without the white fluffy stuff all over the place outside. This winter, however, things have been so warn that the first snow seems to be coming a bit late, meaning that it's definitely Christmas and it's definitely not white outside.

It sort of makes me think about Disney though, because while they don't get snow in Florida very often either, at least they have the fake snow that falls in the Disney parks during the holiday season. After all, even that would be better than no snow at all, even if it is kind of weird and gets a bit sticky after a while. I mean, just look at it come down!

I wonder if I could get a set up like that for outside my house? 

I hope you all have a very merry, and magical, Christmas! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 31).

Day 1088: The Star Wars Holiday Special

With all the talk about Star Wars these days, plus the holiday season that's definitely upon us, I couldn't help but be reminded of a certain video that came out a while back...

That's right, it's time for the Star Wars Holiday special, staring all of our favorite Star Wars characters! With the likes of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, James Earl Jones, and R2-D2 as R2-D2! Oh, and you can't forget Chewie's family and a boatload of guest stars! 

I remember when I watched this for the first time a couple of years ago with no idea of what I was about to get myself into, and if I'm being honest, I may have just watched it for the Han Solo content. After all, the fact that they somehow got Harrison Ford to do this seriously amazes me. I mean, really? Life Day? And don't even get me started on the weird cartoon and singing segments. 

If you're feeling ambitious, you can watch the entire special on YouTube, because I know you want to: 

Wow I just can't get over this. I'm just going to watch it while I work on blog stuff because it's way more interesting than anything else going on right about now! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 31).

Day 1087: A Christmas Time Lapse

I've been trying to figure out ways to bring the Disney Parks to me this Christmas season since I won't get to see any of the holiday stuff when I'm there in January, or at least I won't see most of it. It's especially sad because of it being the last year for the lights, and I just always miss IllumiNations when I'm far away. The Disney Live Streams have helped for sure, as does the Christmas Day Parade, which is a yearly tradition in our house, but there's another recording of the parade that caught my eye this year too:

Leave it to Disney to time lapse their own Christmas parade for the enjoyment of the internet...although I'm not complaining. In fact, I think we should do this with everything! Can you imagine how amazing that would be!?! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 31).

Day 1085: Look Who's Home!

This Winter Break is going to be a bit different from those previous, and in fact, I already sort of feel like it's over. With so much going on and my days booking up faster than I could possibly imagine, it's hard to think about taking time off when it already feels like school is going to start again next week (actually we don't start until the end of January, but that feels like next week). Regardless, because I have a 9 month lease on a townhouse on campus, I'm going to be spending significantly more time at SNC, but that didn't stop me from bringing my favorite Cardboard Pirate home for Christmas!

And since I spent most of the day cleaning, I also happened to find a sign I bought ages ago and just haven't put up. I debated for a little while about where to put it, but eventually I realized that there was only one correct place for it to go:

I actually, due to roommate issues, had to sneak into my house and pack a bag about a week and a half ago and had to leave him behind, which was a pretty terrible experience, so I knew that he had to come home so he could celebrate his first Christmas with everyone, not just an empty dorm room! 

I also managed to decorate my Christmas tree yesterday, and as you can see, I spent a lot of time on the theme of "Disney Accessories:" 

I needed somewhere to put the hats and I also needed Christmas tree decorations, so I solved two problems at once! 

Let me know how you decorated your Christmas tree with Disney in the comments below! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 22).

Day 1080: Lil' BB

I'm so lucky to have some of the best friends in the world, and with Christmas so close to the release of The Force Awakens, it seems my best friend took that in stride. I mean really, what's the best gift for a Star Wars fan this Christmas? STAR WARS STUFF.

I've been talking about BB-8 for months really, and after Force Friday, I was a bit sad to have so much Star Wars merch and nothing that included the little droid. I had (and still do, really) serious plans to buy up as much BB-8 merch when I head to Walt Disney World in January, but it seems Shovell has started my collection for me:

I've really been into the Funko Pops lately, much like the rest of the fandom world, and, per usual, Megan knew me better than I know myself, ordering me a little BB-8 Funko weeks before I actually saw the film and came home raving about how adorable the little droid is. Being the Olan Rogers fan I am, I named this little version of the droid "Lil' BB," because he's BB-8 but he's little and he's adorable. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go watch Olan Rogers' video "Echos Through the Wall."

That wasn't my whole Christmas present, however, because she also surprised me with this AMAZING new travel mug, which I've used basically every day since she gave it to me! I mean, how awesome is this!!!

IT LITERALLY SAYS THE EPCOTEXPERT ON IT! Sorry, I'm still freaking out a little bit! 

I wonder what else will appear for Christmas this year...

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 22).

Day 1079: Lights on Lights on Lights

With the Osborne Lights coming to a conclusion at the end of this holiday season, I can't help but be...well...pretty sad. As much as I miss the original lights I grew up with as a kid, it's always hard to see a tradition at Disney go. But Christmas light shows go far beyond the Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios. So I did a bit of research and found a few of my 2015 favorites to share with you!

We absolutely have to start out with some Star Wars, because that's really what this 2015 holiday season is all about. Maybe Disney could just do the Osborne Lights in Star Wars land and time them all to Star Wars music? I think it would work pretty well!

And then there's this, which just flat out TAKES THE CAKE: 

I was only about halfway through my research when I found that one, but now that I found it I don't even want to find something else. I'm done. This video wins. 

I'm apparently a bit bias when it comes to IllumiNations. 

Have a magical day, and share some of your favorites in the comments below! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 22).

Day 1078: A Perfect List

Christmas is coming up, and that means Christmas Lists are now a thing. In typical Disney-Fan fashion, there are several gifts that just have to be on my list:

1. BB-8 Anything

This BB-8 4GB USB Flash Drive happens to be directly from the Disney store, but let's be honest, I'd be good with just about anything BB-8 or Star Wars related this year.

2. Dooney & Bourke

No one really has money to buy these bags, but if someone DID have money to buy one, I'd be totally ok with this Haunted Mansion Shopper Tote or one of those new Star Wars design ones.

3. Millennium Falcon Drone

I don't know about you all, but I'd LOVE to get my hands on one of these Millennium Falcon Drones. They're just so adorable, and considering the fact that my car is already called the Millennium Falcon, it just seems right to have one of these of my own.

4. Graphic Tees from We Love Fine

I just so happened to come across this collection in the midst of writing this blog post, and gosh do I ever want one of these. Actually, I wanted one so much that I ended up ordering the Endor Tee as a "End of the Semester Treat Yo Self" present. I'll just take it out of the money I have stashed away for Florida, I suppose, but when it comes to T-Shirts, $20 isn't all that bad...especially when it's Star Wars!

5. Thinamavlogs Beanies

We all know that I'm a pretty big Thingamavlogs fan (and that they're one of the reasons I ended up doing YouTube videos), so it'd be pretty awesome to get one of these for Christmas! However, Whosits and Whatsits has more than just Thingamavlogs, and you can't deny that pretty much all of their merchandise is brilliant!

6. OUAT Calendar

Megan got me the 2015 calendar for Christmas last year and I've absolutely loved having it, so for the Once fan out there this is the perfect ticket. It doesn't get much better than having your favorite characters up on the wall every day of the year, and Cardboard Colin doesn't seem to mind much either...even when it is Rumpelstiltskin.

Other than that, honestly pretty much anything would be brilliant as a Christmas gift, even just a gift card for the theater so one can go see The Force Awakens as many times as possible! Or flat out cash because some of us are headed to Disney World shortly after the new year and will definitely empty out a significant portion of our bank accounts on the awesome new merchandise that's made an appearance in the parks. Or you know, whatever you want to do.

Now, considering the fact that, as I write this, Christmas is only a couple of days away, it should be interesting to see how many of these things actually appear in wrapping paper.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 22).

Day 1071: Missing Christmas

As the song goes, "I'll be home for Christmas," but as a Disney fan that lives miles and miles away from home, I don't really feel that way at all.

To be fair, I've never actually celebrated Christmas itself at Disney World (or Disneyland for that matter). We have responsibilities here at home. Plus, who in the world would want to go now when I can go in a few weeks when it's much less busy. I have, however, celebrated many Christmas seasons at Walt Disney World, usually around Thanksgiving. In fact, a large chunk of my trips have been during the holiday season, to the point where I take in the holiday traditions as just a regular part of my year.

When I'm far away, on the other hand, things get a little tricky.

There's a Garden of Lights in my area that pretty much everyone gets to during the Holiday season, and I'm always asked about going. I usually turn everyone down though, citing the fact that "it's no Osborne Lights," but truthfully, I think the real reason I turn everyone down is because it only makes me miss home more. And now, with the lights leaving for good after this holiday season, I can't help but wish a bit more than I was home this Christmas.

But that's not all. We can't forget the decorations around the Walt Disney World Resort, or the Gingerbread Singles that are sold at the Grand Floridian (pretty much the only thing I want for Christmas this year). There's the dream lights on the castle, and Holidays around the world at Epcot, plus the holiday tag on IllumiNations that's pretty much my favorite thing during the holiday season.

And yes, I can make my own Gingerbread and put up my own decorations, time my own Christmas lights to "Christmas is Starting Now" or watch the Holiday IllumiNations online, but none of it is quite the same as experiencing it for myself. It's honestly one of the many reasons that I don't have a problem with the prospect of working on Christmas in the future, as long as I'm working at Disney. Yes, the parks are crazy and it's a stressful day, but at least I'd be home for Christmas, and that's really all that matters, right?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 23).

Day 1068: Bringing It Back

Go on, hit play on the above video so you can have some theme music for this blog post! 

A couple of years ago I blogged about playing Sleigh Ride with my high school band and wind ensemble, especially how it always reminds me of the Disney Parks because the song continuously plays throughout them at the holidays. Because I tend to visit Walt Disney World during the holiday season, I always end up hearing Sleigh Ride. 

Well, Sleigh Ride is back. 

For the second year at St. Norbert College since I've attended, we played Sleigh Ride. Honestly we all kind of expected it to happen for some reason, and when I noticed Sleigh Ride on the pile of music for me to copy for the group, I couldn't help but laugh. It's only been two years, and actually, you can read about the last time HERE. 

Long story short, I felt the need to bring back Sleigh Ride for another celebration this Christmas around...even if it does make me miss home even more! On the bright side, our Festival of Christmas concert went really well this year! So that's good! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 25).

Day 724: A Very Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone (even if this post is a few days late, technically!)

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. No, scratch that, it is my favorite time of year. Christmas is just brilliant, and I love every second of it. Except for when I have so much work to do that I'm more worried about that than anything else, but that's not in the spirit of the season! So let's hear about the good things that happened this Christmas:

It's always a great Christmas present when one of the Once Cast favorite your tweet to them! On Christmas Eve I happened to wear the dress I have deemed my "Marian Dress," since it's the one I wore for my Marian Disneybound, and I tweeted that fact to Christie Laing, only to get a favorite in return! Definitely a great Christmas Eve surprise! 

Also on Christmas Eve, I have to mention that my absolute favorite part of Christmas each year is singing Silent Night by Candlelight in Church. Earlier in the week we thought that the candles might have been ditched for battery operated versions and I just about had a panic attack. Thank goodness this turned out to be false and we got to sing by candlelight as usual! 

I didn't get many gifts this year, simply because I'm going to be getting a new alto saxophone sometime soon, but my parents did get me Idina Menzel's Holiday Wishes CD, which is pretty darn awesome. Not pictured is the Ninja Blender I got from my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. I freaked out about that one. 

Christmas also gave me the perfect excuse to wear my Olaf sweater, which I'm super hyped to wear at Disney next week! Olaf is pretty cool, after all. Oh, and no pun intended there. Or maybe it was intended...who knows? 

It also seems that it can't quite be Christmas without Indiana Jones in our house. I checked my TimeHop later in the evening and noticed that in the past few years, we always seem to watch Indiana Jones on Christmas Day. I have no clue how this started or why we keep doing it, but I have no complaints! 

But as I posted on Instagram and Facebook, my favorite Christmas present came six months ago (almost to the day), when I fulfilled my dream of marching down Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom. I couldn't have asked for a better gift! 

However, I really didn't enjoy this year's Christmas Day Parade, so let's just forever listen to the opening number from last year because Neil Patrick Harris is just the best: 

Have a magical day & Merry Christmas!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 29 due to Holidays and Computer Issues).

Day 714: Gifting and Giving

Trying to figure out what to get someone for Christmas or their birthday is hard enough. I spend quite a bit of time on trying to figure out what to get people, and often times those discussions in my mind start long before the actual day comes around. I'm talking like months ahead. With Ashley's combined "First Disney Trip" gift, I was planning long before we even knew we were going to Florida, and almost a year ahead of when she was actually given the present. And when it comes to my roommate, who's also named Ashley, I'm already working on a special Christmas present for her next year. Yep, I'm ahead of schedule.

So I definitely understand what it's like to have issues finding the prefect present, but apparently I'm even more difficult when it comes to this topic. The issue? Disney, and OUAT, and pretty much everything else I love.

I'm an avid collector, as I'm sure you've already figured out. I have collections in everything from Disney Parks Prints to mugs to pins to books to autographs (And tweets, if you're counting those too), and that's just scratching the surface, so gifts aren't exactly easy to find for me.

Now granted, I have a lot of interests, so that should probably make it a bit easier. But when you consider the fact that I tend to avidly add to my own collection, it probably makes it kind of difficult for other people to know what I have and what I don't have, meaning that instead of being a really easy person to get gifts for, I'm that person everyone is afraid to get gifts for.

That is, except for one person. Megan seems to have gotten a good system down. She's able to snoop around in my room enough to know what I have and what I don't have, and since she's already very obviously taken my "Everything You Probably Didn't Need to Know About Disney" course and aced it, she's able to decipher what it is that would be a super valuable addition to my collection.

Last year she gave me the Mickey Mouse Wreath that she made, which obviously was not something I previously had. For my birthday she got me a new Beauty and the Beast t-shirt, and for Christmas she gave me the 2015 Once Upon A Time calendar and "The Art of Tangled," obviously both great additions to my life.

So I suggest to my friends and family: don't be afraid to get me something Disney. Even if I already have it, the chances of me loving it enough to keep it are pretty darn high. I have a blog about Disney, after all. A WHOLE BLOG.

Plus, if you really want to get me a great present, I know Colin O'Donoghue is out there somewhere. After all, he definitely wasn't under my Christmas tree.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 29 due to Finals, Holidays & Computer Issues).

Day 700: Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Time for another one of those great blog posts where you get to listen to a song while you read whatever it is I have to say!

Are you listening? Good. (If you're not listening...well..this is awkward). 

Anyways, we all have our favorite Christmas songs, and I happen to know that I definitely have a few. There's the classic Sleigh Ride, and more modern stuff like "Christmas Is Starting Now" from the Phineas and Ferb Christmas special, and the list just goes on and on. 

But if there's one song that I can apparently identify from a mile away, it's Carol of the Bells by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I don't really know why this one gets stuck in my head so often aside from one simple fact: It's been a part of the Osborne Festival of Dancing Lights for as long as I can remember, and we all know what happens when I'm able to identify something directly to Disney. 

So as I prepare for Christmas and my next trip to Disney, I'll just sit here listening to this lovely song day and night. Just kidding, I've got a really big playlist I'm listening to right now, including Taylor Swift, Pearl Jam, Christina Perri, Into the Woods and, of course, Disney and Christmas music. 

However, I'll bet you right now that Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of the most played. 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 19 due to finals).

Day 673: Out with the Old

This morning I woke up to quite the pleasant surprise. Disney World has already switched over, mostly, from the Halloween Decorations to the beautiful, bright, Christmas decor that will remain up until during or just after my own trip in early January. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year, and I definitely believe Disney has played a key role in that love. My family has visited Walt Disney World many times over during the holiday season. In fact, we've probably seen the Christmas decorations more than any other season or occasion.

It also means that we've seen the decorations change time and time again. The first change I really remember was at the Studios, which, of course, I've already talked about some time ago. I loved the Osborne Lights as a Kid, going down Residential Street and looking at all the houses decked out with Christmas lights. It was a spectacular sight for little Lizzie, and I definitely won't be forgetting it anytime soon. Of course, Residential Street left some time ago (and now it sounds as though the last remnants of it will be disappearing as well), leaving us with the Osborne Lights we enjoy today. I boycotted those lights for a really long time before a trip a couple of years ago caused me to actually enjoy them, and now I'm thrilled I get to share them with my friends on the last night of the season in January (they run through January 4).

Then, if you remember, over at Epcot they have changed the Christmas decorations a few times, but most notably was the system of lights that surrounded the monorail track and led into World Showcase. It was like an arch, and if you don't remember, I've got you covered:

I can't even begin to explain how much my family (especially my Dad and I) complained when the arch was taken down for good. It was just a symbol of Christmas at Epcot, and it's certainly not the same without it. 

But with a new parade in the Magic Kingdom, it meant that the Christmas decorations were going to have to change a little bit. Some of the floats reach to new and amazing heights in the realm of Disney Parade Floats, and that caused the regular decorations to be quite the issue, since the floats wouldn't be able to go down Main Street U.S.A. with the various wreaths hanging in the way. If you need a refresher, here's what Magic Kingdom has looked like in the past: 

I'm not going to lie, I really hated the Christmas Decorations at Magic Kingdom. I love the idea of the garland hanging out over the street from building to building because it's a very classic small-town Christmas style, but it covers up the castle, a fact that even Megan pointed out when I showed her the pictures this morning. You can't take a regular Cinderella Castle Picture, and it blocks much of the view of the fireworks. Ridiculous. 

When I saw the pictures of the new decorations, at first I was like "No, this looks ridiculous too!" but then I went back and looked at the old ones and realized that no, it doesn't. It looks much better. We're just not used to it yet, and therefore we find it all a bit off because instead of having wreaths in the middle of the street, they're on the sides.

Now, I've still got two months before I head down to Walt Disney World and decide once and for all if I like the new decorations better than the old ones, but as of right now, I'm a fan. I'm a very big fan. No more blocking the castle! 

The thing is....if Disney put their Christmas decorations up already does that mean that I can too? Can I put my decorations up? Because I'm going to. Like next week. Or maybe the week after. We'll see. 

Have a magical day!

Day 381: The Lone Ranger

Back at the beginning of 2013, I went through the list of movies that were coming out that year and made my own list of everything I wanted to see. Of course, on that list was everything from The Hunger Games to Saving Mr. Banks and back to the spring with Iron Man 3, but sadly, I only saw about five of them out of over 12 on the list.

One of those movies was The Lone Ranger. I'm not necessarily old enough to remember the entire basis of the story, as that was a bit before my era, but I do know enough about it to understand the characters and the story and the theme song and everything. Plus I love Johnny Depp, so seeing this was kind of an obvious thing. Of course, we all know that the movie didn't exactly get the greatest reviews and didn't really do too well in the box office, and I didn't actually get to see it in theaters.

Then Christmas came around, and the #1 gift in our house (next to gift cards I suppose) is movies, and mom got dad The Lone Ranger. When one of us gets movies that generally means that all of us get movies (and actually she gave him like all of the movies on my list...works for me because then I get to see them too). Since my parents were on vacation (yes, currently it is January 26...I got behind), I figured that one of the nights would be a good time to watch The Lone Ranger.

And now that I have, I will never see Rabbits the same way again.

To be honest, I never actually got to finish the movie. I fell asleep near the end (the last thing I remember is the theme song that played during the climax of the film), and since I'm back at SNC now, I never got an actual chance to finish watching it (Ok, I probably could have finished that instead of continuing to watch HIMYM, but you get the point).

What I did get to see of it I really liked though. I mean, as much as I suppose you can like it. It's not the best film I've ever seen, that's for sure, but I think it's alright. Granted, like I said, The Lone Ranger was a bit before my era, so I don't remember what it used to be like. In other words, I can't say how close it is to the original and how it represents that, but Johnny Depp was pretty awesome. And the nomination it has for the Oscars is great too (Hair & Makeup or something like that...impressive to say the least).

And the White Horse was pretty awesome too.

The part that made me laugh though was the fact that Ruth Wilson, who played Rebecca, was also in Saving Mr. Banks (she played the mother there), meaning that she was playing a very similar character and it was just super confused to think about. I was like "No, this isn't the same movie. Think Lizzie, Think!"

Those rabbits though...

Have a magical day!

Day 361: The Best Presents

Christmas is generally a great time for getting presents, and I had various ones of my own this year. Of course, I just got a new iPhone 5s, so I didn't have quite as many presents as I did last year. Still, it's fun to open them all on Christmas morning while watching the Christmas Day Parade. 

So I figured I'd share a list of a few of my favorite Christmas Presents that I've gotten in the past few years, along with a list at the end of what I got this year from everyone. I mean, most of my favorite gifts are Disney themed anyway. Here are some of my favorite Christmas Gifts, in no particular order because I can't really pick one ultimate favorite: 

My Empire Strikes Back Poster: 

One of my good friends from High School got me this last Christmas, and it hangs proudly on my bedroom wall. I love this poster, a lot, and I can't wait to get the ones that match it (aka the original Star Wars and Return of the Jedi posters). Granted, I won't know where to put the others, but I'll figure it out. 

Epcot 30th Anniversary Merch: 

Also last Christmas I found myself on eBay with a bit of Christmas Money from my Grandma. Didn't take long for me to find something I really liked: in this case my Epcot 30th Anniversary Park Map and Button. It was one of those things that I just couldn't wait to get in the mail too. Plus there's that Spaceship Earth phone case that was the one thing I just had to have. Limited Edition 500! YES!

My Red Leather Jacket: 

With some of the money I got from Grandma this year, I got that Red Leather Jacket I just can't stop talking about. I love it so darn much that there aren't even words. It's really up there in my range of favorite pieces of clothing, and I wear it all the time. Thank you Emma Swan! 

My Jennifer Morrison Autograph: 

Speaking of Emma Swan, I also really love the Jennifer Morrison signed picture of Emma Swan that one of my best friends gave me for Christmas this year. It's just super awesome. I mean Jennifer Morrison....'nuff said.

My Everyone Deserves Tea Mug: 

My best friend got me this for Christmas this year, and I am just totally in love with it (although I haven't actually used it yet). It's a mug referring to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries on Youtube, which is an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. It's just wonderful and adorable, even if I don't drink regular tea very often (now Chai tea on the other hand...that I drink all the time). 

And that's all I really can come up with off the top of my head for favorite Christmas Presents, although I love pretty much everything I get. I mean, how else would I have as many scarves as I do? Or have Netflix to watch movies and TV while I catch up on these blog posts? 

And here's what I got this year, since I said I'd put a list of that down at the bottom: Seasons 1-4 of the Big Bang Theory, Season 1 of How I Met Your Mother, Gift Cards to iTunes, Subway, Disney & Amazon, a new scarf, my new mug & my Jennifer Morrison Signature, an adorable little sock monkey and a subscription to Netflix. 

So...what did you get for Christmas? 

Here's today's Disney History: 1937: Walt Disney appears on the cover of TIME. The publication profiles Disney the week Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released, calling the film "the most ambitious animated cartoon ever attempted." 

Have a magical day!

Day 359: Merry Christmas!

So maybe it's not really Christmas when I'm writing this, but in fact half a week after Christmas. That's alright though, I suppose. It's never really too late to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Plus, it's not yet the new year, so really we're still in the spirit of the season. Christmas Commercials are still on TV, Christmas movies still on Netflix, Christmas Trees and lights still up in and on houses, Christmas Songs still being played here and there. Yeah, it still counts.

But let's take a minute to reflect on what was most certainly my favorite part of Christmas this year: The Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade. It was a couple days before Christmas when I found out that Neil Patrick Harris was Co-Hosting this year, although I knew earlier this month that he was filming for it. But when I did find that out, I knew that it was sure to be a great parade. I mean, it started out with this music number, after all:

Yeah, I still have that song stuck in my head. And I seriously loved how the entire time it was like Neil vs. Darth Vader: who really does need to turn his Dark Side into a Disney Side. ;)

Plus, who wasn't freaking out when Demi Lovato Sang "Let it Go?" I know I was. Once I got over Neil at the beginning that was. I mean, the whole talking to Walt thing. That was amazing. 

Neil....PLEASE COME BACK NEXT YEAR. Like seriously. I'll just be here singing along with this song...since I have it playing as I write this. And I know all the words. Pretty sure it's my new favorite Christmas song. 

And boy I can't wait for the day that I work at Disney and can see this live. I'm excited already. 

Here's today's Disney History: 1983: Walt Disney World's Very Merry Christmas Parade is broadcast live from the Magic Kingdom for the very first time. The 90-minute telecast is hosted by Joan Lunden and popular talk show host Mike Douglas. 

Have a magical day and I hope you had a very merry Christmas! 

Day 357: My Disney Collection V7

It's kind of strange to write two of these Disney Collection posts on the same day, but that's what I'm currently doing. Because I got really really behind this month (between Finals and coming home and my being busy here at home it just got really interesting), it meant that I had two of these to finish up, but I guess it all works out at the same time because then I just took pictures for both at the same time and it all worked out.

But unlike the previous 6 volumes of this series, this one is holiday specific, hence the reason why this post is here at all! It seems that at Christmas time there is more Disney around my house than ever, probably because a bunch of our ornaments are Disney and then Mickey dressed as Santa Clause makes an appearance all over the house as well!

Speaking of Mickey Dressed as Santa Clause, here's one for you to start things off! On the top of our Christmas Tree in our living room, Mickey stands proudly. No angel or star here, just Mickey Mouse. He's been at the top as long as I can possibly remember, like since I was a little kid. And normally at the bottom of the tree is our monorail, but because everything was so busy this year, it never actually made it up (quite sad if you ask me). We've got a little Spaceship Earth, Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Poly for under the tree too, meaning that it's a pretty adorable little "train." 

And our tree, as I said, has a lot of Disney Ornaments. I could have put all four of these on here, but honestly I don't remember where the other two are and wasn't in the mood to try and find them when I was taking pictures. But these two are part of a set of four, meaning that there's one for each of the four Disney World Parks. I mean, I had to include the Spaceship Earth though. I just had to. 

This one isn't specifically Disney, but I named it Emma. Get it? Emma the Swan. Yep, you get it. 

And here's another one, although there are tons and tons of various Disney Ornaments all over the tree (but I have to save some for next year, don't I?). I think I have another one of these just like this for sure, but there are tons of little ornaments!

Of course, no Disney Christmas house would be right without a set of Mickey Mouse Christmas Lights...and yes, we have those too. These are on the garland in our living room though, not our actual Christmas tree. And I tell you, getting a picture of these was pretty interesting. 

A few years ago I saw these and just had to have them. I love these Mickey and Minnie Snowmen, because I mean, they're just seriously adorable, aren't they? They sit on our mantel above our fireplace and are just totally adorable all the time. Meaning that they just had to be on this blog post. 

And then we have this little collection of Christmas houses and such. They light up, and part of it we got as gifts, but they're all adorable. And Dad felt pretty proud when he put the picture of our Quarry behind the ice skaters so it looked like they were actually skating outside. I just love them cause these houses are cute. 

And finally, in our kitchen, we have this little Mickey Mouse...again in a Santa costume to round this volume of my Disney Collection out. I didn't plug it in and turn it on, but when it is all running, the lamp post lights up and Mickey's arms move. 

There's plenty of Disney all around my house, of course, especially at Christmas, but I figure that I'll end up showing you more next Christmas, so I'd have to save some for then, right? Plus, not everything was all out, so that means that there's some Disney Christmas still packed away in storage. Next time we'll look at something, although like I said last time, I honestly have no clue what that something is. We'll call it a surprise. =)

Here's today's Disney History: 1998: La Nouba, the Cirque du Soleil show, opens at Downtown Disney, Florida. With an international and diverse cast of 65 talented performers, the show features funambulists, dancers, tumblers, trapeze performers, a juggler, clowns, actors, acro-gymnasts, cyclists, musicians, vocalists, skippers and circus artists. La Nouba, which comes from the French phrases "faire la nouba," and means to live it up, has been created exclusively for Walt Disney World. 

Have a magical day!