Day 1397: Perry

It's time again for another round of "That Thing in Class That Mysteriously Related to Disney!" 

This time it was in Intro to Computer Programming, which I'm taking to fulfill my last general education requirement...the second of which (math), I was supposed to complete by the end of my second year of undergrad. I'm a first semester senior right now, so you can tell how well that worked out for me. 

Regardless, throughout the semester in addition to doing labs and attending lectures, we're expected to create several programs that will run on the computer. We're usually given instructions and basic code to help us start writing our program, but ultimately a lot of it is up to us, and I'm particularly excited about this next one! 

For our fourth program, we're creating a sort of basic adventure game. Think sort of like the really simple old ones where you have to run into certain objects and avoid others to gain points. You'll lose lives if you hit the bad things, and when you run out, the game is over. Pretty simple, right? The rest of the program, including the theme and story, is up to us, and our professor showed us several examples in class today. The first one? Perry The Platypus. 

As the game started up, there was some pretty intense Perry The Platypus music, and the game was run where you had to run into Doofenshmirtz to stop him while avoiding Phineas and Ferb. It actually seemed like a lot of fun, and I quickly snapped a picture to prove that yes, indeed, I'm not lying. 

What I'll be doing for my own game has yet to be determined, but expect it to have at least something to do with Disney. I figure something with the parks could be especially fun, but that might include a lot of coding if I did it the way I want to. So perhaps The Lion King will come into play, or another classic Disney movie. I don't know about you, but I played a lot of those simple kinds of games on the computer as a kid, and this seems like the perfect chance to relive some of those memories! 

If you have any suggestions as to what kind of game I should do, leave them in the comments below! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1244: DCOM

With the DCOM marathon a huge part of pretty much every Disney's fans life right about now, it's probably time to share with you some of my favorite DCOMs! With so many to choose from, honestly it was really hard narrowing it down, but I'm so excited to see so many of these in the next few days that there aren't even words! 

Of course, when talking about the best DCOMs, you HAVE to mention Zenon. I heard a rumor that this could have been a TV show and honestly, I don't know why not. It would have made a spectacular show and we definitely would have all watched it.

And then there's Smart House, which is one of those films that I just remember watching all the time. Seriously. Anytime Smart House was on, we were watching it, even if it is almost creepy.

I almost forgot about Horse Sense for a while, but for some reason the story of this city slicker turned ranch hand is super entertaining. It's a popular enough storyline, but this one is just different enough to be perfect. And there are horses. Who doesn't love horses?

The upset of the marathon is the lack of Luck of the Irish, which I actually haven't seen in quite some time. I definitely noticed it was missing from the lineup immediately though and will 100% be watching it on my free time since I'm also not staying up until 2 in the morning to watch it in June.

Double Teamed is sort of like Smart House. I remember it super well because I watched it all the time. But it's also like Horse Sense in the fact that I almost forgot it existed.

And then there's Quints. Who doesn't remember Quints?

We all loved Cadet Kelly when I was a kid. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've watched this as sleepovers in elementary and middle school. It was a whole thing back then.

Motorcrossed is another fan favorite, and it's certainly a movie that we all just really love. So it has to be here: because it's awesome.

But my all time personal favorite has to be Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off. I actually own this one because I love it so much. I actually wrote a whole blog post about it a while ago, but long story short, it makes me want to cook and it taught me how to crack an egg with one hand. 

If you'll notice, High School Musical isn't even on here, and while it's a great film and officially a DCOM, I really wanted to highlight some of the less talked about films. You know, the ones that were really a part of our childhoods, and less a part of our preteen phase. 

Let me know which DCOMs are your favorites in the comments below! 

Have a magical day!

Day 945: Rotten to the Core

Just a few days ago I blogged about Disney Descendants, and I definitely made a point to watch it that night as it premiered (although I did catch the West Coast showing rather than the East Coast as I usually do), and I have to say, the movie really impressed me, which is certainly something because I grew up in the Disney Channel age of Lizzie Maguire and That's So Raven, even going as far as the High School Musical movies, so for a movie like this to have some ground is pretty good.

My favorite parts of the movie? I definitely have a few, and the first is most certainly the opening villain number, Rotten to the Core:

I haven't been able to get this song out of my head all weekend, and it's sort of becomming a problem. But that's what music is intended to do, espeically in a musical setting like this. However, the number also gives a great glimpse into some of the amazing costuming in the film, most of which just screams DisneyBound. Actually the entire movie is just filled with DisneyBounds from different characters, and it's pretty much the greatest thing ever. 

Actually, no, there was one other thing that may be greater, and it's got everything to do with the son of Cruella De Vil, Carlos. Perhaps my favorite reference to the stories in the film was this kid and his terror of dogs. Ironic, I know. The son of Cruella De Vil is terrified of dogs, that is, until he meets Dude, the campus dog at the new high school. And then I sort of started a thing...

If you want to see my full Live Tweet of the movie, feel free to head over to my Twitter! I live tweet things almost weekly, and Descendants was definitely a fun one! If you haven't seen the movie yet, definitely catch a showing at some point! It's got great twists on some of the original Disney stories and is filled with a new cast of wonderful characters. 

Watched Descendants? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Have a magical day!

Day 939: Descendants

If you're anything like me, you've probably been hearing all about the new Disney Channel Original Movie, Disney Descendants. To be honest, all I really knew about this movie previous to watching the six minute preview clip I've included below was that it's a film focusing on the children of Disney characters and stars Keegan Connor Tracey as Belle, who you might also recognize as The Blue Fairy on Once Upon A Time. And that's it.

But considering the buzz that's been surrounding this movie, I figured I'd better watch it when it premiere this Friday July 31 at 8/7c on Disney Channel. If you're as lost as I am, watch the first six minutes right here:

To be fair, I love fairy tales, and this movie looks seriously interesting. So, if you're with me, be sure to watch the premiere this weekend!!! 

Have a magical day!

Day 884: Tangled Up Agin

More Rapunzel? More Flynn Rider? MORE TANGLED?

You can imagine my excitement when I checked my social media yesterday to find this picture plastered all over everything:

(Disney Channel)

I love Tangled, as I often cite it as my favorite Disney movie...if I have to pick just one. Actually, saying "I Love" Tangled doesn't even begin to explain how much I adore this movie. I basically threw a party when they put in the Tangled themed restrooms at Walt Disney World. I swear I take more photos of those bathrooms than I do of half of the rest of WDW. It's a real problem.

But for those that don't yet know, Disney is going to expand on the story of Rapunzel and Flynn in a new TV series staring Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi in their original roles. The press release reads: "Her irrepressible spirit and natural curiosity about the world drives her to the realization that there is so much more she needs to learn before she can truly accept her royal destiny. She boldly puts her frown and impending marriage on hold to seek out epic adventures, much to the dismay of the King who, after missing out on Rapunzel's youth, must accept that his daughter is now an independent young woman."

Let's see, a show that stars some of my favorite Disney characters with their original voices, as well as one of my favorite ships, PLUS music from Alan Menken and Glenn Slater? Sounds like a dream come true to me! You can bet I'll be watching when it premieres in 2017!

What are your thoughts on the new Tangled TV show?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on June 4 due to Computer Issues).

Day 743: Lizzy

This morning, after spending an extended amount of time in bed with my cat because I didn't go to sleep last night until around 2 in the morning (thanks very much 11 hours of work yesterday), I finally made it to my kitchen, where I am now, and to my laptop to begin today's 11 hours of work. Don't ask me how this all equals out, because if I work 11 hours today I'll be up until like 3 in the morning, but band trip videos just don't edit themselves you know.

Anyway, as I scrolled through my list of blogs I follow, the second suggestion was one directly from Disney, specifically Oh My Disney. You all know how this is probably my favorite blog on the internet, but that's besides the point. The article, this time, was about "Life Before Becoming a Disney Fan vs. Life After," and it just so happens to fit in perfectly with something I did this morning as well as something I talked about a few weeks ago.

Personally, I don't really have a life before becoming a Disney fan. I've always been a Disney fan, as I explained to a friend on Facebook this morning who happened to ask me why I'm at Disney so much. The answer is simple, or at least more simple that you might think. It's other people that make it complicated. My family loves Disney, and while we all love different parts of Disney, there's still that central love, and it's been our vacation destination since before I was even born. So as we grew up with Disney, it became ridiculous to even think about traveling somewhere else. That other vacation costs just as much and means less time at Disney, so no thank you.

This isn't to say that I don't want to travel to other places in the world. After all, thanks to one Colin O'Donoghue, I have the extreme wish to visit Ireland, and I certainly couldn't mind seeing France or Italy or pretty much anywhere in Europe. Oh, and don't even get me started on my want to visit Steveston, in Canada, where they film OUAT. But all of these things still mean less time at Disney, and ultimately, when it boils down to it, I always choose Disney, even when that means not visiting WDW and instead opting for Disneyland (you have no idea how excited I am).

So I haven't had a life without Disney, but that doesn't mean I can't relate to this article, which you can read HERE. The difference is, I don't see these things as stuff before and after Disney Fandom as much as I see them as things in and out of the Disney fandom. These are universal Disney truths we're discussing here, and the rest of the world just obviously doesn't understand.

However, one of them really stood out to me, and that's "Lizzie McGuire." As Oh My Disney narrates, "BBDF: That show that was on Disney Channel, maybe? It was a while ago...ABDF: Potentially the most important television program of our era."

For those that didn't live in the Lizzie McGuire age, I feel sorry for you. Back in the day (gosh I feel like I'm old now), we watched shows like Phil of the Future, That's So Raven and even The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, but it was really Lizzie McGuire that hit it all off, at least for my generation. This show isn't even arguably the most important...it just IS the most important. And for me, even more so.

My full name is Elizabeth, although it may or may not be spelled incorrectly on my birth certificate. Either way, I'm one of those lucky people faced with a life of nicknames. The most common, obviously, is Lizzie, and that's what I eventually picked, but there's also Beth and Liz and Eliza and who knows what else.

But the biggest problem in my life? Lizzy. Who in the world spells Lizzie with a Y? I mean, no offense if you do, but why? My brother pointed out last week that it'd be like spelling Jonny with an "IE" (Jonnie), and that looks ridiculous, but I still don't quite get it. If you haven't caught on already, the point here is that Lizzie McGuire was more than just a show for me...it was the show that inspired my nickname. I've said for years that the reason I spell my name with an "IE" is because that's how they spelled it on the show, and that's 100% true. I was awesome for me to be able to identify with a character on television who had the same name as me, and I certainly wish that Lizzie McGuire was still around for this new generation to experience. How these kids live without Miranda and Gordo I'm not even sure.

Plus, have you even seen the Lizzie McGuire movie? Those songs get stuck in your head for AGES.

Have a magical day!

Day 656: Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off

Because I live in a Dorm Room, I don't get to cook very often. It's sort of nice because you just don't have to worry about actually making the food you're going to eat for dinner. You just go to the caf instead and hope that there's something that you like there (although it seems to me that this year we have hamburgers more than we would really want). Regardless, I don't spend a lot of my time cooking and baking, which really makes me sad.

So when I go home on the weekends, or at least when I have a rare completely free weekend at home, I actually get a chance to work in my kitchen. It doesn't really make my mom super happy though because I probably leave more dishes in the sink than she thought possible, but there are always great cupcakes that come out of it in the end!

This particular weekend I was in charge of making cupcakes for our church's annual Chili Dump, where everyone brings a pot of chili and they dump it all together. It ends up tasting really great, despite what you might think. So I set about making cupcakes, specifically brownie batter and dole whip cupcakes, but that's another blog post. I also made spaghetti and meatballs (Which was CaptainSwan inspired and absolutely delicious), meaning I literally spent the entire day in the kitchen.

A few hours into this day-long adventure I finally decided that since I couldn't technically leave the kitchen, I would find my laptop and pull up a movie I haven't seen in a really, really, long time: Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off. This is one of those old Disney Channel Original Movies, back when they were actually really really good and you wanted to rewatch them. Like the SmartHouse age, or The Luck of the Irish. Gosh I miss those films (and will probably end up rewatching a ton of them sooner than later now that I've started with Eddie's).

But Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off, of all the Disney Channel Original Movies, really holds a special place in my heart. If you don't remember the film or have never seen it, basically it's about a kid named Eddie who's father really wants him to play baseball but in reality he really loves cooking. Bobby Flay is in it and it's just a wonderful film, especially if you love cooking like I do. In fact, it occurred to me while watching it that this movie is probably one of the reasons I do love cooking and baking, and it's most certainly the reason I learned how to crack an egg with one hand.

There's more though. It turns out my life is basically one giant circle. I'm watching the movie and all of a sudden I come across a familiar face: Rose McIver! She plays Tinkerbell on Once Upon A Time, meaning that I was basically meant to love cooking and baking and OUAT. I mean, at least, I'm going to take it as a sign.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 19).