Day 509: The Next 29 Days

Writing a blog can get interesting, especially when trying to make up the days you missed from the last month. I mean, there's just so much to make up, and while generally it isn't terrible to come up with topics for each day, sitting at a computer and talking about Disney kind of starts to get in your head. Not that it's a bad thing, but once Disney is in my mind, weird stuff tends to happen.

Let's think about this for a moment, I have 29 days until I leave on the band trip, and that means that I have 30 days until I step foot on Disney property again. Now, I have this theory. I went to Disney in March, and normally after a Disney trip I just go into this depression. The strange thing is, I didn't go into this same depression in March, and I'm pretty sure the reason I didn't was because I focused on Once and how it was on every Sunday. It took my mind off the fact that I wasn't at Disney. There's just one small problem. Once is done...and in just over a month, my Disney trip will be too. And then my life just sounds like a horror movie.

No Once. No Disney. No Internet. No SNC.

Yep. Basically, in just over a month I will go totally insane. And then what? Hundreds of days until my next Disney trip and over a hundred days until Once returns to my TV screen. Even a couple of months until I get to go back to school with all my college friends.

But I guess there's a bright side. I'll have lots of video to edit, and I do enjoy that, and then I have the rest of the summer to spend time with my friends from high school as well. So that's nice. And then there's Lilly, who's currently debating whether to try and knock my phone or my coffee mug onto the floor. I vote neither.

For now, I'm just going to count down the days with the rest of the band, work hard like always, and then get ready to play hard on what will be my final band trip with the Seymour High School Band. It'll be sad, I know, and I may collapse into Disney Depression afterwards, but until then I'll just be excited. Really, REALLY excited.

Have a magical day!

Day 449: Sights, Sounds & Smells

If I thought I had Disney Deja Vu and Disney Depression BEFORE I left, gosh do I have it now. Like, I have to force myself to work on my blog or on editing vlogs just because it's like...I don't know. I guess I feel like I'm still in Disney mode...if that's a thing. I keep thinking I'm somewhere other than here. Things smell like Disney, or look like Disney, or sound like Disney. Things just FEEL like Disney, and I don't know what to do with it at all.

Like a few weeks ago I did talk about Disney Deja Vu, and listed stuff like Train Whistles and Air and Construction sounds as things that remind me of Disney, and yes, they still do. The stupid construction outside every morning has me thinking there's a bus stop right outside my window. But now we've got things simply like when I walk to get my coffee, I feel like I'm actually at Old Key West. I have friends that are like "How was your trip!" and then we end up having a long conversation about how much we miss Disney.

Oh yeah, it's most certainly getting bad. Plus, when you're stuck in Disney Depression right after your trip you just don't feel like doing anything. I was talking to Max just this morning about how you just don't want to work, despite the fact that you're really far behind and have so much to do. But like I said, it's just interesting to try and do stuff like edit videos from Florida, because you FEEL like you're there, and that just makes things really hard. Because you're not there, and all you want to do is go back.

On a similar note, I really have eaten so much BBQ sauce in the last week just because it smells like Spaceship Earth that it's literally ridiculous. Like why is that happening? And apparently I just can't listen to my Disney music at the moment because it drives me insane. No. I need to listen to either Once or Saving Mr. Banks or Jazz or something, because I JUST DON'T WANT TO HEAR MY PARKS MUSIC!

Life...without Disney...is a real struggle people. Now all I have to look forward to is Once Upon A Time on Sundays. That's about it. And the band trip I suppose. But mostly OUAT. Sigh.

Have a magical day!

Day 446: The Cold Hard Truth

Much to all of our dismay, there always comes a time that we must leave Walt Disney World, or Disneyland, or whatever Disney Destination we prefer. Back in July I did write a blog post about how terrible it is to leave Disney, and the funniest part is it's hard to talk about it beyond saying "I HATE IT OUT HERE, LET ME GO BACK!" Or "I MISS HOME SO MUCH!" or "TAKE ME BACK TO DISNEY WORLD RIGHT NOW."

Yep, those seem to be the natural responses of Disney fans when they return...to where it is they came from. You can't really say you return home, because for the most of us, returning home means going to Disney, so when you leave Disney it's like leaving home. In fact, it's funny because when I was down there this trip I couldn't help but think about it. I didn't cry when I left home for College, and I only cried a little bit when I left my High School Band (although I guess technically I'm still there a little bit. I still have the band trip to look forward to). But no matter how many times I go or how old I get or however long I was there, I cry when I leave Disney. Every. Single. Time. Because you really are leaving home. It's a home that we all have, but we just aren't at for most of the year.

Which leads me to the other half of today's topic: home. I had another interesting revelation on this trip. When I step foot in a Disney Park, it's like walking through the front door. It's incredibly natural for me. I can picture everything perfectly in my head at any time, as if when I walk back to my dorm tonight and open my door, Disney World is what's waiting on the other side instead of my small room. It's just a kind of funny feeling, because I really do know exactly where I am and where I want to go and everything. I feel like I'm home.

In other words, it feels 100% natural for me to be there. That's not really a feeling I have anywhere else. You just feel like you belong there, as if you're a part of the park and of the magic. I'm not sure if everyone feels that way, but I sure do, and I think a lot of my fellow Disney fans will agree with me. When you grow up with something like Disney it's a part of you just as much as you're a part of it. And when we aspire to become Cast Members someday to make people happy, because that's what we love and because we want to make the experience just as magical for someone else as someone did for us, we're only adding to the experience, on both our end and their's.

So no wonder leaving Disney is so painful. It's like a part of you is only with you for a few days, and then you're ripped away again. Frustrating stuff if you ask me. Don't worry though, since there were so many of us down at Disney within the period of like a couple weeks, we can all fight this Disney Depression together.

Pictures from my final day at Disney:

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on March 27 due to Midterms and Travel).

Day 324: Tailored to Me

Tonight is honestly just one of those nights where I don't really feel like doing anything in particular, and when I try to do something, my mind just wanders all over the place. Unless it's something specifically Disney, then it's fine. I think it's another stage of Disney Depression, the I am really Homesick stage and don't really want to hear about anything in the parks because it's all stuff I'm missing while everyone else I know seems to be going. Yeah, time for a relapse.

But that doesn't mean that Disney doesn't find me. In fact, Disney seems to find me just about everywhere, in case you hadn't noticed. I mean, I do write a blog about how Disney is in my everyday life, so it kind of HAS to find me in the most random places.

That means it's probably not a surprise that Disney finds me on my internet all the time. I was actually discussing this with my roommate last night, so that's why it's finally a blog post, even though I've been debating doing it for quite some time now. You see, when I go anywhere on the internet, I use Google Chrome, and eventually the ads you see are tailored and based on searches you have done within your browser, so ultimately you see more ads that are going to be important to you.

You can guess what my number 1 keyword on the internet probably is: Disney.

So whenever I go around to different websites, such as last night when I was searching for a hat to wear this winter (a specific one...not just any hat), and I would go from website to website, the ads that would pop up wouldn't be something for makeup or anything, but for Disney trips. In fact, there was one website I was on that had TWO Disney ads right next to one another. Of course, they always make me smile, whether I'm in a stage of Disney Depression or not.

And once and a while, just to make sure I keep getting them, I'll click on them if I have a few minutes, and go stare lovingly at the Disney World website for a few minutes. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Also, a quick note: I am very saddened to hear about the death of Walt Disney's daughter, Diane. The entire family is in my prayers moving forward. Rest in peace Diane!

 

Today for Frumpstagram it was "The Frump Life," and I couldn't figure out any better way to showcase that today than to Disneybound as everyone's favorite Duck, Donald! I used my Donald Duck Magical Ribbon specifically for it, and I got a whole bunch of compliments too! Goodness I can't wait until my new Magical Ribbons get here in just a few weeks!





Here's today's Disney History: 1998: Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life is generally released. The second full-length computer-animated feature produced by the partnership of Disney and Pixar Studio, it features an all-star voice cast including Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Denis Leary, David Hyde Pierce, Brad Garrett, Kevin Spacey, Phyllis Diller, John Ratzenberger and Roddy McDonwall. Directed by John Lasseter, the plot of the film is loosely based on Aesop's fable "The Ants and the Grasshopper."

Have a magical day!

Day 309: The Good & Bad

Well, it looks like I have good and bad news today. Depending on how you look at it.

Let's go with the bad news first, even though really for you there is little reason for it to be bad news. I'm procrastinating again, and I know it. It's probably because we had today off though, and when you have a day like that (especially one that's super rainy and dark by the time you get to three o'clock), you just don't want to do anything, much less do a bunch of homework. Either way, after this I swear I'll do my work.

But before that, the good news. I think I might be finally returning somewhat to normal. Not that I've ever been "normal," but are any of us, really? You see, for the last seven or so weeks I've been seriously crazy about Once Upon A Time, as if you couldn't figure that out. I think it's mostly due to several reasons:

1. My friends all watch the show, so therefore I can logically talk to them about it. When I talk about Disney they just don't understand. Which is fine, and I get really proud when they pick up on little things I've said, but you just can't do that all the time. So now I've got something that we can all talk about together.

2. I've been in Disney Depression, but here's the bright side and good news of today's post!

I think I might be finally getting over it. For the first time in those seven weeks I read the weekly AllEars Newsletter, and I think I may actually go read the news on AllEars from Disney, much like I did back when I was still at HS. It was like my morning routine. Come to school, go to the business lab where I spent my morning, sit down, open my blog and AllEars, and read the latest Disney News. I was sitting and thinking about that tonight and was like, "Wait, why don't you do that anymore?"

Seriously, if I'm procrastinating on my homework I might as well make it useful. So I guess now I really want to read stuff. On a semi-side note: Disney Depression sucks. More than the fact that Once this week legit broke my heart. Poor Hook.

Today's Frumpstagram post was entitled "Gertie," which for those of you that know the Disney Parks, means the wonderful Gertie the Dinosaur, who makes her home at Hollywood Studios on the side of Echo Lake. Yep, that Gertie. Now I honestly searched for a while for a picture of this dino, but could not find one anywhere. And since I have a pretty good rule about not posting any Disney World pictures that aren't my on Instagram, I had to come up with an alternative. And then it occurred to me! Park Maps! So I took a little trip to the Disney Maps and found Gertie!



Here's today's Disney History: 1990: The Yacht Club Resort (the twin sister to the Beach Club Resort) opens at 1700 Epcot Resorts Blvd in Walt Disney World. Located just west of Epcot, the hotel is set around a 25-acre lake. The deluxe resort resembles the New England seaboard hotels of the late 1800s.

Have a magical day!

Day 291: OUAT vs. Disney World

I made a startling revelation the other day. And I mean it, but it all makes so much sense now.

You see, for the past few weeks I have been going absolutely INSANE about Once Upon a Time. And I mean, INSANE (and you'll see even more of that in a couple of days...just you wait). But what makes a lot of sense is that I'm still in a stage of Disney Depression...and Once Upon a Time is getting caught up in the middle of it.

You see, we've talked multiple times about how Disney Depression works, but apparently I'm in the stage right now still where I don't want to hear anything about Disney. Nothing at all. A few months ago that was totally different. I couldn't hear enough about Disney...and now I don't even want to go through my blogger feed because I know all the stuff will be there. So I have all this free thinking space, and obviously need something to think about.

So what do I start thinking about? Once Upon a Time.

It makes sense, right? I have all this empty brain that needs something to think about and it just so happens that OUAT is right there and being all awesome and I just can't handle it and therefore, instead of thinking about Disney, I think about Once Upon a Time.

Now honestly, I'm kind of getting annoyed with it. Especially after this last week (I'm actually writing this on October 27, after Good Form, because college gets the best of all of us), where I was continuously freaking out just about every day. Granted...those spoilers of a CaptainSwan kiss and the fact that the episode was entirely about my favorite character were not helping, but still. Is this what others feel like when I talk about Disney all the time?

Ponderings aside, I obviously need to move on with my Disney Depression. Too bad that doesn't exactly happen in a flash. Recovering takes some serious time. Leaving Disney and not being there for a number of months is terrible (Actually by the time I get back it will have been almost a year, so I'm not even halfway yet).

Gosh, these next few months are going to be terrible. The big question right now though? What's gonna happen in a month and a half when Once goes on it's mid-season Hiatus?

Here's today's Disney History: 1967: Disney's 19th animated feature film The Jungle Book has its general release. Rudyard Kipling's classic tale of the jungle is the last animated feature personally supervised by Walt Disney (who passed away during the film's production).

Have a magical day!

Day 282: Missing Home

Remember all those times I've talked about Disney Depression? Yeah, I have it. I have it bad.

For some strange reason (and maybe it has something to do with the blog post you'll see tomorrow), I just really really really want to be at Disney right now. Ok, it's also possible that this is occurring now because I still have a wonderful 257 days until the next time I leave for Disney (and in reality you need to add a day to that because of travel time since we'll be on a bus). I really do hope that through some miracle I get to head home sooner than that, but it brings up an interesting topic, and it really does have to do with my life these days.

Most people, or at least I feel it's often times a stereotype of most people, when they come to college get homesick at some point or another. You get to this point where you really miss your parents and siblings and pets and bed and everything about your former home and you must accept that you now live at college (that place I've been living at for a month and a half now). But I honestly haven't gotten home sick. I guess not a ton of people that I know really really have. We've all pretty much gone home enough to not be homesick, but I assume that for some it will still occur within the next couple of months. And then come December we'll all just want Finals to be over so we can go home.

The truth is though, I'm always homesick, and somedays more than other. My brother and I are always sure to refer to WDW as our home. We're not going on vacation anymore. We're going home. And on the way back, we're just going on a really long boring extended vacation. So to tell the truth, I get homesick a lot more than what others might here at college.

And that goes for right now. I'm homesick. I want to go to Disney so badly. I'm listening to Tomorrowland music at the moment, which has lately been my go-to music when I'm doing any kind of homework or work on my laptop (obviously like working on my blog, which I really do need to catch up on). But I'll listen to all kinds of Disney music and it just makes me want to go more. And then I'll look at pictures and I want to go even more. I'll change my background on my phone to Disney, and grow a little sad everytime I turn on my laptop and see my picture of Spaceship Earth. I want to know everything that's going on at Disney, and I start making plans for my fake Disney vacation (and my real one too, of course!). Disney starts to seep in where I really don't need it to be, and while Once Upon a Time is also doing a great job of showing up in all my homework at the time (Did the book really need a Gregory Mendell? I don't think so), it's still there. Pinterest and Instagram and Facebook and the internet in general remind me every single day that I'm not at Disney, and to be truthful, it sucks!

I guess by tomorrow I'll probably be a bit better about it. I'll have to be because I have to write a couple of rough drafts for papers tomorrow and Friday and will need my complete focus to get that done. Looks like I'll be listening to a lot of Disney Parks music over the next few days. It's really difficult to be sick the week of/week before midterms. I tell you, it's not fun. Couldn't I have gotten sick like two weeks ago? Yeah, that would have been great.

Anyways, that's just what's on my mind on this lovely October evening, especially since I really need to get going with this blog. Being busy and being sick put a damper on this first part of October. But worry not, I'm working to make up those days I missed, and I'm planning on getting back into my nightly routine of blogging, because it does make me pretty happy, even if I'm not doing it from the Tangled Rest Area in Magic Kingdom.

Here's today's Disney History: 1919: Walt Disney, who has served as a Red Cross volunteer in France, arrives back in the United States. Aboard the SS Canada, he pulls into New York Harbor after a long slow trip. Walt will be discharged the following day and arrive back in Chicago October 11.

Have a magical day!

Day 204: Disney Depression: For Real

Remember a long time ago when I talked about ODD (Obsessive Disney Disorder)? Or how, just a couple of weeks ago I talked about DSA (Disney Sleep Apnea)? Yeah, here's where they really come into play.

You see, it has been a week since I was graced with the presence of Walt Disney World...not that it left. I'm the one that left it. And that first week (and every week after until your next trip) is the absolute hardest week in the world. It's like when you break up with someone and then you are in this like depression and such...yeah...happens EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Well, for the past week, that's what I've been living in, and quite honestly, once you read the rest of this post you're going to be like "Wow...she's nuts." Probably because I am, but hey! I miss Disney. What is one really supposed to do when you're in the middle of what I call, "Disney Depression."

1. Listen to Disney Music: This seems to be a solution for just about every Disney problem (not that there are many of those!). But hey, for half of the last week my brother and I had Disney music (Epcot Specifically) playing through the speakers of the Entire house. And whenever I drive somewhere, either Wishes or On Top of the World (see that blog post from the first day of my trip) playing on repeat.

2. Smell Disney Smells: I can honestly say that my blanket still smells like Bay Lake Tower. Yes, I've had it sitting on the side of my bed folded up for the last week. Other than at night right before I go to bed. Then  unfold it and smell the inside...Bay Lake Tower. This is obviously in relation to when I normally stay at Old Key West and then EVERYTHING smells like Old Key West. My pillows, blanket, clothes, me. The list goes on.

3. Distract Oneself: Basically, there isn't anything better than just trying to distract yourself, because as you will read in a moment, you need to be distracted. I personally have been watching Full House almost nonstop. I have watched almost a season and a half this week...although part of that might have to do with the fact that at the end of Season 6 they go to Disney World.

But you see, no matter what you do, Disney Depression is still going to sit in. Don't believe me, here's how it works out, and the next time you return from Disney you can compare your own life to this list:

1. First, when you are leaving, you get real sad, and wonder if there is anyway on the planet that you could stay there for more time. Like maybe your flight would be canceled and you could stay there another night because the next flight isn't until the next day. Sadly, that doesn't work, and then you sit on the plane listening to Disney music until you cry.

2. When you do finally make it home, the entire first day you are home is spent sulking. Since the extreme excitement of Disney has left your life, you don't feel like doing anything. There just doesn't seem to be any other point in life.

3. After that first day you seem to be getting better. Don't believe it. For the remainder of the first week you will think about Disney like it is a lost boy or girlfriend. Everything will remind you of Disney. EVERYTHING. The food you eat, the places you go, the people you talk with. Everything will bring a memory. Oh, and you'll want to talk to everyone about Disney for a large portion of this time too.

4. But then, something happens...You no longer want to hear about the new Limited Time Magic or what's happening in the Disney Parks this month because, well, you just won't be there to see it. Disney Movies seem fun...and if you shipped stuff home, your purchases from Disney arrive, so that's exciting, but other than that, you want nothing to do with Disney.

5. Still, like any good "stage of your life," you all of a sudden want to hear EVERYTHING about Disney. What's going on in the parks, what's the new merchandise and so on and so forth. It all seems so interesting, and exciting. Too bad you still won't be there for any of it.This is generally the time you spend thinking about what you'll want to do on your next vacation.

6. Everything, finally, goes back to normal. You continue your regular life, which for those of us who are Disney fans, means we continue to eat, sleep and dream Disney. It never really ends. Eventually you'll book another trip and get super excited about it and start counting the days down from 300, but hey, why not? Disney is just sitting there, waiting for you to return. Ok...maybe not. Maybe it's you just staring at the computer waiting to return to Disney.

I will say though that I absolutely hate Disney Depression. Now, it certainly doesn't help that this month is Expo month...this last weekend was Comic Con, this weekend is Star Wars Celebration over in Germany, next weekend is Vidcon and the weekend after that is the one all us Disney fans have been waiting for, the D23 Expo. You know, I sure wish I could be there. Honestly I would probably have business cards to spread the word about my blog. Because then maybe someday I could go to such things and have a booth of my own and...excuse me, I'm in between step 4 and step 5 of Disney Depression...so I really probably have no clue what I'm saying anymore.

Here's today's Disney History: 1999: Inspector Gadget, starring Matthew Broderick, debuts. The live-action comedy is produced by Caravan Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on the animated cartoon Series, the film will gross $103 million worldwide and spawn a direct-to-video sequel.

Have a magical day!

Day 199: The First 24 Hours

A couple of weeks ago I talked about the night BEFORE your trip, but I feel like it's just as important to talk about the night AFTER! I mean, as exciting and amazing as the night before was, the night after is just absolutely depressing. Honestly half of us probably lay in our beds crying our hearts out because our room doesn't smell like a Disney Resort, and then, in those first 24 hours, we feel like doing absolutely nothing because it just doesn't compare to anything we did at Disney. But at the same time, we want to try and find things that remind us of our home, with limited success.

In my first 24 hours after I got home from Florida, I did most of what I just talked about. I got home late in the evening, so my first 24 hours was started mostly by sleeping. Luckily, as soon as I get home it means I get to see my cat, which is always great. I mean, isn't she just adorable?

Not the greatest quality, I know, but I took it as soon as I got home. It's like the first picture I took that wasn't something on my vacation (because yes, the flight home counts too!). She's normally mad at me for like ten minutes and then follows me around the house obsessively to make sure I won't leave again.

Generally I unpack right away, because everything smells like Disney and I love Disney...and a bunch of stuff I bought is in there, so of course I want to open it and get it all out! I kind of put some of it away, make a pile of everything I bought, and just kind of go from there. My clothes go in the laundry, and my pillow and blanket go on my bed.

Normally I stay at Old Key West, and that means that no matter how many airplanes my pillow was on the way home, it still smells like my wonderful home resort. Sadly for me this time, Bay Lake Tower wasn't quite as strong (then again I was there for three less days too!), so my pillow just smelt like airplane. But don't fear, my blanket still smelled like the wonderful Bay Lake Tower. (And as of the beginning of August, it's still faintly there because I don't touch it for anything other to smell it, and then I fold it back up).

But what else happens in those first 24 hours? Lots of nothing actually. I think I spent a large portion of mine just laying on my bed doing absolutely nothing because I couldn't figure out what it was I wanted to do. My brother had Epcot music playing through the entire house (ok, I gave him the idea). It's just that when you leave Disney...everything else seems so...boring and awful.

Probably because it is compared to the awesomeness that is Walt Disney World.

Here's today's Disney History: 1965: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opens to the public (the day after its official dedication) at the new and specially constructed Opera House on Main Street USA at Disneyland.

Have a magical day!