Day 1345: Memento Mori

In the Victorian Era, there was a phrase, "Memento Mori," which reminded people to "live life to the fullest, as everyone is mortal." 

Of course, it's also the name of a little shop just a stone's throw from The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom, and little did I know that there's really more behind the name of this shop than we might initially realize. 

While sitting quietly in my fiction workshop course today (although, we're usually not quiet at all), I was more than a bit surprised when the term "Memento Mori" came up in discussion. The short story we'd been ready had a reference to the idea and the term, which, of course, led to further discussion, since a "Memento Mori" was also known as a photograph...of the dead. 

I won't share any specific pictures here, but if you want to check out some for yourself, you can do so HERE, and really I'm not sure you'll be able to fully grasp the concept until you check out at least a couple of the pictures. Either way, with the art of photography quickly growing, but still too expensive for most to afford, the picture of a deceased family member may be the only opportunity for them to preserve the memory. In the early days of this post-mortem photography, the deceased were often posed to look as though they were still alive, which, honestly, gives the whole idea a pretty creepy feel. 

As for the store at Magic Kingdom, you won't find any post-mortem pictures, but you can get your own photograph taken, which changes from your mortal state to the afterlife faster than you can say "Boo." The shop, according to The Disney Parks Blog, is also known as the former home of Madame Leota, who disappeared, although her belongings still reside in the shop along with a portrait of her...before death. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the shop's name was officially inspired by a gravestone found in the graveyard scene inside The Haunted Mansion...which was probably inspired by the portraits, or at least the saying, from the Victorian Era. 

So that's your weird fact for the day - that there's a shop (and a tombstone) at Magic Kingdom based off an old tradition to take pictures of people after they died. Do what you will with this information - share it with friends, dive deep into Victorian Era history, or, you know, take it to the grave. 

Have a magical day!

Day 866: Who Didn't Know?

It's hard to stump a "Die-Hard" Disney fan. It really, really is. My roommates try to do it sometimes and it just doesn't work. I don't know everything, oh no, not by a long shot, but as a Disney fan I have a good amount of base knowledge, and what may seem like the most little detail is actually the stuff I thrive on.

And that's why THIS article from PopSugar made my brother and I laugh.

Not to say it's not a good article, because I'm sure there are Disney fans out there who won't know at least a few of these, but 39 Disney World facts that even a die-hard fan wouldn't know? Good Luck! There were a few that surprised me, on the other hand, but only a few, and here's what they were:

Each Day, an average of 210 pairs of sunglasses are turned into Disney's Lost and Found. 

Alright, so I didn't know this one, but I don't know every statistic. There's one that comes up later, about Hamburgers I believe, that I actually did know though, a fact I'm quite proud of!

There are 4,000 acres of gardens and maintained park landscapes. (3,000 football fields). 

It's another statistic, and while I knew it was a lot, I didn't know it was quite that much. I mean, 3,000 football fields? That's crazy! But props to the Disney Horticulture Department for keeping it all looking beautiful! That's a lot of hard work!

Wait...that's only two things, and that's the truth. Of 39 items, there were only two that I honestly didn't know. Does this mean that I'm beyond a Die-Hard Disney fan? Maybe, but it could also mean that some of these facts aren't exactly unknown. After all, I'm pretty sure we can all figure out that EPCOT is 32 years old (33 this year) and stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. And I think the fact about the dream suite in Cinderella Castle can almost go without mention.

The point here is this: These articles make me feel like a real Disney expert, but they're also things that some of my friends could do simply because they spend time with me. Walt Disney World is an extremely complex place, and there's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than the fact about Trader Sam being the headhunter on The Jungle Cruise (although, if you notice, the picture they use isn't from Walt Disney World at all). There are some really interesting facts out there, and if you love Disney like I do, I highly recommend going out and finding a Disney World Trivia book. It'll be well worth your while!

How many of the facts did you know? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on May 24 due to computer issues).

Day 429: Disney Facts

A friend shared this with me late last night, and based on conversations I've had today I just figured that it would be a pretty good blog post. I mean, it is Disney...so of course it works!

As I've said before, I get a lot of questions on whether or not Disney facts or true, so this isn't really a surprise to me. It makes total sense, and I really do enjoy when people send me Disney themed stuff (unless other people have sent it to me like 50 times previous). And when people do send me facts like that I always have to evaluate whether or not they are actually true. This actually happens a lot, and, on occasion, I do find something that I didn't already know. Happened just the other day actually, when my friend sent me THIS post on 27 Disney Movie Easter Eggs you May have Seriously Never Noticed. Level: Obsessed. 

There were actually four on that list that I didn't know: Numbers 6, 14, 16 and 18 (although personally I feel 18 is REALLY a stretch). It's perfectly logical for me to not notice those though, since I generally haven't watched the movies they are featured in (I should have known the Tangled one though...and I most certainly am surprised I knew about Tink in the Black Cauldron since I am not a fan of that movie). 

But what about that original fact here on this blog post? Well, I see it as about half true, and it brings up a really great point. Now, it's not super clear whether or not it's talking specifically about Magic Kingdom or not, but if it is, then it's possible it's technically correct. There aren't a lot of spots inside MK that you can see outside of it (in fact I'm pretty sure the only ones you can are the train and Splash), but throughout Walt Disney World there are plenty of places you can see the outside world. A fan favorite is generally Expedition Everest, although I much prefer the Top of the World at Bay Lake Tower. 

However, the interest aspect this brings up is the basis of HOW you get to the Magic Kingdom. Ever think about how the parking lot for Magic Kingdom is across the lake from the actual park, and how you have to take either the monorail or a boat to get there? Yeah, there's a reason for that. Walt wanted it to be, as the fact says, like you were entering an entire world, completely different from everything outside the gates. It goes right along with what we were discussing in Fairy Tales, about the concept of liminal space. It's like this grey area type thing or something like that, and an example of it would be "At the Back of the North Wind" (George MacDonald) or the Looking Glass for Alice. It's actually a really interesting concept, and something that I debated writing about on my paper for Alice in Wonderland (but I'm not writing it on that...I'm writing it on the idea of innocence instead). 

And so, if you like sending me Disney things on Facebook or where ever, keep doing it! I love getting them, and they're always a test for my knowledge, which is like a fun game honestly. 

Have a magical day!

Day 372: Forfit

Remember back on like January 1st when I said I was going to do a Disney Fact a day? Yeah, not working so well for me. It's not really that it's hard to find Disney facts either (although it does take some time to make sure that the facts are correct), it's just that in general, it takes a lot of time.

It's no secret that while I generally intend to blog everyday of my life, I often get behind. Goodness, I've been behind this week again, and we're only a few days into 2014. Granted, exactly a year ago I was sick and also missed blogging, but still. Not good. Not good at all.

But truthfully, I wrote many of the blog posts for the past couple of days, it's just that I didn't have a chance to find my Disney Facts to add to the end and I didn't want to post them until they had the facts on the bottom. It's then that something occurred to me. All last year when I was doing Disney History, it was fun and everything, but I HATED finding the history. Ok, maybe I'm going a bit overboard here, because I did always find it to be really interesting, but sometimes things just got to be really busy, and to be honest, the number one reason I would get behind on my blog was not because I didn't have the time at the end of my day to sit down at my computer and write a blog post, but because I didn't have my History ready for that month.

If I'm going back to college in a few weeks, and I know that my schedule and classes are harder this semester, why should I be adding on hours of work that I really don't have to have? I'm not sure what, or if, the Disney History or Daily Disney Facts will be replaced with, but maybe something will come along eventually. For now I think it's just a better idea to focus on what IS on the blog...and to complete the rest of the missions I have set up for this year.

Plus, it's kind of hard to keep multiple New Years Resolutions, especially considering it's hard to keep just one. Let's just focus on that one...year two of Everyday Disney.

Have a magical day!