Day 483: Just One?

Day 3 of the Disney Photo Challenge: A Picture of your favorite Disney memory. 

Blast from the Past: 

This is a real tough one. I have so many Disney memories! 

But, after much thought, I have come to the conclusion that my favorite Disney memory is actually fairy recent, and while I don't have a picture of the memory itself, I'll still tell the story. The picture I chose is one where the top tier is blasting off, as you'll hear about what that means in a moment. 

During the summer of 2011, I traveled to Orlando, Florida for the National FBLA conference with other members of the Seymour FBLA Chapter, including Mrs. Grassel's son, Gordon. For two days before the conference started, I toured a few of us through the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, with some help from my mom. But the moment that really got me caught up was when we were watching the "Magic, Memories, and You" show in the Magic Kingdom. It's a display on  Cinderella Castle, including scenes and ideas from movies and attractions, and it features pictures taken by Photopass Photographers throughout the day. 

But the time we got to Main Street, it was already crowded, but we made sure we found a spot where Gordon could see for the most part. He was a little frustrated at how late it was and he was getting tired, plus he didn't have the best view. Having watched the show before, I knew what was coming, and I told him to listen for words from one of his favorite characters..."To infinity and beyond" -Buzz Lightyear. 

Throughout portions of the show he would whisper to me and ask when Buzz Lightyear was coming, and I told him to keep listening. Finally, he heard the words and said to me, "Lizzie! I heard him" or something like that. I watched his reaction as the top tier of the castle blasted off into space, and if you haven't seen video of this, go do. It's amazing how realistic it looks....it seriously, I'm not not kidding, looks like it's taking off. Gordon's face lit up and all of his worries about being tired and hungry were gone. He was so excited, and the look on his face was all I needed to see. 

It's expressions like this that make me want to work at Disney, so I can bring happiness to kids like that all the time. I'm sure you've all seen those faces when a child you know opens a Christmas or Birthday gift and it's just what they wanted...well in these moments at Disney, like when they see a favorite character for the first time, or find out they are going to Disney World, or even see the castle blast off into space...it's like that expression plus more. Most people call it priceless...I just call it magic. 

Back to the Future:

Dear Lord, how am I supposed to choose?

I think, in terms of trips for me, my favorite one would have to be a triple tie between my last three, so July 2013, March 2014 and June 2014. All three just held a lot of brilliant moments for me. Like, July was spectacular because it was my Birthday and Graduation Trip and we stayed at Bay Lake Tower, which is just one of my absolute favorite places to stay now and my whole family was there and there were a ton of moments I just really appreciated. I got to meet my favorite artist (Larry Dotson), and my brother and I were the last ones in the Magic Kingdom on my birthday and so on and so forth.

Then March was great because I had a chance to explore a lot of Disney in my own unique way. I really spent a lot of time with only my brother on the trip and that seriously made a difference. In addition, I got to meet TONS of awesome people, including meeting Max. It was SUPER awesome getting to meet him and can't wait to head out to his area next summer for a trip to Disneyland & D23.

And finally, June was wonderful because I got to experience Disney with two of my best friends. I don't really get to travel much with friends versus my family, and having them along just made everything even more spectacular. If June was any indication, January is going to be amazing.

So I pick all the memories from those three trips, although there are countless other memories, the one from two years ago included, that rank right up there near the top. You really can't just pick one. It's impossible.

Have a magical day!

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

Day 313: How to Be a Dad

I admit, that title might be a bit confusing, but just stick with me for a minute.

For those of you that follow Disney social media, you know that this past week many of the biggest names in social media showed off their Disney Side. We had GrumpyCat and people who sing and do art, and they were all great, but my personal favorite was by Charlie, who runs the YouTube Channel, How to Be a Dad. See where I'm going with this?

So here's his Disney Side:

I absolutely loved this video. Well, obviously I did or else it wouldn't have it's own blog post here on my blog. But to be honest, I cried at the end. I really did. Good thing my roommate wasn't looking at me at the time because that might have looked really weird. I had been sitting there for like five minutes and was just absolutely crying. 

Now, I'm not a parent, again, obviously, but I have had my share of magical moments at Disney, and I love to go back and watch video from previous vacations with my family. Actually, and I'm surprised I haven't mentioned this earlier, my family used to have this serious tradition. Every Sunday, since my mom goes to a different church than the rest of us, she would bring food home from a restaurant, usually a restaurant called Hansen's back in the day. Then we'd all sit down in our living room with our food and watch either Train Videos or video from our Disney Vacations. Usually it was the later. We've done this since I was pretty young, or at least since my brother has been going with us, although my dad has been filming since my first trip. 

Sometimes we would have to beg to watch Disney video, but we still did it, and while we haven't done it as much in the past couple of years, I would like to say that I still watch my videos on Youtube more often than I probably should. 

You see, vidos from Disney World are spectacular things. They capture your first, earliest memories from the parks, and they can capture the ones that you make every time you go now. Someday I'll have videos of my own kids, and I really hope we watch them just like my family watched them. And I think that's what really got me at the end of the video. The part where it had the footage of them both at Disneyland and the words "For Kids who've grown older but never grow up...and their kids." 

And I like to think that that's kind of what this blog is about too, about showing that part of me that will always love Disney. It's easy for my friends to see it, and my family, and obviously I know, but I want to share my love of Disney with the world too. That's why I make my daily vlogs, and why I write this blog, and why I talk about Disney and why my profile picture and cover photo have been the same since my last Disney trip, and why I'm known as the Disney Geek at my High School, and probably on my floor at college too (and it's branching out apparently!). 

As much as my brother and I have changed from our first trips to Disney, we still love Disney, and every time we go we're creating new and lasting memories, and those are the things that I'll cherish for the rest of my life, and share with my own kids someday. 

Time for Frumpstagram again, and today's prompt was "Magical Ribbons," which can only mean one thing! No, seriously...it means Magical Ribbons. I love the ones I got back in like...July, and I wear them whenever I can (although I'm lazy a lot and just don't do anything with my hair and therefore don't wear them). But I am SUPER excited for my new bows to get here! I ordered them like a month or two ago (a whole bunch) and should be getting them early December! 

Here's today's Disney History: 2010: After two years of planning, including seven months of construction, New York City's Disney Store officially opens at 1540 Broadway. To celebrate the launch, Disney uses the Times Square pedestrian plaza between West 45th and West 46th streets for a two-hour parade featuring such characters as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Cinderella and Buzz Lightyear. The 20,000-square foot store will operate from 9 a.m. to midnight daily. 

Have a magical day!