Day 1291: Bed and Breakfast

If the house behind me in the picture above looks a bit familiar, I'll give you a hint as to why: Look at the mailbox and my hat. 

I distinctly remember Father's Day this year. My family went out to eat at a local railroad themed restaurant, housed in an old train depot. It's a popular restaurant in our area and the food is really great, and since my Dad adores trains, it's a natural fit. It was there that we sat discussing the upcoming trip to Colorado, which, at the time, I wasn't even officially going on. The trip, as a whole, was intended to be my parents and my brother, we me staying behind to take care of the house and the cats. When they planned it over my birthday, I ended up going along, lugging Megan with me (alright, she volunteered), and this was the first place that really caught my interest. 

My Dad mentioned, in passing, that night at dinner, the Indiana Jones Bed and Breakfast. I was skeptical for a few seconds, because of course it could just be any other bed and breakfast that happens to be themed to Indiana Jones. And then he explained that this wasn't just any old house. It was Indy's house. Frantically, I searched the bed and breakfast online, coming to find that this wasn't, indeed, just any old house. In a little town called Antonito, one little house sits, and that house has been seen many more times than you might imagine. 

Drive by unknowingly and you'll never even notice, but this is actually the very house used to portray the childhood home of Indy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They picked it thanks to the close by location of the Cumbres and Toltec railroad, which is also based out of Antonito and also in the film during the opening scene. That means that back in 1988, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, and the entire cast and crew of Indiana Jones made their way to this little town most of us haven't heard of, and now, you can sleep where Indy did. 

The bed and breakfast is run by an older gentleman and then a housekeeper and her husband, plus a little dog named Teddy. The house itself, in the film, looked relatively small. Even standing outside of it, you wouldn't believe everything that's inside. It looks pretty different from what you see in the film, but you can definitely tell where you are standing, especially if you watch the film in the living room like we did. There's something special to be said about sitting where everything happened. A young Indiana Jones would have received his trademark hat right where I stood, and you really can't beat that. 

Still, there's an amazing five bedrooms in the house, each with their own bathroom. Four are available for reservation, as the last is the room of the owner, each with a different themed name. Megan and I stayed in the downstairs bedroom, The Holy Grail, while my parents and brother stayed upstairs. In addition, there's a living room, a study area (which serves as the office of Henry Jones Sr. in the film), a full dining room and full kitchen. Seriously, this place is huge. The living area has pretty much every piece of Indiana Jones memorabilia you could think of, with additional decor that gives you that authentic Jones household vibe. 

You can see more of the house in an upcoming YouTube video, but I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was to stay here. It's a bit expensive, but if you're an Indiana Jones fan like I am (lifelong...in fact, it was probably my first real obsession), definitely check it out. You can access the website HERE, and even if you don't want to stay, be sure to contact about at least seeing the house if you're in the area. It's well worth a stop! 

Oh, and did I mention that we happened to stay in it the night of Harrison Ford's birthday, July 13? It didn't occur to me until we were actually there, but seriously, you can't make this kind of thing up! In fact, I loved staying there so much that if I'm ever headed back to Colorado, it'll be number one on my list of things to do. All I want now is to go again! 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1170: Another Trip with Indy

I wasn't alive in 1989 when the final installment of the Indiana Jones series premiered in theaters, but I'm fairly certain that everyone believed it to be just that: a final installment. There wasn't this talk of a fourth, much less a fifth, film focused on the college professor and archaeologist that seemed to be almost old enough for a museum himself, and yet, here we are in 2016, almost 30 years later, talking about another film.  

If you've been living under a rock, it was recently announced that Harrison Ford will be again returning to reprise his role as Indiana Jones in a fifth installment of the series that will premiere in 2019. Now, that's a long time to wait, but we somehow managed to wait for Star Wars, so hopefully this won't be too bad. So here's the rest of what know so far: 

Indiana Jones, it seems, won't be facing the same fate as his alter ego, Han Solo. Thankfully, death doesn't seem to be in the cards for our favorite character. Meanwhile, George Lucas, a key element in the franchise, will also be returning along with Steven Spielberg and the rest of the creative team. 

There's plenty of debate out there on whether or not it will make sense for Ford to reprise his role, but that doesn't seem to be up for debate, especially not after he did a good portion of his own stunts for The Force Awakens. Meanwhile, others wonder if this next sequel will follow a similar storyline as the fourth movie, which disappointed many fans. Personally, I'm going to go for the positive side of things here. Indiana Jones really wouldn't be the same without Harrison Ford, and while I'm sure someday they'll do extra films that feature a younger actor, today is not that day. Plus, with what they learned from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I'm sure they'll reign things back in and give us a good, old fashioned, adventure packed Indiana Jones movie. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1093: Lucky 15: Part 2

It's time again to share some of my all time favorite posts from Everyday Disney, which I do every half year! Of course, you can always head back and see my favorite posts from 2013 (Part 1 | Part 2) and 2014 (Part 1 | Part 2), as well as the first half of 2015, which you can find HERE!

Sunday, July 19, 2015: Day 930: Bedtime Story

Spaceship Earth related things appear on my blog pretty often, but as I went back through my blog posts from the last half of the year, I couldn't help but pause at this one. I still miss the old version of Spaceship Earth, and wish more than anything to head on it again, but I suppose this commercial will have to do for now! 

Friday, August 28, 2015: Day 970: A House for the Town

I'm always proud of the Disney that makes its way into my on campus housing, and this year, with extra space, a little bit of extra Disney appeared all over the place. I'm pretty darn proud of how it all turned out, especially our kitchen, which features what I like to call "The Kitchen Kabaret Pals." 

Sunday, September 27, 2015: Day 1000: One Thousand

How can I not be proud of the fact that my blog, which started out as a New Year's Resolution in 2013, hit 1000 posts this year. After all, this is the biggest milestone we'll hit in a long while, and the fact that I'm still doing this gives me hope and reassurance that something with Disney is indeed what I want to do with the rest of my life! 

Saturday, October 24, 2015: Day 1027: Talking to a Hero

How can I not have one of the greatest days of my life on this list?!? Talking to Colin O'Donoghue on the phone is EASILY one of the highlights of 2015 for me, and that means that the corresponding blog post HAS to be on this list! Just look at how happy I was! 

Sunday, November 15, 2015: Day 1049: Fandom Life

There are few posts that are a more accurate representation of my life than this one on being a part of a fandom. After all, between Star Wars, Disney, and Once Upon A Time, fandoms have pretty much taken over my life. But that's alright, because it's actually a pretty great life to have! 

Sunday, December 20, 2015: Day 1084: A New Favorite

The Force Awakens brought a ton of Star Wars into all of our lives this holiday season, and now I'm faced with the difficult task of picking a new favorite character. With so many options, such as Kylo Ren, BB-8, Finn, Rey, and Poe, there's a new character for every new and old Star Wars fan alike. Although, I think I stand with my original decision...Poe is my new favorite. Sorry everyone else, but the pilot wins again. 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015: Day 1010: The ABCs of ABC

One of the posts that I definitely had the most fun creating this half of 2015 was this post on the ABCs of ABC, featuring some of our favorite ABC shows, such as Once Upon A Time, How to Get Away with Murder, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D! 

Despite the fact that the end of the year left me really far behind here on Everyday Disney, which resulted in me making up a ton of posts that I missed due to school work, there were certainly a few awesome posts, weren't there? As always, I can't wait to see what the next six months bring...and how many GIFs of Harrison Ford and Colin O'Donoghue somehow work their way in. 

Have a magical day! 

(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 1083: Oh How I Love Han

WARNING! SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS ARE BELOW!

I can't wait for the day when I don't have to put giant spoiler warnings at the top of posts anymore...but really, you need to see the film before you find out what happens (although I'm sure that by now you either have to still be on interest hiatus or really good at avoiding them if you haven't seen the film yet).

Regardless, with the loss of a certain smuggler, it feels like I should do a brief celebration of my favorite Star Wars character. I'll certainly miss him, as I'm sure we all will, but I can also see, from a storytelling perspective, the benefits to his death. Wow that sounds terrible.

To remind you just how much I love Han Solo though, here's a quick graphic I made a while back:

As you can see, Han Solo is really my favorite character and is sort of more important than absolutely everything else. Did I happen to pick a character on OUAT that embodies every bit of the spirit that is Han Solo, yes, but that doesn't mean Han means any less. 

Of course, Harrison Ford is the king of priceless expressions, especially in Return of the Jedi, so I went back and found a picture from two years ago with a few of my favorites: 

You also can't deny that he had literally the best line in any movie ever: 

Honestly, I'm not even totally sure why Han Solo ended up as number one in so many of our hearts. He's just the space smuggler we all wanted to survive and end up happy. We wanted his relationship with Leia to work out (and it sounds like, to a point, it did). We wanted him to always fly the Falcon, preferably with the hyperdrive working, and hopefully someday beat his record of the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. How he became our favorite, I'm not sure we'll ever really know. 

But one this is for sure, he IS our favorite, and now that he's gone we'll just have to remember him for all the wonderful moments he WAS there. Like the continuously hilarious lines in Episode VII, my favorite probably being the trash compactor line. It doesn't get much better than that. 

So farewell Han, our good friend and favorite smuggler of all time. You'll certainly be missed. 

Have a magical day! 

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

Day 1049: Fandom Life

As a member of the internet and social media, I'm always seeing posts that note "what a time to be alive," and it's occurred to me recently that now, right now, is a wonderful time to be alive, at least in regards to the live of being a fan. Suddenly it's become kind of "cool" to be a part of a fandom, whether it be Star Wars, Disney, a television show, or something else entirely. In fact, it's gotten to the point where I think most of us wonder what people without a fandom do with their freetime.

Honestly, picking a fandom to be a part of isn't even that hard, unless you're trying to stay away from all negativity. There's plenty of that on the internet wherever you go, and while some fandoms are worse than others, every one of them has a few rotten eggs. But seriously, all you have to do to become a part of a fandom is like something, and usually that means becoming absolutely obsessed with something.

It starts out relatively simple, like when I began watching Star Wars. You watch the movie with the smallest amount of interest and enjoyment, and then suddenly something clicks. For me, it was the moment a certain space scoundrel came on screen and I realized that it was indeed Indiana Jones. Boy, I'd been missing out on an entire childhood of Harrison Ford and I had no idea.

And so, you begin to watch (and rewatch) the movie over and over again. With a TV show you end up buying a season pass on iTunes so you can watch the film immediately the next day and every day after that until another episode appears. Maybe you start DisneyBounding your favorite characters, and tweeting the cast and crew. You join internet groups, maybe you create a fan page (or a giant blog dedicated to your fandom), and eventually things just start to get a bit out of control. 

You attend a fan convention, maybe something as big as Comic Con or D23 Expo, or something smaller that simply embodies your fandom. And when you can't go to the conventions because you spent too much money on fan merchandise, you stalk the internet waiting for any possible news. And speaking of fan merchandise, things just sort of start to pop up in your room, especially after people figure out that a gift featuring your favorite character would work perfectly for an occasion. 

And before you know what happened, you're a part of a fandom. You've made friends and learned everything you possibly can about the show or movie: all the head-cannons and real plotlines and accepted truths. You spend the majority of your day thinking about the fandom, and drawings in the columns of your notebooks relate your love of the scoundrel that stole your heart.  

Previously, at this point you'd try to hide your love of the fandom. Kept it completely under wraps for fear of someone finding out you actually have a shrine to a character in your bedroom. But that's a world that exists no more. Now you can be proud of your fandom and the happiness it brings you! 

What fandoms are you a part of!?! Let me know in the comments! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 30).

Day 1032: I Know You

When you get to 1000 blog posts that are all supposed to be different, things start to get a little messy, which is why I've started doing some Throwback Thursday posts, where I go back and revisit posts from previous years. After all, I've changed over the past two years, and so have you and so has the world, so it only makes sense.

For instance, back on Day 667: Through Association, I talked about how in sociology I learned about the six degrees of separation and the theory that everyone is six or fewer steps away from anyone else int he world. At the time, I mentioned that I was about three degrees away from Colin O'Donoghue, although now I suppose I'm closer to one (although I can't remember if one means I personally know them or if I know someone who knows them). Either way, I do know someone who knows Colin, and I have talked to him personally, so I guess three is an outdated number. I haven't gotten any closer to Harrison Ford though

And that's the funny thing about connections. I've certainly learned in the past few years that it's all about who know you. In fact, a friend of mine knows people who worked on Glee, and when I attended the Twin Cities Film Festival I met tons of people who know Colin, including a few who were quite interested in me and the work I hope to do in the future. This next summer I hope to work at a national youth convention that happens to be taking place at Walt Disney World, and there too I'm working my way in through connections.

I also talked, on Day 667, about bringing Disney into the lives of people even when I'm not there, and I hope that's something that's continued. Actually, the other day a friend of mine tweeted me to tell me they were watching Star Wars, and I absolutely get comments about how people thought of me in reference to other Disney circumstances. And you know what, if my label forever ends up being "That Crazy Disney Girl," I guess I'll do just fine.

Have a magical day!

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

Day 956: In the Same Building

The D23 EXPO is a spectacular place, and I almost forgot just how much I missed it in the four years between the two I've attended. My first EXPO was spent mostly with my parents, getting the lay of the land and understanding this new foreign world of conventions. But this time I was ready, and I definitely met many, MANY wonderful people!

With D23 you have to keep your eyes open 24/7 for people you just might know! In fact, as I was walking to the convention on Saturday I happened to recognize Nick Pitera as he headed the same direction! I caught up to him at the stoplight and we snapped a quick picture on the other side. I think it's safe to say my hands were shaking like they were about to fall off...

I was also lucky enough to finally meet Keith Lapinig and Peter Armado! Their High School Musical Cosplay was ON POINT and they even recognized my Emma Swan outfit for the day! They're just such delightful people and I can't express to you enough how much you need to go find them on social media! 

On Saturday I happened upon some of the Thingamavlogs crew as well, and then I headed back to their meetup on Saturday because it was obviously necessary! These guys make my day. In fact, all Disney YouTubers make my day! Thank you guys for your absolutely kind comments and praise! It's because of Disney YouTubers like you that I started doing Disney videos! 

But of course, I do have one Disney YouTuber that inspired me more than any other, and that's MrCheezyPop, AKA Maxwell Glick! Getting to see Max was one of the total highlights of the convention for me, as it seems there's just never enough time to talk about all things Disney! Hopefully I'll see you again soon, whether it be back at Disneyland or at my home of Walt Disney World! 

I'm sure it's not hard to guess the other highlight of the convention for me though. If you don't know already, I'm a HUGE OUAT Fan, so attending the panel at the D23 EXPO was basically a dream come true. And you know what, as if it wasn't good enough being in the same room as Ginny, Lana, Adam, and Eddy, they just had to go and throw in Josh Dallas too. I was in the same room as Josh Dallas. I'm still not over it. 

However, the D23 EXPO was FILLED with surprise guests all over the place. While I wasn't able to attend the live action panel (WHY DIDN'T I?!?), I CAN say that I was in the same building as Harrison Ford, which is the closest I've ever gotten ever. Additionally, I was in the same building as George Lucas, Johnny Depp, Ellen, Chris Evans, and Dick Van Dyke, and also in the same room as Disney Legends Richard Sherman and Marty Sklar, as well as the one and only Stan Lee! Add in the OUAT Cast and all the other awesome people and it makes for a really awesome weekend! 

If you went to the D23 EXPO, who did you get to see, and if you weren't there, who would you WANT to see? Let me know in the comments below! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 2 due to the Disney Trip and College Move-In).

Day 854: Star Wars Favorites

There's few things I enjoy more than watching The Empire Strikes Back on May 4th. So I've put together a quick list of some of my all time favorite Star Wars posts from the history of Everyday Disney!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013: Day 78: The Empire Strikes Back

Need a refresher on what exactly I watched while The Empire Strikes Back played on my TV? Yep, there's no way I have time to watch the whole film all the time, but as I just told my roommate, putting it on in the background allows me to have plenty of Harrison Ford time AND get my work done!

Monday, April 8, 2013: Day 98: Love Triangles

Remember my first love triangle theory post? The entire theory was actually inspired by one couple and one couple only, and that's Han and Leia! Of course, since 2013 I've found plenty of other references to support my theory, but going back to the roots is definitely a fun trip! 

Saturday, May 4, 2013: Day 124: May the Fourth be with You! 

I still remember first learning how to do the lightsaber effect. I'd probably have to relearn these days, but it would certainly be worth the effort! Of course, there's no May Fourth quite like the first May Fourth we celebrated, although I'm still wondering how long it's going to take to recognize it as an official national holiday. 

Friday, May 31, 2013: Day 151: Star Wars Month

Not surprisingly, the majority of my Star Wars posts occurred in that first year. Since coming to college, my tables have obviously turned a bit, although something tells me that as 2015 goes on, Star Wars will come back a little bit at a time. After all, I'll have to rewatch the entire saga at least once before the new film comes out! 

Thursday, November 6, 2014: Day 675: The Force Awakens

We skip quite a bit before reaching my next favorite Star Wars blog post, although there's plenty of Star Wars in between! I'm still a bit in awe that I found this in my real life, and I still carry around my own wookiee with me every moment of every day. He keeps me safe and sound and makes sure I never have to go Solo...unless I want to that is! 

Thursday, April 16, 2015: Day 836: On the Floor

Not much can beat my reaction to the new Star Wars trailer, especially when it ends up much like most episodes of OUAT leave me...on the floor. Harrison Ford is back as Han Solo, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker come December 18, 2015, and literally I could not be more excited! 

And there you have it, some of my favorite Everyday Disney Star Wars posts! I hope you all have a wonderful Star Wars day and May the Fourth be with You!

Have a magical day!

Day 836: On The Floor

If you didn't expect this to be my blog post for today after everything that's been going on at the Star Wars Celebration, then you're strangely mistaken. Oh no...to say I expected big things from this convention would be an understatement, and I'm not just saying that because I'm thrilled that Corey Vidal is part of the hosting crew! This goes much deeper, and it has everything to do with the new trailer for the film.

We still have several months (over half a year really) before Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens premieres in theaters, but that doesn't many any of us less excited. Then again, when I went into watching the new trailer, I also didn't expect to end up on the floor. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...you have to actually SEE the new trailer before I go on talking about it, so without further ado, I present you with the new teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens! 

To be honest, I was almost crying just at the Lucasfilm part at the beginning. Megan just laughed at me. Then I gasped at the Star Destroyer in the sand. Megan said "There's lots of sand." Then I was like "DARTH VADER WHAT" and then I was like "LUKE SKYWALKER OH MY GOSH" and on and on it went. I also felt pretty good about the part where it was like "You have that power too." Intense Luke Skywalker. Intense. Then people and droids and THE MILLENNIUM FALCON AND THEN...

To be completely honest, I'm not sure this is real life. Maybe I'm dead. Who knows. But that is Han Solo. Harrison Ford. The single greatest character in my book ever. If you've been around since 2013 you'll know that as much as I love Captain Hook, I REALLY love Han Solo. Here's a quick graphic to help you understand: 

I know, such a great graphic, right? But let's point out here that the amount I care about Han Solo is indeed above the amount I care about Captain Hook...despite the fact that for some reason Captain Hook ended up just a little bit bigger than Han Solo. You get the point though...I really love Han Solo. 

So you know, even though it's been 30 years ad stuff, I'm just as excited about Han Solo being on the screen as ever. And the fact that he says "Chewie, we're home." Gosh, I actually just dropped to the floor fangirling and couldn't get up. Not exactly what I expected my day to go like today but hey, I'll take it...and watch the trailer a million times over before December. I live a riveting life. 

What did you think of the trailer!?! 

Have a magical day!