Day 762: More Little Things

In high school I remember our English teachers basically making us swear to never use the word "thing" in a paper. I'm pretty sure we all lived in fear of the possibility of slipping up and using the word without realizing it, and yet, here I am, years later, using it not only in the contents of a blog post, but in the title...time after time. Oh the irony.

However, I do find it difficult to come up with another word that works quite as well for this situation. I guess I could call it "Little References" in relation to this series of posts, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it. There's millions of other words out there, but you know what? I'm just going to use the word "thing."

Despite the fact that it's only been a few days since the last "Little Things" post, I realized that there wasn't really a better way to describe the Disney in my day. After all, Disney is one of those things that makes such small appearances throughout your life that sometimes you hardly even notice them! And that's why we're back here talking about the little things again!

This Speaker:

I was out shopping yesterday, picking up a few things here and there for my dorm room or to throw on my desk in the music building so I don't have to continuously run back and forth all the time, when I saw this:

I too have a little wireless speaker, but mine looks nothing like this. I did, however, have to stop and take a picture because I can't be the only one who things that, as odd as this thing looks, it sure resembles Spaceship Earth. 

Baking Up A Storm: 

Another roommate birthday means more cupcakes, and I'm always trying new things. However, this past trip I got my hands on the most adorable new apron for when I'm in the kitchen baking, and it definitely has a bit of Disney spirit! 

Now, I do believe there was another thing that was supposed to make it's appearance on this post, but I literally cannot for the life of me remember what it was, so I guess we'll just save it for another day! 

So now then, what little Disney things can you find in your day? 

Have a magical day!

Day 551: A Present Worth Waiting For

I'm starting to think that there's enough to cover on this band trip that I could talk about it for the rest of the summer, but who knows really.

Today's topic? A present.

Now, a long time before we even knew we were accepted to Walt Disney World, I had an idea. My friend Ashley was just about as excited as a person can get for their very first trip to Walt Disney World, and since she didn't have the experience or class time that Megan had in her lessons on the world, I figured I would help her out.

She got clues, and there were rules and a letter and so on and so forth, but in the end this is how things worked: She was allowed to open one present every other hour on the bus ride to Florida, since it was comprised of a bunch of pieces. It spread things out and kept the excitement up..at least for Megan and I. In addition, each present was wrapped and had a short clue as to what was behind the paper, and she had to read it before she could open the gift. I'll share those as well as we go through, and you can guess for yourself!

Present 1: 

There wasn't really a clue with this one, and if there was I don't remember what it was. It was actually a letter, explaining everything she needed to know and refreshing her on the clues she had been given before being given a final clue that read "You'll Need all of these this week."

Present 2: 

This present may be second, but it's also a first.
To many a guest this thing is dispersed. 

Any ideas as to what this one might have been? If you guessed a first visit button, you'd be correct, and don't worry, Megan got one too. When it's your very first trip to Walt Disney World it's just kind of something you need, and I had my own "I'm Celebrating" Button that was for my 25th trip in addition to the band trip.

Present 3: 

If you shake the box you might figure it out,
You've seen these more times than you can count. 

So maybe I did a real play on words with this one. There are some things at Walt Disney World that, if you don't know about it, you probably won't get to experience it, and pressed pennies is one of those things. So I went through my loose change and found pennies perfect for pressing, as well as a few for throwing in the fountains, and then had a separate bag with quarters to pay for the pennies. It worked out great too, because she actually forgot to bring spare change like I had talked about to the entire band. Mission accomplished.

Present 4: 

This and a previous gift are closed connected,
But it's not something you've already collected. 

Gosh I'm so mean sometimes. All these little clues and yet she had to wait so long. This one is closely connected to Gift 2 though, and it's something that I never really got from Walt Disney World. I did, on the other hand, get one of these at Disneyland. Yes, it's a first visit pin. It's different from the button, that's for sure, and I just feel like it's one of those things you might want to have, especially if you collect pins.

Present 5: 

After these there are many a pursuer,
but if you're not careful it is your thumb you may skewer. 

Obviously a reference to a clue I gave her (You can stab yourself with it) before she got the actual gift, this one makes a lot of sense when you put it all together. Yep, it's a starter set of trading pins, which we eventually got her to start trading on the last day of the trip. I have it on video. It's adorable.

Present 6: 

A previous present on this will go.
I'll give you a hint: it's blue,
Not as white as snow.

If you have pins, of course you need a lanyard! Jonny helped me pick one out in July 2013 for her (shows how long this present was in the works) that was blue with the WDW Logo on one side and the castle on the other. We figured she'd like it. =)

Present 7: 

These two pals will keep you company the whole trip through,
And when you return home they'll keep you company there too. 

You know how at like JC Penny they do have some Disney merch? Actually, a lot of retail stores do. Most do. Well I stopped over there and picked up a little Mickey and a little Minnie for her to have, that way we wouldn't have to worry too much about finding one while at Disney, because you just need one of them. I have two in my bedroom actually...no, three...two Star Wars Mickeys and one Indiana Jones. Plus there's the fact that my entire bedroom is filled with Mickey soo...

Present 8: 

You've asked about this one for quite some time,
And hiding it from you has felt like a crime. 

I cannot tell you how many times people ask me about autograph books, and Ashley's no exception. I actually carry my own autograph book around in my satchel, for what reason I have no clue, but I do. And there were constant questions about when an autograph would land in our hands. Little did she know I had one sitting aside for her the whole time, and more than once it was sitting right in front of her, still in it's packaging and obviously very suspicious. You can bet how thankful I am she never actually saw it.

Present 9: 

With so much out there you want to buy,
This might help with what catches your eye. 

I got the gift card in July along with most of the other stuff, and it literally sat in my wallet the whole time. That's right, I carried part of her present with me everywhere I went for MONTHS. In fact, it came home from Disney in July, went back in March, came home again and traveled once more in June. Crazy, huh?

Present 10: 

It's been a long time since we started this ride,
But in this paper your final present resides.  

Dad has some from Nineteen Seventy Four,
And you had to pay a bit to find some more.  

But your's are kind of different,
How, you'll soon find out.
You'll like them I know,
I have not a doubt. 

By far my favorite part of the present is this final gift, and Ashley was not alone in receiving one, since Megan got one too. Yeah, I recreated a Walt Disney World ticket book and filled it with things they could redeem with me as we made our way through the world. Now, I feel like they each have one left, but that's alright, because they can still use them in January. These have no expiration date. Things included? Mickey Ears, Dole Whips, Pins, all sorts of stuff. And my favorite part? Each ticket could rip out all by itself too, and it really looked like a real ticket book.

Now if only I could find a picture of it.

And so, Ashley, I hope you enjoyed your present, and how does it feel to have a blog post entirely about it? Probably pretty strange. But you have to admit that me blogging about this probably crossed your mind. Just think about how much more I'll blog about you after January! And you'll be in the vlogs! Friends and Disney is a great combination!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 8).

Day 205: Mickey's Toontown Fair

The other day I talked about when Full House went to Disney World, and one of the things that I love about that episode is how much Disney really has changed. It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since they visited (Yes, that episode premiered in 1993!), although when you watch it, it certainly seems like it HAS been that long.

Even since I was a little girl (my first trip was around three years after the Tanner Family's), Disney World has been a world of change, just like it should be, and one of the things that really has changed a lot now, is the area that I grew up with as Mickey's Toontown Fair. Of course, it's now the Storybook Circus area of New Fantasyland, but it was other things before that too! Still, I always remember it as the area where you could meet Mickey and all his friends (because when I was really little you could still meet Mickey in his house like you do at Disneyland!)

The basis of the area though, was a County Fair, and that's where this comes into play with my everyday life. This week is OUR County fair, and I enter in it each and every year, much like Minnie seems to do (her house was just loaded with awards for all the wonderful things she created!) Of course, several of my projects had to do with Disney, so I figured it made more than enough sense to share with you, especially since everything is judged now!

First off, I had several photography entries, all of which got firsts. Four of them were nominated for merit or state too, but none were chosen (honestly the photography program at our fair is kind of wacko. Like no joke). As you can kind of see from the picture below, several of them were taken at Disney World! Points to the person who figures out which ones (and no...you can't guess if I told you at the fair!).

(P.S. This may or may not be a trick question!)

Anyway, next on my list of fair entries was my drawing! Now, I've only done something in the arts and crafts category a few times, but last year, after seeing the entries that went to state fair, I decided that I wanted to do a drawing of Spaceship Earth. And so, I set out to do just that, a drawing of Spaceship Earth. Honestly, I feel awful for the person who had to do all the sketches of that attraction, because it took absolutely FOREVER. That's ok though because it got a MERIT AWARD! I was super duper happy about this because it's one of two that I REALLY wanted to get such an award!!!

And finally, I had foods, although I'm too lazy to try and find pictures (honestly I'm pretty sure they're on mom's camera, and she's gone at the moment, with the camera!). I entered two things, and BOTH were somewhat inspired by Disney! The first was a donut, which was actually a recipe from one of the Disney sites. It was like Apple Cider Donuts or something like that, and then they had a chocolate glaze. Actually, you're supposed to make them look like Mickey Mouse heads, but I didn't exactly have the correct pan to make the ears. Oh well! Still got a first! And then I had Sugar/Dairy Free Lemon Blackberry Cream Puffs! Sound's good, right!?! Well they should because they too got one of those beautiful yellow ribbons! This one was inspired by the spectacular Lemon, Sugar/Gluten Free Cream Puffs at Be Our Guest! Of course, I made it dairy free instead of gluten free because, well, I am lactose intolerant! 

Overall the fair went really well this year. All blue ribbons, meaning all first places, with two merit awards! That's honestly the best I have ever done at the fair, and a great way to end my run there! And you know, I think Minnie Mouse would be pretty proud!

Here's today's Disney History: 1966: The New Orleans Square area opens at Disneyland, California, with a ceremony presided over by Walt Disney and the real mayor of New Orleans, Victor Schiro. The 3-acre site, the first new themed land added to Disneyland after its 1955 opening, has cost $18 million to build. It is the only land in the Magic Kingdom to debut without a single attraction. Although filled with shops and restaurants, the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions won't open until 1967 and 1969. 

Have a magical day!

Day 176: Disney Everywhere

Another day of MADD camp, another adventure. It's actually kind of interesting trying to find the time and energy to write a blog post everyday here at camp, especially since i sometimes write halfway through the day at rest hour, a time when we go back to our cabins for some quiet time, and some days I wait until right before bed to do my writing. The other major difference is that I'm still writing everything by hand. It's something I do from time to time, but never with my blog and especially not for an entire week.

Either way, I've been keeping busy with tons of stuff that fits in with this blog perfectly. Our day today started off with a trip to arts and crafts. We had several activities, including henna, which is like a tattoo, but it only lasts for a few days. We could do any design we wanted, so I course, did something Disney. I have two volumes of the Disney songbook for piano, and on the front there's a treble clef symbol with a Mickey head at the bottom. This was my inspiration and I got something similar. It turned out pretty awesome, and I really hope it stays for the remainder of the week (it did!).

We also got a chance to make alcohol ink plates. Basically you take a white plate and drop alcohol ink on it to create cool patterns. We had like six colors to mix and match, but I went with the Disneybounder inside me and picked Goofy colors: green, blue and orange. Once again my Disney inspiration worked out and it looks pretty awesome.

But that wasn't all we did. We also had a cookie decorating contest after lunch. The rules were simple, you could enter one cookie to be judged by the kitchen staff, and you could do anything to that one cookie. We had five different colors of frosting and two kinds of sprinkles to decorate with. Now, I'm pretty proud of how my cookie turned out. I started with the white frosting and then used brown to make the Mickey shape. Or in this case, the Minnie shape. A little pink frosting made the bow and then I added the pink sprinkles around the outside and the little white ones to make polka-dots on her bow. Turns out the kitchen staff liked my design too because I won first place! That's the power of Disney magic for you!

I wonder if the Disney bakery would be proud?

Here's today's Disney History: 1967: A new version of the CircleVision 360 film America the Beautiful debuts at Disneyland. The film has been re-shot using the 9-camera CircleVision format (as opposed to the old 11 camera Circarama format).

Have a magical day!