Day 781: Wash All The Dishes

Another pretty short blog post for you today, but it won't be over without references to college, The Chinese New Year and, of course, Disney!

The other night, we were faced with a common problem in my dorm room: dishes. You see, there are four of us living in this one little dorm room, and in this little dorm room we drink A LOT of coffee and tea, not to mention the ridiculous amounts of oatmeal and other food we tend to eat. In the end, this accumulates to a surplus of dishes:

And when there's as many dishes as we have here (and that's actually not even all of them), you really need some serious music to go along with your dishwashing escapades. I try to mix up my music every so often, listening, as you know, to everything from Pearl Jam to Classical Music to Disney Parks to Christina Perri to Once Upon A Time to who knows what else, so I did what every other crazy music person like me would do: I asked someone else what I should listen to. My roommate Hannah helped me instantly on this very important decision, recommending the Mulan soundtrack, and boy was that a good choice.

I mean, when "I'll Make a Man Out Of You" comes on, you just have to get your work done while simultaneously pretending to fight the Huns. Needless to say, the dishes were done pretty quickly, and it wasn't until later that I realized that Mulan happened to be the absolute perfect choice when it came to a soundtrack for the day. Why? Because February 20 happened to be the beginning of the Chinese New Year!

So as we begin another lunar year, I encourage you all to do your dishes, preferably before it gets to the state that our bathroom sink was in when I finally got around to it last week. But, in the chances that you are as procrastination-filled as my roommates and I, I do suggest the Mulan soundtrack for your next date with the soap and sponge.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on February 24).

Day 735: Characters

Throughout my lifetime, I've met my fair share of Disney Characters, but my family was never too big on stopping by to meet them, especially if it meant standing in line to do so. But since my friends were along on this trip and we had a day that worked perfectly for meeting characters, I planned it all out so we could meet pretty much as many as possible.

We started the trip with two character meals, one at Garden Grill, where we met Pluto, Chip, Dale and Mickey, and then the next morning at 1900 Park Faire at the Grand Floridian, featuring Mary Poppins, Alice, The Mad Hatter, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Character meals were pretty common for my family throughout the years, but once we were finished with those and actually headed out into the parks, we had a chance to meet character after character, and here are a few of the highlights:

Cinderella: 

As the first of the Princesses we met, Cinderella was absolutely sweet. She commented on our outfits, brought Rapunzel into our discussion (as she had snuck over from her side of the room), and suggested that my brother would make a fine prince for her stepsister. Of course, we had to go visit the stepsisters the next day, just to meet his Fiance. 

Rapunzel: 

It was with my favorite Disney Princess that we had plenty of wonderful discussions, particularly about men with Hooks. Rapunzel warned us all that men with Hooks are up to no good and suggested we stay away from them...somehow I doubt that'll happen.

Anna & Elsa: 

After over a year of 2 to 8 hour wait times, we finally got our chance to meet the sisters, and you have no idea how excited I was. With Elsa, she complimented my dress, saying it reminded her of snowflakes (awesome because I was Disneybounding as Elsa!) and we asked her to help us end our eternal winter in Wisconsin. Although she couldn't help us out too much, she promised she'd try! And with Anna we found out that her favorite kind of sandwich is Peanut Butter and Chocolate, so now we're all obligated to try it! Also, shoutout to the cast member who took selfies with my phone! 

Peter Pan: 

The following day we went to meet Peter Pan, who not only loved my outfit (I was Disneybounding as him that day!), but also told me that should my crew become unhappy, as I am the captain, they might try to overthrow me and appoint someone new captain! 

Mulan: 

With Mulan in China, we all got to become warriors, and honestly I just love this picture and that's basically the main reason for having her on the list, although she was really sweet and signed a special postcard for us too! 

Belle: 

Also at Epcot, we met Belle, who also signed a special postcard for us. After she looked throughout autograph books, she noticed that we met Gaston, and then went into a story about how she gave him a mirror as a present for Christmas, just so he can admire himself all day long!

Aladdin & Jasmine: 

Although we waited almost an hour for them, I think this was probably one of my absolute favorite meet and greets of the trip. Both Aladdin and Jasmine were just plain great, and when they noticed the nickname on one of our postcards, they launched into a whole conversation about it! They were honestly really great, and that's coming from someone who's least favorite Disney film is actually Aladdin! 

Indiana Jones & Marian: 

I can't leave these two out either. In June, for the first time, we had the chance to meet Indy and Marian, and of course we came back for a second time this trip, only this time we also got their autographs! That's right, I have Indiana Jones' autograph. What now? 

This is only scratching the surface of all the characters we met this trip, and I'm pretty sure I'll go find more characters in the future, although something tells me it won't be quite as fun without Megan and Ashley along for the ride! Don't worry though, those autograph books will be completely filled someday! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on January 12 due to the Disney Trip!)

Day 287: Quite a Common Fairy

It's that time of the week again! Time for Once Upon a Time, even though technically that was yesterday, but still. I just finished rewatching the episode (while doing homework of course. I don't have time to just sit and watch at the moment), and I have to say, while obviously I wasn't as shocked as I was the first time, there were still many many things I ADORED about this episode.

So for those that have yet to watch, here's your spoiler alert. If you haven't seen it, don't read anything past this because seriously, you're going to regret it. There are SOO Many things revealed in this episode, and of the three from this season so far, I feel it's the one most worth watching. Not that I didn't love the first two, I loved those, but there was just something about this one that was awesome.

For starters, Tinkerbell. We knew she was coming, and Rose is brilliant as Tink. Like seriously awesome. I'm not a huge Tinkerbell fan...or at least I wasn't until I watched this. It's terrible that she has lost her wings and no longer has magic, but I find it intriguing too. Plus it brings up new questions. Like how did she get to Neverland when she lost her wings? Although I have a theory on this one that I just came up with, but we'll get to that in a minute.

And then let's bring in a bit of Hook, because the scene where they all meet Tinkerbell is fantastic. Although my favorite part is probably when she's all "Hook" and he's like "Lady Bell." Awesome that he calls her that. Just brought this line of respect from him to her. Plus he mentioned they had been through a lot together. So does that mean that maybe Tink got to Neverland via Hook's ship? I feel like that's possible. Otherwise there's certainly a story behind those two. Plus how does Pan play into all of this? Maybe we'll be finding out more when we get Hook's backstory in 3x05 (Good Form).

I'll save the CaptainSwan moments for the end this week, so let's move back to the Enchanted Forest. Can anyone deny how ADORABLE Roland (Robin's son) is? THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST ADORABLE THING EVER. Oh my gosh, everyone in my Once party was just like "AWWWWWWW" and I did it again both times he came about when watching it again tonight.

Oh, and LionQueen? Or is it EvilArrow? Either way, that's a thing now! Yes, according to Tink, Robin Hood and Regina need to end up together. Guess that means HookedQueen is out (narrowing it down!), which I'm perfectly ok with. Not sure how they're going to meet, but at some point they'll have to. I know we'll certainly be seeing more Robin Hood in the season because they hinted at it at the end of the episode.

But then, the big shockers of the week: Mulan and Aurora? Like BOOM. Not sure if I'm happy with that or not, but I do fully support gay and lesbians, and it's not that. It's just that now Mulan won't really get a happy ending! And she was one of my favorites too! But then there's the fact that Aurora is having a baby, and that's just like woah......although I knew about five minutes before it happened on the show. Guess that gets rid of the baby rumor mill around this show.

Plus, is Charming going to die? Yeah, we're back to Neverland. And what's up with Henry and Peter? Can I just talk for a second about how much I adore Peter Pan in this series? Like, Robbie is PERFECT in this role and he's worked his way onto my favorite character list really quickly. Totally my favorite villain on the show...unless you count Hook.

Speaking of Hook, we had two wonderful CaptainSwan moments this week, bringing our total for the season up to....somewhere around 8-10. That's a lot of CaptainSwan people. Tonight's were especially adorable I think though, and one directly called it out. That time when Regina was all...

And then everyone in the room I was sitting in was like "OHHHHHHH" or maybe it was just me...But you can't deny that they're sitting awful close by that campfire...right across from Snow and Charming...and he's looking at her. 

But then there's the downer that Neal is in Neverland, and as much as I want him to be there for Henry he needs to stay away from Emma. JUST..THIS...

All the above pictures belong to the awesome Instagramers that originally posted them. =) They all have their watermarks on them if you want to go follow them (which you should). 

And finally we have tonight's OUAT Disneybound, inspired this week by our favorite prince. That's right, Prince Charming! Funny because we have a new hashtag with him this week to relate his bromance with Hook: #Hooking! Also let's all hope that he doesn't die! Although it looks like next week he'll be telling Snow.........

Here's today's Disney History: 1971: Walt Disney World's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction (based on the 1954 Disney film) opens at the 14-day old Magic Kingdom. It features 12 thirty-eight passenger (39 including the operator) submarines in an 11.5 million gallon tank of water. A very close cousin to Disneyland's Submarine Voyage which opened in 1959, the two rides share many of the same elements and animatronics. 

Have a magical day!

Day 138: Disney Conversations

This probably isn't what you think it is...so just keep reading.

Last night, I told my friend that this was going to be today's blog post, and I'm keeping my word because I think it seriously is something that totally works for a blog all about how Disney impacts my everyday life.

I think this is a pretty good picture to help explain...

To say I speak in movie quotes is an understatement. It's like all I speak in, and with my friend's, it's no exception. So when last night my friend and I had the following conversation, I just couldn't not make a blog post about it!

Friend: A is transporting to a new location, she will be with you again shortly.

Me: Your time machines could begin moving again at any moment. Please remain seated. 

Yeah, not a huge conversation (although there is more...but that's the important part), but do you get it? That's right...if you've been on Spaceship Earth anywhere near (ok...probably even just once or twice), you might already know that what I replied with is the narration that comes over when they have to load a wheelchair onto the ride! It's ok though..."Your time travel is resuming now" is what happened later. 

But that's not all the funny conversations we have. At my school, and while it has literally nothing to do with me, whenever there's a drill of some sort where we have to stay in the classrooms, our vice Principal goes over the system when it's over and says "You are free to more about the cabin!" and I crack up just about every time!

Many of my friends and I have a back and forth thing where one of us says "I love you" and the other says, you guessed it, "I know!" And next year when I return to visit my friends still in high school, I already know that as soon as I walk in I'll go "Together at last! How we doin'?" and they will go "Same as always" and finally I'll return "That bad huh?" Oh yes...Return of the Jedi still reigns. But more Star Wars will certainly come in tomorrow's post! 

But one final "conversational movie quote" we have and use almost every day comes from Mulan...when Mushu goes "Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your family! Dishonor on your COW!" Considering we live in Wisconsin this shouldn't come as a surprise honestly. 

Either way, I could go on for hours and hours and blog post after blog post about all the random movie quotes that pop up in my life...many of which are Disney, but I couldn't help but share that with you...and these few. 

Here's today's Disney History: 1993: The hit TV series Full House goes to Disney World in Part 2 of "The House Meets the Mouse." (Note: This is one of my two favorite episodes of Full House of ALL TIME!)

Have a magical day!

Oh, and one more thing...I will raise the safety bar for you...and a ghost will FOLLOW YOU HOME!!! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!

Day 76: Disney in Concert

Today I headed to a nearby city to attend a Symphony Orchestra Concert, and this time it was specifically Disney. While we've attending this particular concert before (although with a different Symphony Orchestra), it was just as magical the second time!

They played a wide variety of music, as you can see below. There was one change though...instead of the Rescuers Down Under, they performed selections from Pirates of the Caribbean, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And because of technical difficulties, we were also able to hear parts of Aladdin and Mulan twice, and the entire Little Mermaid selection a second time as well. There was also an encore of It's A Small World...and of course we all sang along!

And since I went shopping yesterday and got a few new colorful additions to my wardrobe, I decided to Disneybound as Winnie the Pooh to the concert. I was pretty excited about my new yellow converse, which I've been wanting for a while. I'm pretty sure you'll see them in many Disneybounds in the future.

The concert was a great way to spend my afternoon. Sadly, I've had to somewhat leave the magical world of Disney behind and spend the rest of my day writing essays for an application, but it was still a wonderful way to start off a busy week!

Here's today's Disney History: 1999: Test Track officially opens at Walt Disney World's Epcot. Sponsored by General Motors, the attraction is the fastest ride ever designed (At this time) by Disney Imagineers....guests can reach speeds of 65 mph! The ride has been up and running since December 1998.

Have a magical day!