Day 1421: Cars 3

I still remember the first time I saw Cars in theaters, when my family loved it so much that we just had to see it again...and then one more time before it even left cinemas. I don't particularly remember seeing Cars 2, but I know that we did at some point, and I have more than a few memories of watching both films in my own home. If you've been reading Everyday Disney for a while, you'll also know just how much I love and adore Carsland out at Disney California Adventure. If I could live anywhere in the world, aside from inside Spaceship Earth, it'd be Carsland. Actually, I think I ate at Flo's three times in the five days we were in the parks. Or was it four times? 

Either way, Cars quickly rose to, and has stayed at, the top of my favorite Disney-Pixar movies list. I can't quite pinpoint why, but there's just something about this story that hit me and has stuck with me unlike any of the others. Maybe it's the fact that I love driving, and I really loved my road trip this past summer, which, for a while, took us on Route 66. Perhaps it's that dream I have of driving the Route all together, or it might be the beautiful animation and story that should have won it an Oscar. I'm still a bit salty about that one. 

I think, ultimately, the thing I loved most about Cars was that it's a movie without a central villain. Yes, Chick Hicks is there throughout the film, but he's not really...evil, at least not in the same way as Captain Hook or Cruella de Vil terrorize their own films. Cars was, and is, a personal journey for Lightning, and he becomes his own villain. I think that was a really important lesson for me back in the day - that sometimes we want to blame others when the fault really lies with us. We want to blame Doc and Mater and Sally and Mac and yes, even good old Bessie, for our problems, but we can be the villains of our own story too. Lightning is so focused on his racing career and coming out on top that he neglects those around him, getting caught up in his own ambitions without ever realizing the toll they'll take on others. And when he gets stuck in Radiator Springs, it wasn't truly the fault of Mac - it was Lightning, and as he begins to slow down and truly open his eyes, he realizes that there's more to life than ambition. 

As someone who regularly gets caught up in her own ambition and needs to consciously remind herself to slow down and enjoy life a bit more, Cars made all the difference for me. I know I felt that Cars 2 was lacking that same theme, and a physical villain appeared, so while it's still a spectacular movie, I think it lost some of the same charm for me. Which is why I'm actually thrilled by this first teaser trailer for Cars 3. Like with Toy Story, it seems that we'll be coming full circle with Lightning's story. He was, at one point, the young hotshot who had so much to learn, and it was Doc that taught him new tricks. Now, Lightning's a permanent fixture in the racing world, but as we learned in the original film, fame and good luck doesn't last forever. Lightning was once his own villain, and I'm really hoping that we'll see that again in a new way! 

Let me know what your thoughts on the new trailer are in the comments below! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1381: Paperman

Writing fiction can be pretty difficult, especially when you're writing a lot of it all at once for a class. But occasionally, things slip into our writing without us even knowing it. For instance, a piece by one of my friends reminded me of Mulan 2 the other day, and we've had more than a few horror movie moments. 

But for one piece of fiction written for my class, I could only think of one thing: Paperman. 

The short written by one of my classmates instantly reminded me of the short by Walt Disney Pictures. If you haven't seen it or just wanted to watch it again, you can watch it below, and you'll get the basic idea of the story she wrote.

Now, she didn't write Paperman specifically, and actually, her short was no where near close to what actually happens in the film, but it certainly was a reminder of it. And in fact, another short, The Blue Umbrella also came to mind for much of my class as we read through her story. And really, it's kind of fun when that happens, because it shows just how realistic these ideas coming from Disney and Pixar are, and it also showcases the idea that we too could become writers like that. 

And that's a pretty amazing idea. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1265: Finding Dory

I don't know how old I was when I saw Finding Nemo for the first time, but in the years since then, I do know that it's made an impact on my life. From the Disney Parks, where Nemo and Friends took over the Living Seas and brought a lost attraction back to life and swam their way on stage in their own musical, to several of my best friends loving the film, to watching it on every single band trip I've ever been on, Nemo is one of those films that seems to be universally loved. That's why, as usual, I headed to theaters as soon as possible to see the sequel, Finding Dory, and this time I made sure to bring my extended family with me.

I don't know entirely what to say about this film aside from the fact that I think we all really enjoyed it (and loved it, if we're being honest here). I heard before seeing it that some were comparing it to Toy Story 3, and saying that it's the best Pixar sequel since then, and I completely agree. For those of us that experienced Finding Nemo when we were young, and then crowded the movie theaters to see Finding Dory, it was extremely fulfilling.

And on top of it all, this film had a great message, as many of the Pixar films do, which left us really wondering what Dory would do. It shed a light on some of the disabilities we may not be able to see, and how they can make a person just as valuable in their own unique way. Finding Dory included a variety of characters, from a Beluga Whale with broken sonar, to Dory with her memory loss, Nemo with his lucky fin, a blind whale, and even a bird named Becky that quickly became one of my favorite characters. It showed us that everyone is worthwhile, no matter what we struggle with, and that if we celebrate our differences, strengths, and yes, even our weaknesses, we really can swim across an entire ocean to find those we love.

If you haven't seen Finding Dory yet, I encourage you to do so! I must say that it's one of the funniest films I've seen in a while, as it had me laughing pretty much the entire time through some really cleverly created jokes and funny moments that could have only been created by Pixar, and I'm excited to see it again at some point in the future!

Have a magical day!

Day 1206: Storytelling

We've been watching a lot of TED Talks in class lately, and I figured that I'd check out a couple of Disney related talks. The problem is, I watched them all rather than doing my homework, leaving very little time to blog. So I think I'll let them do the talking this time! 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1059: The Good Dinosaur

I've been on a roll this year with seeing Disney films on opening day. Earlier I saw Tomorrowland and Inside Out on opening day, and when I had a chance to see The Good Dinosaur, it felt like the right option!

Overall, I thought The Good Dinosaur was a pretty good (haha) movie, although it's certainly not my favorite of the Pixar films. In fact, without giving away any spoilers, I kind of felt like it was the same movie as Inside Out, just for a different group of people. After all, so many of the same themes were present and it just felt like Inside Out...with Dinosaurs.

Either way, I thought the animation was brilliant, and the characters were definitely unique. That's actually one of the things I love most about Pixar - their ability to take characters we think we know and flip them on their heads. That certainly happens multiple times in this film, whether it be with Spot or a T Rex.

Honestly, I don't want to give too much of the film away if you haven't seen it yet, so let's just finish with the trailer for the movie!

I'm also in love with the music in this trailer, which is pretty usual for me haha! Disney does a spectacular job with soundtracks, especially in their trailers! 

If you haven't had a chance to see The Good Dinosaur yet, go as soon as you can and see the magic for yourself! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 26).

Day 1044: Finding Dory

That's right, the moment we've all been waiting for is finally here: the trailer for Finding Dory!

Oh come on, you can't tell me that you haven't been anticipating this movie at least a little bit. We all want to know why we have to find Dory, and where she went! Plus, more Ellen and more Nemo? Sounds like the greatest thing ever.

It seems like we're not necessarily looking for Dory, but that Dory is looking for something else. Regardless, with this bunch of fish it's sure to be an interesting adventure! 

So...can we go see the movie now? 

Have a magical day! 

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

Day 990: Ratatagain

I don't usually blog about Disney movies, and when I do they're normally a part of my Rewatch list that I've been slowly working my way through for over a year. I have this thing about rewatching movies so close together, and usually I spent some time in between viewings unless it's a movie I love (Tangled, for instance, is always watched, under any circumstances). For some odd reason, I recently had the urge to watch Ratatouille, and since I was home, we made it a family affair.

I actually blogged about Ratatouille early on in my first year of Everyday Disney. You can read that post HERE, but for some reason I just felt like I should blog about it again, and more specifically, about the food. I mean, just look at how delicious it all looks:

Give me some of all of that! Actually, Leo from Thingamavlogs just made a video for Top 5 Week about Animated Disney Foods, and you can give that a watch right here: 

Let's be real, we all pretended we were eating grubs as kids. Personally, I've always wanted to be able to eat corn like in an old Mickey/Donald/Goofy cartoon that I watched all the time as a kid, so that would have to be on my list for sure. Disney food in general, animated or not, seems to be great. Maybe I'll have to work on trying to make a few of these animated ones more real life in my own kitchen. After all, I've already done it with the grey stuff! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 25 due to a tight schedule).

Day 960: Paint the Night

The Main Street Electical Parade on steroids? Sounds just crazy enough to work, doesn't it? And let me tell you...it DOES. Prior to heading to Disneyland I definitely did my reserach, so that by the time I finally got around to seeing Paint the Night my first evening in the parks, I knew every word and note. I believe that throughout the course of my trip I "Stumbled" upon Paint the Night around 5 or 6 times for sure, which means I saw Paint the Night more than I did anything else other than World of Color. If that doesn't say something I don't know what will.

This new nighttime spectacular is largely based off of that original Main Street Electrical Parade, which we still enjoy at Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. I love the Electrical Parade, and while I don't always take the time to stop and watch it, over the past few years I've become more likely to take up residence along the Frontierland stretch for the later parade showing when there's no one there to enjoy the magic. However, having now seen Paint the Night, I want nothing more than an updated show at Magic Kingdom.

The only problem? I'm not totally sure it would fit.

The Main Street Electical Parade has become a staple of the Magic Kingdom, and change is always strange and difficult, but without a huge reason, like the Diamond Celebration was for Disneyland, a large scale parade update like that seems a bit odd. Granted, we just got Festival of Fantasy not that long ago while Disneyland's Soundsational has been there for years, so I'm not complaining. But that's not the only reason. Disneyland also has a huge Pixar presense that we don't find at Walt Disney World. Between Cars, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, and A Bug's Life, the Pixar name has certainly made a name for itself at the Disneyland Resort. They even have a whole parade dedicated to Pixar! And believe it or not, a huge portion of Paint the Night is based on those same films, with Cars, Toy Story, and Monsters Inc. floats along with appearances from many of our favorite Pixar Characters.

In particular, I was completely in love with the Cars section of the parade, which I think I could just stare at for hours. In a particularly magical moment, as we headed on the train from Toontown to Tomorrowland, we passed the staging location for the parade, similar to the way you do as you head through Frontierland at Walt Disney World, and the entire Cars section, was ready to go on. The dancers from that section waved to us as we passed, and as if they weren't already my favorite part of the parade, they definitely were then.

But we don't have a Cars Land in Florida. We may be getting a Toy Story Land, but we don't have A Bug's Land or a Monsters Inc. attraction either (we do have the Laugh Floor, but the scale of popularity is still no where near what it is in California). We have more Star Wars (actually guys a Star Wars segment of Paint the Night would be pretty awesome), and the Muppets, and what is apparently lots and lots of Frozen. So while there are definitely things that spill over from park to park, if Paint the Night ever makes it to Walt Disney World, I have the feeling it would be quite different from what we see at Disneyland.

Although if we're changing things can we just get Belle out of that dress and get rid of the Ariel float? Let's bring in some new characters! Star Wars, like I said, or a bigger Rapunzel float! Maybe even Figment? How cute would he be all lit up with his imagination?

How do you think Paint the Night would appear if it was at Walt Disney World? Would it be the same, or would you make some changes?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 8 due to the Disney Trip and College).

Day 933: The Good Dinosaur

As with every new Disney or Pixar movie, I seem to watch the trailer at least a day after it's out and then sit trying to figure out what the film is really going to be about. We went through this with Wreck-It Ralph and Inside Out and even as far back as Ratatouille, so it's no surprise that I'm sitting here watching the trailer for The Good Dinosaur trying to figure out how this is going to work.

If you haven't seen the trailer yet, you can watch it right here:

I think the concept of dinosaurs never going extinct is pretty clever, and while I'm not totally sure I'm a fan of how the dinosaurs all look, the film is beautifully animated, and I have the distinct feeling that I'll end up loving The Good Dinosaur just as much as I love Inside Out. Like every other film, I'm just gonna put my trust in Pixar and see what brilliance they've come up with this time. Plus...you never know what might be revealed at D23 that'll make me even more excited for another film this fall. 

What do you think of this first trailer for The Good Dinosaur? 

Have a magical day!

Day 925: A Month Till D23

It's been four years since my last adventure to California, and two years since the last D23 Expo, so to say I'm excited to return for the 2015 D23 Expo this August would be an understatement. I attended my first expo back in 2011, a happy coincidence based on when we were scheduling our first ever trip to Disneyland. Since then I've had an increased appreciation for Disney, and I honestly think that D23 and Disneyland played a large part in really bringing me into the extremely large Disney Fandom. After all, I think many of us have that awkward stage somewhere in Middle or High School where Disney doesn't seem as important anymore...mostly because our friends are all falling out of the Disney love and it no longer seems like the cool thing, so we play it down. But D23 brought it all back out for me, and that's why I'm THRILLED to be returning this year!

If you've never attended a D23 Expo, just know that it's HUGE. Think of pretty much everything Disney related all in one place. I'm talking Lucasfilm, The Disney Parks, Marvel, ABC, Disney Movies, Pixar and on and on. Everything. All together. For one weekend. It's Comic Con but for Disney, and this year I know what to expect going into it, and definitely have a few stops planned out already!

For those of you who might not know, I'm a HUGE fan of OUAT, although if you've read my blog for any amount of time that shouldn't be hard to figure out. That's why I've been waiting for MONTHS, actually more like over a year, for ABC to announce anything Once Upon A Time related, and let me tell you, they didn't let me down! I'm absolutely excited to announce that, for the first time ever, I'll be there for the Once Upon A Time panel at a convention, and I fully plan on waiting to get autographs from Lana Parrilla and Ginnifer Goodwin! I'm also hoping to attend the Muppets Panel on Friday morning, so be sure to keep an eye out for me at both events if you're attending the EXPO as well! For more information on these panels, you can find it HERE on the official D23 Website!

As for the rest of the EXPO, I'm saddened that due to conflicts with the OUAT Panel and Autographs I won't be able to attend the Disney Parks Presentation, which is the one big presentation I'm usually excited to attend. It seems that the chance to meet Lana, Ginny, Adam & Eddy won out this time. That's alright though, as my parents will still be at the presentation, so I'll get caught up on everything via them! I will, however, be hopefully attending the Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios Upcoming Films presentation on Friday in Hall D23, and I'll definitely be around the show floor and grounds the entirty of the three days! Keep an eye on my Twitter and Instagram for more information as we get closer to the event!

I do believe I get more excited for the D23 EXPO every single day, with chances to meet some of my favorite actors and actresses as well as get the inside scoop on everything Disney and meet many of my fellow Disney YouTubers and Bloggers!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on July 20 due to technical difficulties).

Day 900: Meet the Emotions

Well, amazingly, for the second time this year, I was able to catch a showing of a new Disney film on opening day, and this time I had the chance to see it in the theater at the Mall of America! It's funny because I'm fairly certain that in all of 2014 I saw about one movie in theaters, if that, and in the past few months I've seen four, one of which I saw twice. But we're here to talk about the emotions inside our head, specifically those featured in Disney & Pixar's new animated feature film, Inside Out.

A number of years ago, when they first introduced the concept for this film, my reaction was pretty much the same way it is for any new animated film coming out of Disney or Pixar: Skeptical. I remember the feeling with Tangled and Frzoen and Wreck-It Ralph and even as far back as Cars. After all, a movie about emotions? How in the world?

But like always, I put my trust in Pixar and they brought everything they had to this film, and honestly, without giving any spoilers, I think that this is one of the finest Pixar films to date. It has the creativity of Toy Story and Cars mixed with the pure emotion we get in films such as Up, all while mixing in the humor we've seen in films such as Monsters Inc. I absolutely adore this movie and everything about it, and here's why, for me at least, I think it meant more than ever.

Over the past two years, or at least since making my way to college, I've really been forced to examine how I look at life. I've had a lot of hate thrown my way, and for a long time the best way to respond to it, or so I thought, was with anger and sadness and fear. But then a little show called Once Upon A Time became more important than ever and brought me the positivity of Jennifer Morrison, who's on my list of role models for that exact reason: positivity. There's so much hate in our world, but I've decided to make attempts to embrace the joy instead, and you know what? It works. Once I decided to stop being angry and sad and terrified, my life got better, and it got brighter. I think a year or two ago I would have watched this film from a completely different perspective, but now, I see so much of myself in Joy, and it's extremely comforting to know that maybe I have a little Joy of my own up in my head. That was an extremely weird sentence out of context...

Of course, as the movie shows, it's totally ok to associate with another of the emotions too. We all need anger and sadness and fear and disgust to live a happy and fulfilling life. It's all a part of the game. And that was comforting too, and I think that is what's going to hit home with so many viewers out there. It's totally normal to be sad or angry, and sometimes we need to embrace those emotions the same way I strive everyday to embrace joy.

Regardless, you can bet that I'll be seeing Inside Out again, probably at least once while it's still playing in theaters, and then many many times after I have my own copy on BluRay. If you have yet to see Inside Out, I highly reccomend seeing it, as it's a film absolutely everyone can relate to.

After all, we all have emotions inside our heads...we just have to meet them.

If you've seen Inside Out, let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on June 25 due to travel).

Day 864: No Worries

There's really only one motto that can explain the feeling you get when you complete another semester of college and only have a summer to look forward to: "Hakuna Matata."

Of course, as worry and carefree as the end of the semester is, there are a few other emotions that might just be running through your mind. The end of every semester is pretty bittersweet, regardless of who you are. So to celebrate the end of the semester for us college kids and the upcoming end of the school year for pretty much everyone else, here's a few emotions you might experience when you finally don't have to worry about papers and exams and actually going to class anymore:

We've all had that one professor or teacher that decides to give you a final that had absolutely nothing you studied for on it. I'm talking like the one you studied day and night for...and then they put completely irrelevant information that wasn't even in the textbook on the exam.

For our graduates, this is a big one. The world is big and scary and, as I grow closer and closer to my own senior year of undergrad, I know the feeling well. Will I find a job? Will I become a hobo? Where will I live? How will I pay off my student loans? 

I'm probably not helping, am I?

"When was the last time I showered? I don't remember! I haven't had time!" 

One of the absolute saddest parts about the end of the semester is just that...it's the end of the semester. We have to leave our friends and roommates and school and dorm room and go back home. Yes time at home is nice, but not seeing your best buds for three months is also one of the most depressing things in the world. 

And don't even get me started on cleaning out your dorm room. 

Ultimately, however, the end of the semester brings a lot of JOY! We're done! No more class! No more homework! Yeah we still have responsibilities and jobs, but we don't have to schedule our lives around the hours the caf is open! We no longer have to sit in front of our computer with a blank stare, willing a paper to write itself! Textbooks are turned in, final exams taken, and worries put aside! Hakuna Matata! 

Inside Out begins playing in theaters June 19! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on May 24 due to finals...haha!) 

Day 650: Getting Spookyish

Remember when I shared our new door decs not too long ago? Actually, in relation to the dates these blog posts occur on, it was just about a week ago. Need a refresher? I'm talking about these door decs:

Well you see, our door looked a little...empty with just these door decs on them, and I'd been meaning to put up the Halloween decorations for a couple weeks already. The ones that go in our front window that faces the courtyard of our dorm. But then Megan and I had a grand idea. We already sort of had a Monsters Inc. theme going on, so why not continue that? 

And so, Mike and Sully have since moved in. 

I'm not going to lie, I'm really happy with how these turned out. I was terrified making Sully because Mike is basically just a bunch of circles. That's super easy. But Sully I had to hand draw and then make the parts for, since his eyes and nose and head and eyebrows and so on and so forth are all individual pieces. In addition, I had to make it so it would look normal in our window. None of these things were particularly easy to do. But they turned out great, right?

And of course, we had to add something to the door itself, and "We Scare Because We Care" just seemed like the right thing to do. 

In other words, Room 309 is basically the best. 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 20).

Day 645: Door Decs

College is a great place to explore just how Disney you can make something without it screaming over-obsessed Disney fan. Honestly, it's sort of a fine line, one that I probably cross way too often (and that goes for OUAT too). But I like to think that as many hints of Disney as I have around my dorm room, it doesn't scream that, and that's what I try to accomplish. Because believe it or not, there are ways to bring Disney into your dorm room. Really easy and clever ways actually.

This past weekend we had a couple of days off, meaning that I could spare basically an entire day working on projects for my dorm room. Since I have less homework than my roommates, I often need something to keep me busy, so I set about the room working on other projects. I put up the Christmas lights, I take care of our pet gerbil Melvin (more on him at a later date though...), and I put up decorations. I rather like it because it offers me a chance to be more creative when generally I just spend my days in a practice room or sitting reading Shakespeare or something. You don't get to make fun posters or anything in college, so when there's a chance for me to bring something I made into the dorm room, you bet I'm going to take up that offer.

So I made us some door decorations. Our previous ones were what we assumed to be sloths, but honestly I don't think we'll ever be totally sure. Either way, we decided that we needed a change of decoration for October, so I made us some new ones.

I searched the internet for quite some time before stumbling across these Monsters Inc. inspired door decorations, and while they're probably not good for an RA looking to make 30 or 40 of such decorations, it worked pretty well for the four of us, and you know, sometimes I hear people stop to look at our door, not knowing that I'm sitting so close to the other side as they comment on how cool these door decs are. It makes me feel pretty accomplished.

Plus, you can't really deny that they're pretty adorable.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 10).

Day 641: Coming Soon

Back in the day when we all had to use VHS players instead of DVD or BluRay players we all had to actually sit through the previews on the tape. Now we generally just skip them, or at least most people do. When I'm with other people I generally head right to the movie, but when I'm all alone I like to actually watch the previews. It's kind of like a reminder about what was going on at the time the film (or the version of the film) was released. Plus, on some of those old Disney VHS movies you can find some of those great old Walt Disney World Vacation commercials.

Therefore, it should be no surprise that I still love watching movie trailers, and there are a couple of them out right now for upcomming Disney films, including two films I'm pretty excited about.

First off we have Inside Out, which is the newest movie from Pixar. It's about the voices inside your head and while I'm still a bit confused about what the entire thing is about (although when aren't we confused?), it's a really great Teaser Trailer. And let's admit it, the part in the middle totally almost made us all cry.

And then we've got the trailer for Big Hero 6, which much like the rest of the recent Disney animated films, I was really skeptical of at first. But now? Now I'm excited. This film looks great and I can't wait to head to the theater to see it this November. And you'd better believe that I hope to meet the characters at Hollywood Studios when I'm at WDW in January since it was recently announced that they'd be making an appearance there. 

And of course this blog post wouldn't be complete without Into the Woods, which is probably the film I'm most excited for at the moment. It's not out until January, but oddly enough, it's actually the musical we're doing at SNC this year, and it's filled with the fairy tales I love and adore so much. Plus Chris Pine. Enough said.

Which film are you most excited about?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 20).

Day 623: Hidden Secrets

It seems that we're going to have three blog posts in a row about things I've found on the internet, but that's alright. There's so much out there that it's sometimes difficult NOT to go through it all, especially when I'm not the one to go searching for it in the first place. My friends do a great job of bringing tons of Disney articles and games and quizzes to my attention, which seriously makes my job easier.

This time it was one of my roommates, who sent me a pin last night that came from a tumblr account that goes through Disney films and finds secrets within Disney films. It's pretty interesting, whether or not all of them are true. So I guess what I'm saying is to not believe every single one of these. Granted, some of these are legitimate Easter Eggs, and when going through the Beauty and the Beast section, there was no mention of the Beast's name being Adam (fine for headcannons but not for trivia!)

I mean, there was this cameo in Tarzan:

And there's always the ever popular A113. 

Yes, there are tons of little secrets hidden within Disney films, and I hope the owner of the page has a chance to expand into new films as time goes on! It's a great idea and I know I'll be reading more as time goes by. You can find all the Hidden Secrets HERE! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 17).

Day 459: On the Road

My family tends to travel a lot. That may have already been obvious by the simple fact of how often I've been to Walt Disney World, but either way we do like to go to places closer to home too. My Godfather actually lives in Chicago, which is about a four hour drive from us, and we've visited him a ton of times throughout my life. A little closer, about two and a half hours away, is Milwaukee, where we love to go to the museums and such. We've been other places too, all over the state, and sometimes out of Wisconsin.

So it should be no surprise to you that we have a distinct few songs we tend to listen to on these long drives. In fact, when we drove down to Milwaukee to catch our flight to Orlando a few weeks ago, we had a similar playlist of songs...all of which were Disney of course. I figured I would share a couple of my personal favorites.

Once Upon A Time

Now, I only put this on the list because it tends to be what I listen to when everyone else is asleep. I LOVE to listen to music while I'm driving, even if it's just really quietly in the background. And since I have the music of both Season 1 and 2 on my phone, I might as well use it! Actually, considering that lately it's become my reading playlist too, I think I got my money's worth out of it. The music by Mark Isham is beautiful, and in case you were wondering, my favorite tracks are as follow: Cinderella (S1), The Road to True Love (S1), The Clock Moves (S1 - This is my absolute favorite!), True Love (S2),We Are Both (S2), The Duelists (S2), Tallahassee (S2), and The Adventure Begins (S2).

The Muppets

It seems to me that one of my Brother's favorite CDs is the soundtrack from The Muppets. I'm talking the newer Muppets movie from a few years ago. Granted, with the awesome songs in that movie how could you not love it? Although I do get a little irritated when he continuously plays "The Answer is No" over and over and over and over and over....

Star Wars

Or any John Williams music really. Indy most certainly falls into this category too. I think our favorite time to play any Star Wars song is when we're driving on this one road near home, and if we time it just right and we're in The Falcon (that's my car, remember?), then it's basically like I'm Han Solo because my brother will be playing "The Asteroid Field" which is what I call "Han Solo is the best Pilot ever" song. It's a good time, and did we escape the Empire? You bet we did.

Disney/Pixar Greatest

My brother also likes to play this game (have you figured out who's generally in charge of the music yet?) where we have to guess what movie the song is from, and his favorite CD to do this with is the Disney/Pixar Greatest CD. It has tracks from most of the Pixar movies (obviously not the newest ones) and he'll just go through them and be like "WHAT MOVIE!?!" and then we have to figure it out and he gets angry when we get it wrong. Although at this point we've played it so many times it's hard to get it wrong.

Disney In General

When we did drive down to Chicago this weekend, we happened to listen to a playlist of Disney. I have it for when I'm at home doing chores or something and feel like singing. So I'll put it on and it has the classic Disney songs on it. Ok, not all of them, but a bunch of them, and I'll just go around the house singing these songs while I work. They have always said that it goes faster when you're having fun, right?

In the end, I guess it kind of changes depending on where we're going, but overall I think the general theme for us is Disney music. But really, that shouldn't surprise you at this point. I do write a blog about Disney in my everyday life, don't I?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on April 8 due to Travel).

Day 440: Pizza Planet Truck

When I asked my Music theory class for random Disney topics, this was one of the things that came up: The Pizza Planet Truck. Now, for those of you that don't remember or know, this is the truck that Woody and Buzz ride in during the original Toy Story film. And Pixar, being Pixar decided that it would be a grand old time to include the truck in just about every single Pixar film after it. Because they're just awesome like that.

So, of course, it was in Toy Story, for quite some time. In A Bug's Life, it sits next to the trailer house (which you can later see in Monsters Inc. as well!). So they kind of killed two birds with one stone there...references to more than one Disney film all at once. Awesomeness.

In Finding Nemo, the truck can be seen as Gill explains is escape plans to the others. It's through a plastic bag as they roll towards the road and over into the ocean. Because of course there's a Pizza Planet truck in Australia. Apparently they went international!

In Cars, the truck got a revamp...meaning a mouth and eyes to make it an actual character. I like it. Granted, Cars is my favorite Disney Pixar Film...so I suppose I'd like it either way.

It's a bit far off in Ratatouille, on the bridge as Skinner is chasing Remy, but it's there, and in WALL-E, the truck is found broken and rusted in a junkyard as Eve searches through it for a plant. In Up, the truck gets another redesign, looking more like a delivery van, but it's still there, and obviously Pizza Planet. They must have modified stuff for the big city. Of course, in Toy Story 3 we see it again on the road, looking a little worse for wear during the scene that tells the story of Lotso. In Brave, it's one of the carvings in the woodworking shop the Witch owns, and while I'm not sure where off the top of my head, I'm sure it appears in Cars 2 and Monsters University, because not having it at this point just wouldn't make sense. 

I just love it when Pixar throws in Easter Eggs. They're always so fun to spot. Of course, people continuously ask me about them and sometimes I'm just like yeah I know already, but I really do enjoy it. My favorite happens to be A113, which my brother and I love pointing out. 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on March 28 due to Midterms and Travel). 

Day 324: Tailored to Me

Tonight is honestly just one of those nights where I don't really feel like doing anything in particular, and when I try to do something, my mind just wanders all over the place. Unless it's something specifically Disney, then it's fine. I think it's another stage of Disney Depression, the I am really Homesick stage and don't really want to hear about anything in the parks because it's all stuff I'm missing while everyone else I know seems to be going. Yeah, time for a relapse.

But that doesn't mean that Disney doesn't find me. In fact, Disney seems to find me just about everywhere, in case you hadn't noticed. I mean, I do write a blog about how Disney is in my everyday life, so it kind of HAS to find me in the most random places.

That means it's probably not a surprise that Disney finds me on my internet all the time. I was actually discussing this with my roommate last night, so that's why it's finally a blog post, even though I've been debating doing it for quite some time now. You see, when I go anywhere on the internet, I use Google Chrome, and eventually the ads you see are tailored and based on searches you have done within your browser, so ultimately you see more ads that are going to be important to you.

You can guess what my number 1 keyword on the internet probably is: Disney.

So whenever I go around to different websites, such as last night when I was searching for a hat to wear this winter (a specific one...not just any hat), and I would go from website to website, the ads that would pop up wouldn't be something for makeup or anything, but for Disney trips. In fact, there was one website I was on that had TWO Disney ads right next to one another. Of course, they always make me smile, whether I'm in a stage of Disney Depression or not.

And once and a while, just to make sure I keep getting them, I'll click on them if I have a few minutes, and go stare lovingly at the Disney World website for a few minutes. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Also, a quick note: I am very saddened to hear about the death of Walt Disney's daughter, Diane. The entire family is in my prayers moving forward. Rest in peace Diane!

 

Today for Frumpstagram it was "The Frump Life," and I couldn't figure out any better way to showcase that today than to Disneybound as everyone's favorite Duck, Donald! I used my Donald Duck Magical Ribbon specifically for it, and I got a whole bunch of compliments too! Goodness I can't wait until my new Magical Ribbons get here in just a few weeks!





Here's today's Disney History: 1998: Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life is generally released. The second full-length computer-animated feature produced by the partnership of Disney and Pixar Studio, it features an all-star voice cast including Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Denis Leary, David Hyde Pierce, Brad Garrett, Kevin Spacey, Phyllis Diller, John Ratzenberger and Roddy McDonwall. Directed by John Lasseter, the plot of the film is loosely based on Aesop's fable "The Ants and the Grasshopper."

Have a magical day!

Day 278: A Few of my Favorite Things V3

Phew, it's been a while since we did this series post, hasn't it? Well previously we've looked at my favorite attractions at Walt Disney World and my favorite attractions at Disneyland, so I figured that this time we'd talk a bit about some of my favorite Disney movies.

Being at college, this seems to be a popular question. Which is your favorite Disney movie? It is a great question, after all, and it's something that I suppose I ask people a lot, but honestly, I never have a true answer because, in reality, I don't have just ONE favorite movie. Ok...so maybe it's a really close race and in reality I do have a favorite, but that doesn't mean that I don't love so many others.

Favorite Classic Disney Movie: TIE : Beauty and the Beast & Lady and the Tramp

When it comes to this one, I can't pick a favorite. I just love them both so much. Basically the criteria for this category is "before I was born," or before 1994-95. Somewhere in there. I guess I really do just cut it off at The Lion King because that's next. But I watched these a bunch when I was little, especially Lady and the Tramp. Actually, I brought both of them with me to college just because I do love them so much. Also, my lucky number is 15, and Lady and the Tramp was the 15th animated Disney movie. Beauty and the Beast was the 30th. What are the chances? 

Favorite Modern Disney Movie: The Lion King

Honestly, I'm not sure how you can hate the Lion King. It's one of the greatest Disney films of all time if you ask me, and it's another that I watched a TON as a kid. I always wanted to be Simba. Of course, then Lion King II came out and we loved it even more than the first one (ok, I loved them both pretty equally).

Favorite Disney Princess Movie: Tangled

Honestly this may just be my favorite Disney movie of all time, but we make a separate category for it because I do love it so much. Before Tangled this spot was taken by Princess and the Frog, but you will NEVER EVER EVER make me leave my Flynn Rider. NEVER. 

Favorite Non-Animated Disney Movie Series: Pirates of the Caribbean

This one wasn't hard to pick at all. I just adore the Pirates movies, my favorite of which is the third: At World's End. Why? Because there's audio from the actual original attraction in it, and who doesn't love Pirates of the Caribbean? I know I certainly do, and it's seriously awesome that there's this whole set of movies based on an attraction! And that the movies then inspired the attraction further. Awesomeness. 

Favorite Pixar Movie: Cars

Yes, I know, there are two Cars movies, and you'll see why this makes no sense in a minute, but I love love LOVE Cars. I remember when it came out I was in 7th grade, or 6th grade? 6th grade I think actually, and it was like the best movie I have ever seen in my life. Just kidding, there are plenty of other movies, but this one has been on my favorites list ever since. I don't know why either. It's just a great movie. 

Favorite Pixar Series: Toy Story

I remember watching the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2 all the time as a kid, and as you know from a previous post, I adore Toy Story 3 as well. It just gives me such fond memories of my childhood. It really, really does. Like I can't even describe how much I love these movies. 

Favorite Lucasfilm Movie (Because that counts now): TIE : The Empire Strikes Back & Raiders of the Lost Ark

Since this obviously counts now, I have to mention that my favorite Star Wars film is The Empire Strikes Back. I mean, would I have a poster of it on my wall if I didn't? And my favorite of the Indy movies is 100% Raiders of the Lost Art, although I do love the Last Crusade as well. But I don't think I could truly pick if I love one of these two more than the other. They're both such wonderful films!

Favorite Music: TIE: Princess and the Frog & The Hunchback of Notre Dame

This one is certainly a tie too, and I almost just put them in honorable mentions, but decided to instead add an entirely new category to my list of favorite movies: favorite music! It's honestly difficult to have a movie without brilliant music to go with it, and although just about every movie above this has BRILLIANT music, there are two that really stand out for me as being my favorites. I am in love with the Jazz of Princess and the Frog, and Tiana is one of my favorite Disney Princesses for sure, but I grew up with Hunchback and the music in that is simply spectacular. Not much can beat it. 

Honorable Mentions: 

  

Yeah, I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones I could think about. I've been blogging for a really long time today and I'm still not done, so pity me! Just kidding, this is way more fun than homework. 

So there you have it, the long long long list of my favorite Disney films. I suppose next time we'll talk about something a bit more...delicious? Yeah, that's probably the right word. 

Here's today's Disney History: 1949: Disney's 11th animated feature film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is released. The film features the voices of Bing Crosby, who narrates Washinton Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and Basil Rathbone, who narrates Kenneth Grahame's tale "The Wind in the Willows." The film will inspire the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride theme park attraction, first at Disneyland and then at Walt Disney World.

Have a magical day!