Day 932: Day One

I don't do a blog post on every one of the vlogs that go live on my YouTube, but with the beginning of a new trip, it felt right! That's right, we've finally concluded my January trip and have moved onto footage from June 2015, meaning all new adventures at Walt Disney World in the heat of summer. Of course, my June trip was considerably shorter, so we'll see how many videos actually come out of it (four at least), and then we'll head back for bloopers from January and June, or in other words, footage that didn't get into the vlogs because of limiting it time-wise.

So without further ado, here's the vlog to start out Walt Disney World June 2015:

Like I said, this is only the start of the June vlogs, and things are sure to get interesting from here! 

As for what's to come over on my YouTube, I still have new Friday Funday videos going up each week, with new vlogs appearing every Tuesday. Obviously, right now those vlogs are from WDW in June, but as soon as those wrap up and we get through that bloopers video it'll be onto DISNEYLAND! 

Have a magical day!

Day 869: A Different Computer

As I mentioned in the last blog post, I've had a few computer issues over the past week. Actually, a few doesn't even begin to describe it. HAL, my beloved laptop, is currently at a repair shop because otherwise it might just be the end of the line for him. He's been through a lot over the past couple of years and, at this point, I'm just tired of technical difficulties. However, that's part of the job description, right? And at this point I just hope to have him back in some form or another, because trying to work on three other computers, none of which actually belong to me, isn't really working out for me very well.

Coming back to the home desktop computer has been strange. I've been typing with this keyboard for hours now and I'm still not really used to it (although thankfully I've always been decent at keyboarding so it doesn't get to me too much), and the fact that my files are absolutely all over the place isn't exactly comforting.

I have, on the other hand, made things a little more homey, this time with a new background from the Disney Parks Blog:

Via The Disney Parks Blog

I had a few other backgrounds I considered, but once this one appeared on the blog, that was it for me. I'm in love with the color and the simplicity of it, perfect for a larger screen like my computer here at home. As for Captain Hook here, it looks like he'll just have to wait for HAL to come back from the shop to have more fun.

Via The Disney Parks Blog

What does this mean? Well, it does mean that I'm several days behind on Everyday Disney, even if I'm working on remedying that as we speak. It doesn't, however, slow me down too much. While it's absolutely frustrating to be without my own computer, I'm making the best of the situation, working on pre-production for several projects, all of which I'm thrilled that they're finally coming together, slowly but surely. You'll know the second I have my laptop back though...or rather, Twitter probably will, as yes, I still have my phone and will be around social media!

In other words, I'm not taking any sort of hiatus from Everyday Disney as I wait for repairs. The only lapse that will officially occur is during my trips this summer, occurring June 6-10, June 17-20 and August 11-20. Other than that, it's full steam ahead!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on May 24 due to computer issues).

Day 546: All The Magic

Day two of the Disney portion of the band trip was a big one. No, not big...HUGE. A full day at Magic Kingdom with a parade smack dab in the middle, and we had tons of stuff to do along the way!

As most Magic Kingdom days begin, we headed over on the ferry, walking through the gates just after ten in the morning. We checked out Main Street before venturing back to get some postcards mailed out, which we counted as one of the things we got accomplished for the day too! On our way to Fantasyland, we walked through Cinderella Castle, which is certainly an attraction in itself! Then it was off to our first stop: it's a small world. Everyone always seems to give this attraction a bad wrap, and I couldn't just let my friends in the Magic Kingdom without experiencing it for themselves. Now, it wasn't planned to be the very first attraction, but there was certainly a line for Peter Pan, so we made a few changes.

Then it was off to find some water. One has to keep hydrated after all. Then, Ashley's worst nightmare: HAUNTED MANSION. She was terrified, but I think she enjoyed it. After all, she did survive my whispering in her ear, and that's a feat to be proud of in itself. After our adventures there we headed out across the park for our first fastpass of the day: Space Mountain.

I think Ashley has told me that this is one of her favorite attractions, which really surprised me. She told me after we got back that Disney sort of helped her get over her fear of thrill rides and rollercoasters, so that's an accomplishment in itself. Jonny and I were on like opposite ends of the car, but it was funny because you could totally still hear the two of us counting down as we hit blastoff.

Lunch was at Cosmic Rays, and we went early enough that there were still seats open in by Sunny Eclipse, so of course we sat there for a while and listened to him. Nothing like that lovely music and those terrible jokes! And since we had a parade coming up that afternoon, we spent a little extra time on lunch, just to cool off and keep ourselves as healthy as possible.

In her graduation speech last year, Megan quoted Carousel of Progress, so of course that was on the list of things to do as well, and yes, we got it done! It's hilarious how many little references to the show I have in my everyday life, so I'm sure Megan especially was happy to finally see the show that they come from, not to mention the "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" she talked about in her speech.

With a while before our report time for the parade, we took a walk back across the park, stopping in front of Cinderella Castle once again to take some pictures before heading off towards Frontierland. As we walked, we found that the Country Bears would begin in about 6 minutes, and after a quick check on the internet about the length of the show, we headed in. It was mostly just a time filler, but Ashley just couldn't stop laughing. I think it's safe to say she enjoyed it.

A bathroom break, meet up with my parents and report time later, we were backstage, preparing for the parade that would change my life. But that's another blog post (or two or three if you include the ones I have already written). We marching down Main Street, cried, hugged, almost died, got really hot, and were happy, and sad and angry and...it was an emotional experience.

After the parade we found my parents once again, up at the train station, before having to head out for our dining reservation. It all worked out great though, since we took the Train back to the Storybook Circus stop, meaning we got on yet another attraction! Dinner was a big one too, Be Our Guest. As the only kids on the trip who got to eat there, it was pretty wild.

Although not as wild as the attractions that came after dinner. Our meal took a really long time. Almost two hours, but we met up with my parents at the stockade in Liberty Square before journeying off to Big Thunder. Another Fastpass, Another mountain. Which we followed up by Pirates, which we waited standby for. It didn't take super long, but I can honestly admit that I've never gotten as wet on Pirates as I did that day. Megan and I were soaked. Not that we would have faced a chance that evening anyways since our next attraction was Splash.

Following all the thrills, on our way back to the front of the park to meet everyone for Wishes, we found ourselves eating Dole Whips (for the very first time for some of us!), walking through the stores, and catching glimpses of the Electrical Parade. And finally, we stood at Town Square to catch the Projection show and Wishes with the rest of the band, all with a few laughs with our band director.

Total things accomplished: Postcards sent out, walked through Cinderella Castle, it's a small world, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Lunch at Cosmic Rays with Sunny Eclipse, Carousel of Progress, Country Bears, Marched down Main Street USA, Walt Disney World Railroad, Dinner at Be Our Guest, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Dole Whips, Castle Projection Show and finally, Wishes: 17 things.

Don't ask me how we did that. I don't even know.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 1).

Day 269: Simple Disney Things

Since we're still in Pinterest week and I'm doing a great job of not really really really freaking out about Once Upon a Time...at least on this blog...I figured I'd share one of the more special Disney boards I have on Pinterest: Simple Disney Things.

For those of you who haven't seen the Simple Disney Things blog on Tumblr, certainly go and check it out. The layout of the blog makes me sad about the layout of my blog. It's just so beautiful and HTML everything! I really do wish I could do that! You can check out SDT HERE! 

But even if you haven't seen the blog itself, I'm fairly certain that even if you haven't been to Disney or are not into it too much, that you've seen at least one or two of the beautiful posts she makes. I don't know how she does it, but they are beautiful. So I picked out a few to share that were on my Pinterest board.

As you can probably guess, there are hundreds of them, and her website makes it really easy to find exactly what you're looking for, depending on what park you're thinking of. Otherwise you can almost always find them on Tumblr or on Pinterest. Just looking through them always makes me really happy. =)

Frumpstagram for today had a prompt of "new," and there's no new thing I love more than the Tangled Rest Area! 

Here's today's Disney History: 1993: Kraft ends its sponsorship of EPCOT's the Land Pavilion. Nestle will take over the following day. 

Have a magical day!

Day 218: Shark Week

I'm going to be honest here. I never saw the greatness in Shark Week. I mean, it's just a week of TV shows about Sharks. Maybe it's funny, and I guess I've heard some stories about these shows that are just hilarious to watch during said week, but at the same time, it seems ridiculous to me that a person who just want to watch a bunch of shows about Sharks for an entire week. Maybe sharks are to the rest of the world what Disney is to me? 

Either way, this blog is not about Sharks, nor will it ever be, but this post does have something to do with them...and it has to do with Disney too. No, I'm not even going with the obvious "It's Shark Week, and there are sharks in the Seas with Nemo and Friends!" That isn't where I'm going at all. In fact, I didn't even have to try very hard to get this blog post. Disney did half the work for me on this one!

There aren't any shows on Disney Channel about sharks, nor would they get rid of all the other shows to make shows about Sharks, especially for a week. There aren't a ton of sharks in the parks (LOL that rhymed!), but you know what? That isn't slowing Disney down either...literally. I mean, look at this! This awesomeness!

And if that's not good enough for you, here's another one: 

That's right. Disney, doing Shark Week right!

Here's today's Disney History: 1999: As of this day, Disneyland's Monorail Cafe, part of the Disneyland Hotel, closes. Open since 1986, it will be removed to make room for areas of the new Downtown Disney, which is part of the large Disneyland Resort Expansion Project. 

Have a magical day!

Day 25: Little Things

Today was our first day of the new semester...meaning that it was pretty laid back and overall unstressful...for once.

I did have two "magical moments" today though, both focusing around my Physics class. Because it is Friday and it really would be senseless to start something completely new on a Friday, our teacher decided that we would watch a movie on the efforts to put man in space and then on the moon.

This movie started great...well, the whole thing was great, but still. Of course, it started with a brief intro that ended with the title of the movie and a quote...direct recording from the moon landing. "Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed."

That quote got my attention, and without really thinking I said the quote along with the movie. It's one I know by heart, just as I know one from both JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. Why? The American Adventure.

During Golden Dream, on the soundtrack there are three quotes. The first, as I said, from JFK. "And so my fellow Americans. Ask not, what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not, what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." The second from Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream this afternoon, that the brotherhood of man will become a reality in this day, with this faith. " And finally from the moon landing, "3 feet down, 2 and a half, picking up some dust.  For forward, for forward, just into the right a little, contact light, ok, engine stop. We copy you down eagle. Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed."

All three quotes are engraved into my brain, and I guess maybe this attraction is why I find such an interest in history. I feel that those three quotes share three of the most important moments in our nations history. They come from a time filled with worry and war and inequality, but the last one proves that we as Americans can do anything if we work together for the better of man.

The second moment I had during that video was later, when they were counting down to the blastoff for one of the first flights into space. Between the music and the setting and the counting, it suddenly reminded me of Space Mountain. I'm sure we're not the only ones to do this, but my brother and I ALWAYS count down to "blastoff" as we go up the initial climb on Space Mountain. Every single time. I guess the music and the countdown in the video reminded me of that, and it made me pretty happy.

So those were my magical moments of the day, and I wonder, did you have any?

Have a magical day!

Day 22: Little Sleep

Last night I experienced something I generally only like to do at Disney...I stayed up pretty much all night.

Granted, this was to finish work, but it does remind me of some of my favorite times at Disney. It doesn't happen very often, and it will happen even less now because Extra Magic Hours is down to 2 hours at night, but once in a very great while Magic Kingdom is open until 3 in the morning. Luckily I had the chance to experience this my last trip in November.

Now, if you've never been to Magic Kingdom at 3 in the morning...it's interesting. Well, not interesting as much as amazing I suppose. There are crowds until about 1....and then it seems everyone leaves. There's no line for anything...NOTHING. I honestly swear we were the only ones in the "Storybook Circus" area that night other than cast members. My family rode Dumbo...alone. We got free samples of the AMAZING candy apples they sell (of which I couldn't eat much because I have a fruit allergy...but it was still really really good). I'm pretty sure my brother and I went on Space Mountain about 5 or 6 times...one of which times we were able to ride all by ourselves...that was great (also...going on as a pair is great...you almost always get the back two seats). And to finish it off...I probably got the high score on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin about 3 times at least.

Aside from the no line part...there's really just no one around, so it's a great time for pictures too.Throughout this blog post are pictures from my late night stay at the magic Kingdom...and while I say that it was open until 3, I really mean we stayed until 4, just because that's how it works. No one's there, they aren't kicking you out yet...picture time! I'm especially proud of the panorama...which has not ONE person in it. Not everyday you can take a picture like that!

But at the same time, around 1 in the morning you are fighting exhaustion...so you ride It's a Small World, take a small nap and go on your way! By the time we left the park...well, it was so late we were on the last boat across the lagoon and on the last tram out to the parking lot (honestly it would have been the perfect time to ask if I could honk the horn...something I really really want to do). By the time we got out to the parking lot we were the only car left...literally. Actually, there were a bunch of people out there painting lines for the lot...they had to paint around our car. When we got there they proceeded to ask us why we were still there and what time the park closed (they, sadly, had incorrect information and had to work around a bunch of cars). On the way back to Old Key West we saw a total of four cars...on a how many lane road!

Oh yes...Disney at the latest hours of the night is fun. Staying up all night to finish projects on the other hand...is not.

Have a magical day!

Day 21: Wait Time Game

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone!

Now, as many of us know, this past weekend is just about the one and only weekend in January (other than the new years weekend) that is busy much at all...and my family tends to avoid it by traveling (if we are traveling in January) the week after.

But a busy weekend does make for a fun and exciting new game my mom came up with this past week. She just taught it (not that there's much to teach) to me yesterday and I have to say, it was a pretty fun little game.

Basically what we do is she will pull up the Disney app on her iPad and read off the attractions, one by one. As we go through, my dad and I (and sometimes my brother) will have to guess what the wait time is for each attraction. Probably about 80% of the time we're way off, but sometimes we get close, and when one of us guesses it right on the dot, mom will just point to us. It's not anything with points, it's just fun to guess what the wait time is I suppose.

I don't know, maybe I'm the only one in the world who finds this exciting...but it's certainly a way that the Disney Parks have worked their way into my everyday life. Goodness, sometimes I just look up the wait times for fun. I may be hundreds of miles away, but I apparently still want to know that the wait time for Space Mountain is 35 minutes (and yes, right now, as I write this, that is the exact wait time...much less from what it was over the weekend).

So what little games or things work their way into your everyday life to bring the parks a little bit closer? I know for me personally, aside from the wait times, I have the MyDisneyExperience app...because who doesn't want to look at Park Maps? And of course, my Disney countdown...and I won't even go into the numerous games I have.

Have a magical day!