Day 1110: Never Tell Me the Odds

I was told it couldn't be done. In fact, I think I had many more people explain to me their belief that four parks in one day couldn't happen, and even more so, that there was no way you could see all three fireworks spectaculars in one night (meaning Fantasmic, IllumiNations, and Wishes). Even more so, the world seemed to be against us and gave us pouring rain on the day that we attempted to accomplish the "impossible."

Then again, when have I ever turned up a chance to beat the odds?

Back in June 2015 I made an attempt to head to all four parks in one day and almost succeeded. In fact, I came so close that I absolutely knew that doing three attractions in all four parks in one day was completely feasible. You had to do your planning and be open to going with the flow, but it was possible, and when we made the decision to return this January we knew we had to take another shot at making it work.

Our day started out at Animal Kingdom, much like the last time I attempted this challenge, and despite the influence of rain, we did manage to hit up Kilimanjaro Safaris, It's Tough to be a Bug, and DINOSAUR for our three attractions, as well as stop for some Starbucks before the rain really set in. Usually when I attempt this challenge we head to Everest first, but because of the rain, I figured that probably wasn't the best idea (especially with a camera in hand to document our day). Regardless, we finished up at Park 1 and then headed to our second park of the day, Magic Kingdom.

By the time we got to Magic Kingdom (after a bus/monorail transfer at the Poly), the rain was finally starting to calm down. We were, of course, still soaked, but we made do as we headed to Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Carrousel before stopping for some lunch at Cosmic Rays. The great part about the rain though? No people! For some reason, folks just didn't want to brave the pouring rain, even on a Friday, so the parks were unusually quiet all day long...perfect for a four parks, one day challenge! 

Obviously we weren't done yet though! After a stop back at Old Key West for some dry clothes and shoes, we headed back out to Epcot, where we took a quick trip on Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, and the Seas with Nemo and Friends before meeting up with a friend of mine who has a friend who works at Test Track and brought us up to the Lounge. It was an amazing experience that I'll elaborate on more later, but needless to say, we ended our time at Epcot with a line-skip ride of Test Track. 

Finally, we headed quickly to Hollywood Studios on a bus that just happened to pull up right when we needed it. While there we headed to see The Muppets, then on Toy Story Midway Mania and finally on Tower of Terror before grabbing more Starbucks and some churros amidst a beautiful sunset. 

And then started the real challenge. Since I already knew that four parks in one day was possible and, more than anything, it was almost easy, I knew we had to do something...extra...and making an attempt to see all three nighttime shows seemed like the perfect way to spice things up. We started with Fantastmic, which we waited for while eating our makeshift churro/Starbucks dinner, and then realized that if we were going to do this, we were going to do it right. In other words, we knew we couldn't just see Fantastmic...we had to see Symphony in the Stars too. After our Star Wars finale, we quickly walked back to Epcot for IllumiNations and then raced out of the park to catch the first monorail back to Magic Kingdom so we could get a spot for Wishes. Amazingly, the force was with us, and we not only got back to Magic Kingdom (I initially planned for us to watch from the beach by the Poly), but we also managed to get one of the best views for Wishes I've ever had. 

Somewhere amidst four parks, fourteen attractions, lots and lots of rain, three trips to Starbucks, and over 15 miles of walking, we managed to do all four parks in one day and see all four nighttime spectaculars at the Walt Disney World Resort. It's probably important for me to mention that this all required a lot of planning...as well as the fact that the fireworks shows all happened to be an hour apart (Fantasmic at 7, Symphony in the Stars at 8, IllumiNations at 9, and Wishes at 10) and the fact that, somehow, we never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus that got us exactly where we were going. The real question remains though - would I do it again? 

The answer? Definitely. Aside from the fact that by the end of the day we felt like our legs were going to fall off, there was an absolute sense of accomplishment in the fact that we did it. We did what everyone claimed to be impossible, and we had a lot of great adventures along the way. But more than anything, it's almost a metaphor for how I want to live my life. I want to defy the impossible and live up to the dreams I've had, because one thing is always for certain...never tell me the odds. 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on January 24 due to travel).

Day 906: Best Day of My Life

It's been a year and I still don't think I believe that I marched down Main Street U.S.A.

June 25 will always be an important day for me, probably right up there with other important days of the year like my birthday or Christmas, because on June 25, 2014, I fulfilled my dream of marching in the Magic Kingdom, and even now, a year later, it still hits home. I can honestly say that not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about that parade. I think about it all the time. Whenever I'm feeling a bit let down about how much work it takes to upkeep a daily blog or weekly YouTube videos. I thought of it every second of the way through editing the band trip video for our trip to Walt Disney World. I think of it when I'm happy and when I'm sad and when the powers that work against me almost succeed, but June 25 is an important day, and I still can't thank the powers that be enough for making this possible.

I went back and read my blog post that corresponds with that day a year ago, which you can read HERE, and it's in that post that I talk about how, by some strange twist of fate, it was my dream that came true. I'm not sure if I've ever really talked about this in depth, but this seems like a great time for it.

Wishes.

I faintly remember the show previous to Wishes, and as a kid in awe of Illuminations, I really didn't think much of it. But when we learned we were going to audition for Disney Performing Arts, I would stand almost nightly by my window and listen to Wishes. Or if I was driving home from school late one night, maybe after a football or basketball game, I would turn on the soundtrack and sing along, wishing with all my heart that maybe, just maybe, it would be my dream that comes true.

People in our world are negative. I've said it time and time again. So many don't believe in wishes. We're raised to believe that the only thing that gets us anywhere is hard work. And I'm not saying that's not true. I worked incredibly hard in my years with the High School Band, and I continue to work hard on a daily basis. But hard work means nothing without a dream behind it to help push us forward.

There's a moment near the end of Wishes, right after the Blue Fairy appears, where she says "Remember, we must always believe in our wishes. For they are the magic in the world. Now, let's all put our hearts together and make a wish come true." When I stood in the Magic Kingdom that night, only hours after the parade, others were merely concerned about the fireworks. I know there were some simply happy from the thrill rides and experiences with their friends. Even my fellow drum major, as I went around asking everyone their favorite part of the day, commented that her favorite part was leading the band in the parade.

But I never actually answered my own question, and for those of you in the SHS Band, go check out the video. Of everyone in the band, I never give an answer, because to be honest I don't think I could do it without tears appearing again, much like they are now. But I'll tell you now. My favorite part of the day was the moment when everyone DID put their hearts together and made a wish come true.

For those of you out there wishing tonight, keep wishing. My heart's in it for you now.

Have a magical day!

Day 905: Under the Stars

Summer is the perfect time to do things you normally wouldn't do, and sleeping under the stars the other night certainly was a spontaneous but memorable sort of thing. Apparently, my brother decided that our house, which is surrounded by a good portion of land that includes plenty of field, needed a fire pit. Why, I'm not really sure, but I have a good feeling it had a lot to do with the fact that all of his friends had fire pits in their yards. So he made one, and now my house apparently has a fire pit.

And all fire pits apparently need test runs.

Frank and I joined Jonny outside to see if we could find the Northern Lights, which never actually appeared and was sort of a let down, but by the time midnight rolled around, moving everything inside sounded a lot harder than just bringing some sleeping bags outside and spending the night under the stars. What a way to kick off summer, right?

Now, sleeping under the stars certainly brought me a few Disney thoughts, especially when it comes to the six or so shooting stars I saw, promptly making wishes on each of them. But there was one Disney moment that I thought of specifically...

Then again, how can you not lay under a sky full of stars and not think of The Lion King? Gosh...now I just want to watch the entire movie! I'd better continue pushing forward with my movie rewatch if I want to get there before the summer ends! 

Have a magical day!

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

Day 672: Minecraft

My brother loves his computer games, and perhaps the only one I truly understand is Minecraft. Alright, so I'm still not 100% on what you do with the game, other than the fact that it looks like a complicated computerized version of legos. That makes sense, right? Regardless, he's spent more hours on Minecraft that I've probably spent dreaming about Captain Hook (not only is that up for debate, but may have been the weirdest sentence I've even written. Dreaming of Captain Hook? When did that happen?)

Either way, it seems that Minecraft fans are also sometimes fans of Disney, hence the incredible Magic Kingdom server put together. I've included the walkthrough video just down below, but I highly suggest you go through and check out some of the other things they've recreated from the Disney parks.

By far, the thing that impressed me the most wasn't in this particular video, but rather in another on the channel, where they've put together Wishes via Minecraft. How awesome is that? Granted, you have to sort of use your imagination a little bit as you walk through the Magic Kingdom in block form, but it's all incredibly well done. I can't even imagine how long it took to creat the entire thing, but one thing's for sure: it looks really realistic. 

In addition, they added in the park music for each individual land, bringing the park to a whole new level of authenticity. I don't know about you, but I listen to Disney Parks music on loop, so it certainly ads something to have that stuck in there as you "walk" through Tomorrowland or past Big Thunder Mountain. 

Have a magical day!

Day 609: They Came!

When I asked one of my friends for blog post ideas she came up with a crazy total of two. Yes, two blog post ideas for me to write about when I have about 20 blog posts I need to actually write. Super helpful, right? Then again, she did come up with the topic for this blog post, at least half of the way. She told me to write about how park tickets came for her and Megan for our trip in January, which is super exciting considering it's just the next phase of "I'm actually going to Disney World again."

That's not what we're here to talk about though. Nope, in fact I figured that since I can't really just write a bog post about how their tickets came. That's exciting for us but not really for all of you. However, it is still a bit of Disney in my everyday life and deserves to be talked about.

After much consideration, when it came to our January trip, we decided on Basic 9-Day tickets without the parkhopper option. It really doesn't matter for my family since we all have (or will have) annual passes, but for my two friends who are spending a good deal of money on this trip, we had some decisions to make. My Mom was shocked by my recommendation for basic tickets in trade for the parkhoppers, since I honestly can't remember a trip where we didn't parkhop at least once (unless it was a super super short trip before a cruise or back in the day when it was only one park a day no matter what). So here are the reasons as to why we decided on those basic tickets:

1. Parkhoppers are more expensive. 

I figure this one is pretty self explanatory, but it's still worth mentioning. When deciding which ticket is right for you, cost is definitely one of the things you have to think about. Based on what you like to do, parkhoppers might be worth the extra money, but they're not for everyone. You have to factor in the time it takes to get from one park to another and whether or not you're staying on property and if you have a rental car. All those things matter!

2. Park Hours

A big one for us in January is if it's even worth it to park hop. We're going during the off season, which to be honest is kind of weird for me now. When I was younger we traveled during the off season all the time, but in the past couple of years we've gone more in the summer, simply because it works better time wise. Summertime means longer park hours, and it also means that Magic Kingdom closing at 8 in January is a huge shock. This is a park I regularly visit at midnight or one in the morning, simply because I can, so having it close at 8 (although it's open until later a few nights each week) is crazy. That being said, with the parks only open for those shortened hours, it's way less worth it to parkhop.

3. Everything Else

Because of those reduced hours, it gives us a lot of time to spend outside of the four main parks. There's still Mini Golf and Downtown Disney and a whole world of resorts to visit, so there's enough to do outside of Epcot and Hollywood Studios that parkhopping seems almost ridiculous. You can spend that time doing other valuable things!

4. Personal Preference

This is a new addition to my list of "Do you want a parkhopper." I'm so used to Walt Disney World that it really doesn't matter to me HOW much I experience rather than how I experience it. For the seasoned Disney goer, parkhopping is kind of fun. It's an adventure to see how many parks you can make it to in one day, and seriously the next time I'm there in the summer I'm going to attempt a run at seeing all the fireworks in one night (yes, Fantasmic, then Illuminations and finally Wishes). It's gonna happen. But for someone who hasn't been to Disney World as often as I have, it's sort of nice to stay in one place each day and just sort of take things in. When we went in June the only park we had a full day in was Magic Kingdom, and both Megan and Ashley commented on the fact that they enjoyed being in one place the whole day, simply because they felt like they got to see way more. I definitely took that into account when planning this next trip, and I agree with them. As much as I love parkhopping, it's kind of nice to just go to Magic Kingdom for a day. A chance of pace for the constantly moving Disnerd.

And so, we ended up with basic tickets. No matter which ones they had though, I'm just happy they get to go with me. Honestly, after June I don't think Walt Disney World will ever feel quite right without them by my side, and I'm extremely lucky to be able to share it all with them on a much grander scale.

We may have a few months to wait yet, but we'll figure some way to pass the time, right?

Have a magical day!

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

Day 416: WDW Official Album

I take pride in the fact that I own just about every Disney Parks CD. What exactly does this mean? Well, first off, I have more Disney CD's than I can possibly count. Second, I literally have 7 versions of Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me), 5 recordings of Golden Dream and 5 copies of Grim Grinning Ghosts all on my phone. I've got music from the 80's, 90's, 2000's AND 2010's. Wondering what that one song that played on Spaceship Earth years ago was? Tomorrow's Child...and I can play it for you. In the mood for Kitchen Kabaret? Got you covered. Want to listen to two plus hours of Disney Parks background music? I do my homework to it.

I'm pretty sure at this point I really should stop, because in reality, there are only like two Disney Parks Official Albums I DON'T have. There's one from 1997 that I don't have (but am NOT paying a ton of money for thank you very much), and then the 50th Anniversary one. I mean, I love my collection, but not enough to buy music I already have...multiple times over.

On the opposite side, I DO happen to own the Candlelight Processional CD, the official Wishes and Illuminations soundtracks (Illuminations I used to have on Cassette...we listened to it all the time in our van when I was growing up. Like...ALL. THE. TIME.), and The Festival of the Lion King CD.

The list continues with the various other ones I have. But that's not what this is about. Remember a while back when I freaked out about the new Official Album (maybe I did...maybe I didn't. I can't find it. But behind the scenes...I freaked out). Anyways, I noticed there was a new one and made plans to get it for Christmas. Of course, it kind of fell through and I didn't actually buy it until now, but that's ok...I have it, and all is good.

The Album is literally like 90% the same as the last one I have...but that's ok. There are a few minor differences...and they're worth it! Sadly, Welcome Medley from Main Street is gone, but we have Flitterin' now, so that's good. Later we have music from NEW FANTASYLAND! Yeah, that means Be Our Guest Instrumental and a 10 minute long "The Little Mermaid Medley." Plus, Circus Parade and Casey Jr. from Storybook Circus!

But that's not even the one I'm most excited about. Literally the #1 reason I got this CD is the new Test Track theme. My brother and I listen to this music all the time (that tradition from when we were kids lives on), and one of the songs that's probably up there on the most played list is the old Test Track Medley (which I do have...multiple times over). The new score for 2.0 though...some of my absolute FAVORITE music at Walt Disney World. I love it (and haven't stopped listening to it for like the last 24 hours). Finally, the only other changes really are Indy being split up a bit and the addition of music from TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA! Ok, so maybe I'm pretty excited.

Sadly, I don't have the Disneyland one yet. Soon people. Soon.

I just really love my Disney Parks music. And soon I'll be able to hear it in person. =)

Have a magical day!

Day 97: Fireworks...Before the Fourth of July

I was on Pinterest. Always dangerous. And I came across a series of fireworks pictures from The Fourth at Disney...a Tribute to" all nations, but mostly America" (just without the all nations part...it'll just be a salute to America).

Oh yes, there are some great pictures here and I decided to share them because...why not? We all need a little extra fireworks from Disney in our day!

The first two I had to share because I've been fortunate enough to see the Fireworks at Magic Kingdom from that point of view...and it's probably my favorite Fireworks experiences outside of Illuminations. I hope to do it again in July as well, but I won't be able to see the Fourth of July Fireworks (I head down on the 8th). I have seen them before though, and I recorded them on my iPod...although you can't hear much, especially at Epcot, because there are just so many fireworks going off all at once. It was an awesome experience though, and I highly reccomend seeing this "salute to all nations but mostly America" at somepoint in your life. It's a spectacle worth seeing!

To see the full set of pictures, head to the Disney Tourist Blog here!

Here's today's Disney History: 2006: Disney World's biggest ride yet, Expedition Everest, Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, a 20-story, white knuckle roller coaster spin officially opens in Animal Kingdom. The ceremonial grand opening is led by Disney CEO Bob Iger and theme parks chairman Jay Rasulo. The attraction, which features a snowy mountains setting and a "Yeti" figure, is currently Florida's tallest peak, sculpted from 1800 tons of steel, and covers more than six acres.

Have a magical day!