Day 523: Keeping It Alive

Day 26 of the Disney Photo Challenge: A picture of the way you keep Disney alive when you're not at the park. 

Blast from the Past: 

Hmm, this is another kind of difficult one. But I guess the way I do this is through my daily countdown until our next vacation. My Dad hates this, because he's always got so much work to get done before we leave, and he doesn't enjoy being reminded just how little time he has to do it, but my brother and I love it!!!

When I got my iPod touch back in January of 2011, one of the first apps (probably the first actually) I bought was my Disney countdown app. I use it all the time (and not just for Disney! I used it to count down to the band trip too!). Currently it's set for my next vacation, which at the moment is in November of 2012. 

I also very much enjoy watching old Disney vacation videos...both the official ones and the ones from my family. 

Back to the Future: 

This one is easy!

I blog!

Starting Everyday Disney a year and a half ago was a challenge to myself, but also most certainly a way to keep the Disney Magic going all year long. When I started it, I actually had no plans for a trip in 2013, meaning that the entire year of blogging would go without a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Of course, I ended up taking one anyways in July, but that's beside the point.

I'm working so hard to catch up on the blog because it IS a way for Disney to be a part of my daily life, even when I get really busy with college or have a super lack of internet. Of course, this isn't the ONLY way I keep the magic alive. My profile picture on Facebook, as well as cover photo, is only changed when I go to Disney, meaning I always have a Disney picture. It's a bit different on my other social media, but you can bet that there's plenty of Disney there too. In addition, I have Disney pictures as my lock screen and background on my phone, post Disney pictures on my Instagram all the time and, as always, am counting down to my next Disney vacation.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 21).

Day 522: When I Was Young

Day 25: A picture of your favorite childhood Disney memory. 

Blast from the Past: 

What the heck? Didn't I already answer this one? 

I guess that was just my "general" favorite Disney memory. 

Well, let's see. What is a memory I really like from when I was a kid (well, younger than I am now). Favorite Disney memory...favorite Disney memory. This is really, really hard! 

I'm just going to go with all of them, because I really don't have a favorite. There have been so many amazing experiences I've had at Disney, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to pick just one. So here's a collection of pictures from my Disney vacations over the past several years, including Disneyland. I don't have pictures from anything before that because that's back when a digital camera was a thing of the future, and I certainly am not about to transfer them all to digital (maybe next summer...)

Back to the Future: 

All of them. It's as simple as that. I said this with the other day as well, and I've said it before on the blog. I cherish every single moment at Walt Disney World (and Disneyland when I'm there), because it's always too short a time. Plus, since Disney has been such a crucial part of my life, how could I NOT be thankful for all the memories I've had the chance to make, right from the beginning to now to all the Magical Moments in the future?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 21).

Day 521: Prized Possessions

Day 24 of the Disney Photo Challenge: A picture of your favorite Disney-related possession or souvenir. 

Blast from the Past: 

I actually had to go get a picture of this one. My favorite Disney-related possession is my Spaceship Earth snowglobe. I got it a few years ago, and could only find it in one store. I got my Dad to buy it for me in the end, and I'm glad he did. It's honestly my favorite possession (other than my pillow) overall, and if I could save one thing from my Disney collection, this would be it...although I'd probably grab my pin collection too. 

Wow, another short one! 

Back to the Future: 

I'm just gonna go ahead and say all of it.

I'm really avoiding answering some of these questions, aren't I? But for real, all of my Disney possessions are my favorite. I've really gotten into collecting vintage items in the past few years, as well as expanding my Spaceship Earth collection, which means that every single thing I buy has a special place in my heart. From my movie collection to my Empire Strikes Back Poster to my Larry Dotson prints and my mugs, they all mean something. Some were gifts, others I bought myself, but each of them holds a memory of some sort, on how the collection got started or why I have the things I do.

I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 21).

Day 520: A Real Masterpiece

Now, I mentioned that while I'm watching all the Disney animated movies in order, the chances of me blogging about every single one are pretty bad. And that's very true. As much as I love all the Disney films, blogging about every last one seems like a ton of work, especially since when I watched I'm generally also working on something else at the same time, whether that be writing on another project I'm working on or tagging pictures or editing video. Whatever it may be, I sort of half watch the movie and half work on whatever it is I'm doing. Of course, I still am paying attention, and this is all really beside the point other than the fact that I'm saying I'm generally not blogging while actually watching the movie. If I did that, honestly the whole blog post would just end up being really jumbled and such anyway.

However, when I come across a film that gives me a fair topic for a blog post, I can't help but share with you. Tonight's film, the first one in several days because I've been so busy, was Fantasia. To be honest, most of my friends don't really like the movie, and after a little while it can be a bit of a bore to watch. It's not quite like the action movies we see today where everything is one thing onto the next. It runs at a much slower pace, and you have to sit and stop to appreciate the beauty that is in it. Which is kind of what I half did. For a while in the middle I wasn't paying the closest attention, but towards the very end I really got thinking about the film.

You, first of all, have to remember that Fantasia was made in the year 1940. That was a LONG time ago. Second, look at the length of the film, just over two hours. Compare that to Snow White or Dumbo, both clocking in at around an hour, and compare that to other films of the time as well. A full film with synchronized sound that was over two hours wasn't the most popular thing at the time, and when you compare that to the animated movies of today, many of those don't even beat that length, falling at least several minutes short of that two hour time span. So, while not everything in the film is actually animated, one could still point out the fact that for an animated movie, it's actually quite long. In addition, we must remember that everything is in color, also a newer basis at the time. Granted, films had been in color for several years, but each frame of that movie had to be hand painted at the time, while many of the animated films we see today are created with a computer. Now, I'm not saying that these computer animated films are any worse or took less time, because I very well know that computer animated movies can take years to create. Just look at Cars, which took four years alone! But hand painting is a daunting task. If you make a mistake on a computer you can just erase it. But a mistake in real life on a real board? That's not quite as easy to reverse.

Add all of this to the spectacular soundtrack that backs it, and maybe that's just the music major in me, and you have a true masterpiece. Maybe it is partly because of when it was made, but even today an undertaking like that would be crazy, and I honestly can't wait to watch Fantasia 2000 to see how it compares. I don't think I've ever watched them both within a close amount of time, so it shall be interesting to say the least.

But for now, I'll continue all my work, whether that be blogging or writing or video editing or just sitting down to enjoy one of these classic Disney films.

Have a magical day!

(This blog post was published on July 23, 2014).

Day 519: Questions

It's kind of difficult, to be honest, trying to make up over a month of blog posts while continuing to blog while also having very limited internet. Honestly, the only time I really get any work done on my blog is when I come back to St. Norbert and sit in the music lobby just so I can use the internet here. It's a million times faster than my internet at home (and that's when that internet actually works), so at least I can make some progress.

But with a busy schedule alongside that, it makes you wonder, what if I took an official break? There are some ups and downs to that idea, so let's go through the pros and cons, and I guess at the end of this particular post, I'll decide once and for all if I'm going on hiatus.

First off, I currently have 34 blog posts I could write, or should write rather, in order to catch up. A good portion of these actually have topics already placed with them, but at the same time, many of those topics are now a month old. Between finals and moving home and all the work I was doing, it just wasn't happening in those last few weeks of school, despite the fact that there's plenty of Disney to talk about. The issue here isn't WHAT to talk about, but rather the time it takes to talk about it. I've made up a week of blog posts in about five hours before, several times. Depending on the topic it can take more time, or less time. But that's only 7 posts. We're talking 34. That's about 24 hours of work, and since I can only work so much at home (because unfortunately all of my blog information is neatly organized on GoogleDocs and I don't really wish to download it all to my laptop), that's work I can only do, for the most part, here at SNC.

Plus, if I went on hiatus, I feel like I wouldn't know where to stop or start. Like, would I go through and mark a stop date and then a start date later in the summer? How would the Day numbers work? And how angry would I be at the end of the year when I don't have 730 blog posts? That's a HUGE question. And there's the fact that I really DO love blogging, and I would certainly miss my opportunity to talk about Disney on a daily basis. And, once you stop it's not all that easy to get back in the habit, trust me. There's also the small problem that is these sort of random posts in the middle. What do I do with those?

However, I do have other summer projects. I still have three vlogs to edit from my March trip to Walt Disney World, and in just a few short weeks I'll be returning with my high school band, meaning four new vlogs and a GIGANTIC Band Trip Video (It's going to be seriously awesome). And, very soon, (because I can finally make this announcement), I'm going to be doing weekly Disney vlogs on my YouTube channel, mostly as a kind of trial and error thing. If I happen to really enjoy it I'll continue into the next year hopefully, but if it doesn't work out then I won't (although I'll still always have my Disney trip Vlogs). On my Instagram I'll be doing Disney photo challenges almost all summer as well, meaning there isn't a lack of Disney there.

I guess, after all of this debate I HAVE come up with a decision.

Starting tomorrow, June 4th, 2014, I will go on Hiatus for a month, meaning I'll be back on the most wonderful Fourth of July. Over the next month, I'm going to go back and work on the posts from the missing month, therefore working up to the current number of 519 blog posts. I can't guarantee when each one will appear, but they will over time.

This is a super tough decision for me, and it IS possible that once I return I will make up the month of June as well. I do, after all, have a 24 hour bus ride to Florida that I could use to work on stuff (and a 24 hour bus ride back).

Either way, I will return for sure on July 4 with Day 520 (unless I do later decide that I am able to make up the month of June). Until then I wish you all magical days, safe travels and a very happy month of June. See you in July!

Day 518: Love to Hate

Day 23 of the Disney Photo Challenge: A picture of the character you dislike the most. 

Blast from the Past: 

What? I have to admit this? Nooooo! 

Let's see, my least favorite Disney character. Ok, after much deliberation, I have to say that my least favorite character is the Evil Stepmother from Cinderella. Yeah, my other option was Si and Am from Lady and the Tramp (The Siamese Cats). It really was hard. 

Why don't I like her? Not really sure, but her constant evilness just drives me insane. I think it's more so from Cinderella 2 though, when she won't let Anastasia date the Baker because he's lowlife or something like that according to her. I always feel so terrible for Anastasia. 

The Stepsisters generally are pretty funny too, so I do like them. But there are just a bunch of characters that I don't really enjoy. I don't hate them, or really dislike them, but there are just other characters I like more. 

Back to the Future: 

In all honesty, I thought that this question was about our favorite villain at first because of the character I chose the first time, so we're gonna do both!

1. The character I just don't like:

This honestly is hard. There are SO many Disney characters with such a wide variety of personalities that it's hard to pick out one as the one I just don't like. Actually, I literally can't come up with any characters I don't like. I mean, I guess I have some I like more than others, but I can't think of one in particular that I just plain don't like.

2. The character I Love to Hate:

Now this one has more than ONE answer! Recently, and it's all due to the guy in that picture up there, I've been loving Captain Hook, but I also seriously love Hades, Ursula, Mother Gothel and, of course, we all love to hate Hans. ;)

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 21). 

Day 517: IT'S HAPPENED!

It's funny, because this is one of those things where I knew about it, but I couldn't really tell you guys until I knew for sure and it actually went through, but now that everything's done with, I can finally share some super exciting news with you!

If you follow me on Instagram, this might already be old news (in fact it should be), or if you're friends with me on facebook, where I released the news a number of weeks ago when I first found out. But for those of you in neither category, it's time for me to share something really awesome!

One of my instagram photos was chosen to be features on the official Walt Disney World Instagram and as you well know, this is a pretty big deal for me. I LOVE Instagram. In fact, it's probably my favorite form of social media, and I LOVE Disney, obviously, so putting the two together is just about my favorite thing ever. But to be featured on the official instagram? That's crazy, even for me. It's like one of those things where you really really wish it would happen, but you know the chances of it going down are super small so you just kind of push it to the back of your mind and then all of a sudden it happens and surprises you like no other.

The story behind how it all went down is pretty funny though. I actually took the picture while half walking. It was on my March trip, and my brother and I like to walk the back route between Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus. You know, the pathway that goes beyond Space Mountain's Gift Shop, past the speedway and the train, as well as the little dog park that sits over there, leading right up to the Barnstormer (Oops, Great Goofini), and the Train Station? That pathway. Along there, you can find the target that's in the picture, and we were about to walk by it when I told my brother to hold up for a minute while I snapped a quick picture with my phone. That tends to be how things work out. I'll have the video camera in one hand and my phone in the other, both of them on and taking pictures. It gets pretty crazy to tell the truth. So I catch a picture and I don't think anything else of it. Then, a while later (I believe it was actually after I got home), I posted the picture on Instagram and again, didn't think much of it. I post Disney pictures all the time, so why should this one be any different?

Fast forward like a week or so. I'm sitting at my desk in my dorm room working on homework (I think it was sociology, but I could be wrong), and my phone is sitting there in case someone texts me and so on and so forth. Out of the corner of my eye, I happen to see a notification pop up on the screen, since I get Instagram notifications only when people follow me, comment, or tag me (doing it for every favorite would just be ridiculous at this point). All I read was "@WaltDisneyWorld commented on your phone:" and I was like OH MY GOSH. So I'm sitting there at my desk and I'm freaking out and my roommate is like "What's going on?" because I was literally flailing around and jumping off the walls and the only time I ever get like that is when a member of the Once Cast tweets me or something, but I think I was more excited than when that happens (Although, having now experienced it, the tweet from Colin O'Donoghue on July 15 takes the cake in the freak out mode). I tell her, continue freaking out, reply yes to the official instagram and patiently wait for my picture to be used.

It must have been about a month later when it finally went through and was featured, during, of all times, my High School's 2014 Graduation. I'm sitting up in the bleachers of our Field House freaking out because my Instagram notifications are going absolutely insane and, in the end, I was just really happy.

I mean, let's be real here, it's not every day the official Instagram likes your photo so much that they're going to feature it. Let's just check "Be Featured by Walt Disney World" off the bucket list and move onto the next one: "Be Featured by Disneyland!"

Have a magical day!

(This blog post was posted on July 17, 2014).