Day 1308: Frozen Ever After

I don't know about you, but I definitely remember the day all hell broke loose when Disney announced that our beloved Maelstrom would be replaced with "Frozen Ever After," yet another piece of the hit film Frozen in a world where many could do without it. At the time, I was just as angry as the next person. Why in the world would they think this would be a good idea? It's not as though Maelstrom was a popular ride, because in every aspect, it wasn't, but replacing it with Anna and Elsa to bring in yet more money seemed like a sellout. And to make matters worse, we've all complained about how franchise films don't belong in Epcot. That, however, is a different discussion. 

After months and months of construction walls and wondering about what was really happening behind them, Norway is open, and quite frankly, it's looking good. Norway, like Canada, needed a bit of work. A good portion of the guest population had no idea Maelstrom was there, and while it was great to never have a line for School Bread, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to see a pavilion come back to life...even if it took Frozen to get it there. 

Perhaps the best parts about the refurbishment are the addition of the Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet and the adorable vikings that now call the pavilion home. The Meet and Greet actually fits in rather well, and the entire structure is stunningly beautiful. It's obvious they put a lot of time and thought into the creation of the area, and while it's certainly brighter than the rest of the pavilion, it fits. It didn't feel too much as though a franchise took everything over, and if we're talking about the characters themselves, I don't see a problem with them being there now that they have a proper area to meet guests. After all, Aladdin, Jasmine, Mulan, Belle, and Snow White, among others, also call Epcot home. 

The attraction itself, which I have very few pictures of since I was filming (so you'll see it in a future vlog), was much, much better than I expected. What they did with the original Maelstrom track is clever, and even if you've had enough of "Let It Go," that scene alone is sort of worth the entire attraction. The audio-anamatronics weren't as impressive to me in person, but I think it's because I'm just not a huge fan of the digitally animated faces. I prefer the real faces of those such as Lincoln in Hall of Presidents. That's my personal preference though, and I must say that otherwise, everything is amazing. Olaf seems completely real, as does Sven, and while the entire thing could be longer, you also really can't compare Maelstrom and Frozen Ever After at this point. They're completely different attractions and they're both great in their own unique way. 

So I guess what I'm saying is give Frozen Ever After a chance. It's one of the few attractions that didn't disappoint me in any way, and that's saying something. I literally couldn't find anything I disliked about this attraction, aside from my personal preferences about the anamatroncis and the fact that it replaced Maelstrom. And if for nothing else, it gave Epcot another much-needed E-Ticket attraction and brought life back to the Norway Pavilion. 

Now...if someone could just ship me some school bread? 

Have a magical day!

Day 983: Frozen Carpet Ride

I'm certainly not the first to discuss the recent news out of Disney California Adventure and I'm sure I won't be the last. I have to say, first off, that I'm not a fan of Aladdin in general, but the musical that's called DCA home for the last how many years almost convinced me otherwise. I remember my first trip into the Hyperion in 2011, laughing my head off at Genie's jokes about Twilight (ironically enough, I was laughing at similar jokes just today), and I will be sad to see it go just as many of the Disneyland Locals that have signed the petition to stop it from leaving.

If you haven't caught up on the news yet, Disney is closing the Aladdin show at Disney California Adventure and replacing it with a Frozen Musical Show sometime in 2016, and people aren't exactly happy about it. I've always thought of Aladdin fitting so perfectly there, but as much as I'm with those trying to save it, I also wonder if Disney's making the right move. Not to say Frozen is the answer, but there was an observation I had while out at Disneyland that I felt is kind of important, and odd, considering the controversy surrounding Frozen in the parks.

There's been a lot of complaints about Anna and Elsa taking over pretty much everything, and for the most part, I wholeheartedly agree. Maelstrom, for instance, should never have been closed. Updated, yes, but closed, no. Frozen is not the answer for Epcot, and while I do believe it will be an extremely popular attraction (maybe wait times for Test Track will finally go down), there were probably better answers, and the same can be said for Aladdin and DCA. But before we really start trash talking Frozen as it becomes more integrated into the parks, perhaps we should look at a different film...The Little Mermaid.

I've never been quiet about my dissapointment of the Ariel attraction that now graces both DCA and Magic Kingdom. It just didn't impress me, and quite frankly, I didn't see the need for another Little Mermaid attraction. And then, while at Disneyland, it finally clicked. If you think Frozen is in a lot of places...think about Ariel for a moment. At Walt Disney World, there's reference after reference to the film, including the following: Voyage of The Little Mermaid (Hollywood Studios), Ariel's Undersea Adventure (Magic Kingdom), Fantasmic (Hollywood Studios), Festival of Fantasy (Magic Kingdom), Wishes (Magic Kingdom), and she has her own meet and greet. At Disneyland, however, things are a bit more shocking: Fantasmic, Disneyland Forever, Mickey and the Magical Map, King Triton's Carousel (DCA), Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Soundsational Parade, Paint the Night, AND Ariel's Grotto. Compare that to Frozen: Maelstrom Location (Epcot), Meet and Greet (Magic Kingdom - Moving to Epcot), World of Color Celebrate!, Disneyland Forever, Paint the Night, Sing-A-Long locations on both coasts, a Frozen Summer Fun Event, and Festival of Fantasy. There are a few seasonal events not listed, but do you see a problem here?

I'm not about to say that The Little Mermaid is a bad film, because it certainly isn't, and there's a lot of attractions and events that involve Ariel that I do love in the parks, but what makes The Little Mermaid so much better than Frozen? What makes it possible for one film to take over and receive backlash while another does it secretly in the background? Is it because Ariel, with her mermaid tail and upbeat songs, is easy to include in shows? Or is there another reason in the background?

Personally, I think we need to see more Princess and the Frog and Tangled stuff, if we're adding anything, and maybe a bit more Pocahontas too, but that could be beside the point. If you're interested in signing the petition to keep Aladdin at Disney California Adventure, you can do so HERE, like many of us Disney Fans that have already done so. And let me know your thoughts on either the Aladdin show leaving or everything I mentioned above in the comments below!

Have a magical day!

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

Day 693: Face Characters

Sometimes, and by sometimes I mean all the time, I forget that my friends haven't been to Disney as often as I have, and therefore they don't realize the same kinds of things that I do about Disney. They don't know what Spaceship Earth is and they haven't had a dole whip and they most certainly don't know what I'm talking about when I say "Fastpass." But beyond that, there are apparently a lot of things that I just take completely for granted, such as face characters.

I wasn't actually in the room when the initial conversation happened, but it's been an ongoing thing over the past few days. Of the four of us that live n Room 309, three of us have been to Disney World, and therefore we've had just a bit of experience of it at all...or at least parts of it. But that leaves Ashley, who's never been before (and we hope to fix that in the future!). Initially, from what I've heard, she didn't realize that face characters actually act like the characters, instead they would just freeze for a picture and sign and autograph and that's about it.

Of course, we all know that there's so much more to it than just that. Face characters are an essential part of the Disney Parks. Not every character is a "Face character," and by that I mean they're portrayed by an actor, who has the ability to speak with the guest and make their own facial expressions, unlike the other characters (Mickey or Minnie for instance), who have a large head put on top of their's with no ability to talk.

So when we watched some videos of Gaston, things got a bit excited around our room. Here's the specific video that started it all though:

You sure can't beat kids when it comes to meeting characters, and a little bit of me wishes I had met more kids when I was a kid. Granted, in just a few weeks I'll be meeting as many characters as humanly possible because I WANT TO MEET THEM ALL and I have friends with me and even if Megan isn't a huge fan of characters we're going to meet Anna and Elsa anyways and it's going to be wonderful. 

And yeah, of course we'll be meeting Gaston. 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 12 due to Finals!)

Day 613: Alcohol Edu

When you go to college, pretty much everything in life changes. I don't know about where you grew up or where you went to school, but when you get to college, the amount of drinking for your fellow students multiples tenfold. Of course, I don't drink (and don't plan on doing so), for very good reason. I mean, I just don't see the point in going out to party when I can sit here on my futon wrapped in a blanket while I watch Agents of SHIELD with my roommate.

However, just because I don't drink doesn't mean that others don't on campus, and while I definitely won't be getting into that, I do want to take a moment to comment on something many colleges do for their freshman now in hopes that it will encourage them to drink responsibly. It's called Alcohol Edu and is a program that, while it takes a while, you must complete at the beginning of your freshman year. It talks about alcohol and drugs and safety when such things are around, and so on and so forth.

What my friends and I didn't expect, on the other hand, was for Disney to come into play here. Yeah, on Alochol Edu of all places. Alright, so one of them is an actual thing that relates back to Disney and the other is just something I really, really wanted to put into the post-program when I did it, but I believe this deserves a blog post anyway.

My friend Emily, who recently began her freshman year at another college in my state, did the Alcohol Edu course (or something similar at least...that's really just what we call it here), and the situation in one portion of her program literally read this: "Elsa and Anna came to the party together and have been drinking for several hours." Emily commented on Facebook, "I don't remember this happening in Frozen," and I honestly couldn't stop laughing because seriously? Frozen has made it's way into Alcohol Edu programs. I suppose it's memorable and pretty much every teenager right now knows exactly who Anna and Elsa are, but is that even realistic? Then again they do make that comment about chocolate fondue...

Back on my own Alcohol Edu program, there was a post-thing that we also had to do, which basically asked us a couple of months later what we learned and what sorts of activities we had participated in since heading to college. I honestly don't remember the question, but I do remember that I really regret not quoting one Killian Jones: "Rum? Does anybody know what happens to those who drink rum? They get drunk. And drunkenness leads to bad form. And if there is one thing that will not be tolerated at this school, it's bad form."

Gosh I will regret not putting that for the rest of my life, even if I didn't quote it all the way, I should have at least used "bad form" in there somewhere, because that would have been priceless.

Have a magical day!

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

Day 588: Not So Frozen Summer Fun

Raise your hand if you're not at Disney and that makes you incredible angry!

(Unless you actually are at Disney you better be raising your hand).

Seriously, nothing is worse than being stuck at home or at school when at Walt Disney World you know that people are experiencing Frozen Summer Fun at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It's been going on for some time now, and since I personally have yet to have my chance meeting Anna and Elsa, it makes me pretty darn sad. I love Frozen just like everybody else, although as I've said before, Tangled will always win in my heart. I'll race across half a park to meet Flynn Rider but I'm not going to wait two hours to meet Anna and Elsa. Thanks very much.

But that doesn't mean I don't want to experience Frozen Summer Fun with the rest of you! I've been seeing pictures since the beginning (a hazard of following so many Disney Instagramers), and gosh it looks spectacular. And KRISTOFF. KRISTOFF PEOPLE. KRISTOFF.

I think the one I'm most jealous of though is the Frozen Fireworks Spectacular. It isn't very often that there are fireworks at Hollywood Studios, and while I've had some super amazing experiences when it comes to fireworks there, it's just not the same sitting here at home. I mean, all I'm asking is for someone to send me to Disney for a Day so I can see this stuff.

Or, alternatively, you could send me a baby Sven stuffed animal. Those things are ADORABLE.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 23).

Day 582: Storybrooke Is Frozen

Back in Season one, you could say that the little town of Storybrooke, Maine was "frozen." I mean, after all, time never moved there, with everyone except for Henry living in this perpetual state of what basically amounts to nothingness. Not one of them realized that time, in reality, was passing without them aging, even the children. Except for Henry of course.

Now things are changing though, with Elsa in Storybrooke and promises of Kristoff, Hans, Anna and Sven, along with a few other loveable characters, things are going to get pretty chilly.

So WHY IN THE WORLD CAN'T I STOP WITH THE SPOILERS?

It's an age old question, and honestly, one can get pretty deep here. We, as humans, have this want to know what happens next. It's the reason that cliffhangers just about kill all of us, because we can never know what is going to happen in our personal lives. We are often uncertain of the outcome, and therefore, when it comes to things like TV Shows, we have a certain amount of control over how much we know. The problem is, it often becomes hard because of that need to see the future.

If you ask me, I've done pretty well so far. Alright, so maybe I know just about every spoiler that's come out and can basically tell you things that will totally for sure happen, but on the bright side I don't know the order of the scenes like I did for New York City Serenade...and I'm trying pretty darn hard to NOT look at the spoilers as they come out. Sometimes it's just...things happen. Actually, I end up accidentally seeing things because of Pinterest or Twitter or something. It's a serious issue. But I'm not about to give up all my social media for the next month. No thanks.

But Frozen people. FROZEN.

I've heard a lot of different opinions on this idea, of Anna and Elsa joining our lovely Once cast and how it will either ruin the show or the film and storyline. I don't agree with either. This isn't Frozen in it's movie state, it's a continuation of the story, and I fully trust Adam and Eddy to make the right decisions. After all, I never really loved fairy tales until after they got their hands on them and now I love them to death, finding deeper meaning and inspiration in the pages. If that isn't successful, I don't know what is.

So I'm definitely on the welcoming side of Frozen on Once. I can't wait to see how these characters interact with the ones I already love, although if anyone stands in the way of my Hook and Emma moments I might have a few issues. Something tells me I'm going to hate a few people in the future, but that's alright. I love all the characters of Once, because they all play their own roles, so in the end it'll be worth it.

Although I could do with a bit less angst.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 23). 

Day 580: Sing-A-Long!

A few days ago, one of my friends introduced me to something that I missed several months ago, the GMA Frozen Sing-Along. It was sort of hard for me to watch, simply because I was still at home with limited data and internet, plus people kept interrupting me, but I did get to watch it, and boy is it worth it.

Ashley, who introduced it to me, always comments on the fact that gosh, Disney has affected so many people, and she's very right. Disney has it's way of reaching out to millions of people, and not just children. I think, on some level, we were all affected by Frozen. I know I was, despite the fact that it isn't my favorite Disney movie by a long shot. But that's ok, because it did it's job. It was successful, and we couldn't be more thankful.

So here's GMA's Epic Frozen Sing-a-long, Live!

Did I sing-a-long the first time I watched? You bet I did, although as I watch it now I'm not, simply because it would be a bit weird if I just broke out into song in my dorm room while we're all working. I do still have a smile on my face though. And maybe I'm tearing up a little bit. 

The simple fact that for a few minutes people all over the country could gather together to sing a Disney song is amazing. I wish it happened more often. 

And maybe it should. 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on August 23).