Day 1281: Ameriworks

Another Fourth of July has come upon us, and this time, we've been working in between celebrating. In between working on blog posts and preparing for my upcoming trip to Colorado, I did find time to do a couple of classic Fourth of July activities. 

First, I just had to watch the concert live from Washington D.C. and I wasn't let down at all. After all, with Chris Jackson, Hamilton's George Washington, plus the fantastic 1812 Overture, why wouldn't I watch? Plus, it's almost like Jackson's song was meant for us Disney fans: 

And then, as I usually do on Holidays, I made sure to watch the live stream of the fireworks from Magic Kingdom, because if you can't be there, at least you can watch it on your computer. It was just like I remembered it from five years ago when I was there myself, and while I definitely still sat there longing to actually be in Florida, it helped a little bit. 

So Happy Fourth of July everyone! I hope it's a magical day!

Day 964: Kiss Goodnight

While out in California, something was brought to the forefront that I've never really thought about before. One of the most amazing things about Disneyland in comparison to Walt Disney World is the fact that it's filled with such a unique history.  Disneyland is the original. It's the only place Walt has stepped foot, and beyond that, Disneyland has a population of very loyal fans. So many of the people there are regulars, some of which have traveled there throughout their lifetimes. While I've only been to Disneyland twice, and as many times as I've been to Walt Disney World, I've only been there over the period of 20 years, and the history of both resorts goes far beyond that.

Just think about it for a minute. Disneyland is 60 now, and Walt Disney World is quickly appraoching 50. We've gone from basically no attractions, to more than one park in both locations. Ticket Prices have changed time and time again. Heels got stuck in pavement once, and now you can buy heels on property. We went from A Tickets to E Tickets to Fastpasses to Phones, and we're still going. It was once said that Disneyland will never be completed as long as there's still imagination left in the world, and as we approach big changes for Disney Parks and Resorts all across the world, I think we need to keep that in mind. That's a blog post for another day though. There is, however, one thing that's never changed: The Kiss Goodnight.

Those of us who head to Disney Parks time and tiem again spend a lot of money, that's no question. It puts a huge hole in our wallets when we head to Disney Parks, but as much as we'll spend money on food and tickets and merchandise, and, in the past, even specific attractions, there's always been one thing that's free for everyone, something that we can all enjoy every night. Walt called it the Kiss Goodnight, and throughout the Disney parks it's come to life in various ways. Since 1958, Fireworks have lit up the night sky at Disneyland with Fantasy in the Sky. In the years after, many other fireworks shows would premiere at Disneyland, and back at Walt Disney World, things would only become more grand. Also at Disney World, the Kiss Goodnight has become a special secret bit of magic that rounds out every day at the Magic Kingdom, one that I try to see at least once a trip. The Kiss Goodnight, now, has expanded further into a brand new song written for the Diamond Celebration at Disneyland.

And I'd never really thought about the Kiss Goodnight before, at least not on a larger scale. The Kiss Goodnight is another of those little elements that makes Disney different from anywhere else on earth, and I like to think that, regardless of where it is, the Kiss Goodnight is a little bit of Walt with us each and every night, whether it be watching the Kiss Goodnight at Magic Kingdom, Happiness on High at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort, Disney Dreams at Disneyland Paris, Disney in the Stars out in Hong Kong, IllumiNations at Epcot, or Disneyland Forever right back at Disneyland. It's his little extra bit of Pixie Dust thrown on to the end of our Disney vacation, and it's something we can always count on, and that's an amazing idea.

But then again, the Disney Parks, no matter which one is your home, will always be ours, forever.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on Septmeber 14 due to a tight schedule).

Day 951: For Research

Now I'm REALLY close to my Disneyland vacation, and that means that it's the exact right time to continue listening to soundtracks from the parks!

While I still refuse to listen to the World of Color Celebrate! soundtrack to keep it all as a surprise, I've been listening to Paint the Night on repeat for weeks, among other things, and I'm pretty sure I know the entire thing almost as well as Festival of Fantasy now. Ok, maybe not quite as well as Festival of Fantasy, but I still have it pretty downpacked. Then again, what else is to be expected when it's based on "When Can I See You Again" from Wreck-It Ralph, which just so happens to be recorded by one of my favorite artists, Owl City!

Then, also today, for research purposes, I checked out a recording of Disneyland Forever! In fact, I'm about to watch it right now (which means this entire paragraph will be my live reactions). The recording I found included the projections on Main Street, and already I'm totally in love with this show. And boy, I'm only like 30 seconds in. Watching this in public probably wasn't a good idea actually. If I'm almost crying here I'm never gonna make it through the whole thing there. Woah...the Disneyland Tinkerbell is wayyyyyy cooler than the Disney World one. THERE'S A TANGLED SECTION! I'm not crying. You're crying. One of the things I love about Disneyland is it's filled with the rare stuff. Like at Disney World it's just Frozen everything, but at Disneyland we have Mary Poppins and Winnie the Pooh and Tangled and I'm barely halfway through! OH MY GOSH THE LION KING PART. I'M DONE. They have inflatables for the Little Mermaid. What even is this? FINDING. NEMO. So when can we get this at Disney World? Because Fire. And Nemo. I spoke too soon on the Frozen thing, didn't I? Yep. I did. Ok but this is pretty great I'm not gonna lie. The fireworks work so well with Let It Go. Keep it Together Lizzie. Keep it Together.

So now I'm incredibly excited for all of the nighttime shows at Disneyland and I'm trying to figure out a way to see them all as many times as humanly possible. Also I need the ending song of Disneyland Forever to loop for eternity in my life. 

Have a magical day!