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!

Day 915: Almost (But Not Really) The Same

I have this tradition that seems to baffle people: Every time I sit and watch fireworks, I play Illuminations on my phone. This Fourth of July was no different, even as I head a couple of hours away to visit my roommates.

Fireworks have always been one of those things where, once you experience all Disney has to offer, there's no going back. Don't get me wrong, fireworks can still be fun and beautiful, but there's something very different about sitting and watching some things explode in the sky and experiencing all that Illuminations: Reflections of Earth has to offer. As Megan pointed out on our drive, my expectations for fireworks are through the roof, and there's no changing that...but it also doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge good fireworks when I see them.

Last year, when we headed up North with the band, the fireworks we ended the trip with were some of the most dissapointing fireworks you've ever seen, and while I didn't go on the tour this year, it sounded like those they watched this year weren't much better. This year, on the other hand, I was in a completely different place, and my fireworks were actually pretty darn good. I was actually very impressed with those that we saw, which went on for a while before leading up to a grand finale that lasted quite some time. The finale also happened to remind me of another Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza I saw a few years back...one much more influenced by Disney:

It took a little while for me to find a decent recording of the exact show I happened to watch back in 2011, but this one did the trick. That's right. I was there for that. It's sort of odd thinking about how this was a video taken from somewhere else around World Showcase and from not far away I was watching as well. 

Here's a recording of this year's fireworks as well via Inside the Magic: 

What I wouldn't give to have seen these fireworks live. As for our fireworks, like I said, they were definitelly wonderful, as you can sort of see even from this one picture (which has more than one firework...meaning it already beats last year). As usual, I listened to Illuminations during the show and always smiled a little extra whenever the fireworks would happen to match up with the music. Just another way to bring a little bit of home back here to Wiconsin. 

Happy Fourth of July everyone! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on July 6 due to travel).

Day 888: That Time I Met A Wookiee

If there was one thing I was excited for going into this trip, it was getting to attend my very first Star Wars Weekend. And if there was one thing about SWW that I was excited about, it was meeting Chewbacca.

Unfortunately meeting Chewbacca didn't happen...at least not right away.

Star Wars Weekends, on the other hand, was absolutely amazing, so we'll start there!

Considering the fact that it was my very first time at Star Wars Weekends, I didn't really know what to expect, but I have to say I was blown away by the magical things that happen on these weekends. In fact, by the time we got to the fireworks, which I'll talk about later, I was so blown away that I didn't even have words anymore.

To start things off, we made it to the park fairly early, but because we had a VIP package didn't want to get there right away, especially since the night before had been late and most of what we wanted to do was included in the package anyway (I'll talk more about that in a moment). With special viewing for the Motorcade, we had a pretty good spot, although getting in a few minutes earlier probably would have meant front row. As you can see though, we by no means had a bad view. I personally loved the motorcade, allowing for everyone to see the stars of the Saga without heading into an autograph signing or specific show. Plus, it was pretty great to see all your favorite characters...even if some were a bit...frozen. 

Also a part of our package was prime seating for one of the day's shows. We chose the Stars of the Saga "talk show," featuring the special guests of the weekend. Of course, each weekend has different stars, and we were fortunate enough to have Ray Park (yes that's him with the tail), the actor behind Darth Maul, and Jeremy Bulloch, the guy behind Boba Fett's mask. James Arnold Taylor, the voice of Obi Wan Kenobi in the Clone Wars hosted the weekend, and was honestly a joy to watch throughout the day. 

I can't leave without mentioning the Stormtroopers though. As one of the most underrated characters of the saga, despite the fact that there's more of them than the other characters combined, I think Disney has done a wonderful job bringing them to the forefront in a humerous way. The Stormtroopers show up throughout the day, including in their own preshow to the theater shows such as Stars of the Saga. I think I laughed harder watching them than I recently did at a comedy show. 

Of course, we did things here and there throughout the day, but the next part of our package was the dessert party with special fireworks viewing. We didn't get the largest package, but got the moderately priced one (I believe it was around $70 per person), but it was completely worth it. In your pacakge, you had the prime viewing for the parade (including free unlimited beverages, popcorn and ice cream!), the special seating for a show of your choice, prints of each actor for the weekend AND the dessert party with unlimited desserts and beverages as well as that prime fireworks viewing. We all quickly agreed that it was well worth the price. The desserts were amazing, and I definitely enjoyed the chance to try each of the specialty Star Wars Weekend Cupcakes in Mini Form. Personally, I think the Yoda was my favorite. Of course, there were plenty of other treats too, all of which we enjoyed while rocking out to the end of the dance party! 

Finally, to round the day out, there's the absolutely magical Summon the Force and Symphony in the Stars. During Summon the Force, just about every Star Wars character you can image appeared on stage. Our view was a bit blocked by parts of the stage, but it didn't stop me from seeing my personal favorite character: HAN SOLO! 

And then we come to Symphony in the Stars, which is by far one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen. I had a video camera in one hand and my phone in the other, meaning I'm not sure how much of the show I actually watched, but it was obviously enough for me to be left speechless. There's just something extra magical when the music of Star Wars is timed to fireworks, all in front of the Chinese Theatre, and I can't wait to return and see it again someday. 

Of course, in my usual style, I just HAD to DisneyBound for the day, coming up with an R2-D2 DisneyBound that felt the most real when I found this Lego version of our favorite droid! 

But wait, there's more! While we couldn't get a reservation on Sunday for the Rebel Hangar, luckily they were serving all week long, so we headed back to Hollywood Studios the following day for dinner with the rebels! Now, as you all know, I was really, really, REALLY excited about meeting Chewbacca on this trip, and when it didn't happen on Sunday I was fairly dissapointed. So you can imagine my excitement when Chewie walked into the hangar, right past our table. The characters at the meal are different from your regular character experience, only staying for a few minutes, and you have to grab them more than they stop at individual tables. The Stormtroopers came by a few times, and I had the chance to trade with one of the Jawas, but Chewie took a while. In fact, he came and went twice before we managed to catch him, because when he was coming up the ramp that last time, I was all over getting a picture with him. And so, I finally got to meet Chewbacca, and it was the greatest moment of the entire trip to be honest. 

You can also see the pictures of our meal, which was great! They serve it more in an appetizer style, so it's a great opportunity to go with friends and try just about everything on the menu, which is all themed to Star Wars. The entire thing was pretty makeshift, but I'd put some money on the idea that this was a test run for possible Star Wars dining experiences of the future, and boy do I ever hope they happen. 

Overall, Star Wars Weekends was amazing. Hot and crowded, yes, but amazing. I can't wait for more Star Wars Weekend experiences in the future, because really, when else can you casually follow members of your favorite band around Hollywood Studios? 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on June 23 due to travel).

Day 817: Stay Motivated

I don't stay at school most weekends, mostly because I generally have something going on at home or somewhere I need the car to get to, and on those rare weekends when I have nothing going on, I generally like to spend the little bit of freetime I have lounging around with miss Lillybelle or looking at slides with my family. My roommates, I know, probably wish I would stay more often, and if it were up to me I think I would. I adore my roommates and I love college...it's just that it doesn't always work out that way. However, because we just got off of spring break and this next week is shortened because of Easter, I figured staying on campus made sense, especially thanks to the huge amount of work I had to get done.

Midterms, thank goodness, are now officially over, or at least they are as I'm actually writing this (Monday, March 30). Midterms generally surround spring break and into the following weeks, so while it's nice to have them sort of split up, it just so happened that I ended up with two midterms on the same day. It's never nice when that happens (and it also happens to be the reason that the last week of the semester, finals week, is more terrifying than anything else in the world), and therefore I spent most of my weekend surrounded by an obnoxious amount of books and paper, trying to finish up a take-home essay-style midterm for Classic American Novels while also studying for a French exam.

Unfortunately, lots of work means a lot less Disney, and while it creeped it's way into a number of things over the weekend, there just wasn't a lot of time for the usual Disney beyond my daily Disneybounds and the continuation of the Everyday Disney Challenge. However, I needed to keep myself motivated to work somehow, and luckily it was Disney that provided exactly the thing I needed to keep me going: IllumiNations.

Over the weekend, as part of the Everyday Disney Challenge, the prompts both included pictures from IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, mostly because there are so many different things that you could photograph, and since the second prompt was "We Go On," you could even include older pictures from the Millennium Celebration. Regardless, I posted two photos from the fireworks presentation, which you'll see in a few days as I round up the month of Instagram photos, and that got me thinking.

Luckily, with everything I've done over the past few years through my vlogs and with filming for the Band Trip Video, I have most of the attractions and performances at Disney on recording. It means that, at any given moment, I could probably sit down at my laptop and easily watch High Def recordings of just about anything from Walt Disney World. You name it, I have it: Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Pirates of the Caribbean, Expedition Everest, Festival of the Lion King, Fantasmic, The Great Movie Ride and, of course, IllumiNations.

So at the end of the night, after finishing most of my work for the day and getting a good chunk of studying done for my midterms, I sat down, plugged in my good headphones, turned down the lights and watched Illuminations on my laptop. Now, maybe it's not 100% like being there live, but if you get close enough to the screen and pretend, it works well enough for me.

My next piece of Disney Video Motivation? The American Adventure, which I was going to watch Sunday night, but didn't get a chance to because instead I just headed to bed early. Maybe tonight though, if I can manage to make my way through 7 chapters of a book, make new French Flash Cards, fill out a housing application, and get through three hours of rehearsal time this afternoon. 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on March 30 due to Midterms).

Day 629: Disney Nightmares

I love Oh My Disney and the hilariously accurate Disney Fan related posts. This time it was one on Disney Nightmares...the terrors that keep us up at night...and ONLY us up at night.

They're list includes things like "Losing a Radiator Springs Racers FastPass" and my personal favorite, "Buying 8 Vinylmation Only to Get the Same One 8 Times." You can read the entire list HERE, but I felt like I needed to add just a few more completely accurate Disney Fan nightmares. Because let's be real, these are SCARY.

1. Your Favorite Attraction Being Closed for Refurb During Your Entire Trip. 

I actually just dodged a bullet with one of these this morning, since I'll be headed to WDW from January 2-10, and Splash will be closing for annual Refurb on January 4. Our first day at Magic Kingdom for the trip? January 3. BOOM.

But seriously, this is scary. And it happens way too often. Luckily I've always managed to secure my place on Spaceship Earth (knock on wood) even during the great 2006-2007 overhaul.

2. Your Favorite Attraction Closing - For Good. 

I feel for you Malestrom and Backlot Tour fans. We all feel your pain.

3. Your Annual Pass Running Out. 

I face this one in January. That is a sad day indeed because it means you have to either pay more money for your new annual pass or live in the sad world without one until further notice.

4. Having a Terrible View for Fireworks or the Parade.

If you think that because we've seen these things before we'd be ok with allowing someone else superior viewing, you think wrong.

5. The End of Your Disney Vacation. 

Admit it...this is the worst nightmare of all. The scariest part? We face this one in real life all the time.

Do you have other Disney nightmares? I'm pretty sure I could write a book on this one.

Have a magical day!

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