Day 1641: A Different Kind of Blog

There are days like today every so often, when I'm hopelessly drowning in blog posts and I get a little frustrated with the kind of blog I write. Not only am I a topic-specific blog, but I'm a daily topic-specific blog, and I've worked very hard over the past few years to avoid repeating myself over and over again. It's hard, especially when I get behind, to think of original ideas that fit within the guidelines I've created for myself, and even when I'm totally caught up and I only have to come up with one blog topic a day instead of twelve, it's still frequently difficult to find something I feel people might want to read about in relation to Disney. 

But then there's also the realization that Everyday Disney isn't even your typical Disney blog. Many Disney blogs out there focus on news or tips and tricks for your Disney vacation, and while I myself subscribe to many of those blogs, I find myself jealous of how easy it must be to come up with continuous content in those cases. Here, I post once a day, and only once a day. If it's 3pm and suddenly Disney announces that they're closing Epcot permanently, but I already had a blog post up at 11 am, we're waiting until tomorrow to talk about it. Here, I find little bits of Disney in the outside world and bring them to life through blog posts. The problem is, sometimes the outside world doesn't directly line up with the Disney universe. Here, I strive to make the ordinary feel a little less ordinary and a little more magical, but sometimes one has to accept that, perhaps, a reader won't be interested in hearing about how salt can be related to The Magic Kingdom. 

Not every post on Everyday Disney is a prime example of the Disney magic either. Some are more about me than the parks and films. Some take place at a Disney Park and others don't. Some fit right in with what the other blogs are talking about and some fall completely off the beaten path. In other words, and not to toot my own horn here, I'm not sure there's another blog out there quite like Everyday Disney. It's a personal blog and a news blog and a special interest blog and a daily blog and more all rolled into one. 

Everyday Disney, like the Disney Parks themselves, is always evolving, and as we get closer and closer to year 5, it's time to really see what we can do. I've covered the basics, we've gone in-depth on the traditional, and now it's time to dig a little deeper to see what it is we're missing. So with new series like DCP Wednesdays, A to Z Disney, 50 States, and Random Disney Things, let's get exploring and keep going, because Adventure is Out There, and now it's time to find it. 

Have a magical day! 

P.S. - Think of this blog post as a sort of new Mission Statement for Everyday Disney. With a list of 314 blog post topics to work on over the next few months, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, and then I realized that it's time for a new mission in addition to a new look. So for the rest of 2017, the theme here at Everyday Disney is "Dig a Little Deeper," which is ironic considering it's same theme of the first blog post I wrote for the year, and it's time to find out who we are and what we're missing! 

Day 1571: Reading and Writing

While it's been nearly 16 years since I was last in Kindergarten, I can still clearly remember some of my first favorite books. One in particular could probably be better described by my mother, but I remember it because it was one of two books I read constantly on a trip to Walt Disney World. The first book, which was called Up, Up and Away, or something similar, was about a rocketship...and that's absolutely all I remember about the plot of the book. Regardless, I remember reading it at dinner at The Garden Grill that trip, showing it to Chip and Dale as they stopped by the table. I also remember the mac & cheese, which, quite honestly, I could go for right about now. 

The second, and the one I remember the most, was called Chick’s Walk and was about a little chick who roamed around meeting new animals. Chick would say hello to each one, from the pigs to the cows to the alligator…wait. Alligator? Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. (That’s how the book ends…because of course, a chick probably doesn’t want to meet an alligator.

After that, there was only one book amongst the slew of others I read: The Ghost Family Meets Its Match. It was about a family of ghosts who, at the start of the book, live happily in their ghostly retreat. Then, out of the blue, another family moves into the house, and the ghost family devises a plan to haunt the newcomers out of the building. Only it doesn’t work…because the new family is a bunch of werewolves! They lived happily ever (eternally?) after in the house after that. I must have checked out that book at least every other week for a good few years in Elementary school, and I distinctly remember making my parents read it to me until I had it memorized…and then I read it by myself hidden in their closet. Why the closet? I have no idea, but I do know that it’s the one book I’d give anything to have a copy of now that I’m older.

While I wonder if The Ghost Family Meets Its Match is still hidden somewhere in my elementary school library (even though I wore out the binding before I even left), a few other books also come to mind, like all those series I read anywhere between second grade and the end of middle school: Heartland, Warriors, Little House on the Prairie, Harry Potter, The Princess Diaries (but definitely not in that exact order). Each was completely different, but like Chick's Walk and Up, Up, and Away, they all contributed to one important element of my reading and writing: a personal style. 

We all love different books, and we all write different ways, and the way I look at it, the books we read throughout our life make up a unique recipe for our writing style, as we take little bits and pieces from things we've read and apply them to our own style. I mean, I can't say that I'm about to write a story about a chick and an alligator, but I definitely love short funny moments in my writing, and that's exactly something that was in Chick's Walk all those years ago. So reading is important, my friends, especially if you want to be a writer. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1561: Literary Parents

I was supposed to write this blog post for my Creative Writing seminar a week ago, but then life got in the way and it never happened. I did, on the other hand, think pretty deeply about the answer to the question we used as a prompt - Who are your literary parents? - and as I like to say, better late than never! 

Honestly though, I initially had no clue about how to answer the question at hand. While I've been an avid reader and writer my entire life, there isn't anyone in particular that's inspired me to the point where I'd single them out as a "literary parent." Well, I suppose, with the exception of Walt Disney and the writers behind some of our favorite animated films. And if we're citing Walt as a literary parent in regards to fairy tales, we really should be citing the writers of the original stories, and that's where things get deep. 

One could say that I don't know precisely who my literary parents are because it's unlikely anyone knows who they are. If the root of my literary background stems from fairy tales, my literary parents are sort of like those long-lost relatives someone might try and search out on the TV show Who Do You Think You Are? In the fairy tale tradition, many of the stories we know and love are simply transcriptions from oral fairy tales that were passed down through the centuries. Unfortunately, no one apparently found it important to write the names of the storytellers down, or dig up information as to where the tales came from before that, so much of the knowledge has been lost or destroyed. Aka, a tough break for those of us trying to figure out where our literary parents are. 

Of course, some of them are definitive. There are some fairy tales, many fairy tales actually, created by the author that's listed on the front cover, such as Hans Christian Anderson or modern day fairy tale writer Emma Donoghue. Plus, my writing style has certainly been impacted by the show Once Upon A Time, so you could also say that the creators, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, along with their army of writers, have earned a spot on my list of literary parents as well, but the point still stands. No on in particular jumps out as the literary parent, and here's an additional thought as to why that may be: 

Somewhere out there, there's a quote that talks about how we're influenced by every person we meet, even if it's only a small influence or, perhaps, no apparent influence at all. I'm not entirely sure it would be fair to say that if you'd never interacted or "randomly stood next to each other and didn't even notice each other that one time" that you entire life would change, but fate does seem to work in mysterious ways. Regardless, if you apply this theory to literature, you could say that every author I've ever read is one of my literary parents, because they've all impacted me in some way. Some may have made a major impact, like the authors of fairy tales, and some may play only a minor role, like the authors of the books I read but don't remember reading in middle school, but the important part is that they all, in one way or another, have influenced my writing. 

So who are my literary parents? I'd say everyone, and while that may seem a bit messed up biologically, this isn't a science class, so who cares? 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1543: No Rest for the Disney

Apparently I'm only stopping by to write blog posts for my creative writing class because I favor sleep over more writing at the end of the day. Ironically enough, this blog post is distinctly about how we don't need sleep...sort of. 

A few weeks ago we read an article on sleep for class, and while I'll admit that I completely forgot to read it for the class period we were supposed to read it for, I did go back and read through it afterwards, and I'm glad I did. The article, How to Sleep debunks some of the myths about sleep in an informative and somewhat comical way. As a college student, I can definitely say that the amount of sleep I'm getting probably isn't what I should be getting, but to read an article about sleep itself made me think about more than just my current schedule. 

In the article, James Hamblin discusses how much sleep we actually need, if caffeine really works, and my personal favorite part - if we can train ourselves to need less sleep. Hamblin tells the tale of a high school student in San Diego who stayed awake for 264 hours. He did it for a science project, and while I know for a fact that I wouldn't be able to stay awake for 11 days, I'm almost sold on the idea of training ourselves to need less sleep. Why? Disney World. 

If you've ever spent a day or two at a Disney Park, you might be familiar with the early mornings, exhausting afternoons, and long nights. Honestly, my motto generally is that there's no sleep at Disney World, because typically there's always something going on that you'll want to experience. So, instead of resting on our "vacation," we head to park opening in the morning and stay until we're the last ones out of the park at night. Then we go back to the room, catch a couple of hours of sleep, and get up to do it all over again. 

Of course, at the end of the article, he wonders how one might break the cycle of sleep deprivation, and in our everyday lives, that might be possible. We might be able to turn off our phones long before we go to bed, sleep at regular times each night, and drink less caffeine in the real world, and there's our solution. But in all honesty, I just don't see that happening at Disney. We need to be on our phones to post all the exciting pictures from our day, there are no "regular hours," because when Animal Kingdom opens at 7 and closes at 11, but Epcot's hours the next day are 9 to 9, you go with the flow, and with all the Starbucks locations now open in the parks, caffeine is all too easy to find. 

So sleep at home. Save the sleep deprivation for Disney World. 

Day 1529: Reading For Fun

Our prompt this week for Creative Writing Seminar is to write about something we've been reading lately, or have read, outside of class that has either inspired us or put us off. If I was lying, I'd probably go on some rant about how much I enjoyed reading The Martian this past summer and how it really impacted me emotionally and reminded me just how much I love reading (although, is suppose, that wouldn't be all that distant from the truth). However, as Pinocchio taught me, I must not tell a lie, and that means that I have to be honest about the fact that I haven't had a lot of time for reading lately. Aside from my regular schoolwork, all my spare time has gone to rehearsing for Knights on Broadway, which leaves in just a couple of days to perform in Florida, or practicing my pieces for my recital, which is quickly approaching in just over a month. So yeah, not a lot of time to spare. Unless I learn how to dance while reading. That could be fun. 

I suppose I do  have that giant and ever-growing stack of books that resides on the bottom shelf of my bedside table, which features novels and memoirs I've been intending to read and may finally dig into sometime this upcoming summer (that's probably wishful thinking though). Still, even as I think back to what I've read over the past few years (which, as I said, isn't much), nothing really stands out to me as important in some way. Actually, it's almost as though I can't remember any book I've ever read (except, apparently, The Martian and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?). So no, I suppose I don't have an answer to the question about which book I particularly enjoyed or didn't enjoy, and maybe that says something interesting in itself. 

A significant portion of my life has been spent reading, and there are days when I want nothing more than to curl up on my balcony or in a comfy chair with some tea, a blanket, and some excellent music just so I can spend an evening reading the latest hardcover or paperback I've picked up. However, with being a full time college student, recently those books have been more in the realm of Shakespeare plays I'm reading for my independent study rather than something for fun (not that Shakespeare isn't fun). It's still reading, yes, and I can definitely still curl up with a blanket and some tea, but there's still a difference between reading for enjoyment and reading about the typical range of your average Bb Trumpet. 

It is important to note, however, that I typically bring books with me when I'm traveling. I almost always buy a new one before I leave, because there's always ample time for me to do nothing but read while sitting at an airport or on a plane. It's like time automatically set aside for reading. Unless, of course, I manage to finish my book before I even get on the plane. Then we have a problem. Coincidentally, I've also been known to do some of my best writing on planes, so perhaps I should be reconsidering my life choices and spending more time at airports and less time on the couch in my living room. The goods news here is that I'll be traveling within the next 48 hours (I'll actually be in Florida 48 hours from now), so perhaps I might actually get some reading and writing done then. 

None of this has been a description of a book that's influenced me though, mostly because I still can't recall most of what I've read in the past couple of years. It's amazing how your memory will fail you like that. So I'll just go with a blanket answer - it's not as much about what I've read recently or in my life as much as it's about why I've read. Reading (and writing) have been important parts of my life for almost as long as I can remember, reaching all the way back to reading a children's book called The Ghost Family Meets Its Match in my parents' closet every other week (the library wouldn't let me check it out more frequently than that), and all the reading that has shaped me into the book-loving English major I am today. Plus, there's definitely something to be said about all the wonderful books that inspired Disney movies over the years, because yes, this is still a Disney blog and I have to relate it somehow. Just think, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, or Cinderella wouldn't exist if not for the fairy tales they're based on. Even films such as 101 Dalmatians and Mary Poppins are derived from the pages of a book, and those films have definitely inspired me throughout my life, so there you go. 

Which means that the answer to the initial question, about what I've read that has impacted me in some way, lies somewhere in between The Ghost Family Meets Its Match and Mary Poppins, although to be fair, I've never actually read Mary Poppins. 

I should probably get on that. 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1512: A Significant Moment

It's time for another blog post focused on my Creative Writing Seminar, although since I haven't had a chance to write another blog post since the last piece focusing on the class, it's almost as though no time has passed at all. Regardless, this week we've been challenged to discuss an important moment in our writing history, and, for me at least, there are few moments that could top the stirrings of Everyday Disney back in late 2012.

Prior to January 2013, and really prior to later that year, blogging had never been my strong suit. The most I'd written in the blog post category could be found in the expectations section of any number of high school syllabi, and that meant that even the first few months of constant blogging were pretty rough, although that's not why starting Everyday Disney takes the cake on my list of significant writing moments.

Like many of my peers, I can definitely recall moments as a kid where I'd make little books out of blank paper and a few staples or where I'd seek out a spare notebook from the depths of my basement to scribble in. I'd typically write stories about dogs, probably from the dog's point of view, but what can I say? I watched a lot of Air Bud as a kid...and I really wanted a dog. I suppose one could suggest that these early days were important because it gave me an opportunity to explore my imagination, but in the overall scheme of things, that just wasn't the most significant part of my writing journey, and that's okay.

Fast forward to my high school years, where, amongst all that horrible blogging, I discovered not particularly that I liked writing as much as it just came naturally to me. I can still recall sitting in an Intro to Business class, of all places, happily typing away at a paper or letter we had to write for an assignment, and my friends, who sat on either side of me, commenting on just how quickly I was moving along. I figured they just meant my typing, because I've always been notoriously fast and loud at typing, but in reality they were talking about the actual writing I was doing. In a trend that would continue throughout the remainder of my high school years, where my peers would struggle with what to say on an in-class essay or any essay in general, I'd quite contently work my way down each page, writing, writing, and writing some more.

By the start of my senior year, I was locked in an internal debate about what I'd major in when I headed to college the following fall. I knew I was good at writing, and I knew I liked writing, but I also knew that music would be a good fit for me, and history was constantly knocking at the door as well. But trying to achieve a triple major sounded like a horrible idea, so I did the best I could and dropped the official major for History in favor of focusing on English and Music. That decision wouldn't have come, however, without Everyday Disney.

To this day, I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking in the last few weeks of 2012 that made me so eager to write a blog post a day for an entire year. It was a lot of work, I'd be going through a lot of changes, the internet at my house was slower than a turtle on a bad day, and I had no prior experience with blogging. Little did I know that there was one day to fix at least a few of those problems. Blogging every day was, at first, really difficult and taxing. It still is on some days, especially now as I head into the fifth year and frequently struggle with coming up with brand new topics that I have yet to cover, but the more I blogged, the easier it became. Because of the consistency of writing a daily blog, I was able to keep writing even when it seemed like my muse was floating away, and that's a lesson you can only learn through continuous writing. You have to push through it, and I wouldn't know that without my daily blog. In addition, I've gained writing experience, found a voice of my own, expanded my vocabulary, learned what it means to write professionally on a regular basis, meet deadlines, and continue to pump enthusiasm into posts even when you're writing them at 11 pm on a Monday night and all you want to do is go to bed.

Was Everyday Disney the only important moment in my writing journey? Goodness no, and to be honest it doesn't have all that much to do with creative writing specifically, because there are plenty of other elements at play there, but when it comes to my writing as a whole, I'm incredibly thankful that 17-year-old me decided to start a daily blog about Disney...even if I'm behind for what seems to be the hundredth time.

Until tomorrow...or the next Creative Writing Seminar blog post,

Have a magical day!

Day 1493: A New Challenge

I write...a lot. 

For my wonderful regular readers here at Everyday Disney, this probably isn't much of a surprise anymore. You know quite well how I am capable of rambling on for what feels like days about some Disney-oriented topic that probably didn't require a five-page explanation. Alright, so perhaps my blog posts aren't that long, but in the four years I've been writing here, I have discussed my writing more than a few times, and really, things haven't changed much. I'm still writing for Everyday Disney, as well as The Odyssey Online, multiple classes, video scripts, in a personal journal and, for the most part, anywhere else I can find a spot to jot down a few ideas or a quick story. 

But as we start a new month and as I write the first in a new series of blog posts (which I'll explain in a moment), I've decided on a new challenge for the month of February that will encourage me to actually keep up with daily blog posts, tie in my coursework with Disney in a whole new way, and will be, I believe, rather interesting.

I'm going to count every word I write in the month of February, and here's the how and why: 

As I round out my final year at St. Norbert College, I've returned to working toward a degree in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis and am enrolled in a creative writing seminar. It's more or less an extension of a fiction workshop course I took last semester, which reminded me why I love writing in the first place. This semester, we're required to write a few blog posts in addition to our regular writing exercises, which I took as a brand new challenge, figuring it would be fun to really intertwine my coursework with what I'm already doing here. 

And as for the first blog post topic? You guessed it - writing. 

When I really sat down and thought about my writing though, I realized that much of my writing style has been, at least in some way, shape or form, influenced directly by Disney or through some connection to the company. In particular, through reading Anne Lamott's bird by bird, I've noticed a few direct examples of this. 

I write like I'm directing a film. Lamott notes that, when writing, she'll frequently imagine a scene as though it were on film. What would the background look like? How would the characters be situated in the scene? What would they be wearing? What would the lighting be like? In all reality - what would it look like if it were a movie instead of words on a page? When I read this, I couldn't help but smile because thank goodness someone else does this too. Working as a videographer and photographer on the side, I'm always picturing exactly how everything would look as though I were in the Disney studios creating a storyboard to make my work into a movie. 

I also rely on the details, similar to the way Disney-Pixar so carefully creates the shadows and reflections that make films such as Finding Nemo or Cars so realistic. I do my research and ground my works in reality, even if the characters and events of my writing are completely fictional. If I'm writing a piece I want to set in Ireland, I'll search the internet until I find the exact location I'm looking for. If I'm writing a piece on a car salesman in the 1950s, I'll search out that perfect name for his wife, what suit he probably would be wearing and what car he'd be likely to drive. I'll do research to the point where, if you read my piece, you'd probably believe that I'd been to Ireland or actually lived as a 1950s car salesman in a former life (spoiler alerts: I haven't been to Europe and I'm fairly certain I wasn't a car salesman...I think). Anne Lamott discusses this too, only for her the topic is gardening, and she works to insure that her writing is as accurate as the apples that are growing on a tree in the fictional backyard, despite the fact that she has fake flowers outside her own home. 

I write with the knowledge that it won't be the final product. Mickey Mouse, as you may or may not know, wasn't Walt Disney's first hit character, meaning Mickey Mouse wasn't the first draft. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was, and he was stolen from Walt along with his workers just before the creation of the mouse we know and love today. But Oswald taught Walt important lessons, and served a purpose of his own. Our first drafts don't have to work out, because they're just paving the way for the spectacular drafts yet to come. Reminding myself that even the creators of Tangled and The Lion King probably had, as Lamott notes, "shitty first drafts," keeps me going through the day. Maybe I won't get it right in the first draft, or the second, or the third, but if I keep working at it, eventually I'll find my own Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, although, perhaps I should aim for Mickey in this metaphor.

The point here is this, because this blog post is getting much longer than anticipated - my writing is constantly evolving, but no matter how far off track I get, I'm always grounded by the habits and strategies I've picked up along the way, the most important one of which is writing a lot. As I tally up the words that make up blog posts, articles, assignments, and journal entries throughout the month of February, I'm excited to see just how much I'm writing, and to reexamine what I'm writing as time goes on, because I'm sure that, as always, it will be quite the adventure.

Expect to see more blog posts from my Creative Writing Seminar in the future. Each will be tagged with #sncEngl425 if you want to hone in on just those posts - or if you're one of my classmates and don't feel the need to listen to my sometimes lengthy spiels about Spaceship Earth.

Have a magical day!

Day 1381: Paperman

Writing fiction can be pretty difficult, especially when you're writing a lot of it all at once for a class. But occasionally, things slip into our writing without us even knowing it. For instance, a piece by one of my friends reminded me of Mulan 2 the other day, and we've had more than a few horror movie moments. 

But for one piece of fiction written for my class, I could only think of one thing: Paperman. 

The short written by one of my classmates instantly reminded me of the short by Walt Disney Pictures. If you haven't seen it or just wanted to watch it again, you can watch it below, and you'll get the basic idea of the story she wrote.

Now, she didn't write Paperman specifically, and actually, her short was no where near close to what actually happens in the film, but it certainly was a reminder of it. And in fact, another short, The Blue Umbrella also came to mind for much of my class as we read through her story. And really, it's kind of fun when that happens, because it shows just how realistic these ideas coming from Disney and Pixar are, and it also showcases the idea that we too could become writers like that. 

And that's a pretty amazing idea. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1283: Disney Cave

Since I spend most of my days writing this summer, I tend to migrate around my apartment. I try to leave the bedroom for sleeping, but that doesn't mean I'm without options. Actually, I have four great spots to do my work right in my apartment, and each has it's own bit of Disney associated with it! 

First, there's my desk, which you've already been introduced to and is pretty self explanatory. I love to sit here when I really need to get things done, but otherwise I'll usually be somewhere else. Most of the time I end up sitting on our couch, which is really pretty comfortable. Plus, the coffee table right in front of it gives me plenty of space to spread out if I need to! 

Then there's the other, less common options of the kitchen counter and balcony. The counter is a part of the kitchen, and honestly is usually piled with dishes, especially if I've been baking. It is where I sat for pretty much the entire first two weeks of living here though. The balcony reminds me a bit of Old Key West, and as I continue to watch the various old videos, I've come to find that I apparently really liked the idea of sitting and eating outside as a kid. That balcony seemed awesome to a young Lizzie. 

Outside of the apartment, I'll head to the library on our campus a lot, which is where I sit to upload videos. There's also a local coffee shop called Luna that I frequent these days, and because it's only a couple blocks from my apartment, it's not hard to walk there. And then, as always, there's the music lobby, which I haven't been to much this summer. That'll have to change! 

Have a magical day!

Day 149: Last Day

You know what's incredibly sad?

Your last last day of high school.

While most people are in the stage of "I can't wait to graduate!" I'm still stuck in the "I don't want to leave" stage. I think it's largely because I'm happy where I am. I've actually enjoyed school for the first time in many years. There were many days when I couldn't wait to go to bed, just because it would make school come faster. That's a mindset I haven't had in a very long time.

So now, as I sit here in my English classroom, after seniors have technically been dismissed, I realize that I don't necessarily want to leave. I, instead, want to stay. But at the same time, leaving means that summer is beginning, and it means I'm one step closer towards becoming an Imagineer.

The past few days have certainly been interesting, filled with final projects that I have to say are some of my best projects in all of high school. When I go to college, I won't necessarily have the time or opportunities to continue making things like those I've made in the past few days, and that's part of the reason why I spent the last two nights working with very little sleep.

But there are other reasons as to why I worked so hard on my final projects, which, once I catch up with my blog, will be on the previous days that I finished them. My castle, which I created for my College Credit English final, was made because our assignment was to read an independent book, and I read How to Be Like Walt by Jim Denney. In a day or two I'll share my review of the book, but it taught me a lot, both about Walt, of course, and about myself. I put the extra time and effort into the projects not because I wanted praise, but because I knew it would make my teachers smile. It's just like how Walt didn't create Disneyland for people to praise him, but because he knew that the guests visiting would love it and it would make them happy. And my projects did that. Both my Poem Video, Memories, and my Sleeping Beauty Castle, brought smiles to the faces of the teachers that I have looked up to for the past four years. As I explain on the post about my video, I reminded the teacher why he loves teaching, and that was more rewarding than anything else he could have said. I make these things because it's fun to see what I can come up with next, and I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by a group of people who make my dreams become a reality.

But, for now, as I finish out my last day of high school...ever...I know that what I look forward to most is this: sleep. And after that, I can't wait to spend a summer with my friends, to travel back home to Disney World, to prepare for college, and to dream new dreams. Plus, with no homework to do, I have a lot more time to read, write and blog.

There will be plenty of time for the bittersweet thoughts of Graduation, but for now, here's today's Disney History: 1917: John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth United States President, is born in Brookline, Massachusetts. THe youngest elected to office, at the age of 43, events during JFK's administration include the Space Race. One of the 10 wealthiest U.S. Presidents, visit him and all of the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's the Hall of Presidents.

Have a magical day and remember to keep moving forward!

Day 146: The Magic, The Memories, and ME!

As I've been discussing for a while, the school year is almost finished, at least for me since I'm a senior. That means finals...so I figured I'd share some of my Disney inspired finals with you. This, of which, is only the first. 

For my creative writing class, the first of our three parts to our final was our Memoir, which we began writing at the beginning of the semester. The thing is...when I get to writing...I get to writing, and within the first few weeks of working on it I had 13,000+ words. That's right...13,000. That was about double what anyone else had...if not triple or more. There was only one person that was even close.

Either way, we finished that and started to work on something else, so I kind of put it on the back burner. It wasn't in the forefront of my mind to be editing and finish it, although I had a copy printed out, sitting on my desk, waiting for me to edit it by hand, like I generally do with my writing. I never got around to it because there's just so much else to do, but either way, I didn't finish.

And then my final came around, and we were instructed to finish it. So I started me rewriting, and for a week I spent a couple of hours every day, and then on the last day about 6 hours, reworking my memoir. It took a lot of time, rewriting all 13,000 words...but in the end I ended with 16,000, which felt strange since I sometimes cut entire sections, and I didn't always replace it. I added in a lot of quotes though, so that's probably where it came from.

So here's a few excerpts from my memoir, titled The Magic, The Memories and Me at the suggestion of my best friend Megan. The basis of the memoir, which I plan on keeping and possibly revising into an actual book someday, is how Disney has made me who I am.

In a letter written to me at the end of my senior year of high school, one of my good friends wrote an entire paragraph just about me and my love of Disney. While I could probably earn a fortune if every time someone mentioned my love of Disney in my yearbook, there was one portion of this paragraph that got me thinking. She says, “When I first started high school if someone would have asked me what I thought about Disney I would have responded with something like, ‘That’s so childish...’” The rest of the paragraph goes on to explain how I’ve changed that initial mindset and shown her that Disney is so much more. Either way, she started with a different impression of Disney than I did, since I have never seen Disney as “childish.” 

In that same letter, she started at the very beginning, a very good place to start, and told me of the first time we met, an experience I barely remember. When it comes to Disney, one could say my beginning was at 15 months old, when I took my first trip to Walt Disney World, but at the same time, my parents had been vacationing there long before that. After my first trip, I’ve been lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World 22 times, making a grand total of 23, and I traveled to Disneyland once. I have literally been surrounded by Disney my entire life, and if my word isn’t enough to prove that fact, my bedroom is. There isn’t going to be anyone else in the world with the exact same history as me. Just like my friend’s initial reaction to Disney, we are all going to see differently. For instance, the icon of Epcot, Spaceship Earth, is my absolute favorite attraction, but to one of my friends, it might be the most boring thing in the world. In the same way, I’m not a big fan of Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but my brother still enjoys it to this day. And so, to some, Disney might represent the Princesses, and nothing more. It discourages so many people from witnessing the magic I have seen, magic that might not ever be there for them, and because of this, they might write off this book as silly to begin with. And to others, for those obsessed with Disney on the same level I am, Disney might be their life too, and this book might speak the absolute truth.

And so I began writing on the topic of how Disney has changed me. In the end, my life has been filled with lessons from Disney, and the topic is no longer really how Disney has changed me, but instead how it has made me who I am.

This first passage is my prologue. It hasn't changed much from the first version of the memoir, but I did partly rewrite it to cut some parts and add different ones, such as the letter at the end of my senior year. Hopefully she doesn't mind that quoted her!

Walt Disney taught me how to be adventurous, and to explore things far beyond the Jungle Cruise. He wanted to improve the world around him, and knew that he would have to take risks to get there. Now, Disneyland and the other Disney theme parks throughout the world are some of the most visited places in the world. He knew that just because someone said it wasn’t possible, didn’t mean that it was impossible. For me, without Disney, I wouldn’t be adventurous, and I would probably listen to those naysayers, or judge books by their cover. In fact, I’d probably sit in a safe place refusing to try anything new. If that were the case, I’d have never watched Star Wars, and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t get past the first episode. Without Star Wars, I wouldn’t have discovered ApprenticeA Productions, and without them I wouldn’t have the hobbies I do now. I wouldn’t have tried so many different foods, and I certainly wouldn’t know how to make sushi.

 Without Disney I wouldn’t be writing this memoir, period. I wouldn’t be writing at all, and that’s something I can no longer see my life without. If it weren’t for the adventurous Walt Disney, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

From my chapter titled "Becoming Adventurous," I talk a lot about how Disney has made me, well, adventurous. There's discussion on sushi, and a whole portion on Star Wars, but how in the end, I wouldn't be as outgoing and adventurous as I am today if I had never gone to Disney World.

Leaders can come from anywhere, and leaders can be anyone. They don’t have to be like Walt Disney and run a company, and they don’t have to be on band council. For my friend, I explained to her that maybe the place that she’s going to be most useful is right where she is, a leader in the important position of welcoming the freshman into the group. She makes sure they have their music, she explains the processes of uniforms and pep band and band concerts. She enables the rest of us to go out and make the correct decisions, because we know that everyone is going to be cared for no matter what that decision is.

She asked me if she should run for council, and while I told her that she’s the only one who can make the decision, I personally feel that she is already a leader in the high school band. Being on council isn’t going to change that. Her job is just as important as mine, and that she should never forget that, even after I’m gone. Because if I have done my job correctly, the Seymour High School Band will go on and be successful long after Lizzie.

In my chapter on Leadership, I discuss how I had a conversation with a friend, and how my advice to her on our "band council" went. I break it down into section, but in the end, it's about how she doesn't need to be on band council to be a leader and a good person.

If my life was a movie, like I sometimes wish it was, that moment would look like this. I’d be standing in the middle of the room, my uniform on and my marching hat in my hands. I’d spin slowly, looking at the room around me in slow motion, but the room around me whirls by, the red and black of their uniforms blurring against the white room. And as I complete my turn, everything stops, and I’m the only one left. The lights are turned off, the doors closed, the music stopped and the voices gone. That moment went by faster than I wanted it to, and now I sit here writing, thinking about how this only happened hours ago, and yet even that time seems like ages. I’m not done with the group, as I’ll be back in the future for more performances, but it’s like a part of me is gone. Like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, a weight I want back. I didn’t stop to smell the roses, and now my chance to is gone.

For my final quote I decided to include a section from "Stop and Smell the Roses." The section talks about how we walk through life too quickly, and a prime example of this has been band for the last four years. I wrote this portion just after Memorial Day, so it was something that was prominent in my mind at the time, and I got the idea of the movie and what it would look like. And I'm not joking, that is what it would look like if my life was a movie.

And so, someday, if I actually revise this again and decide to publish it, you can read the entire thing. If you are seriously interested in reading my 6 chapter, 41 page book (as in it looks like a 41 page English paper...just with more pictures and it talks about Disney all the time), then feel free to contact me. I'd be more than happy to share it with you. =)

Here's today's Disney History: 1990: Mickey's Starland opens in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Originally known as Mickey's Birthdayland in 1988, it will later be renamed Mickey's Toontown Fair.

Have a magical day!

This post was written on May 31, since I was unable to write for about a week due to finals.

 

Day 137: Ranting

You know, I've written this blog post about three or four times now...and each one was totally different.

There are just sometimes those nights when you need to rant, and for me, writing has always been a great way to get my frustrations out. I tend to get caught up in the moment and write a bunch of nonsense anyway, so I might as well write something that no one's going to see anyway, right? 

Well, tonight's rants consisted of a variety of things, but one of the main themes I in both was learning from experience. There's recently been a lot of backlash over the redesigned Princesses, especially Merida, and I honestly think a lot of it is just outrageous people being completely rude, but one of the things I mentioned is that the person who created these designs must be feeling terrible right now (or if they're awesome, they're embracing and learning from it). People are saying they should be fired and that they don't know what they're doing and that their sexist. How is that even fair to them? It's not! So the population didn't like the redesigns, say your piece politely and move on, they'll fix it if there's really that much upset. They don't need to fire anyone, because everyone is going to learn from the experience anyway!

The same thing then applied to learning by yourself, as one of my friends had a really bad day in our creative writing class (We're in separate hours, but it's the same basic class and group of people). There are just a lot of people who don't care and don't do their work in the class, and she was frustrated because they were distracting her. I feel awful that she had to go through that, and she was most upset over the fact that the teacher did nothing, but at the same time, I feel like she overreacted. I know how hard it is to be in a class like that, since I'm in the same position the following hour, but the teacher didn't say anything because in a few weeks, we'll be out on our own, having graduated, and there won't be a teacher there to save us from an annoying person sitting next to us any longer. We have to learn to fend for ourselves, and that's what he's really teaching us. I initially was going to drop out of my class period and switch to a different hour, but I didn't, and now I'm glad that I made that decision. I have learned so much, both about my writing and about how to deal with people, and I feel like she just overlooked that lesson a bit. But like I said, she'll learn through experience, and eventually everything will work out.

Disney has taught me to learn from experience, and that it's ok to make mistakes, because it's only going to make me stronger (Now I have the song Stronger in my head...). I am defined by the experiences I have in life, and I wouldn't change them for anything in the world. But at the same time, people need to understand that others do make mistakes, and that they can't just give them a hard time because of it. Friendly suggestions and advice is ok, but saying that you should be fired or something of the same matter is never ok, and I think that's a lesson that everyone needs to learn. 

Here's today's Disney History: 1921: Disney legend Harrison "Buzz" Price is born in Oregon City, Oregon (through he grew up in Southern California). A research economist who recommended Anaheim to Walt Disney as the location for Disneyland, Price later formed Economics Research Associates and conducted studies for theme park clients. He also had a helping hand in the finding the location for Walt Disney World. 

Have a magical day!

Day 135: What to write about?

Today is just one of those days where I have absolutely no idea what to write about. I really have no clue.

Sometimes, when I have no idea what to write about I go on Pinterest, and I look there, because often times I can find something on one of my Disney boards, and I looked, and I eventually found this...but this post is about what I do when I can't figure out what to write about, so I'll just do a short bit on it.

I found this pin a while ago, and it now sits on my "Laugh Floor" board, which is my Disney humor (yes, I like to do epic names for each board...even if it confuses others). Now, while it's Disneyland and not Disney World, I really think it goes for all the Disney Parks. One can't just go to Disney and not be in a state of eternal despair when they leave. It's just not possible.

And sometimes, when I can't come up with the post, I'll go to Youtube, as you very well know. Yesterday I posted one of my Disney trip vlogs, which I plan on continuing when I go in July. Either way, whenever I pull one of these up, I end up watching a whole bunch of them just because it's like "Hey! You were at Disney! Remember when you were happy?" (Note: Refer to above picture). I was watching one of them with one of my friends the other day, and we decided that they're pretty entertaining mostly because of two things: My brother and my voice. It seems I have a good, hilarious voice for doing such things. Granted, it's also pretty funny when my brother hits his face on the camera. Either way, I can't wait to do more videos come July. If you have any ideas on what I should include this next trip, let me know and I'l do my best to include them!

But by far the thing I write about the most when it comes to my blog is just how Disney is randomly in my everyday life. It happens ALL THE TIME, which is probably pretty obvious since I've been doing this for over four months now. Disney seems to always be around, which I think is pretty cool, and there are plenty of ways that it's in my life that I haven't even begun to talk about yet. There's just too many! Good thing I have the rest of the year to go on and on and on! Hopefully you'll stick with me! 

And that's what it's like when I try to come up with the topics for these blog posts. It doesn't always work, and there are probably a ton of other ways I come up with ideas (randomly looking at Disney maps included). I mean, there's band and all the craziness that comes up with that, my brother, my family, my bedroom, my friends, school and just basically life. But, as we all know, Everyday is a Disney day anyway!

Here's today's Disney History: 1998: Bill Nye - one of the syndicated television show Disney Presents Bill Nye the Science Guy - wins a Daytime Emmy for Performer in a Children's Series. 

Have a magical day!

Day 120: Forgetting

You know, I write a daily blog, and I still can't manage to write about everything?

You see, I tend to try and keep each blog post to be about just one thing (not including the daily Disney History). And every post has to have some sort of a relationship with something Disney, right? Well, you see, the problem with that is...I sometimes experience Disney things, decide to write a blog post about them, and then totally forget what I was going to write about!!!!

This has been an ongoing problem, and it's probably why every once and a while I miss a few days and have to go back and write them later. I mean, I suppose this is a fairly normal thing for writers, as for some it means writers block...and there's always easy ways to fix it...but that never seems to work for me either.

Everyone is always like, "carry a notebook with you!" and while I do, that doesn't mean it always works! I can carry a notebook around and never write a thing in it. Granted, I always have my phone, and the 29 tabs I have open in Google Chrome on it mean that I often leave things open to remind me of things later...not that it does.

I guess it's partly because I always have so many things going on. I mean, I have my blog, and I'm a writer in general. I have school, of course, and currently I have a Disney project (which I'll talk about soon), books to read, a physics class to keep up in (not that it's all that hard), I have a band concert coming up and there's always the Disney Performing Arts Marching Band Fiasco (in which I need to talk to my director about very soon). There's stuff I've been working on for my upcoming Disney trip in July (such as my challenge for the trip, the fact that my entire family is now going when it started out as just two of us, the vlogs I'll do and a countdown that I'll need to put up soon). Graduation is fast-approaching, and I'm not too happy about that, and the summer brings a wealth of new challenges and projects!

In the end, I really should always have something to talk about, but then there's the fact that some stuff I'm just waiting until a later date to discuss. My dorm room for next year, for instance, is a big one. Of course I'll be bringing a ton of Disney with me, but I haven't talked at all about how I plan to use some of my time this summer creating Disney things for in my dorm room. There's the continuation of my Disney Collection series, which there will be a new addition to soon. And then I have plenty of other things that I'm not going to even talk about as of right now, but are all very exciting...plus, we're just starting on the summer movie craze that is filled with Disney releases!

So maybe eventually I'll remember to write down what I wanted to discuss on this blog, or at least start using a notebook...but for now, I'm just going to keep writing and make up the couple of days I missed, because we all know that everyday really is a Disney day.

Here's today's Disney History: 1952: Mr. Potato Head is first widely introduced to the public when it becomes the first toy ever advertised on television. Over one million kits will be sold in the first year. In 1995 Mr. Potato Head made his Hollywood debut with a leading role in the Disney/Pixar animated feature, Toy Story.

Have a magical day!

Day 118: Out There

Do you know the song? Te one from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, where Quasimodo is singing about going "out there?"

Well it's one of my personal favorite Disney songs and if you haven't heard it, there's a link to the song down below. It came to mind today, when I was looking at my views for this blog, which because of the work I did yesterday, have gone up dramatically.

You see, for the last 116 days I've been a bit like Quasimodo, hiding behind the parapets of stone that are the "non-sharing" rule. It seems silly because I write a blog on the internet, so really, anyone at any point can come by and see it. But the other thing is, as the blog author, if I want people to see it and if I want my blog to stay active, I not only need to continue writing, but I need to promote it, and share it with the world, just like Quasimodo sings about living one day with everyone else.

But yesterday I began the promoting. After reorganizing my Pinterest boards, I still wanted to keep my original Disney board, Everyday Disney, and decided to use it to promote this blog. I posted all the different entries I could on Pinterest, shared the last couple of blogs on Tumblr, shared a link on Facebook and Tumblr and talked about it on Instagram.

Back when I had WDW kids, and when I started this blog sometime last year initially, I wanted to create a community of Disney lovers. I was under the assumption that just by writing a daily blog, I would gain followers. But the truth is, that's not how it works. And I'm ok with that. Granted, it's still one of my goals to have people discuss the topics I talk about, but if I even just get someone to read what I'm writing, that's good for me. I love to write, and I love Disney, and that's why I write this blog, just like I talked about a few weeks ago.

So, I'm always here if you want to discuss, and feel more than free to leave a comment! But I just wanted to thank everyone for reading my blog, even if you've just read one post...this one for instance. It means a lot to me. =)

Here's today's Disney History: 1995: The ABC television sitcom Family Matters debuts part 1 of the episode "We're Going to Disney World " Steve Urkel is a finalist in an Innoventions contest at Epcot and the Winslow family is invited along for the trip.

Have a magical day!

Day 79: Why I Blog

I have to admit, I haven't always been a blogger...and quite honestly it took me a long time to become a constant one. I have always loved writing, ok, maybe not always...but for quite some time. My first blog was one I did for my French class. I still have it, although I haven't visited it in quite a while. Then I decided to try something new and blog about the one thing I love the most, Disney. So I created WDW Kids, which was, at the time something really intended as a blog for kids by kids. Of course, I initially got discouraged since I had no views and it was hard to write more than every once and a while. I tried multiple times to get myself going on that blog, and it just never worked.

Then about a year ago I really started writing a lot. I wrote some short stories and I did a lot of writing in my own journal, for a reason that I honestly can't remember. And then sometime last year I decided to do another blog, this time focusing around how Disney impacts my everyday life. We all know that blog came to be Everyday Disney, but it didn't start that way. I tried numerous times to get myself writing everyday on there too, and it just never worked. Then came the New Year, and I decided to make a new years resolution to blog each and every day. I've had a rocky start, but I've kept with it, and I have no plans of stopping anytime soon.

But why, really, do I spend so much of my time writing, specifically blogging? I sit in a classroom lab filled with computers for an hour and a half each morning, and almost two hours of that is spent reading news articles, many times specifically Disney related ones, and working on my blog. Once I'm done I go and find more Disney things. When I'm at home I read books about Disney or I spend more time writing, or I'm watching movies, because it's what I love doing.

In fact, I was just debating last night what I intend to do when I head to college this fall. It will certainly be different to not automatically have two hours each morning to spend searching Everything Disney and spending time writing my own posts or searching Google Maps to look at the layout of the parks. No, there just won't be time for that. But i did decide that something I really hope to do when I go to college is just set aside one hour, or even just a half hour, each night for Disney. It will give me time to relieve stress and go to my happy place, and it will certainly be easier for me to continue updating this blog, which will, sadly, grow harder the further we get into the year.

The truth is, I blog because it's something I love to do. Heading into the World of Disney for a while each day has certainly made me a happier person, and while sometimes lately I've felt that I'm writing myself out (In the past three weeks I've written, on average, 5415 words per week, and that's not including the writing I do at home...yes I went back and copy and pasted all the words I've written within the past three weeks. It took a while), I still love what I've been doing. It's been nice to focus more on myself and what I want to do for the past month or so instead of what the school wants me to do and what my parents want me to do. Don't worry, I'm still passing all of my classes, and I'm still working plenty hard when it comes to school, but I've just had more time for myself lately, and that's something I haven't had in years...and certainly something I won't have for years to come.

Here's today's Disney History: 2012: On the same day the 2011 feature The Muppets is released on DVD and Blu-Ray, the Muppets are honored with their won star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Have a magical day!

Day 53: Directing

Tonight was an interesting, nerve-wrecking and exciting night. My band director was out of town, and since my high school's boy's basketball team is in the playoffs, it meant that we, as a band, should be at the game. We have another game tomorrow that we're not playing at, but that's a whole different story. Either way, he wasn't around, and that meant that I, as drum major, got to direct. I've never really directed pep band before, other than the national anthem a couple of weeks ago, and my directing in the fall, so I really was only going off of one rehearsal with the band and the things I've seen my director do in the past four years.

But I have to say, it went well. Very well. Now, how does this relate to Disney? I really don't know, but I guess it is kind of like what I'm talking about in my memoir. Through Disney I've been given examples of great leadership, and I'm able to take those examples and develop them into my own skills for instances such as band. Three and a half years ago I wouldn't have ever thought I'd be band president one day, but here I am in that position, and I wanted it!

I remember very early freshman year when we voted for band council. It was me against one of my friends for freshman representative and I won by a couple of points. It was a close race, if you can really call it that, but it started me on my way towards where I am today. Since then I've been Treasurer, Vice President and now President and Drum Major, and I've worked a lot to get where I am. I still have lots of challenges that are thrown my way, like the whole thing with Disney that I talked about way back on Day 3 of this blog, but I really do enjoy what I do.

Plus, our team won tonight's game...so that helps too. =)

Here's today's Disney History: 2001: At Disney World, at bird's nest catches on fire on top of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority attraction, forcing the ride to close for a short time. People on board the ride are evacuated as a precaution and no one is injured.

Have a magical day!

Day 2: My Own "Small World"

Hello!

My name is Lizzie, and I am obsessed with Disney.

(Here's where you all say "Hello Lizzie!")

Anyway...I'm 17 years old, and I live in a Semi-Small town (officially a city I guess) in Northeastern Wisconsin, which for those of you that don't know, is indeed a State obsessed with Cheese, and while we don't get snow all year long, it is still rather chilly here during the winter months. Ok, maybe it's more than a "little chilly."  I've grown up in a family of four people, my mom and my dad, my brother Jonathan and myself. I'm the oldest of us two kids, as my brother is younger than me by 4 years, making him, of course, 13, and just barely a teenager. I've gone to the same school district my entire life, and while my group of friends has changed multiple times since I was just a little girl, I am happy to say that I'm surrounded by a great group of people that I love and very much care about.

My obsessions, outside of Disney of course, include music (I play Alto Saxophone, Oboe, Piano, some guitar and I can sing), Photography (specifically Animal Photography), drawing, some painting, reading, writing, movie watching (Disney of course!), technology, making videos and a few more that I'm sure you'll hear about in time. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I'm a Senior in High School clearly looking at a future in either Music or English, with a possible Business something thrown in there, and I plan on doing the Disney college program and hopefully someday gaining a job in the Disney Company. While I'd love to be an Imagineer, I'm not sure I'm creative enough, but that's a topic for another blog post.

Now, for my obsession with Disney. While I'm going to be working on a FAQ page soon, which will include much of my background surrounding Disney, I'll give a brief description here. I don't necessarily have ONE favorite Disney movie, but just a few titles are "Beauty and the Beast", "Lady and the Tramp", "The Lion King", "Pirates of the Caribbean", and of course the new Disney additions of "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars." As a member of Disney Vacation Club and a regular Annual Passholder, I have been to Walt Disney World a full total of 23 times in my short 17 years, which includes two trips on Disney Cruise Line. I traveled to Disneyland for the first time in 2011, and am hoping to go back this next summer in 2013. I do have a favorite park and attraction, which, as you will learn in time, I am truly obsessed with. It's Epcot for the park, and it's Icon, Spaceship Earth stands as my all time favorite attraction. It was my very first Disney World attraction back at the young age of 1, and since then I've been on it over 130 times, and yes, I have the dialogue from the current version memorized. With this obsession, I am a collector of all things Spaceship Earth, and while this is really another topic for another post, I am currently very excited about the newest additions to my collection, a 30th Anniversary Spaceship Earth iPhone case and a 30th Anniversary Park Map and Button. As I said before, I am also a fan of both Indy and Star Wars, with Indy and, of course, Han Solo, as my favorite characters respectfully...which, if it isn't obvious, mentions that Harrison Ford is one of my favorite actors. I own books, movies, and just about everything Disney I can get my hands on and afford at the same time, but that will all be explained in a later entry, I can't make this too long, after all. (I just realized as I proof read that I say "a different post/entry" like three or four times...funny!)

I own one house cat, named LillyBelle (yes, named after Walt's wife, Lillian, and a reference to the Disneyland/World Railroads), along with an ever changing number of barn cats, each with their own unique name and personality. Maybe sometime I'll introduce all of them.

Aside from all of that, it basically sums up my life...Disney, Disney, Disney and more DISNEY. Which I suppose is fitting now that I am starting this DISNEY blog.

Have a magical day!