WDW Daily News

I had the honor this past week to see my sister debut as an actor in The Little Mermaid Junior. Our Local Middle school was putting it on and invited her to be one of the members of Scuttle’s gang. I have previously seen the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid, and boy are their so much that’s different between the musicals and the movie. For one, there’s quite a few songs that debuted in the musical versions. “She’s in Love.” Is a sorta love anthem belted out by none other than Flounder, yes the little blue and yellow fish who’s Ariel’s sidekick. Flounder, in the musical, seems to have aged a bit, because he seems to have a bit of a crush on Ariel, when he is upset about her being happy to have found a man. Overall, the musical was amazing, even though it was put on my middle schoolers. And if you are at all a fan of the movie, I suggest you listen to the original Broadway soundtrack, their rendition of Under The Sea is to die for.

“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”
– Walt Disney

This quote from Walt Disney is inspiring and occasionally bittersweet to me. Walt may no longer be with us, but the Disney company continues to live up to this standard through attractions, events and movies. I’m frequently asked, “Don’t you ever get tired of going to the parks?” I can always say no because of this promise from Walt. Now, I also said this quote can be bittersweet. That’s because sometimes growth means changing other things, and that’s what I want to talk about this week, how Disney has changed as I have grown up.

Walt Disney World has announced the closure of several attractions in, what I consider, a short span of time. So far this year the doors have already closed on The American Idol Experience. Now, Malestorm and The Back Lot Tour aren’t far behind. I’m going to miss these attractions, but look forward to seeing what kind of magic Disney is whipping up as replacements. Another attraction gone but not forgotten is Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. It was replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1999. Sometimes attractions just go through changes… and sometimes these changes don’t inspire happiness in me. My two examples of that are The Enchanted Tiki Room. It was under “new management” with Iago (which I enjoyed) and now it isn’t. Another change I was sad to see is the elimination of the poacher chase in Kilimanjaro Safaris. I enjoyed the exciting ending paired with the educational ride. However, these losses are small when looking at the whole magical picture that is Walt Disney World.

Technology improves by the day. This is especially evident in the movies. Computer animation and special effects are outstanding today, but sometimes I miss the hand drawn cartoons. “Beauty and the Beast” was my first Disney movie in a theatre. I love it just as much now as I did then. The same goes for “The Lion King”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “Hercules”, etc. However, a lot of children today aren’t that impressed with these classics. These cartoons are outdated and not as entertaining as newer movies like oh shall we say… “Frozen”? It took a while for me to understand the “Frozen” hype. It’s a good movie, but I didn’t see anything special. It was a Disney princess movie with quotable lines, songs you can’t get out of your head, and lovable characters. Then, I realized this is the first princess movie with the old school formula AND done in the latest technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love “The Princess and the Frog” and “Tangled” (more than “Frozen” if we’re being completely honest), but their soundtracks just weren’t as memorable as the movies I grew up with. This realization made me a little sad. The current generation of Disney kids won’t appreciate the classics like I do. Then again, maybe this generation will feel the same thing as technology continues to grown.

If I’m going to talk about movies I may as well touch on the Disney Channel. As a small child, I had the pleasure of watching shows like “Goof Troop”, “Darkwing Duck”, and “DuckTales”. Then the shows turned into things like “Kim Possible”, “Phil of the Future”, and “Hannah Montana”. Now a dog has a blog? I’m just going to leave it at that…

Disney will continue to change and grow in the people’s interest, because that’s what Walt would have wanted. Sometimes I’mS not always a fan of the changes (I’m looking at you Malestorm), but I appreciate that I have been able to experience some things that no longer exist. I will always remember the Aladdin restaurant in MGM studios as a childhood favorite, and being in awe of the “Tapestry of Nations” parade in Epcot. These memories are precious, and I can’t wait to make more with whatever Disney creates next.
Do you have an old attraction or show you miss? I’d love to hear from you on Twitter @hoodie_life.

Halloween has been my favorite holiday growing up! The weird thing is that I really despise scary movies and ALL things frightening. Why is it my favorite you ask? Well for starters, candy. Also, you get movies like Halloweentown and Hocus Pocus and you get to carve pumpkins and play in the leaves and make s’mores! Pretty much all things amazing happen in the fall! I never fit in when friends would ask me to go to haunted houses and to have a scary movie marathon. I’d simply say “No thanks, I think i’ll sit this one out!” While on my Disney College Program in Walt Disney World I got to experience all types of seasons and events going on down there which was amazing! I guess you could say I’m biased because Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party brought me right back to my childhood! Last year was the first year that I’ve ever been and I even went twice! Why was it so amazing you ask? Well I have a few great reasons why.

One thing I loved was Trick or Treating! A 20 year walking around receiving candy and not being judged because EVERY ONE is doing it?! Count me in! I shamelessly can say that I hit every trick or treating spot as well. Special maps are awaiting for guests at the gate that are strictly for the Halloween Party so make sure you pick one up while on your adventures! They make a great FREE souvenir/memory too! Oh and I guess they are pretty good so you don’t get lost too. My first time at the party I was absolutely blown away. I dressed up as Alice and had a great time doing so.

The decorations, music and atmosphere brought me extreme nostalgia. I was obsessing over the decor hung about the confectionary and the park themed scarecrows at the park entrance.

I also went a second time as Raunzel and had an amazing time as well! You can always go more than once if you ever get so lucky!

Disney has a way of making every event special and they certainly make their firework especially over the top for this event. HalloWishes! was absolutely stunning! I’m 100% a fan of the musical score they put behind the display and they definitely get you into the Halloween spirit. The castle show was amazing as well and I could watch it repeatidly. Especially when Dr. Facillie came out, I was absolutely stunned!

To the left is a photo of Michael and I meeting our favorite villain! The saddest part of the night had to be leaving the park exit and having to read the pumpkins lined up saying “see ya real soon!” Even though I was lucky enough to say, “Yes, you will be seeing me real soon!” Well, until next time folks! Tweet me @lauraweyand and tell me your favorite part about Halloween! See Ya Real Soon!
Laura

The museum is set up in chronological order, each room representing a different era in the life of Walt Disney. It begins with his birth on December 5, 1901 and goes on to highlight his childhood in Marceline, Missouri, his teen years spent in Chicago, and his time served in Italy during WWI. You can see some early examples of his experimentation with film, including the Alice Comedies, and travel West with him on the Santa Fe Railroad. In the room detailing the early creation of Mickey Mouse, Kirsten and Michael found us. They gave me a beautiful book about the museum and asked us if we would be interested in touring the exhibit that they were currently working on, Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong. Of course, we said yes! I felt like such a VIP, especially when we went through security to get into the Tyrus Wong exhibit building. When the tour was finished, we thanked them and they took us back to where we had left off at the museum.

From there, we experienced the emergence of the Walt Disney Studios, Walt’s first animated features, and later films like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. There was a special emphasis on Walt’s love of nature and animals, and we even got to see the real Carolwood Pacific, Walt’s personal miniature train. All of the cast members were so friendly and knowledgeable, and they said that they had been looking forward to meeting me! Apparently, Diane had been so thrilled to get my letter and told everyone about me. I felt so special!
When we got to the last room, I was shocked to see that we had been at the museum for more than four hours – Kirsten had told us that the average visit was about 45 minutes! We met up with Kirsten one last time and thanked her for everything. It was such an incredible experience, and I would definitely recommend the museum to anybody that loves Disney.

We left San Francisco that night and started toward Anaheim. On the way, we stopped at Sequoia National Park, which has some of the largest trees in the country! We arrived in Anaheim on August 3 and spent the afternoon exploring Downtown Disney and the Anaheim GardenWalk. For a girl that’s used to WDW’s huge Downtown Disney, Disneyland’s seemed like a miniature version of the real thing! We also went back to Downtown that night, and I enjoyed it more then. It was very surreal to be in Disney, but not the Disney I knew!
The next morning we drove to one of the park’s parking garages and took the tram to the parks. I was astonished to see that the only thing separating California Adventure and Disneyland Park was a relatively small stretch of pavement! Following Diane’s instructions, we went to the guest relations window and told the cast member that we had tickets waiting for us. She knew exactly who we were and told us that we had two days of tickets for each of us, which we were excited about.

That day, we visited California Adventure, and the next day we went to Disneyland Park. I loved the intimate feel of the park, and I could easily imagine Walt walking down Main Street. It was amazing to know that he had actually been there. I loved spotting all of the tiny details that I had read and heard about so often, especially in New Orleans Square. Even more special was the fact that we had been “sent” there by his own daughter. It was an amazing experience, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

We started back east after our two-and-a-half days in Anaheim, hitting other key points on the map: the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, the Petrified Forest, and Pikes Peak. We arrived home late at night on August 10. As soon as I had time, I wrote another long thank-you letter to Diane, telling her all about our trip and how much her gifts meant to me. I never heard back from her, and on November 20, 2013 I was stunned to hear that she passed away. Even though we never got to meet, I felt like we had a special connection that I will never forget. One of the things I wrote in my last letter to her was that she was her father’s daughter, and I think that I was right about that.