All By Myself

by Gaylin

When I went on the Disney Cruise last summer, I took my first selfie . . . wasn't too impressed with it, my camera was a bit old and slow and standing with a fake smile waiting for the camera to click felt silly.

Before I left for WDW in May, I bought a new camera. Still a point & shoot, nothing fancy but much faster than my old one. Traveling on my own again, I decided to take a few selfies – just for the heck of it.

I had fully intended to take a few every day, turns out that once I am tired and worn out from the heat, I forgot to take them. Oops. Here are the ones I did take!

Me and a tiki, outside of the Jungle Cruise.

Ariel and I, she called this a 'shell-fie'. I call this a bad photo that gives me a big double chin . . .

Next up are Elsa and Anna from Frozen, turns out they are not supposed to take photos with only one sister at a time, guess I was charming and fast enough with the camera to get separate photos! They called them 'snow-fies'.

The lovely Aurora and I.

This is a very nice young lady, Alicia, at the Canada Pavilion, turns out she is from my hometown, that seemed to be a good reason to take a selfie as well.

Of course, there needs to be a photo wearing 'bug-eyes' at It's Tough to be a Bug.

I think this is the Lego version of Princess Sofia but not really sure, whoever she is, I only got half her head in the photo!

And finally that plastic Cinderella with the slightly creepy blank facial expression.

Selfies, when you are traveling alone, they are a great way to be in a photo. Not saying they will all be good photos – mostly good for a laugh.

Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray Review

by Nick 

I bought this Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray several years ago, when I first got my Blu-ray player, but just got around to watching it last weekend.

A couple of things prompted me to finally pop in this disc which was released in 2008, for Sleeping Beauty's 50th Anniversary.
D23 Magazine's article on Eyvind Earle and Sleeping Beauty for one, and Maleficent for the other.
Eyvind Earle was chosen by Walt Disney to be the driving creative force behind Sleeping Beauty, responsible for the absolutely gorgeous styling of every frame of this masterpiece.
And this Blue-ray release brings those images to the forefront. This is arguably the most beautifully rendered of all of Disney's animated classics, seen for the first time in 1080p Hi Def. And the extra wide picture really showcases this.
The story, well, it's...slow at several points. Not enough to lose an adult's interest perhaps, but I could see how a child's attention might wander at times. Barbie and I, on more than one occasion, asked each other if we remembered one scene or another from previous viewings, or remembered things very differently.
The 7.1 surround sound is terrific, I felt I was at Aurora's Christening, dancing with Briar Rose in the forest, and fighting the dragon!
And, finally, it was great to compare Maleficent's take on the tale compared to Sleeping Beauty. As anticipated, the former has completely altered how I view the latter.

The second disc in this collection has a wealth of wonderful extras.

 Games and Activities: 

Maleficent's Challenge.
This is very entertaining Maleficent herself appears to tell you that the magic orb on her staff will read your mind, through a series of questions.
Choose a "Creature," "Element," "Vegetable," or "Other."
You are then asked a series of questions.
My wife chose lettuce. After several questions "Maleficent" guessed that we were thinking Salad!
I chose a dog. Yep, she got it!

Briar Rose's Enchanted Dance Game.
This teaches you the dance steps to Waltz! I confess, we didn't do this one.

Fun with Language Game.
Learn words with the 3 Fairies. For very young children, this teaches you words like "bowl"

Backstage Disney has many "making of" features, with a look at the original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through attraction, a biography of Eyvind Earle and a look at his art, alternate and deleted scenes, storyboard and art galleries, a look at how they restored the soundtrack, and trailers!
In addition, there is a 16 minute segment from the original Disneyland TV series titled "Four Artists Paint One Tree" featuring a bookend introduction from Walt Disney, and a look at four of the Disney Studios artists, including Eyvind Earle and Marc Davis, and a look at each artist's creative interpretation of one subject. This alone was worth the price of the Blu-ray set.

There is also a DVD which has a view extras of it's own, including a short titled "Grand Canyon" which a visual interpretation of the Grand Canyon Suite, with absolutely beautiful images of the Canyon and surrounding areas, like Monument Valley, which I'd never seen before.

There is a "Diamond Edition" of Sleeping Beauty due to be released later this year, no doubt to coincide with the release of Maleficent.
I'm not sure how they will possibly improve on the visuals and sound, but I confess I am curious to see what extras the new edition will hold.

Frozen Meet & Greet

by Gaylin

The new FastPass+ system is a wonderful thing . . . if you use it wisely. While some of the choices I made ahead of time were not the best, I definitely did one thing very right.
I scheduled a FastPass+ time to do a meet & greet with Anna and Elsa from Frozen.

They are the 'hot' commodity in meet ups right now at the Magic Kingdom, with the new Princess Fairytale Hall in Fantasyland being their home.

My FP+ meet up time was 1:25 to 2:25 p.m.
After having lunch, I headed over to the hall to see what all the fuss was about, when I got there I was shocked to see this sign:

Yes, you are reading this correctly, without a FP+ you would be waiting for 5, count 'em, 5 hours!!!! Even with the FP+ the line was not moving quickly, I did wait about 25 minutes in a fairly plain hallway to see the sisters.

I did like this lighting fixture, who wouldn't want a crown in their hall!

The hallway may have been a bit plain but the air conditioning was greatly appreciated. I have no idea where the stand-by queue was, the FP+ and stand-by lines are completely separate.

And finally, the sisters. I have to say that Anna and Elsa were the most entertaining meet up I have ever had.
There were a couple families ahead of me and the sisters got even a very shy little girl to interact with them. They chatted and were very engaged. Elsa swirled her dress train quite dramatically for every photo. I was impressed before I even got to greet them. They were very friendly with me, I managed to not be a tongue-tied goof and had a lot of fun with them. Too bad that while I was in the 25 minute line-up, I didn't take time to powder my nose . . . you can tell from the shine, I had on my sunscreen!

After meeting the sisters, I met up with Aurora. It is obvious that she is outshone by the Frozen girls but she chatted with me and I told her I wore my pink shirt just to match her dress (I was fibbing but that's okay). She was quite gracious, I did enjoy this meet up.

Would I wait 5 hours to do it again, nope.
Is it worth the FP+? Absolutely!

Maleficent Merchandise at the Disney Store

By Nick

My wife and I stopped by our local Disney Store a couple of days ago to see what was new and to say hi to some of the wonderful Cast Members we've made friends with there.
As expected, we found merchandise for Maleficent, which was released by Disney yesterday.

Mugs are $12.95, there's a journal for $16.95, t-shirts and a tunic range in price from $12.95-$39.95.  There's also a Lithograph Set which is a limited edition of 3000 for $29.95.

The hottest sellers, however, are the dolls, which are $34.95.

Aurora:

Maleficent was sold out, this was on hold for another guest.

Maleficent merchandise can also be found at the DisneyStore.com

The Magic in What You Wear at Disney

By: Beth

Do you or members of your family enjoy wearing Disney themed shirts while touring in the Parks? Our family does. We don't always wear a Disney shirt—I know, gasp—but often times we do. 

Whenever possible, we attempt to wear a Disney shirt that reflects which park we will be visiting for the day or a special character that depicts our unique personality or one we hope to find while touring that day. 

Has anything you've worn ever gotten you any special “perks” or surprises while at Disney? 'Ours has, on more than one occasion. 

We were touring World Showcase during the Year of a Million Dreams back in 2008. Rose was on a mission to find Aurora, her favorite Disney Princess at that time. Before leaving our resort that day, we found out where Aurora might be in World Showcase and what time to expect her. Off we headed to fulfill the girl's wishes. 

Both my girls had a wonderful time talking with Aurora and getting her autograph and pictures. Just before we left, both of the girls were told, by Aurora, that Belle was waiting for them “over in the shaded area near the water in Morocco” with a big surprise. According to Aurora, Belle mentioned specifically that my girls would be visiting today, and Belle was waiting for their arrival.  
My girls were beyond ecstatic. So...off we went in search of Belle. 

A Photo-pass photographer spotted us right away. We learned much later that the handler for Aurora had “radioed ahead” that we were on our way, so they were indeed looking for my girls. After the experience took place we also learned that the photographer was not looking for Abbey's bright yellow wheelchair which is rather hard to miss, but rather for the cute t-shirt that had a funny message regarding Beast printed on the front of it. 

When we arrived in Morocco, the handler assisting Belle came up to us and asked us to get in line for Belle's Meet and Greet. The handler politely asked our family to hang back just a bit, which we agreed to do. Other park guests kept going up for pictures and an autograph. My girls were waiting somewhat patiently for their turn. Once again, the handler working with Belle asked our family to wait “just a moment longer.”  I was getting somewhat annoyed, on the verge or saying something, when the MAGIC happened. 

We heard a rather odd clomping sound along the walkway where we were waiting. Beast was being assisted by his personal handler and was coming out specifically to join Belle for pictures and signatures. I'm not sure whose jaw dropped further as my girls watched Beast join Belle for pictures and signatures. Belle's handler was waiting for just the right moment with this extra special magic for my girls. It was well worth the wait. 

The Photo-pass photographer was able to capture many great shots of my girls interaction with not only Beast but Belle as well. Each of my girls had the opportunity to speak with their favorite character for just a moment. Beast laughed and laughed over my daughter's shirt, almost seeming to prefer our sweet Abbey over Belle if that were possible. 

Rose enjoyed a magical moment with Belle, telling her how much more enjoyable reading books was because of her. Belle went through great pains to make sure that Abbey was posed in such a way that her shirt, along with Beast, were highlighted. Once you see the picture, you will understand what was so magical albeit comical about this shot. Truly a magical moment that was totally unplanned on our part—all because of what Abbey decided she wanted to wear that day. 

Just before our time was finished, Belle knelt down to thank Abbey and Rose for coming to visit her today and making the Beast laugh. This is still a very special memory for my girls. 

Wearing Disney or even non-Disney shirts are fun. Before you say it, our family really doesn't believe it had anything to do specifically with The Year Of A Million Dreams, since we've encountered special photographic opportunities both with a Photo-pass photographer and without since this special moment from 2008. Here is a shot from 2012. 

We stopped to chat with these lovely Citizens of Main Street. We are all laughing so hard in this photograph not only because of the Disney themed t-shirt I was wearing, but something else as well. When I was asked to show the BACK-side of my shirt, well the adults all enjoyed a great laugh at the silly “pun” that was made based on every thing I was wearing at the time. Since I am the photographer for the group shot pictured above, I am including my photograph separately. I am sure if you think about it, you will quickly learn the “pun” that was made and why the adults laughed so hard in the above picture. 

At my “expense” and for a special treat on my special day, we received vouchers for free Mickey ice cream bars. We still laugh about this funny encounter, all due to what we were wearing at the time. Special photographic moments seem to happen, for our family at least, because of what a member of our family chose to wear that day and our willingness to interact with the characters in the Parks. 

What is your favorite Disney shirt to wear while touring the Parks. Do you have any special pictures or experiences as a direct result of wearing a specific article of clothing? Inquiring minds enjoy hearing from you as well.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

My wife, friends Kandi and John, and I had a late lunch at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion of Epcot on our last trip to Walt Disney World.

Our meal started with a photo with Belle.

The meal includes a complimentary imaging package including 4 prints size 4" x 6" and one 6" x 8" print in a Disney Princesses themed folder. Additional photos may be purchased. One image package per group of four paying guests, 2 packages for groups of 5-8 guests and 3 packages for groups of 9-12 guests. The package was delivered during our lunch.

The Royal Feast begins with "A Taste of Norway" which includes sliced deli meats, seafood, and a grand selection of prepared salads and cheeses.

I could have just had the food offered on this buffet and been happy. There was plenty to choose from. The fish dishes were excellent.

Adult Entrees:
Traditional Kjottkake -Norwegian meatballs served with Mashed Potatoes, seasonal Vegetables, and Lingonberry Sauce
Oven-roasted Chicken Breast - with fennel hash, tomato jam and chive oil
Open-faced Beef Sandwich - thinly sliced beef sirloin, wild mushroom-onion ragout, Jarlsberg cheese served with your choice of soup
Open-faced Chicken Sandwich - on Sourdough Bread with Tomatoes, Arugula, Bacon, Mushroom Vinaigrette, Jarlsberg cheese, and Lingonberry Mayonnaise, served with your choice of soup
Seared Salmon Cakes - with pickled root vegetable, remoulade and your choice of soup
Mushroom Stuffed Pasta - with Swiss chard, over-roasted shiitakes and parmesan cream

Barbie and I had the traditional Kjottkake, John the Beef. I cannot recall what Kandi had, but we all enjoyed our meals.

Kids Meals:
Meatballs-with Mashed Potatoes and Corn
Hot Dog- with corn
Pizza - with mozzarella
Grilled Chicken Breast - served with vegetables and roasted potatoes
Cheese Ravioli - served with tomato sauce
Salmon - served with vegetables and roasted potatoes
Dessert, and Choice of 1% milk, small Bottled Water or Juice
Soft Drinks Available Upon Request
Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid light pomegranate lemonade, Barq's root beer
Glowing Character Punch - Minute Maid Light Lemonade Punch served in a souvenir cup with a glowing Disney character Light $6.49

Dessert plate was delicious and included:
Sweet and Savory Chocolate Mousse
Traditional Rice Cream - topped with Strawberry Sauce
Apple Cake with cardamom whipped cream

While not as elegant perhaps as a meal at Cinderella Castle, this is less expensive, the food is very good, and you meet several Princesses. The Princesses on our visit (besides Belle), were Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty).You may get different Princesses at different times, including Jasmine, Mulan and Mary Poppins (who I was unaware is a Princess!)

The price of this meal varies based on the time of year, peak seasons vs regular season, and even on the day of the week weekday vs weekend. The general price ranges for this meal are $41.53-$50.05 for adults and $25.55-$28.75 for children ages 3-9. Tax is included, but a gratuity is not a standard, non-alcoholic beverage and desserts are included.