Monthly Archives: May 2014
Top 5: Things Every Disneyland Fan Should Know About Walt Disney World
May 31
In the last Top 5, Angie explained that she had been a Walt Disney World fan all of her life. Until last year, she had lived on the East Coast and had never vacationed or explored the United States west of the Mississippi River. Now that she lives in Colorado, we felt it was due time to head west to Disneyland. She experienced things she had never experienced at a Disney Park before. The overall feel of the Disneyland Resort is much different than that of the Walt Disney World resort. Like Angie, I had grown up going mostly to one side of the United States. I was a frequent West Coast traveler. I had been to Walt Disney World once when I was nine years old, but for the most part I knew Disneyland like the back of my hand. When I became an adult was when I became more familiar with the Florida resort and as someone who had been a dozen times to Disneyland, Walt Disney World is a much different place. That’s why I decided to counter Angie’s article with this one. Here are my top 5 things every Disneyland fan should know about Walt Disney World.
#5-Stay on Disney property! One thing I will always remember about going to Disneyland as a kid is that the local motels are basically all the same. In fact, I can only two of the names of the hotels I’ve stayed at in Anaheim. It’s not really important at Disneyland. You stay two blocks away at some dingy motel with a small pool and 100 rooms and you walk to Disneyland every day. At Walt Disney World, it’s a whole different game. Staying at a resort hotel will save you some time. If you aren’t planning to see Universal Orlando or any other part of Florida, my top suggestion for travelers is to stay on property. There are plenty of hotels to fit most budgets and you will save yourself an hour or so of driving time. Staying outside of the Disney property is cheaper in hotel fees but your car will still need to be filled with gas. If you prefer not to have a car on vacation, Disney World has a pretty awesome transportation system that will get you wherever you need to go and it’s free.
#4-Park Hopping shouldn’t even be in your vocabulary. Disneylanders know that park hopping is just another part of your day at the Disneyland resort. Walking from one park to the other is less than your average neighborhood block. It’s simple to be going from Space Mountain to Radiator Springs Racers. At Walt Disney World, park hopping can be a pain. Leaving a park to go back to your hotel can be a 15-30 minute jaunt, but getting to another park can be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour of your day and that’s precious time in the parks for some people. I simply don’t recommend park hopping. Pick a park for the day and just go with it. Truthfully, having less than 4 days on a Walt Disney World vacation and trying to get all of the major theme parks in is insanity and you’ll need a vacation from your vacation afterwards. Stay on property for 4 or 5 nights and go to a theme park once every day and you’ll be satisfied.
#3-Adult beverages are recommended. Seriously! Disneyland was a pretty alcohol free zone until Downtown Disney and California Adventure were added to create a much larger resort. Even with the larger resort, the only place really worth having a cocktail may be Trader Sams at the Disneyland Hotel. At Walt Disney World, every hotel has a bar, every restaurant has specialty drinks, and every park, beyond Magic Kingdom, has a place to stop and grab a beer. I’ve stood in line for an attraction at the Hollywood Studios park and have seen a beer guy walking the line like we were at a baseball game. It’s like Walt Disney World wanted to be the drunk uncle of Disneyland.
#2-You are going to be walking more than you want. Walt Disney World is big, but more importantly, the parks are big. Disneyland is 160 acres which is no small walk in the park (pun?) but Epcot is 300 acres and Animal Kingdom is 500 acres. These are large parks and strolling the park can take ALL DAY LONG! If you pass on riding Soarin’ in the morning, you may not be riding it because you will most likely never walk past that area of Epcot again for the day. It’s tough to think for a Disneyland veteran but covering ground at a WDW park is a challenge in itself.
#1-Locals aren’t as Disney savvy in Florida. What I mean is that the Florida resort is the number one tourism destination in the world. It’s a cool place where you may hear 10 different languages spoken in a day. You’ll definitely see more than your fair share of families wearing the same colored “family reunion trip” shirt for sure. The unfortunate side of this is that there are less people at Walt Disney World calling it “home”. Crowds at Disneyland who live locally in the area are much nicer to their park. Picking up after themselves at counter service restaurants or keeping bathroom areas clean isn’t just for the cast members on hand at Disneyland. I’ve seen people wiping up after themselves at sinks and picking trash up off the ground just so they can keep their local park clean. At Walt Disney World you will see less cases of that and more cases of people stopping in the middle of walkways, bathrooms being ruined before a cast member can get there to clean, and overall a less friendly vibe from the tourist crowd. That’s not to say that there aren’t wonderfully nice and decent people at the Florida parks. All I’m saying is that you’ll encounter some rude people from time to time which seems to be a rarity in Southern California.
For those traveling to both coasts, leave your thoughts and opinions on what you prefer from either resort. What are the differences you spot or might take for granted? Thanks for reading!
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
Modern Mouse Radio #56: Once Upon a Time Season 3 Review
May 29
Josh and Keith are back to talk about their favorite show! Once Upon a Time’s third season is now in the books. So what did the guys think of the season? What about the tragic romance of the Evil Queen and Robin Hood? Frozen? Hook and Emma? Save Henry? Find out their thoughts and more in this episode of Modern Mouse Radio!
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www.keithlapinig.com
Monday Memes: Another Face Swap Gone Horribly Wrong
Disney Wedding Planning Journal #2: May 22, 2014 – Ceremony Priorities
May 22
Josh and I have both always said we didn’t have any particular details in mind that would go into our dream wedding before we met each other. The thing that we both agree on it is that the wedding isn’t just about you, so your ideas for a wedding are going to change depending on the person you are marrying. Of course most people have at least a basic idea of what they would want, but when you find the right person, that’s really when all of the details come together.
Because we both weren’t really set on an particular details to begin with, we decided to sit down with a list of options to put together for the actual wedding ceremony and put them in order of priority (a suggestion one of my very close friends who recently got married suggested!). Some items were obvious to put on the priority list, like the fact that we want to get married in Disney, but other things were harder to get lost in unless we started ranking them next to each other. Some things were also set prices and required in order to do other things we wanted (for example, the flight we take to get to Disney World is not ranked in priority because the price is kind of a set thing in consideration with our other #1 priority ie. getting married in Disney World, and driving doesn’t save any money!)
We also need to do the same list for the receptions in Colorado and Massachusetts, but we decided to consider all 3 things as 3 separate budgets so we aren’t ranking them together.
So first things first. We set an overall budget, but we aren’t 100% sure if the number we picked makes sense since we haven’t priced everything quite yet. Then we split the budget in to 2 amounts – 1 for the ceremony/honeymoon and 1 for the 2 receptions. Then we made a list of items that had variables and sat down together and put them in order of importance. Just because something was at the top of the list, didn’t mean we would spend more money on it, all that it meant was that we are going to make sure we get what we want more so than the things on the bottom of the list. The basic idea is that things lower on the list are left up to compromise (and sometimes it happened to be cheaper things, because I knew I didn’t have to worry about the costs). Also we are planning on making a lots of things ourselves, buying stuff slowly over the next year, and do a lot of bargain shopping (while still makinng sure we get what we really want).
The things we decided didn’t apply to a priority list were things with a set price or things that had to happen because of other things on our list, like: a marriage license, an officient, flights, food on the vacation, park tickets, and souvenirs.
The rest of the list is as follows in order of the most important (little to no compromise in getting exactly what we want) to least importance (we are still likely going to get/do those things, but may compromise on the exact details).
1. The Disney Fairy Tales Portrait Session – having professional engagement photos from our Disneyland trip is something we are going to cherish forever and I feel like same way (if not more-so) about the wedding photos. We met because of our love for Disney, so I really want to get our portraits taken in the parks (specifically EPCOT) with our wedding attire. This is the most important thing to me and luckily Josh agrees!
2. Having a Ceremony in Disney World (WDW) – this goes hand in hand with the portrait session. You can’t have the photos in the parks if you do not book a WDW Fairy Tale Wedding Package.
3.Rings/engraving – this is pretty obvious because they are something we are going to wear forever. I am not sure WHAT we are going to get engraved on them just yet, but that is important to us. We are leaning towards these rings, but want to shop around and make sure we don’t see something we like better (though I doubt we are going to like anything more!) We also need to find out if we can get these types of rings engraved, how much it would cost versus buying a ring and engraving it at the same place, if scratches will show up on the black ring, etc.
4.Tux/Suit – Josh wants to actually buy this instead of rent it, and he wants to custom design something that he really wants so that he can invest in something he loves and can use again! Every guy needs a nice suit!
5. My wedding dress – I definitely know I want a white dress, something with a full skirt (A-line), and lots of texture. I’ve found a few I absolutely love, but I am going to save that for a later post!
6. Hotel – we really want to stay in Port Orleans Riverside and don’t want to have to compromise for a value resort for this trip.
7. Wedding Night Dinner/Dessert – we would really like to splurge and have the dinner we want with our family right after the ceremony.
8. Mani/Pedi – I would like to do this with my mom and future and mother-in-law the day before the wedding, and I would like to treat them to it. This is a very important activity for me to do with them. It’s part of the whole experience for me.
9.Favors for Parents – It’s traditional to do special party favors for the wedding party, so we want to make sure we give them something special, too!
10. Hair – I want to get my and my mother and future mother-in-law’s hair done by someone we hire. My hair inspiration:
11. Ear Hats/Embroidering – this is something that Josh is letting me have because he doesn’t really want it, but agreed to it. I don’t want him to do something he doesn’t want to do, so I said we can just do it the day after in the parks and that’s it. I really just want them to be able to display at home for the most part anyway!
12. Veil – I am planning on making my own, but I know exactly what I want.
13. Shoes (bride) – The idea right now is buying shoes then decorating them myself!
14. Make-up – this will probably go along with the hair costs, but the make-up part isn’t as much of a necessity to me if it came to going with a cheaper option.
15. Shoes (groom) – Josh wants nice shoes but isn’t worried about finding the perfect pair.
16. Matching shirts – this is something we both agree is cool. I’d like to buy them, but if the budget it tight, we will make them.
17. Spa – I would like to do some sort of spa day for Josh and I the day before the wedding.
18. Necklace – to go with my dress. Can be costume jewelry, but I would like it to fit a vintage theme.
19. Undergarments – special for under the dress.
20. Invites – We are making these ourselves, so am not too worried about their priority.
21. Room Decor – you can add this on to your package, but we were thinking about maybe doing it ourselves. It’s not something we really need, but it could be fun!
Angie Carreiro
Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings Planning Journal
Disney Trip Planning: Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 2 – A Magical Day at Disneyland Park
May 20
Read Part 1 of the Trip Report HERE!
ALL ABOARD!
I have to say before anything that we kept catching spontaneous shows throughout the day including Mary and Burt with the Marching Band and Mickey & Friends with the Marching Band and Alice and the Hatter playing musical chairs with kids. This is something you don’t really get in WDW, but it was definitely a highlight!
Our first priority was to redeem our voucher for our Photopass+ that I prepurchased (a Disney Trip Planning post on this is to come soon, but for now here’s a tid bit on it: we bought it 14 days before our vacation, so it cost us $70 instead of $100, and it basically gave us “free” digital downloads of any attraction photos and Photopass photos we got during the trip. You HAVE to redeem the voucher to get a Photopass card with a unique code on it that allows you to download the photos later). Instead of going straight to the Photopass kiosk, though, we wanted to get some “magic” in, and decided to hop aboard the Disneyland Railroad!
Never having gone to Disneyland, I KNEW about the fact that the NY 1964 World’s Fair Dinosaur exhibit was on the Railroad, but I purposely avoided seeking out any videos of the actual experience. I have to say I was very impressed. The scale of not only the full bodied dinosaurs (unlike the top 1/2 of a torso ones you see on Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom) and the huge-ness of the actual scenery surrounding them was jaw dropping! I loved it and tried to imagine myself in the shoes of someone experiencing something of this nature for the first time ever back in 1964! I am so glad this exhibit still exsists and that it’s found a home in an unlikely place. (Also, I was very scared entering the tunnel that the attraction was in because I didn’t know what to expect, but there was nothing scary about it!) I’ve never ridden the WDW Railroad for transportation purposes, I’ve always considered it as an attraction in itself, so the Disneyland Railroad definitely beats it in that aspect!
We were dropped off back on Main St. so that we could head over to the Photopass kiosk to turn in our Photopass+ voucher and receive our card with the unique code that lets you access your Photopass photos online! To find the building, just walk all the way down Main St and when you get to the end of shopping strip on the right side (right before The Plaza), you will see the entrance to the Photopass photo shop! The door is at an angle because it is on the corner of the building. The cast members in there were great and chatty! I love positive Cast Member experiences! Looking around the inside was interesting. They still sell a few disposable film cameras, but the store actually used to be the old Kodak store where you could buy all you photo supply needs while on vacation, including batteries, cameras, and film. Obviously times have changed and everything has gone digital, so the store became a Photopass location where you can walk up to touch screens and edit and print your photos that are taken by a Photopass photographer and stored online for you to access with a special code (but, it’s for a heafty fee)!
Anyway… I wanted our first attraction to be the Haunted Mansion, but we also wanted to take things easy so things changed around here and there. Indiana Jones was scheduled to be closed for a refurbishment until the day we were getting on the plane to leave, so we were hoping there would be an early opening of the attraction, so that’s the first thing we checked as we walked over to New Orleans Sq. I was amazed by the themeing, even though some of the facades were covered in tarps (mind you, Disney uses tarps that look just like the buildings they are covering). I had my mind set on getting a caricature done of Josh and me as my souviner for the trip and spotted a great location between the Pirates/Haunted Mansion shops and crystal shop. They also had beautiful scenery paintings of the area for sale at the cart. As far as pricing goes, it was $32 per person for a caricature (even in the same painting) for a front view. They also had options for portraits and profile views (the side views were a little cheaper).
I have to say the exterior of the Haunted Mansion building in Disneyland is much more believable (not sure if I’m using the best word for that) than the one at WDW. I just feel like the WDW Haunted Mansion looks like a house that was built in order to serve as a Haunted House attraction (it actually looks a lot like the 1962 early concept sketches of the exteror that Ken Anderson drew up that Walt rejected!). The Disneyland version not only fits the themeing of the land it sit in (an Antebelum style home), but it actually looks like a mansion that someone with quite a bit of money lived in a while back. The Disneyland version felt to me the better of the two if you are considering Walt’s original vision (not saying that I know what Walt wanted or what he might approve or disapprove of) but he is quoted saying “We’ll take care of the outside, and the ghosts will take care of the inside.” As far as the hitchhiking ghost refurb at WDW goes, the interior of the actual Doom Buggy ride through is superior there, as well as the stretching portrait effect since they aren’t working around an actual moving elevator, but I prefer the long hallway walkthrough in Disneyland and loading area.
Highlights of the daytime have to include all of the firsts I experienced like my first Mint Julipe (Tip: give the mint some time to spread its flavor throughout the drink), walking around the park and seeing all the themeing, the immersion Disneyland’s Fantasyland gives you as opposed to the WDW version (not including New Fantasyland), riding Disneyland’s version of Space Mountain which, by the way, made me never want to do Space Mountain at WDW again! And some of the laughs we shared: Josh getting a nasty surprise when leaning in to take a picture of the cheetah on Tarzan’s Treehouse, trying on silly ear hats, beating Josh on Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, and laughing together at all of the jokes during the Tangled and Beauty and the Beast Shows at the Royal Theater (MUST SEES!)
One thing that was really useful was bringing a small backpack to keep everything in like a brita water bottle, jacket (which I stupidly dropped off at the hotel), camera, souvenirs, maps, phones, etc.
Next up, nighttime in Disneyland Park on our first day!
Disney Trip Planning: Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 3 – A Magical Night at Disneyland Park
Angie Carreiro
Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings Planning Journal
Modern Mouse Radio #55: Tips for Maximizing Your Time in the Parks
May 19
This week Amanda Mann from http://www.Mouseketrips.com joins Josh and Keith as they discuss ways to maximize your time in Disney Parks when it comes to attractions, dinning, special experiences, and must-dos! And it’s just in time for those busy summer months!
Visit Amanda at http://www.livingthedreamhappilyeverafter.com so she can help you book your next Disney vacation! It wont cost you anything extra to go through her (and it will probably actually save you some money!) Mention you heard about her through Modern Mouse Radio and receive an extra gift!
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modernmouseradio.com
www.keithlapinig.com
http://www.Mouseketrips.com. Amanda Mann helps coordinate and plan Disney Weddings and Honeymoons as well as having great tips for those of you looking to just have a good time with a loved one.
Visit her site at http://www.livingthedreamhappilyeverafter.com to learn more about her Wedding and Honeymoon plans. Don’t forget to book your vacation with her to get a special gift basket to go along with your romantic trip or any trip for that matter.
Top 5: Things Every Disney World Fan Should Know About Disneyland
May 16
Most of the folks on the East Coast make frequent vacations to Walt Disney World in Florida and insist that it is the only Disney resort worth visiting. That’s a false statement. As a previous East Coaster and having had my only experiences of Disney Parks at Walt Disney World, I have to tell you that Disneyland is a wonderful place. Having gone this past month, it opened my eyes to many of the misconceptions Walt Disney World fans have about Walt’s original theme park in Anaheim. Here are 5 things you should know about Disneyland if you have never been.
Even Belle get cold in California!
5. The temperature is not the same as Florida – California is much dryer than Florida, so when the weather forecast calls for an 85 degree Fahrenheit day in CA, it is not the equivalent feeling to the same temp in FL. It will actually feel cooler in CA at the same temp due to the lower humidity. Make sure to wear your sunscreen though! Another difference is that the nights in CA get much cooler during the non-Summer months than the less-drastic changes in temperature during the day and night in FL. (Definitely bring a sweater or light jacket for Spring and Fall months in CA!)
4. If you are riding attractions in Disneyland that you’ve already ridden in WDW, they are not the same ride experience – For example, Space Mountain is a COMPLETELY different track system with different music, smoother riding, and double seating. Other rides such as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain, and Tower of Terror have slight differences in their ride-throughs which actually make experiencing them a whole new ride (or at least a different enough ride to feel like you are having a new experience!) Also, Fantasmic in Disneyland is a MUST, and much different than WDW’s version!
3. Not staying in a Disney Resort Hotel won’t ruin the magic – Ok, this one is a little tough for me, because I really do prefer staying in a Disney owned and operated hotel. BUT, the thing is that in Disneyland, it’s not really cost-effective to stay at a Disney hotel. If you are looking for something with similar pricing to Walt Disney World’s (WDW’s) Value Resorts, try looking at pricing for Disneyland’s Good Neighbor Hotels (right on the Disneyland Parks website!) The quality and service will likely be similar, but of course you will be missing a bit of the “magic” Disney sprinkles in their rooms. The reason this worked out so well for Josh and I, though, is that we didn’t stay in the hotel much, but I WAS originally worried that the immersive feel of my past WDW trips would be lost by staying outside of the company, but it really didn’t ruin anything considering we were still in walking distance of the parks!
2. It’s on a smaller plot of land with less park but there is so much to do – One park at the Disneyland Resort is NOT equivalent to one park at the WDW Resort, especially if you are considering the 3 parks other than the Magic Kingdom. With so many attractions condensed into a smaller space, you may even say it’s a more enjoyable vacation because there is more to do in an easier navigation layout. Both of the parks in Disneyland are 2-day parks if you plan on trying to experience almost everything each park has to offer, and a 3rd day may even be considered in each if you want to get each and every thing done. This says a lot when comparing the parks to WDW because some (most?) consider Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and sometimes EPCOT to be 1/2 day parks!
1. It’s not just the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios – This kind of goes along with number 4 & 2, but has a little more to be said as well. The thing is that there are so many new experiences, different types of crowds, shows, attractions, themeing, lands, etc. PLUS an overall feeling that you are visiting Walt’s park. If you feel “home” at WDW, you will definitely feel even more-so at Disneyland (and that’s coming from someone who LOVES the Animal Kingdom!) If you visit Disneyland park when you’ve been a “Disney Worlder” in the past, you may feel like you are cheating on your first love, BUT the great thing is, you can have and love both! You don’t have to choose between the two! Disneyland and Walt Disney World should be be loved and explored by all.
Angie Carreiro
Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings Planning Journal
Disney Wedding Planning Journal #1 – May 15, 2014 (Intro to Planning and the Proposal)
May 15
As anyone who pays attention to Modern Mouse Radio and/or our Twitter and Instagram accounts will know, Josh and I were engaged during our May 4-9, 2014 Disneyland Resort trip! It was so magical! So, naturally we are now planning our wedding, and I figured I would document the planning process for anyone else who may be planning a Disney wedding or for anyone who is just plain interested! (Also, just for fun!)
So far some details of what we’d originally planned for our wedding have changed back and forth. We ORIGINALLY were going to do Walt Disney World with up to 20 guests, then changed it to Disneyland with just parents and Josh’s grandmother (though it was unlikely she would be traveling there and therefore not attending), then we switched BACK to Walt Disney World because my father refuses to fly anywhere and Florida is a shorter drive (24 hours) from MA than it is to CA (45 hours). And those are straight drive times, that doesn’t consider any stops they might make along the way! It is just too much to ask of them. So, the only things we are definite on is that our ceremony will be in Walt Disney World with the Memories collection with both sets of parents sometime in 2015 (MOST likely end of April!)
Let’s start today’s post with the proposal story, then the following weeks and months will be filled with more details, options, attire, dates, etc.
The following took place on May 4, 2014:
I had no idea that Josh had an engagement ring hidden in his pocket all day (and apparently it was stabbing his leg because of the box he chose to store it in). I mean, I HOPED he was going to propose during our trip, but he was very good at keeping things a secret.
He didn’t know how he was going to propose, but he had in his mind that it would be by the wishing well on the side of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle inside Disneyland Park. I’ve always said I thought that location was very romantic and that I hoped we could take some pictures by it – little did I know that Josh made a mental note of that and was planning on proposing there! We are both sort of “go with the flow” if plans change (well, HE is that way, I am that way pretty much only when it comes to being on vacation or otherwise having advanced notice) so, he was open to proposing anywhere anytime as long as it was the first day we were in Disneyland so that we could celebrate the rest of the trip. 
All day we were trying to get over to Snow White’s Wishing Well, but it was either crowded full of people or roped off due to a parade or show that was about to happen. Otherwise, we didn’t really get to have any intimate moments, so no proposal happened just yet. It was just about time for the Fireworks show “Magical” to start. It was probably the best fireworks show I’ve ever seen. We stood close to center in front of the castle, and though both of us are short, there were only children in front of us so we saw just fine. Josh stood behind me for the whole show and held me, but he had the ring in his hand THE WHOLE TIME! I had NO idea that his hand was clenched like that the whole time. (After he told me that detail I said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t have even been able to see what was happening in the show because I would have been so nervous and focused on the ring!”)
After the show, we walked over to the Wishing Well and there was another couple there. We hung around for a while, made a wish with a dime (I wished he would propose!) and when we threw it in, the fountain effects in the nearby water pool started up. It was Snow White singing her wishing well song and some fish spouted water and rotated in a circle. It was very pretty.
Another family came by, so it stopped feeling romantic, so we walked down the pathway a few steps to a little secluded area in front of the wishing well’s pool. Josh stopped me and hugged me (ring still in hand). We kissed a bit and hugged and said that it was the most perfect vacation and that we didn’t want to be with anyone else. He said “Do you want to get married?” I said, “Yes, of course I do,” and he slipped the ring into my hand. I started crying of course, and then he started tearing up. Then, we rode Space Mountain.
So, here’s my favorite photo we took a few days later to “recreate” the moment, even though some may say the Space Mountain photo was enough:
More pictures to come!
Disney Wedding Planning Journal #2
Fun Feature: Adventurtorium-An UP Inspired Musical
May 14
Running this site has given me the pleasure to meet many people from other Disney Fans to Imagineering Legends. Without this site, I’d still be a part of the Disney community, don’t get me wrong, but I feel as though I’ve been granted things I don’t necessarily deserve due to running https://ModernMouseRadio.com. One of those perks of running this website was bestowed upon me one month ago when New Jersey based DJ Rom, aka Joe Pardo, invited me to get a sneak peek at his latest mix tape titled Adventurtorium.
Joe released Adventurtorium as a musical retelling of UP, the Pixar film where “adventure” is the name of the game! On April 14, 2014, he let the world hear his new masterpiece and for the most part, this mix knocks it out of the Disney park. If you haven’t seen UP, this may not be the thing for you, but if you’ve seen the film and know the story, his selections in composition make sense and are sure to delight. A mix of Disney tunes, pop music, and electronica, the album is sure to have something for everyone. It’s a lengthy listen and doesn’t truly work well if you don’t listen to the full album from start to finish, but it’s definitely worth the listen, even as a background piece in your day.
Coincidentally, Walt Disney Records released an electronic album one week after Joe’s Adventurtorium hit the virtual webspace. Disney’s D-Constructed brought together several electronica DJs to create a superstar record of Disney electronica, but unlike Joe’s masterpiece, D-Constructed doesn’t have the heart that a Disney fan and storyteller like Joe has. Adventurtorium does several things right that D-Constructed fails to do. Joe doesn’t mess with most of the original music, like chopping it up into sound bytes. Instead, Joe has decided to add drum and bass to many classic songs or blending those songs, allowing some of those “sing-a-long” classics to still be sung by the listener. He also tags in a few humorous moments from the film UP as well as in his musical selection. More or less, his timing is right and he transitions from one track to the next with ease.
There are some lulls here though. I was turned off with some backbeat choices. There seems to be a few transitional moments of silence as well where I am taken out of the story of UP and back into the real world. Unfortunately for any naysayers, those are my only real gripes about Adventurtorium. It’s a bold undertaking for a musician and Joe Pardo has grabbed the bull by the horns, or maybe it’s the Snitch. I’m not sure. Either way, as Dug would say, “I just met this album and I love it!”
I also must mention that an additional bonus comes with Adventurtorium. In buying the hard copy of the album (and getting the sweet colored pencil drawn cover) you are donating $2.50 to the charity Give Kids the World, which is a resort dedicated to giving children with life-threatening illness and their families the vacation of their dreams. It’s a great cause to support and you’ll get a great record to show for it. T-shirts are also available which includes that donation to Give Kids the World, and of course, you can download the album right from his site for free. Just head to http://jpar.co/adventurtorium/ and click the link.
Do yourself a favor if you are a Disney or Pixar fan. Give this a listen and enjoy the smile it will bring to your face.
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
Disney Trip Planning: Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 1 – Getting There
May 13
Many of you guys already know this, but I’ve never been to Disneyland. Mind you, I’m not an amateur Disney Park fan, I mean, I’ve been to Disney World about 15 times and obsess over other Disney fan sites, blogs, YouTube videos, forums, etc. But, I am writing this trip report because I FINALLY traveled to the west coast parks with Josh this May! I know you are all DYING to read about our trip, so here it is!
- When: May 4th-9th with a 5 day park ticket (not a hopper)
- Where: Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA
- How: Flight from Colorado (DEN-LAX)
The Cast:
Angie
Josh
With some trips, getting there can be half the fun, and I wouldn’t say HALF the fun we had was getting there, but it was definitely fun because I shared the traveling experience with someone I love more than anything in the whole world!
May 3rd, 2014
I got off of work at 6pm. Josh and I walked home from work, fed Flip (the best dog on Earth!), ate dinner, took Flip out, showered, finished packing, and laid in bed. It was 8pm at this point and we were attempting to get some sleep. We thought it was smart, but we were waaaaaaay too excited. It was just like being a little kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve! We kept screaming and “Eeeeee”ing and jolting, and just freaking out in general. I kept saying “Ok, this time we really have to try and sleep,” but it was no use. At some point we finally fell asleep.
![20140504_045315[1]](http://disneyparkhistory.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/20140504_0453151.jpg)
May 4th, 2014
We had the alarm set for 4am, but I woke up at 2:30am and saw the time and just could not get back to sleep. Josh woke up shortly after and that was it, we were up for good. I’m pretty sure I’d only gotten 4 hours of sleep IF that. Josh brought the luggage to the car while I got ready for the day. I double checked that I had all the important documents we needed for our trip:
- Flight reservation confirmation
- Hotel reservation confirmation
- Shuttle to the hotel confirmation
- Licenses
- Photopass+ Voucher
- Cash (especially to tip the shuttle guy)
- Disney Gift Cards
- Credit Cards
(Side Note: we jumped up and down on the bed because we were so excited!) We got Flip all ready to go around 5am and hoped in the car and drove 15 minutes away to Josh’s parent’s house.
They have a dog named Nelly, and she and Flip get along, so Flip would be staying there with them while we were on vacation. (Also, they are probably 2 of the only people I would trust Flip with like that.) We had coffee while there, then packed up Josh’s Mom’s car around 5:45am, and I triple checked we had all the confirmation papers, and his parents drove us to the Denver airport, which is about an hour away, to get there early for our 8:30am (mountain time) flight.
All we packed for our trip were 2 carry on suitcases and a small bag each. (We purposely left room in our bags for souvenirs!) After security, we only waited about an hour before we started boarding the plane, so we got a couple bagels and I went to use the bathroom. Little did I know, that Josh pulled something secret out from his luggage and put it into his pocket while I was in the bathroom – an engagement ring!
![IMG_20140504_064119[1]](http://disneyparkhistory.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/img_20140504_0641191.jpg)
Our flight was scheduled to take 2h 30min, and we slept through most of it – THAT’S how tired we were! We took United Airlines, which, was a step below Jet Blue, but not nearly as bad as American Airlines. I will always fly Jet Blue if it is an option. United gave free soft drinks, but you had to pay to watch anything on the tv or for anything else you wanted. It was fine though, no complaints.
![IMAG0060[1]](http://disneyparkhistory.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imag00601.jpg)
We arrived at LAX earlier than expected: 9:30am (pacific). We’d previously booked a shuttle with Super Shuttle and it was really easy to find. From the United Airlines gates, we just went down to baggage claim, turned left, and walked to the doors to the arrivals pick up area. The shuttle station was clearly marked with a sign and someone was standing there with a Super Shuttle “uniform” on. He said the shuttle would arrive in 25 min, but it only took 10min. The guy who picked us up seemed fine at first, but he drove to pick up another group of 3 at another airline, but there were only 2 seats left so he kicked out one of the people in the shuttle who was traveling solo!!!! He said “another shuttle will pick you up here in a few minutes.” THEN, he argued with the woman who got on because her scheduled pick up time was for the day after and she said the guy she booked with said it wouldn’t matter, but he still argued for 10 min before giving in and finally just driving them to Disneyland. He kept looking at his tablet and driving crazy. I was scared, but we got there safely. The nice thing was that Super Shuttle will drop you off right at your hotel as long as you request it. So, he dropped us off at the Rodeway Inn Maingate.
We had read some reviews about the hotel and were expecting the worst, but honestly, I’ve stayed in waaaaay worse hotels. The staff was friendly and helpful, but not in an overly outward way. The guy at the desk even printed a map for us and showed us how to walk to the parks and back. From that point, you have to take the road we were on (Ball rd.) to Disneyland Dr. and walk all the way down to Downtown Disney or to Magic Way and turn Right to catch the tram which takes you directly to the gates of the parks! Most mornings we walked to Downtown Disney (DTD) because we arrived early and the parks weren’t open yet but some of the DTD shops were.
We walked to DTD and headed straight for Disneyland Park. It was about 11am and we walked over to the Firehouse, said “Hello” to Walt (to the light in the window above the Firehouse), walked to the center of the beginning of Main st., gazed at the castle and hugged each other, then started jumping around and going “EEEeeeeee!!!!! We’re HERE!!!!!!!!!!!” (by the way, the ring was still in his pocket!)
In next week’s post, we enjoy my FIRST TIME EVER at Disneyland Park – the most magical day EVER!:
Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 2 – A Magical Day at Disneyland Park