Monthly Archives: June 2014
Top 5: Types of People I Hate Encountering at Disney World
Jun 28
When I travel to Walt Disney World, I tend to block out the rest of my life. My Monday through Friday job, my bills, the terrible neighbor that lives above my condo that makes it sound like he is bowling in his hallway at 2am. When I leave for either Orlando or Anaheim, I leave that all behind. However, when I arrive at my destination and check into my room at one of those wonderfully themed resort hotels, I’m always surprised at the guests I meet. 99% of the guests I see while on vacation at Walt Disney World look like they are having a wonderful time and we rejoice in our vacations where we left behind our lives outside of the park gates. Beyond those folks are the 1% that I see while roaming Walt Disney World and I just can’t stand to be around them. My complete happiness gets interrupted and I have a minor panic attack. This happens at Disneyland too but I feel as though Disneyland is filled with more locals than tourists and these types of guests aren’t as frequently encountered. So what kind of people am I talking about? Here are my top 5 types of people I hate encountering at Disney World.
#5-The “I Memorized Every Line On This Attraction and Need to Repeat Out Loud” People. I’m a seasoned veteran and even though I know a majority of the Ghost Host’s opening speech in the Stretching Room, that doesn’t mean I need to yell it out along with the attraction. I know that I’m not the only one on vacation in that room and there are some people experiencing the Haunted Mansion for the first time. I respect that, but some people just can’t. Any attraction with some type of narration, or even live shows, sometimes get spoiled by these “Repeaters”. For those out there who do this, I don’t fully understand why. Are you trying to impress your friends or the people around you? Is there some sense of joy you get when talking over the narration? Do you wish you were the narrator and are fulfilling some type of roleplay in your mind? I’ve been on the Haunted Mansion dozens of times and hearing you repeat the Stretching Room monologue word for word doesn’t impress me one bit. Sorry.
#4-The “Stopping to Stand in the Middle of the Walkway” People. So you aren’t sure where you are going and need to pull out your trusty park map to check what’s around that you must see before your vacation ends? I understand. Move to the side of the walkway please! In case you didn’t notice, there is a line of traffic behind you that is trying to get to Big Thunder Mountain and having you stopping in the middle of the walkway is blocking us all from getting around you. I’m sorry the 16 of you in the bright red Smith Family Reunion shirts are trying to figure out what you can all agree on for lunch. I really am, but the fact that you are taking up so much of the space all of us are trying to fit into is bothersome. In case you don’t understand, the walkways around the Disney World parks can only fit so many people and on busy days, these walkways get packed, so if someone stops, that means that many of us have to detour or stop along with you which means we are either paying attention and stopping or we aren’t paying attention and will run right into you.
#3-The “Obnoxiously Over-sized Luxury Stroller” People. You drove down to Disney World and made a special stop at Babies ‘R Us to pick up a deluxe stroller that will fit your two children, a backpack, a purse, and all of the Disney merchandise you are thinking of purchasing. Good for you for having the money to buy this type of luxury. The rest of us don’t appreciate your purchase though. You are taking up a good chunk of the walkway going towards Peter Pan’s Flight and you have hit many of us in the ankle with your brand new Cadillac Escalade of a stroller. You also tend to be the one that takes 15 years to get on a bus or the Monorail because you need your whole family to pick up this giant monstrosity to load it onto whatever you are getting on to get to the park. Meanwhile, I have to stand behind you and smile while I think of how I hope a wheel falls off and you have to trash your new stroller sooner rather than later. (Sidenote: If your kid is too big for a stroller, then they should be walking! Don’t try and fit your 5 year old into a stroller because he will mostly like take a nap by 2pm and you want to continue on with your day at the park. You should go back to the hotel at that point and relax until nap time is over.)
#2-The “Excuse Me, I’m Skipping the Line Because My Family Saved Me A Spot” People. Here is the thing, anytime I hear someone say “Excuse Me” while I’m standing in line I let them by, but I hope a giant bodybuilder stops them a few people in front of me and tells them to get to the back of the line like this is Studio 54 in the midst of the Disco Craze. In case you didn’t notice, the reason all of us are just standing here in this ridiculously long maze of a hallway is that we are waiting to get on the same thing you are. Half of your family got in line a half an hour ago and you want to meet up with them. Unfortunately, that doesn’t do anything but upset the rest of us that stood here for that half an hour. Disney has come up with Child Swap methods so that you can ride an attraction and Fastpasses are now simpler than ever so that your whole family can kind of skip the majority of the line in a way that doesn’t make us all want to all go Hulk Hogan on you and hit you in the head with a steel chair. Take advantage of the things Disney has provided and quit it with this “Excuse Me” crap because we all secretly hate you.
#1-The “Unhappy Parents with Kids” People. It’s almost a right of passage in the United States. When you become a parent, you think about that trip to Disney World with your children. This also means that you’ll have to deal with a kid that’s overly-stimulated, overly-sugared, and eventually overly-exhausted. So it’s not surprising that you might reach a point of frustration. That’s being a parent and I see it all the time, not just on vacation. However, I find a parent that doesn’t even want to be at Disney World from time to time and that makes me sad and upset. As an adult, you are the one that should be making the decisions for your child and if you feel like you wouldn’t enjoy a family vacation at Disney World, then you don’t have to fork over your hard earned money to the Mouse. If you are that parent that brings their kid and bears and grins it despite your love for large crowds or amusement park attractions, at least suck it up and look on the bright side. You don’t have to wake up to be at work nor do you have to deal with your nosy neighbors that think you should move out. At least smile for your family photos.
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
Disneyland’s Rock Your Disney Side 24-Hour Event Part 4
Jun 27
If you haven’t seen Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, just click the links!
Keith and friends return to the Grand Californian Hotel to much on some late night treats before returning to the parks to meet some villains and meet up with fellow YouTubers Sarah and Leo. This is the last of the series so enjoy the end to their 24 hour day and stay tuned for more videos coming from Tokyo! To see more from Keith, click on the links below.
Disney Trip Planning: Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 4 – Day 2
Jun 25
If you need to catch up, read the previous posts here!:
Disney Trip Planning: Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 1 – Getting There
Disney Trip Planning: Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 2 – A Magical Day at Disneyland Park
Disney Trip Planning: Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report Part 3 – A Magical Night at Disneyland Park
We woke up way earlier than park opening, so we decided to get ready and head over to the Disneyland Hotel to explore. I bought little Minnie Mouse ear clip ons the day before instead of the headband I wanted to get because they were more secure and didn’t make me feel like I had a headache, so that’s why I have little black pom poms with bows on my head in the pictures. And we put on our “Just Engaged” buttons, which they actually don’t make anymore, so we sharpied it in, but if we would have known, maybe Keith could have made them for us before hand!
The Disneyland Hotel entrance was a 5 minute walk from the Mickey and Friends Parking structure, so it was about the same distance as it would have been if we walked all the way to the parks.
The entrance way to the hotel:
teacups in the lobby!:
This sign is on the wall inside of the check-in lobby of the hotel at the bottom of an awesome map of the park:
Then we headed over to Disneyland Park for the second day.
Oh, Good Morning!
Hello Mickey!
One of the first things we did (besides coffee) was head over to the Matterhorn because it would be my first time riding it, but we didn’t want to wait in a long line, and there are no Fastpasses available for this one! I probably wont ride it again because it just hurt a lot, but I’m glad we did it and I can appreciate the history of the attraction.
Today was a day full of spontaneous shows and it was great. I think I accidentally mentioned this as happening on the first day at Disneyland park, but it actually came the second day because we got there at rope drop. Mary and Bert, the Disneyland Marching Band, Alice and the Mad Hatter, and Mickey and Friends showed up in front of the castle throughout the day and we just happened to notice them and stopped to watch!
I was hungry, per usual, so we walked to New Orleans Square to the Cafe Orleans for some beignets and Mint Juleps. Yum yum.
There was a lot of wandering and riding things here and there. We especially made sure to get in a couple rides of the newly refurbed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the effects were amazing!
We realized we needed a castle photo, so tried doing a selfie. Someone who was sweeping up saw us and offered to take it, and it became one of our favorite photos from the trip.
One of the meals Josh really wanted was the Vegetarian Gumbo in New Orleans Square, so we shared a bread bowl of it, and it was plenty of food for the two of us. It was delicious, though not the best bread bowl in Disneyland, but we will get to that later!
At some point Josh was like “We should go to The Golden Horseshoe blah blah blah” and I said “Ok, I think they pick people from the audience for that show though, so let’s sit right in the center,” and sure enough I got picked and had to go on stage and I hated it more than anything ever.
I still was a bit shaken from the whole on stage thing, so we sat down on Main st for a bit and people watched. We realized people were preparing for the parade, so we decided to just wait until then, since we were planning on seeing it at some point anyway because Josh heard Jose Carioca would be in it and he just loooooooves him. I mean, he wants to be him basically.
We headed to Fantasy Faire to see if the princesses meet and greets were going on and got an obligatory Disney duck picture.
and Josh discovered this little gem.
We wandered around, road some things – Mad Tea Party, Storybookland Canal Boats, Space Mountain, some Fantasyland things, and of course the Carousel.
Josh watching it go round and round:
Hi Jingles! He was taken by the time we got to him though.
For our last ride of the day, we headed over to the Jungle Cruise. We had the best skipper I’ve ever had. His jokes were just so on point. “Snakes always travel in groups of 4, let’s count them. 1…2…3….where’s the 4th one?” **looks down** “OH LOOK AT THAT my socks actually match today!”
And upon leaving the park for the day, I spotted this guy in the window of the Jolly Holiday Bakery.
Next up: My Birthday at Disney’s California Adventure!
Modern Mouse Radio #58: Tokyo Disneyland
Jun 21
Keith recently returned from a trip to Japan and he visited the Tokyo Disney Resort while he was there. Hear about his experiences in Japan, the Disney resort and some of the things inside of the resort on this episode of Modern Mouse Radio!
Follow Us on Social Media
Email Josh at
modernmouseradio.com
www.keithlapinig.com
Disneyland’s Rock Your Disney Side 24-Hour Event Part 3
Jun 20
Keith and the gang spent much of their day at Disneyland meeting and greeting as well as riding a few attractions. As day turns into night, the group settles for some food at Big Thunder Ranch and heads over to Disney’s California Adventure park for some night time fun! If you haven’t seen Part 1 or Part 2, you can by clicking the links. To see more from Keith, check out the links below:
Disney Wedding Planning Journal #3: June 18, 2014 (Vintage Bride on Budget)
Jun 18
Read my previous Wedding Journal Posts Here!
Two of the most common themes of Josh and my wedding planning is “Vintage Inspired” and “On a Budget.” If you look in all the right places (like Ebay, Etsy, and hours of searching on other online sites along with thrift shopping) you can complete a beautiful bridal look for just a few hundred dollars. I know because that’s what I’ve done! So, here are my pieces!
The Veil –
I just purchased this veil (sans the feathers) on Ebay, but you can find similar ones on Etsy and at Craft stores like Hobby Lobby, Micheal’s, Joanne’s Fabrics, etc. for around the same price! – $9.99
The Gloves –
I decided to do lace gloves for a vintage look. It took me some weighing options to decide if I really wanted to do gloves and not buy a bracelet and I thought it to be best because I am not-so-secretly hoping a bracelet to be “something borrowed” or “something old.” I found these on Ebay as well – $1.32
The Shoes –
I have not purchased these yet, but I am 95% sure I will be picking these. Amazon.com – $71 (including shipping)
The Dress –
This one is the hardest decision. I found this one on Ebay that I just fell in love with and can’t find any other that I love anymore, even when trying others on. I will be purchasing it next month if I don’t find something I like more! (Note: I originally wanted to do tea-length, but after trying on dresses, the shorter ones just didn’t make me feel like a bride or princess, which I really wanted. The longer dresses gave me that feeling, so I decided to go with those!) If you decide to buy online like this, make sure you buy from a seller within your country, otherwise you will be paying some hefty extra hidden fees!- Ebay – $150
So there it is. A complete Bridal look for under $300. Of course now there are the costs of hair and make-up x2 (for the bridal portrait shoot in Epcot and ceremony) and undergarments! But it will at least be under $1000 in the end and many brides spend that or more on just the dress!
EDIT
I also am getting this necklace from Etsy and the seller is painting one of the flower bunches a pale pink for me! – $17
Angie Carreiro
Disneyland May 2014 Trip Report
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings Planning Journal
Disneyland’s Rock Your Disney Side 24-Hour Event Part 2
Last week we shared the first part of Keith’s trip to Disneyland for the 24 hour event. After breakfast, Keith and the crew spend their day meeting and greeting with characters as well as fans…plus a ride on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! To see more from Keith, check out the links below
Top 5: More Ways to Know You’re Disney Obsessed
Jun 15
Last June, I posted an article called Top 5: Ways to Know You’re Disney Obsessed and I’ve always thought of doing a follow up. One year later, I’ve found myself continuing to think of myself as Disney Obsessed and I’ve continued to show symptoms I didn’t even know existed last year when I wrote that first piece. So here I am in June of 2014 to share even more reasons to be a Disney-phile.
#5-You Think Netflix is just a reason to watch all of your favorite Disney films.Since Disney and Netflix reached a deal, a good amount of Disney titles have been added to Netflix, but for the Disney geek, this may be all they see. It’s a great way to see some of those films you newver saw or some of those titles you haven’t seen in years. Netflix also has some great original content as well but you’ve skimmed past that and it isn’t as impressive as watching The Aristocats for the 4th time this month.
#4-Your Instagram Feed is Pictures of Disney Parks. I love Instagram. It’s my reason to take pictures with my phone and I’ve become somewhat of an amatuer photographer because of Instagram. While at Disneyland I took over 100 different photos and I now know that several million other people have to. It’s easy to fill up your feed with Disneyland and Walt Disney World photos and I’m sure so many people have.
#3-You Anticipate the Cartoon Short Before a Disney or Pixar Animated Feature. In a world with the internet, we can know up to the minute information about everything. That goes for movies as well. We knew about Frozen’s release years before we even saw a trailer for the film. We also know what type of short cartoon is being worked on as well and who is working on it. Only the geekiest of Disney fans anticipates the cartoon and knows the names of the animators working on such a project but I can’t help but get excited to see who has a better short every year: Disney or Pixar?
#2-You Can Recite the Ghost Host Monologue. Since opening 45 years ago, the Haunted Mansion’s narrator has been spieling out the same monologue inside the foyer and portrait gallery. Upon my recent visit to Disneyland, I’ve learned that more than just a handful of people can recite the narration word for word and it happens with almost every group.I don’t know many of my friends at home that can recite even 3 words of this. At the park, there is a cult following of Haunted Mansion fans that literally live for the moment when they can watch the portraits extend and pretend they are the Ghost Host.
#1-You Cry Hearing/Seeing Walt’s Opening Day Speech at Disneyland. I am a man that cries from time to time. I can admit that. Walking down Main Street and seeing Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty Castle gets me a little choked up, I can admit that too. Hearing Walt’s voice give his wonderful opening day speech has many in tears. Even reading the plaque of his speech can get some people going. I’ve heard it enough times in my life that it doesn’t phase me but I will admit to getting a little teary eyed when leaving Disneyland and seeing the light in the Firehouse window.
I’m sure that in a year from now, I will have even more ways but this is my current crop of Disney Obsessions you should know. Do you do any of these things? Do you know someone who does these things? Let me know in the comments below!
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
Disney Film History: Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Jun 12
American legends were nothing new for Walt Disney and his team of film makers. They had dabbled in American folklore with characters like the tales of Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill from the 1948 film Melody Time. With the new adventure into television for the Disney company, and with the focus on several lands from the upcoming Disneyland park, using American folklore in the Fronteirland episodes seemed like the perfect fit. Of course the Disney folks had been making True Life Adventure films that wedged perfectly under the umbrella of Frontierland, and would eventually get their own attraction at the Disneyland park, but nothing from Disney’s television show was more captivating than “Frontierland’s” Davy Crockett. Capitalizing on the pop culture phenomenon that was Davy Crockett and his famous hat, Walt Disney released a film version of the original three episodes in May of 1955, just a few months before the opening of Disneyland. Before we reflect on the Davy Crockett film, let’s backtrack to where Crockett fever began.
Tennessee Governor Frank Clements with Walt Disney and Fess Parker (Davy Crockett)
To supplement the costs of the building of Walt Disney’s first theme park in Anaheim, he signed a deal with ABC to provide a 1-hour show on Wednesday nights. The show allowed Walt to not only supply money to build his park, but also a great way to advertise his future Disneyland park. The show, Disneyland, premiered on October 27th, 1954 and became a must-see show for families. The show soared to new heights on December 15th, 1954 with a show titled “Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter.” From that point on, the Crockett Craze swept the United States. Coonskip caps were sold everywhere and “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” became a number 1 hit on the Billboard charts. Many parodies of the song came out, and toy rifles were in stock at every toy store. Fess Parker, who played Davy Crockett on the show, became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
The second in the series titled “Davy Crockett Goes to Congress” debuted in late January of 1955 and “Davy Crockett at the Alamo,” the last in the series, debuted in late February 1955. each show more popular than the last, the Disneyland television show became one of the most watched shows on television, but Davy Crockett was only reaching those in the United States. Walt wanted to share his Davy Crockett shows with the world just as he wanted his new park to be shared with everyone in the world, so he decided to adapt the show into a film.
The original three episodes were condensed into a 93 minute film showcasing the pseudo-true events of Davy Crockett’s life, from his early days as a militia man, to his political career, to his eventual battle in Texas at the Alamo. Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier was released on May 25th, 1955 and despite the film’s episodic television origins, it still managed to to make over $3 million at the Box Office and did just what Walt Disney wanted.
The summer of 1955 saw the world enjoying coonskin caps and “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” was translated into other languages. His character had become a worldwide smash and soon, so would his park. Crockett’s run in the Disneyland series wasn’t over, but this film became the crown jewel of the series. Nothing on the Disneyland television show would ever surpass it’s success.
Josh Taylor
| | |
Previous Film: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Next Film: Lady and the Tramp
Modern Mouse Radio #57: Josh and Angie Got Engaged at Disneyland!
Jun 8
If you haven’t checked out the trip report and wedding planning blog here on Modern Mouse Radio, then you wouldn’t know that Angie and Josh just got back from a trip to Disneyland and with Keith out on his own vacation, Angie and Josh take over the show to talk about their time at the Disneyland Resort as well as their engagement at the Happiest Place on Earth. Enjoy the Show!!
Follow Us on Social Media
Email Josh at
modernmouseradio.com
www.keithlapinig.com