The Wonderful World of Color

This show gets its own special post because I think it is that amazing! I had heard this show was something to see and made sure it was on my "Must Do" list for my trip to California. I was certainly not disappointed, this show blew me away with its technical aspects, the clarity of the pictures, the gorgeous soundtrack and the overall presence of the show.  It is just mind-blowing and while the videos of it on Youtube are great, nothing can compare to seeing it in person.  And I Mean Nothing!!! Tears came to my eyes on a few occasions, so be warned!

I was lucky enough to see this show from 2 angles; from a basic front row seat and from the balcony of a Grand Villa in Disney's Grand Californian.  Below are the two videos for you to enjoy! Please let me know which you enjoy more!

This week's Mouse Meals

This week on Mouse Meals, I talked about my experience at the Blue Bayou in Disneyland! Here are some of my pictures from my dinner there! To hear about my experience, tune into Mouse Meals on Magic 24.7 at 12 pm Pacific (3 pm Eastern). Visit VacationSuperstation.com for information.

Such an elegant area

The view from my seat, we were right by the door

The lamps add for a great atmosphere

Part of the Bayou area where Pirates of the Caribbean begins

The water with one of the POTC boats

Into the restaurant

Salad that came with my meal

Filet Minion

My First Time Visitor Mousse!

Mouse Meals, Episode 1

Today at 12pm Pacific (3pm Eastern), the first episode of my new show, Mouse Meals, will debut on Magic 24.7!

For those of you who haven't heard of this station yet, its a new Disney internet station that focuses a lot on Disneyland music, with a little of the World thrown in.  You can get more information by going to www.VacationSuperstation.com.

My show, Mouse Meals, is all about the food of Disney. From restaurants to recipe reviews and great Disney music, Mouse Meals has everything for the Disney fan with an appetite!

On this week's show, I talked about my first meal ever in Disneyland, a corn dog.  Here are some pictures from this surprisingly large meal.

The corn dog stand is to the right near the end of Main Street, but before the Hub. (P.S., thats the trash can that Marc Lorenzo and I ate on.)

You can get chips or apples with your meal.  Tell me that the corn dog does not look like a turkey leg sitting there! Its Huge!

Magic, Memories and You: DL vs WDW

I have been to both of the US Disney parks now and have developed a deep love for both parks.  While they are different and some people may like one over the other, I have a huge appreciation for both and embrace them for their differences.  There are some things that Walt Disney World has that far exceeds Disneyland, but the same holds true for some of Disneyland's attractions and experiences. I hope to go through some of these similarities and differences and, after I give my opinion, I hope you will be intrigued enough to want to journey to each park and discover them for yourself.

My first comparison: the celebration show this year, Magic, Memories and You.  This show in general is a feat of technology, no matter which park it is seen in and the score always brings a smile to my face. In Walt Disney World, the show is projected on the castle while in Disneyland it is projected on the facade of 'it's a small world'.

Being projected on surfaces of two very different sizes and shapes gives different perspectives to the shows, even though they are relatively the same show.  The part of the show where 'it's a small world' plays and the dolls come marching across the building visually makes more sense on the 'small world' facade (naturally) while the scene with the rocket blasting off looks so much cooler on the castle as a tower launching off of the castle.

If you are set on looking for your picture to be in the show, you will have a better chance at that if you are watching the show in Disneyland.  The closeness and size of the 'it's a small world' building makes it much easier to spot the pictures, unlike on the castle where the pictures tend to be smaller and harder to see.

So, which one is better? I honestly could not decide. They are both beautiful and have their own highlights. So, I am leaving it up to you to decide.  Here are the two videos I took of each show, watch them and leave me a comment letting me know what you think! I would love to hear your thoughts!

My Californian Adventure

Two years ago this September, for four days, I was glued to my computer as Lou Mongello and some people who I recognized from their twitter names told me about what was said and done at the first ever D23 Expo.

This time tomorrow, I will be on a plane heading to Anaheim, California to meet Lou Mongello and Tim Foster there, among many of my very good friends who I have met because of twitter, to be at the Second D23 Expo.

Wow how things do change in two years!!!

That's right, instead of just writing posts about what happens, I will be tweeting live from the D23 Expo as major announcements occur! I will be there, in the Convention Center for all three days of Expo, covering events and the happenings within the Collector's Forum from the most happening booth there, the MEI/Mousefan, WDW Radio and Celebrations Magazine booth!

Besides all of that excitement, I will also be visiting the Disneyland Resort for the first time in my life! I will tweet pictures and my reactions to the parks as well as collect lots of video to be edited for Youtube viewing in the (hopefully) near future!

Want to follow my California shenanigans? Follow me on twitter at twitter.com/lady_aurora as well as my tweets from the Celebrations Magazine twitter at twitter.com/celebrationsmag. Celebrations is also on facebook at facebook.com/celebrationsmag.

Wonderful trip with wonderful memories...and more on the way!

All good things must sadly come to an end, as all of us who have ever gone on a Walt Disney World vacation know.  My family and I are home from WDW and Chris is back in Canada, but we have Lots of pictures and stories to share! Besides being on a couple podcasts to share out stories (which will be listed on here when they come out) I also have a few stores I am going to write up, including the big story that we teased while we were still away.  There are also some amazing pictures that Chris took that I will post and I have lots of video that I will be working on also.  Lots and lots of stuff on the way...so look for it all coming very soon!

In other news, it is also about 17 days until I will be making my way to California for the D23 Expo! I still cannot believe that I am going! I will be working with Lou Mongello from wdwradio.com and getting lots of information from the Expo and from Disneyland, as it will be my first time out to the mother of all Disney parks.  Look for information on my trip coming soon and if you have any tips for me for going to California and Disneyland, I would so appreciate it, so comment below or send me an email!

And if all this is not enough to keep the brain turning, I also am waiting to hear from an interview I had two weeks ago for a dream teaching position!! I will not be hearing until some time next week, so please keep your fingers crossed for me! I will write a post either way as soon as I find out. Thank you all for being so supportive of me, you are amazing!!

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion: Confused?

I know that in Disneyland, they have layovers for some of their attractions, including Haunted Mansion, which is a pretty cool concept.  I did not know that the Haunted Mansion layover, themed to The Nightmare Before Christmas, happened during Halloween. 

I heard a lot of people complain about this layover and I didn't see what the problem was with it, it was holiday themed and was only for a short time, seemed kind of neat to me.  I didn't have a problem with it because I thought it happened in December. But a Christmas layover during Halloween?? Am I the only one who is confused about this? I do not understand at all why they would put this layover now, it would fit with the Christmas theme much better. Halloween is the Haunted Mansion time, thats when it should be in it's natural form for all to enjoy.  It goes with the season, it makes sense just as it is, why would you change it with a theme for a completely different holiday?

If anyone has information about this that can clear this up, I would be most appreciative, I just do not understand it at all! What do you think?? Leave your comments below or send me an email at lady_aurora_yensid@hotmail.com and let me know.

Weekly DDL Post

This week on The Disney Driven Life, find out some information about a new nighttime party in Disney's California Adventure that is completely "off the grid"! Visit the article here to read more!

unKNOWN Actors: Thurl Ravenscroft - Part 2

Ok, we have already talked about Thurl Ravenscroft’s incredible singing and acting career throughout the Disney films.  Now, we shall talk about his numerous appearances in the Disney Theme Parks.

There are two extinct attractions in Disneyland where Thurl’s voice could be heard. The first one being Adventures through Inner Space; the Mellomen sang the song “Miracles to Molecules”.  The second one is Submarine Voyager, on which Thurl was the Narrator.

There were several places in Disneyland in California that used to house Thurl’s voice, and while the attractions still exist, his voice on the attraction does not.  In 2001, Thurl’s Narration on the Disneyland Railroad was removed as well as his voice as the First Mate on the Mark Twain Steam Boat.

Currently in Disneyland, you can hear Thurl on Peter Pan as a background singer.  In the Enchanted Tiki Room, he can be found in several places. During the Preshow outside, he is the voice of Tungaroa and on the inside, he is the voice of Fritz.  The Mellomen also do a bit of singing for the Enchanted Tiki Room.

In Walt Disney World, the original voice of the Railroad was Thurl.  In both versions of the Enchanted Tiki Room, Tropical Serenade and Under New Management, Thurl is the voice of Fritz.

There are a few attractions in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World that currently feature Thurl’s deep voice. The first being Pirates of the Caribbean.  Not only does he sing the main song in the background, he is the voice of a drunken pirate by a lamp post, an accordion player and, as mentioned before, a dog who is singing along with the group.  In the Country Bear Jamboree, he provides the voice for Buff, the buffalo head on the wall of the theatre.  Haunted Mansion is the only place in a Disney park where you can actually see Thurl’s face.  He is a singing bust in the graveyard scene, the one whose head has been knocked off of its pedestal.  Many who see Thurl singing as this bust mistake him for Walt Disney because of the similar mustache both men have. He is also the bass voice that you hear singing the main song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts”.

Thurl has had many features in the Disney parks in the USA and has even had a couple spots over in Tokyo Disneyland! Thurl’s voice, like in both US parks, was the original voice for the Railroad and in the version of Country Bear Jamboree, he also is kept as the voice of Buff.

Whew! There we go, the full story behind the Disney Legend, Thurl Ravenscroft! He is even a true Disney Legend, inducted in 1995 for all the work he has done for the company.  If you would like to find out more about Thurl and his work, just visit www.allaboutthurl.com and make sure to check out the section on all of his projects with Disney!

*Update* Listening to some audio from Disneyland, Thurl Ravenscroft also did the voice for the narrator of an audio version of The Jungle Cruise.

Weekly DDL Post

This week on the Disney Driven Life, I talk briefly about the new hotel being added to Walt Disney World and about the extended stay of the Aladdin Musical in Disneyland! Click here to read the article.

Weekly DDL Post

This week on the Disney Driven Life, we examine the wonders that is the new Talking Mickey in Disneyland! He debuted last week and wow has he made an impact!! Check out the article now on the Disney Driven Life!

Sneak Peek of New Disney/Rayovac Commercial

As a blogger, I have been very lucky to have not only awesome readers, but the privilege to share new and exciting information with these readers!

This coming Monday the 21st, during Good Morning America, a new Rayovac Battery commercial, taped in Disneyland, will make its debut! Rayovac Batteries are the preferred battery of Walt Disney World and Disneyland, so it is fitting to have a commercial filmed there. The commercial features a little girl, dressed as Cinderella, who receives a magic wand with a Rayovac battery in it and the wand then allows her imagination to go wild around the park! This commercial promotes the magical side of Disney, the creativity and imagination that is Disney known for.

I am so happy to announce that, for all of my great readers, I have a sneak peek of this commercial! Enjoy!

Did you enjoy the commercial?? You can give Rayovac your feedback by going to their Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/RayovacFans. Those who visit their fan page will receive a $3.oo off coupon for batteries, just in time for Christmas!

Opening of Disneyland Article

The one good thing about being at the doctor yesterday was that while my dad was waiting in the waiting room for me, some guy came around and handed out these newsletters for the county for this month. What happened to be in the center of the newsletter? Why an article about the Opening of Disneyland of course!! Here's the article:

July 17, 1955: Disneyland Opens

Disneyland Park was opened to the public on July 18, 1955. The Special Sunday events, including the dedication, were televised nationwide. ABC broadcast the event live on its network- at the tie, one of the largest and most complex live broadcasts ever.

The event did not go smoothly. The park was overcrowded as the by-invitation-only affair was plagued with counterfeit tickets.

The temperature was an unusually high 101 degrees F, and a plumbers' strike left many of the park's drinking fountains dry. Disney was given a choice of having working fountains or running toilets and chose the latter. This, however, generated negative publicity since Pepsi sponsored the park's opening; enraged guests believed the inoperable fountains were a cynical way to sell soda.

The asphalt that had been poured just that morning was so soft that ladies' high-heeled shoes sank in. Vendors ran out of food. A gas leak in Fantasyland caused Adventureland, Frontierland and Fantasyland to close for the afternoon. Parents were throwing their children over the shoulders of crowds to get them onto rides such as the King Arthur Carousel.

The park got such bad press for the event day that Walt Disney invited members of the press back for a private "second day" to experience the true Disneyland, after which Walt held a party in the Disneyland Hotel for them. Walt and his 1955 executives forever referred to July 17th as "Black Sunday." Disney officially called July 17th "Dedication Day" and the 18th as "Opening Day."

On Monday, July 18, crowds started to gather in line as early as 2 am, and the first person to buy a ticket and enter the park was David MacPherson with admission ticket number 2 (Since Roy O. Disney arranged to pre-purchase ticket number 1). Walt Disney had an official photo taken with two children instead-Christine Vess Watkins (then age 5) and Michael Schwartner (then age 7), and their photo carries a deceptive caption: "Walt Disney with the first two guests of Disneyland." Vess Watkins and Schwartner both received lifetime passes to Disneyland that day, and MacPherson was awarded one shortly thereafter. The passes were later expanded to include every Disney-owned park in the world.

Just thought it was an interesting article that I could share with ya'll!

Article is from the Healthy Home Times via The Boothwyn Pharmacy, INC.