For the love of Disney
Unless you’ve been hiding away somewhere you must have heard that Disney are releasing a new ‘live action’ version of The Lion King in 2019. Well, a new trailer has been released.
Naturally it looks amazing, but the big question is, does it really count as live action? At least I’m presuming that they haven’t managed to train real animals and therefore it is CGI.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to it, or is the original enough for you?
As you may know Disney have been releasing a special set of limited edition Mickey’s this year – one each month – to celebrate his 90th birthday year.
November’s Mickey arrived today 🙂
‘D23 Desitiation D: Celebrating Mickey Mouse’ is currently taking place at WDW. Disney Parks were live blogging the news as it was announced earlier today, and here are the highlights!
With Star Wars: Galaxy Edge opening towards the end of next year, the names of two signature attractions have been announced: Milennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
More details about the new deluxe resort have been announced. Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge will be a nature inspired resort with both hotel rooms and DVC villas.
One of the most anticipated announcements was probably details about the new nighttime show planned to replace Illuminations at Epcot. Due to launch in 2020 it will celebrate Disney music and feature floating set pieces, fountains, lights, pyrotechnics and lasers, all centred around the World Showcase Lagoon. Of course many will be sad to see Illuminations go, but it has probably run its course.
More details were given about the new ride in the France pavilion at Epcot. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is expected to be the same as the existing ride at Walt Disney Studios at Disneyland Paris and will be a welcome addition to the ride options at Epcot.
Finally there are two new experiences debuting in 2019 focused around Mickey Mouse. Firstly, a new nighttime spectacular at Hollywood Studios (most likely replacing the Star Wars Fireworks, rather than Fantasmic). Secondly the long awaited replacement for The Great Movie Ride, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open.
For Disneyland California there was the news that Mickey’s Soundsational Parade is set to return in January 2019
Keep up to date with news on the Disney Parks website.
One thing that people might not know is that when the parks close to guests they don’t actually close down. This is when hundreds of cast members step in and clean, do maintenance, and get everything ready for guests the next day.
I have stayed at monorail resorts three times now and two of those have been towards the end of October. On both occasions I have been woken up at some point at around 3am to the sound of Christmas music – a sign that the performers are rehearsing for the Christmas parade.
This time lapse video is a fascinating example of the overnight work in the parks. Magic Kingdom hosts both Halloween parties – Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party’ – and Christmas parties – ‘Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party’. The park is fully decorated for each season. So imagine visiting with the park full of pumpkins and autumn foliage but the very next day when you enter it is instead full of candy canes and fir trees.
Here is how the magic happens on that one night each year.
“I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse” – Walt Disney
Today, November 18th, is Mickey Mouse’s birthday. He made his debut on this day in 1928 in ‘Steamboat Willie’. This was a first for animation as it was the first time that an animated short had been shown with a synchronated sound track. This means that when Mickey whistled, the sound was there as well. Most people are familiar with this animation purely because it tends to feature at the start of a lot of Disney movies.
The story of Mickey Mouse (or Mortimer as he was originally called) is well known. Disney had previously created Oswald the Rabbit but lost complete control of him. Unsure where to take his fledgling animated company he was on a train and came up with the idea for a mouse. The rest, as they say, is history.
So why has Mickey lasted so long? Originally voiced by Walt Disney himself, Mickey soon became a hit and went from appearing in animation shorts to appearing in his own movies. He is a staple at all Disney parks all over the world.
People often ask me who my favourite Disney character is and it has to be the one and only Mickey Mouse. You only have to look at the faces of children when they see Mickey in the parks. And adults too. There is something endurable about him. When we go to the parks or on a cruise he is the one character that we HAVE to meet. Our children are more interested in rides these days than meet and greets, but we all make an exception for Mickey. Today I looked back over our photos with Mickey from 2012 to 2018. I saw my children grow up in those photos, but the smiles remained the same.
So today I ordered my November ‘Mickey Memories’ and watched some Mickey Mouse on TV.
Happy birthday, Mickey!
Anyone who has been to Disney knows that part of the fun is trying to variety of foodie treats on offer. As always Disney has stepped it up this year with the Christmas themed treats available at Magic Kingdom. And they look delicious!
Check them out on the link below.
I spent a long time trying to decide on a name for this blog/site. It was actually a friend’s suggestion. I talk a lot about how Disney is my happy place. I even bought this t-shirt last year.
When we go, we prefer to be onsite and to be in ‘the Disney bubble’. When you are there it is like the outside world doesn’t exist. All the rubbish associated with it is not there anymore. The build up to a trip is what keeps me going throug all the bad stuff that can happen on a day to day basis.
Then you drive under the sign – see, even in the rain it looks awesome – and you have arrived. You can feel the tension drain away. Add to that the first time each trip when you walk into Magic Kingdom, look up Main Street, and see the castle.
You are home and life is good.
Hi, and pull up a chair – or a bean bag, there’s a few of those in the corner over there.
I’m Helen and I am an unashamed Disney fan. So much so that one of my nicknames at work is ‘Disney’. I’m the person that friends and family turn to for advice on visiting WDW (Walt Disney World). I kept being told that I should set up a business advising people. Well, I’m not going to do that, but I do love talking about going to Disney, as ALL things Disney, so I thought why not set up a page where I can do that.
I first visited WDW in 1994 after university and had the most amazing time. Only two years earlier I’d returned to the love of Disney that I’d had as a child with the release of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Nearly 20 years, one husband, and two kids later, I returned to WDW in Oct 2012. The plan was to take the children on a ‘once in a life time’ trip. They were 8 and 5. It was as amazing as I had remembered and the children were in awe of everything.
As with a lot of people this ‘once in a life time’ trip turned out to be anything but. We returned in 2014 and have been back every year since then. We have stayed off site, on site, become DVC members, had an Annual Pass, and recently discovered the Disney Cruise line.
So here I am with my own site to talk about my favourite subject – Disney! Feel free to ask any questions, and if there is something you want me to write about then just say.
Oct 2012 – WDW – offsite
Oct 2014 – WDW – The Grand Floridian
August 2015 – WDW – Old Key West and Port Orleans Riverside
August 2016 – WDW – Beach Club Villas (our DVC Home Resort), Vero Beach, and cruised on the Disney Dream
February 2017 – WDW – Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Villas at the Grand Floridian, and cruised on the Disney Dream (adult only trip)
July 2017 – DLP – Newport Bay Club
August 2017 – DLP – Sequoia Lodge (adult only trip)
October 2017 – WDW – Polynesian and cruised on the Disney Dream
August 2018 – WDW – Bay Lake Tower, Port Orleans French Quater, Vero Beach, cruised on the Disney Dream, and cruised on the Disney Fantasy