Metal Ratatouille Movie Sign

Happy Saturday, Disney Friends!  Today I want to share with you yet another particularly special item from Nick’s Disney collection.  This one drew my eye for two reasons – We also have a Ratatouille collectible at our house and, since we just dined in Remy on the Disney Dream, this awesome item reminded me of what a fantastic time we had!  Enjoy!!!

Metal Ratatouille Movie Sign

By Nick

Raise your hand if you channel surf.
There are channel guides that we can consult to find something we may be interested in, but where is the fun in that? So we surf. And there are certain movies that, if we should happen to encounter them, we’ll stop and watch, regardless of how many times we’ve seen them. Jaws. The Matrix. The Avengers. Star Wars. (Any Star Wars, even the prequels!) Any Disney/Pixar Movie. Those last few probably aren’t a surprise as this is, after all, a Disney Blog.

Recently while surfing I came across Ratatouille, one of my very favorite Pixar movies, and had to stop and watch.
It got me wanting a collectible from the film. I only have one item from this terrific motion picture, a Hallmark ornament of Remy looking at the book, Anyone Can Cook!

I came across a few things that caught my eye on eBay, but then, as the movie ended, and I saw the Ratatouille sign over Paris, I had the idea to go to Etsy, and did a search.

Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find this for $30 plus $12 shipping! It’s metal and measures 14 x 14 1/4 inches.

As you can see, it is very close to the sign in the movie:

Before making the purchase, I consulted with Barbie, as this was to hang in our kitchen, and she immediately gave her approval.

We briefly considered hanging it exactly as it is in Ratatouille, but we decided it wouldn’t have nearly the same aesthetic effect hanging in the kitchen as it would with Paris in the background, so went with just hanging it on the kitchen wall visible as you enter the room.

I’m very happy with this purchase, a wonderful reminder of a wonderful film.

To see more of Nick’s excellent Disney collection and read about his Disney adventures, please visit the Disney Musings Blog and follow Nick on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

 

Disney 100 Years of Magic- McDonald’s Glass Set

Hooray for the weekend!  Welcome to another exciting edition of Saturdays With Nick.  I bet some of you have (or had) some of these featured collectibles at your house.  Personally, I don’t have a single one and have absolutely no recollection of these being available at McDonald’s.  If I see some in a flea market in the future, at least now I’ll know what they are!  Are these in your kitchen cabinet?  Leave a comment and let us know.

Disney 100 Years of Magic- McDonald’s Glass Set

by Nick

In 2001-2002, Disney celebrated what would have been Walt Disney’s 100th birthday with the 100 Years of Magic Celebration.

McDonald’s released this glassy, er, classy, set of glasses to commemorate this occasion.

Each of the four glasses featured a park icon, with movie and character trivia, and even a quote from Walt!

This first glass features Spaceship Earth.
Park Trivia: EPCOT originally stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow
The Walt Disney quote: “Today we are shapers of the world of tomorrow.”


Movie Trivia: Buzz Lightyear said “To Infinity and Beyond” only 2 times in “Toy Story”


Character trivia: Belle is the French word for beauty.


The inside bottom of the glass.


This glass displays Cinderella Castle.
Park trivia: Tinker Bell starts the fireworks nightly at the Magic Kingdom.
The Walt Disney quote: “Fantasy…lies beyond the reach of time.”


Pinocchio had to be “brave, truthful and unselfish” to become a real boy.


Dumbo’s real name was actually “Jumbo Jr.”.

Bambi was taught that “twitterpated” meant falling in love.


Park Trivia for this next glass: There are 325 animal carvings on The Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
The Walt Disney quote: “…nature herself writes the most interesting stories”


Goofy-first known as “Dippy Dawg”-stars in “Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle” Parade.


“Simba” is the Swahili word for “lion”.


The outside bottom of the glass.


Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat at the Disney Studios is 122 ft. tall.


“Kiss Me” were the only words ever spoken by Pluto.
Donald’s middle name is “Fauntleroy.”


“…it was all started by a mouse.” Walt Disney

Happy New Year, and here’s to the next 100 years of Disney Magic!

This article was originally featured on the Disney Musings blog.  To see more of Nick’s Disney collection and follow along on his Disney adventures, visit the Disney Musings Blog and follow Nick on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Pinterest. You can listen to Nick, our friend Dave and me on The Disney Exchange Podcast where we talk about…well, you can probably guess.

Headed to Walt Disney World in 2016? The Disney Exchange Podcast will be having a meet-up in February during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend! Details will be available on The Disney Exchange’s Facebook Page and also on Twitter. We’d love to see you there!!!

Disney Resolutions – 2016 Version

Polynesian-Villa-Fireworks-New-YearIf you’ve been hanging around here a while then you know I’m not big on life-changing New Year’s Resolutions.  I don’t believe in trying to change yourself, your life, or your habits anytime other than when you’re ready to embrace change.  Nike’s motto “Just Do It” perfectly sums up how I feel about change.  If you want to lose weight, quit smoking, relax more, be angry less, do more or less of anything – do it when you’re ready, not because the calendar says January 1.  Since I stared this blog in 2013, I’ve made only Disney resolutions at the beginning of the year and today I’m stoked about 2016 and what’s in store Disney-wise.  I’d also love to hear what your Disney resolutions are, so please leave a comment!

Disney Resolutions – 2016 Version

I’m going to the movies!  Oh, my goodness!  The 2016 Disney movie lineup is simply The Standard Movie Snacksspectacular!  Zootopia, Jungle Book (finally!), Captain America Civil War, Finding Dory, and Moana (those are the ones I’m most excited about).  There are more, but those five are at the top of my must-see list.RM-Sunrise-runDisney-Princess-Half

I’m running alone – again, but hopefully for the last time!  Next month I’m headed to my next couple of runDisney races.  Since Joseph trained for and ran his first 10k and half marathon with me last fall, I have hope that I’ll finally be able to convince at least one or more family members to join me for the 2017 Princess Half Marathon (or Glass Slipper Challenge). Running-Age-Group-Awards-5K Over the past 18 years, I’ve run almost all the races I’ve entered by myself, but I’ve enjoyed having Joseph by my side so much, I’d love to have him with me at Walt Disney World for a race or two.  I know Megan can run (when she wants to) and she would absolutely love a runDisney event…I’ll be working on that.Morimoto-Asia-Lunch-Raymond

I’m learning to share – and resolve to do it more often!  Last week when Raymond and I were at Walt Disney World, we shared food in restaurants big time!  We had a ton of ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) booked – so many that we could never have experienced each restaurant to the fullest without sharing.  We shared omelets at breakfast (Grand Floridian Café), three-courses at lunch (Skipper Canteen and Morimoto Asia),Morimoto-Asia-Kakuni-Pork-Bao appetizers at dinner (Jiko, Bluezoo, Shula’s, Flying Fish, and Narcoossee’s) and were able to taste so much more – while wasting so much less food than we would have without sharing.  We felt less stuffed and saved money too!  In a few weeks we’ll be back at Disney World before cruising on the Disney Dream…let’s see if we can keep up the culinary cooperation!

I’m going to show my adult children how to be kids again!  There’s no better place to embrace your inner child than at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!  MM-Magic-Kingdom-MNSSHPWe’ve booked a week in October for Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival, but I’m dying to show ’em how to dress up and totally be a kid again for the night in Magic Kingdom at one of the most special and fun events Disney has to offer.

I vow to find the most perfect shoes ever!  Ugh!  I’m showing my age for sure.  I took five pairs of my most broken-in, tried and true Disney touring shoes last week and my feet still killed me. RM-Running-Shoes In fact, one day we went to Disney Springs in the morning with Epcot planned for the afternoon and I had to stop and buy some sandals at the Sanuk store because I was bleeding in to my sneakers – ones I’d worn comfortably several times in the past.  The problem for me is that all the walking and standing in line causes my feet and ankles to swell.  Maybe the cure is some deluxe compression socks or some extra-special comfort sandals – whatever it is, I’m committed to finding the cure.  I’m old-ish, but I’m not THAT old – I’m not letting my feet keep me from doing all that I want to do.

This year my goals are few and simple.  What are your 2016 Disney resolutions?

 

Living a Disney Life – 2015

You guys are the best!  I don’t tell you enough how much I appreciate you.  Another year has come and (nearly) gone – it’s hard to believe it!  2015 was incredibly busy and also full of life’s joys and sorrows.  I know sad times are necessary for us to truly appreciate happy ones, but that knowledge doesn’t always make those tough times easier to bear.  What did make a difference in my life in 2015 was all of you.

Through this blog and the Disney Exchange Podcast, on twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – you and I have formed friendships.  In many cases, we’ve shared life’s challenges and successes and cheered and supported each other along the way.  Our common interests brought us together and the kindness of the Disney fan community is humbling and amazing.

Living a Disney Life – 2015

In February, I ran in my first three runDisney events and you were there via social media with words of encouragement.  From the Frozen 5k (very appropriately named as the weather was certainly freezing) to the Enchanted 10k and the Princess Half Marathon…I shared my view along the way tweeting pictures as I ran and your responses kept me going when I got tired.  Thanks for that!Princess-Half-Main-Street

In June, family tragedy struck.  Just before The Fam and I sailed through the fjords of Norway on the Disney Magic, I lost my mom after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.  This blog would have gone dark for weeks if not for my Disney friends’ help.  Mike and Gary from the Por Favor Podcast, Keith and Sean from Enchanted Tiki Talk, Andrew from The Mouse for Less, Curt from Geekin’ on WDW, and of course Nick and Barbie from Disney Musings all provided entertaining and informational Disney articles for your reading pleasure.  They also offered me kind words of friendship and support during a difficult time in my life.  That meant more than I can say.Mount-Floyen-Selfie

In September, Raymond walked Megan down the aisle and suddenly our little Princess became a grown-up married woman and our family of four became five.  The entire pixie-dusted wedding was as perfectly perfect in every way as any of our imaginations could have dreamed up.  We are as proud to call Grant our son as Joseph is to call him brother.  After a honeymoon at Walt Disney World, the newlyweds have settled well into their new life together.  Thank you for all the well-wishes and kind words during that time.Father-Daughter-Wedding

The year is coming to a close – Many months ago, Raymond and I decided that we couldn’t let 2015 end without one last visit to our favorite vacation destination.  In a year packed with hellos and goodbyes, we consider ourselves blessed with the very best family and friends any two people could ever wish for.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  We love you guys!  We’ll be back with more Disney adventures in 2016 and we hope you’ll be along with us again!  Wishing you a very Happy New Year – LisaDCL Norway Raymond and Lisa