A Valentine’s Day View – Favorite Disney Couples

Posted on February 14, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

I just love Valentine’s Day! I’ve had 25 super-happy, romantic ones with the same guy. When I thought about writing a post to mark this special day, I asked Raymond, “Who’s your favorite Disney couple?” – His answer? “We are.” Now, do you see why every Valentine’s Day I’ve had for all this time has been so wonderful? (Oh, stop gagging, I’m moving on to the Disney stuff now).

I want to talk about some of my OTHER favorite Disney couples. I felt the need to break them down into two categories – BFF, not-married category – we’ll call that “Group One” and the married, into the happily-ever-after, romantic category – aka “Group Two”. I’m just, you know, giving my opinion (big surprise there!) about these twosomes and I sure hope you’ll weigh in with comments right here on the blog, on Facebook here, or on twitter (follow me @life_of_green) about your own favorite Disney couples.

So, here we go – oh, and in case I forget later, Happy Valentines Day!

Group One!

Mickey and Minnie – They may not be married, but they certainly share a love that endures. Perpetually happy and ready for fun, these two create joy with each other that they freely share with all they meet. Obviously best friends with a lot in common, they’re a Disney power couple with a relationship formula that equals success.

Kermit and Miss Piggy – Maybe they’re not happy all the time – She’s high maintenance (oh, like that’s a bad thing) and he’s a little hesitant to take the relationship to the next level. They’ve been through a LOT together over the years and never fail to treat each other with understanding and respect (mostly). Maybe their timing’s off. Maybe they just have to find the right time in their lives – where everything will fall into place for them and they will get their happily-ever-after with each other. Yeah, I’m a romantic, hope springs eternal and all that jazz. I’m pulling for them!

Chip and Dale – Not a romantic couple, maybe, but these besties have been together forever and I admire that in a friendship! Chip’s the serious thinker and Dale is the slightly goofy sidekick. Laurel and Hardy with fur! What is not to love about these two – and isn’t love what Valentine’s Day is all about?

Group Two!

Cinderella and her Prince. Love at first sight? Yes, indeed. She’s faced a lot of challenges growing up – he’s faced a lot of challenges finding a partner. Both know the pressures of trying to please family. She can appreciate the love and care-free life he has to offer. He can appreciate her down-to-earth, low maintenance personality. Everybody goes home happy. Except maybe Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia – but, really – don’t we love them too?

Snow and Charming: Not gonna lie – I am a huge Once Upon a Time fan – even Raymond’s been known to enjoy an episode now and again. These two really do love each other in a way that endures over time, through changing realms, in spite of any challenges thrown their way via magical spells, mythical creatures, and evil queens – in sickness and in health, richer, poorer, yadda, yadda – these guys know how to make it work. They will always find each other!

Rapunzel and Flynn/Eugene – Good girl + bad boy = true love. She’s a princess and doesn’t know it, he’s a goodhearted fellow who hasn’t met his potential. Combine the two and what a great relationship! He helps her find her family and she helps him find the man behind the smolder. I love these two! They’re both a constant surprise to themselves and to each other. I think their relationship has got what it takes to endure.

Ellie and Carl Fredrickson – Proof that true love lasts. These two had a lot in common, were very best friends and faced some serious challenges over the course of their relationship. Did they give up? No, never. I cried so hard during Up‘s opening montage, I almost couldn’t watch the rest of the movie. A relationship to admire and perfect example of the kind of love Valentine’s Day is all about!

Lisa and Raymond – The reason I believe in love at first sight. Raymond proposed six weeks after we met and here we are today – getting ready to celebrate our 25th anniversary (with a trip this fall to Disney World for our first Food and Wine Festival). Couple of kids, a (very few) trials and tribulations, a whole lot of fun and laugher – and still going strong. So, I’ve got to hand it to Raymond after all. When thinking about Disney couples – I do have to say…we make a pretty good one.

What if Wednesday – What New Disney Show or Parade Would You Add?

Posted on February 12, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Ladies and Gentlemen! It’s time once again for What-If Wednesday! The game show where we use our imagination to bring about Disney change. Contestants from Twitter and Facebook go head to head and compete to invent the most popular (pretend) changes. Get ready to let your imagination run wild! And as Drew Carey would say, this is ”the show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.” Let’s play!

This week’s episode – Bringing a New Parade or Show to Walt Disney World!

1 Min Disney Dream (@1MinDisneyDream) suggested this: “New nighttime parade at MK incorporating both Spectro (SpectroMagic Parade) and MSEP (Main Street Electric Parade) music and new floats including some more villains” My two cents: This is a great idea! As long as the villains replaced those creepy Spectro dolls – those things completely freaked me out. I know it was a combination of their facial expression and how they moved. Usually, I don’t have a fear of clowns or dolls, bot those Spectro Magic characters were just spooky! I’d take villains over them any day For that one reason only, the Main Street Electric Parade has always been my favorite. If you have no idea what I’m talking about watch this YouTube video from Orlando Attractions Magazine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv2IlwcMXaM

Disney20Somethings (@DisneyTwenties) was also thinking about villains and would like to see a “villains parade at DHS in old style villain modified cars” was their idea and WOW! Think about that! How much fun would it be to see all our favorite villains and instead of parade floats, they were riding in their own bad-guy-mobiles! Cruella’s roadster is an obvious choice, but what kind of cool car would Hades drive? What about Captain Hook? A ship-like ride? I can just picture Professor Ratigan in a steam-punk ride! Jafar in a snake-y ride or maybe a genie-lamp-shaped one? Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog – I picture a low riding, stretched out magical purple and black car with flames! Think about Yzma and a funky art-deco-looking flintstone-ish vehicle – driven and powered by Kronk! Oh, the possibilities.

Michele T Williams (@MSimbaspride) – Michele wants her new parade to be at the Studios and she said, “I would bring out the Star Wars characters at DHS all year round for a parade once or twice daily. May the force be with you” Michele, being a huge Star Wars fan, clearly doesn’t think Star Wars Weekends are enough – and I’m inclined to agree. If a Star Wars Land ever became a reality, a parade that included Jedi Mickey, Yoda, R2-D2, C-3PO, Wookies, Ewoks, Storm Troupers, Jabba the Hutt, and (duhn-duhn-duhn, dun-da-dun-dun) – Darth Vader!!! Yes!

“Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.” – Yoda, Attack of the Clones

A couple of members of The Fam wanted in on this What-if Wednesday…

Megan had ideas for several parks and agrees with Michele from Twitter that Star Wars needs a year-round representation and also voted for “a Star Wars parade at the Studios”. Megan would also like to see “a parade of Disney throughout time at Magic Kingdom. The parade starts with floats and characters from Disney’s early works and ends with today’s stuff like Frozen. A parade at animal kingdom that incorporates live animals, maybe.” My favorite of these is the Disney Through Time idea – the floats and characters could even start out in black and white (Steamboat Willie)! The musical styles would change as time goes by as would all the costumes and characters – yes, that would be a bunch of fun to see.

Raymond, who has a lot of faith in Disney Imagineers, suggested a “Parade around the lagoon at Epcot. When the parade gets to a country everything changes to match that country. Costumes and all. If there are characters from Disney movies, they suddenly appear.” Now, THIS idea would really be amazing! How cool would it be to see the parade move along, morphing as it goes – flags, clothing, characters, music – all changing through Disney magic to match each of the World Showcase countries. Oh, I give this one a big round of applause!

So, what about you? What new parade or show would you add to Walt Disney World?

Thanks for playing, everyone!

100 Days of Living a Disney Life

Posted on February 2, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Living a Disney Life.com has reached a small milestone today – The blog is 100 days old. During that time, I have written about every Disney topic from Disney cruise ports, theme parks and restaurant reviews to DIY Disney Christmas ornaments, Disney vintage vinyl, Disney Pin trading, and Disney recipes to cook at home – I guess I’ve had a thing or two to say about my love for Disney!

Let’s take a sec to ponder how this happened. It all began with a tweet I noticed on September 4th. It was from @WDWDisneyDiva and it said, “So you think you know Disney? Recruiting Disney Writers!” I thought – “I know Disney” and followed the link to find out more. I submitted an article for consideration called The Importance of Planning, But Not Too Much – I sent it in on a whim – because we are huge Disney fans at my house, because I thought writing that one article would be fun, because I like a challenge and trying new things, but mostly because my youngest child had just left home and I was finding out first hand that “empty nest syndrome”, something I used to make jokes about, was an actual thing. Along with my article, I submitted a silly top ten list of reasons the selection committee at Tips From the Disney Divas & Devos should choose me as an article writer. It was for fun, but guess what? I got the job!

It was like setting a match to very dry tinder.

My brain kicked into overdrive. I made lists of articles I could write and I became consumed with thoughts of Disney – how our family had always loved Disney and how huge a role Disney had played in our lives, how our happiest memories involve Disney vacations, how we have so many Disney collectibles, Disney books, Disney pins, Disney clothes. I started waking up in the middle of the night thinking of more and more Disney things to talk about. There was NO way I was going to get this under control submitting two articles a month – I needed to start my own Disney blog so I could get some sleep!

I did consider carefully what I’d be getting into. You can’t embark on something like this then abandon ship – well, I guess you CAN, but that’s not my style. I have pretty good sticking power and have never been afraid of commitment (I did say yes when Raymond proposed to me just 6 weeks after we met!). For about the price of a new purse (that was my justification, anyway) I bought my own website URL for three years. So, honestly, Kristin the Disney Diva and fellow Diva, Amy get the credit (or the blame, I suppose) for Living a Disney Life.com’s existence.

I knew absolutely nothing about blogging other than knowing I like to read a few. Google was my classroom and I crammed as if studying for final exams – blog hosting sites, Word Press basics, themes, widgets, pages, links, SEO, categories, tags, spam blocking, how to set up a Facebook page for a website. Exciting stuff! I published my first Living a Disney Life post on October 26th and this is my 102nd post in 100 days! I still have a LOT to learn but at least the raging firestorm of Disney thoughts has now been contained to manageable flames – with an occasional flare up.

It’s like discovering buried treasure in my own backyard! I had a twitter account purely for the purpose of ~~spying~~ seeing what my children and their friends had to say…today I have over 500 followers. The number of fans that make up the Disney Community is amazing and those that I’ve met through this experience have been kind and funny and, most of all, welcoming and supportive. Living a Disney Life on Facebook has over 250 “likes” and I’ve been building small audiences on Pinterest and Instagram as well. I even have a Klout score and I know what it is! One of the most exciting things to happen so far, though, involves my love of Disney Podcasts.

Early on, I confided in Raymond a secret wish I’d been keeping – maybe someday, after a while, if my blog became successful, maybe I might get lucky enough to be invited as a guest on one of the Disney podcasts I love so much. I couldn’t believe when, after day 69’s post – Disney Podcasts – Are you a Podperson? brought so much attention – My wish came true! The fabulous, gracious Disney Dream Girls asked me to be a guest on their show to talk about my Disney New Year’s Resolutions. I’m still amazed that this happened to me! The episode aired on January 9th – if you haven’t had the chance, please give the Dream Girls a listen.

So today I just wanted to look back a mere three months and reflect on all the fantastic things that have happened during that time (with The Fam’s unwavering support – I love you!). Tomorrow’s post will be back to normal with another random Disney topic from my Disney life.

Please accept my very heartfelt thanks for taking the time to visit and read this and other posts, thank you for following me on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thank you for liking the blog’s Facebook page and for every comment you’ve left me there and here. Yes, I would probably still tweet, pin, and post even if you weren’t here – but you are what has made this experience unbelievably magical instead of ordinary and for that, I am sincerely grateful.

Tim and Bob – The Men Behind the Resortloop Podcast

Posted on January 27, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Once again, I’m thrilled to share with you another interview with the hosts of one of my favorite Disney podcasts! Hop aboard the Resortloop Podcast – Gateway to the Magic. I discovered this little gem a few months ago and these two guys from Ohio have taken up a little corner of my Disney heart.

“Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas.” – Disney’s Monorail Announcer.

Meet Tim Scott and Bob Coller – two great, genuinely likable Disney fans who, in February, 2013, began their own Disney podcast. Easy listening meets heartfelt Disney enthusiasm as these two, and an occasional guest, discuss ways to make the most of every Walt Disney World visit. 93 Episodes to date (in under a year!), each lasting about a half an hour, there are lots of reasons to tune in. Personally, I like their perspectives – especially Bob’s since we’re the same age – and how they interact with each other. One thing about the show I particularly appreciate is that, unlike almost ALL the Disney podcasts in my lineup, they did NOT take a holiday hiatus – there were new episodes to listen to every day from December 23rd to December 31st. One other thing I need to mention before I get to the interview is how consistent each episode is – Tim and Bob are the same guys today as they were in the first episode – there was no need for them to develop their style over time or find their podcast’s “voice” – they’ve been themselves from day one because it works!

On to the interview:

1. What unexpected surprises (good and/or bad) has podcasting brought you?

Tim – I have been surprised and overwhelmed by the graciousness and kindness of our listeners. I never thought that we would have an audience as large and as quickly as we did! Our audience has taken on an identity that we feel is unique in the Disney Podcast Community. When Listener (and friend) Joe Quattrocchi coined the term “Looper” for listeners of the show, it immediately was a hit! It has since spurned numerous hashtags: #Looper, #SuperLooper, #NewLooper, #LooperNation! It continues to be an awesome experience!

Bob – I am truly amazed at the incredible group of people that make up the Disney Community, and not just the sheer numbers of people, but the amazing quality of the people. I feel that if I were to break down on mile marker xxx, on I-77, on my way to WDW, and tweeted about it, someone from the Disney Community would be there in minutes to help. I am proud to be in this “fraternity”!

2. Who are the top three guests you’d be most thrilled to have on your show?

Tim – If only it were possible to interview Walt or Roy (but I’m sure I’m not alone in that)! Bob Iger would pretty cool too!

Bob –

Walt Disney – For obvious reasons
Ube Iwerks – To find out more about the early years of the Walt Disney Company
Diane Disney Miller – To hear “Dad” stories and learn about the “real” man. As a father myself, no one can tell the real story of a man better than his kids.

3. What’s your Disney lucky charm – or most favorite, treasured Disney item?

Tim – I think for me, my favorite lucky charm would have to be my key chain. It’s an Epcot key chain that I bought the year it opened I bought it before I had a license and have had it with my car keys ever since. It’s worn and beat up a little now but has lots of character! I also bought another one a year later as a backup, which is around here somewhere. Wow, I just realized its 30 years old!

Bob – A Mickey Golf windbreaker I got on the very first trip with my daughter.

4. The one thing you each love most about Disney parks?

Tim – The escapism the parks provide. It’s not only true from park to park but also from “land to land” or “country to country” within each park.

Bob – The feeling when you are there! It cannot be explained, it can only be felt.

5. Best advice about podcasting you’ve ever received? if nothing – What have you learned about life from podcasting?

Tim – I never actually sought out any specific advice about podcasting. It has taught me to try some new things. Put yourself out there, share your thoughts, be yourself, and have fun while doing it, and people might listen!

Bob – Best advice I received was from my co-host Tim, who said, “Alright, we’re just going to start and see what happens.”

6. Best advice about vacationing at a Disney park you’ve ever received – and you think everyone should know?

Tim – I’m a huge advocate of getting out of the parks in the heat of the day during the summer. Always enjoy the nap and/or swimming! I also always tell people who are going on their first trip that there is no way you will do it all! Plan well and enjoy what you do get to do!

Bob – “Look Up!” I took that to mean, look around, don’t rush to the next ride, enjoy what is around you. It has made every trip much more enjoyable.

7. How did you first learn about Disney podcasts? Was that your inspiration for starting one of your own?

Tim – I had to find the time frame on this. It was 2005, I was searching the internet looking for the old audio track that was played on AM radio as you entered WDW property. I never found it but one of the results was “Inside the Magic” I don’t remember the exact episode that was out but it was in the single digits! As far as inspiration for starting a podcast, never thought I would. Bob and I would always have in-depth Disney conversations and I would quote Seinfeld and say “This could be a show”! I bought some equipment told Bob we were starting a podcast and the rest is (recent) history!

Bob – Again, my co-host Tim! He got me listening to a few and the rest as they say is…well…”Please Stand Clear of The Doors”!