Tag Archives: Disney Movies

Disney Resolutions – Mid-Year Checkup

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1900 Park Fare - Meeting Pring CharmingAs hard as it is to accept (time really does fly when you’re having fun!), 2014 is half-over. Can you believe it?  Mid-way through the year is an excellent time to look back at those New Year’s resolutions and give a status report.  Maybe you resolved to eat cleaner, lose weight, or exercise more – Me?  I resolved to complete a list of Disney-related activities – this way, I’m guaranteed to have fun, eat delicious food, and be greatly amused all while feeling good about actually sticking to my resolutions!  See how that works?  No dieting or exercise required and I feel happy and productive!

So – Let’s look at the old January 1st list and see what’s been accomplished thus far….

1.  See These Movies:

  • Million Dollar Arm Ticket StubMuppets Most Wanted (3/21/14) – Been a huge fan my whole life – this is a can’t-be-missed movie for me!  The unresolved romance between Kermit and Piggy keeps me coming back for more. Complete!  Read the movie review here.
  • Captain America:  The Winter Soldier (4/4/14) – I’m diggin’ all the Marvel movies and I think the Cap’s aces.  Enjoyed it!  Read about it here.
  • Million Dollar Arm (5/16/14) – I am just a girl who cannot resist a good baseball movie.  Unexpectedly delightful and the review is here.
  • Maleficent (5/30/14) – Looks darkly intriguing – I think we will love to hate her!  Oh, Yeah!  I was entertained by this new twist on an old favorite and shared my thoughts here.
  • Into the Woods (12/25/14) – Have heard so much about this show – can’t wait to see it! Still on the to-see list!Disney's Maleficent Movie Poster

2.  Book a Cruise – I’ve got a place-holder (aka “dummy”) cruise burning a hole in my pocket.  Since August when we re-booked onboard (while sailing on the Magic in the Mediterranean) – We are anxiously waiting to Disney Cruise Line's Wondersee what the rest of 2015’s sailings look like before making a final decision.  Wishing for Baltic (tie in to Frozen).  As of right now, we are set to sail the Fjords of Norway on the Disney Magic next summer.

3.  Attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – I have wanted to do this forever.  2014 is the year!  Tickets purchased, we will knock this off the list in 108 days.Trying Different Disney EarHats

4.  Buy a Fancy New Earhat – sounds easy enough, but I have the most difficult time deciding on one – I always walk away with a Disney baseball cap instead.  Not this year.  No, sir.  After much trial and error, the winning (dare I say PERFECT) hat was located and purchased just a few weeks back.

5.  Eat This Food – I’m up for passing up old favorites and trying out some new places in 2014.  I’m thinking about these:

  • Be Our Guest – I know, right?  Everyone’s Disney's Flying Fish Cafe Exteriorclamoring to get in there – I’ll be lucky to score a visit, but I’ve heard so much great stuff about it.  I’m at least resolving to try my best to get in!  Scored dinner ADRs for October.
  • Flying Fish – I’ve never eaten here.  Chime in if you think I should ditch this plan in favor of something else.  Can’t believe it took so long to discover the incredible food and service!  Yum!  Read all about it here.
  • 1900 Park Fare – For a character meal it has always been Chef Mickey’s but now that we have “adult” children, I thought Lady Tremaine and the Steps might be a bunch of fun.  And fun it was!  We were not disappointed by the food or the company – see what happened here.
  • Hollywood Brown Derby – We have never eaten here and have always heard great things.  IMG_2382Even if we just sit in the new outdoor patio lounge – I’d like to give it a go.  We went and now we know – it’s got great atmosphere, good food, and abysmal service.  Sigh.

6.  Find and Trade a Pin to Complete This Set!  I love pin trading and in 2014 I’m gonna be in-it-to-win-it!  Yeah, Baby!  Watch out flying Orange Bird – you are mine!  A bird in the hand…makes me happy!!!  My collection’s complete.Disney Pin - Flying Orange Bird

7.  Ride the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train – Ugh.  Feels like the Fantasyland expansion has been going on forever!  I am riding this ride, dadgummit – get out of my way.  It was cute, it was fun, and it was discussed completely right here, YouTube video here.

8.  Try These Recipes:  (You may have seen my other posts on cooking Disney food here and here and here)  I like to cook – why not make it Disney food?  Thanks to AllEars.Net for the recipes.

9.  Try a Dole Whip:  They say confession is good for the soul – so now you know my darkest Disney Secret (one of them anyway)…I hid it way down here at #9 so maybe no one will notice.  I have never eaten a single bite of Dole Whip in my life.  Don’t judge me.  I did it!  I tried a Dole Whip and…..watch the video here.

10.  Take Better Disney Pictures!  To my shame, my Disney pictures are mediocre at best.  The great computer crash of 2009 cost me dearly and I just need to learn to be a better Pineapple Dole Whipphotographer overall.  I buy really small cameras because they’re easy to carry.  I’m not sure if I’ll actually dish out more cash on yet another camera, but I’ll do what I can to make the most of what I’ve got.  Promise.  Three cameras, my iPhone, and a new GoPro video rig allowed me to capture all the magic in a big way in May and I cannot WAIT to go crazy with the pics again in October.

So, there you have it – the mid-year status report!  Did you have any Disney resolutions on your list?  How’s it going for YOU?  

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy and Pixie-Dusted Rest-of-the-Year….Lisa

Disney’s Maleficent – Mostly Spoiler-free Review

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Maleficent Movie PosterIt’s a fairytale, people!  Please keep that in mind when/if you see this movie.  I avoided reviews and comments about Maleficent prior to seeing it (promptly upon my return from Walt Disney World).  Then, afterwards, I let myself check out the widely varying opinions of others – and there are gobs of them that range from “loved it” to “it was complete trash” (or worse).

I’m not hard to please.  I like my fairytale movies to have plausible (yet completely impossible) elements – based on whichever reality in which the story takes place, characters with lots of flaws, valuable life lessons, good versus evil (and the blurry spaces in between) – all tied up with a nice neat happy ending.  If you fall in a similar entertainment-viewing category, you will like Maleficent just fine.  Oddly enough, the entire story reminded me of a gigantic episode of ABC’s Once Upon a Time – which was a plus since I’m just wild about that show!

I saw it in 3D and contrary to some other viewers’ opinions (really raging, angry opinions, to boot), I was not at all bothered by any of the CGI effects.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  I didn’t scrutinize them at all, but rather accepted the CGI characters and scenery in the spirit in which Maleficent Theater Posterthey were generated – to create a wonderful fantasy land in which our characters could carry on their story.

The casting was just fine overall.  Angelina Jolie was stunningly beautiful as Maleficent – breathtaking!  She owned that role completely from her gorgeous red lips to her perfect tone of voice – delivering each line precisely with the perfect amount of emotion – I could have closed my eyes and imagined exactly how she was feeling at any given time, but to look away from that face during the movie would have been impossible.  Maleficent-the-being grabs you from the first and pulls you in completely – to understand her, to know her, to love her.  Elle Fanning as Aurora was well done and I completely disagree with ridiculous reviewers who didn’t think her beautiful enough – she was.  Inside and out…the character was supposed to be a beautiful soul as opposed to simply a visual stunner.  Elle Fanning captured that perfectly.Maleficent Ticket

There were a bunch of reviews that groused about the plot – perhaps they searched too hard for pro-feminist politics or a deeper meaning for “true love’s kiss”.  I liked the story – I “got” the plot and felt it was neither too deep nor too shallow.  I found (this is me and my opinion) the movie to be visually stunning and thought provoking to just the right extent.

If you are looking for a deeply moving social commentary on women’s roles or unresolved childhood issues – please pass on Maleficent.  If you’re looking for a stunningly presented fairytale with all the right elements, interesting characters, and the perfect ending – dish out the $$ and see Maleficent on the big screen – in 3D if you can.

Have you seen Maleficent?  What’s your impression of the movie?

 

Disney’s Million Dollar Arm – Spoiler-Free Review

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Million Dollar Arm Ticket StubI’m a baseball fan.  Always have been.  The St. Louis Cardinals is my team – my big brother, Mike, bought me my first Cardinals tee-shirt (Lou Brock!) in the ’70’s and Oh, the crush I had on Keith Hernandez when I was in high school…sigh.  I married a lifelong Cards fan and we’ve lived in blissful baseball harmony all these 25 years (this September 9th).  Consequently, Raymond and I both love baseball movies.  We will often kick off baseball season in the spring by re-watching a few of our favorites.  Field of Dreams, a perennial favorite, is just outstanding no matter how many times we watch it.  I was once burned, though, by another Kevin Costner movie – For Love of the Game (1999) – a chick-flick disguised as a baseball movie.  That cruel deception has made me wary of baseball movies – I walked into the theater expecting another epic baseball film and walked out royally pissed off really angry.  As usual, I digress.  Okay – back to today.

I didn’t want to read anything before seeing Million Dollar Arm, in spite of my fear of baseballMillion Dollar Arm Movie Poster movie deception, but I found a spoiler-free review in my twitter feed and trusted it enough to follow the link – so the great review here (by George Gensler) at Adventures by Daddy told me enough to know I could expect Million Dollar Arm to be a real baseball flick (with a dash of romance thrown in).  The movie’s based on a true story and if you go see it, stick around through the credits to see some wonderful actual photos and videos of the real people behind the story.

Why this is a fantastic baseball film:

Million Dollar Arm Movie PosterMillion Dollar Arm is about baseball.  And business.  And relationships, personalities, taking chances, and redemption.  I was drawn into the story right away – then experienced a huge variety of emotions.  Many scenes are funny, but I also felt sorrow, anger, joy, surprise, and frustration.  To be cliché, I laughed, I cried – and everything in between.  John Hamm does an exceptional job playing J. B. Bernstein – the sports agent main character.  His ability to manipulate viewers’ emotions is a huge part of what makes this movie work.  I have never been to India, but the parts of the film that take place in India were superbly filmed and edited – I saw India in a way I never have before.

The script, acting, and directing – along with an amazing musical soundtrack – combine to make you feel something for each character.  Those feelings may not always be positive, but that’s also what makes Million Dollar Arm good entertainment – and a GREAT baseball movie.  In fact, I haven’t enjoyed any movie as much as I did this one in quite a while.

On the fence?  Go on – there’s a great story there…even if you’re not into baseball – but if that’s the case, don’t tell me, okay?  I don’t trust people who don’t love baseball.

Have you seen Million Dollar Arm?  What did you think?      

Add a Little Disney to Your Day

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Disney Mug CollectionIf you’ve accidentally stumbled upon this website and you don’t happen to be a True Blue Disney Fan, just click the back button now…you won’t understand this post.  You just won’t get it.  Unless you love Disney in a nearly irrational way, unless you pine for a Disney park from the time you leave – and count the days – until the time you return, the details that follow may seem foreign, obsessive, strange or silly even.  So…not a huge Disney fan?  Again, this post is not for you…just go.

Still here?  I’m talking to you now.  My dear Disney-loving brothers and sisters, YOU!   You understand me.  You sympathize with the main plight of my existence – I adore all things Disney and there’s no vacation in the world as good as a Disney one.  Surrounding ourselves with reminders of our happiest Disney days is essential – it’s what keeps us going day to day, right?  You understand, don’t you?

I’ve put together a list of some of the things I do to add a little Disney to my day.  What I want to know is this:  How many items on my list are also part of your daily Disney life and…what’s on your list that isn’t on mine?  Here we go:IMG_2115

1.  Start the day with coffee (sometimes tea or cocoa) – in a Disney mug!

2. Listen to the two P’s of Disney – Podcasts and Playlists.  My daily commute is about 35-40 minutes each way.  Plenty of time to enjoy a couple of podcast episodes or belt out a few Disney show tunes as I’m cruising down the highway.

3. Adorn the car with a Disney antenna topper.  I have a collection and like to rotate them out depending on the season.  Spotting my car in a parking lot always makes me smile.

Nemo Antenna Topper4. Disney casual wear.  I work in an office where business attire is required, but on the weekends, you’ll find me in my “Peace, Love, Mickey” shirt or my Avengers tee.  I’ll probably be sporting a Disney cap as well.

5. Disney accessories – Tinkerbell watch, Disney pin, Magic Band – all appropriate accessories for work or play!

6. Watch – Disney movies, TV shows, documentaries, YouTube videos of attractions – doesn’t matter to me – they all make me happy.  I’m seriously addicted to ABC’s Once Upon a Time.  Don’t judge.

7. Connect – Disney Twitter friends, Disney Facebook pages, Disney discussion boards/forums, Pinterest, Instagram – thousands of other Disney geeks just like me!  Nice folks, too.

8. Cook – I love trying out recipes from my favorite Disney restaurants.  Nothing like delicious 'Ohana Cheesy Potatoes in Process 1smells and tastes to trigger great dining memories and recreate the magic at home.

9. Read – Disney books, articles, blog posts, attraction and restaurant reviews, park news, touring strategies, you name it.

10. Talk Disney! – I’m lucky enough to have a spouse and offspring who love Disney as much as I do.  Conversations around plans for our next trip(s) and what Disney movie will next open in theaters is a daily occurrence.  (I’m also fortunate to have some Disney addicted friends and coworkers.)

Disney Dog Henry Jones, JuniorBonus – I love our Disney dog, Henry Jones, Junior.  Junior’s the best, most patient, tolerant member of the family who will never visit a Disney park, but embraces his family’s love of Disney just the same.

Now it’s your turn…how do you add a little Disney to your day?