What I’m Thankful For: Disney Style

There are so many things in my life that I’m thankful for right now.  Family, friends, love, a great job, wonderful hobbies… I could just go on and on.  And it’s certainly the time of year to do that.  But one of the things in my life that makes me happiest, in all honest, is Disney.  It brings me so much joy in so many ways, and I thought I would share some of the things about Disney that I’m most thankful for.

Wonderful Music

Nothing lights a fire in my soul like music, and Disney music is some of my favorites to listen to.  It gets me through the happy times, when I just feel like getting up and dancing, and the sad times too.  I am super excited about the soundtrack for Frozen, which just came out this year, and very thankful that we are adding some great songs to the Disney collection!

Great Movies

It’s been a fantastic year for Disney movies, in my humble opinion.  Pixar brought us Monsters University, a prequel to one of my favorite Pixar films.  And while not quite as great as the original, it definitely did not disappoint.  Frozen was more fabulous than I could have hoped for, and Saving Mr. Banks blew me away.  Can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store!

Saving Mr. Banks review

When I went in to see Saving Mr. Banks at a pre-screening, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  I’d heard that it was a story between the woman who wrote Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers, and Walt Disney.  That it was the process of turning her book into a movie.  I thought there must be more to the plot than just that, because it didn’t sound super interesting.  But at the end of the day, that’s really what the story is – and it’s done absolutely brilliantly.  I was hooked the whole time, and found it to be really compelling and well told.

The movie basically weaves together the story of Mrs. Travers’ childhood growing up, and her two week stay in Los Angeles while consulting for the Mary Poppins movie.  The transitions between flashbacks and modern day are seamless, and work really well on a number of levels, including symbolically.  It was a fantastic way to tell the story.  There is some great imagery and metaphors used throughout, and I appreciated the literary elements they incorporated to really help tell the story.

Crafter Spotlight: Magical Ribbons

The seller I’m featuring today has a special spot on our list because she isn’t technically an Etsy seller.  She makes all her own items but sells them through her own website, Magical Ribbons.  I am very lucky that another Etsy seller told me about her shop, so that I was able to find her!

There are lots of Disney inspired hair ribbons on Etsy.  Some are a lot nicer than others.  But Magical Ribbons has some gorgeous, high quality stuff – and there are tons of different options for almost any movie or character you could imagine.  Even the lesser known movies, like the Black Cauldron, are represented. I spent more time than I’d care to admit browsing all of the pretty bows, and imagining which ones I’d get if I had unlimited money!

Frozen review

This past Wednesday, I had the fortunate experience to be able to see a preview of Frozen at my local movie theater.  Going into it, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The trailers hadn’t done much to wow me.  They played up the funny gag aspect of the movie, but it didn’t seem to have a lot of depth.  But I’m a sucker for princesses, so I was kind of excited to see what our newest princess would be like.

By the way, the movie started out with a short that was totally adorable.  It literally combines the old school classic animation with the trends of today, with Mickey and his friends going in and out of a classic black and white frame.  It was really fun, and I recommend that you see it in 3D if you have the chance to, because that really added a lot.

Kill, Refurb, Marry: Crescent Lake Restaurants

It’s that time again: to play kill, refurb, marry, with our good friends over at Mouse on the Mind and This Happy Place blog!  This may come as a surprise to you, or it may not, but despite being a huge Disney fan I had never heard the phrase “Crescent Lake” before.  In case you were ignorant like me, it happens to be the name of the lake that the Boardwalk and Beach Club resorts are on!  So as far as I’m concerned, this category includes the restaurants at the Boardwalk, the Beach Club, and the Swan/Dolphin.

Now, I haven’t been to a huge amount of these restaurants.  I’ve never been to any at the Swan or the Dolphin.  So I’m basing my choices off a little bit of experience, but mostly what I’ve heard about each place and how much I think the idea and reputation appeals to me.  So without further adieu, here are my choices…

KILL:  ESPN Club

Sorry, but for me, a sports bar is something that I personally don’t think Disney really needs.  I am not much of a sports fan, but even that aside I’m not big on the blatant over-advertising of the company.  I know that Disney owns ESPN, but still.  It’s nothing I have any desire to try.  The food sounds like something you’d typically get from a bar or an Applebee’s type place, and from what I’ve heard from others the quality is probably comparable.  I know lots of people need to stay in touch with their sports, but personally I like to escape from everything while I’m at Disney.  Even TV shows that I watch religiously are given up during the week, so I guess needing to watch every sports game is something that I just don’t get.  There are tons of great restaurants in this area, and I think they could do something a lot cooler with this space.

Etsy Spotlight: Amanda Jane Designs

There’s a lot of Disney jewelry available, but a lot of the official stuff is a little bit too over the top and cheap looking… or the stuff that is classy is really expensive.  However, Etsy is a great way to find amazing Disney jewelry!  My favorite seller that I came across was Amanda Jane Designs.  Her work is subtle but full of Disney magic.  It combines charms and a phrase relating to the Disney movie it references.

November Monthly Round Up

Personally, October was a crazy month for me!  I started a new job and the theater production that I’m in opened in mid-October.  Lots of positive things have been happening, and I think November will continue the busy yet good pattern.  I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving – a time to spend with family and to appreciate all that I have in life.  Plus, after Thanksgiving is the start of the Christmas holidays for me!  Though of course, Disney’s Christmas celebrations will start even sooner this month.  It just gets me even more excited for my trip down there in December!

Disney in your Day News

Thank you for getting us over 500 facebook “likes”!

We are going to continue to feature Etsy shops from our Disney Holiday Gift Guide.  There are still lots of great items to check out, so stay tuned for that!  We’ll also have a few related giveaways coming up so I know you’ll want to participate in those two!  Our two October giveaways, for a Rock City Skirt and some Disney art from Kathleen McCready, were big successes.  And we now have over 500 facebook fans, which is incredibly exciting!  Our restaurant tournament of the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios restaurants was completed, with Be Our Guest as the victor.