Book Review: The Beast Within

I had previously read Valentino’s other novel, “Fairest of All,” and I have to say I think I enjoyed this one even more. I was a little nervous to see what she would do with this story, as Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, but I think it’s an interesting and entertaining take on the fairy tale.

Some people complain that the story has been changed “too much,” but to me that’s all part of this genre – I don’t know if it has an official name, but there are lots of these stories now that are twisted fairy tales, or fairy tales told from a different point of view, that sort of thing. And honestly, it’s the nature of fairy tales. Most of the Disney versions are already drastically different than the original fairy tales. And you can go into a library and read tons of different versions of Beauty and the Beast, each which have changed the story in their own way.

In this version, we get the story from the Beast’s point of view. Although we’re not given an exact age, we can suppose he’s a teenager old enough to be considering marriage at that time. He is portrayed as arrogant, selfish, and uncaring – much like his best friend (surprise!) Gaston. We learn about a couple of failed relationships that he went through and the events that led to the curse, as well as his falling out from society after he’s been cursed.

February 2015 monthly round up

Disney in your Day News

Yay, it’s finally February!  That means I’m going back to Disney!  If you’ve been following my blog you probably know that I’m running the Glass Slipper Challenge, so I’m getting excited but also a little nervous about that.   We have so many other fun things planned too – dinner at Yachtsman, FP+ to meet Anna and Elsa, and even a trip over to Universal to check out the Harry Potter stuff!  Plus, I’m now signed up for the Disneyland Half marathon – which means I’ll get my coast to coast medal, and I’ll be going to Disneyland for the first time!

As for the blog, once I return from my trip expect to see lots of park updates.  I’ll also be continuing some of the regular series, such as “thoughts on Disney movies.”  I’m hoping to get some more recipes and crafts up too.  And I may or may not have recently become a little obsessed with tsum tsums, so I have a feeling they will be appearing on the blog as well!

Disney News

• First the “big news” was that Disney was introducing these cool looking mugs at their Starbucks locations.  However, now the Epcot mug has been pulled because of the monorail having a purple stripe on it (the color of the monorail from the fatal accident in 2009, a color that has since been retired by Disney.  My bet is that they’ll change the color of the stripe and have the mug back on the shelves as soon as possible.
• Disney is already getting ready to make new Indiana Jones movies… and rumor has it that Chris Pratt will be playing the lead role.
• People have been clamoring for Disney to introduce a Latina princess, and now she’s here – Elena of Avalor, who will have her own show on Disney Junior.
• If you’re concerned about the construction at the Magic Kingdom, check out this update to see what exactly is going on now.
• Peter Pan’s Flight now has a new queue – I’m looking forward to seeing this when I visit!
• This makes me so happy: it has now been announced that Emma Watson will be playing Belle in a live action Beauty and the Beast film.  I think it’s a great casting choice!
• Disneyland is going to be celebrating it’s 60th Anniversary this year, which is the diamond celebration.  Disney has announced some of the exciting things that will be happening for that event!

A Personal Film Festival

Another blogger over at The Animation Commendation tagged me in a post to create my own personal film festival – basically, a list of my favorite films from each year that I’ve been alive.  I’ll try to pass along the fun by tagging some other bloggers as well!  You’ll see a lot of Disney movies on this list, but maybe a few others as well.  I did some honorable mentions too since I have such a love of Disney, but enjoy other films too!   I talk about Disney a lot on here (obviously), but this will also give you a glimpse into other things I enjoy.

1988:  Who Framed Roger Rabbit

1989:  The Little Mermaid

Honorable Mention:  Dead Poets Society

January 2015 Monthly Round Up

Wow, we’ve reached 2015!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to your year.  Christmas is my favorite holiday of all, but I have to say that my second favorite is probably New Year’s.  I love the idea of starting fresh, and looking forward at all that will come in the next year!  For me, 2015 holds two trips to Disney World and my very first trip to Disneyland, as well as two Disney half marathons that should earn me my coast to coast medal.  I’m excited!

Disney in your Day News

The past year has been a good one for Disney in your Day, but I’m excited for all that is to come in the new year.  December included lots of holiday themed posts, as well as my review of Into The Woods.  In the immediate future you can expect more thoughts on Disney movies, as well as the end of the restaurant tournament.  Plus, I want to roll out a new series, “Other theme parks,” featuring other places around the country that might be worth visiting when you can’t get to Disney.  And I’ll continue with my Glass Slipper Challenge training until February, when I actually run the Glass Slipper Challenge!

December 2014 monthly round up

I feel like a lot has been happening lately in the world of Disney!  Some interesting and exciting announcements have come out about both the parks and films.  And as the holidays approach, there are always fun things happening!

Disney in your Day News

We are right in the middle of another restaurant tournament – this time for signature and character dining!  If you haven’t placed your votes for Round 2 yet, be sure to check that out now.  I’m also in the middle of Glass Slipper Challenge training, and though it’s a little rougher than last time I’m still getting through it.  I have two more running related reviews to put up, both of which I’m super excited about.  And there will certainly be some holiday themed posts coming this month!

Disneystore.com Black Friday deals!

I don’t know about you, but I definitely prefer to spend Black Friday in the comfort of my own home, away from all of those crowds of people out at the shops.  But with the internet, I still get to shop – I just enjoy the wonders of online shopping!  Disneystore.com has some good deals this year that you can order right from your own computer, and I wanted to share them with you.  Here are some of my favorite items that are available for purchase.  Not only are they already discounted, but you can save an extra 20% with the code “THANKS”.

Disney Animator Dolls

These are great for all ages – kids will enjoy them as a toy, and adults like them as collectibles.  I have the first edition Belle in her blue dress, but they are just so adorable I would love more!

Holiday Plush

Almost all of the plushes are on sale, starting at $5 – but in particular these holiday plushes are really cute and perfect for the season.  They make great Christmas decorations!

Bucket List: Attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

This year was exciting because it was my very first time attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!  If you haven’t been, there are a number of things to look forward to!

Costumes

For me, one of the most exciting things about attending the Halloween Party is being able to wear a costume into Magic Kingdom park!  While kids can always dress up like princesses or pirates or whatever they like, adults are not normally allowed to wear costumes.  For this party though, that’s all different.  I got to dress up like a princess (Belle) and prance around Magic Kingdom.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Make your own Belle Halloween costume

I was super excited about the chance to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party for the very first time, and if course one of the first things on my mind was my costume. I absolutely love costumes and getting dressed up.  Part of this may come from my experience in theater, but I will wear costumes whenever possible.  Halloween, of course, races, and murder mystery parties that we throw once or twice a year.  Of course for this year I was going to have to go with a Disney costume.

Since I went with a big group of friends, we all tried to do Disney costumes but didn’t want to duplicate anyone else. The answer for who I wanted to be was pretty obvious – I went with Belle, my absolute favorite princess.  We created a doc ahead of time where we signed up for our character, and I put my name down way back in May or something like that, and didn’t really think about it again til August.

I started searching around for Belle costumes, and found that there was nothing I really liked. All of the ones for women were either ridiculously expensive, very cheap looking and not authentic, or way too revealing.  So I decided I would have to try and create my own costume.  The process was frustrating at times, but I’m ultimately happy with how my costume turned out.  Since I’m not really a sewer I knew I wasn’t making anything from scratch – so here are the steps I took.