Mary Poppins Returns

Just got back from a fan opening night preview of Disney's Mary Poppins Returns. We all loved it, especially the music.

For this special event, we got an opening night pin, and also a free download of the soundtrack.

If you have a chance, go see it on a big screen.

Zz.

Tina Stitch Turner

Donald met up with Tina "Stitch" Turner

ToT

Donald at Tower of Terror

Toy Story Land

Green soldiers patrolling at toy story land

MVMCP

Waiting for holiday wishes at MK

Tiki birds

Waiting for the birds

At MK

Donald is very happy to be back at MK once again.

Dusk

Dusk at world showplace

Gingerbread Train

Donald likes the gingerbread train in the DVC lounge at Epcot.

Happy birthday Mickey

And Minnie too. The party at Destination D 2018

Mickey’s 90th birthday attire

The Disney characters wearing special costumes for Mickey's 90th.

Mickey’s 90th

Destination D afternoon session

People arriving for the afternoon session at the Contemporary,

The new Skyliner car

An actual car from the new WDW Skyliner, scheduled to go into service in 2019.

Destination D 2018

Some of the attendees celebrating Mickey's 90th at Destination D. About 2000 people are at the event.

Scene at WDW Disney Springs

The balloon seen from the Edison restaurant

Christmas at Disney Springs 2018

The tree near Town Center with the Moon

Mickey’s 90th anniversary

The entrance to Mickey's of Glendale, celebrating Mickey's 90th at Destination D. Steamboat Willie opened Nov 18th 1928.

2018 Destination D

Mickey welcomes you to the 2018 Destination D at WDW Contemporary resort

New WDW Resort To Be Built At Old River Country Site

Finally, Disney will build something at the long-neglected site of the former water park River Country.

Walt Disney World Resort is building a new hotel with more than 900 beds on Bay Lake where the former River Country water park was once located, the company said Thursday.

The unnamed deluxe resort, set to open in 2022, will be in between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Disney said in a news release.

My question is, what was taking them so long? The site has been abandoned for such a long time, one starts to wonder if there was something inherently wrong with the location.

It will be interesting to see if it will have a "wilderness" theme to match the two resorts that bookend the location. I hope that it will be distinct enough from those two to make it interesting and unique.

Zz.

"Nightmare Before Christmas" Turns 25 Today

25 years ago, "Nightmare Before Christmas" premiered, on Oct. 13, 1993. And now, all these years later, it has become a cult classic.

This is an interview with animator Henry Selick, who directed the movie.

Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment on the 25th anniversary of Nightmare Before Christmas, Selick went in-depth about the process of creating his characters, his disagreements with Disney (the studio wanted Jack to have eyeballs) and Burton (who hated one of Selick’s favorite scenes), the twist ending that didn’t get made, and whether the glorious, laborious art of stop-motion animation will survive this century. 

You gotta read it.

Zz.

The Wonder of Alaska Inside Passage

This is our video footage that salutes the beauty of Alaska Inside Passage. Video taken during our Alaskan Cruise on the Disney Wonder, Sept. 2018. It was a fabulous time!



Zz.

Remodeled World of Disney at WDW

More open nice floors

More science from the EPCOT Light Lab

Posters to help you decide what to order.

EPCOT Light Lab

The lab serves up various drinks to test the science of taste. The equations on the right side of the poster seem to be implying you gain weight by drinking too fast.

Try the grey stuff, Be Our Guest

It was delicious. Sort of a puréed Oreo.

Disney family of wines

At Food and Wine, labels such as Fess Parker, Skywalker, and Silverado ( Diane Disney).

Pinot Noir flight

At Food and Wine, the Pinot Noir flight. From right to left: MacMurray, Kurt Russel Goldi, Skywalker.

Haunted Mansion

Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster

The new indoor roller coaster at RPC0T, with a dark cloud overhead

Halloween is coming fast

Seen at the Co-op at Disney Springs. Still 6 weeks to Halloween but the Mouse wants you to be prepared.

Fall is coming

Hot and humid in early September but Fall is apparently coming.

Slink Dog

The new Slinky Dog attraction in Toy Story Land

The new Slinky Dog attraction at DHS

The Buzz about Star Wars

BL seems to be checking out the new Star Wars Land at DHS

At Mendenhall Glacier

Donald at Mendenhall Glacier.

New tram construction at DHS

Progress on the towers and loading platforms at Hollywood Studios. A lot has happened since last seen a few months ago.

Skagway

Good morning from Skagway

Zz

Our Alaskan Cruise Day

Our cruise day has finally arrived!

We are packed and about ready to get some breakfast before making our way to Canada Place to board the Disney Wonder. Weather can't be any more perfect.

Donald is excited too. He's examining the lanyard that I assembled to be worn for the cruise. I think he wants it for himself!

Room with a view

Our room in Vancouver during the next 3 nights before the Disney cruise. Not bad at all!

Greetings from Vancouver!

We have arrived, and about to get onto the SkyTrain.

After we get to our hotel, we will go hunt for a Japadog! Food!

Zz.

Sent from my iPhone

At airport

We are at the airport, bright and early, for our flight to Vancouver. Everything is on time, and I just finished breakfast.

See you in Vancouver!

Zz.

The Wonder of Alaskan Cruise 2018

We are less than a day away from flying off to Vancouver, CA, and doing our Alaskan cruise on the Wonder. We will be spending he weekend in Vancouver to do some sight-seeing, and then on Monday, we will hop the Disney cruise ship to begin our cruise. This is the first that that I will be on one of the smaller Disney ship. So far, I've only been on the Dream and Fantasy.

Here is our itinerary:

We have excursions at every stop, including a zipline through the canopy in Ketchikan. So this should be fun.

And yes, Donald is all set and ready to go. He has his cold weather gear just in case.

I'll try to post reports from where I will be whenever we have wifi or cellular services.

Zz.

Guy Fieri's "Chicken Guy!" To Open At Disney Springs This August

Add another restaurant to the list of the many, MANY restaurants at Disney Springs (at some point, isn't this way too many already?). Food Network star Guy Fiery is to open "Chicken Guy!" this August, and the emphasis is on chicken tenders and the sauces, with the food being served being under $8. I wonder how long that price will last?

Since Fieri is a huge fan of sauces, like his signature Donkey Sauce, there will be 22 sauces for dipping, slathering and smothering — take that, Chick-fil-A! Fieri's Donkey Sauce recipe (made with mayo, roasted garlic, mustard and lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce —or "Washashasahshashasha" as Fieri calls it) is actually really delicious, so hopefully the other sauces will be just as tasty.

Not only will the restaurant have almost two dozen sauces, but there will also be a designated "sauce slinger" who will wear a holster with the sauces and walk around the restaurant, presumably to squirt and sauce up any customers' orders.

I'm not averse to checking it out when we go there this December, so maybe I'll report back. So far, our only dining experience at a celebrity chef joint in Disney Springs was at Rick Bayless's Frontera Cucchina, and it was a winner.  I'm not a fan of chicken tenders, but I'll give this one a try.

Zz.

Christmas 2018 Merchandise at WDW

Here are the upcoming 2018 Christmas merchandise at Walt Disney World.



Oh, my poor, poor credit cards!

Zz.

Hallmark's 2018 Disney Singing Ornaments

This is this year's (2018) Disney's singing ornaments from Hallmark. This was released this past weekend (July 14, 2018). They come separately, or in a limited-edition boxed set. The box set has a commemorative art print, and the lamp posts are green, as opposed to the brown posts in the video of the individual pieces.

Here is the boxed set:

And here they are in action at a Hallmark store:



Zz.

Hallmark ornaments

Ornament pickup today. Lots of Disney stuff.

Donald, The Tomato Guardian

Donald is guarding over his tomato, and also my heirloom tomato that is growing next to him, from those two rascals Chip and Dale.

Zz.

4th of July Disney Vest

This is the vest I'll be wearing today. Happy 4th of July to everyone celebrating it!

Zz.