Monday, May 14, 2012

Mission SLIMpossible Follow Up #2 °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Trying to lose weight can sometimes be a real mind-trip.  I was in my boot camp class Wednesday in which we have a dozen exercise stations that we rotate through, that are scattered throughout the space.  When the timer sounds, we all move to the next station and do that exercise.  The 5th station was facing a huge floor to ceiling mirror.  So I was forced to watch myself from beginning to end for a solid five minutes. 

This was not good for my self-esteem.

As you have read by now, my total weight loss has been 22 pounds.  I have lost enough that friends and co-workers are noticing and are commenting (my favorite one was "You've done something different to your hair, didn't you?").  My clothes are obviously fitting looser, but when you are still 60-80 pounds overweight, without a lot of gym-floor coordination and your shirt sticks to your body because you are drenched in sweat, that doesn’t help to provide much of a morale boost. 

To make matters more uncomfortable, I am the only overweight boot camper in the class.  It appears most of the members at this gym studio are female, around 24, perky bodies dressed in juicy couture, seem to be in perfect shape and never break a sweat.  Compared to them, I’m like Mr. Snuffleupagus, loping around the room.

All self-deprecation and shortage of self-esteem aside, as awkward as I feel in these classes, nothing is going to stop me from seeing myself through this goal.  Sure I have my challenges; I tend to get dizzy or hyperventilate when I over exert, and it feels like it’s taking forever for that to improve, but I am seeing improvement, slowly but surely (and I had to lay my old jeans to rest… they don’t even stay up with a belt any more).  Not only that, but I will never cross paths with those perky dancercisers again.

°o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°   °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°   °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°



The upside to the mind trip is this; the rocks that you see in the photo above are very symbolic for me.  Every time I hiked the Perimeter Trail of Piestewa Peak, and made it to the point that is referred to as the “Saddle”(this is the top to me; the trail continues over the saddle, but it goes back down and around the mountain), I would search for a small, white rock for a souvenir.  I even have a set of "rules" in place; I can't take a rock from anywhere except the very top, however, if I find a rock on the way up, I can carry it up and leave it in a hidden spot for the next time I climb.  I have a secret stash of a dozen rocks waiting to go home with me now.

But I digress...  these twenty-odd stones represent the twenty-odd pounds that I have lost so far. I certainly didn’t lose one pound on each climb, but they collectively stand for the weight that I am leaving behind on the Piestewa Peak trail.  Hopefully, when I’ve finished this journey I will have a collection of one hundred rocks.  It will be nice to see them displayed in a glass container so that I can think back on how many times I struggled with making it up that steep slope, always trying to beat my time from the last time I hiked.

°o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o° °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o° °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Back to the mind trip...  Today's official weigh in does not give me a lot of confidence.  It's only a 1 pound loss in 2 weeks.  I'm hoping this is not a plateau since it's been four months into my journey, and maybe the next weigh in will show a greater loss.




Official weigh in

Highest weight: 275 (January 1, 2012)
Previous weigh in: 250 (April 16th, 2012)

Current weigh in: 249 (April 30th, 2012)
Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Disney Moms, Dads, Step Moms, Grandmas, Aunts, and Mother Figures out there.

Thank you, Mom.

We love you.

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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(...and a little special love to our Moms: Linda and Mary)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Where in the Parks Are We???? °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°


One of my favorite past-times when I am visiting the park is taking pictures to add to my collection.  Among others, some of the primary categories I am always keeping an eye out for are:
  1. Where in the Parks ARE We?
  2. Disney Parks Without People
  3. Disney Fan Art
  4. Hidden Mickeys
  5. Disney Park Architecture
Periodically, I'll add 5 or 10 photos at a time, the link to the entire collection will be at the bottom of the post.



This photo blog is all about category #1.  There are three answers for each photo:


  1. Can you identify the Park
  2. Can you name the area (or "land")
  3. Can you pinpoint the exact location of the following pictures that I took?


    Click here:  Where in the Parks ARE We? - Entire Photo Collection enjoy. * Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!
    Mouseketeer Ken
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Micky Mouse
(Thanks to Mouseketeer Phil for sending the glitter Mickey)

Thursday, May 10, 2012

What if You Could Be a Different Person? °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Have you ever dreamt about running away from your life, and starting somewhere else, brand new?  A fresh start, but maybe this time you're a different person.  Maybe you'll change your hair color and style, maybe buy some colored contacts so that your eyes are blue instead of green.  Maybe you'll drop 80 pounds before you arrive so you can really change your appearance!
 
I'm not talking about impersonating, or stealing someone's identity.  I'm talking about making changes in your life that you may have been too frightened, or intimidated, or just not sure you could even pull off. You hear about people who have been in traumatic accidents, who then begin speaking with a foreign dialect, or even foreign language, but what if you could do it by choice?
And if you're going to change your looks, while you're at it why not change your personality? Maybe you know that you have a habit of showing up late, or twisting your hair, or laughing a little too loudly at dumb jokes.  Making a major move and starting over someplace new would be a perfect opportunity to make these kinds of adjustments.
 
Maybe even go by a new name, or nickname. Something you've always liked, but never caught on for some reason.
 
Maybe you've lived in the same part of town for years, and you're just tired of your job-you're not making a lot of money, there are no promotions on the horizon, and you're just sick of the politics. In fact, maybe you hate your job.  If you had the chance to move to a new state, a new part of the country, maybe things would be different…
 
I have all of these thoughts.  Some of them I will never do, but it still fun to run with the idea.
 
Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Monday, May 7, 2012

You Know Everything About Disney! (Part 2 of 2) °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

(Continued itinerary)

On the other side of the park is Tomorrowland.  Make sure you don’t miss the Small World ride on your way there.  The best rides for kids in Tomorrowland is the Little Nemo Submarine ride, Astro Blasters (it’s a Buzz Lightyear themed shooting ride), Captain EO (Michael Jackson 3D movie), and Autopia.  They also have a fun outdoors Star Wars show for kids; they bring up 10 or 12 kids to learn how to be Jedi’s.

Speaking of Small World… If you are going to catch a parade while you are there, try to see it in the curb area in front Small World.  It gets very crowded on Main Street, and you won’t need to walk all the way across the park to get back.

The rides I would avoid for young kids are: Star Tours (very shaky and causes motion sickness), the rollercoasters (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, etc.), The Mad Tea Party (just spins for 5 minutes). I would AVOID “Innoventions”-it’s a walk-through display about futuristic inventions and is very boring.

Something to remember is that there is a train that circles the park all day long.  If you need to go from one land to another, use the train!  You will love the ride, and your feet will love you! There are 5 or 6 stops all around the park.

Something else to see is Pixie Hollow to meet Tinkerbell.  Once you enter the area, you are the size of a fairy and you can take pictures and chat with Tink and her friends.

One last thing is that you should check into is using the Fast Passes. On certain rides (usually the adult ones like Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, etc., but Pirates and Winnie Pooh does, too), you use your ticket to scan the bar code on the back. It will print out a ticket with a time range printed on it.  When you return to the ride during that time frame you get to move to the head of the line.  These are FREE, and will save a LOT of time standing in line if there are rides you want to go on. The map you get when you enter the park will tell you what rides offer Fast Passes. 

Have fun at the park!  I wish I was there with you!

What do you think, Mouseketeers?  Did I steer her right with things to do for children under the age of five?  What other attractions would you guide her family to?


Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Thursday, May 3, 2012

You Know Everything About Disney! (Part 1 of 2) °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Quite often my friends tell me, “I really want to go to Disneyland WITH YOU. You know so much about it.  Can you make any suggestions for my next visit?”  I would often type out an itinerary to follow for a one day visit just to Disneyland (most of the people who have asked for my suggestions only go to Disneyland for a day or two, since the drive to Anaheim from Phoenix is only about 6 ½ hours… and they rarely ask me about California Adventures-maybe that's another post!)



I don’t know the Disney World parks as well as Disneyland (something that will change in the coming years, of course), so if you are a Disney World person, you can make some comparison notes if you like. 

My most recent request was for a family of 4 in which the children they were taking were 2 and 4 years old (which I often joke is awfully young for Disneyland-more on that in a later post), so this itinerary was tailored to that:


After you have arrived and have explored Main Street, I would go straight to Sleeping Beauty’s castle; it’s at the end of Main Street (you can’t miss it).  When you walk through the castle, you can explore all of Fantasy Land.  Everything in there should be great for a 2- and 4-year old (although Snow White’s ride can be a little scary for them-it depends on how sensitive they are).  Don’t forget the Dumbo ride and Alice in Wonderland.  I also love the Storybook Land ride; it’s a slow boat ride around miniatures of several of the Disney houses from the animated films.

Your next stop should be Critter Country.  It’s right next to Frontier land, and they have the Winnie the Pooh ride, and you will have a good chance of meeting Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore there.  I think your family will love everything about Frontierland and Adventureland which is right next to Critter Country.  The only ride that the young ones will not be able to go on is the Indiana Jones ride:  it’s VERY fast, and will probably have a height requirement. The Jungle Cruise is perfect and is right next to Indiana Jones.  There is another small “land” there called “New Orleans Square” where you can find The Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the Haunted Mansion.  I think the Haunted Mansion might be pretty scary for a 2 and 4 year old.. it’s dark and gloomy all the way through with a LOT of dead things and skeletons.  I would skip it if the kids are sensitive to scary things. This area is also where Tiana from the Princess and the Frog will show up sometimes to sing. 

Nearby in Critter Country, there is a nice place to eat, too.  The Hungry Bear Restaurant has burgers, but they also have healthier meals like roasted chicken sandwiches-you can sit and wave at passers-by on the Mark Twain Riverboat.  If you want a really fun dinner, look into the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue.  They are All-You-Can-Eat BBQ chicken and ribs, cole slaw, ranch beans and cornbread, smoked sausage and corn on the cob - $24.99 per person, but we really loved it.

Ready for the second half of the day?

.... to be continued on Monday!


Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Mission SLIMpossible Follow Up #1 °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

I started my weight-loss journey on January 1st of this year.  For the most part, I have really committed to sticking to the diet and the exercise, so I have been losing. My mind is set on the fact that working out is a part-time job, and I don’t want to get fired for missing work!


I am really a fan of the outdoors, and being outside as much as possible, and I especially love to exercise outdoors. We are fortunate that Phoenix has mountain ranges right in the center of town, so I have been able to leave work in the afternoon, and be hiking a nearby mountain within 20 minutes.  One of the biggest challenges I think I face, however, is keeping up with the program during the summer months.  Phoenix is a lot like Orlando in that the summer heat is unbearable.  We may not have the humidity of Central Florida, but the scorching sun can drain you of your strength in just about 10 to 15 minutes, especially when the temperature rises up to 115° on a regular basis.  Air conditioning and climate control is required to live in the Sonoran Desert, much less to work out in.  I don’t know how I’ve managed to survive 28 summers here! (In fact, just last summer, Phoenix hit a state record of the greatest number of 110° or higher days ever recorded: 33 days!)


I guess the best solution to this problem would be to join a gym.  I wouldn’t mind that, but Mark and I are truly saving every single penny and nickel that we are able to. We have cut all unnecessary expenses and a gym membership is just not in the budget.  So I have to be creative.


In trying to formulate a plan to beat the temptation of taking a break from working out between May and Mid-October I set up a spare room in the house to store an elliptical cross-trainer, and a treadmill, so I’ve got my at-home work-outs covered.  When I have no other option, I will do my cardio in front of the air conditioner in the spare bedroom.


But I have found other options.  One day I received a Groupon offer by email.  If you don’t know, Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that is localized to your zip code.  I have purchased dinners out, gift certificates to Amazon.com, even a Kindle Fire leather case, all for at least half off. This one was for 30 boot camp classes, for $18.  After reading the details of the offer, I decided to go for it.  The price was more than right, and I need the intensity that these classes assured me I would get. 


It turns out that this was the best purchase with the best value that I have made in a very long time.


I have only used 10 classes out of the 30 that I get to use.  I have to use them all by June 30th, so I schedule two every week, usually a Tuesday and Thursday, and I hike the perimeter trail of Piestawa Peak on Mondays and Fridays after work.  This schedule helps me to avoid the boredom of doing the same thing day after day, and I am exercising HARD four times a week.


Just last week, I found another private gym membership; this one was $20 for unlimited use for the month of July.  I’m keeping my eye out for great Groupon deals to keep me working out in a gym for the rest of the summer.

Official weigh in

Highest weight: 275 (January 1, 2012)
Previous weigh in: 252 (April 16th, 2012)

Current weigh in: 250 (April 30th, 2012) 

Total pounds lost: 25



Would you like to join me on this journey?  You don't need to pick up everything and move to the other side of the United States, but we can compare weight loss successes if you want to be a support for each other. Let me know!

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Coming Out of the Disney Closet °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°


 
I haven’t really explained the timeline for the move.  It’s no wonder people look at me strangely when I say we’re moving in the Fall of 2013!  Heck, they might have a 5th park build in Florida by that time!


We came to that date by talking through several things that need to happen.  Since Mark got out of the Army in 2006, he is taking advantage of his school benefits, and he’s following his passion by going to culinary school at the Art Institute of Phoenix. He started the program in July of 2011, and he anticipates graduation to be in the spring of 2013.


The move is really dependent on his landing a job in the Central Florida area, if not with the Disney Corporation.  We agree that we would be making a huge mistake if we moved across country without either of us having some job prospect.  He plans on making connections through his school’s placement program to either intern, or be placed at a resort in the area.  Disney also offers a student intern program that he is hoping to take advantage of. 


Since Mark will likely be moving to Orlando first, we will have to set him up in an apartment, if his internship program doesn’t have student housing. 


The next step is listing the house.  We have heard that despite the scorching summer heat, homes in Phoenix generally sell faster in the summer.  Any families that are home hunting want to search while their children are out of school, and they will want to be moved before school starts so they can settle in. 


Assuming things follow along that train of thought, I may have to empty my house by early August. 


Another delay comes because of my job.  I work for a company that does a huge amount of seasonal business.  Since the busiest time of year is August through mid-October, I really want to take advantage of the nearly unlimited overtime pay that I am able to. It’s thousands of dollars more in my pocket if I can stay in town. The challenge will be if I have to be out of my house in August. If I do, I will have to find temporary housing myself. 

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Follow your Bliss °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

“Listen with your heart, you will understand.” -- Pocahontas

Why SHOULDN’T we move to be near Disney?


Many times the first response I hear when I tell someone we’re moving to Florida to be near Disney is an outright laugh, or a snort.  That’s ok, I don’t mind it, sometimes I even think it sounds like an odd decision.


There was an author and orator by the name of Joseph Campbell who appeared in interviews on a PBS series and later published the transcripts called “The Power of Myth”, who coined the philosophical term “Follow Your Bliss”.  The phrase has permeated pop culture, and most people are aware of it; but most aren’t aware of the rest of what he was saying.  He said:

“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else." 

This philosophy touches me deeply and causes me to reflect on what I find blissful in my life.  These are things I return to time after time.

  • Disney
  • Theatre
  • Art and drawing
  • Reading
  • Love
  • When Mark gets home from work
  • When our dog rests his head on my lap
  • Christmas
  • Halloween
  • Mashing any combination of these things into one!

I don't think very many of us follow our bliss.  We may visit it as a hobby, or we may be too frightened to disrupt what we already know.  As an experiment, I took the words “your bliss” and replaced them with the word “Disney”.  Now it reads:

“Follow Disney. If you do follow Disney, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of Disney, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow Disney and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. If you follow Disney, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else." 

Who is say that Disney does not qualify as “bliss”?  Mark and I both find happiness and fulfillment from everything that Disney has to offer, on a daily basis.  It’s not just amusement parks, or animated movies. It’s a sense of community, a feeling of nostalgia, the longing to share those feelings with other people. Snort all you want my friend, but the signs were there all along.  You won’t snort when you want a place to stay when you come to Disney World on vacation, and we have a spare room for you!


What is your bliss? What is your passion? What makes you happiest in life?  Are you following it?  Please comment.


Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Monday, April 23, 2012

Showin’ Some Disney Love! °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

“Now, think of the happiest things.  It’s the same as having wings”
 – Peter Pan   

One of my earliest memories of Disney was visiting the park with my Grandparents, two Aunts and my parents when I was 6 or 7 years old.  I remember it was a rainy day, and I was holding hands with my Aunt Pam and Aunt Amber who are each 8-10 years older than me, while they swung me along between them by my arms, lifting me up higher so I would land in the next water puddle.  I distinctly remember doing this along Main Street.

Another memory is of my Aunt Pam offering to buy me a souvenir, as long as it was within her budget.  I remember wanting a teddy bear very badly, and I found a tan bear that perfectly fit the “type” of teddy that my young mind insisted they should look like.  It was the epitome of the classic teddy, in my opinion.  Unfortunately, it cost more than what my Aunt wanted to pay, but after some discussion, during which I was clearly unrelenting, I got the bear I really wanted, much to the dismay of my Aunt and her empty pocketbook.  The best part of the story is that I still have that little bear to this day, and I’ve managed to keep it in pretty good condition!  Here is a picture of my 35 year old Teddy.  I believe we found him in a store on Main Street:


I’d have to admit that a lot of my memoires of Disneyland and Disney World have run together and I am unable to associate the memories with a specific trip or park, especially those from my childhood.  A few of my memories have proven to be gleaned from photographs (which tell me they may not even be an actual memory).

Additional early Disney impressions:

I don’t remember much about the day, but I remember that by night time, I was worn out and my father carried me out to the parking lot on his shoulders, while I was crying.  I remember my mother scolding me, saying “Your father is tired, too, but he is still carrying you.  Stop crying”.

Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade left a huge impression on me, and I wanted very badly to be in the parade.  I most wanted to be Pete, sitting on top of his green and pink dragon, Elliott.  I couldn’t think of a more exciting job than one where you could have soot on your face and clothes and get to ride on a brightly lit dragon, all while he swooped his neck over audiences, spouting smoke at them as well!  As I got a little bit older, my longing moved from the dusty urchin, to one of the Royal Court dancers who minuet behind Prince Charming.



A favorite ride of mine that has since gone the way of the Phantom Boats and the Chicken of the Sea Restaurant is the Adventure Thru Inner Space ride from Tomorrowland where you are shrunk and projected into the tiny world of molecules.  I still remember the giant blinking eye looking down at you through the microscope as well as the queue line display of the already miniaturized people who were in line ahead of you, sitting in their tiny buggies, showing us that we were next to be shrunk down to the size of an atom.  Each little guest figurine dressed in different clothes and hats to convince you further that the shrink ray was real.

I borrowed the photo above from a blog site that is all about Star Tours (which is on the same site that ATIS used to be). Thanks, www.endorexpress.net

Another attraction was the Circle-Vision 360° panoramic film “America the Beautiful”, where you stood in the center of the room and could watch the landscape in every direction. I remember that I couldn’t last very long without getting seasick! 


Above photos is the poster for the "America the Beautiful" attraction.  The next photo is the facade from the late 70's when I would have seen it.  photo source: www.DisneylandPostcards.com

What are your earliest memoires?  Do you have Disney images in your head from your childhood?  Remember any of the by-gone attractions?  Send them in.

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Friday, April 20, 2012

I’m Not a Poet, and My Feet Don’t Show it! °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

(Haiku: an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively.)

I am not much of a poet, and to be honest I was never able to follow a lot of poetry-sometimes it’s a bit like Shakespeare to me.  But I have discovered that haiku is a form of poetry that can keep my attention.  It’s poetry in 17 syllables.

While other forms of poetry can go on for pages, haiku is short and compact.  What this does is forces the poet to focus on only those words that mean the most to the poem. For several years, off and on, I have been writing haiku to entertain myself, to encapsulate a feeling or as a means to say “up yours” to the subject of the writing.  It’s a fun, sometimes challenging alternative to straight journal writing.  Generally, I prefer humorous, witty or subjects that reinforce positive morale.  I get just as jaded, or pissed off as the next person, so I can use all the positive reinforcement I can get my hands on. 

I started writing Disney haiku with the grand idea of trying to get a collection published. I don’t really know the first thing about that, so those pursuits never went anywhere, but I still keep the collection going.

There are so many Disney related subjects that I love (all the movie-both animated and live action, the “lands” at Disney, rides, characters, pin trading, parades, etc.), so I keep a list of them going, and when I have a spare half hour or so, I’ll pick one and write a quick haiku.  As I brainstorm the 5 and 7 syllable lines, it usually leads me a couple of haikus about the same subject.  I am posting a few here and plan to post them as a series.  If you love Disney haiku yourself, or even the regular old stuffy poetry type (Disney themed, of course), please feel free to send yours on and I will post them here for all the world to see.  Let’s really start a collection!  (Don’t worry, I’ll give you credit where credit is due).

The five haikus below are ones I’ve written in the past couple of years.  The 6th one is brand new, written just for this blog and YOU!

Main Street U.S.A.
From a time I never knew
The place I miss most

Three grim, grinning ghosts
That I cannot wait to see
-Materialize

Elliot is green
And flies with tiny pink wings
-If you can see him

Disney trading pins
Can I look at your lanyard?
I have a rare one

Winnie and Piglet
Are the cutest versions of
A bear and a swine


… and a new one written just for the “Living a Disney Life” blog:

We are Ken and Mark
Moving to Florida soon
Who wants to join us?



Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

On the Hunt for InspEARation °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

I recently stumbled across a website/blog called www.thedisneydrivenlife.com, a site driven by people who feel the need to be near Disney.  In one of the one-hour “webisodes” the 3 hosts chat with guests and each other about their experiences of “moving to Disney”, some having already made the trip, others in the planning stages, others still dreaming away.


This site was a great source of inspiration and motivation; there are other people out there who are just like me.  It begins to boggle the mind when I think about how often I have visited Disneyland in California and assumed that every single guest was like me; visiting from another state or even country.  How many of the thousands of people live less than 30 minutes away and can drive over for a few hours any time they want?


When I was in my early 20’s I was on a Disneyland vacation, and I remember sitting alone along the curb on Main Street saving a spot for my friends to sit and watch the parade that was scheduled to start in about 45 minutes.  I think the parade that year was the Light Magic “Streetacular” (quick research shows that it was actually Summer 1997, when I was in my very late 20’s, not my early), a spectacle which was to replace the iconic Main Street Electrical Parade.  A woman came up with her 8-year-old son and asked if there was room for them as well as my group.  Of course I made room, and we struck up a conversation. She told me about how cute the show was.  I asked her if it was the end of her visit to Disney (again, assuming that she had travelled here from some very long distance) and she said, “Oh, no. I live here.  I just brought my son to see the show because he hasn’t seen it yet.  I come 2 or 3 times a week.”  She must have seen my eyes bugging out of my head before I got it back together and asked her what that was like, to be an annual pass holder.  Her answer could not have better formed the foundation of my yet-to-be-formed “Move to Disney” philosophy.  She replied, “I love it.  Sometimes I will come and sit on a bench for lunch and then go home to pick up my son from school, or we will come in the evening, just to see the parade.”  Can you imagine having the opportunity to just drop by the happiest place on earth just for lunch or to see a show?!?  I want that life.



Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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