The Start of the Man That Started it All

This was my thought process. I kid
you not. 

About a week ago, I had the chance to go to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. What I really liked about this museum is that instead of focusing on Walt Disney Studios as a whole, the entire museum was focused directly on the life of Walt Disney himself. I had been dreaming about going to this museum since I had found out about it, and I honestly didn't even know what to expect-- I was actually pretty terrified that it wouldn't be as good as I had been anticipating for the past year... but it ended up being so much better than I could have possibly imagined.

The museum went chronologically through Walt Disney's life, starting from before he was even born by showing us his family tree, to just after his death by showing the museum-goers the world's reaction to the passing of this amazing man. Today though, rather than talking all about the museum (even though I very highly recommend it), I'll be taking you on a short little trip through the younger years of the wonderful man that is Walt Disney.

Walt's home in Marceline

Birth

Walt Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901 to Elias and Flora Disney. Walt had 4 siblings-- three brothers named Roy, Raymond, and Herbert, and a sister named Ruth. Roy is the sibling that you probably hear the most about, seeing as he had a lot to do with the Walt Disney Company later on. His father built and sold houses there, and later worked at the World's Columbian Exposition for a dollar a day, seven days a week, so that the family could move somewhere else.

Marceline

That "somewhere else" was a little farm in the small town of Marceline, Missouri. Walt was five when the family moved to Marceline, and though he didn't live there for a long time, the town of Marceline impacted him greatly. In fact, Walt himself said "To tell the truth, more things of importance have happened to me in Marceline than have ever happened since, or are likely to in the future." Some of these "things of importance" included watching the trains come and go at the nearby Santa Fe Railroad tracks, his first attempts at art, and many more little memories that he kept with him till the end of his life.

Kansas City

The Disney family left Marceline when Walt was nine years old to go live in Kansas City, where Elias Disney almost immediately bought a newspaper and Walt and his brother Roy would work as delivery boys for their father. Walt worked as a delivery boy for six years, walking up to the doors of each house and setting the newspaper carefully on the porch, walking through rainstorms and blizzards to deliver the paper, and waking up at 3:30am for the morning paper route and falling asleep late at night after delivering the nightly paper. It was also in Kansas City that Walt was introduced to vaudeville and movies and took his first art classes at Kansas City Art Institute. In addition to all of these things, Walt worked as a news butcher on the Santa Fe train route, selling papers, candy, food, drinks, and more on the trains. This experience was one that he enjoyed greatly and influenced his life very much, even though he only worked at it for one summer before resigning because he was losing money. 

Chicago

Cartoon drawn by Walt Disney for McKinley High
School newspaper

A little after this, Walt moved (back) to Chicago, where he enrolled as a freshman in McKinley High School, and drew cartoons for the school newspaper, The Voice. There were many times that Walt would play hooky from school in order to go to the art institute or hang around the newspaper offices, both of which were things that he found intriguing. Walt continued to go to art school in Chicago, his father agreeing to pay for the classes as long as Walt contributed to the family income, the reason that Walt got a job in a jelly factory that his dad had financial interest in, and later on working at the post office.

The Red Cross

A letter home to some friends while Walt
was in France

Walt Disney was eager to get overseas and help with the war effort in WW1, saying that he didn't want his grandkids asking why he wasn't in the war and calling him a slacker. Though he couldn't get into the army, he found another way to help out with the war effort-- the American Ambulance Corps, a part of the Red Cross and a group that wasn't as picky about age requirements. 

His dad didn't want to sign the permission slip, saying that he was signing a death warrant for his son, but Flora Disney signed the paper, saying that she "would rather sign [the paper] and the know where he is than have him run off". The only catch was that the age requirement was 17, and Walt was only 16, so after his mother had signed off and wrote his birthday, Walt changed the "1" in 1901, to a zero, falsifying the slip.

On November 18, 1918, after the war had already ended, Walt was shipped out to France, where he drove trucks and ambulances, and later was assigned to a motor pool, which was a glorified taxi service for Army officials. 

Walt drew cartoons on the canvas of the trucks for himself and many friends, as well as caricatures and things for the boys to send back home. In addition to drawing cartoons, he also drew many other things including fake medals on his and others' jackets and drawing camouflage on a helmet per request from a friend that wanted a "sniper's helmet".

After the Red Cross

Walt standing by a Red Cross vehicle. Notice the cartoon
drawn on the canvas.

When Walt went back to America after his European experience, he didn't go back to high school. Nor did he take up the job at the jelly factory with the handsome salary that his father offered him. Instead, Walt Disney had decided that he wanted to be an artist.

Walt's father, Elias, had asked, "What do you want to do, Walter?', with Walt Disney replying "I want to be an artist. 

Elias Disney then asked, "And how do you expect to make a living as an artist?", to which Walt quite honestly answered,
"I don't know."

Well, I'd say he figured out how to make a living being an artist, don't you?

Sources:

- "An American Original: Walt Disney" by Bob Thomas

- "Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination" by Neal Gabler

- waltdisney.org (Walt Disney Family Museum website)

- startedbyamouse.com

- kclibrary.com (Kansas City library website)

All The Single Ladies

So yesterday was Valentine's Day, and as I sat watching Hercules last night, I couldn't help but think about how many Disney movies have to do primarily about romance. Sure, there might be another plot line (for example, Hercules is primarily about him becoming a hero so he can join his newfound godly family, but let's face it-- everyone thinks of his adorable move to save Meg at the end with possible penalty of death), but usually the primary plot line is about the main character finding true love. Almost directly after I thought this, I thought to myself-- "Wait, I can list 10 fantastic Disney movies that don't have to do with falling in love at the drop of a hat!" -- and that's exactly what I'm going to do for you right now.

I have gotten into so many arguments with Disney haters (I'll bet you're thinking: "I can't believe those exist!!" And yeah, me neither.), and every time I do, they always bring up the "Oh, well all Disney has to do with is women running after their love interests and changing for them and they're weak female role models!!" argument (I know, I could go on for hours about how wrong they are... but that's for another post). And every time I get this I bring up 10 Disney movies as a rebuttal-- and I could come up with more if I had to.

I decided that today, I would share my list of my top 10 Disney movies that don't have to do with true love with all of my single ladies out there, and you can enjoy a Very Disney Valentine's Day, while still being proud of your single lady status.

10. ANY PIXAR MOVIE

You can pick up almost any Pixar movie, turn it over, read the synopsis on the back, and not see anything about a love story. The only Pixar movies that I can think of that do have to do primarily with a love story is Wall-e and Up, but other than that, there are only minor love stories in these movies. 

Yes, Flick has Atta in A Bug's Life, Linguini has Colette in Ratatouille, and Lightning McQueen has Sally in Cars, but those aren't the main things that you think about when you think of those movies, and they are by no means a major part of the film! No, you think of Flick saving the ants from the grasshoppers with his lovable group of circus bugs, and the friendship between Remy and Linguini, and you think of Lighting finding who he really was-- not just a racecar, but a good guy with true friends.

I mean, think about Monster's Inc.-- do you think about romance? Or Finding Nemo or The Incredibles? Heck, it was through Pixar that Disney released it's first movie with a princess that didn't need a man-- Merida!

9. The Jungle Book

OK, everyone knows The Jungle Book, and whether you've seen it or not, you probably know at least ten words of the song "Bare Necessities".

When you watch this movie, you'll be following a little "man cub" named Mowgli, who has been living in the African Jungle with the animals for his whole life. You'll meet the fun, carefree bear, Baloo, crazy King Louie, and Bagheera, the responsible and caring panther. I promise you that you'll fall in love with all of these characters and have a great time dancing and singing along with all the characters (I know I do).

8. The Great Mouse Detective 

I'm sure that you had probably forgotten about this one-- or didn't know it existed. Well, it does exist, and it is a great movie. 

Mr. Basil (of Baker Street) is a detective, he has a friend that used to be an army doctor named Dawson, his hobbies include violin and chemistry, has a landlady named Ms. Judson... any of this sounding familiar? It should, because The Great Mouse Detective is yet another reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes. You've probably seen the old Sherlock Holmes with a pipe and a beard, or the RDJ Sherlock Holmes with the amazing Jude Law Watson, or maybe even the BBC Sherlock Holmes with great cheekbones, but this Sherlock Holmes is different-- he's a rodent.

7. The Sword in the Stone

OK, so know you might be thinking-- is she even showing me real Disney movies now? Right? I promise that all of these are Disney movies! And just because they're a little older, and they're lesser known, it doesn't mean that they can't be really great movies!

The Sword in the Stone is about a young boy named Arthur, who meets a kooky wizard named "Merlin" that believes Arthur is destined to rule as the rightful king of England. Trust me, you get it all in this movie-- magic spells, evil stepfathers, unlikely underdogs, crazy wizards and witches... you'll love it.

6. Wreck-It Ralph

Vintage video games, the "bad guy" that's actually the good guy, a little girl with a big attitude... what could go wrong?

The answer: absolutely nothing. This movie has everything for everyone. A classic Disney story for the Disney nerds, retro video games for the geeks, the adorable characters for the kids, and practically everything else you could wish for in a movie.

5. The Fox and the Hound

Alright, alright, you caught me. So there's a little bit of a love story in this one between Tod and Vixey, but I couldn't possibly skip past this one. 

I mean, this heart- wrenchingly amazing film couldn't be passed up on any list, no matter what it was! This classic movie is a must- watch no matter who you are. This movie is amazing and you will laugh and cry as you see the friendship between Tod and Copper, only to see the two childhood friends forced to become enemies later on. 

4. 101 Dalmations

Now, even though I absolutely love the live-action 101 Dalmatians, the animated version will always be my favorite. Just look at those cute little cartoon puppies!!

Do you like puppies? Good, because there are-- you guessed it-- one hundred and one of them in this movie. Do you want to know who is arguably the most evil Disney villian... ever? Watch this movie and find out. Trust me, if she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will.

3. Treasure Planet

So I'd be lying if I said that Treasure Planet wasn't up there with some of my favorite Disney movies (among about 50 other movies, but still), and I absolutely love that I can talk about it in this list. 

I love this movie for many reasons. I love literature, and this is based off of "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson (great name, I know), who was a great writer that had some amazing plot twists and complex characters in his book (which made it into the movie). I am a huge geek, and this movie is sci- fi. Science fiction + Disney = Give it to me NOW! I am also a huge fan of this guy named Joseph Gordon Levitt, and he just so happens to voice the main character. 

All of these reasons (and even more) are all reasons as to why I love this movie and hope that you'll enjoy just as much as me.

2. The Emperor's New Groove

Show of hands-- who hasn't seen The Emperor's New Groove? If you're answer was "that's me!" then get off of my blog, find it online (trust me, it's there), and don't come back until you've watched it.

This movie is perfect. In every sense of the word. Diabolical plans ("I'll turn him into a flea, a harmless, little flea, and then I'll put that flea in a box, and then I'll put that box inside of another box, and then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives... I'll smash it with a hammer!" -Yzma's amazing plan to kill Kuzco), amazing sidekicks that speak foreign languages ("Squeak, squeaking', squeak, squeakity" - how to say "my acorn is missing" in squirrel, you're welcome), and some great theme songs ("He's the sovereign lord of the nation, he's the hippest cat in creation" --theme song guy). It's got it all. I promise. Just watch it.

1. Brother Bear

I have movies that I like, and then I have movies that I love. And then I have movies that I have an undying devotion to. This is one of those movies. This is easily in my top 5 favorite Disney movies (and if you've ever met me, you'll know that that's saying something since I love everything that Walt Disney Studios has ever made. Ever.). So when I say this is a good movie, I mean it. Take my word on it.

To start off, the music was done by Disney Legend Phil Collins*, who is a genius. I mean, this music, along with the other Disney soundtrack he did, Tarzan, is probably some of the best music to accompany a Disney movie-- and that's saying something. Not to mention that this story is so deep and agonizingly meaningful (I mean that in the best possible way), but paired with some great moments and characters that bring the perfect amount of comic relief to the movie. This movie is perfect. It's another one that you need to watch no matter what. I promise it's online. Go watch it.

So that concludes my single ladies Disney list. I hope that you enjoy this list and all of the movies on it! Trust me, each and every one of them is just as good as any of the princess flicks out there! (And if you watch Brave, you're getting the best of both worlds!)

Sources:

- D23 (Disney legends page)

- IMDb

- Wikipedia

* See his Disney Legend page right here

Happy Birthday to the Happiest Place on Earth (Part 2!)

As you could probably tell from my previous blog post, I'm super pumped about the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration that's going to be happening at Disneyland starting this May, and if you couldn't tell, well-- I am so excited for this!!

My last post covered all of the fun new shows that are coming along with this sparkling celebration, and now I'm here to tell you about all of the dazzling decorations and merchandise that's going to accompany all of the new spectacles to celebrate Disneyland's birthday (I apologize in advance for the surplus of pictures that are going to come along with this post).

First off: Decorations. When you think of Disneyland, what's the first thing that comes to mind? I don't know about you, but for me it's the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The Sleeping Beauty Castle has been (and always will be) the very symbol of Disneyland. Sure, it might have started out as a promotional advertisement for Sleeping Beauty (which came out in 1959, four years after Disneyland opened), but it's become an iconic part of Disneyland.

With the new Diamond Celebration coming, Sleeping Beauty Castle is going to be shining with diamonds. You may have seen the shining spires in the first picture on the last blog post, and that's what we can expect the amazing new decorations on Sleeping Beauty Castle to look like.

The tips of the Castle will dazzle
with these diamond decorations

Not only will we get these glimmering decorations on Sleeping Beauty Castle, we can also expect them on the Carthay Circle Theatre on Buena Vista Street in California Adventure. Though this building isn't as iconic as Sleeping Beauty Castle, it is supposed to be California Adventure's equivalent of the Sleeping Beauty Castle (random Disney fact: there's actually a restaurant in the Carthay Circle Theatre, and it is also the residence of a special VIP club called Club 1901).

In addition to the beautiful diamonds, each of these buildings will get their own diamond medallion featuring the letter "D" and the entire park will glisten and gleam with festive banners and décor. The entire park will be adorned in decorations in varying shades of Disney blue.

What to expect for both the Sleeping Beauty Castle and Carthay Circle Theatre decorations

Up next: Merchandise. Now, everyone knows that Disney is always trying to make an extra buck (even though the Walt Disney Company is already worth about $143 billion*), and that they are always coming up with new stuff to sell to all of the Disneyholics (like me!). Though they already have a  plethora of merchandise for sale, they are coming out with over 500 new Disneyland items for the 60th Anniversary including items in sections such as apparel, home décor, accessories, souvenirs, toys, pins, and so much more.

My favorite piece of merchandise concept art, clearly
displaying the progression from past Disney to present
Disney

All of this new merchandise** isn't going to be all available at once, no, Disney is going to make certain groups available before others. The merchandise is going to follow a timeline. In the beginning, items that depict some of the original Disney films, featuring some the original characters such as Snow White and the seven dwarves, Pinnochio, Peter Pan, and many more of the classic Disney characters. As we get closer to the 60th, more merchandise will come out, and will be more colorful and introduce some of the more modern Disney characters (newer princesses, Pixar characters, etc.).

In addition to all of the normal merchandise, trading pin collectors will be excited to hear about the limited edition trading pins for the 60th Anniversary. The pins will come out one by one (one per month, starting in January and leading up to the 60th Anniversary on July 17)

Fun new pins for the 60th

The pins will feature some memorable quotes and moments from Walt Disney himself and even though I don't collect pins myself, I can't wait to drool over these beautiful pins.

So I'm really excited for the release all of this new limited edition merchandise and to go and see all the beautiful decorations that will be around the park. We only have three more months before we get to see all of these magical Disney ideas come to life and I hope that you're all just as excited about this as I am!!

Sources:
- Disney Parks blog
- disneyparksmerchandise.com
- disneydose.com

* statistic from May 2014
** look at some more art for the merchandise here

Happy Birthday to the Happiest Place on Earth (Part 1)

Ok, so it's not Disneyland's birthday just yet, but the new Diamond Celebration plan for the Disneyland 60th Anniversary has been announced and I am beyond excited for all of the new decorations, parades, shows, merchandise, and everything else that is going to come with this massive birthday party for the Happiest Place on Earth. In fact, I am so excited that I simply cannot restrict all of this Disney magic to only one blog post. It is because of this that I have decided to write two posts on all of the exciting plans for the Diamond Celebration. This first post will feature the new shows for the 60th anniversary. These shows include the new "Disneyland Forever" fireworks spectacular, the limited edition "World of Color-- Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney", and the luminous "Paint the Night" parade.

First look at 60th
Anniversary theme
released July 17, 2014

It was on the 59th birthday of Disneyland (July 17, 2014) that we first got our sneak peek of the theme for the Disneyland 60th anniversary, and even though that sneak peek was only one picture, it was enough to get me super pumped about what to expect for the Diamond Celebration.

On January 15, 2015, Disney Parks Blog posted about the opportunity for 200 Disney Parks Blog readers to register for a special event on January 28th that would talk about the plans for the Diamond Celebration and the chance to have special access to "Frozen Fun". Well, as you can expect, the event reached full capacity very quickly and the rest of the readers that didn't win had to sit and wait in front of their computers on January 28th for the post about the plans for the 60th Anniversary celebration.

Well after waiting for two weeks, we finally got the plans for the Diamond celebration and that's what I'm here to share with you today!

"Disneyland Forever" fireworks spectacular art

During this special event*, Tom Staggs, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts got up on stage, accompanied by Steve Davison, the executive of parades and spectaculars with Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment (I know, long title) to talk about what the Diamond Celebration had in store for all of the Disneyland guests. The highlight of this event was the preview of the brand new technology that would be used in the new "Disneyland Forever" fireworks spectacular. This show will feature new projection technologies that will be used to light up the Main Street buildings, Sleeping Beauty Castle, and even the Matterhorn in order to allow guests to completely immerse themselves in the world of Disney. In addition to this, the show will include glistening pyrotechnics and many other special effects to captivate the audience in this nighttime spectacular. What I am probably the most excited about with this new show is the new music from Disney Legend Richard Sherman**.

This isn't the only new show that Disney has in store for us, there will also be a special "World of Color" presentation in California Adventure called "World of Color-- Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney". This show will feature new animation and take the audience through the history of Walt Disney and Disneyland, hosted by Mickey Mouse himself as he takes us on an adventure through Walt Disney's imagination and his dream for Disneyland.

The last show announced was the "Paint the Night" parade (which you may have heard about because of the Hong Kong version) that will bring back the idea of the Main Street Electrical Parade, featuring new LED technology that will be on the floats, costumes, and practically everywhere else in this amazing parade. Are you a number person? Let me put it this way: This parade will have over 1.5 million LED lights and more than 75 performers altogether.

What to expect from the "Paint the Night" parade

If you couldn't already tell, I'm so excited for all of the new shows that will come with this amazing celebration, but I'm equally as excited for all of the AMAZING decorations and merchandise that we will see for the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration, which will be featured here on the next post.

All of this exciting new stuff will make it's Disneyland debut on May 22, so be sure to go check out this once in a lifetime celebration of the history and future of Disneyland. 

Sources: 
- Disney Parks Blog
- Disneydose.com
- ktla.com
- Disneyland.disney.go.com


* to watch this super special event, you can click here
** No, not the football player. I'm talking about Richard Sherman, the man that wrote iconic songs (along with his brother, Robert) such as "It's a Small World" and the Tiki Room music and wrote over 200 songs for 27 movies and over 2 dozen television productions. These are the men that you may have seen featured in "Saving Mr. Banks", because they wrote all of the songs for Mary Poppins, including one of Walt Disney's all- time favorite songs "Feed the Birds". Now do you understand why I'm so excited for this new music?? (Find out more about Richard Sherman right here)