A Suite fit for a Princess

Shockingly enough, there is one thing that money can't buy in Walt Disney World... the Cinderella Castle Suite.

The stained glass windows of the
suite

This suite is located in the Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World, and it's true-- it can't be bought. Only lucky winners* have had the chance to spend a night in this exclusive suite that many people don't even know exists. Soon, one lucky winner of the "Perfect Fit Sweepstakes" will get a chance to spend one night in the Cinderella Castle Suite**, and this inspired me to give a little history and tour about this luxurious exclusive suite.

The area where the Cinderella Castle Suite is now was originally intended to be an apartment for Walt Disney when he visited the park (similar to the firehouse apartment in Disneyland), but he never got the chance to spend a night his his suite (or even see the completed park) before his passing. After he passed, the space was made into an area for telephone operators, until they had too many people and the area was too small. For a while after this, the space stayed empty, until they started work on the suite in 2005 (and finished in 2007) to make it into what it is now.

The suite can fit up to six people and is incredibly lavishly adorned. It's decorated with a 17th century French chateau kind of feel. The thought (and money) that was put into this is insane and I get so excited whenever I talk about it. Just a warning-- there are going to be a lot of pictures in this post.

The first thing you see is the elevator, which you access using your "Key to the World" card. After getting off of the elevator, you go into the entrance hall. The most beautiful part of the entrance hall is probably the floor, a mosaic of Cinderella's coach made out of over 30,000 tiles-- including tiles made out of silver and gold.

You thought I was kidding, didn't you?

Look how gorgeous the entrance hall is! You can't see in this picture, but
there are scenes from the movie all around the ceiling.

After this, you go into the sleeping area. This is where the emergency exit is located (the windows behind the second bed in the first picture) and where we see the fireplace and the first TV. The details in the suite are amazing. If you look at a closer up picture of the top of the columns, you see that the mice (and other elements of the Cinderella movie) are carved into the top).

The TV is a portrait of Cinderella that turns into a TV when you press
a button on the remote

This is the TV in the next room. To keep with the 17th century
feel, the mirror turns into a tv when you press a button on the
remote and Tinker Bell flies across the screen

From here, you can go into the parlor/ sitting room. This is where the stained glass windows that you can see from the outside of the castle are located. These windows tell the story of Cinderella with images of a house, a letter, a clock, a shoe, Jaq and Gus Gus holding a key, and finally the castle.

Some of the stained glass windows

A telescope "from Captain Hook" and books "on loan from
Belle" in the sitting room

The last room is the bathroom, where there's a very fancy bath (with complementary princess bubble bath) where there is another tile mosaic and lights over it that twinkle like stars, towels in shapes of glass slippers and other Cinderella-like objects, and a toilet made to look like a throne.

While being so luxurious, the Cinderella Castle Suite is apparently pretty small (only 650 square feet), but still beautifully adorned. There are a lot of perks that come with staying in the Cinderella Castle Suite, including the normal things like fast passes and park experts for tour guides. Not only are there the normal things, there are also ornate chocolate coaches, fancy fruits, and a glass slipper for a guest to take home at the end of their stay. But wait, there's more! Many guests that have stayed in the Castle have had access to the Magic Kingdom park whenever they want it, including times when everyone has gone out from the park and you can get virtually anything you want (other than alcohol, as Magic Kingdom is a dry park). One guest talked about how her and her friends order hot chocolate and had it brought up to them immediately... at three in the morning!















If you couldn't already tell, it's probably one of my biggest Disney dreams to go and spend at least one night in the Cinderella Castle Suite (and get to experience everything that comes with it-- 3am trip to Main Street? YES!) and I hope that one day this dream will come true. Who knows, maybe I'll win the Perfect Fit Sweepstakes!

Be sure to check out this interview with someone that actually spent the night in the suite, this blog post written by the person that spent the night, and these videos of tours of the suite.

Sources:
- movoto.com "Cinderella's Castle Suite: What It's Like to Spend a Night in her Glass Slippers"
-The Happy Housewife blog "My Night in Cinderella's Castle"
- Disneytouristblog.com "Cinderella Castle Suite Tour and Photos"
- Disney.com

* and some celebrities, Tom Cruise and his daughter got a night there and Kevin Jonas and his wife got the suite for their anniversary (dream come true, right?)

** they also get 3 nights at a WDW resort hotel, a free 5-day "Magic Your Way" ticket with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun (and more), a makeover for one child at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, a
$500 gift card, and a bunch more fun stuff. Enter here.

My Disneyland Bucketlist

About a week ago, it was confirmed that I'm going to Disneyland this summer. When I found this out, I starting jumping around the room and I could not for the life of me form a coherent thought other than "I'm going to DISNEYLAND!"

For a while now, I've had a Disneyland Bucket List, and every time I go to Disneyland I tell myself that I'm going to get started on my list. Sometimes, I inadvertently get a couple of the things on my list, and do them without meaning to. Things like "Eat Dole whip" and "take pictures with princesses" are the easy ones that I always remember. But there are some things that I have on my list that I tend to write off thinking that if I do them, I won't have enough time to do all of the other things that I want to do.

Obviously, some of the things on my list are practically impossible, so I'm not going to put things like  Walt Disney's private Disneyland apartment or the Disneyland Dream Suite or the super-exclusive Club 33 on this post. But I'll definitely share all of the things that I really want to do at Disneyland (and actually have a chance).

Get all of the Disneyland Buttons

Disneyland gives out buttons for all kinds of occasions-- birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, the "honorary citizen award" that you can get by registering as a citizen of Disneyland at the Town Hall on Main Street U.S.A.-- and I hope that one day I'll be able to get all of them. There's a couple that I couldn't possibly get (1st trip, lost a tooth, etc.) but I'm aiming to obtain all of the buttons that I can!

Meet Oscar

Oscar Martinez is Disneyland's longest- serving cast member. He has been working as a cook at the Carnation Cafe for 58 years! He has trained thousands of other cast members and even has his own area on the menu at Carnation Cafe titled "Oscar's Picks".  A couple of years ago, when he hit his 55th anniversary of working at Disneyland, he was the first- ever cast member to receive the 55- year Snow White- themed service award. I've met and heard stories from plenty of people who have chatted with Oscar about the ways that the park has changed over the course of his time working there and I hope to talk to him next time I go!

See the Pet Cemetery at the Haunted Mansion

Ah yes, the fabled Haunted Mansion pet cemetery... it actually exists! Apparently, there are two of these pet cemeteries, though one of them is more exciting and detailed than the other. I remember asking for one of the "death certificates" that I'd heard so much about last time I stopped by Haunted Mansion, only to be told that they don't do that anymore-- I hope that I don't have a repeat of that!

Ride in the Lilly Belle 

The Lilly Belle Pullman Train Car is a very fancy car on the main Disneyland train that is named after Walt's wife, Lilly. This car is extremely high end and many famous people have used it to get around the park*. It's said that if you go to the Disneyland Main Street Station as soon as possible in the morning, you can get a ticket for a ride in the car (depending on various factors such as crowds, weather, how many cast members are working that day, etc.).

Leave a Message on Main Street

The best coffee in Disneyland can undoubtedly be found at the Market House on Main Street. But there is something that I only recently found out about the Market House other than the fact that it has amazing coffee and breakfast-- you can leave a message to the Disneyland- goers that will come after you. If you go to the Market House and walk a little to the right, you'll see the library. There are plenty of little props (some real, some not), and if you look for the little wooden box on the bottom shelf of one of the bookshelves, you'll see that it has a bunch of letters inside of it. These are all little messages from previous guests, and I hope to leave one next time that I go as well.

Pilot the Mark Twain

So does everyone know the Mark Twain Riverboat from Rivers of America? Yes? Good. Now does everyone know that if you ask a cast member (really nicely) if you can go to the wheel room of the Mark Twain and steer the boat on it's next voyage, they might just let you? Yeah, I didn't think so. I've known this little tidbit of Disney knowledge for a while now, but have never had the time to go, this year, I resolve to, because I want sooo badly to pilot that ship and toot it's horn all the way down the river.**

Spot the Eeyore Sign in Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones Adventure, The Temple of the Forbidden Eye. I love that ride. The technology they use for the cars-- genius. The cutting- edge audio animatronics they use for Indie-- top of the line. The hidden Eeyore parking lot sign-- wait. Yup, you heard me right. There is a hidden Eeyore parking sign in projection room when you're waiting in line, and it's there to pay homage to the Eeyore parking lot, which is now where the Indiana Jones attraction is. My hope is that I'll be able to spot it without having to ask a cast member to point it out to me.

Sources:

- innerchildfun.com

- dlrprepschool.com

- disneyparks blog

- longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com
- disneylandclub33.com
- just disney blog
- oh my Disney

* The first notable passengers on the Lilly Belle was the Japanese Emperor Hirohito and his wife, Empress Nagako.
** There is totally a chance that the cast member will say that you can't. 9 times out of 10 though, they'll probably let you. 

The Wonderful World of Pixar Shorts

So today we're talking about Pixar movies.... Well, sort of. Everyone has seen a Pixar movie, whether it be Incredibles or Toy Story, but not many people have seen the short films that accompany the movie unless you see them in theaters.

Whenever the news that a brand-new Pixar movie is coming out, my brain automatically goes to wondering what the short film will be this time, and this is exactly what happened when I heard about  Inside Out*. Recently, we got a sneak peek at the short film that is going to accompany the movie and I am beyond excited!

Pixar shorts have been going on for a long time, and it's my belief that they are the most under appreciated part of Pixar films (other than the amazing crew of people that work together to make all the magic come to life), and I'm here to share them with you today**!

Luxo Jr. (1986)

2.3 minutes

This short was nominated for an Academy Award and follows the lives of two lamps, one adult lamp and another baby lamp and the baby lamp's obsession with bouncy balls. This is where the lamp in the Pixar logo comes from!

Red's Dream (1987)

4.02 minutes

When I watch this short, I get the feeling that this is what caused many children to be terrified of clowns. I'm not even scared of clowns, and this one makes me a little uneasy. So if clown's aren't your thing, I wouldn't advise you to watch this, but that doesn't make it any less adorable.

This short centers around a sad, little tricycle that aspires to be in the circus and show off all of his juggling talents. I'm sensing a pattern here with the anthropomorphism....

Tin Toy (1988)

5 minutes

So a quick thing about the video is that you need to go to 6:35 to get to the actual short since the only correct video I could find was the opening to Toy Story when it was released on VHS (so it includes the commercials and things). 

If you watched this, you now know why Pixar refrained from animating anything resembling a human in their shorts before this. The baby in this film is pretty freaky looking... but I guess if you're a children's toy, babies are the scariest things out there! 

This film was nominated for and won an Academy Award, and was the first computer generated short film to do so. I'm still kind of shocked about the fact that it won an Oscar, to be honest.

Knick Knack (1989)

3:37 minutes

This short follows the attempts of a snowman in a snow globe to get out of his snow globe in an endeavor to reach one of the other "knick knacks". This film is adorable and endearing and thank God there weren't any creepy human-like characters in this one like in the past two. 

Geri's Game (1997)

4:52 minutes

There was a large gap between his short and the last, during this gap, Pixar obviously got some training in drawing people, because the old man in this short isn't nearly as scary as the clown or the baby in some of the other shorts.

This short follows an elderly man playing a very entertaining game of chess against himself in the park and, though there are some chess inconsistencies for all the chess-players out there, it is a very cute and entertaining short.

For the Birds (2000)

3: 36 minutes

This short also won an Oscar and follows the story of some very adorable (and very mean) birds sitting on a power line, along with a somewhat awkward bird that just wants to fit in with all the others.

Boundin' (2003)

I couldn't find it on youtube but it's here!!!

4: 30 minutes

So this Oscar-nominated short that was released with The Incredibles is adorable and I love all the rhyming and dancing in this film. It follows a sheep somewhere in the midwest that dances, gets sheared, and loses all confidence in himself. After this, though he meets a jackalope that gives him a pep talk and the sheep can dance and bound again.

One Man Band (2005)

4:21 minutes

This Academy Award nominated short film that accompanied Cars follows two "One Man Bands" as they compete against each other so that a girl in the square will give one of them her coin. This film is-- in my opinion-- pretty hilarious and ironic and I highly recommend it.

Lifted (2006)

4:50 minutes

This short accompanied Ratatouille and follows a young alien as he's going through his first lessen in abduction... and isn't doing so well.

Presto (2008)

4:35 minutes

This short film accompanied WALL-E and in it, we see a bunny and a magician who has tow magic hats. The cunning bunny is tormenting the magician in an effort to get a carrot.

Partly Cloudy (2009)

5:49 minutes

So the storks deliver the babies, right? But where do the storks get the babies? From the clouds, of course! But one cloud  is having a little bi of trouble...

Day and Night (2010)

5:51 minutes

So the video I got for this one has some different music than the original, but it was the only one that I could find.

When people say "opposites attract", they don't usually mean it like this, but when Day meets Night, and almost instant friendship forms.

La Luna (2011)

6:56 minutes

This short follows a son learning the family business, and putting his own spin on the family tradition of changing the way that the moon looks at night.

The Blue Umbrella (2013)

I couldn't find this one online ANYWHERE, which makes me really sad because it is probably my favorite Pixar short. This accompanied Monsters University and was really good and adorable, and if you ever have a chance to watch it, take it!!

The last thing I'm going to talk about is the short film that is going to accompany Inside Out that I am really excited about! The film that will accompany Inside Out is called Lava and will be featuring Pixar's biggest character yet-- a volcano!

Here's a sneak peek of the upcoming short:

Sources:

- Youtube.com

- Pixar.com

- totalshortfilms.com

* There's a great post about this movie on My Disney Ohana for those of you who haven't heard about it yet.
** Really quick, there are a couple of films that won't be on here. The Adventures of André and Wally B won't be on here because it was made when Pixar was still "The Graphics Group of Lucasfilm Computer Divison", so I don't count it as a Pixar short, and Paperman and Feast won't be on here because they were made only by Disney with no involvement of any kind by Pixar (but they are both Academy Award winning shorts and they're REALLY GOOD, so you should check them out!)