Sunday, April 27, 2014

I’m Going to Disney World!

Yep, you read that right.

Reaction: can't hold it in anymore!
Source missing.

Video from YouTube. The Disney Freak’s Blog original video.

I cannot express how thrilled I am to return to Walt Disney World for my second trip!  Last time I went (2008), I was not a…fully-fledged Disney Freak, but now that I am, this visit is going to be extra magical!

Reaction: worth celebrating!
Source missing.

Since the recording of that vlog, we have decided to go to Walt Disney World on the Tuesday and Wednesday of our trip: June 17th.and 18th.  As mentioned, the focus of our visit is New Fantasyland, so expect plenty of content!

Bestie, her mom, and I are in the process of planning out our itinerary, which I will vlog about as soon as we finalize everything.  Bestie did personalize our MagicBands recently, so that will also become a vlog soon.  We also have some exciting…clothing news.

So, stay tuned!

www.MyVacationCountdown.com Ticker


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Saturday, April 12, 2014

First Look: Seven Dwarfs Animatronics!

Disney is hurriedly preparing for the opening of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster in New Fantasyland.  Now, they have unveiled the impressive animatronics of the Seven Dwarfs in this great video!

Video from YouTube.

Personally, this blows me away.  These are some of the most impressive and advanced animatronics Disney has yet created.  It’s simply incredible how fluidly the characters’ facial expressions are!

Image from InsidetheMagic.net

The Seven Dwarfs have popped right out of the film into real life!

GIF image from disney-darling.tumblr.com

Book your Disney trip with Destinations in Florida and see these animatronics first-hand when you experience the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!  CLICK HERE to book today!

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Pocket Princesses Celebrates 100th Comic Strip!

My absolute favorite Disney fan artist is Amy Mebberson, the creative mind behind the adorable Pocket Princesses.  The weekly one-panel comic strip features all the official Disney Princesses in candid moments (as Mebberon sees fit), with cameos from others such as Kida, Stitch, and the princes.

The strip is posted on Facebook (almost) every Friday, and yesterday's was the 100th post!

 I love all the excitement and hidden jokes in this one!
Did you find Snow White?
Image from the Pocket Princesses Facebook page.
Copyright belongs to Amy Mebberson.

Congrats to Pocket Princesses!  I highly encourage you to like the page on Facebook -- you won't be disappointed!  Every single strip is cute and hilarious.  Mebberson's take on the characters are true to the original and yet uniquely hers at the same time.

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This Impromptu “Let it Go” Cover is Stunning!

I have a confession that will be slightly awkward to make.

I love Maddie Holtze.

Why is this awkward?

Because I sort of know her.  (So Maddie, don't get "weird-ed" out!)

But ever since I first performed with her in a Giant Step Theatre production of Cinderella (she was Cinderella, I was in the ensemble), I wanted to be like her.

She is a gorgeous young woman, she can sing super well, and she’s one of the sweetest girls you’ll ever meet.

Speaking of her singing, she recently shared on Facebook a video of her singing an impromptu cover of “Let it Go” after church.  Already a big fan of her singing, I just knew I would have to share!

Maddie herself gave me permission to share the below video.



I was able to ask her a few questions about her singing, the video, and her plans for the future.

The Disney Freak’s Blog: When did you start singing?

Maddie Holtze: I started singing from the time I could talk, but have taken classical voice lessons for 5 years.

TDFB: What do you like about singing?

MH: What's not to love about singing? When I sing, or do any music for that matter, I feel like I can express myself and be truly me. I also love to bring beauty and music into the world, and I believe music can change lives.

TDFB: Why did you choose to sing "Let it Go"?

MH: We happened to be listening to Frozen and it came on.

TDFB: You said it was impromptu. Tell me about that. How did you set it up?

MH: I basically went up on stage and started singing to the recording, and Chris started messing with lighting. We had so much fun, we decided we'd film it after church.

TDFB: Who did the lighting? Did you know what he was planning to do?

MH: Like I said, Chris Helvick did the lighting. It was very surprising to me, I didn't know what he was going to do! The first time I did it, the time when it was truly spur of the moment, I kept stopping my singing to say "this is so cool!" Even the second time I didn't know what he would do, so was working very hard not to freak out!

TDFB: Did you and Chris have an audience? I couldn't quite tell!

MH: There were a couple of people there, but less than 5.

TDFB: What are your thoughts on "Let it Go"? Your interpretation of the message behind the lyrics?

MH: I really thought about how this is a turning point in her life. It sound cliché, but she tried so hard to be someone she was not, and it ended up almost destroying her. It's sort of something we all need to know: don't be anyone but ourselves

TDFB: Are you hoping to go into a singing career?

MH: Yup! I'm going to major in vocal performance. I got into NYU, the U of MN, Madison, Wheaton, Luther and McGill. There's a lot of deciding I have to do regarding distance and price, (especially price,) but I'm honored to have gotten in to all of them.

IMG_1516
Photo courtesy of Maddie Holtze and used with permission.


I’m telling you, this girl is going to go places!

A big thank you to Maddie for be so willing to let me share her video, and also for being so patient and persistent in getting me a copy that I could embed into this post!

Congrats, Maddie, and keep up with your amazing singing!

See you all real soon, everyone.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Disney Habits Turned Creepy in Real Life!

BuzzFeed decided to test some Disney habits in real life.  And the results are absolutely hilarious!

Video from YouTube.

My favorite was definitely the Beauty and the Beast-inspired one.  I totally lost it at “You can come out when you learn to respect me.”

"I think I might love you" = LOL
Image from survivingcollege.com

Which one was your favorite?  Which one was the funniest or creepiest?

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The Singers Behind Multi-Language “Let it Go”

Remember that multi-language version of “Let it Go” I shared months ago?

Well now, Disney has released a “behind the mic” version, letting us see the amazing singers who lent their voices so Elsa could sing in 25 different languages!

Video from YouTube.

I think it’s so cool to finally be able to see these ladies and just how talented they are, alone and together!

Just thought this was so cool that I had to share.
Image from moaang.tumblr.com

Thanks to Dewey for bringing this to my attention!  Check him out at Almost the Truth Publishing – he would appreciate it, and you won’t be disappointed!

See you all real soon.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Arrives at Tokyo DisneySea!

So at first I thought this was an April Fools day prank, based on when it was posted, but apparently it's actually true!

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has finally come to Disney Parks -- specifically (for now?) Tokyo DisneySea!

Both images from Disney Parks Blog

He has previously shown up in Tokyo, Florida and California but never has a costume character, only on parade floats or posters.

For those of you who are unsure who Oswald is, here's a snippet from his Wikipedia article:

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit) is an anthropomorphic rabbit and animated cartoon character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney for funny animal films distributed by Universal Pictures in the 1920s and 1930s. Walt Disney was eventually separated from the project and went on to create Mickey MouseCharles Mintz, and later Walter Lantz, took over production, creating new Oswald cartoons until 1943.
In 2003 Buena Vista Games pitched a concept for an Oswald-themed video game to Disney President and COO Bob Iger, who then became committed to bringing Oswald back to Disney. In 2006, nearly 80 years after Disney left Universal, The Walt Disney Company managed to acquire the intellectual property of Oswald and the catalog of Disney-produced Oswald films (with NBC/Universal effectively trading Oswald for the services of Al Michaels as play by play announcer on NBCSunday Night Football).

Ever since I started playing Epic Mickey, I have fallen in love with Oswald and his history.  I've waited years for him to come permanently to the Parks, and I believe this means he has!



Or, Disney, hurry up and bring him to the States!

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