This Is Halloween!

Today is Halloween! I thought it would be fun to go back in time and look at some of my Disney Parks Halloween pictures.

I just love how the Parks have embraced Halloween as much as Christmas and various other holidays. I was lucky enough to be in Walt Disney World Resort in 2009 during the Halloween season.

Notice that I was in shorts and short sleeves? I can't do that in Minnesota, especially this year!

Last year, I was at the Disneyland Resort D23, and so I got to pose outside of The Tower of Terror. Not really Halloween, but it "falls" into that category.

Then again this year, for my 30th high school reunion, I was back in California, so once again I posed at the Tower of Terror, but this time at night. Cool picture, don't you think?

This year, I brought my Mickey treat bowl into work. Mickey waves his arms and talks to you when grab a treat. What's funny is most of my unsuspecting coworkers are taking a treat, and when they do, Mickey scares the "candy" out of them. It's quite hilarious from my point of view!  Hey, no one said it was going to be easy. You get a trick before your treat!

Happy Halloween!

The Force Is Strong With This

By now you've heard the fantastic news of the latest partnership. If not, you're living on Tatooine or on an asteroid.

Disney announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Lucasfilm for $4.5 Billion! For a fan of both franchises (That term sounds so sportsy. Not a fan of that.) I'm so excited! Beyond excited! My two all-time loves are now under one company umbrella.

And of course, as soon as the announcement was made, countless Internet memes popped up everywhere. This one is one of my favorites.

So hopefully that means we'll not only see more movies with the storytelling of Episodes IV, V, and VI, but also we'll Star Wars Land at the Parks. And we may get the added bonus of seeing more Indiana Jones Attractions, too!

More to come on this exciting news!

Travel Planner Kenneth At Your Service!

I'm so excited to announce my friend, Kenneth, is a brand new travel planner for It's All About The Mouse Travel! I can't think of anyone who is more qualified to help you plan your Disney vacation with all the Guest Service you would expect from a Mouseketeer. (See, how could you not trust a man with a smile like that?!?)

Kenneth is a native Georgian and true Southern gentleman, who at the ripe old age of 19, opened his store, Enchanted Gardens Florist & Gifts, in 1986. His love affair with Disney started in 1998 when he added Walt Disney collectibles to his merchandise displays. His store came alive for him when he hosted Disney Artists, Sculptors & Imagineers for in-store signing events. I'm sure Kenneth isn't a name-dropper, but I bet it was such talented sculptors like Bruce Lau and Kent Melton who graced the walls of his store.

From The Walt Disney Classics Collection, Original Animation cels, to pins and the Disney busts from Grand Jester Studios (I should know about this one. He personally got me hooked and has sold me most of those pieces in my collection!), Kenneth has added a little Disney magic for his customers. I happen to know personally he will do whatever it take to help customer try to find their special Disney collectibles.

Like many of us Disney fans, Kenneth has logged many hours at Disney Theme Parks and on the Disney Cruise. He recently graduated from the "College of Disney Knowledge" and is excited to share his years of experience planning special vacations. His goal is to make your Disney vacation a magical experience for you and your family.

You can contact Kenneth at ken@mickeytoday.com to start planning your magical Disney vacation! And as a bonus, if you book or transfer an already booked 2013 Disney vacation with Kenneth before November 15, 2013 you will receive a $25 Disney gift card with your travel documents! If you book or transfer an already booked 2012 vacation you will receive a $50 Disney gift card with your travel documents! 

Don’t delay; contact Kenneth today! And be sure to tell your friends about him, too!

(And while I endorse this candidate for Magical travel, I do not receive any kickbacks. But I approve this message.)

Right On Target With Mickey

It's time for my annual business trip to Chicago for the International Municipal League conference. Because I ran out of time during my last two trips to Chicago, I was determined to find the new Disney Store located on State Street. That, and because it was raining and I forgot to pack a t-shirt to wear while setting up our booth, it was a no-brainer to buy Disney.

Like I mentioned, it was a rainy night, but thankfully not all that cold. I took the Red Line from my hotel up three stops to State and Monroe. As I was walking, the rain started to really come down, so I popped into a doorway to put on my windbreaker. I could hardly believe my eyes to see that there is a Target in Downtown Chicago now! (On State and Madison) Now I really was excited! I continued down the street one more block and found the new Disney Store.

While it's much smaller than its Michigan Avenue sister store, it still had the items for what I was looking.

I found this nifty umbrella, as well as a Chicago t-shirt with Mickey on it. I also had to pick up a few Chicago Disney pins for some friends.

I had to pick up this shirt, too, since it matches my Mickey bean bag plush.

Every time I go into a Disney Store in Chicago, I always have to look at the cute plush Mickey wearing that shirt. But since I have the bean bag version of it, and because my carry on is stuffed to the gills, I always pass. But you have to admit he's cute!

After I got my Disney fix, I immediately had to use one of my purchases, and out came the umbrella. Now I mentioned Target. Typically when I'm in Chicago, I have to find a Walgreens, CVS or 7-Eleven to buy bottled water, snacks, and something I forgot to pack, like shaving cream or toothpaste. Now, I can go to Target, which is exactly what I did! While the customer service is lacking, I didn't care, because it's Target and I know where to go to find things.

About this time, the tapeworm and my glucose were telling me it was time for dinner. I didn't want to go all the way back to the Chicago Hilton, drop off my goodies and head out again, so I decided to indulge. Have you been to Epic Burger? It's epic! It's along the lines of Five Guys. But being the big social media geek that I am, I like Epic Burger because you can Tweet and see your posts on their TV screen.

I ordered, sat down, posted a Tweet at #theepicburger, and my meal came. I looked up and discovered that their Twitter feed had frozen, so I couldn't see my Tweet! Drat! Oh well. What else was there to do but to dig into that juicy burger?

 

The "Block"

Now, I know better than to post pictures of my coworkers without their permission. However, the opportunity was too comical to pass up, so I lopped off their heads to protect the innocent.

Because I was a corporate trainer for over 26 years, I've very conscientious about body language. So take a look as my coworkers struck a pose. Bet you notice it too.

Es Macht Mich Traurig

Ich bin nicht erlaubt um einen Kommentar auf dem deutschen Disney Store Website veröffentlichen. 

Translation: I'm not allowed to leave a comment on the German Disney Store website. :-(

But if you read German, you may want to click on the picture or check out the site!

Don't Rain On My Parade (Or Pee On It)

I have to admit that it was the picture of the article that caught my eye. I was just going to use that on my Facebook page. But then I was intrigued to read the article. I'm glad I did, because it was a great read. I don't want to give any of it away, so to read the entire Star Tribune article, click here.

Keepsake Ornament Fall Debut Weekend

It's that time of the year again. Thankfully the October event doesn't leave me as broke as the July one. But I still had to get up early and be at Hallmark by 8:00 to be one of the first to get the limited edition ornaments. No Star Wars ones this time around, but there were two great Disney ones: Cheshire Cat and Eve.

I have enough ornaments to decorate at least four trees, and at this rate, I can do five soon.

 

Click here to visit the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament site.

Anniversary Weekend

This weekend, I flew out to Colorado to celebrate my Dad's 77th birthday and my parent's 51st anniversary.  It's also another anniversary. On Monday, October 1st, EPCOT will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.  It's wonderful to see Walt's dream come alive and how much it's changed.

The first time I went to EPCOT was in 1986 with a bunch of friends. I was hooked from the moment we arrived, and it remains my favorite Park at Walt Disney World.

Besides everything that World Showcase has to offer, two of the best things to come out of EPCOT are Figment at The Journey Into Imagination pavilion and Kitchen Kabaret at The Land pavilion. If you don't know I'm a huge Figment fan, just check out this earlier blog post. Who couldn't love Figment?

Now if you mention Bonnie Appetite, Mr. Dairy Goods, The Cereal Sisters, Hamm and Eggz, the Colander Combo and the Fiesta Fruit to any fan, they will probably start singing some songs. The one that you will probably hear most often is 'Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit'.

Courtesy of http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/kk.htm

Tucked away in my storage unit are some plush toys of the Fiesta Fruit, ceramics of Mr. Dairy Goods and the Cereal Sisters, an apron, pot holder, the above place mat and various post cards. I wish they had done more! (And if Walt Disney Classics Collection is reading this, we must see them in WDCC!) Need proof of the apron? Check out this photo of me back in the '80's! That's back when I had hair and was thinner. I miss the '80's.

So Happy 30th to EPCOT and he's to many, many more years!

The Disney Store blog has a nice little tribute, so be sure to check it out here.

And that's just part of the proof from my shopping extravaganza on that trip.