I am giddily anticipating the release of Epic Mickey tomorrow. I've already had my fit at GameStop for not having a midnight release party. After all, if they can have one for stupid Halo ... why not My Favorite Mouse?
Harumph. Clearly they just don't understand how important this is to me.
Anyhow, I'm ecstatic. The release date is upon us. Panda pre-ordered the collector's edition for me, so I can't wait to get home from work tomorrow and play it.
Also on the docket for release tomorrow: Waking Sleeping Beauty. This documentary chronicles the reworking and resurgence of the Disney Animation team. I've heard such wonderful things about this movie, so I really am anticipating it.
Besides ... I need something to occupy my time until next Tuesday. What's that, you ask? Why, it's the Blu-Ray release of Eclipse. Yes, I admit it. I'm one of "those women" ... the Twilight moms. ***paperbag over head***
Here's to some great video and gaming releases this week!
So, my husband got his first taste of the madness that is Black Friday today. He's never went shopping on this fateful and joyous day. So of course I schooled him.
During our travels today, we came across two things that were for mommy (me) ... Check them out.
First, my hubby threw this in the cart ... the Epic Mickey Wiimote Charging Station.
You sit the Wiimote in the inkblot cradle, and it charges. He also snagged a black Wiimote for me. Get this - its eyes light up! It's really spooky, but very very cool. You can't see the Mickey figure very well, but it is on the lower right corner. He's wielding the paintbrush! Speaking of ... check out my other exciting purchase:
Yes, that's the paintbrush nunchuk. Seriously, it's really cool. I'm really excited about using it to play the game.
Tuesday will be quite the stressful day for me ... so many choices! Do I zone out with Epic Mickey all night? Or do I take an hour-long break for my weekly Glee fest? Of course I'll break for Glee. But still. Decisions, decisions.
If you're anything like me, you are the photographer of the family. Sure, you have hundreds - maybe thousands - of photos. But are you in many of them? How about even just SOME of them? Nope. Not me.
Disney has a great solution - PhotoPass. Get this: You get yourself a credit card sized card either from a photographer or in the mail before you leave. Photographers, stationed throughout the World, take this card and scan it. It associates the photos taken with your number. You get home, claim your photos, edit them, order a CD, and TA DA! In a week, you have photos. With you in them! Amazing.
Even cooler: They have some "trick shots". One of my favorite photos of my daughter from last year was on our arrival day - they put Tinkerbell into the shot, like magic.
Another bonus is that Disney has several borders that you can choose from to enhance your photos. One of my favorite tips is to put a border on every photo, and save it as a copy. That way, you have the original to work with, but you also have a cool border to show off. As there is no extra charge for more photos, you may as well choose to put all sorts of borders on them. In fact, my most recent PhotoPass order required two full CDs to contain all of the joy and happiness!
Of course, this is the very basic gist of it. One of my most favorite sites is also (in my opinion) the most comprehensive explanation of PhotoPass. Check out Stitch Kingdom's PhotoPass Primer, and read carefully. They have tips about how to save money (I suggest finding some friends you can trust to do a "share"), what to look for when searching for a photographer, and even some sample photos. Check it out.
PS - happy anniversary to my BFF, my love, my everything ... Brad a/k/a "The Sad Panda". Or just "panda". I love you.
My love for Dole Whip is legendary. I have an unnatural obsession with the frozen pineapple goodness. One of the things I love most about the Polynesian is the dispenser at the Polynesian.
So, when I was so sad that I had to leave the Dole Whip behind, I vowed to find a way to get some of that frozen deliciousness for myself.
Would I have to order some from Hawaii? If I did that, I'd have to also buy an ice cream maker and make it myself.
So, seeing as how that isn't the optimal thing to do (but another month without my "fix" would have made it very necessary), I set out to find something similar. Little did I know that the magical elixir that haunts my dreams would make an appearance in a most unexpected way.
See, my Panda is a gamer. Like, to the point where he has Xbox jammy-pants that are threadbare (and essentially shredded in places). So we often frequent our local GameStop for midnight releases of video games. The most recent release, Halo: Reach, wasn't the most fun at our usual location. So we sought another location to patronize. We happened upon the Kingsdale branch, and realized we were home. So, for the next release (Medal of Honor), we pre-ordered and picked up there.
Upon arrival, we had about 40 minutes to kill before midnight. So we walked around the recently renovated plaza and looked at the new stores that we haven't patronized yet. One was very curious ... it was called Orange Leaf. A quick zip of the Droid revealed that it was a wonderful soft-serve frozen yogurt place. Curious, I looked to see what flavors they offered. And there it was.
Dole Pineapple.
**squee**
I nearly fainted.
Seeing as how it was nearly midnight and this mecca of deliciousness was closed ... we vowed to wait until we had the kids (and time) to go investigate. We went tonight, and BOY am I glad we did. It was an awesome experience, and I got my "fix". Everyone wins!
Now, the pineapple they offer at Orange Leaf isn't the creamy sensation that Disney has. It's more of a citrus sorbet type substance than a creamy "whip". I'm fairly sure that Disney's pixie-dust laden version is some sort of proprietary production method that whips more air into the raw mix than Orange Leaf does ... and I'm also not entirely sure that said Disney method doesn't involve Tinkerbell and a certain feeling of "if I tell you, I'll have to kill you." But oh. The Orange Leaf version? A very acceptable substitute. In fact, it was nothing short of amazing.
Here's my concoction. It was delicious soft serve with raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, and the trademark orange shovel.
I'm now wondering if it's socially acceptable for me to show up there again tomorrow. Maybe I can wear a disguise. Maybe I can just pay one flat fee, put my head under the dispenser, and pull the lever. A wise kitteh once said it best: OM NOM NOM.
In the past, when visiting The Most Magical Place On Earth, I've stayed off-site. Last year, my daughter and I stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. CBR was lovely ... it was peaceful, even though it was crowded; it was clean and a happy place to be. We made some lovely memories.
But this year? I've discovered the most wonderful, peaceful, beautiful, MAGICAL place on the planet.
In the past, I was one of "those people". You know, the "I don't care where I lay my head, I'll be too tired to care anyhow" types. The whole "It's a hotel room. I can save a lot by staying someplace cheaper per night" thing.
Ha. Ha HA ha.
From the moment we arrived on Magical Express, I was taken aback at the sheer beauty and comfort of the Great Ceremonial House (the main area). Upon check-in, the cast members behind the counter treated me as if it were the most lucky thing EVER to happen to them, that I came there to visit. Unreal.
And then, after we checked in to our room, I captured this magical moment:
That's my daughter, on the balcony, just taking in the magic of the volcano pool. She was amazed. She was even more amazed at the Dole Whip machine at Captain Cook's (the counter service place that we frequented with our resort mugs and a never-ending quest for sweet tea).
Over the week, we fell more and more in love with the Polynesian. The grounds are stunning, the cast members are amazing (especially our awesome Mousekeeper, Novlet), and the proximity to the monorail was the cherry on top of a lovely week together. My daughter now refers to it as her "happy place" ... and I'm quite apt to agree with her.
I'm honestly so in love with the Polynesian that I'm currently stalking the prices for ESPN: The Weekend to see if I can sneak in a little Mommy And Panda Magic trip.
My poor sweet husband, who is known as The Sad Panda (or just "Panda"), puts up with an inordinate amount of what he calls "mouse talk". So I figured that I'd save his brain matter from being bombarded with talk of The Mountains, or where we should eat next time we go, or how much I can't WAIT to go to Orange Leaf and get some Dole Whip.
Poor guy.
Anyhow, I figured that if I had my own little corner of the web, I could share my Disney love with those who might actually enjoy reading it.
