It seems that life sometimes gets away from us… when we least expect it, we find ourselves running around in circles without an end in sight. It is after such a time in my life that I find myself back at the helm of Rays of Disneyland and ready for a new year in the blogosphere.

1. The Christmas season is winding down, which always makes me sad… every year I say that the next year will be when I finally make it to Disneyland for the holidays. It looks like I’ll be shooting for 2009… I’ll keep you all posted.
2. My Bug’s Life desk decorations were a big hit this year and so much fun to plan. You would be surprised at how hard it is to see life from a bug’s perspective!
3. My favorite Christmas present? A negative and slide converter that will take all of my pre-digital memories and turn them into high res images that I can keep on my computer. Hopefully I will have lots of nostalgic Disneyland pictures to help embellish my memories on this blog.
4. Hymns at church for Christmas… not quite my speed. The church band completely rocking their rendition of Trans-Siberian’s Carol of the Bells… absolutely amazing.
5. The Disney World Christmas parade celebrated its 25th anniversary this year with lots of fun moments from the resorts on both coasts. Along with performances from some of my favorites… like David Cook 🙂 I’ve been watching the parade on Christmas for all 25 years and nothing else can replicate the feeling of bringing the parks into my family room for a few hours on Christmas.

October was a long month and I’ve been away from Rays of Disneyland for a while… I’m trying to change that now! Recently I’ve been spending a lot (too much) time over at the new Disney Fairies website. If you think you are too old for this on-line gaming community, well… so am I… but it’s still addicting 🙂 I just can’t get enough of those tiny fairies fluttering about Pixie Hollow! Check it out… and be sure to look up Serendipity Rainmist when you do.

In other pixie related news… I’m sure most of you have seen that the newest Disney Fairies have made residence at Disneyland (and kicked Ariel out of her grotto in the process!). Sadly, I missed them by about a month on my last Disneyland trip, so I am anxiously waiting to see them next year. One of my favorite websites, DisneyGeek.com has a wonderful photo update this week with lots of pictures of the stunning new Pixie Hollow at Disneyland. Also, Orlando Attractions Magazine had a great video of the fairies’ debut at Walt Disney World.

Finally, the cause of all this fairy buzz? The new Tinker Bell movie! Typically, I won’t even watch one of these Direct-to-DVD Disney sequels, but I have an exceptionally large soft spot for Tink and I couldn’t wait for this new movie. I have to say, it didn’t disappoint. I loved every moment and found just the right Disney details to make this a truly magical movie. The Tinker Bell movie was definitely my favorite Disney moment of the week… and I’ve already watched it twice.

1. I’ve been keeping up with my favorite Disney websites, comparing notes on the Halloween decorations that I got to see just days before Disneyland’s official kick-off… SIGH, I still have the giant Mickey pumpkin to cross off my list of Must-Sees at Disneyland.
2. After 3 months of grieving, my family has decided that it’s time for a new dog in our house… stay tuned for updates.
3. This was a long week at work… the kind of week that makes you spend too much work time daydreaming about Disneyland… ahhh, to be walking down Main Street USA.
4. Next week kicks off our Halloween Desk Decorating Contest at work, look for pictures of my Disney-themed – and sure to be prize-winning 😉 – creation!
5. On a non-Disney note, one of my favorite late-night, Friday activities is watching The Cosby Show on TV Land… now that’s quality TV!

When I was planning for my Disneyland trip, I was excited to see the new Innoventions Dream Home. But, mixed reviews from some of my favorite podcasts and websites, left me wondering if the Dream Home would be everything I hoped for. And the verdict? I loved it! The Dream Home has the kind of rich theming blended with cutting edge technology that Disney has perfected.

1. I came to the unfortunate realization this week that Flu bugs caught while at Disneyland are not any more magical than regular Flu bugs… in fact, they seem to last longer… not the kind of souvenir I was looking for!
2. My ever-growing trading pin collection was bolstered this week by the edition of 20 new pins from Disneyland… now that’s the kind of souvenir I like.
3. The new Platinum Edition Sleeping Beauty DVD comes out on Wednesday, and I’m still torn as to how many copies of the same Disney movie I actually need.
4. My team announced a Halloween Desk Decorating Contest at work this week… pictures to follow… I plan to smash the competition with a “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary” Halloween theme.
5. Making more time to blog is my top priority for this week, so expect more updates coming soon…

One of my favorite ways to share my thoughts on everything Disney with other Disney fans is on DisFriends .  This social networking site offers a forum for Disney fans to meet and mingle on the web.  Recently, problems with spammers and other “cyber-junk” threatened to shut down the site.  But, thanks to the help of the site’s founder and some wonderful volunteers, DisFriends has resumed operations with a fantastic new facelift that offers increased functionality and opportunities to meet other DisFriends.  Be sure to check it out and join the growing population of Disney fanatics… just like you!

After a vacation hiatus, I’m back on my blog kicking things off with a special birthday vacation edition of Fantasmic Five Friday…

1. After hearing mixed reviews of Innoventions new House of Tomorrow, I was extremely impressed with this new edition to Tomorrowland.
2. Disappointed that the Haunted Mansion Holiday was scheduled to open just two days after I left Disneyland, perhaps one of the best birthday gifts I received was a soft-opening of the holiday overlay on my last day in the park!
3. Toy Story Midway Mania didn’t disappoint… look out Buzz, I think I have a new favorite arcade-style attraction.
4. The Grand Californian was as majestic as ever, reminding me why it’s worth a little extra savings to stay here.
5. The Post-Disneyland Blues have set in hard… look for lots of Disneyland updates to follow.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already been a week since I wrote my last post!  What a crazy week it’s been… deadlines galore… and all that Disneyland daydreaming…  So, here’s the second edition of my own Fantasmic Five Friday.

In the (somewhat) grand tradition of many of my favorite bloggers… I’ve decided to add a weekly list of my top five “Fantasmic” things for the week. So, get ready for the first Fantasmic Five Friday!

I’ve nearly made it to the two-week mark until my birthday trip to Disneyland. I found a great website that is helping me count down the days. Mickey Path offers lots of backgrounds and “tickers” for watching the time tick by until your next Disney trip. Follow my progress below!