I’ve found in writing these posts that there are so many small Disney moments that mean so much to me. When you put them all together they truly add up to the Disney experience that is so close to my heart.

Last April when I was visiting the Disneyland Resort, one morning breakfast was dedicated to a relaxing stop at the Disneyland Hotel’s Coffee House. This is always a memorable part of our trips to the park because it is usually quiet and not overly crowded. On this particular morning, tiny birds were out en force acting as cheeky beggars. Now, I’m sure you aren’t really supposed to feed these birds but I just couldn’t resist… they were just so sweet… Soon, the one or two birds we started with turned into three, four, five… well, I’m sure you get the picture. No doubt these birds are used to daily hand-outs because they weren’t at all afraid to literally take my poppy seed muffin out of my hand.

In the quiet of this early morning, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite Disney songs… “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins. I’ve read many accounts telling of how Walt Disney would go to the Sherman Brothers’ office before leaving the studio in the evenings and ask them to play “the song.” Walt, it would seem, felt that “Feed the Birds” was what Disney was all about. Yes, that’s a lot to get out of feeding a few chickadees at the Disneyland Hotel… but in that moment, I think I understood a little bit of what Uncle Walt was talking about.

In 2005, Ridley Pearson, adult thriller author, wrote what would soon become my favorite book… The Kingdom Keepers (later titled The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark).  This young-adult, page-turner was an adventure into the depths of backstage Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  Pearson researched Disney World from top to bottom and blended a perfect amount of fiction and fantasy… from catacombs below Pirates of the Caribbean to the Utilidors winding beneath the park.  The Kingdom Keepers is a MUST-READ for any die-hard Disney fan.

Now, Pearson has done it again… The Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn was released August 26th and proved to be a worthy sequel to my original favorite.  Virtual Magic Kingdom fans will be thrilled to see how Pearson revives the defunct on-line game in his fictional world and all Disney fans should be excited to see Pearson’s in-depth research of a different Disney theme park… Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  This book delivers in all the same areas of the original, but watch out for the cliff-hanger ending… you’ll will be scrambling for more!

Click below to watch Ridley Pearson take you on a tour of the Animal Kingdom as he previews The Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn…

Just the way it is… (but I still get excited for some changes)…

Okay, so call me crazy (and I’m sure most of you will…) but I love California Adventure. I really do. There is something strangely magical about walking under that Golden Gate Bridge and into the idyllic California that I see in my dreams. I have long wished to move to the Golden State, its crashing waves and sunny skies have been calling my name for years, and, somehow, this idealized Disney version of the state is exactly what my heart is longing for.

So, what does a perfect day at California Adventure look like? A little something like this…

1. As soon as the park opens, leisurely stroll through the resort guests entrance and then make a bee-line for Soarin’.
2. Soar over California… feet dangling, hair blowing, forgetting it’s only an “attraction…” sniffing in the sweet smells of California as the Golden State passes beneath my feet.
3. With my favorite big-ticket attraction under my belt, I’m free to work my way through the park at my own pace, making sure that I never miss Monsters Inc., the Animation Building, a shopping stop in Greetings from California and a photo-op in front of the wave-drenched, Titanium Sun.
4. Final stop? The Golden Dreams theater for a dose of history and inspiration… I know you are all groaning right now, but somehow this little video never tires for me…

While I’m still trying to get my life back to normal, I found this video on YouTube.  Disneyland Showtime is by far my favorite vintage Disney special.  The following video shows Kurt Russell talking about the making of the Haunted Mansion (which the special was promoting) and the Osmonds, Russell and EJ Peaker from Hello Dolly riding the newly opened attraction.

Sometimes even Pixie Dust can’t take away the pain… after six years with my beloved dog, my family had to make the decision to have her put down when she bit one of us.  I haven’t been keeping up with my blog lately and thought I owed an explanation.  Hopefully, when life gets back to normal, I will get back in the swing of things.  Thank you for your patience — A. Ray

I always know that I can go to my local Disney Store and talk Disney with other fans/fanatics… but sometimes it’s more fun to find fellow fans in unlikely places.  I was recently working at a teacher training workshop for my company and happened to find a fellow Disney geek among the attendees.  One thing led to another and we even realized that we had nearly matching Tinker Bell tattoos, both on our ankles!

These are the magical moments that make being a Disney fan 

truly fun and positively unique.  And, as if I needed more incentive to browse eBay for Disney collectibles, my new Disney 

friend runs a wonderful eBay store.  Just an Excuse is full of Disney treasures and plenty of Pixie Dust.  Be sure and check out this little Disney haven on eBay.

Today Disneyland will celebrate its 53rd anniversary and every Disney anniversary seems to have its own vibe… its own cadence and mood.  One of my favorite Disneyland memories is of Disneyland’s 35th Anniversary.  When you are only 8, those towering “Party Gras” balloon floats are a pretty unbelievable sight to see.  I will never forget the atmosphere of this time at the park.  It was Mardi Gras… Disney style… and for my first trip to Disneyland, it was unforgettable.  Remember the Dream Machine in the hub?  The anniversary collage at the turnstyle?  And those collectible “game piece” admission tickets?  Yes, I have a hearty display of tickets all displaying “Sorry, No Win”… just my luck!  My friends over at A Window to the Magic have lots of audio clips and memories from this celebration if you would like more info.

Sometimes the best Disney memories are the ones created by our loved ones.  I had the chance to spend some time tonight with some of my favorite cousins.  Unfortunately, they live too far away to see too often, but that makes our infrequent visits even more special.  We were talking about Disneyland this evening and our favorite memories made there… trust me, their story was one of the most magical I’ve ever heard.

When I was young I hated fireworks… really hated them… then I went to Disneyland.  When I was eight-years-old I saw Disney fireworks for the first time… I didn’t hate them anymore.  No one could believe that the little girl that cried at loud noise and couldn’t make it through a whole fireworks show was now mesmerized by the Disney showing.

Since then, I never went to the park that I didn’t cry when Tinker Bell flew down from the Matterhorn, in fact, I still cry when she takes her flight.  And, ever since that moment when I learned to love fireworks, I wished that I would make it to Disneyland for the Fourth of July.  When Disney was in the height of its glory celebrating its 50th anniversary, my wish came true… and what a wish it was.  Following on the heels of celebrating my mom’s birthday in the park, we braved monumental crowds and entered Disneyland early in the morning of the Fourth of July.

Perhaps more amazing than even the fireworks themselves was the spectacular Imagination to Celebration tour that took us on a chronological trip through Disneyland’s 50 years.  After a truly magical day… and hours before the fireworks were set to start… we took our place on Main Street with the throngs of other people and waited for the moment when the sky would erupt with both traditional Disney fireworks and an unbelievable patriotic display.  If you’ve ever imagined that Disney fireworks would beat all other Fourth of July displays, you were right.  These fireworks were unlike anything I had ever seen before and still stand as the bar by which I measure any other fireworks display.  We settled in for a 35+ minute show and, yes, more than a few tears trickled down my face as Tinker Bell took flight and sparkled through the night sky.