Thanks again to Deb at Focused on the Magic for hosting this week’s Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop!  In the spirit of the season, here’s a pic from one of my favorite shops in Disneyland.  The Disneyland Showcase is always decked out for the current celebration, be it Halloween or a new merchandise promotion.

Before I joined Instagram for iPhone, I thought Vinylmation were mearly meant to be displayed, dusted, and generally just looked at.  Who knew that there was a whole wonderful world of Vinylmation photography out there? 🙂  Well, I do now, and I have to say, as silly as it may seen, I enjoy seeing the fun places other people find to take pictures of their vinyls and even coming up with a few of my own.  Here’s just a few of my favorites from my own collection.

I particuarly love these three because they remind me so much of Disneyland.  The first was taken while waiting in line for the first day of the D23 Expo.  The second is my “mistake” chaser from a Lion King vinyl pull at the Expo.  Rafiki was also a pull from the Expo.  I like capturing these funny little pieces of art in the most interesting locations.  What about you?  Any other Vinylmation photographers out there?  Tell us all about it in the comments!

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.

-Winnie the Pooh –

My grandma’s favorite ride at Disneyland is the Mark Twain Riverboat.  She could ride it over and over (and over) and never tire of it.  We haven’t been able to take her to Disneyland in quite a few years and I know how much she wishes she could be cruising around the Rivers of America once again.  A few weeks ago, my grandma got bronchitis and her health has been declining rapidly ever since.  Two weeks ago, her doctor determined that she needed more aggressive treatment and admitted her to a rehab facility.  Today, the doctor determined that she wouldn’t ever be able to return home – next week we will admit her to an assisted living facility.  My grandma has lived with us since I was two, and the house feels especially empty tonight.

As I was looking through old pictures from our first trip to Disneyland, I discovered this one and I could vividly remember the joy we were feeling when this photo was captured.  As the years have gone on, and my grandma has become unable to travel with us, my mom and I typically opt to pass on the majestic Mark Twain.  But, whenever we are in the Park and pass the river, we take a silent moment to reflect on how much my grandma loves that ride and the pure happiness that you could see in her eyes whenever she was on it.

Thanks once again to Deb at Focused on the Magic for hosting the Disney Wordless Wednesday blog hop!  Today’s theme is fall and nothing says fall like the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at the Haunted Mansion.  This picture is from the graveyard in front of the mansion, which also has received some festive decorations for the season.  Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic and see all of the other great Wordless Wednesday posts.

I took my first non-Disney vacation in quite some time last week, and it was truly phenomenal.  Not the highlight of my time by a long shot, but the only bloggable Disney moment ( 🙂 ) was when I got to visit my first Imagination Park Disney Store during the trip.

The new Kenwood Towne Center Store in Cincinnati opened just a month or so ago, so I was feeling pretty lucky to have made it there when I did and the store definitely did not disappoint.

Having worked at a very old “Pink & Green” style Disney Store, I was interested to see what these new format stores were all about.  I liked that when we walked up to this store the front just read “Disney” in those large, iconic letters.  It’s great brand marketing and a welcoming beacon to fans young and old.  Walking into the store is like stepping into a magical, digital park… complete with trees with changing leaves, a gazebo, and a winding pathway.  To the right is the world of Toy Story and Cars, and to the left is everything Disney Princesses.  As you meander along the pathway, you’re sure to see a surprise or two, including some of your favorite Disney characters “hanging” out in the trees.  Along the tops of the walls you can also catch a glimpse of projections of Disney/Pixar characters set in the backdrop of silhouettes of movie locations that fit in the park theme.  Near the back of the store, is a plush wonderland where kids can spin large gears to make the plush display move, as well as a fun park gazebo with a classic Disney Store screen and interactive elements for little ones.

While the product selection is large, it was comparable to the small, rather dated store here in Denver, with a few exceptions.  I was very excited to find the entire Disney Store fragrance line, including the new Pixie Dust scent, as well as a few collectible items that aren’t available locally.  Overall, however, I was impressed with all that was squeezed into this relatively small space.

I really enjoyed the Imagination Park concept and I think it infuses some of the magic back into the stores that has been missing in recent years.  The experience has been updated for the techno-generation but the magic has been revived for guests of every age.

It’s that time of year again, when a cool breeze whispers through the fallen leaves, when pumpkins peer down from the eaves on Main Street, when an eerie sort of orange hue seems to seep from the sunset and soak the night sky, and when ghostly stories catch the bony fingers of the wind and rattle through the Land.

Likewise, Halloween has come to Rays of Disneyland, so be sure to stay tuned for all the Not-So-Spooky fun!

One thing I remember quite vividly from my first trip to Disneyland is the giant “shadowbox” displaying Disney memorabilia at the entrance to Disneyland, as part of the 35th Anniversary celebration. To my knowledge, the collection debuted for this anniversary, but if you have more facts about it, please let me know in the comments! 🙂

I remember spending a good chunk of one of our Disneyland mornings staring at the huge case, like a real-life Where’s Waldo, trying to see every wonderful piece that was inside.  We spotted everything from toys and books I had at home, to toys and collectibles that my mom had played with 30-35 years prior.  While I wish I had loads more pictures of this special display, I did find the one to the right, as well as a few seconds of home video of me just standing there in front of it. 😀

Thankfully, this wonderful piece of Disney history found a permanent home in the Disneyland Hotel.  You have to search a little to find it, and, admittedly, I haven’t been back to this area of the hotel since they started renovation on the Magic (now Fantasy) Tower, but, as far as I know, if you enter the building near the Goofy’s Kitchen entrance and turn right toward the ballrooms, you’ll find the memorabilia display on the wall in the hallway.

Since that first time seeing the collection, I’ve been able to spend much more time studying and finding all kinds of amazing things in there.  Just about every vintage collectible you can imagine lies within that glass case… original Disneyland board games, Cast Member name tags from every celebration you can imagine, coloring books, puzzles, statues, plush, and so incredibly much more.

Every time I think about the first time I saw this amazing display it makes me feel happy.  I’m so happy that Disney decided to keep it alive in the Disneyland Hotel.  Now if I could just figure out where to put my own version in my house. 😉

Welcome, once again, to the Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by Deb at Focused on the Magic!  This week’s theme is “Face Characters,” and I, clearly, chose some of my favorite pics of my favorite gal pal, Tinker Bell. 😀  The first is one of my all-time favorite memories, Tinker Bell in Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams during Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary.  The second, is from just last year in Pixie Hollow at Disneyland.  I especially love this shot because it was such a fun surprise to be able to meet both Tink and Vidia in celebration of the release of Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. Enjoy, and be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic and check out the other Wordless Wednesday posts!

This post falls in the category of Not Quite Disney But… when you live 1,000 miles away from the Magic, it’s always special to find a little bit of the Magic in the everyday.  So, while the title of this post might be a bit cliche, it is definitely true.  I spent the day with my best friend and her beautiful little girl today.  It was the perfect girl’s day… a jaunt to the Butterfly Pavilion here in Denver and a shopping trip to pick up the requisite Vinylmation (or ‘Mation as the little one calls it :D) at the local Disney Store.

My friend and I have been through a lot together over the past few years, and our very friendship has come under fire on more than one occasion, so anytime we have the opporutnity to find a moment of peace together I consider it one of my greatest blessings.  The two of us and our families had an amazing time at Disney World in June, but I’m always looking for any opportunity for us to escape the reality that sometimes makes it hard to take a breath.  And, sometimes, we find it in the most unexpected of places… like sitting in an indoor greenhouse, quiet and reflecting, with hundreds of butterflies flitting around our heads.

So, here’s to friendship, to finding magic in the mundane, and to taking a moment out of the madness to stop and watch the butterflies.

Today’s Mapping the Magic Monday is all about a fun little gem I discovered in Mickey’s Toontown.  If you’ve ever traveled to the Land using a travel package, you probably received “tickets” to enter Toontown an hour before the rest of the guests.  I had heard quite a bit about the festivities during Mickey’s Toontown Morning Madness and it seemed like a lot of it was geared toward kids, but, having never let that stop me from joining in the Disney fun before, I wanted to give it a try.  So, one morning when we had a little time to spare, my mom and I headed back to experience the Madness for ourselves, and I’m so glad we did!

When you enter Toontown, they check your very tiny “ticket” and hand out a button and a map.  We had decided earlier that we would probably skip the opening ceremony with the Toontown Mayor in favor of hopping on Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin with absolutely NO line.  But once we were off of that attraction we decided to take a peek at the map they handed out when we walked in.  It was not only a map of Toontown, it was a scavenger hunt of sorts, pointing you toward six different locations with something fun to discover.  Since crowds were light during this morning preview, we were able to move around freely in Toontown, seeking out each place on the map, without having to maneuver through any throngs of people, and it proved to be lots of fun!

On the Map

*Click on the images for a larger version

M) Help Minnie Do the Dishes – The first clue on the map sent us in search of Minnie’s dishwasher.  This was one clue that we knew just where to look, so off we were to Minnie’s house to turn that magical knob on her dishwasher that starts the cute and interactive “washing” process.

I) Check the Mail in the Toontown Post Office – I have to say that, while we knew where the Toontown Post Office was, I had never been in to hear and see the fun surprises when you check the mail for each character.  In true Toontown form, the process was interactive and lots of fun.  Make sure you take the time to check these out the next time you find yourself in Toontown, if you haven’t already.

C) The Name of the Song Playing in Goofy’s Playhouse – This is one we definitely didn’t know off the top of our heads, so off we headed for Goofy’s Playhouse.  The Playhouse is such a cute place for kids to run off some energy and the theming here is really great.  You have to enter the Playhouse through Goofy’s garden and there are so many fun things to see in the garden… lots of great Disney Imagineering here.  Once inside, you’ll find the name of the song playing on the sheet music on Goofy’s piano.

K) Calling the Toontown Police – If you think in the picture to the left that it looks like Christmas-time in Toontown, you would be right.   Turns out that the phone to call the Toontown Police isn’t in exactly the right spot on the Morning Madness map.  We had quite an jaunt around Toontown trying to find this elusive phone.  It turned out that we never found the it on that trip, but it seemed to be in such an obvious place when we were back in Toontown a few months later!  Once we finally found it, there were some very funny things to be heard when we picked up the receiver.

E) Hop in the Driver’s Seat of Mickey’s Car – Mickey’s car is hard to miss in Toontown, it sits in the driveway of Mickey’s House, and it is even harder to resist the urge to hop in and snap a pic.

Y) Stomp on the Plaques Around Mickey’s Fountain – This location was definitely the most surprising and unexpected part of the hunt.  Sure, we had seen the fountain, and probably even noticed the plaques on the ground surrounding it, but we had definitely never stepped on them to see what happened.  If you have discovered this unexpected gem in Toontown, you know why it’s so special, and if you haven’t, I’m not going to give away the surprise, so don’t forget to check it out yourself the next time you are in Disneyland!