My Disney Mania

Donald's Great Adventure - Going to Walt Disney World

2009-12-01T15:21:00.002-06:00

It was way too early even for a duck to wake up this morning when we left for the airport. Luckily, ZapperZ had me in his backpack instead of his check-in luggage.

Here we are at the airport waiting for our departure. I don't know about you, but I just love those Southwest planes. That blue color looks very soothing, don't you think?

Here I am on the plane, waiting for take off. I have my seatbelt fastened, and my tray table in the upright and locked position. Let's fly!

I'm here! I remember this place well! And Mr. Driver, you'd better not accelerate very suddenly!

We are driving towards the Carriage House at Saratoga Springs resort, ZapperZ's "home". This place is HUGE!

A very pleasant cast member checked us in, and then asked for a picture with me. I never refuse requests from my fans.

After checking into our room and unpacking, we went to lunch at Wolfgang Puck Cafe. I'm starving and I'm sitting here waiting for our food to be delivered. Here! Number 91 is here!

ZapperZ thought it would be "funny" to take a picture of me on the nose of my statue in the Pin Central store. Ha, ha! I'm not always this angry.

I now need a nap!

DD.

Lunch

2009-12-01T12:16:00.001-06:00

Having lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. The weather is PERFECT!

We are home!

2009-12-01T11:00:00.001-06:00

We are at our home at Congress Park in SSR. Lovely view of downtown disney out of our room.

Almost there

2009-12-01T10:02:00.001-06:00

Donald is almost home.

We are here

2009-12-01T09:23:00.001-06:00

We have arrived in orlando.

On the plane

2009-12-01T06:28:00.001-06:00

We are on the plane and Donald is securely in his seat with his seatbelt fastened.

At the airport

2009-12-01T05:30:00.001-06:00

We made it to the airport in good time. An hour and a quarter till departure.

Donald's Great Adventure - Get Packing!

2009-11-30T16:31:00.004-06:00

ZapperZ always packs way too much when he travels. He's doing it again for this trip.

I just hope he doesn't think he can pack me in his luggage. That's no way to treat a Disney celebrity like me. I shouldn't even be in a carry-on.

DD.

Stupid Bomb Joke Lands Tourist in Jail

2009-11-30T10:15:00.002-06:00

OK, don't we all know already to NOT make a joke about hijacking, having a bomb, etc? I mean, most of us have had to go through airport security, etc. to know better. Well, you don't do that when going through the security checkpoint at Disney theme parks either. This German tourist obviously didn't learn this.

Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Solomons said Jochen Naumann, 37, told two Disney employees at the Magic Kingdom's security checkpoint that he had explosives in his bag.

The cast members notified deputies of the statement, and Solomons said the deputies searched the bag and found no explosives.

Naumann was taken to a Disney World security office to be interviewed. Solomons said he claimed he was only joking about the devices.

Are you still laughing now?

Zz.

Donald's Great Adventure - Off to Walt Disney World!

2009-11-30T05:21:00.003-06:00

Hello my great fans! This is Donald Duck again reporting. It is the day before my trip to Walt Disney World. I am busy packing all of my stuff. Well, I'm not, but ZapperZ is. I'm only going along for the ride. I just hope he doesn't stuff me in his check-in luggage - who knows where I will end up.

I'm here to tell you that I will be making my trip report while we are at the Most Magical Place on Earth. We have plenty of things to do, and ZapperZ has planned for two Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a Yuletide Fantasy tour, a Wishes Dessert Party, Dinner at Boma, and the DVC Member's Merry Mixer. If that doesn't make a duck like me drop in exhaustion, I don't know what will. In between all that, ZapperZ told me that he will also be blogging "live" using his "berry" phone (I don't remember what he calls it - it doesn't look like any berry that I've ever eaten). So there will be plenty of reports on here.

I'm very excited. Aren't you?

DD.

Disney Stores Report Brisk Friday Morning Sales

2009-11-28T06:43:00.004-06:00

Looks like Disney Stores' strategy of opening just past midnight the day after Thanksgiving might be working quite well. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the stores are making brisk business during those early hours.

"This is a really good start to the holiday season," said James Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide, part of Disney Consumer Products, a segment of Walt Disney Co.(DIS).

Roughly 130 of Disney's 205 stores opened at midnight, Fielding said, and those early-openers have performed well. Sales are up double-digits over last year as of noon eastern time, he said.

"We're really, really happy with our results," Fielding said. "The midnight opening stores are really pulling for us. We're cautiously optimistic about pulling out the whole day."

Let's see how well it does the rest of the holiday season.

Zz.

Disney snowglobes

2009-11-27T05:38:00.001-06:00

Ok. So who else go up at 4 am to go to JC Penney to get their yearly snowglobe? I did, and did some shopping too. In case Penneys want to know, I would probably not shop here every year if it weren't for the snowglobes. So the damn bait work!

Zz.

Glowing Review for "Princess and the Frog"

2009-11-26T07:11:00.002-06:00

First review I've read for Princess and the Frog, and it is an outstanding one.

The movie captures the traditional Disney aesthetic, with some up-to-date spins. Tiana is African-American, while Naveen's ethnic origins are less evident. The film embraces diversity in a natural way. The film's ethos is summed up by voodoo priestess Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) in her native patois: "Only thing important is what's under the skin."

Where Pinocchio was about wishing on a star, The Princess and the Frog emphasizes backing up wishes with hard work. That proviso is a thoughtful message for young moviegoers.

Too bad this complaining woman would not have had the pleasure of such a revelation. She might have learned something.

Zz.

Pardoned Turkey

2009-11-25T17:34:00.002-06:00

Pardoned national Thanksgiving turkey travels to Disneyland.

Zz.

The Making of the Sailor Mickey Balloon for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

2009-11-25T08:13:00.003-06:00

A cool video on the making of the Sailor Mickey balloon for the Thanksgiving Parade.

Don't forget that you can get the plush of sailor Mickey at Macy's.

Zz.

Misinformation on Disney's "Princess and the Frog"

2009-11-25T05:46:00.002-06:00

People often play quite "loose" with facts and fiction. Here in the US, I see that with the Health Care debacle, where misinformation and outright lies get passed on as "facts". Well, I sat through one yesterday and couldn't believe my ears.

I was at the DMV to change the address on my driver's license. While waiting for my number to be called, I heard this woman behind me, who was African-American, chatting with her friends (who was also African-American). I didn't pay much attention to what she was saying (she was doing most of the talking), even though I could hear every word. But I sat up and took notice when she said that Disney is racist. The reason for that? She was complaining about the upcoming "Princess and the Frog".

She claims that no other princesses turned into frogs, and that in the "original book", the princess didn't turn into a frog. She said that she'll never see a Disney movie again.

There are two problems with this:

1. The movie is loosely based on E.D. Baker's "The Frog Princess", which originally was the name of the movie until a complaint from the African-American community. In that book, the princess DID turn into a frog! Read a review of it. So it wasn't some racist Disney that went out of his/her way to do this. It was part of the story, and frankly, I thought it was a very cute and clever twist from the traditional fairy tale.

2. Why are we insulted with frogs? Would it have been OK if she turned into a horse instead? Frogs are an essential creature in our environment. In fact, the absence of frogs in many parts of the country is a worrisome trend. Frogs are as important and as noble a creature as any. Turning into a frog is not an insult, thankyouverymuch! I'm sure those frogs don't think that highly of humans either, especially those who abuse their own intelligence and spread such misinformation.

I was half tempted to actually told this woman about the errors in her judgment, but I thought better of it. The last thing I want to have is an argument at, of all places, the DMV. So I let it go (she made other silly remarks about human evolution, but I'm not going into that).

I also think that this is probably not isolated, and that such perpetuation of lies and misinformation probably is what fueled many of disenchantment with the movie, even before people see it.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

2009-11-24T04:48:00.002-06:00

Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom, at night.

Zz.

Donald's Great Adventure - Windy City Pin Traders November 2009 Meet and Holiday Parade on Michigan Avenue

2009-11-22T13:38:00.003-06:00

I had a very busy Saturday yesterday. As a celebrity like me, I get invited to many events and have to fulfill my public obligations. My fans want to see me and I am only too happy to oblige.

Started the day at the Windy City Pin Traders monthly pin meet. This time, they had another special guest (besides me, of course). It's the one and only Tom Tombush, the person responsible for the excellent Disneyana magazine, and the definitive pin traders book "Tomart's Guide to Disney Pin Trading". We spent a long time chatting with each other about everything Disney. I'm glad to see that he had a lot of Donald Duck pins with him.

The other part of the day is the holiday parade and the lighting of all the lights along Michigan Avenue in Chicago. All of my buddies here here to participate in this yearly event to kick off the holiday season along the Magnificent Mile. Here's me getting there early.

I had to run and get ready for the parade, so I'll let show you a few pictures of the festivities.

There were a lot of people who turned out for the parade. It started off with these large balloons that looked like presents going down the streets. Hey, where's my present?

My buddy Mickey was the Grand Marshall of the parade. He magically lighted up all the lights as he moved through the street.

All my friends were there - Goofy, Pluto, Minnie, Chip, and Dale. Of course, my darling Daisy was also there, and we were definitely the highlight of the parade. The crowd roared as we passed by them. My fans just can't get enough of seeing me.

Ah, another public obligation fulfilled.

DD.

Holiday parade

2009-11-21T17:07:00.001-06:00

We are on Michigan ave in Chicago waiting for the parade and Mickey to light up the holiday lights.

Zz.

Adults Being Kids

2009-11-21T09:45:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting here at a Starbucks and they have their Christmas decoration on. One of them is a paper ornament with a "I wish..." saying. This one says "I wish adults could remember being a child" I'd say that Disney fans remember being children. Thay is what makes the parks so magical!

Zz.

Testing

2009-11-21T05:59:00.001-06:00

Testing mobile blogger with my new Blackberry.

Random WDW Picture

2009-11-20T15:30:00.002-06:00

One of the most colorful sight in all of WDW. This, of course, is at Epcot in front of the Imagination pavilion.

Zz.

Joy To The Small World

2009-11-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

Awwww........ This will either make you very happy, or it will make you barf! :)

Zz.

When It Rains, It Pours For Johnny Depp

2009-11-18T11:08:00.003-06:00

Just as the media was reporting a whopping $35 million paycheck for Johnny Depp to star in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, People Magazine has named him as the 2009 Sexiest Man Alive. This is his second designation, with only Brad Pitt and George Clooney having the distinction of receiving this twice.

It's good to be Johnny Depp.

Zz.

Disneyland's New Audio-Animatronic Lincoln

2009-11-18T07:31:00.003-06:00

Video of the new Lincoln audio-animatronic at Disneyland's "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" attraction.

The comment accompanying this YouTube video claims that it is the "... most sophisticated audio animatronic to date... " Does that mean that the Yeti at Expedition Everest no longer holds that distinction? :)

Well, I just hope that Mr. Lincoln works more consistently than that Yeti, which seems to break down almost on every EE ride that I've been on lately. What's the point of having something that sophisticated, and spending all that money, when it doesn't work more than half of the time?

Zz.