Am I capable of going one day without talking or thinking about or watching Disney in one form or another? I'm honestly not sure I want to because Disney makes me happy. I also don't think it's possible for me to not think about Disney because I have a LOT of Disney stuff- in my room, in my car, and on my computer.
I think I will try to have a day where I don't watch the Disney channel or a Disney movie or youtube clip just to see if I can do it. I may also try to not talk about anything Disney for a day, but that may be asking for too much from me.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
So much for a break!
Just when I thought I'd have an easy online religion class again during the Spring semester, I get a reality check.
My Teachings of the Living Prophets class is going to be good, but there seems to be a million talks that I will be reading in the next couple months. The class doesn't officially start until June, but I'm going to get started early so that I'm not drowning at the beginning of July.
Oh well. I guess this will get me in the mood for this coming Fall when I take my last and FINAL class at BYU-Idaho. At least, it BETTER be my last class I have to take or else I am going to scream!
My Teachings of the Living Prophets class is going to be good, but there seems to be a million talks that I will be reading in the next couple months. The class doesn't officially start until June, but I'm going to get started early so that I'm not drowning at the beginning of July.
Oh well. I guess this will get me in the mood for this coming Fall when I take my last and FINAL class at BYU-Idaho. At least, it BETTER be my last class I have to take or else I am going to scream!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Disney World Highlights
Here are some of my favorite parts of my Disney World visit.
I met Tiana and Naveen twice, but the second Tiana I met looked like she came directly out of the movie and the movie posters.
These two were so cute. Naveen quoted a line he says from the movie when I was talking to them: "Because if I can mince, she can dance." :D
This picture was taken my last day in Disney World. They were both so adorable. This next picture of me and Mickey says a lot.
After I got my picture with them, I got ready to leave and Minnie wanted a hug. Then I turned to leave and Mickey's arms were open so I could give him a hug. I love this picture because it was like Mickey was saying "Thank you so much for coming to see us again here in Disney World. We hope to see you real soon!"
The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! street party was AWESOME and so much fun!!!
Belle has always been my top favorite princess
I made a new friend named Heather who loves Minnie and Mickey as much as I do and she also clogs!
My friend Courtney is the reason I wasn't homeless during the first half of my stay. I stayed with her on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and went to church with her on Sunday. We became quick friends during our college program in 2008 when we discovered we both love characters. This next picture is of the first Naveen we met. Courtney fell head over heals for him.
He is just so cute!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Disney World vs. Disneyland continued
After going to Disney World and discussing WDW and Disneyland with various friends, I decided I wanted to start comparing the two to explain why I like certain things about each park. I kind of already covered some of the stuff that's different about the two, but I'm going to touch on it again just because I can. :)
Here are the basics about each park/resort in California and Florida.
Disney World
Location: Florida
Number of Theme parks: 4
Number of Water parks: 2
Places to Stay: 8 Deluxe Villas, 10 Deluxe Resort Hotels, 5 Moderate Resort Hotels, 4 Value Resort Hotels, 4 Campsites, and 2 Beach resorts
Things to Do: Downtown Disney, Boardwalk, ESPN Wide World of Sports, Cirque de Soleil, and 6 golf courses
Disneyland
Location: California
Number of Theme parks: 2
Number of Water parks: 0
Places to Stay: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, Good Neighbor Hotels
Things to Do: Downtown Disney
Each Disney Park has something to offer, it just depends on your preference. In my experience of both parks in the last year, I have discovered that I prefer Disney World to Disneyland. There are a few contributing factors to that.
Number One: Disneyland is too close for me. When I take a vacation, I want to be away from everything and that's why I like having to go to Florida to go to Disney World. I feel like I am in a bubble when I go to Disney World and that's what I want when I am on a vacation. I don't want to be so close that I can still kind of feel like I am back in Utah because the scenery is kind of similar. Obviously the temperature differences make going to California kind of like a vacation because Utah is colder than California.
In that same light of feeling like you are still kind of at home, California is dry like Utah. After experiencing California and Florida, I found out that I like the humidity of Florida. Yes, during the summer it can get almost unbearable because of the combination of the heat and the humidity, but I still like the humidity of Florida more than the dryness of California.
Number Two: Disneyland is too small for me. I am a person who likes variety and I'm sorry, but Disneyland just doesn't provide enough variety for me. I like having the option of going to four parks instead of two. The Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California are similar (as are Hollywood Studios and California Adventure) but still different. I'll get to similarities and differences of each park in a second.
When I was in Florida, I developed a special connection with the Animal Kingdom because of where I worked in Disney World (Animal Kingdom Lodge). When I went to Disneyland this past November, I felt like something was missing because I was so used to being able to go to the Animal Kingdom and feeling the experience of being in the wild (not to mention Expedition Everest is one of the coolest-themed and most fun roller coasters ever).
In that same light, I really like the variety that the Epcot center in Disney World offers even by itself. Like all the other parks, it has different 'lands,' (Future World and World Showcase). However, World Showcase allows you the experience of many different countries from all around the world. One of my favorite parts of my college program was attending the International Food and Wine Festival. It was fun to be able to have a 'progressive dinner' by having food from Chile, Africa, India and Greece and then having dessert from Africa. I love experiencing the culture of many different countries and sadly, as great as Disneyland is, it lacks the culture that Disney World has.
Number Three: Disney World has many, many resorts to explore. While Disneyland does have a few really nice resorts, it doesn't have the variety of Disney World has. This is a little of a repeat of the previous paragraphs, but as I said, I like variety. Disneyland has Downtown Disney, but Disney World has Downtown Disney plus a whole bunch of other places to go and things to do (see above for the list). I'm a person who can get bored easily, so Disneyland probably isn't the best park out of the two for me.
Number Four: Characters. This one will take some explaining because I have mixed feelings. In Disneyland, there are a few character spots where people can meet characters (meet Mickey in his house and Minnie at her house, Tiana and Naveen in New Orleans Square, princesses in Fantasy Faire, etc). However, I saw when I was in Disneyland last year that the characters seem to have more freedom in Disneyland to roam around with guests. I do like that because the characters have more chance to be more personal with their guest interaction. I only had a few characters I wanted to be sure I met while I was there, so I'm not sure if all the characters have specific places they are assigned to like in Disney World. I'm assuming that as for character times in Disneyland, it is similar to Disney World. I don't know. But since I have more knowledge about the characters in WDW because I worked there and I became very well-versed in many of their locations, I think Disney World's character greetings are better. But like I said, I don't know any people who have worked in Entertainment in Disneyland, so I guess I can't really say which one I like more. All I know is that when I met Mickey and Minnie in Toontown, neither of them met my expectations like they did in Disney World (however, they did both redeem themselves when I met them in California Adventure the next day).
Number Five: California Adventure vs. Hollywood Studios. These are both great parks and they have very similar themes. However, HS has Rockin' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror and CA only has Tower of Terror. Rockin' Rollercoaster is one of the funnest rides in Disney World because it has a fun theme (Aerosmith), it is indoors, and goes from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds. I do like the theme of California Adventure with the whole Paradise Pier theme, though. And I do very much enjoy California Screamin'. I guess you could call California Screamin' the equivalent of Rockin' Rollercoaster, but it would be a bit of a stretch because RR is more intense than CS. They are both roller coasters and they both go upside down at some point, but Rockin' Rollercoaster does loops and corkscrews and all sorts of crazy things. Since RR is an indoor coaster and CS is an outdoor one, they really aren't all that similar, other than the fact that they are both roller coasters.
Number Six: Fantasmic. I suppose I can't really judge Fantasmic in Disneyland because I didn't get to see it when I was there. I was there on a Wednesday and a Thursday and it was only running on the weekends. However, when watching Fantasmic, I like being able to sit down and have a specific place that is used only for Fantasmic. Disney World has an ampitheater that's only use is for Fantasmic. In Disneyland, Fantasmic takes place on Tom Sawyer's island and there aren't that many places to sit. Also, I haven't watched Disneyland's Fantasmic, but I have the soundtrack for both shows and just by listening to the music, I know the shows are different. I'm biased because I've only seen Fantasmic in Disney World, but I think it is better there than Disneyland. I'll probably have to find a way to watch Fantasmic in Disneyland just so there's an equal comparison in the two.
I think that's all I've got in discussing Disney World and Disneyland. It's like my friends and I were discussing when I was in Disney World, WDW and DL are two different parks. They have a similar theme overall, but they have different things to offer. I do like both parks. They are great and I love visiting both of them. I just prefer Disney World to Disneyland.
Oh! I just remembered a big factor that effected my preferences in parks. I went to Disneyland in November, which was right when they switched over from the "Celebrate" stuff to the Christmas stuff. I was disappointed because in Disney World, they had the same theme the entire year. They still had the Christmas and Halloween parties during the evenings, but the "Year of a Million Dreams" theme stayed constant during the day. I was expecting the same to happen in Disneyland, but I found out the hard way that that was not the case. I was looking forward to seeing the "Celebrate You" parade, but instead I saw the Christmas parade. It was nice, but it wasn't what I was expecting, so I was disappointed.
One more thing that caused me disequilibrium was when I went to see Mickey. Obviously he wouldn't be with Minnie like he is in Toontown in WDW since people were meeting her at her own house, but he was in his sorcerer outfit instead of his traditional outfit. AND (here is what threw me off) he was NOT wearing his sorcerer hat!! I was thinking "How can you be Sorcerer Mickey without your hat?!" Seriously! The mouse does not have his powers unless he is wearing his hat, so meeting him without his hat was weird. He was just in his robe and shoes. It was a little disconcerting.
I will admit, I like the history in Disneyland and the fact that it was the original. It's true that Walt didn't even get to see the opening of Walt Disney World before he died (hence the reason Walt Disney World is named after him). For historical purposes, I like Disneyland more. For entertainment purposes, I like Disney World.
Ok, I promise I'm done now.
Here are the basics about each park/resort in California and Florida.
Disney World
Location: Florida
Number of Theme parks: 4
Number of Water parks: 2
Places to Stay: 8 Deluxe Villas, 10 Deluxe Resort Hotels, 5 Moderate Resort Hotels, 4 Value Resort Hotels, 4 Campsites, and 2 Beach resorts
Things to Do: Downtown Disney, Boardwalk, ESPN Wide World of Sports, Cirque de Soleil, and 6 golf courses
Disneyland
Location: California
Number of Theme parks: 2
Number of Water parks: 0
Places to Stay: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, Good Neighbor Hotels
Things to Do: Downtown Disney
Each Disney Park has something to offer, it just depends on your preference. In my experience of both parks in the last year, I have discovered that I prefer Disney World to Disneyland. There are a few contributing factors to that.
Number One: Disneyland is too close for me. When I take a vacation, I want to be away from everything and that's why I like having to go to Florida to go to Disney World. I feel like I am in a bubble when I go to Disney World and that's what I want when I am on a vacation. I don't want to be so close that I can still kind of feel like I am back in Utah because the scenery is kind of similar. Obviously the temperature differences make going to California kind of like a vacation because Utah is colder than California.
In that same light of feeling like you are still kind of at home, California is dry like Utah. After experiencing California and Florida, I found out that I like the humidity of Florida. Yes, during the summer it can get almost unbearable because of the combination of the heat and the humidity, but I still like the humidity of Florida more than the dryness of California.
Number Two: Disneyland is too small for me. I am a person who likes variety and I'm sorry, but Disneyland just doesn't provide enough variety for me. I like having the option of going to four parks instead of two. The Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California are similar (as are Hollywood Studios and California Adventure) but still different. I'll get to similarities and differences of each park in a second.
When I was in Florida, I developed a special connection with the Animal Kingdom because of where I worked in Disney World (Animal Kingdom Lodge). When I went to Disneyland this past November, I felt like something was missing because I was so used to being able to go to the Animal Kingdom and feeling the experience of being in the wild (not to mention Expedition Everest is one of the coolest-themed and most fun roller coasters ever).
In that same light, I really like the variety that the Epcot center in Disney World offers even by itself. Like all the other parks, it has different 'lands,' (Future World and World Showcase). However, World Showcase allows you the experience of many different countries from all around the world. One of my favorite parts of my college program was attending the International Food and Wine Festival. It was fun to be able to have a 'progressive dinner' by having food from Chile, Africa, India and Greece and then having dessert from Africa. I love experiencing the culture of many different countries and sadly, as great as Disneyland is, it lacks the culture that Disney World has.
Number Three: Disney World has many, many resorts to explore. While Disneyland does have a few really nice resorts, it doesn't have the variety of Disney World has. This is a little of a repeat of the previous paragraphs, but as I said, I like variety. Disneyland has Downtown Disney, but Disney World has Downtown Disney plus a whole bunch of other places to go and things to do (see above for the list). I'm a person who can get bored easily, so Disneyland probably isn't the best park out of the two for me.
Number Four: Characters. This one will take some explaining because I have mixed feelings. In Disneyland, there are a few character spots where people can meet characters (meet Mickey in his house and Minnie at her house, Tiana and Naveen in New Orleans Square, princesses in Fantasy Faire, etc). However, I saw when I was in Disneyland last year that the characters seem to have more freedom in Disneyland to roam around with guests. I do like that because the characters have more chance to be more personal with their guest interaction. I only had a few characters I wanted to be sure I met while I was there, so I'm not sure if all the characters have specific places they are assigned to like in Disney World. I'm assuming that as for character times in Disneyland, it is similar to Disney World. I don't know. But since I have more knowledge about the characters in WDW because I worked there and I became very well-versed in many of their locations, I think Disney World's character greetings are better. But like I said, I don't know any people who have worked in Entertainment in Disneyland, so I guess I can't really say which one I like more. All I know is that when I met Mickey and Minnie in Toontown, neither of them met my expectations like they did in Disney World (however, they did both redeem themselves when I met them in California Adventure the next day).
Number Five: California Adventure vs. Hollywood Studios. These are both great parks and they have very similar themes. However, HS has Rockin' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror and CA only has Tower of Terror. Rockin' Rollercoaster is one of the funnest rides in Disney World because it has a fun theme (Aerosmith), it is indoors, and goes from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds. I do like the theme of California Adventure with the whole Paradise Pier theme, though. And I do very much enjoy California Screamin'. I guess you could call California Screamin' the equivalent of Rockin' Rollercoaster, but it would be a bit of a stretch because RR is more intense than CS. They are both roller coasters and they both go upside down at some point, but Rockin' Rollercoaster does loops and corkscrews and all sorts of crazy things. Since RR is an indoor coaster and CS is an outdoor one, they really aren't all that similar, other than the fact that they are both roller coasters.
Number Six: Fantasmic. I suppose I can't really judge Fantasmic in Disneyland because I didn't get to see it when I was there. I was there on a Wednesday and a Thursday and it was only running on the weekends. However, when watching Fantasmic, I like being able to sit down and have a specific place that is used only for Fantasmic. Disney World has an ampitheater that's only use is for Fantasmic. In Disneyland, Fantasmic takes place on Tom Sawyer's island and there aren't that many places to sit. Also, I haven't watched Disneyland's Fantasmic, but I have the soundtrack for both shows and just by listening to the music, I know the shows are different. I'm biased because I've only seen Fantasmic in Disney World, but I think it is better there than Disneyland. I'll probably have to find a way to watch Fantasmic in Disneyland just so there's an equal comparison in the two.
I think that's all I've got in discussing Disney World and Disneyland. It's like my friends and I were discussing when I was in Disney World, WDW and DL are two different parks. They have a similar theme overall, but they have different things to offer. I do like both parks. They are great and I love visiting both of them. I just prefer Disney World to Disneyland.
Oh! I just remembered a big factor that effected my preferences in parks. I went to Disneyland in November, which was right when they switched over from the "Celebrate" stuff to the Christmas stuff. I was disappointed because in Disney World, they had the same theme the entire year. They still had the Christmas and Halloween parties during the evenings, but the "Year of a Million Dreams" theme stayed constant during the day. I was expecting the same to happen in Disneyland, but I found out the hard way that that was not the case. I was looking forward to seeing the "Celebrate You" parade, but instead I saw the Christmas parade. It was nice, but it wasn't what I was expecting, so I was disappointed.
One more thing that caused me disequilibrium was when I went to see Mickey. Obviously he wouldn't be with Minnie like he is in Toontown in WDW since people were meeting her at her own house, but he was in his sorcerer outfit instead of his traditional outfit. AND (here is what threw me off) he was NOT wearing his sorcerer hat!! I was thinking "How can you be Sorcerer Mickey without your hat?!" Seriously! The mouse does not have his powers unless he is wearing his hat, so meeting him without his hat was weird. He was just in his robe and shoes. It was a little disconcerting.
I will admit, I like the history in Disneyland and the fact that it was the original. It's true that Walt didn't even get to see the opening of Walt Disney World before he died (hence the reason Walt Disney World is named after him). For historical purposes, I like Disneyland more. For entertainment purposes, I like Disney World.
Ok, I promise I'm done now.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A bullet I have to bite... ugh
Well, I think I have come to the conclusion (with the help of my dad) that I will be returning to BYU-Idaho to take one final math class. I tell you what, Math is going to be the death of me! Ever since 4th grade, I have struggled with math. It has never been my forte.
Maybe there is a reason why I have to retake this class AGAIN. Maybe there is a reason for me to be at BYU-Idaho another semester. Maybe I just need to solidify my math knowledge more. Whatever the reason, Heavenly Father has a plan for me and I should follow it.
Maybe there is a reason why I have to retake this class AGAIN. Maybe there is a reason for me to be at BYU-Idaho another semester. Maybe I just need to solidify my math knowledge more. Whatever the reason, Heavenly Father has a plan for me and I should follow it.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Disney World and Disneyland
I will be going down to Florida on Thursday and I am so so so excited! I have been missing Disney World so much since I got back in January 2009. I had fun when I went to Disneyland in November, but after going to Disneyland and Disney World in the past year, there is no competition with which one I like better: DISNEY WORLD!!!
There is just so much more to do in Disney World. I mean, you've got four parks instead of two, plus two water parks and many resorts within Disney World with varying themes. I may be a little biased because I spent more time in WDW than in Disneyland, but I can honestly say that I prefer Disney World to Disneyland any day.
I know that Disneyland has elements to it that Disney World doesn't, but still, I think Disney World is better than Disneyland.
One thing that's a little different about Disney World and Disneyland is that the characters seem to have more free space to wander around in Disneyland. They aren't restricted to one area. For me, that can be a positive or a negative. If you want to find a specific character in Disneyland, it may be a little more difficult to find them than in Disney World. If you want to walk around with a character, Disneyland probably will give them more freedom.
Castle-wise, I like Cinderella's more than Sleeping Beauty's. Yeah, they are both pretty, but I don't know. There's just something about Cinderella's that I like more. I like the blue colors on it more than the pink on Sleeping Beauty's (which is weird, since pink is my favorite color).
Attractions-wise, I do like Pirates of the Caribbean more at Disneyland. It's the original and it just has the completeness to it that the one in WDW lacks. I think I like the queue better in Disneyland too. They are both great rides, but I do believe that the actual ride is better in Disneyland. As for feeling more 'at home,' though, I like Disney World's POTC more. I spent a lot of time around the POTC ride in WDW and it really does feel like home to me whenever I am there.
I know there are more things that I can compare about the two parks, but I'll write about them later.
There is just so much more to do in Disney World. I mean, you've got four parks instead of two, plus two water parks and many resorts within Disney World with varying themes. I may be a little biased because I spent more time in WDW than in Disneyland, but I can honestly say that I prefer Disney World to Disneyland any day.
I know that Disneyland has elements to it that Disney World doesn't, but still, I think Disney World is better than Disneyland.
One thing that's a little different about Disney World and Disneyland is that the characters seem to have more free space to wander around in Disneyland. They aren't restricted to one area. For me, that can be a positive or a negative. If you want to find a specific character in Disneyland, it may be a little more difficult to find them than in Disney World. If you want to walk around with a character, Disneyland probably will give them more freedom.
Castle-wise, I like Cinderella's more than Sleeping Beauty's. Yeah, they are both pretty, but I don't know. There's just something about Cinderella's that I like more. I like the blue colors on it more than the pink on Sleeping Beauty's (which is weird, since pink is my favorite color).
Attractions-wise, I do like Pirates of the Caribbean more at Disneyland. It's the original and it just has the completeness to it that the one in WDW lacks. I think I like the queue better in Disneyland too. They are both great rides, but I do believe that the actual ride is better in Disneyland. As for feeling more 'at home,' though, I like Disney World's POTC more. I spent a lot of time around the POTC ride in WDW and it really does feel like home to me whenever I am there.
I know there are more things that I can compare about the two parks, but I'll write about them later.
Dancing
I have always loved to dance. When I was younger, like in high school, I tried out for the cheerleading squad because I wanted to learn a new dance. I sort of bombed it, but I really enjoyed learning the dance. It meant that I had to get up earlier than I would have liked on school days, but it was a good thing for me because I got to learn something new.
I didn't necessarily want to be a cheerleader (because let's face it- the cheer coach at WHS worked the cheerleaders really hard and it was also really expensive), I just wanted to learn a new dance.
At BYU-Idaho, I hadn't planned on trying out for the Collegiate World dance team partially because I didn't want to get up early for practices (they were on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30-10am and I wasn't too crazy about getting up that early). My friend that I had TAed for the year before recruited me to tryouts and I ended up making it. I tell you what, there are very few things that I am willing to get up before 7am and dance is one of those things. It was totally worth it, though. I had great teammates and we became really close friends. We learned four awesome dances- Bollywood (my personal favorite), Russian, Scottish, and a clogging dance. I had a blast.
I like to go on youtube and find dances to songs from movies that I really enjoy. For instance, I am trying to learn the entire dance to Jai Ho, which is a song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. I am also in the process of learning one of the dances from the DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie) Camp Rock 2. The song is called "Can't Back Down" and the dance looks like it is so much fun, so I've been watching the music video repetitively to see if I can learn the dance before the movie comes out in June.
I started choreographing a Bollywood dance last year before I headed back to school, but I didn't have enough time to really do anything with it, so I stopped. But maybe while I'm home this summer, I can learn some more dance move and learn the entire dance to "Can't Back Down."
I didn't necessarily want to be a cheerleader (because let's face it- the cheer coach at WHS worked the cheerleaders really hard and it was also really expensive), I just wanted to learn a new dance.
At BYU-Idaho, I hadn't planned on trying out for the Collegiate World dance team partially because I didn't want to get up early for practices (they were on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30-10am and I wasn't too crazy about getting up that early). My friend that I had TAed for the year before recruited me to tryouts and I ended up making it. I tell you what, there are very few things that I am willing to get up before 7am and dance is one of those things. It was totally worth it, though. I had great teammates and we became really close friends. We learned four awesome dances- Bollywood (my personal favorite), Russian, Scottish, and a clogging dance. I had a blast.
I like to go on youtube and find dances to songs from movies that I really enjoy. For instance, I am trying to learn the entire dance to Jai Ho, which is a song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. I am also in the process of learning one of the dances from the DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie) Camp Rock 2. The song is called "Can't Back Down" and the dance looks like it is so much fun, so I've been watching the music video repetitively to see if I can learn the dance before the movie comes out in June.
I started choreographing a Bollywood dance last year before I headed back to school, but I didn't have enough time to really do anything with it, so I stopped. But maybe while I'm home this summer, I can learn some more dance move and learn the entire dance to "Can't Back Down."
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