With the New Year in full swing, we all have that New Year’s Resolution to take care of.  I have decided to start running again. All my years in the military, running was an essential part of the training.  Disney started to sponsor running events and began with a moderate turnout.  Today Run Disney has become a destination running location. 

     The Biggest event for a runner is the marathon 26.2 miles. Disney headlines the Marathon and Half Marathon each weekend they run.  This is not the only events going on around the Magic Kingdom. Run Disney also hosts events for those who want a race to propel their fitness.  10k’s and 5k’s are just the right event for that challenge.

Photo by Matt Stroshane, great caption of the Marathon Starting line.

Run Disney would not be complete without an event for the family and kids. The family fun run 5K’s are excellent for you and the family to take a nice tour around the Disney Parks. Don’t forget the Disney themed kid races that end with a Disney-themed finisher medal. 

Run Disney hosts events throughout the year that are set to a specific Disney Theme. The events are exciting almost everyone dresses up for the run. The latest event was The Tinker Bell Half Marathon. A lot of the girl runners were dressed in tink’s green dress to play the part. The event was this January 2014. These events look so exciting, the pictures alone makes you want to get out there and enjoy running!

Disney partnered with New Balance to create a shoe for the races. Each shoe has a Disney theme with the superb quality we all love in New Balance.  I personally switched to New Balance 5 years ago and never looked back.

 

Here are some of the memories of past and present races. 

Before the events Disney has an expo for runners to talk with experts about products, nutrition, and pick up their race packets. This is the place for your new merchandise, check out the latest in gear, fitness apparel, footwear, sunglasses, and anything else you want.

I look forward to taking my entire family to participate in an event this year, 2014.  I am not sure how well we will do but just having the opportunity to get over to Orlando and enjoy the park is amazing!

* Participants must attend Packet Pick-up at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to receive their race packet, bib, and t-shirt. Finisher medallions will be distributed to finishers after the race. None of these items will be mailed to registrants that did not participate. This is from the rundisney.com website.

We Need Incredibles 2 !

The Animated Movie Incredibles is one of my favorite Pixar Movies. Its about super heros that were forced to quit and return to regular

 life.

Two best friends can not hold their need to stop crime. After messing that up over and over, this is the last straw to be a normal ordinary family.

 

The movie was a beginning to a great Super Hero start up. The Incredibles is one of those films that has the potential to become unstoppable in the amount of films that can be made.

 
 I do not believe I am the only one waiting for another Incredible movie.


The dad saved the day in the first movie. The next one would be cool if the baby (now older) would be the HERO to save the city from total destruction.

 If and When PIXAR does make another movie, I'm sure it will be a blockbuster of a return!


Does anyone else have any ideas about the next movie? 

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A Very Merry Mickey

Mickey Mouse , what can I say about the feeling I get being at a Disney Park waiting to see Mickey Mouse still gives me goose bumps. Even now that I am a Mom and my kids are getting older that feeling never goes away. Can you tell Mickey is my favorite Disney Character?

Mickey Mouse has evolved through the years as we all do , but when you go to visit him in the Disney Parks you do notice a change. When I was little Mickey looked different and when we go thru our little journey you will see his change.

 It was 1955 Disneyland, Walt Disney was at the Grand Opening with his beloved Mickey Mouse. Oh Boy, as you can see this is a completely different Mickey Mouse then what we are used to seeing. Their faces were big and their ears were set farther back. Mickey is not wearing a shirt and he got tights on. I will have to say I may not have wanted to get to close to this Mickey Mouse as a little kid looking like this.

 
Walt Disney passed away in 1966, it was a dark day for the Disney family and for the world . Here you see Mickey Mouse had changed quite a bit. He was friendlier looking and was dressed in a suit and tie. Actually to me, he was dressed as a kid would an era long ago. Maybe like Walt and Roy did when they were kids.

Walt Disney when he was as a little guy and as Mickey in 1966 (below). They are wearing the same type of tie very cute.

 Grand Opening of Walt Disney World 1970, Roy Disney and Mickey . Mickey is still smaller and the head has a blank expression. Mickey is still wearing a costume from 1966 era not much of a change.






In 1976 on our yearly trip to Disneyland {for some reason this trip was very clear in my memory}, this is how I remember Mickey Goofy and Donald.
Mickey and Donald were a lot smaller than they are today. You can see in this picture of the Bicentennial year celebration 'America on Parade' they are still as adorable but slightly different. Donald was always smaller in height to Mickey then. Mickeys ears, face were larger and his body was not as portion as he is today. I remember my dad was towering over Mickey in our family pictures.






 
By the opening of Star Tours in 1987 at Disneyland , Mickey Mouse looks like he was growing up. Now his body and head were now portioned., Mickey's expression is not blank anymore.  A welcome sight was he was now taller and he wasn't seeing eye to eye with smaller children. Who doesn't just love the iconic big shoes Mickey Mouse wears, now all his costume changes had big shoes.

At the opening of Mickey's Toontown in 1993 at Disneyland, Mickey was as Dapper as ever. Now we can see the widening of Mickey and Minnie's faces. His face has a friendlier look, his basic eyes aren't as inset  and his mouth is open wider. Mickey is polished in his everyday tuxedo and his changes were complete, or were they.

On October 2013 at Mickey's Toontown in Disneyland, we were Amazed and shocked to hear Mickey Talking to guest. It is wonderful to have Mickey Mouse ask your name and to actually have him speaking. But, I have some trouble with this. I love the fact that when you meet Mickey it was a communication between Mickey and you. It is part of the Magic to have Mickey nod and use body language with you when you Meet him. I have not had a chance to Meet the Talking Mickey and I know I just might cry if he says my name. That of course is because of my personnel relationship I have with Mickey Mouse. Now, we all have this Magical moments with our favorite Disney characters , I am just saying it out loud. ( lol )

Now I have gone through the years of Mickeys costume changes that were all right for their times. We know that Mickey Mouse whether he is talking or not will be the syblem of the Walt Disney's company and dream.  He's perfect in any form .


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Mary Poppins 50th Anniversary

Mary Poppins 50^th Anniversary

Ever since I was 7 years old, I loved Mary Poppins. Growing up, it was one of my favorite Disney movies ever, with its musical numbers and songs, Julie Andrews, the colorful animated sequence, and the whole story, about a father who’s too busy that he can never spend time with his kids, but in the end, realizes the error of his ways and goes to fly kites with his family. This scene still makes me want to cry, when I see Jane and Michael s faces.

 Even now, at 17 years old, I still love it. I catch things I didn’t get as a kid, now that I fully understand what they mean, and the songs have aged well with time. As does the movie itself. Even though it’s not high-end special effects, some of them still hold up and keep me guessing how it was done. Guess I shouldn’t go too into them; I wouldn’t want to spoil the magic.

Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Ed Wynn all do outstanding. As do Glynis Johns, Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber! " I love to Laugh" is my mom's favorite songs, she loves to see Uncle Albert laughing lifts him up and sadness brings him down. 

The music is for me is AMAZING. These songs are so memorable, and so catchy, you can’t help but hum them.

My personal favorites were always Sister Suffragette; Feed the Birds, and Jolly Holiday.

And here’s some interesting trivia about the music. Originally The Sherman Brothers wrote at least 30 unused songs that were going to be used in the movie, but all were either scraped, incorporated into other songs, or used in other movies. The Sherman Brothers are amazing song-writers, and their songs will stay with me all of my life! 

The Sherman Brothers music was honored this year at the D23 EXPO. Richard Sherman (the only remaining Brother) along with Alan Menken performed songs from their songbooks at the D23 EXPO. That would have been so AMAZING to have seen. Ok,  lets go back to Mary Poppins.

Very cute trivia about the scene when Mary Poppins pours the medicine into the spoon and it changes colors. Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber weren't told about the "surprises" that might happen on set, so when Mary pours the medicine and it turns green, Jane's little squeal is real.

 I think that's is the cutest thing ever, that her reactions were of a little girl that was truly surprised!

 Julie Andrews was always Walt Disney's choice to be Mary Poppins. In 1963 Walt Disney asked Julie Andrews to play Mary Poppins, she was a Broadway Stage Actress before making movies. She did get P.L. Travers approval to play Mary Poppins via a phone call, after Julie Andrews had given birth to her daughter Emma.

 In 1964 Julie Andrews did win the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing 'Mary Poppins'. 

Without a doubt this was the best choice and I couldn't ever imagine a better person to play Mary. 

 So, now that we are about a month before the release of  "Saving Mr.Banks" , I wanted to share my excitement about the film being released with my little Tribute. I am very excited to see the movie and see how Walt Disney actually convinced P.L. Travers into allowing him to make her book into his vision of
Mary Poppins. Another epic Movie for my Holiday list for this year with my family.

  I just wanted to add that this week was the passing of Walt Disneys daughter Diane Disney Miller. Both of Walt Disneys daughters were the reason that he wanted to make Mary Poppins because they wanted him too. So for the Disney/Miller family this is a sad time but with " Saving Mr. Banks", they will have some happiness to see their Grandpa's dream become reality. Thank you Diane and Sharon for asking your dad Walt Disney to make "Mary Poppins".

 Mary Poppins holds a special place in my heart as being one of my favorite Disney movies from when I was little, and it’s still one of the best movies ever in my opinion. It’s definitely supercalafragalisticexpialadoshus!

 See Ya Real Soon, 

Sunni 

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Disney Eats Hawaiian Style

We just spent a great week at the Aulani, here in beautiful Hawaii. The weather was perfect to just enjoy the Hawaiian sun. For our kids it was great pool hoping weather but for us moving slowly down the lazy river was our perfect day.

 

Of course it was the fun being and playing in the sun but the part that we always get excited about was the food. Disney food always seems better and when you eat at a Disney Property you are going to have great eats, well most of the time. I am going to just talk about the three places we dined at so you can get a picture of what is offered and what to expect in your choices.

We arrived later then we were supposed to so a quick bite was going to be perfect. We went straight to the ULU Cafe; it’s a great little place. The Castmembers were AMAZING !! It was Halloween nite and they were talking to my kids about their costumes and then the Chef from the back came out to offer all of us candy. They explained the menu items and told us that everything was great.
We decided on the Sliced Turkey with white rice, veggies, loaded Potato soup and Crispy Shrimp Sandwich. All of the orders were served to us fast and everything was delicious! The Shrimp Sandwich was a butterflied crispy with panko coconut with some pineapple too. The Sliced Turkey was so good and that was a huge portion! The Loaded Potato Soup was really very good too. I will have to say that it was so good we all enjoyed it so much we didn’t even remember to take pictures of it all. This handmade bamboo skewer was all that was left after we were done.
On our Scale we give the ULU Cafe a 10,  for the food, great Castmembers and a very lovely seating area!!

 The one person that was jumping out of her bed the next morning was our Birthday Girl. She was up and ready to go for her Birthday breakfast was the Characters at the Makahiki Restaurant. Auntie’s Character Breakfast at the Makahiki is a beautifully set up buffet. They have lots of different foods not offered at the usual Character Breakfast.  There was an area with sushi and other tasty foods that were delicious. Lots of hot foods like Eggs Benedict, Egg Whites Frittatas, White Fish, Portuguese Sausage and Fried Rice with Spam!

  

 And of course my little one enjoyed her Mickey Waffles. For those traditional breakfast eaters there are lots to choice from Omelets made to order, Hash Brown Potatoes, French toast and lots of sweet pastries. The juice choices are all tropical, like Guava, Pineapple and the traditional Orange.

 We were all very happy with our visit to Auntys Character Breakfast, especially our Birthday Girl. Just want to say thank you to Goofy, Minnie and Mickey they were so fanastic to us. Goofy was amazing to our Birthday Girl he was just great and Minnie was so sweet kissing my daughters book she signed I was teary eyed. A wonderful day for all of us.
On our scale it gets a 10+ ,  for the Food, the Characters and the Fun !!

Back to the eats on the Aulani Property.  So we had never eaten at the 'AMA , it was a beautiful afternoon and we were ready. I first want to say how lovely the restaurant is, the view was wonderful. The tables were beautiful and they had one Captain chair on every table.
 I am going to say things that I never say about Disney Property Restaurants and I was disappointed I must say. We sat for over 6 mins with no server, hostess or anyone to just bring our table water.
We did see the hostess look at our table but maybe she felt offering us water was not her job. We finally had our server who was nice but she had over 6 tables to herself.
We ordered Catch of the day fish Tacos, Pulled Pork sandwich , Chicken wings and a mac & cheese kids meal. Everything came fast and everything looked good.
The Catch of the day fish Taco was not my favorite and it was a very small portion . The Pulled Pork was served in steamed rice buns and was good. The Chicken wings was a appetizer item my daughter ordered and it was very tasty, also she ordered Sweet Potato fries to make it a meal . My little one did not like her Mac & Cheese and
she left half of it .
We were ready to leave and the Waitress had finally given us our bill but was overwhelmed with other tables she was not able to pick up our card. A manager was helping her serve a table right next to us. He looked at our bill that was ready to pickup and he walked away.
So on our scale of 1-10 we give the 'AMA a 7 and that was for the food and the view .

Of course we did eat by the poolside which was tasty, fast and the Castmembers were great. Our kids did have their favorite huge Shaved Ice. We also had some of my favorite treats Mickey Ice Cream and Goofy Candy.

Well, this is our point of view of our eating thru the Aulani Property and we were very happy with most of what we choose to eat.
It was a magical week and my family will not forget celebrating our daughters Birthday at the beautiful Disney Aulani Resort and Spa.


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Villas At the Grand Floridian

 The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort and spa has opened. The Disney Vacation Club Resort ownership helped my family have that upgraded Disney experience. We decided to gain ownership in 2009 because of the amount of time we were spending at the resorts. Just as the advertisement states, “Disney’s innovative vacation-ownership program helps families vacation as they wish while saving money on decades of future travels.” We do enjoy the upgraded rooms along with the perks that come along with membership. The Grand Floridian is the latest in a long line of Resorts to join the club. The location could not be better than this. Our resort is Bay Lake Towers, right across the 7 seas lagoon as is part of the Contemporary Resort.

The Grand Floridian brings the charm and elegance of the Victorian age directly to you. The ambiance will mirror that of the Grand Floridian allowing for a magical experience for the entire family to remember for years to come. The New Resort embraces the classic Victorian style of those old resorts that line the coasts. The idea of this resort is to bring back the epic vacation of our grand parents when they traveled to great destinations. The white sandy beach just completes a wonderful memory you will create with your family.
The new rooms have a class all their own. If you have visited any of the famous large resorts on either coast and loved them, this resort will not disappoint. The Victorian era was a flashy time in our history and contains some of my favorite styles of decor and furnishings. The cabinetry in the kitchen has a seeded glass panel with color added to the back of the interior cabinet. This is a wonderful touch with the inlay of the door panel. The marble sink is cut in a familiar pattern and the farm sink completes the early look of the place. The interior lighting is soft and allows you to settle into the past. 

When Disney sets it sights to bring function and class together it is sometimes scuttle. The living room and banquette continue with a mix of old and new.The kitchen table has a modern top but the claw foot bring you back into period class. The wall dressings are silhouettes of Mainstreet Mickey and Minnie, a large mirror, and a Victorian age picture of a girl on a bike. The surprise is in the basket on front of the bike (Duffy the Bear). The linens are classic white with an accent of a floral Victorian pattern welcoming you to your new resting place. I particularly love the Double-Crown-Molding you have in the Victorian houses along the coast. The bathroom is of course modern and classic. The walk in steam shower is a grand treat along with Disney's take on the free standing tub minus the claw feet. 

 

I believe one of the best additions Disney could have created is the fold away bed inside the cabinet under the TV. This is an area of empty space that was used so wonderful that our kids flip a coin to see who gets to sleep there for the evening. In all the rooms are perfect for any size family with lots of space.
Now we all have another Beautiful Disney Resort Property to choose. This is a wonderful addition to already great Disney Property. 

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Aulani 's Newest Addtion Now OPEN!!

Disneys Aulani Resort and Spa has just opened Ka Maka Landing. I took my daughters out this week to get a sneak peak of the new area.  It was a stormy day but we took a lot of pictures of the all the new areas that are a great addition to the Resort Property.This addition is going to allow Disney Resort Guest a variety of where to eat and lower price point items to choice from. Happily the Aulani  Resort has made great enhancements to the Resort Property in lots of areas.

The expansion has bought a new infinity pool and Jacuzzi to the property. The infinity pool is right on the cliff edge blending right into ocean. It’s the perfect spot to watch the sun set. The little ones have a new splash zone to play in and enjoy the water. The neighboring Jacuzzi Grotto has an underwater theme that lights up at night!

 The details in the grotto is spectacular , if you look closely you can  see a hammerhead shark in the rock formation. It is a family pool and its great to have another pool again , and this pool has no slide. 

A huge plus to the new pools is, a large area for lounge chairs ! It can be a wait and alot of walking around to find chairs before so for us it and I am sure for many a great addition. In this area is the in ground water area for the little tikes and it will be a fun area for them to play.

 The advantages of as being seasoned Resort Hoppers we find the comforts of each resort to be there when you need them. Aulani was missing that element of food and snacks at the ready. The drink stations were in place but the muffins and cookies were in a very small area that was not up to Disney Resort standards.  With the latest addition of ULU Café, we finally have that space to grab a snack while taking a break from the pool or lying in the sun. Most families like ours have kids that just want a snack not table service meals all the time.

The new ULU Cafe is a grab and go with a hot bar and those muffins and cookies we desire. The place also has fresh fruit, cereal, oatmeal, juice, soda, and coffee. The café is set up to host Breakfast, lunch, and Dinner. There is nothing better than an oversized Rice Krispy Mickey dipped in chocolate.

Anyone who has been to Aulani can tell you, pool side seating can be a problems, the sun and choices to choose from. With the new expansion there are plenty of seats to go around. An addition of a new restroom keeps everyone from running half way across the property to find relief.

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Here is a welcome sight of hot ready Hof Brau style food area in the ULU Cafe it smelled delicious. Living here in Hawaii you love the local food and now everyone can enjoy local Hawaiian foods such as Loco Moco. 

Nice to see more beautiful Hawaiian Art Work in the Ulu Cafe. The entire Aulani  Resort is covered in wonderful art in every area. The murals in the lobby are simply breathtaking .

We noticed new lanterns lights hanging outside on the trees are are very lovely in the front driveway going into the Aulani Resort.
The day was great we were able to see all the new areas , it was worth the wait the New Additions to the Disney Aulani Resort are wonderful.
 Until next time, Tata For Now!!

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