Disney you say...

So how did my love (some may call it obsession) of Disney come about?

When I think back Disney has always just 'been there' in my life. I remember as a child growing up in the UK we would watch 'Disney Time' a movie clip compilation show that would appear on the TV at special times of the year. 

I have a vague memory of one of my very first trips to the cinema being to watch 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', although I can't be sure this was during its initial cinematic release as I would have only been about 4 years old. But growing up in the 1970's and 1980's Disney was simply a part of the pop culture we were exposed to.

I very recently re-discovered an album that I still own to this day and which was probably bought for me as a child, it's dated 1975.

Then in November of 1990 during a trip to London we made a point of visiting the then brand new Disney Store on Regent Street; it had only opened that month and was the first Disney Store outside of the US. I have this photo of me wearing the Mickey ears that we had bought. I remember them being of a very hard, shiny plastic and that they dug into my head so hard it meant wearing them for anymore than a few minutes just wasn't doable! Oh how times, and ears, have changed!

Then in 1991 Simon and I made our first trip to Orlando, Florida which was kind of by accident. We had originally intended to go on vacation with my parents who were planning a trip to Austria but I'd gotten the dates mixed up and had booked the wrong weeks off from work. It was also the time of the Gulf war and the rumours were that flights to the US were 'going cheap' so we decided to take advantage and book a Florida vacation. However, when we came to make the booking we soon found out that the rumours of cheap flights were just that, rumours! But as we had chosen where we wanted to go we decided to book the vacation anyway staying in a hotel on International Drive.

On 30th July 1991 we made our way to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World for the very first time and stepping onto Main Street USA I just knew I was 'home'.

Taken 30th July 1991, waiting for the fireworks.

Since then there have been numerous trips to Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris, one trip to Disneyland, one Disney cruise and Simon has been lucky enough during work trips to visit Tokyo Disney Resort. I have lots of books and memorabilia, handbags, clothes and just the odd one or two Disney themed tattoos! Oh and I co-host a Disney theme parks podcast with my very good friend Michelle, called the Disney Dream Girls.

So yes Disney plays a big part in my life and I think it always will. 

There is something in the ethos of Walt Disney and the company that he created that draws you in. But it is still hard to explain what it is exactly that drives this love of all things Disney and the indiscernible magic that it creates. It's in the story telling, the attention to detail, the characters, the customer service, the ability to leave the real world behind for a little while and for everyone no matter what age or background to enjoy something together. 

Some will look at Disney and the theme parks and assume it's 'just for kids' but it is so much more than that. And to use a quote attributed to Walt himself from the opening of Disneyland in 1955, and then immortalised in plaques at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom...'here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy'...oh and remember 'adults are only kids grown up anyways'!

Day 390 - Lockdown Easing - Stage Two

Day 390...

Today saw the start of 'stage two' of our governments 'roadmap out of lockdown' which means that personal services can resume, non-essential shops can open and hospitality can operate outside only. Although social distancing, masks and track & trace all still apply...so yes we can do more but we effectively still have 'one hand tied behind our backs' so to speak.

But as it was Monday we still had the usual morning job of collecting our weekly grocery shop which also involved dropping a few bits and pieces off at my dads as he is still without a car.

We then had the helmet that Simon had made last week to post off before we made our way into one of our closest cities, Nottingham. We decided that we would venture into the city and just see what the day brought, with no expectations other than to have a walk and perhaps grab a coffee.

We were curious to see just how far we would walk on a trip to an urban area and whilst it was a more relaxed and gentler paced walk than our usual countryside walks we still managed 4.12 miles. Thankfully we had a dry and sunny day, if a little chilly at times, and were able to meander around the city and take in the sights and sounds that we have not been able to do in such a long time.

Nottingham City Centre

Enjoying a coffee on a walkabout

The city was quite busy and it was lovely to be back out amongst people and to soak up the atmosphere that a city has to offer. We have loved walking over the fields on our doorstep but it was so good to be back in a city and just wander.

As we had expected there were some shops that had ridiculously long lines and although I would have loved to have popped in and seen what was on offer (especially Disney stuff) we really weren't that desperate! So we walked and picked up a coffee and were pleasantly surprised to see the amount of work being carried out on new buildings and remarked on the changes since we had last visited. 

I remember Molly and I visiting the city last August but it will be over a year since Simon and I have visited together and it was just lovely to be back and doing something a little closer to normal and to simply soak up the surroundings. It was sad to see a large number of shop fronts all boarded up and empty and it will be interesting to see going forward which venues survive and whether these unused shops will ever get filled again.

But we did manage to get a little shopping done...well it would have been rude not to have taken advantage of a special offer at Hotel Chocolat...

And then when we discovered we could walk straight into the Disney Store we just had to have a look around and although there wasn't really anything that took my fancy we couldn't not pick up a Star Wars figure for Simon...

The Mandalorian, already set-up on Simon's work desk.

Although I did get to choose the shopping bag!

Something suitably girly...princesses!

As we came home we stopped by an out of town 'DIY' store to look at some fencing as we need to replace some trellis panels; although we went in with one idea and think we may have left with something different...still in research phase though.

Once home we had a coffee and just spent some time chilling in the back garden as the sun was shining and it was actually quite pleasant. Simon has been doing some more digital drawing and just tonight was lamenting missing our regular life drawing class, Dr Sketchy's, and how we are so looking forward to hanging out with people we haven't seen for way too long now, and giving them a big hug when we do. While Simon got arty I managed a little more reading of my Gary Taubes book 'The Case for Keto'.

And then another almost normal event today was taking Molly to her kickboxing class...the first time since before Christmas! And although they are not allowed any contact at least they can now train in a proper gym kitted out for their sport.

The day was rounded out by making martini's...I had read up that vodka and gin martini's were both good low carb alcoholic drink options and had decided to give them a go! Actually both worked really well and then Simon discovered a Smokey Martini made with gin and whiskey!

Best stop typing now!!

Take care - cheers!
xx

A Disney Box Day

Day 246...

Well today has been a very work focused day today as I really wanted to get on top of all my work so that heading into next week and December I would have a clear plan of what I need to do and when.

This is always a busy time of year as we move towards Christmas and this year is the same but different. We can't do our usual Christmas fundraising or concerts but we are coming up with other ways to make it special instead. We still need to do some fundraising so I have been gathering my thoughts together and set a few things in motion.

As our pre-school shares a building we need to sort a separate storage area and I nipped out quickly this morning to pay pre-school a visit and take some photos of where we need the storage unit to be located. We want to use a shipping container for our storage space but there are a number of different options we could choose plus we need to make sure where we want to site it is both safe, suitable and accessible. I am in the middle of a number of emails chatting with various companies to see what is...or is not...possible.

As a nice interruption to the day I received a delivery from the Disney Store...some more Christmas decorations! Well, it would have been rude not to when I had a 20% discount code plus I qualified for a free gift...

How could I resist getting this...especially when it was free!

And that was today...a productive day all round, work done, a few household chores done and we even managed our usual 40 minute walk out at lunchtime. Although I do need to get some new boots for walking over the fields as by the time I got home today both feet were rather chilly and just a little bit wet!

Until tomorrow, take care.
xx

Working for Disney...well...almost!

OK so that title may not be quite right but this is the closest I've gotten to working for Disney!

So let me explain. From my previous posts you may be aware that Simon and I have ventured into the world of cosplay and have become official members of the Mandalorian Mercs Costuming Club. Now just to bring you up to speed Mandalorian Mercs are based around the Star Wars character of Boba Fett and Simon, over the past 18 months, has created costumes for us both. This culminated with us becoming official members in June of this year closely followed by our first outing at Star Wars Celebration London in July.

Since July we took part in a comic-con at York and then we spotted an event that we just couldn't resist. To mark the launch of the new Star Wars Rogue One toys the Disney Store in the UK were on the look out for costumed characters to help with their promotional events. Disney Store contacted the Mandalorian Mercs and other costuming clubs looking for volunteers and as we are fortunate to live close to the Disney Store in Nottingham we put our names forward.

So on Sunday 2nd October we got our kit together and headed off into Nottingham and the Intu Victoria Centre. I must admit rolling a rather large storage trunk through the centre's car park and into the mall area was a bit strange...especially when bumping into an old work colleague while waiting for the elevator. And I'm not really sure what our teenage daughter and her friend thought to it all as they had taken advantage and joined us so they could go shopping!

Thankfully we hadn't got far to go between the elevator and the Disney Store and at 10.30am on a Sunday morning it wasn't too busy. As this was our first 'troop' like this we really didn't know what to expect but on arrival the staff couldn't have been more welcoming and pleased to see us and completely put any nerves and apprehension to bed.

So going behind the scenes or 'off stage' as I think it's referred to in Disney speak, we were shown to a very small staff room where we could get changed. Abi and the team were very intrigued by our costumes and we explained how we had become involved with the world of cosplay and how Simon had created the costumes, which inevitably led to the trying on of helmets!

Now to change the pair of us into Mandalorians takes about 45 minutes...there are lots of parts to each of our costumes that have to be put on in a certain order, especially when helping each other at the same time! But once in costume we made our way 'on stage' (otherwise known as the shop floor) but not before the store manager changed the video that was playing in store to a Star Wars themed one!

Front of store!

We then spent the next four hours camped out at the front of the store welcoming guests of all ages. We had some great interactions with lots of 'high-5's', 'fist bumps' and photos...lots of photos! The reaction from the public was often that of surprise but always with great humour and a want to get involved from the very young to the not so young! We had lots of photos taken that were accompanied by 'I need a photo for my boyfriend/husband/dad etc', 'he'll be so jealous'. We even had a few 'Snapchat' moments and one guy who filmed us for his vlog! But it was the reactions of the children that were the best and we had some very special interactions that obviously meant the world to some of the younger guests.

One of many, many photos taken

And I even got to have a photo with a little girl who used to attend my pre-school. Thanks Imogen for stopping by to see me :)

It was lovely to see you Imogen!

Mickey Ears were of course worn - how could I not?!

By the end of our day we were exhausted, a bit achy and very aware that despite wearing helmets for the vast majority of the time we hadn't stopped smiling all day.

A big thank you has to go to Abi and the girls at Disney Store, Nottingham for looking after us, making us feel so welcome and their generosity of magic!

Thanks Abi & Maya

Can't wait to do it again!!