Festival of Fantasy Parade

When Buzz came to visit me a couple of weeks ago, we of course had to make a stop at our favorite place on earth! Now it turns out that we planned our trip to the Magic Kingdom and found out that the new Festival of Fantasy parade would start two days after we left. We were upset that we wouldn’t be able to see the parade but glad that we were avoiding the crowds that the parade would bring. So instead of being in the park for Festival of Fantasy we did the next best thing, we watched a live stream!

Unfortunately, Buzz’s vacation ended and she had to head back home. However, I was lucky enough to head back to the Magic Kingdom to see the new parade! I will be the first to admit that I was never the person who would wait on the sidewalk for a parade at Walt Disney World. Why wait when I could experience everything else the park has to offer?! This parade was a different story though. We saved a spot in Frontierland an hour before it started; my family and I were uninterested in waiting 2+ hours on Main Street so Frontierland was the best spot for us. It definitely got crowded and people kept trying to maneuver through the already tight space to see the parade or get out of the area, but once the parade started I was glad we waited for the parade.

The music accompanying the floats was fantastic, and the vibrant colors of each costume and prop gave a feeling of joy and whimsy to the overall production. The characters were expressive and fun; they had great interactions with guests and other characters as well. The order of the floats made sense and gave proper identification to each film that was utilized in the parade. Overall, this is a parade that the imagineers who have been working on it should be proud of for years to come.

Have you seen the Festival of Fantasy Parade? What did you think of it? Is there anything you wish was or wasn’t in the parade?

-Woody

And of course I can’t leave y’all without any photos!

“Once Upon A Time” Part 2

Just to warn you, this may contain spoilers if you are not caught up on Season 3.

In the latest episode of ABC’s Once Upon A Time (aired Oct. 27) the main focus was on Captain Hook (aka Killian Jones).  We got to see whom Hook really is and how he has become the beloved character he is now.  As we travel into the past of Killian Jones, we learn that he had an older brother who he looked up to and cared for very much.  Both Jones brothers were sent on a voyage, by the King, in search of a plant that could, supposedly, cure any illness.

This voyage would soon sail them off to Neverland, a whole new world in a different realm.  A sail made from the feathers of Pegasus lifts them out of the sea and they sail off into the sky towards the “second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.”  Once in Neverland, Killian and his brother set off to find the plant, when they run into Peter Pan for the first time.  Pan explains to them that the plant they seek does not cure it kills almost instantly.  Killian believes Peter, but his brother does not.

Once they find the plant, to prove Pan wrong, Killian’s brother cuts himself on a thorn, but soon discovers that Peter Pan was right all along.  Peter Pan reappears and tells Killian how to save his brother, but he does not forget the famous words that “all magic comes with a price.”  This magical water that Pan points out, indeed does bring back Killian’s brother but not for long.  As soon as they leave Neverland, the magic powers stay in Neverland, leaving his brother dead.

In the present, Hook remembers all of this and where to find the spring that contains the water.  He knows David/Charming only has hours left to live, so Hook tricks David into going to the top of the mountain in search of the satchel that belonged to his brother.  This satchel contains a way for them to leave Neverland.  As they arrive to the top of the mountain, Peter Pan appears to Hook again, and offers him a deal.  This deal assures that Hook and one other person can leave the island if the task is completed.  Pan wants Hook to kill the Prince (Charming).  We soon find out that Hook has a heart and saves Charming’s life instead of taking it.  Maybe there is hope for their friendship after all.

And of course!  The moment we have all been waiting for finally arrived at the end of the episode.  Hook and Emma share a passionate kiss and Hook is looked at as a hero.  Is this just the start of a passionate relationship between Hook and Emma now or will Neal show up and Emma will forget all about Hook?  We will find out in the weeks to come.

As for Henry, he is holding his own with the lost boys pretty well, winning sword fights and all.  He knows Emma, Regina, and Mary Margaret are in Neverland coming to save him and that it’s only a matter of time before he is safe again.  This episode held a lot of turning points in the story.  As for next week, we will be meeting Ariel.  Maybe she has some inside information for “Operation Cobra Rescue?”

-Buzz °o°

 

“Once Upon A Time”

As you may or may not already know, we love to watch ABC’s Once Upon A Time” on Sunday nights.  I, in particular, love it a little more.  I have many theories and even write about it for my school’s newspaper.  I thought I would share with you my articles that I have already been published for my school newspaper.  So hear it goes, I will post the first one right here (which talks about the first four episodes of season 3) and then create a separate post for episode 5.  That way you’ll be all up to date before tonight’s episode!

Just warning you, if you aren’t caught up on Season 3, these may contain some spoilers.

Season 3 is quickly underway for ABC’s Once Upon A Time.  In just four episodes, we have been flown to Neverland, met Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, and learned much more about the characters’ past.  As Emma, Captain Hook, Snow White, Charming, and Regina search through Neverland for Henry, we are constantly at the edge of our seats wondering what is going to happen next.  With Emma and Regina, both, willing to do anything they possibly can to save their son, we start to see different sides of them.

Emma is in charge for Operation Henry, as Regina called it.  She is not letting anything get in her way of being reconnected with her son.  Regina would prefer to use magic but Captain Hook puts an end to most of those plans.  Since Hook has dealt with Pan before and knows more about Neverland, he guides the others, in favor of Emma.  There’s no doubt that Hook has a crush on Emma and by the way he talks and flirts with her, who wouldn’t fall for the sweet talking pirate?  Emma, on the other hand, is playing a little hard to get.  She believes the man she truly loves, Neal, is dead so, we’re going to have to wait and see what happens in next week’s episode.  I think there’s about to be a crazy love triangle between Hook, Emma, and Neal.

As for the relationships among other characters, we learn that Regina and Tinker Bell have a not-so-good history.  Regina is essentially the reason why Tink no longer has her wings.  Charming and Hook have this bromance starting, after Hook confronts Charming about his wound from the poisoned arrow.  Could this be Hook truly concerned or trying to win over the father of the woman he is smitten over? Hmm…

Snow White and Charming’s love for each other is stronger than ever and together, are struggling with the whole parenting thing.  They are feeling guilty about Emma having to grow up without them and Emma feels it too.  In most recent episode, we learn that Emma is really hurt by the fact that Neal is the love of her life and by the time they both realized it, it was too late.  Snow wishes she knew how to help.  Snow and Charming talk about their worry for their daughter and while conversing, Charming may have hinted that he won’t be around much longer.  The poison from the arrow is spreading quickly and he hasn’t found it in him to tell anyone, especially Snow.

Rumplestiltskin and his son, Baelfire, (aka Neal) are reconnected and take Henry from Peter Pan.  However, this is short lived because Neal and Rumple get into a fight.  Neal runs off with Henry and without the magic of the dark one, Pan recaptures Henry.  Will Neal reconcile with his father so they can work together?  We are going to have to wait and see.  We also learn that Rumple and Pan have a history that goes further back than we think.  The story is continuing to prove that “it’s a small world after all” week after week.

-Buzz °o°