Disney Queen

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Amelia M.

I may have started off the trip as a naive first timer [they gave me a pin and everything], but by the end I’d learned a thing or two. I’d ridden the rides, found the good food, seen the secret Indiana Jones Eeyore and Mary Poppins. I’d EXPERIENCED things. Just look at this comparison.

Before:

Getting ready for my first ride, Toy Story.

After:

DON’T EVEN TRY TO TELL ME WHEN TO USE MY FAST PASSES, CARS GUY.

Some Disney essentials I learned on this trip included: Embrace the fanny pack lifestyle. Buy your t-shirts before the trip, but buy your ears at the park. Find a hotel within walking distance. Don’t be afraid to pin trade. Bring extra hair ties. Have fun people with you to keep you entertained in line.

On some things though, we just got lucky. Like that time I lost my fast pass, but they let me on anyway. Or the time people just gave us five fast passes. Or the first night we were on the storybook land canal boats as the fireworks went off. They stopped the ride and we got to watch them from the boats. If you can manage to do this on purpose I recommend it, they’re pretty great seats for the show.

In fact, one of the biggest surprises to me was how fun Disney was after dark. Even though I was always starting to get tired by that point, there was something extra fun about the atmosphere at night. I mean just look at these California Adventure neon signs.

One of my trip highlights was seeing the World of Colors Saturday night. It’s an amazing lights and water display by the pier.

Here’s a picture of the pier by daylight.

Here’s a picture of the pier all lit up for the light show. These pictures in no way do it justice. The show itself, I didn’t even attempt to capture photographically, you’ll have to see it for yourself.

While I feel a little bit older and wiser and after this whole Disney experience, I do realize I still have much to learn. I mean It’s A Small World was closed. There’s no way I can consider myself an expert yet. I guess I’ll just have to go again. Till’ next time Disney!

BUT I LOOK LIKE A PRO, RIGHT? I mean, check out that fanny pack.

Currently: Watching iZombie while getting pumped for Christmas, as contradictory as those two activities are …

Minnie Mouse Club

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Amelia M.

Enter the skeptic. A woman eroded by time, the woes of modern life, and the 10 o’ clock news. Yet, somehow this girl found herself sitting on a plane to the “happiest” place on earth. Yes, me, on my way to Disneyland after 28 years of ignorance, indifference, and suspicion toward the big castle, Don Mickey and his loyal consiglieres [read here for more details]. Sure, I’d been told of the delight and the dole whips, but I also couldn’t turn a blind eye to the the crowds and the costs. Maybe Disney is a game best left to children and nostalgia riddled adults. Maybe it was too late.

But there was one brave soul who made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

A Disney veteran so invested she’s practically a mouseketeer. But she couldn’t do it alone. I was extremely fortunate to be surrounded by people who knew what to do, where to eat, and how to guide me through said crowds. They took this little skeptic and showed her the time of her life. We dubbed it Ghouls Weekend 2016 and had 72 hours of greatness.

Why Ghouls Weekend? Well our trip happened to fall on Halloween weekend. We didn’t go to Mickey’s special Halloween party, but even so Disneyland was no slouch when it came to Halloween.

Even the cups were Halloween themed. Seriously, aren’t they adorable?

Some of the rides also got in the Halloween spirit. The Haunted Mansion was taken over by Nightmare Before Christmas and Space Mountain was Ghost Galaxy.

Every ride I went on seemed better than the last. In the end my top rides were the ones that combined an immersive experience with a little bit of thrill. Indiana Jones stole the top slot, but Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars were also great contenders.

Living our best lives on the Cars ride.

Tomorrowland

Sam and Taylor on Peter Pan. This was a ride that really surprised me. It’s not very fast, so I didn’t expect it to live up to the hype. But there is just something magical about flying over starlight London.

Jungle Cruise Crew. At first thought our driver was kind of quiet, but she turned out to be hilarious. She had a very dry sense of humor.

This wasn’t a ride, but I couldn’t pass up a picture of a tribute to my favorite Disney Princess, Ariel. I did go on her actual ride later and witnessed some weird animatronic hairstyles.

I also learned that Disney has no end of Mickey shaped treats and food to try. And can I just say, THE CHURROS GUYS, THE CHURROS.

Of course, one of these treats included the infamous Dole Whip.

Heidi, Ben, and I had to EARN these pretzels. There was quite a long line since the both that sold them was also the place you could buy beer.

We also ate at a restaurant in the New Orleans part of the park, where I had a delicious Monte Cristo sandwich.

Emily with the infamous Monte Cristo.

It was fun checking off all the classic Disney things I’ve heard of and so many things that I hadn’t ever heard of. While I will probably never match the level of enthusiasm of my die hard Disney friends, I can honestly say I had an amazing time and would recommend it to others, even the skeptics.

Thanks for the good times Disney.

Currently: Enjoying the Gilmore Girls Revival. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Favorite Things

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Amelia M.

Here are some of my favorite things lately:

Festival and Fair things

September brings many events. And many foods.

Greek Festival

Close up of the Greek pastries.

Utah State Fair! I recommend the sprinkle dipped ice cream cone or the fried Oreos.

Gilmore Girl things

For the 16th anniversary of Gilmore Girls and in anticipation of the upcoming revival, 200 coffee shops around the country turned into Luke’s Diner for the day. There were two such “diners” in Salt Lake. I missed out on the merch, but I did get to see the sign. The shop was also playing Gilmore Girl episodes on a projector.

Stranger Things

If you haven’t watched Stranger Things yet it deserves some screen time. Some friends of mine had a Stranger Things party and it was a-mah-zing. I loved seeing everyone’s costumes. We even had a friend make a great demogorgon mask.

Not pictured: Short hair eleven, demogorgon, Will’s house, and Toothless.

Barb stole the show [typical]. My “Barb” was more of an homage to what Barb would wear in present time.

SERIOUS BARB FACES. DON’T UNDERSTIMATE A BARB.

Dine O’ Round things

If you haven’t heard of Dine O’ Round it’s basically one time a year where the restaurants of downtown Salt Lake City do special deals/meals. It lasts about two weeks, which trust me, is enough time to do some serious damage.

Dine O’ Round led me to some new places this year, including Taco Taco.

Obsessed with this Taco Taco decor.

I also visited an old favorite, Gourmandise.

Musical things

This was a great show! Now I’m extra-excited for the live action movie to come out.

These were also great [albeit very different] musical shows.

Tegan and Sara! I love them. I’m glad I got to see them [again]. Caity has been with me to witness the magic both times!

Couldn’t leave Tegan and Sara without this jacket. I mean, c’mon.

Grouplove <3

Cute animal things

Cute animals are kind of a given when it comes to things people love. However, even if you think you’ve seen it all, I recommend you look at this prissy_pig on instagram. These tiny little pigs in pajamas KILL ME. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Ice cream things

I’m obsessed with this flat, Roll With It Creamery ice cream. The only problem is I have to go to Provo to get it.

Fall color things

Finally, what kind of list would this be if I didn’t talk about the colors changing? One of the best parts of living in Utah is experiencing fall here.