Everyone wants to be a pirate!

I like fast rides like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I like fun rides like the Mad Tea Party and the Jungle Cruise. But hands down my favorite ride at any Disney park is Pirates of the Caribbean. I have wanted to write about this attraction for a long time but I could never figure out why I love this ride. Well, December 15th was Pirate’s 40th anniversary so I thought this would be the perfect time to wax poetic about why I never miss this attraction no matter how long the line is.

The truth is I don’t know why I love this ride. It is not the only ride that uses audio-animatronic characters. It is not the only ride that uses a boat. It is not the only dark ride. The best I can say is that it is the only ride that has pirates, not historically accurate, mean killers, but fun swashbuckling scallywags. I have always liked pirates (who doesn’t?) and often dressed up as a pirate for Halloween. As an adult, acting like a pirate is discouraged, but deep inside I wish I could be as free and fun-loving as a pirate (without the slaying and stealing, of course.)

I don’t know if that is the real reason I love Pirates of the Caribbean and I have decided I’m not going to worry about why it is my favorite. I’m just going to ride it every chance I get. Happiness squared.

Goofy Video: Walt Disney was very involved in the creation of Pirates of the Caribbean and that may be why it is so popular. If you want to hear Walt Disney talk about his ideas for this attraction check out this five minute YouTube video. After watching it I liked the attraction even more. It is amazing how much work goes into making these rides.

Before I get to my answers I have a question for you. Do you like the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas? If your answer is no, if you thought it was the worst movie ever made, than skip the Haunted Mansion until January. Because this overlay is a complete remake. Disney changed out everything. From the intro, to the elevator ride, to the hallway, to the scenes viewed from the doom buggies, everything is different.

I am blah about the movie. It’s okay but I would not pick it to watch by myself. It happens to be one of my husband’s favorite movies so I have seen it many times. Therefore, while I wasn’t thrilled before I went on the attraction, I wasn’t repulsed.

Okay, enough stalling. Is it good? I would say yes. They did a wonderful job of bringing the story and the characters to life. It is very different but I actually enjoyed the changes more than I enjoy the movie. I would recommend everyone see it once, unless you absolutely despise the movie, so you can form your own opinion.

I only had one problem with the overlay and if you visit the park this December you won’t have this problem. I rode the attraction in September and even though Jack and his friends live in Halloweentown there is nothing about the overlay that made me think of Halloween. There are pumpkins but they are decorated for Christmas. It felt a little odd being immersed in Christmas in September. I’m sure that the discomfort I felt would disappear if I saw it again in December.

So take a chance. If you are visiting Disneyland go see the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at the Haunted Mansion. It may become your favorite seasonal event or you may look forward to the 999 happy haunts taking back their home in January. Either way you’re sure to have a spooky time. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: If you want to have unique Christmas photos for your cards then stand in line and have your picture taken with the characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack, Sally, and others can be found outside the Haunted Mansion all season long. Jack is even in his Santa costume. Scary and merry!

Jeff Galloway helps me get across the finish line!

Okay, so as you know, I have big plans when it comes to runDisney races. I plan to do the Princess 10K and half marathon at Walt Disney World and the Tinker Bell 10K and half marathon at Disneyland in the same year so I get a ton of medals (really cool medals, too.) These two races have always been in February and January but I didn’t mind. I thought it would be an adventure to run so many races so close together. However, I was planning on doing them in 2015 so I had time to raise money for the trips and train for the races. I should have known better. Disney is always changing and now runDisney has made a major change, too.

The Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend has moved to Mother’s Day weekend in 2015. WHAT!!! Okay, okay. I am calm. I mean, it is not the end of the world. It will be easier having one race in February and the other in May. It’s just that I was really looking forward to running a race at Disneyland in January. I ran the Disneyland Half Marathon on Labor Day weekend and it was hot! But I can also understand. The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend is in January so perhaps they wanted to spread things out. Logical.

While I understand I am also slightly disappointed. I was ready for the challenge and now the challenge has been made easier. I should have known. I always say that change is normal with Disney. If you want to do or see something you had better plan to do it soon. I guess I should have planned my races in 2014. But you know what? I’ll find another running challenge and just enjoy my plethora of Disney races. (Great Wall of China, anyone?) Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: I encourage everyone to run a Disney race at least once. They are so much fun and they are flat so anyone can do it. They also have a lot of 5K and 10K races so you get all the fun of a Disney race without killing yourself. If you need some guidance click on runDisney and check out the training plans by Jeff Galloway. I am using his 5K plan to train for a virtual 5K I’m doing January 25. Maybe I’ll have my husband hold up Disney stuffed animals along the way so it will feel like a Disney run.

Image from Disney Insider

I don’t know what to think about the movie Maleficent. She is my favorite Disney villain because she is really evil. In Sleeping Beauty she causes major havoc because of a small slight. This always worked for me. Prince Phillip is good and noble and Maleficent is mean and evil. I like knowing where the lines are drawn.

Now my favorite villain is getting her own movie and we’ll learn how she became evil, mean, wicked, bad, and nasty (thank you, Smothers Brothers for the adjectives.) Angelina Jolie is playing Maleficent and I am sure she will to do an amazing job.

But I am torn. I liked Maleficent being a villain. I don’t need to know how she became one. Plus, unless they are changing the basic story we know she doesn’t live in the end. So either they are changing the end or this is going to be hard to watch. Or maybe we feel her inevitable death is justified. I just don’t know what I think about all this.

There have been other movies where the bad guy takes the lead role. Wicked may be the most popular, but Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III basically tell the story of the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader. I haven’t seen or read Wicked but I really hated the first three Star Wars movies.

If you would like to watch the trailer for Maleficent click here. I loved the trailer and thought everyone was playing their roles perfectly. However, I learned nothing about how the story is going to be told so I still don’t know what to think. It is not coming out until May 2014 so I’ll have time to learn more. I wish Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather (she was always my favorite) could give me a hint before then.  Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: Is Maleficent your favorite Disney villain? Unlike a lot of  Disney villians that only come to the parks occasionally you can see Maleficent most nights at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. She is the live-action villain in Fantasmic! that Mickey Mouse has to battle at the end of the show. My favorite part of Fantasmic! is when she turns from human to dragon. It is really impressive. I am glad the good guys win.

Image from Disney Parks Blog

Thor is once again in the theaters. I haven’t seen it yet, but I can’t wait to. I like Iron Man more than Thor, but this movie is an extension of The Avengers which I thought was awesome and I don’t want to miss the rest of the story.

For those of you who are Thor fans you can now meet the Nordic god at Innoventions in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. This is also the home of Iron Man Tech. If Disney keeps this up they’ll have to rename Innoventions Shield HQ (and how cool would that be!) Before you meet Thor you can see props from the movies, Asgardian treasures brought to Earth for your viewing pleasure. You then pass through the Bifrost (if you don’t know what that is watch the first Thor movie) and meet Thor in all his godly glory.

I think this sounds like fun. I have a limited knowledge of Thor, but this is not your average meet and greet. You can talk to Thor and ask him questions. I’d ask him who his favorite Disney character was. You also have a chance to lift his hammer. I doubt I’d be able to do this since the Incredible Hulk couldn’t lift it, but it would be fun to try. The best part would be getting your picture taken with him. I’d do a cool Avengers pose (even though I learned at Iron Man Tech that I will never be a cool Avenger).

For more information check out this video from touringplans.com. They say the line is really long so I suggest showing up early if you want to meet Thor and still spend time in the rest of the park. I did the same thing for Iron Man Tech and only waited for fifteen minutes. You’ve been warned.

I was glad that Disney bought Marvel and wondered how they were going to incorporate the characters into the parks. I think they are doing a fine job. I hope Captain America and Hawkeye join Shield HG, I mean Innoventions, soon. Happiness squared.

Goofy Craft: For those of you who love Thor but can’t make it to Disneyland you can have fun with these printables from spoonful.com. I like the wings you can add to your hat. Perfect for when you are having a tough day at school or work and want some godly power.

Image from Disney Parks Blog

I waited until Halloween was over before I started talking about Christmas. I am a big believer in keeping Christmas in December, but the Disney parks get the season started in November so I will follow their lead. After all lots of guests want to experience the Disney parks at Christmastime and they wouldn’t all fit in one month. So let the season begin.

Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom are doing something this year that has never be done before. The Jungle Cruise is getting a Christmas overlay. I think this is a fun idea. Even explorers celebrate Christmas. I look forward to seeing the decorations and I am really looking forward to hearing new puns. The number one reason I ride the Jungle Cruise is for the puns. Show me the back side of water and I crack up. Introduce me to Dr. Presume and I laugh until I cry. I hope these new Christmas puns are the worst ever. I may just die from laughter.

So let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas, and remember, don’t shoot the messenger. Happiness Squared.

Goofy Tip: As much as people wish Christmas would stop encroaching on the rest of the year if you plan to visit the Disney parks (especially Walt Disney World) during the Christmas season you should be making reservations and buying tickets now. The holiday season is one of the busiest times to visit the parks and if you want to see all the great events than start planning today. Or, put a note on your calendar next May or June to plan for Christmas 2014.

Image from www.spoonful.com

I love podcasts. I listen to dozens of them every week. I like podcasts about Disney, science, running, history, food, medicine, and any other topic that catches my interest. Usually though, the only podcasts that talk about Disney topics are Disney podcasts. So imagine my surprise when Stuff you Missed in History Class did not one, but two shows about the history of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Cool.

This is one of my favorite podcasts and they talk about such a diverse amount of stuff (history tends to be pretty diverse) I shouldn’t be surprised that they did a Disney topic. I had no idea that the building of the Haunted Mansion had such an interesting story. I learned a ton about the history of Disneyland and the Haunted Mansion. Did you know that the idea for the Haunted Mansion first came up in 1951 but the attraction was not completed until 1969? Amazing!

If you would like to listen to these shows (and I hope you do because they are really fun) click here to find the podcast in iTunes, or you can search for it on Stitcher. These shows are perfect to listen to right now because Halloween is coming and few things are as spooky and fun as the Haunted Mansion. Happiness squared.

Goofy Crafts: If you would like to turn your house into the Haunted Mansion spoonful.com has a lot of great craft ideas.  With most of them you just have to print, cut, glue, and use. Perfect for last minute Halloween decorations. Click here to see the entire spooky list.

So, grab some crayons, colored pencils, markers, or highlighters, anything that puts color on a piece of paper. You may be tempted to use your computer but I don’t recommend it. I want you to color like when you were a child and that means by hand. If you want to you can print out a picture to color from your computer, but then step away from the keyboard.

Now that you have paper and crayons start coloring. I like to color pictures from coloring books because I am not very good at drawing, however, if all you have is a blank piece of paper, don’t stress. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. Draw a pumpkin. Anyone can do that. There is no such thing as a wrong-looking pumpkin. Then draw a jack-’o-lantern face on it. Once that is done color in your pumpkin. You’ll notice that as you color your mood will change. It’s tough to be unhappy and color.

Once you are done display your art where you can see it. Now when you are stressed you can look at your pumpkin and relax. It may be Wednesday, but the weekend will be here soon enough. Then you’ll have lots of time to color. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: If you happen to be at Disneyland and you want to color something, head over to the Halloween Carnival at the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree. They have tables set up so Guests of all ages can color a Halloween mask. I colored a bat and Mickey Mouse himself told me I was doing a great job.

Space Mountain is one of my favorite rides and I like the Disneyland version better than the Magic Kingdom version because it is darker and has a more traditional feel to it. I was eager to finally experience Ghost Galaxy and I hoped it would be great. Now that I have ridden it I can say yay or nay. Sooo…yay or nay?

Well, I have to say yay and nay. It was cool and spooky, but it did not improve the attraction. I didn’t get off Space Mountain and immediately want to ride it again, which I do sometimes when the attraction has no overlay. Since I am of the opinion that an overlay should make the ride better I would be fine if Ghost Galaxy disappeared, but I would still ride the attraction with it there.

I hope I have not confused you. It was okay so I would recommend you ride Space Mountain if you want to, but don’t make special plans just to experience Ghost Galaxy. I personally missed the giant chocolate chip cookie asteroids. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: The day I went to Disneyland the lines were extremely short but I still Fastpassed Space Mountain. When my time came I was able to walk almost to the front of the line with no stopping. If you don’t want to stand in any line, even a short one, I recommend Fastpass.

Image from Disney Parks Blog

One of my many goals is to visit every Disney park in the world (and off planet when they get there). I didn’t really care which park I visited first as long as I visited them all. But that has changed. Hong Kong Disneyland is now first on my list. Why? Because that park is getting the first Iron Man attraction. Luckily it is coming in 2016 so I have time to plan my trip, but Hong Kong here I come.

Disneyland currently has Iron Man Tech in Innoventions (I’ll be giving my review of this experience in a future post) but it is not truly its own attraction, it is just part of the futuristic fun. I think an attraction that immerses you in the Marvel universe will be breathtaking. If you would like to get the details of this new attractions click here to see the post at the Disney Parks Blog.

Visiting Hong Kong Disneyland would be amazing for any reason, by adding Iron Man they made it my new Disney goal. Who wants to join me? Happiness squared.

Goofy TV: I plan to talk a lot more about this show, but if you need a weekly Marvel boost I suggest you watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tuesday’s on ABC. The story line is going places and the characters are really growing. Of course the real reason to watch is Agent Coulson and he rocks. I’m so glad he’s not dead.