MU! MU! GO! GO! GO!

Ashleigh here starting off one of our many to come Disney movie reviews. This last Friday, Anna, Shannon, Neil and I went out to watch Monsters University. I'm not sure how the general public feels but I had been looking forward with much anticipation to seeing this movie. In all honesty, I had pretty high expectations similar to the great success of Toy Story 3. Being a part of the generation who grew up with the original movie, it's nice to see the characters grow up to and of course relate to the experiences.

Monsters University didn't disappoint. I give two scary claws up and a big ROAR to MU and encourage others to go watch. Pixar did an absolutely amazing job showing off the realistic graphics in the movie. In fact, at one scene I distinctly thought to myself how the surrounding campus scenery/background looked so realistic and Mike and Sully were animated into a real scene. Kudos to Pixar for the constant advancement in technology.

The movie is full of laughs and typical college moments to relate to as you see Mike and Sully grow together into young adults and become the friends we know them to be in Monsters, Inc. The movie as most Disney's movies do, inspires watchers that no matter what don't give up. Even if the odds are against you, you can still overcome as long as you do your best.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Now to get into a few details, those who haven't watched I suggest you quit reading my post. I had mixed feelings of the ending of the movie.

I enjoyed the realistic plot that your plans do not always happen the way you would like them to go (in reference to Mike) because I know this happens to most people. But my feelings were mixed on Mike and Sully getting expelled from MU. If I were a parent I might be concerned that my child might think college isn't necessary to become successful. Which I do believe that statement is true, I know many parents might be concerned or have mixed feelings on how their children will perceive the movie. On the other side, it does show the importance of not cheating (which I am a strong believer in) and a good lessons for kids to know that cheating has consequences.....some which you can't change.

Overall, I still thought the movie was great and realistic because you never know what life will throw at you. And indeed, never give up and look to other options to still accomplish your goals.

Finally, go MU and the Oozma Kappas (OK) team! For more info about the movie and merchandise, check out: monstersuniversity.com which a pretty comprehensive MU website, which seems like a real college website.

Car Masters Weekend 2013

June 15-16 was this year's Car Masters Weekend. Anna writing right now and while I have very little interest in cars, my boyfriend (Matt) loves them, so this past weekend we headed to Downtown Disney to check out the event along with his neighbor, Katie and her girlfriend, Kaylyn.

Being that it's almost summer and we are in Florida it was a hot day to say the least, but that did not stop huge amounts of car enthusiasts to come out and check out the vehicles. The types of cars ranged from antiques to exotic and from tiny cars to huge trucks. The ones that attracted my eyes were the older looking ones while the rest of my group fell in love with the faster cars.

Sadly, the line was far too long to stand in on such a hot day to see my favorite cars though. Those being Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Finn McMissile from the Disney Pixar movie, Cars. They were there though and they attracted quite a crowd from the younger attendants and of course Disney fanatics like myself.

Besides all the cars, the event provided other entertainment in the form of music. There were DJs set up all along the west side of Downtown Disney playing songs from the 50's and everybody's favorite cars-themed tunes. My favorite was the acapella group, Car Masters Singers. They were great singers and very entertaining.

I think all-in-all everything we set out to do was accomplished and a good time was had by all.

Le Cellier Steakhouse at Epcot

For Father's Day, my parents, my boyfriend, and I (Anna) went to Disney to celebrate my dad. I have mentioned before that Epcot is his favorite park to go and explore, so that is where we headed first. I had made a reservation at Le Cellier Steakhouse during the week knowing that most dads love steak and that would be a popular destination for theme park goers hoping to give their dad a special treat.

We made it into the park about 30 minutes before our reservation, so we decided to explore Canada a little bit. We decided to watch the Circle-Vision 360 film, "O Canada!".The film gave the audience different views of our neighbors to the north. I have never been to the actual country, so the show was very educational and fun as it was narrated by comedian and Canadian, Martin Short.

By the time the film was over, it was perfect timing to head to dinner. The restaurant was nestled in a cellar of a Canadian chateau. The atmosphere was very beautiful, but very dim. To make up for the dimness of the area, the menus lit up. I had never seen this before, so I was a little overly excited about it.

Our waitress, brought us a basket of bread that contained different kinds from the different regions in Canada. The bread was very fresh and so delicious. My personal favorite was the pretzel bread. We ordered the Charcuterie as an appetizer which contained the chef's handcrafted meat selection, prosciutto, flagship, cheddar, and accompaniments. For my entree, I got the "Le Cellier" Mushroom Filet Mignon which came with wild mushroom risotto, pickled pearl onions, and white truffle-butter sauce.

Even though everyone was stuffed at the table, we still ordered a dessert to share which was the Maple Crème Brûlée. It was the perfect ending to our delicious meal. Being the great daughter that I am, I picked up the tab. That being said, I know this restaurant isn't cheap, but if you are looking for a place worth the splurge you will find it in Le Cellier Steakhouse.

After stuffing our stomaches to the max, we looked for a place to relax and digest. We headed to The Mill Stage. If you are into kilt wearing, bagpipe playing rockers then you need to check out Off Kilter. Even if you're not... check it out once... seriously.

End of a Saga: Star Wars Weekend IV

Ashleigh here giving the details on our last episode of Star Wars Weekend. This trip only included Shannon and Neil besides myself. Since we've been to the other Star Wars Weekends, we didn't rush over to get there early and only had a small list of "must do's" for the end of the Weekends.

*** A small tip from the drive over, if you miss your first turn into Hollywood studios, it turns into a very round about way to get into the park. So make sure to keep an eye out for the signs with directions.

As for our list (more like Shannon's list), it only included riding Star Tours again, Darth's Mall again, and getting a Star Wars Vinylmation. So upon arrival we made our way to Star Tours.

As soon as we got to the park and considering how far we had to park, we realized today was much busier than some of our previous trips. Despite that Star Tours was a 20 minute wait and we got in line. Now I won't give much away to Star Tours but I really like this ride. Basically for those who haven't been on the ride yet, it's a 3D ride that simulates a star wars adventure. If you get motion sickness, this isn't for you but what's really cool is the plot line for the ride.

The ride changes plots each time. I believe there are even over 200 combinations you can experience. By the end of the day, we had rode 3 times and each was different than the other. Now leaving star tours, Shannon took the opportunity to get her vinylmation star wars edition #2 (to be matter of fact), in hopes of getting her Darth Vader. Now Vinylmations are pretty cool little Mickeys' painted to be different characters. Check out this website, to really get an idea of what they are: disneystore.com/vinylmation. And well when you pick a box it's a mystery. And with our dumb luck Shannon got Obi Wan Kenobi...not Darth Vader. Seeing her disappointed face I had to buy one myself for her and still failed by getting Luke Skywalker. Some further investigation will need to be done in order to see if we can crack the code in figuring out the mystery before purchase. But for now, Shannon has started her collection and is still in search of Vader.

We took a break for snacks (which we packed PB&J's which were great for lunch and fruit). We really got the backpack/cooler idea down finally for snacks and drinks. After this and keeping our list in mind we headed towards Darth's Mall. It seemed some new merchandise had become available but nothing of interest to us. The mall did provide a nice cool off spot from the heat of the day though.

Our list had essentially been completed, however, Shannon and I really wanted to see the Hoopla show again which wasn't until 8 o'clock. In an effort to kill some time, we park hopped over to Magic Kingdom to of course got some cards for Shannon. Upon arrival to the Kingdom, it seemed only ironic that we tried so hard to beat the rain to get rained on right as we made our way in. We got the cards and basically spent a lot of time checking out the Emporium store. Which if you haven't checked this store out, it should basically have any Disney item you seek being one of the biggest merchandise stores in the Kingdom.

Now typically, Florida rain comes and goes in about 10 minutes but this storm seemed to be slow moving and rather large spreading across the whole central Florida area and we were finally getting hungry for dinner.

Before battling the rain, we got a large Disney bag from one of the cashiers to put over our backpack to protect from the rain. We went to the Columbia Harbour House which has a really cool variety for "American" style food, with fish, soups, salads and tuna fish sandwiches. It was very filling and a great place to eat peacefully (upstairs) and out of the rain. Upon leaving and we cut some holes in the bag to cover the backpack perfectly! This worked great for the rest of the day and it was free unlike ponchos. Since there was still rain, we left the kingdom and made our way back to Hollywood Studios.

At Hollywood Studios, we discovered that the Hoopla show wouldn't be cancelled until closer to the showing if it was to be cancelled. The rain had really made us bone chill cold so we asked for the best coffee stop. We ended up at the Writer's Shop which in fact had great coffee, lattes, hot chocolate and giant cookies! We enjoyed sitting at a quaint table, sipping coffee, and splitting a giant chocolate chip cookie (YUM!). It finally got close enough to the show to head over where in fact it was cancelled just after 8 o'clock. At this we made our way home but still had enjoyed our last Star Wars Weekend and another Disney adventure :)

Biergarten Restaurant at Epcot

Last week, I (Anna) along with Matt and my parents went to Epcot. My dad works out of town a lot, but was home for the week, so he got to pick which Disney theme park we'd go to. His favorite is Epcot. After being stationed in Germany for four years, German is one of his favorite cuisines (and one of mine too).

On the way to the park, I suggested that we try to make reservations at the German buffet there, but there seemed to be plenty of open spots, so we just went without. When we arrived, we found out that you actually have to have a reservation in order to eat there. There was a misleading sign that said "All walk-ins to the left" implying that you could just "walk in", but evidently a false assumption. Lesson learned: always make reservations at the "nice sit down" restaurants in Epcot.

These can be made on their website:
disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/#/reservations-accepted
or using their free app, My Disney Experience.

When we finally made the reservation and came back to the restaurant that night, we had a great time. We were lucky to make it during one of the shows and the music and singing were amazing. I would definitely recommend that. The buffet had a lot of my favorite German dishes and the atmosphere reminded me of Germany. We had an awesome waiter named Robert. He was very entertaining and even attempted to teach my boyfriend some German. Overall a great experience, just make sure to make a reservation!

Star Wars Weekends Part II

Hello this is Shannon and I'm here to tell you about our second adventure at Disney's Star Wars Weekends!

This time myself, my boyfriend Neil and my sister Ashleigh went to Hollywood Studios following the Monstrous All-Nighter at Magic Kingdom. After returning to the hotel (located just outside of Disney) we got maybe 2 hours of sleep before waking up for breakfast and then heading to the park. We arrived at Hollywood Studios around 9:45am.

This time we decided to try to make some goals since the first time we didn't get much done the previous Star Wars Weekend. So rule No. 1 when going to Disney to get stuff done (especially when it's busy because of a special event) is to make a list.

Todo List

1. Get pictures with Darth Vader (The best character in Star Wars!!!)
2. Get pictures with Darth Maul
3. Get pictures with other characters that we come across in the Empire areas
4. Ride the new Toy Story attraction
5. Go to Magic Kingdom to get my new cards

After grabbing a map we located the Imperial areas (There's only 3...Disney must be full of Jedi's vs Sith) so we started making our way to the back section which happened to be Pixar Place. On the way we found the previously unknown Toy Story ride. This is a busy one so rule number 2, if you want to ride the Toy Story ride get a fast pass quickly! Now we had to return at 4:15 just to go on the ride.

We found the Imperial areas and took some pictures without characters. To kill some time we went through a walk through about Walt Disney which we all enjoyed. It's accompanied by a little movie at the end (the history behind things was cool to learn about). If you don't care about the history this is still a good place to cool off from the heat.

After this we discovered that Darth Vader was out, but the line was huge! Instead we went to the Darth Maul line and got a picture with him. We weren't that thrilled with the picture, but Darth Maul just glared at you. While in line we met some seasoned Star Wars Weekend ladies who told us we should still try going in the Darth Vader line afterwards, so we listened. It was probably an hour before getting to the top of this line (with Darth Vader having to go back to check on the Death Star a few times, he even seemed shorter when he came back at one point).

Finally our turn came and now rule number 3, don't just stand next to Vader and smile! Be creative! For myself a loyal Sith bowed before the mighty Lord Vader. Ashleigh though a Jedi Master assumed she could defeat Darth Vader, but she does not know the power of the dark side! While trying to use his own attack against him (the force choke) Vader merely stood glaring at her knowing he was too strong. After Neil taking these epic pictures we moved on and were lucky enough to stumble on Boba Fett coming out. I must say again be creative, for Boba Fett we decided to do a Charlie's Angels like picture, but little did he know we would turn on him( Receiving a much deserved gasp from the crowd watching). When you are creative with your pictures the people around will respond which makes waiting in line more fun.

We got to walk around the park for a while because we still had plenty of time 'til our Toy Story fast pass could be used. We got to see the Beauty and the Beast show which was a quick version of the movie and focused on the songs.  Afterwards we walk around looking at all the shops. Finally, we got to go on Toy Story!

This ride was a sit down shooter where you came up to big screens and had to hit targets and other items depending on the game. At the end everyone got to see your scores and I did the worse! Ashleigh came in 1st place and was followed closely by Neil. Toy Story was the last thing we wanted to do at Hollywood Studios so we made way for the Magic Kingdom. From Hollywood Studios you have to exit the park and take one of the buses to get to the Transportation Station, from here we took the Ferry Boat to the park entrance.

On the way I made sure to see if the crew had an transportation cards which are another part of the Sorcerer's card game. So after entering the park we got the daily card packs and went to what we call the Princess Store to see if there was anything new and so Ashleigh could get a Little Mermaid shirt. She got her shirt and we all got a little extra magic in that store. Each one of us had to close our eyes and make a wish while a Disney cast member sprinkled pixie dust (with a rhyme) on our heads, even Neil did this.

Our day was soon coming to its end we just had to make it back to Hollywood Studios and to the car. We traveled back on the Ferry to the Transportation Station then grabbed the bus. This time we happened to get a very sociable bus driver. Upon getting on everyone received a high-five and he was kind enough to give me some different transportation cards, but he said he had more and to check with him after we make it to Hollywood Studios. After arrival he gave me another one that he found in his bag and even a Magical Moment card! Thus Bill the bus driver (I made sure to ask his name) ended our very long night/day Disney adventure with a happy memory!