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.

Monstrous Summer Begins with an All Nighter

Ashleigh here blogging about one of our latest Disney adventures this last Friday. Disney seems to always be coming up with a new and exciting event for all to enjoy and the Monstrous Summer All-Nighter didn't fall short.

Due to a long work day, long drive and checking in at a hotel, Shannon, Neil and I didn't start our all nighter at Disney until about 11 pm. Although the night proved adventurous and fun probably around 10 pm when we were wondering around Disney to find a faster way to the Kingdom after being rerouted to Epcot with hundreds of others. Ultimately we tried to "cheat" the system and bus to another resort in hopes of it being faster but we had the dumb luck of picking a much further resort but still made it there! (Tip for bus hopping, have an idea of the closest resorts first).

Upon arrival we of course got Shannon her cards for the day (if you don't know what I'm talking about I'll leave it up to Shannon to write a blog about the card game sweeping Magic Kingdom) and then made a bee line for some coffee. The first stop for coffee for any adults, who need the caffeine to keep going like me, is Kasey's Corner. Considering it's Disney the price wasn't bad for a regular coffee and it tasted really good to me!

After this we met up with Anna and Matt to finally really start the night. Being that it was about midnight, we made our way through adventureland to Tortuga Tavern that was having a special unofficial Disney event happening. And that was a card trading event for those die hard card collectors. Matt and Shannon started straight to the mingling of trading while Neil, Anna and I took in the spectacle. Which it was indeed quite a sight!

Anna and I took another coffee pit stop at Pecos Bill's (which they had iced coffee too) and came back to see the wheeling and dealing. Anna, Neil and I found ourselves taking pictures of the high stakes trading (or it seemed that way to Matt and Shannon) and making up some fun commentary remarks based on the photos. After a bit, the three of us moved outside to snack until Matt and Shannon emerged. Eventually they did and a successful night it proved for those two in obtaining a few rare and uncommon cards.

Those two seemed to be radiating excitement which expanded to the rest of us as we made our way to Fantasyland in the middle of the night. As time has passed it was cool seeming a significantly less amount of people in the park. We made our typical stop at the princess shop (it's real name is Sir Mickey's) to see if there were any new shirts.

We found ourselves stopping at Enchanted Tales with Belle which I've never been on yet. And without giving away any spoilers it's an interactive story and Matt and I got to participate! Afterwards we moved onto Gaston's for a bathroom break and to check out the new beauty and the beast inspired dishes and glassware (so pretty)! It was about 2 am now, and we headed back to the castle for a dance off! We found ourselves (well us girls) spending the next 2 hours dancing our tailfeathers to a mix of great songs until we ultimately admitted defeat of the all nighter!

Personally, having a love for dancing, the dance off was my personal favorite (and we got to dance in the crowd with some characters like Donald, Daisy, and Goofy). We made our way to the hotel (and Anna and Matt to Tville, crazy!) to begin our little sleep cycle before our next Disney adventure, but it seems it will be a very promising summer of Disney excitement and fun!