It's here.....or at least almost here

Today’s post is short but only because I am working on finishing my ten page paper on the Protestant Reformation for Friday so I can have my teacher look over it before next week. Tomorrow and Friday will be full posts I assure you.

I talked on Monday about Disney owning a time machine and then I told you that in reality they don’t have a time machine but rather a show that allows you to look into the “future.” So is time travel possible? The answer of course is yes and I just so happen to have the ability. How did I get this ability? I purchased it from the back of a comic book ad four proofs of purchase and $5.95 shipping and handling. In hindsight not one of my more financially sound moves. Where was I…oh right time travel. So I can use this ability on anybody anywhere. For example, I am currently using this power on you. As you read this, I am moving you second by second closer to your departure date for the Disney College Program. By now you are roughly anywhere from ten to fifty seconds (I say fifty so as to not let the slower readers feel bad) closer to that much anticipated date. Alright so it’s not a very practical gift and I probably should have gone with the X-ray glasses but you all get my point. Every second that elapses is another second closer you are to your Disney experience. And the question that you must ask yourself is, “Am I ready?” Have you started working on your Disney preparedness checklist? Do you know what you need to bring or how to get squared away at school? These are the things you must be considering now because the program will be here before you know and you probably don’t want to be like myself who waited until 10 p.m. the night before to start packing (it was an interesting evening though). That’s all I have to say for today so good day……I SAID GOODDAY! (I’m sorry, I’ve been watching WAY today much Newsradio lately)

Just a dream away

The first thing I want to say, since it’s on ABC, how awesome was the Firefly reference on Castle yesterday (it kinda gave me chills)? If you have never seen Firefly before then after you finish this post, I suggest you click on this link (http://www.hulu.com/search?query=firefly&st=1) and watch at least the first five episodes. And if you haven’t seen Castle then I suggest you check it out every Monday night on ABC because it is one of the wittiest shows on TV right now.

It probably comes to no surprise to any of you that I love Disney and Disney music (and if it does well….SURPRISE!). Now although the park music is my favorite Disney music, there are complete Disney soundtracks that I find amazing. I think Hercules has the best soundtrack of the animated films with Mulan as a close second and believe it or not, I think Holes has the best live action soundtrack (it’s a great CD, check it out). I think Someday My Prince Will Come, as played by Myles Davis, and When You Wish Upon a Star, as sung by Louis Armstrong, are my favorite individual songs. Disney music just seems to possess the gift of stirring up amazing emotions inside all of us. Pop some popcorn or if your in college and like me can't afford popcorn then boil some Ramen and actually if your like me and you can't afford Ramen then graba bowl and pretend and enjoy my tale for today:

Around the country, high school seniors go on class trips that can be anything from ski trips Colorado to a class picnic in the park. In Florida we have an event called Grad Night where on particular nights, most of the senior classes from around the state enjoy an evening at the Magic Kingdom from about 8pm-4am *my times could be a little off). This is a great opportunity to ride the rides with minimal waits and enjoy the parks with your friends as a last HOORAH before you all go your separate ways. So that’s what we did. We arrived at about 9: 30, entered the parks, and walked side by side down Main Street USA (oh that Magic Kingdom in the Sky).Now as the seasoned Disney veteran my friends looked to me for what we should do first, so I lead the way and we hit up the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. The funny thing about Pirates was that Disney was so afraid students would leave the boats that they had cast members stationed in the ride sets every couple of feet, hiding in the shadows. After hitting a lot of the quick attractions we met up with more friends and all got in line for Splash Mountain. It was in this line that I had a moment that to this day still gives me chills thinking about it. We had just gotten to the part of the queue where you are standing next to the train station (which was abandoned because it is not operational on Grad Nights) when we heard and saw the first of the night’s fireworks exploding in the air. Now I should also mention that during Grad Night they don’t play the different land’s area music but rather current pop, rock, and rap (clean of course) and what should start playing but the new song by the All American Rejects, “The Future Has Arrived.” It was like a moment out of a cheesy high school movie: The park was dark and my friends and I were all together for one of the last times huddled trying to watch the fireworks coming up from the Castle from behind the train station while listening to how the future had arrived today. This is what I mean when I said Disney music has the power to stir up such great emotions and create great memories.

So as you plan for the arrival of you future whether it is the Disney College Program, another semester of school, or something that you know not of but you know it’s coming try to think about what kind of memories you have and what kind of memories you want to make. And enjoy a Disney song or to along the way because you never know what magic lies behind it. I would add another cheesy cliché but I’m kind of tapped out so until tomorrow……

Have a Great Big Beautiful Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond!!! (oh another good cliché)

We have to go Back to the Future......or we can just wait.

First of all an interesting thing happened, I came up with two intros for today's post as I was writing this blog and since I couldn't figure out which to use, I just decided to include both (organized chaos I assure you).

Secondly I know I said that I would put up my thoughts on Spring holidays over the weekend and well.....I didn't. But it's for a good reason I assure you. I am trying to compose as good of a list as I can and since this holidays don't occur until the Spring (unless theirs a memo I didn't get, which is likely because no one tells me anything) then I have time to make as good of a list as I can.

And finally, those locked coordinates. *ACCESS GRANTED* We're in! Enjoy "THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED" week



Did you know that Walt Disney World has a time machine? Well they don’t, so if you answered “yes” then you are a liar liar and I think it’s a safe bet that your pants are currently on fire (if they are then you probably want to put them out). Okay they don’t have a time machine but they do have the next best thing, Walt Disney presents the Carousel of Progress. That’s right, step into the gear patterned building and take a trip through the 1900’s from gas lamps to electricity and all the way into the future with the high tech……car phones? Sure the attraction’s climactic futuristic scene is probably the future of twenty years ago (although we still don’t have voice activated ovens) but it’s still interesting none the less.

I thought Meet the Robinsons was a great movie. The story was interesting, the sight gags were funny (Todayland), and Disney really hit the lesson of “Keep Moving Forward” out of the park. Of course I am mentioning the movie because this week’s theme is “The Future Has Arrived” which you know, if you are a Disney fan I’m sure most of you, was both a song and another theme from the movie. It is a very “Disney” concept in the fact that from the time Walt opened the animation studio and even today in the parks and movies that came from the studio he really seemed to believe that the future had and was constantly within his reach. And now, several years into the new millennium, this heavy baton is passed onto current cast members and future cast members as I know many of you hope to be. If you don’t think you can shoulder this responsibility and you wish to opt out then you can sign up for mission control training in the advanced training lab just ask any member of the ISTC crew as for the rest of you report for your preflight briefing. It’s report time. But seriously, as a Disney Cast Member, it is an interesting feeling to be a part of a group that is truly writing both history and the future as it travels along this, our Spaceship Earth. (Oh snap, two EPCOT references in one post. Say what!)

Now I want to give you a look at the week ahead but to be honest I haven’t really thought that far ahead. So we’ll be playing it by ear but I assure you, it will be an interesting week.

Enjoy and have a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow!!!

Strange Short Post today

I decided to go home for the weekend and because I didn't have access to my computer until about ten minutes ago, today is going to be an intro for tomorrows post (I know it's mind blowing, but let it sink in).

Today's post is sponsored by the letter "Y" as in "Y am I wide awake at at 1:34 in the morning?"

So it was brought my attention that there are actually people out there doing the Spring and Spring Advantage programs. This means that instead of missing out on the traditions of the smaller holidays such as Halloween and Christmas, they are missing out on such heavy hittters as St. Patty's Day and Valentine's Day (and possibly Chinchila Day, I'm still not clear as to what day that falls on). Now, because I did my program from May to January, everything I say from here on out is hypothetical; meaning this is what I would assume would be the best way to approach the holidays during your program. Why celebrate them? Why not.....it is the year of "What will you celebrate" after all. So check it out tomorrow: How to celebrate the Spring holidays on the program at Disney.

Whenever strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls

That is one strange looking pumpkin.....the FDA should probably check it out.


And now presenting: The continuing adventures of "Yesterday's Post".......so epic!


Step 2: Party or Par-tay... I’ve heard it both ways. (Psych reference y’all)

Around Halloween time you will see two types of parties emerge: Costume Parties and Costume Parties. I know what you guys are thinking, “The Purple Folder is the greatest blog ever!” What do you mean that’s not what you were thinking? Oh, you want to know what I mean by Costume Party and Costume Party. Okay then here we go:

- Costume Party #1: This is your run of the mill costume party. I know somebody has to throw a party in order for there to be one but it would probably behoove you to “go” to one of the parties instead of being the one throwing the party. I say this because a little shindig with you and your closest friends will instantly turn into you and a hundred of your closest friends. Well whatever you decide to do, these parties are awesome. A lot of the time Cper’s will make a costume with whatever they have as opposed to buying one. A good example of this was my roommate Tom who went as Phantom Mickey and he wore his Mickey Mouse Groom’s top hat, his Mickey gloves, a cheap black masquerade mask, all black clothes, and a black bed sheet as a cape (It was pretty spiffy). You get to meet a lot of people and if done correctly, you can get your entire Halloween fill in just one arty (I know I did).

- Costume Party #2: These are an interesting “Disney” twist on a costume party and of course I’m talking about a party where everybody wear’s their work costumes. I am only going to mention this party because you will come across them and you should probably think before you go to one. Now if it is just a small gathering, then it is fine and it could really be a lot of fun. I would caution you to not go to one where there are a lot of people at for this one reason…..THOSE COSTUMES ARE BLOODY EXPENSIVE. When I say expensive I mean expensive. Disney uses their own custom fabrics and colors (and you will learn about all this when you get there), in fact I can’t confirm this but I heard that the full Tower of Terror costume is worth a couple thousand dollars all together (It’s insane). I think my costume all together was relatively cheap but I still wouldn’t have wanted to pay for any piece of it. And you will be charged for anything that is lost, stolen, or ruined. Again, these parties can be fun but think before you go.


Step 3: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

You may ask me, “John, Why would I want to pay twenty some dollars (remember you get a discount) to be in the Magic Kingdom for a couple hours when at any other time of day I can get in for free?” If you have never been to MNSSHP before then you probably wouldn’t understand how special it really is (and if you have then I say shame on you for asking). The quick overview of it is the Magic Kingdom park is open from 7 pm until Midnight. It is a limited guest hard ticket event so the park is no where nearly as crowded as it would be during the day and you can walk onto every ride. The park is all decked out with Mickey ghosts, crazy pumpkins, and a ton of fog machines. Everybody is encouraged to wear costumes and they have special trick-or-treat stations throughout the park where you walk up with your bag and well…..you get candy. There are dance stations spread throughout the park with their own themed dance parties as well as free face painting stations where well……you get your face painted (pretty straight forward I think). The event also boasts the amazing Boo-To-You (the gravediggers in the parade are worth the price of admission, they are amazing) parade and the special Hallo-Wishes firework display. All in all it’s an amazing event where you and your friends can get dressed up and enjoy a very disneyfied (another word I’m coining) Halloween. My only warning is this: don’t over expose yourself to the Boo-To-You theme as it holds the same hypnotic powers as It’s a Small World. Once you hear it, it will never leave your head (I still sing it out loud from time to time when I’m not thinking).


Have a Zip-A-Dee-BOO-Dah-Day!!!!!

Dead Men Tell No Tales.....so chnaces are I'm not dead and that's a good thing.

Today and tomorrow I will be going over my three steps to having an enjoyable Halloween and fall seasons. Now I am aware that quite a few of my readers (I have readers, WHOA) are doing the Spring sessions and as such you may feel that you can't get something out of this, but I say try to pull out the ideas of celebrating the seasons. Also, on Friday I will talk about the best ways to celbrate those "smaller" holidays that fall in the Spring session so....yea. Enjoy!

Step 1: Be Festive
Before I continue I feel it is necessary for me to provide this disclaimer:

I AM NOT MARTHA STEWART. I AM A MALE COLLEGE STUDENT WHO WAS LIVING WITH FIVE OTHER MALE COLLEGE STUDENTS SO IF ANY OF THIS SEEMS UNINSPIRED REMEMBER: SIX COLLEGE MALES NOT MARTHA STEWART. OH AND AS LONG AS YALL ARE READING THIS, HOW AWESOME IS LOST? KATE IS ANNOYING BUT BEN LINUS IS PROBABLY THE COOLEST TV CHARACTER ON TV WITH LEROY JETHRO GIBBS FROM NCIS AS A CLOSE SECOND. WAIT AM I STILL TALKING IN CAPS? SHOOT! WELL THAT IS ALL.

The first thing to consider is that simplicity will out. What I mean is that you probably don’t want to go cobweb crazy and you probably shouldn’t be turning your apartment into a haunted house. I say this because it can get real old real fast and after a twelve hour shift, the last thing you want is to be bombarded with Halloween ho-ha everywhere (or maybe you do, I don’t know). In fact, I recommend you decorate for the fall and not for Halloween. Some things consider include:

- Candles: For whatever reason, our apartment always seemed to smell stale. Our initial solution to this problem was sticking dryer sheets in the air vents which actually worked pretty well. Then one day in early October I was at Walmart with two of my roommates and they were having a sale on seasonal candles and we figured it couldn’t hurt to try so we bought four Glade Apple Cinnamon candles. We lit them as soon as we got home and there was a considerable difference after just ten minutes and so we kept at least one candle lit at all times. It felt good to come home from work or the parks everyday and be instantly hit with the smell of fall. To be honest I think this was the biggest key to getting into the Holiday spirit for me.

- Decorations: Again, we didn’t go overboard when it came to decorations. Thinking back on it, we only had about five pieces of fall décor around our apartment (granted we lived in Vista Way so we didn’t have a big place to begin with). Now again, we didn’t have anything specifically Halloween because we figured it would be good to have something for the season that would work well for Halloween but that we could also keep up for Thanksgiving and all (anything to make out apartment look better). We picked up a couple of small autumny (I’m coining that word) centerpiece items for our kitchen table, counter, and desk. Again, just simple autumn leaves and twig things we picked up on the cheap at Wallgreens. Then we also picked up two of those cinnamon brooms that they sell at Publix (local grocery store) that we hung up on our wall which both looked good and added to that autumn smell.

- Candy: When I say candy what I mean is a lot of candy. There is nothing better about Halloween then the day after Halloween when you are looking at the piles of “fun sized” candy that you still have around. We always had a bowl of some kind of candy going at all times. And we are not talking about a little cereal bowl with a couple Almond Joys and some Twix in it. NO! We had a huge bowl that you would see cooks preparing bulk salad in filled to the brim with everything from Skittles to Reeses and everything in between. Hey, either go big or don’t go at all.

And again these are just a few of the things you could do to bring Halloween and the season to you and your apartment. Tomorrow we will take a look at Step 2 and 3 which include the best ways to do a costume party and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Have a Zip-A-Dee-BOO-Dah-Day!!!

The Phantom of the.....Megaplex?

The Tower of Terror!

First of did you see that title? I know, awesome Disney Channel original movie reference. Man I'm good.

I had an incredibly strange evening.....

I saw a sign yesterday about this ghost "expert" that was coming to do a presentation at out school. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "THERE ARE NO SUCH THING AS GHOSTS!" Why did I go then? I guess it's like a dinner show....minus the food. So she started off with this hour long presentation where she showed a bunch of slides of pictures that she and her friends had taken on their "ghost hunts." Apparently every blurry spot on every picture anybody has ever taken is some kind of spook or spector. After the presentation, we were all lead to the school's theater where we were told to get in touch with the spirits and I did hear something.....the kid fooling around with his skateboard in front of me. We were then told to explore every aspect of the theater and report back in a half hour with anything that we saw or discovered. Some people took the time to climb the cat walk and get on the roof, while others hid in different rooms trying to scare anybody that would pass by them. Me? I took this opportunity to creep up behind unsuspecting students and recite my favorite lines from the Haunted Mansion i nthe creepiest voice I could muster. Hey, to each their own. We then reconvened and some of the students recounted tales of doors slamming behind them and lights flickering......hocus pocus to me. Then she asked people if they had any questions and of course I had to say something. So I stood up, flipped through my notebook as if looking for notes that I knew wouldn't be there, and finally I asked in a serious inquisitve manner, "Is it true that Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize?"

I know this story has nothing to do with the College Program but I just wanted to share it with yall. And because it was not necessarily a Disney tale, I will be adding an extra post this week on Saturday so.....yeah. Also, don't forget the last day to enter the contest is coming up on us fast so make sure you enter to win the super ultra secret....thingie.

Have a Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah-Day!!!