'Frozen' Friday - Anna and Elsa Float Along in Fantasyland (and I Learn a Lesson)

It's that time of the week again; Flashback Friday! And while other blogs all over the world will be "flashing back" to various points in time, we're going in a different route. We've decided to cash in on the never-ending hype that is the film Frozen in order to gain our plethora of visitors today. Suckers!!!

Okay; we kid, we kid! But it did occur to us that maybe with the machine that is Frozen being what it is, it might make for a great segment and since it is alliterative, we figured why not?!

I'll be the first to admit it. Lately, I've been pretty anti-Frozen in spirit. Don't get me wrong! I think the movie was absolutely brilliant, and hearing Idina Menzel sing "Let It Go" live at the D23 Expo back in 2013 didn't hurt a bit, either. But the problem is, for me anyway, that it's just been everywhere and if anything, it's gaining steam and traction. Really bad, I know, right?! I'm so cynical sometimes!

It didn't help matters much this past Sunday when, while on my way into Fantasyland to enjoy a showing of Mickey and the Magical Map, I was deterred and halted by the Frozen parade float coming by with Anna and Elsa; but then a funny thing happened. As I stood there and watched, and listened, as all of the little children around me (and Mark) began to sing along with the music, yell at the two Disney princesses (or Queen in Elsa's case), and wave, I caught myself doing the exact same thing. I was singing along with the music. I was yelling at the two Disney princesses (or Queen in Elsa's case). And doggone it, I was waving at Elsa like nobody's business with a huge, dopey grin on my face.

And it occurred to me that maybe I've been viewing this thing all wrong for the past few months.

It occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, there's a reason that the Frozen machine is as wildly popular as it is and refuses to lose steam, and instead keeps picking it up. Maybe, just maybe, it's just that good. And maybe, just maybe, I need to enjoy it instead of avoiding it.

Looks like I'll have to check out the Frozen Meet and Greet next to be sure.

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Meet Disney's Frozen Princesses at a Meet and Greet Near You!

Ana and Elsa wait at the Frozen Royal Reception to greet their guests
courtesy of Disney

Over the past weekend, Disney's new animated feature Frozen moved into the number 1 slot in the American box office, moving solidly past The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and well it should! Disney's new film is full of fun, humor, sorrow, emotion, amazing vocals and music and is, in a word, gorgeously animated. Out of the numerous people I've talked to and enjoyed talking about the film with, I've not been able to find a single person who did not enjoy it, and in fact many of my friends have seen it multiple times at this point. With interest in Ana and Elsa (Frozen's protagonist Princesses) at an all time high, now is the perfect time to meet them at a Disney Park near you!
If you're interested in meeting Ana and Elsa for yourselves, you're in luck! Both sides of the country have their own special Frozen meet and greet for twice the opportunity! Well, if you live near a Disney Park that is... On the East Coast, you can meet the Princesses at Walt Disney World at EPCOT, and those of us on the West Coast who call Disneyland Park our home can meet the Princesses in Fantasyland, where the Tangled meet and greet has been up to this point. Be warned, though, right now due to the movie's popularity and the newness of the attraction, the 'Frozen Royal Reception' is often posting wait times of two hours or longer, so you may want to consider making this your first stop of the day or, if you have the luxury, going on an "off" day (if those even exist anymore) to avoid the crowds and the long lines and maybe have just a little more time with these amazing sisters.

While "Days" isn't a movie review site, I feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't say, again, just how amazing Frozen is. As I've noted before everything from the story of the two sisters, the music, and the animation were woven together just about as well as any other Disney feature I've ever seen and I highly recommend it. It was full of humor (genuinely laugh out loud moments) and emotion (genuinely tear-jerking moments), which to this humble writer, are two of the most important qualities in any film regardless of genre.

Again, this isn't a film-review site, but such as that is, at "Days" we've given Frozen a 9.5/10, as in:
Go see this film!

And if you can, go see these sisters! Hopefully sometime in the next week or two, I'll have the opportunity to myself and if I do, you can bet you'll be hearing about it here first!


Frozen is now available for pre-ordering!

D23 Expo 2011 Coverage Central! (Friday, Aug. 19)

End of Day updates:
Well, Day 1 of the Expo is rapidly coming to a close and people are heading out.  There are still a few things happening inside (namely the Ultimate Disney Trivia Tournament which our friend Neil from FindingMickey.com is in, and "Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix" is performing), but the heavy-hitters of the day have come and gone.  Even though we weren't able to be there for them, we tweeted about them throughout the day and had a few thoughts on them we wanted to share.

First, the event we're going to most regret missing (even though we had little choice) was the Disney Legends Induction Ceremony.  Many Legends were given the honor this year ranging from Guy Williams ("Zorro"), Regis Philbin (who doesn't know Regis?!), and Jim Henson, among others.  Arguably the highlight of the show, though, was the honoring of the Disney Princesses; Jodi Benson (Ariel), Paige O'Hara (Belle), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Lea Salonga (Jasmine and Mulan), and Linda Larkin (Jasmine).  Not only were some of the greatest and best known princesses of all time present, but they performed!  Belting out tunes from their respective movies and polishing it off with "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes"... we can't begin to say how sorry we were to have missed it.  And just when we thought it couldn't be equaled, we learned that Rowlf and Kermit the Frog had come out to sing 'The Rainbow Connection' during Jim Henson's portion.  Never again shall we miss an induction we say!  That said, it was a real treat to follow along with all of our friends who were tweeting during the ceremony as it happened; it almost felt like we were there with you.  Almost...

The second big panel of the day (also held in the D23 Arena) was the Parks and Resorts Presentation.  Several items of interest were revealed here as well.  Briefly, they were:

• The presentation began with Mickey Mouse on drums.  Yes, you heard us right.  Mickey Mouse on drums.  Don't believe us - YouTube it.  We bet it's there.  And apparently he was good.  We're calling it Hidden Mickey Talent #254,362 (a number we picked out of mid-air)
• Walt Disney World Fantasyland Expansion - a virtual ride-along of the 'Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride' was given, which we heard will open in 2014
• Shanghai Disney - they talked about the new castle which will feature restaurants, all of the Disney Princesses represented in one place with meet and greets, and a ride actually through the castle, which will be a first for any of the Disney Parks
• Discussion about Aulani, the new Disney Resort in Hawaii
• Disney California Adventure Park - details on Buena Vista Street including the Red Car Trolley and Carthay Circle Theater which will feature an upscale restaurant with Napa Rose chef Andrew Sutton.  They also spent some time discussing Cars Land, which will open in 2012, highlighting Luigi's Flying Tires (based on Disneyland's classic UFO attraction), the Cozy Cone Cafe and menu, and Route 66 inspiration.
• Disneyland Resort - details on a Fantasyland expansion and an all new celebration called Fantasy Faire, which will replace the current Carnation Gardens.  They also highlighted "virtual customizable" experiences for the guests which would enable them to do such things as share a Haunted Mansion meal with an Imagineer, or visit "the attractions of yesteryear" while inside Disneyland.  They also teased a new "club experience" like Club 33, and teased a possible expansion of the current Club 33 as well.

And there you have it!  Our top  reports from the day.  We have to thank a lot of people, namely everyone but us who was at the Expo today tweeting like mad.  We were on this side today and couldn't have known what was taking place, being said, or sung, without you.  Thank you for your willingness to share with the world!

We'll be back tomorrow morning, and we'll be the ones tweeting and making a public nuisance of ourselves in the Twitter/Facebook, and blogging worlds.  We hope you'll be back tomorrow and Sunday as Days In The Park takes to the D23 Expo 2011 for our own coverage. See you in the morning!

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The D23 Expo is here!  We've been anxious for this day for a very long time.  In point of fact, we knew as soon as we started blogging almost a year ago that when it rolled around again, we'd have to be there.  And here it is, and there we are going!

Unfortunately, it just won't be today.  Due to circumstances beyond our control (also known as a daily ritual with children involved) we won't be beginning our coverage on our blog until Saturday morning.  We plan on being in attendance all day Saturday and Sunday and will be tweeting and posting pictures at what will no doubt be an alarming rate.  That said, some our best Disneyland blogging friends will be around today and tweeting and reporting: if you're not already be sure and follow our friends from FindingMickey.com and MagicalDaysWithTheMouse.com for all sorts of updates and news throughout the day.

You can follow all of our D23-related (#D23Expo) tweets here on our blog in our special Twitter widget, as well as check out pictures live from the event as we add them to our photo gallery.  We'll also be writing at the beginning of each day sharing what sessions we plan on attending that day, as well as capping off each night (God and exhaustion willing) with a quick summary of how the day went.  Heck, if we're really brave, we may even try our hand at blogging from the Expo while we're standing around in lines, and there does look to be quite a bit of that that's going to be taking place.

Next week, we'll devote our days to posting all about the event; our impressions, pictures, news and information, the whole nine yards!  And we may just have a surprise for our readers when all is said and done.

We can't wait to get this started! We hope you'll keep joining us throughout the weekend and into next week as we share all the Disney we possibly can.  We're huge Disneyland (Parks) fans, but we're also huge Disney fans in general, and we couldn't be more excited about this weekend.  Away we go!

DitP Perspective: Disney Princess Fantasy Faire

Note:  Here at the DitP headquarters, most of our team is made up of guys.  As such, we had to ask ourselves, for the sake of any moms with little girls who might be in attendance, "Who wants to tackle The Princess Faire?"  Well, when we discovered that Mark had not only been there once, but a whopping four times, the decision was easy.  How's that for democracy?

I would just like to point out, before I begin, that I've never gone to The Princess Faire alone.  I've always gone with my niece.

Anyone who goes to The Park with a little girl knows that they will, at some point, want to see a Princess.  As a result, much of your day can often be spent looking for one of those Princesses, who always seem to be residing in another area of The Park.  Either that, or they're closing up their lines just as you walk up.  

Well, a few years ago, someone finally had the good sense to bring all the Princesses together under one roof.  And just where is this enchanted place, you may ask?  Well, if you head through magical gates of Sleeping Beauty Castle (or around either side of it; either way would work) and head towards the back of Fantasyland, there you'll find the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire right across the way from It's a Small World.

Now, what does this Faire offer, exactly?  

First, as you walk through the Faire, you'll be treated to meeting three random Princesses.  You never know who you're gonna get; much like Vinylmation.  But even though it is random, your daughters (or sons; even boys love the Princesses) will be very happy.  Some of the Princesses that might be at your picture taking disposal are:  Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Mulan, Belle, Pocahontas and Jasmine (per Disneyland.com).  If you're a parent who loves to take a bazillion pictures of their child, then the scenery is just right for you.  In fact, the entire Princess Faire has amazing scenery that any photographer would love to be able to utilize in any of their photos, but especially photos in which their own children are involved.   

Second, with a little luck and some magical pixie dust, you just might have the opportunity to join one of the three random Princesses in a ribbon dance (I'm starting to believe that everything over there is random) or listen to a story narrated by a Princess herself.  Story time is more of a relaxing part for both parents and children, as you listen to a random princess (see!) tell her enchanted story to you.  My niece's favorite is Snow White; she loves how perky her voice is.   

Last, but certainly not least (trust me), is the Princess Gift Shop.  Here you can decide to buy your daughter an extreme Princess make over (also available at the Bippity Boppity Boutique), or have your son transformed into a valiant knight.

So there you have it.  If you have small children who love character meets and having their picture taken, the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire might be just the place for you.  Just be sure that you have your camera and autograph book (if you have one) at the ready, because it makes the line go faster and that is always appreciated.

Enjoy!

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