by Blake Taylor

It’s college acceptance time!!  Across the country, high school seniors are anxiously checking mailboxes for those letters…  For those who are Disney fans, the prospect of moving into a dorm may mean thoughts of leaving childhood Disney bedroom decorations behind.  But that’s not the case!

To say the least, living at college is very different from living at home.  Being on your own schedule, managing your time, choosing for yourself what to eat at every meal… and, of course, dorm life.  All freshmen at my school are required to live in an on-campus dorm during their first year, and it’s arguably the biggest transition from high school to college.  I consider myself an introvert and wasn’t particularly crazy about living in the same room as someone else, much less sharing the same bathroom with 30 other people.  However, that’s not to say that just because you live in a dorm your life has to be miserable.  If you maximize your space and get a little creative, there are countless ways to add your own personality to your room while still maintaining roommate boundaries, and as a Disney fan you won’t have to look very hard for ideas.

You walk into my room at home, and you are immediately surrounded by Disney.  Of course, I knew I couldn’t just haul everything to school.  For my dorm, I brought enough things to make me feel at home, but not so much that it feels overboard (as in, not enough that my roommate tells his friends that he feels like he lives in the Disney Archives …or at least, I hope not).

The room is distinctly divided between the two people, and I try to keep all my things on my side.  Being a basic dorm, this means there isn’t a ton of space, but there’s certainly enough to work with.  My desk has a couple of pictures, a one-a-day Disney calendar, a plaque with a Walt Disney quote on it, and a few Vinylmations and action figures—again, enough to make my desk an inviting workspace but not berzerk with stuff.  Hanging above my desk is a poster for the recent Muppet movie.

My bed at home has Mickey Mouse sheets, but I thought that would be too much for the dorm. Instead I have plain blue sheets… but I did bring along my Toy Story pillow and Sherriff Woody (both of which were brought by Santa when I was three).  Hanging on the wall near my bed is a California Adventure postcard, an Epcot Guidemap, and a Disney wall calendar.  (I finally had to use duct tape with that last one… we’re not allowed to use thumb tacks or nails, and poster puddy would not work on that thing!)

Not only do these make me feel at home in my room, but they also never fail to be a great conversation starter.  My whole family is into Disney, so being away from home has opened my eyes to what is and isn’t common knowledge to those who aren’t enveloped by Disney 24/7 like the majority of you reading this are.  For example, my roommate noticed that my one-a-day Disney calendar said Pinocchio was released in 1940, and said he didn’t realize that Disney animation had been around for so long.  Another person saw my Muppet poster and said he didn’t know that Jason Segel was in the film, and I was then able to share that not only was Jason Segel the lead role, he was also the primary force behind the film even existing in the first place.  The difference between Disney and Pixar is another concept I’ve had to explain on several occasions (that one is actually tough to put in words!).  Others have said they had a Sherriff Woody when they were little or commented on their own Disney memories that the things around the room reminded them of.

If you’re a Disney fan, you probably love watching Disney movies.  I brought a lot of my favorites with me to school, but have to rotate some of them out each time I go home so that my family doesn’t complain that I’m watching all the good stuff.  I usually watch them on my laptop with headphones to avoid having extra noise in the room out of courtesy for my roommate (that, and my family would kill me if I left them with no DVD player!).

There may not be a ton of space in a college dorm room, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for Disney in it.  Grab some of your favorite movies and souvenirs from the Parks, and you’re all set.

Blake is a college student focusing on Creative Writing and Media Studies. He enjoys making his family of six watch the parade on Main Street and then sprint to Frontierland in time to see it again. You can follow Blake’s random Disney ramblings on Twitter at @blakeonline, or at BlakeOnline.com.

The post Disney In Your Dorm appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Did You Know?

September 6, 2009 – Five of Pixar’s directors receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 66^th Venice International Film Festival.

Other Notable Disney Dates:

September 2, 1997 – The Enchanted Tiki Birds, Tropical Serenade, closes in Adventureland in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom for renovations. The attraction will re-open in April of 1998 as The Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management.

September 3, 2009 – the Disney Wonder cruise ship rescues a 34 year old man who fell from a Carnival Cruise Line ship returning from the Bahamas

September 4, 2006 – Tower of Terror opens in Tokyo DisneySea Park. This attraction is themed around the 1890′s Hotel Hightower in New York City and has no connection with The Twilight Zone

September 5, 1927 – Trolley Troubles, the first Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, is released

September 6, 2005 – Toy Story 10th Anniversary Edition is released on DVD in the United States

September 7, 1984 – The Morocco pavilion debuts in Epcot

September 8, 1998 – The attraction Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is closed.

Question of the Week:

George Lucas presented the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to the 5 Pixar directors. Who were these directors and what was significant about this group receiving this award?

Candra Spirtoff and Megan Voisard are identical twins, born and raised in Cincinnati,  Ohio. They both graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Candra with a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Assisting and Megan with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.  They currently work as a paralegals for a local law firm.  Their passion is anything and everything Disney, and they have visited WDW almost every year since 1988, at the age of four.

The post THIS WEEK IN DISNEY History and PIXAR Trivia Question appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

This year, we are all tremendously excited for the release of Disney/PIXAR’s BRAVE.  One of my daughters has been sporting a “Scottish” accent (I use that term loosely) for several weeks now, continuously asking me if I could change my fate, “would you?”

In the midst of the anticipation, we have found four fun ways to embrace the anticipation of the movie–and thought I would share them with you!

Play Castleville on Facebook: The online game represents yet another tantalizing preview of what Disney online gaming could become (see my earlier review of the Facebook game Disney’s Animal Kingdom Explorers.)  The game of Castleville challenges players to create their own royal dominion by completing a series of challenges.  Last week, the game debuted a cross-over activity with Disney, featuring eight challenges that incorporated Merida and her royal environment.  While I am not a Castleville player, it would be a fun way for the young adult (or young-at-heart adult) to develop excitement for the movie’s release!

Go to Subway for lunch:  In their crossover promotion with Subway, Disney has reusable Brave lunch bags for kids now.  Within the bag there are individualized codes one can enter online to win from a series of prizes, including free tickets to see the movie!  We stopped by today to pick up lunches for tomorrow’s half-day of school (yay!), and I was surprised to discover we had, in fact, won a free ticket!

Go to the movies: It might sound counter-intuitive, but when we went to the theater this past weekend to see an animated feature from ANOTHER production company that shall remain nameless, we were delighted to discover a BRAVE scavenger hunt set up in the lobby.  Families were challenged to find images of the young triplets from the movie hidden throughout the lobby.   In the end, there really wasn’t much challenge, as the triplets were EVERYWHERE, but my kids loved racing through the lobby, and they took pride in the sticker they “won” for achieving the feat.

Read the Digital Books!: I will be offering a review of these later this week, but consider downloading to your iPad a copy of the Brave: Storybook Deluxe or Brave Interactive Comic.  Available through Disney Publishing, these are fun ways to preview the storyline with your family!  (Disclaimer: We were provided with a review copy of both apps from Disney Publishing.)

We will continue to celebrate the spirit of BRAVE throughout this week, including simple and valuable family ideas for bringing the spirit of BRAVE home, a suggested meal for the day you go to see BRAVE, and a review of the digital books that have been produced.

And PLEASE–let us know what you think of the movie!

The post BE “BRAVE”!! Ways to Enhance the Excitement for the Movie’s Release at Home appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello, and this is show #279 for the week of June 17, 2012.

This week, I’m coming to you live from the cutest little town in Carburetor County – Radiator Springs, as the town from Disney-Pixar’s Cars has literally been brought to life at CarsLand at Disney California Adventure Park. I had a chance to visit CarsLand and Buena Vista Street for a special sneak preview of the lands that opened on June 15, and will bring you a full review, recorded live from CarsLand. We’ll discuss the two lands, their history (both literal and according to Disney backstory), details, attractions, shops, restaurants and so much more. We have a lot to cover from an experience that had me happier than a tornado in a trailer park!

I’ll then have the answer and winner for last week’s Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week, and pose a new Cars-themed question for your chance to win a special CarsLand prize package!

Be sure and stay for the announcements, including information about the next WDW Radio Meet of the Month in Walt Disney World, as well as some of your voicemails at the end of the show. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show.

Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

Information and Links from This Week’s Show:

Question for YOU: What part of CarsLand or Buena Vista Street are you looking forward to seeing (eating?) most?? Leave your answer in the comments section below

Stay tuned for more videos, interviews, photos and more from CarsLand and Buena Vista Street coming SOON!

• Listen to this week’s episode for the Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week for a chance to win a Disney prize package!
• Private Tours of Walt Disney World with Lou Mongello
• Disney Meets and WDW Radio Meets of the Month in Walt Disney World – Get dates and locations on our Events page
• Watch & chat during our LIVE WDW NewsCast Wednesdays at 7:30pm ET at WDWRadioLIVE.com
• WDW Radio on YouTube – Watch past episodes, subscribe to the show and comment on the WDWRadio YouTube Channel
• Get Celebrations Magazine on your iPad/iPhone in iTunes App Store
  

The post Show # 279 – June 17, 2012 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

The post Kids Race Their Own Little Lightning McQueens to Cars Land! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

by Blake Taylor

Photos by Ashley Reid

            The line takes forever.  You’ve heard a lot of talk about it, but you’re not sure if it’s worth all the hype.  But, in the end, you gave in and took extra time out of your day to be here.  As you inch your way toward the front of the line, you are immediately glad you came: colors abound everywhere, intriguing sounds can be heard in the distance (is that a toy train chugging somewhere?), and the scenery does its job at making you feel like you’re the size of a toy.  Even Woody and Buzz are here.  There is a fun experience ahead for sure, but if you’re expecting a ride on Toy Story Mania after a long standby wait, you’d be dead wrong.  Try a high school library at the beginning of an imaginative day of leadership bootcamp.

My class is the generation that learned how to use our legs just as Pixar was gaining its own.  Toy Story was the quintessential, non-gender-specific family film of our childhood, and as such was the one VHS that was seems to have been played more than any other when students at my school were young.  And as we grew up, so did Toy Story: as Andy’s playtime matured and became more imaginative with age, so did ours, and at about the time when Andy bid a bittersweet farewell to his toys in Toy Story 3, we started thinking about doing the same.  This film series reflects today’s teenagers so much that it’s no wonder that many of us feel that it defines our childhood.  Although an unlikely candidate on the surface, that nostalgia is exactly what made Toy Story a perfect theme for my school’s annual Officer Prep workshop.

Led by the student government Executive Board, Officer Prep is a yearly event in which students are empowered with what it takes to be a successful leader.  The idea is for students to go forth and implement their newfound skills learned at Officer Prep into clubs, teams, staffs, and other leadership opportunities they hold.  The event takes place during half a school day in the media center, and is driven by a central theme around which the day’s activities are based.  This year’s theme was Toy Story.

            I talked with Student Body President Annie Spence about the task of transforming the school library into Andy’s room in a creative and efficient way, developing a fun environment but ultimately conveying the goal of educating future leaders.  “Each year, we have a large brainstorming session with the entire Executive Board,” Annie says in describing how themes are chosen.  “This year, we all immediately took to the idea ‘You’ve got a leader in me’ because we look for themes that could carry a strong story line, decorations, and good use of leadership characteristics.”  So Toy Story it was.  “It was a movie that (hopefully) most of our ‘audience’ has seen and can understand the references we would use in our skits and workshops. We watched Toy Story just to be sure, and made a big list of everything from the characters’ actions that involved leadership and decided that the theme was perfect!”

There was no sparing of creativity as the Executive Board played Imagineer for a day by creating a Disney environment out of their own school library.  The media center was dressed to the nines in streamers, backgrounds, character cut-outs, props, and more, all culminating together a setting that was immediately recognizable as coming from the world of Toy Story.  The theme was further implemented by all Executive Board members dressing as characters from the film and kicking off the event with a skit.  “Our skit followed a story line about ‘Annie’ (me as Andy), a toy owner who has just gotten a new toy as a gift,” Annie explains.  “The other toys show the new toy their leadership skills, and teach the new toy, named Edmund, leadership traits such as teamwork, listening, respect, and risk taking.”

From there, attendees were taught the makings of a successful leader in several 20-minute sessions, each using unique ways to teach a different trait: Campaigning, Communication, Synergy, and Community Service.

“The most challenging part of bringing the Toy Story world to a high school,” Annie concludes, “was transforming the school library into a whole new world that made the students feel like they were a toy in Andy’s room. Changing such a familiar space into a whole new world is always challenging, but especially when everything must look large scale in comparison to the students.”  Judging by the smiles of leaders and attendees alike as I occasionally peeked in on the festivities from my Library Science duties in the media center workroom, it was clear that the event was a success all around.

Any visitor to a Disney theme park knows that theme is essential in creating a memorable, quality experience.  As stellar as a ride (or, in this case, leadership workshop) may be, it is the theme that the Guest gets to be a part of that truly allows the entity to go from mediocre to E-Ticket, and Officer Prep did just that.  Don’t be afraid to sprinkle a little Disney magic of your own into your school or workplace’s next special event—you might just impress yourself with how well of an Imagineer you’d make.

Blake is a high-school student who has been surrounded by Disney literally since birth, having had a Mickey mobile in his crib.  Blake enjoys helping peers plan WDW vacations and writing for his Disney blog, BlakeOnline.com.

The post To Leadership and Beyond: My SCHOOL Went Disney appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.