What Can I Do That I Wanted To Do In Disney World

Originally our plan was to take a road trip from Canada (where we sometimes live) down to Florida, for a fun filled week at Disney World for our 10th anniversary.  Our plans had to change when it was discovered that due to employment issues we were not going to be back in North America at this time.  As you have been reading, our plans have now adjusted and we're going to be going to Florida later, but we're going to Paris Disney for our anniversary instead.  The thing is, we had some ideas about things we wanted to do in Disney World, but not all of these things are available in Paris Disney.  This week I'm going to present you with a list of all the things we wanted to do in Disney World, and we'll see if we're still going to pull them off in Paris.

The Harmony Barber Shop - Yes - Disney World and Disney Paris are the only two Disney parks that offer you the opportunity to get your hair cut on site.  This seemed like it would be a really fun thing to try, and fortunately we just might have the chance.

Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich - Not Sure - I've been investigating the treats at Disney Paris and they seem to really focus on baked goods.  I have yet to see any place that offers the Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich that's so popular in both US parks.  I'm not that disappointed; however if I find one I'll probably get it.

Turkey Leg - No - It appears that the famous giant Disney Turkey Leg is also something we wont find at Paris Disney.  While Allison may be a little upset about this, I'm sure I can distract her with some BBQ from one of the many BBQ places on site.

Dole Whip - The Dole Whip is also something that we'll have to wait for Florida to try.  I'm sure, much like the Turkey Leg, we'll find other fun snacks to distract us.

Earl of Sandwich - Yes - This may not seem like a big deal to many Americans, but to Canadians, and those of us living abroad, it's something totally new.  I'm super excited about having at least one lunch at this place, since I love sandwiches.

Rockin' Roller Coaster - Yes - While the idea of ridding this makes me ill, Allison is super pumped.  She not only loves roller coasters, she's also into Aerosmith as well.  She promises me that I don't have to ride with her, and that's a good thing, I want to keep my Earl of Sandwich lunch down.

Haunted Mansion - Yes... Sort Of - There is a Haunted ride at Paris Disney, but it's called the Haunted Manor, and it's supposed to be excellent.

There are many other rides and shows that we were looking forward to at Disney World, some cross over to Disney Paris, and others don't. Others still are in both parks, but are a little bit unique from each other.  For all the attractions we don't find at Paris Disney, that's just something to look forward to when we finally make our trip to Florida.  If there's any cross over, that's OK too, we'll get to see how they're different (if they are), or at the very least we'll get to see them twice.

Disney movies we plan to watch

The concepts that make up Disney world aren't pulled out of thin air. In fact almost every detail of the parks are inspired from Disney products, culture, or in some cases history. Disney world attaches a story to every aspect of the theme park, all inspired by various areas. To get the most of these references I thought it would be a good idea to catch up on some of our Disney content. To fully appreciate every single detail you probably have to watch every single thing Disney has ever produced, but that's just not realistic at all. Instead Allison and I decided to go through the list of Disney movies and cartoons and pick out which ones might be most relevant.

We're also going to ad a few episodes of the twilight zone to this list to better understand the tower of terror. Fortunately many of the websites I've been reading explain where many of the details of the park originated, so picking what to watch seems simple enough. We're also going to have to start keeping up with current Disney movies as well, since they often ad attractions based on current media.

Here's our list so far, many of these movies and shows we're fairly familiar with, but it doesn't hurt to update our memories. Some of this stuff is brand new to us and should be interesting to see.

Swiss Family Robinson
Lady and the Tramp
Cinderella
Snow White
Brave
Pinochio
Reluctant Dragon
Dumbo
The Three Caballeros
Song of the South
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Treasure Island
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Sleeping Beauty
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Absent-Minded Professor
The Sword in the Stone
The Jungle Book
The Aristocats
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Rescuers
Pete's Dragon
The Fox and the Hound
The Black Cauldron
The Great Mouse Detective
Oliver & Company
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
The Little Mermaid
DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
Beauty and the Beast
The Mighty Ducks
Aladdin
The Adventures of Huck Finn
The Lion King
A Goofy Movie
Pocahontas
Tom and Huck
James and the Giant Peach
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hercules
Mulan
A Bug's Life
Tarzan
Monsters, Inc.
The Country Bears
Finding Nemo
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
The Haunted Mansion
Home on the Range
The Incredibles
Chicken Little
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Meet the Robinsons
Ratatouille
Bolt
The Princess and the Frog
Toy Story 3
Tangled
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Cars 2
Wreck-It Ralph
Monsters University
The Lone Ranger
Planes

Youtube Channels of Note - Part 4 - Disney Vacation Planning DVD

The Disney DVD's online - I've been trying to order the official Disney travel DVD's for about a year now.  I love watching high quality production DVDs all about planning my trip.  Unfortunately it appears that Disney can't send these DVDs to my address (my mailing address is very complicated), so I decided to see if anybody had posted them on YouTube.

Fortunately for me, someone has, and best of all there are many to choose from.  You don't just have to watch the latest incarnation of the travel DVD's, I've found some as old as 1996.  You may be wondering why you'd want to watch old Disney DVDs, and it's simple, the new DVDs focus on the new attractions.  The old DVDs will cover in more detail attractions that were new at that particular time.  I’m very interested in learning about the updated Star Tours ride, but since it's old news, the latest DVD glosses over it.  However the older DVDs cover it in much better detail.

The problem I've found with looking for Disney travel DVDs on YouTube is the quality can vary greatly.  Often it's random clips that people have filmed with a video camera off of their TV.  I'm also fairly certain that Disney has not given anybody permission to post these DVDs, so they may get pulled off now and again.  It's a shame, I wish Disney would just post these in an organized fashion for all to enjoy.  After all it's promotion for their parks, and it's something they're giving away anyways.

Do You Love A Parade?

I'm of mixed opinions when it comes to Disney parades.  I want to participate in the fun times, dance with characters, listen to music, and see cool floats.  However I know that the parades are also the best time to visit popular rides because so many people watch the parades.  When I've visited Disney in the past I've always gone for the idea of not seeing the parades and going on the rides when the crowds are thinned out, but maybe this trip I might want to try something a little different.

I want this visit to be more than just a re-hash of my past visits, and I think watching a parade and getting into the parade spirit might be a great way to mix it up a bit.  I do find the idea of lining up for the parade up to an hour before it starts a little daunting.  But we're planning 8 days at the park, and I think it might be worth the wait to see at least one parade.  The next question is which parades are worth seeing and which ones are worth a miss.

I'm thinking that the Magic Kingdom probably has the best line-up of parades.  Most of all I want to see the Spectral Magic parade at night if it's still running.  I might also be up for something filled with characters and street dancing during the day.  Animal Kingdom is probably the place I'm least likely to want to see the parade.  It's a jungle themed parade with the main Disney characters, and it just doesn't float my boat.