The Disney Driven Life

Community Blog for Neurotic Disney People

Contributed by: Eric H. (NDI#2). Eric is our resident Disney restaurants, recess and relaxation expert.

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The mention of my name and tap from behind startles me a little bit.  Mychicagomommy and MomRN are still chatting next to me, and I hadn’t realized anyone else was standing behind me.  Shocked, I slowly turn to face the one that uttered my name.

My gaze meets with a bubbly personality who is ready to embrace me.  She has an ear to ear grin and looks so excited that she might actually skyrocket through the roof.  I know she is one of my kind.  The crazed expression makes her and I kindred spirits, but I am unable to match her beautiful face with anyone in my memory banks.

“HI!!!” she exclaims and gives me a hug which would make any of the Country Bears proud.  I love this person, but WHO IS THIS PERSON?!  Apparently, I am supposed to know her.  I deduce that it must be someone from twitter since that was the primary platform for discussion of this trip.  Sadly, I acknowledge that the tiny 1/4 square inch avatars on tweetdeck are not serving me well in this moment, and I feel foolish.  I am tempted to ask her to strike her twitter pose to jog my memory, but decide against it.

Taking a stab in the dark, I venture a guess at this vision of Disney neuroticism standing before me. “Zanna?” I ask.  “What?” my unidentified neurotic friend says in a confused manner.  Hmmm . . . so it is not my blogging friend, Zanna of Zannaland.  I mutter in complete embarrassment, “I’m so sorry.  I don’t recognize you.  Would you tell me your name?”  “I’m Traci!” she emphatically states.

Pixie wings! It is one of my closest friends that I have been dying to meet since we rode the ups and downs of being Walt Disney World Mom’s Panel semi-finalists together.  I should have known her simply by her aura, but I am loathe to find that my extra sensory perception skills are dull at the moment.  “You don’t look anything like your avatar,” I observe. “Did you change your hair?”  She confesses that her hair is different than her twitter avatar, and I feel let off the hook.

At that point, the squealing begins, and Traci and I start giggling like the Mad Hatter.  My three little dwarves whom have stood watching this event unfold with great interest ask, “Mommy, is that a real NDM?” “Yes, it is,” I confess.  They are in awe.  Even though they are offspring of the original Neurotic Disney Mom, they have been anxious to come face-to-face with other NDMs.  Other NDMs classify as bonafide celebrities in their world; I am just their lunatic mom.

“There are some more NDMs in the other room,” Traci points out.  Behind her an open door leads to a connecting room, filled with snacks and drinks.  Standing amongst the hospitality refreshments are two more NDMs that I have grown close to via the internet, Jackie and Jen.  They haven’t changed their hairstyles and look exactly like their avatars.  They are wearing the same crazed smile, giggling just as profusely, and waving wildly at us.

This is an incredible experience.  Not even two minutes ago, I was feeling like a Little Mermaid out of water.  Now I have found “my people,” and all is right in the World.  Apparently I am not the only one to sense the instant ‘ohana.  “Can we go with them?” the shorter segment of my traveling party asks.  I consent, and the “real” NDMs welcome my brood with open arms.  I feel as if I am watching my kids be reunited with their favorite aunties.  No one would ever suspect that this is our first time meeting.

I turn back to the pleasant individual behind the hospitality table who has been gathering a plethora of things to ready me for my social media mom experience.  She seems pleased that my friendly diversion has granted her a few moments to prepare for my introduction.  She takes a deep breath to begin her monologue on DisneySMMoms policies and procedures.  I’m nervous.  I need to take care to absorb every last syllable this lovely woman is about to share, or I may miss a critical piece of information  “I must focus,” I coach myself.  So squinting my eyes in concentration, I give the appointed Disney employee my full attention.

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Disney has had many Broadway shows over the years, from the greats like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King to the supposed not-so-greats like Tarzan and The Little Mermaid.  The rumor for this week is the announcement of a new musical that may be joining the ranks among the Disney Broadway shows. Now, I have imagined that a lot of Disney movies could be made into Broadway musicals, after the way they figured out how to do The Lion King and Mary Poppins, but I will be honest, Dumbo is not one of the ones that even came to my mind.  The people at Disney, however, have other plans.

That’s right, the 1941 movie Dumbo is rumored to be getting the Broadway stage workup. No word as to who will be the head guy on the project, but it is in the works none the less.  Because of Dumbo’s simplicity, it is said to be very adaptable for stage and the music from the movie is a great baseline score for a musical.

I must say I am very interested in how some of the adaptation will happen.  The pink elephants scene for instance, all of the morphing elephants and will they walk on the ceiling? It is possible, just look at the steppers for Mary Poppins! What I think will be most interesting is seeing how the costumes bring the show to life, especially Dumbo’s costume with the ears and the flying. All of this will make for one interesting show. There is no chance of it being performed in 2010 though, we will have to wait until 2011 for this gem to hit the stage.

Contributed by: Jessica C. (NDI#21). Jessica is our resident “Gossip Girl” and creator of The True Disney Fan Blog.

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wisps of mickey mist / left by lone street sweeper broom / melting in the sun

Contributed by: J.B. C. (NDD# 27) of Mouse of Zen. J.B. is our resident Disney haiku writer and author of the soon-to-be published book “Mouse of Zen”, which is a collection of his work.

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It is something I’ll never forget. It was the middle of August 2008 and I was with my family on vacation at Walt Disney World. We picked this time of year to go in order to take advantage of Disney’s free dining offer which I heard so much about on a couple of podcasts that I listen to.

I discovered Disney podcasts about a year before this vacation and I was already hooked on a few of them. Before leaving on vacation I remembered hearing on one of my favorite shows that Mark Goldhaber of the MouseStation podcast and MousePlanet.com was going to be there the same week. I really wanted to meet Mark so I could tell him how much I liked the show. I was also very fortunate to have won a Disney Photopass DVD on the show and I wanted to personally thank him. Well, I never did see or get to meet Mark that week.

As luck would have it Mark wasn’t the only great podcaster at Disney World. I remember it was the last day of our vacation. We were all feeling pretty sad knowing our return flight to New Jersey was later that day. So, we decided to head over to Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom and take in another show at the Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory hoping it would cheer us up. While waiting in the queue I saw someone that looked remarkably like the legendary Lou Mongello host of the award-winning WDW Radio Show podcast. He was even wearing a WDW Radio Show shirt. This person was with his wife and two lovely children but I just wasn’t sure it was really him. For one thing, he wasn’t a little person or as short as the guys on the WDW Today podcast always make him out to be, Jennifer Love Hewitt was nowhere in sight, and he wasn’t eating. So, I mentioned to my wife that I think the person with the WDW Radio shirt on is Lou Mongello. She then told me to go over and say hello but I just didn’t want to bother him while he was with his family. It also doesn’t help that I’m a relatively quiet and shy person when I initially meet people. Before my wife could convince me to go over and say hello, the doors to the Laugh Factory opened and we all entered.

This was our third time at the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Factory and although the jokes were somewhat similar the different personalities of the guests made each show uniquely funny. After the show the audience disbursed and we went over to the Tomorrowland Speedway. Then it was over to Space Mountain. After that, my daughter and I decided to go on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority while my son went back to the Tomorrowland Speedway with my wife watching him from a nearby bench.

As my wife sat on the bench she spotted and stopped Lou Mongello and his family to tell him how much of a fan I am of his and Disney World. When I came back my wife told me how pleasant and kind Lou and his wife Deanna were and she handed me a WDW Radio Show bag that she said Lou left with her for me. To say the least, I was speechless and very appreciative of his generosity.

It was just about lunchtime and we were all starting to get hungry so we walked over to the Columbia Harbor House. It’s one of our favorite counter service restaurants for lunch at the Magic Kingdom and it seemed to be the appropriate place to have our last meal on this trip. After lunch we walked through Frontierland when all of a sudden the skies opened up. There was lightening and thunder to go along with the torrential downpours. Ironically, we just made it to Splash Mountain where we were able to seek shelter right before it started to pour. Having watched the weather forecast that morning and seeing it called for sunshine I threw out our dollar store bought ponchos so as not to burden us with any extra baggage to carry around on our last vacation day. What a mistake that turned out to be!

When the rain stopped and the clouds lifted we made our way to Adventureland for one final Dole Whip. Just before we got to Aloha Isle the sky got slightly brighter and that’s when my wife noticed Lou Mongello and his family again. Without warning she gently dragged me over to say hello. We spoke for just a brief moment but you could tell that Lou and Deanna are genuinely nice people as are their children. It all happened so fast that I think I may have forgotten to thank him for the bag. So, Lou if you’re reading this, I thank you so very much!

After enjoying our Dole Whips we made our way toward the front gate stopping to see the start of the afternoon parade and to take a few more pictures. Then it was back to the hotel to wait for the Magical Express bus for that long depressing ride to the airport. As with every visit to Walt Disney World there are memories made that will last a lifetime some that even go beyond the parks and meeting Lou Mongello and his family is definitely one of them.

Contributed by: Stuart S. (NDD #47). Stuart is a contributor to the Disney Driven Life and is the author of the Disney Geek Dad blog.

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“Amanda Tinney is asking for a NDM title,”  Jackie (my NDM in charge of inductions) reported.  “Amanda Tinney of disneyeveryday.com fame?” I asked. Jackie replied, “Yep.”  “Well, let’s sign her up. That’s fantastic!” I exclaimed.  “I can’t,” Jackie sighed, “She wants to be NDM#175.  She says she has to have that number.  We only have 156 NDMs.”  “Oh yeah,” I lamented, “We can’t skip numbers like that.  It wouldn’t be truthful to say she was the 175th if there aren’t 174 others.”  “What should we do?” Jackie inquired.  This was how the NDM challenge was born.

When Amanda insisted she could not have a number other than 175, we were faced with quite a dilemma.  We couldn’t turn her away.  No Disney fan ever gets turned away, especially one with neurosis as evident as Amanda’s.  Yet, we couldn’t just assign her a random number.

The numbers assigned to each NDP do serve as a form of ID just like those on the back of team jerseys.  They are a symbol of camaraderie . . . a moniker for the purpose of unity.  However, they are an actual number for counting off as well.  They help give the other NDPs a sense of their vast number in the world.  This meaning would be lost if we began to allow people to randomly select their position in line.

There was only one thing left to do.  We challenged Amanda to recruit enough NDMs to get us to 175.  The promise was that if she met that challenge, her spot as NDM#175 would be reserved for her and a link to her blog would feature on The Disney Driven Life.  She took to her blog and petitioned her readers to help her meet the challenge.   By doing that and enlisting the help of her friend, Rick Howard (NDD#39), she not only propelled the roster to 175 in the NDM category she also passed the goal and bolstered quite a few of the other categories as well.

So as promised, Amanda, you are now OFFICIALLY NDM#175!!!  You worked a lot harder than most to attain your position in the community.  For that you are also being bestowed with the honor of The Disney Driven Life’s very first “NDP Of The Month!”

Thank you for all you do.   Disney fans across the globe appreciate your daily blog posts on Disney Every Day.  They are timely, relevant, and on par with what anyone living The Disney Driven Life needs to know, and we will continue to watch you in anticipation of your latest projects.

*If you are interested in taking a NDP challenge of your own, contact NDM#1 at ndm1@thedisneydrivenlife.com (putting NDP Challenge in the subject line) to have a challenge personally designed for you.  Or if you or someone you know does something noteworthy within the Disney fan community, we hope you will take time to nominate him or her by contacting NDM#1 (putting NDP of the Month in the subject line) for consideration.

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Contributed by: Eric H. (NDI#2). Eric is our resident Disney restaurants, recess and relaxation expert.

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Pulling up to the guardhouse at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, I feel the hair on my arms stand-up as goosebumps break out like a bad rash.  I can hardly believe what I am about to say when the words form in my mouth. “Hi!” I greet the guard with a wide grin.  “I have a reservation at the Polynesian for the Social Media Moms Celebration.”  I have a reservation at the Polynesian . . . sweeter words were never spoken.

Being approved by the security tiki hut and parking the car, my little Hawaiians and I jump out and skitter across the pavement towards the lobby.  We have passed by these tropical water gardens and magical glass doors before when resort hopping, but we have never done it as actual resort guests.  I note that the feeling is very different.  Rather than feeling self-conscious about intruding on the “home grounds” of park guests with bigger pockets than myself, I am breathing deeper, stepping lighter, and wearing a crazed smile on my face.  “Welcome to the Polynesian Resort.  Can I assist you with anything?” a pleasant greeter offers while he adorns me with a multi-colored lei.  I must have that “new person” expression because he doesn’t hesitate to give me a verbal tour of the lobby.  I take in every sight that he points out as if it were the first time I’ve laid eyes on them.

A huge rock formation is the focal point of the lobby.  Accented with tropical plants and flowers that climb its height in a nature-esque manner, I am drawn to the beauty of multiple waterfalls that descend the  stony crags and gather in small ponds that are surrounded by bench seats.  The children’s area is to the left with its Disney cartoon-playing TV, coloring table, and lei-making center.  On an upper level that is open to view from the ground floor, I am soothed by the sight of the well-rated Kona Cafe and tropical gift shops.

Off to the side, a small group has gathered for hula dancing lessons.  “I want to take hula dancing lessons,” I mentally but emphatically tell myself.  After all, when in Polynesia, do as the Polynesians do.  I wonder if it is hard.

“. . . . the check-in counter,” the friendly greeter directs.  I snap back to attention and realize that I’ve been so caught up in the aura of aloha that I have inadvertently tuned out the greeter who is giving me instructions about checking-in.  “Actually, I don’t think I’m supposed to check-in yet.  I’m here for an event, and the information that I have specifically instructs me to find a hospitality table when I first arrive,” I explain to my Polynesian professional.  However, my comment is met with a quizzical expression.  He clearly has no knowledge of said table.

We both begin to look around the lobby.  The set-up of a hospitality table is clearly absent.  A panic-stricken look crosses my face.  Were the plans changed, and I somehow missed the memo?  The helpful greeter who embodies hospitality himself reads my expression and says, “Don’t worry.  Let me go over here to speak with someone.  I’m sure we will find out where you are supposed to be.”

After a brief moment our personal Polynesian assistant returns with a smile.  “We don’t see the table because it is in a completely separate room.”  With that he escorts me to a back door of the lobby and leaves me with directions on finding the hospitality room.  This time I am focused and attentive, listening to every word.

The kids and I make our way to an adjacent building that has a couple rooms designated as the hospitality suite for my event.  I can feel the excitement bubble up within me, and I squeeze the hands of my little Poly people when we step in line to see what awaits us.

While I wait in line and look around the room, the mom standing behind me holds out her hand and greets, “Hi.”  “Hello,” I return.  I look over her adorable family.  Her supportive husband appears to be attending to their well-mannered children so that she can focus on the event at hand.  The sight reminds me of my own husband’s flight dilemma which may leave me with three children and no care-taker, but I try to push this horrific situation to the back of my mind.

“I’m Maria,” she says.  “My name is JL,” I respond.  “What is your site?” she asks.  Caught off guard, I say, “I don’t know. Hopefully they’ll tell me when I get up to the table.”  She looks at me confused, and I realize that somehow I have misunderstood her.  Suddenly I remember that the theme of the event is social media and that she means WEBsite rather than room site.  Again I have found myself so enraptured by my surroundings that I have forgotten about life outside of this occasion.  “Oh! You mean the name of my blog,” I blush.  She giggles and says, “Yes.”  “It’s thedisneydrivenlife.com,” I confess.  “I blog about how I incorporate Disney into my family’s lifestyle and the funny adventures that happen as a result.  It is also a place where other Disney fans can contribute their personal expressions of Disney fanaticism.”  “OK” she says, looking surprised by my explanation.  She continues, “My site is mychicagomommy.  Here is my card.”  With that a calling card is extended to me.  She has cards?  Her blog must be of the professional variety.

“May I have your card?” she asks.  I can feel my cheeks flush.  My blog is far from a professional gig.  Most of the time I feel like I am flopping around, trying to keep my head above the html just so that I can write about Disney and build relationships with others who share my Disney passion.  I never suspected that I should have calling cards.  “Well I would love to give one to you, but I don’t have any,” I sheepishly admit.

“I’m MomRN,” a voice behind Maria announces.  We both turn around to see another smiling face.  The smiling face explains, “I host the talk show, Ask MomRN.”  MomRN is warm and friendly; however, I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable and completely out of my league.  My first friend is obviously a professional mommy blogger with business cards.  My second new friend is a host of her own talk show.  How was I able to secure a position at this gig with such fantastic people who obviously are pros in social media?  They came here to do business.  I came here for a pool view at the Poly.

Maria and MomRN hit it off and chatter away in line.  Feeling rather self-conscious, I step up to the hospitality table which is now available to me.  The pleasant woman now facing me asks for my name.  “Knopp with a K,” I say and wait for her to check her list.  Mentally I elaborate in a timid manner, “I’m the insignificant one without calling cards or talk shows.”  Then from behind there is a tap on my shoulder and someone says, “JL?”

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Announcements have been made in the past about some changes and coming to MuppetVision 3D and this week specifics and dates have been given to the refurbishments. The 3D movie will be closed from April 24—May 14 in order to make some changes to the attraction. The queue will be changed during this time as well as a new preshow being put in and some changes to the quality of the main film, though the film itself is staying the same.

There have been other announcements regarding the area around MuppetVision 3D, including the addition of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem to the courtyard area and the return of an all new Muppet Mobile Labs. Dates for these additions have not been announced.  There is some confusion around the supposed construction of a Muppet What-Not Workshop being built in the Muppet store, Stage 1 Co.

I have seen places that say that construction on this new part of the shop has begun already and I have also seen reports that this workshop is not coming to Hollywood Studios at all. Quite confusing. If anyone has any news as to the construction going on in Stage 1 Co., please send me an e-mail or comment below!

Contributed by: Jessica C. (NDI#21). Jessica is our resident “Gossip Girl” and creator of The True Disney Fan Blog.

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never forget him / this little boy in green / that lives in us all

Contributed by: J.B. C. (NDD# 27) of Mouse of Zen. J.B. is our resident Disney haiku writer and author of the soon-to-be published book “Mouse of Zen”, which is a collection of his work.

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