So I had to write a paper in my Pop Film class comparing two movies - one before 1980 and one after. And being the Disney Freak I am, I decided to compare Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Enchanted. I thought I would share that paper with you. Enjoy!

To Dream of True Love’s Kiss

         Disney movies have always been a centerpiece in American popular culture. Walt Disney made sure to inject the ideals of family and entertainment in his movies and theme parks. It's also prevalent that his movies were relevant of its time and culture. To say that Disney is a genre of movie is an understatement. Disney movies envelop its culture, and puts them into a time and place where dreams to come reality, and anyone's fantasy will come true.  

         Two films I'll be analyzing in this paper are Snow White & the Seven Dwarves (1937) and Enchanted (2007). These two films - while they came from two different times and cultures - are wildly similar in content and theme.

         Snow White and the Seven Dwarves produced by the Walt Disney Co. in 1937, was the first full-length animated feature of the time and went to win many Academy Awards. (IMDB.com) This film also set prevalence for all Disney movies to follow it. In the equilibrium of the film the Evil Queen (Lucille La Verne) consults her magic mirror (Moroni Olsen) stating she wants to be the fairest in the land. However, Snow White (Adriana Cassloti), the true most beautiful, stood in her way. She devises a way to get rid of her in the disequilibrium by commanding her hunter (Stuart Buchanan) to take her into the woods and kill her. The hunter, being weak and kind, cannot so he tells her to run into the woods and he brings back a heart of a pig to the Evil Queen instead. Snow White ends up taking care of seven dwarfs whom she mistakes for children. During many musical numbers she teaches the dwarves how to live sophisticated lives by cleaning, baking and making the dwarves wash their hands. During a new equilibrium, the evil queen sacrifices her beauty to disguise herself as an old ugly witch to try and kill Snow White with a poison apple after which, a sleeping Snow White is awakened from an internal sleep by true love’s kiss and marries her prince to live happily ever after.

         This film can be placed into many genre categories including animation, screen musical and Disney. For this assignment, I will only focus on the animation and Disney genres because those two characteristics made the film what it is today. In the animation genre category, there are many elements that are conventional to the genre. Although Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first of its kind, it set the trend for animation films to be set in the wild and far off places such as the kingdom or a forest. The characters are all conventional as well: you have the overly sweet and nice main character, Snow White, the goofy sidekick's, the dwarfs, the Prince (Harry Stockwell), and an evil witch. Snow White was praised for its use of bright coloring in contrast with dark colors to emphasize the mood. This, along with the typical inserting of a hero, heroine and villain provide a typical motif for animation film. In addition, a conventional motif in most animation films is that of the normalcy in singing with a musical background. The characters automatically know to sing once the music starts before them and shows no concern when harmonies begin to develop and when everyone seems to know the song. 

          The plot is also typical of any fairy tale where Princess searches for her Prince Charming and a finds adventure, friends and love along the way. The same can be said for a typical Disney genre film. To add to that, many Disney films to follow in the later years will continually use the theme of the Princess (or main character) dying to seek adventure and discover herself (or himself) in a new world for the later films. Examples of this include the Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992). In addition, there is also an element that is novel for the film. Before this movie a soundtrack for a film was unheard of. The studio use music to set the mood whether it be happy, cautious, or dangerous to further the story.

         The characters in this film fit Propp’s seven stock characters very well. The evil queen (who is also the ugly witch) can be used to fit three categories: the villain, the donor and the false hero. The evil queen is obviously the villain the story in her attempts to kill Snow White and become the most beautiful in the land. She even sacrifices her beauty to complete her goal is ultimately defeated which ties back into the theme of typical fairy tale genre stories. The witch in her role as a donor gives Snow White the poison apple which resulted in her temporary death. In addition, the ugly witch is also the false hero when she tells Snow White that with the bite of the Apple all her wildest dreams will come true. It's unique that the queen fits all three of these categories in her dual personality because in usual fairy tales, those roles are filled by separate characters. The helpers in the story are the seven dwarfs namely: Happy, Dopey, Sleepy, Grumpy, Bashful, Sneezy and Doc. They're the ones who try to save Snow White and her peril and build a coffin for her Prince to kiss her in. That being said, the hero is the Prince that awakens Snow White from her slumber. The dispatcher in the film is the Hunter who refuses to kill Snow White and sends her into the forest where she finds the cabin for the dwarfs. Finally, the princess and her father in the story is obviously Snow White in her quest to find herself in the Prince she longs to be with. This is suggested in the song “Someday My Prince Will Come”.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves makes a great structural analysis because of how opposite the characters are. Their personalities make the conflict easily identifiable.

Snow White Evil Queen
Pure Evil
Innocent Vain
Content Jealous
Naive Aware
Impulsive Watchful
Bright Dark
Triumph Failure

Prince Hunter
Valiant Weak
Romantic Kind
Content Worrisome


Grumpy Dopey
Analytical Naive
Hesitant Willing
Fake True

         There is a lot of evidence inside the film to support these claims. Because Snow White was so pure and beautiful, the Evil Queen had no hesitation in plotting to kill the Princess because of the jealousy and vanity within her. Her knowledge of witchcraft and the young princesses’ inability to know what was going on at the time made easy - in her mind - for her huntsman to take her into the forest and kill her. Snow White showed her impulsiveness by entering, cleaning and sleeping in the dwarves house without even knowing them. Whereas the witch always consulted her magic mirror before making any decisions. The Prince has a vital role in the film because of his valiant and romantic personality by kissing a sleeping princess and awakening her. But she would never enter the force in the first place if the Hunter will haven't been weak in kind enough to warn her of the evil Queen's plans.

         This film both maintains and challenges the hegemony of the culture by keeping with the fairytale rose-colored view that every princess finds her prints and lives happily ever after. Robert Skyler in his book Movie Made America comments on the relationship between film makers of the 1930s depression era quoting” Though [Disney's] work hardly exhausts a variety of movie dreams in the depression era, or the subtlety of relationships between movies and cultural norms, it does offer a clearly marked path along the lines of development during a decade” (197). The film was made during the Depression era yet it brought in a new style of animation with a being a full-length color feature film. If you take an oppositional reading of the text, you might read that the film was made to inspire and inform audiences that tales do have a happy ending in dreams do come true matter how the situation seem. The dominant belief of the culture in the 1930s was at times were hard and they weren't going to get any better soon. This film was in opposition to that, however with the Legion of decency under the Hollywood production code in 1930, some aspects of the film were changed to better fit the code. There was a scene in the beginning of the film about Snow White's mother and her death but they were cut to avoid the wrath of the censor which was key at that point in time (IMDB.com). To also go along with ideology of the film and culture of the time you could look at it as the beginning of an empire for Walt Disney studio. At this time Mickey Mouse on a popular figure, but it took Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to continue Disney on the road to success. The idea of “studio is king” was prevalent to the Walt Disney Animation Studios as many writers directors are directors and engineers were hired during this time to complete the movie. These aspects of the film industry 1930s maintain hegemony of the film industry during a time although Disney's later movies would change that fact, this film was just the beginning.

         The next film to be examined is another Disney movie, Enchanted (2007). While not yet Disney classic, the film reaches close to home for Disney fanatics mostly because it encompasses many characteristics of classic Disney films which will be expanded upon later. Interestingly enough, the film most closely represents the tale of Snow White.

         In the equilibrium of the film, an animated Princess Giselle (Amy Adams) searches for a Prince whom she meets in a dream, and through accident bumps into Prince Edward, (James Marsden) stepson of the Evil Queen Narissa (Susan Saradon) who is in fear of losing her throne if the two marry. The disequilibrium happens in many phases: Narissa plans to get rid of Giselle whom she tricks by pushing her down the magic well that sends her into the real world. Edwards soon follows to look for Giselle and Narissa sends her minion Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) to keep Edward busy kill Giselle in many Disney villainous ways including a poison apple – a subtle reference to Snow White which I will expand apon later.

         Sequentially, in the real world, Giselle meets Robert (Patrick Dempsey) a lawyer whom she falls in love with and teaches him the meaning of fantasy and at the same time learns to live in reality by adjusting to her world. In the new equilibrium Robert and Giselle end up together after an attack by the Queen in dragon form. Edward ends up with Roberts ex-fiancé in the animated world and both Giselle and Robert adjust to their new lives with each other.

         This film can follow Snow White in being placed in the animation and Disney genre. While only parts of the movie are animated, they still encompass conventional characteristics of an animation film even when events happen in modern-day live-action New York. The motif of using bright colors representing good in contrast with dark colors representing evil is used throughout the film in costumes and the setting the beginning of the movie is another wild in far off kingdom in the midst of a forest where Giselle lives. Amusingly the film seeks to challenge the motif of typical Disney in animation films, when Giselle in the real world starts to sing “That's How You Know", Robert seems confused when everyone around her scenes know the song to sing in harmony. There are also conventional characters such as the naïve Princess in peril, the valiant prince to come to rescue, the evil jealous queen and the goofy sidekick. Also the plot is very conventional in a Prince is searching for a prince and a new world and end up finding adventure and love. Again, these characteristics are also control of a classic Disney film. Evidence of this includes shut Giselle singing about her prince, Edward traveling to New York to rescue her, Narissa trying to kill Giselle with the poison Apple and many other poisonous things and everyone reaching the happily ever after the end of the film.

         Being in animation and Disney genre film most characters fit Propps seven stock characters very well. The villain in the story is mainly Queen Narissa who attempts to kill Giselle in many different ways. She can also be considered to be the dispatcher in being the one to send her on her journey down the well into the real world. The donor in the film can be seen as Robert who gives Giselle a place to sleep and the reality world and teaches her how to act human. The helper can be seen as either Pip the chipmunk who aids Prince Edward and his search for Giselle or Nathaniel who aids Narissa in finding Giselle. The Princess and the film is obviously Giselle in her quest to find her prince and find her place in the new world. Nathaniel can be categorized as the false hero by appearing to be incompetent Prince Edward to be his aid and finding his Princess, is actually aiding Narissa.

         In contrast to Snow White, structural analysis of this film can be viewed in many different ways. While many characters are opposites they help bring out each other's characteristics and can be intertwined together. Because the film is made to mere Snow White many of the characters characteristics are the same as the previous film:

Giselle    Narissa
Pure Evil
Innocent Vain
Content Jealous
Naive Aware
Bright Dark
Triumph Failure

Edward       Robert
Fantasy         Reality
Romantic      Cautious
Valiant          Meek
Naive             Aware

Giselle        Nancy
Animated     Reality
Helpless       Romantic Problems in relationship

         Much like Snow White, the evil Queen Narissa wanted to get rid of Giselle so that she can keep her throne but not because she was jealous of her beauty rather jealous that she would get a Queen one day and said of her. Her knowledge of witchcraft and Nathaniel's willingness to serve her a easy in her mind to kill the Princess. It's Robert sense of reality that change is Giselle's character of a fantasy princess to reality. On the reverse, hey it sells bright and innocent personality and teaches Robert about love and fantasy. At the end of the film Nancy falls in love with Edward and moves back to and Andalasia, the fantasy kingdom, and Giselle stays Robert in the real world which changes their personality traits. Edward shows his valiant sea and romantic nature by chasing after Giselle in the city in which he is not familiar, whereas Robert is cautious and aware of his relationship situation and does not seek to invite Nancy over to stay with him because of his young daughter and try to teach same to Giselle despite her many attempts to bring the fantasy world into reality through song and dance.

        The film challenges the hegemony of the modern culture by refuting the idea that the modern fairy tale is dead. The film does this by echoing and twisting many previous Disney films such as the storybook opening is a tribute to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Giselle's animal call is very similar to that of Snow White, and she and Prince Edward ride off into the sunset shadowing the end of the film as well. Giselle mistaking a little person in New York City for Grumpy, Prince Edward callomg the television set a magic mirror, and Narissa’s poisoned apples are all preferences to the film as well. When Giselle loses a slipper at the ball and Edward puts it on Nancy’s foot where it happens to be a perfect fit is a reference to Cinderella. To name in a few more popular ones, the Queen transforming into an ugly witch to trick the Princess (Snow White) and giving her a poison Apple to eat telling her it will make all her dreams come true. The evil Queen turns into a dragon to conduct a final plan of killing the Princess and fails (Sleeping Beauty). However the twist is instead of the Prince saving the Princess, the opposite happens. Giselle sings working songs when she cleans Roberts apartment, inviting animals to help her on her task (Snow White, Cinderella). Robert and Giselle go on a boat ride while singing romantic song (The Little Mermaid). The Princess’ true love kisses her to wake her from a deathly slumber (Snow White and Sleeping Beauty), the couple dances at a ball under a shining chandelier (Beauty and the Beast). To go even further the directors cast two memorable Disney princesses in live action roles in the film. Jodi Benson who plays the secretary is known to let her voice to Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid, and Paige O'Hara who has a cameo in a dramatic scene on a television set is known for her voice as Belle in Beauty and the Beast. (IMDB.com)

         All these references to earlier Disney movies and more are examples of how Disney tries to make the point that the modern fairy tale isn't dead regardless of what the culture might think. When the movie was made there wasn't a lot a fairytale stories out there mainly because audiences didn't want to see fairy tale stories as much as they did in earlier years.

          As I said before in these two films are equivalently similar. Not only does Enchanted take elements of story-line, setting, scene and even characters from Snow White, it also challenges the hegemony of today's and yesterday's society to which culture believes that the classic fairy tale is dead. The American culture is no longer interested in the happily ever after, because they've come to terms that happiness is not found in fairytale but rather that happiness can be found elsewhere. The extreme similarities between the two also tells us that not only is a classic fairytale not dead, but it is embedded within many Americans in whichever setting they choose to see it in whether to be a classic Disney tale or a new twist on an old one.

Works Cited
"Enchanted (2007)." Enchanted (2007). The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 02 Apr. 2009 .

Graeme., Turner,. Film as social practice. New York: Routledge, 2006.

Sklar, Robert. Movie-made America a cultural history of American movies. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)." Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. International Movie Database. 02 Apr. 2009 .

It's finally April...which means a month and a couple of days until I move to Florida! I did this while I was SUPPOSED to be studying for a marketing exam...so if I fail...its your fault =P

This could possibly be the coolest (if only) thing I have seen coming from a merger between Disney and Apple.

While this MacBook cover designed by a Flickr user isn't a certified product by the two companies, I still think it's pretty sweet. 

Details about the cover aren't clear, though it looks like a vinyl sticker pasted on. 

While creative, you can't help but look at the irony - while I'm sure pun was intended. Snow White fell into a fatal sleep when she bit into the poison apple given to her by (what was unknown to her) her wicked step-mother queen. Not to say Apple's technology can lead to death...it's still kind of funny.

It would've been even more awesome if the princess were on the right side of the apple making the bite seem more believable. Yet and still - I'm amused.

             

For most of you who didn't know already, Space Mountain at WDW will soon begin refurbishment. Taken from the Orlando Sentinel:

Walt Disney World has filed notice that work is about to begin on its Space Mountain overhaul. The filing doesn’t provide many new details about what’s in store for the iconic Magic Kingdom coaster. But it does say improvements will be made in four areas: Facility, ride control, fire alarm and guest flow.
Disney has previously said the rehab will include installing new track (though the track layout won’t change), a new queue enclosure and a new ceiling. Space Mountain will shut down April 19, just after the Easter holiday. It isn’t scheduled to reopen again until Nov. 21.

This obviously means I won't be able to ride it while on my program. Not that it's my favorite ride, I mean I'm in fear of decapitation or severance of my limbs every time I ride but it's still a classic ride at the Magic Kingdom that I enjoy riding. I fortunately got the opportunity during my Spring Program to ride it with the lights on and see everything that it entails - let me tell you how both exciting and terrifying the experience was! But it was fun seeing all the CP's in the light and how much different the atmosphere was...it's a well known fact that you either want the front or the back to get the most out of the ride!

There are some advantages however. They did mention guest flow would be improved and that would be a major improvement to waiting in that long line that seemed to stretch on into eternity. while the giant meteorites that looked like chocolate chip cookies were ample entertainment paired with the sequenced screams of passengers passing by, the wait for the ride is always long, boring and tedious so I'm glad that will be improving.

Also if a new track is being put in, it might make for a fun ride. Lets just hope they don't do anything stupid like they did with the original "It's a Small World" in Disneyland CA, and input Stitch, Wall-E or any other Disney space-esque character into the ride, because I've already done a post about the stupidity of some of Disney's ideas. See previous post.

In more personal news, 43 actually days until the big move to Orlando! I've started to prioritize and see what exactly I'll need on my first trip down, and started to see if anyone wants to room with my sorry self =P. In being a good campus Rep, tomorrow I'll be calling one of my student's parents to talk with them about the program, they wanted to talk to someone who's done the program before and wanted their input. So that will be fun. I'll start to put together a send-ff party for our students and send them on their way!

But until then..I have a marketing exam that needs to be taken, a Pop Film paper that needs to be written and bed that needs to be slept in.

All that, plus it's GREEK WEEK! =)

Have a magical week!

If anyone has not heard lately, Disney has started production on their live action take of The Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia featuring Nicholas Cage as Yen Sid.

According to Ace Showbiz the movie "will tell the story of an apprentice, played by Jay Baruchel, who is left to tend to a magic workshop when his sorcerer master, portrayed by Cage, leaves it in his hands. Trying to make his job easier he gets a broomstick to do the chores for him, but he finds himself in trouble when the broom develops a mind of its own." The movie would be set in a New York-set modernization of the tale -- a big-budget family-friendly adventure epic in which Cage would play a sorcerer who needs, you guessed it, an apprentice.

No director is connected to the project just yet, but we're told the screenplay comes from the writing team of Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal -- also known as the guys who wrote "The Jewel of the Nile," "Superman 4: The Quest for Peace," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Mighty Joe Young," and "Planet of the Apes." (Rotten Tomatoes)
The movie is set for a 2010 release with other Disney Films Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Toy Story 3. **UPDATE: The movie is scheduled to release July 16th, 2010**

Here's why I give this idea an EPIC FAIL.

1. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is not only a classic itself, but was originated from a classic Fantasia. To mess with its origin and meaning is not a good thing. It ruins the classic auroa of the film. Take a look at the original film for example:
   
   



2. You don't mess with this. This is pure art. I understand that Disney is trying to reach a new target audience and everything with re-emphasizing the classic fairy tales and stories a la Enchanted, I just feel that this could tank.



3. Nicholas Cage may have been good in the National Treasure films, but this is something out of his character. I cannot see him playing a Yen Sid -type character, especially in the setting they're talking about.

This is like taking something like Lilo and Stitch and making it live action where instead of aliens, you have foreigners who become best friends and instead of being set in Hawaii, it'd be set in Suburban Rhode Island. You don't reconstruct something like The Sorcerer's Apprentice to your own bidding.

EPIC FAILURE

Don't ask why...just go with the flow.
Found at Ace Show Biz

Hey there blog buddies, So I was watching American Idol tonight (of course on DVR because I'm too busy during the week to watch live TV) and I thought to myself "I wonder what it would be like to actually be on American Idol?I


For those who know me, I like to sing. I haven't done any formal performances in almost 4 years, but singing is what I like to do...my friends tell me all the time that I should try out for AI but school has gotten in the way. But tonight, a thought accoured to me...

I could actually "audition" for American Idol and not have it interfere with school! How is this possible you might ask? Through the American Idol Experience at the Disney Studios!

When I first heard of this attraction I got super psyched. I know a couple of people who have exerienced it and they said it was awesome. I personally haven't gone down there to try it yet so I'm not sure how it works. That is what you'll have to tell me. I thought to myself today as Seacrest prolonged the answer as to who was getting voted off...but it really didn't matter because I had it DVR'ed but didn't have the sense to fast forward...ummm where was I?

Oh yea...I thought to myself (again) "What if I 'auditioned' at the parks and see what happens?" On my last program I didn't do the Night of Stars competition for CP's or even Cool Beans Cafe...speaking of which, those are pretty chill. Im goinna go to as much of those as I can to meet new people and get back to performing and having a good time. I think this time I'll get back to doing what I love (at least when I have the free time) and sing the pants off Disney World (is that even possible?). **UPDATE: My friend and one-time Cast Member Serena informed me that cast members are not able to audition which pretty much rules this out...but hey...at least I can still go and watch! And Night of Stars/ Cool Beans Cafe is still an option...**

The only thing is I'm not sure how the process works though. Anyone have any experience going through the attraction? How does it work? How do you get fast-pass to perform? I'm curious...

On another note...I heard through the grapevine, and by the grapevine i mean TheDisneyBlog that Disney, mainly ABC is having talks with Hulu to put their shows on their website.

Here's why I think it's a good idea:

• It gets more viewers to traffic their shows, not just the regular viewers they get from television.
• It's FREE
• They can put old movies up on Hulu as well...movies that people haven't seen in a long time or TV specials that only came on once that people missed.
• It's FREE
• Disney needs to jump on the bandwagon. they've got Facebook down pact, but sites like Hulu, **Twitter and the like are slowly rising to the peak of popularity. Better to get on board now than wish you had later...
• It's FREE
• Hulu is starting to become (in my opinion) as popular as YouTube especially with liscensed shows you cannot find on YouTube, Disney would be stupid not to put their shows up on Hulu.
• P.S. It's F-R-E-E!

These are just rumors I've heard, nothing solid as of right now now but i'll keep you all posted. Otherwise, 47 days until the big move...I'm getting more and more excited every day! I actually got an email from recruiting today welcoming me to the program (again) and telling me to keep an eye out on the website for updates and links to helpful sites within the Login pages. I actually got to take a look at the Eyes and Ears for March, so if anyone wants to check that issue out let me know.

Keep up with these posts and my Video Logs on Youtube so you can follow along with me on this fantasmic journey as a CP!

Make it Magical!

**P.S. My Twitter...follow me!

I give a shout out to my friend Caitlin who just got her Purple Folder yesterday!

So have you ever been walking around the parks either as a guest or a cast member and look across the way and shout either to yourself (if no-one else is around you) or to your friend next to you - (who's not paying attention because she's anxious to go on It's a Small World) "Hey! That's (Insert Celebrity Here)!!" - and try to restrain yourself from rushing over there for their autograph? Because you'd get terminated if you did so (maybe not as a guest but it'd just be tacky...I mean come on - they're on vacation too!).

A couple of days ago John Stamos and Tina Fey visited the Magic Kingdom and took a picture with Snow White, Cinderella and Belle inside Cinderella's castle. That got me to thinking back on my celebrity experiences as a cast member and those I've heard about:

• During the cast preview of the Pirate and Princess Party (one of the perks of being a cast member - getting sneak peaks of events and attractions), it was rumored that the Jack Sparrow in the parade was actually Johnny Depp in makeup. From street view I could hardly tell the difference but it could've been. (I also heard that he was actually at the event, but hiding up on one of the roofs of Main Street watching the parade so I'm not sure which one to believe...
  
• One time while browsing EPCOT, I saw both Steve Harvey and rapper Ludacris with his young daughter walking around the park. I was with friends and we were on a tight schedule though and there were already other people lining up around them. I didn't want to bother.
  
• One time in the Magic Kingdom while waiting in line for Splash Mountain I saw the Harlem Globetrotter team exiting the special exit. They really stuck out. (Because they were very tall and surrounded by body guards)
  
• While working Grad Night at the Emporium, one of my friends told me of his friend who worked the year previous that during his Grad Night he went to the service elevator to bring a bin of toys up to the floor and as soon as the elevator opened up Beyonce stepped out with a white flowing gown and the light was shining down on her. He didn't know what to do so he just fell to his knees and smiled. She smiled and asked him if he wanted a picture and he nodded. (this one I know is true because there's a picture of B with 3 princesses in front of the castle on one of our pictures for our Campus Rep display board!)
  
• Also during Grad Night, as I was preparing for my 10pm shift riding the bus from Property Control to the Main Entrance way for cast members, The Fray (who was headlining that night) was on the bus just chilling! I got to chat with them and they said they had a little bit of time before they had to do a shound check and they were bored. It was awesome I didn't really know what to say but it was really cool.
  

That's all that I can remember for now. Anyone have any celebrity experiences of their own while on their program or at the parks? Any rumors you found out to be true/false? What about mine? Are they believable? Leave your stories in the comments.

In other news...Today marks the 50 Day Countdown until check in at Vista Way. I still have some things to figure out, like what to pack, what to take with, how much cash flow I need to survive for the first few weeks and where I want to live + how many roommates.

I'm making a Talky Blog later on today for a special person who just revived her letter after a LONG time of waiting so keep an eye out for that.

Nothing else to report! So with that...Have a magical day!

So I was shaving today and it reminded me of the problems I could have while trying to follow the oh-so-highly-regarded Disney Look. Now don't get me wrong, I like the Disney Look, don't have any problems with my (lack of) hair, fingernails (I bite them), personal hygiene (I shower daily)  and tattoos and/or piercings - mainly because I don't have any.

The number one thing that caused a problem for me on my last program was shaving. During my last program I shaved with a razor every other day to make sure my face was clean shaven.

Now let me get something out of the way...I'm African American (**GASP!/SHOCK!**) and my hair grows differently than other people! It curls and it's hard (almost impossible) to shave completely with an electric razor which doesn't do any damage to my skin. During Check-In Day, I shaved with my electric razor to see what they would say and I thought I did a pretty good job, but they said I could've shaven a little bit more. I did the same one day when I went into work and my manager handed me a razor and told me to go downstairs to shave because I left stubble.

If I shave with a non-electric razor, my skin - while it gets clean - eventually develops bumps where in-grown hairs get stuck because they curl deep into the skin and my skin gets itchy and starts to burn. It gets annoying during my shift to continually rub it - especially if I'm not having  such a 'magical' day!

I tried using rubbing alcohol and and Aloe to rub on my skin and they either didn't help or made things worse...

So I go back in May and I've been conditioning my skin to shave as close as possible with my electric razor and it's been getting really close...I plan on not shaving with a non-electric razor for check-in day and seeing what they say. Hopefully they won't make me shave more cause my skin can't take it!

What do you guys think? Do you have any suggestions for me to try? Any 'Disney Look' experiences to share? 

In other Disney news: 

• A New Store in Downtown Disney opened today replacing Summer Sands - it's a trendy (haha get it?) designer boutique that has designers like Roxy, Kidada Jones, Tarina Tarantino. The merchandise they sell here can’t be found in any other store at Walt Disney World.
  

•  The Flower and Garden Festival is happening at EPCOT. This year's theme is "Celebrate Springtime" with 70 amazing topiaries featuring your favorite Disney characters." Although EPCOT isn't my favorite park to visit, it's still nice to walk through and see what they do with all the topiary there it's pretty amazing. Visit my Facebook Album "CP Graduation/Last few weeks of Disney Magic!!!!" <--yes, there are 3 exclamation points...get over it lol 
• The Official Countdown is 53 Days! Getting excited every minute!

In Non-Disney News:

For anyone interested, we raised over $126,000 during BGSU's Dance Marathon for the Children's Miracle Network and St. Vincent's hospital in Toledo, OH! I'm very proud of all my DM'er and for me it's a bittersweet moment because it was my last DM as an undergrad. But I plan on coming back as an Alumni Dancer so we'll see how that goes! I posted a Vlog during Dance Marathon yesterday so check it out below or here!

Thats about it! Enjoy your week and I hope it's magical!