Hey guys!

In the past I have reviewed most of the hotels that I've stayed in at Disneyland Paris, however, the Disney owned hotels don't always suit everyone's budget and more recently as an annual pass holder I have found myself looking at off-site hotel options to try and keep the cost of my trips down. On my most recent trip, I stayed in a partner hotel, an off-site hotel which is not owned by Disney, but does partner with them to offer some of the perks at a reduced price, and decided it might be useful to start sharing my thoughts on these hotels too.

The Vienna House Magic Circus is a 396 room circus-themed family-friendly hotel just a few minutes drive from Disneyland Paris, the hotel has a restaurant, bar, swimming pool and other facilities and as part of its partnership with Disneyland Paris, it also has a small shop which sells parks merchandise as well as the expected amenities and a free shuttle bus to and from the parks each day.

The hotel can be booked as part of a package which includes your park tickets, or you can book the accommodation on its own, this is what we did as we did not need park tickets. We booked through Hotels.com and found the rate to be extremely favourable for our dates when compared to the Disney owned hotels, the booking process was incredibly easy and we were also able to book adjoining rooms online due to the size of our party. We paid in full online at the booking stage, but there was also the option to reserve with a deposit and pay on arrival for the room, the only additional cost was the city tax which is payable on arrival for each guest, this is the same tax you would pay in a Disney hotel but it is included in their initial booking cost.

As we were only on a one night trip we arrived at the hotel fairly late in the evening to check-in, I would imagine it was around 9pm, to keep costs down we had driven over, so I didn't get to experience the hotel shuttle bus but was pleasantly surprised by the amount of free parking on offer and didn't struggle to find a space. The reception area is open plan, bright and spacious, even though we had arrived quite late there was still ample staff available to assist with checking in and the reception area has a small seating area where the rest of your party can wait as well as a water dispenser.

Past the main reception, there is a small shop which as well as selling your toiletries and other essentials, also stocks a range of Disney parks merchandise including Mickey/Minnie Ears, autograph books and pens and a selection of plushes and other toys. Further round the corner there was more seating areas and a number of different arcade machines which would be great for distracting the kids during check-in. The hotel restaurant is also on the ground floor, we didn't actually get to use it on this trip due to the short nature of our stay, but we were offered a breakfast service which we could pay on the morning if we changed our minds for €16 per adult.

Check-in was easy and quick and we were assigned to 2 adjoining rooms on the first floor, we were booked as a party of 5 adults and 1 child, however, we only ended up being 5 adults. The two rooms were identical and there was an adjoining door which needed to be unlocked from both sides before it could be used, the rooms had a double bed and then a set of bunk beds, a modern good sized bathroom, 2 TVs and a kettle and facilities to make hot drinks as well as a generously sized fridge, there was a menu in the room but as we had already eaten I didn't pay too much attention to whether it was for room service or the main restaurant.

I was particularly impressed with how modern everything felt and also the level of decoration and theming in the rooms, I also liked how the room could be separated for kids and adults with a curtain that pulled around the bunk beds, which had their own bedside table and TV! The beds were really comfortable and we all got a great nights sleep, which is super important when you're up early for another busy day in the parks.

The bathroom was a really good size, was incredibly clean and modern, a selection of toiletries and towels were also provided, my only areas for improvement here would be that the hairdryer provided was not particularly powerful, and only having 1 sink in a room designed for 4 people can be a pain. The room had lots of storage including a large wardrobe which is great for longer trips where you want to unpack your clothes and hang things up, or even for just storing your bags or other luggage out of the way as the rooms weren't huge.



As I mentioned briefly above, if you aren't driving, or are staying for more than one night there is a free shuttle bus provided by Disneyland Paris to get to and from the parks, the shuttle is approximately once every 20 mins from around 8 am until around midnight and stops directly outside of the reception and drops off just outside of the train station at the entrance to the parks. The shuttle services a number of the nearby partner hotels so can get busy at peak times, but they have ample room for pushchairs and wheelchairs and are provided completely free of charge, a timetable can be picked up in reception to allow you to plan your timings.

If you want to venture further afield you can use the free shuttle bus to get to the parks and then catch the RER from here to go into central Paris, or you can get the RER or walk from the Disney Village to the nearby Val D'Europe shopping centre which has a selection of places to eat and shops (including a very popular Primark) as well as a pharmacy.

Although my stay at Magic Circus was incredibly short, we may have spent less than 12 hours at the hotel, I was incredibly impressed during my stay and would definitely book to stay again in the future. The hotel was clean and modern, with a fun, family-friendly theme, every member of staff I spoke to was friendly and helpful and many of them spoke multiple languages outside of French and English. The location of the hotel is excellent, it is only a few minutes away from the Disney parks by bus or by car, but has the advantage of a lower price tag by being outside of the main Disney property.

I hope that I will be able to stay again soon and experience more of the hotel facilities, and of course, if I do, I will update this review with my impressions.

Have you stayed at Magic Circus, what did you think? Drop me a comment below with what you liked most.

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!

So in case you haven't seen online already, last Sunday, June 16th I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to head to London to be part of the European premiere of Toy Story 4. I had an absolutely incredible day walking the red carpet, seeing some famous faces and seeing Buzz, Woody and Bo Peep, but more than that I was able to see the film in full before it hits UK cinemas on Friday!

So I decided I would take the opportunity to share my thoughts with you all, as always I'll do my best to keep things spoiler free, but if you do want to know anything more in depth you can always contact me on my social media accounts!

It's been 9 years since Toy Story 3 graced the silver screen and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has spent at least some of this time wondering how Woody and the gang are enjoying life with Bonnie in their new home, Toy Story 4 not only answers these questions in the most perfect way, but it also ties up a few loose ends from earlier on in the franchise. The film starts with a brief recap of how our heroes ended up with Bonnie and pays particular attention to the fate of Bo Peep who never made it to Sunnyside day care during the 3rd installment. All of our favourite friends are thriving in their new life with Bonnie and are surprised when Bonnie brings home a new friend from her first day at school.

Meet Forky, Yes, he is a spork, but he's called Forky so that's just a hurdle you're going to have to get over pretty quickly, voiced by Tony Hale this lovable utensil turned toy is the stand out character of the film. He's quirky, annoying and yet some how absolutely adorable in equal parts and I can honestly say I love him. An honorable mention must also go out to the rest of the new toys, Gabby gabby, Combat Carl, Ducky & Bunny, Giggle McDimples and of course, Canada's hero, Duke Caboom all of which really do a stellar job and only serve to enhance the existing cast.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this film, I know as a life long Pixar fan a lot of people will say this is not unexpected and perhaps my views are in some way skewed or biased towards Pixar productions and though that may in some way be an unconscious bias on my part, I was one of the people who was quietly apprehensive about this film. The ending of Toy Story 3 seemed to many to be pretty conclusive, we'd followed the toys on their journey through Andy's childhood, and successfully helped him grow until it was time to leave for college, handing the toy's over to Bonnie felt like the perfect ending. So what could come next that would somehow match the level of story telling? I was wrong. The fourth installment is the true ending of the franchise, it answered questions left over from the other films and it brought the story to an emotional, but poignant close. Though I would never oppose seeing more from my favourite toys, especially if the quality stays this high, I do feel like this was the swan song, I would genuinely be very surprised if we ever got another feature length film for this franchise.

The plot was simple, and perhaps a little bit predictable in places, but it didn't matter, it didn't need to be the next work of Shakespeare, it didn't need to re invent the wheel, it was heartwarming and authentic and that's all that any of the fans could have asked for. The new characters brought some new dimensions to the film, Forky's relationship with Woody was a pleasure to watch and the comedic partnership of Ducky and Bunny added a lot of real comedy moments which I enjoyed. I felt the character development of Gabby Gabby to be really fascinating, and ended up liking her far more than I expected to going into the screening, I look forward to adding her to my Funko collection in the coming months.

I was able to see the film 5 days early at the European Premiere at the Odeon in London's iconic Leicester Square, I'd like to extend a huge, huge thank you to Elliot for inviting me and offering me a ticket! The day was really enjoyable, from walking the red carpet, to seeing Bo Peep, Woody and Buzz in the cinema Lobby, and finally to seeing Tom Hanks, Producers Andrew Stanton and Jonas Rivera and Director Josh Cooley who got up on stage before the film to welcome us and tell us a bit about how the 4th installment came to life.

It was clear that everyone involved with the production was so very proud of what they had created, and I can honestly say they deserve to be proud of what they've made possible, the film was an absolute joy if not a slightly emotional ride and will become an instant classic appreciated by not only it's original fans but also the new generations who will get to experience Bonnie's years in the way we grew with Andy.

Toy Story 4 releases in UK cinemas this Friday June 21st, I cannot recommend going to see it strongly enough!

Have you seen it yet? What did you enjoy most? Drop me a comment, but no spoilers!

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!

So I guess it all comes down to this, the endgame. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) burst on to the silver screen in May 2008 when Jon Favreau introduced Iron Man to the world, since then a further 20 films have expanded this universe, giving us the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy and a whole load of adventures. Endgame has no easy job, trying to tie up the previous 21 films into one final plotline, it's 3 hour run time is used brilliantly by the Russo brothers to bring together our heroes for one last time.

Pic credit: @thedlpgeek twitter

I'm going to try my best to keep this review spoiler free, however, I will be referencing other films from the MCU, so apologies if you've missed any of these and I divulge something you didn't want to know!

Avengers: Endgame starts after the events of Infinity War, when we last saw our heroes they had just lost the battle to stop Thanos from gaining access to all 5 stones, which allowed him to finish his plan to wipe out 50% of all life in the galaxy. Not all of the Avengers survived, so the story now focuses on those who were left behind, the original team of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Thor and Hawkeye are reunited as well as Ant-Man, Rocket, Nebula, War Machine and Captain Marcel. Together they try to find a way to avenge their fallen comrades and put an end to Thanos and his trail of destruction.

Honestly, this film surpassed all of my expectations, the daunting 3 hour run time actually flew by, the pacing was perfect and there was a mix of slower moments to break up the faster-paced action scenes. There were emotional parts, and there were funny moments, the film just felt balanced. I have watched most of the previous movies leading up to this point, but I will be totally honest and say I did miss a few. Personally, I didn't find this made a huge hindrance to my understanding of the film, but I would try to go in with as much understanding of the series to date as possible as this will only enhance your experience.

Despite these characters having developed right in front of us over the last 10 years, I was surprised how much personal growth we got to go through with the original Avengers in this final instalment. No-one is ever a finished product, each character has their own flaws which make them easy to relate to and have us rooting for them even when the odds seem hopeless. Endgame does a wonderful job of completing some of these story arcs, being able to look back to where our heroes began their journey and seeing them finally flourish into their best form.

Though I can't really criticize any of the cast for their role in this movie, for me the two stand out performances were Karen Gillan as Nebula and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. Both played a variety of scenes with such emotion and depth that I was truly drawn into their characters individual plights, I felt their emotions and I felt 100% invested in them throughout the film. I would have liked to have seen a lot more of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and also the wonderful Bradley Cooper as Rocket, thought the MCU as we know it has come to a close, I hope there is more in the future for them.

Visually, the film is stunning, I have only seen it in 2D so far, but as it was filmed entirely with IMAX digital cameras, so I would love to see it in this format at some point. I will say, the film deserves the cinema screen treatment! The colours are fantastic, the special effects are seamless, the bigger scenes are a visual treat.

Pic credit: @thedlpgeek twitter

The film is however the only film in the series other than The Incredible Hulk not to have a mid or end credits scene, though on one hand, I do feel like the film was well and truly wrapped up, this is something that feels like a tradition and feels like it was put there for the fans as much as the story and it does feel weird for there not to be one.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie, the 3 hour conclusion takes you on one heck of an emotional ride from start to finish, I strongly believe this is the final chapter that a series that has been as popular and successful as the MCU deserves. If the film doesn't perform well during the next awards season I would be truly shocked and disappointed.

Have you seen Endgame? Did you enjoy it? Drop me a comment, but please, no spoilers!

Hoodsie

Hey guys!

So this is actually something I've done before, back in March last year I posted my wishlist for merchandise that's available in other Disney parks that I wanted to see come to Disneyland Paris. Well, it was pretty successful, you guys seemed to really enjoy it and it sparked a lot of conversation on my social media, but not only that, here we are 10 months later and some of the items I wrote about are now available in Paris! Now, of course, I don't take any credit for it, but it was fun to see which things came to fruition.

So here's my updated list for 2019, once again this is just my personal view of what I've seen on sale elsewhere that I would buy if it came to Paris, I'd love to hear your ideas too, who knows, maybe someone from the merch team is watching!

5. Pet items.

Pets are like family right? So when I go on holiday and have to leave my fur baby at home, I'd at least like to be able to treat him and bring something back for him. Though Paris does sell a few items for our four-legged friends, the range is quite inferior when compared to what is available just across the pond! The US Disney parks have everything from bowls, leads and collars to toys, beds and even outfits for your fur baby! I'm pretty sure Charlie is going to get spoiled rotten when I go to WDW in November, the squeaky Mickey Waffle doggy toy is top of his wish list.

Pictures are taken from Shop Disney US


4. Ride/Land specific merch.

Like a few of the other things on this list, it's not that Paris doesn't have anything that is ride or land specific, it's just what they do have is so limited, and nowhere near the quality offered by other parks. In Disneyland Paris, I might be able to pick up an attraction pin (though half the set are now not restocked and the set doesn't include all attractions) or perhaps a t-shirt for some of the rides. Comparing that to the other parks it's easy to feel like we drew the short straw, Disneyland Resort and WDW have ride specific Spirit Jerseys, Haunted Mansion in WDW has its own shop selling ride specific stuff. You can grab salt and pepper shakers themed to the bins of each land, monorail highlighters and socks. And if all of that wasn't enough how about a whole line of merch just based on the Yeti from Expedition Everest? Most of us have a favourite ride, so it's not unrealistic to imagine we'd spend our hard earned money on pretty much anything that helps us rep our favourite!

                         

Pictures from Pennie K and David at Disney


3. Plush Pass holders.

I can't be 100% in which park they originated, but I first became aware of these when I started looking at what the Asian parks had to offer, why wear a fairly boring lanyard when you can have a super cute plush around your neck instead?! These come in a variety of different designs featuring some of our favourite characters and also some interesting takes on park food, Mickey burger pass holder anyone? I actually have a Stella Lou one of these which I bought on eBay (yes I know it's probably fake and I'm ok with it) and I'm so glad I got one. Not only are they super cute and give me yet another way of showing off my love for the super cute ballet bunny but they're surprisingly practical, it has a card sized pouch on the back where I can put my AP, my Photopass and any fast passes I might have, but it also has a bigger zip up pocket on the back so I can pop in some cash and a bank card for quick purchases. I still carry a park bag and do pop my pass holder inside when I'm on bigger rides, but I love having such easy access to the things I need to grab most often and I'm confident these would sell well in Paris.

2. Park Exclusive Funko Pops.

Maybe it's only me who has an unhealthy obsession with Funko Pops, but given their popularity in both the UK and the US, I feel like it's unlikely that I'm on my own with my love of these giant headed cartoon style collectables. Made by toy company Funko pops have become increasingly popular in the 3 years I've been collecting them. Different pops are made to represent everything from your favourite films and TV shows to sports teams, musicians, and even the royal family! So it's no surprise that Disney is firmly in on the action, what is perhaps a little more surprising is that despite having a number of park exclusive pop figures in the US parks, Paris doesn't seem to have any. I have been lucky enough to get one of the park exclusive models, which is this Figment pop that was introduced to commemorate Epcot's 35th birthday in 2017, this isn't the only exclusive figure either with a Tiki Room 2 pack available, as well as an impressive Splash Mountain pop rides model to mention just a few. I'm willing to put my money on these being incredibly popular (excuse the pun) if they ever make it to Paris, if nothing else, I know I would probably bankrupt myself buying them all.

1. AP Holder Merch

Ok so DLP did dip their toes ever so slightly into this one in 2018, but to nowhere near the same scale as their US counterparts. In Paris we got a pin, some T-shirts, 2 lanyards and a mug, all featured the very basic pass holder or Infinity logos, not only were the designs very very basic (and in my opinion not very nice) but the items were available to everyone regardless of them being or not being a pass holder. This meant the items sold out quickly and didn't have the exclusive feel. In the US pass holders can pick up a lot more merchandise, some are available all year round such as the magnet, and some are seasonal or for specific events. For example at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party, pass holders can pick up an exclusive T-shirt and Pin both with a different design to the main event T-shirt and Pin.

                       

Pictures from Pennie K and David at Disney


So that's my list for now, what about you? Is there something I've mentioned you agree with, or something I've missed off? Drop me a comment below!

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys,

It's that time of year again! The trees are going up, the fairy lights are sparkling in every window, our electricity bills are through the roof and our bank balances are lower than ever before, I think it's called Christmas?

Jokes aside, anyone who knows me well will know I'm a little bit like Buddy the elf and Christmas, to me at least, truly is the most wonderful time of the year. So how do you take something so perfect and make it even better? You add Disney of course! I've been lucky enough to take 3 Christmas season trips to Disneyland Paris over the last few years and each time it manages to make my favourite season just that extra bit more magical. Sadly, this year a Christmas trip was just out of reach for me. So in a blogmas style, I thought I'd take a walk down memory lane and go through some of my favourite seasonal things at Disneyland Paris.

5. Snow.

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Not all of us channel our inner Elsa, and though I much prefer the cooler temperatures I'd be lying if I said the cold didn't bother me. Snow is beautiful, magical and gives me those dreamy Christmas vibes, but it's also cold, wet and after a day or two it's just a general nuisance. Enter "snoap", all the joy and wonder of snow, with none of the temperature related hassle! Snoap falls daily on Main Street, and twinned with the adorable festive soundtrack ringing from every speaker its the perfect start to your happiest of holidays! Even better is when it falls during the parade and cavalcades, like being in an idyllic Christmas card scene.

4. Decorations.

If you've been to my Grotto house in December, you'll know when it comes to Christmas, I'm no minimalist. I love the colours, the sparkle, anything with Santa's face on and those adorable singing plush animals are taking over the house one room at a time. Disneyland Paris doesn't disappoint on the decorations front. The hotels, the village and both of the parks embrace the season, with sparkling garlands, plump trees and more lights than Blackpool there's no shortage of eye-catching displays to fall in love with. The Disneyland elves do an incredible job of decorating and will leave even the grinchiest of guest with that warm festive glow.

3. Mickeys Christmas Big Band.

Christmas wouldn't be the same without music and once again Disney have got you covered. This show was new for 2017 and though I was extremely sceptical at first, I now wonder how we went so long without it! I won't go into a huge amount of detail about the show, firstly because not everyone has seen it and I don't want to spoil it, and secondly because I wrote about it last year which you can find here. But it's back this year and it's bigger and better than ever, it held me completely captivated from start to finish and I wish there was a non-festive version that could be shown all year round!

2. Christmas outfits.

Now I don't mean for myself, though I like to think I have an impressive winter wardrobe! As a character fan/hunter meeting as many characters as possible each trip is what makes me tick. But meeting characters in seasonal outfits? That's the icing on the cake. Now I know this could be a rather controversial thing this year due to the characters being out in their 25th blue and silver again rather than their red and green Christmas outfits. But when they are out in the classic red and green, you can bet I'm getting in that character line. I also love the special outfits for the seasonal stage shows, especially some of the outfits from Goofy's Incredible Christmas in the studios park.

1. The Christmas Cavalcade.

It's got music, costumes, incredible floats, an appearance from jolly old St Nick himself and most important of all, Duffy Bear! The Christmas cavalcade is the total icing on the cake moment of my Christmas trip! It's a chance to see less common characters like Horace, Clarabelle, Max and the 3 little pigs as well as Mickey and the gang, the floats seem to get bigger and better every year and the dancers really make the show. The song changed in 2017 and has pretty much been stuck in my head ever since. It's on a couple of times a day every day from November until early January and as soon as that music starts and the floats wind their way from Fantasyland to Main street my heart feels happy and I know I'm where I'm meant to be. If you haven't seen it, you can check it out thanks to DLRPFans on YouTube.

So that's what I'm missing most this December, what about you? If there's something you're missing, or something you're really loving, drop me a comment and let me know!

Hoodsie xxx

Hey Guys!

It's been a while, more than a while actually and for that, I'm really sorry! Truth is since getting home from Run Disney in September, not only have I not had any Disney trips to tell you about, but my life has been totally turned upside down by my new puppy Charlie!

The good news is we're working into a bit more of a routine now, and with my apprenticeship exams finishing for a while I've got a bit more time to put some much-needed love into my blog.

So to ease myself back into things, I recently watched Ralph breaks the internet and want to share my thoughts about it with you all. As always, I'll do my best to keep it spoiler free for those of you who are yet to see the film!

So Ralph breaks the internet is the sequel to the 2012 Disney animation Wreck it Ralph, if you haven't seen the original I would highly recommend catching up. In short, the film follows 80's video game villain Ralph as he learns to accept his role as a "bad guy" and learns that being bad, can be good!

Now, I can probably guess what you're thinking, it's a Disney sequel and these don't always have the best track record. On one hand there's Toy Story 2, but on the other, there's Cinderella 2, it's a mixed bag, to say the least and honestly, when I watched the first Wreck it Ralph film 6 years ago, I didn't feel like it needed a sequel. So I went into this with a certain amount of caution, I hoped for something great, but I didn't necessarily expect this.

The film starts by taking us back to Litwak's arcade, where the first film was based, we find that Vanellope and Ralph are still great friends, they spend the days "working" in their respective games and then the nights hanging out in all the other games in the arcade and watching the sun come up each morning. For Ralph, this is the dream every day is the same, no surprises just routine, however, Vanellope is starting to get a little bored of the same races, the same tracks, she wants adventure.

Ralph decides to try and help Vanellope add some excitement to Sugar Rush by building a new track, unfortunately, wreck it by name, is also wreck it by nature, the new track ends with a broken steering wheel controller. Due to the age of the machine parts aren't easy to come by, and though the kids in the arcade find a new steering wheel on Ebay, the $200 price tag is more than Sugar rush makes in a year. If the machine can't be repaired within a week, the game will be unplugged and Vanellope and all the racers will have no game to call home!

Ralph decides it's time to go to the internet, find ebay and get Vanellope a new steering wheel to fix her game. Meanwhile, Felix and Calhoun, who have been happily married for 6 years, agree to adopt the 15 homeless Sugar rush kids, what could possibly go wrong?

I can honestly say, this film wasn't what I was expecting. I know I wasn't the only one who was excited for this film, but with each subsequent teaser and then trailer, I began to wonder if there would be much of the film I hadn't already seen by the time I took my seat in the cinema. Well, I'm pleased to say I couldn't have been more wrong. Sure I may have missed one or two trailers, so perhaps some elements were more of a surprise to me than others, but I truly believe the trailers were just the same few sections of the film re-cut and re-edited to look different, while not revealing all that much about the final product.

One of my other concerns from the trailers was that this might just be a selection of jokes and memes stitched together for 90 mins, again this was not the case and the film actually had a cohesive and heartfelt storyline throughout. In particular, Vanellope and Ralph's characters were heavily invested upon and we got to delve a little deeper into their emotions, and what makes them tick. I was sad not to see more from Felix and Calhoun, but this was never their story and that's ok.

Now the film does, of course, have a lot of references, it's what makes the film what it is, it deliberately plays off Ralph and Vanellopes characters against well-known characters and brands. The second installment is no different, only that instead of games characters, it is now the biggest and best known online brands and trends that are getting the comic treatment that made us fall in love with Wreck It Ralph. My personal favorites were ebay, twitter and Oh my Disney all 3 of which were, in my opinion, brilliant concepts which I wouldn't have imagined and yet they fit so perfectly.

For a lot of people, the storyline was a huge concern, the trailers really didn't give much away and with so many references and jokes to fit in, it could easily have been lost. I have to say though the plot wasn't anything too different from any standard Disney film, it felt sincere, well rounded and had some truly tear-jerking moments, the latter of which I didn't expect at all. As always there was an important message or two for us all to take away from the film and I really felt like I'd been through every emotion possible.

It would be impossible to cross the entire world wide web and not make a few new friends, Ralph and Vanellope are no different and the sequel offered us some new characters to meet and inevitably fall in love with. My particular favorite was Knowsmore, this little guy is exactly what a human search engine should be, funny, knowledgeable and at times, ever so slightly frustrating. Though I really appreciated Yesss, the social media queen of BuzzzTube! In fact, I have to say all of the new characters brought something of their own to the film and each one connected with us in a different way.

The Disney Princess scene was a huge talking point when the trailer first hit and it would be pretty criminal of me not to give them a mention. I'm so happy to say the scenes with the princesses were everything I could have asked for, and then a little bit more. Though they made up a short portion of the overall film I loved getting to see such well-loved characters together. I loved that for the most part the original voice cast was used, I cannot begin to imagine how much fun was had recording with all of them. I also enjoyed how each character was depicted, their key traits were so easy to pick out and it made for some brilliant reactions from Vanellope. It was great to see Disney poke fun at themselves while staying in character.

Overall I loved this movie, the attention to detail once inside the internet was incredible! As a self-confessed nerd who probably spends way too much time online, it was so much fun to try and spot all the different references and see websites we use everyday imagined in a totally new and fun way. The story was definitely not a weak point as I had feared it might have been and it never felt like a re-hash of the first film.

I'm not sure if Ralph or Vanellope will return for a third film, I honestly can say the story felt complete and there was no need for another film to tie up any plot ends, however, having seen what Rich Moore and his team have achieved with this film, I would wholeheartedly welcome another installment. Maybe in another 6 years, we can catch up with the gang at Litwaks, the internet or beyond, until then, I'll wait rather impatiently for a Blu Ray release!

What about you guys? Have you seen Ralph Breaks the internet yet? What did you think, or if not, have I persuaded you to give it a try now?

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!

So yesterday I got home from my 3rd run weekend at Disneyland Paris, and there is so so much that I'm looking forward to sharing with you all about it! I'm going to try and split it up into smaller reads, so, to begin with, I'm just going to give my thoughts on the event as a whole and will cover the individual races etc separately later.

If you're not familiar with Run Disney, it is a series of running events held across the Disney parks where you can not only earn some amazing race bling, but you get a really unique opportunity to run through the different resorts and meet some rare characters along the way. This is Paris' 3rd race weekend, it is held in mid to later September each year.

This year's edition pretty much followed the format of last year's with the event running Thursday - Sunday and featuring a 5 km, 10 km and half marathon as well as a number of children's races too. For 2018 a new 36 Km challenge was added which gave an additional medal to anyone who completed all 3 races, this was alongside the 31 Km challenge which was added in 2017.

So I should probably start with the positives! Firstly I loved the additional challenge. Though I was surprised I would qualify for both the 31 and 36 Km medals by running the 36 Km it was nice to see the extra 5 Km being recognised. Sure it's not a long race, but with so many races so close together, each extra one you add really makes a difference!

The bib and T-shirt collection was also improved in 2018, as was the challenge medal collection and personally, I really appreciated both of these. In previous years once you arrived at the events expo with all your paperwork you were made to complete a series of pit stops to collect your different bib numbers and different T-shirts. I believe I ended up going to 6 different stands last year to collect everything but this year the 36km challenge meant there was only 1 bib number to collect. Once you had this you were directed to the next stand over to collect your T-shirts which were already packed in a gear bag organised by size. This was so much quicker and a much more pleasant experience, especially when it is busy and warm.

Then came the first indication of the changes to challenge medal collection, once I had my bib and my tops I was ushered straight over to have a photo with my bib as this was linked together so that once I finished the final race I could be verified against my bib before being given my challenge medals. After the fiasco of not having enough 5 Km medals in 2017, I was more than happy to give up a few extra mins of my time for a quick photo to make sure this wouldn't happen again!

Once you finished the half marathon the only medals at the finish line were the half medals and anyone who was completing a challenge had to go back to the expo where their bib and photo were verified to ensure it was the same person and all qualifying races had been completed. You were then put into a queue to receive your medal/s and your bib was then marked as you left to ensure you couldn't go round and claim a second set! I know some people were unhappy with having to go back around and not getting all the medals at the finish line, but personally, I didn't find the walk too long or difficult and thought the process once you got there was really smooth and easy.

The starting corrals were moved this year so rather than queuing along the road that runs down the side of the Newport Bay Club hotel towards Vapiano we were queued around the back of the expo tent behind Disney Village. I really liked the location of this as it wasn't as far to walk in the mornings and the corrals were a comfortable size and really close to the start line. There were some issues with the corrals, but I will address these later in this post.

There were a number of route changes for this year's addition. In particular, I liked that the 5 Km went through both parks, and I appreciated that some of the parts of last years 5 Km course where visibility was poor had been removed! There were still a few falls that I saw or was made aware of during the races, and I hope these instances are being looked into to see if any further changes need to be made to ensure runner safety.

There were also some changes to photo pass this year. Firstly maybe it's just me but it did feel like there were more photographers on the course to take photos of you running, not just with the characters, I can understand why but it is a bit of a shame that there aren't any on the stretch outside of the parks! In addition to this at the character meets each bib was scanned before the photo was taken. I assume this was done to speed up matching the thousands of photos to their rightful owners and I'm happy to report it seems to have worked as we've had most of our photos through already. A nice change from the 2+ week wait we had last year!

Now for the negatives. I really hope everything I'm highlighting here can be worked on and improved for 2019. This race weekend has so much potential and some of these changes are so simple!

First and foremost, corral assignments! This was something that really ground my gears this trip. Corral placement is as much about safety as about being able to start sooner, but this year from what I can understand from the multiple staff members I spoke to at runners relations, the only corrals that were assigned based on time were for runners who provided proof of time of 1 hour 30 or less for the half marathon, these runners were assigned to corral A. Outside of this there seems to be no logic for how the rest were decided. During the registration process runners taking part in the half marathon were asked to provide an estimated finish time, however, this was totally disregarded and corrals were assigned randomly, with the intention of keeping runners on the same booking in the same corral, though even this didn't always happen. Runners taking part in the 5 or 10 km races were not even asked for an estimated finish time or pace. Frankly, this was negligent and dangerous, knowingly putting slower runners in front of faster ones makes the course congested and encourages faster runners to act dangerously in order to overtake slower runners or walkers on the course.

For future race weekends in Paris, I would like to see them adopt the same system as the US Run Disney races, where proof of time is required for all participants, not just those considered "elite". If you do not provide proof you should be assigned the last corral. This would ensure the majority of runners are correctly seeded and would help to avoid congestion on the course where faster runners cannot pass slower ones. This would also encourage proper training as the proof of time needs to be from a chip timed race of an equivalent or comparable distance. For a race that takes safety so seriously with age requirements and medical certificate requirements, it seems a little unbelievable to me that this was overlooked.

The next thing that wound me up was the number of people who totally disregarded the race weekend rules and the staff who allowed this to happen. I saw a number of runners with backpacks on the course, I saw runners who clearly did not meet the age criteria of some of the races, including one who was being carried on an adults shoulders during the 10 Km and to my utter disbelief in the 5Km race we saw a parent with a child in a pushchair/stroller in corral B! The rules are there for a reason and ensure the safety of all runners. I understand these are considered family events, but not only is it extremely dangerous, it also feels very unfair on the people who did follow the rules and as such may not have participated, or may have limited what events they could take part in due to childcare requirements.

Character queues seemed a lot larger this year, and I'm not entirely sure what caused this. On the 5 Km I found that many of the characters weren't that rare, yet the queues for them were still very long and didn't appear to move as quickly as previous years. I understand that the new photo pass process may have added slightly to this, but feel that it would be beneficial to review the process to see if changes could be made to speed up the photo process. I know many people in later corrals who had to make the choice between waiting for a character and potentially getting swept or miss the photo ops entirely!

On the theme of characters, I was also incredibly disappointed that none of the VIPs (Mickey and friends) were out during the weekend in their Run Disney tracksuits. Well, that's not entirely true - Mickey and Goofy did make one appearance over the weekend in Disneyland Park on Saturday, however, despite being in full view of paying guests this meet was restricted to only VIP invited guests and this was a bit of a kick in the face! Previously the characters have been out at the end of the races for quick selfies but they weren't at any of the races this year. To then see them so publicly but still be unable to get a photo was so disappointing. To me, there are two options for how they could be used in 2019, either they could attend the pasta party and have photos at the table like in the character restaurants, or after the races where the finisher boards are in fantasia gardens there could be one character at each so you could pick who to have your finisher photo with.

Finally, the expo was a huge letdown. Honestly, it has never been great but this year felt even more empty! I have never been to the Run Disney races in the US but I have seen photos of their expo and I find it so sad to see ours in comparison. This should be a runners shopping dream, with stalls selling all sorts of equipment, clothing and supplements such as gels etc. This would not only be a huge source of income for the event, but it would also make me want to visit the expo and spend more time there rather than the current get in, get out scenario I find myself in each year. The range of merchandise being sold by Disney is also poor at these events. I tend to buy the race pins each year, and also the half marathon "I did it" T-shirt, but there really is very little else that makes me want to part with my cash. In the US you can pick up magnets, glasses, tumblers a huge range of clothing and other collectables. I really think the merchandise would sell if only a little more was available.

Overall I had a great time this year, I will be covering each race in more detail soon but for now I just wanted to give an overview of my thoughts, I really hope the things I have highlighted here will be taken into consideration, and hopefully some changes for 2019 will come about as a result.

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!

Well, I didn't expect to be writing this today! It's currently Thursday June 28th and Disneyland Paris have just released the first images of this year's run Disney medals. For those of you who aren't in the know about these things, run Disney is a series of race weekends held across the different Disney parks, they encourage participants of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities to get involved and get moving, the reward? Incredible Disney medals and character meets along the route to keep you going.

Now if you follow this blog, you'll probably know that I am a huge advocate for run Disney! I love everything the event promotes, I am proud to say that I have participated in and completed every eligible race since the event came to Paris in 2016 (believe me, I'd run the kids race too if they let me) and I'm signed up for all 3 races again this year.

So if you're not up to date, here are the main things you need to know so far. The magical run weekend takes place in Disneyland Paris from September 20th to September 24th inclusive. The weekend includes an Expo which runs in one of the event tents in the Disney village, this is where runners can collect their bibs and t-shirts etc, this is also where run Disney specific merchandise is sold, and the venue is also used to host a number of talks and demos over the weekend starting from Thursday afternoon.

The first race of the weekend is the 5Km which is held on Friday evening at 8pm, this race is entirely in the Studios park and anyone who is aged 5 or older on the day of the race can enter. This year the theme for the 5 KM is Marvel and the medal features Thanos and the infinity stones, this is the 2nd year that the 5 KM medals have been metal, having previously been rubber. I do like this design, I think it was the best choice for the chosen theme, however, my favourite 5 KM medal so far is the Ratatouille one from 2016.



The next race is the 10 KM, this is held on Saturday morning at 7 am, the race takes place across both the Studios and Disneyland Park and is open to runners 14 or older on race day. This is only the second year a 10 KM race has been held and the theme this time is evil sidekicks. I'm actually really really excited for this theme and cannot wait to see which characters are out, the medal features Pain and Panic from Hercules and personally, this is one of my favourite medals out of the lot. I'm really really hoping this is an indication they are going to be out on the course and if they are you can bet I'll be stopping for them! Last years medal was the 3 fairies from sleeping beauty, and right now, I couldn't choose a favourite between the two.



The kid's races are next, these are also held on Saturday, but start a fair bit later at 11am, and are held around Lake Disney. I really love the kids races, they are open to children aged 1-12 on race day, with different distances for each age group, I think it's super cute to see all the little ones in their costumes and I love that Disney is promoting fitness and a healthy lifestyle in kids of such a young age. The medals for the children's races are now the only run Disney medals to still be rubber, and they come in some of the most colourful and fun designs, truth be told I'm slightly jealous of this years and wish I could get one for myself. The medal is the same across all distances, and this is especially nice if you have more than 1 child and your children are running in different age categories, no arguments if they're all the same! This year's design features our favourite blue troublemaker, Stitch!



The final race is the half marathon, which is held on Sunday at 7 am, the route covers both parks as well as some of Val d'Europe and is open to runners aged 18 or over on the day of the race. This year the theme is villains, again a theme I am excited for as I know there are plenty of villains who don't appear over the Halloween season that could well come out to spook runners! The half marathon medal is slightly different in that the main mould stays the same each year, usually having a slight facelift or colour change, this means it does not represent the theme of the race. I know for some this will be a real disappointment, especially if villains are your thing, but actually, I really love the mould, I also have a real soft spot for Mickey's Sorcerer's Apprentice outfit, so this medal gets joint-favourite for me!



Now I'm probably going to confuse matters here because there are still three more medals to show you. You see although there are only 4 different race categories over the weekend, there are actually up to 7 different medals to collect, the other three all represent various challenges. Challenges require participants to take part in a series of pre-defined races in order to bag themselves some extra bling on top of increased bragging rights. Two of these are specific to the Paris events, the 31 and 36 KM challenges are awarded to anyone who completes either the 10 km and half marathon, or the 5 KM, 10 KM and Half marathon respectively. The final challenge is the Castle to Chateau which requires runners to complete a half marathon both in Paris and in Florida (there are currently no races scheduled in California at this time) in the same calendar year.

The Castle to Chateau medal is similar to the half marathon one, in that the design doesn't change much year on year, regardless I personally think owning one is such a huge achievement that I would be honoured to collect one each year even with an unchanged design. The 31 KM challenge is new for this year and the medal features a portrait of Maleficent in her human form, she is probably up there as one of my favourite villains, and I guess with Paris' castle being from Sleeping Beauty it does make sense that she would feature, but personally I was hoping for a more obscure villain in the hope that this would indicate who would be on the course. The 36 KM medal is also Maleficent but this time in her dragon form, I think I prefer this one, but at this point, it's a little bit too much Maleficent for me and I would happily have traded one for another villain to be represented.



So that's a rundown of the 2018 medals for the Magical Run weekend at Disneyland Paris, what do you think and which is your favourite? Drop me a comment below! If you'd like to know more about the events you can check out the Magical Run website, or you can find all my previous run Disney posts in one handy link. Maybe I'll see you at the start line?

Finally, thank you to @Ed92 on twitter for allowing me to use their close up images of the medals! 

Hoodsie xx

Hey pals!

Wow OK, so this is probably going to be a tough one for me to write, but at the same time, I felt compelled to say something, I'm not sure I have the right words to tackle this delicate subject, and I must stress that anything here is solely my own opinion from the news stories I've seen online.

So where do I start? If somehow you've been living under a Disney free rock for the last few days you may be confused as to what delicate subject I'm about to stick my foot in like a clumsy elephant, so just to clarify, reports have surfaced this week originating from the Hollywood Reporter from a leaked memo to Disney staff from the Chief creative officer of Disney's animation division and Pixar co-founder John Lassester, in this memo he announced that he is taking a 6 month sabbatical after becoming aware that some of his staff may feel disrespected or uncomfortable following some missteps by Mr Lasseter himself.

He later goes on to apologize if they feel he had over stepped the line through unwanted hugs or other gestures, and insures it was never his intent to cross anyone's personal boundaries. Disney haven't as yet said a huge amount on the issue, other than their acceptance of the apology and their support for John going forward.

First of all for me John Lasseter has by my hero for probably, well the best part of my life, as I've touched on before Disney has always played some role in my life, but Pixar was what really ignited my passion, Toy Story and Cars are probably 2 of my favouirte film series of all time and I have always admired the work that Pixar have created, as well as the story of how they came to be, even when things were stacked up against them. So this news comes as not only a huge shock to me, it also feels like such a disappointment, that something I am so emotionally invested in, could suddenly feel so dirtied by these allegations.

Honestly right now I still don't know what to make of it, he's obviously made a statement himself where he admits to doing things wrong, but the actual facts of what he's admitting to are scarce, reports go from overly long hugs, which could be deemed inappropriate but hey they're not the end of the world, to allegations of groping, which of course is totally unacceptable. So what do I believe? Well that's a toughy, I desperately want to believe he's a good guy who perhaps likes to hug a little too long and is a bit over friendly all in an innocent way. But I fear that's not the case, a six month sabbatical for some longer than comfortable hugs does seem like cracking a nut with a sledge hammer no? And I have no reason to disbelieve anyone who has spoken out against him.

So do I think John will ever come back to Pixar/Disney? I desperately hope so, but only if the "Missteps" mentioned in his memo turn out not to be the serious things he's being accused of, no matter how great the artist he is, I don't think welcoming him back to that position of power with open arms would be the right move.

And whats next for Disney's Animation Division? Honestly I'm not worried, sure short term the effects of this could effect Disney negatively, financially and in terms of shares if nothing else, but John isn't the only name that's responsible for the successes at Pixar and Disney over the last few years and I'm confident the studio can continue to excel without John at the helm if his actions are proved to have been inappropriate.

Coco has arrived in the US and most of Europe and is already doing well, Lee Unkrich has the lead directing credit and also a writing credit for the film, he's also credited on other success films including Toy Story 3, Monsters Inc, Toy story 4 and Finding Nemo to name a few, He is a huge up and coming name at Pixar and I'd love to see him progress to take on John's role when the time comes.

On the Disney animation side, Ron Clements who wrote and directed Last years box office hit Moana, also has credits for other Disney hits including princess and the frog, Hercules Aladdin and the Little Mermaid. this leaves me confident that there's plenty still to celebrate in Disney's Animation Division, and if we cut John Lasseter from the picture, it's still OK to enjoy Pixar and Disney animated films, and praise the many other individuals who have put so much into bringing these stories to life and to the silver screen.

So John, you may have let me down, though I'll always cherish the work you did and the environment and company you introduced me to, I'll always be thankful Pixar came to be and for the films and characters it's given me, but I think more than ever what you've made me realize is how important it is to speak out when something isn't right regardless of how big the name is, your story needs to be heard not just for yourself but for anyone else going through the same who can't speak out for themselves.

What are your thoughts? What do you believe really happened, do you think we'll ever find out for sure, and will you continue to support Pixar and Disney?

Hoodsie xx

Hi Guys,

Here's one that's basically written about you guys for you guys, so I really hope you enjoy it, and I also hope I don't offend anyone! (Hey it happens some times, the written word can be difficult)

The Disney community is something that's become such a huge part of my life in the last 12 months especially, and it means different things to different people, recently it's been getting some pretty negative press, so I thought I'd try and put my opinions on the matter into some sort of coherent order.

Community is defined as "A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common." and also "The condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common" , simply put, we all like Disney, or theme parks, or possibly a combination of the two, and this has brought us together.

"It was all started by a mouse"

Except, in my case, it was all started by a little bear called Duffy, that's when I really became involved in things, where this blog and my twitter account were born from. Suddenly I realised there were a whole bunch of other people who Loved Disney, and Disneyland Paris the way I did, and even better they all wanted to talk about it, share experiences and pictures and videos! It was perfect.



"You've got a friend in me"

When I started this blog, and made my twitter, and gradually found my feet and started talking to some of the most wonderful people, I never honestly thought i'd end up meeting them in real life, let alone building some of the friendships I have. I guess that was what surprised me most, I think I started tweeting from my Disney account in Late march, after an amazing day trip to DLP when I finally brought Duffy home. as my confidence grew I started talking to more people, getting involved with the Dedicated to DLP podcast, and eventually Periscope too, talking to these people, though they were just pictures on a screen, became something that made me increasingly happier, it gave me a sense of belonging and acceptance. then in August it was finally time to start meeting people away from the screens.



Disney meet ups started to become a more regular occurrence across the community, a way to get out from behind the screen and meet people who live close (ish) to you and get to know them beyond the realms of twitter. Before Long my friend Brian decided it was time to bring a Disney meet to the southwest, and in August 2016 we all met up for the first Disney Southwest MU in Bristol, we shopped, had lunch, and even squeezed in a round of adventure golf! Though I was incredibly nervous to begin with, by the end of the day I knew I'd made some really good friends, I've been to a few south west meets, and even some in London since, I'd love to make it to Manchester one time to see some of my northern friends, but it's a rather long day out so we'll see.


"Ohana means family"

The real turning point though, was my Halloween trip to Disneyland Paris, affectionately named DLP Boo. What started as a trip to the Halloween soiree with a few friends, ended up as a chance to meet so many people from twitter that I'd been speaking to for months, and although I was super super nervous, it was actually the best trip with some of the most memorable moments!



Meeting friends from online in real life is always a bit scary, but when you're all brought together by your love of Disney, and you meet at a Disney park, suddenly everything seems a whole bunch easier. Maybe it's because it's such a happy place, and somewhere I feel a bit more comfortable to be "me", no one judges me for having my Duffy bear, I can dress as Disney as possible and I don't look out of place. And there's never a shortage of things to talk about!

Getting to meet so many friends in one holiday was such an incredible moment, and now although I don't see some of them often, I love to watch their other trips through photos, blogs and vlogs they share online, and seeing them so happy makes me happy too.


Not only that, but there are a few people I've grown incredibly close to following time spent together in the parks, what started as online friendship, has become real friendship, people I see regularly, that I can talk to daily about literally anything. Those people know who they are, and I hope they know just how much I appreciate them, they really do feel more like family than friends!



"Ladies do not start fights, but they can finish them"

Of course, like any other group be that a friendship group, a family or an online community, not everyone is always going to agree with everyone else. Unfortunately recently there have been a few examples of this, and I guess in part this is what prompted me to write this post.

When you feel so much passion about any one subject, it is so easy to want to defend your opinion, and unfortunately this some times comes at the expense of other peoples feelings. I truly believe that 99.9% of the time this isn't an intentional consequence, or certainly not from the people I know in the Disney Community.

Sometimes though, in these events it's easy to get caught up in the moment and miss out on all the really wonderful things people are doing for each other, and I can truly say I've seen and experienced far more of these moments than the bad ones. I've been offered places to stay on multiple occasions, making trips and meet ups possible, I've seen people come together to help get limited edition merchandise from the parks, help with practical day to day things at home, offer a supportive ear to people when they're going through tough times.

I think it's important to look for these moments, recognise them and share them, at the end of the day, that's a far more accurate of the community I joined all that time ago, a community I am a proud part of, and a community that's given me so much when I've been to proud to admit I needed it.

So to every single one of you, who has made me feel so welcome and wanted, thank you.

Hoodsie xxx