Hi Guys!

Sorry for the longer than planned break! After spending 6 magical days in Disneyland Paris, it's taken a little longer than normal to get back into the swing of things, but I'm back now and I have so much 25th anniversary stuff to share with you all!

The whole six days is a huge blur of magic and happiness so rather than a day by day trip report I'd do things a little differently this time and give you some different trip reports. So this is the first, and it's a run down of the characters I had meets with during my week celebrating DLP25, I hope you enjoy it!



Tuesday March 11th

Although I actually arrived in the parks on the Monday, it was quite late when i got there and the majority of characters had finished for the day, so I settled for parade and then upgraded my annual pass which also allowed me to collect my new photo pass! So Tuesday was my first real opportunity to meet some characters, I got up early, had a quick breakfast then packed as many Duffy costumes into my bag as I could and headed into the parks.

Our first meet of the trip was Belle, in her new home at the Art of Animation in the Studios park. We arrived around 10 am and waited about an hour for our turn, when we had finished the queue looked to be at least 50% longer than it was when we joined, so I would definitely advise getting to this one earlier rather than later. For the occasion Duffy was wearing his Beast costume from build a bear which we featured in our March Haul and the interaction we got from this was amazing and the photos are some of my favourite.


As we were already in the studios, it seemed like a good opportunity to head over to the Spider-man meet, which meant another costume change for Duffy! Due to its location in the park the Spider-man meet is often quite quiet, which is a real shame as his interaction was spot on, he's really in character, and chatty and it's a really fun meet to do, the queue when we got there was only 20 mins, so once Deandre and Sophie joined us we headed in and it was our turn really quickly! Both of these meets had photo pass photographers present, so it was great to be able to use my new photo pass that came with my annual pass straight away, and we got some really lovely pictures.



Our next character meet wasn't until after lunch time when we headed over to Frontier land to see Jessie, which yes you guessed it, meant another costume for Duffy bear, spoilt thing! Jessie tends to take over the afternoon slot at Woody's meet outside cowboy cookout, so after a spot of lunch (which was really good!) we headed over to meet her, being the huge Toy Story fan I am i came prepared with my Jessie Ears, Jessie top, and a woody costume for Duffy. Unfortunately Jessie didn't have a photo pass photographer with her, but with the help of a few friends and some helpful cast members we still got some lovely photos to remember the moment. Jessie was really interactive and loved that I was bounding as her, she loved my custom ears and made such a fuss, and even better when we went for a group photo she spotted my buzz backpack, picked it up and put it on! We had such a lovely time with her and didn't feel rushed at all, I would recommend a visit to her 100%.


Our final meet of Tuesday was in the Princess Pavilion in Fantasyland where Rapunzel had the afternoon slot, as I was with Kelly and the two Sophie's who are all fans, and as she's not normally in the pavilion we knew it was an opportunity we had to take, somehow we persuaded David to join us and off we went, we knew it was going to be a long wait, as we walked in they were changing the wait time from 90 mins to 2 hours! but we knew it would be worth it and we'd all be annoyed if we missed her, so we decided to give it our best shot. What we weren't prepared for however was the photo pass issues which caused a huge delay, if you've never been inside the princess pavilion, i'll warn you the queue really isn't very interesting and gets pretty old pretty quickly, so although unavoidable the delay was very unwelcome at this point! Eventually they got things working and we were able to meet our princess. She was brilliant and I soon forgot about the boredom of waiting so long to meet her. Again we got some lovely photos and I think some of the girls even got theirs printed, she really took so much time with all of us, doing fun poses and being super chatty, a wonderful last meet of a busy day!



Wednesday April 12th 

Grand celebration day and a super early start saw us queuing for security at around 6:30am, the atmosphere was electric and I still don't think anyone knew quite what to expect. I'll probably do some sort of write up on the grand celebration later, but for now lets focus on characters, the line up for the 12th was actually pretty good, though it included a lot of common characters, Donald Daisy Mickey Minnie etc they all had special outfits for the day which made it worth meeting them again. Unfortunately the park was just so busy difficult choices had to be made.

I only actually did one character meet on the 12th, I do regret not getting over to the Max meet and just doing the wait, but I used the time to get a dated 25th T-shirt and some lunch!

The one meet I did manage to do was Duffy and Shellie May in their special outfits, and I'm sure this comes as no surprise to anyone! As soon as I saw them in the program I knew that had to be my priority for the day, I actually missed the first set which ended up being a blessing in disguise as they met separately to begin with. Once the first set had finished I hung around and watched the cavalcade and then go straight in the queue to wait for their second set, and watched Stars on Parade from the queue. I think I waited about 4 hours in total but my patience was rewarded when for the second set both bears were meeting together. This is my dream meet, to have both bears together in special costumes, I had both Duffy and Shellie with me too dressed in their finest, it was the perfect way to remember the day and I loved the photo so much I even paid to have it printed and put in a 25th frame to take home.



So that's the first half of my trip covered, as this was longer than planned I'll follow up with the second half shortly, hope you've enjoyed it so far.

Chat soon,

Hoodsie xx

Hey Guys,

This could really be a make or break post for me I guess, I've seen a few other people post theirs including Sarah at Belle's Moments  and Kez at What would Dory Do, the basic idea is to admit to a few things that maybe you've been keeping secret for a while about your Disney likes and dislikes. Fingers crossed this won't offend anyone too much!

1. The post-renaissance era - I haven't actually seen a whole bunch of the films in this era, I've seen Treasure planet, Lilo and stitch, Chicken little, meet the Robinsons and Bolt, and to be honest, the only ones I revisit are Lilo and Stitch and Bolt. I'm actually still missing a few from the Renaissance era too ... oops ?


2.Pixar over classics - Yep sorry guys, I really do prefer the Pixar films, and also the newer computer animated films over the traditional hand drawn classics. Don't get me wrong, I still love and cherish many of the classic films but Pixar just connects with me so much more.


3.Disneyland vs Walt Disney World - I don't think this is the best kept secret of all time, but my desire to visit Disneyland far outweighs that of Walt Disney world, is it because it's Walt's park? Is it because it's smaller and feels more familiar to DLP? Is it because it has Cars land? Probably yes to all of those, all I know is I want it bad, though I'm fairly certain I'll end up going to WDW first!


4. I don't really watch Disney vlogs - I guess this is as much a general confession as a Disney one, but i find watching Disney vlogs can be really hard going, the longer they are the less chance I'll make it through the whole thing, it's not that I don't appreciate all the work you've put into it, because I know how tough it is, but I've walked round fantasy land and taken in the sights myself, show me something new or exciting! Shorter vlogs with more action and less filler are a winner for me!



5.Forest of Enchantment - I'm afraid it's a no from me. I don't know what it was about this show, but it annoyed me more than it ticked boxes, It's such a shame because individually I like all the films and songs it represents, but something about the way it was put together didn't sit right with me, I know it was hugely popular and I'm sure it will be a full house again when it returns in Summer, maybe I'll give it a second try?


So there's my Disney confessions, hope I don't lose too many friends? What about you guys, confession is open, feel free to share your Disney sins in the comments!

Hoodsie xx

Well guys it's that time again, and this list should hopefully be a little shorter than last months as I've been saving for my DLP trip in just a few weeks time, however this also means there's some great goodies in preparation for my trip! Lets take a look what i shouldn't have spent my money on in march =)

Pins

One of those Disney collections that I can't really explain why I need, but also can't seem to stop buying! There's been a few additions this month, the first is a Lightning McQueen pin, this was actually part of a triple pack from the Disney store to celebrate their 30th anniversary, the 3 pack was £14.99 and luckily my lovely friend Soph picked the set including lightning up but was happy to part with him as she knew I was a cars super fan!


I then picked up these two beautiful London pins from the Disney store on Oxford street, I had never really visited London before becoming part of the Disney community, but it's quickly become a huge part of my life, these pins are a really nice reminder for me of the incredible friends I've made recently and all the London adventures we've been on. The one featuring Big Ben was £9.00 and the postage stamp style on was £9.99 and comes with an adorable matching post card, but let's be honest it's far too lovely to actually post to someone!


Primark

I've also been able to pick up a few Disney goodies from Primark this month, and again this is entirely down to Sophie who has been so generous and helpful given the two stores in my area are relatively small and are always the last to get stock of anything I want!

The first is the much sought after Chip purse, this little guy retails for £4.00 in store but you'll be lucky to get your hands on him as he's literally flying off the shelves as soon as he hits them, looks like you won't be sleeping in the cupboard much longer chip! Following the release of the live action Beauty and the Beast remake, any merchandise related to it has been super popular, and although it's not my favourite Disney film, I couldn't resist how cute this little guy was and as I was able to pick him up for retail price it was a bargain addition to my collection.


The other awesome item Soph was able to grab for me was this awesome jungle book duvet cover set which I had been lusting after. Growing up jungle book was a film I watched over and over again its a classic and the songs are so catchy, I'd seen this duvet cover set on Facebook but had checked both my local Primark stores a few times with no luck! After missing out on the Christmas set I was determined to get hold of this set so when Soph said she was able to grab it for me i was over the moon! Can't wait too get it on my bed and get all snuggled up under it. The double duvet set is £18 in store, and i was able to pick up a similar "jungle green" fitted sheet in Wilkinsons for £8 and pillow cases for £2, bargain!


Movies

Who doesn't like a movie night? March has seen me add 2 new Disney films to my ever growing library, I picked up 2 great live action remakes in Jungle book and Pete's Dragon, they were £9.99 or 2 for £15 in HMV which seems like too good a bargain to pass up. Although I didn't think a huge amount of the Jungle book remake when I saw it in the cinema, I really wanted to give it a second chance, getting it for such a great price on Blu ray seemed like too good an option to miss, hopefully I'll get a few hours spare to settle down and watch it this week and maybe it will change my opinion on things?


Build a Bear

Of course no month is complete without two spoilt bears, and once again Duffy and Shellie-May were exactly that during march. First our lovely new Sophie friend (it's a popular name and it would appear we're collecting Sophies) answered our desperate plea to get help finding the Beast costume, which she refused to take any money for and sent to Duffy with this adorable rose accessory, in store the main costume is £15 and the rose is £3.50, so again Sophie, thank you so so much for the gift!


The other item we picked up was this summer time Olaf shirt and hat set for £10 which I had been looking at for quite some time, I can't get over how cute it is and can't wait to take some summer themed snaps of Duffy in it! Again this is from build a bear workshop.


Shop small business

The final section of this months write up is dedicated to small businesses that I've purchased from this month, and this is something I am so excited to share with you all. Since becoming part of the twitter community, small businesses and sites like Etsy have become a huge part of my shopping habits, not only is it a great way to get cute and unique items, but it's supporting someones dream, and when you think about it, isn't that just the most lovely thing to do?

The first Small business I bought from in March is It's Lizi this etsy store sells some awesome Disney artwork, and her underground prints collection is my favourite, you can buy the prints individually for £1.35 each or you can save some money by picking up a lucky dip multi pack like I did, what's even better is if you've made a past order, Lizi will try to avoid sending you duplicates of prints you've already bought! That's the kind of customer service I'm looking for! A pack of 5 prints is £6.00 or 10 is £10.80, they look amazing the quality is great and its such a fun way to display some of your favourite locations.


The next store i bought from is The Happiest Fitness Co, ran by the lovely Lottie they specialize in gym wear with a Disney twist and recently released this amazing Zootropolis themed tee! I went for a mens small as I prefer mens fit tees and I am super happy with the quality and fit, it's a new gym favourite for sure! this was £12.50 and is still available to order.


The final small business I bought from this month was Ears Ever After I was looking for something cute for my anniversary trip coming up and fancied something with a lot of sparkle! These were just perfect, they're customisable so you can pick your main ear colour separate to the bow colour and there are so many great combinations to pick from, to match the 25th colour scheme I went for blue and silver. They arrived super quick and were exactly what I was looking for and even better they're really comfortable which the official park eats aren't always! Hoping these will help get me some great character interaction and even better photos. These ears were £25 plus postage which is a really good price! Can't wait to get them on in the park!



So I think that covers everything I shouldn't have been spending my money on during march, what did you guys get? Did anyone else manage to get a chip purse or mug? Drop me a comment I'd love to chat!

Hoodsie xx

Hey Guys,

Just like that March is already over, honestly I don't know where the days are going, it really doesn't seem that long ago that I was writing up my February update and now I'm having to remember what I've been doing for the whole of March!

Eat sleep run repeat.

That has pretty much been the mantra for March, and though it hasn't always gone to plan, it's felt good to get out there regularly and feel like i'm making positive progress. I attended 3 Park runs in March, though i was only able to finish 2, sometimes it's important to listen to what your body is telling you and know the difference between something just being difficult, and being in pain because you're about to injure yourself. It took a long time to learn this one, and though I still tend to feel disappointed when i have to pull up in the middle of a run, or leave the gym half way through a session, I'd rather that than the pain of an injury and the lost training time!


So how is park run going? Pretty well actually, the more I stick with it the easier it's getting, and it actually feels really good to know by 10 am on a Saturday, you've already got up and done something good for yourself. Of the two weeks I was able to attend and finish I recorded times of 33:29 (04/03) and 31:23 (25/03) it's still a little distance from my PB and from where I'd like to be, but even in a month you can see the difference training has made! it's really encouraging and keeps me motivated.

Outside of park run I've been running near my house a couple of times a week, it's a shorter run, just under 3km but it's enough to keep me going between park runs and I'm hoping building up the shorter runs will help me increase my fitness levels, and hopefully reduce my 5km times! I tend to run once a week with my friend Jess, and once on my own, and it really helps keep me motivated and also keep a good balance. My 3km time has come down from 19:45 to 18:40, again it's so great to see improvement there too.


Lets get down to business!

Of course, running is only half the battle, as well as pounding the pavement I've been trying to get in the gym more, not only do I need to get my moneys worth from my gym membership, it's important for me to build muscle to help me burn fat faster and also allow my body to become stronger and build my fitness levels.


The gym is going really well currently, and that's down to my lovely personal trainer Claire, she knows how to wind me right up at the best of times, but she's also a huge driving force when I lack confidence and focus.


March saw me push leg days to a whole new level, including 80Kg Calf raises and 100kg leg presses, and boy have I felt the burn! Towards the end of the month I've had a focus on core and upper body strength and I hope to start to see an improvement in these areas during April!

Just keep swimming.

Moving into April more than anything I'm hoping just to stay on top of things and keep moving in the right direction, as I have a 6 day trip to DLP this month for the 25th celebrations I'm losing a bit of training time, and probably not eating so well while im there! So staying on track seems like the best plan, hopefully we'll get news of Run DLP bibs and I'll have something exciting to share.

Hoodsie xx

Hey Guys! I saw a few people doing this on twitter recently, and it looked super fun, but I'm pretty rubbish at posting everyday, and also super impatient waiting for each day, so I figured I'm almost an adult, I make my own bed time, and if I want to do it as one blog post, I'll do it as one blog post.

So here it is, the Disney Challenge 30 questions about Disney characters, films and parks, hopefully you'll get to know me better and not get too angry at my answers!

1. Your Favourite Character -  I'm going to say Peter Pan. It's a real tough call, but that lost boy will always be special to me.


2. Your Favourite Princess - Again super tough, I really adore Aurora, but I'm also pretty in love with Anna. Can I pick both? If not I'll take Aurora =)


3. Your Favourite Heroine - Jessie. Jessie never gives up Jessie finds a way! I'm a huge toy story fan and Jessie is a big part of that for me.


4. Your Favourite Prince - This is a hard one as none of the princes really resonate with me,
   if Kristoff was a prince it would be easy but I'm going to have to say Naveen for now, I love the journey his character goes on throughout the film to learn about himself and every time I've met him he's been wonderful!


5. Your Favourite Hero - Who put the glad in gladiator? Yep you guessed it Hercules! He goes through a really tough side but he keeps pushing and comes out of it the other side, though I wish I had my own hero trainer like phil!


6. Your Favourite Animal - Oooh that's a toughy! So many cute friends how do you pick? I must say I have a huge soft spot for Lady from Lady and the tramp, so i guess we'll go for her.


7. Your Favourite Sidekick - Lets be honest, who doesn't want a friend like Mater? He's funny, he's caring and he can teach you to tip tractors and drive backwards!


8. Your Favourite Villain - Jafar. I don't even really know why he's just always been my favourite, I even have a plush doll of him, I was so happy when i got to meet him on my first DLP trip.


9. Your Favourite Original Character - Donald Duck! I love how angry he is, I love that he doesn't need to wear pants and that's ok with everyone. I think he's super cute and I love going to meet him in the park, chances are if I'm not on Dumbo, Buzz or Peter Pan's flight during EMH it's because I'm waiting to meet this ducky!


10. Your Favourite Song - What? I'm only allowed to pick one?! This is an outrage quite frankly. Anyone who's been in a car with me will know no journey is complete without a Disney sing along, so the thought of picking just one track is mind blowing. For now I'll go with "wanna be like you" from the Jungle book, but I'll probably change my mind by the time I've published this!


11. Your Favourite Love Song - Eww mushy! jokes aside though, "I see the light" from Tangled is utterly beautiful!


12. Your Favourite Villain Song - First of all, let it be said that more villains should sing. There's nothing more terrifying than a well constructed musical number after all, Could I have a loop hole and pick Cruela De Vil, I mean it's a song about her even if she doesn't technically sing it!


13. Your Least Favourite Song - This ones not quite as tough as picking a favourite, which is a relief as other wise I'd never get this finished, must say although I adore the film I'm no fan of the Siamese Cat song from Lady and the Tramp. Sorry=(


14. Your Favourite Kiss - Does Lady and Tramp's spaghetti kiss count?! Because that's the one I pick. Puppies are just too cute!


15. The First Movie You Saw - Now I'm gunna answer this one differently and go for first movie I saw in the cinema, as I'm sure I must have watched others at home first but I'm not sure which one I would have seen first. However i remember going to the cinema to watch the Live action 101 Dalmatians which must have been about 1997 so would say that must be one of the first.


16. Your Favourite Classic - Peter pan, I honestly don't think I could get bored of this film, as much as I love Peter and the lost boys I love Hook and Smee, I love the songs, the idea of Neverland, there's really not much bad to say about this film!


17. Your Least favourite Classic - Snow white. Sorry. I just don't get it. I know without snow I wouldn't have all the films I do love so very much, but that's not enough to make me like it I'm afraid, her voice annoys me, her character annoys me. I just don't like it. Not one
    bit.


18. Your Favourite Pixar Film - Cars. Without a shadow of a doubt that film is everything to
    me, and I can pretty much quote every single word. I love the setting, the characters the songs the animation. I just love it.


19. Your Least favourite Pixar Film - Now this was tough, rather than it being a film I don't like it had to just come down to the one I love the least, come on now, if you've followed my blog you'll know by now Pixar is my thing so picking one I don't like is super tough. I decided to go for Good Dinosaur, though it's beautifully animated, and I love Arlo dearly, the story just isn't quite strong enough for me!


20. Favourite Sequel - Toy Story 2, the film that gave me Jessie, how can anything else compare?


21. An Overrated Movie - Lion king. I'm so sorry Steph.


22. An Underrated Movie - Oliver and company!


23. A Film that makes you Laugh - Monsters Inc, Mike and Sulley's friendship is amazing!


24. A Film that makes you cry - Dumbo, every single time. When they lock mrs Jumbo up and Dumbo goes to visit. Heartbreaking!


25. Your favourite scene from your favourite movie - When Sally and Lightning go for a drive in Cars and sally tells lightning how the town used to be before they built the interstate that bypassed radiator springs!


26. Saddest death - Has to be Ray in princess and the frog, i was so unexpectedly attached to that little guy!


27. Your favourite quote - "I create feelings in others they themselves don't understand" - Lightning McQueen


28. Your favourite theme park - As I've only visited Disneyland Paris, it would have to be that one. 


29. Your favourite theme park attraction - Buzz Lightyear lazer blast - its a staple of every trip I don't know what I'd do if it was down for a whole trip!


30. Your favourite theme park show - Though I'm learning to love Mickey and the magician more with each viewing, right now its animagique that holds my heart, I wish I could watch it one last time!

So that's a wrap, 30 grueling questions about my Disney likes and dislikes, hopefully I haven't offended you all too much! If you fancy doing this challenge yourself either on Twitter, YouTube or on your blog, please tag me I'd love to compare answers!

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!

So as a follow on from my list of 5 characters that are in DLP that I'd like to meet, it seemed logical to also look at characters who aren't in DLP but are available to meet in other parks. I know the chances of us getting them for the 25th year as low, but maybe something's already in the works, all you need is a little faith, trust and pixie dust right? =)

5.Sorcerer Mickey - Now please don't be fooled by the fact Mickey's taken 5th position, this is something I want for DLP more than you know, but realistically, despite everything that makes this costume wonderful, it is still the same Mickey I've met in all his other costumes. This would be so easy for DLP to pull off, and could easily go into the Meet Mickey building in fantasy land, it's my favourite ever Mickey costume, and there's so much merchandise in the parks already featuring this costume it seems criminal we don't have it =(



4. Anna & Elsa and friends - Possibly contentious as they have done meets in the park previously, actually during my 2014 visit, which yes i do regret not waiting hours for! Frozen has been an undeniable success, and as sick of it as you may be I think we can all agree a proper meet and greet would be a far better asset to dlp than the "frozen royal welcome" we're currently being fobbed off with. Now I have seen casting calls for a Kristoff and I believe I read somewhere this was for both shows/parades and meets so I'm really hopeful we'll get something soon, it just seems such a shame when they've renovated parts of cottonwood creek to resemble Arendelle that we have no frozen presence to meet there! =(



3.Sadness and Joy - Lets face it, we all knew there would be a Pixar choice in here somewhere, Inside out was such a remarkable and emotional film which I love dearly, the characterswere so well thought out and I loved that in one way or another I could relate to all of them at some point during the film. So every time I see a photo of someone with sadness and joy, I get a little twinge of envy, they look like they must be so fun to meet, and with such contrasting personalities I'm sure this lends itself perfectly to great character interaction!



2. Baymax and friends - Seriously how squishy and soft and warm and adorable is Baymax? He's the personal health care companion you can't help but want to hug! Honestly I think this would be such a unique meet and I just know I'd get told off for squishing him too tight! As well as Baymax himself though, I'd really love the opportunity to get to meet the rest of the gang, Hiro, Wasabi, Honey Lemon Gogo and Fred. In particular Hiro and Honey Lemon are my favourites and I'd love to hang out with them. I also think the set up they have in WDW with the themed meet in Hiro's garage is awesome and makes for amazing photos. Seriously, the more I think about it, the more I need Baymax in my life.



1. Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps - This one is massively frustrating for me as I've seen pictures of them in the parks, and I know they've gone back now, I guess it was a hustle sweetheart ;). I desperately think they would be such a popular meet and it's such a huge shame we still don't have them in the parks. I spend a lot of time looking at forums and speaking to people who are new to DLP and a lot of them ask if there is any Zootropolis presence within the park. It's still a relatively new and current film and has been really popular so it disappoints me that Disney haven't picked up on that and made it possible to meet Nick and Judy. I can't even decide which one I want to meet most, they're both so soft and cute and are great characters. I think Judy would just edge it for me, but honestly I just want to snuggle their beautiful fluffy faces.



So that's my top 5, but what about you guys? Do you want to meet any of these characters or would you like us to borrow someone else? Please let me know tweet me or drop me a comment below, I'd love to chat!

Hoodsie xx



All pictures used taken from IMDB

It's a tale as old as time, but is everything what it seems?

As I'm writing this its March 17th 2017 and across the UK Disney fans and film fans are going in their masses to watch Disney's latest film offering, a live action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

Now I don't need to go into huge details about the plot as I'm pretty sure if you've stumbled across this corner of the internet, you've seen the original, but just to recap, thankless ungrateful rude prince gets cursed and turned into a beast, his servants are turned into household objects. He has an enchanted rose which is wilting and losing petals, when the last petal falls the prince will stay a beast forever, unless he can learn to love someone who loves him in return.

So I guess you're all asking whats different in this version, first we should note that Lumiere and the gang all have new looks and I'll be honest, Mrs Potts in particular still hasn't grown on me, I do think they fit their surroundings beautifully, but shes just creepy! However Lumiere and Cogsworth's looks have really grown on me and I loved how they looked in the film!



The soundtrack has some new songs too, now I must be in the minority here because I didn't listen to any of the sound track before I saw the film and I'm really glad I didn't now, the new tracks are brilliant and feel like they could be classics already, beast even gets a song of his own and it really helps to build his character and make him more likeable.

From the original soundtrack my favourite song and accompanying scene is probably be our guest, and I can honestly say the new version did not disappoint at all. It was every bit as much of a magnificent and magical spectacle as its animated counterpart. I honestly couldn't take my eyes off it, it was truly enchanting and a total highlight of the film for me.

Beast and Belle also have their own new looks, and I'm a huge fan of beast's new suit, it's really stylish and not over the top, it's probably my favourite costume of the film. I wasn't a fan of Belle's new village dress, but I did like her gold ball gown, she also has a wedding dress now, which is white with flowers, and though it's not something I would ever wear myself in a million years, it fitted the scene perfectly and look elegant and effortless, which lets be honest, is ultimate princess goals!



With live action remakes, I always worry about any plot changes they make, and my pet hate is unnecessary ones that don't add anything to the story (point in case, Maleficent, why is Aurora's dress gold now? It doesn't enhance the story in any way so why change it?) but I need not worry. Of course there have been some plot changes or additions, but I felt it was done well, and added to the existing story and characters beautifully. Especially in the case of Belle and Beast, in the earlier stages of their blossoming love, some additions to the plot bring them closer and really soften Beast's character to win the audience over.

The only plot change I felt a little disappointed with was LeFou's "gay moment", after all the hype from the media I guess I was expecting something a little more prominent than the literal fleeting moment we got, but most importantly, it was done tastefully and is a step in the right direction. I also like the extra attention to building LeFou's character throughout the film and giving him more substance than his animated namesake. Josh Gad played the role wonderfully, with a perfect mix of comedy and heart felt moments, though I must admit I couldn't help but think of Olaf when he spoke!

Over all, I really enjoyed this movie, I was really sceptical about Emma Watson taking on the role of Belle, and though I'm still not entirely sure she was the best choice for this role, she annoyed me a lot less than I thought she would, and I was really pleased with how well it worked, Dan Stevens as the beast was wonderful, the character was well played and really brought a lot of emotion to the film. Out of the whole cast I must say Luke Evans as Gaston was really a stand out for me, he was every bit the way I envision Gaston's character to be and was a pleasure to watch. I enjoyed the new musical numbers, and more than that I loved what they did with the original score.



If you are a fan of the original film I honestly believe you have nothing to worry about with this remake, it's a beautiful and respectful retelling of a story we know and love, the attention to detail with the castle and it's decor is phenomenal and I was really impressed with how well they recreated the scenes to replicate the animated ones so closely, the film really is a visual masterpiece.

And if you're not a huge Beauty and the Beast fan, who knows, maybe there's something there that wasn't there before?



Hoodsie xx



Photos taken from Disney's Beauty and the Beast site.

Hey guys!

So I guess the title on this one is pretty self explanatory really, as the official anniversary celebration inch ever closer I'm looking forward to trying to find new characters to meet, character interaction is one of my favourite things to do in the park, but even more so when it's a character I've not met before. So what better way to count down to the big day than a count down of 5 characters I would love to meet during DLP's 25th year?

Please note: I went for characters that I know are in and do come out in DLP already, lets not re-invent the wheel just yet!

5. Max Goof - Now this is probably one of the least likely ones for me to meet as he very rarely seems to be anywhere other than at an Inventions Brunch, and as they no longer announce the themes my chances of catching him there probably aren't great, having said that he has been spotted on a concept art for April 12th. I really love meeting goofy but find because he's so tall and I'm so little its super difficult to get a good picture, meeting max would be the perfect solution.



Photo Credit - Mad Madam Gaetane - Instagram - Blog 
4.Emile - It's no secret I'm a Pixar fan, and Ratatouille is no exception, I was lucky enough to meet Emile's brother Remy on a trip to DLP in 2012, but Emile continues to evade me unfortunately, having run the Ratatouille themed 5Km at DLP last September I was really hoping to finally get a pic with the little fuzz ball however the queues were insane and snaked right the way around place de Remy and out towards crush's coaster. Missed him again! Would love to see him come out around the 25th, and given they have a whole area of the studios dedicated to the film it seems silly not to have these two gorgeous brothers out more often, please!



Photo Credit - Fantillusion - Twitter - Youtube



3. Piget - As a child I loved Winnie the pooh, though when I say child, I was about 9 or 10 when my love was at it's peak, my dad would buy me all the VHS tapes as they got released and I would watch them over and over. Now Piglet isn't my favourite, honestly rabbit was, but I do appreciate how little he is and that's super cute. Out of the 100 acre wood crew that you can currently meet in the park Piglet is actually the only one I haven't been able to meet yet, I've had some brilliant interaction with him during Parades, but a picture with him would really be the icing on the cake! Rumours and photos have surfaced online recently indicating that the new character breakfast at Plaza gardens will be Pooh and friends so I'm really hoping this does turn out to be the case!



Photo credit - Mitchell Disney - Youtube - Twitter
2.Timon - Now this will probably come as a surprise to a lot of people because I'm really not the Lion king's biggest fan at all, however, other than Scar and Nala neither of which you can meet, Timon is probably one of my favourite characters from the film, he's funny he's sarcastic and basically he's adorable. I love seeing him on Magic on parade and he looks like he'd be really fun to meet and really soft to cuddle so what's not to like? The most frustrating part is that he always seems to be out the week after we get home, it's the worst possible luck. Hoping 2017 will be more successful for finding this little guy, if you have any tips please let me know!



Photo Credit - Fantillusion - Twitter - Youtube



1. Berlioz and Toulouse - Now I know what you're thinking, that's two characters not one this must be a top 6. And I guess yes technically you'd be right, but I don't think I've ever seen these kittens separated, so if I am lucky enough to find one, the chances are the other won't be far behind! Anyone who knows me well will know I really like cats, so the Aristocats is up there as one of my preferred Disney films. I've been lucky enough to meet Marie already and she was great, so finding her elusive brothers would be the best experience. Unfortunately they don't come out very often, and now that invention brunch themes are no longer announced in advance, finding these guys is going to be tough, but I know if i ever do catch them it will be totally worth it! The kittens are adorable, playful and judging by Marie some of the softest characters you'll ever meet, which is basically my idea of a dream meet, plus they're kittens!



Photo Credit - Mad Madam Gaetane - Instagram - Blog 



So that's my realistic top 5, what about you guys? Have you met any of these characters, are there any that come out in DLP that you've always missed and are trying to find this year? Drop me a comment I'd love to chat!

Hoodsie xxx