Hey guys!

If you know me well, or are a regular visitor to this blog, you'll know I'm a huge character fan! I mean I love everything about Disneyland Paris, but for me the characters, and more recently the entertainment, is what really sets Disney apart from other theme parks.

So for me when I'm in the parks I am constantly looking for ways to maximise how many characters I can meet, and one of these ways has become an integral part of my trips that I'd like to share with you all, and that is character dining.

This is something I have written about before, previously I gave my thoughts on the character breakfast currently available at Plaza Gardens. That was just after my trip in April 2017, and yet this is still one of my most read posts, and hopefully something that is proving useful to people trying to decide what experiences to spend their money on! So today I have decided to cover another character dining option, Inventions.

Inventions is a buffet restaurant located on the second floor of the iconic Disneyland Hotel. At the time of writing this review it is open for both Lunch and Dinner and does not require you to be a hotel guest or have a current park ticket. Lunch is served from 12:30 - 3 and the Dinner service is from 6 - 10:30 pm, it is priced at €35.00 for children aged 3-11, €65.00 for adults age 12 and up, and finally children under 3 eat for free!



The buffet on offer is, in my opinion, really good. There is plenty there, the range is good and in my experience dishes are replenished quickly throughout the service hours. In the times I have visited Inventions I can honestly say I've never gone hungry, and personally I think of myself as not having the most adventurous pallet, Nuggets and Pizza are just fine for me thank you. There is a good selection of cold meats, cheeses, a large selection of sea food which is always popular, and plenty of vegetarian choices, my personal favourites include the pasta and meatballs and the cod and chicken nuggets.

I have been lucky enough to have had dinner in inventions a few times now since 2016 and it's always been a really enjoyable experience. Part of what keeps me coming back again is that you never know exactly which characters you are going to see on any given night, this really helps to keep the experience fresh as there are so many that could make an appearance. So far I think I have seen; Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Pluto, Goofy, Donald, Pinocchio, Tigger, Eeyore and Rafiki over the various times I've been. Also I've known other people to have met Captain Hook, Smee, Marie and the Genie to name just a few.

     

Now if all this isn't sounding like an amazing experience already, if you have a trip that includes a Sunday, you're in for an extra special treat! Instead of the normal Lunch service, Sundays have a special Sunday Brunch which is an even more character filled opportunity. Brunches run each Sunday from 1 - 3pm and are €35 for children 3-11 and €79 for adults, so slightly more than a standard Lunch or Dinner sitting, a free fruit juice or champagne is also provided when you are seated.

What makes the Sunday brunch stand out from a normal meal at inventions is the range of characters that might show up. Character brunches are themed, each week has a different theme and different characters show up to represent it, where the "fab 5" characters, Mickey & Minnie etc, are present they will often have a special themed outfit. This is a great way of meeting rare and unusual characters, and if you're an avid character fan like myself, it's a great way of seeing some really unusual outfits!

Again I've been lucky enough to visit a few brunches, the themes are not announced in advance as they are subject to change at short notice so they try to avoid disappointment, but some themes are fairly easy to predict if they fall in line with public holidays such as Christmas, New year, Halloween, Easter etc. So far I have experienced 4 different brunch themes, Neverland, Champagne, Halloween and Orient Express, each has been a unique experience and I've had some really special meets.

For the Neverland brunch we saw Peter Pan, Wendy, Smee and Captain hook, as well as Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip and Dale who all had special Pirate outfits! Peter and Wendy were my favourite and it was my first time meeting them together, but Donald's pirate outfit was really special, and I probably wouldn't have been able to meet him in this any other way!

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The Champagne brunch had a lot of the fab 5 type characters but also Clarice, Duffy bear and Shellie May! So for me this was an incredibly special brunch, and possibly one of my all time favourites. I loved the characters gold outfits and got to spend some quality time with them and got some amazing photographs that I'll hold on to for some time to come.



Finally the Orient express brunch was again the fab 5 characters with some additional friends from the 100 Acre woods, again the costumes were absolutely fantastic and so special to be able to meet Mickey and his pals in costumes you never see around the park, my fondest memory of this brunch was Minnie, she was feeling extremely playful and really made the experience memorable.

  

Other themes I've seen but haven't been to include a Snow White brunch with all 7 Dwarves, Under the sea with Ariel and Eric, a Parisian style brunch with the Aristocats, a London Brunch with Mary and Bert, far too many to list all in one place. As you can see this is a fantastic way to meet some really unsual characters or get to see yur favourites in some incredible alternative outfits.

The most important thing to note at character meals is that the characters will come to you, so please don't interrupt them when they are with someone else, on the whole I think Inventions is the best restaurant for this, as well as table staff there are a number of cast members purely to support the characters throughout the restaurant, they ensure that the characters get around all the tables, and are more than happy to help if someone has missed you, they also help to ensure your character meets aren't interrupted by other guests!

Characters will generally sign autographs during meals, however it's worth noting that at peak times, and special brunches (Christmas and Halloween in particular) there isn't always time for autographs, please be prepared for this and as a cast member if you're unsure, either way you can still have a great experience.

My only issue with the buffet style character meals is knowing when to get up to get food, usually the characters will rotate in 2 groups with a small change over between groups, this is the best time to go! The buffet is in the long room in the middle of the restaurant and is easily accessible, there are plenty of plates so you can start pretty much anywhere, especially if you're only after one or two of the available dishes. My preference is usually to sit in one of the end rooms as it doesn't feel as busy, however if you're in a rush and want to see the characters quickly I would advise asking to sit in the buffet room.

Inventions is bookable 60 days prior to your stay and can be done via the restaurant reservation line +33 1 60 30 40 50 no deposit is required upfront but larger groups may need to book by E-mail. The brunches can fill up quickly so it is always worth phoning as early as possible to have the best choice of dates and sitting times.

So that's my experience with Inventions, have you been before? Who have you met? Who would you like to see? Drop me a comment below!

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys,

If you're in the know you might have seen D23 expo has been to Japan, celebrating all things Disney, the expo ran from February 10th - 12th 2018. It covers everything from games and film, to parks and resorts and is a huge event on the Disney fan calendar. Now when it comes to events like D23, and in particular the parks and resorts panel, it's hard not to be a little selfish! Of course it's great to see what is coming to all the parks, but what we really want to hear most is announcements about our home park, be that Paris, Florida, California or beyond, we want to know what's coming next to the place we call home.

Well lucky for any Disneyland Paris fans, Monday's park panel delivered and, as confirmed by DLP themselves in a press release the same day, change is coming to Walt Disney Studios park. Now I've covered the studios park before, the second gate to DLP opened in 2002 and although it has expanded in it's nearly 16 years, it's hard to disagree that the park just isn't up to the Disney standard. I asked before if it was time for a change, and even made some suggestions as to what I'd want to see, but now change is actually starting, and I for one am very excited about it.

So what do we know? Well not a huge amount actually, the press brief was very brief but what we do know for certain is that Rock n Roller coaster, featuring Aerosmith, is all set for a complete overhaul with a new Marvel theme, specifically Iron man and the Avengers. The press release didn't confirm a date for closure of the current attraction, or completion of the new attraction, but I expect this will follow over the next month or so as the extent of the change will become more clear.



Does this come as a huge surprise? Well no. When Cinemagique closed it's doors, and a marvel themed replacement was confirmed fans speculated that a Marvel themed area of the park wouldn't be out of the questiont. Next came the announcement of Marvel summer of Heroes, and the rumoured re-theme of Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission breakout, to match Disney's California Adventure. Then there was subsequent reporting of the re-theme being "shelved". So no, the announcement of an attraction closing to under go a transformation into something with a Marvel theme wasn't a bolt out of the blue.



But what about Rock N Roller? One of the opening day attractions in Walt Disney Studios it is situated in the Backlot area of the park, opposite Blockbuster café and the Spider-Man Meet and Greet, it's one of the fastest roller coasters (if not the fastest) and as the name would suggest is themed around the band Aerosmith. The DLP version has a few differences to it's American predecessor at Hollywood studios, most notably it is themed as a music video experience in Paris, and an high speed car trip in the US version.

As I'm not a huge coaster fan and don't know a huge amount about the ride or it's place in Disney parks history, I asked my friend Matty from Discovery Mountain if he could shed some light on the ride for me.

"Rock N Roller coaster Avec Aerosmith" is a Vekoma LSM launch coaster, the track layout is a clone of the attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios and was custom designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and Vekoma. Rock n Roller continues to be the fastest Disney coaster, and is still the fastest roller coaster in France with a top speed of 57 mph!

He then went on to describe the ride experience for me, which as I've never ridden it, I found really interesting!

The coaster sets off and moves into the launch position, a large LED sign counts down along with the voice of Steven Tyler 3,2,1 and you're off, the coaster travels along the launch tunnel going from 0 to 57 mph in 2.8 seconds. The ride features a half loop, followed by a double corkscrew, and then turns and twists around the rest of the show building. The ride features a full Aerosmith backing track throughout and an extravagant light show, there is one final corkscrew before the brake run.

So that's the current ride in a nutshell, it's worth noting that the ride has an on board photo op, and already has a fast pass entrance in operation, both of which it is safe to assume will carry over to the new ride.

Now that we understand what we're saying good bye to, what do I think about the change? Well to be honest I'm pretty excited, even though I have no intention of riding Rock n Roller before it departs, or it's replacement once it opens. Since it's acquistion by Disney Marvel has started to make its presence among Disney parks to mixed reviews, Tower of Terror fans were disappointed to see the tower in Califonia replaced by Mission Breakout, but once it opened there were a lot of positive reviews on the ride and the theme inside the tower.

Marvel day at sea has provided a presence of the IP on the Disney Cruise lines and is very popular, and alongside the announcement of an Iron Man/Avengers attraction for Paris at D23, an Ant man ride for Hong Kong Disneyland, which is it's second Marvel attraction following on from their Iron Man Experience, and finally, a family friendly Guardians of the Galaxy ride for Epcot in Walt Disney World. So as you can see the Marvel IP is being incorporated into many of the Disney parks and is already proving to be popular.

Walt Disney Studios has always been a park that hasn't lived up to standard, and the back lot area in particular is quite an eyesore, it feels almost baron, it lacks theme, and has very little draw, I'm lucky if I visit once a trip! The Toy Story Playland and Place de Remy areas of the park have the most draw for me, they are beautifully themed and they feel immersive, fresh and exciting. Even if the rides aren't appealing to you the area still has something worth going to see, this is exactly what I'm hoping for with the regeneration of the Back lot area, a change that starts with Rock n Roller.

So why is Rock n Roller going, can't we just have a new attraction? Well the fact is new rides are expensive. Until recently (and even then the facts are sketchy) DLP has been a loss making resort, and a re theme is much cheaper than the development and construction of a new ride. Rock n Roller also features the band Aerosmith, a license that probably has an additional cost to keep in the park, so a re theme to a Disney owned IP would potentially produce a cost saving!

But of course Armageddon has once again survived the chop and fans have been quick to point this out and question why other, more popular attractions have gone before this one. I don't have an official answer, but I do have a theory! My best guess would be that the Armageddon attraction just doesn't easy lend it's self to a quick re-theme. I personally cannot thing of a good overlay that would work with the existing show building and what's already inside. I would assume this means the intention is to rip the existing attraction out and use the show building for something else, which again would be at a higher cost, and a longer turn around time. I do believe, and for the sake of the resort I sincerely hope, that Armageddon's days are numbered.

So as I said, I truly believe this is a great step for Disneyland Paris, though I will probably never conquer my fear of coasters enough to ride it, I can't wait to see and here about the new overlay and can't wait to see the back lot area of the studios park transformed into something we can all be really proud of.
What about you? Will you miss Rock n Roller? Are you excited for an Avengers attraction? What should replace Armageddon, or will we be blighted with it forever? Drop me a comment!

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!

So something really exciting arrived in my Inbox this morning and basically I thought it would be really rude of me not to share it with you all, so I thought I’d do a quick round up of the latest annual pass holder news coming direct from Disneyland Paris. Hopefully you’ll find this useful/interesting, at least in parts, but as always feedback is super appreciated!
If you’re an existing pass holder, you may remember that the current selection of annual passes was a new introduction to the resort last year. There are currently 4 tiers of annual pass, Discovery, Magic Flex, Magic Plus and Infinity. Each tier gives the holder additional access, benefits and discount within the resort and this makes it easy to pick the pass that best suits your needs and enables you to pay a fair price based on which benefits are suited to your park habits.


Well today DLP have announced their first annual review of the new style passes and I’m going to try and relay that information to you guys, with a breakdown of my thoughts on each part. First of all we should probably tackle the Elephant in the room, prices.

Price changes.
The first thing to announce is that in line with general tickets, annual pass prices will be increasing in 2018, with effect from March 21st 2018 the first 3 tiers of annual passes will see a price increase, the new prices will be;

• Discovery pass €9 per month or €149.00 annually


• Magic Flex pass €15 per month or €219.00 annually


• Magic Plus pass €19 per month or €259.00 annually

I’m pleased to announce the Infinity pass will stay at the current €32 per month of €399.00 annually (monthly prices are based on an initial deposit of €55), in addition to this any special price offers such as the free 4 months at renewal and the AP referral programme will stay the same.
For me, this came as a pleasant surprise, the increases are on the whole not as large as I expected, for reference the previous prices annually were €139, €189 and €249 so for 2/3 passes only a €10 increase. Personally I still believe the passes provide excellent value for money, if you make 2 or more trips of 4 days a year there are definitely savings to be made by purchasing a pass, and I certainly don’t regret mine! I’m surprised not to see the Infinity pass increase this time round, though I would assume this is because it was already so much more than the other passes.

New Viewing areas.
Now that we’ve covered off the cost, we should look at what we’re getting for our money, and the first thing on the list is the VIP viewing areas. VIP viewing areas were introduced alongside the new range of passes in 2017 and are an included perk on the infinity pass, essentially they are roped off areas along the parade route, and in front of the castle for illuminations, that you can only access if you are an infinity pass holder who has made a reservation either by phone or at city hall. They allow you to get a great view of the parade or fireworks and also it’s a way of getting your spot without having to wait around and try to hold your space for such a long time! The changes to the viewing area are:

In late March, the private VIP areas for Infinity Annual Pass holders will be expanded so that they can fully enjoy Disney Stars on Parade and Disney Illuminations in a special way.

From 10 June 2018, a new zone will be reserved for Infinity Annual Pass holders for the new show Stark Expo presents: Energy for Tomorrow! which will be performed during Marvel Summer of Super Heroes at Walt Disney Studios Park, at the foot of the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

Now I think they both sound really exciting, and i particularly like that it's being rolled out into the studios park for the new show there this summer. However, the one change I'd like to see is the addition of an option to book a plus one for the area, in my friendship circle only a couple of us have the infinity pass and this means I haven't used this perk at all since upgrading to infinity last April as I want to watch the parade and fireworks with my friends, I'd love to be able to use it with my Niece this April to get her a better view for Illuminations, but as she isn't a pass holder I can't take her in with me.

Annual pass merchandise

In addition to this April will see the resort release its first range of Annual Pass themed merchandise, now the details on this part are a little fuzzy and I'm not 100% sure if this will only be available to annual pass holders, or annual pass holder branded. The range launches April 12th and will include a mixture of open edition and limited edition items, so far I have seen Pins Mugs T shirts and Lanyards. I will be in the resort from April 16th so hopefully can get some more info then if not before. Items will be on sale exclusively to Flora's which is on Main street opposite the emporium.

Personally I'm excited to see what they do with this, the annual pass holder merchandise offered in WDW looks really good and I like that they have them for different events like Mickey's Not so Scary and presumably the Mickeys Very Merry parties too, this could be something really special and make for some really nice keepsakes!

AP Events

The final thing to cover is possibly the most exiting of all and that's an extended calendar of events and offers for pass holders, and even better the first date is already announced.

The first event will take place on March 30th in the Studios park and on this occasion the event will only be for Infinity pass holders, however future events and offers will be for different levels of AP, so everyone should see some benefit.

The first event is a soiree to celebrate 10 years of the Tower of Terror, a themed party night will include fancy dress with a 1930's Hollywood theme, actors, photo locations and a projection show. Tickets will be €39 and go on sale February 5th from City hall, Studio services, and the infinity phone line!

Now this isn't really my sort of thing, Tower of Terror is not my kind of ride, and 1930's Hollywood isn't a style I'd feel in any way confident to pull off, however I'm really really excited about this sort of event and can't wait to see how well it goes and subsequent events that will follow on from it, should it prove to be a success.



So that's the news round up for today, a lot of information to digest, but some really positive changes, what do you guys think? Which announcement are you most excited for? Did anything surprise you? Drop me a comment!

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!

So I recently wrote up my thoughts of the upcoming Disney FanDaze event, and specifically the announcement of the packages and prices. In one of the comments it was mentioned that you'd like to hear my thoughts on the new "Festival of Pirates and Princesses" which debuts at Disneyland Paris on March 31st 2018, well this one is for you.

Festival of Pirates and Princesses is a new season being introduced this year to Disneyland Paris as part of the extended 25th anniversary celebrations. Described by Disney as "a spectacular celebration of Disney royalty and rapscallions" it is set to take over the Spring slot previously home to Swing into Spring, which last ran in 2016 during our May trip.

Now it wouldn't be fair to sing the praises of this new season without first considering that which came before it. Personally I feel it's safe to say it is probably the success of Swing into Spring that has encouraged DLP to continue to take a chance on the idea of seasons to fill the DLP calendar, and encourage return visitors with the offer of new seasonal entertainment and character meets.

Amongst the fan community, Swing into Spring seems to be talked about favourably. Although it only ran for 3 seasons, 2014, 2015 & 2016, it does seem to be a season that fans feel particularly attached to, and I get the feeling  it's sorely missed. Personally I only visited for the third edition, I enjoyed the season greatly and would love to be able to see the season specific entertainment again, you can often find me watching Sunny Bunnyland and Goofy's Garden Party on YouTube!

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Looking to the future it certainly seems like Pirates and Princesses has rather large shoes to fill as a seasonal successor, so what have DLP got lined up for us? Looking at the press release from Disneyland Paris, which Geoff over at DLP Town Square has kindly shared, DLP don't seem to be sharing a huge amount of information with us, but what they have shared sounds really exciting.

The main thing I am looking forward to is the new interactive show "Disney Pirate or Princess: make your choice" from what's detailed in the document this is an experience that provides both parade and show elements, and incorporates more than 85 performers - which frankly is a phenomenal number that I'm struggling to imagine!

The show is going to focus around 2 main floats, one an incredible pirate ship featuring Jake from Jake and the Neverland pirates and some of our other Neverland friends. Not only this but Minnie Mouse is joining team pirate too, I for one cannot wait to see her outfit for this! As well as some of our most loved characters, the galleon will ply host to an acrobatic crew of pirates, this will really feel like an impressive piece of entertainment with so much going on.



Of course pirates only make up half of the entertainment so if this wasn't already sounding incredibly enough it's time to introduce our second new float featuring some of our most regal friends. The new princess float has a floral theme which I think fits the time of year perfectly. Mickey will be looking after some of our favourite members of Disney royalty as well as Disney heroines like Moana,  of course the princesses will be joined by dancers to finish the look and feel of this float, and truth be told I'm not sure which one I'm most looking forward to.



Now if these two floats and the sheer volume of performers involved wasn't enough to wet your appetite and have you looking at hotels already, the good news is there's far more to this than a parade. The two floats will start at opposite ends of the parade route and when they meet each other at central plaza, it turns into more of an interactive show. Guest will be asked to pick their side and support their favourites, pirates vs princesses.

I don't know about you, but I'm really very excited for this part, I can't really imagine what it's all going to look like but I cannot wait to see central plaza come to life with all the colours and characters. It sounds like it's going to be really impressive, and better still? It is on more than once a day giving you the chance to not only see it from both ends of the parade route, but also if you want switch which side you support when they clash, I know we'll be seeing this a few times.

As far as season specific events/entertainment goes, this seems to really be all that's mentioned in the press release. They do touch on being able to do meet and greets but no specific characters have been confirmed yet, I'm keen t see if this ends up just being the standard princess pavilion & Peter and friends in Adventure land, or if they have other opportunities/costumes planned that are specific to the season. Meeting Mickey and Minnie in their prince and princess outfits would be so so cute, and meeting Jake has been a bit of a dream of mine since he was out meeting guests in Adventure land the weekend of the Pirates of the Caribbean premier.

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Other than that there are plenty of pirate and princess themed attractions and experiences to get stuck into during your trip. Both Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan's flight were refurbished in the run up to the 25th anniversary and are looking better than ever. The story book boats tend to re-open in the spring complete with a fresh paint job and the snow white dark ride and carrousel in Fantasy land continue to be very popular. Face painters can make you up into a Pirate or Princess and if you're taking under 12s they can dress up as their favourites to complete the look.

Dining options include Auberge de Cendrillon, a character meal attended by Cinderella, her two mice Suzy and Perla and usually 2-3 other princesses, and Captain Jack's, formerly known as Blue Lagoon this is a table service restaurant in Adventure land which not only has appearances from Jack Sparrow if you're lucky, but has the pirates of the Caribbean ride passing through it - how's that for atmosphere! Both the pirates and princesses make an appearance in the current parade, Stars on parade, which is performed daily, they are also represented in Disney's Illuminations at park closing time. Add in the Princess for a day experience in the Disneyland Hotel and there's plenty to keep you busy during your stay!



In my opinion, what's been announced for the season so far is truly very exciting, there's just enough information that I feel drawn in and excited for what's coming, but no so much information that I won't be surprised when I get there or have anything to discover on my own. I'm a little disappointed that there's only one new parade/show coming, as Swing into Spring had so much entertainment going on it was practically impossible to be bored, but I think they have compensated for this well by the scale of the show that is planned. It would be nice to have a little more information about meet and greets available, for outfit planning as much as anything else! But hopefully we will get this in due course, overall though I think this could be an impressive season.

I'm booked to experience the season first hand between April 16th and 20th and of course will come back and update you with how it all was, but until then, who else is booked or thinking about going? What are you most excited for? Was there anything you'd like to see that hasn't been announced yet? Drop me a comment below!

Hoodsie xx

Hey Guys,

Directed by Lee Unkrich and produced by Darla K Anderson (you know the team behind Toy Story 3), Coco is the 19th animated feature length film from Disney's Pixar, and it finally opens in the UK this week!

I was lucky enough to be able to get a ticket to the advance screening at Southbank's BFI on Saturday January 13th, so not only did I get to watch the film already, after the film there was a live Q&A with Lee and Darla. This was such an incredible opportunity and I feel so lucky that I was able to be a part of it. As a huge Pixar fan, being able to see the creators speak so passionately about their work, work that I've been following and admiring for years, was extremely special and probably only made me admire them more.

At D23 Lee introduced the film by saying "Coco is a film that explores the universal themes of family bonds, as well as celebrating our past." he went on to say "Coco is going to be packed with lots and lots of music, it's filled with traditional Mexican music and songs, as well as original songs that we've created just for the film", and I don't think I could introduce it any better myself.

The story follows Miguel, a young boy with a big, but forbidden dream, as he decides to seize his moment and learn a whole lot on the way about his ancestors and the importance of family.

What struck me most right from the start of the film, is how much research must have gone into it. Coco is Based around the Mexican holiday of Dia De Los Muertos - the Day of the Dead, a holiday that celebrates and honours deceased loved ones. During the Q&A after the screening of the film Lee and Darla were keen to stress, if they were going to do this, it had to be done right, in fact they told us much of the original plot was changed as the film did not feel authentically Mexican at it's heart.

You can tell how much thought and love has gone into the film. Miguel's home town is modelled on a real town in Mexico that the team visited, the setting feels authentic, from the layout of the town to the animation. In contrast, the land of the dead was almost the opposite, of the research the team did and all the people they spoke to about their traditions and beliefs, no one seemed to have any fixed ideas about what the land of the dead looked like. This gave the team a blank canvas and a lot of space and opportunity to be creative, and this created such a wonderful, bright and imaginative world to play home to the story.

Music makes up a huge part of Coco, and I can honestly say that this is probably one of my favourite Pixar soundtracks so far, further more I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of it! My favourite song is probably "Un Poco Loco", but I really enjoyed all of the different versions of "Remember me" and in particular the way they used the same basic song and changed things like the tempo and pitch to convey different emotions at various points of the film. For me this really showed how powerful the sound track is. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who wrote Let it go from Frozen, as well as songs for the Winnie the Pooh 2011 soundtrack, wrote Remember me for Coco and have already won an Annie award and a Golden globe for their contribution.

Personally my favourite characters in the film were Miguel and Hector, the both provide something different from each other. In the case of Hector, he provides a lot of the comedic moments within the film, of which there are plenty! Miguel however has more of the heartfelt and softer moments, and I cannot praise Anthony Gonzalez enough for his portrayal of the role, he truly feels like the perfect choice to bring Miguel to life, and is able to provide not only the voice acting, but the brilliant vocals for all of the songs Miguel sings throughout the film, a real talent to watch out for I'm sure!

Overall I cannot sing Coco's praises enough, the story line felt fresh and it didn't feel like we were walking a beaten track, the film kept me guessing right up until the end, it didn't feel stale or predictable, something I know others have commented on too. The animation was truly stunning, in particular the wide range of colours from the spirit animals, known as Alebrijes, to the Marigolds the Rivera family leave out to guide their ancestors home. What I liked so much about this film compared to others in the Pixar family that have come before, was it almost felt educational. It showed me so much I didn't know about Mexican culture and you could really feel how well it had been researched and how much time had gone into making sure this was done authentically and respectfully. It has given me a better understanding about the Day of the Dead, what it truly means to those who celebrate it, and as always it contains a strong moral message about the importance of family and about embracing where you come from.

I would highly recommend going to see Coco, it was a pleasure to watch from start to finish, and although I would advise taking a packet of tissues I can also promise plenty of laughs, it is truly a beautiful film with a heartwarming message and I cannot wait to see it again when it officially opens on Friday.

I'd like to thank Lee, Darla and everyone at Pixar for allowing the BFI to host an advance screening, and Lee and Darla in particular for taking the time to meet so many of us after and for signing Duffy's Coco Tee we had made for the occasion.

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Finally, I'll leave you with the words of Co-Director Adrian Molina, which I think sum up the heart of Coco perfectly.

"We are who we are because of the people who came before us, and we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors."

Hoodsie xx

Have you ever wished you could tell the president of Disneyland Paris exactly what you thought about our park? Well I got thinking about just that, so much so that it kept me awake for quite some time! So in the spirit of nothing ventured, nothing gained, here’s my letter to Catherine Powell.

Dear Catherine,

My name is Hoodsie, I live in the UK and Disney, along with Disneyland Paris, is my real passion. I’m currently an annual pass holder for Disneyland Paris, and just wanted to let you know what a great job I think you’re doing, a cast member compliment if you will.



Yeah that’s me in the picture, oh the bear? That’s Duffy bear, and he’s my favourite travel companion, we always visit Disneyland Paris together since I adopted him in the park in March 2016. Since then we’ve shared 10 visits back to the parks and made a whole bunch of friends along the way.

Just in the last 12 months we’ve pledged our allegiance to light side and cheered for Chewbacca during season of the force, our favourite parts were the night time spectacular, and trying to make friends with the Stormtroopers as the paroled the studios!



We came back in spring to celebrate the parks 25^th birthday with you, the grand celebration on April 12^th was our favourite park of this trip, we thought your dancing on Main Street was particularly good! We also enjoyed meeting the real Duffy and Shellie may in their special one off outfits. The atmosphere of that whole trip was perfect and a lot of the credit for that should probably go to you and your amazing cast members! I now know every word to the happy birthday show and castle stage, and i'll forever be in awe of the Starlit Princess Waltz, which is best at dusk, just so you know!



We came back 4 months in a row starting in August. We spend a weekend chasing the wind and touching the sky with Merida and the cast of Forest of Enchantment in the Chaparral theatre. We finally rode Pirates of the Caribbean after its extensive upgrade, it’s truly looking better than ever! I tried to overcome our fear of Big Thunder Mountain, but Duffy has decided he’d rather ride in my backpack next time. And once again we shared our trip with the most fantastic friends and Cast members, most of whom we never would have met had it not been for this resort.

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In September we took part in the second Magical run weekend. I ran 36.1 km over 3 days while Duffy cheered me on from the side. We had a topsy turvy party with Clopin and his friends from Hunchback at the opening party, I flew round the 10 KM dressed as Dumbo, and thanks to the Half Marathon I finally met Judy Hopps and Sadness. It was my second time running in Disneyland Paris, and it was truly an unforgettable weekend that I still tell everyone about now.



October saw us return to the parks where we trick or treated down Halloween street with Goofy and his Skeletoon gang, we clapped our hands with Mickey and the tricycle gang, we event met all of our favourite villains! As if that wasn’t enough fun we also had tickets to the Halloween Soiree on the 31^st and got to run around our favourite theme park dressed as our favourite characters, it was the best night with an incredible parade, stage shows, and this hilarious encounter with Gaston.



November was our last trip of 2017, a weekend dash to bring in the Christmas season! If you’re going to drive 700 miles over 48 hours to spend less than 24 hours in the parks you know you’re dedicated. But we just can’t seem to stay away! Mickey’s big band show was the absolute stand out entertainment of the Christmas season, it’s possible one of the best stage shows I ever witnessed in any theme park, you should be so proud of what you’ve achieved here. Goofy’s Christmas show on the Tower of Terror was also fantastic, and for me really rivaled the other night time shows! Thanks for giving the studios park some TLC!



But the fun doesn’t stop there for us, and our Disneyland Paris adventure is far from over! We’re already planning to come back for Pirates and Princesses to see Jake, Peter and all our favourite Royals. The summer of heroes promises to be out of this world and we’d love to see Captain America again after meeting him on the Half marathon in 2016. Magical run weekend continues to grow from strength to strength and pushes me to keep training and bettering myself, a firm calendar entry. And as the Christmas season was so inviting and the entertainment was of such a high standard, a longer Christmas trip is definitely on the cards for 2018!

You gave Disneyland Paris the sparkling 25^th anniversary it deserved! The park has never looked better thanks to the extensive programme of refurbishments. The entertainment standard is growing from strength to strength with every show and every new cast. Honestly I don’t think there has ever been a better time to visit Disneyland Paris, and I have faith that under your leadership the changes will continue and the park will improve even further, it’s an exciting time to be a fan!



The only thing we’d really like you to know, is how much we miss Duffy in the parks, and how much we’d like to be able to come to Paris to visit him for hugs and photos. Even if he could come out for EMT each morning and meet at the board house again where he belongs, I know there’s lots of other Duffy fans like me who would come to see him.



There’s really nothing else left for me to say at this point, other than a huge thank you, not just to you but to every single Disneyland Paris cast member past and present. For every visit for every moment of magic, for every day of the last 25 years that’s made the resort what it is.

Sincerely,

Hoodsie and Duffy.

So guy’s, what would you want to tell Catherine, what’s been your highlight of the park’s 25^th year! Drop us a comment we’d love to read them

Hoodsie xx

Hello again all!

Following from our last Christmas post covering the Christmas parade, today I’ve decided to take a look back at what ended up probably being the stand out piece of entertainment from my very brief Christmas visit.

The show is currently being performed between four and five times a day, and is on the Videopolis theatre stage, which can be found inside café Hyperion. This is a great place for it, in my opinion, as it has a good capacity and isn’t so far away that it would get missed due to the location (think Forest of Enchantment). What is nice about Videopolis, is that if you’re not fussed about having a close view, or perhaps you’ve seen the show before and want a second viewing, you can actually grab a meal from Hyperion and view the show from the seating area there.

If however this is your first viewing or you like to take photos, I would recommend arriving early and queuing for the best seating area right at the front. For this you will need to queue round the far side of Hyperion, to the right of where the two arcades, Alpha and Beta, used to be. This is pretty much opposite the fast pass entrance to HyperSpace Mountain and should be roped off ready. I’m not sure how long before the show we queued, maybe 30 -45 mins, but we got central second row seats and I honestly thought it was so worthwhile and would happily wait that long again.



The show features Mickey, Minnie and Goofy, but also an incredible live band with singers and dancers. I must admit I was sceptical, at first as I wouldn’t describe myself as a lover of the arts. Surprising, possibly, for a Disney fan but I don’t have a love of musical theatre, and I wouldn’t suggest going to see an orchestra or that sort of live music for myself. Having said all of that, I can assure you, what I witnessed in that theatre was way beyond my expectations, and I loved every second.
If you’re familiar with the entertainment offerings in other parks, you might be thinking that Tokyo Disney Sea already have a show that sounds rather a lot like this, and it’s true they do, but that doesn’t diminish Paris’ version in any way, and from what I can tell it isn’t an exact copy.

The show lasts around 25 minutes in total and covers a variety of songs with an overall Christmas theme. The show starts with just the band on stage, and then the dancers and singers start to come out to perform the first song Ain’t Got That Swing. During the song there is a tap section with around 8 dancers and the quality during this was superb. It reminded me of the genie section of Mickey and the Magician. After the tap break we are joined by our first character, Mickey, in a white suit with blue accessories to match the male vocalists. As is traditional for DLP, Mickey speaks French throughout.



After the first song Goofy arrives in a matching white suit to join Mickey on stage. It feels really strange to see him without any sort of hat on but he just looks so dapper that it works. We then get our second song, Jingle Bells, which sees Goofy take centre stage with one of the female singers doing the lead vocals. I really love this jazzed up version of a classic song, as it really suits the show. It’s unexpectedly perfect.

Half way through Jingle Bells we are joined by our final character for the show, Minnie, in a beautiful white dress with matching feather in her bow. The song then blends into Frosty The Snowman, at which point Minnie joins in and shares the lead vocals. Towards the end of the song Mickey comes back out to join Minnie and dances with her and the other dancers. I really love their costumes and love how the Blue, White and Silver ties in with not only the 25th theme, but feels Christmassy too.


The next song is Minnie's solo, I Love The Piano.This is probably my least favourite section of the show, which is not to say it's bad, just the part I enjoyed least. I find it to be a bit slower than the rest of the show and it doesn't have the Christmas feel the rest of it has. I also think it's nice when it's familiar songs, but that of course is personal preference.

Following on from this is White Christmas, which features the most beautiful dance sequence with Mickey and Minnie together. This for me was just one of those moments that felt extra magical. There’s something about the staging and the lighting,those glamorous costumes and then the dancing all coming together that really pulls at your heart and I would be surprised if there weren’t peopleholding back a tear or two, like me!


At the end of White Christmas the dancers come back on stage and the band really pick up the pace. Mickey tells Minnie he has a surprise for her as Santa's Claus is Coming To Town starts to play. The dance sequence at the start of this is such a good showcase of the talented dancers and shows off exactly what they're capable of. I remember just being mesmerised by the dancers the first time I saw the show and I applaud each and every one of them for the hard work and dedication that must have gone into learning and preforming the show for us each day.

Suddenly as the singers call for Santa Claus at the start of the song, no other than Santa Goofy appears at the back of the main seated audience, and he makes his way down past the audience onto the stage. After the song Goofy and one of the main male singers break it down and introduce each section of the big band. This then blends into Let it Snow, complete with snow effects at the front of the stage - proper Disney magic.



Next, a small section of staging at the back turns round and of course, it’s Mickey Mouse himself. Probably the biggest surprise of the show, rather than the singing or dancing, has to be that Mickey's been practising ready to play the drums for us. To be honest with you, I couldn't believe this was happening first time round but I thought it was great and it was definitely a crowd favourite.



The other thing which I think I was too surprised by drumming Mickey to notice at the time, was that not only had Mickey joined the band, he'd had an outfit change too. Now some of you may recognise the light blue and pink suit he's wearing, as it's none other than his special 25th outfit from April 12th. It was great to see these brilliant costumes used again and they worked perfectly with the overall theme.

Finally Mickey comes back on stage with Minnie and Goofy in their April 12th outfits too, finishing off the show perfectly. The entire show was phenomenal and had me totally captivated from start to finish. It is such a good addition to DLP's entertainment schedule, and not only would I like to see it return for Christmas 2018, I would also enjoy an adaptation that allows it to run all year round and I'm sure it would continue to pull a crowd.



If you didn't manage to catch the show this time around, or like me you're just so in awe of it that you'd like to see it again, DLRP Fans have shared it on their YouTube channel, so head over and give them a thumbs up!

Hoodsie xx

Hey guys!
So 2018 is now under way, and as a Disney fan, but more specifically a Disneyland Paris fan, it’s hard not to look back on 2017 without a whole spectrum of emotion, and above all pride, for what our home resort achieved in its 25th year.


We entered 2018 with promises that it wouldn't stop there for DLP, with the sparkling celebrations of the 25th being extended until September. Two new seasons would bring Parc Disneyland and the Walt Disney Studios to life, Pirates and Princesses in the spring and Marvel Summer of Super Heroes debuting in June. Not only that but favourites Season of the Force, Electroland and Run Disney (now re-branded as Magic Run Weekend) will all be returning, and of course the classic Halloween and Christmas seasons remain intact.



But if all that wasn't enough to make you want to part with your cash to visit the resort during 2018 a new jewel in the Disneyland Paris crown was announced. On September 1st 2017 we got our first teasers of FanDaze, described as "A magical experience created especially for Disney fans!" that was about as much as we got for the next 30 days other than a series of teaser images and the strap line "It's fun to be a fan at Disneyland Paris". Of course social media kicked into overdrive with rumours and speculations over what this might all mean, until the 30th where a handful of specially selected bloggers and vloggers got invited to a special press event to find out about what would be on offer.



I won't spend a huge amount of time going into what was announced, it's been covered plenty by now and if you've some how managed to miss it fan sites such as DLP Town Square, Dedicated to DLP and Salon Mickey have all covered it far better than I ever could. What I can however say with some degree of confidence is what was announced got us all very excited, but right from that point the burning question was about price and availability.

Fast forward to the end of December 2017 and Disneyland Paris announce they've saved one special late Christmas gift for us all, and to welcome in the New Year the FanDaze package information would be announced on the 1st January. Suddenly that buzz from September was back in full force, as after months of speculation and itching to start making travel plans and hotel bookings, we'd finally be getting some answers.
So the New Year rolled in and the announcement came, but it wasn't with the fanfare we'd predicted. It was more of a daze of confusion and frankly for some, disbelief. I always expected prices for FanDaze to be on the higher side, as you only have to look at events like Run Disney to imagine what these events cost to put together. Scale the number of rare characters up a few times and of course the costs rise with it.

Full details of all the packages and what they include are available on the Fan Daze official site, so of course I won't go into too much detail here. The main things I have taken from the announcements so far are;

• Event is the first weekend of June 2018


• Tickets go on sale January 15th 2018


• At this time tickets can only be purchased as part of a package


• At the time of writing this no Annual Passholder discounts have been announced


• A limited (but as yet unquantified) number of standalone tickets will be launched in Spring 2018


• The cheapest package starts from €412.50 Per person (based on 2 adults sharing at the Santa Fe)


• Additional packages are then available to include bolt on options such as brunch and panel places.

So what are my initial thoughts? Well firstly, what’s on offer looks and sounds great. I'm a huge character fan and being able to meet characters like Bolt and Mittens would be amazing. The Duck Tales parade and Max Live shows sound like they'd be something I'd really enjoy, and new outfits for Mickey and the VIPs are never going to get anything other than thumbs up from me. I'm surprised however that it's once again taken so long to get this much concrete information out, and I'll be interested to see if the packages do go on sale at the planned date and how smooth the launch is. You may remember I had some trouble last year buying my Run Disney bib, so I desperately hope they've learnt from that.
As for the price, which seems to be probably the biggest talking point right now, I kind of expected it. I mean I knew it was going to be expensive, an event on that scale comes at a price and for a resort that needs to start turning a profit FanDaze was always going to be a fairly big cog in that machine. I am, however, a little disappointed at how much of it is an additional cost.
The panels in Animagique Theatre, for example, are going to be ticketed in addition to the main FanDaze event, at a cost of €25 per person per panel. I know there is obviously limited seating available, but I had expected it to be a case of having to prioritise queuing for that on a first come first served basis over some of the other events. The basic price seems slightly more than what I expected but not totally astronomical given it includes hotel and park tickets. It’s the upgrades that I think have sadly been misjudged and I know a lot of fans are feeling priced out.
Another annoyance coming from fans with regards to the cost is the fact that Disney have left it so late to announce prices and sale date. It's January, commonly one of the hardest months financially of the year, and they've only given a fortnight's notice for when the tickets will be on sale. Not only that, but the event is only a few months away. This doesn't allow much time at all for people to organise their finances, especially with many of the themed packages being so limited. It just causes additional panic which could have otherwise been avoided. I hate to say it, but part of me wonders if this is part of their plan to drive panic ticket sales.
So will I be attending? That's a hard one, and I guess the truth is I'm still on the fence right now. From day one this has sounded like the event of my dreams. Not only is it a hugely character focused event, Duffy and Shellie are part of the main line up of Mickey's VIPs and the information released on the 1st even listed a Duffy and friends panel as part of the one off event. I'll be honest here, as a self-proclaimed Duffy super fan, I do feel a certain amount of pressure to make it happen and find a way to attend. I'm worried what people will think of me if I don't go to the event where he finally has the spotlight I've been wanting for him.
But the truth is there's a lot more to consider as it is a large cost and there are additional expenses on top: extra days in the parks, travel and the fact that the prices are all based on 2 adults sharing, so that would probably increase further if I was to do this as a solo trip. It would also be on top of other trips I've already planned to do this year/next year that need to be saved and paid for.
That got me thinking, I don't think I'm at all alone as a Disney fan in saying that other than meeting rare characters in my home park, another huge goal is to visit the other Disney parks around the world. What could I do with the money I would have spent on FanDaze? It would be a sizeable chunk off a trip to Anaheim to visit Walt's original park, or it could go towards a trip to one of the Asian parks to see Duffy and his friends, and I'd probably even get more time with them that way!
It's still early days as far as FanDaze goes, and I hope as more information becomes available things will become clearer, and some of the negative points I have mentioned will be addressed. I'd really like to see Disneyland Paris make a success of this, and I'd really love the opportunity to be able to say I was a part of it when it does.
What are your thoughts? Did you hope to attend FanDaze? Have your plans changed following the announcement of the prices? Drop me a comment I'd love to see how other fans feel!
Hoodsie xxx

Pictures credit: 

Featured Image: Indiana John's Adventure

Other images: Disney fan Daze Official Twitter

Ho Ho Ho!

Hi Guys, happy December! Hope you're all starting to feel festive and have lots of super fun Christmas activities and time with friends and family to look forward to. I decided I'd like to do my part to spread a little extra Christmas cheer by looking at some of my highlights from this years festive entertainment at my happiest place on Earth, Disneyland Paris!

So today we start with "La Parade de Noel Disney" or if you prefer "Disney's Christmas Parade", travelling the main parade route in Parc Disneyland its performed twice a day (Usually 11:50am and 1:15 pm) and is the perfect way to get you in the mood for Christmas right from the word go.

Now if you visited the park last year during the Christmas season, there's probably not a whole lot new going on to surprise you, other than a new song. Now I'm really sad to see the Toy Land song go, but fear not Christmas fans, I can confirm it is in use elsewhere this holiday season, and it's replacement "Christmas is here" is absolutely fab, in fact I'm listening to it now while I write this and it's so festive and I really love it, it's a great successor.



The parade starts with Goofy and his troop of toy soldiers leading out the first float, I love Goofy's outfit for this as it reminds me so much of Timothy Mouse from Dumbo. The first  float has no other than Mickey, Minnie Donald and Tinkerbell, in her first parade appearance since Magic on parade ended in March. The float has a giant Christmas tree with Tink at the top, and Donald playing the drums beautifully at the bottom, Mickey and Minnie have centre stage in the middle of the float with their hymn sheet.



Next the Gingerbread Mickey's and their candy dancers lead out a Mrs Claus' kitchen/Gingerbread House themed float with Chip, Dale, Clarice and Daisy Duck. In particular I love the girls outfits, they're gorgeous and totally compliment their sassy styles and personalities. The boys look adorable as ever in their little chef outfits and as always are ready to cause trouble.



Next up the 100 acre wood gang have decided to help deliver all the Christmas post, and I don't think they've ever looked more adorable! I really love these outfits/accessories even though they're so simple, and being on foot the 100 acre wood gang are probably your best bet of getting interaction which I love. Tigger noticed Katie H's orange scarf and came bouncing over to give her a hug which was really sweet! The postmen and women with them are also super interactive and came over to see Duffy and I which we love!



The toy factory float is the next up. This was a new addition to the Christmas parade in 2016 and is now home to Donald's 3 nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. Now this float really is huge, I mean I don't know who designs DLP's floats at the moment but they clearly believe that bigger is better, as in the same way all the Stars on Parade floats are huge the toy factory float is just phenomenal! I like how colourful and bright this float is, especially as winter days can often be dark and overcast it's really nice to have something so bright to contrast with it. However what I don't like so much about the float is that the nephews are so high up that if you're watching from the front by the rope (because where else would you find me during a parade?!) it's difficult to get a good view of them and even more difficult to get any sort of decent photo, my only complaint really.



Next the 3 Little Pigs - Fiddler, Fifer and Practical pig - lead out the toy story float. I've fallen a bit in love with the three pigs since meeting them at Run Disney, so it was lovely to see them out again causing mischief, and I loved the dancers with them who were squirting bubbles at us! The toy story float follows and as much as I love Toy Story (I mean who doesn’t right?!), I’ve got to be honest and say I don’t really feel like this float fits in so much with the rest. But I'm not gunna turn down the chance to see my favourite cow girl and all her friends and I do like the Christmas wrapping on the bucket of toys!



Some dancers dressed as toys follow the toy story float. The boat is my absolute favourite and I do think these outfits are particularly cute and clever. They lead on to what I can only describe as a snow mountain float, which has Max and Clarabelle at the front, Pluto at the top in his little snowy dog kennel and Horace on the back. This was another of the new floats from last year and I really like it, although I don’t think I’ll ever get over how high up Pluto is! What a brave pup! Around the side of the float are snowmen that light up and the float as a whole makes such a good impression. It’s such a big part of the parade for me and you can see it coming before it gets to you and I love that.



And of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas at all without an appearance from jolly St Nick, which brings us to the last float - Santa’s magical sleigh. Some beautiful Christmas tree dancers lead the way and the flying Reindeer follow pulling Santa’s sleigh where we find not only the king of Christmas himself, but two of his cheeky Elves too.

And in my opinion who better to close the Christmas parade than my favourite fluffy friend Duffy Bear in his adorable Christmas outfit. He’s on the back of Santa’s sleigh waving to all the boys and girls and blowing kisses to everyone.

This really was one of the highlights of my Christmas trip and one I'd definitely recommend making time for at least once if you're visiting during the Christmas season. If however you're not visiting, or you're like me and just can't get enough of it, why not check out this video from our friends DLRPFans on Youtube.

Hoodsie xxx

Special thanks to PennieK and DavidAtDisney for letting me use their photos - Find them on Twitter

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