I can't thank you all enough for making these past few years a ton of fun, it's been great bringing you on all of my adventures with me! Also networking and finally meeting some of you in person over the past months of being down here in Orlando has been a pleasure, and I hope to meet many more of you in the future! Well, now that I've taken care of the thanks, lets get to the contest!
In honor of hitting 500 followers on my twitter(@DisneyMagicMan) I'll be hosting a give-away April 10th - Wednesday April 20th! The contest will end midnight on Wednesday, don't worry about the time change, I understand we're all over the map;) The Winner will be chosen at random out of the valid submissions and announced on Thursday April 21st!
What the winner will be bringing home:
In celebrating 500 followers I'll be giving away this currently SOLD OUT Epcot Pin Set that can now only be found on sale at Walt Disney World Resort!
and this Jack Skellington Vinylmation!
How to Enter: Head over to my Facebook page (here), don't forget to like it;) And in a short paragraph tell me one guilty Disney pleasure! It doesn't have to be park related, it can be related to anything Disney! For example mine is grabbing some Casey's Corner Corndog Nuggets or a delicious dolewhip and camping out to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade! Have some fun with it!
For a second chance to win you can tweet this:
( Enter to win "Celebrating 500 Followers" Contest by @DisneyMagicMan - http://bit.ly/fWI2E3 )
Looking forward to reading all your guilty pleasures!
When I was a kid I was completely amazed by hand drawn animation, my thoughts haven't changed today. I've been very lucky to work at Hollywood Studios, and it's also taught me a lot about Disney's film industry, which brings me to how great the One Man's Dream attraction is. Inside they show different animation techniques the Disney Studios used to get the look they wanted, but I've been in and out of there a ton of times in the past few years. So when I heard we would get the chance to talk with Disney animator Andreas Deja who has worked on characters like Scar, King Triton, Mama Odie, and Bambi in Bambi II, I was extremely excited! On top of that Donnie Dunagan, voice talent of young Bambi. (also starred in 1939's Son of Frankenstein with Boris Karloff and Tower of London.)
This was basically the first time watching it for me, the last time I saw it I was too young to remember. I couldn't believe how funny and artistic it was. Over the years I built up a stereotypic view that the movie was sad and long, but I was wrong. Why would I think that? We were dealing with a Disney movie, they combine beauty, emotion, and humor all in one. That is why they have been so successful for so long. I also couldn't help but feel like I was experiencing something not very many people get to do in there life. Which was watch the film in the same room with the man that voiced Bambi roughly 70 years ago, I mean whao!
Dunagan seen in red, Deja in black
After the film we were introduced to both of the men, and absolutely loved how a simple question would be asked, but they had so much to answer with. As I was leaving, I got the chance to tell Mr. Dunagan that I could listen to his stories for hours...I wasn't lying. I filmed everything which can be watched (here).
Something I want to point out quick, in the movie, the word Twitterpation is used, and obviously the first thing I tought of was twitter, but their definition of twitterpation is falling in love. I thought that was pretty neat.
Next to Deja was a drawing easel, and what all of us hoped came true. He drew for us Bambi, and it amazed us all because he did it in less then a minute. I think it only took him that long because he was explaining it to us. Incredible to see that.
Mr. Dunagan talked about what it was like to work on a film such as this at the age of 6, and how even to this day he has never met the person who voiced young Thumper. It was great getting the chance to meet and talk with them, even if it was brief. Hearing someone talk about their experience working with Walt is always very interesting. Check out the whole session on my YouTube page found here!
To see what the Bambi Second Screen Feature will be like, found on the Blu-Ray, click here!
While at the Bambi Event I was lucky enough to win the complete set of Epcot Center patches, I originally got the Horizons patch (3rd from the end in the picture above) in one of my quarterly D23 Books. When I looked on the back (seen below) I saw that there were nine patches in total, and I wanted them all! Well, I got them...
The back reads:
"This family of official Future World Pavilion symbols that adorned EPCOT Center Pamphlets memorabilia, directional signage, and attractions evokes both a sense of futurism and nostalgia for park fans, Representing the core themes of each pavilion, they formed a sense of consistency that linked the the pavilions together while granting each a character of its own.
Disney Legends and EPCOT Center champions John Hench and Marty Sklar reviewed scores of concepts and colors for each symbol, and the winners, pictured here, became park icons that remain both simple and sophisticated.
To celebrate the 21st Century that began on October 1st, 1982, you have received one of nine custom-made patches exclusively created for D23 Members, each featuring a park symbol. We hope you enjoy this Walt Disney Archives collectable and always remember that we've just begun to dream."
This event was another great D23 event I was lucky enough to go to, and absolutely free to go besides the high city parking prices. I thought we were running a bit late but it turned out we arrived perfect timing because we weren't aloud in the store until 10ish when the event began, and it was raining along with the freezing weather.
Now I've been in the Disney Store along the Magnificent Mile quite a few times and noticed all the characters all over the walls and ceilings, but I've never really paid full attention to them before this. First lets start out with the outside architecture.(Pictures below) I love how this looks, the building is just a block away from the Chicago Water Tower Building and fits in just perfectly while still giving off that Disney vibe.
When they did let us inside there were two lines to sign in to the event, which made thing go very quickly. When our time came to check in, we were given a little gift baggy with a keychain, magnet, and a set of 23 Vintage Disneyland Postcards that were given out to the 2010 Destination D Event. Those are by far the coolest thing in the bag, and a nice little treat just for coming!
While we were waiting in line we were greeted my Jeffrey Epstein and other Disney Store Cast Members. The only thing about the event I didn't like, was the time. Being there so early at 10am, I was still in "just rolled out of bed" mode. So Mr. Epstein, if you are reading this, I'm totally honored you recognized me, and definitely wanted to talk more, you just caught me off guard lol. I don't know how you were up that early and had the energy to talk in front of everyone. You hosted a great event and hope to talk more tonight at the D23 Bambi Screening!
Now on the the event! After a quick introduction and some trivia We were split up into two groups to take a tour around the store.
Here Flounder and Sebastian are playing and singing
in Buckingham Fountain
Minnie and Daisy are posing in front of
The Sears Tower
(or the Willis Tower now)
Clairabell Cow is seen here hinting that she may have started the
great Chicago fire!
They told us that it would be fun just throwing in a slice
of pizza for no reason along with the sky scrapers just because
we're known for it:)
Jiminy, Figaro, and Pinocchio and playing in front of the
Water Tower and the John Hancock Building
All and all this was a great little D23 get together and I'm happy I got the chance to go!
