2016: A Year In Disney

As 2016 is coming to a close, I'd like to look at the amazing feat Disney managed to pull off this year across the board. It was an absolutely brilliant year for the world's happiest company. The company slayed at the box office, television was on point, and the parks are improving. Things are certainly on the up and up for this wonderful organization. Before 2016 closes though, let's look at how historic this year really was.

Back in June, I posted a little piece about the 4 home runs to date in 2016. That bit was written before the Dory movie came out, before Doctor Strange, before Moana, and before the latest Star Wars film. Needless to say, it has gotten even more promising since that post. In order to not sound redundant, I will just say that those 4 home runs were amazing and I recommend them strongly. The 4 were the Lion Guard, Zootopia, Captain America: Civil War, and the Jungle Book. 

Before moving on to the second half of the year, I would like to go a bit further on how obsessed my children are with the Lion Guard. My kids love the show. This is especially true for our 4 year old son, Noland Jr. He has about 1/4 of the stuff he owns currently as Lion Guard related. The kid adores the show and the characters. Jr. is constantly trying to acquire new Lion Guard materials. It is a cool show for us too, because it is a bridge from the classic movie of our childhood, the Lion King. Just a brilliantly done show that hasn't lost any traction in our household.

Now onto the newer stuff...

Finding Dory was another smash hit for Disney and I too enjoyed the movie. I did not enjoy it as much as some people, but it was a great movie. The movie had really strong new characters and is certainly something Disney will continue to cash in on. It was not a failure by any stretch of the imagination and helped to grow the brand overall. Like I said, I enjoyed the movie and most enjoyed it even more than I did.

To me, perhaps the biggest hit and certainly the biggest surprise of the year was Moana. Now, I thought Moana would be really good, but it surpassed every expectation I had of the movie. After seeing Zootopia, I thought there was no way an animated movie could top that in the same year, but Moana was right up there. This movie was darn close to flawless and you must see it if you have not already. It will be interesting to see how the hype around this movie proceeds as time moves on.

Admittedly, I have not seen Doctor Strange or the latest Star Wars yet, but they have been hits. I have also heard terrific things from all that have seen those titles.

2016 also was the year we once again had Disney passes and there are some exciting things going on at the parks. Nothing at Disney World is as exciting as the additional hours at my favorite park, Animal Kingdom. Although I hear next year will be even bigger for this park and Disney World in general. Before we get to next year though, let's talk about one more thing for 2016.

Each year, we do a Disney countdown for characters and this year I decided to include more family. We had 11 family members each submit their top 50 solely Disney characters, and top 50 pixar characters as well. 50 points were awarded for #1 and 1 point for #50 for each list. Here are the top finishers after the vote and who the 4 in my immediate family voted for as their 5 favorites (for Eli we scattered toys and pictures and took them away after he chose somebody).

Overall Disney
#1 Simba
#2 Mickey Mouse
#3 Donald Duck
#4 Pooh
#5 Jiminy Cricket

Robinson Top 5 1-5
Me: Jiminy Cricket, Baloo, Pooh, Pumba, Donald Duck
Jenna: Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Rapunzel, Simba
Jr: Kion, Mickey Mouse, Bunga, Donald Duck, Nick Wilde
Eli: Mickey Mouse, Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, Kion

Overall Pixar
#1 Nemo
#2 Dory
#3 Woody
#4 Crush
#5 Squirt

Robinson Top 5 1-5
Me: Buzz, Crush, Rex, Bullseye, Marlin
Jenna: Woody, Buzz, Lightning McQueen, Marlin, Rex
Jr.: Buzz, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Woody, Rex
Eli: Buzz,Woody, Crush, Lightning McQueen, Squirt

As you can see sometimes the slam dunk winner in the house loses out overall. This was most true with Pixar as Buzz finished 1st for all 3 boys, and 2nd for Jenna. However, my brother and his kids didn't include Buzz and he finished outside the top 5. Crazy!!!!

I sure will have fun comparing the lists as they come out each year. It was a cool project that resulted in a fun coloring book for the kids.

This year in Disney was awesome! I have a feeling that next year could be even better! You will be able to follow our Disney adventures for 2017 right here.

Until next time, see you real soon!!!!

-Noland

Disney @ Christmas Time

Christmas is the most magical time and magical season that there is. It is filled with happiness and joy. Makes sense that people want to be at the happiest place in the world during the happiest time in the world. A lot of people share this sentiment and Disney is packed for the holiday season. Other than 4th of July, the entire week before and after Christmas is the busiest time at Disney world. I went the day after Christmas before and it was difficult to even move much. However, there are some pointers in dealing with this crowded time at the parks.

First, to get the most bang for your buck at Disney, avoid the parks during those two weeks. Go at a different time in the season, all of the Christmas stuff is offered and you won't have to deal as much with the crowds. If you have a Silver pass (like us), your pass is blacked out during this time anyways. There are better times to go.

Next, determine how much the special events mean to you. The special event I am most specifically speaking of is the Very Merry Christmas Party. It is a special ticket event that is seperate from a regular day park admission. That being said, it does come cheaper than a regular park admission and offers some extra perks. Besides being cheaper it comes with a slightly less crowded park and is offered after park hours. You can usually get in at 4pm while the park closes to the general public at 7pm and you are allowed to stay until 2am (which is impossible for parents with young children). Free cookies and holiday beverages are offered at several locations throughout the park. There is also a variety of other holiday treats available for purchase. Additionally, there is a holiday stage show and a special holiday parade. Finally, the biggest draw which is special character meets that aren't available during the day. These meets included Sandy Claws (Jack Skellington), Scrooge McDuck, and the Zootopia characters this year. It is very worth it for one time, but I do not know if I'd go back since I've been once. Also it is very tough for my family to get our complete money's worth and stay until 2am because of the little ones.

Magic Kingdom does not have many holiday offerings outside of the party. The castle lights up at night and there are decorations around the park. However, if you want the holiday experience at Magic Kingdom, you need to go to the party. The special holiday treats are only available at the party.

We miss the Osborne lights a lot. That amazing experience at Hollywood Studios is never to be seen again. It is really sad that they won't have it anymore. We went a few weeks ago and were pretty disappointed at what was being offered. It was so sad. We didn't stick around for the new projection show after hearing it was just okay because the kids were tired. Honestly, this park makes me feel claustrophobic at times now and I am not that type of person. There just is not and will not be a lot to do until the Toy Story and Star Wars lands open up. Disney needs to increase the amount of character meets in this park to make it worthwhile to attend to non passholders. I go still because it does have some of my favorite rides, but I probably wouldnt spend my money to go here for just one day as of now. It will pay off in the long run, but it is not up to the Disney standard currently.

Picture of the Osborne Lights we miss so much. Disney isn't as exciting at Christmas, but its still cool.

Animal Kingdom is my favorite park and the park the boys enjoy most. It is a really cool park for the Animal lover and has a lot of boy themed attractions, while the other parks typically focus a bit more on the little princesses. It has the least holiday appeal though. It simply does not have holiday shows and lacks major holiday decorations. They do exist though, and the tree out in front is always my favorite Christmas Tree on Disney property. Do not expect much beyond that particular tree though as far as holiday appeal.

We are going to Epcot at Christmas time this weekend to catch some of those holiday festivities and will have more tips at a later date. The Christmas trees and decorations were up in mid November when we went, but the Candlelight Processional and other holiday shows were not quite ready yet at this time. The tree entering the World Showcase was a pretty awesome sight. Another cool sight was the tree in America. Finally, the holiday topiaries were also a very nice touch to the park.

If you do not care about holiday decorations and shows and just want to visit the parks, go in the morning! They are way more crowded at night because of the holiday offerings. Stay tuned in a few weeks for updates on the new Christmas offerings at Disney Springs!

From the entire Robinson clan, I hope you have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-Noland

The Ultimate Holiday Gift

Imagine the most amazing gift possible, imagine receiving the perfect gift. Most of you probably thought about a car, a house, an expensive wedding, a vacation, or something along those lines right? Well, what if I told you that all of those would be wrong? What if I wold you, that you could give a gift that was far better than those? What if the gift you could give was life itself?

Okay, so pregnancy right? The gift I am talking about has to certainly be pregnancy. It is not though. While that is an amazing gift, and is giving life, I am actually talking about a gift that even more people aged 16 years or older can give. This life giving gift comes in the form of donating blood.

Still not convinced, or think it is not necessary.

Well, how about if I tell you that every time you donate blood, you can save up to 3 lives. That's right, 1 blood donation can save 3 lives!

Need more convincing?

Every 2 seconds in the United States, somebody somewhere needs a blood transfusion. Multiple people somewhere need blood as I type out this post. At some point in your life, somebody you know will need a blood transfusion. It could even be you that needs one. I know that the need for blood hit close to me.

During pregnancy with Noland Jr., Jenna hemorrhaged and needed a lot of blood. In fact, she lost so much blood that she actually had to get two transfusions after delivery. Those blood donations saved her life. People that donated saved my family. She was not done though, not my amazing wife. She wanted/wants more kids and then we had Eli. With Eli, the doctors were more on top of it and it was less scary, but it still happened again. This time she would need 3 blood transfusions and the donated blood again saved her life. The donated blood saved our ability to do all of the wonderful things that we love and do them as a family. It allowed us to have all of these wonderful adventures. They saved the best mom possible. It gave our family life.

Please! Please! Consider donating blood! It is desperately needed and can be the ultimate gift.

Here is a link to all OneBlood Donation Centers in Florida

Here is a little bit more on why you should donate.

Here is what happens to donated blood.

You can really save someones holiday with this gift. It is a gift that everyone should consider. Give life and really truly do something good. For if we all are protecting EVERY life from conception until natural death, we are doing our part.

Thank you and have a Merry Christmas!

-Noland