Sunday, July 26, 2015

Run Disney

After months of thinking about it - I signed up for a run Disney event!  I will be running (?) the Avengers 10K in November of 2015.  Naturally I have been working hard on planning...my outfit that is.  I realize I'm running an Avenger race - but I'm still planning my Snow White outfit!
I have my Raw Threads Snow shirt


My Sparkle Skirt

A glitter Sweaty Band

and my running shoes!


Now - to train!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Brewster's Millions

A few Saturday nights ago we were looking for something to watch on TV when we ran across this movie:


I have always enjoyed this film.  As I sat watching it for the umteenth time, I got to thinking - what would I do with this situation?

Here is a refresher of the plot:
30 million dollars in 30 days - you can't tell anyone what your doing, you can't own anything new, you can't buy anything to destroy, you must get value for the services paid, and you can donate only 5% to charity and 5% can be gambled.

This got me to seriously thinking - could one do this challenge a take an ultimate around the world Disney vacation - could you spend that much at Disney in thirty days?  My thought is - absolutely!

First up, I'd donate the 5% - $1,500,000 - to charity.  I will put my personal plug here (and non-Disney related) and I'd donate to the Michael Hoefflin Foundation.  I'm not much of a gambler - so I'd skip that option and start planning the trip of a lifetime.

$28,500,000 in 30 days - let's go!

The trip will hit Disney theme park destinations - Orlando, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Anaheim - and Hawaii (for good measure).  Six destinations in 30 days means five days per location.

I am calculating prices based on two people using all kinds of Disney and fan websites - so let's spend some fictional money!

Up first Orlando -
Room for 5 nights in the Royal Asante Presidential Suite (around $2,600 a night) - $13,000
Theme park admission for 5 days with water park and more and park hopping - ($431.33 per person) - $862.33 (for 2 people)
Platinum Dining plan ($254 a day - for two people) - $5,080
Private Premium VIP tour - ($600 an hour) - 8 hours a day for the five days - $4,800
So that brings our total for the Orlando leg to around $23,800

Next Paris -
Room for 5 nights in the Sleeping Beauty Presidential Suite in the Disneyland Paris Hotel (around $3,839 a night) - $19,195
Theme park admission - ($259 per person) - $518
Assuming the VIP tour is around the same in Orlando - $4,800 for 5 days
Dining - Let's budget 200 a day per person - $2,000
That brings the Paris total to $26,513

Tokyo
Room for 5 nights in the Walt Disney Suite in Tokyo Disneyland Hotel (500,000 yen a night) -  2,500,000 yen
Theme park admission with extra park hopping (22,800 yen per person) - 45,600 yen
VIP tour (at around 21,000 yen for 3 hours) for 9 hours a day for five days - 31,500 yen
Dining - a full dinner at Magellan's runs 7500 yen - so lets use that for our meals - 225,000 yen
Our Tokyo total is then 2,779,300 yen which, according to Google, will be $22,665.97

Hong Kong
Room for 5 nights in a Hong Kong Kingdom Club Suite (9,564 HKD a night) - 47,820 HKD
Theme park admission - 4,990 HKD
VIP tour (4,688 HKD for first 3 hours and 1,300 HKD for additional hour) - 55,940 HKD for the 5 days
Dining - again, budgeting for big spender meals - $2,000
So - looking at around $20,000.

Hawaii
Room for 5 nights in the Ahu Ula Suite (around 3,726 a night) - $18,630
Spending money for the spa and excursions - 900 a day per person - $4,500
Dining - $2,000
Our total for Hawaii is now $25,130

Anaheim
Room for 5 nights in one of the Disneyland Hotel penthouses - have you seen those rooms?? - ($3,500 a night) - $17,500
Theme park tickets $630 for a 5 day park hopper
VIP tour $355 an hour - $14,200
Dining -$2,000
The Disneyland total is $34,330

After calculating all of these locations I am surprised to find that they are all around $30,000 for the five days.  I'm rounding that up to $35,000 for taxes and tips.   So for thirty days the total goes to $210,000.  I honestly thought this would be much more! So, now I'm thinking - let's make this a party!  How about 50 of my best Disney pals? Now we've spent - $12,250,000

We have $16,250,000 left to spend.

Next - hire a private jet to fly us all around the world and private car service to go to and from airports and destinations.  Because we can! Let's budget 60K for each flight and with 7 flights, it will cost us something like $420,000.  We'd need at least 14 limo rides to and from airports and if the rides cost about $350 that would be at least $5,000.  But we are bringing 50 people!  So we're looking at at least $25,000.  Of course, we'd need a private photographer to document to the trip.  I'm sure there is some Disney fan professional photographer that would sign up for the trip!  Let's hire someone (or two?) to document the trip and budget $100,000.  So for transportation and documentation - let's budget $1,000,000.

That still leaves $15,250,000.  I'm surprised at how much is left!  Now there might be more expensive ways to roll through cash at Disney that only the high rollers know, but 30 million truly is a huge some of money!

How about just renting out all of Disneyland for the last day and throwing a huge party?  Think 15 million will cover it?

Or maybe just rent a cruise boat for the month?  Maybe 30 million would cover it?

Sunday, July 12, 2015

10 Books Every Snow White Fan Needs

I was recently inspired by an episode of WDW Radio and got to thinking about which books every Snow White fan should have.  So here it goes, my top 10 list of Snow White books...

First up is the 1987 book written by Richard Holliss and Brian Sibley: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & the Making of the Classic Film.  This book was republished in 1994 for the re-release of the VHS tape.  This book has three sections: the first is a history of the behind the making of the film, the second is a retelling of the story where the illustrations are all production art, the final section discusses the film's impact.  This is one of the most complete books about Snow White history.  Below are pictures of the three versions I own:




This version came in a VHS box set
Second, every Snow White fan needs to have a 1937 version of the story.  The book below is a 1987 reprint of a 1937 edition.  Why a older version of the storybook?  The oldest story books include scenes that didn't make it into the final version.  This particular book includes Snow White's mother and the dwarfs building a bed.

Most children have a few Little Golden books around - and there are no shortage of Snow White versions.  Below is my favorite: The Little Big Book.


This next book is all about the beautiful concept art by Gustaf Tenggren: Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  This was published in 2009.


Fifth on the list is Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs An Art in Its Making featuring the collection of Stephen H. Ison is a fabulous book featuring some amazing art.  This book was published in 1994 to go with an exhibit in Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Sixth is the Walt Disney's Sketch Book of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  The version I have is a 1993 reprint.  The book is filled with detailed character sketches for all of the main characters.

Next is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film.  This book was released when the Walt Disney Family Museum had their Snow White exhibit.  It is a fantastic collection of production art.


Ninth on the list is a linen book.  These Whitmore publishing books are so detailed and the extra large size makes them a great statement piece in the collection.  Below are a few of my favorites.


The last and final book on the top ten list is The Fairest One of All: The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  This is the most complete history of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  I've been reading through this impressive book and there are a lot of stories I haven't heard before.