Oswald Oswald! It’s the first of the month! And with a new month comes Fab News’ first, brand-new sponsor, DVC Resale Market. I’m really excited to introduce them to you. I was actually looking into purchasing DVC points when I found them, and they got back to me faster than anyone else, and had the best prices. I’ll let them introduce themselves…and their bulldog.
To celebrate, they are running an 8% commission special for anyone listing their contract to sell. You must list on or before December 31, 2015 to take advantage of the promotion. This is a 20% savings from the industry standard of 10%.
On their site, DVCResaleMarket.com, you can learn about the differences between buying directly from Disney and buying from a reseller; find points charts for each resort, FAQs for buyers and sellers, resort information and much, much more. Hours are Open 7 Days a Week, Monday – Friday (9 am – 9 pm) EST and Saturday – Sunday (10 am – 6 pm) EST The phone number is 844-DVC-PROS
Welcome to Fab News, DVC Resale Market!
Behind the Very Dignified Scenes of Ant-Man
I got to talk to Trevor Habberstad, one of the stunt coordinators for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man, which I reviewed last week. You can buy the digital copy now, and the hard copy with all the cool stuff on it December 8th. Remember when I asked on an earlier release (Inside Out) what would be left for Special Editions in the future if the regular old initial release was so packed with bonus content? I got my answer today, and the visual is..well, it’s a thing of beauty, magic and wonder.
There’s plenty, from the SPFX department alone. I’m going to describe one stunt. Skip to the next story if you want to keep believing that people can actually ride ants. You have been warned.
For the first part, they got a mechanical bull and put an “ant-cover” on it. (Note: while Trevor has watched “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” many times and loves the movie, he did not watch it for reference. I asked.) They then put a stuntman in one of those motion capture suits (Usually a kind of unitard with reference marks all over it) on board and he rode it. Wait. It gets better. They set up “kind of a wind tunnel” out of plexiglass, then attached GoPro type cameras all over it. Then, they sent in two stuntmen in mo-cap suits. One of them crawled all over the ground, acting like an ant. The other one rode on his back, like he was riding a horse. Or like he was a very small superhero riding a mind-controlled ant. Hollywood magic!
Disneyland’s Horses Headed for the Hills
Anaheim Hills, that is. With Star Wars taking over the Circle D Ranch backstage they call home, the big guys have to move. It’s actually a good time to do it too – Candlelight is this weekend, and the horses get a mini Christmastime vacation during that time, anyway. They’ll have some time to get accustomed to their new digs before being trucked back to work on a daily basis. The commute will be longer, but the handlers and transportation will be the same, familiar ones that these four-legged Cast Members (they even have their own name tags!) have enjoyed throughout the years.
Come January 10th, all of the cute goats and other livestock from Big Thunder Ranch will be retired to happily live out their days on a little patch of heaven owned by a pair of Disneyland Cast Members who will give them love and care for them for the rest of their days. We were thrilled to hear that they’ll all be kept together and not divided up.
Sadly, the Circle D Ranch Barn, the very first building constructed backstage at Disneyland, will be torn down during the Star Wars construction. However, the Pope House, where the caretakers stayed, will be moved to a new location closer to the Team Disney Anaheim building.
A Very Merry Farm
Did you see the In The Parks look at Knott’s Merry Farm? Fantastic! We got to go to a press preview day and were invited to bring family members along, which was really nice. Disneyland used to do something like this back in the day. It was really fun, especially when Alice was younger. You have a different perspective writing about the park when you see it through the eyes of your loved ones. It can’t be helped. For this outing, the loved ones were my husband, Noe (who took the photos you see here), my daughter Alice and my mother-in-law Luisa, who is awesome. Yeah, I was dealt a lucky hand with my mother-in-law BOTH TIMES!
The shows were fantastic. The ice show was the same one as last year, and the leads were just as fantastic, but I think the supporting cast was even better than last year. The show in Camp Snoopy was really sweet, and I loved the area-appropriate decorations throughout the park. I didn’t care much for the tree lighting, but the tree itself was gorgeous. I only want to see those elves again at the hanging, The carolers and bell-ringers, however, were fantastic. Bring them up there with Snoopy instead.
The Christmas Crafts Village is a long, time-honored tradition at Knott’s Berry Farm, with some vendors back 20 years or more running. I bought Christmas gifts for relatives here as a tween and teen when visiting from Hawaii. For years, this and the shows in the Bird Cage Theater (The Gift of the Magi, and A Christmas Carol) were pretty much the length and breadth of Knott’s Merry Farm. The Christmas Crafts Village is free, Monday – Thursday from November 23 – December 10. On those dates, up to four hours of free parking is available in the Marketplace Parking Lot. The rest of the park is closed off to those who don’t have a ticket or a pass. This is something nice that Knott’s has done for people in the community for years, and it helps the local vendors who have rented spaces to sell their handiworks as well.
The most important part, of course, is in Santa’s Christmas Cabin, which started life out as a boxing exhibition hall. Now, it’s where families can meet and get their photos taken with Santa Claus, kids of all ages can enjoy eggnog, cookies and milk, gingerbread, fresh pastries, chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick, toasted nuts, (hubby is crazy for the cashews), crepes, Snoopy cookies, cocoa, coffee (regular or with a celebratory “spike”) and some festive beers, wines and even fresh maple candy, made on the “snow”. Most definitely my favorite part of the day.
Some restaurants and quick-serve places had special foods too. Grizzly Creek Lodge has a “Santa’s Christmas Cookies and Milkshake”
Celebrating Walt’s Birthday In Chicago THIS Weekend!
Here’s something for you readers in Chicago. The Walt Disney Birthplace will be celebrating Walt Disney’s birthday this weekend in the windy city. On December 5th, they are holding a free event (with cake) at the Walt Disney Birthplace at noon. That same afternoon, they are conducting a charity cocktail party at the historic Logan Theater. Disney Legend Floyd Norman is the guest of honor. And if that weren’t enough, they are holding a “Festival of Fun” at the Rocket Fizz store in St Charles on Sunday. The Birthplace folks have brought Elias Disney’s O-Zell Soda company back to life, with all proceeds benefiting the restoration of the home built by Elias and in which Walt was born. The soda is now available at Rocket Fizz stores nationwide, with the store in St Charles holding a special festival for Walt’s birthday on Sunday.
If you’d like to win tickets to the Logan Theater event, please post your favorite Walt Disney quote below. If selected (at random), you’ll be given 2 free tickets to the event in Chicago this Saturday afternoon. We have 3 sets of tickets to give away!
Click for information and ticketsGet Your Disney On with Michael Leon Wooley (from Disney’s Princess and the Frog)
100% OF ALL TICKET SALES GOES DIRECTLY TO THE HOPE OF THE VALLEY HOMELESS MISSION.
Get your tickets HERE folks!
And the Winner is . . . .
Susan Kelley
Susan wins 4 tickets to Medieval Times in Buena Park to enjoy the best darn dinner show in town.
You may not have won, but don’t fret. Medieval Times is offering MiceChatters a VERY special deal. For a limited time, you’ll get 40% off adult tickets to Medieval Times dinner show! It’s a really fun time and the perfect way to celebrate a special occasion (birthdays, good grades, anniversaries, family reunions, etc).
‘Thanks again to DVC Resale Market for making Fab News a little easier to bring to you every week.
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