Star Wars Through a Kid's Eyes: The Originals

The Star Wars watching was going nicely.  I expected to be able to follow up the Prequel Portion of these reviews in short order.  That was not the case, though; as the Rebellion was almost crushed by a foe it had never seen the likes of before:

Harry Potter.

He came from yet another franchise that I had tried to peak my daughter’s interest in for years, which she completely ignored until it came up as part of an after school craft activity.   I originally wanted to read her the books before she saw the movies.  However, since they planned to watch some of the later films in class, she needed to get caught up right away.  We did start reading the books at the same time, and there were enough, “That wasn’t in the movie,” moments in just the first book to guarantee she’ll know which medium Mr. Potter works best in.

Near the end of our magical cinematic journey, her interest in a Galaxy Far Far Away renewed and we were able to finish the saga.

A New Hope

Disney World 2008: Day 9

All Things Must End (Especially Good Customer Service)

Ha Ha! My Prince has a name!

We packed everything up, checked in the luggage, stored the carry-ons and grabbed a quick breakfast before going to say farewell to the Magic Kingdom.  Of course we had the longest wait for a boat (or bus for that matter) of the entire vacation.  One of the main McGinley Disney rules is to avoid the Magic Kingdom at all costs on Monday, as the crowds are always an order of magnitude greater than other days. (Except Saturday, but Saturday nights are allowed for parade viewing.) However, another more important rule is to go to the Magic Kingdom the last day if possible, to say good bye. 

Disney World 2008: Day 8

New Epcot Does have Good Things (But Tuna Isn’t One of Them)

Hey, guys! Throw us down a Peanut Butter sandwich!

Sunday began with the Grand Floridian character breakfast.  Anabelle very happily greeted Pooh and Tigger again, as well as Mary Poppins and Alice.  She found the Mad Hatter too loud, even though when he saw the look on her face, he screamed in terror and ran off.  I took a picture with him, sort of a “Dueling Funny Faces” before he went to the next table to pull a girls hood over her head.  The combination of excitement and fear reduced Anabelle’s breakfast to a couple bacon strips and a bowl of chocolate chips, setting up some spectacular sugar crashes for later.

Disney World 2008: Day 7

We Take it Easy (Yet Still Clock More Miles than the Fuller Brush Man)

The Jolly Holiday continues

Anabelle slept late Saturday (and upside down) while her Mom and Grandma went Downtown to go shopping.  When she eventually woke up, I took her to the pool where she again happily traveled between the regular and wading pool (and the bathroom).  She also discovered a new game.  She found that the rope on the rinsing shower was strong enough to hold her, so she could swing from it like Tarzan through the falling water.  Anabelle also bought souvenirs for her Mommy and Grandma while they were shopping for everyone else.  (She’s a sweetie.)

Disney World 2008: Day 6

Mostly Repeats in the Magic Kingdom (Because They Were That Good)

Showtime!

Friday was another day in the Magic Kingdom.  Not quite as empty as Tuesday was, but close enough to make everything easy.  Rosa and I got a large amount of compliments on our “I’m with the Beast” and “The Beast” shirts, especially from cast members.  Actually, we all got a large amount of compliments on our shirts from cast members.  I think this comes from the McGinley family tradition of keeping certain t-shirts preserved to wear when we go to the parks.  I wore some, that even though the answer to,

“Where did you get that?”

was,

“This very store.”

It also would have to include the line,

“before you were born.”

Disney World 2008: Day 5

Timing Troubles in MGM (And Precision Timing for a Disaster)

We have arrived!

We slept a little late Thursday morning to recover from the previous night.  (I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my Mom for being our alarm clock, as the one in the room was broken, and she got up really early every day anyway.) 

We spent the day in MGM (Yes, I know the name changed to Disney Studios years before this trip, and I don’t care.) Even with low crowds, there are timing problems at MGM because a large percentage of the shows/attractions are scheduled, instead of running continuously.  Also, an equally large number of the attractions, including the continuous ones, are around a half-hour in length.  When you are trying to make sure your five-year-old sees certain specific things, it can lead to many cross park sprints.

Disney World 2008: Day 4

The Bad Decisions of Animal Kingdom (But Cinderella Saves the Day)

It looks so peaceful on the outside...

In order to avoid some of the begging and pleading to get Anabelle to go on the rides she would like, we tried giving her examples of all the ones she did.  As a counter example, I was trying to explain we wouldn’t tell her to go on the Bug 3D movie, because it had a dark and scary part in it.  The problem with that plan of attack was she liked the fantastic Philharmagic 3D movie so much in the Magic Kingdom that she became determined to start Wednesday with the Bug film, despite all warnings.

Seriously, DC, I Do Not Have Time for This

DC Comics has just announced that they are introducing a brand new version of Alan Scott, who was the first Green Lantern, into their post Flashpoint Earth 2 continuity as a gay man. 

Frankly I am appalled.



Although, with those colors, he did look kinda fabulous.



Mind you, I'm not appalled because of the gender preference of what is basically a new individual with the name of an over seventy year old fictional character.  They’ve flushed most everything I knew about DC continuity down the toilet already.  This change hardly matters, and more diversity in their narrow "18-35 year old white straight guy" target marketing should be a good thing. (He said hoping for titles aimed at all the women in his family who read comics, or even aging comic book fans, which he is rapidly becoming.) But since almost all the heroes are still white men, or half dressed women, they might want to try a little harder.  At this point, if I was still getting upset about changes, the fact that the ads hint that Earth 2 Batman and Superman kill people is a much larger violation of existing characters than Alan's lifestyle...but I'm sure the media won't make a fuss about that.