Disney's MGM/Hollywood Studios Characters

So been a while since I posted about my favourite Florida Theme parks so thought I'd share pics and thoughts and info on another Disney Park this time Hollywood Studios or MGM as it used to be known.

The first person that greets you when you enter the park is Bo:

From there on  Hollywood Studios as the name suggests is all about the movies and the stars. Even their balloons are star shaped:

The main mouse in this park is Sorcerer Mickey and so the park icon keeping in theme with that, and their evening Fantasmic show, is the Sorcerer Hat:

and Sorcerer Mickey can be found everywhere from the shops:

To his home in the Animation Building in the Park:

The Animation Building also houses more characters though and on our recent trips they had some very cute theming going on to suit whatever the most recent movie that had been released. So in 2010 Toy Story 3 was the latest release so the theming was as follows:

And the character you got to meet was a large cuddly Lotso:

In 2011 the most recent release was Winnie the Pooh so you got to travel to the 100 Aker Wood:

And meet the Tubbie Little Cubbie himself:

On our last visit the Animation building was also the home of some displays of photos and models from the latest releases as well:

Of course the Animation building isn't the only place you'll find characters in Hollywood Studios. Out in front of the Sorcerers Hat you can meet and greet anyone from the rest of the Fab 5 to Stitch or Tigger or Eeyore

 and sometimes they even have special Hollywood or star themed outfits on themselves:

Hollywood Studios seems to be the main hang out point for all the Pixar characters as well and you can meet favourites such as Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc to McQueen and Mater from Cars:

Hollywood Studios also features the Toy Story Themed Pixar Place which house Woody and Buzz Lightyear:

You'll also find many other Pixar friends that you don't see in the other parks in the Parade in Hollywood Studios but I'll save those pictures for another blog.

Radio stuff

So been missing from this for a while (college stuff!) I wanted to talk about something besides Disney parks and Westlife although I do love talk about them but I also do radio stuff! I have done a Postgrad in Radio and Television production and just finished a masters in something extremely similar. I have done many courses over the last few years as well as bits and bobs of volunteer work in radio whenever I could get it. With one of the volunteer opportunities I found myself sitting behind a microphone supposed to be telling people about movies but not really sure what to be saying about them. Why is it that without a microphone there you can talk as normal but the minute a microphone is there everything has to be said and done in a certain way in order to paint the picture to a listener it leaves me going what do I say?! Anyways as I searched my notes recently I came across some of these reviews I wrote. My favourite one was of course the one about a Disney movie which at the time UP had just been released so this is what my "script" was for that week:

This week, I was taken up, up and away with the latest release from Disney Pixar!

Directed by Monsters Inc, academy award nominee Pete Doctor and co-directed by Bob Peterson, UP is Pixar's tenth animated movie and their first one available in digital 3D.

The star of the movie is 78 year old, balloon salesman, Carl Fredrickson, who is voiced by Ed Asner.

We are first introduced to him as a young boy who dreams of adventure. He meets Ellie, who shares his love of adventure and the next five minutes of the movie is a wordless montage of Carl and Ellie's life together from childhood right up to old age!

Once tragedy strikes Carl wants to be left alone. However life isn't quite as simple for Carl as he meets a lot of frustrations and when faced with having to move to a retirement home, decides to tie thousands of balloons to his house and float off to South America to live out one of his and Ellie's life long dreams. As you do!!!

What he doesn't count on, is the eight year old stow away, Russell, an overly enthusiastic wilderness explorer, who is trying to earn a badge for assisting the elderly.

Carl didn't really want Russell as a travelling companion but with no way to put the house down he takes him along for the adventure of a lifetime.

Once they land short of their intended destination, the pair set off walking with the house in tow and encounter many surprising events along the way. They meet a giant multi-coloured bird with a sweet tooth called Kevin and a lovable friendly dog called Dug.

Dug's thoughts can be translated into English with the help of a collar his master has made him and indeed he quite often thinks along the lines of what you would expect your own pet to be thinking.... alot of happy thoughts mixed with thoughts of chasing squirrels and tennis balls.

Of course in all Disney movies there is a villain and this one is no different. The villain in this movie, who has an army of talking dogs, turns out to be an unexpected blast from the past for Carl. However our unlikely heroes do triumph in the end and everyone lives happily ever after as per usual!

The movie shows that adventure can happen at any stage of life and in any form. There are also many themes throughout this colourful movie including those of grief, reflection and regret but there is also enough humour so that it balances out.  However the most important thing the movie shows is that it is the simple things in life that are important and that should be enjoyed.

UP is rated PG because of the short action scene towards the end but would be enjoyable for all ages. It wouldn't really be necessary to see it in 3D as it is good enough without and won't affect the quality of the film. It is however definitely worth the watch in my opinion.... if you're feeling UP to it!!!

Pure cheese with the puns but it would take a Disney movie to bring out my better review lol!