A Bear Who Likes His Hullabaloo
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Disney College Program: Underwear Required
Disney Dining Video Reviews: Camera Meets Cuisine
Lots More in the Disney Dispatch Vault
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Hand-Picked Hullabaloo for October 2010
It's hard keeping track of the colossal amount of Disney coverage published daily on sites big and small. From the smaller sites, especially, much good stuff sails past without hullabaloo.
Here is that hullabaloo! By necessity, it's selective: my favorites from the past week or two.
Check back every so often for new helpings of hullabaloo, or subscribe to the weekly Disney Dispatch digest so you'll be sure not to miss it.
Affordable Mouse
Nancy Bobby is never at a loss for useful Disney tips or entertaining Disney stories.
The site's popular Disney Tips column (every Tuesday!) and Disney Thrift column (every Thursday!) are worth their weight in pixie dust. It's not all tip and thrift, though: no stranger to controversy, Nancy also wades into the spirited debate by Disney blow-, I mean, die-hards over refillable mugs and lives to blog another day.
Disney Tips: The Magic Lives on Property
Thrifty Thursday: Magic Kingdom Opening Ceremony
The Great Disney Refillable Mug Debate
AllEars
Deb Wills' AllEars is one of the biggest Disney informational sites - it has cool blogs, too.
Jack Spence de-hibernates with a two-part, definitive feature about the Country Bear Jamboree (my least favorite Disney attraction). Steve Barnett finds Hidden Mickeys at the Wilderness Lodge (my least favorite Disney resort because it reminds me of bears). And Deb Wills herself covers the arrival at Epcot of Duffy the Bear (whom I personally despise). Maybe Deb should rename her site AllBears.
Wilderness Lodge Hidden Mickeys
Duffy the Bear Debuts in Epcot at Walt Disney World
Disney Shawn
Shawn Slater writes image-rich vignettes about his favorite park rides and attractions.
Shawn delves into Disneyland's "Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries" (that may be him looking frightened or heroic - hard to tell - in the final picture) and then seeks his fortune from Shrunken Ned and other dubious characters in a fascinating little piece about fortune tellers in Disneyland. Fortified with a favorable fortune, Shawn passes through the gateway to Adventureland and is never heard from again. (Not true, really, he'll probably post again tomorrow.)
Growing Up Disney
Amy Eastman (and family) share Disney World memories old and new.
Chris Ridgeway stays slim and trim with his frequent "Walk Around the World with Ridge" column, often spotlighting useful tech gadgets for Disney trips. The Minnie Moms collaborate on a two-part article about the best and the worst Disney restaurants for kids. And Amy herself suggests some appropriate sight-seeing trails for toddlers in the Animal Kingdom.
A Walk Around the World with Ridge: Pal Mickey
Minnie Moms: The Best and Worst Restaurants for Kids
Minnie Moms: The Best and Worst Restaurants for Kids, Part 2
Disney's Animal Kingdom: Trails and Toddlers
Parkeology
Parkeologists Shane and Teevtee make Disney arcania both relevant and humorous.
This month, Shane calls out the Mouse for including the wrong lyrics to the song "I've Got No Strings on Me" on a mural in the Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant. Then, in "Making My Own Philharmagic", he lets loose some GAS (Giveit Away Syndrome) in sympathy with other frequent park visitors who likewise suffer that malady.
SamLand's Disney Adventures
Sam Gennawey covers diverse Disney topics, always with dry humor and masterful commentary.
Sam's latest opus, a multi-part report of his latest trip to Disney World (including a side-trip to Universal), ranks among the best trip reports I've ever read: loaded with details, pictures, and opinions, and lacking the nauseous 'gush' that mars so many of the reports on sites like Disboards. Sam also reviews books and I was shocked - in a good way - to read a negative review of a recently published Disney travel guide. Too often bloggers pen positive reviews to score points with authors. Not so Sam.
Walt Disney World Trip Report: The Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World Trip Report: Epcot
Walt Disney World Trip Report: Disney's Hollywood Studios
Walt Disney World Trip Report: Animal Kingdom Impressions
Book Review: Travelers Guide Books - Disney World
Touring Plans
The TP folks don't just crunch numbers; they write blogs, too.
Todd Perlmutter recounts the adventures of Jasper, his Bichon Frise, at Disney's new on-site kennel, Best Friends Pet Care. Kristen Helmstetter recounts her adventures at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival. And Tom Bricker recounts weekly his photographic adventures in Foto Fridays, an 'infotainment' column chockful of Tom's photography tips, entertaining tales, and gorgeous pictures. So much adventure in one blog! (And those are just the highlights.)
My Food & Wine Festival Experience
Foto Fridays: Disney Fall-tography
Foto Fridays: Our First Visit to Disneyland
Travel with Rick
Rick Howard films informative Disney videos featuring himself and often a special guest or two.
Rick strolls through Epcot's Food & Wine Festival with Rhino Ken and then pulls enjoyable double duty with Adventure by Disney's Tracy for lunch at Via Napoli and a dialog about the Once Upon a Fairytale Germany Adventure complete with highlights of Rick's recent trip to Germany.
Episode 91: Once Upon a Fairytale Adventure by Disney to Germany
Episode 90: Via Napoli - Epcot's Italy Pavilion
Episode 89: Epcot's 15th Annual Food & Wine Festival
Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World
Disney veteran Bruce makes known daily the unknown magic within Disney World.
Don't miss Bruce's scholarly (well, maybe not so scholarly) study of the teenage mind and its susceptibility to Disney magic. In other recent posts, equally enlightening, Bruce concludes that "size matters" (at least in terms of Disney's Deluxe Villa Resort Hotels), embarks upon a character hunt for lesser-known Disney personalities, and marvels at the magic of Disney treescaping.
The Magic of Disney World on the Teenage Mind
Go on a Character Hunt
Size Matters
Disney Treescaping
ZannaLand
Suzannah DiMarzio has serious Disney cred: travel agent, cast member, WDW Moms Panel member.
In a unique and wonderfully subversive take on 'favorite ride lists', Suzannah lists the top five attractions she avoids at Disney World. Having thus cheesed off some readers, she then proceeds to cheese off other bloggers by reporting on her "informal and cozy" meet-up with Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine at the Crew's Cup Lounge. (I would've attended but, uh, I was, uh, cooking with Emeril - yeah, that's it!) And finally, don't miss Suzannah's remembrance of her late father with a photo of her (as a cast member) standing with him outside Uptown Jewelers in 1995.
What Attractions Do You Avoid At Walt Disney World?
Chef Robert Irvine Loves Helping Others, Meeting Fans, and DISNEY!
Lots more hand-picked hullabaloo on the way for next month!
Contact the Author: Bob McLain
About This Series
Hand-Picked Hullabaloo appears several times each month on Disney Dispatch with brief descriptions of and links to the best current Disney coverage from an ever-growing community of friendly sites.
If you run a site not yet in our community, or know of such a site, please send me some hullabaloo so I can include it here.