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Brent's Blog
Welcome to Brent's Blog. Here I will share my thoughts and stories
about my book, show, website, and Disney parks, books, and movies right here. I
hope you enjoy!
Brent's Blogs
June 1, 2014 - A hectically fun
day |
As we all know,
I strive to do everything at
Disney at least once or twice or
a hundred times. I am very
distraught to announce, however,
that I had never camped out for
Star Wars Weekends in order to
obtain a celebrity autograph
before. Today that all changed!

After getting
off of my pay the bills job at
2AM last night, I rushed home
real quick, updated the website,
and was then off to Disney's
Hollywood Studios! I arrived at
4AM and found a spot in line
that had a nice little patch of
grass next to it calling my
name. I slept for about an hour
or two while trying to ignore
the loud talkers in line for Ray
Park.
Who was I in
line for? John Ratzenberger. He
made a very brief appearance in
The Empire Strikes Back, but he
is better known for his
portrayal of Cliff Clavin in
Cheers or as us Disney fans know
him best, Pixar's lucky charm!
He has provided a voice in every
single Pixar film from playing
Hamm in the Toy Story films to
John in WALL-E!

Being new to
this whole camping out for an
autograph thing, I figured I
would share a few tips I
gathered from my experience.
Once you arrive, the area for
the autographs are separated
into five different lines. The
line practically guarantees you
a chance at meeting up with one
of the Stars of the Saga, but
the earlier you arrive, the
earlier autograph session you
will receive. For instance, John
had three autograph sessions
today (10:00am, 1:30pm, and
4:30pm). I was about halfway
back in the line so I received
the 1:30pm timeslot.

The first two
hours in line consisted of
nothing but sleep. Eventually
the person next to me in line
woke me up to inform me that the
line was moving. Unfortunately,
it only moved about fifteen feet
and then the endless line of
fellow nerds consisted of us
standing up, away from my
comfortable pasture, and waiting
an additional hour until we all
received a wristband. Once we
received a wristband (around
6:45) we were ushered to the
front of the line where we
received our Fastpass.

The one thing I
learned quickly was there really
was no purpose for me to arrive
so early. As soon as the Cast
Members with the wristbands
arrived they declared that
whoever was at the end of each
line would officially be the end
of the line and refusing to let
anyone else in. This meant that
John Ratzenberger's line, which
was about three times longer
than Taylor Gray's line, was cut
off at the same time. What does
this mean? It means if guest
arrived around 6:30 they would
have still received a Fastpass
and would have had the added
bonus of sleep on a pillow!
Overall, it was
quite the experience that I'm
sure I will do again in the
future. But in the meantime,
enjoy some pictures of the
event:


I had him sign the section of
From Screen to Theme that he was
mentioned in.

He also signed my Evil Dr.
Porkchop Vinylmation (John
provided the voice in the Toy
Story films)
|
February 2, 2014 - Four Year
Anniversary |
A little over
four years ago, my weekly
podcast, The W.E.D.nesday Show!
was about to celebrate its six
month anniversary while my first
book, From Screen to Theme, was
merely a month away from its
release. In the midst of all of
that, four years ago on this
date I launched my website,
FromScreenToTheme.com.
While the site
started off with four pages,
today we have thousands of pages
filled with Disney info, fun
facts, history, games, videos,
stories, and a whole lot more! I
would like to thank everyone out
there for the continued support
and for helping the site
continue to grow into what it is
today! And as usual, we have
some exciting things on the
horizon...
|
October 18, 2013 - Bringing
people together |
I often get
asked by both my Disney loving
and non Disney loving friends
why I love Disney so much. While
I could sit there and spout off
facts about the parks or discuss
the amazing storytelling in the
films, my answer usually boils
down to a simple idea: it brings
people together.
For instance,
four years ago I started to do
my weekly Disney podcast which
in turn has brought me some of
the greatest friends I could
ever ask for. On top of that
doing research in the parks for
the website or my books has
resulted in lifelong friendships
with Cast Members. While the
rides and cruises and tours and
films are great, everything
boils down to people coming
together due to a shared
interest.
Yesterday was a
prime example. I was sitting in
my apartment when I received a
message from one of my good
friends, and writer for this
website, Erik. The two of us met
due to this website and over the
past four years he has become a
brotherly figure for my little
brother and I, but more
importantly one of my closest
friends. In the message Erik
asked me if I would like to be
the godfather of his child.
I was extremely
honored and of course accepted.
Last night while thinking about
the fact that I could no longer
dump Erik as a friend due to
this bond we will now have, I
realized that once again Disney
has brought people together in
bigger ways than I could ever
dreamed. And that my friends, is
why I love Disney so much!
|
October 15, 2013 - Mickey's Not
So Scary Halloween Party |
I think my
favorite park day each year is
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween
Party. Not only does it feature
an amazing parade, fireworks
show, and lots of candy, but it
is the one time each year guests
go all out and dress up. While
most people dress up as a
stereotypical pirate, princess,
or in yesterday's case, Smurf, I
have always opted for a more
creative (and cheaper) route.
I attended my
first Mickey's Not So Scary
during my college program in
2004. I dressed as Waldo and it
was a huge hit! All night guests
were asking if I could hide in
their pictures so they could
find Waldo later and I had
several people running up to me
exclaiming that they had been
looking for me for years.
Overall, it was a great
experience.

The next time I
was in Florida during the
Halloween party was shortly
after moving down here in 2010.
I made up a list of rules for my
costumes that year which are as
follows:
1) It must be
Disney related
2) It must consist of
construction paper, cardboard
boxes, and creativity
3) It can't be Haunted Mansion
related (several people go this
route every year)
4) It must be worthy of one
"Best Costume of the Night!"
exclamation from at least one
Cast Member

So in 2010 I
made my first unique costume. As
seen above, I went as a
Fastpass. The costume was so
popular that the following year
I had Cast Member friends tell
me that despite seeing no
Fastpasses they year before,
2011 saw several guests dressed
as Fastpasses. It was then I
knew my first year was a
success, but 2011 I would need
to once again step up my game.
Naturally, I turned to my car,
and went as Herbie the Love Bug!

Herbie was a
huge hit throughout the night
and caused the first time I had
a Cast Member give a button to
me stating, "Best Costume of the
Night." When 2012 came around I
decided to up the game a little
more and go as one of my
favorite attractions found
within Walt Disney World, Toy
Story Midway Mania:

Throughout the
night I had people pointing out
I was a toy in a toy box, but
for the first time in all the
years I had the best feeling in
the world. People would look at
the costume trying to figure out
what it was and as soon as they
knew they would give out huge
congratulations on the
creativity. Which brings us to
this year.
This year I
decided to chase that feeling
once again of having something
most Disney guests see, but at
the same time it may take them a
little while to realize what I
was. During last years party
someone simply mentioned Soarin'.
As soon as I heard the one word
I began planning in my head on
how to pull of Soarin'.
Naturally three boxes, one ping
pong ball dressed a golf ball, a
pair of Mickey Mouse ears, a
pair of fake legs, and a lot of
wrapping paper and construction
paper resulted in this:

Front

Backside of costume
In my personal
opinion, this costume was my
favorite so far because of the
obscurity yet obviousness of it.
As the night began I had several
people approach me about how
much they loved my costume to
which I would thank them.
Eventually my friend Alex, who
had joined me for the evening,
and I began to realize that most
of these people were most likely
being polite and had no idea
what I was. That's when the real
fun began. As soon as people
would say, "I love your
costume!" I would respond with,
"Do you know what I am?" This of
course resulted in several
people stuttering and coming up
with obscure answers. Some of my
favorites are:
- Mission: SPACE
- The fish from Finding Nemo
(I'm guessing the one who
attacks Marlin and Dory in the
dark)
- The Lunar Landing
However, if
guests or Cast Members got the
answer I awarded them with a
blast of orange grove smell!
That's right, the final piece of
the costume was a can of orange
car freshener which security
almost wouldn't let me bring in
the park. However, it resulted
in hysterical laughter and one
sneezing fit throughout the
night!

While the
parade, fireworks, shows, etc.
are amazing, Alex and I both
agreed that it was our
interactions with the Cast
Members and fellow guests that
made the night so much fun. I'll
never forget our Liberty Square
friends who ran backstage after
the park closed to give us candy
or the Cast Member who had the
screaming contest with me while
discovering I was Soarin'. But
most of all, I'll never forget
the Cast Member who was unsure
of what I was and wasn't sure
whether or not she should ask,
smile, or keep walking. Instead,
she awkwardly waved.

Me as Soarin' as a guard in
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Now if you
excuse me, I have to get to work
on next year's costume...
|
June 4, 2013 - How I Met Your
Website Part 6 |
This is a love
story. Not the typical boy meets
girl, boy falls in love with
girl, boy and girl live happily
ever after kind of story. Not
all love stories are like that.
You see, life is
full of small little moments
that forever change your life.
It's not until years later that
you look back and realize that
those little moments really were
the big moments. So getting back
to my story. I sat down at a
table, and my life was forever
changed.
There I was with
my roommate Ajuane and sitting
across the table was a girl I
had met the previous day during
one of our classes. After
introducing her to Ajuane, him
and I noticed two girls sitting
next to the girl from the class.
For some odd reason, 19 year old
Brent knew exactly how to win
the hearts of every girl around
so naturally he began to speak
about the Easter Bunny.
Why? I honestly
have no idea looking back. It
was a conversation that had my
fellow classmate, Ajuane, and I
in stitches from laughing so
hard, but the two girls that sat
across from us seemed
unimpressed. Actually,
unimpressed would be a
compliment for what they were.
They seemed irritated by Ajuane
and I and you could tell that
both of them had a look of fear
on their faces as if one thought
was racing through their minds:
What if we are stuck working
with one of these two?
Unfortunately
for them, one of them ended up
working with me while the other
ended up working with Ajuane. Of
course after going through
custodial classes with Erin, she
pointed out the fact that it was
ridiculous that we were talking
about the Easter Bunny on that
fateful January morning. It was
at that point that I remembered
her and her roommate and their
looks of dread smeared across
their faces.
From that
randomness we began a friendship
that would last up until this
very day. It's funny because
throughout the years it's been
something Erin and her table
companion have continued to
bring up to me. The fact that
the first thing they ever heard
from my mouth was about the
Easter Bunny.
It's a good
thing that we were talking about
the most obscure topic ever
though, because if we didn't
then maybe none of us would
remember sitting at that table.
And that'd be a shame, because
the other girl sitting there
ended up changing the fate of my
professional life as I knew it.
And yes, she pushed me towards
one of the biggest loves of my
life'the very site you are on
right now.
It'd be a shame
to not be able to look back and
remember how this all started or
if the fate of my life began
with something a lot more sane
like, so where's everyone from?
I think it's good that
everything started off some
random, because, that was the
day I met Marielle.
|
May 3, 2013 - Goofy's Mystery
Tour |
Yesterday, I
participated in the Cast Member
event, Goofy's Mystery Tour.
Goofy's Mystery Tour is an event
that is part trivia, part
scavenger hunt, and a whole lot
of fun.

My team
consisted of our Sunday Brunch
writer, Reuben, one of our best
friends Randi, and our new gal
pal, Lauren. The trivia
questions consisted of Where in
the Worlds (much like we do
daily on this site), and
questions like, "Who is the only
actor to speak twice during the
final film montage of Great
Movie Ride?" (answer: Marlon
Brando).

After going
through 75 questions, some easy,
some hard, our team was tethered
up. We went throughout the park
to compete in 25 separate
puzzles. These puzzles ranged
from easy to extremely
challenging. After completing
each puzzle we would receive a
letter and number which would
correspond to a chart with
different symbols. After all 25
symbols came (along with one
confusing fife) we had a brand
new question which pretty much
asked us a simple question: What
will the next Star Wars Episode
be numbered? (answer: 7)

Map of Goofy Mystery Tour clue
locations
Here's a look at
some of the puzzles:



So how'd we do?
We ended up solving every one of
the puzzles in the two hour time
period and correctly getting the
final question right. We
correctly answered 67 of the 75
Trivia questions. So overall, we
felt extremely confident going
into the awards ceremony that we
may have placed in the top three
of the entire event. Second and
Third place actually tied with a
total of 68 Trivia questions
correct, while first place had
69. So we were merely one
question away from the top 3 and
two away from first place.
While it is
slightly disappointing knowing
we didn't come up on top, I'm
extremely proud of how we did.
More importantly, it was great
spending an evening in the park
with friends and it's made me
eager for next year when our
team will hopefully reunite and
take home first prize!
|
April 16 - Praying for Boston |
Yesterday, yet
another horrible incident
occurred in Boston. I
immediately wrote to three
people I know from the area.
Luckily they were all safe, but
unfortunately the one was just a
block away from everything as it
unfolded and another one was
safe and sound only three blocks
away. Facebook and Twitter have
had a variety of posts
discussing anger, hope, fear,
but most importantly, kindness.
While an event
like the Boston Marathon is one
of a huge accomplishment (I feel
awful for all the runners who
should have been celebrating
their incredible feat),
yesterday there were people who
ran towards the danger in order
to help one another. Both types
of runners deserve a lot of
credit.
As a Disney
site, we clearly focus a lot on
the idea of love, happiness, and
good verses evil. While we all
know they are stories, all
stories are somewhat rooted in
reality. Thinking about that
defining moment in A Bug's Life
where Flik helps all the other
ants realize that they outnumber
the grasshoppers, therefore they
shouldn't be afraid. That is one
of the most powerful moments in
any Disney film and I feel like
it truly stands for what we
should all do today.
Yes, sometimes
the bad guys win the small
battles, but in this time of
need, realize that just
everyone's power to band
together and pray for one
another and love each other
outweighs the evil in the world.
Sometimes the world is a scary
place, but always remember that
there is hope and love out there
because happily ever after is a
very real possibility. We just
have to work together to make it
a reality and in the process
make sure the crazy people in
the world don't hold us down as
a society.
|
April 15, 2013 - How I Met Your
Website - Part 5 |
So where were
we? Back on my second full day
of being on the College Program
I attended Traditions, a class
for Cast Members to learn the
history of the Walt Disney
Company and the guidelines made
for Cast Members across the
Company.
I sat down at a
table that only had one person
sitting at it at the time. A
large Texan named Billy. We sat
there and talked while our table
slowly filled up. It was at that
moment with Billy I began to see
what the entire experience was
about. Billy and I came from
completely different
backgrounds, but while talking
with him we really hit it off
and all I could think was how
much fun it'd be to hang out
with this non-Disney fan.
That's right,
not everyone on the College
Program is a Disney fan. In
fact, on my program it was tough
to find people who actually
were. Some of them I just never
met, and others just wanted an
escape from their every day
life.
Traditions went
on and I answered every question
correctly (the facilitator found
me about eight months later and
said I'm the only person in any
of his Traditions classes to
answer every question). It was a
great time. I began to realize
that I knew more about Disney
than I ever thought I did and
was coming into the program with
a one up on most others when it
came to Disney Nerdom.
The next day,
however, was the day that my
entire life changed. As I stated
in another entry, it was the
morning of my Magic Kingdom
tour. I asked if a seat was
taken, which would change my
life forever. You see, that was
the day I met her...
|
April 4, 2013 - Autism Awareness
Day |
A little over
three years ago my life changed
for the better in more ways than
I could ever imagine. I began to
do a Disney podcast and in turn,
people started tuning in on a
weekly basis. One of the huge
advantages to doing a live video
podcast with a chatroom is you
get a chance to interact with
fans of the show on a weekly
basis.
I had always
been aware of Autism, but it
wasn't until my weekly
W.E.D.nesday Show that I began
to meet more and more people who
either had it or had someone
they loved who has it. The more
I learned, the more amazed I was
about these amazing people.
Today is Autism
Awareness Day and I'm seeing
several postings online (which
led to this post) about how we
should be praying for a cure and
feel bad for these people.
Honestly, that's not what this
day is about. Autism isn't
something to be fearful of, but
something to celebrate! The
brain of an autistic person just
functions differently than
others. That's not a bad thing.
In fact, nearly every person I
know that has autism sees the
world in a way I wish everyone
would see it in.
When asked what
Autism means, my good friend,
Tommy Des Brisay who has autism
responded, Autism means
friendship. And with that
response, his own website was
born. Make sure you explore
Tommy's site,
www.AutismMeansFriendship.com.
While there you will realize
that this isn't a day where we
should pity people with autism,
but instead, celebrate the
uniqueness that autism is. And
that uniqueness truly makes this
world a better place.
|
March 31, 2013 - A Perfect
Engagement |
They say that
life can change in a second, and
boy are they right! Last May, I
was walking through the Magic
Kingdom doing some research for
the site when the most
unbelievable thing ever happened
to me. I was walking near the
Mad Tea Party minding my own
business when I was all of a
sudden bumped into. I was having
an awful day at this point and
this just added to my irritation
for the day.
I was about to
shoot the person a nasty look,
but when I turned to look I was
staring into the most beautiful
eyes I had ever seen. Not quite
blue, not quite green, I was
mesmerized. While I'm usually
not one to try picking up random
people...especially at the
parks...I apologized to
her. The next thing I knew she
was laughing about the happy
little encounter and invited me
to join her and her friend for
the day.
While at the
Main Street Bakery her friend
got an "emergency phone call"
which left the two of us alone.
We stayed at the park until
Wishes where all I could do was
smile about this happy little
accident.
Here we are, ten
months later. Yesterday I spent
most of the day at Epcot by
myself trying to calm myself
before the big day. Around 5 I
met up with her at Magic Kingdom
and subtly took her to the place
where we first met. We then went
to Gaston's Tavern to have a
cinnamon roll, the item we had
at Main Street Bakery. While
watching Wishes I got down on
one knee and proclaimed my love
by stating, "April F. Oolsday, I
sure do love you!" Happy
April Fools Day everyone!
|
March 4, 2013 - More Secret
Identities |
Last May, I
wrote a blog about revealing my
secret identity. During that
blog I revealed my big secret of
working at Ghirardelli in
Downtown Disney. It's time to
reveal what I've been doing for
the past ten months in a
brand new Secret Identity
reveal!
So ten months
ago I was looking for a new
change in life. It wasn't
anything to do with the job,
I'm just not the type of
person to stick to the same job
for a long period of time. I get
bored easily (unless of course
it's working on this website.
That is exciting and the best
job I've ever had!). In fact,
working at Ghirardelli for a
year and a half was the second
longest job I've ever stuck at
(working at a KinderCare in
Wisconsin was the longest).
I found a job in
a location I had always wanted
to work: Disney's Animal
Kingdom. To keep my time
flexible with my website, I
opted for a third party and
found myself at Yak and Yeti
Restaurant one April day last
year asking for an application.
I filled it out and a few weeks
later was asked to come in for
an interview. I got hired on the
spot for the quick service area
(Local Foods Cafe or LFC for
short).
I moved
up to a leadership role as
Captain and truly enjoyed the
people I worked with and the
amazing location. I mean, it
doesn't get any better than being
able to watch your favorite
Disney parade, Mickey's Jammin'
Jungle Parade, and watch monkeys
everyday! Out of the blue,
however, I got a phone call
asking if I would be interested
in a new job opportunity. I
listened to what new
opportunities the new job would
have to offer to me and they
seemed pretty good. So after a
few weeks of debating, I put in
my two weeks notice making
yesterday my last day at
Disney's Animal Kingdom (and
today being my first at my new
job!)!
Overall, it's
going to be odd not watching the
parade every day or walking
through a nearly empty Dinoland,
USA every morning, but my check
list is continuing for my life
time goal: work at every section
of Walt Disney World. I've now
done Magic Kingdom, Disney's
Animal Kingdom, and Downtown
Disney! Only Epcot and Disney's
Hollywood Studios to go!
Just like last
time, I am not revealing where
I'll be working for one simple
reason. I'm a huge believer in
the guests always coming first
and it's tough to do that when
friends come to visit you at
your job. So if you discover my
new location, great! If not,
pretend like you are playing
"Where's Brent-o?" Also, you
need to find my missing
backpack, camera, cane, and dog
with a red and white tail...
|
February 26, 2013 - How I Met
Your Website - Part 4 |
So there I was
about to sit at a table that
would change my life forever,
but before we get there, let's
flash back a few days. There I
was in a rental van packed up
consisting mainly of every DVD I
owned (my theory was I never
knew when I'd get the urge to
watch a specific movie over the
next eight months so I better
bring them all).
My dad and I
made the two day trek from
Wisconsin to Florida and
overall, I was extremely
nervous, but was about 90%
positive I was making the right
choice. There's something that
is quite remarkable about life.
Whenever you make a big
decision, you typically think
about what others are going to
think of your decision. This
wasn't just a decision however.
It was a dream. A life long
dream at that.
You see when I
was about four years old I
vividly remember driving in a
motor home back from Disney
World. We were on the road
overlooking a cliff and it was
then I thought about how someday
I was going to live in Disney
World. I'm sure I wasn't
thinking about working there.
Just living there and hanging
out with the characters while
riding Peter Pan's Flight and
Maelstrom over and over again.
The whole work
thing happened a few years
later. My Grandparents decided
that they would take two
grandkids at a time on a special
overnight trip to their house.
While there, we would go and do
some sort of special activity.
Recently a new Disney
store/restaurant opened up in
Illinois so my Grandma and
Grandpa Dodge took my cousin
Colleen and I down there and
allowed us both to buy a
souvenir. I bought a Dalmatian
puppy (101 Dalmatians had
recently been rereleased in
theaters), which Colleen and I
threw back and forth over the
bushes in the town square until
his head began to come off.
That night, after
my Grandpa and Colleen went to
bed, my Grandma and I were
sitting at her kitchen table
talking about the day. I told
her I had a secret about Disney
that was just going to be for
her and I. The secret was quite
simple: I told
her that some day I would work
for Disney in some way, shape,
or form. I was six so I didn't
have a plan. I just had a dream.
My dad and I
pulled into the newly opened Pop
Century Resort and I began to
wonder what my Grandma and other
Grandparents, my parents, my
brothers, and everyone else in
my life thought about this new
change in my life. Did the
approve or did they just think it
was Brent simply
being Brent?
During the check
in, the Cast Member was excited
to hear about why I was there
and wished me luck on the
College Program. He then asked
my dad what he thought, to which
he replied, "I think it's a good
fit." I had my answer and I
was now 100% positive I was
making the right choice. As for
the taking a seat at the table?
We'll get there soon, but first
we have to talk about Billy...
|
February 11, 2013 - How I Met Your
Website - Part 3 |
There's a
building behind the Magic
Kingdom known as Disney
University. This is where
different management training,
Disney Traditions classes,
security checks, and other
behind the scenes Disney things
take place. More importantly, it
was the location of a turning
point in our story.
Depending on
which park Cast Members work at
in Walt Disney World, Cast
Members get different tours of
the park which help open their
eyes to the marvel and mystery
that is Disney. For the Magic
Kingdom the class is known as
Once Upon A Time is Now and our
tour began at the cafeteria
found within Disney University.
I vividly
remember waking up early that
morning and headed over to the
Magic Kingdom with my, up to
that point, silent roommate
Ajuane. The bus ride over to
Disney University consisted of
the chatterbox in me rapidly
asking questions about his
family, home, school, etc. while
he most likely sat there
thinking about how he wish he
was assigned a different
apartment on the program. I was
showing off my Disney knowledge
and pointing out some fun facts
to him (0 bricks on the Castle,
Master Gracey is at the Mansion,
Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't
an opening day attraction) while
he polietely nodded while
questioning what was in store
for him today and over the next
nine months.
We pulled into
the parking lot and I dragged
him along to the cafeteria where
our tour was going to begin. He
hesitantly followed, but I could
tell he was going to play the
day carefully and stand by my
side. It's better to be with
your crazy roommate than with no
one at all, after all. We
entered the room and found a
table in the back left corner
with some empty spots.
Sitting at the
table was a girl that had been
in my Traditions class the day
before so I approached her with
the simplest question.
Let's pause
right here, because the question
that's about to be asked is one
of the most crucial moments in
the entire story. Most people in
life plan for the big moments
that will change their lives
whether they're proposals,
accepting jobs, or where to
live. Those moments don't really
matter though. the moments that
matter are the simple ones.
Those are the ones that truly
tie everything in life together.
If it weren't for the small
things in life there would be no
point for the bigger things
since they wouldn't be as big
anymore. Now, let's get back to
our story.
"Is this seat
taken?" And my life was changed
forever...
|
February 2, 2013 - How I Met Your
Website - Part 2 |
Today marks the
third year this website has been
hanging around the World Wide
Web, so I think it's a perfect
time for Part 2 of my series,
How I Met Your Website (read
part 1 below).
So I had been
accepted into the Walt Disney
World College Program. Now up to
this point in my life I had
never really had people question
my dreams. Family, friends,
teachers, neighbors, etc. always
seemed to be full of
encouragement no matter how far
fetched a dream may be. For
instance, Six year old Brent:
Some day I'll be a Ninja Turtle!
Naturally, no one told me that I
would first have to become a
turtle in order to make that
happen. I always figured that if
they mutated, so could I.
So after getting
accepted I called up my family
and told them the amazing news
and just like always, they were
full of hope and words of
encouragement. At the same time
(literally within minutes of my
news) one of my hall mates found
out he got into a study abroad
program. We decided to head
across campus to tell our
favorite professor our good
news.
Let's flash back
a second. "Senior in high school
Brent" was a HUGE movie fan and
wanted to be the next George
Lucas or Steven Spielberg so he
naturally went to college for
Film. His first year in college
he lived on a floor which
consisted of students that had
art as their primary interest.
The entire floor had a class to
help enhance our creative minds
and was taught by two
professors. One was amazingly
supportive, the other hated
Disney.
So here we were
headed to the classroom with the
amazing professor and the
critical one. After sharing my
good news, the Disney hater
immediately started pointing out
how awful the program would
probably be and how I would
probably hate Disney after going
through it. A few of my college
friends started pointing out
that I shouldn't go (not because
they wanted me to stick around),
but because they felt I would
hate Disney by the time my
program was done.
It's an amazing
thing in life really. You tell a
toddler not to touch a hot oven
and they go and touch it
anyways. The same is true later
in life. You tell a dreamer that
they are going to come out the
other side bitter and angry and
all you do is light a fire. It
was at that moment I realized
one thing. Not only was I going
to take advantage of the program
for everything it could offer
me. I was going to let it change
my life just so I could show
those people back at college how
wrong they were. And boy, were
they wrong...
|
January 22, 2013 - How I Met Your
Website |
Last week on the
W.E.D.nesday Show! we did an
"Ask the Expert" segment where
guests ask different Disney
related questions and I answer
them. One question was simple.
How did this website come into
my life? I explained that I've
been compared to Ted Mosby from
How I Met Your Mother and if you
really wanted me to, I could
tell the whole story, but it'd
take forever.
Amazingly
enough, this past week I've
received several emails from
people asking when I'm going to
start the story of How I Met
Your Website. What was a joke
has turned into something real,
so here is the first entry of an
ongoing series which will be
updated whenever I feel like it.
:-)
Kids, I'm going
to tell you an unbelievable
story. The story of how I met
your website. Back in 2003 I was
in my second year of college
and, while I wasn't exactly
happy with the college I was
staying at, something amazing
happened on November 17. My
friend Toy and I attended a
seminar about the Walt Disney
World College Program and signed
up for interviews the following
day. During the interview I was
asked a simple question: Why
would the Walt Disney World
College Program be a good fit
for me?
Now you have to
remember this was me before
interviewing Disney Legends,
hosting a Podcast Awards
nominated show, writing a book,
running a website. This was just
a 19 year old sitting in a room
with his entire future on the
line. Let's backtrack.
My family had
been coming to Disney on a
regular basis since I was born
and whenever a new Disney film
was released in theaters you
could bet my family would be
there watching a beast and
beauty fall in love, a dog who
wondered why he should worry, or
two little mice headed to
Australia to save a boy. Ahh,
those two little mice play an
important role in this story,
but we'll get there.
So why would the
program be a good fit for me? I
explained to the Cast Member
that I was a huge Disney fan and
I began to point out random
Disney facts
(like he was interviewing me on
the 75th birthday of Mickey
Mouse) and shared with him that it was a lifelong
dream for me to be there. In
fact, years earlier, when I was
only about five or six I shared
a secret with my Grandma Dodge:
someday I was going to work at
Walt Disney World. Here I was
years later seeing if my secret
would become a reality.
Yes, I'm sure 19
year old Brent was quite nervous
during the interview and his
voice probably squeaked like a
teenager hitting puberty due to
nerves. Afterwards I had to play
the waiting game. I would check
my email on an almost hourly
basis just hoping and praying I
got in. Then at the start of
December I saw an email
entitled, "Walt Disney World
College Program." I turned to my
roommate Eric and asked him to
leave the room knowing that no
matter what the outcome was,
tears would be shed.
The email opened
and the next thing I remember
was running through the campus
of The University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh yelling, "I'm
going to Disney World!"
But, as I
said, this is going to be a long
story...
|
December 31, 2012 - Mark down
another one |
2012. It's been
filled with happiness, sadness,
new opportunities, tearful
goodbyes, and a whole lot more.
This was the
year I took my first Disney
cruise (on the ship that my
fellow Peoplemovers and I will
always claim as our own), got
nominated for a Podcast Award,
met some amazing people that
have become great friends, and
it's the year where I attempted
to eat the largest calzone I've
ever seen.
I've heard a lot
of people being reflective on
the year both in person and
online over the past few days
and a lot have of them have
reminded me of Merida's mother
in Brave. They've discussed how
this is what has been meant to
be, but it's made me think of
the famous Dr. Emmitt Brown
quote at the end of Back to the
Future III where he assures
Marty that the future isn't set
in stone, but is whatever you
make of it.
Whether 2012 was
the best year of your life or
one of the most challenging,
remember that in just a few
hours that ball will drop (which
I still think should look like a
Block Party Bash Ball) and we
will have an imaginary clean
start. Sure, the day will switch
over just like every day has
done throughout all of time, but
there's something nice and
refreshing when you think of
that new start.
Fate may have
brought you to where you are
today, but don't forget that
every now and then fate needs
some push, so make sure you
follow your dreams, do what you
love, be with those you love,
and overall, have an amazing
time in 2013. We only get one
life on this amazing place
called Earth so go make the best
of it.
Happy New Year
everyone! I'll see you in 2013!
|
November 14, 2012 - A long
journey |
Back in 1991, 7
year old me went to the movie
theater with my parents and
three brothers. The movie?
Beauty and the Beast. While I
honestly don't remember watching
the film in the theaters, I do
remember when the credits began
to roll I saw the name of the
producer: Don Hahn.
My best friend
throughout all of grade school
was named Andy Hahn so naturally
7 year old me ran to school the
next day and asked Andy what his
dad's name was. When he replied
Steve I asked about his uncles,
grandpa, etc. Unfortunately,
there was no relationship
whatsoever.
21 years later
and tonight I will be
interviewing the man who as far
as I can remember was the first
true Disney celebrity that I
knew. The nerves haven't kicked
in, but the excitement sure has.
It's so crazy thinking about how
21 years ago little Brent sat in
a movie theater and here I am,
just slightly older mentally,
about to interview this Disney
icon. I feel extremely lucky,
but also extremely thankful for
everyone who has helped me reach
this moment in my journey. So
thank you to those who have
supported me and please join me
tonight at 9:30Eastern as we
pick Don Hahn's brain! I can't
wait!
|
June 28, 2012 - Why I could never be a Cat
Burglar |
This morning I
woke up to discover a comment
had been left on the picture I
had stolen for the Picture of
the Day today. The person wrote
down, "lol. go for it!" Alright,
maybe I should explain as to
what goes on for Picture of the
Day at sometimes.
Almost two years
ago we began a "Picture of the
Day" segment on the website. The
idea was simple, but a lot of
fun. Every day we feature a
picture taken by one of our
awesome viewers on the bottom of
the home page. This allows
others to get a little glimpse
of Disney on a daily basis.
Pretty simple premise.
At the start we
had several people sending
submissions, but then one day
something happened that got me
super nervous. We were on our
last submission and I needed a
new Picture of the Day. The idea
was quite simple, I'd go to
Facebook, find a person who I
know frequents the website, and
take one of their pictures. Of
course at the same time I didn't
want them stumbling across the
picture on my site and being
upset that it was there without
them knowing so I posted,
"Stolen for Picture of the Day"
or simply "Stolen."
Back to how this
all got started. I don't think I
can ever be a cat burglar. I can
just imagine the paper one
morning after me pulling off a
job. I think it'd go something
like this:
Cat Burglar
Gives Away Identity
October 11, 2026
Recently a
strange turn of events has
occurred in the world of crime.
While most burglars leave a
signature mark behind to show
the world what they got away
with (hello Wet Bandits from
Home Alone), others just
blatantly tell authorities who
they are.
Yesterday at a
quiet home near Walt Disney
World a family of four returned
home from a day at the park.
Little Susie, age 9, returned
home with a souvenir that would
be the envy of all her friends:
a certificate that allows her to
have a tour of the global
superstar Earl of Sandwich and a
free sandwich from said Earl for
every day for the rest of her
life.
While Susie was
skipping to her room and being
prepared to send the message
through her brain power onto the
social network, FootNook, some
strange things began to take
form.
"Our dog
Beatrice just started going
bonkers looking out the window,"
stated mother Beth. "I sent my
husband Mitch to figure out what
was going on, but he couldn't
see anything." The husband and
wife duo took their two lovely
children away from the house in
fear of the worse. When they
returned hours later poor Susie
came across a missing
certificate that had been
replaced by a sheet of paper
which read,
"Stolen for a
new blog on
FromScreenToTheme.com"
Authorities
checked out the website and,
after spending hours of brushing
up on their Disney knowledge,
learned that they could find
Brent Dodge, age 42, at Disney's
newest park, Super Sentiment
Station, where he would be
watching Block Party Bash.
Authorities arrested Dodge after
dancing to "Block Party. Yeah
yeah!" with him and naturally,
fighting over the Block Party
Bash balls. And that, as they
say, is one for the books.
So there you
have it my friends. When I'm 42
I'd really appreciate it if
someone could bail me out of
jail because there is no way I
would ever make it in life as a
Cat Burglar. Thank you for your
future contribution of making me
a free man.
|
June 25, 2012 - Top Three Pixar
Shorts |
Recently I was
talking with our very own
Saturday Matinee writer,
Albert, about Pixar's newest
short cartoon, La Luna, which
debuted with Brave this past
Friday. Our discussion quickly
turned to us discussing our
favorite Pixar shorts and it
inspired me to write a short
blog about my top three.
So naturally I
rewatched all 21 (excluding Cars
Toons with the exception of
Mater and the Ghost Light which
was released theatrically) and
established my own top 3. Let's
begin with number 3:
#3. 2006's One
Man Band

This short
features a simple setting: a
town square. When a one man band
arrives with the hopes of
achieving his fortune he is
pleasantly surprised to see a
little girl approaching the town
well in hopes of making a wish.
He distracts her with his
musical talent and tries to win
over her coin. Just before she
is going to give him her
treasured coin another one man
band arrives in the town square
and the two one man bands try to
win over the single coin the
girl is giving up.
When they scare
her she drops the coin into a
drain and demands a violin for
her loss. She begins to play the
violin and voila! a whole bag of
money appears showing everyone
who the greatest performer in
town truly is!
Much like most
Pixar shorts, the short focuses
on action instead of dialogue.
While we have no idea what the
names of any of the characters
are we know exactly who everyone
is within seconds of the story.
Not only that, but just watching
the story evolve is hilarious.
Ever time I laugh at the fact
that the only thing these two
grown men want to do during
their day is battle one another
for the possession of a little
girl's sole coin.

#2. 1989's Knick
Knack

Early in Pixar's
life they were working on
telling stories with inanimate
objects that most people would
see on a regular basis. So what
better way to tell a story than
by using an object as simple as
a snow globe. The storyline for
Knick Knack is very simple, yet
hilarious.
Upon a shelf is
a group of different objects
someone has collected from
around the globe. For the most
part all of the items are from
nice and sunny areas with the
exception of one: a snow globe
from Nome Sweet Nome, Alaska.
Within the snow globe sits a
snowman yearning to be amongst
the other figurines, especially
the bikini clad figurine from
Sunny Miami who beckons him to
come over.
After several
failed attempts to escape the
snow globe he eventually pushes
the snow globe off the shelf and
escapes in midair! However, when
he lands inside of a fishbowl
the snow globe lands right back
on top of him. The worst part of
all? Calling him from inside the
fishbowl is a mermaid.
Again, the fact
that Pixar doesn't use voices
(with the exception of the very
catchy voices humming about) and
just focuses on short gags
cracks me up every time I see
it. Hopefully one day our
snowman friend will escape his
chamber and be amongst the other
figurines for good.

#1. 2001's For
the Birds

After much
consideration, I'm giving my
number one spot to For the
Birds. Again, a very simple
short cartoon that is full of
laughter. When a bunch of small
birds begin to bicker with one
another about who gets to sit on
top of a telephone wire a much
larger bird arrives and lowers
the wire to nearly ground level.
When the other begins to try and
peck his claws off they fly off
into the air and lose their
feathers in the process.
The thing I love
about this cartoon is the sound
effects. The birds' voices crack
me up to no end and once again
the story telling is just great.

In all honesty,
my top three changed about fifty
times since Friday when I talked
to Albert about our lists, but
it's very tough to choose which
is my favorite. Pixar not only
knows how to make amazing full
length feature films, but the
have put the bar so high on
their quality of short cartoons
as well I get just as excited
about their short cartoons as I
do for their full length films.
So make sure you
head out and see Brave, because
not only is it an amazing film,
but La Luna is out of this world
(quite literally)!
Head over to the
forums to let us know what
your
top three favorite Pixar shorts
are!
|
June 17, 2012 - Finding
Fastpasses |
Every now and
then a small event will change
your day in ways you never would
have dreamed of. This is my
story of finding two Fastpasses
and how it changed not just one
day, but two days at Disney.
Just last week
one of my best friends Kayleigh
(or as most of you know her as,
one of the Canadians) was in
town visiting. Kayleigh, Alex
(of
Hidden Mickey Monday fame),
Caitlin, and I went on Star
Tours and while exiting
something caught my eye. There
upon the trash can at the exit
were Fastpasses for Rock 'n'
Roller Coaster, and they were
still valid for a few more
minutes!
We rushed across
the park and made our way to the
entrance of the attraction just
to have a rude Cast Member out
front point out to us that our
Fastpasses were no longer valid
(we barely missed the cut off
time). We pointed out that we
were on the other side of the
park and missed it just by
minutes, but the Cast Member,
who was extremely rude, told us
that if we had a problem with
it, we should complain to Guest
Relations.
Now, I'm not
usually one to complain to Guest
Relations unless a Cast Member
really bothers me and the way
this Cast Member was handling
the situation was definitely not
the Disney way. As if the Blue
Fairy were watching our
misadventures, things began to
change. Two girls in their teens
approached us saying the saw the
whole situation and felt bad,
but they had two extra
Fastpasses they were willing to
give us. Next thing we knew
another guest pointed out that
he had seen the scene too and
thought we were treated unfairly
and it ends up he had an extra
Fastpass as well.
When the
Fastpasses were valid just a few
minutes later we approached the
Cast Member once again and
showed him the Fastpasses that
were given to us by the good
found in our fellow guest. He
hesitantly let the group of us
in line. While in line we
approached another Cast Member
who didn't seem to thrilled
about her job and we began to
wonder where all the good Cast
Members had gone.
Then we found
one! Steph, an amazing Cast
Member from Australia began to
talk to us about our day and
truly showed us what a Disney
Cast Member is all about. While
talking to her I pointed out
that she is easily the best Cast
Member to work the attraction
and she asked us what had made
the others look bad. We
explained our story and Steph,
being awesome, gave us four more
Fastpasses that were good for
any attraction in the park! We
continued to thank Steph as we
boarded our limo and all
wondered if we'd ever see her
again.
The next day
while exiting Toy Story Midway
Mania (which we got on using our
Fastpasses) a guest approached
our group (this time only three
of us) and pointed out they had
three Fastpasses for Rock 'n'
Roller Coaster that were good
right then! Not believing the
situation we had found ourselves
in, we rushed to the attraction
and low and behold! There was
Steph once again at the exit of
the attraction! We thanked her
for the Fastpasses from the day
before and she explained it was
the least she could do for us.
Amazingly enough, there was
still more she wanted to do for
us!
She asked us if
we would want to ride the
attraction one more time by
going through the VIP entrance
and we obviously didn't hesitate
to agree! She escorted us
through a door that took us to
the load area of the attraction
and we rode the attraction once
again! Along the way we met
another amazing Cast Member that
worked the attraction, Miranda
who totally showed off the Cast
Member spirit we all know and
love at Disney!
So next time you
walk around the park, keep your
eyes open for Fastpasses lying
around. You never know how it'll
change your day and the types of
friendships the power of
randomness are going to give
you!
|
May 31, 2012 - Farewell to an old
friend |
Eight years ago
Snow White's Scary Adventures
meant practically nothing to me.
Sure, I'd go on it from time to
time on my visits to Walt Disney
World, but I had no personal
connection to it whatsoever.
While on my
College Program I worked as
Fantasyland Custodial. Every day
we'd find our assignments for
the day on a sheet of paper just
next to Mrs. Potts' Cupboard.
While being trained my trainer
was explaining what each of the
assignments on the sheet of
paper meant. While he talked I
constantly heard on the other
side of a wall, 'Quick Princess.
Run away and never come back.
Go. Goooooo.' My trainer,
obviously realizing that I had
heard this at least five times
at this point, pointed out that
I would be hearing that a lot.
For the next
year every time I would go for
my assignments I would hear the
Huntsman talking from Snow
White's Scary Adventures giving
Snow White advice that would
ultimately save her life. What
could have been extremely
obnoxious instead became
something comforting.
As the year on
my College Program continued my
fellow Cast Members soon
realized that I truly was the
Disney nerd in the area and
whenever a new person would join
our Fantasyland Custodial
family, I was given a simple
duty: give them a tour of the
land! For the most part the tour
I'd give consisted of pointing
out what each ride was like.
However, there was always one
stop I always made sure to make.
We would enter the handicap lane
for Snow White's Scary
Adventures and I would give a
talk about the amazing mural at
the load/unload area. Here I
would point out the amazing
Hidden Mickey's.
One of my
friends that worked the
attraction, Marielle, gave me an
odd request one day. Find her
two brothers somewhere in
Fantasyland and bring them to
her at Snow White's Scary
Adventures. I retrieved the two
never realizing that over six
years later those two wouldn't
just write for my website, but
be considered some of my
greatest friends as well.
Snow White has
meant a lot to me. It may not
have been the flashiest ride,
fastest ride, or most amazing
ride, but it was one of the most
simple which brought a lot of
charm to it. Tonight I took my
last trip through Snow White's
Scary Adventures (and naturally
sixteen other trips throughout
the day as well).
As the clock got
closer to 10 I began to get a
little more sentimental and
began to reflect on what the
ride has truly meant to me. When
I realized that my final ride
was about to take place I sat in
awe one last time at everything
I was seeing. I did a pretty
good job keeping it together
until we entered a room and I
heard, 'Quick Princess. Run away
and never come back. Go. Gooooo.'
That's when the tears came, but
I had no idea what else was in
store for me.
Today the Disney
community truly joined together
to pay honor to this classic
attraction that is leaving way
too soon. While most would think
people would be fighting over
who would be the last to go,
something much more magical
happened. There was a boy
present who has always
considered Snow White's Scary
Adventures to be his favorite
attraction. Him and his family
have ridden over 2,000 times
prior to this week and Disney
has helped him this week hit
3,000 rides.
At 7, he was
accompanied by Snow White
herself for one final ride. I
stood near the exit and the look
of pure happiness upon the boys
face brought tears to everyone's
eyes. It was at that moment
everyone seemed to have a mutual
understanding: he must be the
last rider on this attraction.
As Snow White's
guests began to dwindle our
friend was escorted through the
handicap entrance and, being
seated by my best friend Alex,
was given the great honor of
being the final guest ever to
board the attraction. A group of
roughly one hundred guests stood
by waiting for his mine car to
come through the final door and
once he stepped off the crowd
applauded: for the boy, for the
attraction, for Disney.
I will miss Snow
White's Scary Adventures. I've
had some amazing memories
connected to it. While all of
those memories are happy, the
one that I believe will forever
bring a smile to my face is
watching the attractions' number
one fan step off the attraction
while both him and the
attraction received a well
deserved applause.
Until next time,
always remember, 'Quick
Princess. Run away and never
come back. Go. Gooooo.'
|
May 10, 2012 - Never stop
believing |
Last year on
February 4th I wrote a
blog about my friend the dreamer
and how she was finally pursuing
her own bit of happiness. A lot
of people read that blog and
wanted to know what happened to
her afterwards so here it is.
This past
weekend I attended a wedding for
"Jessie" and her new husband. I
was the ring bearer (and yes, it
was awesome). After I wrote the
blog Jessie took the chance and
let the guy know how much she
cared for him. Luckily he felt
the same and just a few months
later the two got engaged. Now
they are living out their
happily ever after in the D.C.
area.
While driving
back from the wedding my mind
began to drift over the past
year and a quarter since I wrote
that blog and I began to realize
the main reason I run this site,
write the books, do the podcast:
it's the dreamers out there and
watching them have their dreams
come true. In the past year so
much has happened in both my
personal life and my friends
life that it has been quite
amazing to watch.
For instance,
Reuben moved down here and
achieved his dream of being a
baker in Walt Disney World, Alex
returned to her dream of working
at Disney.
Two of my
friends, my dad, and I set out
to win a huge scavenger hunt and
won, I went on my first Disney
cruise, I've known about three
people who've moved to their
dream locations (even though
some of them didn't go to Disney
we can accept it).
People have left
jobs they are unhappy with, and
pursued people they are
interested in. People have
gotten the pet they always
dreamed of having while others
made a ball pit out of Block
Party Bash Balls.
One of my
friends conquered their fear of
heights by going skydiving while
someone else conquered their
fear of leaving the life they
are used to and took their first
vacation ever. People lived,
they dreamed, they laughed and
cried.
You see. Life
isn't about going through the
same routine day in and day out.
Everyone has a dream (Tangled
showed us that) but it is our
job to pursue the dream. No one
can make your dreams come true
except you. Sure, people can
help you along the way, but
unless you set out to make your
dreams come true your dreams
never really will come true.
So take some
advice from Jessie and pursue
the guy, your dream, your life.
If you don't they will never
come true. So go wish upon a
star, kiss a frog, or just have
an amazing dream and here's
wishing all your dreams really
do come true.
|
May 3, 2012 - Revealing secret
identities |
Everybody has
secrets that they keep for
certain reasons and in a way
those secrets create a secret
identity for each of us. Over
the past 18 months I have kept
the biggest and longest secret
about myself for a while and,
keeping with our super hero
theme this week, it's time to
reveal my secret identity.
Picture the end
of Iron Man when the famous
words, "I am Iron Man" are
muttered. Now it's time for
mine: I work at Ghirardelli in
Downtown Disney. Actually, I
should say worked. Yesterday was
my last day. So why keep such a
big secret for so long? Great
question!
Since I began
working any job (Barnes and
Noble, Disney, Kindercare, etc.)
I always have lived by the motto
that the guest always comes
first. I think its a great way
to work and in every one of my
job experiences in the past
people would eventually discover
where I was working, come visit,
and I always felt I wasn't doing
my best job since I was spending
time with people I see outside
of work while essentially
ignoring the guest. Due to that
I often keep my jobs a secret.
The bigger question, why
Ghirardelli, what did I do, and
why did I leave?
Alright. When I
moved down here I lived off of
book sales and my savings for a
while, but eventually decided
that I really should get a job
(or choose the option of moving
back home with no money in my
pockets) in order to pay the
bills. Back in 2004 I loved
working on Disney property and
figured I would love to do the
same again, but there was one
problem. With my book, website,
and podcast, Disney is more
reluctant to hire me (and anyone
who concentrates a side job to
Disney knowledge like me). So
the answer was quite simple.
Work for a third party.
The two
locations I thought of almost
instantly were Ghirardelli and
Earl of Sandwich. Ghirardelli
hired me almost instantly and I
began work on November 1, 2010.
About three months in I became a
trainer, five months in I was
honored to be named Star of the
Quarter by my fellow
chocolateers (that's really what
they called us), and eight
months in I became a Supervisor.
It was great place to work
(especially with the free ice
cream during the shift) and I
have met some unbelievable
people while working there. In
fact some of these people became
my closest friends in Florida
and I wouldn't trade knowing
them for anything.
The entire time
I was there I promised myself
one thing: supervisor was the
highest level I would go. I just
don't want to get stuck in
management since I was afraid I
would lose track of books,
website updates, etc. So
recently I began to reflect on
my time with the company and
realized it was time for me to
move on to new things. I applied
at a few places and did receive
a new job (and yes, that will
become a new secret identity). I
am excited for a new
opportunity, but am sad about
the friends I am leaving behind.
I do feel like I made an impact
on some people and will always
hold a special place for them
within my heart.
One last thing I
would like to share is quite
simple, but my favorite part of
the job. About two or three
months in to the job I was asked
to replace light bulbs on the
roof of the building and not
wanting to pass up the
opportunity to get a unique view
of Downtown Disney I went
straight on up. Here are some
pictures of the unique view and
a picture of me on one of my
last nights. Enjoy and consider
one more secret identity
revealed!



|
April 19, 2012 - How to date a
Disney fairy |
Editor's note:
The following should be read in
the voice from the Goofy How To
short cartoons.
Since the dawn
of time one question has plagued
mankind more than any other: How
do I go about dating a Disney
fairy? One can only assume you
have asked yourself that
question once in past, even if
it means just reading the
previous sentence.
First off, let's
take a look at our candidates:

Ah yes, as they
always say, ain't no party like
a fairy party and as you can see
from the above picture, that
statement is true (even though
it may not be the best party).
The first step to gaining a date
from a Disney fairy is quite
simple, approach them with a
clever pick up line that will
blow them away. If you are short
on ideas try out:
- You smell
Fairy nice today (throwing the
word fairy allows them to
connect with the sentence and
they may laugh at your pun)
- I'm glad I didn't wear my
shoes with giant fluffy balls on
them today or this would be
embarrassing.
- I've been tinking about
you
or when all else fails
- If you and I were on a date
flying amongst the stars I would
hope we would never never land.
Now that you've
won over your Disney fairy with
ease, it's time to talk about
dates. Now most guys would do
the cliche dates that consist of
visiting the Pixie Hollow Games
or riding Peter Pan's Flight
(trust me the latter does not
work with Rosetta. She'll give
you an entire lecture about how
Peter Pan is no good for her
friend Tink and how that boy is
always getting her into
trouble).
Now that you
know which dates not to go on,
it's time to learn which dates
you should go on:
We're
sorry. But due to the author
knowing diddly squat about
dating Disney fairies our
article ends here. If you have
any tips on how he can woo over
the likes of Rosetta, please
email
Brent@fromscreentotheme.com
with the subject "Dating fairy
guide."
|
March 31, 2012 - Some Changes! |
The past week
has been one of the best of my
life, but at the very end of it
something devastating occurred.
Throughout all the birthday
cakes, cruise adventures, and
time with family and friends I
came to a realization: I can't
go on living like this forever.
Yes, this is the
good life. I love this life like
no other, but unfortunately it
comes with a price and I can't
afford that price right now. I
talked to my parents about it
before they left and they gave
me some good advice on what I
should do with everything. They
pointed out while I love the
website and Disney it just
wasn't the best idea financially
and that maybe its time for me
to return home for a little bit
while I build up my savings.
One of my dads
friends just opened up a brand
new Taco Bell and, knowing me
for years, has offered me a job
as head taco maker. Not the most
glamorous job, but he told me
that if I do well for the first
year he may make me head drive
through window taker. I think I
would talk too much to the
guests though and ruin it all.
I'm just not
sure what to do with everything
right now and have realized that
maybe they are right and maybe
its time for me to return home
for a year or two while I get my
feet back on the ground. So as
of next week, life in Florida
will be behind me, but hopefully
not for long since I do love it
down here. But in the mean time,
it's time for me to shut down
the website for just a little
bit while I figure everything
out financially, personally, and
most importantly, how to change
the date on a blog from the 31st
of March to the 1st of April.
Happy April
Fools my wonderful wonderful
fools!
|
December 31, 2011 - 2011! |
One year, a
million stories to share. Last
year I remember sitting at this
very spot writing all about the
year 2010 and what a wonderful
year it was. With the start of
this website, my move to
Florida, my book being released,
and so many other great moments
it was an amazing year and one
that would be extremely
difficult to top.
2011 may have
done that though. While this
year wasn't the year of new
books, pod casts, or websites,
it was a year filled with
friends, family, and fun. Let's
take a look at some of my
favorite moments from the past
year (in no particular order).
The amazing
WEDfriend meet! In late
May/early June several
WEDfriends joined together in
Walt Disney World for some of my
favorite moments ever in a
Disney park. While not everyone
was there we had an amazing time
playing The From Screen to Theme
Amazing Race, riding Splash
Mountain (with bags on some of
our heads), and just being
together. While every Wednesday
I am extremely proud of how the
show brings people together I
never got a feeling quite as
happy as seeing a group of
strangers being together acting
like they've been best friends
for years.
Ohana means
family. There are two families
that I was part of this year.
The first one I'll talk about is
my actual family. I love my
family. That's pretty obvious
for anyone who knows me, but
there are a few moments this
year that really stood out to
me. The first was earlier in the
year when my cousin arrived in
Florida with her husband and
three ADORABLE children! While
we have always been close,
experiencing something that I
love so much (Disney) with them
was an unbelievable feeling.
Then later in
the year my family had our
annual badminton tournament (The
Golden Shuttlecock Tournament:
Quest for the Dodge Cup - see
it's not just From Screen to
Theme with an unbelievably long
subtitle). This tradition
stemmed from a joke I had said
about five years back and since
our family joins together each
year. While my brother and I did
win again (every year now, not
that I'm bragging), the best
part of it is just being with
the people you love.
My other Ohana
consists of Reuben (of Sunday
Brunch fame), Alex (of Hidden
Mickey Monday fame), and Caitlin
and Kayleigh (of being Brent
Dodge's friends fame). While at
the start of the summer we
didn't all know one another
extremely well, by the end of
the summer we had gone on so
many adventures through Disney
that it's tough to imagine never
having known them before.
Two of my
biggest dreams were also
realized this year. The first
was to interview a true Disney
Legend and just a month ago that
dream became a reality when I
had Disney Legend Dave Smith
come on my show! The other dream
was one set out years ago when I
wanted to show the world that I
knew more about Disney than
anyone else out there. In May my
dad and two of my closest
friends, Frank and Dave, set out
to not only win a Disney
scavenger hunt, but won a cruise
in the process (more on that
next year).
The final
significant moment was having
two of my closest friends move
down permanently. First off was
Reuben (mentioned above) and my
college friend/Kara's friend
Amanda. One piece of advice I
received shortly after moving
down from someone who lived here
year round was very simple:
don't befriend the college
program kids since they leave
after a certain amount of time.
Of course I didn't listen so
after a certain amount of time
friends would go and I'd always
wish that some of my closest
friends would be closer all year
round and now that's going to be
possible!
So who knows
what will happen in 2012, but I
know that more dreams will be
realized, friendships with grow,
and most importantly, new
memories will be made!
Thank you
everyone for an amazing 2011! I
hope everyone out there has a
very happy and safe new year!
I'll see all of you next year!
|
July 10, 2011
- 200 Consecutive Days! |
200 days is a long time.
201 days ago I was deathly ill
and it was the first time since
I moved to Florida that I wasn't
able to make it to a Disney
park. The next day I promised to
make it every single day once
again (after all, I did have the
record according to Disney of
159 consecutive days at one
point). So I showed up at the
Magic Kingdom and every day
since then have been to the
park. However, today, on my
200th day in a row, I began to
look back at the last 200 days
and I decided to highlight my
five favorite moments during
these days in no particular
order.
Living the Dream
When I moved down here
I made a promise to myself that
I'd take advantage of every
moment. Over the past 200 days
I've gotten a private tour of
the Tower of Terror, sat behind
the Security Desk at Muppet
Vision 3D, special events and a
whole lot more. However, one of
my favorite moments happened
while walking through Disney's
Hollywood Studios on the day
Star Tours officially opened.
While near the exit I saw none
other than the main Imagineers
that worked on the attraction
and rushed over to get a picture
with them! These are my kind of
celebrities!

Family is what it's all
about!
I love my family! I
mean LOVE my family! To me,
family always comes before
everything else so when my
cousin, her husband, and their
three kids came down I was in
heaven! I hadn't seen my cousin
in two years so her kids barely
remembered who I was, but we
soon became the best of friends!
I spent every possible second
with them and it really
reconfirmed my belief that
family should and will always
come first in my book!

The Canadian Invasion!
You know that feeling
you get when you meet someone
and you just feel an instant
connection? I felt that way all
of the WEDfriends, but last year
when Alex (from Hidden Mickey
Monday) came down, we became
like brother and sister and
spent a lot of our time at the
parks. So this year when she
came down and became roommates
with friends from her last
program, they joined us on our
crazy adventures as well. Very
quickly we became a family away
from our actual families. We
don't call it our Disney family
(that's what everyone else does,
we want to be different). We are
Ohana, because Ohana truly does
mean family, and in this one,
nobody gets left behind...or
forgotten...except the Mountie
on occasion.

Hello WEDfriends!
Since day one, I have
loved working on this website,
my book, podcast, etc., but even
more than that I have always
loved the fans of everything I
do! So in May when several of
those fans joined together in
Florida for a meet up (which
lasted two plus days) I felt
incredibly happy! Some of the
highlights were the first ever
From Screen to Theme Amazing
Race (although some competitors
probably wanted to kill me), a
colonial meal at Liberty Tree
Tavern, a late night talk with
the founders of the W.E.D.nesday
Show!, or my favorite, a log
full of WEDfriends!

And the winner is...
I've always been a HUGE
Disney fan and have always
thought of myself as very
knowledgeable on all things
Disney and I finally had a
chance to set out to show people
how much I did know. That's
right, I'm talking about the D23
Scavenger Hunt!
The Peoplemovers (my Dad, Frank,
Dave, and myself) set out on a
fierce two day competition
throughout all four WDW theme
parks. The Disney trivia really
spoke to the Disney nerd in me
while the completion really
spoke to the competitor in me.
After two days, four parks, and
three amazing teammates support,
we won the competition and made
Disney history by being the
first winners of the very first
Disney run WDW Scavenger Hunt!

So there you have it. Five of my
favorite moments from the past
200 days! Looking back now I
realize it was all about the
people. That's what truly makes
Disney such an amazing place. So
thank you to everyone that has
been involved in any of my
memories (both mentioned and
not) over the past 200 days! I can't wait to keep
the streak alive until next
month when I return home to
Wisconsin for a week for a visit
with family!
|
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