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Did you know that Disney owns Touchstone Pictures? I have no idea until recently! That means movies like Splash, Pretty Woman, Pearl Harbor and The Joy Luck Club, among many others all are owned by Disney. Touchstone Pictures are for the more adult films. Interesting! I'll be curious to see how many Fox titles get brought over to Disney after this merger! And I won't lie, I hope that Comcast doesn't throttle our speed when the new Disney Streaming service comes out in 2019, since there's no Net Neutrality to block them, and they lost the winning bid for Fox to Disney.

I have rewritten this multiple times, because I think my now, many people know I am a bit of a cynic when it comes to the "help the eco system" plans popping up and the happy by product of profit increase. Disney recently announced a plan, by mid 2019 to reduce and eliminate plastic straws, stirrers, polystyrene cups, reduce the small toiletry bottles and plastic bags from it's properties (Parks, resorts, stores)  and cruise ships. 

Disney HAS always cared about the environment, and HAVE been leaders in the industry for quite a while on that, so it is a natural step for them. While it's too early to tell yet what the alternatives will be for straws and if all plastic bags will be eliminated, I am hoping that paper straws will be available, not just straws that you have to buy and keep up with on your trip. 

You can go here, or click on the picture below to read the original Disney Blog Post. I agree with many of their efforts, but I feel like the plastic straws take up so little of the waste (0.2% of waste according to this article) that even though small changes are a start, I hope an alternative, that doesn't cost the consumer more, is put into place. 

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My biggest concern (because I am totally fine to bring my own straws, we have need of them!) is the reusable bags in the parks. That's going to make it a little tougher when someone needs to carry those around with them, or else, have to buy new ones each visit. That doesn't seem very ecological, or thrifty, especially for the person with one small item and no way to carry it. Paper bags would be a great alternative, I think. I am also concerned because Park to Resort package delivery isn't the most gentile on bags. There are staples, scuffs, rips, and all that on a bag you just bought and hoped to reuse? That alone seems wasteful. 

A few suggestions were made in their original blog post, one I loved was water bottle filling stations, instead of buying endless bottles of water, or asking for cups that get thrown out. I think that's a great idea, I wonder if it will be an option later down the road! 

I do know that Disney's customer service is second to none, so I have faith that all of these questions will be answered, and they will genuinely do their best to make sure every quest has a good experience. It will be interesting to watch the changes, and then the changes made upon those new changes.  Perhaps with enough Pixie Dust, a solution will be found to accommodate everyone. 

How do you feel about this change? Love it? Hate it? On the fence? 

Even though Toy Story Land has hardly been open at Disney World, there's already been menu changes! The Monte Cristo sandwich has been removed, Orlando Park News reports. Pretty sad, seeing as that looked like the best of the sandwiches on there!

Pictures that have been popping up from guests all over, and the sandwiches really seem pretty small, and the kids menu's only have half sandwiches! Mr. Disney Magic and I were both looking forward to this sandwich, so it's a little sad that it's no longer there. While supposedly, it's because guest demand was low, Mr. Disney Magic had the theory that it took too long to prepare to keep the line moving quick enough. Either way, it's farewell to a sandwich that didn't really get a very long trial period! 

I love how patriotic Disney is. Every day, at 5pm at the Magic Kingdom, a special flag ceremony is held, the national anthem is played, and guests are invited to sing God Bless America. A veteran, is handed the flag to carry down Main Street U. S. A while musicians follow behind paying U.S. Military songs. It's a beautiful experience, and make's me feel proud that Disney recognizes our great Service Men and Women. 

A screen shot from Disney's website is below, with their description. Click on the picture, it will take you right to the information page. 
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Have you ever watched the flag retreat? We've only ever caught the tail end, but one day, we hope to see the whole thing. 

                             Click the picture above to go right to Disney's page, showing you where to meet Mickey. 

"Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me?
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E"

On our last day at Magic Kingdom, we always stop by to say "See ya real soon" to Mickey. The Magic Kingdom Mickey is very special, not just because he's a magician, but because he is more interactive than most...Mickey uses his magic to talk to you.

Sadly, those days have come to an end, and Mickey no longer can talk to the guests visiting him. Perhaps budget cuts or he's run out of magic in his wand, but we are sure going to miss him. There was something really special knowing that when Mickey was saying, "Hiya Pal!" he was saying it to YOU.

The reasons we've heard for the change was it was too confusing then when other characters didn't talk, or during other times Mickey couldn't talk, like when he visited Animal Kingdom. We always just assumed that Magician Mickey used his wand to speak, and without it, he was silent and never thought twice about when he couldn't talk. I guess that Disney Magic wasn't something others wanted to believe in! 

Perhaps one day, Mickey will be able to talk with others again, but for now, he's gone back to being a wonderfully interactive, but silent, friend at Disney. That makes me a little sad, and I'm not sure our next visit with him will be nearly so fun. 

"Now it's time to say goodbye
to all our company...
M-I-C (...you real soon!)
K-E-Y (Why? because we like you!)
M-O-U-S-E..."

So long Mickey! We're going to miss your awesome voice and the incredible interaction it gave.