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I can’t remember when I was given The Magic of Disneyland and Walt Disney World by Valerie Childs, but it must’ve been a year or so after it was published in 1979. I know we’d already taken our trip to Walt Disney World when I was around 6, but it was before we’d stayed at the Lake Buena Vista Vacation Villas. A friend of the family gave me this book, and it was pretty much my bible for the next few years. {I’d later graduate to reading the Birnbaum guides and my WDW Pictorial Souvenir books which I’d get every trip - I’ll scan some of those in soon.}

When I held the book in my hands, my first thought was how lucky Valerie Childs must be, and how much I wanted to be her when I grew up. This hardcover book was over-sized like a coffee table book and the full-color pictures were just beautiful. Our friend had also somehow gotten a few Mickey Mouse balloons {not inflated} and stuck them in the middle of the book, where there was a double-paged picture of the very same balloons. It was like a magical surprise every time I turned to that page.

I would stare at this cover wanting to BE that lady.

And I would stare at this back cover for ages looking at all the individual people.

I loved this book because it focused on Disneyland as well as Walt Disney World. I would take note of the differences between the two places; from the font of Land vs. World {not that I knew what a font was back then} to the rides locations of the rides. I’d never been to Disneyland {still haven’t, must remedy this!} so seeing pictures of the pirate ship or Storybook Land or the Matterhorn were like seeing snapshots of a foreign country I wanted to explore. Seeing the attractions and places I’d been to in Walt Disney World was like seeing pictures of “home”.

Now, looking at the book for the first time in quite a while and 31 years after it was published, it’s like a magical time capsule full of history. I would love to get all of the pages scanned in, but I’d have to find some industrial sized-scanner to get them all in. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite pages with you and we could stroll down memory lane together. For those that did not visit the parks during this time, it’ll be fun to see how things started out.

The original Main Street Electrical Parade

The mystical (to me) pirate ship and Matterhorn

The balloon page, with 30 year-old balloons still intact

Gorgeous sunset at the Empress Lily. This view is no longer possible (without Photoshop)

More impossible views - The Contemporary without Bay Lake Towers (OR The Grand Floridian in the background!) and one of River Country's water slides.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I looked for the book online and it does appear to be on ebay. It really is one of my treasured collectibles both for the pictures it contains and the memories it brought me as a child. Do you have a favorite book in your Disney collection?

I am so excited to be starting this series on ZannaLand. I know last year at this time, I was just starting to find some of the 2008 and 2009 Walt Disney World Moms Panelists on twitter, and was checking out their bios on DisneyWorldMoms.com. Now that I’m actually on the panel and was able to meet almost all of these wonderful people during my Moms Panel training in December, I was left with the overwhelming desire to share just how amazing they all are with you. I’m hoping that the questions they answer here (they are used to answering questions after all!) will give you a little more insight into the people behind the panel and just why Disney saw something special in them.

I’ll be mixing in 2010, 2009 and 2008 panelists. Feel free to comment and say hello!

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My husband showed me this preview when we came back from the Disney Social Media Moms Convention. I was blown away. As a Disney fan, of both the parks and the movies, this is the kind of movie I long for. Behind-the-scenes stories; the stories behind the stories we saw on film. The teamwork and magic that makes Disney the best in its field. I cannot wait to see this in the theatres, I hope you enjoy the trailer – Waking Sleeping Beauty.

The butterfly house is one of our favorite parts of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival! Thanks to my husband for capturing this amazing shot!

The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival opens today! It’s one of our family’s favorite events of the year and we usually visit several times throughout the festival. The butterfly enclosure is just one of the many amazing experiences to enjoy.

Last week on ZannaLand, I posted the menu for the Tables in Wonderland Discovery Dinner at The Wave, featuring local Florida farms and ingredients. The dinner was, in a word – exquisite. I am not a wine drinker, but I discovered that good wine, makes all the difference and actually enjoyed all the selections. The food was phenomenal, as was the personalized experience and attention to detail the Tables in Wonderland staff provided. I’m happy to share our evening with you here, in picture form…{as always, click to enlarge the photos}

Our first wine tasting, a lovely Riesling, in The Wave lounge

August Kesseler Sylvaner/Riesling, 2007, Rheingau, Germany {my favorite of the night}

Our deep fried avocado fries with chili aioli and grilled naan (on napkin)

Last night was spent in food and wine wonderland as my mom and I enjoyed the Discovery Dinner featuring local Floridian specialties at The Wave restaurant. I’m working on editing pictures and writing up a full report, but until then I thought I’d leave you with a couple of pictures to whet your appetite.

Our first wine tasting, in The Wave lounge

Our table in The Wave's private dining room

As promised, I entered all the comments for the Stonyfield Farms YoBaby 3-in-1 Meals giveaway into random.org. The winning comment was #10 – Lorna Marion. Congratulations! I’ll be contacting you for your info to receive your prize pack!

#10 was chosen!

Ok, so apparently I’ve been living under a rock regarding this movie. {I guess the trailer came out on my birthday and I was a tad busy around that time frame.}

My husband came home from seeing this preview at the movies last night and was sure I’d have seen the trailer already. Nope. Hadn’t even heard they were making a live-action Sorcerer’s Apprentice! I thought maybe there was a chance some other people might’ve been living under the same rock I was, so here’s the absolutely amazing trailer:

I have to say, I was a Nicolas Cage fan back in his Raising Arizona days, but kind of stopped watching the movies he was in because they just weren’t my thing. His character of Balthazar Blake actually made me a fan again {from what I saw in the preview – then again I am a sucker for a guy in a trench coat}. I can’t wait to see this movie now. LOVE the homage to the original with the mop/water scene too {watch for it around the 2:14 mark}. Nice touch – but from Disney, I’d expect no less!

edit: My friend Brad over at StitchKingdom has a whole mess of Sorcerer’s Apprentice posts, info and even pictures from the Sorcerer’s Apprentice filming in NYC. If you are not following StitchKingdom for Disney news, you are missing out. {Which further embarrasses me for not knowing about this movie since I love StitchKingdom!}

Well, we knew this was coming, Disney and designer Ian Ray of Dooney & Bourke have come out with more amazing new Disney Dooney & Bourke designs! According to the official Disney Parks Blog, there will be a Dooney & Bourke special event at Tren-D to welcome the new handbags. If you are in the Downtown Disney area on February 26 from 4:30-6:30, be sure to stop by Tren-D to meet Dooney & Bourke designer Ian Ray and even get a special gift from Mr. Ray with a $150 or more Disney Dooney & Bourke purchase.

Sign for the Tren-D Disney Dooney & Bourke special event.

The Dooney & Bourke cosmetic bag in either the white style or black Mickey style was the gift with purchase at the event.

Now on to what everyone wants – more pictures! Read the rest of this entry

My family has been Tables in Wonderland (formerly the Disney Dining Experience) members since its inception – when it started out as an option only for Florida residents. The program is now open to Florida residents, Annual Passholders and cast members too. Tables in Wonderland offers 20% off food and alcohol for up to 10 guests in your dining party, at select locations. The card has paid for itself in a matter of visits with the amount of table service restaurants we enjoy.

In addition to the card benefits, Tables in Wonderland also offers exquisite gourmet dining experiences throughout the year. Experiences such as dining inside The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and other unique offerings limited to a small number of lucky diners. When I heard about the following dinner, I immediately thought how much my mom would enjoy it, and wanted to try and secure a spot as a thank you to her for all she’s done for us. I was lucky enough to get those spots, thanks to Nicole at the Tables in Wonderland team (I just emailed our info like anyone else who was interested in attending). My mom is so excited and I cannot wait to experience this with her next week!

Since I can’t wait, I thought I’d share the menu with you all so you can drool get excited too. I’m especially interested in this dinner because it features all local Florida area ingredients and specialties. In fact, we live a few towns over from one of the farms which is featuring items on the menu. Rest assured I will be taking pictures right and left and will report back after the event!

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