Disney MagicBands

I had no idea that Disney MagicBands even existed! On the website, Disney describes the wristband as "an all-in-one device that effortlessly connects you to all the vacation choices you made with My Disney Experience."

After some further research about this gadget I discovered that these MagicBands can be used to plan basically every little detail of your trip to a Disney theme park including airport to hotel transportation, where you want to dine, what food you want to pre-order, and which theme park you want to visit on which particular day. Moreover, you can use it to unlock the door of the Disney Resort hotel room (because who needs room keys, right?).

A part of me thinks this is a little ridiculous, but Disney is probably making a lot of profit off it and the wristband looks pretty cool/futuristic.

Bengal Tiger at Disney World

A woman tried to take a pet baby Bengal tiger into the Disney World theme park in Florida. She was walking it on a lead and when she was told that the baby tiger would not be allowed in the park, she became extremely angry and argued with the staff. The female guest, who is visiting from Dubai did not understand why she shouldn't be allowed to bring her pet. After a long discussion with the staff, the woman agreed to let the animal caretakers from the Central Florida Zoo to care for it.

Update: according to Central Florida Zoo, it is actually a baby Bengal cat not a tiger

Reading Response to Blackness, Bayous and Gumbo: Encoding and Decoding Race in a Colorblind World

In this article, Sarah Turner discusses the racial aspect in The Princess and the Frog and the concept of color-blindness. She brought up a good point about Tiana being a princess who happens to be black, but isn't representative of an actual African American. I think one of the major reasons behind Disney's decision to hold back on a true representation of an African American princess is because of the risk of stereotyping. This would result in harsh criticism against the film and it would be deemed 'racist'.

Turner also claims that The Princess and the Frog differs from other Disney princess films because it does not contain references to Tiana's physical attributes. Typically, Disney princesses are beautiful, caucasian, slim and donning beautiful gowns. Tiana strays from this mold by being a working princess. However, I think this makes Tiana a good role model for girls and one of the few princesses that does not rely on her looks and a man to help her achieve a happily ever after.

Disney avoids the potential for backlash by portraying Tiana as a frog for the majority of the film. Honestly, I think whatever Disney does, they will be subject to criticism. Especially since The Princess and the Frog features the first black princess, it was the victim of scrutiny and it would have been impossible to create a movie that satisfies every viewer. Personally, I think Disney was wise in making Tiana a hard-working, motivated, and passionate individual. Comparing her to princesses like Cinderella and Snow White, whose roles in the movie were just performing house chores, Tiana is an inspiration. Imagine if Cinderella or Snow White had been black. Unfortunately, Disney just can't win...

$115 steak at Disney World?!??!

This spring, sometime around April 13th, a restaurant called The Boathouse will be opening in Disney World's Disney Springs dining scene. This new restaurant will serve a 32 oz Tomahawk Long Bone Rib Chop for two which will cost... $115.

This is what the pricey dish looks like:

To be honest it does not look like it's worth $115, but hey that's just me. Seems like Disney is making a push for the upscale and trying to appeal to the more wealthy population. I'm curious to see how many people actually order this steak!

1 Woman, 15 Disney Characters

A YouTube vlogger named Promise Phan is a make-up guru. She posts tutorials on how to transform into characters from movies, pop culture, and video games!

Here are her transformations for 15 different Disney characters:

Mother Gothel from Tangled

Alice in Wonderland

Rapunzel with Pascal

Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame

Anna from Frozen

Queen Elsa from Frozen (look at that icy stare)

Mulan

Snow White (a classic)

Li Shang from Mulan (she really looks like him!)

Jasmine from Aladdin (stunning...)

Pocahontas (this one is my absolute favorite)

Angelina Jolie in Disney's Maleficient

Tinkerbell from Peter Pan

Carl and Ellie from Up (audience: awwwwwwww)

Merida from Brave (that hair though...)

Final Four! Disney Movie Bracket for March Madness

Earlier this week, I had posted the Ultimate Disney Movie Bracket created by ForTheWin. I had put up my own bracket predictions (refer to Monday's post) and now the Final Four has been released! Votes are all in and here are the movies going to the Final Four:
Beauty & The Beast
Toy Story
Peter Pan
Lion King

I only managed to get 2 out of 4 correct and the two movies I picked for the championship were both not part of the Final Four, but I'm excited to see which movie will come out on top.

Princess and the Frog

This was my first time watching the Princess and the Frog. I was excited to see how Disney would introduce its first African American princess character into its movies. Personally, I really enjoyed the film and did not think that it was racist but I could see some aspects that would allow room for criticism regard race portrayals in this Disney movie.

For example, Tiana's mother is a seamstress for a rich, white family and when Tiana grows up, she works as a waitress in a small diner. She's defined as the "working" princess instead of the stereotypical "wish-upon-a-star + find prince charming + live happily after" princesses that Disney has produced in the past. While these arguments are valid, the setting and time period of this movie has to be taken into account.

Racism and discrimination was still very much present in New Orleans during the 1920s. Would it have been appropriate for Disney to ignore the fundamental experiences of African Americans during that time period? It would not have been historically accurate to have Tiana take the place of her very white, very blonde, and very rich best friend, Charlotte. Moreover, some express concerns about the only black princess being the "working" princess, but what if Cinderella had been black? The situation of being treated like a servant by her step-mother and step-sisters would have been extremely controversial and caused outrage from its viewers. Or even Snow White for that matter - a black female who enters a house full of caucasian male and essentially perform house chores in order to earn their friendship?

I think Disney was smart in not making Tiana a princess that mindlessly searches for love. She has character, drive, and is likable. Tiana does not rely on her prince charming to make her dreams come true. Personally, I think she is the best role model out of all the Disney princesses and the criticism of race portrayal was inevitable just because of the fact that she was the first African American in the Disney princess line.