The Town That Disney Built...

Today friends, I visited Celebration Florida... the town that Disney built...

It is one heck of a quaint little town... I almost expected Barbara Billingsley to walk out on the front porch of one of the houses... pearls, apron, the whole bit... I didn't, but I almost expected it... judge for yourself...






And if those places look at all familiar it's because they sit on a familiar street... Last time, on Desperate Housewives...

Now... I'm not saying that it's purely coincidental... but Celebration was built in 1994, by Disney... ten years before Desperate Housewives premiered on ABC, a Disney owned company... where the characters live in similar looking houses, on a street with the same name... that's a pretty big coincidence...

In addition to the houses of Desperate Housewives... there was also the downtown area of Celebration...

A panorama made as my photographer friend taught me to make it...

I may have more on Celebration later on... but that's all for now...

Today friends, I had my first Disney Celebrity sighting... while up at the Disney Beach Club Resort (on a hidden Mickey hunt, that I'll have more on at a later time) I found myself in the Cape May Cafe... and who should be sitting in front of me... the husband and wife acting team of Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance... cool!

They were the hosts of tonight's Candle Light processional at Epcot... but there you go... celebrities in our midst friends!

That's all for tonight friends... having said that...

Keep on Reading!
TheCanadian

Between Celebration, the HM hunt, and the celeb sighting... today was a pretty good day!
5 out of 5 Corporate Logos... I know, I know... but it was a pretty good day!

On This Day in Disney History:
December 27th, 1927:
Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short Rickety Gin is released. For those not in the know... Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was Walt's first cartoon success however, he was owned by Universal and they didn't allow Walt to continue with him. He said that he would then take his animators and start his own studio. Universal informed hm that in addition to owning Oswald, they also owned his animators and they sent him packing. It was on the train from New York to Los Angeles after this fateful meeting that Walt doodled a small mouse named Mortimer. Upon showing it to his wife Lillian, she told him the Mortimer was a silly name, and he should call him Mickey... the rest is history.

So This is Christmas...?

And what have you done? Well friends, I've sat around in my shorts in balmy, albeit overcast, 25 degree weather. It just doesn't feel like Christmas... Cinqo de Mayo perhaps... but Christmas? Nada.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a Christmas Eve party with my fellow Canadians and this morning, after opening gifts on Skype with the family, going to a Christmas breakfast with a different group of fellow Canadians... but all of the X-mas revelry aside, it still just feels like a Friday.

I'm not complaining though... I'm just saying.

Today I finish up my last shift on the popcorn cart in Canada at Epcot... not to say that it will be my very last shift, but tomorrow I have the day off, and Sunday I start my seater/greeter training for Le Celier... I don't terribly mind being on the P-Cart, as I get alot of great guest interaction...

The one thing that seems to surprise everyone the most is that we (the Cast Members of Canada) are actually Canadian! One day this week, a woman came up to me, looked at my name tag which says "Josh - Pickering, Ontario") and remarked... "Pickering? My principal is from Pickering" "What's his name?" I asked... sure that I wouldn't know him... there are over 90,000 people in Pickering. She says "Howard Laderman" "Well yes," I said, "I know Howard quite well... I went to both elementary and high school with his daughter, and he and his wife are very good friends of a friend of my mother's" And then I heard the theme for it's a small world start playing in my head... Turns out Pickering isn't as large as I thought it was...

And now I must go ready myself for work... the moral of today's blog is this... if you find yourself in Epcot, at Canada, and you are from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area for those of you not in the know) come by and say hello... I may have gone to school with your child, delivered newspapers with your neighbour, or attended acting lessons with your manicurists son... you never know, unless you inquire...

Keep on Reading,
TheCanadian

Seeing as how it is Christmas (regardless of what it feels like) and I do have to work... I'll give today a okay-ish rating...
3 out of 5 Corporate Logos


On This Day in Disney History:
December 25th, 1963:
Disney's 18th animated film The Sword In The Stone is released. Merlin the Magician (voiced by Karl Swenson) teaches a young boy (voiced by Rickie Sorensen) who is destined to be King Arthur. The film marks Wolfgang Reitherman's first solo directional effort for a feature film.

And the hunt begins...

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the concept of a Hidden Mickey, but let me tell you about it...

Hidden Mickeys started out as inside jokes among the Walt Disney Imagineers. A Hidden Mickey is an image of Mickey Mouse concealed in the design of a Disney attraction (ride, resort, etc...). Originally, it took the shape of a head and ears silhouette, (look familiar?) i.e. one large circle with two smaller circled on top in the appropriate place, but Hidden Mickeys can take on many forms. There are literally hundreds of Hidden Mickey's (HM's) throughout the Walt Disney World Resort... and today I went on a hunt for some of them.

Yesterday, while at the Animal Kingdom, I saw an HM on the ground in the village of Harambe... this was it... see what I mean?


Having seen that one, I decided to go on a hunt for more... I'll more than likely add them to the blog from time to time... but here are the ones that I found today...
If you look at the cluster of circles on the right hand side of the vine... a blue circle on the bottom, with two smaller yellow circles above it, you've seen the HM...

This one struck me as more of an Overt Mickey, but it's in the book... so it's now here for you viewing pleasure...

After the Overt Mickey, you've got the abstract Mickey... however, seeing as how this one sits on the mural in the Contemporary overlooking Chef Mickey's restaurant... perhaps one should view it as a Mickey with his chef's hat on... but that's just me...

This one truly is hidden... That's the mouse, sitting atop a maintenance building, behind the Contemporary, in an area only visable from backstage... sometimes it helps to be a Cast Member...


This is one that you wouldn't notice unless you stopped to see it... It's Mickey, sitting on top of his own head, perched above a classic Mickey head... it's kind of surreal...

This one doesn't get seen often, unless you have reservations for dinner at the California Grill in the Contemporary... again, sometimes it pays to be a Cast Member...

This is just one example of the HM's you'll find in the carpet throughout the resort... that mouse is everywhere...!

This could also fall into the category of an Overt Mickey... but it is one of the few times you'll see Mick designed as a stick figure... also, it's in the book, so it's on the blog...

This one is a special HM, as it's only seasonal... you'll find the golden mouse ears stamped eight times into the gingerbread Christmas tree on the grand concourse of the Contemporary Resort...

This is one of my favorites (so far)... it's probably the largest HM on property, and is only visible from a birds eye view... a view which took me almost an hour to achieve. I finally was able to ride a service elevator to a private club, where a very nice CM let me out on the balcony to take the picture... I've said it before, I'll say it again... sometimes it pays to be a Cast Member... for those of you who hadn't noticed... it's a giant Mickey Mouse watch...

That's all I've got for now... but I'll continue to add more as they come. If you're planning on taking your own trip to WDW, and want to condut your own Hidden Mickey hunt... I would recommend picking up this book...

An invaluable resource for the Disney guest on the hunt for the Mouse incognito... but be sure to get the 4th edition... it has some updated clues...

That's it for now...

Keep on Reading,
TheCanadian

Today was awesome (I'm sure I'll have a bad day eventually)... got my car insurance, my parking pass (a source of great consternation since before I even left home) and I did the first of many HM hunts...
4.5 out of 5 Corporate Logos

On This Day in Disney History:
December 20th, 1971:
Roy O. Disney, (one of) Walt's older brothers, business partner, and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, passes away at the age of 78 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Burbank, California. Roy served as the company's chief executive officer (1929–1971) and president (1945–1971). While Walt was the creative man, Roy was the one who made sure the company was financially stable - and it was Roy who made sure Walt Disney World was built. With both Disney brothers gone, the board of directors for the first time will have to turn outside the Disney family for leadership. Donn Tatum will become chairman and Card Walker president of Walt Disney Productions, both of whom were personally hired by Walt to work for the company. It's also worth mentioning that December 15th (five days ago, and I day that I didn't blog due to my schedule not permitting it) marked the forty third anniversary of Walt Disney's passing. Two truly great brothers that both changed the face of the entertainment industry forever...

The busy (and the fun) leads to a lacking...

Hey there friends...

Sorry for my absence... but I've been very busy (and let's face it) having far too much fun to take a few minutes and sit down and write... I know, I know... it's not an excuse... but it's my blog and I'll use it as such if I so please!

So much has been happening... I've completed my first two days worth of training on the popcorn cart at Epcot... sounds like challenging work I know, but it's been fun... and you get soooooo much guest interaction. Seriously though, working the p-cart isn't hard... yet. I can imagine being out there by yourself it will get to be a little challenging, but fun nonetheless.

On to the fun stuff... my arrival group and I have been hitting up the various parks... having ourselves a blast with our free Disney entry...

Aren't we hot?

As a group at least... look at us individually and you might think differently... these people are my family for the next year, so I'm glad I ended up with such a nice group of kids...

Last night I hit up the Hollywood Studios with the two girls in black... we didn't have time to ride much... but we did get in The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror... which is just as awesome as I remember it... we also got the chance to ride Rockin' Roller Coaster with Aerosmith... fun as all get out... if you haven't had the opportunity to ride it yet... please do so, you won't regret it... and that was it for the Hollywood Studios...









Today, with some more of my arrival group and I hit up Disney's Animal Kingdom...
That friends, is the tree of life... make it bigger, see if you can pick out the animals carved right into the tree... there are over 320 animals carved into the tree by twenty artisans... and it took over 18 months to construct... oh, and all those leaves (All 100,000 of them) were individually placed... by hand. Yea... that's a lot of work. This is why you are struck by it's beauty as soon as you see it... nice eh?


We hit up the safari... too many pictures to post... But it brought back a lot of memories, as the safari was where I worked the last time I was a cast member... we got soaked on the Kali River Rapids... soaked to the bone friends... unpleasant as there was a chill in the air... and we rode Expedition Everest... a truly awesome experience...And that was my day... all in, a great one...

And there are more to come... so...

Keep on Reading,
TheCanadian

I'm going to count the last few days of training, the trip to the studios and today's trek to the Animal Kingdom all in one day... and it gets a rating of...

4 out of 5 Corporate Logos... I take one logo off because the water gods broke our deal, and I got wet on the Kali River Rapids... that's right Latis, Enki, Nun and Poseidon I'm talking to you... and I'm not impressed...

On This Day in Disney History:
December 19th, 1998:
Test Track opens at Disney World's Epcot. Eleven years it's been open... and still the lines are long... crazy...

And away we go...

Ok friends... I sit her in my lovely khaki pants, and my even lovlier black and red checkerboard shirt... about (not aboot) to embark on my first day at Epcot. I'm excited as all get out. Also, I'm rocking this outfit, and if you can look good in this, I'd wager a guess that there is nary an article of clothing you couldn't look good in... trust me.

Yesterday was what is known a Discovery Day at Epcot... what I discovered was this... I already knew all that. But it was fine... out facilitators did a good job of making at all go by smoothly.

Today I will actually be at work at the Disney Epcot theme park...

Coffee... check
PB&J... check
Knowledge that I'm gonna rock at this... double check!

I'm going to go in there and be the best damn Disney cast member since Walt told his wife he was going to name his newly created mouse Mortimer... and she told him that was too formal... try Mickey instead...

Never forget, it all started with a mouse... but would that mouse have been nearly as popular if Lillian Disney hadn't spoken her mind? I don't know, neither do you... and history has already been recorded... Mickey Mouse... the most iconic cartoon character ever to grace the celluloid.

Wish me luck friends... this is going to be awesome...

That's all for now, but...

Keep on Reading,
TheCanadian

The last few days were great on the scale of learning things, so I will give this week a rating of...
4.5 out 5 Corporate Logos


On This Day in Disney History:
December 16th, 1952:
WED Enterprises is founded as a private company owned solely by Walt Disney to design and create Disneyland and to manage Disney's personal assets. WED stands for Walter Elias Disney. (In 1986, WED will be renamed Walt Disney Imagineering.) Already hard at work on the theme park project are Walt's first 3 Imagineers ... Harriet Burns, Fred Joerger and Wathel Rogers. Ahh to be an imagineer... now that my friends, would be a job....

The most magical place on earth...

Just go ahead and tell me friends that that isn't one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen... now just imagine it in person, with all of those little lights twinkling away... as the castle changes from blue to red to purple to pink and back again. Awesome.

That's right friends... myself, and some of my fellow new arrivals went to the Magic Kingdom last night. And we deserved it. We'd spent the entire day doing Traditions, a course that every Cast Member (read: Employee) of Disney must go through, which teaches you about where Disney came from, where it is and where it's going.

We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and took in Mickey's Philharmagic, Wishes Fireworks Spectacular and the SpectroMagic Parade of Lights. It was all fantastic (as only Disney can do).

One of the members of our group had never been to the Magic Kingdom before. She was running around like a five year old on Christmas morning that had a private audience with the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. It was hilarious, but then again, it is always nice to see Disney through a kids eyes... which is what it was like. Go Jess!

Tonight that same group will be hitting up Disney's Hollywood Studios... and I'm sure it will be just as amazing... but in order to find out, you have to...

Keep on Reading!
The Canadian

I'm that much closer to actually starting work, plus last night was awesome... so it gets an awesome rating
4.5 out of 5 Corporate Logos


On This Day in Disney History:
December 13th, 1975:
Disney announces it will begin construction of EPCOT in 1976, instead of 1977 as originally planned. This was back when the current day Epcot was going to be the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow... before it changed to a full theme park, paving the way for yours truly to eventually come and work there... which I start tomorrow.

An odd thing...

Ive noticed something very odd here... something that I'm not used to seeing at home.

On the side of the road... interstates, state roads, even just regular streets. Cars. Abandoned.

Just left on the side of the road. You can tell they've been abandoned because they have a sticker in the upper left corner of the rear window. I assume that it's placed there by the state troopers so that tow trucks know to tow them... but here's my question. Who is driving along I-4 and thinks to themselves... I'm done with this vehicle. I think I'll just leave it at the side of the road, and walk home... this makes little to no sense to me.

Also... I was at the mall today, and I stepped into a shoe store. There I saw a pair of shoes the were 50% off... and still cost $500.00... I believe my best friend summed it up best when I asked him what a pair of shoes would need to have in order for him to spend $1000 on them. His response... "$950.00 cash"

That's all for today friends...

Keep on Reading
TheCanadian

Today was a day off where I had nothing to do... and spent most of the time bored.
3 out of 5 Corporate Logos


On This Day in Disney History:
December 11th, 1992:
Walt Disney Pictures releases The Muppet Christmas Carol - the fourth
feature film to star The Muppets, the first distributed & produced by Disney, and the
first produced after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson. The film is directed by Jim
Henson's son Brian and stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge. It is also, aside from Scrooged starring Bill Murray, this blogger's favorite representation of the Dicken's classic Christmas tale...

Work... of the paper variety...

Hey friends!

Sorry for missing out on the blog yesterday... it's been a busy busy couple of days. Between paperwork, orientation, more paperwork, going to the Magic Kingdom, a little bit more paperwork and catching up with an old friend... I haven't had the time to sit for five consecutive minutes and blog... oh, did I mention the paperwork?

Apparently coming to work for Disney means that you need a pen with a full compliment of ink... and a surface on which to sign your name... in fact, I've written my own name so many times over the last two days that the words have lost all meaning for me...

I'm well on my way to actually starting work for the company (that's right, even with all the paperwork I've already done, I still haven't even technically started to work for them yet) at which point I'm sure there will be more... you guessed it... paperwork!

I did however, get to go to the Magic Kingdom yesterday... and it's still as awesome as it ever was. I only had the time to experience three attractions... Pirates of the Caribbean, The Hall of Presidents (the new Barack Obama is nice, but... it only sort of looks like him. I think it's the eyes... they're too small) and Mikey's Philharmagic (If you've never experienced this, you should. Although the name is misleading... as Donald Duck, not Mickey Mouse, is the star of this attraction). It was very nice to be back in the first park that I ever worked at for Disney.

Last night, I had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend. One that I haven't seen in over three years. We picked up right where we left off... as if it had been just the day before. A very comforting feeling... being away from most of the people that I know and love.

After that, there was the welcome party. The nine or ten new arrivals to the Canadian pavilion were welcomed by the entire pavilion (except those that chose to go to the winter formal instead... you know who you are...) and it was an awesome time! I also found out that of the new guys arriving at Canada (I'm one of three) I'm the only gay guy among the group. Much to the chagrin of some of the women in the pavilion. Sorry ladies... I didn't pick the hand... I just deal with what I was dealt.

Tomorrow I have the day off. No idea what I'm going to do yet... but I'm sure I'll find some sort of trouble to get up to...

Having said that... for the time being... I've got nothing else...

Keep on Reading
TheCanadian

I'm going to have to mash together today and yesterday on the corporate logo scale... and so...
4.5 out of 5 Corporate Logos



On This Day in Disney History:
December 12th, 1999:
An official agreement is signed between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the Walt Disney Company regarding the building and operating of Hong Kong Disneyland. Marking the fifth Disney theme park (after Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney) to be built...

And here I am...

That's right friends, I've finally made it... I'm in Florida... moved in and unpacked!

I'm gonna start by saying (knowing as how most of you are in Canada) that it is a balmy 22 degrees here, with a projected high of 28 for tomorrow... very nice indeed...

I have now met all of my roommates... they seem like nice guys, so far...

Two Italians and a French guy... and so far all of them have asked me if I speak French. Apparently it's well known across the world that French is spoken in Canada... just not in which parts.

Tonight will be a short one friends... after driving 2180 Km in the last three days... you're reading the blog of one tired Canadian...!

But I will share a story with you...

While standing in line at a store today there were two quintessential southern ladies standing behind me. I'm not saying there were wearing petticoats and twirling parasols, rather they were wearing their cleanest dirty shirts and twirling their hair. The following I heard come from one of their mouths (I didn't dare turn around and see which one...)

"Well, now I much prefer Big Lots, you don't gotta get all dressed up like was you going to Walmart. You can wear your sponge rollers at Big Lots, and I mean, you can wear them at Walmart, but you can tell they's judging you for it..."

You know you're in the south when...

That's all for tonight friends, time for some sleep... long day tomorrow.

Keep on reading!
TheCanadian...

Seeing as how I'm finally here... I'll do this for the first time...
5 out of 5 Corporate Logos. Let's see how many more of those we can get...


On this Day in Disney History:
December 8th, 1936:
An evening story meeting takes place at the Disney Studio to once again discuss the personalities and characteristics of Snow White's dwarfs. Finally settling on Doc, Bashful, Dopey, Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy and Sneezy... here are some of the other personalities considered by Walt and his team... Jumpy, Deafy, Dizzey, Hickey, Wheezy, Baldy, Gabby, Nifty, Sniffy, Swift, Lazy, Puffy, Stuffy, Tubby, Shorty and Burpy.

I really think I would've liked to have seen them pull off Deafy... and I wonder who he would've replaced...

What a difference a day makes...

This is what I woke up to today friends... a nice dusting of snow in the Virginia mountains... it was beautiful... don't believe me? Check this one out... tell me that's not awesome!

Having said that... I experienced the seasons in reverse today... After driving 615 miles... I arrived in Savannah Georgia... and what a beautiful city it is...


Are we seeing this difference between this morning, and this evening people??? I hope so, or you all need to get your eyes checked!

So a couple of things for you from the drive down from Virginia to Georgia...

Nothing is the same here! Friends, did you know that McDonald's doesn't have a bacon McMuffin down here? I know! I was able to get one, but I had to order a regular McMuffin without the Canadian bacon (don't even get me started on Canadian bacon) the add regular bacon to it... you'd think I asked for lobster from the look on the woman's face...

As I was coming into North Carolina, I looked up to see a fellow Canadian on the road in front of me... a car full of Quebecois! I pulled up next to them, and dutifully waved my Canadian flag for them to see... and amazingly enough (after seeing I was from Ontario) they didn't spit at me, but rather cheered and waved... it was a nice moment of national pride...

Friends... I almost drove off the road again today... it had nothing to do with weather, or snow or even anything I did... but when I see a sign advertising the worlds largest doll store, I do have a small stroke... (I may not have told you friends, but I am terrified of porcelain dolls... and I don't think you an blame me...

I think the reason why the dolls freak me out so much is that they all look like children, and they're all lifelike, but they don't move... so it's like being in a room full of dead babies!

Entirely disconcerting...

The last leg of the journey begins tomorrow morning, 4 hours to Orlando friends... this is really happening... sweet!

Keep on Reading
TheCanadian

Great day, but tired from all the driving... so today gets a...
3.5 out of 5 Corporate Logos

On This Day in Disney History:
December 7th, 2005:
The world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe takes place at Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

Give em' free speech...

...and that's what you get.

Hello friends! I'm sitting here in my cousin's living room/great room/family room/room where the TV is after a fun filled day in Washington D.C. My cousin (a former D.C. resident) took me around and showed me a few of the sights, a few of the 'hoods... Adams Morgan, Georgetown, Dupont Circle... we had a lovely lunch at a diner called The Diner (how cute) and went to a few of the Smithsonian museums (Natural History and American History).

Two highlights for the day...

The Festivus Pole... for those of you unfamiliar (because apparently you've been living on Mars with your head under a rock, and your fingers in your ears) Festivus is the holiday introduced to the world by Seinfeld (not the comedian of course, but the show). I'll leave it to you to find out more if you don't know about it... but right there, in the heart of Adams Morgan, on a street corner was The Festivus Pole. A place where people can confess and list the airing of grievances... it was great... here is one for you...

Isn't that nice? And the exclamation point is priceless... How about this one?

Seinfeld hits again... there are notepads and Sharpies hanging from the board... I wish I would have taken more pictures... but that's all I've got... if you're ever in D.C. get to the intersection of Columbia Rd. and Adams Mill... it's worth the stop.

The second highlight was something else... there are all kinds of protesters in D.C. but this was different... As my cousin and I came out of the Smithsonian Museum of American History, there was a man yelling at the top of his lungs... I... I can't really give it justice with a description. So watch this... (sorry that I didn't actually get the guy, I just wanted you to hear him...)

Fun wasn't it? Yes that's right... this man was with his child and wife (this couple is proof enough that procreation isn't for everyone)yelling... at the top of his lungs... about Abortion, and how you can't let Satan steal the seed of your unborn child... but what made it art friends, was that when his voice got tired... his kid actually started to yell about it for him... I honestly couldn't believe it... but this is what happens when you give your citizens free speech!

Today I got to hang with my favorite cousin, who I haven't seen in five years... plus, I got to witness the Festivus board, and hear the Abortion Man sharing his woes... and I'm another day closer to Disney... so it gets a great rating!
4.5 out of 5 Corporate Logos

On This Day In Disney History:
December 6th, 1937:
A sneak preview for Disney's first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs takes place in a theater in Pomona, California.

That's all for today friends...

Keep on Reading!
TheCanadian

Day One...

And so it begins friends... and what a beginning it was. 4:30 this morning I left my house, my family, my friends and my life as I know it... it was an eventful trip friends.

I made it across the border, no worries... the guard was even kind of nice (but only kind of) as border crossing guards go.

Americans are constantly asking us Canadians what it's like to live in perpetual snow... and I wouldn't know. Today, I experienced more snow on the drive through New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland then I've seen in Canada in a long time. Which led to my harrowing experience. About ten miles south of Altoona PA, I went off the road. Yes friends, you read that right... off the road. I must've hit a patch of something, because the next thing I knew, I was spinning on the highway... then I was spinning in the ditch of the divided highway... now, I know what this sounds like... but it's not true. I'm fine.

See friends, I learned to drive in Canada... in the winter. And my mom taught me well... I didn't panic friends... I stayed calm, said fuck a few times, and turned into the spin... that's the important part friends, turn into the spin. Once I got the car under control, I gunned it, up and over the snow bank, and back onto the highway. It was harrowing to say the very least.

After this incident I stopped at a Wal-Mart just to get out of the car, and pry my fingers off of the steering wheel. Not knowing where I was, I stopped and asked a woman in the parking lot where we were. Her response... Wal-Mart. Thanks lady!

But I made it, I'm in Virginia, and I'm in my hotel... which brings me to my next story. What does a hotel do when the power goes out. Well, apparently nothing. I suppose that the least I could say was that they told me the power was out... but it didn't help that I couldn't watch TV, or plug in my computer, or even turn on the heat! So I went out.

Friends? Have any of you ever been in the Tysons Corner Center? It's HUGE!!! Three floors, the whole thing probably covers an acre or two, and I'm pretty sure that I saw more than one of the same store... that's a mall that's too big... and as I found myself walking through this mall, it suddenly occurred to me that I'm in Washington D.C. and I'm in a mall... and not the National one...

So I left the Tysons Corner Center and headed into the city. Now, I don't know how many of you friends have been to Washington D.C. before, but it's a beautiful city, and at night... simply gorgeous. But at night, with fresh snow on the ground... I haven't seen anything quite so pretty in a long time. And while out and about in the city, I happened to find myself standing at the corner of Pennsylvania Ave and 10th st, and who was sitting right there in front of me, enjoying his dinner? None other than Senator Al Franken. More than likely one of the few United States Senators that I'd recognize without a CNN or MSNBC graphic telling me who's head was talking (now that HIllary is Sec State, and Ted Kennedy is... you know... dead) and that's most likely because to me... he's good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, enough people voted for him. After they checked, double checked, and made sure that he was actually the winner.

And that was day one... see friends... we've gone from the mundane... to three good (ok, I might be playing it a little fast and loose with the word good) stories... in one day...

Just imagine what the next few months might bring... it all remains to be seen... and in order to do that, you need to...

Keep on Reading!
The Canadian

Today get's a good rating, because I almost died, and yet survived enough to sit here and write this blog so that y'all would have something to do with your time...
3.5 out of 5 Corporate Logos...

Most Ignorific Question on the Subject of Canadiana: It wasn't a question, but as a forewarning, anyone who says that Canada get's more snow than the U.S... try spinning in your car before going off the road ten miles south of Altoona PA... then talk to me about all the snow that me and my polar bear experience...

On This Day in Disney History:
December 5th, 1901:
Walter Elias Disney is born to Flora and Elias Disney in their two-story cottage at 2156 N. Tripp Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The third Disney son is named to honor the family's pastor and friend Walter Parr, a preacher at St. Paul Congregational Church. The pastor, in turn, will later name his son Elias, after Walt's father. (The Disney family will move to Missouri in 1906 where Walt and his brothers and sister will grow up on a farm in Marceline, but the family will later return to Chicago in 1917.)

And so it is...

Hello friends... I do apologize for my absence. It has been c-RAZY busy in the world of TheCanadian.

But here we are... my last day in Canada. My clothes are packed, my car is packed, my... everything, is packed. And so here I go. Between the busy with getting ready, and the regular mundane, I didn't want to bore you all... but felt it only right that I leave one last blog before I leave The Great White North for the Sunshine State!

On the upside... my first hotel for the drive down, is located right across from Tysons Corner... which is apparently a huge mall, and quite the shopping experience... so that I am looking forward to...

On This Day in Disney History:
1998:

A 1931 Mickey Mouse doll sells for 4,370 pounds (about $7,250) at a Christie's Teddy Bear auction in London, England.

That's one mouse that went for a lot of cheese...

On a sad note friends, I just found out today that Wayne Allwine passed away. Granted it happened seven months ago, but I just found out today. For those of you unfamiliar, Wayne was the voice of Mickey mouse for my entire life... the only Mickey that I've ever known. In addition to that he also is one of only three men, including Walt Disney himself and James MacDonald, to provide the voice of Mickey Mouse. The voicing duties of The Mouse have now been taken over by Bret Iwan. Wayne is survived by his wife Russi Taylor the woman who provides the voice for Minnie Mouse (yes friends that's right, the voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse were married in real life).

You will be sadly missed Wayne... Rest In Peace.

Keep on reading!
TheCanadian