I have finally returned from Disney World and am now ready to give all you lovely readers a breakdown of the most relaxed, awesome vacation of all time. Lets start with the official first day of the trip. First off, I woke up extremely early (no surprise there) as I was too excited to sleep. I decided to spend my incredibly early time by explore the grounds of the resorts.

First I toured around Pop Century. We were located in the 70's area (which ended up being cooler than expected!) Our room was very close to the giant set piece of the section, showcasing a huge Big Wheels Bike and Mickey Mouse Telephone. As I walked around further to see more of the decor, I noticed a group of bunnies hopping near me. This was incredibly adorable and surprising, even for this little New Yorker who used to seeing similar creatures. I tried to snap a shot of one, but the lack of light made it hard for a good picture.


Afterwards, I returned to my hotel room and saw all my other roommates were awake. We got dressed and made our way to our first park visit of the trip: Disney's Hollywood Studios!


First we visited one of my favorite rides of all time: Star Tours. After visiting a galaxy far far away we headed off to check out more of the park. On the way we went on the ride that made me want to be part of the filmmaking business: The Great Movie Ride. Though simple and cheesy as hell by today's standards, this ride captures the perfect little feeling that watching the grand classic films of the past give you when viewing them for the first time. Some of my favorite moments are seeing Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain or Dorothy and crew from The Wizard of Oz.

It's time for another epic and awesome Disney World trip to commence. This time I will be going in October, my first official Fall season trip to the park. Previously I had been in September, when things are in mid-transformation for the beginning of the holiday seasons to come.

Another first for this trip is I will not be going with my mom this time. She usually is my trusted park companion, but she encouraged me to go with my equally awesome and amazing frilly friends. That's right - this is gonna be a frilly Disney vacation! Literally the vacation of my dreams!

Just to get it all out my system (and incase you are curious) here is my schedule for the trip:

First off we will be staying in the Pop Century resort, another first for me!


Our first day will be spent at Hollywood Studios, my personal favorite park out of the four. I know a lot of people aren't big fans of it, but its one of the main reasons why I became such a passionate film fanatic. Attractions like The Great Movie Ride and Animation Studio Tour sparked my interest in the industry and the history behind it.

Sorry for things being slow here on Magic a'la Mode! I've been insanely busy the past month like you would never believe. But let's take a moment to celebrate some new movie news that is worthy of a Fangirly Post!

First up, finally the poster for the 2014 French Beauty and the Beast film was released! And yes, we finally get to see the Beast in the (CGI) flesh. The design itself looks awesome, but I am a tad nervous that the motion capture budget isn't up to pare, and thus The Beast will look a bit cheap on film when he is next to his completely live action co-star. Either way I am ridiculous excited.

But there is one thing I have complete confidence in, and that is the Into The Woods film that is currently in production. Dear god the cast of this movie looks flawless. Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp and Chris Pine - it is literally perfect. Speaking of (my favorite aspect of the movie) Chris Pine, there was a lot of on set photos released including him in his princely garb! Check out how charismatic and charming (pun intended) he looks!

In the beginning of the summer, Guillermo del Toro's next big movie, Crimson Peak, was announced with little to no idea of what or who would it be about. Now that a plot and cast has been publicized, everyone is buzzing just a bit more about the flick. 

A side of me that I rarely talk about on any of the blogs I write for is my love of Punk Rock music and the roots at which it started. Maybe it's because I am a New Yorker, born and raised by two Punk Rock/music loving rocker kids that told me the golden days of visiting/playing at CBGB's and the magic of the Lower East Side pigsty.

So when years ago I heard someone was finally bold enough to make a CBGB's movie, one that told of all the famous bands that were born there, and would be hugely about Hilly Kristal (the infamous owner of the club) I was skeptical at best, fearing the influx of awful interpretations of some of my musician heroes (including my beloved favorite band since childhood, The Ramones.)


Time had past, and I had forgotten about the existence of the biographical piece, thinking it would be like any of the Punk Rock related flicks of the past and was put to the side. But today I type this post baffled and astounded by what I have seen (link here!)


Someone (by the name of Randall Miller) has done the impossible in making an actual movie about CBGB's and getting actors that (shockingly) look like their real-life counterparts. Most impressive is the casting choices, including Alan Rickman (one of my British loves <3) getting to play Mr. Kristal himself. But the most shocking is the reveal of The Ramones film versions, to which it is then almost impossible to tell the difference's between their real life counterparts.

The actor for Joey (Joel David Moore) is the most striking in his similarities the iconic rocker, with the actor playing Dee Dee (Steven Schub) reflecting the bass player closer to his older days and than his original CBGB's youthful self.

Though I am a still not fully sold on the movie (expect for the epic Ramones portions), I am truly excited none the less and can't wait till it comes out later this fall.

What do you guys think? Are you Punk Rock music fans? Have any interest in seeing this flick? Comment below!

Through a few conversations here and there on the BatB Web Comic Tumblr, a question came up that has been getting some buzz: Who is your favorite version of the Beast? As someone that is a longtime fan of the fairy tale and watching it on film, thats personally a hard question. So since I can not give just one answer, I thought I would give a countdown of my favorites! Cause heck, I love having an excuse to talk about my favorite literary character!