A Very Merry Unbirthday to you! TO ME? No, to YOU!

Hey guys -

I would just like to point out that TODAY is THE ONLY day in the year when the Mad Hatter's A Very Merry Unbirthday song would not apply to me!

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Why is that you ask?
Because today, DECEMBER 14th, I turn 22!!



Tonight on DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 9PM:


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For the complete DISNEY CHANNEL TV schedule, click here.

That's it for today-
Peace out!
-andi w.

Now entering the Twilight Zone ...

Hey guys -

For all High School Musical fans, today's the day you've all been waiting for! HSM2: Extended Edition finally hits stores for you to have and to hold and to cherish forever and ever!

Although the DVD is said to be retailing at $29.99, amazon.com is selling it at 47% off for only $15.99! Go grab your copy of this DVD before the sale ends! You can either go to your favorite DVD store, or click on the image below to buy it from amazon.com.

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In other news, Walt Disney Studios (Disneyland: Paris) had their grand opening for their newest ride, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (aka Hollywood Tower Hotel).


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So far, four out of the five Disney parks have this ride - however, the one in Tokyo is called something different because they don't have The Twilight Zone in Japan. There are some awesome pictures over at the Disney and More blog - however, if you haven't ridden the ride and you don't want it spoiled for you ... I would suggest leaving the photo tour out of your daily schedule. :)


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Tonight on DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 8PM:


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For the complete DISNEY CHANNEL TV schedule, click here!

That's it for today-
Peace out!
-andi w.

Happy Birthday to...

Hey guys -

Sorry I haven't updated in a while - I've just been really busy with work ... BUT ... today is my last day! In order to celebrate, I will be driving straight down to DISNEYLAND right after I get off work ... and when I get there, I will toast Walt and have a piece of cake.

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WHY, you ask?

Because ... 106 years ago, my hero -- Walter Elias Disney -- was born.


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Happy Birthday, Walt Disney!


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I will definitely give you guys a better, juicier update when I get back from The Happiest Place On Earth! :)

Peace out!
-andi w.

There's Something About Ashley...

Although her official Web site claims it'll be released today, on November 13th, Ashley Tisdale's DVD -- which includes three music-videos and a documentary of the-making-of her album, Headstrong -- There's Something About Ashley: The Story So Far has already been released A WEEK EARLY. According to amazon.com, the DVD was released on Nov. 6, and people have been popping up everywhere, claiming to have seen it. Therefore, if you don't want to "pre-order" it from Ashley's official Web site, you can hop on over to amazon.com and purchse your copy there! ... Or, maybe just peek in at your favorite DVD store and see if they've put it out on shelves yet. Click on the image below to order your very own copy today!

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Oh, and just for kicks - here's a recreation of another one of Ashley's outfits. For more Ashley-fashion-style-tips, you can check out an old post here.


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Basically, everything Ashley is wearing can be found at urbanoutfitters.com. You can click on the photos below to purchase the item from the Web site.









Things that can be found through ebay.com:

Vintage CHANEL Sunglasses Style 5076-H:


Vintage CHANEL CoCo Classic 2.55 Purse:




Tonight on DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 8PM:


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For the complete DISNEY CHANNEL TV listing, click here.

That's it for today-
Peace out!
-andi w.

'Tis the season ... already?!

Thanksgiving hasn't even come and gone yet, but Disney has already decided to film its Christmas parade and Christmas special at Walt Disney World this past Saturday.

At the Walt Disney Christmas Parade, the cast-members of High School Musical 2 including Corbin Bleu, Vanessa Hudgens, Monique Coleman, and Ashley Tisdale performed a cute Christmas version (with interestingly altered lyrics) of "What Time Is It?" You can check it out below! :)

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Tonight on DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 8PM:


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For the complete DISNEY CHANNEL TV listing, click here.

That's it for today-
Peace out!
-andi w.

Pixar Projects: According to Lasseter

It's official! John Lasseter, Pixar's chief creative officer, has not only confirmed that PIxar will, indeed, be going ahead with TOY STORY 3, but also that he will be directing it himself!

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Lasseter has also confirmed that the Pixar film after Wall-E will be a film titled UP, and will be "a big action adventure starring an 80 year old man," which is set to be released the same year Pixar's new 2-D animated film, The Princess and the Frog, will in 2009. Toy Story 3 is projected to be released in 2010, while Wall-E hits theatres on June 27, 2008.

You can click here for the full article from rottentomatoes.com. For those of you who have yet to see the trailer for Wall-E, you can preview two of them below.


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Tonight on DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 8PM:


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For the complete DISNEY CHANNEL TV listing, click here.

That's it for today-
Peace out!
-andi w.

It's not such a small world, after all...

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Although it has been around for 41 years, Disneyland theme-ride, "It's A Small World" will be shutting down starting January 2008. Disney employees say the ride will be closing for maintenance, or more specifically, "the fiberglass build up" from the constant scraping of the bottom of the boat with the bottom of the ride, but really, reports say that it is actually the expanding waist line that is causing the need for this maintenance.


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Disney plans to deepen the ride (so that the boat, carrying overweight passengers, is less likely to touch the bottom of the ride and cause blockages). It has been reported that this "maintenance" will take up to 10 months. Click here for the full story.



Speaking of maintenance - Disney will be spending over $1 billion in renovating Disneyland's sister-theme-park, CALIFORNIA ADVENTURES. Although they don't want to admit it, California Adventures hasn't been thriving as well as they hoped - possibly for its existing in the shadow of the ever-so-popular Disneyland. You can click here for the complete story.


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Tonight on DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 9PM:


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For the complete DISNEY CHANNEL TV listing, click here.

That's it for today-
Peace out!
-andi w.

Waiting for Ever, Ever After

Hey guys -

I feel like I've been waiting FOREVER for the newest partially animated/live-action Disney movie, ENCHANTED to come out! And although movie soundtracks usually hit stores a little earlier than the movie hits theaters, the soundtrack for ENCHANTED won't be released until just ONE day before its theatrical release. However, as a little teaser, the Disney Web site has put up a music video for a song that American Idol winner CARRIE UNDERWOOD recorded for the movie called, "Ever, Ever After". You can watch it by click on the photo below.

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Although the soundtrack won't be released until November 20th, you can still pre-order your very own copy TODAY from amazon.com by clicking the photo below.


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Tonight on DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 8PM:


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For the complete Disney Channel TV listing for today, click here.

That's it for today-
Peace out!
- andi w.

Disney DVD Double Dose!

Hey guys!

Today is quite a big day for PIXAR fans. As most of you know - probably from seeing all those commercials advertising it on television - RATATOUILLE comes out today on Disney DVD (and Blu-Ray)! Click on the photo below to get your very own copy from amazon.com, or if you can't wait for it to ship, drop by your favorite DVD store and pick it up!

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What is not as known is today, another Pixar DVD will be released on Disney DVD (and Blu-Ray)! Remember all those cute and funny short films that are shown before each Pixar movie in theaters? And have you ever wondered if you could ever own those clips to watch - and re-watch - over and over and over again? ... Well... NOW YOU CAN!

PIXAR SHORT FILM COLLECTION hits shelves (and the Internet) TODAY! This DVD will include a collection of all short-films you've seen in theaters, preceeding major Pixar films. There will also be a lot more never-seen-before Pixar shorts that are extremely cute and equally funny! (How do I know this? I guess they're not exactly never-seen-before because my boyfriend and I have seen them- haha!) You can click on the picture below to buy your very own copy from amazon.com, or go to your favorite DVD store and buy it the same time you purchase Ratatouille!


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And for the usual...
TONIGHT ON DISNEY AT THE MOVIES @ 8 P.M.:

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For the complete Disney Channel TV listing, click here!

That's it for today-
Peace out!
- andi w.

Everybody live 'cause the future is now...!

Hey guys-

I'M BACK! These past few months have been really crazy/hectic for me - I've been working as an Editorial Intern at a local newspaper, and trying to keep myself afloat in this high-stress/fast-paced world of Journalism meant that I had to work extra hard to impress my editors and be the best that I could be; this caused me to shirk my responsibilities as a Disney blogger, and for this, I deeply appologize.

I must also admit that the announcement that DISNEY ADVENTURES would publish its last issue this November, on its 17th birthday, broke my heart. My whole entire life - the sole reason for the extistence of this blog - was based around my dream of one day becoming the editor of that magazine.



This may seem a little bit cheesy, but after re-watching MEET THE ROBINSONS again on DVD (and listening to The Jonas Brothers' Kids of the Future for the millionth time), I realized that my life was that of GOOB, and if I didn't let go of the sadness I felt for the end of a magazine, I would end up becoming THIS dude (aka Bowler Hat Guy):

As Walt Disney once said, "Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."


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So here's to a fresh, new start for The Mad Hatter's Disney Lounge, and hoping that I can find a new dream job that will allow me to pursue my passion. (Regular posts will begin starting tomorrow!)

Thanks for sticking around, and as always...
Peace out! :)
- andi w.




Come on Lewis, keep moving forward
Hold your head up high
There's no time for looking down
You will not believe where we're going now.

The End of the Hype

Hey guys-

One final HSM tidbit before moving on to other Disney news. The NEW YORK TIMES, as well as other major news-broadcasting outlets are stating that the Friday premiere of High School Musical 2 produced the LARGEST single-audience in the HISTORY of cable television with a whopping... 17.2 MILLION VIEWERS. Keep in mind, there were probably a few hundred HSM2 parties going on, so this number should probably be a little bit higher if you multiply each television set by 10! Click here for the complete story.


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Speaking of new Disney movies, the upcoming live-action movie (with a 20 minute animated introduction), ENCHANTED has finally released its official movie poster.


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You can also watch the official trailer for the movie at its official youtube page, or you can watch it below:


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Tonight on the DISNEY CHANNEL @ 8PM: (In order to complete the wild weekend kick-off.. the third, and final, showing of...)


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Click here for the complete Disney Channel TV listing for today.

That's it for now...
Peace out!
-andi w.

HSM2: The Review

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Do not believe a word that Entertainment Weekly is spewing about the newest Disney Channel Original Movie. If you liked the first installment of High School Musical, you will absolutely adore the second! And if you hated it? You will still be one of many in the crowds to mock the cheesy dialogue and roll your eyes at the plot, but the musical numbers will, nonetheless, get your foot tapping and lure your inner-child into a full swing. Although the plot is a carbon copy of all-things-teen-romatic-comedy, there were a few changes to make this movie a little more captivating.

The first movie was filmed and based around the social hierarchy within a typical high school, East High, but this time around, the surroundings are at Sharpay's summer country-club, and the Wildcats are no longer searching for popularity... this time, their jobs, and ultimately, their futures, are at stake. And instead of competing for the starring roles in their high school's winter musical, the Wildcats are now going at it to win the Star Dazzle award for the country club's annual talent show.

So basically, the second movie is the original with a few tweeks. This then makes you wonder...what did director, Kenny Ortega do differently to make High School Musical 2 a winning formula?


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The secret ingredient: Sharpay, Sharpay... SHARPAY!!


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In the first installment of High School Musical, Sharpay Evans, and her brother, Ryan, (portrayed by Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel), were used soley for the purpose of comic relief. Their characters were also needed to create the plot by causing conflict between the stars of the movie, Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens). This time around, it seems as if all of the roles changed. Gabriella and Troy are the ones that are needed for the sole purpose of plot, while Ryan is still used for comic relief.

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However, in HSM2, Sharpay steals the entire show and is not only the star of the movie, but also IS the movie. Her flamboyant actions, her shrill giggles, and her wittily, cheap remarks are what drive the audience into a fit of captivated amusement and laughter. Some might say that Tisdale's acting is a little too over-the-top, but it sure beats Hudgens's bland, dry, and pathetic character, or shall we say, CAMEOS. Her only believable scene in the movie is when she manages to pinch out one, lonely tear, while singing her ever-so-cliche lonely-girl-song, which I admit, was beautifully touching! However, her song pales in comparisson to Sharpay's first solo musical number, FABULOUS:


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Also, for all you CORBIN BLEU fans, it is sad to say that his character, Chad, did not make the final cut into the movie. Oh, wait... he did? That's right! He shared a duet with Ryan in the "Get'cha Head In The Game"-like musical number, "I Don't Dance," which was only bearable because of Ryan's contagious, and humorous, character. Other than that piece, most scenes containing Chad remains entirely forgetable and unamusing. The same goes for Monique Coleman's character, and the pop-and-lock-girl/Mr. Creme-Brulee!


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Although the cast of HSM2 tries to close the movie with another uplifting "Breaking Free" moment, followed by a positively inspiring unification song like the previous, "We're All In This Together," because Ortega tried to highlight more characters in this movie, the respective numbers, "Everyday" and "All For One" were a little too hectic and disorderly to fully enjoy, aesthetically speaking. However, the numbers were extremely catchy and left you singing while the credits rolled. However, unlike the previous movie, the highlight of High School Musical 2 came with Sharpay's rendition of Troy and Gabriella'a melodically beautiful duet, "You Are The Music In Me."


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Overall, if you're looking for an amusing, comical, feel-good movie, (and if you don't mind a few cheesy moments and horrible dialogue), High School Musical 2 is the flick just for you!


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WHAT TIMES IS IT?!?

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IT'S FINALLY HERE! HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 will be airing on the Disney Channel tonight at 8PM/7C!! Beceause of this FABULOUS occurence, there will be no news updates until tomorrow, when I can post pictures from tonight's HSM2 PARTY! :D

Have an awesome day and...
Peace out!
-andi w.

Main Course: Ratatouille... Dessert? Ice Cream!!

Hey guys-

I start my first day of work at The Palo Alto Weekly today! But before that happens, let's start off with a few interesting tidbits of Disney news.


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For those of you who have seen Pixar's RATATOUILLE, do you recall the scene where Remy's dad shows him the rat-trap-shop-of-doom? I remember while I was seeing that scene, I thought to myself, "That's really gross.. thank God it's just in a movie!" Well, I was WRONG! That shop in the movie is based on an actual rat-trap shop, in Paris, whose window display has been like that since 1925! Apparently, the movie has made the shop, today, a highly visited tourist attraction! Click here for the full article!


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In other food related news, in order to celebrate MARY POPPINS on Broadway, a Manhattan dessert shop, Serendipity 3, has created an ice-cream special called the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Sundae.

"Try a scoop of strawberry ice cream in a goblet with a slice of cheesecake under a sweet strawberry topping and clouds of whipped cream drizzled with caramel sauce. It's decorated with an umbrella hovering above a chocolate wafer chim-chimney."
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This dessert is going for a whopping $13.50; although I'm not so sure about paying that much for ice-cream, this concotion sounds absolutely DELICIOUS!! The Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Sundae will only be available for a limited time, so hurry and try a bite!


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Remember, in order to celebrate the world premiere of High School Musical 2, the Disney Channel has been showing movies that ROCK all this week. Tonight on DISNEY at THE MOVIES @ 8PM:

The ORIGINAL... HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL!


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For the complete Disney Channel TV schedule, click here!

That's it for now-
Peace out!
-andi w.