Mickey Mouse Merry & Scary!

by Joyce Kessel

Disney has just released a new must have DVD for your Holiday Collection! Mickey Mouse Merry & Scary isn't JUST for Christmas, it's also for Halloween! Chock full of fun and scares, this DVD is packed with a collection of soon to be classic shorts:

• Two 22-minute specials:
• The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular - Mickey decks out his house like a tomb and with his pals Donald and Goofy, attempts to tell the scariest story ever!
• Duck The Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special - Instead of heading south for the winter, like all good ducks, Donald decides to stay with Mickey and the gang to enjoy all the Christmas with his pals has to offer!
• Bonus Shorts (Three minute classics)
• Ghoul Friend
• The Boiler Room
• Black & White
• Entombed
• Split Decision

With nearly an hour of Disney fun, Mickey Mouse Merry  Scary is a great addition to your Disney library, and a great way to celebrate Halloween AND Christmas! Now available on DVD everywhere. Oh, and seriously, this DVD Collection makes a GREAT Halloween gift...AND a GREAT Christmas stocking stuffer!

Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast...Episode 81

Welcome to Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast Episode 81...our special Halloween Spook-Tacular!! On this very special HALLOWEEN episode, we share what’s been going on around the old Tales Crypt, including some odd bugs buzzing around the backyard that Joyce has a little trouble 'identifying'...(tune in for THAT one!). We also share some Disneyland Resort News, some hauntingly fun ghost stories from around the Disneyland Resort and a LOT MORE fun Halloween themed goodies! Be sure to stick around ALL the way to the end!

Photo Copyright Daps Magic

We wanted to take a moment to thank our good friend Lisa Robertson from the Babes In Disneyland blog for allowing us to include the audio from her recent trip to the Disneyland Resort to chat about some SPOOKY attractions going on for the Halloween season! We also want to give a BIG shout out to our friend Shawn from The Confluence Covers for his awesome coverage of the 2013 Disneyland Halloween Party! Thanks guys!!

Hey, if you have a favorite Disneyland memory, how about sharing with us? We'd LOVE to share it with other listeners on an episode of the show! We always love to hear from you guys! 

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com. NOW is the time to book your Disneyland Holiday adventure! 



As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! If you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on iTunes, on our podcast site at talescast.com, the direct episode link: Episode 81, or on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

Video courtesy of the Confluence_Covers: YouTube

Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast...Episode 80

Welcome to Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland podcast EPISODE 80!!! YEA!!!! On this special episode, we stray from our usual format a bit, but for good reason. We thought that since it IS the Halloween Season and all, and we DO love the Disneyland Resort at this time of year, we’d share the complete audio/music from the Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction! Yep, good ol’ Jack Skellington himself has taken over the Haunted Mansion and turned it into a Holiday DEE-LIGHT! Oh, and we share what’s going on around the old Tales Homestead, and a few Disneyland Resort News tidbits. 

It's The Most Wonderful Time...of the Year

Yeah, and we've got to admit, we get a little...'odd' in our Host Chat segment. What can we say? It's been a weird few weeks! What with missing Disneyland and all...yeah, we NEED a Disneyland trip!

This time of year always makes me (Al) a bit lonely for Disneyland. I mean, the fall/Halloween decorations, the slight chill in the air during the days, the very chilly nights. One of THE best, if not THE best, times to visit the Resort. Everything is so...so...awesome! I'm sure you've heard the story a thousand times, but this was the season I made my first ever visit to Disneyland. And the season I got hooked on Disneyland. So, if YOU'RE planning a trip to the Happiest Place On Earth, I highly recommend going during the Halloween season! 

Hey, if you have a favorite Halloween Disneyland memory, how about sharing with us? We'd LOVE to share it with other listeners on our Halloween Special coming up in October. In fact, it doesn't HAVE to be a Disneyland story. It could be ANY Disney Park or even just a favorite Halloween story. We always love to hear from you guys! 

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com. NOW is the time to book your Disneyland Holiday adventure! 

As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! If you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on iTunes, on our podcast site at talescast.com, the direct episode link: Episode 80, or on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast...Episode 79

Welcome to episode 79 of Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast - another VIDEO VOICEOVER EXTRAVAGANZA!!! On this video greatness, we share some of our favorite memories from Halloween Seasons Past at the Disneyland Resort, our FAVORITE time of year to visit the Happiest Place On Earth! Why you ask? Well...just watch the video...

Halloween Season at Disneyland

Well, honestly part of the reason we love the Halloween Season so much at Disneyland, is because that was the very first time we had visited the Park together. In fact, Halloween Season 2007 was the VERY first time I (Al) had ever visited Disneyland! I know...shocking right? That's a long story, and if you've been tuning in to the show for any length of time, you've most likely heard it before, so I won't bore you guys again! (And a collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the land!)

Such a BEAUTIFUL sight!

So, if you've NEVER had the fun of a Halloween Season Disneyland visit, trust me, it's something you're going to want to do.  Yeah, the Holiday Season is awesome, so is Spring Time, but for me at least, Halloween is THE best time. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not like a HUGE fan of Halloween. It's an ok 'Holiday', but never been my favorite. BUT...the way Disneyland dresses up the place for Halloween is...oh, I don't know...magical. Yeah, maybe it's because it always

Haunted Mansion Holiday

reminds me of our first visit, but still, you cannot deny that Disneyland does the fall/Halloween season up right! There's a wonderful chill in the air, especially at night; the fall themed decorations everywhere; Cast Members dressed in warmer clothing...everything! If you need a reality break, trust us, THIS is the time to go! One of the things we love during this season is to stop by the Market House, grab a nice cup of hot cocoa and sit either at the Hub or by the big

Fall Colors at Disneyland

Mickey Pumpkin in Town Square near the entrance to Disneyland, and just watch the happy guests! It's awesome to see the little ones all dressed up in Halloween costumes, HUGE smiles on their faces as they meet their favorite Disney characters all dressed up as well. (sniff, sniff), great, now I REALLY miss Disneyland!

Hey, if you have a favorite Halloween Disneyland memory, how about sharing with us? We'd LOVE to share it with other listeners on our Halloween Special coming up in October. In fact, it doesn't HAVE to be a Disneyland story. It could be ANY Disney Park or even just a favorite Halloween story. We always love to hear from you guys! 

Minnie Mouse in Costume

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com. NOW is the time to book your Disneyland Holiday adventure! 

As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! If you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on iTunes, on our podcast site at talescast.com, the direct episode link: Episode 79, or on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

Joyce

Al

Thanks for making us part of your Disney experience and remember…

"Make It A Mickey Day!" ~~ Al & Joyce

Happiest Blog on Earth - Post-Vacation Blues

Well, our vacation was, in a word…awesome! Joyce and I had such a great time on our two week vacation that it made coming back to work most difficult. Oh I know what you’re going to say: “If it weren’t for work, vacation wouldn’t mean as much”. Ah…yeah it would! I’d STILL love it! A LOT! But, without the dreaded dreary mind-numbing thankless work day, we wouldn’t be able to afford such an awesome vacation, so I’ll give you that.

As I mentioned, we took a two week vacation, and as you know, Joyce and I are, well, crazy about the Disneyland Resort. So, as any normal, fanatic would do, spent the first week of our vacation IN Disneyland. Ok, five days of it anyway. We stayed at the Paradise Pier Hotel, one of the Disneyland Resort Hotels, and it was a fantastic experience. Now, we’ve stayed there before, and always liked it. But this time was special. We celebrated our 15^th Wedding Anniversary at the Happiest Place On Earth. Of all the places in the world we had open to us (cruising, Hawaii, Europe, the Scotch Tape museum in Lompoc, California), we chose Disneyland because it is our most special place.  And between our podcast sponsor Randy Crane and the Paradise Pier Hotel, we were treated to a most memorable time indeed. First, when we checked in, we were upgraded to the 11^th Floor, with an amazing view of Disney California Adventure. NICE! Then, (skipping ahead a bit) on our actual anniversary (October 26^th), upon our return to our luxurious room (had to throw that in) what did Joyce discover waiting for us? A nice tray of chocolate covered strawberries and an ice bucket with champagne (ok, sparkling non-alcoholic wine) chilling in it and a nice card from Randy! Did I say it was AWESOME?!

So, I’ll get into the actual trip details in another blog posting, but for our anniversary dinner, we dined at our very favorite restaurant at the Resort – Café Orleans in the New Orleans Square area of Disneyland. We had a terrific table outside overlooking the Rivers Of America, right next to the lovely tree that shades a lot of that area. Now, it’s interesting to note that the very first time Joyce and I ate there it was at that very table! And we didn’t even have to ask, it was just an awesome coincidence they put us there. We had a wonderful meal, I even tried something out of my ordinary – the Four Cheese Monte Christo! Then after a decadent dessert, we headed over to Downtown Disney to meet up with our good friend Kenny. He had a few things for us (for my birthday and our anniversary). Kenny gave me some Harry Potter goodies from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (by the way, the Acid pops…ARE ACID!), and he purchased matching Yoda coffee mugs for me and Joyce from Disneyland! Thanks Kenny!

All in all, our vacation rocked. Disneyland rocked. It all rocked! Our second week was spent at home, just relaxing. Well, one day we took our puppy Kate to the mysterious Superstition Mountains for a day hike. Kate fell in love with it! It was beautiful and quite and a great way to get some much needed exercise. Then we just did some yard and house work, rearranged our recording studio/office to make it more Feng Shui – ok, that’s a joke. I just wanted more room in there!

But alas, as with all great and awesome things, this too had to come to an end. So now here I am, back at work sifting through 400+ emails, all marked with “urgent issue” wishing and dreaming about our recent trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, as I write the Happiest Blog on Earth! I miss vacation – I miss Disneyland and I miss spending 24/7 with my wife! So, what’s next on my daily planner? Why, planning our NEXT vacation of course! ~~~ Al


View From Our Room! What a way to wake up every morning!



Mr. DAPS on Media Appreciation Day - Mr. DAPs

From time to time, we'll bring you some wonderful stories and pieces written by guest bloggers that love Disneyland, well, almost as much as we do! Please enjoy the following piece by a very talented guy by the name of Mr. DAPs who is very full of that wonderful Disney Magic. For more from Mr. DAPs and the entire DAPs family, visit him at DAPS Magic 

Mr. DAPs and Mickey Mouse!

"Disneyland and the media have a long relationship, going back to the early days. Walt Disney believed that if you treated the media well and let them experience Disney magic for itself, everything else would fall in place.

Fifty six years later, Disneyland still carries on this legacy. Last weekend, I had the honor of being invited to Media Appreciation Day at the Disneyand Resort. This is exactly what the name implies, a day where Disneyland shows the media appreciation. As the leader of DAPs Magic, I’ve been invited to this event for the last couple of years. Each time I have participated in this day, I have had a blast. This most recent event was no exception.

For Media Appreciation Day, I am allowed to bring three guests. This year I brought our code master for DAPs Magic, my buddy Francis Fairy Feather, and my partner in crime. We arrived late morning and found the check in table outside of the Main Gate at Disneyland and checked in. Once inside, we made our way to Aladdin’s Oasis where they had snacks, entertainment, characters, face painting, tattoo art, and games for our enjoyment. I’m pleased to report that our group experienced EVERYTHING that they had to offer except for the face paint. We were also given a ghost mickey popcorn bucket!


We grabbed some food (I’m partial to the pretzels) and soon found ourselves sitting at a table, playing name that tube. The DAPs crew is always very good at this game and this year was no exception. We did have a severe handicap as we were sitting about as far away as one could sit from the MC and had posts, spider webs, and a giant tooth between obstructing his view of us. Never the less, we had fun.

Throughout out stay there we were able to meet all the characters visiting that day. Mickey and Minnie were dressed in their Halloween best and were an absolute pleasure to interact with. Cruella, the Evil Queen, Captain Hook, and Jafar also made appearances. Jafar was a bit of a trouble maker and tried to use his staff to hypnotize one of our group. Thankfully, his evil plot to disrupt our day was averted...perhaps through the power of MY imagination? I’ll leave that up to you decide on.

Francis was the good sport who got a new tattoo on his arm, it was amazing. He also played some of the games that they had out for the kids. It really is amazing at how much they cram into Aladdin’s Oasis for these events!

Once we had decided we had experienced Aladdin’s Oasis sufficiently, we made our way to Ghost Galaxy and then Haunted Mansion Holiday as we were offered fast passes for both of those (along with Tower of Terror and Star Tours). After experiencing our two rides, we decided we had enough fun for the day and it was time to head home. So we bid Disneyland a fond farewell and walked to our car with appreciation for Disneyland for appreciating us with another Media Appreciation Day." ~~ Mr. DAPs

Happy Halloween!

The Happiest Blog On Earth - Getting Ready

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's October already! I love Fall for many reasons, one of the biggest is we FINALLY have a chance at day time temperatures BELOW 100, and overnight lows far enough to start what we like to call, Fire Pit Season. We love sitting in our backyard, a cozy fire blazing in our fire pit, billions of stars above. But I think, what I love best about Fall is that it represents the anniversary of my conversion...to a Disneyland Fan! 


It was September of 2007 when Joyce and I made our first trip together to the Happiest Place On Earth. In the four years now that we've been making the trek to the Disneyland Resort, we've visited in just about every month, every season really. But by far my favorite it Fall, right around the end of September to the end of October. Truth be told, the end of October is my all time favorite because the weather is perfect and, well, it's our wedding anniversary time. So, why have I shared this with you? Because, my magical readers Joyce and I are heading off to Disneyland near the end of October to celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary! 


We thought long and hard about where we wanted to celebrate 15 wonderful years of marriage and both agreed there was only one place we wanted to be - Disneyland (ok, so it really took us about 15 seconds to decide!). Where better to celebrate the best day of my life but in my favorite place on earth, with my favorite person. Oh, and believe me, the Disneyland Resort IS the best place to celebrate anything. They go WAY above and beyond to make certain you feel special. Joyce and I have shared many things over the years, but the one thing that we share that has enabled us to spread magic to others is our love for Disneyland and Walt Disney. 


So, take it from me, if you're looking to find a place to celebrate your love, or your birthday, or that job promotion, or winning the big game...well, you get the picture, look no further than Disneyland. And if you're not sure, why not check out our latest video podcast. We've started a series we call "Through The Eyes Of The Mouse: Relaxing At The Disneyland Resort". In this series of special videos, we take you on a people watching-relaxing trip through the Disneyland Resort, and you don't even have to wear shoes! In this second of the series, we take you to Mickey's Toontown and Adventureland. If you'd like to see the first part, check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/talespodcast. And be sure to check out Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast in iTunes, or at www.talescast.com. ~~~ Al 

Disneyland in the Fall