Forever Magical
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Mini bean bag plush and back of zipped hooded sweatshirt

The World of Disney opened and since I didn’t have any pins to purchase I wandered around checking out the variety of 75th merchandise. There were special mini bean bag plush, shirts, sweatshirts, pens, keychain and more featuring the Disneyland Resort’s special event logo. My friends were especially happy to see a gray t-shirt featuring Mickey Mouse on the front with the date November 18, 2003 and the event logo on the back. I considered the zip hooded sweatshirt but decided to wait until later to purchase it. We had killed enough time in the store so we headed over Disney’s California Adventure. After our bag search we were given a button commemorating the special day. The park wouldn’t open for another 20 minutes so we found a bench in the Sunshine Plaza and waited. Suddenly the air was filled the sounds of “Feels Alright!”. The song is featured on the DCA album and many people don’t even know where you hear it.

Queue as the Annual Passholder Holiday Kick-off opened

The rope dropped and we were off to Hollywood and Dine for the AP Holiday Kickoff. Inside the shuttered restaurant we were given a complimentary holiday button, a set of Brother Bear collectors cards, a voucher for 20% off merchandise throughout the day, and were shown concept art for Tower of Terror and Snow White - An Enchanting Musical. The Snow White scenes included the Evil Queen’s castle, lush woodland scapes including the dwarves’ cottage. Its color scheme featured the deep colors of a shaded wooded forest. Taking a closer look I got the impression the seven dwarfs wouldn’t be masked in the classic Disney style and the woodland creatures would reflect the style seen in Animazement’s Lion King segment which allows the performers greater expression. The Tower of Terror display was not as illuminating as I had hoped so I passed it by in favor of getting a holiday photo with Mickey and a chance to wish him a happy birthday. We skipped the crowded queue for AP exclusive merchandise and refreshment and headed out to Disneyland. In the courtyard area they set up a pin board for trading and periodically displayed the Prince’s horse from the musical, a beautiful palomino with gorgeous blue eyes.

Doobie and I pose with the mouse of the day at the AP Kickoff