Fantastical Day at Magic Kingdom | WDW March Trip Day 2

The second day of our trip was perfect. That's right, I dare say it. We went to Magic Kingdom all day, and by all day I mean, 17 hours of magic, and joy, and pinch-me is this real pixie dust sprinkled atop everything! 

It was one of my favorite days for a number of reasons. One of those reasons being that Lane, my best friend, who lives and works in Florida, joined us for basically the entire day! (What a trooper, seriously!) If you saw the posts from my December trip to WDW, you might recognize him! He spent the day with me at all four parks then--you can see pictures from that day by clicking here :)

We started the day by watching the welcome show and enjoying breakfast in Cinderella's castle. We then spent the rest of the day doing things like watching Dream Along with Mickey, Festival of Fantasy and the Main Street Electrical Parade, witnessing the Frontierland Hoedown, relaxing in the new expanded Hub area, and of course, riding some rides. It's nice to not have a rushed agenda, and get to truly enjoy things we choose!

All of the pictures that I post from my trip are taken by me unless I note otherwise! I am quite proud of my pictures, and want to share them with others so I've posted them (obviously, haha), but do me a favor! If you want to use them for any reason or share them yourself, let me know and give me proper credit. You can do that? Sweet, that would be awesome AND greatly appreciated- Please do! Thank you :)

But now.... away we gooo! 

A spin on the classic castle photo :) @nicolettebemann and I LIVING for this lovely day!

A video posted by Lauren Spitler (@laurenspitler) on Mar 14, 2015 at 7:45am PDT

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*Photos taken by Christine

*I wanted to go see Pluto for a bit because my friend, Jarred, 

is good friends with the pup, and told me Pluto would love to see us!

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*I know Lane isn't looking, but Pluto was rocking it!

"Dreams that Glow, Wondrous Dazzling Brilliantly

So Away we Go, It's a Festival of Fantasy"

This one is for Pascal :) 

I want to be a Lost Boy. Where do I sign up? Seriously, let me know!

Love my homegirl's hair! She likes to chase the wind, but I think the wind was chasing her!

Even though he's grumpy, he makes me smile! I love the Dwarfs, we all know that!

Enjoyed watching Katlyn, Christine's former roommate, do her thing in the flash-mob style of the Frontierland Hoedown, and then later in the Electrical Parade!

"Get ready for the magic, a spectacle beyond compare. There’s romance and adventure, there’s laughter and much more with our imagination. Imagine what’s in store!"

Dream Along with Mickey

"There's enchantment to be found in every fairytale."

"It’s time to set sail for adventure. An adventure that begins with PIRATES!"

Do you SEE Goofy's dance skills? I mean, Gwarsh! Haha!

"Any dream is possible, wishes do come true. You can reach the stars if you just believe. Share the magic in your heart, there’s nothing you can’t do. Anything is possible, so find a dream inside of you."

"Seize the Moment! Let your fantasies and dreams set sail!"

"Take the dream with you, wherever you may go!"

The hub expansion is gorgeous! (like, I'm in love with it)

Thanks to Lane for this photo, and the patience with us all :)

*Okay, THIS is why I love Disney and continue to go to the parks after all this time. I was eating a Mickey pretzel in Tomorrowland (important detail, I know!) and my friend, JD, recognized me and came up to say hello! JD and I were in class together during our College Programs, and he has stayed down there since then. I seriously loved running into him and getting to catch up, and had to get a picture with him later when I saw him around the Hub!

A picture from Tomorrowland for good measure, and...

to finish off the day, we thought a visit to the mines at midnight would be fun!

Seriously, this was such a great day filled with moments I will cherish forever! I will always be grateful for the people and places that make me happy :)

Pictures from our time at Epcot at DAK will be posted soon!

x Lauren

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Exploring Disney's Boardwalk | WDW March Trip Day 1

I have just returned from another trip to Walt Disney World, and that means, picture-filled posts again! This time around, I went with my sister, Christine, and friend from my program last year, Nicolette.

Some days are very light on the number of photos taken, but others (ahem, Day 2 at MK ...cough..900 pictures..cough.. yikes!) were slightly heavier! I'll narrow it down to a more acceptable amount, and maybe share in a few posts for that day, we'll see, but hey! Who doesn't want to look at pictures of Disney? (If the answer is you, I am very sorry).

Our first day consisted of a very early flight down to Orlando, and me watching Big Hero 6 for the first time, a ride on Disney's Magical Express (disguised as a Mears motorcoach), some resort exploring, and a brief nap needed because of the before-mentioned early flight. After that, we decided to venture out to Downtown Disney, which we all know well, and then split up to see some old friends, and in Nicolette's and my case, go hang at the Boardwalk!

I have never spent much time at the Boardwalk before this trip, so I enjoyed the time to look around!

Stay tuned for pictures from Day Two at Magic Kingdom :)
x Lauren

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In My Own Little Chair

For as long as I can remember, growing up, I had a picture in my head of what my successful future would look like. It’s funny though, the future is here, and it looks nothing like that picture.

My dreams for the future shifted through various phases. The first phase was one of infinite possibilities. Before I knew what skills I had, and what subjects interested me, I dreamt of being all sorts of things. Any chance I got to act out little scenarios during playtime was spent as a variety of roles. My favorite and probably most visited role was a teacher. I also remember being quite the waitress, chef, gymnast, musician, and dolphin trainer to name a few. Nobody said I couldn’t be anything and everything I wanted to be. As kids in playtime, we were allowed to explore all sorts of possibilities. We could make mistakes and change occupations every few minutes if we wanted.

The next phase was the middle school years. During these years, when people asked me what I wanted to be, my answers varied between lawyer and child psychologist. I have no idea where lawyer came from, and looking back on it now, I laugh because that just does not make sense for me. Child psychologist makes more sense given my childhood and desire to help other people. 

In the years leading up to college, I continued to tell others that I was going to be a child psychologist. I sold that with confidence to anyone that asked. I knew that I wouldn’t end up doing that, but I didn’t have another answer to offer up, so psychology it was!

In my first year of college, I was a declared mass communications major. I know… when did that change of plan happen? I don’t know, but at some point I was honest with myself and moved on. I absolutely loved my communications classes. My classes on media and film were my favorites. I actually enjoyed going to class, and working on those homework assignments.

I then settled on the idea that I wanted to work in entertainment in some capacity. My problem was then choosing whether I wanted to work in film, television, or live theater. I had an equal interest of all three, and I needed to choose one, as education for each varies. Decisions: not my specialty.

I’ve always felt catered for a more creative career, but I didn’t charge confidently in that direction. I was following in the path others trail blazed before me. I felt I needed a different kind of career to legitimatize myself to my family and society. How annoying is that? I went from being anything I wanted to be during playtime to feeling that I couldn’t be what I wanted to be, or even explore a different possibility.

As I’ve talked about before on the blog, I’m not currently in school. Recently, I spent a lot of time with some awesome kids. Nearly every day, I played the role of nanny to children all under 8 years old, and now I spend my days hanging with a new-born. Getting to play again, and play like I am back in those early years where everything was exciting, and possibilities were endless has been very refreshing. I’ve discovered that freedom again and am learning to apply it to my life now.

I don’t have to be my siblings or my parents. I spent years trying to make other people’s plans work for me, and they just don’t, and that’s okay. I’m working on trail blazing my own path now. It’s not as smooth as I’d prefer it to be, but it’s happening. I still have possibilities and chances to explore like I had as a child. Taking this time off of school has allowed me to see this.

I’m sitting in my own little corner of the world in my own little chair (a la Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella) and I can be whatever I want to be. It’s possible.

x Lauren



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The Middle of Starting Over

Photo taken by my sister, Hayley.

That's probably the best way to describe my current life status. I am in the middle of starting over. 

Time and time again I have reached the point where I feel like giving up, and have just craved a change in scenery. I've hit the invisible wall, fallen over the invisible hurdle, and have felt trapped inside the invisible box.

For years, I have had no real sense of what I want to do in life. I went to Miami University for a year, and then a local community college for a semester before I went to do my Disney College Program. At each school, I finished my time there with a very respectable GPA. I have finished required general education credits, which is a nice feeling, but that is where the sense of academic accomplishment stops.

Friends that I graduated high school with had a plan, and have stuck to it! They are on schedule to graduate from their respective schools with whatever degrees, and then they will all go out into the "real world," that I have been trying to avoid for fear of its brutality to a girl who is incredibly lost without any clear direction. 

As a young kid, if you asked me what my plan for life was, I would spiel something off involving finishing high school, and then going to college and graduating with my degree in 4 years, and going to work in whatever profession my heart felt it was destined for.

I've never felt a huge calling to be one thing, the way some of my friends have. I have said it before, but I just wish I had one particular skill that made it completely obvious what I should do, but alas, I continue to rack my brain, and come up short. 

Truthfully, I have missed the classroom. I miss taking notes and learning in that environment. What I should do then, is get back into the classroom and go back to school, yeah? Agreed, but school costs a lot of money that I don't have to be spending when I don't know where I want to go, or what I want to be studying. 

I want to finish up schooling, but it would be such a toss-up as to what degree to strive for. It would be like throwing a dart in the general direction of the dartboard, while being blindfolded, and just hoping it lands on something, anything. That is how I landed at Miami University. I didn't have the chance to go visit colleges before it was time to make a decision as a high school senior. I chose to go to Miami because my sister was there at the time, and she seemed to enjoy it. I hadn't stepped foot on a college campus, and had to make a decision based on what? The brochures representatives handed out or websites where it appeared every student loved their school, and learning was fun? This didn't give me the excitement and motivation for school that I thought I would have back when I was a young girl.

So yeah... Miami just wasn't for me. It is a great school, and I would recommend it to anyone interested, but I was simply trying to make something work for me that worked for my sister, and that didn't happen. 

After my program with Disney, I didn't immediately return to school like my other program pals, because I didn't have a school to return to. I was, and still am, stuck on the "which school should I go to?" question, that other people could easily answer back in high school.

So what have I been up to since my program? I have been working various jobs, while I have been desperately hoping for something like a vision to come to me in my dreams, answering my questions about school! So far, no luck with that revelation coming to fruition. 

I can't explain how frustrating it is to want to have that passion and motivation, but to not actually have it, and not be able to just develop it all of a sudden.

Apart from the big school question, that I really do get asked by seemingly good-willed people all the time (So, Lauren... when are you going back to school? Have you decided where you will go? Are you taking ANY classes right now?... sigh), life has had its other ups and downs.

I'm starting over, but it is a process, as I'm sure you know. I am in the middle of that process. I just want to see some glimpse of light that will tell me I'm on the right path, or give me some insight on how long of a process it will be. There is no glory in the process.

If you know me personally, you may know more of my personal struggles right now, but I want to share lyrics to a song that has been inspiring me lately. They are lyrics to the song, "Middle of Starting Over" by Sabrina Carpenter. I know that I have spoken a lot about school in this post, but that is only one aspect of the larger picture. I feel like I have really been fighting for a better life these past few years despite constant negativity in this world.

I just want a happy ending. I know it is never easy, and it will not just be handed to me, but I have hopes of even the possibility of a happy ending, and that is enough for me right now.

                                                                      Cast out to sea
                                                                   Drifting with the tide

And no way of finding me

Now that I'm free

Nothing but blue skies

Paradise in front of me

Awake from this dream

I hold my breath and just believe

Tired of all the troubles

They've been wasting my time

I don't wanna fight

Gonna leave it behind

Taking on faith

Now I'm ready to fly

I'm in the middle of starting over

Back to the beginning

Gonna hit rewind

Chance to do it over

Get it right this time

Life gives you pennies

Turn them into dimes

I'm in the middle of starting over

I'm in the middle of starting over

Alone in a room

Tearing down the walls

Painting over scars and bruises

Now this is home

Fill it up with love

And make the best of something new, yeah

As hard as it seems

I hold my breath and just believe

The colors and the stars

Seem a little brighter

Tomorrow isn't far away!

Through the hardest part

I'm working towards a happy ending

What has inspired you lately? Please share with me :)

Wishing you a positive week!

x Lauren                    

*Thank you to my sister, Hayley, for taking the photo used in this post! I was taking photos of her, and then asked her to quickly snap one of me which was nice because I don't have many photos of me! I am usually the one taking the pictures!*                            

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Blogs, Aladdin, & "Keep Moving Forward" | Disney Happiness Project

Week 13:

Every time I turn my computer on, and open my Internet browser, there are a few websites I instinctively type in their own respective tabs right away. In no particular order, you will find: Pinterest, YouTube, my friend's Tumblr page, and last, but certainly not least, www.blogs.disney.com. 

There are a few official Disney blogs, and I am obsessed with each one of them. There is Oh My  Disney, Disney Insider, Disney Playlist, and Disney Style.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I look at these blogs every single day. I love reading lifestyle posts that are Disney related, and I take every quiz that is available to me to test my Disney knowledge, or find out things like, which Disney heroine I am (The answer is Mulan, just so you know. Find out yours here!).

I love the fact that the blogs are fun-loving and uplifting. Some days, it is my time spent scrolling through the various blogs that is my little dose of Disney for the day. It is enough though to remind me why I love Disney and continue to make it quite a huge part of my life. 

I would LOVE to get to work on any of the Disney blogs one day. Until then, I will keep chugging along here with my own Disney related posts :)

Week 14: 

Recently, I was able to watch Aladdin for a little bit. I saw a good portion of the movie, and it reminded me of my love for it. First off, Aladdin is one of my favorite characters, and I was reminded while watching the opening marketplace scene that he is one of my favorite princes as well. This is important news to share, I know, haha! (for the record, my two favorites are Flynn Rider and Aladdin, and then tied for second would be Eric and Phillip, probably :D)

The reason I love the movie so much is because of Aladdin and the Genie. I am quite the fan of both of their personalities, and their friendship together. I mean, Aladdin is poor and yet sometimes gives his (stolen) food to those who need it more. Also, he gives up his last wish for the Genie. He is a pretty good guy! And the Genie is the Genie, super lovable! Seeing just a few scenes of the movie was enough to make me smile this week. (Jafar is also my favorite Disney villain, just saying!)

Week 15: 

A simple quote was enough to boost my mood this week! It also is one that I have come across and read many times! It is a quote from the movie, Meet the Robinsons, which is by far one of the most underrated Disney films, if you ask me. It is said by Lewis, but was ultimately inspired by something Walt Disney said many years before, and I'm sure I have probably shared on this blog before!

In the movie, Lewis says, "You just focused on the bad stuff when all you had to do was, let go of the past and keep moving forward."

What a good reminder!! It is all about perspective! We need to take responsibility for our own lives. We are going to mess our own lives up and view it as turning out so badly if we only focus on the bad stuff! I know this is easier said than done. I am a great example of this. I am the first person to throw a pity-party for myself, but it is because I let the negatives overwhelm the positives. I am glad this quote came across my Twitter feed this week, because it brought the positives back to the forefront of my mind!

What did you love in the month of January? Any exciting plans for February? 

Also, do you have any suggestions of something Disney that I can incorporate in a future week's post? I would love to hear any ideas you have! 

Focus on the good stuff!
x Lauren

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