#Animal Kingdom holiday

[doingdisneywithmark]

Ultimate Holiday Fun: Unveiling Disney World’s Festive 2024 Events

The holidays at Walt Disney World Resort! Dazzling decorations to special events and mouth-watering treats, there’s something magical for everyone. #DisneyHolidays #WaltDisneyWorld #ChristmasAtDisney

Disney World Holidays 2024: Fun and Festive Times Ahead! Get Ready for Holiday Fun! The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year at Walt Disney World Resort! Even though it’s only halfway to the holidays, the excitement is already building with dazzling decorations, special parades, exclusive events, and delicious seasonal treats. Let’s look at five awesome experiences coming your way…

[arthistoryanimalia]

#HedgehogWeek 🦔:

All hedgehogs are capable of volvation aka conglobation - aka, they can roll up into an armored ball in defense. 🙂

Hedghog Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, c. 1550–1450 BCE Faience, diameter 5.8cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: https://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544054

Photo via Stocksy United on Pinterest

[twistedtummies2]

Top 5 Appearances of Jack Skellington

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I decided to use this opportunity to dedicate a short countdown to a film I’m very thankful for: the stop-motion animation classic, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Why today? Several reasons: first, Thanksgiving falls right smack dab in the middle between Halloween and Christmas, as far as major American holidays go, so it seems a decent date, given the subject matter. Second, recently the movie enjoyed its 30th Anniversary, so that’s definitely something to celebrate. Third, its producer - and the man many agree is most responsible for the feature’s existence, Tim Burton - got his long-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this very year. Fourth and finally, it is quite possibly my favorite movie, and certainly my favorite Disney movie. By that measure alone, I am supremely grateful for its existence, and so a day of Thanksgiving seems a good time to talk about it…and its main character. Initially, I was going to dedicate this list to the film as a whole, but after some deliberation, I decided to focus this countdown specifically on the main protagonist of the feature, Jack Skellington. Jack is an anomaly for a lot of reasons; he’s one of the few times - especially in a movie that now wears the Disney brand like a badge of honor - where the main character of the story really is my favorite one. He’s become almost as recognized as Mickey Mouse around the company, as their resident face of both Halloween AND Christmas. And as time has gone on, his popularity has only continued to rise. What’s great about Jack, and makes him so unique, is the way the character is both so complex and yet so simple, just like the film he’s from. This is also not taking into account the many dualities inherent to the character. He’s the Pumpkin King, the scariest soul in Halloween Town…yet he’s also a sweetheart and finds a sense of childlike wonder in the Christmas season. He’s a dapper, charismatic, theatrical, somewhat grandiloquent fellow…yet he’s also a complete goober, showing a great deal of naivete and not always thinking things through. He’s typically a nice guy who acts polite and friendly to most anyone he meets…but if you cross him the wrong way, or dare to hurt those he considers his friends, he’ll whoop you in a second without mercy. It’s this constant contrast of darkness and light, of the intellectual master of horror and the childlike innocent, that makes him so engaging and interesting. That, and the fact that - unique among Disney heroes especially - Jack kind of creates his own conflict in the story. Yes, Oogie Boogie is the nominal villain of the movie, but even he really only becomes a problem in the original film BECAUSE of Jack’s bad decisions. If you took Oogie out of the equation, Jack could ALMOST be considered a villain in his own right; thankfully, he realizes and learns from his mistake and is quick to make things right. I thought it would be fun to look at some of Jack’s appearances since the film, much as I have done with some of the great Disney Villains (coincidentally) in the past. Now, I can only count appearances I’m personally familiar with to some degree or another, so if any that YOU like are left out of the running, it’s most likely just because I haven’t read, seen, or played them yet. With that said, let’s celebrate Thanksgiving by looking at a character known for its surrounding holidays…forever proving, by extension, that this holiday is the middle child of the yuletide family. Ha Ha. These are My Top 5 Favorite Appearances from Jack Skellington!

5. Pumpkin King AND The Battle For Pumpkin King.

Not only are the titles of these two pieces similar, but so are their purposes. “Pumpkin King” was a video game tie-in to TNBC, which acted as a prequel to the movie. It was released in 2005. Nearly two decades later, in 2023, Disney would release ANOTHER prequel spin-off, in the form of “The Battle For Pumpkin King;” a comic miniseries later reformatted into a graphic novel. Both of these prequels tell the story of how the rivalry between Jack and his arch-nemesis, Oogie Boogie, got started, each with their own unique twists to the concept. As far as the game goes, playing as Jack Skellington - using a variety of crazy gadgets to defeat Oogie and his goons - is obviously a major part of what makes the title appealing. The comic, meanwhile, goes even further in showing how Jack became the Pumpkin King to begin with, and presents a more dramatic and tragic arc for the two enemies, in my opinion. Having read and re-read the comic a couple times now, and compared it to the game…I don’t think either is really a perfect prequel. Each has their own pros and cons, in terms of how things started between the two and how they tie into the film itself. However, one thing I like about both is that each has a different spin on presenting Jack and setting up the character we know from the movie: in each tale, the conflict with Oogie results in some subtle foreshadowing and parallels to the misadventures Jack faces in the film. I’d recommend checking both out, in some form or another, and deciding which you prefer yourself.

4. Twisted Wonderland.

Well, if you know me, you knew this had to be coming. I was over the moon when this Event was announced for the mobile game “Twisted Wonderland”: a game that is admittedly an acquired taste, but which I absolutely love to bits. For those who don’t know already, the premise of the game has the main character - the Player - being transported to an alternate universe, where they find themselves at a school of magic inspired by seven famous Disney Villains. Throughout the game, we encounter various characters based on these villains, along with other Disney characters…but it’s rare that we actually meet any of the original Disney figures themselves. When the Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Event for Halloween of 2024 - entitled “Lost in the Book with Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas” - was announced, it wasn’t too much of a surprise to learn that a new character would be introduced in the event: Skully J. Graves, based on Jack Skellington. What was much more startling was when we found out that not only would we get this new addition to the cast…but that the player and their allies for the outing would be traveling to Halloween Town itself to meet the ACTUAL Jack Skellington AT THE SAME TIME. For me, this was just mind-boggling: getting to see both the actual Jack AND a new character inspired by him in the same Event at the same time was never something I anticipated. The result did not disappoint: Jack is totally and completely in-character for the Event, and his interactions with the students of Night Raven College are a lot of fun. Skully, as well, is a very interesting character, and the twist about his true identity at the end was, I will confess, certainly unexpected. This isn’t an example that I imagine a lot of TNBC fans would place among their absolute favorite appearances for Jack, but it’s definitely a big one for me.

3. Haunted Mansion Holiday.

This was Nightmare’s big arrival at the Parks, and it’s still one of the best things to come out of the film’s ever-rising popularity. In the early 2000s, Imagineers at Disneyland considered making a “Nightmare Before Christmas” attraction, but they weren’t sure how to go about it. The answer came in the form of a holiday overlay for the popular “Haunted Mansion” ride: ever since then, for a whole third of the year (almost half a year, if you count the time it takes to set it all up and then take it all down again), the Haunted Mansion is invaded by Jack Skellington and the denizens of Halloween Town, as they bring their own twisted Christmas delight to the home of the 999 Happy Haunts. While some people seem divided about this since-then-annual change to the famous attraction, most seem to enjoy both versions of the Haunted Mansion, and I am in agreement: the original ride is great on its own, and deserves to be enjoyed on its own terms (it’s my favorite ride at Disneyland), but the Holiday version with the TNBC cast is really fun and charming, too. Arguably the biggest highlight of the ride is Jack himself, most notably in the form of a magnificently-made animatronic of our favorite “Sandy Claws” that greets guests as they enter the graveyard for the ride’s finale. I used to be OBSESSED with this overlay, and I still love it a lot. I’m not the only one, either; the Holiday version remains popular, and has even been adopted into the Tokyo Disneyland Park. Japan has a huge following for TNBC…speaking of which…

2. Oogie’s Revenge.

Released at the same time as the aforementioned “Pumpkin King,” this game (originally made in Japan, hence the segue) was a SEQUEL to the movie. And, just like “Pumpkin King,” it was considered canon by a lot of people for a long time, until recent printed work left that more ambiguous. (In this case a novel called “Long Live the Pumpkin Queen,” which I’ve yet to read.) The plot begins a little less than a year after the events of the film: Jack still feels dissatisfied with Halloween, but he’s thankfully learned that taking over other holidays is not a good idea. So, he instead ventures forth into the real world for a couple of months to basically do some brainstorming and find some inspiration to make his own holiday more interesting. When Jack returns (on Christmas Eve, what a shock), he discovers that Oogie Boogie has been resurrected and has taken over Halloween Town! When he learns that Oogie has plans to get revenge on Santa and become “The Seven Holidays King,” Jack has to find a way to take back his throne and undo all of Oogie’s evil schemes before Christmas morning. As far as Jack himself goes, the great boon this game has is the option of actually playing as Jack Skellington himself, and getting to use different forms of him with different powers to combat Oogie and his minions. Chris Sarandon - who has provided Jack’s speaking voice since the original film, and gets to SING for him, too, in this game (he ain’t half bad, either) - delivers all of the moods and sides of Jack throughout the story with his usual enthusiasm, and the chance to explore Halloween Town in such wild depth is really fun. The game itself seems to be one people love or hate; most agree it’s not the greatest game in the world (though most agree it’s also not terrible), but it seems to be a 50/50 split between people who overlook its flaws and enjoy it, and people who feel it’s a lackluster and overly bizarre spin-off to a classic picture. Personally, while I do see some issues with “Oogie’s Revenge,” I’ve always had a soft spot for this game, and I still do. It’s definitely one of Jack’s shining moments, in my personal opinion.

1. Kingdom Hearts.

Given my love of the KH series as a whole, a lot of you probably saw this coming. However, I actually had a really hard time choosing between these games and “Oogie’s Revenge.” The greatest pro of “Oogie’s Revenge” is that Jack is the main character: you spend a lot of time with him, it’s all his story, and Chris Sarandon gets to sing as well as provide the voice in general. However, I think that - despite the fact Jack and his pals in Halloween Town (and Christmas Town) are only one small part of a much grander puzzle - the Kingdom Hearts series actually handles the character and his world slightly better…mostly just because of the writing. (And because they are better games, in general, when you really get down to it.) As far as Jack himself goes…honestly, I love how absolutely ADORABLE Jack is in the Kingdom Hearts universe. (How many undead skeletons can you call “adorable,” anyway? At the moment, I can only think of maybe four others…which is still a surprising number, honestly!) The games really lean hard into Jack’s childlike, exuberant, impulsive personality, but they also still give him elegance, charisma, and even touch onto a philosophical side we really haven’t seen anywhere else. Some of my favorite lines and moments in the games come from Jack, and of all the Disney allies Sora makes along the way, I think I enjoy his interactions with the Pumpkin King most of all. (He also isn’t too bad of a Party Member.) Sarandon delivers here just as powerfully as in Oogie’s Revenge, and a lot of the story-based elements I love about Jack’s character arc in OR are just as present in these games. Overall, while he may not be the star of the show, Jack is certainly a major highlight of these games. For me, and hopefully for many others, Kingdom Hearts will always be a shining moment in the King of Halloween’s career. It’s not an easy call, to be honest…but I’m gonna name Kingdom Hearts as My Favorite Appearance from Jack Skellington.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

James and the Giant Peach.

While this is a totally non-canon appearance, Jack cameos as the leader of a band of skeleton pirates in this cult classic adaptation of the Roald Dahl story. I have no idea if this decision was made because of budget reasons or because Henry Selick (director of both TNBC and this film) was in a whimsical mood, but either way, it’s such a weird but fun one-off return.

Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular.

A fireworks show performed around Halloweentime at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Jack acts as the host of the event, portrayed by a life-sized and absolutely immaculate puppet, crewed by multiple performers. This puppet has appeared in several other places since, including one of the “Nightmare Before Christmas Live” concerts!

What’s This? The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along.

Performed every Christmastime at Disney’s Hollywood-MGM Studios, this combination of stage pantomime and sing-along concert to some of the songs from the film is hosted by Jack. Our favorite Pumpkin King is played by the same great puppet that appears in the “Not-So-Spooky Spectacular” fireworks show!

[meekosthemeparkphotos]

Mickey and Minnie Mouse

[katiechristiansen7916]

The gingerbread creations at Walt Disney World resorts are magnificent and truly put you in the holiday spirit. And don’t forget to try the snacks; the Hot Chocolate Caramel Fudge and Chocolate Peppermint Cookie were our favorites.

[streetsofsalem]

Holiday Tables

If I’m hosting for Christmas or any other holiday, I spend more time thinking about the table than the menu: much more time. I love setting the table, and once I attain my “vision” we’re all relegated to eating in the kitchen, no matter how many days before the big meal. Here it is, December 22, and I am hosting Christmas dinner and the table is not set! I just finished my grading, however, so…

[kayl3ighsunflower]

🙏

[katiajewelbox]

A playful collection of Christmas and winter themed self portraits, featuring photos of myself combined with my own AI generated art and digital edits done in Picmix. Music: Sleigh Ride by the Fiechter Brothers

[esoraluco]

Self insertober 1 Sweater. Mosquito guy sweater sharing day

[parallaxsnaps]

[ahalal-uralma]

@sunkissedfawn answering you back in the tags section. 💕🌸💕

i'm just curious bc i'm watching How to Train Your Dragon and i always forget how happy and calm it makes me feel. i mean, i did name my cat after Toothless the dragon. but i also love Lion King, that's my Disney comfort movie. and my Ghibli comfort movie is Spirited Away. watching any of these when i'm in a foul mood or my anxiety is high always helps �� but i watch them just for fun too, not only when i'm in a mood. what about you?

[arthistoryanimalia]

More #WorldFrogDay accessories: 🐸💍

Two carnelian frog rings from New Kingdom Egypt, with a stylized Hathor head incised on bottom of each. (In later dynasties, Hathor assumed Heqet's role as a goddess of fertility and childbirth.)

1. Finger Ring with Frog Egyptian, c. 1550-1295 BCE (New Kingdom, 18th dynasty) gold, carnelian H: 15/16 x W: 13/16 x D: 1/4 in. (2.4 x 2 x 0.6 cm); Bezel H: 1/4 x W: 3/8 x D: 1/4 in. (0.6 x 0.9 x 0.6 cm); Inner Diam: 7/16 in. (1.05 cm) "A tiny carnelian frog with incised details serves as a swiveling bezel for a typical Egyptian seal ring. Carved into the base is a stylized head of a goddess, possibly Hathor." The Walters Art Museum

2. Finger Ring with a Frog Egyptian, 1550-1279 BCE (New Kingdom, 18th-early 19th dynasty) carnelian, gold lining H: 15/16 x W: 13/16 x D: 1/4 in. (2.4 x 2 x 0.7 cm); Bezel W: 1/16 in. (0.17 cm); Inner Diam.: 5/16 in. (0.83 cm); Outer Diam.: 1/2 in. (1.34 cm) "This finger ring displays the small figure of a frog squatting on top of the bezel. The frog is well carved with incised details. The stylized head of Hathor is incised on the bottom of the bezel. The gold lining is probably modern. The image of a frog symbolizes fecundity and fertility, and rings with frog figures were worn by women particularly during the New Kingdom." The Walters Art Museum

[disneyplanet]

Something for the holiday..

I love watching merry menagerie.

I would sit and watch this for 30 min or so..

[meekosthemeparkphotos]

Baby Penguins

[katiechristiansen7916]

O Christmas Tree(s) … there’s nothing quite like Walt Disney World resorts decorated for the holidays.

[trendspostneel]

Embark on a magical sojourn in Orlando, where an array of distinguished hotels promises an enchanting stay. The Disney Springs Resort Area beckons with its immersive charm, offering a gateway to the wonders of the Disney universe. Experience the epitome of luxury at the Epcot Grand Suites, where lavish accommodations blend seamlessly with the allure of Epcot's attractions. Immerse yourself in the wild elegance of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where each moment feels like a safari adventure.

For those seeking a blend of sophistication and whimsy, the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Magic Kingdom Deluxe Resort & Spa stand as iconic beacons of opulence. The Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort and Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace offer contemporary comfort and convenience, providing the perfect base for your Orlando escapade.

Discover European-inspired elegance at the Four Seasons Resort, where impeccable service meets luxurious surroundings. Enjoy a cozy retreat at the Holiday Inn Orlando, where hospitality is at its finest. Indulge in the epitome of luxury at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, where each detail is crafted for an unparalleled experience. Lastly, the Polynesian charm of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort transports guests to a tropical paradise, creating an oasis in the heart of Florida.Whether you're surrounded by beloved Disney characters or experiencing the upscale allure of renowned resorts, each hotel in Orlando, from the grandeur of Disney's offerings to the contemporary comfort of Wyndham and Hilton, ensures that your stay is a magical chapter in the captivating tale of this vibrant city.