Another reason I love Disney so much

Disney has outstanding customer service no matter where you go. They’re known for their skills in making the customer always feel like they’re right even though they’re probably wrong. And a total tool at that. At the parks they don’t refer to their customers as just that. They’re instead referred to as “VIPs” or “Very Individual People”. It’s true. I learned that little tidbit from my mandatory customer service training classes. It’s about the only thing I remember from sitting in that same room for 12 hours. Well, it was 4 hours a class but it still sucked big time.

Anyhoots, the reason I’m gushing about Disney’s customer service right now is because I have been blessed with it just recently. Remember when I vented about our Halloween costumes not getting here in time for Halloween?? Well, eventually we did get them. About two and a half months after I ordered them. That’s even too long by their standards. I know because I emailed them about a previous shipment that was taking longer than I had expected.

They emailed me back about 2 days later with a very nice, personal, message. I don’t know about you but I think it’s super duper that they have people there that personally respond to people’s complaints. It wasn’t just a generic email where all they have to do is fill in the blanks with your information and give you the same answer they give everyone else. They told me that it takes about 6-8 weeks for packages to arrive at APO addresses. That was the reason I only had one shipping option when I ordered. I have no idea why they take so long when Amazon can get some things to me within a week. They also told me that they tracked down the package and that it was definitely on its way and if it hadn’t gotten to me by November 11th (the end of 8 weeks) that I should get in touch with them again and they’ll work out a way to fix the problem. I totally appreciated that and I got my shipment on November 8th so I was pretty happy.

But when our costumes were taking even longer to get to us I started to get a bit disgruntled towards Disneystore.com. So I emailed them again. And this time I made my complaint really personal and threw some emotion in there as well. I told them that I was so heartbroken over our costumes not getting to us on time because we’re newlyweds and were gunna be Mickey and Minnie and it was gunna be sooooo cute. But then our costumes didn’t get here on time so we weren’t able to dress up and have the wonderful Halloween that we’d been planning. And I was just wondering if our costumes would be here in time for next year’s Halloween because we’d really like to be dressed up super cute and I just wanna know if you know where our costumes are???

So yea, I thought it was a pretty good email. I had fun writing it. It was kind of late though because the next day we got our costumes in the mail. On the same day too, which was weird because I ordered them about a week apart. Then I didn’t check my email for a few days because we were just really happy about how great our costumes were. See??


When I did check my email, Disneystore.com had indeed responded to my dramatic complaint. They didn’t know I had received the costumes yet, I guess, because they decided to fix the “problem” by crediting all the money (shipping excluded though) back onto my debit card!! It was totally unexpected and a FANTASTIC surprise. So sure, we’ll have to wait until Halloween 2010 to wear the costumes, but they were friggin’ free!!

And they were so worth it, dontcha think?? They fit us perfectly, are actually very nicely made, and they totally suit us! I can’t wait until next Halloween! Maybe by that time we’ll find a Pluto costume to force Apollo to wear.

Sometimes I love being a girl

Being a girl means I can decorate my nails for the holidays with Jack Skellingtons! I'm pretty much in love with these. I can't stop looking at them.

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

"The first books I ever read were the Uncle Remus stories. Ever since then, these stories have been my special favorites. I've just been waiting until I could develop the proper medium to bring them to the screen."
– Walt Disney, 1946

What Mr. Disney is talking about is Song of the South. It's the movie that Splash Mountain is based on and is currently not released. It's in the depths of the Disney vault and may never see the light of day due to it's "racist" images. The Disney company is scared shitless of releasing this because some people may get offended again. When it was released in 1946 it made 3.3 million at the box office. Despite that, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) weren't digging the supposed "impression it gives of an idyllic master-slave relationship" (even though the film was set after the American Civil War).

It was Walt Disney's first live action film and hasn't been released in the States since 1986. It has, however, been re-released in many European, Asian, and Latin American countries since. Because America is waaaay too uptight for that shizz. There's constantly rumors that the Disney folks will soon release it to DVD here. I really hope so. America needs to chill the fuck out.

Luckily for Dustin and I, we got to watch the entire film yesterday! Dustin came home and took a clearly bootleg DVD of Song of the South out of his pocket and I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Someone he works with is apparently a Disney nut as well and had purchased it off of ebay for $32 and let us borrow it! It was a copy of a European release but was pretty well done. The picture wasn't too bad at all.Let me tell you guys...I found absolutely nothing offensive about it. It was totally sweet and innocent and cute and wonderful. We love love loved it! I wish I had my own copy because I would love for my own kids to see it one day. It made Dustin really wanna ride Splash Mountain again.

That's another thing. How can they have that really popular ride in the parks but not have the movie out?? Most people don't even know that it came from a movie that's practically banned! Lame. What we did find shockingly racist though, was the banned cartoon on the DVD that was actually a Merrie Melodies short. Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs. You can only imagine...
If you're interested you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAO3Hxyq-uk and actually watch this hilarity.

The Little Mermaid

I remember as a kid acting out The Little Mermaid every time I took a bath. I was Ariel and Prince Eric (hottie) was nonexistant. And I would splash water all over the bathroom floor as I "swam" to "shore" and screeched what few words I knew to Part Of Your World. Good times.

March 26, 1990

The Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea" Wins Oscar for Best SongThe baritone vocalist Samuel E. Wright — who won the role of Sebastian solely through a taped demo of the song he had sent to producers — sang this jubilant finger-snapper inspired by the Caribbean style of Calypso music. The song, composed by Disney Legends Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, is also a rousing highlight of the Broadway musical version, though because Tituss Burgess, who plays Sebastian, is a tenor, the key of the song was raised from B-flat to D

Bolt

We bought Bolt today and just finished watching it. We didn't get the chance to see it in the states before getting here and then also didn't have time to see it here. Since it's Disney we took a risk and just bought it before we even knew if we would like it or not.

I'd say we liked it. Possibly even loved it. Maybe even ADORED it. I nearly cried during at least half of the movie. It was so cute. And sad. And funny. It was fantastic. John Travolta did a really good job at not sounding like a middle aged man. He actually sounded like a cute little dog. Weird, I know. But as I was watching I kept forgetting that it was John Travolta. I just got really sucked in. Plus we got 100 more points on our Disney Movie Rewards account. That's always a plus. We're up to 2150 which isn't too shabby.

If you haven't seen Bolt and you like cute and funny Disney animation, you should probably go see it. Or better yet...buy it and THEN see it. And then give me your movie rewards code if you don't want it.

This movie made me extra sad because I miss my little Ariel. :(

Disney Movie Rewards Bonanza!!

If you've bought any Disney movie in the last few years you may have noticed an insert with a Disney Movie Rewards code on it. We noticed it years ago and neglected to do anything with it.

Until now.

You go on the website and type in your codes. Depending on the movie your code could be worth anywhere from 75 to 200 points. We had alot alot of movies with codes. Some of them I threw away unfortunetly. I'm kicking myself for that. The more points you earn the better prizes you can get. Its kinda like an arcade or Chuck E. Cheese's. The first few prizes are pretty lame but they change all the time so we'll see.

After all my codes were in we ended up with 1925 points. Not too shabby. So we then began to look through what we could get with them. Not many things grabbed us because they're mostly things for little kids. Why would Disney have things for kids?! I have no idea but I was a little disappointed. Until we saw what we could get for 20,000 points:

The Walt Disney Studios: Deluxe Private Tour for 2
A truly exclusive experience for 2: visit the Disney Archives off-site large item storage facility, with props, special effects models and more. Plus, tour the Studio Lot & enjoy lunch in the Rotunda Executive Dining Room.

So after Dustin and I picked ourselves up off the floor we decided that we're going to get enough points for that. We MUST. If I have to make Dustin strip for points, well thats a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Give me your codes if you dont want them people! I'm serious. We have about a year before our points expire too. Its crunch time. Now I wish I had put Disney movies on my wedding registration. Well, I guess its not too late.

In other news: We woke up early on Saturday AND Sunday because Dustin thought they were having some big sale at the commissary. Saturday we showed up and there was nothing going on. Dustin checked the sign in the men's bathroom that he saw and then said he made a mistake and that is was the next day. We show up early the next morning and still nothing. Dustin brings out the flyer and it actually says MAY 15, 16, & 17th!! It was retarded. We were so tired all weekend. lol We didnt do much else except watch tv, mow the lawn and clean out the car.

And it wouldve been the perfect weekend to actually do something. Sunday was beautiful! Oh well.

This Day in Disney History

March 15, 1991

Disney Afternoon Opens at Disneyland:

Opening at Disneyland on this date 18 years ago, Disney Afternoon Avenue was a colorful street of cartoon buildings located between It's a Small World and Videopolis (now the Fantasyland Theatre), inspired by the success of the two-hour programming block Disney Afternoon, which ran from 1990–1997. Here Guests could meet TaleSpin star Baloo in his dressing room — it was located under the train tracks that are now the underpass to Mickey's Toontown — introduce themselves to Rescue Rangers stars Chip 'n' Dale ands dashing Launchpad McQuack fresh from his latest crash! The colorful thoroughfare closed later that year.