ABCs of A Trip Worth Waiting For + PNWMM: P: A Practically Perfect Pacific NW Mouse Meet- pg. 26

I hear the medical care isn't that good once you're dead.

And yet, I hear it's pretty excellent when you're only mostly dead.

Well, probably only for me.

Fine. Be that way.

Had to pull over at a stop sign, turn off the car and start it again.

... this just gets weirder and weirder.

Some do less.

I suppose all that's really kinda critical is deodorant and a good teeth brushing.

Well now all we need to do is find some money!

LOL! Details, details.
 
And yet, I hear it's pretty excellent when you're only mostly dead.

It's mostly excellent just before you're dead.

... this just gets weirder and weirder.

yep.

I suppose all that's really kinda critical is deodorant and a good teeth brushing.

dang it! Now my secret's out!

Well now all we need to do is find some money!
LOL! Details, details.

That's why you're going to have a table selling stuff.
 
P is for: A Practically Perfect Pacific Northwest Mouse Meet


As with most first nights in a hotel room, I slept fair to middling, but still woke up excited to see what all the hubbub was about at this thing called “Mouse Meet”. But first…. (real) Food. For man does not live by Disney Treats alone. Since I slept a bit later than Kari, she’d already gone down for something (I don’t remember what, but possibly cocoa) and was waiting for me to go down to get the real deal. And wow, what a nice spread it was. Not Cali Grill Brunch nice, but certainly not packaged cinnamon rolls either!

I’m so not a breakfast eater, but if given the choice, I’ll take a hot one over pastries any day of the week. So I did. Take a peek at my first plate.

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Okay, fine. I got a 2nd plate too:

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My plate of fruit was inconsequential, so I didn’t bother taking a photo.


Carbed and caffeine up, we headed out, stopping by an ATM on the way. You KNOW since this has the brand name Disney associated with it, my checking account is going to see some negative activity. We got there a bit early and had time to see all the folks coming in who had quite elaborate costumes on. These were pretty awesome!

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(^Taken after we got in.)


While I didn’t get photos, there were 2 Fairy Godmothers, a Jane, a Mary Poppins, and a Cinderella that I remember. In hindsight, I’d have loved to have thrown on my daughter’s Steampunk Alice get up, and had actually very seriously considered it, but ran out of time to get it all together. Kari said she really didn’t have time either, so we went as two people just really enjoying themselves. Pretty easy to stay in character that way.


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We also had time to scope out the treats that awaited us during the day. I’m sure you’ll recognize a few:

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Finally, it was time, and suddenly a very familiar and comforting voice came on the PA system,


“Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, in just 5 minutes the doors of the Pacific Northwest Mouse Meet will open.”


The excitement immediately grew and the atmosphere of fun was as thick as the peanut butter on an Oblivious Vacation sandwich. Just like at Rope Drop the crowd of a couple hundred nudged forward and waited anxiously for unveiling of PNWMM 2017.


“Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, The Pacific Northwest Mouse Meets welcomes you. May all your dreams come true!” That voice…..

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We all herded our way in and were immediately more than a little impressed with the obvious care and effort put forth to make it festive and interactive. Vendor booths were set up all along the outer wall, businesses including Podcasts and travel companies drew you in with colorful props and promises of prizes.


We quickly found a place to stash our bags, but were a bit confused as to if that was okay on the seats that said, "Reserved" and more importantly if it was safe to do so. I’d like to think the Disney-loving crowd is honest and wholesome, but you just never know. I think in the end, we got nervous and schlepped all of our bags and crap around. I guess that would be my one and only “complaint” of the day.

It wasn’t long before we found ourselves at the raffle ticket table where we both purchased a pretty large handful of tickets. With your tickets you chose which gift baskets you wanted a shot at, and entered by dropping your tickets, any amount you chose, depending on your interest, into the corresponding ticket boxes. At the very end of the Meet, they drew the winners. That took us almost an hour to decide which prizes we wanted most. I could jokingly say in the end it was an hour of wasted time, but every dollar went to support one of 3 charities the PNWMM supports, so that alone made my “donation” worth it. In the end over $18,000 was raised for those charities- Juvenile Epilepsy, Ryman Arts and one other.


http://www.rymanarts.org/students/opportunities


By then, the speakers were at their tables and available for autographs. The first was Charita Carter- one of the lead Imagineers in Burbank. I was completely blown away by her poise, grace, drive, demeanor and presentation that followed. What an incredible woman of influence, humility, and success. You can Google to find her achievements, but I was personally challenged and inspired by her message of rising above challenge, no matter what barriers may stand in the way. In addition to her personal rise to success in the Disney corporation, she shared a bit about her work on her latest projects of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Train and the new and highly proprietary and protected technology of “Projection Mapping”- majorly cool stuff that we’re going to be seeing a lot of in the immediate future company wide.

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We ran out of time before the first talk, and then lunch, for more autographs, so started cruising the vendor booths. Of note, I bought my first ever Jamberry set that I’m going to wear for my trip next month, and we entered for a drawing in which I won a $5 $ixbucks card. Also, 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle had a booth set up and I decided that for my Annual Girls Theater Day I would take advantage of the 20% discount they were offering to the PNWMM guests for their showing of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. That’ll be coming up on June, 2018 and Kari and my girls and I will be going for a weekend of fun.

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Good Lord... all this excitement makes a girl hungry. And with the Disney soundtracks playing all around us, a Disney-themed treat was the only appropriate lunch. We two skipped over to the snack kiosk and grabbed lunch. Go ahead judge us; you know you want some right now too.

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To be fair, Kari did try later to get a pretzel, but they’d sold out. Such a shame.


There was some time to kill and the PNWMM Organizers went far above and beyond in creating some quite simply AMAZING Disney-themed displays for photos opps and fun. My favorite was the Alice’s Tea Party Table display. It was unbelievably colorful, whimsical, and was full of Hidden Mickey-esque gems to hunt for. I’ll just post the photos and let you enjoy:

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Sugar rush induced, it was time to head back in and get the last autographs and hear the final two presentations. First up was Bill Rogers and Camille Dixon. Don’t feel badly, I didn’t know who they were either, but once I tell you, you will instantly realize that every single person reading this report “knows” them. At least their voices. They ARE the Voices of Disney. When you step into Disneyland or California Adventure you will have heard their voices at least once- at the parade, opening, fireworks, you name it. They ARE the, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls….” Bill for Disneyland; Camille for CA. They told stories of how they got their jobs as “The Disney Announcers” and come to find out…. They’re married. Imagine that!!!


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For $20 Bill would record his voice on your phone as a voicemail greeting, which I did. I'm a bit torn though. It really didn't turn out as I'd expected and hoped, and TBH, is a bit cheesy. I mean, it IS the authentic Voice of Disney, but sounds a bit goofy. My kids tease me, but I can't quite bring myself to erase it.

Lastly, there was a married couple who are two of the lead animators for Disney Animation Mike and Patty Peraza. They have been involved in Disney art since like forever and have worked on tons of Disney projects. You can also Google their names to find their works and bios. Kari was smitten with his work he had on display for sale and ended up with a signed piece he drew of Ariel. Admittedly, I wish I'd come away with a piece myself.

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After all of my prizes were given to others who were luckier, it was time to head out and find some dinner. Like I said, man does not live on Disney treats alone. But, that's where I'll pick it up in my next, and last chapter of this TR. I'm a mere 3+ weeks out from my trip and it's high time that I be done with this set of stories so I can focus on my next adventures.

Hope life is treating you all abundantly well and that you are enjoying every joy that Autumn brings!

Steppe
 
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I’m so not a breakfast eater, but if given the choice, I’ll take a hot one over pastries any day of the week.
::yes::

We got there a bit early and had time to see all the folks coming in who had quite elaborate costumes on. These were pretty awesome!
Those are definitely some good ones!

Kari said she really didn’t have time either, so we went as two people just really enjoying themselves. Pretty easy to stay in character that way.
We all know you're definitely a character.

By then, the speakers were at their tables and available for autographs. The first was Charita Carter- one of the lead Imagineers in Burbank. I was completely blown away by her poise, grace, drive, demeanor and presentation that followed. What an incredible woman of influence, humility, and success. You can Google to find her achievements, but I was personally challenged and inspired by her message of rising above challenge, no matter what barriers may stand in the way. In addition to her personal rise to success in the Disney corporation, she shared a bit about her work on her latest projects of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Train and the new and highly proprietary and protected technology of “Projection Mapping”- majorly cool stuff that we’re going to be seeing a lot of in the immediate future company wide.
Sounds interesting. Always nice to hear from a real live Imagineer, and it sounds like she's got quite the range of experiences to talk about!

Kari was smitten with his work he had on display for sale and ended up with a signed piece he drew of Ariel. Admittedly, I wish I'd come away with a piece myself.
You should have! I don't know how much it cost, but how often do you have a chance to buy a genuine piece of Disney artwork from the person who made it?
 
I’m so not a breakfast eater, but if given the choice, I’ll take a hot one over pastries any day of the week.

Pastries is probably my least favourite breakfast. So I'd definitely do hot over pastries any day.


What were in the mini boxes?


:laughing: Certainly looks like you were having fun!

Vendor booths were set up all along the outer wall, businesses including Podcasts and travel companies drew you in with colorful props and promises of prizes.

Cool!

We quickly found a place to stash our bags, but were a bit confused as to if that was okay on the seats that said, "Reserved" and more importantly if it was safe to do so. I’d like to think the Disney-loving crowd is honest and wholesome, but you just never know. I think in the end, we got nervous and schlepped all of our bags and crap around. I guess that would be my one and only “complaint” of the day.

They actually had a spot set aside for your "bags and crap". It's called "your room".


:rolleyes1

At the very end of the Meet, they drew the winners. That took us almost an hour to decide which prizes we wanted most.

Whoa. An hour? Must've been a ton of prizes... and good ones!

I could jokingly say in the end it was an hour of wasted time, but every dollar went to support one of 3 charities the PNWMM supports, so that alone made my “donation” worth it. In the end over $18,000 was raised for those charities- Juvenile Epilepsy, Ryman Arts and one other.

Very nice!

The first was Charita Carter- one of the lead Imagineers in Burbank.

Very cool!

Also, 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle had a booth set up and I decided that for my Annual Girls Theater Day I would take advantage of the 20% discount they were offering to the PNWMM guests for their showing of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. That’ll be coming up on June, 2018 and Kari and my girls and I will be going for a weekend of fun.

Nice! I recall you doing that in the past. Well, you and your girls, at least.

Go ahead judge us; you know you want some right now too.

Of course I do.
What were the drinks?

My favorite was the Alice’s Tea Party Table display. It was unbelievably colorful, whimsical, and was full of Hidden Mickey-esque gems to hunt for. I’ll just post the photos and let you enjoy:

Those are really well done. ::yes::


Love this shot! :)

They ARE the Voices of Disney. When you step into Disneyland or California Adventure you will have heard their voices at least once- at the parade, opening, fireworks, you name it. They ARE the, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls….” Bill for Disneyland; Camille for CA.

Then I've never heard them. Or... at least don't recall hearing them when I was there.

For $20 Bill would record his voice on your phone as a voicemail greeting, which I did. I'm a bit torn though. It really didn't turn out as I'd expected and hoped, and TBH, is a bit cheesy. I mean, it IS the authentic Voice of Disney, but sounds a bit goofy. My kids tease me, but I can't quite bring myself to erase it.

For $20? I'd be loathe to erase it too!

Kari was smitten with his work he had on display for sale and ended up with a signed piece he drew of Ariel. Admittedly, I wish I'd come away with a piece myself.

Nice!
Yet I too would probably have passed...

After all of my prizes were given to others who were luckier

Like how you say "all of my prizes".
:laughing:
 
That meet looks like fun. I’ve only been to one Disney related meet. It was a couple summers ago in Nova Scotia, the Dis Unplugged podcast team had a meet there. I went by myself and had a nice time. I met a few of the podcasters and a few like minded Disney fans, a couple of whom I still keep in touch with on Facebook. I’d like to attend another meet sometime.
 


Those are definitely some good ones!

I wish I'd gotten more photos of the costumes. Some were really well done.

We all know you're definitely a character.

:crazy:

Sounds interesting. Always nice to hear from a real live Imagineer, and it sounds like she's got quite the range of experiences to talk about!

Not bad for a gal starting out as a staff accountant. ;)

You should have! I don't know how much it cost, but how often do you have a chance to buy a genuine piece of Disney artwork from the person who made it?

Sigh.... next year!!
 
Pastries is probably my least favourite breakfast. So I'd definitely do hot over pastries any day.

They are just more dessert-y to me.

What were in the mini boxes?

Little mini gummy pizzas. Super cute.

:laughing: Certainly looks like you were having fun!

We were!

They actually had a spot set aside for your "bags and crap". It's called "your room".


:rolleyes1

Har, har. I needed some of the stuff I took.

Whoa. An hour? Must've been a ton of prizes... and good ones!

I think in all about 25 gift baskets to choose from- from Dooney and Burke bags, to artwork, to a Nikon camera, a Club 33 package.... on and on and on!

Of course I do.
What were the drinks?

The Mint Juleps! (Although they weren't as good as the ones we had.)

Then I've never heard them. Or... at least don't recall hearing them when I was there.

Yes, you did. Remember when the fireworks were cancelled? Yep, Bill Rogers told you so.

For $20? I'd be loathe to erase it too!

Tough decision...

Like how you say "all of my prizes".
:laughing:

:rolleyes1
 
That meet looks like fun. I’ve only been to one Disney related meet. It was a couple summers ago in Nova Scotia, the Dis Unplugged podcast team had a meet there. I went by myself and had a nice time. I met a few of the podcasters and a few like minded Disney fans, a couple of whom I still keep in touch with on Facebook. I’d like to attend another meet sometime.

Nice! That one sounds like a whole lotta fun too! Come on over, Jeff! Loads to see and do here. :)

I'd think this one might be a tad far for you though!

But not altogether impossible!

What cool event. I wish they had one closer to me. My girls would love this too. Next year you have to dress up.

Make it a trip! Lots to see and do here aside from the Meet!

I think I will. :)
 
Looks fantastic - that Beauty and the Beast door should be used at resorts!

Nice looking Jamberrys - what is that design?

That's not a bad idea!

It's a discontinued one that the seller had leftover for sale. I can take a look and see if the name is on the package.
 
They are just more dessert-y to me.

::yes::

Little mini gummy pizzas. Super cute.

:laughing: That's great! Was he giving them out? Or just for show?

Har, har. I needed some of the stuff I took.

Then you don't need a place to stash them, no?

I think in all about 25 gift baskets to choose from- from Dooney and Burke bags, to artwork, to a Nikon camera, a Club 33 package.... on and on and on!

Not bad!

The Mint Juleps! (Although they weren't as good as the ones we had.)

Oh! Of course.

Yes, you did. Remember when the fireworks were cancelled? Yep, Bill Rogers told you so.

Right! Okay! Yes, yes I remember that!
 
Your brekkie looked pretty tasty. It's unfortunate that Disney snacks aren't enough to sustain us always.

You must have seen some amazing getups! I'm always so impressed to see the cosplays people put together when we go to the cons Nathan works at. I love the Pizza Planet guy!!

By then, the speakers were at their tables and available for autographs. The first was Charita Carter- one of the lead Imagineers in Burbank. I was completely blown away by her poise, grace, drive, demeanor and presentation that followed. What an incredible woman of influence, humility, and success. You can Google to find her achievements, but I was personally challenged and inspired by her message of rising above challenge, no matter what barriers may stand in the way. In addition to her personal rise to success in the Disney corporation, she shared a bit about her work on her latest projects of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Train and the new and highly proprietary and protected technology of “Projection Mapping”- majorly cool stuff that we’re going to be seeing a lot of in the immediate future company wide.

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Wow! I can just feel how inspiring she was through your writing. I have some googling to do once my midterms are over...

I decided that for my Annual Girls Theater Day I would take advantage of the 20% discount they were offering to the PNWMM guests for their showing of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. That’ll be coming up on June, 2018 and Kari and my girls and I will be going for a weekend of fun.

I wondered if you had any plans for Annual Girls Theatre Day for this coming year! That sounds like a fabulous way to spend it! I'd really like to see that show.


WOW! What a great setup!!


Also, Hank. <3


Amazing! It's like Andy's room is really real in front of you!

They told stories of how they got their jobs as “The Disney Announcers” and come to find out…. They’re married. Imagine that!!!

So cool! Voice acting is really neat. I can't imagine how many people have heard their voices.

For $20 Bill would record his voice on your phone as a voicemail greeting, which I did. I'm a bit torn though. It really didn't turn out as I'd expected and hoped, and TBH, is a bit cheesy. I mean, it IS the authentic Voice of Disney, but sounds a bit goofy. My kids tease me, but I can't quite bring myself to erase it.

I probably would have done this, too. ...But I don't know how I'd feel about that being the voicemail message everyone heard when they call me. I use my cell phone for everything, including school and work stuff. I had a really silly voicemail message for a while where I talked in a cheesey voice over cheesey background music which was fun, but then I got pretty self-conscious when I thought about how everyone from my family to the receptionist at the doctor's office would be hearing it all the time, etc.
 
Hi
Your time at the mouse meet with Kari sure looked like a lot of fun.lots of photos to remind yourself of it.We had a comic con in our town three months ago the first ever to come to Glenrothes which we went to it was first time for this type of convention for us really good.Your mouse meet looked just like it but about all things Disney.Would love to have it over here bit too far for the Disney workers to travel though.
 
I’m so not a breakfast eater, but if given the choice, I’ll take a hot one over pastries any day of the week.

Depends on the pastries. If they're fresh, and include cinnamon rolls, apple Danishes, and/or donuts, it works pretty well for me. But compared to french toast or pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hash browns? Yeah, no contest.

Carbed and caffeine up, we headed out, stopping by an ATM on the way. You KNOW since this has the brand name Disney associated with it, my checking account is going to see some negative activity.

Truth.::yes::


Indiana Jones = Approved.:thumbsup2

We also had time to scope out the treats that awaited us during the day. I’m sure you’ll recognize a few:

Hey, they gave you Disney pricing too! Way to make you feel at home!

The excitement immediately grew and the atmosphere of fun was as thick as the peanut butter on an Oblivious Vacation sandwich.

Not that thick, actually. Gotta make this jar last through the trip.

By then, the speakers were at their tables and available for autographs. The first was Charita Carter- one of the lead Imagineers in Burbank. I was completely blown away by her poise, grace, drive, demeanor and presentation that followed. What an incredible woman of influence, humility, and success.

Very cool! Did you ask if she'd like to mentor some teen Imagineering hopefuls?:rolleyes1

In addition to her personal rise to success in the Disney corporation, she shared a bit about her work on her latest projects of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Train and the new and highly proprietary and protected technology of “Projection Mapping”- majorly cool stuff that we’re going to be seeing a lot of in the immediate future company wide.

I can't wait to see more about the Runaway Railway. It's gotta be better than GMR.

I won a $5 $ixbucks card.

So...that's not of much use, then, is it?:confused3

Go ahead judge us; you know you want some right now too.

Disney folks gonna Disney.

There was some time to kill and the PNWMM Organizers went far above and beyond in creating some quite simply AMAZING Disney-themed displays for photos opps and fun. My favorite was the Alice’s Tea Party Table display. It was unbelievably colorful, whimsical, and was full of Hidden Mickey-esque gems to hunt for.

Looks very elaborate!

For $20 Bill would record his voice on your phone as a voicemail greeting, which I did. I'm a bit torn though. It really didn't turn out as I'd expected and hoped, and TBH, is a bit cheesy. I mean, it IS the authentic Voice of Disney, but sounds a bit goofy. My kids tease me, but I can't quite bring myself to erase it.

Dang. For $20, I want better than cheesy. My old college roomie and I had a classic voicemail greeting. People would call when they knew we were out just to listen to it. I wish I still had that one.

Like I said, man does not live on Disney treats alone.

But we'd sure like to try!
 
Ladies and Gentlemen....

A sad announcement from your hostess's home:

I was all set to do replies, only to have come home to zero internet. Booooo!!!

Tech is coming tomorrow. Yayayayayay!!!

Need to get a move on finishing this up. Only 2 1/2 weeks to go!!! Yayay!

@Malia78 ...when you're home and settled back in, make sure you add your photos and fill in all the blanks. I'm sure I'll have missed big chunks. Meantime, enjoy your mondo trek through Asia!!! So jelly of your travels! ;)
 

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