Elvis Presley's Birthplace: Tupelo, Mississippi

Besides Graceland, there's another cool museum that features Elvis memoribilia. Elvis Presley's Birthplace musuem, house and chapel. 

This is a nice attraction with resonable prices. They even hold special events like weddings and parties in the area. 

The Elvis Presley Birthplace is located on Elvis Presley Drive which used to be called Hog Road. 

The Presley Family moved there in 1935, and Elvis Presley was born on January 8th of that year. 

Vernon Elvis Presley borrowed $180 to build this two room house. 

The house had a bedroom: 

and a kitchen/dining room.

This house has been preserved since Elvis donated proceeds from a concert in Tupelo in 1957 and started a park in the East Tupelo area. 

After Elvis's death, Tupelo formed the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation to preserve the area and have duplicates and actual items owned by the Presley family featured in their museum. The mueseum was created in 1992 with many items owned by Janelle McComb, a close friend of the Presleys. The area has expanded since then, and now they feature films, experiences and information about the Presley family. 

These include the fountain of life, built after Elvis died to celebrate his life. 

A statue of Elvis when he was thirteen, including one of his first guitars. 

Plaques have been added for contributors and donators. 

And one of Elvis's cars. 

All in all it was a really cool place to visit, and I'm glad I saw Elvis's birth place before I see Graceland. 

Inside the museum, no photos were allowed, but I read a note from Elvis that was adressed too his father. It was well written and very wise. 

He wrote about how grateful he was for his father's support, and how he remembered to appreciate all he had while following his vision. 

It was inspirational. 

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland is not too different from the original Disneyland. There's a Main Street U.S.A., Fantasyland, Tommorowland, Adventureland and it features Sleeping Beauty's castle. The only difference are new attractions, and some shows are in Mandarin and Cantonese.  

We arrived when the park opened, and Goofy was there, leading everyone past the castle toward Tommorowland.

Before the crowd arrived, I got a quick picture of the castle, which was under construction.   

Apparently a lot of tourists were complaining about this, but I didn't mind, and I kind of liked how cheesy the castle looked. Mickey and Minnie were standing at the big gazebo in the front of the park all day, dressed in New Years outfits. Chip and Dale, Duffy and Shellie May were also taking pictures. 

On a side note: They had Baymax balloons! ^_^

We headed to Tommorowland first, following the crowd, and we grabbed a fast pass for Space Mountain- my favorite ride. After that we got in line, which had maybe a 2-3 minute wait. Space Mountain in Hong Kong was decorated differently, but it was nostalgic for me. After the ride, we headed to Grizzly Gulch, the other big roller coaster. 

The attraction is similar to Big Thunder Mountain, being train ride through the Wild West, but your path is determined by grizzly bears. Because we arrived during the park opening, Adventureland was deserted, and we rode Grizzly Gulch three times in row. 

After that, we rode the new ride: Mystic Manor, which was a fun tour through the international gallery of treasures that magically came to life. The area had a Garden of Wonders that featured more pieces of the mansion's magical collection. We went back to Tomorrowland, and while my friends rode the Buzz Lightyear ride, I went to the big gazebo to get a picture with Mickey and Minnie.

 They had closed the line, but they told me to come back after the parade, and I could get in line to take a picture then. 

By this time, my friends and I were hungry, so we found a restaurant on Main Street that had special New Years food. 

We found Plaza Inn, and I ordered Peach chicken, which was delicious, and it reminded me of PF Changs back in the U.S. After lunch, we all chose a special dessert, and I got a strawberry smoothie. Then, it was time for the parade. 

It was fairly easy to grab a good spot for the parade, people didn't line up ridiculously early for them, so we found a spot close to the gazebo, and it was a nice view of the floats. The theme was flight, so they had floats that looked like hot air balloons, and a Chinese version of the Jonas Brothers song "Fly With Me" played in the background. 

After getting our picture with Mickey and Minnie, we decided that the Stitch Encounter would be the last stop before leaving for the new year's fireworks. We walked through Toy Story Land, which was really cool, before we stood in line for the show.

There was a huge Woody statue that talked when you walked by. 

Lots of big toys were lying around. 

They even had a box of Cootie bugs! I remember those! 

After exploring, it was time to talk to Stitch :) 

This show was the most fun interactive show I've seen. Stitch named a planet after my friend, and he asked if he could be her boyfriend ^_^ 

We couldn't stay for the night parade, Paint the Night, but I got a free booklet about it with our tickets. The floats looked really pretty, and they sold a paintbrush that would play along with the shows. 

All in all, it was a nice visit, and I enjoyed the Disney atmosphere

It was great to see Disney again, and I really liked the organization and overall communication that this park had from cast member to cast member. I hope to visit this park again, and see the updates they were working on while we visited. 

New Blog Post: Wishes around the world

Inspired by my trips to Japan and Hong Kong, I decided to look up some really neat wishing festivals. Since I haven't been to all of them, I blogged about it here on my personal blog ^_^ 

http://crystallizedheart.blogspot.kr/2015/02/wishes-around-world.html

Hong Kong details are coming soon! 

Little Wonders

I made a new friend today, and she introduced me to the cute stationary store right across the street from where I work. It was really neat, and reminded me of Hobby Lobby because it had everything from craft supplies to planners. But the coolest thing about this place was the notebooks. 

It can be hit or miss, but the notebooks had so many cool quotes on them about life, love and happiness. I had to buy a few for my writing on the spot notebooks. 

It was a hidden jem among the hustle and bustle of the every day. 

"There and Back Again": A Tanabata Tale

                                   

       I first heard about Tanabata when I worked for Disneyland, and I discovered that one of the Disney Park Stores sold Tokyo Disney soundtracks. I looked it up, and saw Minnie and Mickey in gorgeous costumes on a picture dated in July. Naturally, I did some research, and I discovered that they were dressed up to celebrate a Japanese holiday: The Tanabata Festival on July 7th. Tanabata means "of the stars" and it was created in honor of a special Asian holiday based on a legend surrounding the two stars Altair and Vega. 

       This festival is celebrated in more countries than Japan. Korea calls this holiday Double Seventh Festival or Chilseok. China calls this holiday the Qixi Festival. 

This star festival celebrates the reunion of the two lovers Vega and Altair.

Vega's names in the mythology are Orihime (Japanese), Jiknyeo (Korean) and Zhinu (Chinese). Altair's names are Hikoboshi (Japanese), Gyeonwu (Korean) and Niulang (Chinese). The legend originated in China, and like most fairytales, the stories have different details. In the Japanese version, Orihime is a princess. In the Korean tale, she is the Jade Emperor's daughter. In the Chinese tale, she is a fairy. But in every version of the story, Vega is a weaver who falls in love with the cowherd of the heavens. Altair watches over the cows that make the Milky Way. They fell in love at first sight, and abandoned their duties. When Vega's father discovers that the stars are no longer in balance, he forbids Vega and Altair from seeing each other, and separates them with the Milky Way. But Vega persuades her father to allow one day every year if both work hard and continue to keep the heavens in order. 

It's a cool myth, and I love the ties to Astronomy. 

                                        

        The festival is celebrated by writing a wish on a piece of paper and tying it to a bamboo tree. It is said that if you make a wish during the star festival, it will come true.

Tokyo Disney started celebrating this about twenty years ago, and because the festival was so popular, it has continued ever since! Mickey and Minnie dress as the two lovers and perform the story, asking the audience to make a wish with them. After the show, you can go to the special wishing spot where Disney Cast members give you a Mickey Mouse shaped piece of paper to write your wish on. And of course there is merchandise. The festival is performed at both Tokyo Disneyland, and Tokyo Disney Sea, so I chose Disney Sea. 

         For five years I told myself that I would go to Tokyo Disney one day and celebrate Tanabata, and I was finally able to make that happen! 

          This trip was an adventure in itself, being my second international flight, and my first trip alone since I arrived in Korea. It was an amazing experience, and I met so many kind and understanding Japanese people who helped me find my way to the hotel and the airport. 

I took a bus directly from the airport to the park, and my adventure began. The ticket teller was really impressed that I knew about Tanabata (probably because I was foreign) and she gave me a bonus Japanese map with all the Tanabata information on it. 

          I arrived just in time to see a very well known show at Tokyo Disney Sea: The Legend of Mythica. The theme of Disney Sea is stories and myth, and in the show, you help Mickey unlock the magic and secrets of Mythica. It was one incredible float after another. From dragons, to unicorns and the extra kites and fireworks in the sky.

                                        

 I highly recommend this show to anyone that loves the Disney parks.

          After the show, I had some time before the Tanabata greeting, so I went souvenir shopping. All the Tanabata merchandise was on a special display, and they had Tanabata specials in some of the restaurants and food stands. There were more shops than I could count, and with the theme being Mediterranean, there were many neat decorations and hidden Mickeys. One of my favorites was in Donald's Venetian shop, where a Donald statue is staring up at a painted Daisy. Outside the shop were gondola rides, and a scenic bridge that lead to a good view for the show. I waited with many eager locals and spotted a Duffy bear dressed as Belle in the crowd. 

        Before I knew it, a Japanese and English announcement announced the Tanabata Greeting, and Mickey and Minnie appeared, riding on a celestial boat that looked like a cloud! So, I knew Tanabata was based on wishes, but I didn't know that they would play the actual song "Wishes" from a much beloved fireworks show I went to see every night when I worked for Disney. (I'll admit that I got choked up from the nostalgia.)

         

         After the show was over, I headed to the wishing place, where I wrote my wish in both English and Japanese. 

         

          To be honest, this was as far as my plan went, so I just decided to wander instead of look at the map and pick a place to go. Their version of the Tower of Terror was a very cool looking building.

I took a lot of pictures of the details in each land, and since I was by myself, I was able to ride the roller coasters very quickly.  (The single riders line was magic I discovered at the Disney College Program) The Indiana Jones ride was different, and the story line revolved around the Crystal Skull. After that I settled on more exploring and got a signature Disney churro (which took a while to find). Atlantica was just around the corner, and I discovered that you could actually go inside the palace, which was a water playground where kids were jumping and splashing. Next up was the Arabian coast, where Aladdin's Magic Carpets could be seen by the bridge and Genie's Lamp theatre stood to welcome you. In Agrabah you could play a game and either win an Arabian Stitch or Angel, but if you lost you got a pin. It started getting late, and I decided to grab the Tanabata drink and be on my way, but I was hungry too. While I ate dinner, Fantasmic started, and I had a good view from where I was sitting. It was a beautiful show, and it reminded me of World of Color with the lights dancing on clouds of mist.      By that time my phone had barely any battery life and I still didn't know how to get to my hotel from the park. 

Well, being me, I panicked, and as the happy guests were leaving the park, I frantically ran to the gift shop and grabbed my itinerary papers from my backpack. Luckily, a very nice Disney Cast member helped me find the best way, which was by Tokyo Metro, and after writing down instructions in Japanese he walked me to the Disney Train Station, where I showed them to the next cast member. I think she panicked more than I did, and I felt bad, because I didn't know enough Japanese to explain the situation, but she found another Disney cast member who walked me to the bus station and there, I met a very nice Japanese couple who guided me to the Tokyo metro and helped me buy my ticket, explaining my next stop. We chatted for a while about Disney, languages and life goals, and I promised to stay in touch and let them know when I return to Japan. 

So at the end of the day, I loved celebrating Tanabata Days at the Disney Parks. I'm glad I went on this adventure, made my wish, and I will be planning another adventure in Japan soon ^_^ 

Palace of Wonder and Garden of Dreams

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The Changdeokgung Palace is a step back in time. From the imperial gate to the secret garden, it has been the movie set for many historical Korean dramas. The picturesque view and the artistic atmosphere draws in tourist after tourist. But for me, it's more than that. Once I arrived, it was like walking in a Korean fairytale. I could see the crown prince running along the game field. I saw the servants walking through the gate quickly with laundry to the great well next to the public garden. And of course, the minute I walked over the Geumcheongyo (stone bridge) I could see the crown princess with her ladies in waiting, and the procession that followed. 

This palace also has a forbidden garden, that we were lucky enough to grab tickets for, right before it sold out. (I reccomend geting them as soon as possible- they sell out fast) The great pavillion was a private resort for the royal family and a few selected noblility. The garden itself was a quiet retreat for tea, and it even has it's own area for the rice only eaten by the royal family. 

The area was beautiful, and reminded me of many Korean myths and legends. 

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find books about Korean folklore, but their history begins with a myth, and slowly turns into facts. The Kingdom of the Four Winds begins Korea's tale, and from then on, the history unfolds. But actually walking around the regal and beautiful buildings gives you a taste of what life was like whne men feared Gumihos, women were chosen to be the crown princess, and the great school of Sungkyunkwan was the most promising school in the country. 

This area of Korea, preserved in the Joseon period is inspirational and its own work of art. 

Some of the Korean Dramas filmed here include The Moon that Embraces the Sun, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Gu Family Book, Goong, Goong S and of course Queen Inhyeon's Man.