Meet Princess Tiana at Disneyland

My kids love The Princess and the Frog. We did not watch it in the theaters when it came out, but we rented it from a redbox and then proceeded to watch it a bazillion times over the course of a weekend. When the kids found out they would be meeting the Disney Princesses at Disneyland, meeting Tiana became a "must do."

The problem is that meeting the Princesses at Disneyland is a bit of a pain. Luckily, I had been prepared for the state of affairs at Disneyland, thanks to Disneyland Vacation Tips. However, we beat the system a bit with Tiana. She comes out in New Orleans Square every hour or two and alternates between singing a bunch of songs from the movie and doing a meet-and-greet. She does both of them. We first ran across her by accident during one of her singing shows. We were walking towards Big Thunder ranch and heard the songs. We followed the music and found her here:




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Unfortunately, there were a ton of other people there too. However, we decided to come back later for the meet-and greet. Well, that did not happen, but we tried again on another day. We started by asking the information booth at the end of Main Street. They initially told us that Tiana was not performing in New Orleans that day. Luckily, we had seen her earlier and knew that was incorrect. They then studied their books and determined that the next meet-and-greet would be at 5:30 pm. At 4:45 pm we were in between rides and decided to head over. The information booth had also told us that perhaps we could meet her around the corner from the New Orleans bathrooms, in an alcove near the caricature artists.

We went over there and did not find Tiana. However, we did find one of her band members. I stopped him as he was going up the stairs and asked him when the next meet-and greet was going to be. He said it would be at 5:00 pm. Good thing we came by early! We went over to where we had seen her do the songs earlier and sat down on the steps. We were the only ones camped out. Eight minutes later, Tiana and crew came marching out. Her "handler" came right up to my kids and asked if they were there to meet Tiana. When we answered in the affirmative, she said that they would get to dance with her! So she finished coming out, danced with my kids, talked with them, and posed for pictures. All the while other people started gathering and some girls started trying to interact (but were herded into line by the handler).

What are the lessons learned?

• Know where the princesses will be and get there before they are actually there
• Don't trust the information booth with the success of your trip
• Castmembers in the act will actually know what is going on, so ask them

Here is a nice interactive youtube video (click on things to see other videos) about New Orleans Square. There are apparently a number of other shows that I did not see that involve Tiana. However, that is one of the great things about Disneyland: there is always more to do and see!

Formatting change

My wife just gave me the ability to post to her blog, and it has been a fun and rewarding experience. She actually has a nice blog (email me if you are friend or family and want an invite). My blog, is a bunch of random (and ugly) widgets and very little meaningful content. So I am going to, once again, attempt to overhaul my blog. Eventually I hope it will be worth looking at and worth reading, but for now it probably looks worse. If that was even possible. Give me some time, it will improve over the next week/month.

The Princess Who Saved Herself

Jonathan Coulton is releasing songs again. I just went by his blog and found this post about his new song: The Princess Who Saved Herself.

I think it is a must-have for parents of little girls. The is living independently in a castle, tames a dragon, rejects a self-absorbed prince, redeems a witch, and starts a band (with the dragon and the witch). Definitely a lot cooler and positive than the typical "I'm a helpless princess who needs saving" stereotype.

So go get it. It is available on a charity CD, "he proceeds of which benefit the Haitian People’s Support Project. It’s an amazing list of artists." The whole CD is kid's music, but if you want to just buy the Coulton song then you can find it here.

I digg errors on the new digg alpha

Digg 4

I have thought Digg was pretty cool for awhile now, but it did suffer from a major problem: certain demographics ruled the digg-space. Now, you can choose your own demographic to follow. I think this makes Digg accesible and useful to everyone. So go to http://new.digg.com/ and request an invite. Trust me, it's going to be big!

Press release for Billerica congregation open house

A press release the Stake Public Affairs representative wrote up for our church open house this Sunday:

For Immediate Release
May 27, 2010

Latter–day Saints Opening Doors of Billerica Meetinghouse to Local Community

Billerica – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is holding an open house for the community at its Billerica meetinghouse this Sunday, May 30, from 9:00 - 9:45 a.m.

“The open house is an opportunity for our friends and neighbors to see how we worship and to build bridges of mutual understanding,” said Bishop Dan Adams, who leads the Billerica congregation. “One of the best ways to understand what Latter-day Saints are about is to get to know us. You’ll see how faith influences our lives and how we embrace values and beliefs that are familiar to other people of faith.”

During the open house, community members will be able to tour the meetinghouse and learn about some of the Church’s programs, such as its missionary and humanitarian work, and the Church’s commitment to family history. Members of the Billerica congregation will also be available to discuss the Church’s basic beliefs, and programs for men, women, children, and youth.

The meetinghouse serves nearly 400 Latter-day Saints from Billerica, Burlington, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Tewksbury, Wilmington, and Hanscom Air Force Base. Weekly Sunday services in tens of thousands of Church buildings worldwide are open to all people, without obligation and regardless of whether or not they are members of the Church.

“We share common ground with those who revere the Bible and its teachings that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world,” said Adams. “We also believe other scriptures, including the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which serves as an additional witness to the ministry of Christ and His divinity.”

“Regardless of doctrinal differences, we regularly join with people of many faiths to address the needs in our community and around the world, and this open house is an opportunity for community members to learn more about Latter-day Saints, and for Latter-day Saints to meet with our neighbors,” said Adams.

Directions to the chapel: The Billerica meetinghouse is located at 70 Concord Road in Billerica, MA. To get to the building, proceed on Route 3 to Exit 27, turn right on Concord Road, go East for one mile, and the chapel is on the right. Following the open house, visitors are invited to attend worship services from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

For more information about the open house, contact Matthew Bates, Director of Public Affairs for the Nashua, New Hampshire Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 603-318-6521, or by e-mail: matthewcarterbates@gmail.com.

Billerica Ward Open House

The Billerica congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is having an open house on Sunday, May 30th. The Billerica congregation serves the towns of Billerica, Burlington, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Bedford, Concord, Carlisle, and Hanscom AFB. Tours of the building will occur between 9:00 and 9:45 am. Normal Sunday meetings follow:

• 10:00 - 11:10 am - Sacrament meeting (main meeting as a congregation)
• 11:15 - 12:00 pm - Sunday school, Primary, and Nursery
• 12:05 -  1:00 pm - Men, women, youth, and children groups

Meetings will discuss fundamental beliefs of the church. Open house and meetings take place at the Billerica Ward building:

70 Concord Rd
Billerica, MA 01821

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Please come and check things out. If you have any questions then feel free to email me, write a comment, or give me a call.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are more commonly known as mormons