Madonna Musica Martes - 11/11/2014

Last week was a very important anniversary in Madonna's career. It was the 30th anniversary of Madonna's classic hit song, LIKE A VIRGIN. It will probably be the milestone song of Madonna's legacy. You would think that Madonna would distance herself from this 80's Classic. But as you can see, it remains one of Madonna's staples in her various concerts over the years. From 1984 up thru 2012, Madonna has performed various variations of the pop classic. Regardless of what version you enjoy of Like A Virgin, it's still an amazing song. So for today's posting, I have put together a play-list of the various live performances of Like A Virgin from over the years. Enjoy!!!



























John

Madonna Music Monday - 10/06/2014

As you know, I'm a big Madonna fan. A really HUGE Madonna fan. But there seems to be an even bigger fan than me. Glen O'Neil over at Coponfilms is a movie fan, especially films by Quentin Tarantino. As you remember at the beginning of Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino's 1st film, a group of crooks gather at a diner discussing the meaning behind Madonna's classic song LIKE A VIRGIN. Well Coponfilms decided to make their own LIKE A VIRGIN video, using clips of dialog from all of Tarantino's films. The result is quite funny (especially the x-rated dialog clips used instead of the Madonna's original lyrics) and entertaining. So for today's video, here is Coponfilms' version of the great Madonna song. Enjoy!!!

 LIKE A VIRGIN - SUNG BY QUENTIN TARANTINO MOVIES

 

 John

Madonna Music Monday - 09/22/2014

So last week was the 14th anniversary of the release of Madonna's 8th studio album, MUSIC. A high-point in Madonna's discography, it spawned three hit singles. The title track was a Number One hit single in 25 countries. So to celebrate this anniversary, here is the live performance of MUSIC from Madonna's 2001 Drowned World Tour. Enjoy!

Madonna - Music - Drowned World Tour Live 2001




John

A Fractured Ankle, A Scooter and Disneyland...

So this past May I spent 5 days at Disneyland. I did the usual things I do on any Disneyland trip. Ride my favorite attractions, do character Meet & Greets, try out new dining options. But this time around, there was one major difference. I had fractured my ankle in 5 places on a 'black-ice' slip & fall in late March. I quickly had surgery and was wearing a soft cast and using a walking boot. Two days before my trip, my doctor gave me the 'all-clear' to walk on my foot with full pressure using the boot, but advised against all-day marathon walking. So now the question becomes "How Do I Enjoy Disneyland with LIMITED WALKING?"

Knowing that I would need to do minimal walking on my trip, I went over to DISBOARDS.COM and posted my question to my fellow Disney friends: I'll be visiting Disneyland with a healing ankle and a walking boot...what should I do???

After reading a few responses, the answer was pretty clear: I should rent an ECV scooter.

After getting some recommendations and going over various price quotes, I settled on a rental. I went with Deckert's Rentals, which quoted me $135 for a Saturday thru Wednesday rental. They would deliver the scooter to my hotel (I was staying at a hotel near Katella Ave & Harbor Blvd). There was no delivery charge or any deposits required. When I arrived at my hotel, the scooter was already delivered and waiting for me. The hotel I was staying at told me that when I was done with the scooter for the day, that I could leave the scooter at the front desk and they would store the scooter and charge it over-night for me. This way, the scooter did not take up any space in my hotel room. When I was ready to head to Disneyland every morning, I would just head to the front desk, ask for my scooter and head out to the parks.

I would ride the scooter to Disneyland from my hotel, go through security, go through the ticket turnstiles and roam around the park. Here is video of me heading out to the parks one morning:

Once I decided what area I was planning to tour, I would park the scooter with the other parked scooters and wheelchairs or in some hidden corner away from the crowds. I would walk to the attractions I wanted to ride and stand in lines if I needed to. If I got tried from walking or standing, or if I was done with a certain area, then I would get back onto the scooter, ride to another part of the part and repeat my routine. I would leave the scooter unattended for a few hours. And every time I came back for the ECV, it would be OK. I think a couple times the ECV was moved to a location away from crowds or the attraction I was visiting. The scooter worked out GREAT. This made touring Disneyland so easy for me. Using an ECV scooter at Disneyland SAVED my trip. 

Not only did using an ECV scooter help me with getting around the parks with minimum walking, but I was able to take advantage of certain perks that comes with using a scooter at Disneyland. I was able to get special Fast Passes that allowed me to skip waiting in long lines at the most popular rides. The basic procedure was that I would go to the exit area of the attraction I was interested in riding, say Peter Pan's Flight in Fantasyland, go to the Cast Member working the attraction, show them my scooter or my foot in the walking boot, and get issued a hand-written Fast Pass with a designated time to return to the attraction. For the most part, the wait time to ride would be for a short period. Maybe no more than 30 minutes. The following is the Fast Pass I got when I wanted to ride Peter Pan's Flight.

As you can see, the posted stand-by wait time for Peter Pan's Flight was 35 minutes. However, I could return back to the attraction in 25 minutes. This gave me enough time to park my scooter, walk back to the attraction and wait for my turn.

In the Fast Pass I got for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the posted stand-by wait time was 1 hour, 10 minutes. I just had to wait 15 MINUTES before it was my time to ride. I'm sure the wait times are based on certain criteria like crowd levels, time of day, popularity of the ride. Or maybe it's just random depending on how many people are requesting the special Fast Passes that day. In the case with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, I was able to ride the attraction 3 times by skipping the stand-by line. When an attraction had no special accommodation for people in wheelchairs, I would just get a regular, computer-issue Fast Pass if they were available. 

For the 5 days I was touring Disneyland, I might have used these special Fast Passes a handful of times. Lucky for me, I was able to use the regular Fast Passes to avoid waiting in any long lines. But to know that I could avoid some major lines on the popular attractions was a great comfort and relief. Plus knowing that I was using an ECV on this trip and that it was my umpteenth visit to Disneyland, I knew this was gonna be a very low-key, non-aggressive trip. I didn't have to ride EVERY attraction on this trip, just my faves. I think I even skipped riding Toy Story Midway Mania on this trip. Actually I think I only spent one day at Disney California Adventure and the other four days at Disneyland. 

So all in all, I am very grateful that I was able to enjoy my Disneyland trip despite traveling with a walking boot and using a ECV scooter. Every day I used the scooter, I would use it to move around the parks. I actually did walk a bit, going from attraction to attraction within a certain area. Even thou I would be at the parks from opening to closing, maybe taking mid-day breaks or taking my time with my dining plans, the scooter hardly lost a charge. The scooter was always 100% charged whenever I got back on it. So if you end up with a fractured ankle and need to use a wheelchair or scooter to tour Disneyland, I highly recommend that you do. You'll be glad you did!

John

Madonna Music Monday - 09/15/2014

30 years ago this week, THIS happened on MTV...I think we all know what happened next. ENJOY!!!




John

World of Color - Disney California Adventure - May 2014

Here is video from the amazing World Of Color nighttime show at Disney California Adventure from this past May...Enjoy!!!

 

John

Palm Springs Tram Ride - 05/22/14

Taking a ride up the Palm Springs tram on a beautiful night...ENJOY!!!

 

John

Madonna Music Monday - 07/28/2014

On July 27th, 1983 the world was officially introduced to MADONNA, the artist and the debut album of the same name. In honor of that special day, let's go back to where it all started. Here is Madonna's 1st video for her debut single, Everybody. ENJOY!!!

 Madonna - Everybody (Video)

 

John

"Magical" Fireworks - Disneyland - May 2014

One of my fave things to do at any Disney Park is to watch the firework show. Here is video from my recent May 2014 trip. I truly love "Magical". This is also my 400th blog posting!!! Enjoy the video!!!

 

John

Matterhorn Bobsleds - Disneyland - May 2014

Scooter Ride to Disneyland - May 2014

Matterhorn Bobsleds - Disneyland - May 2013

Radiator Springs Racers - DCA - May 2013

Madonna Musica Miercoles - 03/26/2014

Last weekend was the 25th anniversary that Madonna's LIKE A PRAYER album was released. This incredible album is one of Madonna's best. Conceptually, musically, emotionally. There is not one false note in this collection of songs. From the power-anthem of Express Yourself, the importance of family in Keep It Together, the cheerful hope of love in Cherish, the sorrowful Promise To Try and the spirituality of the title track. This album produce six hit songs. It produce the best Madonna tour. And this album vaulted Madonna's ICON status onto another level. So let's go back in time, to the Summer of 1990 when Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour was traveling around the world. This live performance is without question in a league of its own. Here is Madonna "confessing" herself in performance. This is Like A Prayer, live in concert. Enjoy!

 Madonna - Like A Prayer (Live - Blond Ambition Tour)

 

John

New York City - 2013

New York City - 2013, a set on Flickr.

A few pics from last year's New York trip...

Magic Kingdom - Christmas Day Parade Filming - 2012

And THIS is why you should AVOID the Magic Kingdom when they are filming the Disney Park's Christmas Day Parade TV Special during the 1st weekend in December...WOW!!!!

 

John

The Jungle Cruise - Magic Kingdom - Dec 2012

Taking a ride on one of my fave Disney attractions...ENJOY!!!

 

 John

Madonna Music Monday - 02/03/2014

Okay, you knew I had to share this today. While I am fan of Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, last night's Super Bowl Half-Time Show just didn't "Do It" for me. So I had to listen/watch the GREATEST Half-Time Show ever produced. Here is Madonna doing her best at the 2012 Super Bowl. Enjoy!!!

 Madonna Super Bowl Half Time Show HD (2012)

 

John

Dumbo Ride-Thru At Night - Magic Kingdom

Time for some classic Disney fun. I personally love the Flying Dumbo ride at the Disney Parks. So imagine my joy when I heard that they would double the size of the classic ride and created a whole new themed area for Dumbo. Not only have they done an amazing job updating the ride, but one of the best aspects of the new ride is how it looks at NIGHT. So here is video of me riding Dumbo on my 2012 trip. As you can see in the video, it really is a beautiful ride at night-time. Enjoy!



John

Madonna Music Monday - 01/27/2014

What more can I say? History was made at last night's GRAMMY Awards Show. Words cannot express my feelings about this performance. It just needs to be seen, over and over again.

 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert, Trombone Shorty, Queen Latifah & Madonna performing "Same Love" at The 2014 Grammy's

 

And as a bonus, here's the original version of Madonna's powerful message. Enjoy!

 

 John

Madonna Music Monday - 01/20/2014

It's a new year. Hopefully there will be new Madonna music this year. Rumor has it that Madonna will be performing on this year's Grammies show with Beyonce. Let's see what happens. But in the meantime, here is a great cover of one of Madonna's 1st hit songs. Here is Capital Cities performing HOLIDAY during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. ENJOY!!!

Capital Cities - Holiday (LIVE) - New Year's Rockin' Eve 2014

 

 John

Festival of the Lion King - Disney's Animal Kingdom - 2010

So I guess the news coming out of Walt Disney World is that today is the last day people can attend The Festival of the Lion King at Camp Minnie-Mickey at Animal Kingdom. The show will close for a few months and move to a new theater later this year. So you if can't attend today's performances, maybe this video from 2010 will tie you over until FOTLK re-opens. ENJOY!

John