Celebrating May the Fourth with excitement over Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

The happiest May the Fourth to all my Star Wars fellows! Indeed, it's a very happy date since reservations for the upcoming Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge were officially opened a couple of days ago. This same month, the land will be opening at Disneyland for visitors to enjoy, so May will definitely be filled with Star Wars celebrations. I've already started the festivities by pulling off a "why hadn't I made this before?" Darth Maul inspired DisneyBound, like the Sith Lord I hope to become someday.

The Star Wars area at Disney's Hollywood Studios has always been one of my favorite parts of that park. So, naturally, the news of an expansion made me jump of joy... even though I must admit that I'll miss the Backlot Tour! Galaxy's Edge looks fantastic in all the photos and videos that have been released to date, and I can't wait to see it live once it fully opens. I think it's curious how Disney opted for a "reservation" method for Disneyland, but won't be having a similar procedure for Hollywood Studios. Obviously, Galaxy's Edge will be overflowing with expectant guests once it's open to the public, so controlling access to it may prove to be a nice way to improve the guests' experience once they're in.

Entering Galaxy's Edge will immerse us into the planet Batuu, which has never appeared in any of the Star Wars films before. We'll be visiting Black Spire Outpost, where we'll be able to explore around feeling like we're right in the middle of the Star Wars universe. By the way, did you know that this name comes from the fact that Batuu is known for its many spires, particularly the one where the outpost was built? It will be interesting to see the land morph and adapt itself to the twists and turns of the newest Star Wars films, since it's set within the newest sequel trilogy's time frame.

Concept art of Black Spire Outpost at Batuu. Photo from Gizmodo.com

One of the most attractive thing to see at Galaxy's Edge is the Millenium Falcon stationed at the outpost, which houses one of the new attractions: Millenium Falcon: Smuggler's Run. The other new attraction is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. An interesting aspect is that both rides will feature different versions within the same attraction, just like the latest upgrade Disney did on Star Tours. I'm quite thankful that Star Tours is also remaining untouched at Hollywood Studios.

Another thing I'm really excited about is all the new merchandise, food and drinks that will be offered within Galaxy's Edge. There will be four food stands and one cantina, with so many exclusive things on the menu that you'll need to come back several times to try everything. I'm especially intrigued by the fried Endorian tip-yip and the carbon freeze drink. Of course, the classic blue milk and its newest spin -green milk- are also on my list. On the other hand, there will also be nine new shops where you can buy different types of items including plushies, t-shirts, creature replicas, action figures, robes, accessories, home decor, lightsabers and much more.

Photos of merchandise, shops and attractions at Galaxy's Edge. Photos from Gizmodo.com

Speaking of lightsabers, it's been so cool to see people building their own lightsaber at the small station in Star Tour's exit shop through the past years; but it will be even cooler to have Savi's Workshop. This will provide visitors with a unique experience to "professionally" build their own lightsaber based on one of four disciplines and a kyber crystal (or lightsaber crystal) that each guest must choose from. A similar shop called Droid Depot will invite guests to create their own radio controlled droid, whether it's an R or BB series robot.

I'm more than positive that with all these new additions we'll be seeing much more of the Rebellion, the First Order, the Jedi force and the dark side, as the storylines keep developing through time and alongside the movies and other parts of the Star Wars franchise. We'll get the chance to feel like we're truly inside the Star Wars universe; eating, walking and breathing like Batuu citizens or even as galactic passersby. 

On the whole, I think of Galaxy's Edge as the perfect addition us, Star Wars and Disney Park fans, didn't know we needed. All that's left is to experience it ourselves. Unfortunately, my husband and I won't be able to make it to the parks this year, but we're definitely planning to travel to Disney World next year and hit up Hollywood Studios for a good dose of Star Wars at Galaxy's Edge. By the way, hopefully, when the crowds are not as crazy (as I'm sure they will be starting on May 31 and August 29 respectively)!

What are you most excited about? Leave a comment below!

I'll be posting more pictures (and a cool video) on my Instagram account, so feel free to follow me on social media for more content! 

March DisneyBound Challenge 2019 outfit summary

It's THAT time of the year again! March flew by so fast that the only thing I actually remember doing is bounding through the whole month. I must confess this year's DisneyBound challenge caught me off guard (just like last year), except that this time I had the experience of the past DBC and the Fall Into Disney Style challenge from October. Phew! Here's a good summary of what went down last month.

Definitely, participating in your first DisneyBound Challenge is both exhilarating and scary, especially if you've rarely (or never) done it before because you just don't know where to begin, how to organize yourself and how to align your expectations. All you want to do is start channeling your favorite characters and showing your best Disney side, which is exactly the point of Disneybounding. However, the more you do it and participate in these long-term events, the better you get at planning your outfits and photos ahead of time, which ultimately plays in your favor. By the way, you can read my summary about last year's DBC right here!

I've been seeing plenty of dear Disneybounders out there who are naturals at recreating characters, attractions, snacks and even obscure items from Disney films. The dedication that goes into every post is incredible! That's why one of the best parts of DisneyBounding is discovering amazing fellows who share your passion, and interacting with them thanks to our strong feelings for Disney. I feel overjoyed and inspired by everyone sharing their best outfits prepared with all their love, creativity and Disney flare. It's 31 days of friendship, fashion, magic... and a little madness.

This year I felt quite proud of my Disneybounds, especially since eight of them were featured on the official Disneybound's Instagram stories. (Yay me!) The DBC included some new themes like DuckTales, Mary Poppins Returns, 80s styles, Kim Possible and Meet the Robinsons, as well as other recurring topics from last year such as sidekicks, Marvel and characters who are/wear green.  People usually find at least a couple of prompts to be particularly challenging, but the good news is that there's always a way around them: all it takes is thinking outside the box (or closet), or skipping/swapping it for another. Either way, it's all about the fun, just as each year more and more people jump in the DisneyBound fun-wagon.

As a fun fact, the Instagram hashtags #DisneyBoundChallenge and #MarchDisneyboundChallenge escalated to over 46,000 and 21,000 posts respectively this March. I strongly encourage you to follow these hashtags to check out all the amazing Disney-inspired attire put together by everyone who partook in this event. Plus, if you haven't already, you must take a good look at the holy grail and sparkler of this trend: @TheDisneybound

I also want to dedicate this tiny space to make a shout out to some of my favorite March outfits by fabulous DisneyBounders, several of which I also have the privilege of calling my friends. Make sure to check them out!

1. @allthingsbritneylee 's Giselle 2. @dislifeofaya 's Morph 3. @dapperonthedaily 's Mama Odie 4. @sarawtsumtsum 's Judy Hopps 5. @ashleyromantic 's Bo Peep and Woody 

6. @daily.disney.dreaming 's Rapunzel 7. @ambiguousleahcosplay 's Ariel 8. @disroebounder 's Kida 9. @krazykellpics 's Haunted Mansion 10. @didney_magic 's Purple wall 

11. @yay.ima.llama.again 's Tamatoa 12. @quirkychrissy 's Flounder 13. @bryanagriffith 's Dot 14. @kati.nanna.bonana 's Huey, Dewey and Louie 15. @the_littlest_pan 's Hit Cat 

16. @whimsical_lindsical 's Georgette 17. @pixiedustedprincess 's Dr. Delbert Doppler 18. @chim_chim_caity 's Ray 19. @camillakari 's Elastigirl and Jack Jack 20. @shellygram87 's Jane

It was an absolute honor flooding the Instagram feed with Disney fashion all through March alongside these and so many other fantastic DisneyBounders! We'll just have to wait and see what next year's challenge holds for us, while we DisneyBound our way through life. By the way, don't forget to see my wacky #DisneyboundBloopers right there on Instagram. We like to show our fails in the process of taking great pictures! If you liked what you saw, please follow my Instagram account @edu_and_joy to check out all my DisneyBounds and other shenanigans.

Keep an eye out for upcoming posts! 

March DisneyBound Challenge 2018 outfit summary

It's obvious that this year has been slow for me in terms of blog writing. Only one post in three whole months! However, I must highlight that I've been a little busy planning a new project that you'll likely discover soon enough. But, I really didn't want March to go by unnoticed because of the wonderful experience in which I took part during the last 31 days.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you've probably already noticed that every single day of March I have posted a Disney-inspired outfit portraying a Disney character, item or park. What you may not know is that every year the fabulous Leslie Kay promotes the March DisneyBound Challenge from her well-known @TheDisneybound Instagram account and her DisneyBound Tumblr. Following the hashtag #DisneyBoundChallenge you will find quite a fashionable flood of Disney-inspired ensembles from hundreds of Disney fans from all around the world.

The trick about the DisneyBound Challenge -it is a challenge, after all- is that you must follow a pre-determined theme for each day of the month. This year some of the topics included movies like The Little Mermaid, A Wrinkle in Time, and Cinderella; characters like princes, sidekicks and villains; and even some other themes like rule breakers, 90s styles and park attractions.

According to @TheDisneybound, this year's challenge doubled the amount of Instagram posts using #DisneyboundChallenge, going from less than 14,000 images before the challenge started to an overwhelming post count of almost 29,000. This implies there's a flowing river of Disney-inspired outfits to admire and take inspiration from. What I liked the most about this challenge was seeing all the different styles, combinations and creative views within the Disney community. Everyone comes together, free to use their imagination and express their personality, thanks to a conjoined love and admiration for the happiest place on Earth and everything around it.

In the photos above you can see my 31 bounds for the month. It was so fun to participate in this year's #DisneyboundChallenge, but it was also a daring task to keep up with the challenge every day. I'm also really glad about taking the decision of changing my backdrops after the first four DisneyBounds that I posted. The extra effort of finding locations was really worth it! Feel free to visit my Instagram account @edu_and_joy to check out all my March bounds and some older Disney outfits from past months.

Remember to follow me on social media to get all my new posts! 

Hawaiian Tiki Masks and Door Decor

Since I'm very much in love with Hawaiian stuff, I've been creating Hawaiian-themed decorations for my room, one of which is a set of four papier-maché Tiki masks and a bedroom door guardian. My inspiration for these Tiki gods comes from the ones featured in Disneyland's "Enchanted Tiki Room".

Meet Disneyland's Tiki gods!

I chose to make Tangaroa, father of all Tiki gods, large enough to fit my door… Similar to the doors featured in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas when Jack walks into the woods and stumbles upon the different holiday doors. Then I picked four of the other gods to hang masks of their faces in each of my closet doors. Pele, Hina Kaluua, Ngendei and Tangaroa Ru were the chosen ones.

All of the masks and the door decor are made out of papier-maché with a cardboard base. First I traced and cut each of the silhouettes out of a sturdy cardboard. Then I rolled and flattened 2-3 centimeter newspaper tubes of several lengths. I taped them accordingly in order to create the base forms for the facial features and the face edges. Later the papier-maché magic started, glueing lots of newspaper and toilet paper strips to make the Tiki form. After covering all the needed parts, the Tiki gods were let to dry for a couple of days.

Once dry, the painting process began. I chose several colors and alternated them between the masks. I followed some of Disneyland's colors such as the pink and purple lanterns that hang from Tangaroa. After the paint dried I added a special detail with neon glow paint on the masks' eyes. Then I hung them on the closet with yarn and attached the door decoration using four thumbtacks.

Now you can make your own Enchanted Tiki Garden in an easy and simple way!