Why I Oughta...

Add another 'streetmosphere' character to the list of folks that we've met at the Disney Parks over the years.  Today's post is about Donna Linn De Larria - one of the "Citizens of Buena Vista Street" in Disney California Adventure. She's a lot like the "Citizens of Hollywood" that greet guests at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida, but she's in California.  We met Donna and her dog Lady one morning on our recent visit.  MousePlanet has the full list and details of the Citizens of Buena Vista Street here .  From their notes about Donna , we find out that she's the 'unofficial mayor'.  From MousePlanet  and their post about all the 'Citizens ': Donna is the unofficial mayor of Buena Vista St.. You usually see her with her dog, Lady. The kids love to meet the dog and pet her of course. She is happy to give you directions to any attractions. She is also happy that women just got the vote and has no plans on...

We were at Hollywood Studios recently and it was very busy.  Very busy. That's fine with us because we don't spend all day in the parks, but it also means that the operations at the Parks pull out some of their lesser-used entertainment options.  In Hollywood Studios, that mean that we saw some of the "Citizens of Hollywood" .  On my way to the bathroom down by Tower of Terror, I saw this guy standing on the curb reading the newspaper (The Hollywood Star, btw).   Turns out, it was Jack Diamond - the talent agent .   He's not on Main Street USA, but I'm still counting him as one of the characters we've come across.  Here's the rest of the list from WDW: Honorable Christopher George Weaver , Mayor of Main Street USA Scoop Sanderson , Main Street Gazette Reporter, Town Councilman and Pin-thusiast Chief Smokey Miller , Chief of the Main Street Volunteer Fire Department, Mayor George Weaver's “right-hand man” Ms. Hildegard Olivia Hardi...

On the left is Chief Smokey Miller and on the far right is Victoria Trumpetto - both of whom I've posted about already.  But, right next to me is a new one:  Beatrice Starr.  We met her on the same day earlier this year.  According to the DisneyParks Blog, she runs the theatre program around Main Street USA: Miss Beatrice Starr is better known as “Bea” (pronounced Be-uh), and is the Chairman of The Main Street Thespian Society. She signed one of the girl's books, too! So, that now makes Honorable Christopher George Weaver , Mayor of Main Street USA Scoop Sanderson , Main Street Gazette Reporter, Town Councilman and Pin-thusiast Chief Smokey Miller , Chief of the Main Street Volunteer Fire Department, Mayor George Weaver's “right-hand man” Ms. Hildegard Olivia Harding , socialite and suffragette, President of the Main Street Social Society, Women’s Auxiliary and Decorating Committee, and owner of the Emporium Victoria Trumpetto, the Main Street C...

Back a week or so ago, I posted a picture of Nat with Ms. Hildegard Olivia Harding - the latest of the Citizens of Main Street USA and that brought our catalog up to four including her and  the Mayor , the reporter and the Fire Chief . Today, that's me and Victoria Trumpetto, Main Street Choir Director.   When we talked to her, she said she ran the singing lessons store on Main Street - where, if you listen closely, you can hear someone doing their vocal scales .  She was lovely and had a few good lines tee'd up to use on all of us.  Maybe not as strong as the Mayor, but she gave us plenty of her time.   She now makes five on the Characters of Main Street USA down at Walt Disney World.  There's one more coming that we took a picture with that I'll post later this week.  

Adding another resident of Main Street USA to our list of meeting with this photo of Nat and two ladies.  I'll post and talk about the woman on the right in a different post, but let's talk about the woman on the left:  Ms. Hildegard Olivia Harding. From the Disney Parks Blog : Miss Hildegard Olivia Harding is a socialite and suffragette, President of the Main Street Social Society, Women’s Auxiliary and Decorating Committee, and works diligently with the women, educating them on Women’s Rights (as her friend Taby says “Those who don’t believe in Women’s Rights should watch out for Women’s Lefts.”). Hildegard’s finger is in every pie, especially chocolate. “One can never have enough chocolate!” Miss Harding owns the Emporium and has an apartment upstairs where she throws lavish functions, often serving her specialty- calamari scones. Look at that "Women Unite" sash she's wearing!  Couldn't be a more perfect meeting for Natalie and these ladies right ...

Disney has added a few new 'princesses' (although...I'm not sure who, exactly *is* a princess these days because my Mother-in-law just informed me that Elsa from Frozen isn't a Princess.  She's a Queen, so maybe that's why?) recently including this one above named Elena of Avalor who lives in the world of Sophia the First.  The girls love Sophia, so it was a great treat to meet this one at the backdoor of Epcot Center down at Walt Disney World.  She was hanging out right past the bridge between the France and United Kingdom Pavilions and had basically no line. And this princess?  She.was.really.great!  Had it all down. Nat and I both think that because she was in such a low-profile location with very little traffic (she had NO LINE!), that maybe this was a Princess-in-Training?  If she was, she'll graduate VERY FAST because she handled the girls quite well. Not sure how long she's destined to be around, but if you can catch her, it's wort...