Magic Kingdom Adventures!

Over my spring break, I had the chance to visit Magic Kingdom with my roommates. While there, we were able to check out all the new areas and attractions in New Fantasyland as well as get a sneak peak into the construction of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction coming in 2014. I have a lot of photos to share, so I thought I would dedicate this blog post to my adventures at Magic Kingdom!

As soon as we pulled into the parking lot (we parked in the Heroes section-Aladdin) we made our way to buy our one day tickets, and from there, we climbed aboard the Monorail to take us to the happiest place on Earth! When we first walked into the park, I went straight for the statue of Goofy on the bench next to the Town Square Theatre to take a picture (seen below).

As I was taking this picture, I noticed a small group of people standing in line next to the hat store on Main Street. When I focused in on the group of people, I realized they were waiting to meet none other than Mary Poppins and two penguins! Mary Poppins is probably one of my top ten favorite Disney characters, so I couldn't go without taking a picture with her! She was practically perfect, in every way!

After posing for a picture with Mary, we went straight back to New Fantasyland where we got in line for Enchanted Tales with Belle (we only waited about 15 minutes!). This attraction allows guests to reenact the day Belle and the Beast fell in love. Once we got into the actual room where the roles are given out, I was chosen to play the Wardrobe!

After reenacting the story of Beauty and the Beast, all of the guest actors got to take a picture with Belle! Enchanted Tales was super cute, I highly recommend this for young mouseketeers!

After meeting Belle, we went to eat at the new Be Our Guest restaurant for lunch. We got in line around 10:15am (they open at 10:30) and we made it inside to eat around 10:45. This dining experience was amazing. I felt like I was in the Beast's castle the moment I stepped inside. Disney really hit the target with Be Our Guest. We ordered our food, received our "roses," and chose to eat our lunch in the grand ballroom. Guests can also dine in the West Wing or the Rose Garden. The ballroom was simply stunning, with intricate chandeliers hanging from beautifully painted ceilings, just like in the movie. The next time you're in Magic Kingdom, make sure to go to Be Our Guest. You won't regret it!

The rest of the day was full of character meet and greets, classic attractions, and delicious snacks!  

Ariel sporting her feet :)

Dumbo!

Dole Whip-the best snack EVER!

My favorite part of the day was meeting Merida from Disney/Pixar's Brave. Her accent was great!

We ended the day with the Main Street Electrical parade and Wishes Nighttime Spectacular, making our day truly magical!

Take a peek at all the new Disney goodies I bought while there!

I LOVE the Orange Bird! :)

When was your last trip to Disney? Feel free to share your own Disney experiences or ask any questions you have about Disney by leaving a comment below! 

Thanks for reading about my Magic Kingdom adventures and have a magical day!

Privacy, Ethics, and Legalities

Social media has changed the ways in which we communicate with people everywhere. What used to be a telephone conversation has turned into commenting on a status update on Facebook or replying to a tweet. Information can be easily shared with just the click of a button. The only problem is once you click that button, whatever you've posted is now open for all those in the web-o-sphere to see…for good.

Online privacy is a controversial issue these days, especially dealing with advertising companies gaining access to different websites’ databases. Advertisers then use the information from the databases to strategize and focus their ads toward a specific target audience.Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is, but there are some people out there who think this sort of practice is positively blasphemous. For this reason, it is important to know that once you place information online, that information automatically has a chance of being taken and used by someone else for some kind of purpose such as advertising.

Another issue we face with social media is ethics. More people who are actively involved with social media believe questionable behaviors, such as commenting negatively about their company on social media sites, are acceptable. As social media becomes more and more important in our culture, it is necessary to be aware of ethical pitfalls and how to avoid them. Here are a few tips to help you stay as ethical as possible:

·        Always be honest and transparent. If you are hiding any kind of information, it reflects poorly on your character.

·        Know exactly how to portray yourself or your company through social media. Your online personality is often viewed as your physical personality, so make sure not to post anything questionable.

·        Make sure all of the information you present online is accurate and correct. Be careful of potential legal issues such as defamation.

Legal issues are also important to note when discussing social media. There are hundreds of social media lawsuits settled in court yearly. And let’s not forget about the out of court settlements. MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter are a few social media companies who have gotten into legal trouble repeatedly. Here are a few things to do in order to stay aware of social media legal issues:

·        Draw a bold and distinct line between personal and professional accounts. Don’t mix the two.

·        Know the social media policies and keep up with them if/when they change.

·        Be privy to the knowledge of legal issues and how to use technologies. Knowing what you’re up against is imperative in being social media savvy.

I hope these tips will help you understand social media better and allow you to become more knowledgeable on social media privacy and ethics. Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Blog Beginnings and Gorgeous George

     Hello blog-o-sphere! Allow me to introduce myself… My name is Caitlin Brooks and I’m currently a sophomore student at the University of Louisville. I am majoring in Communications and focusing my classes around public relations and social media in the hopes of becoming a strategic communicator for a large company in the future.  I grew up in the small town of Maysville, KY, so living in Louisville is a drastic change for me. Although many of my high school classmates (and even myself at times) complain about our hometown being the most boring, Mayberry-esque place on this side of the Mason-Dixon line, Maysville is actually a pretty neat and historic place. In fact, Maysville is the hometown of the following people:

1.  Rosemary Clooney (her debut film “The Stars Are Singing” premiered at the Russell Theatre in downtown Maysville)
2.   Darius Miller (former UK basketball player and currently playing for the Iowa Energy)
3. Chris Lofton (former University of Tennessee basketball player and current professional basketball player)
4. Heather French Henry (Miss America 2000).

  Sure, the only thing to do in Maysville is to stay home or go to the run-down four cinema movie theater. But, Maysville is an important part of me and has shaped my personality and who I am today. And did I mention George Clooney (Rosemary’s nephew) and Renée Zellweger came to Maysville to premiere their movie “Leatherheads”? Yep, that happened.

Click the following link to check out People.com’s article on the Leatherheads premiere. http://img2-2.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/news/080407/george_clooney.jpg

   
 Being raised in a small town has made me thirst for knowledge from bigger places…like Hollywood and New York. I love popular culture, and I credit that to my hometown. My love for popular culture is what got me interested in communications in particular. Remember earlier when I said I hoped to work for a large company as a strategic communicator? Well, the company I have in mind is The Walt Disney Company. You guessed it; my ultimate dream and goal in life is to work for “The Mouse” himself. Disney has always been a big part of my life and has given my family and me so many happy and magical memories; I hope to be a part of the company who creates happiness for people all over the world like it’s nobody’s business.

   
 Since this is my first blog, I should set a few goals to help myself stay focused and organized. My goals for this blog are pretty simple:

1.       Write about topics such as social media and public relations as well as other interesting topics like Disney, animation, theme parks, etc.    

2.       Keep up with the blog throughout the remainder of my college experience and beyond! (Buzz Lightyear voice).

3.       Keep my readers interested!

   
 So now that you know a little bit about me and what this blog will be like, I’d like to hear from you! Feel free to post comments and ask me questions about social media, UofL, Disney, etc. I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here at my blog!

   
 Have a magical day!