Theme Park Characters and Processing Death

     A couple of months ago, my dad passed away. This whole grieving process... it's rough, man! I hate the sneaky and unexpected ways grief finds to creep in and ruin things! I've realized that I haven't really found the joy in certain things that I used to find joy in. I don't look forward to anything... at all! I find myself thinking, "What's the point?" We recently booked a trip to Disney World. In the past, I would've been over the moon with excitement over this, but this time, I wasn't. What's the point?

It's been this way with drawing also. I just haven't felt like it.

     But one thing I have felt like doing is basically "cranking out" these make-believe Park Pals figurines. It's ridiculous, really. NO ONE wants this and like I said in my last post, I wouldn't even call it art. It's practically nothing and yet making them is strangely satisfying and even a little... therapeutic? 

I don't know. 

     I'm confident that I'll eventually get through this. I definitely don't grieve FOR my dad. He was a Christian, so I know he's doing better than he's ever been. Rather, I grieve for the loss of my dad. My relationship with him was a part of me and now that part of me is gone... and I can feel it. I have to get used to this new way of being and it'll take some time. I'm trying to be aware of what's going on and make a conscious effort to not shove things down, but actually talk about what I'm feeling. My AMAZING wife has been a great help with all of this! 

And during this whole process... I'm illustrating fake toys.

Disney Park Pals - The Next Wave

     This Disney Park Pals idea of mine has gone through several iterations over the years, but every so often I become reobsessed with this original concept of them being miniature die-cast figurines. Not being able to shake the thought, I took another stab at what they might look like as actual Disney parks merchandise.

     I'm pretty sure nobody is asking for this type of thing. They definitely don't want to see it as fan art. I'm not even sure I'd call it art! It's really just me (solely for my own benefit) doing my best to pretend a specific kind of toy exists when, in fact, it does not.

Enjoy?

Never Underestimate a Droid

     Recently Disney did what they call a "play test" with some new droid characters walking around Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge. I love this sort of thing and hope we'll see more of these little guys in a more official capacity. 

     To me, they're basically the Huey, Dewey & Louie (or maybe even the Flora, Fauna, & Merryweather) of the Star Wars universe and although they were only in the park for one day, I still think they deserve some fan art.

Well Serendipity Doo Da!

     For years and years, I have been wanting a meet-and-greet version of Pete in the Disney parks. The character is one of my favorites and has been around longer than Mickey himself! You can meet Oswald, the Big Bad Wolf, even Chef Louie from The Little Mermaid! Why can't we meet Pete?! I was even thinking about making a Disney Park Pals Wish List, of sorts, with him at the top of the list!

     And then, THE DAY AFTER I LEAVE DISNEYLAND, this big rascal just saunters into Toontown like he's been there all along!

Magic Happens

     I recently returned from another whirlwind trip to Disneyland. The last time I was in a Disney park was during the pandemic and the characters were a little few and far between, so it was really nice to see more of them out and about.

As great as they all were though, this guy stole the show!

Mickey's Boo To Oogie Not So Boogie Bashtacular!!

     Disney parks raised ticket prices, did away with free Fastpasses, got rid of Magical Express, Dining Plans, AND canceled the construction on that cool two-story thing in Epcot! 

But hey! The characters in the parks match the ones on all the merch, and I see that as a win.

Happy Halloween?

Did You Say 'Cheap 3D Tricks'?!

     And now a brief Park Pals tribute to the IP that I don't think gets enough love in the Disney parks... or from Disney IN GENERAL, for that matter! The Muppets!

     I’ve always kind of felt like Disney sees the Muppets as this hand-me-down toy that no one really wants to play with and will drop for the first Star War or Descendant that happens to come out the chute. Because of this mindset, (that I can’t even really explain) I used to get mild anxiety that my favorite Disney attraction, Muppet*Vision 3D, could get the axe at any moment and wouldn’t be there the next time I visited the park. When I DID visit the park, I couldn’t even really enjoy it for thinking that this could be the last time I saw it! It’s ridiculous, but it’s how I felt. 

     Then I thought of something even more ridiculous, and that’s pinning so much of my happiness on something that is 100% out of my control. My mindset turned around when I decided that I can CHOOSE to enjoy this thing while it’s here, as well as choose to be hopeful that whatever Disney eventually replaces it with is good. Maybe even better! I dunno. Change is hard, but it can be good. Don’t ruin the good times for worrying about the good times coming to an end. 

This was a lot for a post of a monster with a paddle ball.

An Earth's Mightiest Heroes Type Of Thing

 Disney's Avengers Campus has attractions but, honestly, all I want to do is meet the characters!

All Aboard The Halcyon! - Part Three

     Nothing Star Wars is complete without a third installment, and no cruise ship would be complete without musical entertainment. This post is both things.

All Aboard The Halcyon! - Part Two

Here's some more Park Pals from Disney's new Galactic Starcruiser!

Happy Star Wars Day everyone! May the Fourth be with you!

All Aboard The Halcyon! - Part One

     Walt Disney World recently opened what they're calling the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser.  This new attraction is designed to make you feel like you're on a luxury cruise ship IN THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE! It's not a typical resort... but it's not really a cruise either. It's its own brand new thing.

     Regardless of how you choose to label it, it's definitely chock-full of new characters that are just perfect for the Park Pals treatment! Here's just a few. Stick around because there's more to come.

Huzzah!

     Disneyland officially reopens today! I've been to Walt Disney World a couple of times in my life, but only once to Disneyland... well... so far! 

     While I enjoyed pretty much all the classic attractions, (Pirates of the Caribbean, it's a small world, etc.) the one that stood out as my absolute favorite was one that I don't hear talked about too often and certainly deserves a lot of praise! I'm referring to Storytelling at the Royal Theatre! For anyone who might not be aware, this attraction is located in the small Fantasy Faire section in an open air theater just to the left of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Each show is a 20 minute retelling of a famous Disney fairy tale (usually Tangled or Beauty and the Beast) but done so in fast-paced vaudeville fashion by the "loquacious lovers of legend and lore..." Well, here. I'll just show you.

     I love this thing. You go in thinking it's just a quick recap of these classics that we've all seen a million times, but then you quickly realize it's waaaay more! There's gags, live piano, gags, the kind of obscure references that make you feel good when you notice, and all performed live by a small cast of incredibly talented people several times a day! And since I like to draw the things that I love, here's some Park Pals I made for the attraction.

     I doubt that this show will be back when the park reopens, but hopefully the curtain will be going up for these versatile viscounts again... and soon!