 Vote to help my dream come true. You can vote ONCE A DAY EVERYDAY until 11:59pm 11th Jan 2012 |
For those of you who don't know me here is a quick info hit about my life and Disney journey so far:
I was born with Disney way back in 1984 and having American relatives was a huge bonus, I remember my grandfather going out there to visit and bringing me back all kinds of amazing things from Walt Disney World in Florida. The little Mermaid was my 1st great Disney love and Ariel is firm favourite as my Disney Princess of choice and inspired my love of swimming from a very early age. I remember saving up my pocket money for months and months to purchase the VHS having seen it previously in the cinema which at 5 years old was quite an achievement. 22 years later and I still have the VHS in mint condition... well the box at least, I must have played the tape a million times so I guess that is probably a bit shaky by today's standards!
I am lucky enough to have an artistic mother and have picked up her talent for drawing and I have spent years drawing the Disney character some more successfully then others! (Every time we hit a Disney park and there is animation class going mum and I just have to take part!) Some of my Disney art still exists online this was done a few years ago in my water colour phase.
When studying to pass my 11+ (an exam english children take to get in to grammar school) my parent promised if I passed we'd go to Disney World. I worked extra hard so I could finally visit the place I had heard so much about. I did indeed pass but it wasn't until I was 17 that I eventually got to go, my parents kept their promise the catch in the original agreement was that they didn't say when they would take me ;) It was definitely worth the wait and words don't begin to describe how amazing it was. As part of the holiday we spent 7 days in the park and 7 days on the Disney Cruise on the Magic, it was tough trying to cram everything in and we barely scratched the surface. As we left I just knew I had to go back!
Unfortunately I had to wait 6 years (2007) to return but it was worth the wait having just finished uni a 14 day trip with Mum, Dad & Joe (my now husband) was the perfect way to celebrate and reignited my passion for the parks in a huge way. This time I was old enough to appreciate all the little design details driving my family nuts with trivia as we walked round the park with the help of my newly purchased "Pal Mickey" who still comes with us every trip. We visited again 2008 and 2009 then unfortunately my father became very ill and the wedding trip to Disney we all planned for 2010 had to be postponed. With a lot of Pixie Dust Dad made a miraculous recovery and was determined to walk me down the aisle at Disney (apparently something I had been going on about since 5 yrs old and again at 17 when I saw all the wedding transport on display at the Grand Floridian!).Planning the Disney wedding was crazy... originally we had planned it for the wedding pavilion but lots of friends and family who said they could make it were no longer able to attend for various reasons which was really sad and did hit home on the day a little more then I thought it would! Disney Fairytale Weddings were quite helpful but given the time difference etc it was hard to get hold of them or they would call at bizarre times. Then all the hidden extras we had to sort and pay for caused a few panics. But like any good fairytale it had a happy ending. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.
We got married at Luau Beach at Disney's Polynesian Resort with the Castle in the background, followed by a lovely photoshoot and the reception dinner at the Aloha Dinner show. To end the night we treated out guests to a Firework cruise and tour of the seven seas lagoon. Our skipper was great showing us some amazing things like the abandoned River Country water park which looked so eerire in the pitch black and very importantly the legendary shoe tree!
All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Disney World and go home.... where luckily the Disney Magic continued with the UK wedding reception. I really wanted my guests to experience the magic of Disney and the extra mile Disney go to make their guests feel special and from the feedback we have received I think we pulled it off despite some last minute traumas. Every table had a different theme based on a Disney movie. Each one was unique, it was so fun to watch the guests going over to the other tables to see what they looked like and was a great ice breaker getting people chatting away in no time. More on the reception and wedding another time, hope to write up a proper account of the whole thing start to finish soon.
I have been lucky enough to see Disney world, Disneyland Paris (my home away from home... home being Disney World!) and this year will travel to California to the place it all began Disneyland. I find Walt Disney a huge inspiration and his tireless effort to make things work in the face of adversity is such a valuable lesson which as a business owner I relate to greatly.
Other Disney Kez facts:
Favourite Character:
Tigger - (Due to an amusing encounter when I was 17 which I may talk about if I get to be a team member on the DisneyBrit)
Stitch - Joe's first present to me before we were going out was a large stitch plush for Valentine's day. Every year since without fail he always get's me something Stitch. So you could say he is our family favourite
Favourite Park (WDW): Hollywood Studios - This holds dear memories for mum and I and one of my favourite restaurants!
Favourtite Ride - Tower of Terror (WDW version) The imagineering of this ride is so well done it totally transports you to another... well... dimension ;)
I cosplay (japanese art of creating and wearing costumes of fictional characters) as the Disney Princesses at events for fun, for promotional purposes and for photoshoots. It is always lovely when a child (or even grown up!) comes up and interacts with me. It is so great to be able to be that princess even just for a day and bring a smile to someone's face.
I collect and trade Disney pins and more recently Disney Vinylmation as well as Disney art and books, dvds and Jim Shore figures (my most recent being musical Ariel Figurine given to me just before we left for the wedding trip which literally had me in tears)
Most of my friends think I am like a Disney Princess come to life (think Giselle from Enchanted)
Like Ariel no matter the obstacle I strive to make the impossible dream come true,
Like Belle I am strong willed and love to read,
Like Pocahontas I fight for justice and for people who are being mistreated
Like Jasmine I dream of magic carpets and exploring the world
Like Snow White I dream my prince will come... hang on I think this one can be ticked off (The ironic and apparently unplanned thing was "One Day My Prince Will Come" from Snow White was playing when Joe proposed!)
Anyway as you can see the princesses and I share a lot of great qualities and I think they are excellent role models for the young girls of today!
I think that is about it and have probably bored you with enough details but have plenty left to share if I make it through to the show and become the DisneyBrit
Please vote for me at this link http://disneybrit.com/2012/01/vote-now-for-your-disneybrit-idol/
KEZ FRANCIS is the name you are looking for, help my dream come true.
I'll leave you with a few pics of some of my fondest Disney memories
Thanks for you support and have a magical day <3 xxx
#VOTE4KEZ
