Today is the 30th Anniversary of Beauty and the Beast!!!
This is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies. I remember how much I loved it as a kid, and I still do. Jeremy and I enjoyed watching it so much when it came out. I was mesmerized by the animation, music and story. I remember singing the songs over and over again. Honestly, it's also probably one of the reasons that I wanted to take French when I was in high school and had to pick a foreign language.
One Christmas, Mom and Dad bought Jeremy and I the Beauty and the Beast Barbie dolls. Belle came with her blue town dress as well as her yellow ballgown. Jeremy got the Beast doll with was able to switch between being him and the Prince. To this day, I still have those dolls and I cherish them.
Speaking of dolls, one of my favorite dolls is my Belle Enchanted Christmas doll that I got as a child. Jeremy and I loved the Beauty and the Beast Christmas movie when it came out. I was so in love with Belle's holiday gown and the deep velvet burgundy color. Even now, it's one of my favorite Disney Princess gowns.
As I got older, Disney started to put movies in the "vault". Unfortunately, we didn't have a copy of the movie when that happened and I was desperate to get one for what felt like forever. I remember looking in stores everywhere trying to find it. I was so excited when I stumbled across it one day in the grocery store. (Ahh... the days when you had to rent movies or own a VHS tape in order to watch them!)
At Disney Parks, I was always a huge fan of the Beauty and the Beast stage show. I loved the colorful costumes and the fun show. The "Be Our Guest" number was my favorite, with the bright colorful costumes, dancing silverware and larger than life enchanted objects. To this day, the hot pink dresses in the final number are one of my favorite cast member costumes. I always wanted one of those hot pink dresses!
When I was in college, I used to go to New York City once a year for our media conference for newspaper and yearbook. During one of those trips, I went to my first NYC Broadway show and it was, you guessed it, Beauty and the Beast. I loved it so much; the entire experience was incredible. I loved the show, the stage, music, the cast. I bought the CD and played it over and over again. It was always one of my favorites to play on the long drive from Boston to Trenton.
When Eliot and I honeymooned at Walt Disney World, one of the highlights of our trip was going to the new Be Our Guest restaurant at the Magic Kingdom. The new part of Fantasyland had just opened a few months prior and we were able to get in one afternoon for lunch. We took so many pictures. The food wasn't exactly our favorite, but the experience was worth it. The interior of the restaurant was stunning and this interior designer was seriously impressed.
I was so excited when I found out that Disney was doing a live action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Some people hate the remakes, but I've always enjoyed them. After being really impressed with the live action Cinderella movie, I couldn't wait to go see Beauty and the Beast. Plus, I always enjoyed Emma Watson from all of the Harry Potter movies I'd seen through the years. I thought she was perfect as Belle. The movie completely blew me away. I loved the new story line, the cast, the music, the costumes, and the entire movie. I was obsessed with the costumes and one of my ear hats that I've kept to myself is my own version of Belle's ballgown from this movie.
As part of the hype leading up to the movie's March release, the 2017 RunDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend was themed to Beauty and the Beast. My first RunDisney finish line crossed earned me an Enchanted 10K medal with the rose featured on it. One of the photo ops at the race expo was also with the enchanted rose display like in the new live action movie!
When Disney was preparing for the movie's DVD release, they hosted a Paint Night event through Painting with a Twist. I convinced Eliot to go to our first one and I loved it. (Read more about that here.) I even got all dressed up for the occasion!
Finally, one of the most recent Beauty and the Beast memories I have is of watching the Beauty and the Beast stage show aboard the Disney Dream. They modeled the show after the new live action version and all of the characters and costumes reflect that. Eliot and I love this show so much! It's definitely a special night on the cruise!
I'd like to have a subtle Beauty and the Beast theme in our dining room. (Eliot and I have collected a few of the character sculptures for that purpose.) I have quite a bit of Beauty and the Beast clothing and accessories. I know that so many things are stuck on barges right now, but I'm sure there will be more things available as Beauty and the Beast celebrates it's 30th anniversary year! I can't wait to see it!
I have so many memories of Beauty and the Beast over the past 30 years. As you can see, it's had a big impact on me as a Disney fan, as I'm sure it will moving forward.
Happy 30th Beauty and the Beast! Thank you for enchanting us for 30 years! °o°
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