Author Archives: Angela Shambeda

About Angela Shambeda

Angela lives in southern Maryland with her husband and three rescue pets. She often talks her poor husband's ear off about various topics, including Disney, so she's excited to share her thoughts and passions with you.

Most Popular Pet Names of 2012

One thing we see a lot of this time of year is lists of baby names: the top baby names for the year, and names that are projected to be popular in the coming year.  What we don’t expect to see are studies of a different sort of name: dog names.  But that’s just what MSN did, compiling a list of the top puppy names for 2012. A familiar name tops the list: Bella.  It’s been a popular female dog name since 2006, thanks to the “Twilight” craze.  I can attest to that; Chihiro was originally named Bella when we … Continue reading →

Disney Movies Now Available on Netflix Streaming

Having a hard time finding some of Disney’s older films to watch?  Don’t like the crowds at theaters, but don’t want to have to pay to buy a new Disney DVD when it’s released?  Then you should love the news that broke last week: according to the LA Times, Disney and Netflix just reached a deal that will give the online rental and streaming site exclusive rights to Disney films.  The deal takes effect in 2016, at which point Netflix will be able to stream any new films under the Walt Disney Corp. umbrella –which includes Marvel and Star Wars … Continue reading →

Learning Marriage from Your Parents

I was raised with somewhat progressive views on marriage.  It feels strange to even be typing that, and it’s certainly nothing I ever thought growing up.  I know that on the overall spectrum of views on marriage, the ideals with which I was raised would only be in the middle, and probably closer to the conservative side of the middle.  But it’s still so surprising to me how many people aren’t even that far. I’ve already shared my story about my college roommate.   The reason she and her boyfriend didn’t talk for years about division of labor in the household, … Continue reading →

Koshik the Talking Elephant

Could our next best friend be an elephant?  Maybe not for most of us here stateside, where we’re not exactly equipped to properly look after pachyderms.  But the news out of a zoo in South Korea, reported by BBC News, shows that an elephant has entered the next stage of the human-animal bond: talking. Before now, the only animals we could conceive of really being able to replicate our speech were parrots.  Now elephants are joining the list.  Koshik is a 12-year-old Asian elephant that lives at a zoo in South Korea.  When he started making sounds that his keepers thought … Continue reading →

Finding Fantasyland Website Mini-Game

Now that Fantasyland is about to debut, I received an email in my Inbox: an invitation to take a Hero’s Journey to discover the new Fantasyland.  This was per my sign up from the New Fantasyland website. Taking the Hero’s Journey doesn’t tell us a lot about the new Fantasyland, but it’s a cute story nonetheless.  Visiting the site sucks guests into the story, telling about how the villains came to Fantasyland, stole powerful talismans, and obscured them with their magic (which just so happens to take the shape of a big puffy purple mist, just like in Disney-ABC’s “Once … Continue reading →

Destination Weddings: Do or Don’t?

Writing about Disney Cruise Weddings/Vow Ceremonies made me think about destination weddings.  Given that I wanted my wedding to be as small and simple as possible, it’s difficult for me to relate to those interested in having a destination wedding. For me, the concept only seems to make sense if the bride or the groom actually hails from the area in which they’re getting married.  Maybe he or she was born abroad, or on the other side of the country.  It’s one thing to ask your guests to spend a lot on travel expenses just because you want to get … Continue reading →

A Year in Disney Fandom: D23 Events for 2013

Any D23 members wondering what will be on the official Disney Fan Club’s schedule for 2013 don’t need to wait any longer.  The official D23 website and the official Disney Parks blog have both posted announcements of the fan club’s 2013 events. The most exciting news to come out of D23 for 2013 is the announcement of a second year of Fanniversary.  The event, which is open to the public (but D23 members get first registration), is a must-attend celebration for any Disney fans.  It’s hours spent reveling in the best of Disney movies, history, park attractions, and more.  Special … Continue reading →

What Are Disney Alliances?

Note the outside corporate sponsorship listed on the sign Browsing through my Facebook one day I saw an advertisement on the side, for the official Disney Alliance Facebook page. I’ll let the Facebook page speak for itself, pulling its description from under the “About” heading: “Welcome to the official Facebook Page of Disney Corporate Alliances! Learn about the latest news, promotions, and experiences our Alliance Partners help create across Disney Parks and The Walt Disney Company.” Basically, Disney Alliances, and all of its related websites (though so far that just seems to be Facebook and Twitter), are just there to … Continue reading →

Married at Sea: Disney Cruise Weddings

I’ve never written much about a Disney wedding, which is strange because I’m a blogger both for our Disney and our Marriage categories. But if you read my marriage blogs you know that I’m not a fan of big, fancy weddings, and a Disney wedding would certainly be that. Previous Disney bloggers have written a lot on the topic, so I didn’t have anything new to offer. Until now. I just learned that the Disney Cruise line offers wedding and vow renewal packages. I’m always up for writing about a new Disney thing I didn’t know existed, and we’ve never … Continue reading →

Considering Your Spouse’s Point of View

The difference between knowing and really knowing, or feeling, something is amazing. I’m the first person to tell others that a key to any relationship, but especially a marriage, is trying to think from the other person’s point of view. It’s absolutely essential in a marriage, because we are spending the rest of our lives living with this person. The more we try to understand how our spouse thinks, the better off we’ll be. I know this, and yet it’s so hard for me to act on it. For example: once in a while my husband has to work the … Continue reading →