I’ve made it to number 40, and today I have another themed newsletter! I just got back from a trip to Walt Disney World, and I am in the mood to do a newsletter about everything related to Disney. So, that is precisely what I’m going to do! If you are a Disney fan (or even if you are not), I think you are going to enjoy this Disney-themed newsletter!
In this newsletter…
3 books for ALL types of Star Wars fans!
Is it the same movie, just 15 years newer?
Fun Disney mobile games that any Disney Fan will love!
I was there on the first day of EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival!
Literary Picks
3 STAR WARS BOOKS
Star Wars is one of my favorite franchises of all time, and I’m sure many people would agree. Books may not be what first comes to the mind of any Star Wars fan, but there are actually tons of Star Wars related books out there. I have three of these books, and I think any Star Wars fan would enjoy these books!
5-Minute Star Wars Stories: First off, something for the kids. This 5-Minute Star Wars Stories book has 11 Star Wars-related stories. Some of these are stories from the movies and others not. The stories are exciting and perfect to read to your young child or have your older child (probably ages 8-12) read on their own. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories because they are short, but very enjoyable! You can buy it on Amazon.
LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: I got this book a long time ago and used to love looking at it when I was younger. This book contains almost every character from the first 6 Star Wars movies, as well as the Clone Wars. It tells a little bit about the characters and shows the LEGO set in which they are featured and a bit about that LEGO set. I think this book is a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy both Star Wars and LEGO! Check it out here (this is the updated version that will include the characters from all the new movies as well).
Star Wars Encyclopedia: Now for the book for the all-out Star Wars geeks who have loved Star Wars since they were old enough to watch it. The Star Wars Encyclopedia is written by Stephen J. Sansweet and includes basically everything Star Wars related! All the characters, places, ships, creatures, planets, and everything else from the first 6 movies can be found in this encyclopedia. Obviously, I haven’t read through this whole thing, but it is fascinating to look up various things in this book and read about Star Wars related topics. Star Wars geeks and huge fans are really going to enjoy this book! You can purchase it here.
I hope that you found at least one interesting book here that you would like to check out. These books are fascinating, especially for Star Wars fans! Enjoy reading them, and may the force be with you!
Watchlist Wonders
AVATAR
Recently, I shared that I wanted to watch both of the Avatar movies, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. A few weeks ago, my family did indeed watch these two movies, and I have some thoughts I would like to share about both of them. I will talk about each of them separately before talking about the franchise collectively (and future Avatar movies).
First up, the original Avatar movie that came out in 2009 (about 14 years ago). This movie was actually really good, and I truly enjoyed it! The plot was excellent. I found myself caught up in the action and plot of the movie and sympathizing with some characters. Being someone who loves sci-fi, I was fascinated by the plot of this movie! Plus, the graphics were astonishing and way ahead of their time! The creators and cast of this movie certainly did an impressive job putting it together! It was definitely long (2hr 40min), but I don’t remember feeling like the movie dragged. Overall, it was a really great movie!
Now, the newer movie, Avatar: The Way of Water, which is the one that most of you probably want to hear my thoughts on. While I did enjoy this movie, there are two things that I didn’t really like: 1) It was too similar to the first Avatar movie and 2) It was FAR too long! Even though the plot of this movie wasn’t bad, it felt very similar to the first movie. The characters, plot, and everything else weren’t much different. It got better as the movie went on, but especially at the beginning it seemed to be the same. The second reason is that this film is extremely long! The length of the movie is 192min (3hr 12min)! This was unnecessary, and personally, I think the first hour of the movie could have been done in 20min. I felt like there were some parts in the movie that were unnecessary and didn’t need to be included to make it a great movie. Otherwise, this was a great movie!
Which Avatar movie did I like better? For me, the answer isn’t too difficult. I liked the first Avatar movie better. The second one wasn’t bad at all, but it was too similar to the first movie and also too long. I think the main aspect that makes both Avatar movies so good is the visuals. The visual effects and CGI in these movies are ahead of their time, especially in the first movie. These movies are clearly enjoyed by many people, as both of these movies are among the highest grossing films of all time! I agree with these numbers because I truly enjoy these movies, and I think they are worth watching!
One more thing: you may have noticed that in the visuals for this section I included pictures for Avatar 3, 4, and 5. Why is that? Well, the director of the Avatar movies, James Cameron, has confirmed that there will be three more Avatar movies in the installment (maybe even more). When will these hit the theaters? They are supposed to release as follows:
Avatar 3: December 20, 2024
Avatar 4: December 18, 2026
Avatar 5: December 22, 2028
Avatar 3 could come out pretty soon, since it was filmed alongside Avatar: The Way of Water. Any of these movies could be delayed, though, considering that Avatar: The Way of Water came out in December 2022, rather than the planned release date of December 2014. I’m excited to see what the rest of the Avatar franchise has to offer! Until then, you can go to Disney+ to watch the first two movies! Enjoy!
Tech Thoughts
GAMES FOR… DISNEY FANS
Normally, my readers are used to the tech thoughts section being a long boring tech rant, but today is different. Today, I’m going to talk about 4 games for Disney Fans! Three of these can be played wherever you are, but one requires you to be in the Disney Parks.
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes: This was one of my favorite games as a kid and tween! Even thinking about it now, I want to re-download it (and I might do that)! Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is basically any Star Wars fan’s dream. This game allows you to collect characters and fight in various game modes. This game includes collecting characters, upgrading them, building your squad, fighting in epic battles, and so much more! Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes has tons of different game modes including Light Side Battles, Dark Side Battles, Cantina Battles, Arena Table, Galactic Battles, Ships, Events, Challenges, Mod Battles, Guilds, and Championships. There is so much to do in this game that it will take you days on end to beat everything. I have been playing it for years and still haven’t even gotten close to unlocking everything! Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is so much fun, and I think any Star Wars fan will enjoy it! It is free to play (there are in-app purchases), and you can download it on the App Store or Google Play.
Disney Magic Kingdoms: In Disney Magic Kingdoms, you basically create your own Disney theme park with everything from rides to restaurants and so much more. As your park expands, you will earn new areas to develop, new rides that you can build, collect more characters, and more! I haven’t played this game in a long time, but thinking about it now makes me want to play it again! The only downside to this game is that it is free to download, meaning there are countless in-app purchases and ads that will frequently pop up. If I recall correctly, it is still an enjoyable game without having to purchase anything, though there will be some items you miss out on. I never spent a single penny on this game, and I still enjoyed it, so I think you can too! This app is a fun way to experience all of your favorite Disney movies, characters, and rides in a whole new way! You can download it on the App Store or Google Play.
Disney Heroes: Battle Mode: In this game, you collect different heroes and use them to battle against the villains (or other heroes) in various game modes. All of your favorite heroes are in this game: Mickey, Woody, Moana, Aladdin, Wall-E, and the list goes on and on! You can upgrade these characters and unlock new abilities to enhance your team. There are tons of fun game modes and challenges as you make your way through the game. The game is free to play, but has in-app purchases. These are still annoying, but not as annoying and pushy as Disney Magic Kingdoms’ ads. You can still play the game without making these purchases. I really enjoyed playing this game, and I think other Disney Fans will too! Check it out on the App Store or Google Play.
Bonus: Play Disney Parks: Now this game is only going to work if you are in the Disney Parks, but if you are in the parks, this game is a great way to relieve boredom while waiting in line. Play Disney Parks has tons of games that interact with the surrounding park, allowing you to play games related to the ride you are waiting for, explore the parks, and so much more! Download it on the App Store or Google Play.
Well, this rant ended up being longer than I expected, but hopefully, you found at least one interesting game that you, your child, your friend, or whoever would enjoy! I certainly enjoy these games, so I hope that you will too! Have fun!
Wild Card
EPCOT’S INTERNATIONAL FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
My family just went to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! I have briefly talked about Disney World before in a previous wild card, but over the following weeks, I’m going to talk about Disney World a little more extensively. I will be talking about everything from Food and Wine Festival to rides to the best parks and everything else in between! So, come back to this section in the coming weeks to hear more!
For this first section about Disney World, I will talk about EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival. This festival takes place once a year and lasts for a few months. During this time, there are numerous booths set up around World Showcase in EPCOT. These booths serve a few different dishes and/or various wines, representing different countries and places around the world. This year's Food and Wine Festival lasts from July 27th to November 18th. I was actually there on the first day of the festival along with all the other bloggers! While I was there, I was able to try a few of the dishes, but not any of the wine (since I’m underage). I obviously couldn’t go to every booth and try every dish, but I visited EPCOT’s Canada and France to share two dishes with my family from each of those booths. I have ranked and talked about these dishes below to give you a “taste” of what EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival has to offer:
Boeuf Bourguigon, Pommes Dauphine (France): Personally, this was my favorite dish that I tried at Food and Wine Festival. It reminded me of a beef pot roast, and a good one at that! The beef was tender, and the dish overall had a good texture and great taste! I definitely recommend!
Cheddar and Bacon Soup (Canada): I knew right when I saw this that it would be right up my alley, and sure enough, I loved this dish! It consisted of Cheddar and Bacon Soup along with a pretzel roll. The pretzel roll was pretty good, but the soup was absolutely delicious! It was creamy and had a great flavor!
Filet Mignon (Canada): This was the first dish I tried, and I thought it was delicious! In my opinion, the steak was cooked a little too well done, but that is just my preference. The potatoes on the side were pretty good, and the flavor of the steak and the mushrooms all tasted outstanding together!
Beignet aux Trois Fromages (France): Since most of you probably don’t understand French (I don’t either), I will “translate.” This was basically like a three-cheese roll. I expected it to be more like a dessert at first, but it was more of a savory dish. It was really good, but probably my “least favorite” dish I tried at Food and Wine Festival (all of them are delicious).
By now, I’ve probably made you hungry (sorry)! I had a great time trying all of these foods on the first day of Food and Wine Festival. If you are going to Disney World (specifically EPCOT) before November 18th, then you can try some of these dishes for yourself! You can learn more about EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival here. Bon appétit!
Thanks again for reading! If you know someone who loves Disney, you should definitely share this newsletter with them because I’m sure they would find it interesting!
Yep! I’m starving now! Food sounds amazing!