MUST WATCH: Beauty and the Beast: The Original Broadway Musical Spectacular

Tale as old as time. True as it can be. Barely even friends, when somebody bends, unexpectedly… Yes, we’ll get to hear that song again LIVE next year here in Manila.

As a Disney kid, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the announcement that the Beauty and the Beast production included Manila as one of its stops. I-just-have-to-watch-this! I missed Phantom of the Opera before so there is NO WAY I will miss this one.

I am excited to see how they will recreate the whole cast, from Chip, Mrs. Potts, Lumière (and Fifi), Cogsworth, and of course the Beast. I bet the scene where Belle enters the ballroom wearing her yellow gown will be magical.

Prices though are quite steep.

Price Zone 1       PHP8,337.12

Price Zone 2       PHP7,228.32

Price Zone 3       PHP6,114.24

Price Zone 4       PHP5,005.44

Price Zone 5       PHP4,445.76

Price Zone 6       PHP3,336.96

Price Zone 7       PHP2,222.88

But I’m sure that this is WORTH EVERY PENNY. As a production that has been around for 20 years, I’m 100% sure that this is one play you should not miss.

So book now and see you next year! :)

Beauty and the Beast: The Original Broadway Musical Spectacular will be staged at the CCP Main Theater from January 8-25, 2015. For tickets, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.

I'M IN LOVE: Disneyland California

I have this weird plan of crying as soon as I hear the Disney hymn while watching the fireworks go off over the Disney castle. I find it… romantic in a kiddie way. Okay fine, that’s a bit confusing. I wasn’t able to experience it when I went to Disneyworld, Florida last year as I was stuck inside a ride waiting in line. I wanted to strangle my (lovable) sister that night. But an unexpected opportunity came in when K, who happens to be an artist working for Disney offered FREE tickets to Disneyland, California.  

Hello, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and everyone! *ahihihihi*

We planned on leaving early so that we get to avoid the crazy lines but we ended up arriving around 12 noon.

We first went to the place where we could reserve tickets for the Aladdin show and headed straight to Disneyland’s newest attraction, Cars!

We waited for two hours for this ride but it was worth it! The ride was awesome as we get to feel like we were part of the movie. We passed by the different stores in Route 66 and the end of the ride was the best as there was a race between two cars! Woohoo!

We were famished after the long wait so we stopped by a restaurant around the Cars area and I had the NY Strip Loin ($11.99) while N ordered the Pork Loin ($11.49).

2011: A Gluttonous Year

Disclaimer: Yet another random blog but is surely something from the bottom of my heart (and tummy).

I can’t believe that today is the end of 2011 and awesome 2012 will begin. So many things happened to me this year and I do not regret any of it. I have experienced a lot and visited so many different places this year and met awesome people who are as passionate as I am when it comes to food and exploring Manila.

To end the year, I’d like to highlight some things that made this year extra special.

Intramuros

Oh how I love this place! The Old Manila feel plus the numerous kalesa makes this place an ideal dating and hangout place for me. I remember touring a not-so tourist here and I was the one who ended up enjoying it more. It was like a blast from the past. Educational, fun and truly memorable.

Binondo

I have mentioned before that I have never been to Binondo till June 19, 2011. It was a rainy, rather, stormy day when we decided to explore Binondo in search for some warm soup. We went to Ying-Ying, a popular Chinese (well, almost every food establishment there is Chinese) restaurant in Chinatown. The congee was bland but the experience was… delicious. (Okay, perhaps that sounded a bit wrong.) Now I always find myself in Binondo searching for food; may it be exotic dishes like Soup #5 or ice cream from the Chinese supermarket or the got-almost-everything Korean mart. Plus, this was the place where I got my first kalesa ride!!!

All Tangled up!

As a fan (and stalker) of animated films, I got super excited when I saw the trailer of the movie Tangled. A twisted tale about the beloved story about a girl with long golden hair stuck in a tower who was saved by a thief. (DYK: The real version is not very child appropriate. It was pretty gruesome.)  

After watching the film, I was pretty happy. The movie did not disappoint me. It had a nice plot and the characters were well-thought.  I love it when Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel that she loves her dearly. Here’s the exchange of lines:

Mother Gothel: I love you

Rapunzel: I love you more

Mother Gothel: I love you most

(Me: crying)

It was so refreshing to see the villain to have a soft side. I felt Gothel’s concern to be not totally because of her fear to get old. It would seem that she also did loved Rapunzel. She even agreed to go out and travel for days just to get Rapunzel’s “request” for her birthday. Also, if Gothel only wanted Rapunzel for her hair, then when she confronted Rapunzel about escaping the tower and traveling with Flynn, she should have forced Rapunzel to go with her. But she was hurt. As a mother, she was in pain and she wanted Rapunzel to see her mistake on her own (with the help of the two thugs Gothel hired). Okay, I am a bit confused now. But I still love how they developed the character of Gothel. I felt so bad when she had to be her mean self again. (Yes, I will not put another spoiler. Don’t worry.)  

On the other hand, if there is one thing that I did not like that much, it must be the fight between Flynn Ryder (spoiler alert: which is not his real name) and Maximus (the horse). I am not really that fond of animals acting like humans when there are human characters.

I look forward to other projects. I will forever be a Disney kid. J  

Verdict: 8/10