Permanecer Sentados, Por Favor
For “Throwback Thursday” this week, we decided to go WAY back to 2010!
In 2010, we got to visit Club 33 — FINALLY! We are so glad we did, looking back, because we were able to see the game room and the original entry way from when it opened. Both are now gone with last year’s refurbishment.
Take a look at our photos from that trip here. Do you have some favorite photos? Let’s seem them below!
It feel like just yesterday and 3 years ago at the same time. In reality, it’s only been about 6 months since we were at the Tokyo Disney Resort and I conclude my photo essay with the creme-de-la-creme of Disney parks: Tokyo DisneySea! You may be interested in checking out our Tokyo DisneySea episode of the Remain Seated, Please Podcast while you read along! You can also check out this video compilation I made of the footage from the park!
We took the subway to the resort that morning and figured we could walk to DisneySea in the same way we walked over to Disneyland — not the case! I guess we are so used to walking to Disneyland here in Anaheim that we take it for granted. For this park, we got to board the monorail! (for a small fee.)
Once at the park entrance, we noticed how much shorter the line to get in was. Thank goodness! We weren’t sure we could handle another day like the previous in terms of crowds. We did catch a glimpse of some more amazing kids in costumes, though!
We got in and walked quickly to the American Waterfront section of the park to get our Tower of Terror fastpasses and our dinner reservations on the SS Columbia.
We then headed to the next E-ticket attraction to stand in what we thought would be a huge line — “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” which is over at Mysterious Island — an INCREDIBLY detailed area of the park that is unlike anything else you have ever seen, I assure you!
After THAT whirlwind experience, we grabbed a bite to eat. I had heard about the Gyoza Dog, but I HAD to have one! So I did and I REALLY liked it. More of a Bao-like texture on the outside dumpling but inside was more of the Gyoza dumpling kind of texture.
Then, we headed over to the Lost River Delta to check out the Indiana Jones attraction. It was still VERY early in the day and the park was still pretty slow which was GREAT for us. I LOVED the queue for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull. The ride is very similar to the Indiana Jones attraction at Disneyland, but this queue was incredible.
Next up was Port Discovery. The aesthetic and design of this area reminded me of Discovery Land at Disneyland Resort Paris. Lots of blues and golds and a steam punk vibe. I was very interested in the Aquatopia attraction which is a trackless ride system on water. It sounds cooler than it was, but it was fun nonetheless.
We were now ready. It was time. TOWER OF TERROR! This would be the first time we had been on a Tower attraction that was not themed after The Twilight Zone and this would also mark the final Tower we needed to ride to be able to say we had ridden them all! Here’s what we saw:
It’s VERY similar to the DCA and Paris version in terms of ride experience, but the story and visuals are much different and in some ways better.
Just before lunch, we walked thru the Mediterranean Harbor area of the park and snapped some shots.
From here, we first heard Mount Prometheus erupt! We had no idea it would, but it only makes sense! Took some great video of it, too! Now, it was back to Mysterious Island to ride “Journey…” again and see what else there was to offer. Glad we went back, and it wouldn’t be our last time!
Then, it was back to Port Discovery to check out the other attraction there, StormRider! This is a mix between Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Star Tours and the queue is much better than the attraction. Still, unlike any other Disney attraction I’ve been on.
Mermaid Lagoon and Triton’s Kingdom. This is the children’s area of the park but the concept is genius — at least for Triton’s Kingdom. Think of the interactive queue for Dumbo at Magic Kingdom park at WDW on a much larger scale. It’s completely indoors and looks JUST like the Under the Sea scene in Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure Park and Magic Kingdom but you can walk around it. Many of the kiddy rides from DCA show up here but walking thru it is WELL worth it. Plus, there’s a Cirque Du Soleil-level Little Mermaid show!
The Arabian Coast was next. Had no idea what to expect here. I saw there was a magic show which we ultimately skipped due to less than stellar (literally, not facetiously), and some boat ride that sounded cool. This, however, was cool on the level of New Orleans Square at Disneyland in the sense that there were quiet areas with great detail and you could just stroll the streets of a middle-eastern street market. Very cool! And that boat ride? One of the greatest surprises of the entire two-day stay at the parks: Sinbad’s Voyage!
With a song from Alan Menken, this is the “…Small World” for today’s kids in the sense that it’s a repetitive song that’s super catchy and small animatronics telling the story. These are mostly the size and feel of the Mary Blair models in “…Small World” but with an updated look and feel. REALLY well done!
The rest of the day was re-riding things, snapping shots, and waiting for Fantasmic! You can see those photos in the gallery below. Outside of that, we did two more cool things: The Fortress Explorations section of the park at the base of Mount Prometheus and dinner and drinks aboard the Columbia!
You’ll have to forgive me for not writing down what we got. Drinks were at my favorite publicly accessible Disney lounge, The Teddy Roosevelt Lounge, aboard the SS Columbia!
And lastly, Fantasmic! This show is different from the other two versions of the show at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios at WDW. Thin Illuminations at Epcot meets the WDW version of Fantasmic! The mirror effect and dragon were the best parts of this show, for sure!
This was a huge day for us. A new Disney Park at another country. We ate a ton of popcorn and we had much fewer guests to contend with. It was a super awesome day and an incredibly beautiful park!
And now for the entire gallery! Enjoy!
It’s been a while since we did a photo blog but I have so many great pictures and videos from Tokyo Disneyland that I just had to share. Start off your journey with our latest podcast which describes the trip in great detail. Then, check out this video I cut together from the clips I shot on our first day to the resort!
And now, fill in the gaps with some of the photos from that trip. Any questions? Leave us a comment down below and I’ll do my best to answer what I can! Check back soon for our second Tokyo Disney podcast and I’ll be sure to accompany that episode with more pictures and another video.
Enjoy!
Details. Details. Details. Disneyland is all about the details. One might think when starting a project from scratch that uniformity is key to telling a narrative story. When I cut a video, I need to make sure that all the graphics flow, fonts match, sizes match and are aesthetically pleasing. The key to my work is not to be noticed. Disney took this to the next level when creating a park with many different lands, messages, and simultaneous stories.
Today, I’d like to point out the amazing signage at the park. In just under 20 minutes, I captured so many different signs in the park. From Tomorrowland restrooms to New Orleans Square, one is bombarded by messages pointing in one direction or another. These signs are so perfectly themed that one might not even notice them.
I don’t know what it is but these 19th century signs just make my day. Super simple and unique yet effective. It really matches the theme of the First Aid and Lost and Found offices over on Main Street USA which is also modeled after a late 19th century town. This sign was found in Tomorrowland but draws the connection to this particular storyline.
These restrooms look almost untouched since 1955. They’re tucked away between Innoventions, Autopia, and the Tomorrowland train station. Starting with the signage up top, I think it’s the yellowing of the plastic sign, the font size and shape as well as font color that give it away. In addition to its tucked-away nature, I like to think that this building looks just as it did when the park first opened (even though its adjacent attraction, Carousel of Progress, didn’t open until 1967.)
The lower sign suggests a future when alien and human life might live together. I particularly love the Women’s signage as the taller alien woman looks to be wearing a dress but upon further inspection, she’s got some kind of tentacle/scale motif going on. Nice touch. Even the alien language here continues the theme in a more cerebral way. By far one of my favorite park details.
Check out this Autopia sign in Tomorrowland. Complete with pistons supporting the letters and a checkered flag, one could see this sign without knowing there was a ride and “get it.” Ingenious.
There are plenty uses of this sign around the park. The first time I noticed it was on Haunted Mansion and it was pointed out by a buddy of mine. Since then, I have noticed it in every park I have been to. While it’s standard safely protocol and less about the imagineers trying to tell a story, storytelling seems to be inherent in the guests now as we make our own stories for standard signage. We like to think that one must remain seated and not dance on the rides. Seems to stand true, in a sense.
From the font to the color scheme, the imagineers nailed it with this attraction. The wait-time board matches the attraction signage which matches the look and feel of the attraction. And, while I could have desaturated the colors in this photo and made it look more cold and “scary,” I chose to really keep it true to how it appears in person because even then, the sign itself “betrays an aura of foreboding…” The imagineers hit a home-run with this attraction’s signage and trend-setting font.
Finally, we take a look at a reference to an old attraction. The Country Bear Jamboree, while gone from Critter Country at Disneyland, is alive in plenty of references throughout the current Critter Country. Even the Winnie the Pooh attraction has some of the old animatronics from the old show. But in this sign from the Hungry Bear restaurant, we see our cast of misfit critters thanking us for visiting. Not sure if the kids will get it but it still fits within the theme of the land and parents will get a smile remembering the attraction that used to be. Luckily, the parents can still take a trip to Walt Disney World and show their kids a version of the show that still operates daily in Frontierland.
While we only touch on some of the great signage, take a look around next time you’re at the parks. There are details all around you that you may take for granted — and that’s their job!
This Christmas, I got a lot of cool gifts but this one I felt I should share. I have recently been using a new Chapstick from EOS. It can be found at Target and Costco and comes in a variety of flavors.
My mom, in her infinite wisdom, remembered this and got me some more as a stocking stuffer — but these were different. While still from EOS, they were Alice in Wonderland chap-sticks with new flavors and an awesome design! Hidden Mickeys!
I like to see these little details. Really drives home the idea of detail and good design. Did you get any unconventional Disney gifts?
Our fourth day brought us into a whole new world for us with Disney – Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Fun fact: The island across from the Contemporary Resort to the west was once the catalyst for what is now Animal Kingdom: Discovery Island. It has been closed for the last 13 years but not too long ago, some urban explorers set foot upon the island in a less-than legal manner but provided some amazing photos which can be viewed here. It’s a pretty fun, if not lacking, read. One is left wanting more from their exploration.
Well, today, we did not go to the original Discovery Island but we did head into Discovery Island – the land – at Animal Kingdom. Discovery Island is the main hub of AK park from which all lands protrude in classic Disney park fashion. Interesting that they kept that name. We hurried straight over to Asia to ascend our most anticipated Disney mountain on Expedition Everest!
This ride is by far the most amazing at this park in terms of thrill and theming. I absolutely love it and is my favorite of any of the Disney park mountains. You go forward, backward, fast, slow, and it’s just a super awesome thrill! According to friends and family, the Yeti has been inoperable for a long while. However, having never ridden it with it being operable, I didn’t notice anything strange about it and this is such a sense stimulator that one is never left wanting anything more or feeling cheated in any way.
We walked onto this ride three times in a row. We were able to take in the detail in the queue but not stop long enough to take any photos worth really posting. You walk through a base-camp on the way up to the base of Everest with some great artifacts, equipment both old and new, and a lot of strange footprints, photos, and books about the mysterious Yeti. When the train arrives to take you to the peak, you pass even more of what appear to be warning signs. Everything seems fine until you realize that the track taking you to the summit has been ripped from it’s ties and you immediately plunge backward! You encounter the creature a couple times on your trek and narrowly escape in the end. Such a thrill and an amazing attraction! We must have done it about 6 or 7 times this day alone!
My favorite part of this park was the early-morning mist that engulfed the entire park. Extra Magic Hours got us to the park at 7am on the very last day of Daylight Saving Time so it was the absolute earliest (in relative position of the sunrise) we could be at the park for the entire year. It was absolutely magical! My least favorite part? The smell — and unfortunately the mist did a lot to carry those smells throughout the park. The flamingos are largely to blame for it, I’m sure, as they’re a foul smelling bird. The early morning beauty, however, trumped any other sensory overload provided by the park.
The second attraction I was most excited for was the Kilimanjaro Safaris! We had gone to San Diego’s Wild Animal Park (now renamed Safari Park) 5 or 6 years back and were sorely disappointed by the fact that there is no safari included in the price of admission! I couldn’t believe how expensive doing a safari on par with AK’s safari was! ($130+). The Kilimanjaro Safaris is everything you’d want it to be and more!
The safari uses real vehicles to see real animals without visible (or literal in some cases) boundaries. The animals are all out and about and mingling with one another (when appropriate). We asked where the best place to sit was for photos and were told the back left side was probably the best place because your field of view is much wider. We ended up getting the entire back row to ourselves so we were able to get some incredible pics from all sides! Make sure you set your camera for a faster shutter speed as the vehicle rarely stops so you’ve really gotta snap away and sort thru the pics later!
Another great thing this park has is an abundance of walking tours. Each takes you into a different eco system with animals to all sides of you. You can really get great shots of different species in their different habitats. If you’re lucky, they’ll come right up to you or you may just see something unexpected and not necessarily on the tour.
We went to eat at Pizzafari for breakfast. Just your standard breakfast sandwich fare to get by. We snapped a cool pic while inside.
Next up was DinoLand U.S.A. which seemed to be geared toward children yet had some of my favorite attractions at the park including Dinosaur! and Primeval Whirl. Dinosaur is like Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland Park but with time travel and dinosaurs. Another ride with a cool queue (like being at the Jurassic Park visitor center) that we sort of flew past because there were no lines. There is, however, a cool intro video with Phylicia Rashad.
Primeval Whirl is as close to Hollywood Studios’ (at Disneyland Paris) Crush’s Coaster ride system as you can get here in the states. It’s like Goofy’s Sky School but instead of always facing front, half way thru the ride, the car unlocks itself from the base and you spin on an axis while the coaster continues down the track. It’s a tough explanation and I’ll post a video and pictures soon of this attraction.
There’s so much at this park to take in the first time because it’s so unlike any other Disney park so most of the best pics we took here were on our second visit to the park later in the trip.
There are also some great shows and characters at this park! So much so that this park is maybe best done in two days because the animals’ bed times are pretty early. This park was closing at 5pm today so we had to pass on some things this day and plan to do them on a return trip because we really wanted to see the Festival of the Lion King show at Camp Minnie-Mickey as well as meet a slew of characters in their AK “garb.”
“The Festival of the Lion King” is another stunning example of great Floridian theatre! Seriously, if you aren’t landing gigs on Broadway or in Los Angeles, head on down to Orlando because this city has some incredible theatre within the WDW resort.
The Greeting Trails at AK are pretty neat because the characters are in different outfits than you’ll see anywhere else in the resort. Since it was just at the end of Halloween Time, we caught them today in their AK-appropriate halloween garb.
Meeting these characters were among the longest lines of our entire trip but well worth seeing them in their different outfits. Before the day was thru, we wanted to see “Finding Nemo – the Musical.” We had a while so we ran into a quick showing of “It’s Tough to be a Bug” inside the Tree of Life. While it’s the same show we have at DCA, the attraction’s building is among the most elaborate of any Disney Park. The theatre is below the gigantic Tree of Life with animals carved within the bark and roots of the tree. Even more impressive is walking through the root system while walking into the theatre and seeing all the incredible details!
“Finding Nemo – The Musical” is a lot like DCA’s “Aladdin…” show in terms of scale and length. It’s a full-blown musical and an impressive one at that! This could be on Broadway, it’s so catchy and well done! The master puppetry keeps the audience engaged and the cast is just incredible. There’s incredible fly-work, sets, lighting, animatronics — the works! They even tie it into the song at the end of EPCOT’s “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” which makes sense but is still a nice touch.
At the end of the show, we had just enough time to ride Expedition Everest again before heading over to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
Magic Kingdom has a lot to teach Disneyland Park in Anaheim about how to do Halloween! From the scarecrows in the Town Square, the pumpkins on the lamps down Main Street, the villain’s show in front of Cinderella’s castle and most importantly, the “Boo to You!” parade!
I cannot describe this “Boo to You!” parade in terms that would do it justice and since I only got to see it once, I am sure I would forget some of the greatest details like the headless horseman starting the parade off by riding along the entire parade route holding a jack-o-lantern. I’ll just focus on my favorite and most appropriate section of the parade: The Haunted Mansion scene. My goodness! It starts with the caretaker and his dog (A REAL DOG!) wandering the parade route complete with lantern-and-all!
He is followed closely by a flurry of dancing grave diggers doing a “Thriller”-style dance number with shovels as their dancing canes. Imagine a zombie Fred Astaire in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video. They danced with those shovels with the greatest of ease and they would drag it furiously along the ground in time with the music shooting sparks all over the place. CHILLS, PEOPLE!
They are then followed by the hitchhiking ghosts themselves atop a huge furiously-fogging float! While cool in person, it did not provide great photos but I am telling you, the fog worked SO WELL in person. Super awesome parade and I really dislike parades. Disneyland has a lot to learn from it’s east coast relative about how to do Halloween Time.
What the Magic Kingdom has over the Anaheim resort is space. Therefore, fireworks times and vicinity is not at all a factor. Fireworks at WDW seem to go off later than Disneyland’s and in some respects, larger fireworks seem to be used all around. What I mean is when at Disneyland, we have scenes in the show where fireworks launch all around you depending on your location. At WDW, they’re actual fireworks and not just quick spurts of flame or sparklers. It’s pretty impressive when immersed in actual exploding fireworks rather than just bursts of light.
What I found lacking was the use of a large structure like the Matterhorn in conjunction with the castle. While Cinderella’s castle towers over Sleeping Beauty’s in Anaheim, Aurora’s castle plays with the Matterhorn in many ways — projections, flying characters, etc. They don’t have this luxury at WDW. So for the Halloween Fireworks show, there is no Zero, there is no Jack Skellington host (which I am totally fine with) but a rather fun narration by Corey Burton as the Ghost Host from Haunted Mansion. The lack of Jack Skellington makes for a better Halloween show, in my opinion. Yet I believe WDW cast members might disagree since most all of them that we spoke with longed for HMH. While I do absolutely love HMH, I wish the “Nightmare Before Christmas” theme stayed in that area rather than become the Halloween mascot of the park.
Other cool things for Halloween were a Jolly Roger projection on Big Thunder, one-stop-shop trick-or-treating (there were multiple stops but they were VERY generous), and the “Villains Mix and Mingle” show in front of the castle. Best part of the villains show? That it attracts other villains! We got to meet the evil step mother and those pesky step-sisters from Cinderella!
The cast members in Florida have their characters DOWN! So much fun to play wit! Usually the face characters are sort of awkward to meet because they’re your age. I think my favorite is Lady Renata in front of the Haunted Mansion. She watches over the mansion and has a sharp tongue and quick wit! We sat and watched her for about 30 minutes which she lampooned and chided the passers-by at the mansion.
I wish she’d come visit our mansion someday! Also cool were some special photo stations where you can take a picture with some Grim Grinning Ghosts.
All in all, a great time was had at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Highly recommended and well worth the entrance fee for the parade alone! Well, it was back to the hotel for the night to prepare for our fifth day. Now that we had hit up every park, the (Walt Disney) World was our oyster and anything could go!
See our full gallery from this day below!
Wow — just wow. This show’s dramatic soundtrack mixed with the Glow With the Show ears is mind-blowing.
We got to the park, checked in, and got a spot along the Rivers of America by 8:15 pm. The park was delightfully empty for a summer evening and we landed an incredible spot front and center. Thinking back on it now, I suppose we got there pretty early but considering the check-in started at noon and I am not typically off work until 7, I figured we would get a good spot near the back which would offer an incredible perspective of the Glow With the Show experience.
Anyway, we took turns leaving the spot to run some errands — picking up Halloween stuff for our new home, replacing some defective first-run GWTS ears (the first batch were rushed and are inherently defective. You can get a voucher to replace them from City Hall and take it to any GWTS ear outlet for a replacement — FREE!*), and getting some Pumpkin Fritters which are getting justifiable internet buzz.
New ears in-hand, epic spot secured, we were then met with some of TDA’s inhospitable customer service follies: everyone on the Rivers of America were required, when the park closed, to clear the area and reenter to ensure no one was getting into the show that was not an AP that had RSVP’d and wearing a wristband. Even more ridiculous, I had my wristband checked every time I would leave and reenter the area. It was severely unorganized and not a single person was ok with the decision. We even witnessed a cast member forcing someone in a wheelchair to walk up the steps to wait with the rest of the crowd and everyone in the area was utterly confused as to how this made any sense. I understand the idea of checking wristbands but the person that cleared us out could have, instead, just checked the wristbands one by one. It was not overly crowded and it did not seem that anyone was outnumbered or overwhelmed. It seemed like a gross exercise of power and mismanagement. One may never understand their rationale once something that seemed like a good idea on paper in-turn becomes a terrible idea in practice. It seems that reason goes out the door and people will only do what they’re told as opposed to stepping back and finding an alternative. We need, and frankly expect, more improvisation from our TDA leaders with the ability to adapt at a moment’s notice. Anyway, everyone got back to their original spots so all-in-all it worked out in their favor but my wife said that while she offered her wristband upon reentering the area, not a single cast member checked it or lit it up with a flashlight.
Once back in the area, I was worried about the quality of the show. While it appeared everyone in the area had their ears out and on, it was not as impressive as the WoC display. Was the area not large enough? Had people not brought or bought ears?
That is, of course, until the show started. Just — wow. Everyone had their ears on and synced up with the show. Every music cue was accented by the GWTS ears and the vocal response from the AP’s solidified, we were a part of something so special. I’ll follow this review up this weekend with video coverage of the show to hopefully drive the point home that this was an incredible experience and should not be missed! I can’t help but think GWTS will be added to “Wishes…” this holiday season and how incredible that’s going to look!
* I did not pay for my original ears — they came from the GWTS premiere with World of Color at DCA. I was never asked for proof of purchase but cannot guarantee everyone’s experience will be the same.
Adding to our list of Disneyana here at Remain Seated Please, I wanted to share this piece my wife and I just got from Disneyland. Online, it looks like this piece is pretty old but I absolutely love it!
This piece shows Shag’s take on New Orleans Square. It depicts a family between Pirates and Mansion with the father taking a photo. This picture, minus the kid, basically is my wife and I at the parks! I love Shag’s 60s style, I love that it has a 60s take on the Mansion, and I love how the characters look so enamored with the park. I can only hope my kid is as cool as this one some day.
Do you have a favorite Shag piece? Let us know in the comments below!
This was one of the coolest things I have seen at the park. A quick google search will show that the custodial team at TDA has been at this for a while, but with as much time as I have spent at the parks I have never seen this!
We had just finished out Fantasmic! 20th anniversary showing, had already ridden on Big Thunder Mountain and were headed to Pirates… when we saw a few people admiring something on the ground. We saw some water on the ground and as our eyes adjusted to the ground in front of Riverbell Terrace, we realized that it was artwork!
Here are some pictures we snapped of a few of the characters drawn on the ground and to boot, I caught some video of the cast member drawing a huge Mickey Mouse in front of Pirates! Enjoy!
