Permanecer Sentados, Por Favor
Disneyland shows up in my daily life all the time. While driving through Hollywood, I passed by Amoeba Music and noticed that they have a new display in the window.
Look at that sun! Does it look familiar?
Obviously the designer of this window display was influenced by Disneyland’s It’s a Small World. The sun looks very similar to the giant clock on the attraction’s facade. I love finding things like this. It makes the real world seem a little more magical.
Hey all!
Here’s another in our ongoing series, but first, where was last week’s photo taken?
And a hearty congratulations to Sarah — She has won our very first contest! Thank you all to those that entered. We will be doing more contests in the future and they won’t be about guess where a floor is. Thanks for playing, Sarah and we look forward to seeing you at the world-famous Magic Castle soon!
And now for this week’s floor. Hint: We have posted several floors from this location but as it’s the 13th Floor Friday, we thought we would throw it in again!
Good Luck!
Last Sunday, we made our way to Disneyland and arrived on a splendid summer evening. Our first stop was DCA. This would be the last day that the entrance, as we know it, will be in operation. Starting the next day, guests to DCA will enter next to Soarin’ Over California. It was nice to give a final goodbye to what was a not so exciting entrance to a theme park. I am very much looking forward to Buena Vista Street and I am happy to see the Greeting’s From California entrance go!
The first attraction we headed to was The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. It was a great ride and everything worked great. The mirror ghost effect worked perfectly. I did notice a small difference in a certain prop in the library, however. In the library on the left, there is an envelope with the name Rod Serling printed on it. This prop is from a Twilight Zone episode entitled “A World of His Own”. I noticed that the printing on the envelope is now thicker and a slightly different font from before. Is it ridiculous that I bother noticing these things? I love these details!
We then went over the The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. The ride was great, but I did notice that the rubber on Ariel’s floating hair is starting to crack. I hope it’s a quick and easy fix. I still love the new DCA attraction and I don’t see myself getting tired of it anytime soon.
It was then time for Disneyland. After passing through the magical turnstiles, we decided to get a bite to eat at the Plaza Inn. I love the Plaza Inn. It may be my favorite restaurant in the park. The main reason I have love for this restaurant is the wonderful Cobb Salad. I think it’s the best Cobb Salad I have ever had, but then again, I never did get a chance to have one at the original Brown Derby. While sitting outside and enjoying our meals, the fireworks started. We had a nice view of the works and once again I got emotional when Dumbo appeared from beyond the trees.
Before the Fireworks ended, we made our way through Fantasyland between the Castle and the Matterhorn. The fireworks are so close and loud in that area. It was a perspective that I’m not used to, but it was really neat. I really want to watch the entire show from the view point one of these days and have Tinkerbell fly right over our heads. I think it will be really neat.
We then made a quick stop at Casey Jr. Circus Train. Our entire group of seven squeezed into the Wild Animals cage. It was really a funny sight. The ride was excellent. Everyone really enjoyed it. As much fun as it is in the cage, the caboose is still my favorite spot.
We then walked over to New Orleans Square to go on Pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates is closing Sept. 7 – Nov. 23, so this was my last chance to ride my favorite ride for 3 months! I’m going to go crazy without it! The ride was spectacular except a new pirate was missing! The fella with all the hats who has one foot on the dock and one foot on a rocky boat was gone! Perhaps he is buying a new set of hats. The guy waiting to be dunked is still missing too. Even with the absence of those classic pirates, it is still the best ride ever created.
Naturally the Haunted Mansion was up next. They tried sending us into the stretching room when the foyer narration had already finished. I hate when that happens. I want to experience the whole attraction and the foyer is a big part of it to me. So we stayed back and waited for the next group. The ride looked and sounded great. If you remember a few trips ago, I said that an owl was missing in the graveyard and returned with real feathers unlike his plastic counterpart. Well that counterpart is now missing and I’m assuming he’s being tarred and feathered to match. Madame Leota was floating again. She has been floating so much lately, I don’t think I have to mention it in the reports anymore.
When we exited the Mansion, we caught my favorite part of Fantasmic!: The climactic ending with the Dragon. Every time I see it, it is equally as thrilling.
Our group then decided to go on the wildest ride in the wilderness, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Big Thunder is so great at night. I love it. It was kind of scary this time too because we were sitting in the back and we were really pulled through the whole ride. It seemed extra fast. As we all know, the big finale of Big Thunder involves a huge earthquake in the mine. Unfortunately, none of the rocks were moving and shaking this trip. I still loved it, however. It’s my favorite Disney roller coaster.
The last attraction we visited for the night was Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. We had a jeep to ourselves and it was really thrilling. It all looked wonderful. The projected rat effect wasn’t there but I don’t really mind that as I’m not a huge fan of that scene. My favorite part of Indy is the queue though. I could spend all day in that temple looking at every prop and ancient carving.
Walking down Main Street on our way home, we noticed a few things. We looked at the construction walls for the Jolly Holiday Bakery and noticed that there were Halloween decorations in the windows of the Emporium. It’s a great feeling when Halloween time nears. They also had the Fortuosity Shop decorated with tons of Ravens. It looked like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. It was really neat!
I hope you all enjoyed the report! Till next time!
By the way, we were also at Disneyland last week during D23. I didn’t have time to make a report, but there were a couple things I wanted to mention. We went on Splash Mountain, which we don’t do very often. I love Splash so much. It’s one of my favorite rides. We got so wet. It was as if someone poured a gallon of water all over our feet. It was very fun. We also went to Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room and our cast member introducing the show was Maynard! He really is the best and does such a great introduction to the show. If you see him out in front of the Tiki Room, be sure to stop by. You won’t be disappointed!
Enjoy the complete Photo Gallery from our trip!
This past weekend was the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. Although lots and lots of people showed up, fun was still had. The Expo was full of Disney Magic in the form of films, television, parks, and resorts to just name a few. Since there is so much to see and do at the Expo, I obviously was not able to attend everything. The following is what I experienced.
Day 1:
After waiting in a huge line to enter the Expo, we first made our way to the Carousel of Projects. This area displayed props, models, and artifacts from upcoming Walt Disney Imagineering attractions. When entering the area, you are treated to a nice little video projected on Semi-Circle 180! A montage of WDI’s past is shown and finally Tinker Bell finds our way out as she splits the screen open. Once the doors open, we are greeted by a huge replica of the Disney Cruise Line ship. As we walk past the giant vessel, its fog horn blasts a familiar tune. Try and guess what the tune is….
Inside the exhibit, we find things from the new Fantasyland coming to Walt Disney World, the new Seven Dwarfs mine ride, Cars Land and its attractions, DCA’s Buena Vista Street, and my favorite: The Amazing Destini! The Amazing Destini is the first animatronic to have 100% artificial intelligence. It was really amazing to see in person. The little fortune teller really interacts well with guests. We were treated to a look at the program running the animatronic and I must admit that it is kind of scary. It was like the Terminator come true. Destini’s program can sense your emotions and react with it. It also counts blinks, nods, smiles, and anything else that can give it clues as to what you are feeling. It was remarkable.
After our tour of the Carousel of Projects, we walked the floor for a bit and bought some collectibles. The amount of Disney things to buy was overwhelming. It is quite the site to see all the Disney geeks scrambling for their favorite Disney pin. I must admit that I was one of them.
We then got in line to enter the Arena where we would see a presentation on Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Tom Staggs hosted the event and although we were treated to great pieces of concept art, most of the information was already made public by the Disney Parks blog. There were two things that really excited me however. The first was a piece of concept art that showed the E Ticket Cars Land attraction. The art showed that there will be a scene inside of a cavern called Taillight Caverns. The stalagmites will be glowing red and resemble different tail lights of classic cars. I for one love Disney caves and I’m sure this will be a welcomed addition. The other exciting piece of news was the Castle coming to Shanghai Disneyland. The Castle will represent all the different Disney princesses and it will have a restaurant inside. What was most exciting was that an attraction would be inside the Castle! There will be a boat ride beginning in Fantasyland and it will make its way underneath the Castle where you will disembark. The concept art of this attraction looked amazing even though it was just one scene. I can’t wait to see what this turns out to be! They also announced that the Carnation Plaza Gardens will soon be leaving Disneyland and replaced with a little extension of Fantasyland which will house some Disney princesses. I’m sure it will look neat, but I’m going to miss the Gardens…
We then made our way to the last Panel Discussion for the day: Voices of the Parks. There we met Disney’s best vocal talents and they showed off their pipes. It was amazing to see how many of them love Disneyland and how talented they all really are. The panel had many vocal talents including the voice of Disneyland Bill Rogers, Mark Silverman who does the voice of Rod Serling in the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Corey Burton who is our Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion Holiday. It was really the most entertaining part of the entire Expo. We heard everyone do some of their Disney voices live! If you closed your eyes, it felt like you were at the park.
Day 2:
We began the day with visiting the things being auctioned off in the silent auction. In that room, they had the Hitchhiking Ghosts from Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion. These were the ghosts that appeared in the mirrors. It was amazing to see them up close. It was so strange to see them that close and under house lighting. There was something really special about viewing these masterpieces of Walt Disney Imagineering. Some other neat things that we saw being auctioned off included a canon from Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean and a replica of the barker bird from Walt Disney World’s Pirates.
After the auction, we visited the Archive Treasures Museum. We saw incredible props, wardrobe, and pieces of art from classic Disney productions. The highlights included the Sleeping Beauty Storybook, maquettes from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, wardrobe from the Pirates films, a Mickey animatronic from Walt Disney World, and fan art from “101 Dalmatians”. It was a great display that was a must see.
After our tour through the treasures, we got in line for the presentation on Buena Vista Street. It was great seeing the concept art for DCA’s new main street. I really loved that amount of detail that will be represented. Carthay Circle Theatre looks great and I love the fountain which is being built out front. But the biggest reveal was the new Partners statue coming to DCA. It depicts Walt in 1923 along with his suitcase and Mickey Mouse on top. It is a great sculpt that really shows in detail what Walt looked like early in life. Imagineers decided to place the statue on the ground and not on a pedestal for an important reason. In 1923, Walt was just like us. He had dreams. He worked hard for those dreams to come true. So since Buena Vista street is supposed to take place in the 1920s when Walt was pursuing his dream, Imagineers decided that he should not be above the crowd, but within the crowd. Any one of us can have our dreams come true if we work hard for it. I thought it was a great idea.
Day 3:
The final day we just looked around the main show floor. Some highlights included people dressed up in costumes including an amazing Red Head from Pirates, a wonderful Tinker Bell, and The Bride, Caretaker, Hatbox Ghost, and Tightrope Girl from the Haunted Mansion. Everyone did a great job with the detail in their costumes. Also on the floor were some neat props including a Zebra from the Jungle Cruise, Walt Disney’s Limo, an Autopia car, and a goose from It’s a Small World, just to name a few. We decided not to go to any presentations that day as the lines were incredibly long. To view a presentation, you had to get in line about 3 hours ahead of time. It was ridiculous. So many people showed up for the D23 Expo, but it just goes to show you how much people love Disney. The next Disney Expo will be held in 2013. I’m already looking forward to it.
Enjoy a full photo gallery from the Expo:
Hey all!
Here’s another in our ongoing series, but first, where was last week’s photo taken?
And now for this week’s floor AND CONTEST CONTINUATION!:
Since last week’s floor seemed too difficult, there were no winners — but that doesn’t mean there are any losers either and we still have passes to give away. To make this more fun, we have made this week’s floor incredibly simple so as to give everyone a chance to enter the drawing and win 2 passes to the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood!
You have until midnight next Friday morning (August 26, 2011) to submit your answers in the comments below. We will tally all of the correct answers and you will be entered into a drawing and the winner will be announce the following week (September 2, 2011).
Full details here. Good luck!
Hey all!
Here’s another (and the 10th) in our ongoing series, but first, where was last week’s photo taken?
And now for this week’s floor AND CONTEST!:
You have until midnight next Friday morning (August 19, 2011) to submit your answers in the comments below. We will tally all of the correct answers and you will be entered into a drawing and the winner will be announce the following week.
Full details here. Good luck!
On August 9, 1969, The Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland. The exterior of the Mansion had been finished for many years and people had been waiting patiently for the creaking doors to open. When they finally did, no one was let down. It was and remains one of Disney’s finest attractions.
Over the years, versions of the Haunted Mansion has opened at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris (As the Phantom Manor), and soon to be Hong Kong Disneyland (As Mystic Manor).
In 2001, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas took over the Haunted Mansion to begin a very successful annual Halloween/Christmas overlay.
The Mansion has also been turned into a not so successful movie starring Eddie Murphy and it has also been announced that a new Mansion movie will be made with Guillermo Del Toro at the helm.
Happy Birthday Haunted Mansion! Enjoy some pictures of our beloved Mansion!
Editor’s Note: An interesting fact that many people may not realize is that the Haunted Mansion opened the same day as the infamous Charles Manson Murders.
Okay everyone! We are proud to announce that we have our first contest FAST approaching! Next Friday, we will, as always, have a ‘Floor Friday’ but it will be our 10th in that series. We want to make it fun for everyone by having a contest but because there is a prize involved, it will be more difficult than the previous entries. CLICK HERE to study up on the previous entries!
How to enter? Just play the game! At midnight on Friday morning (August 12, 2011), we will post the floor for that week and you will have ONE WEEK to answer in the comment section below the post. PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS TO OUR FACEBOOK OR TWITTER PAGES. Your entry will only be valid if included in the comments of the 10th ‘Floor Fridays’ post. At midnight on the following Friday (August 19, 2011), the contest will end and we will take all of the correct answers and enter those names into a drawing. Robert and I will then conduct a drawing the following week and the winner will be announced with the 12th edition of the ‘Floor Friday’ series on August 26, 2011. We will also send the winner an email with instructions on how to claim the prize.
The prize, you might ask? I happen to be a member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s like Club 33 — with magic! Super exclusive, members-only, and a strict dress code, the Magic Castle was founded in 1963 by Milt Larsen (a huge Walt Disney fan and personal friend and collaborator with the Sherman brothers) and now hosts the world’s best and brightest magicians performing for each other as well as members and their guests. The winner will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a party of 2 (him or her-self and a guest) to the castle on any evening of their choosing!
The recommendation is to go on a week night as there are less crowds, much like Disneyland, and you have a higher chance of seeing all of the performers of the night (as many as 10) in close and intimate settings. THE MAGIC CASTLE IS A 21+ CLUB SO PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN ENTERING AND CHOOSING A GUEST.
To find out more about the Magic Castle, click here! Again, there is a strict cocktail attire dress code so only enter if you own such attire or plan on purchasing or renting said attire. Men are required to wear jackets and ties and women are required to wear evening cocktail dresses or pant suits with a matching blazer. Formal shoes, as well.
This is very exciting for us here at ‘Remain Seated, Please’ and we look forward to seeing all of the entries as they come in and meeting up with the winner and his or her guest. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and we will read and answer any and all of your questions as best we can. Let’s make this fun and exciting for everyone!
Thanks and good luck!
*food and drinks will not be included.
We made an unusual weekday trip to Disneyland on Wednesday for a special occasion. A friend of ours is moving to England and we had a going away party at Club 33! What could be a better send off?
When we got to the park, we realized we had time for one ride on this very busy day. So we waited 20 minutes for the World Famous Jungle Cruise! It was a great ride through the rivers of adventure. A while ago, I posted a video about how Disney airlifted the elephant’s mother in law out of the park. Well she is still on her extended leave unfortunately. I will have to give her a big hello when she comes home.
After the Jungle Cruise, we headed to Club 33. It was incredible. I am not going to go into detail about Club 33 right now as we are still working on our original Club 33 review. This trip’s visit to the Club will be included in that post as well. Look for it soon!
After the Club, we went over to the Haunted Mansion. It was another amazing ride and everything looked great. Madame Leota was floating again. I’m glad she seems to be doing that more often these days. I did notice that a couple of the singing busts in the graveyard scene were out of sync. I hope Disney realizes this soon and fixes it. It’s really upsetting when that happens. But even with the out of sync Mellowmen, the Haunted Mansion is still the best.
We then headed over to DCA and the first thing I noticed is that the Golden Gate Bridge is gone! Take a look below:
Then we got in line for Soarin’ Over California. It has been a couple of years since I have been on Soarin’. Now don’t get me wrong. I love the ride. I just can’t stand the Soarin’ queue. There is not much to it and it lasts forever. This time I had to do it though since we were with people that don’t go very often. So I waited 60 minutes to get in my hang glider. It was a great ride that is very magical. I love so many things about it from the corny preshow video with our chief flight attendant, Patrick Warburton to the smell of orange groves in the California country side. The only problem I have with the ride is a personal issue where I get a bit dizzy in the Downtown Los Angeles section. Other than that, it is one of Disney’s best!
Then we went over to the Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. It was a great ride once again. It did stop a few times on this particular trip, most likely to accomidate handicapped people. Other than that, everything seemed the same and I loved it.
We then walked through A Bug’s Land to make our way to the Hollywood Tower Hotel or as it’s more commonly known: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We went with a couple of people who had never experienced the ride before and they ended up loving it. I love seeing my favorite attractions through new eyeballs. The mirror ghost effect wasn’t working this time. Instead of our reflected bodies turning into ghosts, a blue blob just appeared. Even when that effect isn’t working, it still is an amazing attraction.
We then headed over to Disneyland and while walking on Main Street, I saw Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. It was great seeing them as it’s rare when I do. I love seeing minor characters from Disney animated features. There is something really special about it.
We then rode one final attraction, which also happens to be my favorite. If you have been reading our trip reports, then you won’t be surprised to hear that the attraction I am talking about is Pirates of the Caribbean. When we arrived to New Orleans Square, the ride had just closed. We saw security escorting someone out of the attraction in a wheel chair, so I assume someone fell. We waited for about a half hour for Pirates to reopen and when it finally did, I was ecstatic! I ran to the entrance like a little boy running down the stairs on Christmas morning. We ended up getting the first row, which I always love. The guy waiting to be dunked is still missing and I also noticed something else on this trip. In the burning city scene, there is a singing trio with a dog. Well the guy all the way to the right usually has a bushy goatee, but it looks like he had a shave. He only had a little patch of beard under his chin. No mustache at all! I know I’m crazy writing about animatronic facial hair, but that is why I love Pirates and Disneyland. It’s all about the details!
After Pirates, we caught the climax of Fantasmic! and saw the amazing Dragon scene. That is really one of the best things Disney has ever done. I get chills when that Dragon comes out!
Then we made our way to the Mickey & Friends Tram and Disneyland was soon behind us. We will be back soon!
And now enjoy some more photos from our trip:
When an attraction breaks down it can be a total bummer, especially if you’ve been waiting in line for a ride like Peter Pan or Roger Rabbit, but sometimes it can be the coolest thing ever, like when you find cash in your jeans after doing laundry. I have always dreamed of being on a ride like Splash Mountain when it breaks down, where the lights would magically turn on revealing the dusty miniature details of imagineering genius, and I would be escorted through Disney’s painted visualization of Joel Chandler Harris’s impossible read. A nerd can dream can’t he?
If anyone goes to the Magic Kingdom enough a ride breakdown is inevitable, so it is with great pleasure that I present to you a walk through of Snow White’s Scary Adventures. The best part about the ride breakdown experience was that one of the carts was blocking the exit. I welcomed this unwanted obstacle and while people climbed and squeeze through, I relished the opportunity to be an honorary dwarf for a day. It’s no Splash Mountain, but then again there’s always next time.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Elz1s9ZpEg]