Category: Disneyland

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Disneyland Trip Report: Mickey’s Halloween Party

Last Friday, we went to Mickey’s Halloween Party at the Disneyland Resort!  It was my first time going to the event.

It's Party Time!

 

We got to the parks a little early, so we headed over to DCA.  Walking around Buena Vista Street, we could peek behind the walls and see a bit of construction going on.  The whole street is torn up and being worked on.  I’m so excited!

Soon to be Buena Vista Street

 

Carthay Circle Theatre is coming closer to completion and it is looking great.  It will be one of the best structures in the entire Resort!  I also noticed that the cable car posts are now in place.  All of this Buena Vista Street construction is getting me so excited.  The amount of detail going into that part of the park is going to be wonderful.  I can’t wait for it to be finished!

The Theatre and Cable Car Posts

 

The first attraction we visited was the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  What a better way to start our Halloween visit?  The ride was excellent.  I did notice that someone wrote their name in the dust on the table in the lobby though.  How dare that “Mike”!

Tower of Terror

 

How Dare That "Mike"!

 

We then made our way to Disneyland to prepare for Mickey’s Halloween Party!  While it was still daylight, we decided to walk around the park and look at different Halloween decorations.   We saw the many blow up Mickey Ghosts and Pumpkins and the changes of Big Thunder Trail.  We wanted to go visit Big Thunder Ranch, but it was already closed.  We did get to see the cast members round up the goats though!  That was very fun to watch.  They opened their cage and they all came racing out.

Mickey Ghost

 

Big Thunder Trail During the Day

 

And They're Off!

 

In Frontierland, they also had the Halloween Tree set up from Ray Bradbury’s book.  That was really great.  It is a big tree filled with pumpkins and orange lights.  It is an excellent tribute to a great man: Ray Bradbury.

The Halloween Tree

 

Once the Party started, we walked around the park to take a look at everything at night.  The Haunted Mansion had great lighting for the event, the Rivers of America was filled with fog, and Piratepalooza was in full effect.  The Rivers of America looked so good.  It was so neat to see it filled with that eerie fog.

Fog in the Rivers

 

And even more Fog

 

We decided at that point to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  There was no line, so we got the very last seat.  It was such a fun ride!  There weren’t any changes for the Halloween event, besides some bats on the outside of the mountain in a mine shaft.  That was pretty neat.

Big Thunder Mountain

 

Bats in the Mine

 

After our runaway train ride, we walked up Big Thunder Trail and everything looked so good at night.  The lighting and fog was really effective.  In the old Nature’s Wonderland cave, they had an eerie light and fog along with sound effects.  Every once in a while, lighting would flash and thunder would sound.  It was great!  It was really great listening to Big Thunder Mountain in the background.  It felt like the ghost train of Nature’s Wonderland was making its way toward us.

At Big Thunder Trail

 

At that point, we got some more candy in Big Thunder Ranch and looked around the area.  They have a ton of expertly carved pumpkins in the area including a hitchhiking ghost pumpkin.  That one was my favorite.  Take a look below at some others:

The Hitchhiking Ghosts Pumpkin

 

The Crying Pumpkin

 

The Little Mermaid Pumpkin

 

Pooh, Hatter, and Nemo Pumpkins

 

We then walked into Fantasyland and visited Pinocchio’s Daring Journey.  It was an excellent ride of my favorite Disney animated film.

The Puppet Show is About to Begin!

 

After we got off of Pinocchio, we saw that there wasn’t a wait for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, my favorite Fantasyland Dark Ride.  I drove the motorcar, but I crashed into a train and we were sent to Hell.

Toad Hall

 

During Mickey’s Halloween Party, they have several stations set up to take pictures with your favorite Disney characters.  We decided to walk over to the Villains section and we took pictures with Honest John from “Pinocchio”, the Queen of Hearts from “Alice in Wonderland”, and the Queen from “Snow White”.  The villains really stayed in character and made it fun for the waiting crowd.

With Honest John

 

With the Queen of Hearts

 

With the Queen

 

It was then time for the Halloween fireworks.  While the fireworks themselves were some of the best I have ever seen, I’m not so crazy about the audio that goes with it.  I’m not a huge fan of the updated versions of classic Disney songs, especially the pop version of “Grim Grinning Ghosts”.  Also, the person doing the voice of Jack Skellington doesn’t do the best impression.  Besides that, it was still fun to see those amazing fireworks and to see Zero flying over the castle.  By the way, the back side of the Castle looked so neat.  It kept changing colors and it had a huge spider web projected on it!

The Halloween Fireworks

 

The Back Side of the Castle!

 

After the fireworks, we went on Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy.  Since the fireworks had just ended, the line was pretty short.  The ride was fun and the ghost that follows your car is back.  That’s my favorite part of the ride and that ghost wasn’t there when I went on it a couple weeks ago.  But now he’s back!

Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy

 

When we were traveling through Tomorrowland, we saw that they were doing a photo op with Stormtroopers.  So we got in line and took pictures them.  See the result below:

With a Couple of Stromtroopers

 

While walking through the hub of Disneyland, on our way to Frontierland, I heard someone talking very loudly.  I looked over and there was a live scarecrow talking to guests.  It was really great and a good way to keep people entertained while waiting for the parade or fireworks to begin.

The Scarecrow

 

We stopped at Piratepalooza, which was playing “Michael Jackson’s Thriller”, and looked around.  It was a neat little dance party and they had some pretty elaborate pirate skeleton set ups.  One skeleton was dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow.  It was a nice amount of detail for a temporary set up.

Piratepalooza!

 

The Captain Jack Skeleton

 

We were in Frontierland to get in line to take pictures with Halloween versions of Mickey and Minnie.  They were dressed up in their Halloween best and welcomed us to take pictures with them.  See below:

With Mickey & Minnie

 

After getting even more candy, it was then time for the Haunted Mansion Holiday!  The ride was just as great as ever.  Our doombuggy stopped in the ballroom scene, so I was able to get a good picture of the new Gingerbread house.  As much as I love the Haunted Mansion Holiday, I miss the regular Mansion already.  I think that the Haunted Mansion Holiday should just be there for November and December and not include the Halloween season.  But, I believe I’m in the minority with that thinking.

The Haunted Mansion Holiday

 

Even a Gingerbread House Could Be Scary!

 

Since we were already in New Orleans Square, we thought it would be a perfect time to get pictures with Jack and Sally from “Nightmare Before Christmas”.  Take a look at the photos below:

With Jack & Sally

 

With that, our Halloween trip ended.  As we walked through Main Street on our way out, I noticed that City Hall had a huge spider web projected on it, much like the Castle’s web.  It looked really neat.  The entire event was fun, but I don’t think it’s something that I would do every year.  It wasn’t different enough from a regular visit to Disneyland at night.  The big selling point is that you go trick or treating and get as much candy as you want.  If you love candy and want to do some early trick or treating, this event is for you!

A Haunted City Hall

 

Happy Halloween!

 

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Some more Hidden Mickeys!

I am back from my honeymoon!  Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes and love.  We are still catching up but I will post when I can.  I still haven’t made it down to the land since we got back!  Luckily, the entire RSP team is going to Mickey’s Halloween Party this Friday!

More on that later.  For now, check out these few Hidden Mickeys I have been saving up!  Enjoy!

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Disneyland Trip Report: September 25, 2011

Another Sunday means another trip to the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland!

When we arrived, the first thing we did was visit the Disneyland Hotel.  The hotel is still under a lot of construction and I look forward to the changes coming.  In the main lobby, there was no longer the huge painting of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and the Mickey Mouse statues.  It is just a bare wall, but hopefully they will return.  We then walked over to the Adventureland and Frontierland Towers and enjoyed the artwork inside.  In the Frontierland Tower, they have an amazing model of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  It has every last detail.  It was really amazing to see in person.  If you are a Disneyland fan and love seeing miniatures of your favorite attractions, please stop by the hotel and see this.  You will not be disappointed!

Where is the Castle Painting?

 

An Example of Hotel Paintings

 

BTMRR Model

 

We were then going to take the Monorail into the park, but they said the the train would not arrive for 30 minutes.  What could possibly be the hold up?  It was strange…  So we ended up walking to the park.

The first thing we did when entering Disneyland was head to the Haunted Mansion to get a fastpass and figure out where we wanted to eat.  We ended up enjoying a nice Mexican meal at Rancho Del Zocalo.  I had a huge burrito and it was delicious.  I recommend it.

The Restaurant Has Great Details

 

We then went over to Disney California Adventure to visit the Blue Sky Cellar.  The stuff they have on Buena Vista Street is wonderful.  There are many things that show the process Imagineers take to create the park.  It was a really neat insight.  Besides having Buena Vista Street details like tiling and flooring, they also had the new Partners maquette for DCA, Red Car Trolley concept art, concept art of new Buena Vista Street Cast Member costumes, and the new attraction posters.  The highlight of the Cellar is the new video which features Imagineers and their ideas for Buena Vista Street.  It was a really great video and it is very evident that they love being Imagineers and are very excited for this project.  Seeing the Imagineers this enthusiastic and proud of what they are doing, makes me that much more excited to see the finished result of Buena Vista Street.  I really think it is going to be one of the best things Imagineering has ever done.

Buena Vista Street Tiling

 

Designing the Red Car Trolley

 

Carthay Circle Theatre Designs

 

Artwork of the new Statue

 

The Maquette of the new Statue

 

Concept Art for Buena Vista Street Cast Member Costumes

 

The New Attraction Posters

 

After seeing what’s to come to DCA in the Blue Sky Cellar, we headed over to my favorite attraction at DCA: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  The wait was short and the ride was great.  I mentioned a few trips ago, that the gift shop had new props inside.  Well those new props are now gone.  No longer is there a TV in the window and the “Get Out of Here Finchley” paper is back in the type writer.  I heard that those props from a couple weeks ago was for a scavenger hunt that Disney was testing.  But having a TV in the window of the gift shop seems like it could be really neat, especially if they were playing episodes of the Twilight Zone!

The Hollywood Tower Hotel

 

"Get Out of Here Finchley!"

 

While walking toward the park exit, I took a good look at the new attraction posters on the construction walls.  I really love them.  They have that classic look of an original Disneyland attraction poster.  I think my favorite may be the poster for the Silly Symphony Swings!

Grizzly River Run Attraction Poster

 

Silly Symphony Swings Attraction Poster

 

We made our way back to Disneyland and the Fireworks had just started.  We stood on Main Street near the Train Station and watched the remainder of the show.  The Remember… Dreams Come True Fireworks sure are amazing.  Every time I see them I am impressed.  It’s no wonder that Disney is still using the same show from six years ago.  If they have something that great, they should keep it.

The Finale

 

The fireworks ended and we made our way to the Haunted Mansion Holiday.  It was a terrific ride.  The queue is so exciting in the Haunted Mansion Holiday.  I love the way the Mansion looks all decked out and the creepy Phantom Manor music adds an eerie touch.

"I Know You're Curious to See What's Inside... It's What Happens When Two Holidays Collide!"

 

After the Mansion, we went over to the Port Royal store, which sells Nightmare Before Christmas and Haunted Mansion stuff.  Inside, they had bone wreaths up for Halloween.  They look like the ones used in the ride during the endless hallway scene.  They really looked great up close.  A great overlay for the store.

A Bone Wreath

 

While Fantasmic! was going on, we thought we would take that time to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  It was a wise decision as the line was only 5 minutes.  We sat in the back like we always do and it was excellent.  Unfortunately, the rocks in the mine were not moving again, but oh well…  At least the falling rocks projection in the background was still working.  I can’t say how much I love Big Thunder at night.  There is something so magical about it.  It’s scarier and more thrilling.

BTMRR At Night!

 

We got off of Big Thunder and decided to walk around Frontierland and look at some Halloween decorations.  One of the stores has some nice old fashioned decorations out front including a creepy looking pumpkin man, which you can see below:

Creepy?

 

The end of the night was upon us and we had time for one last attraction.  We decided to get a couple Dole Whips and enjoy the Tiki Room.  We were the only ones in the Enchanted Garden and we thought we were going to be alone for the entire show.  But as luck would have it, about ten people came in right before the show started.  No one was in our section, however.  So it still felt like we had our own show.  Maynard was our host again and he did his usual wonderful spiel.  The show looked and sounded great.  We were against the southern most wall and I think that’s my favorite spot.  The sound is excellent in that area and you get a good look at everything in the show.

Dole Whips!

 

An Empty Tiki Room

 

The Magic Fountain

 

Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room ended our evening at the Disneyland Resort.  It was a nice relaxing trip and I can’t wait to be there again.

 

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Disneyland Trip Report: September 18, 2011

This past weekend was the kick off to Disneyland’s Halloween Time celebration.  Naturally, we had to be there.

Halloween Time is Here!

 

Disney's Halloween Time!

 

We got to the park in the early evening and first took in the sights and sounds of Main Street complete with its Halloween decorations.  The street was lined with jack-o-lanterns among other Halloween paraphernalia.  It was a welcomed sight.  I love Halloween and it feels great to see the decorations in full effect.

Giant Mickey Pumpkin!

 

The Emporium is Celebrating!

 

At the park’s hub, the usual jack-o-lanterns were on display representing each of Disneyland’s lands.  I really love that attention to detail.

Pumpkins Around the Hub

 

After getting a fast pass for Space Mountain, we made our way to the Haunted Mansion Holiday to take some pictures before it got too dark.  The Mansion really looks beautiful.  On our way through New Orleans Square, I naturally had to pass a closed Pirates of the Caribbean.  How sad it was for me.

I Hate Seeing a Closed Pirates...

 

The Haunted Mansion Holiday is Here!

 

See How Jack Has Decked the Halls

 

The first attraction we went on was the Matterhorn Bobsleds.  I love the Matterhorn what with its icy caverns and abominable snowmen animatronics.  My favorite thing happened on this particular ride too.  I love when you are racing right next to the bobsled on the other track.  We were neck and neck and then it looked as though we were going to crash into each other, when at the last second, our bobsled plunged right under the other bobsled’s track.  That is really one of the most thrilling things you can do at Disneyland.  For the best Matterhorn experience, take the track on the left side.  If this head to head race happens, it is much more thrilling plunging underneath.  Oh and I also noticed that in the control room, a cast member put an abominable snowman doll on display.  It was very fun finding him!  I love when cast members do fun things like that.

The Matterhorn Bobsleds

 

Look in the Window!

 

We were a bit hungry after our bobsled run, so we decided to snack on some corn cobs.  We sat in that little area near the Matterhorn where the Motor Boat Cruise attraction used to be.  I love that area because it is so isolated and untouched.  While eating our delicious corn, some ducks came up to us and we fed them.  They ate popcorn right out of my hand!  It was very fun.

Corn

 

Duck

 

Home of the Former Motor Boat Cruise

 

After walking around the park for a little while, we decided it was time for dinner so we went to the French Market which was all decked out for Halloween.  They have many of the same props that are inside the Haunted Mansion Holiday.  I had a delicious sandwich which came in a Jack Skellington Coffin Box!  A very neat collector’s item.

Inside the French Market

 

We then visited the Golden Horseshoe to see the new railings they put on the top floor.  It is annoying that they had to add them, but times change.  Of course, the Golden Horseshoe is better without those added railings, but it’s not a terrible eyesore like the changes they made to the Alice in Wonderland attraction.

Safety First

 

As we were walking out of the Golden Horseshoe, we stopped to look at the Day of the Dead display in Frontierland.  It was very neat and festive.  We took many pictures of the skeleton band.

The Skeleton Band

 

It was finally time for the Haunted Mansion Holiday!  We had our fast passes, which cut the line down from 40 minutes to 5 minutes.  The ride was excellent.  It all seemed the same as last year with the exception of a snowflake lighting effect at the end of the Stretching Room scene and a new Gingerbread House.  The Gingerbread House this year is amazing!  It is a giant replica of the Mansion itself and it splits in half to create a larger than life set of jaws.  It takes a few chomps, then returns to its original form.  It was really excellent.  The rest of the ride is just as great as it always is.  One thing I did notice was that the ghost playing the Organ in the Ballroom Scene was missing his hat!  I wonder what happened to it!

Haunted Mansion Holiday

 

Ho Ho Ho

 

A Graveyard That's Covered in Ghostly White Snow

 

After the Haunted Mansion Holiday, what does one do, but go on again.  So we headed back into that mysterious old Mansion and experienced another great ride thru.

Round Two

 

Then it was finally time for Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy!  I love this overlay, especially the exterior queue.  The projections and audio effects on the Mountain itself are wonderful.  It is everything you can ask for from a Halloween attraction.  Unfortunately, the interior queue is untouched from its usual form.  The ride was very fun, except we did not see the ghost that flies along side your rocket.  I hope they eventually put him in because that is the most exciting part of the overlay.  Even without that ghost, it was still a very fun time.

Notice the Lighting Effect on the Mountain

 

Ghost Galaxy!

 

Casey Jr. Circus Train was up next.  We have been riding this a lot lately and I love it every time.  There is something really special about it and I love the detail of the Storybook Land scenes.  My favorite part is when you are passing the mountains above Pinocchio’s village.

All Aboard!

 

After Casey Jr., we saw that Snow White’s Scary Adventures had a short line, so we did that.  Snow White is a great dark ride.  I really love it and I love the new lighting effects that were added a couple of years ago.  The projected rain effect in the climax is really excellent.  It looks amazing.

The Wicked Queen Looks Down Upon Us

 

We survived our encounter with the Queen, and headed back down Main Street.  We took a look at some more Halloween decorations and really let the beginning of the holiday sink in.  It is going to be a wonderful Halloween and what’s a better way to start it than with a trip to Disneyland.

There will even be a party at Hotel Marceline on Main Street!
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Disneyland Trip Report: September 10, 2011

Hey everyone!  Robert here.  September 9, 2011 was a big day for us at Remain Seated Please.  David got hitched!  Yes, David married his beautiful bride, Suzi.  After the wedding, what does a Disney fan do, but visit the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland!

Congratulations to David & Suzi!

 

We got to Disneyland around 3pm and visited one of my favorite attractions: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  It is rare that I visit Lincoln as most of my friends find it boring.  I am always fascinated with it.  I am a huge fan of Lincoln and love learning everything about the man.  But the real treat for me is the amazing lifelike animatronic of our 16th President.  I can’t get over how wonderful his facial features are.  Every syllable and breath is animated to great precision on this great audio animatronic.

The World has never had a good definition of the word 'Liberty'

 

After our visit with Honest Abe, we found a nice shady spot to view Mickey’s Soundsational Parade.  A friend of mine just got a part in the parade as a dancer in the Little Mermaid section.  While waiting for the parade to start, the Disneyland band entertained us and just by coincidence, some guests dressed in get ups right out of an old gangster movie passed by and started to dance.  They were really great.  They did some swing dancing, which was very fun to watch.  The parade was very enjoyable and my friend Jessica did a great job.  Her dance routine went perfectly!  During the parade, King Louie appeared and he came right up to me and touched me!  It was great, but scary at the same time!  It was quite the thrill!  I had a fun time watching the parade, but I wish there was a bigger climax.  The final scene with Mary Poppins and the Chimney Sweeps is great, but it’s not the huge elaborate ending I would have predicted for a highly anticipated Disney parade.

The Random Dancers

 

Jessica in the Parade!

 

King Louie Close Up!

 

Our large group then met up at Sleeping Beauty Castle to take a photo.  It was a beautiful day and that made the photo look even more amazing.  Take a look below:

Our Disneyland Group

 

Since we had such a large group, we thought a perfect attraction for us to visit would be Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.  After getting our delicious Dole Whips, we entered the World of Enchantment and Maynard was once again our host.  He did his usual wonderful introduction, full of various voices and goofy faces.  He then tossed it over to Jose who took it from there.  The Tiki Room looked and sounded great.

Jose!

 

It was then time for Star Tours!  It was the first time for some people in our group and everyone loved it.  We went Pod Racing and entered the Death Star.  In between the two scenes, a hologram of Princess Leia appeared and talked to us.  It was my first time seeing her and I was amazed!  I couldn’t figure out if it was a great look alike or excellent CGI.  I assume it was CGI because it looked exactly like the Carrie Fisher of 35 years ago.  How did they do it so well?  It was really one of those great Disney moments that makes you wonder.

We are her only hope!

 

After Star Tours, most of the group went and had dinner at Tortilla Joe’s in Downtown Disney, but I wasn’t hungry.  So I stayed behind with my uncle and we rode the Disneyland Railroad.  The T-Rex vs. Stegasaurus scene is back from refurbishment and it looks wonderful.  It looks like they both got a new coat of paint.  The rest of the Railroad was excellent.  It is one of my favorite things at Disneyland, especially at night.

Nothing Better than the Disneyland Railroad at Night

 

We then headed over to Disney California Adventure, which has its new entrance.  It was strange walking through the main gate and making an immediate right and actually entering the park near Soarin’ Over California.  It’s something I will have to get used to for the next year.  I noticed that the top of Carthay Circle Theatre was finished and boy does it look amazing.  With Buena Vista Street under construction, you can really get close to the theatre and it’s huge!  I am so excited to see it finished.  It will really be a great icon for the park.

The Finished Top

 

The first ride we went to was The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.  Again, it was the first time for some people and it was excellent.  Everyone really loved it, including myself.

The Attraction Poster

 

After our group finished their dinner at Tortilla Joe’s, we met up again at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  It was a great ride and the drops felt wonderful.  I noticed that the gift shop now has Halloween decorations, which I really like.  I wish that the Tower did their Halloween overlay that they did a few years ago.  It was really great.  I also noticed that there is a television set now in the gift shop.  It was on and nothing was playing.  I was really curious as to why it was there.  After doing some research online, I found out that it’s part of a Disney Scavenger Hunt that they are testing.  I wonder what could possibly play on the TV.  It would be neat if they played old Twilight Zone episodes!  One other thing I noticed in the Tower was that the typewriter under your on ride photo has a different piece of paper sticking out of it.  It usually says “Get out of here Finchley”, which is a reference to a Twilight Zone episode called “A Thing About Machines”.  Now the paper is ripped on top and has a poem on it.  I wonder if this is also part of the scavenger hunt…

Is There Meaning?

 

What Will Be Playing?

 

Tower Halloween Decorations in the Gift Shop

 

Since David and Suzi got married the day before, they celebrated by staying over night at the Grand Californian.  We all went to hang out in the room after the Tower and it was wonderful.  It was a nice big room and it has an excellent view of the monorail.  The monorail passed right underneath the room!  It was a unique sight!  After relaxing and having some delicious cake, we headed back to Disneyland.

A Unique View of the Monorail

 

Now this is probably the first time I have ever been to Disneyland when Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion were both closed.  It was tough for me.  One thing that I must do every time I go to Disneyland is ride Pirates and it was so sad to see it closed.  It doesn’t reopen until late November.  I might go through Pirate withdrawals…

I Hate Seeing This...

 

We did walk over to the Haunted Mansion which is being re-dressed for its holiday overlay.  It looks as though it is nearly complete from the outside.  It all looks great and I’m very excited to see what’s in store this year.

It Will Be Here Soon!

 

Jack Skellington Came Here From Halloweentown

 

Pumpkin Scarecrow

 

And with that, we ended our night at the Disneyland Resort.  Congratulations to David and Suzi on their marriage.  They are in Hawaii right now and I hope they are having a wonderful time!

Oh!  One more thing…  As I was walking by Astro Orbiter, I noticed that a dog was going for a ride!  How amazing is that!?!?!

Doggy Goes for a Ride!

 

Also a big thank you to Daveland for their help with pictures in this report!

 

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Disneyland Trip Report: August 28, 2011

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!

Never to be Seen Again!

 

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!

Do you know what's inside?

 

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.

The Undersea Adventure

 

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.

The Plaza Inn

 

The Cobb Salad!

 

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.

The Fireworks Finale!

 

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.

Casey Jr Time!

 

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.

One of the Great Marc Davis Paintings in the Queue

 

The Missing Pirate. I guess he finally made it to shore!

 

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.

Cat Lady

 

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.

The Dragon Appears!

 

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.

BTMRR

 

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.

Inside the Temple

 

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!

Jolly Holiday: Coming Soon

 

Halloween Time is Approaching!

 

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!

Zip-Ah-Dee-Doo-Dah!

 

Maynard wakes up Jose

 

Enjoy the complete Photo Gallery from our trip!

 

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Trip Report: August 5 and 7, 2011

Well this was a rare but well-deserved double-trip this weekend.  Day 1 was an after-work-on-a-Friday trip.  We started heading to the parks around 7:45 and arrived close to 9pm by the time we walked through the gates of the Magic Kingdom known as Disneyland.

It was an amazingly cool summer night and the entrance to DCA looked stellar.  As we entered Disneyland through a not-so-crowded turnstile, we passed under the train into a sea of summer guests reaching the end of their day at the park.  We swam our way to Store Command in Tomorrowland where we picked up some really neat pins!

We then grabbed a quick bite over at the TLT (Tomorrowland Terrace) and made our way over to Big Thunder via Fantasyland.  I love going that way because the park is so serene by Big Thunder Ranch.  There’s mostly moonlight lighting the way.  It’s nice and quiet with some Big Thunder excitement coming by every now and then.  I remember when I was a kid there was a quail sanctuary – I suppose you would call it – right where the smoking area is along the side of BTMRR.  I wish they’d bring something like that back.  As a young passholder in the 90s, my family and I would feel a sense of pride watching those little birds grow up.

As we approached the BTMRR queue, we saw that the line was too long and because Fantasmic! was just starting, knew it would be the best opportunity to jump aboard Pirates of the Caribbean and sack the Spanish main!  Everything looked and sounded great.  The boats were a little backed up when looking from the queue but by the time we got on, everything was flowing smoothly.  The guy in the middle waiting to be dunked is still on extended vacation.

Pirates!

 

After that, we decided to socialize with some grim-grinning ghosts over at The Haunted Mansion.  This ride always amazes me and this time, I really noticed how disorienting it is.  I’ll have to dig up a track layout in the future and check out how it pertains to the park’s geography because, like “Pirates…”, it’s just SO MASSIVE!  I noticed in the attic scene opposite the Bride (where the Hat-Box Ghost might one day stand again) the decor looked a little more disheveled than usual.  I like to pretend it’s the ghost of the HBG trying to reassemble himself!  Also, the last Melloman on the left was out of sync from his fellow vocalists.

The Haunted Mansion under the moonlight.

 

After the Mansion, it was just about time for the park to close and the Big Thunder queue only got longer than before.  We got some great grub over at the Stage Door Café and then traded some great pins with a cast member on our way out.  This cast member seemed to be a higher-up and had some fun with us and our pin trading etiquette.  I don’t trade often so I am a timid trader but I did get an awesome Country Bear pin that I’ll post in my collection in the future.  Inthia got another HM pin from the tombstone series.

Stage Door Cafe Funnel Cake!

 

 

On Sunday, Suzi and I decided late in the day to take a trip down.  Again, we walked through the turnstiles around 9pm but this time at DCA.  It’s turning into one of my favorite things to walk through that beautiful gate at the DLR.  This was our first time really taking in all of the construction projects going on in what’s becoming Carthay Circle.  Walls, walls everywhere!

We popped over to Soarin’ Over California which is always a treat.  I just wish they would have built 4 theatres instead of 2 to accommodate the long lines.  I never see it with less than a 30 minute wait.  This trip, I really took in the beauty and detail of the queue.  The banners up top correspond to the photos on the wall and the windows and skylights are a nice touch.  I am such a sucker for early flight and space travel and reading those placards is just so interesting.

What detail!

 

I love the film they have but wish they would do an overhaul to it like they did with Star Tours.  I wouldn’t want a 3D experience, however, because this attraction is so immersive already.  (We rode in the first row in the center which is my favorite place to sit.  No one above you and you get the most immersive feeling, in my opinion.)  I just wish they would at least clean and restore the film from time to time because I see dust that appears and disappears more frequently now and Downtown LA is so outdated now that LA Live and the Nokia Center are there.  And why is that section sped up?  I also never understood why they shot the Disneyland footage at Christmas time?  I love Christmas time at the DLR but in August, it’s a little jarring.  I wonder how the first-time guests feel about this — if they even notice it?  I do love finding the Hidden Mickeys in the ride.  There’s even a Hidden Eisner if you look closely!

After an amazing flight, we ate over at the Taste Pilot’s Grill which is one of my favorite places.  I am still on my diet so I looked for something I could have that was a little more substantial and found the ribs on the menu.  WOW!  These ribs are SO GOOD!  I even lucked out because it was right before closing.  I ordered the 3-piece ribs and got the 5-piece.  I love when cast members understand how to please guests and not waste food.  I highly recommend the X3 or X5 ribs!

What a treat!

On our way out of the park, we noticed that the Condor Flats sign was spinning once again!  I had almost completely forgotten that it ever spun but I have noticed over the last few months that it has been facing different directions every time.  I wonder if this will remain intact post-refurb of the park?  Spinning this sign seems strange to me, though, as when it’s facing the Grizzly Peak, guests just see the blank back-side of a sign.  Seems like a strange choice to me but it was nice to see it spinning!

We slid on over to Disneyland and went straight into The Enchanted Tiki Room and what treat did we get when we got there?  Maynard!  Arguably the most beloved cast member at Disneyland, I was very excited to have my first Maynard / Tiki Room experience.  We showed up in time, too, for us to see all of the gods do their chants.  There were some kids getting Dole whips that were at first uninterested in the Tiki Room, but once they saw that I would walk to each of the gods as they spoke, they got way into it and started guessing, along with me, which of the gods were to speak next!  It’s nice to see that some kids are still interested in some of this early Disneyland magic.

I think my favorite thing in the Tiki Room.

 

Maynard blew us away with his Tiki Room speech.  His pre-show is so well crafted and energetic it made everyone laugh out loud and get in the spirit of the show!  What was disappointing, though, was the lack of crowds in the Tiki Room.  There were only about 15 people in the attraction this go-around.  I hope it was just because the fireworks had already ended and there was a Fantasmic! show in-progress.  All-in-all, though, a great Tiki Room experience!

We then met up with a friend just outside the Tiki Room and went to look at a Vinylmation he had told us about.  Now, one thing you should know about me is I do not care for vinylmation but this one was really weird.  It was part of the Holiday collection and was just an eye.  Like a classic Mickey Mouse eye.  We couldn’t figure it out for the life of us so we called a cast member over and it was a super interesting conversation!

We asked many questions about the lack of pretzels in the park, the placements of some shops in the park, and the lack of Haunted Mansion merchandise.  I’ll post some of his interesting takes on the parks but if you find yourself wanting to know some great Disney trivia, look for “Matt” in Adventureland or Frontierland.  He apparently floats around and is well known by the cast members.

After blowing our minds with some interesting trivia, we headed over to The Haunted Mansion, which once again, looked and felt perfect.  I had never realized that about 90% of the photos on the wall in the hallway scene are of the HBG.  Interesting stuff!

Is this haunted room *actually* stretching?!

 

To cap off our night, we headed to the Coca-Cola Corner to have some pretzels and drinks and talk all things Disneyland.  What was most amusing while eating there, was this random guy hanging around the corn dog cart across the street that insisted on high-fiving everyone leaving the park for the night.  We had run into this guy just before entering the Haunted Mansion but it was funny seeing him still at it.  Hopefully he made good use of the hand sanitizer available all over the parks!

Can’t wait to go back and start to see the transformation to Halloween Time!  It’ll be RSP’s first holiday season and we couldn’t be more excited!

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Trip Report: July 27, 2011 & Club 33!

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.

The Elephant

 

And His Missing Mother in Law!

 

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!

Club 33!

 

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.

The Haunted Mansion

 

We then headed over to DCA and the first thing I noticed is that the Golden Gate Bridge is gone!  Take a look below:

Gone and soon to be rethemed!

 

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!

Soarin' Over California!

 

Nice Work, Pal!

 

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.

Under the Sea

 

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.

A Beacon for the Show Business Elite.

 

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.

Dee Dum

 

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!

Yo Ho

 

This is the fella before his shave.

 

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!

It's Fire Breathing!

 

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:

 

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Snow White Walk Through

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]

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Trip Report: July 17, 2011

July 17, 2011 marks the 56th birthday of the happiest place on Earth: Disneyland!  I had to be there!

Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lack of celebration for the park’s birthday.  The only thing that gave a hint that the park was celebrating an anniversary were the buttons Cast Members were wearing.  I did hear that earlier in the day there was a little event involving nearly all the park’s walk around characters!

July 17, 2011 also marks the first time we enter Disney California Adventure through the new Pan Pacific turnstiles!  It really looks beautiful and even better at night!  I’m so happy with it.

During the Day

 

At Night

 

The first thing we decided to do was Goofy’s Sky School, but it was closed unfortunately.  We had asked a Cast Member why the ride was closed and if he knew when it would reopen.  He gave the most robotic and rehearsed response we have ever heard.  It was kind of funny.

So instead, we went to the Paradise Garden area of DCA and enjoyed some pizza and pasta.  As I said in the last trip report, the area is so wonderful.  It is such a welcomed addition to DCA.  And the food was pretty delicious too.  I like that flat bread pizza much more than Disneyland’s Pizza Port.

Pizza & Pasta!

 

Pepperoni Pizza

 

After dinner, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom.  We decided to see the Magic, Memories, and You presentation displayed on the facade of it’s a small world.  We had yet to see the show and it was quite enjoyable.  The projections on the small world facade were top notch and looked wonderful.  I just wish that they displayed images of Disneyland rather than people’s home movies and pictures.  I don’t quite understand why people would want to see someone else’s home movies.  Even so, the show was fun and it even had a fireworks finale!

Projections on the Facade

 

Then it was time to see the new fireworks show for the summer: Magical.  While nothing can compete with the 50th anniversary fireworks show, Magical was still really good.  It did a great job interweaving different Disney tales and the appearances of Tinker Bell and Dumbo flying over Sleeping Beauty Castle were breathtaking.  I got so emotional when Dumbo was flying over the Kingdom.  It was one of the best Disney moments I had ever experienced.

Fireworks over the Castle

 

It's Dumbo, the Flying Elephant!!!!

 

It was then time for Pirates of the Caribbean and it was quite the experience.  While in line, a highly intoxicated girl started to chat us up.  She decided that we were all best friends and she insisted that we ride with her.  I was a little upset because I wanted to enjoy the ride and not have her babbling throughout.  My Girlfriend, Inthia was seated right next to her.  The Drunk Girl talked on and on about hidden mickeys and how her sister was eating at Club 33 and spending a “million-bajillion” dollars.  On the drops, the girl held tightly onto Inthia’s arm and basically hugged her throughout the ride.  She also kept insisted on getting pictures with Inthia.  She was very annoying, but it was a good story worth telling.  At the end of the ride, she just ran off like she had never met us before.  She was a very strange girl.  Even with the intoxicated girl, the ride was great.  The guy in the middle waiting to be dunked is still missing.  Everything else looked as good as can be.

Inthia and Her New Best Friend

 

Mark Well Me Words Mateys...

 

We then went over to the Haunted Mansion hoping we would not run into that girl again.  Thankfully, we didn’t see her.  The ride was great as always.  Everything seemed to be working well and I didn’t see any changes from the previous visit.  And Madame Leota was still floating.

Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out To Socialize!

 

The night ended with a trip on the Disneyland Railroad through the Grand Canyon and Primeval World.  The train is one of my favorite things to do at Disneyland and it is the perfect way to end the night.  We caught the train in New Orleans Square and sat in the back.  I love the Grand Canyon and Primeval World.  I love the amount of detail and the wonderful backdrop painting.  It is one of those timeless things that does not seem to change with time.  On this particular trip, the T-Rex vs. Stegasaurs scene was covered up for a refurbishment.  It was really strange to see all the great dinosaurs and not have that incredible finale.  Oh well…  As long as I get some dinosaurs, I’m happy.

The Grand Canyon

 

Primeval World

 

The train made its way to Main Street where we departed and exited the Magic Kingdom.  It was a fine birthday for the park, even if it was low key.  Happy Birthday Disneyland!  I can’t wait to visit you for many more years to come!

Enjoy some more photos from our trip: