Disneyland Trip Reports

Trip Report - October 3, 2011

2011-10-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for a long trip report? It’s been a few months since I've done a report even though I’ve been to the park half a dozen times over the summer. I've either been with friends, family or attending events like Dapper Day (that sure was fun!). On Monday morning I finally had a chance to spend a few leisurely hours at the park and check out all my favorite spots.

I’ve discovered an interesting phenomenon that occurs at the park during early October; I call it the “ guest-less hours”. As you may know, Disneyland has a special night time Halloween party on selected days; I think these separately ticketed parties start at 8pm. Normally the “off season” park hours for the park are 10am to 8pm, but due to Halloween party, they shift them to 8am to 6pm. I don’t think many people (apparently only a few hundred) knew the park is open so early on a Monday in the Fall.

The weather was great with some cool looking clouds that cleared away quickly; the photo below was taken moments before the one above,

Hey everyone, get out of my shot. Thanks…

The most frequent guest you’ll see is my shadow.

For the first hour I saw more cast members than guests.

Interestingly all the Main Street Vehicles’ rushed onto the scene at 8am sharp.

Years of Brass polish and this plaque still looks great, is this the original 1955 plaque?

Let’s hop the train for a quick trip from Main Street.

The attraction information board was unmanned and appears to only list “fast pass” attraction wait times, maybe this is the “off season” configuration?

Only a hand full of people at the hub and naturally one has a stroller!

Frontierland gets no respect! "No Guest" respect that is.

(After waiting two long years to upgrade my cell phone I got a new Droid BIONIC, it’s a beast but so far I love it. The videos in this post were mostly a test of the 1080p HD video camera’s ability.) I stood here and drank my $3 coffee and soaked in the atmosphere.

From the Frontierland Bridge if you look to your right your see the Carnation Plaza Gardens. Rumor has it Disneyland has big (More Princess stuff?) plans for this classic, quaint, charming and historic area of the park. There is an excellent post over at Daveland (link) about the history (and future?) of the Carnation Plaza Gardens. It’s hard to believe the amazing list of celebrities that have played there, including my absolute favorite; The Elliott Brothers and the Disneyland Date Niters (link)!

Since it’s just you and me in the park, let’s take a walk over to and through the Carnation Plaza Gardens.

It’s even more charming to enter the Plaza Gardens from the Castle moat area. This area between the Castle and the Plaza Gardens is one of my favorite spots in the park, PLEASE don’t mess it up Disney! Listen closely around 1:05, its so quiet you can hear Snow White singing in her grotto on the other side of the castle.

I’m just not interested in all the tack on holiday stuff, that said – this cool sign did catch my eye.

That shadow followed my everywhere I went; it was starting to creep me out.

You never see this, three people in line for Casey Jr.?

Monstro was swallowing guests a very slow rate, I bet he goes hungry on days like this.

So here’s the deal Disney... As much as I adore the former Motor Boat area (Fantasia Gardens?) you kind of ruined it when you cut off the water way to make escape routes for the subs (how did they escape from 1959 to 1997?) now it’s just a dock floating in a pool.

See all the flowers and stuff, why it looks like a “princess” could live here? The “make me a princess” shop is just up the path so it’s logical to put the new princess thing HERE not at the Carnation Plaza Gardens.

Here’s the layout, there must be a way to get the little princess' over here instead of them invading the Plaza Gardens.

OK so there is a lot of water, work it out Disney! "She Loves me, she loves me not".

This is the tree from Jason’s awesome post from June (link) a 1955 original, yes I went up to it and touched it.

The mighty Matterhorn was open on both sides!

That line is outrageous.

For some reason this just feels right.

Three fences is doing well, the 1959 section is getting a bit overgrown.

It’s just after 9am now, still not too many guests.

Close your eyes, click your heels together three times and repeat after me “Speed ramps, People Mover, Rocket Jets”

Do you see the Omega Man too.

The area in front of “Tinker Bells Pixie whatever” is really nice when no one is around.

Its nice how much “plain” grass remains around the hub, it lends a nice “at home” touch.

Obligatory Castle shot.

The morning sun really sets off the paint on the trolley.

Adventureland was packed as usual – do you really need that baseball cap at 9am?

The Anaheim River, drink at your own risk.

Does anyone else recall the HUGE tree that was at the Jungle Cruise exit? It was where that tiny tree is now right? This area is super bright now.

Oh, that’s what the pathways in Adventureland look like.

All the fighting thru the crowds had made me hungry. $8 with my AP discount, it was filling if not fattening…

Three people on the Top deck, that’s it.

So now it’s 9:30am and actually kind of scary, were is everyone?

Let’s ride the train again, my feet are getting tired.

Back at Town Square near the Guided Tours building they’ve added this braille map, very cool!

And let’s wrap up this report with a few Fall Flowers, boy does Disney know how to do flowers!

Trip Report - May 23, 2011

2011-05-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today’s Trip Report is about a trip I took to Disneyland on Monday morning to see the new Star Tours. I was lucky enough to win in the “drawing” for the annual pass holder’s preview. My time slot was Monday morning from 9am to 1pm.

It was overcast most of the morning, but the temperature was nice. The crowd levels were fairly low, although when I left at noon the masses of humanity appeared to be descending on the park.

Was there a force-field repelling guests from the center of town square? I stood there for a few minutes, no one crossed the center? Must be the lack of sunlight, this is usually a popular photo area.

My Breakfast of Champions. That cinnamon twist thing can be hit or miss, I've had them as hard as railroad spikes, but this one was soft, fresh and yummy.

After that coffee and twist I was ready to bolt for Star Tours (I mistakenly thought I could only ride once so I want to get in line ASAP) as I was slithering thru the inside pathway of the Penny Arcade I noticed something unusual at the Candy Palace.

From a conversation I later had with the Candy Maker I found out they were “experimenting” and “training”. The training is because it takes 3 people to make those Candy Canes at Christmas and it’s not something every Disneyland Candy Maker knows how to do – yet.

The “experimenting” was trying something new and not holiday related. He told me they haven’t done anything like this in years; he was pretty excited about it. These were going to be Candy “Sticks”, basically the Candy Cane with no curve. This green one is not mint but Sour Apple! They were going to do red Sour Cherry later in the day.

I think she was the Candy Maker who was being trained, although she seemed to be catching on great, she’s getting ready to “cut” the candy with some huge scissors.

Let’s watch how this works… Gotta be honest, I was mesmerized with this and stayed a good 15 minutes. Only two other people stopped to look, at least they took some pictures!

How long do you suppose those scissors have been at Disneyland?

On my way out of the park stopped by the Candy Palace and the Candy makers were “out of the booth” and talking with some a Disney management person. As soon as they were done I asked them about what they were making earlier. I didn’t see the green & white candy anywhere so I inquired, they told me “if someone asks we can sell it, but it didn’t come out like we thought so where not displaying it” Instead of “Sticks” they were one inch size pieces - $12 for a small basket, I almost bought some, but his body language said “don’t waste your money”…

Ok, over to Star Tours! My brief detour turned out to be a good thing, I was told there was a line at 9am but it was pretty much gone by 9:20am. The “winners” of the preview had to take their winning email and their annual pass and present it here before being let in to get a special Fastpass.

For some odd reason the new Star Tours Fastpass area is located on the Buzz Light Year side, pure genius!

All new Fastpass machines remind me of the droids from Silent Running (link) – great movie by the way.

Each machine was marked “GNK-“ and then 1 thru 6, does “GNK” have some meaning?

All things equal that little droid spits out one of these! And guess what, all "winners" were able to get another pass every 30 minutes until 1pm!

Once inside the first thing I noticed was this huge display screen, which alternates between this information sign;

And this information sign (translation anyone?);

Then this video comes on, let’s take a look.

Once you pass thru the main room and start the winding ramp queue you might hear this pathetic voice from down below on the right side, he was mumbling something and moving around, poor guy (you can here him at the end of the video above).

At least he’s not alone.

Great Shadows effect!

Be sure and check out Davelands super Star Tours post (link) as his exterior and interior photos are much more exciting than mine. I included this one show the cool technology in use here. The figure on the front and left screens is me in real time – and that see thru data panel on the right is straight out of Avatar! There will be some queue holdups here for certain.

The update was excellent, top notch, fully met my expectations as I imagine it will for most Disneyland and Star Wars fans. Seeing Jar Jar Binks in the Naboo journey was a bit disturbing, but everyone laughs at him when he appears and he’s done away with quickly.

I predict a busy summer for this revamped and updated 1987 attraction, use your Fastpass! A few odd observations. The seats and seatbelts were worn and appeared to be the same ones from before? They seriously kicked up the air conditioning; you feel it the whole time. The sound system has been vastly improved. When the attraction ended BOTH sets of doors opened, exit and entrance, a bit awkward the first two times. However, on round three when the entrance doors opened no one was there so we got to ride again, THREE MORE TIMES in a row!!!! 7 total for the day, in less than 2 hours!

Because I needed to rest my brain (part of it was still on Tatooine) I headed for the train, I guess I was the only one with that idea.

Is the #5 slightly smaller than the other trains?

On my last trip to the park the Mark Twain was closed, serious bummer. This time it was running and again no one was one the second deck, just me and Louis Armstrong’s ghost for an awesome 15 minute ride on the Rivers of America. Frankly, this part was worth the trip to the park all by itself.

At least it’s not sinking anymore.

Something doesn’t look right here, is it the color? Or is it that "Blazing Saddles" is playing???

Of course as the overcast begins to part I have to leave, still, no complaints here. I’m so lucky to be able to visit the park like this, how could I complain?

Trip Report - January 31, 2011

2011-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

While doing some work in the Anaheim area on Monday I was able to stop by the park for a bite to eat and quick walk around the realms. This photo was taken on my way out; the weather was once again perfect, I’m glad Disneyland wasn’t built in New York.

Here’s that cool Disneyland flag James Keeline mentioned on Sunday’s post (link).

“Family Fun Weekends” a welcomed new feature at the park (see more info on the flyer at the end of this post). This sign however screams “Six Flags Art Department”.

Main Street was nice and quiet, in fact it was too quiet, where’s the Main Street Vehicles?

This is why there are no vehicles or trolley’s out. There were actually two guys under those walls with little cement trawls, the top part is a mesh screen! In fact, refurbishment walls were everywhere, the most I’ve ever seen at once.

I smell candy!

They really do this stuff, even when no one (well just me) is watching.

The guy outside the window isn’t watching the candy making, he’s behind a refurb wall doing painting.

Let’s head over to Adventureland.

This spot sure looked different a couple months ago.

December 9, 2010.

The Anaheim River is full.

I’m hungry and I smell fresh pancakes – the three pancakes Laura is working on ended up in my belly.

Yeah I’ve said it before, but if you get um fresh these are the best darn pancakes! $9.04 buys this well rounded meal.

The River was abuzz with action.

The Mark Twain is leaving the dock with one passenger!

It really is a cool looking Steam Boat.

No sooner are the Christmas decoration down and these go up. What is this? It looks like something you’d pick up at a garage sale in Beverly Hills.

Until we meet again…

The Holiday layover is gone and the Mansion looks foreboding once again.

Just inside the Mansion gates, I spotted this - I never noticed it before. Is it locked, nope. I opened it and it looks like it controls the wait time/fast pass sign, but wires were loose and exposed so I got scared and closed it and sped off.

Let’s go visit Bear Country.

I guess we won’t be visiting Bear Country. When is the last time they closed an entire land? Even the New Tomorrowland(s) and Fantasyland were phased in with some attractions still open.

Splash Mountain is a high maintenance mountain. It seems to need major work every year.

Trying to sneak around the back way I was met with a “construction wall”, this is as far as I could get.

I love this spot at Disneyland, it’s the land point between Fowlers Harbor and the River. There’s no access passed the eating area for the Harbor Whatever.

The Backside of the Columbia.

Obligatory Castle shot.

These pennants/flag things are a super nice touch.

The built-in benches at the castle entrance need some TLC – I think I see 1972!

I always assumed these draw bridge chains were fake, now I’m not so sure.

Speaking of chains – the Skyway Chalet is screaming my name. This little chain is all that holds me back – no warning sign, no lock, no cast members, just me and that darn chain!

Oh, what’s the red note say? Well of course I didn’t get close enough, but I’m guessing its instructions on how to install a Von Roll Type 101 Aerial Ropeway.

Could we be looking at reinstallation of the Motor Boat Cruise, ok maybe not, but what’s going on?

Three Fences at its best with the 1959 section showing more of its style.

The Matterhorn line was huge, I swear there were more people in line than in the rest of the park – herd mentality is the only explanation.

As we head out let’s check out the new exhibit in the Disney Gallery – It’s all about boats.

Front and center is this fine Kevin Kidney work of art.

The exhibit concept seemed a bit contrived, but there really is a lot of boats in Disney Parks so it actually makes since and it's a nice exhibit.

The exhibit consists mostly concept art, here’s a sampling, there’s plenty more if you visit in person.

I want one of those uniforms - I say this should be the official Disneyland Blogger uniform!

Is Alfred Hitchcock in one of those windows? Boy those are some freaky Twilightzone looking faces.

And lastly from the Gallery, inside the safe no less, is this vivid original oil painting.

Check or cash?

Let’s look at some flowers shall we?

The spot where the huge “Celebrate” Envelope with balloons once sat, it looks much better like this, in fact, this looks very 1955 - I like it.

This looks very 1998! Enough with the vegetables in Tomorrowland. Are these even really vegetables? They look weird and if the mouse keeps raising the price of a burger guests will start eating these things.

Trip Report - December 9, 2010

2010-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Time for another nice trip around the park. I was curious if the “Holiday Season” and its masses of humanity had descended on the park yet. As of December 9th, the park was still at normal weekday crowd levels and was actually very pleasant. This weekend and the rest of the year are likely to be very crowded so this was a nice treat.

Even though there weren't record crowds there was a small mob lined up at the Candy Palace at opening.

I counted at least 100 people in line on the outside.

At least another 25 people were lined up inside the Penny Arcade.

Why all the commotion? Candy Cane’s of course, fresh made just like mom used to do?

These candy makers are totally focused and apparently hot since it s 90-100 degrees in that room!

Here’s a little video showing the “pulling” of the raw Candy Cane material, it looks kinda fun if it wasn’t 100 degrees in there!

Well, here we have a bit of a problem. It seems the Candy Cane batches are limited in quantity and the “Magic Mornings” Hotel guests that got in the park one hour early gobbled up all the cane’s from the first batch. Regular guests were fuming, quote’s like “So your hotel guests are treated better than the rest of us” and “This is class warfare” (I seriously heard someone say that!). Its just candy folks!

They were handing out these sheets to try and help guests understand. I was there for 15 minutes and never even saw a Candy Cane! In fact, I don’t even like Candy Cane’s! If you try and eat one you’ll need to see a dentist, if you “lick” it, you’ll need to see a doctor about your bloody cut-up tongue, so I’ll pass thank you.

What do you know; ABC does mean Acme Business College.

New lockers have arrived at Disneyland and surprise they are the same price as the old ones, that never happens!

New kiosks tell you they don’t make change so you better not shove a $20 bill in there!

I used my debit card, it seemed easier.

You get to pick you own 4 digit access code, which is very cool and you no longer have to return to the Kiosk to re-open you locker.

The small locker (and I do mean small) is the same size as before and works for jackets and clothes, but you’ll need the big $10 locker if you one of those backpack people.

These neat flowers have a name that’s on the tip of my tongue, anyone??

Lots of lines.

Toontown got a new sign, hooray! One of these days I need to go over there, I’ve only been there once in the last 10 years!

The little ticket booth is looking great. Margie (the CM that works the booth) was telling a guest that this used to be a actual ticket booth years ago and the guest recalled it and its former location and even remembers buying tickets for her daughter there decades ago.

What do you know, they still sell tickets!

Three Fences, my little corner of Disneyland is doing well.

The mighty Matterhorn didn’t have much of a line, 5 minutes max.

It almost looks like you could fit a Skyway bucket thru that hole, Nah.

This photo (link) from my February 1969 post reveals the origins of the Tomorrowland cross.

As you can see, the cross was really just another support for the extended roof, at some point a large section was removed, leaving this support column exposed so I guess someone decided to “plus” it up with a neat point on the top.

More cross’s waiting to be created.

The Captain EO sign has a small change, here’s how it looked on opening day back in February (link).

TRON merchandise was prominently displayed in the window at the Star Trader.

And as soon as you walk in the door you are attacked by Captain EO merchandise (it must sell better).

Go a little further inside the store and you’ll find a few TRON items, not much though.

Hey this shirt would be great if I was a petite teenage girl – I bet they don’t sell many of those!

Look what I found right next to the TRON shirts, your money would be better spent on this.

The Star Tours exit was solidly boarded up and closed.

They have removed the old 3D “Star Tours” sign and put up this flat thing from the poster shop, I hope that's temporary.

The future that never arrived.

Your future has been “red-tagged” – sorry about that.

Well it only took two years but they fixed the missing tiles (link) - THANK YOU who ever did that – it gave me a smile for the rest of the day. Now just repaint the trim please.

Are your initials on this tree and if so, how did you do it?

The center support of our lost Tomorrowland.

Who is this guy and why did he stop and point at me?

The Astro-Orbiter is currently closed for some non-scheduled maintenance.

That cart is interesting, looks like some sort of hydraulic bypass unit.

Obligatory Castle shot, poor thing looks weighted down during the daylight.

One of the nicest cast members in the entire park, he smiles for me every time!

Another “After” photo compared to Major's 1958 photo (link).

These truly look fake but I touched one and can verify they are real.

Magic Sky’s over Anaheim.

What? Say it isn’t so…

The Casey Jr. Ticket booth is also completely in the shade of the trees making a good photo near impossible!

Boy they changed these flowers quick, just a few weeks ago there were totally different.

Same here along the Skyway entrance, all new.

I’m sad to report that Monsto has developed an odd aliment that causes serious inflammation of his gums.

The Teacups seem to be turning really slow, what’s up with that?

Yet another “after shot” here's the same scene in 1969 (link). You’ll notice today’s cast member is fully dressed.

The back cover was missing from this car, it’s a little more high-tech than I imagined, but not much.

Over in Adventureland I got this shot which reminds me very much of some of the vintage slides taken in this same spot.

Adventureland was not to crowded at all, its rare if you can see even see the ground in this area.

Not a bad stand-by time for Indy.

The Jungle Cruise was a total walk-on, no waiting.

Heading out of the park, here’s one more “After” shot, this area was much more useful as a Coffee House (link), see its just wasted space now!

Puppies! These are not Seeing Eye dogs, these are security dogs! I saw the black doggie last year at the park, his handlers had hidden a fake soda can under a bench, the dog had just found it and they were giving him a treat. I wonder what was in the can?

I overheard a funny conversation between two Cast Members at this spot. “It looks great but why did they have you paint this, it was fine before - meanwhile other much need areas go unfixed”. Sounds like an age old problem.

Town Square looks great on the way out and it was a super visit. I never get tired of visiting the park and I even bought myself something this time, a neato super soft scarf for $16, just call me “big spender”.

Trip Report - November 23, 2010

2010-11-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

I had a chance to stop by the park early on Tuesday morning for short trip and boy was it a nice visit. The attendance was nice and light at first – however once it became clear it was going to be a nice day all of Los Angeles starting arriving, at once. (this photo was taken on my way out).

The Omnibus looks a little odd with that Christmas stuff on it.

Yes I’m obsessed with the controls one the Main Street vehicles, just amuse me.

The Ice Cream Parlor is never open when I make my morning visits, who doesn’t like ice cream in the morning?

Nothing against Dryer’s (it’s yummy) by would it really have been that hard to keep Carnation as the ice cream sponsor? Carnation and Disneyland seem to go hand in hand.

Great specialties and by the scoop choices. The price? As they say “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it”.

OK, here are the prices. Given that my large box of Captain Crunch now costs $7+ these ice cream prices seem like a sweet deal. Obviously the Double Scoop cone or cup at $3.99 is the best value, why would ANYONE get a single scoop for only 50¢ less???

Since were focusing on sweets, lets checkout the Candy Palace.

Of course they’re pumping that sweet smell right into the street, let’s bite the hook and go inside.

I’ll take that whole try right there – thank you very much.

Looks easy, I bet its not!

Hey, what’s with this window located high above the door for the Candy Palace? What’s ABC for? American Broadcasting Company (that would be neat) – Alcoholic Beverage Commission (that would be weird) Or ?

The castle just look lame during the day, it’s like putting your Christmas tree outside during the day. I suppose there’s no way around it and it does look outstanding at night.

In the early mornings ridership is somewhat low on the Trolley route back to Town Square.

That’s a pretty serious control box there on the right, I wonder what it does?

Let’s head to the River’s of America via Frontierland as seen thru the Adventure entrance jungle.

The river works so well for me in the early mornings. I spend at least 15 minutes there when it’s quite like this; you’d be surprised how calming it is.

It’s turning out to a beautiful morning.

Oh look, the Mark Twain is about to leave with only 7 people on board!

I just made it, make that 8 people on board! I had the second deck to myself. Well, I’ll confess, I just sat right where I took this picture (Louis Armstrong’s stage) and didn’t move for the entire trip, just sat back and soaked it all in– wow was that cool.

Speaking of cool, I’m still on cloud-nine from my Club 33 visit – did I really do that, it seems surreal!

How about a “Now and then”? The Haunted Mansion was a walk on still, but before I went in I slipped over to take this “now” photo.

From Davelands insane “48 Year Ago Today: Haunted Mansion Construction” post (link) here’s the same area in 1962. Sure the queue area has been reconfigured (did they even know where the queue line would be in 1962?) but checkout how much is the same.

Another “Now and then” this one is almost impossible even though the structure is still there. Rancho del Zocalo (Formerly Casa de Fritos) has so much clutter outside you can’t even see the building!

From Major’s great "Casa de Fritos" post over at Gorilla’s Don’t’ Blog (link) this March 1958 photo shows the same building minus the clutter.

Looking at a "now" close-up of the right side of the front entrance, it’s amazing how much it matches up with the 1958 photo. Although the building is the same, its certainly been resurfaced more than once, yet they kept the same “exposed brick” pattern the whole time – this is why I love Disneyland.

What’s up there?

The luckiest darn cat in Anaheim! And he’s got more guts than me!

Monstro – its time to use your Delta dental plan.

Three fences is doing great.

The Matterhorn had a decent line going already, must be the Alpine weather.

The Tomorrowland cross has a crack and its not getting smaller. Cracks + Water = Cascade Peak, lets not repeat that disaster.

An hour and a half after opening and its starting to get “cozy” and I’m starting to leave.

The holidays are bound to be extra “cozy” at the park. But I’ll be back anyway!

Ouch, it's never a good thing when they are passing these out in the parking lot.

Gate Flyer for your reading pleasure.

Trip Report - November 6, 2010 - Inside CLUB 33~!

2010-11-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

After literally decades of dreaming about Club 33 at Disneyland I finally had the opportunity to go inside Walt’s private club. A huge thanks to “you know who” for making this happen, I was more exiting than a pig in @#$%....

Dinner at the club was set for 8:00pm, arriving at park a few hours beforehand I was able to see the flag retreat ceremony; I haven’t seen that it since 54th anniversary, very classy.

Three fences is not doing well, look at the ground, gross! This isn’t even a smoking area. New rule, no smoking in Disneyland!

Time for one “Now & Then” shot.

From Daveland’s excellent post last week (link).

Time to hop on the train; I gotta get to New Orleans Square!

A quick stopover at Main Street Station. Do you notice something odd about those doors? This photo was taken from the train, yet the reflection in the “glass” appears to be from the Town Square side??? Upon closer inspection, these aren’t doors at all, they are some kind of plastic cover that was printed on, why????

Let’s take a trip on the shortest segment of the Disneyland Railroad, bound for New Orleans Square and Club 33!!!!

This little door is just to the right of the Blue Bayou restaurant. I’ve been looking at that door since the early 1980’s, I’ve heard all the stories, even seen some great photos, but I’ve never been past that door!

Push a button, say your name and just like magic, the door opens and you enter Disneylands truly magical land.

Once in, it’s just an entry way of sorts, the real club is upstairs.

My friends and fellow bloggers, this is the back side of the Club 33 door!

I figured this antique elevator was just for show and or wheelchair access, its actually neither! We got to ride up three at a time and since there are stairs leading to the elevator I don’t think it’s used for wheelchairs.

The C33 cast member called up to check on our table, that old phone actually works too!

During the call someone else showed up at “the door”, they insisted they had a reservation, and they did, at the “Blue Bayou” – “That’s next door” and with that the door was promptly closed.

What initially sounded like bad news (our table would not be ready for about 20-25 minutes) turned out to be the icing on the cake. When they told us there would be a delay, they asked, “what attraction would you like to ride, we’ll get you right in”… After not much thought we picked “Peter Pan” (since it had at least a 45 min. wait). A few minutes later we were whisked in thru the exit and flying over London – WOW!!!!!

It took longer to get to and from Peter Pan than it did to ride the attraction! Back at Club 33 – the table does not resemble anything I’ve ever seen in Disneyland. They used more silverware just for my setting than I own in my entire silverware drawer at home!

The menu seemed a small, but there were quite a few choices. Those prices aren’t like anything I’ve ever seen in Disneyland either.

The Contemporary French Onion Soup was to die for, and that “cracker” on the top is actually toasted parmesan cheese – OMG is was so good.

Chicken eater that I am I ordered the Certified Organic Free Range Chicken with Muscat Apricot Glaze, it was the best darn chicken I’ve ever had! Tender, moist, ultra flavorful, oh man I could get used to this quick.

One of the great "lively" girls in our party was celebrating her birthday – Nice touch!

The balconies are truly amazing. They are somewhat narrow and full views of the river are blocked by the tress, but just being out there, it’s hard to explain but boy does it feel great looking down on all the common folks!

The dining room is very original and in fact, some of the chairs could use refinishing.

This is a very odd sight for Disneyland – A full bar! I can only imagine what a mixed drink costs – If you have to ask you can’t afford it.

This is the one spot in Disneyland that requires this sign.

Mary Poppins set piece, yes I touched it!

Not sure where this is from, but it sure looks old.

Yes we are going into the men’s room, ladies close your eyes.

Are you sure this is Disneyland? The water actually keeps running unless you turn it off?

Well, that something you don’t see everyday.

Those “33” towels are obviously just there for the taking…

Nice artwork!

Even though we were in there for over 2 hours, it sure went fast….. I must admit, it’s the best 2 hours I’ve ever spent at Disneyland.

Getting into Club 33 is odd, even though I got this ticket, it was not presented at the Club 33 door, if you don’t have a reservation you aint getting in, ticket or not.

The ticket itself is admission to the park, which was unfortunately wasted since I used my Annual Pass to get into the park.

These came with the bill. Since you can’t smoke in Club 33 they don’t give matches anymore.

I have no idea what you would use these little note pads for, but they are cool!

What do you know a hand towel!

In summary, it was an amazing night that I will NEVER forget. It’s a rarified atmosphere up in Club 33, I was so lucky to experience it!

Trip Report - October 26, 2010

2010-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

This trip report will be a little different for a couple of reasons. First my digital camera ate right thru its batteries and I’m too cheap to buy batteries at Disneyland so about half way thru my four hour visit I switched to my Droid cell phone and took a few more videos than I usually do.

The other reason this report is different? The park was so un-crowded and the lines were so short that I got the bit by the attraction bug and rode the Matterhorn 5 times in a row (in under 30 minutes!), Space Mountain 3 times in a row (within 20 minutes), Peterpan twice (in less than 15 minutes), Casey Jr. (no waiting) and more!

The park was the least crowed I’ve ever seen it. I think the odd hours are to blame. The park was open for normal guests from 8am to 6pm on Tuesday. The special Halloween party was held at night (at an extra cost of course). From 8am to noon the park was unusually empty – boy do I love those days! Did they add the light up sign or have I just not noticed it before?

Today’s photo's are a bit out of sequence, the sun wasn’t quite out yet at 8am so I cam back a couple hours later for these shots.

Once the clouds broke it was a beautiful day.

How many cast members does it take to do the job of one horse?

After my usual breakfast at the River Belle (I was starving so no food photo!) I took a walk around the Rivers of America.

The River was extra calm and nicely devoid of guests.

It’s a floating wedding cake!

I believe these are the same posters as seen in the photo on my Monday’s August 1955 post (link).

Let’s take a two minute walk thru a very sparsely populated New Orleans Square.

On my next visit I’m bringing a crowbar to pry off that “Pirate’s Lair” sign. (I wont take it, I'll toss it in the river!)

“What knockers”…

Splash Mountain was open but didn’t have many takers?

I’ll be seeing the other side of this door in about a WEEK!!!!

Frontierland was packed, barely room to move around.

Let’s talk a little stroll into and thru Frontierland. Checkout the couple playing hide and seek and then getting busted by security “no running”…

Heading over to Tomorrowland I wanted to see if Space Mountain had much of a line, it had NO LINE…. NO WAITING….

I rode Space Mountain three times in row, would have gone for four but my brains were starting to spill out of my ears. Here’s a video of the queue line, once we get inside its pretty much totally dark (blame the Droid) but you do get a nice sampling of the sound track!

The Tomorrowland Cross is developing a rather large crack in the stucco, let’s hope they fix this and not use it as an excuse to remove it.

The mighty Matterhorn was exceptionally inviting for some reason.

This is sign would be correct, IF there was a line!

There’s the line….

I kept trying to get in the front and they kept putting me in the back, I guess I’m a “larger passenger”

Hmmm, this line is too long, I’m leaving!

I tried to get row 1 only to be told “row 3 or 4” from the CM on the other side of the tracks!

Red Button, upper right – I wonder what happens when you press it?

How about a ride on the Matterhorn? Please excuse the guys bald spot in front of me, he wouldn't get out of my way!

Three Fences (my corner of Disneyland) is doing well.

Fantasia Gardens (former Motor Boat Cruise) area was a complete ghost town.

These guys OWN Disneyland

This is one of my favorite parts of the park, lets hope they keep it this way or add something nice and tranquil.

A comparison in good show (below) and bad show (above).

The Skyway Chalet is still calling my name… There was NO ONE around, I mean NO ONE. I could have walked right up there, taken photos and walked down and probably not be noticed, I’m just a "Larger Passenger" Chicken!

Pretty flowers, they smelled nice too..

These flowers in front of Caser Jr. look fake to me. The bees seem to think they are real however…

“Disney Tangled” What a tangled web we weave….

I guess “Tangled” isn’t finished yet, but boy does it look weird – reminds me of the tree in Poltergeist.

The castle looks weird in the day time with the snow on the roof.

These are supposed to be pumpkins I guess…

These look nice, but um, well, they smell like a rotting corpse, sorry, but they do… Rich theme indeed…

This is the last photo of the day before my camera died.

Switching to video, you can see what’s left of the House of the Future. You can see the green concrete support part of the former attraction, but I’m not sure what part? I don’t think it’s the foundation, my guess would be that its part of the waterfalls.

I spent the rest of the time riding the train, the Mark Twain and walking around Main Street. It was one of my best “solo” visits ever. I highly recommend getting to the park during the week if you can.

Now its time to leave, take the tram ride with me, it’s just me you and the cast members.

Trip Report - September 19, 2010

2010-09-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Time for a fall trip report. Today’s trip report is from a visit to the park on Sunday morning. It was not nearly as crowded as I thought it would be, but it wasn’t quite like a week day.

Boy the band leader is certainly authentic, he reminds me of Vesey Walker!
The weather was once again made to order and it was a beautiful day.

Halloween has invaded the park, I’m not sure if I like it or am annoyed by it, both I think.

Minnie was decked out for the Holiday.

These odd plants are all over town square, what’s are they supposed to be?

I really like the yellow flowers surrounding the flag pole.

They still have water on them; in fact, they look good enough to eat.

Already a group of “needy” guests are lining up at City Hall, the park has only been open for 2 minutes!

More… Whatever this is.

IF I’m ever able to get Major Pepperidge to visit the park, I’m going to hand him a bag of pennies and leave him here all day.

The Coke Corner has been closed on my last three visits, I’m guessing it must open later?

Guns have returned to Disneyland! I think they stopped selling them after 911, but now they’re back!

The colors are extreme; as soon as someone paints a real gun these colors they’ll change them! Notice the price tag – “Made in China”!!!!

Apparently I’m the only one how knew it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day (link) no one was riding pirates! I rode it and shouted like a pirate the whole time mattes!

Well, well, well – Hello Club 33; Guess what? I’ll be on THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT DOOR in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The flowers match the Holiday even here, which is where?

The nicely themed fastpast machines for Haunted Mansion were open for business.

The Pirates are still on Tom Sawyers Island and with POTC IV coming next May, I’m guessing they will be staying for at least another year.

However, never fear, Tom Sawyer still has his sign behind the pirate’s sign, ready to return to normal at any time.

The River was stunningly beautiful.

The early morning sun bathes Frontierland.

The waterways were extra calm this morning; I don’t think the water was moving at all.

Obligatory Castle shot – looks like I caught a couple during their kiss!

My favorite angle for photos of the castle.

Let’s compare today’s Botox lips Monstro with yesterday’s Monstro.

Looking at Major’s vintage photo of Monstro (taken from the Skyway), Monstro has either had total reconstructive surgery or he has been replaced entirely.

Taking another look at one of Major’s vintage photos, this 1964 picture shows a retaining wall for the old fantasyland Autopia. Look directly below the front car of the monorail, the beige retaining wall still exists today.

The wall serves no function today, it’s been shortened since the last Autopia update but its still there.

It’s actually two walls that continue for about 10 feet past the fence, again they don’t have any function, they were just left for me to obsess over.

Monorail Orange was naturally out on the beam for Halloween.

Three Fences is doing great.

I hope they never paint or remove this.

The water was flowing nicely down the Matterhorn.

The Tomorrowland cross must be staying – I didn’t notice on my last visit but they’ve added a custom fitted rain gutter to the right side of the cross.

One of the vents for the climate controlled - devoid of walls “Refreshment Gardens”.

Ghost Galaxy has returned – it’s pretty much the same as last year, but better!

So I’ve seen these guide dogs at the park before, they are so cute. Now that I got a decent photo of the little vests they wear I’m thinking of making a couple of them for my dogs and bringing them on my next visit.

Is this an orange tree? Whatever it is, it looks like it needs water!

I’m going to photograph and post this neglect ever time I visit until they fix it, it’s only been like that for TWO YEARS and counting.

Where is everyone? By 10am (the park opened at 9am) the masses of humanity stopped flowing into the park. NICE!

This vintage photo was recently sold with 70 other vintage slides on eBay for $1,200, yes $1,200 for slides!!! I copied this one from the auction before they disappeared.

Here’s how it looks today, the colors sure have changed huh?

Is that Chip and Dale?

I finally got a decent photo of this display in the Opera House.

I want one of these flags, how cool it that?

Here’s a short video of the Disneyland Band as they finish up their first set. Watch at the very end as Alice and hatter show up Very late indeed.

Trip Report - August 17, 2010

2010-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for a look around Disneyland? The park is on summer hours opening at 8am. Maybe some of the kids are back in school because the morning crowds were very light. All these photos’ were taken between 8am and 10am, its looks like a beautiful day, and it was, except the temperature was rising quick and it was a bit humid for Socal.

Early morning makes for some weird shadows; however it’s my favorite time at the park.

Not an official post office box, but your mail is secure in the hands of the mouse.

The blue sky’s of Anaheim.

“Light me up” Yellow!

This photo turned out really strange, if it had a white boarder it could almost pass for a bad 1970’s instamatic snap-shot.

Finally, a case of less is better.

The cast member’s are doing this new thing on Main Street where they waive to everyone as the park opens.

It seemed a little contrived and the CM’s were only about half into it.

Sugar is good.

How long have they been doing the Silhouette’s at Disneyland? My mom has cut-outs of me and my brother from around 1970!

Always working hard, this man deserves a medal or something.

The Coke Corner was closed for some maintenance. Did you ever notice the Coke Corner is rounded and not a corner at all?

More blue sky.

The Anaheim River seems to have recovered from its drought.

What do you know some actual dirt in Adventureland – at least I think its dirt.

Hint – go to the park early – I rode 4 major attractions, ate a cookie, drank a coffee and took all these photos in less than 2 hours!

Even with the shadows I prefer the early morning sun.

The Rivers of America are nice and calm at 8:30am.

New Orleans Square is rather quiet too; in fact, it was still wet from the nightly hose-down.

Photo ops just waiting to be happen.

Peaceful & Quiet.

The Haunted Mansion was a total walk-on as was Pirates. It's so inviting (foreboding?) with no one in line isn’t it?

The attraction was looking and sounding great, and it was ICE cold inside.

The Indian War Canoes have an entirely new dock and its super nice.

It’s great to see this attraction isn’t going anywhere, how about a couple of Keel Boats to go with it?

While leaning over from the Hungry Bear restaurant to get the canoe dock photos I felt a spider web hit my head, I think it belongs to this guy! That's NOT an AA is it?

Splash Mountain looking splendid in the morning sun and sporting a 5 minute line!

Big Thunder Mountain railroad has a zero wait line!

Here’s Case de Fritos old outdoor fireplace smiling at you.

Let’s head to the hub and find the Castle, the riverways are looking good.

The Carnation Plaza has some interestingly colored flowers.

The flowers around the hub were OK, but nothing special in my opinion. Of course it was looking to push 100+ so I’m not sure how many types of flowers can withstand that heat, I sure can’t.

Wouldn’t it be nice if they could retract that huge cable assembly during the day?

This has obviously been in front of the Castle for 15 years, but I just now noticed it. I want to see what’s inside; I bet there are photos of its contents somewhere.

You can see more photos of Alice in Railingsland of at Meet the World.

I’ve read these railings are temporary, let’s hope so. Forget about how ugly those cardboard leaves are, the railing completely ruins the effect and scary feeling that you’re going over the edge.

Three Fences is doing well.

The Subs are cool, even in yellow.

Lots of these folks at the park today. Nice clipboards and fancy trash pick-up thingy’s, you try and figure it out.

Weeeeeeeeee…

After a long and lengthy closure for refurbishment the Tomorrowland Terrance reopens and looks (and smells) exactly the same? Oh wait, the prices went up.

I’m happy to report the Tomorrowland Cross of the Future is still in place. Looks like a rather large bird got in my picture.

Tomorrowland 2055 is still dazzling guests everywhere.

Did they add this to the Tomorrowland Terrance? It appears to be a device that dispenses a fluid containing two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule, wow the future is now.

We know what’s under this tarp, and us Mary Blair fans want it returned and restored.

Speaking of returning, Goodyear still sells a lot of tires, how about bringing them back as a sponsor for something on the PeopleMover Track, the logo benches are ready to go still.

Can’t wait!

I want the old sign!

Those two tiles have been missing for at least a year!!!

I still need to ride the Trolley one day.

What’s that? It's time to go already?

Let’s check out some red vehicles on our way out. The Corn Dog wagon has returned from refurbishment and has a brilliant red paint job.

On another Disneyland blog I commented that the Corn Dog Wagon must have to be pushed on and off stage because it doesn’t have an engine.

I stand corrected, this old wagon DOES have an engine and its fan belt looks fairly new.

From inside it does have a steering wheel, speedometer and pedals. It’s also got a phone, a 220 volt connection, a water connection, and drain and what appears to be a Halon fire suppressant system, not your standard 1920’s Wagon accessories.

The little red Horseless Carriage is looking sharp.

The cast member driving her told me she was the first of the Main Street vehicles to go into service. I asked him when that was and he stated (without hesitation) May 12th, 1956. I wonder if that’s correct, Jason?

Easy controls but that steering column is placed in an awkward position.

This guy is driving the fire engine 90% of the time when I go to the park, he’s perfect for the part.

Just in case you didn’t think Disneyland was licensed to do business in the city of Anaheim.

I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of this on every visit, hasn’t happened yet.

There’s a scary couple.

It’s hard to believe that Walt Disney once drove this train, heck, I’m sure he drove it more than once! I overheard a Cast Member at City Hall tell a family that this is the only park that Walt Disney used to visit; she said it while leaning in as if it was a secret, and the kids ate it up – me too…

Trip Report - June 16, 2010

2010-06-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we've had a trip report. I've been to the park lots of times since Captain EO's return in February and I've been fortunate to visit the park each time with friends. The only drawback is my camera tends to stay put when I'm with friends.

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to stop in at the park for a short visit around noon time. I almost believed some of the hype over at Miceage about the epic sized crowds and stayed away. Well, I'm glad I didn't buy the hype, the park was not over crowded by any means, I'd say it was under half of its capacity or less.

Once again the weather was amazing. It seems when I only have a short time to visit the magic Disney weather machine kicks into full gear. It was about 70, light breeze and clear. I overheard several guests comment on how nice it was.

Here's my not so good attempt at a "now" photo to compare with Wednesday's "Town Square - 1962" post (link). They must have taken their shot from a crane or maybe the roof of the bank?

Even plain flowers are pretty at Disneyland.

All of the Main Street Vehicles were out and running in fine fashion.

Let's take it up on the 5 North.

Disneyland "Resort" Bah.....

One of these day's I'm going to ride the trolley, I don't think I've ever done it.

These are fun to ride in, a bit cozy however.

This looks just like my back yard, minus the weeds and dog poop.

Hello, where's the castle? What will I "celebrate"? I'll celebrate when I can see the castle from the flag pole again...

Where's the crushing crowds? I guess it's not technically summer yet, check back in a couple weeks for wall-to-wall guests.

The Main street vehicles were really moving people around briskly, its neat to see them actually be able to move without beeping their horns constantly.

This trolley photo was taken just moments after the one in Town Square, hey, that's a horse of a different color!

This would be the first time I've seen both trolleys cross on Main Street. What are those huge cranes for? Must be new DCA stuff?

The Fire Truck is ready for its next trip. An interesting look back stage, what are those windows?

Let's listen to the Fire Engine idle for a few seconds.

Obligatory Castle shot.

Its something missing here?

Please tell me they just added these swan bush things? Or have I walked by them a hundred times and never noticed?

I'm not a "flower" type of guy, but heck these will make anyone smile.

The mighty Matterhorn had a rather mighty line!

The Anaheim River.

Three Fences is doing very well.

Well, well, well.... Look where the Gullywhumper ended up. I'm convinced its the same hull as before (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) the deck has obviously been redone and while it looks nothing like the original attraction, it does look pretty darn authentic to the period.

Mike Fink has moved into the burning cabin! Handy that it comes with a parking space for his keel boat! I wonder if he was able to get fire insurance?

Where's the old Mine Train? Someone said it might be at the Disney Archives? Do they have room for something like that?

Time is starting to run short so lets head down Main Street and get to the "Day One" exhibit. But First - Fresh Buttered Peanut Brittle was being made at the candy shop.

I saw someone as the nice man making the candy if they could get a fresh batch, he of course gave them one!

Here's a fun little hidden mail box at the Canned Goods and Spices store on Main Street.

This little hallway isn't marked with any signs or window dedications so most folks walk right by.

Wow, standing up by the door my head almost touches the ceiling - now that's forced perspective!

What a cute little mail box. Someone made a hanger out of a paper clip, that's cute too! I wonder what's inside, looks like a show/parade guide!

A quick stop over at Tilly's booth, she is looking nice. The booth and the entire Main Street Cinema are looking absolutely stellar, Walt would be pleased.

As part of Disneyland 55th anniversary, "Day One" Disneyland is an exhibit in the old Bank of America building that pays tribute to Disneyland's opening day or "Day One". I highly recommend this exhibit for anyone who reads this blog. There is some amazing stuff on display that's pure gold to Disneyland geeks like us.

There is a lot of Globe Paper in this exhibit - Nice touch, I love globe safety paper, I want my house wallpapered in it. Not to be picky, but I don't think they were using the standard "Globe Safety Paper" on "Day One" It came a few months after day one, but the first couple months just had the stub style tickets, although they were made by Globe.

Basically the exhibit is a room full of concept art. At first I thought, "I bet I've seen all this online and in books" well, I was wrong. There is a lot of amazing stuff I've never seen before.

A cast member told me these are "Duplicates" of the originals and were duplicated and restored recently just for this exhibit. These look so much better in person, my silly camera had trouble with the lighting but you can get a good idea what's in the exhibit.

I'll let you take a self guided tour from here, I'll just chime in on my favorite one.

My absolute favorite - I want a copy of this, do you think I can sneak in my flatbed scanner?

Scratch the surface and what do you find? Vintage Disneyland!

Time to go...

Captain EO Tribute - February 23, 2010

2010-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

It was a banner day at Disneyland yesterday. Captain EO made his return to the Magic Eye Theater in Tomorrowland and I was able to catch the first showing to the public. Last December Mr. Lincoln made his triumphant return and now Michael Jackson is back at the helm again as Captain EO. Things are certainly looking up at Disneyland!

The show itself was better than I remembered. Yes the special effects are dated, even with the new 70mm print you can see how they are done. However, the sound system is OUTSTANDING – WOW, it never sounded like that before. Looking at this thru the lens of 2010 and with Michael’s passing last year adds a whole new dimension to this attraction.

I arrived at 8:30 to a medium sized crowd, nothing near as crowded as a summer or weekend day. Do you suppose my blogger credentials could get me a media pass? I say that jokingly, but come to think of it, maybe I should write the PR department and see what they can do?

Media and special guests were hanging out on the west side of the Main Gate.

Lots of camera’s and lights everywhere, I felt like a celebrity – until they had me sign a waiver that said I get paid nothing for appearing on film – darn!

There were about 200 people in front of me; some had been there since the night before! There were at least another 200 people behind me by the time we were let thru the gates at 9:30, a ½ hour before the park opened for regular guests.

Disneyland crowd control did a nice job of keeping 400+ people together as we walked up Main Street on our way to see the Captain.

This guy had two people holding the ladder and he still looked like he wanted to get down ASAP!

This way please, don’t even think of sneaking off and hanging out with the “Magic Mornings” guests.

It was nice to see so much activity in the middle of Tomorrowland – I predict this area will see some large crowds over the next few months.

Great new sign out front. It seemed to fit the old Honey I Shrunk the Audience exterior colors better in person, but not so much in this photo.

Last Thursday the former theater occupant still had their poster behind this glass. I read online that EO’s return is permanent, can anyone confirm that?

Hello Lawyers.

Blurry – sorry, but the crowd was moving fast behind me, no time to stop!

The preshow area was more packed than its been in 20 years, which is the last time I saw this show. The buzz and energy were amazing, I’m not big Michael Jackson fan, but it was exciting to be there.

Now for a few short videos, not the show itself, they requested camera’s be turned off and amazingly everyone seemed to comply. You can see great version of EO on YouTube; HD version (link), HD Version in 3D (link).

Once inside the theater the energy in the room was amazing, every seat was full and there were about 50 press people along the sides. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this was very uplifting. Michael sure has a passionate and caring fan base. No one was rude or out of line, everyone clapped and whistled, a banner day indeed.

Whoops, I think this sign is left over from the previous tenant. Near the exit I had an incredible meeting with a very cool Disneyland Imagineering person (actually it was THE Disneyland Imagineering person) - a double “banner day”!

And in the unrelated and amazing news department, the Gullywhumper Keelboat will be returning the Rivers of America in a few months (link). You won’t be able to sail in her, but she is getting fixed up (you heard it here months ago!!!) and she will be floating properly and parked in front of the settlers (Mike Finks?) cabin on Tom Sawyers Island. It's triple “banner day” at Disneyland! Oh, this photo is not the Gullywhumper, I couldn’t find her, but as you can see the Rafts and Canoes are safe and sound.

Lastly, the guide maps look have the same cover from January, but the map itself has been updated.

Trip Report - February 18, 2010

2010-02-20T00:29:00.000-08:00

Today’s trip report is slightly different than the usual report; the River is still closed for refurbishment so no pretty River photos and the park had an overall weird mood. There was a reason for the weird mood, you’ll see a little bit of that later in this post.

Also something a little different; I took a few videos with my new Droid cell phone (powered by Goggle’s android operating system). The videos in this post are really just tests so please excuse my amateur movements. The extra cool part about the Droid is once you film the video you can post it directly to YouTube with just a couple clicks!

The “It’s the time of your life” opening song is so contrived is sticky and wet, yet I catch myself singing right along with it!

Boy I thought we were done with these? Somehow they don’t seem as bad the second time around, but let’s hope it’s their last run.

The Main Street Cinema has reopened. Looks like they got a new floor and the vintage turnstiles got some much need paint (link).

I am so NOT into the whole Hidden Mickey thing, talk about contrived… But heck, by pure coincidence I found one in the Cinema! Hey, is that gum stuck under the step? GROSS!

Over at the recently reopened Starcade we find a new floor. I really liked the old orange tiles better (link). This new floor is, well, cheap!

The old orange tiles (link) were at least real inlaid tiles, with grout and everything. The new floor is just the stick on squares you can buy at Home Depot!

I’d like to say at least it looks good, but dang, that color is so 1998 Tomorrowland! My guess is that this is temporary (sort of) just for the expected crowds for EO’s return. Ultimately they really need to do something with this space!

Interestingly they DID replace the blue tiles (link) on the cashiers cage with nice new two-tone grey tiles, why didn’t’ they tile the floor in the same material?

Just outside of the Starcade exit (the one that lets out near the Space Mt. exit) there is a new “high-tech” floor covering; it looks like steel plates covered in some kind of vinyl coating, it actually looks and feels pretty cool!

Ceiling repair work in underway on the second story of the Starcade. Maybe this means they are planning something for this unused area? I do love that Mural.

This is one of the reasons the mood was weird at the park. At 9am when the park opened virtually all the “E” ticket rides were closed – these kids were not happy.

The Tomorrowland cross has developed a crack in its plaster; let’s hope that’s not a sign…

Excellent news about Three Fences; its no longer the designated smoking area (link)!

The smoking area has been moved over slightly, basically at the entrance to the old Fantasyland Autopia. It’s a smaller amount of space which is fine by me, one step closer to removing it all together.

Since Fantasia Gardens is no longer the smoker’s zone, it has been reconfigured with more sit down tables, it looks great.

Another little video, boy was it quiet over there. Ok, you might here me humming to It’s a small World; please don’t hold it against me.

The Matterhorn is closed for Refurbishment; I hear they might be getting new seat belts similar to the ones On Indian Jones Adventure. They sign department sure does a great job, these signs really stand out.

The Mighty Matterhorn looks just a majestic with or without riders.

This attraction sure has a neat facade, too bad it rates last in Daveland’s current poll of favorite dark rides.

These little Mini-Mouse balloons were attached to strollers all over the place – were they free? I like the simple nature of them.

The Frontierland entrance bridge has been replaced and looks good.

Upon closer inspection they new bridge is actually made from Fiberglass. I wish it was real, but it is pretty convincing and I can see why they would want something that lasts. In this picture the real wood doesn’t look nearly as cool as the fake wood.

The surrounding waterway has been completely redone, this looks like it should last a while!

It must have been Seeing Eye dog day, I saw lots of dogs. Can I make one of those harnesses and bring my two dogs to Disneyland? That would interesting.

Indiana Jones was still not operating by 10am, torches and pitch forks are about to appear.

When the “E” tickets are closed this is what happens to the Jungle Cruise line. The line wasn’t that long this summer!

The castle looks great minus all the Holiday garb.

What a life!

Thumper says “What’s that smell”?

Oh, that’s the cause of the smell. Paging Trinidad.

Lots of pretty flowers around the hub, low crowds still, what a great day.

This little area of grass in the southwest park of the hub is one of my favorite spots. I’m surprised they never put anything there, it’s a rather large chunk of grass that’s been kept plain – please leave it this way.

I included this poorly framed picture just because I wanted to show what a great smile the driver always has, what a great guy.

Hey, that’s the exact kind of coffee mug I use and its displayed in the Emporium windows, nice!

My Omnibus photo means it time to leave the park.

As I was leaving the Disneyland Band was playing and Alice & hatter where messing around with them. How are they going to reconcile the sweet Blue dress Alice with the new Alice & Mad Hatter from the Tim Burtons Movie? My guess is they will ignore the new characters all together. P.s. The movie looks neat; I can’t wait to see it.

Trip Report - January 12, 2010

2010-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first trip report for 2010. As you'll see, a large number of refurbishments are underway, which means the crowds are low. I overheard some security folks talking about breaking 10,000, and that the day before was 9,000, I'm not sure if they were talking about guests or complaints.

This guy here seems to be in charge of the main gate crew. He always does a fine job and is very courteous. He's waved me to the front of one of the gates more than once.

Yes it's ice cold in many parts of the country, but at Disneyland U.S.A. it was warm and sunny on Tuesday.

Low crowds are my happy place.

The Cone Shop on East Center Street is rarely open, although it did have a decent line at Christmas time.

Great little payphone area next to the Cone Shop, too bad its never used.

Nice day at the park, no jacket required, yet.

Uncle same has moved, he was up near the front of the Penny Arcade in December (link) now he's back by the big player piano.

If they can burn the Tiki Torches all day long, how about lighting up the settler's cabin?

Here's that weird little side area as recently seen in a vintage photo over at Daveland (link). Its changed dramatically over the years, yet it's still there and still functionless.

The entrance to Frontierland is closed, it appears the bridge is getting some much needed repair.

Froniterland is normally dead on these slow winter days, but with the stockade gates closed there was no one there.

Paging Mr. Omega Man.

Rancho del Zocalo got itself a new host. I'm not sure when La Victoria took over for Ortega. The food tastes the same, but now they have Hot and Mild salsa bottles on the tables, nice!

Pretty.

The Laughing Stock Co. were doing a comedy show from the balcony of the Golden Horseshoe. They were pretty funny, too bad they had an audience of about 6 people. Best Joke: The bad guys didn't realize the were in Disneyland, when the Sheriff told them, they said “that's why we don't have any money”!

“Riverfront” improvements have caused this looooong fence to go up area the Rivers of America.

Just because I am such a dedicated blogger, I took a trip up in Tarzan's Tree house to get some river refurbishment photo's. Why did they add this silly extra part in the middle of the Adventureland walkway? Fortunately Adventureland was slow today.

I'm not a fan of heights or wobbly suspension bridges.

Now we are getting up there! Even when drained there's still some yucky looking water in that river bed.

In this close-up you can see how the track switches to route the ships to Fowlers Harbor. I always wondered how that worked! Also, notice “thrusters” on the back of the Mark Twain, this confirms how its able to “back up” when the paddle wheel isn't moving.

The Columbia looks rather precarious and a little creepy.

“You'll be fine, just don't look down” too late...

Roofing details.

The Fantasmic Pit looks like, well, I'm not sure, its just weird.

This is NOT part of the “brown” water system.

How many folks think its time for Tarzan to move out of the Swiss Family's Treehouse? It's the 50th anniversary of the Swiss Family Robinson movie, what better time than now to move them back into the Treehouse.

Look what they did to Three Fences!!! It's now Smokerland, I'm agreeing with TokyoMagic, time to remove all smoking areas from the park. Those darn gigs are what killed Walt for goodness sake!

The Tomorrowland Terrace is still open, it was supposed to be closed for refurbishment by now. Maybe the “Cross of '67” is keeping the old place alive for a little while longer?

Honey I shrunk the Audience is mercifully closed, RIP - please do not re-open it - ever.

Some sprucing up for Captial EO's big return next month. I overheard a guest tell his friends how a Michael Jackson show used to be there, they all thought it was cool but had no idea he was coming back. How about a sign guys?

Wandering over to the Starcade, I noticed it was open too. It was also supposed to be closed by now for refurbishment.

It was me and four other people in the Starcade, but I was the only guest. The other four were Disney employees, the two on the speedramp (walking) were pointing to things upstairs, the two guys down below were taking photos and discussing how old some of the fixtures are.

I lingered until they left then contemplated going up the ramp then thought better of it. I am curious as to what they'll do with this large area.

These tiles must be from 1977?

I kind of hate to see them go, maybe they can fix these?

Stairway to a Better Tomorrowland.

This is not the Better Tomorrowland.

“Gosh darn it, fix me please... I'm just made outta wood (like Cascade Peak!) don't let me rot then you'll just tear me down.”

I tried to find any trace of the House of the Future. It appears to all be gone unless this is recognizable to anyone?

What? Overcast skies were starting to come in around noon, time to leave before the magic spell is broken.

How about a corn dog before we leave? The Corn Dog wagon is also due for refurbishment any day now. Mr. Corn Dog wasn't exactly thrilled to have his photo taken, but he did manage to say “have a great day”.

What could need to be refurbished on this? I don't think its a real truck, is it?

That's one FAT corn dog, it better be for 6 bucks!

From the follow-up department, the follwing photos are from an un-posted trip on December 3, 2009.

Over at Gorilla's Don't Blog reader/commentator "Chiana_Chat" recently asked if there was still a music shop on Main Street. The New Century Music Company is still on Main Street, having taken over the former Fine Tobacco Shop (Vintage Photo from Major) which closed around 1990.

The Indian still stands, but thankfully no smokes are for sale inside.

Let's see what's inside.

Books, DVD's and CD's, sort of music, I guess.

Ah, but what's this? Is this one of Walt's old machines? It definitely is old, this can't be a reproduction, can it?

It's been out of order on my last three visits, but it was playing me a beautiful song this day - and only for a dime!

Detail nerd alert, check out the vintage hardware. I've come to realize the bulk of what's left from "1955" Disneyland is on Main Street.

The Return of Mr. Lincoln and a Mini Trip Report

2009-12-19T00:09:00.000-08:00

I’m going to try and contain myself, but I really can’t go on enough about what an amazing return Mr. Lincoln has made to the Opera House at Disneyland, USA.

This “refurbishment” of Mr. Lincoln is remarkable in many ways. First, it’s the most true to the original show I’ve seen since 1968. From Paul Frees’ stunning narration to Mr. Lincoln standing up from his chair and giving me goose-bumps, it’s all there. The classy treatment of the pre show area was unexpected and more than welcome by this Disneyland and Mr. Lincoln fan. The technical updates to the Audio Anamatinic Abe would make Walt proud indeed; I bet he’s say, “Fix up the rest of the old ones too would ya”.

This is how the Opera House looked on Thursday, lets not get into how upset I was that it was not open. I spoke to two WED guys and they said it would be closed all day but open for certain on Friday. I also saw Tony Baxter rushing into the Opera House at about 8:30am, moments later I heard the sound track playing inside!

All better on Friday. There was a decent crowd inside; the theater was ½ to ¾ full during each of the three shows I watched.

The preshow area looks so nice, hopefully someone with a better camera can get some interior shots, my camera can’t handle the lighting (which is stellar). This model of the capital is made from marble; at least I think that’s what it said.

This looks much nicer in person.

“To the Bat-Poles Robin”!

A few landscape painting are on the south wall, nice touch.

There is a “Spirits of America” theme throughout the preshow area and the exit area, both well done and tasteful.

Again, my $39 digital camera is very confused with the multi thousand dollar lighting in the preshow area, but you get the idea – this Spirits Case is magnificent.

Here’s a few of the “Spirit” sculptures; Disney either spent some serious $$$ or these are great plaster props.

Tony Baxter’s ticket case had a few updated tickets but was oddly missing a Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln ticket? I fixed that problem for my photo, but Tony, I’ve got several versions of Mr. Lincoln tickets, I’d be glad to donate them all to the case, seriously.

Look who’s hanging out just outside the preshow area. I wonder how much they would sell for on eBay?

No photos of Abe himself, camera's are not allowed in the theater. I will be honest with my readers; I brought my video camera with me with the intent of taping the show, it never occurred to me you couldn’t film it. I think its better that way, first, it kept everyone’s attention on the show and second, you need to just go see this show for yourself.

The exit area has been redone in the “Spirit” theme, I like it.

I over heard at least half a dozen guests laugh out loud about Miley Cyrus being grouped with Elvis and Michael Jackson (Did you hear Captain EO is coming back in February 2010!!!)

Let’s take a quick look around the park. Nice sky, this is actually Thursday, not Friday.

Also Thursday, I wanted to get this show with mimium people (not possible Friday) to compare it to the 1977 photo from a recent post on Stuff From the Park - it looks pretty much the same.

The rest of the photos are from Friday. In a recent Magazine Monday post we saw Uncle Sam in the Penny Arcade in 1966, looks like he is still there.

Is 300 good?

This vintage scale and I have become good friends, he gets a dime on each trip and keeps me honest.

This is the reason we are taking a quick look around the park. The more I see the park on the slow days the less I can tolerate days like this.

Tiana’s Showboat show was excellent, well, the last 2 minutes anyway.

The Main Street Cinema is about to close for a refurbishment.

There are at least three different colors of paint under the many layers. Why does this fascinate me?

More paint layers of History. I bet you could find old photos and “date the paint”.

As I was leaving I noticed a sudden “presence” of security as I neared town square, they were casual, yet many more of them than usual. Then I see these folks standing right in front of the Emporium passing out papers? At first I just walked by and noticed they only handled papers to guests who showed an interest, so I went back and said “I’ll take one”. It’s a flyer that looks like it’s from Disney about H1N1, but its not, its some union stuff and has a web link to a non-friendly Disney site? I was pretty amazed Disney lets this happen or were they about to stop it? There were at least three people in the area doing this; you can see one more in my photo. I’ll listen to any grievance you have, but doing it from the steps of the Emporium on Main Street at Disneyland USA is not cool. I'm not going to post the flyer, if you want a copy contact me.

Someone asked recently if the canons in Town Square are from France, I’d say “Yes”.

Wow, what a beautiful horse.

Nice original attraction posters surround the Opera House.

Some amazing winter day we had here in Anaheim, it must have been a frigid 80 degrees. You could tell the folks from out of town, they're the ones in jackets.

You know it’s getting packed when they put up this sign, last time I saw that was on July 17th.

In the area between the security tents and the trams you now have the Venice Beach Boardwalk, I guess that’s some California Adventure for you!

How about a few quick videos? Here's some close ups of the turn styles at the Main Street Cinema.

The Disneyland Band not getting the respect they should!

Very catchy tune and what an amazing sound system the river has!