lucky lucky me

Since I was unable to make it to the magical place this holiday season Disney has conjured quite a celebration as a way to say, "The park just isn't the same without you, please come home." I think the news footage says it all.

Merry Christmas from Disneyland

As a followup to Meg's previous post, here are a few more shots of this magical time of year at one of the most magical places around. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Welcome to Main Street, all dressed up for the season -- here are a couple shots of nearly the same view down Main Street by day and after dark:

California Adventure also gets dressed up, courtesy of Mickey and the Bugs:

Enjoy a cruise around the world to celebrate Christmas in any language on "it's a small world":
...and a hope for the true Christmas Spirit to touch us all:

disneyland junkies

Well it's that time of year again. Christmas at Disneyland. Curtis, myself, Alison and Paul have gone to this magical place the last two Decembers and since we're not going this December we're all having some massive withdrawals. We brought it upon ourselves so there is no one to blame. What were we thinking? Going two Christmases in a row. *sigh*. Even though I wish we were heading south in a week, I'm so thankful that we have been able to go the last two years with our BFFs. Here is a slide show of some wonderful Christmas highlights from our 2007 trip. Enjoy and Happy Disney Holidays!

top 10 in october

So, of course, our Disneyland trip was absolutely amazing! I think the only thing better than combining Halloween and Disneyland is combining Christmas and Disneyland! I think it gets better and better every time I go. Here are my Top 10 from the trip:

1. Going with Zac. The last time we were at Disneyland together we looked like this... 

And the time before that, we looked like this... 

Pretty good eh? It was so great spending time with him. Since he lives in Seattle, we don't get to see each other a lot. Good times were certainly had. Zac receives the prestigious award of "Fast Pass Runner", there were many others up for it, but he went above and beyond and he definitely deserves it. So Zac, Congratulations!

2. Watching Staci re-discover the magic of Disneyland. She hadn't been for about 12 years or so. I especially loved her encounter with Pluto (there was a previous blog post documenting the event). Disneyland certainly brings out the child in all of us.

Minnie, Curtis and Stace at breakfast.

Me and Stace with our ears...oh and Zac's head. Nice.

3. Meeting Jack and Sally. That's right! I actually met Jack Skellington and Sally! It was incredible! 

4. Making more magical memories with Curtis. This was our 3rd trip to Disneyland together and I never get tired of seeing his inner child come out (even more than usual), especially his excitement about seeing the monorail and his disappointment when we couldn't ride in the front. 

5. Getting absolutely soaked on Splash Mountain! It was hot! Unseasonably hot, so Splash Mountain was very popular. One day, we rode it 3 times. 

This was our 1st trip down Chickapin Hill and Curt got some good footage. Even when it's too dark to see anything, I love hearing us scream and yell when we get soaked.

 

6. All the characters dressed up for Halloween!

7. Zac carrying Eeyore around and giving "first person" accounts of what Eeyore thought of different rides and attractions. The voice was perfect, I wish we'd got it on video. 

Eeyore was the only character that Zac really wanted to get a picture with so at Minnie's breakfast we hunted him down. 

8. Seeing the whole park decked out for Halloween! Everything was super fantastic!

Me and Curt with the great Mickey pumpkin.

The Haunted Holiday Mansion.

Me and Stace on Main Street USA.

9. While waiting in line for Peter Pan and Mr. Toads Wild Ride I asked an interesting question and, although everyone gave a great answer, Zac's response was my absolute favorite.

 

10. And last, but certainly not least. Curtis and I upgraded to annual passes! That's right! We are annual passholders to the happiest place on earth! So of course we're planning a couple more trips within the next year. All my dreams really can come true.

Thanks to Curtis, Zac and Staci for making this Disneyland trip a magical memory.

disney blues

Don't let the title scare you. This is not a gloomy post about the letdown of having to go back to "today" after having spent some time in the world of "yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy". No, as Walt said, "Around here, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

And, that is exactly what is happening at Disney's California Adventure (DCA), Disneyland's neighbor just across the esplanade. DCA is a fun place, but it just doesn't have the same magic that envelops you when you walk inside Disneyland. However, the Imagineers are planning to sprinkle a lot more pixie dust over DCA very soon.

On Monday, a preview center known as "Blue Sky Cellar" opens inside DCA to showcase some of the many planned changes coming to the park over the next several years. For your own virtual tour, check out all the great photos from the folks over at micechat.com:
http://micechat.com/disneyland-news/california-adventure-fix/

the magic is reborn

For those who haven't been to the Happiest Place On Earth for some time, the magic of Disneyland can simply fade away. But Disneyland is in the business of making magical memories everyday, for young and old alike. I am happy that I was able to capture this magical moment and that the magic for Staci has been reborn.

Magical Moments

Curtis here. What could be more magical than The Happiest Place on Earth? The answer is nothing! Monday was D-Day! We are here at the park experiencing the magic. There will be more to come as we continue through our journey.

Today's Bottom 3 -

1. The Heat. Yeah, it was hot today. Not like the usual December weather that we experience.
2. The People. It was more crowded than I imagined the perfect day at Disneyland would be. 2b. Waiting in line to get our tickets at the Park. (It was a long and painful wait.)
3. Not having our best Disneyland friends Paul and Alison being here with us. 3b. Not being able to go on It's a Small World. (because it's closed)

Today's Top 3 -

1. (We spent some time in California Adventure so...) California Screamin'
2. Soarin' Over California
3. Pirates of the Carribean

goofy clears his name...

The controversy all started a couple years ago when Curt, myself, Paul, and Alison were enjoying a magical trip to Mickey's place. One evening, we found ourselves trapped by a parade in an inopportune corner of the park. It was then and there that speculations arose and those speculations have since caused many heated conversations about where Max, Goofy's son, came from. I am happy to announce that we have cleared Goofy's name and any vicious rumors that have been a product of the previously mentioned speculations. 

how many rides in one day?

Have you ever done Disneyland "commando" style? Is it possible to ride everything in one day? If you go during the off season when crowds are lighter, have some knowledge of the park, and make use of Fastpass, I would say yes.

Here is a list of attractions (in order) that I was able to do during a one-day visit on a Monday in early December a couple of years ago (we spent about 12 hours in the park):

Dumbo
Alice in Wonderland
Mad Tea Party
Peter Pan
Pinocchio
King Arthur Carrousel
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Matterhorn (Fantasyland side)
Matterhorn (Tomorrowland, or "left track", side)
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Autopia
Train from Tomorrowland to New Orleans Square
Tom Sawyer Island
Big Thunder Mountain
Mark Twain Riverboat (in the wheelhouse with the captain!)
Splash Mountain (with Fastpass)
Tiki Room
Horse-Drawn Streetcar from the Hub to Town Square
Space Mountain (with Fastpass)
Buzz Lightyear
Indiana Jones (with Fastpass)
Train from Main Street to Toontown
Haunted Mansion Holiday (with Fastpass)

So, a grand total of 23 attractions in one day (counting two rides on both the Matterhorn and the Steam Trains). Also note that we completed the Disneyland mountain range (Splash, Big Thunder, Matterhorn, and Space) all in the same day.

In addition to all of the attractions, we had a nice leisurely lunch at Rancho del Zocolo, saw a few characters, had a delicious dessert of Dole Whips, and camped out for a front row seat to watch the Christmas Fantasy parade in the evening. So it wasn't as if we were running and rushing between everything. We did take advantage of Early Entry to get in to Fantasyland an hour before official park opening, and made use of Fastpasses on several of the more popular rides.

So, what is your top one-day attraction count? On my upcoming trip I wonder if I will be able to hit 30? But, again, I won't be doing it commando-style. Just enjoying the magic during a hopefully very slow mid-week day in October!

grim grinning ghosts...

Enjoy a ghoulishly delightful tour of 

The Haunted Mansion Holiday!

haunted halloween

It's that time of year at the Disneyland resort. Halloween creeps in and takes over! The Haunted Mansion closed on September 2nd to install the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay and will reopen on September 25th. The Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite attractions and when it teams up with Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas it's phenomenal! Here's some pictures after Jack Skellington has flown in and taken over the mansion.