September Trip Day 3.2

There was more fun to be had than just our breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen! I remember I ended up having to walk back to the hotel to drop off our photo package and change out of the capris I was wearing. It was already starting to heat up and it was barely even 9 in the morning yet! What a hot day that turned out to be, perfect for me! It just wasn't perfect for the whole party but that was neither here nor there at the moment. When we finally got in to the park a little before opening we hung back around the Main Street station to ask about something I was determined to do that day: take a ride on the Lilly Belle parlour car. That was what I wanted for my birthday, and we were told to check back sometime around noon and they would see what they could do to accommodate us.


At that point we were going to take the train to New Orleans Square for our first ride (Pirates) but we spotted two of Andrea's favorite characters and there was no way we could just walk away without getting photos. It turned out to be a headache as there was no formal line and many parents just pushed their kids in front of those of us patiently waiting our turn, but that's just something you have to deal with sometimes. But at least we did get our photos. We even got a photo together at the little photo op spot right at the beginning of Main Street. I thought I would be funny and gave a certain someone bunny ears, lol.

As it turns out I would rather walk a mile than hike up a set of stairs for a train and so we made the walk to New Orleans Square on foot and got sidetracked as always by two of our favorite rides ever. At least with one we simply grabbed Fast Passes for our proposed return later in the evening when we knew it would be busier. The Fast Passes of course belonging to Indiana Jones, while we rode the Jungle Cruise. To top it all off, Adventureland was look particularly exotic that morning.



Sidetracked much? I think that's an understatement. It's almost a miracle that we ever did make our way over to Pirates, but this is what happens when there are so many fun things to see and do. To bad one of those fun things was officially closed for the remainder of our trip!

Trip Report Part V

I can sing like the birdies sing
If there is one thing I have finally realized about this trip to Disneyland, it's that I tend to stick to one area at a time. Maybe it's a morning in this Adventureland and a night in Tomorrowland. Maybe it's one day in New Orleans Square, and another day in Fantasyland. Usually my tradition is to just bounce back and forth on a whim once I decide I want to do something and then choose to do something entirely different, not to mention that I usually stick to Disneyland for full days and give one full day to dedicate to California Adventure. But that's really how the majority of Tuesday went. We pretty much hung around the entire left-hand side of Disneyland with Adventureland, New Orleans Square, and Critter Country. How is it that we did not even set foot inside Sleeping Beauty's Castle and Fantasyland?

But it isn't all that we did on our first day. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. So let's take a couple of steps backwards.

We had just hung out with Winnie the Pooh, correct? Alright, good. After another leisurely stroll through New Orleans Square we decided to take another relaxing cruise through the jungle where, lo and behold, we were greeted by Skipper Sarah once more! What a silly little coink-e-dink, no?






Afterward, with the entrance to Indiana Jones right next door we decided why not just go ahead and use our Fast Passes that we had snatched up earlier? There was absolutely no reason not too. Sure, the stand by line was only about 35 minutes, but that was 35 minutes I didn't feel like wasting. Just to be clear though, Fast Passes don't mean that you get it right away. You just skip a huge portion of the stand by line which is quite substantial for a ride like Indiana Jones. From my photographers perspective I wish that we had gone through the stand by line at least once over the course of the week. The detail that goes into every area be it a bathroom, a stage, or a ride queue is just amazing and I have nothing to show of it. So sad, right? Our wait ended up being about 25 minutes, but that's still at least 10 minutes time we had to do something else. But it was a fast 25 minutes. We passed the time pulling on the ropes they warn you not to pull on (which still didn't make the ceiling start to drop) and what not.




Have I mentioned how much I absolutely love this ride? Especially when you're seated in the last row. For some reason you're just thrown around so much more back there that it makes it that much more exciting.

On our walk out of Adventureland, back towards Main Street, we got a little side tracked by a couple of things:

The first being The Enchanted Tiki Room. Even if you don't particularly like being serenaded by a bunch of audio-animatronic birds, you have to admit that the air conditioned attraction is a must-see during the middle of summer (or the tail end of it). It was only minutes to go until the next show so we wandered our selves into the Tiki Garden as the stories of the Hawaiian Gods came to a close. When the show finally began, wouln't you know I was right there singing along with the Glee club and all.




That second distraction (at least for me) was the appearance of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine right in front of the Oasis Theater where they used to have a little story time show that I actually enjoyed watching when I saw it back in 2007. They had a PhotoPass Photographer with them and I was all for jumping in that line for my first character photo of September 2009. This marks the first time I have ever seen Aladdin anywhere in the parks that wasn't up on stage, and Jasmine somewhere that wasn't the Princess Fantasy Faire over in Fantasyland. There was no way I could pass that opportunity up.


If by any chance you are thinking to yourself, "Where is Andrea?" right about now, I'm curious to know the answer myself. I had to go search for her, which led me to the drawbridge of Sleeping Beauty's Castle where I had no luck finding her. Maybe you can help? I searched high and low, you know you have to check in those pesky little cracks because we wouldn't want her to get lost in the compass rose, and she was nowhere to be found. Go figure.

Trip Report Part II

Here you leave today
And enter the world
of yesterday, tomorrow
and fantasy
- Walt Disney
Our first day in the park was just amazing, and a much better all-around experience than we had on our first day back in March. If you haven't heard me tell you the tale of what went down on that not-so-Magical day, you'll have to keep waiting. That is a story for another day.

While Andrea was busy changing into something that wasn't sequin-color-contaminated, me and my own two legs walked along Harbor Blvd. just enjoying the sights and sounds that took me closer to Disneyland inch by inch, step by step. I'm a fast walker so I would venture a guess that the walk from the hotel to the park gates takes me just about 5 minutes (or longer if I decide to slow it down which is not very often). I am a speed-walking fiend I tell you!

Here's an awesome image that I found that shows you the very simple and straightforward walk from that I have made more times than I can count this year:


The best (and really the only entertaining) part about the walk is all the little hints that you are getting closer and closer to Disneyland. The lamp posts proudly display banners advertising the latest and greatest that Disneyland has to offer. Back in March they were the same "Celebrate Today" images that were used with this year's "What Will You Celebrate" promotion (that included the free admission on your birthday) and matched the park hoppers (a.k.a. tickets) we held in our hand. The lamp posts were sporting a different look this time around, advertising the D23 Expo that would be taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center from September 10th - 13th.


Do I really need to tell you that just seeing them put the spring right back in my step?

It would have been awesome to be able to attend the Expo. I keep in touch with a few people who went to different events throughout the weekend and it just seemed like so much fun, and there was so much Disney history to be found there, along with exciting new announcements (and a preview of The Princess & the Frog that I would have loved to see). Heck, Johnny Depp even made an appearance decked out in full Captain Jack Sparrow attire. You had better believe I would have done anything to be there if I could have. Did you know that they are making a 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie? Well, you do now.

The most important part of the walk however, is when you reach that turning point and get ready to cross Harbor Blvd. (without getting hit by a swiftly moving vehicle, which is why we have traffic lights). For any Disney fanatic, this is a beautiful sight:


The plan was for me to get their first since I am the faster walker between the two of us and stake out spots in line to get ready for the glorious moment that they start letting non-Magic Morning regular entrance folks like ourselves in through those green gates with that wand waving sound that tells us we've been granted a Magical day (if you have no idea what I mean by Magical Morning, you will in due course, I promise you this). Of course if I had remembered that they start letting people onto Main Street en masse 30 minutes prior to the rope drop that will open up all of the different Lands of Disney we may have reworked our strategy somewhat. So I was into the parks before Andre managed to meet me there, which was all fine and dandy. I needed to swing by City Hall to get that all-important birthday badge to let everyone know exactly what I was celebrating!


Once my birthday badge (which sported my naickname, Jazz, because it's just so much fun) was securely in place and visible for all it was time to start off the real Disneyland adventure.

First we would venture into the world of yesterday and the 1950's exotic adventure of Adventureland! There I met up with Andre outside the entrance to the world famous Jungle Cruise. It's tradition that this ride always be our first stop. Always. And no matter how many times I have heard the jokes I think I will always love this ride. They are so full of cheese, but that's why we love it. Our Skipper wasn't the best that I've had, but she wasn't the worst either. But I was expecting a little more from her first cruise out on the day.






Shh! You're supposed to attack the next boat!!


There's old Trader Sam, head salesman of the area. Business has been shrinking lately, so this week only, Sam's offering a two-for-one special: two of his, for one of yours! Either way you slice, you always come out ahead.
Going back even further into yesterday, we made our way into what is hands down our favorite 'land' to just chill in: New Orleans Square. What is there in New Orleans Square that we don't love? Pirates of the Caribbean? Love it! Blue Bayou? Love it! Haunted Mansion? Love it! Do you know what else we love? The Jambalaya Jazz Band! And they certainly got a kick out of my beloved nickname. It would be a memorable one for Cast Members all over the park.


And let that photo just go to show you just how bright it was that morning. There was so much sunlight everywhere! We got some Mardi Gras beads out of the deal. I wish we could have stayed to watch them perform a little while longer because they're awesome, but we were on a mission to get our Haunted Mansion fix in before they closed it on the 10th for the Haunted Mansion Holiday that opens up just in time for the Halloween season.










Coming up: We have a lunch date on the Bayou