September '09 Trip Day 5.3

Unfortunately in the year that has passed since last year's birthday extravaganza I seem to have lost a few details. But this was my last day and I know I spent the majority of it going to the places I hadn't been quite as often over the previous days so I could get some photos. Ride signs, things like that. Given a couple hour time gap I can't say what I did for sure anymore, but I somehow found my way back in front of the Main St. station where I found a couple of characters that I hardly ever see - from Pinocchio! And the worst part was when I completely forgot the name of Honest John's scraggly looking tag-along. You know when you have a word or name right on the tip of your tongue but you can't spit it out? It was one of those moments.

By the way, I did finally remember his name, although it was an hour late!! Gideon, of course!! One of these days I would love to see Honest John outside of a parade. By getting those photos I just missed out on seeing Cruella de Ville, but a CM suggested I be near the Fire Station a little later if I wanted to see her. So I made note of the time and went off to take some more photos.

This was my first little teaser of a Halloween trip that at the time I could only dream of making!

I even did some wandering around Tomorrowland to get some photos since it is usually the least visited on my itinerary.


I made sure to get back to the Fire Depot with plenty of time to spare, just as I always do. This way I could take my take and get some photos of everything inside. I really love going in there, no matter how many times I have before.


And here's one just for fun!
If you ever have the time to do so, I definitely recommend taking time ou of your days to try and see as many of the different entertainment options available to you outside of just the rides - especially when there is music involved. Between the Bootstrappers, the Jambalaya Jazz Band, Disneyland Band - you name it, I enjoyed everything I saw and heard. Especially when said musical entertainment is accompanied by some Disney friends. The Hook and Ladder Company had some help from Cruella and Goofy to Chip & Dale. It was all good fun, and some of the kids got to get involved as well (and some not-so-kids as well).




I couldn't live with myself if I didn't head back to New Orleans Square to close out the final day - my favorite place in the park (outside of the walk down Main Street after walking through the front gates). On the way I managed to add in another ride (SR line) on Indiana Jones as well as Pirates and got to enjoy a little more music courtesy of the Jambalaya Band and Queenie. I even got some more Mardi Gras beads.
I also took some time out to watch the Laughing Stock Co. outside of The Golden Horseshoe. Every time I've ever seen them outside I always happen to be passing during the same skit - the one where they are playing that Bachelor "game" show one, so I figured since I had time to "kill" (do you ever have time to kill at Disneyland? I think not, but I was trying to experience a little bit of everything) so I stuck around the general area to watch all of their little skits. It was pretty entertaining for the most part, although I can see how it's not really peoples style. Plus, when they're doing it outside you're standing in the hot sun!! I believe they also perform onstage as well at TGH, but I've obviously never seen them in there. These were a couple of my favorite photos ...


I can't say with any certainty what I did after that, all I know is that when it was time I grabbed some grub from the Stage Door Cafe and met up with Andrea at our new designated Fantasmic location where we once again found ourselves chatting away with the people around us about anything and everything. I also had to go grab my final-farewell mint julep before I set up my tripod for the night's photo taking adventure. I don't thin we had planned it originally, but we ended up staying through the first showing of Fantasmic, the Magical fireworks, and then the second showing on Fantasmic. It was a great way to end the night and say goodbye to the Land, knowing we wouldn't be coming back the next morning because we had to head home! How sad, right? Here are a few of the photos - which turned out much better than the previous night!!







After Fantasmic, Andrea and I parted ways once more - it feels like I didn't see her at all on Saturday! I spent my last moments in the park simply wandering around and loving everything at nighttime. Sure, we didn't have to get up super early in the morning but I was still going to be the only driver on the way home so I didn't want to stay until closing like she planned on. It was a great 5 days in the park, but I didn't want to leave! Luckily for us both we had one more Disney-filled stop planned on our journey home.

Trip Report Part VI

Innovation and Invention
Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I am not a very big thrill seeker, especially in the form of roller coasters or simulators and what not. It's a big part of why, outside of Disneyland, I'm not a huge fan of amusement parks and the lot. I don't go to Disneyland for the rides (although there are many that I absolutely love), I go because of the experience. Is it surprising to anyone that I don't tend to make the venture into Tomorrowland all that often? Easily the two biggest attractions in this corner of Disneyland are Space Mountain and Star Tours. So we have a roller coaster and a simulator ride? Methinks they are not on my agenda. Ever. Or at least they were up until the new Nemo subs opened up replacing the space that used to be 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea back in 2007, which is a ride that I would venture over to see if it wasn't for lines that would go on for well over an hour.

OK, so my point is this: I don't spend a lot of time in Tomorrowland.

I've literally been on two rides in Tomorrowland to date: Atuopia and the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and that is it. The whole theme of this years Disneyland trips (both this one and the one back in March) was all about trying new things. So guess where we were headed next? Not that there was any way she was going to get me on Star Tours, and Space Mountain was a no-go no matter what since it was closed while they installed a new Halloween theme for this years festivities. But there were a couple of things I could still try for the first time. Like the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters!


How can I best describe the Astro Blasters? It's like one bug, moving video game. You get into your Star Cruisers and you shoot at little targets with your hand held laser guns and you get points for every enemy target that you hit. It was an absolute blast and with a short wait time of 5 minutes while we were there, it was definitely worth it. And since it has the FastPass option I'd even give it another go during a busier season.

Let me just say that I totally kicked Andrea's butt at this one!


It felt pretty good. Games like those have never really been my strong suit, but what the hey.

And then of course there's Innoventions, which is even harder to describe than the Astro Blasters. It's not a ride, but more of a walk-through exploration kind of thing. Upon entering you play this little game show sponsored by ABC (total product plug, but what else do you expect) before you get the opportunity to explore the Elias family Dream Home, which is riddled with all kinds of high-tech digital technology. Out of all the rooms we really only discovered the full potential in one, thanks to the help of one of your friendly neighborhood cast member. It was the daughters bedroom equipped with a crazy magic mirror that lets you 'try' on clothes without actually having to put them on. It as pretty funny actually. And I loved changing the posters on the wall. I had me some fun doing some silly dancing all thanks to the poster of the dancer that us we when we went in there. Every room had something fun to discover and play with. But you have to keep in mind, the entire thing is a big old ad for Microsoft, HP, and all of the other companies involved. Again, what else do you expect these days?

The second floor didn't house too much interest for me. There were a lot of video games and what not. The only thing that I may have liked to see, but didn't think of because I was exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel at that point, was the ASIMO presentation.

But here are a few photos of the fun we had:








And thus ended my first day at Disneyland. Between the few hours of sleep, the loooooooong drive, and a day spent in the hot sun had me pretty sleepy at close to 7. No way was I going to be able to make it until park closing at 8 p.m. and still be able to make the walk back to the hotel before I actually fell asleep. I don't think sleepwalking along Harbor Blvd. would be that great of an idea. So Andrea and I parted ways at Innoventions so she could have the fun she wanted while I made plans to go catch some zzzzz's.

Coming up: Day 2 begins with a Royal Breakfast.