Trip Report - 5/8 - 5/13
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bradk · 05-15-2006, 10:58 AM

Just got back home this morning, so it's going to be a while before I get a report posted (had a very busy, fun and fruitful trip) and it's going to be even longer before I get the pics up as I have over 7000 (!) to weed through, but quick summary: the weather was decent, the crowds were minimal at worst (Space Mountain was a literal walk-on at 2 pm on one of my days), most of the CMs and characters were phenomenal.

Here's a few photos I hand-selected to offer as a tease of what's to come. I'm either thrilled with the photo itself or with the opportunity I had to take it.

My favorite shot of Sleeping Beauty Castle
The Bride in Haunted Mansion (with axe)
Tigger in mid-bounce
'The Goat Trick' Goat
Peter, Wendy and Hook on Autopia
Most of Paradise Pier at night
Tower of Terror with full moon

I'm also more than willing to answer any questions regarding my trip or entertain any requests for photos while I'm busy catching up and working on the trip report. Hope ya like.

jimmymac · 05-15-2006, 11:09 AM

7000 pix??? Love the ToT shot

lauren-roxy · 05-15-2006, 02:17 PM

Great photos Brad!! Can't wait for the actual report!!

bradk · 05-15-2006, 02:42 PM

DAY 0 - MONDAY - MAY 8
arrived in partly-sunny LGB around 1:30 PST. got myself a nice cab (london executive sedan or something like that - had 2 facing seats that folded down), good driver. arrived at the tropicana, checked in. decent room. cute little balcony facing harbor blvd (yay). don't think i'll be using it much.

so I dropped my bags off and decided to use getting DTD out of the way as an excuse to give my trip a start since I won't be going into the parks until tomorrow.

first thing i noticed was the pedestrian entrance sign is all covered and some cheesy sign is in its place. boo.

i grabbed entertainment schedules from the parks as i walked through the esplanade to DTD. also went to pick up my F! ticket for friday. visited the hotels and scoped them out a bit (GCH is really impressive - I can see the WL influence, only it's cozier). went to the WOD store where I figured I would get most of my spending out of the way and had a coupon I got for purchasing my tickets online. i'm pretty sure the coupon was for 10% off, but they didn't know how to enter it, so they just gave me the AP 20% off (which is nice considering I spent $200+). had them ship it to me for $36, but I also didn't have to pay tax so that offset it as well.

so that's pretty much it. i haven't really eaten all day so i'm going to go grab something and head back to my room and probably catch some sleep since i've been up for like 13 hours and i have an early day tomorrow too.

DAY 1 - TUESDAY - MAY 9 - EARLY ENTRY

Arrived in the esplanade area around 6:20 for an 8 am EE. Took opportune photos of the parks before passing through DTD for some more photos. went as far as anne geddes before deciding to head back to the line for the turnstile. First in line at the line closest to the tunnel (why people like to go to the center is still beyond me). Got a couple of nice photos of a DL kitty hanging out in a floral arrangement in the esplanade area. I then realized my wide angle lens was set to manual focus which explained a lot. But none of the shots were bad enough to warrant retaking them.

They let us in about 7:50 am and held us at rope drop at the end of Main Street. I grabbed as many shots of Main Street and the castle from my vantage point that I could. When the clock struck 8, I went right for Peter Pan (which was also on the list of a few others who were waiting). Took a few more shots before heading into Pinocchio, followed by Mr. Toad, followed by Snow White. A few more dozen photos and it was off to Matterhorn - both sides. At this point, it's a few minutes to 9 am, so I head over to IASW. A bunch more shots and I'm done with FL for now.

Headed off to Adventureland where I grabbed a FP for IJA before boarding the Jungle Cruise. I noticed the now infamous see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys set up in the shop adjacent to the attraction, facing into the queue, only they seem to be a tad messed up. Asked for a map of the jungle cruise river and was told to ask again when I got off the ride. So I did and I got me a pretty cool map of the river. I then popped in for a viewing of the Enchanted Tiki Room. Grabbed another FP for IJA.

It was about 10:20 when I was done and the Re-dedication Ceremony was to take place at 10:30, so I headed off to the Main Street train station and grabbed a spot right in the middle across the street from the station. The Mad Hatter, Belle, Alice and Chip & Dale joined the Mayor and the Fab Five for the ceremony. Got some decent shots but I think I totally missed the doves being released. That just means I get to see it again [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

After the ceremony, the characters went off to do their photo-ops. I got a photo of Pluto at the Disneyland FD and visited Belle before heading back to IJA. I rode it twice, back-to-back and used FPs both times, but the posted wait times was 10 minutes so it really wasn't necessary either time.

My VIP tour was scheduled for 12:30 PM at City Hall and it was now only 11:30 AM, so I had some time to fill/kill. Visited Tarzan's Treehouse and poked around NOS a bit. Briefly caught a performance of the Side Street Strutters.

Went down to the Mark Twain to see if I could co-pilot it, but the run that was currently about to leave had a family already and time wouldn't allow me to try to wait for the next one, so I continued to linger on. Watched some of the Laughing Stock (?) show. Went back through Adventureland to get my first (of many) Dole Whip floats.

Headed down towards City Hall only to discover I still had time to kill before the tour, so I went into the Main Street Cinema for the first time and watched a cartoon or few, including all of Steamboat Willie. What a brutal cartoon! If Disney had made that film today, they'd probably be run out of business.

I then headed to City Hall where I met up with my guide Debra. Tackled the most important thing first and got me an Honorary Citizen sticker. I then enquired about Rockit Mountain and if there was any chance it would be running later that week in light of the fact that it was preeming at Grad Nite. She called the Tomorrowland manager and reported back to me that it was a perk offered exclusively to the Grad Nites and all that aside, that not all of the effects were in place yet, so it was only a scaled down version anyway. Good enough for me.

We reviewed what I wanted to accomplish during our four hours and she suggested we go ride around the park on the Lilly Belle parlour car. As it turns out, the train with the car had just left, so we had to wait another 20 minutes. We went into the Opera House and reviewed some of the exhibits and before we knew it, we had missed the Lilly Belle again. So we opted to just wait at the train station for it so we wouldn't chance missing it again.

We got on the Lilly Belle and rode around the park in comfort (beautiful car!). She pointed out some of the pieces that came from the firehouse apartment as well as Lillian's robe in the corner. We also talked a bit about miscellaneous things.

We arrived back at Main Street and began our exploration of the park. We took the Omnibus (top of course) up to the end of Main Street. She pointed out the still-standing access point (or whatever) for the skyway. She then offered to see if I'd be able to pilot the Mark Twain, so naturally I agreed and we were able to get right on to the next boat which arrived very shortly after we did.

So I co-piloted the Mark Twain (even got to turn the wheel a bit) and had a lengthy discussion between the 3 of us (Debra, the Pilot and myself) on a bunch of things. She pointed out how you can see the Maliboomer from where we were and he said they're supposed to get a 'tree' for it (whatever that means).

I grabbed a shot of the petrified tree which I knew was an unwelcome gift from Walt to Lillian, but Debra gave me some more backstory about how the petrified forest was privately owned at the time and the owner tried to sell Walt the entire park, but he opted for a tree instead and that Lillian was in the car the whole time he was plotting this gift for her. She pointed out the Fess Parker window in Frontierland.

We then started crossing the hub to go towards Tomorrowland because I had asked her to point out the remnants of the House of the Future as I vaguely knew where and what was left before but I wasn't sure and wanted to document it. On the way across the hub, I was able to get a great shot of Gepetto. There was also a short line for Ariel, so I wanted to grab that opportunity. It turns out Ariel was about to go in, but I was able to sneak in and get a photo. Unfortunately Ariel didn't have her dinglehopper on her. She said she'd have it for the parade and the next day, so I'd have to come back.

Debra had mentioned something about the apple at Snow White and I thought she meant the one that used to get stolen, but she was referring to the one outside the attraction by the book. I hadn't a clue so she said she had to show me. So we cut over through Fantasyland, where I saw the Evil Queen out in the villain section. Again, little line (it was actually closed again), but I was able to get a few moments with the Queen (this was the first of many times I had seen her and I've never seen anyone as true to character as she was. I had heard stories about the villains treating guests in an un-disney way but this was the first time I had witnessed it). It was great.

So we went to Snow White and she showed me the apple by the book in front of the queue - how when you touch the top of it - well, you know. I also took the opportunity to take a photo of the Queen as she peers out the window.

At some point after this, she asked me if I knew about Walt's window in Toontown. I didn't. So she pointed it out to me. It was now about 3:45 pm and she wanted to know if I wanted to see the ASIMO show at 4. Of course this was the only reason why I wanted to go back to Innoventions (that and Stitch), so I gave a big yes. But first, I had to stop at IASW and watch the clock go off.

We made it in time to see the 4 pm ASIMO show at Innoventions. A not to be missed event. It's obvious that ASIMO clearly isn't operating completely on his own, but for a robot that I've only read about for years and occasionally seen on tv, it was a thrill.

By now our time was coming to a close, so we sat down in Tomorrowland and she allowed me to write down some times for events I wanted to see that aren't listed in the entertainment guide. I noticed BLAB had a 5 minute posted wait time, so she told me I couldn't pass it up, so we parted ways and I headed into Buzz (and did not do too well I might add - I think I came out Level 2).

It was almost 5 pm and I made it a point to make sure I'd see the flag retreat ceremony at 5:30, so I headed back to the flagpole area, encountering Mulan and visiting Goofy at the firehouse and Minnie along the way. Watched the flag retreat ceremony.

The next thing I wanted to do was ride tender on the train. The first train came and it was the brakers (?) crew, so they couldn't take anyone. 10 minutes later, can't do it on the next train. another 10 minutes later and the engine had to go take on water so I couldn't do it again. By now it was getting too close to parade time, so I had to quit trying for now.

Staked out a spot for the parade and watched it.

After the parade came and went, I headed over to NOS and visited the Haunted Mansion, semi-complete with new bride.

I went to go ride Splash Mountain but it was getting dark and I waited until I got to the loading area before bailing (it made no sense to take photos then and I was feeling tired and cranky anyway).

But since I was in the neighborhood and it was a dark ride so the lighting didn't matter for photos, I decided to go on Pooh.

On my wait out, I grabbed myself some food - a chili cheese hot dog and a mickey pretzel and a really cool stitch crazy straw (which subsequently broke when I was packing [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] ). Ran into Maynard on my way out and I only meant to say hi because I was tired and cranky, but we ended up chatting a while.

END DAY ONE.

bradk · 05-15-2006, 03:49 PM

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY - MAY 10

Park opening is at 9, I was probably there around 8 with a couple of families waiting. I took the same turnstile closest to the tunnel which was empty (oy!). In fact, by 8:30, only one guy was behind me (a regular) and the existing lines were stretching beyond the monorail track.

I got inside the park, taking things slower because I knew the rope drop would happen. Got some additional Main Street photos.

Hung out at the rope drop and before long, Tigger (who was on his way to the Minnie & Friends breakfast) appears near the restaurant to greet the crowd from afar. He's soon joined by Dale who does the same sort of thing. They're both soon joined by Hook who just taunts the crowd, making rude gestures and funny faces at everyone.

I now become enamoured by the K-9 security.

The rope is dropped and I'm off to Toontown Morning Madness. Everyone's out doing photo-ops which I wasn't concerned with, but so few people were there and I had planned on attending the event 3 times during my trip, so I wasn't stressed. I said hello to Mickey and Minnie before exploring the residential half of Toontown. Rode Gadget's Go Coaster and took some shots. Before long, it was time for the ceremony. This was new to me because it now starts 15-20 minutes before it used to. I got the little parade that goes on, but by the time I got to City Hall, it was packed, so I decided to skip the ceremony today and go on exploring Toontown. Also rode Roger Rabbit before heading off to Tomorrowland.

The plan was to just FP Space, but the posted wait time was 5 minutes, so I rode it standby as well. It was very cool. The effects were neat and the ride was everything I anticipated it to be.

By now it was almost time for my Minnie & Friends breakfast, so I headed over to the Plaza Inn. The food was very good and the character interaction was great (which is what I was hoping for by getting a later PS time). I saw Eeyore, Minnie (several times), Fairy Godmother, Dale (I briefly saw Chip), Rafiki, Hook, Tigger and Goofy. At one point, there was at least 6 characters in the same room and they were all interacting with each other, which is something I'd never see at WDW. At one point, Hook banished Tigger out of the restaurant. I asked Tigger to bounce for me and he looked at me like I was crazy - that he had no room for it. I totally didn't understand because when he bounces at WDW, he barely leaves the ground. But he did it for me anyway and - wow. Tigger can bounce!

I headed down to the exhibit at the Opera House to take some photos, stopping to say hello to Mickey on the way.

Headed off to Adventureland to grab an IJA FP, stopping to see the Dapper Dans and the horse drawn car along the way and spotted Aladdin and Jasmine at Aladdin's Oasis, so I waited to say hi to them.

I had some time to kill so I thought I'd say hi to the princesses scattered around the castle. Cinderella's line was closed, but the page informed me that Snow White should be out at 12:30, so I went to the grotto and took some photos and waited for Snow. 12:30 came and no Snow. A page showed up to inform us that Snow was doing the princess story thing at once upon a time. So I went to see Ariel where I was the last on line before she had to go. Fortunately today she had the dinglehopper, but the Evil Queen showed up before she could show it to me and they had a stare down. When the Queen left, Ariel was about to go, but I reminded her of the dinglehopper and she graciously showed it to me before leaving.

I knew Cinderella would be back out in about 15 minutes, so I headed back that way, noticing Aurora along the way so I stopped to say hello to her. It was 2:05 when I made it to the Cinderella line and it was already closed (she had a long line long before she was even scheduled to appear), but the page remembered me and let me in. He also advised me Snow would be out around 2:30.

Met Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother who remembered me from breakfast and filled Cindy in on all the details and they posed for a few photos.

Went to Autopia to pick up a FP and noticed Mickey with a couple of guests just hanging out. More specifically, Mickey was doing the Robot!

Headed back to Snow's grotto and noticed Space had a 5 minute wait posted at 2 pm. That was an exaggeration. It was a literal walk on! BLAB was also posting a 5 minute wait, so I rode that one again too. Did better scorewise this time (L3).

Got on line for Snow when I saw Foulfellow walking through (or the 'big bad wolf' as some guests were calling him - he's clearly a fox, people!). I guess he was doing the villain thing. He walked past me (it's hard to yell out foulfellow a bunch of times), so I left the line to chase him a little and just started screaming Foul! Foul! (it works!) he posed for a couple of pics and I got back in line for Snow. Finally met Snow and had her make a wish for me before moving on.

I hadn't ridden Alice yet and the line was tolerable so I went on.

By now it was about 3, so I headed back to Autopia and FP'd my way through (Autopia was consistently the *only* attraction in MK that was posting a wait above 10 minutes according to the tip board - usually hovering at around 25 minutes). Got off Autopia and was leaving the attraction when I noticed someone in a Peter Pan hat in one of the cars. I thought it was weird until I realized it WAS Peter Pan! and the stringy black hair I could see in the car in front was Hook. So I ran up to get a clear shot, only to discover Wendy was in the car in front of both of them. It was pretty neat.

I had some free time so I went to try to ride tender at the Main Street train station again, first saying hi to Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dee and the Queen of Hearts.

I waited for the train but made the mistake of asking the conductor on the train, not the one at the station (they cycle so I though the one on the train was my best bet). it turned out that the position was already offered to another couple, but they offered me the next run and also let me ride the train normally before.

I rode tender with engineers Royce (who was firing) and Scott (?) who was pulling. They gave me a lot of information on the engine. I couldn't believe how hot it was sitting outside the cab. They told me it's normally between 90-130 degrees inside. I couldn't even begin to imagine doing that all day.

I then did something else I needed to cross off my list - watch a Billy Hill & The Hillbillies show. My VIP Tour guide Debra had pointed out Walt's private box to me, but I showed up too late to grab it (and I really didn't need to sit in it anyway). So I went upstairs and watched the show. Very entertaining. I managed to grab a shot of Walt's box afterwards which is all I wanted anyway.

I rode Big Thunder and got a really decent shot of the goat with the dynamite in its mouth - a shot I sorely missed last time around. I was quite proud of myself.

I then staked out a spot for the Parade of Dreams and watched it again. As it passed, I followed it until I got out of the park and called it a day since I would have an early start tomorrow.

END DAY TWO

bradk · 05-15-2006, 04:29 PM

DAY THREE - MAY 11

Got an early start as I had PS for 7 am at Goofy's Kitchen, so I passed through DTD for photos, stopping at GCH and working my way to DLH.

Overall, I wasn't too thrilled with my experience at GK. Maybe I just started too early, but I made sure to stick around to see everyone. There was a wider selection of food at GK than at Minnie's, but Minnie's tasted better. Saw Goofy, Pluto, Max, Mad Hatter, Belle, Baloo.

I then headed off to DCA where I waited to be let in at 9:30. Knowing Soarin' was open, but not wanting to ride it, just wanting to photograph the queue, I was first to arrive. Made it down to the bottom and went back up through the exit to hang at the Backlot rope drop (collecting photos of course) where the security guy was kindly steering folk to Soarin'.

10:00 came and the ToT bellhops walked us down to the street where I positioned myself to be the first rider of Monsters, Inc. of the day. First (of many) impression: it's cute, has some really neat effects but re-ride value? I don't know. I will go ahead and mention I rode this MANY times (more details later) and Roz chose to call on me each and every time. This time around it was because I had my camera and she told me to get her good side (with a long cheeeeese for effect).

Took photos of the Muppetvision queue while it was empty and then headed on to GRR taking many photos along the way. Initially I was offered my own raft, but at the last minute, they dumped another group on me. Oh well. I have no idea why either since many rafts went out empty afterwards anyway.

I went to the Redwood Creek trail across the street and watched the Brother Bear Totem ceremony, meeting Koda and Kenai after the event.

I then went through the Mission Tortilla Factory (where the guy obliged me and gave me 2 tortillas) and then went to the Boudin factory. While stuck watching Colin and Rosie, I saw Flik and Atta going to the Ugly Bug Ball hand in hand right by the factory. Lost photo-op. Breezed through the factory and headed over to a Bug's Land and watched the remainder of the Ugly Bug Ball and waited for the two to leave. Unfortunately I learned you can't get them as they just come off the stage, so I got photos of them separately for the time being.

Took some photos of the area before heading down the Backlot area where I saw Mr. Incredible. He was leaving before I could get to him but he managed to oblige me in a couple of shots as he was walking out. I wasn't too thrilled with them though so I made a note to try to catch him again.

Went into the animation building. Belle was doing photos but the line was closed. The next Turtle Talk was 20+ minutes away, so I wandered around the sorcerer's workshop. watched Turtle Talk which was great as always (but no Dory!). I went outside and saw Mr. Incredible again. This time I got some decent shots.

Then it was time for Aladdin (well, time to start lining up for it anyway). I basically stuck around until they decided to open the mezanine so I could be first in. Great show as always. What's really funny is last year, I remember the Martha Stewart jokes and I was relieved I'd avoid them this time. Nope. Martha's still funny.

Rode TOT twice in a row with very little wait.

Walked back down towards sunshine plaza when I noticed someone was looking for a princess. I thought they were looking for Belle who I had just seen go into the animation building, so I was going to tell them, but it turns out they were waiting for Mulan instead. Sure enough, Mulan was in the middle of the street and I had walked right past her (she was probably bent down for a little one). So I said hello to Mulan. Immediately after that, I saw Jojo walking off towards backstage, so I chased after her and she readily obliged me for a bit (I do love Jojo).

I opted to go see Muppetvision now as the show was only a few minutes away. After that, I went off to a bug's land. I saw the ugly bug ball was going on, so I watched it until the end, and went off towards the exit point for Flik and Atta to get my shot of the two of them. worked like a charm!

went back to a bug's land and rode heimlich's chew chew train - the best smelling attraction anywhere!

Crossed over to DL and went on Jungle Cruise, this time on the opposite side of where I was last time. Skipper Brittany (Bob) is as good as they come - the piranha bit was exceptionally well done.

Rode Storybookland Canal Boats but wasn't thrilled with where I was positioned, so I rode it again, this time getting the right spot.

Stopped by the firehouse to take a few photos as the parade was set to begin and I called it a night.

END DAY THREE

PrincessSharon · 05-17-2006, 09:42 AM

Brad, I'm just getting caught up. Your report is great! You really manage to get a lot done each day! And I love your photos [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] You got so many great shots! Can't wait for more!

bradk · 05-17-2006, 02:53 PM

DAY 4 - MAY 12

One addendum regarding day 3. I lied. After I left the park, I went to visit DTD for a brief moment because I (1) wanted to check at WOD to see if they had a POTC2 shirt I liked in my size (insert your own joke here). I had seen the shirt the first night I was at DLR, but they didn't have one in the size I wear and I didn't bother to ask anyone. Second time was not the charm either. So I moved on to the lego store and took a couple of photos of the sculptures (needless to say I was underwhelmed by the store, particularly in light of the one at Legoland - but I guess that's to be expected).

I also totally neglected to mention that I saw Golden Dreams for the first time. I'm pretty much in agreement with everything I had heard before. It is a bit hokey, but the final montage & theme song are worth seeing this movie at least once.

Anyway... this morning.

This was to Toontown Morning Madness #2 which means it started at 9 am when the park opened. I intended to see the ceremony this time, so I would not actually have to be in toontown until 9:15 or so to get my spot. After that, I would head out to DCA in time for ropedrop. So I seized the opportuntity to cross something else off my list. I crossed the esplanade and went to the DTD Monorail entrance. I was there first (as it was quite early), but I ended up being 2nd in line, which was no big deal. As soon as we were allowed in, I asked to ride in the last car, facing the direction we were traveling in (turns out to be the back). This was great and all except for the fact that the monorail window was covered with condensation, so it was barely visible out the window, so it didn't make for great photos sadly enough.

I arrived in Toontown in time for the ceremony which hadn't really changed at all since I had seen it last (except for the time).

After the ceremony, I walked back the hub area and caught the omnibus at the hub. Not surprisingly at this time of the morning (around 9:50 or so), the vehicles were only busy going from the entrance to the hub and not the other way around. I took the top center for the best view.

When i arrived in town square, the disneyland band was seated and performing. Alice in Wonderland characters were around the area doing greets and I had yet to meet Alice. This was a poor decision on my part because the clock was nearing 10 am and I really wanted to get photos of Paradise Pier when it was empty, but this might have been my last chance with Alice and the line was small, so I took the opportunity.

Of course by now there was a bit of a line getting into DCA (and there were only 2 or 3 turnstiles being used) and it was shortly after 10 when I got in, but the back side of DCA was still fortunately empty.

I strolled around the pier, taking my shots. Ridemax had suggested I picked up a FP for Mulholland Madness before heading over to the sunwheel and subsequently screamin, but based on crowd levels, I didn't think it was needed. Worst case, I could always go single rider.

So I rode the sun wheel to get aerial shots of the parks. I had scheduled it for 2x via ridemax because that's how many times I needed to ride it last time to get the shots I wanted, but I found I did well enough with just the one time around.

Ridemax then told me to FP Screamin and spend 24 minutes standby to ride it. I got my FP, but the posted wait time was 5 minutes and it wasn't even really that except for the fact that I had to wait for maybe 2 or 3 cycles for row 1. I impressed a bunch of kids by the fact that I was taking my camera on the ride with me (whee). Got off screamin (camera still attached to me and in tact). Took a quick break before going on screamin again with the wide angle lens - still a posted 5 minute wait, but my wait was still a little longer due to a slightly longer line and waiting for a couple more cycles for front row).

So now that I was buzzed from a couple of back-to-back rides, there was only one obvious thing to do: Mullholland Madness! So I headed over there with just one minor detour...

I had never ridden the Orange Stinger. I never really would. I had no interest. But now there was so much freed up time on my schedule and there was no line for the stinger, I went for it.

Next was Mulholland Madness which had a short wait, but I only rode it once and I probably gave the couple behind me a cheap thrill as I was mercilessly tossed about from side to side in the car.

Continuing my doing things I never would have done before now that I had so much time, I took a ride on the golden zephyr.

By now it was 11:40 am and I had done everything I had scheduled for Ridemax in DCA until 1 PM when I was meant to go on TOT, so I decided to stroll around a bit. I went over to the farmers market and picked up the white cheddar cheese soup in the bread bowl. the soup was decent, but the bowl was more than I could handle, so I ended up tossing it after I had a few bites. In that area, a CM had handed me a sheet with the actual events going on for the food & wine weekends and while nothing really appealed to me that was coming up, I decided it was worth checking out since I had so much free time anyway, so I aimed for going to the sushi culinary event at 12:30.

Before I did that however, I went to check out the music of the Miner 49ers. They perform across from GRR and in my opinion should not be missed. In true Disney fashion, they were very entertaining, a great blend of music and comedy.

I now headed over to the Vinery for the sushi event. I don't really eat sushi, but I figured it'd make for a nice experience. The speaker was the head sushi chef from Yamabuki at PPH. Although I felt out of place for the whole thing, they provided us with quite a bit of free food and water, which was a surprise to me considering the event itself was free. I'm surprised it wasn't more popular than it seemed.

The event let out around 1:15 and though I was seemingly now behind in my schedule, I really had nothing planned until the Parade of Dreams at 3:15 anyway, so I went on to ride Tower of Terror.

Stopped by the animation building to see what was going on and saw Socerer Mickey and Woody in the main area doing a greet, but they had to go before I could say hello. I did get a cute shot of Mickey & Woody together except it also includes some little girl who latched on to Mickey. Owell.

Decided to head back to DL, but caught a glimpse of Goofy as he was walking off. Also managed to say hello to Pocahontas, Max and Stanley. I also decided to take one last peek in the animation building and managed to say hello to Abby Mallard. No Chicken Little today sadly.

Got over to MK and the fab five were doing greets in the square, so I went to say hello to Donald (the only one I hadn't yet seen in his 50th outfit).

I took a horseless carriage down main street (amused by a CM yelling to our driver 'hey lady, get a horse!'). At some point she explained that it was the 50th birthday today of the vehicle in front of us and all the vehicle drivers were wearing a birthday sticker in its honor (which now made sense why I saw a sticker on the Ombinbus Driver which announced he was 50 when he barely looked 20). I pondered if shouldn't the vehicle itself have a sticker and she told me it in fact did. So when I got off at the hub, i went to get a shot of the 'birthday boy' and his sticker.

I think at this point, I headed off to Adventureland to pick up a FP for Indy and get another dole whip float. Saw Mary Poppins on the way.

With time to spare, I headed back to the castle and caught a performance of the sword in the stone ceremony. A bit awkward compared to WDW's setup, but it works.

I then went to the Main Street Train Station for my priorty viewing of the Parade of Dreams (those benches in the middle of the platform that are roped off). There were a couple of other small groups there including the extended friends/family of the honorary grand marshals who joined them in the viewing area after they landed at the end of the parade route.

I was a bit surprised by the view of the parade from here. It wasn't as bad as I expected and it did allow for some great eye-level shots of those who ride high on the floats like Tinkerbell and Ariel and the like. And I was still able to see everything on the ground since I would stand and look down anyway.

Now it was time to go back to DCA so I could watch the 'Drawn to the Magic' show and then meet Mickey afterwards. Okay? This show was pretty lame. I couldn't even watch all of it, so I ended up just going inside to wait for the greets.

I got to see Sorcerer Mickey, but now it was almost 5 pm and the BPB was set to begin at 5:15, so I headed over there and grabbed a spot in the sunshine plaza area. Unfortunately at some point, my eye began to really bother me, like sting me, so i ran over to a water fountain and tried to wash it out. Got back to my spot in time, but still didn't help my eye much.

Watched the BPB. As usual, Monsters, Inc. stopped in front of me. For the first time however I was on the side to see Boo which was a thrill for me.

Went back to DL while it was still light out and rode standby on Splash (a bit of a wait). Took row 1.

Now I had pretty much photographed everything I meant to. What more could I do? A stroke of inspiration hit me! I knew about the tributes in some attractions to the attractions they had replaced, so now I was on a mission to find them. I went across the path to Pooh and asked a CM where exactly I would find Max, Melvin and Buff from the Country Bears. Took me a couple of rides, but I finally got a decent shot.

Headed back through NOS and Adventureland and rode IJA on FP. IJA did I say? Yes, home of the Eeyore parking lot and the sign. I asked one of the CMs on the queue where it was and she told me which room, but I had trouble (not surprisingly) finding it, so I asked the CM there who was routing traffic. He took out his pen flashlight and shone on it for me and I managed to get a semi-decent shot of the sign.

As it was starting to get dark, I decided to cross something else off my list: ride storybook land canal at night when all the models are lit up. So I headed back across the hub and took some shots of the castle when it was roped off and of Jingles and Goldie on the carousel.

It was about 8 pm when I got on the attraction and it was very much worth it.

Thinking I had some time to kill, I then went to City Hall and enquired about times for Saturday for some things I had yet to experience before heading over to priority viewing for Remember.. (same spot).

When I got to the train station, there were several people already there. As time went on, the entire set of benches were filled with people (I was in second row - seating was first come, first serve). I seated myself to be off center from the flagpole, but still have the castle in sight. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated as I often tried to shoot around the flagpole, but sometimes the flagpole got the best of me. The fireworks were amazing as always however.

After the fireworks, I swam upstream to get to the gallery for my dessert buffet. As I half-expected, I ran into a really peculiar CM on the way.

Me (to CM #1 who was roping off the gallery): I need to go up for the priority seating
CM #1: Oh, okay, I guess they'll check you in up there
CM #2: The gallery is closed. It closes at 10 pm.
Me: I need to go up for priority seating.
CM #2: No.
Me: Yes.
CM #2: You have a ticket?
Me: Yes, for the dessert buffet
CM #2: I don't think there's a dessert buffet, but if you have a ticket, go on up.

Okay.....

I got seated for F!, but unfortunately, even though I was the first to call, I got seated all the way on the side and had a light tower directly in front of me. So I basically stood in the center for the whole show. I was quite excited to see Pinocchio perform as he was out of commission the last time I went to see the show.

Could there possibly be more to this day? well, yes, considering the park was open until midnight and it was now 11, but no, I decided to go back to the hotel.

END DAY FOUR

bradk · 05-17-2006, 06:02 PM

DAY 5 - MAY 13

okay, time to put this puppy to bed...

I woke up later than I would have hoped and I still had to pack and I took in some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but I was entitled by this point.

First thing I noticed when crossing Harbor - the Disneyland Resort sign had been revealed once more! yay!

It was an EE day and I couldn't participate so I joined the growing lines. There was one line closest to the tunnel that only had one person in it. I felt semi-compelled to join, but the sign above that turnstile had recently been changed to ENTRANCE (it was EXIT when I got there) and surrounding turnstiles were still marked as EXIT and I know how fickle DL can be with which turnstiles it uses, so I opted to stay where I was. Eventually I decided to cut to the shorter line and take my chances, but just as I was switching over, other people had the same idea, so I still ended up a little further back, but better off than I was (I think).

When I got into the park, the Disneyland Band was playing in front of the floral. The train was in the station and I knew what my agenda was, so I only briefly hung around before making my way to the platform. I asked the conductor when the train was leaving (because if it took too long, I'd just walk my way to NOS) and she said 'in a few minutes' - very helpful. really. I took my chances and boarded the train anyway and in a few minutes we were New Orleans bound.

Arrived in NOS and got to Haunted Mansion. Nary a soul around - perfect! I took some shots before one of the CMs invited me in. I politely declined. She informed me of the new effects but I said I had already seen them and I just needed to pick up on a few shots. She then insisted I step out of the queue and take shots of the pet cemetary which is hidden from normal guest view. She also advised me to go the back of the unused queue to make sure I got shots of the tombs and whatnot. Who was I to deny her? It was great.

On my way out, I ran into another HM CM who noted I was still rubbing my eye (it hurt like heck). He asked if it was okay since he had seen me rubbing it earlier. I said no, he told me to go home (probably figured I was a local) and I smartly told him I'd have to lose at least a few limbs before I ever left Disneyland!

It was my 3rd and final viewing of Toontown Madness and I needed to pick up a few shots, so I headed back through Adventureland, getting a shot of the No Evil monkeys in the queue, crossing through the hub and castle (where I saw Cinderella and Prince Charming) and through Fantasyland to Toontown.

The ceremony was going on when I got there, so I got a couple of shots I needed before heading over to Mickey's house which was now closed off. This was one of those new-to-me things. A few minutes after the ceremony ends, Mickey drops Minnie off at her house and they both greet guests in their respective homes. Nice! So I wanted to be first in line for Mickey, but i had about 10 minutes or so to go. So I figured I'd run through Minnie's house right quick, but just as I had that idea, they closed off her house. So I waited for Mickey. Turns out Goofy also does an appearance at his house and Donald appears by the Miss Daisy, but they don't do it for as long as Mickey & Minnie do it. So I met Mickey inside his home, went through that enormous queue of a house of his, then went over to line up for Minnie who hung out right outside her home.

It was around 9:30, so I did a few more pick up shots around Toontown, including riding Roger Rabbit again.

After that, I started heading back to the Main Street Train Station to see the 10 am rededication ceremony. This time it was the fab five with the disneyland band (those guys are everywhere!). The mayor also seemed to have lost several pounds and several years, but I guess that's how it goes in the magic kingdom.

After the ceremony, I stopped by first aid to see if they could do anything about my eye. The nurse looked at it and said it looked like it was infected and tried some eyewash to no avail, gave me a list of local hospitals (i'm not leaving!) and an ice pack. It did seem to help somewhat.

I walked over to critter country because I thought Pooh & friends would be out at 11, but when I got there, probably around 10:45, they were already in line. It was Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. I got on line and waited for Pooh, but my eye was bothering me so I didn't feel like being in the mood to see the others. Plus I saw Eeyore hit some kid pretty good, so that kinda put a damper on it for me. Earlier I had asked a CM if Rabbit and Piglet were going to be out at all. His response? they're in the hundred acre wood. A 'no' probably would have sufficed. Now I had to confirm they were playing in the wood all day? yes, all day. oh well.

Wound my way back to Frontierland to find a spot to catch Woody & Jessie at their next scheduled appearance and found a small line for Pocahontas who was almost hiding. And across the way was Woody & Jessie! so I joined that line and just in time too. One more person was allowed after me before the line closed.

Off in the distance I saw the Columbia sailing and thought it was a good as time as any to get on board, so I headed down to the loading dock and she was pulling in just as I got there. Got on board and immediately started exploring the lower deck's 'museum' (i guess you could call it that). Then I returned to the top before she set sail and just rode in the front. It was pretty neat. Unfortunately I was on the opposite side of the cannon, but I still had fun.

Went by Big Thunder Ranch which was kind of a disappointment for me. Maybe it was my eye, but I didn't feel like hanging around with goats and cows in the middle of Disneyland. I walked past Big Thunder Mountain and saw where I'd like to grab a couple of photos with the train. But after several minutes of waiting and then seeing a CM walking around on the attraction I realize it's 101.

So now it's about 12:15.

12:15 ???

I missed Mickey climbing the matterhorn! This was going to happen only one more time today and that's the same time I wanted to see the princess storytelling! What a disaster. Or not. Turns out by the time I made it through the hub, the show was still going on (Goofy was ordering a pizza). So I got the best of it.

The show ended so I figured I'd take a look at Once Upon a Time since a show was scheduled at 12:30. I though there might be half a chance I could sneak in. Umm. The place was empty! I wasn't even sure there was going to be a show.

Now earlier in the week, when the park was empty and most rides were walk-ons all day, you couldn't even show up half an hour before the storytelling because the place was already packed. Today, Saturday, it was noticeably busier (seemingly due to the music days awards and all that - kids EVERYWHERE). But the shop where the storytelling takes place was completely empty.

So I waited and before long, Snow White came out to tell her story. It was surprisingly entertaining. Snow was great if not slightly annoying in a disney way. Funny interaction with the kids and it was clever how they lead the kids into suggesting ingredients for a pie when you know 'apple' has to come up (and it did - twice!) and Snow just goes into a catatonic state for a bit after someone mentions it, then turns around and exclaims 'pineapple! (or crabapple) - it's a you need to be there thing.

Now I'm bored. After 5 days, it happens. A bum eye will do it too.

I decide to eat, so I go a cart in the hub and try a turkey leg. While I'm waiting, I see the climbers on the matterhorn (well, one climber and one guy just sitting on the top).

I find a spot to rest in the plaza gardens and watch as some other family lets their rugrats run rampant and break one of the tables and subsequently use the hole in the ground (where the table was before a CM removes it) as a toy.

I've had enough. I go to DCA and with nothing else to do for a while, I watch Turtle Talk again. I'm not thrilled by the repetativenes of Turtle Talk. Each time I watch it, it's basically the same thing - teach a kid to say 'totally sweet,' talk to the parents of some kid, wear a bikini, etc. Each show contains some really funny 'unique' material, but come on. You can do better. Where's Dory?

I get out of the show and check to see who's doing a meet & greet.... CHICKEN LITTLE! awesome! I get on line. Just as I'm one family away from meeting CL, the character host tells the family to stay right there for a surprise and she walks CL away. In a few minutes, Sorcerer Mickey comes out with Cinderella (guess the drawn to the magic show just ended). I wait my turn. Say hi to Mickey again and decline photos. I was going to not take photos of Cinderella, but I didn't have any of her in DCA so I figured I'd go for it. And then of course, I got to meet CL.

Am I bored again? Yes. But now it looks like the next Turtle Talk is almost half an hour away, so I stroll the streets for a bit and opt to ride Monsters, Inc. again. This time there is a LINE (about 25 minutes), but I got time, I got nothin else to do, so I wait it out. Anyway, I wanted to get a shot of Randall as he appears in the locker scene. So I ride it.

I'm now in a rut. I go back to the animation building and watch Turtle Talk. But this time Dory appears! yay! Turtle Talk ends and I continue my pattern (cue MENSA question... TT - MI - TT - ?? oh yes, Monsters, Inc. again!).

So after I get off Monsters, Inc., I have a stroke of genius. I ask the greeter CM if there's a tribute to SSL in Monsters, Inc. She starts off by saying 'well, i'm not supposed to be telling you this, but...' and also includes 'there's SO much in the attraction...'. She described to me the SSL tribute in the attraction and where to find it, but she told me not to make that information public because it's a CM thing and they're afraid it'll be removed. However true that may or may not be, I'll honor it.

I was going to ride again but with the 15 minute wait, I'd run into a problem with BPB, so I left the queue and head out to Paradise Pier to find the priority viewing spot for BPB.

What a disappointment. It's a little green box outlined in the middle of the stop (Monsters, Inc. again!?!) and it's not shaded or anything and the parade route isn't even close to being filled anyway, so I declined the spot and staked out my own. I went to where Bug's Life stopped. Okay, all in all? not much of a difference except that Monsters Inc has more characters hanging out.

So now I went back to Monsters Inc and rode. The wait was shorter now so no biggie. Except that I totally missed where the SSL tribute was. I knew what it was, but I couldn't find it. But I did find something else! Evidentally one of the MTA employees stayed at the Hollywood Tower Hotel and decided to keep one of the towels as a souvenir. But I missed that shot of it.

So I rode again. This time I got a shot of the towel, but still couldn't find the SSL tribute.

So I rode again. Ah ha! It was literally right where she said it'd be. How dumb am I? I got it!

If you've ridden Monsters, Inc. you know Roz is at the end and she talks to people on the ride. Like she literally says a custom message to people. *Every* time I rode Monsters, Inc. Roz talked to me. Hit on me. One time when I was looking for the tribute and I was riding backwards the entire trip, I remained so when I passed by her. She said her thing to me 'young man in the third row...' and after a few seconds, she asked 'are you ignoring me?' and I furiously nodded my head yes to which she responded 'fine!' Next time around, I had my shirt over my head and was pointing at the couple in the front row, but I guess I was only asking for it. fun stuff though.

Went back to DL and Big Thunder was now running so I got some shots, but they weren't as good as I'd hope they'd be.

I went back to DCA, down to the area that overlooks Paradise Pier and just hung out. I never got to see Paradise Pier all lit up, so this was my chance. I was free until 8:45 for the DEP. Around 8 pm, it still wasn't dark enough. I decided to walk over to the sun wheel so I could get some aerial shots at night, hoping it would be dark enough by then. It was fairly dark when I made it over to the Maliboomer, so I took some shots of the signage and of Ariel's Grotto across the water.

Got on line for the stationary cars at the sunwheel. A couple of families ahead of me, no big deal. Then when it's my turn, they decide to give my car to another family because they were on the 'wrong' line and didn't want the swinging cars. tiny deal. THEN they ended up e-stopping the wheel, reversing it and kicking off a couple. Finally I got on, except after the car went up a little bit, they reversed it again. Evidently someone wanted off, but they couldn't figure out who. Am I okay? Do I want to get off? NO! I want to go!

Finally I get around a couple of times and get my shots. They apologize and ask me if I want to go again (no line). It's 8:30, I'm in Paradise Pier, the parade starts at 8:45 and I have to get down to the other side of the park and still get off some photos of the pier. I declined the offer and ran.

I got my shots of the pier's attractions across the water. I realized something very cool - the lights on Screamin and Maliboomer react to what the attraction is doing. For example, the lights on that first 'tunnel' of screamin are always lit, but once a vehicle approaches it, it turns off completely and then lights up bar by bar as the vehicle passes under it. The same thing happens with the Mickey loop. Maliboomer remains unlit until a vehicle is in motion, and then as the ride slows down, the lights dim/turn off.

So now I hustle on down the Route 66 area. Make it to Soarin and take a few more photos. it's now 8:47, so the parade has started in the paradise pier area. make my way across to the priority viewing which was nice except i had no place to sit since i got there so 'late.' talked a bit with a couple i had run into a couple of times the past couple of days, then found my space in the corner at the very edge of the area.

the viewing area is great except that it's covered which means that certain DEP floats get cut off as they pass by.

At some point, the CM working the parade route comes over to me and tells me that she had a good view from where she was standing, so she invited me to go stand there which was like a little corner inside the ropes. I didn't notice much of a difference, but it was an nice gesture and i was probably less of a nuisance to other people watching the parade.

After the parade, she comes back and offers me 2 tickets for priority viewing of DEP or a DL parade just in case I didn't get what I wanted from this parade. Okay, I have NO idea why she offered, but I'll take it. Unfortunately they expire 1/31/07, so I don't think I'll be able to use them. Owell.

After the parade, I noticed a bunch of people going into the backlot area. Why? The park was closed. But the CMs didn't seem to stop them, so I said I wanted to go in too, so I did. Got some photos of the TOT (full moon!), the Hyperion Theatre and some other things all lit up including the street itself. It was good.

The last thing for me to do was go see F! again. It was a few minutes to 10, so I figured rather than try to fight the crowd leaving DL, I'd go to WOD and check one more time on that shirt. The good news? There was ONE shirt in my size. The bad news? It took 20 minutes to check out. I went to this one area where they could have had 5 CMs working and they had 2. One of them was dealing with some guy who was making a return. The line didn't move for 10 minutes. Finally they brought more CMs in and I barely got through security and into the park by 10:10 or so.

Walked up Main Street, over to NOS, and went upstairs (no hassle from the CM tonight) and got situated in the 2nd balcony while the pre-show entertainment was ending. The 2nd balcony makes up for the buffet view. It's perfect!. If you stand right in the corner, you have the dead center view. The only down side was that some of your view is blocked because 50th anniversary banners are hanging there, but it's such a small inconvenience. I think my shots from the 2nd balcony turned out much better.

After that, I left DLR, went back to the hotel and had them call me a cab so I could begin my journey home by way of the Aquarium of the Pacific.

END TRIP