Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

Marvellous photos! Not easy with fireworks. I see you also spell colour with a 'u' :-)

Fantasmic never disappoints does it! I love that show! The scooter viewing area in WDW wasn't great I had last time. I think it's the way the theatre is structured.

Your camera and your photography compliment one another. You must be so delighted with the way they came out!
 
No group. I'm going solo this time! :eek: I had an unexpected trip to SoCal and could not stand being so close and not going to Disneyland!!!! :yay:

I've been looking at your 3rd Annual D23 Expo thread. Very nice! I can't wait to go and thanks for the tip on the chili con queso. I haven't had that - yet!

Enjoy your trip. :thumbsup2



I am certain I am still behind, but I just read one. Mickey and the Magical Map was my number one must do too. The show did not disappoint either. I LOVED it. I may have to hit it up each time. The graphics are amazing. Xander tripped out when he disappeared into the map.

I could not even eat half of the Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans, but I enjoyed trying. Great picture of your meet there.

We finally bought an AP this trip. I just hope we visit enough to make it worth it.

Thanks for checking in. I know you're on holiday and so I appreciate you taking time out to come in here. :flower3:

Congrats on the AP!!! I'm SURE you'll visit enough to make it worth it. It's the perfect excuse to plan more Disney holiday time. :banana:






Beautiful shots PIO...

Thanks Brandi.




Marvellous photos! Not easy with fireworks. I see you also spell colour with a 'u' :-)

Fantasmic never disappoints does it! I love that show! The scooter viewing area in WDW wasn't great I had last time. I think it's the way the theatre is structured.

Your camera and your photography compliment one another. You must be so delighted with the way they came out!

Thanks Paula. Yes, I am pretty happy with the way the shots have turned out. Not just at Disneyland but for the rest of the trip.

And yes, English spelling all the way. :thumbsup2
 
Disneyland Day 2 16 September 2013



Rise and Shine Its Disney again



It's the start of our second day at Disney!

We were all eager to be out and about again today. Yesterday had been such a fun day to have at Disney with the LASTers that we were looking forward to the repeat performance.

For some reason, I didn't take any pictures of breakfast; so you're going to have to imagine the buffet food and waffles that we wolfed down. We didn't have to rush to the parks this morning as there was no early entry and park opening was 10 am. So after stopping by Bret's hotel and meeting up with him, we headed towards VGC to meet up with Fran and Alison. It also gave us the opportunity to check out a room at the Grand.....and its definitely GRAND.



As we were pretty much right by that entry, we used the GC entrance to get into DCA this morning. I had a few things with me this morning that necessitated us hiring a locker. But shortly after we headed in, Alisons scooter started having problems again. So she headed back to the room, and whilst I thought the others were heading towards Carsland, I took the left turn to Buena Vista Street.


Items deposited, I made my way to meeting the others. The 5 & Dime were also heading out for their first show.






Someday, I'm going to get on this tram!






I took the standard entry into Radiator Springs...





....and started to grab a few shots....










I really was looking for my friends. Really. I. was.






.....when my phone went off with a message from DH. Time to move like Lightning!






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Monstros-City



I never figured it out but it seemed the others had headed over to Hollywoodland rather than Carsland. Seems like I wasn't the only one taking the left fork this morning. They were going to go on the Monsters ride.






I have to admit that I've never been a big fan of that particular corner in DCA and I've never really been a big fan of that Monsters ride either.






It's not that its bad or gross or anything....






....but maybe with the success of Monsters University, Disney might decide to do something about this corner. (Just here. I actually like where the Hyperion and ToT is.)






Yes, I know. I'm probably going to get flamed for this viewpoint.






I do know that the Muppets are also in this part of the area. I'm not a big fan of the Muppets either. And we can probably bash each other on the head and go back and forwards all day....











....and point fingers as to who is right or wr....wr.....wro.......not right.






But if Disney ever decided to convert this corner into one big Monstros-city....






.....there would be no monster tantrums from me.






It would be a monster hip hip hooray.






I'm under no illusions. I have no doubt that there would be a monster amount of scrutiny involved in this.






As well as a heap of paperwork to turn in.






And I've no doubt that any paperwork turned in will need to go through the shredder a couple of times. No doubt there will be large numbers involved.






Still, you have to admit....it's a pretty appealing concept to consider.






And thats probably why, I'm NOT a Disney Imagineer!

(picture from my DH's collection)








I caught up with the others at the exit; and Alison had gotten back with her scooter. So it was time to get to our next destination.


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The Randomness of Life




One of the things about being on social media such as an open chat room forum is that you never have any idea if you’re going to meet a friend, foe or troll. All you can hope for is that when you post a question is that someone knowledgeable will come along, answer your question and everyone moves along in the comparative safety of relative anonymity. Sadly, more often than not, you can come back to your thread and find that world war three has broken out and everyone is baying for blood....yours! But with the beauty of being on a chat room forum, you can easily slink out, keep out and never look back. The choice is yours.


In the initial days of me joining the Dis, I started one such thread. A fairly innocuous little thread posted in a relatively dark corner of the Dis asking for dining suggestions in the Long Beach region. I returned to the thread a couple of days later and was thankful to find several responses and no one taking offence to the way I had phrased the question. One of the people that responded was franandaj with the suggestion of dining at Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach. And with that random introduction, I was to find a friend 8000 miles away that has turned out to be as close to me as some of my 3D friends in Melbourne.


It’s funny how life turns out sometimes. If it weren't for that friendship with franandaj, my visits to the US would be so different from what they have turned out to be. In particular is how I now view and tour round Disneyland. You see, unbeknownst to me at the time, I was to find out later on in our friendship that franandaj has great contacts. One of her amazing contacts has been especially generous and I can only put it down to the connection with Alison; and the Aussie novelty that I represent.



Why am I mentioning all this? Well, for this trip, we were provided with the most extraordinary gifts. This generous benefactor arranged VIP seating for us last night and an astonishing gift that we would enjoy now.



So, in addition to being able to tour the park with friends that viewed Disneyland as their backyard playground, I was going to be able to experience Disneyland in a way that I would never have dared to dream about.



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DisMeeting a Year after the Turn of the Century




Our benefactor had arranged for us to meet.






Whilst I would have gladly taken the left door on any given day, today....we were heading into the right side of the building.






Yes, it’s like stepping back in time.....a year after the turn of the century to be exact....in here is 1901!





















The pictures on the wall in here are amazing.











I found these in my DH's set of pictures. Sometimes, he sees much more than me!





















It's my second time in here but all the more sweeter for being able to share it with DH and DS this time round.











And the perfect location for capturing our DisMeet picture for the day.






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The Human Fast Pass



Our reason for the meeting spot was clear.






We had been provided with the gift of a human fastpass for the entire day! Yes, we were going to be Forever Plaid for this day and we met up with our Disney guide in here. Did you spot him in the picture above?



Tim the Human Fastpass is a 10-year veteran of Disney. I found him to be very pleasant and probably extremely knowledgeable in all things Disney but he was only inclined to share the information if the right question was asked. I did wonder if having to chat with virtual strangers day in day out fatigues you after a while.


I asked him about his job and tried to get to know him a little during the course of the day and he told me that he had previously gotten out of manning attractions for the sole reason of him really liking to chat with people. He loved meeting people but didn’t enjoy having to make the same small one-line conversations over and over and over again. Disney is, if nothing else, entirely repeatable predictable and consistent after all. Seems like it was true of it’s guests as well; present company excluded of course.
After he told me this, I wondered if he had just traded minutes of repeatable and consistent conversation for hours of repeatable and consistent conversation. In the end, I figured if I stopped talking, he might actually get a little bit of a break himself.


As fast passes went, this was a doozy of a gift. I learnt about using the exit as entries and how to cut lines by the cut of the plaid epaulettes on shoulders and the flash of a badge. But it did come with a couple of restrictions. Not every ride is a fast pass and some rides don’t have a back door. So, the trick was to stay flexible and work within the system so as to stay on track for hitting most of the major rides in the one day without the need for a fastpass runner nor to have to backtrack much at all in the park.



Shall we start the day?




princess::upsidedow

 
Ah... so what is the Right Door on the Carthay Circle Restaurant? Is it a Club 33 sort of thing?

:)

Jud
 
Well HOW COOL was that?!! Can't wait for the next update!!!!!! :hyper:

.
 
Very nice update from Monday during the trip. It was a nice day at DCA and it was fun morning.

It was nice to go on Monster's Inc. and get some pictures. But the best was at the Carthay Circle Theater.

Great update.
 
Fabulous pictures in Monsters Inc.!!! I tried and pretty much failed miserably.

Can't wait to hear about your day, if it was anything like mine it's something you'll treasure forever :goodvibes
 
It was an awesome fun and tiring day. I can't wait to relive it through your eyes!
 
I 100% agree about the area around the Monsters ride. I love the ride itself, but the area around it is a huge disappointment. I love the photos from the 1901 lounge.

Corinna
 
Fantastic shots of the fireworks and Fantasmic! I don't think i've done both shows in one night before. It seems like a lot of work to try and find great, unobstructed views for both shows, with little room at DL. But with VIP viewing, it could definitely work!:thumbsup2

How could you not like Monsters Inc or the Muppets?! :faint:

Great pictures of Carathay. I'll get there someday too :cloud9:
 
Reading eagerly along. I also am not a fan of the Monsters Inc ride-its passable and that whole area seemed a big waste of space to me. The private rooms of the Cathay Circle looked very beautiful.
 
Ah... so what is the Right Door on the Carthay Circle Restaurant? Is it a Club 33 sort of thing?

:)

Jud

Yes, it is a Club 33 sort of thing.



Well HOW COOL was that?!! Can't wait for the next update!!!!!! :hyper:

.

It was a really fun day!




Very nice update from Monday during the trip. It was a nice day at DCA and it was fun morning.

It was nice to go on Monster's Inc. and get some pictures. But the best was at the Carthay Circle Theater.

Great update.

For me, the best part of the day was spending time with DH, DS, Alison, Fran and you. :goodvibes




They will explain but it is MORE exclusive than Club 33!!!

A member can book a table at Club 33 for you and not be present. But they have to be present inside here with their guests. It was really nice to see our benefactor again.




Fabulous pictures in Monsters Inc.!!! I tried and pretty much failed miserably.

Can't wait to hear about your day, if it was anything like mine it's something you'll treasure forever :goodvibes

Yes Pam. It is definitely something we'll treasure forever.




It was an awesome fun and tiring day. I can't wait to relive it through your eyes!

I know how you feel. It was fun re-living the day through you and Bret!




I 100% agree about the area around the Monsters ride. I love the ride itself, but the area around it is a huge disappointment. I love the photos from the 1901 lounge.

Corinna

:thumbsup2


Someday......you and I are going to be Disney Imagineers. :rotfl:
 
Fantastic shots of the fireworks and Fantasmic! I don't think i've done both shows in one night before. It seems like a lot of work to try and find great, unobstructed views for both shows, with little room at DL. But with VIP viewing, it could definitely work!:thumbsup2

How could you not like Monsters Inc or the Muppets?! :faint:

Great pictures of Carathay. I'll get there someday too :cloud9:

I love Monsters Inc. I'm just not that impressed by the ride. It doesn't do the franchise any justice.
The Muppets? I guess I'm the generation that missed the Muppets. They weren't around when I was a kid and they weren't cool when DS was younger so we never watched it. Now, he's just a little too old for them. I might have to wait another generation; or two. ;)




Reading eagerly along. I also am not a fan of the Monsters Inc ride-its passable and that whole area seemed a big waste of space to me. The private rooms of the Cathay Circle looked very beautiful.

Thanks Wendy. Seems like I'm not the only one that thinks that the area there could be utilised better. :thumbsup2
 
Wow! I go away for a few days and miss about half a dozen pages worth :rotfl:

I can't believe how incredibly lucky you were to get such great perks on your trip! What an amazing way to experience it all :goodvibes

I love your photos of the fireworks and Fantasmic! And Carthay looks just amazing - would love to get a photo of me and DH in Walt's and Lilian's chairs like you did :thumbsup2

We were so uninspired by the facade of Monsters Inc when we were there last, we didn't even bother with the ride. DH didn't like Monsters Inc either, so I'm sure that didn't help :rolleyes1 I think a whole themed Monstropolis area would be great! Having said that though, I'm a big fan of the Muppets, so I wouldn't want to see that attraction go.
 












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