Boozin’ It Up 12/5-12/7 coming ASAP

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

I'm still here !!

 

[merrrydeath]

This is me being so so so so so so so so so jealous!!! You should share a couple of pictures with us from that too because I wants to see soooo bad!

Oh hey, I get to buy regular season tickets tomorrow methinks!

Can't wait to see your photos from August banana: for getting your laptop back) and I know you'll have a blast next week!

I will definitely share pictures. I'm hoping to find a time to go to the sharks store at the arena sometime this week to get a t-shirt/sweatshirt, but if I can't then I always have teal t-shirts to wear to Monday's game. I'm wondering how many fellow sharks fans will be there...

Yay for tickets! We have season tickets so we have them all ready to go. I'm also going to the teal and white game on Wednesday which should be fun. I wish that I owned ice skates because right after the T+W game, you can skate on the ice.

Photos are coming. It was a bit different doing a lot of my last trip solo, because I feel awkward taking pictures of myself or asking strangers to. So I have pictures of stuff, and then pictures of my dad and nephew.

I'm still here.

Report is coming soon. Hopefully I can finish it in a timely fashion.

I'm still here !!

 

[merrrydeath]

Alright, so it’s a month late, but here is the start of my Trip Report from August 8-10!​

So that no one has to click back to refresh their memories, for this trip I went with my dad and we took my 9-year old nephew Ethan along for his first visit. We were going the same weekend as the Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary product release. These were products with art from the artist SHAG(real name Josh Agle). SHAG has contracted a number of pieces for Disneyland and I have been a big fan of his art(Disney and otherwise) for a while now. To see the artwork he did for this specific event you can go to this link: http://www.shag.com/HauntedMansion.html and to see the products that were available you can go here: http://www.certain.com/system/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x1451421605

Other than that, this trip was about fun. I was really looking forward to seeing Disneyland through the eyes of a first time visiter. So let’s get started shall we?

On Saturday August 8 I had planned on getting off work at 3pm. Unfortunately for me, I had the most complicated highlight ever and it took me longer than expected. I wasn’t able to leave work until 3:40pm and then I had to drive from Santa Cruz back home to San Jose(30 min trip over the hill). When I got home, my dad was taking a nap. Jeez. I had to get him up, get all of our stuff in the car, and go get gas before we were on the road for good. At 7:30, we got off 5 at Stockdale highway where we met my brother to pick up my nephew. I thought it was a bit like a creepy ransom transfer but it was much faster than having to actually drive to Bakersfield. We gassed up there and were good to go for the rest of the way to Anaheim. Driving through the Grapevine when it is dark = soo not my idea of fun. Did I mention that I drove the whole way? I get car sick/bored/super tired if I don’t drive. We pulled into the Desert Inn parking lot around 10pm. All around good timing.

I snuck out of the hotel room when my nephew was in the bathroom. I wanted to process my new AP that night, but he wouldn’t be able to go to the park until the next morning so I didn’t want him getting jealous. My AP processing took very little time. Someone was available right as I walked in. I wandered around for a good hour and a half after that. What freedom being at Disneyland alone! I could set my own pace and do(or don’t do) whatever I felt like. I rode Indiana Jones as a singer rider, got on Haunted(walk-on), and then rode Peter Pan at midnight. Here are the random pictures I took that night. I’m still terrible at evening shots.

As I was leaving and walking down Main St. I ran into some mutual friends of my brother and me. I knew they were there that week but didn’t think that our time in the park would overlap at all. (side note: they got to eat at club 33 twice and I was super jealous. I was invited to the lunch that Saturday but unfortunately I couldn’t miss work. Next time.) My brother’s BFF Matt is also a big SHAG fan but would be missing the event the next morning because they were going back home. I told him that I would be glad to purchase the things he was interested so money exchanged hands and he listed things he’d like. By this time it was nearly 1am and I shuffled back to the hotel to make a quick post on here and then go to bed. That was the last time my computer worked for a month .

Edited to add that Matt gave me some gifts.

A napkin, cocktail stirrer, and chocolate from Club 33! Aw so nice.

 

[kaoden39]

I have been alone is Disneyland by myself and it was a lot of fun. Don't get me wrong I love being with my family but a little alone time at Disneyland is nice.

 

[Sherry E]

Wow, Meredith, the Canon SD 880 took a pretty good photo of the Teacups at night. It gives me hope that I will be able to do the same thing with my SD880! Did you use any specific settings or tweak anything on the camera to get that? Or just the flash and that's it?

I tell you, I still have some qualms about riding rides by myself at DLR - because I think most of the fun I have is being able to compare notes with friends after we get off the rides - but I know I could easily get into a groove of wandering around taking photos and shopping by myself. I am by myself all the time anyway, so it would just be a natural progression of that. I could do exactly what I wanted, at my own pace, stop or go when I wanted, stop to take pictures of the silliest, most hidden little details, etc. In fact, I am discovering that sometimes having other people involved in the plan just complicates things even more!! Last December, I had a few golden hoursat DLR by myself, on a Sunday night and Monday morning, and though it felt weird at first, I quickly adapted and began to enjoy it. You really do tend to notice so many more of the little, out of the way nooks and nuances of the parks when you don't have other people with you.

 

[merrrydeath]

I have been alone is Disneyland by myself and it was a lot of fun. Don't get me wrong I love being with my family but a little alone time at Disneyland is nice.

It was definitely freeing. A bit weird, but it was nice having a very uncomplicated trip.

Wow, Meredith, the Canon SD 880 took a pretty good photo of the Teacups at night. It gives me hope that I will be able to do the same thing with my SD880! Did you use any specific settings or tweak anything on the camera to get that? Or just the flash and that's it?

I tell you, I still have some qualms about riding rides by myself at DLR - because I think most of the fun I have is being able to compare notes with friends after we get off the rides - but I know I could easily get into a groove of wandering around taking photos and shopping by myself. I am by myself all the time anyway, so it would just be a natural progression of that. I could do exactly what I wanted, at my own pace, stop or go when I wanted, stop to take pictures of the silliest, most hidden little details, etc. In fact, I am discovering that sometimes having other people involved in the plan just complicates things even more!! Last December, I had a few golden hours at DLR by myself, on a Sunday night and Monday morning, and though it felt weird at first, I quickly adapted and began to enjoy it. You really do tend to notice so many more of the little, out of the way nooks and nuances of the parks when you don't have other people with you.

I'm pretty sure that I just had the camera on auto without the flash. You have to hold it very still that way though. I still have yet to try other sort of options for night.

I was glad that I got to experience both ways of touring Disneyland this trip. It was neat wandering on my own and being able to pay attention to everything on rides, but I also was glad to share some of the experiences with my dad and nephew. I don't think that I could ever do a very long solo trip.

I'm glad to see you back on the trip report section! You had been missing for a bit. I'm so sorry to hear about your October trip falling through I hope that you get to go soon!

 

[merrrydeath]

The Haunted Mansion 40th anniversary product release​

Sunday August 9. The first official day in the park. I woke up at 6:30am or something equally terrifying for a vacation. I got in line at Disneyland at 7:30 to wait for the gates to open at 8. Somehow(I don’t know how!) the guy in front of me in line guessed that I was going to the SHAG product release(he was too) Maybe because we were both in line by ourselves and looking like we were on a mission(we were). So Todd became my line buddy. We hurried over to Disneyana together and got in our 2nd line of the morning. This was my first limited edition release event at Disneyland and I was pleasantly surprised with how organized it was(maybe this is a new thing). I pictured it being a free for all and everyone racing to grab as many limited edition products as possible. Thankfully this was not so. As I said, there was a very well kept line from the entrance of Disneyana down the mainstreet sidewalk headed towards the hub. We got in line about where(I think it’s) Disney Showcase Is. Where there is that niche with the fruit stand?

When we got in line, a CM handed us a packet with pictures, descriptions, and prices of the available merchandise. It also had a barcode next to each product. You were supposed to mark how many of an item you wanted next to it. The only catch was that you could not purchase more than 2 of one item(does that make sense?) This line moved a bit slowly because they were just letting a small number of people into Disneyana at a time. Thankfully my line friend and others around us were all friendly and we got to talking to pass the time. I should have taken pictures of the line and such…my bad.

Here is the event signage:

I’m not exactly sure what time that I got into Disneyana. I’m going to guess at about 9:30am. The store had been mostly cleared out and a ton of new registers had been added. All I had to do was hand over my order form. The CM was able to see what I had marked, and scan the barcode next to it. I paid, she handed back my order form and receipt. I then entered my third line of the day to pick up what I had ordered. It may seem like a lot, but like I said, so smooth and organized.

This line went from Inside Disneyana through to the store that connects to it(the one with a bunch of coffee and teas available to buy). I think this line was only about 30 minutes. I handed over my order form/receipt to the next CM and they wrapped and bagged up my purchases. This was two big bags of loot( I will show you pictures of the stuff at the end of this boring post). I wasn’t done yet though! Over In the Main Street Cinema, SHAG was actually there for a meet + greet/signing. Soooo…into my fourth line of the day.

This last line was around 45 minutes long, but I was still around the same group of people I started with so it wasn’t a terrible bore. Unfortunately the sun was beginning to peak though so it got quite toasty in the sun. Good thing I remembered the spf 70! I finally made it through and got to meet the artist himself and I had him sign a print I bought. Here he is:

He is wearing one of the shirts that was available for purchase.

And here we are together:

During this whole process I had been texting Matt and updating him on where I was in line and what he was missing. We planned to have him meet me at my hotel at 11, so that I could drop off my stuff and give him the items I bought for him before he had to leave for San Jose. I got a good 30 minute break and rest. I was able to sit down after standing for 3 solid hours.

So to wrap up this long-winded event review I will show you what I got:

Firstly taking these pictures from the event website, Matt had me buy him the decanter and one of each glasses:

These were 10x cooler in person. The decanter should definitely hold dark liquid because those ghosties are so neat.

Onto my stuff, I got the t-shirt:

Front

Back

I saved the tag that was on it

Next I got the 14x18 matted print of “A Swinging Wake”

Yes my walls are really that color and I really appreciate how well they go with the print. I got this print for $35 and I just looked and they are currently being sold on eBay for $129. Yeah, I’m keeping mine.

Finally I got this amazing tin of 14 5x7inch postcards. I am absolutely in love with them and they are being sold for double the original price on eBay.

The tin’s front

The back

“We’re Dying To Meet You” Disneyworld version

“Where Spirits Dwell”

“Ghoulish Delights”

“A Swinging Wake”

“The Fat Lady Sings”

“Let There Be Music From Regions Beyond”

“The Gruesome Widow”

“A Spine-Chilling Symphony”

“We’re Dying To Meet You” Disneyland

“Portraits Good, Portraits Not Good”

“The Dearest Departed”

“A Dismaying Observation”

This one is my absolute favorite. Unfortunately the only version of this they had for sale was $480...

“The Eerie Ensemble”

“A Ghost To Follow You Home”

I need to find a way to display these postcards. I’d like to find frames that hold multiple 5x7s.

Okay, I will close this post there and continue soon with the rest of August 9. Maybe I’ll actually get around to more than just Main Street.

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

gah! Goodness sake all of the great stuff looks FANTASTIC. Holy cowww!!

Oh & just for future pictures, this is also going towards Sherry, if you are planning on taking a dark picture with a point & shoot and you need a steady hand, look around at railings or anything to stabilize your hand by resting your arm on it and bracing with the other arm. It TOTALLY helps. Either that, or if nothing is in your way, you can let the camera sit on a garbage can and click

 

[merrrydeath]

gah! Goodness sake all of the great stuff looks FANTASTIC. Holy cowww!!

I was really excited about all the SHAG swaglmao! I just made Haunted Mansion my theme for that trip. My March trip was Alice In Wonderland and this was Haunted Mansion. Hmmm....what will this weekends trip be?

 

[Belle Ella]

SHAG swag, I love it! It's all beyond awesome.

 

[Docter419]

AWESOME PICS! And the Game should be a blast. I hope Dany Heatley gets here in time for the game. I'd love to see some live pics of the Sharks' new sniper!

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

I was really excited about all the SHAG swaglmao! I just made Haunted Mansion my theme for that trip. My March trip was Alice In Wonderland and this was Haunted Mansion. Hmmm....what will this weekends trip be?

Something AMAZING probably !!!! geeesh! Oh & you're totally catching up to me on those DLR trips there!

 

[merrrydeath]

SHAG swag, I love it! It's all beyond awesome.

I was really glad that I stood in all of those lines! I can't wait to get it all displayed on my walls.

AWESOME PICS! And the Game should be a blast. I hope Dany Heatley gets here in time for the game. I'd love to see some live pics of the Sharks' new sniper!

I hope he is there too! My mom is all torn up about Cheechoo(she only liked him cause she thought he was cute...just like 200 other female sharks fans). I wonder how his new wife feels about having to move to Ottawa. I can't wait to see how Heatley does as a Shark though. I will definitely take pictures of that game and put them up. I'm also going to the fun little Teal and White game tonight so I can put up pictures of that as well if anyone wants me to share.

Something AMAZING probably !!!! geeesh! Oh & you're totally catching up to me on those DLR trips there!

Oh I hope so! It should be really fun, though I haven't even begun to think about packing! Terrible

Wellll if we started our little game when we mentioned it back in the middle of summer...I think I'd technically be winning because I will have gone on 2 trips before your 1 in October

 

[Belle Ella]

Have fun @ the Teal & White game tonight! I just got my email for the presale tickets so I think I'm buying my ticket for opening night tonight. WOHOO so happy. Now I just have to decide how much $$ I want to spend on them.

 

[merrrydeath]

Day 1 continued
​

After a short break at the hotel room, I called my dad to see where he and Ethan were in the park. They were sitting by the Rivers of America eating popcorn. I told them I would meet them there, but I first got myself lunch at the corn dog cart on the way. Corn dog and apple slices was my first use of the AP for a discount. Ethan was pouring over the park map when I got there and he was deciding things that he wanted to do. He said the carrousel and arcade….uhh ok. So off to King Arthur’s carrousel.

My dad:

Next instead of going to the starcade, I directed us to Innoventions and that was a good idea. Ethan played those games for a looong time.

The ceiling was really cool

I could tell that they would be at that for a while so I exited and went on some rides on my own.

First was Small World! It’s weird when you go on those large capacity rides by yourself….every time I had an entire row to myself. It’s even more awkward when I have the front row to myself. How lonely looking.

Next I got a delicious frozen lemonade and sat along the trail from Fantasyland to Frontierland.

I only have this camera phone picture that I sent to my mom to make her a little jealous

After my people watching/lemonade drinking I decided to get on POTC.

On the way,

I got the back row to myself on POTC. The seat and floor were SUPER wet. My butt was very soggy and every time the boat swished around dirty water poured all over my feet. Yum.

Next up was Haunted Mansion(this trip’s theme remember!).

After some rides, I wandered around taking pictures like this,

Now seemed like as good a time as any to make my way to DCA. Disneyland was quite busy.

I got into the Single Rider line for TSMM and it was quite a bit longer of a wait than I expected. The guy directing people to lanes didn’t put a single rider in every time there was an empty seat. My wait was about 35 minutes which is probably what the standby time was as well. Next I tried single rider for Soarin’. Also a weird experience. They keep the single riders separate from everyone else the entire wait. So if there aren’t any odd numbered groups, you could be waiting a while.

Regardless, I love those rides and would have ridden them with standby anyway if there was no single rider. All the walking around/line standing had made me tired though so I walked back to the park for a nap.

After about 2 hours(7pm) I left the hotel to get some dinner in the park. I decided to try out French Market since I had been ogling the pictures of the four cheese gratin. Unfortunately they were out of the vegetables for some reason(???) so they put mashed potatoes on there. A pretty big disappointment. I reealllly wanted those vegetables. Oh well. I will try again some other time! I shall prevail. It was getting pretty chilly at this point so I scurried back to the hotel to put jeans on before I wanted to be in DCA to get a seat for the electric parade.

I don’t know when I took this picture but here it is,

The parade was due to start at 845 and I think I found a spot sometime around 815. I found an area on the ground in front of the benches in between Sunshine Plaza and Bugs land. My friend who dances in the parade had told me earlier that day which side I should be on so as to see him the best. For the next 15 minutes my dad called me off and on trying to figure out where I was. It was really hard to direct him as it was getting dark. Plus I couldn’t move or our spots would get stolen. They ended up being AMAZING spots right alongside the action and they weren’t hard to get at all. Very lucky. I’ll post parade photos in the new post…

 

[merrrydeath]

Here are my pictures from the Electric Parade

I think it is funny that CMs come by pushing these carts of light sabers before the parade starts.

Heeere it comes! Love that music.

My friend is coming up in the Cinderella section

He is in the pink.

 

[merrrydeath]

Continued...

There is something about this Pinocchio that irks me. His body was just so large…

Here’s the crowd of people trying to leave DCA. We just stood on those benches in Sunshine Plaza to watch the fireworks through the golden gate. You can’t hear the music but you can see the stunning fireworks display.

 

[Docter419]

Great TR so Far! Good job with all the pics of the electrical parade. That is the one thing we missed. And have fun at the game tonight! I'll be paying attention via the net.

 

[merrrydeath]

WHOA I am home! The last day leading up to takeoff(driveoff?) went by way too fast so I didn't get to post my completed August report. I will do that as soon as I settle down here, and then I can start our most recent trip report. WOW.

 

[merrrydeath]

I don’t remember getting a Fastpass for Thunder Mountain but I guess I did because my notes say I used it once I got back to Disneyland. SOOOO fun. I hadn’t ridden this in about 3 years. I immediately got another fast pass when I got off. Apparently I also had a Space Mountain FP because I crossed the park and rode that for the first time in years.

Haunted Mansion with nobody there,

I love riding Haunted Mansion alone. Soo spooky. Very sad that it will not be running this weekend.

I rode Thunder Mountain again with my second FP. Oh gosh. Front row by yourself is terrifying. I could not stay still. I was flying side to side on that seat! I’m surprised that bruises didn’t ever show up on my thighs from trying to hold myself in place under the lap bar.

To make it a tradition, I rode Peter Pan at the very end of the night. Love.

The souvenirs that I bought on the way out:

I looove this pin.

I was back at the hotel at about 1am again. I will start day 2 asap!