Discovering Another Mad Dash (Oct 14): Heading Home and Finally finishing this TR #1523 (05/03)

[WanderlustNZ]

To my taste, the Monte Cristo was sweet and rich.

That was DH's issue with it. Being served something sweet when he thought he'd ordered something savoury annoyed him profusely. It made even less sense to him than pineapple on a pizza.

It might have made sense to us had the bread been a sourdough and all the sweet embellishments (icing sugar, dipping sauce etc) been replaced with a salad. Or even better, swap the savoury fillings for cream cheese and strawberries and then move it to the dessert menu. Hhmm, now that actually sounds quite yummy.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I really liked the HoJo but it was getting expensive. I stayed at the Anabella in March and it was nice but the walls were a bit thin. Not a bad walk to GCH and DTD.

Jill in CO

CCI was cheaper than HoJo when I looked for October. Only just, though. Its a shame HoJo starting to raise their prices.

I like the look of the Anabella from the outside but the thin walls would get to me.

That was DH's issue with it. Being served something sweet when he thought he'd ordered something savoury annoyed him profusely. It made even less sense to him than pineapple on a pizza.

It might have made sense to us had the bread been a sourdough and all the sweet embellishments (icing sugar, dipping sauce etc) been replaced with a salad. Or even better, swap the savoury fillings for cream cheese and strawberries and then move it to the dessert menu. Hhmm, now that actually sounds quite yummy.

But....that doesn't sound like a Monte Cristo anymore.

 

[PrincessInOz]

DisMeet with mvf-m11c: Catching up in 3D at Disneyland


Discovery #30. I always feel like a kid going through the Disneyland gates.



We were off to catch up with mvf-m11c (Bret) in 3D.

Plan A had been to have lunch with Bret and his aunt, DAF. But we had gotten there ahead of schedule and they were running to time. Besides, despite numerous emails beforehand and the flurry of texts on this day, I don't think Bret and I actually agreed on an eating establishment. Believe it or not, between my pesky-vegetarian and DAF's dietary requirements, we have nearly ruled out every restaurant in the DTD precinct and beyond!


So, it was probably just as well that we ended up being early.


After lunch and after we checked in at CCI, we headed to catch up with Bret. It had been over a year since we had last met up and I was looking forward to seeing him again, meeting DAF and breathing the same air space.
We caught up with them at their hotel room and then got back on track with Plan A. Lucky we got tickets!






There was a bit of a queue to enter. I guess there were quite of few guests like me....we had only purchased the ticket for the special party so that meant that we had to wait until 3 hours before the party kick-off time to enter.






You will need one of these to enter the gates.






I do mean the wristband. The bag is a souvenir for the night.



I don't know about you, but I'm always pretty impatient to get through the turnstiles. There is just something about Disney parks that turns me back to a kid! I suspect that I'm not the only one that feels that way.






Unlike last year, I made sure that we dutifully got our DisMeet officially recognised. I got DH to take this shot of Bret and me.






DisMeet officially captured, we kept heading in. We got in the park to this sight.






It was close on parade time. We all had ideas of hitting the rides rather than watching the parade. But we hadn't counted on this.






Someone had to lead the way and make a decision. I figured that there was no point fighting traffic and convinced the others to stop for a bit.






So we found some space and settled in for the parade.











(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Next Post)


Mickey's Soundsational Parade


Discovery #31. Cast Member ALWAYS like to look down the glass of a big camera.



In 2012, we had the good fortune of travelling to Hong Kong Disneyland and catching the Flights of Fantasy parade. That parade is arguably the best parade I've seen for float design, colour and costumes. (Although, I suspect that the new Festival of Fantasy parade at Magic Kingdom will probably usurp this position if and when I finally get to see it).


Mickey's Soundsational Parade, which premiered in 2011, is one parade that I have not yet caught in its entirety. I have seen bits of the parade in previous mad dashes and the floats, whilst colourful, did not entice me to stop. Having said that, I was glad for this opportunity to tick this one off my Disney list.


Rat-a-tat-tat. Strike up the Band!






My big camera attracted the attention of this Cast Member.






I guess I really should have paid more attention to this parade in the past. The musical details are stunning!






I think DH would have loved to find out if those drums were real or not. Personally, I prefer checking out my main Mouse!






I loved Goofy's xylophone sash. DS used to have a toy xylophone in those exact colours.






The musical costumes are great!






Pluto also wanted to pose for my camera. Who am I to argue?






I like to think that Genie was also pointing at my camera.







The same with Aladdin (but I do know he was looking at someone else).






There was no doubt about this dancing harem girl. She looked straight down the belly of the barrel.






I did like the costumes of the dancers accompanying the floats.
















Ariel's and Sebastian's calypso music was next.











Little nipper mariachi!







I do love the 3 Caballeros; but I sure didn't like those dancing piñata costumes.






Donald also spotted my camera.






I had a lot more fun with one of the minor princesses.











The major princesses on the Princess float were busy looking elsewhere.






















All....except for Cinderella. She was looking my way.









(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Next Post)


Simba's Animalia collection was next.
















Not quite a Tumble Monkey.






Although, this cast member was a bit of a Cheeky Monkey!






Time for Mardi Gras fun.












Tiana gave me the same cold shoulder treatment as the other princesses.






I decided Louis was blind. He never looked in my direction.






I'm still searching for a decent shot of Peter Pan.





In fact, when I think about it, I really need to get decent shots of the Neverland set.











Thank heaven for the supporting cast members looking my way!






I was intrigued to see the homage to Mary Poppins included in this parade. I'm guessing that Saving Mr Banks had a lot to do with it featuring as a proper float.











Not that I'm complaining. I love Mary Poppins.







And Bert.






But I really wasn't sure about this float.






I know that the Brits like the 'traditional' nature of fox hunting. But I thought it was rather un-Disneylike.






And more cluelessness from me. Can someone help explain the chimney sweep on the moon?







It did finish with another cast member spotting my camera. So, it was all good.







It had been great catching this particular parade as I got to tick it off my Disney list. It was a pleasure watching it with my family; and Bret and his DAF. The bonus? All of those supporting cast members looking straight down the barrel of my camera.







(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Next Post)


ReImagining An Old Favourite (Big Thunder Mountain)


Discovery #32. Bret has a LOT of gadgets....aka....Gear Acquisition Syndrome....and I have GAS envy.



Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has long been a firm family favourite. It underwent a major refurbishment last year and I was keen to check out the reimagined ride.

Sadly for us, we didn't have any FP for this ride so we waited in the stand-by queue.






At 20 minutes, the wait really wasn't too bad. Especially when Bret was bringing out his gear for fun!

One of the things that Bret and I do have in common is a love of taking pictures at Disney. Bret's pretty lucky to be living close enough to Disneyland to visit multiple times a year. If you've been following Bret's neverending TR of trips (link here), you may have noticed that Bret's been working hard at improving his Disney pictures over the last year. I'm a firm believer in the adage "It's not the equipment, it's the photographer" but there is no denying that when taking pictures in the dark, the right equipment does help. Bret's been acquiring pieces of equipment to enhance his photography skills over the last 2 - 3 years and it's been real cool to be standing by the sidelines watching the growth and change to his pictures.

For this trip, I got to witness close hand at some of the cool gadgets he's gotten in his bag, albeit with a touch of envy. This was Bret's selfie picture of us taken from his i-phone at the end of a cool contraption/stick. Look how much he can get in the picture when the phone is a couple of meters away....including photo bomber.






It didn't take us long to get to the bone wall.






Surprisingly, it was also a dry wall. I think there was a leak somewhere and they had to drain all the water out. I did wonder if there was a flood somewhere!






From this point, we moved along pretty quickly and were boarding the railway before we knew it. Bret pulled out another gadget...the GoPro, which he fixed at the end of that stick contraption.






Pretty cool, right? My DH doesn't lurk on the Dis; so there's no point in me mentioning that I've been eyeing the GoPro for the last 2 years. It would make a decent Christmas, Birthday or Anniversary present. Absolutely. No. Point. Whatsoever!!!!






Sadly for me, when we got on the ride, I had a pretty tall person in front of me.






I wish I knew who you were.






I have a great set of pictures of the back of your head and you may want to have them.






If it weren't for the fact that there are definitely low sections to this ride, I would have been happy to borrow that stick contraption from Bret to get some pictures other than your head. But then...my camera would not fit on that contraption anyway.






This section is a great re-imagineering by Disney.







Disney has also managed to make this a much smoother ride than I remember. It was a pretty cool ride before....now it's awesome. The old favourite is now a new favourite.

 

[zanzibar138]

I enjoyed the Soundsational parade too, especially when I heard the soundtrack! That music was one of my favourite parts of Flights of Fantasy. The floats, though detailed with colourful and fun musical decor, weren't quite as impressive to me as the ones in Flights of Fantasy, and it is still the Disney parade winner in my books. I love all the photos you got.

We also loved the new BTM! Unfortunately we only got one ride, something I hope to remedy on our next trip

Am I the only who dislikes those selfie sticks? Having said that, when I haven't been seeing them used for 'sexy' facebook profile pics in front of various historic monuments that don't get a second glance, I've been just about knocked out by them, so I haven't had a great run lol! I can certainly see their usefulness, and I suppose in the right hands (that can also be bothered to lug a stick around with them all day) they could be quite a handy tool to have.

Sounds like you had a great DisMeet with Brett, and glad that you managed to get the official record of it, even if it was aided by a selfie stick

 

[ACDSNY]

Your pictures make me want to see the Mickey's Soundsational Parade.

I agree with you it's been fun watching the change in Bret's pictures over the last couple of years. Both of you take fantastic pictures.

Do I need to send this hint to your DH?

"My DH doesn't lurk on the Dis; so there's no point in me mentioning that I've been eyeing the GoPro for the last 2 years. It would make a decent Christmas, Birthday or Anniversary present. Absolutely. No. Point. Whatsoever!!!!"

 

[mvf-m11c]

We tend to use the transport to get to the parks. Even after you left us that night, we figured we were better off walking. We did wait 5 minutes and then hit the road. With the AAA discount, it wasn't too bad a price.

Maybe I will....next time.

I've been seriously thinking of checking out HoJo.

At least it was a short wait time instead of those long wait times when taking the ART. I have terrible experience with ART so I don't ride it anymore. What was the price when you stayed at CCI? We paid $115 a night at BWAI. Luckily I used my points on the second night and we got to stay at BWAI for free.

You won't regret any of the hotels that is across the street from the DLR with a 8 minute walk or less.

I have stayed at HOJO in the past and it is nice place to stay for a family. The goods about HOJO in my opinion is that it is a nice family hotel to stay at, Castaway Cove for the kids, scenery which is nice. But there are also disadvantages of staying at HOJO as well. The walking distance is quite long about 10 minutes which is not that bad, they have no transportation except if you take the ART. When I looked at the rates, they are quite high which can be higher than BWPPI even with the discounts on certain days. I'm not saying that HOJO is bad or anything like that but it is more of a family place to stay in my opinion where I don't care about Castaway Cove.


It was tough since DH and DAF have their own eating ways and we weren't able to have lunch that afternoon. I'm still happy that you were able to eat at UVA Bar and Cafe that afternoon without us. I would have easily joined you and eat at the UVA Bar and Cafe that afternoon but I didn't want to leave DAF by herself.

Luckily it wasn't that bad when we entered DL for MHP. It was nice to hang out with you, DH and DS during the trip and it was well worth coming out on such short notice. Even DAF had a great time with you as well. We got a decent spot to watch Mickey's Soundsational Parade and your pictures are very nice especially from your spot. DH, you and I were taking pictures like crazy of the parade.

I know this and we talk about it time and time again that it is all about the photographer instead of the equipment that gets you great pictures but I have learned a lot with photography these last few years that I want to keep improving with my picture taking.

Using the pole with my iPhone and GoPro came in handy where we were able to get pictures of ourselves on the rides. You should get a GoPro for your DH PiO and Angela. I was always hesitant to get a GoPro these last couple of years until last year which you can get great action videos and to be able to take selfies as well. Luckily we were able to get some selifes on BTMRR.

Jenny DH got a GoPro and they are planning on using it for their trip which is happening and it looks like we can see GoPro in everybody's future.

 

[LegoMom3]

Loving your DLR pics! Still on my bucket list. And while I am truly enjoying the true nature of all your wonderful photographs, there's the geek part of me looking at some of them going "Ooh!....there's a trash can! Cool design!" I will probably return from my trip in May with more of those pics than anything else.

.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Am I the only who dislikes those selfie sticks? Having said that, when I haven't been seeing them used for 'sexy' facebook profile pics in front of various historic monuments that don't get a second glance, I've been just about knocked out by them, so I haven't had a great run lol! I can certainly see their usefulness, and I suppose in the right hands (that can also be bothered to lug a stick around with them all day) they could be quite a handy tool to have.

Sounds like you had a great DisMeet with Brett, and glad that you managed to get the official record of it, even if it was aided by a selfie stick

Yes everywhere we went in the US they were plentiful, poking your eye out in crowds...blocking all the good photo spots while they fiddle about for ages getting the perfect shot at the end of a stick. They are certainly the "in thing" - closely followed by the GoPros - lol PIO. I don't think I could be bothered lugging them about either though many are telescopic but I admit in some remote spots they could be handy and they mean you don't have to interact with strangers any more to ask them to take your pic! We become more insular! I haven't seen them so prolifically out and about in Bris but only a matter of time. I see the discount shops all have cheapies for sale.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Great pics PIO - it's great living vicariously through you - it's almost like being there!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I enjoyed the Soundsational parade too, especially when I heard the soundtrack! That music was one of my favourite parts of Flights of Fantasy. The floats, though detailed with colourful and fun musical decor, weren't quite as impressive to me as the ones in Flights of Fantasy, and it is still the Disney parade winner in my books. I love all the photos you got.

We also loved the new BTM! Unfortunately we only got one ride, something I hope to remedy on our next trip

The good thing is that there is a NEXT trip.

And yes. Flights of Fantasy is a very impressive parade.

Am I the only who dislikes those selfie sticks? Having said that, when I haven't been seeing them used for 'sexy' facebook profile pics in front of various historic monuments that don't get a second glance, I've been just about knocked out by them, so I haven't had a great run lol! I can certainly see their usefulness, and I suppose in the right hands (that can also be bothered to lug a stick around with them all day) they could be quite a handy tool to have.

How else are you going to get those 'sexy' poses if you don't have a stick?

The stick will easily fit in a camera backpack.

Sounds like you had a great DisMeet with Brett, and glad that you managed to get the official record of it, even if it was aided by a selfie stick

I did get DH to take some of the pictures. We used the selfie stick for the 'fun' pictures (no sexy posing from us!!).

Your pictures make me want to see the Mickey's Soundsational Parade.

I agree with you it's been fun watching the change in Bret's pictures over the last couple of years. Both of you take fantastic pictures.

Do I need to send this hint to your DH?

"My DH doesn't lurk on the Dis; so there's no point in me mentioning that I've been eyeing the GoPro for the last 2 years. It would make a decent Christmas, Birthday or Anniversary present. Absolutely. No. Point. Whatsoever!!!!"

Nah. He'll get the message eventually......if I decide to buy it for myself and wrap it!!

(thanks!! )

At least it was a short wait time instead of those long wait times when taking the ART. I have terrible experience with ART so I don't ride it anymore. What was the price when you stayed at CCI? We paid $115 a night at BWAI. Luckily I used my points on the second night and we got to stay at BWAI for free.

I've only ever caught the ART once. It wasn't too bad when there was no one there.

I think we paid about $135 or thereabouts for the room at CCI. That's a great price for BWAI; especially when the second night is free.

You won't regret any of the hotels that is across the street from the DLR with a 8 minute walk or less.

We quite like staying at the Residence Inn Maingate; which is a bit longer walk. We do like the Cheesecake Factory and it's nice to be a little bit out of the main tourist drag.

I have stayed at HOJO in the past and it is nice place to stay for a family. The goods about HOJO in my opinion is that it is a nice family hotel to stay at, Castaway Cove for the kids, scenery which is nice. But there are also disadvantages of staying at HOJO as well. The walking distance is quite long about 10 minutes which is not that bad, they have no transportation except if you take the ART. When I looked at the rates, they are quite high which can be higher than BWPPI even with the discounts on certain days. I'm not saying that HOJO is bad or anything like that but it is more of a family place to stay in my opinion where I don't care about Castaway Cove.

We don't mind a bit of a longer walk. Afterall, we are walking about the parks all day.

It was tough since DH and DAF have their own eating ways and we weren't able to have lunch that afternoon. I'm still happy that you were able to eat at UVA Bar and Cafe that afternoon without us. I would have easily joined you and eat at the UVA Bar and Cafe that afternoon but I didn't want to leave DAF by herself.

I'm glad you stayed with your DAF. I wouldn't have wanted her to eat by herself either!!!

Luckily it wasn't that bad when we entered DL for MHP. It was nice to hang out with you, DH and DS during the trip and it was well worth coming out on such short notice. Even DAF had a great time with you as well. We got a decent spot to watch Mickey's Soundsational Parade and your pictures are very nice especially from your spot. DH, you and I were taking pictures like crazy of the parade.

We had a great time hanging out with you and your DAF. I know we'll definitely catch up.....I sure hope to see her again in the future.

I know this and we talk about it time and time again that it is all about the photographer instead of the equipment that gets you great pictures but I have learned a lot with photography these last few years that I want to keep improving with my picture taking.

Using the pole with my iPhone and GoPro came in handy where we were able to get pictures of ourselves on the rides. You should get a GoPro for your DH PiO and Angela. I was always hesitant to get a GoPro these last couple of years until last year which you can get great action videos and to be able to take selfies as well. Luckily we were able to get some selifes on BTMRR.

Jenny DH got a GoPro and they are planning on using it for their trip which is happening and it looks like we can see GoPro in everybody's future.

You're doing real well with your photography! Keep at it.

Loving your DLR pics! Still on my bucket list. And while I am truly enjoying the true nature of all your wonderful photographs, there's the geek part of me looking at some of them going "Ooh!....there's a trash can! Cool design!" I will probably return from my trip in May with more of those pics than anything else.

.

Dang! I should have taken more pictures of the trash cans for you! Are you going to do a TR for your May trip? I'd love to follow it.

Yes everywhere we went in the US they were plentiful, poking your eye out in crowds...blocking all the good photo spots while they fiddle about for ages getting the perfect shot at the end of a stick. They are certainly the "in thing" - closely followed by the GoPros - lol PIO. I don't think I could be bothered lugging them about either though many are telescopic but I admit in some remote spots they could be handy and they mean you don't have to interact with strangers any more to ask them to take your pic! We become more insular! I haven't seen them so prolifically out and about in Bris but only a matter of time. I see the discount shops all have cheapies for sale.

I think I'm fairly safe (at the moment) from getting a selfie stick. Besides, I don't mind interacting with strangers from time to time.

Great pics PIO - it's great living vicariously through you - it's almost like being there!

Thanks, Wendy. I've been enjoying living vicariously through your TR too.

 

[LegoMom3]

......
Dang! I should have taken more pictures of the trash cans for you! Are you going to do a TR for your May trip? I'd love to follow it.


.....

I'm thinking about it! May not mess with a PTR (I get all ambitious about those but then find myself lagging which is boring for people and then you lose readership before you really even get started!!). But yes, I think I will do a TR. Didn't do one last May, so I'm due. (I also didn't bother with my camera last spring, just used my phone, which is all well and good but of course the camera takes better shots and it's much easier to upload them to the Internet).


.

 

[skier_pete]

You may remember, as part of our DIS exclusive ABD - the DIS folks arranged for us to view the soundsational parade with the designers of the parade - Kevin Kidney and Jody Dailey (you can find them on the web). I can confirm that the finale of Mary Poppins had nothing to do with Saving Mr. Banks. This movie was a favorite of theirs and they wanted to use it, and Mary Poppins is also a MUCH bigger deal in California than in WDW anyways as it is linked to the early days of DL.

According to them, very little was mandated, other than the theme of music and that Mickey had to be on the first float playing the drums. All the different floats were selected primarily because of the varying musical styles.
They were given early info on Rapunzel, because the movie came out Winter 2010, and the float designs were well underway by that point. There are also several easter eggs on the floats Example: Evenrude the firefly from The Rescuers shows up on the Tiana float.

Actually I found your pictures of the back of that guys head to be quite hilarious.

 

[zanzibar138]

How else are you going to get those 'sexy' poses if you don't have a stick?

The stick will easily fit in a camera backpack.

Well that explains it then. I can't be bothered to lug around a camera backpack either

 

[PrincessInOz]

Well that explains it then. I can't be bothered to lug around a camera backpack either

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm thinking about it! May not mess with a PTR (I get all ambitious about those but then find myself lagging which is boring for people and then you lose readership before you really even get started!!). But yes, I think I will do a TR. Didn't do one last May, so I'm due. (I also didn't bother with my camera last spring, just used my phone, which is all well and good but of course the camera takes better shots and it's much easier to upload them to the Internet).


.

Excellent. I'll look forward to it!

You may remember, as part of our DIS exclusive ABD - the DIS folks arranged for us to view the soundsational parade with the designers of the parade - Kevin Kidney and Jody Dailey (you can find them on the web). I can confirm that the finale of Mary Poppins had nothing to do with Saving Mr. Banks. This movie was a favorite of theirs and they wanted to use it, and Mary Poppins is also a MUCH bigger deal in California than in WDW anyways as it is linked to the early days of DL.

According to them, very little was mandated, other than the theme of music and that Mickey had to be on the first float playing the drums. All the different floats were selected primarily because of the varying musical styles.
They were given early info on Rapunzel, because the movie came out Winter 2010, and the float designs were well underway by that point. There are also several easter eggs on the floats Example: Evenrude the firefly from The Rescuers shows up on the Tiana float.

Actually I found your pictures of the back of that guys head to be quite hilarious.

That's great intel, Pete! Thanks for sharing. Makes sense to see why there was such a mis-match of everything.

I found the floats to be interesting to look simply because I love all things musical and instruments. But the characters on the floats were quite mixed from the different movies.


The guy in front of me was one of the tallest guests to be riding ahead of me in a long time. Glad you liked the pictures. It was a really fun post for me too!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I really liked the HoJo but it was getting expensive. I stayed at the Anabella in March and it was nice but the walls were a bit thin. Not a bad walk to GCH and DTD.

Jill in CO

I thought we got an amazing rate. At the time I did the maths and we paid a little more for our eight nights at the HoJo than we would have had to pay for one night at the Disneyland Hotel. We paid £66 per night at the HoJo, which is roughly $103. I thought that was pretty sweet considering the location. Disneyland Hotel would have been £446 for one night and we paid a total of £529.

I love all the photos from the parade. I am pretty sure that the Mary Poppins float was already there in 2011. I am not normally interested in parades, but I loved this one and watched it twice that year.

20 minutes waiting time for Big Thunder Mountain sounds great. I love what they have done with that ride.



Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

I thought we got an amazing rate. At the time I did the maths and we paid a little more for our eight nights at the HoJo than we would have had to pay for one night at the Disneyland Hotel. We paid £66 per night at the HoJo, which is roughly $103. I thought that was pretty sweet considering the location. Disneyland Hotel would have been £446 for one night and we paid a total of £529.

I love all the photos from the parade. I am pretty sure that the Mary Poppins float was already there in 2011. I am not normally interested in parades, but I loved this one and watched it twice that year.

20 minutes waiting time for Big Thunder Mountain sounds great. I love what they have done with that ride.



Corinna

That is a sweet deal at HoJo, Corinna. I think they were quoting $150 for the one night I was looking for and there was no discount for that night.