Halloween Homecoming 2014 (9/25 - 10/6/2014) (update 12/01 - COMPLETE)

[Vala]

Day 10 part 3: Mad T party continued












Getting this series of pictures also made the wait time feel slightly less ridiculous.









It's of course meanwhile a bit late to invite a family. But after the concert is over I grab a group from the Gay Days crowd and invite them to join me for Toy Story Mania.



Afterwards I head over to Disneyland for a quick late spin on Buzz and to pick up the souvenir requests of my co-workers. Disneyland Popcorn.

 

[Vala]

Day 11 part 1: Surf's Up


Jackie and I are doing an early breakfast at Surf's Up before going pin trading. I posted in the Storytellers update that we used to do this as a bigger group years ago. When Jackie found out I still wanted to going she decided to join me in memory of the old meets.





You can tell from the background in most photos it was 7 AM... the place was deserted. Maybe 4 other tables.

Stitch comes to see us first.





Followed by Daisy.



Now guess for whom we took that picture?



Minnie in her cool lifeguard outfit.





Stitch even comes back because we played with him and he likes to play.





I could have sworn I took food photos too, but now I can't find them. I may have been sidetracked when Daisy came to our table.

Last (but certainly not least) is Pluto.







A Beach Boys song comes on. Both Pluto and I start kind of moving along with the music. Before I know what happens...



But I don't want to be on Dancing with the Stars, not even if it's Dancing with the Disney Stars!

Pluto won't hear any of it... he whirls me around until the song is over.



I don't know how Jackie managed to get these pictures, she was almost falling to the ground laughing.

We just have enough time to get the car from valet parking, take it to the main parking lot and get our trading bags to the park. Hopefully there's some more traders out today.

 

[Vala]

Day 11 part 2: Pin Trading





A smaller number of traders is already there when we arrive at Rancho del Zocalo.

I get less and less sure about the current state of pin trading though. One of the first questions I am being asked is "What do you trade by? Value, edition size...?" Umm... whatever happened to "it's shiny, it's pretty, I want it?" :foilhat:

We trade for a while until it's time to run over for me to catch up with JJ for the traditional first Sunday performance at the Royal Theatre.











JJ goes on her usual entertainment round. I promise to catch up with her at the T Party stage as soon as I can.

We trade for a while longer. But again it's getting really hot and we have to call it a day due to that sooner than we had hoped for. Zocalo doesn't offer much shade. We're there just long enough to catch another trader with some of the new Alice in Wonderland mystery boxes arriving. :shocked: Where did you get those??? Those are not due before Halloween!!! Turns out World of Disney is selling early. Okay, plan reshuffling... get pins to lockers, World of Disney, lunch and then check on Dug and go to see Aladdin.

Turns out that leaving early was a pretty smart move - we get the last two lockers in the Esplanade. (Main Street Lockers were closed for refurb, I have no idea if they're open again meanwhile.) Getting the pin bags back to the car would have been a real hassle, and I so wasn't going to carry it to T either.

We walk on to World of Disney and they really have about a dozen boxes left. Yay!!! Afterwards we head for Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta. They again have the Anti Vampire Flatbread which I loved so much last year as a Halloween special, and that's calling my name pretty loudly.

Arriving there it turns out that they have changed their menu for Gay Days: no flatbread. We switch to Paradise Garden Grill and the skewers.



Don't ask me what hit me to try this in a heatwave.



It was tasty, but god... I was on sugar rush for hours.

We want to check on JJ and then head over to Aladdin. When we reach Buena Vista Street the heat has really got to Jackie. She comes with me to say hi to JJ and to see what we have in the boxes, but then leaves. Turns out that in 4 boxes there's four different pins with one duplicate each, so it works out just fine to share between JJ and me. I sit down with her at the T Party stage for a while until it's time to run off for the afternoon performances of Five and Dime.

 

[Vala]

Day 11 part 3: Five and Dime


Five and Dime is one of the "period entertainment" performances on Buena Vista Street, kind of like the Newsboys.

The female singer Dime and her band come down the street in a car to perform a couple of times a day.



It is pretty cute, plus as you may figure out from the outfits it's right up my alley cause of the period music style. Hey, any connection to Princess and the Frog (as faint as it may be) works for me.























That leaves me plenty of time to get back to the Grizzly Peak area and check on Dug. Still at the groomer. uppy: But the Wilderness Explorers Ceremony is still happening.











I leave to go back to Hollywoodland. T seems popular tonight, I don't want to leave JJ on her own for too long.

 

[Vala]

Day 11 part 4: Condor Flats


When I walk back towards Hollywoodland there's a surprise at the airplane at Condor Flats. Minnie is meeting, in her cute pilot outfit. It's been a while since I've seen her out in that one.







The last Five and Dime performance of the day is finishing pretty close to the start of the first set of the Mad T Party band. But as I've already had a few cups of T this trip I decide to risk it. I have a zoom lens, worst case scenario I'll get to try a new angle.























Thanks to some very creative squeezing I make it back just when the countdown clock for T starts ticking. The heat must be really bad... the Tweedles don't appear as usual either.

 

[Vala]

Day 11 part 5: One last cup of T (aka "Another Swan Song")


As I mentioned a couple of times, JJ is a Mad Hatter fan. So seeing she staked out the spot today's pictures have a slightly different perspective.









Not as good as the Dormouse one, but I still think I got that shot pretty well.

 

[Vala]

Day 11 part 6: Tomorrowland Terrace






















Good bye Mad T Party, good bye Mad T Party band. I for my part will thoroughly miss you.

After the last set we try to get to Tomorrowland Terrace as soon as possible, which turns out to be a pretty interesting task in the pst fireworks crowd during busy Gay Days.

The band playing there are the 80z Allstars. As the name suggests, they're playing 80s pop music. It's pretty cheesy. In the end it's a love it or hate it thing I guess. If you decide to give it a try I definitely recommend bringing ear plugs. I'm okay with the noise level of the Mad T Party band, but that was way too loud for me.





When the set is finished I walk JJ to the tram and we say our good byes. The next morning will be interesting. The first time ever of not saying "goodbye Disneyland" at Goofy's Kitchen or at least another character meal.

 

[Vala]

Day 12: Time to say goodbye


It's a pretty weird morning. Being solo on the last morning is bound to make me sniffy anyway. Even more so now that I am strolling down Main Street instead of enjoying breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen.



As usual during that trip all crowds seem to be running for Frozen tickets. Nobody at all in the Pixie Hollow area.

Rosetta is meeting with Tink.



Tink peeks through the grass and comes over to say hello. Well that's the official line... she spotted Rosetta inspecting the parasol and didn't want to miss out.





Why don't I have any pixies on there? They don't offer pixies as artwork. Well there was one Tink, but she looked weird. Probably because they used a sideway image to emphasize the wings. I explain that I picked Tiana instead cause her dress was green, that had to do.

Rosetta decides that my parasol looks just like the one of Mary Poppins, so it had to have the same abilities and could help them save pixie dust.



Maybe it could even get me back to Germany more fast, then I could come back sooner.







Rosetta flying around using the magical parasol.



Tink trying to give her wings a rest.



What do you mean "this is not a lost thingy, you have to give it back?"



It really was the cutest thing ever.

Tink is also really amused by my green pen.








And isn't this an adorable picture?



I get a last breakfast - cheddar garlic twist and Boysen Apple Freeze from Maurice's Treats, what else?

The Bootstrappers are playing their first set at 10 AM. I'll make that my send off home.

It's the same crew as last Monday.





Remember what I said about Syd having thieving tendencies...



and certain moments?





There were a couple of really small kids around who seemed to be fascinated and afraid by the pirates at the same time. Tim at least gets close to getting a high five, but no matter what Syd tries... the little girl he tries to interact with keeps hiding with mommy. It was really cute to watch them.





Airport transfer is coming at 11, so I just have about time to make it back to the hotel in a leisurely manner.

That idea is dropped however when I spot a certain bow on Town Square. Daisy!!!



So that leisurely stroll turns into "hopefully the airport transfer isn't waiting already." But it was a duck emergency. I'm sure they'd understand. Right?



One last look at the castle...



It's pretty much exactly 11 when I've got my bags out of the room and am at reception in the hotel to check out. Exactly at that time the airport transfer shows up and the driver comes in the lobby asking my name. Perfect.

I had got a van through Execucar for the way back. It's run by Supershuttle. Van for single use, up to 4 persons. Of course a little more pricey than the shared van. But it got me an extra morning in the parks and really, just that Tink experience made that extra money more than worth it. Also contrary to the way in I always felt safe and the driver was more than nice too. I can only recommend them.

I get into LAX way on time. Lunch at Panda Express and some shopping and still no problem making boarding. The flight is uneventful, baggage gets home with me, nothing broken. I wasn't too impressed about the first fall storm arriving at the same time though... nothing beats coming from 40 degrees centigrade weather and the first thing you see when leaving the building is a gust of wind blowing leaves at you.

Now let the planning for 2015 begin... Team Duck goes Anaheim.