Sherry E
Currently tag-less...
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2008
- Messages
- 19,646
PHX --
I figured that, somehow or another, the knight in HM must have not gone over well with the public and that's why he was removed. Not only did he scare me, but I just didn't feel that it was a good fit for a Disneyland ride -- to have someone lunging at the Doom Buggies and touching guests' arms. As a small child I was scared of the HM anyway and I didn't want to go on it. Adding something like that into it would have terrified me even further, so I can imagine that a scary knight inside the HM would have been too much for some kids.
It is hot enough here in SoCal when Fall rolls around. I think I will steer clear of Arizona, for sure (although the trunk or treat sounds like great fun)! I need to live in one of those states that actually gets chilly when Autumn is in full swing!
Yes, that Los Angeles Hayridehave not been yet because I am so afraid, my girlfriends go every year so maybe 2013 I will be brave enough. I agree with those hills being creepy, even during the day. Just last week on my way to the Autry Museum I was a bit turned around, and I felt like I was never going to find my way back.
Here is a link to Irvine RailRoad Park, Pumpkin Patch
http://www.irvineparkrailroad.com/content/pumpkin-patch
We hosted a party there last year, and a lot of our guest returned for the Christmas Train festivities.
Pinup Mommy --
I wish Irvine was closer to me! I would love to go there. And a Christmas Train too? That might be my new favorite place, and I haven't even been there yet!
I love pumpkin patches. I just love the look of them. They say "Autumn" in every possible way. I really like the ones that are out in random fields where there is space to contain many types of pumpkins, of all shapes and sizes. I haven't been to a really good pumpkin patch like that in decades. In my area of L.A. it is usually the dreaded small "vacant lots" at the end of city blocks that are used for the pumpkin patches and Christmas trees. There used to be one such lot near here that featured a weird spider called "Chango" as the star attraction during Halloween Time, but that lot was eventually used for a building space.
So, in my general area -- not counting the Halloween night stuff in Hollywood -- I pretty much have the Halloween/Harvest/Fall weekend festival at the Original Farmers Market, which doesn't happen until late in October (but they give away some pumpkins), and the pumpkin patch on La Brea...which looks like of cool but I haven't been there yet.
I love the idea of a haunted hayride in any location (more than I like the idea of being trapped in a haunted house or a haunted prison or on a haunted ship), but I would prefer to watch others be scared by it than go on it myself!
On one of those Halloween-related Travel Channel shows they feature a great haunted hayride in one of their segments, but it's in the woods or on a farm somewhere and they have a lot of area they can use to make the hayride top notch. The sets that they put up along the pathway are so cool. I don't know if the L.A. Hayride could quite compare because, even up in the creepy hills and the old zoo location, they don't necessarily have the vast space/acreage to build it up - but from all the ads and commercials I have seen of it in the past, it looks scary.
If you finally do the Hayride please report back on it -- I am curious to know! It must be fairly good because it keeps coming back every year...unlike the Newport Beach haunted Ghost Ship or whatever it was, that lasted one year!
Yes and yes to all of that... I can't actually vouch for the realness of the "table walking up the stairs" story, since I wasn't even born when it happened, but my mother's relatives were the ones who say it went on and they still swear the story is true. Like you said, though, its hard to believe it when someone tells you a paranormal story, especially something outlandish (as this one is)! The stove story however is a 100% fact. My mother still talks about it and is as confused as she was the night it happened! As for the humming story... you're right. It was terrifying, especially to a child. I told my mom right after it happened and of course she didn't believe me... even now, as an adult, my family still believes I'm making it up!But it definitely happened, I can say that with certainty. (Interestingly, years after we had moved from the house, my mother admitted to me a woman had died there... and the humming was that of a woman's voice. Coincidence? I think not!) You're so lucky you were able to go to DL in the 70s! And funny you should mention Adventures through Inner Space---my fiancé's mother loved that ride! She still talks about it and is quite upset its not still around. I wish I could've seen the park back in the 50s and 60s, when Walt was still alive... what an experience that would have been! I'm happy with the DLR as it stands today, but a part of me wishes, as you said, that some of the old "classics" hadn't been removed. For example, I think the old Native American village might've been fun, if maybe a tad politically incorrect, and I can't even go on the Finding Nemo ride because it makes me just want the ORIGINAL submarine ride back, which sounds far better in my opinion... yes, I'm quirky and I own it.
Lucrezia --
I just think that the scam artists out there ruin it for all of the people who really have experienced some sort of strange phenomena. But I do believe that there are plenty of people who have experienced bizarre things that can't be explained...or maybe they can be explained but the explanation is scary!
I totally believe the stove toppling over story, and I don't want to believe the table walking up the stairs story because it sounds so extreme but...at the same time, I don't mess around with seances at all (no matter how interesting they sound) because I don't want to be there when anything starts levitating or flying, or when someone at the table suddenly starts talking like a dead person!
I don't like Ouija boards either. I like to hear other people's stories about them and I love the idea of them...but I am not messing with them myself, just in case!!You mentioned that a woman had died in the house where you heard the disembodied humming. In my building there was a really kind, nice man who apparently passed away early last year. I didn't find out that he passed away until much later on, but I felt sad about it because he was friendly and pleasant, and he always put Christmas decorations up in his window each year. He died in his actual apartment, and now I can remember a day when paramedics were here and I wasn't sure why. The man's apartment was empty for quite a while, and at some point someone moved in.
The new tenant who moved into my deceased neighbor's apartment has a dog. The dog is often left alone in that apartment while the owner is at work. That dog barks and cries constantly -- I can hear it from my own apartment. Even when the dog is not alone it whimpers and cries at night. I often wonder if the dog is picking up on some sort of 'energy' or vibrations in that apartment, because the man just died there kind of recently. Animals are so perceptive to things in general that I would not be surprised.
The original submarine ride was so cheesy and silly, but in a classic Disney way. I loved it. I don't like the Nemo version too much. There also were two Autopia rides at one point -- in FL and TL. The Skyway buckets were cool to look at. The Motor Boat cruise was fun. I loved loved loved the Monorail Cafe at the old Disneyland Hotel. Goofy's Kitchen was in a different location. The marina at the DLH had pedal boats. There was an Italian restaurant at the DLH too. Adventureland had the Tahitian Terrace restaurant. Tomorrowland had this crazy sort of expo area (like an early version of Innoventions, but not called that) with phone booths that you could fit 4 people in. At the time it was exciting because you could call someone on speaker phone (which was a novelty back then) and everyone in the booth with you could leisurely sit and listen in, or chat.
There were a lot of things that were fun about the old Disneyland but, of course, it is great the way it is now. As long as it keeps getting better over time, I am fine with it. If things keep getting removed and the parks get worse, that's another story!
Kilala --
I'd heard about the WDW version of the People Mover over the years but it has a different name, correct?
PixiDustDears --
You will be there at the fun time when everything is changing over from Halloween decor to Christmas decor, and there will be some crossover decor in the parks! Snow on the Castle and pumpkins around the Partners statue!
Weekends are busy any time of year. I think that you will get the typical weekend crowds for that time of year, although it is possible it could be slightly busier because some of the Halloween visitors may stay for the weekend.
Overall, though, I am convinced that any window of time in between official seasons or in between holidays is a time when crowds will drop a bit. I think that the time frame in between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break is good for slightly lower crowds, and I would bet that the time frame in between the end of Halloween Time and the beginning of the holiday season will be pretty good in terms of lighter crowds! I don't think it will be too bad.
Fellow DIS'er TigerlilyAJ visited the parks last year for the end of Halloween Time (and she was there long enough to make the official beginning of the holiday season too -- she did the Happiest Haunts tour and the Holiday Time tour in the same trip!), so she could probably give you a better answer if she pops in here.
I've thought for a while Disneyland might be haunted. Plenty of people have died there over the years in tragic ways, and also, I hear lots of people have their ashes scattered on rides. Not only that but lots of people have reported strange happenings---which that book I read goes into. One of the last trips I was there, I was with my fiancé and his mother at Blue Bayou one evening, and as we were talking, all of a sudden my fiancé's mother stopped and turned and said something like, "What's that, sweetie?" to no one. Then she turned back to us, looking confused, and said she could've sworn she heard a little boy talking to her. And months later, I find out that the CMs think that POTC is haunted by a little boy's spirit, whose seen on the ride via security cameras during run-throughs when no one should be there!! 
As for the DLR of yesteryear, I must say, I'm very impressed by all your knowledge! I've done the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour, read several DL-related books about its history, and yet I still don't know nearly as much about the park's retro days as you do! 
But seriously, I really have to hand it to you, Sherry, for being able to remember some of the old rides and such... thats quite incredible! And even the restaurants/cafes at the DLH that have disappeared over the years, something I'm sure most people have forgotten! 
I guess I'm better at remembering ghost stories... lol 
I do live in one of the most haunted cities in Europe and my family are celtic on both sides so I guess it's not that odd that I might get a few experiences 
