If You Dream A Thing More Than Once: New! Sleeping Beauty on the Big Screen page 3!!

[Sleepless Knight]

Hi everybody. Hi Doctor Nick!!

While I promise to finish up my other two trip reports, I thought I'd start up this pre-trip report as I go through the phases of planning my next visit to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Prologue:

On the way home from my last viisit to Disneyland, I decided to try something I'd never done before. I visited Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store right next to the historic El Capitain Theatre in Hollywood. So after resisting the temptation to get my picture taken with Darth Vader, I crossed the street to get to Disney's Soda Fountain.

As luck would have it I walked by the El Capitain and something caught my eye. On the box office for the theatre was a flier advertising future releases coming to the El Capitan. The thing about this particular image is that it always catches my eye. See, that's something interesting about me. When I was a toddler, I could Mickey Mouse from across the store. I would start going crazy and would not calm down until my parents took me over to the display that had grabbed my attention. Well, as they got closer to the display, they could not believe that I had managed to spot Mickey Mouse when he was but 3 black circles.

I'm much the same way as an adult. I hear a note or two of music and instantly recognize that it's music from Star Wars. So, you see I can spot things I like from a very long ways away. And sure enough, there is Prince Phillip leaning over to kiss the lovely Princess Aurora. On the very bottom of the box office is a flier advertising the return of Walt Disney's 1959 Classic Sleeping Beauty to the silver screen. And I really start to get excited.

For whatever reason, Sleeping Beauty made a very indelible impression upon me as a youngster. Of all the Disney movies I watched, and believe me I watched nearly all the animated ones, Sleeping Beauty was the the one I could watch the most. Over the years, I lost track of the film as I went off to college and no longer had access to my parents VHS library, but then in 2003, they released Sleeping Beauty again on DVD and I discovered my childhood favorite all over again. Now, knowing that the 50th Anniversary of the film is coming in January 2009, I knew that Disney had some big things planned, and even hoped that maybe the El Capitan would show it, and on this day my dream came true.

You see, ironically enough I don't remember if I actually saw Sleeping Beauty on the big screen as a little boy. I suspect I did because my parents took me to see all the Disney classics when they were re-released on the big screen, but I don't have specific memories of seeing this one. But as I reconnected with the film again, I became mesmerized by the unique artistic style, and so for the past few years it's been a dream of mine to experience the film at least once on the silver screen, the way Walt Disney intended it.

And so last Friday, I checked out the El Capitan's website to find that they were now selling tickets for Sleeping Beauty. To top it off, I knew from my visit there earlier in June that the first night would have a special exhibit about the film itself. And so on Friday I sealed my next visit to Disneyland when I bought a ticket for Sleeping Beauty at the El Capitan. After all, Disneyland isn't very far away and with an annual pass, it becomes so much easier to justify the expense of traveling to Hollywood to see my favorite Disney film.

The cast for this visit currently consists of me. Perhaps others will join me, but that all depends if any of my friends want to go down.

I'm currently trying to decide how many days. I will defintely be in Disneyland on the 29th and 30th of August(like I needed an excuse to check out Toy Story Midway Mania for the first time), but am currently trying to decide if I want to go on the 31st as well. I may even try to fit a character breakfast at the El Capitan in as well to catch Sleeping Beauty on the silver screen a second time.

So if anyone has any thoughts on visiting Labor Day Weekend and/or the character breakfast at the El Capitain, let me know.

 

[stagemomx3]

We saw the premier of Cars at El Capitan during our first Disneyland trip June 2006 and had an awesome experience! I periodically check the El Capitan website to see if they have posted what will be playing during our December trip.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

My guess would be Bolt, the holiday release this year for Disney. If you haven't heard of it, it's about a dog who stars as a superhero on a TV series. Somehow he ends up in the real world, only he doesn't realize that he's not a superhero. They showed a preview for it before WALL-E, and it looks like it has potential.

 

[stagemomx3]

I've seen that pre view, so we'll see, I'm not a big animal movie fan, but it depends on the kids.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I was real unsure about the film because of Disney's recent track record with animated films, but I thought that Bolt looked like it had potential. We'll have to see how it turns out.

 

[Gisele]

I enjoyed reading your post, it was very nice, I would love to see a movie at the El Capitan, if not this year, then perhaps next.
Enjoy your next visit to DL, and to the theater, to see one of your most favorite films, that all sounds very nice and exciting, and fun as well!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Yep, I'm quite excited for it. Of course that began about the moment I saw the ad for it on the box office. Plus I just found out that there is some concept art on display near Goofy's Kitchen, so I'll have to check that out on my next visit too.

I look forward to experiencing the El Capitan and will give a full review here when I return.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Planning update. I just booked my room at the America's Best Value Inn & Suites. While I wanted to stay on Harbor, this one saves me a lot more money than the ones on Harbor, so I'll just make the very short drive to the parking lot instead of making a short walk to the hotel.

For the time being, I'm going to stay for the whole weekend and leave on Labor Day. That plan is still somewhat under review, but I wanted to get the room taken care of now since it's much easier to remove a night than to try and add a night when they may not have any rooms to add.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Sounds like a marvelous plan so far & I think it is really cool that you will get to see Sleeping Beauty at the El Capitan. That is just perfect for you.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Just wait until I continue my Dream Come True report. I've only covered the tip of the iceberg on my Sleeping Beauty mania.

 

[tofubeast]

How dare you start another trip report when I am still dying to hear about your visit to THE studio!!!!!

tisk tisk!!

But I do enjoy your writing style, so I am subscribing here too!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Oh, don't worry. This one can't kick into high gear until the others are finished.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

One of these days I'm going to name a trip report Serenity Now, Insanity Later because that basically describes my Disney planning. The moment of serenity when my next visit becomes official followed by the insanity of trip planning.

And this visit just grew more complicated. For the past few months there has been very preliminary discussion about a family visit to Disneyland in December. While I was planning on going down myself in December, there's always been the possibility that it could morph into a family trip.

So here's the nuttiness. Planning a trip for yourself is simple enough, but when you try to do it for a family it becomes crazy especially when you have to account for college schedules and work schedules of everyone. So last night, the talk went from "wouldn't it be fun to. . ." to "can so and so get time off work in December and how many days?"

Then today we began to move forward on the time off issue, so we started looking at hotels for December, while I'm stilll in planning mode for August. To further complicate matters, looking at packages is tricksy because I have an annual pass, so I don't need park tickets, but I do need a place to sleep since Disneyland won't let me sleep there unless I win the Dream Suite .

So today we've looked at hotel vs. motor home and whether or not there are any savings from the motor home on account of gas prices. As it turns out, the RV park is as much as a hotel, so gas prices will more than overwhelm any food savings. So it looks like a hotel, but now the question is if a package is cheaper or buying it separately.

And of course, all of this is preliminary. In the space of a day the trip has gone from possible to probable. So, if you've actually read this thanks. I just needed to "vent" a little about this. Things could be far worse though. I am going to Disneyland in August and in December. The only trick is I don't know who I'm going with in December.

 

[disney-inspired]

One of these days I'm going to name a trip report Serenity Now, Insanity Later because that basically describes my Disney planning.

Serenity now reminds me of Seinfield with George's dad!

The only trick is I don't know who I'm going with in December.

Don't you hate that? I have a Disneyland trip in October and I don't know who I'm going with and if no one ends up going than it will be my first 100% solo trip and I don't know if I'm completely ready!
Then I'm going in November for my birthday and my mom said that she will go because that's where I'll be and she wants to spend time with me. BUT my parents FCU messed up their account and now money is "mysteriously" missing. So we'll see how it goes down. It does help that I'm within 1 hour of DL though

Sorry for hijacking your Pre-TR, I'm just venting along with you

 

[Bloodhound]

Hi, Im going with a group of college buddies and were having a dis meet on Oct 25th at DLR and My first trip to the west coast and would like to subscribe . :

 

[Disneygrl36]

Hope things calm down in the planning department for you. I am sure it is hard to coordinate alot of different schedules to make a family trip happen, but I bet it will be special & really fun once you get it all planned out. AND you get to go to DISNEYLAND twice!!!!!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Serenity now reminds me of Seinfield with George's dad!


Don't you hate that? I have a Disneyland trip in October and I don't know who I'm going with and if no one ends up going than it will be my first 100% solo trip and I don't know if I'm completely ready!
Then I'm going in November for my birthday and my mom said that she will go because that's where I'll be and she wants to spend time with me. BUT my parents FCU messed up their account and now money is "mysteriously" missing. So we'll see how it goes down. It does help that I'm within 1 hour of DL though

Sorry for hijacking your Pre-TR, I'm just venting along with you

What a brilliant show Seinfeld was. I think my favorite preshow is the one for Soarin' because of Puddy.

I hope everything gets sorted out for your trip. And don't worry. Disneyland solo is tremendous fun.

Bloodhound, it's great to have you along for the ride. Your visit sounds like a blast. One of my college roommates and I reenacted the Main Street Electrical Parade, recreated the Aladdin parade, and dressed like pirates for opening night of POTC. So, someday we'll need to take a road trip to visit the inspiration for many of our adventures.

And now for a planning update on the December trip(I promise very little August updates until trip reports are done). As of right now, it looks like it's going to be a family style adventure, so we're in the process of getting quotes from all sorts of different places to try and figure out the best deals(this is what happens when you have 3 accountants in the family). Now, I'm just trying to remind my brother to not get package quotes for me since I don't need park tickets(ah the joy of having an AP).

So, thanks for letting me vent and feel free to share any vents that you may have. And I hope to give everyone a Disney studios update tonight.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Just a quick update here. I'm seeing rumblings about very good AP rates for the DLH in August and it's starting to tempt me. I always vowed that I'd never stay onsite unless there was a really special occasion, but these rumors about very good rates are tempting.

For now, I've resisted the temptation, but if I continue to resist remains to be seen.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Is anyone familiar with the Character breakfast at the El Capitan? I didn't know they had one until I was looking at the calendar for Sleeping Beauty. While I enjoy character meals, I haven't done one since I was at WDW with my family.

I'm thinking it may be kind of fun to do one and it may give me yet another excuse to watch Sleeping Beauty on the silver screen again. I may have to take advantage of this while the opportunity still exists.

Anyone have any experiences with this character breakfast?

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I'm currently wrestling with myself over a few things regarding this trip. If you've read my other TRs you may have noticed a few Simpsons references thrown in their. Given how close I'll be to Universal Studios and the recent Simpsons ride that opened there, I'm tempted to get a ticket to USH for one day. I haven't been to Universal in 20 years, so some things really sound fun to me.

Here's the catch. I'm not sure that my timing is the best. First off, I really hate L.A. traffic so I try to avoid it when I head to Disneyland. Visiting Universal probably means that I'll have to endure rush hour at some point, plus I'd have to find a reasonable hotel near either the El Capitan or USH and have to rearrange my schedule. I guess I could go to USH on Saturday, but that will cost me more in gas.

Any tips or hints on what to do? Is there a place I can get USH tickets for cheap?