MagicHusky Goes Treehousing & Towering! *Aladdin Musical filmed in HD!* (New 12/7)

[magichusky]

Why hello everyone! to my first ever TR! It's a baby! Come one, come all, and read about my mini-adventure riddled with close encounters during which I strive to climb the Disney treehouse trifecta, explore dark , sparkling caverns and search for my animal spirit, and enter a sticky situation w/ a certain bellhop. I'm writing this predominantly as practice for my upcoming WDW Christmas delight- I'll be visiting the world 12/17-12/23 w/ my Mom, Dad, and sister, Heather. Since this future Floridian adventure has been anticipated for 20+ years (I grew up in Disneyland but have never been to WDW!) it is imperative that it be well documented. Here's what we have so far:

PART 1: Stumbling out of bed and tramming (post 1)
PART 2: A royal entrance (post 2)
PART 3: Treehousing & Castling (post 4)
PART 4: That tree is still Swiss to me!! (post 11)
PART 5: We've run out of hot dogs! (pg 2, post 18)
PART 6: HOOTIN' & HOLLERIN' (pg 3, post 31)
PART 7: I TOOK THE DARE! (pg 3, post 32)
PART 8: I'm a hungry bear in a world of color (pg 3, post 36)
PART 9: BONUS mini-TR (10/7/10): Operation Aladdin Musical
Part 9A: It's HalloweenTime!
Part 9B: Tiki-Grilled-Cheese-to-Go
Part 9C: Pumpkins & Muffins Are Good Together
Part 9D: It's a Whole New World
PART 10: Sneak peek for my WDW Christmas upcoming TR!

And here's what's coming up:

That's all, folks!

First, let me introduce the cast of characters:

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Lauren! (Me!!!!) I'm 25, an antsy grad student , and if I had to guess I'd say I've been to Disneyland around 100 times. I grew up in San Diego and as a small child I would refuse to attend school on my birthday and would request (or rather expect, heehee) a DL day since I of course cared nothing for pop quizzes or hooked-on-phonics worksheets as a birthday treat. I also get a kick out of auditioning for The Amazing Race on CBS so keep an eye out for me and my sister! I am now an AP holder and DL regular. So regular that in fact the bellhops in the tower know who I am (I'd like to give a friendly shout-out to my good buddies Sean M. and Chad!!!). *Favorite Disney animated film: The Little Mermaid.

Here's me w/ a lovely goat:

And for good measure, a pic of my very own magic husky, Loki (but I call him Kiki):

And another to showcase his serious side:

Kendra! Kendra was that crazy girl in college who perpetually deemed that midnight of the night before a big paper was due was the proper time to initiate and complete said paper, then humbly accept an A+ in return. Kendra was also nocturnal, which must be contagious since now I too am nocturnal. Upon my return to college one year after winter break, I heard a faint utterance of "Acidophilus" float up the hall and it was confirmed: Kendra was back! Kendra also once dressed up as Hermione for Halloween and bravely escorted a mob of inner-city children trick-or-treating through campus. Yes, the genius that is Kendra is still a mystery to us. *Favorite Disney animated film: Beauty and the Beast.

Here's Kendra w/ her buddy Sulley:

The premise of this trip:

I have discovered that the only way to communicate w/ my crazy buddies, VBsHustla (here on the DIS- check out their most recent WDW TR here: "Ultrafeast: Beach Club CL Trip March 2010"), during their WDW excursions is via Twitter. It actually was quite beneficial b/c that's how I discovered Disney was hosting a 9pm World of Color (WOC) show on 9/15-16 exclusively for APs. In addition, APs would have exclusive riding privileges between 8-8:45pm on those nights for the Tower of Terror (TOT), Soarin', and a few others. I pitched the idea to Kendra and she loved it! D to the Land!!! So the plan was that I would drive down from LA and hang out at DL, then meet Kendra there after she got off from work...

PART 1: Stumbling out of bed and tramming

As I mentioned before, I have somehow recently become nocturnal (somehow I have an inkling that that's mostly due to the beast that is grad school). As a result, waking up before 11am can be quite the crisis. I had planned on making a BestBuy run in the "morning" to make a much anticipated purchase: a new camera! A hot pink "Canon Powershot sd1400 is" to be exact. This is really my first big girl camera since my old camera is a 7 yr old 4 megapixel Gateway digital camera, which refused to store more than 36 photos at a time. Singular. I needed to make the purchase early enough that I would have enough time to fully charge the new battery before I left for DL (goal was 2pm).

I managed to stumble out of bed at 10:30am and toodled on over to BestBuy, where I purchased my beloved camera (which was on sale btw) and an HD memory card (apparently this baby can film HD movies!!). I buzzed back into my apartment and immediately started charging the battery, which had an advertised 1.5 hrs of charging time. While the battery was doing its thing, I settled down for some lunch and an online viewing of "Ocean Girl" (Disney channel circa 1994 and a Kendra recommendation). How did I miss this completely fabulous TV-series as a child???

I was impressed when my battery indicated a full charge exactly an hour and 40 minutes later. So, it being almost 2:30pm, I loaded up my hot pink plaid Mickey bag with my hot pink camera, hot pink phone, and hand sanitizer (the hand sanitizer actually comes into play later!) and threw myself into my Jeep. I figured I'd better get some gas before departing, but surely would've passed if I had known it would take me almost 30 min to do the job! Only in Los Angeles does it take a half hour to drive less than half a mile to a gas station and fill your car up. : At this particular gas station, my neighbors think it appropriate to pull in at the first pump they see, consequently blocking access to all remaining pumps. Anyway, I finally got going at 2:50pm and arrived at the dreaded Mickey & Friends parking structure by 4pm (Funny how when I drove to Disney at 3am for the 1/2 Marathon it took 30 min). I despise the Mickey & Friends parking structure because it costs $15 to park there and then it takes an extra 20 min to be transported by tram to Downtown Disney. The trams are the slowest things ever and it takes people 5 minutes simply to climb aboard and sit down plus another 5 to disembark. Plus, is anyone else besides me hating the new doors they installed on those things?? They're quite heavy and don't stay open on their own accord. Consequently when I disembark I am forced to hold the door open for various small children behind me and by the time I finally get going I find myself surrounded by a mob of painfully leisurely walkers and as a result must walk painfully leisurely myself all the way to the security checkpoint. When the trams were doorless I was able to do a flying dismount and power walk all the way to China before my fellow trammers even set stroller to pavement. :

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST...

 

[magichusky]

PART 2: A royal entrance

Upon emerging from the checkpoint, I was greeted with "You've Got a Friend In Me" and my delightful pumpkinized pals atop the turnstiles whom I look forward to every Fall. Donald is by far the loveliest:

Unfortunately, HalloweenTime officially started the next day, but at least I got to check out most of the special decorations:

As I was walking in, the flag retreat ceremony was just getting under way so I stopped and partook in the patriotic party. The area was riddled with joyous Yanks (so no photos unfortunately) and everyone sang the Star Spangled Banner together with pride. I didn't sing because it would have most certainly ruined the ambience. Once we were done singing I turned and set off down Main Street. I'm sure this family adored starring in my photo:

I was delighted to acquire the following photo of Walt's pumpkin patch without it guest starring Tootie and Teddy Tourist, who have ruined countless photos over the years.

Do hanging baskets count as hidden Mickeys?

I proceeded to the castle and encountered this little guy. I couldn't figure out the intended emotion- inspired? Noble? Courageous? Haughty?

It was a super glorious day out and the moat water was looking less moaty and more lakey, which was nice. The wishing well was all boarded up but at least I got to enjoy these great spinning fountain fish. It was very "There you see her." Which reminds me of a now extinct Little Mermaid fountain that used to be nearby, featuring my fav King Triton. I was horrified when it was removed and replaced by generic water shooting things!

It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how few or how many people are stuffed into DL, the Peter Pan line is always 30 min. And what's that white thing affixed to the tip of the clock tower? It looks like a snowflake to me? But that doesn't make any sense. :

Fantasy Land was disgusting. There were strollers all over the place and about fifty children trying to pull the sword out of the stone. So I aborted mission and took a hard left past Pinocchio's Village Haus, which was all boarded up. What on earth could they possibly be doing in there? I passed my beloved Big Thunder Ranch but it was unfortunately closed! I pretty much wanted to tie that wagon to the back of my Jeep and tow it back home on the 405.

I was admiring another of my favorite DL oddities and saw the Mark Twain chugging along on the other side of this abandoned tunnel...

So I ran to catch up with it:

As I raced around the corner and Tom Sawyer Island came into view, I had a sudden hankering to be ferried by raft, stumble across my favorite barrel bridge, and bounce a few people around.

I could still see people combing the island but the last raft had apparently departed at 5pm! I just barely missed it! I turned around, forlorn, and was horrified to run into this freakish mansion!

The Haunted Mansion was closed and fenced up but it was still far too eery for me even in its partially hidden state so I evacuated by rail. Then, the strangest thing happened!

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[Eight]

I'm totally with you about the trams. I hate those things, and I hate waiting when there's a crowd of people are fighting to get on. Which is why I almost always walk, even though everyone I'm with always complain about having to walk, and I'm just like, "It about as fast, and if you're going to complain about walking, then why are you at Disneyland?" Seriously, it's not that far. And when did they install doors on those things? I think I'd hate them even more now.

Anyway..

I'm loving your report so far.

(and secretly glad someone else shares my hatred of the trams)

I never noticed that thing on the top of the clock tower at Peter Pan before! Man, what is that? I'll have to look for that next time I go, because now I'm intrigued.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[magichusky]

PART 3: Treehousing & Castling

When we last left off, I was fleeing from the Haunted Mansion. I was relieved to discover a train waiting for me at the New Orleans station, so I hopped aboard and was almost immediately whisked away through Splash Mountain. I was delighted to see a log floating through our field of view at just the perfect moment. I was also surprised to find that two other parties sitting next to me also found joy in waving to cranky strangers. Usually people look at me like I'm insane b/c I insist upon waving to practically everyone from my locomotive. Guess they're too cool for school. Unfortunately, the log we passed haughtily ignored us all. We then passed the Rivers of America and saw a moose and a busy Indian village. Then, the strangest thing happened...

I got off at ToonTown! I generally detest TT but today I had a very important date with a certain treehouse. The only thing I hate more than TT is Roger Rabbit's Toon Spin, or whatever it's called, which is IN TT (funny thing is that I truly adore the movie). Recently, I went to DL with an inexperienced DLer (I always feel guilty while touring w/ such a person because they insist on festering in indecision, so I feel like I'm ordering them around all day). Anyway, we got stuck on Small World for 25 min WITH the music on the entire time! By the time we got out of there my head was spinning, and we had missed rope drop for CA Adv! I insisted that the CMs gift me magical fastpasses as retribution and was rewarded 2 such passes for my tenacity. My touring companion wanted to use one of them for the RR Spin! I was horrified and refused (We wound up using the special passes for 2 attractions that didn't offer FPs: Peter Pan and the swinging gondolas on the CA Adv ferris wheel). So in short, I hate the land of toons.

As I was walking into the land of screaming children, I did a double take at this Emily Gilmore reference, or in other words, a spoof of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution):

I wish I could fill my car up w/ gas in TT rather than that disgusting Shell station back home!

Finally! I've had a craving for a tour of the Chip 'n' Dale Treehouse for all of 2 days!

It's a bit brambly up there!

We're not nearly high enough!

The toons were starting to get to me so I hotfooted it out of there. On my way out I saw Minnie emerge from a backstage door. I waved but she was too busy smoothing her dress and admiring her new shoes to pay any attention to my kind gesture. She pranced over to the nearest gaggle of small children and immediately strollers everywhere yelled "Minnie!!". They advanced in perfect battle formation. It was time to go!

I escaped from the mob and decided to try my new camera out in nearby SW.

Just as I was about to queue up the CM roped it off about 3 ft in front of me! Apparently SW closes like 30 min prior to the evening parade. I feel like that hasn't always been so since when I was very small I once made everyone escort me from Frontierland to FL during a parade just so that I could go on SW. And it was very much open. Anyway, I was terribly disappointed so I headed off towards the castle. I considered riding the Storybook Canal boats but the line was far too long and that's one of my most hated queues due to its ridiculously narrow walkways.

I love Dumbo's purple tent and matching outfit:

I've wanted to chill out w/ a Dole Whip on Pinocchio's balcony since the age of 5. They really need to let me up there one of these days.

I'm confused as to the meaning of this stork. The only Disney film w/ a character delivered by stork is Dumbo, right? I haven't seen Pinocchio in a few years but I don't think he was delivered in such a manner? He just came to life in Gepetto's workshop!

Oh my dearie! I'm being spied on by a wicked witch!

I passed by the BBB and pretty much needed to go inside. This display really needs to be recreated in my apartment immediately:

I've of course inquired about these crowns numerous times and they're apparently not for sale! Unfortunately I oftentimes find myself trying to buy various shop displays and the CMs think I'm the craziest. I should channel Sandra Bullock from the Blind Side, whip out my checkbook, acquire an imposing Southern drawl, and insist: "Well, come ooon, what's it gonna take??".

This window divided the store from the boutique. I could hear giggles and got a whiff of hairspray...let's get outta here!

I think I've seen less than 5 people use this drinking fountain in 20 yrs. They just really need to make it into a fountain (without the drinking part).

It's rare that it's quiet enough for me to enter the castle since I despise being stuck inside. If it's too crowded, not only do you get stuck for ages but you also get breathed on and stepped on; plus there's no way to get around the guests ahead of you if you want to leave. I definitely recommend visiting the castle early in the morning or right before closing!

It's quite difficult to take good photos in there and it didn't help that I was inexperienced w/ the new camera. So if you haven't been inside before, here's one shot to give you a general idea of what it's like. The windows look out onto various scenes that tell the story of Sleeping Beauty and little storybooks are displayed along the way that you can read. While walking through the dungeon corridor, I highly recommend opening the middle door (the one w/ no window). It makes for a good time!!

Upon descending the final staircase and exiting the castle, Fairy Flora called out after me: "Make it pink!!!" I was like, well certainly! You don't have to tell me!

I walked out onto the drawbridge and sat down in one of the buit-in benches and enjoyed the view. Unfortunately within 30 seconds my view was transformed into that of the backsides of a family who decided to stand almost directly in front of me. They were practically standing inside the recessed niche I was sitting in. The tween boy started blowing bubbles at me and I decided that it was time to evacuate and pay a visit to a far superior family, my fav Swiss family!

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[magichusky]

I'm totally with you about the trams. I hate those things, and I hate waiting when there's a crowd of people are fighting to get on.

Agreed! It's pretty awkward sometimes when you're forced to battle w/ a 5 yr old kid for a spot on the tram. So you have to let the 5 yr old get on and then by extension the other 10 members of their party. After all that, there's no more room on the tram and you have to wait another 10 min. I've totally walked before and it was such a relief to move forward of my own volition.

And thanks for reading! I'm afraid that my TR title isn't attractive enough to gain readership!

 

[magichusky]

CALLING DISNEY AT 4AM IS GREAT FUN!

Hi everyone! This is an exciting night! I've been planning my Christmas WDW excursion for months and today we are 90 days out! This is my first WDW trip EVER so I'm super duper stoked about it!!! Anyway, tomorrow (basically tonight at 4am, 7am EST) is the first day I can try for a Wishes cruise reservation. I'm hoping for 12/18 since it'll be our first full day. I'm also hoping that I'll be successful tonight or else I'll have to stay up 'til 4am each night until I score a ressie. Apparently there are only 5 boats available per night so I'm rather nervous! I had to do the 4am thing back in August, too, so I could book the CP dinner package at Le Cellier. It took me 7 min of continuous dialing just to get on hold, then another hour on hold until I even got to speak w/ someone! Plus I had to listen to the Haunted Mansion soundtrack while waiting- it was pretty eery at 4:50am!!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I love your TR so far! And your pics are great!!

 

[Eight]

Agreed! It's pretty awkward sometimes when you're forced to battle w/ a 5 yr old kid for a spot on the tram. So you have to let the 5 yr old get on and then by extension the other 10 members of their party. After all that, there's no more room on the tram and you have to wait another 10 min. I've totally walked before and it was such a relief to move forward of my own volition.

And thanks for reading! I'm afraid that my TR title isn't attractive enough to gain readership!

Exactly! Ugh, trams.

I don't know, I don't think it's the title. It caught my attention anyway. The Disneyland trip report board can be slow at times though, at least compared to the WDW trip report board.

And oh man, calling at 4 AM does not sound fun. Why can't they open at 10 EST? It makes sense in my mind. Are the Wishes cruises really hard to get? They sound so fun! I'd love to do one next time I go to Disney World.

Also, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I had no clue there was a Chip 'n' Dale Treehouse.

 

[VBsHustla]

Hello! Loving the TR, but it's making me feel very nostalgic for DL! I must visit immediately, especially before my most hated Disneyland time of the year rolls around again. I'd like to avoid a 4 hour journey on the 405 and a Christmas time fireworks altercation if at all possible! However, I absolutely love all the Halloween decor photographs. Particularly that weird pumpkin with the guy wearing Mickey ears!

I am extremely disturbed and offended to hear that the trams are now even more inconvenient! Those doors sound like quite the nuisance. Some of us don't have those extra seconds to spare when we roll in 3 minutes before the Tower closes.

I'm glad that Toon Town, if nothing else, has that beautiful Emily Gilmore tribute. She deserves it! Another pic I enjoyed was that strange stork photo.

Good luck with your Wishes cruise and making it through the next 6-7 hours haha. (That is insane. I'm headed to sleep now!) I look forward to the rest of the TR and am very excited for when your guest star Kendra makes an appearance!

 

[magichusky]

I love your TR so far! And your pics are great!!

Thank you!! So glad you're here! That's so exciting that you'll be DLing it away in just 2 weeks!

And oh man, calling at 4 AM does not sound fun. Why can't they open at 10 EST? It makes sense in my mind. Are the Wishes cruises really hard to get? They sound so fun! I'd love to do one next time I go to Disney World.

Also, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I had no clue there was a Chip 'n' Dale Treehouse.

I definitely agree about the DL TR board being slower than the corresponding WDW one. Hopefully people will read my WDW Christmas TR- I'm already thinking about titles!

Calling at 4am was actually not too bad this time around! I got through immediately and made my Wishes reservation for just the date I wanted. Now I just have to hope that it doesn't rain or something ridiculous. I'm really not sure how hard they are to get since getting my ressie was so easy, but I saw this thread:

Illuminations Cruises- what they are and how to book one

and it totally freaked me out! Granted the thread is old and is specifically regarding Illuminations cruises, but I would imagine that a Wishes cruise would be more in demand than Illuminations. Plus, the date that I booked our cruise was for the last day of the holiday season that didn't have the special Holiday Wishes. I bet a lot of people visiting during that time would prefer to book for Holiday Wishes instead! I've seen Holiday Wishes at DL and actually disliked it; the music made me sleepy and the red and green fireworks weren't as bright and colorful. I pretty much *never* watch fireworks b/c there are too many cranky people and they're all stuffed together like sardines! So I'm glad I can watch them now from the safety of my own boat!!

I actually didn't know that there was a Chip 'n' Dale Treehouse either! It's way in the back of TT by Mickey's house, which was closed when I went. TT is really gross IMO. I read in my Imagineering guides that back in the day when it first opened (at WDW), it was called Birthday Land and was intended as a temporary attraction to celebrate Mickey's 60th birthday. I'd prefer the birthday version! Thankfully they're demolishing it soon, at least at WDW.

Hello! Loving the TR, but it's making me feel very nostalgic for DL! I must visit immediately, especially before my most hated Disneyland time of the year rolls around again. I'd like to avoid a 4 hour journey on the 405 and a Christmas time fireworks altercation if at all possible! However, I absolutely love all the Halloween decor photographs. Particularly that weird pumpkin with the guy wearing Mickey ears!

I am extremely disturbed and offended to hear that the trams are now even more inconvenient! Those doors sound like quite the nuisance. Some of us don't have those extra seconds to spare when we roll in 3 minutes before the Tower closes.

Hahaha you really DO need to make a reappearance! Kendra and I were discussing that DL just isn't the same w/out you! I can't get over how many people have screamed at you in the Disney parks lately- like the fireworks woman and the Eeyore woman! Like, seriously?? If I had seen fireworks woman yelling at you I certainly would have given her a piece of my mind! It was so loud that I literally heard nothing and I was standing like a foot behind you. I was thinking back to our crazy long DL commutes and recall 2 *really* bad ones. I thought that the 3 hr one was the Halloween commute but no, I remembered that it was the Hanukkah commute actually! I still am perplexed. And I'm also perplexed as to how we got from the Mickey & Friends parking structure to the tower in less than 6 min twice!!!! We truly had seconds by the time we got to the CA Adv turnstiles. And that woman w/ the stroller couldn't figure out how to use her ticket in front of us! She almost cost us a ride on the tower. Like how do you not understand tickets by 6pm in the evening???

 

[magichusky]

PART 4: That tree is still Swiss to me!!

I left tween bubble boy in the dust and crossed the hub with purpose. I entered AdventureLand and was shocked that I was able to walk freely through the JC/Indy area! Usually my brisk pace is reduced to a lethargic shuffle due to the fact that this region is perpetually bottlenecked. I walked right up to my destination: an attraction that is very dear to my heart, the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse! Excuse me, the Tarzan Treehouse.

Let's all travel back in time to pre-1999 (pre-Swiss eviction) shall we?

Yesterland remembers the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

I remember listening to Julie Andrews give an interview about her memoire, Home, at the Los Angeles Festival of Books. She reminisced about Walt telling her that she was perfect for an upcoming project (haha- not hard to guess which project that was!) but she had to decline as she was pregnant. Walt said: "That's all right, I'll wait." What a great/super smart guy! She also told us about when Walt took her on a tour of DL for the first time. They came upon the treehouse and Walt said, w/ a twinkle in his eye: "And they said only God could make trees!" Love it!!!! Anyway, long tangent short, how dare they evict my dear Swiss family??? Regardless, that tree is still Swiss to me!

Forget Pinocchio's little balcony, can I chill out w/ a Dole Whip here instead?

My comrades love visiting the treehouse w/ me b/c never fail, I insist upon running across the big suspended bridge like a maniac and bouncing everybody around:

A view to the East of the Matterhorn:

A view to the Northeast of BTMR:

A view to the West of HM, SM, the Columbia, and Critter Country (I love this pic):

Do you think anyone would mind if I did some recreational tree-climbing?

A little girl behind me declared: "Mommy, it's a looong way down!" Indeed child, it is:

I refused to take pics of any of the rooms they have set up b/c they threw some excessively unattractive plastic gorillas and jaguars in there to enhance the Tarzan theming. Like, excuse me, plastic??? Anyway, here's a fun pic I took while descending the final staircase:

I made it! Upon reaching the ground, you spill into a rather obnoxious shaded area where small children clang on pots and pans and shake chains or something or other. Guess this is where all the unfortunate souls go who aren't tall enough to ride IJ and wait for big bro and big sis. I turned to my right and at that moment, very much wanted to raft on over to the Temple of the Forbidden Eye by way of this lovely stream:

I love waterfalls!

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

 

[magichusky]

...PART 4 CONTINUED

Just beyond the treehouse is the beginning of my favorite part of DL! I paused to admire the Dream Suite and imagined myself sashaying up the stairs:

Okay: forget the Pinocchio balcony and that dirty treehouse- I'm a takin' my Dole Whip up here if you please! Notice Walt's and Roy's golden initials:

Unfortunately this corridor is rather dark here since by then it was 6pm or so, but they hadn't turned the lights on yet. You should see it at Christmas!

Club 33! I should ding-dong-ditch, just for kicks. How dare that wheelchair invade my photo? My dear friend Kendra has eaten here once! She was 11 or 12 if I'm remembering correctly and had mickey shaped pasta!

This is a beautiful, quiet area in the back of New Orleans; all you can hear is the fountain splashing. I actually recently found a photo of my mom posing here back in the 70s! Of course, my parents have since lost the photo and I think it's somewhere in the black hole/our garage. I'll scan it if I find it!

I decided I'd better get over to CA Adv since I wanted to get some photos over there before it got dark. Plus, I had some unfinished business to take care of... I cut through the edge of Frontierland and popped into my fav western mercantile delight (It's a pretty large store; I've admired everything from scrapbooking supplies to cooking items in there and purchased Minnie Mouse slippers there once!) for a few moments. But first, I admired one of my new favorites: the Halloween tree!

I needed to make a pit-stop but almost forgot: the restrooms at the entrance to Frontierland are by far the most disgusting restrooms in the entire park!!! Guess I'll have to wait. But wait- the restrooms by the train station are the 2nd most disgusting. Guess I'll have to wait a little bit longer! (hey, I unwittingly made a Joe J ref!)

A side note, now that we're talking about restrooms (what a delightful topic): my buddy Laura once discovered on the DIS that there was a secret restroom between Fantasy Land and Frontierland. Secret = clean! The next time we went, we spent quite awhile searching for it! After pulling on quite a few locked/fake doors, we felt like idiots but actually went up to the nearest CM and asked her if there was a secret restroom in the vicinity. She thought we were completely insane and laughed heartily, but informed us that we might be referring to a family restroom that's in the Carnation Plaza. Sure enough, there it was when we ran over there! It's partially hidden, so I guess it's a little "secret." It's a single restroom that you can go into and lock the door, plus it had a diaper changing station. So diaper changers- this is the DL diaper paradise!

I hurried down Main St and everyone was already in position for the evening parade. I usually don't care for parades (mainly due to the insane crowds) so I skedaddled.

I *always* glance up at Walt's light in the window every visit.

Off to California! Wait, aren't I already in CA? (Yes, the name of this park has always perplexed me)

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[UncleOrville]

I am LOVING your report! Hilarious! The part that made me laugh out loud most heartily is this simple sentence: "Fantasy Land was disgusting."

Ahh, I can picture it now.

Oh, and I do believe I can reveal what your Peter Pan snowflake is:

It was clearly a terribly dreary day when I last visited DL! I will have to come visit you and DL when Laura does!

 

[VBsHustla]

Hahaha you really DO need to make a reappearance! Kendra and I were discussing that DL just isn't the same w/out you! I can't get over how many people have screamed at you in the Disney parks lately- like the fireworks woman and the Eeyore woman! Like, seriously?? If I had seen fireworks woman yelling at you I certainly would have given her a piece of my mind! It was so loud that I literally heard nothing and I was standing like a foot behind you. I was thinking back to our crazy long DL commutes and recall 2 *really* bad ones. I thought that the 3 hr one was the Halloween commute but no, I remembered that it was the Hanukkah commute actually! I still am perplexed. And I'm also perplexed as to how we got from the Mickey & Friends parking structure to the tower in less than 6 min twice!!!! We truly had seconds by the time we got to the CA Adv turnstiles. And that woman w/ the stroller couldn't figure out how to use her ticket in front of us! She almost cost us a ride on the tower. Like how do you not understand tickets by 6pm in the evening???

Oh that Halloween one was ridiculous! Remember it took us an hour beforehand to go like a mile, because we had to go to a post office or something random like that. And then we sat in that terrible parking structure for another hour due to the craziest incompetence (the parking passes were free that night?!) I highly preferred our "free" lot and mad dashes via the Grand Californian entrance!

Congrats on the Wishes cruise! Glad to hear it wasn't a huge ordeal.

I'm excited to hear about your next adventures. Hopefully you managed to successfully ride the Tower repeatedly and dominate the high score board at TSM!

I also cannot deal with Splash Mountaineers who are too oblivious to wave to the train. They don't know how lucky they are to be in the perfect spot at the perfect moment. I'm never fortunate enough to experience a train going by when in a log! Also love that Halloween tree!

 

[where's_my_prince]

great TR so far

 

[magichusky]

I am LOVING your report! Hilarious! The part that made me laugh out loud most heartily is this simple sentence: "Fantasy Land was disgusting."

Haha thank you!! And thanks for visiting! I think I'm finally going to move into a 2nd page at this point- people are simply refusing to read my poor little TR!

OF COURSE! It's that darn ship- I can see it now! I love that you had a pic of that specifically. And OMG you really need to come visit! I'll have to introduce you guys to my newest bellhop friends.

Oh that Halloween one was ridiculous! Remember it took us an hour beforehand to go like a mile, because we had to go to a post office or something random like that. And then we sat in that terrible parking structure for another hour due to the craziest incompetence (the parking passes were free that night?!) I highly preferred our "free" lot and mad dashes via the Grand Californian entrance!

Congrats on the Wishes cruise! Glad to hear it wasn't a huge ordeal.

I'm excited to hear about your next adventures. Hopefully you managed to successfully ride the Tower repeatedly and dominate the high score board at TSM!

Hahaha Halloween was insanity! Yes and don't forget the most exciting part of the trip: while stuck on Santa Monica Blvd for an hour, some crazy motorcycle guy w/ a skeleton ski-mask stuck his head through my open window and screamed in my face! I was so surprised I didn't get a chance to retaliate. I don't drive w/ the window open anymore, btw. And we had to go to the post office b/c my dad mailed our APs to the wrong address and we were trying to track them down. I'm convinced now that that post office simply doesn't exist. This area is truly the stupidest.

And also, TSM was totally closed! It was terrible!

great TR so far

Thank you!!

 

[UncleOrville]

Yes and don't forget the most exciting part of the trip: while stuck on Santa Monica Blvd for an hour, some crazy motorcycle guy w/ a skeleton ski-mask stuck his head through my open window and screamed in my face!

WHAT?! You guys had the craziest driving experiences. This, the random gang fight that broke out in front of you. Insanity.

 

[magichusky]

WHAT?! You guys had the craziest driving experiences. This, the random gang fight that broke out in front of you. Insanity.

Hahaha OMG how could I forget that great gang fight?? I was actually *genuinely* concerned in that situation and was ordering Laura to roll her window down and scream at the cars on the other side of us to get out of the way so we could escape. These stupid people were gawking at the fight and simultaneously blocking us in so we couldn't get away from the punch-a-thon that was seriously less than 10 ft away and drawing ever closer! We were on our way to the San Diego Jonas concert that evening! Joe got beaned by an electric blue teddy bear that night:

Joe Jonas hit in the face by a teddy bear

He didn't even see it coming!!!

 

[magichusky]

PART 5: We've run out of hot dogs!

When we left off, I was on my way to California:

I hurried over to Grizzly Bear Rapids to check on the status of the WOC passes. They had started giving out the AP-only passes at 5pm and it was around 6:30pm. Kendra had had a kitty-cat emergency vet appointment to attend so she was running late. (Kit-cat is fine, btw!) I was pretty confused as to where exactly they were dispensing these passes from- all I saw were the GBR machines. I had seen WOC once before in June w/ my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins and knew there were passes to be had in the rapids area, but my Aunt was the one who got the passes so I had never done it myself. I saw a CM by the gift shop and asked him where the WOC machines were. "Right around the corner." So I passed the GBR machines and walked around the corner. There was a roped off queue heading in that direction so I got in and followed it- all the way to a dead end! Another CM was standing there and unfastened the rope so I could get out of the queue. He was probably thinking "where is that crazy girl going??". I asked him where the WOC passes were and got another vague answer. I finally deduced that the WOC passes were being dispensed from the GBR machines! There truly were NO signs indicating this. I have no idea how an average Joe would figure this out. I had no idea that you even had to get a WOC pass until a friend told me- I thought you could just walk up like Fantasmic or something.

On my way back down the path, I took a few pics to pretend like I totally meant to go over there:

This is the last segment of GBR. You may think you triumphed by escaping a soak. I have seen many a guest w/ that triumphant glow... until they encountered this huge geyser!!! (It doesn't hit every raft though, so it's just the luck of the draw)

I noted that the WOC passes were still available, so I went on my merry way. I passed the Redwood Challenge Trail and remembered that I was planning on dragging Kendra in here later! I turned around and snapped a pic of my bear friend since I had the perfect angle. I don't get why this isn't visible to guests as they enter the park? You have to be all the way over on the other side of the park to be able to see this guy.

As mentioned earlier, I had some unfinished business. On my previous visit, I had noticed a great guy walking around w/ a huge stuffed daschund wearing a hot dog bun. I decided that it must be a prize of some sort! So I of course turned on my heel immediately and headed to the pier. Sure enough, there were those hot dogs! You had to throw little baseballs into a target and throw 3 strikes w/ 8 balls. I can totally do this! I bought a game and wound up dinking out w/ only 2 strikes. I'm terribly competitive so I was actually seething about this for the rest of the day- like I was on the tower and didn't even hear Rod Serling b/c I was thinking about that blasted hot dog! So I vowed that on my next visit, I would return for the dog. The night before this day I totally practiced w/ a little ball and a hat and was full on prepared for the fight! I was power walking w/ confidence towards my beloved hot dog...

When I got to the booth, there were only a bunch of stuffed Caseys hanging on the rack. Ummm, there better be some hot dogs hidden in the back! I accosted a nearby CM and described the dog. "Oh, we ran out of hot dogs! We only have Caseys left." Whaaat in the Disney world?! I love how I'm apparently the only one who can't win this game. Now I was seething AND forlorn.

They were testing the equipment for that evening's upcoming WOC shows. My concrete bear buddy roared w/ laughter at me off in the distance. Hot dog! See that big blue wall in the background w/ all that construction? Voyage of the Little Mermaid!!! Opening 2011 (hey, that's not too far away!).

This carousel is always more packed than the King Arthur equivalent. Beats me? Although I do love the sign:

I was still dejected about my hot dog. So I decided to California Scream it off by way of the single riders line:

A little tween girl and I took the elevator over to the other side of the tracks and she adored my stuffed Nemo hat. I told her that it was great for cold weather but pretty much you just get a whole bunch of people screaming at you: "OMG! Look! I found Nemo!!!!" The first time it happened it was pretty funny, but these days the tally's up to around 50 or so! CS was a great pick-me-up! The woman I was seated next to asked me nervously: "Have you ever done this one before?" "Why yes, about a zillion times!" Then I started babbling about how they use a technique w/ magnetic linear induction to accelerate the train from 0 to 60mph in like 2.6 sec! Haha I'm such a dork.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

 

[magichusky]

...PART 5 CONTINUED

Anyway, I started back towards the park entrance to wait for Kendra. Here's a pic of construction of the new Cars Land behind the wharf. It looks like that structure will eventually be Test Track. Ugh- CA Adv is so ugly these days w/ all the construction!

Two of my fav things: The Little Mermaid and the tower.

So annoying that the tower is only accessible these days by walking through Bug's Land. Definitely not my fav.

At this point it was around 7pm or so so I sat down on those concrete ledges that zig-zag through the sun fountain area, which is just beyond the Golden Gate bridge. There was almost no one else lounging here so it was quite tranquil. Kendra called and was stuck in traffic, but could see CA Adv from where she was! Apparently there was a light out along Harbor Blvd. which stupidly backed up traffic for miles. While I was talking w/ Kendra, all of a sudden a 1.5 yr old boy comes toddling around the corner atop the ledge, escorted by his mother who was walking alongside the ledge and holding his hand. They walked right up to me, to within 2 ft, and were seriously standing there staring at me and waiting for me to get out of the way so they could proceed! There was truly about 5 miles of ledge they could traverse through that abandoned area that didn't include the square foot I was using. I looked up at them and they continued to stare and wait! Hahaha how strange! As Kendra was complaining about the traffic on the phone, I indignantly gathered up my belongings, got up, and stepped aside. The mother smiled at me. "Oh, thank you." "Uuuhh, okay?" People are the weirdest.

Moving on. Kendra is en route and I told her I would meet her by the sun fountain. I'm suddenly starving and consider running back to DL for some Blue Ribbon goodness.

Oh dear, but there isn't enough time for that! So I distract myself w/ Bruce:

That window display has been around for as long as I can remember. If they ever disassemble that thing I'll be extremely upset! I went inside the CA Adv candy store to check out their baked goods. Maybe I don't need to run all the way over to Blue Ribbon after all?

The prices in here were ludicrous! Disney, I refuse to pay $3.75 plus tax for a single oreo dipped in chocolate. I dinked around in the adjoining store for a little while more and was dumbstruck by the sheer volume of people in there scooping up autograph books, shirts, sweatshirts, pencils, hats, and pretty much anything else you could imagine. It was a madhouse! Super strange since the park seemed so empty at that moment. But I did happen upon this fabulous shirt that featured not only Ariel, but Alice and the Cheshire Cat, too! I decided I really needed it immediately...

...until I checked the price tag. $36! Disney, I refuse to pay $36 for a shard of printed cotton. Plus, v-necks generally look stupid on me anyway. I passed the bakery area for about the 50th time. Nope, the oreo still isn't worth $4. I went back outside.

Ugh! So hungry! No time! Kendra's coming! I was starting to turn blue w/ Blue Ribbon fever. Would I make a run for it???

TO BE CONTINUED...