Matt's 2017 Spring Dapper Day Trip Report

[ashley0139]

Loving the trip report! Fun Frozen pictures - you saw my favorite Elsa!

Mmmm Dole Whips. I could go for one right now.

 

[whoever]

Yep, I didn't love the trolls either. I thought they looked strange, but I was sitting all the way up in the balcony and didn't realize it was human skin showing through the masks. Strange they would not use make-up.

It's strange what you can see through a paparazzi lens...

I also love YOUR tiki/Dole Whip t-shirts. Where did you get them?

http://disneydesignerland.blogspot.com/2013/02/cast-your-vote-now.html

I have 3 or 4 different styles. They were offered in various color iterations/sleeve lengths... I bought one of every variety offered. On Charlotte's, we made them for the entire family ourselves with the permission of the artist.

 

[whoever]

Victoria happened to be clamoring for Its A Small World. Katherine and I weren't terribly interested, so we decided to head up to Toon Town, grab some Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin, and do some browsing at the Gag Factory.

Now for some of my inner Disney Geekdom... I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of this... I've had $ down on it for FOUR years... and it's finally coming...I'll have to do another Disney prop thread at some point. Between my Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin, Rocketeer, Indy, and Roger Rabbit stuff, I'm like the Disney Archives...

Katherine found a great beach blanket with vintage Minnie on it for Victoria which matched the hats the girls had worn the previous day. I really enjoyed my Signature Premium pass.. I think the discount pays for the cost of the pass itself over a year's worth of purchases, so that means I get to go to Disneyland for free (I keep selling it to myself that way, but I know I'd actually save five figures if I just quit going)

We ventured back down by IASW and waited for them to conclude their voyage. I couldn't help but notice the little things...

There's always that ONE rose which is perfect..

Vic doesn't know what she's waving at and Char is just kicking back

While we were waiting for our FP to mature, we kicked around Toon Town. I don't really understand the hatred for TT other than the lack of shade. I think it’s GREAT. I LOVE the details and interactive nature of it all.

Our FP finally mature, into the FP queue we went. The RRCS is one of the BEST queues in the entire park. Indy's being the only real contender. I was almost sad to bypass it.

Even the loading area is full of awesome theming.

Kids LOVE the interactive play areas. I wish Disney could keep things fresh and repaired here. The fireworks detonator was missing and one of the bars was missing as well.

It's the details which make Toon Town so great.

You know what is missing? Duckburg and the money bin!!!! We NEED that. Maybe with the reboot of Ducktales it will regain popularity?

How many people actually stop and take it all in. The details of it all. Shame Eisner canned the second level/exterior plans for Roger Rabbit..it would have been EPIC.

 

[McNs]

The basic EXIF is exposed on the pictures so if you have an exif viewer plugin for your browser, you should be able to see most of the info. Everything is shot in manual mode, sometimes AF is on, sometimes not. I seldom if ever touch the WB during a trip so the only variables are focal length (I shoot primes and zoom lens), ISO, Aperture, and shutter speed.

Sorted - got the EXIF plugin. I'm contemplating a camera upgrade this year but don't have ahuge budget, maybe $700USD. Thinking either an enthusiast compact for the size benefit or an entry level mirrorless/DSLR. Figured before I do anything I need to understand photography a bit more to make the most of whatever I get.

 

[whoever]

Sorted - got the EXIF plugin. I'm contemplating a camera upgrade this year but don't have ahuge budget, maybe $700USD. Thinking either an enthusiast compact for the size benefit or an entry level mirrorless/DSLR. Figured before I do anything I need to understand photography a bit more to make the most of whatever I get.

Hmm... good glass is pretty pricey. I think I got my first DSLR Body for like a grand back in the day (D80 with an 18-35mm f/3.5-5.6). The lens was quickly retired for better glass and eventually I moved up to full frame and most of the glass are four figures or multiples of that number.

 

[whoever]

We had a 18:10 reservation at Blue Bayou, so it was time to bid adieu to Toon Town and start making our way over to NOS. Katherine and I set out ahead of the rest of the group as they had to make a bathroom break. On the way, we happened to stop in to Red Rose Taverne to inquire about the rose sippers. Sold out for at least 6 weeks according to the lady manning the register. Oh well... EBay it will be..

Not to make the out of the way trip through Fantasyland a complete failure, Katherine and I decided to grab a Churro to split between the two of us to raise our spirits. While we were eating it, who do we see, but Belle and the Beast. They weren't doing photo ops, and were on the move, but I didn't let that stop me..

Once our Churro had been depleted, we ventured over to NOS to meet up with the rest of the family for a quest after cursed treasure.

I mentioned a few changes I noticed in one of the previous installments of this TR. Turns out I got better pictures of them on this trip through the attraction..

The Skull projection behind the waterfall after the second drop:

The red seaweed which was not there before:

OK, I can't decide which of these next four I like the best. Let's make it a vote...

Do you like #1:

#2:

#3:

or.... #4?

I'm especially fond of that gold tooth up front.

We continued on unencumbered and what did we witness but a pile of gold..

And while I debunked the "Pope Donut" myth earlier in this TR, there WAS in the past 5 years a lightsaber in this barrel. It's gone now, but I'll look for one of my pics from back then when it was still there one of these days.

If you are ever captured by pirates and dunked into a well, just remember... Don't be Chiiiiikin!!

When in doubt... show them your larboard side..

This guy NEVER smiles. Doesn't he know he's at Disneyland?

Remember when this guy's foot got cleaned a few years back? Glad to see it's dirty again.

When we emerged, it was 18 minutes before our reservation time. I went up anyway after a brief wait, checked in, and asked for water-side. I was told it would be 45-60. I said SURE!! I gave my number to get the text, and off we went to take in all NOS had to offer...

The Bootstrappers happened to be playing right outside the entrance to the Court of Angels..

Vic hamming it up through a shop window..

We took a break in Magnolia park and my continuously wandering eye spotted a creepy sight..

As our allotted reservation time rolled around what do I find... a text indicating our table was ready... waterside with zero wait.. crazy good luck..

The MSEP dinner menu:

I ended up getting the Bone-In Ribeye.. practically rare as they always go over doneness so best to be safe. Amy got the Pan-seared Salmon... a great staple here. I went for the Louisiana Spiced Shrimp for my starter, Amy got the Gumbo... both are solid choices and a difficult decision between the two. Wen elected for Crème Brule for dessert... the best choice.

The kids ended up with one Cheesy Macaroni and tow Bee Strip Loin ordered... "As rare as you can make it".

A round of Louisiana Lemonade and Mint Juleps rounded out the fare.

Charlotte always has a goofy or cute pose at the ready..

The Bayou was quiet this evening..

My shrimp starter was delicious... a perfectly cleaned plate was all the server needed remove..

The Ribeye... I usually go for the surf and turf, but Ribeye has so much more flavor than filet... the garlic herb butter ensured an even better experience. I LOVE haricot vertes, and the smoked fontina gouda Mac & Cheese was a great pairing.

When it comes to dessert, there are literally only about 3 I tend to go for. Crème Brule, Tiramisu, and Key Lime Pie. That trio can't be surpassed. Only one was offered here.

Our expensive meals consumed, we were handed tickets AND lighted lanyards which we MUST wear to be admitted to the preferred seating for the MSEP. The kids quickly donned theirs and figured out how to change the colors, blink patterns, etc.

 

[Canadian Girl 77]

I like #4 the best!

 

[whoever]

I like #4 the best!

Tally commenced

 

[McNs]

#4 for me too - shows the scene better.

 

[Angrose]

I vote for #4 as well...that gold tooth, I never noticed it before! I also never noticed the parrot skeleton on the perch. I guess I don't see very well in the dark, lol!

It's strange what you can see through a paparazzi lens...


http://disneydesignerland.blogspot.com/2013/02/cast-your-vote-now.html

I have 3 or 4 different styles. They were offered in various color iterations/sleeve lengths... I bought one of every variety offered. On Charlotte's, we made them for the entire family ourselves with the permission of the artist.

Thank you so much for the link. I will contact the artist. My DH is an artist so I definitely know that it's NOT cool to use an image without permission. That has happened to him too many times!

 

[whoever]

Warning: This thread is entirely pics of the MSEP. Amy remembered it from her childhood at WDW so she wasn't going to miss it and I have a pic or three of EVERY float/in-between segment. For the record and this was unanimous... Paint the Night blows it away. Sometimes Nostalgia is just that...

After dinner, we had a little time left before we had to start heading towards Main Street. Since we were here celebrating Charlotte's Birthday, she got a special present. There's a cart by cart by Cafe Orleans which sells Parasols with personalization. Charlotte wanted one of those... it wasn't Katherine's gift of an only her and the parents trip with lunch at Club 33, but Charlotte didn't seem to mind. She got Mulan, her name, and every panel filled with decorations. We were told it wouldn't be available until much later so we headed over towards Main Street browsing slowing the entire way we went. As we finally neared the square, we entered from the West side, turned down the middle and were taken under the rope. We were disappointed to find practically no open space but we ended up at the east end next to the garbage cans standing a row back from the rope sandwiched in..

The cheer crew was out in full force pitting one side of the street against each other.

The parade started at 20:30... It was a FULL 21 minutes before the FIRST float rounded Main Street at the Train Station... whew... We passed the time looking and longing..

First up was the ICONIC train pulling the giant drum with the parade title plastered on it.

Next up was one of several turtle/tortoise..

And snails.

And a butterfly on a giant toadstool with a lady bug down below... was this a sign of what would be next?

A bumble bee filled the void before....

A white rabbit..

And what do I spy... that same toad stool only now who sits atop it but Alice instead of the butterfly...and who below it.. why the disappearing Cheshire Cat instead of the lady bug. Me thinks somebody drank what should not have been drunken.

And low and behold, the butterfly has laid eggs and those eggs hatched into caterpillars...

Random Escargot thrown in for good measure..

And a mature caterpillar (you can tell because he's smoking the toadstool hookah..

This toad catching the fly was great...

There is that second tortoise

And that second bumble bee..

 

[whoever]

I vote for #4 as well...that gold tooth, I never noticed it before! I also never noticed the parrot skeleton on the perch. I guess I don't see very well in the dark, lol!

#4 seems to be a unanimous favorite...I've got quite a few of the skeleton parrot. It's a good gag with the sleeping cap.

Thank you so much for the link. I will contact the artist. My DH is an artist so I definitely know that it's NOT cool to use an image without permission. That has happened to him too many times!

I started begging him to do another run in 2012. He finally did one in early 2013 and I bought six of his silk screened shirts. We wanted to do a family montage, so I asked him if I could do some iron-ons for the kids since he didn't offer children's sizes/one-sies and he said sure, just post a photo on the blog. I did, but I can't find the photo. Here's Katherine wearing the same shirt Charlotte was wearing in this trip report. Nobody knows what happened to the Onesie or Charlotte's shirt.

 

[whoever]

Rats... Ha! He (Dad) never would have made it past the rats! He hates rats! He's scared to death of 'em! I know. We had one in the basement once. Guess who had to go down there and kill it? And I was only six!

OK, I guess. they are mice... but who could they possibly be proceeding...

Why it's Cinderelliii

And an entire court... who must be proceeding...

Prince Charming... and he's holding a glass slipper!!!

Who is also there futily trying it on? Drizella and Anastasia!!

CLEARLY followed by yet another entorouage.

Big Ben? Who could it possibly be?

OK, I just have to say, this has to be my favorite float of the parade.. The Jolly Roger might as well have been the Wicked Wench. I thad smoke and cannon fire....

Poor Smee... left to a skiff..

Pixies... why did it have to be pixies.. .very dangerous.. you go first..

Oh.. it's Tink!!

 

[whoever]

And here come the dwarves... next you know it will be orcs...

Dopey pulling the jewel train..

Snow White the whirling Dervish

Getting Sassy

Sleepy..asleep on the job..

Backstreet boys or donkey boys... They seriously looked like they were going to bust a move.

Loved this Pleasure Island Float.

Pete and his Dragon was my second favorite float..

Pete was having a blast..

And the Finale... it was a great multi-float-float. I LOVED the fireworks which kept going off and exploding.. so good. A solid #3 for me.

 

[whoever]

I'm going to interrupt this TR because I'm doing cartwheels down the hallway... My flying carpet arrived today!!!! I've been waiting on this for 10 months...

 

[whoever]

Kids need to work on their choreography

 

[whoever]

The parade wrapped up around..21:10. Amy went back to retrieve the parasol by herself while I took a sleeping Vic, a Riding Char, and a shouldered Katherine.... it was painful and I was overloaded with a heavy camera bag lugging three girls...Katherine dropped off my shoulders at World of Disney. We walked through just to quickly get a glimpse of what we needed later on in the trip before we left and we finally arrived at the room at 21:25.

Morning found us early yet again. Amy was bound and determined to have the room packed up completely with only me sent back for check out and bell services so we were hustling to plan what we needed for the day vs. what could go in the 12-14 checked items we had...

It was 07:24 before we left the room before an 08:00 DL EMH. It was going to be tight..

I always love this fountain... sometimes it's rocking high, sometimes just gurgling away..

Char's hair was just awesome here..

And Katherine's hair still wet from her shower..

Due to our late start, we were WAYYYY back from rope drop.. at the Candy Palace of all places...

A glance behind us was no better, EMH was FILLED to the square..

As this was our only DL EMH during our entire trip, our first stop was an obvious Peter Pan... sadly.. it was NOT RUNNING for EMH (seriously, DL. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER). PP is a 50% readiness for any EMH. Just get those CMs there 15 mins early... seriously.. )

We quickly re-routed, made a decision between Dumbo and Alice and Alice won out.

The Alice update has to be one of the seamless combinations of projection and practical... the tumble down the rabbit hole has never been better.

The twins as practical.

The flowers as a combination of practical and projection.

Good ole caterpillar as practical.. sorry for the grainy photo

The Cheshire cat a combination of practical and projection... so good.

The cards painting the roses... again, seemlessly blending projection and practical.

The queen looks great every time..

And the queen emulating Amy as she appears to me every couple days...

Projected guards are a slight improvement over the old painted ones..

The vine... I'm old enough to remember it when it was a real vine and not the garbage it has become...

Not too long ago, the vine was still close to this... such a shame.

Love the tea party... always a good time.

We quickly checked Peter once were off... still down.. (Again.. seriously, Disney get your stuff together). Dumbo had a HUGE line by now as a result, so we hit teacups..

Char was happy NOT to share a teacup with anybody but me..

 

[KristinE33]

I loved this trip report! Love all your pics and your eye for all the details, all the reasons we love Disney the way we do! I enjoyed this so much I had to go read all your other trip reports... Thank you for helping me keep my addiction under control until i can finally feed it again... I'll just live vicariously through you and your beautiful family. Great reporting. Thank you.

 

[whoever]

By the time we got off the Tea Cups it was 8:23. We decided to try PP... it was open, and they were just leading people through the queue... unfortunately, this is where the line started...yes, by the old Frozen M&G...seriously? Oh well, this was going to be our only chance, so into line we jumped to burn the rest of our EMH...

Atleast I was afforded some time to survey the surroundings for some shots..

Ever get that feeling you are being watched?

And away we go..... appologize for the graininess ahead of time. Shooting f/2.8 and Peter Pan don't go hand in hand.

Remember me saying I shoot wide open? This scene could have benefited from stopping down from f/2.8. It probably would have been great at about f/4 to get everybody in focus... sadly, there would be no way to capture the pic at that aperture..

Entering Neverland is truly my favorite part of the attraction... I LOVE this show scene.

I honestly don't know how to get this scene right. It definitely needs f/1.4 and a longer shutter than 1/80 but on a moving ride vehicle in full manual mode with manual focus, I simply can't do it.

Smee is another elusive one... f/2.8 isn't getting it done.

 

[whoever]

I loved this trip report! Love all your pics and your eye for all the details, all the reasons we love Disney the way we do! I enjoyed this so much I had to go read all your other trip reports... Thank you for helping me keep my addiction under control until i can finally feed it again... I'll just live vicariously through you and your beautiful family. Great reporting. Thank you.

I have several partially started TRs or not even started ones to get to after this... Stay tuned... I'll be getting to them.. Appreciate the kind words.