MY "ADVENTURES n DISNEYLAND, CATALINA ISLAND & OTHER ASSORTED STUFF" TR; SEPT '15 (W/PICS & VIDEO)

[knewton64]

So I was having fun earlier today

meeting these two for the very first time.
and as I was entering their que, I innocently was joking in a low keyed sort of way with the Photographer.

Well, my turn came before I knew it and WHAM!! There they were.
I just walked right up to them & said that it was such a nice thing to finally be meeting them because in the morning, I have to return to my Home Country.

Anna asked me where my home country was & I replied.....without missing a beat, "Reality-land."

Both she and Elsa break into a small smile. We converse for about another minute, then I knew it was time to say our goodbyes. And with that, I turned towards the two of them and said that, "I am going to leave now and go outside to drink some .......
(slight pause for comedic effect)

FROZEN lemon aide.


Wait!!
It gets better!


I walk 1 step to my right and the photographer looks into my eyes and says while shaking his head,

"Let it Go Man, Let it Go."


And as was taking one more step, I slyly looked over my shoulder and saw BOTH Anna & Elsa's eyes as big as saucers with their cheeks all puffed out with their hand over their mouth with a slight bend in the knee with their heads slightly bowed downward.......

- (they were doing their best NOT to laugh) -

5 seconds later, all was well in the land of Anna & Elsa.



All in good Disney fun, all in Disney fun I stress.





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

I'M BRINING BACK THE 'TR MOOD MUSIC' CUZ.........

(with a wee bit of some mood music to help set the tone)
pppssstttt!!! Just double right click w/yer computer mouse over the above video & it will play 4 u

and as an extra bonus......
how about some music from Downtown Disney and David Wayne??

The reason why I am doing this is
.....I'm seeing that you can listen to it while reading this TR.
(its only good for that page that u r on)





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Ok, so it was 9:15pm last night & what was I doing??


Experiencing watching the Disneyland fireworks from the swimming pool area of PP while nibbling on some much needed........
beef nachos & coke soda with grenadine.


It was a very nice way to help bring to a close what has been a very beautiful and enriching adventure.
So, with my body being pushed, pulled, stretched, thrown around, bent and so on........
I am about to embark on my trademark thing that I always do on departure day.............


which IMHO lessens the "sting" of having to return to well......'Reality-land."



Which is to have a 4-hour Spa retreat.
Which is what I am about to do next of at all places -

THE GRAND (I have found out that that's what the locals call the Grand Californian).


Yes, more pics & video forthcoming and a much more in depth TR is in store for those of you kind enough to be reading this TR......once I return to the DFW area.




Just remember:


1) IMHO, 'Carpet' steals the show from Jeannie in the musical, "Aladdin" and deserves two "tassles up" for its performance

&.......
2) when you have some Cajun Lemon-aid at Blue Bayou (like I did last night),
be sure and tell them that the food was great & so was the atmosphere..........

why you ask the Greeters there at the restaurant??



(Hold out your hand and show them your Cajun lemon aid drink glow in the dark diamond-shaped cube glow in the dark souvineer) and say, "Because you are such a 'Diamond n the Rough')




OKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOK......... I will stop while I am ahead.





ONWARD TO THE GRAND -




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

** WOWZERS!! **
What an adventure this has been but all good things need to come to a close so other doors can open.

So,
through the powers that be, I have now magically landed back at LAX now and am chillin' out over some DISney music & DISboards.



Lookin' forward to decompressing a bit back at home, picking up L.B.
n the am.


In the meantime, I've got a serious 'date' with a local Subway restaurant when I touch down n2 the DFA area....


P.S.S. Give me a few days to decompress and come down from this & yes, u will c Yours Truly jump back n and expand out this TR.


T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Gotta luv it!! Been sleeping these last 17 of 36 hours!!
Been just a wee bit sleepy.....ya think?


ANYWHO -
been having fun decompressing from what has been a very enchanting, fun and quite intensive adventure -


got all the pics & video edited down to what I want (from 19 gigs to 16 gigs).....



Am about now to set foot in a 'way back' machine of sorts now and re-tell a bit of what I have experienced in hopes that others can see and enjoy just a bit of all things Disney from a big kid at heart.




Gonna take me a few weeks so please be patient -
so without further adieu, here is

MY DAY ONE -




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

"OH THE FOOD & DRINK I COULD GET AWAY WITH"

....and the craziest part of all of this is I stepped on the scale yesterday and saw that I only gained TWO pounds from this whole adventure!!
(pssttt!!!! the pic above is of some tasty clam chowder n a bread bowl)



DAY ONE
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 15TH
SUNNY SKIES W/HIGH TEMP 88 DEGREES


I arrived at LAX around 8:30am Eastern and not a moment to soon as I could tell I was wired and ready for this adventure.....and I carried quite a inquiry to find and ferret out new foods and drink that I haven't experienced before -


So after relaxing in my private town car transfer for about 45 minutes (great way to decompress after a long airline flight), I was dropped off at PPH -


Room wasn't ready but no worries, as it meant I could enjoy hitting up the Parks asap!!
And hit it up I did as surprisingly I found it to be quite easy to find the entrance of DL & DCA with DCA being my first stop and a very serious date with some much needed lunch:



and -


while there of course, I 'just had to' taste test their bread.....




and with that up underneath me, it was time of course to boogy on over next door for -



By now, I was getting into a "literary mood" and just had to try one of their "Treasure Islands" -


and -

(one of the m-a-n-y times I hit up the place 4 my chocolate 'fix')


That put me around 1pm ish or so and surprisingly, I was just in the mood to wander the both parks and not see what I had planned earlier to see on this day; Aladdin. Gonna have to push seeing that to another day cuz I was just havin' too much fun seeing both parks.


Here is a quick video 4 ya -

**JUST DOUBLE RIGHT CLICK W/YER COMPUTER MOUSE OVER THE ABOVE VIDEO & IT WILL PLAY 4 U**



and -



and -


and of course.....
sorry Mickey, but I like this house the best:



Was fun and quite a treat to see both parks with no deadline to meet or place I 'just had to be at by a certain time' and b4 I knew it, it began to be time for me to boogy on over to the Grand for 8:30pm dinner reservations at this place:



How was it and what did I nibble on for food & drink??
(and what time did I decide to tumble n2 bed??)


Stay tuned




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

On the way towards wandering around in the parks, I just had to check out the Disneyland hotel -

(luv their swimming pool!!)


...to check out some of the Disneyland Hotel pictures 'and what not' history:
(located near the elevators 1st floor) -


and


was fun seeing some of these pics as well -





and of course.....




Now......
about that Napa Rose dinner reservations -



T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all

 

[knewton64]

(what was the first of many birthday celebrations for Yours Truly)



So before I knew it, it was getting to be about that time for me to check out the Grand and their signature restaurant:

Napa Rose.


Never been there and really didn't know what to expect as I was coming off of a fun but lot of walking day out in the Disney parks and well......I brought a good case of the 'hungries.'


and to make things even more interesting, my evening was spent at the Chef's table -



Here is a video of him n action:

(just double left click w/yer computer mouse over the above video & it will play 4 u)


I was enjoyin' nibbling of various food and drink all day, plus I had a big day ahead of me out at Universal Studios - so I wasn't in the mood for a heavy meal. So I opted enstead for some nice soup and salad:


followed by -
......YYUUUMMMM!!!!!


It was really a treat to sit at the Chef's table and watch (I think his name was Patrick) at work and everyone around him.....combined that with the wine I had with my meal just really made it a fun way to end what was a really fun and enchanting first day here at Disneyland.
Yes, would go back to Napa Rose if I had the chance - from the bread and butter (they give you when you first arrive) to the wine
and especially to the staff's attentiveness, I luved it.


Some of the after dinner food looked just divine:


Was fun too during my meal they had me try samples -

(ok.....this is nice) - THANK YOU NAPA ROSE.....I REALLY ENJOYED MYSELF.....thank you all for a really fun and enjoyable time.



Anywho -
Soon, it was about 11pm ish and time for me to check out my room and surroundings back at PPH.




T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all

 

[knewton64]

Well.....considering I was out in the Disney parks for approximately 15 hours a days.......

(my home for the next 7 days.....room #841 at PPH)


and
the view from the window was still - pretty nice:

(view of their swimming pool area)


and yes, look what was waiting for me....just on top of the tv console -

**ppssttt!!! That's my Ipod and speakers.....so I could listen to Disney music 24/7 **


As I am writing this, yes - I did remember that PPH Front Desk did say that my room (#841) was ready & I did pop in to see it but it was very brief. Now that I am back at the hotel, I was able to drink it all in and it was a lot of fun seeing all those things you see on videos and such



but to actually see them now RIGHT THERE in front of you just made it all that more special:

I HAVE ARRIVED -



The very first thing I did was run a very hot bubble bath of H20 products and threw my bod n that crazy concoction of elixers that would become a nightly ritual for me. Lights out finally came for me around 1am.



I was having fun but never knew what kinda fun was just around the corner for me at Universal Studios....




UP NEXT:
Kickin' it out and Universal Studios and why I think Mr. Mario Lopez is soooooooooooo over-rated....




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

** MS BETTY BOOP, I WILL ALWAYS CARRY A TOUCH 4 YE**


I will admit, she was so funny and sweet to talk to..........


DAY TWO
Wednesday September 16th
High temp of 86 degrees



Anywho -
Mickey Mouse came 'screaming' at me via my 5am wake up call.....Gheesh la weesh!! hearing someone soooooooooooooooo chipper like that after 4 hours of sleep??!!! Hmmmm......me thinks Mickey needs to switch to De-caf!!

But I knew he meant well - so up I was for a very relaxing H20 bubblebath, blooged a bit, then was out that door at 7:30am for a bus ride to Universal Studios. The driver was hilarious and kept us all laughing for the aprox 45 minute ride.

Soon , the familiar globe appeared -



and sure enough, I spied Mario Lopez and company just right outside the entrance to the park and had a very brief 'hello' with him....

IMHO, he just comes across as not a Michael Strahan (of 'Live with Kelly & Michael') nor like the physical presence of Wendy Williams....... he is very very short in stature and just didn't match up to his tv personality from "Saved by the Bell" and just had an overall personality of soft serve vanilla ice cream.

Now, Hoda Kotb (of Kathy Lee & Hoda tv show) ROCKS!!


ANYWHO -

(me and the entrance of Universal Studios)


soon, I found the all too familiar VIP tour check in area (just to the right when you first enter the gates):



said my hellos to the check in people and than made my way upstairs to meet my other fellow travelers for the day:


but suddenly, all that food just caught my attention reeaalll qquiiicckk!
(just to the right of the tv)




I made a bee-line to the ham & cheese croissant sandwiches you see off on your left!!
YYUUMM!!!!! I had seven.....YES 7 of them in nothing flat - they were fantabolous!!
.....along with some much needed Bonine - something I found out really helped me later on in the day while riding The Mummy and Jurassic Park.



.....and I just 'had' to follow up with some much needed after breakfast munchies:


combine that with a lot of Orange juice and I felt I was wired.......
ready to be pushed, pulled, jerked and just made into a Human yo-yo on all their rides.


And ride we did!




DETAILS COMING UP -




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

AND YES.....I DID bring Scooby a 'Scooby Snack'

(he was very appreciative and allowed me to scratch him behind his left ear)



Ok....so where did I leave off??


That's right! So - after our introductions (34 total people in our group) & meeting our very nice Tour Guide, we were off to hit the park ....and hit it we did. The first half of the day, we were shown the Park and rode every single ride!! Yes, I repeat, we rode all the rides ....with me riding on row one all of them.

(ONLY 7.....SEVEN OF THE 34 PEOPLE IN OUR TOUR GROUP RODE THIS ONE! ME?? SHOOT!! I WAS ON ROW ONE LUVIN' EVERY MINUTE OF IT) -

Just remember what the evil Dude says right before ya go in:
"JOIN US OR D-I-E!!"


The drop and the very end of this one ROCKED!!



and the inner acting with the characters really just made my day even more fun.....
including talking with -



and -

(doncha luv the look on confusion on my face)



and of course, ya can't ferget this attraction -



Just wished it was open -



(just click yer heels 3 times and say, "In 180 more days, in 180 more days....)



Time was flying by and before I knew it,
it was time for lunch -




Q: Now....take a wild guess what was the very first thing I had to eat??
Give up??

A: It's on the far right of the above pic....
CREPES!!


What you wanted to munch on, they had -




and the after lunch munchies were just outta dis world!!






The views from the outdoor terrace?? - WOWZERS!!



My overall impression of Universal Studios is that they have done EVERYTHING up just right; from the food to the atmosphere to the shows.


But wait!!

(I realllllllyyyyy wanntteedddd a "Big Pink" but couldn't as I felt yyeess,,,, I am able to multi-task but that's tooooo much of a donut to be eating and walking at the same time while in a tour group.....hehehehehehehehehehe.....).....even though, yes - we had some OYO time around 5:15pm on and I spent that time souvineer shopping -



Q: What holds for the 2nd half of my day????



Stay tuned -




UP NEXT:
Seeing Universal Studios back lot




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

** QUICK!! CAN YOU NAME HOW MANY TV SHOWS OR MOVIES THEY HAVE FILMED BACK HERE??**


It was about after lunch that we slowly made our way onto our tour trolley and entered n2 the world of their back lot which was small & compact n nature but I tell ya what, there is a lot of history back there and a lot of things they showed us really held my attention:

from 'saying our hellos' to Bruce the shark



to seeing some very familiar backgrounds we have all seen in their movies -



and something that caught me off guard, is that they also shoot tv commercials in the back lot as well.

We even made on way onto a 2-story Hospital set and I tell ya what, it was sooooo much fun seeing a fully dressed set like that - complete with elevators and a gift shop.

Ummmmmmm, the only problem was I rreeallllllly wanted to go open the door to the gift shop and look around BUT.......I knew I would be 'soooooo busted' so I refrained!!


But I tell ya, that gift shop was soooo freakin' detailed!! Right down to get well cards to flowers.....really was fun to see!!

and the walls of the Hospital?? Made outta wood about 2 inches thick with the background simulating any kind of daylight or dusk or whatever being a drap of just like that they move to be in front of a background like that to simulate day, evening or night.



WAY COOL!!
Was really fun to see how movie and tv magic was done. From seeing Wisteria Lane was also formerly the neighborhood of 1313 Mockingbird Lane.....which was also where the Beav and Wally lived was soooo much fun to see.

Some other things we experienced was the new King Kong ride and the earthquake scene.......very campy n nature but still .....fun to see.



ANYWHO -
Soon, it was time for us to check out their prop department -


and to see some complete sets waiting to be signed off on -


even down to a complete 1940's switchboard to row after row after row of rolling chairs, couches, lamps, etc from the past 80 years......was really a sight to see.


We ended our Guided tour with a showing of -



Very cute - luved it. Too much I add cuz then in flashed a thought bubble of Ladybug
and I began to get just a little wet in the eyes

..........just then I remembered the piece of advice I gave her and used some reverse psy on me and all was well before I knew it.



So around 5:15pm, we had some OYO time & I debated on whether to c the last ride I haven't seen (Shrek) or souvenir shop ------hmmmmm......I chose both.


I mean, why not?? I am an vacation.
and seeing Shrek really put a fun end on what has been quite a fun and very entertaining day. Yes, I was feeling like quite a Human yo-yo but I felt like I was in my element and just having the time of my life.

and besides......
one of the things I bought was.........

a Betty Boop lanyard pin.



ANYWHO -
We had to put a temp end to all our fun around 7pm and clammered back n2 our Shuttle bus for a nice 45 minute ride back to PPH.....a ride I decided to cheat a wee bit and get n a dog nap...

(hey.....I don't have cat naps!! they r dog naps)



...for the whole duration of the trek -



So I could save my energy for part 3 of my day........
a "good night kiss" of sorts.



DETAILS COMING UP.






T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

** OK......SO WHAT WAS MY FAVORITE RIDE OF ALL?**

Q: My number two ride??
A: **'The Mummy'**




Now about the Transformers Ride??
I was so immersed and having a blast!! Luved the highway chase scene.....





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Now.....about that "Goodnight Kiss"........


We all got back to our respected hotels around 8:30pm with PPH being the last stop and of course, I just had to make a bee-line to Downtown Disney and some 'much needed' late night munchies, entertainment and of course, some souvenir shopping.

Just had to check out Marceline's & of course; Haagan-Dazs = YYUUMM!!
after a bit, it was very relaxing to chill out over listening to David Wayne and his band - just wish he would have more music on ITunes..........


And around 10:30pm ish, I decided to head back on over to PPH, check some social media and there, I found an email from Jennifer (MEI Travel) that said I may just have some MAJOR weather related issues with my zip lining day I was supposed to see n a few hours!!

Reason?
an 8.3 earthquake in Chile was sending some really bad waves n the direction of Catalina Island.......


RRRRRRR!!!!!! NOT FUNNY!!


SO, downstairs I went to PPH's front desk and I will admit - I was an emotional mess to Jerry (GSR) as the next day really meant a lot to me. Thank you tho jerry for listening and 'poligize 2ya 4 my Goofball behavior.


Took a bubble bath of H20 products to help out my bod -

Didn't go to bed until around 1:30am
- not n a good mood but determined to not allow this to wreck my adventures.



STAY TUNED -




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

**TAKE A DRIVE ON THE WILD SIDE**





DAY THREE Thursday September 17th
High temp of 74 degrees




and take a walk on the wild side I did as I was up unofficially around 3am checking the weather report and such - noticing that after a while the warning got busted down to an advisory and Jerry was also on the lookout to let me know should any cancelations be happening out on the island and such.

Thank Gosh none of that happened as I thought since I was up, I would blog a bit and "slowly wake up"......

went back to bed around 4 am -



with that darn Mickey Mouse calling me at 5am and giving me such a loaded question to answer in such 'that chipper voice':

"HIYA THERE PAL!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS??"


Hmmmmmm.........I had to think 4 a moment before answering that question of his.
After a nice hot H20 products bubble bath for about 45 minutes (helped me to wake up) I decided to head out that door officially around 7am for some much needed light breakfast at PPH's grab and go area, chilled out a bit and then took the transfer to the ferry.


and -




Seeing the Queen Mary along the way was a treat -



I took an golden opportunity to catch up on my sleep which helped and before I knew it, it was time to disembark.




The island is quite small in nature but has a lot to so and see on it.

I made it with no major issue to our pick up point and meet everyone in our tour group. I was the last one! Yikes!! Didn't mean to hold everyone up but no worries - soon we were all off in our mode of transpo to see the sights:




What we see & what all is out there??



Stay tuned -





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Soon with all accounted for, we were off to see the sights of the island -

it was the sign inside our Tour vehicle that I knew I would be in for a rockin' good time:


Now the island is quite small but do not let that fool ya.
Keep in mind now that everything has to be shipped onto the island......

and yes, I even saw while there that Gasoline for cars were selling for $6.74 cents ....
A GALLON!!

Nonetheless, that's the main reason you see golf
carts all over the place -




The roads on the island were fairly well maintained, thought still it was a rather bumpy ride but a very relaxing one as I saw picture postcard opportunities everywhere:




even saw a few Buffalo -



Didn't know that they have an airport up on the island as well -



There, they had a quaint gift shop/eatery and we all stopped there for about a 45 minute late lunch. I chose to do some 'serious window shopping' during this time but didn't find any lanyard pins.

I also took this pic to give you the visual of what other vehicle options you can chose from to see the island -



After a bit, we were off again so slowly go back down the island to where we started from. It was really fun to see how the houses are built on the island and how people get around.






UP NEXT:




Getting just a wee bit crazy while zip-lining out of the island.


T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Now, I chose to zip line in the mid-afternoon since it would be a little cooler temp wise plus it would make for a great sunset back in the marina once it was time to head back to the mainland.

And I wasn't disappointed -

(our transpo to and from the island)

Sunset out on the island is a sight to behold - ** A MUST DO**



ANYWHO -
3"30pm ish hit and I slowly made my way on over to the meeting point (see above map) and met the 5 other people who were zip-lining along with the two tour Guides; one of which told extremely 'lame'
knock knock jokes that I will admit kept us all laughing while most of us were getting over our jitters over zip lining for the very first time.

YYYEEESSSS, I will admit I did take my camera along but decided at the last second not to since I feared I would lose it or damage it while zip lining and IMO, I would advise against taking pics or video while zip lining if for nothing else, for safety reasons.

My first reaction while trying this?? I just stepped off the platform.....
the cable caught my weight and ZOOM!!!!!!

It felt like I was flying!!
WAYYY COOOLL!!!!!

And what was funny was that I was the only one out of our group that got up to the highest horizontal board that led up to the platform (the 5th one out of 7) as I tell ya, THAT"S HARD making sure your feet are at jjuusstt the right angle as you are coming in and to also pull yourself up while you do your best to land ONTOP of the platform.

BUT IT WAS A TOTAL BLAST!! I would do it again if given the opportunity.


Soon, it was time to say our goodbyes as I was off to find something to eat. I remembered someone over at Disneyland Travel Services mentioned a Mexican restaurant close by the drop off and pick up sight for the Ferry's and recommend it:




And not a moment to soon as I was really developing a 'hankering' for some excellent Mexican Food



Their 'ritas and chips??? WONDERFUL!!




So was their food -



And with that, I was off to do some shopping.......
picked up some sweets and such from a pretty cool place -



and then slowly make my way back to the Ferry and from there was met by my town car transfer back to PPH.

Blogged for a bit followed by a much needed bubble bath with lights out for me around 1am.

Me and this 1am thing - that seems to be a habit for me but hey, I was having fun and that's all that mattered.





UP NEXT:
I'm just Dapper about Dapne & having fun with Goofy & Friends....

(ok......so these 3 caught my attention cuz of the huge hoop skirt the lady on the far left was wearing & I 'just had to ask' how in the world do you take 'care of business' when Mother Nature calls.....and well........her answer was just priceless & made my day!)







T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

**** GETTING GOOFY WITH GOOFY AND FRIENDS****

(I seem to have developed an affection for this - (hot cocoa & o.j.) - to down n the am while on this adventure = YYUUMM!!)

IMHO, BETTER THAN COFFEE....




DAY FOUR
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18TH
HIGH TEMP 86 DEGREES



Happened to be up (both physically & mentally) around 4am this time, blogged 4 a wee bit followed by.....YUP!!

HOT HOT HOT H20 products bubblebath and was out that door just in time for some much needed breakfast @ my fav place of all the character breakfasts -



and was promptly met by Chip and Dale - so of course I had to call them by their OPPOSITE names just to watch their reactions.....did I mention I also brought my autograph book?? YUP! sure did.

ANYWHO -
had fun watching all the characters come out and such while I was nibbling on some much needed -


and their omelettes? = YUM!!

(had one with everything on it)


and afterwards, just had to have an after breakfast treat of........



Ahhhhh.....only at Disneyland.


Now That woke me up!! Soon I was off to DCA and the first of three tours I wanted to see -
"Disney's California Story."



And along the way, I just had to check out all the fun, cute to even yes.....interesting outfits that were being worn during "Dapper Day."

(I was really impressed by the ones who really went all out in dressing up for the day)



DETAILS COMING UP -





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, I am taking this out of context, but the DCA music you are about to hear really sets the mood:


(the band is called "5 & dime" and IMHO, it's quite a shame that they don't produce their own music along with what they do perform because they ROCK!!)



and



Ok - so I slowly made my way on over to DCA and everywhere it seemed, I saw Devil Wear Prada wanna-bees!!


But in this instance, they were looking sharp!
The Cat's Meow!
They were sitting in the cat bird's seat!!


So, you know me,
I walked up to these two and calmly looked in both directions as if I was about to say something in secret
and said, "You are not who you are.....you name is Claire Poulet and you are due at the Tip Top Club at 11.....don't be late."


They looked at me and said, "Claire who?"

I replied in earnest, "You know....Steve Guttenburg.....TOT?"

They replied, "Steve who?"


MENTAL NOTE: Hmmmm......gotta work on my 'opening line."


Nontheless, they were a good sport about it -
So much, I got checked in at Guest Relations -

met the Tour Leader (Rachel) -



and take a wild guess who was also part of the tour group??



We hit it off quite well and had a lot of fun taking this tour as it gave me a much better appreciation for what Walt and Friends have done to bring to us all the things that we love about Disney.

From Oswald the Lucky Rabbit gas station, Eye Works Optometry window

To the numbers on the trolleys



the way this park has been changed since 2010 is literally night and day. Obviously Disney has a hit on their hands with DCA and my best educated guess is this was their answer to the Walt Disney Family Museum.

Anywho -
this tour was a fun way to kick off learning about the outside of the buildings at DCA and how the company is paying homage to Walt and friends. If I had to pick "Ah ha" moment, it would be this -

No wonder why Diane Disney often has said (while she was growing up) that dinner was late - usually around 8 to 8:30pm nightly.

and speaking of food, yes - we had a nice lunch at the end of the tour





and -


and of course,
the food hit the spot just right -



Was really a treat to be sitting next to this lady (off of the right) who was telling al of us stories that her Dad would tell her about when he used to work for Disney and would literally see Art Linkletter daily at the park.



Later on, we were
all presented with a nice going away gift -

(I luv lanyard pins)



UP NEXT
A DAPPER DAY DISMEETS




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

It's almost time for the DISmeets, but before I met up with a lot of nice people, I met up with these Dapper Day Fans:

Cute, whimisical but I have to say, the best outfit IMHO I was about to meet....



Soon, 3:30pm approaches as I make my way to the GHS and met up with my DISmeet buddies -






and



"Flapper Girl" almost did it for me (love that look and saw it here and there throughout the parks this day with main theme being the 50's look for both genders) but.....

if I had to pick one look that was the best its this one _


I believe what did it for me was her hat.....take note how its Disney themed! LUV IT!!




Had fun chatting for a while, then soon I was off and running for more parts of both parks.


Where am I off to next?




STAY TUNED -




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL