subbing, your pics are fantastic. I need to use some angles like those.
Welcome aboard!
Here's the next update:
At 6:45 pm, it was time for us to break off from my parents and do another Reunion event put on by Mouse Fan Travel. I felt a little bad about this, as I know they would have enjoyed it, but Sarah and I got the last two tickets for the event, and two additional tickets never became available. My parents ended up getting to see the Osborne Lights and riding TSM to end the night, though, so I think they had fun, too.
The event began with all of us meeting near Rock N Rollercoaster. The Mouse Fan people repeatedly warned us to have our cameras put away when we went backstage, a warning we heeded. After all, I figured there was little point in taking photos of utility vehicles or whatever else was backstage. I did not anticipate what I ended up seeing, which was...Walts cryogenically frozen body!!! It was just sitting there, on the lot! Okay, not really, but with all the warnings, I expected something like that. What I actually saw was all of Tower of Terror from the backside. It was really cool, and I wish I could have photographed it. Stupid rules.
Once our walking concluded, we arrived at the dessert party (I didnt mention it above, but this event was called Desserts and Delights). I assumed, for some reason, the dessert party would be held in some random building. Much to my delight, it was held in a prime viewing area of Fantasmic! This was especially exciting for me, as I had already conceded to Sarah that we wouldnt attend Fantasmic this trip (shes not a fan of the WDW version).
I was able to enjoy some wonderful desserts AND photograph Fantasmic with the 70-200 f/2.8 and (more importantly) an unobstructed viewed. The event was already worth its $28 price tag. Yet, it was not over. After that, we were led backstage again to an area that looked like it was near
Pixar Place.
When we emerged back on stage, we saw people in front of us begin to head into TSM. The whole line of people began cheering. I swear, this ride is like the elusive Christmas toy (maybe it shares blood lines with Tickle Me Elmo?). It normally takes work to be able to ride it; walking on is like finding the Tickle Me Elmo just randomly sitting on a store shelf...back in 2000, when it was hard to find. You get the idea.
We had been talking to Reilly the entire time we walked from backstage, and thought we were becoming friends. However, Reilly thought differently, cutting us at the last minute when he couldnt enter the appropriate ride vehicle out of his load gate. Oh well, hes from California.
For those curious, I beat Sarah. That was like icing on the cake, but in this case, the cake hadnt even arrived yet! The cake, as it were, was experiencing the Osborne Lights with just our group. So much had already occurred without even getting to that point yet.
Finally, we arrived at the lights and set up to take a group photo. As the photographer counted backwards, hitting 1, all of the lights turned on. We erupted in cheers. We didnt have a whole lot of time at the lights, but we availed ourselves of the opportunity for some clean shots. We could always enjoy the lights a later night--now was the chance for photos! The event didnt last that long, but given the electricity being eaten, Im not too surprised by that. Overall, it was an amazing experience. Definitely something I would do again!
!SAMTSIRHC YRREM by
Tom Bricker (WDWFigment), on Flickr
After this event, Henry mentioned that some of them were heading out. While Sarah and I had been to the Adventures Club several times, we typically didnt go out while at WDW because thats lost time in the parks. We had just heard that the Magic Kingdoms hours were extended until 1 a.m., which meant if we headed there right then, wed have nearly 2 hours in the park. That said, it was really cold this particular evening, and we had plenty of nights ahead of us, so we thought what the heck. The first stop of the evening was Kimonos, a karaoke bar in the Swan. This was my first time at a karaoke bar, and it was pretty fun listening to all of the ridiculous renditions of songs. Even better was this one upper-middle aged man who kept singing various songs for the clear purpose of impressing a lady near the stage. For his own sake, I really hope he was drunk; if not, his ability to pick up on social cues and play it cool were both sorely lacking. Either way, though, it entertained me. We closed up shop with Reilly performing a stirring rendition of some song by the Backstreet Boys before leaving.
Atlantic Dance Hall was still opened, so we figured, why not, and headed there. If ever evidence of how not to run a successful club, the Dance Hall was it. Sadly, it reminded me of another club at Pleasure Island (cant remember which one--we only were there for like 10 minutes before leaving due to it being so lame) prior to the islands closing. If all Disney clubs managed to be this lame, its no wonder they closed Pleasure Island! Despite the Dance Hall itself being an audio and visual mess, there were enough of us there to make it fun. Plus, the people there who genuinely liked the Dance Hall (I would imagine it takes a certain awkward type) made the evening really amusing. When closing time came, everyone was immediately forced to leave. Ive never seen anything quite like that, but perhaps it was Disneys way of sparing us from having to endure that train wreck for even a few seconds longer.
It ended up being one of the most fun nights of the trip. Letting loose, so to speak, with other individuals down there for Reunion was a great time, and talking shop about all things Disney was great. Discussing the future of California Adventure or the viability of a River Country DVC is probably a more typical bar conversation, but as Disney geeks, I think we all had a good time.
Staying out so late did have its consequences, specifically having to roll out of bed the next morning to go to Animal Kingdom. You dont have to be much of a trooper to get out of bed and go to a Disney park (trust me, I rolled out of bed and went to work today--it was much worse), so it wasnt really that bad.
Ive said it in the past, Im sure Ill say it again: Animal Kingdom is the weakest of the Disney parks. I feel I should say this again now that Ive spent some time at California Adventure. DAK has so much promise, and executes what it does execute so well, that this really is a disappointment. It does the details so well (except Dinorama!), it is incredibly well themed, but it is incredibly lacking on substantive comment. I recently read from some posts on another board regarding this from a highly regarded consultant to Imagineering, and his explanation was that DAK is not a theme park in the traditional sense. Its theme does not include rides to such a degree, its about the natural experience. That left me scratching my head. I dont know how a theme park could not be about the attractions. If you remove those from the equation, you have a park, and at that point, DAK is merely a compromise between the zoo and a National Park. Granted, if its a zoo, its an exceptional zoo, but its not much of a National Park. It should have rides/attractions. The only difference between it and the other parks, is that its attractions should be themed around the Animal Kingdom, whereas the other parks attractions should fit their theme. You can certainly have a ride that pertains to animals or mythical creatures without using real animals. Boom, theme satisfied.
We're two posts away from "food porn."
I guess DH and I are not "typical" in that aspect. When we are at the World, we always close the parks and are there at rope drop the next morning. Although, at 50 and 62, I must admit it isn't as easy as it use to be. 
