Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood :) )

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  • animagusurreal
    MiceChatter
    • Oct 2006
    • 1615

    Trip Report Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood :) )

    Last Friday, my mother and I continued our family tradition of going to DL - and this time, I finally talked her into getting an Annual Pass. I'm spreading the "evil!" . Now, I just have to train her on how to say "Where's my churro?!"

    On the drive down to the park from Arroyo Grande, mom mentioned how she used to watch Walt Disney talking about Disneyland on TV all the time when she was a little girl growing up in the Bronx, and that's probably one of the reasons she enjoys it so much today. (She didn't get to go to the park until she was an adult, and I was five.)

    We stayed at the Marriott Fairfield Inn, which brings back a lot of memories because it's same hotel we used to stay at all the time when I was a kid, back when it was the Ramada Maingate (which is now a different hotel).

    The clerk was nice enough to offer us a park view room! We were on the 9th (top) floor, so we had a pretty good view.

    These were actually taken the next day as we were leaving - we didn't even go up to our room yet because I was so anxious to get going - but I figured it was more "dramatic" to show the park from afar first, and then show inside the park.





    The everyday meets the extraordinary: McDonald's and Space Mountain in the same shot!



    A hidden Mickey that can only be seen from above? For a minute, I thought I was looking down on Disney-MGM Studios! Oddly-drawn-but-cute Mickey head on the roof of the Fairfield Inn lobby.





    Main Street peeks out between hotels and backstage buildings:


     


    We finally arrived in the park at 5:30PM - 6 1/2 hours after departure, due to heavy stop-and-go traffic through L.A. and Orange County. By this point, I was going crazy for my DL fix. Of course, the extremely short line we got in at the ticket booths was held up when the five guests at the five ticket windows were each doing...I can't imagine what, but something very time consuming . But I kept my cool, and finally we got into the park! .

    While Mom went to get her AP picture taken, (I already had mine from the previous AP I had gotten as a gift) I ran off to get my "first ride" fix on BTMRR. Whew! After that, we met up and ran over to DCA - they closed at 8PM, and it was already 6!!! :o

    Looking up at my giant bear buddy after a great ride on Grizzly River Run.



    "Someday, this sprawling mechanical mess will be the World of Color show!!!"




    Coming later to this thread: my observations on Murphy, Magical, FNSV, and the character additions to Small World.

    At the end of the day, we took the train from Toontown Station to Main Street. While onboard, I accidentally let out a huge belch. I wouldn't usually report that fact, except these guys wearing light-up sombreros started joking about it - in a good-natured way - and after we got off the train, they let us wear their hats while they took our picture.



    (Alternate story: we were auditioning for a new Three Caballeros unit in the Main Street Electrical Parade )

    Main Street After Midnight:





    Mom met a handsome man:



    He was the strong-but-silent type:



    But she soon returned to her first love in the Candy Palace:







    Some cute Mickey shorts candied apples:



    On the way home the next day, we stopped at Denny's in Camarillo and I noticed a delightful sign on the corner. (My name is Brent).


     

    We're planning to visit the DLR once a month. We're both impressed by all the artistic photos displayed here on MiceChat and we want to take more photos next time. This time, I was too busy doing the rides for most of the day! Also, I want to shoot the "music video" for my recent Enchanted Working Song parody about DCA .
    Last edited by animagusurreal; 09-22-2009, 07:04 PM.
    "Happy Working Song" parody for DCA remodel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-TYESfNTP8&feature=plcp

    Retro Rant Review of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II" (comedy review of direct-to-video
    Disney sequel):
    Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/user/animagus.../1/q1j7FU8QXu0
    Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/user/animagus.../0/sasNTMDRBLU

    Retro Rant Review of "Home on the Range" (comedy review of Disney movie):
    Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7mC-...feature=relmfu
    Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoUie...feature=relmfu
    Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Vea...feature=relmfu


    Visit my site: http://www.vividgroovy.com



    Pratfall the albatross superheroine visits the Carthay Circle Theatre.
  • 10/6
    "The Musical Quil"
    • May 2009
    • 572

    #2
    Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

    VERY NICE! Love the light up sombrero
    DJ JARVICIOUS
    Salt Lake City, UT
    Electro | Hip-Hop | Top 40 | Funky
    www.Facebook.com/DJJarvicious
    www.SoundCloud.com/DJJarvicious
    Instagram / Twitter: @DJJARVICIOUS

    Comment

    • WheresMickey
      Looking for Hidden Mickey
      • May 2008
      • 3863

      #3
      Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

      Nice report!
      Check out my page at www.myspace.com/wheresmickey

      Check out my pin collection at www.pinpics.com. User name is WheresMickey



      Comment

      • WDITrent
        We Go On.
        • Jun 2008
        • 2792

        #4
        Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

        I love this trip report! You know, it's the kind that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside...

        Thanks for sharing your very fun visit with us!

        Comment

        • Meville
          I'm from Canada eh!
          • Nov 2008
          • 1537

          #5
          Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

          Heh, I saw the guys with the light up sombrero on friday night getting off Splash...lol. Great way to be seen.
          I open a toy, review it and take mediocore pictures. Read all about it HERE!

          Originally posted by VintageMouse;n8463446

          You know best :-)

          Comment

          • leslie_537
            Disney Fan
            • Apr 2009
            • 458

            #6
            Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

            Thanks for the photos and love those sombreros.
            --Leslie ~See my photos on FLICKR ~

            Comment

            • Gandalf75
              Wishing upon a star....
              • Mar 2009
              • 303

              #7
              Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

              Great report! Thanks for sharing.

              Comment

              • royaldisneyfan
                KC to DL= 1,640 miles
                • Jun 2007
                • 4189

                #8
                Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

                Cool! You stayed at the Fairfield Inn! I stayed there too. Awesome TR overall!
                sigpic
                Home away from Home.

                Comment

                • princessariel
                  Don't be such a guppy ;)
                  • Jun 2008
                  • 34

                  #9
                  Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

                  Awesome TR! I wish I had a light up sombrero!

                  Comment

                  • animagusurreal
                    MiceChatter
                    • Oct 2006
                    • 1615

                    #10
                    Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

                    Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the nice replies . More TR details coming soon.
                    "Happy Working Song" parody for DCA remodel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-TYESfNTP8&feature=plcp

                    Retro Rant Review of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II" (comedy review of direct-to-video
                    Disney sequel):
                    Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/user/animagus.../1/q1j7FU8QXu0
                    Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/user/animagus.../0/sasNTMDRBLU

                    Retro Rant Review of "Home on the Range" (comedy review of Disney movie):
                    Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7mC-...feature=relmfu
                    Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoUie...feature=relmfu
                    Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Vea...feature=relmfu


                    Visit my site: http://www.vividgroovy.com



                    Pratfall the albatross superheroine visits the Carthay Circle Theatre.

                    Comment

                    • animagusurreal
                      MiceChatter
                      • Oct 2006
                      • 1615

                      #11
                      Re: Trip Report w/photos, 9/18/09 (The Return to Annual Passhood )

                      Murphy:

                      I went on Splash while Mom watched Fantasmic! When I got off the ride, I could hear that the show was still going on, but I couldn't tell what point it was at, so I raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan (being careful not to run into anyone, of course) and when I got to where Mom was, near the NOS train station, the villains were just taking over Mickey's mind. I got to see Murphy - through a tree, but (s)he was still quite impressive. I'd like to get a closer look sometime.

                      We got on the train just before the show ended, and got to see the finale before it pulled out of the station.


                      Magical:


                      By the time the train got to Tomorrowland (we were headed for Tomorrowland Terrace for dinner) we missed Dumbo (don't know if you could see him from there, anyway) but we did catch the end of the show. From this short sample, I'd say it's not as memorable as Remember, but it's still a Disney fireworks show, and nobody does fireworks like Disney. Pink and Blue was the cleverest part, and the main musical theme, though recycled, is still rousing.


                      It's a Small World:

                      I'm a bit late to bring firsthand experience to this debate, but here it is in a nutshell:


                      Did the character additions completely destroy the ride? No.

                      Do they distract/detract from the ride: Yes.

                      Would I remove them if I had the power to do so? Yes.


                      Even Mom, who only knows of these heated MiceChat debates through me, started out saying, "oh come on, they're kinda cute" but by the end was like, "yeah, they didn't belong in there."

                      I actually like most of the character designs in-and-of-themselves, so my solution is to move them to displays in a revamped Small World Toy Store. The whole idea of them seems to be to sell toys, and that way, they could act as a sort of post-show and entice kids to go into the store, and those that like them could still see them. Meanwhile, Small World would be returned to its proper status as an original ride .

                      We were also shocked at the removal of the gurgly mermaid voices to highlight ariel singing - there should not be a solo performance in Small World, much less at the expense of one of my childhood favorite moments of the ride! (That and the similar gag in Cinderella where the birds empty a spongefull water on her and her voice goes all gurgly mid-song always cracked me up as a kid).

                      The America scene...reminded me of Kuzco's doodles from "The Emperor's New School" TV show:




                      I thought Kuzco majored in Emperoring, not Imagineering Then again, I guess it's appropriate, since the Disney characters are saying, "it's all about ME!"



















                      (Note: Small World photos are from DisneylandNews.com and were not taken by me.)

                      It just kind of felt like somebody instructed the designer to "do it as though a kid did it", without looking at all the other aspects of Blair's design.

                      All that said, everything else about the ride looked great, the facade, the topiaries, the new Hello/Goodbye rooms, the bright and shiny colors...the ride flowed along at a nice pace, too, though I don't know if that was because of the new flume, or just because it was very uncrowded. I think this whole "characters" debate has given me a new appreciation of the ride, and how much artistic inspiration it's given me over the years.

                      Mom also thinks she may have ridden the ride when she was 11 years old, before she ever went to Disneyland - because she lived in New York and went on a class field trip to the '64/'65 World's Fair.


                      After the park closed, we bought the traditional peanut butter fudge at the Candy Palace (where those lollipop pics were taken). Then, at the Emporium, I was pleasantly surprised to find a toy of Remy from Ratatouille (he's Pixar, but not really one of the handful of current "in-crowd" of plush characters featured in the shops). I also got a mouse ear keychain and an interesting little diorama pin of the Mad Tea Party:



                      Here are some pics of Remy I took a few days after the trip.







                      (Remy is not to be confused with Remi, the beaver character who appears in my sig )
                      Last edited by animagusurreal; 10-06-2009, 06:02 AM.
                      "Happy Working Song" parody for DCA remodel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-TYESfNTP8&feature=plcp

                      Retro Rant Review of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II" (comedy review of direct-to-video
                      Disney sequel):
                      Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/user/animagus.../1/q1j7FU8QXu0
                      Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/user/animagus.../0/sasNTMDRBLU

                      Retro Rant Review of "Home on the Range" (comedy review of Disney movie):
                      Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7mC-...feature=relmfu
                      Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoUie...feature=relmfu
                      Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Vea...feature=relmfu


                      Visit my site: http://www.vividgroovy.com



                      Pratfall the albatross superheroine visits the Carthay Circle Theatre.

                      Comment

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