After reading several stories of friends and other people's experiences at Disneyland, I decided on June 30 to go to the park again over the Independence Day weekend. I made arrangements to meet up with Cindy Yan and Mike (a.k.a Genghis, whom a bunch of us had met at last month's trip. I had hoped I would get a chance to hook up with Tim Castro and his girlfriend Sara Davison, but they had to attend a wedding at the Disneyland Hotel on July 4. [I'm asking Tim to send out a description of what the wedding was like.] I wasn't sure if I was going to drag anyone else along, so I made arrangements for just myself.
Why by listening to Celtic music of course! Nick Cuccia suggested to me "Want to see Avalon Rising and Four Shillings Short perform at The Starry Plough?" My reply..."Works for me!".
This was the first time I had been to the Starry Plough since the Light "tragic" party at Disneyland...and I couldn't help but think of Ammy Hill's comments about how she never thought she would see the day that Irish Dancing would be done in places other than a pub in Berkeley, let alone Disneyland. Nick and I arrived in time to catch the sound checks...which went fine. We sipped our Guinness as the Plough's TV showed the tail end of the Giants-A's game.
The first surprise was that we got to see three bands instead of two. The additional band was a bluegrass band called Mule Haulers. While they were tuning up, I got my second surprise-- Larry Colen, whom I hadn't seen since Baycon, walked in the door. Larry met a few other friends, whose names I can't recall at this time. One of the funnier moments for me was when Larry and this other guy both pulled out their Pilot palm-top computers--this has been a recent thread on the newsgroup alt.peeves (which I lurk on).
All in all, it was well worth the $4 cover charge.
The next morning, after my traditional viewing of 1776 (one of my favorite musicals), I was given another surprise--Kim said that she would be able to come along. She also suggested crashing at Genghis' (doh! why didn't I think of that?) Genghis said that it was o.k. to stay over at his place on Saturday. I made reservations at the Travelodge Inn at the Park for Sunday.
The afternoon of the 4th was spent watching Face Off at the Jack London Cinemas with Shelley Louie and Nick Cuccia. It took Shelley a little while to find parking, and he met us as we were in line to get in.
Face Off was an intense movie. If you enjoy John Woo's Hong Kong films (such as Hardboiled and The Killer), you'll enjoy Face Off. I enjoyed this a lot more than Men In Black. I guess that the next film I have to see will be Contact.
After the film we walked back to Barnes and Noble, which is where Shelley had parked. As Nick looked for magazines, Shelley and I wandered around. One thing that had caught my eye was a set of black "stonelike" Egyptian cat bookends. I then busted into laughter when I spotted the Mickey Mouse bookends right next to the cat. It wasn't just the cat and the mouse being next to each other that made me laugh; To add to it, it made me think of Kim, because she's into Egyptology and Disney.
During that time, Nick found what he was looking for, so we then took off for dinner at Barclays. Dinner was pretty good...For the appetizer, we had calamari, which was scrumptious. And for the main course, I had a tender and flakey foil wrapped salmon with tasty wild rice and crisp broccoli; delicious; It went well with the Cider Jack I was drinking. To top it off we each had apple crisp with vanilla ice cream...and it was heavenly.
As we enjoyed our meal, wisps of fog started rolling in, making the waitresses wonder if they were going to be able to see any fireworks. (Maybe if they had gone to the roof). This made us decide to try and see some fireworks. Eventually we found a spot next to the old KRE radio tower at the end of Berkeley's Aquatic Park. We were able to get a good view of Berkeley's fireworks. The show lasted a good 25 minutes, and only a few of the shells were lofted into the fog. Most burst below the fog, which gave a nice background glow for the exploding shells.
Nick then got his chance to see my apartment (someday I'll throw some sort of a housewarming party, I promise). After the quick nickel tour, and a viewing of You will buy this video, they went home, and I went to sleep.
Normally I feel rushed when I take a trip...not so this time. Kim wasn't going to be ready until 2pm, and Genghis specifically told me to take my time on the way down. So I did. We got out of Boulder Creek around 2:30 and made stops in Ben Lomond (to pick up some cigars and drinks), Capitola (for a Mister Misty from Dairy Queen), the Bradley Safety Rest (which has a nice shade tree), the Gaviola Safety Rest (where we saw a couple with an Alaskan Eskimo dog that looked similar to Kim's dog Zarty), and Santa Barbara (where we found out that Arby's horsey sauce is milder than Ivory Soap).
Once we got to LA itself, we still had a little time before Genghis expected us, so I took a detour onto Mullholland, which I had never driven at night (though I was a passenger on a nighttime drive once before). I then drove along Riverside Drive in Burbank, which takes you past The Burbank Studios (Warner Bros.), NBC Studios, the Disney Studios, and Forest Lawn Cemetery. Then we got to Genghis' house.
I was amazed at the amount of Disney stuff Genghis has in his place. He likes to collect Villians and has posters, figurines, statues, and records. It was a cool place to crash for the night; not that any of us got much sleep since we talked past 3am.
I was hoping to meet Bob Willers (a friend of mine from Phoenix who's on the Pac 10 list) and his family. When we got to the park, we arrived after 7:30, and parked in Bambi-1! That was the closest I had ever parked to gates, and rope drop was at 8. However, when we got to the gates, they weren't open! Instead of having a rope drop, they just opened the gates at 8. Darn. Bob wasn't there either... Double darn.
Our first stop was the Blue Ribbon Bakery for a light breakfast. Each of us got coffee, and Genghis and I had muffins as well. It was pleasant to watch people walk down Main Street while we were sipping and munching. One cast member saw us and said "You guys have the right idea."
After we slowly finished our breakfast we headed for one of my favorite rides--Peter Pan's flight. Somehow we managed to get all three of us into a single ship without crushing any of us. I don't think I'd do it this way again...I want to attempt the high five, which Tim and Sara gave me on the day after the Light Tragic AP Party
Tim has pounded this refrain into my head (and later Cindy's) so often that we have repeated it ever since. This time I decided that I had to ride Dumbo, so that was our first stop. Kim and Genghis didn't want to ride, so Kim took my camera to get some photos. The photos turned out ok.
After a quick ride on Pirates of the Caribbean (I loved reading about the group singing Zip-a-dee-doo-dah before hitting the drop), we stopped at the Pieces of Eight shop. The shop has a nice assortment of Pirates memorabilia, including a couple of tee shirts. Genghis ended up buying fortunes for us all. His fortune sounded more like an advertisement to buy something (which he ended up doing), and I can't remember what Kim's was. Mine was as follows:
Fortune Red has this to say:
Lor' love me, maytey, I tells ye true. Untold treasures will be found at the end o' this here cruise provided ye sails a tactful course. Aye, fame and fortune can only be found through discretion and diplomacy. A kind word to shipmates will bring results like the bubblin' wonders o' the Rainbow Caverns in Frontierland. Avoid harsh words. 'Taint in nature, matey. Mark well me words: Though the noblest manners ye inherit, and yer character with goodness be pack'd, all these qualities have little merit, unaccompanied by tact.
By this time, it was getting close to when we were supposed to meet Cindy back at the porch. We took a quick stop at the Snow White Grotto, where Kim and I each made wishes. Then we quickly made our way back to the porch, where Cindy didn't keep us waiting long.
We first went to the Haunted Mansion...Maynard was not to be seen, but our buggies did stop at the ballroom (one place I enjoy stopping at). Cindy and I then chose to ride splash mountain...the line was only inside the building, and we chose the shorter side, and when we neared the loading area, a CM asked for two, and we were put in the front of a log. Cindy said that she was going to duck to avoid getting wet. It didn't work as we ended up getting splashed as we were pulling around the briar patch. This made Cindy utter our favorite LM phrase--"A summer shower threatens to ruin the fun." Of course the other LM connection is the rabbits. One last note, for some reason, our picture was not available [drat]; Not that I would have bought one, mind you. The other rides we caught were Snow White (the apple was there) and Pinocchio.
Then it was time for the meet. Turnout was pretty good. A fair number of Northern California a.d.ders were there; Enough for me to call it a mini ba-add meet. [ba-add is a mailing list of a.d.ders in the Bay Area and Northern California; we also have meets from time to time; If you're interested in joining the list, send me e-mail.]
Also at the meet were some friends of mine from Phoenix, Bob Willers, his wife Mary, and son David. Bob wasn't there for the meet itself, he just knew that I was going to be there...still, he was given advice on where to watch the Herc parade.
The post meet lunch was held at Cafe Orleans, which was kind of disappointing...I wanted to go to Big Thunder Ranch...oh well, next time. I had the Mufallata Sandwich (turkey with a spicy salsa-like sauce)... Triple Rock in Berkeley has a decent Mufallata...Unfortunately, Cafe Orleans does not. Oh well.
After Lunch it was time to check into the hotel room. Even though the Travelodge Inn at the Park is within walking distance, we drove there (it was sad to give up such a good spot) so we could unload. The room looked ok...had two adequate beds, a balcony, a working TV (but no remote), and a coffee maker. I'd give it one diamond (AAA gives it two). Genghis needed to sleep (and fell asleep almost immediately), Kim wanted to smoke a cigar, and I wanted to catch the Herc parade...We made arrangements to either meet at Rods around 7, or at the Festival of Fools at 9.
I decided to leave my car at the hotel and walk back to the park. I ended up walking to the DL hotel to catch the Monorail...As I had reached the platform, Monorail Red started to pull out...drat. Monorail Orange then pulled in. I got a spot in the 1st car and waited...and waited...and waited. We were then told that Monorail Red had to be taken out of service, which meant we had to wait even longer. Eventually we left, and as we went past Small World Plaza, I was pleased to see that most of the floats were still backstage...I was going to see the parade.
I went over to the a.d.d spot to watch the parade. It took long enough to arrive that I was able to share some photos which I had taken during my previous trip for the final Lion King Celebration and Tim's birthday party.
I really enjoyed the Hercules Victory Parade. The floats are awesome, the performers are entertaining, and the music is decent. This time I sat in the secret a.d.d spot, which is a good place to watch the parade from. The next time, I'll probably watch from a closer spot so I can get a more detailed look.
A group of us then headed over to the Columbia. We first toured the "hold" of the ship, which I had never done. You wouldn't want to take the entire trip while down there--it's too hot. We then made our way to the wheel and various ways to amuse ourselves. Some of this included asking the Captain "can we go at show mode speed?" To which he said "I wish we could." We had other comments as well, and the CM was enjoying it all and even commented on us--"Thar be some strange people back here behind me" He lost it though when we got to the Indian Village and started singing "In the tee-pee tee-pee tee-pee tee-pee tee-pee room". He started to laugh as he was supposed to start saying something. This also continued when we passed the bear on the port side. We all started making comments with the word bear in it. Jeff Graebner ended it by saying, "this is getting too grizzly."
Since we were nearing the dock, the Captain performed the switchover and introduced the new captain--"Squishy". Squishy didn't seem as fun.
Jeff, Cindy, and I then decided to head over to Tom Sawyer Island, while everyone else went to meet Adrienne Vincent at Rod's piano at Coke Corner. As we waited to cross the River, the Columbia sailed by and we waved and yelled "Hi Squishy"; we were surprised that some other people on the raft joined us. We overheard Squishy say "I don't know what is wrong with those people!" We also yelled "Row! Row! Row!" at guests in the canoes. One of the CMs on the canoe splashed some water towards us...oh well.
Jeff had never been on the island, so we showed him Fort Wilderness, (where we took a few potshots at tourists and canoes) and the quiet spot near the "String Bean Tree" (that's what it looks like). It was a nice way to relax. Eventually we decided to head back, but we had a few bonuses. Near the cider mill we saw family of ducks--I was able to get a photo of the two ducklings in a small pond. At the dock we saw about 6 ducklings swimming in a line behind a duck (awww).
We then decided to ride the Disneyland Railroad and It's a Small World. We boarded the train at New Orleans Square. Cindy and Jeff noticed a CM named Birgit who remembered them from a previous trip (During a previous visit, they noticed her unusual name and started talking with her). When pulling out of the station, we'd wave good bye to her even though she was going to be on the train (it was funny when other people around us also did the same) and then wave at her during the ride. After ding the circuit and then exiting at Toon Town station, she waved goodbye to us.
Small World gave us a different experience. Because the Herc parade was on, they were loading every other boat. We were put in the front of the boat, so we got a chance to sing along without completely annoying the other passengers. however, when we reached the traditional unloading traffic jam, we started to ram the empty boat in front of us. A few times our bow wedged under it's stern, which pushed the top our bow about half an inch above the water line. This made us wonder if we were on the Titanic. After exiting the ride, we stopped at the Matell shop which is where Cindy showed me the infamous X-Rated Key Chain (you'll have to see it).
Our next stop was Tomorrowland to see what the line for Space Mountain looked like...it was too long. After a quick detour through the arcade we went over to the ramp for "The Space Place" and took a look at the construction. I noticed a set of blueprints, but they were in an inaccessible spot. One of the maintenance CMs saw us and chatted a little bit. We were surprised that he didn't tell us to leave. I guess he decided that we were harmless.
Soon we left to sit in an air conditioned spot. The area in the back of the Premier Shop where the Circlevision Theatre exit is has a nice wall and floor that fit the bill nicely.
After a ride on Space Mountain (during which we wished the air conditioning in the queue worked), we went over to Rod's to meet up with Kim and Genghis. They weren't there, but I took the opportunity to show Rod the photos from Tim's birthday party. He was glad to see them.
We then grabbed some food from the Bengal BBQ (I had a spicy beef skewer and a vegetable skewer) and wandered over to Fowlers Harbor (where the "dry dock" for the Columbia and the Twain is). No tables were available so we went to the far side of the dock and sat on a bench. The food was tasty. At the same time we noticed all of the crows in the trees around the Haunted Mansion (some were flying around too). There were enough of them that we wondered where Alfred Hitchcock was. Still, it was quite serene; That is until a whole gaggle of goths wandered to our spot. Fortunately we were finished and left.
We then stopped by Indy since the line was short...It's a good thing we did too, because the ride went down later that evening. I took a gander at the Eeyore sign...this time from a different angle which shows it much more prominently than along the wall. We then boarded our jeep and were whisked off to the Fountain of Youth. After that, it was off to Fantasyland. At the castle entrance we spotted some other a.d.ders (including fellow ba-adder dp Mike Louie) who were going to watch Light Magic. they told us to head over to FOF right away. Still we wanted one more ride.
At the same time, Kim managed to spot me and joined up with us. She said that Genghis had to go home and take care something that had come up. We then went on Mr Toads Wild Ride. In the queue I noticed that there are fiber optics on the floor when you approach "Sir Clinksalot"--so there's a new addition to the Light Magic game.
We then went over to the Festival of Fools...unfortunately we were too far back to listen to the warm up spiel before we entered the arena...still we were able to hook up with the rest of the Hunchies. At the same time, Bob and his family were also there. The Hunchies really get into the show; during the warm up in the arena, the CMs had us out yell the rest of the audience. During the show I had a blast! It's very much like participating in Rocky Horror.
After the show, Bob told me he really enjoyed watching us get into it. Also afterwards Adrienne taught Kim and me the new a.d.d handshake. Then it was time for fireworks. The FOF arena is a great spot to watch the fireworks explode close up. I only wish that they had killed all of the lights so that I wouldn't have had to shield out extra light as I was lying down. Still, it was great.
Our next stop was the monorail. We wanted to catch it at night, from the front, and take a round trip since this was the last time we could (as of Monday 7/7, the monorail will take you one- way, since part of the track is in a construction zone). Bob caught up with us and said "I think you're being paged" I didn't hear them, but Adrienne and the rest wanted to join us--I guess mine was the easiest name to shout out. They caught up with us in the queue.
Five of us sat up front--Jeff, Cindy, Kim, Karen O'Mara and myself. We had a great time on the way to the hotel and even the cast member liked us. Apparently we were loud enough that everyone else heard us over the PA system. At the DL hotel, Adrienne said "OK, you guys are having *way* too much fun. It's time to switch." Only Karen O' complied; the rest of us remained. Sorry about that, but this was one of those things we really wanted to do.
On the ride back, we had a new CM. She really enjoyed us, as she turned on the tailcone monitor which will be used for when the monorail runs backwards. That was cool to look at. She also said that we were helping keep her awake (it's nice to know that we're doing our job ;)
Next we made a mad dash for the Rivers of America. Fortunately, someone had saved a prime viewing spot for watching Fantasmic! While we were sitting, I passed around the photos. I included some photos which I had taken outside of the Centerpoint complex in Tempe, AZ. For some reason there's a fountain with three rabbits around it ("We're all dancing rabbits"); Adrienne loved it. Adrienne then passed out some bubble bottles and explained that this was a prop for the show (when bubbles appear). She also showed off her fiber optic wand and we pulled out flashlights.
The experience of watching Fantasmic! combined with using the props again made me think of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Again, it was a blast. Other friends who have heard about this now want to participate the next time they are in the park.
Kim and I both wanted to ride Indy before catching the Late Night Jungle, but unfortunately, Indy was down, so we went to Rod's piano instead. Kim got to see "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and the finale. I helped twirl an umbrella and had a great time. Kim says that she's going to have a request for Rod the next time she visits.
As soon as the finale ended, we dashed back to the Jungle Cruise, where Adrienne had good news and bad news--The good news was that the ride was operating, but the bad news was that none of the skippers were familiar with us (oooh, fresh blood). We went through the queue and boarded the Leaki Tiki. We were much more into the ride than the skipper. When we got to the hippo pool, he didn't even say the bubble line, which ruined the effect of us blowing bubbles (darn). He did tell one new joke that I hadn't heard before...
When we got to the sunken temple, he shined the light on the ruins and said "This is what we call the 'Arch Deluxe'." Oh well.
When we got to trader sam, he asked us if someone else wanted to tell a joke...so we did the standard Trader Sam joke. Even though it was obvious he wanted to go home, we had a fun time, and when we got to the dock, we chanted "'round again! 'round again!". Alas, it was after midnight, and the boat in front of us at the dock, skipperless.
Our next stop, even though it was after midnight, was the hub, where several people were shown "Walt's Little Friend". You'll just have to make it to one of these late night meets to find out what this is...but several of us were in hysterics...especially when we found out that you could buy this at the Disneyanna shop.
While we were at the hub, we got a chance to hear the Space Mountain music. Two people brought radios with them: one was with us, the other was on the ride. A group of us gathered around the radio and listened to the music as the other radio holder's rocket climbed...Then we all started to sing along. I wish I knew the name of the Jungle Cruise skipper who had called Tim, Cindy, and I "Disney Wackos" because that term seems very appropriate here.
Our next stop was Snow White's Grotto, where we held the Snow White's Wishing Well Coin Toss. After the last echoes of "I'm Wishing" faded away, we all turned to the well and tossed our coins in.
It was time to leave the park, but we needed to have a little more fun first. We spotted some Confetti Sweepers, so we started singing the Light Magic Confetti Sweepers Song...
"And we will sweep the streets together...sweep the streets forever"
We still have to fill in the rest of the song.
There was still what looked like the remains of a confetti blizzard on Main Street, so we then sang a few "Snow" songs such as "Walking In a Winter Wonderland" and "Frosty the Snowman".
After that, it was time to go home. Cindy offered to drive us to the hotel. With her car parked out in King Louie, we ended up walking about 1/3 of the way...still it was nice to get a ride.
Kim and I needed to wind down after having such a blast. So, we pulled out some cigars which I had brought along and sat out on the deck, and had a good chat before getting some sleep. Sleep wasn't that easy... the walls at the Travelodge Inn at the Park aren't very thick, the AC was noisy, and our neighbors woke up early...ugh. Still, it was more sleep than I had gotten the night before.
In the morning, I found out two other things about the Travelodge I didn't like...the shower had a very inconsistent water temperature, and the coffee for the coffee maker was terrible. Somehow we managed to get out of the room by 10.
The drive back had about as many stops as the drive down. Our first stop was Genghis'. I had left my Cal hat at his place, so we needed to pick it up; Plus he offered us fresh coffee, which after drinking the hotel swill was much appreciated. We chatted for a while, and then he gave each of us a surprise...I got the McDonald's rascalls CD, and Kim got a Hercules poster. In return, gave Genghis the cigar I had bought for him to smoke with us, and his fortune from the Pieces of Eight shop.
We took off from Genghis' at about 1pm and headed back up 101. When we neared Santa Barbara, I asked Kim, "So, should we stop at the Santa Barbara Disney Store and see if Sara is working?" She said "sure." I had no idea if Sara was working, but I remembered her directions from the last trip, and we got to the mall. As we walked to the store, I overheard one of the CMs testing a potential CM (he was trying to name the 7 dwarfs). When we entered the store, I said "Sara!" and she said "Hey!" She told us a little bit about the wedding and I gave her the photos from Tim's Birthday Party. It was a nice surprise to see her, and it was a shame that we couldn't catch her and Tim in the park.
By this time we were a bit hungry. One thing neither of us had done was stop at Pea Soup Andersens...so we did. Yes, it's a tourist trap. We both ordered the Pea Soup travelers special. The special includes two types of bread, crackers, water, a drink, and all the pea soup you can drink. Unfortunately, the soup was bland; We found that adding Tabasco sauce was the best way to improve it. When I was a little kid, I used to love Andersen's pea soup from the can...I had noted as I grew up that quality of the canned soup had gone down. Now that we've stopped at Andersen's, I'm sure that we'll make jokes about it the next time pass by. ("No! Don't go! Fools!") The funny thing is that I remember a Jon Carrol column about stopping there, and I think he said the he learned the same lesson that we did.
We got back to Kim's place at about 9 (as we drove up highway 1 and the the road to Boulder Creek, Kim got excited and said hello to things that she had missed). We had a surprise for us at Kim's place--her friend Kelly (whom I had met at Baycon) was there. It was nice to share some of the adventures right away...We're going to see if Kelly will come along on the next trip (we know she'd have a blast).
Oh well, after talking a while, it got to the point where I knew if I didn't leave then, I wouldn't get home. So I took off, listening to my soundtrack of The Rocky Horror Picture Show to help keep me awake and remind me of my experience from the night before. All in all it was a great trip, and I can't wait to go back.
Like I said, I had a great trip, and it wouldn't have been possible without the help of several people. Thanks to:
So, who wants to join me for the next trip?