Well, it was time for another Disneyland trip, though I actually didn't make my final decision until the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving. A couple of things needed to occur:
The drive down was uneventful. I wanted to start my trip by visiting the CSAA office in Berkeley, so I could pick up a map to ensure that I would not get lost in finding Kevin and Adrienne's place in Corona. Unfortunately, the CSAA office was closed; I guess that they figured nobody would come in on the day after Thanksgiving. Fortunately, my side journey allowed me to remember to forward my telephone to my cell phone. As you will find out later on, this came in hand for a friend of mine.
I finally left Berkeley at 8:40, and managed to pull into the Disneyland entrance at 2:40...yep, exactly 6 hours after I left. The modified entrance has some nice features. After you enter off of Harbor (or Friedman), you swing around the edge of the parking lot next to the Candy Cane Inn (I could see the old parking lot booths through the fence). It seemed like there were more traffic lanes, but I'm not sure. At least there is a lot more room for any backups. The new booths remind me of the yellow toll booths on the Bay Bridge. I flashed my Annual Passport (AP) to the Cast Member (CM) in the booth and then followed the parade of cars into the lot. The main lot was full, so I go to park in the Simba lot next to the Disneyland Pacific hotel. To reach the Simba lot, you drive through the main parking lot to one of the exits onto West St. Unlike the other exits, this one has crossing guards which prevent you from exiting when the light is red, and prevents folks on West Street from sneaking into the parking lot. When the light turns green, the crossing guard arms go up, and you can drive into the lot. Since all traffic was being directed to the new lot, we had several trams waiting to take folks to the front gate.
When I entered town square, I just stopped and looked at the Christmas decorations and listened to the Christmas music on the Main Street music loop. The last time I had been in the park, harvest decorations were up; now there was a big Christmas trees with holly and wreaths hanging over Main Street. Between the tree and the flag pole, was an area for kids to meet with Santa Claus. Santa had just left so he could be in the Christmas Parade. I then looked at the Fire House to see kids decorating holiday cookies. While the $3 price tag was too much for me, the kids inside looked like they were having fun.
At this point it was almost time for the parade. I walked down Main Street and then ended up going back to where I started -- right next to the firehouse. It was a great spot to watch the parade. By the time the parade reached Town Square, the sun was low enough in the sky that it cast a golden light on the floats and the characters. The parade began with music, and started off with a few carts selling several items. Folks sitting around cracked jokes (I noted that before the nighttime editions of the parade, there were no carts). Some of the cart vendors got into the roll and marched to the music and danced around; people applauded. Then the parade itself arrived... I'm not going to go into the details of the parade itself; I'll just say that I enjoyed it. While I was watching it, I got a nice little surprise -- sitting across the street from me were fellow a.d.ders Doobie and Rebekah; They looked so cute. After the parade past by I said "hello" and then went on to look at it's a small world holiday.
One new addition for Christmas is a holiday version of it's a small world. You could tell that this was the main attraction, as the line stretched to the Matterhorn. Since the line was so long, I walked back to the Plaza Gardens to watch Ariel tell a story. Ariel's storytelling is a new addition to Disneyland. The stage was decorated with a giant book and the dancefloor occupied by chairs. The story had just begun when I had arrived. Ariel was sitting on a rock in her mermaid form...she explained that she was visiting her father and sisters for her father's birthday. Then she went into a story about how she first came to the surface world (long before she had met Prince Eric). She was assisted by six kids picked from the audience, who would turn the pages of the book. She also sang "Part of Your World" with a lovely voice as part of the story. I've enjoyed the other princess storytellings in the park and I think that this is a nice addition. I would imagine that at some point this event will move to Ariel's Grotto when it's complete.
After the storytelling, I went back to it's a small world. The line was a little shorter, but still longer than I'd ever seen it before today. Surprisingly, it moved very quickly. The time went by even faster when my cell phone rang; It turned out to be a friend from Cal who was trying to track down some other friends. We chatted for a while, and I gave him a phone number of someone who he ended up taking to the opera (see, it paid off for me to forward my phone even though my friend who went to the opera said this was the most "worthless use of cellular technology"!). All in all, I waited about a half hour...given that the ride itself lasts about 15 minutes, that's an excellent wait to ride length ratio.
So what did I think? You can knock me down with a feather, because I liked it. Ok, I already enjoy it's a small world, so I was frightened that they would ruin the experience. Somehow the verses of "it's a small world" blend in with "Jingle Bells". Each of the rooms are decked out in a holiday motif...some such as Scandinavia and Latin America work better than others (such as Europe and India). If you can visit Disneyland over the holidays, this ride should not be missed.
When my boat exited the ride, the sun had finished setting, and all of a sudden, they turned on the lights. The attraction facade has what seems like thousands of lights on it. It's gaudy, but somehow it works. When the lights snapped on, people applauded.
My next stop was Storybookland. A friend of mine said that this ride is best experienced in the twilight. Well, as I boarded the good ship Snow White, it didn't seem any more special. The guide pointed out everything as usual, but she wasn't as good as the guide I had the last time. I think that our guide was distracted because our boat was going slow. Soon I found out why. We pulled around the bend to pass Eric's castle, and stopped (the light was red). We watched one of the cast members pull another boat out of "never never-land" (now King Triton's kingdom, but I still prefer the old joke...it was named "never never-land" because they would never never take you there.) After the boat went by, the waterfall was turned back on, and the light went green. We then reached the dock and were unloaded. The boat behind us was told to stop because Snow White was being taken out of service. Instead of running off, I watched as the Cast Members flipped the switch to let the boat go to the storage area. The switch is on a rock between King Triton's Kingdom and the dock. When the switch is flipped, the waterfall shuts off. Our guide then backed the Snow White into the storage area. Oh well, I guess that's the closest I'll get to seeing never neverland without becoming a cast member.
Since I was right next to it, I decided to take a spin on the Mad Tea Party. It was a short wait, and soon I was on my favorite tea cup -- the purple spades (why is it my favorite? I think it spins the fastest). I tried to spin as fast as I could for as long as I could. While I ended up tiring myself out as I spun, apparently I spun fast enough to attract some folks' attention. Some people made a beeline for my cup after I exited.
After my spin, I realized that it would be a good time to eat dinner. I made my way to the Big Thunder BBQ to try the Prime Rib holiday special. Unfortunately, as I was in line, they ran out. I opted to get a turkey leg and coffee from Clopin's Cart instead. It was a good choice, as I wasn't that hungry. The most exciting part of dinner wasn't under my control. As I was sitting in the Big Thunder BBQ area, I was listening to the 6 PM performance of the Hunchback of Notre Dame Festival of Fools. All of a sudden, as the Hellfire sequence was starting, the music stopped, and the voice over said "Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Hunchback of Notre Dame Festival of Fools is canceled". The curtains were opened, and the theatre are was evacuated. I had finished my dinner and went off in search of the "Hunchies" (a group of a.d.ders who are regular attendees of the show). I found them, and was told that the actress playing Esmeralda experienced some sort of injury (it didn't sound pretty); Hopefully she's o.k.
I ended up staying with the Hunchies to watch the 7:15 PM Festival of Fools. We weren't absolutely sure that it was going to go on, as one CM walking the line said the show was canceled as others were letting the line advance to fill in the waiting area. We took a chance, and were rewarded with the good Clopin and a good Esmeralda. The show is set to end on February 1st. If you have not experienced this show, catch it before it ends.
After the show, it was almost time for the next Christmas Parade. John Frost and I went over to town square, since that is a good place to watch it from. We were spotted by another a.d.d poster, J. Kirk, who was there with his family. We talked a bit about the parade and a few of the cast members in the parade. Again the parade was just as enjoyable as it was the last time...and this time we were able to attract the attention of a few performers without getting them into trouble.
After the parade, it was back to Rod's piano to meet up with a few other a.d.ders. I was pleased to see both Tony Phoenix and Adrienne "AVBalloons" Vincent, since I hadn't seen them since my trip for the final Circlevision back in September. Adrienne even got me onto my feet to dance, and despite my having two left feet, I eventually started to get it right. We'll have to see next time.
Adrienne and Tony wanted to see what it's a small world Holiday looked like, so we moseyed on over to small world way to see all of the lights. After a brief stop because the lights used for the parade suddenly went out and then came back on as we were passing by the Matterhorn, we saw the decorations. Adrienne got the best comment off "So that's what happened to all of the lights that people returned!" We waited in the disabled guests queue...and after not moving for about 15 minutes, gave up.
After we left Small World Plaza, we passed by one of the Beanie Baby carts. They include special Christmas versions of Pluto and Eeyore. Tony is a big Eeyore fan, and Adrienne thought it would be nice to get him a special Eeyore. Adrienne managed to pick a beanie baby, which unlike most of the ones on the cart, still had a $6.00 price tag on it. The CM on the cart said "No, it's $6.50." After Adrienne pointed to the price tag, he still said "It's $6.50. Would you like me to call my manager?" At this point it wasn't worth the wait...she said "no", handed the plush back to the CM, suggested he do something about the price tag. tsk. tsk. tsk.
Our next stop was Fantasmic! I noticed that the keel boat landing was open, so we first opted to watch it there. Since there was still some time to wait, I ducked into the haunted mansion. I purposely took my time down the hallway to watch the paintings change and then was the last person in the group to board a doom buggy. Recently someone asked on a.d.d. which attraction you would most like to be locked in overnight. I would have a tough time deciding between the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Indiana Jones Adventure since all three have lots of nooks and crannies that can be explored. After exiting the mansion, I saw Adrienne and Tony up at Fowler's Harbor (they had decided to move). I then opted to look at the backstage view, which I hadn't done since June. The backstage view was not as good this time, because the Bertha Mae was blocking part of the view...still it was fun to wave at the characters (who all waved back) and cheer the deflating of Ursula. I went back to Fowler's Harbor for the finale.
Following Fantasmic, we went to the Jungle Cruise. We had the benefit of Maynard. I've seen Maynard at the haunted mansion, but never on the Jungle Cruise. He was wacky as ever on the Jungle Cruise, but he managed to stay within the theme of the attraction. I wish I could remember some of his special jokes, but I can't.
After such a great cruise, it was time to visit Rod's again. We found out that John Frost had left a special gift for the Rod Miller listeners -- booklets of Christmas carols so everyone could sing along. The books included both traditional and modern favorites and one bit of humor snagged from the Internet. John gets three cheers from me.
By this time, fatigue was setting in...I had driven for six hours, and then spent a lot of time in the park. I was going to wait for Rod to do the finale, but I knew that if I wanted to make it safely to Adrienne and Kevin's home, I had to leave now. After a stop and a wish at Snow White's wishing well, I was out of the park and on my way back to the parking lot. I called Adrienne and Kevin to tell them I was on my way, and they said that they would be up. I had no problem getting to their place in Corona, which is about 25 miles east of Disneyland. Despite being tired, we all ended up talking until about 2 AM. I knew that Adrienne and Kevin were collectors, so I brought along a gift -- a coin commemorating Disneyland's 35th anniversary -- which fellow ba-adder Mike Louie had given me a week earlier when the Bay Area a.d.ders met to watch Anastasia. He said that the coins were originally tossed out from a parade during the 35th anniversary, but that early on the park management found that tossing the coins from the parade didn't work very well...the coins were put into storage. The coins will surface later in this story.
After a good night's sleep in the guest room, I awoke the next morning to sunshine. We weren't sure what weather we would experience, so we caught the morning weather report -- sunny, with chances of showers increasing into the evening. Eventually we got to the park in time for lunch. We didn't have any set plans for the day, so things were very relaxed.
After a corn dog for lunch, it was time to have some fun. Over the afternoon:
Ye sails yer ship with a steady helm and a weather eye out for the luff o' the sails. Though lackin' in formal book learnin', 'tis with a will ye worked to develop a keen mind. Ye would leave no sail furled to help a mate in need, and the deeds o' yer generous nature sparkle like the twinklin' lights at Disneyland on a warm summer night. Devoted, ye be, to yer kin -- but b'lay! Ye may be generous to a fault. Mark well me words: Generosity consists less in givin' much, than in givin' wisely.
On our way back from the Haunted Mansion we listened to one of the bands playing next to the Haunted Mansion...and then marching from New Orleans Square, was a Mardi Gras style band. After making the usual comment about entertainment scheduling (you'd think that only one band would be performing at a given time in an area) we noticed something about the Mardi Gras band -- the leader was tossing out coins to the crowd. The coins looked awfully familiar to us, and when we got closer, we were able to get some of the coins...it turns out they were 35th anniversary commemorative coins. We just had to laugh.
Our next stop was it's a small world, since Adrienne and Kevin had not seen it. The line was shorter, but the CM handling line control did not know what she was doing. When the line moved beyond the ropes, she did not direct it. Even worse though, was that after correctly removing a smoker from the line, she allowed the smoker to walk alongside the line. Still, we had fun on the ride. Adrienne decided that she was going to complain about the CM later on...I said that I wanted someone to compliment before complaining.
Our next stop was the Matterhorn. The wait was not long, but Kevin and I both thought that the ride was slower than it was before the latest rehab. After the slower ride, we made our way back towards Big Thunder...at the same time, we bumped into John Frost who was coming from the Festival of Fools. He then joined us on our way to Big Thunder. This was not the only encounter we had with an a.d.der Just outside the Festival of Fools area, we bumped into another a.d.der (D.J.?)...Adrienne asked him "how come you're not wearing your button?" After some lame excuse, he asked us "where are your buttons?" I pointed to my hat, and Adrienne, Kevin, and John all pointed to their a.d.d buttons as well.
(And to think, one week earlier, I had thought that I had lost my a.d.d button. After the ba-add Anastasia meet, Judi Lane and I were wandering around Jack London Square when I realized my button was gone. We ended up retracing all of my steps, and after we reached the conclusion that it was gone, went our separate ways. When I packed for this trip, I cleaned out the front pocket of my backpack, and there was my button.)
After a sunset ride on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, we went over to Big Thunder BBQ fro dinner. Since I didn't get it the previous night, I wanted the Prime Rib. The Prime Rib special included a baked potato, vegetables, and cornbread. Everything was good, except for the prime rib, which we felt was too peppery. Still, I enjoy eating at Big Thunder since you can sit next to the fire and also because the restrooms include hot water. The restrooms are also well themed with rustic styling and hurricane lamps. Following dinner, John left to catch the Festival of Fools while we decided to look at the lights of Small World Way.
After our experience in the line for small world, I wanted to be able to compliment a CM. As we were walking to look at the small world holiday lights, we saw this cart approaching with Pluto and Eeyore Christmas Beanie Babies hanging off of the front as if they were pulling it. Behind the cart was a CM holding "reigns" made out of liquorish ropes which were attached to Pluto and Eeyore. To complete the theme, he had jingle bells which he would shake so it sounded like Eeyore and Pluto were pulling his cart and he was simply the driver. That was quite a way to show the Disney and Christmas spirit, and he earned my compliment (in fact, when I went to city hall, and complimented him, another guest chimed in "Oh yeah! I saw him too! He was great!")
Our next stop was Space Mountain. For the first time, I got the penny trick to work (press a penny against the blue wall and it should stick). I should have taken that as a sign that something was going to happen. As we were in the queue, I mentioned to Kevin that something odd had happened at one a.d.d gathering -- one of the rockets (we had taken up two) had to be stopped because it was too heavy. Kevin mentioned that he had never seen that happen before. Eventually we got to the front of the queue, and we handed our backpacks to Adrienne, who was sitting this one out. Kevin and I were placed at the front of the rear rocket (not exactly my favorite spot) and soon we were out of the loading area and ready for launching. Then something odd happened...the voice over began and we started to move, but a CM tried to stop us. When we reached the control tower, we switched to the left instead of the right and stopped just in front of a black curtain which hides Space Mountain's version of "never-never land". The CM then told us that there were too many adults on the rocket (in other words, our rocket was too heavy). She rolled out some wooden steps and unloaded the front rocket. Then she released the brakes so that the rear rocket would pull up to her impromptu unloading area. Gravity wasn't enough, so she had two big guys who were in the front rocket help push. We stopped right in front of the black curtain...drat. But we were close enough to look behind it into a room which also had some control panels and other stuff. I've since learned that this room is called "the pit" and it fits the description (though it's well lit). Oh, if only we hadn't given our backpacks to Adrienne, we could have had some photos for the "Backstage at Disneyland" web site.
But there's still more to our Space Mountain adventure. After we were unloaded from the rocket, we walked back up along the track to the regular loading area. Kevin and I were seated at the front of the next rocket (my favorite seat!) As we sat down, the music snapped on for about two seconds; Kevin and I looked at each other and said "Huh?" Soon we found out what the problem was when after we reached the control room we didn't hear "This is tower. Launch sequence engaged." We got to experience the ride without the sound track. I enjoy the soundtrack a lot, but it was a fun experience. It was great to feel the wind in my face, hear the rattling of the rails, and hear the screams of other guests. One other note...the ride seemed slower...but that's because I know the soundtrack well enough that I know what's going to happen based on the music. As to which I like better? Now that I've experienced it recently both with the music and without, I can say that I prefer it with the music. Now if I can only get a chance to ride with the lights on.
Our next stop was the Christmas Parade, since Kevin and Adrienne had not experienced it before. We met up with John Frost and another friend alongside the curb at Town Square. While we were waiting, Adrienne and I took the opportunity to stop at City Hall to register our compliment on the water vendor, our complaint about the CM handling small world line control, and to meet a CM who Adrienne knows. Adrienne's friend was very nice and after we were introduced (at first she thought I was Adrienne's husband -- we laughed) she listed to the complaint and was very understanding. After I was finished, I went back to town square, and Kevin went over to City Hall so that Adrienne could say "See, this is my husband!"
The parade, once again, was fun. John had chosen our spot so that he could interact with one of the parade performers. While the performer did not end up shaking our hands, it sure seemed like the performer recognized and acknowledged us.
After a brief stop at the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor to satisfy our Fantasia Ice Cream fix, we all stopped at Rods to sing some Christmas carols (and everyone could sing along because of John's books). After singing "Let it Snow" in the summertime when walking down Main Street after Light Magic, it was fun to sing it during the appropriate season.
Soon the sing along ended, and it was time to move on to something else. "Indy?" I asked. The line was incredibly short...it stopped at the base of the first set of stairs. Again Adrienne decided to sit this one out (and decided to visit the Indy restroom) while we boarded our jeep. Kevin and I were whisked off to the fountain of youth, where even though we didn't look, obviously someone else in the jeep did. After exiting our jeep, we ended up on the right hand side, which allows you to walk past the queue again. The queue was short enough that we were able to walk up the stairs and then jump back into the line. Our second journey took us to the treasure of Mara but again someone looked. I was wondering if we would get another chance, as we again exited on the right hand side, but while we were in the temple, they stopped loading from the right hand side. Oh well, we wouldn't have wanted to have kept Adrienne waiting any longer anyway.
Our next stop was the jungle cruise. Earlier in the day we had stopped by to see who was working and bumped into Jungle Ryan and had a good chat. Ryan was working the day shift, so we got someone else. The guy sped us through most of the trip. The beginning went something like this:
"Overthere'sadirtyBengalTigerandthreedirtycobras
andhere'sGoneshatheelephantgod
andthere'sthebrassmonkey"
Eventually he slowed down and did a few things I hadn't seen in a while:
Still, he could have gone slower, because when we reached Trader Sam, we had a red light. He had to tell several of the "dinner with Trader Sam" jokes as we waited while a boat was being taken out of storage.
Oh well, I guess since I had the fun of cruising with Maynard the night before, I should expect the next day not to be as good.
Our next stop was Fantasyland. I wanted to fly over the streets of London. Fortunately, the line for Peter Pan was relatively short, until we got there. As we stepped into the line, other people stepped in after us, and started to crowd into the Fantasyland courtyard. I went ahead and reattached the chain so that the line would switch back and no longer crowd into the courtyard. The line filled in relatively quickly causing the CM to announce "The waiting time for Peter Pan's flight is 30 minutes. Those of you in line, please entertain yourselves by chatting with your neighbors. We also request that there be no single riders -- unless you really want to ride by yourself." When I reached the front, I said "I really want to ride by myself." Adrienne and Kevin were loaded into the boat behind me. Since there are a couple of spots where the boats pass each other, we worked on high-fiving between boats...it worked only once.
After we exited Peter Pan, it started to sprinkle. Despite the autumn shower threatening to spoil our fun, we went over to Dumbo, and as Tim Castro likes to say "MUST RIDE DUMBO" (other people have also used this rallying cry, but Tim gets the credit or the blame if you prefer, for introducing it). The flight on Dumbo was fun as always. We'll have to see how the new Astro Orbiter compares when it opens up as part of the new Tomorrowland.
At this point it was time to go home. The shower only warned us about what tomorrow would bring.
Just before the trip, folks had been discussing what they like about visiting Disneyland in the rain. I had remembered my trip from January in which the rain had kept the park relatively empty and the lines short. That time, the rain was pretty light... and it didn't matter that I had forgotten to pack my poncho. This time I was prepared, and it was a good thing. The rain ranged from drizzle to downpour. When we arrived at the parking lot, portions of it looked like a lake. I had wondered where a.d.d would meet if it rained...it turns out that the backup meet spot is the inside of Refreshment (Coke) Corner. The rain also kept folks away from the meet as only 12 folks showed up for lunch, which we had at the Plaza Inn (I had the prime rib, just because I wanted to see if theirs was better; It was good)
With the rain, our next stop was the Country Bear Playhouse for the Country Bears Christmas show. We arrived just after the show started, so we had a long wait. Fortunately, because of the rain, Eeyore, and later Pooh, were on the scene to greet kids and entertain us. This also allowed a.d.ders to break into subgroups and chit-chat. Eventually the doors opened, and we were ushered into the theatre. As always, I had a fun time.
After the show, Judi and I saw that the line for Splash Mountain was short, so, what the heck...it's not like we were going to get extra wet. Besides that, Judi had brought along a video camera with a water shield so she could video tape the attraction. Everyone else went over to the lower deck of the Hungry Bear to relax. Our ride on Splash Mountain seemed normal enough; We even saw our photo before pulling into the unloading area. We don't know what happened afterwards though, because our photo did not show up in the other photo viewing area in the exit queue. Oh well.
After our ride on Splash Mountain, the rain had let up and the sun started playing hide-and-seek (mostly hide) with the clouds. As we were walking to Pirates of the Caribbean, we noticed some filming taking place on the Gallery's balcony. Eventually we found out that country singer Lee-Ann Rimes was being filmed for a special of some sorts.
After that excitement, it was time to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Judi had forgotten her shower mitts, so I let her have one of my Pirate Mickey ones while I took the other Mickey and Adrienne took Wench (er-um Princess) Minnie. Once again, we re-enacted a few scenes. Since we had our own boat, we could do this without disturbing other guests.
Keeping with the boat theme, we went on to it's a small world, where we encountered Lee-Ann Rimes again. We had decided to take over a boat, and were waiting in the queue when her boat emerged from the ride. After her boat arrived, she, her entourage, and the film crew disembarked from the boats that they were on...sadly, this caused a hangup for unloading of other guests, including a wheelchair guest whose boat was redirected to the wrong side.
When we reached our boat, we were sort of rushed. When we sat down, we noticed our boat had about a half of an inch of water in it. In hindsight, we should have reported this right away and not boarded the boat...not just so that we could have a better experience, but also so that guests after us would also have a better experience. Despite the wet feet, I had a fun time on the ride. Still, I think I've been on the ride enough that I'll only go on it again if I'm in a group that wants to go on it.
Following our watery adventure, we decided to visit someplace warm and dry -- The Main Street Opera House. While it's not a stop for me every trip, I was in the mood to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln again. [They have a commemorative program for the attraction with the sources of the quotes used in Mr. Lincoln's speech. Ask the CM for a copy.] Some people wanted to see the new captioning system which was recently added (it uses a projector and glasses) but it wasn't up yet. Still, we enjoyed the show from our front row seats.
After the show, it was almost time for them to light the Christmas Tree in town square. We listened to the carolers lead the "sing along" and then saw Mickey arrive to help light the tree. It was kind of cool, as it doesn't light up all at once.
A few of us were in the mood for Clam Chowder for dinner, so we took the train over to New Orleans Square. Unfortunately, both the French Market and Cafe Orleans were closed. While the Royal Street Veranda was open, it doesn't offer indoor seating. We stopped next to the veranda while others scouted to see what was open. Our choices were the River Belle Terrace or the Stage Door Cafe; We chose the Terrace. Adrienne K and I weren't that hungry, so we got our clam chowder fix by getting bread bowls from the Veranda and then grabbing some seats inside the River Belle Terrace. It's a good thing we saved some seats, because everyone else was stuck in a long line (only one of the two sides was open). By the time everyone had their food, I was already finished with my chowder and the bread bowl it came in. It's a good thing I could refill my "it's a small world Holiday" souvenir mug (which I had bought earlier) with coffee.
One of the things I like about Disneyland in the rain is that it really makes you appreciate the fact that Hell on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is hot. I hadn't visited Mr. Toad's wild ride all weekend, so I said "I feel like going to hell, anyone care to join me." Judi agreed to accompany me while everyone else said "Sean, go to hell!" (in a good natured way). We said that we would look for everyone on Main Street since it sounded like the evening Christmas parade was going to take place (the afternoon parade had been canceled because of the rain).
After our trip to Hell, our next stop was Thunder Mountain. During one of my earlier trips, I had finally spotted the hidden Mickey in the avalanche room of Thunder Mountain (look at the spilling gold vein; it's very subtle). Judi still hadn't seen it, so it was my duty to point it out. When we reached the room and it appeared, I said "Now!" and she noticed it. I didn't have to point.
Now it was my time to see a hidden Mickey for the first time. We went over to the Indiana Jones Adventure. The queue was short; so we stopped at the spike room so I could push the pole. We had to wait about 30 seconds because the room was still "resetting". I find it pretty frightening that I knew when to push the pole. But back to the hidden Mickey. One of the skeletons inside the skeleton room of Indy sports a pair of Mouse ears with the name "Bones". I had been trying to spot bones for several trips. During my last visit, Judi pointed "Bones" out to both Adrienne and Kevin. Now it was my turn. She prepared me by showing me a photo from the "Where in Disneyland attractions?" book. You can sort of see the mouse ears on one of the skeletons. Now that I knew where to look, I was ready. Sure enough, I spotted "Bones"! Now if I only my jeep could break down at the right spot to get a photo taken.
We met up with Adrienne V, and others on Main Street. They had staked out a great spot for the parade, and I was fortunate to get a curbside seat. This made it easy for us to interact with the performers; and they interacted with us. Adrienne did the "pixie wave" to some of the elves, and at least two of them acknowledged it. Another funny moment occurred when a couple of the taller floats went by (the Christmas tree was one) -- the floats were tall enough to catch the wreaths hanging over Main Street; Fortunately they didn't drag the wreaths. One other highlight for me was when the carolers came along, they came up to us and shook our hands. On the downside, now that I've watched the parade so much, the parade's "Christmas Fantasy" song is stuck in my head.
When the parade was over, it was almost time to leave. After the traditional Snow White coin toss, Adrienne, Kevin, and I were on our way back to Corona. The next day, I was on my way back to Berkeley. When I reached home, I knew that my new engine was in good shape, and that I could safely drive down to LA again (and I think I'm going to do that just a few more times)
A lot of people helped contribute to making my trip a good one. Thanks go to: