For many years now, I've celebrated the weekend before Christmas by attending a Holiday party hosted by my friend La. This year however, La announced that she was not having a holiday party. Fortunately, I had been invited to two parties in LA. I didn't even have to choose between the two parties, as one, hosted by my friend Liz (whom I had first met on-line in August and in person during my trip in October) was on Saturday evening, and the other, hosted by Kevin and Adrienne was Sunday afternoon. As an extra bonus, I found out that another a.d.der, The Fabulous Disney Babe (or Fab for short) was going to be in the park on Sunday. Fab and I had chatted on AOL a few times, so I was looking forward to meeting her.
I made arrangements to stay with the Hoffmans on Friday and Sunday (to cut down on my drive). Since both parties were near Disneyland, I opted to stay at the Magic Carpet Motel on Saturday night.
I had a bunch of errands to take care of, so I didn't hit the road until around 3. I figured that the earliest I would get to Northridge would be 8, though 9 was more likely. After encountering traffic going over the Altamont Pass it was clear driving. The sun was setting as I was driving down the Central Valley. I noticed a Vista Point along the drive and decided to pull in to watch the last rays of the setting sun release their grip from the valley. The sunset itself wasn't impressive, but watching the shadows lengthen was. After the sunset was over, I was about to return to my car when I noticed that the vista point included a monument; I decided to investigate. The monument was erected by E Clampus Vitus to mark a spot nearby where missionaries and native Americans had met. I had heard that the Clampers placed plaques at historical locations, but this was the first time that I had ever encountered one of their plaques.
During my drive I did notice something else -- It was cold! When I stopped at the Kettleman City In and Out, the breath from my nose was producing steam. Even when I got to Northridge it was cold (well, cold for Northridge). When I reached the Hoffmans' house, Dori was awake while Larry and Daniel were getting ready to go to sleep. Since they didn't make it to Big Game this year, I brought them a 100th Big Game seat cushion (no, it wasn't one which the Cal students had thrown at the taunting Stanfurd students) and some other stuff. Dori and I chatted for a while and then it was time for me to sleep. the drive had tired me enough that I didn't have any problems falling asleep.
Since the party wasn't until the evening, I decided to spend the day at Disneyland [now there's a big surprise]. After having a light breakfast, I thanked the Hoffmans and took off for the park. I had arranged to meet Judi Lane who was flying down from San Francisco that morning. The drive to the park was uneventful and I was soon inside the magic kingdom. Since my meeting with Judi wasn't until later, my first stop was Tomorrowland to see what things looked like with most of the walls down.
The entrance is marked with a sign and twin rock formations that form a "gate" into Tomorrowland. However, when you walk through the gate, you're smack-dab in front of the Astro-Orbiter, a ride which looks like a cross between the old Rocket Jets and the old woman's planetary clock in the movie The Dark Crystal (I saw it testing a week earlier; it looked cool). As I was looking at the new ride, a group of people with hand written name tags led by a cast member arrived. The cast member explained the Tomorrowland rehab to the group (which I assumed consisted of future cast members undergoing orientation) and added that several portions of the New Tomorrowland may open on April 1 with the remainder opening in May. As they entered Star Tours, I continued my walk.
The walkways now all have the same brick which was laid down in the previously open areas of Tomorrowland. The landscaping is made up of edible plants (thus earning the nickname "The Tomorrowland Salad Bar") including lettuce, strawberries, onions, and fruit trees. I can already imagine guests pulling off fruit from the trees. One problem with one of the walkways is that it is narrow. Hopefully as more walls come down, this won't be as big a problem.
I then walked around to the newly built Ariel's grotto next to King Triton's Fountain. The grotto looks very nice though it still had some finishing touches. Ariel will sit on a clamshell which can rotate so she can sneak off backstage. In the grotto walls are colored lights which will enhance photographs and misters which will activate when the clamshell spins. Hopefully this area will be as magical as I imagine it can be.
After my tour, it was almost time to meet Judi. I walked back to Main Street, I noticed the Mad Hatter and Alice rushing towards the Carnation Cafe. The Mad Hetter then took over the Disneyland band which was performing in front of the Cafe. Alice also joined the percussion section of the band by holding up a metal tea pot which the snare drummer would sometimes strike. It's little moments like this that make me glad I have my Annual Pass. If I was only coming for the day, I probably wouldn't stop and watch this.
After their concert, the Mad Hatter and Alice dashed off back towards Fantasyland. I, on the other hand, made it to my meeting with Judi. Judi had brought me a Christmas present. Even though I knew what it was, she had wrapped it up. Since I knew that it was the Imagineering book, I did not unwrap it. Instead, we stored it in a locker.
Since Judi had just arrived, we went to Tomorrowland, where we got to see how crowded one walkway can get. As we were sitting at Tomorrowland Terrace, Pooh came over and stood right next to the walkway over to Star Tours. A crowd quickly formed and blocked the walkway. Judi asked me "How long do you think it will be before they change that walkway?"
Also during our tour, we noticed that the second queue area for Star Tours was open. Since we had only read about this area, we ducked in. The area is decorated with the old destination posters which used to hand in the exit area. In addition, you walk through a "security screen" as you are watched by an Mon Calimari who is in a room overlooking the queue. For some reason, the soundtrack of the main portion of the space port is piped into the overflow queue. After we finished walking through the overflow queue, I decided "Let's actually ride Star Tours". Once again, we never made it to Endor.
Our next stop was the Starcade. We wanted to look at the construction taking place between Space Mountain and the Inoventions (former America Sings or Carrousel of Progress) building. We couldn't see much, but we bumped into John Frost who was doing the same. We talked about new Tomorrowland for a while before lunch.
Judi was in the mood for a light lunch, while I wasn't hungry at all. We stopped at the Bengal Barbecue and then took the meal over to the tables alongside the Rivers of America near the dock for the Mark Twain. These tables are a great spot to relax and catch a few special Disney moments such as watching the crowd follow Pecos Goofy, or listening to the Mark Twain's captain use the steamboat whistle with the Disneyland Band, or watching the Mad Hatter and Alice dash off of the Twain to Fantasyland (I guess the Mad Hatter and Alice did a lot of dashing that day).
After lunch, we moseyed around, looked around the gallery, and stopped at Fortune Red, who said to me:
Overhaul me words,matey, for what I say be true. Blessed ye be with a strong character and a forgivin' nature. These shipshape qualities have steered ye safely though squalls to the captivatin' shores o' the Magic Kingdom. I see favorable winds and a pleasant passage if ye charts yer course through the sea o' life by this golden rule: Avoid common gossip and shun the bilge rats what live by it. Mark well me words, matey: He who chatters to ye, will chatter about ye!
You might think that this would be advice for any a.d.der since we all seem to enjoy gossip. Eventually we ended up back at main street where we visited Esmeralda. She passed on this advice:
"Great oaks from little acorns grow."
A little advertisement in a local newspaper may bring to you more
than you have ever dreamed would be your good fortune. Your
wildest expectations will be realized through a very small
investment, because it will bring you in touch with a certain
person who will take a liking to you and assist you on the road to
fame and fortune.
One of your lucky numbers is 3.
Drop another coin in slot and I will tell you more.
Hmm. Now what kind of an advertisement am I supposed to place?
Oh well, by this time they were getting ready for the Christmas parade. We were heading over to the Little Red Wagon for a Corn Dog when I spotted Maynard in costume walking towards the Jungle Cruise. We went over to the Jungle Cruise board at the exit area and found out his shift ended at 4 PM. If we were going to catch him, we had to ride now. The queue was short, and we didn't have the luck of catching him right away. Fortunately, the loader said "I understand, go ahead and wait." While I had wanted to attend the second show of the Festival of Fools, I decided to wait anyway.
It was worth the wait as we got to sit up in the front. While Maynard does push the line during his spiel, he manages to keep the jokes within the 1938 theme of the attraction. Here are a few:
If you get a chance to ride the Jungle Cruise with Maynard, do it.
We had just enough time to dash to the second showing of Hunchback. What's nice about the second show is that it's not as crowded. We had no problem finding the other a.d.ders who were at the show. While we were waiting, I passed around the photos which I had taken a week earlier. A few of the photos were of one of the guest control cast members, Michelle, giving special attention to a little girl who had wandered up to the stage. After the show (which didn't have the real good Clopin, but also didn't have the bad Clopin either) I spotted Michelle and showed her the photos. It was great to see her reaction both as she looked at the photos and when I said "They're yours" The other guest control CMs were just as happy as she passed the photos around.
After that, we all took off for various other park activities. We went back to Tomorrowland, since some people hadn't really looked at it. Comments again were similar to the ones Judi and I had.
I had originally planned to attend the 6pm Festival of Fools, but as Judi and I were walking in Frontierland, we spotted the Mark Twain pulling into the dock all lit up. Surprisingly I had never been on the Twain after sunset, so I opted for the last sailing of the Twain. Judi wasn't interested in seeing Hunchback again, so she was glad at my choice. As we waited for the Twain to depart, we got an extra bonus as we watched the Fantasmic fog effects being tested. While I enjoy Fantasmic immensely, I wish that on those nights where they didn't have Fantasmic, they would run the Mark Twain later so that guests could get some idea of what things were like before Fantasmic. Anyway, riding the Twain in the evening was a serene experience and worth missing the Festival of Fools for (especially when I heard the bad Clopin singing)
After the ride on the Twain, we decided to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railway. Judi made me pull out my flashlight so I could see how the paint on the Baxter Boring Company box had faded enough that you can no longer read the name Baxter on it. The box honors Tony Baxter (BTMR was the first ride he designed); I would hope that this is not forgotten. Almost every time I ride Thunder Mountain, I sit in row 15 (the very last row). This time we ended up in row 14, which gave us a chance to teach the "Goat trick" to two ladies who were in the last row. The "Goat trick" is not something you look for; Instead, it's all about enhancing the centrifugal effect of going around one of the curves. At the top of the second hill, there's a goat chewing on some dynamite. If you position your body to face the goat for as long as possible, the centrifugal effect seems extra cool. The ladies agreed with us and thanked us afterwards.
After dinner (at the Hungry Bear Restaurant) it was getting near the time for me to take off for Liz's Christmas party, but after the Snow White Coin Toss (I made a good wish, and the coin did not touch metal), Judi spotted something on the People Mover tracks -- a Rocket Rod! We just had look and listen. We dashed over to Tomorrowland Terrace where we got to see the prototype arrive and then depart again. I didn't time it precisely, but the vehicle took about two to two and a half minutes to make the circuit. We couldn't see much, and spent a good amount of time looking for the right spot to get the best view. It turns out that the best spot is the queue for Star Tours, where you get a nice close-up view of the vehicle. Another good spot is at the Tomorrowland entrance, where you can watch the vehicle return to its station. (All other portions of the track are blocked by a tarpaulin. The Tomorrowland monorail platform is on other spot where you can see the vehicle, but unfortunately for us, each time the vehicle went past, a monorail was in the station, and our view was blocked.)
After that, it was time for me to head off to the party. After a quick stop to check into the Magic Carpet, I was on my way to Liz's apartment. I had no problem finding her place and got a decent parking spot. When I arrived, Liz was showing off a couple of web sites. By far the funniest was the Adam has freed his willy site [Adam is Adam Clayton of U2, and the willy, well, learn some slang] sponsored by the U2 Netherlands' affiliate. After that entertainment, it was time for introductions we had
With the tough stuff out of the way, it was time for some shots. Liz made me pick a shot glass. I grabbed one which had her name painted on it; It was a souvenir from a rush party for a sorority she didn't pledge. I then had to choose my "poison". I opted for some Goldschlagger, which was an appropriate choice (the flakes of gold made a loveley background for the hand-painted decorations).
Then it was photo time. I brought out my photos of the Clan MacDude wedding which had taken place at Starquest, scenes of Cal, and highlights of previous Disneyland trips. The photos of the park made Liz and Jennifer reminisce about when they were cast members. Liz showed off photos from her trip to Seattle and of times when she was a cast member. Liz then mentioned that she had more photos, but that they were in her classroom (she teaches fourth grade). We wanted to see them, and fortunately Jennifer was being a designated driver (the rest of us were not in any shape to drive). Liz, Darlene, and I accompanied Jennifer to the nearby school. Liz showed off her classroom, which brought back memories of my days at Shannon Elementary. It was good that we went to the classroom, because there were some crayfish which the students were keeping there. Liz grabbed her photo album, and I grabbed the container of crayfish (one of them had molted). During the drive back to Liz's apartment, I somehow managed to keep most of the water and all of the crayfish in the dishbin. Only a little bit of water was sloshed onto me.
We celebrated our return with another shot, and then proceded to look at the photos which Liz had retrieved from her classroom. I then drew my attention to another souvenir -- a lemon shaped balloon ball from the U2 Pop Mart tour. People had written things on the balloon. I started asking Liz about some of the things that folks had written, and she told the story that went along with each quotation I read. After the stories, it was time for some websurfing. Liz had warned me that they liked to sign people's guest books while they were hammered. My page doesn't have a guest book, yet, but when it does, I'll have to see if it ever gets signed. Eventually I sobered up and said farewell. I was usually one of the last guests to leave my friend La's Christmas parties, so it seemed fitting that I was among the last to leave Liz's (well, excluding Anne, who was sleeping over, I was the last to leave). Even though Liz did not have a big party, what it lacked in the number of guests was more than made up for with the amount of fun we all had.
I managed to wake up at 8:30 in the morning. Considering that I didn't bring my alarm and didn't ask for a wake up call, that wasn't too bad. Judi and I had planned to meet at the porch before rope drop and then have breakfast. I knew that I was not going to make that meeting as I had to shower, dress, check out and get to the park. Before leaving for the park, I luckily caught the weather forecast; It called for showers, so I brought my poncho. When I got to the park, I made a bee-line for the Riverbell Terrace, since that's where we were considering having breakfast. While Judi wasn't there, I ended up talking with another guest who was in line for breakfast. We chatted about the park and I passed on a few tips (she and her family hadn't seen Fantasmic before).
After breakfast, and a stop at the Haunted Mansion, I returned to Fantasyland. The line for Storybookland was short, so I decided to hop aboard a canal boat. For the first time, I was on a boat with a male guide. He actually did a good job. When we passed by Agraba for the second time he said "and there is the marketplace of Agraba; home of the famous Dead Sea Tupperware." When we passed by the giant patchwork quilt he mentioned "and rumor has it that a giant goes to sleep underneath the quilt every night after Disneyland. It looks like somebody didn't make his bed this morning." Getting a guide that slips in little jokes makes the ride so much better. Still, I want to hear a guide do the Marine Corps spiel. Maybe if we can get a boat filled with a.d.ders during an AP party or something, this could happen.
Following my ride on Storybookland, it was almost time for a story. Judi figured that I would show up at Tinkerbell's toyshop, and so she found me. We were both rewarded with a wonderful telling of Beauty and the Beast by Belle and her assistant Rupert. Rupert went the extra mile to get everyone involved in the story. For example, during the description of the wolf attack, he grabbed some plush off of the walls and "attacked" Belle (which other assistants have also done), but then he grabbed a bunch of plush and tossed it at the audience. Then, to play the Beast fighting of the wolves, he had members of the audience toss plush back at him. He then fended off each attacking plush.
After the story was over, Judi and I went straight to City Hall to put in our compliments. We both wrote out our compliments, but for some reason, the two cast members who read our compliments reacted differently. The one who read Judi's compliment didn't really pay much attention to it; It was as if her mind was elsewhere. On the other hand, the one who read mine said "Great! I'm going to fax this right away to his supervisor, the manager of his department, and the vice-president of merchandising" if I had known, I would have snuck in the phrase "more attraction specific merchandise"
After our compliments, we went over to Tomorrowland, to take another look around. Then it was time to meet The Fabulous Disney Babe. When Fab announced that she would be visiting from Hawaii, and other someone asked if she was indeed fabulous, Al Lutz said the following:
I truly and honestly feel she is the only woman on the planet who utter the line: "Peel me a grape!" - and have entire armies, made up of literally walls all of male humankind, try and fulfill her humble, yet beguiling, request. They will also fight endlessly over deciding if either the asses' milk, or the cow's milk is what she should bathe in that evening before serenely reposing.
Several of us wondered how many men would come out of the wood work to meet her. As it turned out, only a handful of people made it to the meet. (I guess the threat of rain frightened many away.) For those who did show up, Fab not only gave us the gift of her presence, but she also gave us gifts -- chocolate covered macadamia nuts, and Hunchback of Notre Dame pins. I gave her a "Solstice" card in return (as I said, we had been chatting on AOL before). Fab could only be with us short time, as she was in the park with her father and her daughter Alice. While some folks went off to take a photo in Tomorrowland, several others and I followed Fab to Fantasyland to watch her father and daughter ride Dumbo. I snapped a few photos of her father and daughter on Dumbo that turned out pretty well. After that, it was time time to say farewell.
As we were in Fantasyland, rain started to fall. We knew that the other a.d.ders were going to have lunch at Casa Mexicana, so we went over there to join them. Several folks had staked out some tables in a covered area while others were waiting in the long line. Judi and I staked out spots at a table and went over to the Stage Door Cafe to get a bite. As we were at the Stage Door Cafe, we heard claps of thunder. For a second I expected to hear the opening for Light Magic (which also begins with a thunderclap) but fortunately, this didn't happen. Still several people made the comment "A Winter shower threatens to bring an end to the fun."
Following lunch, we headed off to New Orleans Square to visit what Adrienne Vincent has dubbed "The Sparkly Store" -- The Jewel of Orleans, which sells estate jewelry. The shop includes a nice assortment of rings, watches, and other items. During our time in New Orleans Square, I stopped at Fortune Red, and was given a card I had received before. Oh well.
We then stopped at the Jungle Cruise. Once again, Maynard was working. This time instead of only two people waiting, we had about nine. Still, the cast members let us wait for Maynard. Again, he made it worth the wait.
We then went over to Tomorrowland since a few of the a.d.ders had not explored it yet. We made our jokes about the edible plants and then we heard that guests had already started picking some of the fruit off of trees. Following that, we went over to the old "Secret Parade Viewing Spot" and found that it wasn't so secret anymore. Folks were watching the Christmas parade go by. When the Gingerbread "men" went by, some of us shouted out "Yay gingerbread men!"; I don't think they heard us though.
It was almost time for the Hunchback of Notre Dame festival of Fools. The rain had stopped and the sun was peaking through the clouds. I wanted to to see the show, so I followed Robert Jordan and Dodie to the Festival area. Unfortunately, the stage wasn't dry yet, so the show was canceled. What were we going to do in the meantime? Well, since Robert and Kaz had not been on it's a small world holiday yet, we all went to small world plaza. This time however, Kaz and the other Hunchies turned our ride into a game -- they kept placing Festival of Fools cast members into different scenes in the ride. It was hilarious.
Following the ride, it was time to head off to the Krocks' Christmas Party. Dodie and I met Judi when we exited small world and went to exit the park. As always, we stopped at Snow White's grotto for the coin toss. Again I made a good wish, but this time my streak was broken; the coin hit metal. I really hope that doesn't mean this wish won't come true. We then stopped at Esmeralda for a prophecy. I was told:
There is very little that I can tell you, because you are so good. You have a great gentleness and pure moral principles, a merciful affectionate and constant heart, slightly melancholy. Inventive genius of mechanical arts, are independent and have little patience with conventional ways of living. Lover of music, very changeable in opinion. After middle age you will inherit a fortune, which you will have to defend in court.
I predict that you will have great success in life, in general, very small changes in your daily routine are necessary to bring you to the top of the ladder.
One of your lucky numbers is 4.
Drop another coin in slot and I will tell you more.
So, those of you who know me...do you believe this?
On that note, it was time to leave the park. I arrived at the Krocks' home in Corona just after sunset. Al, Cindy, Glenn, and Jeff were already there. Judi and Dodie arrived a little later. The party was fun to attend, but my favorite moment came when I gave Cindy her Christmas gift.
If you've read some of the stories from 1996, you might know that Cindy is not comfortable around snakes... even rubber snakes. A few months ago I noticed a new shirt at the Indiana Jones Trading Post in Adventureland; On the shirt was a big cobra with "Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?" on the front and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye" on the back. I decided that I just had to give this to Cindy. When she unfolded it everyone else said "Cool! Attraction specific merchandise!" Cindy, on the otherhand, said "You know I'm never going to wear this." and then folded it back up so that the snake is covered. Sigh.
Following the Christmas Party, I returned to the Hoffmans' home in Northridge. I was surprised to find Dori awake wrapping gifts. We chatted as she wrapped. After a good night's sleep, it was time to return home. The drive home again was uneventful. I didn't even stop, as I was ready to be home. The highlight of the drive was being able to see the snow-capped Sierras while driving along I-5.
All in all this was a great trip. My thanks have to go to: