Disney 2015 - Day 2

So, we just came back from MK for a bite to eat, and to change into our costumes for MNSSHP tonight. Figured I'd write this while it's fresh. (Cancel that. Didn't finish earlier, so instead of being a Part 1 and Part 2, now you're getting it all at once.) LAZY.

Got up a bit later than planned this morning, but it wasn't so bad, since the clocks changed, and it was an hour earlier than I thought! Got ready to go for the day, and decided to shave now so that I didn't have to later. I figure Peter Pan shouldn't have a full beard. I mention this only because I want to rant. See, for the last few years, I've been using a straight razor. The type than Sweeney Todd uses. The first time he used it I was sitting in the bathroom terrified I was going to watch him slit his own throat. My noises of concern were deemed unhelpful. It was tricky to get used to, but I love it now. Sadly, it's in bad need of sharpening, and I figured it'd be just as easy to leave it at home and pick up a regular razor. I got one of the 5-blade ones, with the trimmer on the back. Fusion, I think? Anyway, I hated it. Every pass I took, I clogged the razor with hair. It took longer for me to shave than it did for Rin to shower, get dressed, do her hair, etc, etc. I am not fast. (Please imagine this in Baymax's voice.) Getting my straight razor sharpened as soon as I get home, now.

Anyway, on to Magic Kingdom! We decided to forego getting a rental car this trip, so we're relying on Disney Transport. I haven't fully formed an opinion about it yet, but this morning took forever to get a bus, and then we were pretty much packed in like sardines. Yeah, meh. Not bad, not great, I kinda miss the car, but we'll see. Didn't take too long to get to MK though, and it was nice to be right at the entrance.

After entering with our Magic Bands (no major issues with them yet) (except that I suck at them), we went directly to Harmony Barber Shop to see if we could manage a walk in. I had tried making an appointment, but by the time I got around to it, they were all booked up. They took my name, said it would probably be about 2 hours, but to check back in an hour just in case. Awesome, I honestly didn't think I'd even get in.

So we wandered down Main St, Rin got her first glimpse of the Castle and got giddy BECAUSE CASTLE, then stopped at the Bakery, and picked up a couple drinks and snacks. I had a giant brownie (which I still haven't finished) and a chocolate smoothie (which was very meh), while Rin got a Bacon, Gouda, and Egg Breakfast Sandwich (bury me in gouda please) and a Strawberry Acai Refresher (also in this). Hers actually counted as a QS meal, while mine was two Snack Credits. I was planning to do a cost analysis again, but the receipts don't seem to show total cost anymore. Huh. We may try to look up all the costs later. Kept the receipts anyway.

We ate and drank as we wandered Main St some more, and slowly made our way toward Big Thunder Mountain. We had a FastPass+ and it was approaching. We got to the area a bit early, so stopped in one of the shops, got our pictures taken at a PhotoPass spot, then got into line. First ride of the trip! No dancing! I think it was a good choice, and it seems like they've added/refurbed it a bit since we were here last. Nothing major, just some little things I've never noticed. By the time we got off, it was over an hour since we checked in at Harmony. So, we headed back to Main St, and got to the shop just as the name ahead of me was being called. So, we watched some kids get their first haircuts, and Rin was in heaven. Okay, but, OMG BABIES. 

My barber was Nicole, and she was awesome. She and Rin talked a lot (I'm naturally quiet), and at the end, I got some official Pirate Booty (The male version of Pixie Dust), (I maintain it was dust - the man was Peter freaking Pan) and she even added some gold, since Pirates love gold. It wasn't the cheapest cut I've ever had, but it wasn't the most expensive either, and I'd definitely do it again. I only wish they could've shaved a Mickey into the side of my head, but Nicole said they don't do that. To the horse barber (for reference, Tri Circle D Ranch has Mickey heads on the sides of their horses)!

Next up, Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. Rin's been wanting to do this since it was announced, so it was a no brainer to go start our hunt. I don't know if it's changed since it was first announced, but it seems a bit more involved than I remember the description being. We're actually still in the middle of our mission, so we'll see if we manage to finish before we leave for the week. But so far, so good. Like a scavenger hunt that adults can do without feeling completely stupid! THIS IS ALL I HAVE EVER WANTED.

After a few Sorcerer spots, we hit Pirates of the Caribbean and then Jungle Cruise. Hook! Hook! Where's the hook! I may or may not have bought a hook. Also, saw another scavenger hunt that I plan to look into. Both just as good as I remember, though we've still never had a Skipper as good as our first one. He was amazing. After that, we headed back to the room for the break I mentioned at the start. Got a slice of pizza, some pasta for Rin, orange juice, water, Mickey Rice Crispie Treat, and a pumpkin muffin. Not too bad. Not great, but not bad. The pumpkin muffin went kinda like gooey mushy in my mouth, I was hoping for something a bit spongier. Pasta was decent, though. Got changed into our costumes (Pan and Hook) (hence the hook!), and headed back for MNSSHP. I glued a feather to his ear. He is ridiculously tolerant of me dressing him up.

For some reason I really wanted this picture while standing at the bus stop.

So, MNSSHP. First thing, check out Haunted Mansion. Unfortunately we were there a bit before the party actually started, so the ghost outside (Renata?) wasn't there yet. But, Haunted Mansion is still awesome, so on we went. Worth it. Even if we did break down like three times and I thought I might actually die. Then, some pictures with Gaston (ha, he was amazeballs! We were the last ones in line - we were passing by and it was already  closed, I think, but buddy let us through because he was awesome that way. Gaston talked with us for like, five minutes, too. He said some people just get so overwhelmed in his presence that their toes go all tingly and I showed him my hook and said I couldn't feel my fingers. He was concerned. As we were leaving I mentioned I had never seen a neck quite so incredibly thick as his and he taught us about chin ups - you put your chin up, and smile.) (Oh! And then we got La Fou's Brew. Good for the first and last bits, but the middle was too aplple-juicey for me. But I dislike apple juice, so there's that.) and Peter Pan's Flight (this was our only ride on Peter Pan's flight since it was slated to close November 3rd for refurb) (WHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY. Oh my God, though, the new queue area is fan-friggan-tastic. I'm not sure Zife has ever really expressed my deep and true love for Peter Pan before, but I teared up in theis cue because I was IN the Darling's house and it was fantastic.) and on to New Fantasyland. This is the first we've been back since New Fantasyland has been finished. I mean, when we were here last, the new queue for Winnie the Pooh had just opened, and the wall was still up. I'm pretty sure Snow White's Scary Adventure was still running too. Oh no! I forgot that was gone!

Alas, we didn't actually get much done at New Fantasyland, since Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas were there. So we hung out to get shots with them. It was awesome. Though Rin thinks they could do Jack's face better. It was the longest line in the history of forever, but it's so so beyond cool that they're at WDW now and not just Disneyland. It's my little sister's favourite movie of all time, so the wait was totally worth it. Plus, because they're both technically face characters we got to talk to them for quite a while. It was pretty cool they were so excited to see Captain Hook because they're kind of bad guys but not at all? Like, they were just like "Ooo, hey buddy! How'd you catch the flying guy??" and they talked to Zife about the glitter in his hair and we told them it was fairy dust from Tink. Sally wanted to know if putting her in a bottle of potion would help get the dust, and I said sometimes I poke her a little with the hook. Jack was grateful for the tip. We also got to take selfies with them, which actually seemed pretty common with these guys. I think that's a whole new level of cool with the photo ops. The photographer took lots of pics, though, and the handler took a bunch with our camera, too.

Not the greatest picture, but I haven't activated our Memory Maker yet.

Got a bit of candy, but not much. I feel like it was a lot harder to find candy stations this year than last time we went... however long ago that was. Poor Zife, one of the things we got the most of is coffee caramels. 

We got a decent position for the parade, and actually managed to see the Headless Horseman this time. I expected him to move faster than he did. Slowpoke. This is probably my favourite parade WDW does, simply because of the gravediggers. They're pretty badass, no lie. Though, I'm sad that the groundskeeper and his dog weren't in it this year.

Zife actually skipped a little bit here. After the parade we wandered back to the Haunted Mansion to see it all done up for the party. Renata (I think??) was there - I like her, she's very funny. We went into the line to get the PhotoPass pics with the horseless carriage that they superimpose a ghost onto. I look like the many chinned wonder in the "Act scared!" pic, but it was still a good time. From there we wandered over to Memento Mori, having never actually been there before. The cast members all seemed a little bored - they were reading each other ghost stories and trying on hats, but that's the kind of time when it's the most fun to see them. I love interacting with cast members being goofy. One gave us some Mickey stickers, and another regaled us with a story while his castmates provided the sound effects (there was a tense moment when they couldn't quite think of what to do for thunder, but crinkled paper saved the day). Yet another greeted me with "Ahoy!" as we rounded the corner and proceeded to die laughing when she thought I responded with "Okay." (I said hi, but the moment remains the same.)

Zife would like the thank life, the universe and everything for providing me as his wife and BFF because he forgot all this. 

After the parade was Happy Hallowishes, not my favourite fireworks show, but still awesome. And then it was time for The Sanderson Sisters. This show was awesome, and since we'd just watched Hocus Pocus the night before, it was kind of perfect timing. The sisters were perfectly cast, and I loved getting to see all the villains, especially now that some of the old 'masked' characters are face characters now. Ok, but holy crap, they were like "last time we came back was twenty-two years ago!" and isn't THAT the way to make a guy feel old. But seriously, they were amazing. They obviously studied their characters well from the voices to the facial expressions to Sarah kinda swinging off things and petting the men. And they sang I Put a Spell on You. So, you know, perfect. By this point it was well after midnight, and time to go back to the resort. Well, if you want to be technical, by this time it was well after midnight and time to duck into Casey's because we were starving and had been burned by the food court before. We just got some fries and ice water, but the fries were, frankly, delicious. I was really impressed. The water we seem to be getting this year is overwhelmingly tap water rather than water from the spout in fountain drink stations. I mean, yeah, it hydrates you, but at what cost? I take a sip and feel like I'm breathing out chemicals, blech. We hopped on the bus back to the hotel and ran to our rooms to grab our cups so I could test the "Hey, maybe the water spouts work after midnight" theory. They did. Huzzah! One less thing to hate about Value! But yeah, in the words of Zife - Goodnight!

OH! I almost forgot, I got a new pirate joke from the guy directing us to our bus stop. Where did Captain Hook get his hook? The second hand shop. Badum CHE!

Our California Adventure (Semi) Live Trip Report - Day 2 - Disneyland

Today was going to be a rest day, but we decided to do Disneyland instead. We got the Southern California CityPass, so we get three days at Disney, a day at Sea World, and a day at Universal Studios. So, off to Disneyland we go!

First thing's first. Rin and I love Disney. More specifically, we love Walt Disney World. We know that Disneyland is different, and we were expecting the differences. But I don't think we were really prepared for them. As we were driving in, we could see parts of the park: the Matterhorn, Space Mountain, and same of the facades. Then, we realized we could see into backstage areas. No big deal, we've seen backstage before at WDW, but it's kind of weird to see it before you're even in the park.

So we parked, got the shuttle through  the streets of Anaheim, and headed into the park. Disney's California Adventure is off the the left, and Magic Kingdom is off the the right, and we were headed to Magic Kingdom for the day. Bag check was pretty cursory, I'm pretty sure we could've had several knives in our bag without anyone noticing, but what can you do?

First impression? It looks like WDW. Which makes sense, since Main St in WDW was based off of Main St here. Then, we saw the Castle. That was a huge shock. I've seen pictures of Sleeping Beauty's Castle online, and I knew it was shorter than Cinderella's Castle, but, again, I wasn't really prepared for this.

Look at this. There are trees taller than the Castle.

The size of the Castle became an issue later in the evening when the fireworks were happening. But more on that later.

So yeah, we were underwhelmed. But, we were off in search of rides. First stop: Pirates of the Carribean. It's Rin's favourite ride at WDW, so we thought it was a good first ride. The line was a bit weird. I mean, at WDW, all the lines are really  themed, and basically hidden. This one felt more like a line at Canada's Wonderland. Basically just like they put the line wherever there was room. This was a trend that continued through the day, most noticeable on Space Mountain, where you just line up on the roof.

This was taken from in the line to Pirates. Kind of strange, seeing the rest of the park from the line.

Pirates itself was awesome though, and we both finally felt like we were in Disney. There's a lot more to the beginning of this version than in WDW. You go past one of the restaurants right near the beginning, which was kind of cool, and then moved into an elaborate cave system. after that, it transitions (mostly) into the Pirates we know and love. There were a few minor differences, but it was still awesome.

After the ride, we wandered a lot, checked out some shops, including one dedicated to Nightmare Before Christmas, which was awesome, then decided to check out Haunted Mansion. I've always heard awesome things about Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, but I thought it basically felt exactly the same as WDW. Maybe the awesomeness happens around Halloween or Christmas when they actually theme it differently.

The Haunted Mansion. I have to say, I do like the plantation style building.

Oh, one thing I haven't mentioned yet. Cast Members. As soon as we walked into the park, we noticed that the CMs somehow felt different than at WDW. Not as friendly, perhaps. Not as stellar at their jobs. This is something that continued for the entire day, save for one or two exceptions. We also noticed something you'd never see at WDW: Cast Members out of place. By this, I mean CMs in the wrong uniform for their area. I'm not sure if Disneyland doesn't have utilidors, or if the standards here just aren't as high, but there were several occasions when we saw a CM in, say, a Tomorrowland uniform walking through, say Frontierland. Kind of strange to see. We also saw three uniformed CMs eating while on stage, or walking with their lunch in hand. Again, not something I've ever seen at WDW. As Rin put it, Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth, not the Most Magical they don't need Magic. And I kind of agree, WDW has magic coming out of every orifice. Disneyland, not so much.

Anyway, back to the day. After some more wandering, we happened upon a Character meet with Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. So, naturally, we got in line. And were the only two people without kids there. We've gotten used to this at this point. We got our pictures, but we were surprised that neither Eeyore nor Tigger had PhotoPass Photographers, so we could only have one person in each picture. When we got to Pooh, I asked the PP Photographer to take a picture with my camera, which he then handed off to the Character attendant, who took one picture. I was lucky it turned out, since the camera was on Manual mode (I assumed the PP Photog would know how to use it). The PP Photog just stood there, didn't take a single shot. Huh.

A good shot, none-the-less.

After this, we naturally checked out the Winnie the Pooh ride, which was mostly the same as its WDW counterpart. Nothing special, but still fun.

Earlier in the day, we had grabbed a FastPass for Indiana Jones Adventure on the way to Pirates. Neither of us had any clue what the ride was like, but it was the first FastPass we saw, so we got it (I have to say, I like that the CMs tell you that you have to come back during the window, and not after, or you won't be let in). Now, our time was up, so we headed back. As we were headed in, we were trying to figure out what was going to happen. First, we were thinking water ride, but that didn't really seem to make sense. Then, I had an epiphany. It felt like it would be like Dinosaur. And by that, I mean the ride vehicles would be like Dinosaur. And I was right! I loved the ride, but Rin was terrified for most of it, she's not a fan of snakes, and there were snakes abound. The ride ended with the iconic boulder rolling toward us, just as we 'fall' through the floor and it misses us. This part could be cleaned up, I think, since the boulder clearly stopped before we fell. Otherwise, I'd go back on in a heartbeat. Rin, maybe not. I feel like it would be an awesome addition to DHS back in Orlando. Maybe to replace the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.

Where does one go after joining Indy on an adventure? Why not keep the adventure going on Jungle Cruise! I always think that this ride really depends on your Skipper, and I think the same holds true here at Disneyland. Sadly, I wasn't a huge fan of our Skipper, more obnoxious than funny. She had her good moments, but mostly it just fell flat. The ride itself is mostly the same as at WDW, so nothing special to report here.

That zebra sure is dead tired.

I think it was around this time that we decided to get some lunch. Now, usually, Rin and I plan like mad people when we go to WDW. We know the names of all of the restaurants, we know the menus at most of them, and we have our ADRs booked 180 days out. This trip, not so much. So, we relied on the map. The Dining descriptions on the maps leave a lot to be desired, but we settled on Carnation Cafe. It was decent. The fried pickles that we had as an appetizer were awesome, but the burgers were just ok.  Part way through the meal, we decided to split a malt, which was delicious, bu probably a bad idea, since I ate and drank so much I felt like I might be sick by the end of the meal. Oops. Our server was great though (although I really wasn't sure about her at first), and there was a chef wandering around greeting everyone, which was nice (I fell like he used to be a chef, now he's only there to talk to people at the tables).

After I recovered from our meal, we decided to head over to Space Mountain, and picked up a FP for Start Tours on the way. Sadly, as we were in line for Space Mountain, the ride went down. We waited a bit longer, then the wait time went from "We're not sure when Space Mountain will be back up" to "It's going to be an extended delay of kind of a long time," so we left with the mass exodus. This wound up being fortuitous, since we happened upon two storm troopers wandering around. First time I've seen a storm trooper in real life.

I honestly can't think of a good caption...

The storm troopers led us toward Innoventions (bit odd seeing Innoventions in Magic Kingdom), so we went in, mostly to see the Iron Man suits. Innoventions was cool, but nothing compared to its Epcot counterpart. I did enjoy the 'Dream Home' exhibit, and would love to be able to automate my house like that. The electricity it takes to run that place must be astounding. The kitchen is freezing because of all of the servers they have underneath the floor. The Iron Man suits were cool too, they have Mark 1 through Mark 7, and then Mark 42 ('Man-Man' from Iron Man 3).

Mark 1

Mark 42

After Innoventions was a slew of rides. We hit the Mad-Tea Party (another ride that made me feel like I was in Canada's Wonderland), which was awesome as always, then Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, which was cool, and we were both thrown by the ending. I'm not sure why all of the hype about it though. Next up, our FP for Star Tours was up. Again, this feels a lot like the WDW version, which is a good thing. This is one of the few lines that I felt was truly immersive. And the ride was great too, though, of all of the possible combinations out there, I'm about 99% certain that we've had the same one at WDW.

After leaving Innoventions, Matterhorn loomed in the distance, calling to us. We had walked past it earlier, but the line seemed so daunting, we decided to skip it (we actually couldn't figure out where the line started, since it seems to wrap around the entire mountain. This time, the line was shorter, and though we're still not sure where the line starts, we found a gap in the chain, and popped in there before walking up to the end of the line. I have to say, the Bobsleds were pretty good. Not the perfect roller coaster (I don't think Disney has yet to manage a truly great coaster), but it was good. And it through me around like mad, which I love.

Toon Town was our next stop. We went mostly on a whim, as we were pretty sure there wasn't really anything that would interest us. Sweet merciful crap, we were wrong. We did Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, which was great; I love any ride where I can make myself spin as fast as possible. The line was great too. In fact, Toon Town felt the most 'finished' of any area at Disneyland. Everything just worked, and nothing seemed like it was out of place.

Rin got locked in Toon Town jail...

...it's ok though, she got out.

Then, Rin noticed a roller coaster. We can't say no to roller coasters, and this one looked like it might actually be a proper roller coaster, with twists and turns and drops and everything that makes a roller coaster good. So, we got in line. Rin kept calling it Goofy's Go Coaster. Turns out it was actually Gadget's Go Coaster. Oops. Anyway, the coaster was good, but not as good as we'd hoped. And very short. Too short. I suppose it's technically a kids ride.

I took a few pictures in the area, which was fun, since it was dark, and I got to pull out the GorillaPod. This one's probably one of my favourites.

It wound up a bit over-exposed because of the ECV that went by, but I like having the light track from it go through the shot. And it was better than I expected. I honestly thought I was gonna wind up with a picture of whiteness.

Finally, it was almost time to go home. We wanted to watch the fireworks ("Magic" in Disneyland, as opposed to "Wishes"), and I wanted a good spot to get some pictures. So the search began. We checked out the train station first, but there was a flagpole in the way. So we wandered up to the roped of area in the middle of Main St. I sat down near the back, set up the GorillaPod, and all looked well. I should mention, my GorillaPod sits about six inches off the ground. Suddenly, CMs came around asking everyone to stand so that "we'd all have a better view."

I don't know about you, but I'm 5'8" and Rin is about 5'6". If someone taller than us stands in front of us (and there are a lot of them out there), our view is suddenly shot. And with a castle as short as this, that's a big deal With Cinderella's Castle, it's tall enough to see above people. Not so with Sleeping Beauty's Castle. I can't imagine the 5 and 6 year olds out there that suddenly had 5' tall people standing in front of them. But, anyway, everyone stood, and my view, along with my camera's, went out the window. So, we resigned to just watch the fireworks through the heads of everyone in front of us. I got a couple of shots, but I'm too shaky to take proper night time pictures without a tripod.

Magic was good, but doesn't hold a candle to Wishes, which makes Rin cry every time. Magic did not do the same. And somehow felt a lot more disjointed than Wishes does.

Finally, time to leave for the day. But wait! We still haven't hit Space Mountain. So back we went. And we made a stop at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. I beat Rin with just over 100,000 points to her 70,000ish points. I still don't understand how people manage 999,999.

The line to Space Mountain seemed to move much faster than earlier, and we were on in what seemed like no time. I forgot that Space Mountain here is 2 people wide instead of 1, which is inconsequential, but something to note. As we were going up the giant hill, I expected something amazing to happen. Like being shot up the hill Hulk style, or actually having a drop at the end. But alas, nothing so great. At first, it felt like we were going really slow, but the ride quickly picked up, and we were going fast enough to make my eyes water. I think this is the one case where I prefer this ride to the WDW version. It was just so much faster, and more twisty. One point to Disneyland.

And then, we left. We stopped at Denny's on the way home for "supper." I hate myself for going to Denny's when there are so many restaurants around here that I've never been to, but it was like 1:00am, and it was the only place I knew would be open. It was satisfactory, but nothing amazing. A decent comfort-food type end of the day.

I think I'll do a small picture dump now, since I have a bunch that I just want to show off.

Photo Dump 3 - Days 5-8 (Including Rin's Birthday)

Rin's first time in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area.

Time to leave the play area.

The Osborne Lights were starting to go up.

Getting our picture taken in the sleigh outside of the Christmas Shop. Little did Rin know that her birthday scavenger hunt was about to begin.

And here's the letter from Tinkerbell.

Searching for the next clue.

And the next, back in the Christmas Shop.

After finding a clue in the Haunted Mansion, the Town Crier decided to tell everyone in the park about Rin's birthday. Called her Princess and everything. She was mortified. And loved it at the same time.

Getting our picture taken after the scavenger hunt.

Part of the construction wall around Fantasyland. I like that they dressed it up a bit. Beast has always been a favourite of mine.

We happened across Mr. Pan later in the day, so Rin had to get a picture.

One of the few redeeming qualities of Tony's Town Square - This was on Rin's dessert.

I'm a sucker for Hidden Mickeys.

Lady's and Tramp's paw prints out front of Tony's. If you can't find them, ask a CM. The CM that helped us actually had to move several strollers to get to them.

The line to see these two was non-existant. Sadly, we didn't see the moving posters I had heard about though. I guess we just went through too quickly.

The Main St Philharmonic. First time we've ever seen them.

First time we've seen these guys too, but I'm not sure what they're called.

Rin went to get a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh, and this popped out. The park was quiet, so it didn't really affect anything, but it was a neat surprise, being on her birthday and all.

I forgot how psychedelic Winnie the Pooh is.

There was some serious discussion going on about Rin's hair. Well, serious gesture making.

Apparently, the gestures were hilarious.

And sometimes, the characters just go above and beyond. I think we spent close to 5 minutes with them.

I can't remember if I put up a picture of us with the Castle, so here we go!

Ok, can someone help me out? I have no idea where this picture is. The pictures immediately before and after are of the Castle, so it myst be relatively close to the Hub. Anyone know what/where this is?

Double Castle POWER!!!!!!

Towel Mickey at GF.

Rin really liked this lamp. Plots were hatched to get it out of the hotel, but we thought they might notice when they cleaned the room.

The view from our room at GF.

A zoomed in shot of our view.

On our Segways. One of the big highlights of a trip full of highlights. I'd love to get back on one next trip.

Coming down from our para-sailing adventure. Rin was terrified, but quickly got over her fear of heights and loved every minute.

So, those are all of the pictures I plan to put up. I know we have more (from Universal, WWoHP, SeaWorld and Busch), but I'm not sure where I uploaded them. If I find them, I may one day put up some more pictures. Likely sometime in November, given my current track record.