Monday, March 23, 2009

Disneyland Trip Report



No vintage stuff today; just a photo report of my trip to the park last week. I really didn’t go on too many attractions as the Spring Break crowds had already begun to form. Still, I got a few cool shots of things I’d been trying to capture for awhile. First on my list was the former Bank of America location in Town Square. Since it will eventually be shutting down to be refurbished into the Disney Gallery, I have been trying to get as many photos of it before it goes under the knife. For the first time I was also able to get a few shots of the vault that Tim at Vintage Disneyland Tickets told me about.









It was exciting to see the Mr. Lincoln posters at the Opera House announcing the return of one of my favorite shows at the park. I always thought that Audio-Animatronics were just the coolest thing.





I got to the park just in time for dinner, and enjoyed listening to the Royal Street Bachelors while I ate my meal.







I was pleased to see that they had switched out the laminated plaque for Lafitte’s anchor with a brass one:



Naturally, it wouldn’t be a complete trip to the park without hearing the Grim Grinning Ghosts at The Haunted Mansion:



The Sleeping Beauty Castle Dioramas have also been added to my every-visit checklist. There’s just something so awesome about being able to go inside the castle, not to mention how much I still gawk over every scene:






I also enjoy seeing the little kids (and adults) getting surprised by the many tricks behind each door in the Corridor of Goons:







Now that Aurora’s dress has changed to white in the final book, I am “assuming” that the blue to pink effect is about to be unveiled:



As always, the floral displays in the park were beautiful:



Naturally, I had to ride small world; and yes, the rainforest is still there for all you nature lovers out there!



Over in Mickey’s Toontown, there was a feral cat hiding behind the gate:




Over at the Fireworks shop, it’s always the Fourth of July:



The Roger Rabbit attraction probably has one of the most entertaining line queues in the park; I love this ape at the Ink & Paint Club:



As always, I begin to stall before leaving the park; any old excuse to keep myself from having to exit. Back on Main Street at the Cinema, I decided to visit Tilly and take a peak inside:







What better parting shot than the Dapper Dans, singing one of their melodious tunes as we exit today’s entry:



See more Disneyland photos at my website.

12 comments:

PTA Transit Authority said...

Nice group of pics Dave. I am glad you are documenting the B&A building. It will be DL history for the future.

Thufer said...

good update dave. thanks.
what PTA said, glad you are there to keep a history of the bank on main street.

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Awesome trip report!!! The Vault Door without blurriness, nice job! Cool to see what's on the "Notice" sign. The Mr. Lincoln poster gave me a big smile, heck its worth going to the park just to see those! The "Sleeping Beauty Castle Dioramas" are a must see for me on each visit, your photos are super!

You found another kitty!!! They seem to linger near the train tracks for some reason. Your photos make ToonTown it look fun, I guess I better check it out, its been about 6 years. Did the DapperDans pose for ya? Nice report, thanks!

p.s. if you ever get tired of that silly camera you use, I'll take it off your hands - LOL

Major Pepperidge said...

Yep, that was a great trip report! I am glad that there will be a new Disney Gallery, but wish that the Bank didn't have to be sacrificed. Oh well.

Very glad that Mr. Lincoln will be back soon, and am curious to see what they've done with the show.

Thanks for the photo of gorilla bouncer, you'd think I would have shown him at least once on my blog, considering the name...!

Katella Gate said...

Yes, the Sleeping Beauty Walk Thru came out really well, didn't it?

Oh Tilly. Now I get it. She runs the cash register for the cinema... and there's a till... jk.

Don't fret too much about the loss of the bank. I think there's good chance they'll keep a lot of the decor, since it's there, and period correct, and there's no functional/aesthetic conflict when the room is re-purposed.

Punchline: This is where I get to say "Disneyland is not a Museum." Savor the moment, it's not gonna happen again for a long time.

TokyoMagic! said...

Fantastic photos as always, Dave! Thank you for sharing them. I always like seeing the feral cats.

I noticed last time I went on Small World that the yellow critter in the rain forest (is it a leopard?) is no longer "twirling" his tail. He's holding onto it, but it wasn't turning like it used to. I wonder if that's a permanent change that was made when they moved that scene.

I'm hoping for the original version of Lincoln...not the "haircut" version, not the "one wore blue and one wore gray" version, but the original.

CoxPilot said...

Great pics Dave! Nice to see the interior shots of the bank. I mentioned before about how all the employees (not Cast Members in those days) were allowed to cash their checks at the B of A, regardless of having an account or not. It was really nice to have an old style home town bank you could really use, not just a false front. It seems like all the "real" things in Disney are leaving, and are being replaced by the fake stuff.

Anonymous said...

nice pics man. i really love your blog. the amount of stuff you conjure up amazes me.

love it.

Scott Schrantz said...

That cat looks like it could be a Disney character. Are you sure it wasn't animatronic?

Daveland said...

Scott - The moment it ran off, I was sure.

Chris Merritt said...

I too am surprised at how many kids get scared at the Goon Doors - I wasn't sure if that was going to work...

Thanks again for the ongoing kudos!

Anonymous said...

A former boss who worked on attraction design told me those displays in the waiting areas were called the "pre-show".

You can see how they become more elaborate over the years.