After a good night's sleep as a result of the glow of my first Dapper Day at Disneyland, I woke up refreshed and ready for a trip back to the park for some early morning photos before taking the train home. The park didn't open until 9, but by eating breakfast at The Plaza Inn, I was able to enter Disneyland at 8am. Tasty food, Minnie Mouse, and an extra hour in the park? What a value!
I am a huge fan of the Plaza Inn and all of its turn of the century detailing (not to mention its fried chicken!).
How could I resist a photo with the First Lady of Disneyland?
I took full advantage of my early entry into the park by riding Star Tours twice in a row. How often do you get to do that, without waiting in a horrendous line?!?
It was great to be able to take photos without a herd of guests piled on top of me. If you look closely, you can see me taking this photo in the infrared image.
Fortunately, I wasn't taking Flight 716 to Alderaan:
The Princess Leia hologram from my Star Tours trip brought back a lot of happy memories; I remember being so impressed by that part of the original 1977 "Star Wars" movie. It was one of those "how did they do that?" moments for me.
Besides Star Tours, I also got a round of Buzz Lightyear in:
Pixie Hollow is a bit commercial in nature for me, but it does provide some beautiful views:
And now for the good stuff. Over at Disney California Adventure, the Golden Gate Bridge replica is gone and the entire entrance area is being torn up.
The top of The Carthay Circle Theater had been put into place. Seeing the Cupola was very exciting!
The nearby Pump House and fountain:
No rest for the weary at Cars Land; even on a Sunday, workers were busy as bees:
It's great to see all the buildings take shape:
From the backside, this is what you can see from Katella Avenue:
More trip reports to come in the very near future!
See more vintage & current Disney California Adventure photos on my DCA web page.
You did it again! I am so jealous, LOL!!! How did you get those behind the wall shots? AMAZING! That bribe must have cost you a fortune, LOL!
ReplyDeletePart of the new Star Tours pre-show film has a commercial for visiting Alderaan. The voice-over says, "Alderaan....voted the safest planet in the galaxy!"
ReplyDeleteI'm still loving your construction shots!
Wow! These are some great photos! Love the Star Tours one and the behind the scenes shots at Cars Land!
ReplyDeleteThe "Carthay Circle" references are tantalizingly familiar. Any dope on why that name should be familiar?
ReplyDeleteOverall, I approve of the changes to DCA, except the loss of the GG Bridge. I enjoyed riding the monorail over that, which is as it should be, instead of how it really is...in my car creeping along in traffic. DCA still needs more trees.
Great pics, Dave, thanks. You got some shots of places I missed, for sure.
We just have to go more often, 3 years between trips is too long.
JG