60th Anniversary Trip, Pt. 6: DCA

Welcome to Disney California Adventure's Buena Vista Street. I am SOOOO glad they redid this entry area. I could spend days here photographing the architecture and details.



Speaking of photographs; anybody seen this newfangled invention called a camera? Kudos to Disney for keeping the characters out on Buena Vista Street.



Speaking of characters, we ran into Atomic Redhead and Patrick again. Be sure to check out their blog.



You've heard me rave about the Red Car Trolley before, so I'll refrain from doing so again.





Zooming in, you can see how this anachronous guest broke the wall of my vintage surroundings.



At the time of my visit, construction workers were attempting to get the expanded Grizzly Peak Airfield finished in time for the May 15th opening. Bye bye Condor Flats!



Smokejumpers Grill was already open for biz.



I can't compare it to Taste Pilots Grill, the previous incarnation, since I never ate there either.





The Five and Dime musical group (a Daveland fave) was out engaging nearby guests with their singing and dancing.







The Carthay Circle Restaurant was just beginning to get its 60th Anniversary bedazzlement.



I had never noticed these markings on the curb before. Fantastic!





As an addendum to yesterday's post, here's a "vintage" shot of the 3 leftovers (Max, Buff, and Melvin) from the Country Bear Jamboree that (as far as I know) are still hidden in the Pooh attraction:



Next up: Stepping inside for lunch at the Carthay Circle Restaurant.

See more Disney California Adventure photos on my main website.

Disneyland Halloween Trip Report: Pt. 6

Picking things up today we are back at the Carthay Circle. This particular hub has a nice vibe to it, thanks to the musical performances of Five and Dime...







The Red Car Newsboys...







and most of all, The Red Car Trolley:







The spiel by the Conductor is a very nice touch.



The characters on Buena Vista Street are a lot of fun; having even more would increase the fun level. While they're at it, they should add some characters to Main Street over at Disneyland, too, starting with the Keystone Kops.



No short of fun details to view on Buena Vista Street. Attention Roger Rabbit fans!





Back at Disneyland, it was time to partake of the Halloween Festivities for Mickey's Halloween Party.



A stop at the Main Street Cinema showed that Tilly the ticket-taker was decked out in full Halloween attire:



Even the inside of the theater was decorated:



It was time for the Halloween Roundup at the Big Thunder Ranch. Lots of cool pumpkin carving masterpieces were being created on the spot:





My favorite Disney character, Dopey:



Even Sparky had his own pumpkin:



The line was fairly long, so I skipped the Conjure A Villain Tent Attraction.





Then the time finally arrived for me to put on my costume and meet up with my friends to enjoy Mickey's Halloween Party.







Tomorrow will be a Halloween Extravaganza!

See more vintage & current Disney California Adventure photos on my DCA web pages.

Trip Report Pt. 2: Soundsational, DCA, and More!

When I last left you, I was jockeying for position to watch one of my favorite parades in years, Soundsational! A perfect blend of Disney character favorites and the whimsical stylings of Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily. My picture taking began in the Aladdin portion of the parade. Bring on the dancing girls!



Ariel blew kisses from above:



The Princess that started it all was on hand to wave to her grateful admirers in the crowd:



A particularly lovely Cinderella:



The styling of this bird just screams Kevin & Jody; in a good way!



Down at the Bayou, Princess Tiana was especially joyful and energetic:



The Princess and the Frog Showboat is one of my favorite set pieces from this parade. So much to see and admire, it is adorned with wonderful details.





Tink looked feisty as ever:



As the sun began to set, Mary & Bert were perfectly illuminated by the golden glow of the late afternoon, making it a perfectly Jolly Holiday:







After the parade, I made my way over to the other side, aka DCA.



Be sure to look at every square inch of Buena Vista Street; there are many gags and details for you to enjoy.



As I sauntered down the main boulevard of Hollywood Land, The Five and Dime car was driving by:



Quite surprisingly, I noticed that the Mad T Party was already occurring...in daylight!



Although it seems a lot more fun at night, I still enjoyed listening to the band play some of my favorite dance tunes while the enthusiastic crowd packed the floor below:









Across the way, I took a journey through The Sorcerer's Workshop in the Animation Building:





This is a hidden gem at DCA; unless told about it, I doubt that the average guest would stumble upon it on their own.





With all kinds of cool lights and crazy contraptions, you feel as if you have discovered a secret cave that begs to be explored.





It was hard for me to believe that in all the years I've been going to Disneyland, I h ad never really taken the time to photograph this beautiful area.



See Aladdin in the light fixture?



All the chairs were full as guests interacted with the touch screens to see which Disney character they most resembled:





The movie at the Crest Theater has been changed from "Snow White" to "Fantasia"; The El Capitan is still showing "Pinocchio." No changes in the last 11 years for the El Cap—"Pinocchio" must be doing well!



I was going to take the Red Car Trolley back to the new "hub" of DCA, but it was already full. Instead, I put my camera to use!



NEXT UP: Cars Land and Carthay!

See more vintage and current Disneyland/DCA photos on my Disneyland web pages.