60th Anniversary Trip, Pt. 9

After my short siesta back at the hotel, I returned to the treat of being able to see Soundsational, one of my favorite parades of all time at Disneyland. And I am really not a parade person!



I love the styling of the floats (great job Kevin & Jody!) as well as the musical arrangements.



I especially like the jazzy arrangements for the Aladdin and Little Mermaid sections.



Let's zoom in for a closeup of Ariel, shall we?



The Three Caballeros make an appearance in this parade as well.





Naturally Donald Duck is on TOP of the float above his two compadres.



The parade ends with a rowsing "Step in Time" arrangement from "Mary Poppins."





After catching the parade I headed over to the Riverbelle Terrace where I had made my Fantasmic! dinner reservations; the Blue Bayou was sold out. On the way I stopped to photograph the rushing waterfall at the Tarzan Treehouse:



The dinner destination!



A great view of the Treehouse from my table inside:



Light fixtures…I need a 12-step program.





Dinner started off with a garden salad:



followed by a seasoned chicken breast with vegetables:



and an apple dessert. All in all it was very tasty and the service at the Riverbelle was attentive.



My next destination was Mickey's Toontown. On the way, I noticed the Peter Pan Crocodile from Fantastmic! lurking in the Rivers of America:





I arrived in Toontown just as the sun was beginning to set.



The Mickey fountain looked beautiful with the setting sun behind it.



Oh how I wish the Jolly Trolley was unfettered and able to run again.



Last one today shows the Chip 'n Dale Treehouse:



More Toontown at night in my next installment!

See more Toons in their Town at my main website.

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.