Halloween Trip Report, Pt. 2

After lunch, we added 2 more to our group as we migrated over to Disney California Adventure, affectionately known as DCA. Lately, it has also been called Disney Construction Adventure. There's quite a bit going on behind those construction walls.



There's still some of the original theming left, but for the most part, the old Sunshine Plaza is bare and ready for its next incarnation as the Buena Vista Plaza.



Not a whole lot of new stuff going on at The Carthay Circle Theater, but the pump house appears to be pretty close to being finished. A few new palm trees border it now.





Cars Land is where you can really see the progress; the rock work on this section of DCA is unbelievable.













Back to our regularly scheduled program; avoiding Phineas & Ferb, we ducked into Little Mermaid, where there was actually a bit of a wait.



Just as before, love the music and am blown away by a few of the animatronics...







yet overall, it underwhelms. The mix of sophisticated animatronics with the majority of static or extremely limited motion figures just seems a bit odd and makes the attraction seem like a snoozer. Snow White, Mr. Toad, and Peter Pan all have a fairly good pace, leaving you wanting more with their exciting vignettes.



It was time to raise the excitement level with Toy Story Mania; this attraction has yet to disappoint. The obligatory 3D glasses group shot:



Although not one of my higher scores, I still had a blast! I could probably ride this one for hours.



Kathy and Matt were in the spirit of the game as well:



Penny and I bypassed the Mickey Ferris Wheel; I felt no need to urp up my lunch from Celebration BBQ; the rest of the gang braved the swinging carts and lived to share the tale.



As if that wasn't enough, Dough, Mick, and Matt did the Silly Symphony Swings afterwards.





I snuck into the Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta to take a look around; not only does the interior of the restaurant look great, but the aroma of Italian cuisine immediately made me hungry.





Nothing like a glass of vino at the Golden Vine Winery while watching the daylight fade at the Disneyland Resort:



Back at the Anabella Hotel, which is less than a 15 minute walk from Disneyland, we had a few more cocktails at the Nectarine Bar while listening to live jazz. Couldn't have ordered up a better evening.



Located on Katella, this hotel really is a hidden gem. Clean, ideally located, and well designed, it's the perfect place to rest your weary bones after a full day at Disneyland.



As is typical with a Daveland Day at Disneyland, there is no rest for the weary. We all trudged back to Disneyland for a fantastic meal at Club 33. Chicken Pot Pie may not sound very high class, but the one I had for dinner ranks as one of the best.



All in all, it was as close to a perfect day as one gets. Thanks for sharing it with me!




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

Halloween Trip Report, Pt. 1

Disneyland...three weekends in a row. The things I do to stay current on my blog! Halloween was in full force at the park; I didn't necessarily notice any new decorations around Main Street, but regardless, it sure looked beautiful to see all of the autumn colors draped around Disneyland.









Once again, we did the Character Breakfast at the Plaza Inn, allowing us to enter half an hour before the park officially opened. Minnie was in her usual polka-dot garb; no fall colors for her!





Thanks to an early breakfast, our group was able to practically walk onto Star Tours...two times in a row! Always good to see C3PO and the gang:





I really love the "rebel spy" part of Star Tours with the random selection of a guest from each vehicle. It was especially fun on one of our journeys since Mick, my friend Kathy's son, was the spy. He lived in shame for the rest of the day!



Across the way at Buzz Lightyear, I was able to achieve one of my highest scores, despite my friend Matt's attempt to keep the vehicle in motion with the joystick. Don't mess with my Astroblaster!



Because of a photo request, we jumped over to Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain. Don't ask me why, but someone wanted a shot of the bats in the first cave.



I have always loved the Dia de los Muertos display in Frontierland. Everything seemed about the same from previous years, except...





if you zoom in on this display...



you'll see this photo which I'd never noticed before. Anyone know the significance?



Still enjoying the short lines during the early park hours, we also were able to ride Indiana Jones. Of course, we chose wisely.







Jack Skellington & Company have taken over the Mansion again; if there were any changes to the overlay this year, I missed them.





One thing I did notice that might be different was this little sign on top of the coffin in the corridor:



Zooming in for a better look:



Seems like we just ate breakfast at the Plaza Inn, but before we knew it, it was time for a lip-smacking lunch at The Celebration BBQ. It sure is a tasty meal (love the beans!) with great entertainment. We sure had a good time, as you can see by this photo (and we hadn't even eaten yet!).



One thing I noticed (always checking out the details) was that this laminated sheet music for "You've Got A Friend in Me"...



Is actually for "Down By The Old Mill Stream":



With bellies full, we posed for one last photo as we left Big Thunder Ranch:



You'll have to return tomorrow to see about the rest of our day.

See more Disneyland Halloween photos on my Disneyland Halloween web page.

Top 10 Scariest Disney Film Moments, Pt. 1—Halloween Festival at Disneyland Paris

Guest columnist Jenny has prepared a 2-part post to get you in the mood for Halloween! The first photo for today's post, showing a Maleficent float in a Disneyland Paris parade, is from Sam Lavi.

With Halloween fast approaching, the Paris Disneyland Resort will be celebrating throughout the month of October with their Halloween Festival. To get you in the mood, we’ve listed the top 10 scariest Disney film moments of all time that have had viewers cowering behind their sofas.

10. Dumbo – Pink Elephants The clowns drop some whiskey in Dumbo’s water bucket and the poor elephant gets drunk. Dumbo then has some weird hallucinations, which involve pink coloured elephants dancing around. It’s not scary in the conventional way but it’s just incredibly bizarre.

9. Mickey and the Beanstalk – Donald Duck goes Crazy In Disney’s retelling of the classic Jack and the Beanstalk story, it all becomes too much for Donald as he is forced to share one bean with Mickey and Goofy. Donald goes crazy, eating his plate and silverware before grabbing an axe and attempting to kill the cow in the garden. Mickey and Goofy manage to get the axe off him just in the nick of time.



8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Transformation of the Wicked Queen Jealous that her magic mirror keeps stating Snow White is the ‘fairest of them all’, the Wicked Queen uses a magic potion to transform herself from icy beauty to an old crone in order to trick Snow White. Her hands become bony and pointy, her nose grows and she looks truly hideous. Enough to scare anyone!

7. The Lion King – Mufasa’s Death The death of Mufasa is both shocking and terrifying. The King of the Jungle is betrayed by his brother Scar, before being trampled to death by a stampede of wildebeests. Not only that, but the whole thing is witnessed by poor little Simba. (Note: Be sure to check out the new Lion King 3D version in theaters. Don't delay; you have less than two weeks before its limited theatrical run ends!)



6. Sleeping Beauty – Maleficent When visiting Sleeping Beauty’s Castle on Disneyland Paris holidays, you better hope the evil Maleficent is not hanging around. One scene in the film shows her standing in a dark fireplace with just the knob of her staff glowing bright green and her evil eyes staring back at you. Creepy!



The Top 10 Disney Film Moments, Part Two, will be with you on Sunday 25th September, so prepare to be even more spooked…


Here's a photo of Donald and Mickey at Disneyland Paris, by Loren Javier. I'd hate to leave you all with nightmares!



But wait, there's more! Here's another recipe in commemoration of the September 20th 70th Anniversary Blu-ray release. Just click on the photo to download the pdf recipe for Mini Corn Dog Muffins:



Still want more? How about a FREE pair of collectible kid-sized "Lion King" 3D glasses (recommended for children 8 years and under)? Two lucky Daveland readers will win a pair; just leave a comment on today's post (before Monday, 9/19 at noon) and you'll be entered into a drawing to receive these way cool golden peepers!



See more Disneyland Paris photos on my Disneyland Paris web page.

Screen Gem Saturdays: Shirley Temple and the Mystery Caption

This 1934 photo is one from my collection that has an odd caption. Well, probably not so odd if you aren't one of those semi-nitpicky detail freaks like me (aka anal retentive).

Here's the accompanying caption for this Otto Dyar photo:

Here is something new in dancing — SHIRLEY TEMPLE is taught a modern development of the old-time soft shoe dance, brought up to date and executed with taps. The five-year-old motion picture star is being taught by JACK DONOHUE, the new dance director at the Fox Film studios. With a week of training and rehearsals, Shirley has worked out this intricate dance exceptionally well and it will be introduced in her new picture, "Bright Eyes." This dance was originated by the late George Primroses and was in later years carried on by William Rock and Eddie Leonard. This rehearsal is shown being conducted in the kitchen of Shirley's new bungalow on the Fox Film studio lot.

What's so odd? "Bright Eyes," known as the movie where Shirley first introduced "On the Good Ship Lollipop" has no dance number in it. In addition, the dress that Shirley is wearing in this photo is one she wore for the movie "Baby Take A Bow," released in June 1934. In between "Baby Take A Bow" and "Bright Eyes" (released in December 1934), Shirley cranked out "Now And Forever" over at Paramount (released August 1934).

Here she is on the set of "Now and Forever" with costar Gary Cooper:



Either the caption is a lot of publicity hooey, or "Bright Eyes" has a deleted dance number. Or, the publicity department screwed up and meant to reference a number for "Baby Take A Bow" instead of "Bright Eyes." Either way, Sammy Lee is listed as choreographer for "Baby Take A Bow" and "Bright Eyes." No Jack Donohue. In fact, Donohue isn't listed on the credits for a Temple movie until 1935's "Curly Top."

Here's another publicity still of Shirley from "Baby Take A Bow," showing her in the same polka dot dress, posing between costars James Dunn & Claire Trevor:



What does this mean? Well, probably not a heckuva lot, other than Shirley Temple was one busy 6 year old in 1934! She had the lead role in 4 feature films and a key supporting one in at least 4 more. Just what did YOU do at age 6?

To see more Shirley Temple photos, visit my regular website.

Nature's Wonderland construction, February 1960

This February 1960 photo captures the construction of a soon-to-be-upgraded Nature's Wonderland attraction. The grand opening was only a few months away. Rainbow Ridge existed before this remodel, but it would appear that the town was expanding. It also appears that the five year old buildings were getting a little freshening up in the process.

Below, you can see two photos from approximately the same angle, showing you the finished product and how Rainbow Ridge turned out. First up is from August 1962...



Followed by September 1963:



See more Rainbow Ridge & Nature's Wonderland at Disneyland photos on my Nature's Wonderland web page.

Traveling Thursdays: Santa's Village, August 1955

I'll admit it up front; I don't know squat about Santa's Village; however, these little vintage gems were part of a scrapbook collection that had some great August 1955 Disneyland and Knott's shots as well. All I could really find on the net about this place was that it promoted itself as being located in "Sky Forest". Opened in 1955, it was built to replicate successful Santa attractions in New York and Colorado (and subsequent Santa's Villages went up in Scotts Valley, CA and Dundee, IL). Santa's Village shut down in 1998. The caption for the first photo is "Silver Slipper Lane."

For those needing a dose of spirituality, Santa's Little Church might be the place for you.



While you pray, I'll be pigging out at Santa's Candy Kitchen.



Apparently, Santa had a lot in common with ol' Thomas Edison; he even had his own Electric Shop.



I can only guess that the toys were made here, in Santa's Work Shop.



If this post has you feeling a little "frosty," then you might be inspired by this recipe for Snow Cones, in commemoration of the September 20th 70th Anniversary of "Dumbo" Blu-ray release. Just click on the photo to download the pdf.

See more vintage Santa's Village photos on my Santa's Village web page.

True Love at Nature's Wonderland?

What a wonderful photo; this one has it all. Bright vivid colors, happy cast members, a young guest with Mouse Ears, and a beloved attraction.

Anybody know Lee & Harry? I wonder if these two were married to each other? Either way, Harry seems to be pledging something to Lee when this photo was snapped.



See more vintage Nature's Wonderland attraction at Disneyland photos on my Nature's Wonderland web page.