Monthly Archives: September 2012

Raising A DisNerd, Part 3

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This afternoon, my wife was explaining copyrights to my daughter. The little girl was talking about wanting to write “Froggy” books, based off of the popular picture book series by Jonathan London. As my wife continued to explain why we couldn’t sell our own Froggy books, the subject of Disney came up as an example.
“For example, only Disney could sell stories of Mickey, Minnie, or other Disney characters. Nobody else.”

“But, aren’t I Disney, Mommy?”

Maybe she has a point. Time to discuss her rights with Disney marketing, I guess….

 

Yup, Disney through and through…

 

Disneyland, September 2012 – A Photo Essay (Part 2)

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I’d like to start this next part by stating the following: I never understood the appeal of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disneyland. Never understood, that is, until I had a little girl that was old enough to be appealed to.

Oh boy, do I understand now!

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a special experience that caters to the inner princess of every little girl. From the care of the “Fairy Godmothers in Training” to the magic mirror reveal, it’s a great way to make a little girl feel very special for a day (or two, if the hairspray and style holds)!

Who doesn’t feel like a royal princess after this experience? Our little girl sure did!

In fact, a few families with small children (and a couple grown ups as well) asked our daughter if they could get their picture taken with her. Of course, she obliged and felt like holding court to see if she could get even more visitors! Special thanks to my good friend Austen from the Disney Park Secrets blog for being part of her entourage and acting as royal guard along with another friend!

“Sure, you can have my autograph too!”

Going forward into Fantasyland, the next stop is definitely a must for multiple rides in a trip….

In a discussion with a friend the other day, we were both talking about how well classic dark rides have held up in Fantasyland. The paint schemes, the story, the music, the feeling of immersion –  you ARE part of the story; it just draws the rider in. Nowhere is this exemplified better than in Peter Pan’s Flight. The continuous 30-45 minute waits for a 2 minute ride are proof of that!

“There it is, Wendy – second start to the right and straight on ’till morning!”

Moving on to our next destination, It’s a Small World, we stop for a picture in the stationary teacup, a photo favorite of kids and adults alike… wait…it’s missing!

Hopefully it’s just getting some touch-up and will return; perhaps it has already. Any readers who frequent the park, can you confirm this?

No time to stop and cry over spilled tea… we have to journey to the rest of the world!

It is a small one, after all!

We arrived at It’s A Small World, right about the time of the Soundsational Parade. With all eyes fixed on the parade route, the line for Small World was nonexistent. Not only were we loaded onto our own boat, the boats behind us were empty!

Which gave me thoughts for a great Small World Halloween picture…..

“Sure, they go on, but nobody ever comes out…….”

Time to move from that horror into Toontown. Such a great themed land. Sure, there could stand to be a little more in the way of rides, but the detail put into this area is just amazing. From the curved architecture, the talking mailboxes and gag boxes to the little details in every house, there are so many opportunities to just admire the thought that went into it!

One of my favorite resting spots (for a parent, that meant about two minutes to be still in shade) is the area behind Donald Duck’s Boat, The S.S. Daisy. Between the shade and constantly running water, it’s quite a nice area to cool off! Which leads to one of my favorite pics of the trip – finding a bit of Adventureland in Toontown:

I’ve titled it “The Backside of Duckwater.”

With the mention of Adventureland, I’ll leave you with one more picture today; this one a bit of an observation. I often forget how awesome Adventureland looks in its theming. Even in a little area, it really does feel like you’ve been transported to a little outpost in the Jungle. The reason it gets missed so much is due to the bottlenecks that tend to happen between strollers, people walking toward New Orleans Square, and Indiana Jones riders. This past trip, with Indy closed, Adventureland became walkable again, and we were really able to enjoy the beauty:

Look! Elbow room!

Well, dear readers, that wraps up part two of my photo essay! I have one more part coming – a few pictures from California Adventure. Until then, I hope you’ve enjoyed these pictures. Feel free to share with your friends and leave any comments you may have as well! Thanks for reading!

Disneyland, September 2012: A Photo Essay (Part 1)

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Hello, dear readers! Really, it’s been too long. Having arrived back from a trip to Walt’s original Magic Kingdom last week, I thought I’d share some pictures with you via this blog. Before we begin, I would like to note a few things:

First off, I am not a professional photographer. The pictures you see here were taken either with my cell phone or our family point-and-shoot, either by myself or my lovely wife. We do not claim them to be works of art (although some of them turned out pretty cool), just pictures we felt like taking.

Second, while there may a few things we noticed this trip that may not have been there before, this is not intended to be a photo update or trip report. Just pictures I felt like sharing. You won’t see twenty five pictures of construction walls and dirt.

Lastly, I have no intention to make Confessions of a DisNerd a running commentary or “watchdog” type site. There’s plenty of those already, and you can follow lots of people on Twitter for that. I just want to have fun, and enjoy the magic of Disney – and I hope you do too.

So without further adieu, here’s the first of our pictures from our latest trip (you should be able to click on them to see bigger versions) – hope you enjoy!

 

How many of us actually wait for a Main Street vehicle to show up as opposed to jumping on because it happens to be there? My little girl loves the vehicles and was very willing to wait for the double-decker Omnibus to arrive!

 

Always love seeing this most welcome sight – the horse drawn carriages, the train station announcements, the music playing…. Main Street doesn’t need the words to say. “Welcome Home.”

 

One thing you will notice is that City Hall (as well as the fire station) was under construction. One thing I love when they do these refurbishments on Main Street is the facade covers they put in place. The details are great, and still give a feel of Main Street, U.S.A. For example….

 

If you look closely in the window of the fire station, you can’t help but notice: the light is still on for Walt!

 

One of my favorite places to visit is the gallery at the front of Main Street – I love seeing the concept art, renderings and models. Right now, the focus is on the various castles of Disney theme parks. What a beautiful exhibit to behold!

 

Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant from Disneyland Paris is a sight to behold, even in scale!

 

I love seeing Main Street this time of year. Before the fall decorations are put up, when it’s in all of it’s non-holiday glory. It’s second only to…

 

Christmas!?!? In September???

 

It was only on a couple buildings, so we figured there had to be something promotional going on.

 

Yep – this explains it!

 

We saw filming going on that night, or at least prep for filming. Whatever the reason, it was a prefect tease of the season coming in just a couple months!

 

Might as well enjoy the short lived holiday spirit! I must say, nothing makes you ready for Christmas on a 90+ degree day like seeing these decorations. I’m ready!

 

But, as it turns out, those few shops on Main Street weren’t the only ones ready to get in the holiday spirit!

 

Over in Pixie Hollow, things have been getting their own winter touch in preparation for the latest Tinker Bell movie, “The Secret of the Wings.”

 

Little touches, like the statues in Pixie Hollow make the wait so pleasant! Can’t help but love the details (and the music) in this area!

 

Fortunately, we happened to be among the first group of people to meet the newest pixie friend, Periwinkle!

 

Pixie Hollow is always a fun time, especially for the little ones. The fairies are always so entertaining! It helps when you’re as into the movies as we are, but on that end, they really are surprisingly good movies!

 

Well, as we’ve reached the end of Main Street and enter the realm of Fantasy, we’ve also reached the end of this entry. Look for part two to come within the next day or two – I appreciate your patience in waiting for this post and hope you’ve enjoyed!

 

Credit goes to the lovely Mrs. DisNerd for taking this awesome sunset shot – seemed like a great way to end this entry!

 

Seeing Cars Land

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Although it’s been open for a few months, we like to avoid summer months at Disneyland – the crowds are a bit much for our tastes. Therefore, this trip has been our first glimpse into the newly completed Cars Land; needless to say, it did not disappoint. By now you’ve seen countless pictures of the land, but in all honesty, pictures do not do it justice. It has to be seen to be believed! While pictures show the grand layout, there are so many little details that can be easily overlooked. For example, the tops of the posts of the chain barriers in Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree:

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They’re radiator caps!

It’s little touches like this that make Disney stand out from the crowd. Add touches like this to the land, the layout and the music, and you have a grand addition to the parks.

Not to mention, you never know who you’ll see on the streets or Radiator Springs!

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