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Vacation car! Most people over about 45 years pointed with delight at this display. The kids were all, “Uh, Dad, what’s so great about that old car?”
We celebrated two things last week: Tara’s graduation from High School (with High Honors, I might add with pride), and – as it turned out serendipitously – Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary.
This amazing theme park was opened on July 17, 1955. Our trip to Disneyland was planned sometime around September of 2014, and neither of us knew that in the meantime, the big 6-0 would pop up, resulting in massive park renovations, updates of old shows, and all-around spit-and-polish.
A 60th anniversary is the “diamond” anniversary, and thus the park heartily embraced the jeweled theme (glittering diamonds could be found on castle spires, on T-shirts, on signposts, on Mickey Ears), as well as lots of icy blues (in fabric banners, in cupcake frosting, in the flowers planted, in logos).
It’s A Small World – familiar to anyone who has ever been here.
Lamp post over Casey Jr. Circus Train ride, another 1955 original, named after the train in Dumbo.
The Mad Tea Party’s tea cups have been spinning since opening day in 1955, bringing us six decades of motion sickness.
As longtime readers know, I visited for the first time in my life just last year, in March. At the time we felt as though half the park was closed for repairs, and we cursed our bad luck. On this visit, we not only realized why so many renovations happened last year, but we also were able to see and experience all the new stuff!
There are a remarkable number of rides and attractions from 1955 (and those installed in 1958) that are still running today, and those are my particular favourites. I’ll admit, however, that not much can beat the thrill of a modern rollercoaster, or the dazzle of movies shown onto a towering fountain spray of water. And I can honestly say I’d be happy to hanglide in Soarin’ Over California or board a spaceship on Star Tours once a week for a year, because the wonder of flight combined with a sense of realism in those two rides is indescribably exciting.
Goofy walks with a fan through Toon Town.
Blue banners and sparkly spires commemorate the Diamond Anniversary.
Metal bonnet over a shop in the New Orleans district.
A larger-than-life ringmaster holds up a tent in Disney California Adventure Park.
Tara looks out at the fabulous rollercoaster and Ferris wheel above the water in Disney California Adventure Park.
I found a lot of joy this week in observing people find their bliss. Kids went out of their minds with happiness to see their favourite characters, and parents were gleeful when watching their kids interact with the characters. Adults would start to get testy (the crowds, the heat, the lines, the noise), and then suddenly smile and relax as though a voice in their head had just said, “Cool it. You’re at Disneyland.” Teenagers wore completely ridiculous outfits and were proud to be a part of it all. Elderly people walked very slowly and looked for shady spots, and I never saw someone acting impatient with them. Staff went out of their way to get people using wheelchairs into rides. We saw a Disney employee in a wheelchair, and Tara was helped at one store by a Disney employee with Down’s Syndrome.
We are now home, a little sunburned, still recovering our sleep, and still happy.
It’s a magical moment for two little girls (the older one got hold of the princess’s hand a few moments later). And then, look at Mom in the back ground.
The Queen says to the little girl, “Of course you want me to sign it, because then it will have some value.”
When it was Tara’s turn, their Mickey Mouse pen ran out of ink. “That’s what you get for trying to use a rat to write with,” sneered The Queen. She walked over to a nearby tourist woman, snatched a pen out of her hand, and said, “I’ll be using this.” It was brilliant.
We caught some really great shows. Some on the streets, and some on stage, like this one, featuring King Louie from one of my most beloved Disney movies: The Jungle Book.
Tiana, from The Princess and the Frog
These dancers leapt through the air, launched from stylized surfboards in a piece from Lilo and Stitch, another of my top 5 Disney movie faves.
Just like last year, I was impressed with the attention to detail in creating realistic scenes to entertain and educate. At the Redwook Creek Challenge, we explored a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout tower.
A real U.S. Forest Service jeep was parked outside Eureka Mine No. 2 entrance, at Grizzly River Run (an inner tube ride on river rapids).
Multiple artist work spaces are installed throughout the parks, and frequently have real Disney artists at work.
Captain Hook (despite his rather nasty reputation) and Tara were both in good spirits, flashing their hooks.
Peter Pan has adoring fans. Just catch a load of the face on this girl as she realizes who is walking toward her.
Oswald (who inspired Mickey) greets his fans.
There’s a big Goofy. And a Disney character too!
Castle all lit up for the 60th diamond anniversary celebration. It truly is a magical place.
This week we have been digging into the deepest reaches of our creativity, and our patience, and our optimism, as we try to hold onto the idea that we may be able to buy the home we have had our eyes on. I’ve purchased six homes before (I move a lot), and this is hands down the most lengthy, complicated, stressful purchase I’ve ever attempted. Please continue to send any spare happy vibes my way, and if you’re the praying kind, prayers are also appreciated. My confidence may be wavering a little, but I still have high hopes for home #7.
Here’s the GOOD news: I have been happy all week! I can’t think of many places that would have been a better fit for my Tara and me this week. Can you imagine trying to work while worrying so much? No way! Instead, we have been having a blast. Laughing and singing and chasing bubbles and joking with anyone nearby.
The photo was from last night. We were dragging our tired selves back from the New Orleans section, out toward Main Street, and we stopped for some reason, turned around to look behind us and saw this shimmering castle. My life is brilliant and magical.
Tara and I stand with Mickey and Walt, in front of the iconic Disney castle.
I am doing a little housecleaning today, and skimmed through my Disney photos to see what I have not showed you yet. There are a few more images I wanted to share. I was following a theme before, grouping all my photos under one topic. For this one, I just want to make sure I hit what’s left. Things that caught my eye during my very first trip to Disneyland, that I haven’t showed you already.
If you missed the earlier photos, check out the side panel to the left of your screen, and go down to where it says “I already said,” and click the arrow next to “select month.” Choose April 2014 from the drop down menu and scroll down. There are lots of photos. But of course I still have more!
I love shots from airplanes. This one shows the California coastline as we headed south to begin our journey.
If you hold still at any moment in the park, and look around, you will see bubbles floating through the scene. It’s magical.
A peaceful and traditional ride through the park could be had with a horse and buggy.
Another traditional trip around the park is on the train, with an underground section revealing scenes of the Grand Canyon and taking riders back through time with animated dinosaurs.
A rare moment of sunshine during our trip lit up the Matterhorn while we were standing in line for Space Mountain.
Unexpected street shows would pop up anywhere. Performers in period costumes with actual singing and dancing talent would entertain anyone standing nearby.
I liked the way this photo turned out, of a lantern against the sky.
Look at this big beautiful paddle wheel riverboat. Hard to believe this scene is in an amusement park.
Daring adventurers get ready for a giant drop on Splash Mountain.
This one was pretty scary, when the elevator went crazy and just …DROPPED.
Inside of the Tower of Terror is convincing and remarkable. I have a dozen photos of the dusty abandoned hotel lobby with layers of cobwebs and dust.
Big Thunder Mountain railroad has been reopened and is really exciting, including an accidental TNT explosion as part of the ride!
The place is a whole new level of wonderful at night.
Standing in line was frequently entertaining because the lines ran through spectacular otherworldly scenes.
We were entertained by this droid who chattered and made fun of us while he worked.
At the front of every line is a sign telling you how long to expect to stand in line. I wondered how they kept track of that till one of us was handed this tag.
Lines. We stood in so many lines. The lines wrapped around and up and down stairs, in and out of buildings.
Here’s the line inside the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, wrapping through what looks like an authentic basement boiler room.
Another shot I like, as the rollercoaster flashes overhead above Toy Story Midway Mania!
I just loved the Tiki Room. It was completely throwback and such silly fun.
Strollers. If you’ve ever been there, you know what I’m talking about.
Downtown Disney was a fun outdoor mall. Entertaining and Disney-themed.
Skippers of the Jungle Cruise
Taylor, our most favouritest skipper of them all. We loved her so much we asked for an autograph!
Oh my, my. I realized when the kids began shooting at this booth that I had failed to pass on a critical Idaho skill! She’s 16 years old and I had to teach her how to hold a rifle. I’m so embarrassed. This photo is after some coaching.
Um…ok. Is it safe to go inside?
View of the park from our Hilton room. You can see the backdrop to Cars Land, and the Tower of Terror. There’s the Matterhorn, too, if you look carefully.
Alright, that’s about enough. I could go on but I want to discard this image folder from my desktop and finish the tidying. I hope it’s been fun to visit Disney one last time with me.
Update: Maybe not the very last time. My Tara is begging already for another Disney trip as her high school graduation gift next year. (She’s graduating in a year, can you believe it?!) So by the time the memories have faded, we may head south again and make some more.
During our vacation in Disneyland I came to believe that it was the persistent attention to detail that made it so wonderful a place to visit. I took photos of things that caught my eye.
Coccoons dangle above pathways. I imagine these are lights, but I didn’t come through A Bug’s Land at night to see it.
Close up of the coccoons.
A boat in Pixie Hollow.
Inside a shop in Condor Flats. Look at the tools hung on the wall behind the cashier.
More stuff on the walls in the shop above. It really felt like being in a garage.
Inside Mickey Mouse’s house in Toon Town.
These stone towers and wooden door are beautiful, and yet high above the crowds below, so no one can even go up there and see it. We can only admire from afar.
Shops are built in the design of the area, to keep the atmosphere consistent.
A view along Disneyland’s Main Street.
Zoomed in shot of the view above.
In A Bug’s Land, the landscape had overlarge items to make one feel bug-sized.
Teeth over the doorway, eyeballs on the posts, even a tallbike behind the lampost. The boy is looking warily at Randall in the window.
Decorations in a shop.
Mickey’s garden shed.
This is where they make the laughs.
Looking at the rock cliffs from the downtown Radiator Springs community.
I really enjoy the Pixar/Disney movie Cars, and if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you do. One awesome thing about being a parent these days is that kid movies are made just as much for parents as for the kids.
When I was growing up, my mom was firmly opposed to all “cartoons,” as she called them. Any animated TV show or movie was dumb in her mind and she refused to watch any of them with us, and generally would not give us permission to even see an animated movie at a theatre, believing them to be devoid of any educational benefit to kids, and certainly not capable of providing entertainment to an adult. When Tara was a toddler, it was with a big show of tolerance that Mom begrudgingly allowed herself to be coaxed into watching Toy Story with us. Mom was surprised to find herself caught up in the story, announcing at the end that it was better than she had expected.
So, it’s along those lines that I recommend the movie Cars. If you haven’t been watching animated movies for the last 15 years, you are in for a treat!
If you have seen the movie, you might be able to imagine our delight at finding in Disney California Adventure park a re-creation of the little city of Radiator Springs, on an abandoned section of Route 66, and thus trapped back in time a little, as the modern world has been slow to influence the town and it’s citizens.
A coworker told me to make sure to see it at night, and he was absolutely right!
Cozy Cone motel hosts a cafe in the back. You can see the shadow of Mater there in front of the office.
Luigi’s tire shop looks exactly like it does in the movie, including the leaning tower of tires.
Miguel with the monument to Stanley, the town’s founder
So much realism makes it easy to lose oneself into make-believe.
neon signs
blinking yellow light
Flo’s Cafe welcomed all hungry visitors
Here is Flo’s in the daylight
Attention the detail included uniforms that suited each section of the park.
I couldn’t get enough of the neon signs that lit up the main street.
Buildings in town all matched the theme.
The entrance to Luigi’s Flying Tires was through the tire store.
We rode our giant tires like pucks on an air hockey table.
The kids shared a tire.
Radiator Springs Racers was one of our favourite rides.
The scenery was unbelievable.
Cave paintings of old cars inside the Radiator Springs Racers ride.
View of Radiator Springs from the Ferris wheel at Paradise Pier.
The fabulous Disneyland castle, mini-sized to be more fun for kids, but still pretty darn immense and impressive.
Look at that castle! I think it’s stunning in the morning sunshine. We were in Anaheim for six days, and the first four of them were cold, grey, cloudy, and even a little wet. But on our last morning to go into the park, there was blue sky everywhere and the sun came out and made everything sparkle. We could see the mountains around the city of L.A. from our hotel room, it was so clear.
Wandering around the two parks (Disneyland and Disney California Adventure), I marveled again and again at how drastically our landscape changed. We were in jungles and cities and deserts and on spaceships and underground.
Where do you think Disneyland is? Looking at the photo of the castle above, a reasonable person might guess it’s in the forest.
And if you guessed forest, you would be right. Disneyland is in the forest, with rivers and geysers.
But… a reasonable person is not familiar with the forests of Anaheim.
That’s because Disneyland is in a desert! Everyone knows Anaheim is in the desert.
It’s a beautiful wide-open, empty desert, with live cacti, Route 66, and red cliffs.
But wait… weren’t we in the middle of a gigantic city in southern California?
Yes, a city packed with buildings and people is where one finds Disneyland.
It’s a large city, with industry, a town hall, a pagoda, a fire house, and more!
That’s not a real city.
Are you thinking of a city like this?
With a grand City Hall instead of a Toon City Hall?
And a stately entrance like this?
Yes, yes, that looks like a city to hold Disneyland. So, where did those trees come from?
The trees are in the snowy Alps, with crashing waterfalls, birch trees, and granite peaks.
Don’t forget the Bavarian ski lodge.
Let Olaf assure you: Disneyland is in the snow and trees, for certain.
I thought California was known more for….
Vineyards? Yes! California is where one finds grapes.
Well I was thinking more along the lines of….
Jungle? With bamboo and cicadas screeching all day while we walked beneath dripping vines.
Wait a minute, things are not normal in that jungle! Since when do fireflies provide nighttime lighting?
If you see a jungle you want it to look like this.
With temple ruins and Bengal tigers and fat lazy rivers?
Yes! Now that’s a real jungle! Now wait, you tricked me. We were trying to figure out where Disneyland is.
It’s in a jungle, I’m telling you. And all the people live in treehouses.
Stop messing with me.
In a manicured garden beside a pond, you will find the park.
Or you may find it in a crazy Small World castle.
Again, I must protest. That is no castle.
Ah, but you see, the park is in a castle.
The park is contained in high stone walls with turrets and towers and royalty.
It’s a truly beautiful place.
You are not being direct. You haven’t given me a clear sense of what kind of place I’ll find it in.
A Moroccan marketplace
It’s in an Old West frontier town.
Or possibly you’ll find it in Hollywood of days past.
Here’s a lovely place. Why don’t we put Disneyland in this area of gardens and hills and foliage with mountains in the background. Hm, that peak looks a bit ominous.
Yikes! That is a threatening mountain. Maybe Disney shouldn’t be here after all.
Alright, stop it. You’re messing with me. Where is the park?
You’ll find your park at an enormous carnival at the beach.
See? Mickey Mouse logo and all; the park is here.
Or, maybe it’s in this wild world of futuristic science and space travel.
Possibly you’ll find it in the deep South, with huge plantation houses and dripping Spanish moss.
Or in a regular California town in the warm and sunny coast lands.
Enough! I’m tired of playing at this. In order for everything you’ve shown me to be true, Disneyland must be in an entirely different kind of place, where the world changes completely around every corner. A place where every new sight is even more surprising than the last. If all of this exists, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks must be awfully big.
Indeed. So immense that we could use this to go from place to place.
Fabulous blue headed male Mallard duck
Typical green-headed Mallard duck
Birds at THE park. Let’s see if you can guess which one.
The Brady Bunch has been gone all week for Spring Break. Typically we head to the mountains with our tents and propane stoves, right? This one turned out totally different. I have a lot of photos to sort through, and it’s a bit overwhelming. So let me begin with the birds and a few of the flowers. Lately I’ve been taking many bird photos from my home office and I’ve developed a habit of noticing birds. So it’s no surprise that when I’m on vacation, I notice the birds there too.
Luscious purple clusters
Unfurling into lovliness
Lovely yellow petals
My bird photos were often an after-thought amid the cacophony of colours and sounds and activity bursting around us in calculated displays of amazingness at all times of the day (clue #1). So only a few photos are in focus. I include them all because one fun thing about my week was discovering the variety of birds in a place I did not expect to find so many birds.
Female Mallard duck
Canada Goose
Gull
Black Crowned Night Heron, I believe. Isn’t this one beautiful?!
Sparrow
delicate drops of flowers
You want more clues now, don’t you? I can give photo clues. The following photos will definitely give it away. What do you think?
Sparrow resting on a sign in the shape of a talking caterpillar with a ridiculous fake German accent. (Clue #2)
An American Coot glides through the water. (clue #3) Look at the reflection.
Sparrow munches popcorn. (Clue #4)
The Ladies of the Tiki Room sing us a song. (Clue #5) Quick, who can name them? Collette, Fifi, Gigi, Josephine, Mimi, and Suzette
Yep, you know it. We were in Disneyland all week. It was crammed full of people, cold & windy except for the very last day, incomprehensibly expensive, and yet….magical in so many ways. It was my very first visit to a Disney park in my whole life. My faery girl heart was so happy to discover the wonder – the pure Disney perfection of wonder – that was there to be discovered around every single corner.
I can’t wait to show you. Tune back in later!
