Monthly Archives: September 2012

Custodial Donald Duck and also a Bachelorette Party

11 Comments Posted by on September 26, 2012

I’ve commented before on the custodial staff at Disneyland. They are amazing. Not only do they do things I would never, ever do, like dusting in between railings:

High up there on the list of things you’re not likely to see me doing in my own home

But they’re like the ninjas of cleaner-uppers. You drop something and they seemingly spontaneously grow from the ground, sweep up your popcorn or whatever, and disappear. And it’s practically instantaneous. I’d time it, but it would be pretty rude to drop something on the ground and wait around just to see how long it takes custodial to get rid of it. And I am not that rude.

Trust me though. They’re fast. The park is immaculate. I love it.

Whenever I go to the county fair I feel like I’m knee-deep in trash compared to Disneyland.

And sometimes, custodial just surprises you. Like when I came across a guy with a broom and a litter bucket full of water:

What is he doing?

Great question! He’s doing this:

Drawing with water!

I had heard other people report this but had never seen it before, so I was very pleased to catch it in person. I also happened to meet up with a blog reader, Jeri, and her bachelorette party about 2 minutes before that moment and when I was like WAIT I HAVE TO TAKE PICTURES OF THIS HERE WATCH THEO IN HIS STROLLER and went over to take some shots, they seemed a bit puzzled by my behavior. But they were all really nice about it and made sure Theo didn’t accidentally roll down Main Street while I snapped a few pictures.

It’s Donald!

The custodial cast member drew his Donald like he was picking up popcorn, like this was something he does every day. Which actually it probably is. He simply walked away when he was done.

I got stuck behind some tall people and had to hold my camera way above my head and shoot pictures, explaining the framing and photo quality of this one

Within a minute or so it started to disappear. It was super cool, being in the right place at the right time, for the right little bit of Disney magic.

And then the bachelorette party and I went over and rode on Buzz Lightyear, where Theo managed to score nearly 5,000 points by waving his blaster around and randomly pulling the trigger. He then declared the ride to be “scary” despite the fact that this is probably his 10th time on it. But it was okay because the bachelorette party went off to ride something truly scary, Space Mountain, and he and I went home.

And congratulations to blog reader Jeri on her upcoming nuptials!

Isn’t she cute?

She’s getting married on November 23rd, the day before the best day of the year to get married (which would be my own anniversary, the 24th). Help me wish Jeri a Happily Ever After!

And also Theo’s new favorite babysitters.

See? Wouldn’t you trust these women with your child? Of course you would.

Everything Else

Space Shuttle Endeavour Over Disneyland

5 Comments Posted by on September 21, 2012

Kevin went over to the park to get some pictures of today’s flyover. He strategically staked out a choice viewing area right in direct sight of the castle and Matterhorn for those fabulous shots. Unfortunately, the shuttle flew directly over their heads so while he got some awesome pictures, none of them actually indicate they were taken at Disneyland. Ah well.

“Spaceship” Endeavor? Really Disney?

The crowd anxiously awaits…

And of course, the astronauts!

(clearly he’s a better photographer than I am)

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Main Street Cinema

1 Comment Posted by on September 21, 2012

In all the times I have walked up and down Main Street I have never once stepped foot inside the Main Street Cinema.

Until now.

But you saw that coming, didn’t you?

Steamboat Willie is, as everyone knows, the first film in which our pal Mickey appears

Trivia time! Who was the original voice of Mickey Mouse?

A. Walt Disney
B. Walter Disney
C. Walter E. Disney
D. Walter Elias Disney
E. That guy who built Disneyland

Did you guess the correct answer? Yay! We’re all winners here at My Year With The Mouse!

The Main Street Cinema’s luminous marquee promises two other movies:

Because the fine sport of polo is just rife with comedic opportunities…

…as is traffic

Did you know that the working title for the movie Speed was “Traffic Trouble”?

It wasn’t. I totally made that up.

The difficult-to-photograph-but-when-have-I-ever-let-that-stop-me pole promises six (SIX!!!) different cartoons running continuously and simultaneously.

Mickey sure looks pleased with himself here

The sign also says “exclusive engagement” and that, my friends, is a fact. No other Disney park runs 6 classic cartoons in the Main Street Cinema. The Mouse-in-law’s Cinema is a shop.

Admission to the Cinema is free, although you’ll have to get past Tilly and she’s kind of hard core.

Hiding behind that bulletproof glass and all

I mean seriously, look at this woman. She’s totally going to throw you out if you make a ruckus.

You can tell by the look in her eyes

Interestingly, a close look at the tickets she’s peddling reveals that they are not, in fact, admissions tickets.

Identification check?

I mean seriously, it says right there on the ticket “NOT GOOD FOR TAXABLE ADMISSIONS.”

For a fleeting moment I wondered if the ID check tickets were like the kind you get at the fair that proves that you’re over 21 and you can buy beer, and then I wondered if perhaps there aren’t 6 different cartoons being shown continuously and simultaneously and there’s actually a hidden bar back there. I mean this curtain looks totally ominous.

When is a cinema not a cinema? I don’t know, make up your own punchline.

But no, it’s actually a smallish room with a platform in the middle and six screens each showing cartoons. And no alcohol. You’ll have to cross the Esplanade for that one.

Continuously and simultaneously, I might add

A sign outside indicates that the platform is for children.

Also an oldey timey turnstile

Here are some pictures of the cartoons. I did photograph all six but I’ll go ahead and spare you now. You’re welcome.

In which Minnie tortures a goat, causing musical notes to emit from its mouth

Violence is not the answer, Mickey!!

OMG MY HEAD IS ON SIDEWAYS!!!

If it seems deserted, don’t fear! Each screen has a VERY rapt audience.

I wanted to touch them because they looked fuzzy, but I did not

Although the cartoons were not originally silent, the only soundtrack that plays is Steamboat Willie.

So here’s a fun little way to spend a few air-conditioned minutes. I’ll admit I always breezed past it because why would I come to Disneyland to watch cartoons? But these aren’t just any cartoons! They’re Disney cartoons!

Six of them!

Continuously!

Simultaneously!

Stop by a have a look.

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Pictures That Don’t Really Go Anywhere Else

2 Comments Posted by on September 19, 2012

Look! I tried to get all artsy!

I’m quite proud of this picture, so feel free to ooh and aah and tell me how talented I am

 

This was back on the 10th so the Halloween stuff just started coming up. Have I mentioned how much I love the Straw Hatters? Because I do. And they are in pumpkin form.

 

The real Straw Hatters

Pumpkin Straw Hatters

 

Well, looking at it, the pumpkin on the left seems to be wearing a Dapper Dans hat.

The Real Dapper Dans

 

Dapper Dan Pumpkin?

 

Well now I’m conflicted, because the Straw Hatters have red/white/blue hat bands while the Dapper Dans have solid colored bands that match their natty waistcoats, but the first pumpkin up there on the right has black and red band, and the bottom pumpkin appears to have a grayish/blackish band. So are they Straw Hatter pumpkins or Dapper Dans pumpkins? I mean it look like they’re singing, you know?

These are the things that keep me awake at night, people.

Over in the lagoon they have the seagulls from Finding Nemo and they do, in fact, say “mine mine mine mine mine.” Which I think is really cute, actually. But they are audio-animatronic. There are also ducks in Disneyland and they are real. Now I took this picture because the duck is up there on his own rock next to the seagulls’ buoy. I don’t think the picture clearly conveys my impression of the situation at the time, which is that the duck was shooting the seagulls this LOOK like “You’re not the only water fowl in town, buddy.”

I swear to god, in person it looked like the duck with giving the seagull the bird version of the middle finger

 

^^That’s an example of where a picture DOESN’T say a thousand words.

The Mad Hatter was closed that day. I don’t know why or for how long.

MYWTM, giving you vague and unhelpful advice since 2011

 

I did think the sign was cute.

 

I was also quite surprised to see Mickey make a sudden appearance. He came out right as I was standing there taking a picture of that sign.

Well, Mickey, Minnie, AND Donald

 

I thought it was particularly interesting because the park was closing in 15 minutes and they just brought them right out onto that corner of Main Street 15 minutes before closing. I didn’t know they did that. I took a blurry picture of my watch to record the time.

I love this watch. The characters in Pooh’s thought cloud rotate. I got it from the Disney Store about 15 or so years ago, maybe more

 

Also, remember how I told you that The Restaurant That Can’t Decide What It Wants To Be Called had its sign removed? Here’s evidence.:

Not that you thought I was lying, but you know.

 

I love the in-park concept art for the new Princess Fantasy Faire. I seriously can’t wait.

And I’m not even into princesses!

 

 

 

 

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