Category Archives: Everything Else

New! And! Improved! Blogroll!

8 Comments Posted by on August 27, 2012

Did I mention all of this free time I have now that I’ve graduated? Well, at least more free time than I had in my graduate program. Which means I’m back to reading blogs! And I’ve updated my blogroll over here on the right

Just scroll down. It’s right underneath that button you pushed to follow me on Twitter. You did push the button to follow me on Twitter, right?

Anyway, just wanted to highlight a couple for you.

AllEars.Net: Salute To All Things Disney But Mostly Disneyland
AllEars is a fabulous wealth of information–everything from the latest news about the park to menus for each restaurant. It also has great information about trip planning, since as I have mentioned, I cannot tell you which hotel to stay in since I live here. The link is for the Disneyland blog, encompassing mostly Disneyland but also exciting other events.

Babes In Disneyland
This blog is a fabulous guide for doing Disneyland with young children.

Daveland
I absolutely LOVE Disneyland history, and Daveland is one of my favorite blogs. He has a bunch of old snapshots of Disneyland (I don’t know where he gets them from) and walks you through these flashbacks in time. I mean, check out this entry from the 50s. There’s a picture of a performing monkey on a leash on the sidewalk. A PERFORMING MONKEY ON A LEASH, PEOPLE!!! He also covers his own visits to Disneyland (and some personal stuff) and seriously, his photography is MUCH better than mine. (although, as you know, that’s not much of a leap)

Decidedly Disney
For Disney collectors, this blog has all kinds of cool stuff. My personal most recent favorite is the small plastic toy of Mickey jumping out of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. That’s not the good part. The good part is that “Disneyland” on the bottom is missing the bottom half of the I. For realz.

Designing Disney
If you’re into design, the Designing Disney is your place to go. Not just limited to Disneyland! If you’re not into design, read it anyway because it’s really interesting.

DIS Unplugged
DIS is kind of like this giant, huge, mega behemoth Disney site, with like pretty much everything you ever wanted to know, EVER, about all of the Disney parks plus the cruise line, vacation club, and so on. We’re talking EVERYTHING. The drawback, of course, is that it can be kind of intimidating. The link above is to the blog, but the main Disneyland section is here. Also on DIS is the DIS Boards, populated entirely by really nice Disney fanatics loyal fans ready to offer advice and have some fun. You can find me over there every once in a while posting under “MyYearWithTheMouse.” I know you never would have deduced that that poster was me, so I thought I’d throw it in.

Disney On Wheels
I’ve posted about Disney On Wheels before including a guest post from Melissa herself. Melissa uses a wheelchair and has a great perspective on the Disney parks experience. Although she goes to the Mouse-In-Law (also known as Walt Disney World, for those of you joining us recently), I love her writing style and commentary.

Gorillas Don’t Blog
Nothing to do with gorillas, Gorillas Don’t Blog is all about Disneyland history with fabulous pictures and commentary. Knott’s Berry Farm sneaks in there every once in a while, but that’s okay. We love Knott’s too. Just not as much as Disneyland.

Stuff From The Park
Did I mention I love Disneyland history and old pictures? Stuff From the Park is another one that can’t be missed in that category. I mean really, since I’m too young to remember the slightly-offensive Indian Village, it’s always interesting to me to see pictures of it. And also he’s got stuff from the 80s recently, which I WAS alive for, and have the pictures of the spiral perm hairstyles to prove it.

Me in 1988. The bangs are uninspiring, given the time period, but that spiral perm took HOURS to cultivate. My hair is naturally very, very straight.

And seriously, I know I look about 11 years old in that picture, but I was actually 15.

What can I say–I was very youthful.

So these are a few Disney blogs I love, and I’ll cover some more in subsequent posts. But I’d love to hear from YOU! What Disneyland blogs or sites do you follow? Any good suggestions for me?

(and never fear, MiceChatters–you’re in the next post!)

Everything Else

Flo’s V8 Cafe, or I Should Have Had a V8!

10 Comments Posted by on August 24, 2012

Finally, the blockout period ends and I make my triumphant return to the Mouseland. I’ll admit I was feeling a bit of withdrawal.

We (Kevin, Theo, and I) headed to CA Adventure for the night. Kevin and Theo had obviously never seen Cars Land or Buena Vista Street–the sad consequences of being the spouse and child of the blogger rather than paying for the pass the blogger has. Theo, of course, spent a number of hours talking about how he wanted to see the castle and the fireworks.

That’s my boy.

Theo was a bit nonplussed about Cars Land, but Kevin was impressed. We decided to catch some dinner at Flo’s V8 Cafe.

I’ll admit I was nervous. Disneyland has really made a huge effort lately to improve their food–diversifying menus and giving greater value for the money. But my brain is still partially stuck in that place where they served nothing but dry overprocessed burgers at exorbitant prices (not counting the churros and corn dogs). So I’ll totally cop to the fact that Flo’s made me nervous.

I shouldn’t have worried.

They hand you a menu outside so you don’t spend your time at the register trying to read the menu board and holding everyone else up. I will warn you, the price on the printed menu is not the same at the register. Which is kind of lame.

Their kids meal, you can get a roast beef sandwich, a turkey sandwich, or macaroni and cheese. Theo picked the mac and cheese–a bit surprising since he generally doesn’t like mac and cheese (I know, right? What kid doesn’t love mac and cheese?). You could also get a Lightning McQueen racer with your kid’s meal.

It’s in the display case

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what it does. The wheels don’t move and it’s got two handles, so I guess it’s some kind of box or something?

Anyway, it cost $6 more and we have a remote control Lightning McQueen at home, so we passed on that valuable opportunity.

Up at the counter, the V8 Cafe does its best to be very 50s.

The jukebox doesn’t work. Yes, I pressed the buttons to check

It’s all shiny and stuff in the background

 

Actually that picture kind of freaks me out a little. Also, on the left? Flames!!!

The interior has plenty of seating. Actually more than you might think.

And by you, I mean me. And by think, I mean assume.

Interior seating with giant wrenches on the wall

Even MORE interior seating! Can’t beat that with a stick!

 

The silverware and condiment section was festive as well.

Route 66, which no longer looks like this

 

Also, Doc Hudson was a big-wig here, since he’s got all of these diplomas on the wall and stuff.

Little known fact: Doc Hudson only paid off his student loans right before he died

 

Now Doc Hudson is voiced by the late Paul Newman in Cars 1 (also known as “Cars”). Which is totally awesome and all, except that he died before Cars 2 was recorded, so he (Doc Hudson) becomes this kind of posthumous character, without ever really explaining how a car ages or what it means to die.

I mean, does a car go all Thelma and Louise and throw itself off a cliff? And how old are the cars in Cars anyway?

Sorry, I digress.

I ordered the pork loin dinner. I was very hesitant (can you tell I’ve been burned by Disneyland food before? And not in a temperature kind of way), because badly-done pork is REALLY bad. Like it’s all dry and chewy and you’re totally screwed once you go past that tipping point of nice and juicy and just plain overcooked.

However, at Flo’s, the pork came with a Coke BBQ sauce. Coca-Cola, not the drug. And that kind of appealed to me. It came with two sides, so I got the corn medley and the baked beans.

Here ya go!

 

It also came with a roll I found a bit uninspiring.

But overall, my pork was actually excellent! It was nice and moist and non-chewy. The BBQ sauce added the right amount of tang with just a bit of spiciness. I would totally get it again.

Kevin, in this slightly dazed picture, got the beef strip plate with gravy. It too was also very good. Go figure. He couldn’t resist a strawberry milkshake, but got it in a regular cup rather than the collectible Flo’s glass, which we really don’t need. The milkshake also came with “road gravel” which was basically little malt balls that just kept getting stuck in the straw. Cute, but not practical.

Kevin sporting his Anaheim Brewery t-shirt

Theo got, as I mentioned, the mac and cheese (sans Lightning McQueen racer car thing). It came with grapes, apple rounds, carrots, and peas. I actually really like that they put all the healthy food out there and if you wanted something else you had to ask.

This is what happens when I beg him to smile for the camera

 

All in all, I was very impressed! The food quality was great and the prices were on par with the rest of the park. Plus the outdoor seating area was ideally located for people and car watching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything Else, Mouse-Next-Door , ,

What I Learned From MYWTM That Made My Visit Awesome (A Guest Post Of Sorts)

2 Comments Posted by on August 22, 2012

My BFF Wendy, who has the gall to live 6 hours away from us (I mean really, where are her priorities?), really wanted to be on MYWTM. And things seemed really awesome when she and her husband made plans to come down to Disneyland right before their 6-year-old Sadie started school–except that our annual passes are still blocked and they had to go by themselves. So then Wendy was all “I’m going to write a guest post for you! Like all of the things I learned from MYWTM that made my day awesome! And then I can be on your blog!” and I was like “Yeah, that would be great!” and then she calls and she’s like “I don’t have time to write a post for you, but can I just tell you about it and then you can write the post?” and I was like, “Oh fine, just USE me to further your own dreams of bloggy fame. And what the hell are you doing, living 6 hours away anyway?” and she was like, “Thanks, you’re awesome!” and I was like “You know, there’s a house for sale a couple of blocks away–we could be neighbors!” and she was like “Um, we have jobs…”

Well, it didn’t go down quite like that, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, here’s Wendy’s Trip Report written by me. First, meet Wendy, Marc, and Sadie.

Aren’t they cute?

 

These are the things Wendy told me.

Castle Secret Passages = Princesses!

I have written in the past about the little secret passages that lead from either side of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, one into what used to be Carnation Plaza on the way to Frontierland (which is now closed), and one to Tomorrowland via Snow White’s Grotto. In my tips, the secret passage is a great place to find surprise princesses, often with little or no waits. Well, apparently on Wendy’s trip, Marc left some stuff in the car, so Wendy and Sadie thought they would check out the secret passage to Tomorrowland and sure enough…

Ariel, Snow White, and hardly any other guests!

 

Sadie was hyper-focused on the fairies, though, and she couldn’t wait to get into Pixie Hollow (post coming up), so she was less impressed by finding these princesses than Wendy was.

Castle + PhotoPass = Great Pictures

I’ll talk more about PhotoPass (I mean, Wendy will talk more about PP, but through me, but not in a Madame Leota way), but taking a picture in front of the castle is both iconic and pretty much mandatory. The nice thing about the PP photographer is that they will take a picture with your camera, and get a great family shot like this one

 

This was taken later in the afternoon when there were fewer people around

“I ate a churro at 10:30am because I could”

Many readers know my love of churros. While churro-eating at 10:30am is not generally Wendy’s MO, she reported that she saw a churro cart and “knew this would be a churro moment for Shelby.” Indeed, it is. She also reports the churro being awesome.

Check out the exit signs!

Inspired by my Looking Up post, Wendy said she took special care to look up and look around, and was delighted to discover things like how exit signs are all themed. Yep, Disneyland puts love and care into every detail, even down to the exit signs. Unfortunately, Wendy did not take any pictures of any interesting exit signs, so I suppose I’ll have to go do that myself. Thanks for making extra work for me, Wendy.

Chose not to go to California Adventure

Wendy and fam were only available to go to Disneyland for one day. Wendy says that MYWTM convinced her that there’s more than enough to do in one park for the day, and rather than rush around trying to do everything between two parks, they just decided to slow down and enjoy Disneyland itself. This allowed for being able to do things like watch the parade without feeling like they were missing something else. Which brings me to…

Watch the parade

Prior to writing this blog, I had never watched a daytime parade, and neither had Wendy (incidentally, Wendy also grew up in Southern California so she’s been to Disneyland many times–we’ve even gone together). I was always too busy getting to my favorite rides to waste time on something like the parade. Well, after reading MYWTM posts about Soundsational (another post with a video here), Wendy decided that they would, gosh darn it, sit down, relax, and watch the parade. Sadie got bribed with cotton candy.

Marc and Sadie

Marc steals a kiss (at least I think that’s what he’s doing)

 

Wendy says that this was her favorite moment of the day–just sitting there, being present, and living in the moment–which is what MYWTM is all about. She loved how the performers made eye contact and waved directly at you as they were going by, and that the parade is much more interactive than she thought it would be.

PhotoPass and Magic Pictures

While they didn’t buy an entire PhotoPass CD or use the new PhotoPass+ service, Wendy says they really enjoyed the PhotoPass photographers and did buy one special “magic picture.” She said that the best part of PhotoPass is that you can get your whole family in the picture and they are perfectly nice and willing to take pictures with your own camera–“It was great to just hand the camera over.” the PP photographers also took more than one picture with your camera for each pose, and even took candids without being asked.

Family picture at the Rapunzel meet and greet

Candid by the PhotoPass photographer

 

I love the look on Sadie’s face in that picture, don’t you?

And finally, PhotoPass does these things called “Magic Pictures” where they can digitally insert special characters into pictures. I knew about them but haven’t blogged about them yet, so Wendy didn’t get the idea from me–it was suggested by a PP photographer. But this is the one picture they bought:

Sadie’s holding Tinkerbell!

Holding the balloons

This is another tip Wendy didn’t get from me but got from someone else–realizing her lifelong dream of holding the Mickey balloons. I personally have always wanted to do this but never even thought to ask. Also, in an effort to seize the day, Wendy treated herself to one of these balloons. I have also always wanted one and never bought one–why not? Go for it! They stay inflated forever.

Look! I’m holding the balloons!

This is so cool

“The Jolly Holiday was really good, not as expensive as I thought it was going to be, and the sandwiches were huge”

My new favorite place to eat is the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, and on my suggestion, Wendy and the fam headed there to eat. They were pleased, as the above quote illustrates.

Worth the money

Wendy said that while she always thinks of Disneyland as being very expensive, and it is, she really felt that it was worth the money. For being there all day, the way they were treated, and how happy Sadie was, she said was totally worth every penny. For example, they ate at the Blue Bayou, where Sadie got a glowing Tinkerbell clip on her drink. They had been taking it on and off all day until later in the evening when Wendy discovered they’d lost it. Sadie decided to try going back to the restaurant and asking for another one, and sure enough, the cast member was more than happy to pull one right out and give it to her. Of course, Wendy found the original Tinkerbell in the bottom of her purse after they got home, but the replacement was awesome.

“You’re at Disneyland–live it up!”

Wendy said that her biggest takeaway from MYWTM was to really live it up. You’re there–enjoy it! Participate and have fun. The rides are great, but so is the whole experience. Eat a churro in the morning. Buy the balloon you’ve been wanting since you were a kid. Wave at the parade performers. Pay a few dollars to get that magic Tinkerbell picture. Act like a kid.

 

Wendy and Sadie

 

You can’t get these days back–enjoy them!

 

 

 

Everything Else

Oswald’s Service Station (Apparently Again!)

7 Comments Posted by on August 20, 2012

Update:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

This, my friends, is what happens when you auto-post! For those of you experiencing deja vu, I had two versions of this post written, one I auto-posted in July  when I was back in Vermont at my graduation. And not remembering that I had done that, I posted this one today.

So feel free to skip this one–the writing is different but it basically says the same things. I’m going to go clean up my files and see what else I’ve already posted before any more embarrassing incidents occur…

Raise your hand if you know who Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is?

Yep, those are my Disney fans!

Before Mickey Mouse, there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald is kind of a strange-looking rabbit, like what Mickey might look like if he were a rabbit instead of a mouse. And what’s the deal with Oswald?

Well once upon a time, Walt Disney was an animator, and he and his partner drew Oswald for Universal Studios. To make a long story short, Walt left Universal, Oswald stayed, Walt and his partner created Mickey Mouse, and Buena Vista Street got Oswald’s Filling Station.

Paraphrasing a little

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit belonged to Universal for a long, long time, until 2006 when Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, decided to get Oswald back by trading sportscaster Al Michaels from ABC/ESPN to NBC Universal.

I’m not kidding about that. Oswald was traded for a sportscaster.

About the trade, Michaels said, “I’m going to be a trivia answer some day.”

So true. So true.

Gas Pump

But back on Buena Vista Street, Oswald’s Filling Station is the first building you see on your left.

Please ignore the fact that the first picture is at night and the rest are in daylight. What can I say, I have an annoying tendency to photograph every inch of something except for its entrance and sign. So I backfill. Deal.

Inside

Oswald’s is a small this-and-that kind of store. A few mouse ears, some Route 66 swag, etc.

And of course, full of great details.

I love the Mickey bell here

Oswald’s first dollar

And outside, for your picture-taking pleasure, is a real 1937 Packard Coupe

In mint condition, of course

Oswald’s is a great opening store for Buena Vista Street and will put a smile on your face every time you walk past it.

Everything Else , ,

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