Leaving the Camera At Home

11 Comments Posted by on September 4, 2011

Over a 7-day period last week, I went to Disneyland 4 times. I mean, I know I have a blog and all, but come ON–that’s a little ridiculous. I mean, it seemed legit. Friday the 26th I tried to schedule like 17 things in the same morning with disastrous results. It was meeting readers Nancy and Linus, trying to get on the Lilly Belle, and a family photo shoot. It was approximately a billion degrees so the Lilly Belle was a bust, then Theo had a meltdown of massively epic proportions that completely shot the rest of the morning. Tuesday I joined friends Kristin, Monica, and Carissa, and our combined 5 children plus 2 babies and rode, among other things, the Astro Orbitor. Well, only 4 of those children rode. We didn’t take the babies flying around in circles in a tall rocket ship. Wednesday I finally did get to ride the Lilly Belle, and then on the spur of the moment, I met up with Kristin again at the Mouse-Next-Door on Friday.

So technically I only went to Disneyland 3 times in 7 days. heh.

But on that fourth time, when I was halfway to the park, I realized I’d forgotten my camera. I actually forgot it the first Friday too. I almost turned around to get it, and then I thought nah, leave it at home.

Not everything has to be documented within an inch of its life. I remember talking about this with my friend Renee, who is  professional photographer. Her older son was born before the big digital switch. She said she brought the camera with one roll of 36 exposures, and planned out the pictures. You took time to make sure that hopefully most of them were good. You couldn’t get everything, so you captured the moments you thought were the most important, and the ones you wanted to remember. When her younger son was born, it was all about digital and she has pictures up the wazoo.

And of course, so do I. I have literally hundreds of pictures from writing this blog. I took 33 pictures on the Lilly Belle alone, and that’s about typical.  I’ve got 70 pictures from D23. And whatever I was doing on June 7th, I took 158 pictures of that. I checked and it’s the Jedi Training Academy Parts One and Two,” it’s a small world,” the Hook and Ladder Company, and the South Side of Frontierland. I mean busy day, sure, but 158 pictures worth of busy???

So on Friday, I left the camera at home.

I was having a discussion with some friends a short while ago about living a documentary life. Photography is so easy and so cheap, it seems that we live our lives looking through those couple inch-sized screens. I think our society has changed. It almost feels as if people think “If I don’t take a picture or video of it, then I wasn’t really there, or it didn’t really happen.” Whenever a major news story breaks and there’s a crowd of people, what you see are a whole bunch of cell phones being held up over heads snapping picture after picture.

And of course I’m guilty of that too. I end up with pictures like this:

Um, yuck

Or this:

I AM AN AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHER!

Trying to catch a moment when obviously it was a complete waste of time to turn away from the show in front of me.

In this shot, I’m more concerned with taking a picture than enjoying what I’d set out to document in the first place. Where is the experience? Why can’t I just turn around and enjoy the moment with my husband and son and remember it in my head instead of a crummy picture later (in this case, one of 28 pictures of this show, The Magic, The Memories, and You)?

I always kind of feel strange when I see people taking videos inside of rides. Particularly people who spent thousands of dollars to get here and waited a really long time to get on the ride. Are you REALLY going to watch your video of the Pirates of the Caribbean when you get home? There already are videos of these rides on YouTube. Why not put the camera down and enjoy the best part of Pirates, which is the immersive experience.

We’re addicted to our cameras because we can be, and I’m not going to tell someone who spent a lot of money to get here not to take pictures, but the magic is there whether you take a picture of it or not. Sometimes a picture or video puts a barrier between you and the magic.

Sometimes it’s better to take a picture with your heart rather than with the camera.

So if you’re a local, leave your camera at home every once in a while. And if you’re here on vacation, maybe take a moment to ask yourself, “will this picture come between me and the experience–between me and the magic? Do I really need this picture or video to remember this moment?”

You may surprise yourself by finding that you don’t really need all those pictures after all.

Everything Else ,

Anyone Headed to the Mouse-in-Law? I Need This T-Shirt

5 Comments Posted by on September 3, 2011

I know I’ve got some Mouse-in-Law readers here. We got an adorable t-shirt for Theo on our trip there in February and I don’t know what I did to it, but it involved bleach and turned out rather unsightly, so our shirt has now moved to the “Art Day at Preschool” part of the closet if you know what I mean.

If anyone is headed there, would you mind picking one up for me? Of course I will paypal the cost plus shipping. It’s this shirt in size XS:

Somebody please replace me 😦

Thanks!!!

Everything Else , ,

Lilly Belle Ticket

4 Comments Posted by on September 2, 2011

Here’s an interesting fact about the Lilly Belle! It’s called a “Presidential Car” because it has a platform on the back where the President can step out and make a speech, à la “whistle-stop tours.” How very Abraham Lincoln!

My friend Linus, who filled me in on that piece of knowledge, also took the time to scan in our tickets:

Front

 

Back

What a great souvenir! Be sure to read the rest of my Lilly Belle post!

 

Everything Else, Main Street , , , ,

Lilly Belle

21 Comments Posted by on September 1, 2011

The Lilly Belle is Disneyland’s private train car, named after Walt’s wife Lillian and used to entertain VIPs at Disneyland starting with its first passenger, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito.

And I got to ride it.

Oh yeah.

And the best part is that YOU can ride it too! If you’re persistent enough and your timing is good. But more on that in a bit.

The Lilly Belle

The Lilly Belle was originally a regular train car that had been taken out of service to make way for the cars where all the seats face sideways so you can see the Grand Canyon and Primeval World dioramas. In 1976, just in time for the bicentennial, Disneyland converted the Lilly Belle into a private train compartment for VIP guests. The car was decorated in a Victorian theme to match Walt’s apartment above the firehouse.

This carpet is actually from Walt’s apartment

You ride in luxurious velvet seats:

Looking toward the front door

Looking back at the rear door. The Lilly Belle is not actually tilted like this picture.

And the details throughout the car are just wonderful.

Gorgeous woodwork and stained glass run along both sides of the top of the car

Even the light fixtures are fancy

There are a few tables including this buffet.

The flowers are glued down

There are a couple of small side tables, one of which was set up to be a drink-that-comes-in-small-glasses and writing table.

I don’t think it’s iced tea that’s served in those little glasses

Let’s look a little closer–beautiful glasswork.

Kevin and I collect fountain pens and things that fountain pens rest on, particularly Victorian pen stands, so I couldn’t resist a closeup of the pen rest and ink bottles.

Such a great detail

In the rear of the car is a reading table:

Walt’s personal library–reproduction

and a photograph. According to our conductor, this is a reproduction, since someone stole the original. Nice.

Lovely table

What a great picture!

The beauty is in the details!

Fringe on the window shades

Not for real fire

A particular highlight is a kimono near the door, said to be a gift from Emperor Hirohito himself. I’m going to guess that this one is a reproduction, but it’s still very beautiful.

I wanted to reach out and touch it

Even the hooks on which it hangs are detailed

Man, I miss the decorations from the Victorian age. She said as if she’d actually lived there.

Since people have acted poorly in the Lilly Belle in the past, each group has to be accompanied by a conductor. The up side to that is that you get a whole history lesson while you ride.

This was Vern. He was great.

You even get a special Lilly Belle ticket with a hole punch shaped like a locomotive. I forgot to take a picture so I’ll post one later.

The Lilly Belle is always the last car on the train

Vern and a corner of my friend and blog reader, Linus V.

On our trip, the Lilly Belle was pulled by the Ward Kimball locomotive, although any of the locomotives can do it.

I just love this.

So now, I know your burning question–How do I get on the Lilly Belle???

It’s a matter of a little bit of savvy and a lot of luck. Things you should know first are:

  • The Lilly Belle is not in service every day
  • They don’t allow people in the Lilly Belle when it’s very hot (as we learned on Friday)
  • You cannot make an advanced reservation. You have to do it that same day
  • The Lilly Belle requires an extra conductor and one may not be scheduled for the day you’re there, which is another reason why they might turn you away.

With that in mind, here’s how to get on:

  1. As soon as you get in the park, go up to the Main Street train station and when a train comes by, ask the conductor if the Lilly Belle is in service and if so, can you make a reservation or ride immediately. The Main Street station is where all passengers are expected to board and disembark. A passenger who needs to use the wheelchair ramp boards at the New Orleans station. Be sure to ask at the MAIN STREET station unless you use a wheelchair, if you ask at any other stop they won’t let you on. If you use a wheelchair, ask at City Hall.
  2. If they tell you no, thank them and try again the next day

Now honestly, chances are good you’re going to get a no, so if you want to ride and you’re from out of town, make sure to inquire the first morning of your trip and keep it up until you leave. Don’t wait for your last day to see if you can get a ride.

The Lilly Belle is truly one of those hidden, little-known experiences at Disneyland that make your visit that much more magical. And in the search for Disneyland Magic, I’d say that’s a big hit right there.

Everything Else, Main Street , , , , , ,

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