Running Behind...a Grumpy Man, a Grumpy Cat, and Just Plain Grumpy

I have to report that I'm running behind on my Disney postings. A lot going on these days. Probably a good thing for readers because there's a lot to catch up on in November, and until we leave on our trip in December (fingers continue to be crossed). Running behind makes me grumpy. Mrs. DisneylandTraveler thinks I'm grumpy anyway. 

So, here is a YouTube video from a couple of weeks ago of an internet celebrity (?), Grumpy Cat in Disneyland meeting up with the original Grumpy. Counting me, that makes three of us out of sorts.

More Excellence From The Disneyland History Institue

A Proud Walt Disney Shows Off His Park
A Disney Photo

I've been a little sidetracked this month. As readers know, in the course of this July, I was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer (officially - superficial spreading melanoma) and had the cancer surgically removed. Since it was caught early, the cancer was completely taken out after a couple of hours of surgery. Some melanoma patients are not so fortunate if the disease spreads into internal organs. Remember that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy takes a beating from that hulking bare chested Nazi in front of the plane? With the stitches just taken out of my chin and neck this past Thursday, I wish my face looked as good as Indy's after he got his beat down. But scars will mostly heal. Again, I'm fortunate.

But I also haven't spent as much time working on this blog as I normally do for the last several weeks. Hard to think about Disneyland when you feel like you've been worked over with a baseball bat and mentally you exist in a zone where you just try and figure out what cancer is all about. So I missed re-posting another lovely Disneyland historical video from the great Disneyland History Institute website when it came out in early July. The accompanying soundtrack may not be everyone's cup of tea but film clips of Disneyland from 1955, lovingly assembled, are wonderful to look at.

Please enjoy The Disneyland History Institute's - Disneyland Voce 1955

Main Street USA - Video from Disneyland History Institute

Before I get too far into my own Disneyland trip, the good folks at The Disneyland History Institute released another one of their fine historical Disneyland videos, this one telling the story of Main Street USA in the words of Walt Disney himself. This video goes along well with my trip. Of all we've seen and done in and around the Disneyland Resort, nothing is finer than being on Main Street. It's where it all begins and all ends.

...And Now A Public Service Announcement From Disney - Vote

Election Day, come tomorrow we won't have to listen another commercial on why the other candidate is a liar and not a real American. But before Election Day comes to a close, a vintage public service video from the Walt Disney Archives (from Disney Posts Blog) gives us Donald Duck and one final reminder.

Funny thing is if I showed up to my polling place without pants, I might be asked leave before ever casting my vote for my preferred candidate.

Another "Glowing" Look At Fantasmic!

My favorite Disneyland videographer Asianjma123 took his camera out to Fantasmic's Glow With The Show performance and captured this cool looking video. No - haven't changed my mind - not going to wear the ears - but it does look pretty impressive. Check out the 2 guys at the end. I don't think they wore ears either. I respect that.

...But I Don't Want To Wear Mouse Ears

Glow With The Show Mouse Ears
About $25

Does not wanting to wear Mickey Mouse Ears make me a bad person? My refusal to wear mouse ears came up this morning over coffee with Mrs. DisneylandTraveler. She used the word "fuddy-duddy". This came up right after I told her I didn't think too much about the 10 minute version of Sweet Caroline that Neil Diamond sang when we saw him in concert this past Monday. A fuddy-duddy.

The mouse ears topic came up when I told her that Disney held a special annual passholder "Glow with the Show" Fantasmic performance a week or so ago. You can take a look at a little bit of video Disney shot for the event and posted on Disney Parks Blog.

Now I have to admit, it looks pretty cool. Those that were there for the event said that the "glow with the show" ears showed off better for Fantasmic than they did with World of Color (mostly because Fantasmic is a better show). But mouse ears? Mouse ears that cost around $25? (Disney didn't supply the lighted mouse ears for Fantasmic like they did for the special World Color Glow with the Show performances - you had to bring your own.) 

I have written about My Disney Bucket List in this blog. One thing that will never appear on the bucket list is "Wear a Pair of Mouse Ears (of any kind)". I can't do it. I'm a grown-up. When Mrs. DLT used the word "fuddy-duddy" this morning to describe me and my disdain for the ears,  I came back with "at last I'm not a sheep". Disney tells several thousand people to come to a special show where you have to wear $25 blinking lights on your noggin. Sounds like sheep being led by a shepherd to me (a shepherd that is pocketing a lot of profit on these things). Or lemmings. No, I am not going to do it. 

The guy below has a pair of mouse ears in his hand. Notice they are not actually on his head. Nor do I imagine they were ever on his head. For those of us, males in particular, who have a few decades under our belts, mouse ears on the head - just not cool. Sorry. Just a fuddy-duddy.

The Haunted Mansion and a Picture of 3 Hitch-Hiking Ghosts

Annie Leibovitz's photograph of 3 ghostly residents of the Haunted Mansion

Annie Leibovitz's photographs have been gracing magazine covers & spreads along with museum walls for close to 50 years now. She is the pop generations most iconic photographer with some of her most memorable work being celebrity layouts in Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines.

In recent years, Annie has worked with Disney in capturing classic memorable scenes with a pretty impressive list of models. Like this one - the 3 hitch-hiking ghosts of the Haunted Mansion featuring the popular actors Jack Black, Will Farrell, and Jason Segel.

Annie Leibovitz at work with Jack Black, Will Farrell, and Jason Segel
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Disney Parks Blog posted two articles related to the photo-shoot this past week.  You can view the posts linked here and here.  For me, it's just fun to watch an extraordinary artist at work with something that must be incredibly fun.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz sets a shot - A Disney Park Blog Photo

Disney also produced this little video during the photo-shoot:

Scenes From Pirates of the Caribbean - Ooops

Yeah, yeah, yeah..... you hear it every time the boat leaves the dock. It goes something like this "keep your arms and legs inside the boat at all times and please no flash photography or video lighting". Well, I for one, tend to heed Disneyland's warnings. After all I'm a guest in their house (albeit at a steep price) and willing to play by their rules. That's just the way I was brought up. Of course, we all know there are people who try bend if not outright break the rules of Disneyland everywhere.

Which brings me to this YouTube video by Asianjma123, shots of inside Pirates of the Caribbean with full video lighting. Yes, this would be a no-no but I'm kind of glad to see a video of Pirates in all its glory when most non-lit videos fail to do it justice. This is not a full ride through but what can be seen looks great. Pirates of the Caribbean is my favorite ride in Disneyland, even after all these years.

Confessions Of A Wannabe Disneyland Photographer

That's a really nice picture of Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. It's from my extensive collection of Disneyland photographs that have been taken over the years. I didn't take that picture. Mrs. DisneylandTraveler did. She takes nice pictures. I carry the camera.

Of course I take pictures too but I stink at it. I don't completely suck when it comes to taking pictures, just mostly suck. Of all the pictures I have taken over the years (well, since the advent of digital photography) I probably like less than 5% of my total picture taking output. But I try. And try. I really, really want to take good pictures but my efforts often fall short. I admire people who can take a good picture. Mrs. DLT can take a good picture most of the time. Me? Well... I'm handicapped. Literally to a certain extent.

I had a great Mom. She passed many great things on to me I would like to think. And she passed  one not so great thing on to me as well. My mom had a tremor in her hands. It's called benign familial tremor. Her hands trembled. She passed that gene on to me so my hands tremble. Oh, it's not bad. I'm fully functional with my hands but they do shake a bit including when I hold a camera. You also may not want to get too close to me in a buffet food line. So there ultimately is the struggle with my picture taking at Disneyland. Pictures are not always razor sharp. In fact, rarely are. I probably have to take twice as many pictures as the next guy simply because so many will be deleted because of poor quality. Darn it. Oh, by the way, my mom was a waitress, shaking hands and all.

I try and blame the camera for a lot of this. Maybe if I have that perfect camera, then I can take magical pictures. In the years we have been married, I think Mrs. DLT and I have gone through 4 or 5 digital cameras. Sometimes they eventually break. Sometimes there are "accidents" as Mrs. DLT learned that it is not such a good idea to have a camera tethered around your neck when you walk into a swimming pool. But sometimes, I'm just looking for that camera that will say to me "just leave it to me Mr. picture taker, let me do the work, your hands are not a problem".

I really think I would enjoy photography as a hobby. Goodness know I need something to get me out of the house. Why not go take some pictures? The local Fry's Electronics is selling a Canon T3 DSLR camera this week for $379 (it was almost $800 when it first came out). The good people at Fry's send me an email every week suggesting things I might like to buy. This week they put the camera on sale that I could drool over. The Canon T3 is an outstanding piece of photographic equipment by almost all accounts. Could this be the camera that allows me to take that perfect Disneyland picture or pushes me out my chair on a Sunday morning to go take some pictures of, well, anything? I don't know. It's nice to dream about it.

Stupid hands....  Oh, by the way, whatever I wrote a photographs above, it also applies to videos. Probably more so.

Here are a couple of videos of Ol' Mr. Shakey in action. The first one is kind of short. Nice shot if the camera was still...

The next one is a longer video from a few years ago. I didn't take all of the snippets but the ones I did aren't hard to find.

Revisiting the Haunted Mansion & the Hatbox Ghost Mystery

While I was looking at YouTube videos produced by The Disneyland History Institute (disneyhistoryinstitute.com) yesterday, I had forgotten about one of their more famous videos that was extremely popular awhile back with Disneyland fan websites. In this video, DHI explores the mystery of the legendary Hatbox Ghost, perhaps the most memorable Haunted Mansion character that doesn't appear in the ride at all. The mystery of the Hatbox Ghost is one of those behind the scenes things that makes Disneyland so amazing. The Hatbox Ghost appeared in Haunted Mansion publicity images, in books, and on HM cover art, but he never existed in the attraction itself. Or did he?

Here is where the Disneyland History Institute steps in and gives their take on the mystery of the Hatbox Ghost and provides visual evidence that yes, for a very brief time, the legendary ghost was present in the attraction. For fans of Disneyland history, this is a great video.

Jogging Disneyland Memories

While working on this blog this morning (and avoiding chores around the house and yard) I came across this very lovely video of the early days of Disneyland (1957 to be exact). It was uploaded to YouTube from a web site called The Disney History Institute. For those whose memories only go back a decade or two, this is a look at Disneyland that is both familiar and distant at the same time. As for me, I remember many of these rides and attractions that have long since disappeared and every once in awhile it's just nice to revisit what once was and in many ways, still is.

Shrunken Ned - the Jungle's Only Self Service Witch Doctor

I've seen him many times in the Adventureland Bazaar across from The Jungle Cruise. I've just passed him by even more which probably ticks him off to no end but while researching something else Disneyland related I discovered several YouTube videos which impart the sage advice and wisdom of Shrunken Ned, the self proclaimed "jungle's only self service witch doctor". Spending a few quarters and a little time with Shrunken Ned is now on my Disneyland "To-Do" list for my next trip. Enjoy practical advice for good ol' Ned...

Goofy and The Art of Vacationing

Some think he is slow, dim-witted, well, goofy but indeed Goofy is my favorite of the Disney Fab Five (for the uninitiated that's Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto).  He works, he struggles, he fails, but always seems to keep a pretty good attitude, a quality we can all benefit from.  A little while back the Disney Parks YouTube channel posted a video of our friend Goofy making the most of his Disneyland vacation.  Needless to a our slow, dim-witted, well, goofy friend seems to be doing a lot better than I am these days. Enjoy The Art of Vacationing.

The Latest DCA Promotional Video

A Look Down the Cars Land Main Drag - From Disney Parks Blog

Unlike their counterparts over at Walt Disney Studios, the Disney Parks people know a thing or two about marketing.  They even know how to wonderfully market something that needs very little marketing at all.  Take look at Disney's latest YouTube video promoting the relaunch of Disney California Adventure now officially dated as June 15, 2012.  Outstanding.

Turtle Talk (with Video)

Turtle Talk with Crush in the Disney Animation Building in the Hollywood Backlots (soon to be Hollywoodland) area of DCA is for kids.  Well, kids of all ages, but mostly kids.  It allows them to interact in real time with the super cool Crush from the Finding Nemo Pixar film.  It can be hysterically funny but can also fall a bit flat.  Like most "live" performances, Turtle Talk is dependent to a certain degree of the level of audience participation, the questions being asked, and what is being said.  Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I are Crush fans but I have to say, the last couple of times we have been in there, the performance has been a bit on the flat side.  With Crush, you never go in there quite knowing what you'll get.  You may get a fall down funny jewel or a "why did we go in there?" when all is said and done.  That being said, if you have kids, Turtle Talk with Crush is a must-do.  All others, eh, sometimes yes, sometimes no.

It may be taken for granted at this point but you do have to marvel at the technology that allows a live audience to interact dynamically with an animated character.  Something tells me computers and "blue screens" are behind the magic.

Here is a video Mrs. DisneylandTraveler took of one the more cuter interactions between the audience and the talking turtle.

Disneyland Time Lapse Video

As you may have seen from my previous blog entries, I am a huge fan of the Disneyland videos that were shot by Asianjma123 and uploaded to YouTube.  Visually and artistically, these are excellent and are the very thing I  wish I were able to take on my trips to Disneyland.  A few days ago he uploaded a very well produced time lapse video which I am re-posting here.  Definitely worth checking out.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage - A Video Look

Back in July, I posted a commentary with some pictures called - Nemo's Submarine Voyage Or Missing The Boat about my general dislike with the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland.  While scenic from the outside, it fails to deliver very much inside the cramped little sub.

So here we go again, while going through my photos and videos looking for something completely unrelated, I was drawn to the Nemo photos and videos once again and decided to put together this quick little YouTube video for historical purposes I guess. So now we have two blog entries on a ride I really don't like.  It does take a pretty good picture though. Anyway, once on YouTube, this video is about a minute longer than it needs to be but it will do.  The magic comes at about the 1:40 mark when Monorail Orange passes over the submarine lagoon.  One of those visually magic moments that only Disneyland can deliver.

Ugly Alice

Alice in Wonderland is one of the better "dark ride" attractions in Disneyland.  It's the only dark ride that has a change in elevation (much of it runs above Mr. Toad's Wild Ride) and has an exterior portion of the ride.  Alice isn't a Disneyland original, but pretty darn close entertaining guests since about 1959 I believe.  As far as I know, no one has ever been hurt or killed on the Alice in Wonderland ride in all these years.

Enter Cal-OSHA, the occupational health and safety police.  In 2010, depending on who you believe, OSHA either forced Disney into shutting down Alice for safety reasons or Disney volunteered to shut down the ride at OSHA's recommendation.   Apparently, the upper exterior "vine" portion of the ride presented a safety hazard either in ride maintenance for the workers or if there were to be some kind of emergency ride evacuation, there was nothing preventing people from falling off the exterior track platform.  Disney needed some kind of railing.

Disney complied and after a quick 3 week refurbishment, Alice came back complete with a temporary railing along with hideous looking plastic tarps covering the railing support structures.  So now we have ugly Alice, and it's been that way for over a year.  One of the compelling reasons that people give as to why Disney was forced to shut down the ride for safety is that Disney isn't big on temporary fixes.  When it comes to refurbishing a ride, there's a plan.  There is also money in the budget to take care of the refurbishment which apparently isn't the case for poor ol' Alice.

The rumor is that Disney has budgeted money to "imagineer" Alice's exterior in 2012 and do the job right.  We'll see since Alice's neighbor the Matterhorn is scheduled to be down for a six month refurbishment at the start of 2012.  Having side by side rides both down for maintenance is not the Disney way, but not beyond the realm of possibility either.

You do have to give Disney park management some credit though.  As ugly as Alice is as it stands right now, it is running and entertaining several thousand people a day.  You might have to cringe a little bit looking at it though.

Dumbo Appears in Magical - Video

I wrote a blog post back in July called My Goosebump Moment where I took a look at Dumbo's flight during the Magical fireworks display that Disney is once again presenting this summer. This week the excellent Disneyland (among other things) videographer Asianjma123 posted a beautiful video of the Magical fireworks show to YouTube which includes Dumbo's appearance.  Magical is not one of Disney's best firework shows beginning to end (its actually kind of boring) but the appearance of Dumbo is what makes the whole thing well, "magical".  The song Baby Mine (from the Dumbo movie) starts at about the 7:40 mark with the flying elephant appearing at about 8 minutes into the video.  It's definitely worth checking out.  Maybe you can have a little goosebump moment of your own.

Lord Vader, Disney, & Other Short Takes

This Short Takes edition starts off with the great Blue Sky Disney Blog speculating that if George Lucas is finished making Star Wars movies, would he sell the characters to Disney? What I fabulous idea. Star Tours is now easily the most popular attraction in Disneyland and will be for some time to come. It seems like the time would be right.....but it's going to cost......

As usual, Disney did well when it announced its quarterly profits last week. Its greatest strength, once again is ESPN......the shakiest part of the company - films......The Disney Channel always does well with profits but I have yet to see Phineas  & Ferb (or Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, or High School Musical).....I have no interest in any of it.....sorry.

The best announcement that could come out of this year's D23 Expo? - confirming the rampant rumor that Innoventions would be turned into the Stark Expo.....if I were to attend this year's Expo, where would I like to be? - maybe the first aid station after traditional die-hard Disney fans find out just how big Marvel is going to be going forward.

Did I read somewhere that next year's John Carter on Mars is approaching the 300 million dollar mark with its budget?.....Wow!......talk about sticking your corporate neck out.....now we know one of the reasons the 250 million dollar Lone Ranger got canned by Disney.

Back to the parks, I wrote about Food On A Stick back in early July, I neglected to mention the best food on a stick to walk around with on a hot day - the chocolate covered banana......it might even be just a little bit good for you.....never quite got the appeal of the Mickey ice cream bar, then again, I tend to be lactose intolerant.....the new entrance to DCA will now direct you to the backside of the Soarin' Over California show building.....welcome to the Magic......speaking of show buildings, I never gave it much thought but the show building for the Finding Nemo subs is beneath a portion of the Autopia......also, I had know idea that there was a live cockatoo in a cage above the entrance to the Jungle Cruise....the things you learn.....