Coffee At The House on Pooh Corner

Take 1: I'm not a huge Kenny Loggins fan but I saw him in concert several years ago. He played one of the sweetest pop songs I have ever heard - House on Pooh Corner. Yes, it is an homage to the Winnie the Pooh stories. The song is in no way associated with Disney. If you are not familiar with the song, I would encourage any Pooh fan to go out and find it somewhere. I would embed it here but apparently Google makes embedding mp3 files difficult in their blogging tool.

Take 2: We had the inside of our house painted last year including the interior of kitchen cabinets. Everything had to be boxed and taken out to the garage including a collection of Disney coffee mugs that we had picked up on a few of our trips. A lot of the stuff that was crammed into the cabinets never made it back into the house. It's still in boxes out in the garage. Of the Disney coffee mugs, the only drinking vessels that made it back into the house are 3 mugs featuring Pooh characters (mostly Eeyore). I know there are other Disney mugs out in the garage but its been so long now that I have forgotten what they are.

Take 3: I write most of these blog posts on weekend mornings over a cup of coffee that I am drinking from a Pooh mug. It came to me. "Wait a minute, Pooh is sweet, but I'm not really a Pooh kind of guy. Where's my Pirates mug, my Haunted Mansion mug, my Star Tours mug......". As mentioned many times before, I'm not really a Disney shopper but on my next trip I need to make it a point to get a few "guy" type Disney mugs. I should probably save the Pooh mugs for when I'm listening to Kenny Loggins.

Carthay CIrcle Restaurant - Maybe a Slight Misjudgment?

Here it is, noon on a Saturday and the DCA Today Twitter account sends out this tweet....

Want some "premiere" cuisine but don't have a reservation? Carthay Circle Restaurant is accepting walk-ins for lunch

Do you think the price for the lunch might have something to do with it? It's already costing an arm and a leg to get into the park whether you have a daily admission, a park hopper, or paying for an annual pass. Now you are asked to shell out big bucks for Disney's version of a premium dining experience inside the park.

Apparently, openings for dining at the Carthay Circle Restaurant are not that hard to come by most of the time (compared to the Blue Bayou over in Disneyland where reservations are almost mandatory most of the time). CCR has had issues besides a very bill since it has opened. Many have complained that the service has been less than satisfactory for the prices you are being asked to pay. Most of the food offerings are very good but there have been a few misses as well in various dining reports. But mostly, it is the high cost of dining there that is keeping people away. A high end restaurant inside a very expensive theme park in an economy that has been less than generous is not a good match. Maybe the place succeeds but there does seem to be a miscalculation on the demand for an in-park premium dining experience on Disney's part. The Blue Bayou succeeds with similarly priced menu options (but no alcohol) for one reason - it is inside perhaps the most iconic ride in the park. Carthay Circle Restaurant is just an extravagant place to eat.

Mickey's Halloween Party - Is It Worth $65?

Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland
A Disney Parks Blog Phoo

I have an oil well. Three of them actually. Thanks to some good fortune and a good deal of foresight by my mom's family 100 years ago or so to retain mineral rights on the family farm in North Dakota, the Disneyland Traveler is an oil tycoon (or oil baron, I'm trying to decide which label sounds better). Yep.... I get 0.00042206% of every barrel this baby below pulls out of the ground.

Continental Resources Akron 1-27H Oil Well
McKenzie County, North Dakota
Satellite Image Google Maps

On the other two wells (no pictures, but I think they kind of all look alike) I receive a whopping 0.00009722% of the production. Woo-Hoo. I'm rolling in it. How much is this worth? Depending on the price per barrel when the oil is sold, about $350 - $450 a month. Sweet. 

My story about being an oil tycoon does have a purpose as it is getting to the point at Disneyland where you almost need to be an oil magnate, or a doctor, or a lawyer to really be able to afford the place. The price of annual passes and park hopper tickets skyrocketed before the opening of Cars Land last summer. Food and drink prices are continuing to get bumped up. Disney is really following an economic principal which says to raise prices as far as you can take them before your business begins suffering negatively. We are probably at that point right about now.

So in addition park admission, Disney is now featuring some separate admission events and right now is the Mickey Halloween parties which take place on Tuesdays and Fridays along with Halloween weekend. While there are some small opportunities for discounts, the general price is about $65 for adults and a bit less for kids who get the opportunity to trick or treat in Disneyland in costume. For a family of four let's say, that is one expensive Halloween experience. Come on oil well.

it's a small world gets the Halloween treatment
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

So what does that $65 buy you? Well, first of all, they chase all the regular paying park guests out of the park around 6 pm as the special admission Halloween event guests are required to wear a special wrist band to remain. The special admission event allows you to enter the park at 4 pm. With a lot of people chased out, lines for attractions (the ones that remain open) shrink to almost walk-on status. You also get the special Halloween Screams firework display which is only featured to during the nights of the Halloween events.

The Halloween Castle - A Disney Parks Blog Photo

And then there are the special Disney touches which all add up to a very special (but expensive) night including trick or treating for the kids. Is it worth it? It all comes down to "can you afford it?" Disney admission pricing is a hot button issue as a hard economy has forced many people away from Disneyland while some hard-liners insist that Disneyland is a luxury, not a necessity, and its always been that way. 

Mark Twain sails away on the mist covered Rivers of America.
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

So does Disneyland Traveler oil tycoon with his millions stashed away (HA!) want to lay down the extra cash to attend Mickey's Halloween Party? Well, as of now, it is an event I still cannot afford, at least not without a year of planning ahead maybe. And even if I was flushed with cash, I'm still not so sure. Disney has temporarily priced me out of its park but that will probably all change by next year when I know I will be going back. But you know, I'm kind of angry about Disney jacking up prices when many people are financially hurting and by creating special paid "events" that relatively few can afford.  I'm going back to Disneyland alright, and I may go back with pockets full of cash (six more oil wells are currently in the drilling process on the family property) but my plan is to look for every conceivable way to cut corners and not give Disney my money. They didn't seem to cut cash strapped fans a break when things looked bleak so now the shoe is going to be on the other foot. I don't need special events. I don't need souvenirs. I don't need to stay in a hotel on Disney property. I don't need to eat all my meals inside the parks when there are perfectly good places to eat in Downtown Disney. Petty? Spiteful? Yeah - a little bit.

A performance by the Cadavor Dans
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

The Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy Experiment

The Halloween seasonal overlay for the Disneyland Space Mountain attraction called Ghost Galaxy has been taking place for a few years now. Space Mountain is one of those Disneyland attractions that you either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground. Those that love it make a special point to go on it again and again and eagerly await the semi-spooky Halloween elements that are added to the ride. Those that hate Space Mountain, well, something like Ghost Galaxy isn't going to convince them to get on the thing. They wouldn't go near Space Mountain unless someone is forcing them at gun point. You can put Mrs. DisneylandTraveler in that category. When I rode Ghost Galaxy, I rode alone.

For most Space Mountain fans, Ghost Galaxy is either a nice addition or a bit of a disappointment depending on how you look at it. Since Space Mountain by design is a wild mouse type roller coaster that runs in the dark, adding the additional lighting and sound effects of Ghost Galaxy don't change the essence of the ride. It's the same but different. I think the disappointment comes when Space Mountain veterans know that Disney is fully capable of doing a whole lot more with Ghost Galaxy. If they wanted to, they could probably make a ride that would scare the bejeezes out of someone. Since Disney wants to work on a family entertainment level, they take the safe route with Ghost Galaxy.

There's that and the fact that it only take Disney 3 days to install the Ghost Galaxy overlay and only 1 day to remove it. They popular attraction has minimal downtime. Compare that to the Haunted Mansion Holidays overlay which takes close to 3 weeks to install and about the same length of time to remove it.

Maybe the best part of Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy is what they do with the enhanced lighting and sound effects with the exterior of the building. Seeing the stately building set aglow with special light and sound displays may be more of seasonal interest than what goes on inside on the ride itself.

Here is a Disney produced video of the ride itself along with another video that shows the dramatic building exterior.

Deck the .... What the ?????

Still long before Linus gets to watch The Great Pumpkin rise up out of the pumpkin patch, Disneyland has announced their Christmas season schedule in Disney Parks Blog (link). This year the official holiday season runs from November 12 - January 6. "It's awful early to start thinking about Christmas" you might say. And you might be wrong as Disney wants to get the word out now for the all holiday planners out there. Me, personally, I love the Christmas season at Disneyland. The sooner they start posting holiday information the sooner I can start living in my own Christmas fantasy. And yes, the weather stayed under 100 degrees today. Only about 95 I think.

Dear October

It's trending on Twitter. Tweets that begin with -

Dear October:

It's supposed to be 101 degrees outside today here at home. Can we please not rush Halloween? But if that weren't bad enough, went to Wal-Mart yesterday. Saw my first Christmas tree.

Disney - it may work out better if Haloweentime at Disneyland was maybe 3 weeks long instead of 6. Watching pumpkin carvers work in ninety degree heat is not my idea of an autumn festival.

A Walk Around Disneyland With Walt - 2012

Disneyland is the only Disney park Walt ever set foot in. It was his baby. He lived for the first twelve years of the park's existence. But now its almost 60 years later since Disneyland first opened its turnstiles and welcomed the first guests. Walt was there to greet them. 

I wonder what Walt would think of his park today. I don't know of course but I can pretend. Let's meet Walt out on the esplanade and take a walk with him through Disneyland and listen in on some of the things he might say....

"It costs how much to get in here!"

"You got rid of the ticket books? I kind of liked those."

"Ah yes, Train Station, Main Street, all pretty much like how I remember it."

"And Abraham Lincoln is still here. Great. Our greatest president, you know. Why is everyone just walking by without going in?"

"You kept my apartment as it was? Please tell me you at least got rid of all that ghastly red furniture - Lillian isn't coming back."

"What do you mean I can't smoke here."

"I really didn't want any statues of myself in the park, but I gotta say it sure looks nice."

"Jungle Cruise, one of my favorites. Thanks for keeping that one. You really should get a better microphone and loudspeaker though. I couldn't understand half the things that captain was saying."

"Indiana Jones? Who's that?"

"I built Pirates of the Caribbean you know. It sure turned out to be a great ride. Who was that one pirate that kept popping up and in the last scene of the ride? I don't remember him."

"Wait a minute, this isn't the Haunted Mansion I remember drawing up..... Haunted Mansion Holidays? ... not sure about this idea. Not sure about it at all...."

"I hope the guy that built Splash Mountain got a nice bonus. Most impressive."

"This Winnie the Pooh ride is kind of nice and colorful but shouldn't it be over in Fantasyland? I liked those singing bears that were here"

"The Mark Twain boat ride. I'm sure proud of this one. Whatever happened to the keel boats? Your kiddin' - shut down because one tipped over?"

"I sure had a lot of fun in the Golden Horseshoe back in my day. Nice to see it looks pretty much the same even if the show has changed."

"Another mountain? Thunder Mountain? I like it! But the rest of Frontierland seems kind of weak to me."

"You guys really fixed up Fantasyland pretty nice. I can see why its so popular. A lot of its pretty much how I remember."

"it's a small world, I've got to be honest, by the time I left this world, I was pretty sick of that song."

"ToonTown? Seems colorful and a good idea but other than Mickey's house and that spin ride, there doesn't seem to a lot going on."

"What did you guys do with my subs? This is a cartoon"

"What's a Pixar?"

"This isn't the Tomorrowland I remember. This is...... I don't know what it is. I'm not liking what I see at all."

"Buzz Lightyear? Star Tours? Captain EO?  Your killing me here."

"I still see the People Mover track but I haven't seen a People Mover yet."

"I just need to sit down and think about all this... Darn, forgot you don't let people smoke where they want anymore. Causes cancer? Sure wish someone would have passed that piece of information on to me."

"Well I have to say, people still seem to be having a good time, a lot of the park is how I remember it. And like I always said, there will always be something that needs to be done. Starting with Tomorrowland here. This sure got butchered from its original concept over the years"

"Gotta go now. Maybe I'll come back this weekend for another visit. It's Gay days? Isn't every day a gay day at Disneyland....  Oh....."