The Disneyland Iron Man

Don't get me wrong, our trip to Disneyland in December was nice but still....something wasn't quite right. My friend Mike at work has been telling me about a trip he is planning with his wife in April to Zion National Park in Utah. Then it dawned on me. For Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and myself, every vacation we have taken since 1999 has been to Disneyland. I reckon it's probably somewhere between 15 and 20 weeks we have spent there over the last 15 years. 

Our December trip had a lot of the sense of "been here, done that" about it.  We start to compare one trip with another and begin to pick at things and criticize rather than really enjoy the experience. I am Disneyland Iron Man I suppose, constantly coming back to do battle with the park. There have been a lot of victories in our trips to Disneyland but also some battle weary soreness and scars. Maybe it's time for a break.

There are other places to go besides Disneyland. We live less than two hours from Lake Tahoe and it's probably been a dozen years since we have been there. I grew up in San Francisco and migrated to lovely Sonoma County in my teens, yet we never go there. We had a trip all planned to Monterey one year and for some reason, it got dropped. 

Maybe it's time to take some other Adventures besides going to Adventureland and riding the Jungle Cruise. There are plenty of zoos with real animals easily found.

The Haunted Mansion Returns To Shades Of Gray

The Haunted Mansion returned last week stripped of its debatable holiday overlay and ready to entertain fans in various shades of gray for the next nine months or so. Disneyland needs the Haunted Mansion because its omnimover ride vehicles (doom buggies) suck up park guests like nobody's business.  At 3,000 guests an hour, you can often get on the ride with very little wait.

Certainly Disneyland needs the Haunted Mansion. The Disneyland Traveler? Not so much. Don't get me wrong I like the ride a lot - it's a classic after all. But when all is said and done, even dripping with back stories, myth, and urban legends, I find the HM kind of boring. Life in shades of gray doesn't so much haunt me as much as it tends to put me to sleep.  There have been more than a few times where I caught some Zzz's during a ride on the Haunted Mansion thanks to its length (pushing 15 minutes).

No, the Haunted Mansion isn't a bad ride. It's a great one in fact and was the last ride conceived by Walt Disney before his death. In the scope of things, it just isn't my ride.

Sometimes You Lose That Disney Frame Of Mind

On most Saturdays I can wake up and write something about Disney or Disneyland at the drop of a hat, as they say. It isn't hard at all to think Disney. But once in awhile it is - like this morning. Usually I know what I'm going to write about in this blog before my feet hit the floor from the mattress. But not this morning. I got nothing.

It's kind of hard to think Disney 24x7 when life's other happenings get in the way. I guess that's why we have something like Disneyland to begin with - to get away from life's happenings. So today I'm taking a break from Mickey and friends, from Pirates of the Caribbean, and whatever Disney movie is on the screen. Other things are happening and Walt's world needs a break today,

The Disneyland Traveler Takes A Step Up With Picture Taking

After a long hard debate with myself, and with the approval from the ultimate authority - namely Mrs. DisneylandTraveler, I finally took the plunge and purchased my first DSLR camera. Most of the pictures on this website have come from a variety of point and shoots from Kodak, Nikon, Fuji and a couple of Sony's. Often times I get home and am a little disappointed with my photographic output. Sure, there are some pretty good shots but I always thought I could get better ones if I just had that one really good camera. That's what I tell myself anyway.

Well, enter the Canon EOS Rebel T3i (600D elsewhere in the world) Digital SLR Camera. Could this be the ticket to getting those great Disneyland shots? Well, time will tell. All I know is that I've got a lot of reading to do and practicing to work on in order to get up to speed with the camera's capabilities. With a little luck and some fair winds behind us, we could have another Disneyland adventure in late March. Then we'll finally see - is it the camera or is it the photographer?

Mickey & The Magical Map Is Fun....BUT....

I gotta say that when I first saw the Mickey and the Magical Map show at Disneyland's cavernous Fantasyland Theater I was pleasantly surprised. The 25 minute lively show was quite enjoyable and not a waste of time in the slightest. When I go back to Disneyland, I'll be sure to make it a point to see it again for an entertaining diversion. Best of all, the show has real seats which for Disneyland, is rare. And any show that uses the voice of Leonard Nimoy (sounding just like Spock) can't be all bad.

Now comes the "but....." part. The theater is a huge piece of valuable real estate in Fantasyland. It holds close to 2000 people and on a busy day, Mickey and the Magical Lamp was less than half full. It seems to me, and I've said it before, Disneyland could get far more bang out of the space if it was used for a full-blown ride attraction. Take the space from the neighboring ToonTown (except for Roger Rabbit) and you would really have some area to work with and go development crazy.

That's on my Disneyland imagination wish list, after all, it isn't my money to build expensive rides and attractions. Until then, I can be content with going in and enjoying Mickey and his map. It's a fun thing to do.

This Spring Disneyland Approaches Wally World Territory

Remember the classic comedy National Lampoon's Vacation when Chevy Chase takes his Griswold family across country to vacation at "Wally World" only to find that the entire place is "closed for refurbishment" when they finally get there? Well, Disneyland isn't quite like Wally World as far as closing for refurbishment goes but sometimes it seems like they can get darn pretty close.

Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and myself have begun informal talks to see if we can make a trip to Disneyland toward the end of March, hopefully before the spring break season. Disneyland will be open but the list of attractions closed for refurbishment during our planned visit is a bit daunting. The following are scheduled to be closed according to some websites: Space Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure, Soarin' Over California, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (already closed), and Alice in Wonderland. That's quite a list considering the first 3 are considered prime E-Ticket attractions.

But as hard as this may be to swallow with families with kids, none of these attraction closures would be considered deal breakers for Mrs. DLT and myself planning a trip. We would question a Disneyland visit if Pirates of the Caribbean were closed and especially the closure of the Disneyland Railroad which we use a lot simply as convenient transportation.

If nothing else, big attraction closures may hold back the crowds a little bit and that just makes it better for us. The more space and shorter lines present, the better off we like. We like our Disneyland on the quieter side.

Disneyland's Harbour Galley Lobster Roll - YUM!

When you think about Disneyland dining, the Harbour Galley comes well down the list if it makes the list at all. The former server of McDonald's french fries in the park is tiny by walk-up dining facility standards with only about a half dozen or so tables surrounding it but the little place sits on a lovely spot overlooking the Rivers of America and possesses a certain amount of charm in its setting.

Disneyland has been tinkering with the menu at the Harbour Galley ever since they gave McDonalds the boot from their parks and last year, the little Harbour Galley introduced a lobster roll to the small menu. Now when many think of a lobster roll, they are thinking of what they serve up in New England with a toasted bun filled with chunks of freshly caught lobster and lightly tossed with a little mayonnaise and seasoning. These lobster rolls also run around $20 - $30 in many places.

Disneyland's offering isn't quite up to an authentic New England lobster roll, but at $13.99, it is quite good. Disneyland's version is essentially a couple of pieces of claw meat served over a lobster salad which is on a toasted bun. I had to eat mine with a knife and fork but that didn't matter because I enjoyed every bite of it. It's something I would definitely order again and the sandwich is far better than the overpriced offerings served at the Riverbelle Terrace which is just around the bend. The roll is served with home made potato chips which are also quite tasty.

Mrs.DisneylandTraveler wouldn't touch lobster if her life depended on it so to accomodate her, the Harbour Galley menu offered a barbequeued chicken baked potato (see picture below) which she enjoyed thoroughly. We both left the place quite happy and quite full. The Harbour Galley is now on our Disneyland dining must do list for our visits.