DC2CERUMA - Day 11

Today had some interesting events unfold. Nothing major in impact to the big population, but interesting to me! The first was getting postcards. I was looking for postcards at Disney's California Adventure and they only had four different ones in stock and each was $2.00. When I asked the Cast Member behind the counter said that because of the billion dollar remodel they would eventually be switching stock. OK, but you didn't have some generic character cards that you could have been put in the store? The second part of that is that according to the same CM, the US Post Office came in and removed the vending machines for stamps. Huh, this organization that is struggling to generate revenue removed a source AND will not allow Disney to sell stamps at their guest relations? They allow 7-11 to sell stamps but not Disney. Weird.

Before the events of the day got started I met up with Design and Proud Monkey out in front of DCA. They were waiting for one of their party to arrive before going in. The use of facebook, twitter, texting, and mobile phones in general has very much changed the way that a visit to an amusement park occurs. How much it's used to convey reactions to events in the park as well as keeping tabs of people and what they are doing.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Toy Story Mania event as I was running a special errand that I wanted to complete today before something else distracted me from the goal. The Corn Dog meet with Sarah, Jason and Jimmy, thank you for awarding me a small stuffed Heimlich from Bug's Life for travelling the furthest. Aunty Lo's Island Meet at the animation academy was a blast. The whole animation building is chock full of detail that most people miss. It was the first time in a couple of visits that I did the animation studio where I learned to draw a character. This time around it was Goofy! The parks are so full of detail at different levels and for most people it flies right over their head!

Dinner tonight was at Story Tellers in the Grand Californian. They had a good spread. But more importantly, the company was compelling. Lots of laughs. For the most part, people will ignore bad food when they are in the company of people who make them feel good and laugh. That was the case with tonight's dinner.

There are all sort of activites within the park and within the framework of DPN Westfest that could keep an individual busy, but it's the connections with people that is the most important. I had the chance to meet Thomas and Eric who are visually impaired. It was fun talking to them. Thomas has been out to Hawaii before and I tried to explain the new Disney resort, Aulani that is coming up in terms referencing what he knew already. I also got to share with them a fact about Tokyo DisneySea that would be very important to them in a future visit. They were excited and surprised about what I revealed to them!

There was no one that really shone above the rest for me to be able to give out an AWESOME JOB! card. Also discovered that the state side Disney doesn't give out rubber stamps for letters the same way that Hong Kong did. It helps personalize the letter/postcard to really embellish them. Oh Well!

Fantasyland at night is magic. Many times I have ridden the rides. I really love the dark rides. Pinocchio is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, Peter Pan always has a long line no matter what time of day or night!

Tomorrow is the last day of DPN Westfest. The main event for me is the photo shot in front of the castle. My Photo Pass should get a big workout tomorrow to help preserve the memories of the weekend. More than anything else, I think Disney is in the business of helping people make lasting memories. That's my story and I'm going to stick with it!

DC2CERUMA - Day 4

Today was a relaxing day for the most part on the trip. Lack of sleep had caught up with me and I needed to make an adjustment. I decided to sleep in a couple of hours and it made a difference. The two hours that I allowed myself was deeply needed. Something for this trip that I'm noticing is that with the room not having wi-fi, I'm stuck at the table in the room to do these blog posts AND the chairs are NOT good for long term (>15 minutes) of sitting. The situation is uncomfortable.

I dropped off some gifts at the Luggage Assistance area for some people who live here locally. I then took more boxes and headed over to the Grand Floridian. My former trailer mate from the college program is a high level manager there. At least I thought he was. Turns out he has moved locations. The person behind the concierge desk, Catalina went the extra step and asked me if I would be ok with the chocolates going through interoffice mail to him. I said sure! As a result, she is the second person on this trip to be awarded the AWESOME JOB! card.

The morning was spent tooling around the Magic Kingdom once I got going. I did lots of pictures, esp with the photo pass. Rode the updated Space Mountain. While it wasn't as rough as I remember it, the ride itself wasn't as smooth as Disneyland's version. The games in the queue were OK, but nothing great. On the way out I picked up an ice cold soda. The girl at the register had a new handbook for the rules of Vinylmation trading. She didn't have a date, but I think it's safe to say that the craziness of pin trading and the pin whores out there will have their vinylmation whore counterparts.

The beauty of this trip is the non pressure aspect of the trip to rush, rush rush the attractions. In 2006 I did a similar trip and at that time between the two sides of the country I did every open attraction between the six parks. I don't feel the need try to do or ride EVERYTHING this time around! It makes it soooo much more enjoyable because I only need to do rides that have been updated. I did the Jungle Cruise and Space Mountain only in the Magic Kingdom.

Being in the Magic Kingdom, a dole whip was going to be necessary. I entered Adventureland to find Lilo and Stitch available for pictures with a photopass photographer available. Of course I had my picture taken.

Before I left I asked Stitch if he was up for some mischief. He shook his head yes, so the three of use turned our backsides to the camera and had the moment preserved for future generations!

After the photos, I enjoyed a Dole Whip with a glass of ice water. While I know that I'm not being 100% healthy, I figure it can't hurt to change it up a bit, especially after the tie dye cheesecake and coke the previous evening.

To save the battery, I've been using airplane mode on my phone. I was exploring Columbia Harbor House and turned off the airplane mode. The phone rang and it was John from MouseTimes. He was at Epcot so I ventured over and rode the

Tronorail! He was waiting by the front gate. We had a good time walking around World Showcase and taking pictures.

We rode the boats there in Mexico. John treated me to a type of drink from Japan. The drink is only 7oz of drink but the bottle is designed with a marble that forces the drinker to sip the drink. It was very different and tasty. We tried for dinner at Japan but the plans fell through so we ate at Restaurant Marrakesh. We both had a meal that had some lamb and the mint green tea. The appetizer had goat cheese with balsamic vinegar and some other spices. The whole dinner was delicious and our eyes got a feast on the belly dancer who provided some entertainment.

We closed out the park day at the Studios. The walk from Epcot to the Studios was a nice walk. I wish they could make baby powder that had a topical anesthetic in it! Trips like these to Disney are endurance events, maybe it should be an Olympic sport! This is where the most serendipitous event occurred. With only seven minute to park closing we rode The Great Movie ride that just 20 minutes earlier I poo pooed. I figured from Star Tours it was the only attraction we could get too before the park closed.

Once in the queue, that's when the surprise occurred. Right in front of us was a man and two children. I heard my name called and I looked and it was another person from the college program from 24 years ago! I mean what are the chances! Now to be truthful, he knew I was coming, but exchanged nothing to try to coordinate activities. I was lucky to meet him and his two children.

So another great day on the trip. While I started the day solo, I didn't end it alone! That has been the theme of this trip! Tomorrow, Sunday, I'm hoping to meet up with my old trailer mate from the College Program Jim. We've kept in close touch over the years. He's met up with me when I've visited FL and I've gone down to his hotel when he's visited Hawaii! It will be the last Disney day and then two days at Universal.

The only two Disney activities that I have left are postcards and doing a Kim Possible adventure! I'm excited. I hope you are too!

DC2CERUMA - Day 2

Today was a day of unexpected surprises! The day started early and is finishing late! Getting up at 6:30am Eastern time when your body is still on Hawaiian time can be tough and even tougher after four hours of sleep. The wake up call didn't have Stitch saying "No Sleepy, Wake UP!" on it. Hmmmm, wonder what's up with that?

Managed to get myself ready and over to Pop food court to meet up with Sean and Pam for breakfast. They wanted the waffles. I tried the waffles. It came with a slice of sausage and two strips of bacon and I purchased a pint of 2% milk to go with it. Not bad. We cut our time in the food court a little short in that Pam and myself wanted to head over to Animal Kingdom in order to be there early for today, Earth Day 2010 which is also the 12th anniversary of the park opening. Turns out they didn't have anything for the anniversary but just activities throughout the park to commemorate Earth Day.

While waiting for the park to open Pam noticed someone else in line. It was Jeff Lange. I was introduced. I knew that Jeff was a man of distinction. Both he and I were wearing the same exact style of sneaker, walking shoe or what ever is the correct term. Too funny!

After discovering that there were NO anniversary events (I thought that was what WDW Celebrations was supposed to handle, but I could be wrong lol) the three of us headed to Everest. It would be the first ride of the day and for me, the first of my trip! We then started to head over to Harambe

and I used my first photopass. I paid some money in advance of the trip in order to get all the pictures from across all the US parks in one package. I'm going to use this sucker like it's no ones business! If I see a photopass photographer, I want the picture taken. So we saw Baloo and got the first usage on the card.

The next ride was the Kilimanjaro Safari. We had the very back extender seat that they added to the vehicles a few years back. We had a blast. The driver Heather had a fear of the bridges, sort of old rickety bridges on the trails. she would make these uh, uh, uh, and high pitched squeal sounds as we traversed each bridge crossing. When we were let off of our two week safari cut short to 20 minute by our encounter with poachers, I asked Jeff if he had his JUICY pants and both he and Pam started laughing. Ask him sometime and he might explain! Part of it was you had to be there.

There were to be some big activities at Rifki's Planet Watch so we headed over there. I checked twitter and said that Laughing Place was supposed to be LIVE from Animal Kingdom. When I mentioned this Jeff got on the phone and said to wait a few minutes for the next train to drop off people. It was not the next train, but the second and Gideon from Laughing Place and his posse of Rebekah and some other person, fan tan lan wha-bam or something like that was with him. So I got to meet some of the Laughing Place peeps.

We explored the Planet Watch, got some pictures of Pocahontas and Rifiki and freebies from Sylvania that included a reusable bag that could be neatly folded up and snapped shut to take up minimal space.

While there we got to see a pygmy hedgehog. I don't think it's name was Sonic. I also got to meet Denise who does a blog about construction updates at Disney. At his point we split up with Jeff and Denise going one way and Pam and myself headed to get food a Flame Tree BBQ. I really like that place!

Pam and I left Animal Kingdom and headed over to the Magic Kingdom. I stopped at City Hall to get a couple of buttons for a person. If they are reading this blog. I got those "special" buttons that you requested and once I get your address I can forward them to you! I think you'll like them! The second part of my request for information to try to do something special at Disneyland next week. The person said I'd have to contact the Disneyland Resort directly and was about to end the conversation. When I asked for a contact number she disappeared for a while but then came back with information that I can use. While pleasant, no Awesome Job card awarded there.

After enjoying the Dapper Dans Pam and Pam and myself proceeded down towards the castle and what did we find there? That's right PhotoPass! Few more pictures please!

In the Hall of Presidents I got to the Robama as the figured is being called. For the In The Loop crowd, I kept my mouth shut as did everyone else in the audience. No words and no clapping. The show actually had a decent sized crowd. I really enjoyed the changes in the story line. It brings it more into the conversation about the Presidency and it's relationship to the common man.

Mansion was next. I really like some of the effects at the WDW version of the Mansion. BUT, Disneyland Paris still has the better Mansion attraction. After riding Small World, Sean joined up with Pam and myself and shortly thereafter Jeff was back in the fold. We headed over to Tomorrowland Transit Authority and met up with Earl from the Trapped on Vacation podcast. Now there were five!

We enjoyed each others company by eating at Peco's bills. Used the new "express" kiosks. I had used similar ones at Taste Pilots Grill at Disney's California Adventure and thought this should be easy. Well, the ordering what easy. The getting the order took a while. The fixins bar with the sauteed onions and mushrooms added good flavor to the burger. I decided not to do the french fries, but the apple slices. When you looked at the size of the portions, you could understand why people pick the fries. The perception of value is a huge factor!

Pirates was next. Some changes over there since the last time I was in the park in 2007. The exciting factor was the cheerleader girls. They were LOUD in the queue, but we were on opposite sides and we thought we'd be safe. Wrong, they ended up a couple of boats in front of us. Shoot me now, please due to the noise factor. Luckily they calmed down for the ride. I was surprised at that.

The finishing of Pirates lead to the departure of Earl and Jeff for the evening leave Sean, Pam and myself. We tried for the Liberty Bell River Boat, but it was now closed. On the way over to Space Mountain we did ride Snow White's Scary Adventure as it had a very short line. OH, we also discovered the 15 minute clock chime at Small World was supposed to be working. Yeah!

After discovering that Space Mountain wait was 60 minutes we rode the Carousel of Progress. It was cold, dark and comfortable. I've had about 8 hours sleep over 3 days and it caught up with me and I nodded out a couple of times in the short show. Pam was hitting the wall as well. We watched Wishes. Tinker Bell flew right over my head and waved at ME! That was special. Another special was exiting in the backstage area. Over in Disneyland Paris they have the Liberty and Discovery Arcades that run behind the Main Street stores to allow for movement of people in a covered setting. Pretty efficient thinking! Someone at the Magic Kingdom took that idea and ran with it. People were allowed to walk behind Main Street East to move from up by Tomorrowland to Town Square. It was east although in my twitter, I think I said west. For me it was no big deal since I used to work there and was familiar with the area. For a lot of other people it was a treat. ALTHOUGH....if the cast members who were guiding the guests saw someone pull out a camera, they were asked politely to put it away. They didn't want pictures in the back stage area. Understandable.

It was as this point that Sean, Pam and myself parted ways. They fly out tomorrow. But fear not, I'll see them again as they'll be attending DPN Westfest next week in Anaheim. How cool is that!

So did I give out any of my Awesome Job cards today, unfortunately, no. Did I do something new, yes, the new Hall of Presidents and I got to see a pygmy hedgehog. I got to see an old friend, Earl and met new people like Jeff and Denise. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I'm thinking Disney Hollywood Studios!