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!