DC2CERUMA - Trip Wrap Up

It's been a week since I arrived home to Honolulu. I arrived at the Apt in Paradise with a guest, Jeff who founded the Disney Podcast Network and host of the Meandering Mouse audio podcast. With Jeff I got to play tourist for a few days after I fixed my washing machine which broke when I needed to do laundry from my 15 days on the road. Thank you Mr Murphy. Anyway, with Jeff I did some things I wouldn't have done on my own like go out to Kahe Point to go snorkeling and visit a couple of different restaurants. Yakatori is fun, but the cost can add up quickly! The whole time it was go go go! It was sad to see him go, but at the same time I was glad to be able to fully unpack and catch up on some things that I needed to do.

To give you an idea of how exhausted I was, I woke up this morning and did some work on the computer and then went back to bed for what I thought would be a short time. When I woke up it was six hours later. Uh OH! I'm hoping that my body has gotten the rest that it needs because I need to accomplish a lot over the next few days!

With the posts that I made here at the Tiki Outpost during DC2CERUMA, I started to reread them. If you managed to keep up with me, God bless you. I realized that with everything that was going on I didn't proof them very well and there were tons to typos and grammatical errors. I have cleaned up some of the posts and still need to complete the task.

When I made the decision that I was going to pack as much as I did into this trip I didn't realize how much it was going to take. Between trying to do activities hitting 10 parks, trying to get as many coasters as I could, trying to take pictures and video and blog about the experience, I'm surprised I got as much as I did and having Delta screw up causing me to loose a park day really didn't help. Would I do it again, definitely, but I would have to take a few other aspects into account to help reduce the stress. Surprisingly, the baby powder lasted!

I said this in a couple of posts and I'll repeat it here. Although I was traveling solo, I wasn't traveling alone on this trip. I was totally amazed at the people that I met along the way. First starting with Sean and Pam at Bob Jackson's entertainment, what were the chances of running into a west coast couple at Riverside? The Legend and Matt for taking time from their schedule to show me Universal Florida. Jim, my old trailer mate making the effort to travel from Venice to Orlando to spend just a few hours with me. Robert and Bob, 24 years after the college program, awesome! All the guys and ladies from the DPN who made DPN Westfest a total hullaballo. Fellow Skurvy Monkeys, it was a pleasure to meet you face to face after spending so much time chatting and recording with you. Lisa, it was great to meet you over at the Uva Bar. Black Jack Joe, thanks for taking me on your circuit there at Magic Mountain. Lastly, Asa, it was a blast spending time with you at Universal Hollywood. If I didn't call you out my name, please don't take it as a diss. Over the course of 15 days there were so many people who you all contributed to making my Disney Coast to Coast-er Universally Magic Adventure something that I won't forget.

I want to point out the five people who were awarded my Awesome Job cards. Marianne at United, Catalina at the Grand Floridian Resort, Ricky at the Kim Possible Adventure in Epcot and Noelle and Nari at Magic Mountain. You all stepped up to the plate and went above and beyond when it could have been easy just to tow the line. There were many people along the 15 days that were pleasant and nice but did just the minimum and had to be asked to move onto the next step. You all volunteered. What I found interesting is that I wasn't flying United but it was the substitute carrier person who went above and beyond and not the original carrier to try to solve my problem. Disney is known for their customer service and although I spent 12 days either in a Disney park or resort they got just as many Awesome Job cards as I gave out for just the one day at Magic Mountain. I don't know if your companies will recognize the cards that I handed out, but I do plan on sending each company a letter and is one of the tasks that I need to accomplish this week. Ricky doesn't even know that this is happening because I couldn't give the card to him back when I was in the park.

Fifteen days and ten parks later, I can say that I endured and prevailed! Only a couple of items went wrong but overall the trip was a major success. Thank you for following along and hope that you enjoyed the trip as much as I did!

DC2CERUMA - Day 15-the final day

And so ends my Disney Coast to Coast-er Universally Magic Adventure. Day 15, time to pack, enjoy the Disney parks a little and then head back to Honolulu. I just tried to chill and relax. Once I get back to Honolulu, I have four full days with Jeff from Houston of the Meandering Mouse Podcast.

I was originally planning on getting into the park around 10am, but I took a while to get going between doing the DC2CERUMA Day 14 blog post, getting food, showering and getting packed. One of my habits that had me slightly flummoxed was that of my changes. Since arriving in Anaheim, I did like I do at home, I empty my pockets of change and here I put the coins into a Styrofoam cup. It was HEAVY! When I checked out, I tried to change it at the front desk. Nope, they wouldn't do it. So I went to the sundry store and bought a soda and gum and paid out seven bucks in coins. In the parks I got a desert and my freestyle coke mix and paid about eight bucks in coins. I got a meal and paid the amount above a whole dollar in coins. When I left the park I grabbed another soda and paid three dollars in coins. Almost 20 dollars in coins. And that was just from a week in Southern California!

I started in Disney's California Adventure slowly walking around, taking pictures and enjoying the atmosphere. Every chance I saw for a photopass opportunity, I took it. I must have had about a dozen stops total and not sure how many pictures total were taken. I asked around about the World of Color and couldn't find out anything about soft openings although several cast members did mention about the possible use of assigned tickets for show times. That would be a good test of the American public so see if they could handle some of the things that the Tokyo Disneyland Resort does! I also tried to find a propeller beanie hat with no luck. Dang! I didn't ride any rides in DCA before heading over to Disneyland.

In Disneyland, more of the same wondering around. Random shots of what ever. I did do one ride and that was Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin. With it I pulled a fast pass. No intentions of using it, but adding it to the collection. Different stores along the way asking about the propeller beanie. A number of locations within both parks commented that they had them several months ago and are waiting for more to come in. Wonder if Disney is realizing that they are loosing out on not having the propeller beanies! I did see one family wearing a set. I asked them where they got them only to hear they purchased on e-bay or something like that and they had brought them into the park. Bummer!

My last photo pass shots were by the Partners statue. I told the guy to make it a good one as they would be my last for the trip. He had me outstretch my arms and with open hands, I expect to have Tinkerbell placed in them. Cut last shots. The last shots on the camera where the small character statues in the hub. I had loaded up all the pictures and the number of pics that I took on his trip alone was 1618 total pictures. This is my still camera only, no phone camera, HD video cam or photopass shots. I know I'll be spending some time sorting them out.

My shuttle service with Super shuttle arrived a bit early so I'm writing up the blog at this time in Notebook. Internet service is not available unless I pay for it soooo, no biggie. It should make posting a bit earlier once I get some sort of internet connection. I'm hoping that since the flight is not full, the seat next to me stays empty and that I can get some sleep. I realized that I forgot to charge the i-pod and last used it for watching video. The battery has got to be low at this point.

I can feel myself nodding off and am afraid I'll drop the laptop, so I'll sign off for now!

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 8

Yeah, I arrived at LAX and the Disneyland Resort without a hitch! I lucked out on the plane in that I had the whole row to myself. I got a bit of sleep, but even as I write this I'm doing it on fumes. I still have another week to go! Luggage arrived with me, Super Shuttle was fast and accurate. All is good, a little chilly, but still all good! I even got to see a snow capped mountain as we came in to LAX.

Met up with my roommate for a few days Brian. We couldn't get into the room yet so we headed across the street. As soon as we entered the Disneyland park, what did we do? You guessed it, Photopass! Gotta get the money's worth! It wasn't long after that when we met up with some more DPNers. My first ride of the day and this portion of the trip was the classic Pirates of the Caribbean followed by Haunted Mansion.

As a group we told stories, we joked, we ate and told each other facts. We didn't have the DF hat with us, but it we did it would have been passed around. For me personally, I think it was the Buzz Lightyear contacting Command ring tone that won the prize!

One of the oh ahh moments was by Paradise Bay. We went down by the water and watched as they were doing some test of the equipment. There was this huge audio visual tower that during the day is hidden and when the show occurs, it is raised from a pit. They do the same thing for Fantasmic! over in Frontierland and New Orleans Square. We got to watch them lower this one tower and twice, the towers components hit the doors that were swung wide open. Those of us there let out an audible gasp of shock. We are really excited for this show and don't want damaged equipment causing the show to be delayed any more than it already has been delayed.

In the short afternoon, rode most of the big rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Soarin, and California Screamin'. Had some food for the California Food and Wine festival happening and Disney's California Adventure park. It was a good first day in the parks. Met up with Toast, Ryan, Trish, Holly, Jenn, Pat, Leaa, Jeff, Jason, Lorien, Thomas and Brad. I think that's all and if I missed you, I apologize. As I said, good first day.

But, as I said earlier, my butt is draggin. On Pirates, I was sooo tired that I nodded off. Toast who I saw in Florida a few days ago was in the same row as me and caught the moment with his camera....using a flash....in a ride where they ask you not to take flash photography. In fact, I was so tired that while I tried to start this post last night, I nodded of at the table, not to mention that having a slow internet connection was loading pages and responding timely. So I went to bed. Slept a solid 8 hours. I'm up writing this now, but after I finish, I'm going to grab a little more shut eye if possible.