Journal: Our California Adventure - Part 5

We continued along Main Street to find ourselves at the foot of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Again, being able to enjoy views of the castle with not a person to be seen was unusual. During open hours there is not a second that goes past where there isn't someone having their pictures taken in front of the castle. Naturally we took full advantage of this fact by having our own pictures taken whilst the Disneyland Ambassador was introduced to the group. Disneyland Ambassadors have existed at the park since 1965 and they serve as the resorts 'Emissaries of Goodwill', media representatives and as official hosts to the resort’s guests. As official spokespeople, Ambassadors offer the outside community a personal relationship with the resort. Alexa Garcia is the Disneyland Ambassador for the 2017-2018 term and she was wonderful to talk too. Obviously her passion and knowledge of the parks was incredible and I could have spent hours talking to her.

I was extremely excited when I could hear the not so distant rumble and boom of the Fantasmic soundtrack coming from the Frontierland area of the park. They were running tests and rehearsals of the night-time spectacular show ahead of the new version opening in just a few days‘ time. Fantasmic is my favourite of all Disney Park productions, which I will cover in a future part.

Our next stop was the Plaza Inn restaurant for our Character Breakfast. Welcomed and shown to our tables by the Fairy Godmother I have to say the character interaction was absolutely spot on. I also got to meet Hook, Suzy and Winnie the Pooh (amongst a few others) I got very excited to have my picture with Goofy’s son Max! I don't think I have ever actually seen him in the parks before and had only seen him on YouTube as part of a Disney Cruise show. This was a most welcome and awesome surprise. 

With all the character interactions being so on point and truly engaging I get very excited and find it really easy to return the interaction - much to my own downfall. Tigger was the next to our table and I definitely wanted to get a picture. In my head it seemed like a really good idea but I suggested that I bounce together with Tigger. Unfortunately the photo did not come out well but that was the least of my problems. When I sat back down I noticed that I had managed to split my shorts in all the bouncy excitement. I felt like a prize idiot! Thankfully I could see the funny side as I made a mad dash back onto Main Street to buy some new shorts. I was thanking my lucky stars that a) the shops had now opened and b) that they even had shorts! Some may have a little blue humour here and say that At least I could say I ‘bust your shorts with Tigger!' tehehehehe

With my new and uncomfortably tight on the waist shorts, the group left the restaurant and made our way over the Matterhorn Bobsleds. This is one of my favourite attractions in the park with its wonderful combination of being family friendly but relatively quick and all around hilarious good fun. In many respects, the design of this coaster plays out like a terrain coaster having been designed to hug the mountain. At no point are you truly aware of how high you are because the mountain is all around you which takes away one of those things that people find so scary about rollercoasters. Interestingly the Matterhorn was the very first rollercoaster to use a tubular steel construction for the track (rather than wood). As we had learned the previous day (and noted in Part 4), Disney did not just use technology for technology's sake, it had to serve the story. In this instance Walt wanted to create a toboggan themed journey that would take you on a ride through the famous Matterhorn Mountain. In order to fit 2 separate circuits into the Mountain and ensure it had all the right twists and turns, an entirely wooden coaster may have been a struggle. 

It did not disappoint and I managed to get soaked in the final splash down finale at the end of the ride. Considering that it opened in 1959 it runs better than many other coasters less than half its age!

Continuing into Fantasyland, our next stop was the King Arthur Carousel. Immediately we were reminded of our journey to Griffith Park and riding the Carousel that started it all.

One ride that always gains very long lines and is a FastPass must is Peter Pan's Flight. Much like its counterparts in Orlando and Paris, you board a flying pirate ship for a journey through the story of Peter Pan, right from the Darling children's bedroom, over the streets of London to the second star on the right and straight on till morning. The story of the boy who never grew up, and specifically the attraction that brings that story to life, opened in 1955 as an opening day attractions and still gains multi-hour queues. Seriously, I strongly recommend you getting a Fastpass planned for this one!

Whilst waiting for everyone to finish riding it seemed like a great opportunity to try pulling the sword from the stone. Of course I took part and got right into the spirit of it and at one point I had my foot on the stone and I was pulling the sword with all my might. I'm not going to lie, I was actually really nervous about ripping through another pair of shorts. Thankfully they held together!

After all the legendary King Arthur action it was off to our next stop which was equally legendary as we entered into a long lost tomb, apparently protected by supernatural powers. This was Indiana Jones: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. This time though, we would not simply be boarding the attraction and instead we were led to the secret tomb within the tomb; backstage.

We were now stood in the maintenance bay for the attraction, with one of the 'Enhanced Motion Vehicles' or EMV sat in front of us. The cast from the attraction began telling us about the maintenance routine for each of the 17 vehicles. For those of you who have never ridden or even seen the attraction, the simplest way I can explain the EMV is a motion simulator on a track designed to look like a huge battered military troop transport type vehicle. Each vehicle travels at only 14mph but the additional motion supplied by three hydraulic rams connecting the chassis to the transport body of the vehicle creates the illusion of travelling at great speed, across incredibly rough terrain or any other experience the imagineers want to create.

Again, this technology was created specifically for this attraction and has only since been duplicated as the same ride (Tokyo DisneySea) with some technology variations and used for the attraction Dinosaur (Disney's Animal Kingdom). The technology was devised in order to support the story in which the rider is trying to escape the curse that is hellbent on 'getting you' in the tomb.

I will say, having ridden both Indiana Jones and Dinosaur in the past, that I was oblivious to the scale of these vehicles. When you board the vehicle it is from a platform in line with the seating level which means you might not necessarily notice how far off the ground you are due to the huge neoprene filled tyres. Seeing it independently from the rest of the ride I realised the huge scale of these machines. They really are a marvel.

We were then shown how the EMV is programmed in terms of its motion simulator. The controls start off in a very manual sense with the programmer able to very precisely plan movements using what I can only describe as joysticks. Some of us were even given the opportunity to control the EMV ourselves and of course I had a go. It was astounding just how much you can move these things around and just how intense you could make the whole ride experience! This is why they employ experts and not me!!

I could give you even more information about the ride systems and a blow by blow account of the ride itself but I don't think describing it would truly do it justice and I wouldn't want to spoil some of the awesome surprise elements. Get yourself out to California to ride it for yourself!

Next up was another part of the ABD trip that I had been looking forward to since the point of booking. As we made our way back down Main Street towards the entrance I knew we were heading for what is probably the most important piece of real estate in the park. The firehouse.

Ok, so it is not actually a working firehouse but above it is what some would consider a sacred place that is known as Walt's Apartment. Many a Disney fan is aware of the small apartment that Walt used when he was on site but far fewer have been lucky enough to actually go inside.

Approaching the Fire House it was impossible not to take a look up and nod to the lamp lit brightly in the window. Legend has it, (for those who do not know), that Walt would leave the lamp on in the window so that everyone knew he was on site. After he passed away it became a feature that the lamp is always on; Walt will always be there. My own little tradition when I see the lamp on arrival is to say a personal 'Hi Walt'. 

The group was split in two and we would be heading up to the apartment first. I almost felt nervous as we climbed the backstage staircase towards what was effectively Walt's front door when he was at the park. We all filed in and we're able to take a seat. Much like back at the Tam o'Shanter, I was surprised that we were allowed to touch anything, let alone sit on the furniture. Marc and I took a seat on the sofa to the right of the window, my eyes fixed on the lamp in the window. I had never seen it from this side, not even in pictures. 

The apartment had obviously been preserved in the same style as when Walt was alive and there was a tremendous amount of maroon furniture and wall decor. There was a quaint little kitchenette to one side which still had all the original crockery. In a previous part I wrote about when we visited the Tam o'Shanter and how I was struck by the humble settings. I could feel that here too. It seems very clear to me that Walt was a very humble man with very humble tastes. I would not say that there was anything particularly grand about the apartment and believe me, that is not a criticism. The grandest thing here was possibly the beautiful and really large gramophone next to the sofa. Perhaps I was just a little surprised. We are not just talking about any company head, we are talking about Walt Disney. The leader of one of the most successful entertainment companies in the world, even in his time. With his success it would not be a far stretch to imagine living the life of luxury and enjoying the money that would have come with the success. Not Walt. He kept things simple so that he could continue putting money into his future projects, of which he had many. I didn't think it was possible but I admire him even more because of it.

The Space to the right of the main building is where the patio sits.

We were then taken outside onto a small patio that sits above part of the City Hall building. I had always heard a lot about the apartment but I was totally unaware of the outdoor space hidden away up here. From Park level you wouldn't even know it was here. 

Continuing the theme of being humble, Summer-Rose began telling us about some of the people Walt hosted up in the apartment but the one that really resonated was that the apartment would sometimes be used as a staging area, allowing the Mouseketeers to get ready for appearances, whilst Walt was there. Again, we are talking about Walt's personal space in the park for him and his family here! I'm aware that this could just be the impression I get from movies and the media but I cannot imagine other CEOs of huge entertainment companies being like this. 

We were led back inside and we all took turns to have our picture in the apartment, with the lamp sitting in the window clearly in shot. This was another one of those moments where there was an overwhelming urge to burst into the happiest of tears. I think that for me, after the many years that I have been reading about these locations, to actually experience them first hand felt like I had achieved a dream or a goal.

After a brief break we found ourselves all the way over in Mickey's Toontown, where you can find the home of Mickey Mouse and all his friends. I always find myself marvelling at the theming here. The rear perimeter of this land has flat 2D type 'flats' (similar to the scenery pieces in a theatre) of grassy green hills. They are very carefully arranged and designed to look like that of a cartoon and at first glance my eyes seem to struggle to find the break between the 'fake' hills and the real sky. The illusion that you are now walking through a cartoon is very effective.

Mickey's Toontown

Goofy's House

Each of the characters have their own home here, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Chip & Dale. What I love about each house is how they are created. They are not just merely character themed homes but actually tell the story of how that character built the home. For instance, Goofy's house has a porch which is tall yet narrow and a little bit haphazard, even clumsy perhaps, all of the details fitting Goofy's characteristics and how he would build his home. The building also has a colour palette to the colours that identifies it as 'Goofy'.

This follows through for each of the characters, each with their own unique style and personality which shines through their building. I have always loved that touch.

Still, there was one house in particular we were visiting today. The big man himself; Mickey Mouse. Rumour had it that he was looking forward to us stopping by and had cleared a tiny space in his diary for us to visit.

Mickey's House

What I was not prepared for however, was the outfit Mickey would be wearing today. Being a huge Mickey fan, it has become somewhat of a game (aka insanely important life challenge) to get pictures with Mickey in lots of his different outfits - a game that many other 'grown-up' friends also play.

Today, he had dug out a particularly old outfit, his very first in fact. I had only ever seen Mickey out in public with his Steamboat Willie outfit during the Fantasmic stage show which has meant the chances of a cheeky photo-op were a flat out impossibility. Seeing him back in his black and white shorts and a scarf, complete with a small steamboat set behind him was great fun. What was even more fun was trying to get through the entire 35 strong group of us for photos, all in the same small room.

After our picture with Mickey we all split up again for the afternoon and had some fast passes to use. Walking around, Marc and I started discussing a trend I had been noticing since the morning. It seemed very clear to me (and Marc agreed) that one of the big differences in Disneyland is the reverence to the history and gravitas of the Walt Disney Company. If you knew where to look there were subtle nods, homages and tributes to Walt himself and the heritage of the company, which I really appreciated. Mickey Mouse being in that specific costume was another example of that respect to what went before. To be clear, I am not saying that they force the company and Walt's history upon you at every opportunity, because it is not that sycophantic, despite what some people may tell you. It is done in a very pleasant and humble way whilst also looking to the future and ensuring that they keep up with, or should I say, lead the trends in theme parks. I feel that under the wrong leadership it could be very easy for the park to be totally absorbed by the reverence to its own history. Effectively it would make the park a museum, something I know that Walt, and now, the Imagineers work tirelessly to prevent. They manage to strike the balance really well. Of course, this is coming from an infrequent visitor. Locals who get to visit every other week may see it in a completely different light.

Nevertheless, it was time to use up some fast-passes so we headed to Splash Mountain. The 'log-flume' based attraction features a plot which draws from several of Uncle Remus' stories as he tells them in the movie 'Song Of The South', which in turn is based upon the folktales adapted and compiled by Chandler Harris, originally published in 1881. The animated sequences from the movie are then presented along the ride, following Br'er Rabbit as he seeks adventure and his 'Laughing Place' whilst avoiding the pursuit and the traps of Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear. The ride reaches its climax when Br'er Fox does indeed catch Br'er Rabbit and throws him into the briar patch - whilst you simultaneously plummet down the main drop to a splashy end.

Splash Mountain is an attraction I always find difficult to photograph

Usually I manage to avoid getting wet on this attraction but not this time. I managed to get pretty well saturated but in all honesty, it was welcome in the scorching California sun. Splash Mountain is not scary in any way and is just brilliant fun which the whole family can enjoy.

The Haunted Mansion entrance sign

Just next to Splash Mountain is the legendary Haunted Mansion which is a MUST visit on every trip. In many ways Haunted Mansion is the quintessential Disney attraction along with Pirates of the Caribbean. It is dark and chilling with just the right dash of self deprecating humour to ensure that it doesn't leave the guests absolutely terrified. It has certainly earned its place having been running since 1969.

The interesting thing about the Mansion itself is that it doesn't look particularly Haunted from the outside. It may look a little creepy but all in all it looks like a pretty ordinary mansion - however ordinary they can be. In some of the early sketches back before the originally scheduled opening of 1963, Ken Anderson designed an antebellum manor which was in a very sorry state including dead trees and swarms of bats around the building with boarded doors and windows. Walt however, was none too keen on the prospect of a dilapidated building within his pristine park. There is a quote that often gets repeated which I believe Walt said (and I am paraphrasing), "Let the ghosts and ghouls take care of the inside and we will take care of the outside".

The original walk-through attraction evolved into what Walt described as a 'Museum of the Weird'. During the evolution, two of the attractions key designers, Claude Coats and Marc Davies disagreed on whether the attraction should be funny or scary. It was not until after Walt passed away in 1966, did the attraction evolve significantly. It was then, plans developed into a full on ride system and would incorporate both Coats and Davies ideas. 

The story itself is very dark, featuring 999 'happy haunts' and the story that always catches my attention, the ghost of Constance Hatchaway. The story evolves that she is rather twisted and has a knack for marrying into wealth. It is summed up perfectly by her mocking of traditional wedding vows... 

"Here comes the bride... as long as we both shall live... for better or for worse? I do. I did, in sickened and in... wealth. You may know kiss the bride... we'll live happily ever after... till death do us part..."

One of my favourite sequences in the ride features paintings of Constance and several of her husbands that change before your eyes to see the bridegrooms head gone and then the scene concludes with her standing with a hatchet in her hands. It is absolutely twisted and would make a very good horror film but it is presented in such a way that perhaps younger riders (and many adult ones for that matter) are not aware of just how horrific the story is. This to me makes it ever more impressive as the more you ride it, the more you notice all the little details that make up the story and make the attraction evermore re-rideable.

We had arranged to meet up with Pete, Chandra and a few of the other DisUnplugged team who were now arriving ahead of the D23 event at the weekend. It was great to meet Steve and Jackie. Steve always provides a balanced viewpoint and has a knack for being a type of devil’s advocate and Jackie is one of the sunniest people I have ever met. She sees positivity and happiness everywhere and it is infectious is the very best way. I have mentioned it earlier in the series of journals, but it was just wonderful to meet the people I have been watching on YouTube for years. Since it was right next to us, our small group jumped into the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirates is one of the rides that even those who haven't visited a Disney park know. It is again, a quintessential Disney attraction. I don't think there has been a single other theme park attraction that has spawned a multi-million earning, multi-movie franchise series which just goes to show the impact the ride has had on modern pop culture. That in itself is quite impressive for a theme park attraction.

A key note here, is that the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was reportedly the last attraction that Walt himself had a hand in designing. Originally it was planned as a Walk-through wax museum attraction but after the success of the It's A Small World attraction at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, it was decided to use a similar boat ride concept to best serve the story of the Pirates. If any story should have a boat ride, it has to be Pirates right? 

What I love the most about this attraction, and yes I am aware that it is controversial, is that it now includes the characters from the movies. Yes, the characters of Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa were created for the movie and did not exist in the attraction. For newer and younger audiences who are very aware of the movies, it would be safe to assume that they would think the attraction came after the movies. I have seen interviews with Imagineers where they talk about children riding and asking where Captain Jack Sparrow was. The history of the attraction and the cultural phenomenon of the movies means that both are very much entwined so for me, it makes perfect sense that they have allowed the attraction to evolve to include the new characters. It keeps in tune with the modern pop culture surrounding the franchise as a whole. I dare say that there are a lot of purists who feel the attraction should have been left as it was but I would refer back to my earlier comments about Disneyland not becoming a museum. It truly is a fantastic attraction and I enjoy riding it on every visit.

Mickey on the lead float of the parade

After queueing a little longer than we anticipated it was now a mad dash over to the main hub in front of the castle to join the rest of the ABD group for the afternoon parade, Mickey's Soundsational Parade. Disney parades are always a highlight for me. They come with so much energy and enthusiasm and it was always great to be part of the crowd getting so excited. One of the most heart-warming moments was seeing Danika's reaction to the Princess Tiana float. Danika resides in Louisiana where the film is set so it is obviously close to her heart but seeing her incredible beaming smile shine through and her excitement translate into dancing to that jazzy soundtrack was just lovely. 

We were now also joined by Ryno, whom we had met on a previous trip to Orlando a few times. He is the Associate Producer on the Dis-Unplugged and also appears on their Universal Edition, Dis-Pop. He also contributes a lot of vLogs from around the Disney Parks and Resorts. For us, it was great to see him again after 18 months of simply keeping in touch via social media. I am a strong believer in the good of social media and our long distance friendship with Ryno is definitely proof of that.

After the usual greetings it was time to get some dinner, so we returned to the Plaza Inn where we had breakfast earlier that day. It was certainly a lot busier now but it was a quick service restaurant (think fast food style but ridiculous amounts nicer) so the only real challenge was finding a table once we had our food. The food here was lovely and also very affordable. I went for the Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes. It certainly hit the spot and was great value for money.

At this point none of us particularly felt like doing any rides so we decided that we would tick off another 'must-do' on our list. Those who watch the Dis-Unplugged show will know that Ryno loves a Mint Julep. For everyone else, Disneyland has their very own non-alcoholic version of the cocktail which by all accounts, was delicious. I wouldn't know, having never tried one so Marc and I had made it a mission to have one with Ryno at some point in the trip. Now was that time.

Me with the legendary Ryno and MINT JULEPS

We made our way over to the restaurant called French Market, ordered our Mint Juleps and grabbed a seat where we were also joined by Tom from the Disneyland edition of the show. Finally, it was the moment to try the Mint Julep. Yes. Yes it was delicious. And refreshing. So very refreshing. This was one of those drinks that I could drink a ridiculous amount of - which has reminded me again to find a good recipe, someone on the great wide web must have the recipe right? If you do, please comment below...

After lots of discussions about the parks and what we were all excited about for the upcoming D23 event, we decided that we would head back to hotel room and freshen up. Pete had invited us to meet everyone at Trader Sam’s that evening but I had been in those uncomfortable shorts all day so definitely wanted to get changed and feel a little more human for that. My own fault for jumping around with Tigger right? We made our way back towards the front of the park and I was feeling some pangs of emotion. Today had been an another incredible day. As we reached the Town Square entrance to the park I looked over to the upstairs of the firehouse and smiled, "Thanks Walt".

Thanks Walt!

Having had a refreshing shower and getting changed we made our way down to Trader Sam's and met up with Pete and all of the team we had met so far and Greg, the producer of the show. It wasn't very long before we continued getting into very detailed conversations about what we were expecting to hear at D23, reflecting upon the many rumours doing the rounds on the internet, and which of them we thought might come to fruition. It was an immensely enjoyable night and we were both feeling that we were no longer just meeting people we watch on the show, we were making some great friends!