One of your very first sights as you leave the Mickey & Friends parking structure on your way (via tram) to the Disneyland Resort!
Halloween Time is here!!!
City Hall is all decked out for the holidays, and there's no better place to go for your information and celebratory buttons!
Jack Skellington has been up to something inside The Haunted Mansion, and you're invited!
Even Mickey's Toontown is getting into the act!
If you put your ear up to the hole, you'll hear this jack crooning an old western tune, kind of like the ear to the seashell bit. Just kidding. Don't do it. They'll get mad at you, you'll blame us, and nobody wants that.
Big Thunder Ranch is BY FAR one of the absolute best areas inside Disneyland Park to celebrate Halloween Time, and with the all new Halloween Carnival in full-swing this year, there's never been a better time to check it out and see if I ain't right!
This year the pumpkin carving has moved into the Festival arena and has its very own spot! Be sure and stop by the Halloween Carnival and see these fantastic artist's incredible creations - in pumpkin form!
Quite possibly our favorite part of Halloween Time at The Park. Space Mountain? Check! Haunted by a ghost? Check! Brang it!!
The latest episode of our blog's Disneyland podcast has just been released!
In the latest episode of our “Days in the Parkcast”, we’re introducing some new segments! Our writer Amy is finally on
board with one of our favorite segments from our blog, ‘Amy’s Favorite
Things’. We’re also bringing back our informational trip recaps, the
aptly named ‘A Recent Day in the Park’, with highlights and information
from our recent trips into the Disneyland Resort that hopefully you
can use for your own trips. We’ll also be dropping our regular
“Hidden Mickey” segment on our listeners, as well as a new segment, the
“Best of the Blogosphere”, where we’re highlighting some of our favorite
“Disney reads” from around the web.
Stop on by and give a listen.
We’ll be happy you did!
Show Notes: Intro - A big “thank you” to all of our listeners and a big “sorry” for the delay!
- We have our first voicemail from our friend Bruce at ‘The Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World'
Amy’s Favorite Things
- The Disneyland Resort Tulips A Recent “Day in the Park”
Highlights, anecdotes, and information you can use from one of our recent “Days in the Park” including: - Big Thunder Ranch and the Disneyland Petting Zoo “Running of the Goats”
- A new quick-service eatery we’ve discovered – Troubador Tavern
- We’re Level 7 Galactic Heroes! (Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters)
- We get to meet our favorite Bounty Hunter outside of Star Tours!
- Turtle Talk with Crush – Are we the only ones on the planet who haven’t seen Dory and the Whale before?!
- Celebrity sighting! We love our ‘Suite Life on Deck’ characters, especially when they’re living “The High Life”!
- A trip under the sea and an “Incredible” guest star on The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
The FindingMickey.com “Hidden Mickey” Highlight
- Space Mountain speakery Our “Best of the Blogosphere”
- This month’s feature: Magical Days With the Mouse Outro - Wrap up
- Contact us!
- Review our show for us in iTunes!
And a perfect day to do it, too! Today is the first day of Halloween Time for 2011 at the Disneyland Resort, so it seemed totally apropos to look through some of our pictures from last year and use those for today's post. We spent quite a few days there during Halloween last year, and fully intend to this year as well, so it was awesome to go back and look through them and see what we had seen all over again. We hope that you'll enjoy going back with us and looking at them as well, and keep your eyes glued here from now until the end of October for ones from this year, too! Enjoy!
Haunted Mansion Holiday - Jack Skellington in all his glory
About to board; we LOVE Oogie Boogie in the background
The Halloweentown Jack-o-Lantern Mountain - one of our absolute favorites!
Entrance to Big Thunder Ranch and the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ
One of the Halloween carriages in Big Thunder Ranch
LOVE the pumpkin of Prince John (Robin Hood) sucking his thumb
Yoda in pumpkin form - do we really NEED to say how awesome this is?!
Jack and Sally outside of Miss Chris' Cabin - Big Thunder Ranch
Pumpkinheads playing poker inside Miss Chris' Cabin - Big Thunder Ranch
Pumpkin carving of Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter in Big Thunder Ranch
A couple of weeks ago we started a new segment called "Disney Tip Tuesdays" with our good friend Sarah from Magical Days With The Mouse. For our first segments we gave our readers tips from one of our favorite areas in Disney California Adventure Park, Paradise Pier. We're back again this week, but we're switching gears, and Parks, to bring you a whole new batch of tips from another one of our favorite "Lands"; this one from Disneyland Park. The focus of this week's tips? Frontierland and Big Thunder Ranch!
For our part of this week's articles, we've chosen to focus on something we think is an excellent way to spend time with the kiddies (with some adult fun thrown in for good measure): goats. Once you've picked yourself up off of the ground and stopped laughing, as funny as it sounds, we're quite serious.
The Ranch is known for many things with guests (great BBQ, anyone?), and is very popular with the kids (and Mark) because they have a petting zoo inside. It's a great way to spend some time with the kids, because who doesn't like to wander around a petting zoo and look, and pet, some friendly barnyard critters. The Disneyland Petting Zoo is home to many different goats who spend their days sleeping, playing, eating, and being pawed at by people. Sounds like the life to us! And it's especially cool when they switch over The Resort for the holiday season, because the goats leave and the reindeer move in before they make their annual trip carrying around Mr. Claus' sleigh. You can't pet them, but they're beautiful creatures and we've never failed to see the area around Christmas-time filled with children, and adults, "ooh"ing and "aah"ing over them.
One of the best times to be at the petting zoo, though, is right around closing time. Big Thunder Ranch closes well before the entire Park does (so the animals can be cared for, fed, and sleep), and if you catch it at just the right time (a Cast Member will be more than happy to tell you just when this is on a daily basis), you may just be in time to witness the "world famous Running of the Goats!"; a Cast Member's words, not ours. Each and every day, the goats are taken from their pen, and run back to their homes through the middle of Big Thunder Ranch and through the Festival Arena in back of the Ranch. When we first heard about the Running, we knew we just had to see it for ourselves. At the time, they allowed Guests to stand on either side of the path that runs through the Ranch, so the goats ran right by you on their way out. We were lucky enough to catch some pictures the last time we saw them do it this way. We've shared these before on the blog, but it's been quite some time so we're re-sharing them today.
Unfortunately, we discovered when we went back this past weekend to attempt to get video footage of the Running for this article, that they no longer do it this way to keep both the animals and the Guests safe. We were a little bit disappointed at first, but after seeing one of the goats get a little bit frisky in the video we did take, we were forced to concede that Disneyland knew exactly what they were doing (again!) when they changed the policy. We still think it's an awesome place to spend some time during the day, and an awesome sight to see! The kids loved it, and there were still lots of people standing around at the entrance/exit to see them leave their pen and head home. It made us want to belt out the theme to "Rawhide" at the top of our lungs, but we opted for a "Forrest Gump" knock-off instead.
So there you have it! It may not seem like a lot, but the kids were smiling, the adults were smiling because the kids were smiling, and sometimes it's the little things like this that can be the most magical.
But the goats aren't just for the kiddies. We have a bonus tip this week! One of our favorite coasters at Disneyland is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It's an awesome, fast-moving coaster through the old west and a boom-town. Loads of critters pepper the landscape on this one, including one particular goat responsible for something Disneyland patrons refer to as "The Goat Trick". We've been asked on more than one occasion what "The Goat Trick" is, so we're sharing that for all the coaster hounds out there today. People ride roller coasters for lots of reasons, but the main is because of the sense of speed, flying, and the way they tend to warp your perception and the way your body feels as you fly around at high speeds. Our friend the goat on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad gives you a little added "oomph" in this department.
So here's how it works. You'll know doubt see friend goat as you climb one of the hills about midway through your ride, especially if you are looking for him. Lock eyes on him, and don't take your eyes off. Yes, you will pass him, and rounding the bend you'll eventually lose sight of him, but if you're staring where the goat is, and would be, as you round the curve, it definitely throws a body-bending curve-ball at you. We're not sure exactly why, human physiology certainly being no specialty of ours, but all we know is if you watch the goat as you fly around those corners, your body will let you know something's up, and it's a good thing! Amy has been known to laugh hysterically for the entire last portion of the ride because of it. We've been told by some people they don't like the "new sensation" it causes, but by and large people who know about "The Goat Trick" swear by it and won't ride Big Thunder without doing it.
So there you have it, our Disney Tips for Big Thunder Ranch. Do you have any of your own that you would like to share? Let us know because we'd love to hear them, and let us know what you think of ours, too! When you're done here, head on over to Magical Days With the Mouse for another Disney Tip from Sarah, and let her know we sent ya! Yee-haw!!
The special leaflet you get when you arrive at The Resort (in any of the parking areas)
One of the great things we've recently discovered (and we play it to the hilt as much as we can) about being Annual Passholders is that there is very little that goes on at The Park these days that we can't be one of the first to do, if we so have a mind. That's not to say that we necessarily have to be there and do it on the very first day (although there will be a few exceptions to that rule in the coming months), either. But many of the things that The Park does these days, we're usually able to find some time on the first weekend to go and check it out.
This past weekend was no different as the Festival Arena re-opened in Frontierland, where it will be playing host to a very special "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" 3D Sneak Peek for the next couple of months.
We were huge fans of the 3D Sneak Peek of "TRON: Legacy" that Disney California Adventure did as part of their ElecTRONica offering, so when we found out they would be doing something similar in Disneyland Park, as huge "Pirates" fans, we knew it was something that we just had to see.
We did not, however, feel the need to see it on the first night, or the second night, or when it first opened on Sunday night when we actually were in The Park. We're patient people (about most things), and having heard that the lines were approaching one or two hours at some points on the previous two evenings, we decided to wait as long as we possibly could on Sunday evening to see it for ourselves. So come 11:00PM on Sunday evening (after Fantasmic! and a quick stop for cocoa) we finally began meandering our way back to the Arena for the show.
We suppose we should begin by saying that we didn't really snag a lot of photos; we had been told (or read) earlier that cameras weren't being allowed into the Arena, so we didn't even bother to bring one in. That said, the area was decorated much like you would have expected it to be: very pirate-y! The Arena itself looks about as close to the deck of a Pirate ship as they could get it I'm sure (considering the ground was made of concrete) and there is netting, look-out points and any manner of other Pirate-ship paraphernalia and decor all around the place. They really did a top-notch job with the atmosphere. Our favorite, though, would have to be the mounds of skulls all over the place with torches and flames at the top. Skulls and fire; two of our favorite things. It basically is just one big pre-show to the sneak peek of the movie. Cast Members run amock all over the Arena, dressed like Pirates (yar!), pumping up the crowd (and drawing them into the show in some instances), and yelling a lot. It really was a lot of fun to watch. The preview itself did exactly what we're sure they meant for it to do; it got us pumped up for the movie which releases soon. It was basically (like the one for "TRON: Legacy") about a ten minute look at some never before seen footage from the "Pirates" movie. There was a ton of action, a ton of Johnny Depp (and Penelope Cruz!), and even a look at old Blackbeard himself, who we have to admit, looks just as deadly and dangerous as Davey Jones ever was. Just our opinion, though. The sneak peek is indeed in 3D, which was kind of fun, but we're not entirely sure it sold us on seeing it in theaters in that form. We'll have to give that some more thought, but it definitely got us itching to see more, whether it be in 3D or 2D.
The only drawback to seeing the show is perhaps the seating. It's on the ground, and it's not soft ground, either. We're talking concrete of the finest caliber here. If you're like us, and you don't do well with being stuffed like sardines into a can while your butt slowly but surely goes numb and there's little wiggle-room, then that's probably something to take into consideration. That said, there is seating in the back and a bit on the sides, but it's primarily for the disabled. However, we went so late in the night that were was no line and fewer people there, and we had a Cast Member tell us we were more than welcome to sit there if we wanted to. We didn't ask to, we were just pointed in that direction. We can't guarantee this is policy, or would be the same with any Cast Member, but it might be something worth remembering all the same.
Our friend the "Chatty Parrot"
The show doesn't necessarily end there, either. As you're leaving the Arena (and exiting through the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ area) Jack Sparrow stands off to the side talking to the crowd as they walk by. The outter area in front of Big Thunder Ranch is no less busy, either. Cast Members, excuse us, Pirates, can also be seen running around the outside of the Arena as well. We saw one we particularly enjoyed exclaiming over one laughing youngster that he needed to see a doctor immediately because his head was shooting lightning (referring to his TRON ears which were happily lighting up). Upon removal of the ears, the pirate yelled out, "It's a miracle!", and hugged the youngster who, if he had been smiling any bigger, his face might have cracked in two. We also very much enjoyed the "Chatty Parrot" (no idea if that's what he's called or not, but we heard someone call him that) who, along with his CM Pirate friend, interacted with all of the people who had gathered around. He fielded questions, called out to us, and generally ensured a good time was had by everyone who stood around. It was one of our personal highlights of the whole experience. When our friend parrot saw us taking his picture (he spotted our flash going off) he tweeted, "Oh, my goodness. Someone is taking my picture. I must show them all of my good sides. Left (head turn). Right (head turn). Middle (looking straight ahead)". People all around, us included, really got a kick out of that.
Not enough? There are also merchandise carts set up where you can buy various pirate accessories for your own little Capt. Hooks such as hooks (go figure), rifles (colored green and orange), eye patches and more. Thirsty or hungry? Buy yourself some Pirate Booty (we got a big laugh at that) and wash it down with some Pirate "grog" (non-alcoholic). No idea what it tasted like, though; we were full of cocoa.
One of the merch carts floating around the area - Arrrrr!
We were really impressed with the Sneak Peek. We've heard a few people were pretty non-plussed about the entire thing, but leave it to The Parks to take something that could be fairly "blah", if the preview was all they had shown, and ramp it up to an 11 on the amp. We were honestly only in the area for about a half hour total, but there's little doubt in our minds that we'll be back at some point or other. We've been saying all along that we hoped The Parks continued to come up with new and clever ways to use the Arena area, and if the crowds and people we came in contact with Sunday night were any indication, they've done just that.
If you get the chance to see this special sneak peek, we certainly urge you to do so. All our thumbs are way, way up on this one. We had a lot of fun!
With this picture, we are completely done with all of the pictures we took at the character meet and greets going on during "Family Fun Weekends". This one was taken during "Happy Lunar New Year Festival".
So glad we got to meet Mulan and Mushu. We love our rare characters and this one was a lot of fun to take.
Enjoy!
Mark, Chad and Bryce with Mulan & Mushu - Happy Lunar New Year Festival 2011
And thus we hit the end of our "Karacter" photos from Family Fun Weekends and Character Fan Days. Man, these were fun! Some of our favorite Park photos since we began the website were taken on this one day. Hope you've enjoyed seeing them as much as we've enjoying sharing them.
Amy and Chad seem oblivious to the fact that Mark's life is about to end
Our KILT posts continue this week with another picture from "Family Fun Weekends" at The Park. These weekends have been a veritable treasure trove of character pictures which we're only to happy to share. Enjoy!
Days In The Park with Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow
As anyone who's read our website over the past few weeks will no doubt know by now, The Park has been hosting "Family Fun Weekends" over the course of the past several weekends. They're a unique opportunity for families to gather over in the Festival Arena in Big Thunder Ranch and participate in a different "themed" weekend each and every week.
For the past two weekends, the Arena has been decked out and participating in what was called "Happy Lunar New Year Festival".
The Park hits you up for a visit as soon as you enter
Happy Lunar New Year Festival is meant to give families a glimpse at how Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese families celebrate the Lunar New Year, and was done so in a variety of different ways. First, like in weekends past (with the other "Family Fun Weekends") there were plenty of on-stage activities for people to watch and enjoy, including a "Celebration Party", Kung Fu demonstration, and Dance Impressions (which we saw).
A listing of the day's activities
Dance Impressions
We also spent some time looking at all of the signage around the area. One particular one which seemed to draw a lot of attention was the "What Year Are YOU?" sign, which gave a listing a birth years (accompanied by a picture of a cute Disney character meant to symbolize your year) so you could figure out which year you were. As can be seen, this year is the "Year of the Rabbit" which also occurred in 1975, which is the year that Chad was born. Good thing he actually likes Thumper.
It's the "Year of the Thumper"!
Once again, as in weekends past, the middle area of the Arena was really busy with activity. There were once again children's activities they could participate in (we're going to assume more coloring activities and the like as in past weekends) and there were plenty of carts to wander around and see. We were particularly impressed with the inclusion of a cart with assorted teas. We're not really sure why we were (it makes perfect sense after all), but it was just another nice little touch that we thought brought the entire atmosphere and area together nicely.
Customized artwork was available for purchase...
...as was an assortment of Asian teas
And once again, as in each of the other three weekends before, "Character Meet and Greets" played a large part of the activity. Of course, with it being "Happy Lunar New Year Festival", we were treated to some of our favorite Park characters with a bit more of an Asian flair than we normally see them with, which made it all the more fun for us.
In addition, some of the more rare characters did make an appearance, in the guise of Mulan and Mushu. We did get a picture with them, which we'll be using as a KILT post in a Thursday in the near future, so stay tuned for that!
They made us to do this
Mickey and Minnie prepare to greet some guests Asian-style
All in all, it seemed as though everyone was enjoying themselves again this weekend. There were plenty of families in the area (though not as many as for "Character Fan Days") and people were able to experience The Park in a way they might not have before. It kind of makes us want to visit the China Pavilionat Epcotin Walt Disney World.
Next week The Park will begin the last of its "Family Fun Weekends" over in New Orleans Square with its "Mardi Gras" weekends, which will run over the course of the next three weekends. If you haven't had a chance to make it out for any of the weekends yet, we urge you to do so. They're a lot of fun and well worth a trip out. The Park has really done a fantastic job with these, and you don't want to miss out!
Doing what we do best. Now, if we could only figure out what that is...
