My Disneyland Trips Aren't Complete Without...

Welcome to those of you joining me from "Disney Babies Blog" and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 2nd stop on our Magical Blogorail.

I have a confession to make before we even get started. This month we've been charged with coming up with something (attraction, food, show, whatever) that, if left out of our Disney trips, leaves our time in The Parks feeling rather incomplete. For me, there's one little item in particular I feel this way about, and I've written about it before but it's been quite some time since I've done so. So, in the interest of time and getting it out there again, I've decided to redeliver it to you, our loyal readers, in a very slightly altered format. I think it's still good though, and worth a look-see. Phew! Now that that's out of the way...

Everyone seems to have something that they absolutely have to have anytime they are present inside a Disney Park. Fortunately, most people can relate to my article today because in my case, it involves something from the foodservice industry of Disney. For me, no trip inside Disneyland Park (since Disney California Adventure Park doesn't have them) is complete without a classic, the Mint Julep in New Orleans Square.

Typically, people fall into one of two categories when they think of the Mint Juleps at The Park:

1. The "They taste like glorified mouthwash" camp and
2. The "They're the best!" camp

So, originally, I wasn't really sure whether I initially wanted to try the little concoction or not.  But having done so I can proudly say, "They're the best!", with all the enthusiasm I can muster.

So first things first.  What exactly is the Mint Julep in should you so desire one?  The Park describes it as "A refreshing mint drink with a hint of lime flavor", which is actually what made me hesitant to try one in the first place, and is surely why many people fall into the "glorified mouthwash" camp.  I figured the mint would more than overpower the lime in the drink, and thus be exactly like drinking mouthwash.  But after having had several of my own, I tend to think it's more of "A refreshing lime drink with a hint of mint flavor".  In all of the ones I've had, I've never felt the mint was too overpowering; it's always been light and refreshing, which is just what I'm looking for, especially on a hot Southern California day. That said, I know it's probably still not for everyone (different people have different tastes and buds), but if you're on the fence because of the mint, I have to encourage to try it for yourself and see what you think.  It just may surprise you like it did me!

And you can see exactly how it's served up, complete with a lime, lemon, a few mint leaves, lots of ice, and a cherry on top!  Delicious!

Now that you know what the Mint Julep is, I suppose you might be wondering where exactly to go to get one.  Luckily for you, I know the answer!  One place you can find it should you get a hankering for one is Cafe Orleans in New Orleans Square.  If you're going to be eating at that restaurant, it will definitely compliment your meal and with free refills, you can't go wrong.  That said, my favorite place to grab one is at the Mint Julep Bar itself, also in New Orleans Square.  It's located right next to the dining patio for the French Market restaurant.  In fact, if you are taking the Disneyland Railroad from Main Street USA to New Orleans Square, you'll most likely see the bar as soon as you de-board.  It's practically right in front of you across from The Haunted Mansion.  The drink itself will run you only $2.99 (a steal!) and is well worth the money. Sometimes you pay an amount for a drink and feel ripped off a bit, but I've never felt that in this case, and I'll usually order one and either park myself at a nearby table, or wander off into Critter Country, happily sipping away.

Really wanna go nuts?  Feel free to polish it off with an order of Mickey-shaped beignets too and feel those sugar energies soar!  A 3-pack will run you $3.99 and a 6-pack will run you $6.99.  But who doesn't love little fried Mickey heads with confectioner's sugar on top?

And there you have the Julep!  Again, I know that a lot of people probably don't or wouldn't like these little beauties, but if you've never tried one, they come with my highest recommendation and are firmly at the top of the list where it comes to my favorite "In-Park" treats.

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is "Ideally Disney".

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ Disney Babies Blog
2nd Stop ~ Days in the Park
3rd Stop ~ Ideally Disney
4th Stop ~ A Disney Mom's Thoughts
Final Stop ~ Capturing Magical Memories

December to Remember: Tree!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Or so we've been told... and really, what reason would they have to lie to us?

We've been pretty picture heavy on the blog as of late, so when we saw this from one of our "family" blogs, The Disney Sisters, we just knew we had to participate! Here's the gist:

"We're so glad that you've decided to join us on our magical photographic journey 

Disney Sisters: December to Remember 

For the entire month of December we are sharing photos of Disney Holiday Magic. Disney Sisters welcome you to celebrate the season with us! 

All you need to do is post your photo at your creative outlet of choice (your Blog, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr) and add your URL to the linky below. Grab our button and please use the hashtag #DisneySisters; help spread the holiday cheer. 

*We encourage Disney themed shots but welcome all images that express holiday magic and what it means to you"

We love the holidays at Disneyland, we love taking pictures of the holidays at Disneyland... blend the two and we are all over it! Each day will carry a different theme, so expect us to participate as much as we can over the coming weeks. Today's theme was TREE! What better picture to use than one of the greatest Holiday Trees on the planet, the Disneyland Christmas Tree?!

I took this one recently around 1am on a Monday morning when almost the entire Park had cleared out, and something about getting low and looking up just made for an awesome shot! Not your typical view, but then again, we love the non-typical!

So there you have it, our first "December to Remember" picture alongside our friends at DisneySisters.com. If you'd like to participate yourself, the more the merrier! Just head on over and link yourself up! But if not, make sure to check back each and every day, because you (and we!) never know what you're gonna get.

Mickey's Costume Party Cavalcade at Disneyland's Mickey's Halloween Party

We're continuing our frolic around Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland Park today with more pictures! So far people seem to be really enjoying roaming the streets of Disneyland with us during our trip out last week, so we're going to keep going through all of the different highlights of the Party with a look today at a very special parade held just for this event!

Much like "Halloween Screams", which we highlighted yesterday, Disneyland also puts on a very special parade just for Mickey's Halloween Party called "Mickey's Costume Party Cavalcade".  When we first bought tickets for The Party, we didn't know that a special parade was included, but when we saw it on the schedule for the list of events, we just knew we had to check it out!

We did enjoy the parade, quite a bit in fact, but it was extremely short and nowhere near elaborate as the parades which we typically see at The Resort.  It's not a bad thing, and we're not complaining about it, just simply stating fact.  It was probably about five minutes long (we weren't really counting) and it was there and gone in a flash!  Chad sort of looked at Mark with a "Is that it?" look on his face when it was done.  However, it was still well-worth seeing and a cool part of our evening.  The parade went off twice during The Party, once in the early evening and once later in the evening, and we were fortunate to pick the second show to see which allowed us to watch it from quite near The Hub on Main Street USA.  We did very much enjoy seeing the characters and costumes in this one, and we do have some pictures from the parade to share with our readers today.  Truthfully?  The show was over before we knew it, or we would have taken a lot more!  But, tis what it tis and we hope you enjoy what we have!

If you're ever at Mickey's Halloween Party, make sure you check out "Mickey's Costume Party Cavalcade".  It's a great way to slow the evening down a bit, hear some great music, and see a lot Disney characters to boot.  Definitely comes recommended!

In keeping with the costume theme...

A pirate pumpkin with an earring? Pretty sweet!

Just before Captain Hook attacked the paparazzi...

Woody, Jessie, and Cowboy Pumpkin. Yee-haw!

Code 2319!

Daisy, Mickey, and Minnie interacting with all of the happy parade-goers

Chip & Dale (as cop and robber) and Stitch

Mark's favorite part of the whole parade. Who knew Miss Piggy would be there?!

Little Red Wagon Corn Dogs - That's Where We Were!

Each and every Monday we challenge our readers to guess "Where Are We?" based on a random picture taken somewhere at the Disneyland Resort.  We thrive on challenging, so the pictures can be anywhere at The Resort: Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, or Downtown Disney and the hotels.

Although we tried to make this week's picture a little bite easier than last week's, it may have in fact been just as hard as the previous one, even though we tried to make it simpler to guess.  Once again, we only had a few guesses yesterday, and only one that was correct.  So thank goodness the streak is still alive!  So far each and every week we've had at least one correct guess.  That's a good thing!

This week's photo challenge can be found in Disneyland Park, on Main Street, USA, at the Little Red Wagon Corn Dogs stand:

The window we featured is on the backside of the wagon and can be easily seen while you're grabbing condiments to go along with your juicy, scrumptious Disneyland-famous corn dog!  We did try to give a little hint in the picture itself, as well.  If you look closely inside the window, you can see oodles of Disney potato chip bags as well as stacks of the little green baskets that they serve the corn dogs in.  In fact, the one guesser who did get it correct told us they knew it was the wagon (and food!) because they saw the chip bags and baskets.  Our hint worked!  We even circled exactly where they are so that the next time you're at the Little Red Wagon, you can check out the window for yourselves!

As always, we like to give a shout-out to everyone who came by and guessed, so here they in order of guess and by Twitter (or commenter) name:

• theInsyders (Twitter)

And there you have it, our correct guesser for this week; just the one!  Thanks to everyone who took a shot at it.  Even if you're not right, everyone should take a guess; you've got nothing to lose!

We'll be back next week with another brand-new spot for our readers to take a crack at!  In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for a spot you'd like for us to do, or a picture of your own that you would like to submit for us to use, drop us a line at daysinthepark@daysinthepark.com.  We love having reader submissions and would love to take a look at whatever spots you might have that you'd like to see here.

Until next week, keep those peepers open and be sure and take in all of the little details all over Disneyland; you never know what little details you might see that you never have before.

Where at the Disneyland Resort Are We? - Magical Mystery Mondays

We made our way back to the land of guessing last week with a new Magical Mystery Mondays spot featuring The Beasts' Library in the Disney Animation Building in Disney California Adventure Park.  But the spot proved a bit too nasty and we didn't get many guesses on it.  So we're back this week with a spot that we think should prove a bit easier for some of you.  It's not just a complete giveaway, but we think it'll prove itself a good one nonetheless.  And if you look closely enough you'll likely see a clue or two that will help you narrow it down. 

If you're not familiar with our "Magical Mystery Mondays" concept yet, each and every week we come across loads of spots around Disneyland Resort we think would make great picture opportunities, and each and every week we challenge you, our readers, to attempt to guess just where at The Resort we were when we took our pictures.  Some are easy, and some are hard, but we think it's a great way for us to get you involved and commenting on our blog, and people seem to enjoy doing it.

So, do you know where we took this picture?

If you think you know where it is, let us know!  There are a few really easy ways to do so:

• Leave us a comment here! (probably the best way to do it) 
• Send us a Direct Message on our Twitter account @DaysInThePark 
• Drop us an email at daysinthepark@daysinthepark.com 

We try to keep your answers hidden as best that we can so that more people get a chance to guess, so if you'll help us along by submitting your answers "on the sly" we'd much appreciate it!  We like to keep it going as long as we can and give everyone a shot.

We'll be back tomorrow morning to post up all the people who guessed correctly and give you the exact spot where this was taken.

Have fun, don't take it too seriously, and let the guesses fly!

Disney Flashback Friday: Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade

This week was a doozy!  Looking back through all of my old photographs and nothing was jumping out at me at all!  Then I got to thinking that maybe instead of just looking back through pictures, I should try to mesh them with a flashback attraction.  Done deal!  It didn't take long at all to come up with one of my favorite attractions from Disneyland that's no longer there: the Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade.

Unfortunately, by the time I became a serious Disneyland junkie and an Annual Passholder, the Parade was no longer held in Disneyland Park at all, but had since moved over to Disney California Adventure Park and was being held there.  Looking back, I'm sad to say I never got to see it actually on Main Street, USA, and that would have really been something.  I can, however, thank my lucky stars that I was able to see it alongside my kids during the last summer it was here; it having since moved on to Walt Disney World.

Our pictures might not be the best of the Parade itself, but it leaves no doubt in my mind that my kids loved it, and I love looking back at them.  It must have made some impression, because they still ask to listen to the music from the Parade almost constantly.  That makes it a great flashback in my book.  Enjoy!

Chad, Stephanie, and 2/3 of the boys getting ready for The Parade

Everybody loves Tink!

 

Total immersion...

One of my favorites...

The Disneyland Welte Orchestration IV "One-Machine Band"

The original iPod

We talk fairly frequently here at Days In The Park about just how important the music you hear around Disneyland is to the atmosphere in The Park.  Arguably one of the most important areas of Disneyland where this is so is on Main Street, USA, since music is especially prevalent here and in many forms.  Anyone who spends any amount of time at all on the street is familiar with the music loop that plays here all day, all the time.  You also have The Dapper Dans who wander the street throughout the day singing barber-shop and entertaining the crowds.  Ragtime piano at the end of Main Street at "Coke Corner".  And there's a reason the Disneyland parades end and begin here.  Main Street, USA is much about the music all day, all the time.

With that in mind, for today's article we thought we would look at something a little, well actually a big, unique.  To anyone who has taken the time to check out the Penny Arcade/Main Street Candy Palace on Main Street, you might have noticed a very large machine sitting along the back wall amid all of the other penny games and penny movie machines all over the place.  This big boy is known as an Orchestration Machine, and it plays seemingly every part of an orchestra all by itself; from drums to trumpets, pipes to organs, and even a triangle, this thing is a beast!

We don't want to insult your intelligence too much here, so we'll keep it simple (as though you haven't figured it out already).  You put your money in, pick a song from the options on the touch-screen hooked up to the machine, and step back and listen to one machine belt out each song as though an entire orchestra were playing it.  Pretty keen, huh?

There is a price to paid for such awesomeness, though.  Unlike everything else in the Penny Arcade, this thing will run you a whopping twenty-five cents.  That's right, an entire quarter!  No worries though, as it's totally worth it.  With selections like Polka, Big Band, Ragtime, and More Ragtime, you can't go wrong!

So many choices...

Have you ever listened to Disney music and wished you could share with everyone right then and there?  So you blast the speakers to 11 but no-one is around to hear it!  Trust us, once you turn this big boy on everyone in the arcade within earshot will hear it, and wander over to see just where it's coming from; we've seen it happen many times before; especially if you decide to play 'Mickey Mouse March'.

So how did we find out about this machine?  Well, that's a simple question to answer.  It's right next to the Main Street Candy Palace!  That's right, while enjoying our delicious Peanut Butter Sandwiches (or was it a Peanut Butter Heaven?  Who cares, they're both delicious!) we stumbled, or almost literally walked into the Welte Orchestration IV.  At first glance we just knew we had to play it.  So what song to play for our first ride?  How about a classic like "This Is Halloween"?!  The second it started doing that voodoo that it do so well, everyone started packing in to see what all the noise was about, and we were hooked.  We're still astounded whenever we play it and people come over and tell us they didn't even notice it sitting there.  How could you not see it?  It's a behemoth!

We simply love things like this around The Park, and in this case we've found us a true Disneyland original; something that has been here since the very beginning.  Trust us when we say that the Welte Orchestration IV machine is one fun treasure at the Park that you need to make sure to check out during your next visit, if you haven't already.  And who knows, you may just find us strolling in with a roll of quarters, grinning  from ear to ear as we get ready to put on a concert for all the other patrons of the Penny Arcade.