John & Kirk's Epic Trip Out West Part 3 - D23 Expo

Finally it had arrive - our main reason for scheduling this trip, The 2013 D23 Expo. I had done a lot of research, as well as quizzing the podcast team, so I thought I had at least an idea of what to expect. One bit of advice I heard over and over was "plan, plan, plan". Know what you want to do, but have a backup plan in case that doesn't work out. On Thursday Kirk and I went through the program and prioritized what we felt was the most important. A priority for us was seeing the original Imagineers - Tony Baxter, Marty Sklar and Bob Gurr in particular.

Additionally, we wanted to see as much as we could that was related to Imagineering and the parks in general.

To keep things a bit simple I will describe the layout of the expo. The expo covered a total of three floors of the Anaheim Convention Center. The first floor - by far the largest, included the main expo floor which housed all the exhibits from different divisions of Disney, the shopping venues (including the Dream Store with expo merchandise, the Disney Store, Mickey's of Glendale with merchandise usually only available to Imagineers, and the Collector's Forum featuring small kioskes manned by vendors selling Disney collectibles), the Stage Pass distribution (more on that below) and the main arena and overflow area. The second floor included Stage 28 (the smaller of the two seminar venues), The Treasures of the Walt Disney Archive and the D23 Charter Member lounge. The third floor had Stage 23 - the larger of the seminar venues.

One of the changes for 2013 was the addition of "Stage Pass". This is a lot like Fastpass at the Disney parks. The idea was that you get a Stage Pass and this guarantees you a spot in a particular seminar, releasing you from the need to line up at the event itself. These passes were only available for events in Stage 23 and Stage 28, and only the shows later in the morning and afternoon (late morning session Stage Passes were available first thing, later afternoon passes were available at noon). For me and Kirk, not only did we know what to expect on account of this being our first expo, nobody really knew what to expect in terms of the Stage Passes. We arrived at the expo at 7:00. There were a couple of lines and we were not sure which we should get in. If anything, I was expecting lines for the Stage Passes, but no such thing existed. I asked around and got different answers from different people. There were volunteers wearing red shirts. They were friendly enough, but often they did not know what they were talking about. Anyway, eventually we figured out that we needed to get in the line that was going to the main expo floor, and that the Stage Pass distribution was on the main expo floor.

There were a couple of different lines. There was the line we were in for the main expo floor. There was another expo line for non-D23 members (which we never saw). There was also a line to get into the arena - we never saw that either. While in line we chatted to 2 other couples. One of the gentlemen's names was Kent - and I have to admit I don't recall the other's names. One interesting thing, Kent made a comment (about Starbucks, in fact) that made me realize that we probably did not see "eye to eye" politically. I said I understood what he meant and that it was something that we probably disagreed on, and I said "So let's not talk about that, let's talk about Disney!".

They finally started letting people in about 9:00. This brings me to what is probably my biggest complaint about the expo - they let folks into the building in a single file. This took forever. Then, once we got inside, we stood in another line. Finally we made our way through to the main expo floor. The first thing for us was to get a Stage Pass for "Undiscovered Disneyland" with Tony Baxter and Imagineer Josh Shipley. I really did not know what to expect - I had no idea how many Stage Passes were being distributed and whether we were early in the line, or toward the end of the line, or whether they would run out before we got there. Well, we did get there and did get our Stage Passes, and judging by the stack that I saw there we were in no risk of being too late.

Stage Passes in hand for the later show, we headed to one of the first presentations of the expo: "Mayhem, Mischief, and Monkeys: The Magic of Mystic Manor" hosted by Imagineers Joe Lanzisero and Mark Schirmer. This presentation went through the details of Mystic Manor - Hong Kong Disneyland's all-new (and very cutting edge) dark ride. This ride uses some pretty amazing technology including the same trackless ride system used on Pooh (and other attractions) in Tokyo Disneyland and some really cool effects combining state-of-the-art projection technology with Disney's audio-anamatronics. All this and a musical score by Danny Elfman. And a monkey named Albert. I mean, really. In reality the presentation didn't just go through Mystic Manor in great detail (I think we ended up seeing footage of pretty much the entire ride), it also went through Mystic Point (the new "land" which plays host to Mystic Manor) and all of the cool things to do there. Besides the signature attraction this includes The Garden of Wonders, an interactive area highlighting what look to be some very interesting illusions, and the Mystic Point Freight Depot, which contains some of the oddities that have been brought back to Mystic Point by it's eccentric owner Lord Henry Mystic. In fact, the Imagineers went to great pains to illustrate the level of detail that they went into in developing a back story for Mystic Point. The back story even has ties to The Adventurer's Club!

An interesting thing that the Imagineers pointed out was that they developed three small "lands" (Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch along with Mystic Point) because guests in Hong Kong feel like they get more "bang for the buck" with three small lands than they would have with one big one (like "New Fantasyland").

After the presentation we checked out the Charter Member Lounge (no big deal) and the silent auction. There were a lot of cool things in the silent auction,  but the one that really got our attention was a giant, electric "Disneyland Park" sign. Could you imagine having a really big house with a huge family space with that thing hung on the wall? How cool would that be? The bidding was up to $580 and I said that I doubted it would go for less than $5,000. In fact Kirk later told me that he went back later and saw that the bidding had, indeed, gone over $5,000. I'm not sure how much it eventually went for.

Next up was "Undiscovered Disneyland" with soon-to-be Disney Legend Tony Baxter and Imagineer Josh Shipley. This would end up being my favorite presentation of the expo. Tony got up and talked about how they had done similar presentations at previous expos and how they wanted to do something a bit different. So, he said that this presentation might better be titled "Re-discovered Disneyland". He and Josh then went on to show some wonderful old photos and home movies of Disneyland. I absolutely love this stuff. Depending on when they were taken, the photos and film can either remind me of how Disneyland was when I was a kid or give a glimpse into the Disneyland that was already in the past by the time I went for the first time in 1967. I think that perhaps the biggest surprise for me was how funny they both were - but especially Tony. One thing they focused on for a few minutes was the long-defunct "Holidayland", a Disney-owned and operated playground and picnic area right next to Disneyland. Tony and Josh talked about how there you would be, close enough that you could hear the whistle from the Mark Twain, but all you could do was go down a slide and have sack races. Priceless.

The highlights of the presentation were at the end. First, they presented a "ride through" film of "Journey into Imagination" (yes, the original) which they compiled by melding the soundtrack with photos, drawings and even some old footage of the ride itself. It was a very cool nostalgic trip. They even had a picture of a bunch of Imagineers (including Tony) testing out this thing they had at the end of the ride that superimposed your picture over another setting - very high tech for 1983.) Finally, Tom Staggs - chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts - came out and praised Tony and his career at Disney. He then announced that, not only would Tony be becoming a Disney Legend (which we all obviously knew), but that he would also be presented with a window on Main street in Disneyland. He then did something really cool - he announced that 3 people from the audience would be selected to go to the ceremony. They dimmed the lights and spotlights came up on the three lucky guests. None was me, unfortunately.

Next up we wanted to get Stage passes for "Disney Imagineering Legend Marty Sklar Presents… Dream It! Do It!". We were late to get the passes and were afraid that we might miss out. And, in fact, right after we got ours they announced that they were all gone! Whew!

I'd like to touch on some of the costumes we saw folks wearing. I was very impressed. I actually expected to see more costumes, but the ones I saw were very high quality. Perhaps the best was a young lady dressed as the main character from "Enchanted" - sorry, I don't recall the characters name. However, I did later note that a picture of her ended up on the main D23 expo page. There were also several Mirida's and most of the men were dressed as Flynn Rider. And I also ran into a very awesome Jack Skellington!

Queen Amadala

Sally

Jack

For the first time all morning we had the chance to take in the expo floor. This place was amazing! An absolute Disney geeks dream! There were booths from all of the major divisions. Some, granted, we did not really care about (like the Disney Channel stuff), but there were presentations on upcoming films, a huge Parks and Resorts area called "Journey into Imagineering", a big stage, lots of places to shop and, right in the middle, a mysterious area covered with a blue tarp.

Of the shopping areas the one that seemed to have the longest line was, fortunately, the one we were least interested in - The Disney Store. Peeking in it did look like it had some cool stuff, but not so cool as to justify an hour wait on line. Instead we headed to the Dream Store.

This store had all the D23 Expo merchandise. There was a line but it went quickly. The store was also pretty crowded, but they had lots of cashiers so you could get out pretty quickly once you made your selection. I was looking for one thing only: a t-shirt. It's really the only thing I collect. I have to say - I was not really all that thrilled with the selection of T's. I settled on one that was sort of a grey color with a silhouette of Mickey and a logo stating "D23 Expo 2013". Nice, but I'm not totally thrilled with it. Still, getting a T for the event was a must-do for me, and that was my favorite of the ones I saw, so I got it. We both also picked up a copy of Marty Sklar's book "Dream It! Do It!", hoping to get the author to autograph it later.

We were both hungry so we decided to have lunch. There were some lunch trucks outside the arena, and after looking at their menus we decided on one with a pulled pork sandwich. We both got the same thing. Holy Cow. This would end up being one of the best meals of the trip. Absolutely delicious! Unfortunately I don't recall the name of the truck - I should have noted it but I didn't. I do think that the owner of the truck - a very large man with a shaved head - might be on one of those food channel shows or something because a little girl said she wanted a picture with him and I had the sense he was somewhat well known. Anyway, the sandwich was amazing. The pork was tendter, the bun was frech, the sauce was mild and very tasty and they also put a dollop of cole slaw on the sandwich which gave it extra zing. Wow.

After that it was time for "Disney Imagineering Legend Marty Sklar Presents… Dream It! Do It!". I have to say, as great as it was to hear Marty tell stories, this was not my favorite. Marty was actually quite charming and often funny, and I can't wait to read his book, but his presentation was really mostly an extended ad for his book. Still, he did talk about one thing that was quite funny - his propensity for showing up, barely visible, in the back of photographs of famous people. he showed several examples. Quite fun.

After the presentation we got in line to get his autograph. We were given strict instructions to hand the book to him opened to the title page, and were informed that he would not be doing any personalized signatures. Still, we were at least able to get a picture of both of us with him. We had hoped to get Stage Passes for "Broadway & Beyond… Celebrating the Stars of Disney on Broadway", but my Expo iPhone app informed me that the passes were already gone before we got out of the Marty Sklar presentation.

We then split up with Kirk going to a local 7/11 and me heading off to the Collector's Forum. I had sent a text to Annette from Mousefan Travel asking where she was because she told me she was going to be manning a booth and I said I'd stop by. Turns out she was in the collector's forum, right next to where some folks were broadcasting live for WDW Radio. I felt a bit sorry for her because she had to listen to the non-stop chatter from the broadcast but she seemed to be taking it in stride. I had told Kirk I would meet him there so I stuck around, talking to other Disney fans as well as some of the Mousefan Travel folks, and listening to the broadcast. Once Kirk came back we headed off to explore the Collector's Forum. I'm not much of a collector so I was not tempted to buy, although Kirk is more of a collector and I could tell that he could have caused some serious damage had he not showed some self-control. At any rate he did spy a few things that he said he might pick up later. The one thing that did tempt me was a Cast Member badge with my name on it for $15 at the Theme Park Connection booth. I assumed "John" would be an easy one to find, but the guy at the booth told me that the common names were actually harder because they are more in demand. The name badge did have "John" on it, but the logo was the modern "Disneyland Resort" logo and I didn't like it. In retrospect, for $15, I should have gotten it. Of course what I really want is "B'rer John".

After leaving the dream store we called it a night. I had to get up early for a "long run" so I headed back to the room. Kirk went out again and I was asleep by the time he got back. We had agreed that he would get in the line at about 7:00 the next morning and that I would join him once I was done with my run. Our first day at the expo was a rousing success!

Day 2 of the expo, for me at least, started with a long run. In my training plan I was scheduled for 14 miles but I got a bit of a late start. Still, when I left the room about 4:45 I was a bit confused by the line of people outside - it took me a minute to realize they were lined up for the expo. I won't get into details about the run - I have a running blog and in a few days I should have something up there - I will say that I started getting worried that they would let folks in earlier than they had the day before so I ended up cutting the run short a bit and I ended up doing about 11 1/4 miles.

After showering and changing I joined Kirk in line at a bit before 8. Even though indications were that this would be a busier day than the first day, Kirk was much further up in the line than we had been at the same time on Friday.

First up was Stage passes for "Charles Phoenix Presents". I had heard a lot about Charles Phoenix but never had a chance to see him so I was really excited about this presentation.

Kirk then went to get some food while I got in line for "Let the Adventures Begin: Live Action atThe Walt Disney Studios" which was happening in the Arena. The plan was for Kirk to call me when he was done getting food and I would tell him where I was so he could join me. This plan was foiled when they made us put our phones in plastic bags to prevent us from taking pictures. I figured Kirk would make his way in - but I found out later that he got there too late to get in (which more than likely would have meant that he would not have been able to join me anyway.) At any riet I was too late for the main arena and got into the overflow room. This room, which held I would say 2 or 3 thousand people and had 5 giant screens. Honestly, IMO it turned out to be a fine - albeit a lot less exciting - way to view the presentation.

The host of the presentation was Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. The first thing he did was to talk about the major acquisitions that Disney has made including Pixar, Marvel and, of course, Lucasfilm. He started with Lucasfilm and talked a bit about Star Wars, including the fact they JJ Abrams is "hard at work" on episode 7. He also talked about how they were planning additional films, with different characters and alternate story lines.

He then moved on to Marvel.

First up: Thor 2 (Thor: The Dark World). They showed a trailer and a new, unfinished scene where Natalie Portman's character arrives in Asgard (Thor's world). Thor was one of my daughter's favorite movies of the Marvel films, and her favorite character is Loki (yes, I know, he's the bad guy). And Charlotte is completely enamored of Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki. Thor 2 looks really good I must say - I'm really looking forward to it. I know a lot of folks didn't care for the first Thor movie but I found it to be quite entertaining. After showing the trailer Horn introduced Tom Hiddleston (judging by the reception I'm guessing that my daughter is not the only one with a fan-girl crush), Natalie Portman (who looks an awful lot like my other daughter) and, most surprising of all, Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Next up was Captain America 2 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Again, they showed a trailer and an unfinished scene (this one was very rough and involved an attack on a ship) as well as a very cool scene that involved Cap taking out about 6 guys in an elevator. I have to say that this movie looks absolutely awesome. Again Horn introduced some cast members including the Captain himself - Chris Evans. Also there was Sabastian Stan (The Winter Soldier) and Anthony Mackie (The Falcon). Mackie - who I think I recognize and is perhaps a comedian? - was particularly charming and funny.

They then showed a scene from a new Marvel Movie called "Guardians of the Galaxy" that looks like it might be really fun (I mean, a super hero raccoon! What's not to love?). Finally they showed a teaser for Avengers 2 which, if nothing else, confirmed that Iron Man will, indeed, be back.

After that I had to leave to get to the Charles Phoenix presentation. I got in line and called Kirk, but by the time he got there he was not able to meet me on line No big problem, though, I simply saved a seat for him. Charles Phoenix is a pop culture historian and comedian. I had heard many accounts about how funny his presentations are. And he did not disappoint. Basically he showed a bunch of old Disneyland photos and gave a very funny rambling commentary. A large portion of the show was dedicated to the motels that can be found surrounding Disneyland, comparing pictures of how they looked originally and how they look now. Phoenix lamented that the new designs were not nearly as interesting as the original designs, and I have to agree. the only hotel that still looks pretty much the same is The Alpine Lodge. Of course now you see the backside of Ornament Valley looming behind the property. If you ever get a chance to see Charles Phoenix (most of his shows are not about Disneyland) I would highly recommend it.

Charles Phoenix was scheduled to end at 1:00. From there our plan was to go to the arena for "Disney Legends Awards Ceremony" which was at 2:00, with hopes of getting into the main room not the overflow room. Well, Mr. Phoenix ran over and did not finish until 1:30. We dashed over to the arena and got in line as they were letting folks in. As we approached it looked like they were still loading into the main arena. About a dozen people ahead of us, one of the staff members started counting people. I thought to myself "I don't know what he's counting, but I want to make sure that we are among the people he counts!" so I made sure that we were in the right place to be counted. Sure enough we were one of the last he counted and we were ushered into the main arena - and put in the third row! Amazing! We were among the last to get into the arena and apparently we were used to fill a row that (I'm guessing) was reserved for VIPs. Awesome!

The ceremony, hosted by Tom Bergeron and Disney CEO Bob Iger. It was a wonderful ceremony to watch and I was struck by how sincerely humbled the recipients seemed. Here is a list of the recipients in the order that they were presented (as best as I recall):

• The aforementioned Tony Baxter - as charming as ever. What a great guy.
• Animator and Imagineer Collin Campbell - hs son accepted the award and told some charming stories including the fact that one of his father's works in hanging in the bathroom at Tangaroa Terrace.
• Actor John Goodman - I must confess that when I heard this I questioned why he was getting this honor, but when they went through his career I was taken by his long relationship with Disney including ABC and Touchstone Films. He seemed genuinely touched by the honor.
• Actor and comedian Billy Crystal - I had less of an issue with Billy Crystal getting the honor, but in fact I know think that his relationship with Disney is not as strong as Goodman's. He also seemed very touched, and was also (of course) very funny.
• Actor and comedian Ed Wynn - his daughter accepted the award and her speech was very classy.
• TV icon Dick Clark - his wife accepted. Also a touching, classy speech.
• Legendary animator Glen Keane - this was one I was really looking forward to. I have admired Keane's work for years. He gave a very interesting speech, revealing that he only got into animation when he was placed in the wrong department at CalArts! Lucky for us!
• And finally tech icon and visionary Steve Jobs - John Lassiter accepted the award in what was a heartfelt and emotional speech. "When I lost my brother" Lassiter confided, "Steve became my brother." Not a dry eye in the house.

An absolutely fantastic presentation. I know that a lot of folks have sadi that it paled when compared to last years ceremony, but no complaints from me.

After leaving the Legends ceremony we saw that a line for "Richard M. Sherman and Alan Menken: The Disney Songbook" was already forming. We got in the line but, after some deliberation, we decided we did not want to stand on line for 2 1/2 hours. So we got out of line and went out to get something to eat. We ended up going to the food court at the Hyatt.

Upon returning to the expo we got back in line for the concert. We ended up in the overflow room - not ideal but it was fine (although the vibe in the room was very different). The concert was fantastic. Richard Sherman was charming and energetic as he went through his extensive playlist of Disney songs. Menken came out after and did the same. A couple of difference I found interesting. First, Sherman shared the stage with a gentlemen (sorry, I don't recall his name) and they had a nice banter going back and forth while Menken was on by himself. Also, Sherman played his music from memory while Menken used sheet music (although I got the sense it was mostly there to remind him what to play). The show went a fair bit over but I don't think anyone was complaining. For the finally they shared the stage and both played "world" songs - Menken played "A Whole New World" from Aladdin and then he joined in with Sherman (and most of the audience) for - you guessed it - "It's a Small World". A terrific show and I loved seeing it - even from the overflow room.

Sherman

Menken

In the blog entry about the Disneyland portion of our trip I mentioned that the Cast Member who checked us in told us about a viewing porch in the DVC building where you can watch World of Color. After the concert Kirk and I decided to check it out. We parked in the Downtown Disney lot and walked to the Grand Californian. I wasn't sure if the door to the porch would be locked, and if it was I was not sure if our old room key would open it. Well, it was locked and our key did indeed work. I went down to the bar and got a glass of wine, and we watched the show from the porch. It was nice seeing the show for the fourth time, but I would not recommend this as a way to see the show unless you've already seen it. The viewing is from the side and above so you don't really see some of the effects and the sound is not as good. Still, it was nice to see the show again and it was actually interesting to see it from this vantage point.

That was it for day 2 at D23 - another action-packed day!

For day 3 it was my turn to wait on line while Kirk slept in. While waiting for coffee at the Starbucks in the hotel lobby I actually ran into legendary Imagineer Bob Gurr! I said "hi" to him and shook his hand. "I must have shaken about ten thousand hands this weekend!" he said to me. I was not surprised. I went to take a picture but realized I left my phone in the room. I ran up to et it but by the time I returned he was gone. I tweeted "Bob Gurr this morning at Starbucks - shook his hand. No pic - left my phone in room". I then got some coffee and headed out to get in line.

Day 3 of the D23 Expo was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Walt Disney Imagineering, and as such there were several presentations centered around Imagineering. Interestingly, although this was the area that interested me and Kirk most, the only presentation that we were extremely interested was the first: "Walt Disney Imagineering’s 60th: Working with Walt". After filing into the presentation hall I looked up on the screen to see that my text from that morning was one of the texts that they were displaying on a big screen (they displayed texts throughout the day in the presentation halls). This panel discussion, lead by Marty Sklar, featured Imagineers who had worked with Walt telling stories of their experiences. They included Bob Gurr, Alice Davis and X Atencio. It was a bit difficult because, obviously, they are all aging and - Atencio in particular - had a hard time speaking. Still, they had many fascinating stories to tell and it was thrilling to listen to such legendary Imagineers and to get the chance to see them in person. A highlight for me was hearing X Atencio actually singing the Pirates of the Caribbean song - which he wrote.

X Atencio

Alice Davis

Bob Gurr (and Alice Davis)

As I mentioned, that first presentation was the only one we had a strong desire to see. Additionally, we had not really been able to explore the expo floor all that much. So we decided we would spend most of the final day checking out stuff on the floor. I had eaten at Starbuck's but Kirk had not eaten yet so he went off to get something to eat while I started to explore.

Earlier I had eluded to a mysterious area on the floor that was covered by a blue tarp. The tarp had been removed, revealing a large section labeled "Tomorrowland". It looked intriguing so I went to get in the line. There was a staff member with a sign that read "End of Line - Ask me about FastPass". "OK" I thought, "I'll take the bait", so I asked about FastPass. He handed me a ticket with a return time of about an hour later printed on it. I asked for another and he gave it to me. I then walked around the Collector's Forum where I picked up a free book about planning luxury Disney vacations from a travel agency called "Glass Slipper Concierge". I also saw the booth manned by Russel Flores, author of "Seen Unseen Disneyland". This was a book I had been meaning to get so I picked up a copy and had the author sign it.

I then met up with Kirk and pointed out that they were offering Stage Passes for that day's presentations, which initially was not going to be the case. I suggested we get passes for "Walt Disney Imagineering’s 60th: Leave ‘em Laughing", which sounded like it might be fun. So we picked them up and headed to the Tomorrowland exhibit as our Fastpass time was up.

The Tomorrowland exhibit was interesting but very confusing. It was all about a mysterious case labeled "1952" that was found in the bowels of one of the Disney buildings. It contained a bunch of cryptic and seemingly unrelated items - newspaper articles and notes from Imagineers and such - that seemed to indicate that Walt had been planning a second "Progress City" somewhere in secret. It was set up as if it was all true - which of course it is not. It all appears to be part of a marketing campaign for the Brad Bird film "Tomorrowland" which is currently in development. If the plan was to build interest in the film, it certainly worked for me. I am very intrigued.

From there we headed to the Parks and Resorts exhibit "Journey into Imagineering". This was an exhibit we both were very interested in, but had not yet had the chance to visit. There was a line to get into the exhibit but it was only about 15 or 20 minutes long. Upon entering the exhibit we were shuttled into a room where we were shown a short and very well done presentation about the history of Imagineering. The large doors then opened and we were ushered into the main hall. Inside there were many exhibits focusing on different Imagineering projects including Avatar (which had a cool display featuring what looked like an Imagineer's office), Star Wars (a bunch of crates marked "Orange Harvest" - a nod to the secret working title of "Return of the Jedi") and the new Magic Bands that are being rolled out in Walt Disney World. There were also lots of really cool models that had been used over the years for designing attractions. This exhibit was one of the highlights of the expo for me.

Trying Navi gear on for size
	Avatar Display
Model for Western River Expedition	Model for the new Disney Springs in WDW
Mystic Manor exhibit	Original model for "The Land" pavilion at Epcot
The Land	Original model for Spaceship Earth at Epcot
Early International Street Model	Me and R2D2
Mickey's House

We then went to the "Mickey's of Glendale" store - featuring merchandise usually only available to Imagineers. There was a lot of interesting merchandise, and I noticed that a lot of it was actually sort of cheap. And I mean that both in the good and bad sense. Some of the items

seemed cheaply made, but the prices were surprisingly low (by Disney standards). I really wanted an Imagineering t-shirt and I saw several designs I liked. Unfortunately my favorite - featuring the old WED logo - was made of very cheap material. (WED was the original name of Imagineering). The thing was, I also found a Tommy Bahama style shirt with the "Walt Disney Imagineering" logo that I really liked. I deliberated for some time and decided on the Tommy Bahama style shirt. I also bought a water mug and a pin. Kirk bought a t-shirt, pencil and the same pin.

By the time we got out of Mickey's of Glendale we were too late for "Leave 'em Laughing so we missed that. One thing that had been offered each night was to have Bill Rogers, the "Voice of Disneyland", record a voice-mail message for you. This was something I wanted to I got in line for that while Kirk went back to the Collector's Forum (he bought 2 posters). We were told that those of us in the part of the line I was in might not be able to get our voice-mail messages recorded, but I got through no problem. Mr Rogers asked me what I liked best about Disneyland and I said "The Haunted Mansion". So, he recorded a message with a Haunted Mansion theme. Very fun.

Well, that was it for us for the D23 expo. We had wanted to see "Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives" but didn't get to it. Other than that we saw most of what we wanted to see. This was an absolutely amazing experience and I really hope to be able to come back in 2015 - assuming they have it (which as of now they are saying that they will). As much as I enjoyed experiencing this with my buddy Kirk, I would also really love to come with my daughter some day.

After leaving the expo we went to The Garden Walk for dinner, where we ended up going to McCormick and Schlick. This dinner was delicious. I had an awesome wedge salad and a very good trout. Kirk had a bisque that he said was very good.

My office for the day

We both were scheduled to fly out of LAX late Monday, so we had one more day. I spent the early part of the day working, and the time difference from New York allowed me to stop working at 2 PM. Kirk told me he wanted to go back to Earl of Sandwich for lunch, but I new we were planning to make In-N-Out our last meal before leaving and I did not want something quite so heavy. but then, in the end, I still did end going to another of my SoCal favorites for lunch: El Pollo Loco. Once I finished up working, Kirk and I went back to Downtown Disney (including a side trip through the Disneyland Hotel were we saw Goofy) and spent the rest of the afternoon there. It was a very nice, low stress way to squeeze every bit of Disney into our vacation. After that we drove to the airport, stopping at In-N-Out on the way. A good SoCal way to end what was an absolutely fantastic vacation.

Three Goofs

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John and Kirk's Epic Trip Our West:

Intro and Planning
Part 1: Las Vegas and San Diego
Part 2: Disneyland Resort
Part 3: D23 Expo

John & Kirk's Epic trip out west: Part 2 - Disneyland Resort

OK, so how do you know you're a Disney fanatic?

Do you get up while on vacation in order to be on the road by 4:30 AM so that you can get to a Disney park for early entry? If you do, then yes you are a Disney fanatic.

And yes, that's exactly what Kirk and I did on Monday morning.

Since we were now staying at The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian, we were eligible for early entry (getting into one of the parks an hour before regular opening - 7:00 AM in this case) for Disney California Adventure as well as Disneyland Park. "Good Neighbor" hotels (such as the Best Western we were originally scheduled for) also get early entry, but only for the days that early entry is scheduled for Disneyland Park. Our experience has taught us that 1) getting to any park right at opening is key to successful park touring and 2) early entry can be a great way to get in several attractions right away. I knew that Carsland in DCA - in particular Radiator Springs Racers - can have huge lines later in the day, so we wanted to take advantage of every early entry opportunity that we could.

And that is why, by 4:30 Am, we were headed north from San Diego to Anaheim.

We got to the Grand Californian a little after 6:00 and checked in. The cast member at check-in (Linda) took my phone number in order to text me when  the room was ready. She also mentioned a viewing area on the sixth floor from which you can view World of Color, and then suggested that we go to the main entrance to DCA instead of using the back entrance through the hotel because the line would go faster. It seems that the new policy of scanning everyone's ticket and verifying it against a picture of them caused slowdowns - but in particular at the DCA entrance. This is something they’ve got to figure out better. Anyway, we took Linda's advice and went to the front entrance of the park. This was the first time that either Kirk or I had seen DCA since the massive refurbishment - and the improvement is amazing. The entrance alone is simpler, more elegant and inviting, and less confused.

One thing I will say right here. I am not going to go into detail about the specific changes, nor will I go into a lot of detail about the new attractions. There are many online resources that will tell you anything you need to know (such as AllEars.net or +The DIS ). Instead I will simply write about my observations and thoughts. And I have a lot of thoughts!



Once we entered the park we headed straight to Carsland. I will add mine to the chorus of voices expressing delight with the fantastic job that Disney did with this area. The detail is amazing. First up was Radiator Springs Racers with only a nominal wait. Again I will echo what others have said about what a fun ride this is. One thing I've been hearing lately on the web and on podcasts is speculation that live, physical figures such as Disney's audio-animatronics are going to be replaced by projection systems (as can be seen in Universals "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey"). While this may be true, I think that Radiator Springs Racers is a great argument for using physical figures. The use of audio-animatronics on this ride is second to none. That, along with the terrific theme-ing and the use of music make this a must-do.

Next up was Luigi's Flying Tires. We wanted to do this mostly because Kirk and I both lament the fact that we never had the chance to experience the classic Flying Saucers ride. I've heard mixed reviews of this ride, but Kirk and I both thought it was a blast. Finally, rounding out the Carsland attractions, was Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. I have heard that this deceptively simple little attraction is a blast, but I was still unprepared for the experience. Watching video, seeing pictures, hearing others talk about the ride, none of this will prepare you for what a blast this ride is. One thing that was neat was that, as we did not have to wait in line long, we didn't really watch others
riding before us. As a result we were caught by surprise with how the ride actually works. I can't really describe it, but suffice it to say that it takes surprising twists if you don't know to expect it.

I was hungry and needed coffee so I grabbed a cup and a cinnamon twist at a kiosk on our way out of Carsland. The park had now opened when we headed to Condor Flats for a flight on Soarin' over California. We got Fastpasses (9:40), but as the line was only 10 minutes we didn't bother. When we got to the point of being loaded we did what we always do - we requested row one. The CM said we would need to wait - no problem there - and had us move to the middle section (even better) so we rode from row one, middle section. Best seats in the house. Even though, and maybe it's just me, but it seems like the view in row one in Disneyland is not as good as it is in Epcot. The "wing" of the ride vehicle in Disneyland seems to cut off a fair bit of the top of the screen and I found myself having to duck down to peer around this obstruction. Does this happen in Epcot too? I don't remember it being an issue. There was a family next to mi - including a little girl - who had never experienced this attraction before. They were asking me questions about it. I told the little girl to "look for Mickey on the golf ball". During the ride I could hear her squeal with delight, and I also heard her exclaim "I saw Mickey!" after the golf ball flew by. I love getting to see folks - especially kids - having these experiences for the first time.

After that we hung out at the Pacific Warf area. The first thing we did was to get a couple of FPs for California Screamin' (10:50). I think it's interesting that Disney took down the MaliBoomer and did not replace it with anything. I think I heard why they did that but I don't recall. Improvement by subtraction IMO.

I wanted to do Toy Story Midway Mania but the line was 45 minutes and Kirk was not up for the wait. His point that it is exactly the same as at WDW is well taken and he wanted to do something that does not exist at WDW. I couldn't argue with that logic so we rode on Mickey's Fun Wheel instead (on the stationery gondolas. I'll never make that mistake again!) What an awesome view! Sometimes the simple attractions are the best. The stated wait was 30 minutes but I don't think we actually waited that long.

Our California Screamin' FP time was now up. OK, two things. First, I was not sure I'd want to do CS at all. While I do enjoy it, I am not a big fan of coasters with "bunny hops" as they make me queasy. Usually riding once, however, is no issue. The thing is, my stomach had not felt quite right the whole trip up to this point. Nothing that was interfering with the fun, but I didn't want to push it. So, I gave Kirk my CS FP and wandered while he rode twice. The plan was for him to call when he was done.

I decided to go watch "Instant Concert just Add Water". Unfortunately I got an annoying phone call that interrupted my vacation state of mind and also made me late for the show (which must be really short as I was only a few minutes late and missed it). Instead I sat on a bench watched for a few minutes as Goofy signed autographs and took pictures.

This is a good time to write something about the character experiences at Disneyland. I have to say that the characters at Disneyland are much better than those at WDW. I noticed this with my own experiences - as well the experiences I witnessed as I toured the parks. A couple of examples: while I was sitting on the bench I saw a funny exchange between Goofy and a young lady. After she walked up to him he turned them around in the wrong direction facing away from the camera. He acted confused for a second then, realizing his mistake, turned around to face the right way. After they got their picture taken he gave the young lady a big kiss, then wiped the "slobber" from his chin with an exaggerated motion. Very funny. Also, earlier that morning I saw Mickey kneeling down with a small child in front of one of the store windows on Buena Vista Street and pointing out all the toys in the display. Very sweet.

And speaking of positive Cast Member encounters, Kirk and I separately had positive experiences related to getting pins (though Kirk's was more impressive than mine.) In Kirk's case he was looking for a pin for a regular customer who is a Disney fan, and a Goofy fan in particular. He wanted a pin with Goofy, but specifically one that said "Disneyland". He could not find one. At one particular store he was looking and the CM asked what we was looking for. He told the CM who said they did not have anything. So Kirk left. He happened to wander by the store a few minutes later when the CM called to him "I've been looking for you!" It seems someone else had come in and traded a pin with the CM that was just what Kirk was looking for. He told Kirk to buy another pin and they could trade, which he did. Definitely over and above.

In my case, I went to the store at The Grand Californian looking for a logo pin. There were two designs, one that I liked a lot more than the other. For the one that I liked, which has a dangling key, there are designs for all 3 Disney hotels. In the store they had pins for The Disneyland Hotel and the Paradise Pier Hotel, but none for The Grand Californian. I was about to settle for the other design when the CM suggested I go to the store at one of the other hotels. "We sell out of our own design" he said, "but the other hotels sell out of their designs, so they should have the Grand Californian pins." I took his advice and found what I was looking for at the Disneyland Hotel.

Kirk got back from his two trips on CS (and reported that even the FP lines were long). We then hit an attraction we had both never experienced - Monsters Inc. ( a cute dark ride) - as well as a show neither of us had seen - Aladdin. This is a very good show and a "must see". I had heard that, especially if you get a particularly good Genie, this is a show not to miss. I have also heard it compared favorably to Broadway shows. OK, I don't want to sound like a snob, but I live in New York and I have seen many Broadway shows. While Aladdin is, indeed, very entertaining, it is not at the same caliber as Broadway.

After Aladdin it was time for our 2:00 lunch reservation at Carthay Circle Restaurant. This was something I was really looking forward to. And Carthay Circle did not disappoint. The decor - invoking the elegance of Hollywood in the 30's - was absolutely beautiful. Of the WDW restaurants I have been to I would say it reminded me most of The Brown Derby. The decor is very different, but the same level of elegance and attention to detail. The service and the food were equally high quality. As we were on the World of Color dinner package we were given the pre-fixe menu. Kirk started with soup (he said it was very good) while I had a salad (not sure what it was called but it had tangerine or clementine slices). The salad, though a bit heavy on the dressing, was quite tasty. We both had the short rib ravioli which I thought was very good. We also both had the toasted lemon pound cake which was excellent. We asked for tickets to the 10:15 showing of World of Color. Our logic was that, as the park closes at 10:00, that would give us more time in the park.

Even though I had not received a text, we figured our room was ready by now as it was after 3:00. So we headed back to the Grand Californian. Our room was indeed ready and we checked in. The rooms at the Villas (as the DVC properties are called) are pretty typical DVC studio rooms. Large enough but not exactly spacious and with a queen size bed and a pullout couch. Kirk volunteered to use the pullout - for which I was grateful. This was my second stay at The Grand Californian, the first being not long after the hotel opened. I have the same complaint about the Villas as I had about the hotel rooms - too dark. I get the theme-ing stuff and all that, but give us a little light! One minor annoyance was that someone had set the lock on the safe without closing it so we had to call the front desk to have this taken care of. A couple of guys from Security (why they needed two I don't know) came by promptly and fixed the problem.

We didn't really have much of a view. Our window was right next to a tall fence. I pointed out to Kirk that on the other side of the fence was DCA! Specifically it was the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. When we opened the window we could hear kids playing on the trail, and Kirk said he actually thought it was the pool at first.

We headed over to Disneyland. After walking down Main Street we went to Fantasy Faire, which neither of us had seen. It was too late to see either of the shows (I was hoping to see both but I particularly wanted to see the one I had heard was narrated by 2 performers who played most of the parts. Unfortunately I could not recall whether that was Tangled or Beauty and the Beast). I also hoped to fine the "lost turret" that had been uncovered when the new area was built but I could not identify it. We headed over to the Castle for the Sleeping Beauty walk-through. I had not done this since I don't know when. Honestly I don't recall the original to be able to tell whether the refurb had changed it a lot - but I can tell you that this is a unique little attraction that everyone should experience. We were the last in the attraction - a fact that was confirmed by the cast member following us out who locked the doors behind us.

After visiting The Pirates of the Caribbean (15 minute posted wait, 25 actual) we were both hungry and decided to have dinner at Rancho del Zocolo because it was close and relatively un-crowded on this very busy evening. Mistake for me, big mistake for Kirk. For some unfathomable reason this eatery is set up with tacos on one side and enchiladas on the other. Now, What I really wanted was a taco and an enchilada - not possible unless you order a full platter from one side and a side order from the other. Well, that was too much food for me so I opted for the tacos since the enchiladas looked like they had been sitting there since this place was known as "Casa de Fritos". Kirk, on the other hand, did not get a good look at the enchiladas beforehand and ordered them. While my tacos where "meh" at best - about what I expected in honesty - Kirk said the enchiladas were awful. In retrospect we should have taken the time to battle with the crowds and go to Carnation Cafe.

We then crossed the plaza again to visit DCA at night. Like Disneyland, DCA takes on a whole new personality at night. Buena Vista Street feels warm and inviting with all the brightly lit storefront windows. Speaking of which, I had heard that there was a bit of a battle between Imagineering and Disney Merchandise over the store displays. Merchandise wanted the items actually for sale in the stores to be featured while Imagineering wanted to display items that would actually have been in stores at the time being depicted (the 20’s). Thankfully Imagineering won. The window displays in the stores on Buena Vista Street are absolutely charming. The cynic in me wonders how long this will last, but it certainly is nice for now.

Carsland also is absolutely beautiful at night, with all the neon and the rockwork all lit up. Although we missed it on this first night, one thing on our "todo" list was to be there when the lights are turned on in Carsland.

Eventually we made our way over to our viewing area for World of Color. I had heard that the viewing area for Carthay Circle guests was the best available, and we were certainly not disappointed, as we ended up right in the center. We did avoid the "wet zone" though. I should add here that, when we visited my brothers in Vegas, my younger brother Todd went on about what a horrible show WoC is. "It had this annoying and stupid theme song!" he said. (Todd is 5 years younger than me, so maybe he does not have the fond memories I have of the TV show). I told him that I had heard the show is wonderful, and is thought by many to be the best night time show Disney has to offer. Todd seemed genuinely surprised. "Really?" he said. "Fantasmic! is Way better". I just told him that I would judge for myself.

After seeing the show, all I can say is - did we see the same show? World of Color was absolutely AMAZING! Again, I won't go into a long description - there are many sites on the web that (such as +The DIS ) that do a better job than I ever could. Now, I know there are those that would disagree, but to me WoC is far superior to Fantasmic! (yes, even the Disneyland version which is much better than the WDW version). Kirk and I were both blown away by this show. In fact, walking away Kirk said he wanted to see it again. I said I wasn't sure if I wanted to because I wanted to see Fantasmic! as well as the fireworks. Kirk said he would forego the fireworks for a second viewing of WoC - something I was not willing to do. As you will discover, the point would turn out to be moot.

Thus ended our first day at The Disneyland Resort.

Day 2 would start off with an early morning run for me. This turned out to be very cool. First, I ran through Downtown Disney and then the courtyard between the parks before anyone was there. I saw a sight most rare: the entrance to Disneyland with absolutely nobody there. A bit later, on my return trip, I ran through again. This time the security folks and other cast members were just arriving. The guard at the bag checkpoint confirmed I was not going to stop - I told him I was going to the hotel. I also discovered the answer to a great Jeopardy question: "The first song played on the Disneyland song loop in the courtyard". And the question is: "What is 'Whistle While you Work'". The early morning cast members must love that!

After getting back to the room Kirk told me that he would need more time and would not be ready for Early Entry, so I went by myself. I went back to Fantasy Faire and asked the CM there about the uncovered turret. he pointed it out to me. I had seen it the first time, but as it has now been painted to match the rest of the castle it really no longer stands out. I was hoping it was still unpainted. I started to head to Frontierland but was told that it was not open until later. That threw me for a bit of a loop and left me unsure what to do. I wandered around Fantasyland and headed to Tomorrowland when it hit me. DOH! Kirk does not really feel good about riding Star Tours and I love it. So I did ST and noticed that the queue area - while still essentially the same - seems to have undergone an upgrade. Of course the ride itself is the new "Adventure Continues" version. I was pleased that almost all of the experience I had was of bits I had not yet seen. It started with Darth Vader (the only part I've seen previously), then went to Hoth (very cool), a message from Princess Leia, and a final confrontation with Boba Fett.

Kirk had called just as I was entering the ride and we arranged to meet at Peter Pan with the intention of riding. While waiting I "people watched" and noticed something I had not seen in years - Alice and The Mad Hatter just wandering around unescorted. I don't know if this is a new thing or a Disneyland thing - characters walking around greeting guests with no escorts - at least not visible - but I like it. Once Kirk and I met up at Peter Pan we both were not willing to wait in the 45 minute line and there is no FastPass for PP in Disneyland. Instead we went to Tomorrowland and rode on Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage with a 30 minute wait. I then suggested using the Touring Plans Lines application (I put all the stuff I figured we'd want to do into the app while waiting) and Kirk agreed. Following the apps suggestions we had a pretty successful morning of touring: Splash Mountain (5 minutes) where we noticed several broken animatronic figures in the finale and Kirk got surprisingly wet, Haunted Mansion (walk on - now that WDW has the enhanced version there is no question which is better), Pirates of the Caribbean (5 minutes - the Disneyland version still beats our the WDW version) and The Enchanted Tiki Room (20 minute wait - we enjoyed Dole Whips while waiting). Next up on the plan was the Tangled show, but it was cancelled. "Character issues" according to the CM. The only other thing on the plan was "Mickey and the Magical Map which started at 11:45 (even though the application had the start time at 11:30). So, we meandered over to the theater and watched the show. Mickey and the Magical Map is a cute show and I would add it to you list if you enjoy such things - the "wall of video" technology is particularly cool. I was surprised upon seeing Mickey in the first scene that he did not have the "animated head". When he returned later in the show his head was animated, so I guess it was just malfunctioning in the beginning.

After that we headed over to the other side of the park for a ride on the Mark Twain. We both regretted not noticing that the Sailing Ship Columbia was also making a rare appearance - if we had known we would have waited for that.

We then walked around new Orleans Square for a bit. It was lunch time and we were both pretty hungry. But where to eat? Hmmmm... Oh yes! I almost forgot! We had a 1:15 reservation in a little place at 33 Royale Place. That would do in a pinch!

Yep, by the grace of a very kind member we had secured lunch reservations at Club 33 - the ultimate Disney geek bucket list experience. If you are not familiar with Club 33 I would suggest Googling it. The only concern I had was that we did not know this was going to happen until a few days into our trip and neither of us had really packed appropriate attire. The member who got us the reservation shared the official dress code with us - basically t-shirts and shorts were fine. We walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell button. A hostess greeted us, got my name and let us in. (OK, I admit it, one of the coolest things is the look of envy on the faces of those watching you go in.) As we waited downstairs a few people were leaving - all of them dressed much better than us. But after we boarded the elevator and went up to the dining room it was clear that, while some did indeed dress up, many were just in standard "theme park wear" just like us.

We were seated in the main dining room. There is a second - called the "Disney room" as well. Our server - Steven - took our orders and encouraged us to feel free to explore, take pictures, and ask any questions we wanted. For appetizers there is a small salad and appetizer bar.

I tried a bit of all of the salads - I don't recall if there was two or three, but I do recall that one of them was similar to the salad I had at Carthay Circle. For an entree I had lamb chops which was very good. Kirk had steak which he also said was good. For dessert the was a dessert bar and I had several selections including a coconut macaroon (which was good) and a berry tart (which was not that good). I also had a chocolate covered mini s'mores thingy that was awesome and one other dessert which I don't recall. The total cost was $80 each before tip (pre-fixe) but this is not a meal for which you worry about the price. If the chance comes your way you grab it - which we did. We ended up spending over 2 hours there. Here are a bunch of pics from Club 33 (and yes, this time I remembered to take a pic of my entree!)

	Yes,that is the famous Vulture over our heads

Before leaving we looked over the Club 33 merchandise, which is stored in a glass case. Interestingly I had run into +Deb Wills  of AllEars.net – whom I have met on a few occasions – and she was also perusing the merchandise. I made the comment about how everything was available except the member ring. “Well, maybe you can get it” I said. “Oh no,” she replied, “I don’t have that kind of money!” Well, I don’t have that kind of money either but I did have enough to part with ($65) to get a Club 33 logo polo shirt. I also nabbed a few of the hand towels – also bearing the logo – from the bathroom.

After our terrific lunch experience we went back to DCA. I mentioned earlier that, for this trip, a big priority for me was to experience attractions and shows I had not seen before. So, when upon entering DCA we saw "5 Guys and a Dime" (did I get that name right?) performing in Carthay Circle we stopped to watch. Unfortunately we just caught the end of their show but they were a lot of fun. We then headed through Condor Flats where "Minnie's Fly Girls" had just started. We stopped and watched most of the show. Very fun! I love that 40's Andrews Sisters style of harmonizing. Our main goal was to get FPs for Grizzly River run which we did for 7:15 (a bit later than we hoped).

We then headed back to the hotel. I did laundry and went to the pool. Kirk hung in the room and ended up getting a very cool Haunted Mansion pin set he had his eye on. We headed back to the park about 6:00 wearing swimming suits and sandals in anticipation of our ride on Grizzly River. We checked out California Soarin' but at 45 minutes the line was too long so we just walked around the park a bit before our 7:15 FP time. Of course by then the line was not as long as it was earlier in the day (25 minutes) but for us it was a walk-on. And, of course, since we had the foresight to wear bathing suits, we did not get that wet. Of course we did get wet - you can't avoid getting wet at all on GRR - but we did not get drenched. Either way, we headed back to the room changed again, and went to Disneyland.

We got to the park at 8:30 and headed straight to Frontierland to see the 9:00 showing of Fantasmic! Our hope was that we could see the fireworks right after Fantasmic!,  giving us that chance to see World of Color again. Kirk was OK to skip the fireworks and I was OK with seeing them from a sub-optimal viewing place, so long as I got the chance to see them. Anyway, getting back to Fantasmic!, as we arrived last minute we did not get a great viewing area but it was fine. Yes, Fantasmic! is a great show. Were it not for WoC I would say it is the best night time show Disney has to offer. And the Disneyland version is, indeed, superior to WDW. But I'm sorry, IMO it does not hold a candle to WoC.

And sure enough, after Fantasmic!, the voice of Bill Rogers came over the PA system suggesting we stay where we were to watch the fireworks. As a lot of folks left after the show we were able to find a better spot (I asked a cast member where the best viewing was) and enjoy the fireworks with no hassle. No, not the greatest spot to see the fireworks, but at least I was able to see them!

After the fireworks we were both very hungry. And we made the same sort of mistake we had made the night before of going to the first convenient place - in this case the Stage Door Cafe. We both had fish 'n chips. Cold, dry and awful. I should have taken the advice I hear on podcasts and insist they make it fresh but, honestly, I just was not in the mood for the hassle.

We then headed to the other side of the park to check out the wait at Space Mountain. At 60 minutes it was just too long. We agreed we would ride using FPs the next day. Instead we took in some Fantasyland rides: Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (10 minute wait posted, actually 15), Pinocchio's Daring Adventure (no posted wait, actually 5), and Snow White's Scary Adventure (again nothing posted but actually 5). Peter Pan still had a 50 minute wait posted but what I could not for the life of me figure out was Alice in Wonderland's 30 minute wait. Since when was Alice so popular? Perhaps the popularity of the Johnny Depp movie had a residual effect on the ride? It just seemed odd to me.

That was it for our second day in the parks and we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we packed our bags as we would be changing hotels (in the introduction to this trip I explained why we were on at the Grand Californian for 2 nights). We took the luggage to the car and made it back to the DCA entrance gate in time for Early Entry. Again we headed straight to Carsland. This time we got in the single rider line for Radiator Springs Racers and got on within a few minutes. At first it looked as if Kirk and I may be in cars racing each other but no such luck. One cool thing for me was that, while on my first ride our car was spruced up with new paint, on this ride we got new wheels and tires. After we finished (Kirk's car won, BTW, but mine lost as we had on our first ride), I decided I wanted to ride again but Kirk opted out. Again I went to the single rider line and, while it was a bit longer this time, I still got on in a few minutes. I was seated next to a lady who must have been all of 4'8" and weighed about 80 pounds who, during the final race segment, grabbed onto my arm for dear life while screaming with delight. After the ride finished and she realized she had grabbed me she apologized, to which I told her "no problem". I actually got a kick out of it. Again my car lost.

I met up with Kirk who had gone to Flo's for breakfast. I decided to go to the Cozy Cones and have a breakfast cone: scrambled eggs cheese and bacon in a cone-shaped bagel. It was OK but the eggs were a bit runny. Kirk said that the breakfast as Flo's - especially the eggs - was quite good.

We wanted to get FPs for the 9:00 showing of World of Color so we headed toward Grizzly River, where they are distributed. On the way Kirk decided to ride Little Mermaid Ariel's Undersea Adventure. I have never been on this attraction and The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite movies, but I have a standing promise with my younger daughter that I will not ride on it until we can do it together (either at Disneyland of WDW). So, I took Kirks pass and got FPs for us both. On the way back I saw that Soarin' over California had a short wait so I did that, even though the wait was a bit longer than I expected. Still, I got row one (although on the side).

We left DCA a little after 9:00 and headed to Disneyland. First this was to get FPs for Space Mountain, which we did (11;15). We then took a quick ride on the monorail after which we headed to Fantasyland to see some of the things we had missed. the line for Peter Pan was still prohibitively long, but Alice had a posted wait of 10 minutes and we figured it would not get any better so we did it. I told Kirk about the "Half a cup of tea" segment that was removed during the 1982 Fantasyland refurb in order to expand Peter Pan. And while riding I could see the section of track that headed off to a part of the ride that was now gone. After Alice we did It's a Small World which was a walk on. I really think the Disneyland version is superior to the WDW version (although I'm honestly not crazy about either). I should mention hear that one thing Kirk really wanted to do was to experience all of the attractions that had been in the 1964 World's Fair, hence the desire to go on It's a Small World.

We then went to Tomorrowland where I get a FP for Star Tours and we headed over to Space Mountain to ride using our FPs. Wow. Space Mountain gets the gold star for Most Improved Attraction. The track is much smoother and the music track is a terrific addition. Kudos. I always loved this attraction - and the Disneyland version is better than the WDW version IMO - but now there's even more to love.

I wanted to see the Iron Man exhibit at Innoventions so we spent a few minutes there. After that we hopped on the Disneyland Railroad so we could see the Grand Canyon Diorama (another World's Fair attraction). We stopped at the Toontown station and walked to Fantasy Faire so we could see Tangled. Unfortunately the theater was full but we were able to watch from outside. Upon watching I confirmed that, of the two shows, this was the one that I had heard about that sounded like the most fun. Good thing too, because I would not get a chance to see beauty and the Beast. maybe next time. Still, Tangled was a very cute show and the conceit of having 2 performers play pretty much all the parts (except Rapunzel and Flynn Rider) was very entertaining.

After Tangled I went on Star Tours using my FP while Kirk went back to Pirates of the Caribbean.

After that we headed back to DCA for lunch (don't you just love how park hopping at Disneyland Resort is so easy?) I went to Flo's and Kirk went to get a chili dog. I had a citrus turkey salad at Flo's for $11.50 which was quite good - but where was the citrus? I tasted a hint now and then but there was none in the salad. I realized it was probably that the turkey was somehow cooked with citrus. I toyed with having a milk shake - mostly because I wanted the cool souvenir glass - but I didn't because a) at $9.59 with the glass it seemed a bit much when what I wanted mostly was just the glass and b) I didn't want all the extra calories for what would likely be a mediocre shake. (I have a policy regarding ice cream. I love ice cream, but unless it's Haagen Dazs - or maybe Cold Stone Creamery or Ben & Jerry's - I just don't think it's worth the calories. This is why - horrors! - I generally do not get Mickey Bars)

I had expected Kirk to join me at the outdoor seating with the wonderful view of Ornament Valley, but he never showed. As I waited I noticed one of the souvenir glasses sitting on top of a trash can. A cast member asked if it belonged to anyone and nobody spoke up. I told him I was wondering why it was there and he offered to wash it and give it to me. I took him up on it and got one of the cool glasses for free. Kirk finally arrive quit a bit later, apologizing and telling me that he was delayed by a passing parade. No worries, as I had a wonderful time enjoying the view and the beautiful day. I told him about how I scored the free glass and he mentioned that he was going to buy a shake to get the glass. I told him he could have mine. "Are you sure?" he asked. I said that, as he was willing to pay the price for the glass and I hadn't been, he must want it more so I figured he should have it.

We left DCA and drove to our final hotel - the Anaheim Marriot - and checked in. Nothing major to report here - it's a Marriot. Once again I went to the pool while Kirk relaxed in the room (Kirk was a bit concerned about sun exposure). One thing about the Marriot, it has an unusual pool with half of it being covered (it goes underneath the building). In fact, when I saw the pool I realized I had stayed there before years ago. It has been refurb’d since and is much nicer now.

Since my DVC free parking was still good we drove back to The Grand Californian and parked there. We went back to DCA to see the lights come on in Carsland. I asked a cast member if he know what time the lights would come on and he said "7:49". OK, well that was specific enough. We had some time to kill and we were hungry so we headed over to Cocina Cucamonga. Cucamonga. Every time I hear that word, in my mind I hear Bugs' Bunny. "CUCamonga!" Anyway, I digress. I wish I could tell you what we had, what it cost and what my thoughts were - but I forgot to take notes. Sorry. I do seem to recall it was pretty good - certainly much better than Rancho del Zocolo.

I finished before Kirk (not unusual) and I was a bit worried about missing the lights so I headed over to Route 66 and got a perfect spot right at the entrance. There were a few other folks waiting as well, After a few minutes the lights came on and, while this is not something I would call a "highlight", I would say that it is worth doing if you can. I found Kirk right after, he had gotten there in time too.

OK, so, here is what we hoped to do with the rest of the evening in DCA. I really wanted to see Radiator Springs Racers at night. We had 9:00 FPs for World of Color. And we wanted to go back to Disneyland after DCA closed. So we headed to Radiator Springs Racers to check out the single rider line. 45 minutes (the stand by line was 3 hours). It was now 7:57. It wasn't dark but probably would be by the time we got through the line. So, in order for us to get to see the ride at night and make World of Color, the line would have to be pretty much exactly 45 minutes. And single rider line waits are notoriously unpredictable. And no break downs (so far in that regard we had been lucky). Everything would have to fall into place perfectly - and how often does that happen? OK, let's go for it. We got in the single rider line. At first it looked like it may have been a mistake. But, in the end, the line was 42 minutes long, we got to ride it at night (very cool, an entirely different experience), we made it to World of Color (Blue section) and the show started 2 minutes later. Woohoo!

After that Kirk and I decided to split up as he wanted to go back to Disneyland to go on Haunted Mansion and Pirates again (Kirk has a policy of doing those attractions every day he is in the park if he can) while I just wanted to walk around and take in the sights. So Kirk headed to Disneyland while I strolled around Carsland and Buena Vista Street. Just as the park was closing I followed one of the Trolleys down Hollywood Blvd. with the hopes of catching a ride and I was able to hop on the last run of the night. I then bid adieu to DCA and headed back to Disneyland.

I was able to stroll around a bit taking in the sights - especially on Main Street - looking in the shops and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells.  Eventually I actually decided I would do 2 more attractions - Captain EO and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Captain EO was even cheesier than I had remembered, and now it has the added benefit of being extremely dated. Buzz Lightyear was fun and I got a decent score (mostly thanks to the ride stopping with the guns still activated). Kirk and I reconnected in Disneyland. He told me that the line at Pirates was too long so he went to Haunted Mansion was a walk-on. He then went back to Pirates where the line had died down. Kirk wanted to go on Space Mountain again, while, again, I wanted to just walk around and head back to the hotel.

One thing I did that ended up being a bit of a mistake was to forget about my previously stated ice cream rule and go to Gibson Girl for a sundae on my way out. Now, what I wanted was hot fudge sundae. I saw the concoction on their menu and that was not really what I wanted. I went to the cast member and said "all I want is a plain hot fudge sundae with nuts. Can I get that?" Well, she said "Yes" with such conviction I thought she knew what I meant. What I got was the messy concoction with cookies and a mound of dripping whipped cream piled on top. I told the server "I just want a plain hot fudge sundae." "This is how we make it" I was told. So I took it and it started immediately melting. Seriously, how do people eat these things? First I threw out the cookies. Then I tried to take a bite but the whipped cream was melting all over my hand and falling over. And I had barely made it out onto the street! Then came the last straw - a glob of fudge fell on what is one of my favorite t-shirts. I had had enough. I took it back and said I didn't want it and asked for a napkin with water, which they provided. A CM behind the counter asked what was the matter and I told him To their credit they made me another - this time with the hot fudge even in a separate cup.

And it was good.

Well, that was it for us in terms of park touring. I went back to the hotel to get some much needed shut-eye, Kirk arrived later after riding Space Mountain, but that was pretty much it.

For Thursday the 8th - the day between our 3 days at the parks and the 3 days of the D23 Expo - we had debated quite a bit on what to do. I suppose we could have added a day to our park tickets and that wouldn't have cost too much. There were a lot of things we missed including the Beauty and the Beast Fantasy Faire show as well as some other street performers. We also missed some of our usual "must rides" like The Indiana Jones Adventure, The Matterhorn Bobsleds, Toy Story Midway Mania and Peter Pan Flight. And Kirk never got to complete his 1964 World's Fair tour because he missed out on Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. But in the end a fourth day in the parks was never really brought up as an option. We had originally intended to do a "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour much like the one Nancy Johnson had outlined on the DIS podcast. We were also seriously toying with doing a day at Knott's Berry Farm. In the ended we decided to do... nothing.

We did sleep in (for the first and only time on the trip). I went for a run. We had to deal with some issues with the door. (The night before I came back before Kirk as I mentioned. After getting ready for bed I went to get some ice. And the door would not open. I tried and tried and ultimately called the front desk. I sat there in my boxer shorts waiting for security to come by to open the door, which they eventually did. Ultimately they had to replace the entire mechanism).

I wanted to go to the pool but the trouble with the door did away with that idea. Instead we walked to Downtown Disney for lunch at the Earl of  Sandwich. I had heard good things about this place and we wanted to check it out. We were not disappointed. We both ordered the Chipotle Chicken Avocado and it was delicious.

Hulk Smash!

We then walked around Downtown Disney for a while before meeting up with a bunch of folks from the +The DIS . We all met at The Hearthstone Lounge outdoor area. There were about 30 or 40 people there. I was able to chat with +Tom Bell , +Mary Jo Mellado Willey , Wayne Tiogo, Michael Bowling, +Craig Williams  (who was visiting from the Orlando team) and a lovely woman named Lisa as well as a few others. It was a blast!

Tom Bell, Kirk, Me, Mary Jo Mellado and Michael Bowling. Thanks to Wayne for taking the picture!

I would have loved to stay longer but we had a dinner engagement with my brother Mike and hs wife Evelyn. We met at a very nice Mexican restaurant in Old Orange called Gabbis. I love Old Orange and the restaurant was quite charming, but I have to say i was not crazy about the food. It was good, but honestly I prefer my Mexican food more traditional. But the company was great, and I had a margarita, so I can't complain!

After dinner I dropped Kirk off at the hotel and I went back to the Disneyland Hotel to go to Trader Sam’s. I was hoping maybe some of the podcast folks might be there but no such luck. Still, I had a Krakatoa Punch which, while a bit fruitier than I normally like, was quite good. And the souvenir mug was awesome! Hanging out at Trader Sam’s and watching all the goings-on was a blast.

Well that's it. next up is the D23 Expo! I hoped to be able to do this segment as well as the Expo segment by this week-end, but this took a lot longer to write than I expected. At any rate, I will have that up within a few days so stay tuned! And like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or follow my blog if you want to get updates.

John and Kirk's Epic Trip Our West:

Intro and Planning
Part 1: Las Vegas and San Diego
Part 2: Disneyland Resort
Part 3: D23 Expo