Jeffrey made me do it, but it’s almost free for our three!! **Updated 5/19** About This Page:

[DawnDenise]

What a fantastic tour! Brings back a lot of good memories! And those eyes gotta be Karen!

[Tink and co.]

Thanks for bringing back such wonderful memories from our tour. We loved it! We've always stayed onsite or just across Harbor Blvd. and walked, so I found the parking garage very interesting (in that Disney Geek kind of way)! I haven't parked at Disneyland since the parking lot was where California Adventure is!

[TheMadonna3]

Our photo with Karen


I am so sorry, but I can't resist. Does anyone else think she looks like an elf? Not Dyan and her family of course, but the TG?

It's been nagging me since I saw the pic. She looks like something out of Lord of the Rings with that hat. I'm so sorry. I am a horrible person.

[disneydani]

Great updates, Dyan. The tour sounded absolutely wonderful and what a great intro into the park that morning!

danielle

[Kenny]

Whew!! I just finished reading and listening to all 12 pages! What a trip... can't wait for more!

[TNTWheels]

I've been to Disneyland through out my childhood and I've sen it change so much, I've been to WDW like 5 time out of my life and they are both magical in different way. I don't know if Karen told you this or not but the place over the fire house was Mr. Disney apartment so he and his family can stay and over look it once in a while and over by club 33 (in which over looks the Pirates of the Caribbean's Blue Bayou ) there was another space that was turn into a million of Dream suite that was once a suite for Walt's Guest. There a lot of history at Disneyland and its hotel. I;m glad you got to experience the first of all Disney parks (even though I like WDW because I can do more with my wheelchair there Disneyland is closer to home for me) I hope you got to ride the monorail and all that because it different from the Big park.

[DyanKJ130]

Originally Posted by Hugmonster

You are such a tease!

hee hee

Originally Posted by TheMadonna3

I know those eyes. That would be Zacksmom... aka Karen WHAT DO I WIN?!!

Are they??? We shall see…We shall see…

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

What a great tour Dyan

Originally Posted by chezp

What an awesome tour Dyan! Thanks for sharing so much detail of it with us.

Originally Posted by disneydani

Great updates, Dyan. The tour sounded absolutely wonderful and what a great intro into the park that morning!

Marnie, Cheryl and Danielle! It really was an awesome experience! I would definitely recommend it to others.

Originally Posted by DawnDenise

What a fantastic tour! Brings back a lot of good memories! And those eyes gotta be Karen!

Dawn! If it wasn’t for ‘the girls’ tour last year, I don’t know if we would have tried it. Definitely worthwhile and I thank YOU for helping open my eyes to the experience!

Originally Posted by Tink and co.

Thanks for bringing back such wonderful memories from our tour. We loved it! We've always stayed onsite or just across Harbor Blvd. and walked, so I found the parking garage very interesting (in that Disney Geek kind of way )! I haven't parked at Disneyland since the parking lot was where California Adventure is!

Last time I visited DL, DCA probably wasn’t even thought of yet! I can totally see that parking lot in my mind! What a great change for DLR!!

Originally Posted by Kenny

Whew!! I just finished reading and listening to all 12 pages! What a trip... can't wait for more!

Kenny! I’m glad you’re enjoying it!

Originally Posted by TNTWheels

I've been to Disneyland through out my childhood and I've sen it change so much, I've been to WDW like 5 time out of my life and they are both magical in different way. I don't know if Karen told you this or not but the place over the fire house was Mr. Disney apartment so he and his family can stay and over look it once in a while and over by club 33 (in which over looks the Pirates of the Caribbean's Blue Bayou ) there was another space that was turn into a million of Dream suite that was once a suite for Walt's Guest. There a lot of history at Disneyland and its hotel. I;m glad you got to experience the first of all Disney parks (even though I like WDW because I can do more with my wheelchair there Disneyland is closer to home for me) I hope you got to ride the monorail and all that because it different from the Big park.

Todd! Karen did fill us in on all of that information – I really don’t know how she remembered everything. DS & I had also learned a lot of the information when he was in elementary school and we read a book about Walt Disney for one of his reports. It was great to be able to bring him and DH there so they could experience Walt’s dream firsthand.

Originally Posted by TheMadonna3

I am so sorry, but I can't resist. Does anyone else think she looks like an elf? Not Dyan and her family of course, but the TG?

Oh dear lord! Only you! I never really thought of her that way….until NOW. I think it may have something to do with the way the cap messes with her ears – kind of pushes them out. The whole time we were on the tour, I kept thinking she kind of looked like a jockey. She carried this black stick-like thing. That, coupled with the cap, just made me feel like a horse was going to ‘pop’ out, she was going to hop on and we were going to have to run to keep up with her. Interesting observation though, Madonna!

[DyanKJ130]

Now playing: An impromptu PassPorter Meet!


Monday, February 18, 2008 – Day 4/Part 3


The tour was over and we were free to do as we wished for the remainder of the day. Jeffrey was dying to get on POTC, as he had heard so much about how much different it was, which had only been confirmed by me (an unreliable source ) I did remind him that I had heard from a PassPorter friend right before we left Rhode Island and that I was hoping to contact her soon. Regardless of how much I warn and prepare him, he’s usually not too good at these types of things – his shyness just gets the best of him, often coming off in a not-so-favorable light. Anyway, with that in mind, we were off to find us some pirates.

On the way, we ran into these guys performing in front of the fire station.


In deciding which photo was the best, I just noticed something about this one that has me You’ve got the one guy with the trumpet with this kind of smirky grin on his face and then the one next to him staring up at the sky with his mouth wide open. Don’t know what the heck he was looking at because it doesn’t appear that anyone else is looking up in the background. And, the other 4 look pretty engrossed in their WORK! Anyway, he reminds me of a turkey when it rains outside – either that or he’s in for a big surprise if a bird flies overhead and, well, you know!! Ewwww!!!!


So, ANYway…we were on a quest to find ye some pirates. We made note that Indy was down as we passed through Adventureland into New Orleans Square, where POTC is located. The outside of the building and queue is quite different than in WDW.






Most of the queue is outdoors (where I noticed a funky smell – sewage is my guess – but I didn’t mention it to Jeffrey until our next time through) and there is very little to it once you get inside. There are some interesting paintings of pirates on the wall and the boats returning come right by you. The queue at WDW certainly beats the queue at DL, but the actual ride in DL far surpasses the ride in WDW! Having experienced the ride in 1986 & 1988, I had explained to Jeffrey & Kyle how much different it was, but explaining and experiencing are two different things. They totally agreed once we exited the ride and we made sure to return again prior to the end of our vacation, as we didn’t know if we would ever be back this way again.

Since we were in New Orleans Square, we decided to take a ride through the Haunted Mansion. The outside of the HM doesn’t give as much of an eerie feeling, as you get from the HM in WDW.

Kyle took this photo while we were on the tour.


While the line appeared to be short, it was quite deceiving and moved much more slowly than we thought it would. We killed time reading the tombstones in the pet cemetery.




Once we made it to the stretching room, we moved smoothly through the rest of the attraction. WDW wins out over DL this time, as WDW’s recent improvements are second to none! It will be interesting to see if DL will follow WDW’s lead with the renovations. (I am curious about the Nightmare Before Christmas ‘overlay’ at DL, as I have heard both positive and negative feedback. That would have been nice to experience firsthand.)

As we exited HM and started walking towards Frontierland, I told Jeffrey that I was going to contact my PassPorter friend. I don’t know why, but for some reason we went into The Golden Horseshoe.


As soon as we walked in and I poked my head around the corner, these eyes looked over at me!


And, , Madonna and Dawn were correct in identifying her eyes! It was indeed Karen, zacksmom_1993! (Trophies and bragging rights for each of you: ) She was standing at the end of the line and Zack was in line getting something – I think a float or some kind of drink.

The three of us went to sit at a table, where Karen joined us and Zack not long after that. The four of us sat and chatted about all sorts of stuff. (I say 4 because Jeffrey secluded himself at the far end of the table, with his back nearly to us while reading his park map I hadn’t really had time to ‘warn’ Karen of what to expect from Jeffrey prior to our meeting, so I can only imagine what she thought of his ‘weirdness’. Dear lord!)

Kyle and Zack hit it off; I can’t remember what they were discussing, but they were chatting away. We all watched Kyle amaze guests standing in line behind us with his Rubik’s skillz! There was this one guy that I remember clear as day. We’ve had plenty of conversations about him since we returned and I still chuckle when I think of him & that whole experience. I’m pretty sure he even scrambled the cube for Kyle, but when Kyle finished it the guy’s reaction was priceless. I wish I could described it, but is all I can come up with.



Karen and Zack didn’t have much time, as they were leaving later that night to return home. I showed Karen my little color coded chart, with all the show and parade times for the week. (I’m sure it didn’t even come close to her infamous spreadsheets! ) I asked if our plan to go over to DCA to see the Electrical Parade at 7:45pm with returning to DL see view Remember at 9:25pm was a reasonable plan, as both of those were only being ‘shown’ twice while we were there. She said it was and I’m glad we went through with this plan, which I will explain when we get to Friday.

Karen said she & Zack had one thing left to do and invited us along. Before we headed out of The Golden Horseshoe, Kyle & Zack took photos of us. (Actually, Kyle took 2, but neither Karen nor I particularly cared for one THAT close up )

Here we are! I think Karen looks great! Me, not-so-much!


Karen led us out of Frontierland, through the hub and down Main Street at a nice leisurely pace. (Not quite the frantic runs through the park that others have reported in the past! ) On the way, Karen explained that she & Zack have made this their final stop each trip. We arrived at the 50 Years of Magic exhibit and headed inside. Karen brought us in to see the film “Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years.” Jeffrey bolted to the other side of the exhibit hall, to check out some of the displays at the far side of the room, while we waited for the doors to the theatre to open. I think it was here that I explained Jeffrey’s shyness to Karen. We didn’t wait long before we were allowed in and I am so grateful that Karen brought us along for this, as I don’t think I would have realized it was even there. It was a totally perfect addition to our first day in DL!

When it was over, we ventured outside. Before they left Karen wanted to take a photo of Zack in front of the Chinese New Year backdrop thingy. (Kyle didn’t hear what they were doing, thought they were just walking off and yelled to them. At this point, I’m thinking Karen must think we are total nuts! ) Anyway, they did come back over to us , but they really needed to go so they wouldn’t miss their flight. Hugs all around (Although, I’m not remembering where Jeffrey was at this point ), then they were on their way home and we were on our way to DCA!


Up Next: Across the esplanade and into DCA we go!

[Colexis Mom]

Great update Dyan!! How great you got to meet Karen and Zack!! Love the pictures of your mini meet More please

[CountryTink]

How cool is that that you got to spend some time with Karen and Zack. Don't feel bad about Jeffrey and his shyness, I have one of those too, even if he gets a decent amount of warning.

Can't wait to hear about your time at DCA.

[chezp]

How cool that you got to meet Karen and Zack!

[Kenny]

A great PP meet clear across the country! Loved the update, keep it coming...

[shellybelly72]

Just finished all 12 pages! I am supposed to be getting ready for work!!

Since I have not been to DL since I was 5, it was nice to see pics and read all about your experience!

[disneydani]

What great way to cap off the tour...a PP meet! Loving all your adventures.

danielle

[TNTWheels]

I was going to let you know about way to get to DCA with out going thhrough all that crowd maybe next time. But for those who are going. Listen to this instead of going all the way to the front just take the monorail to Downtown Disney (DD) the cut through the Grand Califorian look for the signs once in the lobby to go in DCA. Ive done it many time and the enternce to DCA through GCH hardly any one there. I also got in to Disneyland from DD by monorail. Make sure when you do this act like you know what your doing.