Mom’s Day at Disneyland

The snow in Boston looks a bit different than this.

It’s sunny today in Boston, and we’re expecting another foot of snow tomorrow. I’m not entirely sure where to put it, given that the sides of my 30-yard driveway are already piled high with packed snow, and it doesn’t look like anything’s going to melt off before it’s time to shovel again. But at least I got the back deck cleared off on Saturday, since it was getting heavy enough that I worried about our kitchen roof underneath it.

Not the Yeti. Me.

All of which is really to say: I’m so incredibly, deeply glad that I took a day all to myself earlier this month and went to Disneyland.

This has been a strange month indeed. The third week of January, I was scheduled to attend business meetings in San Diego on Tuesday and Thursday, with a gap on Wednesday. I’d be flying to Orlando that Friday, for my best friend’s WeddingFest, so I knew a Disney fix was in my near future. But given that I’d be 90 minutes from Anaheim, with an inexplicable day off in Southern California, I’d scheduled an official vacation day, and booked a one-day car rental through the concierge in my lovely San Diego hotel.

The lovely view from my room at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego

Being a Disney blogger, columnist, and podcaster, you’d think that it wouldn’t take much for me to get myself out of the hotel for a day at the happiest place on earth. But you’d be wrong. I’m also a working mom, and my family’s primary breadwinner at that. My spouse is a journalist, and I’m sure you’ve heard how kind the economy’s been to that sector lately. So I hemmed and hawed a lot, even on the morning of my daytrip. Surely there were better uses for the ~$180 I’d be spending on the daytrip, between car rental, gas, parking, and a one-day one-park admission. Surely I should be getting something more productive done for my work or family.

But sometimes, mom just needs a day at Disneyland.

It was a chilly Wednesday in January, possibly the best day ever to be at the park. There were no parades or fireworks, it’s true. I opted to skip DCA and the World of Color, and focus instead on my first Disney park, the first Disney park, the home of Mr. Toad’s Ride and the currently-open Toontown and the place of so many happy memories.

I hit a lot of traffic coming up from San Diego. I would’ve liked to leave around 6:00am, to hopefully beat some traffic and make rope drop, but the car rental counter didn’t open until 7:30am and they couldn’t promise me a car until 7:45am. I was cranky on the highway, but it started to melt away when I saw the exit signs for Disney Way/Katella Boulevard.

As much as I love touring the parks with my family and friends, there’s something special about a day alone in Disneyland too. Since I’d be at Walt Disney World in just a few days for WeddingFest, I knew I’d have plenty of time to enjoy Disney together with loved ones, and could completely throw myself into whatever I wanted to do alone at Disneyland. I knew, too, that WeddingFest wouldn’t mean a lot of park time, and that touring the parks becomes complicated with large groups of people with disparate interests, so I hit all my favorite attractions at least once, knowing I might not have a chance to experience their Magic Kingdom counterparts anytime soon.

As I’ve written about before, I spent much of the day wrapped in happy obsession with leveling up and earning badges on Lines. But touring alone also let me focus on some of the little things I might not have noticed otherwise.

Click on the image and look carefully: There's a Yeti Vinylmation in the Matterhorn control booth.

Ever notice this sign on the Matterhorn queue, on the right side? It translates to "Freedom and Fatherland."

I approve of men in kilts riding the Storyland boats. (Sorry for the freaky image quality.)

Another fashion win! I don't know who they are, but I love their wings.

Even sitting down for a meal in the parks alone can be wonderfully relaxing. I spent both lunch and dinner at the Golden Horseshoe, where I could catch a show and recharge my phone (gotta keep posting those wait times to Lines, y’know?).

And yes indeed, I did ride the rides.  I hit all my faves: Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Snow White, Buzz Lightyear . . . the list goes on and on. I lost track of how many times I ran through Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. I went on the Finding Nemo submarine ride for the first time, and was pleased to see the same excellent technology in place for The Living Seas with Nemo over Epcot way. I danced in my seat while Captain EO promised to change the world, thinking gladly ahead to watching it again in a few days, with my MJ-fan son and whomever else we could drag along.

And of course, eventually the day came to an end. The park closed at 8:00pm, and honestly I was ready for the drive back to San Diego. I had a business call to return, and I knew things might get complicated. But I couldn’t call it a day without paying a visit to the big guy.

Oh happy day!

Saying goodbye

As I sit in a Brookline coffee shop, on this sunny day in Boston waiting for the next foot of snow to drop, it’s nice to think back on a chilly Wednesday at Disneyland.

Review: Babycakes at WDW Downtown Disney

Stepping up to the counter at Babycakes Bakery, at Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney, I was fully prepared to enjoy a delicious, vegan cupcake. Well, I guess two out of three ain’t bad.

Let’s back up a bit. I have no beef with vegan food (pardon the pun). My husband is (mostly) vegetarian, so we don’t eat a lot of meat at home. I grew up in Marin County in the 1970s, so I’ve enjoyed more than my share of zucchini bread, soybean casserole, and macrobiotic cuisine. I’ve had plenty of dietary restrictions for one reason or another, so I know avoiding certain foods can be complicated (such as baking without animal fat). And I know vegan baking can be done very well, so combined with the rave reviews I’d heard, my expectations of Babycakes were rather high. And c’mon, anybody who’s seen Scott Pilgrim knows that veganism gives you certain special super-powers, right?

Plus, in my current home town of Boston, we’ve got hipster cupcake shops down to a science. There are chocolate-covered bacon cupcakes, Irish car bomb cupcakes (with plenty of booze), multilayered incredible creations that are far more frosting and spectacle than actual cake.

So, even just walking into the building was a disappointment. Somehow in all the reviews I’d heard or read, it never really hit me that Babycakes wasn’t in a building of its own (presumably with its own hipster vegan atmosphere), but instead shares the old McDonalds’ space with two fast-ish food joints, one of which was heralded over the summer by this amusing sign:

For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the actual restaurant, and it wouldn't be as funny anymore if I looked it up.

I tried to get past the atmosphere fail by reminding myself that Babycakes is a small business run by genuine New Yorkers, who no doubt have way better hipster cred than myself. My son was less than impressed, irritated with me for having apparently overhyped this place. (The reviews I’ve heard have been so consistently good, and from people I trust so much, that I practically feel disloyal speaking ill of the place!)

But now the real test: How were the cupcakes? I ordered a vanilla for my son, and a red velvet for myself. We paid at the register shared by all three food counters, and headed to a table. The frosting was actually quite good on both cupcakes. It was a very sweet frosting, perhaps too sweet for some people’s tastes but perfect for me. But the trouble was the cake itself. Both cupcakes had a vegetable oil taste to them, and at the same time were disturbingly dry. I found myself wishing I’d ordered one of the cupcake “tops” instead of a full cupcake, because really the only part I wanted was the frosting.

Most of the best vegan and vegetarian food I’ve had plays to the strengths of the ingredients in play, rather than trying to emulate something else. I can’t help but wonder if Babycake’s weakness is that it’s trying to be “regular” cupcakes, instead of playing up the special flavors and textures of the fruits, grains, and vegetables. Would I have enjoyed the carrot cupcake more? I probably should’ve gone back to try one more, just to see. Or perhaps could it have just been an “off” day for the pastry chef?

Please do take my review with a grain of salt, maybe even a heaping teaspoon of kosher sea salt. Plenty of people do seem to enjoy Babycakes, and you might just be one of them! If you want an alternate take, the crew at WDW Today reviewed Babycakes in their Episode 799.

I’m glad that Disney’s opening up its culinary options a bit. I wish I’d enjoyed Babycakes more; I’d like to be able to give it a better review. I’ll give Babycakes another try next time I have the chance, at the very least for one of those cupcake tops.

30% Pay Raise for Bob Iger in 2010

I wish that every Disney Cast  Member could receive a pay raise even half of that which Bob Iger was awarded in 2010. Here’s what the AP just reported:

Walt Disney Co. has awarded CEO Bob Iger a 2010 pay package valued at $28 million, up 30 percent from a year ago, according to an Associated Press analysis of data disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday. The company said it is rewarding the 59-year-old Iger for excellent management in a tough economic environment.

I don’t think I even have to tell you that the current “best and final” offer from Disney to the the union that represents many WDW Cast Members doesn’t have anywhere near a 30% pay raise for anybody in 2011. Detailed examples of wage increases are here. The union also has a blog with updates on negotiations.

And say, any of my friends in Florida got a little free time on Wednesday, February 9, say from 5pm-7pm? The union is having a rally at Cross Roads. Hold a sign for me, wouldya?

Jentasmic! A Disney Fairy Tale Wedding

Nobody has more fun than us! Bob Jackson took this photo for his Facebook page.

WeddingFest 2011 coverage continues! I’m sure Lisa will blog about the wedding plenty when she and her new husband Trace return from their cruise on the Disney Dream, but for now I just can’t resist telling you all how wonderful the wedding was. My Jentasmic! column this week on StudiosCentral talks a bit about the wedding day itself. A brief snippet:

The morning of the wedding was a flurry of excitement and nerves. By the time I arrived at the Honeymoon Suite of the Grand Floridian Resort that morning at 6:00am, work was well underway. The dress had been professionally steamed and was hanging in the shower for an extra touch-up, the hair stylist was preparing a table, and the make-up artist was ready to start in on me. Fortunately, Lisa had been upgraded to concierge, and after the make-up artist had put on my face, I stopped over to the concierge lounge to pick up a few breakfast snacks. Not that any of us could bring ourselves to eat much, but at least we all knew that we should.

 

Creepiest Vinylmation Ever?

I usually love Disney Vinylmation, but this one I spotted at D-Street last week just creeps me out. My friend Trace tells me that it’s Bo Peep, which makes sense as the sheep packaged with her has three faces, to represent her three sheep.

Just bugs me somehow. Eww.

Vintage Mickey Mouse Japanese Postcard

Super kawaii! My husband spotted this for me on Pink Tentacle. He may not be a fan of the Disney parks, but he sure does like that vintage animation. Thanks sweetie!

Throwing a Disney Bridal Shower at ‘Ohana

Who invited this blue guy to a bridal shower?!? Why, me!

There were moments when I thought I was nuts for reserving a table at the ‘Ohana restaurant for my BFF‘s bridal shower last Sunday, at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Resort. After all, who throws a bridal shower at a character meal? But when the bride and groom are both Disney freaks, throwing a Fairy Tale Wedding at WDW, it makes a certain amount of sense. Lisa and Trace are not just Disney freaks, but both podcasters: Lisa and I are co-hosts of Those Darn Cats, and Trace is a co-host of The Disney Dudes, and in fact it was the Disney online fan community that brought them together.

I’d picked the venue in part because it’s possible to reserve tables for fairly large parties, and I wasn’t sure how many people we’d be accommodating. I also liked the theme that the name implied: ‘Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.

(I was a little tweaked by the fact that my son finds the Polynesian restaurant offensive, due to its appropriation of Hawaiian culture, and I’m kinda with him on this, but I set that aside. One could argue that the same issue affects the actual Hawaiian Islands, actually.)

Making the invitations was awfully fun. I found a suitable floral theme in an invitation kit at my local Target, from the Letter Impress line, and embellished it with pictures of Lilo and Stitch.

My mother helped me with favors for the shower, and flower leis for the bride, as she lives in Hawaii two months each year, and would be traveling from Hawaii for the wedding. She brought two leis, one with fresh flowers, and the other dried flowers as a keepsake.

Three leis in all: Two from Hawaii, one from the concierge

She also brought plumeria earrings from a shop on Maui, which nicely complimented the candles and mints I’d bought online.

I arrived an hour early for our reservation, in the hopes that the Cast Members at ‘Ohana would help decorate the table in some small way, perhaps just a sprinkling of the Mickey confetti that I’ve seen on so many Disney tables before. But the ‘Ohana CMs told me they didn’t have any such thing, and suggested I check the stores. Thanks to a helpful tip from a CM at the pin station near the monorail entrance, I went to the Concierge desk and was given an armful of plastic leis, with plenty for my guests plus a couple to take apart and scatter on the table. Once our shower guests had all arrived (including the bride of course!) the ‘Ohana CMs brought me to the table ahead of the group, and helped me prepare the table with favors and flower petals.

Once we were done, it didn't look half bad

The meal itself was quite good, with the typical heavy breakfast foods of the ‘Ohana character breakfast menu. Having the meal served family-style worked well for a bridal shower, so everyone could sit and chat, and the food just kept coming. It was also easy to plan for budget-wise, especially since ‘Ohana accepts the Tables in Wonderland card.

And, of course, we showered the bride with gifts! I can hardly describe all the wonderful presents that the guests brought, but I’ve just gotta tell you about something I stumbled across: When I’d stopped at the concierge desk for table decorations, the concierge had also given me a few buttons to give to the bride, and I’d tucked them into the bag with my other presents. Little did I know that two of the pins the concierge had given me are out-of-print; Lisa tells me that they’re the Holy Grail of the wedding planning DISBoards.

Just Married pins

Note the new Dooney and Bourke bag on Lisa's hip?

Finally, it was time to leave for Epcot, to continue the pre-wedding festivities and meet up with the guys in the party. But not without paying our respects to the big cheese! Lilo, Stitch, and Pluto had all stopped by, but we didn’t get a chance to see Mickey until we were on our way out.

Family and friends at 'Ohana Bridal Shower, at WDW's Polynesian Resort

I’m sure that a bridal shower with huge, plush characters stopping by for hugs doesn’t suit everyone’s style. But we had a blast, and in my humble opinion it was a great way to kick off the Weddingfest activities last weekend. Many thanks to all the guests, and to the Cast Members at ‘Ohana for such terrific service! Special shout-outs go to Genevieve at the concierge desk for the pins, and Twana at ‘Ohana for her cheerful and welcoming service. (And yes, dear readers, I’ll be following my own advice to let Disney know when Cast Members have provided especially excellent service by dropping Guest Services a note.)

Congratulations, Lisa! And thanks for letting me throw you a party.

A hug for me from Pluto

 

Lines: Leveling Up at Disneyland

I think not

Embarrassing but true: On my day trip to Disneyland this week, I was more excited about using the Touring Plans Lines app on my Droid than riding the Matterhorn.

Here’s the thing: I’d only used Lines once since they’d added the gaming mechanics, and since I’d come down with a bacterial bronchial infection during that August trip to Walt Disney World, I spent far more time sweating out fevers and watching Phineas and Ferb than touring the parks. So, while I’d opened up the app a few times on that trip, I hadn’t really taken it for a spin.So, I was thrilled to receive a review copy of the new Disneyland version of the Lines app shortly before my planned day-trip to the happiest place on earth, in the middle of a business trip to Southern California. I knew that the advice on wait times that the app provides would be less crucial on a chilly Wednesday in January than on peak times in the park, so was mostly stoked about leveling up a time or two, and earning a few badges on the way.

My Droid + Lines > Toontown Fun Phones

How it works: Within the Lines app, you can view current estimated wait times for all attractions in the park, and post wait times based on your own experience. The wait time estimates in the app are developed through 10 years of historical data gathered by the Touring Plans team, plus user-reported times gathered through the app. And it’s these user-reported wait times that bring the gaming mechanisms into play: As you report wait times, you can level up by reporting increasing numbers of wait times, and earn badges by reporting times for specific attractions, combinations of attractions, or times of day.

(My son had warned me that achievement-based gaming systems can lead to long boring stretches of nothing but grinding on menial tasks in order to earn badges. But if grinding can mean walking around Disneyland, count me in.)

The view from my charging station on the balcony in the Golden Horsheshoe

A message board is built into the app, with separate sections for Disneyland Chat and Walt Disney World Chat. There seems to be a fairly healthy community of Lines fans hanging out in the chat most of the time, which came in handy when I had questions about the best place to charge a cell phone (Golden Horseshoe balcony, where you can charge up while catching a show), or whether there are any coast-to-coast badges that we bi-coastal park fans can earn (nope, but there are multi-park-in-one-day). You can also look at each users’s stats, and when you submit wait times, you’re told who the current “top submitter” is for that attraction. And as with most popular message board systems, there’s a lot of trip advice and social chat as well.

The user interface is quite good, with the occasional irritating glitch. For some reason, it seems to re-set to its home page whenever I slide out my Droid 2 Global keyboard, but that was easy to deal with once I realized I only needed the keyboard when using the Chat (and then simply opened it before drilling down into the Chat section. Everything also got easier once I realized that, if I just left the app on the list of attractions for the park, I could just click on the “+ Time” button in the upper right to be brought to a page from which I could select any attraction and report a wait time.

Meeting with a Research Associate

In addition to the gaming mechanics, another feature had been added since last I’d used Lines: You can now submit wait times not just from the posted time on the attraction, but also by timing your own wait using the app. This wasn’t just cool, it also allowed me to post wait times for attractions that didn’t have a posted time, or where I was sure the posted time wouldn’t match the actual wait (for example, a 10 minute posted time for Pinnochio was a walk-on instead).

I haven’t tried any of the Disney-sponsored phone apps, as (to the best of my knowledge) they’re not available on the Droid. But I suspect I wouldn’t enjoy them as much as the Lines app, since Disney wouldn’t be likely to allow as much un-moderated interaction among users as the Lines app supports (I do believe the Lines folks would clean up anything seriously wrong posted to the Chat, but they don’t seem to sanitize things as a general rule).

So, how did my day at Disneyland turn out? Well, I was right – a chilly Wednesday in January means very short wait times for most attractions, so I didn’t rely much on the app to guide my steps. In fact, I’d entered the park with the One-Day Touring Plan for Adults, but abandoned it after the first few attractions, since both experience and the Lines app were telling me wait times were short enough that the criss-crossing of the park which this plan includes wasn’t actually necessary under the circumstances. I rode every attraction I wanted to, sometimes two or three times, and even lost track of how many times I went on that wild ride with Mr. Toad.And my new Lines stats? I’m now an Unofficial Scholar, having submitted a total of 65 wait times so far. I’m hoping to level  up again next week; if I can submit another 10 wait times before this weekend’s trip to my BFF’s WeddingFest at WDW is over, I can get promoted to Crowd Specialist. Plus, I earned a few new badges, my favorites being Shrunken Ned (Wait times for every attraction in Adventureland) and Nowhere in Particular (5 wait times for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride).

Plus yes, I did ride the Matterhorn, and I have to admit it was more thrilling than leveling up. The fact that it’s got a working Yeti (unlike Expedition Everest) is a darn impressive selling point. But it’s a good thing I don’t have to choose between Lines and the Yeti, because it would be a close call.

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure

HSM3 Pep Rally at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Regular readers might have noticed I’ve spruce the place up around here lately. I switched over to a new WordPress theme, and while tidying up a few loose ends, decided to post links to some of my personal favorite posts from the archives in the sidebar. Perhaps a bit self-centered, but you know, blogging can be like that sometimes.

I was amused to notice how much I’ve written about the High School Musical franchise, and its associated merch, which also made me homesick for the ol’ gang. So, I was somewhat reassured to read that there’s a Sharpay spin-off movie coming April 19, 2011. According to Examiner.com:

The plot? Having recently graduated from East High School, Sharpay’s bypassing theatre school, and setting her sights on Broadway. While performing at a charity event, she’s discovered by a talent scout. But the new winner of So You Think You’re America’s Most Talented Performing Idol is standing in her way to the top. To top that off? The Broadway role the talent scout has in mind? It’s for her dog, Boi. Contenting herself with being his entourage, she befriends a student filmmaker who’s fascinated with her, and Boi finds love.

So her dog is named Boi? Really? I know that spelling gets a certain amount of use among the misspellings-are-cool internets crowd, but it’s also a favorite among genderqueers.

I’m also amused that, after the heavy “let’s all go to college” theme of High School Musical 3, including the series “college dolls” wearing sweatshirts of the schools our beloved characters would be attending, it’s interesting to see that Sharpay’s decided to forgo college. A bit ironic, given that she’s certainly in the demographic that could afford the tuition out of pocket.

And getting back to that mention of genderqueer . . . I notice no mention of Ryan in that plot summary. Harumph. Sharpay is often at her best when Ryan’s in the scene too (“He’s doing some sort of yoga Fossee thing”). Let’s hope he at least has a cameo. Or, maybe he’ll be in HSM4? It seemed to me that the end of HSM3 set up the possibility of Ryan and Kelsi returning to East High to assist part-time with the drama program. But alas, even if they do appear, it’ll be on the sidelines.

High School Musical 4: East Meets West is scheduled to air on the Disney Channel in 2011. The movie will feature the new students introduced in the third movie.

Ugh. I think we all saw this coming, but the thought of Jimmy the Rocket owning that much screen time make me ill.

Happily, my son’s agreed to watch HSM4 with me when it’s on the Disney Channel later this year, whether it’s any good or not, whether Ryan and Kelsi return or not. He assures me, “Nobody should have to watch a High School Musical movie alone.”

Star Wars LOLs

After all that pondering about stock prices and Cast Members on food stamps, I need something to make me smile. And y’know, memories of Star Wars Weekends always make me smile!

These Star Wars amusements were in my RSS reader today:

Hat tip: BoingBoing

 

 

And a moment of win:

A while ago friends of my parents visited with their two sons Johannes and Lukas. Turned out that their mom, who totally dislikes science fiction and stuff like that, calls them Han and Luke. The look on her face, when she asked what was so funny about those nicknames totally MMD