Nrthwnd

Jersey On The Wall (I'm Just Asking) - Tenille Townes Chokes me up, every time I hear this song.

mario Chip or Dale?

I love that ride from what I am seeing! And I saw a video of it running, elsewhere...and wow! At a demoed faster speed, it really was freeking people out! I loved it. I also want somebody from Playland(PNE) to note this, and have it added to Playland's already great collection of flat rides, etc. And Coaster. And Quarters Arcade.

I want one of those giant light up gyozas~on~a~plate sign/things! Crowds and rain and buildings and massive signs all lit up, in downtown Tokyo. And food. Perfect. Thanks Bert! P.S. And I want to hire William as our guide, when we return to Japan, puhlease?

Just checking, here.

^ I was a little bit peeved, that we didn't have a/the bar car available on this trip. Going down or returning home. We did have one on the trip I did three years ago. And I ~ loved ~ it! Plus, I learned the true way to make a Russian Mule, and I still have the Coast Starlight copper cup to prove it, heh. Menu of Cocktails. Yum. Our bar car, Sept.2016.

New overhead shots of park construction by @Rogerseamo ...thankyou! Castle construction from the back of it. In front of it, is going to be a lot of work, too. Marvel Attraction construction. Neat that they left the front 'looping track' of Autopia, still there. For now. Arendelle~Home of Frozen. Left of center: The Flume ride. Upper Middle: The Coaster ride. And does the bottom, right hand corner, look like some kind of overpass entry being built, too? So that would make three entry ways into this new Land! From Toy Story Land, from IAsW, and here.

^ They are included. I just wrote that caption wrong. If you are riding economy, or without any sleeper room set up, you still can eat in the Dining Car. But you have to pay. And these are the prices they charge. I figured that within our train price, aprrox. up to $200 is allotted for food, alcohol not included. That's for five meals (1xB; 2xL; 2xD). I should have explained that up front, sry.

~ Heading Home ~ Day 1 (The Day After Friday The 13th) Saturday, Sept.14 - We got up, checked out of the Hotel headed to the train station, and got our quick connecting train ride to Union Station in LA. On the main train, settled into our sleeper room.... and then they announced....we're doing a detour. So, no view of the ocean, heading back. All inland, and re-connecting with our original route, we had no idea where it would be. Hmmmph. But what can ya do in this situation? We had to detour because of planned bridge work and some track being repaired/replaced/re-something. How much extra time this would take, and put us off our schedule, we also didn't really know. And then - later on - we stop "somewhere" and stay where we are for at least a 1/2 hour. And then they announced... apparently, it was announced, a freight train had "hit a vehicle" and our train had to wait until things were cleared off, we supposed. It was also announced later on (after two hours still where we were), something about a "trespasser" on the tracks. WTF? I don't think we ever got a really accurate reason of what was happening. But one thing we did know - time was moving along...and we weren't. After we finally got moving again, we were pretty sure there was no way they were going to make up for time. So we just accepted it, relaxed, had our meals with other fellow passengers, and just rode along the rails... Union Station as seen from our sleeper car room. Bye bye LA. That's not white paint. It's foaming, rushing water, running down there! Joshua trees. Le Menu for lunch. Starter tea and roll. Finished! LOL, why the photo of a plate I have no idea. Think I was still in shock about the train route change. Crack in the world. Orchard. Random photo. Hops. (o: The single bare tree must be significant to the farmer. Maybe? Dinner time! I had the priciest thing on Le Menu. Steak with a big crab cake. Night light shots. Hmmm. "Cinderella & Her Three Fairies"....? Hidden Mickey? Sort of? G'night.

^ I meant that Moulin Rouge! is using all available pop songs etc. to mash up. Mama Mia! was just using ABBA's songbook and that's all it could use. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Pardon for the mislead.

Oh Adam, you make it so difficult for me. We aren't planning to visit TDS and TDL until....2025. Reading through your trip there (and Bert's recent one too, I will admit) just makes it all the more a - go - nizing a wait, until then. Still, it's very nice to see what's new (or in the process of, like Soaring was, for you) at both parks. And the food - mmmmmm. All food in Japan is pretty special to us. And your photos/captions easily proved that.

Just saw this on a newly released attractions poster for Runaway Railway in WDW Hollywood Studios... "...Where Mouse Rules Apply." Best - Catchphrase - Ever - For a Disney Attraction.

First of all... Happy 91st Birthday Mickey! You don't look a day over....... 70? In celebration of this, Disney decided to release a new poster (one of several, it's reported) for the new Runaway Railway attraction, opening next year. And within in, you can easily see the actual (?) ride vehicles being used for it. And true to form, they seat three per row. Just like Ratatouille in Paris. And probably for The Rat's ride at EPCOT's France pavilion. I love the catchphrase, too. So if any fanbois complain about "no continuity to the attraction"... they'll probably have to speak to The Mouse, himself. "Where Mouse Rules Apply" indeed! "And they're waterproof, too!" (o;

^ Thanks.....but wait! There's more! The train ride back home was it's own surprising "adventure", heh. Stay tuned. And ^^ thanks for all the great seasonal suggestions in visiting these parks. Unfortunately, at our age (I'm 66, David's 72) and health, and current income, it is tricky organizing any trip that feels "worth it" to and for us. That said, I/we really REALLY want to visit more during a Holiday Season, especially Disney. And Knott's too. We're planning to do the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT in Nov.2024. And Tokyo Disney Resort during their Holiday Season too, after Fantasy Springs opens in TDS (probably Nov-Dec.2025). Also, we've discovered that no matter where we travel in the world, most school children are back in school after Labor Day weekend. So that proves (early-mid Sept.) be a somewhat less-busy time to visit parks like Disney and Knott's. It is usually between different holiday events/seasons. But that's okay. It's worth the smaller crowds, most times. And of course, things can always change with future planning, right? This is going on top of a New York style CHEESECAKE, that I will be making, eventually.

Brothers

Hmmm. Getting close to......"Burger Time." But not today. Today is BBQed STEAK DAY!

Awesome Holiday Report, Chuck! I need to attend more holiday periods, in some future parks, lol. Great stuff. Thanks.

Confucious Say (?): Every Trip Report of Japan Is...Awesome. Awesome report Bert. I miss so much of what you've just seen, Tobu Zoo woo hoo! Great reporting. Love it all. Again and again.

Bad

The Hobbit Trilogy Square Cut or Pear Shaped.......Diamonds?* *They're A Girl's Best Friend!

New (IMhO) Truth: Moulin Rouge! is the Ultimate Mash-Up Queen of Jukebox Musicals. Any Jukebox Musical. So - many - many - many - honestly amazing mashups. And with all the new songs added in from recent times, I honestly am loving this Musical (cd) more and more! Karen Olivo as Satine in the New Broadway Musical MOULIN ROUGE!

Our Final Hours in Disneyland It had to end eventually. Our time in Disney and at Knott's. But we didn't last-minute rush to ride rides or see shows. We just enjoyed being in the atmosphere of the place, simple. We took a second ride on Smuggler's Run and actually got the pilot seats again. But we gave them up to a couple with us, who had the Engineers passes, as we wanted to just shoot stuff, LOL. It was again fun, and we actually "collected" two of those power capsules this time 'round. And there was still so much to see in the queue, which didn't last very long, either. After Run, we headed back through Fantasyland, and went on another ride "down the rabbit hole" with Alice. I will never tire of that dark ride. And I still wonder why they never duplicated it in any other Disney Magic Kingdom in the world? After our Wonderland adventures, I got a third ride on the Matterhorn (thank you Single Riders queue), and then we went in search of.....fries. David had this wish to get some fries before we left, so we looked around a bit, and found them at the Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland. He was happy. After that, we just poked around, looking at theming, taking in the atmosphere of Main Street, USA. And after my getting a Starbucks coffee, we headed out of the park to the shuttle pickup for our final ride back to the Knott's Hotel. And started packing, for our leaving the next morning. Back in line for one more Smuggler's Run mission! (o: A better view of that abandoned card game. David and his fries. And my 1st (of two) coffee beverage. I miss the days when this performance stage used to lift up from the ground. For the Halloween shows we didn't see. (Photo by Disney) Striking. Bustling Main Street. One last look. 7 pm. Me, Groot and my 2nd coffee drink. And it's time to get to our shuttle pickup at 7:20. (DM) Bye Disneyland. Till we meet again, Disney California Adventure. Last night shots from Knott's Hotel. G'night. Early rising in the morning. We got a train to catch! One more adventure with Alice. One more ride for me on The Matterhorn, Right Side. (o;

Back in early September, on The Incredicoaster in DCA. Two times. Single Rider line w/those 2 elevators! When was the last time you cleaned your refrigerator out?

Two new photos of the ongoing Castle Renovation have been posted by HK Main Street Gazette, thank you! The second one is really beautiful to me, there in the darkness and setting sun. Perfect!

Nearly finished listening to HADEStown and I am very very impressed. Much better than I expected..... And I nominate Patrick Page for the part of Elder Cohen, in the New (my thought up) Broadway Musical Leonard Cohen In Two Lifetimes It's actually two Acts of Life - 1st is his younger days - 2nd is his later years' successes. Hmmm? How about that casting idea? EDIT: And I just remembered! Have newly Tony-ed Santino Fontana as Younger Cohen! Easy! Great orchestrations and much of the southern style of music.