Nrthwnd

^^ Money, money, money...... possibly?

^ And I shall do my best, to either offend no one... or offend EVERYONE with this TR. And for your nice comment thanks, here's an actual photo from The Trip. An advance look-see. W/no explanation needed? ......Just yet? Sept.12/19. (DbM)

^"For the record" (ha) my fave is still the original "Chicago" Broadway cast album, with Gwen Verdon (Roxie), Chita Rivera (Velma) and Jerry Orbach (Billy Flynn). And it's mainly because I did get to see it all on stage in New York, way back in...1976? Visually, it took my breath away, and book wise, it was hysterical...really! And course, Verdon and Rivera in the flesh, 15 rows away... A book which used a scene from "Chicago" on it's cover. It's the Cell Block Tango! And that's Chita up front, and centre. (o:

"This trip began, well over a year ago..." So here it is, our trip to S.California, on the train, to Knott's Berry Farm and the Disneyland Resort. This trip was originally planned, with the possible attending another West Coast Bash in early September. This would also include a trip up to Magic Mountain. But, their newest coaster wasn't going to be up and running by this time, so a WCB wasn't planned, which was understandable. But that certainly didn't stop us from continuing our planning, and in the end, it was a great trip. But first, three things to comment on, before I get going day-by-day with the TR: AMTRAK: The Ride: I had taken the train down to LA before, for my first WCB in 2016. It's a 36 hour journey, but I decided to pamper myself and got the "roomette" which was a sleeper room (closet?), that also included five meals on the way there. No alcohol included, though. So naturally, I/we did this again, and the trip down was pretty standard, with very few...uh...'hiccups' along the way? Fact is, we actually arrived in Los Angeles 1/2 hour before our scheduled arrival time! Nice surprise. That was the trip down. Coming back up to home? Um, that's another story which I will save for the end of the TR. It's a goody. The Heat: We knew that the weather was going to be hot down there. But nothing prepared us for 90-95'F, every day, with a lot of humidity, and some times with little or no shade in the parks. Thankfully, most indoor areas, including attractions were fully air conditioned so that helped. But our first day at Knott's was one of the 95'+ days, and I nearly passed out halfway through the day there, so David told me. That's when we got into our Midday Rest mode, for Knott's at least. Back to the Knott's Hotel (where we stayed for the whole visit) for a couple of hours, then back to the park somewhat refreshed. With the Disney Resort it was harder to deal with, as we were a 20-25 min. shuttle ride (each way) to Disney from the Knott's Hotel. And there were scheduled times for their schedule, going there and back, we couldn't fit into what we wanted to do. So the "entire day(s) at Disney" were drastically shortened, and we ended up having to miss both Disneyland shows (Fantasmic! and the Main Street Electrical Parade), in order to get back sooner to our hotel. But - we did still get to see "World of Color" one evening, and that was great. And after all that, we get home....and I find I have lost 8-9 pounds! David, not so much. But still, all that sweating, all that drinking liquids (no carbonated drinks at all, except that one "special" Coke in SW:GE), and plenty of walking around, turned into my unintended Diet Plan for the trip, lol! Woo hoo! No Cell Phones: We don't own them , and although we considered getting "pay as you go" ones, we never did get them. And there were really only two instances where we really did need help, in 1) changing a shuttle pickup time at Disney, and 2) cancelling an already reserved dinner-show package for Fantasmic!. Both times, the wonderful cast members at Guest Services in the Disneyland City Hall helped us easily, efficiently and of course, with the most friendly attitudes you could imagine. I definitely sent them a thank you email, when we returned home. So this is the stuff to get out of the way, for now. TR starts next week. Stay tooned till then. I still keep info. and stuff in regular old envelopes. Still works after all these years, for me. And yes Elissa, we took this mode of transport down to California. And back. (This was the photo I took, at Portland Station, on my 2016 trip.) Where the #460 bus to Disney could be picked up for early morning entry. But we ultimately never used it. All the photos are now filed into their respective trip dates. And the souvenirs, too! (o: The supposed route we thought our taxi driver would take from Union Station. But he didn't do this route. But it still paid off for us, and saved us nearly 2 hours of waiting for a connecting train to Knott's.

Forgot to mention, we did see (my 2nd time) the truncated LIVE version of Disney's FROZEN, onstage at the Hyperion Theater in DCA. Three years ago, it was Fast Passes and ending up in the upper upper balcony that time. This time, we only had to just show up and be there a rough 1/2 hour before they let us in. Filled up fast, and we ended up in "center orchestra seats"...... "on the aisle" Great show to see and hear again, Everybody was great, especially the two actors playing Anna and Elsa. Big powerful voices for such a version of this show. And the whole thing played as fresh as it did for me, three years ago. Bravo! But - boy they turned down the heat for the "snow effect". We used seeing this show, as a way to cool down a bit from the heat outside. But, really! This was turning the other way for us, and we were getting slightly "chilled". Fortunately, it didn't last that long. Whew! Sept.10/19. The 5-pm show.

here's a random t-t-t-train of thought, woo wooooo! One week ago today, was our second-to-last day at the Disney Resort. And that day was The Day we got our reservation done at Oga's Cantina in Black Spire Post / Battuu / wherever that place was supposed to be! Fun bar, some indescribable drinks, and some fun interaction with other park goers. But two weeks ago today, was the second day of our train travel, to Los Angeles, arriving late that night, getting a wild taste of LA freeways, taxi drivers, and other BIG cars, on our way to our hotel. So way back then, Our New Adventure Was About To Start! And just back then, it was about to end.

The whole trip report is going to start coming out next week. But I did want to post here, the One Burger we actually had on this S.California trip, by train, to Knott's and Disney. We ate it at the Smokejumper's Grill inside the Grizzly Peak "land" of DCA. I had eaten there three years ago, and remember it not only being good food, BUT you could also imbibe a bit if you chose to do so. And.......I wish I did so. But....I did not do so. It was a nice cheeseburger with bacon on it. The taste was a 'smoky' one, like a BBQ taste should be. It was good. Not great. But an okay, nice, good burger. And a vanilla milkshake, too. And onion ring things. I mean, why not? (o; Sept.10/19.

^ Ok, then! Noted, thanks.

OG = ....Old Guard? Thought I would ask. ^ And I got nine rides on TROY! that one visit (2008) I did, with TPR. I still miss Toverland. Thanks for the new photos of the park you took, A.J.

This is what the Disneyland Resort did at their entry gates, when we were there over a week ago. Although all we had, were four day park-hopper passes, they were on paper as we don't have cell phones . We each gave ours to the nice lady at our gate, she smiled and said "smile", we did, and our cards were instantly given to us. Very easy thing to do. Our Knott's hotel keys, which were rather...uh....back dated(?), beside our Disney Resort park-hopper passes. David got the Falcon. And of course, I got Midway Mania. (o;

Hong Kong Main Street Gazette ( http://www.wonderland912.com ) has recently posted the ongoing transformation of the "itty bitty castle" into one Gi-Normous Structure! Here are a few of their posted photos. Thank you HKMSG. Heh, this castle at HKDL will become "The Little Castle That Grew, and Grew......and GREW!" IMhO

^ So we saw it, and enjoyed it. But I must say, the second act was more enjoyable for myself, due to several songs being separated and not as overlapped as a few were in the first act. That, and although this IS really a rock opera of a kind, the sound was so loud that lyrics were lost in some sets and transitions. But, for my money, you really have to know about this musical a bit before seeing it live. I really think a good number of last night's audience did not know what they were getting into. And before intermission, there were several walk outs around us. It just wasn't the "musical comedy" they were possibly expecting. I'm sure a number of them had no idea this was based on Puccini's La Boheme, even though that's right there in the song that ends Act 1 (La Vie Boheme). The set was, as you said, not expected to be "musical" themed. I knew that. We were fascinated by that "sculpture" on the right of the stage, towering up into the rafters. The head of a blow up doll there, was a nice touch, heh. All in all, even I couldn't make out everything sung. But all the actors were powerful singers, and the one playing Angel was a real treat to watch and hear, even though I knew what was coming (no spoilers) for her. And the actor playing her lover had a wonderful voice, deep and rich. They were honestly, all great singers, leads and chorus. A standing O at the end. We couldn't help our self. And the audience who stayed through it, did the same with cheers and shouts. Next up: WAITRESS in November.

This just posted at tdrexplorer.com...with a neat little announcement video, too! "Beauty and the Beast Attraction Opens April 15, 2020, at Tokyo Disneyland" https://tdrexplorer.com/beauty-and-the-beast-opens-april-2020-tokyo-disneyland/#more-50157 The video didn't mention it, but there's also the new popcorn shop (The Big Pop) opening in 2020, too! ...Offering (probably) several flavoured popcorns, and buckets to choose from. With a neat popcorn chandelier up above! (o: Snuggled in between the Baymax Happy Ride and Belle's Village.

Passion Fruit - Drake

We had a great time at Knott's during our trip over a week ago. Ghostrider was wonderful, the crowds weren't too huge, the food was fine, and the Knott's Hotel was woooonderful! Nice times at the bar and in the pool/jacuzzi. Trip Report to follow, soon. And on our first morning out to the park, we get Snooped at the Hotel! Sept.06/19.

Great "startup stroll" through this event, Chuck! And I would rather see t-shirts like that on some of the local teens who pass by on The Night for candy. They don't even try, at times. A Haunt Shirt would definitely improve things, heh. And nothing like (somewhat) fresh dirt to bring a smile to a coaster fan. Looking forward to continuation of the same good stuff from ya.

Here's one of me, that David took, when we were on our Knott's-Disney Trip last week. Unfortunately, neither of us really realized how much my face was covered in sha-doe. Ah well, it's a traditional spot I've had pix taken of me, since I first went to DL in....1963! Yeah, I was a 10 year old runt back then. And I have that old retro photo "somewhere around here". Sept.12/19. And neither of us has aged "that much".

Yay! We start our Broadway Across Canada 2019-20 season tonight, with the touring production of RENT. Having never seen it in it's entirety, until we saw the (non) Live TV broadcast of it recently, it will be nice and refreshing to actually see and hear it live, on stage. In it's entirety. We're looking forward to it.

^ I rode it last week, and I totally agree with you! I never rode it before the refurb, but afterward, first at WCB in 2016, you could see the locals really enjoying the ride. With relief, lol. They looked happy on it. Sept.08/19. One of the last rides of that day. Sept.08/19.

This is like, when all the "wigged people" showed up at the PNE, on the day David and I were there (the Rainbow Socks Day). Only there wasn't aggressive dancing w/each other, and just staying - standing - up. With all who participated. Jiving T-Rexes Rool! Great starting report Bert! And so explicit and non-censoring, indeedy! And it's a great looking group of friends you're "Con-ing" (sp?) with, too.

^ Thanks. Trip Report's coming up (in it's own thread), soon enough. But for now.... After we got back home from the trip, I finally opened up, and put together my two Quarter Games prizes I had picked up, on that last day of the PNE. And here's how they both turned out! What I brought back form the PNE, but didn't get to, until today. (o: Just batteries needed for this. And now it sits beside the other two lights I got from past Quarters Games at the PNE. And the message board looks like it'll be fun to use.

Here's a sunset shot from Knott's..... ....unfortunately, Ghostrider is behind me. Couldn't help myself. Sorry. (o; Sept.08/19.

This morning, we got a milk delivery.....which we weren't supposed to get. I called our milk company (Dairy World Foods) two weeks before we left on our California trip. I gave them the specific dates and orders (or not) for three deliveries. The first two, went fine (less milk just before we left; and no delivery while we were gone). But he wasn't supposed to resume delivery until next Tuesday. I called them later, and wanted this order picked back up, as we had already bought milk (yesterday) to get us through to the next delivery...which was supposed to be next week. So far, it hasn't been picked up. And if it's not picked back up today, it's staying outside on the porch overnight, and then I call them tomorrow, and remind them again.....and maybe even cancel the whole delivery thing altogether. We don't need these delivery mistakes any more (and we've had problems in the past with this driver, too). Grrrrr.

We were surprised at the Disneyland Resort, that in a few of the shops in both parks, they still kept their LOVE merchandise available! I didn't expect to get the mouse ears or a t-shirt, much less 2 shirts w/rainbow designs I liked. Awesome for Disney! Me and my rainbow LOVE ears. Sept.09/19.

That viking..... And cake is a great way to end a trip report, especially yours, Chuck. Looking forward to how Legendia "turned your theme park feels on"....or not.