Nrthwnd

Last night was really, one of The Most Amazing Nights at the GRAMMYs - really! All the mixes of genres I had no interest in - and everything rawked! But in particular - the house fell apart when all those couples gay AND straight were Wed by Minister Queen Latifah near the end of "Same Love." It was awesome. Everybody was crying, including us, watching it.

"The Sex Is In The Heel" Billy Porter and the cast from the recent 2014 GRAMMY Winning Cast Recording of KINKY BOOTS - Score by Cyndi Lauper!

I live for these TPR tour moments!

So - much - stuff! Mind boggling, really. And really - where DO you keep all of this stuff, Mr. and Ms. Alvey? I know it's ongoing but whoo! And knowing what you pick up on various tours, another storage apartment or...what?

^ I figured that was the case, but until you saw what I got, I wasn't too sure. Three BIG ONES from Disneyland Paris! Up until a particular Japanese 'resort' (Go Lava Monster!) entered my traveling life, going to Disneyland Paris was/is a real treat for me. I have visited it four times since 2002, and on the last three visits, I found that the resort had UPed the cup size and made their coffee mugs... BIG COFFEE MUGS. So I bought one in 2004, which just enlarged a similar design that was on the smaller cup I got in 2002. And in 2007, during the Resort's 15th Birthday, with a great embossed mug to buy. With rare characters on it too! 2008 was bought during the TPR Europe Tour, and went a decidedly more....pink. I did like how Eiffel was used on it, too. Here they are: 2004, 2007, 2008. The other side. Close up on the Tower, there. (2008) Really nice, this one is. (2007) The bottoms of, naturelment. The ONLY photo ever taken of me on a Dumbo ride! This was during one of the early entrys with breakfast in the park. So this was a walk-on, and I got the nice cast member to snap my happy mug. (2008)

Woo hoo! Finally bought tickets for the upcoming tour of Cirque's TOTEM, opening mid-May. Really looking forward to seeing this one.

Yes, we are. And there's also Piraten in Djurs Sommerland Park, Denmark. And I am pretty sure, that for most of us on the 2009 Scandi Tour, that Mega Lite was our first one ever, to ride. And it was awesome! I think I rode it nearly a dozen times, which for myself, was quite a lot. Me and Piraten in Djurs Sommerland, 2009.

Great tour of Fuji, Ken. Great to relive the day there. And yes, you did not miss anything with that Prison Break thing. Looking forward to reading about your days at Disney.

^ Just love all the trailers for this, and I do hope it lives up to them. And her humming the "Sleeping Beauty Waltz" too.... exquisite.

>POPS CHAMPAGNE!< Congrats on the Occasion of...

And then there was the time.... (Alcohol Invades The Kingdoms Magic) Disneyland Paris may have followers and critics alike, but there are two things that this (now) landmark Magic Kingdom gave to the rest of the Magic Kingdom Franchise.... Men's facial hair...and Booze. When DLP first opened in 1992, the locals went ape-nuts over the absolute lack of alcohol being served at even the counter service places in the park! It just wasn't "the French Way" to not have a glass of wine or beer with your meal, children included. Eventually, Disney actually bent the rules, and allowed it, and although EPCOT was in it's time serving alcohol in the World Showcase, alcohol in a Magic Kingdom had never happened before. But it started in Paris. The other thing was the male cast members at Disney Paris, finally won their right to maintain facial hair a thinner and shorter agreed upon length, and the women were allowed a bit more leeway with their use of makeup and jewelry. Time changes.... So - in 2007, to mark the 15th Anniversary of Disney Paris Resort, they came up with an Anniversary WINE, in white or red bottled with the DLP anniversary logo on it, etc. And the bottle itself was a killer in weight, being lead glass being so heavy with the wine in it...we had to drink the wine to make bringing home the bottle....lighter. And then in the TPR Europe Tour of 2008, I discovered this little stand near the New York Hotel selling not just fruit slushies in Alcohol and Non-, but in these nifty little bar shakers than even Minnie would approve of. Very cool. I also got a wine stopper in DLP. I don't remember seeing anywhere until DisneyParis. Here's the three alcoholic-related items in question. The easy one. Wine stopper, and NOT for a bottle of Mountain Dew! Wanna see some magic? Bang! The park's anniversary logo in front. And then.... Turn - and flash! The important legalizing stuff. How we found the wine, displayed in the Magic Kingdom shop. Maybe the Emporium? We picked the white. And we enjoyed it, with a nice home cooked chicken dinner...in Paris! And now - the Disney Approved Cocktail Shaker! It comes apart - to three parts - that's smart! Winnie Approved. And it's Dumbo-ed too! The all important measuring stuff, for you. Great shot of Mickey showing how the shakin's done. Where they sit in the window sill. Wait for more shaker fun!

^ Thankfully, I have no plans at present, to open them and find out.

"In the old days"... When we went to Disneyland, before the Pay-One-Price thing came into effect, what attraction tickets (A-E) we had left over, we were always giving them away to people coming into the park. They were surprised, but happily grateful too, I remember. So we pulled random stuff, back in the day...

^ Very nice, Neil. It actually looks like a "Coke With Issues", hence the "heavy collar and chain" to keep it ....uh....close by?

Actually, this isn't the first time, I have actually 'collected' something with a soft drink in it. Like the Coke from Tokyo Disneyland, last summer. And never opened it. Just a few... Simple Coca-Cola, right? Nope. I picked this up in October 1996, from a store in Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys! Saw the Olympics on TV - got the Coke. (o; And look! It had a Baby Coke! Actually I cannot remember how long I have had this. It came on a chain of some kind. Real metal cap, too. Don't know if the "Coke" inside it is real. Probably water. But, I always like to think that the good folks at Coke wouldn't do that. (back then) Remember when SNAPPLE came out with these "element drinks'? I don't think they lasted long, but I got all four of them, any way. And still unopened, too. Sun: Starfruit Orange fruit drink. Rain: Agave Cactus fruit drink. Fire: Dragon Fruit fruit drink. Earth: Grape Cranberry fruit drink. How they look in the window, when the sun shines through.

^ I'm starting to grow my hair long, again. To see if I can still do it at this age now - and will it look okay or just be... wierd?

Mmmm. Making burgers tonight. And I loooove the smell of fresh baked Portuguese Buns. And they are great for burgers, too. Easier to cut in half and stack, accordingly.

And how about a mailing tube, for that bottle of Coke? Well, it was more or less, a much shorter cut of what a mailing tube should be. But it was all themed up for Tokyo Disney Resort's 30th Birthday - "Happiness Is here!", so I just couldn't resist getting one. And only one. And honestly, it still is one of The Most Unusual Theme park Souvenirs I have ever collected. Here's how it comes. I really wish that I had taken a photo of the "tower" of Cokes, there at Bon Voyage Gift Shop in TDLR. (2013) There it is! I see it! Out of the tube and onto the table. I forget how much this actually cost me. Probably over three times what an actual Coke would cost, by itself. (o; Special printing on the back. That 2013 date marks the 30th year of when the Resort officially opened. With just one park, back then. Disney Sea opened in 2001. And a pin I also had in my "other collection," that marked the occasion of that Opening Day. And here's where most of everything is stored. Not a great place to show it all off, but it's out of the way, and it looks okay where it is. Who knows? Maybe a window sill is in their future, lol.

^ Must be a heck of a monthly feeding bill.

"Maybe something to hold that beverage..." So after plastic glasses, and glass bar items, another "souvenir" I am always looking out for is Beverage Containers, such as over-sized drinking cups, park branded water bottles. That sort of stuff. Thankfully, I don't have as many of these as I do plastic, glass or coffee mugs. Here we go... All of this is mainly plastic. Overhead shot. Two of those drink 'things' from my home park Playland (PNE). The left one is for a specific attraction (2011). The one on the right, is another of those souvenirs celebrating our annual fair's 100th Birthday (2010) And that specific attraction is... HELLEVATOR! Close up of the logo for 2010. Three water bottles, all branded by their respective parks. Skara Sommerland (2009); Efteling Park (2010); Fuji-Q Highland Park (2013) Two more tall ones. On the left is my beer 'cup' from the TPR 2013 Mexico Tour. On the right, a simple container, one that was used for many many slushies in PhantasiaLand (2010). And a gas attack I have not forgotten, to this day, lol. Daisy and Donald on a sipping straw, by the light of day. (2013) But when the moon comes out - these two have Got It!

I have found, that "Toy Story Midway Mania" in Disney Sea is equal to Monsters "Hide and Go Seek" in Disneyland. That is, the FastPasses for these two attractions, go really REALLY fast. So, go right on Midway Mania, then get FastPasses for Tower, which will probably put you later into the lunch time zone. Then you have time to catch the rest of Disney Sea, come back for Tower, have lunch in the Waterfront area, and so on.. This was at 0930 after I had ridden Star Tours. Midway Mania would/will probably be about the same.

^ That's true.

Coke Zero, watching "American Hustle", couple of days ago.

I know I know! Enjoy the opening when it happens!

^ So true. So very, very true.