Photo TR: West Coast Bash ~ Disney ~ and Me! (o:

[Nrthwnd]

^ Well, to you and your enjoyment of the SFMM weather, lol! I did cope with it though, thanks to continually drinking water and not sodas. Much better than a lot of who I thought were "the locals." Families looking totally drained, and this was only a couple of hours after they'd been in the park! Individuals here adn there, slumped over...sleeping perhaps or passed out? All through the park, and especially in the Entry Plaza. I also finally got the hang of climbing around the mountain in the park, thanks to Bryan for all that help.

 

Actually, the Best part about that plaza, was the adjoining SOUVENIRS SHOP With Air Conditioning, esp.at front doorframe! Heaven in the doorway, LOL!

And speaking of Souvenirs Shop...

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ Well, to you and your enjoyment of the SFMM weather, lol!

[Nrthwnd]

^ Actually followed by MY feels much muuuch better, hmm?

 

EDIT to reverse it, tee hee.

[Philrad71]

Love that retro pic, Bill!

 

Did you get to ride Goliath? I thought that was the best coaster they had out there when we went to WCB in '08.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Yes I did! There were nearly 15 or so coasters to get at least one ride on, and that's how it went, most of the day.

I didn't do any repeats, except Twisted Colossus. And that was three times. Yum. But for myself, I still think

Scream was "the surprise coaster" to ride. At night it obviously looked better, but it was still an intense OMG ride for me.

 

I was expecting this "grey out" area to happen to me, that I'd read about, in the final helix area of Goliath. Don't what I did or didn't do,

but it never felt like that was going to happen to me. It was just damned fast! And a rush, like a lot of the coasters, there.

 

 

and "Retro Knott's" photos - 2 more of them! This time around September of.... 1975! David and I were in our third year together,

so we did our first "road trip" down the west coast, all the way to San Diego, with Disneyland and Knott's in between.

 

So, in 1975, the Mexican Hat Dance was running back then; and judging by the leer on David's face, we have just obtained our BOX

OF CHICKEN by the Famous Mrs. Knott's Kitchens....and headed back to our motel room, in the Galaxy Inn Motel, next to the

Disneyland parking lot. Now occupied by You-Know-Who's Adventure.

 

A great shot taken by David of me on The Mexican Hat Dance; and David smiling Too Much, about

diving into that box of Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken, back at our motel.

[Nrthwnd]

Here's a Retro Magic Mountain pair of photos I took, back in our 1975 road trip, from the Observation Tower.

 

Not many coasters seen here, hmm? The lower right hand corner of the right photo, shows the land being cleared,

for MM's (then) brand new coaster, REVOLUTION, scheduled to open in 1976. The 200th Birthday Year of the USA!

The sky ride runs roughly where Superman is, now. September, 1975. And where oh where is Colossus? (o;

[Nrthwnd]

WCB Day 2 at Knott's Berry Farm: I Count a Milestone Coaster in the USA!

 

We had a fantastic day at Knott's. It started out early at the check in, in front of the park's main gate. I picked out the right size souvenir t-shirt I wanted (included for WCB at Knott's), waited a while, then we all headed into the park, welcomed by Snoopy and the morning staff, and we were off to so some ERT before the park opened to the rest of the public.

 

Most of us headed over to the re-opened Ghostrider, for several rides I assumed. But it "wasn't quite ready just yet." So, some of us headed over to Silver Bullet and Accelerator which were also running for us. They were on the other side of the park, but this was easy to navigate. No big hills, and the weather was much cooler that day, than yesterday at SFMM. I got two rides on Accelerator (Really nice, smooth. And it's the original of these, too!), one on SB (also pretty smooth to me, and I loved it too), then headed back to Ghostrider, to find it open for us! Woo hoo! But this was after the general public had been let in, and they were all starting to line up around GR's entrance. For the park's 10 am opening...

 

Eep. Well, I got two rides in, and before their "rope" was dropped. And before that, I also had Bryan get that photo of me. The all-important photo of me, before the crowd showed up. It was a quiet "ceremony", heh.

 

After the park opened at it's normal hours, we had the whole park to enjoy, including re-rides on the coasters already ridden, Journey to The Iron Reef (I did improve my score after three rides, but it wasn't as massive in points as some I'd seen, riding with me), and carried on until early afternoon. Then, we gathered out side of the park, where the group picnic areas were, for what turned into a great WCB lunch and a (sort of) trivia game with some of the nice people from Knott's...

Walking from the Hotel to the Front Gate, I saw the one of the guys checking all over Ghostrider.

Pretty.

Check in on the left. T-shirts on the right. (o:

Ta - Daaah! Thanks for taking this photo for me, Bryan.

Close up. I thought it was really cool that each milestone coaster I rode, was in a different country! (o:

Postcard view. But, maybe I should photo shop Boomerang, The Tower, and Accelerator out? (o;

I rode this train later on. Great ride, including an onboard robbery, too!

S-s-s-s-s-s-ssssss.

Heading to this.

In the queue. Same day, but from the other side of Accelerator. Different shot!

And...back to The Light.

These couples really need some social time.

Found a Starbucks in the park, then played Iron Reef. I improved (a bit) when I re-rode it.

The gift shop the Iron Reef ride ends into. I'm surprised they called it that, with no Capt. Nemo in sight.

"Lean to the Left."

Back to my #700 coaster.

I got two rides in in those few ERT minutes remaining. But it was awesome! And I couldn't wait for the night riding!

Map of all the land we took from the Indians.

Wheee!

Must be a hangin' goin' on real soon, here.

The surprise here was, this lady in the middle was actually reading - a - real - BOOK!

David would have loved this place.

Balls of Stone?

Pretty.

Too many to count. Or remember.

Then....WE TOOK THE TUNNEL! (to be continued)

[Nrthwnd]

WCB Day #2 at Knott's Berry Farm, cont...

 

Going through the tunnel was very important, as it eventually led us to where Knott's had laid out our lunch for the afternoon. Lots of tables and chairs shaded from the sun. And besides the other food provided, we got a taste of the famous Knott's Chicken, too! And it was good! Along with everything else we ate, and Boysenberry Pie, too, YUM!

 

When the lunch was all served, Robb then set up a "question & answer" kind of contest for everybody. The people answering the questions would be Knott's own Jeff Tucker and a group of Knott's designers and creators of what we see around us that is all Knott's Berry Farm. If it was a "liked" question, then whoever wrote that question, would head up to the side of the stage where Jeff and the guys were, and pick from an assortment of theme park....stuff. Coaster wheels and bolts and stuff like that. Some of the questions were very odd, and not even memorable. Others were very funny, while still others were very well thought out, too. All in all, a fun informative time.

 

Then it was back to the park for more of Knott's. But eventually it would be time for some evening ERT. And I'm guessing most of it for a lot of the people there, was to ride and ride and ride again, Ghostrider, which I also then found out, was closing down the next day for maintenance. And I wouldn't be able to ride it one more time, on my last day at the park (the Monday). So, I did my best and ended up riding it 7 times, making my total 9 times on it that day. Which was good. And at night, the thing flies through the course swiftly and increasing intensity in the last half of it! Very very awesome! I didn't stay until the final ride for those still there. I headed back to hotel for needed sleep.

 

Big THANK YOUs to Robb and Elissa for all that you did for this year's WCB; the folks at Knott's Berry farm; and EVERYONE I met in the two days of this event weekend. It was great to be part of a group event again, and everything went so well for me on the trip, coming back for WCB I hope will happen again. Truth.

So, we Took The Tunnel...

And this is where it led everybody.

More specifically...

They told us to "look for the chikens." But um, what about the Rooster?

Knott's IS a family theme park, y'know.

Cacti.

Ooooo, it draws everybody to it.

What we got. With Boysenberry Pie, too! (o: (o:

And photo ops with The Main Dog!

Jeff Tucker and Co. ready to take our questions.

What the winning questions, can pick from.

I think we have a Winner here! Forget what he asked.

After the lunch, I headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. But I got this lovely shot on the way.

New cake in the bake shop window. 'Tis the Season....

Back in the park.

I went on a few flats to pass the afternoon.

But not this.

Next visit, I would love to go on this. Never have been on it, ever.

There's always time for Monte!

After the huge lunch, dinner was more simple. Then the sun went down, and it was over to...

For a few times on this lovely thing.

This great ride op, let us go back to the boarding platform through the gate,

which cut our time in half getting back and riding again. Thank You whoever you were!

Out of the park, I passed by this. Aw, Wacky Soap Box Racers. G'night. Zzzzzzzzzzz......

[Nrthwnd]

P.P.S. Almost forgot! When I rode the Waveswinger in the park, I sort of noticed "something" on the ground beneath us.

The ride then stopped, with my swinging chair right over this thing I saw: a crisp and folded $20 bill! Looked around. Saw nobody

suddenly running my way, etc. So, that was that. Sometimes, these kinds of event$ happen to me in 3's. And - they did.

 

I totally forgot that this numbers 'thing' actually came true, more or less!

 

After the $20 find at Knott's, Magic Mountain gave me some $ back, in a most unusual way. Me and Bryan were pretty much doing our final night ride of the ERT (and several other thousand peoples from two other groups). It was to be Tatsu, which had one of those "must-use-a-bin for stuff," signs. With bins at the entrance to it's queue. Well, I had decided earlier to just use them, and not deal with an all-day whatever pass to move stuff where I wanted it to be. So, two other times I did it: at X2 which was mandatory, and Goliath, which in the end wasn't necessary.

 

And this time, I went through the routine. But - somehow I thought, the dollar wasn't feeding properly into the machine and it got rejected. Twice. But - on the Third Try, the dollar went right in. Then came back out. Followed by another dollar bill. And then...another dollar bill... And then...it stopped.

 

But it STILL gave me the ability to use a bin etc.!!! So, I got three dollars from it, and the right to still use the bin. Awesome!

 

The Third Time, happened on my way to the bus stop for getting to Magic Morning at Disneyland.

Got the directions, cost etc from Knott's Hotel front Desk. (Knott's didn't run the shuttle that early for this.)

 

Looked down at the sidewalk.

 

Saw a penny. Picked it up. ("And all the day I'd have good luck.")

 

My 3-sum was complete. And although the day was very long, I got through it and had a nice DCA finale that evening: Desserts at World of Color!

Me and David's birth years also figure into a lot of Disney park stuff, around the world!

This is David's birth year. And you can find it at......... (o;

[Nrthwnd]

One More Visit to Knott's

 

After Sunday's West Coast Bash at Knotts' and the awesome night riding of Ghostrider, it seems that that would be enough of Knott's. But I had bought one more day at the park, plus one of their One Day Dining Plans to use. So this day, the Monday, became a really laid back visit in the park. Riding some rides, eating something every 90 minutes.

 

What I didn't count on, was that since Ghostrider was down for maintenance, right after our fantastic Sunday riding it, the little gift shop near the exit of the coaster would also be closed. "AAARRRGGGHHH!", as Charlie Brown would say. And it appeared that any main Ghostrider souvenirs (i.e. caps) were sold only at that shop. Oh well, something to remember to do, when I visit again.

 

So here's the few photos I took that day, and a look at what an All-Day Dining Plan will get you: a lot - of - fries, lol.

(And after this, the next few days would be Disney Resort Days!)

In the Marketplace, outside of the park, there's all this hidden at the back of one of the gift shops.

And the bathrooms were on either side of this great waterfall garden.

Well, I got nearly 10 rides on it, the night before.

These two have been around at Knott's for a very, very long time.

Mystic Lodge, which came by way of Vancouver's World's Fair EXPO 86, was closed today.

First Dining Stop: The Cantina.

Two very sloppy tacos, rice and beans. It was good.

The other train that rides through the park. And yes, that's the entire train.

A few more rides on Silver Bullet, as well as Accelerator, and Montezooma. And I improved my score on Iron Reef, too.

Second Dining Stop: Chicken Strips and LOTS of fries! I couldn't finish all the fries.

While finding out the Ghostrider gift shop was closed, I spotted this sign. Made me smile.

In the Marketplace area.

Third Dining Stop: A SouthWest Burger and you guessed it... LOTS of fries.

I will, I want to! (o:

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Looks like it's turning into Knott's Potato Farm! Great photos!

[bert425]

I've never bought a dining plan. . .too much food!

 

but probably a good deal, since I remember the food at Knott's being pricey.

[Nrthwnd]

^^ Agree about the Knott's Potato Farm, lol. That was a GI-normous amount of fries I got, of the last two meals I bought. And a lot of rice and beans, in the first meal, too.

 

^ And yeah, it was a lot of food for three times. But between two people it would be perfect! The only thing I forgot, was that the beverage was NOT included in this deal, and I should have brought my Knott's Super Sipper Cup, which gets refills for a buck each. Without the cup, it was around $4 each! Suffice to say, I went back to the Hotel after my second meal, which is where that flowers shot was taken. And my last meal, the burger and fries photo, has the Knott's drink container in the shot. I ended up spending $9 for three drinks, but it worked out to $3 which was a $1 saving per drink, lol.

 

But a meal combo with a beverage, was $15+ each, for the most part. So, now that I know...

maybe the Dining Deal at Cedar Point for a day might be worth a try, eh Bert?

 

The meal plan for one day at Knott's cost $32 plus taxes. Not bad for what I got.

Retro Disneyland Souvenir #1: My old Mickey Mouse Club Membership card, gotten at DL, from 1963. Age 10.

[Nrthwnd]

Retro Disneyland Souvenirs #2 - 1962 Disneyland Map incl. Future Projects

 

I got this map when I was ten years old, my first visit to the park. And it's held up pretty good, even with crease marks and a couple of stains here and there. I finally decided to frame it a couple of decades ago, then started putting "Attraction Pins" along the top of it. So far, so good.

 

The map also had the locations of "Future Attractions" like The Haunted Mansion; Pirates of The Caribbean; two side streets from Main Street, one of which sort of moved over to Walt Disney World's MK and became Liberty Square, with it's Hall of Presidents attraction, also originally for Disneyland.

 

And, Big News for all you Disney Maps freeks out there. A new Disney Maps book is coming out in October, showing (supposedly) most of all the maps, past and present, of all the Disney Parks, including the newest, Shangahi Disneyland! You can order it through Amazon.com

 

Available October 18.

Even the old Flying Saucers is here, where Space Mountain is, now.

"X (in a circle) Marks the Spots": the future Haunted Mansion (1969) above;

Pirates and New Orleans Square (1967) below. Arrrrrrr.

Two side streets off Main Street that never came to be. Except Liberty Street/Square. In WDW's MK.

[bert425]

But a meal combo with a beverage, was $15+ each, for the most part. So, now that I know...

maybe the Dining Deal at Cedar Point for a day might be worth a try, eh Bert?

 

 

[Philrad71]

It amazes me how many fries places dole out to people now. That humongous pile with your chicken tenders would take me a week to get through, Bill - although they do actually look pretty good!

[Nrthwnd]

^ The fries were really great! Cooked just right, not soggy, still crispy a bit.

 

But - too - many - (&*%@*%#@ - fries!

 

I could have taken a box load of them with me back to the hotel, if I considered doing that.

 

But I didn't It also sort of made me avoid having fries with anything at the Disney Resort,

when I ate there. Mostly protein salads (meat/chicken on top). And they were big portions, too!

The Steak Salad I had at the Amber Waves Restaurant, Knott's Hotel. It was great!

[Philrad71]

^

[Nrthwnd]

And from the "I'm That Dense, Dept."....

 

I got this pin in DCA, and had to really hunt for it, as I saw it on my first day at Disney. Then totally forgot where I had seen it, when naturally, I wanted to get one. I found it in DCA in the souvenirs shop to the right of entering the park.

 

Fast forward to yesterday - and suddenly, I realized this pin was NOT what I thought it was. To me, it was "grapes" hung above a vineyard restaurant. Turns out, it's from a particular PIXAR movie. But I still love the pin. But (rant), the pin wasn't on their Pixar Card, which most of it's movies and characters' pins are on. (rant over).

 

Happy surprise all the same.

On the left. From the Vineyard Restaurant, right?

Still looked like grapes to me. Idiot.

And then it hit me. (o;

[Nrthwnd]

from the "Retro Disneyland Photos, Dept.... (I was 35 years old)

 

This was taken on (what's called) Leap Year Day, February 29th, 1988.

 

With Mr.Mouse hisself. And an Instant Bromance is born!

 

Also known as Sadie Hawkins Day, where the girl can finally ask her beau The Question, first. Woo hooey!

I actually wanted to repeat this idea of visiting DL, every Leap Year Day etc.

...But I never visited the park on that date, again. )o:

[Nrthwnd]

Disneyland Resort ~ Day 1 ~ Magic Morning Day

 

After getting my fill of Knott's, it was time to take on the Disneyland Resort. Last time I was here, in 1996, there was still a parking lot in front of The magic Kingdom. Heh. Times change. And now there's a new "land" on the horizon, in the park that Walt created and opened back in...1955? And maybe another, in the 2nd park of the Resort, Disney California Adventure. A whole new Disney park for me. Woot! Marvel Land may be on it's way, sooner than late. But for now....

 

My first day to the resort... and I have to take the local transit! Eep? Not so. I found out the night I arrived, that the free shuttle to DLR from Knott's didn't start until after the Magic Morning had happened. The first one didn't leave that morning till 40 minutes before the park's usual opening time. But the nice guy at the front desk, showed me how, and with an easy to see map, to get to Disneyland for just a couple of bucks! I took the #460 bus, which is called the "Disneyland EXPRESS" and was only a five minute walk from the hotel to the bus stop. It took over 40 minutes to reach the stop where most of us got off. And it also showed me where the shuttle from Knott's would drop me off and pick me up for the journey back, in the evening. Awesome.

 

So, with time left to go through bag (and body?) check, and then the main gate of The Magic Kingdom, I was ready for this trip back in time. And an hour earlier than the rest of the guests without MM entry. And my main objective lay in one of the usual two lands they always open for these mornings, around the world (truth): Tomorrowland, and to the queue of the newly overlaid Halloween scares on Space Mountain.

 

See? Easy! Breezy. And only $1.75 if you had exact change. (o:

[Nrthwnd]

Three More Steps to Magic Morning!

 

Once I was off the bus, and checked where the shuttle drop off and pickup spots were, I headed towards "The Plaza" which is essentially the area between the two parks. And once I was there, I found there was three more steps to getting my Magic Morning: Search - Gate - Rope.

 

The Search was the bag check table, along with the walk through 'detector' or whatever they call it. I had arrived about 40 minutes ahead of the 9am opening, but this also turned out to be the longest queue of the three times I had to go through this. Hmmm. Once this was done, it was on to the Main Gate. And wait.

 

The Main Gate was of course the front gate of Disneyland. I noticed that the crowds weren't that big. For now. And everybody around me looked happy and definitely looking forward to their day of Mouse Magic. About 15 minutes to the hour, they started letting us in, and I finally got to trade my online receipt, for the actual three day park hopper pass. This was really easier than I expected, as I have waited in queues for nearly two hours, at the Tokyo Disney Parks. So they let us into Main Street.

 

The Rope Drop Everybody was now at the end of Main Street, just before The Hub of the park, with just a rope between them and Disney Magic. And I have to say the crowd was really well behaved for this. And when the rope was removed, everybody stayed put (at a Cast Member's jovial warnings), but when The Word was given, a sea of people spread out through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland like locusts. Happy locusts. But still... I was in! And had one hour to make Magic Morning actually work for me...

After the bag/body search, we're all waiting patiently at the Front Gate.

Hmmm. Must be Halloween. But it's mid-September. Cool!

And Mickey is behind bars, right now.

My three day park hopper pass. All Star Wars'd up.

At the rope drop. The castle sure has lost a lot of it's 60th Birthday Bling, but that's okay. Still shiny.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I too was impressed with how easy exchanging the voucher for the ticket really was. The main gate was my introduction to what would become a recurring experience at DL and DCA: long lines that kept moving steadily and ended up being much shorter waits than they would appear to be.

 

I loved that just about everybody seemed to be having a blast there. I'm not used to seeing that sense of wonder and discovery at a theme park. Usually most guests are local and familiar with the park. But at Disney most guests are experiencing the park for the first time, like I was, or else like you were, experiencing it for the first time in a while. It adds an extra special layer to the experience.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I enjoyed people watching a lot at the parks, but I found it easiest to do, at DCA. There seemed to be more space between the crowds there, and I found several spots I could just sit down and relax, maybe a with a beer, and watch the Disney freeks fly by, LOL! Great fun.

Check out all those sprinklers, man! (o; Taken just before sunset, and World of Color starting up.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yeah, DCA was a lot more relaxing. There was a lot to do there, but it didn't feel like too much.