We usually go over there for one of three reasons:

1) We want a better long island iced tea than the GC or Uva offer.

2) To ride the roller coaster, which we really enjoy.

3) To see the Walt film (which no longer plays there)

OK, make that two reasons.

Heehee, when you see a Disney geek refer to an attraction as "the roller coaster", you know they're not fond of the place!

For those of you that missed it - here are what the festivities were like at DCA today:


Paradise Pier


From another angle


The Maliboomer


The Midway Games


The Shops


The Wide Walkways


Hollywood Backlot

man, what a mob scene. look at that old guy on the right, OMG, he's getting crushed my the stroller on the left.. oh the humanity...

hey, im just glad DCA is there to take in the attractions that dont fit too well with disneyland.

Wow.

Where's the freeway road rage ride?

Or the interactive virtual lap dances? (If they can make a turtle talk with kids, they can make a simulated snatch for the grownups)

what scaeagles said.
amazing.
i would love to know what is being whispered into john lasseter's ear right now.

I bet it starts with an "F"

Bare in mind that there were almost twice as many people as pictured, but since I was taking the pictures I couldn't get myself into the frame.

How i celebrated DCA's 5th Birthday
 

i went to the resort hoping to meet up with seamonkey, but, i think he had overloaded on too much fun and festivities and had already left for something more exciting: his job.

luckily, Cadaverous Pallor was in Disneyland and my mother and i met up with her in the queue for Space Mountain... there was no line...it was a virtual walk on. what a blast...it has been years since mom has experienced SM and we got the front seats. she was terrified but had a great time...

next, the three of us had a nice chat in the hub when i noticed something unusual going on inside the castle. there was a rope across the draw bridge and a security CM standing there to prevent guests from entering. so we went around to see what was up... to our delight, a full film crew was set up filming a charming scene with an absolutely flawless Cinderella having a one-on-one chat with a sweet little girl maybe age 6. CP and i agreed that this little girl was most likely a guest, chosen at random, to star in this film...perhaps an upcomming scene in a commercial. what a magical moment for this little girl and her family - a magical memory of a lifetime to be sure.

after a brief stroll though Fantasyland, we headed to Rancho Zacollo... CP had to leave for a previous engagement and we said our goodbyes. it was SO nice to spend that time with CP today...and damn she is a hottie.

i was in such a sad mood before i got to the Park, because i had scene "Brokeback Mountain" the night before and it had torn my heart out. but those hours with CP and mom and seeing Mickey and being at my favorite place in the world made me feel incredibly happy once again.

after a wonderful lunch, i took mom to see Billy Hill and she had a great time...then i had a big surprise in store for her.

i asked her if she would like to take a nice, peaceful and quiet ride around the RoA on the Mark Twain. she agreed. what she didn't know was that i had made arrangements for her to be invited up into the wheelhouse to Captain the Twain.

she was completely surprised when we arrived at the top deck and the Captain was waiting for her and invited her into the wheelhouse. what a thrill she had... she signed her name into the leather bound book, and was asked to ring the bell four times and then pull the whistle for two long blasts. she was perfect on the bell, but do to arthritis, she had some difficulty pulling the whistle's rope and quickly asked me to help... so i took over the duties.

what a sense of power to be making that harmonious whistle announce that the Twain is a commin'.

i had her convinced that the wheel actually was steering the boat and instructed her to be careful not to run over a raft or canoe. this made her a bit nervous and she asked me to take over as we neared Hungry Bear... i made her more nervous as i "cut it real close" to the restaurant before quickly turning the wheel several times to make a hard right, barely escaping a certain collision with three canoes tied up near the bottom level. her eyes were wide open as she watched her son somehow incredibly navigate that river as if i had done it a hundred times before.

just then, here comes the steam train... whoo-hoo, i thought. i'm now in charge of the whistle and i know the drill...as the CM was about to ask me...she realized the smile on my face meant i knew what to do.

i pulled that rope in perfect rhythm: "toot-toot-ta-toot-toot" and the train replied: "tweet-tweet"! then the train answered with "tweet-tweet-ta-tweet-tweet" and i responded with a perfect "TOOT-TOOT"!

what a thrill.

we safely arrived at the landing and mom was amazed at how close i pulled up next to the dock without a hitch...all this while i was clanging that glorious bell and announcing our arrival with that beautiful whistle.

mom was delighted to receive her Pilot's Certificate and i know it will be her magical memory of the day we celebrated DCA's 5th birthday at Disneyland.