So here is the long-promised trip report. What did we do on our vacay? Visited Disneyland! And Daughter Number One and her husband-in-all-ways-except-a-piece-of-paper.
Some changes there since my last visit. For one thing, last time I was there we parked out front. Can't do that no more, seeing as how California Adventure lives there in the old parking lot. Also, they've closed a few of the old rides, such as the Fantasyland Autopia, which has been subsumed into the Tomorrowland Autopia. And in the giant round building that once housed the Carousel of Progress (replaced by America Sings, and later by something else I don't remember at the moment) is now an attraction called Innoventions. It's pretty cool, and still uses the old song from the Carousel of Progress ("There's a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow", with some changes to the lyrics).
Speaking of which, the intro to Innoventions includes a pic of the "Plastic House" ("What were you THINKING??????"). I don't remember that one, even though I've been going to D-land long enough to consider Pirates of the Caribbean a "new" ride (and it opened in 1966). Oddly enough, that plastic house keeps showing up in stuff now, and not only in the Disneyland history book I picked up in one of the shops, it pops up in a large display at the Autopia, and in a
pin (about which more below). Speaking of the Autopia, the old Porsche-looking cars have been replaced by some reminiscent of the recent movie "Cars". Even I, an old dude, recognized them.
From that book I picked up, I learned that in the olden days (1950s) there were stage coaches and pack trains in Frontierland. That was even before the Mine Train, which I remember but never actually rode before they closed it. There was also a Plastic House (go figure) and a Monsanto Hall of Chemistry (which was later replaced by the Monsanto Journey Through Inner Space, one of the "free" rides back in the days of E-tickets).
Another new thing:
Pins. I don't know how long these have been around, but they are kind of fun. Kids, and probably adults too, buy some of the pins and trade them around. I'm not a trader, so we just bought a few special ones we liked and kept them. One cool thing, though: I picked up a couple with the Venerable Uncle Walt, one a picture of him, the other a depiction of him in a statue. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find either easily at the pin website so I can't show you easily (
UPDATE: the second pin, not the one Alex signed, has the statue seen in
this video at 1:00 minute in, but listen to the whole thing). Maybe I'll take a picture later. But here's a cool thing:
Yesterday, we got on the monorail for a ride, in the very last car. The fella sharing the car with us (and his family, of course) was looking at our sashes of pins. I mentioned how much I liked the one I got of Walt. Turns out, he designed it. He's a
Disney designer, and he signed the back of my pin. How cool. Unfortunately, not all of his designs are listed on that page (but the
plastic house is) and not this one. But it's cool nonetheless.
Well, that's all for tonight. More details tomorrow, maybe, including the Great Truck Fire on the Grapevine Adventure. Well, actually, that one's easily disposed of. We were heading south up the Grapevine on Saturday. Between Lebec and the summit, a fuel truck in front of us started smoking, then pulled over to the side with flames coming out from under the engine compartment. We called 911 and I kept checking the rearview mirror for giant fireballs and/or smoke columns, but fortunately didn't see any. I need to check the CHP logs, but I assume the driver escaped unharmed.
Okay, really, that's all for tonight. Maybe more tomorrow, possibly including pictures. Because Tomorrow's Just a Dream Away.
