Ramblings of a Lost Boy

A special Disneyland Video just for me

2008-12-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a special video of a special celebration just for me. Top secret though so I can't tell you how I managed this.

It's been a long time

2008-11-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

I am still alive. There just hasn't been much going on since I retired in Sept of 2007. I still help out at the comic book store and Life Alert, but most of the time I am just doing whatever I want.

Going to Disneyland is still a top priority especially at this time of year. I love Disneyland at Christmas.

Still collecting Disney and Harry Potter merchandise.

I will try to find something of interest that I can post stuff about more often.

Thanks for looking.

Since Sept 2005

2007-02-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened and it's only recently that I realized I had not posted here in ages.

By January of 2006 I had gone blind in my left eye, and lost about 70% sight in my Right Eye. Once again thanks to the efforts and kindness of Miri Shepher I was able to get into Medi Cal and have cataract removal done. The enrollment and acceptance by Medicare took a long time and then the approval for the Left Eye Surgery took some time, so the first surgery was done September 20, 2006 and went perfect. No pain, and new lenses were inserted and work perfect. I now have 20/30 vision in my left eye. The Right eye was done on December 23, 2206 (what a great Christmas Present) and I now have 20/40 in that eye. I no longer have to wear glasses and only use reading glasses to read as artificial lenses do not "auto-focus" so close up is blurry unless I wear reading glasses. I can see far away just fine and at the movies I can see the screen without the use of any type of glasses now. So I am very happy and again thank the kindness of Miri Shepher for helping me through this. I go into Life Alert once a week to see things and let Miri and Issac know how I am doing.

I have been to Disneyland many times now during the week and also on Sundays to meet with the Mice Chat group. My sister has her own blog now and she just posted a report on the 2nd year anniversary we had last month and about 300 people showed up, which was really something. Disneyland sent 8 people from the photo store to take our picture in front of the Castle, which was tarped and boarded off due to a repaint, but it still came out nice. I wish I knew hot to link to her blog, but I do know it's named My Musings.

That's about it for now. I am enjoying the rest and ease of Retirement. It's not not easy living on Social Security, but I am managing to do pretty good. I have time to play around on the computer, make more paper models, and still manage to collect Harry Potter and Disney stuff.

My Last Day at Work and Unversal Studio Hollywood visit

2005-09-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

On August 31st, 2005, I retired from the working world. My last day at work I brought my camera and took some pictures. Here is a look at Life Alert on my last day.

Here is the main office area right behind my desk with everybody hard at work, while I was allowed to do nothing that day.

The desk on the left is where I used to sit. Next to me is a guy named Rami that I have known since I started my "Temporary Job" at Life Alert 20 years ago.

This is the cubicle to my right (a wall of windows is to my left, yes I had a window seat) and the lady on the right is the office supervisor and the lady on the left is in training.

This is Russ. He is a big Disneyland and Disney fan. He is also our Tech Support person who keeps everything in the office running smoothly. He handles all telephones, computers, servers and anything else that our office depends on daily in order to stay up and running.

Rus is also the one who custom built my home compter and has updated it for me several times over that last 10 or so years. Thanks Russ, you are the best.

Life Alert is an Emergency Response System for the elderly and handicapped. It became famous several years ago with the add slogan, "Help I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up". When a subscriber to Life Alert needs assistance of any kind, they simply push a pendant and the signal comes into our Dispatch Center, shown here. The Response Personel in this center then have 2-way vocal communication without the customer having to get to, or use, the telephone. All communications between Life Alert and the subscriber are done through the Life Alert's Main system control box that sits anywhere the customer wishes to place it. The system is entirely wireless and is very simple to install by the subscriber.

This is another view of Dispatch showing a lady named Lisa who is the Manager of Dispatch at her Bridge Station so she can see everything going on in the room.

Life Alert is all about saving lives. They have around 50,000 active subscribers and they save over 1,000 lives on average every two weeks.

This is my Retirement Cake. Everybody at Life Alert knows of my love of all things Disney so they had this cake made for me. I have the decorations at home, and what no one knew, including me until I got them home and was running water on them to clean up the icing, Minnie's Motorcycle makes starting up and idling noises when you press a button on the gas tank of the cycle. Cool.

This is me on the left and the President and CEO of Life Alert, Isaac Shepher. Isaac has been a wonderful boss for the last 20 years and I respect and admire what he has done with the company in that time.

Below is Miri Shepher, the Vice-President and Office Manager of Life Alert. Miri has been very supportive of me and has treated me like a member of her family. She was the person who made sure that my teeth were taken care of. She helped me purchase my first computer and so many other things. I will miss all these people very much, but Isaac and Miri are very special and I will miss them both very much.
So that was a peek at the place that has been "home" during the week for the last 20 years.

MY FIRST WEEKDAY TRIP TO UNIVERSAL HOLLYWOOD

Two days later I was at Universal Hollywood for my first week day visit in a long, long time. Below is a selection of pictures I took on September 2nd, 2005, including some shots of the newly opened War Of The Worlds set that the tram drives through near the end of the tour. I had the entire back row of the third tram car to myself so I could slid across the seats to get pictures from both the left and right side of the tour.

This is a shot of the Back Lot New York Street Set from the side as it was being used and we could not drive down the street.

This is a new (at least to me it was) of a small dinosaur on top of one of the Jurassic Park vehicles in the Greenery Section of the tour. It doesn't move or anything, just makes for a cool picture.

The next series of pictures shows the "Flood Sequence" located in the "Old Mexico" area of the backlot tour.

Next is a couple of shots I got in the King Kong portion of the ride. They didn't come out all that good but I thought you might like to see them.

This next set is of the "Earthquake" sequence of the Tram ride.

Here is a shot of the Shark from Jaws. Got wet on this one.

The rest of the pictures are of the War Of The Worlds plane crash set. They have added smoke, sound and movement to this area and it really looks like the real thing. There is one shot here (at the end) where I attempted to get a panoramic shot of the crashed jetliner but I was in an awkward position and had to slightly turn as I moved the camera from left to right and so the edges don't quite line up, but you get the idea. This is now the highlight of the Universal Hollywood Back Lot Tram Tour. They drive very slowly through here and stop in the middle so you can get lots of pictures.

The fans blades in this jet engine are still spinning, very slowly.

Well, that is about it. I got many more shots, but the blog will only hold so many pictures before it gets cranky. Hopefully you can click on the panorama to bring up a bigger version, as you can on any of the pictures posted here. Thanks for looking and please make some comments so I know you are looking at my blog.

Disneyland is next.

Trip Report Part 5

2005-07-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Disneyland portion of my vacation was over, I was home and had keys and 5 more days (counting the weekend) of vacation left. Wednesday I had already set aside as a "rest" day. I did nothing but sleep or watch TV all day long. It was wonderful after all the activity I had been through at Disneyland for three non-stop days.

Thursday was to be special, and busy, for several reasons. First was a very special invitation to a very special museum that not everybody knows about. I didn't. A new employee at the company I work for turned out to be a big Harry Potter fan. And, his wife works at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. And the studio has a museum that has costumes and props from several TV shows produced by WB. And recently they added a new display to the second floor of the museum. A display of costumes, props and other things from all four of the Harry Potter movies. So I made a call on Thursday morning to set up a time that I could be there to meet with Mrs. Wilson and take the tour of the Harry Potter display. I had to take a bus that only runs once an hour so we set a time for two buses in case I missed the first one. I didn't. Showed up right on time and was met at the Gate given a pass and taken to the museum. Mrs. Wilson could not stay as she was in the middle of things in the video department, so I was on my own to explore the Harry Potter display for as long as I wished. The only unfortunate thing is that the museum does not allow any photos to be taken. The guards at the front desk take all cameras and cell phones upon entry. So no pictures for this update. Sorry, but I had to obey the rules.

It was wonderful. I spend over an hour looking at all the large displays of set pieces like the Dursley Fireplace with all of the Hogwart's Invitations flying out the opening; Harry's Cupboard Under The Stairs where he lived in the first movie; Hermonie Granger's wax figures of her lying frozen in the hospital bed holding the mirror that she looked into and saw the Basalisk from the second movie, plus costumes of Lockhart, Lupin, Mr. & Mrs. Weasly, Harry Ron and Hermoine's outfits that they wore in Prisoner of Azkaban, Hagrid's outfit (which is huge), Professor Dumbledore's and Lucious Malfoy (these two were the most detailed and elaborate costumes of all). They also had Harry and Diggory's Quiditch costumes. Lots of small things like all the different candies in the movie boxes and wrappers, bottles of differetn wizarding drinks from The Leacky Cauldron, wands, time turner and The Mauraders Map all in glass gasses. A large Dementor Maquette was hanging in a back corner, and Lord Voldemort's black robes and hood from the scene where he was drinking the Unicorn's blood and attacked Harry in the Forbidden Forest. Also the Maquettes for the giant Black Dog (that was really Sirius Black) and other creatures seen in the movies. The clock from The Burrow that showed where all the Weasley's are was also on display. Near the center of the room, was the Sorting Hat sitting on the Sorting Stool. If you wished, you could sit on the stool and a host would hold the hat over your head, and it speaks and "sorts" you into one of the four Houses of Hogwarts. I was sorted into Slytherin without any hesitation. I guess my Dark Side was leaking through that day. You can't retake the sorting hat either as that wouldn't be fair. So I have to live with it.

To say that this experience was like a dream come true, is correct. This is an amazing display if you are a Harry Potter Fan. I am and this was as close to the real thing as you can get. The Warners Studio VIP Tour has a link from the Main Page of the Warner home page. The VIP tour inludes the museum in the tour which lasts about 4 hours and is very personal as only about 25 people or less go on each tour. I think you can get tickets or make reservations from the link.

Then, after that I took the bus back to Univeral and went up to City Walk for a short trip through City Walk. Then down the hill and over to Ventrura and Sepulveda to meet with a close friend, Danny (who just happens to be JD's Uncle) so we could go to the Pacific Theater located in the Gallaria Mall to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" which we both thoroughly enjoyed very much. A twisted movie from Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, it follows the movie much more closely than the Gene Wiler version did. It was certainly different and very good. I recommend it very highly.

Friday I spent the day with another frined, Richard, as we drove around to the different stores looking for toys and action figures and I was getting some more supplies for food and stuff. It was very hot, and I was very tired when I finally got back home that afternoon.

Saturday was another scheduled day. I sometime work at a book store owned by a friend and fill in on Saturday's for him when he has a Volley Ball Tournament or is going on vacation. So Saturday I worked at the store all day while he and his wife are on vacation. It was nice to see the customes that came in as I haven't been there in ahwile. It is also a non stress job so after the week I had, it was nice to sit and talk to people and sell some things for the store.

Sunday was another day of rest. By this time I was just too tired to do much on anything. So I relaxed all day in front of the TV or slept. Work was to start again the next day. And, at this poing in time there was only one week to go before I gave my termination notice on Monday August 1st, which as of this update is tomorrow.

Yep! I am leaving Life Alert after some 20 odd years of employment. I have worked for well over 50 years now, am 63 years of age and time for early retierment. So at the end of August I will be free from work. The pay isn't great but I also have a small pension fund from Transamerica where I worked for 20 years. Plus I will at the bookstore more often helping out there. Every littel bit helps. I have given this a lot of thought, and some cuts in spending will have to be made, but nothing I can't live without.

So that is my trip report, and a hint about what's coming next. I will update often to let you know what's going on, so be sure to check back a couple of times a week. Thanks for all the support and comments and e-mails I have received. I will talking to you soon.

Disneyland Trip Report 4

2005-07-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well, after three days of sun and fun at Disneyland, I was ready to come home. This is the way I planned my fifth day: stay in bed as long as I could; get up, dress, pack and leave my luggage at the storage area off the lobby of the Park Vue Inn; take a local OC transit bus about 1 mile South of Disneyland, go into the Target store and buy Harry Potter book 6 to read on the way home; go back to the Park Vue Inn, get my luggage and take the MTA bus 460 home, enjoying some music and reading The Half Blood Prince.

Needless to say, things don't always go as planned.

First, I have to mention something that happened on Sunday that had a lot to do with the way things started off on Monday. When my sister, Irene, and I went into Disneyland I stopped at the ATM just inside to get some money. I had paid for the Hotel Room on check in, and knew what was left. So imagine my shock when the ATM said I had insuffient funds. I thought, oh well I made some mistake it subtraction somewhere along the line, I will fix it when I get home. But later in the afternoon after we had finished lunch and Irene went back into the Park, I tried to take a nap, but couldn't stop thinking about that ATM thing. So I got up and called the 800 number to my bank. First shock: the hotel had charged my card twice. That was not in the plan.

I talked to a live bank person and she confirmed that two charges had been made from the Park Vue Inn Saturday. One in the morining, which was just supposed to be a verification of funds, had been charged, and then again when I checked in and paid for the room, it was charged again. I called the front desk and finally spoke to the manager on duty. He called me back about 20 minutes later and said that yes, in fact two mistakes had been made. One the verification went through as a charge, and to further complicate things, the charges where overcharged by $42. He tried to fix it. He couldn't. I called the bank - I couldn't. I went to the front desk and called back with the manager. No luck. They are very fast to take money out of your account, but can't reverse charges until the "computer" does this at sometime the next morning after midnight. They appoligized and told me that the credits should appear after 6am Tuesday morning. That made me feel a little better, so I went back to the Park, met up with Irene and you can read about that in Part 3.

So, Tuesday Morning, at a little after 6am I am up calling the bank again to see if there is any money in the account. First thing in my plan to go wrong - I am not sleeping in late. Because of the double overcharging, the account on Monday had been overdrawn by $75. Now, when the balance came up there was $540 in the account. So not only had the first charge been erased, so had the second charge. I went back to bed. Nothing else would be done until either later in the day, or after midnight again. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep, but then got up, packed and put things in the suit case and in my pockets and went to the front desk to check out. The clerk on duty checked my file and informed me I was "Good To Go".

So I put my luggage in the back room and went across the street to catch the bus to Target. Got to Target and expected to see several stands with the HP book on them, but could find nothing. I found one rack, and it was empty. I asked. They had sold out Sunday. Things are going bad. They are about to get even worse. I went back, got the luggage and went back over to catch the 10am bus back to LA. It never showed up. The 10:30 bus came and I got on, and got my seat in the back, and hooked up for music and dozed off and on all the way into LA which took about 2 hours. Finally arrive at 7th and Figoura, got off to catch the Red Line back to the valley, and found most of the street blocked off for some KISS FM Street Fair. Why me?

I finally made it across to the subway and then had about a 5 minuet wait. Got off the subway at Universal and went up to catch a 750 Rapid Bus down Ventura to Van Nuys Blvd. Walked the three blocks to Borders and they had tons of the new HP book. Got the book, walked back to Van Nuys and waited for the 761 Rapid Bus which showed up a few minutes later. I was thinking how nice it was going to be to get in the Apartment, get a cold drink, turn on the air conditioning and settle down to start reading the new book. How little did I know that something else was wating in the wings to spoil this last day.

I was walking up the street, heavy backback on and dragging my rolling suitcase along behind me. It was hot. Over 100 degrees (we had been lucky out in Anaheim all the days I was there it was only in the 90's) and was really dragging myself. The building was in site. I reached into my pocket for the keys to the building and apartement. Well, guess what? ..... You are right. NO KEYS!!!! I had left them on the bed at the hotel, the one way out in Anaheim! Stupid! I never leave without checking my pocket for my keys. Never. Except this once. When I got to the building I buzzed #4 and wonder of wonders they buzzed the front gate open. Never even came out to see who it was, just buzzed me in. I was too hot and tired to care. I climbed the stairs and then realized that Bill, the building handy man, the one who has the extra keys, was not home. I sat on the balcony in what shade I could. It was hot. Did I mention that? It was very, very hot. The sun beats down on that balcony. Bakes it. I heard bells.

It was a Mexican Street Vender who has a push cart filled with popsicles and other cold stuff. Cheap. I walked down the stairs, went to the front gate and opened and then proped it open with a planter. I waited and finally he came down my way. I got two. A strawberry and a grape. Cold popsicles. Went back up, settled in and started to read Harry Potter. Not quite the way I had imagined it.

But at least I had something cold and wet to eat. 1 1/2 hours later Bill came home. I got an extra set of keys, made it into my apartment and called the hotel. They said the would see if any keys had been turned into lost and found or housekeeping. They would call back within 20 mintues. I fell asleep. They never called back. The next day, I called again. This time the manager was there. I told him what had happened and he took care of it. They found the key within 5 minutes under the bed. I missed them and the maid missed them. They mailed them back. I checked the bank account. The second charge from the hotel was back. But it was still over by $42.00. Two days later I got a survey from the On Line service that I had booked through. I told them everything, including the overcharge that was stil not taken care of. The next day the $42 was credited back to my account.

All is well in Neverland again.

I have my keys to the Kingdom. I have money to spend on the rest of my vacation.

What did I do on the remaining 5 days? How about a visit to a Harry Potter Museum? A trip to Universal City Walk? A visit to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with a close friend. A day spent with another friend running all over the valley. A day working at a comic book store. And finally, a day to do nothing.

Don't miss Part 5. Magic, Toys, Movies and Good Friends await. Coming soon!

Disneyland Trip Report, Part 3

2005-07-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 18th. It was exactly 50 years ago this day that Disneyland opened its gates to the General Public. As a Birthday gift to me, my birthday is today, my parents had planned a road trip to the Park that day. So, since my sister and I had been there on that opening day, we planned this day to re-enter together and spend the day just enjoying the Park.

Before going into the Park though, my sister joined myself and my friends from South Carolina for a "Birthday Breakfast" at I-Hop next to the hotel. Gail brought me a nice coffee cup with the state map of S. Carolina and information about the state printed on the cup, and a medallian with the state seal and flower and other things stamped on it. JD drew me an original picture in colored pencil of the Disney and Squaresoft comupter game, Kingdom Hears. He did it all freehand and picked out the matt and frame. You can bet this is going on the wall near my own Kingdom Heart Diorama. He drew it all freehand, and it's very good. Patrick paid for our breakfast and then they had to leave as the shuttle to the airport showed up. Lots of goodby hugs all around, and then they were off and so my sister and I headed on over to the Park for our day at Disneyland.

Now this was the third day in the Park for me and Irene had been there not too long ago, so we did not have to rush all over the place to see everything. But we did go on Space Mountain, we saw Asimo the robot from Honda that is on display at Innoventions. I took a bunch of pictures and here are a few:

Here is Asimo arriving in his Shipping Crate. He walks out of the crate and accros the stage.

ASIMO stands for Advanced Step In Motion.

Here is Asimo as he walks across the stage:

And here he is climbing stairs, a very difficult task for a Robt. Asimo is the only free walking robot that can both climb and descent stairs.

His show in Innoventions, in Tomorrowland, is given every hour on the hour.

After seeing Asimo, we left Innoventions and I saw the Rocket Ship ahead of us on the exit ramp and thought it would make for a nice picture:

This is a smaller version of the 80 foot tall TWA Rocket to the Moon that used to stand in front of the attraction building that you can see in the background. Now it is a misster for a beverage stand below it. The old Rocket To The Moon building is now a Pizza Place.

We also went on the Matterhorn and several other rides while we sort of wandered around and had a great day. At one point my sister, Irene, took this picture of me by the Nemo Wall that is around the submarine lagoon ride which is being redone to a Finding Nemo Them. I guess it's called "Bruce, meet Bruce" as the shark in the movie is also named Bruce.

We then headed to Fantasyland and I got the following pictures of the Sleeping Beauty Castle all decked out for the 50th, plus some shots around the Snow White Grotto. All this area has really been spruced up for the 50th anniversary.

The Castle has been repainted using shading in the coloring of the "bricks" and also has gold bunting drapped around the turrets. Also all the turret tops have been "crowned" with gold plated princess crowns, each crown represented a 10 year span of events at Disneyland.

You can see the turrets better in these photos.

The Bridge Across the Castle Moat has also been re-painted.

Here is a view of the new 50th medallian above the entrance.

Across from the Castle on the right side, is Snow Whites Grotto. The wishing well has been repainted, the grate work inside has been replaced with a new grill decorated with 24 carate gold leaves and finally, the grotto itself has been cleaned and repaired so that it looks brand new.

The Wishing Well.

The inside of the wishing well has been replaced with an all new Grill. All the money that is thrown into the well is collected twice a year and donated to Children's Charitties.

The Grotto has been scrubbed clean and looks like new.

Inside Fantasyland I caught a glimpse of the Evil Queen looking down on the crowds of people in "her" courtyard. She doesn't look happy.
After Fantasyland we headed over to Adventureland and rode Indy, then over to Haunted Mansion but it was not working. We never did back to ride that. We have been on it many times so it was not that big a deal.

We then went over to DCA and I took some pictures of The Tower Of Terror after we rode it.

After this we rode the California Screamin' Roller Coaster, then left DCA and the Park for a take out lunch from McDonalds which is right across the street. We went back to my Hotel Room to eat and rest. Irene went back into the Park as I was really tired. I went over a couple of hours later and we met at the Train Station and went on some more rides and shows. We were basically killing time until the fireworks. We saw the afternoon Parade. Here are some pictures of the 50th Annivsary Parade.

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell are in the first float.

The second float is Beauty and The Beast

The third float is Pinnochio

The Little Mermaid is the fourth float.

Ursula follows as the fifth float.

The Mad Tea Party, from Alice in Wonderland is next.

The Lion King is next.

The final float is all the Princesses, Princes and Mickey and Minnie as King and Queen. Goofy, Donald and Chip & Dale are also around in court garb.
After the Parade we found a place to sit and wait for the 9:30pm Fireworks. It was over to the side in Carnation Plaza next to the Castle. It was a strange viewing area but we had real seats to sit in. After the fireworks we made our way to the Fantasmic viewing area, found a place next to the Center Light tower and had a 1/2 or so wait until the 10pm show. It went off without a hitch. After that, we were both kind of worn out, so it was time to head back out and over to the motel were Irene had parked the car. We said our goodbyes and I went in to bed. A very tiring 3 days, but it wasn't over yet. I had one more day to go, and that one turned out to be the worst day of the lot.

Next: Trip Report #4 will be the final day, and my trip home and what happened when I got there.

Disneyland Trip Report, Part 2

2005-07-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday dawned overcast and cool, but that changed by 10am when the sun burned through and it was very hot all day, and humid. Much like it was 50 years ago. I left for the Park around 6:30am and this is the sight that met me when I entered into the "Transportation Center" which is between Harbor Blvd and the Plaza Security Check area.
What the Disneyland Resort had done, was to open California Adventure at 3am to start a line for the early arrivals. After all, this is Disneyland and today is the 50th anniversary for this Park that started it all. So from 3am until 6am they lined everyone up in DCA. You had to have a paid admission ticket (the ticket booths were also opened at 3am) and they gave you a colored wrist band for easy entry into Disneyland. At 6am all addmision areas, ticket booths and the entrance to DCA was closed. Disneyland was to open at 7am and this was an unannounced opening. It was purely to have the time to get the 22,000 people lined up at DCA across the Plaza and into Disneyland. There was no stopping at the gate as everybody only had to show the armbands and go right in. All along Main Street Cast Members lined the sidewalks on both side and appluaded the Guests and wellcomed them Home. It was a very nice way to enter Disneyland on its birthday.

After everyone from DCA was in Disneyland, they re-opened the Security Check points (All of them), the ticket boots and the Main Gates at Disneyland were all open. Even the exite gates on both sides of the usual entrance gates where open as entrance gates. They really did expect a lot of people. After everything was opened, the line moved very quickly even though the line was huge. All Security check points were opened and I was in the Park about 30 minutes after the line starting moving.

I went into Tomorrowland to see if I could spot JD and his dad who had gone over ahead of me, but I didn't see them. So I got in the breakfast line at the Tomorrowland Terrace food and a few minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there was JD and his dad was three people behind me in the line. So we had breakfast together and then his dad took that picture of us that I posted in Part 1. While sitting and having breakfast, we could hear the big ceremony that was going on at the Castle. We could hear but couldn't see anything. The reason I wasn't over there, is that earlier on the way in, I checked out the viewing area, and once again the Press was given the central area with the best views, and the guests had to crowd in on either side. I have been through these things before, and I didn't feel like getting crushed in the crowd. Besides, it's all on the Internet at several of the Disney Discussion boards.

After breakfast, JD and his dad went off for their day together. I wandered around the Park, and met up with some people I know from one of those Disney Boards. The Board is Mice Chat so we are called Mice Chatters. Now, one of our members, who is a Cancer Survivor, had a dream of riding the Carousell in Fantasyland on Jingles, the lead horse and the one that is gold for the 50th, with the entire Carousell filled with Mice Chatters. We all wanted this to happen very much and it would be part of our birthday routine, "Charging The Castle". We needed a lot of members to show up this day to make Lisa's Dream come true. Well, over 75 members showed up, so we had more than enough. After making sure everybody was going to participate, we were instructed as to what we were about to do. First we would all go as a group across the Hub and up to the Castle. Then we would all stop, and as a group in front of God and Everybody, would yell the exact words that were shouted at the Opening of Fantasyland 50 years ago:

"In The Name of the Children of The World, Lower the Drawbridge of The Castle to Fantasyland".

Then we all waved our hands over our heads and ran through the Castle Entrance. A bunch of people who were in the area got it. They appluaded and laughed and cheered us on. Once inside we headed straight over to the Carousell. We had leaders, and people at the very end of our group to keep us all together. When we got up to the Cast Member who was operating the ride, he asked "How many in your group"? Our leaders relied, "72". The Cast Members eyes got really big, and he looked down the line, and saw it was true. He was very exited and agreed to make this work. So we let everybody who was in line ahead of us and just behind us through for their ride, then when it was time, he closed everything off and let only our group through. Soon, the entire carousell was full of Mice Chatters, and Lisa was on Jingles. It started to move and we all cheered. Here I am on my horse for the ride:

And here is Lisa standing beside her beloved Jingles:

During the ride, we all sang Happy Birthday to Disneyland. Peopl were gathered all around watching and joined in the Birthday Song. I noticed something as we rode around and around. Almost immediately after the ride started, I saw three superviors an Area Manager (A "Suit" as we call them) and three extra Cast Members. They were all standing just inside the entrance gate and were appluading and smiling and cheering us on. After the Ride, the "Suit" came over and gave Lisa a big hug and told her we had "made his day". Now that was very nice. They knew this was going to happen at some point as a lot of Cast Members are also Mice Chatters, so they must have let the supervisor's know about it. It really was something special and the manager told us that nothing like this had every happened before. Ever! So that was really special. Lisa was very happy and everyone was very happy to have had a part in making her dream come true. And what better day to do it on? I can't think of one.

After this everybody took a break and groups got together to go to lunch. It was very hot by now so I just wandered around the Park for awhile and went on a few rides and sat down a lot. I had something for lunch, I don't even remember what it was.

At 4:45pm there was the ceremony that I was waiting for. That is the exact time that 50 years ago, Walt Disney read the Dedication of Disneyland to a live Television audience of the biggest live TV broadcast in history, at that time. Nothing like this had ever been attempted before. So now, 50 years later they were going to play this dedication speech all over the Park. At several points all throught the Park they had errected giant Jumbo TV Screens so if you were near one you could also see the video. At about 3 mintues prior to the dedication, Mickey Mouse in his brand new 50th anniversary costume, came out and stood at the Town Square Flag Pole, at the base of which is the dedication plaque. At exactly 4:45pm everything in Disneyland came to a halt, no rides were running and the ceremony was played over every single speaker in the Park. Cast Members came out of the rides and stores and lined the area with the guests. It was very quiet. After the dedication there was a nice song that was played while footage of old Disneyland showed on the screens. At the end you could here the cheers and applause from every corner of the Park. A lot of people, me included, were crying. It was very emotional to us hard core Disneyland fans. Here is a photo I took right after the ceremony and one of the Plaque:

There is something at Disneyland that is very special. It is the "Windows on Main Street". This was Walt Disney's way of giving "Screen Credit" to those people who helped design Disneyland. The next time you walk down Main Street, take a moment and look up at the Windows on the second floor. Every name is someone who helped in the design and building of Disneyland. The name of the "Business" on their window, is what the did as a hobby. You can even find a window honoring Walt Disney's Father, "Elias Disney, Contractor" which in this case, was what his father actually did for a living.

Very early Sunday Morning a new window was added to the collection. This one is at street level, and on a door window. It is right next to the Main Street Cinema and is a Window dedicated to Disneyland's Cast Members, Past-Present-and Future. This is something that has never been done and for those of us who go to Disneyland a lot, it also means something to us. We have a tremendous appreciation for those Hard Working, dedicated Disney Cast Members who always make our visits something special. Here is the new Window On Main Street and the notice that goes with it, on the wall right next to the window. Check it out the next time you go:

After the 4:45 ceremony, I left to go back to hotel for a nap. It turned into a deep sleep and I was awakend at 9:35 by the explosions of the Fireworks Show. So I look out my front window and had a clear view of all the fireworks. I couldn't hear the music, but I have seen the show several times and knew exactly what was being played at each moment. After the show I sat and watched TV and read the complementary copy of the Orange County Register's Sunday Paper, which had several section devoted to Disneyland's 50th birthday. I also knew that the nect day I would be having a "Birthday Breakfast" next door at I-Hop with my sister Irene, plus Gail, Pat and JD before they had to leave for the airport, and I wanted to be well rested.

To end this Part of the Trip Report here is a picture that was e-mailed to me a couple of days later from Gail. JD and his dad went into the Stitch Interactive show and had thier picture taken for posting on the internet. So my final shot of JD is this one of father and son at Stitch's Adventure:

Next, Part 3, Monday the 18th of July. My birthday and the day Disneyland opened its gates to the public for the first time 50 years ago. Both by sister and I were there that day, and we were going to go into the Park and have our own celebration for Disneyland.

My Birthday Trip to Disneyland.Part 1

2005-07-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Everything started around 5am Saturday morning as I boarded the 156 bus to the North Hollywood Metro Red Line Subway station. I took that to the 7th Street station where I went to the corner of 7th and Flower to catch the 460 Disneyland Metro Bus. I arrived at the Disneyland Resort Bus stop at 7:46am, exactly on time. Went across to the Park Vue Inn where I confirmed my reservation, stored my luggage until the 3pm check in and went over to I-Hop to meet my good friends Gail and Pat who along with my Godson, JD, were waiting for me.

After a quick hello hug and some talk about things at Disneyland and how we missed one another, JD and I took off for our Day At Disneyland. JD is now 14 and this is really the first time we have met and he knows who I am (the previous trip out this way from South Carolina was when he was 5). We entered the Magic Kingdom and immediatly headed toward Tomorrowland in order to ride the recently re-done Space Mountain. Since this ride has been closed for almost 2 years and had just had its official re-dedication the day before, I knew that the longer we waited, the longer the lines would get. When we arrived the wait time was 30 minutes. By noon it was over 4 hours.

Now, I have to say right here that JD is the most amazing young man I have ever had the privilage of being around. And we stuck together from 8:30am until after midnight. We had a ball. Just as I had hoped, he is a lot like his uncle Dan, who unfortunately couldn't be with us as he had prior arrangments for both Saturday and Sunday. JD and I bonded together very fast and we just had a ball. Now, for someone my age, 63, and given JD's young age of 14, it was rough for me to keep up with him, but I guess just seeing the place again through his enthusiasm and exitment at being with me at Disneyland just made me feel young again.

I got this shot of JD at the hub, at the statue of Walt and Mickey.

After Space Mountain, which we both approved of, we headed over and rode the Indiana Jones Adventure, then the Haunted Mansion, then Big Thunder Mountain. we ended up back over in Tomorrowland and went on the Matterhorn, and then into Innoventions so I could show JD the Meet Asimo Show (Asimo is a free walking robot built by Honda that has a show in which he displays all the things he can do, like walk up and down stairs without falling over). After that we went to Frontierland and I got us up to the Wheel House on the Mark Twain. This is a very special treat that not too many people know about. Of course, I had my camera right with me on my belt. Of course in the exitment of watching the Captain teach JD how to ring the bell the correct number of times and blow the whistle for a certain length of time and a certain number of times, I forgot all about the camera, so alas, no pictures from the Wheel House.

We then went on Jungle Cruise and I got this picture of JD while he was looking at the Pirahna in the water. It was a surprise picture.

Here is one of the redone scenes from Jungle Cruise. Now the monkeys in the Lost Safari camp have guns that they shoot at the boats. Big splashes of water all around the boat. They have a cannon as well.

And here is the redone Lion/Zebra lunch scene. All the other animals have been moved away from the "Kill" zone.

We had one chance on Sunday for a picture of the both of us together. His dad took this one and then they went on thier day together. I am posting it here, as on Sunday I was on my own and he was with dad, which was good for him. Anyway, we are standing in front of the new wall around the Submarine Lagoon that is advertising the arrival of Finding Nemo in the new Submarine Lagoon ride scheduled to open in 2006.

We then had Hot Dogs for lunch (JD got a chilli cheese dog) and then just some walking around and looking at things. We went over to DCA and rode Tower of Terror and California Screamin' which I think was JD's favorite coaster. He went back and rode it again after we got up to the front of the Park while I had an iced coffee and a sit down to wait for him. It's an easy Park to navigate and I knew he could get to the ride and back in about 20 minutes as DCA was not very crowded. We then headed back to the hotel so I could check in and unpack and just rest for an hour in the air conditining and we got some soda from the machine and sat and rested and watched TV. Then back to the Park for some more rides, Thunder Mountain again, then headed over to Splash Mountain where I got a single rider pass for JD. I don't ride water rides, but JD wanted to go on this one so he went alone and I waited outside the exit for him.

Here he is standing in front of Splash Mountain.

He loved it, and didn't get too wet. We then did some other stuff and then went for dinner at Rancho Zocala. We had Mexican food and JD really enjoyed that. Then we went and did some more stuff then stood at the point behind the Fantasmic! main lighting standard and when it went up, he knew we had a great view. We watched Fantasmic! and the Fireworks show from that same spot. Something different in viewing the fireworks. Then we both were tired, so back to the hotel where we waited for his prents to return. It was a great day and I slept great.

Next Post will be on what happened Sunday, the 17th of July, Disneyland's "Official" Birthday.

Off on vaction

2005-07-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day at work for a whole week. I leave tomorrow for Disneyland and will stay down there until Tuesday. Lots to do this time. I am taking the camera and hope to get some good pictures.

Not much else to talk about as I am busy packing and trying to make sure I have everything I need to stay away for 4 days.

Third Post

2005-07-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well, its getting closer and closer to Disneyland's big day. I plan to leave very early on Saturday morning the 16th, arrive at Disneyland somewhere around 7:45am and then go over to the Park Vue Inn and leave my luggage, meet up with friends from the East Coast, including my 14 year old Godsonm, JD, for the first time, and having a bite to eat at the Hotels Continental Breakfast. Then JD and I head off to Disneyland for his first trip there. We are going to get to know each other, sort of bond like I did with his uncle when I took him, at age 7, for his very first Disneyland Trip many years ago. Danny is in his 30's now and we are still best of friends. I am looking forward to this day a lot.

Then all of us will probably try to figure out the best way to handle Sunday, which is looking to be the biggest day in Disneyland's 50 years. It is going to be hot, just as it was on opening day in 1955, and crowded, very crowded.

Then on Monday the 18th, which is my birthday and the day Disneyland opened to the public for the very first time, to celebrate with my sister and have a birthday breakfast with my friends and Godson before they have to leave to catch a flight back home. Irene and I will then go into Disneyland for our celebration of being there 50 years ago on that long ago opening day.

Did you know that this years calander is an exact duplicate of 1955? All the dates fall on the same day of the week this year as they did in 1955. I think that is really neat.

I am staying until Tuesday. I will probably go into the Park for a walk around and enjoy the early morning in the Park, then head home later in the day. I have all next week off.

On Thursday I get to go over to Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank for a private tour of their Harry Potter Museum. It contains all the props from all the movies filmed to date. They even have a working sorting had, and it get to be sorted into one of the four Hogwarts Houses. I am looking forward to this very much. I am a big Harry Potter fan so this is something very special as this museum is only for WB employees and thier family and invited guests. I won't be allowed to take pictures though. Oh well, at least I will get to see it.

Here is a picture of The Harry Potter Room of Magic in my Apartment.
As you can see, I have a lot of Harry Potter related stuff. The dioramas are displays using toys and action figures from the HP stories that I have built myself. The posters are hung using clear threading so they appear to be floating in the air. The wall hanging on the back wall is an original from the WB Store and is very large. It takes up the whole wall area. There are two more shelves of HP stuff under the shelf you see in this photo.

I guess that about does this blog for the day. I plan to take the camera for my extended trip to Disneyland, and I will probably post a trip report here and some pictures next week, or the week after depending on how much time I have and how tired I am from the trip.

2005-07-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. Here is what you see when entering my apartments front door. This is only on small corner of what in a normal apartment would be the "Living Room". There is no furniture in my apartment except for the bedroom, which is where I spend most of my time. I have a daybid, a recliner, a computer desk and chair and a large TV cabinet which has my entire Peter Pan collection on top of it. As you can see, I have lots of stuff, and that means lots of cleaning. Lots and Lots of cleaning. But it's worth it. This is about 10 years of active collecting and four years of putting it all together in this one bedroom apartment. Click on the picture for a larger picture.

My First Blog

2005-07-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

Well, this is something new for me, and I will be darned if I can figure out what I am going to use it for. I have a lot of thoughts, or ramblings if you will, and I may get heated about something like poor bus service, lousy theaters, lousy movies, and other stuff that either upsets me or makes me happy.

A trip to Disneyland always makes me happy. Waiting 20 mintues for a bus that is supposed to be "Convenient, Rapid, etc" annoys the Hell out me. Going to a theater and paying $9.00 to get in, then having to sit through 10-15 minutes of commercials annoys me. Paying the same amount and finding out the movie is crap, annoys me.

Reading Harry Potter books is the best form to get away from it all. The new book comes out this Saturday and I can hardly wait.

I can't think of anything else right now. I have a new digital camera and I live in a rather museum like apartment. I collect action figures, Disney stuff and Harry Potter stuff. I have a lot of stuff. I have so much stuff that even my stuff has stuff. When I figure out how to include pictures in my blog, I will post some of my stuff. And my stuffs stuff.