Spring Break

Disneyland on a Monday... sounds like a relaxing day with no crowds or long waits for rides, right? Only we forgot one tiny detail... SPRING BREAK! When my boyfriend and I decided to go to Disneyland on Monday, we didn't think about that. So we didn't get to do some of our favorite rides like Space Mountain, Matterhorn, or Indiana Jones (We had only planned to be there for half day, and fast passes had already reach 5:45pm by the time we got them). So instead, we got on some rides with short lines... like Winnie the Pooh!

Walking around both DL and DCA, we noticed how far the new rides and additionals are coming along. The Little Mermaid ride is really starting to take shape, and I can't wait for it to open. But the progress of Cars Land is the most impressive to me.

Say hello to King Triton!

Little Mermaid archway taking shape

Another angle of The Little Mermaid ride

Wow! Look how far Cars Land has come along

Entry way to Cars Land?

More Cars Land progress

 And of course, our day at Disneyland wouldn't be complete with some good ol' pin trading. Here's what I got:

 From the top row, left to right, is Tinkerbell. This pin is awesome, it looks like Tink is peeking out for behind your lanyard! Next is Aurora in her pink dress, with Belle in her yellow ball gown next to her. And the last one on the top row is Belle and Chip with the words Au Revoir written on it. The back of the pins says Adventures by Disney.
Bottom row, left to right, is Zazu and Scar fromThe Lion King, the last one is Minnie dressed as the bride from Haunted Mansion. Back of the pin says GWP (Gift with Purchase). I believe she's a part of the series, which includes the Daisy Madame Leota pin I got a while back.

I was a little sad that we couldn't stay the entire day, and it felt like time just flew by. Not sure when I'll be coming back to Disneyland... I hope at least a couple more times before our passes expire in May. Then we won't be renewing our passes until September.

Late for a very important date!

 Thanks for reading! Check back soon for more updates on the Little Mermaid ride, Cars Land, pin trading, and more!

~Dee

Back at Disneyland!

I made a last minute impromptu trip to Disneyland last Sunday with my friends Diana and Kim and we had such a blast! We got to the park later in the evening, about 7pm. It had started to drizzle when we got in the park, so most of the guests were leaving. It was one of the least crowded Sunday night that I've experienced. Still, there were tons of cast members with lanyards on! We missed all the pin traders since it was so late in the afternoon, but I still found some pins that I wanted on Cast Members:

   Vinylmation Hamm

Princess Minnie from "Brave Little Tailor", this pin is from Disneyland Paris

Cool looking Mickey Jedi pin

Stitch FL license plate!

Yay for more princess pins!

I also saw a lot of new merchandise, too. And new packaging for candy. My favorite is the Jessica Rabbit dark chocolate mint cream box. 

New packaging for candy

I love the Jessica Rabbit box

 

 That's all for now. Thanks for reading! 

-Dee

Celebrities and Disney

Remember a few years ago when Disney released a series of photos called "Disney Dream Portrait" with celebrities transformed into some of the most memorable Disney characters? On the official Disneyland blog, they released the new photos! Shot by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz. The first set of photos release years ago featured Scarlett Johannson as Cinderella, Jessica Biel as Pocahontas, Julianna Moore as Ariel, avid Beckham as Prince Phillipe, and more!

Below are this year's photos:

Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen and Alec Baldwin as the Magic Mirror. Photo belongs to Disney and Disneyland Blog.

Jeff Bridges as the Beast and Penelope Cruz as Belle. Photo belongs to Disney and Disneyland Blog.

Queen Latifah as Ursula. Photo belongs to Disney and Disneyland Blog.

 I hope to see more of these photos from Disney and Annie Leibovitz.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures!

~Dee

Hollywood Soda Fountain "Trophy" Pins

Just saw these online! I'm sure they're already sold out, but I still want to share them with you ^_^
In honor of the upcoming Oscar Academy Awards, Disney have come out with these "trophy" pins! They were sold on February 19th at the Disney's Soda Fountain & Studio Store in Hollywood... see the flyer here http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/February%2019th%20Event%20flyer.pdf

And here's a picture of some of the pins. I love the Stitch & Tinkerbell

Maybe one day I'll get my hands on one of these...


The forecast is once again predicting rain in LA, so I might not do Disneyland this weekend =( But if the sun is out, you can bet that I'll be there!


Thanks for reading,
~Dee

Dancing Lions

This was a short video I took of the Dancing Lions from the "Family Fun Weekend- Lunar New Year"

Rainy Weekend

Raining all weekend in LA, plus holiday weekend (Presidents' Day) means no Disneyland or pin trading this week. I was looking forward to going back on Sunday since the last 2 weekends have been kind of... crowded and not many pins to trade. But I know for a fact that I wouldn't have fun when it's raining and super crowded. All annual pass holders are blocked out except for those who have the premium pass.

Maybe I'll make a short day trip on Wednesday! I hope to have new pins to show you all soon.

~Dee

Valentine's Day Weekend 2011

Thinking of going to Disneyland on Valentine's day weekend? Don't do it! We went down there and it was pretty packed. I remember going on Valentine's day weekend last year but I don't remember it being so busy. We got on about 4 rides... Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones (Fast Pass), Monsters' Inc, and Toy Story Mania. By the time we got to Space Mountain and Tower of Terror, the fast passes were all out and the rides were at a 65 minute wait. We thought, "Oh well! We can go on the rides next time. Let's do some pin trading!". That didn't really work out either...
I don't know if, it's because it was busy, but for a Sunday (as some people would call it, "Trading Day") not many Cast Members had on lanyards. Usually on Sundays, I've found some pretty cool pins to trade. This past Sunday, I only traded about 6... and nothing that I really want to collect, except for the Mickey Skellington one =P

Top Row: Tinkerbell from Disney Cruise Line, Mickey w/ Sorcerer's Hat, Flying Tink, and a Minnie from DLRP.  Bottom Row: Mike & Sulley of Monsters' Inc, Hop Low from Fantasia, Daisy as Rapunzel from Disney Adventures, and Mickey as Jack Skellington.

Since pin trading wasn't going so well, we decided to check out Downtown Disney and take a break from the crowd. And there was a swing band by the ESPN Zone! So we stay for a while and danced. Lot's of fun! The band played a lot of songs by the Andrews Sisters (I love their songs). 

V-Day weekend was also the last weekend for the Lunar New Year Festival. The weekend of 2/18 will be the last Family Fun Weekend, and Disneyland will be celebrating Mardi Gras! I think it'll be over at the New Orleans Square. I want to check it out, but the forecast is saying that it'll be raining through the weekend, so we'll see!

Thanks for reading and I hope I'll have some cool pins to show you next time!


~Dee