Jungle Jumpin!

There are 2 "J" attractions:


Jumpin' Jellyfish at California Adventure is meant for the younger kids. Two riders board the "jellyfish" which then rises up far above the ground. (But not too far.) As the jellyfish rotate slowly around the center pole, they gradually drop back down to earth. Weeeeeee.



Cindy and Wyatt on the Jellyfish.

The Jungle Cruise is another of my favorite Disney rides, mainly because of the memories it holds. Passengers board a boat and head down a jungle river. "There are many adventures" along the densely forested way including wild animals (some tame, some not-so-tame) and wild savages. It's a bit corny, and the boat operator adds corny jokes and one-liners along the way. But here's why I love it. When I was a kid, I thought the animals were real. I was amazed! How cool is that to see wild African animals at Disneyland!!! 

Wyatt, Walt, and Cindy ready to cruise the jungle river.

It's a Small World After All

I love, love, It's a Small World. It's more than a ride - it's a philosophy. These are the lyrics to the song that plays throughout the ride:

It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world

There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to every one
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small world after all

It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world

I have been riding this ride since the first time I came to Disneyland. It never gets old. The ride takes you by boat through the whole world, where you see people of all cultures singing, dancing, enjoying life. Of course, they're all animatronic characters, but they're all delightful. When you get off the ride, you can't help singing or humming that song for the rest of the day.

I took this picture in front of It's a Small World in 1972. It looks the same today.

Let's Get This Mouse Rolling (Again)

Hello Fans! I hope the three of you are doing well. :)
I have been woefully negligent about keeping up this blog. My apologies. It's not because I haven't been going to Disneyland. I don't have a good excuse.

However... I'm going to get this going again. At least for now. So, please come back often and tell your friends about it too. And write some comments for me! That way I'll feel like this isn't all for naught.

Where did I leave off? We were on the letter "I". Since my last post, I have been to the parks numerous times. I finished the I's, the J's, the K's, and L's, and am currently on M. Oh yes, I am way behind on my blog!!!

My sisters and I (from Lto R: Judy, Sue, Cindy) at Disneyland, circa 1970

Due to the opening of Cars Land at California Adventure, I have made an updated list. The obsolete attractions that have been removed from my list are:

• ElecTRONica
• Mission Tortilla Factory
• Tangled

The new attractions that are on the list are:

• Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition
• Luigi's Flying Tires
• Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
• Merida and Friends
• Radiator Springs Racers
• Rapunzel & Flynn Rider
• Red Car Trolley

Luckily, there is only one new attraction that's early in the alphabet. As soon as we could, we saw the Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition. I'll talk more about it in a future post.

I have one more piece of exciting news. In addition to our Alphabetical Disney attraction list, we've started another list that we are going to work on concurrently.  FOOD!!!! All of the restaurants at the Disney Resort. Watch for a future posting with more details.

Thanks for reading, and come back soon!

We're not in Kansas anymore...

Hello everyone! I am temporarily suspending my Disney postings because I am in Europe! Yesterday we went to LegoLand in Denmark. I would attach a picture, but when I log into Google it's all in Danish and I can't figure it out! I'll try next time I have internet access. :) Happy Days :)

"I" Love Mother's Day

On Mother's Day (May 13), Walt and I went to Disneyland and were joined later in the day by both of our sons. What a great way to spend the day.

Indiana Jones Adventure - I've only ridden this ride once or twice before, and it's been a couple of years. I was very pleased - it was better than I remember it. I think they must have made some changes. I remembered it being a very herky-jerky ride, but this time it was much smoother. The sights throughout the ride are reminiscent of Indiana Jones' journey, complete with wild turns, drops, etc. Just getting to the ride is an adventure as well. We enter the pyramid and traverse through a maze of underground tunnels before hopping into our "Jeep."


Innoventions - When I was a little girl, I remember going into the building where Innoventions is now and seeing something totally different, but with the same idea. Back then, an audience was seated theater style facing a stage. On stage, was the house of the future! We'd see a room full of automated machines and gizmos and it was all so amazing. Then, the stage curtain would close and the stage would actually move. The stage was a large circle that rotated to reveal multiple rooms, one at a time.

Today, the attraction is still all about the future, but it's set up quite differently. There are two floors of interactive exhibits. We also attended a demonstration of a household robot that walks and talks and helps you around the house. This is a great attraction for all ages. Take your time here, because there's a lot to see. The video above shows Wyatt dancing to an XBox game. Unfortunately, you can't hear Michael Jackson singing Thriller as Wyatt imitates moves he sees overhead. Look at the screen behind him, there's a shadow image of him dancing in the video.

My next post will be about It's a Small World - one of the best attractions ever!

Grizzly Ghosts? and Hello Students!

Before we get back on the ride, so to speak, I have to send a shout out to my wonderful students. Today was the last day of class, and my last day teaching. What a great send-off my students gave me. Cards and gifts and food and, most importantly, affection. A number of students signed the board, as you'll see in the picture.  Students, I miss you already!

Another side trip...
Do you know what tomorrow is??  It's the opening of Cars Land and the Grand Re-Opening of Disney's California Adventure.  But, we won't be there. As season passholders, we entered a lottery to see it early, but no luck. And I'm guessing tomorrow there will be a million and one people. (Usually there are only a million people. Adding one more just tips the scales!)  But, do you know what this means?  A number of new attractions and I have to update my attraction list. What do I do about the attractions that start with a letter we've already done? Give my your opinion as a comment below.

And now, back to the park for our final "G".  Grizzly River Run at California Adventure. This is much like other water rides. Six passengers get in a round boat and float merrily along the river. But, oh my! There are rapids up ahead. The boat jostles about, the water splashes, and just when it gets calm again, watch out! We drop down thousands of feet to the pool below. (Well, maybe not thousands.)

Ask anyone who's ever ridden a water ride with me and they will tell you I'm a water magnet. I always get soaked, even if other riders in the boat barely get wet. This day was no exception. It's a fun ride, though, and a good way to cool off on a warm day.

Back at Disneyland we had a great stroke of luck. We were walking by the Haunted Mansion just as they took the rope down from across the line entry. It had been closed and just reopened. We were the first ones in! I love the Haunted Mansion! It hasn't changed much since I was a kid. My favorite parts: "There are no windows and no doors!"; the fortune teller with her crystal ball; and the hitchhiking ghosts. (I didn't know until I was an adult that the first room you go in is actually an elevator, and the walls don't stretch up as I thought, but the room goes down.)

Next time: We spent the day at the parks on Mother's Day and finished the I's, J's, K's, and L's. Come back soon and read all about it!

Heimlich's Tough!

Disney's California Adventure opened on February 8, 2001. Which of the following was NOT opened that same day? (Answer at the end.)

1. King Triton's Carousel
2. Jumpin' Jellyfish
3. Golden Zephyr
4. Heimlich's Chew Chew Train
5. It's Tough to be a Bug!

When you enter Bugs Land you are transformed to the size of a little bug. If you don't believe me, look at the picture on the left. We are standing on the ground looking up, and these clovers tower above our heads.

April 20 - Two more attractions at California Adventure round our day:

Heimlich's Chew Chew Train is a ride designed for the little bugs in the family. The train travels through discarded food and wrappers, such as the chewed up watermelon shown here. A fun little ride.





It's Tough to Be a Bug! is a 3-D film and show full of fun and surprises. The theater is inside a giant tree, where we meet creepy crawler critters large and small. To say this show is just a movie is like saying Mickey is just a mouse! The on-screen action involves some awesome 3-D adventure. We also meet a larger than life animatronic Hopper (a grasshopper). During the course of the show we get sprayed by poisoinous creatures, poked by bees, and recoil at the giant spiders climbing down from the ceiling. Skiddish children - be warned. Skiddish adults - man up and comfort the kids! All in all, it's a fun show and shouldn't be missed.

Cindy wears her "bug eyes" while waiting for the show.

  
Answer: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train opened on 10/7/2002. The other attractions all opened the same day as Disney's California Adventure park.