1. If you’ve ever worked retail at Christmas time you know it is CRAZY.  ‘Tis the season for cranky demanding customers and more to be done than there are hours in the day.
2. We’re working – slowly – on decorating our Christmas tree this year.  I’ve been trying to keep track and I would say that we probably have at least 500 individual Disney ornaments! I just wish we could leave them out year round! 🙂
3. Lately I’ve been spending my days dreaming of a Disneyland Christmas… if only I could make than an annual occurrence.
4. My Vinylmation quest continues even when I’m not in the Parks, but how is it that every time I order from DisneyStore.com, I end up with at least one set of duplicates?  It’s like they know…
5. Hopefully everyone in my extended Disney family is having a joyous holiday season.  I am thankful for all of you!

The past few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind for me, so I’m working on getting back to the swing of things here on Rays of Disneyland.  But, Christmas at Disneyland is one of my favorite memories of my life so… onward into December!

Mondays will, hopefully, continue to highlight vintage pictures and stories and Classic Disneyland Hotel memories.  My only hold-up with these stories has been a technical glitch between my negatives scanner and my Mac.  Hopefully, though, I will get that worked out so I can post more often with my vintage memories.

Tuesdays I will look at a few specific memories from my September Disneyland trip, including more thoughts on World of Color and Captain EO.

Wednesdays will stay Wordless but with a Christmas flair.

Thursdays I will explore some of my amazing memories from my Christmas trip to Disneyland a year or two ago.

Fridays will continue in the Rays of Disneyland tradition of Fantasmic Five Friday.

Saturdays and Sundays will again be combined into one random post about anything and everything Disney.

So, stay tuned for a festive celebration at Rays of Disneyland this month.

Celebrating the release of Disney’s Tangled with a look back at one of my favorite new Disney movies, Princess and the Frog, and it’s presence in Disneyland last year.

March 1991

I suppose this one can’t all be blamed on changes to the Disneyland Hotel, but the view from those well-loved balconies had certainly transformed over the years.  The first time I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, we got a “lagoon-view” room in the Bonita Tower.  Sadly, there are no lagoon views these days, nor is there a tower named after the wife of the original owner, Jack Wrather (Bonita Granville Wrather).  But, from 1991 until 1999, our yearly trips to Disneyland included requesting one of these special rooms.

For me, it was more fun to watch the fireworks each night from our balcony than from the parks… admittedly the big “booms” were a bit scary to me as a child.  But from the comfort of our hotel room, the acoustics were just right and the sparkling colors lit up the entire Disneyland Park like pixie dust streaming down from the night sky.

However, not everything about the view was quite so magical… notice the expanse of parking lot reaching across the entire right-hand side of the photo.  Missing are the charming curves of the Grand Californian Hotel and the rising stone facade of Grizzly Peak.  A simpler Disneyland Resort perhaps. 🙂

Yes, gone are the lovely, airy balconies and gone are the luscious grounds below the rooms… I know, I sound like a broken record, but I do miss the Disneyland Hotel of my childhood dearly.

For more information about the Wrathers check out The Original Disneyland Hotel blog, written by the author of the Disneyland Hotel: The Early Years book, Don Ballard.

There is an entire Facebook page with over 14,000 fans dedicated to our last day in Disneyland.  Okay, okay, it’s not specifically about me but it is about September 27, 2010… the hottest day in Los Angeles (and Southern California) history.  And, boy, was it!  It was the hottest day in my history too! 🙂  We knew there might be a problem when we were having breakfast at the Carnation Cafe and it was 103ËšF.  And with no hotel room to seek refuge in, and no swimming suits accessible to soak in the pool (we were already checked out with our luggage securely stowed at the Grand California), we pressed on as the temperature continued to rise.  When all was said and done, the official high for Anaheim was 116ËšF.

So, what’s the secret to beating the heat in Disneyland?  Well, for us, it was a carefully executed regimen of cold drinks and shady tables, dark rides and Dole Whips.  Yes, we were a motley twosome, schluping from one air conditioned ride to another.  But, all in all, it was a very enjoyable day.  The need to rest and cool down in between stints of walking allowed us to sit and just absorb the magic as we watched a day in the park unfold.

We found a perfectly positioned table next to the Pizza Port that was close enough to feel the spray from the “rocket booster” at the nearby refreshment cart.  We enjoyed sitting there watching adults hesitantly step into the mist and kids giggle and smile as it poured down on them.  The Tiki Room was definitely a lovely diversion as we sat back and listened to the birdies sing while we downed a Dole Whip.

With our last day winding down, we headed back to the Grand Californian to catch a bus to the Santa Ana airport.  I will say that the Disneyland Express bus was fantastic for going from LAX to the Grand but the experience was less than magical going from the Grand to John Wayne.  The process was convoluted and difficult, not to mention the service was quite poor.  If only Disneyland would adopt Walt Disney World’s Magical Express System! (And, yes, I know that would be a logistical nightmare. 🙂 )  Bus experience aside, leaving Disneyland is often one of the most difficult parts of my life… dramatic but true.  The transition from my happy place back to reality is rarely pleasant and never welcomed.  But, as we do every year, we bid a fond farewell to the Happiest Place on Earth and flew off over the clouds and mountains back to the Mile High City.

Next Tuesday… Extended Trip Report: World of Color.

Okay, so 1993 might not be exactly vintage, but it seems like a lifetime ago to me.  I found this picture in my old negatives, and, while it isn’t particularly remarkable in documenting the history of Disneyland, I found that I really liked its character.  I like that the gentleman in the corner looks like he belongs in 1993… I like that I’m sporting a bright red fanny pack, unabashedly, I might add… I like that I can remember exactly how I felt when I walked through the gates that day and stepped into place for this photo.

This was my second trip to Disneyland, and I was 10.  This particular year, not only did I get to go to Disneyland, I got to miss school to do it. 🙂  I remember that it was always our goal to find one good photo op in front of Mickey when there weren’t dozens of other people in the shot.  I think we got especially lucky this time, as the train was just pulling into the station and the only people in sight were our period-dressed gentleman and his kids.

I really love these old memories of Disneyland and the photos that accompany them.  In fact, I wish we had taken so many more pictures because my memories of certain events are still so clear but there aren’t any photos to back them up!  That’s okay though, I learned my lesson and my photo count now reaches nearly to 1000 on vacation. 🙂  One day, I know that my recent pictures will be vintage memories.  What are your favorite vintage memories of your trips to Disneyland?

Mid-Hunt a PhotoPass Photographer captures the fun

Scavenger Hunt Sunday started EARLY!  We were up, registered, and waiting for the hunt to begin long before I would normally get up for work. 🙂  Clue book in hand (but still securely sealed), we waited for the official start.  The teams were broken into three groups – one group started in Disneyland, one group started in Downtown Disney, and our group stayed at the Disneyland Hotel.  Likewise, the clue book was broken into sections – The Resorts, Downtown Disney, Disneyland, and California Adventure.  There were over 300 questions!  We knew we’d never make them all but we definitely made a dent.  We kept mostly to the considerably less crowded California Adventure, which proved to be a good strategy for knocking out lots of questions at once.

The hunt lasted for five hours, which was a little overwhelming considering it was over 100 degrees that day.  Heat aside, however, we pressed on in pursuit of some of the most obscure Disneyland questions I’ve ever seen… did you know that the newspapers on the new “newspaper stand” in Paradise Pier are nearly all dated with Mickey Mouse’s birthday?  Or that you can find the word “California” by counting letters in the plaque over-looking Grizzly River Rapids?  Neither did we, but we sure do now! 🙂

The scavenger hunt was loads of fun, and when all was said and done, we finished 59th out of over 500 teams!  Not too bad for a couple of rookies.

After a much needed and well-deserved nap, we headed back out to Disneyland for our only chance to see the Halloween decorations at night.  We had reservations at Cafe Orleans, and it was so magical at night.  We had only ever eaten there for lunch, so seeing New Orleans Square all lit up at night was particuarly wonderful.  We also got to see all of the pumpkins and other decorations in the park lit up for the night, which were really stunning.  Even though we were still a bit hot and tired it was a lovely end to a fun day.

We ended our night by listening to and partially watching World of Color from our balcony at the Grand Californian… a perfect night.

Next Tuesday… The hottest day in the history of Southern California.

A path

Encrusted with vibrant green gems,

Juicy grapes dripping from the vines.

Mystery ahead, what magic lays beneath these leaves?

Gracefully unfurling under a watchful stare,

And shimmering as the sunlight plays with the shadows.

This evening's Vinylmation stash

I had kind of a crummy day today. I spent the long ride home in rush hour wondering if I was making the right decisions for my life. It just wasn’t a good day. But, when I walked in the door to my house, the most coveted item I can think of was waiting with my mail… a box of Disney magic.

No, Tinker Bell didn’t fly open when I slit open the box, but it was the next best thing… my order from DisneyStore.com. 🙂 Five wonderful boxes of Vinylmation and a wonderful new Christmas ornament. It was the best remedy for a bad day. Here’s my secret when I need to bring a little Disneyland magic home – pull a little money from my emergency Disney magic fund and order a handful of Vinylmation from the site… then, I don’t let myself open them all at once. The key is to spread them out over a week or so, prolonging the magic.

While this may be a slightly more pricey way to bring home the magic, it is worth the occasional splurge. 🙂 There is something particularly magical about opening up those blind boxes and discovering the treasure inside. Sure, I get my share of duplicates this way but I love stashing those away to trade on my next Disney trip.

So, what are your favorite ways to bring home the magic?