BUZZ LIGHTYEAR

IF YOU RIDE BUZZ ALONE YOU CAN CHANGE GUNS BACK AND FORTH TO SEE WHICH ONE YOU LIKE...

THIS IS SUSAN..I RODE BUZZ 3 TIMES ON MONDAY. THE FIRST TIME IS THE #1 SCORE!!! SO IT WAS 11AMish BUT I GOT TO PUT MY INITIALS UP...THAT WAS COOL.

THE SECOND AND THIRD TIMES WERE AFTER 11 PM BUT THE RANKINGS WERE 43 AND 48TH FOR THE DAY! AND YOU CAN SEE THAT I TESTED BOTH GUNS OUT...OH YEAH...MY FAMILY DID NOT WANT TO RIDE WITH ME.....not nice

DILLON'S 18TH BDAY TRIP

JUNE 09 VISIT FORBES FAMILY, PLUS KAYLA AND CARISSA, BOBBI, GMA, CLAYTON AND MCKINLEY....MARCUS FLEW IN ON TUESDAY

PIN NERDS AND OTHER COOL PICS

THIS IS A GOOD PHOTO SHOT WHILE WAITING ON THE TRAIN. (PIN NERD) MCKINLEY WITH JASMINE AND ALLADIN! (beginner pin nerd)

MCKINLEY AND FAMILY GOT TO GO TO THE TOP OF THE MARK TWAIN TO HELP DRIVE THE BOAT!! SHE GOT A CERTIFICATE TO SHOW OFF TOO!

UNCLE BILL AND MCKINLEY ON THE CAR RIDE FROM MAIN STREET TO CINDERELLAS CASTLE.....SHELBY JO GOT TO RING THE BELL TO GET THE PEEPS OUT OF THE WAY THERE...

Easter week pictures

IF YOU GET LUCKY YOU CAN HOLD YOUR CAMERA ABOVE YOUR CAR INSIDE THE HAUNTED MANSION RIDE, AND TRY TO GET A PHOTO OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR BEHIND YOU! HI BILL AND SHELBY JO!! AFTER YOU GET OFF OF A RIDE THAT SNAPPED YOUR PHOTO, USE YOUR CELL CAM OR YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA TO TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR PHOTO INSTEAD OF PURCHASING A PICTURE! thanx shelby, marcus and clayton

Another cool photo op....hold on tight to your camera though... this is on the toy story mania ride....go dillon and clayton

Free Disney Tickers

PIN TRADING TIPS

Yes I Am Ready To Trade! Here are some tips I found! But of course Disney Freeks have to test it out before its true!

-Some cast members wear a teal colored lanyard at Disneyland and a green lanyard at Walt Disney World with pins people should be on the lookout for because there are often some unique pins available on them for trading

-There are a few special tips that can also help collectors to make the most of their pin trading adventures. The first tip is to look for Disney managers who are wearing pin lanyards. The store, park, and resort managers often have some of the best pins on their lanyards for trading

-One of the best kept Disney secrets for pin trading is that many of the resort shops keep a special pin board that kids can request to trade off of once each day. The pin boards are often stocked with some harder to find pins and each child can make two trades off of the pin board each day. The Disney Pin Store in Downtown Disney also has a very large pin board, but the times are random when it is opened up for trading

APRIL 2009

OK...SOMEONE HAS TO GO TO DISNEYLAND TO SEE IF THE NEW STREET PARTY PARADE IS GOING TO BE OK FOR BROOKLYN! WE VOLUNTEER!! HEADING DOWN SATURDAY APRIL 4TH!!! CAN'T WAIT...IT HAS BEEN AT LEAST???? ONE MONTH! OR SO?? EXCITED TO GO....I WONDER HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE FOR SOMEONE TO BEAT DILLON'S TOY STORY SCORE??
SUSAN AND BILL JUST SOLD THEIR 3RD OF 4 PINS PURCHASED IN JANUARY. THIS WAS A "WRISTBAND EVENT" AS ALL PIN NERDS KNOW! YOU GET A WRISTBAND AND STAND IN A 45MINUTE LINE, ALTHOUGH WE HAD NO IDEA WHY WE WERE IN THE LINE...WE DID NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT WE COULD BUY! BUT IF WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET A WRISTBAND....WHY NOT WAIT. WE HAD TO GO AROUND THE BUILDING AND LOOK FOR THE CAST MEMBER WHO WOULD BE AT A SECRET DOOR TO LET YOU IN. SOUNDED GOOD AT THE TIME! WE THEN STOOD INSIDE AN OLD INDOOR LINE FOR WHO KNOWS WHAT RIDE...THE BUILDING WAS BETWEEN BUZZ LIGHTYEAR AND THE STAGE WHERE THE BANDS PLAY! ONCE WE MADE IT TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE, YOU WERE ALLOWED TO PURCHASE 2 PINS PER PERSON/WRISTBAND. THEY WERE LIMITED EDITION (1000) PIECE OF HISTORY AUTOPIA PINS @14.00. SO WE EACH BOUGHT 2, JUST CUZ!
ANYWAY....MY 3RD PIN SOLD FOR 47.00 ON EBAY YESTERDAY! HOW FUN!! I CAN TURN THAT INTO AT LEAST 25-30 PINS TO TRADE AT THE PARK!
PIN TRADERS.....WATCH OUT!!! I HEAR CLAYTON IS READY TO TRADE TOO!

DILLON HAS SOME PINS THAT ARE THE "PRIZES" ON THE TOY STORY RIDE!! THE FOX AND THE DEAR I THINK!

WILL UPDATE SOON!
SUSAN

WDW Ride Reviews, Part Two - Expedition Everest

Ride: Expedition Everest

Location: Animal Kingdom, Asia

Tyler's Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars

Expedition Everest is a classic style roller coaster located in the Asia region of Disneyworld's Animal Kingdom. The actual ride takes you over, around and through the worlds highest mountain: Mount Everest. Your adventure leads you on a perilous journey to the top of Mount Everest where you'll face the monsters of your nightmares... literally. Scream, swirl and sweat as you try to get out alive. Good luck.

I am not familiar with the queue, only because I never stood in it. Even though I managed to ride Everest four times in one day, I used a fastpass each time. The fastpass line wait time is about 5 minutes, and the standby wait time varies anywhere from 45-60 minutes throughout the day. Each coaster car can seat two people, side-by-side, and there are approximately 10 cars per train. The ride starts off nice and slow... on a steep climb to the top of "Mount Everest". If you have a fear of heights, the beginning of the ride might spook you a little.

I wont describe this ride in detail in fear of spoiling the surprises that await you. If you are not familiar with some of the secrets on this ride, DO NOT LOOK THEM UP. I promise you will enjoy this attraction 100 times more the first time you ride it if you don't know what is coming. OK Disney freeks? Keep it secret. Keep it safe.

Although I will keep most of the ride top secret, I will reveal a couple of things. (#1) You will come face to face with the Yeti of Everest mountain. (#2) The majority of the ride is in complete darkness. It has a space mountain type feel, however, you will enjoy 10-15 seconds of the ride on the exterior of the mountain. (#3) You WILL have a blast. This ride is awesome and you'll be sure to come back again, and again, and again. I liked this one so much, I bought the $12 attraction pin to add to my collection. And if you know how cheap I am, that's kind of a big deal.

P.S. You might... just might... go upside down.

WDW Ride Reviews, Part One - Space Ranger Spin

Ok, so as most of you know, Kenzie and I spent the last week in Walt Disney World. Unfortunately, our digital camera is kind of lame, so we were unable to take a lot of cool pictures for you all to see. Kenzie will post the pictures we did get at a later time. While at Disney World, we visited all four parks; Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios. And while many of the rides at these parks can be found at Disneyland or California Adventure, there are some attractions unique to Walt Disney World. I took the opportunity to ride - and subsequently rate and review - the rides you wont find in Anaheim. Each day I will post a new review spotlighting one of the rides. First up: Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin!

Ride: Buzz Lightyears's Space Ranger Spin
Location: Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland
Tyler's Rating: 3.5 out of 10 stars

Review: Yes, I know we're all familiar with this ride. And yes, I know we all love this ride. So you're probably wondering why I only gave it 3.5 out of 10 stars? There are several reasons. Let's start from the beginning: The queue (or line):

Without a fastpass, you will spend anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes in line for this attraction. The queue portion of this ride is nearly identical to the queue for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster's in Anaheim. Generally there is a short wait outside, followed by a longer wait inside the building portion of the ride. The decorations on the walls are the exact decorations found in Disneyland, including the hidden Mickey head which Clayton discovered in January. And just like in Disneyland, Buzz Lightyear (holographic head and all) is waiting for you near the end of the queue. The ride continually boards passengers just as we are all accustomed to.

When I first boarded the ride, Kenzie and I were extremely excited to flex our Buzz Lightyear muscles and blow her family away with our scores. We did not reveal any secrets or tips to her family prior to boarding the ride... we wanted to absolutely destroy all of our competition. I jumped into the "spaceship" and reached for my gun. I pulled up on the gun, but found, in horror, that the gun was welded into place! It was attached to the ride just like the guns on Toy Story Mania! I couldn't even swivel the gun left or right! "Oh well," I thought to myself, "Just focus on hitting the triangles and everything will be fine." I was dead wrong.

As we made our way into the first room, I searched frantically for a triangle, diamond, or even a square target. NOTHING. I was instantly sick to my stomach as I realized the room was filled with... gasp... only circle targets! In this version of the ride, the trigger is found on the back of the gun and is activated by depressing a large green button with your thumb. I started shooting as fast as I could, only to find out you can only shoot once every couple of seconds. I watched as my score climbed to 400 points as we exited the first room.

Utter disappointment swept over me like a 40-foot ocean wave as the second room slowly crept into view... still only circle targets. The interior of the ride was far inferior to that of Disneyland's version. Very little animatronics, and very few interactive targets. The targets don't light up either. What you see is what you get... an endless sea of meaningless, valueless, circle targets. Good luck hitting those circle targets with an immobile gun! Needless to say, my score was no where near the hundreds of thousands of points I'm used to. I exited the ride, my head hanging in shame.

As I made my way out of the building, I searched for the computer monitors so I could compare my score to others around me. Once again I was let down. No pictures are taken, and you cannot review your score at the end of the ride. What a bummer. I did not get back in line for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and I did not obtain a fastpass for later in the day. I walked away from the ride lost, confused and depressed. I can't wait to visit Disneyland once again, so my faith in Buzz Lightyear can be restored.

TOY STORY UPDATE!!!

DILLON HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!! TOPPED THE TOP...THE SECOND SCORE IS EVAN..
CAN THEY BE CHEATING?! LOOK AT THAT STINKIN ACCURACY SCORE...35%

STAR SIGHTINGS

SHELBY AND LIBBY HEARD THAT THE JONAS BROTHERS WERE HERE....AFTER SERIOUS INVESTIGATION THEY LEARNED THAT IT WAS ONLY KEVIN JONAS AND HIS GIRLFRIEND. THEY DID FIND HIM AND TALK TO HIM!

SUNDAY FEB 22 09

THIS WAS A WIERD DAY. BILL AND I WERE WALKING DOWNTOWN DISNEY TO GO TO THE CARNATION CAFE FOR BREAKFAST.....A GIRL WAS WALKING AWAY FROM DISNEYLAND AND SAID "WHY ARE YOU WALKING THAT WAY". WE HAD NO IDEA WHY SHE SPOKE ONLY TO US, WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO JOIN THE CROWD. SHE SAID THE GATES ARE CLOSED AND NOONE IS BEING ALLOWED IN......WE TURNED AROUND AND ATE AT THE WHITE WATER SNACKS.....AWESOME BREAKFAST BURRITOS!....WE FIGURED WE WOULD JUST GO INTO CALIF ADVENTURE WHEN IT WAS TIME.....WE LATER HEARD THERE WAS AN ANTRAX SCARE......DIDN'T SCARE ME!

A WORD TO THE NEW PIN TRADERS.....BE WARNED......THIS IS ADDICTING! YOU FIND YOURSELF DRAWN TO EVERY CAST MEMBER WITH PINS. THIS WAS JUST FUNNY AT FIRST..BUT YOU FIND YOURSELF NOT WANTED TO TRADE AWAY ANY PINS...

DILLON EVEN GOT INVOLVED! HE WAS GOING TO SEE HOW MANY TIMES HE COULD OVERTURN A PIN...HE EVEN WORE A PRINCESS PIN AWHILE...THEN HE WAS DRAWN TO DONALD....SMALL MAD LOOKING DONALDS! THEN THERE WERE THE CUTE PIRATES...HE HAS MOST OF THE SET NOW!

HE ALSO CANNOT STOP IMPROVING HIS HIGH SCORE ON TOY STORY MANIA!

THE NEW HIGH SCORE...264,400

TOY STORY MANIA FEB 09.... 241,800

DILLON FORBES IS THE NEW KING OF TOY STORY MANIA! ON FEB 20TH DILLON AND EVAN RODE THE RIDE AND "PONED" AMANDA'S PRIOR SCORE!!! YOU GO DILLON.....CAN IT BE BEAT ON SUNDAY?

NEW HIGH SCORE FOR TOY STORY MANIA!

BILL FORBES HELD A NEW TITLE FOR ONE DAY AT 191,700. IT WAS POURING DOWN RAIN AND WE RODE TWICE IN A ROW WITH ABOUT 10 TO 15 PEOPLE IN LINE. THIS WAS BILLS SCORE...WITHOUT THE RAINBOW BALLOON SHOWER.

THE NEXT DAY WE WAITED FOR 45 MINUTES FOR THE RIDE TO OPEN AND SUSAN FORBES OBTAINED THE NEW HIGH SCORE PICTURED HERE.

FEB 09 REMODELING UPDATE

BILL AND SUSAN STOPPED TO VISIT DISNEYLAND THIS MONTH. THERE IS PROGRESS ON THE CONSTRUCTION... THE SUNWHEEL IS NOW BLACK AND RED, THE SCAFFOLDING IS STILL UP. THE CHINESE RESTAURANT AT THE WHARF IS BEING TORN DOWN. WE WATCHED THEM TEARING UP CONCRETE AND THE NEW DANCING WATERS AREA. WE ALSO GOT TO RIDE SMALL WORLD. WE SAW SOME OF THE NEW CHARACTERS THEY ADDED TO THE RIDE. THEY BLENDED IN REALLY WELL WITH THE OLD SMALL WORLD THEME! WE DID NOT EVEN FIND THEM ALL. CHECK OUT THE CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS...

A Tale of Two Cities: LA vs. Orlando

I'm having the hardest time right now as McKenzie and I prepare for our trip to Disneyworld at the end of February. Why you ask? Well, there are several reasons for my less-than-optimistic attitude. Lets start with the major reason:

#1 You guys aren't there!
How are we supposed to enjoy ourselves without Disneyland experts by our side? How will we know where the secret entrances are, what rides have fastpasses, or... even worse... where we can find the Corn Dog Castle!?!

Mom: How can Kenzie and I enjoy the parks without a designated babysitter? Were going to have to... gulp... take turns riding the rides! Who will make late night Taco Bell runs to feed our empty stomachs? Who will feel bad when we discover "It's a small world" is closed?

McKinley: Who will spoil Brooklyn? Who will help her be brave at the Rainforest Cafe'? Who will I ride on all the scary rides with?

Aunt Susan and Uncle Bill, who will wait in line so we (McKenzie) can cut once you're near the end? Who will we tell when we find a cool Tigger or Pluto trading pin? Who will we scream with on the Hollywood Tower of Terror? Who will find the guy doing the voice of the talking trash can? Who will I make fun of pin-trading nerds with?

Clayton, who will help me discover hidden Mickeys? Who will get up on stage with Aunt Jemimah and dance around like a fool?

Marcus and Dillon, who will find some hot chicks and suddenly disappear for the remainder of the trip? Who will re-appear from time to time just to ask for money or food... only to once again vanish into thin air. Dillon, who will I OWN in Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters?

Amanda, who will Evan have to hold onto during the scariest of Disney rides? Who will laugh at the Jungle Cruise guides lame jokes?

Dad, who will we complain about snoring all night? Who can we count on if we have an electrical problem in our hotel? Who will knock my hand out of the way on Buzz Lightyear when we're both going for the same target?

Shelby, what will we do without you in our family pictures? You make the rest of us look good! Who will keep McKenzie company while I'm off being a goofball?

So you see, you're all an integral part of the perfect Disneyland vacation/visit. It just wont be the same without you guys. The majority of the fun comes from being with family.

#2 How much it costs!
For a three day park hopper at Disneywolrd, Kenzie and I will be spending... are you ready... Five hundred and sixteen dollars ($516)! What the heck man? For a Deluxe Annual Passport at Disneyland it would only cost us Five hundred and thirty-eight dollars ($538). I know Disneyworld is bigger, but c'mon! Three day hopper for almost the same exact price as a Disneyland season pass? Ridiculous!

#3 It's TOO Big
I just looked online at all the different attraction and entertainment options available at Disneyworld. I've got to tell you, I'm already overwhelmed. With four parks, and only three days to explore them, my stress level is going to be through the roof. The other day I wrote down every single attraction Kenzie and I want to do/see while we're there. Then we took turns highlighting the things we wanted to do for sure. We're going to be hard pressed to do it all, especially with little Brooklyn. I will keep track and let you know how we do.

Now, even though there are plenty of things to be bummed about, I'm still WAY excited to go. After all, it doesn't get much better than Disney... wheter it be land or world. We will be sure to take plenty of pictures and post them as soon as we get back.

MAY 05..McKinley's first trip to Disneyland

THIS WAS MCKINLEY'S FIRST TRIP TO DISNEYLAND...SHE WAS GOOD AT LEARNING THE PRINCESS POSES AND MEETING NEW PEOPLE!

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR FAMILY PHOTOS

DILLON IS CURRENTLY THE HIGHSCORE HOLDER FOR THE RIDE. NOTICE THE SERIOUS LOOKS ON THE FACES AS THE CAMERA CATCHES YOU....GO GRANDMA!

CURRENT HIGH SCORE FOR TOY STORY

THIS SCORE IS THE CURRENT HIGH SCORE IN THE FAMILY. THIS AWARD GOES TO KENZIE WHO WAS ASSISTED BY BROOKLYN.......IF YOU HAVE BEEN ON THIS RIDE, YOU KNOW YOU NEED BOTH HANDS FREE TO PLAY...I THINK BROOKE WAS WATCHING THE LAPTOP AS HER DAD WATCHED CHEAT CODE STORIES!

ANY NEW HIGH SCORES MUST HAVE A PHOTOGRAPH AS PROOF! (AND ONE EYEWITNESS)

GOOD JOB KENZIE AND BROOKLYN!

DISNEY JAIL

EVEN THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH HAS A JAIL...NOT THIS

CUTE ONE YOU ARE LOOKING AT...IT IS UNDERGROUND...DON'T DO ANYTHING YOU SHOULDN'T DO!

Celebrate! A Street Party

Here is a short article from the Los Angeles Times highlighting some of the plans for the new Disneyland parade for 2009: Celebrate! A Street Party. Aparently Disneyland wants this new production to feel more like a street party and less like a parade. Either way, it's going to be pretty awesome.


Although Disneyland isn’t calling it a parade, the new “interactive street party” debuting March 27 will travel along the parade route, replace the outgoing parade and essentially serve as the daily parade.

In typical punctuation-challenged Disney fashion, Celebrate! A Street Party will feature seven floats and 90 performers in a “celebratory song and dance party.”

Banners and ribbons will connect the floats as if in a long chain, according to Screamscape, with periodic high points punctuated by confetti-cannon fodder. Cue the street sweepers.

The anti-parade will make at least two show stops — on Main Street U.S.A. and in front of It’s a Small World — where singers, dancers, stilt-walkers and Disney characters will shake and shimmy to party songs.

Similar in scale to the Parade of Dreams, which the new whatever-you-do-don’t-call-it-a-parade replaces, Celebrate! A Street Party will typically run twice on busy days and once on slower days.

Freekly Update - January 21, 2009

Couple of items you might be interested in. This weeks update includes information about the new, larger sized drinks for this year, and also some possible dates for "Mini Gay Days" coming in April. The dates are not official yet, but I will be sure to keep you updated.

- Select casual-service restaurants at the Disneyland Resort have introduced a 32-ounce soft drink. The 32-ounce drink is $3.29, compared to $2.69 for the 20-ounce drink. During an introductory promotion, Disneyland Resort annual pass holders can purchase the 32-ounce cup for $2.99 with any food purchase.

Upcoming Park Events for Spring of 2009

Mini Gay Day at the Disneyland Resort (unofficial event) – Event planners have not formally announced the dates for their Spring event, but based on past scheduling it will likely be the weekend of April 3-5.

Disney's California Food and Wine Festival – Daily, April 24 to June 7, 2009. No additional details are available at this time.

MouseAdventure – Sunday, April 26 (competitive event) and Sunday, May 11 (noncompetitive event) at the Disneyland Resort. Additional details will be announced as available, so be sure to register for the MouseAdventure Newsletter to receive future announcements.

The 20 per Paycheck Plan!

OK, so I've been thinking. I know, I know... big surprise. Well, here are my thoughts: We like Disneyland. We like staying in the Disneyland hotels. The Disneyland hotels are expensive. We really, really want to stay in the Grand Californian. The Grand Californian is the most expensive hotel of all.

Big problem, right? Wrong.

I've developed a plan to get us into Disneyland's Grand Californian hotel. No, we're not going to spend the next several months planning the greatest scam of all time. And no, we're not going to push Marcus into the front lobby in a wheelchair in hopes of gaining sympathy from hotel staff - which would obviously lead to a free nights stay(although that probably would work). No, we're not doing either of those things. What we are doing is much more dangerous, much more risky... we're going to... ready for this? SAVE MONEY. I told you I'm a genius.

On the 20 per paycheck plan we'll have Chip and Dale serving us breakfast in no time! Here is how it works: Every paycheck, each of us will put away $20 into an envelope, jar, bank account, etc. If you don't receive bi-weekly paychecks, just plan on saving $10 per week. As the weeks and months pass, we'll sit and watch as our Grand Californian funds slowly become larger, larger, larger, and LARGER. Before you know it, we'll have enough to spend several nights in the most luxurious hotel known to man! Ten dollars a week is nothing when you think about the end result. So whose with me? Who will sacrifice one In-N-Out cheeseburger meal a week so we can achieve this goal? Rally the troops! Scream the battle cry! Grand Californian here we come! If you're in, leave a comment. If you're not in... you're a NOOB (gasp).

P.S. All disney freeks can contribute (Amanda/Clayton), the more contributors, the faster we obtain our wildest dreams

P.S.S. I posted two posts today, so if you haven't seen the other one, just scroll down a bit.

"Freek"ly Update - Ride Closures/Important Dates

Alright, well here are a few dates you might be interested in. The new parade, "Celebrate!" is scheduled to open on the 27th of March. The new Sunwheel is set to re-open on April 24th, 2009. I don't know if that's when they plan on having the lake filled again. Rumours are the wheel will be renamed "Mickey's Fun Wheel". Also on April 24th, the "Games of the Boardwalk" section of DCA will be re-opened with a new Disney theme. Sweeeeet...

Disneyland

Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams – originally said to be dark through February 13, 2009, Disney has now announced that this parade will not return due to a repaving project on Main Street. The "Celebrate! street party" is scheduled to begin on March 27th.

"It's a small world" – closed through February 5, 2009 to remove the holiday overlay.
Haunted Mansion – closed through February 13, 2009 to remove the holiday overlay.
Blue Ribbon Bakery – closes January 12, 2009 for one day.
Matterhorn Bobsleds – closed February 9-12, 2009 for a brief refurbishment.
Pirates of the Caribbean – closes February 15, 2009 for refurbishment.

Disney's California Adventure

Sun Wheel – closed for refurbishment and to install the new Mickey face. No reopening date has been announced, but an employee publication lists April 24, 2009 as the return date.
Golden Dreams – now closed. This attraction will eventually be replaced with the new Little Mermaid ride.
Burger Invasion – now closed. No announcement has been made about a potential replacement for this former McDonald's location, but an employee publication lists June 25, 2010 as the return date.
Games of the Boardwalk – now closed to install a new facade and new Disney-themed games. No reopening date has been announced, but an employee publication lists April 24, 2009 as the return date.
Grizzly River Run – closes January 20-27, 2009 for refurbishment.
Boudin Bakery & The Bakery Tour – closes February 9, 2009 for refurbishment.

A Word of Caution

I understand that most of us get really, really excited about Disneyland. Hence, the blog dedicated to all things DL. However, there are some things I need to warn all you freeks (including myself) about. If one is so hypnotized by the majesty of the DL or DCA parks, he/she is in danger of falling into one of the following categories; a noob or a nerd. And while noobs and nerds have their differences, they both are equally disliked. Here is a brief summary to help you understand these two horrific illnesses:

NOOB - The technical definition of a noob is as follows:
Someone behaving or giving the impression to others that they are a novice (even though they might think otherwise). Often used as an insult or derogatory remark intended to imply that the person is naive, ignorant or has little or no skill.

Pay particularly close attention to the "even though they might think otherwise" portion of that definition. It is a fact that most noobs don't even know they are. Unfortunately, when someone doesn't know he/she is a noob, that person tends to display outward attributes which some would consider embarrassing. Because noobs are generally oblivious to their noobness, they have no idea they should be embarrassed. Here is a classic example of some Disneyland noobs:

These two are completely unaware that they are noobs. In fact, they probably feel like they fit right in with the rest of the parks visitors. We all know it's their first time despite a valiant effort to look like seasoned park veterans. The goofy hats, tie-dye shirts, 3D goggles, and two ton lanyards give them away. The rest of us get a good laugh as we watch these two DL noobs enter Toy Story's Midway Mania ride. But hey, looks like their having a good time, right?

NERD- an unattractive, boring or unpopular person, esp. one who is obsessed with a particular subject.

These are the guys who score 15,000,000 points on one round of Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. While we freeks like to get high scores... we don't ever want to get that high. Watch out for nerds, because you can't always immediately identify one. There are some nerds, however, who couldn't hide in the darkest part of the Indiana Jones ride. This guy for example:

If you ever get home after a DL trip, and find a picture like this one in your camera... it's probably a good idea to take a break from the park for a while. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing weird about taking some funny photo's in the crazy hat shop. Those pictures are just hilarious. The nerd problem arises when you don't think you're taking funny photos, but you actually believe you're taking cool action shots. Clearly this guy is planning on posting this picture on his myspace.com account when he gets home... you know... cause chicks dig this kind of stuff.

OK. I'm glad we had this little chat. Let us continue DL and DCA for all the awesomness it holds, but let us also be aware of our surroundings and never let one another fall into one of the two aforementioned categories. We're freeks, not freaks. Let's keep it that way. Oh and just one last word of advice. If you think DL security tolerates noobs and nerds, think again. This could be you the next time you "let go" and let your inner noob/nerd come out:

DisneyFreeks.com

Ok all you Disney "freeks" out there (yes, I know that is not the correct spelling), I created this blog just for you! Pretty sweet, huh? You can thank me later. There are several reasons I put this little piece of cyber space together. Those reasons include, but are not limited to:

1. Disney News - upcoming ride/attraction information, special events, etc.

2. Disney Deals - special prices listed for hotels, coupons, cheap trading pins online, etc.

3. Hidden Mickeys - lists kept of all the hidden mickey's we've located at DL and DCA

4. Pictures - do I need to explain this one?

5. Ride Secrets/Tips - so we can be inducted into the high score hall of fame!

6. Anything else DL or DCA you want to add or mention... it's up to you!

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Obviously this site will be viewed by a small group of people, but we can list helpful hints and tips so other vacationers can benefit from our experience at the happiest place on earth. For example; how is someone going to know they can buy a gigantic turkey leg for 7 bucks if we don't tell them? The world needs our help!

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DISCLAIMER: This website is NOT a one man show. I need several authors on here so we can keep this blog up and running! In put from everyone of you freeks is not only needed, it's required. So if you're interested in becoming an author to this blog, you need to shoot me an e-mail or leave me a comment. Some of you don't have a choice... some of you will be forced to post on this site regularly... you know who you are.

Let's make this site informative and fun. The more help I get from all of you, the better this little resource will be. I know most of you who are reading this already know everything there is to know about DL, so smile and pretend like you're excited anyway. OK. Let the weirdness begin!