A Milestone Reached! We Now Have 500 Members!

Hey there, hi there, ho there!

Congratulations to us! We just hit 500 members, when Cathy B. joined us today!

We have another Pin Trading Meeting (at 10am) and Day at Disneyland (at 11am) coming up this Sunday, June 10!

Plus we're going to the grand opening of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land at California Adventure on Friday, June 15!

And more to come!

During the summer months, a lot of our Annual Pass members are blocked out from the parks. But we have good news! The Saturday night swing dancing that had to leave the Carnation Plaza Gardens because of the remodeling of that area into the Princess Village has moved to the main stage at Downtown Disney near ESPN, and it is a HUGE party of fun! I went by there last Saturday night and there were HUNDREDS of people dancing and having a great time! And no ticket or pass required!

So we will be setting up some extra meetups at Downtown Disney during the summer to enjoy the fun and join the party! When we need a break from the dance party we can cruise over to Trader Sam's and the Tangaroa Terrace at the nearby Disneyland Hotel for some tropical food and drinks and listen to the live music under the tiki lamps on the patio! It's a wonderful way to enjoy a warm summer evening!

Have a magical day! We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Meet Merida From Brave at Disneyland!

A new meet-and-greet has opened over by "it's a small world" featuring Merida from the new Pixar movie "Brave". The film is scheduled for release on June 22, 2012. We visited today and got these pix.

Disney Drastically Increasing Pass Prices On May 20

Disney is raising pass prices 30% (as well as other prices) on May 20. For example, Premium passes are jumping from $499 to $649 per year. If you have not obtained or renewed your pass yet, you may want to do so immediately. (I'm not sure that obtaining/renewing a pass before May 20 will lock in the old rate for you for a year, but you may want to check on this right away.)

Click here for details

2011 Disneyland Candlelight Processional

On Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 3-4), Disneyland held its big Christmas ceremony, with a choir singing Christmas songs and celebrity narrator Gary Sinise (best known as Detective Mac Taylor from the CSI TV series and Lt. Dan in the movie "Forrest Gump").

We attended the 8:00 performance on Sunday, December 4.

The performers were positioned on the steps and terraces of the Main Street Train Station, and VIPs/big spenders were seated in the middle of Town Square with front row views of the Station. The rest of us were packed in around them. The weather was a bit brisk (49 degrees) but clear.

The choirs were beautiful and the performances flawless. Truly a wonderful production! Here's some more pix (click on the pix for larger resolution):

At the end, we all sang "Silent Night" along with the choirs.

Holiday Decorations at California Adventure

We stopped by California Adventure on Tuesday to check out the holiday decorations. We had lunch at the Paradise Garden Grill and listened to the amazing band. We both got the big spiced Beef Kefta meatballs but with different sauces (she had the Moroccan chili and tzatziki sauces on the side, while I went with the chimichurri sauce). Delicious fun as always!

Disney Gallery: "All Aboard" Disney Train Art Exhibit Opening November 12

“All Aboard for A Grand Circle Tour of the Trains of Disney,” a new exhibit of art featuring Disney trains, will be opening at the Disney Gallery on Saturday, November 12, 2011. The exhibit will kick off with appearances and signing by some of the artists who created the works. These special appearances will be from 9:00am-11:00am on Saturday. Take advantage of this rare and unique opportunity to get your favorite piece actually signed by the artist!

You can preview all the art and get more info at "The Art Of Disney Parks" webpage.

I really like Yakovetic's "All Aboard" piece with Walt and Mickey riding a miniature train and Tinker Bell hitching a ride on Walt's shoulder. Which ones do you like?

Disneyland Entry Whistle/Sound Ringtones

Here's something fun!

At the artifacting.com website, you can download the little whistling sound that is made when you go through the turnstile at Disneyland and the sound that you here when they scan your ticket while entering Disneyland. You could use them as ringtones on your phone!

Here's the link: http://www.artifacting.com/blog/2011/10/18/disneyland-entry-whistlesound-ringtones/