California - Here we come - Day 5

[Guest]

Day 5

Today starts with us meeting up with Tim & Jimmie at White Water snacks for a bite of breakfast. Tim has worked out a schedule for the day and, boy! , is he thorough. There isn’t an inch of those parks that he doesn’t know. And here they are – Tim on the left – he never stops grinning – and Jimmie, right, who being nearer my generation is happy to reflect on life with me. We are going to have so many laughs today. And you may be surprised at some of my observations.



We head over to the Paradise Pier area of Disney’s California Adventure. Here you can see the bit where they used to present the California show with Whoopi Goldberg as Califia, the spirit of the State. They have ove -r built the original building and this will be the new “Little Mermaid” ride.



We’ll get to see what it will look like later in the day. They are also fitting the statue of King Triton to the top of the building and we stop and watch for a while.



Equally in the far corner of the park there’s a lot going on there. The old Mulholland Madness ride is being made over into a new Goofy coaster.



We take a ride on the flying chairs which used to be the Orange Stinger but is now styled on the whirlwind band concert – Silly Symphony Swings. Brings back memories of childhood as we whizz through the air.



On to Toy Story MIDWAY Mania as Tim insists it must be called. None of this Orlando abbreviated ride name for him! AS we have always done Fastpass for this ride at the Hollywood Studios, Darrin has never seen the Mr Potato Head animatronic so we spend some time watching him do his routine. Unfortunately, Mr PH doesn’t remove his ear (which he is capable of doing).



I get to meet Duffy bear – who? I hear you ask. The story is that years ago Minnie made the Teddy Bear for Mickey to take on his travels with him. Nowadays, you, too, can have a Duffy with a myriad of outfits to buy to fit him. (Disney marketing is not stupid!) and you then take him on your holidays and get photos of him on his adventures. Anyhow, here he is:



We pay a visit to the Blue Sky Cellar. Here, we are able to see the conceptual art and models for all the transformations going on at the park.

Cars land:


New entrance (the Golden Gate bridge is going!)


Model of the Little Mermaid ride:


Like a load of kids we go off to ride Heimlich’s Chew Chew train. Geddit? He eats everything. Darrin and the guys in line for the ride:
Darrin spots this – at first we thought Stu & Smax had come up with some new product:



We then do California Screamin’……………..a great coaster this one with plenty of curved drops.



Monster Inc. ride is up next. It includes Roz (who like Dibbcast’s Rob) is “watching….always watching!”





Time for the Tower of Terror. I love ToT virgins. I always tell them that the elevator and people aren’t real. “”They animatronics! There’s no way Disney would drop people 13 floors. It’s all simulated!” Imagine their surprise when they discover the truth!



We are ripping through the rides at a rate of knots thanks to Tim and his planning. We decide he should start a company –“Tim’s Tours” and all have a laugh about it.

We take a break from the parks as I have a parcel to ship to a friend in Washington State. The hotel has a Business Centre run by Ikon who can arrange shipping for you of almost anything which is really handy. When we meet up again we have another reservation for Catal in DTD. Once again a superb meal – outside the Napa Rose this is certainly our second favourite for service, friendliness and darn good food.

We start with the ricotta and flatbreads to share.

I opt for braised shoulder of lamb for my main course:



Darrin has paella (he only ate the best bits – the joke was paella please but hold the rice!:



Jimmie goes for New York strip:


Tim has the cannelloni:



Sorry there aren’t fuller descriptions of the meals but I don’t have a Catal menu handy right now.

A brilliant meal enjoyed by all:



We are going over to DCA to watch (for me and Darrin for the 3rd time) the “World of Color” show at Paradise Bay. I can’t emphasise what an amazing and jaw dropping show this is. A respected CM told us it cost $ 75 million to develop and install and you can see why. We got Fastpasses given to us as we went for breakfast at the resort hotel so again have a brilliant view. We spot the control centre. It’s located underneath the bridge that takes you up to the Midway. The control screen is the size of an ipad. I can’t describe how quickly they can open and shut a valve on the jets. It’s microseconds in some cases and the vibrancy of the colours themselves. They are like neon. There are even jets which shoot up in the flower beds of the viewing area. We now have full footage of the show from a couple of angles, so when we get the time it will be put together and put up on Youtube.

And so a perfect evening comes to an end.

Index

[fudgesky]

Another fab day Geoff, with loads packed in! How much is "Tims tours" lol
Did you pic up some Dib choc?
Really enjoying "sharing" your holiday with you guys, thank you

[sueandco]

Another great instalment Geoff - haven't ever seen World of Colour although have been to Disneyland, I guess we will just have to go back!

[shelly]

Fab holiday so far Geoff. I had the Dib ice cream bits in WDW last year. They were yummy!

Your lamb looks gorgeous, is it sat on a bed of beans of some sort?

The Warner Bros tour you did the other day sound fabulous. I have added it to my list of things I ant to do when (if!) we get round to visiting California.

Looking forward to reading the rest.

[Eeyore rocks]

Another fabulous day Geoff.

I got a Duffy bear from EPCOT.

Looking forward to the next instalment.

[pepsicube]

Another fab day

[Aims]

Great installment, Geoff! Loved seeing the pics of the things we discussed over dinner last night- the conceptual art at the Blue Sky Cellar and the new look of the DCA entrance plaza.

On a separate note, just wanted to say that we had the best time with you and Darrin last night. You are the greatest guys! Larry and I are still talking about it this morning. Thank you for everything! ((hugs))

Amy

[Guest]

Really enjoying your reports - I was there in 1987! Oh boy seems a lifetime away! Things have changed!

[blusteryday]

monster inc. Ride is up next. It includes roz (who like dibbcast’s rob) is “watching….always watching!”

See more...

Always watching YOU Geoff, AAAALLLLLWWWWAAAAAAAAAYSSS

[Disney_Diva]

Hehe... 'always watching' love it!
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