Celebrating 20 years at WDW - Bonus features, A few posts from May, Updated 9/11

[tiggrbaby]

Your AP pics are very cute!

I am enjoying your demo reviews. The room had a lovely view.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Another fantastic F&W update. I'm putting the DCA F&W on the bucket list with hopes of making it out there.

The food looks amazing!

 

[afwdwfan]

But for this year I was prepared! At 11 months, I booked us into the VGC for every weekend after Easter! Imagine my surprise when in January they announced it would take place in the six weeks before Easter. Doh!

Of course it is the 6 weeks before

Our first demo was a slight mystery. It was called “Meet the Disneyland Chefs”, so essentially we were playing roulette with who would be cooking for/entertaining us. I was OK with that.

Well, I find it hard to see where you could go wrong with any Disneyland chef!

What he explained to us was that he essentially was in charge of all the food and drinks at the booths and one restaurant that they had converted for a special menu. I love the idea of special menus, but why do they always have to mess with one of my most favorite quick service restaurants? The Paradise Garden Grill.

He's in charge of the booths? Even the bacon booth? And he made a dish that relied on bacon to help add flavor? This dude knows his stuff. You hit the jackpot on chef roulette.

There was another booth nearby called Wineology, guess what they served?

Ice cream?

It was entertaining to listen to and watch during our lunch, but way more work than I want to put in for a dessert!

DW enjoys baking and decorating cakes. She's been known to get elaborate for the kids' birthdays. She'll spend hours on it. I'm like, I just want to destroy your artwork and eat it.

We checked on the room after 4PM and were told that the room was not scheduled to be ready at 4PM, but that it could be ready anytime after 4PM. What?????? That's bull….

That's annoying. I can understand not being able to check in early, but when a room isn't ready by check in time, I just don't have much patience for that.

Well nothing we could do. At 5:00 Fran and I headed off to our demo and just as we passed through the turnstiles into DCA, I got the text that the room was ready. Thanks.

Of course it was...

Our view.

Not too shabby!

Tomorrow does not go as I alluded in the introduction to this mini weekend.

Uh oh...

 

[pkondz]

I think I lost it a few chapters back....

pkondz's ponderous prose proves puzzling, perhaps.

I don't know. Could it have been a pesky teenager taking your attention?

Oh, that! Shoulda left it at home.

Those are both good lessons, and as soon as you start to saute onions, everyone says, "smells so good in here!"

But crunchy bacon is OK!

Okay... I'll do that once in a while... because... bacon.

Well not for me. I think that was the last time I encountered it, but now I see where you are going with this. You'll have to forgive me. I'm a little slow.

That's all right. I'll slow down and just walk with you.

 

[pkondz]

“Perfect,” I thought. “We have demos at noon and 6PM. If we're not full, we can always hit a few more kiosks and call it a night.” Then we can relax in the room until 11AM checkout, we'll just amuse ourselves until the 6PM demo and go home.”

Yep. Sounds about perfect.

I'm not sure if I told you all about the saga of 2017 DCA F&W, so I'll do it now. First off, the largest amount of DVC points that I own is at the VGC. I know that it sounds silly to have so many points at a place so close to home, but back in 2009 (before the VGC was even built), I used up a few of my SSR points trading them out for hotel rooms on three separate random nights. It was really nice not having to drive home after events involving drinking. Plus we never get up and out of the house early enough to get a morning start at the parks. By staying onsite, I could let Fran sleep while I go out and do my thing. On the last morning of staying at the GCH in 2009, I realized that I’d never be able to get in at the VGC during F&W at 7 months with my SSR points, and thus the idea of buying points in CA was born.

Ah, okay. Makes sense.

Plus we had been traveling so much back then we couldn't justify it to our cats, staying out there even if there was availability.

They'd revolt?

Our first demo was a slight mystery. It was called “Meet the Disneyland Chefs”, so essentially we were playing roulette with who would be cooking for/entertaining us. I was OK with that.

I would be too.

So our first demo was at noon, we had packed ever so lightly, one bag! That's a first for us!

One bag??????? Who are you people?!?!?!?

His name is John State and I'll let you read his bio that I stole off another website.

Impressive.

Don't mind the stern look, he was actually a lot of fun and a generally nice guy as I was to find out later in the festival.

He does look like he's about to chew you out.
Or make you do the dishes.

I love the idea of special menus, but why do they always have to mess with one of my most favorite quick service restaurants? The Paradise Garden Grill.

Just to mess with you. It's a running gag.

I believe there was a bratwurst, a white wurst, and a keilbasa. They would be accompanied with sweet red cabbage and warm potato salad.

Yum!

That looks sooo good. Interesting how they sliced the leftmost (kielbasa?) sausage.

They continued to cook as we ate. After rendering the bacon for each dish, for the cabbage, they added onions, chicken broth, caraway seeds, vinegar, sugar, and then the chopped cabbage, he covered it and cooked it low and slow. At the end he finished it with julienned apples and ground sage.

Holy crap! Want.

For the potatoes he rendered the bacon and added julienned onion and diced celery. This would become the “fat” component in the vinaigrette for the potatoes. The potatoes had been steamed on their own and were warm. To the bacon/onion/celery mixture he added two kinds of mustard and Cider vinegar, then he tossed the potatoes in the vinaigrette.

Steamed the spuds? Interesting. I always boil them in their skins for potato salad.

Some of you know that I had asked Fran to buy me a very specialized Moroccan sausage via the internet.

Yum! Had something almost identical day before yesterday.

On our way out of the demo, I was approached by a DIS lurker who has read my reports and said that because of reading my TRs she and her husband took their first DCL cruise. If you're out there reading, stop in and say “hi”!

Nice! I haven't had that happen to me, but I keep hoping!

We were also interested in the Teriyaki Chicken Slider. This was great! Messy but great.

Messy is almost always a good thing.

Fran came back with a Sangria flight. Turns out we both liked the Peach Sangria the best.

Ruby would've loved that. She's been on a red sangria kick lately.

Besides early on it became clear to me that this was way more involved than I wanted to get. I'm not much of a baker. I have a few dessert recipes in my arsenal, but I'm mostly a boxed cake mix kind of person.

Yeah, me too.
I've done a bit.... but not much.

That top one looks like it was trying to jump out of the fryer.

She got a pretzel (which unfortunately I had to fish it's stale self out of the basket of the scooter. We were so full from the fish that she didn't eat it right away and then forgot about it.

Shame. Love me a good pretzel.

In an update a few back, I mentioned that we stopped at the AP area and took some pictures, but that I couldn't find them. It turns out they were on Fran's Photopass account, so let's pretend that after we ate our Fish & Chips we took these pictures.

Sure! Hey! Look! You just had fish and are getting your photos done!

Love that one.

We checked on the room after 4PM and were told that the room was not scheduled to be ready at 4PM, but that it could be ready anytime after 4PM. What?????? That's bull….

That definitely is bull...
"I'm supposed to pay at checkout, but I'll pay anytime after that. Maybe never."


(Yes I know it doesn't apply to you.)

At 5:00 Fran and I headed off to our demo and just as we passed through the turnstiles into DCA, I got the text that the room was ready. Thanks.

Our perky hostess was back, I seemed to cover her face in this picture.

You really were annoyed with her!

Then he made the Hollandaise in the blender.

Really! Huh. I always do it in a double boiler.

I did take notes on this demo, but I didn’t figure I would use them.

Think you will now?

The room, I didn’t take pictures of the second bedroom as Suzie and her kids were in there.

Wow! That place is beautiful!

Our view.

Not bad!

The master bath.

Whoa.... that is one heck of a master bath!

Tomorrow does not go as I alluded in the introduction to this mini weekend.

Hmmm.... that could be taken as a good thing or a bad thing.

 

[Pinkocto]

Fun day with lots of yummies! Sounds like a great bonus with the chef you didn't know ahead of time.

How kind to share the 2BR with friends, I bet they loved that!!! But am I reading she left the 6 year old in charge of the 1 year old?

What is this business about the room not being ready by 4???

 

[rndmr2]

Nice to see another bonus update!

The Demos looked pretty interesting. I'm not a fan of sausages but I love that red cabbage and the potato salad looked good. My MIL (grew up Pennsylvania Dutch) makes a great red cabbage.

Crazy that your room wasn't ready until 5p. But the room is beautiful, and what a view! Love that huge shower.

Such an ominous sounding cliff hanger...

 

[franandaj]

Your AP pics are very cute!

I am enjoying your demo reviews. The room had a lovely view.

Thanks,we had fun taking them! Unfortunately those are the last of that type of demo, but there are still Celebrity Chef demos!

I seem to luck out often with that view!

Another fantastic F&W update. I'm putting the DCA F&W on the bucket list with hopes of making it out there.

The food looks amazing!

The problem with the festival is that you never know if it will be before or after Easter until they announce it in January.

Of course it is the 6 weeks before

Why do it consistently?

Well, I find it hard to see where you could go wrong with any Disneyland chef!

That's kind of what we thought.

He's in charge of the booths? Even the bacon booth? And he made a dish that relied on bacon to help add flavor? This dude knows his stuff. You hit the jackpot on chef roulette.

Ice cream?

DW enjoys baking and decorating cakes. She's been known to get elaborate for the kids' birthdays. She'll spend hours on it. I'm like, I just want to destroy your artwork and eat it.

See that's the thing, a crappy looking cake tastes just as good as a fancy one. Maybe better. I'm not a fan of fancy icing.

That's annoying. I can understand not being able to check in early, but when a room isn't ready by check in time, I just don't have much patience for that.

They know how many people are checking out, they should have enough staff to get the job done in time!

Of course it was...

Not too shabby!

My favorite view!

Uh oh...

I should get the next update posted, it isn't bad, just not my original plan.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Nice to see that you were able to do another F&W demonstration. It is fun to read your reports about the demonstrations.

The Korean BBQ Tacos and Teriyaki Chicken Slider were good.

You did recommend me to eat at Paradise Garden Grill during the F&W Festival and the Fish and Chips was good.

Nice pics at the AP area.

 

[franandaj]

Yep. Sounds about perfect.

And part of me wishes that it had played out that way, but then again I wouldn't have missed the way it did play out!

They'd revolt?

I think it would be a more passive aggressive sort of revolution. They are cats you know.

I would be too.

Yeah, I saw that they had several different sessions entitled that, but the main draw for the day was Scott Hunnel, this was just another demo to make it worth our while to come out. I would have signed up for another one if there had been a corresponding local chef who interested me, but none of them did.

One bag??????? Who are you people?!?!?!?

I figured you would be one to take that bait. I mean you go on 4-5 day trips with one bag for a family of four

Impressive

When they said "Flying Fish" and "California Grill" I was sold. Both of those restaurants have been remade since his departure and I preferred the menus that I'm pretty sure he had a hand in creating. I know my first visit to Flying Fish (back right after it opened) was one of my favorites.

He does look like he's about to chew you out.
Or make you do the dishes

I know! I caught him at a bad moment. He was mostly fun and cracking jokes and talking about fun flavors, bacon....and other such stuff.

Just to mess with you. It's a running gag.

Obviously.

Yum!

That looks sooo good. Interesting how they sliced the leftmost (kielbasa?) sausage.

I noticed that, for a moment before I ate it!

Holy crap! Want.

You know I'm normally not a fan of red cabbage, but I actually ate all of this and really liked it!

Steamed the spuds

I usually boil mine, but I peel them and use large russet potatoes. When I made this dish at home, I did use small yellow potatoes.

Yum! Had something almost identical day before yesterday.

I am avoiding cooking right now.

Nice! I haven't had that happen to me, but I keep hoping!

It happens to us more at Disneyland since we're there pretty often, but I've had it happen a couple times in WDW.

Messy is almost always a good thing.

As long as you have enough napkins.

Ruby would've loved that. She's been on a red sangria kick lately.

I don't mind Sangria, but I'm more of a fan of plain wine or a vodka martini or margarita.

Yeah, me too.
I've done a bit.... but not much.

I have a few things from scratch in my arsenal.

Brownies
Lemon Bars
Blueberry Dumplings
Chocolate Lava Cake in a Crock Pot
Coffee Cake
Mixed Berry Pie (even this I use a pre-made pie crust)
Lemon Cake (but this is variation on a boxed mix)

There may be others, but those are my go to's. Then I have a few that use things like Pillsbury cookie dough and cream cheese, but I can't call that "scratch".

That top one looks like it was trying to jump out of the fryer.

Shame. Love me a good pretzel.

I think it was pretty good, but we just didn't eat much of it.

Sure! Hey! Look! You just had fish and are getting your photos done!

Exactly!

Love that one.

Thanks! I may even crop it and make it my profile picture.

That definitely is bull...
"I'm supposed to pay at checkout, but I'll pay anytime after that. Maybe never."


(Yes I know it doesn't apply to you.)

Yeah, but I get the sentiment. How about you prorate my bill from the time the room is ready after it was supposed to be. Oh yeah, it didn't cost me money. Can you credit my points back? It cost me 88 points and technically I get the room for 18 hours, so if they're an hour late, I should get back 4.888888 points!

You really were annoyed with her!

I think it just worked out that way, but yes, I was very annoyed with her!

Really! Huh. I always do it in a double boiler.

It's been so long since I've made it at home (not being so poor I couldn't afford to go out for it), and we have places here that mostly do a good job. I don't remember how I made the hollandaise.

Think you will now?

Probably not. I think I mentioned in a reply above that before I would try and make that recipe, I would make a seafood crepes in Mornay sauce that I developed based on something I had at a fancy restaurant once I get us out of the old house. It takes a while to make and I can't take the time for stuff like that in our current moratorium. It's a little more decadent than what he served us and I'd like that better.

Wow! That place is beautiful!

Another reason why I own more points at the VGC than any other resort. I can't tell you how special I feel when we stay there! Even if we don't spend a bunch of time in the room.

Whoa.... that is one heck of a master bath!

It sure is and other than time in bed sleeping, I spend the next chunk of amount of time in that tub!

Hmmm.... that could be taken as a good thing or a bad thing.

It really is a good thing, but just not a good thing sleepwise! Nor for Fran and enjoying her downtime!

 

[franandaj]

Fun day with lots of yummies! Sounds like a great bonus with the chef you didn't know ahead of time.

It turned out to be a great demo.

How kind to share the 2BR with friends, I bet they loved that!!! But am I reading she left the 6 year old in charge of the 1 year old?

Well the 1 year old was asleep and the 6 year old is actually quite well behaved. We were only gone for about half an hour.

What is this business about the room not being ready by 4???

I have no idea. I've rarely had a room ready before 4PM, but rarely are the not ready at 4PM.

Nice to see another bonus update!

The Demos looked pretty interesting. I'm not a fan of sausages but I love that red cabbage and the potato salad looked good. My MIL (grew up Pennsylvania Dutch) makes a great red cabbage.

I've never liked red cabbage, but this was rather good.

Crazy that your room wasn't ready until 5p. But the room is beautiful, and what a view! Love that huge shower.

Such an ominous sounding cliff hanger...

I really need to get the next chapter up, it's not bad at all.

Nice to see that you were able to do another F&W demonstration. It is fun to read your reports about the demonstrations.

Thanks, soon the Celebrity Chef portion will start.

The Korean BBQ Tacos and Teriyaki Chicken Slider were good.

Yes, I enjoyed both of those.

You did recommend me to eat at Paradise Garden Grill during the F&W Festival and the Fish and Chips was good.

Nice pics at the AP area.

I'm glad you enjoyed my suggestion.

 

[franandaj]

March 18

So in the last update, I had a neat little plan to sleep in, and hang out in the room until checkout, but that all changed a couple days before we left on our Eastern Caribbean cruise. There was going to be a special event on the Pirates 50th anniversary weekend, and we got in! The only catch was that the event took place before the park opened. We had to meet in the lobby of the Grand at 5:45AM. Thank goodness we had the room!

While we were asleep, Suzie’s husband had snuck into their room. He was playing a show in Thousand Oaks and got in around midnight. While they slept, we snuck out of the room and down to the lobby. We checked our bag with Bell Services and got ready to enter the park.

Cast Members in full pirate dress were waiting for us to be our guides into the park.



As you can see by the darkness, it was really early!



Main Street is just so magical when it's empty like this!









I believe it was at this point that our group was met by couple security guards who were not informed that a special event was taking place. I was too busy taking pictures to try and listen in on the conversation.





We were allowed a few minutes to take some photos at the partners statue.







There it is! Happy 50th Anniversary!



The Sun is just beginning to rise...



We did not go directly to the ride. Luckily they were very civilised and had a coffee and juice bar set up for us.



Entertainment too!



We mixed and mingled for a while.





This animatronic pirate parrot kept us entertained as well.









Around 7AM we were welcomed by these swashbuckling pirates and taken to ride Pirates of the Caribbean.



We were warned not to take pictures due to the nature of our ride. Not wanting to jeopardize the possibility of future events I complied. Our first ride was through the attraction that had been newly refurbished. It had been closed down for at least a month (I think). Once we docked at the Bayou, one of the pirates left another boat and boarded ours and we embarked on a new journey, this time with the lights on. I don't remember the jokes he cracked. They were mostly amusing, but there were plenty of eye rollers, the kind of dad jokes you might get from @Captain_Oblivious or @pkondz.

The thing that struck me most about riding the attraction with the lights on was first, how shallow the water was! As we sailed through the Bayou, you could see the bottom clearly. And that's the second most prominent thing I noticed, the water was very clean! Do you ever wonder when the water from the ride splashes you about how clean it is? No need to worry, it's crystal clear throughout the entire ride.

If you’ve been on the DL version of the ride, you know that there are several extra rooms before you get to the main part of the ride which is in both DL and WDW. It amazed me to see the beginning part of the ride with the lights on because there is a ton of detail that no one will ever see in the rock work in the Bayou part, it’s crazy. When they turn the lights out, really most people won’t see this stuff.

The other thing that I noticed was that I remembered that Tony Baxter said on another panel that the easiest thing to do on a ride is to paint the ceiling black and no one notices it. They definitely did that with most of the Pirates ride, The ceiling was black, but the show buildings basically extended to infinity. In the dark lighting no one would notice where the buildings end and the infinity of the ceiling began.

It was pretty cool to see the whole thing. When we came out of the ride, it was just before 8AM when the park opened. Fran ditched me for the line to the Pirate shop, several other folks did the same. I headed up to the breakfast and found us a table.

Fran was one of the first into the store to pick up the Pirate bounty and several others did the same thing. She didn’t end up missing out on the charcuterie. This seems to be in fashion for trendy restaurants these days.



She got a diet coke while I had the specialty coffee of the day.



They served us a breakfast of a corned beef hash and eggs, which I thought was quite good. Other folks didn’t seem to care for it, which I found odd, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.



After we finished breakfast we had a panel of Imagineers talk to us about the original Pirates and updates that were made to the attraction. Our pirate friends introduced them.





We had Disney Legend Tony Baxter and Author and Imagineer Christopher Merrit present. They brought another imagineer, but I don’t have his name.



Christopher Merrit is about to publish a book on Marc Davis. I believe it will be released in July. For those who aren't aware, Marc Davis was an imagineer who had a large part in creating the Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean, among other attractions. While I'm sure the book covers many aspects of Davis’s life, today's discussion focused on his role in creating the pirates attraction.

I didn't take notes or even write this up immediately after the event so you'll have to take my best recollection of the discussion. They asked us not to take pictures so I don't even have that to rely on. What I do remember is that they talked about how Davis always relied on humor and gags in his imagineering designs. It was his opinion that a gag should “read” instantly. He sketched at least half a dozen ideas a day but believed that one in twenty was the “one” (on average.) How can you look at these iconic sketches and not see how the ride was born?















[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]



By the way. We weren’t allowed to take pictures during the presentation so you can thank the Interwebs for the next few pictures. Some of these are things that they showed on that day. I just knew to look for them having seen them that day.

They also talked about the ride and it’s original concept and how that changed. Originally the ride was supposed to be a walk through.





But with the World’s Fair and It’s a Small World, Walt realized that he could cycle many more people through the ride with a flume system. Walt and the Imagineers had fun testing the boats and their feasibility for tackling drops and climbs. (Remember IASW is all on one level.) Disneyland’s Pirates has two drops totalling about 35 feet.





It’s ingenious how they double the ride back on itself to conserve space.



And I was able to find this photo of the ride under construction.



That’s about all I can remember that they talked about and by about 10AM we were done there and let back out into the park for the day.

I decided to ride Space Mountain.



And after the ride and everything Fran and I were hungry again, so we stopped at Coke Corner for some hot dogs.





I knew from FB that Suzie and her family had been in the park since opening, and by this time her husband had to go back to T.O. for an afternoon matinee performance of the show he was playing. Fran was tired so Suzie and I decided to hang out for a bit. Her oldest son’s favorite ride was Hyperspace Mountain, so I went on it with him again (no photo this time) and then we decided it was time for a drink. But not before a visit with the main mice and some neat pirate props.













After a bit, we decided to part company. Suzie had a hotel reservation for the evening as her husband was going to drive back down (yet again) for some nighttime fun in the park. And then the next night they were on a red eye to WDW! Ah to be young and have energy!

While Suzie and I were relaxing, Fran was learning the hard way that sleeping in the lobby of the Grand Californian is discouraged. She was hassled by security multiple times while trying to rest. I met up with her around 3:30PM as we began to embark on our next adventure!

 

[dizneeat]

Let me sum up that event in just one word ........


WOW!!!!!!!!!!


Must have been so worth getting up at this ungodly hour. The park looks so awesome empty. Don't get me wrong it looks awesome with or without people, but without is always a blessing.

To ride Pirates with the lights on must be so interesting. We did see a little bit of Pirates in Paris with the lights on when they had a major breakdown and they must have turned the lights on accidentially. I always love peeking behind the scenes.
I need to show Tom the photos you posted - he will love those.

Drinks look good btw and so did breakfast.

 

[Pinkocto]

Totally agree with Karin, so worth it getting up early for this event! Fun fun fun!!! a pity so much detail is lost with the lights out but too cool you were able to see it.

Poor Fran getting harassed in the lobby, that must not have been pleasant. I don't see why it's a problem though, how did they know she wasn't just waiting for someone? it's not like its someone off the streets...

Bizarre they didn't tell security you guys weren't coming for a tour.

I got a set of postcards with a bunch of those old Pirates sketches. I had seen them at the parks for $30 and was happy to find them at the outlet for $15. Mom loves postcards and those pictures are so neat.

 

[pkondz]

There was going to be a special event on the Pirates 50th anniversary weekend, and we got in!

There was doubt? Was it random draws? Or just tickets sold out that fast? Or?

We had to meet in the lobby of the Grand at 5:45AM. Thank goodness we had the room!

Can you imagine having to drive in from an hour or two out?

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the dude looks kinda like Barney Rubble.

As you can see by the darkness, it was really early*!

*photo taken the previous night.

Main Street is just so magical when it's empty like this!

It is! But... wait!

Empty? What are all these people doing here?

Oh. Right. Photos from previous evening.

I believe it was at this point that our group was met by couple security guards who were not informed that a special event was taking place.

"Carl, did you leave the front gate open again?"

Beautiful.

There it is! Happy 50th Anniversary!

Yay!

Luckily they were very civilised and had a coffee and juice bar set up for us.

Other wise people would be revolting.

I'm always revolting. heck, you've seen me. You know.

Entertainment too!

Nice!

This animatronic pirate parrot kept us entertained as well.

What was he doing?

Once we docked at the Bayou,

That right there.


You're on POC... and you docked at the Bayou.
Soooo cool.

They were mostly amusing, but there were plenty of eye rollers, the kind of dad jokes you might get from @Captain_Oblivious or @pkondz.

Wow! They were that funny?!?!?
You guys are so lucky! You must've been rolling in your boats in hysterics!

The thing that struck me most about riding the attraction with the lights on was first, how shallow the water was! As we sailed through the Bayou, you could see the bottom clearly. And that's the second most prominent thing I noticed, the water was very clean! Do you ever wonder when the water from the ride splashes you about how clean it is? No need to worry, it's crystal clear throughout the entire ride.

I remember you telling me that.

It amazed me to see the beginning part of the ride with the lights on because there is a ton of detail that no one will ever see in the rock work in the Bayou part, it’s crazy.

Huh. Can you see it with the lights off? If you know where to look?

the easiest thing to do on a ride is to paint the ceiling black and no one notices it.

Never thought about it... so they're right.

Now I'm gonna have a sore neck from staring at ceilings all the time!

the show buildings basically extended to infinity. In the dark lighting no one would notice where the buildings end and the infinity of the ceiling began.

Flash photography to the rescue!!!!




no?

Fran ditched me for the line to the Pirate shop, several other folks did the same. I headed up to the breakfast and found us a table.

Hmmm... tough call.
I wouldn't mind seeing what they have to offer... but considering I don't collect anything (well HD poker chips. But my entire collection fits in a wine glass) I think I'll stick with you and do breakfast.

She didn’t end up missing out on the charcuterie. This seems to be in fashion for trendy restaurants these days.

I know! It's everywhere.

Coming soon.... "McCharcuterie."

Now you know (or if you don't... you do now) I don't drink coffee.
But I would've been sad to miss out on that.

They served us a breakfast of a corned beef hash and eggs, which I thought was quite good. Other folks didn’t seem to care for it, which I found odd, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

It sure looks good!
What's the sauce?
Wrong colour for hollandaise.... unless it's got a bit of colour added to it?
Not melted cheese, I don't think.

Great shot.

What I do remember is that they talked about how Davis always relied on humor and gags in his imagineering designs.

Originally the ride was supposed to be a walk through.

Oh! Like HM. Didn't know that.

(Remember IASW is all on one level.)

I try not to think about it on any level.

Looks like he's having fun!

It’s ingenious how they double the ride back on itself to conserve space.

Dang! I never knew. Just assumed it was pretty much a circle.

And I was able to find this photo of the ride under construction.

That is really cool.

Looks like you had a good crew with you.

Holy crap.

Fran was tired so Suzie and I decided to hang out for a bit.

I'm a bit tired.
I first read that as "Fran was so tired of Suzie..."

Looks oddly familiar.

While Suzie and I were relaxing, Fran was learning the hard way that sleeping in the lobby of the Grand Californian is discouraged. She was hassled by security multiple times while trying to rest.

Poor Fran.

 

[franandaj]

Let me sum up that event in just one word ........


WOW!!!!!!!!!!


Must have been so worth getting up at this ungodly hour. The park looks so awesome empty. Don't get me wrong it looks awesome with or without people, but without is always a blessing.

To ride Pirates with the lights on must be so interesting. We did see a little bit of Pirates in Paris with the lights on when they had a major breakdown and they must have turned the lights on accidentially. I always love peeking behind the scenes.
I need to show Tom the photos you posted - he will love those.

Drinks look good btw and so did breakfast.

It was worth it to get up so early. I was so glad that we were able to get in. It's always fun to get a peek at the rides when the lights are on, especially in the dark rides.

Totally agree with Karin, so worth it getting up early for this event! Fun fun fun!!! a pity so much detail is lost with the lights out but too cool you were able to see it.

Yes, even though I'm not much of an early riser, this was definitely worth it!

Poor Fran getting harassed in the lobby, that must not have been pleasant. I don't see why it's a problem though, how did they know she wasn't just waiting for someone? it's not like its someone off the streets...

Well it's fine to wait for someone there, reading a book or looking at tablet/computer. Actually closing your eyes and laying your head down is not.

Bizarre they didn't tell security you guys weren't coming for a tour.

I know you would think that the of all people would have been notified.

I got a set of postcards with a bunch of those old Pirates sketches. I had seen them at the parks for $30 and was happy to find them at the outlet for $15. Mom loves postcards and those pictures are so neat.

That's a deal!

There was doubt? Was it random draws? Or just tickets sold out that fast? Or?

It was online registration and the event sold out in less than two minutes.

Can you imagine having to drive in from an hour or two out?

Almost no point in sleeping. There was the option to purchase a room package with registration.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the dude looks kinda like Barney Rubble.

Too skinny.

*photo taken the previous night.

Check the date and time stamp.

It is! But... wait!

Empty? What are all these people doing here?

Oh. Right. Photos from previous evening.

No, It's the hundred or so other lucky people who registered in the two minutes that registrations was open.

"Carl, did you leave the front gate open again?"

Other wise people would be revolting.

I'm always revolting. heck, you've seen me. You know.

Oh, please, stop with that!

What was he doing?

Making wisecracks and pirate jokes.

That right there.


You're on POC... and you docked at the Bayou.
Soooo cool.

That's where the ride always docks.

Wow! They were that funny?!?!?
You guys are so lucky! You must've been rolling in your boats in hysterics!

More like groaning and rolling our eyes.

Huh. Can you see it with the lights off? If you know where to look?

It's not so much what to see, it's just the detail in the way the rocks are carved, or whatever you call it. The small little crevices that were in the rocks, and then the lichens and things you would expect to find in a cave. But it's so dark, you can't see it.

Never thought about it... so they're right.

Now I'm gonna have a sore neck from staring at ceilings all the time!

Well you don't have to stare, one glance up and that should do the trick.

Flash photography to the rescue!!!!




no?

Hmmm... tough call.
I wouldn't mind seeing what they have to offer... but considering I don't collect anything (well HD poker chips. But my entire collection fits in a wine glass) I think I'll stick with you and do breakfast.

It was pretty much T-shirts that read "I was there." However you didn't have to rush to get them, they were there even after we got out of the breakfast.

I know! It's everywhere.

Coming soon.... "McCharcuterie."

Now you know (or if you don't... you do now) I don't drink coffee.
But I would've been sad to miss out on that.

They did have another drink, but I think it had Rum in it.

It sure looks good!
What's the sauce?
Wrong colour for hollandaise.... unless it's got a bit of colour added to it?
Not melted cheese, I don't think.

I'm pretty sure that it was a Hollandaise, but perhaps with some other flavor mixed in.

Oh! Like HM. Didn't know that.

I may have heard that one before.

I try not to think about it on any level.

Looks like he's having fun!

I bet it's fun to be an Imagineer!

Dang! I never knew. Just assumed it was pretty much a circle.

They never waste any space, especially at Disneyland where everything is landlocked.

Looks like you had a good crew with you.

I'm the only one not putting my arms up!

Holy crap.

What? Does it look that bad?

I'm a bit tired.
I first read that as "Fran was so tired of Suzie..."

Elwood or Stuart maybe, but Suzie is tolerable.

Looks oddly familiar.

I bet!

 

[pkondz]

It was online registration and the event sold out in less than two minutes.

Whoa.

There was the option to purchase a room package with registration.

Good thing.

Too skinny.

It's the new millennia. Everyone's on a diet.

No, It's the hundred or so other lucky people who registered in the two minutes that registrations was open.

I know. Just pulling your leg.

Oh, please, stop with that!

oh, okay.

I'll leave it to you to denigrate me.

That's where the ride always docks.

Shows how observant I was!

It's not so much what to see, it's just the detail in the way the rocks are carved, or whatever you call it. The small little crevices that were in the rocks, and then the lichens and things you would expect to find in a cave. But it's so dark, you can't see it.

Now that's attention to detail.

Well you don't have to stare, one glance up and that should do the trick.

Nope. That's my goal. Spend the entire ride looking straight up.

They did have another drink, but I think it had Rum in it.

Oh, for Pete's sakes!

I'm pretty sure that it was a Hollandaise, but perhaps with some other flavor mixed in.

ah.

I'm the only one not putting my arms up!

Got your hands up. Counts.

What? Does it look that bad?

That decadent.
Want.

 

[PrincessInOz]

We had to meet in the lobby of the Grand at 5:45AM

WOW! That's a very early time of the morning.

Main Street is just so magical when it's empty like this!

It looks amazing!

There it is! Happy 50th Anniversary!

YAY. I love when Disney does awesome things like this.

Around 7AM we were welcomed by these swashbuckling pirates and taken to ride Pirates of the Caribbean.

You are sooooo lucky!

We were warned not to take pictures due to the nature of our ride. Not wanting to jeopardize the possibility of future events I complied

I'm so glad that you did. I would hope to see more future events like this.




That's one heck of an experience and a super special event. How amazing to have the chance to see pirates with the lights on. Thanks for sharing.
Breakfast looks great!

 

[afwdwfan]

The only catch was that the event took place before the park opened. We had to meet in the lobby of the Grand at 5:45AM. Thank goodness we had the room!

Wow! That's an early start!

I believe it was at this point that our group was met by couple security guards who were not informed that a special event was taking place. I was too busy taking pictures to try and listen in on the conversation.

Corporate communication at its finest...

I had the specialty coffee of the day.

Well, you know I'm not a fan of coffee, but at least that one looks cool.

We had Disney Legend Tony Baxter and Author and Imagineer Christopher Merrit present. They brought another imagineer, but I don’t have his name.

AWESOME!!!

I'm glad you were able to take advantage of this opportunity to go on the ride and celebrate the ride's 50th birthday in that manner. The talk with the imagineers just sounds amazing.

Suzie had a hotel reservation for the evening as her husband was going to drive back down (yet again) for some nighttime fun in the park. And then the next night they were on a red eye to WDW! Ah to be young and have energy!

That's hardcore right there. Coast to coast Disney!

While Suzie and I were relaxing, Fran was learning the hard way that sleeping in the lobby of the Grand Californian is discouraged. She was hassled by security multiple times while trying to rest.

What? Come on! It isn't like she just came in off the street trying to make herself at home. What's wrong with a little catnap sitting in the lobby when you're waiting on someone?