Halloween at Disneyland Part 6

By Nick

Halloween at Disneyland Part 6
Monday, October 31st

We got over to Disneyland at 7:30a.m. for an 8a.m. extra magic hour. The goal was to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday, and we did! Twice.

Barbie and I headed over to Disney's California Adventure for their 9a.m. opening, arriving at about 8:40 a.m. They were admitting people in and there was already a pretty lengthy standby line and a slightly shorter FastPass line being held up for Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout.

While Barbie waited in line, I took some photos of Halloween decorations.

When 9 rolled around we were walked into a queue where we waited about 20 minutes.

Guardians had a special Halloween addition which had been going on in the evenings, called Monsters After Dark, which always seemed to have a 2 hour wait!

For Halloween Day, they were playing this special edition all day!

It is basically a continuation of the storyline from the original ride, starring the Collector, Rocket and Groot.

It was okay, nowhere near the original in our opinion, but pretty amazing that this soon after opening they had a variant edition. I wonder if there will be more in the future!

We got FastPasses to ride again later in the morning and took a short ride on the Red Car Trolley, followed by a walk over to Paradise Pier, which we had not visited on this entire trip.

I'm very glad we did, since we got to walk on both California Screamin' and Toy Story Midway Mania! Guardians was swallowing up all the crowds!

It was late morning and we still hadn't eaten, so grabbed a meal at the Pacific Wharf Cafe. We were both really glad we did as the seasonal Beer Cheddar Bacon Soup and Pumpkin Bread pudding were outstanding. Actually, this may have been my favorite meal of the trip!

We headed over to the entrance area where we sat and people watched for a short while, waiting for Clarabelle's Ice Cream to open. It was extra entertaining since people were dressed up for Halloween.

As we were sitting there, several Streetmosphere characters came out and started to interact with guests. We were pulled into a little skit, acting as safety cones for a woman in a scooter to go around. FUN!

Once Clarabelle's opened, we got another seasonal offering. This was absolutely delicious!

We headed over to Monster's Inc., Mike and Sulley to the Rescue, which is a cute ride through Monstropolis.

Earlier in the day we had inquired about what time Groot would be out. Yes. Groot. we were told at 2. They had a queue set up, and we got in line at 1:30. By line, I mean we were lucky enough to be second, and I say lucky because by 1:50 there were about 100 people behind us!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Groot. He is awesome. And he is very talkative! We had a lengthy discussion about Halloween.

We headed back to the Grand Californian for our 3p.m. pickup, relaxing a short while in the lobby before our town car picked us up to take us to John Wayne Airport, where we continued our vacation at Barbie's dad's for a few days.

Thanks for following our Disneyland adventure, and please check out :
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 

The Disney Exchange -Episode 004 Show Notes

By Nick

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

-The Disney Exchange is Lisa Green, David Hodges, and me, Nicholas Maglio. 

-Disney : Best and Worst of 2014

-Lisa jumps in and says Festival of Fantasy Parade at the Magic Kingdom as Best new parade and we all agree it is phenomenal.

-I tell them about where I've watched it from, in front of the Disney Emporium, and a theme becomes clear. Apparently I'm obsessed with Episode 002's topic, Disney Transportation.

-Lisa goes on to tell where she has seen it, and the topic of the FastPass+ location is, in front of Cinderella Castle, and Dave tells that is is worth standing in the sun for.

-We talk about our favorite things about the parade.

-We discuss the probable reason why Frozen doesn't have it's own float and shares one with Princess and the Frog.

Photo: Lisa Green

-Speaking of Frozen, I bring up a Best for me, For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing Along Celebration, and Dave and I discuss it. Lisa has not seen it except in video on someone another blog.  (I was rather shocked to discover she looks at other blogs besides mine!)

-Dave loves the construction walls apparently, as there is a wide variety to enjoy. Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney make one feel like a rat in a maze.

-Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as then discussed and argued about, with Dave of the opinion it is the best themed ride in Walt Disney World, while Lisa and I feel it Expedition Everest is better. Yes, Lisa agreed with me!  
(For the record, the Best Disney themed ride I've personally been on is Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort.)

-Lisa loves the Baby Gorillas at Disney's Animal Kindom, which can be found on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

 Photos: Lisa Green

-Dave votes for the Fantasyland expansion.

-Lisa and I agree Guardian's of the Galaxy is fantastic, and is in fact, it's one of my favorite movies ever, and we are shocked that Dave rates it "acceptable." Lisa loved it so much that her and her husband dressed as Rocket and Groot for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Photo: Lisa Green

-I segue into another of my Best of 2014, Marvel's Agents of Shield and geek out on it a but along with Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

-Big Hero Six is next up, more specifically meeting Baymax at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

-Dave likes Lefou's Brew from Gaston's in the Magic Kingdom, and I learn that 2014 actually begins in October of 2013 per the Government. Yeah, I know, right, ?

-Lisa and I tell of our love of the Pork Shank, also at Gaston's and Dave says bacon is just alright which pushes me over the edge and I threaten to go to my trailer in protest. Yes, our show has THAT big of a budget, we have a production trailer. YES, I am joking.

- A Dave worst, the Monorail being down in January.

-Lisa's worst, maybe ever, the new Lumberjack show at the Canadian Pavilion in Epcot. 

-A discussion of Maelstrom being replaced by a Frozen based attraction leads to Lisa's displeasure in classic Disney Princesses being replaced by Anna and Elsa

-We spin the brand new Wheel of Distany, and the topic is : What are we looking forward to in 2015?

-Lisa says she is looking forward to the Sorcerer's Hat coming down at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

-I choose eating at Trattoria al Forno because, clearly, my main focus is food. For proof, see the photo above of me with a big smile on my face holding up half a pig.

-Dave is looking forward to construction walls at Downtown Disney coming down and Disney Springs emerging.

-We talk about the lack of parades at all other parks other than the Magic Kingdom and I tell of being photo-bombed by Rafiki in the now gone Jammin' Jungle Parade.

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Website: info@thedisneyexchange.com

Disney Favorites of 2014

By Nick

2014 was a good year. We were very fortunate to visit Walt Disney World several times, and take a 4 night Cruise on the Disney Dream.

I shared food favorites this past Friday, but there was, of course, many other great attractions, experiences and entertainment, including one of my all time favorite movies ever, Guardians of the Galaxy. As these are in no particular order we may as well start there.

Guardians of the Galaxy is action packed, cleverly written, touching, fun, and, oh yea, funny. I got the 3D Blu-ray for Barbie for Christmas, because she loved it as much as me. If you haven't seen it, you really should.

Staying in the super hero vein, I would like to mention Marvel's Agents of Shield on ABC. Technically, it started in 2013, but it went from pretty good to great when they tied it in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, (also highly recommended) making for one big, exciting, cohesive story full of great twists. Season 1 of Agents has recently been released on Netflix.

Speaking of ABC television, we discovered another favorite, Once Upon a Time. Yes, I know we are late to the party, and I don't feel this newest season was the best, but we love the show and all the Disney references they put in, and we had a great time binge watching the first 3 seasons, which can also be found on Netflix.

On to Walt Disney World. In January, we stayed at my new favorite resort, the Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. Great location, great views, being able to hear the Magic Kingdom come alive early in the morning and watch the monorail and ferry go back and forth across Seven Seas Lagoon, the room was beautiful, the restaurants, the pools and the great beer selection at the bars.
I could go on and on.

On that same trip back in January, we had what I'm going to choose as best experience at Walt Disney World last year; being picked as the Celebrities of the Day at our favorite restaurant, The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney's Hollywood Studios.

I say best experience at Walt Disney World, because we had really great experiences outside the bubble, which I would be totally remiss if I didn't discuss, so, in the interest of fairness, I have to mention Barbie getting chosen for a wand, or should I say, the wand choosing Barbie, at Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios. Our overall time at Universal was terrific fun, but this was my favorite moment, and as I type this, I'm looking over at the wand prominently displayed in our living room.

Back to Disney!
I have 2 days which leap out immediately as being favorites, overall, both of which are chronicled in trip reports, something I've started doing as a way to not only share our vacation with friends and family as well as blog readers, but mostly as a way for Barbie and I to remember.

The 1st day was on the Disney Dream, our first visit to Castaway Cay, and dressing as Santa and Mrs. Claus for the Halloween on the High Seas activities that evening.

 The second day was from our most recent trip. It was easily the most festive day of the holiday season for me, where we started the day taking the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot, met Father Christmas in the UK, Barbie and I got our photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, we had and excellent lunch at the Biergarten in Germany, complete with Christmas Carols from the band there, watched the most moving of all the storytellers, La Befana in Italy, saw the Candlelight Processional narrated by LaVar Burton and were very amused by the antics of Sigrid and Julenissen in Norway! Whew! And I'm leaving stuff out, even!

Favorite attraction. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It's very well themed, features my favorite Disney character, Grumpy, and it doesn't make me motion sick. What's not to love? A new MUST do each trip!

Also at the Magic Kingdom, you'll find my favorite new afternoon parade, The Festival of Fantasy. Actually, there is only this one afternoon parade in Walt Disney World! We aren't parade fans, but this is worth seeing each and every trip!

Best Sing Along, (only Sing-Along ?) goes to For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. As I've written about here on Musings, because we don't have kids, we really didn't get bombarded with the juggernaut Frozen became, so we really actually liked all the Frozen themed stuff around the park, and this sing-along was amazing, if only to hear a few hundred people sing what are some really great songs.

Best Character interactions; We love getting photos with characters, and the best are when there are multiple characters that interact with each other. At Disney's Animal Kingdom, we met King Louie and Baloo, and they had an altercation over Barbie's affections! It was hilarious.

A close runner up, Mickey Mouse. He talked to us! And not only that, he asked if we would like to pose as the Hitchhiking Ghosts! That was awesome.

 
Favorite new Podcast? Well, that's easy! The Disney Exchange, hosted by Lisa Green, Dave Hodges, and me! Please check us out on iTunes!

What was your favorite Disney moment of 2014?

Guardians of the Galaxy Mostly Spoiler Free Review

By Nick

I love Marvel movies. I've seen them all, and own most of them, but for some reason, I've never written a review for one on this blog. I am compelled to now. Why? Because Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite Marvel movie to date.

Ever since we saw the first trailer introducing the team, my wife and I were super excited to see this film, even though I was not at all familiar with the characters or team, despite being a comic book collector from the age of 12 to my mid 30s. It looked hilarious. It certainly helped that one of our favorite actors, John C. Reilly, the voice of Wreck-It Ralph, featured prominently in the preview.
Then the following previews showcased the action and special effects, which looked great.

I stayed away from spoilers, but did pick up the Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude paperback, which gave a back story to some the characters.

So, I was prepared to laugh and to see great effects, but what I wasn't prepared for was how emotionally attached I would become to this new group of heroes.

As the movie started we were immediately emotionally invested in the team leader Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.

The movie then kicks into high gear, and the action and fun almost never let up. Sprinkled throughout are classic songs from the 70s and plenty of cultural 80s references. The writing is clever and the jokes are rapid fire, and I'm sure I missed a couple of lines because we, along with the rest of the audience were laughing so hard. There are also more emotional moments, yes, even tear jerking moments, which never become overly sentimental, because a lighter moment follows close behind.
There is not a dull moment or scene that goes on too long.

And if you are worried you won't be able to make a connection to a CGI  wise cracking, gun wielding raccoon and a walking tree, don't worry, their scenes pack some of the biggest emotional punches and biggest laughs.

As Barbie says, there are previews that promise a lot, but don't deliver. All of the best material are shown in those brief clips. This is certainly not the case with Guardians.

Stick around after the credits, it will reward true comic book history fans, as well as cheesy 80's movie lovers.

At the end, we were left wanting more. And the movie promises more, in fact, it tells us the Guardians will be back!

We can't wait!