Socal Mom's reviews and recommendations of products and services, as well as entertainment options (because what is Southern California, if not the "Entertainment Capital of the World"?)
The Disneyland survey is closed and a participant was selected with help from the tools at Random.org, which pointed me in the direction of survey participant #19: reader Deena of Northridge.
Deena and her family will be joining me on a VIP tour of the park next month, where we'll be able to preview all they have in store for visitors for the holidays... a trip I'll be certain to chronicle here.
Thanks to everyone who offered an opinion of a favorite Disneyland attraction. It wasn't surprising to see that so many people love the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain (my fave and the overall winner, with a 29% share of the vote). But I was amused to discover what some of the rest of you are into. (The Enchanted Tiki Room, Suebob? Interesting!!)
Keep your eye on this spot... we're bound to have some more fun here in the near future!
Poor California. The October storm that passed through this week just seemed to emphasize how gloomy things have been this year: Our unemployment rate is somewhere around 12%, our state budget is a shambles and the experts say we will lag behind as the rest of the country recovers from the recession.
But the weather this morning was glorious. The sun was shining, the rain washed away all the grit and I could see the beauty of our mountains. Our economic woes cannot obscure the beauty of this state.
We are blessed to be near mountains and oceans and deserts... all within driving distance. And now that the storm has passed, the weather forecast for this weekend is sunny and warm... perfect for enjoying all California has to offer.
That includes surveying the rich marine environment on our shore. I've written before about our visits to the Monterey and Long Beach Aquariums and attractions like Sea World, where we were entertained by trained whales and dolphins.
A couple of weeks ago, we went one step further and embarked on a two-hour cruise off the shore of Dana Point, with the intent of seeing sea mammals in their natural habitat.
This is something I'd only done once before (before my husband and I started dating), and I've always wanted to take him and Megan along. So when the kind folks at Dana Wharf invited us to go on one of their daily whale watching excursions, I couldn't say no. We packed up our family (and one of Megan's friends) and headed south to Dana Point.
This time of year, humongous blue whales are ending their migration, while gray whales are just starting to show up off the SoCal shore -- so we were told we had a good chance of seeing something (even if it was just dolphins -- which are crowd pleasers in their own right). But with animals in the wild, it's hard to predict anything, as you can see from the video I took of our trip:
The cool thing about this kind of activity is that it's fun for the whole family - even jaded teenagers. My daughter's friend told her parents she had a blast. And Megan enjoyed it, too (even if she acted oh, so blase).
I have a feeling we'll be doing this again - we want to see more whales (and are especially anxious to get a shot of one "fluking"). And the next time we go, we'll probably head out early so we can enjoy a leisurely meal at one of Dana Wharf's many restaurants (there was even a jazz combo playing in the courtyard).
Diclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. No promises were made that the post would be positive. I did receive four comped tickets for the whale watching excursion - face value $44 each.
My Disneyland survey is still open! If you take the survey and live in Southern California, you may be able to join me at the park's holiday blogger event on November 21 - details in this post.
Well, the Disney folks tell me they have even more wondrous things in store for Christmas. They will be holding another blogger event there on November 21... and I get to invite one of my readers to join me!
They've given me no restrictions or rules other than the stipulation that I will have four tickets to give away to that event and that my guests will be on their own for transportation to the park. I can choose anyone I want.
So if you are interested in joining me, click on this link and tell me what your favorite Disneyland attraction is. I will use the tools at Random.org to select a respondent (so DO complete the part that has your contact information)!
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who love all things Disney, and those who don't.
I am one of the former. My parents were married in August, 1955 -- just weeks after Walt opened the theme park that forever changed the game for everyone else. They visited on their honeymoon... and four years later, they initiated their toddler daughter (ME!) into the wonders of the Magic Kingdom.
From that point on, I visited Disneyland on a regular basis -- sometimes two or three times in a year (and even got to shake hands with Walt Disney himself after he followed us off the Monorail). As an adult, it became a family tradition to celebrate my parents' anniversary at the park. It's just the way our family rolls.
And then I married a man who doesn't share my Disney love. He'll go - but only because it's something the family is doing (especially when my sister and her brood come down from Northern California specifically to do Disney).
To be fair to him, he doesn't enjoy the attractions (he describes Dumbo as a "scary ride"), so I understand why he's not all that enamored with the place. When our daughter was little, they would patiently hang out in the Tomorrowland arcade while I rode Space Mountain alone. And now that she's a teenager, he's stuck at the arcade alone, because Megan loves fast roller coasters as much as I.
That's why I left the hub at home last weekend when I attended a blogger event to enjoy Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort (running through November 1). This allowed my daughter to bring a friend in his place. And it was a relief to enjoy the scary thrills of my favorite ride in its October incarnation: Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, where you not only speed up and down in the dark, but you get chased by a fiery ghost. The girls and I ended up going on that one THREE times. I shudder to think of how much money my husband would waste in the arcade if he'd been around for that.
Both Disneyland and California Adventure are festooned with orange and black Halloween decorations. I especially loved the whimsical "candy corn" farm at the newer park, featuring the ubiquitous orange and white triangles growing as grapes, tomatoes and (yes!) corn.
While at California Adventure, you can get into the spirit of the holiday over at the Tower of Terror... but I am unable to tell you much about that one. I rode it on a visit to the park four years ago and vowed I'd never do it again, because the fast drop made me worry I'd have a heart attack. (This is the only type of fast ride I'm afraid of.)
Much more copacetic were the California Screaming roller coaster with the awesome Mickey Mouse loop, and the whimsical Toy Story ride where you can compete against your ride-mates in an old-timey round of target practice. These are not especially Halloween-y... but loads of fun.
Beginning tonight visitors to California Adventure can attend Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party, where you and your kids can dress in costume and enjoy 25 Treat Stops located throughout the park. (This is a separate-ticket nighttime event. See more information here - click on "Tickets and Offers.")
Back at the original Disneyland park, it wouldn't be Halloween without a trip to the Haunted Mansion. Once again, the Disney creative team has modified its classic "chill" ride with elements from "Nightmare Before Christmas": Jack Skellington, Sally and Zero are all there, as well as a real gingerbread house for the ghosts to feast upon. (This really made me hungry, for they piped in the smell of the gingerbread, too.)
And do plan to stay into the night for a special Halloween-themed fireworks show. I admit that I have always looked at the park's live entertainment as an opportunity to get on rides (the lines aren't as long when so many people are angling for a good view of the shows). So I guess that's why when I do stop to watch, I am always amazed at how GOOD they all are. The Halloween show is beyond brilliant, and employ all kinds of cool technology: lasers, projection, lighting and yes - amazing fireworks.
As long as you're watching the entertainment, do mosey on over to the Rivers of America (Frontierland/New Orleans Square/Haunted Mansion) for Fantasmic!, which the Disney folks describe as "a special effects spectacular," featuring most of your favorite Disney characters, clips from some of their classic animated films and a 45-foot, fire breathing dragon.
Find out more about Halloween Time at Disneyland on the park's special events website here.
DISCLAIMER:All the opinions expressed in this post are my own. I received no monetary compensation for writing this post, nor did I promise a positive write-up. I was comped 2-day park-hopper tickets for my family and an overnight stay at the Paradise Pier hotel, and the bloggers in attendance were treated to dinner at the Big Thunder Barbecue. My parents really did visit Disneyland on their honeymoon in 1955 and buried somewhere in storage, they've got a home movie of our chance meeting with Walt Disney circa 1962.
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