Sadly, another part of my childhood has gone away. Movieland Wax Museum closed it's doors last night forever. Sadly, most of the pieces will be auctioned off to who-knows-where. Some items will wind up at Fisherman's Wharf but I doubt it will include some of the detailed sets that go with the figures. I have fond memories of my visits there as a child, including my earliest memory around age 5 when I was terrified of everything but Superman, Fonzie and the Wizard of Oz scene. I have pictures of myself with my uncle in front of most of the those scenes and I attempted to replicate them with my daughter on our final visit October 28th.

It's sad but life goes on. I am sure the new entertainment complex will be cherished by children of all ages.

Yesterday, I braved the crazy crowds and went to Disneyland. I arrived at a little after 8 am and was stuck in DTD waiting to go though the security checks. They had stopped letting people in because the lines to go through the main entrance turnstiles had backed up to the entrance of DCA. At 8:30 they let people in and we started moving. By 8:50, I was on Main Street. At 9, they dropped the rope and the massive crowd crept toward the castle. I had already decided to make a b-line for Buzz Light Year, since I had yet to ride it. It took another 20 minutes to get there.

After riding Buzz I made my way around past the subs to the path between the back of Buzz and Matterhorn. It was there that a small crowd gathered behind a rope watching the kick off in front of the castle. We had next to no view. We did see a camel resting that would later be used to carry the Genie as all the characters from the commercial finally "arrived" at Disneyland. I was able to make out the songs sung by Christina Aguilera and Leanne Rimes. I also faintly heard Art Linkletter, Michael Eisner and Julie Andrews. The fireworks went off behind the castle and that was it.

I stayed around the park for several more hours, checking out the improvements to Jungle Cruise and the new 50th display at the Opera House. Good stuff. There were more Disney dorks then I'd ever seen at one time in the park. Most came into the park wearing their golden ears with their hand-stitched names on them. It was quite a sight. The good news is, we still have 18 months to see the new parade and the new firework show. I'll be sure wait until things calm down.

In the meantime, don't get hit by a truck, ok?

05/05/05

I will be at Disneyland!  Where will you be?  Report to follow...

 

Here we are with a new year upon us. On this Groundhog's day eve, I find myself pondering about kidney stones, parenthood and how friggin cool May 5th will be.

First off, kidney stones suck. Until it passes, the pain can come and bite you at anytime and ruin your day. Today is one of those days. Luckily, my friend vicodin chases the pain away and puts me in lala-land. Passing a 5 mm rock through your urinary tract might sound easy, but unless you've tried, you have no idea.

Next up, we'll be having a new baby Disneyland fan coming into the world in late May. Parenthood is something you think will happen to you later on life. Well, it appears that later on is now. I guess being 28 makes me qualified for the duty. Within days of her coming home she'll be wisked off to Disneyland for her first ever visit. We can't wait.

Hopefully the baby isn't early because I intend to be at Disneyland on May 5th for the grand hurrah kick-off to the 50th anniversay celebrations or homecoming or whatever it is they are calling it. The best part is that you get to celebrate at any friggin Disney park in the world. Nevermind that Disneyland was the first and the original. All the parks get to share in the festivities. Notice how generic the new commercial is, not focusing on Disneyland at all. Oh well. If the increased revenue leads to new attractions at all the parks, I say it's worth it.