Grounded

Well, it's official. On October 1st, after 18 long, wonderful years of flying, the airline essentially told me to go to my room and never come back out. Oh, wait. Not that kind of grounded. But I did lose my wings. I was not supposed to lose them until I turn 23, which will be on the 10th, but I guess they decided to give me an early birthday surprise when they launched their new system on the 1st. Oh the joys of getting older.

Anyways, this week I did get a couple more day trips in before they stripped me of my benefits. The first, on Saturday, was to Denver to spend a day with a couple of good friends from high school. We had fun, enjoying the cool weather and just hanging out. I brought my camera and of course, forgot to take a single picture.

On Wednesday, my mom and I went to (you guessed it) DISNEYLAND! My annual pass expires on the 23rd. I'm going with a couple of friends and with my parents on my birthday, but I am DRIVING. So this was my last day trip to Disneyland, probably ever. Sad. Well, Disneyland must have known it would be one of my last trips for awhile, because they pulled out all the stops! The park was practically empty. It was a Disneyland miracle. Check out my mini-trip report and pictures below. :)

Halloween time just started at Disneyland and this is one of my FAVORITE times to be there. I absolutely love Christmas time, but Halloween time is a very close second.

Disneyland is all about the details. There are so many things that add to the ambiance that you walk right past without even noticing. I've been trying to be more observant of all the awesome details. The following shots were taken in the Haunted Mansion fastpass area.

Rancho del Zocalo

This is a new building in Fantasyland, by the Matterhorn. I think it's very quaint and cute.

Space Mountain has been invaded by ghosts this year! (Technically it's only one ghost and I've just learned that his official name is Bob. I wish I knew the reason behind that!) The Halloween overlay is a first and we were so excited to ride it! We absolutely loved the Rockin' in the New Year overlay that they did a few years ago, so this was really exciting. After getting into the park, the first thing we did was run straight to Space Mountain. We pulled fastpasses and then WALKED on the ride. There was NO wait. We ended up being able to ride 3 times throughout the day! I never saw the wait over 30 minutes, which shows you how very empty the park was. We loved the overlay, but if you are planning on taking your little ones soon, be fairly warned that it could be terrifying for them.

Ode to Rocket to the Moon

So, since we've been going, there has been this restaurant in DCA, the Lucky Fortune Cookery. It always sounds delicious, but has never once been open. (At least not while we've been there... I'm fairly certain it hasn't ever been open or that it hasn't been open since 2001 when the park first opened.) Anyways, this summer, they moved the Cucamonga Cocina over to the LFC and boarded up the old location of the CC. Then, they announced that they were building the LFC in the CC's former locale. And, folks, I'm happy to tell you that it's FINALLY open!

We didn't even eat here, but doesn't it look delicious? And expensive?

I found out recently that each popcorn stand features a different little character inside. I tried to remember to look at each one we walked by and snap a shot. I'll take some more when I go NEXT WEEK! :)

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Town Square

Matterhorn

The last few shots are of the awesome Halloween decorations. Love this time of year!

We had a wonderful time, walked on to practically all the rides, and accomplished a TON for only being there for about 9 hours. (Space Mountain 3 times (once on standby), Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion Holiday 2 times (once on standby), it's a small world, Tower of Terror (standby line!), Toy Story Mania (the standby line!) Finding Nemo Submarines, Splash Mountain (standby line!), Monsters Inc., Tortilla Factory, the Monorail, and several train rides to save our aching feet). See more pictures here.

I will miss flying to Disneyland for the day with my mom, flying with my parents to catch cheap, last minute cruises, flying by myself to head out on random, spontaneous adventures, flying with friends to go on fun vacations, and just FLYING. I will miss chatting with friendly CSA's who know my dad and used to work with him. I will miss the "ba-ding ba-ding" sound the non-rev boarding passes make. I will miss the way the little paper yellow ticket feels stapled to the back of the glossy white boarding card. I'll miss flying with Brad and making fun of Skymall. (I actually miss that already!) I'll miss being able to decide to go somewhere about 2 hours before my flight leaves. Part of me will miss the crazy "creative flying" that non-revs sometimes have to do. You know, things like flying to Denver to get to San Diego just because it beats sitting in an airport all day watching all the planes leave without you. I'll miss never having to check a bag. I'll miss showing up half an hour before my flight leaves. I'll miss calling my dad seconds after landing and telling him, "Yeah, looks like we'll be puling into Charlie 18, so take your time." I'll miss all that and more.

I won't necessarily miss watching flights pull away, full of revenue passengers as I sit and cross my fingers that I'll be on the next. I won't miss getting a boarding card with a big fat C32 written on it. I won't miss waiting in line to check in at the gate (maybe). I won't miss having hours and hours of airport appreciation time because I can't make any flights. I won't miss running from gate C18 to D8 because that's where the next flight leaves...in 15 minutes. I won't miss the stress of never knowing if you'll actually get to go on vacation or not or if you'll make it home before work the next day. I won't miss getting pulled off a plane in a random city because they've oversold.

{But I sure will miss everything else.}

Losing my wings

As some of you know, my flying days are numbered. I've been flying for free for 18 long, wonderful years. In just a couple of weeks, I will turn 23 and my wings will be clipped. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this change. I have loved being spontaneous with my mom and flying off to fun, crazy places (okay, let's be realistic... Disneyland) at a minute's notice. Obviously we've been to Disneyland quite a bit, but I have used my flight benefits to go other fun places including San Diego, Las Vegas, Salt Lake, Orlando, Hawaii, Denver, Miami, Dallas, St. Louis, Seattle, and San Francisco, to name a few.

As my flight time dwindles away, my desire to see the world increases. Unfortunately, I have very limited funds right now, so seeing the "world" is probably not going to happen anytime soon. Irregardless, I've decided to make the most of these last few weeks by cramming in as many day trips as possible.

On Monday, my mom and I went to San Diego. I had not been for quite some time and it was loads of fun! We were there for about 7 hours. The weather was gorgeous!

While there, we took the bus to Seaport Village, which is a pretty cute tourist trap. We hung around Horton's Plaza, which is always fun. We ate at Anthony's and it was even better than I remember. We soaked up the sun, got chased around by an attractive surfer dude, and met some interesting people. Lots of fun. You can view more pictures here.

Starting to catch up... (Random, non-Disney-related post. :) )

A while ago, some friends and I went to yet another dress-up YSA dance. For a person who does not dance well AT ALL, I sure go to a lot of dances! :) This was a 70s/80s dance. I was a little sick of my 80s costume and since 90% of the YSAs at the Blast From the Past dance were decked out in 80s garb, I decided to go for something different. Morgan is always a good sport and dressed up with me. We convinced Tanner to come and to wear some of my dad's old threads, along with some "awesome" jeans he found at Saver's. Morgan wore a dress her mom made in high school and I wore some of my mom's clothes with some of my own stuff thrown in the mix too. (I feel that I look a bit like a Maitre'd at a themed restaurant in Disneyland, but my mom assures me that my look is SO 70s. :) Feel free to weigh in with your opinion.)

Aren't my fellow disco dancers groovy looking? I LOVE Morgan's dress and neck tie. Awesome. :) The best part of the dance was saying hi to a friend of mine. He proceeded to introduce himself to me. It was really funny. I just stood there for a second, wondering if he was joking. When I realized he wasn't, I said, "Um.... you don't recognize me, do you?" I had to take off my sunglasses before he realized who I was. So at least none of my dorky dance moves will be contributed to Emily. Just to some weird mystery girl in a 70s outfit. :)

On a completely unrelated note, my dad was able to go to Mexico a while back and see Sabastian get baptized. He had SO much fun! We missed him at home, but enjoyed our girl time and we are glad he had such a great time with cute Karla and family. :) Karla sent some treats back with him. We gave some to Lexie and Landon and we had fun sampling some ourselves. I haven't had Mexican candy in a LONG time and it was fun to try all this yummy stuff! Thanks, Karla!

Hope everyone is doing well! Happy blogging!

So much for weekly posts...

Sorry I've been neglecting you, blog world. I can't lie and say I've been busy, so I'll simply say I've been preoccupied. :)

A few weeks ago, my mom and I went to (you guessed it) Disneyland. Rather than doing a full trip report, I thought we'd play a game of "Can you guess the location?" I tried to take semi-obscure pictures during the few hours I was there. Anyone care to venture a guess as to where these pictures were taken? They are all in Disneyland, of course. :)

You can view the rest of my photos here. :) Hope everyone had a fun, safe Labor Day!

Pssssst

Hey you. Come here. Do you want to know a {secret?}

I don't feel like blogging about my recent trip to Disneyland. Still. And not because it wasn't fun. It was a BLAST. Because I hate uploading pictures on Blogger.

I know. You were expecting something much grander, I'm sure. Well. Sorry to disappoint. :)

Stay tuned, faithful readers. Stay tuned.

DCA Top Ten

I'm still putting of my trip report because I don't feel like uploading all the pictures yet. Lo siento. :) So today's post takes us all the way over to Disney's California Adventure. Here's my current top ten list:

10. Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! The wait time for this ride is usually about 3 or 4 minutes and it's worth the "wait." It's a cute dark ride that is pretty entertaining for adults as well as for kids. Plus, it's not terrifying like so many other Disney dark rides (Hello Snow White!). Cute ride. :)

9. Disney's Electrical Parade: Loved this as a kid and I still love it today. We actually don't see this that often. I've only seen it once or twice since it changed to Disney's Electrical Parade (as opposed to Main Street Electrical Parade), but it's on my "next time" list. :)

8. Disney's Aladdin- A Musical Spectacular: Wow, this show is amazing. Most of the cast members are incredible. Although, truthfully, there's at least one.... weaker... member for each role and when each of them acts in the same show, it gets a little hard to bear. (Like the time we saw it with whiny Jasmine, lispy Aladdin, spitty Jafar, and tight-pants Sultan). It's only about an hour long and it really is incredible.

7. Disney Animation (I could have sworn this was called the Animation Studio...): Home of the Sorcerer's Workshop, Animation Academy, Turtle Talk, and Character Closeup, the Animation (Studio) is a great place to relax after walking all day. Turtle Talk is adorable and the Animation Academy is fun too! The Character Closeup is currently featuring the Toy Story Zoetrope, which is still awesome. In the Sorcerer's Workshop, you can draw an animated cartoon strip, visit the Beast's library, and visit Ursula's Grotto. Fun, roomy, air-conditioned place. :)

6. Grizzly River Run: This ride is pretty fun, especially if it's hot. Well, really, only if it's hot. Because being wet and cold is never all that fun. However when it is cold, the wait time is about five minutes. When it's hot outside, expect to wait 75 minutes, single-ride, or use a fastpass. I would suggest fastpass, as half the fun of this ride is riding with friends and seeing who gets soaked first! (By the way, the fastpasses are now connected to the rest of the park, so you can no longer "cheat" and pull two at the same time. Sad.) Not to mention, I got stuck single-riding once. It was ridiculously hot, I hadn't gotten splashed once, and we were in a very bright, unshaded area. AND I was stuck with 7 annoying teenagers for 45 minutes. Oh joy. I got to listen to commentary about my actions the entire time. "Hey, look! That girl is reading a book!" Yes, yes I am. And guess what? "That girl" has ears and is sitting a mere three feet from you. Thank heavens for iPods and good novels.

5. Mission Tortilla Factory: Is it embarrassing that this is so high on my list? Admittedly, this wouldn't be in my number five slot if it was always spitting out corn tortillas... but the delicious warm flour tortillas (or the "tortilla kind" according to Jake Coleman)... mmmm. Did I mention it's free? FREE food at the Disneyland Resort! Free. Delicious. LOVE the Tortilla Factory. And hey, the video ain't half bad either. (Even though I have it memorized in its entirety.) Maseca!

4. Soarin' Over California: My mom's favorite ride! The first time I rode this, I was AMAZED. It is incredible. But I'm a roller coaster person and the high speed loops, drops, and thrills of Tower and Screamin' attracted me much more than Soarin'. Now, I'm falling in love all over. The ride really is incredible. Last time I rode, I sat next to an adorable family who had never been on the ride. I had forgotten how magical this ride really is the first time you experience it. Visually stunning, and technologically quite impressive, it's definitely in my top five. I suggest fastpasses or single-ride. If you do wait standby or use a fastpass, be sure to request front row, middle section (Gate B1) for the best seats in the house.

3. California Screamin': This one is fairly self explanatory. I love coasters, so I love Screamin'. Besides, this attraction is the birth place of many genius Brad ride pictures, including, but not limited to, "Tortilla Face," and "Shoe Phone."

2. Toy Story Mania: Words cannot describe this ride, as evidenced by its ability to out seat Screamin' for a number 2 spot in my book. This ride is number 2 for me because of its innovation and just how amazingly FUN it is. It's slightly reminiscent of a dark ride, but it seems faster and more exciting than your average dark ride. It is slightly similar to Buzz in Disneyland, but with better targets, more accurate shooting, and a completely different skill set. And it has the added fun of 3D glasses. It's a ride! It's a game! It's a show! It's FUN! And! It's a different adventure each and every time. Definitely made for the one-time rider and the person (like me) who will ride it over and over. There are hidden targets, targets that spray you with water or trigger some other kind of reaction, and plenty of different tracks to take. It's a GREAT attraction. (2 pictures because I just love this artwork! :) )

AND... (I bet you already can guess) my number one attraction at DCA is...

1. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Not recommended if you have a SERIOUS fear of heights. I love freefall types of rides. This ride is....AWESOME.

Honorable Mentions include: Mickey's Fun Wheel (I refuse to ride in the swinging gondolas), Mulholland Madness (But be warned, everyone I know except for me hates this ride), Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar (Especially if you are an AP, visit yearly, or are a fellow fanatic), Muppet Vision 3D (This would probably be my number 11. Great show!), Heimlich's Chew Chew Train (Don't wait more than five minutes, as it's about a 45 second ride, but it is a fun, cute ride), Princess Dot Puddle Park (This area is where we spend most of our time on unbearably hot days), Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (Fun place, especially for bored little ones who need to get rid of some of that excess energy!), Pixar Play Parade (Fun parade, but prepare to get wet if you are near the front!), and Delta Daddios

I cannot wait for World of Color to start! And Ariel's Under the Sea Adventure (is that the official name?)! And Cars Land! Exciting changes. :)

Please leave a comment with your favorites. I loved reading them last time!

(P.S. Marie, I have bad news for you. McDonald's is no longer a sponsor at Disneyland and that means no more McDonald's Conestoga Fries Wagon. Sad day! And Jen, I love Disneyland food! And Mom, I can't believe I forgot about Saturday night jazz! Love it!)