For the First Time in Forever

Finally getting back to Disneyland after almost 2 months away.  Jobs get in the way!  Got to check out the For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration at Frozen Fun.  Now that the crowds have died down a bit, you can actually get fast passes for the next show...on a Saturday!  They also have some fancy new fast pass machines.  

The show is housed in the former Muppets 3D theatre and, unlike with previous engagements, it has been completely rethemed.  A little birdy tells us the show is set to run for 2 years, despite other Frozen Fun entertainment being removed to make room for the return of Mad T Party.  

So the pretense here is that the Royal Historian, Aria, is training her apprentice (at our show his name was Eric, not sure if that changes) and Princess Anna has a surprise planned for him.  They recount the events from the movie, playing clips of 5 songs, "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman," "For the First Time in Forever," "Love is an Open Door," "In Summer," and "Let it Go."  Anna, Kristoff and Elsa all make appearances, but they are brief and they only sing in the big finale, where "snow" flurries and icy blasts are conjured up by the Queen.  

There are several shows a day and it runs about a half hour, not including the time spent waiting in the holding pen, I mean, foyer.  You should be fine if you show up 20 minutes before show time.  They will close the doors about 10 minutes prior.  

I enjoyed it, but not being a huge Frozen fanatic, I probably wouldn't see it every time I make it out there.  The kids love it, though, so you may not have a choice!  Hahaha!

Frozen Fun: Olaf's Snow Fest

So it's been a while since I last posted.  I blame the holidays!  I didn't get to visit the parks nearly as often as I would like in the last couple of months.  

Anyway, I have gotten to visit DCA's new Frozen Fun area a couple of times and thought it would be good to share a few things I've learned.  

The first time we went, it was a very early preview and when we saw Olaf, we made a beeline for the queue.  Outside.  Yep, Olaf's first meet and greet appearance was in front of what was to be Olaf's Snow Fest.  Sorry for the blurry nighttime picture...

Later, Olaf moved into his new home in Arendelle.  The snow play area recreates a town square with a frozen fountain, wooden pieces for building a snowman, and the occasional flurry.  The snow can get a bit icy, but they have people break up the ice with shovels and rakes.  

If you are so inclined, you can sled down a snowy hill!  This is of course another line inside the play area.  Go straight there if you want to try it!  

If that's not your cup of tea, there is also a small merchandise shop and snack bar.  The snack bar serves up meatballs, corndog bites and hot chocolate as well as other grab and go snacks and treats.  They also sell a build your own snowman kit, which we got to try for FREE yesterday!  It's a $5.95 value.  My friends and I were sitting at a table when approached by a cast member who made a full presentation, lol!  

If you want to meet Olaf, you will have to queue up outside, get a pager, then you can do whatever you like until paged to enter the queue inside.  The wait was about 90 minutes altogether that day, but the kids got to go on a ride in the meantime.  Sometimes they have a second queue up to enter the area, so be sure to check with a cast member.  

Frozen has also taken over the dance party, which is now called Freeze the Night.  I only ventured into it looking for Marshmallow, lol!  We found him over by the former arcade.  There is also an odd Jenga type game off to one side.  Not sure why that's there or what the purpose of having it next to Marshmallow is.  There is also an ice carving show where Laserman used to perform.  

The Muppet Theater is now the Frozen Sing Along, but I have yet to experience it due to it's popularity.  Wandering Oaken's is an outdoor merchandise area outside the theater.  I have also not been over to see Elsa and Anna or to draw Frozen characters in the Animation Building.  I'm experiencing a little Frozen fatigue, but eventually I will try and get to that.  This experience is supposed to be for a limited time while the parks transition to the 60th celebrations, but we'll see!  

Meet Baymax (and Hiro)

Now that everyone and their grandma has been to see Big Hero 6, it's time to head over to Disneyland and meet Baymax and his buddy Hiro.  These two started meeting at the former Wreck it Ralph area at the back of the Starcade in Tomorrowland Veterans Day weekend.  

The area is designed to look like Hiro's garage workshop.  You can even see his original bot sitting on a shelf.  There is a door in the side through which Hiro and Baymax enter and exit the meet and greet.  

I got in line outside the Starcade (look for the taped off areas against the wall) and was told by the character host that the wait was approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes and that it was possible that you would meet only Hiro and not Baymax.  (This is common, but unpopular with guests...think Jack without Sally or Anna without Elsa).  Undeterred, I stepped inside the lines and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  It only took 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to the front of the line.  Only.  Lol!  

However, when I was second in line, the twosome had to go "recharge" Baymax.  This happened a couple of times while I was there, but they only left briefly and both returned each time.  I'm not sure if that will always be the case, but they probably don't want a riot on their hands, lol!  I did get a cute video of Baymax trying to fit into the doorway, just like he does in the movies!  The Stormtroopers seemed to think that there might be a rebel spy amongst us, because I saw them come through at least twice.  Bonus! 

I hadn't actually seen the movie until today, but I met them last weekend because I didn't want to pass it up in case the lines got even longer!  (Looking at you, Frozen).  I thought the bot was some kind of Maleficent doll, hahaha!  Hiro asked me whether I'd been on any adventures.  I told him that I visited with the mermaids and mice, to which he replied that Mochi wasn't very good at catching mice.  I guessed that Mochi was the cat in the trailers.  

Since I didn't have a photo for him to sign, I had Hiro sign a blank index card.  I have done this with newer characters in case they don't stick around long enough for me to come back with a photo.  Naturally, Baymax doesn't sign, but I thought maybe Hiro would for him...he didn't.  While he was busy writing, I took the opportunity to give Baymax a big hug.  He doesn't speak, but his eyes blink.  I was very happy with our photos, I can't wait to go back (when the line is a little shorter, lol!).  

Meet Hiro and Baymax at the Tomorrowland Starcade from 10:30AM-5:00PM daily!  

Treat: Caramel Apple Funnel Cake

So I waited until attending the Halloween party to give this baby a try.  The caramel apple funnel cake at Hungry Bear Restaurant was calling my name.  For just $6.49, this funnel cake is very reasonable, considering you can easily share with 2-3 people.  

It honestly took a while to get our funnel cake since they make them to order.  The funnel cake itself is very crisp, the funnel must be very fine because the pieces are the thickness of yarn, lol!  It is topped with powdered sugar, an apple pie-like topping, caramel and a copious amount of whipped cream.  

You definitely want some cold milk or water to wash this down with!  I liked it enough to hope it makes the menu, but I would be hard pressed to order it again unless I know someone else will share it with me!  

Restaurant: Big Thunder Ranch BBQ

One of our guiltiest pleasures at the parks is stuffing our faces at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ.  Since it is all you can eat (AYCE), we usually make it our only in park meal of the day, as a late lunch/early dinner.  The timing is important because there is about a $5 difference and additional menu items for dinner.  

Is it uncomfortable eating so much meat right next to the ranch petting zoo?  Nope.  It's delicious.  Lol!  

If you are joining in for lunch, you can expect to be served:  BBQ chicken and ribs, coleslaw, beans, and cornbread.  Food is served family style in buckets. The chicken and ribs are tender and flavorful.  Coleslaw is made without mayonnaise and I hear the cornbread is a mixture of cornmeal and yellow cake.  

For dinner, you also get smoked sausage and wheels of corn on the cob.  The corn is made with milk and butter...oh mah gawd.  If you have a vegetarian in your party, or even if you don't, you can get tofu/veggie skewers.  Be sure to let your server know if this is the case. 

My party typically gets one of each to start, but will ask for second (and third or fourth) helpings of the meat and corn buckets.  In fact, one time my brother put away almost 5 little buckets of meat, virtually single handed!  

When I first started eating here, they would give you a to-go box for the leftovers, which would pretty much make up another meal.  This is no longer done, but they did once tell us that we were free to take it home if we had our own containers.  Your mileage may vary, hahaha!  

Most of the time there is entertainment while you dine, a western themed music show or sometimes characters like Woody and Jessie stop by for a visit.  We didn't see either on our last trip.  

If you still have any room left for dessert, they have several options, generally gigantic skillets of baked goods and ice cream.  You can actually just come for dessert, if space is available.  If it's your birthday, or other special occasion, you may just get a chocolate cupcake.  

Lunch is about $25 and dinner $30, with most desserts costing just under $10.  I believe beverages are included for dinner.  Big Thunder Ranch BBQ is located at the eastern edge of Frontierland, close to the Village Haus Restaurant.  

Company D, Part II

Well, apparently wishes do come true!  I found out last week about a Friends & Family day at the property control parking lot sale.  We got there bright and early and even though a lot of the really cool finds were gone by Sunday, we did see a few things which caught our eye.  

This large "Mechanical Kingdoms" sign was made of metal and hung over the Gallery on Main Street.  For just $25, I did contemplate buying it...as I did with many an item that day.

On the left is a two-piece item which cost $35.  Not sure where it came from, but wouldn't that have made an adorable facade for a playhouse?  It's a good 6-8 feet tall assembled.  

On the top right are two commodes from Club 33.  Yes, you read that right.  Those are the old toilet seats from the men's room from before the remodel.  Yours for the low price of $20 each.  I couldn't bear to use those toilets on my visit to the Club, but you bet I took pictures of it, lol!  I'm really after the dishes, so if anyone hears of them coming up for sale, let me know!

What I really came for was the fabric.  I have a little hoarding problem when it comes to fabric.  Okay, a big problem.  Rolls and rolls of fabric like those pictured could be had for as little as $1.  The choir robe was $5 and you could fill up a large brown shopping bag with as many ornaments as you could fit into it for $4. I picked them up to wire together into a swag for work.  I also picked up some odds and ends like postcards, luggage tags and cookie boxes (for all that holiday baking) for pennies.  

Now wouldn't you know, I left that bag when I went to load up my car.  After spending the whole day playing at the parks, I realized that I left it behind.  I called first thing the next morning and was surprised to hear back from them that they had the bag and would be holding it for me.  I picked it up this evening!  Truly, things rarely get lost at Disney that can't be reunited with their owners.  I once lost a camera and didn't even realize it for at least a week.  When I called, they were able to locate it in their computer system based on my description!  Always check with guest services when you lose something that can be identified!  

Anyway, I am so glad I have awesome Disney cast member friends who don't mind me spending all my money on random tchotchkes!  I don't even mind all the tsk-tsk'ing.  ;p

Company D

One of the great perks of being a castmember or a friend of a castmember is getting to shop at Company D.  

For those that don't know, Company D is the off-site Team Center for Disney's "castmembers" (employees).  There, you can take care of some of your castmember business, buy groceries, or (and this is why non-castmembers like to go) buy discounted parks merchandise.  From the street, it looks like any other warehouse.  Once inside, it looks like any other warehouse, but filled with treasures untold!

Certain things are meant to be purchased solely by castmembers.  Strangely, this includes the grocery items like bread or bananas.  However, they do have some cool merchandise like special lanyards or clothing.  If you want to purchase those things, bring cash because the castmember will have to buy them for you.  This is basically true of the right front portion of the "store."  Also, these are usually priced as marked.  

The rest of the store is pretty much 50% off or more and as long as the castmember is there to show ID or you have a pass (they occasionally get "friends and family" passes), you can buy what you want, cash and credit cards accepted, no checks.  The left side usually has the latest merchandise, from clothing to pins and even Vinylmations.  If you're lucky, they may even have manager's specials in place where they take an additional percentage off the already discounted price.  

Now, here's where you get down and dirty with your cheap self!  In the back is the "warehouse."  This is where you'll find the older items or one-offs.  Boxes and boxes of things that cost as little as a quarter.  I've gotten earhats for $1.  Why would I want a D23 earhat when I didn't even go to D23?  Silly, you just peel off that logo and add your own for a custom number!  Many things are still 50% off, but you can find some real gems in here, even items that are still being sold at full price in the parks.  

If you are a castmember, then you probably already know about "the cage," aka "property control."  Inside the warehouse is a separate section that is surrounded by chain link fence.  In the cage are items that are either "damaged" merchandise or from non-merch departments at deeeeeep discounts!  On my latest visit, I spotted the huge Jack Skellington head that used to hang in the Haunted Mansion stretching room at Christmas, Club 33 tables and chairs, and tons of pieces of costuming from the Entertainment dept.  Not all of the items in this area are necessarily for sale, some are up for auction or being held for some other reason, like there is sometimes a parking lot sale.  Friends have bought etched headboards and armoires ($100) from the hotels and I have even seen mini-fridges for $10.  I personally own a bedspread from the Disneyland Hotel ($8), an embossed leather binder from the Grand Californian ($2), and my latest acquisition...this lamp from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ($15)!  

Unfortunately, you have to have a Disney-issued ID to even set foot in the cage.  I wandered in the first time I went, not knowing I wasn't allowed, oops!  I just gave my friend the money to buy what I'd picked out, but on future trips, could only look in longingly from the outside.  It's hard to pick out goodies when you can't go in and you feel bad having your friend trot merchandise over to you, saying "This?"  Lol!  So of course, what this means is that I need to get a part-time gig at Disneyland, just for the property control shopping!