Why I Oughta...

I've been doing the 'throw out the number of items that match the day of the month' thing during October.  That means that I've turned to cleaning out my desk and office to toss unnecessary items.  It also means that I'm finding some things that I stashed away and forgot about.   One of those stashed/forgotten is this:  a Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort Pin featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse in their cabana gear.  I've always been a 'deluxe resort' kinda guy at Disney Parks.  But...can I say something?  I REALLY liked Caribbean Beach Resort.  The Skyliner is there.  We had a 'corner room', so we had windows on two sides (sorta), so it felt a little less motel-y.   We could walk to the Disney Riveria resort for breakfast or dinner.  I'd stay here again.  

It has been two-and-a-half years since I added a photo to my online [coaster collection] with the last one posted was in Summer of 2021 when I added the Riviera Resort down at Walt Disney World to my collection .  Earlier this year, we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland Resort and either from the hotel room or from the lounge by the pool, I found and came away with this lovely disposable coaster.  One side features the letters G C H.  The reverse is a flower and leaves. The title tells the story of this being the 15th piece of Disney Parks ephemera in the form of coasters from restaurants and resorts.   This is the third Disneyland Resort Coaster; with a Disneyland Hotel one and the Lamplight Lounge Pixar coasters already being posted in the collection.   Here's the Full Disney Parks coaster list: The full Disney list includes: 1. The standard one you see in your rooms @  Walt Disney World resort hotels . 2. This  black and white one from the original Disneyland

Over the years, I've made a small little catalog of Disney Parks Maps from various visits here on the blog.  I'm drawn to various forms of Disney Parks ephemera and have posted some photos online here, mostly so I can remember them and...throw out the actual map.  Here's the tag of all the Parks Maps posts .   And, here's another collection of posts all showing various Disney Parks ephemera .  The last time I shared a Disney Parks map was from 2019 when we went to the opening season of Star Wars Galaxy Edge in Disneyland Park .   Below, is the latest parks map showing the 50th Anniversary of the Magic Kingdom showing Cinderella's Castle on the front.   Below is an inside look that shows the 'Now Programming' for the Tron ride in Tomorrowland. Below is one of the inside spreads featuring the details of "The World's Most Magical Celebration" for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom. For the rest of the catalog of Disney

This recent boat ride - from the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian - was on aboard a new-to-us vessel:  the Calm Seas.  We love a good Disney boat ride and have done a bunch of them:  from resort to parks.  From resort to Disney Springs.  From Resort to Resort.   Friendship boats.  Motor Launch boats.  Ferries.  Pontoon boats.  But, the boat you see below in photos, was new-to-us:  Calm Seas. It was running on the Seven Seas Lagoon, so that had me wondering...what was the story with the boat?  Turns out, it is repurposed boat from Animal Kingdom.  Via Wikipedia, we discover (get it??) that the once-used Discovery River Boats ride was in service for about 18 months and closed in 1999 .  Two of the four boats have stayed at Animal Kingdom.  But, Wikipedia tells us about the Calm Seas and how it was relocated .  With another boat: Two of the boats were later moved to the Magic Kingdom resort area on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon, where they were repurposed for a pirate-themed fire

We've been going to Disney's Boardwalk since for ten years now ( here's a post showing our first visit, I think...back in March of 2012)  and have come to really love and appreciate this resort area of Walt Disney World.  Sure, the Magic Kingdom resorts have the monorail, the electric water pageant and Magic Kingdom Fireworks.  But the Epcot resorts have walking-to two parks, the Skyliner and the Boardwalk area.  On a recent walk around the Boardwalk, I came across this sign that is situated right on the border between the Yacht Club and the Swan and Dolphin bridge that evokes one of those old-time-y vacation postcards.  It has a cute Walt Disney World Resort postmark on the top, even.  But, the part that jumped out to me was the copy in the red bar across the bottom:  "Come to the Showplace of the Shore".  That's a new-to-me tagline for the resort area.  See the signage below: A quick spin around the Google machine shows me, however, that is his NOT a new tag

I've posted a few times about our experience(s) at Disney's Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World over the years .  It was the first place we stayed on our own as a family, the first place we experienced the Electrical Water Pageant and has the best resort-to-park transportation experience on property (imho) with the boat ride from the dock at Wilderness Lodge to the front of Magic Kingdom.  One of the best spots to just sit and relax on property is in the train room in the DVC studios building on the first floor where they have a bunch of Walt Disney's Carolwood Pacific backyard trains displayed .   On our recent trip at the Lodge, we found ourselves in an area that we've never really been before:  a little hidden area on the 2nd floor of the resort that feels tucked away and very private.  There's a big desk to do work and a little couch area, too.  I'll post about that part in a different post.   But, by the desk area....there's a really striking painting

A couple of months ago, I posted some new coasters for the collection that were from Oga's Cantina in Black Spire Outpost in Disney's Hollywood Studios .  Those were the 37th coasters and 13th Disney-specific coasters.  I mentioned that the rise of parks ephemera in the form of drink coasters is a really nice trend. Today's post is featuring a new Disney coaster from their new (at least to us) resort called Disney's Riviera Resort.  On the ground floor, near the pool, there's a great lounge called Bar Riva .  It is like eating indoors outdoors.  Or, eating outdoors indoors.  The food was good, the place looks great.  And...they have custom coasters that are oval and include this RR-logo that you can find in various places around the resort . This makes 14 Disney coaster sets (thanks, Lamplight Lounge and Oga's Cantina for having to say 'sets') that I've documented on the blog for the collection. The full Disney list includes: 1. The standard one yo

Here's a matched set of Disney Parks pins that were in that little stash that we came across last weekend - but these are a matched set of a matched set.  Of holiday character themed-mittens.   With the whole Bernie Sanders inauguration mittens meme,  I'm so *on* trend right with this post now, amiright?  The first one below is from 2015 Christmas at the Polynesian Resort (note: not yet the Polynesian Village Resort) featuring Stitch.  And the other one on the left is from the same 2015 Christmas/holiday celebration at Disney's Contemporary Resort featuring...for some reason...Tinkerbell in a Santa hat and outfit.  Both of these are on cute cards that carry the whole mittens-theme forward and are both marked "Limited Edition".  This is the most recent of the discovered 'stash' pins from Disney Parks on the blog.  ALL of my posts about various Disney Parks trading pins can be found here .  I also have created this running log of everything I've posted

If you're a Disney person, you've probably heard about the Disneyland cats.  This Vice story does a good job unpacking the whole feline operation in Anaheim .  There's more than 100 feral cats that live in and around Disneyland Park that are fed and tended to (even tagged and neutered!) by Disney cast members/staff.  All in the name of reducing the rodent population - which they do a pretty great job. Just to be clear here:  We're not cat people in the Parrillo household.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to rain on your cat parade.  Just not going to be besties with Beth O and bring in cats to our house.   Seeing cats out in the wild?  Just fine, though.  And, for the record, this is the first entry into the archives with the [ Cats ] tag. As a Disney fan, you likely know the Disneyland cats story.  But, here's something you may not know:  there are cats at Disney's Aulani in Hawaii, too.  Here's a couple of photos of them.  The one up top

If you get a chance, stay at the Disneyland Hotel at the Disneyland Resort.  They really drape themselves in Walt and the place is themed to Disney itself.  Not far-away polynesia or 1920's New Jersey Shore.  But Disney.  Walt and Mickey.  Mickey and Walt. I posted a photo from the Tangaroa Terrace restaurant featuring Walt and the Tiki Room Birds before, but here above is the telephone and internet information guide that they leave on the nightstands.  When you open it all the way up, you get this cool photo of the man himself sitting as his desk with a Donald Duck standing there while he yammers away on the phone.  Pretty clever way to bring some history from the archives back to everyday use.  The touches - including the headboard (which I'll get to!) are just spectacular.  Can you get a cheaper room at one of the "Good Neighbor" hotels right across the street from Disneyland?  Sure you can.  But you can't match the magic of being in the Disneyland Hotel i

Both of these were in the hotel rooms during our stay(s) at both Walt Disney World (Bay Lake Tower) and Disneyland Resort (Disneyland Hotel).    The one on the right from Disneyland is particularly neat with the whole retro vibe and the original DL Hotel sign and monorail. Added these to the 'Coaster Collection' here on the blog .  They take a spot next to the other ones from Ted's and a brewery up in Michigan and others from our travels.