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

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

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

Why not make the bathroom awesome, right?  That's what, I'm sure the Imagineers said who were putting the final touches on the Disneyland Hotel .  As I've mentioned before, you should - if you can swing it - stay there on your visit to the Disneyland Resort.   Most recently, we failed to take my own advice and stayed at a "Good Neighbor" hotel (c'mon...let's be honest here:  it was a motel). To make-up for our staying outside the 'Disney Bubble' and to kind-of recreate a special character meal we had a few years back, we booked a breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen .  The restaurant is in the convention center building that is right next door to the Fantasy Tower.  Here's a map from the OC Register that shows the Disneyland Hotel footprint . If you wander off to the bathroom that is outside of the restaurant, you enter one that is set up for conventions.  It has a lot of room.  The bathroom itself isn't worth commenting on.  But, the w

Here comes #32 in the [ coaster collection ] here on the blog with this one from Disney's Contemporary Resort that features the neat retro-ish logo with the monorail running right through the hotel.  The most recent coaster I posted was one from Half Acre Brewery . This is also the #10 of the collection that relates to Disney.  10/32 or 31% are Disney-related with the most recent one from Enzo's Hideaway that I posted back in April of this year .  I found this in a pile of coasters that I had stashed in my office closet after cleaning it out over the Thanksgiving break.  It is now sitting on my desk along with a few others and will get used for a while before being discarded. The ten Disney-related ones include: 1. The standard one you see in your rooms @ Walt Disney World resort hotels . 2. This black and white one from the original Disneyland Resort Hotel . 3. This *new* Walt Disney World resort hotel version that updates the look of #1 above. 4. One from the

I had this experience riding the monorail from the Polynesian earlier this fall.  We had just finished breakfast and I had to split to do something without the family, so I rolled into the monorail sans stroller, sans diaper bag, sans kids, sans wife.  And had the whole thing to myself.   Weird.  But quite delightful at the same time.  

Some of the best fireworks at Walt Disney World are clearly New Year's Eve.  And  we've seen those from our room at the Polynesian Village Resort .  I posted about that experience  here  and  here .   That show has ruined me for just about any other fireworks show .   The second best?  Might be Hallowishes that they put on during  Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party .   We went to the party one night, but we also were staying at the Grand Floridian during another night that they hosted the party and we did not attend.  We did, however, head down to the pier to catch the show from near the water and it was pretty great.  Perimeter fireworks were still great - not quite as great as being dead-on from the Polynesian - and light up the waterfront.  There was a small crowd down on the end of the pier, but we stayed next to Narcoossee's and were able to enjoy them all by ourselves.   We've experienced the various fireworks shows from Bay Lake Tower, but

We walked from the Grand Floridian to the Polynesian one morning recently for breakfast at Kona Cafe and on that walk, we came across this large Tiki.  He is outside one of the Longhouses, just a bit west of the Grand Ceremonial House.  In what is seemingly a random location.  But, he is big.  And angry looking.  And something that makes your stay at the Poly just a little.bit.more special.  I've written about the Tiki Room at DLR here .  And I've posted photos of some of the other art at the Polynesian including this painting  and this print that we picked up in Boutiki .  

Back in February of 2016, I posted a photo of the in-room coasters from the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Hotel .  The coasters from WDW are found in the resort hotel rooms usually on the little bar/kitchen setup where the glasses/mugs are located near the coffee makers.  The coasters had been the same ones for as long as we have been traveling there until a recent trip when I came across these new ones you see above.  It is a much cleaner look - both in terms of design but also material.  The old one had a soft, brushed texture.  This one is thinner, more flexible and has a more slick - but not glossy finish to it.  Gone is the castle imagery and the clouds.  In is the word 'Resort'. The thinner material and less printing make me think that this is a simple cost-cutting measure.  Sure, the new design feels a bit more 'fresh', but if they're putting four of these in 10k hotel rooms, a penny here and a penny there can start to add up, right? I

We picked up another Resort-specific pin during a stop at Disney's Yacht Club.  Just like the one from the Contemporary earlier this year .  Or the Port Orleans Riverside one .   This one has Mickey wearing his best beach/old-timey-boardwalk/sailor gear and seems to fit the vibe that the resort puts off.  Now that we're settled in, it seems like we should be doing something in the house with these pins and the various pin boards that are laying around in my office.  The resort-specific section would

That's Elliott from Pete's Dragon on a Hidden Mickey Cast Member's lanyard pin that one of the girls traded for at Disney's Yacht Club with the greeter right in the lobby.  There are plenty of scrappers that we come across that are Hidden Mickeys but a close look at the back/edges of this one, makes me think that this one is the genuine article. Over on PinPics, it says that this one is part of a series that includes other dragons/lizards like Mushu, Malificent , Figment  (and Figment chaser, which we own and that I've posted a photo of on the blog ), and Madame Mim .  

Just like the Port Orleans Riverside pin that I posted here on the blog in late February , above you'll find a Disney's Contemporary Resort pin that we picked up on our recent trip down to WDW.  I typically try to get the pin from the resort we stayed at during our trips, but sometimes it ends up being a holiday- inspired version like this Chip and Dale Christmas one from the Polynesian from the holidays in late 2015.   I kinda love how they've included the monorail buzzing around from the side of the hotel in this pin and at first, I didn't love the Contemporary.  What..with the real lack of theme-ing, right?  Well, I've learned to really like it...and not just for the easy walk to the Magic Kingdom.  (But, that is preetay, preetay, preetay nice, right??) Turns out, my parents stayed at the Contemporary during the first year of existence when they took my two oldest sisters down to WDW for a trip in 1971 during the inaugural year.  That's kinda awesome, r

This photo is hanging in the lounge at the Boardwalk Inn down on Crescent Lake.  I think this is from the club-level floor either in the club or right outside of it.  Kinda love the sea shells behind the couples in each of the matching convertibles.  I took this photo months ago, but for some reason it just popped up in my Google photos.  Thus, why it is getting posted now. It reminds me of the vintage photos that they had hung up down in Sea Island . You can see all the of the Boardwalk-related posts on the blog all the way back to our first stop there in the summer of 2012 here on the [boardwalk] tag page .

I've posted a few times about Port Orleans Riverside down at Walt Disney World over the past few months.  First, I shared the sawn balusters on the luggage cart , then talked about the amazing Live Oak they built the resort around and then just this week, showed off the animated headboards in the Princess rooms .  All awesome. Above is the pin that we picked up from our stay there.  As we've done in the past, we always try to get the pin from our resort to mark the trip.  Here's one from the Wilderness Lodge , Animal Kingdom Lodge , and the Polynesian .  The girls pins have been accumulating in a zip lock bag because we've outgrown the one pin board we have and we're waiting for the new place to think about unpacking them even more. Oh, and by the way, that photo up top?  It was taken with the Google Photoscan app .  It is awesome.  I tried to take the same photo with my camera of the pin and it turned out all glare-y.  Photoscan gets rid of it.  

Just about one year ago today (February 12th of 2016), I posted about the really neat animated headboards at the Disneyland Hotel .  I've long thought that the little details like those headboards made spending the few extra dollars to stay at one of Disney's hotels was worth it vs. staying off property. Above you'll see a different headboard.  With different animations.  This time, it is in Orlando at Port Orleans Riverside in one of Princess Tiana's rooms.  We stayed there recently and loved it.   These headboards don't play music like the ones at DLR , but they're just as delightful.  The girls loved the little Princess touches around the room and I loved the price.  So let's call it a win-win, right?

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