Why I Oughta...

Just to make things simple here for the record keeper at the 'official' coaster collection archives, I'm calling this just one coaster.  You can see a bunch of coasters in the photos of this post and one side of them are all different, but just to keep things simple here, let's call this one coaster. And that coaster is pretty neat:  it is from the new (at least kinda new) Lamplight Lounge at Disney California Adventure. As I've posted over time, we're lounge people when it comes to Disney parks and dining.  After taking some advice from Pam at the BoG Podcast, we've sought out more and more lounges.  They don't require ADRs and you can get pretty good food in an atmosphere that we can enjoy and the kids can tolerate. This place - the Lamplight Lounge - is called a 'lounge', but it also takes ADRs.  Or at least reservations via the Disneyland mobile app - which is a bit different than WDW ADRs.  But, you get it, right?  Also, the food is

Add another 'streetmosphere' character to the list of folks that we've met at the Disney Parks over the years.  Today's post is about Donna Linn De Larria - one of the "Citizens of Buena Vista Street" in Disney California Adventure. She's a lot like the "Citizens of Hollywood" that greet guests at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida, but she's in California.  We met Donna and her dog Lady one morning on our recent visit.  MousePlanet has the full list and details of the Citizens of Buena Vista Street here .  From their notes about Donna , we find out that she's the 'unofficial mayor'.  From MousePlanet  and their post about all the 'Citizens ': Donna is the unofficial mayor of Buena Vista St.. You usually see her with her dog, Lady. The kids love to meet the dog and pet her of course. She is happy to give you directions to any attractions. She is also happy that women just got the vote and has no plans on

Over the years, I've posted a few times on tilework done at Disney Parks.  It has been a source of inspiration and admiration both for us as we built our house and how we observe the world.  First, I covered the tilework in the Peter Pan queue in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World .  Then, I came across the tile in PizzaRizzo at Disney's Hollywood Studios .  Both served as inspiration for our vestibule tile work that we eventually incorporated into the house.  Today's post shows some tile that is the Ariel ride at Disney's California Adventure.  Turns out, this is, I think, called the San Felipe style of tile .  Think about the beating this tile is taking at Disney California Adventure.  Hundreds of thousands of people are walking across this every month.  And it looks great.  As we are beginning to think about our basement build-out, tile is something to think about and this struck some part of inspiration in me.  Now....we all know that I'm out of the c

Putting this photo here in the ole' online diary to note the inclusion of this seasonal Parks Map.  I've posted other Disney Parks maps/guides including both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea here .  And a guide for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party from 2017 here .  Over the past ten days or so, I've posted some items from our recent trip to DLR but really didn't mention the trip. We've been to Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Park a few times over the years, but this trip was just a little interlude before a larger Disney-centric vacation.  We stayed for a few nights and spent a good chunk of the days at the Parks in Anaheim.  Would we do things differently?  I think so, but we decided to try something new and NOT take my own advice.  What was that advice? From this post on Disneyland in 2016, I said : 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 Di

On our recent trip to Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort, we had a dinner at the Carthay Circle Lounge.  NOT at the restaurant, but downstairs in the lounge that doesn't require reservations.  We waited in a short line, then were lead into the outer lounge space - that doubles as kind of the lobby - for the upstairs restaurant.  We were *just* outside of the formal lounge, but had nice plush chairs and a little table.  Nat had a cocktail, I had a beer flight and we ate a bunch of the small plates. But, none of that was the star.  Nope.  That's because right beside our table was a display case that had all these Donald Duck products in it.  And if you look closely, the consumer products are all in almost perfect mint condition.  There's Cheese Quackers from Nabisco that has a nice Donald Duck-tie-in.  But then there's just a bunch of random products that they appear to have slapped the Donald Duck name/brand on.  I mean...Tomato Juice?  Grapefrui

Back last Summer, I posted a 'one that got away' about a vintage Disneyland drink tray that I came across .  It was white, but had the state of California and a bunch of characters.   I admired the tray, but quickly realized that I can appreciate it without actually having to own it.  Besides...there are really just a handful of times a year (for us) that we could actually use a tray like this one. But then....we stopped into the Blue Sky Cellar.  It is in Disney's California Adventure and included a bunch of models and Imagineering stuff.  There are interactive cards to fill out, a video to watch and artifacts to gaze over. They bill "Blue Sky" as the first step in the Imagineering process. In amongst the artifacts was that black Disneyland beverage tray that you see at the very top of this post.  I'm certain there were a bunch of iterations of the Disneyland tray, but now we know of at least two of them.  While my initial thought was to adore the

What's this?  It is a craft beer that combines beer with a little effervescence from sparkling wine.  And Nat discovered it recently and shared a little bit with me earlier this year.  From the Allagash Brewing Company site : Two Lights is an ode to two of the more refreshing drinks of summer: cold beer and sparkling wine. While brewing this beer, we add sauvignon blanc must—the freshly pressed juice of the grapes. Then we ferment it with both lager and champagne yeast to create a tart, crisp, and dry profile. The finished beer’s aromas of pear, grape, and light hops pair with a flavor profile that’s a mix of tropical fruit and the snappy spritz of a freshly picked grape. We suggest sipping Two Lights by a water source too large to see across. BeerAdvocate has it at 3.91 out of 5.00 , but I think that's beer snobbery at play.  Like many of you, my introduction to Allagash Brewing Co was through their White beer - which BA has at 4.16 .