It's Tradition...
Right on time... Sort of.... But Robin was late also
Hello tree,,, we missed you!
Pointsettia's abounded throughout the park
The Birthday Girls Gets To Select The Rides... Space Mountain?
Did You Know? - Space Mountain is a steel roller coaster attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. After the success of the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain, the Imagineers made plans to build another on the United States West Coast. The ride opened on May 27, 1977, ten years after the original plans were made, and after Walt Disney's death. Originally, Space Mountain did not have a Synchronized On-Board Audio Track (SOBAT), but after the completion and success of Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune at Disneyland Paris, a soundtrack arranged by Dick Dale was added to the ride in 1996.
Space Mountain was closed suddenly on April 10, 2003 for a complete refurbishment, including replacing the entire roller coaster track. The ride reopened July 15, 2005, just two days before the park's fiftieth anniversary.
"Are you sure about this???"
Did You Know? - Six of the original seven Mercury astronauts attended Space Mountain's opening — Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Sen. John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The lone exception was Gus Grissom, who had died along with two other astronauts in a tragic launchpad fire ten years earlier.
Ready for blastoff
Did You Know? - Largely due in part to the opening of Space Mountain, the Memorial Day day attendance record was set, with 185,500 guests over the three-day period. Space Mountain at Disneyland was designed by Bill Watkins of Walt Disney Imagineering, including a tubular steel track design awarded U.S. Patent 4,029,019. The track layout was different from that in Florida because of space limitations in the California park.
We remember when the Journey To The Moon was amazing complete with the vibrating seats
Decisions decisions
Confirms... Off to Adventureland
Advetureland Was Windy....
That's Nick on the top... You guess which one
Did You Know? - The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.
The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates. The skull is a part of the skeleton.
The English word "skull" is probably derived from Old Norse "skalli" meaning bald, while the word cranium comes from the Greek root κρανίον (kranion).
Frontierland
We left Adventurementland because the Jungle Ride was closed due to high winds and falling trfees and the Pirates was closed for a while due to a nalfunction
So peaceful....
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee....
Here she comes around the bend....
A magnificent sight every time
Paul Meets The Ships Engineer... Gary
This generator runs the electric on the ship and it is (duh!) steam driven!
Did You Know? - The Mark Twain Riverboat is actually powered by the rear-mounted paddle, but is guided by the same replacement track installed at the install time of Fantasmic! It is a real steam-powered sternwheeler, but the steam is regulated by the engineer in the rear of the boat and steam is powered by a biodiesel-fueled boiler. The boiler is regulated at the center of the boat with many gauges and a three-way toggle switch labeled "Slow," "Fast," and "FANTASMIC." The last setting provides the most speed.
This provides all the electric the ship needs EXCEPT when Fantasmic is playing.... T
hen they use a diesel generator in the back of the ship which cannot be heard over the Fantasmic sounds
Gary listens to his engine and can find a problem before it is a real problem
Look carefully for the eagle
The moose come down for a drink
Did You Know? - The word "moose" first entered English by 1606, and is a borrowing from Algonquian languages (compare Narragansett moos and Eastern Abenaki mos, according to early sources likely derived from moosu meaning "he strips off"), possibly involving forms from multiple languages mutually reinforcing one another. The Proto-Algonquian form was *mo·swa.
A mature male moose is called a bull moose, a mature female moose is called a cow moose, and an immature moose of either sex is called a (moose) calf.
The trees were beautiful
Did You Know? - A green leaf is green because of the presence of a pigment known as chlorophyll, which is inside an organelle called chloroplast. When they are abundant in the leaf's cells, as they are during the growing season, the chlorophylls' green color dominates and masks out the colors of any other pigments that may be present in the leaf. Thus the leaves of summer are characteristically green.
In late summer, as daylight hours shorten and temperatures cool, the veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf are gradually closed off as a layer of special cork cells forms at the base of each leaf. As this cork layer develops, water and mineral intake into the leaf is reduced, slowly at first, and then more rapidly. It is during this time that the chlorophyll begins to decrease.
To the Pirates And Beyond... No no, that's not right
The wind was howling 50 feet up
New Orleans Square was decorated
Off To See Santa
Disney does ot right
The North Pole is only a few feet away
North Pole 1909 - Pictured are (left to right): Ooqueh, holding the Navy League flag; Ootah, holding the D.K.E. fraternity flag; Matthew Henson, holding the polar flag; Egingwah, holding the D.A.R. peace flag; and Seeglo, holding the Red Cross flag.
Decorations everywhere
Do you see the "Hidden Mickey"??
Inside the log cabin was decorated as well
Did You Know? - Construction with logs was described by Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio in his architectural treatise De Architectura. He noted that in Pontus (modern-day Northeastern Turkey) dwellings were constructed by laying logs horizontally overtop of each other and filling in the gaps with "chips and mud".
Historically log cabin construction has its roots in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Although their origin is uncertain, the first log structures were probably built in Northern Europe in the Bronze Age (about 3500 BC). By the time Europeans began to settle in North America, they had a long tradition of using logs for houses, barns, and other outbuildings in the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Northern Russia and Ukraine.
Santa gives Bob the bad news.... Nick and Robin are fine
Sue gets the nod also... Paul was afraid of Santa
The reindeer were resting...
Did You Know? - Santa Claus's reindeer is a team of flying reindeer traditionally held to pull the sleigh of Santa Claus and help him deliver Christmas gifts. The commonly cited names of the reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (or Donner), and Blitzen.
They are based on those used in the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, arguably the basis of reindeer's popularity as Christmas symbols, where Donder/Donner and Blitzen were originally called Dunder and Blixem respectively.
Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z
Here comes Pluto
Did You Know? - Pluto, also called Pluto the Pup, is a cartoon character created in 1930 by Walt Disney Productions. He is a light brown (most recently yellow), medium-sized, short-haired dog. Unlike Goofy, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression.
He is most often the companion of Mickey Mouse, although he first appeared as Minnie Mouse's dog Rover in the film The Picnic (1930). Officially a mixed-breed dog, Pluto was likely designed after a pair of Bloodhounds from the film The Chain Gang (1930).
Great presents for little guys ... and BIG guys too
Hauling the goodies
Hey..... Oops, I meant hay
Who gave the little feller a black eye??
He was posing
The snowman was enjoying this cold blustery day
What would Christmas be without a fire engine?
Just us.... Paul and Sue at Disneyland
She thinks she can pull the cart but alas, it was to heavy
She was determined and wanted to try again
From Frontierland To Tomorrowland
C3PO at the controls
Did You Know? - Star Wars film series created by George Lucas, making it the first Disney attraction based on a non-Disney produced film.
The first incarnation of the ride appeared in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in 1987, replacing the previous attraction, Adventure Thru Inner Space. Star Tours at Disneyland closed on July 27, 2010 to allow for the conversion to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.
This little guy was a smarty pants
Hello... Your wait is 75 minutes....
Did You Know? - With Lucas' approval, Disney Imagineers purchased four military-grade flight simulators at a cost of $500,000 each and designed the ride structure.
We went across the way to see Buzz Lightyear and did the shooting gallery thing
"I am in control"
Did Someone Say Dinner Time???
The sun was setting and the temperature was dropping... Let's get inside
The monorail was the perfect solution to the delima
The kids were right behind us
Catal For Dinner... It Does NOT Get Better than This
Bob found another drummer
Bread was a good way to start
You would never know she is 21 again
Robin liked her birthday card
We are wearing Diane's matching sweatshirts that are now about ten years old
Lazy bones
The salad was huge... Time to split it
Pricilla was our server this evening
Birthday??
Now the giggles begin
Too pretty to eat
Ah.. a great day and NOW???? We are off to Torrance to dance the evening away
"Your doing what???"
Nick makes magic! He makes a rootbeer float disappear in front of our eyes
Albert (the Catal General Manager) makes it feel like home
