That wad of gum is *still* stuck to the courtroom door in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Bleh. Well, at least no one's stuck gum in the open mouth of the Mr. Toad statue in the queue lately. It's so common...and so rude.

Noticed there are *two* bootscrapers on the HM porch. *cough* lawsuit waiting to happen *cough* One of the little bird statues from the pet cemetery seems to be MIA, and the green orb in the seance room is still missing as well. The ladder that was left next to Little Leota was *finally* removed. All you Doombugs may find this of interest: http://ghostrelationsdept.blogspot.com/ (damn, this guy knows *everything*).

You already know I dislike early-entry days because I can't play Beat The Crowd when the crowd is allowed to enter the park before I am. One of the nice City Hall hosts was kind enough to tell me that they fall on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So, all you early birds who, like me, live too close to the parks to stay in a Disney hotel (or can't afford it), make a note of that.

Keep an eye out for the Lilly Belle private parlor car when in view of the Disneyland Railroad; it was returned to the tracks after a long refurbishment a while back. You need a special ticket to ride in Lilly Belle (alas, I have no idea how to get one or I'd have done so by now), but you can see (gorgeous) photos at http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al020706b.htm (scroll down; pics continue on the next page).

Small World's missing hula girl is back (looks like she got a new hat), but I swear, that Spanish girl is missing a tambourine and two of the Venetian girls have lost a hatpin.

See you at Disneyland!

I'm really not an early bird. But, sometimes getting up early to be in the park on days it opens at 8 a.m. is well worth it. I got my own boat on Storybook Land again today. The hostess (Jessica?) seemed new to the park but can recite the spiel perfectly. Casey Jr. stalled, briefly, but I suppose fifty years of heavy use, even with constant maintenance, is bound to cause that now and then.

There's a wad of gum stuck to the right-hand courthouse door in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It's been there since my last visit. Eeeeeew.

I think Small World's Spanish girl is missing a tambourine, one of the hula dancers appears to be MIA, and that one egg is almost fixed but still needs a little more help. That isn't what bothered me. What did bother me was the family in the row ahead of me. Their little girl, who couldn't have been older than seven, was screaming at the top of her little lungs (not two feet away from my ears!) that she didn't want to ride Small World. And what did her parents do? Brought her on the boat anyway, as if anyone else wanted to hear someone else's kid screaming. She finally calmed down, but sheesh! Parents, please take note: if your kid doesn't want to ride something, they're not ready and shouldn't be forced! They'll howl like banshees the whole time, aggravate other guests, set a bad example for other children, and distract the ride operators (who work with, in, and on the heavy machinery that keeps everything running), thus creating a potential safety hazard. If you haven't boarded the ride vehicle yet, it's not too late to ask a cast member to show you to an exit. (I don't have kids of my own, but I used to be a nanny and was a kid once myself.)

Overheard at the Disney Gallery: "That's a painting of the Skyway buckets, sweetie. They had to take them down because someone fell out and got killed." Typical "Disney expert" dad trying to show off his knowledge of the park. The Skyway (amazingly) had NO fatalities (yet, there were a couple on the old Peoplemover). The one person who "fell out" did so on purpose, fell into the large tree by Alice in Wonderland, and felt well enough to file a lawsuit (which was dropped). The Skyway was taken down not because of the accident, but because it was low in capacity, expensive to run, not ADA compliant, notorious for bad guest behavior ranging from spitting to smoking weed, and due for a pricey overhaul. Incidentally, I know all about self-proclaimed "experts" who know nothing because my dad used to be the same way. According to him, the Haunted Mansion was a real house brought to the park from Arizona (false!), the Disneydendron tree housing the Swiss Family Robinson was real (fake down to its vinyl leaves), and the late Mickey Moo's not-so-hidden-Mickey was painted on (it was real). (For those who don't remember, Mickey Moo was a cow with a large splotch on her side that formed a near-perfect Mickey head. She could be seen at Big Thunder Ranch and passed away several years ago.)

So I found out that one (and only one) of the Jungle Cruise boats has a Hidden Mickey. It's in plain sight and can be easily glimpsed from anywhere in the boat (or, if you look carefully, from the dock or some spots in the queue). It's the Suwanee Lady. If you want to know how the Hidden Mickey makes its appearance, you'll just have to go and find out!

Overheard under the archway of Sleeping Beauty's Castle: "I don't get it. There's a Sleeping Beauty Castle and there are pictures from Sleeping Beauty on the carrousel. Why isn't there a Sleeping Beauty ride?" I could've told her that there was a Sleeping Beauty's Castle walk-through from 1957 to 2001. I could've told her that it was easily overlooked (yet I can still point out which door was the entrance). I could've told her that it closed intermittently because it was ignored by so many guests. I could've gone off about how it closed permanently after 9/11/01 because at least one captured terrorist stated that he had targeted Disneyland. What's more symbolic of Disneyland than the castle? In the event of an attack, it would have been difficult to evacuate quickly and safely. I miss the walk-through (it was one of my favorites), though last spring one of the Emporium windows displayed the final scene for a couple of months. I know the dioramas are in storage, but who knows if the park will ever display them again. But, I was on my way to New Orleans Square, and didn't feel like rattling off trivia this morning, as it was colder than usual.

Sharp-eyed Doombugs may have already noticed the boot scraper on the Haunted Mansion porch. I'm kind of surprised that it was added. Anyone familiar with The Wind in the Willows knows that people (and, for that matter, Mr. Mole) trip over boot scrapers. It's not exactly in the way, but you get one greedy guest who's good at falling down (I'm not kidding, some people make a living doing that), and poof, instant lawsuit. In other news, the cemetery scene seems to have more plants than it did last time, and I'm quite sure the "1000th Ghost" tombstone was moved a few feet down the track. (The chance to be immortalized in the HM was auctioned off, with the proceeds going to charity. The lucky winner's stone reads "Jay/Doctor, Lawyer, Legal Clerk/Forever Buried In His Work".) Be sure to check out the new light fixtures on the mausoleum as you exit (just remember, *don't* block the walkway when you do). Oh, and that ladder next to Little Leota is still there...is it going to become a permanent fixture or what?

See the 50th anniversary show at the Disneyland Opera House while it's still there (the anniversary celebration won't last forever, you know). For a relative youngster like me, it provided some interesting looks at a version of the park I never knew. My first visit was in 1986 (the year in which Old Tomorrowland was originally set!). I never saw Old Fantasyland (and I'm glad...having seen the carnival theming in pictures, I think it was tacky). I can't remember a time without New Orleans Square. Tomorrowland and Frontierland have changed little during the last 20 years. But, in fifty years it's all come a long way.

Remember the unfortunate accident on Big Thunder in '03, in which one rider died? I wasn't at the park (my only visit that year was around Halloween). I was 20 miles away in Long Beach. But, as I found out the very next day, the victim, Marcelo Torres, and I had the same alma mater. I was working for the student services department, and my supervisor got a phone call from an Orange County Register reporter asking for dirt on Marcelo! She told him off and hung up. And people ask me why I have a fairly low opinion of the Register. Ha. Anyway, knowing what happened that day, and knowing that attractions aren't shut down for no reason, sometimes I just want to shake people who have hissy fits because an attraction unexpectedly had to be closed temporarily for inspection or repair. If something's shut down and run through a series of tests, it's because something's noticeably wrong, and ignoring it may result in someone getting hurt or killed. Unfortunately, some people check their common sense at the front gate.

How to Spot A Doombug: She's on the first doombuggy of the first open day after a long rehab.

My mom was surprised to hear that, since it necessitated being up early and at DL when the park opened. I'm surprised that any of that surprises her - she's a doombug herself. My childhood home was painted cream and green to resemble the Mansion as much as an LA tract house ever would. Anyway, I'll forgo a little sleep to beat the crowds.

Damn, it's good to visit the HM again. There have been rumors about the upcoming changes already being implemented, but that isn't the case. Yet, anyway. The only significant change I noticed was that the Popup Ghosts in the attic and cemetery got a makeover. Now, they look more like zombies - even creepier and kind of gross. Plus that torn wallpaper in one of the stretch rooms was fixed, and the projection on Little Leota and the singing busts looks sharper. Madame Leota's floating above her table again, but now it's harder to see the wires. The soundtrack seems to finally be in sync with the action (it was on the different doombuggies I rode, anyway). The green orb was mysteriously missing from the seance room, though, and the piano track in the attic wasn't turned on. And someone left a ladder propped against the wall next to Little Leota. Since the HM's reopening had previously been scheduled for Saturday, I'm not surprised a few details were overlooked.

Small World's missing accordion player is back in action, but someone needs to adjust that gondola in the Italy scene - you can see the machinery under the gondolier's feet. And that one egg in the rainforest scene seems to be broken again.

Overheard outside the HM exit: "They better not have taken out the Country Bears! We didn't come all this way for nothing!" Idiots. Winnie the Pooh moved into the old Country Bear Jamboree space way back in '03. You want the Country Bears, you have to go to WDW. Duh. You'd think anyone taking a long journey anywhere would bother keeping up on what's going on there. Walt himself decreed that the park should always be changing and expanding. I *could* have told them that if you ride Pooh and look up and behind you as you exit the psychedelic honeypot scene, you'll see a few familiar faces (namely Buff, Max, and Melvin). But, I figured they'd probably refuse to ride Pooh on principle alone.

Sharp-eyed regular visitors may have noticed a new prop on the Big Thunder Trail - a cartoonish covered wagon, occupying the former location of one of the long-retired stagecoaches. According to "Mouse Tales," stagecoaches, surreys, and covered wagons were once popular in Frontierland, but they were prone to tipping over. A couple of the surreys are still 'parked' at the ranch. And yes, the legend is true - "Marshmallow" and "Yam," last year's pardoned turkeys, do have their own little enclosure at the ranch.

I've heard about, but never saw, the old Golden Horseshoe Revue, owing to my little brother's unwillingness to sit still for a half-hour show (though, oddly enough, he'd watch The Country Bears with Mom while Dad and I rode Splash Mountain back in the day). And hey, I *am* fairly young, you know. The current show, featuring Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, was surprisingly amusing (and complete with another guest sportingly making a fool of herself on a 1/4-size violin - I play, so I know what it's supposed to sound like, thankyouverymuch), so check it out.

Pirates of the Carribbean went down for rehab the same day the Mansion reopened and it'll be down for four months while the new figures are added. The two pirates at the end, struggling to move a loaded treasure chest, will apparently no longer be seen there. I wonder what's going to become of them?

Let It Rain!

Seriously. It's been a ridiculously dry winter, even for SoCal. And dry winters have a bad habit of leading to summer wildfires.

So, when I finally gave up trying to sleep on Friday morning, I realized it was 7 a.m. and definitely going to rain. Ohhhh yes. Perfect for a morning in the park. So, I donned my long black microfiber raincoat and off I went.

The only bad thing (to me) about rain at Disneyland is that Alice in Wonderland can't be run (since a section of the track runs outside). Otherwise, it was fun.

I actually like It's A Small World. The song has never gotten stuck in my head. Go figure. Anyway, it looks like the Scandinavia scene (right after Canada) is missing one of its little musicians. Oooh, and when riding Storybook Land (got my own boat that time because there was no line, woohoo!), keep an eye out for the tiny red car down a mini dirt path from Toad Hall (just after you pass the little sign for the three mills). It's really easy to overlook, but if you can, take the time to appreciate the attention to detail. You won't even find that at Knott's anymore.

Did you ever notice that one of the puppets in Pinocchio's Stromboli scene bears an uncanny resemblance to the wooden Pinocchio dolls sold on every street corner in Florence, Italy? It's true. Couple of the mechanical toys at the end weren't working, but I doubt anyone besides me and the CM's working the attraction noticed. Nothing gets past me.

It's been over 10 years since the Skyway was dismantled, but if you get in the last car of the Casey Jr. train (facing backwards) you can get a few good glimpses of the old Fantasyland skyway station. I have no idea why it's still up, but it's there, half-hidden behind the trees. I don't know if the Tomorrowland station is still standing, since I rarely venture into Tomorrowland (and I can't remember the station's exact location anyway). Seriously, the Astro Orbiter is basically Dumbo with rockets instead of elephants, and my back problems keep me away from anything remotely turbulent (yes, even the Autopia...I trust the ride operators, but I don't trust the other guests to use the brakes properly). I'm looking forward to the return of the submarines, though.

Usually there's a small crowd at the Toontown gates when it opens. But, because the path dips into a 'V' there, the rain (which was pouring pretty hard) formed an ankle-deep wall-to-wall pond! Good thing I was already soaked from the knees down, thanks to a ride on Dumbo during the worst of the rain. The giant puddle was halfway up my calves when I exited after a spin on Roger Rabbit. There's only one way into and out of Toontown, so I can't figure out why those tourists were giving me odd looks. What else was I supposed to do, go chill out at Mickey's house and hope that Maintenance would pump out all the water? Ha.

When I finally went home, I left not because I was getting tired (I could've easily made the trek from Adventureland to Winnie the Pooh way out in Critter Country), but because I grabbed my purple Chucks instead of my boots (whoopsie!), and my feet were freezing. Silly me.