Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...

I had a great day at DL, in spite of the fact that it was hot outside. My tiara didn't even slip once (oh come on, we've all got 'em...it's not my fault I'm one of the few who have the guts to wear one in public).

Things That Weren't Working Today:

*"Pixie dust" effect in Peter Pan
*Hedgehog effect in Alice in Wonderland
*Stream in Storybook Land's "Alice's Village" scene
*Wicked Queen in Snow White badly hunched over; "apple" still looks like a white plastic skull
*Sound is out in one Pinocchio scene

Things That Were Missing Today:

* Storybook Land: Alice's boat, Mr. Mole's boat
*Small World: Girl skater in Scandinavia scene, giant tulip (and tulip-sitter) in Holland scene
*Snow White: Wicked Queen's apple from woods scene
*Alice in Wonderland: A couple of the Caterpillar's shoes from the giant mushroom

The park was busier than I expected, but I was still able to get an indoor seat at the Riverbelle Terrace, which was nice. Big tip: When getting water, get a cup instead of a bottle. If you get a cup, it comes with ice and you fill it from a drinking-water tap (which is, presumably, regular Anaheim tap water - hey, it still tastes better than HB tap water, and Sparkletts is bottled in Anaheim). The bottled water is Dasani, a Coke product, and it has added sodium so you'll feel thirstier and buy more of it. (I am not kidding. A friend of mine bought a case of Dasani on sale once and was *constantly* thirsty until she figured it out.)

A fiddler in Frontierland was nice enough to play "Happy Birthday" as I was walking past (of course, I stopped, listened, and thanked him - politeness matters, you know).

I, of course, peeked through the gap in the dark curtains hiding the Haunted Mansion's queue and lawn from view. Jack Skellington's big sleigh (the one mounted on the roof each year) was on the lawn, and the upper floors were half-decked in the now-traditional candelabra, skulls, and garlands. The giant spiderweb is gone (hopefully now that Disneyland is 51, it'll be back to the old funeral swags in January). Oooh, I can't wait for the HMH.

See you at Disneyland.

I went yesterday, of course. The HM's closed as of today until the 28th while the holiday overlay is installed. But, more and more Halloween stuff is seeping into the park, which always puts a smile on my face.

Nothing quite like spending a warm end-of-summer morning at Disneyland. I couldn't help noticing the card guards in Alice in Wonderland weren't working...that ride sure has a lot of minor tech problems. Speaking of Alice, the rowboat anchored at Alice's Village in Storybook Land is missing (along with Mr. Mole's boat).

You've probably already heard about the Banksy prank. I didn't actually see it, but Banksy (a brilliant guerrilla artist) sneaked a life-size figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee into Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to raise awareness of the cruel and controversial detention center. This is NOT an easy task (it's almost impossible to sneak such a large item into the park undetected - security guards, cameras, motion sensors on the fences, etc.) so I wouldn't be surprised if a CM was involved. Big Thunder *is* pretty close to a few backstage areas. (The ride was reportedly closed for 90 minutes while the figure was removed.)

The current buzz on the missing HM spiel segment is that the removal's permanent. I don't think this is a terribly smart idea, since the Ghost Host is supposed to be like a tour guide...and come on, the line about Madame Leota is brilliant. Grrr. Oh well, I rode it three times...and hopefully it'll be a short three weeks.

My birthday's next Sunday and I will, of course, be at the park, sporting a sticker and a tiara. (Dammit, why does the HM have to be closed on my birthday?)

See you at Disneyland.