No, I didn't go to Disneyland today (blockout dates, you know). I did, however, squeeze in one last visit on Wednesday, and got to see something you don't see every day.

You know that tall white gate next to the It's A Small World queue, the one where the parades begin? It was open, the Alice in Wonderland float was out, and Alice and the Mad Hatter were waving, dancing, and mugging for the camera. Three card guards were bouncing on trampolines on the ground in front of the float, and confetti was blowing all over the place (courtesy of a production assistant with a large fan). The project? A commercial for Disneyland Paris, supposedly to be aired in the UK.

Let's face it, it's cheaper and easier to shoot a commercial in Anaheim, and probably preferable because the weather is better here (somewhat overcast as opposed to the somewhat-dark gray skies of northern France this time of year). The UK is even grayer, so it makes sense to air a commercial for a travel destination that was shot on a reasonably sunny day.

See you at Disneyland (sometime after New Year's).

Yesterday was my last Sunday visit of the year (blockout dates, you know). I'll try to get in one more visit this week due to the fact that I won't be back until January.

Because Christmas is approaching, I counted on the park being crowded and left early to secure a good spot in line. Imagine how utterly pissed I was when I, among others, had to wait in my ice-cold car until 15 minutes before the park opened because there were no parking attendants there to let us in. Since it takes about 15 minutes to get from the parking structure/Pinocchio lot to the front gate, one might infer that this is an act of discrimination against those not staying in Disney hotels (those who do can just walk to the gate and line up before dawn), in spite of the fact that on any given day, a *huge* chunk of visitors are locals who can't justify the expense. Or maybe it's just due to the chronic understaffing. Either way, management needs to address the issue. A few years ago, when a friend and I arrived a full hour early, the parking lot gates were already open and we only had to wait to get into the park.

Apart from that, it was a good day.

Alice is still missing her rose bloom, but the timing on the hedgehog effect has been perfected. It's practically seamless.

Mr. Mole's boat is still MIA.

Sir Clinksalot (in Toad Hall) is still not clinking.

The squirrel in Snow White's cottage scene appears to have been moved; he's no longer facing inside.

It's A Small World now has all of its cancan dancers and tulip sitters back in place, yay! Unfortunately the sound was out in the last 10 feet or so of the finale. You could still hear the song echoing in the rest of the scene, but it was clear there's a speaker out as the dominant sound was the mechanical clicking of the dolls' movement.

The Toontown police phone line is missing and the spot has been covered by a phony barrel. Hopefully it's just out for maintenance.

The squirting baby elephant is missing from the Jungle Cruise. Luckily the skippers can easily work their spiels around a missing animatronic.

Veteran park visitors usually know that most of the time, the scent of vanilla is pumped into the air via a vent hidden under a Main Street awning. In December it usually changes to peppermint. I walked under the vent on my way out for a good whiff of peppermint and smelled...vanilla. Oh well, vanilla smells nice too.

While in line for Casey Jr. I overheard a 6-year-old (who was shorter than the 5-year-old next to her) tell her mom "Don't say I'm petite! I don't like being called small!" Trust me, kid, it'll come in handy when you're in high school and boys are exhibiting a preference for girls who are shorter than they are.

Overheard at Big Thunder Ranch: "Daddy, are those really Santa's reindeer?" Gah, four-year-olds are adorable. Flyer and Fryer seem to be adjusting well to their new home, though one of them (I'm not sure which is which) gobbles loudly at anyone who stares at him for too long.

See you at Disneyland.

Skipped writing last week because I was very, very tired.

I have to say, I've long wondered why normal-sized vehicles are often sent to the Pinocchio lot when the parking structure is empty anyway. What happens if the Pinocchio lot fills up and three dozen tour buses arrive? Frankly, I'd prefer the parking structure. Normally I hate them (most are dark/creepy), but I drive a red car, and too much direct sunlight eventually fades the paint. Disneyland's parking structure offers the shade my car needs and the light (not to mention security presence) that I need.

It seemed that new CM's were being trained in Fantasyland today (when you go every week, you notice new faces). I got my own boat on Storybook Land, and the operator quizzed me a little on Disney movies.

The Caterpillar's shoes are holding up well since they were recently re-attached to Alice's mushroom, but her rose is still missing its bloom. It sure goes missing a lot - why not remove the thing entirely? They'd never have to fix or replace it again, and since very few people even notice Alice on that side of the track anyway they'd never notice the rose missing.

Anyone who picked up a newspaper within the last few weeks knows that Fryer and Flyer, this year's presidentially pardoned turkeys, were once again given a new home at Disneyland. Last week, just a few days after their arrival, I swung by Big Thunder Ranch to pay them a visit.

Marshmallow and Yam have, of course, passed away. In this day and age, turkeys are commonly bred to grow as big as possible, as fast as possible (this lowers overhead for the farmers), and as a result, those who live past slaughtering age for some reason are prone to heart failure. Sad, but true.

I was treated to the sight of two turkeys scratching in the dirt, preening themselves, and gobbling loudly at slack-jawed tourists (totally normal bird behavior). It was a bittersweet moment - they can move freely and won't be slaughtered, but at the same time, it's unlikely they'll live to greet next year's lucky pardonees.

Don't get me started on how quickly two large birds can turn humans into blathering idiots. You really have to stand outside the turkey enclosure and hear them to believe them. My personal favorite: a mother talking to her 3-year-old about the turkeys, asking her if she wanted turkey for *lunch*, then being surprised when the little girl balked at the idea. (Further proof that kids are often smarter than adults, if you ask me.)

"Santa's" beautiful reindeer are Fryer and Flyer's temporary neighbors, of course. I must say, even though the barrier between the guests and the big pen doesn't seem as wide this year, they're remarkably respectful of the signs asking them not to feed or pet the reindeer.

So I started getting hungry around 11 am and went looking for a hot pretzel with mustard. I couldn't find an open pretzel cart in the entire park. What doesn't make sense about that is, it's December and it's getting cold. You'd think *one* would have been open (since I did see open pretzel carts in the summer), but no. (Funnily enough, I saw several open *ice cream* carts.) I needed carbs, m'kay? I'm not paying theme-park prices for slightly-less-than-fresh, non-organic raw carrot sticks with a dip I can't eat (or worse, greasy potato chips). I keep getting mixed answers when I ask about the butter on the popcorn being real or just being an oil blend, and every damn pastry in the park is loaded with butter. (Even if I weren't vegan I'd still be VERY allergic to dairy.) Bad call, Foods. BAD call. I realize they're always understaffed, but couldn't they shut ONE ice-cream cart and open a pretzel cart instead? (Let me reiterate: it's December, and a LOT of people cannot have dairy products anyway.)

One thing that has been getting better and better lately is the Bootstrappers' stage show. You've got to love the spray-painted whiffle ball that they keep trying to shoot at the Mark Twain. ("Where did we get these cannonballs anyway?" "Switzerland." "How do you feel about Switzerland?" "Neutral.") My favorite: the "cursed dinghy ride" joke about It's A Small World.

I've been asked for my opinion regarding the proposed change to Tom Sawyer Island (if you didn't already hear, the idea is to re-theme it to cash in on the popularity of pirates). As MiceAge write Al Lutz recently mentioned (http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al112806a.htm), "Instead, the WDI designers were relieved to remember that Mark Twain had written several chapters where Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Joe Harper all pretend to be pirates out on the Mississippi river. WDI has grabbed onto that original Twain plotline as a way to explain why Jack Sparrow will now be posing for tourist pictures on Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island. As they try to maintain continuity with the 50-year-old Disneyland icon, the projects original working title of "Pirate Island" has now evolved into the more American literature friendly "Pirates Lair at Tom Sawyer Island," and that name will most likely stick." Having read Twain's works way back in the day, I can confirm that his characters did in fact fancy themselves pirates.

Apparently it's going to be done in two phases due to time constraints, eventually reopening Fort Wilderness (I don't know about you, but I haven't been inside since I was about 8 years old) and a new project called Pirate Caverns.

Lutz points out that the island has been neglected for years and expresses concern that all the expensive new stuff that's coming will be properly maintained. He does have a point. Tom Sawyer Island, frankly, needs a good refurbishing if not a makeover. The proposed overhaul will definitely breathe some new life into what was once a park gem, but it will probably require a lot of thorough maintenance - and let's face it, some of the existing attractions could probably do with a little more care than they're getting.

You may remember the Simpsons episode that took place at EPCOT Center. The writers shamelessly (and brilliantly) lampooned the Florida parks, especially in regard to how quickly an attraction can start to show its age. In five years, we could very well be watching Bart and Milhouse pilfering fake gems from a broken pirate animatronic, getting caught by Generic Teenage Cast Member, and falling off the pontoon bridge when they try to flee.

You've come up with a great compromise, WDI. Let's hope the park has enough staff and money to maintain it all without neglecting anything else.

I wonder how quickly the manufactured snow melts after the fireworks show.

See you at Disneyland.