Opening time: 8 am
Weather: Patchy clouds, still cold
Tram wait: 10 minutes (tram left, next one didn't show up for 8 minutes, which is unusual)
Crowds: Presidents' Day was LAST weekend, people!

The mini poinsettia is still there. Hopefully a duck won't eat it.

What's different this week:

The hands on the Peter Pan facade clock tower are missing (two weeks ago one face wasn't working).
The animatronic toy duck from the Pinocchio finale is missing, probably for repair as it wasn't working before.
Just before entering the Queen's garden, the Cheshire Cat's eyes aren't rolling (usually they do).
In addition to the talking 'toon hole' cover not working, the dial on Minnie Mouse's mailbox isn't working (I'm talking about the one at the Toontown Post Office...there isn't a physical mailbox in front of Minnie's House).
The weasel-silhouette effect in the Roger Rabbit queue doesn't seem to be working, but I did finally find the hidden Mickey.
One of the baby elephants in the Jungle Cruise's elephant bathing pool wasn't squirting (or moving) as usual, and the rope net full of barrels (each tagged with the initials and phone extensions of the Imagineers who worked on the ride) is missing from the "Danger!" cargo dock scene.
There's new grass around a couple of the Haunted Mansion pet cemetery tombstones, most notably "Lilac" the skunk. As she's in the corner and not often noticed, the screaming-green baby grass may bring her some more attention (if only until the grass darkens).

Hooray for: the Bootstrappers. I don't know how long the show will last, but don't miss it on a visit. I haven't laughed that hard in a while (of course, I'm now laughing hysterically, as I'm watching the Oscars right now, and Ellen DeGeneres is MUCH funnier than Billy Crystal).

Boo to: the noisy, pushy, flashbulb-popping tourists who made the Haunted Mansion stretch room three minutes of hell (and the two preteen brats in propeller beanies who I saw cutting the line outside). It was fairly obvious I was the ONLY guest on that elevator who wasn't raised in a barn.

Memo to park management: rude guests put a damper on *everyone's* visit. They are an obnoxious nuisance, and the other guests should not have to be exposed to their bad behavior. PLEASE give CM's permission to deal with them in an appropriate manner.

See you at Disneyland.

This week's visit (on Sunday) wasn't much different from last week's. (Can you spot the mini poinsettia still visible in Storybook Land? Hint: it's at a point where two stories converge.)

When I stepped off the Disneyland Railroad train at New Orleans Square, the Haunted Mansion gates were being locked (tech problems). I opted to wait. After half an hour, we were let in, then sent back out (seems the problem wasn't quite fixed). After another half-hour (I waited on the porch this time), we got to ride.

It was totally worth it.

Reason being, there were only about 15 people in the elevator including me, and the lack of crowding really added to the experience. It felt more like a group of ghost hunters exploring an actual haunted mansion than the busy-day glorified-cattle-car experience.

The beheading effect on the attic portraits wasn't working, but everything else seemed fine.

Shame on: Parents of crying, cranky little girls (I'm guessing they were around 4-5 years old) waiting behind me, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was noon and those poor kids were probably ravenous (in addition to being scared). Forcing a young child to wait an hour in line at mealtime to ride something scary seems a little bit cruel to me (keep in mind I was a very skinny kid, and was never scared of the HM because I grew up in a similar-looking house).
Yay for: Patient HM CM's keeping their cool the whole time.

As I exited Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin I spotted two park suits checking the sound effects on the crates. So far the only things that still don't work are the MIA police phone and the talking Toonhole.

See you at Disneyland.