Carsland - By guest Blogger Randy Crane

WOW! It's hard to believe it's here! YEARS of planning, YEARS of construction and...YEARS of WAITING! Carsland opens to Disneyland Resort Guests on June 15, 2012, but our great friend Randy Crane was afforded a once in a lifetime experience - the Castmember Preview of THE EVENT of the summer! - Al & Joyce

©Disneyland News 

    Thanks to a dear friend of mine, Tricia, I had the privilege of attending the Cast Member preview of CarsLand one week before it opened.

    The preview was scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m., but (to exactly no one's surprise), there was already a line to get in by 8:00. Still, Tricia and I stepped into this brand new land just minutes after the official start time. Construction walls were still up at the front of Route 66, so they took us through one of the other entrances-through Pacific Warf and along Radiator Springs Racers. There's something to be said for the primary entrance, but I'm so glad this was my first view.

Photo Courtesy of Vy T. Correspondent for Babes In Disneyland

    As we approached the rock archway, we could see part of the Cadillac Range behind it, with a water feature framed in the middle. I haven't seen a view like this at any theme park anywhere. Passing under the archway and taking in the new sights and sounds was literally breathtaking.

    CarsLand features 3 attractions, 3 food locations, and about 5 shops (I didn't actually count them). There's also a meet-and-greet area with Mater and Lightning McQueen, an interactive experience with Red (the Firetruck), and tons of fantastic detail. During the 31/2 hour preview, we rode all three attractions once-and then Radiator Springs Racers two more times-ate breakfast, explored a couple of the shops, and had our picture taken with Mater.

    I'm not a big shopper so I can't say much about the shops. What I can tell you is that they've done a great job of having merchandise themed to Disney California Adventure and CarsLand in particular. No generic "Disney Parks" merchandise here that I could find. Some of it is expensive, even by Disney standards, but it's really good stuff, with something to please everyone from the mega-Disney-fan to the "I'm here with _________,but I don't really like Disney" guest.

    For breakfast we had our choice between a couple of breakfast offerings at the Cozy Cone and a breakfast menu at Flo's V8 Café. They both looked good, and I'll be back to try more breakfast items, but we opted for Flo's. Tricia had the American Breakfast (scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon and a biscuit) for $7.99, while I had the Brioche French Toast (baked and served with salted caramel sauce and bananas) for $6.99. Both were excellent, with good sized portions for the price. I would expect to pay the same for a similar breakfast at Carrow's or possibly Denny's. Since it was a Cast Member preview, all the food was 50% off, but I would have paid full pricefor these meals. Lunch and dinner looked even more amazing, but since we only had until 12:00 I didn't get to try them.

    For me, the best part of breakfast, though, was sitting in the dining area (to the left of the ordering location) and looking out the large windows at the massive mountain range and the beautiful foliage, watching a couple of cars pass by every now and then. I could have sat here for an hour and just enjoyed the view.

    No time for that, though! We have rides to ride!

    Mater's Junkyard Jamboree is similar in some ways to Francis' Ladybug Boogie, and is the hardest to describe. The ride vehicle (a tractor with a seat hitched behind it) moves from one large "plate" to another, which makes the seats swing back and forth, all while country music-sung by Mater-is playing.The funniest thing I've heard in a long time is Mater giving the Spanish version of the safety spiel!

    Luigi's Flying Tires has its history in the old Flying Saucers attraction that opened at Disneyland in 1961-and closed 5 years later. The ride itself moves fairly slowly, and it takes a little while to really get the hang of maneuvering (which is done by leaning). The addition of the large beach balls makes it more fun and feel more high-energy than it would otherwise, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

    Of course, the headliner attraction is Radiator SpringsRacers ("RSR"). I won't go into too much detail here and spoil it for you. Though I never waited more than 10 minutes for it, having ridden it 3 times I can say that I would easily wait an hour for this ride. Not only is it that good, the Imagineers have done a great job creating a queue that is highly-detailed and immersive. There are hidden touches throughout, and plenty of shade for those hot summer days on the Mother Road.

    On the ride itself, it does have a lot of similarities to Test Track at Epcot, though RSR runs cars side-by-side (hence "Racers"), which is a first. The ride starts with a relaxing drive through Ornament Valley, and boy do you feel like you're there! A sudden turn of events puts you into Radiator Springs and prepping for the big race. Guests get either a new coat of paint on their car or new tires, and then it's off to the race! The race portion is very exciting and high energy-this is the only attraction that's not a roller coaster that I've ever gotten air-time on! It's mild enough for most children that meet the height requirement (40"), on par with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

    A couple of tips for your first ride:

* If you are tall, try to ask for the back row. There is much less leg room in the front.

* The front also feels faster, and may blow your hat off. Sunglasses should be safe in either row, and hats in the back row (but if you lose your hat, it's not my fault!). Just be alert.

* Look around! Especially in the queue - there is lots to keep you interested, and on the ride there are little "moments" that you may miss if you're not looking for them.

    This post doesn't even touch on CarsLand at night, which I haven't seen yet but have been assured it's spectacular.

    There is no doubt that CarsLand will be crazy-busy this summer. You may not want to face those crowds, but I strongly encourage you to come to Disney California Adventure as soon as possible. It will be worth the trip! --- Randy

Randy Crane is an Independent Travel Consultant, affiliated withMouseEarVacations.com®, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, and sponsor of Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast. If you're considering planning a vacation to the Disneyland® Resort let Randy work for you and with you to make it truly magical! Visit Randy at Mouse Ear Vacations or send him an email to RandyC@CruisingCo.com  

Randy Crane - Mouse Ear Vacations

Happiest Blog on Earth...Special Smiles!

So, you know how I know that Disneyland IS the Happiest Place on Earth? The smiles. Smiles. Yep, there, I said it...SMILES! I challenge you to spend 30 minutes at the Disneyland Resort and count how many smiles you see. I will bet my cherished Lightning McQueen Disney Trading Pin that you find no less than 20! (Just so you know, that wasn't a sanctioned bet by the way. Joyce would have my HIDE if she knew I was betting my very first Disney Trading Pin!).

Well, we all know that you leave the Disneyland Resort with ALL sorts of great memories, and I'm no different. I have so many incredibly awesome memories from Disneyland that I need to buy extra storage in my brain iCloud just to house them all. But, one of my fondest memories, and this is something that happens just about every time we visit the Resort, is when my beautiful wife Joyce gets to meet Mickey Mouse, give him a BIG hug and kiss, then spends the rest of the day beeming! I love that the Disneyland Resort can make my wife smile like that. Why? Good question! Because to me, one of THE best things that I can see in life is that smile! And knowing that Disneyland can make us feel like kids again, forget about the misery of our day, allow us to play and be carefree, even for just a fleeting moment in time, is pure...well, MAGIC! And let me tell you, smiling is one thing. But THIS kind of smile only comes from feeling that child-like wonder of meeting your favorite Disney character IN PERSON! Remember to grab some of that magic next time you visit the Disneyland Resort. It won't be hard. Just look around!

Now THAT'S a smile!

The Chronicles of Duffy...Love

On February 14, 2011, my mail order groom arrived on our doorstop.  I thought to myself that I could be happy with friends and was not interested in a mate. Boy was I wrong!  Val turned out to be my soul mate! Who would have thought that this arranged marriage could have such a happy ending.

Val and I were both adopted from the Disneyland Resort.  I was adopted from DCA’s Paradise Pier and Val from Company D. My adopted parents knew me better than I knew myself and today Val and I are like two peas in a pod. Last September we adopted lil’ Chip and like is so magical.

Because we were born at the Disneyland resort we know the most romantic places in the Parks! Get ready to fall in love for the first time or all over again by visiting some of our favorite locations:

• Watch fireworks cascading over Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Park.
• Take a romantic boat ride through the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction
• Snuggle up with your prince or princess in a seashell and go on an undersea adventure with Ariel and Eric.
• Make a wish at the wishing well, and listen to songs of Snow White at this tranquil, storybook setting in Disneyland
• Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular in the Hyperion Theater at Disney California Adventure Park

The Happy Family 

Happiest Blog on Earth...PIRATES!

Hey gang, sorry I missed my self-imposed blog deadline last week. But you see, there was this HUGE emergency I had to take care of, and then there was that urgent phone call I had to make, oh, and then I had to rush my friend to the…ok, well, those are not true at all! The truth is I got wrapped in to trying to sort out the details of the new Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast website that Tuesday came and went and I didn’t even realize it! The pitfalls of getting old..I mean, of being busy! Cuz, I’m NOT old…

So, what shall we talk about this week? Hmm, Pirates is a theme suggested by Lisa from Babes In Disneyland for her weekly blog hop. So, how about Pirates? Arrr! That be a right talk fer a salty ol’ sea adventuaaar like me!

Well, you come looking for salty old pirates eh? So let me tell you a story… a story of pirates, and ships, and swash buckling (what ever that means), and the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow! That’s right, I’m talking about the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California! One of my top three favorite attractions at the Resort, and one that Joyce and I never miss (that is, if it’s not closed!).  Ever since my first visit to the Disneyland Resort in 2007, Pirates of the Caribbean has been one of my all time favorite attractions, and to be completely honest, I have no idea why. I mean, other than it’s such an immersive, entertaining, well presented and completely realistic experience. But other than that, no clue.

So, I’m sure that you all know the story of the Pirates, so I won’t bore you with the details, but I will say that like Disneyland itself, this attraction has undergone a few upgrades to keep the story current and fun. When I first started going to the Resort, they had just introduced the ghostly image of Davy Jones telling us only the brave or foolish (not sure which one I am!) would go any farther. Now it’s Black Beard from On Stranger Tides giving us a sound warning. But, like the adventurous souls we be, our boat alters no course! YIKES!

Now, as I mentioned earlier, this really is one of my all time favorite attractions and for some reason, strikes a cord deep inside my heart. No, not in THAT way! In that, “makes you feel like a kid again” way that just makes me happy all over! I seriously can’t put a label on just exactly what it is about this attraction that I love so much, so I’ll just say it’s everything. Walt Disney set out to create not just another amusement park for people to enjoy, but a place to create memories. That may sound like a simple thing but it’s anything but simple. The memories he creates through his beloved Park are deeper than just fun, they’re connections to innocence. Maybe that’s why I love Pirates so much. When Joyce and I are sitting in our boat, I can FEEL those connections all around me. Almost as if…the attraction is haunted by the happy memories of countless families! Ok, too much? NAH!

Anyway…as many of you know, Joyce and I host Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast (hmm, I think I MAY have mentioned that a few times!), and if you’re interested in watching a fun video, check out episode 32, it’s our video podcast showcasing Pirates of the Caribbean and a few other adventures at the Disneyland Resort! Thanks for reading. And for forgiving me for missing last week. Oh, and for that drink I spilled on your carpet over the Holidays! Just kidding. Or am I??

~~~ Al



Duffy the Pirate Bear!!



Pixie Tales: Celebrity Etiquette

This is one of the most difficult blogs I have written and I actually put it aside for over a week because I did not want too many emotions to overshadow the true message. A couple of days later, Walt spoke to me through this quote, “I have no use for people who throw their weight around as celebrities, or for those who fawn over you just because you are famous.” 

I am very passionate about Disneyland and feel that everyone should be able to experience the magic whether they are famous or not.  This is my happy place and I feel that everyone who visits the Park should be able to experience the magic in their own way.

Recently, I had a conversation with someone on a social media platform about a picture of a celebrity and his young child that was taken earlier in the day by the poster.  People were encouraging him to sell the picture to the highest bidder but I felt that it was wrong in many ways and had to share my two cents. In the end, the poster did the honorable thing and retracted the photo and stated that there would be no photos for sale! Good for you!

We all get excited when we see our favorite celebrity in public and want to take pictures and say hi! But where do we draw the line when it comes to their privacy? How about when that celeb has their child with them? Just because they’re celebrities are there different rules to their “personal space”?  I say no! Let the celebrity enjoy family time like you would want in the Happiest Place on Earth….. Don’t take pictures without asking and treat them as you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.

This is how I personally see it:  when you are visiting the Park remember why Walt built it in the first place, and walk in his shoes. Always remember this quote, ““I have no use for people who throw their weight around as celebrities, or for those who fawn over you just because you are famous.” 

Otherwise, your favorite attraction may be closed so the celebrity family can have their magic time in privacy which will be less magical for you and I.

Happiest Blog on Earth - Integrity

Integrity. Man, that's a word, isn't it? Integrity means a lot of different things to a lot of different folks, but one thing that's pretty much universal is that integrity is not something we should take lightly. 


I like to believe that, for the most part, I live my life with integrity. Over the length of my long life (never mind how many years!), I've developed some very specific definitions of integrity, and I hold myself to these standards quite seriously. Let me expound on this a little.


Nearly two years ago when Joyce and I came to the pivotal point in our lives where we felt it was important to share our love for the Disneyland Resort, and Walt Disney, with others on a larger scale. We had experienced a very real magic throughout our numerous visits to the Happiest Place on Earth and we found that when we returned to our "real" lives (work) and answered the inevitable question that all co-workers feel the need to ask - "Did you have a good time?" - we were sharing with folks in a way that honestly made some envious, some curious and some ask for more! Eventually, it got to the point where people were asking us for advice on the whats, wheres and whens for their upcoming Disneyland adventures. So, we did what any normal couple would do: we started the Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland podcast! 


Ok, so what does that story have to do with integrity? Good question. The answer: EVERYTHING! You see, Joyce and I feel very passionate about the Disneyland Resort and the incredible vision of Walt Disney that we want to share honest information with people. This is what I was referring to in my last blog. There are a great many people in this world that share information that's not always true, or, twist it to a point where even though it may be true, it doesn't represent their topic very well. Now, I'm not advocating the "spin" machine at all. If you have something to share that's possibly negative, then by all means, share the negative information, but do it with tact. That's how we present everything we share about Disney in our podcast, in our blogs, in our social media postings, heck, everywhere. 


To me, integrity means honesty...honor. In all things, do with honor. It is possible to deliver negative news with honor, trust me. If you listen to our podcast, you'll discover that. There are many times that Joyce and I've reported on things about Disney that rubs us the wrong way, a not so magical experience we had, or yes, even reviewed an attraction or restaurant we didn't like. But we presented it with integrity, with facts and with tact. Few things irk me more than to listen to a podcast or read a blog where the presenter goes off on something in a very disrespectful way. To me, that shows a bit of ignorance and quite honestly lowers my opinion of them and removes a great deal of their authority on the subject. It is possible to say something negative in a positive way without doing the spin dance. 


Our good friend Lisa Robertson from the Babes In Disneyland blog is part of this wonderful group called The Three Disneyland Moms, and they've started a pledge for this very thing - integrity. It's available to folks who blog, and I believe it adds a great deal of authority to what you offer, as long as you mean it. It's called the "I blog with integrity" pledge, and if you agree with it, and if you truly blog with integrity, they offer a badge to proudly display on your blog site. Joyce and I are proud members of this wonderful community and we proudly display this badge. 


So, in parting I'd like to leave you with a little advice. Share. Share your passion, share your love for whatever you want to share. But do it with honor, do it with integrity. If you find yourself thinking if what you're about to say or write may be a little too...well, nasty, don't post it.  Or if you find yourself really CHEESED off about something and want to share, write it down on a piece of paper, set it aside then come back to it when you've cooled off. Then rewrite it to take the sting out of it. If you do this, if you share with integrity and honor, trust me, you'll have much more magic to offer and others will respect that! 
Thanks for reading...  ~~~ Al 

Happiest Blog on Earth - Quirks...

I thought I’d like to share with you some of my, well, quirkiest quirks in this installment! Joyce and I’ve been listening to the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson on audio book for the last couple of weeks, as we travel back and forth to work, and hearing some of the more intimate details of the Apple wunderkind has made me reflect on my own life and, well, quirks. I know, weird. But hey, that’s what massively, incredibly creative people do!

I started to think back to when Joyce and I started the Tales From The Mouse House – Disneyland podcast, almost two years ago now. Early on we decided that we wanted our podcast to be something special, not just a “product”. Please don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with folks who monetize their podcasts, blogs, websites, etc, but I felt that would not be right for what we wanted to accomplish. I feel that we shouldn’t be profiting off of the Happiest Place on Earth at all. Disneyland is the result of many hard working folks, and I have no right to make money off of someone else’s work.  In fact, the decision to seek a financial sponsor wasn’t easy! I was afraid that by having someone help us with the financial requirements of the podcast (web hosting costs, maintaining recording equipment, contest prize give away goodies, things like that), some people may get the idea that Joyce and I are profiting off the show. That couldn’t be farther from the truth! So, when Randy Crane answered our call for a sponsor,  and we found out what a true Disney spirit he is, we were elated to have him as our sponsor.

 Anyway, from the beginning, we’ve adopted this protective approach to the podcast and everything involved with it. We’re usually pretty careful with what we post out on the social networking sites, not because we have no opinions, but because we feel that by doing a Disneyland podcast, we in essence are representing Disney. That’s not to say that we’ll only post pro-Disney stuff. Nope. That’s not my style. BUT…I REFUSE to post anything, especially negative, unless it’s been fully confirmed, and then we present it in a non-partial way.

We also try to separate ourselves from those who claim to be true Disneyland and Disney fans, yet continually bash or admonish Disney for things that they (the “fans”) may not like or agree with. Of course, if someone doesn’t like something Disney does, (like say, a certain parade down Main Street U.S.A. that should have been thought through a little more…) they certainly have the right to discuss their dislike…but do it in a way that’s positive, not negative. I mean, be constructive in your criticism, don’t just bash.  If you’re going to call yourself a true Disney fan…be one.

That leads me to our podcast itself. Now, again, when we started planning out our podcast, we wanted it to be something special. At the time, there really weren’t many Disneyland Resort specific podcasts out there. There were many that encompassed the entire Disney Theme Park world, many dedicated to Disney in general but I think there were only two (if that many) that were dedicated solely to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. And, being that this was the only Park I had visited, we thought it best to concentrate on what we knew. A wise podcast mentor once told me, record what you’re passionate about. Well, I was passionate about Disneyland and my wife! What better to record than a podcast dedicated to all the wonderful, magical and HAPPY times I spent at Disneyland with my soul mate?

Now, there are a lot of Disneyland Resort podcasts out there for you to choose from, which means that what we attempted to get out there must have worked. Others took notice and decided to share THEIR love as well. So, our podcast may not have the best content in the podcasting world but it does have something all the others don’t: Al and Joyce’s view and passion! And bottom line, that’s why we started this podcast. Certainly not for the fame and fortune because really, there’s none of that. In fact, we put in just about as much time researching, writing, editing, recording, editing, more editing and publishing this podcast that we put in on our day jobs! But we wanted to share our love and our passion and our BELIEF in the Magic of Disneyland.  

So, that’s my semi-coherent entry for this blog! Hopefully I haven’t bored you to tears, or made you reach for the bottle of aspirin. If you haven’t already heard our podcast, why not hop on over to http://www.talescast.com or iTunes and check us out. We offer audio and video podcasts that help fill that gap between visits to the Happiest Place on Earth, and, if you’ve never been there…well, here’s your chance to experience the Magic! We’d love to hear from you too, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, and if you want to see if what I said about social media is true, you can follow us @talespodcast on Twitter, or “like” our FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/talespodcast.

~~~ Al