Mom and hubby came for their annual visit, and since it had been 4 years since their last trip to Disneyland, I decided it was time to rectify that situation. For whatever reason, most of the hotels in the area either seemed booked or charging sky-high prices (ah, the joys of sticking it to the tourists during the summer). The Anabella Hotel on Katella is a property I had always wanted to try, and since their rates were in the reasonable range, I decided to give them a try.

I am so glad that I did. Hands down, they are the best location/value/designed property I have stayed at in Anaheim excluding the Disney hotels. With its Mission-style theme and splashes of color from the bougainvillea, the look of the hotel was right up my alley. Front check-in was a breeze and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful.



Sometimes, the exterior of the hotel and lobby can be misleading. It can be a little scary putting the key into the door, not knowing what mysteries might lurk in the rooms themselves. The Anabella had no surprises, as the rooms themselves were spacious, clean, and very well appointed.



Best of all, the Anabella was a very short walk down Disneyland Drive to the Grand Californian & the rest of the Disney property, which was very handy considering I was with my mom and her hubby.

The first thing I noticed as I approached the park was the great progress on the new entrance area for Disney California Adventure:



Had I been thinking, I would have asked mom to bring out her sweater from this November 1965 (yes, she still has it!):



Instead, I settled for a photograph in the same location with what she was wearing (too bad my brothers couldn't have come at the same time to duplicate the shot!).



First up in the day's lineup was Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln:



The patriotism and showmanship of this attraction did not disappoint.



In fact, mom commented that she was impressed how the "actor" was able to lip sync to the prerecorded lines so well! Her hubby & I got a good chuckle out of that one.



With Anaheim heat bordering on the uncomfortable level, we craved more air-conditioned attractions! The Tiki Room fit "the bill" (pardon the bad pun) perfectly.



Mom's hubby and I tried to convince her that the birds were real, but she wasn't falling for it this time. Mom's a pretty smart cookie.











By the time we left the show, we were all humming the theme song, "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing," composed by Robert Hargreaves, Stanley J. Damerell, and Tolchard Evans in 1932. It still holds up today as a very catchy tune!

As lunchtime quickly approached, we headed over to The Blue Bayou, which was a first time for both of them. The Tinkerbell drink sure lit up my stepfather's face!



As you can see by the happy look on their faces, lunch was a success! How could you not love a Monte Cristo sandwich from the Bayou?!?



Always looking for something special, I decided the next attraction would be the Mark Twain from the top—nothing but the best for mom!





The views (and thankfully the breeze!) were spectacular.











I made sure she signed the guestbook:





I know that they will both cherish their Pilot Certificates:



More to come! Follow my Daveland updates on Twitter. See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my regular website.

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I was VERY excited to be able to attend the Cast Member preview for the new Little Mermaid attraction at DCA. The marketing mavens have been churning the spin machine like the tilt-a-whirl at a carnival. It seems that almost daily fascinating little tidbits have been released about this new dark ride that would blow the imaginations of guests.

Can you imagine what a Debbie-Downer this sign was when I saw it? Besides having it suck that I couldn't take interior photos, it also made me wonder what they were hiding or afraid of, as interior videos and photos released directly from Disney seemed to exist in abundance; not like there were many surprises to be seen.



Catching my breath from the panic of actually riding an attraction without staring through the lens, I snapped a few exterior shots and one of the interior mural:







And the new attraction poster that has been created for it (big ol' thumbs up for this!):



As for the ride itself...I was less than blown away. To get your expectations on the proper level, think of these dark rides: Monsters, Inc., or Pinocchio's Daring Adventure. Visually, Ariel's Undersea Adventure is stunning. The audio experience is great, too (how could you go wrong with the music from "The Little Mermaid"?), and I even enjoyed riding in the clamshell (MUCH smoother than the clunky ones at WDW). So what's missing? The "wow" factor. After riding it, I turned to Stacy and said, "Do you feel like you missed anything or have a burning desire to ride it again?" Both of us sadly said "no." Younger kids will LOVE it; adults will enjoy it as well, but I just don't see a huge enticement to ride it repeatedly like the Haunted Mansion or POTC.

The attempt to make the rider feel immersed in the water fails; the lighting doesn't achieve the watery effect, and Ariel's hair floating "up" just looks silly, as the wiggle in the 3D material used for it isn't enough to look as if it is weightless. Overall technically, this new dark ride is truly impressive, but without exciting visual scenes, all the technical artifice in the world can't wow. The best scene is the one with Ursula, and the only one that comes closest to having the magical effect of a classic attraction like "Peter Pan" in Fantasyland.

The exterior looks magical at night; the exterior design and lighting definitely elevates the look of DCA's landscape .











Over at Cars Land, work continues to progress steadily:











This handy dandy diagram shows the layout of this exciting new land:



Tantalizing glimpses of the new entrance are barely visible behind the tarps:



That's it for today...hope you all can enjoy the 3-day weekend!

Follow my Daveland updates on Twitter. See more Little Mermaid attraction photos at my regular website.

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Today's post will focus on 3 areas of the park that I don't always get the chance to visit. Last Saturday morning, the park opened at 7am because of the premiere; thanks to that, I was able to ride on the caboose of Casey Junior. For someone who likes to take photos, this is much better than being crammed into a Storybook Land boat!

I think I can almost hear Casey now: "I think I can I think I can..."

With a REAL good imagination you can feel the chain tug, too, as the cars feel the strain of the uphill climb.



Going uphill took a lot of testing for little Casey!



But I digress...back to the backseat journey. I am fascinated by miniatures; therefore, Casey and Storybook Land absolutely blow me away every time. Imagineers could have gotten away without creating a fraction of the details that one sees in the buildings and landscapes created to represent the classic Disney animated films.



Check out the light fixtures, roofing tiles, and hand lettering on the village where Pinocchio and Gepetto live:



This is one of my faves; especially the leaded stained glass windows by Harriet Burns:





Just looking at this photo without any background knowledge, one would be hard pressed to realize that this is a miniature:



Over at the Haunted Mansion, my special request to check out the Pet Cemetery on the side of the attraction was granted. I hadn't been there in at least 5 years. Again, it amazes me that an area rarely seen by guests has been so thoughtfully themed.













Not wanting to give California Adventure the shaft, I am including the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail attraction. Apparently, this interactive area of fun will be "plussed" to incorporate some of the characters and theming from the Pixar classic "Up," mainly in the amphitheater area. I love edutainment, and few do it better than Disney.



I was able to match prints in the pavement with the educational signage:







It's fantastic to have an area where kids can get physical, explore, and be reminded that fun exists away from their computers.







Happy Sunday - how about getting out of the house today and exploring the area that you live in? Make sure to check out the details along the way!

Follow my Daveland updates on Twitter. See more vintage and current Casey Junior photos at my regular website.

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