Aloha, Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas

[PrincessInOz]

I hope you manage to get your hard drive backed up!!!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Sounds like Apple are onto it that is good to know. Will you need to buy the hard drive or is it still under the warranty?

 

[dolphingirl47]

I hope you manage to get your hard drive backed up!!!

So do I. I am nearly home and will try again then.

Sounds like Apple are onto it that is good to know. Will you need to buy the hard drive or is it still under the warranty?

That remains to be seen. I thought the computer was well out of warranty as I bought it almost exactly to the day two years ago, but it was hinted at that they be able to do something after typing in the serial number of the hard drive. So I think this may have come from a batch with known problems.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Fingers crossed Apple come up trumps for you on the hard drive front. They may have to eat Apple humble pie...

 

[jenseib]

Glad you arrived after a long day of travel.
The whole TSA precheck is totally random and I have heard of other Brits getting it too. In most cases people traveling together...not all are chosen, usually only 1 if they are lucky. I have had it a few times this year as has my mom but never together.

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

WOW !! Europe to USA in 7 hours !! Marco and I usually spend 9 hours ... or more ( Well we fly Alitalia with free Frequent flyers tickets...)
We too had a few times of that "TSA pre check" , always we got it the two of us together ! We never could understand why we got it , but we were so glad to pass through so quickly and without hassle.
And awww ! I've never seen a rocking chair in an airport !! I'd really love it !!
WAITING FOR ... DISNEYLAND !!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Fingers crossed Apple come up trumps for you on the hard drive front. They may have to eat Apple humble pie...

Yes, so do I. I never got the computer to boot up again so I am now worried that they have to send it away for repairs as the can't just restore everything from a back up. Something positive may have come out of this saga though, but I don't want to say too much at present as I don't want to jinx it.

Glad you arrived after a long day of travel.
The whole TSA precheck is totally random and I have heard of other Brits getting it too. In most cases people traveling together...not all are chosen, usually only 1 if they are lucky. I have had it a few times this year as has my mom but never together.

That is really silly. We were on the same booking for most of the flights apart from the LA Honolulu flight as this was booked with miles. One would think that either everybody on the same booking gets it or nobody.

WOW !! Europe to USA in 7 hours !! Marco and I usually spend 9 hours ... or more ( Well we fly Alitalia with free Frequent flyers tickets...)
We too had a few times of that "TSA pre check" , always we got it the two of us together ! We never could understand why we got it , but we were so glad to pass through so quickly and without hassle.
And awww ! I've never seen a rocking chair in an airport !! I'd really love it !!
WAITING FOR ... DISNEYLAND !!

Yes, I was pretty impressed with the flight time. From the UK it is normally 9 hours, too.

I have the next instalments ready to go apart from the photos. So as soon as my computer has been fixed and I can add the photos, I am good to go with the first day at Disneyland.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

I had my appointment at the Apple Store this morning and all my fears have come true. The hard drive is completely fried and they have to send the computer away for repair. They said they would be in touch within 3 to 5 days.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Oh my! Did they give you a new hard drive as a gesture of good will?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Aww Corinna. I'm so sorry about your hard drive.

I hope you'll be back up and running very soon.

 

[Pinkocto]

Oh no!!! I'm sorry

 

[dolphingirl47]

Oh my! Did they give you a new hard drive as a gesture of good will?

I don't know yet. I suppose much depends on what they found when they opened up the computer.

Aww Corinna. I'm so sorry about your hard drive.

I hope you'll be back up and running very soon.

Well, I had good news this afternoon. After they told me it would take 3 to 5 days this morning, I got an email early this afternoon to tell me that my computer is ready for collection. I will pick it up after work tomorrow. I have a meeting tomorrow evening, but will reinstall everything when I get home from work on Friday.

Oh no!!! I'm sorry

This has been an absolute pain.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

Here's to a successful reinstall!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Here's to a successful reinstall!

Fortunately it was not needed. I am just backing up my hard drive and then over the weekend I will upgrade to a new operating system.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

My faith in Apple has been restored. Got my computer back and it turned out it was not the hard drive, but a cable connecting the hard drive to the rest of the computer so thankfully I did not lose any data. This was repaired free of charge. There was something else good coming out of this. While I researched what may be wrong with the computer, I came across a recall for the first generation iPod Nano. I bought one of those with one of my first paycheques when I started this job in 2006 and kept it all those years for sentimental reasons. When I read about this, I decided to enter the serial number to see if mine is one of the affected iPods and Apple send me out packaging to return it. They are now going to send me a replacement. That is what I call a result. Wonderful customer service all around.

I have a meeting tonight, but will post the next instalment of the trip report when I come home from work tomorrow.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

Glad to hear that all has worked out for you!

 

[Pinkocto]

That's grreat news about the computer!!! And very cool about the iPod nano

 

[dolphingirl47]

Glad to hear that all has worked out for you!

Thanks.

That's grreat news about the computer!!! And very cool about the iPod nano

I am so glad to have my computer back.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 3

Even though it was close to midnight by the time I finally was in bed the previous day, I was wide-awake at 3:30 AM. After a lot of tossing and turning, I decided to check my emails and Facebook for a while. Once I had done this, I decided to see if I would manage to sleep a bit longer. I succeeded and woke up shortly after 6:00 AM, which was a bit more realistic. Graham woke up shortly afterwards and we leisurely got ready. We had a 7:30 breakfast reservation for the Surf’s Up character breakfast at the PCH Grill, which right at the Paradise Pier Hotel. So once we were ready, we just had to go downstairs. I grabbed everything that I needed for the day as I was heading straight from breakfast to the park. We got there a little early, but figured that this early in the morning they would probably be able to seat us early. I was very surprised that they were still closed. I know that I previously had reservations for character breakfast for 7:00. Still, we found ourselves a seat near the restaurant and waited for them to open. We were the first people to check in.





We went for our photo with Lifeguard Mickey and then were seated. Just as soon as we sat down, Stitch came to see us. He is the main reason why I booked this particular character breakfast. As there were so few people in the restaurant, I got to spend some quality time with Stitch. This just made my day. Once Stitch had moved on, I went to get some food. I started with Mickey pancakes with whipped and strawberry compote. Graham went for the healthy option and had fruit and yoghurt as his first course. As soon as I got back to the table, Pluto came over so I got a hug and Graham took a photo of us. Then I had my food. We then both went back for some hot food. One of the reasons why I like this particular breakfast so much is that they have some rather unusual food. I had some grilled chicken breast, sausage, potatoes and Chilaquiles (fried tortilla chips with salsa, egg and cheese). Graham went for a more traditional breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and potatoes. Daisy came to see us just as I was finishing this food. This just left Minnie, who was playing hard to get. I had basically had enough food, but they do lovely breakfast flatbreads. Fortunately they come in nice small pieces so I was able to try the bacon and scrambled egg flatbread and the chorizo and cheese flatbread. I also had a honeydew melon and apple smoothie. Graham decided to finish off his breakfast with a pastry.














I had a lovely surprise. While we were finishing off the last of our food, one of the Photopass photographers came round with our photo package. I had pre-purchased Photopass+ so this photo package was included. However, as we had only just arrived the previous evening, I have not had the chance yet to redeem the voucher for my lanyard. Last year I had redeem this at either of the parks and they could then sort out the photo package for me, too. This time round I was told that they could do this for me there and then. He asked if I had the voucher with he, which I did. He took this off me and then came back with my photo package and the Photopass+ lanyard. This saved a little time. Around the same time, our server came with the bill. I was just about to give up on Minnie when she finally arrived. Graham took a photo of us and then we headed out. I was not entirely sure which the quickest way to Disneyland would be so I checked with the Guest Services desk. They directed me through the Grand Californian hotel. I did not need any encouragement to cut through there, as I absolutely love the lobby there. On my way through, I had a quick look in the shop.



When I got to the entrance plaza, there seemed to be a huge line in front of the ticket kiosks. Still, I could not help it, as I needed to get my annual pass before I could head into the parks. In the end it was not that bad. It turned out that the line was that long as they only had one ticket window open at first and shortly after I arrived, they opened the rest. Once this had happened, they had a cast member out to direct people to the next available window and in the end I waited about 10 minutes. Getting the annual pass was easier than I had thought as well. I had an annual pass for Disneyland in 2011 and they had all the details still on the system. Even though my previous pass expired in 2012, they for some reason processed this as a renewal. So in the end this was quite a quick process and I made it to the turnstiles about half way through the Extra Magic Hour that was at Disneyland that morning. There was a long line at all the turnstiles and I asked a passing cast member if this was still for Extra Magic Hour. He checked my ticket and key card and then escorted me to some turnstiles all the way over to the left and there was nobody there. I entered the park and went to check in at Tour Gardens for my tour. This was done very quickly as well. I chose my lunch as this had to be pre-ordered and then was told to return at 9:15. I did check if Walt Disney’s apartment would be open for the tour again and I was told that it was still out of bounds, but we would get to see the Dream Suite instead. I was very happy about this. Of course I would have loved to see Walt Disney’s apartment, but not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would ever set foot in the Dream Suite.

Even after this, it was still Extra Magic Hour. I decided that I may as well try to get a return time for Anna and Elsa. As they had allowed offsite guests onto Main Street at this point, there was a checkpoint just outside the Plaza Inn where they checked tickets and room keys for onsite guests. Even though the line looked impressive, it did not take long at all and I was on my way. I headed to Fantasyland and realized that I had no clear idea where I actually needed to go. I had assumed that it would be pretty self-explanatory once I got to Fantasyland. I was wrong. I decided to head back through the castle and try to find a cast member. I found one straightaway once I got to the hub, but she did not know either, but directed me towards another cast member who was at Fantasy Faire. I headed over there and he was talking to a large group of people. One of the members of the group tried to shoo me away telling me that the restrooms were closed and would not open until later. I told her that I was not looking for the restroom, but had been sent here by another cast member as I had a question. The cast member overheard this and came over asking how he could help. He gave me directions and I started to head back towards Fantasyland. When I got back to the hub, I noticed that half of humanity seemed to be heading through the castle. By then rope drop had obviously happened and everybody seemed to be heading in the same direction as me. So I gave up on that idea and figured I had plenty of time to play with to see Anna and Elsa. There was a Photopass photographer at the hub near the Partners statue with no line so I figured that this would be a nice start to my Disneyland trip.









I then headed back down Main Street and had a look at the shops. I had to check out the Dooney and Bourke offerings, but there was very little of interest apart from a little cross body bag that had been released for the Disneyland half marathon in September. I also spotted a t-shirt that I thought would appeal to Graham. It was a Grumpy Christmas t-shirt saying “Ho Ho No”. They did not have that in his size, but I thought I would mention it to him when I saw him back at the hotel. At that stage the holiday season had not officially started so there was a good chance that they would get in more during our stay. When I came back to Town Square, I saw Goofy out in his Christmas jumper. Unfortunately he was just about heading in. So I had some photos taken in front of the Christmas tree instead and then headed back to Tour Gardens.

 

[dolphingirl47]

By then, most people for the tour had arrived. I found a seat and started chatting to one of the families there. The cast member who had checked me in spotted me and came over as he had forgotten to give me my name badge. I put this on and shortly afterwards our tour guide came and introduced herself. Cassie and one of her colleague gave out the audio sets that we would be using and explained how this worked. She then did a sound check and made sure that everybody could hear her. We were still waiting on one family so she asked us to give them 5 more minutes. They never turned up and once the 5 minutes were over, we headed out. We did not go very far to start. We stopped in front of City Hall and Cassie told us a bit about the early history concerning Walt Disney and how he came to California. We then headed across to Town Square where Cassie told us about opening day of Disneyland. I was aware that things had not entirely gone to plan, but I was not aware just how bad things were. I learned two amusing things on the tour. A local farmer had made good use of the low fences at Disneyland and charged people $5 per person to climb over the fence using his ladder. We also learned that Tomorrowland was in no way finished on opening day and specifically none of the landscaping had been done. So Walt Disney instructed the Imagineers to put up signs with the Latin names of the local weeds so that it looked like they were meant to be there. We then listened to the dedication speech before moving on. This was very powerful. We headed towards Walt Disney’s apartment and Cassie told us a little about this and about the light in the window. During the holiday season this is replaced by a Christmas tree. This actually makes me a little sad. Although the Christmas tree is cute, you cannot actually see that it is lit and I love that the light is always on for the rest of the year as a symbol that Walt Disney is always there in spirit.

We then headed over towards the hub and while we were walking, we had music playing in our earpieces. Once we got to the hub, Cassie told us about corporate sponsorship and especially about a sponsorship deal of sorts that Roy Disney had signed with ABC. At the time, ABC had nothing to do with Disney, but they were very keen to get Walt Disney to do a program for them. Disneyland first started airing on ABC in October 1954. Walt Disney got paid for this quite handsomely by the standards of the time. Essentially he got paid to advertise his park that was due to open some months later. We then headed into Fantasyland and to our first attraction. We went to ride Peter Pan. I love this ride, but although I have done the versions at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris, I have never done this ride at Disneyland, as the lines were always too long for my liking. So I was thrilled about this opportunity. I was the first person from our group to get on and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once everybody was back, we headed over to Frontierland. We headed over towards the Rivers of America opposite the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. I must have walked past there hundreds of times over the year, but I have never spotted this. There is a petrified tree there. Cassie told us that Walt Disney felt a little guilty how much of his time Disneyland was taking up and wanted to do something special for his wife Lillian. So he bought this petrified tree for her. Apparently her reaction was that it would not fit on her mantelpiece and this ended up at Disneyland.





We then pushed on to New Orleans Square. Cassie talked in general about the addition of New Orleans Square and about Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean in particular. Apparently the original plans for both attractions were for walk through attractions. We also stopped in front of Club 33 and Cassie told us a little about this. We then headed across to the New Orleans Square station. Cassie explained that the tapping we could hear is Morse code and that the message that is transmitted is the dedication speech for Disneyland. Apparently cast members used to have fun with this and transmitted all kinds of messages that were not always entirely appropriate when Disneyland was still new. Unfortunately for them, Lillian Bounds Disney understood Morse code and they were in some trouble. After this it was changed to the dedication speech. Once the train arrived, we got on. The original plan was that we would take the train to Tomorrowland station. We set off and there was quite a long stop at the Toon Town station. Eventually there was an announcement that we had asked to hold as they were adding an additional train and that we should be on our way again in the next 10 to 15 minutes. We were on quite a tight schedule and Cassie advised that we would get off and walk over to Tomorrowland. She told us that the roundhouse where the trains and monorails are stored is in the backstage area between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

At this stage we were given the opportunity to use the bathroom or get something to drink before moving on to Tomorrowland. On the way, Cassie talked about the New York World Fair and the attractions that Disney created for this. One of those was of course the Carousel of Progress. She told us a bit about the original concept and how this evolved. She also told us about the history of the attraction. The attraction itself is now at Walt Disney World, but the building is still there and now houses Innoventions. Cassie then talked about how animatronics have evolved over the years and talked about the challenges the Imagineers faced when working on another animatronics character for the New York World Fair – Abraham Lincoln. She also shared that although everything had worked fine before the opening, on opening day, Abraham Lincoln did not feel very cooperative. We then went to see Great Moments with Mr Lincoln. I had tried to watch the show for the first time the previous year, but I was still badly jetlagged and fell asleep. This time I succeeded. I enjoyed it and was fascinated by the historical aspect of it.

Once the show was over, we gathered by some photos near the exit and Cassie told us about the last weeks of Walt Disney’s life. This was very moving. One of the people in the group then asked her if there are any stories of what Walt Disney was like to work for. She told us a story that happened in the early days of Disneyland. Apparently the cars used for Autopia can come of the tracks and the maintenance staff used to have great fun using them after hours to race along Main Street. They only did this if the light in Walt Disney’s apartment was not on and therefore they knew that he was not present. One evening when they did this, suddenly the light came one and this was followed by Walt Disney coming down and chewing them out. After he told them how irresponsible they were and they better made sure that Main Street and Autopia were spotless for opening the next morning, he proceeded to tell them if they ever pulled a stunt like this again, they had better invite him. We were all amused by this story.

We then headed up Main Street again and had our lunch at the Jolly Holiday Bakery. I was a little nervous about this as I was by myself, but I had a great time chatting with the family with whom I ended up sitting. I had ordered the Turkey sandwich, which came with crisps. We also got a soft drink and a dessert. I had gone with a Coke and the Matterhorn Macaroon. I had one bite of my sandwich and realized that I was not really hungry. I had the crisps as they were really nice, but left the sandwich. I had some of the Coke and took the rest of this and the Matterhorn Macaroon with me when it was time to move on. While we were having lunch, we were given a special pin.

After lunch, we made our way over to New Orleans Square. We had one more thing to do and for me it was the highlight of the day. We were heading for the Disneyland Dream Suite. I have longingly looked at the staircase on many occasions, but we did not get to go up to stairs that day either. Instead we headed to an area between Tarzan’s Treehouse and Pirates of the Caribbean. There is a lift hidden there that took us up to the Disneyland Dream Suite. We needed to do this in batches, as there were so many of us. I was in the first group and I rather enjoyed looking out over the park from that perspective. Once everybody had arrived, we were introduced to one of the curators for the Dream Suite and headed inside. We were told that we would not be able to take any photos, but that they would take a photo of us in the parlour. Fortunately there are plenty of stock photos around so I am able to share some of those. She showed us some of the original designs for the Dream Suite, which were commissioned by Walt Disney himself. The person who did those was a set designer on Gone with the Wind. The designs are now framed and hanging in the corridor.

Once we had admired those, we headed for the master bedroom. This had a Victorian theme and is the Adventureland room. Each of the rooms has a “Kiss Goodnight”. We were told that this is limited to 3 times per night per room. In this room, it is a piece of artwork behind the bed that comes alive. The bathroom attached to this is also rather special. It is beautiful in its own right, but there is some magic happening there as well. The area behind the bathtub transforms into a starry sky and every now and again, a hidden Mickey appears.







Once everybody had seen this, we headed to the second bedroom. This is themed after Frontierland and is somewhat darker. This has two beds in it and is aimed at the children of the family. There are toys on a shelf just below the ceiling including a train. When the “Kiss Goodnight” button is pressed, the train starts to move and some of the toys come to life. This is very cleverly done. My favourite in this room is a map of Disneyland that lights up.





There is also a shower room attached to this bedroom that is accessible and there is also a dressing room nearby, but neither captured my imagination. They were kind of plain in comparison to the rest of the Dream Suite. We then headed out on the balcony and were encouraged to sit down and enjoy the view. I had enjoyed the view from the balcony from Club 33 in 2013 and this was comparable. However, this was when it really hit me where I actually was. When I had booked the tour, I have to admit that I did this primarily so that I could see Walt Disney's apartment. However, this was even better. I am still hoping that I get the chance to see Walt Disney's apartment on a future trip to Disneyland, but for now I could not be happier with the experience.



After we chilled out on the balcony for a while, we had one last room to go to and for me; this was literally saving the best for last. I absolutely love that room. This was the parlour. Again, this had strong Victorian influences. We were told that we could sit down if we wanted. This felt really strange. For me, the whole Dream Suite had a certain museum quality and I would not have dreamed of sitting down if I had not been prompted. Our guide pointed out a few things like the mechanical bird that gave Walt Disney inspiration for what would later become animatronics. There is also a really neat grandfather clock that plays "A Dream Is A Wish The Heart Makes" and then the clock face comes to life. However, my favourite part of that room is the fireplace. It has a surround that features the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Every now and again, the flames inside this fireplace turn into fireworks. This is so magical.



After we had some time to look around and enjoy all the little details, we took turns having our photos taken in front of the fireplace. They took a family picture for everybody, but as I was by myself, I got a photo all by myself. I was the second person to have here photo taken. Once we had our photo taken, the tour was finished and we were free to leave. This time we got to go down the magical steps.