Monday, November 6, 2023

Best of the Rest - Final Disneyland Post!

Of the some 2,350 pictures I took during our trip to Disneyland in July 2022, I have only shared a small percentage over the past year. Looking back through all the images I captured, I don't know why I neglected to include some in the original posts for their respective lands! I had a lot of options to choose from, so I guess they just got lost in the shuffle. So as the final post in this lengthy Disneyland series, I'm shoving some leftovers at you, but most of them aren't bad

This was the first picture I took when we arrived. We were feet away from the turnstile, ready to begin our inaugural visit to Disneyland...


...only to find our tickets didn't work. My dad is laughing because he thinks the ticket taker is joking that we need to pay a $300 fee to make our tickets work. No jokes here.

But it really didn't make a difference because we were smiling on the fire truck in 20 minutes, and nothing else mattered! The driver took this picture for us.

I can't come up with super-original commentary for all of these photos, as many of them are just different angles of shots I've shared in other posts. Here's the venerable dedication plaque.

I spent about a half hour one day photographing all of the Main Street windows. The Claude Coats one is a favorite.

I wonder if these classic Main Street signs actually date back to 1955 or if their components have been replaced over the years?

Of course Wally Boag is offering "golden" vaudeville routines from his office above the Carnation Cafe.
I took this photo looking out of the Penny Arcade, giving a unique viewpoint of Main Street. 
Many Disney fans, myself included, have enjoyed the gorgeous attention to detail in Sam McKim's Fun Maps, so his window is especially appropriate.
It's easy to be distracted by the characters in the foreground, but I took this picture because I noticed the obviously modified roofline of the Candy Palace. I'm guessing this may be to hide spotlights for the nighttime shows?
I recently read the Dick Nunis biography that was published last year, and it was insightful yet written in the matter-of-fact way I expected. I would recommend it! The best detail in this window is "wave machines, specialty," which references Nunis' failed experiment to install a wave machine on an island in Walt Disney World's Seven Seas Lagoon for surfing.
I took a similar shot as I did in the Penny Arcade outside the Main Street Cinema, with the cartoons banner framing the street. (Who would win in a fight, the cigar store Indian or Dad wielding a stroller?)
I really like this early-morning picture of Fantasyland. It almost has a similar feeling as the famous picture of Walt Disney walking through Sleeping Beauty Castle.
This picture is kind of random, but I love this scene in Pinocchio's Daring Journey where you hear the cheery music of Pleasure Island as you approach these doors. Then they open up, and you're in the lively carnival itself.
Hedges trimmed this carefully must mean we are in Storybook Land!
It looks like I broke the "keep your arms inside the ride" rule to get this picture.
The top of the "I think I can" hill on Casey Jr. gives a good view of Fantasyland.
These two rides are just the best, that is all... I love how narrowly the Casey Jr. tracks and canal pass each other in this picture.
A back row ride on Casey Jr. might be the best seat on the train!

"All abroad, let's goooo"
And here's one photo from a canal boat of a distant Casey Jr. for good measure!
What's just as impressive as it's a small world itself is the attraction's gleaming turnstiles.
The first time I saw it's a small world was on the Railroad rather than approaching it from Fantasyland.
I'm sure you have seen a billion pictures of the clock parade, but it's still such a delight.
I love the layers of classic Disneyland in this photo, especially the immaculate landscaping.
Even though Galaxy's Edge is pretty visible from the Columbia and Mark Twain, you can still take some pictures that make the ships look like they are sailing into the wilderness.
This guy has a cool job and is loving it.
Meanwhile, the Fred Gurley flies into New Orleans Square Station at full speed!
Back on the river, the Columbia sits in Fowler's Harbor while a canoe begins its lap around Tom Sawyer Island.
Fowler's Harbor is a quiet escape from the busy crowds along the river. You can glimpse the scaffolding for the Adventureland Treehouse rising above the treetops. This area outside the River Belle Terrace is where lands converge!
The Mark Twain might be the greatest symbol of classic Disneyland. Its whistle is one of the best sounds in the park in my opinion.
How classic, right? (yeah I'm running out of things to say)
Here's the Mark Twain dock as seen from Tom Sawyer Island. I love that the park maintains the assortment of historic flags in front of the dock.
This is a favorite image that I somehow haven't shared before now, though the Mark Twain is probably one of the most photographed things in Disneyland!
The golden afternoon slowly turns into the evening as rays of sunlight strike the front of Toad Hall.
I like how the sunlight illuminates the east side of Main Street in these pictures. 
Why can't I buy an organ here anymore? #disappointed
The decorations inside Coke Corner are still lovely, and I hope Disney never sees a reason to change this interior.
The Golden Horseshoe is a small piece of Main Street razzle-dazzle in Frontierland after dark.
I caught the moon in this picture, but I wish my camera wouldn't always wash it out!
King Arthur Carrousel becomes even more of a centerpiece of Fantasyland once the sun goes down.
I wish I hadn't used an "art filter" on my camera for this picture, but it could be worse.
The view down Main Street after dark is a beautiful sight as well as one that can bring sadness over the day coming to a close.
With its red and white chaser lights, Coke Corner feels like it's just as much from the 1950s as the early 1900s period it's meant to evoke.
I love how the Crystal Arcade sign suggests something far grander than the little shops behind the facade.
I took this photo of a nearly empty Town Square while I was waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade to start.
And it's a great parade. And I somehow teleported to the Hub after taking the last picture.
Not the clearest image, but I doubt many people have taken a photo like this either.
 You pass Main Street Station in the morning completely excited, then walk under it tired and content at the end of the day, so it's only fitting that I leave a final picture of it here at the end of the post.
I hope you have enjoyed every post I've made since August 2022 about Disneyland and were able to put up with this disjointed trip through the park! The captions are slightly wacky because I didn't have much to say about some of these pictures. More trip reports are to come in the future, but none of them will have anything close to the wonderful atmosphere of Disneyland. Where else can you see a circus train skirting a flower-covered hillside from a boat gliding through placid waters?