Disneyland PhotoBlog

Hi folks.

I know you're all eager to see my Disneyland pics, but I still have to upload my Downtown Disney shots from a month ago, so I'll feature those first, then immediately thereafter I will post my Disneyland stuff.

Okay, on we go.

In case you didn't believe these pictures are a month old, here's proof. HalloweenTime!


I must say I love this store. The details both inside and out are quite spectacular.


Some people compare Disneyland's castle to Disney World's castle and decide that our castle is small. I don't buy a word of that.


There's the mouse who started it all.


There he is again!


No-prize to anyone who knows why I took this picture.


Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. 'Nuff said.


For some reason, the first time I saw this guy I immediately thought of the Joker. Like in comic books. I know - I'm weird.


This fountain/waterfall was very scenic, so I got a few shots.







I had fun editing the shot of this vault door.


The building on the left is a restaurant known as Ralph Brennen's Jazz Kitchen. My family ate here for Father's Day, and I must say it's very nicely themed.


This tower belongs to the Mexican place across the way from Jazz Kitchen. Haven't eaten here yet, but I'd like to. I'm always up for Mexican.


Ah, sweet nostalgia.


Here's a grand overview of the Disneyland Hotel and the ESPN building.


I'm not a sports fan, but I'm impressed by the styling of this place.


The ESPN building made for a great long shot.


There's the sorceror's hat off in the distance.


Here's a closer look at the hat.


In case that last shot wasn't close enough for you.


After meandering around for a little bit, I decided to get some Rainforest Cafe shots, another very well themed restaurant.


It looks even better on the inside.




One last shot of ESPN.


And there's the exit.

Okay, now that we're up to speed, on to Disneyland Park!

As I said in my last post, I was visiting the park for the afternoon and evening, with the centerpoint of my trip being a lecture on the worldview of Disneyland presented by one of the faculty at school. However, since I hadn't been to Disneyland in over a year, I also made sure to experience lots of the rides and thrills Disneyland has to offer. And I got lots of pictures!

Here's one of the banners by the tram stop outside the parking structure. Seemed like an appropriate way to start.


I had a little time to kill after the tram, so I got a few shots of the plaza between the parks. Here's a flower fountain on the edge of Downtown Disney.


The entrance to California Adventure is decked out for the season.


Here's a close-up.


Just then the monorail went by, so I snapped a few shots.




Shortly thereafter I entered the park. A shot of the train station and floral was definitely in order.


After that, I entered Main Street U.S.A. and was treated to a full view of Disneyland's Christmas tree.


This thing is tall!



Of course, the decorations didn't stop with the tree.


The Mickey Mouse wreaths are a clever touch.


There's the man who started it all...


Sleeping Beauty Castle got a little snow this year.


And now for a shot from a different angle.

I found it hard to take pictures at Disneyland, especially since I had been gone for a year. One part of me wanted to do photography, while the other part wanted to do rides. Even when I set my mind to going on a specific ride, I still found myself slowing down to get shots.

Finally I managed to tear myself away from the hub and headed over to my favorite ride, which happens to be in Adventureland


Ah, here we are: Indiana Jones Adventure, one the best-themed attractions Disneyland has to offer.


Behold, the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.


Here's a few details from inside the temple. You can see that Dr. Jones and the other archaeologists have been hard at work in here.






Beware the eyes of MARA!


Here's Dr. Jones' office. Unfortunately, the daring explorer was out at the moment.


At last, the loading area. Sorry that the pic's a little fuzzy. I was trying to keep up with the line.


Unfortunately, that was the last shot I was able to get inside the temple. I spent the rest of my time in there trying to escape imminent doom. Anyway, here's a shot looking back at the temple.


Based on my sources, this is the actual truck used in Raiders of the Lost Ark.


Traveling north, we enter Frontierland and find the scenic Rivers of America, featuring Tom Sawyer's Island.


To the east is the majestic Mark Twain.


Here we have both Tom Sawyer's Island and the Mark Twain in one shot.


Moving on from the Rivers of America, we find the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, daily featuring the variety act of Billy Hill and the Hillbillies!



I liked this little tree.


Finally, we come to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the wildest ride in the wilderness!



And that concludes our tour of Frontierland.


At this point, my plan was to head over to Toon Town to enjoy Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin. On the way, I captured this lovely shot.


And here's Toon Town. It's been a while since I've actually spent some quality time here.


Toon Town Fire Department.


Here's Roger Rabbit's fountain...


...And here's Roger Rabbit's ride. I was delighted to see that the ride was pretty much a walk-on, so I did it twice in succession. I haven't done that in years!


At this point I had about a half-hour before I had to meet the group from school for the lecture, so I decided to head over to Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters with my remaining time. On the way, I snagged a few shots of whatever caught my fancy, including Small World.


This was the first time I'd seen the subs up and running since Nemo found his way to the lagoon, so I got a few shots.


There's the loading dock as well as the seagulls.


Finally I reached Astro Blasters. Before I got in line, I got a couple quick shots of the Buzz/Space Mountain mural...


...As well as the adjacent Star Tours mural.


That would be the entrance to Astro Blasters.


Here's a pull-back shot.


I decided to get a copy of the in-ride photo. Since I was riding alone and had two guns in my possession, I was hoping to do something cool for the camera. By the looks of this picture, I apparently thought the camera was somewhere else.


So after an enjoyable spin on Astro Blasters, I felt the call of the Force drawing me to Star Tours. Or maybe it was just nostalgia. I dunno. Either way, I decided to head across the way for a ride, even though it was very close to 3:30 and I was supposed to be meeting my group.


The queue for this attraction is very well-themed, so I got lots of pictures of all kinds of things, including these guns.







I was directed to Gate 3 for boarding.


After a thrilling ride across the galaxy, I exited the craft and stumbled upon these excellent posters featuring various destinations in the Star Wars universe.


Here's the second set.


By this time it was nearly 4:00, and I was way overdue for meeting my group. Even so, my photographic side would not keep quiet and I took a few shots of the Astro Orbitor.


From the front...


And now for a wide shot.


Shoot, I even got another pic of Main Street.

So by the time I met up with my group at the park entrance, it was right around 4:00. Fortunately, our speaker was late, so I had not missed a thing by going on Star Tours. Shortly after I arrived, the speaker arrived as well, so for the next hour-and-a-half we were treated to a fascinating lecture on the worldview of Disneyland, and how Walt's designs for the park helped it to flourish and thrive.
It so happened that this lecture took place as the sun was setting, creating a beautiful environment. I couldn't help not taking pictures as we traveled throughout Main Street back towards the hub.

The train station looks quite lovely at dusk.


I think this photo turned out quite nicely.


This one turned out nice too.


Why I got more Astro Orbitor shots, I do not know.



I like how this frame is set up. It's very elaborate.


Here's my last dusk shot, which appropriately features the snow-covered castle. If you think it looks great now, wait until nightfall.


Once night falls over the park, the castle glimmers and spakles, and is suddenly lit up by fallen snow.


The castle looks so great I had to post two pictures.

At this time the lecture had ended, and because we had 2.5 hours before the park closed we devoted ourselves to doing as many rides as possible in that time period. I love rides and all, but this just made things very difficult for my photographic side. When I was solo, I only had to deal with my thrill-seeking side trying to draw me away. Now I was dealing with a group of 15 people. If I stopped for a picture, they would just keep on going. This meant two things:
1) I couldn't get as many pictures as I would have liked.
2) I was in a hurry, so the pictures I did get often came out blurry.
Accordingly, I didn't really get any noteworthy pics until I diverged from the group to ride the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, which I had not been on yet. The line was 40 minutes long, so I managed to pass time by taking pictures of various things around me.




And that's the last scenic shot I took before I embarked on the undersea voyage.


By the time I had disembarked from the subs, it was close to 8:00, which meant no more rides. It didn't mean no more pictures, however.


Here's one more shot of the castle, because it's there.


Main Street was now lit up and more beautiful than ever, so I slowly moseyed to the exit and got shots as I went.



I couldn't get too many shots of this place. It made me thirsty.


Gosh, they don't make Main Streets like this anymore.


This place is SO photogenic!




If you ever have a little extra time on your hands, stop in here. There is a fascinating exhibit on Walt Disney and Disneyland that is well worth taking a look at.


And to conclude, here's an after-dark shot of Califronia Adventure.

So that concludes my experience at Disneyland. I must say I had a wonderful time at the Magic Kingdom, and was glad to finally have the opportunity to apply my photographic skills to this happy place. Someday I hope to return and spend an entire day doing nothing but take interesting shots from all over the park.

Okay, that wraps up another PhotoBlog. Keep checkin' back, 'cause I'm always taking new photos to share with you.

So long
T.H. Excellence