Wednesday 15 October 2014

What to do at Disneyland

I'm always asked by my friends about what to do at Disneyland. One thing I will say everytime is doing a scavenger hunt as it gives you something cool to do as you are searching for different items around Disneyland. They way I normally direct them is by going to micehunt. To me, it is the best way for me in the scavenger hunt. There are so many different clues to find things whether it's a riddle, a picture, a hint, etc. I personally love their system as they also do contests of cool items including buttons, pins and even the occasional Indiana Jones decoder! All in all I love the site when I have a few hours to kill at Disneyland and I thought you all might like to check it out!

Monday 13 October 2014

The California Adventure Letters

Hi everyone! It’s Goren1818 signing on for his first post on this amazing blog. Who remembers the original California Adventure and its original concept? The park was meant to represent the fun and sunny culture of California. The park featured carnival and boardwalk themed rides with a beachy theme. Unfortunately, the theme was the parks biggest criticism. The public said the park felt too much like a carnival or temporary fair that was put together on a low budget. It was missing the Disney magic. Disney decided that it was time for the clunky boardwalk theme to go and redo the park with a brand new 1920s theme. Unfortunately, the parks signature item, “the California letters”, were removed along with the original concept. The California letters were outside the turnstiles to the park. They were a landmark that everyone knew. It was also a common photo-op spot for families. 
The letters in front of their original location, California Adventure.
Photo credits: insidethemagic.com

The California letters were even given overlays related to the season or current events going on at the Disneyland Resort. For example, during the winter holiday season, the letters were given a candy cane overlay. Also, for the World of Color fountain show premiere, each letter was painted a different color of the rainbow. 
The letters with their World of Color overlay
Photo credit; Mouseplanet.info

The letters were a landmark that every guest would stop by and see every visit to the park. There was a lot of backlash when Disney announced they would be removing the letters as part of their California Adventure re-theme.

The old entrance to California Adventure
Photo credit: disney-desktop-wallpaper.com
The new entrance to California Adventure
Photo credit: insidethemagic.net
 Disney wanted the legacy of the infamous letters to live on because the public felt the letters were a true landmark of California. They were donated to the California State Fair in Sacramento, where they now reside outside of the entrance. Don’t worry, you can still take your picture with the California letters at their new location to this day! The Address you can find them at is:  1600 Exposition Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95815. 

The letters at their new location in Sacremento
Photo credit: iamamommynerd.com

We will be creating an album with all of our reader’s pictures with the letters. You can E-mail the pictures of you have taken in front of the letters to mydisneyway@gmail.com with the subject line reading “California Adventure Letters”. Hope you enjoyed my first article :) 

Sunday 12 October 2014

E-Ticket Magazine

I know you were expecting a post about Hidden Mickeys but I got my Wisdom Teeth removed so couldn't get the photos needed. Instead, I am going to make a post about a Disney Magazine most people don't know about.

The name of the magazine is the E-ticket Magazine, named after E-tickets ised to get on the thrill rides at Disneyland. The magazine was created by brothers Leon and Jack Janzen. At first it started out a small thing talking about a certain ride and all. Then as it progressed it became a much bigger thing and they even got imagineers to talk about the showcased ride in interviews in the magazine! 

The E-ticket magazine started in 1986 and went until 2009 having 46 issues. It only ended because the one brother, Leon died in 2003 causing the other one to only publish  more after the death. After the last one was published, Jack Janzen sold the rights of the magazine to The Walt Disney Family Museum (WDFM) that can be found in San Francisco California. 

While WDFM isn't publishing anymore magazines, you can still find all of them in the gift store, some even available for purchase. They even have the magazines on CD's due to their sheer popularity with Disney fans. 

While these magazines weren't known by many, the ones who did know about them loved them. For me personally I have never had a chance to own one as I've never been in WDFM. I have read many online however to get the feel of how they worked and I just had one word while reading them... WOW!

Maybe one day they will be brought back but like so many other articles on here.... It's all just in the past unfortunately.

Saturday 4 October 2014

How to ship a Disney pin

You need:
-bubble mailer (can be bought in bulk for around $1 each at places like office depot, target, costco, etc).
-bubble wrap (found at same places, but try to just save bubble wrap from when ppl send you pins)

Optional:
-computer with printer.
-packing tape to secure the label to the mailer
-a paypal account.

(If you dont have the above optional items, just skip the shipping label section and take your sealed mailer to the post office)
ALWAYS GET DELIVERY CONFIRMATION.  Paypal shipping is the cheapest shipping, and includes free delivery confirmation.

Packaging:
-first wrap the pin in at least 2 layers of bubble wrap.  The goal is to be able to step on it without bending the post.  DON'T ACTUALLY STEP ON IT.  Ideally it also won't be so thick that it won't fit through a mail slot.  If you are shipping multiple pins, pin them to a card or something or wrap them individually to make sure they don't clank against each other in transit.
-then put the bubble in your bubble mailer.  While these are self adhesive, it is a good idea to put extra tape over the seal, because it is too easy for anyone in the mail system to rip open the mailer and this has reportedly happened.

Shipping label:
https://paypal.com/shipnow
-service type is First-Class Mail® Parcel (2-5 days)
-ideally you have a kitchen scale and can measure the package.  If not, one or 2 small pins is 3oz.  add an ounce for each 2 or 3 pins after that.
-if it's high value, signature confirmation (for about $2 extra) is a good idea, especially if the package is too big to fit through a mail slot.
-submit the form and print the label.  Attach it securely to the mailer, and drop it off at the post office.
-send the delivery confirmation number (DC#) to the recipient.

The end.