Big Trouble on Big Thunder

Towards the end of day 1 at Disneyland, Jesse and I decided to ride Disney's fast moving train ride Big Thunder. This was probably the longest line we stood in (about 15 minutes) but I assured Jesse that it would be well worth it. We finally got on and began our adventure through the Old West. As we neared the finale of the ride we ascended a small mountain at a nearly 45 degree angle, and stopped. There was an announcement over the speakers that there was a small delay, but that we'd be back on track shortly. About 5 minutes later another announcement came over the speakers that the ride will have to be shut down and asked everyone in line to go. In the meantime Jesse and I were still stuck in the train near the top of the mountain. There were two gentlemen in front of us, I'd say from England, that we started talking with to help pass the time. They had asked if this was common. It wasn't. Finally a few staffers came by and started helping out people of the train. It was a little tricky since we were so high up, but they finally got everyone off. We then got a rare look at a Disneyland ride by walking through the highly detailed decor of the place. Then, to finally get out, we had to walk through the power plant. We entered into a door, went through a long hallway then got to see all the machinery used for the ride. It was pretty cool! I wished I had a camera with us to take a few pics at something I'll probably never see again. Once outside all the passengers went their merry way. I didn't think too much of it since we knew what was going on, but when we finally got back together with Melissa and the now awake Owen, I didn't realize to think that they had no idea what was going on. Melissa was near panic mode and was beginning to assume the worst. We had a happy reunion, was given 2 Fast Pass tickets for our inconvenience, then went on our way back to Space Mountain.

Dark Side Defeated -- for dummies.

I'll try to rewrite my last blog for the Star Wars impaired :)

At Disneyland about once an hour they have a fun event called the Jedi Academy. When it starts a few people dressed up as Jedis (the good guys that can use the Force) and go around asking for volunteers. Jesse was hesitant at first, but after some encouragement he stood up, made some noise, and got picked. Once all the kids were chosen they received a little Jedi cloak and a green lightsaber (sword). The main Jedi (a Jedi master) then began to teach all the kids how to use their lightsaber and a few moves.

After the training was over a few stormtroopers (bad guys dressed in black and white armor) came in while in the background the Imperial March (Main theme from the movie The Empire Strikes back - the best of the Star Wars movies) began to play. The center stage began to rise up with smoke and lights. Darth Vader (the main bad guy in the Star Wars movies) stepped out and began to be menacing to all the Jedis. Then Darth Maul (the main bad guy from Star Wars Episode 1) also came out. The kids then lined up and had a chance to fight either Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Jesse was able to fight Vader. After everyone had a chance the bad guys ran away and the good guys celebrated! All the kids then got a certificate for completing the Jedi Academy and became Jedi Padawans (the lowest level of being a Jedi, Padawan > Knight > Master)

Jesse had a great time doing it, but honestly I was geeking out much more than he was. I had a silly grin on my face the whole time and wished they had something that cool when I was a kid.

Dark Side Defeated!

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

It was a dark time for the dark side. In a land known as the "Happiest Place on Earth" a group of young Jedi learners began to start their training as defenders of the galaxy. Among those was a young Jesse Sugden, a bright student who was unusually strong in the force.

After starting his lightsaber training in the Jedi academy from Master Windu, Jesse soon would have to put his lessons into practice. Stormtroopers entered into the academy and were soon accompanied by none other than the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. Vader had a surprise of his own by bringing another Sith Lord Darth Maul. The two menances began taunting the Jedi's and invited the younglings to join them.

Not wanting to join them, Jesse drew out his lightsaber and defended himself then attacked Darth Vader. Realizing that Vader had met his match he and Darth Maul left in defeat. Young Jesse and the other younglings proved their valor and became Jedi Padawans.

Saddest Birthday Song Ever

Owen's Birthday was on Monday and we just had a little family party for him. Little did we know that our big tough guy really really really doesn't like the Birthday song.

Vomit at the Virgin River!

Day 2 of our vacation had us waking up at our hotel in Mesquite, Nevada at a fairly normal time without any incident. Melissa and I slept in a small squishy bed, Jesse had his own bed and Owen was in his travel playpen. We met with Judy Winchester, Melissa's family friend from forever ago, at the breakfast buffet in the casino. This would mark the beginning of way too much food consumption on our vacation. The food was fairly tasty and we all ate our fill. The boys really stocked up on their favorite food watermelon. After breakfast was over I took the boys back to the room to get dressed for a quick dip in the pool before we headed over to the Winchester home. Once we all got to the pool I noticed that it was not your typical pool. I've never been in a more briny chlorinated cesspool in all my days. The water had a super nasty taste to it, which made water from the ocean seem sweet by comparison. We played in it for about half an hour when Jesse accidentally swallowed a bit of it. He reacted by returning all of the morning's meal back into the pool in a steady stream of puke. I was horrified at the sight but more worried about Jesse's well being. In the meantime the life guard had cleared out the pool and instructed us to get out and keep an eye out on Jesse. I'm glad we finally left as that was just a poor place to swim in to begin with. We got back to the hotel room, scraped the brine and chlorine from our bodies, and got ready. More than likely the hotel just had the pool filtered for a few hours, added more chlorine, and called it good. I don't think we'll be going back into those waters...

Back from vacation

Last Saturday we returned from a week long vacation we took to Nevada, Arizona and California. The highlight of the trip was the three days we spent at Disneyland. It was way fun and I was amazed at how much technology that place has compared to our local amusement park Lagoon. Overall we all had a great time and I'll try to highlight some of our more interesting events when possible.

Disneyland Trivia

In 1953, Walt Disney created a company that was separate from the Disney Studios called "WED" (for "Walter Elias Disney"). The company was formed in order to take over the design and construction of attractions for Disneyland, so as not to put any additional financial burden on the parent company. The company was later renamed Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), and continues to create, renovate and expand all of the Walt Disney Company's theme parks.

There are more than 20,000 different colors of paint used in Walt Disney World.

There are enough of the famous "Mouse Ear" hats sold each year to cover the head of every man, woman and child in Pittsburgh and enough Disney character T-shirts are sold in Walt Disney World each year to put Mickey Mouse's smiling face on the chest of every person in Chicago.

When Walt Disney World turned 15 years old in 1986, prizes were given out every 15 seconds. Guests were given a ticket upon entering the park that let them know if they won anything from small buttons to full-sized automobiles!

The real town of Marceline, Missouri has a school named after its most famous resident. About 320 children from grades Kindergarten to 5th attend Walt Disney Elementary School. There are other schools bearing the same name in Burbank, California; Alvin Texas; Rochester, New York, and numerous other states.

Walt Disney originally wanted to name Mickey "Mortimer", but his wife Lillian convinced him to change the name during a train ride from New York to California.

Walt Disney, the visionary behind the entire Disney empire, attended only one year of high school.

According to Kodak, 4% of all amateur photographs worldwide are taken at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

By 1978, guests visiting Walt Disney World spent more money on merchandise than on food.

Walt Disney World is the largest supporter of the "Give Kids the World" program, providing over 50,000 tickets a year and special services and wish fulfillment for terminally ill children and their families.

To keep the Magic consistent, the characters that sing during the parades are all lip-synching to prerecorded music. Many of the Cast Members who perform in the parades and shows are often chosen for their looks, personality and ability to dance rather than their singing talent (or lack of any!).

As part of Disney's commitment to the environment and the local community, used and excess building materials are sent to the Orange County Distribution Center, where they are distributed to local non-profit organizations. Construction and demolition waste amounts to around 620 tons (or 1,240,000 pounds) a year.

Both Walt and Roy Disney passed away in the month of December - Walt on December 15, 1966, and and Roy on December 20, 1971, just about 2 months after his brother's dream of Walt Disney World opened its doors to the public.

Walt Disney World welcomes millions of international, and offers numerous amenities to cater to the foreign visitor including telephone information in almost any language, guidebooks to the four major parks written in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and Japanese, and currency exchanges. Even park Cast Members who speak foreign languages wear a badge with the flag of that country on their name tags to make themselves recognizable and accessible to international guests.

Disney doesn't allow any pets into the theme parks, with the exception of service animals such as guide dogs for the blind, (although pets are welcome at certain locations within Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, such as the full hook-up campsites). So, while you're on vacation, your pet can have a magical time at one of the five Pet Care Kennels, each of which is a member of the American Boarding Kennel Association, found at all four theme parks and the Fort Wilderness Campground.

Mickey Mouse has about 175 different outfits in his wardrobe, including a scuba suit and a tuxedo. Minnie Mouse's massive "walk-in closet" contains about 200 outfits, including a cheerleader costume and various evening gowns.

Disney World bought about 150,000 gallons of paint -- enough to cover nearly 7,500 average sized homes in 2004

Number of miles buses travel annually: nearly 18 million.

If you were to stack all of the buttons used by the Costuming Plant Seam Team in one year, you would have a stack 96 times taller than the height of Cinderella's Castle.

Number of trees, shrubs and flowers on property: more than 7 million

Daily water usage: 15 million gallons 2,000 acres of turf. At three mowings a week, that adds up to 450,000 mower miles per year, or 18 trips around the Earth at the equator.

Largest working wardrobe in the world with more than 1.5 million operational garments in use and over 7,000 different garment types. In addition there are over 2 million pieces of entertainment costumes. Each day the costuming plant processes between 27,000 and 31,000 garments.

More than 50 million soft drinks sold annually.10 million hamburgers, 7 million hot dogs, 9 million pounds of french fries and 300,000 pounds of popcorn sold annually.

Every year, Walt Disney World:
Uses 194,871 miles of toilet tissue
Uses 24,409 miles of paper towels
Uses 319,353 lbs. of chocolate
Uses 1.2 million pounds of watermelon
Uses 741,150 pounds of sugar
Uses 1.8 million pounds of flour
Uses 245,000 pounds of fruit filling
Uses 38,000 pounds of white icing glaze
Uses 2.9 million pounds of eggs
Uses 606,000 pounds of bananas
Uses 510,000 of grapes
Serves more than 1.5 million soft pretzels
Serves more than 639,000 pounds of macaroni and cheese
Orders more than 3.8 million ballpoint pens
Orders more than 337,000 pencils
Uses nearly 148 million sheets of recycled copier paper
Uses 730,102 gallons of bleach
$1.7 million worms are ordered each year to feed animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

214,000 bandages were provided to guests during the year 2004

In 2004, Walt Disney World recycled 18,322,000 pounds of paper products.