ten secret secrets about disneyland.

i am a disney expert. and i have the picture above to prove it. so i am going to let you in on some disney secrets that i observed throughout our 2012 express summer trip to the west coast.

1. kitties are released to roam the park once the gates have closed for the day. they eat all of the mice and garbage and stuff then are herded back into their little mini disneyland for the day once the park opens. rumor has it they are kept in the matterhorn by day.
2. speaking of the matterhorn, inside the tip of the replicated mountain is a small apartment complex for workers that are working long shifts or are in charge of keeping watch over the kitties that night. a basketball court, olympic sized pool, and even a sauna are all amenities of the matterhorn complex. 
3. pirates of the caribbean {the ride} was an audition spot for hopeful actors trying out for a role in pirates of the caribbean {the movie}. though riders just assumed everything was animatronic, like usual, they were wrong. the actors would step in for one of the robots, producers would ride the ride and tried to pick out actors from robots. those that blended in were cast and those that stood out were punished by being forced to ride it's a small world all day long.
4. speaking of olympic, the national olympic committee has disneyland in mind for the 2040 summer olympic games. the resort would be the first amusement park to host the olympic games, something committee members are leaning towards for upcoming world-wide events.
5. disneyland only hires females for the mickey character to wander around the park because walt believed that mickey have a feminine figure. 
6. it is believed that a homeless man decided to make the magic kingdom home. after years of collecting, he had uh...raised...enough money to buy himself a ticket into the park for the day...which, due to his skillful planning and ninja like techniques, ended up being a ticket for a 6 week stay inside the park. he was eventually caught by an employee as he bathed in splash mountain. want to know how he did it? too bad. the execs at disney were so impressed by his accomplishment, they decided to hire the man as head of security, under the condition that he never told his secrets.
7. contrary to popular belief, disney stars are actually charged three times the park fee for their entrance into the parks to cover security costs and to discourage their attendance, fearing their popularity might over shine that of mickey and minnie mouse, the true stars of disney.
8. all of that "underground disney" is 100% true. common knowledge. what isn't common knowledge though is that underground tunnel from walt disney's home in burbank, california to the park. walt wanted to be able to access the park with ease, and avoid lines, traffic, and crazy fans. the 36 mile tunnel is still accessible by walt's immediate family.
9. walt disney's ashes are spread throughout the haunted mansion because he insisted on being a part of the magic even beyond the grave.
10. the spacial relationship of the rides throughout the park have been planned out so that the music or screams from one ride will not be heard from another. however, the women's bathroom in the blue bayou is infamous for hearing screams. either from walt's ashes or from the riders on the first drop in pirates of the caribbean...you decide.

raise your hands if you are ready for another trip to visit mickey and friends...

vacation: a time for learning.

i was in st. george for the last few days...not dead like it may have appeared through blog world.  whilst {my new favorite word} there i learned some important things.  all of which i will teach to you now...

 image 1:  palm grapes.

 image 2:   hair line head twins.

 image 3:  hiking.

 image 4:  it's a girl!

image 5:  stripes=speed.

• my sister sees herself as pee wee inside of her head, which is what makes her so charming.
• i have a talent for knowing what famous singer my peers would sound like if they sung.  my neighbor, for example, would sound like phil collins, if he ever tried singing.
• some new study states that if you have 302+ friends on facebook...you need to delete some because nobody thinks you can have 302 really really really great friends...and that's how we feel when you friend us on facebook.  that we are great friends.  cut it down to 300.  
• my new friend, her name is audrey, she can describe people perfectly.  my favorite descriptive word:  "goober"
• las vegas needs some manners.  
• "i spy a mormon" is a fun way to sight see in sin city.
• algae blossoms in a pool won't kill you.  but you might say your words all out of wack for a while.  
• my dad and my sister look identical if they lay day beside each other and you look at their heads.  it's spectacular. (see image 2)
• green grapes come from palm trees. (see image 1)
• it better appreciate hiking, lay down on a cliff, head first. (see image 3) 
• if everyone wears stripes, you will get home in record speed. (see image 5)
• everyone gets to choose a new name when you are a grand parent.  for example:  honey, bob bob, tootsie, eleanor, lorna, lowell, jack, ect.
• i've chosen the wrong career.  my calling was, in fact, being an obstetrician.  too late. (see image 4)

learning is fun.  have you had enough vacations this summer?

baltimorning and afterphilly.

betwixt our washington dc dream of a vaca, the family loaded up the rental car and headed in whatever direction baltimore and philadelphia are from the district.

stop #1.

baltimore.

as a big hairspray fan {both the product and the musical}, you can understand why i found much joy in being in baltimore in the morning.  

{courtney can hear the bells.}

we were there for what felt like two-ten minutes and ate what became the second most memorable meal for my aunt {just behind the breakfast with laura linney at fairway in nyc}.  and then we were on the road again.

next stop...

longwood gardens

aka heaven.

i'd like to be wed there.  

it made me feel like alice.

and finally.

philly.

for cheesesteak.

which was not as good as what i am used to.

and was, unfortunately, the best thing about philly.

sorry.

what came next was too good.  so good, in fact, that it deserves it's own blog post.  and "it"=new york city.  

also, i can't include it on this post because i currently have a gelatin hair mask repairing my sad little head strings that are pretending that it's never been in dry weather before and it is dripping down my back.  uncomfortable.  goodbye.

the district and me...i?

pretend you are going to washington dc. you are like the pre-east-coast-extravaganza version of me so naturally you think washington dc is a teeny tiny city that has houses the president and his little dog too and this tall structure that looks like a white crayon where everyone is wearing business suits and talking about lybia or health care reform.  all work, no play {makes washington dc a dull city} is your imagination's image of the nation's capitol.  and then you get there and discover that you were very, very wrong.  that scenario that you just imagined may or may not be the real live experience with my introduction to the district.  now listen to this song while you decide for yourself whether my opinion has changed...

{me and the berlin wall.  i am power.}

{those lucky sisters who got to party with my sister for 18 months.  also i had just eaten lavender ice cream.  try it.  love it.  crave it.}

{we're on the back of a penny.}

{mj's hat @ the smithsonian.  rip.}

{me, a penny, and some grass, and lincoln's little sitting room.}

{wanna hold it?}

{dc temple..."surrender dorothy"}

you guessed it.  i am all about the district.  

will you please go there?

and go to the newseum?

and tell it that i love it so much?

and will you also come back to this here blog

a little later and read about the rest of east coast extravaganza?

okay i'm off to my nightly wishing of being back on vaca.

bye.

see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

*note:  i would normally put a picture here but blogger is jealous of my trip and not letting me upload any visual sugar so..sorry. imagine me and courtney holding the washington monument.   

location:  the district of columbia.
guys.  don't yell.  but i am not here {here=utah} right now because i am just vacationing my life away:  east coast style. so far i have eaten yucca and buffalo, made a new african american friend who even gave me next to free jewelry, waved in the general direction of the barack, and watched my great grandma in a video at the smithsonian.  if that doesn't get you back, i really don't know what will.  until next time, loves.
next stop:  philly