We started off the day (around 1pm) at California Adventure to check out the new Little Mermaid ride. It opened around the same time that the new Star Tours revamp did and Star Tours has had solid lines (usually about 3 hours long) ever since. I figured the same for the Little Mermaid, so I held off... well, it turns out that because this ride has a MUCH higher capacity, the line is shorter and moves fast. Hooray for us! In less than 5 minutes, we were boarding our little clam shell (aren't they cute?).
And look how cute the Cast Member uniforms are! I'd totally wear that any day!
Since I am a dunce and still have not learned how to use my camera, all of my pictures turned out blurry. I only ended up posting a few just to give people (myself included) an overall flavor of the ride. The animatronics are top-notch. The Ariel shown below bobs and weaves and dances, while blinking her eyes and waving her arms.
The day was surprisingly hot. All week, the temperatures had been pretty mild (low 70s) but by the weekend, the heat was on again. So after a short while in the sun, we were ready for some refreshment. We decided to try out the brand-new Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. Although I am still a bit heartbroken for all of the things that are gone now from the hotel - including the waterfalls - seeing the new Polynesian restaurant and tiki bar softened the blow.
Inside, the bar is AMAZINGLY, elaborately themed. Some of my art heroes, Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily, did some of the design and decor. If you decide to venture inside 1) prepare to have your eyes be boggled - there's so much to look at! 2) stick around long enough for someone to order certain cocktails. Depending on the drink order, various enchanting things happen. I won't spoil it for you, but if the staff starts yelling SHIPWRECK, get over to the bar a.s.a.p.!
The bar had a nice little snack menu and a surprising number of non-alcoholic drinks as well. Which is great because none of us are big drinkers and if ANY of us had a cocktail, all three of us would still be asleep by the wishing well.
Kate tried the Jungle River Sunset.
Ryan tried the Skipper Sipper.
And I got the Schweitzer Falls (which was my favorite of the three). After resting our bones at Trader Sam's, we headed back to the car to get our 'dress up' clothes for the Dapper Day event.
It was such a hot day that I copped out entirely. I wore a linen sundress and my comfy shoes and called it a day. I was fine with my choice until I saw Kate's gorgeous polka dots and then I wanted to run home after I saw the group gathering in front of the carousel.
I clearly looked like I was part of the group, but maybe not. About 10 different people came up to ask ME (out of a crowd of about 120 people) what the deal was... why is everyone dressed up? If you're unfamiliar, here's the elevator pitch: Disneyland designers had envisioned the park as a destination where people would anxiously await their visit and when they got there arrive in style. In the early years of Disneyland, this is exactly what happened (remember the stories of the ladies who got stuck in the hot tar on Main Street because their heels sunk in?). Since then, people have gotten more casual, so (another of my art heroes!) Justin Jorgensen had the idea to organize a meet-up for people who wanted to visit the parks in a dapper way. There's no cost and no commitment, just wear your finery and meet up for photos!
Ryan got out his waistcoat and tie.
Kate, as always, looked like a doll! And Kevin decided to honor the currently-being-refurbished-to-make-way-for-something-new Carnation Plaza by wearing a dapper outfit, similar to the original CP uniform.
Kevin and Justin were the Big Celebrities of the night. Everyone wanted to photograph them!
See? Here's my cop-out outfit. More comfy than dapper.
After the event, everyone started posting pictures to Facebook and I got tagged in two. The group below is centered by Kate's buddy James who had an excellent green-on-green ensemble.
In the last picture, I was captured randomly and just happened to be in the center of the photo. I am scratching my head which was full of purple dye. I swear I wasn't posing! This is probably the most embarrassing picture of me that could have been posted. Naturally, I have to link to it for posterity!
After the Dapper group meet-up, everyone sort of dissipated around the parks. We were getting hungry and Ryan was starting to not feel well, so we opted to leave Disneyland all together and seek dinner elsewhere. We ended up at one of our favorite chain restaurants and ate a metric ton of biscuits. Well, I did anyway.
At dinner, Ryan was draining fast and so I got him home right after. Within the hour, he was running a scorching fever and was miserably sick. Poor guy!
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