It's a Small World - New and Improved??

Today we went to Disneyland and were able to ride It's a Small World with all of the new additions. I have heard that many die-hard Disney lovers are not at all pleased with the inclusion of Disney characters into the lands within Small World. I must admit that when I first got wind of the changes that I was not particularly pleased with Disney's decision. The ride clearly needed cleaned up and a few modifications, but to change such an icon of the Disney theme parks just seemed wrong. I was able to view a few photos from friends before going today and what I saw changed my mind. The real test was to see it in person. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had incorporated the characters in such a way that they blended in nicely and I thought really added a touch of the rest of Disney without it being offensive or blatent. I really like the changes. A friend, and fellow Disney lover was with us, and she was not at all pleased with the changes and did not like the new version.

I thought I would include pictures so you could make up your own mind.




In the Great Britain part you find Peter Pan and Tink (she can barely be seen near the top of the moon in this picture) flying around in circles above London.


Alice and the White Rabbit are also in Great Britain.


Cinderella is the in Europe portion with my two favorite mice, Gus Gus and Jaq.


This is just a picture of the Netherlands for DH - the "homeland."


Abu is in the Middle East, holding up a diamond.

Flying above him on a carpet are Jasmine and Aladdin.


A quick trip to the continent of Africa where we spot Simba and Puumba...

...as well as some of the laughing hyenas.


In the Far East you will see Mulan and Mushu.


Under the Sea it is easy to find Ariel and Flounder...

...as well as Nemo and Dora.


Then up to the surface of the Hawaiian Islands you'll see Lilo and Stitch...

...as well as these cute hula dancers.


On to South America....

...where you will find the Three Caballeros: Jose Carioca, Donald Duck and Panchito.


And then we end with a quick trip through the USA where we spotted Woody and Jessie, but not Pocahontas.


So there you go, a quick trip around the world to see the newest additions to Small World. I'd love to hear what you think, so please leave a comment if you have a minute.

Storyteller's Cafe - Critter Character Breakfast

For my birthday we decided to do a character breakfast, but wanted to do one with characters we don't often see, so we thought the Critter Breakfast at the Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian would be a good thing to do.


You can order the buffet which is a little more expensive, or you can just purchase a breakfast off the menu and it is a lot more affordable. Breakfast for the two of us cost as much as one of the other character meals and we got quite a few characters!




Meeko - the racoon from Pocahontas.




Dale!




Chip! I love Chip!




Kenai from Brother Bear.




Koda from Brother Bear.




The crazy park ranger - he was hoot!


Terk from Tarzan.




They go out and dance in the middle of the restaurant and try to get the kids involved.




We highly recommend this fun character breakfast!!

Celebrate Good Times, C'mon!

This year, Disney's theme is Celebrate Today!



Of course we have all heard that you can get in free on your birthday, or if you are an Annual Pass holder, like me, you can get a book of fast passes for up to 6 people in your party for the day, or a gift card worth the price of a single park ticket.

We went for my birthday in January and I got the gift card. I bought a couple of t-shirts and a sweat-shirt. they give you a birthday button, but since every other person seems to have a button on, it's really not that special, but I do have to hand it to the CM's, they did make a great effort to wish me a happy birthday when they saw the button.

The park is decorated with party hats, ballons, and bright colors, as seen below, and the online picture CD's can have some birthday, anniversary or plain old celebration borders. It was a good time, and I highly recommend trying to get down to the park on your birthday this year if you can!