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Disneyland Reopening Guidelines Leaked or… How to Look Good as a Politician

We were just saying last night how the Disneyland drama is making California Governor Newsom look bad and what was he going to do about that?

How about release the guidelines to open theme parks? But… what about when the guidelines are so strict, you can’t imagine them opening any time soon. Win, win, right? Not if you’re in the theme park business or employee or fan.

Why provide opening guidelines so much stricter than theme parks in other states (Florida) and/or other countries? Locals only? Yellow tier? I could see orange tier (the OC isn’t even there yet), but yellow? This “thing” will be over by then.

I’d say Governor Newson won this one. What will be Disneyland’s response? Or, perhaps, this is just the beginning of negotiations.

Anyway, check out the details and what David of FreshBakedDisney (YouTube) has to say here.

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Is Disney Playing Hardball?

In spite of the haters on YouTube who like to come at me for saying so, there are two (guilty) players to this whole Disneyland drama: the State of California and Disney itself. I’ve worked behind-the-scenes in IT at Team Disney, as I mentioned in this post, and I have an inkling of what goes on.

From now on, I will be keeping my comments right here on this blog.

And I say this:

  1. The CMs are pawns
  2. The guests are not being treated with respect
  3. And the people of California are suffering, whether they realize it or not

Looks like David has suspicions as well. Check out today’s video:

 

 

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Good News, Bad News, and Whatever You Make of It News

The Bad News:

Click on graphic to read the letter from Josh about the Disney layoffs:

The Good News:

Nevada has lifted some of their restrictions, including church gatherings that can now hold (from 50) up to 250 per venue. This also includes live entertainment so that should help some of our neighbors in the entertainment business. You can read the details here.

The Whatever You Make of It News:

The Debate. I didn’t watch last night – too late to get all rile up before bed – lol! Besides, I didn’t need to see the Lunatic President throwing tantrums. But I did peek in this morning. And from the first moment I saw Biden’s smarmy political smile, I knew there was no way I want him for president.

Trump may be a pathological lying Narcissist, but Biden is another kind of dishonest clown. A bit of an ass, really. I would actually give the first round to Trump, which totally surprised me. Trump is totally right about many things, including Obamacare sucking and that the Individual Mandate was its main problem. The problem is, where is its replacement? The thing is, I don’t like Trump’s methods, and I don’t always agree with him, he often blows smoke, but I often do agree with Trump’s policies. There, I said it.

The thing is, if Biden loses, I’d hate to see the riots in the streets. The Democrats didn’t taking losing very well last time. I almost want them to win just to calm them down. Give the children some candy so they’ll stop screaming.

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Napa Rose, City Leaders, and 18 California State Legislators

A few weeks back, we had to get this Napa Rose wall hanging for our kitchen just to have a piece of Napa Rose at home.

Napa Rose is our favorite Disney restaurant and our go-to place for holidays and celebrations. And that’s probably what we miss most. When indoor dining was banned, we realized Napa Rose wasn’t going to open. But now that indoor dining is allowed in Orange County, why aren’t Napa Rose, the Grand Californian and other Disneyland hotels/restaurants opening?

It’s very difficult to understand what is happening in California, especially when very few are privvy to the insider stuff. But  we saw this video about the 3-city coalition in Orange County pleading with the governor to open theme parks and even 18 California State Legislators are pleading for the Governor to open the theme parks. What is the hold-up?

Obviously, it’s not just Disneyland so (1) Why aren’t the theme parks being given guidance (2) Why isn’t Disneyland opening the hotels like WDW did and/or (3) Why isn’t Disneyland offering special events inside the theme parks like Knott’s Berry Farm?

This is why we Disney fans are so flummoxed. I’m trying to let it go and focus what we can do on our upcoming Knott’s trip. But, still, the California theme park drama is infuriating, frustrating, bewildering, and a bit crazy-making!

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#Disneyland and the #Cruise Industry: Let’s Get This Party Started!

Disneyland and the cruise industry seem to have one thing in common (besides the fact that both are our favorite recreational choices): lots of talk about what they’re doing to restart but without any real dates. Both tried last summer and both were shot down.

The latest video I saw, uploaded by Sharon at Sea, was called “Carnival Cruise Line: Gearing up to Cruise Again.”

It looks awesome to me, and Florida and Europe have actually pulled it off, proving that what they are doing works. But restarting cruising in North America and Disneyland out west is still just talk. I’m starting to think by the time cruising and Disneyland actually get back to business, this whole situation will be over. And maybe that’s what Governor Newsom and the CDC are hoping for.

Enough delays. Give us some real dates. Give us something to start feeling!

If you’re feeling it, check out these videos (music created/produced by me during 50/90):

Cruising: Can You Feel It?

Disneyland Reopening: Can You Feel It?

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Disneyland Update

While my favorite Disneyland vloggers are covering the Knott’s Berry Farm “Fall O’Ween” event, ever-faithful David of Fresh-Baked continues to cover Disneyland updates in a positive, upbeat way, meaning there really isn’t much to update, except for Galaxy’s Edge merch now available at Downtown Disney.

Still, his footage of Main Street uncovers my emotion and devotion to Disneyland and my own positive hopes that it will open up in some way soon.

As the old Mervyn’s commercials used to say, “Open, open, open…”

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Yay Knotts Berry Farm, Boo Disneyland

Watching “The Royal Dorks” (aka “FreshBaked Disney) and “Best Life and Beyond” (BLAB) on YouTube, we did some serious Trader Joe’s Fall haul ourselves. Rich made us the Pumpkin pancakes this morning with the Trader Joe’s cinnamon swirl topping to go with the pumpkin coffee. The pancakes with the swirl tasted like pumpkin pie. Yum for me, not so much for Rich.

The “Taste of Fall-o-ween” at Knott’s Berry Farm started on Friday and will go through Nov. 1. We have tickets for late October. The first video we saw posted was by “Ordinary Adventures” yesterday (these vloggers are super nice and actually respond to your comments, which seems to be rare in the Disney community), and this morning we saw Adam the Woo with several vlogger guests. No doubt more videos will be posted soon. “BLAB” just posted theirs, and I’ll update this post and more videos that we watch are available.

We give kudos to Knott’s for doing such an awesome job opening under these conditions and giving their fans something wonderful. Giving us a real Halloween! Something Disneyland could do, right? Really taking offense that they are not.

They’re definitely earning our business and we’re more likely to buy a Knott’s AP next year rather than one for Disneyland.

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“Disneyland Reopening in Limbo” – What is Disneyland *Not* Telling Us?

Like the Disney vloggers, I got pretty excited with all the talk of Disneyland reopening being “imminent” to quote Governor Newsom. I even put together this video, a montage of Disneyland scenes with my song, “Can You Feel it?” But since then, nothing. Not only that, but check out the link to the article I found on the Disney Food Blog, “Disneyland Reopening in Limbo,” according to Disneyland President.

As lame as Governor Newsom is, what isn’t Disneyland telling us? To be frank, it’s obvious, that they haven’t really been all that communicative throughout this situation. The cruise industry has been much more vocal with each step of the process. I also put together a cruise video with my song, “Can You Feel it”? but apparently cruisers aren’t interested because I’ve had very few views, compared to the Disneyland version of “Can You Feel it?” Perhaps they have other sources, like the cruise industry themselves. Disneyland fans are so hungry for any news, that they’re more likely to click on the Disneyland video.

I find it quite hard to believe Disneyland is as innocent as they are trying to portray. I feel like they are letting down their fans. Why aren’t they doing what other theme parks in California are doing, especially Knott’s Berry Farm, opening it up with a separate admission ticket with food and wine and shopping? What isn’t Disney telling us about Disneyland?

Having worked on the inside at Team Disney in Florida, I know the bullying tactics Disney executives use. They certainly don’t want to reveal that. But what are they doing? Really? What is going on behind the scenes? They’re not as innocent as they want to portray. Are they bullying the governor, making it more difficult for any kind of negotiation? Or is Newsom the biggest jack*** just totally ignoring the industry? These days it’s hard to know who to believe. We’re not being the whole story about so many things.

A travel agent on twitter told me not to count on Disneyland opening this year and to book a trip to Florida instead. A trip to Florida is definitely in the planning stages, no doubt about that. And I’m just not sure we’ll stop in at Downtown Disney on our next SoCal trip. I’m so done with that. In fact, I’m pretty done with California.

Or maybe not…

 

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Caught on the Wrong Coast

When the musical chairs stopped, we thought we’d found ourselves at home – that was the goal. But now it looks like we were caught on the wrong coast. Who knows when California will open Disneyland? It’s been over 6 months with no word of an opening date. But WDW has been open since July.

And rumblings of cruising are being talked about – from Florida ports. You can bet your bottom dollar there will be no cruising in/out California ports for some time.

And proof of more Governor Newsom nuttiness is his proclamation that as of 2035, there will be no gas-powered cars sold in California. And where is he going to get power for future automobiles? They already can’t supply enough electricity for their state – they often borrow from us here in Nevada.

If this is what Democrats look like, no thank you. You exchange one kind of lunatic for another.

The only silver lining I see here is that Knott’s Berry Farm is doing all they can to offer several special dining/shopping events. We all want Disneyland to do the same. I guess they figure they’ve got it covered with Downtown Disney – but how much more exciting would it be to actually be inside the park. Snacking, sipping, and soaking up the atmosphere is what we mostly do at Disney anyway.

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Musings by Morning Light

Again, I am up before the first morning light as the red-hued hint of the rising sun intersects with the last vestiges of neon from a nearby casino. One of the many things I love about the desert, filling me with a lifetime of memories that harken back to childhood.

At times I miss meeting first light of New Smyrna Beach out on my Florida lanai overlooking green grass, trees, and pond. Other times I’m reminded of our first Florida living adventure in the Tampa Bay Area.

And maybe because it’s been almost 2 years since our return to Las Vegas or blame it on the pandemic, but I can almost miss passing through El Paso on our way moving between the West Coast and Florida.

I’ve enjoyed our moving adventures (but not always those necessary in-between stages), although they have also meant leaving pieces of our hearts in distant places where you can’t just hop in the car at a moment’s notice and experience them again.

But being close by doesn’t guarantee peace as Hardy Falls attests. As we go about our daily business, the emotion sometimes overwhelms me as, just for a moment, I relive feelings of home and family, Skipper, Lovey, and Buddy, and I long to turn back time.

Gratitude for today’s blessings pulls me out of the past and into the future, one step at a time.

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Disneyland Reopening – Can You Feel it? Apparently, Not

So I’m getting all revved up, really feeling the vibe of a Disneyland reopening date announcement as “imminent” to quote Governor Newsom. I even spent hours today creating a video using some of my Disneyland footage and a song I wrote/produced for #50/90 this year called “Can You Feel it?” Perfect, right?

And then my Mickey balloon is deflated once again.

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Masks and Thieves

So yesterday we decided to do something we rarely do these days – go out to lunch. One of our favorite places is Sonrisa Grill, the Mexican restaurant at Lake Las Vegas. It’s a fun drive and walk with great food and views.

We noticed that a few people we passed were not wearing masks, which is a bit disconcerting, especially since we’re used to going to Downtown Disney, where the mask requirement is enforced.

And the truth is, while I do wear a mask when I am out, I choose not to do a lot of things because I’m just not comfortable wearing a mask for more than an hour. So, truth be told, I really won’t be flying to Florida during this time – I can’t imagine wearing a mask for 4-6 hours. I’m also not sure I could really do Disneyland, although we’ll get a chance to test how long I can wear a mask at Knott’s Berry Farm next month, although for most of that time we’ll be sitting and eating/drinking so it shouldn’t be too bad. And there’s a relaxation station where masks are not required.

So on the thievery front, we were informed that our “Hitchhiking Ghosts” Christmas ornament was delivered by FEDEX yesterday, but we never got it. When we called Disney, they said they are out-of-stock now and will refund our money. Grrrr! We’d purposely ordered early to make sure we got them and now either the FEDEX driver kept it (not the first time this has happened in Vegas), or it was delivered to the wrong house and they kept our package.

Some photos from yesterday’s lunch:

Blue Sonrisa Margarita

Spicy Margarita

Salmon Tacos

Shrimp Tacos