Abandom Hope All Ye Who Enter Here

because there's a ton of pictures today!

Some are good shots, but a lot are memory shots of a damned near perfect day at Disneyland.  If the mood strikes you, all the photos on this blog are clickable for a larger version.

The weather was just sublime, a tad warm, but almost always a breeze to keep us cool.  We had decided beforehand that we would walk all we could, but avoid standing as much as possible.  It's strange how I can walk comfortably, but standing for more than five minutes seems to disagree with my body.

We started at the gate, where I presented an old one person two day commemorative passport I had in the collection. It originally had the ticket stub on the far right.

The Castmember at the gate looked at it and said "I'll have to call someone about this".  I said fine, since this was pretty much what I was expecting.

You see, main gate passes to Disneyland never expire, something I know, but many Castmembers do not.  So a "Lead" (supervisor) comes over and says he has to ask someone else, but do I want the ticket back?  I said I would like the larger part back after the transaction is complete.  After a few minutes, someone else shows up, they scratch their heads for a minute or two and say they'll be right back.  After about ten minutes yet another Castmember (presumably higher up) show us and informs me that they really aren't supposed to do this (meaning giving me two one day tickets rather than a one person two day ticket).  That said, they decided to make an exception in this case.  He hands me my larger part of my original ticket and two one day passes.

Cool, my friend Misty and I have just entered the park for a mere $22 total, saving ourselves $152!  The day is off to a good start.

Usually, I wait till I'm under the railroad bridge before I even think of taking pictures, but this view caught my eye.  Truthfully, it's my favorite shot of the day.  I considered leaving it for last, but this is such a long post, I figured it would be best to keep everything in order.

I do love the train station, 

and I have to admit, 

in the hundreds of times I've been to Disneyland, 

I've never spotted this view.

I was telling Misty how, 

no matter how often I come to the park, 

there's always something new to shoot.  

She said that's because every time I come, 

I bring new eyes.

I like that idea.

 I love that first view of Main Street 

as you walk under the berm, 

it just clicks with something in my head, 

and I'm taken to a good place.

They have a slew of new hats for the kiddies.

I meant to get a shot of the hats,

but when I spied the reflection, 

I decided I liked this scene more.

Having been to Disneyland so many times, 

I like to look at the details.

They've Cars-ified the monorail!

More details.

The Alice in Wonderland ride

has hundreds of unique details.

Another favorite is the StoryBook Land Canal Boats.

Each is themed to one of the animated favorites.

They're intensely detailed,
every one a beauty in its' own right.

Not a great shot,

but I always like the beginning of the journey.

Into the Mouth of the Beast,

Monstro the Whale.

And out the other side,

entering one of the most beautiful spots 

in all of Disneyland.

This is where Toad Hall sat for years.

They felt it needed to be updated, so they took it out

and replaced it with Agrabah.

There was quite a fuss, 

so they eventually brought Toad Hall back,

but in a new location.  

Unfortunately I didn't get a very good shot.

Still, I'm happy its been restored.

The beautiful Cinderella's Castle.

If you look closely,

you can see the pumpkin coach 

on the road going up to the castle.

They've also added Prince Eric's city from

the Little Mermaid.

Gepetto's Village.

This is one of my favorite parts of this attraction.

Just around sunset, 

I saw the dying sunlight on the castle.

We hustled over to see what shots we could get. 

Not the best of shots but the roses caught my eye

Then I noticed the reflection.

I like the castle in this shot, 

the roses not so much.

This one is a bit better, 

but neither is exactly right.

Maybe next time.

All day I was alternating 

using my iPhone 4s and my Canon sx40.  

I found that in the dark rides, 

the iPhone was vastly superior.

I was really impressed with this shot.

I shot this using my iPhone 

and the amazing ProCamera app.

Remember, this was taken in the dark
from a moving boat

(Please, click to enlarge).

All I did was manipulate for size 

and a bit of sharpening.

Next we go over to Downtown Disney.

The Lego Store 

has mounted this most impressive display.

It might not show, 

but this dragon is close to life size.

Now we're in the stores.

If I had a yard, 

this would have come home with me.

Also this.  

It stands about fifteen inches tall, 

and the boys are bobbleheads.

Too cute.

Now it was getting dark.

All day long we kept seeing these hats.

I believe they're from the new Cars Land.

I asked this fella if he would pose for a shot, 

and he was happy to oblige.

Bad shot, but good for the memory.

After all, who wears a tire on their head?

Next time I'll take a day time shot.

This was taken with my iPhone!

Fantasyland at night.

I've tried for years to get shots of fireworks, 

always with minimal success.

But once again, my sx40 came through.

And one final yee haw.

The perfect end to a perfect day.

Next time I go to the park,
I'm going to shoot even more.

I'll be bringing my new eyes with me.

Remember

It's Never Too Late

To Live Happily Ever After,

because