Disneyland: Mark Twain Riverboat

Date of Visit: August 22, 2011

With all the times we have visited Disneyland, neither Mik nor I could ever remember going on the Mark Twain Riverboat.  I probably did when I was little, but I really doubt we ever took Mik on it before.  Thus on this trip, Mik and I decided to finally go on it.  Of course, we were almost thwarted because when we went over to it first thing in the morning it was temporarily down.  Luckily, it was back up and going within a few hours and we did end up getting to try it out.


They had the wheelchairs load onto the boat first.  Note the boat is not level with the dock and they have you load on backwards.  When we got off they did not seem to care when we unloaded just that you also go backwards going off.  Definitely not a ride to go on when the tippers are on, as they certainly would have been in the way. but we usually leave them off when Mik is not wheeling himself anyways.


The ride around the Rivers of America on the Mark Twain is not all that exciting, but it is a relaxing break from walking around the park and gives a different look at the areas around the River including some parts you can only see from the boat rides (canoes, Columbia, Mark Twain).


Overall the Mark Twain Riverboat is not a bad ride, but you really cannot explore the boat and are stuck on the bottom level with the wheelchair.  One time around every once and a while might be worthwhile, but it would be much cooler if they worked out a way to get wheelchairs up on the Columbia.  Going around the Rivers of America on a pirate ship seems so much cooler!!


Destination Info:
Disneyland
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Walt Disney World: All Star Music Resort

Date of Visit: July 27-August 1, 2011

We have never cared about accessible hotel rooms, as they do not really help Mik other than the roll in shower.  Plus, Mik finds handicap raised toilets harder for him. Also, we have heard the accessible rooms are in high demand at Disney World and others actually need them. Thus we never even tried to get an accessible room for the All Star Music Resort.  It was not horrible without, but i certainly would not stay there again without an accessible room.


As a budget hotel the rooms are extra small.  We have stayed at budget hotels before, but never anything this small with Mik.  The room was barely big enough to have a place to put the wheelchair anywhere you wouldn't trip over it.  It certainly could barely fit anywhere past the area near the window and door, as the bed was so close to TV stand.  Luckily Mik preferred to relax on the floor and take a break from his chair anyways.

The bathroom is not that big, but that was expected and not really an issue.  I was just surprised at the limited area to move about the room.

We liked that to get to the food court the building had motion sensor sliding automatic doors, so no need for a button.  The same type of doors lead out to the buses from the lobby.  The food court was sometimes hard to navigate through with the crowds and minimal space in the ordering area, but there is plenty of seating and the service was great.  One day Mik got a taco salad and because he could not see what the toppings and such were the CM went through the options one by one asking if he wanted that on his salad.  Plus, since he didn't want certain things she gave extra of the things he liked.

First thing we got at the food court was refillable mugs.  They costs about $15 each, but you get unlimited refills during your stay and we certainly got our money's worth out of them.


The bus transportation to the resorts worked our pretty good during our stay.  There are lines depending on where you want to go and most have a line specifically for wheelchairs.  However, a few do not.  We did not wait in the regular line for those without one, as they still need to load the wheelchair first and that did not make sense to us.  Instead we found waiting by the sign for these lines worked fine.


Note that sometimes the buses arrive full still needing to drop off passengers at the All Star Movie resort and you end up having to wait for the next one.  Also, I noticed every once in a while Cruise Line buses were being used.  These buses are not the ones with lifts.  Luckily, none of the times it affected us, but I felt bad for the two people who had been waiting for a bus that still had to wait when I was leaving Magic Kingdom one night by myself.  However, it does seem these are added in addition to the regular ones to help when the bus lines get long for certain routes and accessible ones still come around at normal intervals.

Most buses are kneeling buses with ramps that flip out.  However, some are still old style with a lift.  All can accommodate at least 2 wheelchairs/scooters and some can handle 3.

Destination Info:
Disney's All Star Music Resort
Walt Disney World
1801 West Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

D23 Expo 2011: Mickey's of Glendale

Date: August 20, 2011

We almost did not go to the Mickey's of Glendale shop because I asked Mik if he wanted to go in as we exited the Carousel of Projects and he did not say anything.  Then as we were about to leave the Expo I asked if there was anything left he wanted to see/do and he said the Mickey's of Glendale shop, so we went back to it.  We were glad we did, but it was not a fun experience.

The Mickey's of Glendale shop is very crammed with displays and merchandise.  Even without the crowds of people it would barely be navigable with the wheelchair.  Add people and we got stuck being unable to go any direction for 5 minutes.  I ended up leaving Mik in one stop and looking at the stuff.  Luckily, I found a must have pin for Mik's collection that made the whole experience worth it in hindsight.  It was a Sorcerer Grumpy pin for Mik's Grumpy (Mik's favorite Disney character) pin collection.


It was not fun to be stuck once I came back to him with what we wanted and were trying to get out of the shop, but Mik has keeps bringing up how happy he is to have a new Grumpy pin for his collection, so it was worth the hassle with it being the highlight of the trip for him.  The funny thing is when I came back to him and handed him the Grumpy pin, he gave me a weird look like is the pin your getting what about one for me?  Sorcerer Mickey is my favorite character (I do not collect every pin, though, as too many feature him) and he thought the Sorcerer Grumpy was a Sorcerer Micky pin.  Once he figured out how awesome it was to finally have a new Grumpy pin (its been over a year since he has found one he did not already have), he was speechless until of course he could not stop bringing it up as we were walking to hotel/Disneyland and waiting in line for rides.

We both also ended up selecting a Carousel of Projects pin to buy at Mickey's of Glendale.  Mik also got a red Sorcerer Mickey tumbler cup and I got a magnet with Sorcerer Mickey and a Smashed Penny Mystery Pin (ended up being the New Year's one and not of interest to me, but maybe another thing I could trade).

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Carousel of Projects

Date: August 20, 2011

We got to the Carousel of Projects right before the Expo opened to the public.  It was a little wait to go into the little room that shows a quick movie.  The movie was not that interesting and we ended up stuck in the back because they held the wheelchairs off to the side and ended up in last with others cutting ahead.  Mik was annoyed that he could not see anything, but I could pretty much see everything and it really was not like he missed anything great, although it was kind of cool how the exit thing worked with Tinkerbell opening the curtain to the exhibit.


Inside the exhibit area it was quite kind of crowded, but it was not too bad to go around and see everything.  I liked seeing the concept vehicles for the new Carsland, especially watching the firetruck's eyes.  However, we actually are not interested in the new land, as it does not seem any of the new rides will be the type that can be accessible, although the flying saucer style one Mik would try if we brought along someone to transfer him.


Mik loved seeing the concept vehicle for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride for the new Fantasyland area at Disney World.  We knew about the ride and he is not actually interested in it, as he is not into roller coasters, but he loves Grumpy and liked seeing him as one of the dwarfs in the ride vehicle.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives

Date: August 20, 2011

After shopping at the Treasure Trove shop, we headed back around to go through the Treasures exhibit.  The exhibit was nice and empty considering it was still only about 10 minutes after the Expo opened for members and people were mostly downstairs for the Arena or maybe had just done it yesterday already.  This was our favorite part of the Expo mainly because there were no crowds to deal with, but also it was set up with more space to move around than most other exhibits/stores.



The exhibit featured a variety of props from Disney movies and shows.  Our favorite part was the props from the National Treasure movies.  We also liked the Tron area, but thought it would have been cooler with the motorcycle or maybe a lightcycle.   The props from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie were also interesting, but the they had a much larger exhibit of the 4th movie props in the main exhibit hall.  Other movies/shows represented included Hocus Pocus, Zorro, Rocketeer, Lost, and Roger Rabbit.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Treasure Trove

Date: August 20, 2011

Today they let the D23 line in way before 9am to line up inside for the areas you wanted to go right at 9am.  The first level was very crowded with people wanting to go to the Arena, so we decided to go up to the Treasure exhibit first.  We ended up getting in the Treasure Trove store line first, since yesterday the lines for the stores got bad quickly.

Inside the Treasure Trove store there was plenty of room to navigate and it was also pleasantly not very crowded because very few cam up to the Treasures area first thing.  Mik ended up getting the Snow White Book pin and I got a D23 Expo magnet.

The checkout queue was not bad because it was not very long, but it was set up barely wide enough to even turn Mik's wheelchair for the turns.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: First Day Issue Disney Stamps

Date: August 19, 2011


I was excited to learn that the newest Disney stamp sheets were being First Day Issued at the Expo.  We did not end up hanging around long enough to even think about lining up for the ceremony, but I did end up buying them, which was more what I wanted anyways.  The line was much shorter than the ones for the Disney shops, but it actually moved so slow it at least seemed as long as the one for the Disney Store.  It turned out it was pretty much a full service USPS booth, so they were actually packaging and shipping stuff and not just selling the stamps.

I bought a sheet of 20 to go with my collection that includes all the other Disney stamp sheets issued so far.  I also ended up getting the D23 Expo First Day Issue envelope featuring the Buzz Lightyear stamp.  I debated about getting the stamped envelopes, but liked the D23 Expo ones better and it did not seem worth paying for the whole set.  I kind of wanted the stamped postcards, but I only wanted to have one to mail for my postmarked postcard collection and it was not worth buying 19 extra just to do that.

The line itself was accessible, but when we got to the front I ended up leaving Mik off to the side, as he would have blocked the path for others to get to the other counters if they opened up.  Not to mention it would have been awkward to get him back out with the minimal space to go through the counter area and since he was not interested in the stamps it did not matter to him to not go to the counter.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA