Disney Dreamers trip - 2009

The Disney Dreamers outside of Universal Studios

..or how we survived a trip of 5 theme parks in 5 days and came out with our sanity.

I just got back from California yesterday. It was a fun but whirlwind week. To give a bit of a background, the Disney Dreamers is the brainchild of my boss and another owner of C&R Inc. You see, once a year Silverwood opens up the park to adults and children with disabilities called, "Night of Stars." Well, this got my boss to thinking. Why couldn't we take a bunch of the people we work with to some place better than Silverwood? Why not Disneyland?

By the end of May, my boss approached the rest of us and told us that she thought we could pull it off. June, July, August, and September are all spent fund-raising with yard sales, benefit concerts, raffles, and so on. October hits, and many of us realize that it is actually happening. We are going to Disneyland...only to find out that my boss got a package deal that included Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm, and Sea World. To cut down on the length of this entry, I'll just give highlights from here on.


Sunday: Woke up at 2:30, picked up PJ (friend of me and Misti, also a worker at C&R) and Toby. Arrived in John Wayne Airport and drove to the Fairfield Inn Marriott. Many of us took off to see Disneyland that night and ended up staying for the awesome Fireworks display/Disney Villain show.


Monday: Woke up around 7 a.m. and took Toby to breakfast at Millie's. Spent the day running around Disneyland park.


Tuesday: Woke up around 7 a.m. again and started our day off at Disneyland before heading over to California Adventures. Went back to Disneyland in the afternoon and then had dinner at Medieval Times. Lucky for us, our knight (the Red Knight) was the eventual champion.


Wednesday: Woke up at 6 a.m. to drive to Sea World in San Diego. Unfortunately, most of our drivers got lost on the way so we didn't get into the park until late. We hit rush hour traffic on the way back so it took a bit longer to get to the hotel. Went to Downtown Disney with Toby and PJ where we ate Mexican food at Torilla Jo's.



Thursday: Had another early morning as we had to drive to Universal Studios. Had a great time at the park (Highly recommend the Simpsons Ride as well as the Jurassic Park Ride). We tried to leave early so that we could get back in time for a basketball pre-season game (Lakers versus Nuggets), but we hit the bulk of rush hour traffic. 2 hours to go a distance of 45 miles (approximately). Got to the show about half time and watched the Lakers destroy the Nuggets in the second half.

Fast And Furious on the Hollywood Tram Ride

Me with Curious George: Pirate Monkey

Friday: Today we got to sleep in until about 7 a.m. since we were going to Knott's Berry Farm (just down the road from Medieval Times). By this time, we were pretty much theme parked out. Many of our participants were very tired/exhausted and just ready to get home.



Saturday: Woke up at 5 a.m. to get ready to head to the airport and fly back home. Home sweet home.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful week. I had a great time hanging with Toby who was just awesome everywhere we went.

Recommended Reading: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

....Or how Misti may have stumbled upon the best graphic novel I've seen in a while.

This will be a quick entry since I've got work tomorrow morning, but I thought I'd share a quick glimpse into one of the cutest, most creative interpretations of The Wizard of Oz I've ever seen.

While the story itself is simply a retelling of the already timeless tale, young author/artist Eric Shanower manages to stay very true to the original story. The pacing can be a bit slow at times as each character gives their unique backstory (something the classic movie doesn't have the time, nor inclination to get into). However, this bit of information helps the reader to identify more with each character and to contrast their desires (brain, heart, courage) to the absurdity of their actions, e.g. the lion claims to be a coward, yet willingly risks his life for his friends, or the tin man crying over the death of insects that get crushed accidently, despite lacking a heart.

And though the author has managed to condense the novels, the artwork is where this book really shines. Skottie Young has cultivated a loyal following in the comics industry for quite some time now, and managed to develop an artistic style that fits Oz perfectly. To quote Misti, "this book's artwork is a combination of Anime/Manga with a bit of Precious Moments thrown in."



All I can say is...Fantastic. While I've dabbled in Art and drawing off and on for years, this artwork is almost exactly the style that I was working towards. Detailed where it needs to be, yet simple enough to possess a child-like innocence. While I enjoyed the story, it was the artwork that keep me turning page after page. Every panel was done beautifully, framed perfectly, and not a line wasted.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves comics, classics, cuteness, or any combination of the above. Misti and I snagged a copy this last weekend and I'm already looking forward to the next book. Enjoy!