Disney Junior Live On Stage! at Disney California Adventure - March 2012

Disney Junior Live On Stage at Disney California Adventure

On my first visit to Disney California Adventure in March 2012, I got to see Disney Junior Live On Stage.  The theater is the same as the one that is at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  This show is really entertaining to the kids that watch Disney Junior.  All visitors sit on the floor while watching this.  Below is a video of some of the performances.

Casey Jr Circus Train at Disneyland - March 2012

Casey Jr. Circus Train at Storybook Circus in Disneyland

On my first visit to Disneyland in March 2012, I had the opportunity to ride the Casey Jr. Circus Train in Storybook Circus.  It is a five minute train ride that the entire family can enjoy.  I definitely recommend this ride if you are visiting Disneyland.  Below is a short video of the ride.

Storybook Land Canal Boats at Disneyland - March 2012

Storybook Land Canal Boats at Storybook Land in Disneyland

On my first visit to Disneyland in March 2012, I went to Storybook Land and road with my family the Storybook Land Canal Boats.  It is about a 5 minute ride that the entire family gets to ride.  Casey Jr Circus Train ride circles around the Storybook Land Canal Boats.  Below is video from the ride.

Pixar Pals at Disney California Adventure - March 2012

Pixar Pals at Disney California Adventure

On my first visit to Disney California Adventure back in March 2012, I had the opportunity to see street show in Hollywood Land called Pixar Pals.  The show featured Mike and Sully from Pixar's animated feature movie Monster's Inc.  It lasted around 15 mins and featured song and dance numbers.  Below is a short video that I made of one of the song and dance numbers.

Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland - March 2012

Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland

The Mark Twain Riverboat provide a relaxing trip on the Rivers of America in Disneyland.  This riverboat is similar to the riverboat that is at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  The trip on the Mark Twain is about 20 minutes.  Below is a short clip of the Mark Twain Riverboat passing by the Haunted Mansion.

Disneyland Band - March 2012

Disneyland Band

The Disneyland Band has been performing at Disneyland since the park's grand opening.  The band is considered the main band at Main Street USA.   When I started my day at Disneyland, I saw the band performing in the area passed the ticket gates.  The Mad Hatter and Alice from Alice in Wonderland entertained the crowd while the Disneyland Band played.  I filmed their performance during March 2012.

World of Color (from two perspectives) - Disney California Adventure - March 2012

I had the opportunity to experience Disneyland for the first time during March 2012.  I heard about a night time show that Disney California Adventure holds almost every day called World of Color.  It is a water-light show that can be seen around the lake.  There are prime spots to see this show which fill up early in the evening.  There are also reserved spots that can be purchased as part of a table service dinner package.  I saw the show twice during my stay from two different perspectives.  I first watched the show where all the visitors preferably watched the show, from the front.  There was a crowd of people obstructing my view at times.  This made it very challenging for me to watch and enjoy the show.  Here is a video from that perspective.


The second time I watched the show, I was right outside California Screamin'.  There was no crowd from this perspective.  I thought the show was way cooler from this vantage point.  I made a video of the World of Color from this viewpoint.

Electronica - Disney California Adventure - March 2012

Disney was promoting the TRON movie back on 2012 in Disney California Adventure by setting up a nightly event called Electronica.  The park setup a techno-style environment where they had DJs, dancers and techno lightning.  They also had a theater playing the trailer to the TRON movie.  The night that I visited, the crowd did not seem into the techno music to dance.  It was kind of lame.  I think this setup would have been better in Disney World, at Disney Hollywood Studios.  I have pictures and a video of Electronica from the night in March 2012 that I went.

Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular - Disney California Adventure

I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland for the first time during March of 2012.  I wanted to see the musical show at Disney California Adventure called Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular.  It was based on the animated movie Aladdin.  Disney built a special auditorium for this show.  Here are pictures that I took in front of the theater.

You enter the auditorium from what seems to be the back of the building. There are multiple levels that the audience can be seated to watch the show.  You line up based on the level that you want to watch the show.  The orchestra level quickly fills up, so the cast members will close off those lines that when the level is full.  The upper levels require most people to climb stairs, except if you need to use an elevator.  We sat at the upper most level, which I think was the third level.  The level actually had an escalator when you go from the second to the third level. Once you get into the theater, the seats on the third level were stadium-style seats, with no obstructed views of the stage.  The performance was broadway quality.  The actors playing Aladdin and Jasmine were great and could sing the songs really well.  The genie stole the show because he would say a lot jokes that were about things happening at during 2012.  I was able to take video of the performance with my Canon HF200 camera. Enjoy the videos!

Disneyland Express

For guests of the Walt Disney World resort hotels, Disney provides the Disney's Magical Express bus service to transport guests and their luggage to and from the Orlando International Airport.  This transportation is included with any stay at a Walt Disney World resort hotel.  Guests of the Disneyland resort hotels are not offered the same level of transportation like Magical Express.  Disneyland has partnered with the Gray Line tour bus company to offer the Disneyland Express bus.  Reservations for this bus service cannot be made with Disney when you book a reservation to Disneyland hotel.  The reservation must be made with Gray Line, and must be done at least 24 hours before you schedule a pickup time.  Also, there is a fee per person to take this transportation.  With Disneyland Express, they will not pickup your luggage and deliver it directly into your hotel room like Magical Express.  Also, Disneyland Express has no employees at LAX to show visitor where to go to board the bus.  You will need to remember to go to the right area at the bus waiting areas outside of the Arrivals areas in order to find the bus.  You can easily miss the Disneyland Express bus if you are not at the right place at the right time.  The Disneyland Express bus driver was nice and helped us pack the luggage into the undercarriage of the bus.  On our ride, we were the only ones on the bus.  We stayed at a "Good Neighbor" hotel that was right outside off Disneyland property, Fairfield Inn by Marriott.  The bus driver would not drop us off at the entrance to the hotel. Instead, the bus driver dropped us off at the corner of the street.  We needed to walk across a long driveway to get to the hotel with our luggage.  Luckily, we did not have too much luggage and the luggage had wheels.  Still, if this is an inconvenience considering that you pay a fee just to take the transportation.  Taking the Disneyland Express really made me miss the Magical Express.  I'm totally spoiled by Magical Express and want that level of service.

Below is a video that I took with my Canon HF200 of the ride from LAX to Disneyland.

My First Ever Visit to Disney Art of Animation Resort

Whenever I stayed at Pop Century, I would always look across the lake and wonder what Walt Disney World would ever due to the former sister resort to Pop Century.  It laid unfinished and abandoned for years.  When I got word years ago that they world turn it to the Art of Animation Resort, I was super excited.  I kept track of the construction progress on my stays at Pop Century and online.  Construction was finally done on Spring 2012.  When I got to visit WDW on September 2012, I had to make a visit to this new resort a priority.  I took disney bus transportation from one of the parks during lunchtime to check it out and have a taste of the food at their food court.

Once I got off the bus, I took out my Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone and took video footage chronicling my first steps into the resort.

I took pictures too of the area and the food!

Main Street Philharmonic - September 2012

On my solo trip to Walt Disney World in September 2012, I was in the Magic Kingdom when I ran into a performance from the Main Street Philharmonic.  This group is a mini marching band that entertains visitors to Main Street USA.  I luckily had my camera handy to take HD video of their performance.  The first video features the band performing solos for the audience.

The second video shows the band performing favorite Disney songs.

The last video shows the band marching off of Main Street USA.

Whenever you are at the Magic Kingdom, make sure to check the schedule and see when they are playing.  They are definitely worth watching and enjoying their music.

American Idol Experience at Disney Hollywood Studios - September 2012

American Idol has been a very popular musical realty TV show on FOX for over a decade.  Walt Disney World decided to bring American Idol to the Disney Hollywood Studios years ago as the attraction American Idol Experience.  This attraction took over the Superstar Television Theater which featured the Superstar Television attraction, one of the original attractions that opened with Disney-MGM Studios.

The attraction has a number of showings throughout the day, with a final contest at the end of the day to determine which person will receive the "golden ticket" that will enable you to skip the lines at any of the American Idol TV auditions.  Guests can audition for a spot on the show.

Night of Joy 2012

I was not a fan of Christian Rock music.  It was not because I disliked the music.  I was never exposed to the music or the artists while I grew up. While on the Disney World website back in 2012, I saw an event called the Night of Joy held at the Magic Kingdom which featured Christian Rock performers.  I decided to attend the event on September 7, 2012 to experience the music and to see why fans flock to the musicians.

The day of the event was met with a rain storm.  The rain delayed the start of the performers and threatened to cancel some of the acts.  Luckily, I had my poncho to protect me from the rain.  The rain did not stop the performers.

I really enjoyed the group Disciple.  They played at the Rockettower Plaza Stage at Tomorrowland.  Even though they played on a smaller stage, they had a fan base equivalent to the acts on the main stage.  Their heavy metal style really resonated well with the teenagers.  I really liked the songs that I made videos on.