Monorail: The New "Walking"

I have recently stumbled upon a semi-secret entrance into Disneyland. And yes, by "stumbled" I mean "my mom told me" (I swear. I don't know what I would do without her.) For those of you who purchase your Disneylannd tickets before or have an annual pass, there is a monorail stop by Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. It comes and goes every 15 minutes and there is usually a shorter line than the front entrance of Disneyland park.

After a semi-shakey trip halfway around the park, you get dropped off by Finding Nemo in Tomorrowland. You also get a brief glimpse at the backside of Disney (you may want to cover your childrens eyes as to not ruin the magic). The monorail also has another stops, whether your coming or going, in the Grand Californian Hotel.

If your lazy and impatient like me, you'll opt for the monorail. It sure beats trying to get around the "sunday strollers" in Downtown.

Rancho del Zocalo

This restaurant, located in Frontierland, has recently replaced Cafe Orleans as my favorite place to eat in Disneyland. I had never really noticed it before because it's relatively hidden behind the faux shooting range, or maybe I'm just not that observant. However, once again, I can thank my mother for pointing out something "new" to me in Disneyland, which is quite difficult to do since I've been going for about 20 years now.



This is about as "authentic" as you can get while within the walls of Disneyland. To be completely honest, I have only tried the chicken soft tacos, which are a lot more like fajitas than tacos. The come with a mixture of bellpeppers and onions w/a side of rice and beans. I recommend giving them a shot next time you go.


Rancho del Zocalo's prices are pretty much consistent with the majority of Disneyland's restaurants. On average, you'll pay $10 to $20, depending on whether you get a drink or not (beware: refills will cost you extra, in true Disneyland fashion).


Tip: Splurge on the tortilla chips with the hint o' lime and guacamole.

Shootin' Hoops in the Matterhorn

Disney's hidden basketball court in the top of the Matterhorn was brought up in class so I thought I'd share with everyone the reason for this.

Originally, I had read from several different sources online that the basketball court was put in the Matterhorn as a way to bypass height regulations for the city of Anaheim. Allegedly, the city had banned buildings to exceed a certain height unless they were housing sports.

However, according to snopes.com, this is completely false. What is called a "basketball court" is actually a tiny area with a hoop that is smaller than a half-court. They state that there used to be climbers who went up the side of the Matterhorn, for entertainment purposes, and this was their "backstage" area. One of the climbers installed the hoop and backboard to pass the time in between hikes.

I'm sure if there were strict height regulations during the construction of the Matterhorn, Walt Disney would have come up with something far more clever than an "almost half-court" to outwit the city's regulators. Or, he would have just paid them off.

Disney's Wine Festival

Disney's California Adventure park will host the annual Food and Wine festival from April 24 to June 7. The festival includes signature, which range anywhere from $55 to $450, and complimentary events. The complimentary events include wine tasting seminars, cooking demonstrations, and a junior chef class.

The signature events have much more to offer, but of course, are going to cost you extra and you have to reserve your spot online ahead of time. There are the general dinner and wine tasting you can go to on a few days, but you can also pay to spend the evening with famous chefs such as Guy Fierri, Keegan Gerhard, and Tommy Lasorda. That's right. Tommy Lasorda, a former major league baseball player turned wine connoisseur, who now apparently has a collection of wines.

However, what I think is the most exciting (and the most expensive) event, is the Napa Rose cooking class taught by an executive chef. There are several dates for the classes but only 14 spaces in each class, so you can imagine they will fill up quickly. If you have an extra $450 lying around, this may spark your interest.

For more information on dates, events and prices click here:

Club 33

I'm sure all of you have passed by the "top secret" Club 33 several times when being at Disneyland. Most of you probably know that it's exclusive club that does not allow all Disneyland goers inside. I decided to find out a little more about it in hopes that I can somehow get myself inside there, whether that be via membership or tour.

Unfortunately, my chances are very slim of either ever happening.

Turns out, membership costs range from an expensive designer dress to an average priced car. The different membership levels are Corporate Membership, Limited Corporate Membership, Gold Membership, and Silver Membership. The prices of these memberships range from about $4000 to $28,000. Oh, and there's a 14 year waiting list.

The club was initially made for the corporate employees of Disneyland, but was later extended to others after Walt Disney's death. Club 33 got it's name from what would technically be it's "street address," 33 Royal Street, which it needed in order to obtain a liquor license. It is the only place inside Disneyland where you can get alcohol.

I don't foresee myself getting into the historical club anytime soon, but I still always linger on by the door whenever someone is going in to try and get a look inside.

Sex Ed...Disney Style.

Here's a video of Disney's "The Story of Menstruation." It was made in 1946 for an educational video company. For those of you who need a refresher course, take a look. Sorry, you won't find Ariel or Cinderella in this cartoon nor a big musical number halfway through.

It's A Small World Re-opens.

It's A Small World re-opened February after it had been shut down to undergo some renovations. And some people are a little pissed. Particulary the offspring of the original ride's designer, Mary Blair. They new and "improved" ride will now include Disney characters placed throughout the "small world" and are replacing the New Guinea section with a section for the United States. Many feel that inputting Disney characters is taking away from what the ride's original meaning of peace and acceptance. I think that adding Jack Sparrow to Pirates of the Carribean didn't ruin the ride. If anything it may have made it more exciting for the younger generation that have come to associate him with Pirate's. I think the same will go for Small World. Although, many of the older generation would like to keep Disneyland as they remember from their childhood, updating the rides every once in a while isn't going to "ruin" Disneyland.

Obama...modern day Robin Hood?

So I think I'm the only person in the US that has yet to watch the State of the Union Address. Thank God for Tivo, because with my hectic schedule I never get to watch television in real time. Unless "real-time" is 5 days after it aired...

I love Michelle Obama's dress by the way!!

Here come's the Cabinet. Hillary Clinton is wearing bright Barbie pink...a little harsh on the eyes. The Secretary of State should know better than to wear that.

I have to admit, relating the State of the Union to Disneyland might not be as easy as I'd hope, but I'm going to give it a shot. I've been avoiding news coverage of this all week so I could be "suprised" when I actually got to watch it.

Obama just walked in and he looks so happy! It's almost cute. As if he was at Disneyland. It's actually putting a smile on my face.

There's this crazy paparazzi-esque guy on Obama's back and I just watched him take 4 pictures of the back of the President's head. Creepy.

I think Obama just said "Thank you" 20 times. Sounds like he's getting slightly irritated with his standing ovations.

I wonder if Disneyland has felt any impact of the recession?? Everytime I go it seems filled to the brim with people from all over the place. I guess there's always money for Disneyland.

Disneyland has definitely done it's part on job creation for us. Just found on disneydreamer.com that the Disneyland resort has a work force of 21,000 people.

"Nobody messes with Joe." That would make a good bumper sticker.

I think VP Biden just fell asleep...oh wait, there he goes.

Saving $2000 per year on mortgages means you can go to Disneyland about 20 times...and get a souvenir.

No more private jets and "fancy grapes" for the CEOs. What is a "fancy grape"? I bet Bob Iger (Disney CEO) doesn't use taxpayers money for his private jet.

I wonder how much it would cost Disney to change everything to solar power?

Glad to hear Obama plans to help the auto industry...I just bought 100 shares in Ford.

Did Obama just promise a cure for cancer?? That man is amazing.

Education reform. Hope that applies to CSUF. Lower tuition?? No more courses dropped?? Dare I mention...A reasonable price for a parking permit?? A girl can dream.

Seems the Disney Corp. isn't immune to the recession after all. Here's a chart of their stock price over the past 5 years. Noticeable decline.

Tax increases for the rich? That's why FoxNews has been calling Obama "Robin Hood" all week. I don't agree with this at all, but since I'm not making over $250,000, I'll keep my mouth shut.

Damn. My Tivo just cut off at the end of the address.